[Stand Tall]
Below the Orpheum sign, the marquee read 'PANIC! AT THE DISCO DOWNSLIDE'.
Odette tilted her head, looking at the sign. "Panic! at the Disco. That's an odd name."
"Don't worry, guys," Alex said. "Willie said he'd get us on the marquee." The four walked down the street.
"This is gonna work, right?" Reggie asked.
"It has to," Luke replied as they were hit by another jolt.
Odette groaned. "It's getting worse, boys."
Willie appeared behind them and asked, "Hey, are you guys okay?"
They held their ribs and Odette spat, "We're fantastic. Thanks for asking."
Alex shot her a look before saying, "Yeah. It's nothing we haven't felt before. How'd it go?"
"When the opening band wakes up, they're gonna find their bus 200 miles outside of Vegas." He turned with a Downslide tour jacket. "With no chance of getting back in time."
Willie and Luke did a handshake and Reggie and Odette high-fived.
"And that means there's probably a promoter upstairs right about - now freaking out," Luke said.
"Nah, this is Hollywood, man," Willie replied. "I bet he's being very professional."
---
The promoter slammed the phone a few times. "What do you mean the bus drove itself? Buses don't just drive themselves!"
---
Luke, Odette and Reggie walked away from Alex and Willie.
"I know... how much you're risking. Thank you, Willie," Alex said.
Willie smiled. "I told you. I'd do anything for you."
Alex breathed heavily and hugged Willie tightly, then pulled away and cleared his throat. "All right. You, uh... You'd better get out of here before Caleb catches you with us."
"Yeah. I'll see you around, hot dog." He chuckled and skated away.
"Alex, you all right, man?" Reggie asked.
"Yeah," Alex replied. "Yeah, I'm okay."
The ghosts smiled and Luke said, "Well, thanks to Willie, Panic! at the Disco needs an opening band."
"Then I guess someone up there needs to let them know we're available."
---
"No," a man said. "No, stop saying the bus drove off." He hit his phone on the desk.
"Yeah. Willie was right," Reggie said. "This guy is a total pro."
"All right, guys," Luke stated. "Let the magic happen. Alex, no dancing."
Alex chasséd and pirouetted his way to the desk and smacked something off the desk. The woman went to pick it up and they wrote their number on a piece of paper and typed their name into her computer playing a video of them.
"She's coming," Reggie and Odette said as they played the video.
Edge of Great began to play and the man yelled, "Tasha! Get me CJ! Tell him I need a band to open in three hours."
"Sure," Tasha replied, "but you might want to check this out."
"What? I'll call you back." He stood.
"Somehow this video started playing on my laptop. It's got half a million hits in just two days."
"Who are they?"
"They're a hologram band. They call themselves Julie and the Phantoms."
Reggie and Odette smirked as they said, "Tell your friends."
"Where are they located?" the man asked.
"Our very own City of Angels," Tasha replied with a smile.
"Book 'em!" The ghosts jumped in excitement.
"Sure, I just don't know how to-" She looked around as she picked up her notebook to see their number and looked around in confusion.
"Your handwriting is better than mine!" Luke commented, angrily pouting.
"Definitely. Yeah," Alex said with a smile.
---
Carlos was sitting in a rocking chair on his iPad as he said, "I'm telling you, tia, it was a win-win. The ghost is gone, and me and Dad got a killer French dip sandwich." He held up the recipe card.
"But how do you know the ghost is really gone?" Victoria asked.
Carlos leaned his head back. "I don't wanna get emotional, but I felt something when I took that last bite. Like his tortured spirit was set free."
"You sure it wasn't one of your little tummy toots?"
Carlos lifted his had slightly. "I don't tummy toot! I'm a ghost hunter now. I'm starting a channel called "Carlos the Ghost Toaster.""
"I like it." Carlos set down the recipe card. "Mijo, the ghost." Carlos noticed the album cover and picked it up. He noticed a picture of Odette with the band and picked it up. "Did you check the closet upstairs?"
Carlos sat up. "Hold on a second, tia." He looked at the album cover and the picture, seeing Alex, Bobby, Luke and Reggie and Odette and the band in the picture. "I knew it. Ghosts. Tia, I gotta go."
"Carlos..." She was cut off as Carlos ended the call.
---
A door closed as Carrie sat in the kitchen while watching something on her laptop.
Trevor sighed.
Julie sang, 🎶...tripping on the now.🎶
Trevor groaned and pulled off his sunglasses.
🎶What is lost can be found...🎶
"Hey, baby," Trevor greeted.
"Hey," Carrie replied with a small wave.
Trevor exhaled sharply and climbed a step.
🎶And like a rubber ball...🎶
"What is that?" Trevor asked.
🎶We come bouncing back...🎶
"Sounds good." He walked towards his daughter to get a closer look at the video playing.
"Please don't say that," Carrie replied.
🎶...inside of us...🎶
Trevor chuckled and pointed at the screen. "Is that -- Is that Julie?"
