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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐀𝐋 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐃

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All Lexi could do was stare at her father, who still had his arms wrapped around his brother. Her mind couldn't comprehend how the scene before her was happening. Not even twenty-four hours ago, Reggie, Alex, and Luke could poof in and out of rooms and haunt whoever they pleased. And now they ran into her front door and could be seen without even the sound of music playing. It just didn't make any sense to her, and yet it was happening right in front of her very eyes. Lexi desperately wanted to believe that they were alive again but it seemed too good to be true. And by the look on the boys' faces, they thought the exact same thing.

Alex looked at his distraught niece over Andy's shoulder. His eyes were as wide as they could go as a million thoughts ran through his head. He was having a hard time believing his brother could see him again, especially after Alex watched over him so many times without Andy knowing. The Mercer boy felt as though he was in a very vivid dream and he was about to wake up at any moment. The only thing that let him know that what was happening was real was the feeling of his brother's arms around him. After being a ghost for so long, Alex gave up hope of feeling Andy's warm embrace. But as soon as the shock wore off, tears began to form in the blonde boy's eyes as he wrapped his arms around his twin.

Rachel walked past her shocked daughter and emotional husband to stand in front of Luke and Reggie. Without thinking twice, the redheaded woman reached out and took their hands into her own. Tears instantly filled her eyes as her grip around her hands tightened. Despite knowing what was happening in front of her was real, Rachel couldn't believe it. She hadn't seen her friends in twenty-five years...not since they were supposed to play at the Orpheum for the first time. And now, after watching their ghosts perform with her daughter, she was able to see them again. Even though they still looked like they did the last time she saw them, Rachel was able to have her best friends back in her life.

"They can see us now?" Luke muttered under his breath, breaking the silence that surrounded them for what felt like an eternity before a large grin appeared on his face, "this is so awesome!"

"Is this really happening?" Reggie questioned while keeping his eyes glued to Rachel until he finally looked past her to stare at the wide-eyed Lexi.

The Daniels girl's attention stayed on her father for another moment before her eyes met the raven-haired boy's. The two of them just stared at each other until Lexi found the courage to approach him. She seemed to ignore the stares she was receiving as she stood in front of the bassist. The redheaded girl hesitated for a moment before placing her hand on Reggie's chest. Shock coursed through her veins as she slowly looked up to meet his eyes. "You have a heartbeat. How is that possible? How are you alive?"

"I don't know," was all the Peters boy said in response.

"Let's not worry about that right now. What matters is that you're here," Rachel told them after Andy and Alex ended their long overdue reunion. After Alex took a step back to stand beside Luke and Reggie, the Daniels woman glanced back at her husband. The two of them seemed to have a silent conversation between them before their attention fell back on the former ghosts. "You are more than welcome to stay in our guest room. There's a trundle bed. We also have a blow-up mattress we can set up for you."

"That would be amazing. Thank you," Alex responded as the smile on his face did nothing but grow.

Despite all the positivity bouncing off the walls in the room, Ryder couldn't help but focus on how close Lexi was standing to Reggie. And he definitely couldn't miss the matching look in their eyes as they stared at each other. It didn't take Cami long to notice his look, one she knew far too well. It was the look he got any time his sister ever talked to a boy and the look he got before he did something to embarrass her. But the Evanson girl was too late to stop what Ryder was planning. The Daniels boy didn't hesitate to grab his sister's wrist and force her to stand beside him. He ignored Lexi's confused look, keeping his eyes glued to the three boys standing in front of him.

"Yes, you're more than welcome to stay here," Ryder repeated his mother's words in a much less welcoming tone, "but stay out of Lexi's room."

"Aw. But she has all the Marvel movies in there. And the coolest record player," Reggie said without thinking, earning annoyed looks from Luke and Alex.

A look that Lexi couldn't explain appeared on her brother's face as he studied the three ghosts. "You've already been in her room?"

Before their conversation could continue, Cami grabbed Ryder's arm and forced him to go with her into the other room. Lexi couldn't help but laugh at her brother's actions, only for her smile to fade when she noticed the blank looks on the Phantoms' faces. She thought her brother's words got to them at first, but it didn't take long for her to realize what was actually bothering them. They were overwhelmed with their discovery and unsure what to make of their current situation. Lexi didn't blame them. They had just learned that they had been dead for twenty-five years a few weeks ago. And now they're back in the land of the living. She couldn't even begin to imagine how they were feeling. All she could do was support them the best they could through their current situation.

The Daniels girl did her best to hide the worry in her eyes as she sent the three boys a small smile. "I can show you to our spare room and check it out. Julie and I can go with you to get whatever you need. I'm sure Flynn would love to tag along and finally meet you."

The only responses Lexi received from them were three small nods. After sending her parents a reassuring grin, she turned around and walked up the stairs. Not even a second after that passed when she heard Reggie, Luke, and Alex following behind her. They soon found themselves walking down the hall in silence, passing her parents' room, then her own, and lastly Ryder's. It wasn't long before Lexi found herself opening a door that was opened on very rare occasions. Their guest room didn't have much in it. Like Rachel had said, there was a trundle bed pushed against the wall under the window. On the other side of the room was a small closet and a dresser. No one had to say a word to know that the trio would need more things to get by, but what they had was a start.

