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Julita and the Phantoms

Chapter 8: Dancing Through Our House, With The Ghost Of You

Summary:

A couple of hits right in the feels... and the proof that Lita is always ready to throw hands when it comes to protecting her emotional support himbos.

Notes:

chapter title from "Ghost of You" by 5SOS

also i'm updating this in breaks from fucking biology revision which is a killer but yep i guess that's on me for choosing the literal hardest a-levels on offer lol. if there are typos or grammar errors, well it's half midnight and i've still got two hours worth of revision less so i couldn't really give two shits. i'll probably edit again tomorrow when i have some more active brain cells.

(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)

Chapter Text

I’d had to take shelter inside one of the music rooms to avoid the groups of people trying to take selfies with me and Julie after the performance at the garage party. Apparently we had fans now? It was an interesting experience. Jury’s still out on whether or not I’m enjoying having people wanting to talk to me. 

AJ leant against the door, peering out every so often to see who was in the corridor. “You know, as the official JATP bodyguard, I feel like we should have planned for this.” 

“Ignoring the ‘fans’, how’s Ky? He seemed… weird earlier,” I changed the subject. 

She shrugged, “He accidentally overheard Nick getting rejected by Julie. Think it short-circuited his brain. He’ll be fine though. Should I text him? Nah, he’ll be fine.” 

“I’ll text him later,” I decided, leaning against the piano. “AJ… remember that chat we had about… things the other day?” 

She shot me a pointed look. “I’m assuming by ‘things’ you mean the fact that you have a crush on a dead guy from a 90’s boyband?” 

“Not a boyband,” I corrected. 

“Think you’re missing the point, Li. But thanks to your brilliant performance of edge of great, it’s pretty damn clear that this crush of yours isn’t going away any time soon?” AJ raised an eyebrow and I shook my head. “Okay, well then what are you gonna do about it?”

I sighed, “It’s so weird. I found out that he was technically the one to introduce me to rock. Luke! Not Trevor Wilson, they were Luke’s songs. I learnt to play guitar with Luke’s songs. Is that not weird to you?” 

“Stop changing the subject and figure out a damn game plan!” AJ walked over and cuffed me lightly on the back of the head. “You need to take some advice from the you that took centre stage the other day and! Make! Decisions!”

“Alright!” I tried to fend her off. “How do I show him that he’s literally managed to change my life? How do I say ‘hey, by the way, I was a nervous wreck and would never sing anything more than backing harmonies until you came along, and I couldn’t talk in front of more than six people, but you helped me with my confidence and also my songwriting and you make me laugh and now I’m a tiny bit in love with you?” 

AJ swallowed her laughter. “Like that, but less wordy.” 

“Thanks.” I rolled my eyes. “But I’m serious!”

“Well, you said he helped you, right? Obviously, not just said— the change is damn obvious to anyone who’s known you longer than five seconds— so why don’t you help him? What’s something he really wants to do?” 

“Play the Orpheum,” I laughed, “But that’s not exactly something you just arrange.”

“I’d suggest you write him a song, but you kinda already did…” She raised her eyebrows suggestively and I shook my head. 

“Nope. He’s not seeing that anytime soon. Definitely not.” Then it hit me. What did Luke regret the most from while he was alive?

Leaving his parents.

“I have an idea, but I think I’m going to need moral support,” I stood up, already thinking of a plan for what I’d do after school finished. 

AJ opened her mouth and then closed it, waiting for a second. “You mean moral support with tact, don’t you? That’s fair.”

~

It just made sense. I remembered seeing Luke’s face as he sat on the kitchen counter and watched his parents blow out candles for his birthday. I remembered hearing about what happened, and how much it hurt him. I remembered snippets of the song in his journal. This… whatever happened between us, I was going to do this for Luke anyway. As a friend. Because friends don’t let friends live their afterlives surrounded by guilt.

