Chapter Notes
Sorry about how confusing those updates must have been. I went through and did some serious editing to make the whole story more coherent and easier to read. This is the new chapter here, the new chapter six, as I combined the old one and two together, making the old six the new five. Sorry haha.
Surprisingly, Luke and Julie were able to make it to the Patterson house in a single trip. Julie noted this, reminding herself to tell Alex this, to get a range on how far one ghost could take her. Maybe they could make a map. It would definitely help ease Alex's anxiety about the change, even if only a little.
"Here we are," Luke whispered, staring at the closed door. Julie could see him shaking a little, afraid of what was to come next. She squeezed his hand in hers.
"Here we are," she repeated in a more confident tone, forcing him to meet her eyes. She smiled at him, trying to reassure him. The smile he sent back was shaky, but it was there. She raised their clasped hands to the doorbell, ignoring how Luke tensed again. Together, they pressed the doorbell. She dropped his hand when the door began to open.
"Julie?" Julie raised her eyes to meet the wide eyes of Mitch Patterson. "What are you doing here? Please, come in," He ushered her through the front door. Julie smiled, thanking him before entering, checking to make sure Luke was following. "Can I get you something?"
"No, thank you, Mr Patterson," Julie smiled up at the man.
"Please, call me Mitch," he responded, a sad, yet gentle smile on his face. "Em, come here. Julie is here," he raised his voice a little, calling his wife into the room. Julie heard Luke's breathing turn shallow as his mother entered the room. How she wished she could hold his hand right now. Comfort him. Assure him everything would be all right. But no, not yet.
"Hello Julie, it's so lovely to see you again." To Julie and Luke's surprised, Emily pulled the girl in for a tight hug. Julie returned the hug a moment later. "Please, sit," Emily smiled at the girl, walking over to a couch with her husband. She gestured to the one across from them. Julie thanked her and sat on the couch. She sent a look at Luke, and discretely patted the cushion beside her, urging him to sit, which he did.
"Mr and Mrs Patter-" Julie paused at the look sent her way by the couple and rephrased her words.
"Mitch, Emily," they smiled at this, "I need to talk to both of you about something very important." The couple's smiles dropped a little as they took in her words.
"Of course, Julie. What's wrong?" Mitch asked the girl in a concerned tone.
"This is going to sound absolutely insane. Seriously. You're going to think I'm crazy at first," Julie warned them. The two sent knowing glances at each other before urging her to continue. Julie took a deep breath. "I can see, and talk to, Luke." Julie sat with bated breath, waiting. Waiting for the disbelief, the anger and the hurt, that she knew was coming, to reflect on their faces. Only it never came. The couple's smiles remained on their faces, still understanding, still caring.
"We thought as much," Emily whispered, continuing to smile at the young girl across from her. Julie and Luke's eyes both widened, the two turned to look at each other, floored by this turn of events.
"W-What do you mean? You knew?" Julie asked, staring at the couple in shock. How could they know? They couldn't know. How could they know? They didn't know.
"We know that Luke has been coming by recently." Mitch paused, pulling his wife in for a tight hug. "The first time we noticed something different was his birthday."
"I could feel him here with us," Emily explained, smiling down at her hands. "He blew out his candle, and he sat with us. At first, I thought I was imagining things. My grief and hopes, projecting his presence into the room," she clenched her fists. Mitch lay his hands over his wife's, unclenching her fists to entwine their fingers together. "Then you came along and gave us that song."
"Suddenly," Mitch continued, "his presence wasn't just an idea. He was here, we could feel it. And we could hear him sing when you gave us the song." Julie glanced at Luke, trying to gauge how he was responding to all this. Tears ran down his face as he stared at his parents.
"And we know he's here now," Emily finished, looking straight at Luke. Luke gasped. He knew she couldn't actually see him, but she knew exactly where he was anyway. She smiled at what looked to her like the empty spot on the couch beside Julie. Her son was there. She could feel it.
"I have something to show you," Julie eventually spoke up. This captured the couple's, and Luke's, attention once more. "Again, it's a long story, but something has changed. And we've discovered that we can do this," Julie paused. She reached her hand toward Luke, all three Patterson's watching her hand with bated breath.
