#jatpfic

“Wait! I have something to tell you-” Julie says as she jumps forward a bit like she’s about to get up. 

“No. It’s my turn to talk,” the other girl says and Julie sits back as she looks up at the girl. 

“You can’t give up music! Your music is like a gift, so that would be a tragedy. So you're basically like, canceling Christmas, and I love Christmas!” The other girl blurts out. 

“Flynn, I-” Julie says, trying to get the other girl to stop. 

“No. Uh-uh! Stop!” Flynn puts her hands up as if to tell Julie to stop talking. 

“When we were six, we promised to be in a band together. Double Trouble,” she says and picks up her hands in a ‘come on’ motion before letting them just fall back down so they hit the piano. 

“I never agreed to that name…” Julie says and the other girl just rolls her eyes and sighs before going farther around the piano towards Julie. 

“That’s not the point. Jules, if you leave the music program, we’ll be apart forever. That’s just what happens! Sure, we’ll see each other in the hall sometime, but…. we’ll have different lives, make new friends,” Flynn says in a sad tone, one that she uses to try and convey her point farther. 

“That’s not true,” Julie says as she tries to reassure the other girl standing in front of her. 

“You're right. I won’t be making any new friends and the only time we’ll contact each other is when we’ll be liking each other’s posts on Instagram and every time I’ll be hitting that little heart, my heart will be breaking because my best friend left me, and…. Ugh! Do you have any soda? My head hurts,” Flynn says as she bends over while grabbing onto the piano with one hand and putting her other hand to her head. 

“Can I talk now?” Julie says as she looks up at Flynn, who sighs. 

“Fine,” Flynn says as she closes her eyes for a split second. Then she opens them as she leans against the piano ready to hear what Julie has to say. 

“I just played the piano and sang again,” Julie says as if it’s nothing. 

“What! Why didn’t you just say so?” Flynn shouts out in happy shock. 

“I was trying. Then your seven sodas kicked in,” Julie says in a rhetorical tone as she throws her hands up in a shrug motion before letting them fall back into her lap. 

“I’m so happy for you! And for me!” Flynn says in an excited tone as Julie just laughs. 

“Look at you, looking all, I don’t know. Alive again,” Flynn says overly excited. 

“Right? It’s like I drank seven sodas,” Julie says as she laughs and points to herself. 

“What made you play again?” Flynn says in a questionable tone as she tilts her head to the side and Julie looks off to a stack of papers. 

“I found a song my mom wrote me,” Julie says in a sentimental tone. She lifts her arm and slides the papers over to Flynn who picks them up. 

“Whoa,” is all Flynn says before she sets the song back down on the piano. 

“I know. I was so afraid to play it. Anything involving music reminds me of her…. and then I woke up this morning… realizing that’s why I should play it. Keep her memory alive,” Julie says as she leans an arm on the top of the piano before sitting back up and moving that same hand to the keys. 

“Awe come here,” Flynn says as she holds her arms out to Julie who gets up and hugs her, but before Julie actually can fully hug her, she gasps and pulls back holding onto Julie’s elbows. 

“We need to tell Mrs. Harrison you can play so you can stay in school and my life won’t be that sad picture I just painted for you,” Flynn says in a rushed tone and Julie just laughs. 

“My girl's back! Double Trouble lives again!” Flynn says in a very happy tone before turning and pulling Julie by the hand with her around the piano. 

“Not our band name,” Julie says and Flynn laughs. 

“I gave you a shirt in the seventh grade that says otherwise,” Flynn says as her and Julie still hold hands before splitting up to walk to their backpacks. 

That’s when the boys jump, worried that they’ll be caught watching, so they all move. 

“Ooop!” Reggie says as he sits against the door and looks forward. 

Luke puts a hand on his head and the other on his hip, pretending to just lean against the door of the garage while watching the two girls walk out. Alex pretends to be inspecting the light on the wall as if he doesn’t even see them. 

“Oh! Hey,” Julie says as she sees the guys after closing the garage door.

“Let’s hustle….” Julie says when she realizes Flynn stopped walking and turned around. 

She pushes herself off the door she was leaning on and throws her hands up in the air before running over to Flynn, who gives a little head nod then turns around to walk again. 

As they walk off, Julie waves to the guys as Flynn stays looking forward. 

“Don’t worry! We weren’t listening! Oh!” Reggie says as he looks up at Luke who kicks him with his right foot to get him to be quiet. 

The boys then drop their charade of being “casual” and for a moment Luke looks down at Reggie with a face that says ‘be quiet man!’ Before he looks back up to see Julie continue to wave to them. 

“Oh! He! Oh! Ahh!” Julie laughs then smiles as she again notices that Flynn is looking at her so she pretends she’s not waving to the guys by waving her arms around as if a bug was bothering her. 

“Let’s go!” she says now pushing Flynn up the steps and to the gate. 

When the girls disappear the boys decide to go inside the garage so they just walk through the door. 

“I wonder why Julie didn’t tell us she could shred on the piano?” Reggie wonders as he looks at Luke once they are inside the garage. 

“And sing! That girl can sing,” Luke says as he looks at both the boys and points to the piano. 

“It probably has something to do with her mom. Must’ve been hard,” Alex says with a shrug as he walks off. 

“Anyway… I really feel for her,” Alex says as he climbs up to the loft area. 

“Yeah, but now she’s got music back in her life. Just like us,” Luke says and he walks backwards before turning to the piano. 

“Yeah. I'm not sure you can call what we have a life,” Alex says as he leans over the railing of the loft. 

Reggie gives a small head nod in agreement as Alex disappears again and Luke looks over the song on the piano. 

“Oh! Hey! Some of the clothes we left behind are still up here!” Alex says as he grabs a couple of bags and throws them over the side of the railing, not caring to even look at the names on the bags. 

“Sweet!” Luke says as he throws off his sleeveless blue jacket and does a little skip over to the bags. 

Then Alex throws two black ordinary garbage bags down before he throws Reggie a backpack. Reggie laughs as he starts to open his old backpack. 

“Oh! Same clothes since 95’, boys,” he says as he takes off his sleeveless Rush tee-shirt and falls on his knees down by the bags. 

He rifles through one without realizing his name is printed in nice handwriting on the bag. Then he sees the other bag and gulps, looking at the handwriting on the other bag. 

“What, Luke?” Alex asks from above as he sees his friend go still. 

“I-I-It’s her bag, man….” Luke says as he looks at the other bag next to his with tears gathering. 

“Really?” Alex asks and Luke nods as he opens it, only to find her shirts mixed with a few that she had loved to steal from him. 

“Luke you ok?” Reggie asks as he sees his best friend tear up. 

“Alex?” he says now looking up at the blond boy who has a tear going down the side of his face. 

“I-I-I… yeah, I’ll be fine,” Luke finally answers as he still just looks down at the bag of clothes. 

“Alex?” Reggie then says as he looks back up at the blond boy again. 

“Uhh yeah. I’m fine too….” Alex says in a low whisper as he turns and goes farther into the loft. 

They sit in silence for a few minutes before the door to the garage opens, and with one glance at one another, it’s like Luke and Alex decide to just forget about it for the moment. They then both watch Julie's dad walk into the garage before he walks right through Reggie. 

“Whoa,  that was weird …. but somehow I could tell this man has a kind heart,” Reggie says as he looks in awe of Julie's dad.

Luke finishes changing into his new shirt as he watches Reggie’s interaction with Julie's dad with big eyes. Alex sits with his legs though the railing of the loft, his arms coming up to rest on the bar just at his chest level. 

“So how’ve you been?” Julie’s dad asks as he looks around the garage and gets the camera ready to take pictures. 

“Oh! Honestly! Not that good. See we ate these hot dogs and-” Reggie says as he gets ready to tell Julie’s dad their whole story. 

“Julie sang for the first time this morning. Ah! She hadn’t done that in almost a year. You would’ve loved it,” Julie’s dad says sadly as he walks to the side of Reggie. 

“Yeah, we saw ‘cause we were… oh!” Reggie says as he realizes he can’t actually hear him. 

“Oh! I get it,” Reggie says as he waves a hand in Julie’s dad’s face before he walks off while testing the camera. 

“He…. he’s not talking to us,” Reggie says as he points to Julie’s dad. 

“You are so lucky you play bass,” Luke says, astonished. 

“Pretty sure he’s talking to Julie’s mom,” Alex says as he swings his legs back and forth. 

“She’s such an amazing young woman. Every day she reminds me more and more of you….” Julie's dad says as he sets down the camera. 

“Called it,” Alex says as he points at Julie’s dad. 

“Oh! I’m ah, taking pictures for the real estate website,” Julie’s dad says, now picking up the camera and fiddling with it. 

“I don’t really wanna move, but….” Julie’s dad says, still fiddling with the camera as all the boys now come over to the front of the piano to hear what he’s saying. 

“I guess it’s best for Julie,” her dad says as he is now setting the camera down on the piano and sitting behind it. 

“Move?” Luke says in a confused tone as he leans forward onto the piano. 

“There’s so many memories of Julie playing next to you, and Carlos trying to sing with his missing two front teeth,” Julie’s dad says as he starts to tear up at the memories. 

Luke starts to get emotional as he covers his mouth. 

“Oh no. Luke, not you too,” Reggie says as he watches Luke get emotional. 

“Emm emm…” Luke says as he’s trying to hold back his tears as Julie’s dad gets up. 

“He….. he’s talking about moving, but the poor guy doesn't wanna move,” Luke says as he moves his hand to motion to Julie’s dad, but puts his hand back over his mouth after whispering the last word. 

Julie’s dad steps back and takes a picture on the camera before continuing what he was saying. 

“It’s like they grew up out here,” Julie's dad says as he motions to the room. 

“Oh man! Now he’s got me too,” Reggie says as he starts to fan his face like a girl would while he starts to cry. 

“Ok… how am I the emotional one?” Alex asks in a confused tone as he watches his best friends and bandmates cry. 

“C-c-can we go see my family and see how they’re doin?” Reggie asks in a sad tone. 

“Yeah. Yeah listening to this feels… wrong," Alex says as he points to Julie’s dad. 

“Hey do you remember when the kids were at your sister’s and we came out here on our anniversary…” Julie's dad says as he raises his eyebrows in a suggestive way. 

“Yeah. No, definitely wrong!” Luke says before proofing out. 

“Ooof yeah….it’s almost as bad as Luke and y/n back in the day,” Reggie says before following Luke’s lead and poofing out. 

“Wait, what?!” Alex shouts as he just looks at where they both previously were before they disappeared then poofs out himself. 

Your Pov: {June 10th 1998} 

I wake up and look around only to see I’m in a dark room. I’m only in the room for what seems like half an hour and before I know it I get the feeling like I’m falling. I close my eyes as I fall and before I know it my back is hitting a floor. 

When I land on the ground, I lay there with my eyes closed as I try to get my breath back. When I open my eyes I look around and I recognize the place as the garage. I get up from the floor and I wonder how I got back here, but I decide to drop the thought and go on a walk to clear my mind. 

As I’m walking down the road, I try talking to people that pass, but they just ignore me which confuses me even more so than before. I get a weird feeling as I pass people on the street wondering why none of them can hear me. 

“Watch out! Haha! Comin through!” A voice says right before someone hits me and I go tumbling to the ground. 

