#or maybe willex

[legolasghosty]

if this doesn't scream boggie, i don't know what does: They smell like sparkles and sunshine and I want to kiss their stupid face so bad

Bobby slammed the apartment door behind him, heading straight for the couch. He didn't slow down until he was flat on his stomach, his burning cheeks hidden by a Gayosaurus throw pillow ("Like a normal gay, but more awesome!") that Willie had found somewhere six months ago. Bobby wasn't ever sure where he found this sort of thing. He'd given up on asking when they were still in college, the two of them and Alex randomly paired up in a freshman dorm.

"What happened here?" the previously mentioned pillow finder said from somewhere above Bobby.

The soft click of Alex closing their front door properly was followed by the drummer's sigh of, "Reggie, what else."

Bobby felt the couch dip near his feet as probably Willie sat down. "You wanna talk about it, dude?" they asked. Bobby couldn't decide if their tone was sympathetic or teasing.

"No," he mumbled into the pillow.

Look, dating your bandmates didn't work out well. Reggie and Luke had been together for a bit when they were all in college and it had burned hot and fast. Bobby had been sure the band would break up for good when they called it quits. It had taken a whole new person, Luke's now queerplatonic partner and their band frontwoman Julie, to get the two of them to talk it out and become friends again. Even then, it had been a rough couple of months for all of them.

So, no matter how pretty Reggie was or how sometimes Bobby thought he leaned a bit closer to their shared mic than necessary, they couldn't be a thing. It wouldn't work.

"Dude, you can't just keep ignoring it and hope it goes away," Alex sighed, now sounding much closer. "Remember how I tried that and it failed? Epicly?"

Bobby lifted his head just enough to shoot Alex a glare. "That's not the same thing," he protested. "No offense, Willie."

"None taken," they chuckled. "But Lex has a point. Shoving it down doesn't work, and it might just turn out better than you think."

Bobby dropped his face back down to the pillow and flipped them both off. "No."

He felt a foot nudging his shoulder, indicating that Alex had found his perch on the back of the couch above him. "Bobby, Reggie likes you back, you guys just have to get your acts together and talk about it."

"Hypocrite," Bobby mumbled. But he groaned and rolled onto his side, glancing up at his roommates and best friends. Maybe talking it out would help erase his stupid crush on his bandmate. "I know he maybe thinks I'm cute or whatever, but it wouldn't work. The band almost broke up when Luke and Reggie did, and I can't be responsible for doing that to you guys. I just can't."

"Okay, I get that," Alex began. "But what makes you so sure the two of you wouldn't work? I mean yeah, Luke and him didn't go so well, but there were a lot of reasons for that."

"Very much including the fact that they were 19 and neither of them had actually been in a serious relationship before," Willie added. "And I love them both, but their communication skills aren't the best now, let alone two years ago."

"You and Reg are good for each other," Alex continued, giving Bobby that heavy, open stare that he usually masked behind several layers of sarcasm. "He gets you out of your routine and trying new things. You help him slow down and talk things out."

"You're both better people for being around each other," Willie agreed, one hand resting on Bobby's ankle. Then the corner of his mouth quirks up. "Not to mention the fact that you guys practically make out at the mic every other song."

"We do not!" Bobby insisted, forcing himself up on one elbow. "Mic sharing is totally normal."

"Mic sharing, yes. But you two take the phrase 'eat the mic' a little too literally," Alex laughed. Then his amusement faded. "But seriously. You like him. He likes you. And we're all semi-functioning adults who can at least pretend to be emotionally mature. At least talk to him."

"Even if you decide not to give it a shot, at least you'll have been honest with each other," Willie said.

"But what if it messes everything up?" Bobby asked, hating how small his voice sounded. "I mean, yeah, he smells like sparkles and sunshine and I wanna kiss his stupid face so bad, but I don't want it to destroy the band. Or our whole... family."

Willie's expression is now solidly in the sympathetic zone. "But what if it makes it better?" they countered. "I mean, Lex and I were great as friends, and we're better as partners, and we're both better friends to the rest of you because of being together."

The smile Alex gave them for that is enough to make Bobby fake gag and throw the Gayosaurus pillow at them. But... maybe they're right.

"Hug time?" Alex questioned.

Bobby just nodded, suddenly feeling heavy at the possibility of having Reggie as something other than a bandmate. But heavy in a good way, like crawling under his weighted blanket at the end of a long day.

Alex dropped down onto the couch beside him, wrapping his arms around his shoulders and pulling him in. Bobby let Willie resituate both of their legs on his lap. He usually wasn't one for being manhandled by his friends, but it was nice to let them take care of him every once in a while. He tried to focus on the clean and salty scent of Alex's hoodie and the easy movement of Willie's thumb on his ankle.

Maybe, just maybe, they had a point. At the very least, he owed it to Reggie to let him be a part of the conversation, right? Bobby let out a soft sigh. This meant he'd have to actually have a conversation about it with the bassist. But he was getting better at those at least. It was 'healthy' or something. Maybe it would be okay. Maybe they would be okay.

"So..." Willie mused after a while, "what do sparkles and sunshine smell like?"

"Screw you," Bobby groaned, hiding his face in Alex's chest.

[innytoes]

🐝 Rampant Romantic Raccoons In Your Area (More Likely Than You Think)

Rampant Romantic Raccoons In Your Area (More Likely Than You Think)

In which Alex is convinced they have a stalker climbing onto their fire escape at night to peek into their windows, Luke thinks he listens to too many True Crime Podcasts, Reggie keeps trying to feed the raccoon that comes to visit them, and the real answer lies somewhere in between.

Fake Fic Ask Game

[eepybubble]

if juke is endgame then willex is also endgame bc that's how it works i said so but HOW exactly does that work since willie is still a ghost and alex is basically confirmed alive bc juke so how??

[one-of-your-girls]

wish i had more irls that liked the same ships as me 😭

[tmp-jatp]

.

[mahuhumaling]

JATP Season 2 Wishlist

that i wrote in my notes app back in:

and realized i never posted it here? tbf i'm rarely on tumblr. but because i really miss them rn i want to share my ✨ brainrot ✨ that i had back when i thought they were getting a renewal.

Carrie Wilson

she was my biggest flaw in Season 1. I wish her "redemption arc" is fleshed out more in Season 2; give her either more context & backstory to validate her reason for unnecessarily antagonizing Julie, or screentime to properly address how she's just projecting an emotion completely different into bitterness and anger into Julie's recovery

show particularly her earlier dynamic w/ Flynn and Julie? Maybe as Flynn calls her out, we'd get flashback glimpses prior to Rose's death (maybe even Double Trouble temporarily being Triple Threat 👉🏽👈🏽)

for some reason i'm picturing a scene where she's in her dance studio (she has one in their mansion, of course) practicing some of her Dirty Candy routine when she keeps messing up and not in the right mindset to keep dancing. i feel like the best (maybe easiest but whatever) way to guide the audience into her artist mind is to make her be a perfectionist. in frustration, she blows up for a minute before slumping onto the ground and reminisces her fun times with Julie & Flynn

also when you have her develop, please don't make her lose her femininity and the bubblegum pop music, it's great

Old Songs Resurfacing

it'll prove how detailed & thorough you are as a screenwriter if you pay off the songs mentioned in Season 1 in passing to be actual songs in Season 2

Unreleased: Get Lost, Long Weekend, Crooked Teeth, My Name is Luke, and if that riff from the scene in EP. 5 that spurred on the Bobby reveal isn't from one of these songs, add that too

Demo Album: Late Last Night, Lakeside Reflection, In Your Starlight

Willex

imagine your queer couple gets to have their first kiss first than your het main couple, not only will that settle Madi & Charlie's statements about being uncomfortable in doing a kissing scene and maintaining the priority of Juke's emotional over physical relationship, it would also make an powerful statement

Reggie's Character Arc

i know that he initially had an arc that involved a romance with Flynn but because of the ages of who they casted, they scrapped it and didn't have time to rewrite the scripts for him as filming neared, so they have time to adapt to how jeremy portrayed him for season 2: a lovable dork who craves familial love

since there's a possibility that lifers can now see the boys, maybe some found family trope for Reggie and Ray Molina?

he has pretty much formed a parasocial relationship with him at this point

so why not instead of a love interest, Reggie can have his character arc develop & we see his family before thru flashbacks and paralleling those in the current times because he sees Ray as a father figure

picture this: it's raining, Bobby opens the garage door to the sound of knocking, the boys find Reggie soaking wet and out of breath when he tries to say he doesn't know where else to go then the boys immediately figure out another fight in the Peters household happened. Reggie tries to talk again when Alex (because even though they're the airhead-sarcastic duo, they know they love each other) runs up to hug him and tells the other he doesn't have to say anything

cut to a freshly showered Reggie, quietly watching tv with Bobby, Luke, and Alex in the garage, eating whatever

also a solo acoustic country song, pls. just to make him happy

The Aftermath of the Deaths

for both the boys and Rose

we get parallels about how Bobby dealt with trauma and grief to Julie

like, the reason why the clothes are still in there (are to have costume changes for the boys) is because Bobby immediately moved out of the house (therefore also the garage) and left the clothes there because he couldn't bear to burn it, or visit the boys' houses to break the news to their families and return the clothes, or donate it somewhere so he just...left it. it would make for a more solid reason (for costume changes) and an emotional context as to how Bobby really tried to forget them because it was "easier."

it would also make sense why Carrie and Julie ended up friends. Rose probably was there for Bobby when they discovered what happened at the alleyway, so they stayed friends over the years and had their respective families but still kept in touch, (bonus points if absolutely nothing romantic happened between them! yay to normalizing platonic male-female relationships) and why Rose would immediately think of Bobby's three late bandmates to send for Julie when she was on her deathbed

Bobby never really "moved on" (because grief is a really complex thing). it's showed that he has a therapist and everything, and this could definitely have some aftereffects on his daughter. Carrie growing up seeing her father be this amazing rockstar but a negligent father and only showing love in ways she doesn't need (like riches and fame and connections to the music industry) because he's actually a really lonely man on the inside and no one can see that except for Bobby's spouse and Carrie. it'd explain why Carrie is spoiled, and other negative character traits that Carrie has on the surface

it's even why Bobby changed his name to Trevor: 1) Bobby is so closely associated to Sunset Curve and it's an absolute pain to be reminded of that every day, 2) it's a stage name and artists really do get that

More Worldbuilding

they already had some pretty creative concepts/ideas in the first season, so why not expand/expound on them a bit more

the instruments are attached to their souls that's why the boys at first can only touch them, like how Willie's skateboard and helmet are attached to him

which is why when they attach themselves to the world of the present, they gather up energy and focus on touching tangible things like the picture frame

this may follow the logic toward the end where they are finally able to touch Julie because she has become attached to their souls. emotionally.

More Creative Collaboration

i believe in the principle that when a story is finally released/published/told to the world, the world shares it. this is also visible in film/tv where when the scripts are finished and actors receive them, the story becomes part of theirs to work on. which means that they have some sort of autonomy over their characters' motivations, a chance to be heard of their ideas and pitches, and why some certain scenes wouldn't work, etc etc. it doesn't just become the director's story nor the screenwriters'.

the actors' ideas such as Perfect Harmony and their solos from Nothing to Lose are great because they let them in. they took risks, and it paid off incredibly well. more of that please. have them be a part of the writing process, (also the story), but never forget what made the music production great in the first place. be coherent and don't be like others that let too many hands work on one piece—it will lose its sound, its identity.

Julie Knowing

that Nick is possessed by Caleb. ohmygOD. hear me out.

the same S1 ending will play somewhere in 2x01, but it will be revealed that Julie was watching through the window the entire time and when she opens the door to receive the flowers, that last look she gives him is actually her scheming.

determined to get Nick back, imagine The Promised Neverland's level of mindgames Julie could play with Caleb because we already know our girl's smart

Free Willie Willie's Freedom

since the boys feel indebted to Willie's help, they insist on helping him too with getting rid of Caleb's stamp

maybe through his connection with Alex? or maybe Willie's family or friends who are still lifers (which is unlikely but either way). he needs to be saved !!

Song Sequences Ideas

juke counter melody duet like Rini's "Even When/The Best Part," Shane & Mitchie's "Wouldn't Change a Thing," or dodie & Jon Cozart's "a love song/a non love song"

emotional carrie ballad paired with lyrical hiphop choreo

willex song - i absolutely have no idea where this could go directionally but maybe alex on an acoustic guitar with a really soft sweet tune

reprises of S1 songs but in the complete opposite of their original style (the fandom's lonelier All Eyes on Me version, i see u)

nick guitar solo - just because Sacha actually plays, idk how it'd fit in to the plot yet but hey

Nothing to Lose (Reprise) - back in the '90s, a producer manipulates Bobby to sign a record deal to become a star but on one condition: disassociate himself with Sunset Curve, to which he first declines until he slowly gets persuaded. (sort of like Todrick Hall's So Lucky to Be You meets Lyn Lapid's Producer Man)

"So how about it, Bobby Shaw? Do we have a deal?"

