Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

No music’s worth making, Julie, if we're not making it with you. No regrets.

Julie awoke with a gasp, her upper body flying forward. Pressing a hand to her chest, she felt the erratic rhythm of her heart as it beat furiously within her rib cage. Glancing around, she took in the familiar surroundings of her bedroom, trying to remember what happened. Then it came to her. She played The Orpheum last night. She did what most people never get to do in their entire lives and she did it with three of her best friends. Then she saved said best friends from being jolted into oblivion. Pushing back the covers, she slid her feet into her dinosaur slippers and ran downstairs, avoiding the middle stair that squeaked to keep it from waking up her father and Carlos. Heading out to the studio, she threw open the door and expected to find three teenage ghosts on the other side. 

Instead, she found nothing. 

She expected to be greeted by a chorus of “ Julie! ” but was met by silence. Blinking, she glanced around, looking for any sign that any of them were around. But there was only empty space.

“Guys?”

Silence. It reminded her of the first day after they met when she went down to the studio looking for them. When she played for the first time in a year. When she let her voice be heard again. They weren’t there then. They weren’t there now. Could they be exploring the city again? Maybe trying to figure out what this new development in their existence meant. Julie took a seat on the couch as memories from the night before played out in her head. The way they glowed as Caleb’s stamps floated into the air and evaporated. How solid they felt underneath her fingertips, not quite flesh, but not intangible either. The way Luke’s hazel green eyes gazed at her as if she were magic and he was in awe of her. 

Julie blushed at the thought, her face and neck suddenly feeling hot. Last night, honestly, wasn’t the first time she noticed the way he looked at her. There was always something simmering beneath his gaze whenever his eyes were on her. She tried to play it off, tried to ignore it, and focused on her feelings for Nick. But the more she got to know him and realized how much in common they had, the more she began to notice his stares. During Finally Free, the way he gazed upon her at their back and forth section. During Great, when he finally got her to look at him after she tried so hard not to and the brilliant smile that crossed his face the moment their eyes met. 

She had to be honest with herself. What she had felt for Nick was nothing in comparison to what she felt for Luke. Nick was an infatuation, a fleeting obsession. Luke. Luke was more. The spark she felt whenever he looked at her, the warmth that enveloped her whenever they sang together, was unlike anything she’d ever experienced in her life. She knew it was too soon, and she was too young to know if what she was feeling was the big L-O-V-E. But she wondered. It took everything in her not to ask her dad about it, knowing she would get the third degree if she did. He would want to know his name, how old he was, and when he could meet him. The first was easy to answer. The second would be somewhat of a lie (he was technically seventeen, but he was born in the 70s). The third was a different story. How was supposed to tell her father that she might be falling for a ghost?

Which came to another conundrum. How was she supposed to have a relationship with someone who’s been dead for twenty-five years? Flynn would say she’s insane. Actually, Julie knew what she would say because she’d already said it. “You’re choosing to like someone who doesn’t exist.” Julie sighed and shook her head. She would stand by what she said. Luke existed to her and that was all that mattered. The rest she would deal with in time. She smiled as she thought of how to tell him. How would she pour her heart out to him? Perfect Harmony came to mind. The song literally danced its way into her head and made her realize that Luke meant more to her than she previously thought.

Julie wasn’t sure how much time had passed as she waited for the boys to return, but one minute she was daydreaming about Luke and the next her father’s head came poking into the studio.

“Here you are, Mija.” 

She smiled. “Morning, Papi.”

“Buenos Dias. What are you doing in here?”

“Just thinking.” 

“Well, breakfast is ready. Come.” 

Sighing, she stood and followed her father back to the house. The boys would come back eventually and find her. It was probably easier anyway. You know, with them being able to teleport and all that.

“Did you find her, mi amor?”

It took her a moment to register the voice that came from inside the house the second her dad opened the patio door. When she did, Julie froze in the threshold, her eyes widening as she laid eyes on someone she hadn’t seen in over a year. There, standing in their kitchen looking no different than she did before she got sick, was her mother.

“I did,” her father answered as he stepped up to her, placing a soft kiss on her temple. “She was in the studio.” 

Julie remained in the threshold, unable to determine if this was real or if she was dreaming. Confusion gripped her. How could this be? Her mother was dead…wasn’t she? 

“Ah! Of course. We should’ve known.” Rose Molina turned to Julie and smiled.

“Mom,” Julie whispered before launching herself at her mother. “Mom!”

Rose was caught off guard by the sudden affection. “¿Qué pasa, Julie?” She pushed her back slightly, concern in her gaze as she saw that Julie was crying. “Why are you crying?”

“I thought I lost you,” she confessed, tears streaming down her face. “I thought you were dead and that I’d never see you again.”

With a soft smile, her mother wiped the tears from her cheeks. “Oh, Mija.” She brought Julie into her arms and hugged her tight. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” She kissed the crown of Julie’s head. “It was just a bad dream.”

Julie nodded in agreement. A bad dream. That’s all it was. The cancer didn’t win. She imagined it all. Her mother was still here. Still warm, still breathing, still alive. 

But what about the boys?  

Realization hit her like a ton of bricks. With her mother alive, did that mean that the boys never came back as ghosts? She shuddered to think of them still trapped in that dark room, believing that only an hour had gone by when it had actually been twenty-five years. There had to be a way to help them. But how? Eyes widening, she stood and rushed back out to the studio.

“Where are you going, Mija?”

“I forgot something in the studio. I’ll be right back.” She skipped the stone steps, two by two, and ran into the former garage. Climbing the ladder to the loft, confusion gripped her as she noticed the lack of the boys’ instruments. Alex’s drum set, Reggie’s bass, and both of Luke’s guitars. All of it missing. Choosing to concern herself with it later, she located the shoebox that she’d originally found Sunset Curve’s demo in. But it wasn’t there either. Her confusion deepened as she descended the ladder. “What?”

“Find what you were looking for?” her father asked when she returned to the kitchen minutes later.

She shook her head in response. “No. Hey, Mom? Dad? What happened to all the stuff that was in the loft?”

“What stuff?” her mother asked before taking a sip of her coffee.

“The instruments? The stuff that was there from before we moved in?”

Ray and Rose exchanged glances. “There were never any instruments, Mija.” She looked at her mother, bewildered. She exclusively remembered there always being instruments in the loft.

“Yeah, that loft’s been pretty much empty since we moved in.”

“Siéntate. I’ll make you a plate.”

Julie nodded, falling silent as her parents conversed between themselves, her mother laying a plate of food in front of her minutes later. She didn’t understand it. She had vivid memories of those instruments always being there, yet now she was being told that her memories were wrong. It didn’t help that their demo was missing as well. Everything she thought she knew was being turned on its head and she didn’t like it. 

Maybe they didn’t die, she thought to herself, her back suddenly sitting straighter. Maybe that’s why their instruments aren’t there. Maybe they came back for them before we moved in. She nodded. Yeah, that had to be it. That’s why I can’t find any of their stuff. But then…

“Julie,” her father called, pulling her from her inner monologue, and she glanced at him. “Better finish up or you’ll be late for school.”

“Where’s Carlos?” she asked, noticing the absence of her brother.

“I dropped him off at baseball practice,” her dad answered

With a nod, she quietly ate her breakfast. After dropping her soiled dishes in the sink, she went upstairs to take a shower and get ready. Twenty minutes later, she was walking out of her house and started towards the bus stop. Her course was altered by the honking of a horn. She halted her steps as a cherry red coupe pulled up next to her, the passenger side window sliding open.

“Flynn?” she questioned.

“Good morning, disappointment,” the girl in question greeted as she hung out the open window. “Guess who passed their driver’s test yesterday?” She sat back, revealing the driver.

“Me.” Carrie Wilson smiled back at her, signature pink shades covering her brown eyes. 

Julie wasn’t sure how many more times she would feel disoriented by things that used to be, that were now normal again. How could one dream have such an effect on her psyche that she believed her mother had died and that her oldest friend had stopped being her friend? 

“Don’t just stand there, Jules, get in.”

Forcing a smile, Julie climbed into the back seat of Carrie’s car. She sat silently the entire ride, watching Flynn and Carrie’s interactions. It was weird seeing them getting along. When Carrie decided to cut all ties with Julie, Flynn took it harder than she had. Though Carrie did offer to remain friends with her, Flynn made her decision to stick by Julie and if Carrie was no longer friends with Julie then she was no longer friends with her. But, Julie guessed, that hadn’t happened. Just false memories created by her mind for some reason.

She sighed. This would take some getting used to.

“You okay, Julie?” Flynn asked, noticing her lack of engagement.

“Yeah.”

“Is it your mom?” Carrie asked, looking at Julie in the rearview mirror. “Did her cancer come back?”

She shook her head. “No. No, of course not. My mom’s fine.”

“But are you?” Flynn asked. “I know you were going through a lot when she was sick.”

“I know a good therapist if you need to talk to one. My dad swears Dr. Crystal is the greatest thing on Earth.”

Julie suddenly went still. Carrie’s dad. Of course! Trevor Wilson was really Bobby, one-fourth of Sunset Curve. He would know what happened to the boys. “Care, question.” Carrie made a sound of acknowledgment. “Does your dad ever talk about what happened to his bandmates?”

Carrie scrunched up her face. “What are you talking about? Dad wasn’t in a band.”

“Yes he was, they were called Sunset Curve. Their music was really good.”

Carrie laughed. “Julie, I’m pretty sure my dad would’ve told me if he was in a band, especially one with such a horrible name as Sunset Swerve.”

“Sunset Curve,” Julie corrected, chuckling slightly as she recalled how the boys had done the same to her the night they met. Or, rather, didn’t meet. It was all so confusing. “I’m telling the truth, though. He really was in one.”

“And I’m telling you he wasn’t. I would know.”

Julie let it go, knowing there was no point in riling Carrie up. Maybe he hadn’t told her about it. Maybe something else happened to the boys and he chose not to talk about it. Maybe they had a falling out or something. Either way, upsetting Carrie would get her nowhere.

“Well,” Flynn interrupted, “I’m all for listening to good music.” She took out her phone and opened Spotify. “Hm.”

“What?”

“They’re not on Spotify.”

“I’m sure YouTube has their songs.”

“Nope. Not on there either.”

Julie glanced at her best friend. “Really?” she asked as she reached over and took Flynn’s phone from her hands.

“See. Not sure who told you Dad was in a band, Jules, but they were messing with you.”

“What?” she whispered to herself as the YouTube search produced nothing. Pulling up Google, she quickly typed Sunset Curve into the search bar and got nothing.

So, none of it was real? 

Julie stared at the phone, brow furrowed, the No Search Results Found taunting her. She didn’t understand it. Even if she had dreamed up the whole thing. Even if Alex, Reggie, and Luke weren’t real to her, they had to have been real to someone. Right? Wrong. According to Google, Sunset Curve didn’t exist. 

Alex didn’t exist. Reggie didn’t exist. Luke didn’t exist. 

“Jules?” Lifting her gaze from the phone, her eyes found Flynn’s who looked concerned. “Everything okay?”

No. “Yeah. Yeah, sorry. Here.” She handed her phone back and slid back into her seat. She spent the rest of the ride to school staring out the window, trying hard not to cry.

Walking into Los Feliz with Carrie and Flynn by her side felt weird. She was so used to just Flynn. But she needed to pretend. Needed to let go of the negative feelings the false memories gave her. Carrie was not that person that taunted her for a year. That person didn’t exist. The three of them went their separate ways, heading for their respective lockers before they would meet back up in Homeroom. Stepping up to her locker, she spun her combination and pulled the door open. 

You make me a better writer.

Julie smiled as Luke’s words echoed through her head. She could see that moment so clearly. The way he shoved his hands in his pockets, his attempts to make himself look smaller as he hunched his shoulders, his hazel eyes staring at her with something she’d refuse to acknowledge to herself. Sighing, she finished switching out her books with his lopsided grin still lingering in her head. As she closed the door, she almost expected Luke to be there, ready to scare her. But he wasn’t. The thought caused her smile to slip off her face.

“Morning, Molina.” Shifting her head, she watched as Nick strode up to her and came to a stop right in front of her.

“Morning, Nick,” she replied, forcing a small smile onto her face. Though she really had no interest in holding a conversation at that moment, she didn’t want to be rude.

“How are you?”

“I’m…” Confused. Elated. Worried. Scared. “Good.” 

He nodded. “Well, that’s… good.” She chuckled slightly, the smile on her face more genuine than before. “Can I walk you to Homeroom?”

“Um, sure, I guess.”

“Cool.”

The two teens walked side-by-side down the hallway in silence. Julie wasn’t sure what she should say. The awkwardness she once felt whenever she was in his presence was gone, replaced with the knowledge that the crush she had was just that, a crush. A silly obsession with a boy she barely knew. It took getting to know another for her to realize that her reasons for liking Nick were shallow. 

“So,” he started, interrupting the silence, “how’s your mom doing?”

“Fine,” she answered. “Not dead.” She still couldn’t believe that part.

His brow lifted. “Um, that’s…” He cleared his throat. “Great, I guess.” She nodded. “I, uh…”

“Nick, not to be rude or anything, but is there a reason for the questions?”

He winced. “There is. I, um, I wanted to know if you would be interested in going on a date with me?”

Julie gaped like a fish. Whether in a dream or in real life, she couldn’t believe that Nick would be interested in her. Sure, part of her always wanted him to be, but to have it actually happen was crazy. There was a small part of her that wanted to accept, that wanted to find out what dating Nick would be like. But hazel-green eyes flashed before her and her heart clenched. Whether or not Luke was real didn’t matter, her feelings for him certainly were.

“I’m sorry, but I can’t.”

The look that crossed his face told her that her answer wasn’t what he was expecting. “ Oh. Th-that’s okay. Um…” He subconsciously hit his arm against his side. “Is there a reason? I mean, you don’t have to tell me, I was just…curious.”

Because her heart belonged to a boy who didn’t even exist. “There’s someone else.” Someone her mind conjured up for reasons unknown to her. Someone she wasn’t sure she would ever get over. 

“O-oh? Is it someone I know?”

She shook her head. “No.”

He nodded and they continued their walk to Homeroom without another word spoken. When they reached the classroom, they parted ways with an awkward smile and a wave.

Sighing, she had a feeling that it was going to be a long day.

By the time lunch rolled around, Julie was ready to go home. She'd figured out that Carrie had been the one to put Nick up to ask her out. She kept making references to him whenever she spoke, probably hoping that Julie would bring up that he asked her out. But Julie kept quiet. She knew that the girl would have questions about why Julie rejected Nick and they were questions that she wasn’t ready to answer. Not to mention, she still wasn’t used to not being at odds with her. Joining the line in the cafeteria, she didn’t notice the appearance of Carrie until she was right behind her.

“Nick told me what happened.”

Julie glanced behind her. “What do you mean?”

“That you rejected him because you like someone else. Who is this someone else? And how do we not know about him?”

“It’s no one,” she answered with a sigh.

“Jules, you’ve been crushing on Nick since almost the first day of high school. The fact that you rejected him is huge.”

“Can we please just let it go?” Sighing, she grabbed her food and started towards their usual table, where Flynn was already seated.

“No, I refuse to let this go,” Carrie said as she followed.

“What’s going on?” Flynn asked, glancing between them as they sat down at the table.

“Nick asked Julie out and Julie rejected him.”

“What? Jules, you can’t be serious.”

“Why is it so hard to believe that I would say ‘no’ to him?”

“Girl. You’ve been obsessed with him for the longest. What changed?”

“She told Nick that she likes someone else,” Carrie answered, lifting a brow in Julie’s general direction. “But she won’t tell me who this someone else is.”

“Because it’s none of your business.” Julie immediately felt bad for snapping. She was just tired. Tired of feeling like she didn’t belong in this life that she lived because she still felt the phantom pain of a life that never existed. “I’m sorry,” she apologized then stood. “I’m not hungry anymore.” Heading for the door, she tossed her food and exited the cafeteria.

Eventually, she found her way to the music room, its emptiness inviting her in. Slowly, she walked over to the piano and took a seat on the bench. Lifting the cover on the keys, she positioned her fingers and began playing the first thing that came to mind, which just so happened to be Bright. It was so clear in her memories that she was finding it hard to believe that it hadn’t been real. That she hadn’t performed it for her entire school just to win her spot back. That Luke hadn’t convinced her to do it with some – in her opinion – violent metaphors. She smiled as she remembered their conversation and the way Luke believed in her. He had a way of making her feel seen even when she didn’t want to. It was still hard to wrap her head around the fact that he was only a figment of her imagination.

“That’s pretty.” Julie’s fingers froze on the keys and her head shot up. Flynn stood in the doorway with a concerned look on her face. “New song?” She nodded and Flynn sighed before walking towards her. “What’s going on, Julie? You haven’t been yourself today. Like at all.” 

“Believe me, I know,” she muttered. Julie was conflicted. She didn’t want to keep the truth from Flynn, but she also didn’t want to come off as sounding crazy. How do you tell your best friend that you woke up with a year’s worth of memories that never happened? 

Flynn sat next to her on the piano bench. “Talk to me.”

“I…”

“Here you two are.” Julie’s explanation was cut off by the appearance of Carrie in the doorway. “Did you find out who this other person is that caused Julie to turn down Nick?” she asked as she crossed the room.

“I was about to when you so rudely interrupted,” Flynn answered.

“Which means that you didn’t.”

“I’m right here, you know!” Julie yelled, reminding them that she wasn’t invisible.

Carrie sighed. “Listen, Jules, we love you - we really do - but Flynn and I have never seen you talk to another guy long enough to catch feelings. And you were talking about him last night on the group chat. How could you be over him that quick?”

“You ever thought that I might have a life outside of you? Outside of school? I could’ve met him somewhere else that wasn’t Los Feliz.”

“And the fact that you’re talking like that makes me feel that this someone else doesn’t exist,” Well, technically that was true, “and that you’re just scared to go on a date with Nick.”

“Why would I be scared?”

“Because he might not be the boy you led yourself to believe he is or he might be exactly what you thought. Either way, you’re scared to find out.”

“I’m not afraid to go on a date with Nick.”

“Then say ‘yes.’ Put the poor boy out of his misery and say ‘yes.’”

“I can’t.”

“Julie…”

“Just let it go, Care. Please.”

“Fine. I’ll let it go. For now.”

“Thank you.”

Julie knew that Carrie meant well, but she needed time. There was a Luke-shaped hole in her heart that wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon. The bell rang, signaling the end of their lunch period, and the three made their way to their next class. On the way out, Flynn gave her a look that Julie knew meant that she would bring up their unfinished conversation later.

Chapter Text

Getting a moment to talk to her best friend proved more difficult than Julie could ever imagine. Somehow, they were always interrupted, like the universe didn’t want her to explain anything to Flynn. So, she stopped trying. For the remainder of the day, Julie kept quiet. Only speaking when spoken to or participating during Music class. By the time she got home, she was mentally exhausted. Hearing a soft melody coming from the studio, she let her feet lead her and found her mother sitting at the piano. Julie remained quiet as she watched her fully engrossed in the song she was playing, a song that sounded familiar to her but she couldn’t place.

“Hola, Mija,” she greeted, catching Julie off guard. 

“H-Hi, Mom.”

Opening her eyes, Rose stared at her daughter in the open doorway, her fingers still gliding along the keys. “Come,” she spoke, head gesturing Julie over. With hesitant steps, Julie made her way to her mother’s side. “How was school?” 

“It was fine.”

Brow furrowing, Rose ceased playing and turned fully towards Julie. “¿Estás bien? ¿Qué ocurre?”

She wasn’t sure how to answer that. Was she okay? She still didn’t know. She didn’t think she ever would be. “Yeah,” she lied.

Her mother knew her better than that. Reaching her hand out, Rose beckoned her closer. Julie obliged and sat down beside her. “What’s on your mind?”

Sighing, Julie pressed her finger against a single key. “Have you ever woke up one day and felt like you didn’t belong? Like your life wasn’t really yours?”

“I can’t say that I have. What’s making you feel this way, Mija?”

“I just…I woke up this morning with false memories. Memories of a life I very much thought was real where you died and I spent a year not singing a single note because the loss of you was too painful.” She thought about that year when her passion for music was diminished. Then she thought about the three dead boys whose own musical zeal reignited her love for it. How they became a light in the darkness. She smiled as she recalled meeting them for the first time in this very space. “But I had finally found my way back to music.” Glancing at her mother, her smile slipped off her face. “To find out that none of it was real, it’s been hard. I feel like I’m missing pieces of myself.”

Rose nodded. “I understand.”

“You do?”

“Yes. It’s obvious that my illness had more of an impact on you than your father and I thought. Maybe we should look into getting you to see someone.”

“Mom, no, I don’t need to see anyone.”

“It doesn’t have to be forever. Just one session to see where your head is.”

“I’m okay. I just need time.”

Rose sighed but nodded. “Okay, Mija. I’ll trust you. But, if it looks like you’re still struggling, I will suggest it to your Dad and you know how he gets.”

“Okay,” she answered, nodding. Rose placed a kiss on Julie’s temple and stood. Once alone, Julie began to play the same chords her mother had. She still couldn’t figure out why they sounded so familiar. Pushing it out of her mind, she switched it up and began playing Finally Free. She wondered if she should write down all of the songs that her mind created, figuring there was no use letting them go to waste. “ I got a spark in me. Hands up if you can see. And you’re a part of me. Hands up if you’re with me. Now til eternity. Been so long and now I’m finally free.”

Julie.

She stood suddenly, eyes wide and searching for the voice that just called out to her. “Hello?” When no answer came, she slumped back onto the bench and put a hand on her head. “Now I’m hearing things. Maybe I should see someone.” Sighing, she closed the fallboard and stood, making sure to turn the light off before she left.

After completing her homework assignments, Julie found herself in her room, writing down every song that she and Luke worked on. She didn’t want them to be lost to an ever-fading memory. It was the only piece of her boys that she had. It wasn’t much, but she was grateful either way. So lost in them, she didn’t notice that her brother had entered her room until he was standing over her.

“Whatcha writing?”

Julie pressed the notebook to her chest before glaring at him. “None of your business. What are you doing in my room, anyway? Ever heard of boundaries?”

Carlos rolled his eyes. “Dad sent me to tell you that dinner’s ready. I was calling your name, but you were so wrapped up in your book that you didn’t hear me.”

“…Oh. Sorry.”

“Whatever weirdo. Just come downstairs.” With that, he vacated her room. 

Sighing, Julie closed her notebook and shoved it underneath her pillow. She had no real reason to hide her songs from her family. They all knew that she wrote. But she felt protective of those she wrote with Luke. Pieces of her soul mixed with pieces of his.

But he never existed.

That was beside the point. Figment of her imagination or not, the songs they wrote together were still special to her. Still near and dear to her heart. She wasn’t ready to share that with others. Sliding her feet into her monster slippers, Julie followed her brother downstairs to join their parents for dinner.

Julie.

I wouldn’t have given you the song if I didn’t think you were gonna rock it.

Julie.

You make me a better writer.

Julie.

I think we make each other better.

Julie.

This is an interesting little relationship you and I have.

Julie.

No music is worth making, Julie, if we're not making it with you.

Julie.

No regrets.

Julie!

She awoke with a start. Like yesterday, she had memories of playing the Orpheum and what came after. The panic at realizing that the boys hadn’t crossed over and they were a few jolts away from not existing at all. But she saved them. Her love for them saved them from being lost for all eternity. Julie curled into a ball as she remembered that it had all been a dream. That her boys, her family, weren’t real. Just fragments of a world created by her mind.

Julie made sure that she was up and out of the house in time to avoid running into Carrie and Flynn. Though she didn’t live close to her school, she didn’t live far enough away where walking wasn’t an option. She rather enjoyed the walk. It allowed her to clear her head.

“I knew you were gonna try something to get out of talking to me.”

She could say that she was surprised to see Flynn standing outside her house, but that would be a lie. She knew better than to underestimate her best friend. “I’m not avoiding you.”

“Oh, I know you’re not, but in case the universe decides to give us another sign that it doesn’t want me to hear whatever it is that is going on with you, this seemed like the best plan.”

Julie nodded before linking their arms together. “I was planning on walking, if that’s okay with you.”

“Sure, but you better make it worth it.”

“I will, I promise.” They started in the direction of the school campus. “So, first, I need you to listen before deciding if I’m insane or not. Okay?”

“Hm. That doesn’t make me feel any better, but okay.”

With a sigh, Julie told Flynn everything. How she awoke yesterday morning with memories of a year that never happened. She went into detail about the death of her mother, Julie’s inability to sing or play a single note in the months following, and the breakdown of her friendship with Carrie. Then she spoke about meeting the guys, forming Julie and the Phantoms with them, how they brought music back into her life, Caleb’s curse, and Julie managing to break it just seconds before they were jolted out of existence. Julie told Flynn all of it and it felt freeing to talk about it. Like not talking about it was weighing her down.

“Whoa, back up. You joined a ghost band ?”

Julie laughed and nodded. “Yeah. I know it seems crazy.”

“Crazy doesn’t even begin to describe it. Wait. So, that whole thing in the car yesterday, was that because of them?” 

“Yeah,” she answered with a nod. “When I saw that my mom was still alive, I thought that maybe they were still stuck in the dark room they’d been trapped in before I released them. But none of their stuff was in the studio where they should’ve been. My parents didn’t know what I was talking about when I asked, so I figured that maybe they hadn’t died. Maybe they were out there living their lives, but…” Julie trailed off as she fought off tears.

“But there was no record of Sunset Curve ever existing.” She nodded once more.

“Exactly. They’re just…gone…and I don’t know how to deal with that.”

“They must’ve meant a lot to you.”

Julie nodded. “They did.”

“Tell me about them?”

Smiling, Julie went into the recesses of her mind to best describe the guys. “Well, first there’s Alex. He’s the one with the most sense. Always anxious, but probably the only one I would trust to get something done. He had a crush on this other ghost, who I never met, named Willie. He would get this look on his face whenever he mentioned him.”

“Aww.”

“I know. It was so cute. He was the drummer of the band. Wore this black fanny pack across his chest.” Flynn made a weird face. “Believe me, I questioned that, too. Then there was Reggie, the bassist. He was basically a golden retriever puppy in human form. Clueless, but meant well. I never got his full story, but I had a feeling there was more to him than I knew. He had a thing for black. Wore a black leather jacket with black pants and a red and black flannel around his hips.” She laughed as she remembered how he tried to form a bond with her father. “Took a liking to my dad. Hung around him a lot even though he knew my dad couldn’t see him.”

“Well, I mean, your dad is awesome, so I get it.” She nodded in agreement. Her father had always been an amazing person, both in real life and in her dreams. “So, what about the last one? Luke, I think you said his name was.”

Julie bit her lip as she thought about Luke. How could she describe him without clueing her best friend into her true feelings for him? She didn’t think it was possible, but she would try. “Luke. Luke was the guitarist. Had boundless energy that made me wonder how he could ever sit still for two seconds.” Her lips quirked into a smile. “He knew how to make you feel seen. How to make you believe in yourself even when you were at your lowest.” She paused as she slipped into a memory. “When we wrote songs together, it was as if the rest of the world didn’t exist. We were in our own world, sharing the same mind, pulling from the same pain. His passion for music, it was unlike everyone I’d ever…” She trailed off when she noticed the smirk on Flynn’s face. “What?”

“My girl’s got a crush, and his name is Luke.” Julie laughed. It was strange hearing Flynn say the same words she had in her dream when she first realized that Julie was harboring feelings for the guitarist. “And here I thought your obsession with Nick was bad.”

“Luke was different,” she said with a shake of her head. “What I felt - feel - for Luke is different.”

“You love him.”

“Deep like? Sure. Love? I don’t know. Our time together was so short that I never even got to explore my feelings. I just know that what I felt for him was real, even if he wasn’t.”

Flynn nodded. “Maybe he does exist out there.”

Julie gave her a skeptical look. “I seriously doubt that, and even if he does, he won’t even know who I am. Not to mention, he’d probably be the same age as my dad.”

“True, but I still think we should try to find him. Find all of them. Maybe it’ll help you get closure.”

“Maybe.” Would finding out that her boys were somewhere in the world help her to move on? There was only one way to find out. “Okay. I’m in.”

“Yes! Double Trouble is on the case.”

“I didn’t agree to that name,” she singsonged.

“I’m sorry, I couldn’t hear you over the sound of the universe telling me how amazing the name of our band is.”

Julie laughed as they continued their walk to school, their conversation taking on a different topic. They mainly focused on Music class and the Winter showcase which would be a quarter of their grade. Reaching the school building minutes later, they embraced before separating, Julie silently thanking Flynn. 

