two wrongs make a write

Alex stared straight ahead at Willie, who had long since lost the energy to stand. 

"What do you say to that, Alex? A fair deal, no?" 

"No." The weak protest came from Willie and had Alex not been rooted to the spot by Caleb, he would have been by Willie's side already. 

"Alex," Caleb said, drawing out Alex's name, "the clock is ticking. One more jolt could -- oh!" 

Alex watched helplessly as another jolt ripped through Willie. He remembered the feeling not so long ago and he hated that Willie was suffering the same way -- if not worse. 

"What a fighter!" Caleb said, smiling. Alex knew better than to think Caleb was anything but cruelly amused. "You never know which one might be the last. You don't have much more time. Tick tock . . . tick tock." 

Alex had already known when he first figured it all out that he woukd trade places with Willie in the blink of an eye. But Willie had been able to stand, then. Willie had wanted to talk. Willie had sworn to never forgive Alex if he did. 

But how could Alex just stand there and watch? 

As if Willie could read his thoughts, they forced themselves to sit upright. He shook his head, holding Alex's gaze. 

"Tick tock," Caleb reminded Alex. 

Willie shook his head again. If they could, they would beg Alex to stay silent. 

"All it takes is a single word, Alex. Do you want to spend the rest of your afterlife in regret? Or I could make it stop faster. Just a quick little magic trick and poof! No more William, no more pain." 

Alex opened his mouth but no sound escaped. Willie mustered a firm glare. Another slow shake of their head. 

Alex shook his head too. I'm sorry, it said, I'm sorry and I love you. 

"Time is ticking. . . What do you say, Alex?" 

Alex's agreement was on the tip of his tongue when he heard the familiar sounds of his friends poofing in. 

Caleb scowled, knowing he would never get what he wanted with all three ghosts together -- not to mention the fact that they'd brought Julie Molina with them. But Willie was still there, hanging on by a thread. One final jolt ought to do the trick. 

Caleb turned to face Willie. 

Alex, still rooted to the spot, quickly realised what Caleb was about to do and struggled to break free. Luke and Reggie were there to help instantly. Luke tried to pull Alex from his spot. Reggie jumped on Caleb with a banshee screech. 

Alex stopped quite suddenly. He saw, almost in slow motion, as a stream of sparks shot from Caleb's hand as Reggie fell to the floor with a soft thud. Alex heard Julie's muffled voice, almost as though he was underwater, as she screamed and sprinted to protect Willie. 

Everyone stilled, watching the cloud dissipate achingly slow. Even Caleb seemed stunned. 

"What did you do?" Reggie asked softly.  

Luke grabbed hold of Alex's hand. Alex could almost hear Luke's repeated reassurances. They're okay. Julie's okay. Willie's okay. They're okay. 

"What did you do?" Reggie shouted, standing up and shoving Caleb back with both hands. 

"Reg," Alex barely whispered. 

Reggie turned around, hoping to see both Willie and Julie, perfectly all right. But the glimpse he'd caught of Alex's face as he turned already told him he wouldn't like what he saw. 

Julie lay disturbingly still on the floor -- she was just out cold, right? -- and Willie . . . well, Willie was missing. 

Reggie turned back to Caleb again, who had begun to laugh in amazement and disbelief. Reggie shoved him back again. "WHAT DID YOU DO?!" 

Alex nudged Luke, letting go of his hand. As Luke slowly and cautiously approached Julie, Alex collapsed on the floor. He'd had a perfectly good shot at saving Willie and he hadn't taken it. So what if Willie never forgave him? At least Willie would've still been around. And Julie. . . 

Alex pulled his knees up and buried his face in his arms. He knew Caleb had lured him into a trap. He'd have been a little daft not to know that. But he'd come here to try to save one person that he loved and now he had lost two. 

As one, all three boys seemed to realise the same thing. Luke turned to Alex, his hand still holding Julie's. Reggie stopped fruitlessly attacking Caleb. Alex lifted his head. 

Someone had to tell the rest of Julie's family.

Alex still wasn't quite sure what had happened. Everything between that single moment and right now was a dazed blur to him. How long had it been? Weeks or months? Days or years? Time felt . . . different, without Willie. Everything felt a little fake without Willie and Julie. 

Luke didn't even touch his journal, let alone his guitar, for a very long time. Reggie spent a lot of time alone in Julie's empty room. Maybe he was waiting and hoping Julie would turn up, if only to scold him about boundaries and kick him out. 

And Alex? Well, Alex spent a lot of time standing on the fresh green grass, reading Julie's name, carved into the headstone, over and over and over again. If he knew how to find Willie's grave, he would spend some time there too. 

Was it bad that he felt worse about Julie than he did about Willie?

Losing Willie was like dying all over again, but he and Willie had already known that only one of them was going to leave that building. Julie was so much younger and smaller. Julie still could've grown older. She'd had her whole life ahead of her. Neither of their time was supposed to end like that but somehow, Julie's death was worse. Because to Alex, Julie was still just a kid.

Alex couldn't remember how the rest of Julie's family had reacted to the news. He couldn't even remember how they'd found out. Sometimes, as he stood by her grave, he wondered, who had cried? Who had been too stunned to even move? Who blamed him for it, the way he did?

Other times, he wondered what his unfinished business was supposed to be, now. Anything he could think of was unattainable. If it really was something to do with either Willie or Julie -- maybe even both of them -- then what happened now? Would he just stay a ghost forever?

Alex didn't remember the time between their deaths and every waking moment, but he could remember every single second of the last time he saw Willie or Julie. Maybe this was what hell was like. Forever having his regrets burned into his memory. Always regretting his choices, always wishing he could have another chance to change things.

For a brief second, Alex wondered if his unfinished business was to forgive himself for the things he hadn't been able to control. It's what Julie would have told him. It's what Willie tried to tell him. He closed his eyes for a second and when he opened them again, Julie was standing in front of her headstone. She smiled. Alex stared, wanting to commit every little detail about Julie's smiling face to memory before reality crashed down on him again. She held out her hand to him. Alex frowned. This was new. Usually, his visions of Willie or Julie just consisted of them smiling warmly at him -- or, on particularly bad days, blaming him.