I’d roped Julie into it, because she was more of a people person anyway, and because she was the one who could drive who already knew where Luke’s parents lived. I clutched the paper tightly in my hand, the pages I’d delicately torn from Luke’s journal with the song on. This was either going to go really well, or really terribly, but it was going to happen. Luke wouldn’t have written the song if he didn’t want to let his mom know how he felt, and this is how we do that. 

I raised my free hand to knock on the door and froze as Luke materialised next to me. Julie jumped slightly, still not used to the sudden appearances. He seemed taken aback for a second, not expecting us to know what this house was, let alone to come and visit. “What are you doing here?” 

Admittedly, I probably should’ve said something before doing this. Then again, I hadn’t, so we were doing this now. “So… you’re probably wondering why we know about this. We… I came here last week, on your birthday.”

“You were spying on me?” He shot Julie a hurt look. “After all of those speeches about ‘boundaries’, you guys were spying on me?” 

“I know how it looks,” I sighed, “But you’re important to me, and I can’t stand by and do nothing when I know you’re in pain.” Something flashed across his eyes briefly, but it was too quick for me to recognise the emotion. “I know you want to talk to her and can’t, and I wanted to help.” 

Luke looked away, deliberately avoiding my eyes as he looked out across the street and away from the house. “I don’t even know what I’d say to her, even if she could hear me,” he said quietly. 

Julie’s eyes landed on the paper in my hand. “Yes, you do. You’ve already said it.” 

Instead of saying anything else, he nodded slightly, and slowly pressed his hand over the doorbell. The sound of footsteps could be heard almost instantly from the other side and he took a step back warily. I sucked in a breath and looked to Julie for advice. She didn’t speak yet, instead giving me a short nod and brushing her hand against mine as the door opened. 

“Hello?” Luke’s dad opened the door, “Can I help you?” 

Julie was the first to reply. “Hi. I’m Julie, and this is my cousin Lita.”

“We believe you had a son named Luke?” I asked, all the while consciously rubbing my thumb in circles on the back of the paper. 

Luke’s dad smiled softly, “Yes, that’s right. And you are again?” 

“Julie and Lita Molina. Your son’s band used to play in our family’s garage?” She explained. 

I uncurled my fingers and lifted up the folded piece of paper. “I… I came across this song that he wrote, and figured you might be interested?” 

“Yes… Please, please come in. I’m Mitch,” he introduced himself, opening the door wider to allow us inside. Julie stepped in first, and I looked back to see Luke’s eyes flicking between the song in my hand and his dad. I gave a subtle nod of my head in the direction of the house before he stepped through the door and I could close it behind us. 

“Nice to meet you,” Julie smiled at Mitch. 

“Can I offer you something to drink?” He asked, leading us into the living room. I shook my head, and Julie politely declined for both of us. I scanned the room, taking in all the photos of Luke as a little kid. Mitch noticed me looking and smiled, “That’s Luke when he was two.” 

“Do you have any other children?” She asked. 

He shook his head, as Emily came in. “No.” 

She smiled at her husband, “Did I hear the doorbell?” 

Mitch introduced us. “Hi hon, this is Julie and Lita.”

“Hello girls,” she greeted us warmly.

“They live in the house where Luke and the band rehearsed,” Mitch explained. “Lita was just telling me she found a song that Luke wrote.” 

I had to stop my voice from cracking as I unfolded the paper and it towards her. “It’s a song about a girl named Emily?” 

Emily reached out and brushed the old pages with her finger. “I… I’m Emily.” 

“Then I think your son may have written this song for you,” Julie finished. 

Mitch put his arm around his wife as they read the lyrics together, and even though I should’ve seen it coming, nothing could’ve prepared me for hearing Luke start to sing the words on the page in front of his parents. 

 

First things first,

We start the scene in reverse

All of the lines rehearsed

Disappeared from my mind

 

When things got loud

One of us running out

I should have turned around

But I had too much pride

 

No time for goodbyes

Didn’t get to apologise

Pieces of a clock that lies broken

 

I could almost imagine Luke writing this in the studio one night after he’d run away, and the tear stains on the paper were a good enough indicator to know that the wound was still fresh. 