"Trevor."

"I'm sorry?"

"Call me Trevor Wilson."

i'm pretty sure someone made an animatic with this idea too but i cannot for the life of me find it !!

7. Season 2 starts the same way as Season 1 does before the opening song plays

Black screen that reads a text "Hollywood 1995"

a pan down to the Orpheum's overhead sign that reads "SUNSET CURVE SOLD OUT"

cut to the interior with Rose finishing up her cleaning when a stage manager calls out: "Sunset Curve!" to which Bobby abruptly stops his pacing back and forth to look up. he and Rose look at each other. music swells until...

cut to him running onto the alleyway, "are they still not finished eating? those gluttons are dead to me i swear—" he cuts off his own words when he sees the boys getting dragged onto stretchers. but we, the audience, don't see it. just a close up of bobby as the ambulance lights reflects his face. rose comes up behind him, still clutching their t-shirt.

[i honestly have no idea if Bobby should get on stage because it just proves Luke's theory of The Orpheum's opening bands eventually becoming big & successful so it'll explain the Trevor Wilson fame even though at first he only did it for the boys, or if he shouldn't because according to the article Julie googled he ran away immediately after they were pronounced in the scene] but either way, this is how the opening starts.

then it progresses to Rose and Bobby respectively having children so they could parallel each other blah blah

8. Julie plays a simple song on the piano while the guys watch her in awe

Storytelling through Props

let's dive deep into Rose's luggage/suitcase and use the props to head for Julie's emotional attachment with them

they already did it with the wardrobe: Rose wears the black leather vest in the pilot while Julie wears the same thing in EP 6

add depth to the characters' relationships like us finding out Julie's multilayered necklace is actually a gift from Carrie or something

SOYON ANN YOU'RE A GIFT FROM GOD. Bobby's necklace is present in both young and old!him

**Rose in flashback scenes should be wearing clothes we've already seen Julie in Season 1 just for greater effect.

The Bobby Conflict

definitely needs to be brought up again by Season 2; they only discarded somewhere in the middle because more pressing matters like the boys' existence blipping away was pushed to the forefront of the story

however, The Bobby Conflict changes. it'll be cleared up that he was offered a record deal as a solo artist by a manipulative producer. and given that the poor boy is only 17 (too, maybe), he agrees. what he doesn't know is the contract's fine print: giving up Sunset Curve's royalties

that information clears it up to the audience and the band, so the conflict becomes this: Bobby's Survivor's Guilt. god wouldn't that be so good tackling that in a kids'/family show.

[1mnobodywhoareyou]

me: i think i wanna write but idk what. maybe i'll reblog my snippet thing

@60sec400: how's about a prompt?!

and so: willex, 248 words, canon verse:

“I just don’t get it,” Alex murmurs. “How can you be so chill about all of this?”

Willie swings his feet from where they’re dangling off the edge of the sign. “You got a heights thing, man?”

“What?!” Alex turns to look at him, brows furrowed. “No. It’s not a heights thing. The heights thing is fine.”

Willie grasps the edge of the sign, his hand less than an inch from where Alex is bracing himself. Alex absolutely does not think about his hand in Willie’s.

“Chill’s what I do, Hotdog. You’re gonna need to be more specific.”

“That!” Alex cries. “The dead thing! Doesn’t it freak you out?!”

He shrugs. “Not anymore.”

“Anymore?”

Another shrug.

“It didn’t freak you out at all to just… not be alive any more?”

Willie looks out over the city. “I mean, I guess at first. But there’s nothing I could really do about it, you know? What’s the difference between life throwing you a curve ball and… this?” He doesn’t look at Alex once while he speaks.

“I…” Alex pauses as he works through the words. “I guess I’ve never thought about it that way. It feels different though.”

Alex manages not to react when he feels Willie’s hand wrap around his.

“And at least you still have your friends,” Willie adds. “Not everyone gets that.”

Alex doesn’t know how to respond to that. So he doesn’t, instead soaking in the silence, view, and the feeling of his hand in Willie’s.

[invisibleraven]

kissing in an abandoned building for Willex, please and thank you

By now, Alex was used to Willie’s more unconventional date ideas-empty museums to skate and scream, a truly cheesy haunted house, and a ghost themed dinner theatre that he used to work at.

But this one might take the cake.

First off, they went out late at night, past the time most things were open. Secondly it was practically out in the sticks-so far out that Alex was nervous about leaving his car in the mostly empty lot Willie took him to.

���Should I bring mace because this seems like the start of a horror film,” he commented as they made their way towards a large, nondescript building.

“I’ll be sure to protect you if someone with a hook hand jumps out,” Willie replied with an eye crinkling grin. “We’re here now anyway.”

Before them was a large abandoned warehouse, windows boarded up, looking like a strong breeze might shift it on its foundation.

“We’re not going in there are we?” Alex asked, but one glance told him the answer. “Why did I even ask?”

“C’mon,” Willie said, pulling him towards the door, pulling it open. Alex braced for dust and spiderwebs, but it seemed they had been dispelled.

He suspected Willie was to blame for that. That or the place was inhabited by someone who placed cleanliness of their dwelling over structural integrity.

Inside was disorganized-random machinery and boxes, but Alex let Willie lead them further in, hoping whatever his boyfriend had planned was worth the toll this was having on his anxiety.

Finally they made their way to a smaller room, where to Alex’s surprise there was a picnic set up, and the far wall was covered in swirls of colour.

He approached the mural-he could see Willie’s style was evident. “It’s gorgeous Willie.”

“It’s not done yet,” he admitted. “You wanna help me finish it?”

“Oh no, I’m no artist,” Alex deflected.

“I have pink,” Willie stated, wiggling the spray can at him.

Damn, Alex was weak to anything pink-it was a problem really. He snatched up the can and gave the wall an experimental spray, delighting as the colour burst forth.

Willie grinned and went off to his own section, doing some complicated looking swirls and loops, while Alex was content to do bursts of colour.

Even if this wasn’t really his thing, it was fun, and Alex felt honoured that Willie would share it with him.

“Hey hot dog, come see!”

Alex stepped back, happy with his abstract flower, then went over to Willie, gasping when he took in the mural.

There were swirls of colour and abstract shapes all over, but there in the middle was the very distinct image of a ring, with a question sprayed above it.

“Well? Thoughts?”

Alex turned to Willie who was down on one knee, smirking up at him, the very ring from the mural in his outstretched fingers.

“I think it’s your best work yet,” Alex replied. “And yes.”

Willie whooped before sliding the ring onto Alex’s finger. Then he pulled him into a passionate kiss that made his toes curl in his shoes.

A truly life changing kiss.

Later Alex would wonder how Willie arranged all this, and if he could convince Reggie to come photograph the mural before it got tagged over.

But right now all he cared about was kissing his fiancé. And maybe seeing about taking the picnic home, because as romantic as this all was-they were still in an abandoned building in a shady part of town.

And no way was Alex celebrating their engagement here.

[thedeathdeelers]

I was active in the fandom in like 2020 and ever since then I’ve been quietly loving JATP and not super active in the fandom

But what is juke jeudi? I’ve seen the term before and I have no idea what it is /gen

hello!! lovely to meet you, anon

juke jeudi is exactly as the name suggest: jeudi (thursday in french) dedicated to juke! i started it back in 2021 as a way to actively post juke content on thursdays, mostly for myself, but then to my utter joy and amazement it slowly became a thing where people started joining in

basically a fun way to maybe encourage people who don’t usually post to post juke on thursdays!

i know for me, even 4 years after the show aired, thursdays are Juke days and it always motivates me to create silly content for this lovely ship. a small way to keep it going. to interact with other people still hanging around in the jatp fandom :)

…i hope this makes sense lmao

(fun fact juke jeudi was inspired by @fiddlepickdouglas’ willex wednesday) (hi pickle fick<3)

[legolasghosty]

what about #55, maybe for willex :)

Yeah. Um. Hi anon. If you ever see this, please know I am so deeply sorry for how long this took. Life has been a little... *gestures aimlessly at the half packed apartment around me* But Um. Here? I'm so sorry.

Alex groans and sits up. He's been trying to fall asleep for nearly 3 hours now and it refuses to come. He got so desperate that he literally tried counting imaginary sheep. No dice, even after like 231 of the stupid fluff balls. Alex swings his legs over the edge of the bed, shivering when his toes brush the cold linoleum floor, and gathers his focus enough to stay an inch above it. Might as well get a snack if sleep refuses to take him.

He doesn't bother being quiet, Reggie could sleep through a hurricane. Which is good, considering how loud that dog of his snores. But when he opens his bedroom door, the light over the stove is on. And there's someone staring into his fridge. Someone that is definitely not his roommate.

"What the heck!" Alex yelps, stepping back until his heel hits the wall and he stumbles.

The person inspecting his leftover pasta collection bolts upright, turning to stare at him. Alex catches a flash of long, dark hair and high cheekbones and his heartbeat starts racing for a second reason.

"Willie?" he asks, blinking.

"'lex?" Willie slurs, eyes a little unfocused. "'t's like three in the morning, what are you doing in my kitchen?"

"In your-Willie what are you doing in my kitchen!?" Alex demands, confused. Maybe he did fall asleep and this is some kind of crazy dream where his hot next-door neighbor is in his apartment.

"What do you mean?" Willie mumbles. Alex notices his knuckles whitening where they're gripping the fridge door.

"Willie are you okay?" he asks hesitantly.

Willie sort of nods. "Thick as a fiddle," he says slowly.

Alex shakes his head and takes a step closer. "That's not reassuring. What happened?"

"Sam and Jeff were mad at each other," Willie replies, shrugging and glancing back at the fridge.

"Who?" Alex questions.

"Classmates," Willie clarifies. "Think I stopped the fight."

Alex winces at the word 'fight'. He doesn't actually know Willie all that well, what with freezing up every time they bump into each other in the laundry room or something, but they seem like the sort of person to get in the middle of a fight. Physically.

"You should sit down," Alex suggests, approaching slowly. "Did you get hit in the head?"

"Sitting is good," Willie mumbles, closing the fridge to look around the dark common area.

Alex blinks and suddenly Willie is on the other side of the room, tripping over an ottoman and crashing down onto his couch. "Woah, Willie, be careful!" he yelps, dashing over.

"'m fine," Willie slurs, rolling over and pulling themselves onto the couch properly "Just a little dizzy."

"Okay no more teleporting for you tonight," Alex decides. "Did you get hit or hexed?"

"Hexed? I think?" Willie offers, brow furrowing. "Don't really remember."

Alex groans. It is way too late to be dealing with this, and of course the healing center won't open till the morning.

"Sorry, didn't mean to come into your place," Willie sighs. "I can leave?"

"Absolutely not," Alex argues immediately. "No way am I leaving you alone like this. Besides, your roommate is a jerk who probably wouldn't enjoy being woken up by you falling on your way to bed."

Willie winces and nods. "You sure?"

"Of course."

Alex drops down onto the end of the couch, beside Willie's feet. He tries to remember what his healing class said about hexes. The darkness seems much more frightening with Willie collapsed and dizzy beside him, even though the light over the oven is still on.

Sure, they might not actually be close, but they're probably not acquaintances anymore either. Alex has never been entirely sure where the line is between 'someone you know' and 'friend'. And if the way his heart rate picks up every time Willie's toes brush his thigh is any indication, he's not sure 'friend' is exactly what he wishes they were anyways. Either way, he cares about Willie and Willie is hurt.

"I think it's a confusion hex," Willie mentions a minute later. Alex glances over, raising his eyebrows in question. "Sam's the one out of them that's good with hexes," they explain, "and confusion ones are his main thing. So that's probably what I got hit with."

Alex nods slowly and pulls out his phone. Thank the stars for the internet. The symptoms he's getting seem to mostly line up with what Willie has been doing and saying since he scared the living daylights (nightlights?) out of Alex ten minutes ago.

"Okay, according to the WaM-HO," Alex reads aloud, "confusion hexes will generally wear off on their own. How long this takes depends on the strength of the caster, lasting anywhere from an hour to two weeks on average."

Willie groans. "I would really like to be able to see straight sooner than next month?"

Alex resists the urge to place a hand on his ankle and squeeze to offer comfort. They're not that close. "Sounds like there's meds and countercharms that can speed things up," he says, skimming the rest of the page. "And I'm guessing your friend isn't a fully trained hexer so I doubt it would last the full two weeks."

"Classmate," Willie corrects. "Not my friend."

Alex frowns and turns off his phone to give Willie his full attention. "Then why were you out with them in the first place?" he asks. Maybe it's too personal a question, but it's 3 in the morning and this whole situation is just a mess so Alex can't bring himself to care that much.

"We had a late exam and a bunch of the guys were going out after to unwind," Willie begins, head drooping to rest against the back of the couch. "I haven't really had a ton of luck making friends in classes so I guess I figured it was a good idea when they asked me."