Or was this not a vision of Julie? Was this her ghost? Alex believed that whatever Caleb had wanted to bring down on Willie had hit Julie too, wiping both of their souls from existence completely. But then he looked at Julie and the twinkle in her eye told him exactly what he -- what everyone -- had always known. Julie had a very powerful and pure soul. If anyone could find a way to just dampen the severity of Caleb's curses, it was Julie.

Alex took her hand and followed her away from the grave. She walked in silence through the rows of headstones, along the pathway, and all the way to the gates. Every few steps, she glanced back and smiled at Alex. Even if this wasn't real, even if Julie was just a vision to guide him along, he was grateful for it. He wondered if Willie had somehow escaped being completely erased too, but even he knew that was too much to hope for.

Julie crossed the threshold of the gates and vanished in silence. Alex stopped. Was this a sign from Julie that he needed to move on? The way Julie said her mom sometimes sent signs? Alex glanced back the way he'd come before leaving the graveyard. Almost as soon as he stepped out and onto the sidewalk did something collide with him. Alex saw a skateboard roll on further.

And then, one day, Willie vanished. As expected and understandably so, Alex was inconsolable. Reggie made the mistake of offhandedly commenting that it wasn't so bad. Maybe they'd meet up again after they crossed over. It wasn't much longer, now.

Alex was furious first. How could Reggie say that it wasn't so bad? Alex was confused after that. What did Reggie mean with all that? Alex was concerned in the end. Did Reggie really think they were going to cross over?

It was a nice thought, Alex would later tell Reggie. That they could be together when they crossed over and that he would see Willie again. But that wasn't going to happen for a long time. Luke agreed. They were going to take Julie to stardom before they ever considered leaving.

Reggie thought about Julie almost every minute of the day. He figured they would be okay with whatever happened after they crossed over. What would happen to Julie? Would it take her long to figure out what happened? Would their absence turn her away from music again?

That thought alone had bothered Reggie so much that even Carlos noticed. Things were messy around the house. His computer was open on Spotify and the music was blasting into his headphones. No one was beating his messy room for him anymore. Luke decided to talk to Reggie. It all came out in a rush, how he was so afraid that when they crossed over, it would tear Julie apart. After he'd sat with Reggie and listened to everything bottled up, Luke promised to talk to Julie seriously -- and that serious talk happened to be today.

Reggie, who had been laying on the floor while all these thoughts bounced around in his head, sat up suddenly.

The studio was silent.

"Alex?"

Denial set in very quickly. Not now. He wasn't ready yet. He'd known it was coming for at least one month but he was far from prepared.

Alex had to be around somewhere, right? Reggie suddenly realised he was just hoping for a sign of where Alex was moments before he accidentally stepped onto Alex's drumsticks and landed on his back.

The drumsticks rolled across the floor, coming to a slow stop at the wheel of Willie's skateboard.

Sometimes my mom sends me signs, Julie had said once, and sometimes I don't get it until much later but sometimes it's just so clear what she's trying to tell me.

Reggie stared at the drumsticks and the skateboard. Couldn't get much clearer than that.

Suddenly, Reggie was struck with the horrifying thought that Luke had vanished mid-conversation with Julie.

Not thinking before he leapt, Reggie poofed into Julie's room.

"You're not allowed to do that," Julie said casually. "You know that."

"Sorry. Uh, do you know where Luke is?"

Julie shook her head. "He just left a few minutes ago. Said something about wanting to get some lyrics out of his head. Isn't he in the studio?"

Reggie lied very easily and believably. "Oh, I was just downstairs. I haven't checked the studio yet 'cause I thought I heard you talking to someone up here."

Reggie didn't know why he was lying to Julie. He didn't know what was worse. Telling her the truth or wishing he had later.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said with a chipper smile.

"Do you want a hug?"

Okay, so maybe he couldn't always lie well about everything. Reggie's nod was hesitant before it was quick.

Julie hopped off her bed and hung her arms loosely around Reggie. She let out a surprised yelp when Reggie wrapped his arms tightly around Julie.

"Someone's competing with Alex for best hug-giver."

Normally, Reggie would've laughed at that. But Alex was gone. Luke probably was too. Reggie would be gone soon too. He had to leave Julie's room. It would break her if she had to see it happen.

"Thanks, Julie."

Julie smiled brightly when Reggie pulled away. "Anytime. My hugs are free for all."

"You should get some sleep. W-we'll see you in the morning."

Why was he lying to her? He knew he'd be gone before she even fell asleep.

Maybe, if she thought they crossed over in the peace and quiet of the still night, she would feel better. Maybe, if she thought they crossed over while she slept, she would blame them for not waking her, not herself for not noticing.

"Fine. But not because you said to." Julie slid under her duvet and grinned at Reggie. She was mid-yawn before she realised. "I'll see you guys in the morning. Tell Alex and Luke I said good night."

"I will," Reggie said. And if he did happen to meet Alex and Luke, he would without a doubt deliver Julie's message. "I love you. We love you."

"Aww. I love you too, Reg."

Reggie left before he did or said something that would make Julie worry.

He meant to land in the studio. Instead, he found himself in the kitchen, his legs numb and a hollow emptiness in his chest.

"Reggie?"

Reggie looked up to see Carlos, backlit by the open fridge. "You should be in bed."

"You should be invisible."

"Uh . . . that's true."

Carlos kicked the fridge closed as he walked over to Reggie, quietly setting his glass on the island counter. "Are you okay? You look a bit sick. Can ghosts get sick? Is that a thing? Are there ghost doctors? Are they, like, special ghost doctors or just doctors that died?"

"That's too many questions at once, little man."

Carlos frowned. Reggie always answered every single question on the odd occasion that he could see and hear Reggie -- or even if Reggie was just chatting to him with Julie's phone. "Are you okay?" Carlos asked again, this time more serious and somehow even quieter than before.

"I will be." Another lie. He didn't know. But that didn't matter. What mattered was that Julie and Carlos didn't worry.

