#yes he is named after alex mercer

[teecupangel]

Altair but he has cat claws

I have cats… and now all I can think about is Altaïr doing this:

“Malik… Malik…”

“Are you stuck?”

“……”

Once Malik tries to climb the fence-

Altaïr jumps down gracefully.

“…”

“…”

“I’m going to kill you.”

.

.

By the way, cats like to climb things so you would think that they would be good at jumping down things too.

Unless you're this cat.

"Hello, my name is Alex and I started screaming at 2 am to tell my mom I climbed our neighrbor's roof and would like help getting down now because it started to rain."

[autisticsupervillain]

Alex Mercer is the perfect name for a Homestuck OC

The human race in Homestuck canonically ended in 2009. [PROTOTYPE] came out in 2009 and was obviously still relevant then. A character who loves [PROTOTYPE] so much that he names himself after the main character is peak Homestuck vibes, because Homestuck is very much a love letter/period piece of early 2000s internet culture. Bonus points of it's a trans guy who transitioned to Alex Mercer.

Alex Mercer fits the Homestuck naming conventions for human characters. Four letter first name. Six or seven letter last name.

Alex's overpoweredness fits in perfectly because the entire cast would be derided as Mary Sues if written nowadays and over half the cast winds up becoming actual literal gods. If anything, Alex has stiff competition and runs the risk of becoming a killed off side character because Hussie forgot what to do with him (which is marginally better than the treatment he got in canon)

Given Cole MacGrath has the same color scheme as and similar powers to Sollux Captor, it stands to reason that his patron troll would be someone obsessed with Troll inFAMOUS and they'd argue about which game is better constantly.

[innytoes]

Because apparently I am my feeling things hours, what h/c can you give me about the Reggie is the one that survives AU?

-When Reggie gets back into music, he picks up the banjo first, since it's the only instrument he never really played with the guys.

-Rose and Victoria have a lot of fun trying to slowly help Reggie into tolerating spice.

-At one point Hazel threatened Rose that if she didn't make Reggie a Molina soon, she was going to adopt him as her little brother and he'd be a Morgan.

-Yes Ray and Reggie both took Rose's last name.

-Reggie did stick with Peters for his artist's name though, both to honour who he'd been with the boys, and because he didn't want to like, appropriate anything. He didn’t want some label to try and score diversity points with his last name when he is The Whitest White Boy.

-They know Julie and Carlos are biologically Ray's because Reggie just... couldn't continue his bloodline when the guys would never be able to. He made a lot of excuses like shitty genetics and 'Ray's way hotter and you'd make pretty kids together', but eventually he probably took them to his therapist and said that while he loved the idea of being dad, he just really could not handle being a biological one.

-Julie was adamant about wanting to learn the fiddle so she could play country with her dad and Reggie sat through like a year full of torture of Small Child Learning Violin with a smile on his face because THAT'S HIS BABY.

-Reggie is Dad, Ray is Papi. Except when Julie was just learning to make sounds and Reggie insisted that 'ababababa' was his name because that's the first babble she mastered.

-Julie and Carlos both have their own teeny tiny cowboy hat and boots from when they were babies. Also teeny tiny plaid shirts.

-Every year on Luke's birthday Reggie visits Emily and Mitch Patterson. He gave them the song the first year. They didn't ask him to play it until like five or six years later, and of course they were all crying at the end of that.

-He does the same for Bobby's Lola, but he visits her more often. He tried visiting the Mercers a few times but was just met with cold politeness and like, obligation and after like two years he gave up. Instead he visits Alex' favourite queer-friendly bookstore and buys a few books he thinks Alex would have liked and donates them to shelters or stuffs them in Little Free Libraries.

-Reggie's birthdays are very hard on him, but Rose and Ray try to remind him he's special and loved and they're happy he's here. It gets a little easier when the kids are born because like, what kind of monster do you think he is, depriving his children of an excuse for cake? If Carlos made him a paper crown he is gonna wear a paper crown. He will cry still a little, but it’s because they made him a homemade banner that says Hapy Birdday Daddy!

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"PRISONER WAVED A FAREWELL TO FAMILY," Toronto Star. March 11, 1913. Page 14. --- Wife and Baby in Corridor When He Was Sent Down Into the Cells. --- CASES IN POLICE COURT ---- Man Accused of Beating Wife Begs for Mercy, But Fails to Get Freedom. ---- Walter Heald, who pleaded guilty to stealing a quantity of jewelry from his employer, Thomas Cuff, was dismissed by Magistrate Denison to-day on the assurance of Mr. Cuff that he would take Heald back into his employ, and watch over him and see that he could get even with the game again.

"I shall discharge you," said the magistrate, "because the spirit evinced by your employer is so rare that it would be a shame to discourage it."

Solomon Siegel, accused of picking pockets, was committed for trial before a jury, and was let out on bail of $1,000.

Wife Complains. John Andrews' sobbing in the dock moved everyone in the court-room but Alice Andrews, his wife, who laid a charge against him for doing bodily harm to her.

"I worship my wife," cried Andrews, "and I don't know why I scratched her. She was nagging because I had taken a couple of drinks, and got me into a rage."

"I'll send you down for three days, and we will examine the case in the meantime."

Andrews clung to the rail, and begged the magistrate, the constables, and the prisoners not to torture him "down there." Both he and his wife are young, married not more than two years.

Arthur Francis, the young man who is accused of passing bogus checks on boarding house landladies, was committed for trial on the charge of forgery, and is remanded in Jail until his trial. During the time he was in the dock Francis was peering out the door of the court-room, where his wife and two-year-old baby were sitting in the corridor. Francis antics to catch the baby's eye, and his waving and kiss-throwing were pathetic in the extreme, and even the court-room constables, whose thundering "sit down!" greets any movement on the part of prisoners, were touched a little, and cleared a path for the baby to see through.

Only One Woman. There was only one sentence handed out in the Women's Police Court to-day, and that was to Bertha Jacobs, who was sent to the Mercer for three months, for keeping a house of ill-fame.

An unfortunate case is that of Alex McPherson, who pleaded guilty to vagrancy, and who was handed over to the Salvation Army. McPherson has been suffering from heart weakness for years, and came to this city two weeks ago from a farm district around Galt and Berlin, to find some relatives he thought were here. Now he wants to get back to the farms, and the Salvation Army will find him some work, to enable him to pay his way.

Domestic Trouble. "I married Henry Chapman five years ago," said Mrs. Mary Chapman. in giving her evidence in a case of non-support. "He gets drunk and he deserted me for three weeks-left me alone to feed twenty-three starving chickens."

"Do you want to go back to your husband?"

"Yes! I was married for life and not for five years!"

Chapman claims that his wife was always nagging at him, and the case was adjourned till the 18th.

Robert H. Wood was committed for trial on a charge of committing assaults on two little girls, four and six years old.

After being set up in the plumbing business by William Marshall, George Brown started signing his friend's name to notes and L.LO.U's and defrauded Marshall out of $13.50, for which Brown was given a month in jail.

"I bought him a horse and wagon," said Marshall, "and put him on to the game in the plumbing business. Then I began to receive notes with my name forged."

Preyed On a Woman. Three months in the Central Prison were given to Wilber Ryan, for being an inmate of a house of ill-fame kept by Mary Howard. The Morality Department put forward facts showing that Ryan was keeping the Howard girl, who is still quite young, for immoral purposes. The house was raided, the girl sentenced and frequenters fined.

Ryan lived at the house, and had no visible means of support beyond what money was earned by Mary Howard.

The Department's record shows that this girl had a baby a couple of years Lago, and that since then she has been identified with houses run by Ryan.

"Three months in Central," said Magistrate Denison," and hereafter an eye will be kept on you! We will look for further light on your life."

[invisibleraven]

Winter prompt 7 Julie and Alex!

"It's Secret Santa time!" Flynn exclaimed as she strode through the jungle of cubicles, and everyone groaned. "I know, I know, but the Social Committee is trying their best, and this year you all filled out gift suggestions, so no white elephant presents this year!"

Flynn almost pranced through the office space, thrusting her cup full of names at everyone, gleefully insisting they participate. "It's a $25 limit, you guys can surely spare that much to make one of your co-workers days more merry and bright? Plus the party will have free booze!"

Everyone was a bit more enthusiastic after that.

Julie was typing away at her computer when Flynn came over, shoving the tin of names into her face. "Your turn, underachiever."

Julie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Can't you pick for me? I just got done asking a very drunk man all the survey questions about his data usage and I don't have the energy for holiday shenanigans right now."

"But what if I pick and you get me? I want it to be a surprise Jules!" Flynn insisted, shaking the tin once more. Julie groaned and reached in, pulling out a slip of paper, and unfolded it.

Alex Mercer, IT Department. Suggestions: Gift cards for The Beer Garden, museum passes, or Luke's Music Corner

"I didn't get you," Julie commented wryly. "Or myself, can I get back to work now?"

Flynn nodded and skipped off again, leaving Julie to go back to her data, and cursing her life where doing telephone surveys paid the bills while her composition degree did not.

Alex was absorbed in a phone call when Flynn happened by, and he looked to be suffering. "Horace, what have we said about photocopying your butt? Yes, that it's inappropriate, what else? Yes, that you will cause the printer to malfunction. Which it now is. With your ass prints on the glass. So what have we learned?" Alex gave a sigh through his noes, sending his eyes towards the ceiling as if in prayer. "Yes Horace, good job. Now call Jasper in custodial services to go clean the photocopier again, and when that's done I'll send someone up to fix it, not before."

Alex huffed out a breath as he ended the call, trying to muster a smile for Flynn, one of the few people in HR he could stand. They had a running bet over how long it would be before Horace broke the glass, and if his CEO uncle would bail him out then.

"Nepotism still strong at work I see," Flynn remarked, pulling a can of soda from her bag and offering it to Alex who gratefully pulled it open and took a swig.

"Mmhmm, as always. So what brings you down to my dungeon?"

"Secret Santa, you need to pick a name, buy a gift. Show up with it, get a few free drinks, go home."

"Sounds like a riveting time," Alex snarked, but pulled the paper from the tin, and opened it.

Julie Molina, Data Entry. Suggestions: gift certificate to Overview Spa, a good bottle of red wine, or a gift card for Ortega's Bookstore

The night of the Secret Santa party, Julie showed up, but only because Flynn threatened to drag her there if she didn't show. It had been a long, hellacious week, and though she had a few bright spots, sparkling green eyes and a crooked grin came to mind, she wanted to stay home in bed with a good book, not socialize with her coworkers-most of whom she didn't know-on a Saturday night.

She dropped her card into the giant box there, and went to get a drink, thankful that the office had sprung for the good stuff. Maybe with a buzz the awful Christmas music wouldn't grate on her so much. Look, Julie wasn't normally a Grinch-she usually loved Christmas, but this year had been hard, she didn't like her job, and she had hoped for so much more after she left school. That made it hard to get into the spirit of the season this time around.

"Alright everyone!" Flynn said as she stepped up to the microphone, smiling widely. "It's time for presents! I'm going to draw out the first card and call your name, and then you get to pick out the next one and so on!"

Flynn called out the first name, some girl named Nancy from the Marketing division, who was thrilled by her gift card to the local craft supply store, which Julie kind of figured, given the very ugly holiday sweater she was wearing.

"Alex Mercer!" Nancy called. Julie's ears perked up, watching as this tall blonde guy-totally not who she thought of when she though IT-came up, and smiled when he opened the card. "Sweet, now I can get some new drumsticks!" So Julie guessed that he liked her gift, though probably not as much as she had enjoyed buying it given her plans for next weekend and the new set of digits in her phone. He reached in and pulled out the next card, and gave a little chuckle. "Julie Molina!"

Well, what were the odds?

Julie went up and thanked Alex, opening the card, which was very nice, and saw the gift card for her favourite bookstore, with a little message recommending her a few of his favourite books. "Thanks," she said. "I'll definitely have to check a few of these out."

"Honestly I should be thanking you," Alex said. "I met Willie when I was shopping there and got a date out of it, so win win for me!"

"Huh, I also got a date when I bought your gift," Julie remarked.

"Luke or Reggie?" Alex asked. Julie looked at him a little confused and he shrugged. "They're my best friends, own the store together, but still refuse to give me a discount."

"Well then, maybe I should cancel our date," Julie giggled, and then saw Flynn shooting her a look, making her remember where she was, and she drew a card from the pile. "Horace Weems?"

A young man came up to claim his card, and so Julie went off to the side where Alex was still standing, glaring daggers at the man. "You know him?" she asked.

