Work Text:
11:24
Luke gazed up as the garage door opened, revealing Julie in sweats and a steaming cup of tea.
‘There you are! How long do you sleep?’, he exclaimed, jumping up from the couch. Since the dead didn’t need to sleep, Luke’s days were long. He usually hung out with Reggie around LA (pranking people, hopelessly trying to eat food, catching up on pop culture) as Alex was sneaking off with that Willie-dude. He tried to nap once, but it just felt like a cruel joke.
Julie rolled her eyes, plopping down in one of the chairs. ‘It’s Saturday. I can sleep in as much as I want.’
‘We’re gonna write songs!’
‘We have all weekend!’ Her laidback nature, quite similar to Reggie if he thought about it, kind of agitated him. She seemed serious about starting a band but the day was basically over! He bit his cheek. Julie continued. ‘Besides, I already have ideas.’
Alright. This piqued his interest. ‘Whatcha got?’
11:54
‘Nah, this just doesn’t fit.’ Luke tapped on the piece of paper, completely ignoring the concept of personal space - something he was never good at.
‘I know.’ Julie erased a pre-chorus, frowning. ‘I should be more feeling. Like, with conviction.’
Luke made a little melody around the word “conviction”, but then shook his head and murmured a dismissal.
‘This song is about being free. It should be, like, like how you feel when you’re playing music,’ Julie wondered aloud, pressing the pencil against her lips. ‘For me, it’s like… a thunder inside of me.’
He nodded, excited. ‘Me too! Ah… “feel my chest beating like thunder”.’
‘Ooh, I like that. Maybe… “Close my eyes and feel my chest beating like thunder!”’
‘Yes! Write that down!’
The other lyrics came smoothly after, both humming melodies under their breath to try and find the right fit.
(‘And then-’
‘Yeah, That works. And-’
‘Yes! Like that. Oh, and maybe-’
‘ Ooh , that’s… yeah. That should be in falsetto.’
‘And-’
‘Yes. Could that be-’
‘Perfect!’)
12:47
Julie slipped her pencil behind her ear, disappearing into the big curls. Luke watched the movement, a little too mesmerised for his own good. Ever since he met Julie (and she calmed down about the whole ghost thing), he’d been fascinated by every little detail about her: the gap between her front teeth, the slope of her nose, the way her brow arches when she’s amused or exasperated - and her curly hair. It seemed to have a life on his own whereas Luke’s was just shaggy and flat. Girls digged it in the 90s, but full, thick hair was the trend of 2020, he guessed.
‘Chord progressions?’
Luke snapped out of his reverie, confused and disappointed, and replied a beat too late. ‘Yeah. Um. I think starting from a lower register?’
13:02
'Edge of great! Great! Great!' Julie belted. She was sitting cross-legged on the couch, Luke laying next to her fiddling with Alex's drum sticks as he listened carefully. Julie's belt was great, but she had to control it more so it wouldn't become screaming. In time, when they knew each other a little bit better, he'd tell her.
'I think it would mix well with Alex's voice.' His comment made her smile.
'Yeah. I like that.'
His head perked up in an awkward cramp. 'Yeah?'
She quirked a brow. 'Why do you sound surprised?'
'So,’ How should he formulate this? ‘you like deep singing voices?'
'Of course.’ Her sober response rung in his ears, his head falling back. Of course . Of course, Alex and her would harmonise well together. It wasn't like Luke was the lead male singer and guitarist or something. When he said “lower register”, he meant his voice that had range - thank you very much - and was able to deepen it to fit. Add in some growl phonation. He could do that! Why the heck did he suggest Alex in the first place?!
(Right, because his friends were basically his brothers an he would die for them. Almost forgot.)
‘Oh! I should make you listen to Gregory Porter!'
14:55
‘I’m walking through Julie, I’m walking through Julie, I’m walking through Julie, I’m walking through Julie!’
‘For the twentieth time, Luke: SHUT UP!’
17:29
‘Hell yeah! Finished a song!’
Luke and Julie air high-fived, him slamming down his notebook. It took a lot of squabbling and cursing, but they were finally getting somewhere in the songwriting process. They just had very different ways of working and interpretation of life (because he was… well, dead ), but they somehow made it work. Luke felt relieved. Being able to sing was one thing, but collaborate? A whole other ball game. He smiled; Julie fit in.
Julie jabbed her thumb to the house. ‘I’m gonna grab a snack. You want anything?’ And then, a pause later where she grimaced and retracted her hand. ‘Right. Sorry. Be right back.’
