Shards of a Star || Reggie Peters

04 | She Plays Piano?

Luke grabs my shoulder, and the four of us get poofed away, onto the top of the Orpheum. I'm wedged between Luke and Reggie, Alex being on the other side of Luke.

"Hey, I know being dead isn't our first choice, but I mean, it sure is easy getting around" Luke smiles.

"Easy for you maybe!" Reggie squeaks "I lost my shirt on that one..." The three of us turn to Reggie, who indeed does not have a shirt underneath his leather jacket, making my cheeks go slightly red. I feel the air go warm, and with a small popping sound, his white shirt reappears on him. Making Luke chuckle. We all look up, to see the massive sign, glowing blue, that read in big neon letters 'ORPHEUM'

"Ok... So? Why'd you bring us here? Just another painful reminder of where we never got to play..." Alex gives a sarcastic smile, "Thanks Luke" he says, giving him a clap on the arm

"I mean, guys! The game isn't over yet." Luke says, before poofing us out, then making us reappear again on the ground, "We've been given a second chance! Let's see how many clubs we can hit before sunrise!" As we walk down the sidewalk, a tall man, that was clothed in some sort of old fashioned suit, complete with a top hat, crashes into me

"HEY?" I yell wheeling around to face him. With a tip of his hat, he just smiles and walks away, leaving me with an unsettling feeling in the pit of my stomach.

"Lex, ya coming?" Luke yells,

"Let's go!" Reggie adds, I turn around and jog over to catch back up to them.

•••

Luke poofs us from the streets and we reappear, back in the garage, behind Julie, who was playing the piano and singing, doing both extremely well. As the song comes to a close, Julie picks up the final sheet of music, I can see a handwritten note at the end, but am too far away to read it. Whatever it said, obviously makes Julie emotional, as she pulls it towards her chest, silent tears rolling down her face, despite a small smile adorning her lips. Alex reaches a hand out to comfort her but before he can touch her, Luke poofs us again, just outside the garage doors.

"Dude, why'd you stop me?" Alex demands from Luke, "Julie needs a hug!"

"Look, a ghost hug isn't the feel-good moment that you think it is. All right? Trust me! What Julie needs right now is a bit of privacy." Luke argues back, trying to defend himself

"I think you poofed us out because you can't handle when people cry," I smirk, standing next to Reggie

"Yeah, I should know," Alex says "I cried in a room for 25 years and I didn't get a single hug!"

"What about me?" I say, furrowing my eyebrows

"You're my twin, you don't count" I roll my eyes at his dramatics.

"All right bring it in" Reggie sighs, pulling his arms out and moving towards Alex who throws his hand out sassily

"Don't touch me"

I giggle knowing fully well that Reggie was the one wanting a hug just then

"I'll take the hug" I whisper into his ear. He swings around, enveloping me in a hug, lifting me off the ground making me squeal

"This is why Lexi, is the better twin!" Reggie laughs, putting me back on the ground

"Okayyyy..." Luke says, his eyes flickering between the two of us "I think the first thing we should do, once we get the courage to go in there, is ask Julie why she lied to us about playing piano"

"Yeah! That girl is amazing!" Alex says

"She's legit! I got ghost bumps" Reggie exclaims, pulling back the sleeve of his leather jacket, offering his arm to anyone who wants to see his ghost bumps.