Julie and the Phantoms One-shots

Nicknames and Sad Stories

 Disclaimer: I do not own Netflix, Julie and the Phantoms, or any of the music!

Summary: This is set after Julie gives Unsaid Emily to Luke's parents and they are talking on Julies porch. Luke is going to call her something she hasn't heard in a long time. (Pretend that Flynn doesn't call her this in every episode please😂)

"I didn't have many regrets in my life except for running out on my parents. Especially my mom, so... thank you." Luke said sincerely. "You helped me feel more connected to my mom, so I wanted to do the same thing for you." She said, shrugging her shoulders like it was nothing. "That was perfect, Jules." Luke said and Julie stiffened. Noticing the change in her demeanor, he back tracked what he said to make her tense. "Is it okay if I call you that? Jules?" She hesitated before she replied and Luke new he had struck a chord in her. "Umm, my mom used to call me that. Used to say that I was like a jewel. Pretty and strong. The entire time that she was in the hospital she kept reminding me that I was like a jewel. That no matter what happened I wouldn't break." When her voice started to tremble, Luke knew he shouldn't push her but he couldn't help but be curious and he said "You've never talked about what happened to her before." Julie sucked in a breath. "I used to think that if I did it would be like reliving it and in some ways it is but now it's just like I'm honoring her memory." Luke took this as an opportunity to learn more about Julie because the band had only scratched the surface. "Can you tell me about her?" Luke asked carefully. Julie nodded and moved to the bench on the porch, patting the seat beside her. He quickly joined her, making sure to stay close for support. "God, she was the best. Always making me and Carlos laugh. She never forgot any important date and she remembered everyone's birthdays. Even after she was hospitalized she stayed positive. My mom was one of those people who always believed the best in everything and she never ceased to amaze me with the amount of hope she had." Julie paused and looked down and Luke waited for her to continue. "But... She was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer and the doctors told us that she had half a year to at most with intense chemotherapy and surgeries. She died after three months at the hospital. The worst part is that she suffered through the treatments and it never helped. I knew the odds weren't in her favor in the beginning, but I really believed she, of all people, could beat it. Turns out I was wrong. I still can't get the sound of her pulse flatlining on the heart monitor out of my head." Julie said, playing with the edge of her sweater that Luke remembered her saying was her moms. Luke immediately felt guilty about asking her to talk about what happened. He didn't like the pain it brought to her usually happy features. "I'm so sorry. I had no idea." Luke whispered. Speaking any louder felt wrong. "It's ok. It feels good to talk to someone. She fought as hard as she could and I'm just thankful for the time we got together. The thing is her uncle died from it when he was 19 and her great grandmother had it too so there's a chance that its genetic and I might have the cancer gene. The doctors offered me and Carlos a test when my mom was first diagnosed but I was too scared of knowing. It was just too unimaginably hard at the time. It still is. Carlos took it and he doesn't have it but I just couldn't do it. My dad said that it was my choice and I chickened out. I just don't want to spend my days in a hospital where I'm surrounded by death, getting horrible chemo and surgery after surgery. I just want to live my life! Sooner or later I'm going to have to take the test but for now I'm okay with being ignorant." Julie spoke the last part fast before the tears started to leak out of the corners of her eyes. Luke reached out to hold her hands, forgetting about being a ghost for a minute, and they passed right through hers. "I'm sorry I brought it up. I'm just going to have to find another nickname for you. How do you feel about Lina? Like short for your last name. Or maybe Ju? Your pick." He said, trying to lighten the mood. It seemed to have worked because she laughed and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. "I think I like Jules better. It's nice, actually. To hear it again. Don't stop calling me that. Now I need to find a nickname for you." Luke smiled. "There's not much you can get from Luke. It's already short for Lukas." He was grinning at her lack of options. "I guess I'll just have to stick with boring Luke then." She said with her usual amount of sarcasm. Luke looked fake taken aback and it made Julie giggle. "Let's go inside, dork." For some reason, whenever Luke was around Julie, he felt stronger even with Caleb's stamp that they had yet to tell her about. He was going to break the news before they started talking about her mom but he decided it would be too much for her and the last thing he wanted to do was cause her any more pain.