Luke toppled into one of the chairs, upside down, and felt the blood rush to his head. He hasn’t felt this good in a long time: creating music, making a hit, moulding their sound to something more modern - a second chance at his passion coming ot fruition. This was all he ever wanted (in the most peculiar way, but still) and he was close to tasting the success.
Plus, it helped that Julie was kind of amazing. She seemed bitchy at first, but he warmed up to her.
It helped she had a pretty smile and big brown eyes and a voice that sounded like honey when she spoke and like fire when she sang and -
‘Okay, wanna work on something else? I have, like, two more songs in mind.’ Julie placed her carrots and hummus with a thump on the coffee table, startling Luke and making him fall on the floor.
‘In the clouds?’, she teased.
‘On the ground.’
‘Right. So, this other song. I haven’t touched it in a while but…’
17:32
‘Stop poking me!’
21:48
Julie yawned. ‘My brain is dead.’
‘I am dead.’
She giggled despite the horrible joke he just made. It made him smile. She appreciated his dumb humour. He has always envied Alex and Reg’s quick wit - then again, they didn’t have his charm. But Luke knew that intellect always won, so he was glad Julie thought of him as somewhat amusing, even if she was drowsy.
She placed her head on the couch next to him, almost like he was actually there. Reggie and Alex still haven’t come back and while he should worry about that, he was too focused on the smell of Julie’s shampoo. Cinnamon? Vanilla? He took a subtle whiff. Definitely vanilla. Later, after Julie had gone to bed, he’d ask himself why the fuck he was being so creepy about shampoo , but he wouldn’t be able to be honest with himself. Not then.
(Now, however, was a whole different story.)
‘I haven’t had this much fun in a long time,’ Julie confessed after minutes of comfortable silence he was sure she’d been napping. He made a noise of surprise, side-eyeing her. A content smile was painted on her lips, eyes closed.
‘Yeah?’
‘Mh-hm. I had my doubts, but…’ She opened her eyes and locked with his, his breath stopping short on his throat. ‘We work well together.’
‘We… we do,’ he whispered.
She held his gaze for a moment longer that made him feel warm in the nape of his neck and then stood up. ‘I’m going to bed. Say goodnight to the guys for me.’
He stared at her, dumbfounded by the small thrill of having her look at him like that. ‘Yeah. Sure. Goodnight.’
Julie smiled, heavy-lidded, grabbed her empty plate and left the garage, only leaving the christmas lights on. He was encased in a yellow glow, but he was burning on the inside.
23:59
Voice like an angel, I've never heard before
00:01
We're heaven on earth, melody and words
5:01
The morning sun began filtering through the windows of the garage, casting the members in a rosy haze. Luke hasn’t closed his eyes once, fixed on the ceiling as lyrics and melodies swirled inside his mind but not allowed to act on it in fear of Julie’s dad or Carlos hearing. (Carlos especially! That kid was gonna get onto them.)
What was most confusing, though, were the lyrics itself.
Luke has never been in love. Sure, he liked girls in the past: Stacey from kindergarten, Yasmina and Haley in fourth grade, Teagan in sixth, Astrid in middle school who also became his girlfriend for three months, and Rachel in sophomore year, his last girlfriend of four months before he died in his senior year. So, yes, he has liked girls before, but he has never loved them. Music was his love. His first and only love and nothing would ever change that. So why in hell has a love song been brewing in his mind since midnight?!
Somehow, Reggie was snoring in the couch next to him, Alex reading one of the old books discarded around the garage as he sat on the windowsill. Quietly, Luke joined him.
‘I feel weird.’
‘Cause we’re dead,’ Alex prompted, unfazed. He turned a page.
‘No, no.’ He shook his head. ‘I have ballads in my head. Ballads , Alex.’
The blonde looked up. ‘You’ve written those before. It’s not weird.’
Luke groaned. ‘It is though! Because it’s not sad like… you know. But. It’s a love song. I don’t do love.’
Alex’ neutral expression was driving him insane. That boy could be too pragmatic sometimes! ‘You’ve never been a fighter either.’ When Alex saw the look on his face, he relented. ‘Okay. Sure. Explain it to me.’
Luke went and grabbed his notebook, scribbling down the lyrics racing behind his eyes. It was messier than usual and it made holes in the paper, but it was out there at last. It was like an itch he could finally scratch, relief easing the kinks in his neck.
Alex looked over them, brows furrowed. Then, he cleared up and a teasing smile played on his lips. ‘I didn’t realise you like Julie.’
His breath skipped. ‘I don’t!’
