Chapter Twenty-Two : Bobby?
September 2020

    "So you gonna read it?" Carlos finally asked as he, Jay and Julie stared down the letter Jay had found in his room.
    "I don't know!" Jay shot back.
    "What do you mean you don't know!" Julie yelled at her twin, none of them having reached for the letter since Jay placed it on the table. All three scattered to reach for the letter once they heard their father start to walk down the stairs, it ending in Jay's lap.

    Ray laughed at the sight of his three kids staring at a cleared off kitchen table, "Guys, as much as I love family bonding time it's a school night. Carlso, bed now." The youngest Molina groaned but stood from the wooden chair and trudged upstairs. "As for the two of you, you got two hours. After that you have to at least be in your rooms."

    "Okay." "Got it."

    Ray smiled walking back up the stairs, leaving his two oldest at the table. Jay sighed, pushing out his chair and leaving the letter on the table before grabbing his camera and heading to the front door, "Where are you going?" Julie asked, her voice rushed.

    Jay held up his camera, "Clearing my head."

    "If you leave I'll read it!"
    Jay sighed again, "Go ahead. Maybe it will calm my nerves." Jay closed the door behind him before Julie could say anything else.
   For a second Julie reached for the letter but stoped. It wasn't her name on the front. It was his.

~

    When Jay pushed open the door to the studio the only ghost he saw was Stephanie. She was tuning her guitar standing in front of Alex's drum set. "You do know you're not allowed to be playing, right?"
    "I'm not playing. I'm tuning. They're different things."
    Jay chuckled, shaking his head, "Where's everyone else?"
    He heard the distinct sound of a ghost appearing from behind him. Luke now sitting on the chair in the room, "I don't know she won't tell me." Stephanie sighed, placing her instrument on it's stand before taking a seat on top of the piano.

    "What brings you in here at ten p.m?" She asked, her legs swing back and forth, sometimes even passing through the wood.

    "Uhh," Jay raised his camera. "The music department is doing this thing with the lacrosse team. And this me rambling saying that the photography department is having a competition to film the performance that the music department is doing..."
    Luke cut Jay off, "You just wanna take some pictures and win."

    Jay sighed, "Yeah. And-And I was thinking because you guys can pick up your instruments but can't be seen on camera. Well you kinda become glowing obres. So If I could get a glowing floating guitar-"
    Stephanie cut him off this time, "You could win. Luke what'd say?"
    "I say, you two have fun, and I don't feel like standing up." That was a lie. Luke wanted to see how these would come out, but he could also tell Stephanie was starting to have a thing for Jay, and he wanted to see where that ended more.

    Stephanie smiled, jumping off the piano and grabbing her guitar. Jay chuckled starting to give the direction so the glow of being a ghost wouldn't affect the lighting of the photo.

    She laughed, "Wait, wait wait. Left or right?" Luke bit his lower lip, trying to hide a smile as he watched all this happen. It was nice to see the girl he thought of as his sister smiling.

    "Face the right, tilt the guitar up." Jay said through a laugh. Stephanie giggled again doing as Jay said, "Good. Good. Stay there!" Before she moved again Jay snapped the picture. When he checked the photo the smile and laughter stopped, replaced with confusion.

    "Jay?" Stephanie dropped the smile as well, trying to understand the recent change in tone. "What's wrong?"

    He shook his head, "No-Nothing. Well, I- You're in the picture."

    Luke jumped up, "What?" Sure enough when he leaned over Jay's shoulder to see the photo Stephanie was visible. Holding her guitar with a hue of light around her and a smile on her face. "Oh my god. T-Take one on your phone. Maybe it's just the camera."

    "Yeah, yeah, okay." Jay placed his camera on the piano taking his phone out of his pocket. He quickly took a picture of Stephanie as she still held the guitar, the smile now gone as she became as confused as the boys. "She's still there."

    Stephanie put the guitar back on it's stand walking over to the boys, looking at her own image on the photo screen. "Try-Try it on Luke." Jay just shook his head taking a quick photo of Luke.

    But the same thing happened. Luke wasn't just a ball of light like when his dad took a photo. Light surrounded him. You could see every feature of the ghost like he wasn't even dead.

    "Maybe-Maybe" Luke held up his hand trying to wrap his head around what was happening, "We always showed up on camera. We just thought we didn't."
    Jay shook his head, "My dad took pictures of you guys. You only showed up as light."

    "Who showed up as light?" Alex and Reggie suddenly appeared in the studio. Alex asked the question as he caught the most recent part of the conversation. Jay held up his phone showing the photo of Luk they were still looking at. "Whao. You can see him. Why can you see him?"

    Stephanie rolled her eyes, "That's what we're tryna figure out.-" she paused " What if it's like when we sing with Julie. Because you can see us, you have an ability to show the rest of the world."

    Reggie started to look around the room, still lost at what he missed in the conversation. Alex however wasn't willing to believe it, "No. No-That just causes way too many questions. Let's just. Say Kumbaya and forget this happened."

    Jay just shook his head, delegating the few photos of Stephanie and Luke. Keeping the one really happy one on his camera. "Night guys."
    "Night." "Good night." "See you tomorrow." "Yeah, night." All four muttered back, Luke switching his eyes from Jay to Stephanie.

