There were too many people to fit safely into Ray's car, so Reggie teleported home.
It seemed like the right thing to do, since they were alive now. That way everyone had a seatbelt and no one had to sit on the floor. Plus, it meant Reggie could use his Gift again, which was kind of cool.
Flynn was still in Julie's house when he appeared in the living room, looking like she'd been waiting for him. She shoved a home-baked chocolate cookie in his mouth.
"I've cleaned up your puke twice tonight," she said by way of greeting.
"Thank you?" he said around a mouthful of cookie. It was really good. He grinned at her, taking her in. He reached out and took her hands in his. "You're so beautiful."
"Don't." She pulled her hands out of his. "Don't do that." She went and sat on the couch.
He went and sat beside her. "Flynn?"
She moved so that they weren't touching and wiped at her eyes. "Where are the others?"
"Ray's driving them home," Reggie said, unsure what was going on with her. "I teleported because there weren't enough seats."
She nodded. "Is everyone okay?"
"Oh yeah." His face split in a wide smile. "We're alive!"
The expression on her face was pure disbelief. "What?"
"Julie did it when she saved us from Caleb. She did...something and now we're alive again." He couldn't stop grinning at her. "Isn't that great?"
She didn't look like it was great. "You're alive?"
Reggie's smile faltered. "Yeah? I thought you'd be happy?"
She made an inarticulate noise and stood up; hands pressed to her cheeks. She started pacing in a way that immediately reminded Reggie of Alex. "You're alive."
"Yeah," Reggie said again. He stood too, unsure if he should go to her or not. He had no idea why she was upset. "Isn't that good?"
"Of course it's good!" She didn't stop pacing.
"Okay," Reggie said slowly, "then why aren't you acting like it's a good thing?"
"Because...because!" She threw up her hands.
"Flynn, wait." He moved in front of her and took her hands. "I know you're upset, but I don't know what's wrong. I need you to tell me."
Her brown eyes filled with tears. "I don't know what's wrong."
"Are you upset because I'm alive?" Reggie said, mouth twisted in a parody of a smile. It would be just his luck to meet a girl who'd prefer him when he was dead.
"What? No!" Flynn said immediately, to his relief. "How could you think that?"
"Because you're upset?" Reggie rubbed the back of his neck. "I don't know what that means."
"It's just..." She inhaled sharply. "I was just wrapping my head around you being a ghost, you know? And then you went to that club and then you were hurt and then you Willie and Julie, went to hospital, and...and..." She started to cry.
He held her as she cried against his grimy T-shirt, her hands fisting in the cloth. He rubbed her back in the way he'd always wished his mother had for him when he was younger. "We're all good now. Everything's fine."
"Everything is not fine!" Flynn shoved against him. "You guys almost died in that club. You almost died! How is any of that 'fine'?"
"Because I didn't! And no one else did, either. And in fact, we're the opposite of dead. We're alive! I'm alive, Flynn. Just like a real boy."
"A real boy?" She repeated, gorgeous lips curling up.
"Yeah." He took a risk and stroked a tear off her cheek with his thumb. She leaned into his hand and his heart soared. "A real boy, who can go to school with you, and take you out on dates, and take you to prom." And marry you and have a house on the beach and at least three kids, his mind added, but he didn't say that part out loud.
"You've got it all planned out, huh?" She raised one eyebrow skeptically, but she was smiling.
"Yeah, I got it planned." He smiled back. "If having it planned means I'm planning on being with you."
She rolled her eyes. "That was so cheesy."
"It was romantic and you know it." He laughed.
"Okay, it was romantic," she agreed reluctantly, but her eyes were bright with happiness instead of tears.
He leaned forward until their foreheads were touching, relishing the contact. He could have this now. He'd never have to worry about ghosting out on her again. "I love you," he whispered into the small space between them. "I know you don't feel the same way, but I can't not tell you."
"I think I love you, too," Flynn said, equally as softly. "I've never been in love before, but I think this might be it."
It felt like his ribcage was full of birds fluttering their wings. He couldn't remember a time he'd been so happy. "Can I kiss you?"
Her answer was pressing her lips to his and wrapping her arms around his neck. It was as good as the last time he'd kissed her. Better, because now it had the promise of life ahead for them both. He kissed her deeply, loving the feeling of her hands in his hair, her small body under his fingers, the way she fit against him like the two of them were made for each other.
He laughed against her mouth, so full of happiness that he couldn't contain it. He'd have died a million times over if he'd known that it meant he'd end up with her.
She laughed too, clinging to his shoulders, and then they were both laughing hysterically until tears were streaming down their faces. He held Flynn to him, feeling her shoulders shake, the smooth texture of her braids pressed into his cheek. He was never going to take the simple pleasure of touching her for granted again.
"I love you," Flynn said. "And you really need a shower."
He laughed, and kissed her again, because he could.