"Sorry," Alex answers when Willie doesn't continue. "Though if it makes you feel any better, they don't sound like great people to be friends with anyways."

"Yeah, dodged a bullet on that one I guess." Then Willie smirks, setting something aflutter in Alex's stomach. "Just didn't dodge the hex."

Alex lets out a startled chuckle. "Too soon, man," he declares.

"My injury, my jokes," Willie retorts, poking Alex with their foot.

Alex rolls his eyes. "Well rest is probably your best bet on that unmissed hex," he comments, climbing to his feet. "Come on, you can use my bed," he adds, offering Willie a hand up.

"Dude, I'm not taking your bed," Willie protests. "I'll be fine on the couch."

"That couch is barely wide enough for your shoulders," Alex points out. "You falling and cracking your head open isn't going to help anything. I'll sleep out here."

"It's your bed though," Willie responds. "You need to sleep too."

Alex shrugs. "It'll be fine, not like I was doing so hot on that before you got here either."

Willie grabs Alex's hand suddenly, pulling himself up. "Okay then we'll just share."

Alex fights to keep his balance, both from Willie's unexpected weight and from the suggestion. "It's a twin, there's no way we'll both fit," he argues.

"Too bad," Willie says, keeping his hand wrapped around Alex's as he heads for his room.

"Willie hang on," Alex tries as he's pulled along. Darn how standing on air doesn't give him much traction to resist. His cheeks are already heating up at just the thought of sharing his tiny bed with his very attractive (and sweet and funny and thoughtful and-) neighbor, no way is he going to survive it actually happening without a heart attack.

"It'll be fine," Willie says, entering the bedroom.

He finally drops Alex's hand and turns around to sit on the messed up blankets of Alex's bed. Alex can barely make out his face in the dim light from the kitchen, but something seems to soften.

"Look, if it really makes you uncomfortable, we don't have to," Willie adds gently. "But like... if you just don't want to because you think it's going to make me feel weird, it won't."

Alex isn't sure where all the air in his lungs has gotten to. It's definitely not his brain though, because he finds himself nodding. "I'll get the light," he says, ducking out again to hit the switch over the stove.

When he returns to his room and his eyes adjust to the darkness, he can just make out Willie lying down in his bed, fumbling with the blankets. Then a hand reaching out towards him. Alex will blame his exhausted brain for it in the morning, but he takes it and settles down beside his neighbor.

It takes them a minute to figure out how to both comfortably fit on the narrow bed. By the time Willie's breathing evens out, they're laying half on top of Alex, their hands still linked. Alex is sure his heart is hammering too fast for him to doze off, but the next thing he knows is the siren that is Reggie's alarm going off around 8 am.

He isn't sure what to make of the fact that he feels more rested than he has in weeks.

[innytoes]

🐝 Okay, I'll bite

Okay, I'll bite

Willie knew his boyfriend Alex was hiding something. Not something bad, he didn't think Alex was that kind of person. But definitely something. Maybe a kink or like a weird hobby. Maybe he was in witness protection.

He would have never guessed his boyfriend was a Were-Cat. And that he not only changed every quarter moon (full moons were for wolves only, apparently), but also when he didn't have enough fish in his diet. Suddenly all the sushi made sense.

And listen. Being a cat? That was kind of the dream. Willie wanted to be a cat! Thus begins his quest to show his boyfriend he not only accepts him, but also, Alex should totally bite Willie so they can Cat Snuggle together.

[onlygenxhere]

The Truth Will Set You Free

It’s been three days since Alex last saw Willie. He thought they’d really cleared the air between them after what happened at the Duncan farm Halloween night. Told all the secrets that needed to be told and took care of the immediate threat to both their safety. But when Alex woke up alone the next day after falling asleep with Willie at his side that night, he’d thought maybe Willie had just needed a little space to process all that had happened. Three days was enough space and time as far as Alex was concerned. He needed to know if Willie was ok and why he was obviously avoiding him.

First sequel to It's the end of the world as we know it in the Mariposaport, Maine series. Also my first m/m sex scene, which takes place in ch 2.

All of ch. 1 is plot if Willex sexy times isn't your thing.

[daintyduck99]

"sorry, that was my first kiss." "i could tell." "...." "i'm kidding!" for some reason this gives me Willex vibes

Alex prides himself on his motor skills.

They're what make him an excellent drummer, and an awesome surfer, to borrow Reggie’s words. He rarely ever sends a stick flying or has a wipe out.

So it's a little infuriating when he wipes out on the beach, all because some smarmy, laughing asshole wasn't paying attention.

Then they shake their hair out, apologizing all the while with sincerely smiling eyes, and offer Alex a hand up, and oh, oh.

They're strong, and beautiful, and maybe not such an asshole, after all.

It's still infuriating that Alex loses control of his motor skills again. His knees buckle.

The beautiful surfer just laughs, not unkindly, and grips his hand tighter.

“Whoa, dude. I really pancaked you, huh?”

“Uh.”

Alex swallows, grimacing internally. Apparently he's lost all ability to function.

He tries again.

“Yeah. I should…my board…”

They hum. Their fingers slide out of Alex's in a way that sends sparks down his spine, and he has to work to suppress a shiver.

Alex's board suddenly obscures his vision. He jumps, only for his lips to twitch reflexively into a smile as they huff a laugh.

“Easy, Adonis.” Their easy grin pops out from around the board. “I'm Willie.”

Alright, okay. Just say your name. Your heart's pounding but it's fine! Just. Say it.

“And I'm not a horse.”

Great! Awesome.

If God is real, maybe he'll take mercy and smite Alex now, or send a tsunami.

But Willie shrugs, seemingly undeterred.

“Well, if you were, you'd be a pretty horse.”

A laugh crawls out of Alex's throat. It's not cute, like Julie's nervous little giggle when she's flirting with someone. It's. Um.

It kind of sounds like he's choking on sand.

All he really knows is that he's doing everything wrong, but Willie must like a challenge, or maybe they have a soft spot for awkward introverts. They coax Alex's name out of him, and get him to join them in the water, where he slowly relaxes.

He's in his element again, and it's easier to laugh and smile and yell and grapple with Willie. It's almost like being with the guys.

Then they go under, and come up laughing and sputtering, grasping each other's elbows, and Willie's eyes flit to Alex's lips, and it's not like being with the guys at all.

Not with how warm he feels, or the way his heart flutters, or when a shaky breath spills from his lips as Willie slowly leans in.

Alex lets his eyes fall shut, breathing out shakily again as their noses bump. His hands are locked on Willie's elbows.

They laugh quietly, with the same warmth that was just shining in their eyes, and anchor Alex with a gentle hand on his jaw.

Their lips touch softly, almost…tenderly.

Alex sighs, melting into the warmth seeping between them in every point of contact, and Willie deepens the kiss.

It should freak him out, but he's floating.

Distantly, he just tries to copy what Willie does. Eventually, they have to stop for air.

Willie laughs breathlessly. “Damn, Adonis.”

“Sorry,” Alex mumbles, ducking his head as the freakout hits. “That was my first kiss.”

“I could tell.”

Alex's head snaps up. He scowls, stung.

It's one thing to hear it inside his head. His brain is a rude, anxious bitch. But this…

Maybe his first impression wasn't so off.

“Alex? Alex!”

A frantic hand is flying in front of his face.

“I was kidding!” Willie exclaims, and something loosens in Alex's chest as he searches Willie's eyes. Guilt and panic swirl there in equal measure. “I'm sorry.”

Alex huffs a laugh. “Okay, yeah. I can tell.”

Willie cocks his head. He mirrors Alex's smile.

“That phrase is gonna haunt me, huh?”

And it does, for the rest of their lives.

[illbeyourreasonwhy]

when the time comes, baby don't run

It's over! It only took three years and months of absence, but I finally completed my post-S1 Willex fic!

Thanks to everyone who stuck around for this, and hey, if you're just now discovering it, feel free to check out this fic for Willex fluff (and a tiiiny bit of angst), friendship feels, and a Caleb takedown!

(Part 1 Part 2 Part 3)

*

Alex is starting to seriously resent this plan.

Not because he is in any danger. No, it’s actually the opposite.

He is starting to resent this plan because he was tasked with staying behind at the studio, and not knowing what is going on is killing him.

“Alex, stop pacing,” Julie says, doing a terrible job at soothing his worries since she is also wringing her hands with a vengeance.

“He pacing again?” Flynn asks. She’s the only one of them who seems a minimum composed, but Alex caught her biting her nails when she thought neither of them was looking. “Alex, you need to chill. It’s not like we can do anything right now.”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m freaking out,” Alex mutters, even though she can’t hear him. “We have no idea what’s going on, Caleb could have already caught them for all we know…”

“Alex,” Julie says tightly. She is still attempting to sound reassuring and failing miserably. “Not helping.”

He looks at her, taking in the tension and worry in her expression, and realises it looks familiar. This isn’t the first time she had to stay behind while her friends went off on a side mission, after all. He suddenly feels a lot more understanding of her frantic barrage of questions after they returned from getting their names on the Orpheum setlist, all those weeks ago.

It’s for her sake that he forces himself to sit, resting his arm next to hers on the table. He isn’t tangible right now, but he hopes the closeness will help comfort her – and him.

She offers him a strained smile, like she can tell what he’s thinking, and he thinks maybe it works.

“It’s going to be okay,” Flynn says, quieter than usual.

“Then what’s taking so long?” Julie asks to no one in particular.

It had been decided that one of the ghosts would stay behind as a precautionary measure.  Willie, currently speaking with Caleb – a thought that does nothing to soothe Alex’s already anxious mind – has been given Julie’s phone, so that he can send a text to Flynn the moment Caleb is done talking to him. Which is why Flynn and Julie are currently sitting in the studio, fully charged phone laying flat on the coffee table in front of them, ready to send Alex to retrieve Luke and Reggie from the club should they not be back by the time the text comes through.

It's a precautionary measure, he reminds himself. Luke and Reggie know they are on a tight schedule and have promised to be as quick as possible, while Willie is doing his best to keep Caleb occupied as long as he can. If all goes well, Caleb will never even know they were there.

But, still. Knowing that doesn’t make the wait any less anxiety inducing.

“It’s going to be okay,” Flynn repeats, like she can read his thoughts. She is probably just looking at Julie’s face.

As if summoned, Luke and Reggie appear in front of them with a brief white flash. Alex sags in relief, not getting the time to gauge their expressions before Julie jumps to her feet to engulf them in a hug with a squeal. Or, well, she tries; neither Luke or Reggie are tangible, either, and Julie slips through them, stumbling a little as Luke uselessly throws out a hand to steady her. She looks too relieved to see them to be bothered, eyes darting furiously between the two of them.

“How did it go?”

Reggie shrugs. “We didn’t really see anything we could use, but we did find this.”

He reaches inside his coat and pulls out something that he precariously sets on the coffee table.

The five of them crowd around it.

“What is that?” Flynn asks slowly, her eyes not leaving the strange object the boys brought back.

“No idea,” Luke answers, his voice hushed.

The object on the table – no, not on the table, Alex realizes, hovering over it – looks like a tiny purple ball, a glowing hue emanating from it and dusting the air with a faint light. Alex has never seen anything quite like it before, but he knows, just looking at it, that it is bursting with magic.

“It seemed important,” Reggie says, and Alex believes it.

Julie’s eyes flicker between the two of them, teeth gnawing at her lower lip.

“None of you actually knows what it is?” she reassesses. When she only gets shakes of heads as an answer, she nods and says, “Okay, then no one touch it.” She narrows her eyes at Reggie especially. “I’m serious. We don’t know what this is or what we’re dealing with, so we’re staying put and waiting for Willie to come back and explain.”

No one argues. They don’t have to wait long; twenty minutes later Willie sends a warning text that he is done with Caleb, and he walks through the doors of the studio another ten minutes later. The sight of him helps Alex breathe a little easier; he lifts himself off the couch and crosses the space between them to pull Willie into a tight hug. Willie’s arms loop around him easily, looking as relieved to see Alex as Alex is to see him.

“Hey, hot dog,” he whispers.

“You okay?” Alex asks as they move apart. He knows Willie is, or he wouldn’t be here, but he thinks he needs to hear him say it.

“I’m okay,” Willie answers. “I think Caleb bought it. It’s always hard to tell with him, but I’m pretty sure he believed me. You’re all okay too?”

“A-okay,” Reggie answers. “We were in and out, no one even saw us.”

Alex desperately hopes that’s true. He leads Willie back to the group; Willie follows easily, only to stop dead when he catches sight of the purple ball.

“Is that what I think it is?” he asks slowly.

“Ah. Well, see, we don’t actually know what it is, so…”

Willie stares at the ball, looking shaken.

“That’s the source of Caleb’s power,” he says. “When ghosts harness other ghosts’ powers like Caleb does, and they start having more power than one ghost should, they have to physically store the excess somewhere so that it doesn’t overwhelm them, and keep it close so that they can still access it. I think Caleb used this ball in his very first trick back when he was alive, so it has sentimental value to him or something. You guys found it?”

