Chapter 1 – New Move, New Me

SUMMARY – When a move caused Reggie to switch schools over the summer, he and Willie worked together to reinvent his style – taking him from reclusive weirdo to reclusive rocker-guy-who-just-wants-to-live-his-life. They celebrated his transformation by seeing Sunset Curve, one of his favorite bands, live. With his luck, he certainly hadn't expected to get a date out of the exchange, let alone a date with Alex Mercer – the cute, seemingly unattainable drummer guy.

Maybe Reggie got a boyfriend. And then maybe there was some drama as he got to know his new friends. He wanted to leave his past behind him, but there were some things that just couldn't be ignored.

Also known as: That time Reggie was asked on a date that led to a journey of self-discovery for not only himself, but the entirety of Sunset Curve. He was just that skilled.

-:-:-:-:-:-

The summer after Reggie's Freshman year of high school, his family moved. His parents had gotten an offer on the beach property they had once been so proud to own that was too good for them to pass up, so they packed up shop and moved to the suburbs. Despite staying within city limits, the distance was great enough that Reggie crossed into a new school district, meaning he'd finally get to go to school with Willie.

It also meant that he'd also get the chance to completely start over, to abandon the Weirdo Peters reputation that had followed him around since elementary school. He'd been working hard to save up his money, and with his and Willie's powers combined, they hit the thrift shops and assembled a wardrobe that was closer to the version of himself that he'd always dreamed to be but never had the guts to attempt. Gone were the baggy hoodies and oversized jeans, gone was the limp hair that fell into his eyes. Willie said he needed to strut, which meant pants that were tighter than anything he'd ever worn before and close-fitting v-neck shirts and flannel and a leather jacket, but after the haircut and all the practice conversations they'd had to help Reggie to build his confidence, Reggie could admit that he like, maybe looked a bit like the rocker he always felt he was.

Which worked for him. And yeah, Reggie was scared – he spent most of his life scared, but before school started he was going to take his new look out for a test run, and that test run just happened to be to one of his most favorite outings ever.

Sunset Curve was playing Eats & Beats. Reggie had stumbled upon the local band back when they'd first started up in junior high, and there had been an instant connection. It was Willie that had dragged him to one of their shows, the skater trying to get Reggie out of his house for a few hours, and the music- it was just so good. Sunset Curve performed with an intensity and freedom that made Reggie want to dance, that had his fingers itching for his own bass so he could rock out himself. He'd never performed much outside his bedroom or the school band hall, but the idea of being in a band like theirs – it was dumb to think about because it'd never happen, but still, it was a nice dream.

"Hey, stud," Willie greeted when Reggie tracked him down at one of the tables close to the stage. "Lookin' good."

"Feeling good," Reggie chirped, trying not to duck his head at the bashful feeling of delight that swamped over him and mostly failing. "So, um- are they on soon?"

"In like, ten minutes," Willie said, his grin wide and delighted as he took in Reggie's anxiety. "Don't worry, your eye candy will be out here soon enough."

"They're not- that's not why I like them," Reggie hissed, a familiar exchange for them, one that made Willie swallow a laugh. "Their music is-"

"Out of this world and defies explanation," Willie said, waving off Reggie's usual defense. "But it doesn't hurt that they're all cute, right?"

"I mean, they're okay," Reggie said, knowing that his dumb cheeks were all red and splotchy now.

Curse his genetics.

Willie killed some more time poking fun at him until the guys of Sunset Curve finally took the stage, and then the rest of the world fell away.

Man, they were so cool. Each of them exuded effortless confidence – even Nick, who didn't play the bass as his primary instrument. It was like, the fifth one he'd learned, but the band had needed a bassist so the blond had stepped in. Reggie may or may not have heard the story by shamelessly eavesdropping over the years. To be fair, it was the only way he could really get information since few people willingly spoke to him outside of Willie.

"What's up, everyone, we're Sunset Curve!" the band's lead singer, Luke, called into the microphone, making the respectably-sized crowd cheer. "Who's ready to rock?!"

"What a nerd," Willie cackled into his shoulder, but Reggie just ignored him. The guy wouldn't know good taste if it bit him on the nose.

