(A/N: Haiii! After 2 weeks, I FINISHED THE FIRST CHAPTERRRRRRR!!! Thank you so much to Kasey (kermitkc on AO3 and discord) for proof reading this! It really means a lot!
Hope you enjoy this first (official) chapter!)
New York City, 1994
It was dark out, and it was a busy night. The street lights were already on, cars honking, and people were hyped up.
Sunset Curve, a band of four 19-year old college dropouts, were playing their sold-out gig at the Orpheum this particular night. The members of Sunset Curve had come all the way from Brighton, a small town in Illinois.
A guitar was heard being plugged in and as the others were getting ready, the drummer counted the band in.
"1,2,3!" the blonde shouted from the drumset, leading the band into the song.
~ Now Or Never (Performed by Sunset Curve)~
Take off
Last stop
Countdown 'till we blast open the top
Face first
Full charge
Electric hammer to the heart
Clocks move forward
But we don't get older, no
Kept on climbing
'Till our stars collided
And all the times we fell behind
Were just the keys to paradise
Don't look down
'Cause we're still rising
Up right now
And even if we
Hit the ground
We'll still fly
Keep dreaming like we'll live forever
But live it like it's now or never!
Hear the noise
In my head
It's calling out like a voice I can't forget
One life
No regrets
Catch up, got no time to catch my breath
Clocks move faster
'Cause it's all we're after now
Won't stop climbing
'Cause this is our time, yeah
When all the days felt black and white
Those were the best shades of my life
Don't look down
'Cause we're still rising
Up right now
And even if we
Hit the ground
We'll still fly
Keep dreaming like we'll live forever
But live it like it's now or never!
We ain't searching for tomorrow (tomorrow)
'Cause we got all we need today
Living on a feeling that's been running through our veins
We're the revolution that's been singing in the rain
Don't look down
'Cause we're still rising
Up right now
And even if we
Hit the ground
We'll still fly
Keep dreaming like we'll live forever
But live it like it's now or never!
It's now or never!
After the song had concluded, the audience members were cheering and applauding for the boys.
"Whoo! Excellent!" one girl shouted from the small crowd.
"Sounds great, guys!" a guy from the crowd shouted.
"Whoo!" another girl shouted, clapping for the band. "Yeah!"
The boys laughed a little at that. One member took the mic and announced to the crowd, "Thank you! We're Sunset Curve!".
"Too bad we wasted the tightest we've played on soundcheck!" one of the members said as he fistbumped another.
"Just wait until tonight, man. This place will be packed with record execs!" the muscular brunette said.
"Alex! You were smokin'!" the dark-haired bassist said to the now identified blonde, who was now sporting a backwards black hat.
Alex had turned around once he heard that and immediately said, "Oh… No. I was just warming up. You guys were the ones on fire."
"Could you just own your awesomeness for once?!" the bassist said to Alex.
"Huh?" The other members turned around, looking confused after they heard that.
The group went silent for a moment, then Alex spoke up.
"All right, I was killing it," Alex said, chuckling as the boys started messing around for a moment.
"Okay, well, I'm thinking we fuel up before the show! I'm thinkin' street dogs!" the lead vocalist/guitarist said to the group, hyped up.
"Ooh!"
"Yes!"
One of the girls who were in the audience was still there, smiling and watching as the band was about to leave.
"Hey Bobby, where you going?" the lead guitarist/vocalist asked the boy who had jumped offstage.
"I'm good. Vegetarian. I could never hurt an animal," Bobby said as he continued to walk away.
The girl who was there before spoke up, alerting the band. "You guys are really good."
The woman looked like she was about 18-19 years old. She had dark brown hair, and it had a bit of a reddish tint when in brighter light. She was a bit more on the heavy side, and by the looks of it, she must've been visiting.
"Thank you," the bassist responded, flattered.
"You know, I see a lot of bands," the woman started, paused for a second, then continued. "Been in a couple myself. I was really feeling it."
"That's what we do this for," the lead guitarist/vocalist started. "I'm Luke, by the way."
The other members started introducing themselves as well.
"Hi! I'm Reggie," the boy on Luke's left introduced himself.
"Alex," the blondie said.
"Bobby," the boy to Luke's right said, introducing himself last.
"Nice meeting you guys! I'm Sharon," the young woman said, introducing herself.
"Oh! Uhh…" Reggie started, pulling out a CD with the Sunset Curve logo on it and handing it to Sharon. "Here's our demo!"
Sharon took the CD and Reggie handed her a T-Shirt, also with "Sunset Curve" on the front. "And here's a T-shirt, size beautiful," Reggie said.
Alex groaned at that. Was Reggie really trying to flirt? Already?! They had just met Sharon less than five minutes ago!
Sharon smiled at the gesture and held the unfolded shirt up to her chest, seeing if it was the right size.
"Thanks!" Sharon said, folding the shirt back up. "I'll try not to let my brother get to this one. He sweats… A lot. I was actually only supposed to be here to visit him."
"Oh, good call! Wherever these get wet, they kinda just… fall apart in your hands." Alex cringed, thinking about the time one of the Sunset Curve t-shirts got wet and…you know. "Enjoy your visit though!"
"Don't you guys have to go get hotdogs?" Bobby interrupted, reminding the others of what they said they were going to do before the show.
Luke paused for a moment then he told Sharon, "Yeah. He had a hamburger for lunch." He gently pushed Bobby back with his elbow.
Luke and Reggie high-fived each other before running out of the building through the back with Alex. Once the boys came out, they were surrounded by litter and trash bags.
