Hey feel free to comment if you want, I'm not entirely sure how many people are reading this as there is a different number everywhere I look and I'm very new to fanfiction, I was always the one to just read other peoples stories. I actually took this entire story down in the first 3 chapters just to technical frustration at labeling the chapters incorrectly but I fixed it. But ye even if its just to say Hi, that's fine, just wanna make sure I'm looking in the right spot as I've been looking for comments (I think) since day one hahaha. any ways, crazy long chapter, my longest yet I think :) enjoy! I certainly enjoyed writing the first scene :p

Julie's PoV

I woke up feeling trapped, there was a dead heavy weight on my body and I couldn't move a muscle. Was I still trapped under the earth? I definitely felt comfortable and warm instead of cold and filthy. My breathing began to pick up but once I opened my eyes and looked around without lifting my head, I could see Reggie cuddling into Luke's side and what I presumed was Alex's hand draped across my body to rest on Luke's stomach. I also noticed that Reggie and Alex both came to bed wearing long sleeve tops and what felt like long sleeve pants from what I could feel of Alex's legs which had one riding up my butt and the other draped across my body. I didn't dare move, I was super comfortable once I realized it was just them and I wasn't another play thing for some other person. I had fallen asleep on top of Luke's chest with my arm draped across his torso and one of my legs was over his and between his two. Reggie obviously had a similar idea as he was a mirror of me and his face was inches from mine. Luke had also moved one of his arms from my torso in his sleep to rest around Reggie. I wondered if this was normal or if he was going to be mad when he woke up. I could feel Alex's face resting between my shoulder blades while the rest of his torso was pressing against my back and into Luke.

Eventually though my bliss was disturbed by Luke who started groaning and trying to stretch his limbs that were all pinned down. "What the, oh hell no, get off of me guys! We have talked about this before!" said Luke with a scratchy voice from sleeping.
I couldn't stop myself from giggling and a tired Reggie and Alex just seemed to cuddle tighter in response which caused a big sigh from Luke which left me giggling some more.
"I'm sorry about this Julie, we have talked about boundaries before when it came to cuddling me in my sleep but it seems these two have forgotten that conversation" said Luke with the hint of defeat in his voice.
"Hey you guys fell asleep in the middle of the bed, we needed to sleep somewhere so we just hopped in on each end. We didn't plan on cuddling in our sleep, it just happens!" said Reggie as he winked at me.
Alex reached out his hand that was draped over Luke's stomach between me and Reggie to stroke Luke's face at the same time as saying "shhh, go back to sleep" then snuggled his arm back around my shoulders. It was comfortable and felt safe, had they not been fully clothed I might have felt differently but as it was, Luke was the one showing the most skin in a tank top and sweats. He tried to move his arm from around me to lift it out but he couldn't budge as Alex had it pinned down between my back and his stomach. "Fine you guys win but this better not become a thing, we need to find a second bed or something for you two. Your lucky Julie didn't wake up and smack you guys in the face after everything she has been through" Luke said in a sulky defeated voice.
"The thought had crossed my mind till I noticed two significant things, I was warm and comfortable. Also when I realized it was just Reggie and Alex I just felt loved and safe, this should be a new thing" I said on purpose to rile up Luke, it seemed like a fun game to play and I got exactly the reaction I wanted.
Luke groaned and tried fruitlessly to wiggle free. "The best part about this Julie is that Luke is very very ticklish" said Alex into my ear in a pretend whisper.
"Ooooh is that right, well let's see about this" I said mischievously as I began tickling Luke's sides.
"No! Please. Stop. Ugh. That's it i'm kicking you all out of the band!" said Luke, as Reggie had pinned his other arm down at his side with his body which meant Luke couldn't move a muscle if he tried. It was funny making him squirm till Alex said three words that changed Luke's demeanor completely.
"Happy Birthday Luke"

Luke's face fell for a second then he said quietly "Thanks, can I get up now please?" Alex moved off of my back and helped me sit up off of Luke and we let him get up. He quietly walked to the bathroom and started having a shower.
I wondered what was so sad about his birthday but Alex draped a arm around my shoulders and filled me in while Reggie started boiling the kettle for coffee and putting the toaster down.

