Occasion- Fall-Winter of 2020
Context- Julie, the band, Flynn, and Carlos have snuck into an old church at night to play capture the flag. The teams are tied 1-1 and Julie wants nothing but to win...at least, until other feelings become apparent. (The boys have retained the power of touch since the Orpheum and have also gained some new powers such as the ability to eat and poof lifers with them.)
Idea Credit- Myself
Ships Set Sail- Juke/Possible Relynn
Warning- Language
Julie's POV
"So, what now?" Alex said, sitting heavily on the stage.
"Hey, it's not over yet." Flynn hit him lightly. "This is our chance to beat those dumbasses."
"She's right," Julie added, "but I think we should be careful, stay on guard but make it look like we're playing offensively."
Alex considered her. "You know you think a lot like Luke."
"Well now I don't even want to say great minds think alike, but, it's true." Flynn shrugged, smiling at Julie. "In that case do you think the guys will be playing the same tactic?"
"No I think that's what they did last round, luring Alex in like that."
"I hated every second of that, by the way." He pointed out.
"At this point I don't think we can truly predict what they're going to do, I think we just need to stay on defense. What we do know is that they're not gonna try to get the flag individually, they always work in a pair, so if one of them is making a grab for it the other probably isn't far behind. We need to keep at least one person near the flag guard at all times."
"I'll go out first. I'm getting Reggie back for taking our flag." Flynn attempted to crack her knuckles menacingly but just ended up hurting herself.
Julie silently agreed with her. Luke wasn't getting away with cutting her off and costing them the win like he did. They settled the plan and broke apart, leaving Alex in the gym.
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Flynn's POV
"Go left!" Flynn called out to Julie, the other girl following suit.
Flynn stayed behind Carlos, who they were chasing down. They had caught him trying to sneak through the kitchen into the gym, and he'd had a head start. Flynn pushed herself faster, now within several feet of him. Julie flew out of a alternate passageway up ahead, right in their path. Carlos scrambled away from her, reaching in his pocket in an instant and throwing something grainy at her.
Julie, sputtering, skidded to a halt, wiping at her face and clothes. Instinctively Flynn stopped to make sure she was okay.
"Salt!" Julie exclaimed once she had wiped most of it away.
Flynn couldn't help but laugh. That boy was something else.
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Flynn's POV
Just after the girls separated, when Flynn was on her way back to switch with Alex, Reggie went flying past her. As soon as she realized he was in her area, she followed him. Seeing that he was nearing the safe zone and too far ahead, she slowed to a jog until she caught up with him.
"You're lucky I didn't see you earlier, or i would've tagged your ass."
"I wouldn't mind that," Reggie leaned against the wall and winked at her.
Flynn simply rolled her eyes, uninterested in his flirting. "Anyways, unless you get out of here and hurry on back to your base, we're gonna be standing here for a while." She flipped her hair over her shoulder before crossing her arms.
Reggie shrugged, grinning good-naturedly, "I'm fine with that," he reached into his pocket, holding something out to her, "chocolate?"
She had learned long ago not to ask where Reggie got things, and despite knowing that he was stalling, she took the chocolate. Running around a church was exhausting. They walked into the kitchenette attached to the room, swinging the door near-shut and turning on the lights. Her eyes burned momentarily, now accustomed to the dark, as she hopped onto an island in the center of the room. She peeled the wrapper off of the Twix bar he'd given her as Reggie plopped down in a chair across from her. After approximately two minutes he broke the comfortable silence, launching into a recap of his so far capture the flag experiences. He was just telling her about tricking Alex with the wig-Flynn dying of laughter-when the door swung open to reveal an annoyed Julie.
"Flynn! What are you doing?" She exclaimed, looking at Reggie who shrunk away from her glare as he took a bite of a Snickers.
"Oh hey! Um, blood sugar! Low. We were just taking a quick break!" She slid off the island awkwardly. Obviously they hadn't been doing anything wrong, but once Julie got in her competitive mindset she could be scary.
