Chapter 3 – Figuring Things Out
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They didn't rehearse for the rest of the week. They had a gig on Friday that was tense as hell, but they got through it for the crowd, faking it with the best of them until the time came for them to pack their stuff into Bobby's van.
They'd gotten a tense apology from Alex before school the day after their argument where he covered how bad he felt for calling them stupid and jumping the gun before they had a chance to explain themselves. Luke had accepted the apology, but he knew just as well as Reggie that Alex didn't seem to really believe them like, at all. Julie said he was going to be squirrely until they owned up to why they'd been sneaking around, which Luke might have thought was fair if he didn't hurt so damn much.
Just- he got it. They'd lied about the extra credit thing so Alex thought they were lying about this too, but they didn't make shit up just for the hell of it, and Alex should have known that. Instead of understanding, they got two times the subtle disappointed faces, until Reggie didn't even want to go back to eating lunch with them.
"Just- you can, if you want," Reggie said, tugging nervously at his jacket sleeves when he met Luke at his locker. "But I'm not- I don't want to."
"You're my boyfriend, Cinnabon," Luke reminded him quietly. "I'm not quitting you now. Come on, let's go eat."
Reggie's avoidance tactic was probably the most expected response. The bassist had never been exactly forthcoming about his home situation, but Luke knew it wasn't great. Knew his parents argued more than they probably should, knew they took it out on Reggie when he didn't deserve it. Reggie always did his best to avoid his own home when it was conflict central – avoiding Alex was just a natural progression from that. Luke didn't know if Reggie was avoiding the drummer because he was afraid of getting yelled at again, or if he didn't want to bother him, or if he simply hurt too much to consider it, but either way, Luke wasn't letting him eat lunch by himself, especially when Luke was the one that had kicked this all off.
"You're really amazing, you know?" Luke would tell Reggie when the other teen started to look down. "Your ideas aren't dumb, they're awesome. They're the best because no one else would ever be able to think of them."
"You don't have to say that," Reggie sniffed, poking at his sandwich. "It was my dumb idea that got Alex to yell at us."
"Alex yelled at us because he's an emotionally repressed turd," Luke declared. "With like- mega trust issues. That's on him. Like, with how quickly he jumped on us, I bet anything he'd been building up anger about something else and then found like – two really cute targets to unleash his rage at, which was wrong of him." Luke crunched on another handful of chips, wishing the salty grease flavor would be more of a comfort than it was. "We should wait for him to give us a better apology."
"Maybe we should just tell him to date Bobby," Reggie said. "Like, directly. Or maybe we should break up."
"Honey Bunches of Oats, no," Luke said, abandoning his food so he could pull Reggie into his lap. The bassist went with a squawk, his cheeks going all flushed, but after a beat he seemed to eagerly relax into Luke's hold. "A pair of studs like us can't break apart just because of some dumb naysayers. If anything, I bet Alex is just like, jealous."
"Maybe that jealousy will make him ask Bobby out," Reggie mused, sounding a bit more optimistic.
"That's the spirit!" Luke chirped, nuzzling Reggie's shoulder. "Now, chip me."
"Okay, Lemon Drop," Reggie hummed, and if he stole some of Luke's chips for himself – well, what was Luke's was also his boyfriend's. He at least had that much figured out.
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They started practicing again, but things were all tense. Reggie was happy to sing out with Luke, but he wouldn't go over to Bobby as much, and he did his damnedest to stay as far away from Alex's drum set as possible.
He didn't talk as much either. Luke tried to ask his opinions on lyrics and stuff the way he normally did, but Reggie would just shrug him off, fiddling with his bass. It took Luke a few days to realize that Reggie was probably trying to avoid saying something dumb, and once more Luke found himself fighting off a wave of self-loathing. In his effort to improve the lives of part of his band, he'd wrecked the entire balance of it, and now he didn't know how to fix it. It didn't help that Alex went all tense every time Reggie cuddled next to Luke, but that was something they did before they'd started dating, so Luke didn't even know what that was about.
