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7th grade - fall semester, first day of school
“Alex! Come here!” Reggie called Alex from across the hallway, running in between people and zig-zagging, pulling another boy behind him.
Alex looked around his locker door right as Reggie slid to a stop next to him. “Hi, Reggie,” He looked at the other boy. “Who’s that?”
“He’s in my art class! His name is Luke and he plays guitar.” Reggie started bouncing on his toes. “He has the same lunch as we do!”
“Hey,” Luke waved at Alex, not caring that Reggie was acting like a rabbit with adhd. “I guess you’re Alex.”
Alex nodded back as a greeting and took his time to take in Luke’s appearance. Slip on Vans, black jeans, and a David Bowie t-shirt. His hair was a mess, and his eyes were a mix of greys and hazel, shifting in the light, his arms were surprisingly jacked considering that they were in middle school. Ignoring the feeling in his gut, he turned back to his locker to grab the brown sack that contained his lunch. “Reggie, I have cookies today if you want them.”
“Yes, please.” Reggie’s eyes lit up as Alex closed the metal locker door. “Can Luke join us for lunch today?” he asked like he was asking his mom if he could have a sleepover.
“I mean, if he wants to.” Alex shrugged, looking back at Luke again, standing there, one wrist still being held in Reggie’s grip, the other in his pocket. “I don’t want to take him from his friends.”
“Nah, I got no plans,” Luke said, taking the hand that was in Reggie’s hold back before throwing it around his shoulder.
“Awesome.” Reggie cheered before walking with Luke away from Alex, heading to the cafeteria.
Alex chased after them, jogging slowly. By the time he caught up to them, Reggie was sitting at their regular table, and Luke had walked off to go to the hot lunch line. “Did you know Luke writes his own music?” Reggie bounced in his seat while Alex unpacked his lunch, handing Reggie the ziplock bag of chocolate chip cookies that his mom packed.
“Really?” Alex unwrapped his own sandwich. “He’s a musician?”
“Yeah, he’s super good.” Reggie nibbled on a cookie. “Tell your mom that the cookies are good.”
“I will, how did you two even start talking anyway?”
“We got partnered up for today’s drawing warm-up,” Luke said as he walked up to the table, a tray with pizza and tater tots in hand.
As Luke sat down, he and Reggie fell into an easy conversation. Alex shook his head silently, knowing that the dynamics were about to change.
9th grade - summer break, the week before high school
“Boom, right there.” Luke pointed at his notebook, filled to the brim with lyrics. He’s been on a songwriting kick recently, especially since he was able to convince Alex and Reggie to form a band.
“Okay, Luke.” Alex looked over slightly, peering over his sunglasses. The three of them were at the beach, enjoying the sunny day, but Reggie was the only one in the water. Alex sat in the sand, eating the bag of chips that he brought, while Luke sat next to him, writing and scribbling lines in his notebook. “Why don’t you go swim with Reg?”
“I’m writing.” Luke rolled his eyes like it was the most obvious thing in the world, reaching into the chip bag for a bite, knocking Alex’s hand slightly. “You aren’t swimming either, even with your shirt off, and Reggie seems fine out there.”
“I’m always sitting here, Reggie knows that, I’m tanning.” Alex drew back his hand away from the snack and grabbed the throw pillow Reggie brought to lie down and distract his brain from the contact. “Go hang out with him anyway, maybe you can come up with more lyrics while you’re out there. You’re in your trunks, why waste a good day?”
Luke sighed but took off his shirt anyway. “Yeah, okay.” Alex watched behind the dark sunglasses, glad he was wearing them as Luke’s arms went up to pull off his sleeveless shirt, not like it hid much anyway. He already came out to the two of them, but he also spent that time convincing them, and himself, that he absolutely 100% did not have a crush on either of them, so of course, seeing Luke casually basically strip in front of him was not the most helpful to that point. “You need to get out in the water as well,” Luke grumbled before running off, tackling Reggie into the water.