"That's what I'm talkin' about!" Luke said, pumping his fist in the air, and Reggie chuckled a bit after.
"The smell… of Broadway Street?" Alex asked Luke, turning to him in the process.
"No." Luke chuckled a bit as he elbowed Alex before they started walking. "It's about what that girl said in there tonight. About our music, all right? It's like an energy. It connects us with people. They can feel us when we play. I want that connection with everybody," he continued, pulling Alex and Reggie close.
"Then we're gonna need more t-shirts…" Reggie said, still holding a t-shirt.
Luke snickered at that and said, "Let's go, boys."
As the boys continued walking to the front, they started to hear and see people in front of the Orpheum. Reggie walked up to a group of women, gave the rest of the t-shirts to them and said, "Ladies." He ran off to catch up with the boys.
"Reggie, wait!" one girl squealed in excitement.
"Oh, my God! Reggie!" another girl shouted
"Oh, my god! Hi, it's me!" a third girl shouted.
The whole group of girls were fangirling over Reggie to the point where one of them fainted.
The boys were at a hotdog stand putting their hotdogs together.
"Man… I can't wait until we can eat someplace where the condiments aren't served out of the back of an Oldsmobile..." Alex said, grabbing a couple pickles and putting them on his hotdog. However, pickle juice ended up getting on the battery cables.
Alex went over to the guy who ran the hotdog stand.
"Hey." The man turned around to see who had called. "Sorry, I got some pickle juice on your battery cables," Alex said to the man. In all honesty, he thought the man would get mad.
"No problem. It'll help with the rust," the guy casually said. Alex gave him a look of disgust. The man chuckled and walked away.
Yeah, these guys were actually eating hotdogs from some cobbing guy with a rusty old truck that he keeps the condiments in.
"That can't…" Alex cringed at what the man said as he continued chuckling. "Okay. What the hell?" Alex said as he walked off behind Luke.
Alex and Luke found some space on the ground next to Reggie and sat down.
"This is awesome, you guys," Luke said, content with how things were going for the band. "We're playing the NYC Orpheum! I can't even tell you how many bands have played here and then ended up getting big!" Luke continued on.
Reggie chuckled slightly as Luke kept going, "We're gonna be legends!"
Reggie Alex grinned at that.
"Eat up, boys! 'Cause after tonight… everything changes!" Luke said.
The boys all did a "cheers!" motion and started eating their hotdogs. Reggie licked his fingers while Alex started chewing slower, wondering if the flavor was any different.
"Is this a new flavor?" Alex asked as he was still chewing.
"Chill man! Street dogs haven't killed us yet," Reggie said as took another bite of his hotdog. Yeah… choose your words wisely next time, Reggie.
Luke paused and stared at his hot dog for a moment before taking a huge bite. Next thing everyone knew, the ambulance was at the scene.
The camera panned up to the night sky as tense music played. The tense music turned into a short guitar riff, showing the words…
~~ Molly and the Phantoms ~~
Brighton, IL, 2024
The school bell rings as students are roaming the halls, filming ClickClocks near their lockers or anywhere else in halls or actually heading to their next class.
~Brighton High School~
One girl in particular stood out. She was walking to her locker with what looked like a book, her eyes focusing on the floor.
The girl reached her locker and opened it. Another girl walked up to her and said, "Hey, enhappifier!"
The girl who had walked up was wearing a green jacket with a t-shirt that had what looked like a turtle on it underneath, along with khaki pants and gray combat boots. She was also tan with brown waist length hair that was tied into a ponytail.
"Hi, turtle writer!" the other girl said as she turned around.
This girl, however, was a little lighter and shorter than the first girl. This girl had auburn hair that went halfway to her elbow and her hair was tied into a low ponytail as well. The girl was wearing a white and orange softball cap with the name "Lemmings" on it, a jean jacket with a Trolls shirt underneath, gray cargo pants with a design sewn on, and red shoes with shooting stars on them.
"Okay, I know you don't want me to ask, but have you figured out what you're doing today?" the taller girl asked.
"I'll know in the moment," the shorter girl responded.
"Really Molly? That's all you're giving me?" the tall girl asked her. "Mrs. Hanson said this is your last chance!" she continued.
"I know. I was there," Molly said. She and the taller girl then heard someone getting closer.
"See you at the rally!" the voice said in the middle of a crowd. The voice came from a fair skinned, blue-haired, preppy sounding girl. She was wearing a hot pink crop top with blueish-gray jeans and white platform boots.
"Oh cob… What's she handing out?" the taller girl asked, as the blue haired girl continued to hand out flyers.
"Hi!" the aforementioned blue haired girl said, still handing out posters.
"Desperation?" Molly snickered.
The blue haired girl came over to the duo to give both girls a flier. She said, "Here you go! My group's performing at the spirit rally tomorrow." She handed the girls flyers.
"I'm sure you have nothing better to do," the blue-haired girl said, her smile becoming strained.
"Oh my gosh Andrea! Thanks!" the taller girl said, with a fake smile, not even trying to hide the sarcasm in her voice.
"Oh my gosh Libby! Don't bother coming!" Andrea said, with her smile even more strained and with the same amount of sarcasm present in her own voice.
As Andrea left to give out more flyers, Libby scrunched her face up a little while balling up the flier in her right hand.
"Come see Dirty Candy tomorrow!" Tthe duo could hear Andrea promoting her group's performance.
Molly was grinning until Libby spoke up and said, "...And she's still with Nick? They're bound to get married and have a dozen unholy babies."
Molly and Libby both shuddered at the frightful thought of Andrea giving birth to demon spawns.