    When Jay closed the door behind him Luke turned to Reggie and Alex, "okay what were you doing?"

    "Nothing." Reggie's voice was too high for it to be true, "It was Stephanie's idea!"
    Stephanie sighed, "It's a surprise dick. I would have told you otherwise. I'm gonna head out for a bit. See you guys in the morning."

    With that Stephanie poofed out. Just another night of her being alone, trying to find Bobby and Cheryl. For her it had become a regular thing. She didn't think they guys knew, but they did. They always knew what she tried to hide.

~

    Julie pulled open the door of school already dancing as Jay started to hum the beat playing through his head phones. It was a song their mother had written after her good friend died. That friend actually being Cheryl's mother.

    Julie sikped, playing the drums in the air as she did so. Jay just smiled, finally feeling like, despite the four ghosts living in their studio, their lives were finally getting back on track.

"Ain't gonna fight it
'Cause it's useless.
I can't get this music
out of my head."

    Jay found himself drumming the beat onto his thigh as he walked down the halls. It had been a long time since he let himself listen to his mother's music. Mostly because it tended to make him cry.

"Everybody here we go.
This thing is unstoppable.
Haven't felt this in a minute,
It's incredible."

    A few of the words even came out of Jay's mouth starting to sing along. In about four octaves lower than his mother had written it.

"I got the music
Back inside of me.
Every melody and chord."

    Jay couldn't remember much about Cheryl Wilson. But he remember that she died before her husband became stupid rich, and her duaght a complet prick.

"Yeah we got the music,
Back inside let's do this.
Back like it's exclusive
Wavy like a cruise ship."

    That versus Julie had helped out with, singing it for her mother. It felt like years since they wrote the song. And it had been. Nearly eleven years.

"I got the music. It won't let me go
I got the music.
Just like the radio.
I got the music.
Streaming from my soul."

    "JAMES!" Rose yelled his name, snapping Jay out of his thoughts and mimi jam seatetion. "Usually that's a Julie thing. Glad to see you're both back to..weird." Jay leaned around Rose to see his twin dancing around the school halls, her headphone so loud he could almost hear them.

    Jay laughed at the sight, "I don't know.. I just. I feel good."

    Connor clapped his best friend on the back, "Good. So you hung up that guitar."
    Jay laughed "For good. Yeah that is all Julie."
    "And her new little...." Rose looked around dropping her voice, "Ghost band. How are they by the way. Still talented, still making me jealous that they're cute after death." She looked over to her boyfriend's wide-eyed face, "Sorry."

    "They're great. Yeah, Luke and Julie spent most of the weekend writing songs. Reggie and Alex are still on a mission to make Luke's birthday amazing, and Stephanie asked me to help her track down her old friend. Even though we spent the whole weekend on it, we didn't find anything. Almost as if Cheryl Stone is a dead girl walking."

    "And that picture you handed in, that was Stephanie. Right?" Connor asked, still amazed as to how Jay got the shot.

    "Yeah. Actually." The three started to make their way down the hall, "New discovery, I can take pictures of the dead. Julie can make them visible and I can take pictures. Here check this out." Jay unlocked his phone and started to scroll through the photos from the weekend.

    There were a few of Luke at a side angle. A decent amount of Luke and Reggie sharing a mic as they rehearsed their new song they wrote with Julie. A few of Alex killing the drums, even a few Jay took for something like an album cover. Julie was in those ones.

    But most were of Stephanie. He had taken them on Hollywood Boulevard as they set out to find Cheryl. She had her nomale flannel and black ripped jeans, her hair tossed in light curls and her left shoe untied. But she glowed. Literally yes, but also furtively. The smile on her face was one of pure joy and laughter.

    Rose chuckled, handing the font back to Jay, "Looks like someone found a new muse." She teased.

    "Uhh, just testing some things out." Jay tried to defend himself, "I mean, they glow. No human does that, think of all the different lights you could use from that. The different saturations, and shading. If you placed her in a completely black room you would still see her on camera without flash-"
    "Whoa." Rose put her hand up, "You're doing that thing you and Connor do where you start talking photo-y stuff, and you lose me."

    Jay cuckold rubbing the back of his neck, "Sorry. I just think it's really cool."

    "Yeah." The three stopped in the small pit. There were two 'pits' in the school. They were really just places that students went to hang out during free periods. And lucky for their brains and tiredness Rose, Jay and Connor all had a free first period. "It's really cool. I just can't help but notice one thing."
    Jay furrowed his eyebrows, "What?"

    "My boy's got a crush and her name is Stephanie."

    "Bingo." Rose added to Connor's statement, leading Jay into full on jury mode, trying to defend himself.

    "What? No. For one Stephanie's dead. And two she's a ghost."
    Connor hummed, giving his best friend a shrug, "A hot ghost." He looked over to the displeased look on Rose's face, "Sorry."

    Jay looked to the ceiling, nodding his head a bit, "With perfect hair."

    "Ha!" Rose snapped, "We got you in a corner. Just remember she is made of air."

    Jay gave a deep sigh, "Trust me, I remember. Often."

    Rose's smile fell, "Just don't let yourself get hurt okay?" Jay just nodded, all three taking a seat at the high tables. It was why they liked the 'little pit' more because the table was like six feet above the ground.