After taking one last look around the bare room, Lexi turned back around to face Reggie, Luke, and Alex. She wasn't surprised to find the blank looks still on their faces. It was obvious that they still had a million thoughts running through their heads. They didn't even seem to be paying any attention to her. It wasn't until she cleared her throat that their eyes landed on her.

"I know this is a lot to take in. So you guys should take a second to think without being asked any questions. I'll be in my room if you need me," Lexi told them, earning small grateful smiles from all three of them before she walked out of the room.

As soon as the door was closed behind her, the Daniels girl let out the longest breath of her life. Like the boys, she had a million thoughts bouncing around in her head. But she knew it wouldn't help to question them right now. Instead, she went to her room and closed the door behind her. Lexi just stood there for a moment before pulling out her phone. She scrolled through her contacts before finding the person she'd wanted to talk to since discovering Sunset Curve was alive. Lexi sat on her bed and listened to it ring a few times. Just as she thought she'd go to her friend's voicemail, Julie's voice greeted her ears.

"Hey, Ali. What's up?" the Molina girl greeted in a happy tone.

"Something happened to the boys. They just ran into my front door. My entire family can see them and my dad...my dad hugged Alex," Lexi explained, only to receive a shocked silence from her friend on the other end of the line. She waited for a moment before finally saying the words bouncing around in her head. "I think they're alive, Jules."

Silence filled the air for what felt like an eternity before Julie finally responded. "How is that possible?"

"I have no idea. But Reggie...Reggie had a heartbeat. They all do," the Daniels girl explained before thinking back to the looks on her friends' faces, "they're in my guest room. My parents are letting them stay with us. They're terrified. I don't think they know what happened to them either."

"We gotta figure this out," the curly-haired girl muttered into the phone just loud enough for Lexi to hear before sighing, "meet me in the studio with the guys in thirty minutes. I'll call Flynn. We'll retrace our steps and figure out how this happened."

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Lexi was glad that Julie told her to meet in thirty minutes because that's how long it took to convince Reggie, Luke, and Alex to leave the guest room. Usually, they would be over the moon to see Julie, but now they were terrified of their shadows. Again, Lexi understood. Especially because they were now in a world where they could get hurt after living as ghosts for months. But at the same time, she needed them to go with her so they could figure out how exactly the ghosts of Sunset Curve were resurrected. So after bribing them with the promise of an ice cream sundae bar during their next movie night, the boys finally agreed to go with her to the Molina residence.

None of them said a word as they walked across the street and through Julie's front yard until finally reaching the studio. Lexi could practically feel their nervousness radiating off of them. Luke and Reggie didn't show signs of their usual joyful nature and Alex seemed even more nervous than usual. But the Daniels girl didn't question their actions. She just wanted answers to how her family was able to see them without her or Julie singing with them. But after opening the studio doors, Lexi soon discovered that it wasn't just her family that could see them now.

Flynn was staring at Reggie, Luke, and Alex with wide eyes and a parted mouth. She could hardly believe what she was seeing. The Taylor girl had seen the boys plenty of times before, but that was only during their concerts. It was strange for her to see them just walking around during the day. But there they were, standing behind Lexi with uncomfortable looks on their faces. It wasn't long before she watched them walk into the studio and sit down on the couch. The silence lasted for another moment before Flynn grabbed Lexi and Julie's wrists and pulled them away from the boys. As soon as she knew they were out of earshot, she finally broke the silence.

"Well, this is...something," the Taylor girl said while keeping her eyes glued to the boys before looking over at her friends, "I thought you guys were joking when you told me what was going on."

"This is really happening, Flynn. My entire family was able to see them," Lexi responded without taking her eyes off Reggie, Luke, and Alex, "you should've seen my parents' faces. It was like they were kids again."

"But the question is how is this happening?" Julie muttered just loud enough for them to hear. It didn't surprise the Daniels girl when she heard the shock laced within every word. A silent moment soon passed before the Molina girl continued speaking. "We need to figure this out."

After the three friends shared a determined look, they walked back over to where Reggie, Luke, and Alex were sitting. No one said a word for a moment as they all stared at each other. None of them wanted to be the first one to speak, but they all knew someone had to start the conversation. And once again, Flynn was the one to break the silence surrounding them. "What happened after you guys got back from playing at the Orpheum?"

"We felt sick to our stomachs because of Caleb's stamp so we came back here," Luke explained while trying to ignore the Taylor girl's curious eyes, "we were hoping you thought we moved on. We wanted to stay away from everyone while the stamp worked its magic."

"I was the one who told them that Julie and Lexi were bound to come into the studio to say a final goodbye. Especially if you guys thought we moved on," Alex continued before letting out a long sigh, "but they didn't listen to me, as usual."

"Then we all had that really awesome group hug," Reggie said with a large smile on his face, causing a matching one to form on Lexi's lips, "we started glowing after that."

"You were glowing?" Flynn asked without bothering to hide the unconvinced tone in her voice.

"He's not wrong, Flynn," the Daniels girl responded after thinking back to that moment, "they started glowing. It was pretty bright. After that, I went back to my house to spend time with my family before going to bed."

"I did the same thing," Julie added before a hint of realization formed in her eyes, "that happened after you completed your unfinished business. You would've moved on if it wasn't for that stamp."

"Do you think those two things contributed to them being alive again?" Lexi asked while trying to hide the hit of excitement in her voice.

The Molina girl hesitated for a moment before opening her mouth to respond. "That's the only possibility that makes sense."

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