Luke and Julie had been dating for a week or two now, and Reggie had still not gotten used to it. The constant hand-holding and cuddling and whispered conversations and sneaky kisses (which were all made possible by Julie being able to touch them now) weren't new to him, since Alex and Luke dated for a while before they died, but it didn't mean Reggie liked it.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't jealous. He's had a crush on Luke ever since middle school before he even knew he liked guys. He just always thought Luke had a killer voice and that he was just really pretty. He thought it was just a friend thing until Alex came out, then he realized that he liked Luke in a romantic way.
By the time he had worked up the nerve to tell Luke about his feelings, though, it was too late. He was with Alex. And it was ok. Reggie would just have to live with it. Luke was happy, and that was all that mattered. Besides, he needed a friend way more than he needed a boyfriend.
Then Alex and Luke broke up, and Reggie decided to give it a while before telling Luke about his feelings. He wanted to give Luke some time after his breakup before dumping that on him.
And then they died.
Reggie decided to just let his crush go after that. They had enough to worry about between being ghosts, their new band, and Caleb. Besides, Julie and Luke oozed chemistry. He would have to be blind not to see that.
Then they started dating, which brought Reggie to where he was right now, third-wheeling hard while Luke and Julie were cuddling on the couch in the studio. They kept glancing at him then whispering to each other, and Reggie was starting to feel pretty uncomfortable.
"I'm gonna head to the beach," He said, standing up.
"You don't have to go, Reg," Luke pointed out.
"We like your company," Julie said, then blushed and exchanged a glance with Luke. It was probably some inside joke between them. Yet another thing that Reggie wasn't apart of (Reggie wasn't jealous. Not at all).
"It's ok. You two have your alone time," Reggie said before proofing out, not giving the two a chance to say anything else.
He sat on the beach for a while, just watching the waves go in and out as the sun went down. He wondered why this was happening to him. He had a huge crush on his best friend and another huge on the girl he was dating. Julie was beautiful. Her bouncy curls, angelic singing voice, and cute little nerdy reading glasses we're just a few of the things he really liked about her. Not to mention that she helped him put a word with what he had been feeling in terms of crushes since before he died - Bisexual. He knew he liked girls and guys before he died, but he didn't know there was a word for it until he was hanging out with Julie in her room and noticed a pink, purple and blue flag hanging there, and she told him all about bisexuality, and he just knew it was right.
But what was wrong with him that he had a crush on two of his best friends at the same time?
Once everyone else on the beach had disappeared and it was dark, Reggie started itching to go back to the studio, but he stayed where he was. He tried to convince himself that it was just because he wanted to give Luke and Julie as much alone time as possible, but he knew deep down that he just didn't want to go back and watch them cuddle and kiss and do coupley things.
Reggie sat there in silence for longer than he would care to admit before he was startled by someone appearing suddenly next to him - Luke.
"Hey," Luke said, bumping shoulders with him after Reggie got over his initial shock. "You ok?"
Reggie shrugged dejectedly.
"Why don't you come back to the studio with me," Luke suggested with a small smile. "Julie and I wanna talk to you."
Reggie felt dread pool in his stomach (or where his stomach used to be? He still wasn't super sure about ghost anatomy yet). He was sure they were going to yell at him for hanging around them too much or something.
Apparently, Luke could tell Reggie was spiraling because he said, "It's nothing bad, I promise."
Reggie smiled sadly, taking Luke's hand when he offered it and proofing back to the studio.
When they showed up, Julie stood up off the couch and smiled at the two of them, and Reggie's heart fluttered (or it would have if he still had a heart that beat). He was holding Luke's hand while Julie was smiling at him. He thought his heart melted.
Luke sat Reggie down on the couch, then he and Julie sat down on the table in front of him. Reggie felt a little bit like he was in the principal's office in school. He shifted uncomfortably where he sat.
Julie and Luke exchanged a glance and smiled, then looked at Reggie.
"So we have something to tell you," Julie started.
"Yeah, I kinda figured that out," Reggie laughed, trying to lighten the mood. Julie and Luke laughed, making Reggie blush.
"It's kind of more of a question, really," Luke said, and Reggie wished they would just stop dancing around what they wanted to say. He just wanted them to spit it out so he could get on with his (after)life.
Julie took Luke's hand and squeezed it, then Luke said, "Reggie, we like you... but not as a friend."
Reggie felt like some of his worst fears had been realized. He felt tears starting to form in his eyes.
Of course, some of the only people he loved and cared about didn't like him anymore. He was always hanging around while they wanted to have alone time, and he's annoying and dumb and can't handle his emotions and cares too much about things that don't matter, like Star Wars movies and if girls are talking about them or not, despite the fact that he already has a crush on two of his best friends.
Through his tears, Reggie saw Julie glared at Luke, then he said, "Fuck it," then let go of Julie's hand, grabbed Reggie's face, and kissed him. Right in front of his girlfriend.
Reggie was super confused. Why was Luke kissing him? He would be lying, though, if he said he wasn't enjoying it. After a moment of shock, he involuntarily melted into Luke. His lips tasted like plastic and wood, probably from his guitar pick and pencils, and they were a little chapped.
When he pulled away, Reggie looked between the two of them, confused. "I... I don't understand."
Julie smiled. "Reggie, we like you."
"Like in a romantic way," Luke jumped in.
"B-both of you?" Reggie stuttered.
"We want to date you," Julie explained.
Reggie looked between them like they were crazy. "Like all three of us dating? I thought dating more than one person at once is cheating."
"No when it's consensual," Julie tried, but that just made Reggie look more confused. "So, there's a term for it-"
"It's called pollenry," Luke supplied.
"Polyamory," Julie corrected with an eye roll. "It's when someone has multiple partners at the same time, but everyone involved knows about any other partners and is ok with them. It's all about communication."
"So... it's ok that I have a crush on both of you?" Reggie asked, then blushed.
"More than ok," Julie smiled, grabbing his hand. Luke did the same with the other, and they grabbed each other's free hands.
They sat there in silence for a moment while they all smiled.
"What are you waiting for?" Luke finally asked.
"What?" Reggie asked.
"Well, you got to kiss me..." Luke prompted, but Reggie didn't get it. "Kiss her!"
"Oh, right!" Reggie smiled, then put his hand on the back of Julie's neck and kissed her. Her lips were softer than Luke's, and she tasted like coconut and peanut butter sandwiches.
He pulled away, and they were all smiling. Reggie finally felt like something was right.
A few days later, Reggie poofed into the studio to find Julie and Luke cuddling on the couch. But, instead of getting jealous like he would have a week ago, he smiled and walked over to them, kissing them each quickly on the lips, then cuddling up next to Julie on the opposite side from Luke and buried his nose in her soft curls (they smell like lavender). He feels Luke's hand extend from where it was in Julie's shoulder to run his fingers through Reggie's hair.
Reggie decided that if this was what the afterlife was like, he never wanted to cross over. He was content to do this for eternity.