A/N: Another update for this story! :D I rewatched the movie for inspiration again! Sorry for taking so long... 20 days is a long count! This chapter is more on Jake's conflict on romance, but still has McFly silliness! I just saw a picture of Dougie holding up a sign saying "Zombies eat brains; Danny is safe!" in one of their recent tour concerts, so some lines in this chapter are inspired by that. :D Thanks again to McSteph for reviewing! I'm glad you liked the previous chapter with the McFly silliness! :D Hope you like this one! I also have some news; I'm going to start school this Saturday, and just like last year, it'll occupy my time and make me busy. So that means updates might be rare unless I write every weekend, in which I'm going to do. :D I'm going to finish this story soon! And a probable sequel too (featuring Thomas Sangster in age 15) where the boys have a McFly movie and Jake facing conflicts on how to propose to Ashley. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Just My Luck or the McFly boys.

Luck, Love and Life

Chapter 12: Too Close for Comfort

...

Was I invading in on your secrets?
Was I too close for comfort
You're pushing me out
When I wanted in?
What was I just about to discover?
When I got too close for comfort
Driving you home
Guess I'll never know

The sight of Harry's dedication as he played the drums made Jake grin even wider. He was impressed by Dougie's excellent skills in playing the bass guitar while being the youngest in the band. The blended tunes from Danny's and Tom's guitar made him realize how hard they worked for their number one hits – they definitely deserved it.

Jake felt a hand on his shoulder and saw Damon Phillips with an impressed expression. He quickly motioned his conducting hand to tell the boys to stop, Tom's singing voice fading from the end of the chorus.

"Hey guys!" said Phillips. The boys greeted him back with curious smiles and hidden excitement. "It sounds good!"

"Thank you," Danny said sincerely, excited on upcoming news. It overwhelmed the Bolton boy in having their best hits selling in the United States, knowing they would have a shot in becoming a world-famous band. It was their dream, and the boys hid their enthusiasm to look serious in front of the hit producer.

"What's going on?" Jake asked. He knew Damon Phillips wouldn't interrupt them unless something huge happened. He announced that the first concert hall they booked for a concert failed.

"That sucks," Tom huffed, placing his hand on the drumming platform.

"But "Five Colours" has been getting great radio play, so I decided to book our boys to the new Hard Rock Café Time Square," he continued. Tom placed his hand in front of his mouth in shock and contentment. Dougie chuckled as he clapped, while Harry removed his headphones to check if he heard things correctly. Danny, on the other hand, couldn't contain his excitement.

"No way! This is legit!"

The boys exclaimed more of their sincere thoughts of happiness as Damon and Jake watched them smile from ear to ear.

"This is big! How's the title and follow=up coming along?"

The boys mentally slapped their foreheads. They still had no idea what to name it.

"W… we're working on it," Jake replied. Tom licked his lips and looked down, knowing the title was the toughest obstacle they had at the moment. It may sound ridiculous, but they knew their compilation album deserved the best name there could be. They knew making a follow-up would be easier, but the stress of the title blocked their song ideas as well.

"Eh…" Danny pouted and nodded his head like a child. Dougie, Harry, and Tom laughed mentally at his expression.

"Alright, that's good! Don' let me stop you guys! Congratulations!" Damon said. Jake and the boys watched him leave with his assistants.

"So… umm… Jake, what's the title of the album? And when are we gonna hear this amazing follow-up?" Danny asked, his accent as thick as ever.

"When you guys write it," he replied, only referring to the follow-up.

Danny looked as clueless as ever. "Right," he said, hints of sarcasm present in his voice. Tom, ashamed of Danny's idiocy, banged the microphone to his forehead countless times.

"Hey, what'chu doin' that for?" Danny asked.

"You're an idiot, Danny," Tom hissed.

"Well, at least when a zombie invasion comes along, Danny's safe!" Dougie exclaimed.

"I don't get it," Harry mumbled.

"Because zombies eat brains," Dougie explained. A minute passed before the idea sank in. Harry jumped up and sat down immediately. "OH! I get it!"

"That's pretty rude," Danny snarled.

"Hey Jake, there's a delivery for you," said a voice from the speaker. The boys turned their heads to see a red-haired woman holding plastic bags filled with who-knows-what, grinning at Jake. Jake, on the other hand, felt his heart squeeze softly in his chest. It made him curious, but he shook it off.

"Over there," Jake said, grinning. He pointed at the side with his pencil as Ashley returned a smile. Danny grinned mischievously as he saw their American manager's goofy expression.

"Hey, isn't that the bird from the bowling alley?" Danny asked.

"Oh yeah, the electrocuted one!" Tom exclaimed. The boys looked at each other with devious grins.

"Oooh, Jakey!"

"Oooooooooooh!"

They caught Jake off guard, grinning wider than usual. Realizing this, Jake tried his best to wipe the grin off his face and rattle the pencil in his hand.

"Eh… uh… Danny! You work on your vocals for "Too Close for Comfort" because I think we're on the right track, just spice it up a little bit," he said quickly, leaving the recording room afterwards.

