"oh pizza! man, i missed you." luke states, taking another bite of his last piece. there was no food left other than what was in the ghosts hands.
"reg, are you kissing that meatball sub?" alex asks as sydney took the last bite of her burger.
"that's what you do with the things you love." he defends, making the others chuckle slightly. sydney grabbed the pizza from lukes hand and tore it in half, giving one of the pieces back to him. he shook his head at her with an amused grin and let out a small chuckle as they each took another bite.
"i take it you're all enjoying the feast?" Caleb's voice drew their attentions to the stage and the audience began to cheer. "so many delicious sights, so many tantalizingly sounds. but, your eyes still hunger for more. something sweet, something savoury." he walked to the side of the stage, heading up the steps on to the piano. "how many newcomers do we have in the club tonight?" he asks, and sydney threw her hand in the air along with the other boys. "ladies, let's show our guests how we do dessert."
A one, two, three, four
the music kicked back in and dancers filled the room again. caleb began scatting along with the music and all four ghosts felt themselves leaning in, getting sucked back into the music.
Watch me make a move
Watch me make a move, yeah
(What you gonna do, what you gonna do?)
Watch me make a move
Watch me make a move, oh
(What you gonna do, what you gonna do?)
the ghosts clapped and sang along as a few dancers surrounded their table. they were all bouncing to the music with wide smiles.
I say, watch me make a move
Watch me make a move, yeah
(What you gonna do, what you gonna do?)
Watch me make a move
Best you ever new, hey, yeah
willie hopped up from his chair to run to the middle of the room and began dancing with them. alex's jaw dropped as he watched in amazement, the other three cheering willie on.
Life is good on the other side of Hollywood
Life is good on the other side of Hollywood
So welcome to the brotherhood
Where you won't be misunderstood
Life is good on the other side of Hollywood
willie ran back up to their table and grabbed alex's hand, pulling him up from his seat. sydney, luke, and reggie followed in suit, rising up from their seats and hopping over chairs to stand in front of the table.
sydney took a small step back as a dancer approached them and began dancing with the boys, kicking her leg in the air. reggies eyes widened and he froze as she danced on him. she spun away and reggie nearly collapsed to the ground, if not for alex and luke catching him. sydney rolled her eyes slightly.
caleb came up to them and spun twin dancers towards luke and reggie, and sydney almost let out a small scoff at how quickly reggie wrapped his arms around her.
he turned to sydney and smiled at her, taking a step to the side and revealing a rather handsome dancer standing behind him. the dancer held out his hand for her, and as soon as sydney placed her hand in his, he spun her to the middle of the dancer floor and began dancing with her. she didn't have to think about it, him and the music were guiding her movements.
Life is good on the other side of Hollywood
Life is good on the other side of Hollywood
So welcome to the brotherhood
Where you won't be misunderstood
Life is good on the other side of Hollywood
Of Hollywood, of Hollywood
Ain't it something
the dancer dipped sydney as the song finished before spinning her back up, and she began clapping and cheering with the rest of the crowd.
the giant clock on the wall chimed midnight, sending a ringing throughout the room.
"oh, the haunting hour is upon us!" caleb announces, and the room is filled with quiet 'ooh!'s before the music builds again.
it took a moment for it to register in her brain, but it suddenly clicked when sydney and luke locked eyes, both of them remembering at the same time.
"oh my god, julie!" she says quickly, stopping dancing abruptly. "i'm sorry, i gotta go." she told him quickly, running towards where her brother and reggie were standing.
"dude we lost track of time!" luke taps reggie's shoulder aggressively.
"not right now, man!" the dark hair boy ignored him to focus on his dancer. sydney rolled her eyes and let out a huff of annoyance. luke sighed and wrapped his arms around reggie, lifting him off the ground and spinning him away from the girl. "hey! what the-"
"we were supposed to be at julie's school at nine!" luke reminds him harshly and reggies face fell.
"oh shoot, that's right." he says, his eyes wide. "maybe we can still make it! where's alex?"
"up here!" alex's voice came from above them.
"we forgot-"
"julie, i know." he nods. "this place is- one sec," he starts, swinging his legs around in an attempt to stop himself from spinning. "this place is some kind of time warp." he states when he finally spins back to face them.
"poof down here bro, we gotta get going." luke tells him quickly, reggie and sydney nodding beside him.
alex appeared beside them and the four sprinted towards the door, but caleb poofed in the way to stop them.
"hey, hey, what's the rush?" he asks, stopping them in their tracks. "the party's just getting started, and you have an eternity, after all." he says with a grin.
"you know that girl that can see us? we sort of bailed on her." reggie explains. "see there's this dance at her school tonight, and she's got this friend flynn who's like a super cool dj, like-" he attempted to make record scratching noises and the other three sigh in annoyance.
"okay, i don't think he has time to hear the story." alex stops him.
"basically, we're late for a gig." sydney says, her voice rushed.
"but what about my offer?" caleb questions, looking to each of the ghosts.
"it's very cool of you Mr Covington," luke starts. "but like i said, we already have a-"
"a band of your own, i understand." caleb stops him and the four nod slightly, beginning to step away from him. "oh! if you ever want to come back and fix that little problem with your friend, the hollywood ghost club is always open!" he states, and they grin.