    Connor took a flyer out of his bag, "Speaking of ghost human romance. The whole school wants to see Julie and Luke play together again. The official Julie and the Phantoms marketing team made some arrangements." Connor slipped the flyer over the table, "Take a look."

"Julie and the Phantoms?" Jay asked reading the pink paper.

"Yeah." Rose gave half a laugh, "Us and Flynn had a lot of time on our hands. Think about it at least. First they play dances, next clubs, then tours, they the hall of fame. And no backing out, because it was all set up by Flynn."

"Are you kidding! We don't even know-" Jay dropped his voice to a harsh whisper, "We don't even know how she can make dead people seen."

Connor's phone buzzed, causing the whole table to vibrate, "Sorry. They already have 68 likes. Tell your 'Hologram band', they have their first gig." He used air quotes around the words Hologram Band.

Jay rolled his eyes, "It's not their first gig. I mean they died the night they planned to play at the orpheum."

Rose hummed, "We'll pretend to know what that means."
    "Okay? Let me get this straight. You took the time to set up all of this, but didn't take the three minutes to google Sunset Curve?"

"Yep." "Yeah."

Jay laughed, shaking his head, "I will see what I can do."

~

    Reggie and turned the flyer Connor had given Jay so that Stephanie could see it. "We're playing a school dance? Sweet." The bass player exclaimed, turning the page to Luke.

    Luke pushed all of his missing weight into his arms as he leaned against the piano. "It's not exactly the Strip." Even Jay could see Stephanie cringe at the name of the place, Luke and Reggie's eyes widening at the words even leaving Luke's mouth.

    "What's so bad about the-" Jay started to ask, Reggie hastily cutting him off. Like he didn't want the question to be answered.

    "And you're not exactly alive, so maybe you should be happy we have our first gig." The bass player's voice was rushed. And the joke sounded forced, like he just wanted to take any attention from 'the Strip' and change it into something else. Stephanie seemed to disappear into her own head at the name of the club from the 90s.

    Julie watered a few more plants, not noticing the way the three ghosts had changed at the mention of the club. Stephanie's daze, Luke suddenly becoming very stiff, and Reggie looking as if he was trying to forget one of the worst moments of his life. "I'll be honest when Jay came to me with the idea, I wasn't exactly in love with it either. But I then realized, it could be a great way for us to build a following, right?"

    Jay nodded to Stephanie, looking from Luke to the ghost girl, "Is she okay?"

    "Yeah!" Stephanie's voice was too happy. Unnaturally so as she answered, "I for one think it's a great idea. Forget clubs, it's not the 90s anymore, times change right?" She gave a breathy laugh at the end, Reggie and Luke sending her looks of concern.

    "Yeah." Reggie took the conversation again, looking away from Stephanie and to Julie as she finished the plants, "Yeah. We need to play wherever we can, whenever we can."
    "No, your right." Luke agreed, leaning back on the piano, no longer stiff as a bord. "Let's rock those kids's faces off, and then we play clubs."

    Julie ran forward so she was next to her brother, "And then record a single that gets a billion stream?"

    Stephanie snapped giving a smile, "I don't know what that is but I like the sound of it and hopefully it can get us a manager and a tour."

    Luke gave Stephanie a finger gun, "Then we release a bunch of hit albums."

    "Put out a country album that does surprisingly well."

    Stephanie laughed at Reggie's remark, "He learned to play the banjo like once, and now he's obsessed with it."

    Julie gave Reggie a fist bump, "Then I'll learn how to fiddle."

    "And before you know it we're being inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame." Luke said with an accent but Jay couldn't tell where it was from. To be fair most of the conversation was foreign to him. All of this was Julie's territory, not his.

    "But one of us isn't there." Reggie placed two fingers in the air, as Luke rocked back forward coming off his heels, "Because we had a blowout in 2032. My money's on Alex. He's just so sensitive."

    Jay gave two over emphasized thumbs up, "And I'll pretend like I know what you're talking about." That got a laugh from everyone.

    Luke started to walk across the studio, "What are we waiting for? Let's get rehearsing!"

    "Uh.." Julie looked around, "Where's Alex?"

    Stephanie gave the most goofy smile ever, "Totally not on a  date with mr skater boy."
    "Mr. Skater boy?" Julie leaned forward on the piano holding her head in her hand, "Well while we wait, why don't you tell me about this Mr Skater boy?"

    Jay snped, pointing to the door, "That's my cue to leave."

    Luke hummed, nodding, "Our cue. Have fun girls."

~

    Stephanie quickly ran her rift as Julie started her notes on the piano again. Luke and Stephanie started to sink notes as Reggie went off in a grove. "One more time." Luke called to Julie so she would play the melody over again.

    They finished the chorus as Alex walked through the doors of the studio. Like though not opening them, passing through them. "Oh hey Alex." Jay leaned over the railing at Reggie calling Alex's name, giving the ghost a quick wave before heading back to cleaning the loft out.

    "Where have you been?" Luke asked, his voice rushed, "We need to start practicing."
    Stephanie rolled his eyes, "Ignore him. Sometimes you need time for yourself."
    Alex shook Stephanie off, "Practicing for what?"

    Just then the white doors opened letting in a weird amount of daylight. Flynn, Rose, and Connor stood in the doors, Flynn raising her arms like she had just finished a routine in gymnastics.

