Chapter Twenty-One : Coming Clean
September 2020

    Julie gave the crowd in front of her a smile as she turned back around. They just vanished. Jay pushed his way to the gym doors to join his sister on stage, both racking their brains for an explanation.

    The guy who ran lights came out from backstage, "Hey? Where'd the rest of the band go?"

    "Wait! Were those holograms?!" Zoe, a Dirty Candy Member yelled from the crowd.

    "Yes!" Jay yelled back without thinking as he joined his sister on stage, he looked up thankful for the projector in the ceiling. "I set them up through the ceiling projector before the show. I'd explain it but it involves algorithms and science stuff. I only understand about half of it myself." He gave a half-hearted laugh as the students started to cheer.

    "It's wild." Luke looked around the room full of high schools, "I mean they could see us when we were playing, but not when the music ended."
    "But only with Julie." Stephanie pointed out, remembering early when they sang at the beach.

    Reggie jumped up on the stage, "We should double check." He started to roll his body around, Stephanie giving an eyes roll to her friend as Alex looked ready to rip him apart. "Yeah, I don't... I don't think they can see us."
    Alex sighed, "I wish I couldn't see you."
    The principal clapped, "Okay people, show's over. Let's get back to class, please." Sunset Curve poofed out of the room with the rest of the children who were leaving but five kids stayed. Rose, Connor, Flynn, and above all Jay and Julie. Both lost as to what just happened.

~

    Jay ran over to his friends, hoping down from the stage, the smile still on his face. By some miracle that worked. Julie was back in. "Wow." Rose kept looking up to the projector not believing a word Jay had said.

    "It was all Julie...." Jay stopped himself before saying 'and Stephanie.' "Rose?"
    The girl sighed, "You gonna tell us what that really was, because you looked as confused as the rest of us."
    "Well, I mean. Stephanie and Luke, really have a wonderful way with tech." He lied through his teeth, his stomach twisting because of it.

    Rose scoffed, "So you know them?"
    "Yes?" Jay sighed, "No? Kinda. A little. I know who they are." He stuttered.

    Rose's hands found their way into her pocket, "Well I know who you are. And you're doing that thing where you go to bite your nails but instead push your hand through your hair. You know? That thing you only do when you lie."
    "There's a reason. It's just, really crazy. Like unbelievable." Like four ghosts.

    Connor still hadn't said a word as Rose peppered on, "Oh we love crazy. Let's hear it." Jay's eyes widened, "What I thought. You are not gonna tell us. You're not gonna tell us today, not tomorrow. Next thing you know there won't be an us! Jay, you can't keep things from us!"

    "Rose..."
    "No. Whatever. You know where I'll be. Find me when you feel like telling the truth." The Geller girl stormed out of the gym leaving the two boys alone. Her eyes filling with tears.

    "Con-"
    Connor sighed before Jay could finish his name, "I'm not gonna get pissed at you like she is. But she's right. If you keep lying we won't believe anything you say. Just knock on my door when you want to talk to me. And I hope that talk will include whatever your crazy excuse is so I crack it."

~

    Julie turned the corner still trying to find Flynn. "JULIE!" She jumped looking up to see Sunset Curve still waiting for her. Luke was standing on Reggie and Alex's legs as Stephanie sat on Luke's back all four screaming her name as she turned.

    Julie let out a scream, "Dah you! Stop doing that! I'm serious."
    "Whoa!" Reggie stepped back offended, "This one's on you, we were already here. Well actually we were over there and then we came over here."
    Stephanied just sighed, finally climbing down from Luke's back, "Yeah, Reg. She doesn't care."
    "Are we not gonna talk about what just happened?!" Luke nearly screamed with excitement. He didn't know how much he missed preforming till he got it back.

    "Yeah." Julie let out a breathy laugh, "The whole school saw you. It's kinda freaking me out."
    Alex let out a breath, "Okay good. Because it's kind of freaking me out too. You know, you and Jay cane see us, but now people can see us whenever we play music. And my clothes are made of air, but for some reason, I'm still getting a wedgie."
    Stephanie pated her best friend on the back, "TMI Alex. TIM."

