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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟖
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐃
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The duo quickly sprinted through the halls of the Orpheum as Lexi silently prayed that they would make it to the stage in time. They both picked up their speed as soon as the large double doors were in sight before they busted through them and headed towards the stage while sending Flynn giant grins along the way.
"Wait, where are you guys going?!" the raven-haired girl called after her two best friends, who simply sent her smiles in response as they kept walking, "they're going on stage!"
The announcer's voice cut through the air to welcome the audience that filled the Orpheum as the two girls walked onto the stage. Lexi hesitated for a moment as her eyes scanned over the largest crowd she'd ever stood in front of before her gaze fell upon her family. Her parents stood next to Ryder and Cami with giant grins on their faces as they clapped along with the crowd.
After sending them a small smile in return, her attention fell on Isaac standing next to her brother. Lexi hadn't seen her uncle since he unexpectedly left for New York almost two years ago without saying a word. His disappearance crushed her in ways she could never explain. He used to help her with her music and was a big help to her when she needed a confidence boost. The two of them along with Ryder formed the first band that the Daniels siblings were ever a part of.
Yes, she and Ryder had a special bond that no one could replace or get between but Isaac was just as important to her. He and her brother were the main reasons the redheaded girl got into music. Lexi wanted to be exactly like them. She used to think that her world came crashing down when the Wilsons and Dirty Candy embarrassed her in front of the whole school. But the second she laid her eyes on her uncle, Lexi knew that wasn't true. Her life started going downhill the second Isaac vanished.
The Daniels girl was drawn back to reality when she felt a hand brush against hers. The action caused her to look over to see the Molina girl staring back at her with a small smile on her face. All her negative feelings seemed to fade away as she stared back at one of her best friends before the two of them continued onto the stage. The crowd began to applaud the two girls as Lexi took her place behind the keyboard and Julie stood behind the microphone. The pair smiled and waved at the large audience as they continued to clap for the young artists before they started to quiet down. Once the room fell into a comfortable silence, the curly-haired girl took the mic off the stand to address all the people there to support them.
"Hi. I'm Julie, and this is Lexi," she greeted while gesturing over to her redheaded friend, who sent everyone a small wave before the Molina girl continued, "tonight, I'd like to dedicate this song to my mom, who's been there with me every time I've played. And thank her for...not giving up on me."
Lexi sent her friend another small smile as she took her microphone off the stand to speak to everyone in the room. "We'd also like to dedicate tonight's performance to three special friends, who brought music back into both of our lives. It was their dream to play here, and...this is for them."
"This song is for anyone who's lost their way," Julie continued while readjusting her grip on her mic in an attempt to calm her nerves, "step into your greatness. Don't give up. Stand tall. Thank you."
Both girls returned their microphones to their stands as the crowd began to applaud and cheer for them once again. A sigh passed over Lexi's lips as her fingers landed on the keys of the piano. The Daniels girl glanced up one last time at the audience without thinking before her eyes landed on Carter while he talked to a bored-looking Carrie. As if sensing her eyes on him, the Wilson boy's attention landed on the redhead and the two of them just stared at each other. This continued for another short moment before the boy sent her a supportive grin followed by a thumbs-up.
Lexi sent him a smile in response then her fingers began to play the opening of the song. She continued to play the notes as Julie stood center stage and began singing. "Don't blink. No, I don't want to miss it. One thing, and it's back to the beginning. 'Cause everything is rushing in fast. Keep going on never look back."
"And it's one, two, three, four times. That I'll try for one more night. Light a fire in my eyes. I'm going out of my mind." The Daniels girl began to play faster than before as soon as Julie finished singing that verse then she started to sing with her best friend. "Whatever happens, even if I'm the last standing, I'ma stand tall. I'ma stand tall. Whatever happens, even when everything's down, I'ma stand tall. I'ma stand tall. I gotta keep on dreaming. 'Cause I gotta catch that feeling. Whatever happens, even if I'm the last standing, I'ma stand tall. I'ma stand tall."
Right as the two girls sang the last line, their ears were met by drumbeats and they both turned around to find Alex playing along with them. The smile on Lexi's face grew larger than humanly possible, which the blonde ghost gladly returned as they continued to play. Not another second passed when Reggie appeared two feet away from her with his usual goofy grin plastered onto her face.
