Chapter 1 – The Crush

SUMMARY – Look, it wasn't like Luke had been searching for love or anything, and certainly not love at first sight. He was pretty sure that wasn't what this was, but he couldn't stop staring at the hot dude that seemed to have materialized in the crowd one day, looking helplessly endearing and super enthusiastic and oh, Luke had it bad, he had it bad and he hadn't even known he was into dudes until that very moment.

Like most problems in his life, Luke tried to bury it, and like most times he tried to do that, it came back and bit him in the ass.

Also known as: That time Luke didn't have a sexuality crisis so much as a personal revelation, and maybe that led to addressing some self-esteem issues he'd spent most of his life ignoring. Also, there is romance. Like, eventually.

-:-:-:-:-:-

To be fair, Luke hadn't expected to have a crisis of sexuality the summer before his sophomore year of high school.

Well, maybe it was less of a crisis and more of a fistful of confusion delivered directly to his face like a brutal sucker punch in the middle of one of their sets, which seemed entirely unfair. Performing music was Luke's safe space, it was where no one could touch him, when it was just him and his guitar and his boys working together to create something greater than themselves for the entertainment of those around them. Performing always made Luke feel alive, like he could be worth something at the end of the day, and he loved it almost more than anything else.

Maybe not more than the band, because they were the band (even Nick, who whined a lot and insisted he was only filling in on a temporary basis because he wanted to hop ship and join Julie's band and play lead guitar like the traitor he was), but it was definitely high up on the list. Nothing could touch Luke when he was performing, which was why this was so especially unexpected.

It wasn't like Luke hadn't seen attractive people before. He lived in California, they were practically up to their ears in unquestionably hot individuals. It was just this guy, when Luke had caught him – he looked like Luke felt. Like the music meant everything to him, like he was happy they were simply getting the opportunity to strut their stuff. He seemed to feel the beat and the rhythm with a smile that stretched so wide it made Luke's face ache, and Luke had only looked at him for like, point two seconds.

Somehow that was enough to almost make Luke lose the thread of what he was doing, to the point where he had to purposefully avert his gaze from that area for the rest of the show.

And obviously, he was making a big deal over nothing. It was just some dude. Luke wasn't gay or anything, he wasn't bi like Bobby. Luke liked girls, he knew he liked girls, and if he liked guys he was pretty sure he would have figured that out by now, because he hung out with three of the best looking ones in his entire class. Sunset Curve was full of studs – that's what everyone said on social media, so why the hell would this guy be any kind of special?

Luke tried to put the dude from his mind, handing out shirts and flirting with ladies the same as he always did, but if he risked another glance-

Fuck, he was cute. His cheeks were all rosy and his hair was dark and Luke was pretty sure his teeth fucking sparkled in the shitty lighting of the restaurant. Another half a second and Luke's heart was going all strange and pitter patter-y, to the point where he wondered if this was how Alex felt all the time with his anxiety.

Oh man, Alex.

Luke wasn't sure why, but discovering this newfound confusing attraction to some random dude at their gig made him feel sort of horrible. As oblivious as Luke pretended to be (and was, a lot of the time), even he hadn't missed the small crush Alex had on him after the blond had come out. Like, he'd known Alex felt bad about it, which was why Luke had never acknowledged it, and eventually it had faded in time (which was a huge relief for everyone involved), so how would Alex feel if he knew that Luke could maybe be attracted to dudes?

It was then that Luke decided that he probably shouldn't talk about this with the blond at all, at least until he got himself sorted.

Yeah, that was the responsible, good friend thing to do. He could handle that.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Luke waited for Alex to head out for the evening before he grabbed onto the back of Nick's collar and dragged him back into the studio, the other blond squawking and flailing until Luke took pity on him and shoved him down onto the couch.

Bobby, who understood Luke in a way few others could ever hope to achieve, had already been lingering near the back of the garage pretending to straighten things up like the wonderful human being he was, the rhythm guitarist seeming to understand that Luke needed to talk about things he maybe wasn't comfortable sharing with Alex yet.

"Oh my god," Nick groaned, a pout pulling at his lips as he flailed into a more comfortable position. "What's the problem now?"

Luke didn't bother getting defensive, this was way too important for that. "I think I might like dudes," he announced, deciding to just go ahead and throw it all out there.

Nick, who had clearly not been expecting an immediate answer (let alone an honest one), squinted up at him before letting out a dramatic sigh. "Of course you do," he huffed. "And you couldn't tell Alex this because…?"