Hearing the two of them yell and hit each other, Alex laughed even if he couldn’t see them. He closed his eyes, letting his body relax in the sun, his eyelids showing a reddish color from the sunlight even behind the sunglasses. Suddenly, it became grey and he felt a shadow on him. He frowned and opened his eyes, taking his sunglasses off. “Hey, you’re ruining my tan.”
It was Reggie and Luke standing over him. “You sound like a girl.” Reggie mocked him, bending down to grab Alex’s arm, pulling him into a sitting position. “Swim with us.”
Alex looked at Reggie, resting bitch face on full display since he couldn’t hide behind his sunglasses. “Reggie, you know I always stay on land, you’re the one who always swims.”
Reggie and Luke looked at each other and shrugged. Luke looked back down at Alex and in one swift movement, he had Alex on his shoulder in a fireman’s carry and was running towards the water. “Luke!” Alex screamed, using his hands to punch at Luke’s back. “Put me down!” He pouted as his snapback fell off his head and into the sand and huffed, admitting defeat. He took this time to look up at Reggie, laughing while running after Luke, only stopping to pick up the fallen hat. As he noticed Luke slow down, he started hitting Luke’s back again, hoping Luke would drop him on his feet properly, the key word being properly. Instead, Luke waded deeper into the water, only dropping Alex like a hot potato once the water reached Luke’s waist.
Luke laughed at the face Alex made, sputtering and spitting the salt water out of his mouth. “You look ridiculous.” Luke was holding his stomach, bent over in laughter. Alex grumbled and quickly tackled Luke’s legs, sending them both into the water. This time, Luke was the one spitting water out of his mouth. “Alex! What the fuck!”
“That’s payback.” Alex sent a splash of water towards him.
Luke blinked the water away, and his mouth hung open before sending another large wave back at Alex. The two started a water war while Reggie giggled from the side, only joining the fight when Luke accidentally sent water his way.
Alex slowly backed out of the fight, successfully escaping and heading back to their area while the other two were still splashing each other like they were 10. Sitting in his previous spot, he watched the two fight while thinking. There was a lot going on through his head, about how they all became friends, the band, why he was staring at Luke’s arms, about how freakishly strong Luke was, about Luke. It was all about Luke. “Oh god,” Alex whispered, setting his head between his knees.
11th grade - fall semester, week before winter break
“I hate you.” Alex groaned, falling onto the couch for what felt like the millionth time. They were in the studio doing their science homework, or at least, Alex was trying to while Luke kept doing things wrong.
“No, you don’t!” Luke retorted, frowning at the poster board in front of him. “This is an easy fix, look!” Luke started peeling at the glued paper.
“Luke, don’t do that!” Alex quickly sat up and swatted Luke’s hand away from the cardboard. “You’re gonna rip it if you do that.” Alex sighed again, “I should not have let you convince Ms. Bari to switch partners.”
“But then I would have been stuck with Eric.” Luke wrinkled his nose. “And you would have had to work with Annie.”
Alex grimaced, knowing Luke was right, but it still would have been better than dealing with Luke’s… dumbassery… for lack of better word. “Where’s Reggie when you need him?” mumbling under his breath, getting up to kneel on the ground, pushing Luke to the side so that he could clean up the mess that Luke had made.
“Not my fault that Reggie is smarter than us.” Luke sat on the studio floor, letting Alex take over the coffee table and, therefore, the science project. Luke scooted over and rested his head on Alex’s shoulder.
Alex froze for a second before pushing Luke off. “Dude, not the time.” He said through gritted teeth. He did not want Luke to be affectionate right now, not because of the science project, though that was a good excuse, but rather because of the fact that if Luke did anything else, Alex would have to deal with some hard truths later. “This is due tomorrow, and you somehow were able to convince me to put it off until the last minute again.”
Luke pouted and wrapped his arms around Alex’s waist instead. He tensed, hoping Luke didn’t notice the sudden hitch of his breath. Letting out a long sigh, he tried to relax.
