#jatp week

[secretly-art]

[image ID: a digital drawing of Alex and Willie sitting together. They are looking at each other and smiling, and several pink and red hearts are between them. The piece is mainly uncolored, except for the hearts, their blushes, and Alex's rainbow pride bracelets. The background is light blue.]

@jatp-week Day 3: Favorite Ship

Willex lives in my brain rent free

[thesunwillart]

when their love is warmth

[thedeathdeelers]

this is basically what happened right ?

[missjoolee]

Chapel of Love

1.1k words

The barest hint of hot, dry air ruffled against the baby hairs on the back of her neck doing little relief. Long gone were the multi-layered stage outfits, having learned she needed something more breathable underneath the stagnant tent two days ago at the start of the music festival. Instead, she wore a poofy crop top with shorts, and she could feel Luke’s eyes roaming the revealed skin of her shoulders, midriff, and legs with each song they sang together. He'd been winding her up with each set.

Her hands grip the top of the mic stand as she leans into where the mic sits, holding herself in place where normally she would be dragging it over to share with Luke in this moment. But they are halfway through the seventh and final set and his eyes weren’t the only thing she could feel looming nearby. Just outside the Loud & Local tent sat the “Chapel of Love”. And the next lyrics were too close to vows that she might do something stupid if she got too close to him. Why had they written them this way, again?

They hadn’t seen the simple archway that signified the “chapel” when they had arrived to set up, the van being parked on the other side of the tent that held the stage that they would share with four other bands over the three day festival. And when they finally had a chance to roam the festival grounds, Reggie pulling them to the food truck selling fancy milkshakes, they saw it but didn’t know what it was. Even on the information board sporting a map, it was just a tiny innocuous dot.

It had been later on a water run that Alex and she saw a small gathering of people under it, two of them sealing their love with a kiss. Apparently, you could get married at this festival.

"Huh," Alex had said, taking a drink from his bottle and then resting his arm on her shoulder. "That's a decision." "I don't know. I think it's kind of sweet," she'd responded. A snort rang out from above her head. "Of course you would say that." She'd sent an accusatory glare up at him, dropping her shoulder so his arm would fall way. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She had known exactly what he meant though. Her eyes close against the crowd in front of her and drift open to her left, knowing exactly where Luke would be.

She can feel electricity thrum through her body as she begins the call and response moment.

"I've got a spark in me."

She can see the confusion on his face, but he smiles at her as the words slide out of him with ease.

"I've got a spark in me."

She closes her eyes against the assault of love intertwining with the electricity already coursing though her. In her mind, the simple archway looms above them. This is why she was fighting her entire being from going to him. It was too soon. Too impulsive.

"And you're a part of me."

She can't escape the feelings that have been building with each performance they've done this weekend. The euphoria of performing their music with the her best friends, and the man she loves, not caring that she shut her eyes in an attempt to block it out.

"And you're a part of me."

Luke's voice right next to her sends a shiver across her shoulders, her eyes jumping open to see he'd closed the distance to share a mic with her. Not letting her run from him, not realizing she wasn't running. She was trying to reign in some very impulsive thoughts. She can see the concern in his eyes behind the determination and can't help the smile that graces her face, softer than what is normally part of her stage persona.

"Now till eternity."

His response is accompanied by the smile he normally saves for her when they are in the studio. One that Alex and Reggie unfortunately have to put up with because it side tracks things often enough. "Now till eternity."

The mental reigns she's been wrestling are completely forgotten about. She's a goner. Their voices twine together like they have thousands of times before.

"Been so long and now I'm finally free."

The rest of the set goes off without a hitch. The adrenaline and dopamine high intoxicating. She feels Reggie's arm go around her shoulders as Luke's goes around her waist and she looks at all her band-mates with pride. This weekend was amazing and did a lot to promote them, even if they were competing for attention with signed bands that have been around a whole lot longer on two other stages. They take a group bow to the crowd before they disperse like the non-existent wind.

Luke's arm tightens and he leans down to her ear to be heard. "Everything okay?" His voice is raspy and a bit lower than normal from doing seven performances in three days.

Perfect. The word rings in her head, bolstering her onto her toes next to his ear so he can hear her response.

"Marry me." Her own voice rough, lower and more sultry than she expected.

He looks surprised as he processes her words, but not like they made him uncomfortable if that same smile he saves for her lighting up his face means anything.

"Yeah. Okay."

She grabs hold of the hand on her waist, interlacing their fingers as she heads for the exit of the tent with determination. He drags behind her a bit.

"You mean right now??"

The first flicker of doubt hits her. "Yes?"

He drops her hand and scrambles to get the guitar strap over his head. "Oh hell yeah."

Her smile is so big she can feel the ache in her cheeks but she doesn't care. He wants this as bad as she does.

A voice interrupts them. "Uh Julie? Luke? Where are you going? We have to pack up our stuff so Midnight Mayhem can go on."