Bobby, because he was a kind and noble spirit, chose to ignore Nick, focusing on Luke's issues instead. "Is it all dudes?" he asked, the question probing, gentle. "Or is it just a dude?"

"Oh." Nick blinked, understanding settling over his features. "Yeah, I could see how that would be a much bigger problem."

Luke groaned before flopping into the armchair, and he must have looked really pitiful because Nick didn't laugh at him or anything. "I looked at him for like, three seconds," Luke complained. "And then I couldn't look at him anymore because I was pretty sure I would forget every lyric I'd ever written then and there, he was so pretty."

"Huh," Nick said while Bobby took this all in. "That's one good looking dude."

"He is," Luke sighed, gratefully accepting the bottle of Ginger Ale Bobby passed over to him. Gran always kept their mini fridge stocked with it to help any potential nerves, and now it sort of served as a comfort drink for all of them, even if Alex would only have the diet kind. "His smile's all- and he was bopping along to the music, and he had on this cool leather coat that was all-" Luke sighed. "I've only ever felt this kind of instant connection with Julie before."

At least, he was pretty sure. Like, he'd always felt drawn to his bandmates too, but they were his bandmates. They were going to be super famous together, he just knew it.

"Maybe that's a good thing," Nick offered, grabbing a butterscotch candy from the bowl on the table. "Now you and Julie are music-writing soulmates. Maybe this guy is a platonic soulmate too."

"But I never really wanted to kiss Julie," Luke said. "And I want to kiss this guy like, a lot."

"That does complicate things somewhat," Nick mused, unwrapping the candy and popping it into his mouth. "Bobbert – thoughts?"

Bobby sighed. "Did you get his name?"

"No, I didn't get his name," Luke huffed. "I couldn't even look at him! How was I supposed to talk to him?"

"Wow," Nick laughed, unable to hold back his mirth. "You have got it bad, dude."

"Whatever," Luke grumbled, taking an aggressive gulp of his ginger ale. It helped, sort of, making his stomach feel a little less queasy, even if his heart felt like it was still beating too fast. "Maybe this will all die down in a few days. Can we all just agree to not mention this to Alex?"

"Why?" Nick asked. "This is hilarious, he deserves to know."

Without even looking at him, Bobby pegged Nick in the face with a pillow, which further proved he was the best bro of all. "We can keep this between us if you'd like," Bobby said over Nick's sputtering. "But I promise Alex wouldn't care. Of all of us, he understands how difficult a thing sexuality can be sometimes."

"Yeah man," Nick grumbled, pulling the pillow off his face. "Besides, we're teenagers. We're not supposed to have all this shit perfectly figured out. We are at a time in our lives when being giant messes is perfectly expected."

"Thanks, guys," Luke said, feeling a little better after their pep talk. "But for now, I just… it's kind of embarrassing, you know? Like, what if I don't even really like this guy? What if it's just a phase? You know Alex doesn't do well with change, and if it's not even a real change, I'll have yanked his chain around for nothing."

"Again, we'll keep this quiet if you'd like," Bobby said. "But you can always change your mind. We're all here for you."

"Even me," Nick said, prompting Bobby to throw another pillow at him.

He didn't even bother trying to block it either, because Nick never learned.

He was sort of like Luke that way.

-:-:-:-:-:-

The problem was, Luke couldn't get Hot Guy off his mind.

That was his name now, just Hot Guy, and Luke felt slightly bad for reducing a fully rounded out human to just his looks, but the hotness had been the initial hook that drew Luke into the radiates a joy of music that can hardly be contained which only adds to his hotness thing, so now he just had to refer to him as Hot Guy and be done with it.

It's been days, and Luke couldn't stop thinking of Hot Guy, to the point where he was scrolling through what fan pages Sunset Curve had and checking for any members that might look like his mystery dude. He reviewed everyone who checked into Eats & Beats on the night of their performance, but Luke didn't see him there either. It got to the point where he was reduced to scrolling through everyone else's pictures of that evening just to get a chance of catching his mystery guy in the background, and by providence, Luke managed to track down a grand total of one picture where Hot Guy was lingering just at the side of the frame, barely getting captured at all.

But he was there, and he was just as good looking as Luke remembered him, with a smile that made his heart want to do backflips or something.

"Bobby," Luke hissed, crawling into the rhythm guitarist's window in the middle of the night because if he didn't get out of his own damn house he was going to go crazy. "Bobby – hot guy is still hot. I repeat, hot guy is still hot."

