third person
IT WAS safe to say Julie was stressed. Florence was supposed to be at the Orpheum sometime over an hour ago along with the guys, but there has been no sight of them. And every time Julie would call her phone would just ring and ring until it went to voicemail.
"Flipping your phone over every three seconds won't make them get here any faster." Flynn hums, not seeming as worried as Julie is when she speaks, but little does she know that Flynn is silently panicking, glancing at the door every few seconds hoping Florence will come in. And as Flynn speaks, Julie anxiously bounces her leg up and down from where she is seated.
"I know," Julie mumbles flipping her phone over once again and seeing that there is still no notifications she sighs. Though, what does catch her attention is the time displayed on her screen.
Julie and the Phantoms is going to go on very soon, and the thought of having to go on stage alone makes Julie feel like she'll throw up once again as what happened in the car ride here earlier.
Sighing, Julie thinks back to when she had first gotten here and when Flynn eventually showed up and Julie thought for a split second that maybe Florence had gotten a ride with Flynn and that the guys would be right behind her. But when Flynn came in alone the frown on Julie's face intensified along with the worry that is still bubbling in her chest. Where were they?
Meanwhile, Florence was wondering that exact same thing. One moment she was in the studio and the next thing she knows she's in a strange place with no one around her.
Florence knows that none of the guys had done their ghost teleportation to her because if they did then they would be with her. But that is to be added onto her list of questions that seems to be growing by the second because when she looks down her eyes widen.
A dress that is not the one Julie had picked out for her to wear to the Orpheum is hugging her body that makes her tug at the sides at how uncomfortable the fabric makes her.
Once she finished tugging on her dress-which did nothing-Florence looks around where she is. The faint sound of music can be heard from the other side of the wall.
As Florence continues to look around in curiosity and panic, voices from around the corner catch her attention. She whispers under breath hoping that it will be the guys as she starts walking towards the voices. Though when she gets there she stops in her tracks.
The guys are there, but they aren't alone. None of them had seem to have noticed her entrance because the three guys are too entranced in conversation with the man standing in front of them. And the one standing in front of them is the man who had brought them all to the place, and Florence knows this by the look on each boys face and the clothing the tall man is wearing. Caleb.
Florence doesn't know whether or not she should just stay standing where she is and try to find a possible exit out of this place she knows will be a living hell, or go up to the guys.
She knows that the first one is most likely the better option because she knows that Julie and the Phantoms is soon going to open for Panic! At The Disco. But she also knows that she shouldn't leave this place without the guys because the band is Julie and the Phantoms, not Julie and Florence.
Though it seems her time is cut short of making a decision because she's knocked to the floor in pain, a groan falling from her lips as she hits the ground.
This fall doesn't seem to go unnoticed by the ghosts that were talking in front of her because now she's being hauled up by a hand on her bicep, though she can't seem to register herself being pulled up because of the pain still very much evident in her chest.
"Ah, yes! So nice of you to finally join us, Florence." Caleb claps and when Florence looks up she sees a grin on his face that she wants nothing more to slap off-if she had the energy to do so that is.
The hand the had pulled her up from the ground is no longer on her arm, but rather resting on her back and looking up her eyes meet with the hazel eyes that would usually melt her heart, but the pain overpowers that feeling.
"As I was saying boys. Everything you want is here," Caleb explains motioning to Florence as he does so.
"This place is a total hellhole." Florence mumbles-choosing to ignore the pain in her chest-and if Caleb had heard her then he chose to ignore the comment.
"And on my stage, you don't vanish when the music stops. You soak in the applause for as long as you want. The connection that you will feel with that audience will be like no other. I promise." The magician continues and Florence narrows her eyes at the man as he steps up and fixes Luke's tie, who still has his hand on Florence's back.
The crowd cheering catches Florence's attention as she moves her eyes away from Caleb to behind him where the opening to the stage is.
"Oh! Shh. Do you hear that? They're waiting for you," Caleb says, dragging Florence's attention away from the stage back to Caleb who stands in front of the three ghosts and girl with a grin.
Florence is about to open her mouth to say something, but is automatically cut off when another burst of pain explodes in her chest. The three ghosts behind her feeling the same because of the loss of contact on her back and the groans coming from all of them.
"That one looked like it hurt," Caleb tells the four with mock sympathy and an involuntary scoff escapes Florence's lips causing the magicians attention to snap to the girl who is straightening herself back up from after the shock. "Have another comment you want to make?" Caleb asks his eyes directly meeting with Florence and it takes everything in her not to shrink back.