Reggie looks confused, his thumb pointing over his shoulder off the back of the stage. Alex's looks suspicious. Julie can feel heat soar to her cheeks as she looks up at Luke's face and sees the eager giddiness there and then back at Alex. Yeah, that tracks.

"Sorry guys. Got a little distracted. Band meeting after we get everything packed up."

She pulls Luke back over to their gear to begin packing up. Squeezing his hand before dropping it to unplug her keyboard.

He looks at her with confusion. "Band meeting?"

"We'll need witnesses."

"Riiiiiight. Nice."

[skeletonsweatpants]

Hey guys it’s time for my annual rewatch-Julie-and-the-Phantoms-and-be-livid-that-it-wasn’t-renewed-for-a-second-season

[onlygenxhere]

I heard you calling

Julie dug her hands into the sand again and again as the light slowly faded from the sky.

It had been a shit day of an even crappier week and she just wanted to hide away from the world for a little while. It was why she’d told her dad she was studying at Flynn’s and then told Flynn she was tired and was going to call it an early night.

It’d taken her nearly an hour to ride her bike out to the beach but it had been worth it to let go of her thoughts in the sound of the waves and ground herself in the sand under her feet.

It’s not like she could hide in the studio.

That had been occupied by three ghost himbos for almost six months now.

Don’t get her wrong, she loved the guys and Flynn and her dad and even Carlos, for the most part, but sometimes a girl just needed to wallow in some self-pity by herself.

Her tears had dried a while ago and she was just staring out at the waves and the retreating sun when she heard the unmistakable sound of a ghost poofing in near her.

She didn’t even turn to look at him as he kicked off his vans and plopped down beside her scattering some sand on her own bare feet.

“Hey.”

Julie sighed and started digging in the sand again. “How’d you find me?” She looked down at the sand she was playing in, in case anyone was watching.

“You called me.”

She turned to Luke with a frown, the thought of anyone thinking she was crazy for talking to air flying right out of her head at his words.

“I did not!” She hissed. “I’ve only talked to my dad and Flynn. I certainly didn’t call the band phone. I was actually trying to be alone for a change.”

He shrank a little at her ire before shaking it off and leaning back on his hands. “I don’t know what to tell you Jules.” He shrugged. “I heard you call.”

She looked at him skeptically, “You heard me in your head, calling your name?” That would be new and weird and she wasn’t sure she wanted that ability, especially if she hadn’t meant to do it.

He leaned forward crossing his legs and bit his lip.

He ducked his head and was quiet for a moment before shaking it and looking back up at her through his lashes, “No, not in my head.”

The sun had nearly set and she could barely see his eyes in the fading light but he looked nervous all of a sudden like the answer was something she wouldn’t like.

As annoyed as she’d immediately been on his intrusion to her pity party she couldn’t help sliding her hand closer to his in the sand until their pinkies touched in a silent peace offering.

He wrapped his pinky around hers with a little tug.

The moment they touched Luke’s eyes cleared of their worry and she felt the tightness that had been pressing on her chest all day ease slightly. 

Julie pulled her knees up to her chest and laid her head on them before she whispered. “Explain, please?”

He sighed as he turned to face her a little more directly, careful not to move their hands still touching in the sand. “Ok, I guess heard is the wrong word…”

“Luke,” she sighed and squeezed his pinky. “Just spit it out. Why are you being weird?”

“Cause it is weird Jules.” He reached up to rub the back of his neck with his free hand. “I’ve had this feeling in my chest all day that something was wrong.” He dropped the hand on his neck to press against his chest like he was showing her where it hurt. “I asked the other guys if they felt it and they didn’t and…” He dropped the hand on his chest to lay on top of hers in the sand and fiddled with her rings. “I just knew you were sad or upset or something and I’ve wanted to check on you all day but you’ve told us not to come to the school anymore and then when you didn’t come out to the studio to see us this afternoon I…”

She flipped her hand over slowly and laced their fingers together keeping her head on her knees and her eyes on Luke. He looked up at her as a smile finally started to tug on his lips.

Julie and Luke had always been more in tune with each other than the other guys. She’d thought it had something to do with how they had shared pain about being disconnected from their moms or how they wrote music together like they shared a brain, but maybe it was more than that.

“Ok,” she nodded slightly. “Let’s disregard that you knew I was having a terrible day, we can analyze that later. That still doesn’t explain how you found me.”

He sighed, “I’m not sure explaining how I found you will be less weird. Honestly it was like some wizard shit.”

Julie giggled pressing her mouth to her knee trying to muffle the sound. Her giggles set his off and before long they were both shaking with laughter.

She unfolded herself and laid back on the sand keeping hold of Luke’s hand and he laid down beside her.

“Ok, I still need you to explain the wizard shit even if it is weird.”