"Only by reputation since I keep having to fix stuff he breaks," Alex grumbled.

"You wanna gripe about this place over some good booze?" Julie offered.

"And you can tell me which of my himbo friends you said yes to?" Alex asked, offering her an elbow. "Lead the way."

The party was a lot more fun after that, and if Julie ended up with a work buddy plus a friend to go on double dates with for the holidays? Well that was better than any gift certificate could be.

[theconfusedartist]

HHMMM

Ok, so I want to get the before Penn Station chapter up on ff.net and tumblr by Friday (which shouldn't be too hard) it's just been taking a while due to health issues

The next chapter is Alex's POV when he goes to talk with Karen, then a shorter (or around the same length) of Desmond and Altaïr dealing with Elijah and that entire situation. After that chapter is Alex plotting and scheming on making Desmond officially his.

The first two chapters are already written, and I've done the first round of edits on it. But I had to rearrange things and change some of the lore mentioned due to how the worldbuilding was being updated. Thankfully, the first chapter doesn't need updates so that's not something i have to worry about.

The only chapter I'm a but hesitant about is the Dr. Mercer chapter simply bc he's such a....he monologues bc he doesn't give a fuck about what other people think, and he doesn't care about shoving people on the streets, which means a lot of the beginning of the chapter is just him thinking to himself as people try to square up only for him to glare with murderous intent.

That chapter is basically 1) Alex monologuing 2) interacting with Blacklight and the freaky scientist shit he does in his lab 3) putting the plan into action 4) the plan failed successfully 5) smut and profit

Yes, that was kinda how his plan went. Also Alex's plan was basically "get Desmond in a situation where I save him from something, get him into my lab, kinky Blacklight and human sex ensues, then I illegally marry him and give him my last name"

Which...only half worked

[ginervacade]

PeterPatterLina Paramedic Au no one asked for Chapter 2!

Chapter 1 is here

Two weeks after the car accident Julie is walking up the driveway of a quaint little home. Sebastian had been invited for a play date with the sweetest little twins in his class. Julie was a bit apprehensive, not knowing anything about the children’s parents, except that Sebastian had waved to the drive of the ambulance the previous week commenting, “ That’s one of Leo and Amelia’s dads!”. The tall blonde man had waved back with a smile. Sebastian had come home from school a few days later waving a piece of simple stationary, with a large green M embossed in the corner.

“ Mami can I go please please please?!!”

“ Let me read the note first Carino!”

Dear Ms. Molina,

I hope you are doing well after your accident. ( I hope that didn’t make me sound like a stalker, I was driving the ambulance) Amelia and Leo have been begging for weeks to have Sebastian over to play. We completely understand that you might be apprehensive to let him come over alone seeing as you do not know either of us, so if you would like to come with him and stay so that we may get to know you that would be wonderful! Would Saturday afternoon around 3 work for you? I look forward to meeting you!

-Alex Mercer

He had seemed nice enough in his note and Sebastian looked so excited so she scribbled a quick reply note, sticking it in Bash’s folder. “ Yes angel, we can go.”

Dear Mr. Mercer,

We’re doing well, thank you! Saturday sounds great! Bash came home quite literally bouncing at the idea, and he has been talking about how much fun Amelia and Leo are since the first day of school. Thank you for the invitation and I look forward to getting to know you and your family!

- Julie Molina

So it’s Saturday afternoon and she presses the doorbell, smiling down at Bash who’s nearly vibrating with excitement.

“Daddy, Papa, they’re here!!!!!” Two little voices sound in perfect synchrony from behind the door.

“ I got it Lex. Either hop down or hang on tight Mel.” Julie recognizes that voice but she can’t quite pinpoint it until the door swings open.

“ Julie! Hey Sebastian, is that arm doing better bud?”

Luke beams at her from inside the house, swinging little Amelia off his back with one arm as she grabs Sebastian’s hand and runs into the house giggling.

“ Hi Luke.” She can’t help but smile, though she is a bit confused.

“ Come on in, Alex and Willie are in the kitchen but they’ll be right in to meet you.”

“ Right, of course.” It’s like her brain is short circuiting at the sight of him out of his uniform. His arms, which she had taken notice of before, are on full display in his cut off band tshirt and she nearly trips waking in the door because she can’t quite look where she’s going with him there. He leads her into a living room where her attention is quickly pulled from Luke to the beautiful artwork on the walls. Before she has time to linger on the paintings a voice sounds from behind her.

“ Julie?” Her eyes widen is surprise but her smile brightens as she turns around to face Reggie. If Luke had made her short circuit then Reggie causes a complete system reboot. He’s in tight black jeans with a rip in the knee, and has a red flannel tied around his waist. His arms are on display too in his black tank top and… oh, he’s nicely toned too. Julie can feel herself blushing at the sight of him because, WOW it should be illegal to look that good in something so casual.

“ Reggie,” she barley manages to breathe out his name before theres a chuckle from behind her and she’s known that voice her whole life, how does Bobby know these boys? She hasn’t realized she said that out loud until he answers her question.

“ I’ve know these two and Alex since before I even met you Jules. They’re my best friends, basically my brothers.” As Bobby is explaining all this Luke and Reggie drink in the sight of her in the little purple sundress. Reggie blushes to match her as he shares a look with Luke. She is really beautiful and Lex had not bothered to warn them as to who was coming over, or Luke would have put on a whole shirt.

Julie looks up from Bobby as two more men walk into the room, hand in hand. She recognizes the blonde ambulance driver, Alex wasn’t it? The man next him, this must be his husband, is shorter than him, with long brown hair and a bright smile.

“ I’m so sorry about that, we had to get the cookies out of the oven. I’m Alex and this is my husband Willie, I’m so glad to finally meet you!” He offers her his hand to shake. Willie opens one arm in a greeting hug.

“ Hey there!”

“ Hi, it’s great to meet you too! You have a lovely home, and that painting is gorgeous.”

“ Thanks! I painted that a few weeks before we got married,” Willie tells her smile brightening.

“ Oh wow! You’re really talented!” She’s so nice too, thinks Luke.

“ Sit down, make yourself at home,” Alex gestures to the chair next to Reggie as he and Willie settle down beside Bobby on the couch. Julie takes the seat, looking at Reggie. There’s that crooked smile again and he runs a hand through his hair nervously but nothing has ever been so attractive, for goodness sake Julie get it together.

“ Glad to see you’ve all met,” Willie says, “ Getting to know our family comes with these three as well as us and the kids.”

They settle into easy conversation, talking and laughing for hours, Luke, Reggie and Julie sneaking glances at one another when they aren’t looking. They eat dinner that’s absolutely delicious, Alex tells her Reggie made most of it and she smiles as he blushes again. He can cook too? Gosh he’s too perfect. After dinner the kids settle in to watch The Princess and the Frog while the adults talk and laugh some more. That’s when Julie notices the way Luke and Reggie look at each-other and then their entwined hands. Oh. They really were too good to be true. They’re together, she realizes as her heart sinks. Still, she keeps talking and laughing with them and the others. Once the credits begin to roll on the kids’ movie she notices the time and it’s pretty late, she should really be heading home. They stand up and all say their goodbyes.

“ This was so much fun,” Alex tells her and she nods her agreement. “ We definitely need to do it again soon.”

“ Absolutely!” Sebastian is half asleep so Luke scoops him up and carries him to the car, Reggie walks with them too.

“ It was great to see you again darlin’,” Reggie smiles as he opens the car door for her.

“ Yes it was,” Luke agrees.

“ It was great to see you two too!” She smiles back, trying to remind herself that she can’t have them as he pulls out of the driveway. When Luke and Reggie get back in the house there are three men staring at them with their arms crossed.

“ What?” Luke tries, even though he already knows.

“ Oh my god,” Willie says through a laugh.

Bobby is snickering too when he says, “ That was pathetic.”

“ What?” Reggie is genuinely confused.

Alex smirks fondly at his two best friends, “ I have never seen anyone with a more obvious crush than the two of you have on that girl and I watched you dance around each other for 4 years!”

[laviefantasie]

Not A Fan | Luke Patterson

Mini Series

Pairings: Alive!Luke Patterson x Alive!Reader

Summary: What happens if Sunset Curve loses their sound after their bandmate’s betrayal? Will a certain shy songwriter be able to help Luke Patterson, known narcissistic rockstar, find his inspiration before Sunset Curve’s new demo is due?

| MASTERLIST |

| PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE |

Loud screams were heard from the band’s rehearsal studios as the staff of the recording label tried to get the door opened without success. A loud crash was heard followed by an angry grunt, making the security staff break the door’s handle to open it.

The sight that greeted them was an angry-looking Luke Patterson beating the crap out of Bobby Wilson, Sunset Curve’s rhythm guitarist, while Alex Mercer and Reggie Peters tried to pull them away from one another.

To say everyone was confused was an understatement.

The security staff snapping out of their confusion to run to pull apart the bandmates, although the brunette didn’t seem willing to stop punching the dark-haired boy.

“It’s done, Luke!” screams Bobby once he is set free, “There’s nothing any of you can do! It’s over! They’re my songs now!”

With an angry grunt, Luke tries to set himself free from the guards’ hold making Bobby run out of the door.

Alex and Reggie staring at the way he left with hurt in their eyes. Bobby Wilson had stolen Luke’s songs, the ones that hadn’t yet been recorded by Sunset Curve, and gone off to Convington’s Records.

He had stolen all of Luke’s feelings and the band’s hard work to make a name for himself, not caring about the many years of brotherhood he was throwing away. 

“Wha...What do we do now?” Reggie questions softly.

The songwriter lets out an angry scream as soon as the guards let him go, pacing around the room with many emotions running through his body. Betrayal being the one that stands out the most.

“I’ll... I’ll just write new songs” Luke states, “Better songs. Ye-yeah, I’ll write better songs”

The other two boys look at one another with uncertainty, both knowing this cut them all deeply in different ways. Especially, since they considered each other family after everything that had happened with their own.

Meanwhile in Los Angeles, Y/N was walking through the halls of Los Feliz High School with Julie Molina by her side. Since the loss of both of your mothers, you both had lost interest in music. Julie being able to reconnect with her love for it through her mother’s former band demos. You didn’t have the same luck as your dad wasn’t truly supportive of it.

Meanwhile, you continued to avoid playing an instrument or even singing softly in the car. It just didn’t feel right anymore, not without her. Though that didn’t stop you from writing songs, although you always said they were just poems.

Poems that helped you expressed everything you felt without actually having to say it.

The curly-haired girl was trying to convince her best friend to sing at Mrs. Harrison’s music class, afraid the girl was going to lose her spot on the music program for refusing to even play an instrument.

Either way, Y/N didn’t care.

You were ready to be kicked out of the program so your friends could stop trying to push you to sing. You couldn’t do it, you had tried. 

“Y/N/N” calls Julie softly as you open your locker, “I know it’s hard, but you have to sing today. Mrs. Harrison was very patient with the both of us but I don’t think she can wait much longer”

Before you can asnwer the Molina, Flynn appears on the curly girl’s side with a big smile on her face, eyes shining brightly as she shows you both what she had opened on her phone.

The Band is Back!

Los Angeles’ very own Sunset Curve comes back! Rumor has it the band is coming home to reunite with their roots in hopes of inspiration for their new album.

We all know that after Trevor Wilson, a.k.a Bobby, left the band our favorite boys fell off the radar, but now they’re back and they’re coming home! 

We certainly cannot wait to see what they have in store for us.

Julie smiles excitedly over the article the braided-girl shows them while you simply roll your eyes. Sunset Curve was everyone’s favorite band of the moment, the eighteen-year-olds being revolutionaries with their rock music and 90′s looks. 

Even better, they were old students of Los Feliz High School. Their music was good, but honestly, Y/N didn’t see what made them so captivating other than that. 

So as Julie and Flynn gushed about the returning superstars, Y/N concentrating on getting the books she would need out of her locker. Her e/c eyes falling on her dark blue songbook at the end of her locker, hesitating you shake your head before closing your locker. 

You didn’t need that anymore, no need to torture yourself by having it near you.

Reggie and Alex kept their eyes on Luke as the boy once again ripped a page out of his songbook in anger. Right now they were on their tour bus on their way back home, hoping that being back where it all started helped their brunette songwriter finally come up with something.

So far, the lead guitarist hadn’t been able to even write a single verse. Somehow, Bobby’s betrayal had messed him up in more ways than he had realized, making it hard for him to write something.

“UGH”

Luke throws his black songbook across the bus, almost hitting Reggie in the head. The bass player looks at his best friend with disbelief.