    "Dance news!" She yelled looking at Julie, she turned to the loft, "Hi Jay." She got a quick wave from Jay as Connor started to climb the loft ladder and Flynn went back to talking to her best friend, "I don't have a date. But I don't care because I'm so psyched to see you guys perform." Rose chuckled before heading up the loft herself, only to find the floor scattered with photos from the past few years. An awful lot of them contained her and Connor. Not that she really minded.

    Alex made a sound like a hiss, "Oh man! We're playing a dance?"

    Luke fell back into a chair, "Of course dude. That's how we get a following nowaday."
    "Okay one, saying that makes me feel old." Stephanie joked, " And two. First we play dances, then clubs, then streams, then tours, then managing. And a real manager not Cheryl."

    Julie chucked, "Yeah get with the program Alex. And Steph, you're not old. Just unfortunately dead."
    Stephanie scoffed, "Thanks Jules. Such comfort."

    "What?" Flynn huffed out, "The guys and Stephanie are here?" She waved behind Julie, away from the band. "Hey guys! Steph!"

    Jay laned over the railing laughing at Flynn, "Yeah other way sweetheart."

    Flynn turned the other way waving again, "oh." She ended up getting a wave back from Reggie Alex and Stephanie, and a small chuckle from Luke. Which is the most you could really ask for.

    Luke dropped his feet from the coffee table, "Okay, well now that Alex has graced us with his presence, can we start working?"

    "Yes!" Julie sat on her hand, turning to Flynn, "We're gonna rehearse. You wanna stick around?"

    Flynn sighed, pushing back her jacket and placing her hands on her hips, "I'm supposed to blow up 500 balloons for the school dance, but this sounds way better."

    Carlos walked into the studio. "Hey Julie, Jay! If you're in that loft of nightmares?"

    "Hey Car." Jay called down to his little brother not looking up from the different piles of photos.
    "Remember those orbs in Dad's pictures?" The 11 year old walked through Alex to get to his sister as his brother sighed climbing down the wooden ladder with his friends still on the loft above. "I-I think they're ghosts." Carlos showed the twins the washed out pictures Ray Molina had taken. Luke and Stephanie leaning over the little boy's shoulders.

    "Oh my god." Luke whispered to himself. "We really can't be seen on tape without Jay."

    Jay rolled his eyes at both the ghost and his younger brother, "But don't worry. This room is... is...is" Carlso starting to slowly spin in a circle, "This room is clean. I'm not getting the ghost tinglies."

    Reggie fixed the string on his bass, "Wrong again little dude." Luke and Stephanie both chuckled at that.

    Jay shook his head, "Okay. So what are you getting at?"

    "Have no fear, older brother. If they come, I will protect you. Both of you, because I am the man of the house."

    Jay scoffed, "First off. No. I'm six years older than you. Second, Dad is still alive."

    Carlos crossed his arms over his chest, "There can be two."

    "I'm still six years older than you."

    Carlos huffed out a sigh, "Okay fine. So I'm not the man of the house. But I still know what I'm talking about." Carlos pulled a salt shaker from his pocket, "According to the internet, salt burns their souls out." Rose and Connor leaned over the railing at that. Reggie, Alex, and Luke, suddenly looked very concerned but Stephanie didn't seem affected. "A little sprinkle will keep them from ever coming in here."

Carlos spilled some of the salt in front of Reggie, the bass player jumping back before the 11 year old did the same to Luke. He then flung some across the room, Stephnaie looking unamused. The fling of salt however landed inside of Alex. "AHHH! Oh God, I'm..." Alex stood straight up again, "I'm fine. I'm fine. Totally fine." Jay and Julie let out sighs of relief at that.

Stephanie laughed shaking her head, "See this is where my love of Buffy The Vampire Slayer comes in handy. Salt doesn't burn ghosts. Salt circle can keep us out of stuff, sure, but salt itself can not do anything."

Luke hastily shook his head, "I will never make fun of you for watching that show again. EVER AGAIN."

Julie cleared her throat. Jay gave a sigh, taking the salt from Carlos' hands, "Ghost or not. That's Dad's good salt. I'm sure he doesn't want it sprinkled across the floor."

Carlos scoffed, "So what if it's from the Himalayas."
    "Put it back." The twins yelled at their brother, Jay handing the salt back as Carlos walked out of the room. Muttering under his breath. "Hey Con-" Connor poked his head over the railing, "You know the shelf of portfolios in my room?"

"Yeah. You never let me touch them."
    "Can you go run to my room, and grab me the fifth one in from the wall?"

Rose ran down the loft stairs, "I'm coming. You never let people touch those."
    "Or ghosts." Stephanie grumbled.

Flynn took Rose's hand, "Yeah all of us are going. He never even lets me in his deck out room."

Connor sighed, shaking his head with a laugh, "We'll go get it." With that the three left the loft on a mission to Jay's room.

Julie laughed turning to Luke as he and Stephanie moved back to where they were before Carlos came in, "Shall we try this again?"

"Yeah. And remind me later. They're some Sunset Curve songs I want to show you." Luke said, fixing his guitar strap.

"Oh." Julie turned her attention to Stephanie, "There's also some things in my journal I want to show you. See what you can do with them you know?"

"Ooh." Julie moved her mic away from her mouth, "To the journal, we can talk later and to Sunset Curve songs. Show me now."

