⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙
⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙
Magnolia, Luke, Alex and Reggie had fallen asleep on top of one another in Julie's mother's studio, the exhaustion of the dance and the boys' extravagant night at the Hollywood Ghost Club getting the best of them. The four ghosts shared stories and adventures of their night around a camping lantern the Japanese girl had found in the loft, talking about their embarrassing moments to their highlights.
It was nice not worrying about a couple of things that night, distracting themselves from their own confusions and heartbreaks as they bonded with one another. All poking jokes and sharing laughs around a cheap light as they huddled together on Luke's couch. Much to his dismay, Reggie began singing 'Home is Where My Horse is', getting Magnolia and Alexto sing along to annoy the brunet to no end. The two had clung onto Luke, forcibly rocking him side-to-side to the bassist's country song.
At some point in the night, Luke had filled Magnolia on Alex's little ghost friend, telling her about how the blond was blushing over a skater by the name of Willie. As expected, Luke watched as the Japanese girl's lips parted at the mention of the name, her tawny-eyes flicking over to Luke, then at Alex in slight shock. After interrogating her for a short minute, Magnolia was quick to give in and admit she knew of Willie.
Admittedly, her vague answer didn't quite satisfy his burning desire, but let it go, nonetheless.
The following morning, Magnolia couldn't help but find herself trapped in Luke's arms, his head resting on top of her own and his breath fanning her face. A knit blanket was draped over the two, meeting up to their shoulders. The ballet dancer couldn't help but flush pink, her cheek pressed against his collarbone as Luke radiated the warmth her cold body desperately needed. She glanced around the room for the other two boys, finding her bangs in a cowlick and suppressing a yawn.
Detangling his arms from her torso--it was surprising how strong Luke was, subconsciously--without waking him up, Magnolia stretched and left to her loft. She couldn't help but look back at the brunst snuggled into the knit blanket with furrowed brows, making her bite back a laugh and a dopey smile. She poofed up to her loft, changing out of her clothes to and pulling on a white, long-sleeved turtleneck underneath of an army green knit top and black jean skirt.
She poofed back down to collect her converses next to Alex's drumkit--she has no idea how even they got there--only to find a note sitting on top of Luke's songwriting book. Sure, she knew the boy had boundaries just as much as she did, but Magnolia couldn't help herself to pick up the journal to look at the post-it note. In messy cursive print, the words 'Happy Birthday' were written in blue ink with an exclamation doting the end.
Looking up at the brunet still fast asleep on the couch, she stared back at the note on Luke's journal before making the connection. It's Luke's birthday today, the teen ghost living another day at seventeen, now counting eighteen, or forty-three. Whatever. A small smile found its way onto her lips, her fingers lightly tapping the top of the book before carefully putting it away, poofing away before the brunet could stir.
Magnolia Grace visited the only home she's ever known; her adoptive parents' modern apartment in Beverly Hills. It always had a beautiful view, glass panes pressed against the walls that gave a perfect view of the grassy plains that spilled all throughout the city, the lights illuminating the busy streets near the hundreds-of-thousands shopping centres. The world felt so bright with her father's speakers blaring out another ABBA song, while her papa attempting to make his grandmother's paella recipe.
The world that glared back at her was dull and bleak, the apartment lacking the livelihood she had known her entire childhood. She felt like a stranger, her tawny-eyes peeking into her own life and pulling it apart, trying to dissect the problem to find its root. Everything from the thin sheets that covered the pristine leather couches to the dying greenery in her papa's corner felt off, everything around her felt like a ghost town.
The Japanese dodged the living area, avoiding the windows in case to find her own reflection boring into her very soul, and made a beeline for her bedroom. The room itself remained unlocked and untouched with her unmade bed sheets on top of her canopy bed, the pink veils collecting dust. It made Magnolia smile, seeing miniscule things like the books on her desk open to the American Revolution and her French homework written bubbly and small, the initials M.G. on the name line.
Despite the reminiscent feeling she felt in the pit of her stomach, Magnolia immediately went to work, digging through her drawers to find a small rectangular device that had stuck to her hip at the prime age of seven. It took a few tries, finding her laptop, earbuds and adapter first before finding her prized possession, her MP3. She wasn't sure if Luke had one already, but she knew of the boy's infatuation for music, so the gift just seemed to click for her.