"Okay. We're gonna take it from the second verse," Tom said, standing up. The boys wore their respective headphones and fixed their instruments up, ready for more practice and recording sessions.

Jake quickly arrived next to Ashley, who was fixing up the food she was asked to deliver for them.

"Hey!"

Ashley quickly turned around and her elbow bumped the lamppost standing close to her. With his newfound reflexes, Jake dived in to avoid it making contact to the ground, smashing the glass into a million pieces by that.

"Hey… OH!"

He balanced the lamppost as she fixed up the plastic bag, apologizing of her clumsiness.

"I'm sorry," she said. Her hand landed on the table, and made it wobble. Jake was thankful that he became luckier as he caught the table and fixed it up. Ashley buried her face in her hands with embarrassment while Dougie's bass boomed through the room. She constantly apologized, and told her to come with him to check out the boys.

"Sounds great, you know," he said. Ashley turned up by his side soon. He was at a loss for words, trying to think of something to say to her. It was his second time feeling awkward around a woman, the first being the one in the masquerade bash.

Remember when we scratched our names into the sand
And told me you loved me
But now that I find
That you've changed your mind
I'm lost for words

"They sound good!" she complimented, giving him another heartwarming smile. He was relieved that she talked to him first.

"Yeah! Yeah! They do, don't you think?"

She gave him an appreciative nod. He needed to say more things to her.

And everything I feel for you
I wrote down on one piece of paper
The one in your hand
You won't understand
How much it hurts to let you go

"So… did you hear that we're working in the new Hard Rock?" he asked.

"Wow! That's great!" she said.

Was I invading in on your secrets?
Was I too close for comfort
You're pushing me out
When I wanted in?
What was I just about to discover?
I got too close for comfort
Driving you home
Guess I'll never know

He constantly glanced at her, often catching her looking back at him. Jake's palms turned sweaty as Ashley faced him full-on. He didn't even mind that the boys were playing passionately behind the glass window of the studio.

"So… do you think… maybe… uhh… you wanna go to coffee later or something… maybe…?" he asked, stammering. Jake surprised himself… he actually asked her on a date! "Please say yes," he thought repeatedly.

"Uh…" she cleared her throat; Jake watched the boys instead to look less heartbroken if she said no. "That would be nice."

Jake grinned at her as she watched the boys until he heard the door open, Katy entering with an indigo jacket on.

All this time you've been telling me lies
Hidden in bags that are under your eyes
And when I asked you I knew I was right

"Ahh, there she is," he said. He watched Katy open one of the plastic bags with food. "Oh, is that Katy?" Ashley asked.

"Yeah. She's cute, huh? She picked out this jacket!" he said, giving a good impression for his little cousin. Ashley muttered something that he didn't quite catch, but she told him that Katy looked like someone she went with in camp. He felt impressed that she had a good memory if she could remember someone from so long.

"You know, I'd better get going…" she said, her voice trailing off. "Uh… Mac wants me to reset the rat trap." She quickly shuffled away from Jake.

But if you turn your back on me now
When I need you most
But you chose to let me down

"Oh, shall I call you tonight?" Jake asked hopefully, excited on his probable first date.

"Umm, yeah, about that…" Ashley was cut off when she realized her bag hit someone from behind. "Some other time, maybe. I have other plans… sorry about that… bye!"

Won't you think about what you're about to do to me
And back down...

He plastered a fake smile until she left the room. "Uhh… bye." He sighed in frustration and caught himself doing it. He was surprised by his actions. Wasn't he supposed to search for the girl he kissed at the party? But why did he feel mixed up about Ashley? Why did he feel… odd about her turning down the date? He never did feel that way about a girl before because of his bad luck. Maybe, in some possible way, a small hint of bad luck remained on his side.

He turned to Katy, who had a soda can fizz fly on her face. She screeched in horror. He knew his bad luck wasn't that bad, but his heartstrings tugged him on the inside, causing him to lean on the closest surface. He didn't understand why, but his heart sank.

Was I invading in on your secrets?
Was I too close for comfort
You're pushing me out
When I wanted in
What was I just about to discover?
I got too close for comfort
You're pushing me out
When I'm wanting in
What was I just about to discover
When I got too close for comfort
Driving you home
I guess I'll never know...

"Well done!"

The boys were relieved they finished another song on that day and removed their headphones in pride, laughing together and waiting for each other to get out of their instruments' grasps to leave the room. But when they caught sight of Jake with a conflicted look on his face, they paused.

"What's got him looking like that?" Danny asked in a whisper.

"No idea… hey, where's Ashley?" Tom asked.

"I dunno…" Dougie replied.

"…maybe Jake's having a hard time on her... did you guys see the way he looks at her?" Harry remarked.

"Yeah…" Dougie whispered.

"I think Jake's in love," Danny said.

"And he might be heartbroken…" Tom's voice trailed off. "Let's go."

"Or maybe the song just affected him!" Danny exclaimed. The next thing he knew was that his bandmates were hitting him on the head.

"I can't wait to see a zombie try invading Danny's house," Dougie snickered.

A/N: There we go! The next chapter will have more Jake/Ashley-centric moments, but McFly's going to shine more too! Please review, no flames! And stay tuned! :D