“I don’t understand why you just can’t say ‘yes’ to one date,” Carrie complained as the three of them sat in the library during their shared free period. She got shushed by the librarian in response and Carrie glared at the poor woman.

“I don’t understand why you can’t just let it go,” Flynn responded softly trying not to catch the ire of the librarian as well.

“She told you, didn’t she? About who this mystery guy is that she rejected Nick for?”

Flynn rolled her eyes and nodded. “She did.”

“And, again, I am sitting right here,” Julie interrupted.

“If you three don’t be quiet, I’m going to have to ask you to leave,” the librarian said, looking straight at them.

Julie gave her an apologetic look before going back to the book she was reading. She could feel Carrie’s glare against the side of her head. But she didn’t care. She wasn’t ready to tell Carrie. Wasn’t sure if she ever would be ready.

“So you’re really not gonna tell me?”

“That’s it!” the librarian yelled. “Out! All three of you.”

Julie sighed as she closed her book and stood, following Flynn out. Carrie trailed behind, saying something about complaining to Principal Lessa about the librarian before rushing to catch up.

“Jules, are you serious, right now? You’re not gonna tell me? I thought we were friends.”

Stopping in her tracks, Julie turned to Carrie. “Fine. You wanna know sooo badly? Over the summer, I met this guy and we bonded over music. He was visiting family, so when the summer ended, he went back home and we’ve been communicating through text. It started out as just a friendship, but the more I’ve gotten to know him, the more I realized that I liked him as more.” The lie came easily. Easier than when she tried in her dream to lie to Flynn about the boys. “There. Now you know. Are you happy now?”

“Oh, you poor thing,” Carrie answered. “I know you probably don’t want to hear this, Jules, but I think you should consider giving Nick a chance.” Julie opened her mouth to argue, but Carrie interrupted her before she had a chance. “Before you shoot it down, listen. It’s obvious that you haven’t told this guy how you feel about him. Honestly, I don’t blame you. Long-distance relationships never work out, and you don’t even know if he feels the same way. Which is why I’m telling you to give Nick a chance. He’s right here, not thousands of miles away.”

Carrie had a point, much to Julie’s chagrin. But with Flynn’s suggestion of finding out if Luke and the others existed out there in the back of her mind, Julie wasn’t ready to give in.

“You may be right, Care, but I’m not ready to let him go.” The satisfied smile that appeared on Carrie’s face when the words “you’re right” came out of Julie’s mouth was quickly wiped by the second half of her sentence.

“But…”

“I appreciate you looking out for me, but I need time.” Grabbing Flynn, Julie pulled her down the hallway and away from Carrie.

The end of the school day couldn’t come fast enough. Julie ignored Carrie for the rest of the day, knowing that she would continue trying to convince her. Flynn followed Julie home, determined to start looking for any signs of the existence of Luke, Alex, and Reggie. They spent the next two hours in the studio on Julie’s laptop, scouring the internet for anything. Unfortunately, Julie never thought to ask the boys for their last names, which would’ve proved helpful in this situation. 

“Nothing,” Flynn sighed. “Not a trace of anything.”

Julie remained silent, staring at the spot where she’d last seen them. Where she first hugged them. Her heart clenched, painfully, in her chest. Julie had held out hope that somehow, somewhere, they were alive and thriving. But this just proved that it was all pointless. That she was stupid for believing that they existed. Flynn eyed her, concerned for her well-being.

“I’m sure we missed something,” she said, trying to keep Julie’s spirits alive. “We can try again tomorrow.”

“What’s the point? They don’t exist.”

“Don’t say that, Jules.”

“Why not?” Julie finally turned to Flynn, tears rolling down her cheeks. “It’s true. If I had let myself accept that in the first place, I wouldn’t be feeling worse than I already was. It was a stupid idea and I knew that, but I still let you talk me into it.”

“That’s not fair. I was just trying to help.”

“Does it look like you helped me?”

“Knock, knock,” came her father’s voice. He poked his head in and sensing the tension, frowned. “Everything okay in here?”

“Everything’s fine, Papi,” Julie answered, surreptitiously wiping away her tears.

“O-Kay. Just came to tell you that dinner’s ready. Flynn, will you be joining us?”

Flynn, who hadn’t stopped staring at Julie, forced a smile as she turned her gaze to Julie’s father. “Thanks, Mr. Molina, but I should be getting home.” She stood, grabbed her bag, and left without saying a word to Julie.

“Mija?” he asked the moment Flynn was gone.

“It’s nothing.” Julie quickly stood and rushed out of the studio.

She was quiet all through dinner, barely listening as Carlos regaled their parents with tales about his day at school. She knew her parents were worried about her, the weight of their stares being thrown at her every few seconds, but she ignored them. It was wrong of her to blame Flynn. She didn’t have to agree with her idea, but she did because she wanted so desperately to believe that her boys were out there. That the piece of her soul that was tied to them wasn’t missing.

“May I be excused?” she asked, interrupting Carlos’ story. Both of her parents glanced at each other before nodding. Without another word, she headed up to her room. Closing the door behind her, she crawled into the middle of her bed and curled up into a ball. Soft sobs wracked her body as she cried herself to sleep.

When she awoke the next morning, she had a splitting headache but no recollection of any dreams. For which she was grateful. She didn’t need nor did she want any more reminders of what she never had. Remembering the notebook she hid under her pillow, she reached for it and sat up. Slowly, she flipped through it, reading the words that she and Luke wrote together. 

No, she reprimanded herself, you wrote them. Luke never existed.

Feeling tears on the edge of her vision, she angrily ripped out each page and crumpled them all up before tossing them to the floor. She wrapped her arms around her midsection in an attempt to keep herself from breaking down entirely. Breathing heavily through her nose, she counted to ten then counted from ten. She did this multiple times until she regained control of her emotions. Once she felt like she could function without crying, she stood and started her day.

Once again, she was awake early enough to leave her house before Carrie came around, though she wondered if she actually would after what happened yesterday. She walked to school alone, forcing her thoughts away from anything to do with her dreams. Arriving at school, she immediately headed towards her locker. As she switched out her books, she caught sight of Nick talking to one of his teammates a few lockers down.

Do it, a voice whispered in the back of her mind. Nick is real, Luke is not.

Sighing, she came to a resolution and closed her locker. Striding up to Nick, she saw his teammate point her out to him. He turned, eyes wide with confusion as she came to a halt in front of him.

“Nick, can we talk?”

“Uh, sure.” He glanced at his teammate who excused himself with a promise to see Nick at practice. “What’s up?”

“Look, about the other day…”

He held a hand up with a small smile on his face. “Honestly, Julie, it’s okay. I shot my shot and I got shot down. A little rejection is good for me.”

“What if I said that I wanted to change my mind?”

“What?” He was confused and she understood why.

Sighing, she wrung her hands around the strap of her bag. “The guy that I like…he lives far away, and he doesn’t even know that I like him. I’ve been sending him signals, but he either doesn’t see them or he doesn’t feel the same. So, I’ve decided that it would be better for me to move on.” Julie wasn’t sure how the lies kept rolling off her tongue, but she wasn’t complaining. There was no way else to explain it.

He nodded. “Okay. Um…”

“And I know it seems like I’m making you a second choice, but…” She shrugged. “I’ve actually always liked you.”

“Yeah,” he answered with a chuckle. “Carrie told me, that’s why I decided to ask you out. I, um, I like you, too.” Julie smiled softly. “So, how about Friday? Pick you up at 6?”

Smiling, she nodded. “Okay.”

“Okay.” He gave her a toothy grin. “Well, then I’ll see you in Music.”

“You’re not going to Homeroom?”

“Coach wants to see me before first period. Ms. Allen already knows.”

“Then I’ll see you in Music.”

Nick waved goodbye before heading down the hall. Julie watched him go then went to Homeroom. Upon entering, she locked eyes with Flynn who immediately looked away. Sighing, she took her seat in front of her and turned to Carrie.

“Hey.”

“Oh, you’re talking to me today?” Carrie asked sarcastically.

“I’m sorry, Care. Okay? I just was tired of you getting on me about Nick.” Carrie rolled her eyes and Julie took a deep breath before telling her what happened in the hall. “But I have some news for you.” That piqued Carrie’s interest, who glanced at her from the corner of her eye. “I told Nick that I would go on a date with him.”

“You did?” Carrie gasped, turning fully towards her with a smile.

“Yes. You were…right…about needing to just move on from the other guy. So, we’re going out on Friday.”

Carrie squealed, earning her a glare from Ms. Allen, which she ignored. “This is great. That means a wardrobe sess before so we can make sure your outfit slays.”

“That’s not necess-”

“Of course it is, Jules. I can’t have you going on a date with the Captain of the Lacrosse team looking a mess. My reputation won’t stand for it.”

Julie sighed, knowing she wouldn’t be able to talk her way out of this. “Fine.”

“So, Friday, after school, your place.” Carrie turned to Flynn, who’d remained quiet. “You in?”

Hesitantly, Julie glanced at Flynn. Her best friend’s eyes were on her, but Julie couldn’t read them. “Nah, I’m good,” she answered before dropping her eyes to the notebook she had opened in front of her. 

Wincing, Julie looked away. Flynn had never been this distant, but she understood why. Julie hurt her. She didn’t mean to, she was just upset. Saying sorry would be the best thing, but Flynn wouldn’t just take any ol’ apology. A lightbulb went off in her head. She had the perfect way to atone. She’d done it before. Remembering she’d torn out all of her songs from her notebook, she bit her lip and hoped that they were still on the floor of her room.

When she got home, she immediately ran up to her bedroom and her heart dropped when she didn’t see any of the sheets of paper on her floor. Getting onto her knees, she checked under her bed, but there was nothing. Her mother must’ve cleaned up. Running downstairs, she went to seek out her mother. She found her again in the studio with one of the many students she taught.

“Mija?” Rose questioned when the doors flew open. “¿Todo bien?”

Julie nodded. “Yeah, everything’s fine. Quick question. Did you happen to see anything on the floor in my room?”

“¿Los papeles? Sí, los tiré. ¿Por qué?”

Feeling her body go cold, Julie’s hope was once more shattered. “It’s nothing,” she answered. “Never mind. Sorry for interrupting.” 

She backed out of the studio and went back up to her room. As she went, she tried to think. Think about the words that she’d written. She wanted to cry. She knew she could just write a new song, but Flying Solo had been perfect. Nothing else would come close. The words had come at a time when Julie felt like a burden, but Flynn constantly showed her that she wasn’t. The fact that the situation in which she wrote them hadn’t actually happened didn’t matter. They still rang true about how she felt for her best friend. 

Why did I rip them out?

Because they reminded her of the guys. Of how Luke and Reggie turned her poem into a song and then helped her perform it for Flynn to both apologize and prove their existence. Of the life that she never lived and the friends that were never hers.

Chapter Text

“Jules, you look amazing!” Carrie squeaked as she sat on Julie’s bed.

Julie stood in her mirror, eying the outfit that Carrie had picked out for her. Ripped jeans, a blue and white floral crop top with puffed-out long sleeves, and a pair of white ballet flats on her feet. She looked amazing.

“Well?” Carrie asked. “How do you like it?”

“It’s…something,” she responded, teasingly, knowing it would get under her skin.

Carrie gave her a deadpan look. “Something? Really? That’s all you have to say? Tell me that you love it. That I am a fashion goddess and you’re so lucky to have me as a friend.”

Smirking, Julie turned away from the mirror and took a seat next to Carrie. “I love it. You are a fashion goddess and I’m very lucky to have you as a friend.”

“You’re welcome.”

The doorbell rang, the sound reverberating through the house. “Julie, Nick’s here!” her father called.

“Be down in a sec!”

“This is it, Jules. First date with the boy you’ve had a crush on in forever. How do you feel?”

“Like I’m gonna be sick.”

“That’s just your nerves talking. You’ll be fine. Who knows, you might end this night with a boyfriend.” Carrie winked and grinned. “See you downstairs.” She stood and vacated the room, leaving Julie alone.

Sighing, Julie got up and walked over to her vanity. Taking a seat, she stared at her reflection and wondered if she was making a mistake. Was she ready for this? Truly ready? Part of her was screaming ‘no,’ and she was trying so hard to ignore it. But she knew she needed to do this if only to try and move on. Reaching for her lip gloss, she applied it and took another long look at herself before standing and heading downstairs. 

Nick stood at the bottom having sadly been roped into one of Carlos’ baseball stories. Her father stood to the side with his chest puffed out. Julie chuckled softly at his attempt to look intimidating. Carrie stood beside him, chatting with her mother. He finally noticed her and smiled as she came closer. He then produced a bouquet from behind his back. She accepted it graciously, noting the soft pinks and striking reds. What caught her attention, though, was the dahlias, her mother’s favorite, which she hadn’t remember mentioning to him. Glancing up from the flowers, she caught his eye and a flash of…something. Something she couldn’t quite decipher. A memory, perhaps. But it felt both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. She shook it away and took the bouquet from him.

“Thank you.”

“Here, Nena,” her mother said, reaching for the bouquet. “I’ll put this in water. You two go and have a good time.”

“And if you hurt her,” Carlos interrupted, “I will hurt you.”

“I will remember that,” Nick responded, reaching for the door. Julie smiled at her little brother and ruffled his hair. 

Ushering her out to his car, Nick opened the passenger side door for her. She gave him a grateful smile before climbing in. The drive was quiet. Julie kept her gaze out the window, ignoring the feel of his stare every few minutes. 

"You look amazing, by the way," he said, interrupting the silence.

“Thanks. So, where are we going?”

“Well, I was thinking we could catch a movie.”

“Oh. Okay.”

“What’s wrong? Movie no go?”

“ No! No, it’s fine.” Julie bit her lip, trying to find something else to continue the conversation. “So, how’s the team doing?”

“Great, actually. We have a game against Burbank tomorrow.”

“Oh. Do you think you’re gonna win?”

“Against Burbank?" He laughed. "We got that in the bag.”

The remainder of the ride was filled with small talk about school and other things. Julie was grateful for the distraction. It kept her mind off of thoughts that made her sad. Kept her away from thoughts that revolved around three dead boys that didn’t exist.

When they got to the theater, Nick bought their tickets and their snacks, though not without some protest from Julie. They took their seats at the back of the theater just moments before the lights dimmed. Julie tried to focus on the movie, but her mind slipped to a movie night she had with the guys just before she found out about Caleb’s curse. Reggie wanted to watch the Star Wars movies he missed out on. Julie, though not a fan of the series herself, gave in to his puppy dog eyes and they had a whole marathon while her father and brother were away at one of Carlos’ games. It was one of those rare times where Julie could believe that they were normal teenagers and not apparitions. 

They weren’t real, Julie, and nothing it going to change that. She closed her eyes, trying to fight the tears that threatened to fall. The last thing she needed was to start crying and worry Nick. Let them go. Let them go and live your life. She opened her eyes and a single tear fell. Taking a deep breath, she wiped her cheek and looked at the screen, forcing herself to focus on it and push out all thoughts that would bring her pain.

After the movie ended, the two teens made their way back into the evening air. The promenade was bustling with people. Julie smiled at the couples and families that milled about, enjoying their night out. From beside her, Nick chatted animatedly about the movie. Julie nodded while halfway listening. Despite forcing herself to watch it, none of the movie registered in her mind. It was like her entire brain went blank. She wasn’t sure what she’d just watched.

“You didn’t like it, did you?”

“What? No! I mean, of course, I liked it.” He gave her a skeptical look. “Okay, fine. It wasn’t that I didn’t like it, I just…don’t remember any of it.” He lifted a brow in confusion. “I was sorta… distracted .”

Nick sighed. “I’m sorry that I’m not the one you want to be with right now.”

Julie’s eyes went wide, guilt pooling in the pit of her stomach. “No, Nick, I'm sorry. It's not like that at all. I swear. Actually, I wasn't thinking about him at all." She glanced down at her feet, trying to ignore the pain in her chest. It hurt to admit that she wasn't thinking about Luke, even though that was her goal. "I just...I don't know, I just couldn't get into the movie for some reason. But, I swear to you, it's not because of him.” She took his hand in hers and glanced up at him. He smiled in response before threading his fingers through hers.

“It’s okay.” She smiled back. “Come on.”

They spent the next half an hour wandering, stopping by a local burger place to get a bite to eat. Afterward, he took her home and the ride there was spent in silence once again. But it wasn’t as tense as it had been. Pulling up to her house minutes later, he killed the engine and they sat there waiting for the other to speak.

“Nick, I…”

“So, I was thinking…” When they realized they were talking at the same time, they laughed. “Sorry,” Nick said. “Go ahead.”

“No, you go. You were thinking?”

“Well, I was thinking that maybe you could come to my game tomorrow? Eric’s throwing an afterparty and I was hoping that we could go together.”

She bit the inside of her cheek before nodding. “Okay.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” He smiled brightly and Julie returned it with a small one of her own. “Thank you for tonight, Nick. I had a good time.”

“You’re welcome.” Without warning, he leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Night, Julie.”

“G’night.” Smiling, she climbed out of his car and headed up the pathway that led to her front porch. Once she was in front of the door, she turned and waved ‘goodbye’ to him. He waved back before starting up his car and driving away. Stumbling into the house, she ignored her parent’s queries about how it went and went up to her room, closing the door behind her. She thought back to the kiss he left on her skin and how it made her feel. Or, rather, how it didn’t make her feel. Julie tried to feel something - anything - towards him, but there was nothing. Not a spark. Not the flutter of a butterfly. Just… nothing . Sighing, she started getting ready for bed. 

After coming over to dress her once again, Carrie drove them to the Lacrosse field the next day, both of them wearing items of clothes to show support for their school’s team. Carrie was dressed in burgundy and blue - the school colors - while Julie was dressed in an outfit that was very familiar to her. Dressed in distressed capri jeans, a light blue bodysuit, and a burgundy cropped Bobcats hoodie, Julie distinctly remembered it from her dream. It was the same outfit she wore to Carrie’s when the boys found out about Bobby’s betrayal and went to confront him. Was it a coincidence or something else? She shook her head. She was overthinking it. 

As they made their way to the bleachers, her eyes kept a lookout for any sign of her other best friend. Flynn had pretty much avoided her all week. She hated it. They’d been inseparable since first meeting in the fourth grade. Flynn was her soul sister. The Cristina to her Meridith. Carrie had mentioned texting her to come with and Julie was hoping that she would cave. But when she saw no sign of her, she sighed and stopped looking. She needed to find a way to get her to forgive her.

“So what’s going on with you and Flynn?” Carrie asked after they’d found a spot on the bleachers.

“Nothing.”

“That’s a lie.” Julie glanced at her. “Come on, Jules. You and Flynn are always together. It’s weird seeing one without the other, but she’s been giving you the cold shoulder all week. It can’t be nothing.”

“We got into a fight,” she sighed. “She didn’t want me to give up on Luke.”

“Who?”

Julie blushed, realizing that she never told Carrie his name. “Luke. He was the guy that I met.”

“Oh. She actually said that?” Julie nodded. “Well, I’m glad you didn’t listen.”

She kept quiet, choosing not to respond to Carrie. She caught sight of the players entering the field and kept an eye out for Nick. It was easy for her to spot him, the number nine on the back of his jersey giving him away. He scanned the crowd looking for her and she lifted her arm, waving at him. Nick smiled and waved back before joining his teammates. Julie could feel the weight of Carrie’s stare on the side of her head, but she ignored it. The game started a few minutes later, the crowd around her cheering as the Los Feliz Bobcats took their place. Julie tried to follow it as it progressed, but she didn’t know what was happening. Sports was never her thing, though she had an easier time understanding what was going on during Carlos’ games.

Still, she kept her attention on what was going on, so when the Bobcats scored, she cheered with the rest of the crowd. Before she knew it, the game was done and their team had defeated their opponents by three points. After celebratory chanting, the crowd dispersed, descending the bleachers to meet the players at the fence that divided the field from the stands. Julie and Carrie followed, finding Nick in the chaos. He smiled when he saw them. Julie returned it, grasping the fence between them.

“Great game,” she commented.

“Thanks.”

“I mean, I really didn’t understand what was going on, but,” He laughed, “from what I could tell, you guys did great.”

“We still on for tonight, right?”

She nodded. “Yeah.”

He glanced at Carrie who’d remained quiet. “You going to the after party?”

She rolled her eyes. “Is that even a question?”

Chuckling, he shook his head. “No. I don’t even know why I asked it.” Looking back at Julie, he grinned. “Wait for me?”

“Sure.”

“I’ll just be ten minutes. Fifteen tops.”

“Kay.” He smiled and disappeared to the locker room.

When Nick reappeared minutes later, Julie sat alone on the bleachers. Most of the crowd had departed, Carrie along with them. She claimed that she wanted to go home and change into a more party-appropriate outfit, but Julie knew that she wanted to leave her alone with Nick. He smiled when he saw her and approached with his duffel bag in hand.

“Ready to go?” She nodded. “Where’s Carrie?”

“She left. Something about not wanting to be seen in the same outfit on the same night?”

He laughed. “Sounds like her.”

Smiling, she stood and followed him away from the field. They reached the parking lot seconds later and Julie watched as he unlocked a sleek-looking four-door coupe. “When did you get your license?”

“Not too long ago,” he responded, opening the door for her. She gave him a grateful smile as she began to climb in.

Julie!

Stopping midway, she glanced around, looking for the source of the voice that called to her. It was the same one she heard in the studio the other day. Who was it? Why were they calling her and not making themselves known? There was not a single person looking in their direction, making her even more confused.

“Everything okay?”

She turned to Nick with wide eyes. “Um, yeah, I just… Did you hear it? Someone was calling my name.”

His brow furrowed and he shook his head. “No.”

So it was just in her head then. Climbing into his car, she ignored the concerned looks from Nick and buckled herself in. She waited until the door was closed before glancing out the window, still looking for the person who called her name. The voice had sounded familiar, but she couldn’t seem to place it. She was pulled from her search by the sound of the driver’s side door closing. Nick smiled at her before strapping himself in and starting the car.

They arrived at the after-party minutes later. Eric’s mom, like Carrie’s dad, was in the music business and their house was humongous. Loud music emanated from inside while people loitered outside, chatting and laughing. Nick grabbed Julie’s hand and led her inside, greeting people he knew on the way as well as accepting congratulations from others. Julie stuck close to his side, the amount of people making it easy to get lost in the crowd. She smiled when he introduced her to some of his teammates, but her attention was constantly on the crowd, searching for Carrie. 

After about twenty minutes of looking, she began to feel dejected when she didn’t spot her. She didn’t think Carrie would abandon her, but as the minutes ticked by, that assurance was starting to crack. Excusing herself from Nick’s side, she went in search of the nearest bathroom. It took her a while to find it, but when she did, she locked herself inside and sat on the edge of the tub. Why did she think this was a good idea? Parties were always Carrie’s thing. Even when she did accompany her, she always had Flynn to keep her company. This time she had neither of her friends. Carrie was M.I.A and Flynn was ignoring her. Placing her head in her hands, she took deep breaths, once again counting to ten then from ten. Her counting was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“You almost done in there? I gotta go!”

“One sec!” She flushed the toilet for show then washed her hands out of principle before exiting. “Sorry.” The person on the other side didn’t bother answering her, instead pushing her out of the way and slamming the door behind them. “Rude,” she muttered at the closed door. Turning to start back to the living room, her steps faltered as she witnessed a familiar silhouette disappear around the corner. “Alex?” She ran to catch up with him, but when she reached the wall he escaped around, there was no sight of him. 

Julie was completely confused because she knew for a fact that she had seen him. Of course, she did see him from behind, but there was no mistaking it. She knew that black cap and pink hoodie he wore from anywhere. As she swiveled her head around trying to find him or Reggie or even Luke , Carrie came up to her.

“There you are!” Julie turned towards her, watching as her smile dropped and curiosity grew on her face. “Who were you looking for?”

“Um, no one. No one.”

The smile returned to Carrie’s face. “So how are things going with you and Nick?”

“Fine,” she answered, surreptitiously trying to scan the room. Carrie spoke some more words, but at this point, Julie tuned her out. She knew she'd seen Alex. It had to have been him. Who else would it have been?

Then she saw it again. Combination black backwards-facing cap and pink hoodie. Not even excusing herself from Carrie, she pushed her way through the crowd, determined to not let him slip away again. She could hear Carrie calling her, but she ignored her. She finally reached the boy in question and grabbed his shoulder.

“Alex!” He turned and the hope that she felt was dashed by the fact that it wasn’t Alex. “Sorry. I thought you were someone else.”

“‘S okay,” the boy responded before he and his friends walked away, leaving Julie alone.

It’s all in your head, Julie.

“Jules, what the hell was that about?” Carrie asked. 

“Nothing. It’s nothing.”

“Julie!” Nick came rushing up to her, concern on his face. “What’s going on? Is everything alright?”

“No. I’m…” She wrapped her arms around herself, symbolically holding herself together. “I’m not feeling well. I think I’m gonna go home.”

“I’ll take you.”

“ No. Stay, please. I’ll be okay.”

“Julie, I wouldn’t feel right if I let you go home alone.”

She nodded in agreement and followed him out to his car, climbing into the passenger seat. The entire drive home was spent in silence. Nick sent her glances every so often but didn’t speak. When they pulled up to her house, she unbuckled the seatbelt and turned to him. 

“I’m sorry.”

“For what? Getting sick? You can’t control that.”

“I know, but…”

“Don’t worry about it, Julie. Really.” She bit her lip. “I actually wanted to ask you something.” Clearing his throat, he turned fully towards her and took her hand. “Will you be my girlfriend?”

Her eyes widened at the question. Part of her wanted to say ‘yes,’ to allow herself to try to change her mind on how she felt for Nick. But there was another part of her that reminded her that she still wasn’t over Luke. Would it be right for her to agree to become Nick’s girlfriend when her heart wasn’t fully into the idea?

“I-I’m flattered, Nick. Really, I am. You’re a great guy.”

“That doesn’t sound like a yes.”

She faltered as echoes of her dream broke through. It was unsettling, to say the least, but she pushed through. “I’m sorry, I just…I can’t.”

“It’s because of the other guy, isn’t it?”

Julie nodded. “As much as I’m trying to forget him, I can’t. Not right now, at least. I just think I need more time. It wouldn’t be fair to you.”

“I understand,” he said with a nod.

“Thank you.”

“Of course.” He gave her a sad smile. “See you at school?”

“Yeah.” Climbing out of his car, Julie started towards the house. She noted how he didn’t wait for her to reach her door before driving away and she couldn’t say she blamed him. As she neared the door, music caught her attention and she redirected her course towards the studio. Her mother sat at the piano, working on something. The chords sounded familiar and it left a warm feeling inside of her. “Mom?”

Rose lifted her head from the piano and smiled. “Hi, Mija.” Julie entered the studio and came to a stop beside her. “How was the game?”

“It was good.”

“What’s wrong?”

Julie shook her head. “Nothing.” Her mother sent her a look that told her she didn’t believe her. “Honestly, a lot.” Taking a seat beside her, Julie went into the entire story about how she woke up one morning with false memories and every detail about those memories. “I have an entire year of a life lived in my head that didn’t happen and…”

“And?”

“And a bond with three guys who never existed.”

“How do you know they don’t exist?”

“Because I looked. Flynn and I spent hours searching and we found nothing.”

“Oh, mi vida,” Rose wrapped her arms around Julie, “what’s gone is never truly gone,” she said, kissing the side of Julie’s head. “Always remember that.”

“Thanks, Mama.”

“De nada.”

“Do you have any advice on how I can get Flynn to forgive me?” Rose pulled back, her eyes questioning her daughter. “We sort of got into a fight. I had this perfect song that I wrote for her, but I got mad and ripped it out of my book.”

“Oh. Was that one of the papers I found in your room? The ones you asked me about?” 

Julie nodded. “Yeah. The ones you threw away.”

Rose smiled mischievously. “I never threw them out, Mija.”

“You didn’t?”

She shook her head. “No. I put them in your dream box.”

“My…” Julie trailed off. Her dream box? Of course. Her dream box ! “But you said…”

“How could you ever think I would toss such beautiful lyrics as the ones you had written? Mija, you know me better than that.”

Julie smiled brightly before kissing her mother’s cheek. “Thank you.” She ran from the studio and up to her room. There, on the highest shelf in all its purple glory, was her dream box. Pulling the stepstool over, she reached for the box and pulled it down, setting it on her bed. She opened it and nearly cried as all of her songs were lying neatly inside. Every word she’d written with Luke and the ones she’d written on her own. Finding Flying Solo , she rushed downstairs and begged her dad to drive her to Flynn’s. She knew there was no guarantee that her best friend would hear her out, but she had to try.

“What are you doing here?” Flynn asked, answering the door with her arms crossed.