The Japanese girl took her MP3, wrapping it with the cord of a pair of earbuds before messily wrapping it newspaper. She hoped Luke would like it, even if her wrapping ability wasn't exactly great. It took a bit longer than expected, forgetting how long it took just to download songs onto the tiny device.
Tucking the gift underneath her arm, Magnolia took one last look around the room. Everything was back in its place, it was as if she hadn't been in the room at all. With a satisfied smile, the Asian girl teleported out of her bedroom and finding herself just outside of the Molina garage. With timid steps towards the barn-style doors, her converses making a light tapping sound with every step she took, she peered into through the door.
Her torso phased through, her tawny-eyes catching a pair of hazel-ones set against white skin, a loose and tired smile growing on the guitarist's face at the sight of her. Magnolia was quick to bring the terribly wrapped gift behind her back, shyly smiling at th brunet before phasing through completely.
The two stayed at two different sides of the studio, Luke standing up from his lawn chair--no doubt writing another song--and Magnolia stayed by the doors. It was as if the two were telepathically communicating, both aware of the predicament they were in the morning prior. It was embarrassing as is, especially if Alex and Reggie were around, but it seemed as though it was a mental agreement to forget the situation as a whole.
"Hi." The Japanese girl stuttered, breaking the silence. Luke softly laughed at her forwardness as he walked towards her with a dopey smile on his lips. Admittedly, he woke up before Magnolia, falling asleep moments later after spotting her cowlick and her cheek pressed against his collarbone. It was comfortable, but he didn't know her boundaries so he didn't push her on it.
The two neared each other, meeting in the middle as they stared at each other dumbly. The lead guitarist of Julie and the Phantoms curiously tilted his torso to the side, trying to see what the Japanese girl had been fiddling with. There was a light rustling sound that could be heard, obviously coming off of Magnolia's end as she messed with the corners of the newspaper.
"Happy birthday." Magnolia blurted out, her eyes darting from his hazel-eyes to his plaid red coat, the material looking thick and fuzzy on the brunet before looking back at his eyes. She tucked a strand of her behind her ear, watching Luke's eyes widen in surprise.
Magnolia smiled as Luke began to stutter, trying to explain with his hands to how the ballet dancer would know something like that. He fumbled over his words--something she found absolutely adorable--as he stared at her in bewilderment and amazement.
"I saw the note. On your journal?" The spirit explained, gesturing to his songwriting book sitting in the chair. Luke looked behind him, his face morphing into realization at the sight of the yellow sticky note Alex had written on. He looked back at her as Magnolia shifted her weight between her legs. "I never really asked you what you wanted for your birthday, but..."
Slowly pulling the newspaper-wrapped gift from behind her, Magnolia avoided his eyes in case he would hate it as Luke's eyes softened. He saw the poorly wrapped gift, finding lumps and uneven edges to the newspaper, but was sweet nonetheless. His lips parted as he stared at it, not exactly knowing what to say to the girl before him.
"Maggie, you seriously didn't have to-" Luke started as his hazel-eyes flickered from the gift to the Japanese girl in awe. She jutted it at him, wanting him to take it from her grasp. He kept denying it, telling her how he really didn't need, nor expect anything like this.
"Just take the gift, Patterson. From me, to you." Magnolia insisted, taking Luke's hand in her own--a certain feeling of warmth enveloping the two as it did in the morning--before putting the small gift into his open palm. His fingers curled around her smaller hand and the gift, staring at her. She stared back, their lips parted as they quickly retracted from one another.
"I'm surprised you didn't get me a shirt with sleeves." Luke joked, trying to clear the tension between the--unbelievably dense--pair. He took the gift in his hand, staring at it before deciding to tear through it. The Asian girl bounced on her toes, eager to see his reaction. Luke stared at the device in his hands, shock rolling off his body in waves as he looked at the gift, then back at the girl. "Mags..."