Oh God. He wasn't ready for this. He wasn't ready to see them again, or more, for them to see him. What was he going to say? What was he going to do? How could he even begin to apologise to them? He wasn't given any more time to over-think or to panic, as Julie's hand came in contact with his. He heard his parents gasps, looking up at them and seeing them both staring straight at him. Tears welling in their eyes as they sprung up from their seats.
"Luke," Emily chocked out, tears slipping down her face. Her and Mitch stepped around the coffee table that separated them from their son.
"Hi Mom. Dad." He whispered, chocking on his tears as well, smiling up at them.
Emily raised her hand out to her son, her husband doing the same. Luke reached his hand out as well, only to flinch and cringe backward when his hand passed through theirs. Julie placed a hand on his shoulder, soothing him, grounding him. He smiled a weak smile at her, his eyes saying the thanks he couldn't voice. Though Julie wanted so much to cry right now, she had to be strong. For Luke.
"God, my boy, you haven't aged a day. How are you here? Why now?" Mitch asked after a few moments, once the three of them had calmed down enough to talk.
"It- It's a long, long story," Luke said, looking at Julie more than his parents. He didn't think he could meet their eyes too much. It would make this all too real. Julie was his anchor.
"We have time," Emily smiled at her son, making him meet her eyes for a moment. That one look told him exactly how desperate she was for answers. And she was willing to listen. Luke took a deep breath, clenched Julie's hand tighter, released his breath and spoke.
"Well," he started, looking at Julie one more time. Silently, he asked her exactly how much she was comfortable with him telling them about her. She smiled at him, squeezing his hand again, letting him know he could tell them everything. So he did.
He started with the hotdogs of death, and how that vegetarian 'friend' of theirs had lucked out. He told them about Julie playing their CD and them appearing in their old studio 25 years later. Told them about Julie's mum and her detachment from music, squeezing her hand again. He told them about finding out that people could still hear them when they played. How the one thing he lived for was still possible even after death. Then about the performance at her school, and how people could see them when they were playing with Julie.
"You must be very special. And connected, for some reason," Emily had said, smiling down at their connected hands. A knowing look in her eyes. While they hadn't always got along, she could still tell when her Luke was in love.
Luke then told them about Caleb. And what a horrible mistake they had made, all to try and get revenge on their ex-friend. To his joy, rather than scolding him, his parents shared his disgust and outrage at what Bobby had done to them. He told them about the stamps, and how much pain they had put him through. His parents' and Julie's eyes watered as he explained the excruciation he suffered. He then told them about the Orpheum gig and the hug afterwards.
"Congratulations, Luke," Mitch smiled at his son.
"Yeah, we know how important that was to you. And we're so glad you got to live that dream with your new and improved band."
"Yeah, me too." Luke squeezed Julie's hand again, smiling at the girl. Her grin matched his.
"Since that night after the Orpheum, the guys have been getting new powers," Julie explained. She wanted to tell them about Alex's theory, but she couldn't put them through that. Especially if it didn't end up happening, and the guys didn't come back to life. So for now, she settled for this. "Like this one," she squeezed Luke's hand again, giving him an encouraging smile. He knew exactly what she wanted him to do.
He took a deep breath in, releasing it a moment later. He thought about his guitar, and the next second, it was in his lap. His parents gasped at the sudden appearance of the instrument. He looked up at them, meeting their eyes again.
"Any requests?" He asked, despite knowing full well what they were going to ask him to play. He mentally steeled his mine, not lightening his grip on Julie even a little. He didn't think he was ready for this. But it was time.
"You know what we want to hear," Emily smiled at her son, tears already appearing in her eyes.
She had read the song and heard him sing it, once before. But watching him play was going to be a completely different experience.
"We want to hear everything you want to play. But start with Emily," Mitch smiled, placing his hand on his wife's shoulder. Luke took a deep breath before strumming on his guitar. He opened his mouth and sung.
First things first,
We start the scene in reverse,
All of the lines rehearsed,
Disappeared from my mind,
The whole time he sang, he was completely unable to meet his parent's eyes while he played. If he did, he was sure he would breakdown, rendered completely unable to play.
Unsaid Emily.