“I’m sorry, and before you tell me that ‘sorry isn’t gonna cut it,’ read this first.” She held out the folded-up piece of paper. Flynn hesitantly took it from her, unsure about it. “In my dream, we got into a fight as well. Luke found a poem I had written about you after you helped me through everything that happened with my mom and turned it into a song.”

“So you’re giving me something that your dream boyfriend wrote?”

“One, he’s not my boyfriend. Two, he may have turned it into a song, but all of the words are still mine. Please, just read it.” Flynn unfolded it and her eyes devoured every word. “ My life, my life would be real low, zero, flying solo without you ,” Julie sang.

Flynn looked up, unshed tears in her eyes. “You wrote this for me ?” Julie nodded and was unprepared for her to attack her with a bear hug. “I forgive you.”

Smiling, Julie returned the embrace, burying her face in Flynn’s hair. After suggesting that she stay over, Julie shot her dad a quick text and they ran up to Flynn’s room. Flynn lent her a clean pair of pjs and the two girls settled onto Flynn’s bed facing each other. Julie told her everything that happened in the last two days. Flynn stared at Julie, while Julie stared at her hands.

“Am I stupid?” she asked, her gaze finally meeting Flynn’s. “For getting so emotional over boys that were never real? How can you miss something you never had?”

Flynn shook her head. “You have memories of them, memories that you made with them. Even though it never happened, it doesn’t change the fact that you remember it. You had a connection with them, no matter how false it was. No one can blame you for it.”

“I think Carrie does.”

Flynn rolled her eyes. “Well, Carrie is Carrie. I’m sure if you told her the truth, though, she'd understand.”

“Do you think I should? Tell her, I mean?”

“I think you should do what you feel comfortable with.”

“Thank you.”

“I always got your back, Jules. No matter what.” Julie smiled and held out her pinky. Flynn smiled back and hooked hers around Julie’s. “ Double Trouble forever?”

Julie sighed and rolled her eyes playfully. “ Double Trouble forever.”

Flynn squealed before wrapping Julie into a hug. Laughing, Julie embraced her back. Whatever happened, she knew she had her best friend on her side and in her corner. 

Though Julie still didn’t feel comfortable telling Carrie the truth about her dreams and the boys, she did decide to tell her about what happened with Nick. Though she knew the girl would not be too happy with it. She wasn't sure why Carrie was such a cheerleader for her budding relationship with Nick. It didn't make any sense to her, but that might have been because she had vivid memories of Carrie immediately asking Nick out after their friendship ended. That had to be it. Damn false memories.

“You what ?” Julie winced as eyes around the cafeteria stared, wondering what happened.

“I told Nick that I need more time.”

“But Jules, you were doing so well.”

“Except I wasn’t, Care. I wasn’t, and I need you to be okay with my decision.”

Carrie sighed. “Fine, but I still think you’re making a mistake.”

“Thank you.” Julie glanced at Flynn, who sat silently glaring at Carrie. She was glad that they made up. It felt nice to have someone else in her corner.

“This boy better be cute,” she muttered as she dug into her lunch.

“He was.”

“Ooo. Spill,” Flynn said, finally adding to the conversation. “What’d he look like?”

“Okay,” Julie responded with a small smile. “He was a little bit taller than me. Shaggy brown hair that flipped up at the ends. Sort of like Zac Efron in the first High School Musical. He had these hazel eyes that, in the right light, looked more green. Then there was his smile. He could light up a room with it. Also, he wasn’t really fond of wearing sleeves, but if you saw his arms, you would be okay with his choice.”

“Damn, Julie.”

“Hm. I’m still not convinced he was that cute.”

Julie shrugged. “That’s your opinion. I thought he was.” She picked at her food as a sense of sadness fell over her. Noting her emotional change, both Carrie and Flynn started up a conversation between themselves to allow Julie some time to herself.

You have to let it go. Stop getting upset over something you can’t change. If they had existed, they wouldn’t want you to be like this.

Sighing, she brushed away the single tear that managed to escape her eyes. Noise from a commotion in the hallway caught the attention of everyone in the cafeteria. Julie glanced up towards the open doorway just in time to see three blurs pass by the door followed by a school security guard. It took her a moment to register that one of those blurs was wearing a familiar red and black flannel shirt around their waist. Gasping, she stood and ran to the door just in time to see them dash round the corner with the guard following behind. 

“What’s going on?” Turning, she watched as Carrie and Flynn approached her. She locked eyes with Flynn, telepathically telling her what she saw. 

Flynn’s eyes widened. “Go.”

Julie wasted no time. She ran down the hallway where she’d seen them disappear. When she reached a crossroad in the hall, she glanced down at both sides trying to decide where to go next. Her mind was made up when she heard the unmistakable sound of sneakers against the tiled floor. Looking left, she just missed them running down another hallway, the security guard on their heels. She quickly followed.

Then she reached a dead end. Confused, she turned in a full circle. There was no sign of anyone. Not who she swore she saw, not even the security guard. Had she actually seen them? Or was this another trick of her mind? 

“No,” she whispered to herself, staring at the dead-end wall in front of her. “I know what I saw. I’m not crazy.”

“Well, we’re all a little crazy.”

Her body froze, but her heart sped up. The voice she’d been begging to hear again rang true, echoing off the walls around her. She closed her eyes and begged anyone who was listening to not let this be another illusion. She couldn’t handle it if it was. Opening her eyes, she slowly turned around, a gasp escaping her lips as she laid eyes on someone she spent the last few days trying to convince herself that they weren’t real.

Luke.

Chapter Text

“Luke!” Julie immediately launched herself at him, her arms wrapping around his neck while his circled her waist. She buried her face into the crook of his neck, trying not to cry, but failing to do so.

“Julie, you okay?” he asked.

She nodded and pulled away. “Yes. I just…I’m just really happy right now.” He smiled and wiped the tears off her face.

“Ehem.” She glanced over his shoulder where Alex and Reggie stood. “How come we’re getting left out of this love fest?” Reggie asked, arms crossed.

Julie laughed and dislodged herself from Luke’s embrace before going to hug Reggie, and then Alex. “It feels so good to see you guys.” She looked back and forth between the three of them. 

“It feels good to see you, too, Julie,” Luke spoke, his eyes soft. She felt her heart stutter in her chest. She missed that feeling.

“Yeah,” Alex added, causing her to turn her attention to him. “We’ve missed you.”

Missed me? What does that mean? “I’m so confused right now.”

“Why?”

“Because I spent the last week thinking you guys were a dream. All of your stuff is gone from the studio, even the demo. I tried looking up Sunset Curve but couldn’t find anything. You guys were just gone.” Curiosity filled her as she watched them exchange glances. “What? What is it?”

“Julie, there’s something you need to know,” Luke started, but was interrupted before he could continue by the appearance of the security guard.

“There you three are,” he said, almost completely out of breath. “These premises are for students only. So, unless you can provide me with a proper student ID, I’m gonna have to escort you out.”

The boys looked at Julie. “My last class is a free period. Meet me outside at, like, 1:30, okay?”

They nodded before letting the security guard escort them to the exit. Luke glanced back at Julie, sending her his infamous lopsided grin. She smiled as her heart did laps within her chest. 

He was here. 

He was real.

The bell rang, signaling the end of the period. Julie ran back to the cafeteria, remembering that she hadn’t taken her bag. When she got there, she found Flynn and Carrie waiting outside for her. Flynn had a knowing smile while Carrie looked utterly confused.

“Well?” Flynn asked. Julie nodded in response, biting her lip to keep her face from splitting in two. “I’m happy for you.”

“I’m lost. What’s going on? And who were those guys security was with?”

“Care, there’s something I need to tell you.”

“Can we walk and talk?” Flynn asked while handing Julie her bag. “I don’t wanna be late for Mr. Singh’s class.”

“Of course.” 

As the three headed to their next class, Julie explained everything to Carrie. The dream world (which, was it a dream world if the boys existed?), how they stopped being friends, and everything else. Carrie remained quiet for most of it and Julie wondered if knowing that their friendship ended in her dream was having an effect on her.

“So, these guys know my dad?” Julie nodded. “But they’re dead?” Julie nodded again. “But how was I able to see them if they’re dead?”

Julie opened her mouth to answer, only to realize she didn’t know the reason for that either. “You know what? That is a good question and I don’t know the answer to it.”

“This is so weird.”

Flynn nodded. “Yeah. That is weird that they’re supposed to be ghosts but everyone else can see them.”

“I didn’t even notice. I was just so happy to see them that I forgot that no one else was supposed to be able to see them.”

“You think they know why?”

“I hope so. I’m meeting them after school. They have something that they want to tell me.”

“That’s good. They can give you some answers. Like, where they’ve been this entire time.”

Julie nodded and the three entered the classroom just as the bell rang. The anticipation sat with her for the next two periods. Dread kicked in during the last ten minutes of her seventh-period class when she questioned if any of it actually happened. Were they truly here? Had she imagined it all? Was she going to leave school today and they would not be there to greet her? So many times she’d wished for this moment. Here it was, but she couldn’t even feel happy. She felt scared. Scared that none of it would be real.

When the bell sounded for the last period, Julie quickly made her way to her locker. She changed out her books at record speed and then beelined for the exit. As she stepped outside, she didn’t see them and the fear started growing. But the sound of whistling caught her attention followed by the sound of her name being called and she caught sight of them across the street. She made sure no cars were coming before she crossed and, within seconds, she was back in the arms of her favorite boys.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of being able to do that,” she said as she stepped back.

“Same,” Alex responded.

“So, how are you guys here? Where have you been? And how come people can see you?”

“One question at a time, okay Boss?” Luke teased, a boyish grin on his face. Julie nodded, biting her lip as her stomach flipped at the nickname.

“Julie!” She swung her head around and watched as Nick crossed the street. Luke swore under his breath and Alex elbowed him.

“Nick, hey.”

He eyed the three boys standing behind her before turning his attention to her. “Hey. Is everything alright?”

“Uh, yeah, everything’s fine. Why?”

“I saw you rushing out, so I thought something might’ve been wrong.”

She shook her head. “Nope. Nothing’s wrong.”

He nodded before his eyes went once more to the three boys behind her. “Who are they?” he asked and Julie remembered that he could see them.

“Oh, right. Nick, this is Reggie, Alex, and Luke.”

“Hey.”

“Hi.”

“‘Sup.”

“Hi,” Nick replied, unsure of them. “And they are…”

Luke came up behind her and threw his arm around her shoulders. “We’re friends of Julie’s. Right, Boss?”

Nodding, Julie felt her cheeks heat up at his closeness. “Yep.”

Nick stared at her, mouth set in a small frown, then glanced at Luke, who smiled smugly at him. “Right. Well, then I guess I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Okay.” He gave her one last look before heading back across the street. Letting out a breath she hadn’t even realized she was holding, she turned to Luke, but didn’t remove his arm. It felt too good to have it there. “So, is anyone going to answer my questions?”

The boys exchanged glances. “How about we go find a place where we’re less likely to be interrupted?” Alex asked.

“Sure. We can go back to the studio,” she suggested, remembering that her mother didn’t have a piano lesson that day, so they should be relatively unbothered.

“Alright, let’s go,” Luke said, steering Julie in the direction of what he thought was her house.

“Wrong way, doofus,” Alex deadpanned.

“Right. Right. I knew that.”

Julie laughed before grabbing his hand and pulling him in the opposite direction. For the entire journey to her house, she never released his hand. She never got the chance to enjoy being able to touch him after weeks of wanting to. Caleb’s curse had worn them out, and she was tired from performing, so she bid them ‘goodnight’ and went to bed. Then she woke up the next morning without them. When they arrived at the studio, Julie reluctantly let him go to check to make sure the studio was, indeed, vacant. Finding no one inside, she beckoned them over and opened the door.

“I don’t think I need to tell you to make yourself at home.” She smiled, watching curiously as they glanced around. “I’ll be right back. I’m just gonna drop my stuff off in my room and let my mom know I’m using the studio.”

“Your mom?” Luke asked, eyes wide.

She nodded and smiled softly. “Yeah. She’s alive. I couldn’t believe it myself, but it’s true. Okay. I’ll be back.”

They nodded, wordlessly, and she turned to head up to the house. The boys watched as she closed the door behind her, waiting until they were sure she was out of earshot. Luke groaned and went to crash on the couch, wincing at how different it felt.

“This is not my couch.”

Alex nodded. “Things seem the same, but there are definitely differences.”

“Are we just not gonna talk about the fact that Julie’s mom is alive?” Reggie asked.

“You know why she is.”

“Does this change what we tell her?”

“No. She needs to know the truth.”

“Yeah, but…”

“No ‘buts,’ Reg,” Luke interrupted, sighing softly. “She’s not gonna like it, but we have to tell her.”

“Tell me what?” Julie’s voice caught all of them by surprise. Luke quickly stood from his place on the couch and shoved his hands in his pockets. Her eyes went to each of them, wondering what they were keeping from her. “Tell me what?

“Um…” Luke looked at Alex. “Do you wanna…?”

“Me? Why me?”

“Because you’re better at it.”

“Guys?”

“Me? Better at it? What does that even mean?”

“Guys!”

“It means that you’re better at explaining things.”

“Guys!” They stopped their bickering and looked at Julie. “Can one of you please tell me what’s going on?”

Luke and Alex spared each other a glance before Alex sighed and moved towards Julie. “Maybe you should sit down for this.”

She shook her head. “Enough stalling. Tell me what the hell is going on.”

Nodding, Alex ran a hand through his blond hair. “The truth is Julie…none of this is real.”

Her brow furrowed. “What are you talking about?”

“All of this is in your head. That’s why everyone can see us because they’re all parts of your mind.”

She blinked owlishly at him, trying to process what she’d just been told. They’re lying. “No. No! That’s not…that can’t be true.”

“It is Julie,” Luke said, cautiously approaching her. 

“You’re…you’re lying.”

“Why would we lie about this? Come on, Boss, you know us. We all made a promise that we would never lie to each other. Not after we screwed up royally the last time.”

Julie stared back at Luke, into his hazel-green eyes that she knew so well, and knew he was telling the truth. She felt her legs giving out from underneath her, but Luke was there to catch her, arms winding around her waist to keep her standing. “So all of this is a dream?” she asked, her voice muffled by her face being pressed against Luke’s chest.

“Something like that,” he mumbled.

She lifted her head to look at him. “What does that mean?”

He sighed. “Come on.” He ushered her over to the couch and eased her onto it before taking a seat next to her. “You see, Julie…you’re not just dreaming…you’re…you’re in a coma.”

“What? A coma? H-How?”

“There was an accident,” Reggie answered and her gaze went to him. “It was…pretty bad.”

Julie was in a state of shock. For the first time in a week, she had two things that she wanted most in the world at the same time: her mom and her boys. Only to find out that she still couldn’t have both. How cruel did the universe have to be? 

“Julie?” Luke’s voice pulled her out of her head. She glanced at him, then at Alex and Reggie - both wearing looks of concern.

“I’m sorry. I just…I need to be alone right now.” She stood and ran. None of them tried to call her back, understanding that she needed space. She had the unfortunate circumstance of running into her mother.

“Mija?”

But she didn’t stop. She couldn’t stop. She needed to get to her room before she had a complete breakdown. Flying up the stairs, she slammed the door behind her and threw herself onto her bed. She couldn’t stop the tears from coming or the sobs from wracking her body. Feeling a hand on her shoulder, her head shot up and turned slightly.

“What’s wrong, Julie?” her mother asked. 

Julis sniffled and sat up, wiping her tears from her face. “Why can’t I keep you and them?”

“What are you talking about?” She brushed Julie’s hair away from her face. “Keep who?”

She wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist and buried her face into her chest. As much as she wanted to explain everything, she knew she wouldn’t be able to. Not without sounding crazy. Not without losing it completely.

Julie awoke alone, lying on her side. She must’ve fallen asleep in her mother’s arms. Everything that happened quickly cycled through her mind - being reunited with the guys, being told that the world that she thought was a dream was real and the world that she thought was real was a dream. Shutting her eyes tight, she shifted onto her back and tried to fight the urge to cry all over again. She needed to talk to the guys and find out how all of this happened. But she didn’t think she would be able to stomach it alone. Sitting up, she reached for her phone and typed a quick ‘911’ message to Flynn. Before she could see if her best friend responded, a knock came to her door. Glancing up, she spotted her father in the doorway.

“Nena?”

“Hi, Papi,” she greeted with a smile.

“Is everything okay?” He asked, crossing the threshold before taking a seat beside her. “Your mom is pretty worried about you.”

“It’s complicated, but, yeah, I’m okay. At least…I’m going to be.”

He gazed at her, then nodded. “Okay.” Leaning towards her, he placed a kiss on her forehead. “If you need anything, anything at all, you know your mom and I are here for you.”

She nodded and smiled. “I know. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, Mija.”

Another knock came at her door and both looked towards it, spotting Flynn standing in the threshold. “Hey, I got your text,” she said, flashing her phone. “Hi, Mr. Molina.”

“Hello, Flynn. I’ll leave you two alone.” He stood, sent a smile Julie’s way, then left, closing the door on his way out.

Flynn walked over and took the seat Julie’s father vacated. “What’s going on? You only send 911 texts if it’s urgent.”

She nodded. “I know.”

“So what’s up? Does it have to do with the guys? What did they say?”

Julie glanced away and bit her lip. She wasn’t even sure how to explain it. “I, um…” With a sigh, she looked up at Flynn. “They told me that everything here…is not real.”

“What?”

“Apparently, I’m in a coma and all of this is a dream.” 

“Did they tell you anything else?”

Julie blushed, a bit embarrassed about how she reacted earlier. “I sort of bailed on them when they told me, so I didn’t get any other information from them.”

“Seriously, Jules?”

“What?! I was in shock.”

Sighing, Flynn shook her head. “Where are they now?”

“I don’t know. I left them in the studio, but I don’t know if they’re still there.”

“Only one way to find out.” Standing, Flynn grabbed Julie’s wrist and pulled her out the door. Julie didn’t protest, allowing her best friend to drag her out to the studio. The doors were closed and she wondered if the boys had left. Flynn tossed them open and they found it empty. “Hello?” she called. “Anyone here?”

“They must’ve left,” Julie said, feeling dejected at the thought.

“Julie?” Both girls glanced up at the loft where the voice had come from and spotted the three boys staring back at them. “Flynn! Hi!” Reggie greeted with an enthusiastic wave.

Flynn smiled and waved back. “Hi.”

“You’re still here,” she sighed in relief. “What are you doing up there?”

“We didn’t wanna risk being caught by your parents or Carlos,” Alex answered and Julie nodded in understanding. It was different before when no one could see them. They were able to occupy the studio without anyone else noticing, but, here, everyone could see them. It changed everything.

“Could you come down, please?” They nodded and reappeared in front of her within seconds. “Whoa. You still have your ghost powers?”

“Yeah,” Luke answered. “Comes in handy. How are you feeling?”

She smiled at the concern. “Still trying to process, but better.” He nodded, staring into her eyes. Flynn cleared her throat, reminding her that she wasn’t alone. “Um, Flynn, this is Alex, Reggie, and…”

“Luke. Right?” she asked, finishing off the introductions with a knowing look in Julie’s direction. 

“Right.”

Flynn smirked. “He’s cuter in person,” she muttered, but it was loud enough for him to hear and he grinned in response. Julie blushed and refused to meet his gaze again.

“Um, so, question,” Julie started, trying to divert Luke’s attention. “How are you guys here? Like, in my head, I guess.”

“It’s a little trick Willie taught us,” Reggie answered. “Calls it dream walking.”

Alex nodded. “Since we’re ghosts, we can enter the dreams of lifers. Even though you’re in a coma, you have enough brain activity to produce dreams.”

“Okay. So, how did I end up in a coma? I know you said there was an accident, but you didn’t say what exactly happened.”

“Car accident. We’re not exactly sure of the details about what happened, but it was really bad. We…we thought we were gonna lose you.”

Her face softened. “When? When did it happen?”

“A few days after The Orpheum show,” Luke answered.

Julie was so confused. “But I don’t remember that. I remember doing the show, and I remember right after when I saved you from Caleb’s curse. But nothing after that. It’s just blank.” The boys shared concerned looks. “What? What is it?”

“Nothing. Might just be a side effect from the accident.”

“No! We said no lies, remember?”

Luke sighed, scratching the back of his neck out of nervousness. “Maybe it’s better if we start at the beginning.” Grabbing Julie’s arm, Luke ushered her over to the couch. Flynn took a seat beside her, curious as well. He sat on the coffee table with Reggie and Alex standing behind him. “So, it all started when you got a weird visit from Nick the day after we played The Orpheum.”

Chapter Text

The Day After The Orpheum Show

Julie sat cross-legged on her bed, scrolling through the Julie and the Phantoms Instagram page. The comments on all of the videos from last night were positive. Of course, there were a few troll comments, but that was to be expected. She ignored those. She noted the concern about the ‘glitch’ that occurred, people wondering what happened, and theories about it. Julie, herself, pondered about that. Why had Alex and Reggie appeared without issue, but Luke didn’t? 

She was in deep thought when the ghost in question suddenly appeared, her mattress shaking as he landed on it. “Hey, Boss.”

“Hey,” she responded absentmindedly.

“What’s wrong?”

She showed him the video of his ‘glitch’ entrance. “Why did you have such a hard time while Reggie and Alex didn’t?”

“I don’t think he was expecting it. He didn’t see when Alex disappeared, but he definitely saw when Reggie did. So, I think he was using his magic to hold onto me for as long as possible.” He smirked. “But he underestimated you.”

She smiled, and then it slipped off. “Do you think he’ll try again? To get to you?”

Luke shrugged. “No idea. Probably, but we’ll be ready.”

Sighing, Julie played with her phone. “I hate this. Not knowing what his next move will be. Doesn’t help that he’s a ghost as well, so we don't even know where he’ll be.”

“Do you think you’d be able to see him if he showed up?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

Luke made a noise of displeasure. “I don’t think I like the idea of that.”

Julie smirked. “Me either.”

Grinning, he opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted by the sound of the doorbell. “You expecting someone?”

She shook her head before getting up and heading downstairs. As she reached for the doorknob, she heard the tell-tale sign of a ghost poofing in. Her head turned at the sound and she spotted Luke sitting on the stairs, smirking. She rolled her eyes playfully before turning the knob and pulling the door open. She was surprised to find Nick on the other side, his back towards her.

“Nick!” He turned, head first, then smiled at her before presenting her with a bouquet of pink flowers, some of which were Dahlias. She smiled gratefully and took them. “Thanks. Um, would you like to come in?” He nodded and she opened the door for him. He sauntered in, earning him a curious look from Luke. “I’m just gonna go put these in some water.”

Julie disappeared into the kitchen to retrieve a vase. In her absence, Nick took a look around. Luke observed him from his place on the stairs, noting the way he stood with his back straight and his arms clasped behind his back. It reminded him of someone, but he couldn't quite figure out who. All he knew was this was not the same kid he made fun of in the hallway just a week ago. Something about him was different.

“So,” came Julie’s voice as she reappeared in the foyer, “besides bringing me flowers, what made you stop by?”

“Well, I wanted to congratulate you for your amazing performance last night,” he answered in a way that seemed much too refined for a teenage boy of Generation Z. “You and your hologram band never cease to amaze me.”

“Um, thanks, I guess.”

“I also wanted to see if you were interested in going out with me.”

“Nick, we talked about this.”

“Apologies. I meant as friends. I know that you said that you liked someone else,” Luke glanced at Julie in confusion, but she kept her eyes on Nick. Someone else? Who? “and I will respect that. I thought it would be nice to do something as just friends.”

Sighing, she smiled and nodded. “Okay, but not today. I have some homework that I need to finish.”

He nodded. “Another day, then. I guess I will see you at school.”

She nodded and smiled before holding the door open for him as he left. Once it was closed, she sighed and leaned against it. Luke stood across from her, smirking.

“What?”

“You turned him down?”

“Yeah? So what?”

He shrugged. “So, who’s this someone else that you like?”

She shook her head. “No one.”

He made a sound of disbelief. “Sure. Keep your secrets, Boss. You know I’ll find out sooner or later.”

“Not if you respect my boundaries, you won’t,” she said, eyes narrowed. He chuckled, then sobered as he remembered Nick's behavior. Julie, sensing his change in demeanor, stepped up to him. “What is it?”

He shook his head, smiling. “It’s nothing.” He wasn't sure if she'd noticed the slight change in Nick and he didn't want to worry her for no reason. “So, what do we think? How long before you start getting calls from booking managers begging us to play for their venues?”

“Hopefully not any time soon.” Confusion crossed his face. “Don’t get me wrong, I loved playing the Orpheum, but I was hoping we would stay small and then build up to something big like that.”

He nodded. “No, I get it. We basically had no choice but to play the Orpheum thanks to Caleb and his curse.”

“Only for it not to be your unfinished business.”

“Yeah,” he drawled out. “We were so sure about that. Anyway, we should do something to celebrate an awesome performance and beating Caleb at his own game.”

“Would love to, but can’t,” she replied and started up the stairs. 

“Where’re you going?”

“I wasn’t lying when I said I had homework.”

“You just played one of the most legendary venues on the planet and now you’re telling me you’re gonna go do homework?”

“Yep.”

He poofed to the top of the staircase. “Priorities, Julie. Priorities.”

“My priorities are school first, band second. Remember?”

“Fine. The boys and I are gonna go celebrate while you do your homework.”

She entered her room and grabbed the door before turning towards him. “Have fun.” She shut the door without another word.

A few days later, Luke found himself seated beside Julie, in the middle of a songwriting session. He tried to forget about the strange encounter with Nick, but it still lingered in the back of his mind. Time and time again, he questioned if he should bring it up to Julie, but always backed out. He didn't want her to think he was making fun of the boy again. So, he stayed silent.

“Luke can I ask you something?” she asked as he penned a lyric they agreed on.

“Shoot.”

She scrunched up her nose the way she always did when he used his outdated lingo and he chuckled. “The other day, when Nick was here. Did you notice anything…weird about the way he talked?”

His eyes widened. “I didn’t think you noticed so I didn’t say anything.”

“Oh, I noticed.” She sighed heavily. “He’s been acting a little bit strange all week. The way he walks, the way he talks. It’s like he’s a different person. I wonder if…”

“Julie, you in there?”

“Crap.” She reached for her earbuds and stuck one side in just as Nick opened the door.

“Hey!”

“Nick, hi!” She nervously exclaimed. Beside her, Luke snickered. Knowing her hits would land now, she surreptitiously elbowed him in the side. “What are you doing here?”

“Your dad told me you were down here.” He eyed the open notebook on the coffee table. “Am I interrupting something?”

“What do you think?” Luke questioned.

“Luke,” she muttered under her breath and Nick frowned in confusion. “Sorry, I’m on the phone with him,” she explained, pointing at the earbud in her ear, “and he can hear everything. Luke, I’ll call you back in a little while. Okay?” She pretended as if she were ending the phone call and Luke knew that was her sign that she wanted him scarce.

“Fine, but I’ll be right outside,” he answered before poofing out.

Luke stood with his back against the studio door. The curious part of him wanted to eavesdrop and find out what the two teens were talking about, but he kept himself in check. The last thing he wanted was Julie yelling at him about boundaries. Minutes later, Nick came walking out of the studio.

“Thanks for visiting,” Luke taunted with a smile.

Nick turned to close the door behind him, and the smug smile on his face took Luke aback. “The fight’s not over yet,” he whispered before shifting on his heel and walking away.  Luke watched him go, confused and curious as to what he meant. He walked through the closed door and found Julie completely zoned out; eyes on the notebook page, but not truly seeing it.

“What did he want?” Julie jumped, hand clutching her chest.

“Jeez! Stop doing that.”

Luke smiled sheepishly. “Sorry.” He retook his spot beside her. “So ?”

Sighing, she picked up the notebook and sat back on the couch; pulling her legs up to rest the book against it so it was easier to write. “What do you think?” Luke shook his head. “He wanted to know if this Saturday would be okay.”

“Okay, for what?” Julie glared at him. “Oh, right. Your date.”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s not a date. It’s an outing between friends.”

“A friend that has a crush on you,” he said despondently.

“Don’t tell me you’re jealous?” she teased.

“Me? Jealous? ” He laughed nervously as he scratched the back of his neck. “No way!” He cleared his throat. “Just, you know, be careful. Don’t send him any mixed signals or you’ll never get rid of him.”

She nodded. “I’ll try not to.”

“Good." He grinned, staring into her bright brown eyes.