"Maybe we should just give up," Luke hazarded when he and Reggie were walking around the park. They'd progressed to holding hands now, once they realized that was a thing boyfriends could do, and Luke was a pretty big fan of it. He liked having that connection with Reggie. "Maybe Alex and Bobby just aren't like- ready for romance yet."
"I still don't want to eat lunch with them, though," Reggie said quietly, idling kicking at some gravel with a small pout on his lips.
Luke sighed. "We can't avoid them forever."
"I don't want to avoid them forever, I just want to not be like – such an obviously huge burden on them," Reggie pressed, his hand squeezing Luke's just a bit tighter. "I don't think Alex is going to give us a better apology, and he keeps looking at me with these sad eyes when I won't go near him, but he's the one who was all-" He cut off with a shake of his head. "And like, we've never dated anyone before. Shouldn't he be happy for us? Like, theoretically, that's a thing he should be happy about, but instead he was all yelly Mc-Angrypants." Reggie sighed. "Maybe we're not friends. Maybe we've never been friends."
"Aw, Reg, don't say that," Luke soothed, stopping so he could wrap an arm around Reggie's waist, pull him closer. "He might be all gruff right now, but he's still Alex. He's still the guy that keeps a fanny pack full of emergency snacks and medical supplies on hand just for us. He's still the one that went to see Avengers with you like, five times in theaters."
"Six," Reggie muttered, scuffing the ground again.
"Six times," Luke corrected. "He's still the guy that tries to bake us all birthday cakes despite the fact that they always come out misshapen or lopsided. He's still Alex, he's just like – bizzarro world Alex right now."
"Well, what do we have to do to get the regular Alex back?" Reggie huffed. "We can't just say we've been avoiding him so he and Bobby will get together – then it'll never happen, and it's already not happening!"
"We just- we have to ride this out," Luke decided, hoping that the vague plan would carry them through well enough, at least a little bit. "Time will make things better."
"I hope so," Reggie muttered, leaning into Luke's side.
They did the best they could. Bobby – the poor guy – was trying so hard to be a peacekeeper. He and Alex had dozens of whispered conversations with each other, and Luke didn't know if Bobby was giving Alex a pep talk or comforting him or maybe finally wooing him or what. They still didn't have lunch together at school, but practices started to go a little easier, and their gigs weren't as strained.
Luke was beginning to wonder if this was just their new normal. He didn't know why Alex was so mad about him for dating Reggie. It wasn't like the blond was secretly in love with the dude, that was one of the reasons Luke had realized Alex and Bobby were perfect together. They had no outstanding crushes – just pure chemistry in that quiet, smart person way of theirs, and yeah, they weren't as outgoing or enthusiastic as Luke and Reggie, but that didn't mean they weren't just as good.
He should really have a one-on-one conversation with Alex, try to clear this thing up, but Luke was afraid of making things worse. It'd already happened when he'd been so sure he could improve things, now that he was flying blind, how much more could he make them fall apart?
The uncertainty followed them all the way to movie night at Julie's. Reggie took one look at the couch Sunset Curve usually shared together before dragging Luke over to sit by Carrie's armchair, letting the singer settle on the floor before he scooted between the V of Luke's legs. He sat back, letting his back rest against Luke's chest, and Luke- he liked this, liked being able to hold Reggie close, so he savored the feel of it and hooked his chin over the bassist's shoulder, keeping a bored eye on the movie. Movie night wasn't as much fun without trading witty commentary with the boys, but Reggie cuddles would more than make up for it, Luke decided.
They'd been doing it more recently. Reggie used to use Bobby as his own personal throne, climbing into the rhythm guitarist's lap and showering him with corny jokes while Alex laughed into his shoulder. It made Luke a little sad that they'd lost that. Reggie had started distancing himself from Bobby whenever they'd enacted their plan – both of them had, and Luke could admit he missed Bobby's cuddles. He missed Alex's grabby hands whenever they had sleepovers because that dude inevitably ended up wrapped around someone – and Luke was always happy to volunteer as tribute. He knew Reggie was too, but now Reggie wouldn't go near Alex, so Luke needed to be there for him. He needed to do something right.
