Chapter Twenty-Seven : Oh, Dear Stephanie
October 2020

Alex sat on the stage of a closed Orpheum tossing his drumstick in the air before catching in his same hand. He thought back to the night they died Luke's voice filling his head. 'This is awesome you guys, girl. I mean We're playing the Orpheum! I can't even count how many bands have played here and ended up huge. We're gonna be legends.'

Legends was a stretch, but they were sure as hell known. Known as the group that died the night of the breaking moment. The group whose parents were out of the picture as they ran away to play that night. A group who set the stage for Trevor Wilson, and to be long forgotten.

Alex sighed before hearing a sound like a whistle next to him. A sound he had come to know as a ghost. "Is this seat taken?"

Alex looked to his left at Willie. He planned not to say anything. Anything at all, but he found himself sliding back towards the boy letting out a deep sigh. "This whole thing sucks."

Willie shook his head, ashamed, "Yeah. I messed up."

"No, it's like you said. You know, you didn't have a choice." He stopped tossing the stick, "I mean Caleb owns your soul. Plus, it's our fault Steph was there. She didn't want to be, even worse we kept her there. Hell she was ready to leave before the food was brought to the table."

"No. Still, I know what he's capable of. I brought you guys right to him. When you guys asked I should have just skated away. I should have listened to Stephanie."

Alex chuckled, "That becomes a recurring pattern. I can't count the amount of time I wish I had listened to her from the beginning. But even still, I would've followed you."

"Man..." You could hear the sorrow in Willie's voice, "I would do anything to take back what I did to you." Another jolt ran through Alex, the purple light almost normal at this point. The blond grunted in pain, bing just below his rib cage were it really hurt, but other than that he was used to it, "I'm so sorry. I mean, did you guys figure out what your unfinished business is?"

Alex scoffed, "Not like it's gonna happen. Stephanie wish and pray all she wants but," Alex shook his head, looking around the room. "We have to play here."

Willie looked around as well, "The.. the Orpheum?"

"Yeah, I mean, we were two hours away from getting on this stage the night we died."

Willie leaned back on his hands, "You guys were gonna be legends." Luke's voice came back. 'We're gonna be legends.'

Alex chuckled at that, "We were. And you know, it wouldn't just been our music. We could've proved we ere worth something. To our parents, to the kids. But mostly to Stephanie. I know she think we are worth something, but a lot of the time I feel like she forgets she's part of we."

~

"Reggie dropping something from the loft!" Stephanie yelled through the studio as Alex suddenly came back. The blond jumped away from the loft in record time, the black cd case falling to the floor.

Alex slowly bent over and picked it off the floor, going quite. Stephanie and Luke seemed to notice, walking over to the other two boys as Reggie poofed down, all four reading over the white band logo Cheryl had jokingly come up with at lunch. Alex turned the case over in his hands, reading the different songs on the back, "Where'd you find this?"

"It was just in the loft."

Stephanie stole the case, "Are we gonna listen to it?"

Luke took the case from Stephanie, poofing over to the CD playing by the front of the studio, "Yeah. " That was all he said before pressing play, Stephanie's guitar riff from 'Now or Never' filling the wooden structure.

~

Stephanie didn't know what to do when the CD ended. She wasn't sad, no, that wasn't it. She was just.. Surprised. She almost forgot what they sounded like as Sunset Curve, rather than Julie and the Phantoms. What they sounded like when they were... well, alive.

The guys seemed like much of the same. All sitting frozen as the CD started to replay, starting back with the guitar riff. Finally Reggie sighed, "I need a sec." That was all he said before poofing out of the room.

Luke nodded, "Yeah. yeah, me too." He soon left as well.

Alex looked over to his remaining bandmate as she sat on top of the piano, "Steph?"

The Wilson girl exhaled a breath, "I-I.." Her words got caught on something she didn't know was there, like she could no longer speak.

"You want me to leave you alone?"

Stephanie shook her head, "No-No I need to do something." She jumped off the piano walking across the room to Alex, "Before I'm gone for good." She bent down giving the boy a kiss on the cheek before poofing away as well. Leaving the blond alone.

~

"James!" Jay knew that voice. It was the voice of the youngest Wilson he knew. And that counted the two dead ones he knew. But she also hadn't said his name with so much charm and perk since fourth grade.

The boy spun in his heels, "Carrie. Hi?"

Her pink wig was on, and her pike rehearsal outfit was on as well. A pink tank top with a light blue bra underneath and both were under a light grey shirt hanging off her shoulder, a pair of black leggings topping it all off. "So I saw the video you took of the perfect harmony performance."

"Okay..."

"It was really good."

"Thanks Carrie. There's a reason I'm top of the class."