“Sorry, Regg”

Both bandmates look at the boy in worry as he goes to grab his songbook, neither knowing how to help him. Bobby had crossed the line when messing up with the brunette’s songs, if there was something that was very intimate for the Patterson boy it was his songs.

It had been a low blow from Bobby.

Before Alex can open his mouth to try and make his best friend feel better, Reggie’s eyes catch sight of a place he had missed after they had left two years ago to follow their dreams as sixteen-years-old against their parents’ approval.

“Guys!” He calls getting closer to the window “It’s Los Feliz!”

Both missing members run to Reggie’s side to look at the place where they had fallen in love with music for the first time and where they had met one another. The sight bringing smiles to their faces.

Before anyone can say something else, Luke is already screaming at the driver to stop.

“Let’s go say hello, boys”

You were skipping your last class before the music program, deciding you needed the time to decide what you were going to do. Were you actually ready to finally give up music completely?

With a sigh, Y/N opens her locker to grab her dark blue songbook. Staring at it with a troubled look, so concentrated in making up your mind that you don’t notice the three teenage boys that are running your way with their eyes set on one another.

It is not until you fall to the floor with a loud thud that you realize you had been walking while staring at your songbook, proving once again that not watching where you go is never a good idea.

“Oh shi- Are you okay?”

You look towards the voice finding yourself staring at bright green eyes, in confusion you look towards the other two boys behind him recognition flashing across your eyes as you’re reminded of the article Flynn showed you that morning.

You’re about to open your mouth to say you’re fine, but the brunette that’s kneeling beside you covers your mouth in a fast move.

“Please don’t scream!”

You frown with disbelief before biting his hand, making him take his hand off his mouth while letting out a grunt of pain.

“First of all, it’s not polite to cover a stranger’s mouth” you snap before standing up, “Second, I wasn’t going to scream. As unlikely as it is, I’m not a fan, all I was gonna say is that I was fine”

Luke stands up with a frown on his face, looking towards his best friends in confusion before turning to look at you once more.

“Not a fan?” He asks with disbelief, “We’re Sunset Curve”

“Tell your friends” Adds the one with the leather jacket.

You roll your eyes, “I know who you are, my best friends love you”

Luke lets out a scoff before pouting at you, Alex trying -and failing- to keep a smile off his face at Luke’s obvious tantrum over you not being a fan of the band. 

Reggie giving the teenage girl his own pout as he realizes the same thing. Alex being the only one who finds the situation amusing.

With a sigh, the h/c girl looks at her things on the floor rushing to grab them. Making sure to throw her songbook inside her backpack before looking towards the band once again.

“Thank you for the fall” you smile sarcastically towards the brunette boy, “Hope to not see you again, boy band”

You continue your way towards the library hoping to catch some sleep before having to go to the music program, ignoring the looks you’re giving by the boys.

“WHO YOU CALLING BOY BAND, SHORTY?”

You roll your eyes as you hear the band’s lead singer scream after you before you disappear from their view.

Luke scoffs at your disappearing figure muttering angrily under his breath about the fact you were not a fan, kneeling to grab his own songbook that fell during the fall only to find a dark blue one instead of her black one.

Staring at it in confusion, the songwriter turns to his friends before realizing you must’ve taken his own songbook by accident. He’s about to run to try to catch up with you when curiosity gains the best of him.

Opening the blue songbook, his green eyes catch sight of an interesting title: Finally Free. Reading through it he cannot help the smile that grows on his face, Alex and Reggie soon appearing by his side as soon as they see their best friend’s eyes shined brightly in a way they hadn’t shined since Bobby’s betrayal.

The three read the lyrics with disbelief. The song was absolute killer, with the right melody they were sure it could be a hit. Maybe, just maybe, he could help you finish it.

But how could he find you again?

[boggie-brainrot]

Stolen Flowers

willex week gift exchange

for @enbies-and-felonies​ , you said you were a sucker for angst so I hope I delivered well.

“Well you’re gonna have to show me.”

“What?”

“Show me the guy that is so amazing that you feel the need to steal my flowers for them.”

“Oh- I- okay. Follow me then.”

OR

In which Willie’s been caught stealing violets and has to find a way to explain why.

Alex and Willie were in their apartment, Willie with his head in Alex’s lap. They were talking about everything and everything, they’d been together for eight months now and yet they both fell in love with each other more and more each day.

“Hey, do you remember the bouquet I gave you on our first date?” Alex asked, running his fingers through Willie’s hair.

“Of course,” Willie smiles to himself, “it was a bouquet of lavender, and peonies, and violets. It was beautiful.”

“Yeah, I didn’t exactly know what flowers to get, I didn’t know your favorites... so I just chose mine,” Alex told him.

“Well, they’re my favorites now too, so I guess you did a good job,” Willie beamed, looking up at his angelic boyfriend.

“I guess I did,” Alex echoed, leaning down to give Willie a kiss.

- - - - -

 It was now a sunny Saturday in April, and Flynn is waiting at her living room window. She is determined to find out who it is, who has been stealing their violets. For the past two months, every Saturday morning without fail someone has stolen her some of her prized violets from her garden. She is waiting and watching for about an hour when at 10:34am finally the thief strikes.

Flynn rushes from the window and frantically unlocks the front door, trying to catch the thief before they leave. They swing the door open before yelling and the boy with long hair.

“You! You have been stealing my violets every week! Why? Why can’t you just buy some of your own?” she yells at him.

The boy seemed quite flustered and stunned at the outburst, he hesitated for a second before replying, “They- they’re for my- my boyfriend,” he manages to stammer out.

“Really?” she quirks an eyebrow, “So you’ve been stealing my flowers for a boy?”

“Yea- yes ma’am,” he responds, oddly formal for the girl who’s a few years younger than him.

“Well you’re gonna have to show me.”

“What?” Willie was confused by the demand.

“Show me the guy that is so amazing that you feel the need to steal my flowers for him,” Flynn clarifies.

“Oh- I- okay,” the drop in Willie’s mood is visible, “Follow me then.”

They begin walking down the path and Flynn furrows her eyebrows, wondering where the boy is taking her. The silence between the two is filled with slight tension and awkwardness.

“I’m, uh, I’m Flynn by the way,” she says in an attempt to relieve the awkwardness.

“Nice to meet you, I’m- my name’s Willie,” the boy replies.

But still, there seems to be an atmosphere that Flynn can’t quite put their finger on. They look at where they are, still unsure of where they’re going. She glances at Willie for a second and can see that he’s trying to sum up the courage to say something. She doesn’t push him but can tell that what he wants to say is significant.

Willie ends up looking like a goldfish, opening, and closing his mouth, trying to figure out the best way to tell Flynn where he’s taking them. It appears though that he won’t have to say the words after all as they arrive at their destination.

Flynn’s eyes fill with sorrow and sympathy as they realize where they are. She looks at Willie whose eyes are full of tears and then takes his hand as he guides the, through the rows, finally he stops, and she reads.

‘Alexander Mercer

In loving memory

Died 6th of February 2021

Aged 22 years

Suddenly a flower sweet

Is plucked from the garden at our feet’

“Oh,” Flynn looks to Willie and see the tears streaming down his face, “Oh Willie, I- I’m so- I’m sorry.”

Willie tries to wipe the tears from his cheeks as he speaks, “He- it was two months ago that he died. He always loved violets and uh, I saw them on my first visit to the grave so I- I just took them.”

“And now you keep bringing them to him,” Flynn whispers, “I- is it okay if I ask what happened?”

“Yeah, he um, he was in a band with three other guys. Three of them, him, Reggie and Luke” Willie nods to the graves on either side of Alex’s, “they were uh, they were getting food just before a gig and, well it must’ve been tainted or something because they never showed up.”

Flynn puts a comforting hand on Willie’s back, moving it softly up and down. They see Willie’s eyes lock onto something and she follows his eyes, he’s looking at another boy, the boy has dark hair and dark eyes, he was coming over to them.

“Hi Willie,” the boy says sadly, he then looks to Flynn, “Who’s this?”

“Hi Bobby,” Willie replies, “This is Flynn, she owns the violets that I bring to Alex.”

“Hi,” Flynn waves shyly to Bobby.

“Hi,” Bobby nods to her, he then places the red amaryllises they didn’t realize he was holding onto the grave on Alex’s left, the one with the name Reginald.

They stand in silence looking at the graves when a fourth person walks over, a young girl that Flynn recognized from high school, her name was Julie. Julie placed the purple dahlias on Luke’s grave before looking at the three that were gathered there already.

“Hey guys,” she sighs, then she looks to Flynn, “You’re Flynn, right? You were in my music class in senior year?”

“Yeah, yeah I was,” Flynn confirms, “Guys, I am so, so sorry about what happened. Willie I’m sorry that I snapped at you, I didn’t realize-“

“Flynn, it’s okay. You didn’t know,” Willie shakes his head.

“Are you two ready to go?” Bobby asks the two other mourners and they nod. They begin to leave when Flynn speaks up.

“Wait,” Flynn says, and the three turn around, “Where are you going?”

“We’re going to Kenny’s Diner,” Bobby tells her, “It was the guys’ favorite diner. We meet there after visiting the grave.”

“Okay, well uh, I’m sorry for your loss, all of you,” and with that they went their separate ways.

- - - - -

 When Willie passes Flynn’s garden the next week he pauses for a second, debating whether or not he should still take the flowers when he sees a note stuck between them.

‘For Alex’

It reads. Willie smiles slightly before looking to the living room window, there he sees Flynn standing beside a girl with long honey blonde hair and kind russet brown eyes. They both smile sadly to him and Flynn nods her head.

With that he waves to the girls, takes a couple of the violets, and continues on his way to see Alex, and meet with Bobby and Julie.

[innytoes]

❛ i just wanted to say thank you for protecting me. ❜ + Julie & Alex?

(I had to find a way to make this part of the JATP/Stranger Things Crossover, obvs.)

When Julie and Alex came into the studio, they didn't seem very happy. Willie sat up from where he'd been playing with Ferbinand, keeping the Furby in his lap as he watched Alex storm to the bathroom. Julie was trailing him, looking anxious and upset.

He got up, placing Ferbinand on the coffee table as he poked his head into the bathroom. Alex was taking off his pink hoodie, which was stained all over by something else pink, and threw it in the sink with a wet plop.

Willie leaned in the door frame, content to ogle his boyfriend's back and arms as he rinsed out the fabric. Hmmm. Pretty.

"I'm so sorry, Alex," Julie called from where she was out of sight. Julie didn't seem to want to ogle Alex. Or maybe that was one of those dumb boundaries things she was always going on about.

"It's not your fault Carrie is a bitch, Julie," Alex said. He was looking around, realising he hadn't brought anything into the bathroom to put on. Willie grinned. Alex' chest was pretty too. "Babe, can you get me a shirt?"

Willie wandered off to the bag Alex had stashed in the studio, to find the tightest shirt of Alex' that he could find. Julie had plopped down on the couch, looking miserable.

"That milkshake was meant for me," she said, as Willie wandered back with a shirt. Maybe it was the one that had shrunk slightly in the wash. He held it behind his back, offering his cheek. Alex smiled and pressed a kiss to it, sighing when he saw what shirt Willie gave him in return.

"Julie, you have literally shot a hell hound in the face for me, I think I can handle a milkshake" Alex said as he pulled the shirt over his head. His hair was all rumpled and floofy, it was adorable. He wandered out and plopped down on the couch next to Julie, laughing when Willie flopped down next to him and tipped over until he was curled under Alex' arm, head pillowed on his now-clean chest. Julie curled up into his other side.

"I just wanted to say thank you for protecting me," she muttered, wrapping her arms around Alex' waist and giving him a little squeeze.

"No problem," Alex said. "Hey, maybe we can sneak Willie into the next spirit rally and have him trip up Carrie during her performance."

Willie perked up. He loved spirit rallies. They were loud and colourful and made no sense. There were no ghosts or strong alcohol at spirit rallies.

"My aunt would kill me," Julie said. Which was dumb. Tía wouldn't kill Julie, she only killed monsters like the Vox. Besides, Willie would protect her. "And dad would make his disappointed face." Oh, now there was a real concern. He hated Ray's disappointed face. It made him sad. "So no."

"Awww," Ferbinand said, voicing Willie's disappointment for him. Its ears wriggled down sadly. Julie pet Willie’s head, running her hands through Willie’s ever-growing locks, and he sighed happily.

"You can sneak out tonight with us to go egg Carrie's house," she said. "Which is one hundred per cent happening as soon as Flynn finds out what Carrie did."