The band started its set, and Reggie felt his troubles drift away. He tapped along to their music, smiling and cheering with everyone else, memorizing Alex's drumming patterns and listening to see what tweaks they'd made since the last time he'd seen them perform. Luke was on fire like he normally was, and while Reggie always tried to make a point to give each of them an equal amount of attention (he always felt sort of guilty otherwise, even if it would have made sense), he found his gaze being dragged back towards Luke time and time again. Just- the guy was so effortlessly charismatic, and he obviously loved what they were doing, the music they were making, pouring every ounce of his passion into their songs. It was brilliant and high energy and amazing as always, and Reggie knew he hadn't stopped smiling since they'd began, but that was just what he always did during their performances. He didn't expect anyone to notice it.

And then Luke's gaze seemed to catch his halfway through the last song.

There was a good chance he wasn't actually – there were a lot of people in the room and under the stage lights the singer probably couldn't even see the crowd, but it seemed like his eyes locked with Reggie's, that for a few pointed seconds, it was just the two of them, and then-

It was gone just as quickly as it had started, ending with Luke turning to the other side of the stage to woo the crowd there, same as he always did.

"Whoa," Willie murmured when it was over, the band moving to break down their gear while Luke and Alex charmed the crowd. "That was some mad chemistry there."

"Shut up," Reggie huffed, pulling out some bills so he could pay for his coke. "Literally nothing happened."

"And yet, it was everything," Willie hummed. "You gonna write about this in the journal you swear you don't have?"

"It's a song book," Reggie hissed, straightening his jacket. "And no, I am not."

"You totally are, aren't you?" Willie said, leaning back with a smug look on his face.

"Whatever," Reggie huffed, abandoning Willie altogether. "I'm gonna see if I can talk to Bobby or something."

"Right, go for the strong, silent type," Willie said, entirely onto his game. "Sure you don't want to talk to their bass player?"

"I'm going now," Reggie informed him before pulling his shoulders back and walking like he deserved to be there, the way Willie taught him to.

He'd been trying to build his courage to talk to one of the members of Sunset Curve for months now. Reggie had decided long ago that Bobby was probably his best bet. Nick actually seemed like the friendliest one, but Reggie didn't want to risk rambling on about bass stuff, so Bobby it was. Luke was just about always swarmed by girls after a performance and Alex seemed to handle most of their networking and business stuff so both of them were out – and also they were super-duper good looking which was intimidating, and Bobby was too, he just didn't seem to know it as much.

It was a good plan. Reggie was proud of the fact that he actually seemed committed to it. Granted, he'd looked sort of tragic before, and now he knew he was solidly decent. At the very least he didn't look like he had a troubled homelife, and that was certainly good enough for him.

Right. Yes, he could do this. He'd just pretend to be heading home or something and bump into Bobby outside where he was probably loading the van, and then Reggie could compliment his shoes and his skills and maybe talk about music for a little bit, maybe work in a 'what school do you go to? Oh hey, I'll be going there too this year, maybe we should hang out sometime' and then he could fire off that joke he'd been practicing-

Reggie's very genius plan was interrupted by a hand curling around his shoulder, and Reggie turned, thinking it was Willie ready to give him a hard time again, which did not prepare him in the least to be very up close with the one and only Alex Mercer.

Oh man, he was so much taller in person. Like, he seemed tall up on his drum stand, but now he was even taller.

"Hey," Alex said, his smile small and eyes sparkling and now was not the time to geek out. "Did you uh- like the show?"

Like it? Did he like- "I loved it," Reggie said, somehow managing to keep the words from coming out in a graceless rush. "Dude, you guys are awesome. Especially 'Now or Never'. I mean, they were all good, but that one was especially- you know-" To keep himself from rambling, he threw up the rock and roll hand sign, and somehow that earned him a laugh. Like, a genuine laugh. "It was so good, man. You guys are totally going to be rockstars."

So much for playing cool. Reggie would wince, but Alex didn't seem to mind his enthusiasm so much – more surprised than anything else.