"…Luke?" Bobby took much longer to stir awake than he should have, considering the fact that Luke invaded his bedroom on a fairly regular basis. For whatever reason, it seemed to surprise Bobby every time he did this – as though his house filled with his supportive and loving grandparents was not vastly superior to Luke's house full of judgement and disappointment.

"I'm going crazy," Luke said, kicking off his shoes and shrugging out of his jacket until he crawled under Bobby's blankets, curling himself around the rhythm guitarist's side. "Why is this guy on my mind, Bobby? He's literally no one. If I should be popping boners for anyone, it should be you or Alex."

"Not Nick?" Bobby muttered, only feigning a small amount of grumpiness before he reluctantly drew an arm around Luke's shoulders.

"Nick is a traitor who does not deserve my sweet longing," Luke declared, settling his head on Bobby's chest. He always felt better when he could listen to the other teen's heart, like he wasn't destined to be a washed-up has-been with only his guitar as his comfort like his mom said he'd be. "But you and Alex are super catches. What's wrong with me?"

"It's puberty, Luke," Bobby sighed, tensing for a second before his body seemed to go all loose the way it always did. "This is perfectly normal. Now you know why Nick wouldn't shut up about Carrie's hair last year."

"This was what he felt like?" Luke asked, and he didn't get the whole Carrie thing, but now he sort of felt bad for all the times he mocked Nick ceaselessly for being all moony-eyed. "The poor asshole."

"Poor all of us," Bobby muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Has this happened to you?" Luke asked, wrapping his arm around Bobby's waist.

The other guitarist was quiet for a moment, but Luke wasn't surprised by that. That was just Bobby's way. He was always thoughtful about the things he said, because he knew that words could never be taken back, that once they were out there it was done, and he felt it was important to use that power wisely. It was one of the things that made him the smart one of Sunset Curve.

"…a little," Bobby said, making Luke pause.

"Wow, Bobbers, you're good at keeping your cool," Luke murmured. "I didn't even notice at all."

"I know," Bobby sighed, and then he started petting his hand through Luke's hair the way he knew Luke liked, because he really was the best of all Luke's bros.

-:-:-:-:-:-

It wasn't like Luke meant to keep texting Alex. He knew the guy was busy with family stuff, he just- he needed to text someone, and he'd already bothered Bobby way more than he ever should (even though Bobby insisted Luke could text him any time, any day, and it would be fine – Luke knew better though, and he wouldn't punish his friend like that), and Nick had never been an option in the first place. Technically speaking, Alex shouldn't be an option either, because it wasn't like Luke could talk to him about what his actual problem was. It wasn't like he could be all 'hey, Alex, I'm having a mini crisis that will probably make you think I'm being a drama queen again which is why I didn't tell you about it because that shit sort of hurts but oops, looks like I told you about it anyway', but he still found comfort in Alex's responses to Luke's lyric suggestions.

Luke mostly suspected this was because he'd been somewhat avoiding Alex, feeling guilty about the whole not-telling-him thing, which he'd expected the drummer to call him out on after like, three days at most. The fact that he hadn't made a sort of curdled feeling swirl in Luke's stomach, because maybe Alex was happy for this newfound freedom that he was getting a breather from Luke.

Obviously, that wasn't the case. Alex had his own stuff going on, he was probably distracted with back-to-school prep or something. He didn't secretly hate Luke just because the singer had figured out that maybe he could like boys back way too late to do him any good.

It was fine. It was all fine, and when Alex stopped responding to his texts, Luke took a hint and threw himself into practicing his guitar, not wanting to push for more than the world felt comfortable giving him.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Luke managed to wait until Alex was onstage perfecting his drum setup or whatever before he latched onto Nick, mostly because he was the one closest to him, not because he thought the blond would be particularly helpful.

"He's here," Luke murmured, gripping Nick by his collar so he could understand the importance of this situation. "Hot Guy is in the audience, Nicholas."

"Oh my god," Nick groaned, because he was the least useful human on the entire planet. "You have played for hot people before. You have even played for this hot guy before; you can do it again."

"Nicholas," Luke hissed, dragging Nick in close enough that they were practically sharing the same air. "He is wearing one of our shirts."

"He is?" Nick glanced behind him towards the stage, like maybe he could learn to see through walls if he just tried hard enough. "That's cool. Where do you think he got it?"

"Alex must have given it to him," Luke muttered, because he would have remembered if he'd done it himself and he hadn't because the mere prospect of approaching Hot Dude had made his hands so sweaty he'd almost ruined one of their shirts. "Alex gave him a shirt and he not only wore it, he also altered it."

