The entire ride to Julie's was silent and full of tension. Julie and Skyler were nervously sitting in the backseat with an empty space between them, unsure of what to say. When they pulled up in front of Julie's house, they quickly hopped out of the car and began to walk up the path to the front door.
"Both of you. We need to talk," Ray stops them. Both teens let out a sigh before they turned to face him.
"I'll start with you, Skyler," Ray said, making Skyler hesitantly look up to him.
"Look. Your parents may not be here right now, but that doesn't mean you can get out of trouble from me," Ray started. "I'm also responsible for what you do. And though you didn't skip class today, you did help Julie sneak out," he said and Skyler nodded.
"And Julie," Ray turned to his daughter. "After skipping classes, missing a test, you decided to sneak out even though I told you to go to your room and study?" He questioned.
"I know. I'm sorry," Julie sighed.
"Yeah, you keep saying that," Ray said, shaking his head. "If you had just... let me in, I could've been excited about tonight, instead of having this conversation that we all hate," he said. "Why didn't you tell me that you had a band?"
Julie glanced over at Skyler and she sighed. "It all just happened so fast. These last couple weeks have changed my life. When I play music, I feel so much closer to Mom," Julie explains.
"And I love that. You know I do," Ray said softly. "But your tià is right. School needs to come first."
"We know, but without them..." Skyler starts and he glances over at Julie. "Julie never would've made it back into the music program. They played with us when she was trying to earn back her spot," he explains to the man.
"They did?" Ray asked, glancing between the two.
"Yeah," Julie nodded. "I think this is my thing, Dad. Our thing." Julie took Skyler's hand when she said that, making him smile softly at her.
"Well... I would be a jerk of a Dad if I took that away from you two," Ray said softly. "Look. If you guys are gonna stay in this band, you need to keep up with school," he says, "and you need to keep me in loop."
"Really?" The teens asks together and Ray nodded slightly.
"Yeah," he replied.
"Thanks Papa!" Julie pulls her dad into a hug and Skyler smiled at the sight. Ray turns to the Korean and signals him to join. Skyler quickly joined and the three of them hugged tightly.
"Hey, so, that lady at your show," Ray began, pulling away from the teens slightly. "She was like, some sort of manager, right? Could've been a big deal."
"Who knows?" Skyler shrugs. "Hopefully, she'll get to see us play again."
"Which we will tell you about!" Julie quickly adds, making the Korean nod his head quickly.
"Yeah, you will," Ray states. "Because if I ever catch you two sneaking out again, or if one of your grades slip, I'm gonna have to pull the plug," he tells them sternly and they quickly nodded. "Or whatever makes those holograms work."
"Do I ever get to meet these guys?" He asked the two teens.
The two teens looked at each other for a moment, laughing awkwardly. "Probably not. They don't even live around here," Julie informs him. "It's kinda confusing, but being seen isn't really their thing."
"You kids and your technology," Ray laughs softly. "It's definitely beyond me."
"Definitely beyond something," Skyler muttered and Julie nods slightly.
"Well, whoever and wherever they are," Ray starts, looking at the Julie with a more serious look, "they brought my niña back, so as far ad I'm concerned, they're like angels to me," he smiles softly.
"And so are you, Skyler," Ray turns to the Korean. "I'm always very grateful for you, for helping my mijà through all the tough times. You truly are a lifesaver."
Skyler looked at the man with surprise. "Really? You mean that?" He asked.
"Of course, mijò," Ray nods. "Why would I lie about something like that?"
Julie and Skyler looked at each other, smiling as well with a small blush. Suddenly, the front door to the house was ripped open and Julie's tià, Victoria rushed out of the house with panic and fear in her eyes.
"Woah, qué pasó?" Ray asked her.
"This house is haunted! We have to go! Now!" Victoria says, her voice rushed.
"What happened?" Julie asked quickly.
"Victoria, I know that you want us to move, but this is a little extreme," Ray tells her. "I told you, we're okay here."
