LENNON RESTED her head against the car door. Carrie taking glances over at Lennon every now and then.
Lennon's arm was still wrapped around her waist.
It was pretty silent other than the sounds of the radio.
Carrie sat in the driveway of Lennon's house and sat there for a moment. Lennon had been perfectly fine up until a couple of days ago.
That night first it seemed like something that would just pass on. A bug or something. Then it was earlier today in the library. Carrie hadn't really noticed it, but she knew Lennon wasn't okay after she sat there allowing the two of them to almost miss class. Tonight was different.
Carrie watched as Lennon's leg began to bounce up and down.
Lennon was only getting worse and worse. It had only been a couple of days.
Meanwhile; Alex, Reggie, and Luke had been playing basketball outside.
Reggie smiled as he bounced the ball in his hands, "Feels like we should be celebrating or something. What do you guys wanna do?"
As he passed the ball towards Luke all three of them quickly fell on the ground as another shock ran through them.
"Not that." Alex huffed.
"That wasn't like the other ones." Luke said, "It's getting worse."
"Why is this happening to us?"
Willie appeared from the shadows, his arms wrapped around himself, "It's because you guys are in serious trouble. We need to talk."
They were reluctant at first, but they soon followed Willie out of the Molina residence.
"All these jolts that we're feeling is
because Caleb put his stamp on us?" Luke questioned.
"He's threatened by you. He wants you under his control." Willie said, "You're the only ghosts that can be visible to lifers without his help."
"And you let him do this to us?" Alex asked.
"I can't stop him. He owns my soul. All right? He owns everybody's soul at that club. If he even knew I was here talking to you, he would destroy me."
"So if we don't join his club, the weird power outage thing continues until there's no power left at all?" Reggie asked.
"Yes."
"What exactly happens when the power goes out?"
"That's... That's it. You're done."
"Uh-huh. Yeah. And what exactly do you mean by "we're done"?"
"You just... You don't exist... anymore. Not anywhere."
"What?" Alex asked.
Luke came forward, "So, we have no choice? We have to say goodbye to Julie and Lennon, give up everything we've built together, and work for Caleb? That's some club you guys got going on."
It was pretty evident that Luke was pissed off with the whole situation. They all were, but Luke had just, sorta kinda, ( not really ) gotten his emotions out with Lennon and now he was probably gonna disappear out of nowhere.
"But there is another option. That's why I'm here."
"Another option?" Alex asked.
"Just please hear me out." Willie begged, "All right. If you guys could figure out what your unfinished business is, you do it in time, you could cross over and be free from all of this."
"Okay. So what's our unfinished business?" Luke asked.
"I don't know, but since you, all died
at the same time, it might be something you need to do together."
Alex sighed, "Why should we listen to a word you say?"
"Because I care about you, Alex. And I hate that I brought you... and your friends into this mess."
Willie sighed. He knew all of them were angry at him. They had every right to be.
"There is, uh, there is one more thing."
This was only going to make things worse.
Luke rolled his eyes, "What else? Can't be worse than this."
"It's Lennon."
Alex and Reggie took quick glances at each other and finally looked at Luke.
"What about Lennon?"
Luke bit his tongue as he waited for a response.
"Where does she live?"
Luke furrowed his brows and stepped forward, "Now why would I take you, of all people, there?"
"Is she feeling the jolts?" Alex asked.
"It's different for her. If we could just go-"
"No." Luke smiled.
First, it was the jolts within him and his friends and now his soulmate. Why would he even allow Willie to step foot near Lennon's house?
"Luke, I think it's best if we see what's going on. I think Lennon might need help."
Luke faced Reggie, "Do you guys know something I don't?"
Obviously, they knew something he didn't. They couldn't quite tell what it was, but they knew something was wrong with her.
"If you take me to Lennon's I can explain more." Willie said.
Luke let out a breath and poofed away.
Alex and Reggie sighed. It should've been a thing they brought up to Luke, but they didn't know how to approach it in conversation, especially since they had only once.
Soon, the three of them followed Luke.
LENNON SAT at the island. Her head resting against the countertops as Carrie ( on the phone ) explained to Lennon's father about what happened at Julie's.
A DEEPER MEANING THAN WHAT WE KNOW:
number one: sign of the times by harry styles
favorite line: "they told me that the end is near. we gotta get away from here."
"Lennon knows Caleb, but I'm pretty sure she didn't know he was a ghost. He started going to the coffee shop to try and scout out other ghosts, but then Lennon approached him. At times he would just go and talk to her sometimes. It was nice that he didn't have to talk to just people in the ghost club. So, when he found out that you knew her and on top of being soulmates... he was gonna take advantage of that." Willie explained.