The MP3 she had gifted him came to life by a simple touch, the energy he focussed into his hands enough to scroll through the pages of songs she had downloaded. There was variety with every scroll, from R&B to Rock, lists of songs that he had missed out through the twenty-five years he had been stuck in that dark, empty room. There was a pair of earbuds wrapped around the device, having Luke unravel them to get to the control panel. He looked up from the MP3 player in his hand and back at the Japanese girl.
Magnolia fidgeted in her spot, watching Luke scroll through the number of songs she had downloaded whilst she was away. Of course, she liked to keep her possessions in a neat and tidy order, so it wasn't much of a surprise to find an outdated product in such pristine condition. The look in his eyes showed fondness for the girl as her own tawny-eyes carefully looked up into his.
"It's not much, but I just learned about your birthday like three hours ago." The Asian girl confessed, scratching her cheek bashfully as she went on to explain the meaning behind it. Admittedly, she was quite ashamed that she knew she could've gotten Luke something better, instead of something that was practically her lifeline living through the 2000's. "You've been in a tiny, dark room for twenty-five years, I thought this would be the fastest way to catch you up to the twenty-first century."
Luke stared at her with his lips parted, Magnolia beginning to worry at the look on his face. She was afraid he really didn't like it, the ghost before remaining unresponsive as she pointed to little little screen on the MP3 player.
"I downloaded some of my favourites, and some I thought you might like." Magnolia tried, biting the inside of her cheek as Luke looked down at the device once more, scrolling onto a song called 18 by One Direction, moving onto the song Angel Eyes by ABBA. A smile found its way onto his handsome features, a handful of the songs familiar to him as he smiled down at her. "Do you like it?"
Her hands were clasped together over her heart, silently praying to any higher power that was listening that the guitarist before her liked it. Sure, maybe adding artists like One Direction and Bruno Mars were a bit of a stretch, but she did say that she liked them. Though it didn't mean he would, either.
"More than like... wow." Luke confessed, biting his lip to keep the massive grin from spilling over his handsome features. He watched as Magnolia breathe a sigh of relief before practically beaming at him. The light behind her eyes wasn't just a small sparkle, or simply the morning sun glittering in them, it was as if she embodied the sunshine. Their dopey and ethereal smile mirrored each other. "Thank you."
Magnolia blushed as Luke bit the inside of his cheek, the two avoiding eye contact for a few moments. She cleared her throat as the brunet gave her a cheeky side-eyed glance.
"Of course, Lukie. That's what friends do." Magnolia continued, an unfamiliar pang to her chest at the word. She cautiously eyed the side of his face, watching Luke let out a breathy chuckle with a small shake of his head, looking the girl back into her eyes deeply. Words and thoughts circled her brain, but one phrase seemed to pop up more than once, making her breath hitch.
Just friends, remember? Nothing more, nothing less.
"Not just for the MP3, for everything." Luke clarified, making the Asian girl furrow her brows in confusion to what he could possibly mean. With a quirk of his lips falling upwards, a slight accent coming through his voice, making her throat dry. "You didn't have to, but you joined our band and stayed here, with us. With me. I completely forgot that you have a whole other life to get to, but you put it on hold for us."
The guitarist cutely bashfully smiled at her, his tongue peeking from his lips. He watched as Magnolia's lips parted and her cheeks flush a pinkish-red colour, his words echoing over-and-over in her head like a broken record. The brunet repeated his own words, realizing the double meaning behind them and stuttered out.
"For the band, I mean." Luke added quickly, making Magnolia nod eagerly with a timid smile. The two flushed, sheepishly regarding each other.
"Right! The band." The Japanese girl repeated, scratching her cheek lightly as she gave him breathy laugh. She straightened up as she mindlessly pinched at the end of her dark hair, the strand feathery and silky between her pointer finger and thumb. "Yeah, of course. I'd do anything for you guys."
Luke nodded with a delicate smile as he scratched the back of his head, ruffling up his chestnut-coloured hair that laid at the nape of his neck. The awkward atmosphere loomed over the pair, lingering and making it slightly nerve-wracking to what the other had to say.