Julie's head was whirling.
She'd met Dr. Mercer, who was Alex's sister, which was mind-blowing enough on it's own. But that was before the really nice doctor had gently informed her the four ghost-boys were no longer ghosts, and that somehow Julie's Gift was responsible.
She remembered freaking out a little in her hospital room, hugging each of the boys in turn and screaming and crying with the incredible news.
Reggie had teleported home when they'd reached the car, and by silent agreement she'd gotten the front seat even though she was smaller than all of them. Willie, Alex and Luke had pilled into the back and her dad had started the drive home.
Then everyone had gone silent.
Julie rested her head on the window, feeling the coolness seep into her skin. The sun was rising over the horizon as another night rolled into another day. The world was still turning like nothing had changed, even though everything had.
Julie stole a look at Luke through the rear-view mirror. He was sitting behind Ray, eyes closed. Sleeping, Julie guessed. It had been a long and horrible night and she'd love to be sleeping, too. But she couldn't even close her eyes while her mind was going a mile a minute. She couldn't stop looking at Luke: the curve of his cheekbone, the shape of his mouth, the way his hair fell over his forehead. It was hard to believe he was actually alive now, even though it'd been hard for her to think about him any other way since they'd met.
She remembered how Flynn had warned her against developing feelings for him, since there couldn't be any future in a relationship with someone, well, dead. But he wasn't dead anymore. It opened up a whole world of possibilities she'd never even dared to consider. She wondered if the pounding of her heart was from excitement or fear.
Her dad's eyes met hers in the mirror, and he raised his eyebrows just enough that she knew he'd seen her looking at Luke. She blushed, too embarrassed to hold his gaze. She heard him chuckle softly beside her.
"It's a good thing, isn't it? Them being alive?" Ray said.
"Yeah!" Julie agreed emphatically. "I still can't believe it."
"You did it," Ray said. "The boys all said that. I don't know how, but for sure it was you."
"I gave him more energy than he could handle," Julie told him. "and when he, um, exploded I guess? It went into Willie. And when I went to help the boys afterwards, to try to heal them from what Caleb had done, I remembered feeling that they were missing something. Something I could fix. So, I did."
"That must have been the 'out of phase' thing Doctor Mercer was talking about. She said that when Reggie teleported them away from the fire, he wasn't able to...rematerialize them, I guess?" He shook his head. "I really didn't understand it."
"It makes as much sense as anything else that's happened since they appeared in the studio."
Ray chuckled. "But I still can't believe you saved them like that. I don't know if I should be scared to death about what almost happened, or unbelievably proud."
"Proud," Julie said with a laugh. "I'm okay, dad, don't worry."
"And I'm going to assume you're not going to become some kind of ghost-hunting vigilante," Ray said. "So yeah, I'm proud." He smiled at her quickly before focussing back on the road.
"That's a good assumption. No more ghosts for me." She shuddered.
"Agreed." Ray's eyes flicked to the boys in the back and Julie followed his gaze. Alex and Willie were also sleeping, heads resting together. "They're cute, aren't they?"
"Perfect for each other." Julie nodded. "It's really nice to see Willie so happy."
"Young love," her father sighed. He glanced at her again. "Luke's pretty cute."
"Dad!" Julie's face heated.
"I'm just saying. And he seems fairly decent," Ray continued, concentrating as he made a left-hand turn. "You could do worse."
Julie smirked. "Are you saying you want me to date Luke?"
"I don't want you to date anybody!" Ray objected, "but since I accept that your dating is inevitable, I'm just saying you could do worse than a decent boy who loves his friends, cares deeply for you and calls me 'sir'."
That made Julie chuckle. "I will take that under advisement." She looked at Luke in the mirror again. "You really think he cares about me?"
"Yep. But you'll probably want to talk to him about it, you know, instead of taking the word of your old man."
"You're not that old." Julie bopped him gently on the shoulder.
"I'm going to be the guardian of three teenage boys from the 1990s. And I'm sure also parenting 'Willie-from-school' as well," Ray sighed. "I already feel ancient."
Julie laughed out loud.
It was full day by the time Ray got everyone home from the hospital.
Luke was so tired he could barely keep his eyes open. It was like the past week of not needing to sleep had crashed into him full-force. The small nap he'd taken in the car hadn't even put a dent in his exhaustion.
"Ray sent me with some linens from the house," Reggie said as he came into the studio. He dropped a pile of pillows, sheets and blankets onto the pull-out bed. "Dibs on the loft!"
"Alex and Willie are getting the loft," Luke said. He yawned.
Reggie saw him, then yawned too. "Why are they getting it?"
"Privacy," Alex said, coming out of the bathroom. He'd already put on sleep pants and a T-shirt. "And because you snore."
"Ha, ha." Reggie scowled at him. "It's not fair that you get to sleep with your boyfriend and I have to sleep with Luke."