"Come on! It's past time for you to switch with Alex and we can't let them throw us off!" She threw Reggie another looked that said I'm watching you before huffing and nearly stomping out of the room.
"Jeez," Reggie said, "that was scary."
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Julie's POV
The frustration in Julie's chest was beginning to grow. First the guys win a round with what she wished she could call cheating, and now Flynn was wasting time. And on top of everything she hadn't seen Luke yet, who she really wanted to tag so she could rub it in his face. As she rounded the corner into a long, well lit hallway, she was wrenched out of her thoughts. Speak of the devil, she thought belatedly when she made eye contact with Luke. She had frozen, as if encountering a wild animal.
He was propped up in a windowsill, lounging as if he wasn't in her zone and she wasn't within tagging distance of him. They stared at each other, triumphant smiles spreading across both of their faces before breaking into action. Luke took off in the opposite direction. She guessed leading her away was part of his plan, but she couldn't bring herself to care. She had a chance to get revenge and she was going to take it.
He was fast, but Julie hadn't run track in middle school for nothing. She pumped her legs faster, not allowing him to get any farther away, gaining on him ever so slowly. They raced through the long hallway and through another couple of rooms, and Julie feared that they would reach the safe zone before she could tag him.
Julie was heaving for air, her body on fire by the time they reached a room with a long conference table in the middle. Luke jumped the table, sliding across it like a criminal sliding across the hood of a car in a bad action movie. Seriously man? He was out the opposite door before Julie could even attempt the move, and she would've given up if she hadn't seen the exit to her right, and remembered that it led to a section of the same hallway.
The door was already partially open, and she slammed into it so hard that it cracked back on its hinges. Luke, who in perfect timing was directly on the other side, didn't have time to react before she tackled him.
She hit him hard, taking them to the floor. Luke was subject to most of the landing but the side of Julie's head cracked painfully against the tile, momentarily darkening her vision. They rolled over twice, a tangle of limbs, before skidding to a halt. Luke coughed and groaned, laying on his back while she pushed off of him and sat up, trying to shake off some of the dizziness.
"Hah! I got you!" She said, the pain coming through in her voice.
"Uggh." he propped himself up on his elbows, looking around. A smirk crossed his face. "Well you would've, if we weren't in the safe zone."
"What?" She noticed the room they were in as the small library next to the nursery, the barrier room in her side of neutral territory. Sure enough she had grabbed him as soon as he passed the threshold of the door.
"You've got to be kidding me!" She put her aching head her in her hands.
She heard him sit up beside her. "Hey, you're the one that likes boundaries."
Julie lifted her head to glare at him but he was closer than she expected, his expression teasing. He sobered up as they looked at each other, his eyes flitting to her mouth for a moment, a deeper emotion behind them. Moonlight bleached him of color, sparking off his impossibly long eyelashes, turning his bright eyes and dark hair into varying shades of silver. He almost looked more phantasmal than the time he'd started glowing. Julie tore her gaze away, hoping the darkness hid her blush, telling herself that she was supposed to be annoyed with Luke, not admiring how pretty he was.
"I can't stand you," she scoffed, climbing to her feet. She pitched dangerously to the side when a wave of dizziness hit her like a bus.
"Woah, you okay?" Luke was suddenly there, steadying her with a hand on her arm and one on her back.
She touched her temple, a sharp pain shooting through her skull. "Yeah, I just hit my head pretty hard."
He was therefore officially in his protective mode, ignoring her protests about the game and forcing her to sit on a table with him and rest. While he worried aloud about a possible concussion she closed her eyes and gently leaned on him until the pain was a dull throb and then barely there anymore. Eventually she straightened with a low hum, noting that she felt better.
"You sure you're okay?" His breath stirred the curls framing her face, warmth radiating off of him.
Julie nodded, raising her head to meet his eyes. She was close enough to see the kaleidoscope of color in his iris, specks of brown, gold, even green, and blue mixed together.
They both went still, a sudden electricity humming between them. Luke bit his lip, his gaze searching, carefully watching her expression as he leaned in with painfully slow deliberateness. Time seemed to stop as his lips brushed hers hesitantly, feather light, before pulling away gently. Julie shivered. They stared at each other for a hairsbreadth of a second before colliding.