“It wasn’t that well hidden!” Reggie says, sounding like he feels he should defend himself. “It was just sitting there in a box inside of another box under a curtain in Caleb’s dressing room! We didn’t know what it was, we just assumed it was important!”

“Well clearly you were right!” Alex exclaims. He realizes he sounds panicky, but sue him, he is panicking. “What if Caleb can trace it back to here? Can he tell where it is?”

A soft touch to his shoulder; it’s Willie, and Alex feels his nerves simmer down. They’re not gone, though.

“I don’t think he can trace it,” Willie says. “If he did, he would be here already.”

That’s not exactly a reassuring thought. Alex doesn’t have time to say that, though, because then Julie steps forward.

“Time-out,” she says. “What’s going on?”

Right. She can’t see Willie or hear his explanations. Flynn is probably even more lost.

When they are done recapping, Flynn’s eyebrows are furrowed and Julie has a determined look in her eyes.

“So this thing is pretty important to Caleb, then?”

“It’s the most important thing in the world to him,” Willie confirms. Reggie repeats it. “Without it under his control, he could lose all his power, all his influence.”

An idea starts to prickle the back of Alex’s mind, but before it can fully form, Julie speaks up.

“Call Caleb here. Tell him we’re willing to trade this thing back to him for the release of Nick and Willie, and the promise that he will leave us alone from now on.”

They all turn to stare at her, stunned.

“Jules, you were the one who was afraid of blackmailing him in the first place,” Flynn reminds her.

“I know,” Julie says, and she does look a little shaken, but the determined look in her eyes doesn’t look like it’s going anywhere. “But things are different now. This –” she gestures to the purple ball, still hovering innocently over the coffee table, “- is one more thing that will draw Caleb’s attention to us. We need to act before he figures out that we have it.” She crosses her arms. “Right now, Caleb doesn’t know it’s missing yet. We need to use that to our advantage. If we confront him with it, catch him off-guard, it might be the first time we have the upper hand since this mess started.”

She looks at them all, as if waiting for an answer, but none of them have one at first. In truth, Alex suspects they all might be a little impressed.

“She’s got a point,” Luke says eventually. Unsurprisingly, too. He’ll always back Julie up.

Willie glances around the group and, upon seeing no argument, steels himself and nods. “Okay,” he says. “I’ll go get him.”

He prepares to leave, and it’s then, when Alex sees the back of his silhouette framed in the doorway, that the fear suddenly jumps to his throat.

“Wait!”

They all look at him, looking surprised at his outburst, but Alex barely sees them. What he does see is Willie about to walk away from him again, away from him and right back into the palm of Caleb’s hand, and Alex can’t handle it. It has always been hard, letting Willie go back to Caleb and wondering if this is the time he won’t come back, but with the added knowledge of what has been going on it has gone from hard to unbearable. How is Alex supposed to watch Willie throw himself back into the deathtrap that is setting up a meeting between Caleb and them and therefore revealing he has been in contact with them and working with them, less than an hour after feeding him what Caleb will inevitably realize are lies? How can they ask Willie to walk into what could very well be the moment Caleb decides he has grown tired of letting Willie get in his way and wipes him out of existence?

Alex is suddenly truly, utterly terrified of letting Willie out of his sight and at Caleb’s mercy, and maybe that’s why the seeds of an idea that were forming a few moments ago jump to the front of his mind, crystal-clear and complete now.

“What if there was another way?”

“Another way?” Reggie repeats.

“You said that without this, Caleb would lose all his power, all his influence,” Alex says haltingly, rushing to get his thoughts out.

Willie nods, looking confused as to where Alex is going with this. Alex goes on, his voice going breathless in his haste to get the words out.

“What if we don’t give it back? What if we keep it for ourselves?”

Reggie is the first to answer, voice hesitant and unsure. “But wouldn’t that just put a target on our backs? If it’s that important, Caleb won’t stop at anything to get it back.”

“But if we use it,” Alex insists, “if we figure out how to control it, we can take him down, for good.”

“I’m with Alex,” Luke says, and Alex feels a thrum of relief go through him amidst the frantic rush of his thoughts. If someone is backing him up, this can’t be that crazy an idea, right?

Julie doesn’t seem to agree. “Let me get this straight. You want to play with magic you don’t understand and try to control something we know is incredibly powerful with no prior knowledge on how do that?”

“I’m sorry, who wants to do what now?” Flynn pipes up, looking alarmed.

Julie glances at her and raises a hand as if to let her know she will translate everything to her in a moment, and Alex opens his mouth to defend himself, but then Willie speaks up.

“That’s way too dangerous, hot dog,” he says, eyes serious and almost scared. “That kind of power in the wrong hands, things could end really, really badly.”

“It’s already in the wrong hands with Caleb!” Alex points out.

“I’m not saying I disagree,” Willie says. “But the reason it’s working for Caleb is that he actually knows what he is doing with it. I mean, say we keep it with us, what’s your plan? We just hold onto it and hope for the best?”

“I – well, I figured I would leave that part to you,” Alex admits, trying to push down the embarrassment he can feel start to well up within him.

“I don’t know the first thing about wielding this kind of power!” Willie says. “It would be a disaster, I can’t even imagine how wrong things could go –”

“Julie,” Alex hears Flynn whisper urgently. “Julie, what’s happening? I can’t hear them, are they being dumb?”

“I just think we should think about it before handing back something this valuable, that’s all. I’m just thinking of an alternative,” Alex says, feeling like he needs to defend himself. He doesn’t like the way he feels like he has been backed into a corner. “Stop acting like I’m being stupid for that.”

“No one said you were being stupid,” Julie says immediately, placating, “but look, we had a plan –”

“We had the beginning of a plan,” Alex corrects, “you said that. The next step was figuring out how to use whatever we found – I’m just offering one option.”

“But we don’t know the first thing about using this thing, and in the time it takes for us to figure it out, Caleb could come looking for us, and –”

“But if we do figure it out, we could defend ourselves –”

“Alex, again, I don’t know how to use this,” Willie starts, and it’s looking like he is going to tell him to give up on this idea, and Alex’s heart seizes with fear –

“If you go back right now, Caleb will know you lied!”

There is a short silence following his outburst, and Alex wants to retreat back into himself. His heart is beating wildly as he eyes his friends’ reactions, feeling exposed as he watches their expressions soften with understanding.

“Hot dog,” Willie says, gently, “I’m going to be fine.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I know what I signed up for. Fact is, if we want Caleb to release me and Nick, we’re going to have to face him at some point.”

“I know, but…” Alex closes his eyes, tries to explain the way his thoughts are rattling inside his brain. “You just went to lie to his face. If you tell him we want to talk to him right now, he’ll know you’ve been in contact with us and that none of what you said was true. And then what will happen to you?”

Willie presses his lips together, looking worried – Alex is willing to bet Willie is more worried about Alex’s reaction than his actual words, though, and he knows it should settle his anxiety to know that Willie, who has more knowledge on all things related to Caleb, seems less afraid of what might happen than he does, but it’s hard to relax when he also knows that Willie has fully decided to commit to their safety over his own.

“He doesn’t have to know.”

Alex tears his eyes away from Willie to Luke, across the table, who looks back at him with half-raised eyebrows.

“What do you mean?”

“Caleb. He doesn’t have to know that Willie was working with us. Willie can just say that we contacted him on our own just now to set a meeting because he’s our closest link to him. That way he’s in the clear, and if the deal works then by the time he realizes Willie is lying it’ll be too late, we’ll be in the process of bargaining for his soul back.”

Alex feels his forehead crease as he takes it in. “You think he’ll buy that?”

“I think he wants us bad enough to be willing to take the meeting even if he suspects something,” Luke answers. “Whether or not he believes Willie, he’ll want to deal with him afterwards, so we just have to make sure he can’t.”

That… is a good point. But Alex isn’t sure he is willing to gamble Willie’s safety on that chance alone.

“Look, this is dangerous,” Julie says slowly. “Caleb already almost took you guys away once, and I’m just worried that if we’re not careful, he might – he might –”

She breaks off, and Alex’s heart breaks, because she’s scared, she’s really scared, and he’s scared too, and if even Willie can’t be sure of what they’re dealing with then what chance do they have, and –

“Okay, timeout, please.”

They all whirl around to look at Flynn, who in turn is switching between looking at Julie and glancing around the room, trying to figure out where they all are, worry in her eyes. She smiles when she sees Julie looking back at her, but it looks strained.

“Hi. Lifer friend here,” she says, raising a hand. “Uh, what’s going on?”

Oh. Alex sees Julie’s face fall guiltily, feels that same guilt curl in his stomach. They’re usually better at keeping her in the loop when the ghosts aren’t visible, but Alex got so caught up in worry for Willie and desperation to get the others to consider his alternative that it slipped his mind this time.

“Sorry,” he says. “Julie, can you tell her I’m sorry?”

She does, and in the time it takes for her to fill Flynn in, Alex can feel his nerves start to settle – and sees it reflected in his friends’ stances. By the time Flynn is caught up, he thinks they’re all thinking about this with a little clearer state of mind.

“Huh,” Flynn says, nodding pensively. “That’s actually not as stupid as I was expecting.”

“Hey!” Alex protests.

“And before your ghost gets offended, keep in mind that I could only hear part of that conversation.”

Alex can’t help but smile at that. He loves Flynn, loves that she knows them well enough to be able to anticipate what they will say even when she can’t hear them.

“So you agree with him then?” Julie asks. “You think we should keep that thing for ourselves?”

Flynn presses her lips together. “I think,” she says eventually, “it should be up to Willie.”

Willie blinks, looking at her in surprise. Alex feels a sharp shard of emotion go through his chest – a little bit of that same surprise, because that hadn’t been what he expected Flynn to say; guilt, feeling inadequate as Willie’s… something, that he wasn’t the one to put Willie’s feelings on this whole thing first; and more significantly, something almost like heartbreak at how stunned Willie looks at the simple prospect of being the one to make the final call on this decision. He wonders how long it has been since Willie has heard someone say the choice should be up to him.

Alex tries to swallow around all these feelings and the way they’re catching in his throat. “Yeah,” he manages, his voice rough. “She’s right. It should be your call.”

He hates this, hates this, because he knows that Willie isn’t going to take into account how badly this could go for him if he thinks it will benefit the group. But he also knows that despite that, this should be Willie’s decision; he is the one more at risk, he is the one who has been living in this world the longest and knows its rules the most, and he is the one who knows Caleb best.

Willie wraps his arms around himself, his thumb circling the inside of his wrist soothingly. Alex resists the urge to grab his hand and do it himself.

“The plan was always to find leverage to free me and Nick,” he says finally. “Not to take on Caleb ourselves.” He glances down at the purple ball. “And this is more than enough leverage.”

He turns his gaze to Alex, apologetic, and Alex forces himself not to look away; he doesn’t want Willie to interpret it the wrong way, to think Alex is angry with him for not going with his plan when really he feels like his heart is shattering at the thought of the danger Willie is about to walk into. So he keeps looking, tries to smile, hopes that the utter devastation he is feeling isn’t reflected in his eyes.

“If we had more time,” Willie continues, “if we could learn how to use this against him, it would be different, but – he’s going to notice it’s missing really quickly, and when he does he’ll come straight here. We need to use the element of surprise while we still can. It’s the best chance we’ve got.”

Alex lets out a slow breath.

“He might not figure out we have it right away,” he tries, a last-ditch effort. “I don’t know, I’m willing to believe he’s pissed off more people than just us.”

Luke makes a considering noise, but Alex doesn’t dwell on it. He knows he’s lost. Willie smiles at him sadly, shaking his head.

“It’s not worth the risk. The plan was always to use what we found as a bargaining chip. I think that’s the plan we should stick with. It’s the safer play for all of us.”

“Including you?” Alex checks.

“Including me. It’s like Luke said. I think there is a pretty big chance that even if Caleb suspects something, he’ll want to see how this plays out before he does anything about it.”

“What if he does find out that you lied to him?”

“If this goes well, by the end of the day he won’t be able to do anything about it.”

Willie’s confidence seems to be enough for the others, but Alex doesn’t trust it – Willie can be very self-sacrificial when it comes to this group.

Willie notices.

“Alex,” he says, “I’ll be fine.”

“You keep saying that,” Alex says, hating the way his voice breaks.

Willie smiles, heartbreakingly sincere. “And I keep coming back, don’t I?”

He does. And every time, Alex is left wondering if this was the last. If Willie’s luck is finally about to run out, if this is when Caleb runs out of patience. But if he is right, if this goes well, after today, he won’t have to worry ever again.

(He will probably worry anyway.)

Alex lets out a breath. It’s the most difficult thing in the world, but he manages to force himself to nod, the movement jerky.

