Chapter Text
Julie had the biggest crush on Luke Patterson in high school. She’ll never want to admit how consuming her crush on him was, but Luke felt like music to her, even from afar. She lived and breathed music and to see someone who was just as passionate about it (and to see his biceps flex when he performed and expressed said passion) was life-changing. He was a senior when she was just a freshman, and they never truly crossed paths despite both being in the music department. But Julie could still remember the way she literally stopped in her steps when he and his bandmates and best friends walked by her in the hallway. He, Reggie Peters, Alex Mercer, and Bobby Shaw had already created a solid fan base for Sunset Curve by the time she entered high school, and she was but a mere fangirl attending every gig that she could (that her Papi let her).
She’s never actually admitted the crush out loud to anyone because it sounded so ridiculous. She’s never even said two words to the guy (she’s said one if you count the “oh” she squeaked at him when he tossed his apple core right in front of her and into the garbage at lunch once–he made it, by the way. He’s that talented.). But that didn’t stop her heart from fluttering when she watched him perform at school dances or heard him singing at the beach when the boys would busk for fun. She still remembers how deep her sighs went for him whenever he walked by.
She thought she was over him though. He was just a school girl crush, as he was for many guys and girls alike at Los Feliz High School. But even so, even as an adult, Julie avoided thinking or talking about it. She never flipped the pages of the tabloids featuring his face and the new girl he was seen with, didn’t scroll through the social media posts about Sunset Curve and all their updates, and she didn’t indulge in the headlines about how Bobby Shaw abruptly left the band before they really made it big, because she didn’t want to get sucked into the charisma and charm of Luke Patterson again. (Not that she would anymore… She's an adult now.)
While she didn’t personally search up and play their songs, she allowed herself to listen to them once in a while. She was a music enthusiast after all, and what would her mom say if she kept herself from musical genius such as Luke Patterson? (She doesn’t have a crush on him anymore though–she’s just a fan of music, okay?). She convinced herself that she mostly listens to them for Flynn’s sake. (Flynn’s her best friend and roommate. What kind of friend would she be if she didn’t always support her?). She doesn’t let herself look at their videos though because seeing him in his element with the boys he claimed were his family would really bring her back in. So maybe that’s why she’s surprised she let Flynn drag her to this benefit concert.
Actually, it wasn’t even the concert itself. Maybe that’s why she agreed to it. Flynn is an event promoter and was currently working on the promotion for Sunset Curve’s benefit concert. She convinced Julie to join her in hopes of meeting the band together. Flynn doesn’t know Julie was in love with Luke though. (Not in love with him!). This was an act coerced purely for Flynn’s benefit because she said she had been eyeing the bass player (He has a name, Flynnie. I know, and I hope to be screaming it after the promotion.)
Flynn didn’t know that Julie had already “met” the boys of Sunset Curve let alone attended the same school. She mentioned that she grew up in Los Feliz, but the specific details of high school and little crushes during that time of their lives never came up. Flynn almost questioned her when Julie attempted to get out of attending with her though, but Flynn waved her off with more of her own ideas.
(“Who knows, my little Ju-Ju bean, this may be your chance at promoting your own music.”
“You know I don’t like it when you call me that.”)
So here she was, waiting in line to enter the arena with thousands of other fans. She was feeling anxious all morning. She wondered if Luke would recognize her, and she knew that he wouldn’t, but part of her hoped he would.
She looked around at all the people waiting with her. Most of the girls were in tight clothing, bold makeup, and their hair was done so perfectly. She almost frowned when she looked down at herself, feeling like a freshman again in her jeans, black belt, and light blue shirt she tied to fit more snug around her waist. She looked down again at the “mystic child” and metallic design on her shirt and then up at the rest of the people there.
She supposed it was a better outfit than the dress she wore for teaching her students earlier, but it really felt too casual among the rest of the crowd. The people wearing Sunset Curve shirts even looked more dressed up or at least they looked like they belonged. She ran her fingers through her curls and hugged herself as she waited to enter the arena.