"What's wrong?"

Reggie wished he could hug Carlos like he had hugged Julie just a few minutes ago. "I, uh . . . I gotta go."

"Oh. Where are you going? You're gonna be back, though, right?"

"I don't know." The first truth Reggie had spoken all night. "But I won't come back."

"Wh-- . . . oh." Carlos glanced down at the floor.

"Hey," Reggie said, crouching down. Carlos was looking down at him now. "You're gonna be okay."

"But what about you? Are you gonna be okay?"

Reggie shrugged. "I hope so. Maybe I'll see you again when you're all old and wrinkly."

"Ha ha." Carlos' tone was sarcastic, but his smile was genuine. His eyes widened and a gasp caught in his throat when Reggie wiped away the tears he didn't even notice. Without stopping to question it, Carlos threw his arms around Reggie's shoulders and held tight. "Do you have to go?"

The fragility of Carlos' croaked question set alight a small but agonizing flame in Reggie's chest. "I have to," he murmured, holding Carlos gently. "Alex and Luke are probably waiting for me."

"I don't want you to go."

"I know."

Reggie's entire body, save for the burning yet soothing sparks in his chest, felt numb. He had to glance over Carlos' shoulder to make sure he still had his arms. He moved to pull back so he could leave -- Carlos didn't have to see whatever crossing over looked like -- but Carlos wouldn't let go.

Reggie figured he would've been able to break out of Carlos' hold on a normal day. But today wasn't normal, was it?

"I have to go," Reggie said.

Carlos pretended he didn't hear it. "You're the best brother in the world."

Finally, Carlos let Reggie move back, but Reggie didn't stand or poof out. Instead, he gave Carlos a smile and wiped Carlos' wet cheeks. "Nah. You are. You're gonna look after Julie for us, aren't you?"

Carlos nodded. He refused to acknowledge the fact that he could see through Reggie. He was just tired and needed to go to bed, right?

"Julie belongs with the stars," Reggie said. "Take her to the moon for me, okay?"

"I'll try," Carlos told the empty kitchen. "I promise."

Eventually, fed up, Luke pointed to the shelf and mouthed, ‘Photos’.

Emily’s eyebrows shot right up. “Oh!” Julie and Mitch turned to her. She smiled. “Julie, I hear Luke hasn’t shown you any baby photos.”

Julie gasped. “It’s true! My dad keeps mine out around the house and Luke here has laughed at nearly all of them. I’ve been wondering when it would come back to bite him in the ass.”

Emily stood up and walked over to the shelf, preparing herself for all the dust. With Julie distracted by her anticipation, Mitch glanced over at Luke and raised his eyebrows. Luke shrugged. Though he did his best to appear nonchalant, anyone watching him would notice the way his shoulders tensed up as Julie took the album from Emily.

He leaned further back into the two-seater he shared with Julie as she smiled with Emily, the album falling open to a random page. His arm lay limp on the couch behind Julie, afraid that if he moved it to hold her, it would put all her attention on him.

"Watch me laugh at all your weird themed birthdays," Julie said, half-glancing at Luke.

The Pattersons shared several glances over Julie's head as she finally focused on the album.

"Oh."

Luke leaned forward slightly to see what exactly she was looking at.

A nauseating volume of bright pink filled the page, from the tablecloth to the streamers and balloons, to the toddler's grass-stained dress, to the fondant letters that spelt 'Lucy 5'.

The house was silent, save the general hum of electricity, as Julie turned the page. She smiled first at plump little five-year-old Lucy, holding up a monster truck toy with a gleeful expression before turning to her boyfriend, older by twenty years, and smiling at him. She ruffled his hair in the way she knew he loved. "Someone grew out of his chubby cheeks nicely, hm?"

Luke smiled, a laugh escaping on the breath he hadn't realised he'd been holding. Luke's parents shared a smile as Julie turned a page and let out a gleeful cackle.

She glanced at Luke before pointing to the toddler. "You don't get to make fun of my six-year-old self dressing up as Twilight Sparkle when you dressed up as Rainbow Dash for Halloween."

"Rainbow Dash is so much cooler. Change my mind, I dare you."

"Ha! You wish!"

Julie spent the next few minutes paging through the album, cooing at the toddler that slowly transitioned from Lucy to Luke as time went by.

"You were nerdy in high school, huh?"

"I was not. I was in a band. I was cool."

"Yeah, right. You wore a snapback."

"Snapbacks were cool then!"

Emily and Mitch shared another smile as Julie and Luke laughed together over the album. Dinner went as smoothly as Luke had hoped and as he walked down to his car, hand in hand with Julie, he couldn't help his broad grin.

"What's that look for, my love?"

"Nothing. I just . . . Only the guys ever knew that I'm trans. I never told anyone because I don't know how they're gonna react and losing people is scary."

Julie clicked her tongue and stopped walking. She patted Luke's cheek lightly. "The only way you're gonna lose me, mi amor, is if you name our next dog after another eighties rockstar."

"Oh, come on. You know you love Sebastian Bark."

"Maybe."

Julie turned to continue to the car. Luke tugged on her wrist before pulling her into a hug.

"I'm not going anywhere, Luke," Julie murmured, taking her fingers through his hair. "Not in a million years."

"Even if I have more big things to share?"

Julie smiled. "Not a chance."

"Okay good, because Bark Jovi is waiting for us at Alex and Willie's."

Julie stilled for a second before she laughed. "You're lucky I love you," she said, kissing Luke's cheek before turning and heading to the car, pulling Luke behind her.

"What if we get a third dog and we name it--"

"No more dogs! And no kids either if you're gonna behave like this."

Luke's eyes lit up and Julie couldn't help her fond chuckle at the dopey smile Luke wore.

“Get in the car, Luke.”

“You said kids!”

“Maybe. Now get in. We have a dog to pick up, don’t we?”

“Kids!”

“Don’t make me leave you here. If I pick that dog up alone, I’m renaming him.”

As Rose pulled into her driveway, Luke thanked her for the ride.