"Nick's so sweet though! I can't see him raising demon children."
"You'd actually have to talk to him to know that," Libby said. Her face was scrunched up again as she was still thinking about the monstrous relationship that was Andrea and Nick. "Besides, it only takes one demon to make a demon baby," she continued.
Molly chuckled slightly and Libby yelled "Demon!" to Andrea as said girl turned around, giving Libby a dirty look and snarling at her. Libby didn't pay Andrea any more attention. She and Molly snickered.
"Long time, no see!" Libby said, pointing to the smile on her best friend's face.
"Guess some people don't really change," Molly said, thinking back to her first day of seventh grade when she mispronounced Andrea's name and was almost made an outcast for it.
"True. Now let's go prove everybody wrong!" Libby said as Molly chuckled slightly.
~The Music Hall~
A boy was playing a solo on his guitar, and he was nearing the end. After he finished, everyone who watched him started cheering and clapping.
"Nice job, Nick!" Mrs. Hanson said. "Almost as impressive as your game against Mewline," she continued. Nick chuckled and so did the crowd.
"Alright! We have one last performance," Ms. Hanson said, clasping her hands together. "Molly?"
Molly got up with a thin book in her grasp. She took off her hat and put it on her chair before she started walking toward the piano, more nervous than she's ever been. Once she got there, she sat down, opened the book, and put it on the stand. She didn't start right away though.
"Take your time," Mrs. Hanson said.
Molly opened the piano and was getting ready to play. However, she just…couldn't. Libby watched as Molly stood up and stood up after her.
"I-I'm sorry. I can't," Molly said as she grabbed the book.
"Is this when we're supposed to clap?" Andrea asked in a snarky manner.
That's when Libby saw Molly leave the room, and she was about to go after her, but not without giving a few words to Andrea.
"Watch it, Andrea!" Libby said, purposely mispronouncing Andrea's name before following Molly out of the music hall.
~The McGee House~
Molly was at the kitchen table doing homework when she heard her dad come down the stairs and into the kitchen.
Her dad, or Pete, was a tall, fair skinned, lanky man with red hair and a stubble. He was wearing a dark green sweater with white button-up underneath and light gray jeans.
"Oh good! You're home! I was about to head to Darryl's school to have that conference," Pete said, walking to the kitchen table. "It's been a busy day at the mayor's office, I didn't even get a chance to get lunch after my presentation."
"But," Pete started. Molly got a little scared, hoping her dad didn't find out about what happened in school, "I did get a phone call." Molly was even more scared now.
"Yeah, I figured that."
"It was one of my former co-workers from when we lived in Danville."
"Oh! That."
"Yeah, He said if Brighton's city council goes to help Mayor Brunson and Mayor Doofenshmirtz with Danville's improvements, then…" Pete paused for a moment. Brighton was supposed to be the McGees' forever home. Heck, they'd been in Brighton for almost four years at this point. This was the longest that the family had ever stayed somewhere for longer than a few months. Pete couldn't bring himself to move his family for the 24th time, especially with one less McGee.
"Then we might have to move back to Danville for your senior year," Pete continued, leaving Molly in shock. "But for now, we have to do some cleaning and donating. Maybe you could tackle your mom's stuff."
Molly looked away from her dad as he said, "You're the expert. Darryl and I wouldn't even know where to start."
Pete saw his daughter staring down at the table and said, "It's okay if you're not ready. I-"
"No, Dad." Molly lifted her head up. "It's alright." She then gave her dad a small smile and said, "Maybe I'll try tonight."
"Awesome! Thank you," Pete said as he clasped his hand together. "Oh, and don't forget your room. I know you have things you wanted to donate."
"Yeah, I do. Plus, Mom would want that."
"She would," Pete said as he started looking for his keys. "Oh! I'm gonna be late!"
"Your left pants pocket, Dad," Molly said, pointing to his pants pocket.
"Thanks Molly! You're a lifesaver!" Pete said, snapping his fingers and grabbing the keys from his pocket.
~That Night~
Molly was headed towards the garage where the boxes of her mom's stuff were. She opened the garage door, walked in, and switched on the light. There were a bunch of boxes stacked on top of each other and something big was covered up by an old white cloth.
Molly then walked over to the cloth and pulled the cloth off, revealing a medium-sized piano. As the cloth fell, Molly exhaled shakily. She walked over to the stool and saw sheet music sitting there. She picked up the sheet music, put it on top of the piano and sat down.
"I'm so sorry Mom," Molly sighed and looked up to what was supposed to be the heavens. "That I haven't been in here."
Molly then walked behind the boxes to find a mattress that was still in good shape, a guitar, her keyboard, some clothes and other miscellaneous items. Looking around, she noticed a black CD on the ground with white words on the cover, and picked it up from where it was on the floor.
Molly then walked back over to the front of the garage where a CD player was sitting on a table near the piano. She opened the case, took out the disc and put it into the CD player. Rock music started playing as she sat down on the couch.
Take off
Last stop
Countdown till we blast open the top
Face first
Full charge...
Molly then heard…screaming? She covered her ears as the screaming intensified. Next thing the girl knew, there were 3 guys on the floor of the garage right in front of her.
The boys groaned as they hit the floor, falling on top of one another.
"Ughhhh…"
"Oww…"
"Whoa…" Luke coughed and gasped for air as he and the others stood up. "How did we get back here?!"
Molly's pupils were the size of pinpricks. She couldn't believe what she was seeing.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHH!!!!" Molly screamed out first.