"Thank you," Alex said, running a distracted hand through his hair. It was even more golden up close. Life really was unfair sometimes. "Hey um- we have t-shirts if you'd like one."

"Really?" A light bubbly feeling flooded through Reggie's chest – something close to giddy disbelief. "How much?"

"I- oh, they're free," Alex said, passing one of them over. His cheeks were a little flushed, and Reggie wasn't sure if it was from exertion or maybe embarrassment on Reggie's behalf. Right, right, they usually gave out shirts after their shows – just like, they usually only gave them to girls. Reggie himself had never had the courage to try and get one, so the fact that he was holding one now sort of made him feel like he was going to pass out. "We uh- like giving back to our supporters."

"Pretty sure you already do that with your music," Reggie said, and then, when he realized he'd sort of tarnished Alex's nice gesture, he hugged the shirt close to his chest, like he was afraid the blond might want it back. "I mean-"

"I um- get what you mean," Alex said, but he was laughing again- and not at Reggie. At this point, the bassist was intimately familiar with how that felt. "I'm Alex."

"I know," Reggie said, and it was only until after he processed Alex's wide-eyed look of surprise that he realized that was the exact wrong answer. "I- the poster-" he said, motioning over to the wall and thanking whatever kindness existed in the universe that allowed the Sunset Curve poster to have the names of all its members featured. "I saw it on the- I'm Reggie."

Yeah, hey, there was the reply he should have said the first time.

Oh man, he didn't know why he thought he could do this. Where was Willie when he needed him? Willie was great at talking to people, the thing was he just didn't like to do it. Who even had that superpower and didn't like to use it?

Sometimes Reggie despaired for his friend, but not as much as he despaired for himself in this exact moment.

"Reggie," Alex echoed, offering his hand out for – oh, he wanted- Reggie shook his hand, and his fingers were long and warm and his grip was firm and he was totally going to be on the top ten list for the sexiest man in American one day, Reggie could just feel it. "Are you new in town? I haven't seen you around before."

"Yeah," Reggie lied, swallowing down the small stab of pain at Alex failing to recognize him. That was the old Reggie that had come to all of Sunset Curve's shows. Right now he was the new and improved Reggie, and he was cool. "I'll be a sophomore at Los Feliz High School this fall."

"Hey, so will I," Alex said, his smile widening at this information. "So will we, I mean- our whole band's in the same grade, and I…" he trailed off, looking at Reggie's hands. "Do you play?"

He must have caught the callouses on Reggie's fingertips, and Reggie fought not to duck his head, not to be bashful because he was supposed to be owning this business. "I- yeah," Reggie said, nodding. "Guitar and piano."

"That's awesome." Alex seemed to genuinely mean this, which filled Reggie's chest with a fluttery feeling he didn't know what to do with. "Maybe we'll have some of the same classes."

"Maybe." Reggie's heart started to beat faster in his chest. Alex was still sort of cradling his hand. Maybe it should be weird, but Reggie couldn't help but think it was cool. "That'd be- I'd like that."

"Me too," Alex said, his thumb dragging along the side of Reggie's palm. He looked at Reggie for a second – in like, a totally natural bro way – and then seemed to startle out of it with a shake of his head, snatching his hand back. "Um- would you like to hang out sometime?" Alex asked, his voice all tight, not that Reggie could focus on that because holy fuck, it was happening. "Talk music?"

"I'd love that," Reggie said, hugging the shirt tight to his chest, like maybe that would hide the way his hands were trembling.

"Cool." The word might seem dismissive but Alex's smile was radiant, like it covered everything perfectly. "Could I um- have your number?"

There was maybe a fraction of a second where Reggie got lost in the overwhelming tidal wave that was Alex Mercer asking for his number. Like, anyone asking for his number would have been a thing- but Alex was- he really needed to not freak out right now, so Reggie plastered on the smile he and Willie had been working on that was a little bit crooked and barely contained his joy.

"Yes, yes, you can definitely- yeah," Reggie said, Alex letting out a nervous laugh when he passed over his phone.

Somehow, despite the fact that Reggie had only done this a grand total of one time before (with Willie), he managed not to fuck it up, remembering at the very last second to take a selfie to use as his profile picture.