Luke came out a few minutes later, with wet hair dripping down his body with only a towel wrapped around his middle as he began pulling out fresh clothes for today. Reggie and Alex completely backed off and let him go peacefully back to the bathroom to change. He came out wearing a tank top, ripped skinny jeans with his wallet and chain hanging off of them again and a long gray jacket. He came to sit next to me on the couch as I ate my food but stayed silent while he was contemplating what he wanted to say. Eventually the silence became too much that I decided to break it.
"Well?" I asked him.

Luke breathed in deeply before replying "I wanna check in on my family today if that's okay, we didn't part on good terms and today marks twenty five years since I died. I know I said I didn't want to let you out of my sight… " Luke trailed off.
"No it's fine I'll stay here, I won't go anywhere and I have Alex and Reggie, it will be fine I promise! Go, you need this Luke"
"Well you will have one of us at least Julie, we should probably catch you up with what happened last night. Your father turned on the kitchen light and we're not sure what he saw just that when he ran outside he saw you weren't there any more. By the time we had returned after leaving you with Luke, he was really angry and started breaking stuff which is why we moved our gear. Alex poofed in everything that was yours, what looked like it was your mum's and our stuff. Then I went to wake up your brother. I was scared of what might happen to him so I set an alarm on his iPad and then wrote him a message. I know it's probably not how you wanted him to find out but it was that or he was going to be burnt down with the house. By the time your brother woke up, your dad was already rummaging around for lighter fluid and matches. I told him that your father had tried to kill you and was about to kill him and he needed to run to the end of your street and get into a taxi. I ordered him a taxi to take him to the police department then sent the police a tip to check on the house with tips about the attempt to bury Julie alive and burning his son alive. Carlos left his window open as well as a lot of evidence of him slipping and climbing down the roof as he made his escape with his back pack that I had packed for him. We got back around seven in the morning after making sure he was safe, warm and resting. He's currently at a police station but they set up a couch for him with some blankets" said Reggie.

I sat there just silent for a moment as my entire world seemed to unravel in front of me and someone had squeezed my hand to bring me back to earth. I had one question burning in my throat.
"Is my father dead? Did he die in the fire?"
"I'm sorry Julie, there's no evidence of your father dying, as far as we know he's still alive but no one has seen him, Reggie and I spent the better half of the morning tracking down that asshole for the police but he was able to escape even us" said Alex as he pulled me into his arms from the side. I looked at the time, it read half past ten in the morning, Alex and Reggie had maybe three hours of sleep.
Luke got up and started pacing back and forth, clearly torn between two choices he didn't want to make. Alex got up after his third round of the small room, stopped Luke in his tracks by grabbing his shoulders gently.
"Look you need to go Luke, we got this, we'll take turns sleeping, and checking on her brother, no one can get to her if she stays put which Julie already said she would do!" said Alex who then pulled Luke into a bear hug before he had a chance to argue. After their hug Luke looked both of them in the eyes and said "Look I don't care if I'm about to blow out my goddamn candles, I want to know the moment something is wrong, I don't care if im crying, you come in and tell me alright regardless of what's going on, this is way more important than my regret'.
"Luke" Reggie tried to say.
"No, you interrupt and tell me or it's a no go and I stay here with Julie all day. Under NO circumstances is Julie allowed to be left alone for more than a minute!". he said sternly.
"Alright" they agreed at the same time.

Luke sat down on the couch and pulled me into his arms like his life depended on it.
"Please Julie, don't do any thing stupid, don't take any risks okay, stay safe, I should only be a few hours" Luke whispered into my ear so the other two wouldn't hear. He then leaned down and kissed my forehead while a single tear rolled down his cheek, then he was gone.

