#this is a legit item that was being sold from a bar in my city

[plaguery]

[cucumbers-and-olives]

Soda Cans

Summary: oh my god i wish i could put something here, but legit just read it please

Category: slight angst, kinda slow burn-ish

Fandom: JATP

Paring: Luke x non-binary!reader

Word Count: 1.3k

Warnings/Includes: mentions of conversion camps, hospitalization

A/N: did i write this in two days? yes and i am very proud of it

this is for @dream-a-little-bigger-x's What 90's Dreams are made Of week! I've had so much fun playing around with the boys in the 90's, so thank you!

edit: @ijustreallylovethem sent me a really good ask about how to pronounce Mx., you can find the ask here

Please don’t repost my work without my permission, in part or whole. My work can also be found on AO3 under the same username. Thank you!

“Uggh, are you fucking kidding me!” Luke said, hitting the vending machine a few times to try and get his soda.

The hospital waiting room was pretty empty, except for the members of Sunset Curve, the receptionist, and a nurse that entered the room. The silence was deafening until someone hit the vending machine with their shoe.

The can came clattering down, and they reached down to grab it.

“Here you go,” Luke recognized this person as the receptionist. “You gotta hit it on the lower left side, or else it won’t come out.” Luke took the can from their hand.

“Actually,” They put some coins in and pressed some buttons. “Now that I think about it, the soda can are the only ones that have any issues coming down.” They grabbed a candy bar from the machine.

They sat back down behind the desk and Luke returned to his friends.

“Why didn’t you ask her? About Alex, I bet she can get us in!” Bobby said.

“Yeah,” Reggie agreed. “She obviously likes you.”

“Okay, okay.”

Luke got up and walked over to the desk. “Excuse me, Miss…”

They looked up, “It’s actually Mx., I’m non-binary.” They gave a soft smile. “I’m Y/N, how can I help you and your friends?”

Luke looked behind him and saw that the other boys had followed him up to the desk. “I’m Luke. Uh, we were wondering if you could get us in to see our friend? His name is Alexander Mercer.”

They typed away at their computer, and when they saw his file, their face dropped.

“What- what is it?” Reggie asked nervously.

“I can’t let you all up to see him, his parents have put him on an involuntary psych hold. No visitors.” They looked up at the boys. “I’m sorry.” Y/N looked around, to make sure no one was around as they spoke. “If you come back tomorrow at 2 pm, I can get a phone to him. That’s all I can do, I’m sorry.”

“Thank you,” Bobby said. “Let’s go get some sleep guys.”

~

Y/N knocked on the door in front of them. The pale halls of the psych ward were even bleaker than the rest of the hospital. They tried to avoid the floor when they could. But the look in those boys’ eyes had resonated inside them.

“Come in,” A boy’s voice said, and Y/N entered the room.

“Hi, are you Alexander?” They asked, standing awkwardly in the doorway.

The scrawny blonde boy in the bed sat up, his eyes full of fear. “Are you here to take me away?”

“No, no, no,” They assured, closing the door behind them after checking the hall to make sure no one was there. “Uh, your friends set me? One of them was named Luke, and there were two others?” They moved around the room, grabbing a phone out of a hidden cabinet.

“Yeah, Reggie and Bobby, they were here?” He sat up. “What’s with the phone?”

Y/N sighed and pulled a chair up. “Okay, Alexander-”

“Alex.”

“Alex, in about a half-hour, this phone is going to ring. If anyone comes in before then and sees it, you need to say that Ashley Jones left it out. Ashley’s a bitch idiot, so anyone will believe you on this floor. Don’t say anything unless you hear me on the end, okay? Does that all make sense Alex?” He nodded, and Y/N stood.

They remembered his file and turned around as they reached the door. “People don’t understand us, but I’m sure you know that. My psych hold lasted about a month, and then my parents abandoned me cause the camps cost too much, and no one likes a child that isn’t a girl or a boy. You’ll make it out.”

“Thank you.”

~

The room was full, and as the boys came into the waiting room, they didn’t know what to do. Fortunately, Y/N was sitting behind the desk, this time, with a line in front of them.

“Let’s get in line, and then Y/N can tell us what to do,” Bobby said, leading the group.

The line got shorter and shorter, people signing in and some being led out by nurses.

“Hi, please sign in and someone will come get you to see your loved one,” Y/N said, a rehearsed speech they had said many times.

“Yeah, do you know how to get a can out of the vending machine? It’s stuck.”Luke said. Panic flashed by in their eyes as they saw the boys.

“Yeah,” They wrote a note quickly. “I’ll come help in a sec.”

Luke read the note. Sign in. I’ll meet you by the vending machine with more instructions.

He nodded, and quickly signed in for all of the boys and they led them to the vending machine.

Y/N glanced over at their supervisor. “I’m just gonna go help them really quickly-”

“Y/L/N. That’s not why I’m here.” He said sternly. “The kid ‘fessed up. This is your last shift.” He left, and the door behind the desk shut.

Fuck.

~

“Here,” Y/N said softly, kicking the vending machine and freeing the can. They gave Bobby a note along with the soda. “Sorry guys.”

Bobby opened the note as they walked back to the desk. Luke saw them nervously fiddling with a pencil as people logged in and out of the visitor sign-in sheet.

“Luke,” Bobby said, passing him the note.

I wish I had done something that had worked. Someone told my supervisor and well- I got fired. Sorry guys, I wish I could have helped more. Also, Alex is getting moved tomorrow. I’m not sure where, that’s all that I know.

Y/N Y/L/N

idontevenknow@hotmail.com

XXX-XXX-XXXX

The paper was clearly stationary, and Luke looked over to them, eyes meeting for a moment.

I’m sorry, Y/N’s eyes said.

Me too, He said.

“Let’s go. If we can’t see him here, we can at least as his parents,” Reggie said, still hopeful.

~

“So that’s it? We can’t see him, and so we give up?” Luke asked, but even his seemingly hopeful question sounded sad.

After Alex’s parents had very rudely shut the door (literally and figuratively) in the boys’ faces when they asked to see him, they had ended up at the soda shop. The store sold any kind of sweet, candy, or ice cream that you could think of. But, in the back of the store, there was a huge fridge area.

In the summer, the boys would come and stick their faces in the fridge to cool down. In the wither, they would shiver as they got sodas with extra caffeine to help them power through and finish songs.

Bells ran throughout the city, ringing out 11 times, showing that it was 11 pm.

“I guess,” Reggie said, grabbing a pack of gummy bears off the shelf.

The boys silently moved to the front of the shop with their items, and as the cashier run them up, the bell in the front door and someone entered. The boys didn’t pay them much attention until they spoke.

“Hey, Uncle J, I got fired… Sorry, I didn’t see that you had customers, I’ll come back later,” Y/N tripped over their words as they turned to rush out of the shop.

“Y/N?” The boys all said, and Y/N paused, turning around and awkwardly shooting the tree some finger guns.

“Heyyy, guys.”

~

Months later, the boys had parted ways with Y/N. But every so often, the person behind the counter at the soda shop was them.

“Hey, Soda!” Luke hollered to them as he entered.

They lifted their head and smirked, “Rockstar, what can I get you?”

“Oh just,” He leaned on the counter. “A date?”

~

lol wish I was that smooth

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