A wave of relief washed over the pianist at the sight of two of her three ghost friends safely standing in front of her. Her fingers continued to fly across the keyboard as she opened her mouth to sing her solo without taking her eyes off the bassist. "Right now, I'm loving every minute. Hands down, can't let myself forget it, no. 'Cause everything is rushing in fast. Keep holding on, never look back."
Julie soon jumped into harmonizing with Lexi as the four of them watched Luke begin to flicker in and out on the other side of the stage. "And it's one, two, three, four times. That I'll try for one more night. Light a fire in my eyes."
"I'm going out of my mind," Luke sang at the top of his lungs and fully appeared in his place on stage before his eyes landed on Julie and the two of them continued singing together, "Whatever happens, even if I'm the last standing, I'ma stand tall. I'ma stand tall. Whatever happens, even when everything's down, I'ma stand tall. I'ma stand tall. I gotta keep on dreaming. 'Cause I gotta catch that feeling. Whatever happens, even if I'm the last standing, I'ma stand tall. I'ma stand tall."
The smile on Lexi's face never faded as she continued to play along with the ghost band. She exchanged another smile with Alex and Luke as Reggie and Julie walked along the catwalk to get closer to the crowd. "Like I'm glowing in the dark. I keep on going when it's all falling apart. Yeah, I know with all my heart. Never look back!"
Everyone stopped playing as Alex slowly rose to his feet while gripping his microphone tightly in his hand, "whatever happens, even if I'm the last standing, I'ma stand tall. I'ma stand tall."
While the drummer sang, Reggie made his way over to stand next to Lexi once again before sending her a playful wink. The pianist sent the bassist an eye roll and a smile before the two of them sang the next few lines of the song. "Whatever happens, even if I'm the last standing, I'ma stand tall. I'ma stand tall. Stand tall! Stand tall!"
"Whatever happens, even if I'm the last standing, I'ma stand tall. I'ma stand tall. Whatever happens, even when everything's down, I'ma stand tall. I'ma stand tall." Julie then held her microphone out to Luke, who didn't even hesitate to join her as they two continued to sing with the rest of the band while walking down the catwalk. "I gotta keep on dreaming. 'Cause I gotta catch that feeling. Whatever happens, even if I'm the last standing, I'ma stand tall. I'ma stand tall."
Lexi and the two remaining boys quickly joined the two at the front of the stage as they sang the last line of the song. As soon as they finished singing, the crowd erupted into applause as the two girls and their ghostly friends exchanged giant grins. The redhead's eyes scanned the audience to see both the Molina family and the Daniels family jumping around as they cheered for the two girls before her attention fell on the Wilsons. Shock coursed through her veins at the sight of Carrie standing next to Carter as the two clapped for the band.
After sending the Wilson boy another small smile, Lexi looked up at Reggie to find him already staring back at her with his signature goofy grin. The Daniels girl wrapped her hand around the microphone in the Peters boy's hand, knowing that was the closest she was going to get to actually touching him, before she took Julie's hand into her other one. The five of them then raised their arms as high as they could into the air and bowed to the cheering audience then the boys disappeared before the girls could even stand back up.
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Both families sang at the top of their lungs as they walked up the path toward the Molina house to celebrate the girls. After telling everyone that they needed to grab something from the studio, Lexi and Julie sent them one last smile and made their way toward the small building. The Daniels girl hesitated for a moment at the sight of how abnormally dark the studio was. It wasn't long after that when Julie locked her arm with her redhead friend and the two of them continued walking forward.
When they reached the large barn doors, both girls wrapped their fingers around one of the handles before they opened them together. Their arms stayed intertwined as they slowly walked into the dark room then stopped right next to the empty couch and chair. Neither of them said a word while they took in the silence of the studio before Lexi's eyes landed on their abandoned instruments just as Julie let out a long sigh.
"I know I already said this but, uh...thank you, guys," the Molina girl said in a quiet tone as her grip around the Daniels girl's arm tightened.
"You're welcome," a voice muttered, causing Lexi to jump at the unexpected response before it was followed by irritated groans.
The two girls shared a confused look before Julie rushed over to the wall and turned on the lights, revealing the ghost of Sunset Curve lying in a dogpile on the floor near the grand piano. The Molina girl's eyes were glued to them as the pair slowly walked towards the three boys and stopped a few feet away from them. While her friend continued to stare at them with her mouth slightly parted, Lexi let out a shaky breath in an attempt to calm the nerves that were running rampant.