"Do you uh- wanna get back to the guys?" Luke stuttered, tilting his head to the side adorably as he jutted his thumb over his shoulder. Magnolia looked back at him, her eyebrows raising slightly to perk up to hear what he had to say. His other hand was shoved into the front pocket of his jeans, trying to be as casual as possible to get back to a more natural atmosphere. "They're at this cafe place-"
The lead guitarist was always confident, whether it be in his musical ability or when casually flirting with either gender. He liked to think it contributed greatly to his 'Rockstar' appearance, but underneath his muscle tees, exhilarating stage presence and flirty remarks, he was just someone who liked to keep to himself. For some odd reason, Magnolia had managed to worm her way through those layers and just expose that side.
And he thought was confusing enough to be caught up in the afterlife.
"Yes! Yeah, please." Magnolia agreed, relief rolling off of her body in waves. She gave him a cheeky smile, stretching her hands above her head as she rocked on her heels. "I might just die of boredom."
Luke snorted at her dead joke, nodding towards the door as he draped an arm around her shoulders. Magnolia adjusted to the weight to her shoulder, becoming accustomed to it by the number of times the brunet had done it over the period they've known each other. The two strolled towards the door as the ballet girl underneath his arm poked at his sides.
"To be honest, I didn't think you could get all mushy like that." Magnolia retorted, her finger and playful pokes meeting the plush material of Luke's plaid coat. The brunet scowled playfully, pinching her cheek after shoving the MP3 into his coat pocket, the pinch making her yelp in surprise.
"Shut it, Doran, or I'll take my 'thank you' back." Luke grumbled, frowning in a teasing manner making the Japanese girl gasp at him, hitting his toned stomach with a massive grin. The two were honestly glad their easy-going environment was back to their normal, no longer being suffocated by awkward silence and side glances.
They might as well die (again) if that were to happen.
"Hey, Magnolia? One last thing?" The brunet muttered, pulling his arm off of her shoulders carefully. The ballet dancer raised a perfectly arched brow in his direction, her real name foreign coming off from his mouth. She knew Luke rarely used it, so she had every right to feel slightly on edge. He fiddled with the rings on his fingers, twisting them anxiously as he tried to figure out the right things to say.
"What's up?" Magnolia offered, rocking on the heels in slight anticipation. She waited patiently for the brunet before her to find the words to form his sentences. Luke pursed his lips whilst scratching the back of his head.
"I'm sorry, about last night. It wasn't cool to ditch you and Julie like that, especially making you use a personal song of yours as a backup. Or, break our pinky promise, I know that it means a lot to you." Luke murmured, embarrassment flushing his cheeks as sincerity dripped from his words. He shyly looked down at her, making Magnolia stare up at him in awe. She didn't think he'd pick up on something like that. "You know you can talk to me, right?"
Magnolia beamed at his change of demeanor, springing off the tips of her toes and jumped into the brunet's arms. He didn't expect the sudden action, making him gasp as he quickly wrapped his arm around her torso to catch her. She tightened her grasp on his, her nose nuzzled into the fuzzy material of his plaid coat.
Luke hesitated before giving in, tightening his own grasp on her with a secretive smile on his face. Her raven-coloured hair brushed against his cheeks and nose. The stood there for a few moments, enjoying each other's embrace for as long as they could. The warmth that radiated off of them was insane, neither wanting to leave and enjoy it for just a little longer.
"Yeah, I know. And you can do the same with me, right?" Magnolia mumbled, her words slightly muffled from the material of his coat. She pulled away, her fingers that locked around his neck smoothing and resting on his shoulders. Luke's hands rested on her hips, a content smile on his face. She tapped the top of his chest, just below his collar bone. "C'mon, I don't want the guys waiting too long."
She scooted away, floating around the room in hopes to find a certain article of clothing. Luke watched her carefully, her sweet and happy demeanor never changing as she dug through their garbage bags of things. She hummed to herself, retrieving a grey beanie from his trash bag and tucking her dark strands underneath it.
"Maggie." Luke called out to her with a quick lick of his lips, making the Asian girl look up at him curiously. She skipped towards him, trying to drag him out the door to meet up with their friends. The brunet gently took her hand, pausing any action as he hesitantly asked. "Are we... are we cool?"
He didn't want any bad blood to boil between them, some gut feeling passing through him made him think there was going to be. He felt like she was hiding something, especially from himself and the guys. He knew that Alex would be her first option to tell--or Julie, honestly--so as much as it pained him to do so, he patiently waited for her to tell him.