"Where do you think you're going, mijo?"

"H-home?" Luke asked uncertainly, his hand on the door handle.

"Your parents are out of town for the weekend."

"Yeah," Luke nodded, "I was gonna stay over at Bobby's but I don't wanna make him sick--"

"Well, Julie's already sick anyway. You can stay with us and when you're feeling better, you can go over to Bobby's."

"But--"

"Mijo, I'm not asking," Rose said, staring at Luke in the rearview mirror, daring him to get out of the car.

Julie snickered at the fear in his eyes as he settled back into the seat and waited until Rose had pulled further up towards the house before attempting to get out again.

"Why don't you two go get comfortable on in the living room, hm? I'll put some food up for you and it'll be ready before you even know it."

Julie yawned as she trudged past Rose and into the house. "Can we sleep instead?"

"Absolutely. Go get some rest, okay? Luke, if you're tired, you can sleep in Carlos' room. He's spending the week with Victoria so it's all yours if you need, okay?"

"Thank you," Luke managed before a yawn interrupted him.

Rose ruffled Julie's hair first, then Luke's. Now, what could she feed them that they'd manage to keep down?

"Sorry I made you sick," Luke mumbled.

Julie shrugged. "It's okay. Flynn said she was gonna drag me on the biggest rollercoaster first so in a way, I'm kinda glad we won't be going tomorrow."

Luke rolled his eyes. "You do this everytime we go. Just get on the rollercoaster. It's not that much bigger than the one we went on last time."

Julie stared at Luke over her bowl of soup. "I passed out."

Luke shrugged. "It makes for a good story!"

"For you!"

"Don't yell, Julie, you don't have the lung capacity."

Julie scrunched up her nose and mocked Luke in a high voice. "You don't have the lunch capacity."

"Oh, real mature."

Julie blew a raspberry at Luke. A raspberry that turned into a cough. Luke was out of his blanket in a second.

"Julie?" Rose called from the kitchen. "You good, baby?"

"I got it!" Luke called back. He knelt in front of Julie as she hunched over and rubbed her back in small circles. "Easy, Jules," he murmured.

"I hate being sick," Julie said for the umpteenth time, resting her chin on Luke's shoulder.

Luke froze, one hand on Julie's arm, the other on her back. What was he supposed to do now? Just . . . hold her?

"I know," he said soothingly, "you'll get better quickly, don't worry."

"Ugh, I hope so." Slowly, Julie pulled away and eased back into the couch.

Luke pouted, only because he wanted to stay holding Julie in a gentle and comfortable embrace. He scrunched his nose up and quickly shook his head. What the hell was that all about?

He was back in his corner of the couch, under his blanket, when Rose arrived with a glass of water for each of them.

"I'm going to get dinner running and when I come back to check on you two, those glasses better be empty."

"Yes, mom," they chorused.

It wasn't really a big thing. Luke called her 'mom' often. Julie even called Emily 'mom' if she happened to be over at Luke's. But that didn't take away from Rose's (or Emily's) absolute delight over being called mom by her honorary child.

"Sorry I made fun of you when you first got sick," Julie mumbled.

"It's okay," Luke said with a slight laugh, half paying attention to Julie and half paying attention to the TV. They'd taken a good nap and were already feeling better. "Karma got you, I guess."

"I guess."

"You got it bad, though," Luke said, glancing at Julie. "I never coughed like that."

"Exhibit A of why I utterly detest being sick. The headache is unbearable sometimes." Julie gave Luke a small smile. "But it's okay. I should already be feeling better by tomorrow."

Julie turned her gaze back to the TV. Luke didn't. He kept his gaze on Julie, watching her carefully. He'd always had the natural inclination to want to care for Julie, but until then it had always been small things. Wanting to make sure her cuts and scrapes got a band-aid. Wanting to check in with a simple text when she was sick. Wanting to be sure her work was up to date when she missed out.

But now . . . now it was a little different. It wasn't really strange, but he couldn't quite understand it. Why, when she complained about her headache, did he want to pull her close and try to distract her from it? Why, when she hunched over coughing, did he want to be by her side, holding her close and trying to ease the fit? Why, when she paid him no attention, did he want to just sit there and watch her?

Julie glanced back and Luke froze like a deer in headlights, his already pink cheeks growing redder. Julie grinned. "Is that the fever or are you shy about something?"

"Definitely the fever," Luke said quickly.

"Uh huh," Julie said with a grin, turning back to the TV again. "I think you're pretty cute too."

Luke shrank into his blanket. "I didn't say that."

"Your face said enough, Patterson."

"You really think I'm cute?"

Julie looked at Luke, who had the blanket wrapped over his head as he pouted at her. His flushed cheeks had calmed to the usual pink whenever he was running a fever. She couldn't help but smile. "The cutest."

He beamed. "I think you're pretty cute too. Wait, that's what you said--"

"Cute," Julie mumbled under her breath, shaking her head and turning back to the TV. She was surprised by Luke suddenly dropping his head in her lap. She grinned, amused. "Hi, there."

"Hi. I want attention."

"Well, mom said she was just gonna make sure Carlos' room is clean enough for you to walk without getting impaled by a Lego brick but I'm sure she'd be happy to listen to your gibberish when she's all done."

"I want your attention."

"And I wanna watch the season finale."

Luke turned over to glance at the TV. "You've seen this episode at least six times. I know because five of them were at my house and youd already seen it once before that."

Julie flicked Luke's nose lightly. "It's my favourite, leave me be."

"Fine, but I'm staying here."

"Okay, just be quiet."

Luke felt like he had left the land of the living when he felt Julie's fingers in his hair. She had absolutely no idea what she was doing and somehow, the fact that she was playing with his hair on autopilot made him giddy.

"Can you put this on the table for me, please?" Julie asked absently, resting her empty glass on Luke's shoulder.

He did as she asked, just managing to reach the coffee table.

"Thank you."

Bored but unwilling to move, Luke began to pick at the threads on Julie's bracelets. She rested her hand on his chest, knowing he'd start whining if she took the bracelets away.

"Who made this one for you?"