Partway through the movie, Luke noticed Reggie fidgeting, something that made him frown until he realized it was um- his fault. He'd been petting Reggie's stomach without realizing it, feeling out the lean slope of his abdomen. Just- he liked feeling him breathe, as weird as that might seem. It reminded Luke that he was safe.
Luke paused his hand, murmuring a quiet apology into Reggie's shoulder, but the bassist simply shifted to cover Luke's hand with his own, splaying it out flat. He gave his fingers a gentle squeeze before letting go again.
It was- oh, it was okay, he'd liked it.
Luke went back to petting random patterns, eventually sneaking his fingers under the hem of Reggie's shirt so he could directly feel at warm skin. There was a sharp inhale from Reggie, and then he was turning his head, pressing his forehead against Luke's crown like he was savoring it or something.
It felt- Luke didn't know how it felt. It seemed overwhelming, for such a small thing. His heart was pounding in his chest, fingers twitching when he realized they wanted to reach higher, wanted to feel out more of Reggie.
Okay, that was a response he'd have to look into later, and probably talk to Reggie about. Like, it was probably a normal teenage thing, but aside from that-
"Seriously, guys?" Alex's voice broke into the moment like a hammer shattering glass, whatever pleasant distraction that had been managed grinding to an abrupt and unforgiving halt as everyone stopped to stare at them. "It's movie night."
For a second, Luke floundered, his cheeks filling with an embarrassed heat.
"Will you shut up?" Reggie snapped, making Alex startle back with wide eyes. "You've been a dick for the past month, Alex. It's really getting old."
Luke knew he wasn't the only one wearing a stupefied expression. Reggie didn't get confrontational. Confrontation was something he avoided at all costs, especially with his friends, and here he was snapping at Alex. Like, the drummer sort of deserved it because Luke and Reggie hadn't really been doing anything, but he could understand why Alex was so obviously thrown.
It was sort of satisfying to watch his mouth open and close a few times, like he didn't even know where to begin, before Alex's expression hardened. "I've been a dick?" he asked, Flynn and Julie sharing an unreadable look from his other side. "You're the ones that have been sneaking around! Just tell us what you've been up to."
"Oh man," Nick muttered, trying to slink his way behind Willie, who was watching with rapt attention.
Luke ignored him. "Why do you assume it's bad?" he asked, because that was what had to be getting Alex worked up. "Couldn't we be sneaking around for like – nice reasons? You always go to the worst-case scenario. You always assume we're like, planning something awful. Am I really that bad?"
"Yes," Alex snapped and Luke- honestly, he hadn't been expecting it. He hadn't been.
He tensed up, feeling like he'd just gotten socked in the stomach, the air leaving his lungs in a painful rush while an unrelenting ball of ice seemed to settle in his chest, draining all the heat out of him.
"Damn," Flynn muttered, but even that didn't break the tension.
Luke tried not to stare at Alex, and he knew the blond looked all horrified, immediately sorry, but he- that was just his honest opinion. He'd been mad and he'd been honest, just like last time.
"Luke," Alex began, his tone strangled. "I didn't- I didn't mean it. I'm so sorry, I didn't-"
"Shut up, Alex," Reggie muttered, and then he was dragging Luke to his feet, pulling him from the garage.
"Wait," Alex said, and Luke could hear him fumbling behind them, scrambling to chase. "No, we need to talk about this. I was just- I'm upset, but that's no reason to-"
"Save it, Lexi," Reggie snapped before he was marching them away, out into the night.
Eventually, they made it to a familiar park, because Julie and Bobby didn't live that far from each other, and they were back on their usual bench before Luke started crying.
Luke had been friends with Alex for so long. They'd been through a lot of stuff together – and he'd thought- he'd thought they had like, bonded over that, but maybe Alex had just been tolerating him all this time. Maybe it was because they'd spent so many years together that Alex was done with him, like the blond had reached his breaking point, like he'd realized Luke wasn't worth it.
