The Shopping Trip

"If you're going to do a show this big, you totally need new outfits," Flynn explained, gesticulating to the whole band, none of whom seemed thrilled at the idea. They had booked a gig at an outdoor festival in front of a much larger crowd than normal, and Flynn was trying to take their style up a notch for the occasion.

"But… we can't go shopping for normal clothes…" Alex pointed out, and Flynn frowned.

Unfortunately for the boys, Willie piped up from the corner, "Oh there's a ghost mall over in Long Beach, we could go there and find something that matches whatever Julie picks."

Alex, Luke, and Reggie sighed dramatically but knew they were going to lose this battle so they agreed.

Flynn and Julie drove to a thrift store, and then another one, and then another one. The boys sat in the back seat of Flynn's parents' minivan and chattered incessantly about some concert they had gone to in the 90s. Then they would wander around the thrift stores, rattling hangers ominously behind customers to make them nervous as Julie and Flynn struck out in store after store.

At the fourth stop, Luke whined "Flynn, can't you just show us what you find when you're done?"

"NO. You have to be here for the process and I want your opinion on Julie's outfit. You all obviously have more experience with vintage fashion than I do and that is totally the band's vibe."

They all rolled their eyes, but followed along.

A few minutes later, Julie gasped. "Flynn, Flynn." The girls disappeared down a different aisle, but the boys could hear the excited chatter, and saw Julie run off to the changing room. Flynn waved the boys over and said, "Okay, I think this could be it but I want to know what you guys think."

A few minutes later, after some more impatient fidgeting from the boys, Julie pulled back the curtain. She was in a silky, dark maroon jump suit with a wide collar and a lace waistline. When she turned around, they could see the back was a complicated web of straps that showed a modest amount of skin. It fit her perfectly.

"Obviously I'd pair this with my sneakers to keep it a little more casual and modern," Julie said, and Flynn nodded. Reggie wolf-whistled in a way that only a boy who was basically Julie's brother could do without being offensive. Alex walked up to her to get a closer look at the material before saying, "This is stunning. And we can totally find ways to match this."

Only Luke stayed silent, but from the way his jaw was hanging open, Julie suspected he approved.

"Okay, amazing. Now we just need you guys to find something," Flynn said as soon as Julie was back in the changing room.

Flynn wouldn't stand for any delay, so she made Willie take the boys out shopping that same day. Julie was folding laundry in her room when they got back. Luke poofed into her room with a sheepish look on his face.

"I, uh, I've been tasked with showing you our new clothes and making sure you approve," he said, not quite looking her in the eye.

But Julie was excited to weigh in on the boys' outfits (Luke would still be sleeveless if she had any say in the matter). Luke pulled a bag from behind his back and laid out the first outfit for Julie.

"Okay, this one is Alex's. We went with the idea that we could all have hints of maroon that would match your outfit. So, Alex is still in black jeans but with this loose button down tucked into them, and it's got that red floral pattern to match. Also, Willie made him buy these sunglasses, which he looked great in, but also Willie made him blush a lot by complimenting him so much." Julie and Luke grinned at each other. They were both big fans of Willex, as they called the couple.

"Then there's Reggie's," he said, pulling another out of the bag. It was a pair of ripped dark red, plaid jeans, with zippers that opened the pockets. "Willie said he should wear a black muscle-tee with this and then his normal necklace with the guitar pick on it." Julie nodded along, agreeing so far with how Willie had steered the boys.

Luke hesitated before pulling out the last one, and Julie rolled her eyes. "Come on, Luke, if Willie helped you it's gonna be a great outfit. Just show me!"

He sighed, then pulled out a worn, sleeveless denim jacket with red stitching, a sleeveless maroon AC/DC tee, and a darker maroon beanie. Julie grinned, and said, "Try it on for me!"

This made Luke smile at the same time he rolled his eyes. Having Julie interested in his clothing flustered him. But he obediently pulled off his t-shirt, giving Julie a brief glimpse of well-defined abs, before he pulled the new clothes on.

Julie had to bite her lip, trying to not stare too hard. She focused on his face and realized that he had put the beanie on crooked. "Here," she said, stepping into his personal space to reach up and adjust it. "There," she said quietly, realizing how close they were standing, but not stepping back.

Luke's eyes focused on hers, and slipped down to gaze at her lips. "What do you think," he asked softly, cocking his head to one side slightly.

"You look… wow," she responded, more honestly than she had strictly intended, and it came out a little breathy.

"Just like you did in that outfit at the shop," he whispered back, their faces inching closer together. "It's going to be hard to focus on the music when you wear that."

She laughed just a little. "Well, it's hard to focus on the lyrics when you're wearing sleeveless shirts which is, well, always."

He smiled softly in return, and blushed just slightly. The fact that Julie was looking at him on stage just as much as he was looking at her was a pleasant surprise to him.

"Maybe it will be easier to focus on our performance if we get this out of the way now," he said teasingly, before closing the already small gap between their mouths.

The kiss was gentle, until it wasn't. Julie stood on her tiptoes, pressed against him, but lost her balance in the process, which resulted in both of them landing on top of the piles of clothes laid out on her bed. The broke apart, laughing, then Luke's face turned serious. He pushed a strand of hair back from her face and leaned in to kiss her again. Julie had never felt as alive as she did in that moment, knowing that this incredibly gorgeous boy liked her back.

Julie's dad knocked on her door a few minutes later, and Luke's eyes widened before he snatched all the clothes and poofed out of the room. Julie still had a grin on her face when she yelled for her dad to come in.