"Like ice." Magnolia responded, grinning easily as Luke mimicked it. The two were practically off, her arm looping around his own and ready to drag him out the door. The brunet followed her out, letting her drag him towards the barn door once more before spotting the grey beanie on his head.
He furrowed his brows at it.
"Is that my hat?" Luke asked rhetorically, knowing damn well it was his. The Japanese girl pursed her lips, tugging the hat onto her head till it covered her ears and giggled. She observed of any signs of discomfort on his face, only to find amusement as she slowly nodded.
"Mine now, Ghost Boy!" Magnolia called, booping the tip of his nose as she giggled. Luke watched as she sprinted past the doors, her laughter following her as she did before fading away, a white light consuming her spiritual body and whisking her away to the little cafe he had mentioned where Alex and Reggie were.
The lead guitarist of Julie and the Phantoms normally didn't like sharing his things, whether it be his articles of clothing or the french fries he ordered at the diner. Something changed within him, he didn't particularly hate the idea of letting Magnolia get away with his hat on her head, he didn't mind.
He didn't understand what could be happening to him, but he could only guess she was an exception.
⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙
It didn't take long for Luke to find her.
Instead of meeting the boys at the cafe, Magnolia had gotten distracted by the shoppe next door, her eyes locked on the window. The brunet found her with her eyes glittering in pure joy, tapping against the window eagerly to show him what she had been looking at. Luke smiled down at her before following her line of sight, his eyes falling on a baby blue tulle dress, a glittery material that formed the collar and sleeves.
He asked what the big deal was--which made her smack his arm as a retort--and having Magnolia going on a tangent about how beautiful the dress was. Admittedly, Luke was pleasantly surprised to how much the Asian girl knew about the quality of fabrics and elegant gowns. He listened intently, some terminology he couldn't quite follow on but nonetheless sorted it out on his own head.
Luke knew that she was passionate, but to get the girl on a rant about expensive materials and appropriate dress length went to a whole new level. He smiled down at her before she had apologized for "talking his ear off" but he plainly shrugged with that dorky smile on his face and gently led her in the direction of the cafe.
She immediately gravitated towards Alex and Reggie, waving happily in their direction as Luke wandered off towards the bar of the cafe. She sat in the empty chair next to Alex, the two watching Reggie mess with an Asian woman. She was obviously dressed to impress, her outfit matching the aesthetic of the coffee shop.
Her phone hovered over a little pastry dish, taking several snapshots of the dessert at different angles. Reggie commented on her composition of the photo, glancing over the woman's shoulder as her finger tapped the white dot on the camera app on her phone. Magnolia frowned, sharing a glance with Alex, then back at Reggie.
"You guys are so weird." The Asian girl commented, watching Reggie make weird faces at her, even though the living woman couldn't quote see him, or the two other ghosts that had inhabited her table. The bassist feigned hurt as Magnolia playfully stuck her tongue at him before he went back to messing with the girl. "Just leave the poor girl alone."
The woman hummed in content, pulling her phone away from the dessert and began to scroll through her photo album. She paid no mind to her pastry afterwards, her face rather neutral as she searched for the best photo to post onto her social media platforms, no doubt.
"Is this what we're here for? To watch people take pictures of food?" Alex retorted, a look of disinterest taking over his handsome features as he leaned his forearms against her table. Reggie rolled his eyes at their negativity, wanting them to see the fun he's been having over messing with the people of the living.
"It's fun, watch this." Reggie advised, the woman reaching for her dessert to take a bite. He grinned as he kept moving the dish from her range, making the Asian woman blindly look for the dessert with her eyes locked onto her screen. "People never stop looking at their phones."
Magnolia gaped, watching the woman's eyes never leave her phone's before getting fed up to look for it. She tore her eyes off of the device, finding it farther away from her. She took cautious looks around for someone moving it before finding no one. Reggie giggled as she picked up her pastry and stalked off.