    He just shook his head, "So many questions."
    Luke didn't seemed to bothered by Alex over sharing, "The important thing is that we ROCKED that place."

    "Yeah Julie they were loving you!" Stephanie added with a goggle facing her new friend.

    "Are you kidding?" Julie took a step to Stephanie, "They loved us. That was great song, Steph. Thanks."
    Stephanie let out a mock gasp, "Guys. She just called me by my nickname. I'm on nickname level." Julie just laughed at the ghost ridiculousness.

    Reggie chuckled a bit before asking his own question, "And did you guys see the cheerleaders looking at me?" He turned his head into the open air, "At least, I think they were looking at me." Reggie placed his hands on Stephanie's shoulder's turning her to him, "Please tell me they were looking at me."

    Stephanie rolled her eyes but answered with a laugh, "Okay they were totally looking at you."

    "How would you know?" Luke suddenly asked catching the girl off guard.

    "What?"

    "I mean-you just spent the entire time looking at Jay. Didn't think you noticed anything else." He teased as Stephanie's face turned pink. Despite her lack of blood in her body.

    "I will Cutthroat you Patterson!"
    "Too late, already dead." He gave a shrug turning back to Julie as she laughed.

    Alex just shook his head at his friends, "I'm..I'm just so confused, you know? The after life should come with instructions or a quick guide or something."
    "Well," Julie tried to pull herself together, still snickering at the fact that a ghost was staring at her brother. "The good thing is that everyone thought you guys were holograms, and I got back in the program."
    "Why do you look so bummed?" Reggie asked in all sincerity. Even if his voice didn't show it.

    "Yeah you're making this face." Luke wrapped an arm around Reggie and Stephanie's neck, pulling them to him. All three faking a pout as Alex just shook his head, done with everything around him at the moment.

    Julie scoffed "That." She clicked her tongue, "Is not my face."

    "Eh.. it's your face"
    Julie just sighed shaking it off, "Things just got weird between me and Flynn. She asked about you guys, and I couldn't say."

"Sweet," Reggie leaned over to Luke, "Girls are already talking about us."

Stephnaie hit him in the back of the head, "Not what she meant, dick."

Julie looked to the ground, her feet tapping slightly to give her something to look at, "I can't tell her for the same reason I can't tell my dad. She'll think I've gone off the deep end."

Reggie stepped out of the way of the janitor as he rolled a cart of cleaning supplies down the hall, "Well this dude definitely thinks you've gone off the deep end." Julie just shook her head, walking away from the four ghost, and walking through Reggie. "Later, Julie. Oh, tell those cheerleaders I'm single."
    "Oh and that he's dead!" Alex called back, his hair falling back into his face.

"No, no, no, no, no. Leave that part out... she's gone."

~

Stephanie's eyes followed Alex around the room as he paced. Luke and Reggie sat next to her on the couch, the three just staring at their friend as he walked. Reggie leaned to the right so she could hear his awful whisper, "I think he's practicing his model strut."
    "He's pacing. A calm man does not pace."
    "Yeah. He's so nervous, he's almost making me nervous." Luke whispered back, all three still looking to the blond.

Alex stopped, running a hand through his hair, "Look you guys know I don't handle change well. All right? Death. That was a change. Okay then becoming ghosts. Another change. And..and now. We can be seen whenever we play with Julie. Big freaking change!"

    "Yeah," Luke leaned forward, "But it's a good change. With Julie we can play on stage again. Be the band we never got to be. Come one. I mean, you gotta be down for that." Luke was so happy Stephanie almost thought he was glowing. Almost. But it might have also been the christmas lights Julie and Roslyn had hung up in the studio before all this ghost mayhem.

"Yeah I mean, who wouldn't be? I just.." Alex sighed, dropping his hands from the air, "You know, I wanna figure out why."