"AAAAAHHHHHH!!!" the boys screamed back
"Sweet. Baby. Corn…" Molly backed up and yelled out "DAD!!!" as she sprinted out of the garage and headed toward the back of the house, but not without almost falling on her face twice.
Pete stopped his eldest child and said, "Whoa, Molly! Calm down. You look like you've just seen a ghost—"
"I have! I saw 3 of them!!!" Molly said.
"Aw, cool!" Darryl, her little brother, said. Darryl had the same auburn hair as his sister. He sported a white t-shirt with an orange hoodie and a green jacket over top. The boy wore dark gray sweatpants and slides with socks as well.
"No, Darryl! Not cool!" Molly said frantically before dashing into the house. "RUN!" she said, still screaming.
~Molly's Room~
Molly got to the attic, jumped behind her bean bag chair and pulled out her phone. She dialed her grandmother's number to get help.
"C'mon, Grandma Nin! This is an emergency! Why aren't you answering!?" Molly whisper-yelled to herself.
~With Grandma Nin~
A short old asian lady with neck length gray hair, glasses, a pink sweater with a white shirt underneath and beige sweatpants was asleep in her room at the Brighton Senior Center. Her phone continued to ring. However, it was on vibrate and across the room, so she didn't hear when her granddaughter called her half a dozen times.
~Back in Molly's Room~
"Hey," a voice came from the attic door.
"Ahh!" Molly shouted and dropped her phone but then sighed in relief when she saw who it was. "Oh, Dad."
"Sorry about that. Just checking in on you," Pete said as he fully entered the attic.
"You don't believe me, do you?" Molly asked her dad.
"Oh, Molls, of course I do! I see your mother all the time," Pete said, trying to reassure her.
"It's not like that though," Molly replied, still feeling like her dad didn't understand.
"I know. It's different for all of us," Pete said.
"You're not listening, I-I saw something out there!"
"Okay, alright, I'm listening," Pete said as he got down on one knee and rolled up his sleeves. Then he continued with, "Tell me what you saw. It's just you and me here."
"You sound just like your therapist."
"Maybe it's not such a bad idea, seeing Dr. Turner again—"
"Dad!" Molly shouted, then she calmed down a bit and asked, "Can we just… drop it?"
"Alright. Dropped," Pete said as he got up from where he kneeled.
Pete then put one hand on Molly's shoulder and pulled her into a hug. After that, he left the attic.
Molly, who was now back in her panicked state, snooped towards her window to see if the ghosts were still out there. She snuck into her dad's room, grabbed the old cross from an unsealed box and tiptoed all the way to the garage with it.
Once Molly got to the garage, she held the cross out in front of her with both hands and started pointing it like a bow and arrow to various places in the garage.
As Molly was still looking for the ghosts, she asked, "A-Are you still here?" in a nervous manner.
"Wherever you are…" the girl exhaled shakily then she said, "I know I saw something! I'm not crazy. Well, maybe a little. But I know what I saw!"
The three boys appeared again and Luke said, "True, Aren't we all a little crazy though?"
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!" Molly screamed and held the cross out further in front of her.
"OH GOD PLEASE STOP SCREAMING!" Alex said as he covered one ear.
Molly stopped screaming and a random dog howled outside.
"Who are you guys, where did you come from and why are you in our garage?!" Molly shouted, still holding the cross in front of her.
"Your garage?!" Luke stammered, confused at what he had just heard. "This is my studio! Trust me, my…"
"The piano is new, and…and…and—" Luke started off as he jumped up and sat on the piano. He then jumped from where he was sitting on the piano once he saw that the couch was still there. "My couch!"
Luke sighed happily until he noticed something…off. "Okay, that's definitely not my six string…" Luke said, pointing to the red acoustic guitar on the wall. He looked up and saw a chair on the ceiling and was absolutely baffled.
"Just…Just give me one second," Luke said to Molly then speed-walked over to Alex and Reggie.
"Guys! What is going on?! How'd she get her stuff in here so fast?!" Luke whisper-yelled.
"Maybe, hear me out, she's a witch," Reggie said, getting looks from Luke and Alex but he continued with, "There's a chair on the ceiling-!"
"Okay, there's no such thing as witches," Alex said, a little irritated.
"You sure? 'Cause I used to think that ghosts didn't exist," Reggie said.
"Yeah, fair," Alex responded, feeling kind of stupid for a moment.
"Okay, so we're going with witch?" Luke asked the rest of the group.
"No! We're not going with witch!" Alex whisper-yelled to Luke and then said, "She's not a witch, okay?! She's just scared."
Molly was right behind the trio listening in on their conversation while still holding the cross.
"Okay, let someone with a softer touch handle this," Alex said to Luke before approaching Molly.
"Why are you in our studio?!" Alex asked Molly in an interrogative manner.
Molly stood there for a moment then tried to shove the old cross at the ghost only for it to pass through him.
"Huh—!" Molly pulled the cross away from Alex and looked at it with widened eyes. "Oh my corn! How did you do that?!"
"Clearly, you don't understand—" Alex stopped himself, turned to the boys and said, "Clearly she doesn't get it."
Alex turned back around and started explaining. "We're ghosts, okay? We're just 3 ghosts who are happy to be home. Hopefully forever. So, thank you for the flowers, they really brighten the room."
"We're actually in a band called Sunset Curve. We…We're from Brighton too, so…" Luke said before getting interrupted by Reggie who said, "Tell your friends!"
"Last night was supposed to be a really big night for us. It was gonna change our lives!" Luke explained.
"I'm uh… I'm pretty sure it did," Alex whispered to Luke.
"This is… a lot to take in," Molly said as she quickly pulled out her phone.
