i had driven to carrie's as fast as i could, but let's face it: the guys had quite the head start on me.

i wouldn't be surprised if we walked straight into the set of the shining. and while i wasn't the happiest with luke right now, i knew i needed to help julie talk some sense into them.

if i had it my way, i would be in my room doing anything else. but life was never that simple.

it also hadn't helped that i had cut both my arm and cheek while trying to climb over carrie's unnecessary fence.

"that looks gross." flynn commented, glancing that the blood that had slid slightly down my cheek.

i rolled my eyes, shooting a glare her way "wow, keep up the sweet talk and you've got a big ol' kiss coming your way."

julie chuckled, though she was slightly out of breath. we all were. none of us were in the business of physical activity, and were more out of shape than we cared to admit.

i rang the doorbell, waiting patiently for carrie to answer the door. when she did, she clearly wasn't expecting the intrusion. in fact, i'd say she wasn't even kind of excited to see a few old friends.

"heyyyy." we all drew the word out in unison, hoping to make our way into the house.

carrie scoffed, visibly irritated at the unannounced company,"what are you guys doing here? how'd you get over the security gate?"

"teamwork." julie replied quickly, letting out a small laugh to ease the tension.

i nodded, touching the cut on my cheek gently, "do you have a bandaid? the barbed wire's new."

carrie rolled her eyes, unamused by our comedic relief,"what do you want?"

i frowned, glancing down at the ground. i really did want a bandaid. of course, we had our ulterior motives, but the cut on my cheek needed to be remedied.

flynn shrugged, trying to keep the conversation going so we could get into the room,"um, just thought you should know julie and jordan's band is playing at the dance tonight!"

"now you know." julie smiled politely, glancing inside the house.

carrie narrowed her eyes at us, suspicious of our abnormal behavior,"you guys are acting weirder than usual."

"probably because we're thirsty," i said quickly, glad my time on the improv team was paying off,"can we come in for a glass of water?"

"ugh, fine," carrie huffed, stepping aside to let us in,"if it'll make you guys leave faster."

normally, carrie was nicer to me. but i didn't mind that fact as i walked in, chalking it up to the fact that flynn and julie were with me.

"thanks, car. i'll find the first aid kit on my own." i clapped her shoulder, knowing it was the perfect excuse to search for the boys.

"don't break anything." she called out after us.

i nodded and continued to walk, making my way to the staircase. julie and flynn distracted the crowd, of which happened to be made up of just carrie and nick.

after an insurmountable time of snooping and searching, i decided it was useless. not to mention, i was entering the time frame where i could no longer realistically be searching for bandaids.

as i was walking down the stairs, trevor ran past me. he muttered something about seeing his therapist and made his way out of the door.

as i was making my way back to the living room, i noticed all the boys outside. they were watching trevor's helicopter take off.

i sighed, jerking my head in the direction of the outside so julie and flynn could see. it was a signal for them to continue to distract carrie, while i talked to the guys.

i walked out to them, just in time to see them mooning the far away helicopter. all it took was a quick immature action to remind me that, dead or not, they're still teenage boys.

"he can't even see you." i pointed out, as they quickly shuffled to pick up their pants.

"it was for us." luke said sharply, obviously still not keen on my presence.

i sighed, tired of the animosity between us. and while it wasn't exactly the right setting, i knew i had to talk to him.

"can i talk to you, luke?" i asked, looking at him awkwardly.

his expression softened at my gentle tone, giving it a second of thought. reggie nudged alex, and the two of them walked further down the patio.

luke reluctantly walked over to me, still not sure he was ready to forgive and forget,"what happened to your face?"

i shrugged, reaching up to touch it lightly,"if julie ever says she can give you a boost up a barbed wire fence, she's a filthy liar."

"got it," he chuckled, before looking me up and down,"so what's up?"

i could feel myself getting nervous, especially since his eyes were practically burning into me. no one had ever really gotten mad at me before. at least, not in the way that luke was mad at me.

so, i decided to just blurt it out,"i'm sorry. i was being kind of an asshole. i-i just got so defensive, when you started to question my decisions. i'm not good with...i don't know, criticism, i guess."

"jordan, i don't care about any of that." he shook his head, causing me to knit my brows in confusion.

those words were news to me, considering he had been upset pretty much ever since he found out that i had kissed another guy.