"No, like really good. And I was thinking maybe you wanted to film the demo for Dirty Candy... And if you don't completely hate me after, maybe you would go out with me?"

Jay nearly laughed, "Is this a joke?"

"No. Why would it be a joke?"

For a few seconds Jay stood frozen, "Uh.. Look, Carrie, I would be happy to film the demo for you. But I-I can't go out with you..."

""No. No it's okay. Uh- I can send the details for when we need you."

Jay rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah, I-I'm sorry. I just. I can't do that to you."

"Do that to me?" A lightbulb went off in Carrie's mind, "Oh my god, you like someone else. Oh- I"

"No. No. Most people don't know who she is. And It was all very sudden, and I'm trying to justify this, even though I have no real reason."

Carrie giggled, "Be happy, dork. And tell your sister, I thought she was actually kinda good."

"Sure. Why the change of heart?"

Carrie looked to the floor, "No, reason. Just making up for the dance, when I tried to take her limelight. Bye Jay."

"Bye."

~

Julie walked up to the front door of the almost filmarer house. It was odd, she never met the people inside, but they had lived across the street from Rose for as long as she knew. Well, Rose's grandmother anyway. She took a few deep breaths at the front door, about to ring the doorbell before she bread the whistler sound of a ghost.

Julie turned her head to face the sound, "Luke!"

The boy turned at his name, he felt almost violated. "What are you doing here?"

Julie could hear the pain in his voice, "Okay look. I-I just wanted to know more about you, you know, just curious. Um.." Luke took a few steps to the girl, "So, I came here last week, on your birthday."

"You were spying on me? Even after all your speeches about boundaries? You were spying on me?"

"At least I knew where you were. I still don't know where Stephanie went for two days!"

"Where do you think she went."

Julie sighed, "Yeah. I'm totally a hypocrite. Because it wasn;t just you. I may have let Alex and Reggie explain away most of Stephanie's high school years, so that's a mental scar. And I'm sorry, it was wrong. But I'm worried about you. The two of you."

Luke scoffed, "If you really know anything about Stephanie, you would be afraid to walk out of the house." Julie just nodded, because sometimes, she was. "You don't have to be. Worried about that is."

Luke went to turn away but Julie spoke again, "I get it. I know how hard it is when you want to speak to someone you love and can't. I feel that way every day."

Luke rocked back on his heels, "I don't even know what I'd say to her, even if she could hear me.

"Yes you do, You've already said it. Trust me."

"Julie!" The two turned at the sound of Rose's voice, "Who are you-" She stopped looking at the house Julie was standing in front of, "The Pattersons." She realized, "Luke." Julei just nodded her head, rose starting up the driveway, "Well they might be a bit more inclined to answer the door for someone they know." Rose hit the stoop and rang the doorbell, the door being pulled open by Mr Paterson, "Roslyn. What's the occasion, or just back to selling books door to door."

Rose chuckled, "No. No that was a one time thing, promise. I'm actually here with my friend Julie. She has something she wants to ask."

Mr Patterson nodded, looking to the other girl in front of his house, "How can I help you?"

"Um, Like Rose said, My name is Julie. Um.. I believe you had a son named Luke?"

The old man smiled, "Yes, that's right. And you are again?"

"Julie Molina."

"Oh, James sister."

"That would be the one. Um, your son's band used to play in my family's garage?" When he didn't answer Julie pulled something out of her back pocket, a small folded piece of paper. "I-I came across this song that he wrote and figured you might be interested?"

"Um.." Mr. Paterson rocked side to side, "Well, yes. Uh, please, please come in. I'm..I'm Mitch. Not sure if Roslyn told you that or not." Julei shook the man's hand entering the home with Rose right by her side. But what Rose didn't see was a teary eyed Luke Patterson standing behind her.

Julie stopped before closing the door, letting the ghost boy into his own home.

~

Stephanie wasn't crying. She felt like she might, but she wasn't crying. Not all. Slowly she grabbed a blak sharpie from the draw in Bobby's kitchen. Watching her niece sit around yoga pants in the living room before her.

Stephanie walked over to the mirror hanging on the wall in front of her. Exhaling a breath she uncapped the pen, turning away from Carrie.

'Bobby' The name came out with big black lettering, Carrie not looking up at the moment, not hearing anything with her headphones in. 'I miss you. I love you' Stephanie continued to write the words on the mirror like a dry erase board. '-Stephanie'

With that she capped the marker, placing it on a table below the mirror. She spared her niece one last glance. "I'm sorry Carrie." She whispered the words, "I'm sorry we never got to meet." With a single tear rolling down her check she poofed back to the studio.