Caleb didn't hate Lennon, but she was in the way.
"I think Lennon use to tell him about her days and it made him feel good, like a father-daughter thing, but then... she stopped. It hurt him and I never thought he would do anything to hurt her, but I guess I was wrong."
Lennon's mother had just passed. That was her reason. She didn't want to talk about her days with him anymore because, just like she did her father, she pushed him away.
The three of them watched Lennon as bounced up and down. Something she hadn't stopped doing since she was able to sit down again.
"We all have souls, but since Lennon is alive-"
"She becomes weaker and weaker with every shock." Alex said.
Willie nodded, "She gets weaker faster than you guys, and because Luke and Lennon are soulmates, what she's feeling is probably ten times worse. Especially because he marked her."
"What?" Luke asked.
"Lennon can feel whatever you're feeling. It might not have been as strong as before but now... it's different. That thing on her wrist is just like yours. Caleb owns your soul and now he has Lennon's, but I don't know what's causing her to receive her own shock."
Lennon's father ventured around to her side of the island and rested his hand on her back. Her breathing becoming slower and deeper than normal. Carrie had explained that Lennon seemed fine moments before whatever happened had happened. If anything, she was "tried looking".
"She's not dying per se, but her soul is being taken from her slowly and obviously very painfully."
A phone rang throughout the house. Her father was definitely hesitant to leave her side especially since her eyes had finally shut, but he imagined it could only be for a moment and he would only be in the living room, so, he left the girl alone, just a few feet away.
"Soon, her body will become dormant. It would be like she died. She wouldn't be a ghost, but a spirit if you will. And knowing Caleb, he wouldn't give it back unless you crossed over or you guys play at the club."
"So, those are our only two options in saving her?" Luke asked.
He wasn't worried about himself anymore. Lennon had every chance in the world do to something with her life. Lennon had every chance to do things that he and the others couldn't do. Lennon has everything in life to look forward to, something he doesn't have anymore.
Willie nodded, "It's either that or you guys are gone and you'll be taking Lennon with you."
Lennon slowly sat up from the table and rested her head in the palms of her hands. She was beyond tired. She could easily explain what was going on, but what could they do? That question was literally stopping her from doing anything about this.
The three boys behind her didn't know what to do literally twenty minutes ago, do you honestly think they could've done anything before this to fix it? Answer: yes. They didn't have to go to the Hollywood Ghost Club that night, but they chose to and because of that not only did they feel like they were dying, and possibly were, all over again (a worse feeling than the first time around) but they were most likely bringing Lennon with them.
She slowly stood from her chair and stumbled herself upstairs. Each of them watching her as she did so.
Once she was in her room, alone (so she thought anyway), she rested her back against the door, eyes shut, heavy breathing, and tears running down her face. Going upstairs felt like an entire workout. There weren't that many steps, she shouldn't have been tired. She wasn't tried doing the same activity literally hours ago and there she was heavily breathing because she was just that tired.
Lennon wasn't okay.
The four of them watched as she ran her hands down her face. A knock on the door not startling her as she excepted her father would be looking for her eventually.
"Lennon, are you all right?"
She was tried. She wasn't okay. She covered her mouth in hopes he couldn't hear her crying from the other side.
What were the four ghosts supposed to do? She didn't know Willie. Watching was bad enough. Not being able to comfort her was worse.
"Lennon? Sweetheart, are you all right?"
"There's gotta be something we can do? Something that's faster than trying to do our unfinished business or play at the club." Alex said.
"Until we know what's causing her own shock. There's not much we can do for her right now."
She took as much of a breath as she could before answering, "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah."
"So, we're just supposed to watch her suffer and do absolutely nothing about it?" Luke asked.
"I'm sorry, Luke." Willie said.
Once her father was away from the door. She slid down it, her knees close to her chest and her head resting on her knees.
From beside her, her phone rang catching the attention of everyone in the room.
She slowly flipped the phone over so the screen was facing her. Carrie's name flashing across the screen. She took a deep breath before answering and allowing the phone to be on speaker.
"Feelin' better?"
Lennon rested her head on her knees again, her head facing away from the boys.
"Yeah... I'm fine."
Carrie sighed, "Are you sure? I mean, we didn't even finish seeing Julie and Luke-"
Lennon tuned Carrie out as another shock came to her. Four shocks in one day. She buried her face deeper into her knees. Her breathing repeating itself. Slow and deep.
At this point, there was no scenario needed. She obviously didn't know what was causing the shock, but putting two and two together wasn't hard. Luke and Julie this, Luke and Julie that.
"It's you and Julie." Alex said, "Earlier at the piano when Reggie said you and Julie had chemistry she did the same thing. She rested herself on the piano. Then tonight she... she got worse."