The appearance of Alex and Reggie broke whatever spell had fallen over them and they subconsciously put space between them. It was hard to ignore the look of disappointment on the drummer’s face. He said nothing as he climbed up the ladder to the loft and crashed onto the beanbag chair that sat in the corner. Julie, being the concerned friend and pseudo-little sister, decided to go talk to Alex. Shutting the notebook, she placed it on the table before standing and crossing over to the ladder.

“I’m guessing you didn’t find Willie?” Luke asked, watching Julie ascend up to the loft.

Reggie shook his head. “Nope. There’s no sign of him anywhere.”

“Fuck.”

“You got that right.”

“Still no sign of him?” Julie inquired as she peered over the top of the ladder.

Alex sat with his knees pulled against his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around them. “No.”

“He’s out there, Alex. I’m sure of it.”

“But what if Caleb’s done something to him? What if I never see him again? I never even told him that I…”

Julie sighed and went to sit beside him. “You’ll see him again. Don’t lose hope. Okay?”

“Okay.” She smiled before threading her arm through his and leaning her head on his shoulder.

Luke smiled sadly at the scene before him. His heart ached for his best friend and he was grateful for Julie who could provide the emotional support that he and Reggie sometimes couldn’t. He just wished Willie would reappear and put Alex out of his misery. 

“Alex!” All occupants of the studio were shocked when the ghost they’d been looking for appeared suddenly.

“Willie?” Alex quickly stood, leaning over the railing of the loft. Smiling, he poofed down to the main floor and immediately wrapped his arms around him. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Melting into his embrace, Willie held him close and sighed. “So am I, Hot Dog. You have no idea.”

“Are you hurt?” he asked, pulling away so he could look him over.

Willie smirked. “Hurt? No. I’m dead, remember?”

“That doesn’t mean…”

“I’m fine, Alex. Really.”

“Where’ve you been?”

“Hiding out."

"Why didn't you just come here?"

"Figured Caleb would be watching this place. But that’s actually why I’m here.” Willie’s gaze went to something over Alex’s shoulder. Alex glanced back, watching Julie cautiously approach. “Can you…can you see me?”

Julie smiled and nodded. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

“Same,” he responded, smiling back before clearing his throat. “Listen, there’s something you all need to know. Caleb’s missing.”

“What do you mean ‘missing’?” Luke asked.

“I mean, no one at the HGC’s seen him in days. Not since you guys managed to break free of him. How did you do that, by the way?”

“It’s a long story,” Alex answered. “But how do you know he’s missing?” 

“Dante. He managed to track me down. Told me that Caleb abandoned the club and that no one’s seen him.”

“What do you think that means?” Reggie asked.

“That he’s licking his wounds after being bested by four teenagers,” Luke replied smugly. “That he knows not to mess with us again.”

“I wish it were like that.” Willie sighed. “Caleb’s not the losing type. He will take this personally and he'll want revenge. Promise me that none of you will let your guard down.” He looked at Alex. “Especially you.”

“Of course, I won’t,” Alex answered, a small smile on his face. “My anxiety won’t let me.” Willie chuckled slightly before looking at the others.

The other two ghosts and the one living girl nodded, knowing that they should not take Willie’s warning lightly. They all knew what Caleb was capable of, but weren’t aware of what lengths he would go to.

“Julie!” came her father’s call.

“I should go.” She headed towards the door but stopped midway through opening it. “Willie, feel free to stay as long as you want.”

“Thank you.”

She smiled before opening the door the rest of the way and making her way up to the house. Luke met her halfway there, poofing onto her path. Julie wasn’t surprised to see him. Instead, she smiled and gestured for him to follow.

“Do you think Caleb will come after you guys again?” she asked as they walked alongside each other.

“I don’t know. I mean, I don’t see why he would want to show his face again after failing so badly to get us to join or die. But Willie knows him better than us, so I guess we should be on guard.”

Julie nodded. “I just wish he would stay gone. I don’t wanna have to look over my shoulder.”

“I doubt he'd come after you, Julie. You’re a lifer. He can’t exactly touch you.”

“A what?” she asked, turning towards him.

“A lifer. It means that you’re alive.”

“Oh.” She sighed and they started walking again. “When did my life get so complicated?”

Luke grinned. “When you joined a ghost band.”

“If I remember correctly, I told you guys to go haunt a mansion in Pasadena. You just didn’t listen.”

“We were never really good at that.” She laughed and playfully bumped his shoulder.

Saturday came faster than Luke expected it to. Though he tried not to let it get to him, he was having a hard time being okay with Julie being alone with Nick (not because he was jealous, of course). He was still weary about him. The fight’s not over yet. The words played on a loop constantly in the back of Luke’s mind. He knew he should’ve told Julie, but he still didn’t know what they meant. He didn’t want to worry her any more than they already were with the knowledge of Caleb’s sudden disappearance. Nick’s weird behavior seemed the least of their concerns. Poofing into her room, he found her on her hands and knees, halfway under her bed.

“Where are they?”

“Julie?”

A muffled ‘thud’ was his answer followed by Julie crawling out from underneath her bed, rubbing her head. “You really need to stop doing that.”

He stifled a laugh. “But it’s fun.”

“It won’t be fun when you give me a heart attack.” She crossed over to her closet and dropped to her knees.

“What are you looking for?”

“My blue Converses. I’ve been looking for them for almost thirty minutes and I can’t find them.”

“Oh. They’re downstairs by the door.”

Julie stopped and slowly turned to him, eye twitching. “Are you serious?” He nodded and she quickly stood. Before he could say anything else, she stomped out of her room. He listened as she ran down the stairs and let out a frustrated sound. Her footsteps were unmistakable as she came back up. He watched as she walked to her bed and proceeded to put her sneakers on. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” he answered with a chuff. “So, when’s Nick picking you up?”

“Noon.” Once both feet were dressed, she looked up at him. “What do you guys have planned today since we don’t have practice?”

He shrugged. “Not sure. Willie wants to go back to the HGC and get more news on Caleb, but Alex doesn’t think it’s a good idea. He’s just scared that if he goes, he might not come back. Alex doesn’t think Caleb’s actually gone. That he’s hiding out somewhere in the HGC, waiting for Willie to return so he can trap him there.”

Julie nodded. “He’s being safe. I get it.” Her eyes met his. “I wouldn’t want someone I cared about to put themselves in danger either.”

He smiled. “You couldn’t pay us enough to go back there.” Her lips quirked, glad he understood her meaning.

Before she could say anything else, the doorbell rang. Sneaking a look at her phone, she glanced at Luke with curiosity. “It’s not twelve yet.”

“Maybe it’s traveling salespeople.”

She looked at him in confusion. “What?”

“You guys don’t get those anymore?”

“No.” She stood. “That was a thing?”

“Oh yeah.”

Shaking her head, Julie ran downstairs to answer the door. Luke followed, watching as she stopped at the mirror beside the door first to make sure she looked okay before pulling it open. Nick stood on the other side with another bouquet in his hands.

“Thank you,” she said as she took them from him. “You’re early.”

“Early is on time, on time is late,” he responded.

She nodded slowly. “Right. Well, let me just go put these in water.”

“So, where’s your dad?” He asked as she disappeared into the kitchen.

“He had a photoshoot today,” she answered.

“And your brother?”

“Baseball practice!” She yelled over the sound of the running water.

“So, you’re home alone today?”

“Yeah, pretty much.”

She reappeared and he smiled at her. “You look amazing, by the way.”

Blushing, she replied with a quiet ‘thank you.’ “I’m just gonna go grab a sweater and then we can go.” Julie turned and tried not to physically respond to the surprise of seeing Luke sitting on the stairs, watching them. He grinned and she glared before retreating upstairs. He turned his gaze back to Nick whose attention was on her. 

“No need to be a kiss ass, Nick. Flattery will get you nowhere," Luke teased, knowing he wouldn't hear him. The smirk on Luke's lips slipped off when the boy's blue eyes glanced down and stared directly at him. Luke blinked a few times, wondering if he was imagining it, but when Nick winked at him and his mouth quirked into a grin, he knew it was no trick of the mind.

Julie. Luke needed to tell her what he saw. His gut instinct was telling him something was off. He hadn’t listened to it before when he was shoving that hot dog down his throat and look where that got him. He barely listened to it when he and the guys were being wined and dined by Caleb Covington and look where that almost got him. He wasn’t going to ignore it now. Not when it came to Julie. Especially when it came to Julie. 

Poofing into her room, he didn’t laugh this time as she was caught off guard by him appearing out of nowhere. “We need to talk.”

“Luke…”

“He heard me, Julie.”

“What?”

“Just now. I said something to him and, I swear, he heard me. And then he looked straight at me.”

Confusion crossed her face. “Everything okay, Molina?” Nick called from downstairs.

“Yeah. I can’t seem to find my sweater,” she answered, gaze never leaving Luke’s.

“Need help?”

“No, I’m okay!” Sighing, she shoved a hand into her hair. “This makes no sense. Are you sure it wasn’t just your mind playing tricks on you?”

“I know what I saw, Julie.”

“You’re worrying me, Molina,” came Nick’s voice as he rounded the corner and stepped into her room. "Who are you talking to?" he asked, eyes searching the room for someone else.

She huffed, sending a subtle look of annoyance over to Luke. "No one." Grabbing her sweater from off her bed, she smiled at him. "Ready to go?"

“Lead the way.” Nick nodded and gestured for her to exit the room before him.

"Julie," Luke pleaded, but the glare she sent him told him not to push the issue.

Helpless, he watched as she left the room with Nick on her heels. He quickly poofed downstairs, determined to not let the boy out of his sight for a second. He didn't trust Nick. He knew what he saw, he just wished Julie would believe him. After all that they'd been through, he thought she trusted him better than this. Julie held the door open for Nick to allow him to exit the house before her, reasoning that she needed to lock up. Luke saw this as his opportunity. Even if he couldn't get her to listen to his concerns, he could still ask for one thing. Grabbing her wrist, he stopped her from closing the door and her eyes shot up to meet his.

"Be careful, Julie. Please."

Her eyes softened and she nodded. "I promise." She slowly pulled her arm from his grip and shut the door between them. Luke stared at the closed door, waiting for her to come back in and tell him that she wasn't going. But as the seconds ticked by without anything happening, he knew it was just wishful thinking. He could only hope that nothing bad happened to her. He would never forgive himself if it did.

Luke spent the next couple of hours worrying about her, but he didn’t voice it to the boys. But a quiet Luke wasn’t normal. He should’ve known that his friends whom he’d known for most of his life would sense that something was wrong.

“You’re awfully quiet,” Reggie commented as they sat in the studio.

“Yeah, too quiet,” Alex added, narrowing his eyes.

“Nothing, it’s nothing,” he answered, absentmindedly picking the strings of his guitar. “So, where’s Willie?”

“Off skating. Enjoying his temporary freedom while Caleb’s M.I.A. But don’t try to change the subject.” 

He sighed and put his guitar to the side. “Fine. I’m worried about Julie.”

“Worried that this Nick might sweep Julie off her feet?” Reggie teased.

“No! No, it’s nothing like that.”

“Uh-huh. Sure.”

“Seriously, guys, it’s not that. It’s got nothing to do with Nick. Well, it has something to do with him, but not like that.”

The two boys shared knowing looks. “Luke’s jealous! Luke’s jealous!”

“Will you two shut up?!” Luke couldn’t stop the smile from breaking out on his face. He loved his brothers more than anything in the world. If there was one thing he was grateful for being dead was that he got to be dead with them. He stood and ran after them, laughing as they dodged him. He finally managed to get a hold of Reggie and placed him into a headlock. “Give up?”

“Never!”

“Okay then. You asked for it.” He stuck a finger in his mouth and then pushed it towards Reggie’s ear.

“No! Please no!”

Willie phased through the door, grinning at the sight in front of him. “What’s going on here?”

“Just a little bit of Luke teasing,” Alex answered from his place safely in the loft.

“Save me, Willie!” Reggie yelled before squeaking as Luke’s wet finger slipped into his ear. “Ah!”

“That’s what you get, you dork,” he said, releasing Reggie with a laugh. “So, what’s the word at the HGC?”

“Well,” Willie started as Alex appeared next to him, slipping his hand into his. He smiled at him. “The ghosts still haven’t seen him or heard anything from him. Apparently, the lifers aren’t too happy about it. They paid a lot of money to be able to attend his parties and the fact that none of them have happened this week is making them angry.”

“I don’t want to get our hopes up, but maybe he actually is gone,” Reggie said, looking at his bandmates. “Maybe…” He was cut off by the sudden explosion of a pain he’d never felt before shooting through him. Luke and Alex felt it, too, all three of them going down to their knees. 

Willie dropped onto his knees beside Alex, trying to help him to his feet. “What was that ?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” Reggie answered, “but it felt a lot like Caleb’s jolts, but worse.”

“That makes no sense, though,” Luke argued. “Julie broke the curse. The stamps are gone.”

“Unless it’s not Caleb.” All eyes went to Willie. 

“What else could it be?”

“You said that when you perform with Julie, lifers can see you. How does that happen?”

Alex shrugged. “Usually when the music starts.”

“Only when the music starts? Or when Julie sings?” His eyes widened at the implication. “Just think about it, she pulled you from the HGC, which is impossible. No one can poof in to or out of the HGC. Caleb has barriers that prevent it. But she managed to do it. Obviously, your souls are tied.”

“So, you think that jolt was…”

“Julie,” Luke whispered before poofing out of the studio.

The sights, sounds, and smells of downtown L.A. greeted him as he reappeared where Julie should be. Luke took a look around, not seeing her anywhere. Then he noticed a horde of people standing at the edge of the street. He barely registered Alex and Reggie poofing in as he walked closer to the crowd. He walked through them, not caring about how weird it felt until he came to the curb. There, in the middle of the street, stood the scene of a horrible car accident. Two cars, one looking worse than the other. But all Luke could see was the face of someone he knew all too well sitting on the passenger side of one of the vehicles. 

“Julie.” He poofed over to her side before saying anything to his companions. “Julie!” he called to her, but her eyes remained closed. Trickles of blood poured down her face from a wound on her forehead. “Alex! Reggie!”

“No. Julie.” Luke turned towards them, spying the fear on their faces. “Is she…?” The question hung in the air as he turned back to her. His eyes went everywhere as he tried to discern if she was still breathing, but he couldn’t tell.

“I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t know.” He was trying to be strong, trying not to cry. He glanced over at the driver. Nick, like Julie, was unconscious, but his injuries didn’t seem as severe. His eyes went back to her and took note of the small movement of her chest. “She’s breathing!” Relieved laughter called back to him. “Julie,” he whispered, reaching out to touch her cheek. “I’m here, Julie.” His hand phased through her and his eyes widened. “What?” He tried it again, but each time was the same; his hand would not make contact with her. “No. No! Julie!”

“Luke.” He fought against the arms that pulled him away, but the feel of someone walking through him brought him to heel. He watched tearfully as firefighters used the jaws of life to rip open the door. They pulled Julie out of the mangled wreck and onto a stretcher before hurrying her to an awaiting ambulance. The boys followed, all remembering the last time they were in one. They tried to remain out of the way as the EMT dressed Julie’s wounds.

Luke sat in silence, eyes trained on Julie’s unconscious face, while Alex sobbed beside him and Reggie tried to comfort him, fighting his own tears. The ride to the hospital passed by in a blur. They remained in the ambulance as Julie was rushed into the Emergency Department. 

“Come on, boys,” Luke said, reluctantly pulling his gaze away from the doors the EMTs disappeared behind. “Let’s get back to the studio. We’re useless here.” They all took one more look at the doors before poofing out.

“Did you find her?” was the first thing that Willie asked when the boys appeared moments later. Alex went to him, falling into his arms once more.

Reggie nodded. “Yeah.” 

“What happened? Is she okay?”

Luke shook his head before kicking the coffee table which, luckily, didn’t move an inch. He grunted in frustration. He wanted to throw something, but he couldn’t because the only things he could freely touch without concentration were his instruments and there was no way he was throwing his guitar.

“She’s in the hospital!” Alex answered, fresh tears falling from his eyes. “She got into a car accident and now she’s fighting for her life, and…” He trailed off and Willie pulled him back into an embrace. 

Luke plopped onto the couch, head in his hands. “It’s all my fault.”

“That’s not true,” Reggie argued. “You didn’t know this was gonna happen.”

“I should’ve gone with her.”

“And then what?” Alex yelled. “Then what, Luke? What would you have done? You’re a ghost. You may be solid to her but you still pass through everything else. You can’t protect her.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Lex,” he laughed, but there was no joy in it.

“I’m sorry, but you know it’s true.” Willie suddenly grunted in pain, clutching his chest. All eyes turned to him, curious. His own widened in shock. “What? What is it? What’s wrong?”

“It’s Caleb.” He glanced at each of them. “He’s back.”

“You sure?”

He nodded. “He just used his magic to call back every ghost of the HGC.”

“You’re not going, are you?”

“No. I know if I go, he’ll never let me leave again.”

“Good.” Alex sighed. “We should go check on Julie.”.

All of them poofed to the hospital, landing in the middle of a hallway. Doctors and nurses alike passed by them, heading in different directions. The four ghosts were confused as to where they were. It wasn’t until Reggie noticed Ray sitting in a chair not far from them did they realize they materialized close to the waiting room. They gravitated towards him, taking seats around him while he remained none the wiser that he was no longer alone.

“Molina?” His head shot up and he stood. The doctor took notice of him and moved closer, shaking his hand. “Hello, Mr. Molina, I’m…”

“Ray. Please, call me Ray.”

The doctor smiled softly. “Ray. My name is Dr. Khan, I’m the acting surgeon for your daughter, Julie.”

“How is she? The police told me she was in a car accident.”

Dr. Khan nodded. “She was. She sustained a few broken bones and a very serious head injury. The emergency CT scan that we did showed that she had bleeding on her brain. We had to cut open her skull to relieve the pressure and reduce swelling.”

The boys listened intently to everything Dr. Khan said, wishing they understood what was actually being said. The medical jargon was a lot to process, but there was one thing the doctor said that threw all of them for a loop.

“Unfortunately, Julie slipped into a coma. We believe it happened well before she got here, but either way, it’s up to her now when she awakes, whether or not she awakens.”

“Can I see her?”

“Of course.” Dr. Kahn beckoned for him to follow. He did so and the boys followed him. The doctor spoke more about Julie’s condition, but the boys zoned out. When they arrived at their destination, Dr. Khan pulled back a curtain and Luke felt his heart drop. 

Julie lay in the middle of a hospital bed, unconscious, with a single tube protruding from her mouth and numerous wires scattered around her. Her signature curls were gone, her entire head wrapped in bandages. Her left leg was suspended in a binding, her left arm in a cast. Ray moved to her right side, pulling up the chair to take a seat before taking her hand in his, whispering something in Spanish. Though Luke had no idea what was being said, he knew it was a desperate plea from a father for the life of his little girl. He wondered if his parents had pleaded on his behalf when they found out. Not that it truly mattered. He was gone before they even knew.

Reggie was the first of them to move closer. He stood opposite Ray, reaching out for her cast-bound hand. He winced when he phased through her. Alex moved slowly, coming up next to Reggie and sitting on the bed beside her. Luke was the last of them to let his feet take him to Julie’s bedside - Willie deciding to remain on the outskirts. If not for all the medical equipment, he could pretend she was just sleeping. But he couldn’t see it that way. No matter how much he wanted to. His brightest burning star was on the verge of disappearing from his night sky. He walked up to the foot of the bed and stared at her unconscious form. His gaze went to her face and he wished that she would open her eyes.

Open your eyes, Julie. Please. I need you to open your eyes.

“Guys,” Willie spoke up, obvious pain in his voice. They looked at him and Alex stood, crossing over to him.

“What’s wrong?”

“It’s Caleb’s call. It’s getting stronger, and more painful. I think I’m gonna have to go back.”

“But…”

Smiling weakly, Willie cupped Alex’s face. “I’ll be safe. I promise.”

“Come back as soon as you can. Okay?” Willie nodded before poofing out.

“What do we do now?” Reggie asked. Neither Alex nor Luke answered, not having an answer for him. Instead, Alex retook his seat by her side while Luke slid into a seated position on the floor at the foot of the bed. He closed his eyes and focused on the steady beeping sound of the heart monitor, the only thing that confirmed that she was still here, still breathing, still alive.

The boys remained by her side, not moving unless one of the nurses came in to do their daily tasks. After a few days of observation in the trauma unit, Julie was moved to a private room once she was deemed out of danger. She was allowed visitors after that. Flynn was the first. She mostly stayed quiet, sometimes talking to Julie as if the girl would answer her back. She kept her composure pretty well until she left, breaking down in the hallway. When her aunt Victoria came, the boys had to leave for the welfare of their own emotional state. The woman, who was pretty much like a second mother to Julie, wept openly and loudly at her bedside. Ray did everything he could to comfort her, but to no avail. The only one who hadn’t come to visit was Carlos, but the boys understood why. He’d just lost his mother a year before. They could only imagine how he was feeling with his sister’s future so uncertain.

“None of this is fair,” Luke grumbled as they stood outside her room while the nurses did their usual tasks of checking Julie’s vitals and changing out bandages and the like. “Julie doesn’t deserve this. Neither does her family.”

Alex nodded. “Agreed. There has to be some way to help her.” He sighed. “I wish Willie were here.”

The skater appeared and Alex immediately ran to him. “Sorry it took me so long,” he whispered as he held him close.

“I’m just glad you’re back.”

“How is the sociopath?” Luke asked, a sarcastic smile on his face. “Is he still upset that he lost us?”

“Actually, no.” That caught their attention. “Shockingly, he’s in a good mood. That’s the only reason why I’m able to be here right now.”

The boys exchanged looks. “You don’t think?” Reggie questioned.

“Oh, I do.” Luke felt anger rising up from within him. 

“But how?”

“Does it matter, Alex? He hurt Julie.”

“We don’t know that.”

“I do! I wouldn’t put it past him to pull something like that. He can’t get to us, so he goes after Julie.”

“Wait,” Willie interrupted. “You think Caleb had something to do with Julie’s accident?”

“We’re not sure,” Alex answered, to which Luke scoffed, “but it makes sense.”

“I’ll see what I can find out.”

“No, I don’t want you to go back there.”

“Don’t worry, Hot Dog. I promise I’ll stay away from the club.”

“Thank you,” Willie smirked and winked before poofing out. 

“I say we go give Caleb a piece of our mind,” Luke growled out.

“And what would that solve? We don’t even know if Caleb had anything to do with the accident.”

“You know he did, Lex! You know, I know, Reggie knows. Hell, I’m pretty sure Willie knows.”

“Remember where rash decisions got us the last time? In Caleb’s crosshairs to begin with. So, let’s not give him what he wants.”

“You can’t expect me to sit here and do nothing.”

“Julie’s my friend, too. Remember?” Luke sighed. “Look, I know you’re angry, but rushing into the lion’s den when we don’t even know all of the facts is the last thing Julie would want. We have to be smart about this. Okay?”

Alex was right. Luke knew Alex was right, but he was hurting. He wanted to make Caleb hurt, too. But Julie would want you safe. Sighing, he nodded. “Fine. I won’t do anything stupid.” He stuck his hands in his pockets and then turned on his heel to head down the hallway.

“Where are you going?”

“To clear my head,” he answered before disappearing. 

Alex sighed, wishing he could knock some sense into his best friend. He’d been dealing with Luke’s stubbornness for almost all their lives and would never get used to it. But it was a good thing as much as it was a bad thing. His inability to be unyielding is what got them a lot of their gigs. Still, he wished Luke wouldn’t let it rule him when it came to moments like this. They needed to have a clear head when it came to Caleb. The magician knew how to play on their weaknesses.

“I wish we could talk to Julie,” Reggie said as he stared into the open doorway at Julie’s comatose form.

“Me, too, Reg.” He walked up behind Reggie and placed his hand on his shoulder. “Me, too.”

It was hours later when Willie reappeared. Alex and Reggie were sitting on either side of Julie, watching the rise and fall of her chest. Her father had stepped out to take a phone call, leaving the two ghosts alone with her. Unbeknownst to him, of course. 

“Where’s Luke?” he asked, noticing the absence of the third ghost.

“Somewhere,” Alex answered. “Hopefully staying out of trouble. What did you find out?”

“Not much. If Caleb did have something to do with Julie’s accident, he’s keeping it to himself.”

“So what do we do now?” Reggie asked. “What happens if Julie never wakes up?”

“I don’t know.” Alex reached over and rubbed Reggie’s arm in support. “There has to be a way to help her. Something we can do to help wake her up.”

“There might be something,” Willie said. Before he could elaborate, Luke appeared and all eyes went to him.

“What?”

“Nothing,” Alex replied. “Just wondering where you’ve been.”

“Nowhere.” 

It felt like a lie, but Alex let it slide, knowing they had more important matters. “Well, you came back just in time. Willie was about to tell us about something that might help wake Julie.”

Luke glanced at the long-haired ghost curiously. “Yeah?”

“Well, there’s this trick that ghosts can do. It’s called ‘dream walking.’ You can enter the dreams of lifers, but it can only be done if you have a bond with that person. Luckily, you guys do.”

“But she’s not dreaming. She’s in a coma.”

Willie shrugged. “As long as she has brain activity, it’s doable.”

His eyes widened. “So, we could go into her dreams and talk to Julie?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re saying that it can help her wake up?”

“Well, sort of. You basically have to get them to realize that they're dreaming and that should wake them up. But, look, I’ve never done this before, and the ghost who told me about it only did it once and it was on someone who was asleep, not in a coma. So, I don’t know how much help it will actually be."

“Still,” Reggie interjected, “it’s something.”

“Yeah, Reg’s right. Something is better than nothing.”

Luke nodded. “So, how do we do this?”

Willie smirked. “You just gotta use that bond.”

“How?”

“It’s the same as poofing to places. You gotta concentrate on where you wanna go, but, at the same time, focus on the link you have with Julie.”

“Got it.”

“Thanks, Willie.”

He smiled sadly. “Say ‘hi’ to her for me. Okay?”

They nodded before closing their eyes. They did as Willie instructed and put it into their minds where they wanted to go, then zeroed in on the pull of the connection that tied them to her.

Chapter Text

“Wait, hold on,” Flynn started as Julie stood and began to pace. “I'm confused. Why does this wizard ghost want you in his band so bad?"

“Magician, Flynn. Magician ,” Reggie corrected, “and he’s not just any ghost. Okay? He can make ghosts appear to lifers. And his club is all magical and stuff. We could actually eat food when we went.”

“Lifers?” She looked to Alex for answers.

“Living people,” Alex responded. "And he only wants us because he doesn't like that we can appear to lifers without his help."

"So he decided to give you the choice of joining his band or being yeeted from existence? And now he's the one that's heated because you managed to beat his little curse and he doesn't know how to take an L?"

The two exchanged confused looks, unsure of most of what she just said. "Uh. Yeah, that sounds about right," Alex responded.

"Talk about salty to the tenth degree."

Luke ignored the conversation going on behind him, his gaze on Julie as she paced back and forth. She’d yet to say a word, but he knew she was still trying to process it all. They dumped a lot of information on her by telling her everything that her memories were missing. Well…almost everything. He decidedly kept out the parts about him being jealous of Nick and was grateful to Alex and Reggie for not bringing it up. Watching her pace, he could see the gears turning in her mind. There were questions she was bound to have. Questions whose answers only they had. Standing, Luke crossed over to place himself in her path. She jerked to a halt, nearly running into him.

“Luke…”

“Talk to me, Julie.”

She opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of her father calling her to dinner. She cursed under her breath and he lifted a brow, fighting a smirk. It wasn’t often that she allowed vulgar words to cross her lips, so to hear it was amusing to him. Her eyes narrowed in a glare before rolling them playfully.

“You staying?” she asked Flynn, who’d been watching the interaction between the two of them with a knowing look.

“Of course. How could I say no to your mom’s cooking?”

“I would ask if you guys wanted to join, but I wouldn’t know how to explain you to my parents.” She glanced between Alex and Reggie, before turning fully to Luke. “Sorry.”

He shook his head. “It’s fine. We can’t eat anyway.”

“Right. Almost forgot about that.”

“But thanks for thinking about us.”

She gave him a soft smile, then turned to Flynn once more. “Ready?”

“Yep.” Popping up from her spot between Alex and Reggie, she followed Julie towards the exit but turned to throw up two fingers. “Later boys.”

Reggie waved after her. “Bye Flynn.”

Julie let Flynn exit out first. “Don’t go anywhere, okay?” she asked, still afraid that they would disappear.

“Don’t worry, Boss, we’ll be right here.”

“Yeah. Besides, it’s not like we have anywhere to go.” Alex sighed loudly before hitting Reggie on the back of his head. “Ow!”

“She knows that, you idiot.”