"Alright Julie, Reggie here is going to check on your brother then keep looking for your father and check on us if we need anything. I'm going to try to sleep if that's okay, you're welcome to watch a movie just please stay in the room and don't get me in trouble. If you need any food let me know and I'll go with you" said Alex with a worried tone. Luke was clearly their leader so I nodded my head and started the third movie of Shrek while Alex began to settle into bed and Reggie got himself dressed in the bathroom.
"Hey Julie?" Alex asked.
"Yeah?" I replied.
"Um I'm sorry if we did make you feel uncomfortable this morning, I definitely heard your heart beat pick up there for a moment"
"It's okay, it sounded like it wasn't something you guys can control and you do it in your sleep? Wait, weren't you asleep then, how did you know my heartbeat picked up?" I asked.
"Yeah sorry about that, I was wide awake, I was trying to sleep but with no success. Oh no, that's a lie, when I came out, one of the things Reggie did to support me since my parents refused to see me for who I was and pretty much kicked me out was that he started being a rock for me in a different way. Luke will always run a mile for any one but Reggie started doing goofy stuff like cuddling Luke and pulling me into his mischief at the same time. See we learnt when we were younger that once Luke was asleep, you could get away with murder and he wouldn't know about it which is why he was so distraught about your near death last night. Had he been asleep there's no way we would be here right now and instead Luke would be on a killing rampage murdering every male he could get his hands on that looked slightly the wrong way at a girl. So Reggie started convincing me to fall asleep cuddling Luke between us and I know Reggie and Luke are both straight but it was a nice comfort that we kinda just made it a habit whenever we did sleepovers. Reggie will always take the blame for it and never tell Luke the truth that we plan these things so please don't tell him" Alex begged with his eyes. "Never, I think it's sweet that you're there for each other in different ways, it's kinda like Luke is your teddy bear" I replied.
"Oh gosh, yeah you're right, anyway we knew it was Luke's birthday when we came to bed and figured, of all days he would need this as we knew it would be a rough day. I figured if you couldn't move, he couldn't move which was our intention naturally" Alex said with a sneaky smile.
"Well I'm all for cuddles randomly in the morning just to get a rise out of him, that was definitely amusing. Any ways you need to sleep so please sleep Alex, I'll wake you if I need to do anything I promise otherwise I'll wake you when Reggie comes back". I said as I started the movie and turned it on low.
"Alright but Julie, please if we over step tell us and we will stop. Reason why I couldn't sleep was because I was scared shitless that this joke would be too far so I spent the whole time listening to your heart beat and feeling for any change".
"Its okay Alex, it was super comfortable and warm, I've never really had much physical contact that was positive in my life so mostly my endorphins were on a high once I realized it was just you and Reggie and that you two were clothed"
"Ha I knew I would win that bet, Reggie was betting it wouldn't matter, alright goodnight Julie" Alex said around a yawn.
Within minutes he was peacefully snoring away on his back. I couldn't help but watch for a moment at how innocent he looked yet so brave to be who he was. I couldn't even work up the courage to leave my hell on my own and here was this boy living happy and free outside of other people's expectations. I pulled the blankets up over his shoulder and settled down on top of the covers to watch Shrek.

Reggie must have slept a little because he didn't come back till I had nearly watched two and a half movies. I got up and started boiling the kettle while Reggie jumped into the shower waving at me silently as he walked past with a bundle of clothes in his hands. I gently woke up Alex by stroking his hair off of his face. The boy had several bad dreams from what I could tell and sadly didn't sleep well. He definitely came off as the type to overthink and worry too much. Once he was awake I made myself another coffee. I would need to take these dishes down soon but that could wait. Alex sat on the bed mostly in a zombie state till Reggie came out of the shower dressed in sleep wear again. "How did it go Reggie?" asked Alex before I had the chance to.
"No sign of your father sadly Julie, I'm running out of ideas of where he could be hiding, the only place I can think of would be a friend but outside of poofing into everyone's house which would take days, he might as well be in another state. Your brother is doing good, he's very brave and very good at keeping secrets. I've kept in touch with him all day, he's on his way to a foster house to stay at for the time being. Alex here is his address and here is a cell phone that I've been keeping in touch with him with. He doesn't know who we are, just that we are friends that care and are busy trying to help his sister. He misses you Julie but he understands it's not safe to come out of hiding. He wants you to stay safe and hide really well. The police are also looking everywhere for you. A few of the female police officers are talking about the idea that even though you're underage, if they could find you they might try to put you with your brother in a flat and help you pay for the rent and such. They said there was a program that helps pay for under age youth who can't live at home to make sure they have somewhere dry to stay and they don't have to worry about bills. Your food would be delivered and once a week someone comes in to help clean and just check on you. Usually though they don't let kids under fourteen live in these houses and you only just make the mark at sixteen, Carlos is eight. Any ways the police can't come looking for you here, they can ask but they can't give that information away as technically you're in a very safe house so there's no reason to endanger that. Most they can do is ask nicely if you would mind answering some questions". Reggie finally stopped talking and began to unwind on the couch. "Sorry, I'm running off of fumes, I'll be better after some sleep I promise. Oh I informed Luke of all of this, he's a mess Alex".
"I could only imagine. Alright Julie let's take the dishes down stairs, get new ones, you need to grab food because Luke will skin me alive if you starve. Then I'll change and get out there, Reggie, we need a battle plan for Luke when he gets home, something we can all safely do to lift his spirits up".
"Oh I already got this, and trust me, it involves a lot of fun!" replied Reggie with a wicked grin. He was already getting into bed and closing his eyes when we left. We made our way down the stairs and thankfully no one was in the kitchen. I put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher then Alex poofed two clean ones upstairs within seconds then helped me decide on what to eat. We decided to pull out leftover lasagna which I heated a small portion on a plate and took up with me. I just had to rinse the plate in the bathroom sink when I was done so nothing would be attracted then take it down later.