“If you’re not going to try to be helpful, you don’t have to stay here,” Alex muttered.
Luke kept his arms firmly around Alex’s waist, “Nah, I’ll stay.” Squeezing his arms slightly.
“Don’t you have a bottle of vodka hidden in here or something? Why don’t you go drink that instead of bothering me while I try to fix your mess?” Alex joked, trying to get Luke to let go of him.
“I’ll drink if you drink.” Luke still didn’t budge, letting Alex do all the work on the poster while Luke’s arms surrounded the drummer boy, head resting lightly on Alex’s bicep.
“Are you trying to distract me?” Alex shuffled so that he wasn’t kneeling anymore but rather sat on the ground, forcing Luke to let go for a moment, but it didn’t take long for Luke to adjust either, his head now resting on Alex’s lap. “Get off of me, you weirdo.” But Alex made no move to try and get rid of Luke.
“You aren’t even trying.”
“Shut up.” Alex leaned backwards so that he was resting his back against the couch behind him.
A beat of comfortable silence passed between them. “So are we getting drunk or what?” Luke whispered. Another moment of silence passed before Alex nodded. “Sick.” Luke got up, grabbed the unopened bottle of cheap vodka that he stashed behind the couch, hidden from Reggie and Bobby, and came back, sitting next to Alex, shoulders bumping as they started drinking straight from the bottle.
They were giggling and halfway through the bottle when Reggie found them on the floor of the studio. Science project forgotten, and whispering secrets to each other. Luke was sitting in Alex’s lap, cuddling into the drummer’s chest, and his hair was being pet by a lazy hand. Reggie slowly backed out of the studio, leaving the two be. It was okay since they didn’t even notice him. “Alex, I love you.” Luke’s words were slurred, but it was very obvious what he said in his drunken state; he hiccupped and giggled again. He probably wasn’t going to remember any of this in the morning.
Alex wasn’t as drunk as Luke was, and was far more conscious than Luke. He took a deep breath as he heard what Luke said. “I love you, too,” Alex replied, his voice shaky, not from the drunken stupor but from real emotion. This was sincere, and full of promise, and even if Luke didn’t know that, at least Alex was able to say it. The two of them drifted off to sleep soon after that, the alcohol coursing through their blood.
Luke didn’t remember what either of them said when they woke up the next day, but Alex remembered the whole thing.
11th grade - spring semester, weekend after spring break
“What is your issue?” Luke yelled at Alex. Alex’s hands froze mid-air. Bobby stopped strumming his guitar, and Reggie stood there in shock. “That’s the fifth time you’ve fucked up today!” Luke swung his guitar strap over his head to put down the instrument. “It cannot be that difficult to get that right.” When no one moved or said anything, Luke huffed. “You guys are ridiculous.
Bobby was the first to try and break the tension. “He didn’t even do anything wrong, you’re just freaking out.”
“He messed up on the same riff that we have been working on all week.” Luke whirled to stare at Bobby.
Alex and Reggie glanced at each other. Luke quickly spun around to Reggie, “and you have been slow every time we’ve played, and you!” Luke turned right back to Alex. “What is wrong with you?” basically screaming at the three of them.
Alex took a deep breath and said in a steady voice, “You need to calm down.” He brought his arms into his lap.
“I’m not going to calm down.” Luke roared back.
Out of the corner of his peripheral vision, he saw Bobby walk over to Reggie and talk for a few moments before leaving the studio together. When he heard the studio doors shut, he focused back on Luke. “Calm down, you need to take a deep breath.”
Luke scoffed. “Are you fucking serious?”
“Dead.”
Luke’s eyes furrowed into a deeper glare. When Alex didn’t react, Luke huffed.
“What’s wrong, Luke?” Alex asked. Alex stood up and walked out from behind the drums. “You’ve been off.”
“Thinking, that’s all.” He mumbled.
“That’s dangerous.” Alex pushed Luke toward the couch. “Sit down and talk.”
