#charlie gillespie x oc

[laviefantasie]

It Kinda Makes Sense

Pairings: Alive!Luke Patterson x Alive!Reader

Summary: Los Feliz High School, the best school for future actors, singers, or any kind of artists. Home to the top couple formed by Luke Patterson, the perfect boy soon-to-be rockstar, and Y/N Y/L/N, troubled goth girl with the voice of an angel. A match make in heaven... or hell.

{ BASED ON VICTORIOUS’ JADE AND BECK }

| MASTERLIST |

If you asked Julie Molina what had been her first thought once she had stepped foot on Los Feliz she would say it had been... confusing.

The school was beautiful, with bright blue lockers decorated in unbelievable ways to adolescents dressed as bright blue bobcats. It was truly a sight.

The other thing that was a sight was the group of students that captured most of the other teenagers’ attention. Especially two teens who happened to be having what appeared to be a screaming battle. Screaming battle that ended once ice e/c eyes found Julie’s across the hallway.

“Lost something, shorty?” The unknown girl snaps, “MIND YOUR BUSINESS!”

Her words had caused the boy she had previously been fighting with to sigh in shame before looking her way.

Julie’s breath got stuck in her throat.

The boy was beautiful. Scratch that, he was handsome. Untaimed brown hair with wild hazel —maybe green— eyes, the boy could be anyone’s dream boy.

“Y/N, could you not?”

Julie’s brown eyes move to the girl glaring daggers at her only to have her heart skip a beat. The girl —Y/N apparently— was breathtakingly beautiful. She had wavy h/c hair with some dark blue streaks that matched her skin color perfectly and powerful e/c eyes.

Said girl rolls her eyes before glaring at Julie once more before focusing once again on the pretty boy besides her.

“Fine. I won’t. But this conversation is over”

“We haven’t even had the conversation!” The boy argues back.

“And it’s over!”

The dark-dressed girl stomps off leaving the boy groaning in frustration. Julie taking that opportunity to check out the rest of the group.

With her back pressed to a locker decorated with different colorful fabrics stood a light brown haired girl —could be dark blonde— with brown eyes dressed in a beautiful pink dress and black heels to match. She seemed to be debating whether to follow her friend or staying still.

Besides her was a dark-haired boy with sky blue eyes standing out thanks to his pale skin. He was wearing a leather jacket on top of a white shirt, with a red flannel tied on his waist, and black jeans. His eyes glued to the floor.

Lastly, there was the blond boy with a pink hoodie and blue —sometimes green— eyes. He seemed to be pretty used to what had just happened.

The blond one is the one who noticed her still staring at them, offering a sweet smile before walking towards her and stretching his hand.

“Hi, I’m Alex. I’ve never seen you before”

She grabs his hand with a small smile, “Julie. I’m new”

Her name seems to snap the leather jacket boy from his trance, his bright blue eyes soon finding hers with a big smile adorning his features.

“You’re the girl that sang for Flynn on the school’s talent show! I’m Reggie”

Julie blushes as soon as he speaks, everyone’s eyes staring at her with realization and a little of awe.

“Flynn is my best friend, I just wanted to help her out”

“Well, it worked for you. You got a scholarship” pretty boy adds, “I’m Luke”

Julie cannot help the way her smile grows as soon as he smirks at her. He seriously had to be the most gorgeous boy she had ever seen.

The pretty light brown haired girl with the pink dress joins her friends in greeting her, Julie blushing under the vibrant smile she gives her.

“Hi! I’m Carrie”

Julie goes to grab her hand but the girl —Carrie— pulls her in for a hug. The gesture has Julie’s shoulders tensing, she hadn’t willingly hug anyone after her mother’s death a few months ago, but she soon forced herself to relax.

This was a new start. No pity stares or whispers directed at her.

“It’s nice to meet you guys”

After that meeting the curly-haired girl became a part of their weird group of friends. Soon learning that the beauty ice queen dressed in all black was Y/N Y/L/N, Los Feliz High School’s prodigy and Luke’s girlfriend.

It was no secret that the girl was talented, but she was as talented as scary. Julie hadn’t listened too much of everyone’s warnings, she was sure it was all because of how she dressed and acted and not at all for the kind of person she truly was.

Boy, was she wrong.

She learned that the hard way after getting a role on a play Y/N wanted. A role that played Luke’s romantic interest.

She had ended up one rehearsal with hot coffee thrown at her and icy e/c eyes glaring daggers at her with a sweet —fake— smile. Luke’s apologies were not enough to calm the humiliation Julie felt.

And even if the brown-haired latina wasn’t fond of vengeance, she couldn’t stop herself. And if she kissed Luke longer than necessary after sending a wink the goth girl’s way, it was a mere coincidence.

A coincidence that resulted in her having to watch her back every time she stepped on school’s property.

But things did get better with time and Julie and Y/N became kinda friends. At least enough for Y/N to tolerate Julie and for Julie to not be afraid to sit close to the scissors fanatic.

They were okay. As okay as someone could be with the girl who kissed the other’s boyfriend. But okay nevertheless.

But the more time she spent at the school and the closer she got to all of them, the more she doubted the health of Luke’s and Y/N’s relationship. Today being one of those days.

“What are you saying?!”

“I’m just saying, what kind of friend sends you eight messages in a lapse of five minutes?!”

As soon as the words leave the screaming girl’s mouth, Luke’s phone rings signaling the arrival of another text message making Y/N’s glare darken.

“Nine” she growls.

“You don’t even know if it’s from her!”

Y/N glares at him in disbelief, “Okay! Then prove me wrong!”

With a scoff, Luke gets his phone out before checking the recipient of the message only to let out a sigh that proves his girlfriend right.

“Nine?”

He nods in defeat, “Nine. B-but this is ridiculous! She is my FRIEND”

“How naive are you?!”

The couple fights for a couple more minutes before Luke’s gaze finds Julie in front of her butterfly and music doodles decorated locker. The rockstar grabbing his girl’s hand before tugging her towards the latina.

“Julie!”

Her brown eyes find the couple, widening when they see the coldness in Y/N’s eyes before trying to make a run for it.

She doesn’t make it far as Luke’s hand grabs a hold of her wrist keeping her in place.

“We need your help”

“No, we don’t” Y/N argues back.

“YES, we do”

Julie looks at her surroundings looking for a way to get out of there but finding nothing. Where was Alex when she needed him?

“Guys, I really don’t want to be in the middle of whatever this is”

She tries to leave but once again Luke pulls her back, “Too late. If you were my girlfriend—”

“HA! What a perfect way to start”

Luke glares at his girlfriend for the interruption before turning towards Julie once again, failing to notice how uncomfortable the situation was making the latina.

Somehow she was once again in between them, although this time it wasn’t her fault.

“If you were my girlfriend” he starts again, “Would it bother you if I was friends with Kayla?”

“Who cares what she thinks?” / “Honestly, it would”

Both girls speak simultaneously. Y/N’ eyes widening as soon as the Latina’s words register, grabbing a hold of the girl’s shoulders to keep her in place.

“I care what she says” Y/N smiles.

“I want to leave” Julie adds before trying to move only for Y/N’s hold to tighten.

“You stay” she barks.

The argument wasn’t unlike many others, Y/N’s temper wasn’t the best and that meant she sometimes got too jealous. It didn’t help that Luke Patterson didn’t know when to say no nor know the difference between friendly and flirty.

It was just another Luke and Y/N argument, nothing to worry about. Except it was different. Julie realized that as soon as Y/N let go of her and started walking away.

“We’re DONE”

The words had everyone in the hallway quiet down and stare at the ‘it’ couple. Eyes settled on Luke’s surprised reaction and Y/N’s tensed body.

“Come on” Luke voices “You’re being ridiculous”

“What do you care?!” She screams back before starting to leave, “You’re not my boyfriend anymore”

Word around the school traveled fast and soon girls were following Luke around begging for his attention, much to his annoyance.

On the other hand, every time a guy tried to get near Y/N she would turn her icy glare at them and have them running away in seconds.

It was a weird and new situation. Especially at lunch. It was weird seeing the former couple sitting on opposite sides of the table instead of at the side of the other with Luke’s arm resting on Y/N’s shoulders.

It was new territory to have Luke inevitably —as a habit— reach for Y/N only to have her snap at him to not touch her, just as she did to everyone else.

But that was what they had to deal with for two weeks.

Two weeks is how long it took for Y/N to ask Luke to take her back only to have him reject her. Two weeks that made Y/N go crying to Julie’s house, the only one of her friends —not really her friend— whose opinion mattered much less than the others.

“What are you doing in my house?” Is the first thing that Julie says as she sees the other girl.

Y/N gets into the house without waiting for an invitation before starting to sob, Julie standing there in panic as she sees the cold hearted teenager break down.

The latina tries to go for a hug only to be pushed back.

“I need your help”

A long talk later, Y/N convinced the Molina girl to help her get Luke back. Somehow, Julie had the fantastic idea that she had to change.

Y/N Y/L/N was a time bomb. Always ready to explode without a care on who she takes down. That had to change.

Julie realized then that the girl was truly in love with Luke. Y/N was letting her —Julie Molina— see her cry her eyes out just to ask for help to get him back. She was letting Julie give her a makeover just to get him back.

She was truly in love.

The next day at school everyone stared wide-eyed at the beauty that was Y/N Y/L/N in a colorful outfit and a wide smile —though it was a fake one—.

Everyone except Luke. The brunette boy stared at his former girlfriend with furrowed eyebrows not liking the change, his expression not changing even when Alex and Reggie complimented her.

He also couldn’t help the glares he sent any boy who came to flirt with her, his glares darkening every time she flirted back. This was not his girl and he knew whose fault it was.

His now dark green eyes find Julie’s proud smile across the hall and soon he stomps towards her, grabbing her by the arm before taking her to the janitor’s closet.

“What did you do to Y/N?”

Julie furrows her eyebrows in confusion as she sees the angry look the guitarist is giving her, but soon smirks as she confuses it with jealousy.

“What? Jealous of the attention she is receiving?”

“Actually, I’m mad that she is receiving the attention for dressing like a Barbie” he argues back, “That is not her, that is not the girl I love”

Julie’s eyes widen after the boy’s words before he storms off, leaving her with an unexpected knowledge.

The latina goes to look for Y/N as soon as she snaps out of her trance only to find said girl in the bathroom back in her black clothes while doing her dark eyeshadow.

“Wha—ho—I’m confused”

“Being nice sucks” she answers as she finishes her makeup, “Thanks for the help but, if I can be honest, I was better without it”

“Bu— and Luke?”

“If he ever wants to get back together it has to be with me, the real me. Not a version of me dressed in awfully ridiculous clothes”

“Those were my clothes”

“Exactly my point”

With that Y/N walks out of the bathroom ignoring the looks that followed her figure, leaving Julie once again at loss of words.

A week after, Luke and Y/N were back together and closer than ever. But the honeymoon phase faded and the fights started once again. But Julie learned to see the beauty in their arguments.

Every argument got Luke out of his perfectly peaceful demeanor and got him to voice his thoughts out more, it helped him stand up more for himself. And every argument showed the depth of Y/N’s feelings for the guitarist, it showed how much she cared.

It’s just that sometimes they didn’t know when to stop arguing.

Of course now Julie wasn’t blind to their little moments. The way Y/N always stopped when Luke asked her to or how Luke always kissed the girl’s temple sweetly.

Or how when Bobby —Sunset Curve’s (which was the boys’ band) rhythm guitarist (who she hadn’t met)— left the boys, it was Y/N who approached the curly-haired girl thinking she was the perfect fit for the remake of the band.

It was Y/N, who barely tolerated her, who adviced them to change the band’s name as they changed their sound slightly. Julie and the Phantoms, had been her idea after the boys ghosted the girls on the group chat.

Julie knew the only reason why Y/N had done that was because she knew how much the band meant to Luke.

She wasn’t blind to how Luke would only ever snap when it was to protect Y/N, even if he knew she was perfectly capable of doing it herself. Or how he always bought a hot chocolate with his coffee for her.

With time, Julie realized it kinda made sense why they were together even when she couldn’t quite completely understand it.

But soon the fights started again, this time worst than ever. It was different because instead of bickering until one gave in, neither seemed interested enough in fighting.

It worried all of them because their fights —as annoying as they sometimes were— showed how much each cared. Now it seemed they didn’t.

To be completely fair, Julie understood if anyone outside their group saw the relationship as toxic. She had seen it as toxic once. But it just made sense in a weird way. It just made sense for the kind of people they were, they complemented one another.

But this time the fights were just too much. That’s why when the traditional friend group game night happen, Y/N and Luke weren’t invited.

Carrie —Y/N’s undoubted best friend— was sick of fainting every time she got stuck in the middle, the innocent and kind girl couldn’t take the stress.

Reggie, the boyish teenager with the purest heart ever, didn’t want to cry anymore. He couldn’t handle the screaming and that’s all the couple did.

Alex, on the other hand, was tired of having to grab his asthma medicine every time they appeared. The fights making him get too anxious which always caused him a panic attack which led to his inability to breathe which led to an asthma attack.

No one could take it anymore.

So they decided to have an evening free of them, one well deserved. But it didn’t work as planned as the couple stormed into Julie’s home half an hour after everyone started playing Monopoly.

“See! Told you they’d be here”

Y/N rolls her eyes, “So? What does it matter if they’re at dumbass’ house?”

Julie rolls her eyes at the insult but nevertheless listens closely to the couple, all her friends groaning in annoyance at the interruption.

“It matters because our friends, our best friends, don’t want to be near us anymore!” He argues “Doesn’t this bother you?”

“Not really” she shrugs, “Should it? Wait... does it bother you?”

“It does! They’re our best friends and they can’t stand us”

Y/N crosses her arms across her chest before turning to glare at their friends, Carrie hiding under the table with a shriek as soon as she sees her best friend gaze at her.

Seeing the icy glare that the girl throws at them, Reggie shakily takes a deep breath before standing up and looking at them with annoyance.

“Yes! We can’t stand either of you!” He shouts, “We wanted a day free of you both because all you ever do is fight! And, somehow, you always seem to drag us to the middle of it. We’re tired!”

As soon as Reggie finishes, the dark-haired boy sits down with a huff. His shoulders feeling less tense as he let out his emotions.

The couple watched their best friends with mixed feelings, neither expecting the outburst and much less from Reggie. Reggie who had always been one to avoid conflict.

“I cannot believe this” Luke sighs “Reggie snapped at us. REGGIE”

“This is you fault!” She accuses “How hard is it to just agree with me?!”

“BUT I DON’T AGREE WITH YOU”

“BECAUSE YOU ARE WRONG”

The four friends sighed in defeat as they listened to the couple bicker once more with one another, how had a fun night turned to a nightmare all of a sudden?

They silently decided to just stay in their seats waiting for the couple to stop the nonsense as they always did.

“WHAT BOTHERS YOU SO MUCH?!”

“THAT I AM NOT HAPPY WITH OUR RELATIONSHIP!”

The words cut through Y/N’s strong façade in a second, the glare faltering as Luke’s eyes widen after realizing what he had said.

No one dared move nor say anything. Everyone had their eyes on the couple that seemed to be coming to terms with how bad the situation had become.

“Fine” she sighs in defeat “You have a choice. I’m walking out that door and counting to ten, if you’re not out before I finish we are DONE”

Luke sighs frustrated as he watches her leave, the door closing with a thud behind her.

“One”

He stays still on his place with his fists clenching as he fights the urge to run to her and scream at her what was the reason for this ultimatum.

“Two”

Luke knows he needs to calm down. He has to. He had to if he wanted to be able to go after her without fighting as soon as he saw her.

“Three”

Y/N counted behind the door, staring at it with nerves as she asks herself how he could take so long to come after her. What was taking him so long to decide that she was worth going after?

“Four”

The four friends behind Luke stare with wide eyes as they try to figure out what is it that the brunette is going to do.

They want him to go after her. Carrie, Reggie, and Alex more than Julie. The three best friends had been there throughout all the relationship. They had seen Luke be the only one brave enough to pursue the cruel beauty. They had seen Y/N being the only one that cared more about Luke’s heart than his looks.

They knew how much this relationship was worth. Even with all the fights, they knew the love the two had for one another was deeper than any outsider could understand at first sight.

He had to go after her.

“Five”

Luke sighs looking towards his friends once before deciding what he wants to do. He can’t lose her, no matter how much they fight.

No one understood him like she did. No one cared enough to tell him when he was wrong or to fight with him until he fought for what he wanted.

“Six”

Y/N feels her eyes widen as she realizes how much time he is taking. It should’ve been easy, he shouldn’t have even let her count to three.

He should’ve opened the door the second she closed it.

“Seven”

Sighing, Luke starts slowly making his way towards the door. His best friends sighing in relief as they see him do it.

Julie, though, watches closely as the boy’s shoulders tense the closer he gets.

“Eight”

Carrie furrows her eyebrows once she sees Luke starting to halt in his steps. She knew Y/N better than anyone, Y/N had been the only one willing to take the ‘obnoxious naive superstar’s daughter’ under her wing and be completely honest with her.

She knows better than anyone that if Luke lets her walk away just like her father let her mother walk away with her, that’ll break her.

“Nine”

Luke grabs a hold of the handle but for some reason he can’t bring himself to turn it and open the door.

Something feels wrong about opening it, almost as wrong as it feels to not open it.

He is scared of what it means if he opens it, or how easily he gives in. Something had to change. Maybe he needed to let her walk away, Y/N always came back. She would go to his house in the middle of the night and they would fix everything.

It would be okay, they would be okay. They always were. This was no difference, they just needed some time to think, to breathe.

So he doesn’t turn the knob.

“Ten”

Y/N feels her heart stop the moment she screams the last number. She feels her heart sink to her stomach as a feeling of abandonment settles in her.

She feels her skin pale and soon reaches for the knob, but she doesn’t allow herself to touch it. He made his choice.

So with every ounce of strength she could find within her, Y/N turns around and makes her way to her car knowing that he could catch a ride with Alex. The tears started accumulating in her e/c eyes but she didn’t let them fall.

Y/N Y/L/N didn’t cry. She wasn’t about to start... at least not in a place where someone could see her.

Inside the Molina’s household, the best friends stare at Luke in disbelief, neither knowing what to say or do now. The Patterson boy makes the decision for them.

“Let’s play some Monopoly”

The statement has everyone else following his movements in silence, knowing better than to act against him.

Carrie, though, is the one that finally breaks the silence as she lets out a quiet sob. She was angry, mainly at herself for not being able to go after her best friend. But she knew better. Y/N was a person who protected her feelings more than anything else, she was in pain and she wouldn’t let it out if someone was watching her. So Carrie had to stay on her seat even if she wanted to run after her.

“You hurt her” whispered the sweet teenager, “I trusted you, she trusted you, with her heart and you hurt it”

It was at that moment, with Carrie’s pretty brown eyes filled with tears as she glared at him with all her willpower, that Luke realized how wrong he had been. He thought it would be okay but Carrie’s reaction proved him wrong.

Carrie showed him that this time was different from the others. If the sweet girl willingly glared at him with so much betrayal than it meant that Y/N wasn’t gonna go to his house at midnight.

It meant he had lost her.

Still, as Luke realized that, he stayed on his seat staring intently at the fake money in his hands. He couldn’t change what he had done.

“Let’s start”

The following weeks were a pain for the group of friends. The group had to divide their time between the former couple and it was exhausting.

But things got better and after a couple of months Y/N and Luke started sitting at the same table with their friends once again. It brought some relief to the group.

The hurt from the breakup still pained them though. Y/N was not used to watching so many girls flirt with Luke and watching him flirt back, and Luke was not used to Y/N moving away from his touch while also enjoying the way some guys’ eyes linger on her figure.

Things had changed and it pained them both, but they were finally okay. As okay as they could be at least.

They still loved each other, but they became good at pretending. Soon three months became five and five became seven. And things were okay, they were friends again without any awkwardness surrounding the group.

Still, Julie was sure she wasn’t the only one who noticed the love they still had for the other. It was the little things. The way their eyes lingered on the other when they thought no one was looking, the smiles they faked to play the part; all signs of how much they still loved the other. Even after everything.

So it did come as a surprised when Y/N announced she had a date.

Apparently some senior that participated on the play with her had the balls to ask her out. And she said yes.

While everyone congratulated the mean girl, Luke made some excuse to leave the table while everyone tried to stop themselves from asking the questions that they new neither of the former couple wanted to answer.

‘Are you okay?’ ‘Do you still love her/him?’

Neither wanted to be asked that because the answers broke them. They weren’t okay. They still were in love with one another.

They were afraid they would never stop being in love with the other.

But neither had to say it. All their friends knew it, because they knew them. That’s why no one was surprised when Julie and the Phantoms was saved by Y/N on their concert at a cafe the night of her date.

The girl had screamed at them for keeping the presentation a secret, the band excusing themselves with the thought of not wanting her to miss her date —although they didn’t want to give her the opportunity to bring her date with her to their concert since that would break Luke.

Either way, they boys’ amps had stopped working and in a panic Julie had texted Carrie. Carrie had been helping Y/N get ready and said girl had grabbed her amps and drove them both to the small cafe.

Date completely forgotten without a care.

“You didn’t have to miss your date for this” Luke tells her softly.

She looks at him as if he had lost his mind, “This is your band, Patterson”

Luke’s heart feels heavy in his chest as he realizes the depth behind her words. This was his band and that meant it meant something to her. It meant as much to her as it did to him because it was his.

The brunette boy feels a smile overtake his features along with a small blush, wanting nothing more than to kiss her right there.

But he didn’t. Instead he kissed her cheek.

Y/N’s eyes widened in surprise and soon her perfect skin started acquiring a deep scarlet, which she hid by hurrying Carrie to go find some seats.

If that night Luke sang looking at her too often, then damn him. Who could blame him? Y/N had just giving him more reasons to love her.

After that neither tried to date again. They were silently pining after one another, too afraid to make a move considering the way things ended between them.

But Julie grew tired of it and soon started bugging them to date other people if they weren’t going to date one another.

That’s why when Luke was rejecting Kayla’s date, Julie intervened.

“Sorry, Kayla” he apologizes, “I have rehearsal with the band”

“No, we don’t” Julie smiles “Actually, why don’t you guys come to the concert the school is holding together?”

Luke glared at the talented singer before fake smiling towards the Hawaiian beauty who agreed instantly.

Though once Kayla is out sight, Luke grabs Julie’s arm and pulls her towards the janitor’s closet where he glares at her with dark green eyes.

“What are you doing?”

“You need to date! Get out there, mingle a little”

He shakes his head, “When Y/N finds out about this she’ll despise me”

Julie frowns with confusion, “No, she won’t. She has moved on, you should too”

Luke shakes his head in disbelief making Julie scoff before getting her phone out.

“What are you doing?”

She shushes him before putting her phone on speaker, making Luke’s eyes widen once he sees the called ID being the one of his ex.

He would never voice out loud the way his heart skipped a beat.

“I’m blocking you”, came her cold voice as soon as the call is picked up.

“Wait—Y/N! Don’t hang up!”

A groan is heard making Luke involuntarily smile.

“You have five seconds to tell me what the heck you want before I block you”

“Okay, look, I’m here with Beck—“

“Julie, don’t”

“He’s going with Kayla to the school’s concert, as a date” Julie continues “Just wanted to make sure that’s okay with you”

There’s a ten seconds silence through the line. Ten seconds in which Julie realizes that maybe she was wrong, that maybe she should’ve minded her own business. For so long she had found annoyance in the ways she always ended up in the middle of their problems and here she was, butting in herself.

Ten seconds in which Luke panics. Realizing that he is also awaiting the answer anxiously. There are two ways this could go: Y/N could snap, voicing loudly how she didn’t give a damn, or she could scream asking for answers to questions she shouldn’t have and bad-mouthing Kayla. Both were common in their past. It was a way to showed she cared, that she was jealous and that she wasn’t ready to let him go yet. Both answers would give him the last drop of hope he needed to do something about what he felt towards her.

But when the ten seconds came to an end, neither got an answer they expected from the impulsive ice queen.

“We’re not dating” she reminded them in a voice too soft to be recognized as hers, “We haven’t been for a long time. You don’t have to make sure if it’s okay with me”

“What?”, Luke asks softly, “Y/N, I…”

“I’m being serious right now, Luke”, she continues, “I do appreciate your concern but it’s none of my business who you date”

Silence. Neither Julie nor Luke know what to say or do next. Neither expected the mature response from the H/C haired beauty. Neither knew if they liked it.

“Well, if that was all, don’t call me again”

And she hung up.

Julie stared at her phone in disbelief, but what did she expect? Was she secretly hoping that Y/N would finally snap and this agonizing secret mutual pining they were all forced to endure would finally end? What exactly had she expected to achieve from this?

Definitely not the way Luke was looking right now.

The guitarist looked completely heartbroken and hopeless. The fire that normally resided in his eyes had ceased to exist. And as he looked at one of his best friends while holding tightly onto his backpack’s strap, all that could shine through his eyes was a deep feeling of betrayal.

“I…”

“You should’ve stayed out of it”, he voiced numbly “She doesn’t despise me. It’s worst, she doesn’t care at all”

“Luke…”

“I’ll go on that stupid date, just bug out, will you?”

The days before the concert were painful for every single one of them on their friend group. It was definitely a weird sight to see Luke look so out of it and Y/N so unbothered by it. It was the first time since their break up that their friends doubted the possibility of them ever finding their way back to each other.

When they finally had the courage to ask Luke what was going on, the guitarist told them he had a date with his eyes glued to Y/N body. He was waiting for a reaction, no matter how small it was. Anything really.

But she gave nothing away.

All she did to answer their friends’ curious and astonished gazes was shrug her shoulders and voice she was just trying to finish her song for the school’s concert.

The unbothered air that surrounded her was heartbreaking for everyone around her. It was as if she was truly okay either letting go of Luke and their history. As if she had already given up on them. They couldn’t blame her, it had been a long time since they last were together, but that didn’t change the fact that they all truly believed they were meant to be together and that it was unsettling to see it come to a real end.

Especially by the look on Luke’s eyes. His face may have remained neutral and unfaltering but his eyes could never deceive from his true feelings. He was hurt.

And being hurt but not wanting to show it meant he tried to keep himself as busy as he could until the school’s concert, avoiding all his friends and Y/N especially. And when the time to meet up with Kayla came, Luke had to pretend to be invested in everything she told him; even if most things were just compliments to suck up to him, agreeing to every little thing he said. He didn’t even know if anything that she actually told him was her actual real opinion or if she was just trying that hard to agree with everything he said to be reciprocated.

He didn’t even know anything about who she was and they had been talking for the hour that concert had already been going on.

Favorite song? She would ask his first before saying how much she also loved it. Methods of acting that they found more suitable? She would giggle and twirl her hair waiting for him to answer before giving what she would fake is her own opinion.

It was tiring.

Where was her own fire? Why didn’t she fight back when he disagreed with something she said? Why didn’t she try to show him why she was passionate about it instead of just nodding and giving in?

Why was she making it so easy?

He didn’t like it. He was hating it actually. So he took the first chance he could, excusing himself by saying he needed to refill his drink, to run for it.

That’s how Julie found him after helping the boys set up the instruments for Y/N’s set, which was up next.

“Ooohh, hello, loverboy” she teased him, “Where is your lovely lady of the night?”

“Don’t know. Don’t care”

Julie blinks, surprised by his answer, before grabbing a cup and filling it with the first soda she saw.

“Date not going well?”

“It’s a disaster” he scoffs, “She’s just agreeing with everything I say”

Julie nods, “Isn’t that a good thing, though? Means you have things in common”

“Not really. Not if I don’t know if that is truly what she thinks” he shakes his head “Feels like she’s just trying to agree to everything I say”

“Well, it’s the first date, you know” she sighs, “She probably doesn’t want to fight you on it. Next one will be better”

He shakes his head, “There won’t be a next one”

“WHAT?!”

Luke drinks from his cup while Julie starts stumbling upon her words after what he said. She couldn’t believe it. He wasn’t even gonna give it a chance? The date wasn’t even over yet.

“I think I learned something about myself”

Julie scoffs, “That you’re ungrateful to your friend who tried to help you by fixing you up with a cute girl?!”

“No, I just…” he sighs “I think I kind of like to date a girl who, you know… fights back”

Julie looks at him dumbfounded, not understanding his point.

“I mean a girl who has strong opinions” he continues, “you know? A big mouth”

“Why?”

He shrugs his shoulders, “Cause it’s not easy. Easy is boring”

Julie stares for a good minute before sighing. It kinda made sense. At the end of the day, love was all about growth. Growth didn’t exist without different opinions and dialogues that fought each ideal. It was all about pushing each other to become your very best. How could you do that without bumps along the way?

“Okay…” she sighs, taking a sip of her drink, “Then, who’s not boring?”

Their conversation is cut short by Reggie’s voice on the stage, he had been assigned as the concert’s host and had been doing a magnificent job all night.

“Okay, people! Let’s hear things up with F/N L/N! Let’s go!”

Reggie soon goes to grab the bass as Alex appears behind the drums. Other two students grabbing the guitar and keyboard left.

Luke and Julie take a step closer, that way they have a better view of the stage.

The guitar starts playing the intro as Y/N walks into stage in a cute short black goth dress with fisher nets and combat boots, her hair’s normal blue streaks a dark purple this night. Shortly after she makes her way to the microphone stand the drums join the melody.

And soon her melodious and angelic raspy voice sounds through the place.

“You think you know me

But you don't know me

You think you own me

But you can't control me”

As if it was destined to be, the lyrics bring light to the situation at hand.

There was a reason why Luke and Y/N always ended up gravitating towards one another despite all the horrible fights they endured with each other.

“You look at me and there's just one thing that you see

So listen to me

Listen to me”

Julie feels like smacking herself across the face. The truth was so obvious that she feels dumb to have been so oblivious to it.

“You push me back

I push you back

Harder, harder

You scream at me

I scream at you

Louder, L-L-L-L-Louder”

Luke Patterson was probably one of the most carefree and easy going people she had ever met. He was always carrying this certain peaceful atmosphere around him. He needed someone or something to push him to thrive, to become better than he already was. To fight for his ideals and his dreams. It wasn’t enough to just want them to happen, he had to make them happen and his calm self usually hid from conflict.

F/N L/N was probably the most loud and impulsive person Julie had ever met. Never once had she silenced her opinions, always speaking the truth no matter how cruel it could be. She wasn’t someone who hid from a fight and whenever she wanted something she never stopped until she got it. She needed someone who could stop her when she was going to far, someone to calm the fire that never cease to light up inside of her.

“I'm dangerous so I'm warning you

But you're not afraid of me

And I can't convince you

You don't know me”

There was not one person in the whole world that was meant to be with the other but themselves. They pushed each other, for better and worst. They had the possibility of being the best and the worst thing that could happen to the other.

And as the song keeps going, the truth becomes blinding.

“And the longer that you stay, the ice is melting

And the pain feels okay, it feels okay (hey)”

Luke’s eyes never once stray away from the powerful force that is Y/N as she sings. Her voice loud and powerful as raspy and angelic. His heart beats to the song’s rhythm, unveiling a silent truth that he had been trying so hard to push to the bottom of his being, to afraid of what it truly meant. To afraid of it being to late to mean it.

“You push me back

I push you back

You scream at me

I scream at you

Louder”

Her e/c cold gaze meets his green eyes and suddenly it seems all the iciness in it melts away. As if only his gaze could have that power over her. As if only he was allowed to see the true kind soul hidden behind the cold walls she had taken so long to build around herself.

“You push me back

I push you back

Harder harder

You scream at me

I scream at you

Louder, L-L-L-L-Louder”

And he knows right there and then, as does Julie and his friends, that it is her. It has always been her. It will always be her.

It is Y/N who pushes him until he finally snaps. It is Y/N who fights for him whenever he doesn’t find the will to do so. It is Y/N who loves him so much that she fights to control her impulses whenever he asks her to.

It had always been her and he had been a fool to ever let her walk away without giving a fight. Especially when she had never stopped fighting.

“I'm dangerous so I'm warning you

But you're not afraid of me

And I can't convince you

And I don't have to I think you know me”

Their relationship was flawed. Maybe even toxic. But it was magical. It was powerful and passionate. And it was real.

Never had they ever been afraid to voice their opinions to the other, even fighting back when they disagreed; yet never settling. Never had they ever been afraid to be vulnerable by showing each other how much they truly cared for one another. Never had they ever stopped loving each other.

The applause make Luke blink out of his daze and realize all this time he had been staring right at Y/N. And she had been staring back.

She offers him a soft smile that to anyone else would look like her usual smirk, but he knew better. He had always known better. And that’s how he knows she is fighting, one last time, for him. She has ignited the flame and it is leaving it to him to turn it off once and for all or help it grow as fierce and wild as it can.

Julie smiles softly, “So, Luke… who’s not boring?”

And he smiles.

Step by step he gets closer to the stage where Y/N is still on, nodding at the standing ovation that is applauding her. Only taking her eyes her eyes off the public once he makes it right at her side.

Everyone’s eyes are on them. Silence.

They stand there for a minute just staring at each other. Y/N with her hand folded in front of her and Luke with both his hands buried in his jean’s pockets.

“I’ve missed you” he finally voices.

She shrugs, acting indifferent, “So what are you gonna do about it?”

Two seconds of silence follow in which Luke pauses to admire her challenging e/c gaze, before taking enough steps to be face-to-face with her. His hand leave the safety of his pockets and find their way to the warm of her cheeks before pulling her towards him, lips meeting anxiously.

And it was like a weight was lifted of their chests, letting them finally breathe without struggle.

No matter the fights, the misunderstandings, disagreements or the toxicity. They would always find their way back to each other because of the truth and purity of their love, which was real. Love was never meant to be perfect but it is meant to keep the other grounded, to push the other to grow.

And that’s what always brought Luke and Y/N back. It’s what always would bring them back.

#sunset curve #julie and the phantoms #luke patterson x oc #luke patterson #luke patterson x reader #luke patterson x y/n #jatp #luke jatp #charlie gillespie #Spotify

[ginevrastilinski-ocs]

New Ocs!

I have new ocs to introduce, some that aren’t on my masterlist yet (but I’ll add them soon, I promise) (I have too many Gotham ocs, I know that I’ll probably scrap some of them, but until then...)

Shadowhunters

Marceline Seymour - Mundane (with Sight); future Elys’ girlfriend

Her faceclaim is Holland Roden!

Vincent “Vice” Verlac - Shadowhunter; Nico’s best friend (and ex boyfriend); just wants to be a singer; doesn’t care about fighting;

His faceclaim is Charlie Gillespie!

Descendants

Esme Balthazar - daughter of Edgar Balthazar; cat lover; her and Carlos are besties; ship TBD

Her faceclaim is Maria Ehrich!

Celestine - daughter of Blue Fairy

Her faceclaim is Maude Apatow!

Bernadette “Bernie” Poppins - daughter of Mary Poppins and Bert; twin sister of Armie

Her faceclaim is Millie Bobby Brown!

Armie Poppins - child of Mary Poppins and Bert; twin brother of Bernie

His faceclaim is Noah Schnapp!

Gavin - son of the White Knight; sweetest boy ever; 

His faceclaim is Matt Cornett!

Brielle - daughter of the Red Knight

Her faceclaim is Sadie Soverall!

Rowan Cheshire - child of the Cat of Cheshire and Redacted; 

Their faceclaim is Joy Sunday!

Glee

Jean St James - sister of Jesse St James; the sweetest girl in town; already famous singer

Her faceclaim is Olivia Rodrigo!

Maya Puckerman - younger sister of Noah Puckerman; Cheerio; New Directions memeber; wasn’t there for the first season for reasons lmao

Her faceclaim is Alexia Demie!

Mirabelle Ryder - Cheerio; no plot just vibes

Her faceclaim is Sofia Carson!