By the time he passed Alex's phone back, the drummer seemed a bit flush – but again, that was probably just exertion. He had just performed a pretty great show.

"Feel free to text any time," Reggie said, deciding since he'd gotten this far to take a leap and tentatively pat Alex's arm – and boy was that worth it because he was definitely all muscly underneath his pink hoody. It was just like, so unfair.

"Cool," Alex repeated, sliding his phone back into his pocket. There was a little fumbling involved, but he was probably just tired. "I will- I will definitely do that, um-" He stuck his hand out, maybe to shake Reggie's again, but instead he thrust out the one holding onto their t-shirts, leaving Reggie to just sort of blink at it until Alex corrected this. "Sorry," Alex said with a weak laugh. "It was nice meeting you, Reggie."

"Same here," Reggie said, feeling a bit lightheaded.

Alex looked at him for a moment, like maybe he wanted to linger the same way Reggie did, just spend a few more moments in someone else's orbit, but then his gaze flicked over Reggie's shoulder, and Reggie wasn't sure what he saw, only that it seemed to shake Alex out of his stupor.

"I've got to go," Alex said, giving Reggie's hand a gentle squeeze. "But I'll text you later?"

"Sounds good," Reggie said, and then Alex was gone, leaving Reggie to cling to his shirt, his face warm and heart making a determined effort to pound out of his chest.

Wow. Wow. Had that really just happened? It had gone so well that Reggie was almost half-sure he'd hallucinated the whole thing. Maybe he should pinch himself. It was totally fair to assume he was dreaming – even though his dreams rarely ended so nicely.

He felt a little dazed as he headed towards the exit, hugging his new shirt to his chest.

"Want me to pinch you?" Willie asked, reading Reggie's mind and falling in step with him perfectly, like he'd been there the entire time. "For the record, that did really just happen. You flirted with a cute boy."

"I did?" Reggie asked, his face getting warm at the thought of it. "Did he flirt back?"

"Definitely, stud," Willie said, reaching up to ruffle Reggie's hair, knowing full well he'd spent forever trying to style it just right. "There were fireworks, I was super impressed."

"He's gonna text me, Willie," Reggie said, his voice lowering to a frantic whisper like this was vital information. "He asked for my number and he's going to text me."

"As he should," Willie hummed. "You're a damn catch."

"I am?" Reggie asked, and then remembering that this was the new him, he nodded. "I am. I am a catch."

"And don't you forget it," Willie said, throwing a companionable arm around Reggie's shoulders. "Now, how about we celebrate with some street dogs?"

"I thought you'd never ask," Reggie cheered, riding the high of good music and cute boys and not making a mess of himself in public.

Maybe things really could turn around this year, maybe he could have good things.

He wouldn't know until he tried.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Texting Alex actually went pretty well, and while Willie seemed entirely unsurprised by this, he was still patient when Reggie crawled in through his window in the middle of the night, half out of it from panic because he wasn't sure how long he was supposed to wait before he replied and what should he reply and this is serious, Willie.

Willie, because he was a standup dude, simply pulled off Reggie's shoes and dragged him into bed for cuddles while the two of them analyzed Alex's text. It wasn't anything crazy – just a meme (a funny one, at that) – and Reggie loved it just as much as he didn't know how to respond to it like, at all.

"Dude," Willie said, rubbing at his eyes. "What are you talking about? Our meme game is the stuff of legends. School this fool."

With pep talks like that, it was hard not to a little schooling, as it were.

They hit a rhythm, trading memes back and forth before talking about the different shows they might watch, talking about different bands, until eventually Alex asked Reggie for the fated hangout session.

"Oh man, what if I'm busy?" Reggie asked, making Willie roll his eyes.

"You're never busy," Willie huffed. "Go date that boy."

"It's not a date," Reggie huffed, which only made Willie roll his eyes again, which was comforting in its predictability.

As fun as texting Alex was, hanging out with him was even better.

They went down to the beach, and maybe the memories of the area weren't the best because there had been many a night where Reggie had been forced to vacate his house for a few hours when things got too loud or intense and he just needed to be free for a moment – but in the daytime, and with Alex's genuinely pleased company, it was a lot better.