~

Mitch Patterson walked into his living room, "Can I get you ladies something?" He asked of the two teen girls now in his home."

"It's okay Mr. Patterson, I think we're okay."

Julie awkwardly pointed to Rose with her thumb, "What Rose said, thank though." She looked down to a picture on the table, sitting on a gold frame, "Is this your son?"

"Yeah." Mitch laughed at the photo, "That's Luke. When he was two."

"Do you have any other children?" Rose gave Julie a sad head nod, indicating he didn't.

"Did I hear the doorbell ring?" A woman came out from the other room, stopping at the sight of Rose. "Roslyn, sweetie, how lovely it is to see you again. I would have thought you would be typing away on that computer of yours."

Rose smiled, "Mrs. Patterson." She gave the older woman a hug, and a kiss on the cheek before guesting to Julie, "This is my friend Julie. She, uh, Jay's twin sister."

"Well Hello, Julie. Oh, that's a beautiful sweater."

Julie looked down at her clothes, "Thanks. It's my mom's."

Mitch turned to his wife, "Julie lives in Chery's old house. Where Luke and the band used to rehearse. She was just telling me she found a song that Luke wrote."

Julie unfolded the pages, "It's a song about a girl named Emily?"

Mrs Patterson nodded, frozen. Rose looked between her two neboriges before turning to Julie, "She's Emily." The Geller girl stood just as still as everyone else in the room, swearing she could feel the cold of Luke's ghost.

Julie smiled at her friend, turning back to the old woman, "Then I think your son may have written this song for you."

Emily took the pages from the young girl, her husband reading them over her shoulder. Without thinking Rose took Julie's hand in hers, the Molina girl squeezing her friend's hand in thanks.

Luke watched the scene. Paying close attention to the way his mother opened the pages. He knew what those pages said by heart. "First things first. We start the scene in reverse. All of the lines rehearsed, Disappeared from my mind."

Rose could faintly hear singing, singing that sounded like Luke. She leaned over to Julie, not letting go of her hand, "Is he here?" All Julie did was nod.

Luke screamed back at his mother, grabbing the few things he thought he would need with him and shoving them into his bag, as she trained him around the house.

"When things got loud. One of us running out. I should have turned around, but I had too much pride."

Luke rode away from his house, his mother screaming at him as the weight of his guitar made the bike unbalanced. He could hear her sobbing behind him, but still he peddled on.

"No time for goodbyes. Didn't get to apologize. Pieces of a clock that lies broken. If I could take us back. If I could just do that."

Luke sat in the studio, the sunset curve banner blocking out most of the rising sun. Stephanie was asleep on the couch before him, but he hadn't slept at all, just writing. Scribing words on a page in a wet black pen that would smer every four words.

"And write in every empty space the words 'I love you' in replace. Then maybe time would not erase me. If you could only know. I never let you go. And the words I most regret are the ones I never meant to leave.

Unsaid Emily."

Luke leaned forward in his chair, underlining the words 'Unsaid Emily' on the page, hoping his scratching and scrawling wouldn't wake Stephanie up.

"Silent days. Mysteries and mistakes Who'd be the first to break? Guess we're alike that way."

Stephanie stood next to Luke's journal as they played, testing out the song that Luke poured his heart into. He felt his fingers burn from how hard he was pressing into the strings, but it didn't matter, the pain didn't matter. It was the music that did.

"He said, she said. Conversations in my head. And that's just where they're gonna stay forever."

Luke hid behind his house. A small buch being the only thing hiding him from his parents. To his luke Mrs Geller lived on the other side of the road, so there was no chance she would see him either. He ducked behind the greenery as his mother looked out the window.

"If I could take us back. If I could just do that. And write in every space the words 'I love in' replace, then maybe time would not erase me."

Alex lightly played the beat of the song on the drums, Bobby and Reggie hitting every soft note as Stephanie Luke showed them the song. Mostly Luke. The only light in the room was coming from two windows and the open doors, Cheryl sitting above the band on the loft, just listening.

"If you could only know. I never let you go. And the words I most regret, are the ones I never meant to leave.

Unsaid Emily." "Ah-ah-ah. Ah-ah-ah" "If I could take us back, if I could just do that."

Mitch and Emily Patterson were calmly sitting in front of the Tv. Mitch reading and Emily knitting a blue sweater. They only looked up when the screen started to flash with blue and white sirens.

The breaking news tage caught their eyes. 'Four teens dead after food poising.' The reporter started to speak. "Four out of five members of the upcoming Band Sunset Curve found dead after eating poised hot dogs from a street vendor. Their names were Alexander Mercer. Reginald Peters, Luke Patterson And Stephanie Wilson....."