It added to the bitter words his father spat in anger, Luke's 'worthless passions' dwindling down to just being 'worthless'. How his band would 'never make it' and how Luke would 'never be enough' and Luke realized now that maybe he meant 'smart' enough or like 'not obnoxious or reasonable' enough, that Luke himself just wasn't enough, and Alex was smart, so maybe he'd known that all along.
It felt like his entire world was shattered to pieces. Maybe it was a good thing he and Reggie had come up with this plan – obviously they were making Alex's life worse. And like, Bobby hadn't said much of anything, but he was a smart dude too, he probably felt all the same stuff Alex did, he was just less prone to articulating it.
And speaking of Bobby…
Luke shuddered when he caught the rhythm guitarist crouching in front of their bench, his expression carefully neutral as he looked between the two of them.
"Go away," Luke gasped from where he was mostly curled against Reggie's shoulder. "S-Shouldn't you be with Alex?"
"Julie and Willie have him now," Bobby said, his voice gentle, but despite that Luke felt dumb all over again, because of course Bobby would have taken care of Alex. He was smart, that was what smart people did. "Luke, he didn't mean what he said, you have to know that."
"Do I?" Luke wheezed, wishing the tears wouldn't sting his eyes as much. "M-Maybe I'm too stupid to figure that out."
Too mean and too bad, chaotic and worthless, worthless, worthless.
He couldn't really see Bobby through the blur of his tears, but he thought that maybe something shifted in the other teen's expression.
"You're not stupid," Bobby said, and while his voice was soft, it was firm, because he knew that was what they responded to best. "Neither one of you are stupid. That stuff Alex said before? He was just frustrated, and he shouldn't have said it at all." Bobby reached forward carefully, taking each of their hands and then, when they didn't pull away, giving them a soft squeeze. "Is that why you've been avoiding us? Because you think… you think you're holding us back?"
Luke flinched despite himself, causing Reggie to make a more determined effort to wrap around him.
"No," Luke rasped, his throat tight. "We were trying to do something nice."
"Okay," Bobby said, confirmation without judgement, and now more than ever Luke realized just exactly how much he'd missed Bobby.
He loved Reggie, that went without question, but he missed the way Bobby quietly radiated support and acceptance. How he never judged the roving chaos of Luke's mind.
"Okay," Bobby repeated. "Could… would you tell me what it is, please? And I um- I get that this was something we were supposed to figure out on our own – but we're not you, Luke."
"Right," Luke laughed, wet and mostly bitter. "Your brain's not dumb."
"Neither is yours," Bobby said, his tone a bit stronger than before. "But you and Reggie – Alex and I aren't as good at reading you guys as you are each other. And there's nothing wrong with that. I love your brain, we love your plans, but we're not always going to get them right away. Could you- would you please give me a hint?"
Luke chewed on his bottom lip, sharing an uneasy look with Reggie.
"What if we tell you and it turns out to be dumb?" Luke asked. "Like, it was dumb this whole time and we just didn't-"
"Hey," Bobby interrupted, raising their hands so he could press a kiss to their knuckles. It had been so long since he'd last done it that Luke almost gasped- Reggie definitely did, and Luke was pretty sure the weird flippy feeling in his chest wasn't an appropriate response to it. "You wanted to do a good thing," Bobby declared. "That automatically means it can't be dumb."
"I don't think it works like that," Reggie said, his voice a little strangled.
"As a supposedly smart person, I can guarantee that it totally, one hundred percent does," Bobby said, pressing another kiss to their knuckles. "So – a hint?"
"Um," Luke sniffed, realizing that he was sort of tired of all this. Even if their operation turned out to be dumb, well, it was probably better than having Alex yell at them all the time. "Maybe we should just tell you at the same time."
"What if they get mad?" Reggie asked, his voice coming in a tight whisper. "I don't want Alex to yell at me again."
"He won't," Bobby said. "Trust me, he won't."
He wouldn't, because Bobby wouldn't let him. Bobby would protect them.
It made a new swell of tears pool in Luke's eyes, but he hastily wiped them away, figuring now was the time to face the music.
