Her dad was working late and Carlos was with Tia at baseball practice until at least 7:30. The one night when she wanted to talk to her dad and he wasn't home.
Julie stood in front of her door, debating just going into her empty house. She turned and went to the studio instead.
"Hey Julie!" Luke said happily when she entered. He had his guitar in his hands. Alex was at his drum set and Reggie was holding his bass. Willie was sitting on the couch, which was a welcome surprise. "You should hear the sweet tunes we've been putting together!"
She gave him a half-smile. "I'd love to. But maybe later?" She went straight to Willie and curled up beside him on the couch. Instead of leaning on him, she slid right through his body to the armrest on the other side. She sat up.
"Your zap wore off," he said apologetically.
For some reason, not being able to touch Willie made her tear up.
Luke's eyes widened in panic. "Are you crying?"
Alex glared at him. "Tears aren't catching, Luke. Relax."
"What's wrong?" Reggie put down his instrument and went to sit on the chair kitty corner to where she was.
"Yeah." Alex put his sticks down to sit on the floor in front of her. "You don't look happy."
Luke put his guitar on it's stand, and then sat beside her on the couch, close enough that their thighs would be touching if he was alive. He picked up the tissue box on the side table and passed it to her, first try. "What happened?"
"I got into a fight with Flynn," Julie said, which made her tears flow faster. She grabbed a handful of tissues and wiped at her eyes.
"With Flynn?" Reggie demanded, shocked. "But, she's the sweetest!"
"Evidently not." Alex shot him a censuring look.
"What did you fight about? it couldn't have been that bad," Willie said, smiling reassuringly.
"Oh, it was bad." Julie dabbed her eyes with her wad of tissues. "We fought about you."
Willie's head bobbed back. "Me?"
"She told me that she didn't think you were real. That she'd never thought you were real! She 'believed that I believed,' as if that was good enough!"
"But Flynn knows Willie's real. She's seen him." Luke crossed his arms, obviously pissed on Julie's behalf.
"She'd never actually seen me until the night you guys appeared," Willie said.
"But couldn't she hear you? like she hears us when we play?" Reggie asked.
"We're the only ghosts lifers can hear besides Willie's boss," Alex said.
"Really?" Reggie blinked. "Wow."
"Wait," Luke said. "So, the entire time you and Flynn have known each other, she's never seen Willie? Like, at all?"
"Nope." Willie shook his head.
"You didn't, like, wear a sheet around her? Or move the blinds or anything? You know, just so she'd know you were there?" Reggie asked.
"No!" Willie looked affronted. "That shit scares people."
"It's what I would've done to prove I was real," Reggie said.
"Flynn should have believed me without any tricks," Julie said to Reggie. "She's my best friend! She should have believed me!"
"But I thought you said she did believe you?" Alex asked.
"She believed that I thought Willie was real. Not that he was real," Julie said again. "She's been lying to me for forever!"
"But she's always acted like she thought I was real," Willie said, confused. "She's talked to me and everything."
"She was just pretending to make me happy." Julie waved her ball of tissues and then wiped her nose. "It was all just an act."
"Wait, she's been acting like she's believed Willie was real for this whole time? Even though she didn't?" Reggie asked.
"Well, yeah, I guess," Julie said. "But she didn't mean it."
"Julie, she's pretended to believe I was real for eight years," Willie said. "For you."
"My mother couldn't even pretend she was okay with me being gay for five minutes," Alex said.
"But she lied!" Julie said hotly, trying to make them understand. "She told me she believed me, and she lied!"
"Sounds like it worked better for your friendship than her telling you she thought you were making it up," Reggie said sagely. "I mean, you're pretty mad now."
Julie looked at him. "What?"
"Reggie's right." Luke angled his body towards her, the edge of his knee passing through hers. "Sounds like Flynn's done a lot of work to make you happy."
Julie blinked as Luke's words hit her. She felt upended again "I never thought of it that way."
"It would've meant the world to me if my mom had done for me what Flynn did for you, pretending she was cool with me being gay just to make me feel loved."
Willie pulled Alex to him, seating him between his legs and stroking his hands through his hair. Alex leaned back, taking comfort from Willie's touch.
"Your parents fucking suck," Luke said angrily.
"Well, I'm dead now and I don't have to deal, so that's cool," Alex said.
"And you have me," Willie said.
Alex took one of Willie's hands and kissed it. "And I have you."
"You wouldn't care if your mom was faking it, just to make you happy?" Julie asked Alex.
"Well, it would've been better if she had been cool with, well, who I actually am. But at least if she had, you know, acted like she was fine with it, and maybe defended me to the fucking congregation of her church, and maybe not let dad kick me out... Yeah, that would've been pretty awesome." Alex leaned his head on Wille's knee and closed his eyes.
"I hate your parents." Reggie's hands were balled into fists.
"I hate your parents, too," Alex said without opening his eyes.
"Do you think it would be okay if I zapped you, so I could give you hugs?"
"I'm totally good with it," Luke said immediately.
"I love hugs!" Reggie said enthusiastically.
"I'm sorry guys." Willie said before Alex could agree. He looked chagrined. "But you've got an appointment with Caleb tonight, remember?"