Julie glanced at her arm to see Luke playing with a blue string, her name strung on in letter beads, a star bead on either side. "You did."

"Really?"

"I think we were about eight or nine. That was when Flynn got her bracelet set and we spent so many lunches making bracelets. You got jealous because I kept wearing Flynn's bracelets so you made one for me yourself."

"Huh," Luke said, "I don't remember, though."

"Not surprising. You were running a fever then, too. A pretty high one. Your mom gave you cough syrup and you got a burst of creative inspiration. Haven't you heard her tell the story? It's one of her favourites."

"I hear the words 'when Luke was little' and I instantly tune it out."

Julie laughed. "Sounds about right."

Luke watched the smile linger on Julie's face as she watched the episode she knew by heart. God, she was so pretty.

Luke scrunched his nose up again. Yeah, Julie was pretty and yeah, he'd always known that. But in the way he knew Flynn was beautiful and Carrie was stunning. In the way he knew Reggie was adorable and Bobby was cute and Alex was a gorgeous. In the way he knew Willie was magnificent. It was just something he'd always known. He and his friends were hot as hell and that was just a fact that they all seemed to know.

But laying with his head in Julie's lap, watching her unconsciously smile at his own antics, it seemed like a brand new thought. How could someone he'd known his whole life suddenly look different?

"Julie."

"Hm?" Julie didn't look away from the TV.

"You're really pretty."

"Thank you," she said, smiling wider. She lightly tugged a lock of his hair. "You're pretty, too."

"No, I mean, like, really pretty. Like . . . ultra pretty."

Julie scowled at Luke. "What did you do?"

"Nothing! I just . . . I just really like your smile. It's so. . ."

"Pretty?"

Luke nodded. He poked her cheek lightly. "I like when you smile."

"Yeah?" Even if she wanted to, she couldn't hold back a smile.

Luke smiled too. "Yeah."

Caught up with Luke's spontaneous declaration, Julie mised her favourite part of the episode -- the one where they finally had their first date. But Luke didn't.

"When we get better," he said slowly, "when we're not sick anymore . . . Do you think we could go out together? Maybe next weekend?"

Julie nodded. "Absolutely. Flynn already texted about rescheduling--"

"No. No, I mean . . . like a date. Just you and me."

"Oh," Julie said softly, eyes wide.

"Oh? Julie, 'oh' is what you say when you get socks for Christmas."

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I'm just . . . surprised. I thought I worked out this crush thing and then here you are, asking me out and all I can think is that I wasted so much energy trying to stifle it all down when I could've just asked you out myself like two years ago."

Luke blinked up at Julie. "So, is that a yes or a no? I'm a little confused."

"Oh, only a little? Yes, you dork."

Luke suddenly yawned.

"Tired?"

"Only a little."

"Go to sleep," Julie said, using the same tone Rose had used on them both earlier.

Luke thought it was going to be pretty difficult to fall asleep when Julie was sitting there, threading her fingers through his hair like she had no idea how fast she made his heart beat. But it barely took him a minute before he was out completely. With a yawn of her own, Julie quickly followed.

Carrie snickered softly. "Quick!" she whispered. "They're waking up!"

"Okay!" Willie whispered back. "Okay, hold it up."

The bunch of them gathered behind the ridiculously large cardboard posted they'd thrown together the moment they arrived after the text from Rose.

Blinking tiredly, Julie and Luke sat up and took a few seconds to focus on the grinning faces in front of them.

"Congratulations!"

Julie and Luke both turned several shades redder (not by any fault of their ebbing fevers) as the group thrust the banner forward. It's about damn time.

"Shut up," Julie mumbled, retreating under her blanket to hide her face.

Luke scowled. "You could've said something!"

"Watching was funnier," Alex admitted.

As he did, the front door opened and in walked Ray. He took one look at the scene before him and groaned. "I can't believe I lost a full ten dollars."

"You bet on us?" Julie shrieked, throwing the blanket off.

"Well . . . yeah," Ray said, "your Tia is very persuasive."

Julie shrank back into the blanket, groaning in embarrassment.

Rose gasped. "Someone get Emily on the phone! She owes me five dollars!"

"Mom!"

But despite the embarrassment that was their family, Julie and Luke were very happy to have finally admitted their feelings -- to themselves and to each other.

Back inside, Julie began the slow climb up to the loft. She was breathless when she reached the top.

"Hey."

Luke didn't turn around, but Julie could hear his pencil scratching in the notebook. Julie leaned against the handrail, gripping the wood tight.

"Luke, ignoring me isn't going to fix everything. It's not gonna make you feel better. Trust me."

Luke stood up quickly, the notebook and pencil clattering on the floor as he whirled around and shouted, "It's not fair!"

Julie would have been started if she wasn't expecting it. Instead, she smiled sadly. "I know it isn't."

Luke struggled for something to say. Eventually, his gaze settled on Julie's bushier-than-normal hair. "You look like a mess," he blurted.

A light laugh left Julie's lips. "I appreciate you not commenting on my hideous clothes."

"I think they're cute. Who doesn't love . . . what is that? Dinosaurs? Splotches?"

Julie shrugged and took a few steps towards Luke. Even the slightest bit of exertion left her weak and breathless. "I haven't really found the energy to be maintaining all these glorious curls."

"I can tell," Luke teased.

Julie knew he was still trying to avoid the very large elephant in the room but she couldn't blame him. She wanted to do the same. She held out the hairbrush to Luke. "Can you brush my hair?"

"Of course. Come on."

Like Reggie, Luke didn't pay heed to Julie's protests and carried her the very short distance between the handrails and the massive pile of clothes and cushions that he'd been resting on. He knelt behind Julie and gently brushed over her hair, careful not to pull too hard.

"There's a song in my dream box," Julie said softly, closing her eyes. "For you."

"Julie, don't--"

"I wrote it a while back but I've just been so scared to show it to anyone. Will you at least read it?"

"Okay," Luke said eventually.

"You've never brushed my hair before, have you?"

Luke shook his head, despite being behind Julie. "Usually Reggie helps you with it."

