. . .

               HE HADN’T MEANT to hide his birthday; it just hadn’t come up. And to be fair, he didn’t know when Kayla’s birthday was, either. He hadn’t been expecting her to pivot the topic to bits of facts and information that they didn’t know about each other, but as he lay on the chair in the corner of her room as Kayla partly did homework and partly surfed the web, he looked up when he saw that she was scrolling through an online shopping page full of stuff that came in various shades of purple. And when she’d mentioned that she might ask for one of the items for her birthday, she’d leveled her gaze onto him and asked him when his birthday was. 

“What’s, today?” he asked, twisting in the chair to look at the calendar mounted to her wall above his head. Seeing the date, he let out a laugh, and turned back to Kayla. “Well, if the calendar’s right, then it’s tomorrow,” Reggie replied with an apologetic and amused grin. “Kinda forgot about it!” 

      kayla doesn’t let the fact that they’re from two different versions of the world keep her up at night .           if  anything,   the  fact  that  they  get  on  so  well  despite  the  gap  of  time  between  them  just  means  they’re  even  more  meant  to  be  than  she  originally  thought.      kayla  has  made  it  one  of  her  little  personal  missions  to  further acquaint  reggie  with  the   MODERN  DAY.       she’s  sure  both  julie  and  his  own  curiosities  are  getting  him  fairly  socialized,   but  he’s  missed   a  lot.       he  shouldn’t  have  to  miss  his  own  birthday  on  top  of  all  that.      her  rather  obnoxious  star  earrings  nearly  fly  off  as  she  turns  her  head  at  breakneck  speed,    jaw  slack.       she’s  gripping  her  chair  like  it’s  a  fucking  vice.

     ❛  cat got your tongue  ?  ❜          if  her  intuition  serves  her  right,    which  it  usually  does,    reggie’s  face  would  be  lit  up  pink  if  he  still  had  a  beating  heart.      aside  from  the  fact  that  she’s  currently  snuggled  against  him  like  the  cat  she  claims  has  a  hold  on  him,    kayla  doesn’t  know  why  he’s  so  nervous.       sure,   there  are  much  more   CONVENTIONAL    ways  to  spend  valentine’s  day,   but  the  fact  that  she  can’t  go  out  in  public  with  him  or  anything  doesn’t  matter.       the  ghost  thing  matters   so  little   to  her  that  it’s  actually  not  much  of  a  thing  at  all.       kayla,   at  her  core,   is  just  happy  he  exists  at  all  in  whatever  way  that  is.     it  is  nice  being  able  to   TOUCH   him,   though.     that  means  she  can  kiss  him.

     the  question  makes  her  laugh.      reggie  is,   as  always,   too  annoyingly  adorable  for  his  own  good,   and  he  thinking  he  has  to  ask  and  make  a  big  thing  out  of  a  kiss  just  because  it’s  a  holiday  is  something  she  finds  amusing.      if  she  wasn’t  so  eager  to  answer  his  prayers,    she’d  sit  and  fake  -  mull  over  it  for  a  bit.     (  a  little  torture  is    HEALTHY    sometimes.  )      still,   kayla  can’t  bring  herself  to  do  it,   and  sweetly  wraps  her  arms  around  him  instead  to  hoist  herself  even  closer.      after  taking  a  moment  to  admire  the  way  his  eyes  look  like  they’re  gonna  bulge  out  of  his  head,    she  leans  forward  and  captures  his  lips  in  a  kiss  before  he  starts  catching  flies.     and  to  save  him  some  embarrassment,   she  stays  there  for  a  good  while,   happy  to  run  her  hands  over  the  leather  of  his  jacket.

               WHEN SHE’D LET slip that she had a competition coming up in the next month, Reggie had taken note of it, knowing that he’d do whatever he needed to do — take the ghost bus through the 405 if he had to — in order to be there. In fact, he’d made certain to let Luke and Julie and Alex know that they couldn’t book a gig on the eighteenth of the next month, thanks, or else they’d be doing it without a bass. Luke had joked and called him whipped, but Reggie didn’t correct him. After all, the grin on Luke’s face said that he was happy for Reggie, despite teasing him, and the fact that Julie had written it onto her calendar as a no-go date for the band meant that they were respecting it, even if they got to tease him about it. 

But, god, he’d never have expected her to be so goddamn GOOD. Every time he got to see her dance — but especially when he got to see her dance by herself — he was reminded that Kayla wasn’t just sorta good, or kinda good: she was INCREDIBLE. The blow-your-mind don’t-even-know-how-someone-could-be-that-good kinda incredible. Tonight was no different; she had left the room holding their collective breath as the music to her piece had finished before the audience had burst into thunderous applause. Even the girls competing clapped, knowing that they’d always been fighting for second place. 

He couldn’t help but glow under her delighted gaze. He grinned, ducking his head before meeting her eyes again, and nodded. “I really, really, REALLY liked it,” he assured her. “REALLY liked it! You’re incredible! Like, my brain can’t even totally catch up with just how sick you are. You’re like the Michael Jordan of dancing. You’re like the…. like the DOLLY PARTON of dancing!” He sat down next to her gear bag, breathless from the performance, nearly as much as she was. “You’re just…. so fucking cool, you know? I can’t even believe it.” 

