Unwritten // Julie and the Phantoms (Reggie Peters)

17

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After the show, the four were playing basketball together.

"Whoo!" Reggie cheered. "Feels like we should be, like, celebrating or something. What do you guys wanna do?"

The four groaned in pain as they fell to the ground and Odette let out another pained groan.

"Not that," Alex said as Reggie pulled Odette up.

Luke frowned. "That wasn't like the other ones. It's getting worse."

Odette leaned into Reggie and he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Yeah, why is this happening to us?" Reggie wondered, pulling Odette closer to him.

"It's because you guys are in serious trouble," Willie told them.

"Willie?"

"We need to talk."

The ghosts blipped away.

---

They made their way closer to the Orpheum.

Luke frowned and said, "All these jolts that we're feeling is because Caleb put his time stamp on us?"

Odette narrowed her eyes. "Why would he do that?"

"He's threatened by you!" Willie cried. "He wants you under his control. I mean, you're the only ghosts that can be visible to lifers without his help."

Alex stopped walking and asked, "And you let him do this to us?"

"I can't stop him! He owns my soul. All right, he owns every soul at that club! If he even knew I was talking to you, he - he would destroy me." He let out a sigh.

Odette lunged at Willie and Reggie pulled her back.

"Not worth it, Etty," Reggie told her.

Reggie crossed his arms, standing in front of Odette before asking, "So if we don't join his club, then the weird power outage thing continues until there's no power left at all?"

"Yes," Willie confirmed.

Odette narrowed her eyes. "What exactly happens when the power goes out?"

"That's... That's it. You're done."

"Uh-huh," Reggie said. "Yeah. And what exactly do you mean by "we're done"?" He spread his arms slightly.

"You just... You don't exist... anymore. Not anywhere."

"What?" Alex asked.

Luke stepped forward slightly as he retorted, "So we have no choice? We have to say goodbye to Julie, give up everything that we've built together, and work for Caleb?" Willie swallowed heavily. "That's some club you guys got going on." He stepped back.

"But there is another option," Willie said. "That's why I'm here."

"Another option?" Alex repeated.

Willie pressed his hands together. "Just please hear me out." Luke glanced at the others and Odette's gaze narrowed further, so it looked as cold as she could manage. "All right. If you guys could just figure out what your unfinished business is, you do it in time, you could cross over, and be free from all of this."

"Okay," Luke replied. "So what's our unfinished business?"

"I don't know, but since you all died at the same time, and she died a day later and is now part of your band, it might be something you need to do together."

"Why should we listen to a word you say?" Alex questioned.

Willie stepped closer to the blond. "Because I care about you, Alex." Alex glanced down slightly. "And I hate that I brought you... and your friends into this mess." He glanced back. "I, uh... I can't be away much longer. I'm so sorry. For everything." He disappeared.

Alex moved forward, hands still in his pockets, and faced his friends before saying, "This is all my fault. I... I met Willie, Willie introduced us to Caleb, and now... now we're screwed."

"We all wanted to go see Caleb," Luke said.

"We have to tell Julie," Reggie stated.

Luke shook his head. "No, we can't do that. This just means more loss in her life." He looked down. "But if we don't want Caleb to own our souls," he looked up, "then we have to figure out what our unfinished business is."

"Yeah, man," Alex agreed. "And how are we supposed to do that? All right? There was so much we wanted to do." Luke focused on something. "What is it?"

"Yeah, but the night we died, there was one thing we all wanted to do together, something Odette would have watched after she checked in with her parents." Alex moved to stand behind Luke.

The four stared at the theatre they would have played at and Alex and Odette asked, "Play the Orpheum?"

"Getting that gig was literally impossible," Alex reminded his friends.

Odette nodded. "I barely managed to get a ticket, despite you guys performing."

Alex continued. "Even after people knew who we were, we had to hustle, call in every favor we had. And like Odette said, scrounge up a ticket for her. It took us years."

The four jolted and doubled over in pain and groaned. They coughed and stared at the Orpheum.

"We don't have years," Luke and Odette said.