"Mm. You're softer. Will you do it again tomorrow?"

It was harder to ignore the truth with her sitting in front of him, pretending as though tomorrow would still be there. "Mhm," was all he could manage.

For a while, there was silence in the studio. Luke parted and detangles Julie's curls slowly. Mostly to prolong the moment she would turn back around and he would have to look her in the eyes and accept what fate had in store for them, but also to maintain the gentle touch. Julie was already hurting so much. He didn't see the need to pull at her hair. He memorised the feel of her hair between his fingers. He committed to memory every single smile he had ever seen Julie give. With each new section of hair he detangled, Luke thought of one more thing about Julie that he loved.

When he was nearly done, Julie spoke again.

"You'll play again, won't you? After? You'll pick up your guitar again, right? For me?"

If Luke's heart still beat, he would have felt it stop completely. If he still breathed, he would have felt the air leave his lungs in a rush. Instead, his entire body froze over and his brain seemed to stop processing the world around him.

"I can't -- I can't do this."

Julie grabbed his hand before he could stand fully. "You'll hate yourself if you leave now."

As much as he wanted to deny it, he knew she was right. He sat down heavily beside Julie and leaned against the wood behind him. Julie, with no hesitation, crawled into his lap and rested her head on his shoulder.

"I don't want to be here," Luke confessed quietly.

"I know. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault."

Julie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For the first time in weeks, her lungs didn't burn with the effort. Being this close to Luke after three days of not even seeing him was a relief unlike anything else, though.

Luke listened to Julie breathe deeply. It was a sound he'd almost forgotten.

"Stay alive," he begged, "please."

"I wish I could. You know I do."

Luke wrapped both arms around her, holding her close to his chest. It was just the two of them and Luke knew Julie had planned for it to be like this. Just the two of them in the eleventh hour.

"Please," Luke whispered again, one hand pushing back the hair he had just brushed. "Stay."

Julie shifted slightly, sighing as she settled comfortably. "I wrote a song for you," she mumbled.

Luke didn't remind her that she'd already mentioned it. "Yeah?"

"Mhm. It's in my dream box. When you . . . when you get it, will you look after everything else in there?"

Luke nodded even though Julie's eyes were closed. He sniffed and swallowed the tears. "Yeah. I promise."

"Thank you."

"Julie?"

Her eyebrows lifted the tiniest bit. "Hm?"

"I love you."

She smiled. "I know." Another deep breath. Luke stilled in frozen fear that it had been her last. "I love you too."

He kissed her forehead. He sighed, a heavy sound that sagged his shoulders. "I love you," he said again, pulling her even closer if possible. "It's okay."

"What is?"

"I'm okay. We'll be okay. You -- you can go."

Julie's final breath left her with a soft hum and a smile on her lips. Luke held her close, tears soaking up in her hair.

Months later, when he was certain he would manage it, Luke opened Julie's dream box. And he cried again.

They stayed like that for a moment before Alex sat up with great difficulty, sending them all tumbling. "You're all very heavy," he stated by way of explaining.

Julie chuckled and moved to stand up. Luke and Reggie grabbed one of her arms each.

"Stay," both whined. Reggie continued with a grin. "I promise I can be a soft pillow for you."

"I'd love to, honestly, but Carlos is waiting for me. He wanted to talk to me and. . ."

"Fine," Reggie huffed, "but just know that I'm feeling incredibly hurt right now."

Julie ruffled his hair, grinning when he closed his eyes and smiled under her touch. "There's always tomorrow."

Still, all three of them pouted when Julie stood up and righted her clothes.

"I'll see you guys in the morning," she said before walking to the doors. She paused just before closing it. "Thank you, guys."

Alex gave her a wave. Luke smiled at her with a dopey expression. Reggie continued to pout.

Julie bounded up the pathway, gait as giddy as her smile. Carlos was waiting for her in the living room.

"Hey," she said, joining him on the couch.

"Hey."

"Whatcha got there?" she asked, nodding to the paper Carlos' hands were clamped around. "Another French dip recipe?"

Carlos shook his head. "You know what this is."

"I . . . really don't."

"Your band! They're--!" Carlos stopped and glanced around looking for their father. He leaned across the vouch and whispered to Julie with wide eyes, "ghosts."

Julie forced a laugh. "What? No, don't be silly, there's no such thing as ghosts."

Carlos lifted his eyebrows. "Okay, then explain this."

Julie picked up the little black and blue page Carlos tossed to the middle of the couch, recognising it as a CD insert. For Sunset Curve. Julie's own eyebrows lifted slightly, but she continued to pretend like she hadn't a clue what was happening. Then she turned it over and knew the jig was up. Staring up at her was all four members of Sunset Curve. Trevor, or Bobby, sure looked different when he was younger.

"They're just lookalikes--"

"I'd believe you if they were here and we could touch them."

The idea of being able to hold and hug her bandmates brought a warm smile back to Julie's face. She quickly wiped it off and shook her head. "Where'd you even find this?"

"In the box with the French dip recipe."

"Ah."

Carlos suddenly looked around wildly. Julie looked around too.

"What? What happened? What are we looking for?"

"Are they here?"

"What? No, they're in the garage--"

"Aha!" Carlos grinned and folded his arms. "You're a terrible liar, Jules."

"Wh-- I am not!"

"You are, though."

Julie jumped slightly and moved away from Reggie. Carlos noticed and immediately turned his gaze where Julie looked. "Are they here now? Tell them I say hello!"

Julie rolled her eyes. "They can hear you, dork -- and it's just Reggie."

"Tell him that I say hello."

"Reggie says hello," Julie said, heaving a resigned sigh. "What are you doing here? I told you I'd see you in the morning."

"I knew it," Carlos whispered to himself as he watched his sister talk to thin air. She looked, in all honesty, a bit insane, but at least he knew he was right about the ghosts. "So how does the ghost thing even work? How come I can't see him now, but we can all see them when you play?"

Julie whipped her head from Reggie to Carlos. "It -- I'll explain it all tomorrow, okay? It's been a long day. Reggie, go back to the studio. Carlos, to bed. It's late."