"Forget why. Man, I say we invite Julie to join Sunset Curve." Luke ended the statement standing and smiling.

Reggie stood as well, leaving Stephanie on the couch to try and answer 'why?' "Yeah totally. With a new lead singer, this band would be legendary."
    "Hey!" Stephanie had to bite her lip to stop herself from laughing at the look on Luke's face, "I'm our lead singer."

"Dude. That girl has the voice of an angel, and she can make us visible. Without her we're just like- just like- Steph, help me out here."
    "Elevator music." She suggested with a shrug.

"Without her we're just like elevator music"
    Luke looked between his two friends, "Well you don't gotta be so mean about it." All three sighed when they heard Alex starting to pace again, "And we're on the runway again."

    "Okay, I'm sorry, all right? I just... I gotta go clear my head." Alex sighed walking over to the door of the studio. He went to open it but his hand just passed through. He tried again with the same result.

"Dude, you're a ghost just poof out."
    Alex turned sharply to face Reggie, "Don't tell me how to ghost." His voice was strained as he racked his brain for any answers. He turned back to the white door exhaling a breath and doing as Reggie told him to.

Stephanie stood from the couch, "I should probably go after him, huh?"
    Luke put his hand on her shoulder, "Yeah. Probably." She rolled her eyes at the boy before poofing away herself.

~

    Stephanie didn't even know where she ended up. It was some hotel right off of Hallowood Burovared. The street was packed as always but she just walked through any one who was alive.

    That was until she bumped into someone's shoulder trying to find the blond. "Hey watch where you're..." She trailed off, finally understanding that if she bumped into someone then they weren't alive.

    "Apologies miss." The man looked well off. His outfit mostly black with hints of purple and red. Not to meanched the cape and hat he was wearing. So well off in 1890.

    "No need to apologize." Stephanie found herself struggling to speak to the man.

    "What brings you to town?"
    She scoffed, "You mean the after life."

    The man smirked, "Maybe both."
    "I'm looking for my friend, and as for the afterlife thing. Legally a mix of food poisoning and asphyxiation."

    The man tipped his hat, "Well I hope you find your friend. And this time don't choke." Just like that he was once more part of the crowd.

~

    Jay looked up at his friends house like it was just built. He knew both Rose and Connor were inside, a small possibility they were making out. But a larger possible was that they were just waiting for him to knock.

    Or in their minds. Waiting for him to admit he snapped.

    Jay almost started to walk to the door. ALMOST. Until he heard the music from down the street. At his own house. A year ago he would have passed it off as Julie. But now, now he had four ghosts living in his garage.

    With a sigh he turned his attention away from the house before him to the house he lived in. Trudding down the street to the house that was his.

    Rose and Connor both let out sighs as they watched from Connor's bedroom window. All he had to do was ring the doorbell, and they would answer with open arms. But from a story above they watched their best friend walk away. Hands in his pockets, hair tossed to the side, his right shoe untied. Watching Jay walk away made both Roslyn and Connor sorry about everything they had said that morning.

    By the time Jay found his own backyard Julie was already storming out of the house. Her face stern as she let out deep sighs, her eyes trained on her phone and her head tipped to the side, listening to music coming from the studio.

    It wasn't bad. Jy would admit that much, but after this morning that seemed a little obvious to say. "Stephanie comes in with a riff of her own, and Then Julie comes in with her killer lyrics."
    "And I come in to remind you you can't play without Julie!" Jay yelled into the conversation, looking over Luke and Reggie. Stephanie and Alex nowhere to be found.

    Julie sighed from next to her brother, her phone now in her pocket, "AKA you're not supposed to be out here playing alone."
    "But we're not alone," Luke through his arms around Reggie as the bass player used his thumb to point to Luke, "'Cause we always have each other"
    "Ugh, bite me." Jay muttered as his twin pulled the amp cord out.

    Luke hastily took his guitar off, spinning so Julie was never out of his sight, "But we had the volume on leave one."
    "But we rocked it on volume ten. You want us to play it again?" Jay rolled his eyes waking over to his sister as she pulled the plug on Luke's amp as well.