“Ugh. You idiot! Watch where you're going next time,” I groan as I roll over and push myself back up onto my feet. A guy with a skateboard stands in front of me. 

“I-I-I am so sorry. I uhh, kinda thought I’d go right through you just like I did all the other people….” the guy says as he points over his shoulder. 

“Wait what? Go through people?” I say in a confused tone as he just chuckles. 

“I guess you’re just learning this…. but girl, you're dead. You're a ghost....” he says as if trying to break it to me easier. 

“W-w-what?” I stutter out in shock.

“Yeah. I’m sorry to be the one to break it to ya,” the guy with the skateboard says. I just kinda stare blankly forward as all the dots connect in my head. 

“Hey. I’m Willie. Do you maybe want to hang out? You look a little flushed, even for a ghost,” he says and it finally snaps me out of my trance. 

“Uhh sure. I mean I don’t really have anyone else and I guess I’m already dead,” I say with a shrug and he chuckles. 

“Anyway, you are?” he asks and I giggle. 

“I’m y/n,” I say and he nods as we start to walk. 

“Umm, where are we going?” I ask him as we continue to walk forward. 

“Oh! I thought we could go to the beach and just talk. The beach is a calming place,” he says and I nod. I think of memories from my brother, my boyfriend and I always going to the beach service. 

“I’m actually ok with that. The beach has always been a place I’ve been happy going to when anxious,” I say and Willie nods. 

We soon arrive at the beach and we both sit down on the sand. We sit in silence for a while before I catch Willie looking at a cute guy. 

“Hey. You like him?” I say and he turns to me. 

“Huh? Oh no. He’s just cute is all. But he’s human, so it wouldn’t work out anyway,” he says in a sad tone before quickly looking up at me. 

“Wait? How’d you know?” he asks and gives me a glare that causes me to giggle. 

“Calm down. My brother was gay too. He told my mom and dad three months before he died. I uhh, backed him up all the way. Which ended in our dad throwing both of us out,” I say and his eyes widen. 

We sit in silence for a while after that and just watch the waves crash. 

“How long have you been a…. a… a ghost?” I ask him and he chuckles. 

“Oh you know, about a couple years. Last I remember it was 1980 when I died. I then came back as a ghost a year later. So it’s been a while,” he says and I nod along to his story. 

“How’d you die?” Willie asks me and I look over at him. 

“My dad pushed me in the bathroom and I hit my head on the sink,” I say with a shrug as I’ve finally started to accept all of this. 

“Wow so your dad was a jerk then?” he says and I nod as I pull my legs to my chest. 

“After my brother died, a piece of my dad died. I think he just always felt bad for how he treated him after he told him he was gay,” I say as I look out at the ocean. 

“Well I’m very sorry to hear that. Do you have anyone or anywhere to go?” Willie asks and I shake my head no. 

“Well you have me now. You can hang with me, y/n/n,” he says and I giggle at the new nickname. 

“How’d you die Willie?” I ask and he chuckles. 

“I learned the hard way not to skate into traffic….” he says and I look at him. 

“Really?” I say, almost not believing him. 

“Really. I used to do everything and anything on this skateboard. But now I can skate wherever I want,” he says with a big smile on his face that only makes me giggle. 

From that night on me and Willie stuck together though a lot. We have gone through all the same ghost issues and now we are super close because we’re all each other has had until years down the road. 

Third person Pov: {2020}

The boys then end up on the beach. They turn around from the water to see Reggie’s house that is no longer there. 

“A bike shack right where my house used to be… right here…” Reggie says in a confused tone as he looks over at the place he used to call home. 

“Yeah I’m sorry man…” Luke says as he pats Reggie’s shoulder. 

“They made the Myerson’s house into a noodle shop. Why couldn’t they have made mine into a pizzeria or something?” Reggie says as he slowly tries to wrap his mind around it. 

“They tore down the whole neighborhood….” Alex says as he motions to what used to be Reggie’s home street and Luke goes over to sit on the log that’s in front of them. 

“Guess my folks are gone….” Reggie says in a numb sounding tone. 

“Everyone’s gone. Twenty-five years gone! Friends, family, y/n, Bobby. Everyone…” Alex says, somewhat angrily.

“Bobby, that’s right. Guess that vegetarian lucked out. What do you think happened to him?” Reggie wonders as he elbows Alex. 

“He probably just got old like everybody else and moved on,” Luke says and waves his arm like it doesn't matter.

“Dude, how are you so casual about this?! I mean don’t you wanna figure out what happened?” Alex asks as he takes one of his hands out of his pocket and throws it out to his side. 

“Let’s be real for a second. It’s not like any of us were that close to our families,” Luke says again moving his arms all about. 

“I mean I was close to y/n…..” Alex whispers out very quietly, so quietly that Luke doesn’t even hear him. 

“So was Luke….” Reggie says, rolling his eyes. 

“Eww! Just no!” Alex shouts as he covers his ears, not wanting to hear whatever else Reggie was going to say. 

“My folks always regretted buying me that guitar,” Luke says as if trying to prove a point. 

“Y/n didn’t regret getting them to, though….” Reggie says and Luke gives him a look before he finishes what he was saying before. 

“Yeah. She didn’t, but Reggie, remember your parents were literally one fight away from a divorce. Alex I… your parents were never cool to you or y/n again after you told them you were gay!” Luke points out. 

“Ok. None of us had it great. All right? But at least we had something! At least we all had y/n! You know? What do we have now?!” Alex says as he turns from Luke to look at Reggie then looks back at Luke again. 

“And before you say cool teleportation skills, just know I’m not entirely ok with that either. All right? It tingles,” Alex says as he does his angry hand motions before putting his hands back into his pockets. 

“In weird places!” Alex says as he takes his hands out of his pockets again and does hand motions to his body. 

It’s quiet for a minute as the boys just take in what Alex just said, and they each look at him confused. 

“I’ll tell you what we have,” Luke says as he jumps up from the log. 

“It’s what we’ve had since the day y/n brought us all together. Boys, we have us,” Luke says as he now stands on the log, using his energy to get his point across. 

“And we’re the only family we’re ever gonna need,” Luke says in a passionate tone. 

“Yeah. But we’re missing a big member….” Reggie says and the other guys give him a look. 

“We may be missing her, but we have to learn to move on. We’re good boys. You know what else we have?” Luke says in a sad tone that changes back to a passionate one. 

“I’m gonna guess death breath?” Reggie says and Luke chuckles. 

“Our music. You dork,” Luke says as he points at Reggie from where he stands on the log. 

“We have our music, you guys. People, actual people, can hear us play! Ok, they can’t see us. Fine, but they can feel us. If I had my guitar, I’d play for all these people right now,” Luke says as he points out to all the people out on the beach. 

“Just like what we used to do down at the pier,” Luke says with passion as he tries to remind them of the old days. 

“Yeah. They can’t tip what they can’t see…” Alex says skeptically as he looks up at Luke. 

“It’s not about the tips, Alex. It’s about playing music. Connecting with people. Making a difference in their day,” Luke says as he jumps off the log and walks up to them. He then pats Alex on the stomach before he moves back. 

“I just…. I wish I had my guitar,” Luke says and suddenly his guitar appears out of nowhere and lands in his arms. 

“Whoa!” Reggie says as he watches it happen. 

“Whoa, that was rad! How’d you do that?!” Reggie says as he looks to Alex and points at Luke. 

“I don’t know. I...I.. I mean, I wished for it and then it came in my hands…” Luke says, now shocked and happy to have his guitar. 

“I-I-I wish I had a puppy!” Reggie then says as he crouches down and closes his eyes with his hands held out. 

“A hamster?!” Reggie says after opening his eyes and not finding a puppy. 

“Ok….” Alex says as he rolls his eyes and looks back to Luke. 

“Ugh. Pizza?!” Reggie says as he calls out in desperation this time. 

Reggie then groans and kicks the sand frustrated before he plants himself down on the ground with his legs out in front of him. 

“Hey, I think I know something that’ll cheer you up,” Luke says as he smiles down at Reggie. 

Luke then starts to play his guitar and smiles at the boys. Alex starts to move and Luke follows him as he continues to play a tune. When Alex is closer to him, Luke gives him a nod that tells him to join in. 

“Come on Reginald,” Alex says as he bends down a bit to look at Reggie before he starts to drum on himself. 

Luke smiles as he continues to play and both him and Alex get into the music. 

“A one. One, two, three, four,” Luke says as he bends down to Reggie who soon jumps up and joins in. 

♪Can you, can you hear me? (Yup)

Loud and clear

Gotta get, gotta get ready

'Cause it's been years ♪

♪ Oh, this band is back

Oh, this band is back ♪

♪ Woo, ooh, ooh, ooh

Woo, ooh, ooh, ooh

Woo, ooh, ooh, ooh ♪

♪ Can you? (Yes, we can)

Can you hear me?

Loud and clear

We gotta get, wanna get, we gotta get ready

'Cause it's been years, hey ♪

♪ Oh, this band is back

Oh, this band is back ♪

♪ Woo, ooh, ooh, ooh

Woo, ooh, ooh, ooh

Woo, ooh, ooh, ooh

Woo, ooh, wee, ooh ♪

When the boys are done with the song, they skip off from the beach, still singing and playing the guitar. Soon they decide to go back to Julie's house. They decide to look around the house and end up in Julie's room. 

Luke finds a box that catches his attention. He really wants to open it and look through it. Alex tries picking up one of Julie's pictures, but his hand just keeps going through it. Reggie flops down on Julie's bed and enjoys its softness. Soon Julie walks in and sees them. 

“What are you guys doing in my room?!” Julie says in shock as she sees each of them just lounging around. 

“Uh! Um!” Both Alex and Reggie stammer as Alex turns to look at Luke. 

“We were looking for the kitchen?”  Luke says in an unconvincing tone as he sounds like he’s asking a question rather than telling. 

“This… this can’t happen! It’s creepy!” Julie says as she motions to them just hanging out in her room. 

“Get off my bed please,” Julie says to Reggie, who immediately jumps up off her bed. 

“Hey. Julie,” Luke says as he raises his hand almost like he wants to be called on by a teacher. 

“What’s in the box?” Luke says as he points to the box that he really wants to open. 

“That’s off limits,” Julie says and Luke chuckles. 

“Oh. Oh. Ok,” he says and looks over at Alex. 

“Girl stuff!” Luke says as he rolls his eyes and Julie just crosses her arms over her chest. 

“Oh, like butterflies and glitter?” Reggie says as he looks at Julie. 

“Oh! Come on. I’m sorry about them,” Alex says as he motions to the other boys. 

“It’s none of your business, and yes. There might be some glitter,” Julie says with her arms still crossed over her stomach. 

Reggie smirks proudly and then Alex finally does as he’s been trying for the last hour and picks up the frame. 

“Hey! I actually picked something up!” Alex says with a chuckle as he walks the frame over to Julie’s bed. 

“I dropped it,” Alex says as he looks up at Julie from the frame he dropped onto her bed. 

“Is that your mom?” Luke asks as he comes over to the bed to look at the picture. 

“Yes, and it’s my favorite picture of us,” Julie says as she walks over and grabs it off the bed. 

“So if you break it. I’ll break you,” Julie says as she grabs it.