"She did the same thing at the café that other night. When you and Julie shared the mic." Reggie added.
"She's jealous."
"That- that doesn't make any sense I told her I like her. She knows that I like her. Why- why would she be jealous?" Luke stuttered.
"Does she know?" Alex asked, "We know you like her, but Reggie was right. You and Julie do have a ton of chemistry on stage. People saw that from the start. Lennon saw that."
"I don't- I don't understand." He stuttered, "Why wouldn't she just tell me how she felt?"
"Have you ever really... sat down with Lennon and told her how you felt?" Reggie asked.
Well, there was that one time in the gym. No, that was Lennon and she really told him how she felt. Okay, there was that one time on his birthday. No, Luke only said he liked her and that was it. Well, there was that song. No, Lennon wrote that and he kinda teased her about it.
Luke shut his eyes and held a tight lip. Lennon had told Luke how she felt about him on multiple occasions and he could only muster up an "I really like you, Lennon."? Lennon had written a whole song about him, told him that she liked him when she wasn't ready and all Luke could say was "I really like you, Lennon.". Then proceed to tease her about a song she had written.
Luke sighed, "I can't talk to her now."
Luke royally messed up. He didn't have to go to the club that night and he could've done a better job of telling Lennon how he felt about her. He couldn't tell her how he felt now, he could sit there and pour his heart and she felt the way she did.
"If not now, soon." Willie said, "Caleb will know how she's feeling, he'll take her soul before yours to mess with you because he knows what you've lost, and losing Lennon would only drive you to the edge."
"... Like I don't understand? I just think that if he chooses Julie over me, me! I would just be at a loss of words." Carrie said, "Like no doubt that Julie's a pretty girl, but, come on! No one breaks up with me! I break up with them."
Lennon lifted her head from her knees. She wasn't listening to what Carrie was saying. Lennon felt like she wasn't in her own body anymore. She was tired.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I think... I think I'm gonna head to bed, I'm sorry."
Her voice was low. Carrie could barely hear what she was saying.
"Yeah, yeah. Don't apologize. Goodnight, Lennon."
As soon as the call ended, she stood up slowly and grabbed the keyboard from under her bed. A blanket along with it.
She opened her bedroom door again, peering out to see any sign of her father, and once she didn't. She walked out of the room and into the one downstairs.
Lennon hadn't been in the room for weeks. She felt awful about it, but for her own sanity, she thought it was best not to go inside.
Not a very large room; it wasn't the size of a regular bedroom, more of the size of a walk-in storage room.
Lennon didn't talk about her mother with people often. She rather keep whatever her and her mother talked about, laughed about, cried about, etc. to herself.
Lennon's mother had the storage room for everything she couldn't put in her own bedroom. Lennon's father had the storage room, so Lennon could essentially talk to her mother.
She sat crisscrossed on the floor. The four boys standing behind her with the door shut.
Willie soon poofed out, saying that Caleb would know he was gone and that this was probably something he should be here for.
Lennon's father had used the room himself from time to time, more so than Lennon. She just thought it was best to keep certain things to herself, this was different. Lennon needed someone to talk to. Not someone who didn't know that Luke was a ghost. Not someone she felt like she had to compare herself to, to get his attention. Someone who would "listen, even if you didn't think so.".
Lennon sighed, "I'm sorry. I know... I know it's been a while since I've talked to you, but I think it's important that I get this out... out to myself, I guess. I'm pretty sure I told you about all of them... and if I haven't I'm sorry."
The three of them knew they were invading a private moment, but to make sure Lennon was gonna die on them they stayed. They hadn't known how long this has been going on for her. They didn't know how many shocks she had gotten. Lennon could literally fall out in front of them and there was nothing they could do because they couldn't touch her. They would have to leave her there for either someone to find or tell Julie to call someone for Lennon. Neither option was very ideal.
"I do anything to hug him right now, but I can't... and then, Julie. It's not her fault... it's not her fault it's not fault." She repeated to herself, "I'm not the same person I was before or after meeting them. I want them to know that I care and sometimes it might not feel that way, but do. It's like- like that time I kept, uh, pushing dad away. I only did it because I thought... he would leave too. I don't want to do that anymore. I think I did a good job of stopping myself from doing that, because of Carrie."
Carrie had a bigger impact on Lennon's life more than she knew. Lennon trusted Carrie with everything in her. She knew that Carrie cared about her but it was hard for Lennon to grasp that sometimes. The same could be said about Luke.
Lennon knew Luke cared, she knew they all cared. She knew that, but it was hard for her to understand that people weren't going to up and leave her all the time. It was hard for her to get herself to understand that Luke wasn't going to leave her anytime soon.