"yeah, man, we'd love to come back." luke says, the others nodding in agreement.
"ah! music to my ears." he smiles widely. he held his hand out and each of them shook it, a small sizzling sound coming from their wrists. the four looked down to see a small purple club logo imprinted in their skin, before it faded into them. "oh, it's just a little club stamp." caleb assures them. "until next time." he nods goodbye.
sydney waved slightly as her and luke quickly walked past him, rushing to the door, reggie and alex following close behind.
~*~
when they finally got to the school, the four ghosts sprinted to the gymnasium where the dance would be. it was oddly silent for a school that should be bustling with students, and sydney felt a small knot begin to form in her stomach.
"julie! we are ready to rock this dance!" reggie shouts as they run in. "which is, clearly over." he trails off, noticing the empty gym.
sydney looked around the room, her eyes eventually landing on julie, who was standing up from the floor.
"look, we are so, so sorry that we bailed on you." luke says quickly, stepping closer to her.
"yeah, i mean, the night really got away from us." alex explains.
"and the twins." reggie adds, making luke slap him on the arm and sydney rolled her eyes at him.
"just please tell me it had nothing to do with you getting back at carries dad?" julie asks them, a slightly desperate look in her eyes.
the four ghosts looked at each other, all squeaking out bleak responses denying the claim.
"seriously? you're lying to me?" julie questions.
"okay look, it was something we needed to do." sydney attempts to explain, taking a step forward to stand beside luke.
"but we'll do whatever it takes." luke tells her quickly. "we'll play the next-"
"what?" julie cuts him off. "another dance where you can bail on me and make me look like a fool? save it." she shook her head at them. "you know what really sucks? our songs were good. and all four of you knew what i've been through and how tough it's been for me to play again, and then you do this?" she looked around at each ghost.
they all wanted to say something, but they were speechless. they couldn't think of anything to say that would make this situation better.
"bands don't do that to each other." julie states. "friends don't do that to each other." sydney felt like she had been punched in the gut. julie was right, they had let her down and that's not something friends are supposed to do. "this was a mistake." she adds, making sydney's eyes widen slightly.
"you mean the school dance, right?" luke asks quickly and julie shook her head.
"no, i mean joining a band with you guys." she tells them sharply before running out of the gym.
"julie, julie!" luke called after her, but she ignore him and kept running until she disappeared from their sight.
"woah, if julie's not in the band then.." reggie starts, looking around at the others.
"then there is no band." luke finishes, looking at sydney, who was staring at the floor sadly.
suddenly all four ghosts were knocked back by a painful jolt to the chest, making them all groan in pain.
"what was that?" sydney asks quickly, looking at the boys with slight panic.
"it felt like we were dying all over again." reggie mumbles, rubbing his chest where the jolt had struck.
"how can we die, if we're already dead?" luke questions slowly, though no one had an answer.
~*~
when they returned to the studio, none of the ghosts spoke for a while. they were all feeling too guilty to say anything. what was there to say? the band was over, which meant they had nothing anymore.
sydney was sitting on the couch beside luke, bouncing her leg rapidly from anxiousness and playing with a loose thread on the sleeve of reggies flannel, which she was still wearing. she occasionally glanced to the boys, who were all sitting sombrely around her. it seemed reggie's eyes were staying on her, as every time she looked at him he was already looking back at her.
she was so stressed that she almost felt like she was going to be sick, or maybe that was all the food she had eaten tonight. either way, her head was spinning.
without a word, she rose from the couch and walked out of the studio, all the boys looking at her in confusion. she had only made it a few steps up the path when luke came running out of the studio after her.
he didn't say anything, he just hurried slightly to walk beside her. she was glad he didn't speak, she wouldn't know what to say back. sydney stared at her feet as she walked, feeling lukes eyes on her occasionally.
"you know, i don't blame her." sydney spoke eventually, and luke looked at her with a confused expression. "i wouldn't want to be in a band with us either, after tonight." she says quietly. she heard luke let out a small sigh. he didn't respond to her comment, instead he changed the topic.
"what did you mean tonight? when you said, i made sure that nothing was happening?" he asks timidly and this time sydney sighed. she regretted how she phrased it, especially now that she knew there was no way out of the conversation.
"oh, that." she says quietly and luke nods. "it's not a big deal. you can just forget about it." she says, hoping that would be the end of it.
luke stopped walking and grabbed her hand, turning her to face him. he had a serious look on his face as he watched her for a moment.
"i know it's been a weird few weeks, but you can still talk to me sydney, about anything." he reminds her. he had always been the person she went to with her problems, luke somehow always knew what to say to make her feel better. she nodded hesitantly and took a breath.
"promise you won't get mad at me?" she asks and he nods, a slightly worried look in his eyes now. "okay, basically, i kind of have feelings for reggie." she admits, looking down. luke didn't respond, he could tell there was more to the story. "and he said he likes me too. and we kissed."
"syd," luke starts slowly, and she shook her head, quickly looking back up at him.