    Luke leaned over to his band member, "I really don't think she does." Jay started to climb the ladder to the loft, the four stair up creaking with the weight.

    He was scanning over the newly cleaned out space, wondering what he could do with the place. Julie, him, and his father agreed, Julie got most of the loft because she had all of the instruments, but Jay's room was getting slightly too small for all of his work so he got the loft.

    The Molina boy leaned over the railing of the loft, "What were you even playing?"

    Luke looked smug, "Oh you know. Just a newly revived Sunset Curve song for when your sister joins the band."

    Julie jumped back a bit, "Go back a step. When I join the band?"
    "Oh yeah. We had a band meeting early and..." Luke and Reggie gave themselves a drumroll. "You wanna invite you to joinSunset Curve. And no you're not dreaming."
    Julie rolled her head to the side, making eye contact with Jay. All the boy did was shrug, "oh." Julie's voice deflated as she said it, even shocking Jay.

    "Oh, uh.. Oh, she said, 'oh' um.." Luke let out a fake laugh rubbing the back of his neck, "That's what you say when you get socks on your birthday, not when you're invited to join the most epoc band ever."

    "Hnnn." They all turned to Jay who was still in the loft. "Most epic band ever is a stretch. Led Zeppelin and the Bettales still exist so."

    Julie let go of a breath, "Sorry. I'm honored, but I can't think about anything but Flynn right now. She's still mad at me for lying. She hasn't even texted me back."
    Luke hummed, placing his hands on his hips and rocked to the side Reggie was standing on, "Yeah, you're in a tough spot." He paused, "So you wanna join the band." Jay had to bite down on his lip to keep from laughing. He didn't wanna take ghost hot-shot's side, but it was kinda funny.

    "Read the room dude." Julei started to walk out, Luke swiftly turning to face her again.

    "Oh come on. We need you, and you need us because you need music. We found this poem that you wrote, and Reggie and I, we added this really cool melody to it."
    That's where Jay did a double take, "I'm sorry, you went through her stuff!?"

    "Where did you find that?" Julue asked at the same time.

    Luke pushed Reggie in front of him, "I might have gone through her stuff, But definitely wasn't her dream box." Julie had never wanted to hurt air so much in her life. "I know, but..."
    Reggie pointed to Jay as Luke and Julie ran around each other at the piano. "Yeah we can do that now."
    Julei stopped, hitting her hands on the piano. "No you can't. Boundaries! Give it back!"

    "No." Luke jumped up on the bench as Jay slowly climbed back down the ladder, "Hey, you need to realize how insanely talented you are. Okay? Listen to this. 'If somebody hurts you..." Julie went to grab the paper but Luke pulled it back placing it behind his back, "If somebody hurts you, I'm gonna get hurt too. Add to it some of the stuff Stephanie wrote... Just listen." Luke gave himself a beat by hitting his hand to the piano, "And my life. My life would be real low, Zero. Flying Solo."

    Reggie pointed his finger to the sky, "Oh-Oh-oh!"

    Luke huffed out a breath, "It's a killer melody. Add in verse from Stephanie, we have a full song, you're just missing a first versus."

    Julie sighed rocking back on her heels, "Fine. Give me the song with Stephanie's words."

    "We open with your words, add Steph's in, end it with you. Watch. If I leave you on a bad note, leave you on a sad note guess that means I'm buying lunch that day. You know all my secrets you know all my deep-dish. Guess that means some things, they never, they never, change.

    Add Stephanie's words.

    We both know what I, what I, what I. Mean. When I look at you it's like I'm looking at me.

    Add the chorus."
    Julie huffed out, "I wrote that about Flynn. When she was helping me with all my mom stuff." It struk a chord in Jay. How badly he wanted to walk out the white dorr, march over to Connor's bust the door down and make them listen. Find some way he could prove he wasn't crazy, and get his best friends back.

