Jatp trash and walking Minecraft song parody

Reggie wasn’t stupid, despite what everyone seemed to think. He’d created an elaborate facade for himself, realising pretty early on that if you lower people’s expectations of you, they’re much harder to disappoint. But he knew things, he knew that Julie was completely down bad for Luke (he’d learned that from Willie), he knew the quadratic formula by heart (thanks Mr Hegarty). Most importantly, he knew that Caleb Covington played chess, with the people at his club as the pawns. While the others had moved on, trying to regain something as close to a normal life as people who technically didn’t have a life could get, Reggie knew that Caleb was moving his pieces carefully, using his pawns to protect his King, readying his queen for attack. And Reggie knew that this game of chess that they were playing had no rules, no turns. If you didn’t make your move, you didn’t get one.

So there Reggie was, in the Hollywood Ghost Club, taking his turn. It was an unorthodox move, but he wanted to do something before it was too late, before Caleb enacted a plan it was too late to escape from. So, there Reggie was, in the Hollywood Ghost Club, sacrificing his knight to save the queen. 

Caleb rounded the corner, only letting shock paint his face for a second at the sight of Reggie outside his office. His face split into a sinister grin, as he offered his hand towards Reggie. Reggie looked at it, and then back at Caleb, without shaking. 

“Caleb”

“Reginald. Would you like to come into my office?”

“It’s Reggie. And yes, Covington, I’ve got an offer that you can’t refuse.” 

Caleb let out a small chuckle, before unlocking the door to his office, holding it open for Reggie to enter, before following him in. Caleb sat in a grand chair in front of a luxurious desk, looking the part of the villain. Reggie perched on the edge of a chair opposite him, feeling suddenly queasy. He had rehearsed this, but this place, this room, Caleb, it was all very intimidating. For a moment he had second thoughts, but the image of his friends desperately trying to escape Caleb’s grasp stuck firmly in his mind as a constant reminder of why he was here. 

“So, Reginald” Caleb started once they were inside. “Have you reconsidered my offer? Or- You said you had one of your own?”

“I’m here to trade my soul for Willie’s”

Caleb laughed. “Why would I want you over someone who has been loyal to me for over thirty years?”

“Because you’re losing power over him, and you know it's only a matter of time before he figures out a way to escape. Plus I’m powerful, we both know that.”

“Okay, if you’re so convinced that Willie will escape, what do you gain out of this deal?”

Reggie considered for a moment, deciding what cards to reveal, what pieces to move. “Because I want my friends to be safe. I offer you my soul, and in return you leave my family alone.” He looked up at Caleb with earnest eyes, hoping that honesty would gain him trust. “Plus I want to eat pizza” He tacked onto the end with a sheepish grin. 

“I can’t help but feel as if you’re offering me a price for something I can take for free” Caleb’s face was cold and analytical, and Reggie got the sense his soul was being read. It made him queasy, but he pushed through. 

“Do you really want to risk it? Do you want to risk losing Willie? Do you want to risk losing your power?”

This re-caught Caleb's attention, and he ground his jaw. “And how do I know you wont pull one of your little… stunts and leave?”

“I’m trading you my loyalty. If I leave, our deal is broken and you can hurt my friends. I mean, I came here voluntarily d-didn’t I?” Reggie was becoming more overwhelmed and hesitant, desperately hoping Caleb would stop looking for holes in his offer before he found any. 

Caleb shot Reggie his signature predator grin. “Pleasure doing business with you, Reginald.”

This time, when Caleb held out his hand, Reggie took it. He grit his teeth so Caleb couldn’t see his pain when the stamp burned. 

***

Alex and Willie weren't talking, instead they were just holding each other. It was something they liked to do, more confidently so now that they were dating. Something about the closeness was comforting, like they were more solid together, like the world couldn’t rip them apart. 

“I will never stop fighting for you” Alex whispered softly, almost like it was a secret, but the words rang so true that Willie believed that Alex would scream them from the rooftop. 

Willie pulled away from him just enough to look into his eyes, searching for hesitation but finding only love. 

“I know. I’ll always come back to yo-” Willie’s breath hitched in their throat, as he felt his guts suddenly pull upwards. 

“Willie? Are you okay?” 

Willie’s wrist burst into searing pain, and he untangled it from Alex’s waist just in time to see the purple stamp there float gently from their wrist and dissipate softly in the air. 

“Willie? Was that-”

Alex was cut off by Willie being very suddenly thrust backwards by an invisible force. They tumbled off of the sofa in the garage and onto the ground, where he lay for a few seconds, panting, before pushing off of the ground into a sitting position. Alex flew to his side immediately, placing a careful and gentle hand on their back.

“Willie?” 

“I- I think that was my soul”

***

“I just don’t understand why he would give you your soul back! Just out of the blue!” Alex was pacing again, anxiously biting his fingernails. “He has to be up to something.”

“And we’re on the runway.” Luke commented.

Julie smacked him on the arm before reaching into her bag and pulling out a fidget cube, silently handing it to Alex. As soon as it was in his hands, he stopped pacing and stood in front of the three teens on the sofa. “Maybe Caleb got injured? That would make him lose some of his power, right?” She queried, looking towards Willie for any confirmation. 

Willie shook their head, “If he was injured, I might be able to take my soul from him, but I’d have to be actively trying. Today it was like it was… pushed back in without me having a chance to see it coming. I’m with Hotdog, something is wrong. There’s no reason that after.. After 30 years of owning my soul, he’d just give it back.”

“I feel like this is a discussion we should all be here for. Where’s Reggie?” Luke chimed in, trying to sooth the anxiety growing in his own gut by delaying the conversation. (He knew it wasn’t good for Alex to delay it but he really needed a second to think.)

Alex thought for a moment, “I couldn’t find him. Maybe he’s with Ray?” 

“I’ve been with my dad all day, he’s not with him. Maybe he just needed some time alone, I mean, I’d need a break if I spent all day with Luke.” Julie shot a teasing grin at Luke.

“You do spend all day with me, dipshit” Luke shot back. 

Julie ignored him, turning back to Alex. “He’ll probably show up later with some crazy story about an adventure with a crab on the beach. Take some time to chill out and hug your partner, then we can have a band meeting later when Reggie gets back, and I can call Flynn in the meantime to update them.” She stood up and took his hand, giving it a quick, comforting squeeze. “Don’t stress it, babes.” 

Alex shot her a confused look, but she just smiled at him and walked out of the studio. Luke followed, giving Alex a side hug before running after Julie like an excited puppy. 

Alex turned back to Willie, “I think somethings wrong. I can feel it in my gut.”

“I know. I feel it too.” Willie stood in front of Alex, taking both of his hands in their own, one with the fidget cube uncomfortably wedged between. “Or maybe that's my soul, still kind of getting used to it.” 

Alex gave him a small smile. “I just can’t help but think that Reggie’s in danger. Or that Caleb-” He cut himself off with an abrupt gulp, unable to finish the sentence. 

“We’ve always figured it out before. I’m sure everything will be fine”