“Okay.” He meets Willie’s gaze, sees the surprise reflected in his eyes at his relenting, and huffs out something that sounds almost like a laugh. “You better go. Before I change my mind.”

Willie smiles, small and nervous but bright as ever, and Alex loves him. The feeling sits in his chest, familiar and warm and just a little heartbreaking. Willie smiles, and Alex loves him.

Alex follows him out of the garage, trying to keep him in his sights as long as possible, and Willie smiles at him again when they make it outside. It’s softer now, less uncertain, and it makes Alex’s heart twinge inside his chest.

“I’ll be right back,” he promises.

He starts to turn, starts to leave, and Alex’s hand shoots out, snagging Willie’s.

“Wait,” he breathes.

He pulls Willie closer with a tug of the hand, then reaches out, cradling his face in both hands. Willie looks at him, his eyes staring into Alex’s, and Alex rests his forehead against his.

His thumb caresses Willie’s cheek, softly. Willie leans into it, and Alex breathes.

“You’re coming back,” he says.

It’s a fact, not a request, but Willie nods anyway, his forehead brushing against Alex’s, and brings his hands to cup the back of Alex’s neck. For a moment, it’s like they are the only two people in the world, holding each other, a breath from each other.

Alex kisses him.

He’s never actually kissed anyone before, so he’s not entirely sure what to expect, but Willie gasps softly into it, and kisses him back, slowly, and Alex’s eyes slip closed of their own accord. He feels one of Willie’s hands move to his hair, the other still resting on the back of his neck, thumb gently smoothing a spot behind his ear, and it’s kind of the best thing Alex has ever felt.

Alex frames Willie’s face in his hands and kisses him, kisses him, kisses him.

They remain close after they pull away, foreheads rested together. Alex breathes out, cupping Willie’s cheek, and opens his eyes. Willie’s open a moment later, and for a moment they just look at each other. Willie smiles. Alex smiles back.

He lets go after a moment, moves back, because he thinks if he keeps holding Willie for much longer he might never be able to let him go.

“Catch you later, skater boy.”

Willie smiles, vulnerable and so, so bright, and Alex loves him.

He brings one of Alex’s hands to his lips, drops a quick kiss there, and lets go.

“Catch you later,” he echoes.

And then he’s gone.

Alex lets out a slow breath, the full weight of what just happened making him stumble as he moves to go back inside the studio. He sits on the couch and Julie joins him a moment later, her hand hovering over his in an attempt to give him some comfort when they can’t touch.

“You okay?”

“I kissed Willie.”

Three heads whip around to look at him. “What?”

“I kissed Willie,” Alex repeats, and then it’s like it hits him for the first time. “Oh my god. I kissed Willie.”

He kissed Willie. And Willie kissed him back. Willie told him he was coming back. To him. Willie kissed his hand –

Alex feels his cheeks heat up, and even after all this time he can still be annoyed by the fact that this shouldn’t be possible, especially when Reggie notices and grins.

“Oh my god, you’re blushing! I don’t think I’ve ever seen you blush.”

“Shut up,” Alex mutters.

“Hey, I’m just happy for you, man,” Reggie says, clapping him on the back. “It’s about time.”

“What he said,” Luke grins. “Congrats on finally making it happen.”

Julie just smiles, shaking her head lightly. “Only you, Alex. Only you could manage to convince yourself that the guy you’ve been practically dating for weeks actually isn’t into you, only to make a move and kiss him just as we’re about to face off with a super-powerful ghost who wants to end us all.”

Alex huffs out a laugh. “Thanks.”

“Alex and Willie kissed?” Flynn yelps. “Finally!”

“That’s what I’m saying!” Reggie exclaims, grinning at her.

Alex ignores them, glancing back at the entrance where he last saw Willie and resisting the urge to touch his lips. He does not want to deal with his friends’ reactions if they were to see him do that.

Julie meets his gaze and smiles, small and soft. “I’m really happy for you, Alex,” she says. “You and Willie, you deserve everything you want.”

Alex lets out a slow breath. Because that’s just it, isn’t it? He wants so much with Willie. He wants to kiss him again. He wants to take him out on dates. He wants to hug him in front of all their friends and listen to them tease them relentlessly. He wants to tell him he loves him. He wants Willie, with him, by his side, safe and sound.

All of that is so close, almost within reach. If they are able to deal with Caleb and all goes well, after today Willie won’t have to worry about him ever again. Alex wants that so desperately he is terrified. Being hopeful – being allowed to be hopeful, being given hope – he realizes, might be the scariest thing of all.

He is so scared. He has so much to lose.

They are so close to being rid of Caleb for good. He doesn’t think he will be able to take it if this goes wrong.

He knows the others feel it too. Flynn and Reggie have reconvened to a corner to talk in hushed voices, too quiet for him to hear, but Luke isn’t moving, only twisting the rings on his fingers with an intensity he probably isn’t aware of, jaw set and gaze stuck to the floor. And Julie – Julie is next to him still, her small smile still in place despite the worry clouding her eyes.

“Yeah,” he says, voice rough and a beat too late. “Thanks.”

She nods, lips pressing together, and bumps their shoulders together softly. Actually bumps them, not slipping through him, and Alex feels some of his nerves relax just a fraction. Facing Caleb seems just the little bit more surmountable with the knowledge that Julie truly is by his side.

“Alright,” Julie says after a minute, her voice ringing clearly in the heavy silence. “Band circle.”

Her words seem to rouse them from the tense atmosphere and they all get to their feet, meeting next to the coffee table where Caleb’s sphere is still hovering. Flynn hangs back, hesitating, but Reggie gestures for her to follow and she does.

“Okay,” Julie says, looking between all of them. “We got this.”

She extends her hands; Alex, standing to her left, takes one immediately, seeing Flynn do the same on her other side. They all follow through, the five of them joining hands – Flynn rests her right hand palm down over Luke’s left, palm up – and for a moment they just breathe.

“We got this,” Luke repeats.

There isn’t much else to say. They all know the plan, risky and hastily made as it may be, and Willie left a few minutes ago already so Caleb should be here any moment. Alex feels nervous; he wants to ask if they are nervous too, but he thinks that probably won’t help.

“We’re going to be okay,” Luke adds, so maybe Alex didn’t need to say it after all. “We’re all going to be okay.”

“Including Willie,” Julie says, catching Alex’s eye.

“Yeah,” Reggie says. “We’re not giving up until we’re all safe.”

Alex nods, takes a deep breath. There still isn’t much to say. There isn’t anything left to say, really, except: “I love you guys.”

Reggie’s hand tightens around his. Julie offers him a taut smile. The anticipation hangs heavily in the air around them, like a weight over Alex’s chest, and he takes a deep breath. There is nothing else to do but wait, and he thinks to himself, as he releases his breath, that he is glad these are the people he’s facing this with.

With a final squeeze, Julie lets go of their hands, and everyone follows suit again.

“Flynn,” Luke says then, “if you want to go, you should go now. Caleb won’t be long.”

Flynn’s eyes shoot over to him. She looks stunned.

“Why would I go?”

“You’re the only one Caleb doesn’t know about,” Luke explains, which, shit, he’s right, Alex hadn’t even thought of that. “If you want to keep it that way, if you want to stay safe –”

“I’m staying here,” Flynn interrupts. “With you guys. We’re a team, right?”

Luke smiles, almost despite himself. “We’re a team.”

And then there is a whooshing sound behind them, and when Alex turns around Nick is standing there, in their studio, his gaze cold as he takes in the scene before him.

Alex’s eyes seek out Willie immediately, and to his relief he finds him there, standing behind Nick looking berated; he still manages a strained smile when their eyes meet, though, and Alex feels something like courage thrum through his veins.

The relief doesn’t last long, however, when he turns his gaze back to the primary threat in the room.

Nick stands in the middle of the room, smiling pleasantly at them, but the expression marring his face doesn’t look like his own – because it’s not, obviously. Now that Alex knows the truth, it’s easy to recognize Caleb’s coldness in his eyes as they rove over the group, and the edge of his mouth curls unpleasantly when they land on Julie.

On instinct, Alex moves to stand in front of her, feeling more than seeing Luke and Reggie do the same. Julie lays a placating hand on his arm, though, and raises her head to meet Nick’s gaze head on.

“Hi, Caleb,” she says, her voice only wavering a little.

Caleb’s smile deepens, splitting Nick’s face even more unnaturally than before.

“Hello, Julie. It’s nice to finally meet you.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Alex sees Luke’s grip on Julie’s hand tighten.

“So,” Caleb continues after a moment, and Alex has to stop himself from flinching at that single word, “William here tells me you have something for me.”

With a start Alex’s eyes dart to the coffee table, where the purple orb would be in plain sight, only to find it missing. He has time to panic for a split-second that Caleb somehow found a way to get his hands on it already and that they’re doomed, before Flynn catches his eye and subtly taps her jacket pocket. Alex exhales shakily, the wave of relief he feels almost knocking him a step back.

Once again, though, it’s short-lived.

“Well?” Caleb asks.

Alex watches as Julie swallows, visibly steeling herself before she takes a step forward.

“We’d like to make a deal.”

One of Caleb-Nick’s eyebrows arches up slightly, and he takes a step forward of his own. Watching him get closer to Julie makes Alex want to run for the hills will all his friends in tow, and based on the look on her face Julie feels the same way, but she stands her ground.

“Is that so?”

Julie shoots a glance at Flynn, who nods and puts a hand in her pocket, drawing it back slowly with her fingers curled around the purple little ball. Reggie takes a minute step closer to her, while Caleb-Nick’s expression goes slack, his eyes widening. He starts towards Flynn, but Alex, Luke and Julie move as if one, stepping in front of her and blocking his way, Julie throwing her arms out protectively.

All of this takes place in the space of a second, and Caleb recovers quickly, smoothing Nick’s expression into a blank canvas at odds with the cold fury in his eyes. But that second was enough – it was enough for Caleb’s countenance to falter, for him to give away that this innocuous little purple ball meant something to him, and that with it they just might have enough bargaining power to make it through this unscathed.

“So,” Luke says haltingly, sounding for all accounts and purposes like he is completely sure of himself if not for the flicker of a tremor in his voice, “this is important to you, then.”

“How did you kids get your hands on this?”

Caleb starts to turn to Willie, but Luke speaks up again before he gets around to fully looking at him.

“You know, if you want to keep your things hidden you might want to not leave them out in the open for a couple of ghosts to stumble upon when they’re snooping through your dressing room,” he says, still all bravado, and Julie shoots him a look as if to tell him to thread more carefully.

“Do you kids have any idea what you are holding onto there?”

“We know it’s the source of your power,” Alex says, surprising even himself when he hears the sound of his own voice speaking up. Willie materializes next to Alex, and his hand finds his, latching onto it and holding on for dear life. Caleb’s eyes linger on their hands and his lip curls menacingly, but Willie doesn’t let go. Alex doesn’t either. “We know that all your magic is concentrated in it, and that the longer we hold on to it the weaker you will become. We know that if we were to destroy it, you would lose everything.” They don’t actually know how to destroy it, but Caleb doesn’t need to know that.

Caleb’s expression is unwavering, and he looks almost bored. But he has also gone very, very still, and it occurs to Alex suddenly that a Caleb with something to lose might be a deadlier Caleb than they’ve ever known.

“Listen, now –” he starts.

“We’re not actually planning on doing that,” Alex interrupts.

“We don’t want to fight you,” Julie continues. “We’re not interested in using it in a power play against you. We’re willing to hand it over to you right here, right now.”

Alex knows she is scared – they are all scared – but there is no trace of it right now as she speaks. She sounds certain, grounded. And Caleb is listening. She was right, then, Alex realizes – for the first time since this mess started, they have the upper hand. They have something Caleb wants, and he is willing to hear them out if there is a chance he can get it without a fight.

“All we ask for in return is that you release Nick and that you leave us alone, forever. That includes the five of us here, and Willie.”

Caleb’s eyes settle onto Willie, cold and utterly furious, and Alex tightens his hold on Willie’s hand.

Caleb’s voice is all but pleasant, though, when he speaks, factual and almost unconcerned.

“Well, unfortunately there might be an issue with William’s case. With our current arrangement, ‘leaving him alone’ is quite literally impossible. He signed his soul off to me. Simply put, I own him.”

“So release him,” Flynn says fiercely. It’s the first time she has spoken in Caleb’s presence, and his eyes flash dangerously as they whip to her, his mask of calm slipping when they land on the girl holding the source of his power. Her stares icily at her, and she shudders, but she doesn’t back down. “Give him his soul back. Set him free.”

Caleb shakes his head, a condescending smile on his lips. “It is not that simple. The soul business is tricky. His is currently bound to me, and unbinding it will take effort.”

“Figure it out,” Alex snaps. Willie’s hand tightens around his briefly, like a spasm, and Alex strokes his thumb across the back of his knuckles soothingly.

“No Willie, no strange purple ball for you,” Reggie chimes in.