Morgan Smith - Cheerio; one of the Originals New Directions member; future Broadway star; (maybe a Rachel ship... tbd)

Her faceclaim is Lili Reinhart!

Melanie Jay - Football Player at McKinley (the only girl in the team); New Directions Memeber; basically girly girl who likes to play football and sing and that can kick your ass

Her faceclaim is Hailee Steinfeld!

Dulcinea “Dulcie” Klempt - niece of Isabelle Wright; famous dancer

Her faceclaim is Kristine Froseth!

Ezekiel “Zeke” Wright - son of Isabelle Wright; hates being famous; just wants a normal teenage life; hides in Lima for not handle New York shit

His faceclaim is Dylan Sprayberry!

Stranger Things

Effie Munson - Eddie Munson’s younger sister; probably a Robin ship (TBD)

Her faceclaim is Emma Mackey!

Sunny Henderson - Dustin Henderson’s older sister; Steve ship

Her faceclaim is Haley Lu Richardson!

Ethan Clifford - sweetest guy in all Indiana; ends up in the middle of the Hawkins Supernatural Chaos by accident

His faceclaim is Joshua Bassett!

Gotham

Annalise Pennyworth - niece of Alfred Pennyworth; Bruce (potential Bruce x Selina) ship

Her faceclaim is McKenna Grace (and probably Meg Donnelly when she’s older but... TBD)!

Margaret Gordon - young sister of Jim Gordon; the darling of the GCPD (does she work there? No) 

Her faceclaim is Florence Pugh!

Virginia Falcone - daughter of Carmine Falcone; sister of Sofia and Mario Falcone; (don’t know about her for the vigilante thing... I’m more towards yes but not sure yet)

Her faceclaim is Zoey Deutch!

Karina Wayne - aunt of Bruce Wayne; Wayne Enterprices’ heiress (at least half of it); future vigilante (name tbd)

Her faceclaim is Anne Hathaway!

Vera Wayne - twin sister of Bruce Wayne (or at least this is what they think... spoiler: she isn’t)

Her faceclaim is Millie Bobby Brown!

Myra “Hel” Mooney - niece of Fish Mooney; rich bitch energy 

Her faceclaim is Savannah Lee Smith!

Penelope Fisher - private detective; just wants to know what the fuck is going on in Gotham; the law can’t stop her lmao

Her faceclaim is Emma Stone!

Elijah Crow - no plot just vibes; vigilante for sure but name TBD

His faceclaim is Dominic Sherwood!

Mireille Lacroix - first and only daughter of an elite family of Gotham; future vigilante (name TBD)

Her faceclaim is Dove Cameron!

#new ocs #my ocs #new fc #new faceclaim #greta's ocs madness era

[charlies-gillespie]

finally free | luke patterson

paring: ghost!fem!reader x ghost!luke patterson

summary: after Luke duets with Julie, reader gets jealous and poofs away. Luke finds her and the two have a conversation that ends much differently than reader expected

requested: no

length: medium to long

rating: PG

warnings: none

!! NOT MY GIF !!

MASTERLIST || PROMPTS LIST

tag list: @mrsbrookegillespie @screwunsaidemily @towheadblonde @marvelousmendess

You are hanging in the shadows on the side of the stage in a café when a guy with a microphone walks onto the stage.

“Okay, it looks like we’re closing the night out with one more group,” the guy says. He looks down at his notepad. “Julie and the Fat Ones.” The crowd snickers as you watch Julie walk past the Dirty Candy girls and walk onto the stage.

Julie finds her way to the piano and puts her microphone on the stand above the piano. “Hi,” she says into her microphone. “It’s actually ‘Julie and the Phantoms’.” No one reacts. “Okay.”

She begins to play the piano and sing. From hearing practices in the studio, you know how talented Julie is. Her vocals are amazing.

And she doesn’t know you exist. You’ve kind of stayed away from her but you’ve sat outside the garage, listening in to band practices. You’re only here for Luke. He’s a ghost, yes, but so are you. You met him when walking the beach one night. He poofed to the beach out of nowhere, scaring you, and the two of you have grown close in the few weeks since that happened.

You think he has a thing for you, and you definitely have a thing. Who wouldn’t? He’s cute, funny, and extremely talented. When Luke’s not with his band or writing songs for Julie and the Phantoms, he’s usually off somewhere with you.

The crowd watches Julie as she sings alone on the stage with the piano. Some sway their heads to the beat.

Until the beat drops and the guys appear on the stage.

I got a spark in me Hands up if you can see And you're a part of me Hands up if you're with me Now 'til eternity Hands up if you believe Been so long and now we're finally free

Luke’s singing into his mic along with Julie, who gets up from her seat at the piano. The crowd electrifies when the guys appear on stage with their instruments.

You smile and sway a bit to the beat yourself.

We know we can make it We're not falling down under Close my eyes and feel my chest Beating like thunder I wanna fly Come alive Watch me shine

Luke and Julie look at each other as they sing their little duet together. You stop swaying and watch them, seeing the look on Luke’s face.

Then it hits you that he definitely doesn’t have a thing for you. He absolutely has a thing for Julie though.

After repeating the refrain, Julie turns toward Luke. Luke quickly runs over and shares a microphone with Julie as he repeats back to her what’s sung to him.

I got a spark in me I got a spark in me And you're a part of me And you're a part of me Now 'til eternity Now 'til eternity Been so long and now we're finally free

After repeating the refrain again, the guys and Julie begin harmonizing and Luke walks over to the side of the stage you’re on. He plays guitar in front of the crowd in front of you. He looks at you and meets your eyes.

You look away and he goes back to his microphone. After singing a line, he backs away from his mic and looks at Julie. A small smile forms on Luke’s face as she sings the final line in the song. Luke looks at her in awe as she sings.

The song ends and the guys poof off the stage. You poof away, slightly jealous. You poof to the beach where you and Luke first met.

With a sigh, you sit in the sand by the water. The moonlight lights up the beach a bit and you watch the waves crash. You bring your knees up and rest your chin on your knees.

It hurts, knowing the guy you have a crush on likes someone else. It hurts more than most people know.

Plus, Julie is a Lifer. You don’t know why Luke likes a Lifer considering the circumstances.

With a sigh, you rest your forehead on your knees and close your eyes.

You hear a whoosh noise and a “hey Y/N”. Luke’s here. He found you. You don’t know why you came here of all places. He knows he can always find you here.

“I thought you’d be with the band,” you tell him, your voice monotone.

Luke says, “I was able to celebrate with the band. I wanted to come celebrate with you, Y/N.”

Still slightly hurt, you say, “Yeah, well, I’m not really in the mood for a celebration, Luke.” You haven’t been able to look up at him. You’re too afraid you’ll cry if you look up at him and you won’t want to cry in front of him. If you cry then you’ll have to explain why and you don’t want to explain why.

He sits beside you and says, “I saw you poof out after our number. Did you need to leave to go somewhere?”

You sigh and say, “I needed to get out of there. It was stuffy.”

“Then why did you look away from me when I made eye contact with you when I was on stage?” he asks. “Did I do something to hurt you?”

Getting slightly annoyed, you say, “No, Luke. You haven’t done anything to hurt me.” Sarcasm is laced in your voice.

Luke picks up on the sarcasm and asks, “What did I do, Y/N? Please, tell me, because I don’t like it when we fight.”

Finally, you look at him. He has a look of worry on his face and you respond with, “Why do you have a thing for a Lifer? You know she’ll grow old and you won’t.”

A smile forms on Luke’s face and he asks, “You think I have a crush on Julie? No. Kinda ew. She’s my bandmate and is more of a sister than anything to me. She’s a lifer and I know she’ll grow old and I won’t. Why do you think …” He trails off, realizing the answer. “You have a thing for me, don’t you? That’s why you’re acting like this and why you poofed out of the café after ‘Finally Free’ was over.”

You jump into immediate defense mode, saying, “No! I don’t have a thing for you, Luke. Nuh uh. Gross. You’re, like, my best friend. Bleh.”

He laughs and says, “You definitely have a thing for me, Y/N. I can tell. You got all jealous and left right after the number was done. That’s why you asked why I liked Julie when I don’t.”

“Stop!” you say, getting up and stepping back from Luke. “I don’t have a thing for you, Luke. You’re cute and all, plus really talented and really funny. But I don’t have a thing for you.”

Luke smiles up at you and say, “You definitely do. Why are you all the way over there then?”

You make a face and say, “You have cooties.”

The guitarist laughs and says, “We’re not in second grade, Y/N. I don’t have cooties.”

“Fine,” you admit. “Maybe I have a very very small thing for you. Like it’s so small that it’s practically nonexistent.”

He laughs and gets up, standing in front of you. You sigh and Luke says, “That’s okay, Y/N. I have a very very small thing that it’s basically nonexistent for you too.”

Your jaw almost drops when he makes that comment. He just admitted he has feelings for you, and you’re still standing like eight feet from him.

He doesn’t like Julie. He likes you. You’re shocked by this because you really thought he liked Julie.

“I’m embarrassed now,” you tell him. “I really had it in my head that you were into Julie.”

Luke smiles and asks, “How that you found out I’m not into Julie?”

You blink at him and reply with, “I’m still not sure because it was really deep in my head that you were into her.”

The lead guitarist of Julie and the Phantoms steps closer to you and he says, “I am definitely not into Julie. I am definitely into you, Y/N. How could I not be into you? You’re very cute, you make me laugh, and the little cheek dimple you have when you smile is my favorite thing ever.” You smile when he says that to you. “Yeah, just like that.”

Your heart races in your chest as you slowly ask, “What happens now?”

Luke steps closer to you again, singing softly, “I got a spark in me. And you’re a part of me. Now til eternity. Been so long and now I’m finally free.” He meets your eyes and looks at you so intensely that you shiver.

He stands a few inches away from you now instead of eight feet away. You continue staring up at him. “I, um,” you stammer. “Luke.”

“That’s my name,” he jokes.

You roll your eyes at him before saying, “I can’t stand you sometimes.”

Luke lets out a soft laugh before he says, “Yet you haven’t poofed away or anything.”

Your eyes are still on Luke’s as you say, “I can if you want.”

“I don’t think so,” Luke sternly says before he takes your face in his hands, pulling you toward him. Your lips collide with his and you gasp.

Luke is kissing you. You’re kissing Luke. This is a thing that is currently happening.

You kiss him back almost immediately and melt against his body. The kiss is soft and sweet, and it feels like you’ve done it a thousand times. Butterflies flutter in your stomach as he kisses you.

After a few seconds, Luke pulls back from the kiss and you look up at him. “I should’ve asked if that was okay,” he stammers. “I’m sorry. I wasn’t think-” You cut him off with a second kiss. He smiles against your lips as you kiss him. He now knows it was okay that he kissed you first.

The kiss continues for a little bit before you pull away. Luke looks down at you and says, “I want you to meet the band, Y/N.”

“Okay,” you say. “Take me to meet your band.”

He smiles before poofing away. You poof right behind you, both of you meeting outside the garage you’ve sat outside of dozens of times, listening to Luke practicing.

Luke walks through the door. He says, “I have someone I’d like you all to meet.” You walk through the garage door. Julie and his bandmates all sit scattered throughout the garage. Julie looks at you, obviously being able to see ghosts.

“This is everyone,” Luke says. “That’s Julie, Reggie, and Alex.”

You wave hello to everyone and Alex says, “We still don’t know her name, dude.”

“Right. This is Y/N,” Luke tells his bandmates. “My girlfriend.”

#luke patterson imagines #luke patterson imagine #luke patterson fic #luke patterson fluff #luke patterson fanfiction #luke patterson x oc #luke patterson x y/n #luke patterson x reader #charlie gillespie imagines #charlie gillespie imagine #charlie gillespie x oc #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie x y/n #julie and the phantoms imagines #julie and the phantoms imagine #julie and the phantoms fluff #jatp imagines #jatp imagine #jatp fic #jatp fluff #fluffy imagine #imagines #imagine #requests are open

[pouges01]

Request prompt: Will you marry me? ” with Charlie Gillespie where he asks his long time gf to marry him

I’m so sorry it’s taking me so long to do this I was so busy with school,hope u like it❤️

-not proof read

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This was it.

He was gonna do it.

Ask the love of his life to marry him.

-1 month earlier-

Charlie , Owen and Jeremy sat it Charlie’s living room, you were out found the weekly grocery shop and running errands with Caroline.

Charlie was nervous he knew he wanted to ask you to marry him, he wanted to call you his wife, he wanted to come home to you every evening, but asking someone such a question was terrifying, what if you weren’t ready , what if you didn’t see yourself marrying , all the doubts clouded the good.

“ Charlie...Charlie .....CHARLIE” Owen called as he broke him from his trance with a fright “ you ok dude ?”

“ I wanna ask Y/N to marry me” he blurted out, words spewing from his tongue, Owen and Jeremy looked at him eyes wide “oh congrats dude” Charlie gulped “ it’s just … well I’m nervous you know we’ve been together for nearly 5 years and we’ve never really talked about marriage”

Owen and Jeremy gave him a look of sympathy “ of course Y/N wants to marry you”