They could also tackle way more subjects in person than they could over text, which was how Reggie learned that while Alex wasn't much into Star Wars, he did like Harry Potter, and they both agreed Hermione was the super best ever. They both had a soft spot for old Disney movies (Reggie only ever saw the new ones with Willie, whose schedule was a bit sporadic) and street dogs, even if they were unquestionably tourist food.

They talked just- so much, and it wasn't even hard. Reggie didn't spend each second over analyzing everything he said, didn't worry about it getting taken the wrong way, or that Alex might just like, start hating him halfway through the afternoon. That he might realize that Reggie was a weirdo who talked too much and kept fidgeting with his hands.

He was okay, it was okay. Willie had helped him learn how to cover the dark bags under his eyes with concealer for the nights Reggie couldn't sneak out to his place. He'd helped Reggie pick out an outfit that was definitely stylish and promised that if Reggie was just himself, everything would be okay – and for the most part, that seemed to be true.

Maybe it helped that Alex seemed a little nervous as well. Reggie wasn't sure why though, and Willie had refused to say anything about it when he'd asked after the gig. Alex seemed nervous but happy to be there, just as content to listen as he was to gush, and sometimes they walked so close together their shoulders brushed, or their hands would graze against each other, and Alex didn't like, leap out of the way or anything (of course he didn't, they were accidents, but still – it was encouraging for some reason).

Hours seemed to pass by like nothing, to the point where Reggie knew Alex would have to leave soon, even though he didn't want this to end. It was sort of a relief when Alex started talking about future plans.

"So um- maybe we could meet up tomorrow?" Alex managed, and never had Reggie been more grateful for the freedom of summer – something he used to mourn before his friendship with Willie, something he could actually celebrate now.

What Reggie intended to say was 'I'd love that', because it was accurate and he'd been holding back a lot of gushing so far that day. He could probably indulge this much and be fine.

Instead, he said, "I'd love you."

Which just- whoops.

It took staring at Alex's shocked expression for about five seconds before he realized how monstrously he'd just managed to fuck up.

"Oh no." Reggie buried his face in his hands, wishing that the ground would swallow him whole. "I mean- I'd like- that'd be cool. I'm so sorry-"

"Hey, no – Reg, it's okay," Alex soothed, his hands curling gently around Reggie's. Man, he couldn't even savor the fact that Alex had called him Reg, had given him a nickname, because he was such a spaz. "I'd um- love you too."

Reggie froze, and as little as he wanted to, he pulled his hands down so he could actually look at Alex, whose face was all flushed and hopeful and what even was happening. "I- what?" Reggie asked. "Are you joking?"

"Definitely not." Alex gave Reggie's wrists a soft squeeze. "I've sort of been holding myself back from gushing all day. It's a relief for you to- yeah."

"You have?" Reggie asked, focusing on the first part.

It was strange to see Alex's flush darken. Like this was actually affecting him. "I really like you, Reggie."

He actually- but no one- no one aside from Willie, he meant, but Alex with his pretty, blond hair and sparkly eyes and easy smile liked Reggie, the weirdo.

"I like you too," Reggie babbled, unable to help himself. "You're so funny and cute-"

"You're cute," Alex interrupted with a grin. "And also funny, and your monologue on the importance of proper hotdog condiment selection is both adorable and makes me want to kiss you senseless."

"Me?" Reggie looked around to see if Alex was like, having a breakdown or something and was trying to address someone else, but it was just the two of them in their lone section of the park they'd retreated to. "I- you want-?"

"Only if um- you want," Alex said, ducking his head bashfully. "I'm also really happy being your friend."

Oh wow. Oh wow, Reggie had a friend but also someone who wanted to kiss him, which had never ever happened before and part of him was afraid this was all some kind of elaborate prank but a bigger part of him just wanted to throw himself in Alex's arms and let that prank have at him.

"I'd- I'd like that," Reggie said, and he was watching Alex's eyes, so he caught the way his pupils seemed to dilate just a little, or maybe that was just a trick of the lighting or something, but either way, it made his heart beat faster. "But I've um- never done that before, so it might be bad."

