#jacket switch

prompt: Luke and Reggie switch jackets.

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Alex tapped his drumsticks against the coffee table in a nervous rhythm that sounded vaguely like the song he and the rest of the band were working on. He was the first one at the garage for rehearsal which always made him anxious. He felt awkward having to wait, and he got increasingly more stressed the longer he was alone. Should he set up? Should he wait until the others get here before doing anything? Maybe he should get food or something to fill the empty space. But what if the others didn't want food? What if they wanted something different? He should wait.

But the empty silence made the anticipation worse, so he began tapping away at random surfaces from the coffee table, to the floor, to the couch arms. He twirled them absently as he focused on "playing" to keep his mind off of the ringing silence.

Maybe ten minutes after he arrived at the garage, Bobby showed up. He looked a little winded as he put down his guitar case and tossed a water bottle in Alex's direction. He caught it and took a sip before smiling a little, the sight of another person melting his stress away just a little. 

"Hey, dude. Where've you been?" he asked, not annoyed or anything per se, but he was pretty late.

Bobby grimaced, his hair tousled and a little sweaty. "Sorry, man. Work ran over, and I got a little distracted by… um, a store display."

Alex narrowed his eyes playfully. "You mean you got distracted by a pretty girl you saw through a store display window?"

Bobby smiled guiltily, and Alex chuckled. Same old Bobby. "She was cute, but at least I got you water."

"Yes, thank you for worrying if I'm hydrated." Alex's tone only had a touch of sarcasm.

They chuckled and then checked to make sure their instruments were set up and ready for when Luke and Reggie decided to grace them with their presence. Neither had said anything about being late or not showing up to rehearsal, so they should be here unless something serious happened. 

Alex's heart plummeted as he recalled an emotional conversation the rest of the band had had with Reggie just the week before. He had been enduring fights between his folks for years, but the one that had occurred the Friday before had been the loudest and the most intense one he could remember. He had been so stressed out and upset over the experience, he had packed a bag and snuck out to crash in Bobby’s garage. 

Reggie had meant to be sneaky and not be found sleeping there, but when he had been tip-toeing in, he found Luke sitting on the made-up sofa. He had been scribbling in his journal and looking worn out, but he had frozen when he spotted Reggie walking in with his own overnight bag.

He hadn't been able to escape, and as Reggie told it, he half wanted to run. But then they had decided to have a little sleepover in the garage and spend a night away from their families. Luke told them he fought with his parents but hadn't shared details.

Since then they had gone home, but if things escalated that much once, it most certainly could happen again. The thought made Alex's stomach hurt.

"Don't stress, man," Bobby said as he fiddled with his guitar. "They'll be here. Luke's almost always late."

Alex knew this, but what if it was that one time he was late because of something awful happening at home? Or what if Reggie was going through something, and Luke was there comforting him while they sat here like idiots waiting?

So, he gave them ten more minutes, which was hard, but he made himself believe he was just overreacting and needed to chill.

He was getting to his feet and had his mouth open with the intention of asking Bobby if he wanted to go check on Luke and Reggie's houses, when the pair in question came hurrying up the driveway and into the garage. 

Luke bent over with his hands on his knees and panted as he struggled to regain his breath. One of his shoes was untied, and Alex was astonished he made it all the way here without falling and scraping up his knees.

Reggie leaned against the wall, clutching a stitch in his side and pulling a face like a fish out of water. Both of them had apparently sprinted the entire way here, which was thoughtful in terms of hurrying up but stupid in the long run.

"Where the hell have you two been?" Bobby asked, watching the two panting boys with a look of concern mixed with amusement. 

"Fell… asleep…" Luke panted. "S-Sorry."

"Won't happen… again," Reggie spluttered.

Alex was shaking his head when he noticed something very interesting about the new arrivals. He knew that they all had their own styles that they loved and made a part of their image, but Reggie and Luke weren't dressed like they normally would be. 

In fact, the jackets they wore were very familiar, but he could've sworn he saw said jackets on different people this morning at school. 

He nudged Bobby, who was only a half beat behind him. He smirked when he noticed and sat down on one of the stools, propping his foot up.

"So… Luke," Alex said with a small smile on his own face as his friends recovered and began breathing normally again. "Where'd you get the jacket from?"

Luke frowned as he looked over at the drummer, his eyebrows scrunched in confusion in that animated way he had. "Dude, what are you talking about? You were with me when I picked this out."

He ran his hands over the jacket he wore distractedly. Luke's eyes widened when he felt the material and looked down slowly at his front as if a spider were crawling up his shirt. Luke was terrified of the things, so Alex recognized the face he was making as his petrified one.

"Hey, Reg, cool jacket," Bobby said with a faint smile.

Reggie perked up once he was breathing evenly again. "Thanks! I-" he blinked as he, too, ran his fingers over his sides. Alex watched the moment Reggie realized he wasn't feeling soft flannel but rough denim. His eyes widened as he clutched at the sleeves then turned a horrified face to Luke.

Luke looked equally as shocked and embarrassed as Reggie. He and the bassist locked eyes, and Alex watched identical patches of pink bloom on both boys' cheeks. 

"Care to explain?" Alex asked as he folded his arms across his chest and chuckled. Bobby snickered behind his hand. 