"It'll be okay," Bobby soothed, and he didn't rush them. He waited for them to be bready before he stood up, waited until they'd dried their faces off with the tissues he'd snagged from Alex's fanny pack. He didn't say anything when Luke and Reggie clung to each other the entire walk back – he was just Bobby. Quiet and dependable, a comforting presence by their side.
When they got back to the garage, Willie and Julie had a tearful Alex on the couch between them, the blond having both hands buried in his hair, like he was tugging at it in frustration, the way he did when he was all worked up.
He was on his feet the moment they entered the garage, his face crumbling into a picture of open remorse.
"Guys," he began, his voice cracking. "I'm so fucking sorry. I have been a dick to you for weeks now-"
"Um, hold on," Luke sniffed, leaning a bit closer to Reggie. It was now or never. "We're gonna tell you something and then you can decide if you uh- still want to apologize." After a beat, he added, "Though you definitely should apologize more to Reggie. Like, for the record."
"You should also apologize more to Luke," Reggie added, forever loyal. Luke would wave it off as a lost cause, but Reggie had gone through just as much emotional turmoil as he had, so like, he deserved to make whatever demands he wanted.
"That's fair," Bobby said, getting them back on track. "What did you want to tell us?"
"You and Alex should date," Luke said, and for the record, it wasn't that shocking an idea, so he wasn't sure what Alex's startled look was all about. "Reggie and I have been trying to give you guys alone time so you could figure out you have mad chemistry-"
"And we've been trying to set dates up for you," Reggie piled on, because now that they were starting, they had to see it through. "And get you to dance-"
"And we even locked you in the bathroom," Luke continued. "But you still weren't dating."
"So like, we thought maybe if we dated, you guys would get the hint," Reggie continued. "But then that just made you all mad and we don't know what to do anymore and will you guys like- just please date?"
There was a moment of silence. Luke really wished it would be less tense than it was.
"You… want us to date," Alex said, and he seemed more confused than anything else. "Why?"
"We said why," Luke pressed, exasperated. "You're perfect for each other! You're all quiet and smart and thoughtful and give really good hugs!"
"You're the best people we know," Reggie pressed. "You deserve each other. You deserve like, elegant, thoughtful dates and slow dances and holding hands. You deserve to spend time with people you love."
"But we already do that," Alex said, making Luke pause.
"What?" Luke asked, wondering if he'd heard wrong.
"We already hold hands," Alex clarified, his brows pinched together. "Like- at the movies. And we already slow dance and go on dates and spend time with people we love."
"But that's- that was with all of us," Luke said. "We meant like, you deserve romance."
"Luke," Alex said, and now his tone was all strained again. "We already have romance."
Did- had Alex and Bobby already been dating? Had they just been doing it secretly? Had Luke and Reggie missed that?
Aw man, they really were fucking stupid.
"Luke," Alex repeated, holding his gaze. "I thought- the way you guys were pulling away, I thought maybe you were bored with us or something. That you ditched us for each other because you're like, way more adventurous than we'd ever be."
The very thought of it boggled Luke's mind, and he told Alex as much. "That's crazy," he gushed, sharing a worried look with Reggie. "It's been killing us not to spend time with you. You think we like missing out on hangout time? Or Saturday movies? Or couch cuddles? It's fucking sucked staying away, but we wanted you to have something nice that you apparently already had-"
"I mean, not quite," Alex said, tucking a stray hair behind his ear. "Not properly."
"What does that even mean?" Luke asked, Reggie sending him a hopeless look.
"It means the reason Alex and I haven't started dating is because we're not perfect for each other," Bobby spoke up, making the rest of them startle. "Alone, I mean. We need balance. We need um- a little chaos."
Luke had no idea what that meant. "What, you want to date Willie too?"
"Oh my god," Flynn snapped, because of course the others were still there shamelessly eavesdropping – they really were hopeless gossips. "They want to date you two idiots."
"Not idiots," Bobby said, shooting her an unhappy look. "Unique."
"Brilliant," Alex added, his lips beginning to stretch into a smile. "Generous and passionate and loyal."
"I thought you were mad at us," Luke said, getting confused all over again.