‘You said it yourself. It’s a love song.’ The matter-of-factness of Alex’s tone made him even more annoyed.
‘Yeah, but not about her! Just…’ he floundered for an explanation that wasn’t there, ‘I just used her as inspiration. She’s inspiring . Yeah.’
Alex rolled his eyes but let him have the excuse. ‘Then why’re you freaking out if you don’t like her? Your songwriting is just evolving. Maybe you kind of aged mentally. I don’t know.’
Right. He exhaled deeply and relaxed. Right . He was just bettering himself and it just so happened that Julie was helping him. She helped , she wasn’t the direct cause. Right.
Alex side-eyed him, shaking his head goodnaturedly. He knew what the guy was thinking, him being the most romantic and in tune with his emotions, but it wasn’t true. Luke didn’t like her. They were partners, and most importantly: he was a ghost .
Alex returned to his book. The sun became more clear and stirred Reggie awake. He envied the guy. Even death couldn’t take napping away from him.
7:10
Julie entered the garage in a different pair of sweats, light blue, and a coffee in hand. Luke tried to look her in the eye, still reeling from his conversation with Alex. Reggie had gone to hang with Julie’s dad and Alex decided to visit all the bookstores of LA after finishing the old copy that morning.
They smiled at each other, and every little squabble they’ve had the day before disappeared.
‘I want to work on the bridge of “Finally Free”.’ She placed her coffee on the keyboard, looking incredibly soft. The urge to touch the fleecy texture of her sweater was immense and if he could he’d smush his cheek against it. Luke blinked. What the hell. Tentative, she patted the spot next to her.
‘You’re in a suspiciously good mood,’ he teased, taking a seat.
She peered at him. ‘I slept well. Don’t test me.’
He saluted her. ‘Aight, boss. Where we at?’
Julie shook her head, smile unwavering and something burned in his chest at the sight. Julie seemed different in the morning. Came in looking all cute without a warning in that blue sweater, curls tucked behind her ears, and from up close he could see faded freckles speckled on her skin. He curled his hands. He shouldn’t think like this; he shouldn’t think about caressing her cheekbones with the pads of his thumbs.
‘We only have the last line,’ Julie said, unaware of his turmoil, ‘I think we should just, like, reuse other lines for the bridge but just really strip it down so the message is clear. I don’t know what the message is yet, but -’
‘It’s about believing in yourself!’ Luke sputtered. ‘Relieving yourself from- from- what d’you called it?’
‘Societal standards?’
‘Yeah! It’s just about letting yourself have some fucking fun!’
Julie pressed down on the keys and closed her eyes, humming the melody. ‘I got a spark in me…’
Luke stared at her, watching as the notes descended down on them and her brows furrowed. It missed something. They both knew it. It just didn’t have that… well, spark.
‘What if,’ he spoke before he had an idea, mouth parted. ‘What if we do it in canon?’ The moment he said it, he knew it would work. Perking up, he pointed at the keys. ‘Play it again! Play it!'
Julie eyed him curiously, playing the same tune. ‘I got a spark in me.’
‘I got a spark in me,’ he added, softer. Julie caught on, going to the next chord and seamlessly went into a different lyric without thinking about it.
‘And you’re a part of me.’
‘And you’re a part of me…’ Their eyes locked, green and brown intertwined. He leaned in, crooning the lyric as if he were a serenading Romeo and it brought him back to his fantasy that night - but frankly: he didn’t care.
She seemed dazed too, her voice becoming a whisper. ‘Now till eternity.’
‘Now till eternity.’
A breathy grin left her lips and turned away, pressing into A chord hard. ‘Been so long and now we’re finally free!’ She met his gaze again, a flush on her cheeks that made him ridiculously giddy. ‘I like that.’
‘Me too.’
7:12
‘Hey, Julie?’
‘Hm?’
‘Can I call you Jules?’
‘... Yeah, sure.’
‘Nice.’
13:26
'The songs on the radio are okay. But my taste of music is your face!', Luke yelled, singing along to the track Julie started playing for inspiration. She said one of the songs they were creating sounded like something "Twenty One Pilots" would vibe with, and as he stopped breathing in '95, he had to ask who this band with the dope name was. And fuck, they were good!
Julie played the air guitar, mouthing the words. They jumped around the garage, head bouncing and hips shaking and arms outstretched. If this band was still around, he had to sneak into one of their concerts! Every decade thought they were the highlight of music, with the 90's revolutionising rock thanks to Nirvana and The Cranberries, but the 2000's weren't so bad either.
'What else have you been hiding from us?', Luke teased when the song ended. Julie laughed.