"What is that? What are you doing?" Luke asked her while Alex was confused and Reggie was in shock.
"It's my phone," Molly said before briefly stopping herself and said "No! Stop talking to them, they aren't real! There's no such thing as cute-looking ghosts…"
After saying that, Molly mentally slapped herself for not being as educated as she should've been on her Thai heritage and the spiritual connections they have.
"Oh, think we're cute?" Reggie said in a flirty tone.
Molly gave him a look before she started typing something on her phone.
"Who ya callin'?" Alex asked her in a similar flirty tone.
"I'm googling Sunset Swerve," Molly said.
"Sunset Curve!" the trio shouted at the same time, correcting her.
Molly pulled up an article on Sunset Curve and showed the boys.
"Whoa…" Molly said in shock as she turned to the band. "There is a Sunset Curve!"
"You guys did die. But not last night," Molly said as the boys gave her confused looks. "You died 30 years ago…"
"What!? No! Nonono… but th-that's impossible!" Reggie said, in complete shock. "After we floated out of the ambulance, all we did was end up in a weird dark room where Alex cried."
Alex cringed and in a high-pitched voice, he said, "Well… I don't think… I think we all were pretty upset, okay?!"
"That was just for like… an hour. We just showed up here," Luke said as he came to a realization.
"Look, I'm just telling you what the article said," Molly said as she held her phone up so the boys could see it. She then said, "See? You all died in 1994, when you were 19. It's now 2024."
"So… this is the future?" Reggie asked, starting to take all of this in.
"Wait, so… it really has been 30 years?" Alex asked as he was just as shocked as the others. The blonde almost started panicking when he realized, "I have been crying for 30 years?! How is that even possible?!"
"Well, you're a very emotional person," Reggie said with a smug grin on his face.
"I am not!" Alex yelled, trying to defend himself.
"I thought you were afraid to come out here."
The boys turned around at the sound of the other voice only to see Molly's younger brother.
"You talking to your ghost friends? Ooh! How do they look? Are they hideous?" Darryl started asking a bunch of questions. "Do you think they would pay me if we let them stay here—?"
"This isn't a hotel, Darryl!" Molly said as she gave her brother her only-for-Darryl death stare.
Reggie gave Darryl a look and Alex said, "He can see you."
"No, he can't," Molly said to Alex and Reggie.
"What?" Darryl said as he looked around.
"Uh… What's up?"
"Dad said come eat," Darryl said as he started to leave the garage. "Oh, and don't go in the basement, Heidi's in there molting."
Molly's eyes widened in shock as she yelled out, "Why is Heidi Hairylegs molting in our basement again?!"
"Well, she needed her privacy, so…"
"She couldn't have done it in our yard?!"
"No."
Darryl turned back around and left.
"He couldn't see you…" Molly said, still slightly in shock.
"Yeah. I mean, that's…that's usually how ghosts work," Alex said.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened to you guys, I really am," Molly said with a sympathetic look as she started walking out of the garage. "But, this isn't your studio anymore. This isn't even your house! So it's best if you just leave."
"But wait! We…" Luke started off as Molly stopped in her tracks and turned around. "We didn't get your name."
"It's Molly. Molly McGee," Molly said and Luke chuckled a bit.
"Cool. I-I'm Luke," Luke said. He stepped closer until Molly pointed the old cross at him. He stepped back and continued, "-by the way, a-and this is-" as he gestured to the dark haired boy on his left.
"Reggie! I'm Reggie! Hey," The boy said, seeming excited to meet the auburn haired girl.
"And…"
"Alex. How's it going?" The blonde said.
"O…kay," Molly said then finally headed for the house.
"Molly seems nice," Reggie said, sounding a bit hopeful as Alex and Luke turned to him.
Alex groaned and said, "Did you miss the part where she kicked us out, or…"
Reggie gave him a look that absolutely said, "Yeah dude, I missed that part."
"Yes. Okay," Alex said, taking that look as a yes.
The boys went off to do their own things.
~The Kitchen~
The McGees were setting up the table for dinner and when they finished setting up, they sat down at the table.
"Alright! Let's do this!"
"Let's do it."
"Thank cob for leftovers and the power of our mighty microwave!" Darryl said as Pete chuckled a bit.
As Pete was putting spaghetti on the kids' plates, he turned to Molly and said, "So, Darryl says he found you out in the garage."
"She was in there talking to herself…" Darryl chimed in.
"What?! I-I was… rehearsing for a school play!" Molly said defensively.
"สวัสดีสวัสดี! (Hello, Hello!)" A voice could be heard speaking Thai in the distance.
"Ooh! Is that Aunt Mai?!" Darryl said, hearing the voice get closer.
"Mai, we're in here!" Pete called the woman in. The redhead then whispered, "Quick!" to his kids.
Pete, Molly and Darryl tried to put the leftovers back and clear the table before Mai reached the kitchen. However, it was too late.
The aforementioned woman had tan skin, a bit darker than Molly and Darryl and a strong Thai accent. She had medium-length copper hair that was pinned up into a bun and she was up to Pete's shoulder when it came down to height. The woman was also wearing a thin lavender cardigan with white jeans.
"Huh! Spaghetti. Again?" Mai said, holding a couple tupperware containers with food in them.
"Yeah," Pete said with a nervous smile.
"Well, that's too bad," Mai said, then she continued with, "I brought you David's Gaeng Keow Wan Gai and my Pad Thai."
"Ooh!"
"Yay!"
"Thanks, Aunt Mai! It smells great!" Molly said to Mai as she turned around in her seat.
