Infinite

A Living Dream

• ♫ •
I've got all the power of the world
At my fingertips
So take a chance and let me show you
What you're gonna miss
I'm the best ghost you'll ever meet
Don't take my advice lightly
I'm the one who can make your afterlife
Yeah, I'm the one who can make your afterlife
A living dream
• ♫ •

Nick, begrudgingly, had to watch as Caleb forced his body to go back to Julie's once again. For the past week, the news had been circulating about the new single released by her band and the fact that they got an audition for Coachella. He was proud of her and quite happy, despite having to watch everything that happened in his life from the sidelines.

"Caleb, what exactly is the plan?" Nick asked, though he didn't suspect he'd get an answer from him anytime soon. Or, if he really thought about it, probably ever.

"That's not for you to worry." The slinking voice unsettled him, just like it had for the last year.

"Oh, cool," Nick sighed, settling back to watch the scene unfold however it wanted to. He had to admit, it was far less work, since there were no signals from his body to tell him when to stop or when he needed to tend to his worldly body issues. The closest thing he could compare it to was watching a movie.

Except his viewpoint was far different than anyone else's. And when he screamed at the characters, there was a chance they would hear what he said. At least one person (or, technically, soul) could.

"Hey, Julie, how is it going?" Caleb attempted to be suave, and the only thing Nick could do was facepalm and groan. That was not suave. Not even close to suave. It sounded like an awkward guy trying to flirt for the first time and clearly didn't know what he was doing. Then again, it must've sounded very different in his voice, because somehow Julie still acted like she was surprised and happy to see his body. Well, it wasn't an act because she was surprised and happy.

Mostly because Caleb didn't know how to use a phone. And, despite Nick's attempts to teach him, he refused to learn.

"Oh, I have something for you inside. Let me go grab it real quick." She left him alone with the three ghosts. Not the best idea, but it wasn't as if she knew that.

"Boys, I think you should join me back at my club. Come on, it's everything you could ever want. When you play music, you get to soak in the applause. And, if that isn't enticing enough, you get to play in the best genre ever created." Nick doubted any of them agreed, but he also didn't know what Caleb considered "the best genre ever created".

"No. If you think we want to play your jazzy music in front of a crowd of people you've enslaved, you're wrong." Nick didn't know any of this, but it didn't surprise him. Caleb definitely seemed to be from a different time, though he couldn't put his finger on when. The slavery also matched what he'd already experienced. He was enslaved by Caleb and didn't get a single say in his own life. Or how Caleb treated his body.

"Please. Humor me." Nick knew that didn't mean good things. In fact, the only thing he knew that could mean was the start of his, admittedly, not terrible song. It was actually quite catchy. He'd learned more than his fair share of the words, but only because he had to listen to it on repeat for the last month. Yes, Caleb had been planning this charade for a while.

The choreography, though, Nick could've done without. All he did during the entirety of the musical number was shut his eyes and clamp his hands over his ears. At least he had that ability while trapped in his own body. At the end of the three minutes—Nick had timed it one of the countless times he was forced to listen to it—he saw the ghosts' reactions, which were nothing short of bored or annoyed. Clearly, that didn't work as Caleb expected.