ADIRA'S POV
We were all in the garage coming up with a set list for tonight. " So, Julie and I were thinking we'd start with "Stand Tall." What do you guys think?" Luke asked us excitedly. "Perfect" Alex replied. "Cool" I mumbled as I picked at the lose string on Reggie's jacket. "Sounds good" Reggie said. We all had the same sad tones in our voices.
"Sounds good? Guys, wake up! I wanna hear that it sounds awesome! I know this isn't how we wanted things to turn out, but we gotta be all in tonight. This is our second chance at playing the Orpheum! Not to mention, Adira's first!" Luke tried to get us excited. But it was hard. I'm not only leaving Julie, I'm leaving my family behind. It's hard to let go.
"I... I get it, I get it, but it's hard. Do we even know what on the other side when we cross over? Do we all still get to hang together? You... You guys are the only family I have left" now it all made sense why Reggie was feeling the worst out of all of us. I moved to Reggie, looping my arm through his and resting my head on his shoulder, he laid his head on top of mine.
He may be a little ditsy and confused sometimes, but he cares about us, he's just worried. "Love you too, Reg" I said sadly.
"Listen, reg. We don't know what's gonna happen either, but... it's not like we have a choice" Alex said as I pulled away from him. He didn't get the chance to answer as the jolts hit us again. "I'm pretty sure we do. And it rhymes with Hollywood Ghost Club" Reggie said through labored breaths. These jolts were really staring to get on my nerves.
We heard the door open and Julie stood there with a bright smile. "Are you ready?" Her smile dropped. "What's wrong?" She asked with a frown. "We just got rocked pretty hard by those jolt things" Alex explained as we walked closer. "I'm pretty sure I ghost peed a little" Reggie muttered honestly as I gave him a nasty look.
"But we're fine. Totally fine" I reassured her. "Actually, guys, I'm a little nervous" Julie admitted. "Oh, don't be. Adira hasn't played either. You'll be fine, it's not like you guys will get sta-" Luke elbowed Reggie mumbling for him to be quiet. "Adira, uh, can I talk to you for a second?" Julie asked me. "Sure" I responded as I walked closer to her.
"What do you need?" I asked. "Two things. First, I wanted to apologize for what I said to you out on the porch. I knew you didn't have control over what happened, it wasn't right of me to make you feel worse" did Julie actually think I was mad? "Don't worry about it. I'm serious, I would've been upset too I found out you were leaving me unexpectedly. And the second thing?" I asked her.
"When you crossover, if... if you happen to see my mom, can you tell her I love her... and... thank her for bringing you to me?" She asked. "Yea, of course" I wish I could give Julie a hug in this moment.
"Band circle?" I asked, she nodded. "Guys, band circle" we all got in a circle and joined hands. Julie hovering her hands over Alex and Reggie's. "We don't know what brought us here, but... what we do know is, you're a star, Julie" she chuckled slightly as she looked at all of us. "And just because this is our last night together, it doesn't mean we won't be watching you from above... or..." Luke clicked his tongue looking down.
"Now, let's go rock this show. Give them a night they'll be talking about till the sun comes up" I said, trying to hype us up. "Legends on three" I said as I held my hand out. "One" Luke and I said. " Two" Reggie said next. "Three" Alex and Julie said. "Legends!" We threw our hands up in the air.
We heard the car horn honk. "That's my dad. He's driving me there, so I'll see you guys soon" Julie gave us one last goodbye before leaving. Then Carlos came in. "Have a good show, boy band" Carlos said as he clapped his hands.
" Who you calling boy band?" Luke said as he came to his height. "Yea. We're a gender neutral band" I said as everybody looked at me weirdly. "Oh, that's not where this conversation was going" I said awkwardly as Luke gave me a smile and walked over to me.
Alex and Reggie argued as Luke came up and kissed me. "That was nice" I said with a smile. "From now on, we're a gender neutral band... even though I don't know what that means" Luke said with a confused face. I smiled a little more and pulled him in for another kiss.
"Guys, it doesn't matter. We're not coming back here" I said, ending the little argument Alex and Reggie were having. "And where is that you think you're going?" Caleb poofed in, sitting on the piano.
"Definitely not anywhere with your shady ass" I sassed as I stood closer to Luke who wrapped an arm around my waist. "Ms. King, such fire and hostility! I'm just here to congratulate you on your big night. Not everybody gets to play the Orpheum" Caleb smiled at me.