She fumbled into the kiss, unsure of herself. His hand lifted up to cradle the side of her head, steadying her, helping her find the rhythm. After a moment Julie melted into it, and...oh wow. His mouth was firm but soft, slowly drawing out each individual exchange. Little sparks were warming her skin, coursing through her veins, growing hotter with the growing passion. She let her hands glide over him, mapping out his features, memorizing the dips and curves of his shoulders before reaching up to tangle her fingers in his shaggy hair. It was thick and soft, as pleasant to the touch as she hoped it'd be.
All she knew was Luke and he's all she now ever wanted to know. Her body hummed on a sort of euphoric high, even after they gently pulled apart. They rested their foreheads together, exchanging giddy smiles.
Somehow Julie managed a sentence. "How do I know that wasn't a ploy to get me to go easy on you?"
"Oh it definitely was," he pecked her on the lips, "so was that," he kissed her again, "and that."
She giggled, pulling away from him. "Okay, you've made your point."
He studied her like he wanted to say something else, but eventually turned away and sighed. "Well I guess I need to go now so I can win this game."
"Oh you can go, but I don't know about any winning."
"We'll see." He gave her a sideways smirk, hopping off the table. Despite their banter he held his hand out to help her down, making sure she was okay one last time.
Julie watched him go, trying to fully comprehend what just happened.
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Luke's POV
It had been Luke's plan to distract Julie while Reggie distracted Flynn, but it was not in his plan however, to kiss her. He'd promised himself that he wouldn't let his feelings get to him, but sitting there with her in the kind of moment that he'd previously been dreaming of, with her looking at him like that, had been too much to bear. He felt more alive than he had since he died, which sure, didn't sound like a huge accomplishment, but the heartbeat pounding stronger and faster than ever in his chest said otherwise. Luke pressed his hand over his heart, suddenly breathless. He'd never felt such complete passion for anyone before, and the fact that she wasn't even with him at the moment and he was reacting as such made him think that he'd truly underestimated his feelings.
It was when Luke felt himself blushing, feeling like a thirteen year old girl with her first crush, that he had to pull himself together. He was so glad he was alone, at least until he made it to their meeting point with Reggie already standing there.
"Hey man!" Reggie greeted, before cocking an eyebrow. "Are you okay? You look a little dazed."
"No, yeah no I'm good." He decided not to say anything just yet because he knew that would be all that Reggie thought about for the rest of the game. "You ready?"
"Yep. I was about to go switch with Carlos." Reggie held his hand out and they did their handshake. "Let's do this."
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Julie's POV
Julie was sitting on guard, her lips still tingling and butterflies fluttering madly in her stomach whenever she thought about the kiss. I mean, it was her first, and with the guy that she liked more than she'd ever liked anyone before. Julie couldn't hold back her stupid grin, at least, until it faded at the remembrance of her doubts. Flynn, still sitting beside her (who had screamed so loud when Julie told her that Alex came running) and gushing with questions wasn't helping by adding a "remember, he's not technically alive," every couple of minutes. She had asked about almost every detail of the moment, much to Julie's embarrassment, and was asking her what he'd said afterward when Julie shushed her.
Flynn stared out into the hallway with Julie as someone made another noise. "Quick, go find Alex." Julie waved Flynn off, reassuring her that she could handle herself for a little bit.
Flynn snuck out a side door as Julie slipped off the stage, planting herself squarely in front of the flag as Carlos and Luke stalked into the gym. She had to force her smile down when she caught Luke's eye, reminding herself of the danger her flag was now it. Actually, she didn't even want to credit them with being dangerous.
They flung themselves towards and away from her in a series of attacks, and it didn't take long until she slipped up by going a little to far after Carlos, allowing Luke to slip behind her and snatch the flag. He threw it to Carlos when she went after him, and Carlos threw it back to Luke when she got too close to him. However, Carlos made the mistake of throwing the flag just short of him, forcing Luke to dive for it. He caught it up and was on his feet before she got there but was just too slow twisting away from her. Julie flung out her arm last second, snatching a tuft of his hair in her hand.