"Yeah okay." Luke smiled, bouncing on his toes and spinning around to grab his journal. He picked up the book, reading the paper that was sticking out of it, "Home is where my horse is?' Reggie stop putting your country songs in my journal."

"That was a gift."

Luek patted Reggie once with the notebook in his hand, the sheet of paper now on the floor, "Thanks buddy." Luke shook his head at the twins as Stephanie swan her guitar around to her back, leaning on the keyboard next to Jay. Luke handed Julie the notebook, "I dog-eared the ones I think you would slay. Now to be fair, most of the words are Steph's, but I did all the notes."

Julie flipped through the pages, reading over different titles as she passed them, "Who's Emily?"

"That one's not dog-eared." Luke's stance changed at the sound of Emily's name. Going from open and free, to stiff and closed off. Trying to cover as much of himself as he could. And as much of his guitar as he could. He reached for the journal but Julie pulled it back.

"If you could only know that I never let you go." Julie started to read the lyrics on the page. She chuckled, "Wow Luke, I didn't know you were such a romantic."

"He's not." Alex started now standing next to Stephanie, "That one's actually about--"
    "No one!" Stephanie said before Alex could say anything else, stomping down in Alex's foot to shut him up. "Well not no one. She's an old friend of mine. I asked Luke if I could use his journal for the song because mine ran out of pages. Just turn the page okay." Luke looked over to Stephanie with gratitude even mouthing the words 'Thank you' to the girl.

Luke turned back to Julie, "If you go to the next dog eared page I got a tune- It- It's got a killer beat. Steph- you know it right?"
    "Round and back?"

"Yep."
    "Then of course I know it." The two started the opening riff of the song, Stephanie's lasting longer than Luke's as he started to play the background for the intro. Reggie started to mouth the words to the song as they played.

Julie nodded her head along, not really impressed, "So you wanna sample."
    Luke laughed, "What do you mean 'Sample?"

"Sample someone else' music." Julie replied, Jay staying mostly silent as she took a seat down in front of her keyboard. "Me and my mom used to sing that song at the top of our lungs all the time. Jay used to say if he heard it one more time he would break the cd. It's a classic Trevor Wilson song."

"Again with the Wlison!" Alex spoke, suddenly feeling pressured by Stephanie's last name.

"Nope." Luke rocked forward, grabbing his notebook from the keyboard, "It's a classic, our song."
    "Yeah." Stephanie swan her guitar back around, "Pure Sunset Curve. Nerve even heard of Trevor Wilson. I mean, I remember writing those lyrics."

"Maybe you're just mixing it up with another song." Reggie suggested, being there when Stephanie had the 'ah-ha' moment with the chorus.

"No she's not," Jay exhaled, finally speaking, "I actually did break the CD from hearing it so much."

"Plus," Julie leaned forward, "I don't mix up songs. Trust me. Me and his daughter used to be best friends. And Jay for that matter. At least when they lived around the block. I used to hang out at their place all the time. I know that song."
    "And. Our Mom was best friends with his wife, sooooo. Yeah, we know that song." All four Sunset Curve members laughed, "Here. Julie pull it up on your computer." Julie did as he twin said, pulling up the many different Trevor Wilson hits.

"His first album had a bunch of good hits. But none of his latest stuff is as good." Stephanie froze at the picture on the screen. She was made of air, but she still felt herself go numb. "Steph?"

"B-Bobby?" She stuttered on the name, almost choking on it.

"Seriously, I just told you his name is Trevor."
    "No." Stephanie took a hard stand, "That is Bobby. Trust me I know what my twin brother looks like. 25 years or not. That man right there is Robet Alvin Wlison, through and through. He played rhythm bass behind Reggie."

Julie scoffed, "Treveor Wilson was in your band?"

Alex leaned forward, "Oh. He looks like a substitute teacher."

Stephanie felt her not beating heart break as a thought hit her. "Jay? What were his other hits?" She tried to fight tears, Luke grabbing her hand and squeezing it.

"Uhh, Get Lost."

Luke's grip tightened, "Stephanie and I wrote that."

Julie looked over at the two, never having seen so much rage on Luke's face. And Pain on Stephanie's. "Uhh, Long Weekend?" She tried.

Reggie shook his head, "They wrote that one too."

"Crooked teeth?"

"And that.." Alex sounded very dramatic, "Was about Reggie."

"What? I thought it was about you. I no longer like that song."

Stephanie let go of Luke's hand still trying not to cry. The words 'How Could He Do this? Pasted across his mind. "It was about me. An old inside Joke between me and Luke. He used to say I had buck teeth worse than Hermnior Granger before I got braces, and my great comeback was 'well..."

"Well your teeth are still crooked." Luke finished the joke. Starting to throw darts into the board on the wall.

Julie shook her head, "Wait.. This is kinda freaking me out. Trevor's songs are kinda big to me. He's the one who introduced me to rock."

"Yeah. And I introduced him." Stephanie spit back, the pain mixing with a burning rage.

"So this whole time. We thought you were connected to our mom. Instead you're connected to Carrie's Dad? Out of all people it had to be the girl who has it out for me." Julie said with a sigh.

"Not necessarily true. You guys could be connected to whoever Cheryl is." Jay thought for a second the realization hitting him like nothing ever had, "You're Stephanie! Like THE Stephanie?!"