Once she entered the building, she looked around and every corner was filled with fans of Sunset Curve. She glanced at her phone to see if Flynn had sent her a message about meeting up, but there was nothing so she sent one herself asking where Flynn was.
The group of extras she walked in with was called to walk down the hall and onto the arena floor. She followed the group quietly and tried her best to ignore the judging stares and whispers she heard being exchanged by the glammed out girls when she walked by.
“Do you think we’ll get to stand in the front row?” The tall blonde in her cropped Sunset Curve top and thigh high boots asked as they all walked down the hall.
A brunette in perfect barrel curls responded, “I think that girl in the jeans will ruin our chances though.”
She paused and noted she was in fact the only one in jeans but continued to push the comments and stares away. She was no longer a teenager and shouldn’t feel self-conscious about her appearance, and for a benefit concert at that. Instead, she looked up in awe at the stage set up from her place in the far audience. Memories of watching Alex perform his solos on a less expensive drum set flooded back into her mind. She then glanced at the mic stands where she assumed Reggie and Luke would be.
Before they stepped down the stairs to walk to the lower level, a guy with long dark hair walked in, his presence more commanding than his casual outfit. In a hushed tone, he spoke to the worker ushering them to their place and then called out, “Hey, excuse me, can you please come down with me?”
All the girls looked up at the long haired man eagerly and expectantly. Although his voice was gentle, she felt nervous at his request. Julie glanced at the other girls briefly before looking back at the stage, letting high school memories float back into her mind.
“The girl with the pretty curls,” the long haired guy clarified with a smile that matched his tone. “I think Luke will appreciate her in the front row.”
Julie pressed her lips together when she looked at the brunette who commented about her ruining their chances of getting noticed. Julie didn’t want to admit she was right and watched as the other girl walked over with a smirk.
“I’m sorry,” the guy with long hair said with his smile still intact. “I meant her, in the jeans.”
Julie’s eyes widened but walked up to him anyway. He extended his hand, “I’m Willie, please follow me.”
“Julie,” She said as she shook his hand. They walked down the long flight of stairs and onto the floor where he led her to the front row. She sat down as they all waited for further instructions. In silence, she observed the cameramen adjusting their cameras and angles and the staff members in black talking to the stage crew. She took in how Willie walked around them all calmly.
When it felt like every space of the arena was filled with fans, Flynn appeared at the side tunnel. Julie almost jumped up to wave at her friend, but she waited for her to finish talking to the crew members. To her surprise, she saw Flynn go up to Willie who greeted her with a hug before they animatedly spoke to each other. Flynn must’ve felt her gaze because she turned to the front row and her eyes widened slightly and pointed in her direction before walking over with Willie.
“Julie!” Flynn hugged her best friend and sat down next to her as soon as the spot opened up. Willie walked over, and Julie swore his hair flipped out of his face and behind his shoulders in slow motion as he did so.
“I was wondering where you were,” Julie said as they let go of their hug. “Thanks for the front row hook up,” she tried to whisper. “But I’m not sure I dressed for the part.”
Flynn’s brows knitted together in confusion. “I didn’t hook this up…” She put up a finger for emphasis, “But just to be clear though, I could’ve, but I didn’t.”
Julie let out a playful eye roll before she admired the cute details of her best friend’s denim overalls with her fingers carefully.
The corner of Willie’s lips curved into an amused smile, “Actually, I was in charge of filling the front row. And I told you, I think Luke would appreciate you up here.”
Flynn didn’t even try to hide her smirk. “Of course he would.”
Julie felt the heat rise to her cheeks, “You don’t know that, but thank you.”
“Pretty sure he does,” Flynn muttered. “Maybe he can put in a good word for me with Reggie.”
Willie’s amused smile widened as he left the two friends to walk up to the stage. He hopped up effortlessly and grabbed the microphone where Julie assumed Luke would be standing.