“ come on we will help plan” said Owen giving him a pay on the back

~~~~~~ time skip brought to u by my lazy ass~~~~~~~~

Everything was planned to the “t”

Charlie and you had went hiking one sunny Saturday morning nothing out of the usual, as you reached the top of the trail Charlie’s hands began to sweat and his breaths became heavy as the nerves took control of his body.

“ you okay baby”a concerned look on your face “yea yea i…i..I’m just gonna go pee over behind that bush” he pointed to a round forest green plant to the left “ okay??” You turned to take some pictures of the view

“ okay Charlie get a hold on yourself” he wiped his sweaty palms on his jeans took a deep breath and walked back out, you were still looking outwards. He set his phone on a nearby rock, carefully positioned it and pressed record as he sneaked up behind you, pulled out the velvet case from his pocket and got down on one knee a few steps behind you.

“ hey baby” you turned to see what he wanted, a gasp left your mouth as your hand went to cover it and tears welled in your eyes “ I’ve wanted to ask you something for a while now, you make me so happy and I can’t imagine myself spending my life with anyone other than you, so will you marry me princess?” By this stage your face was soaked with tears “ omg yes yes YES” he slipped the diamond onto your finger and he wrapped his arms around you and lifted you up and span around “ do you like it, the ring?” “ Charlie it’s perfect, im speechless” you flung yourself back onto his chest and snaked your arms around his necked and kissed him hard, as he held onto your waist.

You giggled into his lips and he grinned as wide as a Cheshire Cat, the two of you stood there in your moment of pure bliss.

Sorry this kinda sucked I didn’t really know how to end it, and I’m so so sorry it took so long

#charlie gillespie imagine #charlie gillespie x oc #charlie gillespie x reader #jatp luke patterson #jatp netflix #jatp cast #jatp #charlie gillespie #julie and the phantoms

[jatphatones]

An Inexplicable Wonder | One Shot (Charlie Gillespie x Reader)

An Inexplicable Wonder | One Shot (Charlie Gillespie x Reader)

A/N: Hello beautiful people! Here is a request where the reader shocks Charles and the rest of JATP with her killer voice. This was also inspired by that one time Madi roasted Charlie for singing the wrong part of Perfect Harmony lol. Enjoy!!

Word count: 2.1k

Warnings: typos, hella FLUFF

Masterlist

||||||

You didn’t think you would be able to visit him on set; filming season 2 of JATP during the busy season of your work was not ideal at all. Both you and Charlie were looking forward to some time together, especially since you had only just started dating three months before the start of filming, but the universe thought differently. Not the best situation for a new relationship.

But when you cashed in some time off, it was almost scary how fast you planned a surprise visit to the JATP set. After coordinating with none other than his beloved roommate Owen Joyner himself, your arrival on set went unnoticed by your boyfriend. Then again, he can be oblivious at times so you definitely used that to your advantage as you skillfully dodged the daily FaceTime call and texts.

Charlie’s face when your face appeared out of video village when the filming was over would go down as one of the best moments in your life. He had a legit comical reaction - visceral gasp, hazel eyes shot wide open, unhinged jaw, and frozen in mid walk at the sight of you. You only had time to hope that someone took a picture of Charlie before he barreled you down. He encompasses you wholly, strong arms wrapping around your figure in shock and unbridled happiness. Both of your chest heave with relief as you nuzzle into him. The tighter he held you, the more you felt safe and at peace - the more you felt like you were home.

“H-how? I-I thought you had work? Wha-what?” He feels more than he hears you chuckle against him.

“I had a few days off,” you pull back just to see his face, “and I really missed Madison.”

Your teasing earns a scoff but then is cut short when he answers with a searing kiss. It was brimming with tenderness, reminding you of what you’ve been missing for the past month. His lips familiarize themselves with your lips, congratulating you for making it through your first long distance period. The kiss was revitalizing - a perfect end to a perfect surprise.

“Hi,” you finally greet through one of the deep exhales you let out while trying to catch your breath.

“Hi,” he softly replies, caressing your face with both his hands. His eyes were positively twinkling as he soaks you in. “Missed you.”

“Missed you too.”

Your tender reunion is interrupted by a loud call of your name. When you both turn to the noise, your bodies are almost knocked over by the sheer force of Madi, Owen, and Jeremy throwing their arms around you. Shouts of surprise surround you, and Charlie hears you giggle into his ear at all the commotion.

“Owen,” I call out after we broke apart, “thank you for helping me out.”

“You helped bring Y/N here?” Charlie asks. When Owen excitedly nods, Charlie tackles him with glee. All you can do is watch them do their thing while giving Madison her own hug.

“How you doing miss Madi?”

“Good! Just filming a few scenes with Savannah today. Season 2 is finally letting us have a little more fun with each other. I’m so happy you’re here!”

“Me too. I missed y’all so much!”

A cheerful Charlie rejoins you along with the other boys and you all fall into conversation with each other. As much as he wanted to just whisk you away for the small amount of time he has in between scenes, he loves how much you get along with his friends. You’ve met them just a few times before, but FaceTime allowed you to get to know each of them better in the month you’ve been separated.

Even Kenny joins into the conversation, easily adding his own jokes before informing everyone that they’re starting to be film again. You give him your thanks again for letting you come to set and surprise your boyfriend. He waves you off with a small smile and beckons you back to video village.

Watching your boyfriend do his thing was a truly a gift. This role was made for him. His carefully thought out mannerisms, passionate tone, and expressive gestures brought so much energy to the scene and you were humbled that you could witness it. You tell him just as much when they break for a little longer. A natural blush paints his face after your praise and you give him a kiss on the cheek.

“What else do you have to do today?” You ask curiously.

“We’re filming that one emotional scene next. It’s the one I told you about last weekend. They just told us they’re gonna add a nice piano version of ‘Edge of Great’ to the background and it sounds so good!” Charlie shares.

“That’s so cool. I can’t wait to see you kill it.”

The rest of them come and sit with you two, Savannah excitedly giving you a hug that you energetically return. You catch up with her, getting lost in your own little world. Although you were partaking in separate conversation, Charlie’s presence was, well, present. You felt his arm stretch across the back of your chair, ending with his fingers mindlessly moving up and down your shoulder. Likewise, you had a hand on his knee. The both of you were unconsciously reminding each other that you were actually here with him. When you pat his leg after laughing at whatever Savannah was saying, he jumped at the sudden movement but appreciated it all the same.

At one point, Charlie starts singing ‘Edge of Great’ under his breath. It probably got stuck in his head from hearing that piano version earlier. He realizes the hasn’t sang that song in so long, and gladly got into it. With the acoustic guitar that never leaves his side outside of filming, he accompanies his singing with the corresponding chords, the light strumming only bringing out the richness in his melodic voice. You tried your best to stay focused on your own conversation, but it was hard when you hear his sweet voice through the open air instead of through the phone.

“Charlie those are the wrong words.” Everyone turns to Madi who interrupted his mindless singing.

“What? I sang it right!” Charlie exclaims and then starts singing again, “We all make mistakes, but they’re just stepping stones, to take us where we wanna go it’s never straight. I believe-“

“No bubs thats wrong,” you say before anyone else could speak up. “You forgot some of the words.”

You started to sing the verse - more or less melodically speaking it instead of singing it, but staying in tune all the same. You look at your boyfriend straight in the eyes while you do it, gauging if he finally registers the missing words. If he realizes that he was wrong, he doesn’t show it. Instead his expression is one of shock as soon as you continue to sing his whole verse.

“That was right, right?” You ask him after you finish the last note. He remains shocked and speechless, unable to answer your question because he’s in awe of your voice. The beautiful voice of his beautiful girlfriend.

Not wanting to deal with another second of prolonged silence, you turn to Madi for confirmation only to find her matching expression of shock - eyebrows furrowed, head tilted, mouth agape, and looking back and forth between you and Charlie.

“Um what? Uh, hello, you can sing girl!” Madi exclaims, “Charles did you know about her voice?” He shakes his head fervently.

You’re able to take in everyone else’s reaction and see them all have similar ones to Madi and Charlie. Your face warms up from all the attention, used to the focus typically being on your boyfriend’s talents and not your own.

“Keep singing!” Savannah demands giddily.

“No, I’m good,” you say suddenly growing shy in the spotlight. All you wanted to do was prove your boyfriend wrong and tease him about it, but now is not the time for that anymore.

“Come on, sing!” Owen echoes, “if you don’t keep going, I’ll ban you from our apartment,” he jokingly threatens.

“I’ll sing with you,” Charlie says with encouraging eyes, “I’ll even sing it right this time.”

Not even able to say no to his begging eyes and charming smirk, you start singing Madi’s harmony. You thought you would succumb to the nerves of singing in front of actual singers, but Charlie’s carefree smile takes all of your attention. It’s like it has powers, having the ability to make the rest of the world drop away until there’s only the sound of your voices.

As you both continue to sing the song, you realize that the meaning of it doesn’t get lost on you. With every whoop coming from your audience to your harmony with Charlie, it felt like you were on the edge of something great. You’ve always loved his voice and it fills you with joy to know that he feels the same about yours. Now you both have another thing with each other, as you physically and emotionally get closer with every passing lyric. It was magical.

When you reach the last part of the song, you didn’t even notice the words coming out of your mouth. Charlie’s eyes were hypnotic, effortlessly drawing you in along with the soft timbre of his voice. The clapping and cheering makes you jump and hit your hand against the guitar sitting on Charlie’s lap.

“OKAY THAT WAS CRAZY GOOD!” Madi yells. You hide your grateful smile behind Charlie’s shoulder when you notice her pointing her phone at the two of you indicating that she had been recording the whole thing. Everyone else echoed her praise and you felt like you were on fire. You let out a sigh of relief when the cast were called back to film. They reluctantly quiet down and start to leave, not before leaving a round of compliments that left you blubbering.

Charlie remains rooted in his chair, never once looking away from you. He knew that you were drowning under the praise of his friends, but he couldn’t be bothered to stop them because you absolutely deserved all of it.

Even though you haven’t been dating long, he already knows the truth in his heart. He loves you - simple as that. He was starting to love you just a month into dating, but he knew for sure when you consistently brought him peace and happiness even when it was from miles away and through the phone. The saying ‘distance makes the heart grow fonder’ was never truer than it was now. His love for you surged when he saw you when he least expected it, his feet dragging him to you before he could even register it. He felt as though he could almost pass out from the amount of love surging through him, especially when he hears your beautiful voice, but when you sang with him, Charlie realizes that this is what paradise felt like. And it was all from the humble girl sitting right next to him.

“How come I never knew you had a voice like that?” He asks with wonder in his tone. He grabs your hand when he sees you start fiddling with your shirt.

“I don’t know, I don’t exactly want to embarrass myself in front of an actual singer and it’s never been brought up. I’m not too upfront about singing if you haven’t noticed,” you admit sheepishly. He looks back at all the times you were driving with him and not once did he remember you belting along with him. Instead, he remembers your playful smile and breathless laughter.

“Well I’m never gonna do karaoke or road trips without you and your angelic voice ever again,” Charlie declares. He hears Owen calling him in the distance and sighs while getting up. You laugh at his childlike antics and stand with him, immediately taking a deep breath when he wraps his arms around your waist.

And just like that, you were back in the space where everything else just melted away. Your heart stutters at the soft look he was giving you. Barely swaying back and forth, you feel calm for the first time since you first arrived to set.

“You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you?” Charlie chuckles as he tightens his grip around you.

“I sure am,” you laugh with him. Your smile never disappears even when he brings his lips down on yours. He can’t even be mad that he can’t kiss you properly, wearing a matching smile when he pulls away.

“What else are you hiding?” He teases before dropping another kiss to your lips. His heart races at your next words, not believing that you were actually his to learn and love.

“You’ll just have to find out.”

||||

A/N: The fluff. the f l u f f. Gosh that was so much fun to write and I hope you all enjoyed it. If you want to join the taglist, send in a request, or just chill, hit up my ask and lets hang! - Titi xx

Taglist: @aunicornmademedoit​ @kinda-really-lost​ @phantoms-julie​ @pixiethefirecat7​ @badwolf00593​ @n0wornever​ @s-h-a-d-o-w-s​ @celestialmolina

#charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie fanfiction #charlie gilelspie fanfic #charlie gillespie fic #charlie gillespie imagines #charlie gillespie imagine #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie x oc #charlie gillespie x y/n #jatp

[migilini]

Not So Secret Anymore - Charlie Gillespie

summary: It’s hard to hide a relationship from the public, particually when both work on the same show.

words: 2.5k

warnings: fluff

a/n: not my fave but i still somehow like it.

Requests are open :)

MASTERLIST

------------------------------------------------------

September

"When do we have our first interview?" you asked the boy whose head was in your lap. He looked up from his phone and your eyes locked with his green ones "Hmm, my calendar says in about 30 minutes."

You groaned at that and stopped playing with Charlie's hair which earned you a grunt and whine from him. "Sorry babe but I think I have to go, so I still have time to get ready and set up." You muttered and gave him a small kiss on his brown hair.

"Uhh fine." The weight lifted from your legs, you stood up and before you knew it you were thrown over his shoulder. Laughing, you slapped his butt and back repeatedly. "Babe! I mean it" you tried to press out between giggles, "we both decided to keep us a secret." He sat you down on the kitchen isle and cornered your body in between his arms, standing right in front of you, you're back hitting the kitchen cabinet.

"I know... come back later?" he asked and tilted his head, looking at you with big puppy eyes. "You know it." After a swift kiss, or rather a little make out session, you were on your way back to your own appartement. Just in time to change your top and put on a lip-gloss before opening your laptop and joining the interview.

"Hello everybody! I'm here with the cast of Netflix' Julie and the Phantoms that came out on Thursday. How are you guys?" the interviewer asked and smiled into the camera of his laptop. The whole cast chirped in with a good, great, or amazing.

"That's fantastic!" he clapped his hands "Now, Jeremy, how would you describe your Character and the show in general?"

"It's a show about ghosts from 1995 who come back 25 years later and join a band with Julie who didn't sing a note after her mother died. Reggie, the character that I play, is one of those ghosts and he is a loveable himbo. Did I use that word correctly Maddie?"

Maddie smiled and the interviewer changed the topic "Madison and y/n, birds have told me that this was your first ever acting job is that right?"

You nodded and signaled Maddie to speak first "Yes, and it was both amazing and traumatizing! I was so nervous, but the crew really helped to calm me down, especially y/n who just was in the same position as me, so we freaked out together most of the time." She smiled and the interviewer waited for you to answer. "Except, Maddie had a least some acting training at school, that's why she is the best. I more or less walked into the whole situation." You said laughing.

"I love this story." Jeremy exclaimed, making you slightly blush at his words.

"Would you be so kind and tell us?" the interviewer questioned and smiled at your little nod.

"Yes, yes of course. Well, I was on vacation with one of my good friends from back home..."

"She means Germany." Owen interrupted with a smile on his lips. "Yes, Owen. Thank you for adding important details. Anyways, we saw that there was an Open Audition nearby and though why not? We don't have anything to lose or to do on that particular day. And here I am, my friend sadly didn't get in."

"That really is an amazing story, I can see why Jeremy likes it so much. So, Charlie how would you describe y/n's and Luke's characters, she wasn't supposed to be in the script and was later added in right?" Charlie quirked up at the mention of your name and stated proudly. "Indeed, she impressed Kenny so much that he wrote a character just for her. He thought that Sunset Curve, the band name before we died, needed a female to handle their chaos or well... at least tries to. Y/N plays Allie, who against common speculation isn't any of the boys' love interest which is a very nice turn of events. She and Luke bud head a lot because Luke only thinks about music and the band and she tries hard to make him take breaks every now and then." 

A lovesick smile sat on your face while you listened to your boyfriend of nearly a year, once you realized your expression you quickly shook it off. Hiding this relationship was definitely going to be harder than expected.

The Interviewer asked some more questions before the last and dreaded question was thrown your way. "So, most of your fans are wondering if any of you guys are in a relationship." You and Charlie had discussed a million times before what you guys would say in such a moment, the two of you shared a look.

Jeremy's eyes switched from Charlie's box on his screen to y/n's before answering "I have a lovely wife! The rest of us are happily single, right guys?"

"100%" Maddie added, while Owen only shrugged, his dog conveniently jumping into his lap.

"How about the other two?" he eyed up the last remaining.

"Very single" Charlie laughed, and you agreed "Totally."

As time went on it was harder and harder for the two of you to hide the relationship, as you two spent nearly every day together and therefore did the same activities. Particularly after your social media accounts have gained over a million followers and people started to ship actors and tv show characters. But you two loved the little secret bubble you've created, there was no pressure to take good pictures together, or to post stories, to be asked a thousand questions about your relationship and no hate towards any of you.

December

It has been 4 months since the show released and the hype it got definitely was way more than you ever expected. It blew your mind. Currently, you are on Charlie and yours one-year anniversary / Christmas / good deeds vacation. Charlie and you found a good mix, that made you both happy, between chilling and doing adventurous things.

It was Christmas eve and Maddie wanted to do a 'guess the song Christmas Edition' with the main cast. Eagerly you agreed and hurried from the beach, where Charlie currently took the quiz at the bar you both sat on just minutes before, to your shared bedroom. You shot Maddie a quick text that you were 'out of the relationship zone' and ready when she was ready.

"Helloooo. How did the others do?"

"Not the worst but I still have faith in you to win this. ARE YOU READY?" she screamed the last part.

“I’m going to read you the lyrics of a christmas song and you have to guess the next line. There are certain cards that give one point and others give two. Whoever has the most points at the end…”

“Hopefully get your earrings” you asked with a sly smile and your shoulders raised.

Maddie laughed but shook her head “Sadly, no. I haven't figured out the price yet, but I for sure will! I like your backdrop by the way.” she added and you quickly looked behind you. You sat crisscrossed on the hotel room floor, you used the coffee table and a water bottle as a phonestand and used a white checkered wall as a background to try and hide the fact that you didn't sit in your living room.

January

“This should be the last box.” you cheered into the empty hall and shut the front door with a light push from your hip. Charlie popped his head out of the bedroom and walked over to, dropping his head on your shoulder in exhaustion. Nothing was set up, boxes stood randomly all over the apartment, the fridge stood there still empty and a lonely mattress covered the bedroom floor.

“The walls look a bit bare don't you think?” you said about a week later, standing in the middle of the now a bit furnished living room. Strong arms sneaked their way around your waist and a head dropped on your shoulder.

“Hmm… you're right. What do you have in mind?” Charlie said and turned you around so you were facing him. He smiled at the spark in your eyes “I was thinking, a yellow akzent wall with random secondhand pictures and some pictures of us, all in frames of course. So it's gonna have this homey and creative atmosphere.” You rambled on for a while longer, telling him where you think his instruments could go, the pillows you saw online and thought they worked perfect with the colour of the couch. Charlie just stared at you, a dumb smile on his lips with his arms around you.

“Do you not like it?” you noticed that he hasn't talked for a while and got worried. “I love it. We could live in a dumpster for all I care, as long as I have you by my side.” You fake gaged at his romantic words and gave him a kiss.

The first time people got really suspicious was the time you accidentally walked in on a live he had on Instagram. He sat in front of his instruments, phone propped up before him. You thought that he was already finished but you were wrong.

“Do you think this…” you walked into the room, a shirt in your hand that you just took out of the dryer and lost your words the moment you saw him sitting in front of his phone. He looked at you with wide eyes, his brain clearly searching for a good excuse. 

“Is that y/n?” he read outloud from the chat, gesturing you do sit next to him. “Yes it's her! We’re hanging out and she helped me with my washing because I somehow still don't know how to do it.” he laughed nervously, his hand grabbing yours out of the frame.

“He promised me food and I live really close by, so I thought I'll help this poor man out.”

May

Looking back at this moment now, you and Charlie weren't sure why you just didn't come clean. You didn't mean to hide the relationship this long, it just kinda happened and at one point it just got too awkward to tell. It was fairly easy to hide most of the time, you didn't most that much on instagram and Charlie only showed parts of his daily life.

The easiest was the time you filmed JATP Season 2. You were expected to hang out and live together. Back in 2019 you already lived with Owen and Charlie. This time poor Owen had to live with a couple instead of just two friends. (You were already dating for a while back then but didn't tell the cast, to not make a fuss.)

It wasn't like the fans didn't suspect a thing, especially after Owen posted a video of you two fooling around. 

Everybody sat outside, enjoying the everwarming sun on their skin. Half of the cast was already in costume just waiting for the break to end. In typical Allie (your character) fashion you wore an overall with a tight tank top underneath, your makeup stood out from the others with the heavy blush, freckles and black eyeliner. 

Charlie, in his Luke wardrobe, thought that it was funny to stand in front of you to shield you from the sun.

"Stop that" you whined and tried to shove him away, which was harder than you thought considering he stood before you and you sat on a bench.

"Make me." He flirted and stood even wider before you, puffing out his chest. Raising an unimpressed eyebrow, you stole his beany with a swift motion. His expresion quickly changed from cocky to shocked, snickering was heard from Maddie who was used to this type of behaviour.

"Ups… heavy wind blows in the shadows." You explained nonchalantly and pulled the beany on your head, sticking your tongue out at your boyfriend.

"Oh it's on my lady" he growled "I'm giving you a three second advantage. One…" your eyes widened and your heart rate picked up. "Two…" you got up and scanned the place internally making a good running line. "Th-.." you began sprinting across the lot. You heard the laughing from your castmates behind you as you and Charlie ran in circles. 

Unfortunately, he was still fitter and faster than you and about a minute into the running he had you thrown over his shoulder.

"Surrender!" he screamed as you tried to wiggle out of his grip.

"Never!" You screamed back and wiggled even harder.

"Surrender or i'll have to tickle you" he warned and those were the last words Owen was able to film before a producer yelled that the break was finished.

February

“Baby, if I would believe this News Article, you have a secret girlfriend, but it's not me.” you showed him your phone screen.

“I’m not cheating on you. I would never, i'd die rather than…” his frantic expression made you snort. “I know. Oh my god! People saw you with Lia.” you held his hands comfortably.

“Lia as in your best friend Lia?”

“The one and only. People noticed the hickeys... At least they’re getting closer now. So are we still on for the masterplan? You by instruments and I'm gonna sit in the bedroom?" He nodded and smiled at the sight of your equally plastered neck. 

Eventually, before you even were able to execute the as you'd like to say 'masterplan' your relationship got outed. I mean it was time, the two of you getting lazier with the hiding as time went by. 

Fans noticed that you wore a lot of Charlie's things and that you and him always seemed to be at the same place at the same time. It was actually one of your lives that spilled the secret. 

"That's a really nice akzent wall" you read outloud from the chat "oh thank you! It was a long process to get all the pictures but it was actually Charlie's idea to not only have pictures but also plane tickets, date memories and so on hung up on that wall. It really makes it homey. I think to get that wall this crowded it took us...what? About well since we moved in…" you didn't even realise what you said you just babbled and then it was out.

"Charlie actually is home! I could call him. Babe! Come here for a sec- oh my god!" Your hands flew up to your mouth in realizion. 

From that moment on you were public and your social media exploded once again. However the two of you were happy to finally show each other off.

#charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie imagine #charlie gillespie fanfic #charlie gillespie fic #charlie gillespie fanfiction #charlie gillespie x oc #charlie gillespie x y/n #jatp fanfic

[undyingskies]

Jealous

Hello everyone, I am back yet again with another Charlie fic! I really enjoyed writing this one, it was a lot of fun! Also it’s long about 3,000+ words, I read over it and edited it as much as I could, so I really hope I caught all the mistakes! As usual I am happy to take requests, especially because I am starting to run low on ideas! Anyways, hope you enjoy! xoxo 

Warnings: None really, there is a little make out sesh but it’s not long!

_________________________________________

        Season 2 came before you knew it, even though it felt like the renewal of Julie and The Phantoms took forever. But the minute it got renewed to now felt like a whirlwind of activities that happened before you could even take a breath in.

Now it’s two months into filming and this is the first time you’ve been able to visit your boyfriend Charlie since the start of it. You had to finish your semester of school before you could come visit him, knowing that you’d never get any schoolwork done if you came to visit during the semester.

It was a long two months and you truly could not be happier to be sitting smushed between Charlie and Owen in the car heading to set at 6 am. Any other time you would have dreaded being up so early but it didn’t seem so bad with your boyfriend’s hand resting on your thigh and the bickering of the two boys.

“You guys have been up for maybe an hour and you seriously haven’t stopped to take a breath from whatever you guys are arguing about this time.” You laugh, while pointing it out, because seriously it started the minute they woke up this morning and hasn’t stopped.

“Y/N, I feel like you’ve forgotten the dynamic that goes on between these two and their early mornings. We have sleep beauty number 1 and 2 here!” Jeremy laughs from the front seat.

You know he’s right; these two boys bicker non-stop anyways but especially on early mornings since they both love their sleep.

“Thanks for coming to set today baby, I know you got in yesterday but I don’t think I would have been able to get much done today knowing you’re sitting at the apartment waiting for me.” Charlie whispers into your ear sending chills down your spine and butterflies to erupt in your stomach at his early morning voice.

“Of course, you know I wouldn’t miss it for a thing besides I miss the rest of the cast! I’m excited to see them!”

A smile takes its place on Charlie’s face and he leaves a small kiss on your neck before turning back to look at his phone.

You originally met Charlie on the set of Julie and the Phantoms season 1. You never wanted to be on the big screen or some big actor but the industry always intrigued you so you signed up with a local company to be an extra for sets. It let you travel, see the business, and put money in your pocket when you weren’t doing school.

You were an extra for the crowd scenes, so basically any time the band played you were there watching. One day before they started filming, you were watching Dirty Candy perform and without thinking you started doing the choreography with them. You had been a dancer for about 12 years but a bad knee injury took you out of the game. Your love for dance never stopped though so you really enjoyed watching them perform.

I guess the girls had noticed you doing the choreography so they approached you asking if you were a new dancer on set. Embarrassed that they caught you dancing, you let them know you weren’t, you just watched them so many times you had memorized it by accident.

The girls were really nice and you quickly took a liking to Savannah and Tori, they would ask you to hang out while they practiced because you could pick out little details to fix or make better. From there it turned into a beautiful friendship, they started inviting you to hang out off set and to all the hang outs with the rest of the cast. Then before you knew it, you were a part of the group and always attached to their sides.

When you first met Charlie, of course he got your attention, his cute smile and energy would grab anyone’s. You never really thought much of it after though, but you always did notice that he would always look at you and for a little extra longer, he paid a little more attention to you when everyone was talking as well as you, and he always seemed to smile just a little bigger when he’d pull you into a hug to say hello.

Then one day he asked you out, just like that. Savannah and Tori mentioned that they thought he was going too but you didn’t think he would. Nothing ever really happened between you two, it was just a friendship where you flirted sometimes, but like you said before you noticed those small things but didn’t think much of it.

Of course you said yes though, he looked so nervous and cute that you felt yourself fall almost immediately after that. Which pretty much happened, after your first date  there was another and then another, and then you guys were in a relationship and pretty much inseparable.

A tug to your hand pulls you out of your thoughts, you guys had arrived on set and Charlie was tugging you out of the car. Sometimes the boy forgets his own strength and he has you tripping out of the car. He laughs and stabilizes you by grabbing onto your hips. He looks down at you, placing a sweet kiss to your lips that was quickly interrupted.

“Is that Y/N  we see?” You hear Tori squeal followed by a “Yes that sure is.” from Savannah. Then they’re both next to you pulling you apart from Charlie and engulfing you in a group hug between the two girls.

It does feel good to be back with them, they quickly became two of your closest friends during your time as an extra on the show and you never lost touch with them either.

“Charlie, they need you in costume quick, they want to start as soon as they can to-Y/N!!” You hear your name yelled and arms wrap around your waist.

You turn to see the one and only Madison Reyes, you’re quick to wrap your arms around her as well. You loved the girl and she felt like a younger sister to you, she always came to you to talk and tell you secrets. You had really missed her even though she did facetime you about once a day.

“Mads it’s good to see you, I’ve missed you girly!”

“I’ve missed you too ya know, those facetime calls just don’t always cut it.” She laughs. “Anyways they do need us, they want to start filming as fast as they can today.” She says turning to Charlie and letting you go.

“Well you wouldn’t mind if we stole your girlfriend then would you Charlie since you’re busy?” Tori asks. “Besides you had her all yesterday, it’s our turn now.” You laugh at the girl’s words and turn to your boyfriend.

“I guess it’s alright, I’ll see you on set then? You said you’d watch our performance today.” Charlie says while pulling you in for one last hug before you depart.

“Of course, you know I wouldn’t miss that!” He places a kiss on your lips before he leaves with Madi and you with the girls. Who are both staring at you almost two excitedly.

“You two scare me sometimes, so much energy so early in the morning.” All of you laughing at your words. You follow them to the area where they will be filming but they have chairs and breakfast set up as well. You’re sitting with the girls, just drinking some coffee for the time being.

“So how has it been Y/N, does it feel good to be back around this craziness?” Savannah asks you.

“It’s been good, as far as life goes not much has changed since we all last talked! I finished the semester strong and only have two semesters left which is a relief. I hope when I’m done that means I will get to be around more and to travel with Charlie. And of course if feels good to be back! I’ve missed it and everyone really. I was bummed not to be able to re-sign to do extra work but I had to focus on school.” You tell the girls.

“Oh of course, we get that. Everyone here just misses you so much especially Charlie! As much as I am glad, you’re here so we can see you, I may be more glad because now we don’t have to hear him complain about how much he misses you.” You laugh at Tori’s words. The girls decided to actually send you quotes of the day that Charlie said about how much he missed you, that boy was quite dramatic but the quotes did end up being the highlight of your day more often than not.

You’re engulfed in conversation with the girls and don’t even realize the time flying by. They talk about the new season how it’s going, the new dances that they’re doing, your relationship and any other topic you could really think of.

A flash of orange catches your attention, you know that orange beanie like that back of your hand and you’re glad to see that it’s making its appearance in season 2. You follow the hat as it’s weaving through people and see it stop in front of the cameras.

Charlie’s eyes catching yours, he gives you his dazzling smile and wave in your direction before Kenny pulls his attention back to him but not before Kenny throws a wave in your direction as well.

“Well we got to go, we’re all in this scene but we’ll see you after!” Savannah says pulling you into a hug, Tori quickly following her movements.

Now you’re left alone, to watch the scene unfold in front of you. It really is so much fun to watch them all interact with each other on and off the screen. It’s such a wonderful dynamic they all have going on.

This scene is some scene at school, where Dirty Candy confronts Julie. Julie has the boys behind her giving her comebacks to all the jabs thrown her way from Carrie. It’s actually a funny scene watching the boys yell the things at Julie.

Take one, take two, take three, take four, and then a large grumble erupts from your stomach pulling your thoughts away from the scene before you.

You look down at your watch to check the time, it has been about two hours and you’ve been so distracted by everything that you forgot to eat. The moment of realization makes your hunger grow about ten times more. You quickly make your way over to the food table.

There’s donuts, brownies, cookies, some croissants, an assortment of chips, and some breakfast sandwiches. Honestly it all looked so good, and your stomach was telling you to get a bit of everything. The donuts and croissants calling your name the most, and maybe one chocolate chip cookie as well. You’re finishing up putting together your plate and grabbing a water when a voice startles you.

“I’ve never seen you before, are you new here?” You turn to see a boy, probably about your age, dressed in the schools letterman jacket.

“Oh no, not really.” You say with a smile, turning back to grab your water and food, to walk back to where you were sitting.

“Oh really? I guess I’ve missed you around here then, what’s your name?” He asks, following your lead and sitting in the chair across from you. Guess this conversation isn’t over, you think.

“Ya, I’m actually just visiting. I was an extra for the first season. It’s Y/N.” You say hoping that was the end, but nope.

“Oh cool, I’m Josh.” He says leaning in, reaching out his hand for a handshake while scooting closer to you. Almost too close and beginning to ask more questions.

Little did you know, that someone’s eyes were on you watching the whole situation. The longer Charlie watched the more he could feel the pit in his stomach growing. He didn’t like how close that guy was sitting next to you or the way every time you said something he would just lean that much closer.

The look in that guys eyes could have made Charlie stop in the middle of the scene and yell something, but he’s too professional for that. But that look, he knows what that looks means, that guy liked you and he didn’t understand why you weren’t stopping the conversation. The pit in his stomach now a giant hole and his ears and face on fire from anger or is it jealousy he thought.

“And cut. That’s the last take for this one, great job guys!” He hears Kenny yell and before anyone could talk to him, he’s got his eyes locked on you and walking straight towards you.

A pair of arms wrapped around your shoulder and a kiss to your neck scares you, pulling you out of the conversation that never felt like it was gonna end. You can see Josh’s eyes widen at the action that just unfolded in front of him and before he could say anything you hear Charlie pipe up from behind you.

“Hi baby, who’s this?” You can hear him ask in a tone you never heard before; he sounds upset?

“Oh um this is Josh; he was just telling me about the role he’s playing this season.”

Charlie reached his hand out to shake Josh’s hand.

“Well it’s nice to meet you Josh, it’s weird that I’ve never seen you before. I appreciate you keeping my girlfriend company while I was just a little busy.” You can practically hear the jealousy coming from his voice and you don’t miss how Charlie emphases the world girlfriend.

Josh visibly gets uncomfortable by his words.

“Oh ya man, sure. Sorry, she didn’t mention she was here for her boyfriend, just said she was visiting.” He says giving an excuse to why he’s so close to one of the stars of the show girlfriend.

“Oh she didn’t, interesting...” Charlie says trailing off and giving you a look you don’t think you’d ever want to see again.

“As much as I would have loved to bring up the fact, I had a boyfriend there wasn’t much of a moment for me to mention it between Josh’s story telling.” You say getting upset at Josh and Charlie’s actions. Sass and frustration evident in your voice.

You can see Josh’s cheeks get slightly red. Charlie is quick to grab your hand and start to pull you away with a quick,

“Well nice to meet you bud. We’ve got to be going now.” He says while still pulling you away.

The minute you’re out of sight and hidden behind a wall Charlie has you pinned against the wall and his lips on yours.

He doesn’t even give you a chance to catch up before he has his tongue swiping your bottom lip to get in. He’s quick to bite down on your bottom lip, a moan escaping you.

Your hands entangle in his hair pulling him closer, his hands gripping your hips pulling you up to have your legs wrap around his waist. Charlie moves his hands down to cup your butt giving it a slap as he starts to attack your neck with his lips.

You can’t help but lean your neck to the side giving your boy all the access he wants, basking in the feeling of his lips on your skin.

You’re pulled out of your little world when you hear voices and they sound like they’re getting closer.

“Char...Charlie, stop, someone... there is someone coming.” You struggle to get out as he keeps kissing your neck, you place your hands on his chest to give him a little push away. You’re able to get him to detach himself from your neck and place you back on your feet.

Two people walk past you guys giving you small awkward smiles, definitely knowing what was happening due how close you guys were standing, the mess that Charlie’s hair now is, and what you can only imagine is two pairs of swollen lips.

When they leave, he’s quick to attach his lips back to yours. But you place your hands on his chest pushing you away a little bit, even though it took everything in you to do so because man is that boys mouth magic.

“Baby, what’s going on? As much as I know you and your love for what’s happening, it’s never this public.” You ask, slightly concerned at your boyfriends behavior.

He shakes his head a little and moves his hand to rub the back of his neck, a pink tint appearing on his cheeks.

“I just, I don’t know thought it’d be fun.” He says not making eye contact.

“Oh that’s some BS Gillespie, what’s up?” You knew your boyfriend too well and that was a cop out answer.

“I just, I didn’t like how that guy was looking at you, or sitting so close to you and then he brought up how you didn’t say you were here for me and I just I don’t know...” He trails off still looking away sheepishly.

A small smile does form on your face as his words, you’ve never seen Charlie get jealous and truthfully it was a little cute.

“Oh so someone was jealous?” You ask with a little laugh.

“What me? Jealous? No, never!” Again, he’s trying to brush it off; but with the lift of your eyebrows he knows you’re not buying it.

“Fine, I was jealous okay? I know it’s bad to be jealous but whatever...”

“Actually, I think it’s pretty cute.” You say with a little laugh, grabbing onto his arm to pull him closer to you.

“Really?” He asks with his signature smirk and that tone of cockiness he just always seems to sport just a little. He now has his arms wrapped around your waist pulling you just that much closer, if it’s even possible.

You give him a nod and lead his lips back down to yours to interlock them again. This time he pulls away but leaves his forehead leaning on yours.

“I love having you here, even if it means you get hit on by gross extras.” You laugh at his words and the fact that his insult is what a twelve-year-old would come up with.

“I love being here, you know that. I really did miss you.”

“I missed you too sweet stuff, just don’t forget you’re here to see your very handsome boyfriend.” You both laugh together at his words.

“How could I ever forget? Plus it seems like if he thinks so he gets a little jealous and I don’t mind the outcome of it.”

“Oh shut up, you’re my girlfriend just gotta make sure everyone knows.” You roll your eyes at his words and he leans down again to place another kiss on your lips.

“Yep, your girlfriend and don’t you forget it.”

You both laugh again as you pull him in for another kiss. Your boyfriend may be a little crazy but you wouldn’t change it for the world because nothing feels better than being able to be back in his arms and laughing in between sweet kisses.

#charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie imagine #charlie x reader #charlie gillespie x oc #charlie gillespie x reader #charliegillespieimagines #charlie gillespie fic #charlie gillespie fanfiction #julie and the phantoms #luke jatp #jatp

[tefilovesreading]

Long overdue. Charlie Gillespie x OC

A/N: I’m really happy to finally share this one, it took me a while to finish it but I’m proud with the final result. I hope you love it as much as I do. 

Summary: Charlie and Olivia used to be best friends, until he left their hometown to pursue his acting career without saying goodbye to his best friend, ruining their friendship. They meet again four years later.

Word count: +6k

Warning: some swearing, mention of a panic attack, angst???? 

Special thanks to my lovely @theamazingtomholland​ for helping me out and your sweet words! Also thanks to @thelawiswiththerose​ !!

MASTERLIST 

When Olivia was just a kid, her grandfather used to joke about how she would grow up to become a historian because her memory was amazing,and she believed him. Until she realized that she had an excellent memory only when it came to things that matter to her or that made her the young woman she was now. She remembered meeting her current best friend on April 7th,four years ago. She knew her heart got broken for the first time on March 31st when she was only fifteen, it was a Monday, and she didn’t cry because she needed to get through her classes. Or how she lost a piece of herself when her grandpa died when she was just five years old on May 31st.

She unlocked her phone and felt her heart get a little bit heavier when she saw the date on the screen:

August 26.

Four years ago, when they both were eighteen, things were easier for sure, at least for Charlie. Olivia wasn’t doing bad either but seeing her childhood best friend kiss another girl in front of her wasn’t something she enjoyed. How could someone watch the person they’ve loved for years kiss someone else and not feel like they were getting their heart crushed little by little?

