#natpai

“It was a lot of fun! Got to see the girl Lexi wouldn’t stop talking about. She’s unbelievably pretty.” Kimberly pokes at Lexi’s cheek playfully.

“Shut up. Besides, did you see how her sisters were looking at you?”

“Shut up…” Kimberly playfully elbows her arm, making Bones giggle. Nervously laughing away her embarrassment, she looks over at Mare who’s staring off into space. “Smokey boy, you good?” She waves her hand in front of his face to get his attention.

Mare blinks before taking a step back. “What? Oh, yeah no, I’m fine. Uh, Phantom wanted to see you two in his office, by the way.”

“Right now?” Lexi looks over at him.

“Yeah, but hey, when you guys come out of there, can you find us and tell us what he says?”

“Sure thing. But are you sure you’re okay? You seem more off than usual.” Lexi gently squeezes his shoulder reassuringly. 

“I’m fine, I’ll tell you two why when I know what he wants.”

“Alright, well, see you guys soon, then!” Lexi took Kimberly’s hand, leading her away from them and down the hall to Phantom’s office. 

Knocking on the door, they hear Phantom tell them to come in. 

“You wanted to see us, sir?” Both girls step inside, closing the door behind them.

“There you two are! My precious little gems!” Phantom brings them both into a hug. They feel a little awkward with how friendly their boss is being. “I was thinking,” He lets go of them and gestures to the two to take a seat by his desk. Picking up a flier, he hands it to Lexi. “Why don’t we welcome those newcomers? The sisters you told me about?” 

He points to the flier that had an invitation to the club for their Friday night showcase. “Wouldn’t it be nice to introduce them to a place where they could come and relax when they want to take a break from things?” Phantom smiles as he pet and smoothes out Kimberly's hair. “I’m sure they’d love to see my leading lady perform on one of her biggest nights of the week.”

“This is for next week, it feels too late to say anything…” Lexi looks over the flier one more time before she looks up at him. 

“It shouldn’t be an issue, it’s not like they have a schedule to uphold. They’re dead. What could they possibly have to do?” Phantom sits down in his chair. He rests his arms on his desk, looking up at them.

“Well no, they don’t really have much to do, but we can ask if they’d like to come. You know it’s up to them in the end.” Kimberly speaks up when she sees her boss grow more irritated by the second.

“You’re right. It's up to them in the end. Just make sure their decision is to come.”

“Yes, sir...we’ll do our best.” Lexi folds up the flier and puts it in her pocket. “Let’s go.” The girls make their way to the door, but are stopped before they can reach the doorknob. They hear Phantom speak again.

“Don’t forget! You two have a soundcheck bright and early tomorrow.” Phantom leans into the back of his chair, watching them leave his office.

------

Marie and Raven are sitting on the couch in the studio watching Anne pace back and forth. “Will you sit down? What’s up with you?”

“What’s up with me?! You guys know I don’t deal with change well.” Anne’s voice raises, almost becoming squeaky. “When you guys almost moved to go to college, when our puppy ran away, the fact that we died and came back?!” She looks at them on the brink of tears. “Then there’s the fact we can only be seen by this one girl until we find out we can actually be seen by everyone else when we perform with her?!”

Marie stands up, placing her hands on Anne’s shoulders squeezing them. “I know it’s a lot to take in, but can’t you see that this is an amazing opportunity? Anne, we can be the band we were always meant to be with (Y/n)’s help.”

“I know, you’re right, but- I just….it’s all too much to handle right now… how are you this calm?” Anne leans into Marie’s chest, letting herself cry.

“I’m the oldest, remember? My job is to worry about all of you first.” Marie gently pets Anne’s hair, kissing the top of her head and bringing Anne in closer to hold her against her chest.

Raven looks up at them feeling the same confusion as Anne. “You’re both right. It’s too much, but it’s what we have to work with. This could be a clue for our unfinished business.”

“A clue?” Marie looks over at Raven. “Maybe, but right now we gotta focus on what we can do to help (Y/n) before we help ourselves.” 

Anne wipes her tears away with her sleeves. Taking a deep breath in, she nods. “Yeah, you’re right. She just ignored us when we got back to her…I think she was crying too…”

Raven glances at the door before she picks up her old stuffed animal. “We should go check on her. She just ran up to her room and didn’t say anything to us when we got back.”

“Alright, we’ll go check on her. Hopefully we can help in any way we can.” Marie looks at both of her sisters before they all disappear from the studio and reappear in your room.

When they look around, they immediately notice that your room used to be Anne’s room. The only thing that stayed the same was the yellow wallpaper with flowers on it. Everything else was yours.

“What are you guys doing here?”

The three girls look over to see you sitting in the middle of your bed with a bunch of papers in front of you. Anne is the first one to take a step forward when she sees your eyes are red from crying. 

“We wanted to see if you were okay and maybe we could help cheer you up.” She looks down at you, giving you a warm smile. 