“I was just confirming it. No need to resort to violence.”

Giggling, Julie bid them a goodnight before slipping through the open doorway. She allowed her eyes to take them in one last time then closed the door behind her. The moment she was gone, Alex turned to Luke.

“So, how come we’re just now finding out about Nick?”

Luke shrugged. “I didn’t think it was important at the time.”

“At the time?” Alex’s brow furrowed. “What are you not telling us?”

“Nothing,” he mumbled, reaching for the blue rabbit’s foot at his side. Alex glanced at Reggie, making a gesture with his head that the other boy seemed to understand. He appeared in front of Luke and snatched the trinket out of his hand. “Hey! ”

“Talk and you’ll get it back.”

“It’s nothing. Honestly.” He tried to reach for the rabbit’s foot, but Reggie poofed to the other side of the studio.

“Bullshit.”

With a sigh, he ran a hand through his hair, gripping it in frustration. “You really wanna know?”

“Duh!” Reggie poofed onto the couch beside Alex, handing him the foot.

“You want this? Talk.”

“Fine! Fine. I’ll…I’ll tell you.” Walking over to the piano, Luke leaned against it, eyes clenched shut. “I went to see Caleb.”

“What? Luke, no.”

“So you lied to us.”

“I didn’t lie. I really did go to clear my head.” He turned back towards them, gaze on the floor instead of on his brothers. “But then I got to thinking. About Julie, about Nick, and about the accident.” He finally lifted his eyes. “I had a theory and I needed answers. So I went to ask if Caleb had anything to do with Julie’s accident.” 

Alex let out a noise of frustration, but his curiosity won out. “So, what did he say?”

Luke’s eyes hardened. “He didn’t deny it.”

Alex swore and stood, pacing back and forth. “But how? We were so sure that he wouldn’t be able to touch Julie.”

“Nick.” Alex stopped mid-stride, eyes wide. “That’s why he was able to see me. He was in Nick’s body.”

“You mean he was possessing him? Like in The Exorcist?” Reggie asked. “That movie gave me nightmares for weeks.”

“Except Caleb’s not a demon,” Alex argued. “A psychopath, maybe, but definitely not a demon.”

“I wouldn’t rule it out,” Luke growled causing Alex to look at him in confusion. “Julie’s coma isn’t from the accident. The bastard has her under some kind of spell. He told me the only way to break it was to wake her up. Said it was like a fairytale or some bullshit like that.”

“Ooo!” Reggie perked up. “Maybe that means you have to kiss Julie.”

“What?”

“You know, like in Snow White or Sleeping Beauty. True love’s kiss breaks the curse.”

“Reg, one, you watch way too many Disney movies. Two, Caleb was being facetious when he said that. He was totally mocking me.”

Alex’s eyebrows shot up. “Facetious? I didn’t know you knew that word. I thought you were too busy writing songs to know what was going on in class.”

Luke glared at him. “I paid attention when I wanted to.”

“Obviously.” The sarcasm dripped off of Alex and Luke rolled his eyes in return.

“Whatever, Lex. Can we drop it, please?”

“Fine.” Alex lifted his hands in surrender. “Fine. But next time you wanna use big boy words, warn a guy. Okay?”

Luke responded by flipping him off. “Why wouldn’t it work, though?” Reggie asked. “I mean, it’s obvious that you like her.”

“Yeah, painfully obvious. Anyone with eyes can see that you like her.”

Of course, he liked Julie. How could he not? She was smart, wickedly beautiful, had a wonderful sense of humor, loyal to a fault, and don’t get him started on her voice. The same voice that had nearly knocked him on his ass weeks ago when they appeared in the studio while she was singing. He was pretty sure his heart was gone from the moment he met her. But that was beside the point. He knew that his feelings wouldn’t be reciprocated. Even though Julie didn’t seem to like Nick in that way, there was someone else. Someone else who could give her what Luke couldn’t.

“Anyone except her,” he argued. “Doesn’t matter, though. She doesn’t like me like that.” Alex rolled his eyes. “Don’t give me that, Lex. It’s true. She likes someone else.”

“Who? Nick?”

He shook his head. “No. Definitely not.”

“So, how do you know it’s not you?”

“Because I just do. Now, can we please change the subject and focus on finding a way to break this curse?”

“I still say we should try true love’s kiss,” Reggie mumbled.

“You know what,” he growled in frustration, “forget it.” 

Without another word, he poofed out of the studio and ended up in Julie’s bedroom. The space was empty, lit by the single lamp on her vanity. From the open door, he could hear a conversation going on downstairs, followed by the clinking of silverware. He tried not to be disappointed that Julie’s family dinner had yet to conclude. He stamped down that feeling by taking a look around, finding that everything was the same as it had been in the real world. Across the room, her dream box called to him, but he fought the urge to be nosy and took a seat on her bed. It was risky being alone in her room when he could be seen by everyone, but he really wanted to talk to her. When Julie came upstairs twenty minutes later, she was startled to find him there.

“What are you doing here?” she whispered as she reached for her door, quickly closing it.

“I came to talk to you.” He stood.

“You couldn’t wait until morning?” 

“You know me, Julie, I’m impatient,” he answered with a smile on his face, but there was no emotion behind it. “But if you’re busy, I’ll just…”

She reached for his wrist, stopping him from disappearing on her. “Luke, wait.” His gaze found hers. She smiled sadly and she closed the space between them, winding her arms around his neck. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.”

He couldn’t help but sink into her embrace, his arms encircling her waist as he buried his face into the crook of her neck. “It’s my fault you’re here, Julie.”

“What?” She pulled back slightly so that she could look at him. “It’s not.”

“It is. I should’ve tried harder to convince you not to go with Nick. Or I should’ve gone with you. I could’ve protected you.”

“Luke, you’re a ghost. There’s not much protection you can do.”

“That’s what Alex said,” he recounted with a slight chuckle.

“You should listen to him. He’s the only one of you three with half a brain cell.”

“Ouch, Boss. Throwing punches?”

She shrugged. “I can’t help it if it’s true.” He rolled his eyes, but nodded, knowing she was right. “Look, none of us knew that Caleb was going to come after me. Maybe we should’ve thought about it being a possibility, but we didn’t. That’s on all of us.” She laid her palm on his cheek, her heart stuttering when he leaned into it. “You can’t blame yourself.”

“But…”

“No buts. Let’s not forget that Caleb’s been doing this ghost stuff a lot longer than you have. He knows more and has the upper hand. We’re gonna figure this out. Okay?” He nodded and pressed his forehead to hers. She sighed, her hand falling from his cheek and coming to rest on his chest. “Do you wanna stay for a little while?”

“If that’s okay with you, yeah.”

“Just let me go say goodnight to my parents so they don’t come looking for me. I’ll be right back.” 

She was reluctant to leave him, but she forced herself to go. She spent a whole week without him, a few more minutes wouldn’t hurt. Running downstairs, she found her parents in the living room with Carlos in front of the television.

“Hey, Mija,” her mother greeted. “Come. We were just about to watch a movie.”

“Actually, I’m pretty tired, so I was just gonna go to bed.”

“Oh. Okay. Then we’ll see you in the morning.”

“Kay. Night.”

“Buenas Noches,” her father replied and Julie went back upstairs. 

Going into the bathroom first, she brushed her teeth and switched into her pajamas. When she reentered her room, she found Luke sitting on her bed with her dream box on his lap.

“Haven’t we had this conversation before?” she asked as she closed the door.

His head shot up at her voice, facial expression reading like the kid who got caught with his hand in the cookie jar. “I can explain.”

“Please do.” She smirked as she climbed onto her mattress beside him.

“Well, for one, it was definitely calling my name.”

“Uh-huh. Sure it was.”

“It was! You don’t hear it? Listen, it’s calling me now. It’s saying: Luke, open me.” Julie laughed. He smiled, his eyes focused on her. “But, if you must know, I haven’t opened it. I think I learned my lesson.”

“Good.” She took it from him. “There’s not much in it anyway.” She opened it.

“Not much, huh? So what are those?” he asked referring to the multiple pieces of folded-up paper inside. She removed one and unfolded it before handing it to him. “What?” Confusion warped his face as he took in the words they’d written weeks ago. He grabbed another piece of paper, unfolding it to find the same thing.

“When I thought it was all a dream, I wrote down all of our songs just in case I forgot them.” He glanced at her, but her gaze was on the paper in his hand, unshed tears in her eyes. “They were all I had left of you.”

“Julie.” Grabbing her dream box, he placed the paper back inside and closed the lid before setting it aside. He, then, wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her in close. Her sniffles reached his ears and he tightened his hold. Her hands trailed up his back, fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt. She was tired of crying, but she couldn’t help it.

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.”

Once she stopped crying, she reluctantly pulled away from him, wiping her cheeks. Wordlessly, she grabbed her dream box and stood. He watched as she carried it back to the shelf, hesitating to put it back. Julie internally debated if she should show him Perfect Harmony and be upfront with him about how she felt. Neither of them knew what the outcome of all of this would be. This could be her only chance to tell him.

“Luke, I…” A knock came to her bedroom door and she froze. Her mother’s muffled voice called out to her from the other side. “Poof out,” she hissed and Luke disappeared just before the door opened.

“Hey,” her mother said, a soft smile on her face. “I just came to make sure you’re okay.”

“Uh, yeah. Why wouldn’t I be?”

She shrugged and leaned against the doorjamb, crossing her arms. “Well, you’re normally all for a movie after dinner.”

“I know, but I just wasn’t feeling it tonight. Is that so wrong?”

Her mother held up her hands. “No, not at all. Forgive me for being a concerned parent.”

Julie sighed and sunk to her mattress. “I’m fine, Mom. I promise.”

Nodding, Rose stood up straight and smiled. “Night, mi vida.”

“Night.” With that, Rose pulled the door close. Julie groaned and fell back onto her bed, wishing she could call Luke back. She hadn’t wanted him to leave just yet. She hadn’t wanted him to leave at all. Biting her lip, she imagined him next to her. Imagined him curled up beside her, staring at her with those hazel eyes. She imagined falling asleep in his arms. “Stop being silly,” she whispered to herself before getting up to turn the light off.

Luke reappeared on Julie’s front porch. He knew he should’ve poofed back to the studio, but he needed a moment alone first without Alex and Reggie’s running commentary. Being around Julie was proving to be a double-edged sword. On one side was the fact that she was awake and alive and smiling at him like she used to. The other side was the knowledge that none of this was real and she was currently a victim of Caleb’s obsession with him and his bandmates. He wanted Julie safe and out of harm's way. 

There’s a way to ensure that.

He shook his head. No way would he let Caleb win that easily. As long as there was still a possibility to save her without his assistance, he would take it. Fight his damnedest to bring her back to her family, to her friends, to him. Groaning, he braced his arms against the railing. He needed to tell Alex and Reggie the truth about his trip to see Caleb. There was something he failed to mention earlier. But he wasn’t sure how. He knew it wouldn’t go over well with them, especially with Alex.

But you need to tell them. They have a right to know.

The Hollywood Ghost Club - Hours Before

Luke walked into the main theater. The stage was vacant, as was the room itself. He glanced around, looking for anyone, but there was not a single soul - dead or otherwise. Descending the staircase, he continued to look around and hopped onto the stage. A single spotlight illuminated it and he stepped into it. Suddenly, the sound of a roaring crowd reached his ears. Luke was confused as to where it was coming from. Yet, as he stood there, he began to see the silhouettes of people at the tables, clapping furiously. All of their faces were blurred and he knew they weren’t really there. It was all just a trick.

“Doesn’t take much for it to be reality.” Luke spun around quickly, finding Caleb seated at a table that wasn’t there before.

“When hell freezes over.”

Caleb clicked his tongue. “Come. Join me.” A second chair appeared across from him, but Luke was reluctant to sit. “Come now, Lucas. I don’t bite and it would be rude to refuse my hospitality.” With a huff, Luke grabbed it and turned it, straddling it instead. If Caleb was bothered by it, he didn’t let it show on his face. “Can I interest you in some tea?” he asked as a tea set appeared before him.

“I’m not here for a tea party.”

“Shame,” he said as he dipped the tea bag into the hot water. “Tea is the drink of civilization. Nothing soothes the soul like a good cup.”

“Cut the chit-chat,” Luke interrupted. “I know you had something to do with that accident.”

“I honestly have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“Yes, you do! I know you do!” He stood, hands flushed against the table as he tried to hold himself back. Caleb’s indifference and play on ignorance made Luke’s anger flare even more. “ Julie! You caused the accident she was in. You’re the reason she’s in the hospital right now!”

“Julie?” Pulling the tea bag out of his cup, he placed it on the saucer before adding a dash of sugar and some cream. “Julie. Julie. Ah! Yes. Julie. The little lifer you boys seem to have a loyalty to.” He took a sip of his tea, still looking pensive. “I heard about that.” He tsked. “Such a shame that a young, promising life could so easily be snuffed out.”

Luke groaned in frustration. “Enough riddles, Covington. What did you do?”

Caleb seemed to ignore Luke. “Then there’s poor lovelorn Nicholas. Fighting for the heart of a girl who had already given it to someone else. So vulnerable. So easy to take control of.”

Realizing what he meant, his anger boiled over. “You sick son of a bitch.” Luke lunged for him, but Caleb disappeared. 

“Language, please.” He reappeared behind him. “This is a family-friendly establishment.”

“You were in Nick’s body. That whole time, you were right there.”

He chuckled. “I was, and you let Julie - your poor, innocent Julie - go with him even though you knew something was wrong. They say love makes you blind. I guess it’s true.”

“Why? Why drag her into this? She has nothing to do with it.”

“Au contraire, my friend. Julie has everything to do with this.” He slowly began to circle Luke, like a vulture circling a dying animal, ready to feast once the last breath was drawn. “You see, somehow, she managed to overcome some of the strongest magic known to this world, and I want to know how.”

“She doesn’t know. None of us know. She didn’t even know she’d done anything until it was already done.” Luke dropped his head. “She even begged us to join you if it meant saving us.”

Caleb’s brow quirked at that tidbit of information. “Interesting, but if you think that’s going to sway me, you’re sorely mistaken.”

“What do you want?” Luke growled out. “What will it take for you to leave Julie alone?”

“What I’ve always wanted. For you and your friends to join my house band, of course.”

He shook his head. “Never. It’s never gonna happen.”

Caleb stopped circling. “Then you and your friends will never play for an adoring audience ever again. Not with your precious Julie being a prisoner of her own mind.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Oh, didn’t I mention it?” Chuckling, Caleb walked up to him, his six-foot-something frame looming over Luke. “Julie’s coma wasn’t just brought on by the accident. Her mind was mine the moment she fell unconscious. A small spell, but one that I’ve had decades to perfect.”

“Why can’t you just leave us alone?”

“Because you three are too powerful to be out there on your own. I can’t have every ghost in L.A. thinking they can do whatever they want. There is an order to things and I set the rules.” Caleb went back to the table, pushing out his coattails before sitting. “Now, Lucas, out of the goodness of my heart,” Luke scoffed and Caleb glared, “I will give you a way to save your poor Julie.”

Luke cautiously approached. “I’m listening.”

“If you find a way to break my spell, to awaken her, then she will be free to return to her life.”

He eyed Caleb suspiciously, knowing there was a catch to all of this. “What happens if we can’t wake her? Then what?”

Smirking, Caleb tilted his head as his blue eyes bore into Luke’s. “Then her soul belongs to me.” He let silence pass between them for a moment. “Think of it as a fairytale. You’ll be her knight in shining armor, ready to rescue her from the clutches of an evil curse. Now, I suggest you run along. Also, please do tell Willie that I haven’t forgotten about him.” Luke was slightly numb, backing up slowly. “Oh, and one more thing,” Caleb started just as he’d turned to walk away, “you only have three days to do it.”

“Three days? Why?”

“Every great curse has a time limit. Tick-tock.”

Luke ran, making his way back up the stairs and towards the exit. Julie’s fate was left up to a sociopath who couldn’t take ‘no’ for an answer. Who decided to pull an innocent girl into the middle of an imaginary war that he started. As he stepped out of the magical barrier around the HGC, he noticed how late it had gotten. He knew he hadn’t been in there that long, but according to the sky, hours had gone by. Just like the first time he and his friends had stepped foot inside the club.

“Time is of the essence, Lucas,” came Caleb’s voice, echoing around him. “Tick-tock .” Luke poofed away with the sound of his malicious laughter in his head.

Chapter Text

With hurried steps, Julie made her way to the studio. Still dressed in her pjs, she had awoken that morning with yesterday’s events on her mind. But after spending the last week unsure of what was real or not, she was having a hard time believing it. So, she decided to see for herself. It felt like deja vu, going up to the studio doors and not knowing what to expect on the other side. Taking a deep breath, she grabbed the handle and pulled one side open. Three heads popped up to meet her with three pairs of eyes - two blue, one hazel - staring back at her.

“You okay, Boss?”

“So, it wasn’t a dream,” she breathed.

“You thought we were?” Alex asked.

“Yes,” she answered as she moved closer, “but I did just spend the last week thinking that you were. So could you blame me?”

He shrugged. “Fair point.”

“What are you guys up to?” she asked as she plopped down next to Reggie.

“Brainstorming ways to get you out of this,” Reggie answered.

“Oh. Anything?”

“Well…” He started but was cut off by Luke’s piercing glare.

“Nothing yet.”

“But we’re not giving up!”

Julie nodded. “I trust you guys.” She stood and started for the door. 

“Where’re you going?” Luke asked, causing her to halt in her steps as she turned back to him.

“School.”

“Why don’t you just skip?”

“We’ve had this exact conversation before. School first, remember?”

Alex and Reggie looked curiously between them, wondering when and where this conversation happened. Luke ignored both of them as he stood and walked up to her. “Yeah, but that was for band stuff. This is definitely more important than school.”

Reggie nodded in agreement before adding, “Not to mention, this is a dream. Your dream. How much trouble can you really get in for not going to school?”

He wasn’t wrong. “Okay. Um, let me just go get changed. I’ll be right back.”

Julie made her way back up to the house. When she reached the back patio, she heard the sound of her mother’s laughter coming from inside. It made her smile. Made her remember how full of life the house was before she passed. It could be like that again. She shook the thought out of her head, not sure where it came from or what it meant. Sliding the patio door open, she stepped inside and was greeted by smiles from her parents.

“Good morning, Mija!” her father greeted, reaching out for her.

“Morning, Papi.” She moved to his side and he wrapped her up in his arms.

He held her tight before placing a kiss on her forehead and releasing her. “What were you doing outside?”

“Just went out to the studio for a bit.”

“You’ve been going out there a lot lately,” her mother chimed in. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” she answered with wide eyes, hoping her face didn’t give anything away. “I’ve actually been working on a song.”

The concern on her mother’s face shifted to joy. “Really? Can we hear it?”

“It’s not ready yet, but soon.”

“I’m so proud of you, mi cariña. Writing a song on your own. You’re growing up so much.”

Julie smiled, a feeling of pride swelling inside of her. It had never been hard to live up to her mother’s expectations because Rose Molina never believed in setting them. Her mantra was always ‘try it first.’ She was never one to expect anything out of her children but was always their biggest cheerleader in whatever they did.

“Where’s Carlito?”

“Upstairs getting ready for school. Which, by the way, you should be doing as well,” her mother answered.

Nodding, Julie headed upstairs, forgetting that she was supposed to be rejoining the boys in the studio. School bag thrown over her shoulder, she exited her house twenty minutes later and found Carrie and Flynn waiting for her in Carrie’s car.

“Morning!” Flynn greeted.

Smiling, she started towards the cherry red sedan but stopped when Luke suddenly appeared.

“Luke!”

“Hey,” he said with a smile, though it dropped when he noticed her book bag hanging from her shoulder. “I thought you were skipping.”

“I know I said that I was going to, but I ran into my parents and I kinda forgot. There’s no way that I can now. They’ll know.”

He nodded in understanding but she could tell that he was disappointed. “Okay.”

“Listen, you guys keep working on figuring something out and then we can go over everything when I get home. I promise I’ll come straight to the studio after school. Okay?” He nodded again, forcing a smile on his face. She returned it with a small one of her own before touching his arm and moving past him. 

The entire walk to Carrie’s car, she could feel his eyes on her. After climbing into the backseat, she glanced back and found him gone. Julie hated the feeling it left her with, but there was nothing she could do. There were too many witnesses. Flynn might’ve kept quiet if she decided not to go to school, but she had a feeling that Carrie wouldn’t.

“What was that about?” Carrie asked after pulling away from the curb.

“Nothing.”

“Really? Cause that boy looked like you just killed his dog or something,” Flynn commented. “Have they figured it out?”

Julie shook her head. “Not yet.”

“Figured what out?” Sighing, Julie decided to let Carrie in on everything that happened yesterday. She explained how this world was the dream world and that she and the boys were trying to find a way to get her out of it.

"They wanted me to skip school so we could figure out a way together, but I got sidetracked and decided to just go anyway."

“So, let me get this straight," Carrie started. "You're currently in a coma and these three guys are helping you try to wake up from it." Julie nodded. "Why though?”

“Why what?"

“Well, it seems like you would be happier here,” she responded nonchalantly. “Your mom’s still alive here. So, why not stay?”

Though Julie had lamented the fact that she could not keep her mother, it never crossed her mind that there was an option to stay. 

Stay. 

Stay.

Stay.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Care,” Flynn scoffed. “Julie has a whole life out there. She can’t stay.”

Julie nodded in agreement with Flynn, though halfheartedly. Could she stay here where her mother was alive and her family was whole? The more she thought about it, the more real the possibility became. They pulled into the school’s parking lot minutes later, walking into the building together.

“Look, Jules, just…think about what I said. Okay?” Julie nodded and Carrie walked away. 

“I seriously hope you’re not considering what Carrie said,” Flynn commented as they made their way to Julie’s locker, noticing how quiet she’d become.

“What? No! No, of course not.”

Flynn wasn’t quite convinced but didn’t push. “Good. Focus on getting out of here, Julie. Back to your actual life, not this shadow world.” They came to a stop in front of Julie’s locker and Flynn smiled. “See you in Homeroom?”

“Yeah.” Flynn left and Julie turned towards her locker, spinning the combination. Carrie’s not wrong. Your mom’s alive here. You can hug her, talk to her, write music with her. Your father's happy, your brother's happy. You're happy. Why would you want to leave? She sighed as she pulled open the door. The reasons for staying were good reasons, but Flynn was right. She had a life. Yes, her mother was no longer in it, but it was still hers.

“Morning Molina.” Shifting her head from her locker, Julie stared at Nick with wide eyes, surprised by his sudden appearance.

“Nick. Hi.”

“You okay?”

“Yeah, I just…I’m sorry. I got a bit distracted and didn’t hear you walk up, so you kinda snuck up on me.”

He grinned. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s fine. What’s up?”

“Well, since you asked.” He leaned against the locker beside hers. “About those guys you were with yesterday.”

“What about them?” she asked, glancing at him as she switched out her books.

“Are they really your friends?”

“Yeah. Why?”

“I don’t know. They seem sus. How much do you know about them?”

“Enough to know that I trust them with my life,” she answered truthfully. Though there was much she still had yet to learn about the boys, what little she did know was plenty for her to love them like family. “You don’t have to worry about them, Nick.”

“Then why did Carrie just tell me that they tried to convince you to skip?” She rolled her eyes. She should’ve known Carrie would blab to someone, she just didn’t expect it to be Nick. He sighed. “I’m just trying to protect you, Julie. I don’t want anything bad to happen to you.”

“I appreciate it, but you don’t need to protect me.”

Smiling, he nodded. “I know. But that doesn’t stop me from wanting to. You’re important to me.”

She bit her lip and closed her locker door. “Nick, listen…one of them is the guy I told you about.”

“The one that you like.” She nodded, watching as he fit the pieces together. “The guy that put his arm around you.” She nodded again. “Hm. He’s not good enough for you.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Well, that’s not up to you to decide.”

“You’re right. You’re right. I’m sorry. I’m just a little jealous because if I were him and I knew that I had someone as amazing as you who wanted to be with me, I would jump at the chance.”

“What do you mean? You think he knows I like him?”

“Oh, no cap. I know guys, Julie. He definitely knows. He wouldn’t have acted like that yesterday if he didn’t. He’s playing with your feelings. He doesn’t like you like that, but he doesn’t want other guys to have a chance with you either.”

Lips in a deep frown, Julie stared at Nick. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to believe what he was saying. Luke wasn’t the kind of person to play with someone’s feelings like that. But how much of him do you actually know? “No. No, Luke’s not like that.”

“You sure, Julie?” His question made her doubt. “Like I said, I don’t want anything bad to happen to you, including you getting your heart broken.” She nodded in understanding. “Do you want me to walk you to Homeroom?”

“S-Sure.”

As she walked beside Nick in silence, she couldn’t help but let her mind wander. Was it true? Did Luke know that she liked him as more than just a friend and he was just messing with her by pretending to feel the same? Was that why he hadn’t said anything? By the time they reached Homeroom, Julie was in an emotional spiral. She wanted to believe that Luke was nothing like what Nick said, but the boy’s words lingered at the back of her mind and soured her heart.

When Julie arrived home later that afternoon, she found her mother singing along to the radio while cooking dinner. She knew she was supposed to go meet the guys in the studio, but she couldn’t help but watch her. Besides, she was still feeling a bit off since her talk with Nick. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to see Luke just yet. So, she stood in the threshold of the foyer, watching. Her mother noticed her a few minutes later and beckoned her over. Smiling brightly, Julie dropped her bag and joined her. They danced around the kitchen and Julie felt lighter.

This is what you’re missing. Is waking up really worth it if she’s not there to greet you?

“Mija, can you pass me another spoon?” Julie nodded and turned towards the island where the silverware drawer was. She reached in and retrieved the item, but when she glanced up, she spotted Luke standing on the other side. There was confusion and a little bit of anger written in his hazel eyes. Wordlessly, he gestured upstairs and she nodded, then he was gone.

“Here, mama. I-I just remembered that I have homework, so I’m gonna go upstairs.”

“Okay.” She took the spoon from her. “Dinner will be ready soon.”

Julie said nothing as she made her way to the staircase, grabbing her bag on the way, and climbing it two at a time. Reaching her room minutes later, she found Luke pacing and quickly closed her door behind her. “Luke, listen, I…”

“Is there something wrong, Julie?”

“No. Why would you think that?”

“Because you tell us that you’re gonna stay home from school, then you decide to go anyway. You say you’re gonna go straight to the studio when you get home, but you’ve been home for twenty minutes and still haven’t come to the studio.”

“How do you know that I’ve been home for twenty minutes?”

His face flushed red. “I was…sort of…waiting for you.”

She wasn’t sure what to make of his answer. He’s just playing with your feelings. “Look, I know what I said and I’m sorry. Okay? I just…I felt like everything was back to normal.”

He tilted his head slightly. “You make it sound like you wanna stay.” She didn’t answer, her eyes meeting his in confirmation. “You can’t be serious.”

She shrugged and glanced away. “So what if I am?”

“It’s not real, Julie. None of this is real.”

Unexplained anger suddenly burned through her and she glared at him. “Well, neither are you.” Both were caught off guard by her words. The unbridled animosity she had felt left as quickly as it had appeared. She stared at him with wide eyes, an apology on her tongue as she witnessed the way his gaze dropped from hers for the first time since she met him. “Luke, I-I-I didn’t…” He disappeared before she could say anything more and her heart felt heavy. She hadn’t meant to say that. She didn’t even know where it came from. Quickly making her way out to the studio, Julie was disappointed to find only Alex and Reggie. “Where’s Luke?”

“We thought he was with you,” Alex answered after he and Reggie shared a look.

“He was, but then I said something I shouldn’t and he poofed out.” She crossed the room and took a seat next to Alex. “I screwed up, guys, and I’m pretty sure Luke hates me now."

“Nah, he could never hate you,” Reggie answered. “He likes you too much.”

“Yeah, you’re like his muse or something.”

“What?”

“You mean to tell me you haven’t seen the way he looks at you?” She had, but after what Nick told her, she was beginning to think that it was just a figment of her imagination. Wishful thinking on her part. “He likes you, Julie. Hell, I’m pretty sure he loves you.” Alex’s eyes widened. “And I probably should’ve let him tell you that.”

She grinned. “It’s okay. You’ve actually helped me through something.” She stood. “When he comes back, please tell him that I really need to talk to him. Okay?” They both nodded and she headed back up to her room. 