"I'll let Carlos explain what happened. He refuses to leave, but if movies taught me anything, if a house is haunted, you run!" Victoria said frantically, and then muttered some Spanish as she took off to her car.
Ray lets out a sigh and went back into the house, while the two teens looked at each other with annoyance for a moment.
"You're thinking who I'm thinking, right?" Skyler asked Julie.
"Yep, and his name rhymes with wedgie," Julie mutters and Skyler hummed in response.
***
It had been almost a week since the band had played their first real gig. Skyler and Julie were getting closer and closer every day. Skyler always ends up getting teased by Alex and Reggie whenever they bring her up. He doesn't know about Luke on the other hand, but he was sure that he was getting suspicious.
Him, Julie, and the band were in the studio right now. All five of them were spread out, sitting on the floor. They have been practicing a few songs for the past hour, and right now, they're writing some new lyrics for their songs.
"Okay, so for 'Edge of Great', I was thinking that the bridge will go something like this," Luke explains and starts playing the riff on his electric guitar. The others nodded along to the riff. "And for the lyrics, here's what I came up," he went on before he starts singing.
Shout, shout
C'mon and let it out, out
Don't gotta hide it
Let your colors blind their eyes
Be who you are, don't compromise
Just shout, shout
C'mon and let it out, out
What doesn't kill you makes you feel alive
The others smiled for how the lyrics sounded. "I like it," Reggie comments.
"Thanks, I was thinking that Julie could sing this part with her range," Luke tells them. "Julie goes high up. Skyler, can you sing the part that I just did?"
"Yeah, totally," Skyler nodded.
Luke explained the notes to Julie and Skyler. It took a few tries to get it done, but it was already good so far. "Okay, that's great. Now, let's try to run that down."
Shout, shout
C'mon and let it out, out
Don't gotta hide it
Let your colors blind their eyes
Be who you are, don't compromise
Julie and Skyler harmonized together while Luke played the melody. The two teens smiled at each other as they sing.
Just shout, shout
C'mon and let it out, out
What doesn't kill you makes you feel alive
"Wow! That sounds perfect! Your voices really blend well together," Luke praises with a wide grin, making the two teens laugh.
"We've done this for a while now, so we've already got the hang of it," Skyler shrugs sheepishly and Julie smiles at him.
"Come to think of it now," Julie starts. "Skyler, I don't think we've seen most of the songs you've written yet."
"Yeah, I agree. So far, you've only shown us 'Flying Solo' and 'Finally Free'," Alex replied while he was spinning his drumstick.
"Correction, I only showed you guys 'Finally Free'," Skyler states. "Luke, you stole 'Flying Solo' from my songbook."
"Yeah, but the point is that you're really talented," Luke said. "It'd be great if you share your songs with us."
Skyler sighed. "It's like I said before, I don't write very often," he explains. "And most of them are just... not as good as the ones I showed."
"C'mon, how bad can it be?" Reggie asked. "The songs you showed us so far were amazing! I mean, we've all shared them, so I think you should do the same, too." The others nodded.
"I don't know, you guys," Skyler said with an unsure tone.
"But, Sky. It'll be a shame if you let your songs go to waste," Julie spoke with a frown. "I'm sure your songs will be amazing if you show us."
"Well—"
"Come on! Please!" All four of them pleaded, like four sad-eyed puppies who are begging for their owner's attention.
"Okay, Okay! Fine!" Skyler finally gave in. "But go easy, alright?"
Skyler lets out a huff of defeat before he stands up to grab his songbook. He fished through his bag to pull out the book, and puts small sticky notes on the pages to mark the ones that are good. Except for that one song. It's not for anyone to see, especially Julie.
"I've already marked the ones that I think will be good," Skyler tells them. "You can read them, but you're only allowed to read the ones that I marked!" He gives the book to Julie and the other boys went behind her to read as well.