Luke would have remembered if they'd given out a shirt that small, was the thing. He was pretty sure Hot Dude was a model, destined to wear grunge/rock clothing because he was designed to pierce Luke right through the heart and rip him to pieces with his sexy good looks.

"I'm gonna throw up," Luke declared, feeling a bit queasy at the memory.

"You are not, you doofus," Nick huffed. "You are going to go out there and rock Hot Dude's world with your meager talents-"

"Hey."

"And then you are going to talk to him after the damn show you little weirdo, or so help me, I will do it myself."

"You will not."

"Want to try me?" Nick challenged, and then he did that thing with his eyebrows that Luke usually loved because it meant mischief was afoot, only now it was aimed at him instead of Alex so it was just super horrible.

It was probably best for all of them that Bobby chose that moment to appear, materializing just in time to break up fights in the making since the day Sunset Curve had been conceived. "Why are you wearing those faces?" Bobby asked, his brows furrowed in concern.

"Two words," Nick began. "Hot Guy."

Luke wasn't entirely sure why Bobby sighed in response to that, it wasn't like Nick had actually gone into the full breadth of Luke's issues.

"Let's just get through this show," Bobby said, giving Luke a comforting pat on the shoulder. "You've done it before, you can do it again."

"If you throw up though, do it on Hot Guy," Nick added unhelpfully. "Because that would be hilarious."

"I can't wait for us to replace you," Luke muttered, and the way Nick fluttered his eyelashes in retaliation was frankly unwarranted.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Nick really was a traitor that needed to be stopped at all costs. Luke wasn't entirely sure how it happened, all he knew was that at one point, he was handing out shirts and flirting with the crowd same as he always did, conscious of Hot Guy lingering near the stage, and then in the next moment, Hot Guy was onstage, helping Nick and Bobby pack up their equipment.

Luke was going to kill them. He was going to murder Nicholas Carlson and then Sunset Curve would be down two members because Luke was going to go to prison. It was a miracle he was able to get through the rest of his obligations without Alex noticing something was up, the blond too busy being responsible and good and secure in his sexuality because Alex was the kind of person who actually had a full understanding of himself, unlike Luke.

Why did Luke have to be like this? Why couldn't he have just crushed on some random girl? It would have made things so much easier. Everyone expected him to be a ladies' man, that was what the frontman did, but instead Luke was thinking about soft flannel and ripped jeans and cute, pointy boots. He didn't even know what this guy sounded like, which was something he inadvertently fixed a moment later.

Luke hadn't intended to eavesdrop, okay? Yeah, he'd taken a different exit and hidden in the alley near Bobby's van, that was true, but he only did it so he could get some air. He'd worked hard that evening, performed a good show, he deserved fresh air. At least, as fresh as it could be in an alleyway full of trashcans.

"Okay, you're going to need to slow down," Nick said – the asshole, because Hot Guy had been going on about different chord progressions because he understood music. He was a music guy, which meant he understood their music and was a fan of it with that deeper connection, which was knowledge that seemed to make Luke's heart flip in his chest.

And then maybe it had stopped a little when he realized Hot Guy played bass, and Nick went from being the worst to being the absolute best because he was arranging an audition for Hot Guy, and on one hand, Luke had no idea if he could manage to perform with the guy but on the other, he'd get to see him every day, maybe even learn his name-

Which apparently Bobby and Nick hadn't done yet, because then he heard Bobby's voice float around the corner. "What's your name, by the way?"

This was it, this was the moment of truth, and maybe Luke was leaning a little on the trashcans just to make sure he didn't miss anything, his heart pounding hard in his throat until he thought he wouldn't be able to breathe, and then-

And then he was on the ground surrounded by garbage, groaning up at Nick and Bobby, the latter of which was the only one who really tried to help him out.

"Oh my god," Nick wheezed, laughing so hard he was crying. "You're such a fucking loser."

"Now's not the time, Nick," Bobby said, because he was beautiful on the inside and outside and forever Luke's favorite. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Luke said distractedly, his cheeks flushed in terrible humiliation. He looked back towards the van, searching out Hot Guy's response even though he knew a negative one would wreck him, and felt his stomach sink when he realized the dude wasn't there anymore. He was just gone.

"Way to go, Luke," Nick hummed. "You scared him away."

"Fuck off, Nick," Bobby huffed, helping Luke off the ground. "You did not scare him away, Luke."

