"Dude what did you do!" Luke came storming into the studio looking at a puzzled Reggie on the couch. He'd grown to feel a bit protective of this girl.
"Nothing, we were just talking and she took off." Reggie rubbed his hands over his face. Shit he thought. He knew he'd messed up but maybe it was for the best maybe she could find someone better, someone alive.
"You must of said something, girls don't just storm out like that, she was crying." Alex felt protective over her too but it was different like she was his little sister he always wanted, he wanted to shield her from all the pain.
"She's definitely gone." Julie said out of breath as she came back into the studio. She'd gone to try run after her but Olivia was fast, she knew how to run away from her problems. "I'm going to go back in the house but you better fix this. She was just starting to look happy and you know you were part of the reason." She said to Reggie looking straight into his eyes.
After she'd left the boys sat next to Reggie on the couch.
"I said she was a friend." He didn't look at either of them just straight ahead.
"What!" The both said together looking at him.
"Well that explains that then. You just friend zoned her dude!" Even Luke who didn't do emotions knew he'd messed up.
They all sighed. How were they going to fix this, Alex know he'd have to help out here.
"But why? Like why would you say that? Do you not like her? Dude I've never seen you act the way you do with her?" Alex was trying to get Reggie to look at him, he needed more information if he was going to fix this.
"Of course I like her!" Reggie ran a shaking hand thought his hair. This wasn't him, he was the fun one, the joke one. He didn't open up to the boys like this. "She's special. When I look in her eyes I feel safe, like safer than I even had even before we died. And I almost feel like I've known her forever. But she deserve more. She deserve someone who can make her truly happy. Of God sakes I'm died!" He got up and walked around the table starting to pace like Alex did.
"Someone else on the cat walk for a change?" Luke knew it wasn't the time of a sarcastic comment but he couldn't help it, Alex shot him a look. "Ok sorry, so why didn't you tell her that? Don't you think she should have say in this? Don't you want to know if she likes you?"
Reggie stopped looking at them thinking for a second. "No, thats the point I don't want to know, if I know I wont be able to not like her, she's been though enough." And with that he poofed out leaving the two boys on the couch very confused.
"I'll go see her in a bit see what I can do." Alex said wondering what he could do at this point.
"Ok, I had some super exciting new to tell her too."
Friends don't call you in the middle of the night
Couldn't even tell you why
They just felt like saying "hi"
Friends don't stand around, playing with their keys
Finding reasons not to leave
Trying to hide the chemistry
Olivia was sat on her bed the evidence of her crying on her face with her mascara under her eyes. She was lucky that Aunt Sarah was already in her bedroom watching TV by time she got back.
She was strumming along when she heard a poof next to her. She closed her song book quickly but she knew it wouldn't be him, she knew it would be Alex.
"Are you ok?" He approached her bed but didn't sit down until she patted the pillow next to her.
She signed running her hand thought her hair. "Yeah of course why wouldn't I be." She couldn't even look him, so he knew she was lying.
"Reggie told us what he said." His name made her want to cry again. How could she have been so stupid she thought. She knew not to get attached to people, she knew better than most that people don't stick around that people let you down but she'd let herself think other wise with him.
"You don't have to talk about him but I'm not leaving, I want to make sure you're ok, ok?" she nodded at him "Look Reggie is....he's an idiot of put it nicely, he's been my friend for years but he's still an idiot."
She let out a light chuckle as he talked "Alex I think I'm the one who's an idiot." She looked down pulling her knees to her chested hugging them "I was stupid, I knew he wouldn't like me, I shouldn't be getting so upset about it, I've barely known him 5 minutes there's just something about him I guess, you know?"
He did, he know all too well what she meant, after everything that happened he still couldn't stop thinking about Willie.
"You are not stupid ok, he does like you and in his own idiot way he thinks he's doing the right thing, he thinks he's protecting you, like at the end of the day we're ghosts." Alex made a face at that, sometimes he'd forget he was died when he was around the girls and performing he'd forget he might not be around them forever. He could accidentally do his unfinished business at anytime and be gone.
She looked at Alex for the first time since he got there. "I know, but why not be happy for even the short amount of time we have. Alex death is something I'm pretty comfortable with, I've seen it and we don't get forever so I just want to be happy with the time I have."
They sat there for a minute in a comfortable silence as he thought about how right she was.
"Oh I almost forgot Luke wanted to tell you something before you left, you knew that café we performed in before? Well they wanted us to come back on Friday night and Julie said only if you could perform too. Isn't that great?"
"Great?! How is that great? I almost throw up today!"
"Exactly! Also but you didn't, come on this is the next step in you performance recovery, let's see what you can show." Alex reached forward and grabbed her song book starting to flick though.
"No don't! Alex give it back!" Alex got to his feet and put the book above his head so she couldn't reach it and started to flick though.
"Fine! Fine, if I say yes will you give it back?" Alex stopped moving and gave her the book back, she pulled it close to her chest keeping it safe. That book had seen more than most people.
"You know you're amazing right? Like really good? You know they'd be so proud." He wanted to hug her. He wanted to hug her more than anyone ever. "Also I think you should do the Run one? Looks like it has a good beat." He'd seen another song that he'd ask her about but not now.
"Thanks, I'll do the show, but I'll not happy about it." She finally smiled at him. She wanted to hug him too more than anything.
She didn't go back to the studio for the rest of the week. She explained everything that happened to Julie next day but she didn't go over, she couldn't bring herself to see him.
If he didn't like her that much she thought sometime away from him would be good, give her a chance to move on. Plus they'd be busy rehearsing too and she didn't want to get in the way.
She worked on her song and it was good. Luke had poofed in in the week to see her, make sure she was ok. He said Reggie was asking after her but she didn't believe him.
"Come on Liv you can't avoid us forever."
"I'm not avoiding you....or Alex." She took a big heavy breath. "I'm just....oh come on Luke give me a break ok." She stood up putting the guitar down walking to the other side of the room looking out the window.
Luke came over to help with the song. He thought he'd be able to hype her up and help over the week until Julie told him she wasn't coming over for a while so he took matters into his own hands. "He obviously doesn't like me so will you just give me a minute to stop liking him so I can be in a room with him without hyperventilating." They both starting laughing.
"So just a tad over dramatic then? Fine but you can't leave us forever, Alex is losing his mind without you and I guess I miss your country music too." He said smirking at her still sat on the floor.
She raised her eye brow at him "You guess? Well if you don't miss me that much I wont ever come back."
She sat back down on the floor with him and they finished working on the song, she didn't feel confident but she felt prepared and Alex was right this felt like a good next step.
------- Author Note - Sorry guys probably wont be able to update for a few days, back to work now so don't have as much free time, also want to take a minute to work out the direction of the story, sorry, hope your all still enjoying :)