His voice wasn’t as loud as it should be through the speakers, but the crowd settled down nonetheless.
“Hi everyone!” He offered a wave to everyone and they cheered. “I was told I need to tell you all the rules. But before I do that, I’d like to thank you all for taking the time to be here.”
The crowd cheered loudly with some random whoops here and there. He nodded through their cheers and ran a hand through his hair, “Our favorite boys will be coming out soon so I better list out these rules.”
Willie chuckled and counted his fingers on one hand as he listed the “rules” for everyone, “First, we are gonna need you all to refrain from using your phones when the guys start performing. Second, you’ll need to give your best and warmest cheers for them when they do their thing, and finally, if you know the song, definitely sing along.”
Willie threw up a loose shaka with his hand as his thanks, and then suddenly, the lighting in the arena changed. He glanced towards his left and grinned, “Alright. Everyone, without further ado… Sunset Curve!”
He placed the microphone back on the stand and stretched his arm out to welcome the three boys onto the stage before walking off in the opposite direction. Julie noted that they were no longer “boys” like she remembered and thought they were, but it still didn’t prepare her for the moment she actually saw them.
Flynn grabbed Julie’s hand and grinned giddily as they watched the three members all walk to their places. The arena cheered with excitement as Alex walked to his drum kit. He waved at everyone before taking his seat and twirling a drumstick quickly between his fingers as he did so. Reggie walked out next, his signature leather jacket looking tighter around his arms than Julie remembered it being in high school, and she heard whistles from various directions when he shot wink at the crowd. And then finally, Luke walked out and the crowd roared.
Julie sucked in a breath at the sight of him. His hair was longer than it was in high school, and she found herself wanting to let it loose from the beanie and the low bun it was in. Luke had always had a charming smile and endearing sense of confidence, but there was something more electric about the way he carried himself now.
She looked at the details of his guitar straps, the same embroidered designs she would never admit to doodling in the margins of her binder papered notes in class. Her eyes trailed from the strap and onto his bare arms that flexed with every friendly wave he gave to the crowd. She swallowed when she caught a glimpse of the vein that ran down his arm and the tattoos that surrounded it.
Luke looked at home on stage, a sense of calm emanating from him as he walked across it. The bounce she remembered from his teenage years was still there, but there was an ease in the way he interacted with each enthusiastic fan now.
She watched as he wrapped his ring covered fingers around the microphone still in the stand. He glanced sideways and back at his bandmates with a cheeky smile before actually speaking.
The moment he turned back to the microphone, the crowd roared again and he let out a chuckle that Julie felt in her belly.
Julie couldn’t pull her eyes away from him, only slightly turning when she felt Flynn nudge her.
“Jules, you got a little drool right there.”
The heat rushed to her cheeks at the joke, and Julie tried to discreetly check the corners of her mouth to see if it were true. When she saw that Flynn noticed her actions, she shoved her with a laugh before turning her attention back to the stage.
“Thank you all for coming out,” Luke’s soft voice echoed in the arena, and Julie held back a shiver at the way his subtle accent still tickled the hairs on her neck.
He pulled the microphone closer to his lips, and Julie knew it sounded crazy, but it made the bass in his voice deeper, “Like Willie said, we really appreciate your time. It’s truly a great cause, and while this isn’t exactly the benefit concert yet…”
Luke scanned the audience before speaking again, and Julie swore he stopped to look right at her, “…we still hope you like it and have some fun.”
She bit her lip at his words and the look in his eyes.
Alex counted them in, and she immediately jumped to her feet with the rest of the arena once they started playing. She sang along to “Now or Never” at the top of her lungs and jumped around with Flynn as though she were a freshman at Los Feliz again.
When they finished the song, the director yelled out “cut” and asked them to just play around on stage. She heard the director tell the band to talk to the crowd so they could get a variety of fan reactions and band interaction for their b-roll.