He finally finished, looking up at his parents, unable to hold back the second wave of tears when he was their faces.
"Keep playing Luke," Julie smiled at him, putting her hand on his shoulder. It was then that he realised her true goal. "Emily, Mitch, come here," she ushered the two forward. When they stepped closer, she took their hands and placed them on Luke's shoulders. Luke flinched violently, and Emily yanked her hand back in shock, having not expected to touch him.
The two then surged forward and wrapped their son in a tight hug for the first time in twenty-six years. The hug left Luke motionless as he soaked up their embrace. He couldn't play anymore. Ten seconds passed before the couple slipped through their son once more. Only it didn't last. As a sweet melody began to play through the house, and Luke became tangible once more. The three looked to the piano, where Julie was playing a song Luke didn't recognise, but before he had a chance to ask, or focus on it anymore, Emily pulled him in tighter.
The family remained in their embrace for as long as they could, but eventually, the song came to an end. When Julie asked them if they wanted her to play again, they assured her that it was okay. With their confirmation, she sat back next to Luke. She hugged him, only partially so his parents could see him again. She was the glue, holding all his loose pieces together.
After another hour of discussion, it was finally time to go. The sun had long since set, and everyone in the room had yawned at least nine times between them. Reluctantly, they parted ways, with Julie promising to come with Luke at least once per week to see them. She played a few more chords on the piano, allowing the Pattersons to hug goodbye. They shocked her when Emily and Mitch pulled her into the hug. It didn't last long, as soon, without her playing, Luke disappeared. But it still meant so much to all of them. They gave Julie one final squeeze, before sending the two poofing back to their studio.
Right to where Ray Molina was waiting. Two sulking ghosts sat on the couch behind where he stood, his arms crossed as he glared at the two. Julie gulped immediately. Where to begin.
~ With Reggie and Ray, starting a little before the end of Chapter 5 ~
"Hey, Ray!" Reggie greeted happily, popping himself into the kitchen with the man. As usual, he didn't receive a response, but that didn't matter to him. "Whatcha up to?" He asked, taking a seat in the chair next to the man and looking at his laptop screen. He winced a little when he saw the pictures on the screen. Ray was scrolling through old photos of Julie's mum.
Reggie smiled a bittersweet smile at what was on the screen. It appeared to be a very young Julie, an infant Carlos. A younger Ray with brown hair, and a woman who looked like an older Julie sat behind them. She really did look exactly like her Mom. They all looked so happy.
Ray scrolled to the next photo. This one was of Julie and her Mom sitting together at a piano, apparently teaching Julie how to play. Julie only looked around three in the photo, meaning she must have played for a very long time. Something that was strange, was how similar the studio looked in the photo. It looked exactly the same as to when Sunset Curve rehearsed there. Save for the piano. Like they had yet to clear it out.
That didn't make any sense to him. If Julie were three in the photo, then it still would have been at least eleven years since he, Luke and Alex had died. Why was the studio kept the same? That was a long time for a rehearsal space under new ownership to stay the same, even after someone has died.
The next photo completely floored Reggie. It was Ray, super young this time, around only twenty years old, but that wasn't what caught Reggie's attention. It was who he was with. It was Bobby, and that girl they met the night they died, Rose. He now recognised Rose as Julie's Mom from the earlier photos. Meaning they had met her. Which would also explain how Julie wound up with that Sunset Curve shirt. So they all knew each other after he died then? That was... a weird concept, that he couldn't wrap his head around.
The next couple of photos Ray scrolled through seemed to all be from around that time. There was a lot of him and Rose, and few of him and Bobby, and a few more of all three of them together. They were clearly all friends.
Then Reggie saw the next photo. It was Ray and Rose at a concert together, on a date of some kind. But it was at Bobby's concert. And the lyrics on the screen in the photo indicated that he was singing 'Long Weekend'. One of their songs. The next photos were Ray and Rose, backstage together with Bobby. Rose knew the band, and she let Bobby take credit for all those songs.
"What the hell!" Reggie couldn't control his outburst, standing up from his chair. He had to tell Julie. To his shock though, Ray jumped a foot in the air and whipped his head around, looking straight at him.