"Umm... I'm Stephanie Wilson. But I'm not sure who 'the' Stephanie is."

"As in like 'Oh Dear Stephanie?" Julie asked her twin, thinking back to the one song Trevor wrote that wasn't rock.

"Either way. Add it to the list of questions." Alex said, taking a seat on the moch band riser they had.

Stephanie' eye widend, "Wait did you say Carrie's Dad? He has a daughter!? He has a kid!? I have a niece!?"

Jay slowly shook his head yes, not sure how to lightly break the news, "He never mentioned you guys. I mean his wife would talk about you. Mosty Steph to be honest. She's kinda why Carrie and Julie like music so much."

Luek slammed one more dart into the board, "That's unbelievable! Forget us! I mean who doesn't tell their kid about their dead sister! Twin sister!"

"Forget me!" Stephanie yelled back, the anger staring to win over the pain, "He can take all the credit, and he doesn't even mention us? All of us would have been dead a lot sooner if it wasn't for each other, and he took that. Threw it to the side!"

Julie tipped her head, "And he's rich. He has his own helicopter." Luke groaned, throwing another dart into the board.

Alex stood up, "He has.. He has a... a helicopter?"
    Jay nodded, as Julie switched the picture, "With his face on it."

"And he parks it in front of that hotel?" Reggie asked, pointing to the picture.

"No. He gets to park it in front of his mansion." Julie explained, still trying to get over the fact that her childhood hero lied his way to fame.

"Mansion?!" "Steph, we live in a garage."

"It's not about the money it's about the music!" Luke yelled back, Stephanie slipping behind him and Alex.

"It's a little bit about the money though!"
    "A little bit about the money." Alex bit his lower lip as he said it, pinching his fingers together to show the little bit.

"I mean he could have shared it with our family! Maybe then my parents wouldn't have had their house turned into a bike shack."

At the sound of parents Luke's anger flamed, "What he did was steal our legacy." Luke paused for a second, "come on Steph what do you think?" Everyone turned to where Stephanie should have been but she was gone. "Steph? Stephanie? Stephanie Charlotte Wilson!?"

They could call all they wanted but. She was already gone. Standing in the posh living room of the man she used to know as her brother.

~

    Luke jumped up a set of stairs in 'Trevor' Wilson's house. It was all different whites and greys lined with records and portraits. "Bobby's house is ridiculous." Alex yelled from the other side of it. "Have you seen these platinum records."

    Reggie turned his head over his shoulder, "Platinum?" He ran to the first shiny thing he saw on the wall.  The platinum record labeled with the words 'Oh, Dere Stephanie' underneath. "Hey I think this is that song Jay and Julie were talking about!"

    Luke stood up straight after reading a record, "He recorded 'My name is Luke' MY. Name Is Luke!"

    Stephanie however wasn't stocking the halls of the building like the boys were. She was standing in a pastel room on the top floor of three. The walls were covered in different dirty candy events from the years. She was standing in her niece's bedroom.

    And the worst part is she didn't know whether to cry or tear everything off the walls.

    The front door to the mansion opened, "It's him!" She heard Reggie call from two floors down. With a sigh she poofed down next to the leather wrapped boy as Luke and Alex ran down the hall.

    Bobby. Her twin brother was gone. The man in front of her was just not him. Bobby was not a man with sunglasses indoors and hung records across the walls. Bobby was not the man to buy a helicopter with his face on it. Bobby was not the man to steal everything that didn't just keep Stephanie happy. Keep her alive. Keep her from ending it.

    No this wasn't Bobby, her loving twin. This was Trevor, a backstabbing bitch.

    He jumped up a few stairs, "Hey Carrie. I'm gonna meditate!" Trevor called through the house.

    Reggie pointed to the glasses on his face, "He wears sunglasses indoors."

    "I'm in the den!" Carrie yelled back. Just the sound of her voice so far away made another thing in Stephanie break. She wasn't sure how much shattered glass it took to fill a cracked vase but she was sure she was close to the limit.

    Reggie shook his head, watching as Trevor bounced up the stairs, "I can't stand him."

    Luek nodded as well, "Time for us to haunt him." Luke and Reggie started up the stairs, but Stephanie made it a mission to find this den. Leave her mess of emotion for the boys. Let them deal with the anger and her deal with the pain.

    The pain of knowing her niece grew up for 17 years without her Aunt.

~

Jay forcibly pushed in the doorbell to Carrie's house. Connor, Rose, Flynn and Julie right behind him. Soon after the disappearing act of Stephanie Wilson Alex Reggie and Luke had poofed off as well.

    When no one answered the doorbell Jay started to pound in the door. "Carrie if you open this door, I might just kiss you!"

    At that Carrie opened the door, "Pucker up?"

    Jay didn't care much for plententies, showing the girl who lived in the mansion out of the way, "First the kiss was out of the question. Second, your boyfriend is on the couch sooo." He didn't wait for her to answer running up the stairs of the house.

    Julie, Rose, Flynn, and Connor all gave focused smiles. "He's uhh-Umm-He's- Uh-" Julie struggled to defend her brother. In the end she just laughed, "Do you have a band-aid, the barb wire is new."

    Jay stopped running when he got to a hallway he didn't recognise. The walls lined with photos rather than records. The floor was the same and so was the paint on the walls. But somehow the hall itself felt more welcoming.