Julie sat up; tears forgotten. "You do?"
"Yes, he actually really wanted to meet them," Willie said. "I'm meant to bring them for eight tonight."
"But why can't they be solid?" Julie asked Willie, hating the whine in her voice. She really wanted a hug from the boys. Especially Luke, if she was being honest.
"It'll go better if they're full-on ghosts," Willie said. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes.
"But I'm not a ghost, and I'll be there too. So why would it matter?"
Willie actually flinched at her words. "You can't come," he said, too quickly.
"Why not?" she asked, confused. "I thought the plan was that we'd all go together?"
"You're grounded, remember?" Willie reminded her. "There's no way Ray would let you leave."
"So, we don't tell him she's leaving," Luke said. "Her room's where Bobby's used to be. We snuck in and out that window all the time."
"Oh, yeah!" Reggie grinned. "Do you remember that time when you got really drunk and there was that girl—"
"We're not doing story time right now," Luke interrupted him. "The point is, Julie can totally come."
"No, she can't," Willie said.
"Why not?" Alex had opened his eyes and was looking up at his boyfriend. "Julie's part of our band, and we're doing this because of her dad. She totally should be there."
"Because she can't!" Willie said sharply. He looked at her, his brown eyes beseeching. "Julie, you just can't come. Please."
She'd never seen him like this. He was hiding something, and she couldn't for the life of her understand what. Are you sure you can trust Willie with this? Flynn's voice echoed in her head. "Willie, what's wrong?"
"Nothing," he said. "I just don't think it's safe for you, is all."
"But it's safe for us?" Alex asked incredulously.
"Don't be dumb." Reggie frowned at him. "Of course it's safe for us. We're already dead."
"If it's not safe for Julie, then she's not going," Luke said like that was the final word on the subject.
Julie wanted to bristle at him making that decision for her, but there was so much concern in his eyes that she just couldn't. She looked at Willie, and his eyes spoke of the same concern. He really was scared something bad could happen. "Okay, okay!" She threw up her hands. "I'll stay."
Willie actually sagged with relief, and Julie felt bad for putting him through that stress. She went to pat his knee and then realized she couldn't. I'll zap them when they get back, she decided. She really couldn't go a full day without being able to touch them.
"Hey," Reggie said, "it's a club, right? What should we wear?"
"Sleeves." Alex looked pointedly at Luke.
"Sleeves would probably be good," Willie agreed. "But you don't have to that dressed up. I mean, people do, but it's okay if you don't."
That started a discussion on what "dressed up" actually looked like, with Alex insisting they should wear something nicer than ripped jeans, and Luke and Reggie reminding him that they actually didn't have anything else.
"I don't want to fight about this anymore," Luke cut in. "We'll show up in what we've got. Now let's stop arguing and get in some band practise!"
It was a great idea and Julie jumped up and went to the keyboard, happy to lose herself in the music with her band. She knew the chemistry between all of them was amazing, especially between her and Luke. If she didn't know any better, she'd say there was real feelings behind the smouldering looks he gave her when they sang.
But she did know better. She was a 16-year-old dork and he was the hottest guy she'd ever seen. There was no way he'd be interested in someone like her. Certainly not as more than a friend.
Besides, he was dead, which was a total reality check for the whole relationship-thing anyway. It wasn't like anything they started would have a real future.
Not that he wanted to start anything.
They ran through three songs and worked on several others that Luke seemed to just charm out of the air with his Gift. It really was incredible working with a literally Gifted musician. Julie couldn't remember the last time she'd had so much fun.
And then her alarm went off and she had to leave.
"I'm sorry guys," she said for the third time, "my brother's going to be home in fifteen minutes and I need to start dinner."
"Can we come?" Reggie asked with puppy dog eyes, "I like your brother."
"No way!" Julie said immediately. "He might be young, but he's too smart not to notice when you guys distract me."
"We're not distracting." Reggie pouted.
"Not unless I want to be," Luke said. He was still giving her that ridiculously intense eye contact and she had to look away.
"Let the woman go," Alex sighed. "Besides, we still need to get cleaned up for tonight."
"I wish I could go," Julie said. "You have to tell me all about it tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? No way. I'll come by after we get back. Through your window," Luke said, like a promise.
Julie's pulse fluttered. She cleared her throat. "Yeah, sure. That sounds good."
He winked at her, and she honestly thought she was going to faint. He was so good-looking.
"Okay, leaving now. Thanks for the chat and good luck tonight!" She left to the chorus of their goodbyes.
She hummed to herself as she went up to her house, realizing that she really felt better. Playing music always cheered her up. And the conversation with the boys about Flynn had given her a different perspective on Flynn's actions, one that fit a lot better with what she knew about her best friend. Flynn was loving and protective and loyal to a fault. She'd never purposely hurt Julie and she never had. Julie was still upset, but she no longer felt betrayed. This was a wrinkle in their friendship, not an irreparable tear.
She smiled as she thought about the boys and how they were getting ready to meet Caleb tonight, and maybe finally get the answers she knew they'd been craving. And then she thought about how Luke was going to come to her room later on to tell her all about it. Maybe she'd be even able to zap him to make him solid. The thought made her smile.
Today had been a good day, after all.