Wow. I can't believe he pulled the disappointment card. Maybe I'm disappointed in him for being so easily blinded by revenge. He's sitting here lecturing me about a second chance when he's wasting his by risking missing the dance tonight.
I groan and throw my head back, fighting a war with myself and sighing when the two sides file a compromise. Curiosity gets the best of me, but logic still remains, unlike with the boys.
I'll go to check it out, but before anyone tries to pull anything, I'm out. I'll go to the dance with Julie. Flynn said she needed a date, right?
Unwillingly, I poof onto a bus bench on Sunset Boulevard, Reggie slumped over right next to me and Alex and Luke perched over the back.
His face instantly brightens and he uncrosses his arms, though I'm very much still mad at him. "You came!"
"No," I shake my head, glancing around for any sight of Willie. "I'll walk you guys to the door on your first day, but I'm not going in with you."
All the boys share a sly smile, and Willie skates in, soon leading us into an abandoned hotel hiding in the shadows. As soon as we walk in, shivers run down my spine, and I let go of Reggie's hand, not knowing I was even holding it to begin with.
An instant chill hits me like a wall of bricks, the same one I used to get when walking up the stairs at night, and all instincts tell me to run. Various pictures line the walls, and the lobby screams "Roaring 20s" with its Grammy Award red carpets, filled to the rim with people dressed specially in suits and glittery dresses.
"So this is where your hotshot ghost lives, huh?" Luke peeks around, taking the place in with a smile.
"Yeah, we've walked past this hotel, like, a million times," Alex says as if trying to convince himself of something. As for me, I don't need much convincing to get the heck out of here. Something really doesn't feel right. "How come we've never heard of it?"
Willie answers with a huge smile, "That's because this area has been sealed off for decades. I mean, you wouldn't even know this place exists unless you're invited. Alright, I gotta go make sure everything's cool, but I'll be right back."
He disappears behind a dark purple curtain and Reggie's and my eyes go with him, landing on a giant Great Gatsby-themed plaque reading "The Hollywood Ghost Club" followed by "Members Only."
"Hollywood Ghost Club?" Reggie reads aloud as we drift toward a gold railing overlooking the entirety of the club. "This place is creepy."
Against my will, I look down only to find us at least twenty feet off the ground, standing over hundreds of people dressed in the same kind of formal attire, and I leap backward, my heart hammering in my chest.
Relax, Izzy. You can't die again. I don't think...
"Agreed. Yeah, you guys have fun. I'm out. Dance is in an hour. Don't be late or I'll kill you. Again." And with that, I poof out before they can look to respond, instantly reappearing right beside Julie backstage.
"Is everybody fired up for Julie and the Phantoms?" Flynn's voice echoes through the gym and the crowd goes wild, cheering and whooping from below the stage. "Great! Keep that fire 'cause that's later. We're a bit behind schedule, but don't worry, just enjoy these mind-blowing beats."
"Julie and the Phantoms?" Julie and I ask at the same time. Not going to lie, though, that name sounds awesome.
"I had some free time in French class. And you'd better like it because I registered it on Insta, Snapchat, Twitter..."
"What's that?" I pipe up, nothing she says ringing a bell. Insta what, noodle?
Julie looks at me at if I've grown another head. "You don't know what Insta is?"
I shake my head and shrug. "Dead, remember?"
She makes an 'o' with her mouth and explains before going back to Flynn. "It's like this platform where people post pictures and other people can like their pictures and comment. And no, I love it. I'm sure the guys will, too." Julie whips her head around. "Speaking of which, where are the guys?"
"Being dumb somewhere," I mutter before facing her and smiling. "They're just taking care of something. They'll be here."
Suddenly, Flynn's eyes go wide, and she points behind us and spins to leave.
"Nick!" Julie shouts and glances at me in a panic. I shrug, never having seen this guy before, and a blonde in a dark hat approaches her. "Look, Flynn! It's Nick!
"Thanks for the introduction," he chuckles.
"So you made it," Julie drags on, and he nods his head with a smile.
"Wouldn't miss it. The truth is I can't wait to see you play again. Your song has been stuck in my head for weeks."