    Julie shook her head, "I gotta go."
    "Hey!" Luke called after her, "What about the band?"
    "Oh." Julei pulled the doors open, "I almost forget, STAY OUT OF MY ROOM!"

    Luke ran forward, passing through Jay, "Yeah? We will if you join our band!" The second half of that was said as he stuck half his body through the wooden doors.

    Jay ocked back on his heels, "Sooooo. Where's your other half?"
    "Oh. Easy." Reggie fell back onto the couch, "Alex was having a minor afterlife crise. Stephanie volunteered to go after him."

    "And you two.." Jay pointed between Reggie and Luke as Luke took a seat next to his friend and bandmate.

    "We're just not really good with emotions." Luke confused.

    Jay scoffed, "Felt that one."
    "What does that mean?" Reggie asked, suddenly very confused.

    Jay just laughed, "Nothing. It doesn't mean anything."

~

    Stephanie had been trying to find her way around downtown Hollowood for nearly an hour. She still hasn't found Alex. She walked through nearly 1000 people by this point. Until she got ran over by one.

    "What the hell!" She yelled at the boy as he stood brushing himself and his skateboard off, "News flash newbie ghost don't know how to tell if someone's alive or not!"

    The boy laughed, "Sorry. Ironically you're the second newbie ghost I've run into today. Physically. I'm Willie." The boy reached his hand out helping Stephanie from the ground.

    Once she was back onto feet she shook it, "Stephanie. I'm just gonna get to the point, Have you seen my friend. He's about Yah tall," She reached her hand just above her head to where Alex stood, "Blond hair, afraid of everything."
    "Oh. You mean hotdog."

    "Yeah, probably."

    Willie pointed over his shoulder, "He's on a bench that way, I was just talking to him. Catch you around, flannel."
    "You just nicknames to everyone."
    "It's what I do best!" He yelled back, already starting to skaket back down the road.

~

    Stephanie and Alex popped back into the studio. Luke and Reggie were bent over the piano. "When she says deep dish-does she mean like pizza?."
    "What about about deep dish pizza?" Stephanie shot back, walking over to the instrument.

    Reggie smiled as Alex poofed from the loft to the top of the piano, "Oh hey guys. Where you been?"

    "Looking for hotdog over there." Stephanei said with a smirk remembering the look of aww on Alex's face as she walked over to him, his eyes far behind her, trying to find the little skater boy.

    "Okay first, you don't call me that." Alex turned from Stephanie to Reggie, "And uhh, kind of everywhere. Yeah. No, I met a new ghost friend."
    "For real?"
    "Yeah he ran me over." Stephanie hopped up on the piano next to Luke and a little behind Alex.

    "Plus.." Alex shot Stephanie a snake eye, "He answered a ton of questions."
    Luek ripped his notebook out from under Alex, "Yeah, like whether Julie was gonna join the band or not?"
    "We didn't.. We didn't really get to that, but I think I know why we're here." Alex's words made all three other ghosts freeze. "Okay. All ghosts have, like, unfinished business. So we need to do our unfinished business so that we can cross over."
    Stephanie layed back on the grand piano, "Why would we do that?" Alex turned to her like she was crazy, "All I'm saying is this a second chance. One where life doesn't suck. Plus we have the one that always mattered. All we need is to get Julie to play with us."
    "Yeah." Reggie breathed out, reading over the notes Luke and him had spent the last hour writing, "Not only can that girl sing, she can write too. Luke and I made a killer melody to one of her lyrics. And.." His voice sped up, "We might have gone through Stephanie's journal to add some of her words in."

    Steohanei sat bolt upright, "You did what!"

    Luke put his hands up in surrender, "Just the pages you let me read when we were, you know, alive."
    Stephanie exhaled a sigh of relief, "You should have started with that."
    Alex read over the words and notes, "Oh.. Without your drummer. Cool."

    Luke gave Alex a pat on the back, "Drumming is so '90s. Okay? We're just gonna.. Stomp our feet now."