“Ok, ok, I said that because you know in Harry Potter, in one of the last movies that part where Ron leaves and then finds his way back to them, back to Hermonie, with the little light in his chest telling him where to go?”

Julie frowned trying to follow his ramble. “You followed a light in your chest?”

“I mean kinda.” He groaned and rubbed his face. “I’d been feeling so off all day and when you didn’t come see us after school I started to get even more worried and then dinner time passed and we still hadn’t seen you. I needed to know you were ok.” He dropped the hand that had been on his head to his side and looked at her with so much concern. “I needed to find you so I just… did.”

He just did. It made a weird sort of sense. “So you just, what, closed your eyes and thought about me and here you are?”

He nodded, his eyes wide, “Yeah, exactly.”

They looked at each other a long time as they lay in the sand side by side holding hands. She briefly wondered what she looked like to anyone glancing in her direction.

“I’m sorry I worried you so much today. I’m ok, really.” She squeezed his hand. “I had no idea you knew how bad my day had gotten or I would have come to see you before I left.”

“Julie,” he rolled on his side to face her. “You didn’t know and really…” He dropped his eyes and stared hard at her shoulder. “It’s not your job to make sure I’m ok.”

She squeezed his hand again and he looked up at her with those sad puppy eyes and she melted like she always did. “Ditto.”

He grinned and shook his head. “I couldn’t help it.”

“You could have texted me.” She let go of his hand and rolled onto her side propping her head up on her hand. “You could have texted me.” She bit her lip. “What if I’d been in a bathroom or something when you came looking for me?”

He gaped at her. “I…I…” he started to laugh. “That would have been mortifying!”

“You think?” Julie giggled. “So text first…please.” She laid her hand on his in the sand. “I promise I’ll reply. Especially now that I know…”

Luke nodded, ducking his head. “Just so you know…” He started fiddling with her rings again. “Sometimes I know when you’re extra happy too.”

“Yeah?” She grinned at him and kicked his leg. “You don’t come find me then do you?”

He shook his head and looked up at her biting his lip. “We’re usually together.”

She laughed, of course they were. Luke wasn’t the only person that made her happy but ever since he fell into her life she couldn’t deny that she had more than friendly feelings for him.

Feelings that made her almost irrationally happy sometimes.

Luke smiled and pressed his hand against his chest. “You’re happy again now.”

“You seem to have that affect on me.” She bit her lip and ducked her head as she felt her cheeks heating up.

“Hey,” Luke tugged on her chin, gently forcing her to look at him. “You make me happy too Jules.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah…” Luke ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck. It was too dark to know for sure but she thought he might be blushing like she had too. “I don’t know what I’d do without you boss.”

They looked at each other for a long time, neither wanting to say any more than they already had.

It was enough… for now.

Julie took a deep breath and blew it out hard. It was time to head back home, back to reality which luckily included three ghost boys that made amazing music with her and one that she…

��Alright, party’s over,” Julie said pulling herself up from the sand and dusting her jeans off. “It’s gonna take forever for me to bike home.”

Luke stood up with her, keeping her hand in his. It was fully dark now. Anyone would be hard pressed to notice how Julie’s hand might look like it was holding something invisible.

“Mind if I go with you?” He chewed on his lip. “I really don’t like the idea of you being alone in the dark like this all the way home.”

“I’ll have to walk.” She chuckled, “Unless you wanna run beside me?”

He laughed, “I’ll run for a bit and then you can sit on the handlebars and I’ll bike.”

Julie burst out laughing. “That would look crazy!”

“Exactly,” Luke grinned. “Anyone that saw you would think they were nuts.”

She bit her lip and shook her head at him as they headed off the sand toward her bike. There was a stretch of neighborhood they would need to go through where very few people were likely to see them.

“We’ll see.” She winked as she slipped her shoes on after unlocking her bike from the stand.

She glanced over at Luke as they left the beach area. Maybe she would let him bike for a bit. What did it matter if some stranger thought she was crazy, or they were?

She was already feeling pretty reckless… after all…

Julie looked over at Luke again to see him already looking back at her.

She was in love with a ghost.

[jewishraypalmer]

Not the ASL for librarians teacher being a JATP stan 😂😂😂😂

[legolasghosty]

Wedding Purrs

OKAY so @michelangelinden (my beloved fiance /p /lh) sent me this post and said WILLEX! And ya know what? He's right. And thus, here we are. Enjoy!

----

Alex takes in a deep breath, fumbling with the folded paper he’s had in his suit jacket pocket for the last couple of hours. He’s pretty sure today couldn’t get any better, and he knows it wouldn’t ruin it if he ripped the speech he’s been working on for months in half. However, his friends would tease him about it for decades if he messed up his vows at his own wedding.

He carefully unfolds it, his eyes darting between it and the beautiful person in front of him. “Willie Antonio Ortega-Covington,” he begins. “I don’t know what I can say to you today that I haven’t already said, but here goes.”