You don’t know what it is about Anne, but she has a way making you feel safe around her. “I know you guys want to help, but Erica already made it clear she doesn’t want to be friends anymore. Even if I tell her the truth about you, there’s no way she’d believe me. I mean, who would believe I joined a ghost band? Erica would think I’ve gone off the deep end if I told her that.”

Anne looks around at the papers and picks one up when it catches her attention. “What are these?”

“They’re just notes and things we wrote to each other during middle school and high school. Like silly promises and stuff like that.”

Anne shows Raven and Marie the note giving them a look they both know very well. Anne definitely has an idea brewing in her head. Turning back to you, she grins. “What if you showed her we’re real? Ask her to come over to explain everything and bring her back to the studio. We can show her you weren’t trying to mislead her.”

“Okay, but exactly what are we going to do?”

“We’re going to use these notes and turn them into a song you can sing to her and we can perform with you!”

“Do you think this would work?”

“It’s worth a try, right?”

“I guess you’re right. Okay, I’ll text her and then we’ll get started on this song.”

After sending Erica a text asking her to come over in two hours, you and the girls head back into the studio, getting to work.

Back at the club, Lexi and Kimberly are walking out into the lobby when Bones and Mare spot them. 

“Hey! So what happened?” Both boys look worried when their friends stay silent.

“Let’s get out here for a while. It’s our day off, let’s enjoy it.” Kimberly smiles, taking the lead and making her way out the front doors with the other three following behind.

“We should probably go to the park or anywhere else to talk about this.” Lexi looks around at the group.

They all agree and head to the park. It isn’t long until Mare starts asking questions again once they arrive at an empty table. 

Pulling out the flier from her pocket, Lexi starts to explain the situation as much as she can. The boys stay silent, listening to every word, but still staying that way even after everything is said and done.

“I don’t trust it for a second, but maybe Phantom isn’t going to do anything at first. He’s evil, but smart. He’s not going to outright take them. He’d try to warm them up and convince them to come back again before he tries anything.” Bones looks determined, but a bit frightful at the thought of getting in Phantom’s way.

Mare looks at Lexi like an idea that popped into his head. “You’re friends with them, right? Why not go along with it? Convince them to stop by. Make it seem like everything is going his way, but we need to give them warnings. We can’t just flat out tell them everything, or else we’ll be put in orbs and on the shelf.”

“I don’t like that, it feels gross, honestly. I’d feel horrible.” Lexi frowns at the thought of actually going through with this plan.

“Try to do this. You want to help them, don’t you?”

“Yeah, of course I do.”

“Then we have to play the game and try to get a step further. Kimberly, why not talk to one of the other sisters? If one of them is a little hesitant about coming, the other one could probably convince the rest to come along.”

“Maybe I could try. I can’t guarantee anything.”

Bones smiles reassuringly, hoping the girls’ nerves will calm down a little. “We’ll give Phantom any updates he wants while you two are busy. We only have rehearsal tomorrow morning and you’re both free for the weekend. Use the time to talk to those sisters. We got this, okay?”

“Okay.” They both nod, still not completely agreeing with this plan.

“You guys should go right now, set up a time to meet up over the weekend and get this thing in motion.”

The girls look at each other and nod before disappearing.

Bones looks over at Mare, very concerned. “Do you think we’ll be able to do this?”

“Honestly? I have no idea.”

Standing outside of the studio, Lexi and Kimberly can hear someone talking. Peeking inside, they see (Y/n) and another girl sitting on the couch. Lexi looks around and spots the girls by their instruments. 

Raven looks up and locks eyes with Lexi. Immediately grinning, she gestures for them to come in. Stepping inside, Kimberly waves at Marie and Anne, smiling at them. Raven points to a few chairs that are in the room. “Take a seat! We’ll only be a few.” She tilts her head over to you and Erica on the couch.

“I don’t know (Y/n), ghosts? If you’re not going to tell me the truth, you shouldn’t have called me over. Seriously, this isn’t funny. I’ve been trying to get you to play music again after what happened to your dad, but the thing that got you out of your block was a ghost band? I don’t believe it.”

“Erica, I know it sounds completely insane, but just sit here and I’ll prove to you I’m not lying. Please, you obviously still trust me since you haven’t given up at this point.”

Rolling her eyes, Erica crosses her arms over her chest. “Fine, but after this, I’m calling your mom and telling her everything because this is seriously concerning.”

You grin, nodding and standing up from the couch. “Alright, that’s fair enough for me. The girls helped me write this when I was looking over those notes and letters we wrote each other over the years. It’s simply called Best Friend.” Walking over to the mic you look at the girls and nod, signaling that you're ready to start.

Marie smiles as she starts playing her guitar leading the song. The other two join in soon after.