"Yeah. She has a band with those guys. Of course she needed a gimmick. They're holograms. And somehow, because the world hates me, they're playing the Orpheum tonight."
🎶...crazy, our best is yet unknown🎶
Trevor's eyes widened as he watched his deceased bandmates, his daughter's old friend, and his the girl he used to like perform.
🎶That this moment is ours to own...🎶
"How is that even possible?" Trevor wondered.
Carrie glanced at her father. "I know, right?"
🎶...standing on the edge of great...🎶
Trevor stood straighter and pulled out his phone.
He dialed a number and a voice on the other line said, "Yeah? Hello? What's up, dude?"
"It's Trevor," Trevor said. "Get me into the Orpheum tonight."
"You got it."
He pointed to Carrie. "Plus one."
Carrie turned as her father began walking upstairs and asked, "Why do you hate me too?"
Trevor pointed to her. "Only love, baby." He turned away and darted up the stairs. "Only love."
Carrie huffed and slammed her laptop shut.
---
The four popped into the garage as Julie paced.
"Oh my gosh!" Julie cried. "What took you guys so long? Did Willie do it? Did you talk to them? Did they watch? Did they like us? Are we playing? Someone answer me! Why is no one talking?"
Odette held her hands up in front of her chest. "Breathe, Julie."
"Whoa!" Reggie exclaimed. "That's a lot of questions! Luke, why don't you take this one."
Odette gestured to the couch. "Sit down."
"It's fine," Luke said. "Everything is fine."
Julie sat on the couch.
The ghosts knelt next to the coffee table.
"Yeah, you should be getting a call right now," Alex told Julie, gesturing to her phone which received nothing.
"Nice try," Odette commented.
Alex shot her a look before saying, "Okay... right now!" Julie's phone rang and everyone cheered.
"Go!" the ghosts yelled.
Julie answered. "Oh, um, hello?"
"Hello. This is Tasha from the Orpheum in Hollywood. Is this Julie of Julie and the Phantoms?"
They all jumped up and down in excitement. Odette hopped onto Reggie's back and they all paused as Odette slid off his back and planted her feet on the ground.
"Yes it is," Julie replied.
"Hi. Are you available to open for us tonight?"
"Yeah. totally."
The boys lifted Alex into the air like in Dirty Dancing.
"Thank you so much!" Julie exclaimed, watching the boys holding Alex. "We're playing the Orpheum, baby!"
"Oh, yeah!" Odette cried.
"I'm swimming!" Alex exclaimed.
---
"Julie and I were thinking we start with Stand Tall," Luke said, circling something on a clipboard.
"Sure," Alex agreed.
Odette and Reggie shrugged. "Sounds good."
Luke frowned. "Sounds good? Dude, Odette, wake up! I wanna hear it "sounds awesome". I know this isn't how we wanted things to turn out, but we gotta be all in tonight."
"We get it, but it's hard," Reggie replied. "Do we even know what's on the other side when we cross over?"
Odette sighed. "That's what's scaring me. Can we all still hang together? What happens with me and Reggie?"
"You guys are the only family I have."
Alex nodded. "Yeah. I don't know what's gonna happen either, but it's not like we have a choice. Hmm."
Another jolt hit them, causing them to stumble back, and Odette fell to the floor with a pained groan. Reggie tried to pull her up, but she pushed him away.
Reggie sighed. "I'm pretty sure we do." They coughed and groaned in pain. "And it rhymes with the Hollywood Ghost Club."
"Are you ready?" Julie asked as the four turned.
"Yeah. We just got rocked pretty hard by those jolt things," Alex told her as they walked up.
"Pretty sure I ghost-peed," Reggie added, pulling up Odette who, the second time, accepted his help.
"But we're fine," Luke reassured.
Odette frowned. "We're good. Julie, you okay?"
"Actually, guys, I'm a little nervous," Julie admitted as she pulled Luke to the side.
Outside, Carlos held up the phone to the garage door and said, "That's my sister having an actual conversation with her ghost band. Let's listen in." He brought the phone closer to the door.
"Luke, uh, can I talk to you for a second?" Julie asked.
"Yeah," Luke replied as he walked closer to her.
Julie set her outfit to hang on the door and Carlos moved the phone back slightly.
The teen tucked her hair back and stood close to Luke as she looked up at him.
Luke smiled at her and asked, "What?"
"Um... Can you do me a favor?" Julie inquired.
"Anything, Julie. You know that."
Julie glanced down a moment. "When you cross over, if... if you happen to see my mom," Carlos was still listening, "can you tell her I love her... and... thank her for bringing you to me?"
Luke nodded. "Yeah, I will."
Julie smiled and Carlos put his phone away as he thought about the conversation he'd just heard, despite it being one-sided.
Luke smirked slightly as he asked, "Band circle?"
"Yeah," Julie agreed.
Reggie pulled Odette into a desperate hug. If they were going to disappear, he was going to spend his last moments holding the only girl who had his heart.