Luke peeked over Julie's shoulder and grabs the book from her. "What about 'Dandelions'?" Luke asked.
"That one's not allowed!" Skyler panics as he tries to reach for the book, but Luke quickly pulled the book to his chest.
"Read it!" Reggie tells the brunette.
"No! Don't read it!" Skyler protested as he tries to grab the book again, but Luke teleported on the other side of the room.
"'Cause I'm in a field of dandelions..." Luke recites out loud. Skyler frantically runs towards the phantom, but he quickly teleported again. "Wishing on every one that you'll be mine," the brunette continued and smirked.
"Wow, Sky. I never knew you'd be the romantic type," Luke chuckles at the Korean, who's face is as red as a beet.
"Who's the lucky girl?" Julie grins.
"No one!" Skyler exclaims as he turned to the girl. "There is no lucky girl."
"Seriously, Sky? You can't possibly fake your own feelings just to write a song like this!" Luke states.
Skyler angrily snatched the book from the brunette. "There's a perfectly good reason why I gave this to Julie instead of you," Skyler says sharply and lets out a huff of annoyance.
"Sky. What's wrong?" Julie asked softly.
"N-Nothing! Nothing, I just... I'm not..." Skyler tries to explain, but he came up with nothing and sighed. "I'm sorry, it's so stupid," he mumbled.
"Skyler, no! It's not stupid! It's okay. It's only natural for anyone to fall in love," Julie reassures him.
"I was just... embarrassed," Skyler explains, rubbing the back of his nape. "'Cause... when it comes to feelings like this, I don't express it that much. Not even when I dated Carrie."
"Wait. You guys dated?" Reggie asked out of curiosity.
"We did, and I broke up with her a year ago," Skyler explained quickly and the boys nodded in understanding. "Let's just say that it wasn't the best relationship I've had."
"Can you sing the song for us?" Julie asked him with a soft tone.
"I, um... Okay," Skyler replied hesitantly and he stood up to pick up Luke's acoustic guitar. "Just to be clear, I'm only gonna sing the chorus," he informs them as he took a seat on the couch.
Skyler tuned the guitar and strummed it to make sure that it was in the right tune. He mumbled an "okay" before he started playing.
'Cause I'm in a field of dandelions
Wishing on every one that you'll be mine, mine
And I see forever in your eyes
I feel okay when I see you smile, smile
After the song ended, Julie and the boys cheered and gave an applause to Skyler. "Wow! That sounded awesome, Sky!" Luke said enthusiastically.
"Yeah, it was really good!" Reggie added.
"You guys think so?" Skyler asked, unsure of himself.
"Of course! It sounded really beautiful," Julie says with a smile. "You're an amazing songwriter, Sky. I wish you could've shown me sooner."
Skyler looks at Julie with surprise and glances down shyly, hiding the small blush on his cheeks. "Thanks, guys."
Luke grins widely. "It's a great song. We could definitely add it to our discography," he says enthusiastically, but Skyler panics.
"No!" Skyler exclaimed, making the other look at him with surprise. "I-I mean, I'd rather keep this one to myself. I hope you guys don't mind."
"Oh. Well, it's okay. We won't push you if you don't feel comfortable," Julie reassures him. "It's your song after all." Skyler shot her a grateful smile at that.
Then his phone started ringing all of the sudden. He pulled his phone out of his pocket to see who's calling. "Who's that?" Alex asked.
"It's my mom," Skyler replied. "I should probably take this." Skyler stood up and went outside of the school to take his call in private.
"Hey Mom," Skyler greeted his mom.
"Yi-Joon! How are you? How's Ben?" His mom replied back.
"Yeah, I'm good. I'm hanging out in the studio with Julie," Skyler said. "Ben's with Carlos at the house."
"Okay, that's good to hear. Did you take Ben to the Groomer like I asked you to?" She asked.
"Yes, I already did that." Skyler nodded.
"I saw your performance with the band you're playing with on Youtube," she tells him. "I wish we could be there to see you play in person."