Willie stands barely a foot away, hands fidgeting with the gauzy blue train that fell like a cape around their shoulders, cheeks barely able to contain his smile. Alex wishes he could grab one of their hands, but with the paper in one hand and the mic in the other, that isn’t happening. Stupid vows.

“We’d be here all day if I tried to list out all the ways you’ve changed me for the better, so here’s the SparkNotes version,” Alex continues. “As my best friend, you helped me have the strength to be myself. You’re the reason I learned to paint and always check all the pockets of my jeans before we do laundry.”

Willie chuckles, biting their lip in a way that makes Alex want to skip to the end of the ceremony. But then he glances over Alex’s shoulder, a flicker of confusion in his eyes. Alex pauses and raises his eyebrows in question. If something is wrong, they’ll figure it out. Together. Behind his soon-to-be-spouse, Alex notices Julie looking around as well, a little more covertly. He tilts his head, trying to figure out what’s going on. Then Julie leans forward to whisper in Willie’s ear.

“There’s a cat,” she hisses, just loud enough for Alex to catch the words too.

“Where?” Willie responds, that flicker of mischief that Alex fell for in middle school appearing in their eyes.

Julie nods toward something past Alex and he can see the exact moment that Willie spies the feline.

“Sorry, I think we need to stop for a second,” Alex says into the mic, turning back to the guests sitting all over the massive lawn of Willie’s childhood home. Mansion. Whatever. “There’s a cat.”

That gets a peal of laughter from their assembled friends and family as Alex hands the microphone to Caleb, who gives him an amused smile. He tucks his vows back into his pocket as he turns to see a little tabby cat scampering across the grass towards them. He can’t resist letting out a little awww at the sight.

Willie had dropped into a crouch as soon as Alex stopped the wedding, so Alex joins him on the ground, attempting to not get grass stains on his light pink suit. The cat scurries closer, eyes fixed on the vines trailing all over the big, white arbor they’re now kneeling under. 

“Hi baby,” Willie murmurs, holding out a hand to the cat.

“Mrow,” the cat responds, its head turning to look at Willie curiously.

Alex holds out a hand too, entranced by the little animal. Caleb steps out of the way, chuckling lightly as he joins Julie and Reggie behind Willie.

“Where did you come from?” Willie asks under his breath.

The cat pads right up to sniff at Willie’s outstretched fingers, drawing an excited giggle from them. It must decide that he’s okay, because it starts headbutting his hand until Willie flips it over to scratch the side of its head.

“I think it likes you,” Alex comments softly, watching his almost-husband stroke the feline’s black and grey fur. 

Willie doesn’t turn to look at him, but they fumble around for his hand with the one that isn’t petting the cat and squeeze gently when their fingers lace together. Alex moves a little closer and moves his free hand closer to the cat. It immediately starts demanding pets from him too, giving a tiny meow of protest when Alex lifts his hand away.

“Think dad would murder me if I got cat hair on my top?” Willie asks.

“It’s your wedding,” Alex points out. “I love the guy but he can deal.”

“I heard that,” Caleb calls from a few steps behind them, clearly amused.

Willie’s cheeks darken a few shades as he lets go of Alex’s hand, first to flip his dad off over his shoulder, then to gently lift the small cat into his arms. Alex places his own hand on their elbow, helping them stand up without dropping the animal or tripping over the flowy fabric of their teal pants. Julie moves forward to adjust the train as well, but Alex is pretty sure it’s mainly an excuse to get a better look at the cat nestled in Willie’s embrace. Which-fair.

“I thought you guys were going to wait a while before looking at adopting a kid,” Luke snarks from behind Alex.

“Chill, it probably has a family around here,” Alex protests, as if he isn’t already trying to remember where the nearest pet store is to his and Willie’s apartment. 

“She’ll probably run away in a few,” Willie agreed a little sadly. “But it’s our wedding, let us live, Patterson.”

Luke starts to say something but gets cut off sharply by what Alex is pretty sure is Carrie smacking him. He doesn’t bother turning around. He’s too busy with his nearly-permanent partner and the way the cat has started purring in their arms.

“She?” he asks, scratching under the feline’s chin.

“Yep, checked when I picked her up,” Willie confirms.

“Wow, you’re just going to assume the cat’s pronouns?” Alex jokes.

Willie giggles and sticks his tongue out at him. Alex retaliates by leaning in to peck him lightly on the lips.

“I love you,” Willie murmurs when Alex pulls back.

“Hey, quit cutting ahead!” Reggie hollered, making everyone laugh.

“Good thing I already did my vows,” Willie says. “Pretty sure her purring would mess with the microphone.”

Sure enough, the cat seems to have no intention of moving from her cozy spot in Willie’s arms. She keeps headbutting his bare bicep whenever he pauses in his stroking for a moment.

“Darn, I still have to get through mine without crying,” Alex replies, giving the kitty one last scritch behind the ears before reaching for the crumpled paper.