Immediately going into her dream box, she pulled out Perfect Harmony. She needed to make things right. Showing him the song she’d been keeping from him was a good place to start. But the biggest thing was that she needed him to know that she didn’t mean what she said. He was as real to her as anyone else in her life. But he is real. To me. Her words to Flynn echoed through her head. There hadn’t been a doubt then, and there wasn’t now. Sighing, she set aside the sheet of paper and decided to do her homework to distract her. The boys didn’t know where Luke went or when he would return. She just needed to believe that he would. Besides, it was her dream. How far could he go?

Chapter Text

“What do you mean he hasn’t come back yet?!”

Alex and Reggie stared back at her, helplessly. “We waited all night for him to come back, but he just hasn’t.”

Pushing a hand through her curls, Julie began to pace. Where had Luke gone? Did his parents exist in this dream world of hers? Maybe he went there. “Maybe he went to see his parents.”

“I don’t think they exist here,” Alex responded.

“But we should at least try, or something. I just…” She let out a frustrated groan. If she hadn’t said what she said, Luke wouldn’t have run off and she wouldn’t be feeling like the worst friend in the world. “I need to talk to him. Please. Can you just go and see?”

Both Alex and Reggie nodded before poofing out, leaving Julie alone. Walking over to the couch, she plopped down and shoved her face into her hands. She counted to ten then back from ten to calm herself down. Why had she said that? What could’ve possibly possessed her to tell him that he wasn’t real? Minutes later, the two boys returned, but still without the third.

“Well?”

Alex shook his head. “Nothing. Their house doesn’t even exist. What happened yesterday? What did you say to make him leave?”

“I…”

“Julie, breakfast!”

She sighed. “I’ll tell you later.” She ran back up to the house, feeling worse than she did when she first went down to the studio. While her family held a normal conversation, Julie remained silent. She was worried about Luke. Worried that she might have ruined what they had or anything they could’ve had.

“Julie, what’s wrong?” her father asked, noticing her quietness. 

“Nothing, I’m just not feeling well today.”

He reached out and touched her forehead with his hand. “You don’t have a fever.” His eyes met his wife’s across the table. “What do you think, mi amor?”

Her mother smiled sadly, as if she knew what was bothering her. “I think we should keep her home for the day.”

Her father nodded. “I’ll call her school.”

“If Julie can stay home, can I stay home, too?” Carlos asked.

“Uh, no.” He grinned. “Nice try, Mijo.”

Carlos sighed and Julie sent him a sympathetic smile. After breakfast, Julie waited until both of her parents were out of the house - her dad to his photo session and her mom to drop off Carlos - before going back to the studio. When she walked in, she found Alex and Reggie where she left them. She closed the door to the studio behind her and went to sit between them. The feeling of their stares burning holes into the sides of her head was unmistakable, but she refused to look at either of them. She didn’t want to see the judgment in their eyes.

“Luke came looking for me yesterday. He found me with my mom, even though I had told him I would come straight to the studio when I got home. He accused me of wanting to stay here and not wake up because I told him that being with my mom felt like my life was going back to normal.”

“Do you want to stay?” Alex asked, speaking for the first time.

She glanced at him. “Yes. No.” Making a noise in frustration, she ran her hands through her hair and closed her eyes. “I don’t know. Maybe. But I asked Luke if it would be so bad if I did and he tried to remind me that none of this is real. So, I told him neither was he.”

“Julie.”

“I know! I know!” Opening her eyes, she looked at Alex, then at Reggie, who wore a sad look on his face. “I didn’t mean it. I don’t even know why I said it. It was like something came over me, something angry, and I just…” She had Perfect Harmony folded up in her back pocket, waiting to be shown to the person it was intended for. But it would be useless if that person stayed away. “I just need for him to come back so I can apologize and tell him…tell him…”

“That you like him, too?” Reggie asked, though he already knew the answer. She nodded, smiling sadly. A knock came to the studio doors and they glanced at each other with puzzled looks. “Are we expecting company?”

“Not that I know of.” Julie stood and went to answer the door. Her eyes widened when she found Nick on the other side. “Nick?”

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” he said before pulling her in for a hug.

Caught off guard, Julie didn’t return the embrace. “What are you doing here? Why aren’t you at school?”

“I came to see how you were,” he answered, pulling back. “Carrie told me you weren’t feeling well.”

Nodding slowly, she regarded him with suspicion. She had texted both Carrie and Flynn to let them know that she wasn’t going to be at school, but only Flynn had responded back questioning why and Julie told her the complete truth. Carrie didn’t know that she wasn’t at school because she wasn’t feeling well. “I’m fine. You and Carrie sure do talk a lot .”

“We’re friends who both want what’s best for you.”

“Right. Well, thank you for coming to make sure I was okay. You should probably head back to school.”

“Did you think about what I said? About this Luke guy?”

“I did.”

“And? Have you realized that he’s just using you?”

“Except he’s not.” 

Nick’s eyes narrowed. “Julie, please don’t be naïve.” 

“Excuse me ?”

“You know I’m the better option.”

“No, I don’t know. What I do know is that I would like for you to leave.”

“He can’t give you what I can.”

“You don’t know what he can give me.”

He chuckled. “I doubt that dead boy can give you anything.”

Her blood ran cold. “W-What did you just say?” He didn’t answer, instead continuing to stare at her with an unnerving smile. “Who are you?”

His smile shifted into a mischievous grin, as did his posture. He stood up straighter, legs together, arms clasped behind his back, and his head tilted back slightly. “You know me, Julie,” he answered, the cadence of his voice a little more refined. “Though we’ve never officially met. But, you did steal my band from me.”

“Caleb.”

“In the flesh. Well, not quite.”

“Alex! Reggie!” she called, but neither came running.

“Oh, they can’t hear you. Take a look for yourself.” She reluctantly turned away from him and glanced inside the studio. Alex and Reggie were staring in her direction, but they were both frozen. “You see, this may be your dream, but I control everything.”

“Why are you doing this?”

“I needed bait to get the fish biting and you were the perfect candidate. Well, the only candidate really. I could’ve used Willie, but it wouldn’t have hit the same way. But you, you got the fish to bite. I didn’t need all three of them to come to me, just one, and, boy, did he come.”

“What are you talking about?”

He grinned widely. Though he looked like Nick, Julie didn’t recognize the face she saw before her. “Like I said yesterday, there is much you don’t know about your precious Luke.” 

Julie’s eyes widened as she recalled the conversation she had with ‘not’ Nick yesterday and realized that he hadn’t said it, at least not out loud. “You. You’ve been in my head.”

“I mean, technically, we’re all in your head. But if you mean those voices you’ve been hearing? Yes. Most of them have been me. Others were your own, but I’ve been actively trying to steer you in the direction I wanted you to go. Just like yesterday with you telling Luke that he wasn’t real. That was brilliant, by the way. The way his dead little heart broke was just delicious.”

“You’re sick.”

“I know,” he said with a chuckle. “Anyway, I should go, but I’ll be back later.” He turned on his heel to walk away but stopped mid-stride to glance over his shoulder. “Oh, and tell Luke I said that time is almost up.”

Before she had a chance to question him, he was gone. Alex and Reggie were suddenly beside her, concerned looks on their faces. She glanced at them both. “You’re okay.”

They exchanged looks before Alex spoke up. “We’re okay?” 

“Julie, you’ve been standing here staring at nothing for five minutes.”

Shock shot through her. What were they talking about? They were the ones frozen in place. “What happened?”

“Nick…No, not Nick.” She hardened her eyes as she stared into theirs. “Caleb. He’s here. In my head.”

“Shit.”

Reggie looked at Alex. “What do we do?”

“We need to find Luke.”

As if being summoned, the boy in question materialized out of nowhere. Julie felt her heart lift when she spotted him. “ Luke !”

“Dude, where’ve you been?” Alex’s question went unanswered as Luke strode towards them, his eyes locked on Julie. “We’ve got a situation.”

Luke said nothing, drawing closer to her. Julie opened her mouth, apology at the ready, but it was cut off by his hands cupping her jaw and his lips suddenly crashing into hers. A squeak and a gasp came from Reggie and Alex, respectively, but Julie was more focused on the fact that Luke was kissing her. It was over almost as quickly as it had started. She was slow to open her eyes when he pulled away, still trying to savor the feel of his lips on hers.

“Damn it,” he grumbled, dropping his hands from her face. Her eyes shot open and she watched him walk away, running a hand through his hair before turning towards Reggie. “Reg, you said that was gonna work!”

He lifted his hands in defense. “I never said it was foolproof.”

He glared at his best friend, then turned his gaze to Julie, his hazel eyes shining with remorse. She thought it had to do with him disappearing on her, but it wasn’t. “Sorry about that. Reggie swore that it would work.”

“I never said that!”

“What?” She shook her head. There would be time to question that later. “Nevermind. Luke, can we talk? There’s something I need to tell you.” Reaching into her back pocket, she found it empty. She panicked. She knew she’d put it there before she left her room. Had she dropped it? Then she remembered the hug that ‘not’ Nick gave her. He must’ve taken it.

“No time, Boss. We’ve got bigger problems.”

“Yeah, like the fact that Caleb’s here,” Alex interjected and Luke shifted his gaze to him.

“What ? What do you mean Caleb’s here?”

“He’s been walking around as Nick this entire time, apparently.” Alex’s eyes narrowed. “Wait. You didn’t know?” Luke shook his head. “So what did you mean by we’ve got bigger problems?”

The question snapped Julie out of her stupor as she remembered what Caleb told her. “He said that time’s almost up,” she spoke, bringing everyone’s attention to her. But her eyes were on Luke, who stared back with his bottom lip caught between his teeth. “What did he mean by that?”

“Julie, you have to understand, I…”

“What did he mean by that, Luke ?”

“Dude, what did you do?”

“Nothing. Okay? I didn’t do anything. He just…” He sighed, knowing there was no way out of it. His gaze met hers. “He has you under a spell, Julie. He’s had you under one since you fell unconscious in that car accident, one that has you trapped here. He told me…he told me that I had three days to find a way to wake you up, or…”

“Or ?” Julie pressed and he stared at her with regret in his eyes. 

“Or your soul would be his.”

Her legs felt like jello beneath her. Unsteadily, she took a few steps backward, afraid that she might fall. Feeling a hand on her arm and her lower back, she glanced back and silently thanked Reggie for helping her stay on her feet. He seemed to understand, smiling softly at her. He, then, helped her to the couch while Alex and Luke argued.

“Why didn’t you tell us this before?”

“I thought we would figure it out before the three days. How was I supposed to know that we wouldn’t?”

“Even if you did, you at least should’ve told us when we got to day two and still had nothing, dipshit.”

“Guys,” she whispered.

“What did you expect me to say?”

“Oh, I don’t know. How about ‘Caleb is a manipulative asshole and he told me that the curse he has Julie under has a time limit.”

“Guys,” she said a little louder.

“Maybe if you were a little less judgemental, Alex, I would’ve told you.”

Alex balked, but Julie quickly cut him off before he could contribute more to the pointless argument. “Guys! ” They both glanced at Julie, who was still being slightly supported by Reggie. “Please, stop fighting. It isn’t helping.” Her gaze turned to Luke. “I don’t understand,” she whispered and he looked at her in confusion. “Why? Why does he want my soul?”

“Because he sees you as an obstacle. If we’re not gonna give him what he wants, then he’s gonna get rid of the only person that can give us what we want.” She covered her face with her hands. Luke slid onto the coffee table in front of her. “But we’re not gonna let him win, Julie. Okay? He’s gonna have to go through all of us if he expects to get to you.” Alex and Reggie nodded in agreement.

“That won’t be hard.” Caleb appeared in his true form in the empty space. All four teenagers stood, the three boys standing in front of Julie to protect her. “Hello, boys,” he greeted, pearly whites on display. His eyes locked on Julie. “Miss Molina, so nice to formally meet you. I’ve heard so much about you from our friends here.”

“We’re no friends of yours,” Reggie spat.

“Yeah, especially after you tried to have us wiped from existence,” Alex added.

“If you had joined me like I asked, we could’ve avoided all that nastiness. I even would’ve allowed you to visit your little lifer from time to time. You would’ve had all the freedom in the world.”

Luke shook his head. “That place is not freedom. It’s a cage you’ve made look nicer.”

Caleb narrowed his eyes, then looked at Julie, who had her face buried in Luke’s back. He smirked. “As nice as this conversation has been, I believe it’s time for me and Miss Molina to speak privately.”

“We’re not leaving you alone with her.”

“Yeah. We’re not moving and you can’t make us.”

“Oh, but I can.” Like that day of the Orpheum performance, Caleb blew magical dust in their direction and they disappeared. Julie gasped as the shirt she was holding tightly vanished from beneath her fingertips. Caleb observed her quietly, watching her eyes open cautiously. When she finally looked up at him, he smiled. “We don’t have to be enemies, Julie. In fact, I would love to be your friend.”

“You kind of made it hard for me to want you as a friend when you’ve got me trapped in my own head.”

He nodded. “I understand completely. I wasn’t lying when I said I could give you things that your ghost boys cannot.”

She eyed him suspiciously. “Like what?”

He held out his arms and spun once in a circle. “This. All of this. A world where you don’t have to experience the disappointments of life. Where your mother is alive, and your father and brother are happy again. Where your family is whole. I can give you all of this.”

“But you want my soul in return.”

“A hefty price, I know, but well worth it. I’ll even throw in a Luke look-alike. All you have to do is agree to give me your soul.”

“Agree to?” The words hadn’t gone unnoticed. “You mean you can’t just take my soul?”

“No,” They both turned towards the door of the studio where Flynn stood, “he can’t.”

“Flynn?”

“Who are you?” Caleb asked. “You’re not one of my sentries.”

She smirked and walked towards them. “You’re right, I’m not. Though, this body did start off as one. I quickly took it over once I realized what was going on.” When she reached Julie, she gave her a genuine smile. “Hola, mi cariña.”

Julie blinked owlishly at her best friend until she noticed the way her voice had changed. “Mom?” Flynn’s head nodded. “Mom.” She wrapped her arms around the body of her best friend whom her mother’s spirit was inhabiting. “How?”

“The perks of being dead,” she answered jokingly.

She smiled brightly, then sobered up when she remembered that Caleb had just admitted to something important. “What did you mean when you said that he can’t take my soul?”

Flynn’s head turned to Caleb. “Like all ghosts, Caleb is bound by the rules. He can’t take the soul of the living without their consent.” She turned back to Julie and smiled softly. “And, luckily, you’re still part of the living.”

“Technicalities,” he growled.

“Don’t be foolish, Covington. You know what happens to ghosts who break the rules.”

He sneered and looked as if he was going to launch himself at her, but didn’t. Instead, he stood up straighter and turned his gaze back to Julie. “So what will it be? Life without your mother, or life with.” 

Julie wasn’t sure what to say at first, but then she thought about her father, her aunt Victoria, and Flynn - the real Flynn - and about Carlos. About all the people she would be leaving behind. She looked at Flynn, who smiled back, encouragingly, and saw the eyes of her mother staring back at her. There was only one answer. “No.”

Glaring at her, he suddenly cleared his throat and gave them one of his infamous mischievous smiles. “No matter. I always have a backup plan, and I believe it is about to come to fruition. Seems like the fish are biting again.”

“You’ll never get all three of them to agree to join you.”

Caleb tilted his head. “I told you, Julie, I don’t need all three. I just need one and then the rest will follow. But, in the meantime,” He snapped his finger, and the world around her began to fade, including Flynn.

“Mom!”

“Enjoy your time in purgatory, Julie. I’ll send my regards to your little boyfriend.” He laughed before he disappeared.

“No! Mom!” Julie screamed as she reached out for her and everything went black. “Mom!” Her voice echoed back to her in the void, giving her a slight headache. “Mom! Luke! Reggie! Alex!” Tears were welling up, her throat slowly closing. “Anyone!” She sniffled. “Please. Help.” Falling to her knees, she wrapped her arms around herself and began to cry.

Chapter Text

Luke hit the floor with a pained groan. He still didn’t understand how if he was dead why he was still subjected to feeling pain, but that was an existential crisis he would have to worry about later. Right now, his biggest concern was Julie. 

“What just happened?” Luke glanced to his left, watching as a concerned Willie knelt next to Alex. So, they were back at the hospital. Fuck.

“Caleb,” Alex responded as Willie helped him sit up. “Caleb happened.” 

His head shifted when he heard a cough coming from his right. Reggie lay beside him, trying to breathe normally. “You okay, Reg?”

“Yeah,” he replied with a nod. “I think some of Caleb’s magical dust got in my nose.”

He cracked a smile before the unmistakable beeping of the heart monitor brought him back to the situation at hand. “Damn it.” Pushing himself off the floor, he moved to the edge of Julie’s hospital bed. “We gotta get back in there.”

“How?” Alex asked, Willie helping him up before moving to help Reggie. “I don’t know if you noticed, but Caleb basically threw us from Julie’s head.”

“There’s gotta be a way.”

“There’s nothing we can do.”

Sneering, he turned to Alex. “You can't be serious, Lex. There's no way we're giving up on Julie."

“That’s not what he’s suggesting, Luke,” Reggie reasoned.

“None of us want to give up on her, but we gotta be real here. Caleb is stronger than us, in every way. We’re useless.” Luke scoffed and shifted back to Julie, hands gripping the footboard of the bed. “This is completely Julie’s fight now. All we can do is let her know that she’s not alone.”

Glaring at the bedspread, he let his eyes trail up and stop on Julie’s face, remembering her bright eyes and her beautiful smile. All he wanted was to be able to see them again but in real life. Not in that dream world that Caleb had her trapped in. He remembered their kiss and how he didn’t have time to enjoy it, too worried about how much time he had already wasted being upset over what she said. Her life was more important than his feelings. He needed to make up for it, to prove himself.

“There’s one thing I can do.”

“Luke, no.”

He glanced back over his shoulder. “Don’t follow me,” he warned before disappearing.

“Luke!” Reggie called, but it was too late.

He reappeared outside of the Hollywood Ghost Club, determined. Caleb was the only one who could fix this and if Luke needed to sacrifice himself to do it, then so be it. As long as Julie was safe and returned to her family, that’s all he cared about. As he was about to walk in, Alex and Reggie appeared. He swore under his breath.

“Didn’t I tell you not to follow?”

“Luke, you’re not thinking straight,” Reggie said.

“This is the only way, Reg. Okay? I refuse to let her stay like that. She doesn’t deserve it.”

“We get it,” Alex soothed. “We get it. You’re scared for her, so are we. She’s family to us, Luke. We also know how much she means to you. But you’re not doing this, not alone, anyway.” Luke was ready to argue with Alex but was caught off guard by the end of his sentence. 

“What?”

“We’re doing this, together,” Alex sighed. “We lived together, we died together. If one of us is gonna bind himself to a psychopathic ghost for the rest of eternity, then all of us will do it.”

“But, Julie…”

“It’ll be hard for her to be Julie and the Phantoms without the Phantoms,” Reggie said, smiling sadly, “but Julie’s strong. She’ll be okay.”

Alex nodded in agreement. “Main thing is she’ll be alive and with her family. We only have each other.”

Luke nodded, feeling his anger with his friends dissipate. “Okay.” He turned back to the imposing building and sighed. “Let’s do this.” 

Making their way inside, they found the main theater in the same state it had been the last time he visited. Empty. Void of any life. But they knew Caleb was there. Somewhere. Hopping onto the stage, Luke turned in a slow circle, trying to see every corner of the room. Alex and Reggie climbed up beside him, their eyes also searching for the other ghost.

“Caleb!” he called, his voice echoing back to him. “We know you’re here! Caleb!”

“No need to shout.” The boys spun around as Caleb suddenly appeared behind them. “I can hear you just fine.” He stood there with a grin, eyeing them. “What can I do for you boys?”

“We’re here to make a deal with you.”

“I’m listening.”

Luke glanced over at Alex and Reggie, who both nodded. “If you agree to let Julie go, we’ll agree to join your house band.”

“You will?” Luke nodded. “Excellent.” Caleb clapped his hands together and a table appeared in front of him.

“What’s this?” He shifted his head, feeling Alex and Reggie suddenly beside him.

“A contract. Legally, and magically, binding. It states that in exchange for the removal of one curse on one Julie Molina, the souls of Lucas Patterson, Alexander Mercer, and Reginald Peterson will belong to me until the end of time ad perpetuam.” Three ink pens appeared in front of each of them. “Sign it, Julie will be free and you three will belong to me.”

They stared at the contract, knowing that signing it, agreeing to what he was promising, would alter the course of their afterlife for the rest of time or until Caleb found a new fixation. Could they do this? Could they let themselves be bound forever in the service of a man who thought so little of an innocent life? But that innocent life is in danger and making this deal is the only way to save her.

Luke sighed. “Boys, we gotta do what we gotta do.” Alex and Reggie nodded as they reached for the pens, ready to seal the deal. But Luke froze when he realized that his hand was glowing. “What?”

“Dude, why are you glowing?” Reggie asked, then noticed his own hand was doing the same. “Wait. Why am I glowing?”

“We all are,” Alex whispered and Luke realized what was going on, having seen this before.

“What is this? What’s happening?” Caleb inquired, confused by the boys’ sudden illumination.

Smirking, Luke looked at Caleb. “You lost, that’s what’s happening.” Before Caleb could say anything more, they poofed out, finding themselves back at the hospital, standing at the foot of Julie’s bed.

“Well? What happened?” Willie asked. “Did you…?”

Alex shook his head but didn’t look at Willie, his eyes focused on Julie. “No. We didn’t. Are you guys seeing this?” Luke and Reggie nodded, staring at Julie's prone body as it glowed just like them. "Good, because I thought I was going crazy for a second.'

"She just started doing that," Willie spoke. "Like a few minutes before you guys showed back up."

"I don't understand. How..."

“Shh!" Reggie shushed. "Do you hear that?” It was faint, the sound of a melody drifting through the air. 

Alex nodded. “It sounds like music.”

“It’s not just any music, Lex.” Luke moved closer to the edge of Julie’s hospital bed, a smile breaking out on his face. “It’s Julie.”

"Okay, yeah, that's not creepy at all."

Reggie moved up beside him, Alex on his other side. “What does it mean?”

Luke smirked before glancing at them. “It means it's time to go get our Julie."

-

-

Julie sat with her legs pulled up against her chest, staring out at the darkness that surrounded her. She had no idea how much time had passed since Caleb banished her to this purgatory. She’d long since stopped crying. Her voice was hoarse from calling out for someone to help. There was nothing she could do but wait. Wait for help that wasn’t coming? Wait for her body to slowly deteriorate? Wait for her father to give up hope that she would ever awaken and pull the plug? All possibilities. 

There’s a way out of here. One that could very easily happen.

She ignored the voice, knowing that it spoke the truth. But she didn’t want to think about the very real probability that would involve three of her best friends giving up their souls for her. She shook her head. There was no way, no way, they would do something so stupid. They wouldn’t do something so reckless. She wished she could talk to them, and let them know that she was okay. Even more, she needed to figure out a way out. But how?

Suddenly a bright light filled her vision, causing her to turn quickly and shield her eyes. When it cleared, she found herself staring at a familiar figure. “Mom!” Shooting to her feet, she flung her arms around her mother and buried her face into her chest. “Mom. I thought he did something to you."

“Caleb? Never. He has no reach over souls that have already passed on.”

“Then where did you go?”

“When he dissolved your dream world, I was pushed out like your friends were, but he can’t keep me out like he’s doing to them.”

“What do you mean? He’s shutting them out?”

Rose nodded. “Yes. He’s blocked your mind from them because he knows that he needs to keep them away in order for his plan to work.

“Right. To convince them to give their souls for mine. But they won’t. I know they won’t.”

“Julie, you have no idea how much those boys care about you.”

“But they refused to give in to him before, even when I told them to.”

“Yes, but that was when it was just their souls on the line. Now, it’s yours. They aren’t willing to let you suffer for something they feel is their fault.” Julie wanted to argue that it wasn’t their fault, but she knew that wasn’t quite true. If they hadn’t focused so much on getting revenge on Bobby/Trevor, then Caleb wouldn’t have placed that curse on them to begin with. “The only way to keep them from Caleb’s grasp is to call them.”

“Call them? How?”

“The same way you did the night you played the Orpheum.” Julie looked at her, confused. “You mean you haven’t figured out how it all works?”

Julie shrugged. “I just thought it was some weird ghost magic.”

She laughed and brushed strands of her hair out of her face. “You’re their beacon, Mija. Your souls are bonded.”

”You mean like how their instruments are attached to their souls?”

Rose nodded. “You are a part of their unfinished business. They cannot cross over without you.”

”But they will cross over.” Julie felt her heart break a little. She knew she was never meant to keep them, but it still hurt. 

“One day,” her mother answered. “But not for a long time.”

Julie’s heartbreak morphed into confusion. “You know what their unfinished business is?”

”Of course. Why do you think I sent them? I knew you needed them, and they need you just as much. Now, enough chatter. We need to get you out of here. The longer you stay, the weaker you become.”

“But how am I supposed to call them? I’m in a coma, remember?”

Rose smiled as if it were obvious. “Sing, mi cariña. Become their beacon. Lead them to you.”

With a resolute nod, Julie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. 

“Sometimes I think I'm falling down

I wanna cry, I'm callin' out

For one more try to feel alive.”

She thought about her band, her boys. Thought about the first time she met them and how she wanted nothing to do with them. Fast forward to now, she wanted nothing more than to see them again. She smiled as she remembered their group hug after they became tangible to her. It was insane to her that there was ever a time when they weren’t a part of her life. It was like they’d always been there. Always in her corner. Her face scrunched up as she felt something tugging from behind her navel. It was a weird feeling that she didn’t like, but the more she sang, the more it pulled.

It’s your bond. What ties you to them, her mother spoke, her voice echoing in her head. Use it.

“And when I feel lost and alone

I know that I can make it home

Fight through the dark

And find the spark.”

The words were never more poignant than at that moment. Here she was, trying to fight through this darkness to find her way back home. Back to her family. Back to her friends. She let it settle deep into her soul, singing the lyrics to the song that Luke gave her. That she and her band first performed together. It felt like a lifetime ago when they were trying to help get her back into her music program. Seeing them appear on that stage to perform alongside her so that she wouldn’t be so nervous was unexpected, but she was grateful either way. She knew their connection did nothing but grow after that, even with their whole mishap with missing her school dance. But this was different. To physically feel how much their bond had grown over the last few weeks was shocking.

That’s it, Mija. Keep going.

“Life is a risk but I will take it

Close my eyes and jump

Together I think that we can make it

Come on, let's run.”

Tears ran down her face for reasons she wasn’t quite sure of. But she began to realize why the warmth felt the way that it did. It was the same feeling she got when she was with her dad, or when Carlos was being the annoying little brother, or when her TÍa fussed over her, or when she was hanging out with Flynn. It was the same feeling she got when she got to hug her boys for the first time. It was the same feeling she got when she used to play and write with her mother. It felt like home. 

“And rise through the night, you and I

We will fight to shine together

Bright forever.”

Julie’s mouth parted in a silent gasp as a voice she knew so well began to sing back to her. She opened her eyes and her heart soared, a wet giggle bubbling up from her throat as Luke stood in front of her. His name fell from her lips in a quiet whisper and her arms wound their way around his midsection as she buried her face into his collarbone, openly sobbing now.

”I’m sorry,” immediately fell from her lips. She hadn’t gotten to say it before. Everything happened so fast.

“Shhh,” he whispered into her ear, his arms circling her shoulders and cradling her head with one hand. "It's okay, Boss."

There was so much she wanted to say to him. But this wasn't the time. Get out first, spill her guts out to Luke later. Pulling back, she smiled up at him as he wiped the tears from her face. Alex and Reggie appeared in her peripheral and she broke away from him to embrace them. A throat cleared from behind her and all four teens turned around. Her mother stood there, smiling at the scene in front of her. Julie grinned as she grabbed all of their hands and pulled them towards her.

“Guys, this is my mom." All three of them turned to Julie, then back to her mother, curious looks on their faces.

“I’m sorry. Do we know you?” Alex asked, confused. "I feel like I've seen you...somewhere."

"Me, too," Reggie chimed. "You seem very familiar."

“I would hope you would remember me,” she answered. “Of course, I look a bit different than the last time you saw me.” Her gaze slid to Reggie. “When a certain someone gave me a shirt. Size beautiful.”

“Oh! ” he gasped. “You’re the girl from The Orpheum!” Alex and Luke were still lost. “The one Bobby was flirting with. Rose, right?” She nodded. 

Julie cringed. “Ew. Trevor flirted with you?”

Her mother shrugged. “It was a lifetime ago. Before I met your dad. And, if I remember correctly, you were all flirting with me.”

“Not me,” Alex argued. 

“Except you.”

“Seriously?” Julie glanced at Reggie and Luke.

Luke shrugged. “She was a pretty girl who liked our music.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Is that really all it takes?”