"You can have it tomorrow," Mai said, putting the containers in the fridge. "I can't have you eating leftovers every night!"
"David's sister would kill us, may she rest in peace," Mai said, her smile faltering for a moment. She walked over to the table where everyone else was, put a hand on Molly's shoulder and said, "Oh… I see things here are going better?"
"Actually… Molly has been sorting through mom's boxes." Pete said. "We're still debating if we should move back to Danville for a year to help Mayor Doofenshmirtz with improving the city.
"Ooh! I like the sound of that," Mai said, as she was happy for Pete and the kids. Her tone then became a bit serious as she then said, "However, these kids have been moving from place to place for as long as they can remember. They need that sense of stability."
Luke, Alex and Reggie all walked into the kitchen as Mai continued talking to Pete. Molly looked up and saw the boys standing there
"Ah!" Molly yelled out. Even though it wasn't as loud as the first two times, it still made the boys jump.
Everyone at the table looked at her, confused.
"Heh…" Molly chuckled awkwardly. "That's just me… ripping off the band-aid as they say! At least I think people say that."
"There's my girl!" Mai said, with her hand still on Molly's shoulder.
Luke then showed up right next to Molly's seat and said, "Hey, Molly! I really like what your family did with the place!"
"You shouldn't be here!" Molly whispered to Luke. However, Mai heard her and gasped.
"Oh, I'm just here to help, Moll," Mai said.
"I think that's our cue to leave," Alex whispered to Luke.
"I mean… You should be heading back to your hotel room with Uncle David… and Emmie!" Molly said, trying to correct herself. She then continued with, "Tell them I said Hi! Thanks for bringing us food!" while giving Mai a hug and turning to look at the boys behind her.
"We should've called first," Reggie whispered to the other band members while getting a little too close to Alex.
"Oh, don't worry about it, and now that you're no longer in the music program, you can concentrate on those AP classes," Mai said as Molly turned back around with a look of guilt on her face.
"You did get the email from her school right?" Mai asked Pete as his eyes widened. At least Pete has some knowledge on how to use an actual phone now, so he had no excuse.
"Yeah," Pete said, as he was trying to sound honest enough. "We're still discussing it."
"ดี, (good,) I'm headed back to our hotel room," Mai said and then she blew a kiss. The woman got ready to leave and headed out the front door.
"Oh! Molly! You wanna know how I rigged the scoreboard at your last softball game?" Darryl suddenly asked.
"Wha- No!" Molly said, in shock. "That-that was you?!"
"You're a good brother, Darryl," Pete said then his voice took on a more stern tone and he continued with, "But, don't think you're not in trouble for that… and setting a janitor's mop bucket on fire…again."
"Well, I tried," Darryl said, nonchalant, while getting from his seat and leaving the kitchen.
"Why didn't you tell me? You made me lie to Aunt Mai," Pete asked his daughter, concerned.
"Sorry. I was gonna tell you after dinner…" Molly said.
"Yeah. Mm-hmm."
"I-I was!"
"Kiddo, I know those classes can get difficult, but…" Pete trailed off for a moment then continued. "You still like music, don't you?"
"I dunno… Maybe?" Molly said, averting her gaze from her dad.
"Look, we've talked about this before," Pete said, placing his hand on Molly's shoulder. "And how painful the memories can be but…"
Pete then took a deep breath and said, "Everytime I see you and Darryl, I see your mom. It's like she's still right here with us. But, you know what? I love that. I really do. Maybe if you give yourself a chance, you'll get there."
Molly gave him a small smile and got ready to leave the table when suddenly, loud rock music started playing from a distance.
"Um, Dad? What's that?" Darryl said as he came back downstairs.
"I…must've left the CD player on in the garage!" Molly said, leaving the table. "I'll get it."
~The Garage~
Rock music continued to play as Molly walked into the garage.
"Guys!" Molly shouted to the band over their music. "Guys, Stop!"
The boys, except Alex, turned to her but didn't hear her.
"Alright! Enough! Stop!" Molly shouted again. This time the boys were finally finished.
"I'm pretty sure all of Brighton can hear you! I thought I told you guys to leave," Molly said, getting irritated.
"Wait… people can hear us play?!" Luke said, in genuine shock.
"Yes! And so did my dad and brother!" Molly continued.
"W-w-wait. Wait." Alex was in shock as he stood up from his drums and continued, "So only you can see us, but everyone can hear us?! I mean, what kind of ghosts are we?"
"Who cares, man?! People can hear us play!" Luke said with excitement as he fistbumped Reggie.
"We might be dead, but our music isn't!" Reggie said with the same excitement that Luke had as he fistbumped Alex.
Pete then opened the door to the garage and came in to see if Molly was still in there.
"Dad!" Molly said, turning to face the redheaded man.
"Hey," Pete said as he walked further into the garage. "Just making sure you're alright in here."
"Yeah, I'm fine. I was just giving trouble turning the CD player off," Molly said, gesturing to the CD player.
"Wait, there was more stuff in here?!" Pete said as he noticed the instruments.
"What?!" Luke said, in shock. Their equipment was not just "stuff"!
Pete then walked over to the drums and started messing around with them as he said, "Some of this is in pretty good shape!" as he kept tinkering with Alex's drum set. "Maybe we can donate it to that new music store that just opened downtown?"
Alex got mad at the statement and said, "Whoa! Dude, Stop touching my drums!" Forgetting that Pete couldn't hear or see him, he said "Tell him to stop touching my drums!" to Molly instead.
"I liked the song you had on," Pete said, walking away from the drums and towards his daughter.