The couple drowned out the rest at their son's name. Emily burst into tears, Mitch close behind, putting his book down. His son was dead. Dead, without a heartbeat, without a scapegoat. Just dead.

"And write in every empty space, the words 'I love you' in replace. Then maybe time would not erase me. If you could only know. I never let you go."

It was a blink of his family Luke saw. Just the flash of blue and red from the TV and his parents holding each other as they cried. The next thing he knew was a pitch black room, no beginning and no end. And the only sign of anything was Stepahnei standing before him.

"And the words I most regret, are the ones I never meant to leave. Unsaid Emily."

Julie rested her head on Rose's shoulder, the two girls eyes full of tears as they listened to Luke finished the song. It was so soft they doubted his parents could hear him, but just the words made Emily and Mitch cry.

Emily held the paper close to her, looking up at the two teens, she sniffled, "Thank you."

"Um." Mitch held his wife closer, "You have no idea.."

Julei let some of her tears fall, lifting her head from Rose's shoulder, but not letting go if her hand, "I write music in the same room that he did, and I can tell you, it is a magical, happy place."

Mitch and Emily smiled, "That is so nice to know."

Rose shook her head, "We know he was only 17. And I know that's why you walk on eggshells around me, but..." She paused, using her free hand to wipe away the tears, "He lived doing the one thing he was born to do. Not many people find that, but Luke did." She almost wanted to say that she's seen it, but stopped herself. "He was lucky."

Julei nodded, "He really was." She gave herself a seconded to look back at the ghost, watching him poof out of the home.

Emily sniffled again, "It was so nice to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you too."

Rose looked in her neighbor's eye, "Know I'm always here. I'm not going anywhere."

~

Jay knocked softly on the door of Tervor Wilson's home. No one answered. He checked the time on his phone to make sure it matched what Carrie asked him. Right on time. He knocked again. This time Zoe answered the door, decked out in her normal purple.

"Jay. Uh, come in." She stepped aside, letting the boy in the house. "Sorry we-"

Jay cut her off at the sound of tears, "Who's crying?"

Emma, another Dirty Candy member, joined her friend and Jay. "Carrie and her dad." She looked behind her at her leader, weeping over words on a mirror. "Do you believe in ghosts?"

Jay suddenly became very on edge, "Why?"

Zoe took the boy's hand, leading him farther into the house to where the Wilson's were. He could clearly read the words on the mirror, but what stuck out was the signature. '-Stephanie' Zoe shook her head, "Apparently the only Stephanie they know. Has been dead for 25 years. Carrie didn't even know who she was."

Jay read the words over and over. Remembering the hatred in her eyes as they told her about her brother stealing her music. The one thing she lived for. But she still loved him. "Son of a bitch." He whispered. Jay turned to Zoe and away from the mirror. "Can I come back later. I promise I'll help you guys."

Emma sighed, "You better. I doubt Carrie wants you to see her cry." Jay gave the two girls sad smile before walking back out the door.

~

Jay pushed the doors of the studio open with an odd amount of force. Luke was nowhere to be seen and neither as Stephanie. However Reggie was plucking strings on his bass and Alex was sprawled out on the couch. The Molina boy sighed, "Hey is Steph here?"

"Yeah!" He looked up to the loft at the sound of her name, "What's up?"

"Can I talk to you?" He looked over to Alex and Reggie, "Alone?" Stephanie looked to her band members, but the boys just gave her a shrug.

She poofed down from the loft, "Lead the way."

~

"Okay this pretty, but why are we in the middle of the woods?" Stepanie asked as she trailed behind Jay.

The boy rolled his eyes, "Because, I have a speaker out here."

"You have a speaker in the middle of the wood?"

He laughed, "No. Well yes. It's an old tree house Rose Connor and I built like forever ago." He almost turned around and held out his hand for Stepahnei to take so she wouldn't fall down the wooden ladder. When he looked back up she was already standing at the top, "Right."

She laughed at the shock on his face, "Dead remember?"

"You don't seem it." Stepahnie laughed at that sliding down the wooden side of the treehouse.

She laughed, "What are you doing?"

Jay sighed, leaning against the wall parallel to the one Stephanie was on. "I went to Carrie's. It's kinda risky what you did, don't you think?"

Stephanie felt like she was burning up. She couldn't bring it in herself to say she only did that because she knew she was about to die. For the second time. She only wrote it because it was her forgiving Bobby for what he did. She really forgave him. All it took was listening to the demo they taped forever ago. All she needed was to hear his voice again. Booby's voice. Not Trevor's. "Uh. I guess maybe."

Jay smiled, pulling out his phone and pulling up the song. "Well, I know how mad you were at him. And I-I just wanted to prove he loves you too."