"Well, someone should let it out," I squint at him and cross my arms. Julie's face drops in shock and she nudges me, her elbow going straight through where I'm supposed to be.
I turn around and wait for them to finish, deciding that whatever's going on is too painful to watch, until a snarky redhead in a pink boa drags him off.
"I don't like her," I say blatantly, and she instantly agrees, glaring at her as she walks away with Nick in tow.
"Yeah, well, join the club. Flynn calls her 'the demon.'" I can't help but laugh, but Julie remains serious and worried. "Are you sure the boys are okay?"
I sigh. "Honestly, no. They're three ghosts alone in the 1920s all sharing the same brain cell. I told them to be here within the hour." Julie's shoulders drop, and I suddenly feel terrible for not grabbing them and dragging them here with me. "But I can go get them," I offer, trying to lighten the mood again.
She nods, and I try to teleport back to the Ghost Club, but nothing happens. Julie takes a seat in front of me, and I silently start to panic. I got out, right? Why can't I get back in? Am I broken? Did someone turn off my ghosty powers? Was there an off-switch this entire time...
I try again, forcing myself to concentrate harder than I ever have before, seeing myself with them at the top of the stairs, peering over the railing. And I almost get through to them, glitching back and forth like a broken hologram.
I can see them, Reggie, Luke, and Alex, beside Willie seated around a table in the front. A man dressed from head to toe in purple glitter approaches them from behind and orders another in a white suit to pull up a seat. He pauses, glancing back and staring directly at me, the blue of his eyes cold and desolate, and with the snap of his fingers, I'm thrown back into Los Feliz High School.
"Uh, Julie? I, um... Something's keeping me from teleporting back to the boys."
"You're flickering!" Fear flashes across her face and I flinch. "Maybe try going somewhere else?"
And I agree to the idea, trying to convince myself that none of what just happened actually happened. Unfortunately, I easily poof across the gym without a second thought, and for once glad I'm not solid because a girl twirls right through me. I hate dances.
I stand there awkwardly, trying to gather my bearings and pacify the sudden tingles throughout my entire body, before appearing again next to Julie, shaking everything off, but the sheer panic doesn't leave.
"What?" She blinks and stares, standing still and trying to comprehend everything, "Wait, where did they go? Why can't you go back?"
"There's a man there." Willie's ghost friend, I deduce and realize, and my heart stops. Is this a trap? But why would that man or Willie want the boys? We're all ghosts, there's nothing special about any of us when we're not playing with Julie.
"Do you recognize him?" Julie asks, and I shake my head. As far as I know, the boys and I have never seen him before.
Flynn goes back to the DJ stand and tries to keep stalling, though the crowd continuously gets restless. Julie paces back and forth backstage, and I glance around nervously with her. Time passes by, hour after hour, and the boys still aren't back.
What the heck is so important that they're still there? After all they did to help Julie play again, after all Reggie did to get me into this charade with them, they ditch? Is this actually a joke? If it is, it's far from funny.
I try to teleport back to them multiple times, but to no avail. I'm completely blocked off from that Ghost Club, and the more time that passes, the more let down and betrayed Julie and I feel. Julie keeps telling herself that they'll come, refusing to go on without them, but I know they're gone.
And to make it worse, that blonde kid from earlier, Nick, gives Julie a not-so pep talk and steals Flynn's mic, announcing that we were going on right then and there and causing Julie to be even more embarrassed when we still couldn't play despite the hologram machine being "fixed." Cough, cough.
By the time midnight rolls around, everyone has gone off to Carrie's mansion of a house, graciously paid off thanks to her thief of a dad and Luke's stolen songs, and Julie and Flynn sit under the balloon arch.
I dangle my feet off the stage, playing with the balloons and seeing how much I have to concentrate to pop them and scare the heck out of Flynn, to Julie's amusement.
"I can never show my face at this school again," Julie sighs and slouches against the stage platform.
"That's what we get for depending on boys," Flynn adds, though I don't quite agree.
"Luke, Reggie, and Alex are far from being normal boys. Normal idiots, sure. Boys, no," Julie gives a slight laugh, but Flynn, of course, can't hear me. If only we were performing... Oh, that's right. My face is far from amused, if you couldn't already tell.
