Infinite

Hall of Fame

𝄃 𝄞♬♪ 𝄂
I want to stand where my name is written in gold
I want everybody to know what I'm known for
And show anybody who thinks
I'm not stupid to believe in my dreams
I want to be in the hall of fame
Show the world they underestimated me
(Be in the hall of fame)
Don't underestimate me
𝄃 𝄞♬♪ 𝄂

"Now that school is calming down slightly, I've been talking with the label." Julie clapped her hands together. "We can attempt, and I do emphasize the word attempt, to get into Lollapalooza, in Chicago."

"In Chicago? Why there over everywhere else?" Luke wondered, not that it made him any less excited for the prospect. But, there were many other music festivals closer to home.

"This is one of the major festivals the label pushes their artists to go to outside of Coachella. And since we've been to Coachella, this will expose us to the east coast." She didn't want to say that she wanted to try to get in. Their opinions held equal importance in her mind to her own opinion.

"That sounds awesome. Are you willing to go to Chicago?" Alex, the most rational voice of them all, wanted to make sure that would be okay for her. He knew that her family didn't spend a lot of money on things and, if she couldn't go, he didn't want to pressure her.

"Of course. I talked with my dad a lot and, now, it's more of a question whether we can get in over the question of how I'll get there." Julie knew they all cared about her and would rather give up their afterlives than see her unhappy. They proved that much two years ago. "What do you guys think? Because we have a lot of work to do if we want to make it into the festival."

"I think we're going to crush it. And we should absolutely do it." Reggie had the most energy and absolutely wanted to do it. Chances like this only come up once in a lifetime. Once in an after-lifetime, too.

"I agree." She smiled brighter when she heard that they all wanted to do this with her. "I want to do this, even though I'm probably crazy. I need to practice for Berklee, too, but once that's over at the end of this month, I can focus more on this."

"Are you nervous? For your Berklee audition?" Luke asked. He wasn't the only curious one, but he voiced his question first.

"I'm using up a lot of music class to practice, but I'm so nervous. I can barely think straight when I think too much about the pressure of it all." Julie sat down and sighed. "There's just so much going on with school, too, and I— you guys don't actually have to listen. I'm going to keep ranting whether or not you are."

"Julie, we don't have to do this if it's too much. We would never ask you to do that. You're a star with or without Lollapalooza or Berklee. And we're not leaving. Not for a while, anyways." They'd gladly watch her become a star if that was what was best for her. It would kill them (of course, not literally) to become nothing more than elevator music, but they'd do it in a heartbeat if that was what she wanted.

"Thanks, you guys. Really. You're the best. I have no idea what I'd do without any of you." She wanted to give them a hug and, before she could think through the repercussions, she stood up and attempted to give Luke one.

And, somehow, she could feel them. Just like she did the day they played the Orpheum. It felt like a lifetime ago now, but just the same.

"How... how can I feel you?" Julie asked, but she didn't want this moment to end. She'd walked through them a thousand times in the past two years. Feeling them was nothing like she remembered before, but she also hadn't been focusing on what she was feeling but rather that she had felt them at all.

"I don't know." Luke said. He just wanted it a lot, but it had never worked before, no matter how many times he wanted to hold Mari in his arms. "Guys, you should try, too." Reggie and Alex nodded, quickly joining the hug. They could, too, but they truly wanted to do it as well.

"Well, it looks like we are defying all logic because this is awesome!" Reggie was the most verbal about his excitement, though Luke was actually the most excited of the three.

"You know, we should use this. If we go to Lollapalooza, we could totally use this." Julie had the most amazing idea, but to pull it off would require a lot of work and mechanics that were so difficult to do.

"Yes! We should totally do this. But, we'd have to practice so much just to do this." The moment she let go of them, they could feel how much it affected them. The energy depletion was something they'd have to combat just to touch her.

"Okay, well, if we're going to play on the Lollapalooza stage, we're going to have to come up with some really great songs. Do any of you have ideas?" Julie asked.

𝄃 𝄞♬♪ 𝄂

"Julie, it's time for dinner." Carlos barged in just as they practiced a song, watching as the boys disappeared because they weren't playing the song. "Hi, guys. That was a cool song."

"Did you like the song? We've got some things to fix but—" Carlos cut her off.

"It was awesome, Jules. But, I want food. So let's go." He nearly dragged her out of the studio, and she could only smile in apology to the three ghosts.

"What are you so anxious about? I know you like food, but this is... excessive." Julie's mind played through a thousand scenarios but none of them seemed correct. For him to be this adamant, it had to be big, and none of her imaginings could be classified as "big".

"You'll see." Carlos managed to evade answering because they walked inside and Julie saw what this was all about. A woman stood in the kitchen, laughing as her father grabbed some of the food to put on the table. She half-recognized the pretty lady dressed in blue and white, but not enough to know why or know her name.

"Both of my children are finally at home." Her father looked up with such a big smile on his face that she couldn't help but smile herself. Obviously, whoever this woman was, made him happy. And it'd been a long time since he'd been truly happy. "Carlos, Julie, this is Ms. Eve Nichols."

"Hi, Ms. Nichols," Julie said, hoping her smile and shaking her hand would show that she didn't mind seeing someone replace her mother.

"Please, call me Eve." Julie and Carlos nodded.

"The table is set. Why don't we sit down?" Ray gestured to the elaborately decorated table with far more food than the four of them could possibly eat.

"So, Julie, your father tells me that you're auditioning for Berklee College of Music." Julie could tell that Eve wanted to make a good impression, but that didn't mean she wasn't nice already.

"Yeah. I've been practicing for a couple months just to feel ready and I'm using a song my mom wrote." Julie had worked so hard already to prepare for her audition, and she knew she wouldn't blow it. But, even if she did, her mother would always be proud that she tried. "I'm so nervous for it and it's not until the end of the month."

"I've listened to the songs you've released online and I know you're just as talented as your father says you are." That made her happy, to know that her father had talked about her to Eve (who may or may not be his girlfriend).

"My band is actually attempting to get into Lollapalooza. I'm sure you could probably hear us practicing a new song outside." Julie could tell, when Eve's face faltered for a moment, that she had never heard of that music festival, but it wasn't the most well-known, especially on the west coast. But, Eve just asked more questions and Julie did her best to try not to make her feel bad for not knowing things she couldn't be expected to know.

On top of that, Julie noticed that Eve brought Carlos into the conversation as well, asking him about his interests and, eventually, shifting from music to baseball and other sports. (Julie couldn't help but admit she didn't know half of the terms Carlos used.)

"Well, I have to get going. It's late and I have some work I have to finish up before I call it a night. It was fantastic to meet you both," Eve said with a bright smile and Ray offered to walk her to her car.

"So, who's that?" Luke asked and she groaned.

"Boundaries!" was the only thing she said before she headed upstairs to work on homework.

Author's Note: I am happy I'm not Julie. Auditioning for Berklee and Lollapalooza sounds so stressful. I get nervous just giving a presentation in front of class. I can't even imagine that. Make sure to vote and let me know what you think in the comments. All the best, MistyRider921.