    Alex shifted the way he was sitting, "Okay. You know what else is so '90s? Being rude. All right? Get woke. These are sensitive times." Alex slapped the notebook bac at Luke, leaning over to reggie, "I learned that from my new ghost friend."
    "Woke. That's a cool word. What does it mean?"
    Alex's voice was still as a whisper as he shook his head, "no clue."
    Stephanie chuckled, "Okay, you know what else is so '90s? US! We keep this whole band. Deal?"

    "Deal." "Deal." Deal."

~

    Jay exhaled a breath, running the doorbell of Connor's house. Rose and Him pulled it open within seconds, like they had been waiting at the door. Because well, they had. "You gonna tell us the truth?" Rose rushed out.

    "No. Yes. Kinda."

    Connor scoffed, "Well which is it?"
    "They're ghosts!" Jay found himself yelling, hoping Rose wouldn't shut the door on him. "The boys in Julie's band. And Stephanie. They aren't holograms. They're ghosts. And recent discovery shows that when they play with Julie people can see them. Except me and Julie can see them all the time. But us not wanting you and Flynn to think we've gone crazy because four ghosts live in our Mom's studio discord just to lie. Since we didn't know.."
    "Oat stop. Stop." Roslyn cut off Jay's rambling, "Ghost? That's the best you could come up with. What do you mean ghost? The kind who ralet chains and go 'boo'?"

    "No. The kind that are in a band called Sunset curver. Curve not swerve. They will yell at you for that. And died in 1995. Beaciscly whatever you think of a surfer boy, wrapped them up in three coats all without sleeves and you got Luke."
    "Who's Luke?"
    "The one who was sharing amic with Julie. And is completely against wearing sleeves. They're just normal dead dudes. Well.... Reggie's a little questionable. But other than that.." Jay trailed off when he saw rose starting to text someone, "Oh my god. Who are you texting."

    "You're dad." She answered without looking up. "He told me to text him if I was worried about you. And Flynn for that matter. She should know if the same thing is happening to Julie. I mean, you gave them Names! Bottom line, well, I worried."
    Jay stole the phone from Rose's hands, "Okay. I know I sound crazy. Believe me I know. Julei saw them first and I thought she finally snapped. But we didn't okay?. I-I honestly just came over her to ask, well, beg, the two of you to meet me at my house in half an hour. From there I can prove I'm not crazy. And I'm not giving you your phone back until you show up."

~

    Flynn pulled Connor and rose along as they trudged to the studio. Slowly Connor brought his hand up and knocked on the white doors. His conversation with Jay still spinning in his head like a gravitron.

    Julei pulled the doors open as Jay sat in a hair behind her. Turning a guitar of all things. "Thanks for coming. And rose you will get your phone back.... After we prove our point. Bottom line we just wanted to rehearse the song so it was perfect. Which it's not but whatever."
    Rose scoffed, "You're both crazy."

"No." Flynn crossed her arms over her chest, "If we're gonna hear a song from your imaginary ghost band, I want it to be perfect. So get back in there. All of you." She looked around, pointing. Not once landing on anyone from Sunset Curve.
    "Okay!" Jay stood up, "I am playing a guitar for this! ME! Plus an instrument! The three of you better sit your asses down and listen." Connor smiled, this was the kind of James Renoldy Molina he had known since he was a kid. This passive but sweet boy.

Stephanie smiled at Jay, "You think you can do this?" The Molina just shook his head no, Luke's spare guitar suddenly feeling very heavy in his hands. "You'll be fine. Rember. I'm right here."
    "All right guys. You ready?" Julie asked the band.

"Yeah." "You know it." "When am I not." "Uhh, what is she doing? My hands are gonna go right through her." Reggie complained about Flynn as she stood inside of Reggie's guitar neck and left hand. The rest of the band just laughed.

Julie laughed over a scoff, "Uhh Flynn, can you stand over there? Reggie needs some space to rock out, and he feels kinda weird walking through you."