"you don't have to worry about it though." she tells him. "he made it pretty clear that nothing will happen." she says, a small amount of bitterness in her tone.
"what do you mean?" luke asks, concern in his voice. he didn't like the idea of her being with any of his friends, but he hated to think that he was part of the reason she was unhappy.
"i don't really know. he told me he liked me and then immediately said that he could never be with me." she says, her heart squeezing slightly. she tried to push down the ache that was growing in her chest, and tried to fight off the small layer of tears forming in her eyes.
she didn't want to feel this way, she felt stupid for being so upset over this. but she couldn't help it, she had liked reggie for so long, and then he finally told her he reciprocated the feelings, only for him to shut down the possibility of anything happening.
luke noticed her getting more upset talking about it and felt a small amount of rage grow inside him. he hated seeing sydney upset, and he hated even more that it was because of one of his friends.
sydney quickly noticed the anger behind his eyes and shook her head at him.
"luke, you promised you wouldn't get mad." she reminds him and luke shook his head, spinning and beginning to walk back towards the house. "luke!" she chases after him, catching up to his speed walking.
"i promised i wouldn't get mad at you." he corrects. "i didn't say anything about that dumb-ass." he adds and sydney rolls her eyes slightly.
"he's not a dumb-ass." she defends weakly, tripping over her feet slightly as she attempted to keep up with him.
"anyone who hurts my sister is a dumb-ass who's asking to get their teeth knocked in." luke states sharply and sydney's eyes widened as he pushed open the gate to the path to the studio.
"what?!" she questions quickly, grabbing his arm to stop him from walking. "you can't beat him up!" she whisper-yells, pausing outside the door.
"i'm not going to beat him up." luke says, some annoyance in his voice. "one solid punch to the jaw should do the trick."
"luke," she starts, shaking her head at him.
"sydney." he looks at her seriously. "he hurt you, i'm not okay with that." he tells her surely and sydney sighs.
"i know," she looked down breifly. "just please don't punch him." she begs, a slightly desperate look in her eyes. luke looked at her for a moment before nodding hesitantly.
he took a deep breath and walked through the door, sydney close behind him. alex and reggie shot to their feet, both instantly noticing the anger in luke.
"what's going on?" reggie asks, stepping closer to the two siblings.
before anyone could say anything else, luke step forward and decked reggie in the jaw, making sydney's eyes widen as she gasped.
"luke!" she shouts. "you just agreed not to punch him?!" she reminds her brother, who turned back to her and shrugged.
"i lied." he states sharply and sydney shook her head at him. she looked to reggie, who was holding his face and looking at them with confusion.
"what was that?" alex asks quickly, walking over to reggie, who looked fine. well, he looked like he was in pain but nothing was bleeding or broken, so he was more or less fine.
"that was what happens when you hurt my sister." luke explains and reggie and alex's heads shot to sydney, who avoided their eyes awkwardly.
"you told him?" reggie questions, his voice slightly muffled through his hands still holding his face.
"you're seriously trying to pass the blame to her?" luke asks quickly, staring at the dark haired boy in disbelief.
"no! no, i just mean, i thought," reggie stutters, his eyes shooting back and forth between the two siblings. "i thought you didn't want me to date her?" he asks in confusion.
"i didn't want you to date her because i didn't want you to hurt her!" luke tells him quickly. "kissing her and then telling her you can't be together? how dumb are you?"
reggie looked to sydney with slight desperation in his eyes, and she looked to her brother and alex. all three boys were staring at her, none of them looking happy. so much had already happened tonight and she felt like she was only making it worse.
sydney didn't know what to say, her chest was aching and she felt her breathing speed up.
"i'm sorry." she says quietly, quickly spinning on her heels and running out of the studio. she could barely see straight as she walked to the street, moving quickly to put as much space as she could between her and the boys.
"sydney, wait up." alex called from behind her, jogging slightly to catch up with her. he grabbed her arm to stop her and spun her to look at him. he didn't say anything, he just pulled her into a hug and sydney let out a sigh. "are you okay?" he asks softly, pulling away from the hug.
"no." she admits, shaking her head slightly. "i just ruined everything. and now they're both pissed at me." she looks down to her feet.
"luke just needs some time to calm down." alex assures her, setting a hand on her shoulder. "and reggie could never be mad at you." he says with a small grin, and sydney tried to fight off a smile that wanted to form on her face.
"are you sure?" she asks timidly, looking back up at him. she wanted to believe him, but right now all she could think about is how much she messed up. she shouldn't have kissed reggie in the first place, and she definitely shouldn't have told luke about it.
"i'm sure." alex nods. sydney smiled slightly and nodded back, finally starting to feel a bit better. "how about for tonight, you and i go hang out at the beach for the night, like old times?" he wraps his arm around her, beginning to walk again.
when they were still alive, the two would meet at the beach at night if one of them didn't want to be at home. they started doing it especially often after alex came out, and luke moved out. neither of them wanted to be home very often after that.
"and tomorrow we'll go back to the studio, and they'll be back to normal." alex adds. "at least, as normal as those two can get." he jokes, and sydney let out a small chuckle, nodding as they walked to the beach.
~*~