"Sweet! We're Sunset Curve!" Luke said as he walked closer to Pete.
"Tell your friends!" Reggie said, doing the same.
"It's just an old CD I found," Molly said with a sheepish grin while the band stared at her, offended.
"Well, still, I'm glad that you're getting back into music, even if it's just listening to it," Pete said. "Out here, you can play whatever you want, whenever you want," he continued. What he didn't realize is that his arms went right through Luke and Reggie.
"Oh! That's nice!" Reggie said as he and the other boys had big grins on their faces.
"Stay out of this!" Molly whisper-yelled to Reggie.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't—" Pete was trying to say. However, he was interrupted by Molly as she said, " Oh, no, no, no, no! Not you! I-I mean…um…" while pulling her dad towards the garage door.
"Whoa, hey, hey, hey!" Pete said, putting his hands on Molly's shoulders. "We're gonna figure this music program thing out, alright?"
"Thanks, dad," Molly said with a genuine smile on her face. After Pete left the garage, Molly shut the door and her smile faltered a little.
"He liked our song!" Luke said, flattered.
"Oh, he doesn't count, he's a dad," Alex said, turning to Reggie and Luke in the process.
"Why can't you guys just be normal ghosts!?" Molly asked, getting frustrated. The boys turned to her as she continued with, "Hang out in a haunted mansion somewhere! There's literally a haunted mansion at Disneyland! Oh wait… no, that's a ride. But you know what I mean!" Once Molly was done, she groaned and left the garage.
"I think she's warming up to us," Alex said, gaining the attention of Luke and Reggie.
"Y'know, I've always wanted to go Disneyland. The Haunted Mansion thing must be new though," Reggie said.
"Huh."
~With Molly~
Molly was walking towards the house and when she got to the second set of stairs, Luke teleported right in front of her.
"Aah!" Molly shouted as she almost went tumbling backwards down the stairs. Luckily, she grabbed on the railing and caught herself. She didn't need to be breaking any bones, especially after what the family went through trying to pay off Pete's medical bills when he broke his arm.
Once Molly recovered, she said, "Stop that! Seriously."
"Oh, I'm sorry," Luke said, stepping down to where Molly was.
"What do you want?" Molly asked the muscular brunette, crossing her arms.
"I know this is all seemingly insane, but do you know how rad this is?! People… actual people can hear us play!"
"Yeah… it is." Molly trailed off. "It's just… I kinda just had a really, really tough day, that's all. I gotta go."
As Molly walked past Luke, he said, "Well, I'm sorry you had a bad day, but 3 guys just found out that they had a bad 30 years, and then they find out that the one thing, the one thing they lived for in the first place, they can still do!"
"Now that's pretty rad," Luke continued.
"Yeah…I mean you guys get a second chance to enhappify people," Molly said.
"Enhappify?" Luke asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah. It's… it's a word I've been using for years!" Molly explained, a small smile creeping up on her face. "It's just…"
"Your bad day?" Luke asked and Molly nodded.
"Yeah. I know," Luke said as Molly looked to the ground. "Look, I'm sorry we came into your life."
"But…" Luke started and Molly looked up to listen. "What I just felt in there… actually made me feel alive again! We all felt alive again! So you can kick us out if you want, but we're not giving up music. It's like you said, we can enhappify people with our music again! That's a gift no musician would ever turn down!"
"You gotta know that, Molly. Clearly, your mom is into music!" Luke sighed.
"Was," Molly corrected him as she started scratching her arm out of nervousness. "She um… she passed away…"
"I am… so sorry," Luke said, in shock while giving Molly a look of sympathy.
"Yeah we… we didn't know," Alex said as he and Reggie appeared behind Luke and Molly.
"It's all right," Molly said. She then paused for a moment then asked the boys, "You haven't seen her anywhere? Have you? From… wherever you guys are from."
"No." Reggie shook his head
"No, you're kind of the first person we've seen," Alex said, turning back to Molly.
"Yeah, but she's not dead, so it doesn't answer her question—" Reggie said, being cut off by Alex, who said, "Yeah, I think she knows what we mean."
"I'm sorry for your loss," Alex said, as he turned to Molly and gave his condolences.
"Thanks," Molly said. "Sorry I got mad. You guys are… kinda cool"
"Kinda?" Luke asked while Alex and Reggie had smiles of their own. "Y-Y-You know that's like 30 years of rust just getting dusted off."
"Yeah. Do you play the piano too?" Reggie asked the auburn haired girl.
"No" Molly chuckled a bit. "I don't play. It was just my mom's stuff in there."
"No way! Her songwriting is amazing!" Luke said, a smile forming on his face.
"Yeah." Molly trailed off and her smile was no longer there. "She was too…"
"Wait, how-how would you know?" Molly asked Luke out of curiosity.
"There's a song on the piano. If it's hers then…" Luke said. He stopped and decided to choose his next words carefully. "Your mom was really talented."
Molly looked to the ground and nodded. There was a moment of silence between the group. Molly turned around, about to head inside. She turned back around after a few moments and said, "I guess… if you need a place to stay, I could fix up our basement and you guys can stay down there. If you still use any of the furniture in the garage, my neighbor and I can get it down there for you."
"I call dibs on the shower!" Reggie said in excitement as he raised his hand. He got a weird look from Molly and he said, "I just really like showers and the occasional bath."
"This… this is just too weird…" Molly said before finally going inside.
The guys chuckled as they played around with each other a bit.
~Molly's Room~
Molly was back in her room, sitting on her bed, except she was wearing her yellow Positivitea shirt and pink sweatpants.