"Yeah that's an us thing." Jay laughed under his breath at Luke's joke about this morning when Stephanie and Him had made a show of passing through Julie.

Flynn laughed, "Boy when you create, you really live in it." Julei pushed a chair against Flynn as Rose and Connor took a seat on the couch. Julei forced her friend into the seat.

Jay exhaled a breath, "Now if you'll notice nothing in this room can produce a hologram. Including me and Julie lack of technical smarts. Which is what outed in the first place." His voice became very soft  and distant, still nervous.

"Hey." Jay looked over to the pain that Stephanie was in front of, "You got this."

Julie walked over to her keyboard, still trying to get past the fact that Luke managed to get Jay to play an instrument. She huffed out a breath, "The guys and Steph took a poem that I wrote about Flynn and put it to music. Stephanie says her and Luke used to do it all the time."
    "Aww. I wish I didn't have to talk to your dad after this." Flynn confessed still not buying the whole ghost thing. Neither rose for that matter, but Connor kept his mouth shut. Something in the way Julie and Jay talked so confidently about this, not even faltering when their best friends bashed them on it made him want to hear them out.

Julie let out an airy laugh, Alex giving his own chuckle, "It's called 'Flying solo.' Hope you like it." Julie fell back onto the stool she was using for the keyboard. Starting to mess with the drum pad till she got the beat set up.

With a nervous sigh Jay started to play as well, Stephanie leaning over his shoulder and whispering the different chords. "A,b,b, c, d. A,b,b,c,d." Her words helped put Jay at easy. Just a little bit. Little being the keyword.

Flynn and Rose started to bob their heads to the beat, Connor just impressed Jay was playing anything that sounded remotely like music. "If I leave you on a bad note, leave you on a sad note. Guess that means I'm buying lunch that day. I know all your secrets you know all my deep-dish. Guess that means some things they never, they never change. We both know what I, what I, what I mean.

When I look at you it's like I'm looking at me."

With a jolt of light Luke, Reggie, Alex, and Stephane could suddenly been seen by Rose, Flynn and Connor. If jaws could fall to the floor, the Molina twins' best friends' would be past the core of the earth. Flynn even let out a scream as Alex started to dume beat.

"My life, my life would be real low, zero" "Oh-oh-oh" Sunset Curve gave Julie her back up, Jay just proud he managed to play the guitar, no way in hell was he singing.

"My life, my life would be real low, zero Fyling solo without you." "Oh-oh-oh HEY!"
    "Yeah-yeah" "Hey!" "Yeah-yeah" Julie stood up and made her way over to her best friend, mic in hand. Stephanie Reggie and Luke dancing around the room as they played, and Alex sending a shameless wink across the room to Connor.

Stephanie, Luke and Reggie stopped once they were all at Reggie's mic, circling around it. "My life, my life would be real low, zero. Without you." "Oh-oh-oh"

Julie bent over in front of Flynn, Rose standing to meet Jay as he continued to play. At a much lower leave then the rest of the band, granted, but he still mandge. Flynn just shook her head Julie nearly laughing as she picked up the next verse,

"Yeah, you know who I'm liking way before I like them. Duh, 'cause you liked them first."

Stephanie took over Reggie's mic thinking about her own best friend with her blond hair and far off dreams. "And if somebody hurts you I'm gonna get hurt too, that's just how we work, yeah, that's just how we work. It will never change."
    "Change." The guys tagged on, Julie and Stephanie switching lead again, "We both know what, I, what I, what I mean." "Mean"

"When I look at you it's like I'm looking at me." Connor joined his two best friends falling to hold in a laugh at the look of panic on Jay's face as he slipped a chord, Luke and Stephanie chuckling a bit as well before they started to sing with Julie once more. "My life, my life, would be real low, zero, flying solo." "Oh-oh." Luke sat on the arm rest of the couch, bending to meet his mic as Stephanie used the spare one by the grand piano since Julie was using her own. Meaning for the first time in 26 years Stephanie had her own mic.