If they even dare to show their faces tonight, I'm going to turn them into ghosts all over again, that's for sure.
"I just... I don't know if I should be mad or worried. They're ghosts. I don't know what kind of trouble they can get into."
Flynn ignores her and tries to lighten the mood, getting up and disappearing into the cafeteria to get some ice cream and, upon Julie's request, two of everything. She offers Julie a place at her house tonight to forget all of this, and she gladly agrees. Though, I know I'm heading right back to the studio and waiting like a mother whose son or daughter stayed out past curfew. Well past curfew.
Meanwhile, I know exactly how to answer Julie. "How about we play a nice game of good cop, bad cop. You can be worried for the boys, and I can be beyond angry at them for blowing us off. Reggie's already currently on my bad side. I definitely have room for two more."
She lets out a small chuckle and tilts her head back to look up at me. "I just don't understand what's so important. They know how much this means to me, to both of us. It just doesn't make sense."
"Yeah, but a lot of the things they say and do don't make sense," I shrug, ready to give them a steaming pile of "I told you so" when they get back, especially Reggie who brushed off my very real and very accurate bad feeling about the club.
"Julie, we are ready to rock this dance," Reggie runs in with his fists in the air, and his face instantly drops when he notices the gym is completely empty, "which is clearly over."
As if they aren't over three hours late, the boys stop in the middle of the gym above the Bobcat logo.
"Ahem," I clear my throat, arms crossed and a piercing glare on my face. "You three have some explaining to do." I nod down at Julie, and they finally get the picture.
"Look," Luke breaks away first, approaching her slowly as if she's going to snap at him. If she doesn't, I definitely will. I can't believe they'd do this to her. "We are so, so sorry that we bailed on you."
"Yeah," Alex joins, him and Reggie having caught up with Luke in front of us. "I mean, the night really got away from us."
"And the twins," Reggie mutters, and the boys slap him and glare his way immediately.
"The what now? You guys ditched Julie, knowing how much this means to her, over some girls? I'm guessing they were alive, too. You know, the thing you guys aren't."
But Julie's obviously planning on taking it a little easier on them, against my best wishes and what they deserve. "Just please tell me it had nothing to do with you getting back at Carrie's dad."
"Oh, this is gonna be good," I mumble.
"Of course not."
"No! We wouldn't do that."
"Us? No!"
The boys laugh awkwardly and exchange knowing looks, and I roll my eyes.
"Seriously?" I ask, being proven wrong when I think it couldn't get any worse. For them.
"You're lying to me?"
"OK, look, it was something we needed to do," Alex tries to convince her but fails miserably.
"If it was something you guys really needed to do, why was Izzy with me this whole time? She's been here with me waiting for you guys to come back, and you never did. If Bobby was her own brother, why wasn't she there with you guys?"
The boys are silent until Luke speaks up, "We'll do whatever it takes. We'll play the next school dance..."
"What? Another dance where you can bail on me and make me look like a fool?" Julie bites back through glazed eyes. "Save it. You know what really sucks? Our songs were good. This was a mistake."
With that, she runs out of the gym, and I'm quick to follow her, giving them one last piece of my mind.
"All three of you knew what she's been through and how tough it's been for her to play, and then you do this? Bands don't do that to each other. Friends don't do that to each other. Congratulations. You just ruined your one shot at playing again."
---
Not a very eventful chapter, but it had to happen. The guys went to the Hollywood Ghost Club, yikes. We all know where that leads... But! I have some cute things planned for the next couple chapters, and Reggie and Izzy's relationship is about to get moving in a completely different direction than the show if all goes as planned!
We're already done with episode five and only eight chapters in, so I'm going to just start focusing on those two characters and their development more so than the sequence of the series. More scenes to come!
And my gosh, we just hit 1K yesterday, how are we already at 2K? This is incredible! Thanks so much for your guys' reads, votes, and comments, it's insane and I can't thank you guys enough for all this support!
Thanks for reading! Tell me what you think, and vote and comment!
-Kait 🧡