"Yay," Willie said, beaming, and Alex sighed one of his 'I can't believe I put up with you people (even though I'm totally going along with your plans)' sighs.

[phantom-curve]

Second birthday is such a cool thing to call that! 8 or 35 if you are feeling so inclined.

Thank you! When I was a kid my mom always tried to call it my rebirth-day and I was like no❤️ I went with some Willex whump (with a fluffy end) for this one! Set in the gimme a chance AU, featuring pro-skateboarder Willie and anxious Alex. This is also a bit of a companion piece to the #8 prompt I wrote earlier!

#35: kissing their bruises and scars (Trigger Warning: mentions of injury, mild description of panic attack, and mentions of a car accident. Rated T for language) 

Alex generally tried not to think about worst case scenarios when Willie was competing. If he let himself, it was way too easy to imagine all types of situations that ended with Willie broken and bleeding at the base of a halfpipe while Alex stood helplessly on the sidelines. It didn’t help anything for him to obsess over what could happen, especially because at this point, Alex knew skateboarding was as much a part of Willie as drumming was a part of him.

It was just that ever since Willie had gotten his first sponsorship and moved to the pro circuit six months ago, he had started taking bigger risks. More complex tricks and a lot less hesitation to go big when he was representing the brands that were paying his bills. And that meant longer hours practicing and a higher chance of injury on a daily basis. Alex wanted to be a supportive boyfriend, the kind that would show up at the skate park to cheer and not have a panic attack every time that Willie wiped out, but he wasn’t. He was just an anxious guy in love with a dude who seemed determined to break every single bone in his body.

Things only got worse when Willie started traveling for competitions. He was gone almost every weekend, and Luke had finally convinced the manager at the bar he worked at to let Sunset Curve preform regular Saturday shows, and so, more often than not, Willie would be somewhere else in California flinging his body down an insanely tall ramp with nothing but a helmet and some pads to protect him while Alex was trapped in LA losing himself in the familiar pattern of sticks against drums in an attempt to control his raging anxiety. It had about a 68% success rate. That success rate increased dramatically when Willie called Alex the second he knew his set was ending. It plummeted on the nights Alex didn’t hear from him until much later, or worse, heard from a different skater entirely.

Tonight was unfortunately one of those nights.

When their set ended, Reggie called out the same line he had coined after their first performance, a couple audience members chiming in with him because they actually had a bit of a fan following now, and Alex wasted no time in grabbing his phone from the fanny pack he kept behind his kit during shows. Instead of it lighting up with a picture of his boyfriend’s face, he was met with a series of missed calls and text messages from the guys Willie was rooming with for the weekend. He tried not to panic, tried to breathe in deeply to a count of five, holding it for just as long before exhaling again. It kept the anxiety at bay for as long as it took for him to unlock the phone and read the last missed message.

Don’t worry, bro. They’re gonna airlift him back to LA so you can just meet him at the hospital whenever.

Panic hit full force. What the actual fuck had happened to his boyfriend?! Alex’s fingers were shaking too much for him to open the other messages, his vision going blurry and a distant ringing sounding out in his ears. It took him longer than it should to realize Luke was crouched down in front of him, Reggie hovering just beyond the drum kit.

“You have to breathe, Lex. C’mon, follow me.”

Luke inhaled deeply before letting his breath out in a loud woosh. Alex tried to copy him, but his chest felt too tight, his throat closing in the more he tried to open it. Luke kept talking, his voice low and calm.

“Try again, we can do it together. We just have to breathe, nothing else.”

Alex inhaled with Luke that time, not quite as deeply and not quite as steady, but more air than he had managed to get before. It took several long moments before he was able to match Luke completely, the fog starting to clear from his brain, surroundings snapping back into focus.

“Great, good, just keep breathing, okay? I’m gonna go grab the office keys and we’ll take a minute in there to talk, okay?”

Alex nodded, not exactly wanting Luke to leave but knowing whatever his best friend was saying logically made sense. Reggie slipped into the space Luke had been occupying, breathing in the exact same pattern, and Alex refocused on him. When Reggie stood, Alex copied him, reaching out to grip the back of Reggie’s red flannel as he led them both off of the stage and down the hallway to the office in the back of the bar. Alex dropped onto the couch, burying his face in his hands.

“Lex? Can you tell us what’s going on?”

Reggie’s voice was soft and quiet, like a gentle melody. Alex let it wash over him, knew his boys would be able to help if he could just figure out how to get his mouth to form the words it desperately didn’t want to say out loud. He fought to speak for a few moments before finally just thrusting his phone forward. A hush fell over the room as Luke and Reggie scrolled through the texts and Alex was suddenly grateful that he wouldn’t have to read through them himself. After what felt like an eternity but was probably only a few minutes, Luke cleared his throat and spoke.

“Okay, so good news or bad news first?”

“How can there possibly be good news?”

Alex’s throat felt raw and scratchy, the words coming out broken and strangled. Luke and Reggie exchanged a quick glance before Reggie sat next to Alex on the couch. Not touching, but close enough for Alex to feel comforted all the same.

“Willie isn’t dead or dying, so yes, there is good news. Which one do you want first?”

A significant amount of the panic left Alex’s system at the reassurance that his boyfriend was alive and going to stay that way for the time being. It hit him all at once, sending him into Reggie’s side as he let out a cry of relief. Reggie’s hand stroked up and down Alex’s arm, a low hum sounding in the back of his throat. Luke spoke again.

“Okay, so good news is that Willie is probably already back in LA, he’s at the best hospital he can be at, and he’s going to be fine.”

Alex clung to the words like a life raft. Willie was going to be fine. He turned it into a mantra, repeating it over and over again until he felt like he was back in control, no longer on the precipice of drowning. He disentangled himself from Reggie’s arms, took a deep breath, and met Luke’s gaze.

“I’m ready. Gimme the bad news.”

Luke let out a long breath before sitting down on Alex’s other side.

“The guys were in a car accident. They didn’t even make it to the competition. Willie was in the passenger seat and he took the worst hit in the collision. The other guys got taken to a local hospital, but they had to send Willie to Cedars-Sinai because of some special orthopedic department there. Max said they mentioned he would be admitted to the post-trauma floor.”

A car accident. He didn’t even make it to the competition. Alex had considered himself prepared for the worst when it came to Willie and his chosen profession. He had told himself that loving Willie meant accepting the risk that came with skateboarding, especially at the level that Willie did it. He had not once considered the fact that Willie could be hurt in some type of freak accident that had nothing to do with skating. The life raft slipped from his mental fingers, hurtling him back into the sea of despair once again.

“We got this, okay?” Luke was still speaking. “Reg is gonna call an Uber and take you to the hospital, and I’m gonna get Dante and Felix to help pack up stuff here and then come meet you. It’s gonna be okay.”

Luke’s words painted a path for Alex to follow, a way to move forward without having to fight so hard to do so. He nodded, allowed himself to be bundled out of the employee entrance and into the car Reggie had called. Clung to Reggie’s flannel again as they traversed the white hallways of the hospital, eventually making their way to a nurse’s station situated on the post-trauma surgical floor. Alex didn’t even let himself think about what that string of words implied. Not until Reggie nudged him forward to speak with the blonde-haired woman with kind brown eyes sitting behind the welcome desk. He forced himself to clear the lump in his throat and scrape some words together.

“Hi, I’m uh, my name is Alex. Alex Mercer? I’m looking for my boyfriend Willie? William, actually, his name is William Stewart. He was...he was in a car crash.”

The words came out in starts and stops, cracking at the edges as Alex forced them through numb lips. The nurse nodded, her fingers tapping across the keyboard in a sharp staccato.

“He’s out of surgery, but might still be a bit groggy. The limit is one visitor at a time, so your friend will have to wait out here.”

Alex turned to Reggie with a blank stare.

“You got this, Lex. Remember, he’s gonna be fine. I’ll be right here, and Luke is on his way too. Whatever you need, okay? We got you.”

Alex nodded even though the movement itself felt like a lie. The nurse smiled softly at him and for one split moment Alex wished he could call his mom, hear her comforting voice the way he used to when he was a scared little kid. But he had Luke and Reggie now. And Willie, who was alive somewhere in this hospital.

“He’s in room 604, just down the hall.”

Alex forced his feet to move. Forced himself to count the numbers on the wall until he found 604. Forced himself to open the door and enter the room.

Willie looked so small on the bed, his dark hair a mess across the stark white pillowcase, his leg encased in plaster and suspended from some contraption that hung down from the ceiling. He turned his head at the noise of the door opening, eyes half open and soft with sleep or maybe painkillers. The smile on his face was a mere shadow of its normal sunshine.

“Hey, Hotdog.”

Alex wanted to cry. He wanted to scream and curl into a ball and absolutely lose it. But instead, he walked to the side of Willie’s bed and sat down in the chair next to it that seemed to have been waiting just for him.

“Have you been crying? Please tell me you weren’t crying.”

Okay, Willie was definitely on drugs. Because of course, Alex had been crying.

“Yes, I’ve been crying! Are you kidding me?”

Willie winced slightly and Alex was instantly swamped with guilt.

“No, okay, let me try that again.”

He took a deep breath and reached up to brush a few stray hairs away from Willie’s face. There were a number of cuts and bruises marring his skin, a few of them hidden under bandages.

“Hey pretty boy, I’m so glad you’re not dead. I’ve never been more scared than when I saw that text from Max. I thought you cracked your head open on a halfpipe or something, what the hell happened?”

Willie tried to shrug and grimaced, like it hurt. Alex’s hands fluttered uselessly above his boyfriend’s body, unsure where would be safe to touch. He settled for grabbing the hand that Willie offered which was thankfully unmarked, nothing but some leftover scars from catching himself at the skatepark.

“I think our car flipped? There was a lot of crashing and my leg really fuckin hurt. It’s still hurts.”

Willie frowned, clearly addled from the leftover anesthesia and whatever they were giving him for the pain. Alex pulled his hand up to press a series of kisses across Willie’s knuckles, making sure to cover each scar at least once.

“You can’t die on me, Wills. I fucking love you, okay? I know you do insane stunts and regularly let yourself get beat to crap at the skate park, but you can’t fucking die on me in some stupid car accident. I’d lose my goddamn mind without you.”

“You love me?”

Willie’s voice was soft and awed and Alex suddenly realized he hadn’t ever actually said those words out loud before even though they’d been living in his brain for months now. When he looked into Willie’s eyes he saw a hint of wetness there, and his heart melted.

“Yes, I love you, you fucking dork. I’ve been in love with you for months.”

Willie grinned, dopey eyed and pink cheeked.

“Well, I’ve been in love with you for like, ever. So, I win. Gimme a kiss for my prize.”

Alex laughed and rolled his eyes, but obliged, nonetheless. Willie might not remember this interaction, but Alex would never forget it. A look of absolute peace settled onto his boyfriend’s face.

“I knew you’d come. I knew as soon as that car hit us that when I woke up, you’d be here. You’re the best boyfriend ever, that’s why I love you. And you’re so hot. Like, really hot.”

Alex’s cheeks burned, his heart kicking into overdrive.

“C’mere,” Willie nodded his head to the side and tried to shuffle over, like he was inviting Alex to climb in next to him. He made a disgruntled sound when the contraption his leg was in refused to budge, frowning up at the suspension system.

“That’s so lame, what the fuck? I wanna cuddle.”

And Alex, unable to resist even when he knew it would probably be better for Willie if he did, climbed up to wedge his body into the small space between Willie and the guardrails on his bed. He tucked one arm behind Willie’s head, pulling his face into the space between his neck and shoulder. Willie let out a contented sigh, his breath sending shivers down Alex’s spine.

“You smell like you,” Willie whispered, the sound happy and relaxed. “I love you, Lex.”

“I love you, too.” Alex sighed, kissing his way across every single cut and bruise he could reach without moving.

Willie settled into place, his body going lax and soft snores sounding out against Alex’s chest within moments. Alex let his own head fall to rest against the top of Willie’s, finally allowing himself to believe everything would be okay. When the same nurse came to tell him that his other friend had arrived and maybe it would be best to come back in the morning, he accepted it without complaint. She gave him a final moment to say goodnight, Alex taking the time to make sure Willie was tucked in tight before kissing his temple softly.

Willie was going to be okay, and Alex was going to spend the rest of his life making sure he was always the one there to kiss his scrapes and bruises.

Send me prompts for my second birthday!

[invisibleraven]

The Ghosts of Christmas Eve

@jatp-adventevent Day Fifteen: The Other Side of Nutcracker <-AO3 link

Pairing: Willex

Everyone is alive and aged up.