“Ok. Well sorry, because we’re kind of unbreakable at this point,” Alex says as he and Luke look up to Julie. 

“I don’t get it. You guys can mess up my bed, pick up your instruments, but you can’t pick up other stuff?” Julie asks as she walks back over to them after she puts the picture frame away. 

“I know right. It’s hard, but for some reason our instruments are easy,” Luke answers her question with a shrug as he looks to Reggie. 

“Yeah. Like super easy. Oh and check out what I learned today,” Reggie says as he stands and holds his hands out. 

His guitar then falls out of thin air and hits him right in the chest. The impact makes him fall back into Julie’s bean bag chair at the end of her bed. 

“Yeah. That looked super easy,” Julie says sarcastically. 

“Ohhhh…..” Reggie says as he groans from the weight of the guitar on his chest. 

“It’s like I always thought. Our instruments are attached to our souls,” Luke says happily as he points to Reggie. 

“Hey,” Julie's dad says, walking into the room. 

“Ohh!” Reggie says before he does a flip over the bean bag chair as if her dad will see him. 

As he lands on the other side, Alex throws his hand up and smacks Luke in the chest who’s hand also flies up to grab Alex’s hand.

“Everything ok?” Julie’s dad asks as he sticks half his body through the doorway. 

“Yeah. I’m fine,” Julie says as she looks at her dad. 

“Ok. I thought I heard you talking to someone,” her dad says as he looks around the room. 

“Nope. Must’ve been my laptop…. that I just closed,” Julie says as she points to her computer that’s on her coffee table in front of her couch. 

“Ok. If you need anything…” her father says as he points at the door, silently asking if she wants it closed. 

“Yeah. Thanks,” Julie says and she watches him close the door before turning around to talk to the boys again. 

“Your dad seems like the kind of guy who likes to barbecue. I bet he has a great ribs recipe,” Reggie says as he uses his pointer finger to make his point. 

“I don’t know. But if you guys wanna talk to me, we have to do it in the studio. He’s worried about me enough as it is,” Julie says in a worried tone. 

“He seems chill. You should just tell him about us,” Luke says as the other two split away and look at other things. 

“You’re kidding right?” Julie says as she gives Luke a look that says a simple no.

“This past year everyone’s been watching over me, being super nice as if they’re waiting for me to snap. If I tell my dad I met a ghost band, I’ll be back to talking to Dr. Turner three days a week,” Julie says in an annoyed tone. 

“Yeah. You probably shouldn’t tell him,” Luke says as he turns back to the box on her shelf. 

“Julie…..” Luke says as he gives her a longing look. 

“Oh my gosh! I thought I told you to leave that alone!” Julie snaps at Luke. 

“I know. You should’ve said nothing cause now I can’t stop thinking about it, so….. what’s in the box, Julie?” Luke says as he shrugs and points to it. 

“It’s just my dream box! Ok?” Julie says as she watches Luke look at it intently. 

“Whenever I get a thought or something, I write it down and get it out of my mind,” Julie says in another annoyed tone after he gives her a glance. 

“Like lyrics?” Luke asks as he looks from her, back to the box, to her again and back to the box. 

“They would be, if I still wrote music. Like I used to with my mom. Now it’s just full of stuff that doesn’t make me sad,” Julie says now in a sad tone as she looks down for a second before looking back up at Luke. 

“But I mean, you do play… we heard you this morning,” Alex says as he gets up off of one of her bean bag chairs. 

“In the garage!?” Julie says in shock before Luke hops down from whatever he was standing on and hits Alex on the shoulder as he gives him an angry face. 

“Uhhhh….. I don’t… he was… like….” Alex and Reggie try to speak at once. 

“We were somewhere….” Reggie says with a shrug as Luke lays down on Julie's bed facing her. 

“So where is your kitchen by the way?” Luke asks as he leans his head against his hand while looking up at Julie. 

“Ok. We need to set some boundaries. For starters, stay out of my room!” Julie says as she bends over to look at Luke before standing back up and pointing at her door. 

“Mm-hmm. Crystal clear. Let’s go,” Reggie says as they all start to head out of her room. 

“We’re leaving!” Alex shouts at the same time as Reggie. 

“Yes ma'am, we are outta here,” Luke says as he hops off the bed before they all go out the door with Reggie playing a tune on his guitar. 

Once they are gone, Julie goes to pick up her picture frame and put it back, but before she can Alex pops his head through the door. 

“Hey!” Alex says, making her turn around to look at him. 

“Umm sorry. I didn’t mean to bother you. Did you get back into your music program?” Alex asks in a concerned tone. 

“No. No. I didn’t,” Julie says as she looks down for a minute before looking back up at him. 

“I’m sorry. That really sucks,” Alex says remorsefully. 

“Thanks,” Julie says as she nods her head at him. He sighs then looking up and around for a minute. 

“Is that it?” Julie asks as she rocks back and forth on her feet. 

“Yeah. Yeah. This is getting weird,” Alex says as he looks off to the side for a second and she just waves at him. 

“Ok….” Alex says before he goes back through the door and leaves. 

Your Pov: {2020} 

It’s now been twenty-two years since I came back as a ghost and I’ve been friends with Willie ever since. We both looked for my brother’s band, but we kind of gave up a few years ago, making me slowly lose hope of ever seeing my brother and boyfriend again. 

Around 2000, we found a guy named Caleb and we had lost our souls to him. We now work in his house band and every day Willie comes up to my room to spend some time with me. 

“Hey Skates,” Willie says, using the nickname he’s had for me for a while. 

“You're still calling me that?” I say with a giggle as he comes up behind my chair where I put my dance shoes on. 

“Yes. It’s your fault for saying how much you hate skateboards but love to roller skate,” Willie says as he looks at me though the mirror of the vanity I’m sitting at. 

“Hey. What are you doing tonight?” Willie asks and I look at him through the mirror before turning around.

“I’m stuck here tonight, remember. Caleb is mad at me for sneaking out the other night….” I say and Willie gives me a sad look. 

“But hey. You can still go skate around town a bit. I can talk to you after the show,” I say, but his frown only deepens more so than before. 

“I don’t like what he does to you,” Willie says as he shakes his head. 

“You and me both. But go have fun and don’t get on his bad side like I always do,” I say with a giggle and Willie nods before giving me a hug. 

“Ok. I’ll see you later. Don’t hesitate to come find me if you need me,” Willie says and I nod even though we both know I wouldn’t be able to leave this place until Caleb lets me. 

Soon he leaves and I get ready to head downstairs when I feel a pain go though my wrist that makes me roll my eyes as I know I’m being summoned. 

Third person Pov: {2020}

The boys just sit in the garage for a while and each do their own thing. Luke sits on the couch just playing his guitar and writing a couple lyrics down in his notebook every so often. 

Alex stays up in the loft for most of the time before he comes down and plops down next to Luke. Reggie just does whatever the heck Reggie does.

“I’m going to go talk to Julie,” Luke says as he puts his guitar down and jumps off the couch. 

“Ok. Have fun,” Alex says as he stays on the couch but this time he’s looking through his fanny pack. 

“What are you looking for, buddy?” Reggie says and Alex shrugs. 

“Oh! I thought I left a pair of bouncy balls in here, but I can’t find them. Thought they’d be fun to play with. Y/N must have taken them out….” he says then looks down. 

“Nope, I’m gone. I don’t wanna talk about this right now,” Luke says in a sad tone before he poofs out of the garage and into the house as he tries to avoid talking about the girl he once loved. 

Once in the house, he looks around for a moment before deciding on what to do. He then goes over to the fridge and tries opening the door, but his hand just keeps going through the handle. 

He slowly starts to get frustrated as he has many failed attempts, but soon he lets out a small happy cheer when he finally gets the door of the fridge open. He then looks in and slowly goes into a trance as he drools over all the food that he only dreams about now, seeing as he can’t actually eat. 

He sniffs the food with a frown on his face just as Julie comes down the stairs. The girl doesn’t see him until she rounds the corner of the stairs. 

“Uaahh! I’m never going to get used to that….” Julie says as she stops just at the bottom of the stairs before walking over to look over the shoulder of the boy standing at the fridge. 

“Do you guys even eat?” she asks and he shakes his head no. 

“I just wanna see what ya got…” Luke shrugs. 

Julie closes the door to the fridge and it just goes right through Luke. 

“Hey!” Luke says before he turns around to look at her. 

“You know how long it took me to open that?!” He says as he points back at the fridge while following her over to the kitchen island. 

“Sorry. I don’t believe in wasting power,” Julie says as she turns to start making a PB&J sandwich. 

“Good. Cause that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about,” Luke says now walking around her and to the other side of the island. 

“Our power usage?” Julie says in a confused tone as she looks up at him while still making her sandwich. 

“No. The power that you have,” Luke says and does a small head nod, but she just gives him another confused look. 

“Your voice. Your piano playing. Dude, you're like a human wrecking ball,” Luke says in an astonished tone and Julie chuckles. 

“Is this a pep talk?” Julie says in a rhetorical tone as she raises her eyebrows at him. 

“What I’m saying is that you have the power to move people. To knock them off their feet and there is no way your teacher wouldn’t let you back into school if they heard you play like that,” Luke says in a very passionate tone, just like he always does when talking about music. 

“I asked her and she said I have to wait until next semester,” Julie says as she continues making her sandwich. 

“That was your first mistake… asking….” Luke says as he walks away and over to the counter before hopping up onto it. 

“Sunset curve booked gigs by doing,” Luke says as he puts his hands out into a shrug motion before putting them back on the counter. 

“We went into ambush mode. We played in front of clubs. We played in the back of clubs. We even played book clubs!” Luke says in an excited tone as he tries to convey his point even more. 

“Book clubs?” Julie says as she puts her knife down and looks up at him with disbelief. 

“Yeah. We didn’t get many gigs outta that one, but they did have some gnarly snacks,” Luke says as he leans forward a bit. 

“I’m just saying, don’t ask for permission,” Luke says and she looks up at him again as she finishes making her sandwich. 

“Swing that wrecking ball of talent at your teacher’s head and smash those stupid rules right outta their brains,” Luke says as he swings his legs in the air then gives a little punch to the air before leaning forward again. 

“This isn’t a club. It’s a school and your plan sounds a little violent,” Julie says in a rhetorical tone before she walks over and opens the cabinet that’s right next to Luke. 

“It’s a closed door and you gotta bust it open,” Luke says as he sticks his head through the door of the cabinet that she just opened. 

She grabs a cup and sighs as she closes the door of the cabinet. She then starts to walk over to the fridge and sets the cup down next to her sandwich. 

“Sorry. Once I start with the metaphors, I can’t stop,” Luke says as he follows her over to the fridge. 

“I learned that in a book club,” Luke says as she opens the fridge and grabs some juice. 

“They're not just gonna let me back in-” Julie says as she closes the fridge and turns around to start walking back to her sandwich, but she ends up walking right through Luke. 

She then freezes and he looks at her in awe. She turns back to him for a minute and they make eye contact for a split second. She chuckles dryly then walks back over to her sandwich as if nothing happened. 

“If getting back into music is what you really want then you gotta go for it,” Luke says as he follows her back over to the sandwich and she continues on making it. 

“Learn from me. Your tainted hot dog could be right around the corner….” Luke whispers just as she sticks the sandwich into her mouth. 