"Well, you and Dad can always see us play once you come home in two days, right?" Skyler said and his mom went silent on the other end. "Mom?"
"Yes! Sorry about that. About what you said, we actually..." His mom trailed off.
"What? What is it?" Skyler asked.
"The truth is... I don't think me and Dad are gonna come home this week," she admitted and Skyler's face dropped.
"Why? I thought you said—"
"I know," she said before Skyler could finish. "But your father's boss told him that there was a change in his schedule last minute, so our trip will be extended."
"Okay. Yeah, I-I understand," Skyler nodded quickly as he was filled with disappointment.
"I promise we'll be back home in a few more weeks, or maybe in a month. I'll ask your father about it," his mom said. "Look. I have to get going. I'll call you later, okay?"
"Yeah, of course," Skyler quickly nodded with a small smile.
"Okay, take care of yourself," She tells him. "Love you!"
"I love you, too," Skyler responded before his mom hung up. He dropped his phone to his said and lets out a sigh of defeat, before he went back inside the studio, making the others look up to him.
"What did she say?" Julie asked, noticing upon the upset look Skyler had.
"They're not coming home this week," Skyler said, sounding somewhat defeated.
"Why? What happened?" Julie asked.
"Something came up last minute, so their trip's been extended," Skyler explained and Julie frowned at that.
"I'm sorry, Sky," she says softly.
"I need some air," he sighs and storms off the studio before slamming the door shut, making Julie and the other guys flinch at the loud sound.
Julie can clearly tell that Skyler was upset. He always storms off somewhere to cool down. She understood why. She'd be upset as well if she was left alone by her parents all the time.
Julie sighed. "I'll go get him," she tells the boys before she stood up from the floor and left the studio to find Skyler.
"Sky?" Julie called for Skyler as she opens the front door to the house.
"I'm in the kitchen," Skyler called back.
Julie closed the door behind her and entered the kitchen to see Skyler in front of her fridge. "Sky."
"Hmm?" Skyler responded, not looking back to look as he recognized the voice.
"Are you okay?" Julie asked.
"Yeah, everything's fine," Skyler responded with a rushed tone. "Totally fine."
"Sky, you always storm off somewhere when you get upset. I know when something's bothering you," Julie tells him as Skyler closes the fridge. "You can be honest with me, you know? I'm your best friend."
Skyler lets out a heavy sigh and turns to face Julie. "You know how I always said that I'll be fine with living on my own while my parents are gone?" Skyler began. "For the first few days, I felt fine. But after a few weeks, I started feeling... lonely."
"Of course, it's not their fault that their trip's been extended, but... I don't see them as much now," he continued. "You know what the worst part is? When you start to feel like they don't even care about you at all."
"Why didn't you tell me that you were feeling this way?" Julie questioned.
"I didn't wanna be a burden to anyone," Skyler replied. "Especially you. You already had so much on your plate since... you know..." he trailed off, not wanting to finish that sentence in front of Julie.
"Sky. Even if I was hurting back then, you had your own feelings too," Julie tells him softly. "And you're not a burden. You're my best friend. If you ever feel like that again, just tell me, okay?"
Skyler face's softens and nods in response. "Okay," he says softly.
"Promise?" Julie held out her index finger to the Korean.
Skyler chuckles slightly. "Promise," he replied, linking his finger with hers, making the girl grin.
"We should probably get back to the studio, the guys are probably wondering what's taking us so long," Julie reminded him and Skyler nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, we should," Skyler replied.
"So," Julie begins with a smirk. "Do I know the girl that you're crushing on right now?"
"Hmmm..." Skyler paused, pretending to give some thought on the question. "Yes."
"Really? Who is it?" Julie asked excitedly.
"It's a yes or no question. I'm not saying anything else about it," Skyler says stubbornly with a teasing smirk, before he starts walking ahead of her.
