It had been a week since the boys had taken the deal with Caleb. To give away their souls, and become his band at the Hollywood Ghost Club. Forever.

They didn't really have much of a choice. He had branded them and had they not accepted this… They would die. Again. Which made it less "dying" and more just… Vanishing away. Their attempt at crossing over had been a total failure, and they were out of time. Luke had been the most against it. He resisted until the last moment. They all did, but the truth is Alex and Reggie would have followed his lead had he chose to before.

At the end, he did what he had to do for his family.

Alex hated Caleb as much as his bandmates, but there was one reason why being in the Hollywood Ghost Club was just slightly more appealing to him than to them.

Willie.

Oh Willie… Alex hadn't stopped thinking about him since he first saw him. He prided himself in his loyalty, but he couldn't deny how incredibly tempted he was when the possibility of being here with him, forever, came up.

It was all still recent, and he wasn't sure how he felt about his current situation. It could be worse he guessed, but it still really sucked. And yet, today, there was something he had to talk to Caleb about.

As he walked towards the door, he couldn't deny that he was scared. He knocked.

No answer.

He felt like he could hear something though. A… breath?

He knocked again.

After a few seconds without an answer, he was getting slightly anxious, but instead of running, he went for the door. He guessed it was not like Caleb was gonna be outraged by his insolence or anything.

"Hm, Cale-"

Alex couldn't believe his eyes.

Or rather, he could, which is why his heart was about to burst out of his chest. Willie, sitting on Caleb's lap. Without any clothes. It was clear what they were doing. The sight hit him like a gunshot. Not that Alex knew how that felt. He knew how it was to die from eating a hot dog at least. Probably not as bad as this.

"Alex?!" Willie turned around in shock and Alex's eyes just barely met his before Alex walked away. "I'm sorry." He managed to pronounce with his back to them, in his way to leave the room and close this door he wished he never opened.

He felt sick. His anxiety was up to the highest level. The one where it felt like his life had been ruined and nothing would ever be the same, the one where he just felt so hurt that it made him physically ill, where he could feel it all on his chest, his stomach, like it was eating him alive.

Willie, his Willie, with Caleb. He knew he shouldn't think that. To think of him as his Willie. But he couldn't help it. Willie was the first guy he had met in his afterlife, and he couldn't help but get attached. Like he had something, someone, besides Sunset Curve and Julie and the Phantoms. So at one point, perhaps since the beginning, he had started thinking of Willie as his. Not like a property, but as… As what, really? His friend? Of course it wasn't just that. His boyfriend? He knew they weren't dating. But there was just something that made him feel like Willie was his and he was Willie's.

Maybe he shouldn't be surprised. The way Caleb acted towards Willie had always made him uncomfortable. Though to be fair, the way Caleb acted towards everyone made him uncomfortable. It made Luke and Reggie uncomfortable too. But there was always a little something different in how he was with Willie. And then how he was with him when Willie was the subject.

He could always feel it, that glimpse of possessiveness. So he probably shouldn't be so surprised. In a way, he wasn't. But he had always tried to push the thought away and brush it off as him being too self-conscious because of his feelings for Willie. And his tendency to be paranoid and overthink things in general.

But there was something to that after all.

As he poofed out, he wondered what was happening in the room. Caleb's office. Were they still going? He didn't pay much attention to Caleb, but he hadn't noticed him being too bothered. Willie was the only one who seemed to be in shock and stop what he was doing for a moment.

It made him angry. To think that right now, while his heart was torn to pieces… They were probably still there, like it didn't matter, like he didn't matter. It was obvious that he had overestimated his own importance in Willie's life. He was just… A guy he met. He was sure Willie had met lots of other ghost friends who were new to this life and didn't know what to do. He just helped them because he was so nice and open. Or maybe to recruit him to Caleb.

No, that couldn't be it. Willie told him, with teary eyes, how much he regretted putting them into this whole mess. Alex knew he was sincere. What he saw, it didn't mean anything about Willie's character. It was his fault, for misplacing his own wishes onto him and just expecting those to be reality.

He didn't stop thinking about that for a moment.

The next morning, he had practice with the band right after waking up. It wasn't going well. He was clearly upset and just bashing his poor drums like he wish he could bash Caleb's head. Soon enough, the guys stopped playing to ask what the hell was happening.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Luke asked worried, if a bit impatient. Alex really didn't want to answer, he wasn't even sure he could.