She sighs and puts the sandwich down now as she’s lost her appetite. 

“I don’t even have anything prepared,” Julie says, rolling her eyes before looking at him. 

“I thought you’d say that….” Luke says as he pulls out a sheet of paper from his pocket. 

“It’s called Bright,” Luke says and then gulps at the memory of writing it, but he quickly hides his feelings as he opens the paper. 

“It’s a Sunset Curve song I wrote that we never got to record,” Luke says as he lays the paper on the counter and smooths it out. 

“You wrote this?” Julie says in awe and Luke nods. 

“I wrote it with…… a friend…” Luke says but his mood changes slightly and Julie notices, but again he pushes it to the side. 

“But it’s perfect for your range. Check out the chorus for a second. If you add a bit of piano….” Luke says as he trails off for a second again. 

“I’m telling you….” Luke then says as if remembering what he was going to say. 

♪ Rise through the night

You and I we will fight to shine together

Bright forever

And rise ♪ 

Luke sings the first little verse as Julie reads over the lyrics. 

♪ Through the night 

You and I we will fight to shine together ♪ 

Luke continues to sing and as he nears the end Julie picks up the paper from the counter. She turns the paper over and joins in with him. 

“Go up high,” Luke adds in as he puts his hand in the air motioning up. 

♪ Bright forever ♪ 

Both of them finish off the verse. 

“Yes!” Luke says as Julie laughs and he joins in. 

“Your friend. Did they ever get to sing it?” Julie asks and Luke’s demeanor changes in the blink of an eye. 

“Once. She played piano too. That’s how I knew you could change it into piano….” Luke says now in a sadder tone. 

“Hey. You ok?” Julie asks as she notices his change in mood. 

“Uhh yeah. Yeah, I’m fine. Can we just not talk about her?” Luke says and Julie just nods as she watches her friend. 

“Thanks,” Julie then says and Luke bites his lip before nodding and then smiling. 

The next morning 

“Hey guys. Let’s go watch Julie rock it….” Luke says as he jumps off the couch that he was just sitting on as he messed with his guitar. 

“Yeah. Sure, I’m up for it,” Alex says as he comes down from the loft and comes up next to Luke before they poof out of the garage. 

“What are you guys doing here?” Julie says after they poof into the school's gym next to her. 

“We wanna see you stick it to the man. Isn’t that right, boys?” Luke says as he turns to the two other boys behind him. 

“Man, I miss high school,” Reggie says in awe as he watches some girls in colorful uniforms dance. 

Alex then starts to dance with them and he smacks Luke who turns to him. Luke grabs his shoulder with one hand and does the cut it out sign with his other hand. Luke then turns back to see Julie looking at them and gives her a sheepish grin. 

Soon the song that the colorful girls are singing and dancing to ends. The girls then all twirl into a straight line with the girl dressed in pink at the front. 

“Thank you!” The girl in pink says as she puts a hand to her chest. 

“We love you, Carrie!” Some students in the bleachers shout out. 

“Oh! I love you too!!” The girl known as Carrie says as she waves to her audience. 

“Make sure to check out my new YouTube video. Oh, go bobcats,” Carrie says in an obnoxious tone as she waves her hand about. 

Then all the colorful girls walk off in a dramatic strut as the students all cheer for them. 

“Thank you, Dirty Candy!” A lady in black slacks says. 

“Now’s your chance. Go talk to her,” Flynn says to Julie as she points at the lady standing in the center of the gym. 

“See you in music class,” Flynn says in an excited tone before running off to the bleachers. 

“That was sweet,” the lady dressed in all black says as a joke, but it stays silent and not one student laughs. She awkwardly clears her throat. 

“Ok then. Before we let you go, we have a few more announcements….” The lady in nice black free clothes says as she stands in a very formal way. 

“What are you waiting for? This is your time,” Reggie says as he jabs his thumb over his shoulder at the stage. 

“Yeah. I mean, you look really nervous. Like yack in a bowl nervous,” Alex says as he looks at Julie while Luke looks at the stage before looking back at Julie. 

“I just don’t think I had enough time to work on the song,” Julie says in a worried tone as she looks at the guys. 

“I wouldn’t have given you the song if I didn’t think you were gonna rock it,” Luke says with a smile on his face as he does a little half hop. 

“Yeah. I’m surprised you shared the song anyway,” Reggie says and Alex hits him in the stomach to tell him not to bring it up. 

“Now, there’s a piano on that stage with your name on it,” Luke says as he points to the stage. 

“We look forward to our girls’ swim team defending our state championship,” the voice of the lady in black says as Julie runs up to the stage. 

“Go bobcats! Whoo!” A lady in a nice purple shirt says who is standing next to the lady in black.

The boys turn right as Julie walks up to the piano. She turns the piano on and the sound guy looks at his schedule, but doesn’t see her on it. Just as all the students start to file out, Julie starts to play, but stops and looks at the guys. 

“You got this!” Luke says as he does a little jump without his feet leaving the floor again. 

“I remember when you said that to-” Reggie says but Alex hits him again making him shut up as both Alex and Luke don’t want to remember those memories. 

Julie then starts to finally play as she looks to the guys. The sound guy then turns the spotlight on Julie even though he doesn’t see her on the schedule. Julie plays a few more keys before she starts to actually sing. 

♪ Sometimes I think I'm falling down

I wanna cry, I'm calling out

For one more try to feel alive

And when I feel lost and alone

I know that I can make it home

Fight through the dark and find the spark ♪ 

Julie sings out to the crowd. 

♪ Life is a risk, but I will take it

Close my eyes and jump ♪ 

Julie sings and the guys watch her. Luke grabs Reggie by the shoulders then pats them. 

♪ Together, I think that we can make it

C'mon let's run

And rise through the night, ♪ 

Julie finishes that line, then the boys poof in with their instruments.  

♪ You and I

We will fight to shine together ♪  

Julie laughs then grabs the mic from the stand in front of her and goes to jam with Luke as she continues to sing. 

♪ Bright forever

And rise through the night, you and I

We will fight to shine together, bright forever ♪ 

Julie then sings to the crowd and Luke jumps up onto Alex’s drum platform, but soon as Julie watches the crowd she becomes confused. 

All three boys look confused for a second, but they keep playing. Luke then hops back down off the platform next to Julie who takes the mic away from her mouth for a minute. 

“Uh, is this really happening?” Julie says as she leans closer to Luke. 

“Just go with it!” Luke says with a big smile on his face before he goes to his mic to sing the next part. 

♪ In times that I doubted myself

I felt like I needed somе help

Stuck in my head with nothing left

I feel somеthing around me now

So unclear, lifting me out

I found the ground I'm marching on ♪ 

Luke sings as Julie rocks out and dances with Reggie then she rocks out a bit with Alex. 

Reggie then goes over by Luke and much like in the past he starts singing into the mic with Luke. 

♪ Life is a risk, but we will take it

Close my eyes and jump

Together, I think that we can make it ♪ 

Luke and Reggie sing together. 

Luke then nudges Reggie in an excited way as the music gets to higher notes. 

♪ C'mon let's run ♪ 

Luke and Reggie finish and Reggie goes back over to his mic as Julie now jumps back in. 

♪ And rise through the night, you and I

We will fight to shine together, bright forever

And rise through the night, you and I

We will fight to shine together, bright forever ♪ 

Each of the band members sings from their spots before Luke starts up his part again and Julie walks over to him. 

♪ In times that I doubted myself

I felt like I needed some help

Stuck in my head with nothing left ♪ 

Luke sings into her mic as she walks backwards and they nod their heads at each other. 

Luke and Julie bend down as Luke plays his guitar and Julie sings. They both bounce as the notes get higher and higher. 

♪ And when I feel lost and alone

I know that I can make it home

Fight through the dark and find the spark ♪ 

Julie sings to the crowd before she turns and walks right through Luke who just continues to play his guitar. 

♪ And rise (rise) through the night (through the night), you and I (you and I)

We will fight to shine together (we will shine together) bright forever (bright forever)

And rise (rise) through the night (through the night), you and I (you and I)

We will fight to shine together (we will shine together), bright forever ♪ 

They all sing the last few lines together and when they are finished Julie throws her hand with the mic up in the air as all the students cheer them on. 

Julie and the boys bow, and the boys poof off the stage and all the students gasp as they watch them disappear before their eyes. When they all gasp Julie turns around to see the boys gone. 

A few choruses of “Did you see that?” “Wow!” “What?” Is heard being murmured throughout the stunned students as Julie just looks at the crowd with a fake smile on her face and she just chuckles as she watches the crowd in appreciation. 

To Be Continued…

 @teti-menchon0604 @sunsetcurvej​

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“Hey, dad,” Julie sighed as she walked into her house.

“Hi, mija.” Ray frowned. “What’s wrong?”

“Bad day.”

Ray sat at the table, facing his daughter. “Do you wanna…?” He gestured to the chair across from him.

“Not really,” Julie sighed again. “I’m just gonna go start on my homework.”

Ray nodded and stood up, watching Julie walk up the stairs.

Julie flopped down on her bed and stared at her ceiling. Before she could start on her homework, however, she heard a knock on her door.

“Come in,” she called, not having the energy to sit up.

She heard the woosh of three ghosts walking through her door and her bed shift as they sat down beside her.

“...Julie?” Luke asked hesitantly.

“Hi guys,” she muttered dejectedly.

Reggie poked her leg. Luke shook his head at him.

“Are you okay?” Alex asked.

“I had a bad day,” she said, finally sitting up.

“Oh,” Reggie muttered. He moved in to hug her, but stopped himself first. “Is- is it okay if I hug you?”

The girl turned to him with a small smile and nodded. Reggie smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around her, leaning his head on her shoulder. Luke hugged her from the other side, buring his face in her hair. Alex leaned forward and wrapped his arms around her as best he could given the two boys on either side of her.

“Thanks guys,” she murmured.

Luke moved so his mouth was right next to her ear.

“It’ll be okay, mariposa,” he whispered so only she could hear. “You’ve got the music inside of you.” She could almost hear the grin in his voice. “Plus, you’ve got us.”

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you,” he said, stepping into the studio. “That was really good.”

You felt your face heating up. “Thanks,” you said quietly. It was the first time you had been complimented on your voice, never having the guts to sing anywhere outside of the school choir. 

“Do you sing much?” he asked, moving to sit on the couch. 

“Um, not really, no.” You sat next to him. “My parent’s wouldn’t let me. I only sang in the ensemble for the school choir.”

“Wow. That was amazing for someone who doesn’t sing much.” You felt yourself blush slightly. He smiled at you. 

“Hey, um, would you wanna join the band?” he asked, fidgeting with his rings. 

Your eyes widened. “Join- join Julie and the Phantoms? I, I’d be honored to, but what about Alex and Reggie?”

“What about them?”

“Well, shouldn’t they get a say in it? Julie too? I mean, it’s their band, too.”

Luke waved his hand dismissively. “I’m sure once they hear you sing, they’ll agree with me.”

You bit your lip. “Even if I did join, there’s a risk of someone recognizing me. How are you going to explain that the dead kid is singing on stage with Julie?”

“I’m not. Julie would explain that,” Luke smirked, earning a playful glare from you. “Seriously though, you could wear a disguise or something. I mean, you said you just moved here a few years ago and you’re pretty shy, so most people don’t know you, right?”