"No, please. Carry on with your nonsense-" her sentence is cut short when a hand cups over her mouth.
Looking up, Florence's eyes meet with Alex's blue ones, him shaking his head. "Don't finish that sentence," Alex mumbles to Florence, and she lets out a huff as he takes his hand off her mouth.
Though when she looks back up to the man in front of them she's glad Alex had shut her up because just by the look of annoyance on his face directed to her she takes a small step back.
With a clear of his throat Caleb continues on what he was saying. "Now, let me remind you, you don't know if playing the Orpheum is your unfinished business. Do you really have the time to make that mistake?" Caleb questions and he looks towards Florence for a second-who has multiple different emotions running through her-with a grin, knowing that she doesn't have the option of unfinished business. "I suggest you accept my offer, because the clock is ticking."
As if on sync with his words another jolt strikes the four of them, everyone stumbling back from the shock. A hand catching Florence's arm once again to make sure she doesn't fall and she doesn't even need to look back to know that, that person is Luke.
"Ouch," Caleb grimaces, but Florence can tell from a mile away that it's mocking. "You know where to find me." Caleb hums before going to the stage.
Right as Caleb goes onto stage, Florence doesn't listen to what he's telling to the audience and instead turns toward the three guys behind her.
"You guys need to go to Julie." Florence tells them, cutting straight to the point, as well as glancing back at the stage every-so-often, scared that Caleb might be listening into her conversation.
"Same goes for you," Luke says but Florence is already shaking my head.
"I don't know if you can tell, but I'm not exactly a ghost. I can't teleport out of here, but you guys can." Florence explains and now it's Luke's turn to shake his head, stepping up.
"I'm not leaving here without you." Luke shakes his head and Reggie speaks up.
"Neither are we." Reggie says with a small smile, gesturing to him and Alex.
"Yeah, Florence. You're apart of the band too, we're not just going to leave you." Alex steps up and a sigh escapes Florence's lips.
Though before she can say anything her eyes widen as drumsticks appear in Alex's hands, and before she knows it he's gone.
"Alex! Show me what you've got!"
Florence, turning around towards the stage, she watches with a shocked expression as Alex plays on stage as Caleb sings.
"Reggie! Swing it, baby."
Now Reggie is gone from behind Florence in a flash, and panic starts to build up in her chest. What's going on?
"Now, Luke, yeah."
Turning her head towards Luke as soon as the words leave Calebs mouth she watches as he tries to fight whatever it is Caleb is doing to the boys, but in the end he gets all three of them on stage, a stressed hand now running through Florence's hair.
Her heart is racing as she watches the guys perform on stage. This was not how today was supposed to go. Julie and the Phantoms was going to perform at the Orpheum, the guys would cross-over, and Florence was prepared to accept whatever fate these jolts were going to lead her to.
Caleb continues singing until the song nears a close, but the guys don't stop their playing. And as it ends something clicks in Florence's mind, but before she goes racing off the side of the stage she looks towards the guys once more. All of them sharing looks with one another before her eyes connect with the boy who has captured her heart at such a speed that it almost scared her.
The two speak with their eyes for quite a few seconds, careful to not making it known to Caleb what's going on. Florence looks at the boys and mouths 'go' when all the heads are turned towards her. She gives them each a smile and small nod, when she notices their reluctant looks hoping that it will help them lean towards her words, before she's running off from the side of the stage
florence's pov
I quickly run down the steps that lead to where the audience is, careful not to trip in the heels that also seemed to have appeared on my feet when I was brought here. Heels that I want nothing more then to throw out a window from the blisters I could feel forming.
But I push my aching feet to the back of my mind as I shove through the audience looking for a particular boy with long hair. I spare a look behind me as I do so and I notice Alex gone from stage and I smile slightly to myself as I turn myself back around.
My head whipping around in multiple directions as I scan the audience until I reach the very back where very few people are, and earning myself a few odd glances. Where is he?
As if he had heard my question running through my head I feel a hand grab onto my wrist and pull me backwards.
With a lot of stumbling the hand drags me into a hallway, empty of any anyone and anything. And once the hand lets go I look up to see the worried and confused eyes of Willie looking down at me.
"What are you doing here?" Willie asks in a whisper-like tone, looking behind me to make sure no one is there as he speaks.
