CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

I WRITE SINS NOT TRAGEDIES — PANIC! AT THE DISCO
What a beautiful wedding!

SEPTEMBER, 1994.
TEN MONTHS BEFORE.

THE SUMMER MONTHS had been kind to Sunset Curve. Slowly, but surely, they were making a name for themselves among the community of undiscovered musicians in LA and it was only a matter of time that they'd get their big break.

This week was one of their slower weeks, the only gig scheduled for them was their weekly show at Sonny's. Because of this, Olivia found herself spending more time at the bakery helping her mom, which none of the boys argued against as long as she brought them left over treats.

It was midday on a Tuesday. Luke, Bobby, and Bobby's girlfriend, Allie, were all walking towards the bakery. Bobby's father's wedding was only a week away, the couple not wanting to waste time on a lengthy engagement, and as best man, Bobby was sent to check on how the dessert catering was going.

The wedding was still a sore subject for Bobby to think about. A part of him hoped that it would fall through at the last minute and he could forget that Jenny ever came into his life.

He brought Allie along for moral support. Luke claimed to be there for the same reason, but all three of them knew he tagging along so he could see Olivia.

Bobby was slowly starting to regret letting him come because as much as he loved Luke, he didn't want to listen to his ramblings about Olivia. For the past hour, Luke had been grilling the couple with questions about their relationship in hopes to learn something.

"What did you guys do for your first date?"

Bobby turned to his friend with a flat expression. "You know what we did for our first date. You helped me plan it." He reached for Allie's hand as the trio turned onto the street that the bakery was on. "Besides, I thought you've already had your first date with Livy."

Allie nodded, her braided hair swaying as she did. "Yeah, didn't you go to the pier?" she questioned, remembering how Bobby mentioned it in passing. "That's a good first date."

Luke let out a dramatic sigh and looked to the sky. "It wasn't a real date," he stressed. "We were practically babysitting, and I never asked her on it. I just said 'it's a date' when she called me and we haven't spoken about it since."

"Oh, that complicates things a bit."

"Can you talk to her for me?" Luke asked, giving Allie the most hopeful smile he could muster. "Please? Ask her what she thinks the perfect date is?"

After Bobby brought Allie to the studio to formally meet the band, she and Olivia immediately hit it off. They bonded over their mutual love for Duran Duran and Olivia found her hobby of photography very intriguing.

Allie shook her head. "Luke, she's your best friend," she stated. "She'll love whatever you do with her as long as it's with you."

"You guys are no help." Luke opened the door to the bakery and a bell rang above their heads.

Olivia was standing at the counter with her journal in front of her. She was humming to herself and tapping her pen against the marble, unaware that the bell had gone off and signalled that there were customers.

Luke walked up to her while Bobby and Allie grabbed a seat at one of the open tables, and pulled the notebook away from her gaze. Olivia's head snapped upwards to see who had taken her book, ready to scold them for invading her personal space, but relaxed when she saw that it was just Luke.

Confusion flashed across her face before her eyes landed on the couple sitting at a table behind him. Realization washed over her and she turned to call her mom from the back.

Luke read the song in her journal before handing it back to her. "Working hard or hardly working?"

She smiled and tucked her book in the gap between the edge of the counter and the cash register. "Working hard for the band, but hardly working for the bakery."

Sylvia walked out of the back room with a tray of cookies. "Liv, can you put these in the display for me please?" Though she barely gave the girl a chance to answer before placing the tray in her hands.

"Hi, Miss Sylvia." Luke passed the older woman as he walked around the counter and plucked a cookie from the display case. He kissed Olivia's cheek before taking a bite, crumbs falling from his mouth.

Sylvia gave him a look as she started walking towards Bobby's table. "Luke, you better be paying for that."

"Yes, Miss Sylvia." He waited for her to be out of earshot before turning to Olivia. "I'll put it on my tab."

Olivia raised a brow. "You don't have a tab."

"We could start one."

"This isn't a bar, headache."

"Speaking of bars and headaches," Luke said, going for another cookie. He yelped when Olivia smacked his hand away. "Club 27 called this morning. The band set to play on Thursday night pulled out and they want to know if we can fill it. I said yes."

"Cool, so we'll just finish up at Sonny's and head straight there?"

Luke nodded and watched as Olivia continued to stock the display. He leaned against the glass with one arm above him and a small smile on his face. She was humming the same song she was when he arrived, blissfully unaware of his gaze. "So listen," he started, pushing away his nerves, "I wanted to ask you something."

Olivia continued to fill the display case, not sparing him a glance. "Shoot."

"Do you want to go on a date with me?"

The metal tray slipped out of her grasp and smacked against the glass with a loud bang, causing the other people in the shop to look over. She scrambled to catch it before anything fell off and hit the floor. Did she hear him correctly? She must have considering he likes her and that's what you do with people you like. Come to think of it, it was about damn time one of them stepped up and acted on the unspoken thing between them.

"Not the reaction I was expecting," Luke quipped. His brows furrowed as she turned around.

"Sorry, I..." Olivia put the tray on the counter and her eyes met his. "A date? You want to go on a date? With me?"

Luke chuckled at her wide eyed expression and nodded in confirmation. "Yes, trouble, I want to go on a date with you. Will you?"

"I'd love to." Her smile was wide and contagious. "What did you have in mind?"

"It's a surprise." He grinned, not having a real answer.

"Okay, when is it?"

"Um... That is also a surprise."

She raised a brow. "You haven't planned it yet, have you?"