“Maybe….” You knew that someone was bound to recognize you, but decided that it was a problem for Future You to figure out. “Alright, I’ll join.”

Luke bounced up. “Yessss!” he exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air. You squeaked slightly when he pulled you into a tight hug. “Sorry,” he said, loosening his grip. You smiled at him, letting him know it was fine. “Welcome to the band.”

-----

“We’re playing a school dance? Sweet!” Reggie said, looking at the poster Julie had shown you. 

“It’s not exactly the Strip,” Luke muttered, making you roll your eyes slightly.

“And you’re not exactly alive, so you should be happy we have our first gig,” Reggie retorted. 

“I wasn’t in love with the idea at first either,” Julie admitted, “but it could be a great way for us to build a following, right?”

“Yeah, we need to play wherever we can, whenever we can,” you said, nodding at Julie. 

She raised an eyebrow at you. “We?” 

You felt your heart start to speed up as you realized you had accidentally told her you joined the band. Luckily, Luke saved you from having to explain yourself. 

“Ye- yeah, we. I invited Y/N to join the band earlier. I hope that was okay,” he said, throwing an arm around your shoulders and hugging you to his side. 

Julie nodded hesitantly. “It’s fine, I just wish you had asked us first.” Reggie nodded his agreement. 

“I know, and I’m really sorry-” you started, but Julie cut you off. 

“It’s fine, Y/N, really.” She smilied at you. 

Luke smiled. “Let’s rock those kid’s faces off! And then play the clubs.”

“And then record a single that gets a billion streams?” you said hopefully.

“I don’t know what that is, but hopefully it gets us a manager and a tour,” Luke said with a smirk.

“And then we release a bunch of hit albums!” Julie said excitedly. 

“Put out a country album that does surprisingly well.” You all stared at Reggie. “I shred on the banjo,” he shrugged. 

“Then I’ll learn how to fiddle,” Julie said, fist bumping him. 

“And before you know it, we’re being inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall Of Fame!”

“But one of us isn’t there,” you said somewhat ominously. “Because we had a blow-out in 2032.”

“My money’s on Alex. He’s just so sensitive,” Reggie said, making you laugh slightly. 

“What are we waiting for, let’s get rehearsing!” Luke said eagerly. 

“Uh… where is Alex?” Julie asked just as he poofed back into the room. 

“Oh, hey Alex. Where’ve you been?” you asked the drummer. He looked slightly out of breath, and had a faint glow of happiness to him. 

“We need to start practicing,” Luke said, slightly annoyed.

“Yeah? For what?”

“Dance news!” Flynn called out as she walked in. “I don’t have a date. But I don’t care because I’m so psyched to see you guys perform.”

“Oh man, we’re playing a dance?” Alex asked, his disappointment evident in his voice. 

“Of course dude. That’s how we get a following nowadays.” Luke sat in the chair behind him. You laughed quietly. 

“Yeah, get with the program, Alex,” Julie laughed along with you. 

“What? The guys are here? Hey guys!” Flynn waved in the wrong direction. 

“Other way, sweetie,” you chuckled. “They’re sitting over here, with me.”

“Oh, yeah.” Flynn said quietly and waved in your direction. Reggie waved back.

“Okay, well, now that Alex has graced us with his presence, can we start working?” Luke asked, impatient.

“Yes! We’re gonna rehearse, you wanna stick around?” Julie asked Flynn, who frowned slightly. 

“I’m supposed to blow up 500 balloons for the school dance, but this sounds way better.”

Just then, Carlos burst into the studio and accidentally walked through Alex. “Hey Julie! Remember those orbs in dad’s pictures? I…. I think they’re ghosts.”

You, Julie, and the guys all shared a look. 

“But don’t worry,” Carlos continued, scanning the room. “This room is…. Is….” You sat forward slightly, waiting to hear his verdict. “This room is clear. I’m not getting the ghost tinglies.”

“Wrong again, little dude,” Reggie laughed. 

“Have no fear. If they come back, I will protect you because I am the man of the house.”

You laughed. “Isn’t Ray supposed to be the man of the house?”

“Isn’t dad supposed to be the man of the house?” Julie asked, echoing you. You smirked. 

Carlos crossed his arms. “There can be two,” he muttered, causing you to laugh again. “Dad needs all the help he can get, right?”

He held up a salt shaker. “According to the internet, this burns their souls out. A little sprinkle will keep them from ever coming in here.”

Your eyes widened with fear. It couldn’t possibly be true, could it? Taking no chances, you pulled your legs up into the chair you were sitting in as Carlos threw some salt your way. 

“No!”Alex screamed as some salt hit him. “Nooo! Oh god, I’m…. I’m fine. I’m totally fine,” he said when nothing happened to him. You sighed in relief.

“Flynn, could you…?” you asked, nodding your head to indicate taking Carlos out of the studio. In times like these it was useful to be a ghost that only some people could see. 

“Hey, Carlos, you know who’s hungry? Me,” she said, taking your hint. “Um, salt me a path to the kitchen.”

“Shall we try this again?” Julie asked once they were gone.

“Yes please, but remind us later. There’s some Sunset Curve songs that we wanna show you,” Luke said, standing up again. 

“Oooo, show me now,” Julie said, pushing away her microphone. 

“Yeah, okay!” Luke said, putting down his guitar and walking over to his journal. He took a paper out of it and read the title of the song: “‘Home Is Where My Horse Is’. Reggie, stop putting your country songs in my journal.”

“That was a gift,” Reggie said, winking at you. 

“Thanks, buddy.” Ignoring Reggie as he tried to get Luke to look at the song, he walked over to Julie and handed her his journal. You walked over to look over her shoulder. “I dog-eared the ones I think you would slay.”

“Who’s Emily?” You asked, the name catching your eye as Julie flipped through the pages. 

“That one’s not dog-eared,” Luke said, frantically trying to get the journal back. Julie held it to her chest. You mouthed “sorry” at him as he looked at you.

“‘If you could only know that I’d never let you go’,” Julie read out loud. “Wow Luke, I didn’t know you were such a romantic.”

“He’s not,” Alex said, walking over. “That one’s actually about-”

“No one.” Luke cut him off. “Uh, that’s just something that I tried…” Was it your imagination, or did his eyes flicker over to you? “B- but if you go to the next dog-eared page, I got a tune that’s just…. It’s got a killer beat.”

He started playing the song on his guitar. You tilted your head to the side, sure that you had heard the song before. 

“So you wanna sample,” Julie spoke up, cutting Luke off. You realized where you had heard it before. It had been one of Rose’s favorite songs. 

Luke scoffed. “What do you mean, ‘sample’?”

“Sample someone else’s music,” you chimed in. 

“My mom and I used to sing that song at the top of our lungs in the car all the time.” 

“It’s a classic Trevor Wilson song.” 

Julie nodded, thankful that you knew what she was talking about.

“Nope.” Luke picked up his notebook. “It’s a classic our song.”

“Pure Sunset Curve,” Reggie said with a smile. “I’ve never even heard of Trevor Wilson.”

“Yeah, maybe you’re mixing it up, you know, with another song,” Alex said. 

“Julie doesn’t mix up songs,” you said. “Trust me.”

“Yeah, me and his daughter used to be best friends. We used to hang out at their place all the time! I know that song.” You looked at Julie. Having moved to Los Angeles after Julie and Carrie stopped being friends, you forgot sometimes that they used to like each other. 

“Here,” she said, pulling out her computer. “I’ll prove it.”

“His first album had a bunch of hits, but none of his later stuff is as good,” you said while Julie searched his name.

The boys gasped as she turned the computer around. You looked at her in confusion. 

“That’s Bobby,” Luke said.

“Seriously? I just told you his name is Trevor,” you said, slightly concerned for his memory. 

“Okay, so he changed it, alright? That’s definitely Bobby. He was our rhythm guitarist.” Alex spoke up. Reggie stood still, clearly in shock. 

Julie scoffed. “Trevor Wilson was in your band?”

“I can’t get over how old he looks…” Reggie finally said. 

“Oh, he looks like a substitute teacher,” Alex said in disgust. 

You looked at Julie in confusion again. Sure, you had had a few bad substitutes, but you didn’t think it was enough to be an insult. 

“Julie… what were his other hits?” Luke asked hesitantly. 

“”Get Lost’.”

“Yeah. I wrote that.”

“‘Long Weekend’?”

“Yeah, Luke wrote that one too,” Reggie spoke up. You and Julie looked at him, the surprise evident on her face. 

“‘Crooked Teeth’?”

“And that,” Alex said. “It was about Reggie.”

“What?” Reggie exclaimed, shocked and slightly hurt. “I thought that was about you! I don’t like that song anymore.” You held in a laugh. 

“Wait… this is freaking me out. Trevor’s songs are kind of big to me,” Julie explained as Luke picked up some darts. “He’s the one who introduced me to rock.”

“Yeah, and Julie introduced me to rock using his music,” you said. You were freaking out a little too. You loved Trevor’s songs, so it was pretty weird to think that the ghosts standing in front of you had actually written them. 

“Yeah, Luke introduced you to rock,” Alex scoffed. 

“So this whole time, I thought you were connected to my mom. But instead, you’re connected to Carrie’s dad? Out of all the people, it had to be the one girl who had it out for me.”

“All right, well, add it to our list of questions,” you muttered. 

“Back when Carrie and I were friends, the three of us used to talk about music all the time.” Julie looked at the guys. “He never mentioned you guys.”

“And that’s unbelievable!” Luke said, throwing another dart at the board. “He can take all the credit and he doesn’t even mention us?” Reggie shook his head slightly. 

“And he’s rich,” you said. The boys all looked at you. “He has his own helicopter.”

“With his face on it,” Julie added.

“And he parks it in front of that hotel?” Reggie asked in shock. 

“No. He gets to park it in front of his mansion.” You rolled your eyes. 

“Mansion?” Reggie’s voice cracked. 

“Dude, we live in a garage,” Alex spoke up.

“It’s not about the money, it’s about the music!” Luke said, but it sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as anyone else.

“It’s a little bit about the money though!”

“A little bit about the money!”

“He could have shared it with our families! Maybe then my parents wouldn’t have had their house turned into a bike shack!”

“What he did is steal our legacy.” 

You felt really bad for them. You couldn’t even imagine how it would feel if you had worked that hard on something, and then someone stole it. 

Luke turned to Julie. “Where does he live.”

She sighed. “Above the beach in Malibu. 

“Let’s go teach him a lesson,” Reggie said. The boy’s face was usually so kind and bouncy, but now it was stone cold. 

“Wait, what? Guys! We have to rehearse for our dance! This is our first gig, and Y/N’s first time singing with us!” Julie said frantically, standing up. 

Alex glanced at you in confusion, and you remembered you hadn’t told him yet about you joining the band. 

Before you could say anything, however, Luke grabbed your hand and poofed out. 

-----

“Bobby’s house is ridiculous!” Alex exclaimed as you looked around.

“Have you seen these platinum records?” you asked.

Reggie turned and looked at them. “Platinum?”

Luke was staring at a different set of records. “He recorded ‘My Name Is Luke’...” he muttered. “My name is Luke!”

Just then a man walked in wearing sunglasses and a leather jacket.

“It’s him!” Reggie said. 