"What would you say if I told you there were three ghosts living in our garage?" Molly said to herself as she was texting someone.
She then paused, and erased the message while saying, "You'd think I'm crazy…"
Molly dropped her phone on the bed and stared out her window from where she was sitting on her bed.
~The Orpheum, NYC~
The boys teleported to the NYC Orpheum and sat down on the part of the building that said, "CUSHION OF SOUND, NITRO NETWORK SOLD OUT."
After the boys landed in a sitting position, Reggie said, "Huh?!" as he looked down, wondering where his shirt was.
"Hey, I know being dead isn't our first choice, but I mean, it sure is easy getting around," Luke chuckled.
"Easy for you!" Reggie said, looking down at his bare chest. "I lost my shirt on this one!"
Suddenly, Reggie's shirt appeared on him right after he said that.
"Oop— Never mind. There it is!" Reggie said, looking down to see his shirt on him again as the other boys chuckled.
The Orpheum sign buzzed above them before Alex looked up and asked, "OK so… why'd you bring us here? Just another painful reminder of where we never got to play." Alex playfully punched Luke and continued with, "Thanks, Luke."
"I mean, boys, the game isn't over yet!" Luke said before the boys teleported to the ground. Once they were on the ground and walking, Luke said, "I'm telling you, we've been given a second chance! Let's find some music. Oh! Let's see how many clubs we can hit before sunrise!"
As the boys were walking, a mysterious looking man bumped into Alex. He was a tall, tan-ish man with neck-length brown, disheveled hair and a handlebar mustache. He wore a purple suit and top hat with a yellow polka dotted tie.
"Wha— Hey!" Alex yelled to the man. The man turned around, glared at him while slightly tipping his hat and walked away.
"Hey Alex, you coming?" Luke said, as he and Reggie were already ahead. "Let's go!"
Alex ran after the others after he recovered from the confusion and shock.
~The McGee House, The Next Morning~
Molly walked out to the garage with her backpack on while the birds chirped.
This time, Molly was wearing a plain yellow shirt with the same jean jacket from the day before, jeans and instead of the usual one ponytail, she had 2 in instead.
Once Molly made it to the garage, she opened the door and set her backpack down on the armchair. The garage was surprisingly quiet. So Molly called out, seeing if anyone was in there.
"Guys?" Molly called out while walking around the garage. "Guys?"
After no results, Molly walked over to the piano, spread the sheet music out on top, sat down, and opened the piano.
Molly took a deep breath and started playing.
Wake Up (Performed by Molly (Originally performed by Julie)
Here's the one thing
I want you to know
You got someplace to go
Life's a test yes
But you go toe to toe
You don't give up no, you grow
And you use your pain
'Cause it makes you you
Though I wish
I could hold you through it.
As Molly got to the chorus, she started to sing and play with passion. She sounded amazing while doing it too.
I know it's not the same
You got livin' to do
And I just want you to do it.
So get up, get out relight that spark,
You know the rest by heart.
Wake up, wake up if it's all you do
Look out, look inside of you
It's not what you lost
It's what you'll gain
Raising your voice to the rain
Wake up your dream and make it true
Look out, look inside of you
Pete came outside and started listening in. He put a hand on his heart and was wiping away a stream of happy tears.
It's not what you lost
Relight that spark
Time to come out of the dark
Wake up
Wake up
Better wake those demons
Just look them in the eye
No reason not to try
Life can be a mess
I won't let it cloud my mind
I'll let my fingers fly
And I use the pain
'Cause it's part of me
And I'm ready to power through it
Ollie, one of the neighbor's kids who lives across the street, was on his bike passing by the McGees house when he stopped and listened to the singing coming from the garage.
Ollie was a Chinese American who was around Molly's age. He had shoulder-length reddish-brown hair that was tied in a low ponytail with swoopy bangs. He was wearing a white t-shirt with the words "Bring Me The Horizon" on it, a dark blue jacket over the shirt, a loose golden necklace, light brown joggers and purple loafers.
Gonna find the strength
Find the melody
'Cause you showed me how to do it
Get up, get out relight that spark
You know the rest by heart
Wake up, wake up if it's all you do
Look out, look inside of you
It's not what you lost
It's what you'll gain
Raising your voice to the rain
Wake up your dream and make it true
Look out, look inside of you
Darryl came outside and listened to his older sister sing and play piano so passionately, like she once did before.
It's not what you lost
Relight that spark
Time to come out of the dark
Wake up
Molly stood up and continued playing, as she had really gotten into the song.
Wake up
So wake that spirit spirit
I wanna hear it hear it
No need to fear it you're not alone
You're gonna find your way home
Wake up, wake up if it's all you do
Look out, look inside of you
It's not what you lost
It's what you'll gain
Raising your voice to the rain
Wake up your dream and make it true
Look out, look inside of you
When you're feeling lost
Luke, Alex and Reggie all ended up behind Molly as she was close to the end of the song.
Relight that spark
Time to come out of the dark
Wake up
Wake up
Once Molly was done, she sighed happily and stared off into space for a moment. Her smile dropped as she picked up the sheet music with writing on the bottom. There was a note on the bottom right corner of the sheet music that said, "Molly, you can do it Love, Mom ".
Molly smiled again and hugged the paper close, letting a couple tears fall.
(A/N: If you read this all the way through, Thank you! Hope you like it so far! If you have any questions about the au, feel free to PM me! I'll definitely answer them.
Also, it's finals season, so not only am I'm preparing for that but, I'm in concert band and we're preparing for a performance at school.
Thanks for reading!)