Finally Free -- JATP Luke x MaleOC

Chapter 15

Flynn was right. A drive was exactly what Jay needed.

During the drive, Julie quickly explained to Flynn what they had discovered during the time she was gone. Most of their conversation was lost to Jay, but he was already aware of the situation. Truth be told, he understood the boys need for revenge. If he were in their situation, he would want payback too. He was an outsider right now, and he still felt angry for them. He couldn't believe that Trevor Wilson - Bobby - had built his entire fame and fortune on songs that he had stolen from his dead ex-bandmate. Songs that meant the world to Sunset Curve, and to Luke.

Speaking of Luke, Jay owed him an apology.

He didn't mean to freak out the way he did just as Luke didn't intend to hit that dart so close to Jay's head. His reaction and sudden change in behavior was sure to have worried the boy, especially given that Jay had always shown the persona of being the strong big brother. The dart was such a small thing, miniscule really, and it had sent Jay into a spiral.

"I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day"

Jay lowered the volume of his Kiss cassette as he stopped outside the Wilson household.

"You two head inside," he said, putting an arm on the passenger seat and turning to face the girls. "I'll find a parking spot and follow in."

The girls nodded and hopped out of the car and Jay quickly drove away, looking for a spot where he could park without getting towed. It took a while, but he found a spot and quickly left the car, jogging to the house where he left the girls.

"Barbed wire?" Jay muttered to himself. "Seriously Wilson? No one's coming for your money."

Jay made his way over the security gate and rang the doorbell to the house, expecting Carrie to open the door.

"Jay?" Trevor asked as he opened the door. "What-What are you doing here?"

"I, uh," Jay stammered, taking in Trevor's panicked form. Whatever the boys did, they messed him up good. "I came to pick up Julie and Flynn."

"Oh, right, they're uh," Trevor stuttered. "They're inside, you can come get them."

"Right," Jay said, wondering just how panicked he was that he didn't even process the fact that Julie was in his house after she and Carrie became...enemies? Rivals? Jay wasn't sure what to call it. "Are you alright, Mr. Wilson?"

"Yeah, yeah," Trevor waved off. "I've just gotta...gotta visit my therapist. And you know you can call me Trevor."

"Sorry Trevor," Jay said, a smile appearing on his face. "It's just...well, you look like you've seen a ghost."

"Maybe I have," Trevor muttered. He quickly shook his head and welcomed Jay inside as he dashed out to the helipad.

"I'm gonna go see my therapist," he said as he walked past the living room. "Okay? Okay."

Jay gave a quiet chuckle as he stepped inside, walking into the living room.

"Ready to go?" he asked Flynn, who had made a room for herself in between Carrie and Nick.

"Almost," Flynn responded, jerking her head towards the window. Jay looked outside to see Julie talking to the ghosts of Sunset Curve. "I'm just gonna finish my story real quick."

Outside, while Luke quickly pulled up his pants, Julie stormed out and looked at them all.

"So, did you guys have fun in there?" she asked.

"Okay, you'd do the exact same if he stole all your songs," Luke justified.

"But you have new songs," Julie said. "With me. And with Jay."

Luke sighed as Julie continued.

"The best way to get back at Trevor is for this band to do great. And to do great, we have to play at dances, then clubs-"

"And tours," Luke said, moving towards her. "I know."

"We'll see you guys at the school," Julie said, looking at all three of them. "We go on at nine. Please don't be late, there's gonna be a lot of people there."

"We got it," Alex said. "Alright? Don't worry."

As Julie made a move to leave, Reggie suddenly spoke up.

"Wait!" he said. "Is Jay alright?"

Luke looked back to Julie, needy for an answer. When they had left Jay, he seemed to be on a different planet. The way that he had looked at Luke before he spiraled off broke him, and he wanted to apologize right then and there, but Jay immediately removed himself from the situation and went to Julie for comfort. The entire time they were talking about Bobby, Jay's eyes were hazed over, as if he were seeing something no one else could.

Chances are, that's exactly what was happening.

Luke had seen something similar with Reggie, back when they were still alive in the 90s. They knew to be careful when it came to anger around Reggie, and he had gotten a lot better recently. And Luke had his suspicions about Jay, about his home life, and his panic attack had confirmed it.

Luke shook his head, bringing himself back to reality.

"He's fine," Julie said dismissively. "He's inside."

"Could you," Luke began stopping Julie before she could leave. Luke looked inside to see Jay, his arms crossed while he stood behind Flynn, Carrie, and another boy. He looked intimidating, and definitely not as fine as Julie said he was. "Could you tell him I'm sorry?"

Julie looked carefully at Luke.

"You can tell him yourself tonight," she said gently. "Nine PM. Don't be late."

"You got it boss."

Julie walked back inside and Luke turned to face the boys. Jay would be fine, he had Julie and Flynn by his side. Luke would make sure to apologize tonight, before or after their performance.

"I don't care what Julie says, I'm glad we scared Bobby," Reggie says passionately. "We should have done more. Like written 'thief' on his forehead."

"Yeah," Luke said, forcing himself to focus on the situation at hand. It wasn't too difficult since his anger was still boiling. "Alex, how did you shut that door? You could barely open a garage door."

"Learned that from WIllie, didn't you?" Reggie asked, a knowing smile on his face. Luke copied his smile as Alex spoke.

"Well, he taught me some things," the drummer said. "We screamed in a museum."

Luke and Reggie both looked at Alex, confused about what kind of date screaming at a museum was.

"It's a long story."

"You think he has a couple more tricks up his sleeve?" Luke asked, an idea forming in his head. But no matter what, he had to be at the dance tonight.

He needed to make sure of it.