You smile looking at Erica when you start singing. “Remember when you broke up with your fucking ex? God, I'm glad you've finally gotten over them. Only took about a hundred million texts. God, I swear that bitch was such a narcissist. Everybody knows I love you so, so, so, so much'Cause every time they ask, I always tell, tell, tell, tell them.“  Seeing Erica’s eyes widen a bit when she’s able to see the girls again while they're playing with you.

“That's my fuckin' best friend, that's my fuckin' right hand. That's my fuckin' throw-up-in-the-bathroom-but-still-love-them. That's my fuckin' best friend, best friend. That's my fuckin' best friend, best friend. That's my fuckin' lifeline, that's my ride or die like. That's my fuckin' hate-you-but-you-know-that-that's-a-damn-lie. Baby, you're my best friend, best friend. Baby, you're my best friend, best friend” Taking the mic off the stand you walk over to Erica and pull her up to her feet, guiding her over to the group. 

“Made a promise that I'm gonna marry you. If we're both still single by, like, thirty-two. And that shit is gonna end up bein' true 'Cause I hate, like, everyone except for you. Who else is gonna grocery shop with me at 2 AM? Who else will take that picture for you just to get revenge? You're just as psycho as me, just as sick inside the head So when they ask, I've always said” 

Wrapping arm around her shoulders you pull her into your side as you finish the song. “That's my fuckin' best friend, that's my fuckin' right hand. That's my fuckin' throw-up-in-the-bathroom-but-still-love-them. That's my fuckin' best friend, best friend. That's my fuckin' best friend, best friend. That's my fuckin' lifeline, that's my ride or die like. That's my fuckin' hate-you-but-you-know-that-that's-a-damn-lie. Baby, you're my best friend, best friend/ Baby, you're my best friend, best friend.” 

Looking around at the sisters, Erica reaches out her hand to touch Raven’s arm, but it phases right through her. ”Holy shit, you were telling the truth!”

The girls disappear from Erica’s sight, but they’re still in the studio with everyone.

“I told you I was being honest. I’m sorry for not telling you the truth before, but you said it yourself. You couldn’t believe it, so I had to prove it to you instead. Forgive me?”

“You’re forgiven, but no more secrets, okay?”

“I promise. No more secrets.” Erica laughs and hugs you tightly. 

“You’re free this weekend, right? Let’s have a movie night!”

Nodding in excitement, you take her hand and almost bolt out of the studio. Anne hears about the movie night and shouts out to you “Wait, I wanna join! What movie are you going to watch!?” Instantly, she disappears, following you two into the house.

Raven walks over to Lexi, taking her hand and helping her to her feet. “So, what's with the surprise visit?” She leads Lexi to sit on the couch with her.

“I wanted to see you, again in all honesty. We’re only working tomorrow morning for the weekend, so I wanted to see if you wanted to hang out with me while I have the time. It’s really nice talking to you, Raven.”

Raven giggles when she sees a faint blush on her cheeks. “I’d love to! It’s been really fun to have you to talk to, and, well, not just for advice, but I actually really love spending time with you, Lexi.”

Lexi grins, trying her hardest not to freak out. “I feel the same way. I um, I was thinking we could hang out at the park for a bit before going anywhere else. I just like going around there before and after work, just to clear my head.”

Raven nods excitedly. “That's understandable. Would you like to meet in the afternoon?”

“Yeah, sounds perfect!”

Marie smiles as she takes the empty seat next to Kimberly. “Hey, you. Didn’t think I would get to see you again so soon.”

“Ah, well, we're just at the club we work at and we were told that we only have morning rehearsals with most of the weekend off. Lexi wanted to see if Raven wanted to hang out with her and, um, I kinda wanted to see if you maybe wanted to hang out with me?”

Marie smiles and giggles, seeing the girl in front of her become a bit flustered. “That sounds fun, I’d love to! Plus if it gets me more time with a cutie like you, I’m definitely not skipping this chance.”

Giggling, Kimberly shakes her head. “I bet you say that to all the ghost girls.”

“Only the cute ones, and so far, it’s only been you.”

“Oh my gosh.”

Marie only grins, seeing her face get redder. “So when and where, sweetheart?”

Kimberly looks at her shoes for a moment before looking back up at Marie “Um, I was thinking we could walk around Hollywood for a while and just see where the day takes us. Maybe we can meet by the walk of fame around two?”

“Oh! It’s been literally years since I’ve visited Hollywood! I’d love to!” Marie grins and dances excitedly in her seat.

“Great! So I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“It’s a date! See you tomorrow!”

Kimberly grins and stands up, walking over to Lexi who’s getting up from the couch.

“I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?” She smiles at Raven as she stands up with her. 

“Yeah, see you tomorrow!”

Lexi and Kimberly wave goodbye to the sisters before they disappear, heading back to the club.

Raven and Marie look at each other in silence for a few seconds before they both get goofy grins on their faces, getting excited for the next day.

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