The three of them exchanged words off-microphone by Alex’s drum kit before going back to their respective spots on the stage.
“We’re feeling a little nostalgic now that we’re so close to our hometown,” Reggie said into his microphone with his lopsided smile. “So we’re gonna take it back for you lovely promotion volunteers with one of our first originals.”
He looked over at Luke and Alex who both nodded. Luke shrugged a bit while plucking some strings. He spoke casually to them all as he maintained the riff he had just improvised, “So we haven’t actually played this one in a while. But like Reg said, there’s something about being close to home that makes us wanna jam like we used to.”
He plucked the strings in a different tune as he continued, “This song was meant for our band early on. I’m talkin’ way back in high school, back when we had another member, so I’m not sure any of you will know it, but if you do, definitely sing along.”
“And if we’re a little rusty or trip up, you’ll understand why,” Alex said as he made a face. “But please, enjoy.”
The crowd cheered in excitement and all waited in anticipation.
The moment Luke strummed the first chords, Julie knew the song. She turned to Flynn who shrugged slightly but smiled because it was a good song. The two best friends watched with linked arms as Luke sang the first verse. They shared a nose crinkling smile with each other before they turned back their attention to the stage. Reggie and Luke shared a microphone and harmonized during the pre-chorus together.
Luke pushed Reggie playfully with a closed fist before going to his own microphone to sing the chorus, and Julie sang softly with him from her spot in the front row.
It was almost as if Luke heard her because he looked right at her again. His eyes dropped to her lips, and it looked like he almost stopped singing himself.
Luke continued onto the second verse and glanced back at Julie, like he was checking if she really did know the words to their song. His eyes lingered on her lips as he sang and a quick second later, a smirk appeared on his own.
He moved back to sing the pre-chorus with Reggie again, but instead of sharing the microphone with him, he left Reggie’s and his own microphone stand and walked over towards Julie.
Reggie and Alex exchanged knowing looks from their spots on stage while Flynn’s eyes glimmered with amusement.
Julie’s eyes widened as he walked closer to her. She’s never seen him this close before, at least not with him looking at her intentionally. She almost stopped singing along once his eyes met hers.
He gave her a single nod, asking her to walk closer to the stage and closer to him. Julie was pulled by the magnetism of his confidence and presence and followed him wordlessly. She glanced back at Flynn who quickly ushered Julie towards Luke with a grin. The cameramen were recording the interaction from different angles, but Julie didn’t seem to notice.
Luke helped her onto the stage with one pull, his arms flexing as he did so. Julie’s eyes widened even more as she stood up there with him and listened to Reggie finish the pre-chorus on his own. She opened her mouth to ask what was happening, but Luke just whispered encouragingly, “Just go with it.”
She let out an inaudible “okay” and walked closer to him. With another head nod, he told her to grab the microphone off his stand and then asked her to hold it for him. He was so calm and so sure while Alex and Reggie finished the chorus together that her eyes were trained on him the whole time.
She held the microphone close to his lips for him to sing into like he asked her to do. She looked up at him through her lashes while she mouthed the lyrics along with his crooning.
“The times that I doubted myself / I felt like I needed some help / Stuck in my head with nothing left.”
He smiled widely as he sang to her and nodded for her to sing into the microphone. So she did.
Luke strummed on his guitar closely behind Julie as she sang the second part alone, “And when I feel lost and alone/ I know that I can make it home/ Fight through the dark and find the spark.”
Luke shook his head in disbelief at the way Julie belted out the bridge and grinned at the way she hit the last note effortlessly.
He turned to his bandmates who looked at them with their own awestruck smiles before they all finished the song together. The three of them sang with Julie like it was always their song to be sung together, and their voices harmonized in a way that made it seem like they had practiced the song together many times before.