“Well you can blame it on your fake cat allergies now if you do,” Willie teases.

“Leave my gaslighting mother out of this,” Alex retorts lightly. 

“Are we going to get this show back on the road or not?” Caleb interrupts as he returns to his place between them.

“Right, sorry,” Alex says, taking the microphone. He skims down the page in his hands before finding his place. “Sorry about that everyone,” he calls to the audience before continuing his vows.

The cat seems content to stay in Willie’s arms, even though both of the soon-to-be-weds cry during Alex’s vows. The stupid piece of paper is torn in a few places by the time he’s done, but Alex manages to make it all the way through. And suddenly Luke is tapping him on the shoulder and handing him a slender, titanium band.

Willie has to shift the cat a little bit to get his left hand free for Alex to slide the ring onto. Caleb reads out the first portion of the script they’d agreed on, but before Alex can echo the words, the feline is clambering out of Willie’s grasp, up his arm, and leaping across the space between them to land on Alex’s shoulder.

Alex lets out a gasp, startled by the weight, but leans forward slightly to give the cat more surface area to stand on. Among a myriad of reactions for their watching guests, the cat sits down primly, nuzzling Alex’s hair and sinking her claws into his shoulder. When Alex’s eyes return to his almost-legally-bound person’s face, he finds them grinning and holding back a laugh.

“Well, that solves that problem I guess,” Alex offers, resisting the urge to shrug.

“Only you, William,” Caleb mutters affectionately under his breath before continuing through the ring exchange.

The kitty stays on Alex’s shoulder all through the rest of the ceremony and purrs right in their ears when they kiss. Alex can’t help but laugh as he walks back down the aisle, Willie’s train rippling in the breeze behind them and their hands clasped together. Thank goodness they did all their pictures before the wedding so they get to go straight into the house for the reception.

“Think I should ditch the train for the reception?” Willie muses once they get back to his old bedroom, where they’d gotten ready that morning. “I mean it’s fun and all, but it’s gonna get tangled on something with all the tables and stuff.”

“That is entirely your call,” Alex answers, leaning in to kiss him again just because he can. “But I’ll help you either way.”

“That is both adorable and entirely unhelpful,” Willie teases, glancing at the full length mirror hanging on the back of the door.

The cat chooses that moment to launch herself off of Alex’s shoulder and onto Willie’s bed, then to the floor. She glances around, then lowers into a crouch and starts stalking toward the gauzy fabric that brushes over the floor.

“I think that’s probably a sign to take it off,” Willie decides, laughing.

Alex is pretty sure his chest is going to explode with how happy he is, but he just nods and helps Willie unhook the clasps at their shoulders and fold the cape-like garment back into the box. The cat loses interest in it after a minute and starts poking around in the closet. 

When everything is straightened and put away, Willie grabs the lapels of Alex’s suit jacket and pulls him close.

“We got married,” they comment softly.

“Yep,” Alex says, the words coming out soft and breathy. “We sure-yeah-we did that.”

Willie giggles and erases the air between them to connect their mouths. Alex wraps one arm around their waist, loving how the cropped top piece of Willie’s outfit lets him run his fingers over warm brown skin, and cups the back of their head with the other. Willie hums and deepens the kiss, easing into Alex’s mouth as their hands trace up his chest to rest on his jaw. Alex lets himself fall, lose himself in kissing his person - his husband - without a spare thought for the people waiting for them on the patio.

Alex eases his fingers up into Willie’s hair, getting a pleased gasp in return. He breaks the kiss for less than a second, tilting his head to get a better angle as they reconnect like a pair of magnets. Willie lets him into his mouth happily, his tongue following Alex’s as it brushes along the line of his teeth. Alex doesn’t protest when Willie’s hands slide down his neck and under his jacket, removing his arm temporarily from around their waist so they can shove the thing off. He’s been sweating in it for over an hour anyways. Willie’s fingers undo the top buttons of his shirt to trace over the curve of Alex’s collarbones. Alex shivers and pulls Willie as close as he can, loathe to allow even a breath of space between their bodies.

“Meow,” the cat protests.

Alex laughs against Willie’s lips and pulls away just enough to see the little kitty pawing at the bedroom door. “I think she got bored of us,” he jokes.

“That’s just homophobic,” Willie returns, smirking. “And on our wedding day too.”

“We should probably go, shouldn’t we,” Alex sighs.

Willie lets out a little huff and presses one more kiss to Alex’s lips. “Yeah probably.”

“Alright, nameless cat, you win,” Alex accepts, shaking his head.

“We should get her to a vet to get checked for a chip and stuff,” Willie comments as they leave the bedroom, the kitty bounding ahead.

“If she sticks around, yeah,” Alex says. “We should ask Julie where she takes Beto.”