Alex let out a slow, shuddery breath. "I haven't either," he admitted with a small grin. "We can practice together."

"I- yeah," Reggie said, finally letting his hands drop.

And then it was just the two of them facing each other, and Alex looked as nervous as he felt and that was good and also Reggie was going to get kissed and this was the one thing he hadn't practiced with Willie. Like, he'd wanted to ask, but he knew Willie would say yes whether he wanted to or not, and what if Reggie stole his first kiss? Willie never talked about dating anyone, he only really made time to help out his grandma and hang out with Reggie. That didn't leave a lot of opportunity for romance.

"So," Alex spoke up, shifting his weight. "Let's just…"

He raised one hand to cup Reggie's cheek, his hand just as warm as it had been back at the club. His other hand curled around Reggie's hip, urging him forward, and at a loss, Reggie let his hands settle against Alex's shoulders, tilting his head back so he could-

The first kiss was chaste – a bare press of contact, but it still felt nice, incentivizing Reggie enough to have him push forward for a second. It was a relief when Alex met him there, and maybe it was the tiniest bit awkward at first, but eventually they established a rhythm, drawing closer until their chests were pressed together, until Reggie was consumed with the line of Alex's body.

"Fuck," Alex breathed when he pulled back, shifting so he could press a kiss against Reggie's jaw, then against his neck, which both felt pretty awesome. "Um- are you okay?"

"I am amazing thank you," Reggie breathed all in one rush. "Are you- is this-?"

"It's good," Alex confirmed before kissing him again.

Eventually, they ended up on a bench with Reggie partially in Alex's lap, the two of them trading kisses and this was it- Reggie was kissing someone, he was kissing Alex who was a rockstar in the making, who liked Disney and Harry Potter and had the nicest smile.

Reggie was gifted with it when Alex pulled back from him, the blond running a hand through Reggie's hair. "Um- maybe we should take this somewhere more private," he said, seeming a bit shy. "Maybe your place?"

Reggie tried not to freeze but mostly didn't succeed, the mere thought of his house making his stomach drop. Even if his parents were both at work, it was late enough to risk their return (assuming neither of them detoured to a bar), and aside from that, there was no hiding the bare bones, depressing inside of his home. His parents broke so much stuff that they didn't really have a lot left – neither one of them bothering to replace it – and while Reggie didn't really mind all that much, he knew it didn't leave the best impression.

"I um- I can't-" Reggie said, his hands beginning to shake. "My dad…"

He didn't know what he was going to say, but Alex's expression went all sympathetic, and in the next moment, Reggie found himself curled against the blond's chest.

"Fuck man, I'm sorry," Alex murmured, holding him close, the way Willie might. "I shouldn't have- I would have said my house, but my siblings are hanging around- but that's okay," he rushed to say, trying to cut off Reggie's nerves before they could even take root. "I've got an idea for something that might work. I can show it to you tomorrow, if that's okay?"

"Yeah," Reggie said, and maybe he should probe for more details, maybe this was just Alex going for a long play in the pranking department, but Reggie was so happy at that exact moment that he just couldn't care. "Yeah, that's- thanks, Alex."

"It's my pleasure, Reggie," Alex said, and just like everything else, he seemed to mean it.

Damn, Reggie should have made himself over years ago.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

I'm not entirely sure where this story came from, but I liked the idea of Reggie being on the outside of Sunset Curve looking in. Of him sort of jolting into their lives in an avalanche of pure Reggie-ism, leaving them completely unprepared for what was to follow ^_^

This story will consist of 7 chapters of story content. I update once a week, on Sundays. I may change this to updating twice a week depending on how fast I can get through editing things, but for now, there will definitely be one update on Sunday.

Story notes:

The funny thing is, Alex isn't even that much taller than Reggie, I just like the idea of panicking Reggie fixating on that.

In this particular fic, let's assume Alex's parents are supportive of his sexuality. Honestly, I don't go into much detail regarding them, so they don't really matter a whole lot in the grand scheme of this story.

Until next time :)