The Halloween Party

Julie was bouncing up and down with excitement in her room. Carrie's Halloween party was always the event of the year and even though she wanted to stay as far away from Carrie as possible, this year she was actually excited. Not only was she going as Sally from The Nightmare Before Christmas, but the boys were coming with her, too. Halloween was the perfect chance for them to hang out together in public without anyone realizing they were ghosts.

And the boys weren't being subtle. They had opted to go as ghosts by just wearing sheets over their heads. That way, nobody could tell that they weren't visible. Julie had already spread the word that the boys had come over from Sweden… or Canada… or wherever they were supposed to be from… just for the party.

Flynn was just as excited as she was to be able to show off her new celebrity status at school by hanging out with Julie and the boys. Plus, they both knew it would annoy Carrie to no end if Julie and the boys got more attention than she did.

So, after one more look in the mirror at the outfit, she bounded down the stairs and yelled goodbye to her dad. She met Carrie and the boys at the studio and headed over to Carrie's house.

Julie couldn't help but laugh at how low-effort the boys' costumes were.

"Really, you couldn't have worn masks or something?" she asked, as Luke struggled not to trip on the extra long sheet he was wearing.

Alex answered, "But then people could see our hands, or rather our lack of hands. This seemed like the only pretty fool proof way to avoid people realizing… or we could have worn gloves. Gloves exist." He face-palmed before saying, "Well, maybe next Halloween."

Julie just grinned, "I think it's perfect, honestly. Because we're Julie and the Phantoms everyone is going to just think it's a joke about the band name."

Luke nudged her shoulder and said, "Thanks for covering for our stupidity. You've got the band's one brain cell most of the time."

She nudged him back, "Any time. You guys just keep being cute and talented on stage and we'll call it even."

Reggie looked at Alex and said, "Aw, she still thinks we're cute!" Alex laughed, but Luke stayed silent. Julie could practically hear his blush under the sheet.

Before long they were at the party. Immediately, they were surrounded by other students who wanted to interact with the infamous Phantoms. The boys were all excited to have admirers, and Julie could tell it reminded them of life before they died. She could perfectly picture the looks of excitement and pretending to play it cool that were on the boys' faces under the sheets.

Eventually the excitement died down and the four of them plus Flynn were able to go wander to the snack table and get some drinks and food. The boys quickly realized that they were going to have to hold drinks and food to blend in but not do anything with them since they still couldn't eat.

"This is TORTURE," Luke complained, staring at his hamburger. All of them had avoided the mini hot dogs on offer.

"Well come on then, let's dance! Nobody will think it's weird you aren't eating if you're dancing!" Flynn suggested.

Alex eagerly followed her, with Julie and Luke close behind, and Reggie reluctantly came along. The DJ Carrie had hired was great and even though the boys hadn't learned all the modern hit songs, they could still enjoy the upbeat tempos and fun atmosphere.

Julie and Luke wound up separated from the rest of the group in the crowd on the dance floor and were just dancing together. It was a little awkward with the sheet but Luke made her laugh by picking it up like it was a long skirt and twirling in it. At some point, a couple of other kids bumped into them, pushing them together, and Luke's arms wrapped around her to steady her and keep her from falling.

He was just as warm and comforting to hold onto as he had been the night when everything changed. Julie had no interest in moving further away from him, and Luke didn't seem to mind the close proximity.

"You look great tonight, by the way," he whispered into her ear. "The perfect combination of cute and spooky."

Julie blushed, and was momentarily frustrated by the fact that he could see her face but she couldn't see his. "I wish I could say the same for you, but, uh, I think you shouldn't make wearing a sheet your daily look," she teased him.

"Darn, I was really hoping this would catch on," he laughed, pulling her slightly closer to him.

Just then, the DJ cut out and Carrie appeared on stage to say that Dirty Candy was performing next.

"Come on, let's get out of here," Luke said, nodding towards the door that led to the backyard and swimming pool.

It was a little chilly outside, so nobody else had ventured out of the party. They walked to the edge of the backyard, where they could look out over the lights of LA. Luke slipped off the sheet and dropped it on the ground.

"This is… beautiful. As much time as I spent here with Carrie as a kid, I'm not sure I've actually ever been out here at night before," Julie commented, leaning on the railing.

"It's a pretty crazy view. It's also a pretty crazy thing to be in the backyard of a millionaire's mansion with you for a high school Halloween party," Luke replied.

Julie laughed, "Yeah, the Halloween party of my arch nemesis whose father is your not-dead band member. Don't forget those bits."

Luke laughed with her. He noticed Julie was shivering a little, so he casually wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Can't have our lead singer getting hypothermia," he said when she gave him a curious look. Julie just smirked at his not-so-subtle move.

After a moment of comfortable silence, Luke said, "You know, the really nice thing about this is how normal it feels. Just… to be at a party. With you. I wish it could always be like this. It makes me forget…" He trailed off.

"That you're a ghost?" Julie asked gently.

"Yeah," Luke exhaled.

"It is nice. But… you're normal and real to me in every way, Luke. Especially now that we can…" She reached for his hand and held it instead of saying the words. He laced their fingers together and smiled.

"Yeah that's… an improvement for sure," he said, grinning wryly.

Silence descended again, but now that his arm was around her and they were holding hands, the silence felt different. There was an electricity between them. The comfortable kind that existed on stage, but also in a lot of their other interactions. Julie didn't feel like she was a mess of nerves or anxious, just that Luke made her feel incredible and she just wanted to be as close to him as she could.

He must have felt the same because after a moment he leaned down and kissed her. Then she felt the sparks coursing through her. He turned more directly towards her and pulled her closer, his hands spreading out so that they covered almost her entire back. She brought one hand up to his neck and into the hair there.

When they separated a few minutes later, they were both grinning like idiots. Impulsively, Luke pulled her into a bear hug, just wanting to enjoy the feel of being together.

Mumbling into his chest, Julie finally said, "I don't want to go back to the party, but people are going to notice if we're missing much longer."

Luke sighed. "You're right. Back under the sheet it is." He released her and grabbed his costume. Together they went back to the party to rejoin their friends, none of whom missed the fact that the two held hands for the rest of the night.