Willie would be the first to admit that he wasn’t exactly a cultured fellow. Sure, he enjoyed the odd museum, but he usually broke into them to scream and skate rather than enjoy the various pieces of art. Especially since his graffiti was a far stretch better than some of the pieces he’d seen.

So maybe Willie wasn’t big on what the upper crust would call art, but he would still endure it for family. As a teen, Caleb Covington took him in off the streets, a move for which Willie was forever grateful. Caleb tried taking him to operas and exhibits, but they weren’t really Willie’s scene. Yet he never complained, because as a young orphan he never would have gotten the chance to experience these things, so even if he wasn’t the biggest fan of Italian expressionism or Wagner, he still went every time Caleb asked.

This time was no exception, when Caleb told him that he had tickets for this year’s production of The Nutcracker. Now ballet, Willie could get behind, loving how the dancers told a story with their bodies, expressing the gamut of emotion without a single word. Plus The Nutcracker had become tradition, a kick off to the holiday season in the Covington household. Willie threw on his suit and prepared to enjoy the show.

There was a new dancer playing the titular role this year, he noted; watching the man’s strong muscles and toned body pirouette and jeté across the stage. The lights caught in his golden blonde hair, showcasing his handsome face. Willie sat there enraptured every moment the man was on stage, unable to tear his eyes away. At intermission he flipped through the program, stopping when he got to the dancer’s bio. Alex Mercer was his name, he had been dancing for years all over the country and had finally come back to LA to join their dance company for the new season.

Willie had to meet this man who moved him with his dancing. He wondered if Caleb could use his connections to get him backstage. The rest of the show went the same way, with Willie only having eyes for Alex, his heart giving a little zing when the man took his bow, the bright smile he gave the crowd doing Willie in.

“You want to meet him?” Caleb whispered as the applause died down and the dancers went off stage, Willie’s eyes trailing after Alex. Willie sputtered for a second, but then gave a meek yes. Caleb grinned, pulling them towards the stage manager, who was of course, a good friend. Backstage it was chaos as dancers and crew ran around everywhere to get the stage packed up and get home before it got too late. Then Willie saw him; Alex was standing there, dressed down in an oversized pink hoodie and sweats, throwing on his bag. The stage manager called his name, and beckoned him over.

“Alex, this is Caleb Covington, he’s a big patron of our company. And this is his son, Willie. They wanted to meet you.” She pushed them forwards and then giving Caleb an air kiss, rushed off to whatever task she had been in the middle of before he ambushed her.

“Good job young man, I hope to see more of you in the future,” Caleb said to Alex with a sincere smile. He then turned to Willie “I’ll be in the car, take your time.”

Willie flushed but nodded, then turned to Alex who looked a little flustered to be alone with him. “Your dancing was…breath-taking. Almost as much as you are.”

Alex scoffed, but his pink face told another story. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

“I was wondering if maybe I could take you out sometime? Get a coffee?”

Alex looked away, biting his lip, and Willie slumped in defeat. Of course this gorgeous, successful dancer would have a partner already, or at least, had no interest in Willie. “I’d like to,” Alex spoke up, “but I’m doing eight shows a week until Christmas. Doesn’t leave me much time to date. Maybe we could do something on New Years? I get a bit of a break then until we launch our new show in February.”

Willie beamed and handed over his phone, Alex grinning as he entered his number and texted himself. “See you New Years,” he promised as he ran off when the stage manager called his name once more. Willie beamed as he watched him walk away, looking at the simple fireworks emoji Alex had sent himself. He promised himself to make it a reality come their date, and with one last glance at Alex who blushed at his gaze, went off to find Caleb to thank him for insisting he always try to culture himself.

[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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[stargazing-dreamer-girl]

My sister’s ghost band and me

In which you sometimes forget that you’re dealing with ghosts and can’t actually touch them.

Platonic!Alex Mercer x reader, platonic!Reggie Peters x reader, platonic!Luke Patterson x reader

Oh, it’s gender neutral reader btw

WC: 6k

A/N: It’s finally finished! I worked really hard on this, so I hope you like it. For some reason I can’t tag the person who commented on my post about the concept for this story, but I hope this finds their way to them :)

Ever since the three ghost boys have appeared in your life nothing has been the same. Your sister Julie who had lost such a big part of herself when your mother died finally had that back and you’ve never been prouder of her. The music she was making with the guys was so beautiful and you would never stop being grateful to them for doing what you couldn’t, bringing music back into her life.

So, it was no wonder that the one song of them that was on YouTube was playing on repeat in your household. You were humming along to ‘Edge of Great’ while preparing dinner when the front door opened and your dad walked in.

“Man, I love that song!” He exclaimed when he noticed what you were listening to. He shrugged off his coat moving his head along to the beat.

“No way! Me too!” You laughed turning the volume down a little, so you could talk to your dad without having to scream over the music. He came over to the kitchen, pressing a small kiss to your temple in greeting before glancing into the pot and letting out a cheer.

“Yes! Your pasta! I love you!” He pulled you into a hug eliciting another laugh from you. When you looked over at him, he was still staring into the pot mesmerized. You lifted up your hand to bop his nose taking him out of that trance.

“Love you, too, papi.” The alarm going off then alerted you that the breadsticks were done, so you moved around your dad to take them out of the oven. “I know you need to take Carlos to practice, so I’ll just set some aside for you guys and you can reheat it when you get back.”

“Yes, right. Thank you!” He called for your little brother right after who came running down the stairs immediately. “Let’s go!” You shouted a quick “Bye!” after them which was left unheard with the door falling shut before you finished talking. The only noise in the kitchen now was the muffled music coming from the studio, the video you had been watching having finished long ago. You shut your laptop and put it in the living room to make some room in the kitchen.

You were about to call Julie in for dinner, before you thought better of it. Instead, you filled two plates with pasta and took some breadsticks, before you left the house and walked over to where your sister’s band was rehearsing. The music got louder the closer you got to the big white doors, a song you didn’t recognize playing.

Pushing one of the doors farther open with your foot while balancing the plates you were greeted with the sight of Julie belting out what had to be the last note of their new song before they noticed you. Luke was the first to look over, exclaiming your name with a smile on his face which prompted the rest of the group to turn towards you as well.

“I brought dinner!” You announced, mostly to Julie since the three boys weren’t capable of eating anything. She moved away from the keyboard to take one of the plates from your hands setting it down on the table. You followed right after her after greeting the boys and went to sit down on the floor, your back leaning against the couch. “That sounded great! Is it a new song?” You asked before taking the first bite.

The guys moved to join Julie and you around the table. Even though they couldn’t eat they still provided great company. When Luke sat down right next to Julie you shared a look with Alex. You were always talking about how obvious the chemistry between the two was on stage and wondered if it would ever transition to off-stage as well.

“Yeah, it’s called ‘Stand Tall’ and it’s definitely an anthem!”

“Well, I’d love to hear the whole thing some time.”

Julie nodded excitedly. “Just come to the next band practice! I don’t even know what you’re always doing huddled up in the house.”

“Gee, thanks! I might be focusing on school work or something equally insignificant.”

“You can just do your work here while you’re listening to us play,” Reggie chimed in, earning approving nods from the group.

 Alex plopped out of the studio at some point during dinner saying something about meeting Willie. Julie left shortly after as soon as she was done eating. Flynn had texted her and wanted her to come over. But, being the good sister that she was, she took your plate inside with her before she left. Then it was just you, Reggie and Luke left in the studio although the latter didn’t really count since he was so focused on songwriting that he didn’t react at all to anything you said.

You remained sitting on the ground, but turned to face Reggie. He had made himself comfortable on the couch you had been leaning against. Resting your head on your arm you looked up at him, a small smile on your face.

“What’s up with you?” He asked, an uneasy chuckle escaping him as he realized that your undivided attention was on him.

You bit your lip trying to refrain from breaking out into a huge grin. “I heard the cheerleaders talking about you today,” you told him with a wiggle of your eyebrows.

His face went red in an instant, a stark contrast to his pale skin tone. He started stammering before just smiling wildly over at Luke. “You hear that, dude? The cheerleaders talk about me!” But Luke was still so focused on his notebook that he didn’t notice. He did, however, notice it when Reggie threw his flannel at him to get his attention.

“Hey!” he exclaimed, scrunching up the flannel in his hands before throwing it back at his friend, hitting him right in the head. “What did you do that for?”

“You’re not listening! They just told me some great news and you didn’t even listen!”

“Wait! What news?” Luke shut his book focusing his attention on you as he waited for you to repeat yourself, probably expecting something more exciting than what you have told Reggie. You could see it in his face. When your words sunk in, his face fell, his expression somewhere between boredom and annoyance. “And that’s why you stopped me? Dude, I was working on some killer lyrics!” With that he grabbed his notebook again and teleported out of the garage.

Reggie quickly got over his best friend abruptly leaving and turned back to you. “Well, I hope, you told them that you know me. I’m nothing without my greatest fan.”

“So, I’m your greatest fan now?”

“Well, of course, there can’t be another reason you’re always at our gigs,” he replied smugly, leaning forward in his seat. “And always notice when someone’s talking about me.”

You tried to hide behind your hands as you felt heat rising to your head. “I’m just attentive when it comes to my sister’s band. It’s got nothing to do with you personally.” You shrug, peeking a glance at him from behind your hands. The pout on his face made you reconsider though. “But you’re a pretty great guy.”

He moved off the couch to sit on the floor with you. You had already learned that Reggie could be easily excitable. He was like a puppy, so you couldn’t resist when he watched you with a big smile and sparkling eyes to bop his nose like you always did with your siblings and your dad. What you didn’t factor in was that your finger would go right through his face.

You quickly pulled your hand away and jumped up to bring some distance between yourself and the situation. The pacing you started wasn’t really a conscious choice. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t think. It was an impulse and I momentarily forgot. God, that was so awkward. I can’t believe that just happened. I’m so sorry, Reggie.”

When you were met with silence you stopped your pacing to look up at him. He was still on the ground following you with his eyes. But instead of looking horrified or angry he had a smile on his face when he called your name. “It’s fine. I feel honored, really.” The confused look on your face prompted him to explain some more. “I always see how you do that to Julie, Carlos, your dad, even Flynn. You do it to the people you care about and I’m happy I’m one of them, even if it’s not the same and it might be a little weird, ‘cause, like, I can feel something but it’s not quite touch. But I can definitely feel that you have a lot of love in your heart. You mean a lot to me, too. To all of us. I wouldn’t mind if it happened again because I know it means that you love us.”

“That was really sappy.” You tried to play it off but his words meant a lot to you. They were true and having it laid out in front of you like that brought tears to your eyes.

“Oh shit, I didn’t mean to make you cry!” He jumped up and quickly moved over to you. His hands hovered just above your cheeks. He was cursing himself for not being able to wipe your tears now and just wrap you into a hug.

“They’re not sad tears, Reggie. I’m fine. I’m just… grateful to have you guys in my life.” You gave him a small smile before excusing yourself to turn in for the night. The incident replayed in your mind and even though you couldn’t help but feel embarrassed by the fact that you forgot about him being a ghost for a second you appreciated the words he told you.

 The incident was soon forgotten. Well, not that soon. You had made the grave mistake of telling Julie about it and she went on to tell it to Flynn. They both kept teasing you because of it. But at some point, even that died down and you didn’t have to constantly think about your slipup. Reggie’s behavior around you didn’t change at all either which calmed you immensely.

When you got home that afternoon the house was unusually quiet and when you shouted out for your family members nobody gave you a reaction.

“Nobody’s home,” sounded from your right, making you jump in surprise. Alex, adorned by his pink sweatshirt, had appeared right next to you. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you. But I heard you come home and thought I’d come over. Julie and Luke are working on some lyrics, so they banned us from the garage.”

You calmed down from the shock fairly quickly. A side effect of having ghost friends was that it didn’t freak you out as much anymore when one just appeared out nowhere, or at least you learned to recover fast. “So, where’s Reggie? I can’t imagine he got to stay when you were thrown out.”

“Oh no, he’s down by the beach, I think. He sometimes still goes to where his house used to be and just sits there for a while.” You hadn’t known that. It always seemed like Reggie was faring well with being a ghost, but appearances can be deceiving. That’s nothing new.

“It must be hard for you guys. Knowing that the people you knew now have a completely different life while for you guys it was just such a short period of time. How long did you say it felt like you were in that dark room? An hour? That must be so surreal.”

“An hour, yeah,” he confirmed. “I mean, it’s not like we had the best relationship with our parents to begin with, but not even knowing if they are still alive or where they are, is pretty weird.”