    One picture really drew his attention. He could tell Luke was on the far right just by the guitar and lack of sleeves. Then Alex next to him with drumsticks in hand. Stephanie next to Alex, her feets crossed, and her hair framing her face as the green flannel she was wearing this morning hung right under her shoulders. Next to Stephanie was a blonde. To Jay's best guess it was Cheryl Wilson, Carrie's mom. But she looked much younger than how Jay could remember her. Then again the women died when him, Carrie, and Julie were only five years old, so he couldn't remember much.

    Next to the blonde was Reggie, he could tell just by the red flannel hanging around his waist. That meant the person on the very left was Bobby. Or better known to him, Trevor.

    "It's a pretty bad picture. You or your father could take one a million times better. But it was taken in 1995, so." Jay turned at the sound of someone's voice. He clapped his hand right over his mouth before he could scream.

    Slowly he lowered his hand, "M-Mrs. Wilson?" The name came out as both a question and a whisper.

    The blonde's eyes widened, "You can see me?"

    Jay let his hand fall, "Recent discovery, me and Julie can see ghosts. And taking into account that you died 2008 I'm guessing you're a ghost. Why are there more of you. As if the Sunset Curve team wasn't enough." He mumbled the last part, still looking at Carrie's dead mother before him.

~

    "GUYS!" Stephanie yelled at the boys small pranks to haunt Bobby. "If you want to freak him out. Well.. just watch." She couldn't find Carrie, so she fell back on the anger running through her.

    She picked up a piece of paper and burned the corner of it with one of the light candles as Reggie turned on the CD player as it started to blare Sunset Curve songs. The paper burned in Stephanie's hand floating in the air to Trevor.

    She got a small kick out of watching the fear play out on her brother's face, the burned paper falling to the floor as it ran out of oxygen to burn. Luke smirked turning on the water in the bathroom freaking the man he used to call a friend out even more.

    "Carrie?" He called for his daughter but found no one in the bathroom. Well unknown to him he found two ghosts in his bathroom.

    Slowly Stephanie ran her finger through the fog covering the bathroom mirror. 'Hello Bobby' written into the condensation. But she felt no guilt. Just pain and anger.

    Bobby ran but Alex was waiting, holding the door closed on him from the other side letting Luke and Stephanie poof out of the bathroom.

    Alex only let go when Trevor screamed "Let.. Me.. Out!"

~

    Cheryl took a step to the Molina boy, "You can actually see me?" Jay shook his head yes. Cheryl smiled, "How are you?"

    Jay was taken aback by the question, "What?"
    "Really, how are you? I've been trying to check up on you and your sister since your mother's death. Losing someone close to you can be hard."

    Jay looked back at the photo putting the pieces together, "Stephanie....You're Cheryl Stone. We couldn't figure out where you were because you're dead. Your location is a cemetary."

    Cheryl laughed, "No need to make it so morbid.- Wait how do you know Stephanie?"
    Jay sighed, "She's kinda the whole reason I'm here. Long story short, Julie played a CD that Reggie, Steph, Luke, and Alex were stuck inside of and then we found out we could see ghosts. After that we found out that when they play on stage with Julie other people can see them and if I take pictures of them they show up on camera."
    "What? That's not possible, I've been a ghost long enough to know that."
    Jay sighed, "I can prove it." Quickly he snapped a photo on Cheryl with his phone, "See?" He turned the screen to her watching the reaction play out on her face.

    Finally Cheryl looked away from the screen, "Where are they? All of them?"
    "I wish I knew. They found out about Trevor stealing all of their music, and ran out on us, we came here trying to-" He stopped once he saw that Cheryl was gone. "And now I'm talking to myself. I'm still taking to myself. Okay James shut up."

    Cheryl appeared back in front of Jay, "They're by the pool. Your sister is talking to them." Jay started to walk away but Cheryl called him back, "And James. Don;t tell them. Don't tell them I'm a ghost. I want them to think I lived a happy, long life. And if you ever need to talk to me, wait at the street corner where I used to talk to your mother. I'll be there, whenever you need a hand."

    "God I wish Carrie grew up with you. She would be a hell of a lot nicer." Her murmured, before looking up from the floor, "Mrs. Wilson. They miss you. Espacely Steph. Really miss you."

    "I miss them too."

~

    Julie scoffed, "So, did you guys have fun in there?" She asked the members of Sunset curve on the pool deck right outside of where Carrie, Rose, Connor, Flynn, and Nick were.

    "Okay, you'd do the exact same if he stole all of your songs." Luke protested, rocking forward.

    "But you have new songs. With me. So did you have fun ith your little prank?"

    It was Stephanie's turn to scoff, "That wasn't a prank Julie. That was a funeral. Thrown for the man I used to be able to call my brother. That person who just flew off in a helicopter with his face on it, was merely a shell of a human."
    "Then prove to him you're not dead, even if he is! The best to get back at Trevor is for this band to do great. And to do great we have to play at dances, then clubs."

    "And tour. I know." Luke took a step towards Julie.

    "I'll see you guys at the school. We go on at 9:00. Please don't be late. There's gonna be a lot of people there."
    Alex nodded, "We got it alright. Don't worry." Julie sighed walking away to find where the hell her brother went.

