Archive of Our Own ^beta

Take off

Last stop

Countdown till we blast open the top

Face first

Full charge

Electric hammer to the heart

Clocks move forward

But we don't get older, no

Kept on climbing

Till our stars collided

And all the times we fell behind

Were just the keys to paradise

Intrigued by the unfamiliar song, Julie ran to the door of the studio and pressed her ear against the gap between the two panels. It sounded like they had just reached the chorus.

Don't look down

'Cause we're still rising

Up right now

And even if we

Hit the ground

We'll still fly

Keep dreaming like we'll live forever

But live it like it's now or never

Julie smiled and nodded at how powerfully their voices blended together. Luke really was a talented songwriter—- she got chills from only hearing like, a third of the song.

Hear the noise

In my head

It's calling out like a voice I can't forget

One life

No regrets

Catch up, got no time to catch my breath

Clocks move faster

'Cause it's all we're after now

Won't stop climbing

'Cause this is our time, yeah

When all the days felt black and white

Those were the best shades of my life

Julie gasped at the sound of Luke’s voice, front and center and so strong. She slowly pulled open the doors, poking her head into the garage. The boys’ hair was an absolute mess in the hottest way possible and they were sweating like they were in the middle of a desert and Luke. Oh my god Luke. He was wearing one of his tank tops, which wasn’t unusual considering his hatred for sleeves, but his biceps were flexing under the strain of practically abusing his guitar. He was bouncing around their practice space like the energizer bunny and seemed like he had enough energy contained in him to power a small village.

Julie had liked Luke for a while, this wasn’t new, but now she wasn’t sure if she could go on without kissing him. Like, now. She inhaled shakily and slipped through the doors. She smiled at her equally hyped-up bandmates and at the atmosphere of the room. She elegantly crept up on Luke’s mic. Why they were using microphones, she had no idea, but if it was an excuse to get close to Luke she didn’t care. She joined in on the chorus, attempting to harmonize.

Don't look down

Luke’s eyes widened at her welcomed but unexpected addition. Julie decided to let Luke keep his solo lines.

'Cause we're still rising

Up right now

Luke beamed at her again, slightly nudging her with the end of his guitar.

And even if we

Hit the ground

At this point, Julie and Luke were staring at each other and belting the lyrics. Julie really really hoped her breath didn’t smell bad because she was breathing all over him.

We'll still fly

Keep dreaming like we'll live forever

Luke was singing directly to Julie, and despite his constant strumming and bouncing, never let her leave his gaze.

But live it like it's now or never

Julie joined in on the last line, taking note of how the band came to an abrupt stop as if the song usually went on. After all the instruments slowly died out, Julie was left with a very out-of-breath Luke before her. He managed to make his smile even wider and Julie could only laugh airily when she realized they no longer had the mic between them and nothing was stopping her from just leaning a little closer…

Luke’s eyes flicked down to her lips then back up to her eyes, then back to her lips. In under a second, Luke had pulled Julie into his lips and was kissing her passionately. His lips moved clumsily and quickly against hers, and after a split second for Julie’s mind to catch up she did the same. Julie felt like she could burst from the overwhelming sense of happiness she felt when his lips were pressed against hers. She had so many butterflies that she was pretty positive they were not, in fact, butterflies and were actually a flock of birds.

She took Luke’s face in her hands and pulled him impossibly closer. The pair only separated when they heard Reggie play a smooth guitar riff and Alex play a short rhythm on his drums. They pulled away laughing and turning to Reggie and Alex, who were very smug about their coordination with the idea.

“It took you guys long enough” Alex laughed, tucking his drumsticks into his back pocket.

“Seriously dude!” Reggie agreed, running up to both tackle and pat Luke on the shoulder at the same time.

Alex quickly joined in, running up to Luke and pulling him into a hug. Luke could only smile at Julie while he struggled to catch his breath and was bombarded with congratulations and affectionate teasing from the other boys. Luke eventually pushed the boys away and scooped Julie into his arms— quite literally sweeping her off her feet. He spun her around a few times before returning her to the safety of the ground and then whispering, “Can we do that again sometime?”

Julie nodded aggressively. “Absolutely,” she smiled, “now and forever.”