"That's some serious FOMO." The Japanese girl proclaimed, a look of slight amusement falling onto her pretty features as she held out her hand for the blue-eyed bassist to slap. He did so in content, happy that someone found his handiwork in spooking the girl funny. Alex threw her a look at her use of lingo, making her quickly pipe in to avoid confusion. "It's an abbreviation for, 'Fear of Missing Out'."
Alex nodded as a thanks as Reggie 'oh'd in response. They obviously had been here for quite some time, leaving both Magnolia and Luke alone for the morning. Although the privacy was appreciated, she couldn't help but wonder why they were even here and why not around Los Angeles.
So, she asked them.
"Luke said something about this place being a hotspot for music industry people." Reggie responded, plopping down in his seat the Asian woman was in. Magnolia hummed in response as her eyes landed on a stage in the back of the cafe. He propped up his feet on the table, only to quickly bring them down when the ballet dancer next to Alex had told him it was bad mannerisms.
"It's a cute date spot, too." Alex declared, a soft hum in his throat as he eyed the quaint building. The bassist and rhythm guitarist of Julie and the Phantoms couldn't help but agree, the interior of the building setting a calming and romantic atmosphere with the wood accents and greenery that added a splash of colour. It was like a Starbucks, but roomier and less busy.
The three could only imagine the scene with flashing lights and cheering crowds, the seats filled with record executives ready to fish out the next Big Star of Hollywood.
"Maggie and boys, being a ghost has its privileges." Luke popped in, pointing back at the minibar with his thumb. He had the biggest smile on his face, regarding his friends with pure excitement and energy that seemed to bounce off the walls. The three shared a look before giving the brunet their attention, urging him to continue. "I just wrote our names on the playlist tomorrow night!"
His smile didn't seem to dim as he watched the three lose their smiles, one person in mind--the girl who could make them visible--and her cruel grilling she had served the deceased members of Sunset Curve, all before ultimately quitting the band. Of course, they all wanted to make things right with Julie, but with her avoiding them like the plague, they had to show their efforts without confronting her face-to-face.
In their case, showing how much they truly cared about this band they've created. It seemed that the only idea that they came up with as a collective--minus Magnolia--was to book them a solid gig.
"I'm getting a little worried about him. He keeps forgetting Julie quit the band." Alex whispered into Magnolia's ear, loud enough for the two other ghosts with them to hear. Reggie nodded in agreement, pointing to the blond as he leaned back into his chair, using the tips of his toes to keep balance. The Asian girl nodded, making Luke sigh exasperatedly.
"She'll come back as soon as she knows we have a great gig." The lead guitarist explained, his hands grasping at the back of Magnolia's chair. He messed with the ends of her dark hair and thumbed through the silky strands before running his hand through his chestnut hair. The Japanese girl underneath his nose furrowed her brows, looking up at the ghost from her seat position.
"And apologizing." Magnolia added as if it were obvious, making Alex snap and point at her with his free hand in agreement. The Japanese girl had been mindlessly messing with the string bracelets on the blond's wrist. Luke looked down at her with a raised brow, making the girl roll her eyes as she gently flicked at his chin with her free hand. "Hello? She's still mad at you dunderheads for a reason."
Luke pursed his lips at her, his hand letting go of her hair before tugging the beanie on her head over her eyes. Magnolia yelped her hands flying up to grab the end of the hat and curled it upwards, away from of her eyes. She glared, her tawny-eyes trained on the hazel-eyed boy's jaw.
"Not cool, Lucas." The Asian girl mumbled, ruffling her bangs a tad bit as if the brunet above her had messed them up. Luke grinned, turning his attention back onto the two boys before him. The two boys giving him taunting looks, which he responded to with pointing at his own eyes, then back at them. His hazel-eyes were narrowed down at them as Alex pursed his lips.
"But, if she doesn't come back, let's not forget, we do have somewhere else we can play and eat." Reggie added, reminding the three ghosts in the cafe about the Hollywood Ghost Club. Luke hummed in agreement, making a so-and-so gesture with his head.
"I'm still jealous that you guys could eat." Magnolia huffed, leaning away from the back of her chair, but her long, dark hair held her back as her strands get stuck at the back of her chair. Luke was quick to help her out, trying to keep the Asian girl from crying and pulling on the strands. She mumbled a small thanks as the ghost began to detangle the mess.