"You would've liked them. Maybe, been close to Reggie. I've seen him talk to dad maybe twenty times in the past week. He's... he's very curious about everything. Alex, has such a big heart, they all do, but Alex, will tell you everything how it is. He reminds me of you sometimes. Luke... I'm not a genius when it comes to this soulmate stuff, but I do remember when you told me that good things don't last a long time... and if there was someone else I would let him go. I would hate it and I would hate myself, but I can't hold on to someone who... I don't think likes me anymore. You should've seen it."
Luke sighed. It was never his intentions to make Lennon feel lesser of or that she had to compare herself to Julie. He never meant for that to happen. He knew how he felt about Lennon and Julie. It was two very different emotions and he couldn't bring himself to just tell Lennon flat out how he felt.
"I know you liked a lot of songs. Uh, but I haven't listened to your all-time favorite in so long and I don't think I can start that today because of... how bad I felt today and just these past couple of days, but I remember, because I write down every song I listen to, the song that said you said you listened to when you knew dad was the one, and... maybe I'm too young to know... anything, but I know... I know that Luke and I are soulmates for a reason, and maybe I... I don't know. Something can come from that."
Lennon's mother was such an important person to her. She told her mother everything. Lennon couldn't always tell her father certain things and he found no offense to that, he knew the relationship between Lennon and her mother. It couldn't be replaced, no one could replace Lennon's mother.
TOP ONE HUNDRED PLUS SONG MY MOTHER LOVED:
number two: only you (and you alone) - the platters
her favorite line: "you're my dream come true. my one and only you."
"Before I start... just know I'm rusty. I haven't played since... Luke showed Bright." Lennon sighed, "Even before that, I was never that serious about the singing stuff."
Luke took light and very careful steps as he sat down behind her.
Alex nudged Reggie's shoulder, a sign that they should go.
"But I've never heard her sing before and Luke always-"
Alex titled his head slightly to the side. Reggie pouted and let out a sigh as he and Alex left the room entirely.
"I really wish you were here... then maybe I wouldn't be so lost on this stuff." She confessed, "I know he's gonna hear me... but, maybe that's a good thing."
Lennon sighed, "Anyways, like I said, I'm rusty."
She gently pressed the keys on the keyboard before quickly pulling away.
Singing her mother's favorite songs were different than listening to them.
"It's gonna be bad. It's gonna be bad." She repeated.
She turned and faced Luke.
"I don't know how long you've been here, but... I want you to know, that I would do anything to hug you right now." She held her fist up and as easy as it could be, it went straight through his shoulder, "But I can't. It's not fair."
"I know." He sighed, "I know it's not fair and I'm sorry. I would do anything to fix that."
Lennon held her head down. She allowed herself to slump over. She was tried.
Luke watched every moment she made, no matter how small it was.
Lennon took one final deep breath before looking back up at him, "I wish... I wish I could tell you why I left early... again, but, um, it's so much more than, "I'm tired." I am, in no doubt tired, but... it's so much more than that. I would tell you everything, but I don't know what's going on."
"I know that, Lennon. Trust me, I know."
Lennon had always done a good job of shutting herself off (whether it was a good thing or not). If she was completely done talking about something or just didn't want to focus on the topic at hand, she would shut off. Her father hated it because he couldn't tell what was going on.
Lennon hadn't shut off in front of Luke before. She had only done it a handful of times with her father and twice in front of her mother. She didn't like it, but to just push any and everything away she did it.
Luke watched with careful eyes as she let her shoulders drop. He didn't say anything. The silence being pretty loud on its own. Her eyes were shut and she just sat there.
She finally sat upright again and looked him in his eyes with a small smile, "I really like you and now... I'm gonna go to bed."
She stood up slowly and head towards the door.
Luke sat with furrowed brows and stood up, "Lennon-"
"I'll be fine. I'm just tired."
"I can stay." Luke said, "To make sure you're all right."
Lennon smiled softly, "I'll be fine. Go celebrate or something. Don't worry about me. I'll be fine."
Lennon was gonna be far from fine.
- lucy has something to say!!
( word count: 3939 three thousand nine hundred thirty-nine )
that ending was RUFF 🗣️
the way i was gonna make her play the keyboard and yoinked it away because i had no idea what i was doing
the way i have the ending planned out but it took me a week to get this out because i didn't know how to write it: 🧍♀️
also 🗣️ i think charlie has swallowed coins before but ive swallowed a flat battery once so i have no room to judge (but y'all do) anyway i think that's why tiktok says we're soulmates... ( ignore this )
anyways,
bye :))))
i just remembered lolololol
wattpad didn't think i would see it akwkkwkwkwk