“Not anymore.” Julie blushed at how intense his gaze was, his hazel eyes saying words that his mouth wouldn’t. 

"I can't believe you're Julie's mom," Reggie said excitedly, bringing Julie's attention away from Luke and the butterflies that were fluttering in her stomach. She glanced at her mother, who wore an expression that told Julie that she was probably reminiscing about the night she met them. 

“Okay. Okay. As weird and coincidental this all is,” Alex interrupted, looking at Julie, “can we focus on getting you out of here? Wherever here is.” He glanced around, uncertain.

“It reminds me of the dark room we were stuck in,” Reggie commented as he looked around, shivering. “Never wanna experience that again.”

"It's some kind of purgatory Caleb pushed me into. But, I agree. I would love to get out of here."

“So, how do we do that?” Luke asked.

“By giving her the energy she needs to wake herself up,” Rose explained. "Caleb's magic is draining her. The longer she stays here, the less of a chance she has."

“So like a backup battery,” Julie suggested.

Luke’s brow furrowed. “A what?”

Laughing, she shook her head. “I’ll explain it later.”

“Exactly like that, Mija. Join hands.” Moving into a small circle with Luke on her left and Reggie on her right, she took their hands in hers as Alex completed the circle, standing across from her. “Julie, I need you to close your eyes and focus.”

“Okay.” She closed her eyes. “On what?”

“On everyone you love that you are living for.” Her eyes popped open and she stared at her mother over Alex’s shoulder. Rose smiled as she read the look on Julie’s face. “Yes, that includes them.” Nodding, Julie let her eyes slip close again and she took a deep breath. “When we’re born, we are tied to our parents through an invisible bond. That bond can grow stronger or be broken. As you go through life, you create more with those you love. I need you to focus on that bond you have with all of them and let it pull you back.”

“Wait,” She turned towards her mother, who was now standing behind her. "I wish you could come back. Even if it's just for one day."

She smiled and kissed Julie's forehead. “My time is done, mi cariña, but I’ll always be here. Love doesn’t die just because the body does. Remember that.”

“What’s gone is never truly gone," she repeated, remembering what her false mother in her dream world said.

A mysterious grin found its way to Rose's face, making Julie curious to know what secrets her mother was keeping. "Time for you to go, Mija." She turned back to the circle and closed her eyes, palms finding Luke and Reggie's once more. She felt her mother place her hands on her shoulders. "Now, focus." Nodding, Julie thought about her dad, her little brother, her aunt, and Flynn. All waiting for her. Her mind slipped to her boys, feeling their presence beside her, grounding her. "Te amo, Julie. Always remember that. Okay?"

Julie nodded. "Te amo, Mama," she whispered, a single tear slipping down her cheek as a bright light flashed across the back of her eyelids.

Chapter Text

The light blinding her vision faded. Blurred images came into slight focus as the smiling faces of the three boys she loved so much appeared. Luke turned to Reggie, saying something that Julie couldn’t make out. Words were all muffled in her ears like her head was underwater. She watched as the dark-haired boy disappeared. To where? She didn’t know. She tried to speak, but there was something preventing her. Something lodged in her throat and taking up space in her mouth. Panic started to set in, unsure of what was going on. Her eyes shifted when she felt a hand on hers and they met concerned hazel-green. Luke said something, but, again, Julie couldn’t make it out. But the smile he gave her made her panic settle.

Then he was gone.

She doesn’t remember much after that. Just nurses and a doctor, and the removal of whatever was lodged in her throat, and finally being able to hear. But she can’t recall most of their questions, just the one about her name. They wanted to know her name. Julie slipped back into unconsciousness after that. Still feeling exhausted. Still feeling drained. She guessed she had Caleb to thank for that. 

Julie dreamt of her mother. When she was about four, Julie would play on the floor of the studio while her mother taught students. Though she was supposed to be playing with her toys, Julie would find herself watching the sessions, wishing she could learn. When she was nearing five, her mother gathered her onto her lap as she sat at the piano and taught her the scales. Julie was a dutiful student, watching every press of a key and learning whatever her mother was willing to concede. After that, she was almost always at her mother’s side, ready to be molded into the talented pianist she is today. Still ready to learn more. Still missing the tutelage of her first teacher.

When she awoke again, the room was quiet. The only sounds were that of her father’s soft snores as he slumbered in the recliner just steps from her bedside. She smiled but made no move to disturb him. Though she couldn’t wait to tell him that she saw her mother, she knew that he probably ran himself ragged with worry over her. Now that she was out of her coma, he would rest easier and she was determined to let him. Her eyes swept the rest of the room, frowning as she noticed her leg in a sling suspended from a contraption attached to the bed. She thought about how it would hinder her ability to move across a stage, to work the crowd as she’d grown so used to doing when performing. But her leg didn’t worry her as much as her arm did. Not knowing the extent to which her mobility was affected, Julie mourned the loss of being able to play the piano. Even if it wasn’t too serious, it was serious enough that her arm was in a cast and that meant that she wouldn’t be using it for a while. 

As she was silently brooding over her broken arm, her boys plus Willie walked through the closed door. Her eyes brightened at the sight of them. They smiled when they realized she was awake and gravitated to her side almost immediately.

“You’re up!” Reggie yelled and she winced, still not used to loud noises. Luckily, he was still invisible and unheard by her father who continued to sleep.

“How are you feeling?” Alex asked as they crowded around her.

“Like I got hit by a city bus, but I’m okay,” she responded quietly so as to not wake her father. They exchanged looks and Julie realized that maybe she shouldn’t have mentioned getting hit by something. “How bad is this?” She nodded towards her arm and her leg, hoping they had some insight.

“The doctor said that you’ll be in crutches for at least a month, but your arm might take a little longer.”

“What do you mean?”

“Your arm is broken at the elbow,” Luke answered. “On top of that, you also have a fractured wrist.”

Her mouth screwed up as if she had just sucked on a lemon. “I guess I won’t be playing the piano anytime soon. That’s gonna put the band on hiatus.”

“We don’t care,” Reggie spoke up. “As long as you’re okay, we’re okay.”

Luke nodded in agreement. “You getting better is more important than anything.” She glanced between them, smiling softly. “Besides, that gives us more time to write some killer songs for our demo.”

“You know people don’t do demos anymore, right?”

He lifted a brow. “How do they get discovered?”

“The Internet,” Willie pipped up with a smirk. “YouTube, Spotify, Tik Tok, you name it.”

“I have no idea what any of that means.”

“You will.”

“Oh, wait!” Reggie interrupted. “YouTube is that site that her dad put our performance of Great on.”

Alex nodded. “Oh, yeah. I remember now. That lady from the promoter’s office was on it. Said something about how we had half a million views in like two days.”

“See, you’re learning,” Julie teased. “The Internet is the best way to get seen nowadays. You can reach so many more people that way.”

“Well, if it gets us a record deal in the end, then I’m in,” Luke said with a nod.

She grinned, catching and holding his gaze for longer than she expected to. Then she remembered that she still needed to talk to him. To apologize and clear the air between them. She knew that he wasn’t going to hold it against her, not like she knew he should, but she needed to get rid of this dark cloud hanging over them. What she said was uncalled for and she needed him to know that it wasn’t true. Shifting, she winced as pain shot through her arm and up her shoulder.

“You okay?”

Nodding, she gave him a reassuring smile. “Yeah. I probably shouldn’t have moved.” He shook his head, a lopsided grin on his face. “Do you think we could talk? Just the two of us?”

“Uh…” He glanced at the others, who nodded, smirking before poofing out. When he turned back to her, though he was wearing a smile, Julie could tell he was guarded. She hated that she caused this. “So…”

“Listen, I…” A cough and a groan interrupted her as her father began to stir. Julie cursed quietly and sighed. “Later?”

He nodded, and then he was gone. Why couldn’t the universe give her one minute - just one fucking minute - to apologize to the boy she might be falling for? Maybe it’s supposed to be this way . Before she had a chance to shut down that thought, her father stood and stretched. She watched as his head turned and his eyes widened.

“Nena?”

She smiled. “Hi, Papa.”

He was by her side almost immediately. “Oh, Mija, you have no idea how happy I am to see you awake.” He was gentle as his hands framed her face and he placed a kiss on her forehead. 

“I have a feeling I do.” Her smile slipped off her face. “How bad was it? The accident?”

“You remember it?”

“Sort of.” That was a lie. She still didn’t remember any of it, just what the guys had told her. 

“Bad enough I thought I was going to lose you. That your mama would see you before I could even say goodbye.”

“I did see her, Papi.” Confusion warped his face. “Mama. I saw her. She helped me wake up.”

He smiled. “I’m glad. She knew I still needed you. As does Carlos. He’s not been himself since the accident.” She frowned at the thought of her brother not being his annoying, happy-go-lucky self. “He’ll be so happy to find out you’re awake. Actually, I should go call your Tía and let her know that you’re awake.”

“You didn’t call her?”

“No. I was too focused on the fact that you weren’t in the coma anymore that I forgot to.” Sounds of a vibration caught both of their attention. Reaching into his pocket, her father pulled out his phone and grimaced. “Speaking of.” He showed Julie his phone, her aunt’s name and photo popping up. “Her ears must be burning.” Julie laughed. “I’ll be back. Okay, Nena?”

“Okay.” He kissed her forehead one more time before exiting the room.

Julie was left alone and, once again, wished she had the ability to call Luke back so they could finish their conversation. With a sigh, she let herself droop against the pillow and her eyes slid close. She wasn’t sure how long it had been, but she began to feel as if she were being watched. Slowly, she opened her eyes and tried not to let the fear show on her face when she saw Caleb standing in front of the closed door. Her heart was pounding a rhythm in her chest. It echoed in her ears as his deep blue eyes stared back at her.

“Hello, Miss Molina,” he said with a smirk on his face before moving closer. “You know, I’m surprised to see you awake. Here I thought my curse was stronger than the normal human mind. Though, I guess you’re not exactly normal. Are you?” Julie stayed silent. She had no answer to give him, but even if she did, she would not be giving him the satisfaction of knowing.  It’s not often I come across someone such as yourself who has the range of abilities that you have. Not only can you see the dead, but you can project them to be seen and heard by others. Not to mention, the obvious power you have to overcome not one but two of my curses. Such a gift you have.”

“Whatever it is you want, you can’t have it,” she whispered.

He chuckled. “Don’t worry, Miss Molina, your soul is safe…for now.”

“ What do you want then?” she asked, gritting her teeth.

He came to a stop just beside her, eyes looking her over. “To warn you.”

“Warn me?”

Nodding, he let his eyes meet hers once again, blue gaze boring into her. “If you think this fight is over, little girl, you have another thing coming. You will lose this war, and your friends with it.”

Julie kept his gaze, not backing down despite the obvious fear she felt. There wasn’t much that he could do to her, but what he could do was enough. Still, she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much his presence affected her. “I’m not afraid of you.”

Caleb smiled, the action sending a chill down her spine. “You should be.”

Awaking with a sharp gasp, Julie’s eyes roamed the room, searching for someone who wasn’t there. That didn’t stop the fear that clutched her heart, causing it to pound like a bass drum within her chest. Unshed tears pricked at the corner of her eyes. Closing them, she felt their heat as they rolled down her cheeks and she raised her good hand to wipe them away. She counted to ten then down from ten, trying to curb the panic attack that was slowly setting in.

One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten.

Ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one.

She did it over and over, but it did nothing and breathing was becoming hard to do. Dropping her hand, she gripped the blanket as her chest heaved.

“Julie?” Her eyes popped open and she was met with the concerned gaze of her bandmates and Willie. Seeing the panic in her eyes, Alex immediately flew to her side and wrapped her up in his long arms. She sunk into him, clutching the fabric of his hoodie. “You’re okay,” he whispered. “You’re okay.” The presence of her friends helped in calming her down and, eventually, her panic subsided. “What happened?” he asked once he knew she was better.

“C-Caleb.”

“He was here?” Luke asked, glancing around.

She shook her head and then pointed to her temple. “He was in here.”

The guys exchanged concerned looks. “That shouldn’t be possible. He doesn’t have a connection with you.”

“Unless his curse left an impression,” Willie spoke, causing everyone to look at him. “Basically, he left a backdoor open into her mind so he always has access.”

“Shit.”

“How do we close it?” Alex asked, still holding on tightly to Julie.

“You can’t. Only he can.”

The severity of the situation caused the room to become silent. Reggie broke it after a moment. “What did he want?”

“To warn me that the war isn’t over.”

“That bastard,” Luke growled.

Alex shook his head, hand rubbing comforting circles on Julie’s back. “There has to be something we can do.”

“There is,” Reggie said, standing off with his arms crossed. “It requires us joining the Hollywood Ghost Club.”

“And that’s never gonna happen,” Luke interjected.

Willie nodded in agreement. “Which is why I’m gonna see if there’s anything I can do.”

“No,” Julie cried. “You can’t.”

He smiled sadly. “I don’t have much of a choice.”

“Except you do,” Alex argued.

“Have you forgotten that he owns my soul? I literally don’t.” 

Looking at Julie, Alex smiled when she nodded as if telling him it was okay. He released her and stood, walking over to Willie.  Knowing he might not ever see Willie again, stepped up to him and kissed him. It was something he’d wanted to do for a while, but never had the courage. When he went to pull back, he felt Willie’s hands on his jaw, keeping him where he was.

“It’ll be okay, Hot Dog,” Willie whispered as their foreheads touched.

“Will we ever see each other again?”

“I hope so.”

With one final kiss, Willie was gone. Alex stared at the space he once occupied, forlornly. Luke and Reggie walked up to him and wrapped him in a hug. He welcomed it, knowing they were trying to help. But it did not stop the feeling of his heart being torn in two.

“I’m okay.”

“No, you’re not,” Julie interrupted, staring at him with a sad smile on her face. “And that’s okay.” He nodded before depositing himself into the nearest chair. Caleb was just proving to be the gift that kept on giving.

“What’s on your mind, Boss?” Her gaze met Luke’s, who stared back with curiosity.

She shook her head, a soft smile on her face. Though she knew that she needed to tell them about Caleb still wanting her soul, she didn’t want to tempt fate and give her boys a reason to go knocking on his door again. So, she kept her mouth shut. “Nothing. I just wish that Caleb would leave us alone.”

“You’re not the only one.” Julie nodded, stifling a yawn with the back of her good hand. “You should get some rest.”

“I don’t know if I can,” she admitted, still shaken from her encounter with Caleb. “Will you stay?” Though she’d directed the question to all of them, her gaze remained on Luke. He nodded, smiling softly. She returned it before closing her eyes. Within minutes, she was fast asleep with his hand still firmly in hers.

“I can’t believe Caleb would threaten Julie,” Reggie said in hushed tones so as to not disturb her..

“Can’t you, Reg?” Luke snapped. “Or have you forgotten everything that he’s put her through so far?”

“Don’t be an asshole,” Alex chided. “We get that you’re angry. We are, too. But there’s no need to be angry with us.”

Sighing, Luke nodded, agreeing with Alex. “M’sorry, Reg.”

Reggie shrugged. “It’s okay.”

“No, it’s not okay. Alex is right, I shouldn’t be taking my anger out on you. I just…this whole Caleb situation is our problem, not Julie’s. We dragged her into this. He wouldn’t even be looking her way if we hadn’t been so stupid that night and listened to her.” He stared at her, taking in the rise and fall of her chest. “I wish there was something we could do to keep him away from her.” He turned his eyes back to his friends. “She doesn’t deserve to keep paying for our mistakes.”

Reggie and Alex nodded in agreement, though they knew there wasn’t much that could be done. They just had to hope that Willie was able to come to some kind of deal with the magician to keep Julie off of his radar.

Julie awoke the next morning, finding herself surrounded by four of the five men in her life that she loved more than words could express. Her father was once more unconscious in the recliner chair, Reggie and Alex were silently having a thumb war, while Luke watched with intrigue. She smiled at the sight, feeling like things were going back to normal. Out of nowhere, Alex and Reggie began tussling. Julie couldn’t help the laugh she released when Alex pulled Reggie into a headlock. Their attention caught, they looked at her with fond smiles.

“Morning,” she said quietly.

“How are you feeling?” Alex asked.

“Better, but still a little achy.” Her gaze went to her dad. “When did he get back?”

“A little after you fell asleep,” Reggie answered. “Said something in Spanish when he came back, but, you know, none of us speak the language so we had no idea what he was saying.”

Julie smiled, eyes trailing to the unconscious form of her father. She knew what Reggie was talking about. Though her Spanish was basic at best, she remembered her father saying a prayer in Spanish when her mother was sick. She still didn’t know what the prayer was, but it didn’t matter.  A slow knock came at the door, rousing Ray from his slumber. All eyes turned to it, watching as a blond head of hair poked through.

“You’re awake,” Nick said, a smile on his face. His gaze caught her father’s and he seemed to take a step back. “Um, hi Mr. Molina.”

“Nick,” Ray answered back. “I’m sure you’re here to talk to Julie.”

The boy cleared his throat and nodded. Turning to Julie, Ray smiled. “I’ll give you two some privacy.”

“Thanks, Papa.” He headed for the door. 

“We’ll be outside,” she heard Luke say and gave a subtle nod. 

Nick waited until her father was out of the room before moving in and Julie was able to see that his left arm was in a cast. “Seems neither of us will be playing an instrument any time soon.”

His eyes widened as if he hadn’t expected her to talk to him. “Oh, um, yeah. Yeah. I guess so.”  He was nervous, she could tell that. With a reassuring smile, Julie patted the empty space beside her. Nick was hesitant, but let his feet lead him to her bedside and he took a seat. “I’m sorry.”

“Nick…”

“No, don’t try to tell me that it isn’t my fault. Because it is. Even though I don’t remember any of it, I still know that it’s my fault.”

Julie tilted her head. “What do you remember?”

His gaze met hers and she could see the unmistakable fear within them. “I remember going to your house the day after your show. There was this guy, I didn’t even hear him walk up, but one minute I was alone, the next he was behind me.”

“Caleb,” she muttered.

“You know him?”

She sighed. “Sort of. Did he say anything to you?”

Nick nodded. “He said I was a broken-hearted teenager fighting for my girl, which isn’t true, Julie. You told me that you like someone else and I respect that.”

“I know you do, Nick. Did he say anything else?”

“Not really. I asked him if I knew him and he said ‘you will’ before grabbing my face. I don’t remember anything after that except the color purple and a lot of laughter. Then everything goes dark.”

She reached for his hand. “I’m sorry that you had to go through that, Nick, and I’m sorry that you don’t remember what happened. I kind of understand.” Curiosity filled his gaze. “I don’t remember any of the accident or the days leading up to it. I’m pretty sure that he had something to do with that as well.”

“Who is he? What is he?”

Julie bit her lip, unsure of how much she should share. “I don’t know,” she answered, going the safe route, “but, trust me, he’s no one good. I can tell you that.”

“I do trust you, Julie. I just don’t want anything bad to happen to you because of him. Can you call the cops or something?”

“If I could, I would, but he’...” She went to run her hand through her hair only to be reminded that most of her hair was missing and the rest was held down by bandages. “It’s complicated.”

“If you ever need someone to talk to, you know I’m always here.”

She smiled and nodded. “I know. Thank you.”

“It’s the least I can do seeing how I’m the reason you’re in here.”

“Except you’re not.” He went to argue, but she beat him to it. “Seriously, Nick, it really wasn’t your fault. It was his. Caleb’s. I can’t go into details, but I need you to know that it wasn’t your fault.”

His gaze bore into her, searching for answers. “I believe you. I don’t know why, but I do. Just…promise me that you’ll be careful.”

“I will. I promise.”

Chapter Text

Luke stood in the hallway, staring inside the room as Julie and Nick conversed. Though he knew that Julie had told him numerous times that she held no romantic feelings for the blond-haired guitarist, seeing her holding his hand did nothing to subdue the little green monster on his shoulder. Even if it wasn’t Nick that Julie liked, it still wasn’t Luke. Someone else held that distinction. Someone else had the privilege of being a romantic interest for Julie. He shouldn’t be jealous. What could he possibly offer as someone with no heartbeat or body of his own? Hell, his body was in the middle of decomposing for the last decade and a half. He had no real chance with Julie and should count himself lucky that he was a part of her life at all. Still, he couldn’t help how he felt. 

“You should just tell her.” Pulling his attention from watching Julie, Luke turned to Alex and Reggie.

“What?”

Alex rolled his eyes. “Seriously, dude. We’ve had this conversation before.” Luke stared at him with a blank expression. “ Julie !”

“What about her?”

“Am I talking to myself? You should tell her.”

“Tell her what?”

“That you like her,” Reggie answered. “Duh.”

Luke shook his head. “I can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’ll just complicate things.”

“Dude, you’re dead. How much more complicated can it get than that?”

“I told you, she doesn’t like me like that. What’s the point of telling her if she doesn’t feel the same?”

“ Or ,” Alex suggested, “maybe she does.”

“What part of ' she doesn’t like me like that' do you not understand, Lex?”

“Luke.”

“Look, I know what you’re trying to do, and I appreciate it, but nothing you say is gonna change anything. Julie likes someone else, and I’m okay with that.”

“Are you?”

“Yes.” He turned back to the window, watching Julie hug Nick. Alex and Reggie exchanged concerned looks, both knowing what would happen if Luke just took their advice.

Before Alex could raise another question, Willie suddenly appeared causing him to forget about his best friend’s relationship problems. “Willie,” he breathed as he wrapped his arms around the other ghost. 

“I don’t have much time,” Willie whispered, pulling reluctantly away from Alex. “I have bad news and even worse news.”

“What’s the bad news?”

“Caleb is still determined to get you guys to join the club. Voluntarily or involuntarily is up to you.”

Reggie nodded slowly. “Okay. So, what’s the even worse news?”

“He’s not done with Julie.” The boys blanched. “I overheard him talking and he is very interested in her. Said something about her being the first lifer that could break his spells. Mentioned that she might be a witch.”

“ Knew it! ” Reggie hissed, getting glares from his friends. “What? You both heard me when I said it, and you basically agreed with me, Luke. So don’t give me that.”

“Look, Julie is not a witch,” Alex argued.

“Well, whatever she is, it’s got Caleb interested and it’s never good when he’s interested.” Willie sighed and grabbed Alex’s hand. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do more.” 

“It’s okay,” Alex said, “we know you did what you could.”

“I should go.”

Sadness reflected in Alex’s blue eyes. “You sure you can’t stay for just a little bit?”

“I wish I could, Hot Dog, but I can only be gone for so long before he notices.” Alex nodded in understanding. Willie grinned, pecking him on the lips. “I’ll try to get away again soon. Okay?”

“Okay.” Willie was gone in the blink of an eye. 

“Fuck,” Luke cursed, pacing. “This isn’t good. How are we gonna protect Julie from that psycho? He can do things we can’t.”

“We’ll figure out something,” Alex responded, slightly dejected as he ran a hand through his hair. “I think…I think I’m gonna go take a walk or…something.” He poofed out before either Luke or Reggie could say anything.

“Someone’s gonna have to tell Julie,” Reggie pointed out.

Luke nodded. “You go find Alex and make sure he’s okay. I’ll tell Julie.” Reggie nodded before disappearing. He sighed as he glanced at the closed door, moving up to the window to watch Julie and Nick exchange a few more words before the boy made his way towards the exit. Luke took a step back to avoid phasing through the door and watched Nick walk down the hall.

Glancing inside Julie’s room, he watched her as she leaned against her pillows, eyes closed. For whatever reason, Caleb was interested in Julie. Did she possess some sort of magical powers? Luke had known that Julie was magical from the moment he first heard her sing, but he didn’t think it had to do with actual magic. Groaning, he ran a hand through his hair. He should just take the guys’ advice and tell her how he felt. What harm could it do? The worst she could say is what he already knew, that she didn’t feel that way about him. Then he could say that he tried. But that was the problem. He didn’t know what his confession would do to their dynamic. Would it change things between them? They were already a bit strained because of what she said to him in her dream world. He didn’t need something else coming in between them. He liked being around Julie. Did what she say hurt? Of course, but he was refusing to let it be a big thing. He didn’t want his confession to make things awkward.

But what if…

He shook his head. There is no what if . Alex doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Julie liked someone else and it was not him. End of story. Sighing, Luke was about to go inside to break the news about Caleb to her, but he spotted Flynn power-walking towards him and knew exactly where she was going. He would wait. Flynn needed to see her best friend awake and alive. He would stay in the hallway to allow them some time to themselves.

“Jules?” Flynn whispered as she poked her head in.

Julie opened her eyes and smiled widely. “Flynn!”

The aspiring DJ squealed and moved further into the room, closing the door behind her. “You’re awake!” She hugged her best friend tightly. “I thought I would never get to speak to you again.”

“I’m fine, Flynn, promise.”

Pulling back, Flynn grinned. “So, I saw Nick leaving.”

“Yeah,” she said with a nod, rolling her eyes. “That ship's sailed. Remember? Or did you forget about the ghost I'm crushing on?”

"I did not. I was just making an observation."

She shook her head. "He was only here to apologize for what happened."

“Why? It was an accident. What’s there to apologize for?”

Sighing, Julie motioned for Flynn to sit beside her, waiting as the girl climbed onto the bed and sat parallel to her. She smiled before she went into the story about everything that happened; Nick being possessed by Caleb, the accident that put her in a coma, the dream world where she was led to believe the boys never existed, and everything that happened after. Flynn managed to listen without interruption, but Julie could tell she had questions.

“I don’t get why this Caleb guy wants your band so much,” she said when Julie made it clear that she was done with her story. “Why can’t he just leave all of you alone? It’s not like you’re planning on ruling the world or something.”

“The boys think that it’s some kind of power move. He’s threatened by whatever power I have that causes the guys to become visible.”

“And he thinks by going after you, the guys will…what? Surrender their souls to him?” Julie nodded. “That’s just fucked up.”

“It is, and, unfortunately, he’s right.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m their weakness, Flynn. My mom…”

“Your mom?”

Julie smiled and nodded. “She was there. She helped me.” She didn’t go into detail about how she took the form of dream Flynn, not sure if that would freak out her best friend or not. “But, yeah, she told me that the guys would risk everything if it meant keeping me safe. I feel like a burden because of it.”

“You’re not.”

“But if it wasn’t for me, they could go somewhere else and not have to worry about Caleb.”

“Yeah, but if it wasn’t for you, they wouldn’t exist anymore. Or did you forget that part?” 

Julie didn’t forget that. It was still fresh on her mind how she saved their souls from ceasing to exist and kept them tethered to this world for a little bit longer. Still, she wondered if maybe they would’ve been better off if she never played their demo that night. They would’ve been stuck in that dark room, yes, but they would’ve been safe from Caleb. Before she could say anything else, the door to the room opened, and in flew a blue and orange blur that collided with Julie’s stomach. It didn’t take her long to recognize the disheveled brown hair of her little brother.

“Hola, hermanito.” Carlos buried his face into her midsection. She could feel his tears soaking her hospital gown. Using her good hand she raked her fingers through his hair while keeping her bandaged arm up and away from being crushed.

“I thought I would never see you again,” he whispered. Julie’s eyes softened and she dipped her head down to place a kiss on the crown of his head. Realizing what he was doing, Carlos quickly stood and wiped his eyes. “I mean, as nice as it would’ve been to be an only child, I’m glad that you’re okay.”

Julie grinned. “Love you, too, Carlos.”

“Carlito, that is not nice to say to your sister,” came her aunt’s voice. She smiled as she watched her walk in, her father following behind.

“It’s okay, TÍa.”

Victoria smiled as she walked up to Julie’s bedside. “Hi Flynn,” she greeted, getting a bright smile in return, then turned to Julie. “How are you feeling, Sobrina?”

“Still sore, but better.” Her aunt ran a hand over her bandaged head before cupping her cheek.

“Your mama was watching over you.” Julie’s lips curled upward, knowing that her aunt had no idea how true it really was. 

“I guess your arm is gonna keep you from the band for a bit, huh?” Carlos asked, staring at Julie.

She nodded. “It is, but it’s okay. I still have to talk to the guys, but I’m sure they’ll be okay with taking a hiatus until I heal,” she stated, using what she already knew.

“That reminds me, Julie,” her father said, pulling her attention to him, “your phone didn’t get damaged much in the crash, so I went to see if I could contact your band to tell them what happened, but I couldn’t find any contact information on them.”

“Well, I-I… They…”

“That’s my fault.” Flynn interrupted. “I asked Julie for all their info and accidentally deleted them off her phone while I was putting it in mine. But I called them and gave them the deets. They’re worried, but I told them I would keep them updated.” 