For a beat, no one says anything, and Alex waits with bated breath for someone to break. The moment feels suspended in time; he doesn’t think anyone is even moving. All he can do is keep a hold on Willie’s hand, eyes on Caleb as he waits for his next move.

“You release Nick,” Julie reiterates after a long pause. “You release Willie. And you stop going after everyone standing in this room, for good.”

“That includes possessing people to get close to us,” Luke adds, and oh, Alex hadn’t even thought of that. “We’re talking friends, families, classmates. They’re all off-limits.”

“You swear to leave all of us alone,” Julie says. “And we hand your strange purple ball back to you right now.”

Alex has his eyes on Caleb’s face, terrified that if he looks away Caleb will choose that moment to strike. But Caleb doesn’t move, his face impassive as he keeps looking at Julie. Alex feels Willie’s fingers tighten around his.

Then Caleb’s stance relaxes, and he smiles.

“You drive a hard bargain, miss Molina.”

“Not that hard,” Julie says haltingly. “You get your power, and in exchange you leave seven people out of your reign of terror.”

A beat, then:

“We have a deal.”

Julie stumbles. “We – we do?”

Caleb’s eyes glint dangerously, and Alex holds no illusions that he is happy with this outcome. But he tips his head forward, a gesture that looks far too formal on Nick’s teenage body, and takes a step back.

“We do.”

Alex feels himself exhale a shaky breath, hit with a wave of relief so strong he feels lightheaded.

It worked. It actually worked.

“Wait,” Willie starts, letting go of Alex’s hand, “aren’t you supposed to –”

Whatever he was going to say, it is lost in the sudden commotion that follows; Caleb-Nick takes a step back, arms ahead of him as if to brace himself, opens his mouth, and with a shudder, seems to exhale some kind of purple smoke. Alex feels himself take a step back. The smoke thickens, obscuring Nick from view, and when it clears, Nick is on the ground, his eyes closed, and Caleb – real-Caleb, the Caleb Alex met at the Hollywood Ghost Club – stands above him, looking so menacing Alex flinches back.

“Nick!” Julie yelps.

She moves as if to go to him, only to be held back by Luke bracing a hand on her shoulder. He jerks his head in Caleb’s direction, and she follows his gaze, her eyes widening and her posture stiffening as she meets the ghost’s gaze head on. Right, Julie and Flynn can see Caleb, then. That’s good. That’ll make things easier, considering Alex’s nerves are already so fried he doesn’t think he would be able to handle helping them navigate this situation blindly on top of everything else.

“What happened to him?” Julie asks, her voice wavering.

“He was possessed,” Caleb says with a dismissive wave of the hand. “It takes a toll on the body. He will be fine.” Julie looks like she wants to argue, but Caleb’s gaze shifts away from her and onto Flynn. “Now, about our exchange.”

“Wait,” Julie says, “how do we know Nick is going to be okay?”

Caleb’s face twists in annoyance, and Alex wants to tell her to be careful, but before he can get a word out Caleb lunges.

He makes a grab for Flynn, who shrieks and backs away, her grip loosening on the ball in her fright. Reggie makes to push her behind him, but his arm goes right through her, and all he does is put himself in Caleb’s path. Alex feels his heart jump to his throat as he jerks towards Reggie, and then it’s chaos.

It all happens fast; one second the room was standing in stilted shock as Caleb made his move, the next everyone is yelling and scrambling for each other. Alex’s mind goes blank with white-hot terror as he tumbles toward Reggie and Flynn, unable to focus on anything beyond getting to them before Caleb does. Someone is yelling his name – he thinks it might be Willie – and he trips over his own feet and everyone is running and his eyes land on Julie, Julie who – his heart drops.

In the midst of the commotion, Julie somehow finds herself right in front of Caleb. She’s all alone, backed into the piano, and Alex distantly feels himself freeze, his body catching up to his terror-addled mind and unable to do anything but process the scene in front of him. Julie stumbles backwards; Flynn is screaming and Luke is running to her and Julie’s face is twisted in fear as her back hits the piano. Caleb looms closer and Luke isn’t going to get to her in time and Alex is just remembering how to unlock his limbs and jerk forwards when Caleb draws an arm out, reaching for her -

-and then, suddenly, falters.

Caleb takes a step back, an uncomfortable look on his face. Luke appears at Julie’s side, looking ready to strike Caleb himself, and Alex barely has time to feel extra terrified for what will happen to both his friends on top of the general terror he already feels for all of them when he feels something grip his arm. It’s Willie, one hand clenching his arm urgently as he bursts out:

“The flowers! Julie, you – the flowers, use the flowers!”

“What are you – what are you talking about?” Alex says, his words jumbled.

“The flowers!” Julie is still staring at Caleb in terror and confusion, and Willie seems to realize she isn’t reacting to his words when his grip on Alex turns painful in its desperation. “Tell her to use the flowers!”

“Julie, use the flowers!” Alex yells, too spurred on by the urgency in Willie’s voice to properly think through his words. “Use the flowers!”

“What?”

“The flowers behind you!” Reggie yelps, pointing to the piano she is crowded against.

Looking bewildered, Julie turns and grabs the bouquet of dahlias sitting innocuously atop the piano. “Now what?” she asks, staring warily at Caleb over Luke’s shoulder, Luke having stepped in front of her when she had her back turned.

Caleb advances on her then, too fast for Luke to react, and Alex can only watch with Flynn’s scream ringing in his ears as he shoves the boy to the side. Julie shrieks as Caleb gets closer to her and she flings the dahlias in his direction. It’s more of a knee-jerk reaction than a thought-out plan, Alex can tell, and predictably the bouquet flies straight through Caleb – but then Caleb falters again, stepping back, and Alex watches in dazed awe as he almost seems to flicker.

Everyone stands frozen, unsure what just happened or how to react, except for Willie who springs into action. One moment he is holding onto Alex, the next he has poofed to pick up the flowers, flashing over to Julie and shoving them back in her hands before anyone has a chance to recover. She takes them, looking dumbfounded.

“Willie?” she calls. “What is this?”

Caleb regains his composure then, standing up straighter and looking thunderous, although he doesn’t attempt to get closer. Julie straightens up herself, brandishing the bouquet of dahlias in his direction in a way Alex might find absurd if not for the wariness in Caleb’s face as he eyes her.

“What is this?” Julie repeats, addressing Caleb this time. “Why is this affecting you?”

Caleb regards her, and for a beat the moment stretches out, all the previous agitation gone into a tension that hangs heavily in the air.

Then Caleb’s entire stance relaxes. Alex and everyone else in the room is very much aware that it’s all for show, but outwardly at least, Caleb leans back, eyeing Julie and her dahlias appraisingly, and nods.

“Very well,” he says. “What were the terms of the deal? I release the Danforth-Evans boy and William here, and in exchange you hand me my power back?”

Julie shifts uncertainly, thrown by the sudden turn of events; Alex moves to stand at her side, and adds: “And you leave us alone from here on out. Those are the terms.”

Caleb glowers at him, but his smile stays in place. “Fine. You have yourselves a deal.”

Luke scoffs, and Julie raises a skeptical eyebrow, not looking impressed. “Do we?” she asks. “Because you just tried to attack us not a minute ago.”

Caleb waves her away impatiently. “The deal hasn’t been set. You can’t blame me for attempting to take back what is mine when I saw a chance.”

Alex thinks that they actually very much can blame him for that, but he doesn’t get the chance to say so. Firstly because he is still very much terrified of Caleb and what would happen if he did, and secondly because Julie gets stuck on another part of what Caleb said.

“What do you mean, the deal hasn’t been set? We agreed on the terms, what else do you need?”

“You’re supposed to shake on it,” Willie calls out, his voice ragged. “That’s what seals the deal.”

Caleb sends him a withering look, and Alex really, really hope Willie will be out of the ghost’s reach by the end of this.

“William is right,” is all Caleb says. “We need to shake hands for the deal to be set.”

Set in what? Alex wonders. But it doesn’t seem to matter, because Caleb approaches Julie – differently than he did before, with a sort of wariness to him; maybe even a hint of respect.

Whatever it is, it seems to be pushing him to take this deal – to take them – seriously, so Alex decides not to question it just yet. He’ll wait for them to be in the clear for it.

Julie seems to be of the same mind, because she steps forward as well, albeit slower. She still doesn’t trust that Caleb isn’t about to pull one over them, which, fair. Alex isn’t convinced of it either.

But she extends a hand nonetheless, and Alex watches, holding his breath, as Caleb reaches out, his hand very much solid as it clasps Julie’s and shakes it slowly.

“It’s a deal,” Caleb says. “You and your friends in this room are free from my reach.”

Julie swallows. “Good.”

She pulls her hand away and steps back, briefly looking around the room as if to check that all of them are still there, still safe. Alex is struck by the weight of this moment. After everything, after all the pain and the terror, the nightmare is over. They’re free.

“Now,” Caleb says, and Julie refocuses on him. “Our exchange?”

Julie glances back at Flynn, who has moved to stand behind her; a nod, and Flynn reaches inside her pocket and retrieves the purple ball, placing it carefully in Julie’s hand. Julie’s fingers claps it tightly and she turns back to Caleb, who extends a hand expectantly.

Julie hesitates.

Caleb clicks his tongue. “We have a deal, miss Molina.”

“How are we supposed to trust that you’re not going to try and break the terms of our deal again the first chance you get?” she points out, her voice wavering.

Alex expects a furious response, but all Caleb does is wave a hand – the hand that isn’t still extended towards Julie – impatiently.

Nothing happens for a beat, then –

Willie gasps.

“Willie?” Alex is by his side in an instant, hands gripping his shoulders anxiously. “Willie, what is it?”

But Willie isn’t looking at him. Instead his hand clutches at his chest, an expression of wonder across his face.

“My – my soul,” he whispers. “It’s mine. It’s mine.”

Alex’s heart skips a beat when his words register. Willie meets his gaze, tears in his eyes, and something settles in Alex’s chest, something heavy and solid that has him clutching onto Willie more tightly than he thinks he ever has. Right now, nothing matters expect for the look on Willie’s face.

“Alex?” It’s Flynn, sounding fearful. “Alex, what’s wrong with Willie?”

“He’s… he’s…” The words get caught in his throat, and Alex can’t speak. He can barely breathe, staring at Willie in wonder. His hand comes to stroke his face, awed. He’s free. Willie is free. After all this time, he is out of Caleb’s grip.

He whips back towards Caleb. “Is this for good? Or is it temporary?”

“It’s for good,” Caleb answers, not looking entirely pleased about it. “William’s soul is no longer tied to the Hollywood Ghost Club.”

All they have is his word, but right now, seeing the look of pure joy in Willie’s eyes, Alex is inclined to believe it. He grips Willie’s hand, and Willie squeezes back just as hard, smiling tearfully at him.

“Willie’s free?” Flynn asks, her voice trembling a little.

“He is,” Caleb confirms. Alex feels so overwhelmed he could collapse, but Caleb’s presence still has him too keyed up to truly give in to the feeling. “Now, miss Molina,” Caleb adds, a sharp edge to his voice.

Julie nods, still a little shaky, but she makes herself stand tall, meeting Caleb’s gaze, and slowly lowers the purple ball in his open palm.

“You leave us alone from now on,” she reiterates.

“Those are the terms,” Caleb agrees.

Julie nods, and lets go.

Immediately Caleb stashes it into an inner pocket of his coat, out of their reach. Alex feels the tension in the room hike up more than a few notches – either the deal will hold now, or, with nothing to lose, Caleb will strike.

Caleb slowly draws his hand out of his jacket.

“I may have underestimated you, miss Molina,” he says levelly.

Julie looks away from him for a moment, taking in the other people in the room. Luke at her side, Flynn and Reggie just a step behind her, Alex and Willie to her left still holding onto each other.

“It was a team effort,” she says.

Caleb nods, looking deep in thought. Then, with a parting tip of his hat, he disappears in a bright flash of light, and he’s gone.

*

It’s like Caleb’s departure took all the stress and tension with it. At once the six of them collapse, the wave of relief hitting them so hard it doesn’t seem real. Alex feels light-headed with it; he never let go of Willie, and he takes the opportunity to pull him in a bone-crushing hug.

“It’s over,” he whispers. “It’s over, you’re free –”

“Alex,” Willie chokes out. He is crying, hands coming up to frame his face. He is the most beautiful person Alex has ever seen.

Alex presses a bruising kiss to his temple. Willie just hugs him tighter.

It takes him a second to be able to look beyond the bubble of him and Willie, and when he does, it’s to find his friends in a similar state.

“Willie,” Flynn says. “Is Willie okay?”

“I’m okay.”

“He’s okay,” Reggie repeats, and Flynn sags in relief, her hold on Julie tightening to the point Alex sees the other girl wince. She doesn’t tell her to let go though, just brings her free hand to clutch at her best friend’s arm and holds on. Her other she keeps in Luke’s, her thumb smoothing the back of his knuckles like she needs to feel him to ground herself.

