𝐑𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 | 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬

𝟒𝟐 | 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧

"What do you have in mind?" I asked Julie.

"I know Panic! At The Disco are playing the Orpheum soon," Julie explained. "Maybe they need an opening act?"

"Nah, they usually have that stuff done in advance," Luke said. "Hang on."

As soon as Luke poofed out of the garage, he had returned once again.

"Yeah, someone called Downslide is opening for them."

"But what if they weren't?" I suggested maliciously.

"Right ... " Julie smirked evilly. "What if something were to happen to them?"

"What's going on right now?" Alex asked, concerned.

"Should we be scared right now?" Reggie asked. "'Cause I am."

"Can any of you drive?" I asked the guys, to which they all shook their heads. "Then Alex, you're gonna have to ask Willie for a favour."

———

"I didn't even know Willie could drive," Alex said as we walked the streets of Hollywood.

After Alex got in contact with Willie, we arranged to meet up outside the Orpheum. The marquee above proudly displayed its upcoming acts : Panic! At The Disco and Downslide. If everything went to plan, Downslide wouldn't be up there much longer.

"Look, don't worry guys," Alex reassured us. "Willie said he'd get us on that marquee."

"This is gonna work, right?" Reggie asked.

"It has to," Luke replied.

Before anyone could say anything further, we were all struck by another one of Caleb's jolts - each one getting uglier and uglier.

"Hey, are you guys okay?"

We turned around to see Willie had arrived. Right on time.

"Yeah," Alex sighed. "Yeah, it's nothing we haven't felt before. How'd it go?"

"Well, when that opening band wakes up," Willie explained. "They're gonna find their bus two-hundred miles outside of Vegas - with no chance of getting back in time."

"And that means there's probably a promoter upstairs right about now freaking out," Luke grinned mischievously.

"Nah," Willie shook his head. "This is Hollywood, man. I'm sure he's being very professional."

As Willie's snicker faded into silence, Luke, Reggie and I decided to step away and leave Alex and Willie alone for a bit.

"You okay?" Luke asked, taking my hand.

"Yeah," I nodded confidently. "You know, as far as being dead goes."

Luke smiled, and that made me smile like an idiot.

"C'mon guys!" Reggie exclaimed. "I can't be a third wheel for everyone!"

"Don't worry," Luke said as he wrapped an arm around Reggie. "You'll always be our favourite third wheel."

"Besides," I said wrapping an arm around Reggie's other side. "Would you rather be a third wheel for us or for them?"

We all turned around as a unit to see Alex and Willie hugging.

"Definitely you guys," Reggie said. "You're basically an old couple who feed ducks at the park by now, but these guys are newly weds."

When Willie skated away, we made our way over to Alex.

"Alex, you alright, man?" Reggie asked.

"Yeah," Alex lied. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Well, thanks to Willie, Panic! At The Disco needs an opening band," Luke said.

"Then I guess someone up there needs to know we're available," Alex smirked.

———

We reappeared in the main office of the Orpheum where all the big decisions were made. We saw a woman with short blonde hair sitting at a desk and a man with a beard who was complaining angrily on the phone.

"Stop saying the bus drove itself!" The man began to slam the phone on the desk.

"Yeah, Willie was right," Reggie whispered. "This guy's a total pro."

"I think I'd make a good manager," I said, to which the guys all raised an eyebrow at me. "What? I can get angry."

"Yeah," Luke teased. "Like a mouse."

"And you handle stressful situations very well," Alex added with a heavy amount of sarcasm.

"Like a total pro," Reggie added.

"Shut up," I crossed my arms. "Okay, maybe I should stick to sound engineering."

"Alright boys, let the magic happen," Luke said, getting us back on track. "Alex, no dancing."

"Five, six, seven, eight," I counted.

Alex jumped into a pirouette and glided gracefully across the room. As elegantly as he could, he knocked over the pen holder on the blonde woman's desk.

"What?" The woman questioned as she bent over to pick up her pens.

We had to act fast. I went on the woman's laptop and pulled up the video of the band that Julie had posted on YouTube. I was really getting good at being in the future. Alex scribbled Julie's details onto a sticky note. Luke and Reggie watched as we worked.

We all watched as the video began to play and the woman sat up in her chair.

"Tasha! Get me CJ," The angry man demanded. "Tell him I need a band to open in three hours."

"Sure, but you might wanna check this out."

"Yes, Tasha!" I beamed.

"Somehow this video started playing on my laptop," Tasha explained. "It's got half a million hits in just two days."

"Who are they?" The man asked.

"They're a hologram band," Tasha replied. "They call themselves Julie And The Phantoms."

"Tell your friends," Reggie added.

"Where are they located?" The man asked.

"Our very own City of Angels."

"Book 'em!" The man exclaimed.

We all cheered.

"Sure, I just don't know how to ... " Tasha's words faded as she noticed the sticky note on her desk.

Julie And The Phantoms

818 - 555 - 0192

"Your handwriting is better than mine," Luke admitted.

"Luke," I ran my hand through his hair as I met his eyes. "A five year old would have better handwriting than you."