Willie nods in agreement as they enter the dining room area, the french doors thrown open to connect the space with the patio to accommodate everyone. Their friends and family are gathered around the area, chatting and drinking sparkling cider and soda out of Caleb’s crystal champagne flutes. Julie and Reggie spot them first and start clapping. Alex is sure his face is turning red as the applause grows and someone (probably Luke) wolf whistles. 

The reception dissolves into a mess of thank yous and well wishes as Alex and Willie try to make the rounds and talk to everyone. Alex catches glimpses of the cat every now and then, ducking under tables and weaving between legs and skirts, always looking excited and curious.

By the time Alex and Willie manage to sit down to eat during the toasts, his feet are starting to ache in his dress shoes and his cheeks are sore from smiling so much. Willie smirks and leans back in his chair, throwing an arm easily around the back of Alex’s as Julie starts giving her toast. Alex scoots his seat a little closer and rests his head on their shoulder as they listen to their family, legal or otherwise, congratulate them. (And tell embarrassing stories because that’s what family is for, right?)

Between toasts, they feed each other bites of chicken and roasted potato. Willie misses one time and smears oil across Alex’s cheek and it takes nearly a minute for them both to stop laughing. While Ray is talking, Alex feels a bump against his leg. He glances down to see the cat staring up at him. He grins and leans back a bit as it jumps up onto his lap. The next bite of chicken Willie spears on their fork goes to the cat’s mouth instead of Alex’s.

The cat has deserted them once more by the time they get dragged over to cut the chocolate strawberry wedding cake Tia Victoria made for them. Alex accidentally gets his revenge on Willie for the potato and paints chocolate icing on their nose. The smirk they both get from Ray afterwards says he definitely caught that one on film. 

They dance around the patio to Lover and Galaxies, twirling each other and sharing conversations too soft for anyone else to hear. Alex watches happily when Caleb steals his spouse away for a song. Then Julie drags him back onto the floor and Carrie is teasing him about losing his jacket and Reggie is teaching him square dance steps for the millionth time. And all the while, a tabby streak is darting through each soft moment, stealing bites of food and charming basically everyone.

And finally, Ray goes outside to pull the car around for them. Willie grabs Alex’s hand and people start cracking glowsticks as the sun vanishes over the horizon and they leave the wedding together.

“Wow,” Willie murmurs as Alex pulls the car out of the driveway.

“Yep,” Alex agrees, squeezing their hand.

“Meow,” says the cat from the backseat, startling them both.

Alex slams on the brakes (there’s a stop sign okay!) and they both turn to look back at the curious stowaway.

“Well…” Alex begins slowly.

“I’ll text Julie for her vet’s name,” Willie finishes, grinning.

[mac-lilly]

Happy 28th Deathday to Sunset Curve! 👻🌭

[maniacace]

my english assigment today had a question that said smth like "Julie and Luke were invited to a party" and somehow that was enough to get me teary-eyed at 9 in the morning

[palettehao]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Julie and The Phantoms (TV 2020) Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Alex Mercer/Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Alex Mercer & Willie (Julie and The Phantoms) Characters: Alex Mercer (Julie and The Phantoms), Willie (Julie and The Phantoms), Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Reggie Peters (Julie and The Phantoms), Julie Molina Additional Tags: Fluff, Getting Together, First Kiss, Willie seeing them perform for the first time, also feeding my need to see Alex in Willie's pov, Lock them in a room, see what happens, willex is so very in love, Willie has cuteness aggression, Alex Mercer Has Anxiety (Julie and the Phantoms), Alex has a personal spotlight, the entire band plays wingman, ghost gays make me feel crazy Summary:

"Do you think they have a bet if we'll kiss or not?"

"Probably, they’re annoying like that." Alex is so cute, yet so clueless. Willie wants to shake him by the shoulders, but he's able to refrain. Instead, Willie takes a step forward, causing them to be inches apart, almost chest to chest.

"Wanna win someone some money?”

[secretly-art]

[image ID: a digital drawing of Julie’s group hug with boys. We see Julie from behind, Alex on her left, and Reggie on her right. Luke is not visible to the viewer. They are colored entirely in yellow and a lighter yellow glow is shining off of them. The background is light blue.]

@jatp-week Day 7: Favorite Scene

I could watch this group hug for hours 🥺

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Since this is the last day of JATP Week, I’d like to take this chance to thank @pawprinterfanfic and @agentsofoakenshiield for organizing! This week has been super fun and I think we all really appreciate the effort you both put into it! It’s been great seeing so much amazing content this week :)

[zerolostwalks]

"I want to show you off." for Sweet Tarts?

Backlight

“Hey, Peach Blossom.”

Carrie just barely managed to hold back her near-involuntary giddy laugh at Reggie’s greeting. She would have greeted him with a hug closer to the door but she was already in the middle of prepping for dinner. 

“So, I had to deal with some interesting drama today.” Reggie said, hooking his chin over her shoulder as he hugged her from behind.