"He kind of did, though," Nick said, and then Bobby made him pick up all the trashcans while he and Luke hugged it out, even though Luke sort of smelled like garbage because again, Bobby was his best bro.

Now Luke just needed to not cry. That was Alex's thing. He'd be worried if someone tried to infringe upon his territory.

-:-:-:-:-:-

The tears thing- Luke would save that for later, after he had one of the best afternoons of his life, followed by like, the worst five minutes almost, next to the last time his mother had yelled at him.

Hot Guy's name was Reggie. He could play piano, banjo, acoustic, electric, and bass guitar, he loved all of Sunset Curve's music, and had laughter that reminded Luke of sunshine. He was totally hilarious and could talk for days if allowed, something Luke related to on a personal level, and despite only jamming for like, an hour at most, they put out some of the best music Luke had ever created.

This was it. This was his soulmate, and Alex must have somehow arranged for a private audition with him because he did things like vet talent instead of just going on gut instinct, and on one hand Luke sort of wanted to murder Nick because he was so sure the other blond had brought Reggie to Alex's attention, but on the other – best hour of his life, so yeah, Luke couldn't actually be all that mad.

And then Alex had shown up and just kissed the dude, because Reggie was his boyfriend, because Reggie had been his boyfriend since the first gig Luke had seen him at and Alex hadn't said anything for reasons Luke couldn't actually attempt to conceive because right now, he just hurt.

The only person he really wanted to see was Bobby, but that was hard to do with Alex following right on Luke's heels, determined to talk it out or whatever. It made Luke wish Bobby was spending his free time down at the beach sketching, but he knew the rhythm guitarist had been hanging out in his room, giving Luke some space as he tried to work through his new, potentially-inspired-by-Hot-Guy songs on his lonesome because he was sort of embarrassed they even existed just a little bit. Like, he knew Bobby wouldn't judge him, but Nick would, and when two of them were gathered in the studio Nick had a tendency to just sort of manifest like an unwanted phantom, so solo writing time had been the default.

And then it was solo writing time with Reggie, which had been both mind blowing and exhilarating and the best up until five seconds ago.

"Luke," Alex called after the guitarist as he marched to the backdoor of Bobby's house, conscious to wipe his feet off on the doormat because he wasn't an animal. "Look man, I'm sorry."

"I already said it's cool," Luke muttered, scraping off his shoes two more times just to make sure he'd done a good job before he eased his way into the kitchen. He took off his shoes with shaky fingers, putting them in the appropriate cubby by the backdoor.

"But obviously it's not," Alex said, pushing into the kitchen without wiping off his feet, cutting in front of Luke before he could take off his shoes and leaving the door open and breaking all kinds of rules.

Luke wasn't even sure why he was mad at Alex. He'd been keeping a pretty big secret from the blond, it was only fair that he returned the favor, right? So what if Alex's secret just happened to make Luke feel like the biggest idiot in the entire world? He probably deserved that.

"Luke." Alex looked at him all beseechingly and stuff, the way he sort of used to when he had a crush on Luke. "I'm sorry. Just- this is my first boyfriend-"

Luke didn't mean to flinch, but he did anyway, feeling like he'd been slapped in the face.

"-and I should have told you," Alex continued in a rush. "But I wanted this to be special-"

"You need to take off your shoes," Luke said, his voice shaking in a sort of pitiful way, and he realized with a start that a certain heat was building behind his eyes too, something that made him feel even more humiliated than before.

Alex must have asked him out when he'd given Reggie his shirt. He'd made a move when Luke had been too busy panicking, terrified of doing something he didn't truly mean. That wasn't something Alex had to worry about though because he was smart, and like, emotionally competent. He didn't have to worry about fucking around with people's emotions like Luke did, because he wasn't a piece of shit.

Like, maybe he was a little bit now, but that was just because Luke was feeling bitter. He'd be able to have a more unbiased outlook tomorrow, when the hurt died down.

"I-" Alex glanced down at his feet, and Luke used that time to dart around him. After all, he wasn't breaking Gran's rules. He hadn't left the door open; he was being good. Luke was good. "Luke."

"Take your shoes off," Luke called over his shoulder, and he didn't run because that was another rule too, but he did ascend the stairs with purpose, he power walked like his life depended on it and managed to make it to Bobby's door by the time he heard Alex scrambling up the stairs.

"Luke!"

"Luke?" Bobby looked up from his desk with a frown, closing the sketchbook he had set in front of him and watching as Luke locked the door behind him, the singer slumping back against it and letting his legs collapse under him until he was safely settled on the ground. "What's wrong?"