They spent the day with their friends, celebrating Charlie’s last birthday near the river before he moved to Toronto to pursue his acting career a week later. Olivia could still remember how happy he looked sitting next to the bonfire; his arms wrapped around his then- girlfriend laughing about something his friend had said. Sat just across from them, giving the couple and herself some space, she knew her heart was going to break again that night. And it did because he ditched her at the end of the night when he was supposed to make sure she got home safely just like he promised her parents he would.

She remembered how scared she felt walking back home in the dark by herself even when she knew their neighbourhood was safe and she wasn’t far from her house. But she was terrified of darkness and Charlie was the only one in their group of friends that knew it. Olivia cursed his name over and over again for putting her in that position, for leaving her alone, and thinking about the reason made her feel sick. Of course, she knew why he left without telling her but admitting it out loud wasn’t something she was willing to do.

Her phone vibrated in her hand and she rubbed her eyes, making her put that memory away. It was her mother letting her know that their flight had just landed, and they were ready for their two weeks in the Caribbean.

“Seems like it’s gonna be just us, Peanut,” she whispered to the black dog curled up next to her on the couch. Scratching the dog’s belly, she turned her attention back to the TV where Meryl Streep was singing Money, Money, Money.

Her stomach growled, remembering that she barely had eaten something and it was already dinner time.

Noises outside her house caught her attention, they sounded a lot like laughs, instead of making her way to the kitchen, she went to the closest window and peeked outside just enough for her heart to drop.

He was there laughing without a care in the world, his hair falling back in messy waves that her fingers suddenly needed to touch.

Closing the curtains before her neighbors could see her, she wiped furiously the lonely tear that managed to escape from her eyes before it could leave a trail down her cheek.

What was he doing here? He was supposed to be in Los Angeles, not here. She made sure not to be in town whenever she thought he could come back, spending numerous mother’s days somewhere else, or making sure she wasn’t home for his mother’s birthday. Christmas was easier because her entire family gathered up in her grandma’s house every single year. But he never came back to their hometown for his birthday, until this year.

The anger she felt after his birthday four years ago came back like an earthquake, making her body tremble with the feeling she kept bottled up for so long.

It wasn’t just the fact that Charlie left her on her own when he promised to take her back home. He didn’t apologize the day after for leaving her alone or the day after that one. Hell, he didn’t try to talk to her that entire week and when the week came to its end, he just left, not even saying goodbye to her.

Charlie moved out and never looked back. As if he completely forgot about the girl that was his best friend since they both were eight years old. The same girl that stood up for him whenever the mean guys at their school made fun of him for not getting the part after his first couple auditions. The same girl he spent so many summers playing with, countless winters playing in the snow with her until they felt like their fingers were beyond frozen.

That was what she was hurt and mad about. He forgot about her existence and all the memories they ever made together. And Olivia couldn’t do the same because even if she hated to admit it, she still loved him, maybe not like she used to, but she still had love to give to the boy standing outside the house she used to spend so much of her free time when she was younger.

And because the universe was against her, the dog ran towards the front door, barking at it and letting her know that she wanted to go out for a walk.

“We can’t go now, baby,” she shushed Peanut, but the small dog didn’t try to pay attention to her words and kept barking and spinning in excitement. She wanted to go out now and not even a treat would make her change her mind, “you are so stubborn, Pea.”

Peanut was a small dog, but her barks were resonating all over the house, breaking the silence and she knew it was about time someone came and ringed the doorbell to make sure everything was alright. A fast exit, that was what she needed, she could put her earbuds on and pretend she was going for a run, give them a small nod if they still were outside and get out of there as fast as she could.

She put her sneakers on, put on some music, opened the door, and tugged lightly on the dog leash to make her dog walk. Not looking at the people standing in the driveway was a difficult task, because she never stopped greeting the rest of the Gillespie family. How could she? It wasn’t their fault that her friendship with Charlie went to shit.

“Hey!” Meghan called her and turning her head slowly she nodded at them and pointed to her earbuds as if she were on the phone.

Charlie looked at her and realized she was avoiding his eyes, not even acknowledging his presence. Looking at the way her features had changed, turning her into a beautiful young woman, the childish features were long gone, which let him know how long it has been since the last time he saw her in person.  Her long light brown hair was now up to her shoulders and a few shades lighter. Watching her walk away made his heart ache in a way he didn’t feel since he moved out.

“I didn’t know the Gibson still lived here.” The words came out loud enough for his sister to listen to what he said, and she punched him in the arm.

“She made sure to be out of town every time you came home, dumbass,” making a grimace he nodded, not wanting to talk about the subject, “I still don’t understand what happened between you guys, you were really good friends, and I was sure you liked her as more than a friend.”

He rolled his eyes, knowing damn well Meghan wasn’t going to just drop it, “it’s none of your business.”

“My guess is you told her you liked her, and she rejected you,” Patrick said with a knowing look on his face. Charlie snorted and shook his head.

“Again,” he warned, “drop it, guys.” His brother held his hand up and went inside, leaving him alone with his younger sister.

“All I’m gonna say is you should try to not mess with her, Charlie,” Meghan held him by his arm, making sure he was paying attention to her word, “it was awful to see how sad and broken she was when you left and I know you said it’s none of my business, but I was her friend too and she pushed me away for whatever the fuck happened between you two.”

“I won’t, Meg,” he promised, guiding her inside so Olivia didn’t have to see him once she came back. But if he was being honest, he didn’t want to see the pain in her face she failed to hide when she saw him standing next to Meghan.

Sprinting back to her house, Olivia let out a sigh of relief when she saw that Charlie wasn’t outside anymore. She didn’t really know how to feel, sure she felt as angry as she did four years ago but seeing Charlie in person after so long brought a feeling she didn’t know how to describe. And of course, she wasn’t blind and knew that he looked even better than he did before he left, so that didn’t really help her situation.

Looking back to his house one last time, she caught him in the window, and he gave her a small smile she didn’t return. Instead, she unlocked the front door and slammed it shut. If Charlie thought that she would act as if nothing happened, he was wrong. Not even his smile could erase how betrayed she felt. 

After a long early walk with Peanut the next day, she hoped she wouldn’t have to go out and run into Charlie again. The feeling that he was going to try and approach her the next time they ran into each other gave her goosebumps. Olivia knew that talking things out would make her feel a lot better, but she wasn’t ready to do it. He would want to know why she was so angry and hurt and that meant she would have to tell him she used to be in love with him and how betrayed she felt when he left without apologizing, leaving behind their friendship as if it meant absolutely nothing to him.

With an iced tea in one hand and a book in the other, she made herself comfortable in the hammock her father hanged every summer. Peanut was trying to catch her tail and the only noise Olivia could hear were the birds above her.

She lost track of time and Peanut’s barks brought her back to reality. Crouched in her garden was Charlie, trying to get the black dog to stay put so he could pet her, but she was too excited to see someone and was running around him and barking.

“What are you doing here?” her voice came out hoarse, her body too tense with Charlie just a few feet away.

“I wanted to say hi,” he responded without looking at her and still trying to pet Peanut.

“Peanut come here,” Olivia commanded, and the little dog ran up to her owner, “you need to leave.”

“C’mon, Liv,” Charlie stood up and looked at her with puppy eyes, “I just wanna talk.”

“Olivia,” she corrected him and picked up her dog, “you need to leave now.”

“Why?” he demanded to know once he saw her walking towards the door. She turned around stunned by his audacity.

“You have no right to be here, Charlie,” he raised his eyebrows, taken back at her harsh answer, “you don’t get to call me Liv or come into my house so I’m telling you again. Leave. Now.”

“Just listen to me, please,” Olivia shook her head and went inside, slamming the door behind her.

She was able to take a couple of steps away from the door when she had to kneel, feeling like she was about to pass out, her heart pounding fast in her chest and her lungs barely being able to hold air inside them. Peanut licked her face trying to calm her down, but the tears kept falling down her cheeks.

“Liv, please.” Charlie’s voice sounded worried on the other side of the door. “Let me in.” A whimpering sound came out of her mouth and the next thing she heard was the door being open.

She wished Charlie’s embrace could comfort her and calm her down, but she kept crying into her hands. Her heart too fragile now that Charlie was everywhere, his smell, his touch, and his voice were too much for her.

Charlie picked her up and took her to her bedroom. A strong feeling of nostalgia took over him when he saw the room hadn’t changed much, probably because she also moved out and moved on with her life after he left.

“I’ll get you a glass of water and then I’m gonna leave, I promise.” A scoff was all he received.

“As if you knew how to keep one,” she muttered with bitterness when she heard him leave her room.

He placed a glass of water on her nightstand, “do you want me to call my sister to keep you company?” she shook her head and closed her eyes too tired to keep fighting against him.

“Are you feeling better?” Charlie asked again and wiped a tear from Olivia’s cheek with his thumb. With a small nod, she turned her back to him. “Liv, I really wanna talk.”

“Stop calling me Liv, please.” The mattress shifted when Charlie sat beside her, not wanting to leave yet.

“I’ve never called you Olivia.”

“Charlie.” Her voice sounded raspy and incredibly tired and he couldn’t help but feel guilty for making her feel like that. “I really need you to leave me alone and let me get my shit together. Please.”

“Right,” Charlie stood up quickly and looked around not really knowing what else to say, “I’m sorry, Olivia. I never meant to make you feel like I cornered you or something.”

She didn’t respond, and when she heard the front door closing, she covered her head with a pillow and let out a scream. She hated to feel so powerless, so confused and so hurt. It felt like he just decided to reopen a wound that took too long to close and now it was painfully bleeding again.

It was heartbreaking to see her sobbing on the floor and not being able to calm her, to tell her that he never meant to leave like that.

“Where were you?” his sister questioned when she saw him with guilt all over his face, “Charlie, I told you not to mess with Olivia. What did you do now?”

“I don’t know.” He did though. He knew what did just a few minutes ago and what he did four years ago.

“Is she alright?” the hazel-eyed boy nodded and then shrugged, rubbing his palms over his face, feeling the frustration take over his body.

“I needed to talk to her, but she shot me down the moment she saw me, and then I think she was about to have a panic attack or something. She was better when I left.”

Charlie didn’t remember seeing her like that when they still were friends, Olivia was so determined and optimistic, not as impulsive as he was but always open for a new adventure or a trip with him and his siblings. But then, he started to have feelings for his best friend and decided that it wasn’t worth it to ruin their friendship and buried those feelings by getting a girlfriend just to act as if he wasn’t in love with Olivia. He knew it was mutual but what was the point of dating if he was going to move to Toronto and she was going to stay in New Brunswick.

Leaving her after his birthday four years ago was one of the things he regretted the most. He knew damn well she was afraid of the dark and yet he broke his promise. Charlie tried to put some distance between them so it wouldn’t hurt as much once he moved out, but he ended up messing everything.

“She didn’t even let me call her Liv, Meg.” His sister sat next to him and hugged him.

“We stopped calling her like that after you left,” she explained feeling sorry for him, “I guess it reminded her of you too much since you were the one that gave her the nickname.”

At lunchtime, Charlie made his way to his ex-best friend’s house with a portion of his birthday cake and the Tuna Pasta Salad his mom cooked for lunch. It wasn’t like he was planning to have lunch with her, but if getting her lunch and dessert gave him another shot, he’d even consider getting her breakfast the next morning.

He opened the backdoor just like he just did when they were younger and went straight into the kitchen, hoping she wouldn’t catch him sneaking into her house.

“Fuck it,” he whispered when he didn’t hear noise upstairs. With the food now in a tray, Charlie went upstairs.

Liv was in the same place she was before he left earlier. The Scottie lifted her head when he entered the room but didn’t bark at him and curled up again next to her sleeping owner. Sitting on the edge of the bed, he put the tray down and let out his breath.

“Hey,” his voice broke the silence they were in and Olivia moved in her sleep but didn’t wake up, “I got you food, Liv,” He said again this time a little bit louder.

“What?” she questioned; her mind fuzzy with sleep to understand what was happening.

“My mom made lunch and if I’m not wrong, it was your favorite.” The answer was simple, but why would he even bother to get her lunch if she told him to leave her alone.

“What time is it?” she asked again sitting up in bed rubbing her left eye with her hand.

“Time for you to eat,” the boy pointed to the tray next to her and stood up, “I brought you cake, I thought you’d like it.”

“Thanks?” Charlie let out a soft laugh and left. “Charlie!” She called out and he came back with a hopeful look in his eyes. “I made it,” Olivia pointed at the cake and his cheek started to turn pink in embarrassment.

“You made my birthday cake.”

Olivia shrugged as if it was nothing. “Meg asked me to,” she grabbed the fork and continued, “you know it’s my job, right?”

“What do you mean?” Charlie sat again in the bed taking every chance to keep the conversation going.

“I have a bakery.” She had a fucking bakery, and he didn’t even know. How would he? He never made questions about her, but he thought his family would tell him such a big thing. “Thanks for the food.” And that was his sign for him to leave.

“Thanks for the birthday cake.”

Olivia had her own bakery and made him a birthday cake, it was her job but still, she knew it was for him and made it anyway.  That had to mean something, right?

Charlie was right, it was her favorite meal. She could have graduated from one of the most prestigious cooking schools in Canada but not even her fancy cooking school could beat Jeannette’s salad. She remembered Jeannette telling her that the magic was in her secret ingredient when she was younger and after all this time, she still wasn’t able to figure out what it was.

Her phone vibrated with a new notification and she smiled when she saw a picture of her parents with cocktails in their hands. She hated the fact that she’d have to leave a couple of days before they came back, but she needed to go and pack the few things she still had left in her old apartment back in Vancouver and move all her stuff across the country and into her new apartment.

The doorbell woke up the puppy from her nap and ran towards the door, letting Olivia know someone was outside.

“You would never think those barks belong to such a tiny animal,” Meghan chuckled when she opened the door and Peanut started to jump around her.

“Oh, I know, I get startled sometimes and she’s only eight months old,” she let the girl in not before giving the house across the street a nervous look.

“Char and my brothers went out,” Olivia nodded and thanked her quietly for the information, “I was bored so I thought you’d want to hang out.”

“Oh, sure,” she smiled at Charlie’s sister and felt guilty for all those times she said no whenever Meghan invited her over to hang out like they used to do, “I wanted to go to the farm and pick some fresh berries. I don’t know if you wanna go with me.”

“I don’t know,” Meghan scrunched her nose, and the gesture reminded the older girl of Charlie. If she didn’t grow up with them, she could’ve thought they were twins, “I’ll go only if you make me muffins.”

“That’s unfair,” Olivia said playfully, “I’m gonna change and we can head out.”

“I’m gonna stay right here so I can play with this cute baby,” Meghan cooed the dog and sat on the floor to play with her.

Running back into her room, she changed into some overalls and a top. She wanted to be comfortable on the farm and be able to move around without worrying about her skirt getting caught in the branches.

“I swear you and my brother are the only people I know that love wearing overalls,” Olivia’s cheeks blushed at her words, remembering very well how often Charlie used to come over wearing overalls and no shirt underneath.

“They’re comfy,” she said looking at her outfit with slight embarrassment.

“You look great, Liv.” Her eyes darted back at Meghan and decided not to make a big deal about the nickname.

“Your car or mine?” she questioned, picking up the keys and her bag.

“Yours, I don’t feel like driving.”

When Charlie landed his first role, he would spend a lot of time out of town filming, and eventually, both girls became closer. She could never compare her friendship with Meghan with the one she once had with Charlie because they were inseparable, they spent so much time together she was sure she had her first period when they were playing over at his house and both freaked out because they didn’t know what to do. Later that day he came over to her house with a chocolate bar and a single flower.

“My mom said you’d probably want some chocolate, so I got you your favourite.” She remembered the eleven years old Charlie said with his cheeks burning red.

She sighed at the memory, realizing how even such an important milestone in her life somehow involved the boy that was messing with her head lately.

“So…,” Meghan started once they both were on the road, “Charlie almost threw a tantrum because none told him you had a bakery.”

Olivia chuckled just imagining Charlie pouting with his arms crossed over his chest, “he never asked you guys.”

“It’s not that he didn’t ask about you,” She bit the inside of her cheek getting a little bit uncomfortable with the conversation, “I guess we all decided not to tell him about your life like he didn’t really deserve updates about you.”

“I get it,” stopping the car at a red light, she smiled at the girl sitting next to her, “I’m glad you didn’t have to deal with questions about me because if he wanted to know something, he should’ve asked me himself.”

Not like she’d have answered his calls or texts because she didn’t know if she would have. She thought she might have answered if he had reached out for her, but he never did.

Hanging out with Meghan was like breathing fresh air, both girls laughing and messing around while they picked fresh blueberries, their fingers getting tinted with the fruit’s juice. Snapping the last picture with their blueberries, they went back home.

“Can I post this one?” Meghan asked, showing her the picture where a smiling Olivia was holding a single blueberry in front of the camera while Meghan stuck her tongue out. 

“Sure, I like it. Send me the others so I can post one too,” she commented, looking at the picture quickly before turning her attention back to the road ahead.

Once they got back home, Meghan took place in one of the stools in the kitchen, while Olivia got everything she needed to bake. She was about to start the mixer when her friend got a text and cursed under her breath.

“Everything alright?” she wondered with a raised eyebrow, confused at her friend’s reaction.

“I have to teach a dance class and I completely forgot about it,” with an apology written all over her face, she stood up and gathered her stuff, “I’m sorry, Liv, but I need to go or I’m gonna have a bunch of angry moms complaining about my absence.”

“Yeah, sure. Go don’t worry,” Olivia assured her with a chuckle, “I’ll take these babies to your house once they’re ready.”

“You’re the best. Thank you!” Meghan stated before running back to her own house.

Deciding it was better to put on some music while she baked, she went to connect her phone to the Bluetooth speaker when the back door opened, and Charlie waved at her with a shy expression on his face.

“Meg said you could use some help with the muffins.”

“Uhm…” Olivia frowned her brows slightly, knowing this was Charlie trying to apologize and make things better, “just put on some music,” she handed him the speaker and started the mixer.

She wasn’t sure how she felt with him sitting on the stool his sister was on just a few minutes ago, but the burning anger she felt the first day she saw him was missing. But they were far from being friends again, she told herself.

“How was your hike?” The words left her mouth quietly as an attempt to make small conversation and feel a little less observed by him.

“It was great, we got a bunch of nice pictures,” and there it was, she smiled to herself when she heard the excitement in Charlie’s voice, “we had to come back earlier because Pat’s bike got a flat tire, but it was fun.”

“So, you guys went cycling,” she stated the obvious just to make him talk about his little trip. God, she missed the way Charlie used to tell her about his day and how excited he was about little things, the same excitement he had now as he told her about the perfect spot that he found to take pictures and how he promised to a couple that he would send the cute picture he took of them as soon as he could.

Charlie used to remind her of a puppy, filled with excitement and energy and she let out a chuckle when she realised he was just like he was when they were teenagers.

“Did I miss my own joke?” he questioned, tilting his head with amusement. 

Olivia shrugged, without bothering to look at him, too busy with her task, and said, “you’re just like a puppy, Charlie.”

“You used to tell me that a lot back then,” he pondered biting his lower lip, the energy in the room shifting at the mention of the friendship they used to have.

“I know.”

She didn’t know what else to say because she didn’t know how she felt about their interaction. Or the fact that Charlie was sitting there, just a few feet away from her just like they used to be when they were younger. Him watching and telling her stories while she busied herself with a new recipe.

“I’m glad one of us actually became a chef,” Charlie spoke again, breaking the silence. The girl didn’t respond, she poured the mix into the muffin cups not letting his words disrupt her. Once the tray was in the oven, she turned around and crossed her arms over her chest, feeling the nostalgia wash away and the resentment took its place.

“Some of us stick to what we said, Charles.” The bitterness in her voice made the boy close his eyes, knowing very well the course this conversation was about to take.

“How many times do I have to apologize, Olivia?” She scoffed and shook her head in disbelief.

“You haven't said sorry not even once, Charlie.” Sure he said sorry for getting into her backyard without permission and invading her space the past two days, but he never apologized for the shitty move he did four years ago.

“You don’t even let me talk!” He argued back.

“Oh, come on, Charlie!” Olivia rolled her eyes and pointed a finger at him, “don’t start with that bullshit because you had a whole week to apologize for leaving me on my own when you said you’d walk me home, but you chose to stay quiet and then leave the town without even saying goodbye.”

“Shit, Liv,” he whispered when he saw her eyes welling up with tears, “please don’t cry.”

“Do you even realize how bad I felt when you left without saying goodbye?” she questioned drying her cheeks with the back of her hand, “I saw you get in that car with all your belongings and I waited for you to come and say goodbye, to text me or call me but you just left and now you come here as if nothing happened.”

“Liv, I’m sorry,” he told her, standing up so he could get closer to the girl that was facing him with hurt in her eyes, fighting to hold back the tears from falling. “You need to believe when I tell you I’m fucking sorry for doing that.”

She jerked away from him when he tried to hold her. “Thanks for the apology,” Olivia inhaled deeply, the scent of Charlie’s cologne too intoxicating now that she was trying not to fall apart in front of him.

“If you want me to go, I’ll go,” he mumbled, understanding she probably needed some space.

“I’ll take the muffins to your place once they’re done.”

Charlie stood there, right in front of the girl that once was his partner in crime, but now they were practically strangers to each other and that was all his fault. He wished he could hold Olivia in his arms and tell her over and over again how deeply sorry he was for being such a coward, for leaving her without an explanation. He just wanted to take away all the pain he already caused her and somehow still manage to hurt her again. With a heavy sigh, the boy turned around and headed back to his house.

She sat in one of the stools, trying to calm her heart down and process whatever just happened. Charlie apologized but the annoying feeling that she needed more than just an apology didn’t leave her chest. An explanation would be good, maybe that way she would be able to actually forgive him and understand why he did it because right now, she didn’t really see them being friends again. Not when she was still holding a grudge against him.

Standing outside Charlie’s front door, with a tray full of freshly baked muffins in her hands, Olivia decided to go through the side door. She was met with nothing but silence while she made her way into the kitchen and saw a figure sitting with a guitar near the river through the window. Unlike her house, Charlie’s backyard was next to the river and the woods, where she remembered playing hide and seek with Charlie and Meghan when they were little.

She left the tray on the kitchen counter and headed to where Charlie was sitting. It was weird walking around his house, after all, she avoided the Gillespie family as much as she could when Charlie left and kept their interaction to a minimum, and hadn’t been inside in a long time.

“Hey,” she said softly, taking place next to him, “I brought the muffins.”

“Thanks, Liv,” he gave her a small smile before he continued playing a soft melody on his guitar. 

“I still don’t understand why you did it,” Olivia managed to say after a few minutes of sitting together in complete silence. 

“I didn’t want to, it just happened and then I fucked up things even more by not saying goodbye,” he explained and looked at her, “I thought I could just sneak out with Quinn because your house wasn’t far, I mean we were right here that day, and I wasn’t really thinking.”

“But that doesn’t explain why you didn’t talk to me that week before you left.”

He placed the guitar by his side, turning around to give Olivia his full attention, she looked at him with a mix of sadness and shyness in her brown eyes. 

“When I left with Quinn we were going to her place and hook up, I’m sure you know that, but we didn’t ‘cause I called her Liv right before we did anything,” her cheeks blushed at his confession but unable to believe his words entirely, “that’s why we broke up soon after my birthday, and I was so fucking embarrassed about my feelings…”

“You were embarrassed because you liked me, way to go, Charlie,” she interrupted him slightly offended. 

“I didn’t say that, let me finish,” He demanded getting frustrated with the conversation, “I was embarrassed because I called her your name because I was thinking of you in a moment I shouldn’t have,” he paused unsure of how Olivia was going to react at his next word, “that’s when I realised my feelings for you were a lot stronger than I thought and I got scared because I knew I was leaving.” 

“Charlie,” she told him, confusion laced in her voice “did you even like Quinn?”

“No, not really. I kinda forced myself to be with her ‘cause I didn’t want to ruin our friendship” Charlie answered and then let out a sad laugh, “I guess it didn’t work out as good as I thought.”

“You know I liked you, right?” her voice was barely a whisper and her stomach fluttered when she saw him smile at her and nodded in response, “was I that obvious really?” When Charlie nodded again she covered her face with her hands in pure embarrassment.

“I’m really sorry, Liv,” he apologized again, and she rested her head on his shoulder, “if I could take all that back I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

“I guess I understand now,” Charlie could hear the soft smile even if he wasn’t seeing her face, “don’t get me wrong, it hurt like shit to see how you moved on as if I didn’t exist, but I get that you were scared and we both ended up messing up our friendship.”

“Do you think we’ll ever be able to be friends again?” Olivia turned around, meeting his gaze and sighed. 

“Maybe?” she answered, scrunching her nose unsure of it.

They stayed like that for a while, Charlie’s gaze moving from her eyes to her lips from time to time, debating if he should just go for it or not. It was her that took the initiative and leaned in, pressing their lips together in a kiss that, just like the apology, was long overdue. 

“I’ll take that as a no,” he murmured against her lips before kissing her again, leaving the shyness behind and cupping her face between his hands pulling her closer as if that way they could make up all the time they spent apart.

They both pulled away when they heard his older brother hollering at them from the balcony and Olivia laughed when Charlie flipped him the middle finger. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her forehead.

Of course, they still needed to talk a lot and find a way to work things out now that their feelings were out on display. But she had a good feeling about giving them a new shot, because, after all those years, they still managed to find their way back to each other.

#charlie gillespie imagine #charlie gillespie x oc #charlie gillespie fanfic #charlie gillespie one shot #jatp cast imagine #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie x y/n #luke patterson x reader #jatp imagine

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Pictures- Charlie Gillespie x OC

Charlie Gillespie x Juniper Dalton

Description: Charlie, Juniper, Owen, Jeremy, Madison and Jadah have an interview where some random questions are asked, including one about Charlie’s fascination with taking pictures on set.

Word Count: 1.5k

“I literally just have a whole album of people taking naps on set,” Charlie said, causing the others to laugh. He, Jeremy, Owen, Madison, Jadah and Juniper were in an interview for Julie and the Phantoms. They had been talking about pictures from set that the different cast had posted on social media and Madison mentioned that most of them had been taken by Charlie, especially the ones where they were napping on different sets. 

“Who would you say you have the most pictures of?” The interviewer asked, also laughing with the others. Immediately Owen, Jeremy, Madison and Jadah pointed to Juniper, who flashed a knowing smile then laughed and blushed. She covered her face with her hands in embarrassment, making everyone coo at her. 

“Aw there’s no reason to be embarrassed Juni,” Jeremy laughed, trying to pry her wrist away. Charlie snickered and pushed the boy away before looking at the interviewer. 

“Okay to be fair she’s literally my girlfriend,” he spoke. “We literally spend so much time together it’s hard not to have more pictures of her than anyone else. 

“I also have narcolepsy,” Juniper finally added, dropping her hands. “Like, I just fall asleep at random. I could be at a concert and I’ll just fall and take a little snooze.” Charlie nodded knowingly then looked at her. 

“Yeah I can’t name the amount of times I’ve walked into Julie’s room and you’re just on her bed asleep. It was a daily occurrence.”

“Yeah if we couldn’t find her between takes, she would be in Julie’s bed,” Owen added. 

“Well to be fair, Julie's bed is literally so comfortable,” Jadah defended her friend. 

“Thank you Jadah,” Juniper spoke, giving the guys a pointed look. Owen stuck his tongue out at the girl, making her giggle. 

“Yeah I’ll give you that,” Charlie muttered with a shrug. 

“Sometimes one of us would just go take a nap with her,” Madison informed. The interviewer raised her eyebrows at her then looked at Juniper. 

“Wait really? Who would you say is your favorite person to cuddle with?” She asked curiously. The others looked at Juniper after the question and Charlie leaned close to her. 

“Be careful with your next words June,” he jokingly threatened. She laughed and shoved him away before humming in thought. 

“Um...I’d probably have to say it’s a tie between Charlie and Owen.” Her answer seemed to surprise everyone. 

“Wait seriously?” Owen asked with a small chuckle. 

“Why not me?” Jeremy pouted. 

“Because- okay, first of all, Charlie is literally a human heater. They keep it so cold on set because the lights where we’re filming are so hot so it kinda counteracts it. So even though I’ll be all covered up, it’ll still be freezing. Charlie always provides heat when we cuddle and it’s so nice and cozy.”

“Is that all I am to you? A heater?” Charlie laughed out. Juniper giggled and shrugged.

“Why do you like cuddling with me?” Owen asked curiously. 

“You’re a big cuddle bug,” she explained, confusing him and everyone else. 

“So am I?” Charlie said more as a question. Juniper nodded and took his hand. 

“Yeah, but Owner's just a little bit bigger than you. He’s more comfortable to lay on because he’s more muscular in the chest area.” The others seemed to find her elaboration amusing while Charlie mocked offense. 

“Yeah you hear that Char? I’m going after your girlfriend,” Owen joked, wrapping his arm around Juniper’s shoulders. 

“Wait, what?” Hazel, Owen’s girlfriend, laughed from somewhere behind the cameras. Owen’s eyes widened and he pulled away from Juniper. 

“Uh, nothing!” He called back, looking terrified. Charlie couldn’t help the snort that came from him, which caused everyone else to burst out laughing. 

“Oh man you guys, if we can’t find Owen after today we’ll know what happened,” Jeremy snickered. The boy rolled his eyes at his friend then crossed his arms and looked around behind the camera crew. 

“Hazel babe, I love you,” he called helplessly. There was a ‘mhm’ from there which caused everyone to laugh again. 

“How did we go off tangent like this?” The interviewer asked, looking around. “Like, I have no idea how we got here,” she laughed. The crew didn’t seem to know either, but they weren’t complaining. This is probably the most amusing interview they’d have today. 

“You know, I think that’s enough for now,” she continued, looking at the camera. “Guys if you haven’t already seen it, seen it, go watch Julie and the Phantoms now streaming on Netflix.” She looked from the camera to the cast with a wide smile. 

“Thank you guys so much for coming here today,” she spoke, standing to go down the line to shake their hands. Everyone stood in unison and shook her hand when she got to them, Juniper and Charlie letting go of each other’s hands just long enough to do so. They all said their variations of thanks and goodbyes shortly before the crew yelled ‘cut!’ 

“Alright you guys,” the director spoke, walking towards them. All that’s left is some promo pics for the show and then you’re good to go,” he informed them. They nodded and he led them to a separate stage with a colorful backdrop. 

The shoot didn’t last long, everyone took pictures with everyone. There were candid pictures, silly pictures, random pictures, and one picture that looked like Charlie, Owen and Juniper were cuddling upright. 

Afterwards everyone bid their goodbyes, Charlie led Juniper to his car. They jammed out to all kinds of music back to their shared apartment and once they arrived he practically carried her all the way to the apartment. 

“Aw poor pitiful,” he cooed in a baby voice as he opened the front door. “Is she already tired after one photoshoot and interview?” She rolled her eyes and pushed his head away when he leaned closer to her. 

“Oh shut up I had to get up early. Kenny asked me, Hazel and Allison to come early because our makeup took more time. You know this,” she grumbled as she plopped on the couch. He sat beside her and allowed her to lean her head on his shoulder. 

“I’m well aware considering I’m the one who drove you,” he retorted pointedly. 

“You literally slept on the couch in the studio, you ass,” she laughed. “You got some extra sleep.” He pursed his lips in thought, realizing he was right. 

“Oh whatever,” she finished, rolling her eyes. 

“Aw you know you love me,” he laughed, pulling her almost uncomfortably close to him and squishing her cheek against his. She couldn’t help but laugh at his childish antics and tried to pull away, only for him to pull her closer (which she didn’t realize was possible). 

“Let me go!” She exclaimed between giggles, attempting in vain to push away from her boyfriend. He was relentless though. 

“Not until you tell me that you love me,” he insisted. When she tried to get away from him once again he half tackled her, pinning her waist under his legs as his fingers dug into her sides. She burst out laughing as he continued to tickle her, begging him to stop. 

“Not until you say you love me!” He repeated, not stopping. After struggling for a few minutes she finally gave up. 

“Okay, okay! I love you!” She yelled. Immediately his tickling ceased and he sat back. 

“See? Was that so difficult?” He questioned with a cheeky grin. 

“Yes,” she deadpanned shortly before pushing him off of her and, effectively, off the couch. Charlie fell with a small grunt, making her laugh as she stretched across the couch. He pouted and scooched forward so he was sitting criss cross beside her head. 

“Don’t be so dramatic,” she giggled after taking one look at his face. 

“But you hurt me,” he pointed to his heart. “Right here.” She resisted the urge to roll her eyes and took his hand, entangling their fingers. 

“Well then I’m sorry.” His sad frown was replaced with a smile immediately. 

“So, can I come up there and cuddle with you or should I call Owen?” He teased, not missing her actually rolling her eyes this time. 

“If you don’t then I may give Owen a call,” she responded simply, scooting over to make room for him. He was laying on the couch a second later, getting comfortable. Her scooting over was in vain because he still ended up taking up ¾ of the couch with half her body on top of his. Juniper entangled their legs and laid her head on his chest, her right hand right below it and her left supporting his head despite him using the decorative pillow. 

“So, what’s the plan for the rest of the day?” He inquired. He looked down at her only to see her asleep. His eyebrows shot up in surprise, but he was quick to shrug it off - not physically of course, he would never want to wake her up like that - and get settled into his spot, not far behind her in falling asleep (not without taking another picture or two first). Though she said that it was a tie, Juniper’s favorite person to cuddle with would always be Charlie. 

#julie and the phantoms #julie and the phantoms imagine #charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie x oc #charlie gillespie imagine #charlie gillespie fanfiction

[idontgiveaflyinggrayson69]

Don’t Let Me Go

Author: Nat / @idontgiveaflyinggrayson69​

Tagging: @thirteenisles​ @mcmo-anon​ @crybabyddl​ @lena306 @mo-d3ans​ @comphybiscuit​ @lmao-i-only-know-hockey​ @jamiedrysdales​ @parkeret​ @kcd15​ @wayward-leigh​ @caitsymichelle13​ @bumbleberry-pie​ @fangirlangioma​ @ssprayberrythings​ @miranda0102​

Summary: April was an Olympic figure skater with multiple gold medals under her belt when she sustained a career ending injury. Running from who she was, April moved to New Brunswick where she runs into Charlie and begins to put the pieces together and learns that skating doesn’t have to be everything.

Word Count: 25k+

Warnings: Alcohol. Angst. Major character injury (prior to story). JatP spoilers.

Comments: I really hope all of you like it! I had a lot of fun writing it!! xx

do not repost, do not claim as your own

“Shit! Fuck!” The stranger cursed as soon as he ran into her, spilling his drink across her shirt. “I am so, sosorry.”

April took a sharp breath through her nose. It was just another thing on the long list of things that had gone wrong in her life recently. Just another moment of bad luck that had her wondering what she could have done in a past life to have deserve all of it.  

“Just forget about it,” she told him, plastering a smile onto her face as she turned away from him, her shirt stuck to her skin. She was just glad she had chosen a black shirt to go out in so that nothing stained. But, now she smelt like beer and that was not something she enjoyed.

“No, I’m sorry, really. Let me buy you a drink to make up for it,” he said, giving her a smile. April didn’t like to make habits of accepting drinks from men, but she had gone up to the bar for a drink and he did spill one on her, and there was something soft in his smile and voice that had her agreeing.

“Okay,” April nodded. “A gin and tonic please.”

He smiled and bit his lip, nodding. “Fancy drink for the fancy lady,” he chuckled before extending his hand to her. “I’m Charlie by the way. And I don’t normally spill my drink on people.”

“April,” she said, shaking his hand. “And it’s fine, really. It’s just a shirt.” She said with a laugh.

“Beautiful name for a beautiful girl,” he told her with a smile before putting his half empty glass on the bar top and flagging the bartender down to order her drink. “So, are you from around here or?” He asked as they waited for her drink. New Brunswick wasn’t high on anyone’s travel list, but she didn’t have the accent that Charlie knew from growing up here.

April shook her head, “I moved here a few months ago.”

“From where? If you don’t mind me asking,” he asked, leaning to rest against the bar.

“Vancouver,” she said shortly, pulling her eyes away from his. She didn’t want to elaborate on where she came from or why, and luckily, her drink was placed in front of her, so she didn’t have to. April thanked the bartender who nodded before moving on to get the next drink.

“And you traded all that in for this?” He asked with a laugh. Newfoundland he got, Nova Scotia too, maybe even PEI, but New Brunswick? He couldn’t understand why someone would pack up and move here.

“It’s quiet,” she told him, glancing across the bar. “Soothing.”

“Right…” he whispered. Those weren’t words that he would have used to describe it, and it only made him more interested in her. Charlie’s lips twitched up as he looked at her, red mess of curls resting on her shoulders and the blue eyes that looked too cold for someone so young. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was that drew him in, but he wanted to know more about her.

“What about you?” She asked, looking back at him with a smile that was much warmer than her eyes. “What’s your story?”

Charlie laughed, “not much of a story, I grew up here.”

“No interesting talents then?” She asked, taking a sip of her drink. Everyone had a story, she found. It was just how much of it they wanted to reveal. She wasn’t one to talk, far too used to shoving her skeletons back into the closet. But Charlie interested her.

He bit his lip, debating how much to tell her. “I can play the guitar pretty good. Sing a little.”

“Yeah?” She asked, doing her best to hide a grimace as shifted on her feet, trying to take some weight off her left foot. She had been standing for a lot longer than she anticipated when she went to get a drink. “Well, then you’re going to have to play for me one day, aren’t you?” She should have known better than to put heels on, but being 5 feet and nothing more, she didn’t want to go to the bar flat footed.

“I think we could arrange that,” he said with a laugh. “Would this arrangement come with your number?”

“It would,” she told him, giving him a smile. April had to admit that Charlie had an amazing smile and there was something so comforting in his eyes that had her feeling warm in a way she hadn’t felt in a long time. And she had moved out to New Brunswick to start over and she hadn’t been doing much of that in the months since she moved. Charlie seemed like a good place to start.

Charlie was a bit surprised that he could snag the number of the girl he dumped his drink on, but he pulled his phone out and unlocked it before handing it to her. She typed in her name and number before handing it back to him. “Cool,” he said, looking down at the name and number before he tucked his phone away. “I’ll text you.”

As they talked, April nursed her drink until it was done, putting the empty glass on the bar counter. “Well,” she said, a smile playing on her lips. “Thanks for both drinks, Charlie.” He laughed and apologized once again for spilling his drink on he, but she just shrugged him off. “But it is getting late, so I think it’s time for me to head home.”

“Oh, right, yeah, of course,” he said, trying his best to cover up his disappointment.

“I hope to hear from you soon?” She asked, shifting her weight.

Charlie nodded, “yeah, you will.”

April nodded back and held his gaze for just another second before turning and walking through the bar towards the exit. The night was cool despite being August as April took a seat on a bench down the road from the bar, needing a few minutes off her feet. She pulled her right boot off before gently working the left one off, her fingers rubbing at her knee.

No matter how much she tried to ignore it, it always came back to this.

April took an annoyed breath before picking up both her shoes and started walking back to her apartment in her socks.

--

April only checked her phone after breakfast the next morning.

Since moving out to New Brunswick, April found herself avoiding her phone more and more, choosing instead to focus on herself and the new landscape she found herself in. She only really checked her phone to answer any messages from her mom or her best friend, Kat. This morning, however, there was a message from a number not in her contacts.

Hey, it’s Charlie! We met last night at the bar?

April smiled as she took her phone to the couch, adding the number to her contacts as she thought about what to say. She would be lying if she said she didn’t go to bed wondering if she was going to hear from him again. With her schedule in Vancouver, she never had anyone show any kind of interest in her, never had the time for someone. But everything was different in New Brunswick.