"How?"

"Uhh, my-my mom played the piano for this, and Cheryl played the bolin in the background. Just listen."

Stephanie nodded, leaning her head back on the wood. Slowly a piano started to play through the speaker. "Taking small breaths." It was Bobby's voice for sure, but it was older. More pain. "Leading, restless. When you used to, smile."

Stephanie's chest hurt from laughing so hard. Alex nearly spit the water out of his mouth at Cheryl's bad joke. It was so bad it was good again. The whole room was a mess of laughter, Luke doubling over at point. It wasn't really funny but none of them could stop.

Stephanie held her legs tight with her hands, pushing herself as fall against the wall as she could. "Felt Like. I knew All about you. Now, I can't go home."

"I'm not going back!" Stephanie yelled the words at her brother. She knew the guys and Cheryl could hear her from outside, but she still screamed. "I'm okay here, Bobby!"

"I get that!" Bobby matched her tone, "Steph, I just want you to be safe!"

"How safe can I be in that house!?" Bobby froze at the words because he knew his sister was right. How safe was she in that house.

His voice dropped to a whisper, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Stephanie took a step to her brother, I just decided this morning."

Bobby pulled his sister in for a hug, "If you need anything. Call the house phone." She nodded into his shoulder, "Promise."

"Promise."

"Ohhh, oh Dear Stephanie. You made me wear my heart on my sleeve. Ohhh, oh Dear Stephanie. I can't compete."

Stephanie clinked her bottle with Bobby's. All six knew they shouldn't be drinking, but Cheryl had stolen a six pack from her dad to celebrate getting at gig at the Orpheum.

Cheryl raised her bottle, "To great successes."

Luke raised him, "To parten's pride."

Bobby raised his bottle as well, "To us!"

"To us!" The whole room yelled back, cheering again.

Stephanie felt the tears on her face. It was still crazy to her that ghosts could cry, but she found herself doing it all the time. "Now you've left me. I can't seem, To Breath." Her breath got caught in her throat.

Bobby couldn't move as he listened to the police. 'Sister.' 'Dead' Band' 'Food poisoning' That was all he could retain. It took all of six seconds after hearing Stephanie's name to start crying.

So much for the night of their lives. His little sister was dead. He couldn't breath. He wasn't breathing. He had gone so long without breathing it hurt. "I'm sorry sir." The cop finished.

A girl came up behind him. Rose, the girl he had been flirting with early. "Hey, guys, what's going on. You should-" She stopped at the sight of the crying boy and a crying Cheryl right next to him. "Office, if you need to talk to anyone. I'm here. I think they need some space."

"Felt like I knew. About you. Now I, Can't go home" Stephanie couldn't see through her tears. It hurt hearing the pain in his voice as he sang. It was so much more emotion than she had ever heard it. So much pain, so much... love.

"Oh, ohhhhhh,"

Bobby was balling his eyes out over the black polished stone. His little sister's name carved into it. It was painful. She was dead. Stephanie was dead. He didn't know what to do.

"Ohhh, Oh Dear Stephanie. You made me wear my heart on my sleeve. Ohh, Oh dear Stephanie. I can't compete"

"Marry me?"

Cheryl froze in her tracks at the question from Bobby. "What?"

"I know, I don't have a ring. Or a stock pile of money to really start a life away from this boring town. And I know we're only 20 and not even out of college, but I would be dead without you Cher. So Marry me?" Bobby took her hand, facing Cheryl. The two had started dating at the end of senior year The death of their best friends and family weirdly brought them closer together.

She giggled, "Yes."

"Yes?"

"Yes." Bobby joined Cheryl in her little giggles, kissing his now bride to be, for the first time in what felt like years, he smiled.

"But now I'm broken, Thinking of you, Nothing I Can even do."

"You're not gonna believe this one Strawberry." Cheryl laughed at herself, talking to Stephanie's grave stone. "Your brother just asked me to Marry him." She laughed again, bending down so she was looking at Stephanie's name rather than just the top of the black granite. "I said yes."

"You left , I'm alone, Don't know, where to go, Oh, OHhhhhhh, Ohhhhhh"

Cheryl twisted the necklace she was wearing around her finger. It was her something borrowed. Borrowed from Stephanie. "Oh don't tell me you're getting cold feet." Rose teased her friend as she walked into the small bridal sweet above the venu.

Cheryl shook her head, "I'm not. I just wish Steph was here."

Rose smiled at the thought of Cheryl loving this girl so much she was thinking about her on her wedding day. "I wish I got to know her more than in passing. And making fun of her brother." Cheryl laughed at that one.

"Yeah, she would have kicked you to the side and been my maid of honor."