'Plenty of time to go through the entire discography of 1996 till now.'
He scoffed. 'When were you even born?'
'2003,' she said, matter-of-fact.
It still blew his mind. Back in 1995, people thought the world would just end at the turn of the century. 'What?! Aren't you supposed to be an foetus?'
'Shut up, 1978!'
'Hey, at least I have eternal youth. This face,’ he pulled a charming look, ‘is going nowhere!'
She tsked. 'Shame.'
He rolled his eyes and sat down on the couch, grabbing his notebook. 'But the song.' As much as he liked bantering with Julie, they had a song to work on.
'Right. Okay, so...'
16:33
‘I’m going out of my mind!’
‘Yes! Belt it, Luke!’
16:40
‘I gotta keep on dreaming, cause I gotta catch that feeling!’
‘I know you can get higher than that, Jules!’
18:25
‘Dude, we made four songs this weekend!’ Luke bounced around the garage as Alex and Reggie flashed in, still high off finishing “Stand Tall”. Lyrically, at least. The sound still had some work.
‘That’s awesome,’ Reggie exclaimed. ‘I saw a girl walking into a lamppost today while looking at her phone!’
‘Uh, that’s,’ Luke faltered, watching Alex shake his head with resignment. ‘That’s cool, Reg.’
‘Where’s Julie?’, Alex asked.
‘Jules eating dinner. Doesn’t matter. She’s gonna come back after and then we’ll show you!’ He realised his mistake a beat too late and by then, the boys had caught on and sent each other a knowing look. Luke groaned. Not this again.
‘ Jules ?’ Reggie snickered. ‘Oh, damn!’
‘Luke and Jules. Jules and Luke. Has a nice ring to it, no?’, the blonde added with the tone of someone seeking revenge after being relentlessly teased in his former life. Oops. ‘Who knows, Reg, maybe Jules will start calling him Lukas.’
Luke wrinkled his nose at his full name. Lukas sounded so… studious and dorky. Not at all the name of a rockstar.
‘Fuck off, Alexander .’
‘Oof, shots fired!’, Reggie laughed.
‘You too, Reginald.’
22:03
‘I’m really happy the guys liked our songs,’ Jules said, sitting on the floor next to Luke. After performing the rough cuts of the songs to the guys and they approved with enthusiasm, they’ve given the songwriters some space to reflect on the weekend. He has never felt so inspired and it was the first time since they were resurrected that he has felt so… alive. More than playing at Julie’s assembly! It just felt perfect. Like it was meant to be like this. He used to not believe in astrology and karma and cosmic intervention, but maybe…
Maybe Julie was meant to become someone important to him.
‘Me too.’ He swallowed his nerves. ‘I’m glad we had this weekend to write.’
‘Yeah.’ She smiled in an odd way that made his stomach coil up and twist the breath in his throat. ‘We make a good team.’
He let out a breathy laugh, scratching the ends of his hair in an attempt to maintain his suave status. He failed miserably, but seeing Jules look at him like that, he didn’t really mind.
‘Hey.’
‘Hm?’
‘Did you know my actual name is Lukas?’
Julie giggled. ‘Lukas? Cute.’
Luke froze. ‘Cute?’
She hummed and nudged him, her hand going straight through his shoulder but he smiled at the gesture either way. ‘Makes you very “boy next door”.’
He gasped. ‘Didn’t we tell you? The new sound of The Phantoms is bubblegum pop.’
‘Funny.' Leaning in, amused, she added: 'You should play for Dirty Candy then.’
‘Nah.’ He threw his hand over his shoulder. ‘That girl hogs the spotlight.’
‘But we don’t.’
He nodded, firm. ‘But we don’t.’
The fantasies he had of her this entire weekend began to crackle and swirl in his mind as he was overcome with the overwhelming feeling of wanting to touch her. He wanted to hold onto her tight and press his face in her fluffy sweaters and the flowery perfume from the crook of her neck and feel her smile stretch against his and-
What the fuck?
He sprung upright, feeling hot but knowing he would virtually look the same. Julie frowned.
‘Everything okay?’
‘Yeah,’ he coughed, ‘I just need to - - - air.’
22:41
Holy shit. He liked Julie Molina. And it only took one weekend for her to tie her spark around his and pull it taut, making every time he looked at her like an surge of energy coursing through his body in the most thrilling way possible.
Lukas Patterson wasn’t entirely sure about cosmic intervention, but he knew that Julie was part of him, and he of her, and that was the way the world worked.
Now, they just had to fill in the blanks.