She debated her words for a few moments before sending, What’s up, Charlie from the bar?

Not much, playing some guitar. You?He sent back not too long later.

Just relaxing, April sent back after thinking about it for a moment.

Any plans today?He asked.

No, not really, she replied, hating how awkward it could be to text someone you don’t know very well.

There was a few minutes lull between April sending the text and Charlie’s answer. What are you having for lunch?

Whatever leftovers I find in the fridge. But I was thinking maybe seafood for dinner, she replied.

Seafood?Was the lone word answer she got.

Mhm, it’s my favourite, she sent back.

No way, mine too!He sent back, as if it wasn’t obvious. Unless you had some sort of allergy, it was hard to find someone on the East coast that didn’t love seafood. And just like that, Charlie and April fell into a rhythm as they texted.

It was well into the evening when he asked her, would you maybe like to grab dinner sometime?

April bit her lip as she read then reread the text, forcing herself to wait a few moments before replying, I think I could fit that in.

She didn’t know it, but on the other side of town, Charlie was laying in his bed with a smile, not really sure how he got the mystery girl to agree to dinner with him.Cool, what day/time works best for you?

Any day after six would work for me :)April replied like she had other plans, like she wasn’t spending her days lounging on the couch or walking through the park or shops or sitting by the water. But he didn’t need to know what.

Tuesday at 7? He asked.

It was Sunday, so it would give her time to mentally prepare herself for a date, but also have it not be too far away. Sounds perfect, she texted back, biting her lip to contain her smile.

April and Charlie spent the rest of Sunday texting, only saying goodbye late into the night. And then they texted all day Monday and Tuesday. He told her what it was like growing up in New Brunswick and they debated their favourite movies and TV shows and they found that they had a lot more in common than they thought they would.

By the time Tuesday evening rolled around and she started getting ready for her date with him, April didn’t feel nervous. It didn’t feel like a first date, it felt like she had known Charlie for a lot longer than just a handful of days, and she couldn’t wait to spend some real time with him and see that smile again.

She got dressed in a nice pair of jeans and paired it with a knit sweater that would keep her warm in the cool Maritime air that often accompanied the evenings out there. Not wanting a repeat at the bar, she chose a comfortable pair of vans over the heels she would have liked to pair with her outfit.

She was just fixing up her hair when he knocked on her door. April gave herself a final glance in the mirror, her heart fluttering just a bit before she made her way to the entry to open the door. Charlie smiled as soon as the door opened, his eyed dipping down her body. “Wow, you look beautiful.”

April did her best not to blush. “Thanks, you look really nice, too.” And he did. Charlie matched a pair of jeans with a white t-shirt and a blue jacket and tied his long messy hair back into a bun with a few pieces framing his face.

“Thank you,” Charlie whispered, ducking his head a bit. April kept her eyes on him for another moment before she grabbed her purse and keys off the kitchen counter and stepped out the door, locking it behind her.

“I don’t see a guitar,” she noted as they walked down to the street.

Charlie laughed and rubbed at the back of his neck, “I don’t think restaurant owners would be really happy if I started playing in the middle of their dining room.”

April hummed and they fell into step along the sidewalk. “Where are we going?” She asked after a few moments.

“I was thinking about what you said, how you like seafood, so I thought I would take you to a really good local spot,” he explained, turning to look at her, a proud smile playing on his lips.

She smiled back at him, “then lead the way.”

He nodded and continued to guide her through the streets of the town. Every now and then their hands would brush as they walked, and with every brush April was itching to feel how her hand would fit inside of his, but she didn’t want to be the one that took that leap. Luckily, she didn’t have to as Charlie slipped his hand into hers, interlacing their fingers as he glanced over at her with a small smile. April smiled back and focused on the comforting feel of his hand against hers and how perfectly her hand fit within his.

It wasn’t too much longer that Charlie brought her to a small restaurant with a patio of a couple tables. “This is it,” he announced with a smile.  

“Okay,” she smiled, nodding for him to go first.

“I was kinda thinking we would eat outside, what do you think? It is a wonderful evening out…” He said, his eyes sparkling. There was no way she could argue with him when he was giving her those eyes, so she nodded.

And April was rewarded with a smile as he led her to one of the tables on the patio, going so far as to pull her chair out for her and tuck her in before taking a seat across from her. A waiter was out not long after to give them menus and get their drinks started.

“A water would be lovely, please,” April ordered and Charlie got the same. She looked over the menu for a few moments before she lowered it and looked across at Charlie. “So, tell me what’s good.”

Charlie chuckled, “honestly, you can’t go wrong, everything is just so good. But the seafood pasta is really good, so is the fish and chips and the fish tacos, and they have catch of the day, which is usually pretty good.”

“And what are you having?” She asked.

“I was thinking catch of day, depending on what it is. My backup is the haddock tacos,” he said with a small shrug that had her giggling. She barely knew him, but it felt so easy being with him.

“Well, then maybe I’ll have catch of the day, too,” she said, closing her menu and leaning onto her elbows. Charlie mimicked her actions and was just about to say something when the waiter came back with their drinks. The catch of the day was herring and they both decided to order it. The waiter took their menus and the two of them were left alone as they waited for their meal.

A moment of silence passed and April took a sip of her water. “So,” she said. “What else is interesting about you, you know, besides the guitar thing.”

Charlie laughed, “I can play more instruments than the guitar actually.”

“Yeah?” She asked, urging him to continue.

“Yeah, bass, violin, tuba, you know, nothing overly interesting,” he said like it wasn’t incredible he could do that. It was another thing she liked about him, he was down to earth.

“That’s amazing,” she said. “You’re really going to have to play some of these for me.”

His expression soften to a small smile and he nodded, “next time.”

“I’m going to hold you to that,” she said laying her arm across the table. It didn’t go unmissed by Charlie who gently covered it with his own.

“But enough about me. I want to know what made such a beautiful girl leave Vancouver for this place.” He said, his eyes searching hers. It was a question that she had been subtly dodging while they were texting, but she couldn’t dodge it anymore.

“I just didn’t fit in there anymore. I needed a change, something smaller, quieter. Somewhere to start over,” she explained.

Charlie’s lips twitched up into a lopsided smile. “I think most people end up leaving the small towns for the big cities, not the other way around.”

April shrugged, “I’m not most people.”

He was supposed to laugh, but instead he just smiled, his eyes crinkling a bit as he looked at her. “No, you most certainly aren’t.” It had only been a few days, but Charlie felt drawn to her in a way he hadn’t felt drawn to anyone.

They continued talking (and laughing) until the waiter came back with their dinner. And like Charlie had said, it was amazing. They continued to talk through dinner, and after dinner. April fought for the bill, but Charlie snatched it before she could, pulling it to his chest with an offended look that she would even think he would let her pay, while he waited for the machine.

“Thank you for dinner, it was really nice,” she said as they walked through the streets back to her apartment, their hands once again interlaced.

“Thank you for agreeing to dinner,” Charlie laughed.

“As if I wouldn’t accept a dinner invitation from a cute guy,” she laughed.

“I did spill my drink on you,” he pointed out, making her laugh.

“That’s true. But I believe I was promised some singing and guitar at the bar that I still haven’t gotten yet,” she said as they approached her apartment.

“Like I said, next time,” Charlie told her, his hand slipping from hers as she rested against her front door.

April titled her chin up to look at him, “and when will this next time be?”

“Whenever you want it to be, I have some down time right now before things get a little hectic,” he told her with a smile.

“So maybe sometime later this week?” She asked.

Charlie nodded, “sounds great to me.” They stood there for another few moments, April waiting to see if he made a move. When he didn’t, she pulled the keys out of her purse and unlocked the door. “I’ll text you,” Charlie said, taking half a step back.

“I look forwards to it,” April replied with a smile before slipping inside and closing the door behind her. Charlie looked at the closed door for another moment before he finally pulled himself away and started back home.

April kicked her shoes off and tossed her purse and keys onto the counter before flopping down on the couch with a content sigh as she thought about how dreamy his eyes and smile were.

Maybe moving out to New Brunswick was a good thing.

--

Charlie invited April over Friday night with the promise of finally playing the guitar for her.  

He greeted her at the door in a pair of jeans and a blue Henley. Unlike when they went out for dinner, his mop of hair rested against his shoulder in the messy waves. His eyes shined when he saw her and he happily welcomed her in, giving her a not so complete tour as he brough her to his room that was cluttered with too many instruments to really comfortably fit either of them.

“Wow,” she breathed looking around at the rack of guitars and the violin on the desk. The lines of polaroids along the desk also didn’t go unmissed by April as she glanced at the group of kids in them before sitting down on the edge of his bed. “You’re quite a musician, aren’t you?”

Charlie took a seat in his desk chair with a shrug, “I try to be. It works out every now and then. And if all else fails, I’ll always have the Backstreet Boys.” His comment made April laugh and he knew he would do anything to hear that sound again. The two of them fell into a comfortable silence as she waited for him to play.

“Okay, so, here’s the thing,” he said, picking up his acoustic guitar and sitting down in his desk chair. “I’m actually in—going to be in?” He paused, furrowing his brows as he tried to figure out the right wording. “I’m in a Netflix show that’s coming out in a few weeks.”

“Oh?”April said, from her spot on the bed, her tilting her chin down with the new information.

Charlie ducked his head a bit, “I play the lead guitarist in the band Julie and the Phantoms.”

“So, you’re like really good, huh?” April asked, sizing him up.

Charlie laughed. “I like to think so.” He paused for a moment before continuing, “so I was trying to figure out what song I should play for you and I came up with two. My safety net song, or the song that I actually want to play for you.”

April’s smile softened and she leaned forwards to give his thigh a little squeeze. “Play the song you want, I’m sure it’s going to be great.”

Charlie’s own smile softened and he nodded, his eyes dropping down to her hand before she slowly pulled it back. “This song is from Julie and the Phantoms and it was the favourite one from the show because of how much it meant to my character and because it was the most delicate song I had to sing.”

April leaned back onto her hands as she watched him, waiting for him to play. Charlie bit his lip and held April’s gaze for another moment before he pulled his eyes away to look down at the neck of his guitar. He started to strum it soft before looking back up at her as he started to sing. “First things first, we start the scene in reverse…”

April was surprised at how good Charlie really was. His fingers moved expertly across the neck of the guitar and his voice flowed so smoothly it made her warm and fuzzy inside. She could hear the emotion he poured into the song and how much it meant to him. It was easy for her to get swept up into the music.

April found herself smiling as she listened to him. For the most part, he looked at her as he sung, his eyes only dipping down to the guitar every now and then. Listening to the song, April could picture exactly how she would move on the ice if she were to use it. And just like that, the icy hand of grief crawled up her back, her smile faltering just for a second before she forced it down and let herself continue to enjoy the song.  

“You’re really good,” she whispered after he strummed the last chord. “And that’s a beautiful song. Your voice is…” She shook her head trying to find the right word. “Soothing,” she settled on. “It’s smooth and calming and warm.” She shook her head with a laugh at how ridiculous she sounded, but Charlie still blushed.

“Thank you, it means a lot.” He said before leaning his guitar back against his desk.

“Are you going to tell me who this Emily is?” April asked, her eyes shining.

Charlie laughed and shook his head, standing up from his desk chair, but only to sit down next to her. “You can find out on September 10thlike everyone else.”

April scrunched her nose up, “you’re no fun.”

Charlie feigned offense, “excuse you, I am the definition of fun.”

“Oh, yeah? The prove it,” April challenged, leaning into him a bit.

There was a moment of hesitation, Charlie’s eyes dipping down to her lips for just a second before he pulled back and stood, grabbing a hat off a hook and putting it on backwards before extending his hand to her. “Fine. Get up, we’re going to have fun.”

April laughed but took Charlie’s hand, letting him pull her to her feet. He kept his hand in hers as he guided them back through the house towards the front door, only letting go of her hand to put on his shoes and open the door for her. But, as soon as they were outside, he slipped his hand back into hers, starting them down the road.

“Where are you taking me?” She laughed.

“It’s a surprised, you know, because I’m fun!” Charlie told her. A moment later he asked, “you’re not like, lactose intolerant or anything, are you?”

April made a face, unsure of where that question came from, but shook her head. “No, I am not lactose intolerant or anything?” She said, but it sounded more like a question.

“Good,” he said, trying and failing at not smiling.

He took her for ice cream, making her laugh that amazing laugh as he licked the ice cream running down his cone and getting some on his nose. It was more sweet than fun, but she certainly enjoyed herself.

And after he walked her home after what felt like not enough time together, she curled up in bed with a smile, the sound of Charlie singing Unsaid Emily playing on a loop in her head.

She glanced over at her phone on the bedside table before stretching across her bed to grab her phone and see if she could learn anything about this Julie and the Phantoms Charlie was talking about.

She clicked on the trailer and turned her phone to the side to watch. Her eyebrows jumped as she realized just how different Charlie looked in the show compared to now. Honestly, April was expecting another mediocre Netflix show that she was probably going to have to sit through and then talk about how great it was. But, the trailer looked good and the concept seemed really interesting. Her lips twitched up into a smile at how cute Charlie was, and she found herself really smiling as the trailer went on.

The video came to an end and she slowly locked her phone, her reflection looking back at her in the black screen with shame. It wasn’t fair that she was there in her bed watching a video of Charlie on YouTube when dozens of her own existed on there, dozens that he didn’t know about.

The smile died on her lips and she put her phone back onto her side table instead of texting Charlie before getting up to busy herself with making dinner.

--

Charlie had gotten used to the air of mystery that came with April. She was an iceberg to him. there to touch, but so much more he didn’t know. He respected it. Everyone had demons in their rea rview mirror and it wasn’t his place to ask her to bear every sin of her past to him. what mattered was him and her in the present.

Friday afternoon, Charlie asked April to go mini golfing, and she happily accepted. She loved anything that was competitive, and she loved spending time with Charlie.

He showed up a little earlier than his 3 o’clock estimate, so April was still getting ready when he knocked on the door. She let him in with a smile and told him she would just need a few minutes and that he was welcome to make himself at home.

Charlie smiled and took a seat on the couch while he waited, glancing up when April came out of her room and cross into the bathroom. “By the way, there’s a little bit of a chill to the air today so you might want a jacket, the course is outside.”

“Oh, thanks,” she said, doing her make up. “Can you go into my closet and grab me a jacket? There should be one like right when you open the door. It’s black and it doesn’t have a hood.”

“Uh, yeah?” Charlie answered, getting up and going into her room. He hesitantly opened the closet and started glanced around. She had shoes along the bottom and her clothes and jackets were neatly hung.

And then his eyes landed on a framed medal tucked up on the top shelf of the closet. Half covered by another box that wasn’t labeled, he couldn’t tell what the medal was for, just that it had to be important enough to frame. He was just about to reach for it, his curiosity getting the best of him, when April stuck her head into the room.

Charlie quickly pulled his eyes back down to her clothes and grabbed the jacket that she told him to get off the hanger and close the closet door. He hated that he wanted to snoop, that he was that close to invading her privacy. But now he was curious. Was it her medal? Someone else’s? What was it for? Why was it in the back of her closet and not on display?

He gave the closet door another glance before handing April the jacket and following her out of her room. “Thanks,” she whispered as she slipped the jacket on, walking to the entry to slip her shoes on, Charlie not far behind her.

For a brief moment, he was reminded of Luke and Julie’s dream box. He wanted to know what that medal was. But he knew it was off limits, he knew that it was none of his business. So, he shook his head and tried his best to forget it, a smile forming on his face as he took in how beautiful April really was, his hand falling to her lower back as he led her down to his car.

He didn’t mention what he saw on the way to the minigolf course. Instead, he turned up the radio and the two of them sung along and danced to the music, both of them smiling and laughing.

And maybe mini golfing wasn’t the best idea… Not that Charlie knew it, but April had quite the competitive streak in her. It had been a long time since she went mini golfing, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t going to give it her all. April didn’t do second place. And in this case, second meant last, and she most certainly didn’t do last place.

And that became very apparent after the first couple of holes in which April spent more than a few moments looking at angles and finding the best possible way to get the ball into the hole. And it didn’t take her more than three strokes to do so, leaving Charlie to make a grumpy face April could only describe as looking like an upset puppy.

“Alright, you could like try to go easy on me, you know.” Charlie said after April beat him at another hole. April just flashed him a smile before bending down to grab her ball with a slight wince with all the repetitive bending.

“Where’s the fun in that?” She replied with a laugh, stepping off the course so he could go. It took him another few strokes before he was able to sink his ball. He did a small arm pump of victory like he wasn’t losing the game by a lot, because in his mind, by just being with April, he was winning.

They fell into step as they walked to the next hole. Like the previous ones, Charlie let April go first and she took her time lining everything up and guessing how much force she needed to hit the ball with. She got her ball pretty close to the hole, so she happily stepped aside for Charlie, who just put his ball down, pushing it into place with his foot before he got ready to hit it and hope for the best.

“So, I looked into Julie and the Phantoms,” April said after a moment. Charlie’s eyebrows raised and he glanced back at her for a moment before he hit his golf ball which ricochet off the wall and went behind another obstacle on the course.

“Yeah?” He asked. “What did you think?” He was really excited for the show to drop. He had such a fun time filming it and he loved his castmates and the story and he couldn’t wait to share it with the world. And he was quickly falling for the red head in front of him and he really hoped that she liked it.

“I think Luke’s pretty cute,” she said with a small laugh. Charlie laughed too and he closed the small space between them from when she stepped back to let him take his turn.

“Seriously though, what did you think?” He asked, his voice softening.

April’s smile softened, “I think it looked really good and I’m excited to see it. And listen to the soundtrack that I already know is going to be amazing from that one song you played for me.”

“Yeah?” He asked, hoping she wasn’t lying.

April stepped closer to him, gently letting her putter fall to the ground so she could loop her arms around Charlie’s shoulders. He let his hands softly hold her hips as he looked at her. She nodded, “yeah. I think the ghost band premise is really interesting and I’m excited to see you in it.”

Charlie smiled, debating whether or not he should kiss her before April was pulling back, her hand lightly running down his chest before she stepped back and grabbed her putter off the ground, doing her best not to wince. Charlie didn’t notice. She gave him a smile before moving down the course to try to sink her ball on stroke two.

She missed. She gave Charlie a lopsided smile as she stepped to the side so he could go. “So,” she said as she watched him line everything up. “This is like our third date, right?”

Charlie hit his ball, not bothering to see where it ended up before turning to look at her with a smile, leaning back on his putter. “Yeah, something like that.”

April knew she was blushing as she forced herself to ask the words she was dying to ask. “So, what does that make us?”

Charlie titled his chin up as he stepped towards her, closing some of the distance that separated them. “What do you want us to be?” He asked, his voice dropping a bit lower.

“What do youwant us to be?” She countered.

Charlie took a deep breath through his nose before giving her a lopsided smile. “Well, I was kinda hoping you would be my girlfriend.”

He could see some of the tension leave her shoulders and he let his smile widen. “I would really like that,” she replied, stepping closer to him. Charlie bit his lip as he tried to contain his smile which only grew as April wrapped her arms around him in a hug.

Charlie closed his eyes as he wrapped his arms around her, loving the way she fit against him and the scent of vanilla that clung to her hair. He pressed a kiss to the side of her head before he knew he was doing it and when she pulled back from the hug, they both had slight blushes to their cheeks.

He glanced back at the course to find where his ball ended up, seeing that he knocked hers further away from the hole and he laughed before glancing back at her. “But, you gotta know that Owen and I are basically dating, so you might have to fight him for my attention.”

April laughed, “I will if I have to.”

Charlie laughed and April helped his gaze for another moment before lining up her shot, choosing to knock Charlie’s ball further away instead of sink her own. The laughter died on Charlie’s tongue and he looked at her, betrayed, which only made April laugh as she stepped away.

“You’re so on, cupcake,” he told her, deciding it was no longer a cutesy little mini golf date. It was war.

“Cupcake?”April asked, still laughing.

“Yeah. You’re adorable and small. A cupcake.” He explained before taking his shot. Which, by some miracle, bounced off the wall and went in. “Ha!”He said, turning to face her. It was the first time he beat her in the game.

April shook her head at him, but she still found him cute. Charlie grabbed his ball and stepped back to let April finish. But before she stepped into the course, she went up onto her tippy toes and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

She ended up beating him by a country mile and the only thing Charlie could do about it was smile.

They returned the balls and putters and Charlie was going to toss the score sheet when April snatched it from him, telling him she wanted it to remember today by. He smiled and handed it over, even if he thought she only wanted to keep it so she could remember the time she handed his ass to him at mini golf.

Charlie held her hand over the centre console as he drove her home. They were both smiling and laughing as they sung along to the radio, even if Charlie did shush her when Harry Styles came on so he could listen to it uninterrupted which only made April laugh more.

When they pulled up in front of her apartment building, Charlie insisted on walking her to her door and as soon as he came around to her side of the car, he slipped his hand into hers and they walked up to her apartment together. Neither of them spoke as they walked, both of them just enjoying each other’s presence and the warm feeling of their entwined hands.

They came to a stop in front of her door, Charlie not yet ready to let go of her and April not ready to for their time together to end.

“So,” he breathed, looking at her with a soft smile.

“So…” she echoed, the corners of her lips twitching up. Charlie glanced down at their hands together, his thumb brushing the back of her hand before he brought his eyes up to her lips and then finally her eyes. God, he wanted to kiss her.

He took another step closer and April titled her head up, her tongue darting out to wet her lips as she looked at him. “I had a lot of fun tonight,” he told her.

“Yeah, me too,” she said, her eyes dropping from his to his lips. He opened his mouth to say something more, but April cut him off. “Charlie, just kiss me.”

His lips twitched up but he didn’t need to be told twice. He gently pulled his hand from hers and cupped her cheek, titling her head before he closed the distance in a soft kiss, her hands moving to hold his waist as her eyes closed. Charlie smiled into the kiss and pulled back and April chased his lips for just a moment, going up onto her tippytoes before she pulled back.

“Do you think we should do that again?” He whispered and she pushed herself back onto her tippytoes, looping her arms around his neck and kissed him. Charlie wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush against him. This time it was April who broke the kiss, pulling back with a smile before she bit her lip.

“I’ll text you,” he said after neither of them made another move. April took a breath and nodded, stepping out of his arms and fishing her keys out of her pocket.

“Have a goodnight, Charlie,” she told him after she unlocked her door.

“Yeah, you, too,” he said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. She held his gaze for another moment before she slipped inside and closed the door behind her. Charlie rocked back on his feet as he smiled, doing a small arm pump of victory before walking back towards his car with a skip to his step, which his sister definitely noticed when he came through the front door, but he blew her off to go call Owen.

--

Anxious to share his show with April, Charlie invited her over on the 10thto watch Julie and the Phantoms with him and his family. Having never met anyone’s family before, April was nervous. But she wanted to be there for Charlie, so she stuffed those nervous down and plastered a smile onto her face. And Charlie reassured her that they were going to love her.

She showed up at his place at the time he asked her too. She hesitated for a moment, taking a deep breath to try to settle her nerves before she brought her hand up to the door and knocked. It was just a moment later that Charlie opened the door with a big smile. And April could hear the chatter inside the house come to a screeching halt.

“Hey,” Charlie said, instantly stepping aside so April could come in. “Come on,” he nodded his head in and April took a shaky step into the home, Charlie’s hand finding her lower back as soon as he closed the door behind her.

“Everyone, this is April,” Charlie said, bringing her into the kitchen.

“Hi,” she said, doing an awkward little wave.

It was his mom who greeted her first, coming around the kitchen island to meet her. April extended her hand to her, but Jeanette pulled her into a hug instead, catching April off guard. “Oh, hello,” April said, surprised.

Jeanette gave her another squeeze before pulling back, “sorry, I’m just so excited to finally meet the woman Charlie won’t shut up about!” Jeanette looked over April’s shoulder at her son, “she’s prettier than you described.”

April blushed hard at her words and stepped back into Charlie, who wrapped his arm around her shoulders before kissing the top of her head, which only made her blush more. “I believe I said she was the most gorgeous girl I ever met, so I think maybe it had more to do with you picturing her than me describing her,” Charlie said, and April wrapped her arm around his waist, leaning into him more.

“Maybe that’s because we couldn’t believe that you could actually land someone half as pretty as April,” Meghan said.

Charlie’s smile died as he looked at his sister with betrayal before he took a deep breath and looked down at his girlfriend. “And that would be my sister, Meghan.”

“Nice to meet you,” April said with a smile, stepping towards Meghan and extending her hand to her, which Meghan took, wishing she could figure out who the woman April reminded her of. As soon as Meghan saw April, a sense of familiarity pulled in her stomach, but she couldn’t place who April reminded her of. The name was just on the tip of her tongue.

“I have no idea why you put up with that doofus,” Meghan laughed.

April shrugged, biting her lip to try to suppress a smile as she looked back at Charlie who was looking at her with what his mom would later describe as ‘heart eyes.’ “Because he’s kinda cute,” April said, looking back at Meghan.

Meghan rolled her eyes, but the corners of her lips twitched up into a smile, happy that her brother had found someone.

“Okay,” Charlie said, pressing his hand to April’s lower back. “Shall we watch this sucker?”

Everyone nodded and turned their attention towards the living room where April noticed that the show was already pulled up on Netflix just waiting for someone to press play. Charlie’s family settled onto the couch and April was tense as she took a seat beside Charlie, but she relaxed at his touch as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She gave him a smile that he reciprocated before pressing play. The Netflix logo filled the screen followed by the words ‘Hollywood 1995’ and soon Charlie and his band filled the screen as he sung.

April smiled as she watched, her hand immediately going to pat his thigh with pride as she watched him on the screen. “You look really good, sound really good,” she whispered to him after the song came to an end and a faint blush may have been seen on Charlie’s cheeks, but no one said anything. His sister even gave him a proud shove to show her support, and he happily shoved her back.

It was only when Julie came on the screen at April leaned over to her boyfriend to ask, maybe a little too loudly, “wait, did you seriously die by hotdog?” The room burst out in laughter and Charlie nodded.

“And your tainted hotdog could be just around the corner,” he said with a wink knowing that no one in the room would get his reference until later. April rolled her eyes, but turned her attention back towards the screen.

April’s eyes widened when Charlie—Luke—peeled his shirt off, not being able to stop herself from licking her lips. And Meghan burst out laughing after seeing April’s reaction, which only had her sliding down in her seat with a hard blush.

The group of them relaxed into the show, letting the episodes roll through. And Charlie did his best to not pause it every three seconds to point out some cool fact about filming or hidden meaning in something. It was after the fifth pause that April finally snatched the remote from him with a “Charlie, I care for you, I really do, but if you don’t shut up and let me enjoy this, I will leave you” which had everyone laughing as Charlie scrunched his nose up at her. He opened his mouth to fight her, but April pressed her finger to his lips with a “shush.”

“Oh my god,” April whispered with a smile when Luke stepped through the mirror and ‘Perfect Harmony’ started to play. She had her hand clamped over her mouth as she watched, and Charlie pulled his eyes away from the screen to look at her.

The way he moved with Julie tugged at April’s heartstrings and the song was just so heartbreakingly beautiful. And then Julie spun into Nick’s arms. “Wait,” April said, looking at Charlie. “Was he not really there?”

Charlie shook his head, “no, she was just imagining it.”

April took a deep breath and laid her head back which had Charlie laugh. “But, fun fact, Madison and I co-wrote that song,” he said proudly.

“Seriously?” April asked, raising an eyebrow. Charlie bit his lip and nodded, but before he could reply, Meghan shushed them.

Everyone except Charlie cried during ‘Unsaid Emily’ to the point where he had to pause the show to grab a tissue box and apologize profusely for the emotional damages he caused.  

“You played me that song! Thatsong!” April said, shoving him before wiping her eyes and hoping her make up wasn’t ruined. “Here I was thinking it was some sort of break up song and it’s that. You’re cruel.”

“You played ‘Unsaid Emily’ for your girlfriend? What’s wrong with you?” Meghan asked and Charlie rolled his eyes, trying and failing to defend himself.

April tried her best to not cry during the last episode, but she still had to wipe away a few tears with the end of her sleeve. And Charlie totally noticed, doing his best to hide a snicker and that had her gabbing him in the ribs.

“SHE CAN TOUCH HIM?!” April said, maybe a little too loudly, causing her to quickly cover her mouth with her hand before she continued, quieter. “How?” Charlie shrugged and continued to deflect everyone’s questions about the ending, claiming he, too, had no idea what it meant and what would happen if they got renewed for season two.

“I’m really proud of you, Charlie,” his mom said. “It was amazing.” His sister agreed.

And April leaned in to kiss his cheek. “It was really good. You should be proud of yourself.”

Charlie ducked his head under the praised and thanked all of them. His mom gave him a pat on the shoulder before getting up and going to the kitchen to start dinner, Meghan not far behind her, giving Charlie and April a bit of space.

“It was really good, you were really good,” April said. “But I still can’t get over that ‘Unsaid Emily’ was the song you decided to play for me when you could have picked ‘Perfect Harmony’!”

“I’m sorry?” He asked, raising an eyebrow at her. April rolled her eyes, but she was still smiling. Charlie shifted in his seat, pushing himself up a little more. “So, what was your favourite song?”

April knew the answer Charlie wanted to hear. “’Perfect Harmony’,” she answered.

“Seriously?” He asked, softly.

April’s smile softened and she gave his thigh a pat. “Seriously,” she said. “It was just so perfect for them. So true and heartbreaking and beautiful,” she described. “But ‘Unsaid Emily’ is definitely my second favourite because wow, I think you cut my heart out of my chest with that performance.”

Charlie chuckled and looked down, moving his hand down to entangle their fingers. “Thank you,” he told her, bringing his eyes back up. “Thank you for being here with me and being supportive and all that. You don’t know how much I appreciate it.”

Guilt crawled up the back of April’s throat, but she forced it back down with a smile and leaned in to catch the corner of Charlie’s lips in a kiss. He was just about to lean in and kiss her properly when his phone started to ring from its place on the coffee table. He took a sharp breath through his nose and reached over to grab it, seeing Owen’s contact picture fill the screen.

Charlie smiled as he answered the FaceTime, Owen’s face coming into view as he laid in his bed. “Did you watch it all?” Owen asked before Charlie could even say ‘hello.’

“We finished liked ten minutes ago,” Charlie replied with a laugh, leaning back into the couch and bringing April into view. She gave Owen a closed lip smile and an awkward wave.

And Owen sat up instantly, moving the phone closer to him so April and Charlie could see a zoom on his face. “Oh, is this the girl who’s been stealing you from me?” He asked with some sass, making Charlie throw his head back with a loud laugh.

“Yeah, yeah,” Charlie said, putting his arm back around April’s shoulders. “April, this is Owen,” he introduced.

“‘This is Owen,’” Owen mocked. “I’m wounded, truly. You could have said best friend or boyfriend, I’m not picky. But just Owen? I’m hurt.”

April couldn’t help but laugh at the blond. “It’s nice to meet you, Owen,” she said.

“Yeah, nice to meet you, too,” he replied, leaning away from the camera and giving her a genuinely smile. “Charlie doesn’t seem to shut up about you, so I’m really happy to finally meet you.”

April blushed again. That was the second person today that said that Charlie loved to talk about her and she didn’t know how to handle that sort of attention. So, like something she always did, she moved the conversation away from herself. “You totally killed it in the show. I think Alex was my favourite character.”

“What?” Charlie asked, turning to look at his girlfriend.

At the same time Owen brought the camera closer to his face. “Are you serious?” He asked.

“‘I have been crying for twenty-five years’? ‘Get woke. These are sensitive times’? ‘I’ve always been a little anxious, and then I died’? THE DANCING?! Iconic!” April defended and Owen laughed and did the arm pump of victory.

“Luke’s supposed to be your favourite!” Charlie said, making the grumpy puppy face, as April liked to call it.

April turned to her boyfriend and put her hand on his chest, giving him a small pat. “And I love Luke and I love how well you played Luke, and I loved you as Luke in that blue suit in the last episode. But Alex is iconic. So relatable!”  

“Thank you, thank you,” Owen said. “I try.”

“Fuck off, bro,” Charlie told him, shoving April aside and bringing his phone closer to his face to cut April out of it. April elbowed him in the ribs and he grimaced a bit which made Owen laugh.

“I like her,” Owen said.

Charlie laughed and looked over at April with complete heart eyes that did not go unmissed by Owen. “Yeah,” he said. “She’s great.”

Owen made a whip sound that had Charlie shaking his head. “I’m going to hang up on you.”

“What? No!” Owen cried. “You just picked up!”

“Yeah, and I’m with my girlfriend and my family, so goodbye,” Charlie said. Owen continued to plead his case but Charlie hung up on him anyways. “You get used to him,” Charlie told April.

“He seems fun,” she laughed.

“Alex? Really?” He asked, ignoring her comment.

April rolled her eyes. “If I say Luke, will that make you feel better?”

“No,” Charlie said after a moment. “Because I know you won’t mean it.”

“Well,” April said, leaning into him. “While Alex is my favourite character, I think Luke was the hottest. Those arms? Oof.”

“I can live with that,” Charlie laughed, pulling April closer to him. He was just about to kiss her when April pulled back, telling him she was going to help with dinner. He playfully groaned in annoyance but let her go, shaking his head as he wondered how he got so lucky with her.

Dinner went great. April fit into the family well, and she loved how easy and naturally everything felt. She loved the banter between Charlie and his family and the love and support she could see with everyone. It made her long to have that in her own life, to have a family that she could come home to, a family that loved her despite her faults.

Charlie walked her to the door when she decided it was time to go home. And after Charlie realized his mom was totally around the corner looking at him, he rolled his eyes and stepped outside to say goodbye to April.

“Thank you for coming,” he said for probably the third time.

“I’ll always be here to support you,” she smiled. Charlie smiled back at her and pulled her in for a hug before he kissed her softly, his hands resting on her hips.

“Goodnight, Charlie,” she said when he pulled back from the kiss, taking a step back from him.

“Goodnight, cupcake,” he replied, his eyes shining. April rolled her eyes, hating that cupcakewas the nickname that stuck, but she still smiled at him before walking to the Uber she ordered. Charlie waited on the front step as he watched her get into the Uber. He took a deep breath as he watched the car drive off, realizing that he was falling hard and quick for the redhead.

Once the car was out of view, he went back inside, jumping when he realized his mom was right there. “Jesus Christ, you scared me,” he said, closing and locking the door behind him.

“April’s nice. And beautiful.” She said.

“Yeah,” Charlie said, instantly smiling.

His mother’s eyes shined knowingly and she gave her son a pat on the shoulder, “don’t fuck this up.”

“I’m trying not to,” he said. She nodded and headed for the stairs. Charlie followed her up, flopping into bed before checking his phone to see that there were dozens of texts in the Phantoms groupchat.

He opened the conversation and scrolled to the top to see what started it and saw that Owen had screenshotted parts of the FaceTime call with him and April and posted them to the group to show them. And just like his sister, Madison, Owen, and Jeremy questioned how Charlie had managed to score April. Charlie shook his head as he read through the messages before he started replying.

He didn’t know how he managed to get her either.

--

“Put some music on,” April said as she cracked the eggs for the cookies. Charlie was over at April’s and after Owen sent Charlie a Snap of the freshly baked cookies he was eating, Charlie really wanted some. And cookies did sound good, so April pulled up a recipe on her phone and started to make the dough for the cookies.

Charlie hummed and grabbed his phone, pulling up his music and scrolled until he found what he wanted. A moment later, Niall Horan started to play from his phone’s speaker.

April laughed and looked over at her boyfriend who had started move with the music. “Seriously?” She asked.

Charlie smiled and started to sing along with it as April continued to make the batter. She let herself move to the music as she finished mixing everything together and forming the dough into balls she lined on the cookie sheet before popping them into the oven and setting a timer.

Charlie danced his way over to her as she washed her hands with a laugh.

“Dance with me,” he said, holding his hand out to her. And April wasn’t going to say no, taking Charlie’s hand and letting him pull her into a more open area.

When the song came to an end, April pulled away from Charlie to grab his phone and put on a different song. Charlie wrapped his arms around her waist and put his chin on her shoulder as he looked to see what she was doing. She searched for the song she wanted and soon the soft sound of Charlie’s voice filled the room as she clicked on ‘Perfect Harmony.’

“Really?” He asked with a small laugh. She put his phone back down on the counter before turning in his arms with a smile.

“It’s a beautiful song,” she told him. Charlie shook his head, completely mesmerized by the girl in front of him. He took her hand, his other hand falling to her lower back as he led her. And April let him, moving easily with him. Charlie was amazed with how well April could move and he wondered if she used to dance as a child.

And then he pressed her to his chest, his eyes searching hers before dipping her with a laugh. April loved the sound of Charlie’s laugh and the feeling of his chest against hers and the way they worked around each other. She loved the way she fit under his arm and the way her hand felt in his.

When he pulled her back up, he spun her out. Caught in the music, April didn’t think about how she moved, the foot she placed her weight on. She was smiling and laughing and then she was spinning, putting all her weight onto her left foot and pain flared through her knee. She stumbled, her hands instantly going to Charlie’s shoulders to stabilize herself. His hands fell to her hips and his smile faltered as he looked down at her, wondering what happened.

April grimaced, the smile falling from her lips as she did her best to take the weight off her knee. “Are you okay?” Charlie asked.

April forced a smile and nodded. “Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” she told him before stepping back and pushing herself onto the kitchen counter to take the weight off her leg, her hand instantly moving down to her knee. Charlie opened his mouth to ask her what was wrong when the timer for the cookies went off. April asked him to pull them out and he nodded, grabbing the oven mitts and taking the cookies out of the oven before turning it off.

Charlie closed his eyes as he took a deep breath in, loving the smell of freshly baked cookies. “Babe, these look amazing,” he said, looking back at April.

April smiled back, but she couldn’t ignore the pain in her knee. If she hadn’t been so caught up in the music and Charlie’s smile, she would have known better than to spin sharply with all her weight on her knee.

“I’m just gonna,” she gestured towards the couch and slipped off the counter to go sit on the couch. Charlie nodded as he watched her walk into the living room. He turned the music off and waited for the cookies too cool before grabbing a plate down and putting some of cookies on a plate before walking into the living room, where April was rubbing her knee.

“What happened?” Charlie asked, coming around the back of the couch to sit next to her.

“Hmm?” April asked, looking up at him, her hand still working over her knee.

“Your knee,” he said, sitting down. “You’re clearly in pain, and I’ve noticed that it bothers you sometimes. So, what happened?”

“Oh…” April whispered, pulling her hand away despite the dull ache that never seemed to leave. “Just an accident last year,” she told him, trying her best to push the memory of the fall and the surgeries and the rehab from her mind as she glanced towards the floor.

“Like a car accident?” He asked, picking up one of the cookies and taking a bite.

There was a moment of hesitation. She could just go with that, say it was a car accident and never look back. But she knew the concern and kindness and love she would find in Charlie’s eyes if she looked at them and she couldn’t bring herself to outright lie to him. She shook her head, “no, not a car accident.”

She forced herself to meet his gaze and she was right, concern and reassurance and love filled his beautiful blue eyes. She forced a lopsided smile onto her lips. “I fell when I was skating, busted my knee pretty good.”