"then why were you so mad?" i questioned, tucking a stray piece of hair behind my ear.

he scoffed in disbelief, tossing his hands up lightly,"i don't know, jordan, okay? i don't know, and it's kinda driving me crazy."

i glanced at him for a moment, taken aback by his words. i wasn't sure how to respond to that, seeing as it wasn't exactly something that prompted a reply. i sure as hell had no idea what he was upset about either, so i was useless in that department.

but, there was one thing i was still yet to help with, which would now come in pretty handy, "i wanna help you find lily."

he gave me a confused look, not sure where my words had come from,"what? why?"

i shrugged, deciding i would just be completely honest with him. for maybe the first time ever, "i think you only like me because you love her. if you know where she is or what happened to her or something, you'll get your closure...and you probably won't want me anymore."

the words hurt to say, considering i had actually gained feelings towards the ghost, as crazy as that sounded. but i had to come to terms with that reality. luke was never going to see me the way i saw him, even if he thinks he does. i'll always be the girl who looks like lily.

he reached over to grab my hand,"jo, what are you-"

i pulled it away from his reach, my entire body locking up,"i won't talk about this with you. we're gonna find lily, a-and if you still feel something for me after...then we can talk about that. but we have to do this...for both of us."

he looked like he was about to protest, but instead just nodded silently.

i forced a small smile, as we joined the group that had formed. julie had joined reggie and alex, at which point in time i couldn't be sure, but it looked like they were pretty much done talking.

"we go on at nine, please don't be late. there's going to be a lot of people there." julie spoke, looking at the boys wearily.

"we got it, alright? don't worry." alex reassured the girl.

julie nodded slowly, glancing at me,"you coming, jo?"

i glanced at the boys, deciding against it as i tossed her my keys,"have flynn take my car. luke and i have some business to attend to."

she glanced at us suspiciously, but didn't question it as she walked off to leave. i'm sure she would come up with some way to lie to carrie, so i wasn't totally worried about it. plus, flynn had gotten her license months ago, she just didn't have a car.

"i don't care what julie says, i'm glad we scared bobby," reggie informed us,"i wish we had done more. like written thief on his forehead!"

"alex, how did you shut that door?" luke questioned, ignoring what reggie had said, "you could barely open a garage door."

i raised my eyebrows, looking at the boy expectantly.

reggie smirked,"learned that from your new friend, willie, didn't you?"

as soon as reggie had uttered that name, my heart started to beat out of my chest. it was entirely possible that this was just some random willie that had died a thousand years ago, but that didn't stop my mouth from going completely dry.

i couldn't even attempt to ask alex the question i so desperately needed to, so instead i just tried to control my labored breathing.

"woah," reggie put his hand on my shoulder, seeming to notice my change in behavior, "jordan, what's wrong?"

i wasn't sure i was able to speak, but i tried my best to get the words out,"um, this, uh- this willie guy...um, wh-what does he look like?"

alex shrugged, not sure what had me so riled up,"um, i don't know. long hair, skater-"

"asian? talks like a beach boy? wears a- a key necklace?" i asked, staring at alex with desperate eyes.

the key necklace was actually something that i had given him for his birthday a couple years ago, right before he died.

alex nodded slowly, clearly a little freaked out by my tone of voice,"uh huh..."

i gripped on tightly to reggie's arm, fearful that my legs would give out on me,"oh, my god."

tears sprung to my eyes, and i made no attempt to wipe them. despite the stinging they caused as they ran down the cut on my cheek.

"jo, what is it?" luke asked, looking at me with concern.

i took in a deep breath, glancing between all of the guys,"th-that's my fucking brother."

alex's mouth gaped open in shock,"what?"

"can you take me to him?" i asked quickly, barely able to process anything that was happening to me.

alex nodded frantically, his mind running almost as fast as mine,"y-yeah, he could help us with the revenge stuff anyways."

i let out a breath, unable to stop the smile that spread across my face.

i wasn't sure how these guys had connected to me, but it was all becoming more clear to me. sure, luke and i had the whole lily thing going on, but this? this was some sort of next level divine intervention.

"are you ready?" alex glanced at me, giving me one last chance to bail.

letting out a shaky breath, i nodded. he gave me a reassuring smile, before reaching out and transporting me through space and time.