Luke stumbled at the sudden movement but sat down on the sticky couch. “I don’t even know why I have to talk to you.”
“Because Bobby would yell back at you and Reggie would freeze, therefore it has to be me.” Alex sat down next to him, tapping out a beat on his thigh with the drumsticks. “So talk, about what you’re thinking of.”
“Song lyrics.” His answer was short instead of the normal rants he has. It also felt forced, but also like he was holding back.
“They done yet?” Alex asked casually, this was a normal conversation, hopefully.
“Not yet. Still working on it.”
“So what’s wrong?” Alex stopped drumming, feeling like this conversation was about to get serious.
“They’re about someone.”
Alex’s breath left his body like his soul had just gotten evicted from his skeleton. “Yeah?” His voice squeaked.
“Yeah.” Luke’s voice was flat. The two of them sat in beats of silence.
“Do I know them?” Alex asked, caution in the air.
“Yeah.”
“Oh.” Alex sat there, his lips tight, something was off but he didn’t push it.
“Yeah, oh .” Luke laughed and rested his head on Alex’s shoulder.
12th grade - fall semester, first day of school
“Final year, boys!” Luke jumped on Alex’s back.
Alex let out an oof from the sudden force before recovering. “Hi Luke.”
It was the first day of senior year. Alex and Reggie were already talking to each other by Reggie’s locker, discussing the plan for the day since they only had the last period together when Luke had shown up. “You guys talking about classes?” Luke asked, finally jumping off Alex’s back.
“Yeah, but Alex and I only have 6th period together. Bobby has nothing with either of us, and he already left to go talk to his girlfriend.” Reggie pouted. “This is going to be weird not seeing you guys all day.” Reggie handed Luke his paper showing the classrooms and times.
“Nice! Reggie, we have 2nd period together.” Luke’s eyes shone when he realized that. “Alex, what about you?” Luke handed Reggie’s paper back and made grabby hands at Alex’s paper. Alex sighed and handed Luke his paper.
He watched as Luke’s eyes got wider at every line down the schedule. “What, Luke?” Alex asked, bored and ready to get to first period.
“Dude, we have 1st, 3rd, and 4th period together.” Luke grinned, handing Alex back his paper along with his own schedule.
“Don’t joke about that, I don’t think I can do another science class with you.” Alex took the papers from Luke’s hands, glancing at the timetable, groaning when he saw that Luke was right. “I don’t want to work on another science project with you.”
“You’re stuck with me, ha!” Luke looped his arm around Alex’s, “Let’s get to first period.”
Reggie was giggling the whole time. “See you lovebirds later.” He said, turning and walking away to go to his own first-period class.
“Lovebirds?” Alex questioned, looking down at Luke. But all the guitarist did was shrug then pull Alex down the hallway to their classroom.
“You do know that a lot of people think we’re dating, right? I think that’s what Reggie was referencing.” Luke said while they turned down the English hallway.
“Do they?” Alex’s voice was high-pitched, almost a squeak.
“Yeah!” Luke said like it was nothing.
“I know you flirt with me and Reg a lot, but I didn’t think people noticed,” Alex mumbled, voice low again.
“I don’t flirt with Reggie.” Luke pouted.
“Right, okay,” Alex smirked a little.
“What?” Luke pouted, still walking to their class.
“Nothing.”
12th grade - spring semester, the day after graduation
“When are you leaving?” Luke asked Alex. The four boys were sitting in the studio, enjoying the company before the band had to be put on hiatus.
Alex sighed from his spot on the couch. The leather was warm, his head was resting on a pillow, and his legs were sprawled over Reggie’s lap, who was sitting there plucking at his bass. “Sometime in August, move-in day is late August, so I have to be up there before then.”
“I can’t believe you’re leaving us,” Luke whined from his spot on the ground, sprawled in the little clear area they had.
“Hey, Bobby’s leaving too.” Alex quipped.