Charlie’s lips tightened and he gave her thigh a squeeze. “I’m really sorry to hear that, that sucks.”

April laughed. He didn’t know the half of it. “Yeah,” she said. “Sucks.”

“Your cookies are pretty good, though,” he told her, holding the plate out to her. April gave him a sad smile and took a cookie, happy that Charlie wasn’t pushing the subject, even if remorse was eating its way through her chest.

Charlie took another cookie off the plate before sitting it down on the coffee table and holding his arms open so April could curl into them. Inside his arms, April felt safe. Despite the pieces she lost on the ice, she felt complete when she was with Charlie.

“Why don’t we watch a movie?” He asked. April nodded against his chest and Charlie reached for the remotes so he could pull up Netflix.

She could still feel the weight on her chest with how much she was hiding from Charlie, but he was the only person who ever saw her as April and not the idea they made up in their heads. He saw her as complete despite the injury, not a busted model. She was absolutely terrified that if she told him the truth, he would look at her the same way everyone in Vancouver did. And if he did, April didn’t think she could survive it.

So, she forced the words down her throat and made herself comfortable on his chest as they discussed what movie to watch.

And Charlie ended up staying the night and April fell asleep with his arms wrapped around her hoping that she could always fall asleep in his arms.

--

April and Charlie’s relationship had been nothing but smooth sailing.

They texted or saw each other almost every day. Sometimes it was dinner or lunch, or maybe ice cream or drinks. And sometimes it was watching a movie or three, or maybe some TV. But April’s favourite time was whenever she could convince Charlie to sing for her. And it didn’t take much. April always looked at him with soft eyes and a big smile and he would do anything to see it again. So, he sang for her. A lot. And April loved to get lost in his voice.

April hadn’t been herself since the fall. Kat described her as a shell of herself. But after April met Charlie, Kat could see life slowly return to April. April would laugh when they spoke on the phone, their texts were actual conversations not awkward small talk about the weather or other unimportant things as April dodged Kat’s questions of how she was doing, and April sent Snaps of her and Charlie together. Kat hadn’t seen April move to music since the fall, but she got Snaps of the two of them dancing together. And the smile she saw on April’s face was genuine, not the fake one she had grown used to seeing on her best friend’s face.

Kat was grateful for Charlie. Grateful that he put April’s broken pieces back together and brought April back to herself.

Slowly, April also got over her fear of him seeing the scars that decorated her knee from the reconstructive surgery she had.

The first time April wore shorts around him, the ugly scar that ran the length of her knee easily stuck out to him. But Charlie did his best not to look, not to say anything. He knew her knee was April’s biggest insecurity and he knew how much it took for her to take the step to wear shorts instead of the pants he had grown used to seeing her in.

It was just a sign of how closed the two of them were getting despite the short time they had been together. And Charlie knew it was crazy to feel like he was falling for someone he only knew for a few weeks. But he really was falling. And so was April.

With a rigorous training schedule and spending so much time bouncing between countries, April never really learnt what love was. Sure, she had seen countless movies with the fairytale romance and the perfect guy. But, she never knew what it was like to love, to fall in love, to be loved.

But looking in Charlie’s eyes, April knew.

April told Charlie she loved him for the first time in November.

Frost covered the ground of New Brunswick. It was a cold November day and the chill made April’s knee ache more. Her and Charlie were supposed to go out but she texted him to cancel. She didn’t think she could handle doing much more than being curled up on the couch as she took a heavy dose of ibuprofen to dull the ache.

It wasn’t long after that Charlie showed up at her door with her favourite take out in hand.

“What’s this?” April asked after letting him in, closing the door behind him.

Charlie gave her a lopsided smile. “You said you weren’t up to going out. So, we’ll stay in.” He paused for a moment. “I know it sucks being in pain, so I got your favourite in hopes that it made you feel just a little better.”

She said it before she knew she said it. “I love you.”

Charlie’s eyes widened just a little and April opened and closed her mouth as she tried to figure out what to say, settling on, “you don’t need to say it back, obviously. But I do love you, Charlie.”

Charlie set the take out bag on the kitchen counter before cupping her cheek. He could still see the panic in her eyes as he brushed his thumb over the arch of her cheek before he leaned in and kissed her softly.

She lightly gripped the front of his jacket and kept her eyes closed after he pulled back. “April, look at me,” he whispered. She slowly opened her eyes to see Charlie smiling at her. “I love you, too,” he told her.

“Really?” She breathed, not believing it.

Charlie nodded with a smile. “How could I not?” He asked, his voice barely above a whisper. Charlie never met anyone like April before. In some ways, it felt like she had his heart since they met. He had no idea how he managed to get her number let alone her heart. But there they were, in April’s kitchen, in love with one another.

April’s heart felt more full than it ever had, including when she was on the podium in 2018.

And April also knew that she really did have to open up to Charlie about her past. What they had, she didn’t want to lose. She didn’t know if she would find what they had with anyone else, didn’t know if she wanted to.

But Charlie fell for the April that loved the simple things and didn’t mind doing nothing all day as long as she was with the right person. He fell for her laugh and how authentic and genuine she was.

He didn’t fall for an idea of her. A character hidden behind a smile, formed from years of practice she didn’t have a choice in. Charlie didn’t fall for the April everyone else knew. And April was far from the person she used to be. Looking at pictures of her then, she barely recognized herself. For the first time in years, maybe the first time ever, April felt like herself. And that was all because of Charlie.

So, April was terrified that if he saw her the way the word did, he wouldn’t love her anymore. And that fear had to clamping her mouth shut every time she meant to tell him.

April had already lost everything. She didn’t think she could survive losing Charlie.

And then it was December.

Julie and the Phantoms got picked up for a season two and the cast was doing a series of interviews ahead of the summer filming schedule.

With Madison still in school, they elected to do the interviewers virtually so not to disturb her schedule. The interviews had gone well. The group, like before, picked on Charlie, but he took it with a smile. But everything went downhill with the fourth interview.

Like the rest, the interview started out well. The interviewer, Danielle, asked questions about Julie and Luke and where their relationship was going to go. She asked about what happened to Nick at the end, and if Willie and Alex would be reunited. She asked if Owen and Charlie were going to be rooming again to season two.

“Yeah, of course,” Charlie replied without hesitation.

“I don’t know,” Owen said, making Charlie’s smile falter. Jeremy raised an eyebrow and Madison leaned into the camera, wanting to know what Owen was going to say next. “See, Charlie has this girlfriend that’s got him wrapped around her finger and I don’t know if I want to live with that love sick puppy.”

Charlie’s jaw dropped and he did his best to defend himself, but it was three against one as his cast mates talked about how gone he was for his girl.

“Speaking of your girlfriend, Charlie, have you taken her on any romantic dates? Maybe skating, you know, considering her past?” The interview asked. Charlie’s eyebrows twitched together, not really understand where that question came from. He also wondered how the interview knew about April’s fall and why she would ask that.

“No,” Charlie forced a laugh. “No skating dates. Maybe I should make some notes, skating could be a cute date.” He said despite feeling that after her fall, April wouldn’t thing it was cute. He just needed to get through the interview.

The interview made a surprised face before laughing, “that really surprises me.”

“What do you mean?” Charlie asked, furrowing his brows, wondering what the interview knew that he didn’t.

“I’m just surprised you haven’t, Harper is a former Olympic skater after all.” Danielle said, looking down at her notes, preparing to move on.

Charlie laughed, nodding his head. He hadn’t posted anything about April on his social media. She didn’t have any accounts herself, so she didn’t want to be on his, and he respected that. He never used her name in interviews either, which was evident when Danielle used the wrong name. Charlie figured that a picture of the two of them out in New Brunswick got posted to Twitter or something and they misidentified April.

“You got it wrong, her name isn’t Harper,” Charlie said, shifting in his seat. “It’s April. You must be thinking of someone else.”

It was Danielle’s turn to furrow her brows. “Yeah, Harper April Knight?”

There was a moment when Charlie froze, his smiling slipping from his face. His eyebrows twitched as he processed. He didn’t know if it was true. But he did know that he knew her as April Knightand she had a skating accident.

Everyone could see the moment of distress Charlie was experiencing and Owen jumped in, talking about something to do with Alex in season two and it was what Charlie needed to snap back to his sense. He was still in an interview. Still on camera. So, he plastered a smile onto his face and did his best to push all his feelings down until after it was over. He was an actor and pretending was what he did best.

The interview lost its spark. The rest of the cast carried it. Charlie acted on auto pilot and before he knew it, they were saying goodbye and then he was ending the Zoom call. His face stared back at him and even he had to admit that he looked dead inside.

Part of him didn’t believe it. He didn’t want to believe it. But he thought about her knee and how she said that she fell skating, and he thought about that medal he saw in the back of her closet, and how she fled Vancouver to New Brunswick like she was escaping something.

He thought about how it always felt like she was hiding something. He never expected to know everything about her. He respected and loved her regardless. But he never imagined that she would hide something as big as this.

He took a deep breath and closed Zoom. He hesitated for a moment before pulling up google and typing in the name the interviewer had used. Harper Knight.

The top result was an article published the day before on a gossip sight. ‘Budding Netflix Star Finds Romance With Gold Medalist?’Charlie swallowed before clicking on it. It was a series of pictures of the two of them at a restaurant in New Brunswick that had to be taken by someone in the restaurant. The next picture was a picture of him as Luke in Julie and the Phantoms. The next was of a redhead he’d know anywhere on the podium with an Olympic gold medal around her neck.

It was April.

Charlie’s shoulders fell. Dating for almost four months, he couldn’t believe that April—Harper—he corrected, had been lying to him about something so big for so long.

He clicked out the article and glanced at the side bar, the name Harper Knight staring back at him before he clicked onto her Wikipedia page.

He skimmed over her early life until he reached her career. She won junior titles and national titles, and after winning silver as a 16 year old at Worlds, April got onto the Canadian Olympic team for Sochi where she won Olympic bronze. She again represented Canada at PyeongChang where she won two gold medals. One in ladies singles and one in the team event.

The next picture in the article was her on the ice gripping her knee and her coach next to her. He didn’t need to read it to know what happened.

Knight was forced to retire from the sport when tore her ACL and MCL after she failed to land a double axel in her long program of the 2019 Canadian Figure Skating Championships.

Charlie closed his eyes with a grimace. It had been almost two years but it still bothered her. He could picture the way she rubbed it and the big scar that decorated her skin. One wrong fall and just like that, her career was over.

He couldn’t imagine how devastating it would be to lose everything like that. Her whole life, she had been skating. She was so good that she had three Olympic medals before she was twenty-two.

Charlie was sick to his stomach over it. Over all of it. He was sick over what happened to April, and he was sick that she never said a single thing to him about any of it.

He clicked out of her Wikipedia page and searched her name on YouTube. He watched her long program from Sochi first and he was swept up in the way she moved. He watched the short and long programs from PyeongChang, and while Charlie didn’t know much about skating, he understood how she won. She looked flawless. Effortless.

Her 2019 Canadian Figure Skating Championship long program was recommended to him and he hovered his mouse over it before closing the tab. Looking at the picture on Wikipedia was hard enough, he didn’t want to see the video of it.

He closed his laptop and reached for his phone which was on do not disturb next to him on his desk. He flopped down on his bed before turning it on and seeing multiple messages. Owen, Madison, Jeremy, they had all texted him. He didn’t bother replying to any of them, instead skipping to April’s message.

What time should I be expecting you tonight? It read. Charlie said that he would come over after the interview was over. She was going to make them dinner.

His stomach twisted and he tossed his phone to the side. He didn’t want to see her. He didn’t want to have dinner with a liar. Charlie fell in love with April, but there was never an April and he didn’t know what to do.

Charlie didn’t know how long he laid in his bed, mulling things over and nursing his heart that seemed to break more with every passing second instead of heal. But, he finally reached for his phone and clicked on her message and typed, when would be good for you? As much as Charlie didn’t want to look at her right now, he wanted to know why. Why she would lie. Why she didn’t—doesn’t—trust him.

Is five okay?She replied. Charlie sent a thumbs up. It was already four so he would have to get his ducks in a row and figure out how he was going to approach her about it.

After spending a good half hour in his bed thinking about how he would approach her, his stomach twisted into knots, Charlie got up and changed into a t-shirt, throwing a hoodie on top of it before pulling his toque on. He grabbed his winter coat off the hook and slipped his boots on before slipping out the front door to go over to April’s.

Being together so long, Charlie didn’t knock, he just slipped in, not looking at April as he shrugged his coat off and hung it up before slipping his boots off. April flashed him a bright smile and he forced one back but it didn’t reach his eyes, not that he held her gaze for longer than a second.

April’s own smile slipped in confusion. Something was clearly off with Charlie. “Are you okay?” She asked.

“Yeah,” he breathed, walking around the kitchen to lean against the counter. “Yeah.”

He still couldn’t meet her eyes and it had her stomach dropping, but before she could ask him anymore questions, one of her timers went off. April quickly turned it off and pulled a pot off the element.

Charlie crossed his arms over his chest, keeping his eyes on the pattern of the laminate floor of the kitchen as April finished making dinner. He was going to wait until they were sitting to confront her, but the longer he stood there just a few feet, sometimes just a few inches, away from her, he couldn’t wait. He needed to know.

Charlie took a shaky breath and looked over at April. His girlfriend of almost five months, the woman he loves, the person who makes him happiest. And then everything else seeped in. It was Harper, not April, and she had an entire life she just didn’t tell him about.

It hurt him in indescribable ways because despite all of it, he still loved her deeper than he ever cared for anyone.

His voice was weak when he finally found his words, April’s back turned to him “Were you ever going to tell me the truth? Or were you always going to lie to me, Harper?” The name hung in the air between them.

April tensed, reaching over the stove with stiff arms to turn the stove top off and take both pans off their elements. She swallowed before looking over at him. Charlie’s blue eyes now seemed.

She opened and closed her mouth, looking for something to say to him. She needed to say something to him, but her mind drew a blank. Looking into his eyes, April only felt regret. “I’m sorry,” she whispered, not being able to make her voice any louder.

Charlie scoffed and looked away from her. “You’re sorry? That’s all you can say for yourself?” April didn’t say anything. There was nothing to say. “You lied to me. About everything,” he said, his voice softening with hurt.

“And I am so sorry,” she told him.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it!” Charlie snapped. April recoiled at his tone. Since they met, Charlie never snapped at her, never raised his voice. This was a side of him that she never saw. And Charlie hated the way she took a step back from him. Despite everything, he still wanted to reach for her and take back his tone, but he forced himself not to. He held her gaze for a moment before he took a shaky breath and whispered words he never thought he’d say, “I think I need a break.”

“What?” April breathed, taking another step back in shock.

Charlie met her eyes, the vibrant blue she had grown to love seemed as cold as the ice that broke her. “I feel like I don’t know you anymore,” he whispered with a shake of his head.

April shook her head and took a hesitant step forward. Every foot between them felt like miles. “You know me better than anyone. You see me for me, Charlie, not as who I was supposed to be, not as who the people wanted me to be. I am so, so sorry for keeping everything from you. I should have told you. I wanted to tell you so many times.” She gave him a sad smile. “But I didn’t want what I used to be change what I am, change what we have.”


Charlie’s lips twitched into a frown as he listened to her, the pain in his heart only getting worse. “You didn’t even tell me your real name.”

“Because I’mApril,” she explained. “Theycall me Harper, but Harper feels like a mask, like a person I’m supposed to play, the person I did play on the ice. But I’m April. With you, I’m April.” She told him

He took a deep breath and pulled his toque off, running a hand through his hair before shaking his head. “This is a lot,” he whispered. April’s shoulders fell a little more, her teeth worrying over her bottom lip. “I need time to think about this, process everything.”

April’s eyes fell to the floor and she nodded, forcing the words out despite the fear and heartbreak she felt. “Yeah,” she whispered, stepping away from him. “I understand.” And she did. She knew what she was keeping from him and she knew how shitty it must have been to find out from someone who wasn’t her. Part of her wondered how he even found out, but it didn’t matter how he found out, what mattered was that it wasn’t from her.

They stood there in the kitchen, an awkward tension thick between them. The longer they stood, the heavier April’s heart got and she did her best to discreetly wipe her eyes when the tears started falling. But Charlie saw and he had to close his eyes as his heart panged in his chest.

A moment later, April took a deep breath and cleared her throat, turning back to the stove and turning it on to warm up the food she was cooking when he brought it up. “You can stay for dinner, if you want,” she tacked on. He didn’t break up with her, not yet at least, but she also didn’t know how much he really wanted to be here with her.

Charlie nodded and stepped away from her to sit at the island where they normally ate their meals. April felt a bit of relief that he chose to stay, but there were still mountains between them that she needed to climb to fix things.

As the food warmed, she got down the plates and glasses. She offered him wine, but he declined for water. They ate their dinner in silence, and he helped her do the dishes in silence, too.

Charlie stuffed his hands into his pockets as April put away the last of the dishes before turning to him. He gave her a closed lip smile before speaking, his voice soft compared to before dinner. “I think I’m just going to go home.”

April nodded, “yeah, yeah of course.”

He held her gaze for another moment before nodding and pulling his toque on and turning to grab his coat. He was just about to put his coat on when he turned back to her. “I still love you,” he said. “I need you to know that.”

“But it’s not enough,” she replied.

He took a deep breath. “I want it to be,” he told her. “But I don’t know. I just… I need a few days to process all of this, okay?”

April nodded, “yeah, of course.” He nodded back and pulled his coat and boots on. He had just reached for the door when April spoke again. “I love you, too, Charlie.”

He looked back at her with a small smile before opening the door and slipping out, leaving April alone in her apartment with her guilt and regret.

Once he was back at home, Charlie just curled up in bed. Like after the interview, he thought about everything. Thought about everything that she kept from him and how hurt he was. But, after talking to April, he also thought about what she said. And he thought about the pain and regret in her eyes.

Charlie groaned and ran one of his hands down his face, hating that this happened, that the world couldn’t just let him be happy. Of course the universe gave him an amazing, beautiful woman to fall in love with only to have the carpet ripped out from under him.

He laid in bed for a while longer before getting up to take a shower, hoping the hot water would help clear his head. He loved her, probably more than he should for only being together a few months. But at the same time, he didn’t know how he was supposed to trust her when she kept so much from him.

Charlie couldn’t count the amount of times during the week that he wanted to text April and see how she was. As the week went on, the anger he had towards her melted away. As much as he hatedwhat she kept from him, the more he thought about what she said, the more he understood it.

Julie and the Phantoms came out just a few months ago and his following online had grown exponentially. It was a lot to adjust to and he still wasn’t totally used to it. He didn’t know how he would react to being in the spotlight the way she was for as long as she was, and all the repercussions that it could have on a person.

As much as he wanted to say that he would never keep that sort of thing from his partner, he was never in that position and he didn’t know what he would do. Being in the spotlight, never feeling like himself, and then have everything ripped away from him which left him unsure of everything only to meet someone who made him feel like himself? He wanted to say that he wouldn’t do what April did, but… He wasn’t sure.

So, Friday evening, Charlie gave Owen a call. He propped back against his headboard, tilting the phone up as he waited for Owen to answer. The call only had to ring a few times before it connected, Owen’s jaw filling the screen as he walked to his room. Charlie waited until Owen had closed the door and flopping down onto his bed before saying hello.

“What’s up?” Owen asked with a smile.

“I uh, I was hoping that you might be able to give me some relationship advice actually,” Charlie told him which made Owen laugh.

“Still haven’t figured it out?” Owen asked, but Charlie didn’t need to respond for Owen to have his answer.

Charlie sighed. “I made it clear that we didn’t break up, but I don’t know what to do. I’ve been thinking about it since Monday but,” he shook his head. “I don’t know what to do.”

Owen took a deep breath. “Charlie, you’ve told me a lot about her. A lot. Like honestly it feels like every time I call you, she’s there and when you’re not together, you’re texting me with your little heart eyes.” Charlie scoffed but Owen kept talking. “Did she ever really lie to you?”

“She lied about everything,” he told Owen.

“Did she?” He countered. “Not telling you is different from lying. She didn’t tell you that she used to be a competitive figure skater. But she didtell you that she hurt her knee skating. So I’m asking if she ever really lied to you.”

Charlie thought about what Owen said. He had a point. She never said anything about her life in Vancouver, never gave him a story to work with. It was always about the present with April, something that Charlie really loved about her.

Owen got the answer when Charlie didn’t say anything. He shifted in bed, getting more comfortable before asking another question. “Do you see this as something you can get over? Or do you think that you’re always going to hold this mistake, because that’s what this was, against her? It wasn’t like she was intentionally trying to hurt you, bro.”

Charlie thought about it for a minute. “She did lie to me. She told me her name was April and it’s really Harper.”

Owen rolled his eyes, “and your name is really Charles but she’s not holding that over you.”

“That’s different,” he snapped back.

“Is it?” Owen asked. “A lot of people go by their middle name. And she didn’t give you a fake identity or something. April is part of her name, and her last name was also her last name.”

“You think I should just move past this?” Charlie asked, but it sounded more like a statement.

“I’m not saying you should do anything, I’m just giving you the advice you asked for,” Owen told him, but the truth was that he did think that Charlie should move past it. He understood why Charlie was upset, he would be too if it happened to him. But, he knew Charlie and he knew that he had never seen Charlie as happy as when he was with April and he didn’t think that Charlie should throw it all away that quickly.

“Let me ask you this,” Owen said. “Do you love her?”

Charlie looked away and Owen got his answer, but he still waited for Charlie to say it out loud. “Yeah…” He whispered before pulling his eyes back to the screen. “Yeah, I do.”

“Then I think this isn’t something you should break up over.” Owen told him. “Honestly, there are worst things. I think you two just need to talk.”

Charlie took a deep breath and nodded. Owen made a lot of good points, and at the end of the day, Owen was right. They needed to talk. And Charlie really did miss her. Missed talking to her and her smile and laugh, and the way she felt in his arms.

“Yeah,” he said, nodding again. “I think you’re right.”

“Of course I am,” Owen smiled.

Charlie rolled his eyes before speaking, “it’s getting late here, so I’ll text her tomorrow and see if she wants to meet up sometime this weekend, okay?”

Owen nodded, “sounds good.”

They spoke for another half an hour about whatever before Charlie eventually signed off. It was only 9pm and it was Friday and it wasn’t snowing out, so Charlie decided that it would be a good night to hit the bar. And it would give him some time to clear his head before talking to April tomorrow.

The bar was more crowded than Charlie expected considering it was nearly halfway through December. But he shrugged it off and took a seat at the bar top, ordering a beer and focusing on the hockey game that was on. The Leafs were up in the third period. The game and the beer were welcomed distractions for Charlie.

Tucked away to the side on the bar watching the game, Charlie missed the redhead that slipped into the bar and took a seat on the other side of the bar. April ordered a gin and tonic, just like when she met Charlie there.

Charlie didn’t know how long April was there for before he noticed, but when he finished his beer and looked over to grab the bartender’s attention, he saw her. She wasn’t facing him, but he would know that mess of red hair and profile anywhere. He straightened up as soon as he realized who it was, his empty drink forgotten.

He didn’t feel anger or hurt looking at April. He felt guilty.

April rested her elbows on the table, her shoulders hunched as she stirred her drink. Charlie knew her well enough to know she was far from happy. Really, she looked miserable.

He took a deep breath, debating for a moment whether he should approach her here before the bartender came over to him and asked if he wanted another. “Yeah, please. Thank you,” he replied and not long after, a fresh beer was placed in front of him. He took a big drink before standing up, grabbing his drink and moving down the bar, sitting his drink down on the bar top and making April look over at him as he sat down next to her.

April sat up straight as soon as she realized it was him. She cleared her throat before speaking, “hey.”

“This is a better start, yeah?” He asked with a smile.

She furrowed her brows. “What?”

Charlie chuckled and glanced down before meeting her eyes again. “The last time we were here I spilt my drink on you. I think this is a little bit of a better start.” His comment made April laugh and that was the only thing that mattered to him. “Look,” he whispered. “I’m sorry I haven’t texted you this week.”

April brushed it off. “You don’t have to apologize. You said you needed time and I get it.” She looked away.

“April, look at me,” he said. April took a breath and looked over at him. The last time she looked into those blue eyes, they were cold and distant. Looking into them now, they were back to the soft, comforting, loving eyes she had grown so used to seeing. “I don’t want time anymore,” he said and her shoulders dropped a little more, preparing for the worst. She couldn’t stop herself from looking away from him again.

“Hey,” he whispered, reaching out to gently cup her cheek and turn her to look back at her. “I don’t want time, I want you, April.” She closed her eyes and leaned into his touch as he kept talking. “It hurt me a lot that you didn’t tell me, but I meant it when I said I love you. And I understand why you didn’t tell me. I think you should have, I think that not telling me was a dick move,” he laughed. “But I understand your point of view.”

“I am sorry,” she told him.

“I know,” he said, brushing his thumb over her cheek. His lips twitched up into a small smile. “No more secrets like this, okay?”

She nodded. “No more secrets.”

He shifted to the edge of his bar seat so that he could hug her. April melted into his arms and Charlie pressed a kiss to the side of her head before pulling back, a smile playing on his lips. “I missed you.”

April reached over to give his thigh a squeeze, “I missed you, too.”

Charlie’s smile softened and they fell into comfortable conversation as they finished their drinks, Charlie gently holding April’s hand in his lap. When their drinks were finished, Charlie asked April if she wanted to go home and she replied, “only if you come with me.”

“I wouldn’t pass that up,” Charlie chuckled and settled both of their tabs.

“So, I’m dating someone with three Olympic medals, eh?” He said as he stood, pulling his toque on before shrugging his coat on.

April laughed, shaking her head as she too pulled her coat on, but for the first in a long time, her smile didn’t falter at the mention of who she used to be. “And I’m dating a rising Netflix star with a great voice.”

“Sounds like we both have it pretty sweet,” he whispered, holding his hand out for her, which she happily took.

“I think we do,” April told him. He smiled and led her through the bar, holding the door open for her and following her out, still holding her hand.

The New Brunswick December night was cold. The snow falling lightly, covering everything in a soft white blanket. Their dark coats were a stark contrast as they walked, their heads and shoulders becoming dusted with snow despite the short distance. Luckily, April’s apartment was far, so they didn’t have to brave the December night for long.

By the time they got to her Apartment, they had moved from holding hands to her being tucked under his arm, her head resting on his shoulder and his hand on her lower back. He only pulled back to let her unlock the door, both of them shrugging off their coats, hats and gloves before kicking off their boots.

“Do you want to watch a movie?” She asked, and Charlie nodded.

“Yeah, sure.”

April let him pick something on Netflix while she changed into something more comfortable. Charlie was sprawled across the couch with a movie pulled up on the TV when she came back out. Neither of them said anything as she got settled, curling up on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, his hands softly running up and down her back before he kissed the top of her head.

“This one look good?” He whispered.

“Yeah,” she replied, but she didn’t know and didn’t care either. All that mattered to her was Charlie. He was warm and his heart beating beneath her ear was familiar and comforting.

He pressed play and let the movie roll in the background. Just like April, the only thing Charlie cared about was her. Them. And despite the movie playing in the background, the only thing he thought about was the comforting weight of her against him and how lucky he was to have her. April let her eyes close with a soft sigh when he started to play with her hair making Charlie chuckle.

If someone asked, neither one of them would be able to explain the plot of the movie or even name a single character, both of them too wrapped up in each other to care. By the time the credits rolled, April was ready to sleep, so after a deep breath, she pushed herself up, turning the TV off before heading to the bathroom to get ready for bed. While he waited, Charlie pulled his phone out, making sure to text Meghan he wasn’t coming home in case their mom asked.

When April came out of the bathroom, he took her place, so thankful that he brought a toothbrush over a few weeks ago. By the time he walked into April’s room, she was cuddled up under the covers. He smiled at how cute she was before starting to strip down.

With his back to her, Charlie missed the way her eyes ran down the expanse of his back as he pulled his shirt over his head, his muscles moving under his skin. His jeans and socks followed, leaving him in just his underwear before he turned and walked to his side of the bed, not missing the flush to April’s cheeks. He gave her a wink before pulling back the covers and getting underneath them.

She waited for him to get comfortable and to hold his arms open before she curled into them, resting her head back on his chest with a content sigh as her eyes closed.

“I love you,” Charlie whispered.

“I love you too,” April murmured against his chest. The corner of Charlie’s lip twitched up before he pressed a kiss to the top of her head. April smiled into his chest and it wasn’t long before she fell asleep, Charlie following soon after.  

Charlie woke up first. They had shifted since they fell asleep. April was no longer on his chest, instead, she had turned in her sleep and he was wrapped around her. He kept his eyes closed for a moment, just breathing in the scent of her shampoo and the feeling of her warm against him.

But when he opened his eyes, over her shoulder he saw her closet.

Ever since the first time he was in her closet, he had been thinking about what he saw in there. Thinking about that framed medal at the back of the top shelf. Now he knew what it was, or, rather, what they were. He knew there would be more than just one medal up there. There would be three. The three Olympic medals that she had won.

Charlie stayed in bed, his arms around her as he thought. He understood that she saw herself as someone different now. But that didn’t mean she should hide her accomplishments. If he had one let alone three Olympic medals, he would want to hang those up.

He also wanted to see what they really looked like.

Charlie took a deep breath through his nose and slowly pulled back from April, careful not to wake her up as he slipped out of bed. He grabbed his pants from the dresser and pulled them up, using the hair elastic he kept on his wrist to pull his hair away from his face before walking around the bed to her closet.

Part of him knew that he was invading her privacy, but he also knew that if he didn’t help her cross this bridge and accept what happened and celebrate what she had, she might never get there. So, after taking another breath, he opened the closet door.

Just like the first time he was in there, it was organized. And just like last time, peaking out from behind the box on the top shelf of the closet was a framed medal.

Charlie reached up and grabbed the box, gently lowering it to the ground, not wanting to disturb the still sleeping April. He wasn’t planning on opening the box, he wasn’t interested in going through her stuff, just in getting the medals. But when he put the box down on the floor, the top flapped open. Inside was a collection of her skating stuff. A pair of skates, a few pairs of tights, a couple trophies and medals.

He knelt down, brushing the box open and started picking at the medals. He frowned as his fingers brushed over the national titles, his heart sinking in his chest. He couldn’t imagine having all of this and then losing it all in a single second.

Gentling putting the medals back into the box and closing the top, pushing it to the side and standing back up. He let out a breath as he laid eyes on the Olympic medal. He grabbed it with shaky fingers, really take it in. She had really won this.

It was her bronze medal from Sochi. Next to it was a picture of her on the podium when she won it. Under both was “Sochi 2014 Olympics,” “Ladies Singles,” and the date she won.

He gently placed it on the top of the box and looked up to find the others. Just like he thought, the two gold medals were behind it. He grabbed the first one. It was framed just like the bronze with the medal sitting next to a photo of her on the podium with the rest of Team Canada since this was the Team Event.

Charlie smiled looking at how happy was she in the picture, his thumb lightly brushing over her face before he put it down next to the bronze and looked up to grab the gold from the Ladies Singles. He had just picked it up when April spoke, “what are you doing?”

Charlie jumped, turning to look at her. “Nothing?” He said like he hadn’t just been caught red handed.

April’s heart sunk and she pushed the blankets off her, taking unsure steps towards him, her eyes dropping to what he had in his hands. Pain. Anger. Betrayal. April felt all of it.

“Why would you do this?” She asked, quiet anger seeping into her voice as she took the frame from his hands.

“Because you shouldn’t keep these hidden away in a closet, April. These are amazing, incredible feats. You should be proud of them, okay? You should have these on the wall.” He told her, reaching after her as she turned away from him.

“Leave it alone, Charlie,” she warned, but he didn’t listen.

“No,” he whispered. “I’m not going to because I love you and I am so, so proud of what you’ve accomplished, okay? And you need to be too.”

“I said drop it,” she warned again.

“And I said no. April, you have three freaking Olympic medals. Not just anyone has one and you have three. You should hang them up. There’s room above your dresser or in your living room where they would be perfect,” he explained, stepping to her side and putting his hand on her forearm.

“So I can see them every day as a constant reminder of what I’ll never do again?” She asked, her voice dangerously void of emotion. She looked over at him, tears lining her eyes.

Charlie swallowed, not prepared for that reaction. “I didn’t mean it like that,” he told her.

She rolled her eyes and brushed her tears back. “That’s what these are to me. Not reminders of victory. They’re reminders of pain.”

“They shouldn’t be,” he told her.

She pulled her eyes away from him to look down at the picture of her on the podium and trace her fingers over the glass that separated her from the gold medal before she sighed. “Put them back. Please.” Her voice broke on the last word and she pulled back from him, disappearing out of the room.

Charlie looked down at the medal on the dresser, his heart still resting in his stomach. All he wanted to do was help. He looked back up at the empty doorway, promising himself that he would help get her there eventually, even if it wasn’t today.

His heart hurt as he put the medals back up in the top of her closet, this time next to and not behind the box she he wouldn’t have to move it when she was ready. He squared his shoulders as he closed the closet door, giving it a final glance before walking out the door and into the living area.

April had pulled her hair back as she pulled things out for breakfast. “Let me,” Charlie whispered, coming up behind her with a soft smile.

“No,” April whispered. Charlie’s smile and heart fell, afraid that the thin ice they had worked on last night had cracked. “You like your eggs with peanut butter and that is absolutely disgusting so no, you will not help me.”

He laughed, wrapping his arms around her middle before pressing his lips to her neck. “That goes on after they’re cooked, so I can still help.” She laughed, but before she could comment any further, he whispered against her skin, “I’m sorry for pushing you.”

She took a deep breath through her nose, her fingers freezing on the egg she was just about to crack. “It’s okay,” she told him. “I’m just not there. Not yet.”

“Yeah,” he whispered. “I respect that. I’m sorry for pushing you.”

“Thank you,” she told him, cracking the egg and dropping it into the pan. Charlie pressed another kiss to her neck before pulling back to start the coffee.

They worked naturally around each other, Charlie making the coffee and setting the island while April cooked. Sitting there eating breakfast with her, both of their hair up in messy buns, he wondered if it was always going to be like that.

He hoped it would.

--

A picture of Jeremy and Carolynn on a skating date popped up on Charlie’s Instagram feed. He liked it without a second thought and kept scrolling, but the further he scrolled, the more he thought about it. Thought about what Danielle had asked him a week ago, if he had taken April on a skating date.

He hadn’t. Hadn’t ever thought about it.

But seeing Jeremy and Carolynn’s smiles… Now he was thinking about it.

He didn’t want to push her too far like he did with the medals. But he also thought that going on the ice would be good for her. And it would be a sweet date, if it went well.

He thought about it for the rest of the day and decided to go ahead with the idea.

Not wanting her to hurt herself, Charlie wanted her to use her own skates. Of course, he needed to get them sharpened so that they were useable. And he didn’t want to tell April about his plan so that she couldn’t back out of it. So, Charlie had to figure out how to grab her skates out of her closet without her knowing.

That was easier said than done.

It took more tries than he cared to admit, trying to get into her closet and into the box to grab her skates and put them into his bag, a bag he was careful to make sure was big enough that it wasn’t suspicious. He was almost caught multiple times. But, finally, he succeeded, and he smiled the whole way to his car when he left with the skates in his bag.

He brought hers and his skates to get sharpened the next day and then he got to work hunting down ice he could rent. That was more of a challenge considering most arenas were doing hours of public skating every day. It certainly wasn’t cheap, but he didn’t care. What he wanted was to get April back on the ice.

He told her that he was going to take her out days in advance, but he refused to tell her where. She tried hopeless to get him to spill, but all he did was tell her to wear something comfortable, like a sweater. It drove her crazy not knowing, but when the day finally came, she was bouncing with excitement and nerves when she got into his car.

Charlie put the bag with their skates in the trunk so she wouldn’t see. She asked him again where they were going, but he just told her to wait and turned up the music. Trying to make her happy, he played her music. And he tried to ignore the way his hands shook on the steering wheel. It wasn’t long ago that he pushed her too far with the medals. This… He wasn’t sure if this was pushing her less or more.

April’s heart dropped when Charlie pulled into the arena parking lot.

“Charlie…” she whispered, warning him. He didn’t answer as he pulled into a parking spot and parked the car, letting it run so that they would stay warm in the December weather.

She looked at him the way he imagined Adam looked at Eve. Like he had just committed the ultimate betrayal.

“I know you’re upset with me,” he said, reaching over to touch her thigh. “But I love you and I don’t want you to back out of this because I know that being on that ice is a part of you.”

“It was. I’m not that person anymore.” She said, not meeting his eyes.

“You’re right. You’re not. But, I know that you’re scared more than anything. Scared of what happened. Scared to get on that ice. And I get it, I do.” April looked at him and opened her mouth to tell him that he didn’t understand, not really, but Charlie gave her a pointed look and kept talking. “But you’re not going to fall. I’m going to be there with you the whole time. I’ll hold you the whole time if I have to. And if you get on that ice and skate a bit and really hate it, then we can leave, okay? But we are not leaving until you touch that ice.”

April swallowed, pulling her eyes to the window to look out at the arena. It had been almost two years since the last time she was on the ice. She never thought she would get on the ice again. She never wantedto get on the ice again.

She broke in indescribable ways the day she fell. Being on the ice was who she was. Being forced to give it up, it left a hole in her. The idea of getting on the ice but it never being the same, knowing that she’ll never land another double axel or triple toe… She hated it. Hated the idea of it.

But… She also missed it.

She missed the way it felt gliding on the ice. Missed how happy and fulfilled she felt every time she stepped onto the ice.

“Okay,” she whispered, looking back at Charlie. “But if I don’t like it, I want to leave.”

Charlie nodded and turned the car off. “Absolutely, I promise.”

They got out of the car and Charlie went around to the trunk, grabbing the bag and pulling it over his shoulder before closing the trunk and locking the car. He held his hand out to her, which she took. “Your skates are in the bag,” he told her as they walked.

“I wish I was surprised, but I’m not,” she said with a light laugh. He planned the whole thing out, so of course he would have figured out how to get her skates. “Did you get them sharpened?” Charlie gave her an offended look at she would even ask and that was a good enough answer for her as she leaned further into him.

April pulled back from him when they walked into the arena, her heart in her throat as she took everything in. Charlie spared her a glance before going to check in. When he came back, she was sitting on the bench looking through the glass at one of the other rinks which was having a mom and tots skate.

Charlie sat down next to her. “Are you okay?” He asked gently.

“Yeah,” she breathed. She wasn’t. But she was trying to be. She didn’t pull her eyes away from the kids. “This is how I started,” she told him.