"The last time you were like this, it was because you were upset about Willie!" Reggie pointed out, apparently feeling very smart for his conclusion.

"I'm fine, ok. I don't really wanna talk about it." He couldn't just straight up lie and say it was nothing or come up with an excuse, and the guys should know him enough not to fall for it anyway.

"Well you need to get it together though, cause If Caleb sees you like this, he's not gonna be happy." Luke worriedly warned him. Alex's face tensed up the moment he heard Caleb's name.

"Yeah. Yeah, I know." This whole situation was all new territory and he wasn't sure how much he could get away with. How much any of them could get away with anything.

He didn't know how in the hell he was gonna "get it together" so soon though. As he just stopped and reflected for a moment on how much this whole thing sucked, he soon noticed that Luke and Reggie's expressions had suddenly changed. They were looking behind him, as if there was someone coming behind him. He turned around-

"Hey." Willie said to him with cautious eyes. Alex really didn't want to have this conversation, he didn't want to have to look at Willie with anger and bitterness in his eyes. But he guessed it was better not to hold it off for long.

Luke and Reggie looked at him for a moment, as if asking if they should leave. Alex wasn't sure what his eyes answered, but they looked at Willie for a second and then decided to leave, throwing some awkward words of goodbye.

Willie looked concerned as he watched them go. "Did, did you tell them?" He didn't hesitate to ask.

"No, of course not."

Willie looked relieved at his answer.

"Don't worry, even if I had told them, they wouldn't gonna go around spilling your dirty secret." He bitterly stated.

"Dirty secret?" Willie said.

"Is it not? I mean, why would you be worried that I told them, then?"

Willie huffed at the challenging reply. "Alex, please. Can we not do this?"

Alex sighed. "Okay. What do I do then?" He bit his lip annoyed. He hated being like this, but he couldn't jut back down and pretend everything was ok.

"Willie, I thought, I thought we had something going on…" He embarrassingly admitted. Did Willie not feel the same? How? All of the signs, had it really just been his imagination?

"We do!" Willie passionately reassured him.

"Then what… Why…?" Alex couldn't bring himself to say the cause of his distress out loud.

"Look, what you saw… It, it doesn't mean what you might be thinking it does." Willie tried to explain. It didn't make that much sense to him. Were he and Caleb together? Did he just… Do that, with some of "his" ghosts? He wasn't sure which option was worse.

"What did it mean then?" He asked. Willie sighed, it didn't seem like he would just answer it directly.

"Look, it's complicated. Caleb, he just… You don't say no to him, ok." Willie explained. Alex wasn't sure what he got from that.

"So, are you saying he was forcing you, to do that?" Alex asked, partly worried and partly skeptical. Depending on the answer he would either be heartbroken for Willie, or for himself. One was obviously worse than the other, though.

"No, it's, it's not like that…" Willie looked down in shame.

"So you're not being forced, but you're not doing it because you want it either?" Alex wasn't sure that was good enough for him.

"It's not like I really have a choice. He owns me Alex. Literally."

"Well, he owns me too." Alex wasn't sure what he meant to say with that. Was he worried about himself? Was it a weird dig at Willie? Would Caleb ever actually ask something like that of him? The man did know he was into guys after all. The thought scared him.

"I don't think you have to worry." Willie tried to reassure him. It didn't feel like much reassurance.

"Can you say that for sure?" He asked. He wouldn't believe Willie if he said yes. But he didn't. He didn't say anything, he just purred his lips frustrated. Willie's reaction said it all, he couldn't say yes. "Yeah…" He just let out in frustration after a few seconds.

"Seriously Alex, don't, don't think like that." Willie insisted. Was he right? Maybe. But if he was, then that meant something else that also sucked.

"Why not? Because you do have a special relationship after all? Because it's not like he just does that with everyone?" Alex snapped at him, demanding an answer he felt he wouldn't get anyway.

"That's not fair Alex…" Willie shook his head, looking to his feet disappointed.

"Yeah. It's not." Alex sent back at him. The look in Willie's eyes as their gazes met again killed him. It made him want to say I'm sorry, apologize for how he was dealing with this, for treating him like this. But he didn't. He stood his ground. And then there was only defeat in Willie's eyes.

"Yeah… Ok. I'll, I'm just gonna go and… Skate somewhere." Willie said and poofed out.