"Why won't you tell me?" Julie asked, but Skyler ignored her. "Hey! Skyler, come on!" She begins to chase after him. She kept trying to pry him with questions, but Skyler was just as stubborn as a mule.
***
Skyler was in the living room, continuing his Marvel marathon with Ben laying down on his lap. Skyler was currently watching the first Spider-man movie with Tobey Maguire.
While he was watching, Skyler heard a familiar poof of one of his ghost friends arriving in his house. He glanced up briefly, catching Reggie in his sight.
"Hey Reg," Skyler greeted, returning his attention to the movie.
"Hey Sky," Reggie greeted cheerfully. "What'cha watching?"
"Spider-Man," Skyler tells him. "I'm watching the first one with Tobey Maguire in it. He's the one who plays Peter."
"There's more Spider-Man movies?"
"Yep." Skyler nodded. "They've actually released 7 so far, but I won't spoil it for your sake, so..."
Skyler trailed off before he reached to grab a bottle of coke from the table. He drank it and he noticed that Reggie was still standing behind him awkwardly. "Can I ask why you're actually here?" Skyler asked.
"I... actually wanted to check you on," Reggie said, fiddling with his fingers. "You know, since you've been living alone for the past few weeks, so I wanted to see if you were okay."
Skyler muttered an "oh" and nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. I've been good these days," he reassures him. "Do you wanna watch with me?" Skyler offers.
"Um, yeah," Reggie responded before he took a seat next to Skyler as he watched the movie. Reggie looks over and smiled when he sees Ben on Skyler's lap. "He's so cute," Reggie said.
"Yeah," Skyler nodded as he rubs Ben's ears. "Ben always keeps me company whenever I feel lonely."
"How did you get Ben?" Reggie asked.
"My parents adopted him through an abandoned dog website when I was around 8, or maybe 9," Skyler tells him. "I love him a lot."
"I've always wanted a puppy when I was alive," Reggie said with a sad smile. "But me and my parents never had the time for it."
"You never had a pet before?"
"No," Reggie sighed. "I don't think it would've been a good idea if we did, 'cause my parents were always arguing with each other instead," he explains.
"Why?" Skyler asked.
"I don't know, but they just do all the time," Reggie shrugs. "It was always so loud because of their fights at home, so I left to just... get away from that."
"I... never knew that. I'm really sorry that you had to go through all of that, Reg," Skyler says softly. Reggie just shrugs in response before he continues to watch the movie that was playing.
Skyler frowned as he saw Reggie frown. He wasn't used to seeing him like this and he hated it. He was so used to seeing Reggie being happy and go-lucky as usual.
"I'm sorry. This was supposed to be a relaxing movie night and I ruined the whole mood for you," Reggie shakes his head.
"No, Reg. You didn't ruin anything," Skyler interjects as he reached for the remote to pause the movie. "Everyone has their dark days, even me. But you really shouldn't bottle up your own emotions."
"I get that, too. There are somedays where I don't feel like smiling at all, where I just wanna... cry for a whole day," he went on. "But it can be a good thing as well. It really helps you to let everything off for once."
"You can always count on us whenever you feel down. Don't ever forget that," Skyler finished.
"Thanks, Sky," Reggie says with a soft smile. "I really needed that."
"No problem," Skyler said. Skyler returned his attention back to the movie and pressed play to continue.
Skyler and Reggie spent the entire night watching the Spider-Man movies together. Skyler told Reggie that Marvel fans have been theorizing that all three Spider-Mans will come together in one universe. As the movie went on, Ben had already fallen asleep on Skyler's lap and Skyler was starting feel sleepy.
Skyler drifted off to sleep sometime during The Amazing Spider-Man. After the first one ended, Reggie continued watching the second one. He mostly did it because he can't even sleep now that he's a ghost.
After Reggie had finished watching it, he turned the TV off and smiled at the sleeping teen and dog. He went over to grab a small blanket from the couch and puts it over their bodies, before he warped out of the living room, leaving Skyler alone with Ben.