Once Alex saw that I was safe in my room, he locked the door, gave me my antibiotics, cough medicine, applied cream to my head, got dressed in the bathroom then poofed away after a quick hug. My wrists and ankles hurt from rope burn last night but I didn't want to add that to the worry list so I kept it to myself. I ate my food on the couch then continued my movie watching while Reggie was passed out cold in bed. He looked cold with all the blankets bundled up around his body so I had a look in the cupboard and found a few heavy mink blankets that I managed to silently pull down and cover him in one and me in another. It was early November and snow was around the corner. At some point I must have dozed off because when I woke up I could see Luke trying to sneak around the apartment without disturbing me. Even in the dark I could tell he was a mess, he looked as if he had been crying all day and was very unsure of himself and second guessing himself. He tried to turn and go sit on the couch but I reached out and pulled gently on his sleeve.

"I. I. I just don't know what to do" he finally whispered with fresh tears streaming down his eyes.
"Hey it's okay Luke, just come here" I said as I gently pulled him under my mink blanket and held him tightly as he cried. He held me close while hiding his face in my hair and trying to calm his crying. At some point Reggie woke up, saw what was happening and poofed off only to come back a few minutes later with Alex. The next thing I knew was both boys had joined us in a massive bear hug which just caused Luke to hold onto me even tighter. We sat there for nearly an hour as Luke just cried his heart out and we held him. The only change we made outside of minor adjustments for blood flow, was Alex and Reggie had also grabbed the duvet and the second mink blanket to wrap around their shoulders and make a safe cocoon of warmth for Luke. Eventually as his sobbing eased to quiet breathing we began to loosen our grip and step back. His eyes and face were all red and blotchy from crying.
"Luke how about you go have a shower and get into some warm clothes, we are going out so make sure you bundle up" suggested Reggie.
Luke nodded softly and went to go obey.
"Will he be alright?" I whispered as he closed the door softly.
"Yeah he will, he just needs time and instruction to get him out of his funk. Me and Alex will poof off for five minutes, you should also get into some warmer clothes Julie" said Reggie.
"Oh Julie doesn't actually have many warm clothes, I noticed that when I was packing up her room as fast as I could" said Alex.
"What did you do when it came to winter time?" asked Reggie.
I looked down and replied in a whisper "Ran fast, I had boots but they were probably packed away somewhere"
I was suddenly hugged from behind and realized it was a half naked Luke.
"Your father sucks, we should go shopping" mumbled Luke.
"No time! Go shower already, Alex I think you can find something warm for Julie and we'll go tomorrow" instructed Reggie. Luke reluctantly let go of me and Alex poofed off to come back five minutes later with a warm winter jacket, gloves, a hat, neck warmer and snow pants with boots. I was amazed that he got my size correct but then again he had packed all my clothes so he probably made a point of remembering my size in things as he noticed a lack of certain items.

Once Luke was out of the shower I quickly had one and changed into real clothes then started putting on all the other layers. Something told me we were going to be outside for a while because when I came out of the bathroom, everyone was bundled up and carrying extra blankets with them.