Alex let out a deep sigh. He hated this. He hated this so much.

The next day came, and Alex felt a bit less nervous. He was able to play better now. He wasn't as angry anymore, just… Depressed. Disappointed. At least in this "better" state, the guys wouldn't be upset with him. And most importantly, so wouldn't Caleb. Hopefully.

"You're feeling better, man?" Asked Reggie as they finished the song. Luke stared at him too, waiting for an answer.

"I'm going by." Alex answered.

"Well, at least you should be fine enough in case Caleb comes to check us out or something."

"Well wouldn't that be ideal."

Alex got chills down his spine as he heard the voice of the man whose name was just pronounced. Reggie looked even more scared than him.

"Uh, ooh, Caleb, I, wow, it's almost like I, ah, summoned you or something." Reggie chuckled terrified.

The man gave him a smile. "No summoning requiring, I always make sure to check on my things."

Reggie slightly smiled back at him. Luke on the other hand couldn't contain his disdain. "Today I'm here for a specific reason though." The man stated provoking their curiosity. And then he turned his gaze to the back of the stage. The drums. Alex.

"So, Alex… I'd like to have a private chat with you." Alex immediately got goosebumps at the man's words. Why? What did he want to talk about? Had he not been playing well enough? Was it because of what he saw? Was Caleb gonna punish him for some reason? He gulped, afraid of what was gonna come next, but tried his best to play it off.

"Uh, yeah, ok." He gave him a forced but somewhat alright smile. Luke and Reggie looked at him then each other, worrying but knowing they couldn't do anything, and then Luke gave Alex a pat in the shoulder as they left.

"Follow me." Caleb told him, and then started walking. He had no choice but to do so, but with every step he took he just got more and more scared. He made sure not to stay frozen in place, but not be too fast either.

Caleb seemed to be leading him towards a hallway, as they got closer Alex could see it was full of doors. After a nerve-wracking minute or so, Caleb finally stopped at their destination. One of the room doors, not really different from the others around them. As Alex thought he was about to open, Caleb turned around.

"So, the reason I'm bringing you here today is that… I have a little gift for you." Caleb started to explain. A gift? Why?

"What. I mean, w-why would you do that…" That had surely come off pathetic, but Alex just had to ask.

"Well, you have been very mindful of your job, and your place here. I can see how between the three of you, you're the most proper employee." Alex couldn't help but slightly smile at the praise. It was true that he was the one who took their job the most seriously after they took Caleb's deal, as well as just the most responsible overall. That's who he had always been between the guys. So apparently it paid off sometimes.

"I have learned that recently though, you haven't been at your best form. Like there's something that's been upsetting you." Caleb's tone shifted.

"Uhm, y-yeah, but, you don't need to worry, I'll be back to my best shape before you know it!" Alex was almost sweating in fear. When he was alone he felt like he could kill the man, but in his presence, when he actually spoke to him, he turned into a poor little puppy.

"Sure, sure. No need to worry, my friend. What I mean to say is that, due to your usual performance, instead of punishing you, I've decided to get something to cheer you up." Caleb smiled like a benevolent father being kind to his child.

"T-Thanks sir!" Alex slightly bowed in gratitude. Caleb seemed pleased.

"You're welcome. So, behind this door, it's your gift. I have no doubt you're going to enjoy it." Caleb smiled. He was still devious, but there was also something… Heartwarming about this. Sometimes he didn't feel that bad after all. Alex couldn't really guess what the hell he was gonna be given though.

"Are you ready?" Asked Caleb with his hand in the doorknob. Alex nodded.

Caleb opened the door, a satisfied smile while he presented it with his free hand, revealing a big luxurious room. Blue walls with glamorous silver, gold decorations, overall not very different from the rest of the club. On the right, a heart-shaped bed with-

His eyes went wide. With Willie. Willie was sitting on the bed, in only shiny blue briefs, a silver necklace with a blue symbol at the bottom, like two moons in opposite sides, and matching metallic arm-bands on his upper arm. He gave Alex a somewhat shy but excited smile the moment he saw him.

He just stared blankly. What?! Was, was Willie the gift Caleb was talking about? Willie didn't say anything, just smiled at him invitingly.

"Do you remember when I told you, that everything you wanted was here, for you to enjoy?" Caleb started speaking to him again. Yeah, he remembered. "Well, I'm a man of my word. He's yours, for you to play with however you want, for the whole night."