"Why...why are you here? I...I thought," the Daniels girl's rambling was interrupted by the three ghosts experiencing another jolt before they started groaning and coughing, "I thought you crossed over! Why didn't you cross over?!"
"I guess playing the Orpheum wasn't our unfinished business," Alex responded while he and his two friends slowly sat up to look at the girls.
"Point Caleb," Reggie muttered as a wave of panic washed over Lexi and Julie at the sight of how sickly the ghost boys appeared.
"We wanted the two of you to think that we crossed over, so we pretended to," Luke explained with tears in his eyes before he looked down at his intertwined fingers, "we just...we had nowhere else to go."
"We thought you guys would go straight to bed," the bassist confessed then he and Lexi locked eyes while a tear slipped down her cheek.
"Yeah, well, I knew they were gonna come out here, but nobody ever listens to me," the drummer sighed then he met his niece's gaze before he sent her a small smile, "thanks for letting me talk to Andy one last time."
Right as he finished speaking, another jolt hit them but this time was harder than ever before. Lexi continued to stare at the three ghosts who unexpectedly became part of her family as Julie started pleading for them to go join Caleb's club. Luke struggled to get to his feet and slowly made his way over to the panicking Molina girl. While the two of them had a private conversation, the redhead's eyes glanced back and forth between the boys who changed her life in ways nobody else could.
After standing in silence for longer than she meant to, the Daniels girl opened her mouth to say one last goodbye to them, only for her to stop her actions when she watched Julie pull Luke into a hug. Lexi's body became as still as a stone as her eyes stayed glued to her friend hugging the ghost before she saw the Molina girl's eyes flash open in realization. They all watched as Luke's body began to glow then Julie gestured for the other two ghosts to join. Lexi stood there in awe as the boys shined together while they partook in their first group hug with someone outside their group in twenty-five years. A small smile formed on her face at the sight of the group before she noticed them all staring back at her. The next thing the Daniels girl knew, Reggie and Alex grabbed her wrists and she was pulled between them to join their moment.
"I...I...I don't feel as weak anymore," Reggie told them as he looked around at his friends with wide eyes before unconsciously wrapping an arm around Lexi's shoulders.
"Yeah, me neither," Alex added while a small smile formed on his face, "not that, you know, I was ever that weak."
Everyone's laughter started to fill the room that once contained the boys' agonizing groans. The next thing they knew, the ghost's wrist shined brighter than the rest of their body. All eyes were on their arms as purple marks appeared before they lifted from their wrists and vanished into the air above them.
"What do you think that means?" Julie questioned while her eyes stayed glued to where the symbols disappeared.
"I think the band's back," Luke responded with a small smile on his face as he looked around at his four friends that surrounded them.
"You guys think we could try that hug thing one more time?" Alex asked before their laughter filled the room once again as the five of them shared another group hug.
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The next day Lexi sat on the floor with her back against her bed as she jotted down ideas for her future songs. Her pen glided along the pages of her songbook with ease as she thought back to the night before. Everything seemed to be going right for her and this was the happiest she felt in a very long time. For the first time in a long time, the redhead felt like she was on cloud nine and she never wanted that to end. Just as she was about to take a break from writing, her ears picked up on the sound of one of her ghost friends popping into her room, causing the smile on the girl's face to grow. However, her dreams of having a nice afternoon before meeting up with Julie and the guys seemed to shatter when her eyes landed on Willie.
"What are you doing here? How did you even know this was where I lived?" Lexi questioned the skater boy as she closed her songbook and jumped to her feet. Her brown eyes studied him for a long moment before she realized just how panicked the boy looked then she opened her mouth to continue speaking. "What's going on, Willie?"
"Caleb. He's planning something but I don't know exactly what it is yet. I just know that he's not gonna stop until he has Alex, Luke, and Reggie," the brunette ghost told her as he took a few steps towards the redhead before stopping a foot in front of her, "he also has this lifer working with him...for him...again, I don't know. But he just got here from New York."
"New York?"
Before the skater boy could answer her question, there was a knock at her bedroom door and she heard Isaac asking to come in. Lexi tried to ignore the pit in her stomach as the ghost moved to stand behind her then she called out to her uncle. The door slowly opened to reveal the smiling blonde boy before he entered the room. However, before Isaac could say anything to his niece, Willie whispered three words into her ear that made her blood run cold.
"That's the lifer."
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𝐒𝐎𝐍𝐆
Stand Tall by
Julie and the Phantoms
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