Alex is much of the same; he holds onto Willie with all that he’s got, his gaze roaming over the room, over his friends.

I love you all, he thinks feverishly. I love you, I love you, I’m so glad you’re all okay, we’re okay, I love you.

None of them moves for a long time, long enough for Julie’s grip to slip through Luke’s hand and for Flynn’s gaze to become unfocused when she searches for them. It’s a low moan that eventually gets them to rise, one coming from outside their little group.

“Julie? Flynn?” Nick groans from across the room, painfully pulling himself up into a sitting position. “… Julie’s band?”

There is a short, stunned silence as they all look at each other, taking in what this means.

“Oh, shit,” Luke finally says, and yeah, that about covers it.

*

“So, I have some questions about what happened earlier,” Julie says that evening.

Flynn snorts. “Just some?”

It’s been an exhausting day. Just the showdown with Caleb would have been enough to knock Alex out for a week – several weeks – but they’ve spent the last couple of hours bringing Nick up to speed, and dredging up their history with Caleb has been draining. And now there is the whole of the possession’s side-effects to wade through. Nick has been a surprisingly good sport about it all, but even Willie isn’t sure whether his seeing of ghosts is permanent or not, and Nick is very visibly shaken about the whole thing.

Nick has just left, though, eager to go back to the familiarity of his home and to see his dads – although Alex will be very surprised if he makes it through the night without taking Julie or Flynn up on their promise to only be one call away should he ever need to talk through this more, whether that be more explanations on ghosts or demons from his ordeal. It’s probably going to take him a long time to recover from this. Alex feels for him.

Now that he is gone, though, they can focus on everything else that happened today.

“What happened, exactly?” Julie asks. “With the flowers? How did you know that would work?”

Willie shifts, only minutely, but he’s so close Alex still feels it. That’s another thing that is taking a toll: what with, well, everything, Alex and Willie haven’t gotten a minute alone to talk yet, and it is slowly but surely chipping away at Alex’s sanity. Willie’s arm tightly pressed against his on the couch right now is helping, though.

“I didn’t know for sure,” Willie says. “I just hoped it would.” He pauses, leans against Alex a little more. Alex does his best to focus on his words and not just the timbre of his voice. “There have been some cases where, in the right hands, specific flowers can act as protection against vengeful spirits.”

“The right hands?”

“You know. People who can wield magic.”

Julie stares, dumbfounded, when she hears. “But I don’t have magic.”

Flynn laughs outright at that. “Uh, hello? Ghost band that becomes visible when you play with them? That you summoned back to you from Caleb’s club?”

Julie shakes her head, still looking floored. “But that wasn’t me. That was the music.”

“The music we were playing with you,” Reggie points out.

“We weren’t playing music when you saved us from the jolts,” Luke adds, meaningfully.

Julie looks between all of them, and it’s then, when he sees the disbelief in her eyes, that it dawns on Alex that she doesn’t know what has become clear to all of them.

“You’re the reason Caleb wasn’t able to hold onto us that night, Julie,” he says softly. “Flynn is right. It was you who pulled us out of the club. You’re the one who saved us.”

Alex watches as the realization sinks in, as Julie’s eyes go misty and she brings a hand to rest heavily against her heart.

“And dahlias – dahlias are some of these flowers that can offer protection?” she asks, her voice rough.

She’s looking at Alex, and it’s with a start that Alex realizes she is asking Willie.

Willie just nods, like he can feel the weight of what this moment means for Julie – Julie, whose lower lip trembles when Alex nods in answer to her question.

“Dahlias were my mom’s favorite.”

Her voice is quiet, hushed, when she says it, and it almost sounds like a question. Alex wishes he had the answer for her, wishes that he knew what the connection is between them and her and her mom, wishes that he were solid right now so that he could give her a hug.

Flynn, thankfully, covers that part, and Julie’s eyes close as she holds onto her tightly.

“Maybe this was meant to be,” she says, still rubbing circles into Julie’s back. “Remember when we found that Sunset Curve t-shirt with your mother’s things? Maybe she’s the one who’s been saving you all along. First by sending you these guys –” she swings her head vaguely around the room then, looking fond, “– then by giving you the tools to fight evil ghosts. You know, should the need ever arise.”

“She must have been quite the visionary, to see this coming,” Julie says, her voice only shaking a little, and Alex sees Flynn hold onto her just that little bit tighter.

There is a lot to unpack there, but Luke seems to have caught another part of Flynn’s statement.

“Wait,” he says, grinning like this is the best news he has heard all week, “your mom had a Sunset Curve t-shirt?”

“Your mom was a fan?” Reggie adds excitedly. “Do you think she came to our shows? Do you think we met her?

Julie pulls away from the hug, her eyes still a little red even as she rolls them playfully at the both of them.

“Ugh, what now?” Flynn says, smiling. “Did they say something dumb again?”

“I resent that,” Reggie grins, and Alex watches them, his chest swelling with affection.

It took dying for them to get here, for him to find this family, and the thing is, overall he would say it was worth it. It still feels unfair in moments like these though, when Flynn can’t hear them and therefore doesn’t get the chance to shoot a comeback he’s sure she would find up her sleeve, and he’s forcibly reminded of how different their situations are. Namely, that she is alive and he is not.

But it really is worth it, though. Because as he looks around the room and sees them, the five people he loves the most in the world, he knows down to the core of himself that this was meant to be. He was meant to know these people, to love them, just like they were meant to know and love him. They were separated by decades, and still not time, distance or even death could stop them from meeting.

So, yeah. Flynn might be onto something.

They do try to get back on track sometime after that and figure out the ins and outs of what happened today, but the thing is, they’ve known from the start that they are dealing with a lot of unknowns.

“I don’t completely know what to make of it,” Willie admits, when they get back to dahlias and flowers and Julie’s potential powers. “I haven’t heard much about it, and Caleb was my go-to person for magic before all this, but…”

“That’s okay,” Alex hastens to say. “There’s no rush to figure this out. We’ve got time, now. That’s what matters.”

He watches as his words blanket the room, all of them reacting as it hits them. Willie reaches over and takes his hand, smiling delicately. They’ve got time.

*

Later, Alex finds Willie sitting atop the studio’s roof.

“Hey,” he says, appearing next to him.

Willie smiles brightly. “Hey,” he answers.

Alex shuffles to make himself comfortable, folding a leg under himself and letting the other dangle loosely over the edge of the roof. Next to him, Willie is swinging his legs absently, eyes lost in the distance. Alex nudges him softly, and he turns his head to look at him, face immediately breaking into a smile again.

“What are you thinking about?”

Willie covers his hand with his, lacing their fingers together, and doesn’t answer right away.

“Everything that happened today, I guess,” he says eventually. He looks at Alex, eyes crinkling slightly. “Hell of a day, hot dog.”

“Hell of a day,” Alex agrees. He squeezes Willie’s hand. “But we’re okay.”

Willie’s smile turns smaller, softer. “We’re okay.”

He looks like he is working himself up to say something, and Alex lets him, running his thumb over the back of Willie’s knuckles as he does. It’s kind of thrilling, being able to touch him like this, to hold his hand and know it means as much to Willie as it does to him, but it’s also just kind of nice. It’s nice to be able to have this after everything they went through to get there.

Finally Willie squeezes his hand back, and, eyes trained on the horizon again, says: “I know I’ve said it already, but I’m really sorry. For everything.”

“And I’ve said, you have nothing to apologize for.”

“I’ve caused you so much trouble.”

“Willie, look at me.” He does, and Alex meets his gaze, does his best to impart just how much he means his next words. “None of that was your fault, okay? None of it. Besides, it’s all in the past. It’s over now, and we’re okay. We’re all okay.”

Willie nods, and his smile is lopsided when he says, “I’m still sorry.”

“And there is still no need to be. We’re okay. You’re okay.” He smiles, bringing his free hand up to brush Willie’s cheek. “That’s all that matters.”

Willie smiles back and he says, softer, “I’m really glad we’re okay.”

Alex grins. “Me too.”

He lets his hand fall away from Willie’s face and leans back, basking in the setting sun and Willie’s presence at his side and the feeling of surviving another day. Willie does the same, and Alex sneaks a look at him. He looks happy, content in a way Alex hasn’t seen on him before. Free. It’s a good look on him.

“So,” Alex says after a few moments, his voice light. “Any great plans for what’s to come now that you have your soul back?”

Willie laughs, loud and inhibited. Alex loves it. He loves him.

“Honestly?” Willie says. “I’m just happy to be here with you.”

Alex’s cheeks flame up, and he groans. “That was so cheesy.” He can’t quite stop himself from smiling, though.

“It’s the truth,” Willie grins. “I feel… I feel like I could do anything. And I can. I don’t remember the last time I felt like this.”

And, well, how is Alex supposed to not grin back at that?

“And yet you’re happy to just sit here with me?” he teases.

“Well, yeah,” Willie says as if it is obvious, and damn it, Alex is blushing even harder now.

“Oh,” he says, quieter than he means to. Willie squeezes his hand.

“I’m not really used to having options,” he says after a moment. “But I think I want to stick around here for a bit.” He tilts his head to look at Alex, smiles. “You want to help me figure the next part out?”

And Alex can only smile back, fond. “Of course I do.”

And with that he leans in, cups Willie’s cheek, and kisses him. They’re both smiling into it, so much so that he isn’t sure it’s that much of a kiss at all, but it’s good nonetheless, because Willie brings a hand to hold his waist, and Willie holds onto their joined hands like they’re anchoring him to this moment, and Willie kisses him slow and soft and steady like they have all the time in the world, and they do, and Alex loves him.

“I love you,” he says – breathes, really – when they break apart.

Willie grins. “And I thought I was the cheesy one.”

“You are,” Alex says. “But I still love you.”

Willie leans in, drops another kiss onto his lips, beams brighter than Alex has ever seen when he pulls away. “I love you too.”

Alex nods, his heart beating wildly inside his chest. “That’s good,” he says, his voice jumping half an octave; he is pretty sure his face is beet red right now.

Willie laughs, fond and so, so in love, and wraps an arm around his shoulders, pulling him into his side. Alex sinks into him easily. “Yeah,” he agrees, his voice light. “It really is.”

[lyxchen]

I think the asks im sending aren't getting to you because I also made a bunch of requests idk maybe you didn't see them :/

Hii, I did get three asks from you in the last few days (excluding this one) but I'm just really bad at answering them I'm sorry. Art request wise I only got one about willex, which I am definetly still drawing :3

[1mnobodywhoareyou]

emotional damage

willex | gen | 2,948 words

on ao3

thank you for hosting this event @jatpfebfanfest! it was great fun :D This is for the most lovely @floating-in-the-blue and I definitely experienced no crises writing for you <3 (she lies). I hope you like it! The greatest of thanks to @bbreaddog for beta-ing for me and @narcissusbrokenmirror for being my personal cheerleader! I appreciate you both so much!

“Ohhhh, look who it is Alex!” Luke teases as he catches sight of a familiar crew member helping them get set up for their show. 

Alex can feel the heat travel up his face to the tips of his ears. “Shut up!” he mumbles, trying to make sure his voice doesn’t carry across the stage. “I never should have told you.”

Alex crouches down to finish setting up his drum kit. 

“You should talk to him,” Luke insists as he unwraps a set of cables, laying them out as he goes.

“Not gonna happen.”

Alex feels an elbow rest on his shoulder and looks up to see Reggie grinning at him. 

“We talking about Alex’s favourite stage hand?” Reggie asks cheerily.

“No,” Alex grumbles at the same time as Luke excitedly exclaims, “Yes!”

Alex shoves Reggie off of him and returns to getting set up. He nods Reggie toward his own side of the stage, silently begging him to drop it. 

Reggie’s grin grows. He doesn’t move from his spot, calling back to Luke, “Hey Luke, how much you wanna bet that Alex can’t do it?”

Luke meets Reggie’s gaze and a grin of his own spreads across his face, “You’re on!”

“Terms?”

Alex interrupts them, voice laden with frustration, “Can you two not?” 

Both Reggie and Luke turn their most exaggerated innocent expressions on him.

“Not what?” Luke asks.

“Can you not make my personal life the center of your amusement?”

“That’s not… that’s not what we’re doing!” Reggie cries defensively. 

Alex raises an eyebrow, “really?”

“Really! We just want to see you happy.” 

“I AM happy,” Alex insists.

“Yeah but you could be happy AND have arm candy and someone to smash faces with.” Reggie’s grin is back as he finally leaves Alex to go finish his own set up. 

Alex rolls his eyes, “You’re ridiculous.”

“Guilty as charged!” Luke exclaims shamelessly before sending a dramatic wink Alex’s way.

Alex sighs as he turns back to his drum kit to ensure they’re set up properly for sound check. He doesn’t miss Luke’s exaggerated whisper to Reggie, “Loser buys pizza.”

“Mmmmm, free pizza! The best kind,” Reggie enthuses before returning to his bass.

