Chapter Two - Julie and The Phantoms

15 Minutes

There was a knock on the door and a small voice drifted into the room saying, "15 minutes!"

Julie's heart rate picked up quickly and she jumped out of her seat. "Okay!" She yelled back nervously.

"15 minutes?" She whisper-yelled at Flynn. "Oh my god, I'm gonna have a panic attack."

Flynn got up and put her arm around Julie's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "Okay, deep breaths. Reggie's probably almost back with Alex and Luke's gonna..." she paused, "I'm sure they'll know what to do with Luke."

Julie put her face in her hands. "Why would Nick send those flowers?"

"I'm sure he didn't know!"

"That makes no sense though! How come nothing happened to me?" Julie asked quietly. Her voice almost broke when she asked that. She looked over at Luke's helpless body and felt overwhelmed with guilt, tears forming in her eyes.

"Oh, no, no," Flynn said, pushing her back into the seat. "You are not about to cry over some ghost boy. He's already dead, Julie. Nothing is gonna change that. He's probably just knocked out for a bit or nervous as hell."

"I don't think nerves do that," Julie gestured in Luke's direction.

"Well, I can't see that so it's hard to tell, ya know?" Flynn half-smiled.

At that moment, Alex and Reggie popped back into the room.

"What the hell is happening?" Alex asked, rushing over to Luke.

"Oh thank god," Julie jumped out of her seat and explained everything as quickly as she could. "And now we have about 11 minutes til showtime."

Alex put his hand to his forehead and started pacing. "This has to be a joke," he said.

"Well, that's not helpful," Reggie sighed.

"How are we supposed to fix this?" Julie said, pointing her hands at Luke's contorted, pale face.

Alex stopped and stared at Luke. "I have no idea," he said quietly. "This sounds like a Caleb thing."

"Well, it wasn't Caleb. It was Nick." Julie threw her hands up in defeat. "That's it. We can't perform!"

"No," a strangled voice escaped Luke.

"What? Did he say something?" Flynn asked because Julie had gasped all of a sudden and turned in the direction where Luke was supposed to be.

"Yes," Julie answered her and Luke at the same time. She knelt on her knees by the couch and grabbed his hand, squeezing it gently.

"No, Julie," Luke said firmly. He opened his eyes and looked at her. "I feel better," he said, trying to lift his head but failing miserably.

Julie smiled at his effort. "That was cute," she said, rolling her eyes. "But quit it before you make it worse."

Luke reached his hand out and cupped Julie's face. "How could I possibly make this worse?"

Julie let out a small laugh. "There's ways."

"Gag," Alex said, watching them.

Julie burst out laughing, dislodging a tear from her eye. "Shut up," she said.

"I don't know what the hell is going on, but you got 5 minutes, girl. Is he any better?" Flynn asked from behind Julie.

"No," Julie said, looking into Luke's eyes. She reached out a hand to wipe a tear that had fallen from his eyes.

"Wait," Luke said. "Keep your hand there. I feel something."

"I'm sure you do," Reggie winked, laughed and elbowed Alex to hint at the joke.