“Hey, Carrie! I’m gonna meditate!” Bobby called out. 

“He wears sunglasses indoors,” Reggie said, disgusted. 

“I’m in the den!” Carrie called out. 

“Cool!” Bobby called out before going upstairs. 

Reggie shook his head. “I can’t stand him!”

“Time for his past to haunt him,” Luke said, a scowl on his features. 

He started up the stairs, with Reggie following him and you following a bit more hesitantly.

“Wait!” Alex called out, making you all turn around. “You know, it’s my…. It’s my first time haunting someone. I wanna make it special.”

You looked at him, confusion written on your face. “Okay, Alex,” you said before turning around and continuing up the stairs, Luke and Reggie joining you. 

“Yeah, that was weird, okay,” you heard him mutter as he followed you. 

You made your way into Bobby’s room, where he sat with candles lit. 

“Agh!” you said as you felt another jolt of pain flair through your ankle. The boys looked at you, concerned. You shook your head to let them know you were fine. It was the weirdest thing, it’s like it flared up when it was the most inconvenient….

You watched the boys giggle as Luke gave Bobby a wet willy.

You and Alex snuck over to the candles, forgetting for a moment that no one could see you, and blew them out. 

Reggie turned on the music player, which started playing a rock song. Bobby walked over and turned it off, but Reggie just turned it back on, causing Bobby to unplug it. 

You hadn’t noticed Luke sneaking away, but he was gone when the shower turned on a moment later. 

“Carrie?” Bobby asked. You giggled with the boys.

Bobby walked into the bathroom to see the shower running just as Luke turned it off. The mirror across from the shower was now foggy, and perfect for a ghost to write on.

“Ooo, Luke, you should write ‘Hello, Bobby’ on it!” you suggested through a fit of giggles. Reggie pointed at you to show his agreement. 

Grinning, Luke wrote on the mirror in his best creepy handwriting, which also happened to be his best handwriting. 

Bobby tried to run out of the bathroom, but Alex held the door shut.

“Let… Me…. Out!!” he shouted. Alex finally let go of the door and Bobby practically fell out of the room, causing all of you to laugh.

Luke grabbed your hand again and you poofed down to the patio just as Bobby was leaving. You watched as his helicopter flew over your heads. 

“Oh! Quick, let’s moon him before he gets too far away,” Reggie said, causing you to roll your eyes. 

“He can’t see us,” you reminded them.

“Oh it’s not for him, it’s for us,” Luke said as he pulled down his pants. You averted your eyes. 

“So, did you guys have fun in there?” Julie asked, storming outside. 

“Okay, you’d do the exact same if he stole all of your songs,” Luke defended them. 

“But you guys have new songs. With me. The best way to get back at Trevor is for this band to do great. And to do great, we have to play at dances, then clubs-”

“And tours, I know.” Luke walked up to her. Julie still looked mad.

“I’ll see you guys at the school. We go on at nine. Please don’t be late. There’s gonna be a lot of people there.”

“We got it, alright? Don’t worry,” Alex said. 

Julie sighed as she headed back inside. 

“I don’t care what Julie says! I’m glad we scared Bobby,” Reggie said with a small grin. “We should’ve done more! Like… like written ‘thief’ on his forehead.”

“And Alex, how did you shut the door earlier? You could barely open a garage door,” you asked, confused. 

Reggie looked at his friend, proud of him. “Learned that from your new friend Willie, didn’t ya?”

Alex blushed slightly. “Yeah, well, he taught me some things, we screamed in a museum…” he caught the look of confusion on your face. “It’s a long story.”

Luke smirked. “You think he has a few other tricks up his sleeve?”

“Let’s find out,” Alex said with a shrug. 

-----

You landed near a beach, a boy on a skateboard coming to a stop in front of you. 

“Hey, what’s up man?” he said to Alex, doing a short handshake. “You brought friends.”

“Yeah, these are my bandmates, Luke, Reggie, and Y/N.”

“Cool, I’m Willie. So, you guys here to learn some tricks?” He waved his hand in the direction of two police fourwheelers, making their sirens go off. 

Reggie’s mouth hung open. “Do it again!”

“Actually, we were thinking a little bigger,” Luke said. “An old bandmate stole from us and we wanna confront him, face to face.”

“Alright, is this, uh, friend of yours a lifer?” Willie asked. 

“Oh, that’s fancy ghost lingo for the living,” Alex said before you could ask. “Little something I picked up.”

You caught Willie smiling at Alex. 

“Ah! Then yeah, he’s a lifer,” Reggie said, using the fancy ghost lingo he had just been taught. “Too much of a fancy-pants for street dogs.”

You snorted. “Wait, that’s how you guys died?”  Julie had never told you, and you had just never discussed it with them. 

“Uh, that’s not important-” Luke started to say, but Willie cut him off.

“Wait, you didn’t die with them?”

“Uh, no,” you said, trying to stop laughing. “Some guy killed me.”

Willie winced. “Ouch.” You nodded. 

“Anyways,” Luke said, trying to get the conversation back on track. “Can you help us?”

“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Willie said, shaking his head. “Speaking to lifers is even out of my lead.” The guy’s faces fell. “You know, but there is one ghost who might be able to help you guys. He’s kind of a big deal…”

“Literally, anything would help,” Luke said. 

“Oh, alright. Well, um, I gotta take care of some things, but I’ll meet you where Alex and I met, eight o’clock. See ya.” He skated away. 

-----

“Right this way,” Willie said, leading you into a huge ballroom-type room.

“Whoa,” Luke muttered. “So this is where your hot-shot ghost lives, huh?”

“Yeah, we’ve walked past this hotel like, a million times. How come we’ve never heard of it?”Alex asked. 

“That’s because this area has been sealed off for decades,” Willie said with a grin. “I mean, you wouldn’t even know this place exists unless you’re invited. Alright, I gotta go make sure everything’s cool, but I’ll be right back.” He turned and disappeared into the crowd.   

You inhaled sharply as the pain in your ankle flared up again. Luke looked over at you, confused, and you pointed to your ankle. He nodded, understanding.

“‘The Hollywood Ghost Club’?” Reggie asked, oblivious to what had just happened between you and Luke. “Man, this place is creepy.”

“Yeah, well, so are we.” Alex smiled.

“I don’t know about this,” you muttered. 

“Well, if you get scared, you can always hide behind me,” Alex said. “I’ll be hiding behind Luke.”

“You guys need to grow up, okay?” Luke said as Alex moved behind him. “We’re gonna get back at Bobby. He needs to pay for what he did to us.”

“Yeah.” Alex said. Then he whispered to you: “I’m still gonna hide behind him.”

Just then, Willie came back. “We’re all good!” he said with a smile. 

“Oh, uh, cool,” Alex said, flustered. “Hey, just so you know, we have like, an hour. We’ve got a gig with Julie.”

“Oh yeah, no worries.”

“Cool.”

“Let’s go.”

You all walked down the stairs, taking in all the fancy clothing people were wearing. Well, the four of you walked. Willie slid down the railing. 

“I think we’re a little overdressed,” Luke said. You smirked.

Suddenly a woman walked through Alex. 

“Whoa! I thought these people were all going to be ghosts,” Reggie said. 

“Nope. These are all lifers.” Willie gestured to the entirety of the club. 

“Oh, uh, lifers are actually-”

“Alive people, I was listening,” Reggie said, cutting off Alex with a smirk. 

“But this is a very exclusive crowd. Everybody here has uh, paid a lot to get a sneak peak at the afterlife.”

“I always knew rich people did weird stuff like this,” Reggie muttered, making you laugh. 

A ghost appeared behind you. 

“Gentleman, my lady,” he stopped and looked at you a moment. “I have a table for you.” Your heart sank as he misgendered you, but you didn’t correct him. 

“Oh, uh, Y/N here is actually non-binary,” Luke said. You beamed at him. 

“My apologies, gentlefolk. Right this way.”

You followed him to a reserved table in the front, right in front of the stage. 

Luke pulled out a chair for you to sit. You blushed. You also squealed internally when you noticed Willie do the same for Alex. 

“Okay, so who’s gonna make us visible so we can confront our old bandmate?” Luke asked Willie once everyone was seated. You looked around in wonder at the club.

“Oh, no, no. None of these lifers have the power to do that.” Dramatic music started to play out of nowhere. You thought you recognized the melody, although you couldn’t quite place it. “Oh, but here comes the ghost who does!”

“Ladies and gentleman,” boomed a voice from nowhere and everywhere at the same time, “back from the dead by popular demand, Caleb Covington!”

Willie cheered along with the rest of the club’s members as a man appeared floating above the stage. 

“Did you miss me?” he asked.

You gasped, your eyes widening.

“What?” Luke asked you. “What’s wrong?”

You turned to him with fear in your eyes. “That’s him.”

“Who?”

“The man who killed me.”

Julie hopped off the stage after talking to Principal Lessa and Mrs. Harrison for a moment. You could tell she was excited. 

“Wow, you did it! Congrats,” you say, excited that Julie wasn’t going to be kicked out of the music program. 

“Thanks to you two.” Julie pulled the two of you into a brief hug. Flynn pulled away quickly. 

“Hey, you okay?” Julie asked her, frowning slightly. 

“Uh… I’m great,” she answered, smiling uneasily. “When… when did you start playing with a hologram band?”

“Oh! It was just one song. We’re not a band. They’re a band, a hologram band. Definitely holograms…”

“Yeah, we saw.” you said, trying to calm the tension clearly rising between your two best friends. 

Flynn kept staring at Julie, confused. “Why have you been keeping those cute boys a secret?”

“There’s a reason for that, it’s just… really crazy.” Julie was clearly trying to cover something up. You and Flynn gave each other a look that said “what’s going on with her?”.

“Oh, I’m all about crazy! Let’s hear it.” Now Flynn was just trying to get Julie to admit she was lying. 

Julie hesitated for a moment. “Okay. Um, so they’re… from Sweden!”

Your eyebrows shot up in surprise. 

“Yeah, turns out they’re not only great at making meatballs, but also good at making music. So, they play there, I stream them here, we play together, they leave and that’s it. So! Who’s excited I’m back in the music program!” Julie finished with jazz hands, desperately changing the topic.

“Jules, are you lying to us?” Flynn asked.

Julie dropped her act. “Yeah. Yeah I’m lying.”

The look of hurt on Flynn’s face said it all. “Since when do we lie to each other?”

You were hurt too, but you didn’t want to make the whole scene worse, so you said nothing. 

“Flynn… Y/N…. I’m sorry.”

Flynn scoffed. “‘I’m sorry’? That’s all you’ve got?” She grabbed your hand. “Come on, Y/N. Let’s go.”

“Flynn, wait! Y/N!” Julie called out after you. You looked back at her, your heart feeling heavy with Julie’s betrayal. 

-----

“Flynn, where are we- ow!” you were cut off as Flynn pulled you down behind some bushes as a car passed. You pulled your hand away, rubbing your wrist. 

“Sorry, Y/N, I just…” She glanced around as if looking for something. 

Or someone. 

“It’s fine,” you said with a sigh. “So, where are we going?”

“To Julie’s house. Come on.” 

You ran the rest of the way, hiding every time you heard a car coming. You could tell Flynn was planning on doing something, but you had no idea what it was. 

