you can't help but become the sun / julien baker

chapter four

A black car pulled up outside of the record shop and parked next to Magnolia's car. Lucy grabbed two out of the three guitars from the back of the car. "Phoebe, grab your own guitar."

"Why can you grab Julien's guitar and not mine?" Phoebe whined before giving in and grabbing her guitar.

"This is a cute place, I love going to little record shops," Julien smiled. She took a bag of guitar picks and their guitar straps out of the back before shutting the trunk.

"Are you just saying that because the girl you like works here?" Phoebe teased.

Julien blushed, "What? No, you're losing your mind. What if I just genuinely like cute little shops?"

Lucy smirked, "Sure you do, Jules." The three of them made their way inside the shop. "Hello, you must be Magnolia? I'm Lucy, this is Phoebe and Julien!"

"Hey! It's so good to meet you! Yes, I'm Magnolia! This is my brother, Josiah, and those are my friends Tina and Chloé." She pointed to each person.

"It's nice to meet you too! We're gonna set up and really quickly run through things. How long do we have before the shop opens up?" the platinum blonde asked.

"We have twenty minutes before the store opens up and thirty before the set starts, will that be enough time?" Josiah replied, helping Lucy bring everything over to the stage.

"Plenty of time," Lucy answered, setting down her guitar case. "Let's get started."

The group quickly got to work, setting up their equipment and running through a few songs to make sure everything sounded good. Magnolia and her friends watched from the sidelines.

"You must have a thing for tattoos, huh?" Josiah whispered in his sister's ear.

"Brady had one tattoo, shut the hell up," Magnolia replied, matching his tone.

"We good?" Julien looked at her boys, when everyone agreed they were good, their guitars were placed on their stands.

"Just in time, the store is gonna open in two minutes," Tina leaned her head on her girlfriend's shoulder.

"You sounded really nice, Julien. I can't wait till the set. Let me take you guys to our little backroom," Magnolia said, gesturing towards a door behind the stage.

"Thanks, Magnolia," Julien replied, grinning. "We're excited to play for everyone."

As Magnolia led the group into the small, dimly lit room, the band felt a sense of excitement and anticipation. The room was cozy, with a few chairs and a couch set up for the band to relax in before their performance. The small table with snacks and drinks was a thoughtful touch, and the band members helped themselves to some water.

"Make yourselves at home," Magnolia said, her warm smile putting everyone at ease. "By the time we get everyone in, you guys should be on."

Julien and the rest of the band took seats in the chairs, taking in the relaxed atmosphere. They chatted and joked around for a while, enjoying each other's company and the chance to take pressure off of them before the set. The Waters siblings were busy letting fans into the store, and the band members could hear the excited chatter and laughter from outside.

"JB, you are as red as a tomato," Phoebe said, teasing Julien about her blushing face.

"Shut up, Bridgers," Julien muttered, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"You've barely spoken to her and you're already in so deep, I love seeing all of this unfold," Lucy joined in on the teasing, making Julien blush even more.

"It's time, boys!" Tina informed the band, right before Julien had a chance to defend herself.

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a/n: the boys have made their first appearance!!
I would really appreciate votes & comments, they help me stay motivated!

-A