“Don’t bring me into this conversation. I’m only going to Davis, not leaving the state.” Bobby threw a guitar pick at Alex from his spot sitting on the coffee table.
“Why do you have to go to Pullman, of all places?” Luke complained.
“Because they have a good business program,” Alex said, rehearsed since Luke asked every other day. “And don’t say that Berkeley has a good one too, because I know and I still chose to go to Washington.”
“You’re lame.” Luke huffed, “What are we gonna do about the band?” rolling onto his stomach and resting his chin on his hands.
“We’re just taking a break, Luke,” Reggie said in a tired voice. “I’ll still be here too, you know.”
“You’re going to CalArts.”
“That's not even a full hour away, Luke. You could have come to CalArts with me, go for vocal or guitar.”
“We’re supposed to focus on the band. I thought we agreed on that.”
“Yeah, back in middle school.” Bobby scoffed.
“Luke, I think you’re the only one who actually takes this band that seriously,” Alex interjected. “Yes, we all think that the band will do amazing, heck, maybe even become legends, but we also care about our education.” When Luke didn’t respond, Alex sighed. “I’ll come back in the summers after spring term, you know that. I’ll also come back at the end of the fall term and be here for Christmas.”
“Can you at least promise me you won't become a frat boy?” Luke said after another moment of silence.
“You think I would willingly join a frat?” Alex mumbled before smiling. “I won’t, I promise.”
“Good.”
“What if I join a frat?” Bobby kicked Luke’s leg.
“They would never let you in, loser.”
1st year - summer break, the 4th of july before leaving for Pullman
Alex and Luke were waiting in line for Space Mountain while Bobby and Reggie decided to do something a little more low-key, probably at Autotopia. As they got into their spots, they waited for the next cart to pull up Luke spoke up, “I love you, Alex.”
A small smile appeared on Alex’s face as he stepped into the cart, pulling down the lapbar. “Love you too, Luke.”
When Luke pulled down his lapbar, he turned around to look at Alex. “No, I mean I love you. I love you so much, and I love you as more than just a friend, and I don’t know what I would do without you.” When Alex just sat there staring at Luke, not responding, he turned back around.
Alex leaned forward the best he could, being restrained in the cart, whispering an “I know” into Luke’s ear right as the ride launched them into the dark abyss, laughing as Luke screamed.
When they got off the ride, Alex immediately went over to the screen that showed all the photos. He let out a small chuckle when he saw Luke’s hair flying up in the picture, eyes closed, and mouth wide open with a scream. He scanned the QR code to save the picture to his phone before sending it to the band group chat so Bobby and Reggie could see it.
Luke finally caught up to Alex, taking deep breaths like he was trying not to throw up, again. “Alex.” He said, sounding breathless.
“Yeah?” Alex turned to look at the guitarist. “What’s up?”
“Did you actually know?”
“Straight to the point, huh?” Alex grabbed Luke’s hand, dragging him out to a trashcan, just to be safe and to get out of the crowd. “It was mainly a guess, more like I couldn’t tell and didn’t ask, just in case I was wrong.” Alex rubbed his hand on Luke’s back like he was coaxing the motion sickness out of his body.
“You should have asked, then I wouldn’t have had to go through all of high school scared to ask you out.” Luke sighed at the soothing hand. “I can’t believe you knew.” He rested his head on Alex’s chest after his stomach stopped jumping. “You knew this whole time. Then you tell me right before you leave.”
Alex laughed, shaking the two of them. “You only told me now as well instead of telling me during high school.” He pulled Luke into a hug.
When Luke hugged him back, he squeezed his arms a little, making it tighter. Luke buried his head further into Alex’s chest. “My fault, I guess.”
“Definitely your fault.” Alex let them fall into a bubble of silence, as quiet as it could be in Disney Land on the 4th of July weekend. “I love you, Luke, I have for a long time.”
“Then why are you leaving?” Luke whispered, barely audible over the screaming kids around them.