Julie started to pull Flynn over to Luke, as Jay slowly backed up to Stephanie, Rose and Connor closely following. "My life, my life, would be real low, zero Fyling solo without you." "Hey!" Stephanie made Rose and Connor flinched jumping into the mic as she sang the word hay just to see their reaction.

"Yeah-yeah" Julei pulled Flynn over to Alex as he smiled into his mic, still crashing the drums. Stephanie's mind traveled to the night they died just for a second remaining that same smile on Alex's face while they played 'Now or Never' "Hey! Yeah-yeah My life, my life would be real low, zero. Flying solo without you.... "The music fell out of a second, mostly it was just Alex and small riffs from Stephanie.

Julie led Flynn over to Reggie as Rose leaned over to Stephanie, "Can i..?"
    The Wilson girl smiled, "I don't see why not?" Rose giggled, slowly passing a shand through Stephanie's arm. "Weird right?" She laughed quickly, stopping, "My god. I sound like Reggie!"
    The rest of Sunset Curve laughed Reggie just groaning about being called out. Rose shook her head, hardly believing it. Connor however found the whole pretty awesome. "They're actually ghosts. Do you guys show up on camera?"
    Alex laughed, "That's how him and Jay are best friends. ANd uh, we prefer, uh, musician spirits."
    Stephanie shook her head at the three living people, "Yeah. Ghost works fine."
    "Julie.." Luke and Stephanie held a riff together as he spoke, "So does this mean you're joining our band?"
    "Umm," Flynn walked over to the boy, "Actually, I think you're joining her band."

Julie layed her arm over Flynn's shoulder, "I'm gonna go with what she said." Luke just smiled Stephanie giggling.

"Works for me! My life, my life, would be real low, zero." Flynn, Connor and Rose started to dance with each other, Stephanie really showing Jay how to not be stiff as he played, by walking through him. The boy laughed as she spun around hitting a solo rift. Or as Luke likes to call them 'The reason we asked for her to be here in the first place.' But riff is shorter.

"Oh-oh. My life, my life, would be real low, zero, flying solo, without you. Hey! Yeah-yeah. Heayyyyy! Yeah-yeah. My life, my life would be real low, zero. Flying solo without you."

Reggie chuckled as Julie took the note up in the middle of the word, remembering how he would do it all the time because Luke's range was so low. "You. Who-oh." The music cut out as Julie leaned back from Flynn, "Still wanna talk to our dad?"

Connor laughed as Flynn answered, "No. I think we're good."
    Rose raised her hand, "Can I get my phone back, Because it's nearly five o'clock and if I don't call her my grandmother will kill me." Everyone in the room laughed at that as Jay, Rose, Flynn, Julie, and Connor brought each other in for a group hug.

Stephanie walked over to Reggie, the boy throwing his arm over Stephanie's shoulders as she leaned into the side hug. Yeah, the world was okay again.

~

    "Hey." The sun had gone down a while ago and the twins had gone inside. But the ghost don't sleep. Reggie and Alex were trying to find a place ghost could hang out because Luke's birthday was coming up. It was Stephanie's job was to make sure Luke didn't notice. "What'cha up to?"

    Luke just sighed as Stephanie took a seat next to him, their legs hanging off the edge of the loft. "Just thinking." His voice was low as he contemplated going.

    "About what?" Stephanie turned her head to look at Luke's profile.

    He turned his head to look at Stephanie, "My parents. I can't get what Reggie said out of my head. We never found Bobby, or Cherly, or Reggie's parents. Or Alex's, and I'm just scared if-if I head to my parents, they just won't be there."
    Stephaine rested her hand over Luke's, "What if I went with you?"
    Luke grabbed onto Stephanie's, "Would you?"

~

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Author's note

Hey just wanted to let y'all know that I started a JAPT community here on Wattpad.
Just look up Julieandthefandom in the wattpad search bar. All other information will be on the community.

Hope y'all lied the chapter💞💞
R&D