She popped up from behind some bushes next to Julie’s house, looking around to make sure the coast was clear. She didn’t see Julie until it was too late.

“Flynn!” she called out. Grimacing because you two had been caught, Flynn gestured for you to come out of hiding. 

“And Y/N…” Julie added, slightly confused when you popped up next to Flynn. She shook her head, as if to clear it. “What are you guys doing here? I’ve been looking all over for you.”

“Well, not all over, ‘cause here we are,” Flynn stated dully as she started walking over to Julie. You followed her.

“I’ve been texting you both all day. The least you could have done is text me back!”

“Flynn stole my phone,” you defended yourself. 

“And I sent a poop emoji. I think it said everything. I was just leaving this.” Flynn pulled her Double Trouble t-shirt out of her backpack and tried to hand it back to Julie. “I won’t need it anymore.”

“I’m not taking it.”

“Fine. Then my dad can wash his car with it. Though all this betrayal on it might scratch his paint.” She shoved the shirt back in the bag. Julie flinched slightly at Flynn’s harsh words. 

“Look, I’m very sorry for not telling you,” Julie started. Flynn crossed her arms. “But I- I need you to know how important you both are to me! There’s no way I would have made it through this year if it wasn’t for you guys.”

“Yet it was three strangers who got you back into music. I don’t need someone in my life who lies and keeps things from me. Neither of us do.” Flynn grabbed your hand again. And started to walk away. 

“Goodbye, Julie,” you said softly before being dragged away by Flynn. 

Before you could get anywhere, however, Julie grabbed onto your other hand and pulled you and Flynn back.

“They’re ghosts.”

“Wh-  what?” you asked, your nose wrinkling in shock and disbelief. 

“The boys in my band. They’re not holograms, they’re ghosts. And when we play together, people can see them.”

“What do you mean, ‘ghosts’? Like the kind that rattle chains and go ‘boo!’?” Flynn rolled her eyes.

“No, and I’m pretty sure that’s just a hurtful ghost stereotype. These guys are just normal dead dudes! Well…. Reggie’s a little questionable.” Julie defended herself. You were starting to get worried for her. Flynn pulled out her phone. 

“Who are you texting?” You and Julie asked together. You looked at each other and smiled slightly. 

Flynn rolled her eyes again. “Your dad. He told me to text him if I was worried about you and um…” she gestured to Julie. “I’m worried. You’re seeing things, Jules.”

“Flynn has a point, Jules,” you said.

Julie looked at you, annoyed. “All right. So you wanna be difficult.” She took the phone from Flynn’s hands. “Meet me in my mom’s studio in thirty minutes, and I’ll prove to you that I’m not crazy. And… please don’t text my dad.” She gave Flynn’s phone back to her. 

She sighed. “You have thirty minutes.”

Julie sighed and glanced down at Flynn’s bag.

 “Eggs?” she asked, her face showing her confusion. “Why did you bring eggs?”

“Oh! Um…. no.” Flynn laughed awkwardly. “No. See, I grabbed those by mistake. It’s not like I was gonna convince Y/N to help me throw them at your bedroom window or anything…”

You elbowed her. “We were gonna do what?”

Julie just sighed and started walking to the studio. 

“Thirty minutes!” Flynn called after her. 

-----

“Thanks for coming,” Julie said with a small laugh as she opened the doors to the studio. “We just wanted to rehearse the song so it was perfect, which it’s not, but whatever.”

“No, if we’re gonna hear a song from your imaginary ghost band, I want it to be perfect.” Flynn squeezed your hand. “So, get back in there. All of you. You too,” she added, pointing at the air, earning a laugh from you and Julie. 

“They’re not out here,” she explained. 

Flynn put her hand on Julie’s shoulder. “Oh I know,” was all she said before walking into the studio, hand-in-hand with you. 

“Uh, actually, could you guys go over there?” Julie asked, pointing to the couch. “Reggie needs some space to rock out, and he feels kinda weird walking through you.”

Flynn laughed. “Boy, when you create a world, you really live in it.”

“Just sit!” Julie said, pushing you down onto the couch.

“Now, if you’ll notice, there’s no equipment that will produce a hologram. Feel free to look around.”

You double checked, but Julie was right. The studio looked the same as it had when Rose was playing in it. You felt a slight pang in your chest as you thought of the woman who had become a second mom to you. 

Julie started talking again, bringing you out of your thoughts. “The guys took a poem I wrote about you both and put it to music.”

“Aww. I wish I didn’t have to talk to your dad after this.” Flynn crossed her arms. You smiled at Julie. You were concerned for her mental health, but it was sweet that she had written a poem about you and Flynn. 

“It’s called Flying Solo. Hope you like it.”

She started playing, and you felt yourself getting caught up in the song. 

“If I leave you on a bad note, leave you on a sad note, guess that means I’m buying lunch that day.”

It was a really sweet song, and you were vibing to it when the boys you had seen at the spirit rally suddenly appeared from thin air. Flynn screamed. You jumped back, startled by both the scream and the sudden appearance of the boys. 

They smiled at your and Flynn’s reactions, but continued playing with Julie, their voices blending together in harmony. 

When there was a brief interlude, Julie pulled you and Flynn off the couch and introduced you to the guys. The one in the orange beanie, Luke, crossed over to a microphone by the couch, smiling at you as he sang. 

Flynn walked over to the one in flannel, Reggie, and stuck her hand through his shoulder. 

“Weird, right?” he said with a smirk.

“They’re ghosts!” Flynn exclaimed.

Your eyes widening, you glanced over at Luke. Would your hand go through him?

As if reading your thoughts, he stopped playing for a minute and held out his hand to you. After hesitating for a second, you tried to take it, only for your hand to slip right through his. 

“Whoa,” you breathed. Turning to look at Julie, wide eyed, you blurted out: “They are ghosts!”

Luke smirked.

“Oh, uh, we prefer the term ‘musician spirits’,” the one on the drums, Alex, said. 

Reggie pointed at Alex and nodded to show his agreement. 

“Julie?” Luke asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice. “So, does this mean you’re joining our band?”

“Uh, actually,” Flynn walked over to him with her hands on her hips. “I think you’re joining her band.”

Julie leaned on Flynn. “I’m gonna go with what she said.” You laughed. Luke, Alex, and Reggie smiled before continuing with the song. You stood up and danced with Julie and Flynn.

“My life, my life would be real low, zero, flying solo without you!” Julie belted as the song finished. You started clapping just as the rest of the band vanished. 

Julie smiled at you. “You still wanna talk to my dad?” she asked Flynn.

“No, I’m good,” the girl replied. All three of you giggled. 

“Oh!” you said, checking the time. “I have to go pick up Danny. I’ll see you guys later!” you said with a wave as you walked out of the studio. You had been in there so long that you hadn’t noticed the clouds covering the sun. 

You had made it about halfway to the field when it started to rain. It started lightly, but then all of a sudden, it was pouring. You cursed under your breath as you started running. Practice would be ending early. 

“Ugh!” you grunted as you tripped and fell into a puddle, pain coursing through your ankle. You weren’t sure if you would be able to stand on it, but you had to try. You had to get to Danny. 

Plus, you had the uneasy feeling that someone was watching you. 

“Oh dear, are you hurt?” asked a voice from behind you. You whipped your head around to find a tall man dressed in a shimmering black cloak-like coat, complete with a top hat. He kneeled down next to you. You weren’t exactly comfortable with him being there, infact he gave off a feeling of mystery and deceit, but you couldn’t exactly get up and leave.

“Oh, um, I’m alright, thank you, though,” you said, giving the man your sweetest smile. It was the one you used most often to hide behind. 

He glanced at your ankle, which you were holding with both hands, and frowned slightly. “Twisted ankle?”

You nodded. 

The man shook his head slightly before standing up and extending a hand to you. “Let me help you up.”

You took his hand gratefully, leaning on him slightly for support and wincing when you put weight on your ankle. 

“I’m sure it will be fine,” you said, looking at your ankle. “Thank you.”

You looked back up in time to see that the man had taken out a knife. Your eyes widened as he drove it into your heart.

You died without a sound.

“Too bad we wasted the tightest we’ve ever played on a soundcheck,” one said as they set down their instruments. 

“Wait until tonight man, when this place gets packed with record execs.”

The boys all nodded, thinking of all the chances of fame they would have after that night.

“Okay, well, I’m thinking we fuel up before the show. I’m thinking street dogs?”

Two of the other boys liked that idea, but the other one had other plans.

Jumping off the stage, he started to make his way over to a young woman who was wiping down tables.

“Hey Bobby, where you going?” the one who had suggested they go get street dogs called out.

“I’m good!” he called out to his bandmates, then said to the girl: “Vegetarian. I could never hurt an animal.” 

“You guys are really good,” she said with a smile as the other three guys joined their band member at her table. “I see a lot of bands. Been in a couple myself. I was really feeling it.”

The guys all smiled. 

“That’s what we do this for,” one of them said. The tips of his chestnut colored hair almost reached the top of his shirt with cut off sleeves. “I’m Luke, by the way.”

“Hi, I’m Reggie.” Reggie had black hair and was wearing a leather jacket with a red flannel tied around his waist. An interesting combination, but somehow the outfit worked. 

“Alex.” A boy with blond hair spoke up from where he was hovering just to the side of the group, wearing a pale pink t-shirt.

“Bobby.” The boy who had first walked over to the girl had brown hair and a sleeveless jacket over a t-shirt. 

“Nice meeting you guys. I’m Rose.” The girl smiled at all of them again as Luke licked his finger and stuck it in Bobby’s ear. 

“Oh uh, here’s our demo, and a t-shirt, size beautiful.” Reggie handed Rose a CD and a t-shirt, earning a small groan from Alex. 

“Thanks. I’ll make sure not to wipe the tables down with this one.” 

“Oh, good call. Whenever they get wet, they just kinda fall apart in your hands,” Alex informed her.

“Don’t you guys have to go get hot dogs?” Bobby asked, clearly wanting to talk to Rose without the other three around. 

“Yeah.” Luke leaned closer to Rose, as if to tell her a secret. “He had a hamburger for lunch.”

-----

“Man, I can’t wait until we eat someplace where the condiments aren’t served out of the back of an Oldsmobile,” Alex grumbled as he put a pickle on his hot dog. “Hey, sorry, I got some pickle juice on your battery cables.”

“No problem. It’ll help with the rust,” the man cooking hot dogs said with a slight chuckle.

“That can’t….okay.”

The three made their way over to a couch to eat. Before they could dig in, however, Luke started speaking. 

“This is awesome, you guys. We’re playing The Orpheum! I can’t even count how many bands have played here and then ended up being huge,” he said with a slight chuckle. “Eat up, boys. ‘Cause after tonight, everything changes.”

They all bit down hungerly into their street dogs.

Alex was the first to notice that something was off. “That’s a new flavor,” he said, a small amount of worry creeping into his tone.

“Chill man. Street dogs haven’t killed us yet.” Reggie tried to calm down his friend.

Luke hesitated for a moment, then took another huge bite.

-----

Los Angeles 2020

You made your way through the hallway, walking fast, faces pass, weaving around people as you tried to reach your locker. You smiled as you saw your two best friends waiting for you.

“Hey, underacheiver,” Flynn said in greeting.

“Hey, disappointments,” you joked back to them. “Okay, Julie, I know you don’t want me to ask, but have you figured out what you’re gonna do today?”