"All right," Carlos grumbled, sliding off the couch. He paused at the stairs and glanced back to see Julie scolding nothing. He hoped he'd get to officially met the guys. Julie made them seem fun.

"All right, little man, what do you wanna hear?"

Julie repeated the question to Carlos, letting him know that it was Reggie who asked.

Carlos thought for a moment. "I like the song you were singing before you got back into the music program."

"Oh, that's not our song, that -- that--"

"No, it's okay," Luke said, "I'm sure we can work something out."

"I -- okay."

Carlos sat down on the couch, almost bouncing with excitement as Julie took a seat behind the piano. The melody she played wasn't loud and energetic like their usual songs. It was quiet and gentle. Even when the band kicked in, they were much softer than usual. Julie hummed along where the words should be so that Carlos could easily speak to the boys.

"I'm--"

"Wait!" Carlos said, jumping off the couch, cutting Luke off. "I'm gonna guess based on what Julie says about you."

"You talk about us?" Luke asked with a teasing grin.

Julie hit a particularly furious note. "Shut up."

"Luke, Reggie and Alex," Carlos said, pointing to the correct band member as he went.

"Nice, little man!"

"This is so cool," Carlos whispered, eyes widening when Reggie paused playing and knelt down for Carlos to stick his hand through Reggie's arm. "Woah."

The band noticed that they were very intangible to Carlos.

Luke was only slightly disappointed when Carlos chose to focus his attention on Alex next.

"I like your hoodie."

"Thanks," Alex said, beaming. "Here, you wanna try?"

"Nah, I don't play music . . . okay, maybe a little."

Julie laughed softly as she watched Alex stand and then point where Carlos should hit. To keep them from disappearing, she continued the piano. Luke kept up with his guitar, grinning at her all the while. Their little musical conversation didn't go unnoticed by Reggie and Alex, who shared a knowing glance before Carlos grabbed Alex's attention.

"Have you ever accidentally stabbed your drums through with the sticks?"

"No, and please do not do that. We have no idea what it costs to repair dead instruments."

Carlos handed the drumsticks back to Alex and hopped off the chair. He stood in front of Luke, who knelt down as Reggie had done.

"So. You're the one my sister has a crush on."

"Carlos!" Jullie yelled, standing up and slamming down about five wrong keys.

"It was nice meeting you," Carlos yelled as he fled the garage.

With her face burning, Julie chased him down.

Alex and Reggie did their best not to laugh. They really did. But the shell-shocked look on Luke's face was hilarious. Even the withering glare Luke sent them didn't help quieten their laughter.

Up in the house, Ray Molina thought he was about to witness a wrestling match. "Julie! What are you doing?"

Julie, who suddenly realised there was no way to explain why she was attacking Carlos without either sounding like a lunatic or exposing the phantoms to her father, slowly slid down to the ground.

Carlos sat up on the couch. "Julie has a crush on Luke! Julie has a crush on Luke! Julie has a--"

"Oh, that is it!"

Perplexed, Ray watched Julie spring back on the couch with a war cry, followed by a pained, "How could you say that in front of him?!"

"Who's Luke?"

Carlos, seemingly determined to ruin Julie's life, broke out from her seeking arms and grinned at Ray. "The beanie boy in her little boyband--"

"CARLOS!"

"Julie," Ray said, a playful warning edge creeping into his voice as he folded his arms, "is there something you want to talk about?"

"No! Not at all! Excuse me, I have to go, um, rehearse!"

"Rehearse?" Ray exchanged an amused grin with Carlos. "What for?"

"Uh, future gigs? You know, since we played the Orpheum, we might get like a ton of calls and -- oh, like this, see?" As Julie held up her phone, both Ray and Carlos saw Flynn's name, but both decided to give Julie a small reprieve. In the meantime, Carlos could fill Ray in about this little crush business.

"You are not going to believe what just happened," Julie said, taking the stairs two at a time. "I took Carlos down to the garage to meet the guys, you know, 'cause he figured them out and he wanted to meet them, but then he told Luke I have a crush on him and I ended up chasing Carlos back to the house 'cause I didn't want to stay in the garage with Luke -- and Alex and Reggie -- and then my dad caught us fighting on the couch and then Carlos told my dad that I have a crush on Luke and my life is over!"

Flynn took a moment to respond. "Well . . . it's not like he's wrong, is he?"

"Flynn!" The wail that Julie threw into her pillow as she face planted her bed was equal parts betrayed and mortified. "How am I supposed to show my face at practice now? Can I come and bury my head in the sand at your place?"

Flynn laughed over the phone. "Grow up, Jules. You turned Nick down for this air cutie. Nick. You made your choice, now live with it."

"Flynn," Julie growled.

"Okay, okay. Look, you have to talk about it at some point. There's no way you can have that kind of fire on stage without some mutual attraction, and that's just Luke and Reggie. Then there's Luke and you. Jules, that's not even a fire anymore. There is something serious between you two and even though I still think it's a bad idea because he's, you know, air, I still think you need to talk about it before the wrong thing blows up."

"I know," Julie sighed. "I can handle Luke -- I think. It's my dad I'm worried about. How do I explain it all without him wanting to take me to a shrink?"

"Don't tell him anything. Show him. Maybe with a little less flair than you did with me. Play him something soft. Like . . . wasn't your mom in a couple of bands when she was our age? Maybe he'd know one of her songs. Maybe if you guys played something of hers, he'll have enough of his head around him to know it's all real, but enough of it will be in the clouds that it'll be easy to explain."

Julie stared at her phone, at the contact photo she had of Flynn. "You are a genius."

"I know. So, I was just calling to ask how you're holding up, but I'm going to assume everything is fine and the guys didn't cross over?"

"Yeah, no, it was really weird. Caleb's curse just sort of . . . broke, I guess, after I hugged them."

"Wait, hold up. You hugged them? What was that like, arms hanging in the air and hoping you were touching?"

Julie sighed a happy sigh. "We have a lot to talk about."

