Bruises - JATP Fanfic (Luke x OC)

Chapter 27

A jolt runs through the boys' bodies, reminding them that they need to go to the Orpheum and complete their unfinished business. That, or they will either disappear or join Caleb's club. Forever.

"Are you ready?" Julie asks, opening the doors to the studio with her outfit in tow. She has no idea the boys had another one of their jolts, happily bouncing along because at sixteen, she gets to play the Orpheum. The. Orpheum. But, once she sees their faces— and the pain still painted on them—her mood deflates. "What's wrong?"

"We just got rocked pretty hard by one of those jolt things." Alex says, as if it's just a normal thing, which at this point, they get one just about every day.

"Pretty sure I ghost peed a little." Reggie jokes in his usual fashion before seeing Julie's sadness that they have to go through that at all. "But, we're fine."

"Actually, guys, I'm a little nervous." Julie admits, while being recorded by none other than her little brother. Carlos knows that the boys in her band are ghosts, and although he can't see them, he is still trying to record her interactions with them.

"That's my sister having an actual conversation with her ghost band." Carlos whispers into the phone before continuing to record. "Let's listen in."

"Reggie, can I talk to you for a second?" Julie asks, and hangs her outfit on the door handle as he walks over. Her breath catches in her throat when she realizes how close they are, and Reggie resists trying to grab her hands to calm her nerves.

"What?" Reggie asks.

"Can you do me a... um... favor?" Julie wonders.

"Of course." Reggie replies, genuinely meaning what he says.

"When you cross over, if... you happen to see my mom, can you tell her I love her... and... thank her for bringing all of you to me?" Carlos, realizing how deep the conversation is, turns off his phone and makes a mental note to delete the video later.

"Yeah, I will." Reggie promises, knowing what she's asking is what he wishes he could do for his own parents. "Can you give the CD to my parents? Brielle has their address." Julie knows exactly which CD he's talking about. It's a tape of him saying how much he misses his parents and a song he wrote that just has his voice and a guitar. To show them that he was doing well before he died.

"Yeah." Julie says, not asking any more questions.

"Band circle?" Reggie asks the four of them, and they gather in a circle, each of the ghosts touching each other's hands and Julie's hands floating above since she has no idea where they really are and would rather not have them intersecting.

"We don't know what brought us here, but what we do know is, you're a star, Julie." Luke says, standing next to her. "And just because this is our last night together, it doesn't mean we won't be watching you from above or..." Luke gestures downward, indicating hell, although because of what they did as ghosts, they would most definitely go to heaven.

"Now, let's go rock this show. Let's give them a night they'll be talking about 'til the sun comes up." Reggie says, putting them all into better spirits.

"Legends on three." Luke says, and the four of them reach into the center, before chanting, "Legends" and Julie heads to the Orpheum, and although her brother does admit to them that he knows about them, he has to go before they can think twice about it.

Brielle, who arrived at the Orpheum just as Flynn did, which is only about ten minutes before Julie does, and they receive their backstage passes, but Brielle doesn't want to have sushi with Brendon Urie like Flynn ends up doing, and instead heads to Julie's room, where she breaks down crying.