Rose laughed at her friend, "Well, I'll just have to do for now." Cheryl through her arms around Rose, "Congratulations Cheryl Wilson. Stephanie would've been here. So would the guys."

"Yeah. They would be."

"Ohhh, Oh Dear Stephanie. You made me wear my heart on my sleeve. Ohh, Oh dear Stephanie. I can't compete." Stephanie was crying in a ball. Just listening like Jay told her to. Jay wasn't much better. He was a little bit more put together, having heard the song before, but watching Stephanie cry hurt something in him.

"Dear Stephanie. What I would I do" The music cut out, and it was just heavy breaths. "Ohhh, Oh Dear Stephanie. You made me wear my heart on my sleeve Ohh, Oh dear Stephanie. I can't compete" Slowly the music faded out.

Stephanie huckuped over a sniffle. She looked up at Jay, her eyes full of tears. She felt a new tear fall down her face, and looking Jay in the eyes she disappeared.

~

Stephanie rolled her guitar pick between her fingers, leaning on the railing to the back porch of the Molina's home. She was waiting for Jay to get back from the woods. She heard him well before she saw him. A few twigs snapped under his feet and the leaves shuffled before he walked out.

"Hey."

She blew a strand of hair out of her face, "Hey."

Jay sighed looking at the puffy eyed ghost, "I'm sorry if that was overstepping. I just-"

"No. I- I just need a minute. I mean-"

Jay climbed the stairs of the poruch, "You don't have to say anything."

Stephanie shook her head, "No. No I do. Jay that meant a lot. I-I mean when I look back on my life the only things that mattered were Cheryl, Bobby and the band. And when you told us, he took our music, and didn't even tell his daughter my name. I hated him. I hated my brother." She took in a sharp breath, "You help fix that. So- thank you."

Jay smiled, "You brought my sister back to me. The least I could do was let you know your brother loves you."

"It was perfect." Stephanie went to grab Jay's hand, but she just passed through him. Jy nearly hit himself for almost hoping he could feel her. Awkwardly he turned away from the girl, the tow now facing the yard before them. "This is quite the relistoship we've created for ourselves."

"Quite." The both let out airy laughs, "Oh my god I nearly forget to tell you. Connor said the video he took of you guys is trending on YouTube." Stephanie gave him a look, "Right YouTube wasn't a thing until 2005. That's a good thing. It means people love your music. I'm sure you'll be getting calls from managers now. Or if we're lucky Julie will file them through me, because she doesn't know how to talk on the phone." Stephanie chuckled, but suddenly stopped, "What?"

"There's something I have to tell you."

"Oh..Okay. Steph, what is it?"

"Oh god." She shook out her hands, and sighed, "we-uh- we figured out that we have unfinished business. That's why we came back as ghosts."

"Okay. So what is it?" he gripped the plastic white railing as Stephanie's hair blew to the side. Even made of air she still got caught in the wind.

"How do I phrase this? Uhh- Oh. We have to play the show we never got to play."

"The Orpheum?" Stephanie nodded, "Right. My mom said you guys just missed it."

"Two hours away." A sound like thunder fills the deck, Stephanie glowing up with a purple haze. The jolt hurt so bad, she was knocked back into the table behind the. She let out different groans and hisses, holding just below her ribcage where the light came from. "And It seems like we don't have much time left this time either."

"What the hell was that? Are-Are you okay?"

Stephanie straightened herself out as much as she could, using the table to hold herself up. "We did something that we shouldn't have. The night we missed the dance, we met this ghost." She grounded again, "The best was I can describe it as that put a curse on us. And if we don't do what he says. Then these jolts will destroy us."

"Then do what he says? What does he want?" Jay's voice was rushed and pained as he leaned over the ghost in front of him.

"He wants us to play in his house band..."

"That's not too bad."

"For eternity."

"That's a lot worse."

Stephanie stood all the way up, looking Jay in the eyes, "Hey. Don't worry about us, because if we can play the Orpheum soon, then we can avoid eternity and cross over."

"Cross over?" Jay repeated the words as a question.

"Pearly gates or red hot flames, ring a bell."

"You mean Heaven or Hell."

"Well, we were hoping for Heaven, but yeah."

Jay shook his head, "So you either cross over, or be in this guys band for eternity, or door number three be destroyed by those jolts?"

Stephanie's hand fell to her scar, "Yeah."

As if Jay hadn't cried enough for one day, "That's just great."

He started to walk in the house, "James..." Stephanie didn't let herself finish the thought, the glass door sliding shut before her.

~

The twins laid on Julie's bed, Jay holding his sister to him, his feet hanging over the edge because of all her pillows. There was a knock on the open door, Connor, Flynn, and Rose walking in. "We got your texts." Flynn said sadly, looking at the two siblings wrapped around each other, "Oh no. This is bad enough for a cry pile."