“It’s rude of you to think I can’t do it!” Alex shouts back at Reggie and he’s simply met with Reggie’s signature shit-eating grin. 

“Prove me wrong!”

And Alex tries. He really, really does. He works himself up to leaving the green room and makes it halfway down the hall before he has to circle back. His second attempt has him almost all the way to the stage wings before he’s again fleeing to safety. Before he knows it, his time is up and they’re called to the stage. 

He gives it his all for their performance, the way he always does. If he maybe plays a little harder and sings a little louder, knowing that the person occupying so many of his thoughts is in the building and might be able to hear them, well then that’s for him to know and him alone. Though the knowing glances that both Luke and Reggie direct his way cause his face to flush. Maybe his thoughts are a bit louder than they should be. 

He doesn’t even know this guy’s name, it’s unfair that he’s completely taken over Alex’s thoughts.

Alex finds that after finishing their set, he doesn’t have the opportunity to even think about finding the stage hand. Between taking things down and interacting with fans, he completely loses his grasp on time. Before he knows it, Luke and Reggie are steering him toward their van.

“I WIN!” Reggie cheers and Luke sends a wry look Reggie’s way.

“You never set a time limit,” Luke pointedly reminds him. Reggie’s eyes widen, his face immediately falling into a pout.

Alex’s own expression brightens as he remembers their exchange. “YOU’RE RIGHT! You didn’t!” Alex claps Luke on the back excitedly. “Thanks, buddy!”

Luke grins, “Welcome! You still have to do it eventually though.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Alex grumbles as he starts the van. He’s the only one of the trio that can be trusted behind the wheel, as hard as Luke and Reggie might try to continue to convince Alex otherwise. How they managed to get their licenses, Alex will never know. “Where we going?” he asks.

“I still want pizza,” Reggie mumbles as he buckles himself up. 

Alex turns to Luke, “What’s the band account balance say?” 

Luke reaches down and digs out their cash jar, shaking it sadly.

“Not happening, buds. Unless one of you wants to treat,” he replies. What little they do have and keep in their individual accounts is normally reserved for emergency emotional support (or making bets at the expense of their friends), not impulsive pizza runs.

“Cup noodles it is,” Alex says as he steers the van toward home, grateful for the lack of traffic at this time of night. 

He doesn’t miss the way Reggie’s face falls as he glances in the rearview mirror. His heart shatters thinking about how often he’s seen that expression. Reggie might be good at hiding his feelings behind a goofy grin most of the time but Alex knows him and has learned to see through some of the cracks. The same way they have for him.

Alex takes a deep breath, refocusing on the road in front of him.

Luke gushes excitedly from the passenger seat, “We’re gonna make it, guys. I can FEEL it. Then you can have all the pizza you’d like, Reg!” He’s speaking in his typically amped up way that makes you wonder if he’s convincing you or himself. Apparently he’d also taken notice of Reggie’s pouting. Or, even more likely, just knows their friend that well at this point.

“Yeah,” Reggie agrees dejectedly. “It’s just temporary.”

Alex shoulder checks and moves into the right lane, slowing down to make his turn. He’s just made it to the corner when suddenly something thumps against the passenger side of the van.

“Holy shit, dude! You hit someone!” Luke exclaims, pulling himself forward in the seat to look out the window.

Alex immediately stops the van and shifts into park. He slams open his door, jumping out to see what had happened. “Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit,” he recites to himself the entire time he’s rounding the front of the vehicle.

He gets around to the front passenger corner of the van and notices a person brushing themselves off and pushing away from the van. They’re just barely illuminated by the street and headlights, still shrouded by the darkness of being just the wrong side of midnight. 

“Holy shit, I’m so sorry!” Alex rushes out as soon as he notices them.

“It’s all good, man. Not your fault. I wasn’t watching where I was going.”

Alex reaches them just as they remove their helmet, flipping their hair up and over their head as they do. As soon as Alex realizes who it is, his mouth goes dry and he loses all coherent thought. 

He’s startled back to reality by the sound of car doors slamming. 

“You hit Willie?!” Reggie cries, “Dude!”

Alex is sent reeling for a second time. 

He hit his crush. 

Who has a name. 

That Reggie knows.

“How did you-? Wha-?” Alex stammers as he looks between his friends and Willie, who hasn’t stopped grinning for the duration of Alex’s crisis.

Alex shakes his head, trying to clear his head but with limited success. He redirects his attention to Willie. “Are you okay?” he asks simply.

Willie nods, “Yep, totally fine! I’ve been through worse.”

“That’s not… Okay,” Alex runs his hand through his hair. He can feel his pulse quicken and he reaches out for the van, realizing that he needs some support to remain standing. Alex feels Luke immediately shift into crisis mode beside him. They’ve been through this enough times by now that the signs of oncoming panic are clear to his friends.

Luke guides him so that he’s half sitting on the front bumper. He starts to coach Alex through some deep breathing and grounding practices to stave off the impending panic attack. It only takes a few minutes for his breathing to stabilize and he’s able to tune back into what’s happening around then.

When Alex looks up, he notices Willie’s concerned expression and that Reggie is now holding a skateboard. He must have gone hunting for it while Luke and Alex were otherwise occupied.

Luke rubs a few more circles onto Alex’s back before standing to join the others.

“You good, bro?” Willie asks.

Alex nods. He wipes his hands on thighs and stands, “Yeah. I’m good. This is weird. I’m so, so-”

He’s cut off before he can apologize. “Dude, seriously. This was my fault. I literally skated into the side of your van.”

Alex directs a skeptical look Willie’s way so he continues, “Honest, it wasn’t even possible for you to have hit me. I’m the one who should be apologizing.”

Alex stares at Willie in with combined disbelief and awe for another moment before Willie’s voice interrupts his thoughts, “I’m Willie, by the way.” Alex looks down to see Willie’s hand extended in greeting.

Alex reaches out to shake it. “I’m-,” he starts before he’s interrupted.

“Alex, I know.”

Alex’s brain threatens to shut down yet again, “You… you know?”

“Well, yeah. You’re the drummer of one of the hottest acts in town. Of course I know who you are!”

“I told you!” Luke cries as he elbows Reggie in the ribs. Reggie grunts at the unexpected contact. Alex barely registers their activity as he continues to process everything from the last… Five minutes? Night? Day? Week? How long have they been in each other's orbits for?

“Hey, Alex,” Luke calls, “you with us?”

Alex turns to glare at Luke though he has to admit (privately) that Luke has once again succeeded in getting him out of his head. 

When he turns back to Willie, he finds he’s again met with that grin. An all-too-knowing grin. 

“Reggie owes me pizza, wanna join us?” Luke directs to Willie. Alex starts at the unexpected invitation but doesn’t have time to dwell on it before-

“I do not!” Reggie exclaims petulantly.

“You do!” Luke insists, waving his arm toward Alex and Willie. 

Alex turns to look at Willie, aghast with both the realization of what Luke is talking about and the implication that Willie is expected to engage with their chaos. “You don’t have to! I’m so sorry about them,” he says before turning back to Luke, “Are you serious right now?”

Luke crosses his arms across his chest and returns a smug grin, “TECHNICALLY, I win.”

“That is SO not what I meant,” Reggie mumbles.

WIllie looks between the three boys with confusion, “Win what?”

Before either Luke or Reggie have the chance to consider responding, Alex is between them with a hand covering each of their mouths. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Don’t worry about it.”

He feels them both lick his palms simultaneously and pulls his hands away from them. “You’re both disgusting,” he says, wiping his hands on his pants.

Willie muffles a laugh at their antics. He quickly composes himself before interjecting, “Luke said something about pizza?”

Alex turns wide eyes on Willie, “You want to come for pizza? With us?”

Willie shrugs, “Yeah, sure. Except it’s my treat. You know… for the damage.” He smiles at Alex again and Alex is sure that his brain has completely left the premises.

“Emotional damage,” Luke whispers teasingly, barely audible but loud enough for Alex to hear. He directs another glare Luke’s way. Luke’s only response is a shit-eating grin.

“YES!” Reggie whoops as he climbs back into the van. Luke very quickly clambers in after him. When Alex sends Luke a confused look, Luke simply nods toward Willie in silent suggestion.

Alex lets out a soft sigh. He redirects his attention to Willie, “Do you want a ride? We know a place that’s still open and is cheap enough that Reggie can’t eat you out of house and home.” He raises his voice toward the end of his sentence to ensure that Reggie can hear him and, hopefully, take the hint.

He does. “What do you think I am?” Reggie calls back, “Some kind of animal?”

“You said it, not me,” Alex mutters under his breath and Willie coughs out a laugh. Alex smiles at Willie before gesturing toward the van, “Your chariot?” he offers.

“My Prince Charming,” Willie says with a grin as he climbs into the van. Alex stumbles over himself in surprise as he walks around to the driver’s side. He takes a deep breath and a quick moment to calm himself before opening the door and climbing in.

Alex buckles up his seatbelt. He turns to ensure Willie and the guys had done the same before shifting into drive. After another shoulder check, he completes the turn he had started before hitting… being hit by…? colliding with Willie. 

There’s a moment of awkward silence as the four of them settle into each others’ company. It of course doesn’t last long.

“So Willie, what’s your favourite Sunset Curve song?” Luke asks as he pulls himself up between the two front seats. 

Alex groans, “Really, dude? Seatbelt!”

“Hey! My seatbelt’s on!” Luke insists as he tugs on the shoulder strap that crosses his chest for evidence. 

Alex rolls his eyes, “It doesn’t count when you stretch it out like that.”

Willie can’t help but laugh at their bickering as he turns to Luke to answer. 

He’s interrupted by Alex, “You really don’t have to answer him.”

Willie smiles at Alex, “It’s alright! I love your music. I think ‘Now or Never’ is my fave though.”

“Yeah? Why’s that?” Luke encourages Willie to explain further.

“Luke! Seriously, not everyone is as deep into music as you are. Sometimes people just like what they like!” Alex chastises Luke again.

“It’s chill, Hotdog. I don’t mind.”

Alex sputters at the unexpected nickname. Reggie chimes in from the back, as if pulling the thought directly from Alex’s brain, “Hotdog?!”

Alex can FEEL Willie’s grin from beside him. He finds his ability to focus on the road slipping away with each passing moment.

“Yeah, from that time y’all got so sick from street dogs?”

Alex groans again, “You mean when we almost died?!”

Luke reappears between them, “Do we get nicknames too?”

“Mmm,” Willie hums, “sorry, that’s a privilege reserved only for my favourites.”

Alex again feels his brain completely vacate the premises and yet somehow he can see the grin growing on Luke’s face without even looking at him.

Alex autopilots into the parking lot for the pizza place they love. He pointedly avoids looking at anyone as they climb out of the van and into the restaurant.

“Order for me!” Alex calls back to Luke and Reggie as he beelines to the restroom in the back of the building. 

He locks the door behind him and leans up against it, trying to swallow air into his lungs. This has all been just… too much. 

Alex finally manages to slow his racing thoughts enough to push off of the door. He takes the three steps required to stand in front of the sink. He grips the edges of it and stares at himself in the mirror, unseeing. This can’t possibly be reality right now, can it? Willie is absolutely flirting with him, right? But… not directly. Through his friends. He’s not dreaming or in some alternate reality?

He splashes water on his face to try to reset so that he can go back out there and face whatever is coming next. This is good. It’s a lot. But it’s good. Willie has not only taken notice of him, but actually seems to like him? Enough to know his name and feel comfortable teasing him, anyway. Enough to explicitly tell Luke and Reggie that Alex is his favourite. Alex is never anyone’s favourite. Okay, no, he’s not going there right now. He can do this. 

He lightly smacks his cheeks to refocus.

Alex nods to himself in the mirror, satisfied with his internal pep talk. He pulls a handful of paper towels from the dispenser and dries his hands and face. He takes one last deep breath before opening the door and heading out into the restaurant.

As Alex walks up to the booth the others had claimed, he overhears Luke and Willie continuing their conversation from the van.

“That searching for tomorrow line,” Willie says and Alex can see Luke’s grin grow from over Willie’s head. Luke and Reggie are on one side of the booth, facing the back of the restaurant, and Willie is on the other side, back to Alex.

“Ohhh, that’s Alex’s!”

“I know,” Willie replies cheekily before leaning conspiratorially over the table toward Luke, “you’ve got a hot drummer.”

Alex makes a choking sound, attracting the attention of all three guys. Willie turns, resting his forearm on the back of the booth bench, Luke’s eyes widen slightly but the grin remains, Reggie lifts his eyes from where he’d been focused on taking a bite of pizza and waves at Alex with his free hand.

“Yeah, we do!” Reggie agrees enthusiastically. He takes a bite of pizza and speaks around it, “We’ve been trying to get that through his thick skull for ages.”

Willie tracks his gaze over Alex’s body. Alex can feel the flush move up his face and to the tips of his ears. 

“Cute when he blushes too,” Willie winks at Alex before turning around, sliding over to make room for him at the table.