“I could try to find them for you.” It was more of a question than a statement, but you at least wanted to give him the option. “If that’s what you want.” He said nothing for a while, just stared at the floor, at you, at the pictures hanging at the wall. “You don’t have to decide now. I just wanted to let you know that that may be an option, but I get it if that’s not what you want. Just take your time and think about it.”

You picked up your backpack you had dropped when Alex first appeared and moved towards the stairs. “I need to do my homework. Do you want to join me?”

He nodded excitedly. “I’ll see you in your room!” He announced and popped out of the living room. You could just shake your head at the use of teleportation, but hurried to get up to your room yourself.

Alex was already lying on your bed when you got there and set your backpack down by your desk. “That sure seems convenient.”

“What does? Oh! That! It kinda is. Still freaks me out sometimes, too, though.” He rolled to lie on his stomach and watched you sit down at your desk. “Do you have a lot to do?”

“Not really.” You shook your head, grabbing the stuff you needed. “I should be quick.”

So, you did your homework with Alex watching you. From time to time he asked questions about what you were learning in school and you explained it to him to the best of your knowledge. That was one of the reasons you liked doing homework with Alex. Explaining the material to him helped you understand it better as well. And you just liked being around him.

When you were done you didn’t even bother to put the stuff away before you jumped onto the bed next to Alex. “So, what have you and Willie been up to?” You asked. The boy next to you turned onto his back to look up at the ceiling and you followed suit.

“He took me to an empty museum and then we screamed there.” His voice went up at the end, making it sound like a question. He actually just didn’t know how to say it without it sounding completely bizarre. “It was actually really freeing.” He paused to think about his next words. If he spoke about it, it would become a real thing and he didn’t know if he was ready for that. But eventually, he did speak them. “I don’t know. I really like hanging out with him. It’s fun and he gets me to do things I normally wouldn’t. He teaches me about stuff I’ve missed out on. And I think I’m falling for him. Hard. And I don’t know what to do about it. I mean, a ghost romance? That sounds weird to me. Does a thing like that even work?”

You thought about it for a second. You didn’t even know if that question was just rhetorical or if he actually wanted an answer, but it was an interesting thing to think about.

“I mean, you’re both ghosts. You can see and hear and touch each other. It’s not that different from a relationship between living people, I’d say. You just won’t grow old together. Physically, I mean. But what matters most are your feelings. So, if you like him, go for it. He seems like a great guy.”

“He is,” Alex answered absentmindedly, a dreamy smile on his face as he looked off into the distance.

“You’re so cute!” You squealed and lifted your hand to his nose but stopped yourself before actually reaching his face. The moment with Reggie flashed back into your mind before you dropped your hand. The nose bops you gave your family had become second nature for you, so actively stopping yourself felt wrong. Not doing it to show your affection felt wrong. But you didn’t want a repeat of that embarrassing situation. Instead, you laughed it off when Alex tilted his head questioningly. “Anyways, I’m hungry. Would you give me the honor of joining me in the kitchen?” you asked dramatically after standing up from your bed.

He didn’t even answer, but disappeared with a plop. “You coming?” sounded from downstairs right after. You could just shake your head at him but hurried downstairs nonetheless.

“You have to stop doing that! It’s so unfair!” You complained when you reached the kitchen and opened the fridge. Pulling out some ingredients for a sandwich you looked back at your friend. “And you always complain about them too! But then you use them nonetheless. Sounds to me like you don’t appreciate what you have.”

“What is he not appreciating?” sounded a voice behind you which made you scream in surprise. Not your proudest moment.

“Luke!” You scolded the brunet who had appeared in the kitchen as well. “Don’t do that me! You guys are gonna kill me one day!” He gave you a sweet smile as he apologized. You couldn’t stay mad at him if he looked at you like that.

“So, what is Alex not appreciating?”

“His ghost abilities! You guys can teleport and summon your instruments. That’s so cool! And Alex just keeps complaining about stuff. And I get it. To get those abilities you had to die which is not great at all, but you can’t change it, so I say you should just appreciate what you have,” you ranted while preparing your sandwich. Luke watched on, nodding along to what you were saying. His face fell a little when you mentioned their deaths, but he came back around quickly.

“I totally agree. We can do some really cool stuff now. I always tell Alex the same thing, it-“

“Ok, yeah, I see you two are conspiring against me here, so I’m just gonna go and leave you guys to it.” With that he plopped out of the kitchen, disappearing off to who-knows-where.

“As I was saying, isn’t it amazing how we are connected to our instruments, even in death? And that we can summon them! And the teleporting, of course! It’s so easy to get around!” Luke jumped into a monologue telling you all about the upsides of being a ghost while you just stood there and listened.

You could see it in his eyes before he started speaking about it. The bad parts of it all. The fact that he can go see his parents but that they will never know he was there, that they have to live with the fact that their child died before them. It was like that for all the boys. Thinking about their parents, their families, it was painful. Luke didn’t know if his situation, actually being able to visit his parents, was better than what Reggie and Alex had to live with. Their parents had left. They had nothing to go back to. But their family situations also were not that great. Which was another part. None of them would ever have a chance to make things right with their parents. If that would even have been possible when they were alive. It was a big ‘if’, but one that plagued the boys’ minds often.

Hearing him talk about it, you were reminded of your family. Your dad, tia Victoria, Carlos, Julie. Your mom. Even if she wasn’t with you anymore, you were glad you still had the others. You couldn’t begin to imagine what it was like for them. All you wanted to do right now was to give Luke a hug and to let him know that you were there for him.

“Luke.” You finally spoke up after a minute of silence that had occurred after his story. You weren’t quite sure what to say. No words would be right to express your thoughts and feelings in this moment. “We love you, Luke. Reggie, Alex, Julie and I. We all love you. I know we can never be your mom or your dad, but we’re family. You mean so much to us. I know, we haven’t known each other for a long time, but you guys have become such a huge part of our lives. It’s crazy! I just want you to know that you’re not alone. You have people who love you. And your parents love you, too. Even if they can’t see you, even if they don’t know you’re there. They love you.”

Tears started to cloud your vision, mimicking the ones that were already rolling down Luke’s face. His blurry figure moved to stand close to you. You felt a coldness at your nose. Realizing what he did you let out a small chuckle. It was a ritual shared between you and your loved ones, letting you know that your words had reached him, that he understood and felt the same.

Hearing your name spoken from the direction of the front door you were pulled out of the situation. A quiet plopping sound let you know that Luke had left. “Why are you crying in the kitchen?” Carlos asked. Your little brother cautiously moved towards where you were standing as if he was dealing with a scared animal. “Is it a feelings thing? Should I call Julie?”

“I’m fine, Carlos. Don’t worry. But… would you give me a hug?” You opened your arms to lure him in.

“Eww no. Get away from me!” He started running away when you stepped closer. You followed suit with your arms wide open. And that was how your dad found you when he came home from work that day, you chasing Carlos around the living room. Your tears had dried and were replaced with laughter. Especially when your dad took your side and scooped Carlos up in his arms as he tried to run past him.

“Group hug!” you exclaimed and joined the two in a hug with Carlos still complaining even though he didn’t do anything to get out of the situation.

 “Can you tell the boys I won’t make it to practice today? Something came up.” Before you could answer her, Julie had already hung up on you. You were left wondering what was so important that she would miss band practice, but soon gave up on actually finding an answer to that.

You had almost been home when you got the call, so instead of going into the house you went straight for the garage to let the boys know Julie wouldn’t be coming. Faint music was coming from there. It seemed like they already started without her anyway.

“Guys! How many times do we have to tell you not to play when neither Julie or I are here? Our dad could hear you! And Carlos is already on that whole ghost hunting trip, so you shouldn’t feed into it anymore than you already did!” You side-eyed Reggie with that last comment, but he kept his eyes on his bass, plucking on the strings.

“Well, hello to you, too, Molina. We are doing great. Thanks for asking.” Luke had stepped up to you, guitar still hanging around his neck. “Nobody’s home and we were playing on volume 1. No one could have heard us,” he justified their behavior.

“Okay, fine.” You relented. It did make sense that they should be allowed to play under those circumstances. “Anyways, Julie won’t make it to practice today, so if you want to work on some stuff without her, I’ll stay out here with you.”

“Well, it won’t really be band practice, if not even the whole band is present,” Alex noted to which the others agreed.

“But you should still stay out here with us!” Reggie exclaimed and if he could, he would’ve pulled you from your spot by the doors to the couch, so you wouldn’t even have a chance to think about leaving. But he couldn’t, so he tried to will you to move with his thoughts. When you walked over to the couch you noticed the astonished look on Reggie’s face, but decided not to comment on it.

“Why do you barely spend time here with us? It feels like we always have to come into the house to spend time with you,” Alex questioned. His hands were fumbling with the hem of his sweatshirt as he made eye contact with you. He realized in that moment there was much more to that question than he had thought.

You hesitated with your answer, not knowing if you should put your innermost thoughts and feelings out there, but after the talk you had with Luke the other day you knew you could trust them. “I don’t know. I guess, it still feels weird being in mom’s studio. Some moments it doesn’t bother me, but other times it just overwhelms me and it reminds me so much of mom that I can’t stay in here. I’m sorry. I love spending time with you guys, but sometimes it’s just too much.” Your gaze moved around the studio, from the floating chairs over to the grand piano and back to the boys in front of you. “Some days are just harder than others.” You shrugged, hoping that the boys wouldn’t stay on that topic.

“But Ju-“ Luke started but was stopped when Alex elbowed him in the side. “Dude, what? Julie ha- ohh. Sorry!” he mumbled, averting his gaze. Comparing people’s grieving progress was not a thing one should do and he just realized after, what he had been doing and regretted it instantly.

“Anyways, you know what I realized?” Reggie decided to change the topic for which you all were grateful. “You have never heard a live performance of a Sunset Curve song! You’ve just heard us play the new songs with Julie.”

“That’s right!” Luke piped up, back in his element. “We can play you something!” He jumped up and grabbed his guitar without even waiting for your answer. The other boys followed suit. Alex got situated behind his drums while Reggie grabbed his bass. Moving up to the mic in the front Luke pointed a finger at you. “This one’s for you! This is Now or Never.”

You recognized the song as the first track on their demo. The song that got them here. It brought back memories of the night they first showed up in the studio. Your dad had asked Julie to go through the stuff in the studio for the move. She had begged you to come with her since she didn’t want to be alone to do it. When you found the demo, you didn’t think anything about it when you put it into the player, but then the boys appeared and turned your whole life upside down.  And now you were here, with a ghost band playing you a song, for everyone to hear, but only you to see.

You were the only one who got to see Reggie and Luke sharing a mic, Reggie rocking with Alex in the back, them all just feeling the music. It was indeed what they were born to do. It was obvious for anyone who saw them on stage that that was where they belonged.

When the song came to a close you jumped up and applauded them. They bowed to you, big smiles on their faces at your reaction. “You guys sound great! I loved it! Thank you!”

The song still resonated within you when you sat back down with the boys. Their excited chatter filled your ears as you watched them interact with each other. The short amount it had taken you and Julie to get used to the presence of ghosts was crazy, but you couldn’t think them away anymore. They had become such a big part of your life as if they had always been there. You liked to believe in Flynn’s theory that it had been your mom who had brought them into your life, that she looked out for you and your family even from beyond the grave.

You were pulled out of your thoughts when Alex spoke to you. “Sorry, what did you say?”

“I was asking what you’re thinking about.” He repeated himself.

“Oh, um, you guys, my mom, Julie. Everything that’s happened… You guys are really important to me, you know. It’s… I don’t know. We haven’t known each other for that long, but I wouldn’t want to think you guys out of my life even if that might be selfish of me.”

“Well, good thing we’re not planning on leaving,” Luke commented, sending you a wink. You scoffed but let a smile take over your features. They were idiots, but they were your idiots.

“So, what’s been happening at school?”

You looked at Reggie with a raised eyebrow. “You want to know about school? Really?”

“Yeah.” He shrugged. “I actually kinda miss it.” He looked between Luke and Alex to see if they felt similar but got no reaction from them. “Well, guess I’m the only one. But how is it?”

“Same as usual, I guess. Bunch of work to do, some good teachers, some bad, Carrie starting drama as usual. Did Julie tell you Nick broke up with Carrie?” The boys shook their head no, now intrigued. “Well, he told Julie he broke up with her because she’s “not the nicest person” which is true, obviously. We all know that. But I wonder why he just saw it now? Like, why did he get together with her in the first place? I never knew! Someday they were just together and I have zero clue how it happened,” you let them know, “Oh, and Julie and Nick partnered up in dance class!”