“Oh? What’s that?” Carrie asked, keeping her attention on her veggie chopping. Though she could just catch the disbelieving scowl Reggie shot her way. His wry chuckle and shake of his hard were more difficult to ignore given the movement somehow brought his face closer to hers.

“Well, apparently,” Reggie began, using that playfully clueless voice usually reserved for when he was trying to pretend he wasn’t aware of what was going on, but Carrie knew better to fall for it by now. “One Carrie Wilson personally reached out to see if our band would be interested in helping her out with some new secret project.”

“That does sound interesting.”

“Mhmm.” Reggie’s voice lost some of the playfulness. ��Flynn’s almost certain you’re up to something.”

Carrie only hummed in response as she finally finished all her prep and went to break away from Reggie’s grip to move to actually start cooking, only he wouldn’t let her go.

“Are you?”

Carrie huffed before spinning around in Reggie’s arms, wrapping her own around his waist. “Maybe, I just want to show you off.” She was aiming for teasing but his lost, almost worried expression paired with his question made her think of something else. With an annoyed sigh she added, “You didn’t listen to the demo did you?”

His confusion furrowed deeper into her brow. 

With another sigh she broke free of Reggie, successfully this time. Though she only went far enough to get her phone from where she’d put it on the counter to switch it the demo in question. 

It was a rough idea of the song she had in mind, paired with the limitations of the program she had to use in order to even begin to get a vague idea down of the sound she was going for. Definitely stepping away from her usually pop genre and closer. More of a rock sound, with the bass standing out as a lead sound. 

“I’m no bassist so it definitely can do with improving.” She said, pocketing her phone and trying to not grimace at the poor quality of the demo. “And as I told Julie, Luke, and Flynn earlier I am looking for a band that I trust to help me get the right sound.” 

Neither her demo nor her explanation did anything to get the confused scowl off of Reggie’s face. Almost worryingly so. Maybe it sounded a lot worse than she thought and that was part of why Julie and Luke had seemed hesitant about it. 

“It’s okay if you actually aren’t interested, I'm sure I can hire someone.”

“No, that’s not it.” Reggie said, quickly closing the space to pick up one of her hands. “It’s not bad, just a little rough around the edges but, it’s just the instrumentation. I’m not sure where.”

“Where I fit in?” She quickly cut in, biting back a mildly bitter laugh when Reggie nodded. She definitely should have talked to him about this part before now. “I do have lyrics, two versions actually, and I figured you should probably help me decide which ones to use before anyone else heard them.”

She didn’t even wait for him to ask before she went to one of the demo’s with her singing. This was definitely angrier than most of her songs. An old venting song channeling her frustration and bitterness at trying to force himself into a mold, and definitely full of more growls and yells she’d ever had to record before. She switched over to the second version so quickly she’s not sure if Reggie even noticed at first, probably thought the song had looped. 

At least until she started singing. While this version was similar in tone, the lyrics were definitely more focused on her wanting to make her own place in the world. Though the second verse not so subtly was talking about how Reggie helped inspire that. Or maybe it was only obvious to her, his eyebrow barely quirked up.

His silence didn’t once the song ended didn’t help either. Nor the way he wasn’t even really looking at her anymore. 

“So when you said show me off.” He eventually said after clearing his throat. Though he left the statement to hang between them. 

“I meant as maybe more than just a bass player.” She finished the thought for him, smiling in spite of herself, at the awe written across his face. 

“But I thought.”

“I think I’m ready to let other people know about us.” Carrie cut him off, smiling brighter with his smile, sunshine bright as always. “And yes I’m sure.” She added when she saw that furrow start to form between his brows again.

He pulled her closer, kissing her before she even fully realized that’s what he was going to do. Catching her by surprise seemed to be something he was uniquely adept at. Almost as good as he was at distracting her. 

But she managed to pull herself away long enough this time to finish dinner and for them to flesh out her idea a little better. As well as to get a good second draft of the lyrics sort of combining the two versions. 

In the end she knows even if Julie and everyone else don’t agree to help with the song she’s got Reggie’s support.

[thedeathdeelers]

do you ever just sit there and wonder what fandom out there is currently popping off

[missjoolee]

just thinking about an au where Julie works for her Tia's housekeeping company. they have contracts with one of the prominent labels in LA

it's a summer job maybe?

but she's getting the hang of dusting, cleaning glass, collecting trash and recycling, restroom maintenance, breakroom scrubbing, the works

when one day, one of the higher ups at the company seeks out her Tia for an unorthodox tasking

They need someone to go to an apartment and clean it up ASAP

Tia selects Julie because she knows she can trust her to work unsupervised as well as she can get the T-E-A later after the workday is over.