"Caleb. He-um . . . he came to Julie's studio and basically kidnapped the guys and I to here, but I don't really have time for a story time. I need to get to the Orpheum." I explain in a rush. "I promised a friend, and made an unsaid promise to three others that I would be there. Just-please, Willie. Can you, I don't know, possibly do that weird ghost teleportation thing and bring me there?"
Willie just stares at me as if he's debating something, and as I wait for his reply I start to anxiously play with my fingers, looking down as I do so that I don't notice the nodding of Willie's head.
"Okay," he says with a small smile and I snap my head up when I hear him answer. A smile takes over my features, and before I can even process it I'm pulling the boy in front of me into a quick hug.
"Okay," I repeat as I pull away and with a hand holding onto my bicep he looks at me once more as if asking if I'm sure. Quickly nodding back to him with reassurance I'm no longer in the abandoned hallway but instead in a different hall. The Orpheum.
"If you walk straight you should get directly to the stage." Willie tells me, pointing in front of me as he does so. I can hear the sound of Julie singing and the band playing in the distance as I nod to what Willie is saying.
"Thank you," I tell him with a smile and he nods with a small one back.
"Good luck," he tells me before he's gone. Once he's gone I take a deep breath before turning around and almost running towards the stage.
The outfit that Caleb had put me in still on my body as I make my ways to stage, but I make sure to fix up the dress no matter how much I want to burn it before I round a corner to where I can see Flynn and a guy standing next to her, one who I assume is in charge of this.
"Am I too late?" I question and Flynn jumps slightly most likely not suspecting someone to be back here. When she turns around she looks at me as if I'm not real, scanning me up and down, before pulling me into a bone crushing hug.
Once she pulls away I don't even have anytime to process anything before a microphone is being pushed into my hands, and with a smile Flynn steps aside for me to go onto stage, not wasting any time.
Sending her one back she gives me a thumbs up, and I take a deep breath before putting the microphone to my lips and stepping onto stage.
"Stand tall."
I sing at the same time Julie does, walking out onto stage. Julie immediately turns her head towards where I am at the sound of another voice, the guys seeming just as shocked at the sound of my voice but quickly it faded in a smile.
I send a smile to each of them before going back to the performance we're doing. I almost want to cry at the moment. I made it. I made it before the show had ended, and I'm not stuck at the old fashioned club-looking place Caleb had taken the guys and I to.
Now it comes to the part that's going to hurt the most. Goodbye. The part I was dreading since we booked the gig, and as 'Stand Tall' comes to a close I have to bite the inside of my cheek to keep myself from crying. Though as I look at the three guys as the five of us line up at the end of the stage it makes it harder and harder.
What's even worse is that I can't hug any of them to say goodbye, I can't squeeze Luke's hand that hovers over mine as a form of saying goodbye. No. Instead I have to keep our hands a distance apart and turn my head to look at him.
"See you on the other side," I whisper to him with a small smile before I take hold of Julie's hand.
For a quick second I can feel him lace our pinkies together as a form of a promise of what I just said, pulling away before anyone could see the interaction. Everything felt brighter, golden for a moment when he did that but it disappeared as quick as it happened.
Taking a deep breath in everyone pauses for a moment and all of us look at each other with smiles that may seem like all of us congratulating each other on this performance, but they also hold something a lot deeper.
Over the amount of time the boys have come into my life I never thought I would ever befriend ghosts, but I did, and they became more than my friends. They became people who will forever hold a place in my heart.
Eventually we all take our bow and when Julie and I come back up the guys are no longer next to us.
AUTHORS NOTE:
crying. I DONT WANT THIS BOOK TO END PLS I'VE BECOME TOO ATTACHED!
the next chapter is most likely the last one and i don't think i'm prepared for that.
ANYWAYS i hope y'all liked this chapter and i feel like it's a bit rushed, but that's just what i think idk.
THANK YOU ALL FOR 10K WTH!! i was in shock. i woke up and check wattpad and the first thing i notice is the reads. i never thought that this book would make it that far, let alone people actually enjoy my writing.
also if you saw me post a reggie fic pretend i didn't. I PANICKED AND GOT SCARED AND PUT IT BACK IN MY DRAFTS PLS.
anyways i hope you all are having a great day today and if not i hope tomorrow is much better for you! i so sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes made in this chapter. i love you all and THANK YOU ONCE AGAIN!!