𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 | Luke

Ghostly Conflict

      Olivia glanced at Julie, who returned the look of shock, and then they looked over to the boys, who froze. Carlos glanced over at the girls with narrowed eyes, walking in more. The girls watched intently, as he walked, and then tread slightly through Reggie's arm. Olivia didn't know, but she had let out a sigh. Carlos raised a brow as he stood in front of them. "Aren't you two, too old to be talking to ghosts?" He asked, crossing his arms.

      "He can see us." Reggie said, though it was his arm that was walked through.

       "No, he can't smart one." Olivia said, not even realizing she had slipped up. Her eyes widened, and if she wasn't so concerned about it looking like she was talking to nobody, she would have narrowed her eyes at Luke's smirking face.

      Carlos glanced behind himself, slowly dropping his arms down to his side. "What?" Olivia pressed her lips together, not even knowing what to say to that. "Uh- what do you want?" Julie asked, saving her from her second-hand embarrassment.

      "Maybe for you two to be normal, for starters. Stop being weird and come eat." Carlos answered, turning and walking back out the garage doors. Olivia shook her head. How was it possible that he couldn't see them, but her and Julie could? "He couldn't see you." Julie said slowly, reading her mind.

      "I- I mean that's usually how ghosts work." Alex replied, shrugging as if not surprised. "But we can. We can see you. As annoying as that has been." Olivia said, muttering the last part under her breath, though it seemed that Luke and Alex heard her and replied with narrowed eyes.

      Julie shook her head, walking towards the door and dragging Olivia with her. "It doesn't matter. I'm really sorry for what happened to you guys, but this isn't your studio anymore. You have to leave." She grumbled. Olivia's lips parted, and then she frowned. She kind of liked them. Plus, it wasn't everyday three ghosts appear in front of you, and only you can see them.

      "Come on Jules." She sighed, looking at the boys. They all had frowns on their faces, and their eyes started to pout. Julie shook her head immediately. "No, Liv. Let's just go eat." She said, turning for the door.

      "W-wait!" Luke called, and she stopped. His eyes looked between the two girls, and a weak smile curled onto his lips. "We didn't catch your names." He said, stepping forward.

      Olivia shoved her hands in her jacket pockets, tipping back on her heels. "Olivia." She said, raising her brows. She kind of hated how basic her name was at times. Luke smiled at her and then looked to Julie. "It's Julie." She shrugged and cocked her head forward in irritation.

      Before the boys could get another word out, Julie had already grabbed Olivia's arm and dragged her away from the studio, leaving the ghost band to the quiet of their old garage.

                     ____________________

       Olivia couldn't concentrate on the conversation at the table. She couldn't get the boys out of her mind. She had really met real ghosts. That had to be the most exciting thing to ever happen to her in her short fifteen years of life, though that wasn't exactly hard. She didn't know how Julie was so irritated with the idea of them staying in the studio. But then again, today had been awful for her.

       Olivia finally zoned back in as she heard everyone scrambling around. She shook out of her trance, realizing Julie's aunt was here. Her eyes widened as she turned to where they set of Julie's mom place mat, but it seemed they had already tidied it up.

      "Spaghetti. Again?" Julie's aunt asked from in the kitchen. Olivia pursed her lips, trying to hide the smile that was threatening to curl onto her face. She twirled the spaghetti with her fork, glimpsing at Julie, who returned the look.

"Yeah." Ray laughed.

      "That's too bad. I brought you my pasteles and arroz con pollo." Julie's aunt said, and her footsteps wandered back to the fridge.

      Olivia's eyes widened at the words coming out of her mouth. They rarely ever ate what Julie's aunt brought over. Well, she didn't. She would never admit this, but she was a picky eater. She liked eating the spaghetti everyday, even though it was starting to taste like nothing.

      "Thanks, tia. It smells great." Julie smiled, twisting to look at the kitchen.

      "You can have it tomorrow. I can't let you have leftovers every night. My sister would kill me, may she rest in peace." Julie's aunt said, wandering over to the dining table.

       She looked over at Olivia, smiling. "Oh, hello Olivia!" She greeted before noticing the empty spot on the table. "Oh... I see things here are going better." She smiled, and Olivia saw Julie raise her brows.

       "Actually, Julie has been cleaning out mom's studio. Of course, with Olivia's help." Ray said, patting Olivia's arm. She smiled before going back to picking at her food. They started talking again, but it was about them selling the house, and she didn't want to think any longer about Julie not being her neighbor anymore.

      Her eyes caught sight of something in the corner of her eye, and she flicked them over to the front door. They widened as the three boys walked through the door, looking around at all the stuff. Olivia felt herself grinning, which probably looked really weird but no one was paying attention. She reached her hand and shook Julie's arm, glimpsing over her shoulder at her.

      Julie finished chewing before looking over to where she was looking. Olivia felt her arm tense under her palm ever so slightly. The boys all looked at them; goofy grins plastering themselves on their faces. They all took strides towards the table, and the girls eyes widened. Olivia quickly whisked around, seeing Julie's mouth wide open, ready to scream. But she quickly slapped her hand over her mouth, which in the long run, probably was worse.

      Olivia blinked a few times, slowly glancing around the, now dead silent, table. She could see the boys frozen behind Ray, and their stupid faces. She totally would smack them if she could. "Uh- she had something on her face." Olivia stuttered, wiping her hand down Julie's face. Julie froze for a second before nodding quickly. "Yeah, she's a good friend." She went on, side hugging her. They plastered gritty smiles onto their faces as they looked around at everyone.

      "Right! I'm glad you girls have each other in these tough times!" Julie's aunt exclaimed, rubbing Julie's back. The girls laughed awkwardly, nodding.

It seemed Luke thought everything was good because he wandered up to the table, leaning down. "Hey Julie, I really like what you guys did with the place." He smirked. Olivia leant back in her chair, crossing her arms in amusement at the look on Julie's face. "You shouldn't be here." She scoffed, forgetting herself. Olivia bit her lip in attempt to keep her laugh sealed.

      "Oh, I'm just here to help, mija." Julie's aunt said. Luke stumbled back from the table, looking to Olivia with wide eyes. Olivia shook her head at all three of them, sitting up in her chair again. She raised her right arm up, and the boys huddled together, watching intently as she brought her other hand up. Her left hand moved in a circle like she was winding something up, and her right hand's middle finger began to raise slowly until it extended all the way up and a pursed smile formed on her lips.

      The boys all nodded immediately, disappearing from the house. "Olivia!" Ray said suddenly, making her jump. Her hands dropped to her sides quickly as she whipped her head to him. "What have I told you about the bad language!"

      Suddenly, everything changed from peaceful to fighting. About Olivia's foul language, and Julie's boot from the music program. After everything settled down, and Julie's aunt had left, the next thing started. Loud, rock music being played in the garage.

Olivia rolled her eyes, and Julie grumbled. "We must have left the stereo on in the garage." Julie said, standing from the table. Olivia did the same and the girls quickly left the house. Could they not get one break with these guys?