“They did?” Alex exclaims, living for the drama. “Isn’t he the guy Julie likes?”

“He is! She’s been crushing on him for, like, forever! And now that he’s not with Carrie anymore and they spend time together at dance practice…” You let the end of the sentence hang in the air. “So, yeah, that’s what’s been happening at school,” you concluded. With the boys showing up at school sometimes, you didn’t know how up-to-date they actually were with Los Feliz High drama. If you could even call it that.

“So, she’s with him now?” Luke huffed. He frowned as he leaned back against the couch. “Instead of practicing with her band.”

“She might be.” You shrugged. “I actually don’t know where she is or what she’s doing. She’s her own person, you know. She might be my sister, but that doesn’t mean I know every single piece of information about her. I can just assume. And I like to assume that she’s with Nick, practicing their dance. Because, one, they get a grade for it and she shouldn’t fail and two, because I am living for the whole Nick drama.”

“Same,” added Alex in a nonchalant voice which had you do a doubletake.

“Wait! Did you learn that from Willie? You didn’t use ‘same’ that way before, right? That’s not a 90s thing.” You stared at him with big eyes. The confirmation came as a small nod as he turned his head to avoid anyone’s gaze. “That’s cute. I like it. Sometimes I feel like you guys don’t understand me right when I say stuff like that, so that’s awesome that he teaches you stuff like that.”

“Hey! I want to learn that stuff, too!”

“Well, Reggie, Alex can just teach you what he learns from Willie.”

“But what if I want you to teach me?” He asked moving over to your seat. He sat down on the arm rest of your chair looking down at you with big puppy eyes.

“I’d be such a bad teacher. Just tell me if you don’t understand something and I’ll try. I can’t promise you I know all of the references or memes though. You do know what a meme is by now, right?” The boys nodded. “Ok, good. That’s a start. Now, Reggie, may I please have the chair back to myself? It’s not that big to begin with.”

The boy stood up quickly with raised hands, before he motioned for you and the chair. “It wouldn’t really make a difference. I’m basically air.” He flailed his arms around. Luke and Alex just made some agreeing noises. Reggie stopped his wild moments as he saw you watching with a smile and a raised eyebrow. “See.” He knelt down in front of you and lifted a finger to your nose. He gently pressed down, the cold feeling of his finger not going through you this time.

As his finger made contact with your nose it became dead silent in the studio. Luke and Alex were staring at the scenario in front of them, while you and Reggie looked at each other with wide eyes, before you jumped up causing Reggie to quickly move back. “You can touch me!” you exclaimed. “How? Why? What? How is this possible?”

Your mind was racing with just one thought being clear in all the chaos. Reggie had just touched you. You were scared, in a way, as you held out your hand towards him again. Would you be able to do it again? Was it just a one-time thing? But when you felt the ghostly touch of his hand as he interlaced his fingers with yours you knew it was real. It felt different than touching a human. There was no warmth, but you could still feel him. You could feel his hand in yours.

Your other hand was shaking as you covered your mouth in shock, tears threatening to spill from your eyes. “Alex?” You beckoned the blond forth who was just waiting for you to signal him that it would be alright to try. Timidly, he tried to touch your shoulder and when his hand didn’t go through either he wasted no time wrapping his arms around you in a bone-crushing hug. Sobs and laughter escaped your mouth. You hugged him back with one arm while Reggie was still staring at your intertwined hands in awe.

Luke didn’t dare move from his spot by the couch. This might all be a dream, even thought ghosts didn’t sleep and didn’t dream. But this felt so much like a dream come true that he didn’t dare disrupt it. Even when you made eye contact with him, silently asking him to join you, he couldn’t move a muscle.

You let go of Alex and Reggie slowly, their hands falling to their sides. Luke watched you walk around Alex until you stood in front of him raising your hand to the space between the two of you. His gaze wandered between you and your hand before he lifted his as well, but, as your hands were inches apart, he stopped, doubt clouding his mind once again. This couldn’t really be happening. So, you took the decision from him, placing your palm against his and as you had suspected, felt the resistance of his hand.

His face lit up instantly. His arms moved around your waist, picking you up and spinning you around as he let out victorious sounds. As soon as you were put back onto the ground, Alex and Reggie joined into the hug, almost crushing you, but you didn’t stop them. This was what they needed. And you did, too.

You didn’t know how it happened, what had changed, for you to be able to touch the three ghosts, but you were grateful for it. From then on, not a day would go by without a hug from a ghost. They liked touching you. An arm around your shoulder, around your waist, a hand reaching for yours, one of them lying with their head in your lap while you carded your fingers through their hair.

If you had before sometimes forgotten that they were ghosts – the realization coming back when you couldn’t touch them – it got even worse now.

[thevindicativevordan]

My Take on a Superman Video Game

I've seen other people give their takes on how to approach this, and given Superman and video games are two major topics of interest for me, I thought I'd give my pitch.

So first off, I’m giving him a health bar. Yes I know some people will b**** and no I don’t care. I don’t care what people who get their Superman knowledge from YouTube or Instagram “fact” pages think about the character, and all the other attempts such as the city health bar in the Returns game didn’t satisfy me. So right off the bat he’s getting a health bar. Second: it’s time to start showing casuals areas of Superman lore they either don’t know about or aren’t very familiar with. The reason for that is people think they “know” Superman so we need to immediately show something they DON’T know about or HAVEN’T seen already to get them to not immediately dismiss Superman out of hand based on memes or whatever. Which leads into my third creative point. Third: I’m not setting the first game in Metropolis. The Arkham games didn’t immediately throw you into an open world Gotham, they built up to it. The Spider-Man PS4 game started off with an open world because they were able to build upon dozens of Spider-Man games that laid the ground work for them. The first Superman game in decades needs to avoid biting off more than it can chew, and throwing Superman into an open world feels like a bad idea. So where can it be? Well there are options. There’s Warworld. There’s Apokolips. But I think the best location is one that’s intrinsically tied to Superman and his Kryptonian background, and serves as a nice counterpart to Batman starting out in Arkham Asylum: The Phantom Zone

The Asylum was a great starting point for Batman for a couple reason: 1. It’s the iconic prison where Batman leaves his Rogues, 2. It’s gothic and horror esque vibe crafts the perfect atmosphere, and 3. it’s place as a center for examining the mind makes it great for exploring Batman’s mental state. For similar reason the PZ is the perfect place to start off Superman: 1. It likewise is an iconic prison for Superman Rogues 2. It’s science fiction and horror mixed together which crafts the perfect atmosphere for Superman to kick ass or be introspective, and 3. It lets Kal come face to face with his Kryptonian heritage in the nastiest way possible as he’s dumped into a place filled with prisoners his father helped exile as well as all the other monsters and criminals other races have dumped there. So he’s going to the Zone but how does he get there and what’s the story? It would be boring if he just walked in. Here’s the pitch: It’s Year 2 of Superman’s career. He’s already established himself as a hero in Metropolis and worldwide. The public knows he claims to mean them no harm and that he only seems to do good deeds, but they know very little about his origins and are divided as to his true intentions. The problem is Clark himself doesn’t really know his origins either beyond knowing he’s an alien from another planet. His only relics from his home planet are the rocket, a tablet written in a language he can’t read, and a curious device that doesn’t seem to have any use. As a show of goodwill, and because he hasn’t made any progress understanding them himself, Clark turns the tablet and the device over to STAR Labs for study. One day as he’s beating down some Intergang thugs, reality twists, and suddenly Clark finds himself in a place that is definitely not Metropolis. The “earth” is chalk white, the sky is a purple, green lightning flashes around as far as he can see, and where the sun should be there’s instead a black hole. Somehow Clark and the terrified Intergang thugs have ended up in the Phantom Zone with no idea of how they got there and how to get back.

The thugs accuse Clark of transporting them there and attack him, with Clark suddenly realizing his powers are fading in this place with no sunlight. Luckily a stranger arrives and aids Clark in dispatching the thugs. Clark thanks him for his aid and then asks who he is. The stranger pauses and tells Clark: “My name is Dru-Zod, a general of Krypton”. He raises a hand for Clark to shake. “I was a friend of your father, Kal-El”. Zod tells Kal about the place he’s in, and his history with it. He tells him that other humans have been brought here as well besides the Intergang thugs, including many of Clark’s foes. Zod informs Clark that the likely culprit for their arrival to the PZ is the very first prisoner Jor-El ever banished to the Phantom Zone: Xa-Du the Phantom King, who has spent so long imprisoned that he seems to have obtained a degree of control over the Zone that gives him strange powers. Kal is told that if he does not collect the scattered humans and escape the Zone soon, he and the humans will become trapped there, as anyone who spends too long in the Zone eventually becomes unable to leave without special equipment on the other side to bring them back, thanks to the way the Zone warps the inhabitants. Kal’s mission is clear: Collect the scattered humans, defeat and pacify his foes trapped there with him so they can be brought back as well, and defeat the Phantom King before he tears a hole between the Zone and the real world that could cause catastrophe for Earth. That’s the basic story pitch, next I’ll go into gameplay mechanics and what Rogues I’d use.

Clark starts the game having been de powered back to “Golden Age” power levels due to there being no sun in the PZ. Zod teaches him about Sunstones that grow naturally in the PZ, which will allow him to slowly re-empower himself. The Sunstones ward off the PZ’s influence and basically act as perk points for Clark to unlock and upgrade his powers. At the start he can’t fly, he can only run and leap. Zod acts as Kal’s mentor throughout the game, teaching him about Kryptonian history and how to read the language. He also tutors him in the dangers of the Phantom Zone as well as training him to hone his powers. Kal gets the feeling there’s more to Zod than he’s letting on though, and some of his comments raise Kal’s suspicions. The base of the game is the Fortress of Solitude.

It’s backstory is that when Jor-El first discovered the PZ, he built the FoS as a research outpost to study the place. It’s packed full of Kryptonian tech and it has the ability to shift back into the natural world. Zod couldn’t use it because it’s caretaker Kelex only responds to House El members. However it won’t shift back until it judges its user “sterilized” in order to avoid contaminating the natural world with the Zone’s influence. Because Kal was brought over so suddenly and without the proper tech, he has to use Sunstones to purge the Zone from his body before the Fortress will respond to his commands. This is a nice way of tying the gameplay and story together. Kal needs the stones to save the civilians and to go home, which helps explain why he might do side quests rather than stick with just the main questline. Civilians Superman has to rescue in the Zone: Lois Lane, Perry White, Jimmy Olsen, Dr. Veritas, Ron Troupe, Dr. John Henry Irons, Dr. Hamilton, Bibbo, Dr. Hank Henshaw and his family, Commissioner Henderson, Captain Maggie Sawyer, Detective Turpin, members of the Newskids Legion, Morgan Edge, and other OCs or nameless civilians. Kal also meets Krypto, who was transported into the Zone by Jor-El in order to watch over the Fortress as its guard, in order to keep it safe so that Kal might one day reclaim it. Rogues: Some of Superman’s Rogues have been teleported to the PZ as well, and unfortunately they have their own plans for escaping the Zone, even if it means they have to kill Superman to do it.