“You know why.” Alex’s hand found its way under Luke’s chin, tilting up the smaller one’s head so they could look each other in the eye. “Can I try?” Alex asked, hoping that Luke understood the memo. He saw Luke’s eyes sparkle at the question, confirming that he understood. When a short nod was given, Alex leaned down, grazing over Luke’s lips, barely even touching. Right as Alex started to pull back, Luke pulled him closer, attaching their lips into a real kiss. It was desperate, and heavy, and full of years of emotions finally able to be poured out of its container.
“I knew it! Five bucks, Bobby! Hand it over.” Reggie’s voice yelled over the roar of crowds around them. The two of them pulled away from each other, laughing slightly. They turned to see Reggie holding a $5 bill and Bobby putting his wallet away. “Took you two long enough.”
“What were you guys even betting on?” Alex asked, letting go of Luke but missing the warmth of the hug.
“I was saying that you two wouldn’t tell each other until right before you left. Reggie said that one of you would tell the other earlier than August.” Bobby grumbled, upset that he lost a bet but clearly happy that the two of them finally admitted their feelings.
1st year - summer break, a few days before move-in day at Pullman
The four of them sat in the studio, a familiar space for them, but it felt off. It was too quiet, and Alex felt weird about it. “So, I leave for school in a soon, move-in day is on Saturday, and my mom booked the flight for me. I have to be on the plane at 8 in the morning on Thursday, so I’m leaving in two days.” Alex broke the quiet.
“Can I come with you to the airport?” Reggie asked, knowing the answer, but still hoping.
“My parents probably won’t let you.” Alex sighed. “I wish you guys could be there to say bye to me, but my dad won’t want you guys there.” Reggie sighed and moved closer to Alex, the two of them cuddling on the couch.
“Your dad sucks,” Luke said from his spot on the ground.
“Agree.” Bobby sat cross-legged on the coffee table. A sense of déjà vu ran through Alex, but he pushed the thought away, wanting to enjoy this moment. “I’m busy tomorrow, so today is the last time you’ll see me until winter.”
Alex could see Luke biting his lip, deep in thought. “What about you, Reg and Luke?”
“I’m babysitting Steve tomorrow.” Reggie sighed. “I guess today is it as well.”
Luke didn’t respond, but instead just shook his head. Understanding what it meant, Alex just said “Oh,” and sank into the couch further. This was the last time all four of them would be in the same room until winter, maybe even more, depending on what Davis and CalArts' schedules are like. “Let’s just enjoy today?” Alex asked the three of them.When the others agreed, they fell right back into an invisible harmony, it was so easy that they all lost track of time.
Before they knew it, Reggie had to head home, and Bobby left with Reggie, leaving just Luke and Alex in the studio. The two of them were on the couch, Luke cuddled into Alex’s chest and tracing invisible lines on Alex’s arm. “Alex?”
“Luke?”
“What’s going to happen?”
Alex didn’t respond for a second; he did not want to talk about this, but he knew he had to. Sighing, he looked down at Luke. “What do you want to happen?” It was a loaded question, full of fear.
“I don’t know.” Luke stopped tracing the lines on his arm, moving so that he could pull something out of his back pocket. He held it carefully, like it was going to break. “I wrote this all the way back in junior year.” Luke held it out so Alex could see what it was, a folded piece of paper. “Well, I started it back then, but I didn’t finish it until last week.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” There was science again. Luke stuck the paper into Alex’s hand. “Don’t read it until you get to Pullman, though. If you read it right now I don’t think you’ll leave.”
“I thought you didn’t want me to leave.” Alex’s hand curled around the paper.
“I don’t,” Luke replied. “But I know that it’s something you need to do for your own sanity.” Luke’s hand fell back onto Alex’s arm, but instead of tracing lines, it became a hug. It was heavy, and full of desperation, filled to the brim with fear but also care. “I just want you to be happy.”
“I love you, Luke.” Alex hugged Luke the best he could in the strange position they were in.
“I love you, Alex.”