"It's not a pile until there's three people." Jay grumbled.

Rose took a seat on the bed by his feet, "Well, Connor brought chocolate."

Jay scoffed, "Yeah even chocolate can't fix whatever curse has been put on us."

"He's right." Julie spoek into Jay's jacket, rolling onto her back so she was facing the ceiling, "Anyone who comes near us, that we care about, seems to disappear. You'd all probably be safer leaving the chocolate and then leaving the house."

Connor laughed, "Yeah you can't get rid of me. For one I live on your road, and for two, all four of you would fall apart without me. I'm the only one sane in this room."

Flynn nodded, "Yeah, and I'm like the crazy glue of best friends."

Jay sighed, "I just don't get it. Right as it seemed like Life was finally looking up. Great friends... great bands... great girl... Then bam. Julie show the picture." Julei held up her notebook that now had an explosion draw in it, "Then bam, it blows up in our faces."

"I seriously don't know why all this is happening to you guys, but if Jay overlays that with a photo of the band, it will make a great album cover one day."

Julie scoffed, "If the band lives long enough to get an album." Flynn started to fold Julie's sweater that she was wearing earlier, "You don't have to do that."

"Oh I know. But I get to check out all your Mom's cool stuff."

Rose stood from the bed, pulling a white T-shirt out of Julie's mother's trunk. "Yo, Jay, look at this." Jay shifted on the bed so he was propped up on his elbows. In Rose's hand was a white T-shirt covered in jems. The Sunset Curve Logo printed in black across it. "Did you guys know this was in here?"

"I still have a shirt he gave me." Jay whispered the words of his mother's letter.

"What?" Flynn, Connor and Rose's voices blended together.

"Oh my god." "What the heck?" That was all Julie could ask between the shirt and her brother's remakers, the twins now sitting up on the bed.

Flynn shook her head, "How do you think she got it?"

"I-I don't know, but they said they didn't know our mom." Julie answered, still confused about everything that's happened in the last hour.

Jay shook his head, "But she knew Cheryl."

"Who's Cheryl?"

Julie laughed, "Carrie's mom. Or in this case. Stephanie Wilson's best friend before she died."

Connor was lost at the statement, "Okay-so the theory is, your mother knew Cheryl Wilson..."
"Stone."

"Cheryl Stone. Who knew Sunset Curve, so she got a t-shirt? Okay now that I say it out loud it makes more senses."

"Or maybe." Flynn stood from the floor, taking the shirt from Rose, "She was a fan. Meet this Cheryl figure through that."

Julie shrugged, "I guess. I mean, Sunset Curve was big in the Hollywood club scene around then." She thought back to what Alex and Reggie had told her about Stephanie, "Maybe a little too big."

"Oh my god." They turned to Flynn, "What if you were right, what if the guys are connected to your mom? You know, through music or something."

Julie looked at her best friend like she was crazy, "Because she bought their t-shirt? Yeah the cheryl thing is starting to make a lot of sense."

"No. Maybe Flynn's right." Everyone turned to look at Jay, "I mean-" He sighed. "In that letter Mom wrote me, she mentioned she once met a guy that was friends with Cheryl, and he gave her a t-shirt. Besides, it was Sunset Curve that got you back into music." Jay targeted the last part at his sister as the room started to get an orangey glow with the setting sun.

Julie shook her head at her brother, "So you mean to tell me, Mom's grand plan was to send a band to help me? Why didn't she just do it herself?"

Jay thought back to what Stephnaie had told him, "Maybe she didn't have unfinished business. Maybe she needed someone who hadn't crossed over."

"Maybe she needs to do it another way." Flynn added, shaking the shirt around, "Through signs."

"To be fair, Jules, how many times have you been through these clothes? And how have you never found that shirt?" Rose agreed with Flynn, trying to prove it, "So why would we find it now? Maybe it's just another sign. Think about it! Jules you dragged you ass down to my neighborhood, to show Luke's parents that he misses them. That's 18 blocks, and you walked. It's not over. Either of you."

"Really signs?"

Connor scoffed, "Julie, you're in a ghost band, and this is hard to wrap your head around? Maybe you should be less focused on self pity and go talk to some ghost."

Flynn sighed, "Look. Guys you're gonna lose them no matter what. And that sucks. But they helped bring you life back! I mean Jay, I didn't see you actually smile for almost a year. The day after you met a group of ghosts, you were smiling brighter than the sun. Julie you didn't play a note after you mom died. Not until they came around. You're alive because of them. Now it's your turn to help them."