     she doesn’t get nervous before performances anymore .          by  the  time  the  day  has  rolled  around,    there’s  nothing  else  she  can  do  but  practice  being  mindful  in  the  passenger  seat  of  her  father’s  car.       the  nerves  come  when  she’s  choreographing,    when  she’s  learning  and  practicing  and  crafting,    because  there’s  so  much  more  that  can  go    WRONG    then  compared  to  a  live  performance.       and  if  the  routine  is  shit,     the  performance  is  shit.        so  when  kayla  knows  she’s  about  to  put  her  best  foot  forward     (  and  she  never  accepts  less  than  that,  )     she  doesn’t  bother  putting  herself  in  a  tizzy.       that  strategy  had  led  her  to  another  showstopping  routine  today  and  the  eventual  continuation  of  the  cycle.      now  that  everything  is  over,   however,    she  gets  a  brief  interval  of  relief  between  the  end  of  her  routine  and  her  christening  as  the     FIRST  PLACE  WINNER.       

     her  original  plan  was  to  refill  her  water  and  get  back  out  there  to  bask  in  the  praise  of  those  seated  around  her,    but  she’s  found  a  much  better  seat  on  the  floor  between  reggie  and  the  water  fountain.     he’s  probably  the  only  guy  in  the  world  who’s  compliments  have  the  power  to  make  her    BLUSH,    and  that’s  probably  because   he’s  so   out  of  this  world    himself.      kayla  ducks  her  head  to  hide  a  laugh,    the  adrenaline  she  built  up  over  the  course  of  her  solo  gradually  fizzling  out  of  her  as  she  gives  into  relaxation.     there  is  no  rush.     there  is  no  need  to  be  anywhere  but  here,    taking  a  break  and  enjoying  his  company.

               THE MUSIC ROOM was going to be filling up with students soon, but for the moment, the empty room was Nick’s stage. He’d had to make up a test he was going to miss at the end of the week due to the hockey team’s travel schedule, but having finished early, he hadn’t had anything else to do but head to his first period class and settle in. He’d pulled out his guitar ( of course ) and had started strumming, mostly dicking around, when he saw the door open and shut, leaving Kayla in the room with him. He looked up from where he was sitting but didn’t say anything quite yet. Instead, he grinned and continued to play, keeping a rough melody in his hum as he played around with the idea. 

With a sneakered foot, he deftly hooked one of his backpack straps and lifted the bag off of the chair next to him, nodding to it in invitation as he continued, waiting until he got to a good stopping spot before he leaned his chin on the neck of his guitar and smiled at Kayla. 

                                         "Morning,“ he said. "You’re here early.”

   kayla's never been the biggest fan of sleeping in .            it  always  seems  to  put  a  dent  in  her  routine,   and  just  laying  there  in  bed  doesn't  do  as  much  for  her  as  a  jog  around  the  block  and  an  early  morning  shower.      she's    RIGOROUS,     and  woke  up  today  with  plenty  of  time  to  incorporate  a  stop  at  the  local  starbucks  for  some  purple  -  dyed  monstrosity  and  a   bagel.      the  bag  crinkles  as  she  holds  on  to  it  a  little  tighter  in  order  to  open  the  heavy  music  room  door,     but  kayla  doesn't  expect  the  sound  to  interrupt  anyone.     she's  come  to  class  early  plenty  of  times   (  mostly  because  she  literally  has  no  other  way  to  kill  time  that  doesn't  include  like,   going  halfway  across  town.  ),     but  has  never  had  the  fortune  of  doing  so  with  nick.       why  he's  decided  to  grace  the  halls  of  los  feliz  so  early  is  a  mystery,   but  she's  grateful  for  the  company     (  mostly  because  it's  someone  easy  to  talk  to.   )  

   she  gives  him  a  little  wave  as  he  clears  a  spot  for  her,    dropping  her  backpack  on  the  ground  hard  and  her  behind  into  her  chair  even  harder.      nick's   pot  calling  the  kettle  black   elicits  a  small  laugh  from  kayla  and  she  promptly  takes  her  bagel     (  with  cream  cheese,    duh.  )      out  of  its  bag.

   ❛   oh my gooooooooood ,   ❜         it’s  feigned  embarrassment,   the  harmless  kind  that  comes  in  the  form  of  red  cheeks  buried  deep  into  her  hands  as  she  tries  to  cover  her  beaming  face.      kayla  is  used  to  compliments,   but  they  always  sound  ten  times  more  genuine  when  they’re  coming  from  reggie’s  mouth.      maybe  it’s  the  fact  that  he  has  a  habit  of  showing  up  unexpectedly,   something  she’s   STILL   getting  used  to  since  finding  out  he’s  like   . . .   dead.      but  as  he  materializes  next  to  her  as  she  manages  to  get  a  moment  alone  refilling  her  water  bottle,   all  logistics  fly  out  the  window.   

    it’s  not  like  he  was   WRONG.       seriously,   her  scores  from  the  judges  didn’t  lie   -   and  the  first  place  trophy  she  was  poised  to  win  at  the  end  of  the  night  didn’t  either.      it’s  just  heartwarming  that  he  bothered  coming  all  this  way  to  watch  her  routine,   even  if  it  was  only  one   poof   between  here  and  julie’s  garage.      she’s  never  had  someone  around  who  supports  her  just  because  they   WANT   to,    no  family  ties  or  band  obligations  included. 

   kayla’s  keeps  her  hands  smushed  to  her  cheeks  until  she  manages  to  stop  laughing.     purple  and  silver  glitter  stains  her  palms  when  she  pulls  away,    and  she  laughs  as  it  smudges  the  stainless  steal  of  her   also  purple  and  silver   water  bottle.       (   she  has  an  aesthetic  to  maintain,   even  when  she’s  performing  solo.   )      her  hair  falls  to  frame  her  face  as  she  gives  her  head  a  gentle  shake,    drinking  him  in  while  she  can  before  the  time  comes  to  watch  the  final  acts.   

               “OH! YOU MEAN like that one time in Jurassic Park when the water started shaking?”