"You were right, she would've liked it." Alex proclaimed, grinning at the brunet slyly. Luke threw him a small glare, silently gesturing for the blond to help him with it as she conversed with Reggie. Alex stood up--the blond knowing how to deal with sort of thing because of his younger sister--and fixed her hair the best he could. He shooed the guitarist away, Luke taking Alex's seat.
To be honest, Alex didn't even think this could happen with all four of them being ghosts.
"What did you guys eat?" Magnolia asked eagerly, her eyes shimmering at the thought of food. Reggie tapped his chin playfully in thought, making the Asian girl groan, throwing her head back in response. "C'mon, you were holding out on me last night. Do me a solid and tell me what it was like to eat again."
Luke laughed wholeheartedly as Reggie rubbed his hands, splaying his hands out as if he were telling her a tall-tale. His black boot rested against the wooden table, his eyes determined as his mind reached far into his memory to recite the American-style foods they had consumed, further envying the girl. Magnolia leaned in subconsciously, eagerly listening to the bassist's description.
She yelped, feeling the pull of the iron chair's grasp on her dark strands. Alex quitely scolded her, finally detangling her hair. Magnolia thanked the blond happily as he now stood behind her before cupping her jaw and listening intently to the meals they had.
"It was so good. The meatball subs that just melt in your mouth, the cheesy pizza and the grilled-to-perfection sliders." Reggie described, the three sighed at the thought. All of three of them had been major food lovers, all content in making and consuming food. From chocolate cake desserts to nacho plates, from Oolong noodles to Korean barbeque.
Alex stared at them in bewilderment, all caught in their own little daydreams of milkshakes and french fries. Sure, he missed eating food just as much as the next ghost, but he wasn't as obsessed as the three crowding around the wooden table. The blond gestured for the brunet to leave his chair, making Luke grumble and switching places with him.
Luke took his spot back behind the Japanese girl.
"You guys are so lucky. I miss food." Magnolia sighed, resting her jaw in the palm of her hand. The brunet behind her grinned ear-to-ear, resting his hands onto her shoulders and lightly massaging the tense muscle.
"Keep your head in the game, Mags." Luke commented, slightly laughing as she relaxed under his grasp. She hummed absentmindedly whilst stretching her fingers before a jolt coursed through Alex's, Reggie's and Luke's body, a violet colour erupting from the spark making Magnolia gasp.
"Oh my God!" The Asian girl gaped, watching Alex and Reggie twitch in their seats, their hands over their chest as if trying to contain the spark. The feeling was like electricity, painfully shocking the boys in unison. Luke's hands quickly flew off of Magnolia's shoulders, hoping that the electrifying feeling pumping through his veins wouldn't affect her. He stumbled back a few steps away from them, the ballet dancer looking behind her to watch Luke catch himself with a heaving chest.
Her face was written in worry, offering the brunet her chair. After a few tries of her insistence and Luke's denial, the hazel-eyed boy reluctantly sat in her seat as he tried to catch his own breath. The three boys heaved, every breath they took painfully affecting the cavity where their beating hearts once were. Magnolia felt powerless, watching the trio gasping for air.
"It's the same thing, again!" Alex gasped, the Asian girl racing to his side to wrap him in her arms in comfort. That was the best she could do, not understanding the root of the problem. The blond smiled at the effort, rubbing her arm in thanks as she pulled away. Magnolia carefully situated Reggie's feet to prop back onto the table, bringing his chair back into a relaxation position.
"It feels like that time I was fixing my amp in the rain." Reggie groaned, rubbing his chest and clutching at the white tee underneath his leather jacket. He thanked the Japanese girl with a smile, letting her run back to Luke to massage his tense shoulders just as he did her. Luke relaxed, the dull pain in his chest lingering.
"You shouldn't-" Alex started, only to pause as he stared at Reggie in bewilderment. The blue-eyed bassist seem to ignore him, waving his hand off in dismissal, making the blond frown and just nod sarcastically. "Okay."
Magnolia situated the boys in more comfortable positions, taking a seat at the wooden table with one leg crossed over the other. Her hands were planted behind her, regarding the boys she had grown to love with a mix of concern and anxiety. She had never been in this sort of situation before, so to watch her friends hurt the way they did made her stomach do somersaults.