“I’ll know in the moment.” The frizzy-haired girl fiddled with her bracelets as she spoke, the only clue that she was nervous for her proformance later.

“Really, Jules? That’s all your giving us? Mrs. Harrison said-” Flynn was cut off from scolding one of her best friends.

“This is my last chance, I know, I was there,” Julie finished. Flynn smiled softly for a moment, but it turned to a grimace of disgust as she noticed a girl handing out flyers. 

“Ugh, what is she handing out?” she questioned.

“Desperation?” you said, only half joking. Julie and Flynn snickered. 

However, you put on a smile as the girl walked up to the three of you. 

“Here you go. My group’s performing at the spirit rally tomorrow. I’m sure you guys have nothing better to do,” she said, her eyes sweeping over you critically as she handed the flyer to Flynn. 

Flynn put on a bright, sarcastic smile. “Oh my gosh, Carrie, thanks!”

“Oh my gosh, Flynn, don’t bother coming!”

The three of you rolled your eyes at Carries retreating back. However, someone else caught Julie’s eye. 

“Nick?” you asked, looking between Julie and the blond-haired boy she was staring at.

“Still?” Flynn asked. “You know they’re gonna get married and have a bunch of unholy babies.”

“Nick’s a sweetheart.”

“Yeah, you’d actually have to talk to him to know that,” Flynn said with a small smile. “And only one of them has to be a demon to make a demon baby.” 

You nodded your approval of this statement as Flynn called out “Demon!” in Carrie’s direction.

The three of you turned towards the lockers and laughed quietly. 

“There’s that smile,” Flynn said, lightly poking both you and Julie’s face. “Now come on, let’s go prove everybody wrong.”

You flinched slightly as she put her arm around you, but tried not to show it.

-----

“Okay, we have one last proformance,” Mrs. Harrison called out. “Julie.”

You squeezed her hand slightly as she stood up and walked over to the piano. 

She sat in silence for a moment, before saying “I’m sorry,” and running out of the room, with you and Flynn not far behind. 

-----

“I’ll be back to pick you up at 5:30. Have fun at practice, Danny!” you called out after your little brother as he ran to join the baseball team. This was a daily routine for you; drop Danny off at practice, go to Julie’s to study and eat, pick up Danny, go home and endure torture. 

You let your mind wander as you walked to Julie’s house, which luckily wasn’t very far from the sports fields. Walking through the front door, you let your bag fall to the ground as you went to go get something to eat. 

-----

A few hours later, you were walking back to the sports fields. 

“Hey, Danny,” you said once you saw him, ruffling the boy’s hair. “How was practice?”

You paid attention as best you could as he rambled on about what had happened that day, but if you were honest, you didn’t understand a thing about sports. You were just glad your brother had found something that made him happy.

You closed the front door as quietly as you could, not wanting to wake your father. You tip-toed into the kitchen to start making dinner, as you did every night.

“Olivia, is that you?” you mother asked. You winced. 

“Yes, mother,” you sighed slightly, afraid to tell her that you had changed your name to Y/N.

“Hurry up and get dinner started. My feet are tired from cleaning all day.”

You wanted to roll your eyes at the excuse that was very obviously a lie, your house was a mess and you knew you would be expected to clean it later, but you didn’t want to get in trouble. So you fell into a robotic sort-of motion that you had developed as a way of hiding your emotions and thoughts from your parents. 

Thirty minutes and one burnt fingertip later, dinner was ready and waiting on the table. 

“Wake up, Harold, dinner is ready.” Your mother shook your father awake. You knew if you tried that, you would be slapped across the face. By both of them. 

However, your father just sat up sleepily and lumbered over to the table. You stood over to the side as your family ate, not being allowed to join them. 

“Goddamned roast beef is overcooked again,” he grumbled. You blinked back tears. Such a small thing shouldn’t upset you, you knew, but it did. 

You endured the criticism on the meal you had worked hard to make from your mother and father for the next half-hour. Your father declared himself full and snapped his fingers at you. You whisked his plate away before taking your mother’s, too. She never ate after he finished. You took Danny’s too, but only because you knew that your parents disapproved of him still eating. 

“Hey,” your father said, his voice already low and dangerous. “Give your brother back his plate. He wasn’t finished yet.”

You set the plate back down, nodding and shaking slightly. “My apologies, father.”

“Don’t appologize to your father, appologize to your brother!” your mother exclaimed, grabbing Danny’s hand from across the table and giving it a squeeze. 

“It’s okay, really, I was done,” he hurried to say.

Your mother frowned at him. “Are you sure, darling?”

He nodded. 

“Well, okay then…” she said, still frowning slightly. “You may be excused.” 

He ran off to his room. You took his plate. 

Heading back to the kitchen with a small sigh, you started making a meal for yourself out of what was left, leaving enough so that your family would have leftovers. 

You ate silently, thinking about how nice it would be to have a caring family. Of course, Danny cared, but he was too young to stand up to your parents, and you never wanted him to have to. You would protect that boy at all costs.

Holding in a sigh, you cleaned up from dinner, and then pulled out the duster to start to clean the house. You were stopped, however, by your mother. 

“What do you think you’re doing?”

“I- I’m cleaning the house…”

“Didn’t you hear me say earlier that I cleaned it? Are you insulting my cleaning job?”

“N-no, I-”

“You what?” Without waiting for an answer, she slapped you across the face. You struggled to remain emotionless; your face stung. 

You thought it was over, but then your father joined in.

“What’s this Jennifer? Is Olivia insulting your hard work?”

“It’s Y/N…” you muttered quietly. Your father overheard and put his face uncomfortably close to yours.

“As long as you’re living under my roof it will always be Olivia. And even if you could change your name, that doesn’t change your gender, freak,” he spat. 

“I know,” you whispered. 

He slapped you.

“Don’t talk back to me.”

Blinking back tears, you stood still as they walked away. Eventually, you remembered the duster in your hand. Placing it back on the shelf, you walked back up to your room, hoping you would be able to escape them for the rest of the night.

-----

The next morning as you and Danny were walking to Julie’s house to go to school, you heard something you hadn’t heard in a long time: music. Julie was singing. 

“Wake up, wake up, if it’s all you do, look out, look inside of you, it’s not what you lost, it’s what you’ll gain raising your voice to the rain.” You smiled. It had been so long since you last heard her voice, and her music was a gift to the world. 

You walked into the studio alone, Danny having gone to talk to Carlos. Julie looked up with small tears in her eyes, seeing you standing there, smiling. She smiled back. 

“It’s so nice to hear you play again.”

Julie smiled wider. “Thanks.”

Just then, Flynn burst in. 

“Carlos told me you’d be out here. We need to talk.” She crossed the room to where the two of you stood by the piano. 

“Are you okay?” you asked, noticing the tears running down her face. 

“No, I’m not okay! One of my best friends just got kicked out of music! I’ve been up all night thinking about what I was gonna say. Might’ve drank seven sodas, but I need to get this out.”

“Wait, I have something to tell you-”

“No. It’s my turn to talk.” Flynn took a deep breath. “You can’t give up music. You’re music’s like a gift, that would be a tragedy. So you’re basically, like, cancelling Christmas, and I love Christmas!”

“Flynn-” you started to say, but she cut you off. 

“Uh-uh! I don’t know why you’re siding with her, Y/N. I know you like hearing her play.”

You knew Flynn didn’t mean to hurt you, but her words stung a little. You nodded once and retreated back into yourself slightly. Flynn was too emotional (and sleep deprived) to notice. 

“When we were six, we promised to be in a band together. Double Trouble!”

“I never agreed to that name,” Julie said, laughing slightly.

“That’s not the point. Jules, if you leave the music program, we’ll be apart forever. That’s just what happens. Sure, we’ll see each other in the hall sometimes, but we’ll have different lives, make new friends…” Flynn said the last part quieter. You could tell she hated the thought of losing one of her best friends.

“That’s not true,” Julie reassured her, but Flynn wasn’t finished.

“You’re right. I won’t be making any new friends. I’ll only have Y/N, and they’re amazing but I’d miss you Jules! And the only time we’ll contact each other is when we’re liking each other’s posts on Instagram. Every time I’ll be hitting that little heart, my heart will be breaking because one of my best friend’s left me, and… do you have any soda? My head hurts.” 

“Can I talk now?” Julie asked tentatively. 

“Fine.”

“I just played the piano and sang again. Y/N can confirm it.” You nodded when Flynn looked at you excitedly. 

“What? Why didn’t you just say so?” She asked, practically bouncing with joy. 

“She was trying to, but then your seven soda’s kicked in,” you answered with a small laugh. 

Flynn was grinning from ear to ear now. “I’m so happy for you! And me! And Y/N!”

You all hugged, but Flynn pulled away quickly, gasping. “We need to tell Mrs. Harrison that you can play so you can stay in school and my life won’t be that sad picture I just painted for you!”

You giggled as Flynn put her arms around both of you. “Y/N, our girl’s back. Double Trouble lives again!”

“Still not our band name,” giggled Julie. 

-----

“Did you end up getting back into the music program?” you asked Julie at the end of your study session for the day. She looked down at her shoes, and you knew what the answer would be before she said it:

“No. No I didn’t.”

You tried not to look too disappointed for her sake. “Oh. I’m really sorry, Jules.”

“It’s…” she sighed. “It’s okay. I can reapply next semester.”

You hugged her. 

“Oh hey, I almost forgot to tell you,” she said right as you were about to walk out of the door. “We decided not to move.”

Despite the news that one of your best friends was no longer in the music program, a smile lit up your face. “That’s great!” you said, pulling her in for another quick hug. Then you walked out the door, not wanting to be late to pick up Danny. 

-----

“Check it out, yeah we make ‘em say Wow!” Carrie bowed as her band, Dirty Candi, finished their dance number. You were at the spirit rally, saving a seat for Julie and Flynn, who were nowhere to be found. 

Suddenly Flynn plopped down beside you. 

“Oh hey, where were you?” you asked the girl.

She tried to blow a piece of hair out of her face, frowning slightly when it wouldn’t move. “I was in the band room. I wasn’t feeling very… spirt-y.” You both chuckled slightly. 

“Where’s Jules?” You looked around for the other girl, but couldn’t see her. 

As if in response to your question, music filled the gym as someone started to play the piano on the stage. You looked up to see Julie, alone on stage, with a spotlight on her. 

“Sometime’s I think I’m falling down, I wanna cry, I’m calling out, for one more try, to feel alive,” she sang, her voice echoing slightly as it filled the room. You smiled, happy she was singing again. 

Then suddenly, there were three boys on stage with her. 

“Whoa!” Flynn exclaimed.

“Where did those boys come from?” you asked in amazement. Julie seemed a little shocked that they were there too. One of them, the lead guitarist you guessed, started singing the second verse. 

“In times that I doubted myself, I felt like I needed some help,” he sang. 

“Whoa, he has a really good voice,” you said, your mouth hanging open slightly. 

You found yourself staring at him as the song went on. You could tell that he really enjoyed playing, and found yourself getting caught up in the music. 

“And rise, through the night, you and I, we will fight to shine together, bright forever!” Julie harmonized with the boys, finishing the song. You started clapping with the rest of the crowd that had gathered to watch, proud of your friend.