Once inside, it's got the musty smell of a place that hasn't been entered in a while and there is a light layer of dust on everything, including a very nice sound system connected to a high-end combination cd/tape/turntable with impressive library of cds, records, and the occasional tapes

Deciding that she doesn't have to work in silence, and whoever lives here won't be back before she's gone. she picks out a record to jam out to while she cleans, then throws open the windows she can and gets to work. She washes the linens, dusts, scrubs the bathroom, dusts, wipes down the kitchen, dusts, and when she finishes with all of that she can vacuum!

As she dusts in the living room, there are guitars on the wall and she can't help but notice 2 are missing

when one record ends, she switches it to something new, excited by the selection whoever lives here has curated

it's honestly hard to pick what's next but then in the CDs, down in the S's, she notices a rare gem from the music world!

They have Sunset Curve's first ever EP

It's a no brainer, she puts the CD into the tray and hits play as she picks up the rag she was using to wipe out the refrigerator. The guitars sound out the beginning of Now or Never and she's leaning inside the fridge, the french doors splayed open as she sings along to the song when a loud THUD startles her out and THERE IS A MAN and she is YELLING, and then he is yelling

and that is how she met Luke Patterson of Sunset Curve, freshly returned from their european summer circuit, as she explains to Flynn later

Once they'd stopped yelling, she had apologized, rushed to turn the music off and explained that she was almost done and to "please, settle in and pretend i'm not here. I will be gone in 10 minutes"

and he had, looking dead on his feet, probably from the time change (also very stunned from hearing a wrecking ball of a voice singing his lyrics from inside his fridge, but she doesn't know that) and then she was gone.

time passes and she keeps working the normal duties from the contracts at the company, only once did she see Sunset Curve and she did an about face and took an alternate route to the task she was doing.

but then Toby gets tendonitis or something and now Tia needs someone to cover the part of the building that features all the studios for the different bands in LA that are signed to the label and it has to be someone trustworthy because they might see or hear music that CANNOT be leaked or the whole cleaning service loses the contract. So trustworthy niece gets picked

Given a schedule each week of what bands will be in and when (ish) she is able to clean unobtrusively for the most part

It's the end of the day and she just needs to gather trash from the rooms that were used that day when she gets a bit thrown off by the set up in SC's studio. Everything is pushed to the edges of the small room and a keyboard is set up front and center.

Looking for where they'd moved the trash can, her eyes keep flicking back to the keyboard and she can't help brushing her fingers over the keys gently before she leaves. Only for someone to be in the doorway, making her jump!

It's luke and he apologizes for startling her but she is in "oh crap oh crap don't bother the clients" mode and so she apologizes and skidaddles out of there

and then and then

Suddenly on the schedule of when bands will be in, there is a request for her to clean SC's room at a specific time during the lunch hour that day. and when she arrives, the rooms is well, not spotless, but cleaner than it should be and there is a note on the keyboard saying to have fun for an hour maybe

and it keeps happening?

julie starts taking luke up on the opportunity to play around on the piano

and then suddenly luke is there but like "don't mind me, keep doing your thing!" and she very much does her own thing but that is grilling him about what is happening annnnnnnnnnnnd

they get closer as time passes

and eventually it becomes helping luke with a song which then becomes working on a new song together

and then excited about the song, luke shares it with the guys and they begin workshopping their instruments into it and Julie happens to hear it happening and thinks that Luke just used her for the music and stole the song they'd been working on for his band

so she stops showing up during that hour, instead working in a room somewhere else where he can't find her

annd she avoids him in the hallways, always turning and going the opposite direction if she sees him or the band

and finally Toby's arm is doing better and can come back to work so she is quick to relent the studio section back to them

Tia notices she doesn't even hum while working anymore and then one day she is cleaning a conference room, and

The door opens behind her. Reggie and Alex walk in. She can't run out, so she just keeps wiping down the windows.

"Did Luke do something wrong?" It could be just his friends trying to help a guy out but there is steel in alex's voice that lets Julie know that they will 100% be on her side if she told them Luke did anything royally stupid and offensive.

"No."

"Oh...okay. Do you think you'd want to write with him again?" the question is unsure. like alex doesn't know if he should even ask it.

Now Julie is mad. "I'm not paid to write songs. I'm paid to clean. I don't have time for this."

"a shame. That was a killer song you two wrote" Reggie hesitantly says.

"yeah. I heard you guys playing it. Hope it does well on your next album" she fails to keep any of her anger out of her voice. and since she doesn't want to get fired for fighting the labels talent, she grabs her supplies and leaves out the secondary door.

and then the guys realize that Julie may have a misunderstanding about what's going on with the song she wrote with Luke

but before luke can fix it, SC has to travel again, this time to Australia and then Canada.

so it's at least 3 weeks before they are back in LA

I don't know how this ends. How does Luke make things right with Julie? Any ideas? Would love to see your thoughts.

[tangledstarlight]

just listened to unsaid emily for the first time in months. i’m fine. everything is fine.

it’s not fine. i’m crying. bobby stole their legacy and luke never got to make things right