Julie and The Phantoms(Juke)

Chapter 3

She remembered what Luke had said about Nick. That he was draining her. That he was unsafe. That she shouldn't be around him. She had told him off, convincing herself that he was just jealous. But all Luke was doing was trying to protect her. That's all he ever tried to do. And now, she had screwed it all up by trusting Nick. She was all alone and practically dead because she hadn't listened to Luke. Her talented, caring, perfect Luke who she wanted more than anything in the whole world. And now he was gone. All because of her.

Julie turned back to the stage, only to realize that Caleb had left (that guy was a fox) and had apparently replaced himself with a guard. Well, at least that's what he thought he was, but what guard wears a suit and tie? She stares over at him, and he locks eyes with her. As soon as he does, he slowly starts to move over to her. Glancing at the door and back, his pace quickens into a run as he kneels down next to her, placing his arms underneath hers and pulling her to her feet.

"Who are you?" She whispers, her voice raspy and dry.

"The name's Willie. I don't think we've met."

So this was Alex's boyfriend. He seemed like his type. She could honestly picture in her head. They must be so cute together.

"Wait. Aren't you running from Caleb?"

The guys had told her that Willie had been in trouble with Caleb, the curse still resonating with him, unlike the other guys who had been freed. He had betrayed the guys, but in the end helped save them. She knew Luke was not entirely convinced but Reggie and Alex were pretty solid with their interpretation of him. Especially Alex. Turns out, he actually liked the guy, pretty much from when they first met. It was cute, and awesome to know that Alex felt comfortable in his own skin, mostly because his parents never agreed on his terms with his sexuality. Which pretty much meant they didn't want their son to be gay.

"Yes, but I was told this was an emergency."

"Wait, Alex..."

"Yeah. He texted me a couple hours ago that Caleb was after you guys. He was very vague, but I skated over to your house as fast as I could. When I got there, the place was a mess. Turns out Caleb had already taken you guys, so I raced around town. I didn't expect him to bring you guys here, it was so close to home for him I thought he might think this would be the first place I would check. Guess not. "

"But how-"

Willie placed a hand over her mouth as a guard passed by. Blending in with the walls, he carefully brought her up a flight of stairs.

"Here stay put. This leads out to the main stage. I'm going to go find the guys. Don't move!"

He poofed away leaving her alone behind the curtains. She had questions. So many questions, but for now, they could wait.

She found a quiet place on one of the equipment boxes, but just before she could settle down, she heard a door squeak behind her. Quickly and quietly, she jumped from the box, down the flight of stairs and back into the main room. She heard someone sneak up behind her. Wrapping a finger around the frame of one of the chairs, Julie turned and smashed it over her pursuer's head, the wood flying and scattering all around him. As she bent down to see who it was, it looked like it was some sort of delivery man.

But why would they get a ghost delivery man?

Wait, he wasn't a ghost.

'Oops.'

Tugging him by his feet, she pulled him underneath one of the tables, hiding him from plain sight.

As she finished making sure no one could see any limbs, she heard a whoosh from across the room. She froze in horror.

'Caleb's back'

Ducking beneath one of the tables, Julie grabbed the feet of one of the chairs, preparing to hit Caleb's as hard as she could, even if it led to no prevail. She could feel her strength returning, but as soon as he touched her, if he touched her, it would be gone. She squeezed the legs of the chair so hard it hurt.

'What if this didn't work? What if she was stuck here forever?'

She would never be able to say goodbye. Just like the boys. Harsh reality set in, and she realized she needed to be strong. Luke needed her to be strong. Alex and Reggie needed her to be strong. Her mom needed her to be strong. So with all the strength she could manage, she ducked out from under the table, holding the chair high above her head as she approached him. But as she got closer she noticed it wasn't the evil, suit wearing, sugar-coated soul stealer. This person had messy, brown hair and was wearing jeans, and a short sleeve tee. This definitely wasn't Caleb. This was someone so much better. This was someone she cared about so much her heart hurt just to think of losing him.

"Luke? Is that you?"