"I haven't." Luke shook his head. "But it'll be after the wedding and it's going to be amazing, I promise." He stuck his pinky finger out for her and tilted his head to the side.

Olivia tried to suppress a smile but failed as she looped her pinky around his. "I'll be holding you to that."

Luke said nothing as he brought their joined fists up to his lips, sealing his promise.

THE WEEK WENT by quickly. All of Sunset Curve's rehearsals and gigs were put on hold since Bobby was grieving the loss of the life he had before Jenny and Olivia had her hands tied helping her mom at the bakery. The first time the five teenagers saw each other was outside the wedding venue. While they were invited to the event, the ceremony wasn't set to start for another hour. Allie called them because Bobby was having a complete and utter meltdown and she didn't know what to do.

Luke was the one to pick everyone up since he was the first one dressed and ready to leave. One by one, the seats of his dad's station wagon filled with his friends. Olivia was the last one to get picked up despite living closest to him because she had woken up late and needed more time to get ready.

When the three boys of Sunset Curve pulled up to Olivia's house, Luke parked the car and strolled up to the front door. It swung open to reveal Olivia. He knew that her heart was set on becoming a famous musician, but if she wanted to be a film star, she certainly looked the part. Her hair was curled, perfectly framing her face, and the dress she was wearing was light purple, falling just past her knees and flowing around her legs.

She cocked her head to the side with a smug smirk. "So you do know where the front door is."

Luke ignored her teasing, or perhaps he didn't hear her due to being so in awe of her, and placed his hands on her hips. He brought his lips down to her cheek in greeting, ignoring the flash of a camera. "I've died and gone to heaven."

Olivia rolled her eyes. "Luke."

"You look like an angel, Olivia Juilette."

"Shut up."

He shook his head and kissed her other cheek. "For real though, you look really good."

"Thank you." She smiled as she straightened out his tie, then looked up at him. "You don't look too bad yourself."

Behind them, Mikey was standing next to his cousin with his face scrunched up in disgust. "You guys are gross."

Rose, who was babysitting him for the day since both Sylvia and Olivia were going to the wedding, smacked his arm. She was waving a polaroid around and smiling fondly at the younger couple. "Have fun, you two."

"Guys!" Reggie shouted, hanging out the open window of the car. He and Alex were waving them down. "Let's go! Our friend is currently having a meltdown, we don't have time for your flirting!"

"Alright, we're coming!"

The pair said goodbye to Rose and Mikey and walked to the car. Luke kicked Reggie out of the front seat so Olivia could sit next to him and the group started their journey to the venue where the wedding was taking place.

Lo and behold, Bobby was pacing at the side of the building, heavily distressed with his hands running through his hair.

"You know the part in the ceremony where it's like 'speak now or forever hold your peace'?" Reggie started. Luke pulled into a parking spot and cut the engine. "Do you think Bobby's going to saying something?"

"I don't know."

"I hope not."

"It would be entertaining if he did, though."

The four teens got out of the beat up station wagon and jogged over to where Bobby and Allie were. Olivia wrapped her arms around a worried Allie as the boys calmed the guitarist down. She thanked the group for coming to the venue early and told them that she didn't know what else to do besides call them.

Once Bobby's anger was diminished, Olivia guided him over to sit on the edge of a curb. "B," she started gently, sitting beside him, "you alright?"

Alex sat on the other side of him while the rest of the group stood before them. "Wanna tell us what's going on?"

Bobby ran his hands down his face. "I talked to my dad and told him how I felt about Jenny, but he totally brushed me off. He never asked me what I thought of her. He just brought her home and said, 'this is how our lives are now'. He never asked. He never cared to. He just tells me that I should be happy he found someone. But just because Jenny wormed her way into my life doesn't mean I have to be happy about it."

There was a heavy silence among them as Bobby bared his heart to them. It was rare for Bobby to express his emotions so openly. Even Allie, who was his girlfriend of many months, was shocked by it.

Reggie was the first one to speak. "Why do you hate Jenny so much?"

"She's not my mom, no matter how hard she tries or what my dad says."

It dawned on the group that his feelings for Jenny were misplaced. He didn't hate Jenny, he hated what she represented. She represented sharing his dad's attention and them moving on as a family.

Bobby didn't talk much about his mother, but group knew that she had passed away when he was younger. From the little that he spoke about her, it was clear to them that he thought the world of her. He felt like accepting Jenny would be betraying his mother.

Olivia wrapped an arm across her shoulders and softly smiled at him. "Bobby, it's okay to move on," she sympathized. "Your mom is always going to be your mom. She's irreplaceable, and she must've been an amazing woman—"

"Especially if she had to put up with you," Luke joked.

Airy chuckles filled the air as Olivia continued. "Jenny will never be your mom and she knows that, but she cares. Your mom wouldn't want you to push away someone who cares about you. Give her a chance and if she still sucks and you hate her guts, you can move into the garage."

Bobby sighed. He knew Olivia was right. His mom would want him and his dad to move on and maybe moving on didn't have to mean forgetting. Because there was no forgetting his mom.

Maybe he could find a way to accept Jenny. He didn't have to like her, but he would accept her. For his father and for his mother.

Bobby rested his head against hers and nodded. "Thanks, Livy," he whispered.

RAE SPEAKS !
and yes, but what a shame, what a shame bobby grew up to be thieving trevor!

(is this too niche LOL)

anyways... the next chapter!!! get ready you guys, it's a good one 🤭 i HIGHLY recommend listening to the song in the next chapter too