 

If I could take us back

If I could just do that

And write in every empty space

The words I love you in replace

Then maybe time would not erase me

 

If you could only know

I’d never let you go

And the words I most regret are the ones I never meant to leave

Unsaid, Emily

 

Tugging my sleeve over my hand, I wiped a tear from my eye and pretended to let my gaze wander out the window, even though in reality it was lingering on where Luke was standing. 

 

Silent days, mysteries and mistakes

Who’d be the first to break?

Guess we’re alike that way

 

He said, she said

Conversations in my head

And that’s just where they’re gonna stay forever

 

If I could take us back

If I could just do that

And write in every empty space

The words I love you in replace

Then maybe time would not erase me

 

If you could only know

I’d never let you go

And the words I most regret are the ones I never meant to leave

Unsaid, Emily

 

If I could take us back

If I could just do that

And write in every empty space

The words I love you in replace

Then maybe time would not erase me

 

If you could only know

I’d never let you go

And the words I most regret are the ones I never meant to leave

Unsaid, Emily

 

Tears streamed down his face by the time he finished, and both Julie and I were struggling to hold it together after having heard the whole thing. The song itself was even more beautiful than it had seemed on paper, but no one could have sung it like Luke did just now. 

Emily shook with quiet sobs as she leant against Mitch, and I unconsciously reached for Julie’s hand only to find it already on its way to mine. 

“Thank you,” Emily whispered through her sobs.

“You… you have no idea…” Mitch trailed off. 

Julie offered a comforting smile through her own tears. “We write music in the same room that he did, and I can tell you that it is a magical, happy place.”

Mitch and Emily laughed quietly, “That means so much to know.” 

“Luke was only seventeen when he died… but he lived doing the one thing he was born to do. Not many people get to say they did that. His music has been around Jules and I our whole lives, and we had no idea until recently. Even though he might not know it, Luke has managed to make an impact on us,” I smiled softly. 

Behind me, I heard the signature sound of a ghost poofing out. 

“It was so nice to meet you,” Emily added.

“It was nice to meet you too.”

We said goodbye and closed the door behind us, but Luke had disappeared. I hesitated outside the Patterson’s front door and closed my eyes, letting the remaining tears fall as I steadied my breathing. It was less than two seconds before Julie’s body collided with mine and she wrapped her arms around me tightly. I squeezed back, neither of us wanting to move. 

So we stayed there a little longer.

~

When we arrived back at the house, Luke was leaning against the side of the house near the front door, turning his lucky blue rabbit’s foot over in his hand. Julie was still parking the car which meant that from the moment he saw me, it was just us. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

I walked over and leant against the porch railing next to him. “I overstepped, didn’t I? Sorry.”

“No, I… I just had to leave. That was…” he trailed off. 

“You don’t have to say anything…”

“Yeah, I do,” he took a step closer. “I didn’t have many regrets in my life except for running out on my parents, especially my mom, so thank you.” 

I took a deep breath, “I’m about to say something long and complicated, and I might end up speaking so fast you don’t hear a word but at least I’ll still have said it. You and the guys are the best thing to ever happen to me and Jules. If you hadn’t shown up when you did, I don’t know how much longer she’d have gone without music. You brought her back to life, and I can’t thank you enough for that. But you also really helped me, you helped me with my confidence, you helped me write, and you’re just there when I need you. I felt like I needed to do something to pay you back because I don’t know what I’d be doing if I didn’t have this band in my life.” 

Luke ducked his head, “Lita, I…”

“Not finished,” I replied. “Just needed more oxygen.” I took another breath. “A few years ago, we had to write an essay about what music means to us. Well, back then I saw it as safety, as release, as warmth. Music has, and always will be, my lifeline. And it's that now too, but it’s so much more. When I think of music, I think of Reggie’s country suggestions, I think of Alex tapping out drum beats without even realising it while we sit in the studio on a Saturday night. I think of Julie’s killer high notes. And you. When I think of music, the first thing that comes to mind is you, Luke. You’ve always been there, even when you weren’t. 