Ray nodded, satisfied with Flynn’s answer. Julie appreciated her best friend’s ability to come up with a lie on the spot. She really needed her to teach her how. “As long as they know. I can’t imagine how they’re feeling right now.”

“Well, I guess we’ll let you rest,” her aunt said, touching Carlos’ shoulder. “Come on, Mijo.”

“Awww. Do we have to?”

“Yes. You still have homework to do.”

“But Julie doesn’t have to do homework.” Victoria fixed him with a look that both siblings knew all too well. It told him to stop talking and get moving. They were on the end of that look multiple times when their mom was alive. Carlos sighed. “Fine. Bye, Julie,” he mumbled as he dragged his feet towards the door.

“Bye, Carlos.”

“I’ll let you two continue to catch up,” her father said, leaning down and kissing Julie’s forehead before following Carlos and Victoria out.

“I spoke to Carrie today,” Flynn said once they were alone again.

Julie turned and stared at her, brow lifted. “You spoke to Carrie?”

“I know ! Who knew I could have a conversation with her without wanting to pull her hair out? Anyway, she asked about you.”

“She did?”

Flynn nodded. “Wanted to know if it would be okay to come and see you.”

“But why? She hates me.”

“You don’t remember her complimenting your Orpheum performance?”

“No,” she answered with a shake of her head. “Another thing Caleb took from me. I don’t remember anything past that night.”

“Damn. This ghost is a real asshole.”

“You ain’t wrong. If Carrie wants to see me then…then I guess that’s okay.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah.” Julie thought of her dream world, of the Carrie that never destroyed their friendship. She would be lying if she said she didn’t miss her friend sometimes.  “Maybe…maybe she wants to be friends again.” 

“I guess that wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen. Just know, I'm not gonna be the one to tell her about your ghost boyfriend,” Flynn answered with a smirk. Julie chuckled, then sobered. “Jules, what’s wrong?”

Biting her bottom lip, Julie picked at the fabric of the blanket. “I messed up, Flynn. When I was in that dream world, I messed up and I don’t know if I can fix it.”

“Messed up how?”

“I may have told Luke that he wasn’t real. But I didn’t mean it, I swear.” Flynn lifted a brow, waiting for Julie to explain. “We got into a small argument and it just slipped out. Turns out that Caleb had been in my head the whole time, trying to make me think things to turn me against the guys.”

“Have you told him that?”

“No, I haven’t had the chance to. I’m just…” She sighed, unshed tears collecting on her eyelids. “I’m scared that I might have ruined us.”

“Jules.” Flynn climbed into the hospital bed beside her. “I don’t need to see him to know that Luke would do anything for you. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he’s already forgiven you.”

Julie shook her head. “You didn’t see it, Flynn.” Tears were falling now. “You didn’t see the look he gave me when I said it. The looks he gives me now. His eyes are so… guarded and unsure and I…” She sniffed, using her good hand to wipe her eyes, “I don’t know what to do. Everything seems so different between us.”

“Stop overthinking it. Listen, you’re gonna get a chance to talk to him and apologize and then you can tell him how you really feel. It will happen, Jules. You just have to not worry so much about it.” 

She knew Flynn was right, but it did nothing to curb her fear that her relationship with Luke would never be the same. “I really like him,” she whispered, leaning her head on her best friend’s shoulder.

“I know, babe. I know.” Flynn wrapped her arm around Julie’s shoulder and held her close. 

Luke chose this moment to walk through the door. Julie’s eyes found him first then her head popped up. “Hey.”

“Hey,” he responded back, smiling softly.

Flynn cleared her throat, knowing by the tone of her voice exactly who Julie was talking to. “I’ll let you two have some privacy.” She scooted off the bed and headed for the door. “I’ll be back tomorrow, Jules.”

“Kay.” She waved at Flynn, waiting for the door to close before letting her eyes find Luke’s. 

“So, what did Nick have to say?”

She sighed, her good hand smoothing the wrinkles on the blanket. “Like me, he doesn’t remember anything about the accident.”

“Which makes sense since Caleb was controlling him.”

Julie nodded. “I still don’t understand why I don’t remember anything else leading up to that. All I remember is the night of the show, nothing else. He just completely wiped my memories and I don’t know why.”

Luke shrugged. “Maybe to make it easier for him to make you believe we didn’t exist?”

“Maybe.” Once more, she reached up to run her hand through her hair only to stop midway. “I keep forgetting.”

He smirked. “Yeah, it’s weird seeing you without your signature curls.”

“Do I look that bad?” she asked, eyes wide.

“Nothing could make you look bad, Boss,” he answered, head tilted. Julie blushed, the intensity of his stare sending every nerve in her body on edge. Realizing what he said, he cleared his throat and broke their eye contact.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “You’re way too quiet.”

He rolled his eyes playfully. “Why does everyone think that just because I’m quiet it means that something is wrong?”

“Have you met you?” she asked with a grin. “You’re rarely ever quiet and never still. You’re like a fridge, constantly running. Talk to me.”

He bit his lip, his gaze boring into hers. “Julie, there’s something I have to tell you.”

It was like déjà vu, the way the words tumbled from his lips. She was brought back to her front porch and the first time Luke told her about Caleb’s curse. “What is it?”

“We heard back from Willie.”

“Okay. What did he say?”

“There’s nothing he can do. Caleb is hellbent on getting us to join and…”

“And?”

“And now he’s got some sort of sick interest in you. We haven’t figured out why, but Willie overheard him talking about how he’s never seen a lifer like you. That you have some kind of magical power or something.”

Julie nodded. Caleb was wrong. There was nothing overly special about her, only that her soul was intertwined with those of her band. But it reiterated what she already knew, that Caleb was threatened by her. “I figured.”

His brow furrowed. “You figured?”

Knowing she needed to come clean, she patted the space beside her where Flynn had once occupied. Luke hesitantly climbed in beside her. “When Caleb was in my head yesterday, he…he basically told me that he wasn’t done with me. That he still wanted my soul.”

Luke gritted his teeth. “I’m gonna kill ‘em,” he growled.

“Luke, no.” Julie reached for him. “Luke.” His gaze met hers and softened, his anger dissipating. She slipped her hand in his, feeling the callouses on the pads of his fingertips. “First of all, he’s already dead. You can’t kill what’s already dead.”

“We both know that’s not true,” he muttered alluding to how Caleb nearly killed him and his friends for a second time.

“ Second of all , don’t let him get under your skin. Please.”

“Julie…”

“ No . I know you. I don’t need you doing anything impulsive. Okay?”

“Me? Impulsive? Never.” He grinned, but she kept her face neutral.

“I’m serious, Luke. I need you to promise me that you won’t do something stupid.”

He turned slightly towards her and held up his right hand. “Cross my heart,” he started, making an ‘X’ over his chest, “and hope to die. Stick a needle in my eye.”

She stared back at him, bewildered. “ What ?”

Luke shook his head, smirking. “Nothing. I promise. Okay?” She held out her pinky and he immediately hooked his around it. Seconds later, a nurse entered the room to check on Julie’s vitals and Luke excused himself once more.

Chapter Text

Knock. Knock.

Looking away from the nurse who was currently taking her blood pressure, Julie was surprised to find Carrie standing in the doorway. With nearly a week having passed since Flynn brought up the fact that Julie’s former friend-turned-bully wanted to visit her in her hospital, she started to believe she wasn’t going to come. Yet, here she was, standing next to the doorway, without the judging look that Julie had grown accustomed to. Carrie waited until the nurse was done with her tasks and exited the room before speaking.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

“How are you feeling?”

Julie shrugged. “I’ve been better.”

Carrie nodded, smiling slightly. “You know, I was surprised when Flynn said that you were okay with me coming to see you. I was sure you would say no.”

“Why?”

“Well, we’re not exactly friends.”

“Who’s fault is that?” Julie asked, unable to stop the bitterness from seeping through, though she immediately regretted it. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s…it’s okay. I deserved that. I threw away years of friendship for nothing.” She sighed. “I was selfish and stupid and let jealousy cloud my mind.”

“You were jealous? Of me? Why?”

“Because of the attention you were getting that I selfishly thought should be mine. I mean, you’d even stopped singing and people were still paying you more attention than me. Even my own boyfriend.”

“Well, I mean, my mom had just died,” Julie said, ignoring the mention of Nick.

“I know. That’s why I want to apologize for how I acted. I was stupid to be jealous of something that you had no control over. That jealousy turned to anger and I allowed it to ruin our friendship, and I’m sorry. Sorry that I wasn’t a better friend. Sorry that I abandoned you when you needed me most.”

“I want to forgive you, Carrie,” she said with a sigh, “I do, I just…need a little more time.”

“I understand. I just…I hope we can be friends again.”

Smiling softly, Julie nodded. “I hope so, too.”

“So, can I ask you a question?”

“Um…sure, I guess.”

“Is it true that Nick asked you out after he broke up with me?”

Blanching, Julie stared at Carrie, waiting for her judgemental stare. But it never came. Realizing that she wasn’t asking for any reason other than pure curiosity, Julie decided to answer truthfully. “Yes, but I turned him down.”

“Because of that guy from your band that you like.”

“How…?”

“Oh, please, Julie, everyone can see how you look at him.”

“Everyone except him, apparently.”

Carrie shrugged. “Boys are clueless.”

“Care.” Both girls turned towards the door where Trevor stood, his eyes glancing around before meeting Carrie’s. “You just about done? I have a recording session in a little bit.”

“Yeah.”

His gaze met Julie’s and he smiled softly. “Hey, Julie.”

She returned the smile. “Hi, Uncle Trevor.”

“How are you, kiddo?”

“I’m okay.” 

Nodding in response, he turned his attention back to Carrie. “I’ll be in the car.”

“Okay. Be down in a few.” His eyes did one more sweep of the room before he vacated the doorway. It was almost as if he was looking for something, which made Julie curious. “So, what’s next for your hologram band?”

“Not much, unfortunately,” she answered, shrugging the arm that was currently in a sling. “Who knows when’s the next time we’ll be able to perform.”

“Well, it’s a good thing your Orpheum performance was a hit. It’ll keep your fan base talking for a while.”

The mention of the Orpheum brought a question to the forefront of Julie’s mind. “What made you decide to come and see it? I mean, you didn’t seem to be a fan of ours, so I didn’t think you’d be there.”

“Honestly, my dad was the reason I was there.” That piqued Julie’s curiosity as well as her confusion. “He found me watching that video your dad made of your backyard performance and, when I told him you were going to be playing the Orpheum, he immediately called someone to get us in.” Julie’s eyes widened. This revelation explained Trevor’s behavior. He saw the boys. She needed to talk to him. “What is it?” Carrie asked, noticing the strange look on Julie’s face.

“Nothing. It’s…” Julie bit her lip. “Did your dad ever mention being in a band when he was younger?”

“No. Why?”

Julie shook her head. “No reason.”

Carrie rolled her eyes. “I’m sure there’s a story there, but I won’t ask. Anyway, I should go. See you in school?”

“Whenever that will be,” Julie answered with a nod. With a smile, Carrie departed, leaving Julie alone with her thoughts. She would have to let the boys know about Trevor and then she would have to find a way to speak to the man who’d been an uncle to her since birth. Now that he was aware that his former bandmates weren’t as dead as he’d believed, she could get the answers that both she and the guys desperately needed.

The fact that the boys knew her mother had brought everything into a new light. She still didn’t understand it. How did her mother know that three boys she had a conversation with once twenty years ago would be able to bring music back into her daughter’s life when she needed it most? She tried not to think too hard about it, but the desire to find out was there. But she wondered why she hadn’t heard of them before. Why hadn’t Trevor mentioned them? Why hadn’t her mom? Still so many questions with no answers.

Night fell hours later. Julie convinced her father to go home, stating that she would be fine and that he had nothing to worry about. Of course, he wasn’t aware of the psychopathic ghost that wanted his daughter’s soul, so Ray Molina had no reason to be concerned about her safety. With him gone and the nurses coming around a lot less, Julie found herself alone in her hospital room with just three ghosts for company. It was the perfect time to tell them about Trevor/Bobby.

“Guys,” she said, catching their attention, “there’s something I need to tell you.”

“What is it?” Alex asked, glancing at his friends before back at Julie.

“I spoke to Carrie today.”

“Aww, that’s good,” Reggie interrupted, an innocent smile on his face. “Does that mean you two are gonna be friends again?”

She shrugged, smiling back at him. “Maybe. But that’s not the reason why I brought her up.” Their curiosity was palpable and she took a deep breath. “Trevor… Bobby …knows about you.”

“Well, duh. We did haunt him after all.”

“Yeah,” Luke chimed in, “and we wrote his name on his bathroom mirror. His actual name . There’s no way he didn’t know it was us.”

Glaring at them, her nostril flared in irritation. She didn’t know what they’d done in the Wilson house, and she hadn’t asked. “Yeah, well, if he at any point was questioning his sanity through all of that, he definitely knows that he wasn’t going insane now.”

“What do you mean?”

“He was there that night, at the Orpheum.” Their eyes widened at the revelation. “He saw you. That changes a lot. It means that I can ask him about you guys without having to lie to him about why.”

“You can also ask him why he took credit for the songs that I wrote,” Luke muttered bitterly.

She nodded, gaze on him. “That among other things.” When his eyes met hers, she sent him a small smile before glancing at Alex and Reggie. “I need to know why my mom was willing to keep his secret. Now that I know that my mom met you when you were alive, I need him to fill in the blanks as to why she never mentioned any of you or Trevor’s real identity.”

“Just make sure we’re there when you confront him,” Alex said, crossing his arms. “We want to hear what he has to say, too.” She nodded in response. His gaze went to the clock on the wall and his eyes widened. “Shit. I’m late.” Then he was gone.

“He has a date with Willie,” Reggie supplied, answering Julie’s questioning expression. 

“I thought Caleb wasn’t allowing him out of his sight?”

“He can only get away when there’s a show going on. It’s the one time when Caleb isn’t watching him.”

Her gaze softened. “I hate that Alex and Willie can’t have a normal relationship.”

“Well, they’re both dead, so it’s already abnormal. Or shall I say para normal.” Julie rolled her eyes playfully, chuckling softly at the groan Luke emitted. “Ooo. That reminds me. Carlos got into this new ghost show and it should be starting soon.” He glanced between Julie and Luke. “You two will be okay without me?” Julie nodded, her gaze sliding over to the boy she still owed an apology to. “Good. See ya.”

Reggie poofed out, leaving the two teens alone. Silence stretched on between them with only the soft beeping of the IV machine to cut through the tension. She didn’t understand why it was so awkward between them. There wasn’t half as much of it the last time they spoke. Maybe it was because this time, for sure, she knew she had the opportunity to apologize to him, but she was afraid of what damage her words had done. What if Flynn was wrong? What if he didn’t forgive her? What would that do to them? 

“Penny for your thoughts?” Her head snapped up and she found herself drowning in his eyes.

“Do you even have any pennies?” she asked, lips quirking upward into a smile.

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the wallet that was eternally attached to him and opened it. She watched as he emptied it onto the bed, producing six copper pennies. “I got six.”

Julie giggled. “There was money in there? I’m shocked. I didn’t realize ghosts needed it. Like, what would you use it for?”

“You want one or not?” he asked, smirking. Worrying her bottom lip, she stared at the coins in the palm of his hand, watching as he picked one up. “Come on, Boss. What’s on your mind?”

Plucking it from his fingertips, Julie held the coin in her palm and stared at it. This was her chance. He was giving her the opportunity without even knowing it. “I’m sorry for what I said to you. I didn’t mean it, and I’ve been trying to apologize for it since the moment I said it.” Looking up, she met his gaze. “You are real to me, Luke. You always have been. I need you to know that.”

He stared at her with an expression she couldn’t read. It made her nervous. Luke had always been an open book, but right then and there, she didn’t know what he was thinking. Finally, he gave her a small smile. “I know.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” he said with a nod.

“Do you forgive me?”

“Julie, I forgave you the second after you said it.”

“Then why did you leave?”

Shrugging, he glanced down as he played with the other coins in his hand. “I will admit that it hurt, but,” His gaze met hers, “after everything we’ve been through, I knew there was no way you meant what you said.”

Julie smiled. Flynn was right (of course she was). Luke had forgiven her without her even needing to truly ask for it. She still felt better that she apologized, but her chest felt infinitely lighter knowing that Luke trusted her enough to know that her words were empty. But, then, why did he look at her with such guarded eyes? She didn’t understand.

“So,” he spoke, breaking the silence, “does that guy you like know you’re in the hospital?” 

She was confused for a moment, and then it clicked. He was jealous. Grinning, she nodded. “Yes.”

HIs eyes narrowed. “And he hasn’t come to see you?”

“He’s been busy,” she answered with a shrug.

“Too busy to come and see you? How can you like this guy? I mean, if it were me, I would make sure you were okay, at least.”

There was a voice that whispered ‘ tell him’ in the back of her mind, but she silenced it. Not yet. The plan was to show him Perfect Harmony first and then confess her feelings for him. She would not waiver from it because music was how they connected. Showing him a song she’d written for him, for them , would chase away any doubt he had in his mind that her feelings weren’t real.

“I think I’m gonna tell him the truth,” Julie said, watching his annoyance shift to puzzlement. “That I like him.”

“He doesn’t know?” She shook her head. “Oh. Well…I hope he knows how lucky he is.”

She smiled. “I think he does.”

Switching the conversation to a more neutral territory, Julie and Luke fell into an easy discussion about music. Julie invited him to settle in beside her on the hospital bed and he took it with little resistance. He regaled her with stories of Sunset Curve's  adventures in playing clubs they were too young to patronize and the trouble they used to get into. She listened intently, a small smile on her face the entire time. Julie loved listening to him talk. He spoke with such conviction and passion. Somewhere during the conversation, exhaustion took over. She hadn’t even realized that she’d fallen asleep until she was awoken by the sound of shuffling. 

The nurse who had come in to check on her silently apologized before exiting the room. Julie, still sluggish from sleep, glanced around for any sign of her ghosts, but found the room empty. Feeling her bandaged arm beginning to itch, she went to scratch it but felt something tighten around her good hand. Shifting her head, her gaze softened as she laid eyes on Luke curled up beside her, fast asleep, his fingers interwoven with hers. The itch forgotten, she continued to watch him, softly running her fingertip against the skin of his hand.

“Julie,” he murmured. Thinking that he was awake, Julie made a sound at the back of her throat, but his eyes never opened, telling her he was still asleep. “I wanted…to tell you…”

“Tell me what?” she asked, whispering so as to not bring him out of his unconscious state.

“...I like you.” Though it was something she already knew, to actually hear him say it was different. She wished he had been conscious when he confessed, but she would take it. Julie fell asleep with a smile on her face, dreaming of the look on Luke’s face when she told him that his feelings weren’t one-sided. 

Soon .

The sun was just going down when her father’s SUV pulled into the driveway. From her spot in the passenger seat, she stared up at the home she’d grown up in. It was weird seeing it after being stuck in the hospital for the last three weeks. Ray killed the engine and turned to look at Julie.

“How does it feel being back home?”

“Weird,” she confessed, shifting her head towards him, “but good. It’s gonna be really nice to be able to sleep in my bed again.”

He chuckled. “I’m sure.” She smirked and reached for the door. “Let me get that for you, Mija.” 

Nodding, she watched and waited for her father to jump out and round the vehicle. Seconds later, the door opened and she grabbed the crutches she was given by the hospital. Ray took them from her before helping her out of the car. Once she was standing, somewhat haphazardly, on her one good leg, her father placed the crutches in front of her and helped her position them correctly. It took a few minutes, but soon she was hobbling up the pathway that led to the house. Her father helped her up the small stairs that led onto the porch, just as the front door opened, her aunt and brother walked out to greet her.

“Welcome home, Sobrina,” Victoria said before hugging Julie tightly. 

“Thank you, TÍa. It feels good to be home.” Grinning, Victoria squeezed Julie’s chin before heading back inside. Without another word, she followed her aunt inside with her father and brother following behind. “Mijo, why don’t you help your sister upstairs so she can rest a little bit before dinner? I’m cooking all of your favorites, Sobina.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“Of course I did.” She stepped up to her niece, a sad smile on her face as she cupped Julie’s cheek. “I was so close to losing you, just like I lost your mama.” Pulling away, Victoria started for the kitchen. “Dinner will be ready in a little bit.” Julie glanced back at her father, who sighed and shrugged slightly with his own sad smile on his face before following Victoria into the kitchen.

“She’s broken down a few times since you’ve been in the hospital,” Carlos offered as he took Julie’s arm, ushering her towards the staircase. Julie let him help her up the stairs to her room, her heart aching for the pain her family was going through. As they walked through the door, she was surprised to find the room not empty. Well, it was empty to those who couldn’t see what she could. The boys were sitting on her bed, smiling up at her. “What? What is it?” Carlos asked, noticing her change in mood. “Is it your ghost band?”

Julie almost forgot that Carlos had (somehow) learned about the boys. She still needed to find out how that happened, but now was not the time. Instead, she just nodded, acknowledging that he knew. “Yeah.”

“What’s up, boy band?”

“Dude, you gotta stop calling us boy band !” Reggie complained, even though he knew Carlos couldn’t hear him. “Especially after we tried to get your aunt to believe you.”

“ We ?” Alex crossed his arms, glaring at Reggie. 

Pieces of the story were beginning to be put into place. Julie sighed, trying hard not to laugh. “The guys would appreciate it if you didn’t call them a boy band.”

“Fine. But only because they helped you be yourself again.” Smiling, Julie went to pull Carlos in for a hug, but he evaded her. “Whoa. Whoa. Not in front of the guys.” She shook her head and ruffled his hair instead. “I’ll come get you when dinner’s ready.”

“Thanks, Carlito.” He nodded before leaving her alone with her ghosts, closing the door behind him.

“How are you feeling?” Alex asked.

“Been better,” she answered before using her crutches to move towards them. They all stood to help her but she waved them off, wanting to do it on her own. Still, they hovered, ready to assist when needed. When she reached her bed, she took a seat, landing with a soft ‘oof’, and set the crutches to the side. “So…who wants to explain?”

“Explain?” Luke parroted. “Explain what?” She lifted a brow. “Oh. You mean Carlos knowing about us? Well, that’s a funny story.” He turned to Reggie. “Reg, how about you explain it?”

“Me? Why me?”

“Well, it is your fault he figured it out,” Alex deadpanned.

Julie looked at Reggie expectantly. He swallowed hard before nodding. “Right. Well…you see…” She tilted her head, waiting for his explanation. He took a deep breath. “IwasonlytryingtohelpCarlosprovetoyourTÍathatghostswerereal!”

Blinking, Julie took a moment to process what Reggie said. “O-kay. Wait. Were you the reason my aunt came screaming out of the house?”

“Yep. That was him alright,” Alex answered.

“Seriously, Reggie?”

“ I’m sorry . Okay? I was just trying to be helpful.” He pouted. “I was tired of adults not believing kids.”

With a sigh, she patted the space beside her. Reggie hesitantly sat down next to her and was caught off guard when she wrapped her arms around his neck. “I'm not mad at you, Reggie. I don't appreciate you almost giving my aunt a heart attack, but I do appreciate the fact that you care about my brother enough to want to help him. I just wish he could see you."

Reggie smiled sadly. “I do, too.”

“Julie, dinner’s ready!” Her father called from downstairs. “Carlos is coming up in a moment to help you.”

“Okay, PapÍ!” she called back. “Sorry, guys, I guess we’re gonna have to cut this short.”

“No worries. Alex has a date with Willie tonight, anyway.” Alex smacked Reggie on the back of the head. “ Ow !”

Julie smirked at their antics. “How is Willie?”

“Not good. Caleb’s got him pretty much tied to the club. He doesn’t have as much freedom as he did before. We’re lucky he hasn’t figured out that Willie disappears during shows.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “It’s not your fault, Julie. Willie and I...we were doomed from the start. Even if we hadn’t gone to see Caleb, Willie would still be a prisoner to him. Can’t change that, unfortunately.” A knock came at her door. “We’ll see you later. Okay?”

Nodding, she watched as one by one, they poofed out. “Luke, wait.” He stopped himself from disappearing. “Do you think we could talk? After dinner? There’s…there’s something I wanted to tell you.”

“Um…sure.”

She smiled. “Kay.” He poofed out just as Carlos opened the door.

“Ready, sis?” She nodded, grabbing her crutches and pushing herself up.

After a home-cooked meal, courtesy of her aunt, Julie was helped up to her room by Victoria while her father and brother cleaned up. Her aunt helped her out of her clothes and into comfortable pjs that didn’t interfere with her cast. Victoria helped her into bed and then gave Julie her pain medication. Though it wasn’t distracting, she had begun to feel some pain in her arm and decided to take the pills for preventative measures. She didn’t want to be awoken in the middle of the night by it bothering her. Once she was settled in her bed, her aunt placed a loving kiss on her forehead and left her alone, closing the door on the way out. 

Julie could feel herself beginning to float in and out of consciousness, the painkillers taking effect almost immediately. But she needed to wait, to keep herself awake. She was determined to talk to Luke. Eyes closing without her permission, she quickly fought to get them open again and found the boy in question standing at the edge of her bed.

“Luke,” she said with a smile before using her good hand to push herself into a seated position.

“You don’t have to…” He quickly moved to her side to assist her, noticing how sluggish she was. “We can do this another time, Julie. You should rest.”

She shook her head. “No. I need to do this. It’s something I should’ve done the moment I realized it.” He lifted a brow, confused, but she didn’t elaborate further. 

“What are you talking about?” he asked, his voice low.

Her gaze met his, full of curiosity. “I need you to do me a favor.” He nodded. “I’m giving you permission to go into my dream box. There’s a folded-up piece of paper at the bottom.”

Moving towards the dream box where it sat on the shelf, he stepped onto the stool and opened it. She watched as he dipped his hand inside, fishing for the elusive piece of paper. He found it seconds later, smirking as he pulled it out. “Hiding songs from me, Boss?” he asked. Though he said it in jest, Julie could hear the hurt in his voice.

She held her hand out for it and he stepped down, handing it to her. “I wasn’t ready to show it to you,” she answered, staring at it before meeting his eyes, “but I am now.” She unfolded it, then gave it to him. “Read it.”

“Julie, I…”

“Just read it. Please .”

With a soft sigh, he let his eyes fall to the page. “ Perfect Harmony ,” he read, brows furrowing. “It’s a love song.”

She started to nod but stopped when the movement made her feel weird due to the effects of the medication. “It is.”

He bit his lip. “You wrote a love song…for the guy that you like.”

“Luke…”

“It’s good, Julie,” he interrupted, glancing up but not meeting her eyes. “He’ll definitely like it.”

“Do you?”

Confusion warped his face. “Of course I do, but how I feel about it doesn’t matter.”

“It does.”

“I don’t understand.”

Taking the sheet from his hands, she threaded her fingers in between his. “ We say we’re friends, we play pretend, you’re more to me, we create the perfect harmony.” He stared at her, still confused, but in awe of her. She swallowed hard, finding the courage to tell him the truth. “I wrote it for you , Luke. I wrote it when I realized how much you mean to me.” Her eyes were getting heavy now and she was struggling to keep them open. Feeling the mattress dip, she managed to pull her eyelids apart in time to see Luke settle beside her and she smiled. “Now do you see?” His head turned and she could see every speck of brown, green, and gold in his irises. “There was never someone else . It’s only been you.”

His eyes softened before he placed a kiss on her forehead, her heart stuttering in her chest at the gesture. “You should sleep now, Julie.” She nodded as he dismantled her wall of pillows that kept her seated. He shifted them both so they were lying parallel on her mattress.

“Will you stay?” she whispered, fingers digging into the fabric of his shirt.

He nodded and smiled. “Of course.”

If she were in her right mind, she would’ve noticed the sadness that bled into his smile and into his words. But the painkillers were dulling her senses. Instead, she cuddled up to him, resting her head on his chest, and allowed sleep to take her, completely missing the words of apology that slipped from his lips.

Luke wanted nothing more than for this moment to last, but he knew it couldn’t. He watched her until he couldn’t anymore. Until the watch on his wrist came to life somehow and reminded him that he didn’t have much time left. Sighing, he placed another kiss on Julie’s forehead and poofed out of her room, landing in her front yard. Standing just below her window, he turned and stared up at it, thinking about the girl who slumbered inside, oblivious. 

“Said your goodbyes?”

“Yeah,” he whispered, barely acknowledging the appearance of the other ghost. Finally turning to him, a frown settled on his face as he took in Caleb’s gleeful grin. “Just remember to keep your end of the deal.”

He nodded. “Of course. Your friends and your girl are off-limits. Now, shall we go?”

Luke glanced one last time at Julie’s window before nodding. Then they were gone.

To Be Continued...