"We know that it's your stamp that's hurting us. We already told you, we have a band. We don't want to join your little club of death" Luke said. "Yea. And you can't make us either. Sir" Alex tried to correct himself as Caleb gave him a look.
Caleb clicked his tongue. "Right. You're crossing over tonight. So exciting! Funny thing about the cross over, no one really knows what's waiting on the other side. But I know what's happening on this side" Caleb blew a kiss and poofed us somewhere.
3rd PERSON POV
Julie was putting the finishing touches on her makeup. "Hey, Julie, I've got your roadie" a crew member knocked on the door. "Come in" Julie already knew who it was. "Holograms are good to go, boss" Flynn said with a smile as she walked up to her. "Best roadie ever" Julie said with the same smile.
"I'll be back in a few minutes to walk you to the stage" he gave her a limit. "Thanks, Rob" he gave her one last smile before leaving. "You see this backstage pass? I had sushi with Brandon Urie!" Flynn waited till Rob was gone to freak out.
"Good for you. I threw up in the car on the way over here" Julie shared her experience. "And you still look amazing. I made friends with the tech crew. You're gonna love what we have planned. Jasmine and the guys are here, right?" Flynn asked with a smile as she looked around.
"I haven't seen them" Julie admitted. "Wait. You don't think they changed their mind and took Caleb's offer, do you?" Flynn asked hesitantly. "No. No, that's the last thing they wanted. Especially, Adira, I know her, she wouldn't flake on me" Julie tried to reassure both herself and her best friend.
"You're gonna kill it. We should get some snacks" Flynn tried to lighten the mood and tried to keep food in Julie's system. Julie was silently praying that the band would show up.
Back at Caleb's club, there stood the band in completely different clothes. They were dressed for an occasion, something that any of them knew nothing about. "Well, don't you look nice" Caleb said as he came down the stairs. "Sweet threads" Reggie said as he tried to lighten the mood.
"How... How'd you know our sizes?" Alex asked as they realized not only were they dressed different, they also had their instruments with them. "That's your question?" Luke said as he tugged on his collar and looked at the rest of the band. He would've told Adira she looked gorgeous, but this wasn't the right time or place.
Adira was wearing a sky blue dress, with the straps off the shoulders that stopped mid-calf. Caleb clicked his tongue and sighed. "I know you guys are not my biggest fans. And an eternity at my club might seem overwhelming. But... I just put you in sweet threads, so humor me this one last pitch" Adira scoffed and rolled her eyes, he obviously had no idea that they couldn't be bought.
"Now for starters, isn't it nice that you're all here together? And believe me, everything you want, including Willie, is here" Caleb tried to get Alex to join. "I seriously doubt that you've got what I want" Adira said, making Caleb turn to her. "What is it that you don't think I have?" Caleb asked with a dazzling smile.
"Do you have Julie?" His smile fell a little. "I thought so. Caleb, you and your club can kiss my ass, ok? You couldn't get me to join then, and you can't do it now" Adira replied with a smirk on her face as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"On my stage, you don't vanish when the music stops. You soak in the applause for as long as you want. The connection that you will feel with that audience will be like no other. I promise" distant cheering could be heard from behind the curtain.
"Oh! Sh, do you hear that? They're waiting for you" the jolts hit the band again making them groan. "That one looked like it hurt" Caleb said with no compassion. "Go fuck yourself, Caleb" Adira groaned. "Let me remind you, you don't know if playing the Orpheum is your unfinished business. Do you really have time to make that mistake? I suggest you accept my offer because the clock is ticking" the jolts hit them again.
Caleb walked on stage and started singing. The band realized this song was practically dedicated to them. They all looked down at their feet realizing that they were somewhat dancing. Caleb gestured for them to come on stage, the boys and Adira watched as Caleb pointed at them. Alex appeared on stage first, getting a solo.
Reggie was next, getting his bass solo. Then he called on Luke, he tried his hardest to fight but he Caleb's magic was strong. Lastly, he called Adira, she played but was able to stop herself for a few seconds before Caleb's magic would pull her every time. He even got her to sing. The friends all looked around at each other nervously.
As the song ended, one question remained on their minds: How were they going to get to Julie?