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Luke’s always been a dreamer.
When he was little, before he had held a guitar or knew what he truly wanted from life, his mom had called him “her little dreamer.” She had constantly filled his head with amazing visions of the future, where Luke could do whatever he wanted, and he would succeed at everything he set his mind to.
And then, when he was ten years old, his parents got him a simple acoustic guitar, and Luke had a dream.
Himself, with a band (made of shadowy people he didn’t know yet) in front of thousands of people; sharing an invisible connection he couldn’t quite comprehend, but knew in his heart was special. That he, Luke Patterson, was the one filling those thousands with hope and inspiration.
That guitar (lovingly nicknamed M, for both Mitch and Em ily) unlocked a whole new way of thinking, of dreaming, of being , for Luke. Suddenly, all the confusion in his head made sense; he could take an emotion, and instead of trying to force it into words, he could find a melody first. He could explain himself without words and whoever really listened could understand it, understand him.
Then the words came. At first it was all silly lyrics about school and vacations and ice cream. But gradually, Luke started to find his voice. He wrote like his favorite artists, of course, but as time went on, Luke had things he wanted to say; things he couldn’t get out any other way, except through music.
So he wrote lyrics. Real lyrics, that talked about life and death, about choices and consequences, about love and loss, about the pressure to conform, about how it feels to be an outsider.
About dreams for the future, and how ready he was for that day to come.
And now, as he looks around the garage that had become their studio that has slowly morphed into their home, Luke’s glad he has people to share his dream with. Reggie is poking Alex in the side, and Alex is squirming away, and Bobby is cheering Reggie on. Their laughter mixes together in a special kind of music; it’s different from the kind that the band makes, but that only makes it sweeter to Luke’s ears.
Band practice is forgotten for a moment as Luke takes in the scene. His friends, all together for a purpose they all believe in. For a sound, for lyrics, for music they all create together.
It doesn’t work without one of them; all four band members are important for Sunset Curve to thrive. And all four friends are important for their relationships to grow too. Luke has been impacted by the actions and thoughts of his friends; Reggie and Alex and Bobby are the people he loves best in this world. He wouldn’t be where he is now if he hadn’t met Reggie in their fifth grade class, Bobby on the soccer team and Alex in eighth grade English class. They’ve changed him; made him a better writer, more dedicated to his craft, more selfless and generous and yet also bolder and more willing to stand up for himself and the people around him.
His boys make him the best version of Luke, every single day. And he couldn’t be happier that they’ve chosen to be a part of his band, to pursue their dreams together.
And it’s going to take them all the way. Luke can feel it.
~~~
Luke’s dream looks a little different now; slightly more jaded, less airy around the edges. But he still has a dream.
Still has the dream that he’s had since he was ten years old.
And it includes the girl in front of him, playing to an imaginary crowd while singing into the microphone, staring at the walls of her mother’s garage turned studio turned new home.
Home, in a different way than it was with Sunset Curve, but just as meaningful to Luke.
Becoming a ghost wasn’t on his mental list of ways to get his music out to people. It wasn’t even within the realm of possibility for fifteen-year-old Luke. But here he is; eternally seventeen with his best friends.
And his dream lives on.
It’s changed though; Bobby made sure of that when he forgot them. When he let the magic that was Sunset Curve die right alongside Luke, Alex and Reggie outside the Orpheum. When he never told his daughter or his daughter’s friend how much they had meant to him.
When he stole Luke’s music and called it his own.
It wasn’t just the music, although it was a lot of that. It was the loss of what Luke thinks of as sacred. His friends are his friends because he loves them, and they love him. They choose him, over and over again, just like he chooses them, no matter what happens. Whether thrown together by outside forces (like a school schedule or a magical CD calling them out of darkness) or not, Luke has never once stopped loving his friends, never stopped choosing them.
Bobby stopped choosing Luke. He chose himself and his own glory over the years they had laughed together, cried together, taken care of each other.
And it’s painful.
But Luke shakes his head to clear it as he lets himself fall back into the present. Back to Julie Molina, their wrecking ball of talent who shines brighter than anyone Luke has ever seen before.
Julie’s not a replacement for Bobby. In his heart, Luke will always love some part of Bobby, even if that wound is still open and bleeding now. But Julie is different; she brings warmth to them, and a kindness Luke is forever in awe of.
Julie was almost as big a shock to Luke’s system as falling out of the dark room was. Her demanding attitude, her curious nature, her desire to find good in a world so broken. She’s taught Luke how to heal; how to continuously deal with grief in all its many forms.
She’s the inspiration for so many of his songs now. His dream of connecting with people is still there, hovering in the back of his mind, but now it’s widened to include connecting with her as well. Making Julie smile is the best part of Luke’s day, and he so deeply wants it to happen every single day.
She has become a much bigger part of Luke’s new dream than he could have anticipated. Now, Luke can’t imagine himself standing beside anyone else; Julie seems meant to be with him. Their harmonies match perfectly with each other. She balances him out, both musically and emotionally.
And she loves Reggie and Alex just as much as he does. Julie accepted them all into her life with very little questioning, and though she can be annoyed by the pure chaos that is all three of them at once, she teases Reggie and Alex like they’re her best friends too. She’s chosen them, time and time again (even triumphing over an evil ghost magician), and that kind of loyalty sticks with Luke.
They finish the song and burst into their normal clatter of “Well that was amazing!" “Does the chorus need tightening up?” “I missed that little part in the second verse again.”
Luke watches it all with glee as he realizes that JATP truly does have a chance to fulfill his dream. They have everything they need: lyrics, music, passion, and people who are willing to follow Luke into the great unknown.
Sometimes it scares him, the amount of faith his friends have in him. They trust him to lead their band, to write heartfelt lyrics, to come up with cool new riffs or rhythms for new songs. And yeah, of course Luke doesn’t do it all on his own, and of course his friends tell him when he’s being stupid or dense, but they still trust him, his ideas and his passion, to take them to stardom.
His love for his friends overwhelms him, and Luke can’t stop smiling. These are the people (slash ghosts) who have shared his dream and who want it just as badly as he does. Who find joy and release and comfort in creating music together. Who love him deeply, and whom he loves just as much.
“Luke?” Julie’s voice breaks through his musings, and Luke startles back to the present. “You have anything else to add?”
Luke shakes head and says, “On to the next one?”
The drums kick in behind Luke; the base strums alongside him. The piano hums brilliantly, and his own fingers move in practiced motions along his strings as Julie and the Phantoms start their next song.
Julie turns to him, her smile wide and eyes twinkling. Luke steps to the microphone to sing, and lets himself breathe in the joy of creating with his favorite people. Of marching towards the future alongside his friends.
Luke’s always been a dreamer, and his dreams are finally starting to come true.