"Who are you, and how the hell did you get in my house?" Ray yelled, pointing at him, standing as well. Reggie gaped at him for a few long moments before fainting.
Ray stared at the boy, now unconscious on his kitchen floor. Now that he looked closely at the boy, he recognised him as the Bassist from his daughter's band. But that still didn't explain why he was here, instead of in Sweden. Or how he got into his house for that matter. He watched the boy stir and sit up from the ground.
"Wow, I had the craziest dream that you could see me, Ray," he chuckled, standing up and rubbing his head. Now, this confused Ray. What did he mean he could see him? As if he couldn't normally? He could always see their holograms?
"Of course I can see yo-" right as he was speaking, the boy vanishing from his sight cut him off. "Where did you go?" He asked, confused. He spun around the room, looking for the boy who had just been standing before him.
Reggie chuckled humourlessly. Yeah, that checked out. Now he couldn't see him. He supposed wherever Julie was, she had been touching Luke or Alex, and had just stopped. Then, to Ray's surprise, the boy flickered back in again, standing in the same spot.
"There you are!" Ray cried, pointing at him, making Reggie look up. "I don't understand, are you still a hologram? Where's the projector?" He asked, spinning around again, looking for the little object. Reggie sighed and opened his mouth to explain when Ray looked around wildly again.
Reggie waited for what he knew was inevitable and waited for himself to be able to become visible again. As soon as Ray's eyes locked in on him again, he rushed forward.
"Come with me to the studio!" He said in a hurry, rushing to the back door of the house. Ray watched as once again; the boy disappeared. Except to his shock, even with the boy gone, his back door opened. Ray gaped as he followed the boy to the studio. Right as he opened the studio doors, he because visible again.
"Ummm, we may have a problem," Reggie said, bursting into the garage. He heard Alex groan, as he sat up. Reggie could tell he must have disturbed him from a nap. But they had more pressing issues. He saw Alex's eyes widen as they landed on Ray behind him. Reggie watched recognition flooded Ray's eyes, knowing he could see the two of them, at least for now. He noticed Julie and Luke's lack of presence, meaning they had no way of knowing when they would stop being visible.
"Uh, Reg? What's happening?" Alex asked in a low voice. Reggie panicked a little at this. Alex sounded calm. Too calm. Alex was never calm. He was in trooouubbllee.
"Uh, he kinda sorta saw me?" He asked, his tone coming off as more of a question than a statement. Alex's eyes widened as he jumped up from the couch in a rush.
"What do you mean he saw you?!"
"It wasn't my fault! I was sitting in the kitchen like always when suddenly poof, he could see me, then poof he couldn't. And it's been flickering ever since!" Reggie tried to convey that it wasn't his fault, this time. Unlike what happened with Carlos, which he admitted was one hundred percent on him.
"Ohh yeah, must have been when we were practising teleporting." At Reggie's confused look, Alex shrugged, telling him he'd explain later. "Well can he see us now?" He asked, looking up at the quiet man.
"Yes, I can," Ray explained, leering at the boys in confusion. He didn't understand any of this. Then the boys disappeared again. "Well not anymore," he muttered, before realising there was no point muttering. "Wait, the holograms are gone, you can't hear me, duh." The man was clearly frustrated as he began to pace around the room.
Reggie waited to become visible again, as he had been doing on and off for the past five minutes. He waited, and waited, only it didn't come. Ray didn't look back at them, only continued to pace around the room in frustration.
"Did Luke and Julie stop touching?" He asked a few moments later, turning to Alex in confusion. They kinda needed to Ray to see them if they wanted to explain everything to him.
"Must have," Alex muttered, joining the man in his pacing around the room. "We need to find another way to communicate. We can't keep going like this-" he waved his hand around the room frantically-"anymore."
"Wait, I've got it!" Reggie burst, before poofing out of the room. He returned a few moments later, holding up two whiteboards and markers.
Chapter End Notes
Originally, I really wanted to include Reggie and Alex's talk with Ray in this chapter, as well as the beginning of the confrontation with Bobby. But that was before this chapter finished at almost 3500 words. Guess you'll have to wait till next time. Lucky for you guys I'm on a writing streak and it's already half done, so it'll be soon.