Rose sighed, "From what I could understand from the panic texts, you have help them cross over. Because doors two and three sound like hell. Maybe all you need to do is let them go."

~

Reggie sat in the chair plucking away at the strings on his bass. Alex was laying on his back on the couch, trying to balance one of his drumsticks under his eyes. Stephanie was laying across the small coffee table, her hair touching the floor, and her eyes trained on the ceiling. And Luke was leaning against the couch, his eyes focused on the small spot of blood under the carpet across the room.

The four of them didn't even notice the twins walk into the studio. Too wrapped up in ever impending doom. Julie sighed, "Snap out of it!"

Alex let out a gasp falling to the floor, and hitting Stephanie on the way down, the stick he was trying to balance nearly hitting Luke in the eye.

Reggie followed the drumstick as it spun around on the floor before looking back at the drummer, "Jeez, I think you broke Alex."

"Do you guys wanna cross over or what?" No one answered Julie, "Get..." Clap.." "It..." Clap... "Together!"

Luke's head fell back on to the couch, "They're never gonna let us play the Orpheum."

"We're nobody." Alex added.

"We're less than nobody." Stephanie's turn to complain.

"We have no bodies." Reggie wrapped the stment up, all three other ghosts snapping and pointing to him.

"Well, you got us. And someone once told us, that you don't ask for permission. You book gigs by doing." Luke and Sephanie smiled at Jay's statement, thinking back to that night in the kitchen.

"That was me."

Julie shook her head at Reggie, "No it wasn't."

"No it wasn't." Jay had much of the same thought as his sister.

"No it wasn't." Luke added, the words having come from his mouth.

"Yes it was."

Stephanie tipped her head back to look at her friend, "No, it really wasn't."

Julie sighed, she was really gonna miss their shenanigans, "Guys this isn't over. We were brought together for a reason. To help each other."

Alex propped his foot up on the table next to Stephanie's legs, "Yeah but like Luke said, people don't just play the Orpheum because they want to."

Jay sighed, "Well, how did you do it the first time."

"Cheryl." "Cherry." "Cheryl Stone." "Yeah, Cheryl."

"Well, lucky us, she's also a ghost. Which means she can do everything she did the first time, cut down to three hours of sneaking around and being unseen."

~

Rose sighed, throwing her car keys onto the tray at her grandmother's house. She had been living with her grandmother ever since her mother died in a car crash and her father died in war just before she was born.

"Mamma I'm home!" She yelled through the house, slipping off her jacket. "Mamma!" Still no answer. Sighing again she made her way over to the kitchen.

A small sticky note was on the fridge from her grandmother. "Went to the Pattersons'. Emily looked sad."

Rose scoffed, "Yeah, no kidding." She pulled a youtube from the fridge turning around and noticing the open notebook on the table. She didn't think much of it until a pen started to float in the air. "Okay well I already know ghosts are real so you can leave." Her voice was shaky as she spoke.

It sounded like someone laughed before the oen hit the paper. She leaned over the island that the notebook was on, reading the words out loud as they were written out. "Please...Watch...Over...my....parents...when...I'm....gone. Luke. Bad drawing of a heart." Rose laughed to herself, "Dick you scared the crap out of me. Of course I will."

Luke jumped up on the counter as Rose yelled at him. "Thank you." He sighed to himself, "Right you can't hear me." Slowly he bent over, writing the words 'thank you' on the page.

Rose sighed, "Okay, I know I can't see you, so if you're like standing in the opposite direction, sorry. But thank you. You guys saved Jay from himself. You brought my best friend back. And I'm also sorry for not believing you excited." Luke laughed at that part, "But making sure your parents are okay is the least I can do. And hey, if you see Steh anytime soon, tell her I'm sorry for making her niece cry." Luke brought the notebook into his lap, writing down the word 'when'. "Right, you guys weren't there. Uh, I said some things I shouldn't have. Didn't really go well, Jay and Julie got pissed at me, but I never got to say sorry to Stephanie." He scribbled back on the page. "Will... Do.. Thanks. And Uh Luke? I'm sorry to see you go."

He just gave the Geller girl a smile, even though she couldn't see him.

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Author's Note

JUST NOW NOTICING JAY'S BEST FRIEND AND MOTHER HAVE THE SAME NAME! Okay but really how didn't I see it sooner.

Also I lied. I'm not gonna link the video of me singing Oh, Dear Stephanie because one, I sound really bad in it, and two it's just not well written because I wrote it with the intention of breaking it apart with different moments. But if you really wanna see it, it is on youtube. Just look up 'Oh, Dear Stephanie'

Love Y'all
Annabeth

P.S I got lazy so this chapter is unedited sorry.

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[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

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