"I'll be there for dinner, no excuses -- and I expect your dad to know what's going on by then."

Julie rolled over and muffled a groan of despair into her pillow.

"Rough day?"

"It's only ten," Julie whined, lifting her head to give Alex her sad eyes.

Alex smiled. "You'll be fine -- I mean with your dad thing. With Luke on the other hand. . ."

Julie faux sobbed into her pillow, eliciting a soft chuckle from Alex, who sat down on her bed. He reached out for her shoulder then quickly drew back. Ever since Julie left the garage last night, it had been on his mind -- on all their minds -- that the hug was a one-time thing. He didn't want to confirm their fears if they were right.

"Hey, it's okay, Jules."

Julie let out a strangled wail that took Alex a few seconds of clamping his mouth shut to avoid laughing at the poor girl.

"I'm serious. You know, Luke, he . . . he's not great with feelings. He talks with music, with songs, with lyrics. He says the most important things when he looks at you on stage or at a rehearsal or when you're writing music together. He's just scared. I mean, we all are, but him most."

Julie sat up, hugging her wail-pillow to her chest. "You sound like you're speaking from experience."

Alex shrugged. "All I'm saying is, give him a chance -- and give Carlos a break. Honestly, he might have just done you a favour."

"I cannot believe you're taking Carlos' side."

"I'm not! I'm not, I'm just -- things are already complicated. How much worse can they get?"

Julie sighed. "I don't know. . ."

"Well, it's not like Luke does either. He's locked himself in the bathroom and Reg and I think he's been crying in the bathtub this whole time. We'd phase through the door but Luke can actually hit us if he wants to so. . ."

"Oh, and you think I can't?" Julie teased.

The two shared an amused grin, but beneath it, both were thinking the same thing. What if she couldn't?

"All right, I'll tall to him. But you and Reggie have to leave."

Julie ventured into the empty garage. She looked around for Reggie and Alex, unsure if she was relieved or not when she didn't find them. Up in the loft, they watched Julie disappear as she headed further in towards the bathroom door.

She knocked gently. "Luke?"

Silence.

"Come on, I know you're in there. Alex says you've locked yourself in and won't come out."

"I'm not Luke."

"Okay, but I need to talk to Luke so can you pass on the message for me?"

"I'll let him know."

Julie smiled, finding Luke's behaviour somewhat amusing. She leaned against the door. "I'm sorry about Carlos, he . . . he just really enjoys embarrassing me in front of people. I guess he figured since you guys can't really speak to other people, you'll have to talk to me and we'll all have to confront whatever he said so that's why he picked you to tease and --" Julie broke off with a sigh.

The bathroom stayed silent.

"And I'm sorry for running out after him. I was just . . . I was afraid of what you'd say."

When Luke spoke again, though his voice was much softer, it was also much clearer. As if he were closer to the door. "Why? Was he . . . telling the truth? Did you say something?"

Julie fidgeted with the sleeves on her yellow jersey. "No, but I'm not exactly the most subtle person and if you haven't noticed, I suck at lying."

Luke laughed softly. "Oh, we noticed. Everyone knows you're a horrible liar."

"Thanks," Julie said with a grin, "I mean, I really just came here to affirm what a bad liar I am."

"Ooh, sarcastic too."

"Shut up."

"Well?" Luke said after a moment of silence. "Was he?"

Julie leaned against the door and sighed. "What does it matter? It's not like anything would come of it."

"It does matter, Jules. It -- it matters because -- well, I mean, you matter. To me."

"I know," Julie said softly, turning so that her back was against the door. "It sucks, doesn't it?"

"Not all of it sucks," Luke murmured from the other side of the door. "We could find a way. You've already done so much that no other lifer ever has, as far as anyone knows. Why stop there?"

Julie laughed. "Your ambition is very inspiring, Luke, but everything has a limit."

"So find that limit, then. You'll never know how high it is if you stop now."

Julie felt something brush her hand and glanced down to see Luke's arm phasing through the door. She wanted to reach for his hand but she was afraid she'd just pass through him. So she made a joke instead.

"You do realise that a floating arm is way more unsettling than anything else ghosts have ever done, right?"

"How's a floating head?" Luke asked, pulling his hand back and leaning forward. He gave Julie a grin. "That's always scary, right?"

"Stop it, that's weird."

Neither noticed that Julie had managed to make physical contact with Luke until after she'd shoved him back into the bathroom.

"If I come out there, are you going to poke me in the eyes again?"

"First of all, I didn't," Julie said, appreciating that Luke wasn't reacting with the panicked excitement she felt. "Second of all, I'll try not to."

"Okay, but if you do, I'm really going back into the bathtub."

Julie twisted her fingers and wrung her wrists and bounced nervously as she waited for Luke to step through the door.

"Can we try that again?" Luke asked, holding out both hands to her.

The scene felt vaguely familiar to Julie, and everything came crashing down when her hands passed through Luke's once and then twice.

"You're nervous," Luke said softly, "there's no need to be. You didn't think last time. You weren't nervous."

"I can't. I don't know what it is--"

"Yes, you do. You know it's not us doing anything. You're the one with all the magic, Jules."

Nervous but now confident, Julie tried once again. She thought she'd be able to walk on water whe she felt Luke's hands close around her own. The smile he gave her was the usual dopey look she always noticed him wearing around her.

"See? It's all you."

Julie squeezed his hands, almost like she was afraid she wouldn't be able to hold on much longer. "I like this," she murmured.

"Hey, Jules?"

"Yeah?"

Luke watched her eyes widen the tiniest bit as she gave him a questioning look. "Uh, do you -- about what Carlos said . . . We will talk about that, right?"

"Yes. I promise. Just . . . later?"

"Okay." Just the promise was enough for Luke. Besides, he could hold her, now. He could hold her hand, brush her hair out of her face, hug her. He could even flick her nose or tug her curls to annoy her, nudge her around when she didn't laugh at his jokes. And if -- he hoped she did -- but if she didn't feel the same way he did, then being able to be her best friend and just high five her now and then would still be enough. She wasn't just out of reach anymore.