"Um… so…" Luke looked at Reggie who was encased by Luke's bleached denim coat that almost touched his knees. Meanwhile, Luke wore a red and black flannel that looked a little snug on his shoulders. 

Alex and Bobby continued to watch the matching smug grins when Reggie finally cracked. 

"We napped together," he said quickly. He was fidgeting with his rings - a nervous habit he had yet to kick. He did it less than he used to, but when he was caught off guard, there was almost a guarantee he would mess with his fingers. "We didn't mean to sleep so long!" he added, his eyes wide and genuine. 

Alex chuckled and waved a hand. "We were just teasing, dude."

"Yeah, you probably needed it," Bobby chimed in as he hooked his guitar to the amp.

"You guys should keep them on if you want to," Alex said with a faint smile. Reggie looked happy in Luke's overlong jacket, and Luke was pulling the flannel closer as if he wasn't upset they grabbed the wrong jackets. 

Luke and Reggie grinned at each other and nodded as they walked over to their guitars.

Bobby stood up and moved towards his mic. "But can we seriously get to playing? We have a gig outside the mall tomorrow."

Reggie grinned. "You got it!" He rolled back Luke's jacket sleeves and picked up his bass, his awkwardness evaporating like it had been nothing.

Luke, however, was frowning down at Reggie’s flannel he was wearing, his fingers messing with a spot at the bottom of it.

Alex noticed and twirled his sticks. "Luke, don't tell me you got something on Reggie's favorite shirt," he said darkly. 

"WHAT!?" Reggie whipped his head around to stare at Luke with widened eyes.

Luke winced and shook his head in denial. "No, it's just…" He looked at Reggie as if his best friend had betrayed him. Alex recognized that face from the last time they had pizza and Bobby snatched up the last piece before Luke could pounce on it. "How long has this thing had a zipper?"

Silence.

Reggie swallowed. "Always…?" he said with uncertainty laced in his tone.

"Wait, it has a zipper?" Bobby looked as if Luke had unlocked secrets hidden by the universe.

Alex felt like the world had been turned upside down. "How have I not noticed that?" he demanded.

"Because most flannels have buttons," Luke said, staring at the zipper as if not sure if it was really there or not.

Reggie pouted. "What's wrong with the zipper?" he asked with hurt in his voice.

Everyone snapped out of it and turned to look at him.

"Nothing!" Alex and Luke said at the same time, and the latter let go of the object in question. 

"We just kind of assumed it was a button one," Bobby said with a shrug. "Nothing wrong with that. Zippers are cool... and easier, honestly."

"Yeah, even Luke can figure them out," Alex said as he sat behind his drums. He smirked when Luke scoffed at him.

Luke gave Alex a dirty look as he kept the flannel open and grabbed his guitar. "Anyway…"

Alex noticed Reggie looked pleased Luke kept his flannel on, but he didn't say anything. He suspected there was something developing between the two beyond friendship, but he hadn't bothered them about it. If they were seeing each other secretly, it wasn't anyone's business. Honestly, after Alex relayed to them how his parents reacted to him coming out, he wouldn't be surprised if they stayed in the closet until they were moved out of their parents' houses and free to be them. He knew Luke for sure wasn't straight after they had gone out a few times, but he wasn't sure about Reggie.

As he thought about this, Luke gave Reggie a wink that Alex was sure Bobby missed, but he didn't. It warmed his heart to see them so cute and content with each other.

"Alright," Alex said a little loudly to snap Reggie out of giving Luke puppy-dog eyes. They were sweet, but they needed to practice for this gig if they wanted Sunset Curve to be noticed by more people.

The dorks in the mismatched jackets finally paid attention and held their guitars comfortably as they got ready to do what they loved most - play their music.

Sunset Curve played well until almost ten o'clock when the neighbors finally came over to complain. 

As they all packed up, Alex noticed Luke and Reggie were muttering quietly to each other. Their heads were bent and their voices low, so he couldn't hear them, but he caught sight of Reggie's shy smile.

When they turned the lights off and made their way outside into the cool night, Reggie and Luke kept their opposite jackets on. 

"We'll see you guys tomorrow," Luke said brightly. Practice had gone well, so they were all feeling confident about their performance the following evening. 

"Get some sleep, guys. We're gonna kill it tomorrow," Bobby said with a small smile as he locked up his family's garage. 

"Night, man," Reggie called. 

The three of them made their way up the driveway and down the street. They didn't live too far from Bobby's, but Luke and Reggie were closer neighbors. He noticed they walked close enough that their shoulders brushed, but that was it. Alex hoped they were all right, and that the drama with their families wasn't affecting their feelings… if there was something there. He was pretty sure there was, but that was for them to figure out on their own.

When they reached Alex's street, he stopped and smiled at the other two. "See you guys tomorrow. Get some rest."

"Night, Alex." Luke smiled, and Reggie waved.

As he turned and walked away, something had him stopping a few houses down and turning around again.

He grinned when he saw Luke had an arm around Reggie's waist and was apparently telling him something funny. He could hear Reggie's laughter even from this distance.

Smiling to himself, he turned and made his way back home, feeling less anxious about the day after seeing his two best friends so happy.

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