"I was, until I realized that you and Reggie were willingly sacrificing stuff that made you happy just so we could have a shot at romance," Alex said. "Luke, I've been wanting to tear your hair out for the past month. I thought you were slipping away, like you finally realized how boring I was-"
"You're not- who said you were boring?" Luke asked, because he wanted names, names and faces so he could start correcting some gross misconceptions. "You're Alex, you're the best."
"Yeah, we got that," Bobby said, wearing a small grin of his own. "Guys, we really appreciate what you were trying to do – but next time just like- say something?"
"Hopefully there won't be a next time," Alex said, and then he was making a beeline for Reggie, who tensed for a moment but ultimately allowed himself to be dragged into a hug, the bassist clinging to Alex's taller frame. "Please don't try to set us up with other people, unless they are you."
"Wait, you really want that?" Reggie squeaked. "You want to date us?"
"I love you," Alex said simply, the three words enough to leave Reggie shuddering into him helplessly. "I love you guys so much; I don't want to date anyone else."
"Oh," Luke said, because this was just- it was a lot. He'd never thought about how he and Reggie fit into things, but in hindsight, he guessed it made sense. After all, the only times he ever saw Bobby and Alex hang out was when they were all together. There was a good chance that Bobby just as easily had good chemistry with Luke or Reggie as he did with Alex.
"I'd like to date you," Reggie said quietly. "But um- Luke and I aren't actually dating."
"We can fix that pretty easily, though," Luke said. "I mean, if you want?"
Reggie considered this with a blink. "Sure thing, studmuffin."
"Aw. Thanks, carrot top."
"You guys are so weird," Alex said, but his tone was fond and not judgmental and angry like it had been before. "Bobby?"
"Luke?" Bobby tried, tentatively wrapping himself around the singer's back.
It was really awesome. Luke had missed this too, so much.
"You're a stud, Bobbert," Luke said, happily leaning into his old. "Yeah, we should- we should all date, that would make things way easier."
"Oh man, this is great," Reggie laughed. "Now we can eat lunch with them again."
"And, you know, not lock us in bathrooms," Alex huffed. "You owe us a lot of dates."
The words sent a shiver through Luke's frame, one he decided he liked very much.
Yeah, this was- yeah – this worked for him.
"Fine," Luke said, because this was the piece he'd been missing. "But only if you give us cuddles."
"And kisses!" Reggie added, ever the negotiator.
"I think I can make that work," Alex said, and then he was leaning forward to claim Reggie's lips in a kiss.
Luke got to watch the pretty picture for a second before Bobby was leaning down to get kisses of his own, and then maybe he just got the tiniest bit distracted himself. If he did, though, he'd totally earned it. He was pretty sure they could all agree on that.
When he pulled back he was smiling, his chest feeling lighter than it had in ages.
"I would call that an operational success, wouldn't you?" Luke asked Bobby, who took the question with a hum.
"I'm not sure," Bobby decided. "Perhaps a few more kisses could persuade me."
"You drive a hard bargain," Luke declared with a laugh, and there was the slightest chance he was interrupted by Alex's determined lips, but if that was the case, he was pretty sure no one would blame him, least of all Bobby.
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Endnotes:
These dumb, dumb humans. I love them so much.
That was it, folks! The stunning conclusion to Luke and Reggie's misadventures in matchmaking! Thank you so much to everyone who left feedback!
If you're on the lookout for more Julie and the Phantoms' goodness, I'll be posting the first chapter of my next fic next Sunday, 'In Your Heart is Where it all Begins'. It is a Reggie-centric fic that has him getting to know the guys after they've already established Sunset Curve, and is substantially longer than the other two phantoms' stories I've posted :)
Story notes:
I really just love the idea of Luke and Reggie not really understanding how pet names work at all, so they just call each other random foods. Just- it makes my heart so happy.
Until next time :)
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'When it's meant to be, you go kinda crazy. Meant to be, you forget your name. When it's meant to be, it's destiny callin', and nothing ever will be the same!' – 'Meant to Be' from Teen Beach Movie.