"Get your own boyfriend." Willie mock-scowled at Reggie, making him laugh. Willie grabbed a couple of pillows and tossed one to Alex who then tossed it onto the bed in the loft.
"As long as you don't wake me up with loud sex noises. I'm tired," Luke said.
"We're all tired," Alex said, moving back towards the couch.
"Yeah. I feel like I could sleep for a week!" Willie said, then also yawned. "Being made alive again sure takes a lot out of you."
"Totally." Luke put a fresh sheet on the pull-out bed, getting Reggie to help with the opposite side. "Although, I suppose we were never really dead."
"Speak for yourself. I was the real deal," Willie said.
Alex looked at him flatly. "It's amazing how not funny that is." Willie went over and put his arm around his waist and Alex leaned his head on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry!" Reggie blurted.
Luke looked up from where he'd been tucking in the last fitted corner.
Reggie was standing, arms crossed and head down, blinking like he was trying not to cry. "I'm sorry I fucked up so badly."
"What are you talking about?" Luke asked. He went around the bed and took Reggie's elbow, leading him to sit down on the mattress.
"Yeah," Alex said as he and Willie joined Luke and Reggie on the bed. "Where did you fuck up? I don't remember that happening?"
Willie nudged Reggie with his shoulder. "You saved our lives yesterday. I think that's pretty good."
"I don't mean yesterday. I mean at the Orpheum!" Reggie said. "When I teleported for the first time! It's my fault that we've been dead for twenty-five years. If I hadn't, we—"
"Wait," Luke interrupted him, "you think teleporting us here was a problem?"
"You saved our lives, dude. Without you teleporting us, our bodies totally would've been found by the Fire Marshal," Alex said.
"Probably just smears of ash on the stage," Luke added. "And who knows if we would've ended up ghosts at all?"
"And if we never became ghosts, we'd never had met Julie, and now we wouldn't have this second chance." Alex picked up Willie's hand as he said it, looking deep into his boyfriend's eyes. It was adorable and also a bit sickening and it made Luke miss Julie like crazy.
"You guys aren't getting it!" Reggie said harshly. "I should've teleported us out of the fire, not...not out of phase or whatever!! I've teleported you guys a bunch of times since then, and we haven't had an issue even once! I should've been able to do it right the first time and I didn't. I'm such a fuck up—"
"No!" Alex stopped him. "That is your dad talking and you know it!"
"Yeah, you can't say stuff like that about yourself," Luke leaned into Reggie. "Especially because it's not true."
Reggie's voice was a whisper. "But we basically died. I practically killed you."
"I think the fire was going to do that," Alex said.
"And I was unconscious," Luke added. "No way I was getting out on my own."
"I didn't know what I was doing," Reggie said, still whispering. "I was so scared, and all I could think of was the studio, and how safe it was. I was trying to get us there."
"But you did! You took us right to the studio," Luke said emphatically.
"And I wouldn't have met any of you if you hadn't gone 'out of phase,' or whatever. So, there's that." Willie nudged his shoulder again.
Reggie huffed out a short laugh. "But now you're stuck with Alex."
"And Flynn's stuck with you," Willie shot back. "Don't think I didn't see the way you two were making out before we went on our rescue mission."
That coaxed both a blush and a smile out of Reggie. "Flynn's pretty cool."
"Cooler than you, for sure." Luke smirked. "And you never would've met her if you'd left us in ninety-five."
"All true," Alex said. He yawned again. "And now I've got to go to sleep before I pass out right here." He stood up and kissed Reggie on the head. "Sleep well, Reginald."
Reggie smirked. "Good night, Alexander."
"It's morning," Alex said. He took Willie's hand and they headed up to the loft, Willie calling his good nights as he followed behind.
Reggie got up and striped down to his boxer-briefs before climbing back into bed. "Are you okay if I sleep like this?"
"Dude, I've seen you naked. And you always sleep in your underwear." Luke took off his shirt and threw it on the ground before stripping down to his underwear as well. They both slipped under the covers, and Luke immediately closed his eyes, sleep nearly upon him.
"I'm still really sorry I teleported us out of phase," Reggie whispered.
Luke cracked open one eye. "Reggie," he sighed, "if you hadn't done what you did, A, we would've probably been really dead, and, B, I never would've met Julie. So when I tell you it's not a problem you brought us here, it's really not a problem you brought us here. You got to believe me."
"Okay," Reggie said, not sounding totally convinced. "You sure it's fine?"
"It's fine!" Luke said. "Now go to sleep! We can talk about it more in the morning."
"It is morning," Reggie said.
"Afternoon. Whatever! Go to sleep."
"I'm sleeping!" Reggie said.
"Finally." Luke closed his eyes.
"I love you, Luke," Reggie said.
Luke smiled without opening his eyes. "I love you, too. Now shut up."
"Shutting up," Reggie murmured.
Luke slept.