"A-Alex," Luke said, his hands curling into tight fists against his knees. "He um- he-"

He couldn't even fucking say it without wanting to throw himself off the damn roof. He felt so fucking stupid. He was so fucking stupid, why had Alex ever had a crush on him? Why would anyone?

"Luke," Alex called through the door, sounding slightly out of breath as he jiggled the handle. "Come on man, please talk to me. I fucked up, I know I fucked up, I should have told you I had a boyfriend – but I didn't- I didn't not tell you because I don't trust you, okay? I just wanted to take things slow, have something that was just mine for once. And Reggie- he's so fucking sweet-"

Alex might have kept talking, but Luke buried his face against his knees, shoving a hand against his mouth in an effort to stifle the rough cries that wanted to spill out of him.

"Alex," Bobby said, the rhythm guitarist closer now, crouching next to Luke. He had one hand settled on the back of Luke's head, though Luke could tell he was angled towards the door. "Luke needs a little space right now. You can try to talk about this again later."

"But-" Alex began, and Luke could hear the anxiety growing in his voice.

Luke ached for him. Normally he would do anything to get that tone to go away, to make sure Alex was comfortable and calm and happy, but he couldn't fix the problem this time because the issue was him, and instead of being happy that one of his best friends had finally gotten a boyfriend, Luke had to go and be a dramatic asshole.

Fuck, sometimes he really hated himself.

"Later, Alex," Bobby said, his tone brooking no room for argument.

Luke knew without seeing him that Alex was probably taken somewhat aback by that. He wasn't used to Bobby's no-nonsense voice getting aimed at him. Usually it was him and Bobby against the natural chaos that manifested whenever Luke and Nick were together. Bobby rarely put his foot down against Alex, and the fact that he was doing it now would probably add to the growing anxiety Luke hadn't meant to give the blond in the first place.

And Luke couldn't even bring himself to fully care, his heart hurt so much. He was such a greedy asshole.

It was a relief when he heard Alex's footsteps retreat down the hall. He waited an extra few minutes to be sure the blond was gone before he finally let go, and even then, he was surprised by the tears that were streaming down his face.

"It's okay," Bobby soothed, shifting so he could pull Luke into his lap, letting the singer cry into his chest. "I've got you; it'll be okay."

"H-His name's Reggie," Luke gasped, letting his fingers curl into the material of Bobby's shirt. "T-The guy. The- the hot guy," Luke croaked, the tears seeming to burn as they poured down his cheeks. "His name's Reggie."

For a moment, Bobby was frozen, taking that information in. Then his hand went back to rubbing soothing patterns down Luke's spine, the other keeping the singer's head tucked against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Luke," he said, and he meant it because he was the most kind-hearted, loving, gentle human being in the entire universe, and Luke frankly didn't deserve to have him as a friend. "Does Alex know?"

"No," Luke sobbed, the force of it seeming to rip from his chest. "No, no, we can't tell him."

"Okay." Bobby didn't argue with him, content to hold Luke close. "If that's what you want, Luke."

What Luke wanted was to go back in time and like, punch himself in the face. He wanted to get over this stupid crush. He wanted to go back to a point where Alex didn't feel compelled to hide giant milestones from them. He wanted to ask Bobby why they were even friends, but he was afraid the answer might be a combination of 'pity' and 'entertainment value' and Luke could only withstand so much heartbreak in one day.

"Bobbin," Luke blubbered. "Boba."

"I'm here," Bobby soothed, his lips shifting against Luke's unruly locks. "I'm here, and we're going to be okay. We're going to get through this."

Luke hoped he was right. If not for him, then for the sake of the band.

-:-:-:-:-:-

Endnotes:

I'll be honest, this is only going to get rougher until the last chapter, but I can guarantee there will be a happy ending and a lot of Nick snark, so there are bright spots to look forward to :)

This story will consist of 4 chapters of story content. I update once a week, on Sundays. Please, if I missed something in the tags, let me know. I prefer to ere on the side of caution with these things, but when you stare at something for long enough, it can be easy to lose the details :)

Just a heads up – I update the story tags as I go in order to avoid spoilers. So characters, pairings, content warnings – all will be updated in correlation to the appropriate chapter as they are posted. Also, if you see a tag you're worried about, check the forenotes – the more hard-hitting stuff will have more thorough warnings listed there.

Story notes:

Nick didn't get a last name as far as I can tell, so I used the last name of the actor portraying him, Sacha Carlson.

Until next time :)