And not in the good kind.
"Okay, let's retrace your steps. What happened last night?" The Japanese girl investigated, her nails tapping rhythmically against the polished wood. She licked her lips, examining them all carefully as if to see if there was anything physically wrong with them.
Ghosts couldn't get hurt, things just phase right through us. So, what's makes it so different, now?
"We ate ten pounds of pizza yesterday without a stomach." Luke retorted, sending a joking wink Magnolia's way. Her eyebrows squeezed together as her lips parted, the ghost boy laughing through the dull pain in his chest. Seeing her offended reaction was worth the pain, feeling a sharp pain on his forehead making him groan.
"I hate you guys, sometimes." The Japanese girl muttered under her breath, shaking her head how they didn't seem to take this as seriously as she did. She pulled away from Luke, obviously flicking him in the forehead. Alex and Reggie laughed at the brunet as he pouted at the girl, rubbing the space just above his eyebrows.
She blew her bangs upwards in slight frustration, avoiding his gaze as she mentally wracked her brain for every tip-and-trick she had learned in the ghost world. Eight months of experience, she had that much over the three, but nothing seemed to ring a bell for purple flash thingies.
"Isn't that Willie?" Alex stated, more to himself as he gazed out the window. His blue-eyes caught onto the skater ghost's dark ones, the pair staring longingly at one another. It wasn't until Willie's eyes flickered off of the blond, finding Magnolia's as the two Asians' eyes widening in surprise at the sight of the other.
Willie fled off on his skateboard before anybody could act, the long-haired skater disappearing out of their sight. Before anyone could protest, the blond drummer stood up from his seat, the dull pain in his chest fading away as he phased through the doors of the cafe to chase him down.
Luke and Reggie couldn't help but smirk, noticing Alex's lack of focus as he bolted out the door and straight for the ghost. Magnolia couldn't help but smile, seeing that longing look on the skater's face at the sight of Alex. She knew Willie, he wasn't the type to fall for anyone easily.
With a quick inhale, Magnolia quickly followed the boy out, ignoring Reggie's and Luke's calls for her to come back. It might've been selfish, but she knew that she couldn't leave Alex alone out there, especially trying to reel Willie back in like a fish on a hook. They both cared for Alex--the other feeling a lot more differently for the blond--and somehow she knew the one thing that circled the skater's head before fleeing before Alex could get to him.
Alex couldn't be near Willie, neither could Magnolia. Those were the strict rules and the Asian girl could only do so much to follow them.
"You okay?" Magnolia breathed, finding Alex just outside the coffee shop with a longing look on his face. She followed his gaze, watching the long-haired skater disappear into a nearby alleyway. The blond blinked, a hurt feeling in his chest at the thought of Willie skating off without saying hello, just plainly watching him and his friends.
Alex felt as though he'd done something wrong.
"Yeah, just peachy." Alex responded, his voice low and weak at the thought of scaring Willie away. Magnolia's heart broke into tiny little pieces, hurt behind her own eyes before wrapping her arms around the blond drummer, the boy quickly reciprocating to her comfort. He clung onto her tightly, his body shaking as the Japanese girl softly whispered sweet nothings into his ear to calm him.
You have some explaining to do, Will.
⋘ ──── ∗ ⋅◈⋅ ∗ ──── ⋙
word count: 6726
not too proud of the second part of this story, but more than happy w/ my luke+maggie content. i'm hoping to edit this maybe later today, or tomorrow, but i rlly wanted to push this out for you lovely people to enjoy teehee.
a little more insight on our maggie and willie trope cuz we gotta get that buildup, AND I LITERALLY LOVE YOU GUYS! y'all made my day i can't-
ANYWAY THANK YOU FOR READING THE CHAPTER AND I HOPE YOU GUYS REALLY ENJOYED IT! THANK YOU GUYS FOR 400 VOTES AND 7.4K READS OMG-
PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT (I'LL REALLY APPRECIATE IT IF YOU DO) AND PLEASE HAVE A LOVELY DAY/EVENING/NIGHT!
see you next time!