    "I don't care what Julie says, I'm glad we scared Bobby." Reggie paused, "We should have done more like.. Written 'thief' on his forehead."

    Stephanie bit her lower lip, poofing away from the boys, allowing herself one look at her niece without all the make-up and costume gittler. Without all the nail polish and fluorescent wings. Just Carrie.

    Just a teenage girl with blond hair and a petite figure laying down on a couch. Just a girl Stephanie's age, missing family she never knew she had in the first place. Just a girl. A teenage girl that Stephanie should have been there for. And now never could.

    "Stephanie!?" Luke called her name but she didn't move, focused on the teenage girl. "Steph?" He stopped when he saw what had her attention, "Oh."

    "I should have been there. For all of it. The day she was born, her first real heartbreak. I should have guided her to not be such a bitch. I should-"

    "No you shouldn't have. Life throws curve balls, you have to be ready to catch them. Stephanie we didn't plan our own deaths. This wasn't on you." Luke took her hand just like he had done earlier, "Carrie Wilson could have been a gem, but she let go of that. Come on. Don't keep drowning yourself." Stephanie let go of a small breath, nodding her head and letting Luke poof her away from the grand house.

~

    Willie jumped up and down picnic tables on his skateboard. Skating past police officers as they let two kids off with a warning for skating in a no skate zone. Will laughed at the sight of Alex, the two giving each other a secret handshake they had come up with that morning. "Hey! You brought friends?"

    "Yeah these are my bandmates, Luke, Reggie, and-

    Willie turned to a still distraught Stephanie, "Ah, flannle's back. How you been?"

    "Better. I'll admit."

    "And Stephanie. Who you already know. Right. I forgot that part."

    "Cool, I'm Willie." The skater ghost introduced himself, flipping his board up so he wouldn't be standing on a moving object. "So.. You guys here to learn some 'Tricks'?" He wiggled his fingers in front of him as Stephanie pulled hre flannel tighter to herself, letting her hand fall to her left wrist. The action not going unnoticed by the boys.

    Willie pointed to a cop quad and the sirens started to go off, scaring the cops and teens around the vehicle. The two teens skated away as the cops tried to turn off the sirens. As quick as he made it happen Willie made the noises stop.

    "Do it again, do it again!" Reggie yelled like a little kid who was just shown a magic trick.

    Luke laughed, "Actually we were thinking a little bigger."
    Stephanie took a step to the side so Luke could see her better, "We. We didn't do anything. You three dragged me out here." Stephanie sighed, "My brother stole something pretty important to us from when we we're alive. Their grand idea was to confront him face to face."
    "All right. Is this brother of yours, a uh, lifer?"
    Stephanie Reggie and Luke all gave confused looks as Alex explained, "Oh, that's fancy ghost lingo for the living." He dropped his voice to a whisper, "Little something I picked up."

    "Oh." Reggie nodded, sticking his hands in his pockets, "Then yeah. He's a lifer. Too much of a fancy-pants for street dogs."

"Oh my god." Stephanie muttered under her breath earning a small laugh from Willie.

However the ghost shook his head, "Yeah I'm sorry. Speaking to lifers is even out of my league." He turned to Alex, suddenly feeling very guilty about the look of disappointment on his face. "You know. But there is one ghost who might be able to help you guys. He's kinda a big deal."

    Luke bounced up on the balls of his feet, "Literally, anything would help."

    "Well alright. Well um, I gotta take care of some things, but I'll meet you where Alex and II met, eight o'clock." He dropped his board, "See ya around, hot dog. Flannel."

    "Whatever skater boy." Stephanie said with a wave as Willie skated away. The four ghost poofed away, planning for the hour they had to figure this out and make it to the dance on time.

~

"Do we have any bobcats in the house?" Flynn asked the people at the dance, earning a roar from the crowd. Jay was leaning against a wall backstage waiting for Julie to get back with their fake hologram tech.

He was replaying the day over and over in his head. It mostly coming back to Cheryl's mother. Just another ghost in his life, who wasn't his mother. He was just praying the band understood what this meant. For Julie, for him, for them.

For everything.

~

"Right this way." Willie led Stephanie, Alex, Reggie, and Luke down a hall of a castle turned hotel a few miles outside of Hollywood. Stephanie was the only one who had changed. Going from her normal dark green flannel and ripped black jeans, to a coral blouse and blue jeans. She kept her combat boots on through.

Luke looked around for a second suddenly feeling very underdressed, "Whoa. So this is where your hotshot ghost lives, huh?"

Alex scoffed, "man, we've walked past this hotel like a million times. How come we've never heard of it?"

    "That's because it's been sealed off for decades." Willie started to fanboy a little bit explaining to Alex and the band, "I mean, you wouldn't even know this place exists unless you're invited" Alex's smile only brightened, and Stephanie was so tempted to tease the boy. "All right. I gotta go make sure everything's cool, but I'll be right back."

    Reggie gave Willie a smile before turning his head to the sign next to him. In big gold letters it read 'The Hollywood Ghost Club : Members Only' The four members of Sunset Curve leaned against the railing that matched the color of the lettering. "The Hollywood Ghost Club?" Reggie shook his head as he leaned over the railing, "This place is creepy."

    "Yeah." Alex gave a shrug, "Well so are we."

~