Metallo: John Corbyn is a cyborg soldier that served in the US Army under Sam Lane and was created as the government’s Anti-Superman deterrent. After a fight with Superman in his early career left him crippled, he was bonded to a nanosuit that equips him with various weaponry capable of killing Superman. He believes Superman transported everyone there as part of a first strike against humanity. Parasite: A Lexcorp lab experiment gone horribly wrong, Rudy Jones is a science fiction vampire who needs to kill to sustain himself. He absorbs the memories and skills of whoever he kills, and he is able to transform his body into various weapons (think Alex Mercer from [PROTOTYPE] to know what I mean). He’s hunting the civilians to feed on and has his eye on Superman as well. Livewire: Leslie was a vlogger with a far looser code of ethics than Clark. Her “reporting” eventually angered the wrong people who attempted to have her assassinated. Instead Leslie ended up with powers over electromagnetism, and a grudge against Morgan Edge who she believes was behind the Intergang hit on her. Edge is her target but she doesn’t mind stepping over Superman’s corpse if she has to. The Terran (Terra-Man): Krypton wasn’t the only planet to discover the Phantom Zone. One alien race banished the immortal hunter known as the Terran, whose human name was Tobias before he was abducted by aliens who were interested in the potential of the human meta gene and wanted to experiment on him. Their experiment was a success and Tobias broke free, using their own weaponry to hunt them down and carve a bloody path across the stars. Eventually he was transported to the PZ and is now desperate to escape. Mr. Mxy: Who is this creature? Neither a human nor seemingly an alien prisoner of the PZ, Mxy engages Clark in a series of puzzles that reveal secrets about the PZ... and foretell of threats to come. Red Cloud: An enforcer for the Invisible Mafia, her only loyalty is to her boss Leone. Her identity is a secret from Clark for now and she intends for it to remain that way. Silver Banshee: Not every human teleported to the PZ was unchanged. Some reacted much more strongly to the Zone’s influence. One former human has now been twisted into the sinister Silver Banshee, driven insane by the whispers in the Zone and the alterations to her body. She poses a formidable threat to Clark in her current state. Xa-Du: The Phantom King and first prisoner of the Phantom Zone sent from Krypton. Zod claims he was insane even before he was sent here but his incarceration has done nothing to improve his health if so. Gleefully plotting his return to the real world, Xa’s only desire is to raise an army of super zombies with himself as their Necrogod ruler. His time in the Zone has given him control over the degraded Phantoms, and he can channel the energies permeating the Zone into a variety of attacks (basically he’s a space necromancer). His aim is to corrupt Kal-El and the Fortress and use both to travel to Earth and he will never stop hunting Kal. Non boss mooks for Clark to fight: Phantoms - Some of the inhabitants of the Zone have degenerated into the ghostly Phantoms, their only desire to spread their suffering to others. They have been so warped by the Zone they’ve become a part of it and are thus incapable of permanently dying. Shades - Much more powerful Phantoms, Shades retain some memory of their former lives and posses some of their former skills. They serve as the elite of Xa-DU’s forces. Shadowbreed - Native creatures of the PZ, these beings feed on the light of the SunStones and thus see Clark as a meal as well. They possess various animals of the PZ to attack and feed on him. Eradicators - Once these machines served House El in their study of this place acting as defenders. But time has eroded their programming and they now seek to destroy even the Last Son of their old House.

That's the basic of my pitch, I think it's a fairly manageable one that addresses a lot of the arguments you get from people about why a game "wouldn't work" or whatever.

[adhd-disaster-willie]

Seventeen and strung out on confusion; chapter 1/4

Summary: Just some snippets of backstory for the one and only Alex Mercer; aka my comfort character. Each moment will have a date attached so you can understand the timeline. Angst with fluffy found family moments :)

Warnings: Homophobia, swearing

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As I’m sure you could guess, there are numerous problems that come with being the only out gay kid at your school in 1994. It’s not so bad if you keep your head down and persuade your friends not to get into a fight with everyone who throws a slur your way, but regardless. That pink hoodie that you’ve been wearing since you were 14 and is honestly too small at this point but your parents refuse to buy you another one? Well it’s a target on your back and apparently everyone at the school is now a professional archer. Or at least, they’re all very proficient in the art of unoriginal insults that cut deeper than they should. All of this is to say, don’t come out to your religious parents in 1994. Ever.

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Alex Mercer was born into a perfect nuclear family, in a two story house with a white picket fence, brick columns, and a clean cut yard that was unsettlingly green. His parents were as religious as anyone could get; straight-laced, good Catholic parents who kept their hands tight around Alex’s shoulders. He went to church every Sunday and tried to ignore the way his neck itched from the too-tight collar and his mother swatting at his hands until he had to sit on them to refrain from drumming on the nearest surface. He was good at hiding the way he payed undivided attention to his little sister’s ballet classes, good at pretending to stare at the girls in the hallways that all his friends drooled after, and especially good at convincing everyone that he drummed and sang to… impress said girls. Right. But unfortunately, Alex was even better at accidentally outing himself a day into the New Year, consequentially losing all of his parents’ affection.

He didn’t even exist to them anymore. Maybe it would’ve been better if they’d given him a million restrictions and curfews and basically chained his hands together, because this was unsettling. And lonely. Family dinners were a thing of the past, and he’d really begun to sympathize with Reggie and his microwaved, half-cold meals every morning and night. But it could always be worse. They hadn’t kicked him out… yet.

---

January 25, 1994

“Alex, dude!”

Alex flinched upon realizing Reggie’s hand waving in front of his face. He looked up and smiled guiltily, realizing the way he’d frozen, spaced out staring at the wall and absentmindedly hitting his sticks against his legs with a beat that didn’t at all match the song they were supposed to be rehearsing.

Luke sighed, wiping the pout off his face. “Alex, come on man! We aren’t gonna get any gigs if you keep…” He waved his hands vaguely and slapped Alex’s shoulder. “Just, pay attention dude.”

“Right,” Alex replied, his voice strained. He was staring down at his shoes and he could feel his bandmates having a silent conversation above his head which he could only deduce Luke was not happy with, probably meaning they were stopping rehearsal. He didn’t want them to stop for him; it made him feel like a burden, and Luke was right, if they were gonna make it anywhere, they had to be all in.

“Alex, you okay?” Reggie asked, his eyebrows knit together in concern.

Alex nodded briefly and kept his gaze trained on his feet. His sneakers were too small and he had to curl his toes in for them to fit but he was afraid of the reaction he’d get from telling his parents he needed something.

“It’s not one of those homophobic jackasses again, right?” Bobby asked, moving closer, his eyes narrowing. “I swear, this time I will cave Josh’s fucking face in-”

“It’s not!” Alex clarified, finally lifting his head. “It isn’t…” he sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look it’s just my parents alright? They…”

Reggie’s eyes widened and he began fiddling with his flannel sleeves. “They didn’t… they didn’t hurt you did they?” He asked, his voice small.

“No, no they didn’t hurt me… not physically at least.” He laughed ruefully. “They’re just being stupid, alright? Ignoring me like they have for the past 3 weeks.” Alex stood up, well aware that at this point band practice was a thing of the past. He walked to the couch, the other three boys in tow.

“Hey!” Luke elbowed Alex’s side before throwing an arm over his shoulders. “That new Green Day album is coming out in like, a week.” He grinned, eyes lighting up. “I’ve been saving up to buy it, and we can use that new cassette player I got for Christmas to listen to it.”

Alex nodded, smiling softly and letting his head relax on the back of the couch. “Yea that sounds great. Promise you won’t listen to it without us?”

“Of course ‘Lex; we all gotta be there to find which songs we’re gonna cover.”

Reggie wrinkled his nose in confusion. “I thought you said we’d moved past being a cover band?”

“It’s Luke, he’ll make an exception for anything if it involves Green Day,” Bobby chuckled.

Several beats of silence passed in which the sun seemed to get increasingly lower in the sky, before Bobby sighed in resignation. “You’re all staying here tonight, aren’t you?”

Luke beamed, clapping Bobby’s shoulders. “You know us so well.”

“Sleepover!” Reggie laughed, pumping a fist in the air. “Does it count as a sleepover if we all basically live here at this point?”

“Shhh ‘Lex, don’t ruin our fun,” Luke responded.

Alex smiled hesitantly. Yea, he was okay.

---

May, 1994

Michael Williams had dark hair brushing the tips of his shoulders, eyes that were almost golden in certain lights and a smile that gave Alex butterflies. Not to mention he was in theater and had a reputation for flipping off the homophobic jocks that were constantly on Alex’s tail. Not that he did it specifically for Alex, but still. The only problem was that talking to cute boys that he hadn’t known since 3rd grade was far from Alex’s strong point.

“Come on Alex!” Luke groaned, sliding into the last open seat at their lunch table. “Just talk to him before I literally combust.” He punctuated his sentence by waving at Alex with a cold french fry.

Alex grumbled something, his face in his arms in a futile attempt to hide the red dusting his cheeks.

“Hey Luke, if you explode because Alex refuses to talk to his crush, can I have your CD’s?” Reggie quipped, a lopsided grin on his face.

Luke gasped in mock offense. “Reginald-!”

“Still not my name.”

“I will be buried with my music,” Luke said. “Both of my guitars too-”

“Even your amp?” Bobby questioned.

“Yes.”

“Seems like a waste of space. Can you even fit all that in a coffin?”

Luke shrugged. “You guys can figure it out. Don’t betray my dying wish.”

Something that would’ve been silence had Luke ever been taught how to chew like a normal person passed over the table, in which Alex’s attention drifted lazily back to Michael Williams, who was chatting enthusiastically with one of the girls in his theater class. Alex didn’t know her name but they had biology together and she never gave him dirty looks, so he liked her.

“10 bucks if you go talk to him,” Bobby said, nudging Alex and waggling his eyebrows.

“No. No,” Alex said. “Not happening.”

“15.”

“Where is this money coming from?” Alex squeaked, although the prospect of $15 was all too tempting. He could get some decent shoes for that.

“20,” Bobby continued, grinning maniacally.

“Dude!” Luke laughed. “How are your parents gonna like you asking for money to fulfill a bet?”

Bobby slapped a hand over Luke’s mouth.

“I’m gonna regret this,” Alex sighed, already moving to stand up.

Reggie giggled like a child and offered a shit-eating grin to Alex, who promptly flipped him off before heading across the cafeteria.

---

December 17, 1994

Alex was screwed. No. Alex was completely fucked. Alex Mercer was likely seconds away from living in a ditch. Because of course it had to be his sister who caught him making out with a guy after school. And of course she was too young to understand why she couldn’t tell Mom and Dad. Because she would’ve done the same if he’d been kissing a girl because kissing is gross and it’s funny to tell your parents that your big brother was kissing someone.

“Hey Mom, guess what Alex did today?” Angie asked, giggling. She was perched on the counter, licking frosting from her fingers while their mother brushed cookie crumbs from her dress. And Alex was frozen at the top of the stairs, crouched down, his heart pounding so loud he was sure it could be heard downstairs. He dug his nails into his palms and prayed that his mother would pretend he didn’t exist when he wanted her to. It was one thing, them knowing. But this? This was something else. Alex’s parents lived on the philosophy that homosexual thoughts got you an eternity in hell, but homosexual actions got you shunned and thrown out. So yea, he was screwed.

“What did Alex do today?” His mother asked, plastering a false smile onto her face, her voice sounding like she was already packing his bags. Alex wanted to get up and run. He wanted to go to his room and jump out the window and fly away. But it was like the sweat on his palms was superglue keeping him stuck to the carpet, and his brain had short-circuited.

Angie laughed again, trying to get it out through her snickering. “Alex was kissing someone today.” She sang, her small feet swinging back and forth, the noise of her heels against the counter like knives in Alex’s ears. “That boy Michael that used to go to our church.” The innocence in her voice made Alex ache.

“Angie.” His mother’s voice was cold now. “Leave please.”

Angie’s brow furrowed in confusion, but she scurried up the stairs anyway, giving Alex a tearful hug on the way because even at ten, she knew that that voice meant trouble. “Sorry ‘Lex. I shouldn’t ‘a told your secret,” She whispered, before sprinting to her room and leaving Alex wondering if he’d get to see her after tonight.

“Alex Mercer, please come downstairs.” Her voice chilled him to the bone, like shards of ice penetrating his skin and seeping into his blood. But he walked down anyway.

Alex tightened the muscles in his hands and feet, willing himself to stay still and planted to the wooden floor, facing his mother head-on, as if the look in her eyes wasn’t terrifying him to the point of tears. But he wouldn’t let her see that she was getting to him, he wouldn’t. So he bit his tongue and counted down from ten inwardly.

“What is this nonsense?” She hissed, reaching out and gripping his forearm, her nails a millimeter away from digging into his skin.

Alex swallowed roughly. “I- I don’t know. Angie’s just… she’s-”

“Don’t lie to me!” His mother snapped. She brought her hand back, curling her fingers in with a look of disgust, as if she’d been touching fire. And then she was speaking again, but Alex couldn’t hear her over the pounding in his ears. He tightened his jaw and shut his eyes momentarily. Don’t cry, don’t cry, don’t cry.

“Get out.”

His eyes snapped open. Alex stood still in front of her, searching her eyes for the slightest bit of remorse. But there was nothing but ice. So he left. He left with tears running down his face and he couldn’t even bring himself to say goodbye to Angie. It wasn’t until he was halfway down the block when he realized that he had nothing but the clothes on his back and a backpack full of everything he could fit, and no where to go. He collapsed on the ground, the cold night air finally hitting him, seeping into his bones. He looked up and wiped his eyes, sniffling. It was odd, the way that the Christmas lights were able to look so beautiful when he felt so broken inside. It felt almost unfair that everything outside of him was moving at a normal pace like nothing had changed. But Alex knew better than that. Everything had changed.

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These are the people who expressed interest in reading this when I posted about it a few days ago :)

@edgeofgillespie @herequeerandcantdrinkbeer @lookingthroughmirrors

chapter 2

chapter 3

chapter 4