1st year - fall term, the Wednesday after move-in day
Pullman was strange, to say the least. Alex had never had to walk up and down so many hills in his life before. His roommate was friendly, but quiet, and the dorm room itself was small, especially for him since he was taller. The experience was new, but it was good for him. He hadn’t talked to anyone in the band since he landed in Pullman, a text to the group chat saying that he landed safely and that he missed them. They all responded with cheers and good luck texts, but since then, he hadn’t had time to talk to them.
Welcome week is super busy, getting to know others in his dorm building, learning the way around campus, and finding out from the older students where the best food and coffee are. It was hectic, but it was a fresh start for him. Of course, he was going to miss LA, the band, and especially Luke more than anything. But deep in his bones he knew that he needed this new environment.
He put on a hoodie to get ready for the barbecue that was happening out in the quad for new students. He stuffed his hands into the hoodie pocket and felt a paper. Frowning, he pulled it out of the pocket.”What?” He didn’t remember putting anything there.
He unfolded it, realizing that it was the song that Luke had written, which Luke had given him last week. Sitting down in the chair by his desk, yelping a little when it tilted back, he would have to get used to the anti-suicide chair, he started reading through it, trying to decipher the messy handwriting and chords.
Once upon a time, the planets and the fates
And all the stars aligned
You and I ended up in the same room
At the same time
And the touch of a hand lit the fuse
Of a chain reaction of countermoves
To assess the equation of you
Checkmate, I couldn't lose
What if I told you none of it was accidental
And the first night that you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me?
I laid the groundwork and then, just like clockwork
The dominoes cascaded in a line
What if I told you I'm a mastermind?
And now you're mine
It was all by design
'Cause I'm a mastermind
Alex laughed at the lyrics. Luke, planning this whole thing? That was very unlikely but he wouldn’t know unless he asked, but he liked how it was kind of mysterious. He thought back to all their moments together, wondering if there were any references that he should know about, the hands touching, ot maybe when Reggie introduced them to each other, but he wouldn’t know for sure.
You see, all the wisest women
Had to do it this way
'Cause we were born to be the pawn
In every lover's game
If you fail to plan, you plan to fail
Strategy sets the scene for the tale
I'm the wind in our free-flowing sails
And the liquor in our cocktails
What if I told you none of it was accidental
And the first night that you saw me, I knew I wanted your body?
I laid the groundwork and then, just like clockwork
The dominoes cascaded in a line
What if I told you I'm a mastermind?
And now you're mine
It was all my design
'Cause I'm a mastermind
The liquor line caught his eye quite fast. He knew exactly what that was referencing, the vodka, back when they were working on the science project. He smirked at it, remembering that Luke had actually said that he loved Alex in that moment, drunk thoughts and all that.
No one wanted to play with me as a little kid
So I've been scheming like a criminal ever since
To make them love me and make it seem effortless
This this the first time I've felt the need to confess
And I swear
I'm only cryptic and Machiavellian 'cause I care
So I told you none of it was accidental
And the first night that you saw me, nothing was gonna stop me
I laid the groundwork and then saw a wide smirk
On your face, you knew the entire time
You knew that I'm a mastermind
And now you're mine
Yeah, all you did was smile
'Cause I'm a mastermind
So this was the part that Luke had only finished recently. The reference to Space Mountain was there and very obvious. How Luke knew that Alex was smiling was a question for another time. He sat there reading the paper over and over again, living in the words that Luke had written just for him. He pulled out his phone to text Luke.
“When did you start using big words? Machiavellian?” 5:37 pm
Luke responded right away, like he was waiting for a text.
“Since I learned how to use Google you dork.” 5:38 pm
“Thank you for the song, it’s beautiful.” 5:38 pm
“I miss you” 5:38 pm
“Lots.” 5:39 pm
“I miss you more.” 5:39 pm
“I’ll see you soon, I promise.” 5:40 pm
Before Luke could respond, he stashed his phone away and put the paper into a folder he had labeled “for home” and ran off to get the free hot dogs he was promised.