SUNSET CURVE | one shots

Without You

pairing: luke patterson x fem!reader
word count: 3,296
warnings: Angst, death, funerals, pregnancy, etc.

July 1995

You cheered on the band as they practiced before their gig. After months of hard work, they were finally playing the Orpheum, and you couldn't be more proud of their success. You knew that from here, they could only go up. You laughed as the boys bounced around the stage, happy to perform on it even if, for now, it was just warmups to make sure everything was just fine.

They were playing one of your favourites, at your request, and they would also be playing it later on tonight, along with a few other songs. When they finished, you and the girl who worked at the Orpheum cheered for the boys, following them with your eyes as they walked over.

Luke instinctively leaned in to kiss you, but you backed away. "Ew, you're sweaty. I don't wanna kiss you when you're sweaty."

"That hasn't stopped you before, has it?"

Alex made a disgusted face at Luke's words. "Could you keep that to yourselves, please? I don't want to hear that kind of stuff."

Laughing, you pushed the conversation Bobby and Reggie were having with Rose as you kept your eyes on Luke, the only emotion in them being love. "Wanna come with me and the boys? Well, aside from Bobby - we're gonna go across the street and get hot dogs."

You would've smiled at Luke's grin, but the sound of hot dogs made your stomach churn and you grimaced. "No, I'll pass on the hot dogs for now. I think I'm catching something. And besides, I don't think eating hot dogs from that guy is a good idea. Even people have the sense not to eat hot dogs with condiments that are inside the hood of a car."

"Come on, they're not that bad." Reggie chimed in quickly. "They haven't killed us yet, have they?"

You scoffed playfully and turned back to your boyfriend. "I'll be backstage waiting for the show to start, and then I'll be in the front row, cheering you on. Okay?"

"Sounds perfect." Luke planted a kiss to your lips and squeezed your hand once, shooting you a smile that never failed to make your knees weak before walking out of the building with Reggie and Alex, while you went backstage.

You didn't have to wait for long when a loud siren caught your attention from backstage. Curious, you exited the building, watching as the red and blue lights flashed alarmingly, blinding you. They came from the other side of the street, where three ambulances were parked and a small crowd had gathered.

Feeling your heart crack in worry, you sped over to the other side of the street, worried and panicked. Breaking through the crowd, you spotted Luke's backpack on the sofa that was pressed against a building, but no Luke. Your eyes scanned frantically for him and his friends, but the only one you saw was a teary eyed Bobby, eyes glued to a gurney.

Rushing up to him, you let your fears take over your senses, flooding your eyes with tears and causing your hands to shake. You couldn't contain the scream-like sob that tore from your lips when you got a glimpse of Luke just before the paramedics pulled the white sheet over his head. He was so still, so pale. That wasn't your Luke. Your Luke was smiling, energetic, full of life. He wasn't dead.

You felt your knees give way and hit the pavement, your hands flying up to your mouth as you watched the boys get loaded into the ambulance's, no life left in them. It felt like all the air around you was gone, your sobs making it hard to breathe. Your face was sticky with tears as someone picked you up by the waist and helped you into their car, taking you to your house and giving you to your parents.