The corners of Charlie’s lips twitched up, picturing a young April with her mom on the ice and how that kid grew up into the incredible young woman sitting next to him. “So maybe one of these kids will turn out like you.”

April laughed and held her hand out for him to take. He did, standing up and helping her to her feet and leading them towards the rink he rented. April thought they were going for public skating, so she looked at him with furrowed brows when he led her to an empty sheet of ice.

“What’s going on?” She asked.

A blush dusted Charlie’s cheeks and he dropped the bag before taking a seat on the bench and beginning to undo it. “I rented the ice for an hour.”

“Charlie…” she whispered. He shrugged and got both of their skates out, putting hers in front of her.

“I assume you can tie them yourself, but if you want to be cute and cheesy, I’ll tie them for you,” he said with a wink, doing his best to lighten the situation. It made April laugh and she shook her head, picking her skates up to loosen the laces before kicking her boots off.

Her hands shook as she slid her feet into them. They were so familiar to her that it felt weird how uncomfortable there were. She took a deep breath before lacing them up, struggling to actually tie them. Charlie kept glancing at her while he did up his hockey skates.

April closed her eyes when they were both tied, taking a deep breath through her nose before letting it out through her mouth, telling herself over and over that it was okay. She didn’t look at Charlie as she pulled the guards off the bottom of her skates and stood up. Charlie followed suit, pulling off the cloth guards and standing.

She opened the latch of the door and pulled it open. She hesitated, putting her hand on the top of the dasher boards. Her heart was beating frantically and her chest felt like there was an elephant sitting on it. But then she looked at Charlie and he gave her a reassuring smile, love and support and pride in his eyes.

April took another deep breath and stepped out onto the ice.

A weight she didn’t know she had been carrying the last two years lifted from her shoulders.

Skating was like breathing to April and she moved effortlessly across the ice. Charlie stepped on the ice and followed after her, smiling. She did half a lap before transitioning to skate backwards, looking at Charlie with a bright smile. Charlie’s smile widened and he skated a little harder to catch up with her and take her extended hand.

“You’re doing it,” he said, shaking his head. He couldn’t believe that he actually got her on the ice. That she was smiling like this.

“I am,” she whispered, letting go of his hand to transition back to skating forwards before taking his hand again, interlacing their fingers.

With every lap they skated, April felt lighter and lighter. She didn’t slip once, in fact, she had to catch Charlie when he caught an edge. They both laughed as they stood at centre ice wrapped in each other’s arms.

Charlie let his hands fall to her waist and she moved her hands to his neck, her fingers playing with the hair that stuck out the back of his toque. Her smile softened as she looked at him. “Thank you,” she whispered. “For all of this.”

Charlie nodded, his smile softening too. “I’m so in love with you,” he told her, loving how happy she looked on the ice.

April blushed and pulled him closer, leaning up a bit to connect their lips. The kiss was soft and she did her best to pour all of her love into it, needing Charlie to understand how much she needed him. How much she loved him.

He chased her lips when she pulled back, pulling her flush against his chest as he kissed her deeper. April lightly tugged at his hair, loving the soft noise he made. He let her pull back this time, biting his lip to contain his smile as he looked at her.

There wasn’t much Charlie knew in life, just that he was hopelessly in love with April.

April spent the last two years hurt and terrified of the ice. But Charlie was right, she had no reason to be. She knew she was safe when she was with Charlie.

They skated until their hour was up, and they smiled and laughed all the way back to the car, and in the car while Charlie drove to Timmies to get hot chocolate for the two of them.

She sipped on her hot chocolate as he drove back to her place. And just like when he pulled up to the arena, he put the car into park but didn’t turn it off before turning to look at her. “I’m really glad you had fun,” he said with a smile.

April put her hot chocolate down into the cup holder before undoing her seatbelt and leaning over to kiss his cheek. “You don’t know how much today meant to me.”

“Just happy I could help,” he told her, reaching over to give her thigh a squeeze.

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to repay for you for everything,” she said with a small laugh, settling back down into her seat and casting her eyes to her lap.

Charlie shifted, bringing his hand up to her chin to make her look at him. “You already have by just being,” he whispered. April’s shoulders relaxed and the corner of her lip twitched up making Charlie smile before he leaned across the centre console to kiss her.

April kept her eyes closed for a moment after he pulled back, her smile widening before she opened her eyes. “Have a good day, Charlie,” she whispered, picking up her hot chocolate. “Thank you.”

“You need to stop thanking me,” Charlie told her. She shook her head with a smile as she opened the door and stepped out, opening the back door to grab her skates and hang them over her shoulder, closing the back door before sticking her head back into the passenger door.

“I love you,” she told him.

“I know,” he laughed, reaching over to try to close the door. “Now close the damn door, it’s fucking cold out.”

His words made April laugh and she nodded, closing the door and stepping back. Charlie put the car back into gear, giving her another look through the window before diving away. April watched him drive off and turn down another road to go back home before turning and heading inside.

April hadn’t felt so alive. Being on the ice again, being with Charlie… She felt whole. She felt herself. She was happy.

When she walked into her apartment, she put her hot chocolate on the kitchen counter and dropped her skates on the floor before shrugging her coat and boots off. She took a deep breath. She couldn’t stop smiling. April finished her hot chocolate, rinsing the cup out and tossing it into the recycling before she brought her skates back to her room, leaning them against her closet door before going back into the living area.

She spun carefully through the living room like she used to on the ice before flopping down on the couch. She closed her eyes and thought about how good it felt to skate again, to skate with Charlie’s hand in hers. How warm his smile made her.

She broke that night she fell. Honestly, she never thought that she would be able to put the broken pieces back together. In the year that followed, she was held together by duct tape and safety pins.

But then she met Charlie.

Everything started and ended with Charlie. Through him, April learnt that skating wasn’t everything, didn’t have to be everything. She realized that her value wasn’t in how well she did on the ice, it was her. She, in all her broken pieces, was enough.

He didn’t know it, but he helped her heal. Through his smile and the softness of his hands and the way he loved her with the entirety of his heart, Charlie helped her find the power to mend the breaks she didn’t think would ever heal.

She never knew what love was, didn’t know if she would ever know what love was. But she did because of Charlie and for that, she was thankful.

When she opened her eyes, she faced the empty wall of her living room. The light grey paint on the walls was boring and Charlie was right, it would be the perfect place to hang something. To hang several somethings.

Her heart fluttered in pain, in fear, in hope, as she got up, walking into her kitchen to grab a pencil and the tape measure from the drawer. Putting them on the arm of the couch, she went into her closet and got the frames down, doing her best to ignore the pain that flared in her knee as she looked at them.

After setting them down on the couch, she went to the hall closet to grab the small toolbox she had bought, pulling out the mini hammer. She was glad that her mom had taped the right nails to the back of each frame because otherwise she would never take this step.

It took her almost an hour of measuring and remeasuring as she struggled to make everything centred and equally spaced. But, her hard work paid off as she hung the third frame up on the wall, taking her time to make sure it was straight, her fingers lightly running over the edge of the frame before stepping back to admire her work.

It was bittersweet as she smiled, sitting back down on the couch. She took a deep breath, hugging a throw pillow to her chest as she took them in. Charlie was right, she should be proud of them. And starting now, she would be.

Charlie came back over two days later and it only took him a moment to notice them. His smile widened as he glanced over at her before stepping closer to look at them. He bit his lip to contain the pride he felt looking at them.

He took a moment to really take them in, how good they looked hanging up, before he walked over to April and pulled her into a tight hug. He pressed his face into her shoulder, his hands spread across her back. “I am so, so proud of you,” he said when he pulled back.

“Thank you,” she whispered.

He shook his head with a smile, moving his hand up to cup her cheek. She smiled back at him before he kissed her. It didn’t last long as neither of them could contain their smiles.

When he pulled back from the kiss, he pulled her into another tight hug, this time lifting her off her feet and spinning her around. April shrieked and gripped his shoulders, but she couldn’t stop laughing. When he put her back on her feet, he kissed her cheek. “I am so proud of you,” he repeated. “And I am so in love with you.”

April blushed at his words and pulled him in for a kiss, chasing his lips to kiss him again when he pulled back. She deepened the second kiss and let Charlie back her up against the kitchen counter, caging him in with his arms. “I love you, too,” she whispered when she finally pulled back from the kiss.

He brushed her hair back from her eyes, tilting her chin up to press another quick peck to her lips before pulling back. “See, I was planning on taking you to the restaurant we had our first date at. But, now I just want to stay in.”

April moved her hands up to his hair, pulling at the elastic that help it up so it fell messily around his shoulders where she could run her fingers through it. “I think staying in sounds perfect.”

Charlie kissed her again, moving his lips down her neck when she pulled back. “If we’re staying in, then we’re gonna have to figure something out for dinner.”

Charlie mumbled “you can be my dinner” against her skin which made April flush and gently force him back so they could really talk about it.

They settled on using some of the leftovers and the remaining veggies in her fridge to make a stir fry. They worked easily around each other, and Charlie’s lingering touches on her waist did not go unnoticed by April. After dinner and clean up, then ended up on the couch. They put on a Netflix movie, but even as they watched, Charlie couldn’t keep his eyes from glancing over at the medals on the wall.

They were about halfway through the movie when Charlie shifted, pulling his legs up on the couch and putting his head on her thighs, his hair pooling in her lap. April was always jealous of how nice his hair was. It wasn’t fair that her boyfriend got to have softer, shinier hair than her. But, God, did she love to play with it.

She gently ran her fingers through it, softly untangling the knots that she got caught in. Charlie didn’t react. He was used to April running her fingers through his hair. If anything, he leaned into her touch.

Her fingers gently scratched his scalp which pulled a soft hum from him as he let his eyes close, enjoy the feeling of her hand in his hair more than the movie on the TV. “You’re like a puppy,” April noted with a soft laugh.

“Puppies are cute, I’ll take it,” Charlie replied, turning his head a bit to let her scratch more of his scalp. April shook her head but continued, only pulling back to gently trace over the waves of his hair.

“Why’d you stop?” Charlie asked, pulling her from her thoughts and looking up at her. April rolled her eyes and went back to lightly scratching his scalp. “Better,” Charlie hummed and closed his eyes again. April took a deep breath and focused on the arch of Charlie’s cheeks and the shadow covering his jaw from the couple days without shaving. She had no idea how she got so lucky.

She continued to scratch his head and play with his hair until her hand tired and she gently patted the top of his head before resting her hand back down. Charlie was quiet for a few moments before he opened his eyes with a soft smile, “I love it when you do that.”

Part of her wanted to shove him, making him fall off the couch, but what she did was smile. “I know you do. Most people like it when their hair is played with.”

Charlie did his best to shrug despite lying in her lap. “Yeah, but it’s different.” April raised an eyebrow at him. “Because it’s you,” Charlie said with a smile before pushing himself up enough to kiss the corner of her mouth before he flopped back down in her lap and closed his eyes, mumbling something about it being nap time.

Yeah, April didn’t know how she got so lucky. But damn, she wasn’t gonna let him go.

--

“Looks like you got here right in the Nick of time,” Charlie laughed when April came through his front door with almost an inch of snow on her hat from just the walk from the car to the door.

It was late December and the snow had really picked up. The forecast was 15 centimeters of snow, so Charlie asked April to come over before the storm hit. And by the look of the snow coming down, she just made it.

“It is fucking freezing out there,” she told him, brushing herself off before taking her coat off and hanging it up on a hook, her hat and boots following not long after. She shivered, brushing her arms with her hands as she made her way over to Charlie’s place on the couch. He held his arms open and she flopped down into them, pressing a quick peck to his lips before burying her face into his chest.

Charlie rubbed his hands up and down her back, trying to warm her up with a soft chuckle. “Good thing you’re with me. I can keep you warm.”

April hummed and wrapped her arms around him, slipping her hands under his shirt and Charlie jumped at the contact. “Take your fucking icicles back, Jesus Christ.”

“No, you’re warm,” April replied, moving her hands up his side and making him squirm. Charlie shifted and grabbed her wrists, pulling them from beneath his shirt.

“Yeah, no,” he told her, gently moving her off his chest and covering both her hands with his, trying to warm her that way.

“You know…” April whispered, biting her lip and looking over at him. Charlie raised an eyebrow, knowing what her tone meant. “I hear skin to skin contact is a good way to warm up.”

Charlie took a sharp breath through his nose. “My sister is home,” he replied, though part of him was thinking about kicking her out, even if they were in a snowstorm.

“Darn,” April said, her eyes sparkling. Charlie groaned and leaned his head back against the couch. Why couldn’t Meghan have gone to a friend’s house or something? Why couldn’t he have gone to April’s place instead?

“Anyways,” she said, pulling her hands back and sitting up. “Whatcha watching?”

It took Charlie a moment to remember what exactly he was watching. “Uh, it’s a show on Netflix, Owen told me to watch it.”

“Any good?” She asked.

Charlie shrugged, “I wouldn’t say it’s bad…” April laughed. “It’s just very Owen.”

“Makes sense,” she nodded.

“We can watch whatever you want,” he told her, handing her the remote.

She thought about it for a moment before smiling, “I know this great show with such a hot lead.”

Charlie gave her an offended look and took the remote back, “no.”

April rolled her eyes but she was still smiling as she leaned over to grab the remote. Charlie pulled it back and they wrestled for the remote for a few moments before April won it. Charlie pouted and gave her puppy dog eyes as she searched for the show she wanted, pulling up Julie and the Phantoms.

Charlie furrowed his brows, confused. “You said you wanted to watch a show with a hot lead?” He asked.

“It’s you, dummy. You’re the hot lead,” she told him, shoving his shoulder before pressing play.

Charlie blushed hard and April leaned over to kiss his cheek before curling back into his arms. “Seriously,” she said after ‘Now or Never’ finished. “I don’t understand how you can be real. Like you’re so unfairly hot and talented and nice.”

He blushed again and buried his face into her hair. “I think the same thing about you,” he whispered, kissing the side of her head.

April wanted to roll her eyes, but she just felt so warm and happy. “I love you,” she told him, looking up at him.

“I love you, too,” Charlie replied before kissing her softly.

Behind them, Meghan gagged. “Get a room,” she told them, walking from the kitchen back towards the stairs to go back up to her room.

Charlie reached over and grabbed a throw pillow before tossing it at her. “We have a room, you’re the one who interrupted!” He shouted back, but she was already gone. This time, April did roll her eyes. “She’s just jealous,” he told her, scrunching his nose up a bit before winking.

“Shhh,” she shushed him, a small smile playing on her lips. “Let me watch the show. I’m kinda in love with the lead guitarist and all.” Charlie’s smile softened as she looked back at the TV. Like so many times before, he wondered how he got so lucky.

They settled in, watching episode after episode as the day dragged on and the snow continued to fall.

The fourth episode was coming to an end when Charlie nudged her, making her look over at him while he was looking out the window. “It stopped snowing,” he said, looking back at her with a mischievous smile.

“Okay?” She asked.

“So, we should go outside!” He said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Do you not remember my icicles for hands earlier?” She asked, still not sure why he would want to go outside in the snow.

“Come on,” he begged. “It’ll be fun!”

Yeah, April greatly overestimated that she was dating a man and not a five year old in a man’s body.

“It’ll be cold,” she corrected.

“I’ll warm you up,” he countered, giving her a pointed look before pouting. She really wanted to say no. She really wanted to stay inside. But the damn puppy dog look always got her.

“Fine.”

Charlie did an arm pump of victory and jumped up, heading to the entry to put his boots on. He shrugged his coat on before put on a toque and a pair of gloves. April took her time putting her things on, still not overly thrilled with the idea of going out in the snow.

“You good?” He asked. She wanted to say no, but she nodded so he opened the door and they stepped out into the snow.

It wasn’t as cold as she thought it was going to be, but she still held her arms to her chest. Charlie, on the other hand, ran onto the back lawn and flopped backwards into the snow before spreading his arms and legs as he made a snow angel. Yeah, April greatly underestimated her boyfriend’s age.

“Come join me,” he told her before turning his gaze to the sky above. It was still cloudy out, no doubt a sign of more snow to come, but it was pretty.

April stepped forwards to join him, even though her knew it meant her pants would get wet. But as she started walking, the snow crunched under her boot. She bit her lip to contain her smirk when she realized what that meant: packing snow.

Charlie, busy with the sky, didn’t notice that April had leaned down to gather some snow, molding it into a ball. He didn’t notice until a snowball hit him in the middle of his chest, broken pieces of snow covering his face.

“What the fuck?” He asked, pushing himself up onto his elbows to look at her. April gave him a smile and bent down to make another snowball. “Oh, it’s on!” Charlie shouted when he realized what she was doing.

Charlie pushed himself to his feet and reached for the snow, squeezing it into shape with his hands, but April hit him in the chest again before he could finish making his snowball. Charlie flung his not totally formed ball at April, hitting her in the leg, and just like that, a full blown snowball fight broke out between them.

April shrieked and laughed as she ran from him. Focused more on flinging snow at each other, none of their snowballs were fully formed. Half of them missed or fell apart before they found their target. But they couldn’t stop laughing as they threw snowballs and ran from each other.

April turned her back to him, bending to form another snowball when Charlie grabbed onto her from behind and picked her up. April shrieked and flailed as she tried to get out of his arms. April’s flailing parted with the uneven and slippery snow covered ground caused Charlie to lose his footing.

“Oh shit,” he cursed as they fell backwards.

Luckily, they fell into a pile of snow so neither of them were hurt, but April still turned in his arms, pressing her hands on either side of his head to hold her weight as she looked down at him. “Are you okay?”

Charlie gave her a lopsided smile. “I’m perfect,” he whispered.

April shook her head and rolled off him, flopping down into the snow, just like he originally wanted her to do before she seated the snowball fight. They stayed like that, laying in the snow looking up at the sky for several moments before Charlie pushed himself up and rolled over to hover over her.

“Hi,” he whispered.

“Hello,” she replied with a laugh.

He didn’t try to hide it and let his eyes drop to her lips before he leaned down to kiss her, lowering more of his weight onto her. April made a noise of protest since his lips and nose were so cold, but she didn’t push him away.

When Charlie pulled back from the kiss, he gave her a smile before rolling off her. April shivered as soon as he was gone. He had kept the wind off her, and laying in the snow, her pants now very wet, she became very aware how cold she was.

“Can we go inside?” She asked. “Because I’m freezing.” Charlie chuckled and nodded, pushing himself up and brushing the snow off him before extending a hand to her and pulling her to her feet.

They brushed as much snow off them on his front step before entering the house. Once they were inside, they shrugged their costs off and hung them on the hooks, their hats and gloves joining them before they took off their boots.

“Come on,” he said, extending his hand to her. “I’ll give you something dry to wear.” April took his hand and he led her up the stairs to his room, closing the door behind them.

April leaned back against the door as Charlie riffled through his dresser, pulling out two pairs of sweatpants and holding one out to her. April murmured a thank you and set them down on the bed before slipping her fingers into the waistband of her leggings to push them down.

Expecting her to change in the bathroom, Charlie’s eyes bugged for a moment before he forced himself to look away as he blushed, not that it was noticeable since his skin was still red from the cold. He busied himself with changing out of his jeans, but he couldn’t stop himself from glancing back at April and the miles of pale skin of her legs as she pulled his sweats up.

She pulled at the strings and tied them before glancing over her shoulders and catching Charlie’s eyes. He gave her a smile before pulling his eyes away to actually change into his sweats. After they were both changed, he took their pants to the laundry room to hang and hopefully dry while April settled back in on the couch.

“So, I was thinking about making some hot chocolate,” he said after he came back, coming up behind the couch and leaning down to look at April.

“That actually sounds really good,” she told him, looking up.

He nodded, “cool.”

Charlie walked into the kitchen and grabbed two mugs down from the cupboard before grabbing two packs of hot chocolate mix and the milk from the fridge. April pushed herself off the couch and followed him in, coming up behind him and wrapping her arms around his waist.

Charlie chuckled and covered her hands with one of his before pouring the milk into the mugs. April walked with him to the microwave where he put one mug in. She stayed latched onto him as he made the first cup of hot chocolate, only letting go of him to take it before he started on the second.

Once both hot chocolates were made, they settled back in on the couch, this time with a blanket thrown over their laps as April tucked herself under his arm. Charlie pulled Julie and the Phantoms back up on the TV and pressed play, and they settled in, watching the rest of the series cuddled up together.

April ended up stayed the night, the snow falling to hard for Charlie to feel safe with her driving home. She fell asleep wrapped in Charlie’s arms and hoping that one day she’d always fall asleep like that.

And in the morning the two of them ended up getting quite the look from Meghan who was more than convinced that they participated in some unholy acts during the night, even if it wasn’t true.

“You’re coming over for New Year’s, right?” Charlie’s mom asked during breakfast. April glanced over at Charlie but he only raised an eyebrow at her, waiting to see her answer.

“Um, I haven’t thought about it?” She answered, but it sounded more like a question than an answer.

“You don’t have to think about it,” Jeanette said. “You’re coming.”

Again, April looked to Charlie but he just smiled and echoed his mom’s words. “I guess you’re coming.” And just like that, it was decided.

When New Year’s Eve rolled around, April didn’t spend much time picking an outfit, choosing a pair of leggings and a cozy knit sweater before getting started on her makeup and hair. She kept her make up neutral and loosely curled her hair.

She left half an hour earlier than she was expected to be at Charlie’s so she’d have time to swing by the LCBO and pick up four bottles of champagne. April didn’t know who would be there, but she knew Charlie had more siblings than Meghan.

Carrying the two LCBO bags in her hand, April struggled to get from her car to the front door. She kicked the door, not having hands to knock. Jeanette answered the immediately took one of the paper bags. “I brought champagne,” April explained with a nervous laugh.

“You didn’t need to,” Jeanette told her with a smile.

April shrugged and leaned into Charlie who had come up beside her. She gave him a smile before answering Jeanette, “I didn’t want to come empty handed. And champagne is always a hit on New Year’s.”

And a hit it was. As the night went on, they popped champagne and smiled and laughed and enjoyed being together. April was warm, both from the champagne and from Charlie, who never left her side, never wanted to leave her side.

As the clock ticked closer to midnight, they settled down on the couch. Charlie pulled up a count down since they were ahead of New York. They spent the next hour chatting with Charlie’s family, April loving some of the embarrassing stories she learnt about him that had his cheeks turn bright red and down several glasses of champagne.

April got butterflies in her stomach when the couch hit the final minute. With thirty seconds to go, Charlie pulled her to her feet. Charlie moved his hand from hers to her neck, his eyes dipping down to her lips as the clock continued to count down. April smiled as she leaned into him. The countdown reached one and they both said “Happy New Year” with everyone around them.

And then his lips were on hers.

April fisted the sides of his shirt as she smiled into the kiss. His lips were soft and they fit perfectly against hers. Charlie pulled back after a moment, but April kept her eyes closed, leaning into him. It was April’s first New Year’s kiss, but it was everything she could have wanted. Whatever the future brought, it didn’t matter as long as they were together.

Charlie soothingly ran his hand up her back and kissed the side of her head before pulling back to look at her. “I love you,” he whispered, but he didn’t need to say it, his eyes showed it.

“I love you, too,” she told him with a smile before sitting back down on the couch. Charlie followed suit and a moment later, Meghan leaned over to show Charlie the pictures she took of the two of them.

Charlie was shocked to see them, which was clear on his face when he pulled his gaze away from the screen to look at his sister. “I’ve never seen you so happy before,” she told him with a small smile. “I wanted you to have something to remember tonight.”

“Thank you,” he whispered. Meghan nodded and sent him the pictures. He saved them to his camera roll and turned to show April.

“Oh my God,” she breathed. “These are amazing.” Charlie nodded and April leaned over him to thank Meghan. Turning back to her boyfriend and the pictures, she asked Charlie to send them to her, which he happily did.

And while April fiddled with her favourite picture so she could make it her phone background, Charlie kept scrolling through the series of pictures.

“Hey,” he whispered, making April look up at him. “Would you be okay if I posted one of these on Instagram?”

A month ago she wouldn’t have been, but it only took a moment for her to nod. “I think they’re pictures worth posting.”

Charlie’s smile widened and he leaned over to kiss the side of her head, not missing the step that this was for her. He murmured a thank you and pulled up Instagram. April set her head on his shoulder and watched as he picked his favourite picture and messed with the colouring a bit before typing a simple caption #happynewyear. “Good?” He asked.

“Perfect,” she replied, pressing a kiss to his jaw. Charlie turned, catching her lips in a quick kiss before hitting post and putting his phone away.

A year ago, two years ago, April had no hope. Everything begun and ended with her fall. She couldn’t find the light at the end of the tunnel, didn’t want to find the light at the end of the tunnel. But then she found Charlie and he showed her that the light had been in her all along, she just needed a little help finding it.

When April moved to New Brunswick, she never planned on falling in love. But, in not looking for it, she walked right into Charlie’s arms, and there was nowhere she would rather be. Nowhere either of them would rather be.

#charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie imagine #charlie gillespie x oc #julie and the phantoms imagine #jatp imagine #rpf #rpf fanfic #luke patterson

[dream-a-little-bigger-x]

Chapter 1 -- Perfect Harmony | Charlie Gillespie

Summary: Emily Fox is a talented 17-year-old with a passion for all things music. Her dream is to become a successful singer-songwriter one day. But to achieve that dream, she needs to get into one of the most prestigious music schools in her district – it’s all been part of her plan since she was six. Sadly enough, those schools cost a ton of money that her parents don’t want to invest. They don’t even want her to pursue her dream. So, now Emily’s hustling, working at the music store to save up to get into college. That’s until she meets Charlie, an annoying seventeen-year-old boy with the same dream as her. The only difference is, he’s just doing it. He doesn’t need a fancy college to pursue his dream to become famous with his band. He just writes his songs and books small gigs here, there and everywhere. Will meeting Charlie defer her from her dream college, or will he actually help her achieve the dream? 

Pairing: Charlie Gillespie x OC (Emily Fox) 

Warnings: mentions of death, the characters of Charlie, Owen, Jeremy and Madison are based on the characters they play on the show and i do not own their names, only OC are mine. The songs aren’t mine either, they’re all from the show except for one. 

Chapter One

~|Emily Fox| ~

As a seventeen-year-old, you should not be left to your devices. Unless you have no other choice. When you have a dream your parents have called unrealistic without ever listening to what you were actually capable of, you have no other choice but to move out and fend for yourself. Thankfully, I can stay with Uncle Mitch for a while until I’m off to college.  Since leaving my parents’ house at fourteen, my life has consisted of high school, working at the music store, write songs – if I have the time –, help Uncle Mitch around the house, sleep, repeat. It’s been a chore. But I just about manage. 

“Please, don’t touch the guitars without a supervisor, ma’am!” I say loudly from across the shop as I catch her hands rising up to pick up one of the acoustic guitars hanging on the wall for display. I rush over to her, dodging clients testing out guitars and pianos I’ve helped before. While the forty-something woman stares at me with an intense glare, I pick up the Gibson guitar for her and hand it over, offering her my fakest smile. “This one’s a nice one!” I tell her as she handles the guitar very clumsily, nearly dropping it. “What do you know about guitars?” she snarls at me. “Well, for starters, I work here, so I’m supposed to have some knowledge about guitars. Secondly, this is a bass guitar. Never just call a bass a guitar.” The woman rolls her eyes and when she casts her gaze on the strings, I roll mine. I’ve had my share of forty-something old women coming in here to buy something for their spoiled little sons, pretending they know more about guitars of any kind, pianos and drums while I have been brought up listening to Uncle Robert talking non-stop about all of his instruments. He taught me how to play each and every one of the instruments and brought me into the world of rock. If he were still here, I wouldn’t be working in a music store, trying to pay for my own apartment or my college tuition. He believed in me from the second he heard me sing and play piano. He still believes in me, I can feel it. Staying with Uncle Mitch – Uncle Robert’s husband, now widower, has been a lot more healing than it would’ve been if I still lived at my parents’. “I know that,” she grumbles, then looks back up at me. “If you know so much about everything, you little know-it-all, why don’t you tell me something more about this one?” I refrain myself from rolling my eyes again, and instead ball up my fists to put all of my anger there. “This is the Les Paul Junior Tribute DC bass. It’s actually a tribute to the historic Gibson EB-0 bass from the late 50's, but with modern features. The short scale length is actually chosen by many for its strong fundamental tone and sits perfectly in a track when recording. The mahogany double cutaway body and maple neck with rosewood fingerboard balances perfectly when playing either sitting or strapped on. It's equipped with a single expanded range LP BassBucker pickup with single volume and tone controls for simplicity. The volume pot has a push-pull feature to coil tap the pickup scooping the mids for further tone shaping possibilities.” I’ve explained this many a times, so it almost sounds as if I’ve learned it by heart. “Oh! And it comes in four different finishes; Worn Ebony, Worn Cherry, Blue Stain and Worn Brown.” The woman looks at me, clearly impressed at my knowledge of the bass in her hands. I’m pretty sure I could’ve told her anything and she would’ve believed me. “I want to speak to the manager,” she then says and pushes the bass guitar back in my hands as if handling a cardboard box. If my reflexes weren’t what they are now, we would’ve had a broken bass and I would be the one that had to pay for it. “What for?” I ask, my anger slipping through into a vicious snarl. “Just because you learn everything by heart, doesn’t mean you’re a good salesperson.” I open my mouth to say something, but I know I can’t win against a Karen. So, instead, I plaster on my best fake smile and say “Of course, give me a second.” I turn on my heel and make my way back to the cash register to get Ash, my manager who’s been nothing but an absolute gem to me. She wasn’t looking for any employees, but still hired me when she saw how desperate I was and how good I was with the instruments. She even lets me write songs after hours. “Karen alert?” Ash asks when she sees my annoyed face, at the brim of exploding. “Yep, at the bass guitars,” I tell her and take her spot to handle a paying costumer. Ash hops over the counter and makes her way to the Karen at the bass guitars. Only for her to leave the store in an angered rush without any bass guitar for her precious son. “That’s 44 dollars and 97 cents, please,” I tell the guy who’d come in for guitar strings, picks and some polish. He looks about my age. Dark hair gelled back, green almond-shaped eyes and rosy cheeks. He hands me the cash with a cute, nervous smile. “Thank you! And here’s the three cents change,” I hold out my hand for him to take the three cents, but he shakes his head. “Keep it,” he winks at me before grabbing his purchases and leaving the store. Leaving me all flustered and blushing. I hate when cute boys come to the shop and have the audacity to do this stuff to me. UGH. “Got rid of our Karen,” Ash tells me, “You can get back out there. I think the little girl over there at the piano could use some of your expertise.” She points to a fourteen-year-old gliding her fingers along the big wing of the white piano in the middle of our store. “Hi,” I say as I approach her, making her jump slightly. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I’m Emily. Can I help you?” She scans my face for a moment, as if assessing whether or not I’m trustworthy. I guess she decides she does when she opens her mouth and four simple words flow out of it. “Do you play piano?” I’m a bit taken aback by the question. None of the costumers have ever asked me that question. “Yes, I do, actually,” I reply honestly. “I want to learn how to play the piano, but my mother doesn’t allow me. Says it’s too expensive. The piano, that is. And lessons are expensive too, she says.” She stops talking for a moment as if thinking about what to say next. “Will you teach me?” “Oh,” I manage to bring out, “I—we don’t really offer any piano lessons in the store. We just sell them.” Her eyes water and she visibly swallows a lump in her throat. “Okay…” she whimpers, making my heart break just that bit more. “Will you play me a song though? I love hearing people play.” I take a deep breath as I think about how to turn this girl down. But then I remember my parents turning me and my dreams down. “Sure, I can play you a song. Any requests?” I ask as I sit down on the stool in front of us, patting beside me to invite her too. “Surprise me,” she says, shaking her head with a big smile on her face. I carefully touch the keys as I think of a song to sing. Once I’ve figured that out, I begin to play the right melody and then chime in with the lyrics I’d written with Uncle Robert when he was still alive. The song I cherish the most and wouldn’t share with anyone. But this girl reminds me too much of myself, and I think she might take something from the message. “Here's the one thing I want you to know You got someplace to go Life's a test, yes But you go toe to toe You don't give up, no, you grow.” The girl looks up at me with big Bambi eyes, urging me to continue. “And you use your pain Cause it makes you you Though I wish I could hold you through it I know it's not the same You got living to do And I just want you to do it So get up, get out, relight that spark You know the rest by heart” As I begin the chorus, I hear drums backing me up from somewhere inside the store, and when I look around, I find Ash behind a drum set with a smile on her face as she helps me out a little. “Wake up, wake up, if it's all you do Look out, look inside of you It's not what you lost, it's what you'll gain Raising your voice to the rain Wake up your dream and make it true Look out, look inside of you It's not what you lost Relight that spark Time to come out of the dark Wake up, wake up” By now, Ash and I have gained an audience. Most of the costumers in line don’t even mind having to wait to pay until we’re done with this outburst of ours. “Better wake those demons, just look them in the eye No reason not to try Life can be a mess, I won't let it cloud my mind I'll let my fingers fly” The girl next to me still has the same expression on her face. Eyes pooled with admiration and inspiration. Exactly the reason why I make music and why it’s been a dream of mine to make a career out of it. “And I use the pain 'cause it's part of me And I'm ready to power through it Gonna find the strength, find the melody 'Cause you showed me how to do it Get up, get out, relight that spark You know the rest by heart” I go for the chorus again, and then pop in with the bridge. The one I added to uncle’s song. The costumers in the store stare at Ash and me with smiles on their faces whilst swaying along to the song. “So wake that spirit, spirit I wanna hear it, hear it No need to fear it, you're not alone You're gonna find your way home” I close my eyes as I hit that high note, then stop playing for a second whilst starting the chorus for the last time. Even Ash backs me up with some backing vocals after having heard the chorus a couple of times already. “Wake up, wake up, if it's all you do” The both of us pick up the melody again, putting more power behind the rest of the song. “Look out, look inside of you It's not what you lost, it's what you'll gain Raising your voice to the rain Wake up your dream and make it true Look out, look inside of you When you're feeling lost Relight that spark Time to come out of the dark Wake up, wake up” I hit the last couple of notes on the piano before a roar of applause and cheers fills up the entire store. The fourteen-year-old beside me is clapping the loudest of them all. Her eyes still wide and admiring and full of life. “What’s your name?” I ask the girl, causing her to stop clapping. “Kayla,” she replies. “Listen to me, Kayla. Even if your parents don’t agree with your big dreams, please, never give up on your dream! If this is really what you want to do, go for it. You’ll find a way, I promise you.” A tear rolls down her pink cheek as her bottom lip trembles slightly. “Don’t give up, okay?” She nods her head vigorously. “Thank you, Emily!” she wraps her arms around me into a tight hug before hopping off the stool and rushing out the store. As I watch her run out, my eyes land on a guy. Somewhat my age, I think. I can’t really function for a second as his hazel eyes stare at me and with his mouth curled up on one side. When I finally manage to move again, my eyes scan him entirely. His brown hair sticks out from underneath an orange beanie, his nose fine and cheekbones defined. He’s wearing a flannel shirt over a grey muscle tank and ripped black jeans. I give him an awkward smile before heading back to the cash register. “Can you do register for a moment? I need to check something in stock,” Ash asks me, and I simply nod before helping the next costumer. After the fifth costumer, the boy who’d been staring at me before shows up in front of me. “How can I help?” I ask with my best customer service-smile. “By giving your number,” he replies coyly. I was going to give him the cute boy card until those words came out of his mouth. “Sorry, my number ain’t for sale,” I reply and look behind him, “Next!” “Oh, no, sorry! Uhm, I don’t mean it like that, I—” Before he can mutter another word, I interrupt him. “Are you going to purchase something, bro?” He opens his mouth, then closes it again, looking like a goldfish. “Uhm… No… I just—” I interrupt him again. “Next customer, please,” I stare at him intensely, hoping that’d chase him away. He knocks on the counter before moving away, clearly defeated by the rejection. I can’t believe douchebags like him still exists in this generation. People need to learn manners. “Hi, how can I help you?” I ask the next customer, bringing back my best smile. Just got to move on, just as I moved on from dealing with a Karen again today. Best way to do that, is focus on all the other customers. For the rest of my shift, I have not been able to shake the cute-but-rude guy from before. There’s something about him that haunts me still and I can’t seem to figure out what it is. Not even when I’m focusing on cleaning up the store. As I’m dusting the piano, I hear the bell above the door ring. “Sorry, we’re closed!” I yell without looking up from the piano. “Are you going to play again?” The voice sends shivers down my spine as it takes me right back to that one douchey line it uttered just a mere hour before. “Again, we are closed, sorry.” This time it comes out more like a snarl and with a bit of poison. The boy in front of me chuckles and holds his hands up in defeat. “Listen, I’m sorry about before, but—” he steps closer to me, but I hold up my finger to make him stop, and it seems to help as he simply freezes in place. “But the store is closed. Goodbye now.” I go back to dusting off the piano and wait for the bell to ring again, but it doesn’t. Instead, the sound of guitar strums reaches my ears. “You can’t touch any of the guitars without supervision,” I tell him sternly, but when I meet his eyes and they’re looking at me intently as if urging me to do something. “You’re supervising me, aren’t you?” he asks cockily, still stroking the strings, creating a beautiful melody that fills up my head. “What do you want?” I ask bitterly, looking at him again, and hoping it would make him leave faster. “For you to sing.” “Sing what?” He shrugs, leaving me to wonder what he means by that. “I have a lot of work to do, dude. Please, leave,” I sound pathetic, nearly begging him to leave. I’m only a step away from begging on my knees. The sound of the guitar abruptly stops when I go back to cleaning the piano. “Listen, I just wanted to tell you that what you did earlier today was amazing. You know, not a lot of people have the power you have. Did you see what you did to all those people in here? Imagine doing that for thousands of people! Have you ever thought of that?” I turn to look at him, suddenly having the urge to tell him everything. Then I remember what a douchebag he really is. “I don’t have time for this. Please. Leave!” I shout at him before heading towards the cash register to start counting the money. It’s silent for a while until the bell over the door breaks it. I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding. This boy did something to me without me even realizing it. Nope. Can’t trust boys. They don’t do anything but break hearts and be douchebags. But this one somehow seemed different. No other boy has ever left such an impression as he did. And I didn’t even have a proper conversation with him. I just hope I don’t have to see him. Like ever again.  

#julie and the phantoms #julie and the himbos #charlie gillespie x oc #OC Emily Fox #charlie gillespie #luke patterson #reggie jatp #alex jatp #julie molina #jeremy shada #madison reyes #owen joyner

[gloomyhearts]

Always by your side || Luke Patterson

Chapter nine ~ you just left

people grow together through darkness. does this band will make it without their most important human being.

After years will everything keep the same?

____

Luke patterson x oc

2020

Sabrina knew exactly where they'd be staying at so the next morning she visits the studio. She poofed in behind Alex drums expecting the boys sitting on the couch but it was empty, just a girl walked into it searching for some guys.

The girl sat down at the piano Sabrina loved to play. And the girl herself began to play some chords. Her voice was angelic.

An older man arrived at the front and looked to the garage, he had a smile on his face, looking relieved.

Sabrina studied her face, her movement and her emotions, somewhere she'd seen this face.

Suddenly the three faces she tried to avoid where behind the singing girl. They didn't seem to notice her again, thank god.

When she finished Alex was about to touch her shoulder to take her into an embrace but Luke stopped him.

