Work Text:
Reginald Peters made lots of wishes in his life. Pizza, puppies, a cool leather jacket. Most of all he wished that his parents loved each other. Sometimes he just wished his dad was a deadbeat. He hated himself for thinking it but he believed that a deadbeat dad would be better than having a dad in is life who couldn't stand him. It filled him with guilt and made him walk as if he's filled with lead. The guilt about having these thoughts ate him alive. They're my parents why do I think this??
In the movies all the families love each other, the moms cook breakfast and kiss their husbands cheek before wishing him a good day at work. Families in movies ate together and had quiet discussions about what happened during the day. Reggie's family didn't eat together; his parents didn't say I love you, his mom didn't cook and they certainly never ate together. In Reggies family saying "I hate you" flew out of mouths just as fast as the fists did. The sound of breaking glass was more common than family movie nights. His family was broken, no question about it.
Reggie quickly learned to tune out arguing; quickly learned that when it got quiet, it was time to take his blankets and hide in the bathroom. Reggie spent a fair share of nights sleeping in the bathroom dreaming of a perfect family. It was always a rude awakening to wake up on the bathroom floor and remember what happened the night before.
Reggie never had any family show up to school events. Every Christmas concert he found himself alone watching all his classmates get "good jobs" and "you were so greats" being handed flowers from their loving mom's and dad's. Every parent orientation was missed, his parents never showed to bring your parent to school days, they missed every first day of school always too busy sleeping off hangovers and ignoring life outside their house.
The day Reggie met Alex, Bobby, and Luke changed his life. Alex had kicked sand into his eyes while at recess but then helped him to the nurse to flush them out. He waited with him holding his hand. He apologized so many times Reggie was tired of hearing the word sorry. When they walked back to the playground they were still holding hands. Alex was quick to tug Reggie over to Luke and Bobby saying "look it's my new friend Reggie, he's pretty cool even though I got sand in his eyes." It was history after that, the boys were always together since that day. If there was Luke there was Alex, Reggie, and Bobby. The boys were as thick as thieves, always together, and always making messes. Reggie felt so at home around them. All his problems at home disappeared and his worries about what's happening at home dissolved when he was with them. They could be sitting in the hot sun doing nothing but get sunburned and Reggie would think it's the happiest time.
The first time Luke hugged Reggie, he was shocked, he hadn't gotten a hug since his second birthday. It was his aunt, he hadn't seen her since. Reggie was seven now and it had been five years since he'd been hugged. It quickly became a thing for the boys to hug and touch. Luke was the most tactile and affectionate of the group always hugging the boys hello and goodbye, leaning on them when they walked and when they sat. Bobby while not as affectionate as Luke had his moments; Bobby liked to hold Reggie's hand when he was anxious. All the contact and affection from his friends was a stark contrast from his homelife.
Reggie grew up with the boys, inseparable since that day in second grade. He watched as Luke got his first guitar, watched him play horribly before he finally got it. He watched Luke's love for music bloom into an all consuming passion. He watched as Bobby got a guitar because Luke got a guitar and he just needed one too. Bobby was definitely a faster learner than Luke but no one told Luke that. Alex got his drums a few years afterwards. Alex started to practice whenever he could, all the time anytime. It was Reggie's idea to start a band when he got a bass from his nice elderly neighbor; it had been her grandsons. He was eleven and didn't really know what a band was. For those first years they just goofed off in Bobby's garage, spending more time sitting a joking rather than playing. They got more serious over the years especially Luke. They started busking the pier when they were fourteen, every penny going towards new strings and picks.
Once the band started getting fans and regulars at shows. It changed the game for them. They were going places. Bobby started going on dates with groupies. Alex started avoiding the girls who wanted to flirt after shows. Luke liked the feeling of girls staying after their shows just to meet them, it proved he was a rockstar. His mom of course didn't like the idea of a band. They entertained the idea when he was eleven but now he was fifteen and spending his nights performing in cafes and bars sometimes even opening for bigger bands at venues. Luke knew deep down that this is the only thing he wanted. Just him and his best friends in a band and touring the world. Reggie believed in the dream to, how could he not, it was a life on the road with his favorite people doing the thing he loves every night. Bobby believed in the dream but he also needed a back up plan, he was too scared to not have one.
Getting the news that they were playing the Orpheum that was crazy. They were only seventeen. They'd been working at this for years but it still sounded unbelievable. Reggie was excited more excited than he'd ever been. He told his parents but they didn't seem to care; it wasn't really a damper on the mood they hadn't cared about Reggie's extracurriculars in years. He was playing the Orpheum with his best friends. He was playing the Orpheum and living his biggest dream. Time seemed to fly by while they waited for their Orpheum show. The played everyday. They practiced as long as they could. Bobby started showing up late to dinner and Alex started sneaking in, getting in trouble for being out so late. Some days Luke and Reggie would skip school to practice. They didn't have anyone that would worry about their absences. Luke had been living in the garage for a few months with no parental contact. Reggie's parents didn't care, they barely noticed he was gone till late. They're hands were sore from all the practice but their brains were so wired with excitement they still kept practicing. The late night got even later the more days passed they started turning into overnights. Alex and Bobby couldn't stay alot but Luke and Reggie had some late nights together. Reggie would start proposing crazy ideas and theories when they should be sleeping. Luke was a laugher when he was tired. Reggie spent more time at the garage with the boys than he did at home.
The day of the show Alex was jumping with anxiety. He kept fidgeting with his hoodie strings and twirling his sticks. Bobby's leg kept shaking but he remained level headed and calm. Luke was just jumping with excitement talking so fast it was hard to keep up. Reggie was a mix of excitement and anxious he couldn't keep still. Soundcheck was exciting sure, they weren't performing for a crowd but the cute girl manning the bar seemed to be enough for them. Reggie couldn't resist giving her a shirt and flirting, Luke and Bobby were doing it too. Bobby seemed to be getting further than both of them though.
Street dogs were a bad idea, not their first but definitely their last. Reggie felt guilty for leaving his parents behind. Surely the funeral cost and planning would be too much a burden for them. He didn't even see them that day and now he was dead. They'd hardly spoken in years and they certainly didn't show up for Reggie. He felt as if he had no family. Felt there was no one who cared for him. He sat In the dark room and realized his parents didn't care for him. He died without his parents love. That seemed to hurt more than the realization that he was dead and they all left Bobby behind on what was supposed to be their biggest night.
Reggie was a dead when he realized he did have family. Sure his parents weren't but it was Luke and Alex and Bobby who were there for him. It was those boys who helped him clean his knees when he fell. It was Luke who kicked Aaron Shellnut after he mad fun of Reggie. Alex who comforted him when his parent didn't show up for family day. Bobby who made sure he got a Christmas present because his parents forgot. Now it was Julie too, Julie who gave music back to them. Julie who gave them purpose and loved him just as much as his boys did.