"OW OW OW, OKAY! OKAY!" Luke yelled as she let her momentum swing him around in a circle and finally to the ground. He held up his hands and her flag in surrender, sitting defeatedly on the floor. Julie looked around but Carlos was already gone, so she turned back to Luke. He grumbled and rubbed his head as she let go, took the flag, and held a hand out to him.
"No hard feelings?" She grinned at him.
Luke pulled himself up, standing closer to her than necessary. "No, I think you'll have to make it up to me."
The implication made her blush, and they stepped away from each other when Flynn and Alex jogged into the gym. Luke held her hand a little longer before squeezing once and letting go.
"Ha! You got tagged." Alex told Luke matter of factly.
"Yeah but Carlos got away." Julie said.
"Then go get him." Flynn pushed her towards Alex and the exit. "I'll guard the flag."
Julie watched her turn to Luke and give him a dangerous look. He saw this and turned to Julie, fear on his face. Knowing that Flynn was about to dish out a handful of warnings and threats to him she gave him an apologetic smile and left with Alex.
When they were walking through the room with the big picture windows an idea struck her.
"Hold on." She told Alex, running into the kitchenette. When she came back out he was giving her a weird look but she told him it was necessary and said "let's go."
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Julie's POV
They both already knew where the boys' base was so they slowed as they neared the room, stepping as quietly as possible. Alex split away from her so he could go through the other entrance. Julie peered around the door to see Carlos and Reggie huddled in front of a window, whispering hurriedly. If she had to guess they were probably trying to figure out what to do now that Luke was out.
Alex moved first, darting forward and grabbing their flag before the other boys even noticed. Carlos was the first to react, and Julie must have underestimated Alex's athletic ability, because when he jumped right over Carlos she was shocked. Julie ran behind Reggie, who was preoccupied watching the others. It wasn't until Alex ran for her that he noticed, and by that time he was so confused that Alex was able to brush past her, pass her the flag, and keep running with Reggie thinking he still had it.
Carlos had seen the exchange however, and blocked her path to the main door. Julie reached into her pocket and threw the salt she'd gotten out of the kitchen at him. Carlos sputtered, clawing at his face as she escaped the room. She heard Reggie's muddled exclamation from down the hall, and she ran as fast as she could. By the time he and the other boys had caught up to her Julie was in the safe zone. Alex yelled, picking her up and spinning her in circles. They were screaming all the way back to their base where Flynn joined them.
The three celebrated for a good couple of minutes, dancing around the others and shoving the victory in their faces as good friends should.
Eventually, after everything was cleaned up and everyone was rallied, the ghosts put their arms around everyone else and poofed them all home.
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Julie's POV
"OH SWEET MOTHER OF SHIT!" Reggie yelled, holding his thigh.
"Oh ho, you have to let me do one." Alex reached for a wax strip to put on Reggie's leg.
The girls laughed, watching Reggie scream again as Alex ripped a strip off of his calf.
"Come on Reg, it can't hurt that bad." Luke said, dancing while he talked.
"You sure about that?" In one angry motion, Reggie grabbed a wax strip, lifted Luke's shirt, smacked it onto the skin just above his waistband, and yanked it off.
Everyone either winced, gasped, or burst into laughter. Julie knew that hurt, and she'd never heard Luke scream so loud. They settled down after a minute of Luke exacting revenge by insisting on waxing the rest of Reggie's legs, slapping him much harder than necessary before violently pulling the wax off. She felt bad for Reggie, looking at his red legs afterwards, but it was hilarious.
Eventually they all piled onto the couch and into the chairs, laughing about the night. Luke was sitting so close that their shoulders brushed, especially when he had to dance to speak, and they exchanged secretive smiles every once in a while, pretending everyone didn't notice.
When Julie, Flynn, and Carlos finally retired upstairs to get ready for bed, Julie was going to sleep happier than she had in a long time.