And rise through the night, you and I
We will fight to shine together (shine together)
Bright forever (bright forever)
And rise through the night, you and I
We will fight to shine together
Bright forever
With a point of his ring covered finger, Luke directed Julie to sing even higher in this ending chorus. The smile he gave her when she hit the note made Julie want to sing it all over again, but instead, she was breathless and panting on stage with Luke and the boys of Sunset Curve.
Luke just grinned at her while the arena cheered. He leaned into her and asked softly in her ear, “What’s your name?”
“Julie,” She answered, leaning up into his ear and then smiled at him once he stepped back.
He reached for her hand and she nervously (but gladly) accepted it. He extended their arms and spoke into the microphone, “Julie, everybody! And we’re Sunset Curve!”
“Tell your friends,” Reggie quipped into his own microphone with his usual wink. And then he wiggled his eyebrows at Julie and spoke off mic, “No seriously, tell your friend.”
Julie shared an excited look with Flynn from the stage, and Flynn smiled proudly back up at her friend.
Before they could exchange any words, Luke was being pulled off stage and their hands separated quickly. Reggie and Alex were being called off into the wings as well, and Julie was left alone on stage before she could even process what had happened.
She glanced around as the crew announced the volunteers were done with the session, and the crowd slowly dispersed. Flynn walked over to the stage and extended her hand to help Julie come down.
Just as she was about to hop off, Willie came running out of the side tunnel.
“Julie! Wait,” He called out before he got close enough to talk to her and Flynn. The two friends stopped what they were doing and turned to him.
“Can the two of you head back with me please? The guys wanna talk.”
Julie’s eyes widened slightly and she nodded at Willie silently. She and Flynn linked arms as they followed Willie down the different hallways.
“Okay, so many things are going through my head,” Flynn said quietly.
“Me too,” Julie admitted.
“First of all, I thought you weren’t a fan,” Flynn glanced at her sideways.
“I never said that,” Julie glanced back at her.
They turned the corner after Willie, and Flynn continued, “Second, I know you’re all about music, but how do you know that song?”
“They sang it a lot when we were in high school,” Julie shrugged and then Flynn pulled them to a halt so abruptly their shoes made a squeaking noise. Willie turned back to see what happened.
“Sorry,” Julie grimaced slightly, the small gap between her front two teeth showing in her sheepish smile. “She’s a little dramatic.”
Willie just chuckled, “From the time that I’ve known her, I can already confirm.”
Flynn rolled her eyes, unfazed by the two. “Sorry, Willie. I just need to hear Julie explain something real quick to me before we go in, if that's okay?”
He nodded easily and walked a few steps away to give them privacy.
Julie felt the heat reach her cheeks as she reluctantly admitted in one breath, “So I went to Los Feliz High and had a giant crush on Luke Patterson, but that was years ago, and I’m just here to support you and your event?”
Flynn smiled ironically calmly as she gently pushed back her long braids behind her shoulders and readjusted her work lanyard and badge carefully. She let out a small breath.
“Why didn’t you tell me this in the hundred times I told you I was working on their commercial or the thousands of times I told you I was hoping to meet their bassist?” She gave her a look, “I thought you were supposed to be my best friend.”
“Of course I’m your best friend.” Julie shot a look back at her friend’s dramatics and threw her hands up exasperatedly, “Was I just supposed to say “Hey, I went to the same high school as Sunset Curve, but they didn’t and still don’t know I exist?” Flynn, that would be–”
“So that’s how she knew the lyrics,” the voice said through the door.
Julie and Flynn’s eyes widened at the shove they heard and muffled voices. The door opened slowly, revealing the band members of Sunset Curve.
Willie looked at the girls in the hallway and back at the band from his leaned position against the wall. He tried his best to suppress an amused smirk.
Reggie waved at them, “Hey, we know you exist now. And Flynn, right? We definitely know you exist, too.”
He winked at her from the door frame and Flynn shot him an impressed eyebrow raise.
Alex adjusted his black backwards cap. “That’s not—okay. Yeah, sorry we eavesdropped. Please come in.”