The next moment the boys were right next to her. Luke's back was facing her and so did Reggie's. Alex eyes glued on her but he decides to ignore her.

"Oh, dude why'd you stopped me? Julie needs a hug,"

"Bro, a ghost hug isn't the feel-good moment that you think is. All right," he explains.

"Trust me. What Julie needs right now is just a bit of privacy" well Luke wasn't wrong nor right.

The fact that Luke didn't had a girlfriend himself as he was still alive is mostly due to his lack of understanding women or was it?

1993

"Why don't you just go over? They're staring at you since we arrived," Sabrina points over to the group of three girls which all began to wave as Luke's graze fell on them.

"Nah, all they do is to apply make up and tattle about other" he argues.

"You're an idiot" she laughs. At this sight in front of him, her, his mouth curved into a smile.

"You're just jealous," he joins her laughter.

"I'm jealous? Ab- about what? Girls looking at you? You're totally an idiot"

'of course I am' 

Maybe it was because they always had a thing for each other or maybe they didn't found anyone that was as similar as the others. They had a connection no one understood. Alex himself tried to understand it, really he tried his best but somehow nobody else has what they had.

2020

"You know what? I think you poofed us out because you can't handle when people cry," Alex states.

"I should know. I cried in a room for 25 years, and I didn't get a single hug from either of you, just.." he ends before he could say more.

"All right, being it on" Reggie opened his arms to embrace Alex.

"Don't touch me," he threw his hand in the air to imply to him to stop right there.

"That is why no one hugs you," Reggie explains.

"Just what? What do you have to tell us Alex. You're poofing out and then you'd come back crying, obviously and don't tell us where you've been and.. and," Luke starts to stutter at the end.

"I promised. I can't tell you. She.." he stops, his eyes searching for his sister no where to found.

"She?" Reggie questions.

"As in Sa.. Sabrina?" His voice shaking.

The blonde girl hid behind a hedge not knowing if her 'powers' would just make her visible for them.

"N.. no, she wouldn't hide for you guys, I.. I mean you were her family," Alex insists.

"I avoid you." Goosebumps forming on Luke's body as her sweet voice reached his ears.

The girl stepped out from behind the spot.

The sunlight shone on her body and make her look like an angel, Luke thought.

"Brina," he exhales, his view starts to blurry.

"Just hear me out, please, Alex,' she didn't dared to look into his eyes nor his face.

"It wasn't easy for me to leave you all behind. And when I came back as you all played for the first time again. I.. I tried everything to let you know I'm with you. I was in the Orpheum when you had rehearsal, when you talked to the woman and... and when," she gulped tears were streaming down her face

"I just couldn't," Sabrina shook her head as she placed her hands in front of her face.

"You kissed my temple right?" She nodded.

"This whole time. Why didn't you say something, you could have found us. Did Alex, did he knew?" And again she just nodded.

"And you didn't told us Alex? Are you serious?!" Sabrina began to move towards Luke her hand reaching for his and he pulled away.

"Can we talk Luke? Alone?" She suggests.

"No" he coldly says. Sabrina needed to get out of there and poofed herself out. The group was quiet, frozen in tracks.

After collecting his thoughts, I..I think we should, when we have the Courage, ask Julie why she lied go us about the piano," he spoke.

"Yeah, maybe tell her how amazing she's."

"She's legit. I got ghost bumps," he shoved his sleeves up.

A sobbing girl walked past the group to the door of the studio.

" Oh my gosh, was she crying too?" Alex whispers towards his friends.

"Yes," Luke hisses while turning around.

"And the only thing scarier than one girl crying is two girl crying."

"He's right." Alex experienced quite a few times with Sabrina and her friends.

"Guys, we definitely can't go in there," Luke states.

"But we can listen," Reggie points out. And so the three teenager made their way over to the door and peeked through the windows. When Julie's graze rose up to the other girl the boys went down abruptly so they wouldn't be seen by her.

The teenage girls walked out of the garage and Julie greeted the boys which irritated her friend.

They moved past the group and to the stairs.

Reggie calls "don't worry! We weren't listening" in her direction and Luke kicked him.

In the next second the boys were in the garage.

"I wonder why Julie didn't tell us she could play the piano," Reggie began.

"And sing. That girl can sing," Luke added.

"I didn't heard a voice like thins since.." he stopped.

"You know," he shrugged his shoulders.

"Yeah, you're right," Alex agrees.

"I think it probably has something to do with her mom. You know."

"Must've been hard," he went on and moves to the stairs .

"Anyway, I really feel for her," he says at he climbs up.

"Yeah, but," Luke took a seat at the piano.

"Now that she's got music back in her life, just like us."

“Yeah, I’m not sure you can call what we have a life,” Alex calls from the little loft in the garage.

“Oh hey, some of the clothes we left behind are still up here.” He threws the bag down.

“Sweet,” Luke tears his sweater and shirt off his body.

“Oh, same clothes since ’95, boys.”

Julie’s dad steps into the garage, walking through Reggie, “Oh, that was weird!”

“But somehow I can tell this man has a kind heart,” he describes.

Alex sat down, his legs hanging down, his arms resting on the railing. He watched his friends.

“so how have you been?” the older man began. Reggie concernd that the man was talking to him.

“Honestly, not that good. See we ate these hot dogs, and—”

“Julie sang for the first time this morning,” his feet

“Ah!”

“She hadn’t done that in almost a year. You would’ve loved it.

“Yeah, we saw cause we were.. Oh!” It hit Reggie like a rock. The man hold his camera up and the clicking of the shutter filled the room.

“Oh, I get it.” Reggie waved his hand in front of his face.

The raven haired boy turned to his friend, “He.. He’s not talking to us.”

“you are so lucky you can play bass.”

“Pretty sure he’s talking to Julie’s mom," Alex insists.

“She’s such an amazing young woman,” he reached the piano.

“Every day she reminds me more and more of you.

“Called it,” the blonde exclaims.

“Oh, I’m.. uh.. I’m taking for the real estate website. I don’t reall wanna move, but.. It’s the best for Julie,” the three ghost’s were now assembled around the piano.

Luke leans on the piano facing Julie’s dad, “Move?”

“There’s so many memories of Julie playing next to you, and.. Carlos trying to sing with his missing two front teeth,” he remembers chuckling. The shaggy jaired boy breathed shakily bringing his hand up his face to cover it.

Reggie turns to his friend, “Oh no, Luke, not you too.”

“He.. He’s talking about moving, but the poor guy, he doesn’t wanna move,” he explains like the other two haven’t widness it.

Their little scene was interrupt by the man again, “It’s like they grew up.. out here.”

“Oh man, now’s he’s got me too,” Reggie sobs, fanning himself.

“Okay, how am I the emotional one?” Alex argues.

“C-C-Can we go see my family and see how they’re doing?”

“Yeah listening to this feels wrong.”

“Hey, do you remember when the kids were at your sister’s, and we came out her eon our anniversary..”

“Yeah. No definitely wrong,” Luke poofed himself out of the picture. The other two mirrored his action.

#jatp fanfic #jatp x oc #julie and the phantoms #julie and the phantoms fanfiction #julieandthephantomsimagine #charlie gillespie fanfiction #charlie gillespie fic #jatp luke #jatpluke #luke patterson #charlie gillepsie #luke patterson fanfiction #luke x oc #luke patterson x oc #luke patterson fic #charlie gillespie x oc #charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie imagine

[charlies-gillespie]

you’re not taking the stairs | luke patterson

paring: fem!reader x alive!luke patterson

summary: Luke sneaks reader into his room at night after he got grounded, but gets caught by his parents

requested: no

length: medium

rating: PG

warnings: just a heated makeout session

!! NOT MY GIF !!

MASTERLIST || PROMPTS LIST

You sit on the couch in the garage that Sunset Curve plays in. Alex and Reggie are at home, and Luke’s parents are outside talking to their son. You were watching Luke practice one of the band’s songs and enjoying listening to him play.

“You should’ve told us you were in a band!” you hear Luke’s mother shout. The garage door is cracked a bit. You don’t mean to eavesdrop but there’s nothing else you can really do.

Luke says, “Like you would’ve let me join the band if I had told you.”

His dad says, “We’re not that keen on you being in a rock band at seventeen, Luke. You’ve heard what goes on behind the scenes with rock bands.”

Everyone’s quiet for a second before Luke says, “I’m not quitting the band. I know that’s why you both came out here.”

“Then you’re grounded,” his mother says. “You’re 17, Luke. You shouldn’t be out at night on the streets of Los Angeles at your age.”

Luke begins to say, “Mom, that’s not fair-”

She says, “Luke, you joined a rock band without asking us first. You are 17 and not yet legal. You can’t just go and join a band without our permission. It’s either you quit or you’re grounded.”

You hear your boyfriend sigh and say, “I’m not quitting.”

His mother says, “Then say goodbye to your friends until further notice. Your father and I need to think and talk about this before we let you continue in this band. Let’s go, we’re going home.”

“I need to go grab some things from the garage,” Luke sighs. The door opens and you watch Luke walk in. He closes the door again and walks over to you. You stand up and look at him.

Luke says, “I have to go. Technically my parents are right. I’m not legal yet and probably should have asked before I started a rock band.”

You sigh and say, “You guys have a tour meeting in a few days. You might be able to play the Orpheum and you’re now grounded.”

He smiles and says, “I won’t be for long. I promise. Come by my house tonight, Y/N. Just don’t take the stairs when leaving your house like you usually do.”

“I’ll be there,” you tell him.

Luke smiles and says, “See you in a little bit.” He leans down and presses a light kiss to your lips. You smile and push him back a little bit since he has to go.

You look up at him and tell him, “Go, before your parents like flip out on you.”

He laughs and leaves the garage.

It’s only eight. The sun has completely set since it’s December. You have three hours before you’re due to sneak into your boyfriend’s room.

***

You leave your apartment at 10:30 that night. You bike to Luke’s house, which takes a half-hour because his place is on the other side of town.

When you get to Luke’s house, you hide your bike in the same bushes you always use a few blocks away from his place. You walk the two blocks, sneaking up the driveway and going around back. You see the light on in Luke’s room. You can see him sitting on his bed with his guitar, strumming away.

Avoiding the bushes, you walk up to his window. You knock lightly on the glass and Luke looks up at you. A smile forms on his lips and he gets up, walking over to you. He pulls open the window and says quietly, “Glad you could make it.”

“I wouldn’t miss it,” you tell him. “Help me in.”

Luke grabs your hands and pulls you into his room. You’re careful to avoid the guitar sitting by his window. You pull the window closed once you’re in his room.

You ask, “What were you playing? I saw you on your guitar when I walked up.”

He laughs softly and says, “I was just practicing Now or Never. If you were hoping for new music, sorry to disappoint.”

With a smile forming on your face, you tease, “All that new music I know you’re working on all the time and you are playing Now or Never.”

“It’s going to be a bop,” Luke tells you, putting his guitar in it’s usual spot by the door.

You watch him and ask, “So, why did you ask me to sneak into your room? You only do that when you really want to see me.”

Luke comes back over to you and says, “I really wanted to see you since I’m apparently grounded.”

“You just saw me a few hours ago,” you point out to him.

Your boyfriend smiles and says, “And I won’t see you until I get out of here.”

You blink at him and ask, “Get out of here?”

He nods. “I’m going to pack a bag of clothes, grab my acoustic, and I’m going to stay in the garage.”

“Your parents know you practice there,” you tell him. “That’s going to be the first place they check. You know that.”

Luke says, “That’s another reason why I wanted you to come by. I wanted to ask if I could stay with you in your apartment for a couple of days while they look for me. They don’t know where you live and they’ll probably stop checking the garage after a few days.”

You live in your own apartment with the money your parents left you before they passed. Luke is the only person who knows where you live. “Luke, you’re going to run away?” you ask.

He nods again, saying, “I can’t stay here, Y/N. They will actually make me quit the band and I don’t want to quit the band. I heard them talking before they went to bed.”

With a sigh, you say, “If you’re going to live with me for a few days then we need to set some ground rules.”

“So I can stay with you?” Luke asks.

You smile and say, “Yes, you can stay with me, but for no more than like two weeks, okay? I don’t want you actually moving in with me yet.”

Luke smiles back and says, “I just need a few days then I’m out of your hair.”

“You’re never out of my hair,” you joke.

Your boyfriend laughs and says, “Very funny, Y/N.”

You chuckle and say, “I’m so funny.”

“Yes you are,” Luke says. You smile up at him and he cups your face in his hands. You meet his pretty hazel eyes.

He pulls you into a soft kiss. You take a step closer to your boyfriend and tilt your head up. Luke begins to push you toward the bed. Your knees hit the mattress and you fall backward, pulling Luke with you.

Both of you laugh as the kiss continues. Luke settles between your legs and your fingers slide into his hair. He deepens the kiss when you part your lips ever so slightly and his tongue slips into your mouth. You let out a soft sigh.

Neither of you hear the footsteps walking down the hallway outside the room. Luke’s bedroom door opens and he jumps off of you. You look up and see Luke’s parents standing in the doorway.

His mom looks between you both before she says, “Luke Patterson, you are in so much trouble.”

#luke patterson imagines #luke patterson imagine #luke patterson x oc #luke patterson x y/n #luke patterson x reader #charlie gillespie imagines #charlie gillespie imagine #charlie gillespie x oc #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie x y/n #julie and the phantoms imagine #jatp imagines #jatp imagine #imagines #imagine #fluff imagines #fluff

[pouges01]

Rockstar baby

Charlie Gillespie x reader

This is the first fanfic I’ve wrote there may be some spelling mistake cause I can’t spell for shit so...also my grammar is shit aswell ( apologies)

I don’t know if I’m going to make this a series yet but we’ll see how it goes

Bands name is gonna be yesterday’s devils ( cause I can and yes I did use the internet ) it kinda sucks but...

There gonna be arctic moneys kinda vibe of band and y/n is gonna be the front woman (Alex Turner vibes and I’m gonna base their show off the Arctic monkeys Glastonbury 2013)

Hope you all enjoy 💛

“Gather round guys” kenny shouted “ you have all been working to hard and I wanted to give you all a treat so we will be going to a wait for it ...... Yesterday’s Devils concert!”

While everyone celebrated Charlie felt his heart drop , how was he gonna tell them it was a bit late in the game to come out and say but he didn’t want them to find out any other way, him and Y/N had been together for nearly a year it had been low -key cause media always buzzed around her and you both wanted it to be just yous for a while till you were sure it was working, one year in and you both couldn’t be happier and it always just slipped Charlie’s mind that he had to tell them and with Yesterday’s Devils on tour he thought what was the point if you were half way around the world and couldn’t meet them

“ Charlie man you alright you look like you’ve seen a ghost ?” Asked Owen

“Umm yea acc guys I’ve something to say “ here goes nothing “ it’s about Y/N we kinda have a thing “

Everyone went silent and looked at him as if he had three heads “ no way no you lying” said Jadah

“ all truth guys “ he said and he pulled out his phone and showed them a pic if you two cuddling on your sofa a few months ago when he was supposedly visiting his parents on his weekend off when he had actually gone to see you

“ AAAAAA “ Madison ran to him “ please please please please introduce me please I’ll do anything I love her please “ she begged

“Wow mads chill” Charlie backed up “ why didn’t you tell us!” Asked Jeremy

“I dunno man we kept it low-key for while then they went on tour and it kinda got a bit late to tell” Charlie shrugged

“Well I’m sure it will be nice to see her cause I’ve asked their manager and they’ve agreed to let us see them and ask for pointers on what makes a good band” said Kenny. Charlie smiled he couldn’t wait to see u again.

—————————-—————————————————

Charlie gleamed as your face popped up on his screen “ hi angel”

“ hi baby I miss you”

“ I can’t wait to see you how long is it?”

“ 1 week”

“ that’s too long” Charlie frowned “ I told everyone about us they can’t wait to meet you”

“I’m excited to see them....baby I’m so sorry their calling is for sound check”

You were currently in New York on your American part of the your with your band you’d had a major breakthrough the past year, topping charts and growing fans across the globe, it was hard having long distance and different time zones but you both made it work Charlie made you happier this past year than you had ever been and vis versa.

Charlie sighed this was nothing new you never got to talk for long

“ I love you so much angel talk soon okay?”

“ I love you too char I’ll text you after the show see if your still up”

You blew a kiss through the screen and then Charlie’s face disappeared , you sighed

“ you ok?” Emily your bass player asked she knew that look on your face “ you’ll see him soon” she understand she did long distance with her girlfriend and she knows what your feeling “ come on let’s go get sound check done then we can all go eat” she put her arm over your shoulder as you did hers and walked towards Lilah your drummer and Violet on the electric guitar.

——————1 week later ——————————————

Charlie buzzed the whole way to the venue he couldn’t sit still this had been the longest week of his life, he was getting tired of seeing you through a screen he couldn’t wait to finally see you , touch you , kiss you.

You were getting ready to go onto stage, deep breaths to try calm your nerves this crowd was pretty big one of the biggest you’d played in abroad yet, you could hear the rumble of the crowd just outside the wings “ you guys ready?” your manager Liv said “ let’s get out there”

On stage the buzz of the crowd hyped you up as you played , you couldn’t see Charlie or any of his friends you couldn’t wait to get this over with just to see his face in person again you waited far to long for this

—————————after concert ——————————

After the show you and the girls were in the dressing room cooling off, a knock on the door brought you back to reality next thing you saw was his pretty little face and puppy dogs eyes .

He walked over to you as you got up Charlie brought you into a bone crushing hug and burrowed his face into your neck your everyone smiled your friends knew how much you needed this to keep your spirits up Charlie’s friends knew how excited he was to see you he hadn’t shut up all week about seeing you.

You pulled away from the hug and wiped Charlie’s tears from his eyes he turned to his friends “ this is Y/N “ he smiled “ it’s nice to meet you guys “ you said, hugs and handshakes were exchanged you all talked and got to know eachother and talked about the tour the show and more.

That night Charlie stayed in your hotel room with you and you caught up on lost time, talks and kisses.

“ I missed you so much” you said as your head lay on his chest

“ we can’t leave it this long next time” “ I know”

You both new it would be that long till next time maybe longer you were travelling to Europe next and Charlie was going to back to Canada to film at least for another 2 months. But you both make secrec promises to yourselves to make it work , cause in reality you knew you would always crawl back to him.———————————————————————— Ummmmm that’s it I didn’t really know how to end it but I’m really happy with it and hope you all liked it , requests are welcome atm I would only think about writing for Charlie but might expand I’m not to sure lol

#charlie gillespie imagine #charles gillespie #jatp luke patterson #jatp netflix #jatp #jatp cast #owen patrick joyner #jeremy shada #jeremy and carolynn #luke patterson #madison reyes #charlie gillespie x oc #charlie gillespie x reader #julie and the phantoms #julie and the fat ones

[jatphatones]

Happy Daze | One Shot (Charlie Gillespie x Reader)

Happy Daze | One Shot (Charlie Gillespie x Reader)

A/N: This was a completely self-indulgent idea lol. Basically, I manifested what it would be like to get drunk with the cast during filming because that's honestly one of the things that I really want to do with them. It would be such a fun time with a dash of chaos and shenanigans. In light of the amazing tb photos that the cast has been posting today, I’ve decided to post this a little bit earlier than what I planned. I hope y'all enjoy!

Word count: 2.8k

Warnings: drinking, swearing, typos

Masterlist

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“I think your boyfriend is drunk…” Savannah says as we observe the boys at the bar. Charlie was energetic as usual albeit a little sloppy, leaning against the bar more than he should. “Y’all are drinking about the same amount and yet you’re fine. How?” Savannah asks as we return our attention to each other and sip our drinks. “Easy. He didn’t go to university like I did,” I answer simply, placing my empty glass on the table. “Oh my god, love that,” Savannah exclaims.

Both Carolynn and Savannah chuckle as the boys try not to spill all our drinks when they start heading our way. Jeremy’s fiancée had come in for a visit this weekend, and those who could welcome her decided to celebrate with a night of bar hopping. The disaster trio, Carolynn, Savannah, and I headed out in the evening, ready to relax after a long week of work. As we finished up filming this week, the actors were able to take a weekend off. I was able to take a break as well from my job as assistant stylist. My job of helping the costume designers fix up any outfits was exciting, but taxing. I always have fun with my team and the cast, but it’s nice to have a night off to just chill outside of the set. “Alright, I got a sex on the beach for Savannah, shirley for the wifey, and a vodka lemonade for Y/N,” Jeremy announces while passing out the drinks. We each thank him before the guys take a seat and drink their beers. Charlie sits next to me and throws an arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his warm body. “Having fun?” he whispers into my ear, beer coming off his breath. “Mhm. Me and the girls were just chit chatting. We’ve decided that we like this bar better than the last one. Less stuffy and loud,” Charlie nods in agreement while subconsciously tapping his fingers across my shoulder. “Have I told you that you look pretty tonight?” His words were slightly slurred, which drew out a chuckle from me. It was amusing to see his slow but inevitable descent into drunken stupidity. “Yes, but it’s nice to hear again. You don’t look too bad yourself babe,” I shoot back with honesty. He looked especially nice this evening. He obviously has no problems showing off his arms, but the slightly messy hair and tucked in t-shirt just looked especially sexy tonight. Must be the alcohol talking. As the night wore on, all of us drank more and got goofier. The Canada native was already constantly drunk on life, so his behavior now was honestly nothing anything new. He was still doing entertaining yet stupid shit…like trying to lift Jeremy onto his shoulders. “Babe, put him down right now!” I command, horrified at the sight of my stupid boyfriend crouching while Jeremy slowly lifts a leg on to his friend’s shoulder. “Aw c’mon, he said I couldn’t lift him up again and I know I can,” Charlie explains while he started to grip Jeremy’s thighs. Owen was too busy watching with an amused expression. Stopping them was not even a thought in his inebriated brain. “Babe, why would you challenge him?” Carolynn scolds her fiancé. The girls and I knew Jeremy was fucking with Charlie, but at the expense of his own safety. Boys - never thinking of the consequences. “Nope, c’mon let go of him,” I order. Charlie pouts in retaliation, hoping that his puppy-dog eyes would persuade me to allow this dangerous activity. “Nope, not gonna work. C’mon.” I never get tired of going out with Charlie and our friends. Sure, he might (100% will) do stupid things, but it was more entertaining than annoying. He never fails to make me smile or take me on ridiculous adventures. But at some point - like attempting to pick up Jeremy - the night must come to an end. “I think it’s time to go home.” I mutter as I help Charlie up from the ground and wrap my arm around his waist. He quickly wraps his arm around my shoulder, slightly placing some of his weight onto me. He was definitely drunk, and from the way he slowly blinked through the sudden movement, I could tell he was going to crash soon. “I think we should go to the next bar,” Owen suggested. The rest of the group agreed and started to get ready to leave. “We’re gonna head out now. Probably just crash at your place since it’s the shortest walking distance. Is that okay, Owen?” I ask the tall blonde. His styled hair had become a little messed up from tonight’s activities, but he looked like he was having a great time. He nods his head immediately while finishing up his drink. “Girl, are you sure you’re okay to walk? You drank a few too,” Savannah says with some concern in her voice. She was always making sure everyone was okay and comfortable and tonight was no different. Still holding Charlie, I grab our jackets with one hand while he’s wrapped in conversation with the engaged couple. 

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m not nearly as drunk or messy as this stumbling idiot. I’ll be fine,” I say confidently. Charlie continued to joke around with Carolynn and Jeremy, squeezing my shoulder sometimes as he gestured with excitement from telling a story. 

“Okay, you got keys? I can give you mine if you let me in later,” Owen offered. We all stepped out into the cool night, shivering at the temperature change. We could tell the night was just getting started for others as we noticed more people walking about. 

“Nah, I got keys. I made Charlie give his to me to hold because I had a feeling he might lose them tonight,” Savannah and Owen chuckle, laughing at the accuracy of my statement. Charlie paid no mind to my dig at him as he let out a barking laugh from whatever Jeremy said. 

“Smart,” Savannah compliments. She zips up her jacket and fixes her hair. I swear that girl never looks off, always on point. Come to think of it, Carolynn too. I could only wish I still looked put together, but sporting a slightly uncoordinated guy like Charlie didn’t help. I squeeze Charlie’s waist to get his attention. He immediately looks down at me with a smile, making my heart skip a beat. How he still manages to do that is a mystery to me. I offer him a warm smile and speak up.

“You okay with going home now?” I ask softly. He takes a deep breath and huffs. He unwraps himself from me and I help him put his jacket on. 

“Yeah. Are we just going to walk back to my place?” he asks, turning to look back at me. I nod my head. 

“You got my keys?” I nod again. 

“Cool,” he jerks his head back to the group. “Okay, we’ll see you guys tomorrow. Stay safe!” Charlie exclaims as we start to separate from the group, arms wrapped around each other again.

“Will do! Make sure Charlie doesn’t pass out on the floor Y/N!” Jeremy responds, making all of us laugh and Charlie let out a protest. 

“I’m not that drunk!” Charlie says before almost missing a step as we walked backwards. I strengthen my grip on him to prevent him and therefore us from falling. We all laugh as he starts to mutter curses; his cheeks flame up in slight embarrassment. I just had to squish his cheeks with my one available hand. 

“I’ll take care of him. You guys have fun! Good night!” I announce to our group of friends.Once we say our goodbyes, we turn around and head back to the apartment complex. 

Our arms were still wrapped around one another, keeping each other warm as the cold weather starts to creep in. I let go of his waist with a chuckle as he almost trips over my feet for the third time from leaning on me. Putting some space between us, I grab onto his hand still wanting to touch him. He grips mine immediately and starts swinging our hands back and forth. His drunken antics caused a grin to grow on my face. I look forward and walk us back to his place, not trusting him to lead us back home.

“I love how your cheeks get red when you drink. It’s so cute.” I quickly glance at Charlie who was already staring at me. He had a drunken smirk on his face as he shamelessly complimented me.

“Thank you,” I give his hand a squeeze, “I love how goofy you get when you drink. It’s so cute.” My heart warms up as he scrunches his nose at my comment. 

“How are you okay right now?” He exclaims as we walk into the lobby of the complex. His eyes squint at the sudden bright lights, eyes trying to adjust in his drunken state. 

“It’s called pacing, my love. You should try it sometime.” He scoffs at me as I drag him to the elevator.  

I subconsciously drag my thumb back and forth on his skin as we wait. When the elevator comes, he immediately stumbles into it, leaning back against a wall and looking up at the ceiling. Letting out a breath, he brings his gaze down to me as I mimic his stance against the opposite wall.

“Remember when I wanted to wear my orange beanie for filming?” He asks randomly. He smirks when I groan.

“Uh-huh. You argued with us nonstop until you got your way. Not unlike how you asked me out.” I retort with an amused tone. I grab his hand again and dragged him out of the elevator. He drags his feet behind me as we reach his door before wrapping his arms around me. 

“Look, all I wanted was to ask the pretty assistant out. When you first said no, I was crushed, but I wasn’t surprised. You were way too pretty and smart for me.” I blush, not knowing what to do with this information. He had never told me this before and I feel like he wouldn’t have admitted this if he was sober right now. He gives me a kiss on the cheek as I open the door. 

“Got that right. But I said yes when you asked the second time. Just couldn’t resist that smile,” I admit as well, pulling away from his grasp and placing our things down. His lopsided smile returns before he reaches for me again. He turns me around quickly and places his hand on my waist while I stumble from the movement. My head spins just a little and I close my eyes briefly as I slowly reorient myself. 

“Okay, maybe you’re a little drunker than you thought,” he says with amusement once I open my eyes. When I look up, his eyes are shining down, soft gaze between my own eyes. Bring up my hands, I softly cusp his face. Immediately, he rests his head on my hands with an adorable pout

.“C’mon bubs. Let’s get ready for bed,” I whisper. He nods his head in my palms before reaching up to grab them. 

His hands completely envelop my own and I lead him backwards into his room. We don’t even bother to turn on his lights when we make it past the doorway. Our drunken vision adjusts to the pitch black room and I wish I had the energy to yell at him for not cleaning his room earlier and therefore making it difficulty for me to navigate in our current state. I guide him to his unmade bed and he flops down on it with a huge sigh. His big groan that followed makes me almost join him, but I walk to his closet instead, grabbing pajamas for the both of us. 

“I don’t think anything is better than laying in my bed after a night out,” Charlie murmurs. I could barely hear him from his head buried into his pillow. 

“Yeah, okay,” I answer sarcastically when I return to the bed. 

He opens his eyes to see the silhouette of me with my arms crossed, one hand gripping our clothes. I roll my eyes when he doesn’t get up. The bed has officially trapped him for the night. 

“Alright lazy bum, flip over,” I command him. Once he listens to me, I straddle his legs. Charlie places his hands on my thighs almost involuntary and protests when I throw his hands up in the air. When I slowly start to lift his shirt up, he gets the idea and keeps his hands over his head to help me remove it.

“Come to think of it, sex is better than crashing after a night out,” Charlie peers with one eye at my straddled figure, slowly sending another drunken smile my way. I knew he was half kidding and half serious about his implied offer. Although he was right and the offer was tempting, I knew that both of us were just damn too tired to do anything other than change into pajamas.

“Not happening.” He pouts just like he did earlier as I unbutton his jeans. I start to pull off his jeans but almost get thrown off when he clumsily tries to help shimmy themselves and wiggles a little too vigorously. 

“Charlie!”

“What! I’m trying to help!” Charlie joins me in laughing at his clumsiness, and we continue to laugh as we realize that I didn’t take off his shoes beforehand. I throw them off easily along with his socks and jeans. 

Grabbing the random pair of shorts I got, I help him put it on, almost yelling at him again when he literally thrusts his crotch into my face. Charlie finally settles down, all comfortably dressed thanks to me. With a huff from all the effort I put in, I strip of my own clothes, almost falling over in the process.

“Admit it. I’m your favorite cast member to work with,” Charlie says from his relaxed position., smirk painted on his annoying face. His hands were resting behind his head as he watched me change into one of his shirts, enjoying the whole show. I scoff at his comment.

“Hell no! You’re always distracting me. And dressing up Dirty Candy is way more fun than your cut off tees and black jeans. Sorry not sorry,” I say sassily. I almost moan when I unclasp my bra and throw it off. I think back to his first offhand comment about laying in bed and wanted to correct him - nothing beats taking off your bra.

“But they’re not giving you thank you kisses like I do,” Charlie removes one hand from behind his head and wraps it around my shoulders when I land next to him. He ignores my noise of surprise when he turns my body into his own bare torso. My legs are trapped under his, but I’m not complaining too much about this entangled position.

“You don’t know that,” I tease. Charlie gives me a playful angry growl and pinches my shoulder. I retaliate by hitting him on the chest. 

We settle down and start drawing random shapes on whatever skin we can reach. We do this for a couple more moments and I try not to laugh at how heavy his breathing was. 

“I’m super drunk right now,” he grumbles. I look up and could see his eyes are shut and his eyebrows drawn in. Poor guy was probably trying to refocus his thoughts.

“Yeah, you are. But you deserved to have fun tonight. You all have been working so hard and it’s always a great time when Care’s around.” I whisper, letting the nighttime finally settle into our bones.

“You’re right. Doesn’t make me any less drunk though.” I let out a breathless laugh at his logic and then snuggle into his chest. I could feel my eyelids start to get heavy and his breathing starting to slow down. 

“I love you,” I say softly, “even though you’re such a messy drunk.”

“Love you too baby,” he whispers back before falling asleep. 

I rest my head on his chest and follow his lead. As I start to fall asleep I realize that Charlie was right when he said that laying in bed was a great feeling after a night out because the best part of it all is falling asleep in the arms of the one I love. But when he abruptly wakes me up at 7 am to climb out of bed and throw his head over the toilet the next morning, I may have blamed my late night thoughts on our drunken haze. 

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A/N: So I wholeheartedly believe that the little maple man would always be up to something, especially if everyone’s under the influence lol. Anyways, I've never really written real person fics and it was okay I guess? Might not do so many in the future but who freakin knows. If you are ever in a situation where you’re drinking, please be responsible (especially don’t offer to carry people on your shoulders). Also, I got a taglist of you’re interested - just lmk! If you ever wanna hang out, hit me up! - Titi xx

Taglist: @aunicornmademedoit​ @phantoms-julie​ @pixiethefirecat7​ @lolychu​ @badwolf00593​ @kinda-really-lost​ 

#jatp #charlie gillespie #charlie gillespie fanfic #charlie gillespie fanfiction #charlie gillespie imagines #charlie gillespie imagine #charlie gillespie x reader #charlie gillespie x oc #charlie gillespie x y/n

[migilini]

Roadtrip - Charlie Gillespie

a/n: just a daydream I had when I saw this GIF. It’s not proofread. I’m open to requests.

Words: 2k

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You and Charlie were on a road trip from LA to Oklahoma and last to Chigaco. Your boyfriend had to move there due to the fact that he got cast in a movie and you were fortunate enough to move with him, being able to work from home. It wasn't your idea to drive all those miles via car, but Charlie doesn't like flying so he avoided it at all cost and because you love him, you accompanied him for those dreadful hours.

It was way too early for your liking, of course Charlie knew that and put up with your grumpy, nontalkative mood, simply shoving a large cup of coffee into your hands. “Ma cœur, how much longer until you're more awake to talk to me?” Charlie asked after a while, as he glanced over to you on the passenger side, his free hand tracing little hearts on your thigh. You yawned and took a sip of the now lukewarm coffee. “About this much.” You measured the amount still in the cup, making him chuckle.

You and Charlie have been dating for nearly one and a half years now, however it feels like it's been much longer. From the start, the two of you were attached at the hip, instantly comfortable around each other. Everybody said that you two moved too fast because you moved in with each other after only three months of dating, but because of Covid you didn't want to risk being apart. Even though objectively speaking, you and Charlie were not the same, you were more daydreaming than actually paying attention and you didn't need the adrenaline in your life, you completed him in a magical way.

Right now you two were two hours in, the coffee was empty and you ass already sore from all the sitting. It was something you always despided about yourself, you could spend all day laying in bed, but you couldn't sit still, changing position every now and then. Tapping your foot to the beat of the song streaming from the radio. Charlie calmly hummed along to the song, his fingers also tapping along. You looked over at him and couldn't love him more.

“Are you excited to see Owen and Jer?” You asked him, breaking the silence. A breathtaking smile overtook his face “You know it! How about you?” You nodded, also excited to see the boys again. “Mhm. I missed them a lot.” The song on the radio changed and you huffed in annoyance, you hated that song. Sensing that, Charlie took out his phone and connected it to the car.

“Charlie! Don't drive and be on your phone!” You snapped it out of his hand, giving him a displeased look. Scrolling through Spotify you eventually choose a song to your liking. 18 by OneDirection blared through the speakers, while you put the volume higher you turned in your seat. “I have loved you since we were 18. Well technically 20 but that's a detail.” You whispered the last part. He scrunched his nose in amusement, a quirk you loved dearly.

The two of you screamed lyrics at the top of your lungs, the car driving on an empty highway. The rest of the world fading away, leaving the two of you in a cozy little bubble of your own. The day continued just like that, the two of you singing to songs and just enjoying the company. You loved seeing him drive, something about it was just so attractive to you, maybe it was the way his arms flexed when he moved the wheel, or the fact that you yourself were unable to drive. Even with your 21 years of life, you refused to sit behind the steering wheel and Charlie had tried several times, it always ended with you in tears.

“Do you want to stop somewhere to sleep? It's getting kinda late and you have been driving the whole day.” you questioned, looking at the horizon as the last beams of yellow and red vanished slowly. “Yes please. Can you search for a hotel around here?” Nodding, you took his phone and went onto google maps.

“There's one about two hours away in New Mexico. Reviews look good and the price isn't too high. Sadly no breakfast included, so we're gonna get you something on the road, not gonna let you starve, otherwise I will be stranded here.” He gave your thigh a playful slap and a squeeze “Yeah, yeah love you too, Char. I will look it up… Ah perfect! There's a Dunkin Donuts five miles from the hotel. Does that sound good babe?” He hummed in approval.

“Ah a man of words!” he took one of your hands and gave it a light kiss. “You know me. I always wanted to be a Mime.” he joked.

Before you knew it, the car came to a stop in the pitch black. Only a little yellow neon sign lighting up the hotel parking spot.

“This looks like this one Teen Wolf episode…” you murmured, not feeling the best about this place. “You’re just saying that because you're scared of the dark ma cœur. I'm here to protect you. No Monsters are harming you tonight.” he teased, getting out of the car. In typical Charlie fashion, he walked around the car and opened your door and held out a hand for you, immediately intertwining your fingers. 

You smiled up at him, squeezing his hand. “Ha ha…”

The two of you were happy to finally walk off the stiffness of your legs, as you walked over to the reception. 

“Hello. We would have a room please.”

The receptionist was in his late 30s, his greying hair falling messily in his eyes and a big smile sat on his thin lips. “No Problem. Is a king bed alright with the two of you?” he didn't want to assume anything. You and Charlie chuckled, nodding slightly “Preferred actually.”

Five minutes later, you waited in the room 345 while Charlie insisted on getting your bags. Stretching, you tried to get rid of the soreness in your back, your eyes nearly falling shut.

Charlie opened the doors, giving you a tired smile. “Let's get to bed. Tomorrow we rise early!” you groaned, making him chuckle. Standing up, you walked over to him, your arms wrapping around his familiar frame. He was stroking your head, giving it a kiss before walking into the bathroom to brush his teeth. 

In the meanwhile you changed your clothes, changing from some jeans and one of his hoodies to sweatpants and an oversized shirt. 

You gave him a hasty kiss as he came out of the bathroom, smelling the mint of the toothpaste still lingering on his lips. After you washed your face and brushed your teeth, you let yourself fall into the bed. His arms sneaking around your waist, pulling you closer into him. 

“Thank you.” Turning around to face him, you traced his features with your fingertips “For what?”

“Coming on this drive with me. You could have easily convinced me to fly, you know.”

“I know mon amour.” you said, looking into his eyes, as you tried your best to keep yours open. You left several kisses on his bare shoulders until your lips met his. He smiled into the kiss and then nuzzled his head into the crook of your neck, pecking it several times before stopping.

“Good night. I love you.”

“Good night babe. Love you more.”

The next morning came way too fast and you didn't want to move out of his comfortable and safe arms into the cold car, but you had to. The sunrise hadn't even begun, the sky still a dark blue, when the two of you drove into the Dunkin drive through, to get you a coffee and a donut. You had to have something sweet in the mornings.

“Actually, I saw a little restaurant on the way here that should have takeaway, do you mind if we take a quick stop?” you shook your head, trying hard not to fall asleep again. An idea ignited in your head and you sat up straighter. “What if we go live while you drive? Maybe I'll be more awake or I'll have stuff to read.” you requested, looking at your boyfriend with a slight pout.

“Sure thing. I'll bet they'll love it.” Smiling, you grabbed his phone from his hand and went into Instagram.

“Hey Char and y/n here.” you introduced while trying to balance the phone on the dashboard “Its freaking early and I’m nearly falling asleep so I thought you guys could entertain me a bit. Mister Gillespie over here isn't as interesting as you guys.” he pouted into the camera, you leaned forward quickly and gave him a kiss on the cheek. The chat was already flooding with hey’s and questions about your relationship and where you were going.

“Is it true that you sometimes talk french to Charlie?” you read from the chat, your eyes widening a little in surprise. 

“Sometimes. I mean my french isn't the best but growing up in Europe, I picked up some stuff.”

“She’s just being humble, she understands a lot and her accent is hella cute.” Charlie piped in, pulling into the drive through he mentioned earlier. “Je vois que tu comprends." He said to you, a slight smile playing on his lips. You got lost in his eyes for a second before responding. “Of course I understand babe!” he grabbed your hand and kissed it softly while chuckling. 

“OMG that was just so cute!” you read out loud from the chat. Blushing slightly, you giggled, “He loves to do stuff like that when he’s driving. Always showing affection in one way or the other.”

“Uhm next question...What are you two doing so early? Someone asks.” with an raised eyebrow you look over to your boyfriend “I think you can answer this.” you turned the camera a bit so he was more in frame. “We're going to Chicoago, Chigacoooo.” he quoted the iconic Victorious scene, his eyes scanning the road before him.

He got himself a cheese thing of some sort, you couldn't quite make out what it was and parked on the side of the road, getting his food ready in front of him.

He bit into his cheese thing while you sipped on your coffee conversing with the chat. Just earlier you had begged for music suggestions, telling them to send their best road trip songs. Charlie looked really good right now, his hair was pulled together in a bun and he was wearing a blue shirt. You on the other hand had your hair in a top bun and the same hoodie from yesterday, a wool blanket draped over your shoulders. You just wanted to ask if you could have a bite, when he got cheese all over his chin. 

He laughed as he looked over to you. Before you knew what you were doing, you leaned forward in your seat. Your face mere inches away from his, you could feel his breath on your face. You stuck out your tongue and licked the cheese away, your eyes never leaving his. 

Without giving it a second thought, you settled back into a comfortable position and took a sip from your coffee with a prominent smirk on your face. Leaving a dumbfounded Charlie and a screaming chat.

Not even an hour later the clip of you licking his chin, in maybe a bit of a too sexual way, went viral in the community.

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