“This probably won’t make sense— maybe it will, maybe not— but that doesn’t matter. I mean, you’re definitely better with words anyway. Look, your songs were the ones I grew up on, and you didn’t even know. Your music is what I first wanted to play. Your song was my ringtone for four years. You have always been there for me, even when I hadn’t even met you yet. The point is, when I think of music I think of you… because, to me, you are music. You’re warm, you’re safe, you keep me sane, you’re passionate, you make me laugh… you’re this amazing person who I click with in every way and I don’t want to mess that up but I also just want to take that leap of faith and say, “What the hell? Let’s do this,” because you make me brave.”

He finally spoke. “You don’t need me to be brave, Lita.” Luke edged his hand closer to mine on the railing and I met him halfway. I knew what would happen but that didn’t mean it hurt any less when our hands passed through each others. He frowned, “There’s… there’s something I have to tell you.”

I looked up, “Yeah?” 

“We figured out that we have unfinished business… that’s why we came back as ghosts,” he started to explain. “We have to play the show that we never got to play.” 

“The Orpheum? Yeah, that tracks,” I nodded. “We’ll—”

Before I could continue, a blast of purple light cut through Luke’s chest and he was all but thrown backwards into the post behind us as he cried out in pain. My eyes widened in horror and Julie emerged from around the corner— for someone who was so keen on boundaries, she sure had a natural talent for eavesdropping— as soon as she heard, panic visible on her face. 

“We don’t have a lot of time,” Luke grimaced.

“What’s going on?” Julie skidded to a halt next to me, her brow furrowed. 

“We did something that we shouldn’t have. The night that we missed the dance, we met this ghost and he put this curse on us. If we don’t do what he says, then those jolts will destroy us.” 

Julie and I had polar opposite reactions. She went with, “Then you gotta do what he says. What does he want?” While my mind instantly went to, time to throw hands with some sons of bitches.

Luke winced again from the residual shock as he spoke, “He wants us to be in his house band for eternity. But if we can play the Orpheum soon then we can avoid all that and actually cross over.” 

“Cross over?” Julie faltered, “As in, like what? Like go to heaven?” 

“That’s what we’re banking on, yeah,” he replied. 

I had to pause my freakout for a second because really, Patterson? ‘That’s what we’re banking on’? Does this kid seriously think there’s a chance he’s going to hell? 

“So it’s either you cross over, be in his band for eternity, or be destroyed by those jolts?” She asked incredulously. 

Somehow, I had been rendered speechless since the news had first been delivered. I stood there, shaking with quiet anger as I tried to formulate a plan. 

“That’s just… great.” Julie sighed, disappearing inside the house without looking back and slamming the door behind her as she did. 

Luke turned to me, “Lita? Are you—”

“We’re going to go into the studio right fucking now and you’re going to tell me everything you know about this asshole who cursed you so I can beat them into their own personal circle of hell,” I growled, my hands curled into fists. Before Luke had time to object, I’d already stormed into the garage and started pacing. “Start from the beginning.” 

~

I paced back and forth as the guys lay there in defeat, desperate for another option. In the past hour, I seemed to have been going through the five stages of grief on a cycle, except every time I seemed to manage to skip the acceptance one and leave that for Alex, Luke and Reggie, who had apparently given up. Once, another harsh jolt racked their bodies, leaving them breathless even though they didn’t really need to breathe. It was painful to watch. Reggie was slumped against one of the chairs, hugging his bass and plucking the strings solemnly while Alex kept trying to balance a drumstick on his forehead and Luke continued to stare into space, every so often letting me cross his vision as I paced.

My inner monologue ranged from ‘this can’t be happening, this can’t be happening’ to the one thought that I found myself vocalising more and more often. “I’ll kill him.”

“He’s already dead,” Alex pointed out for the third or so time. 

“He’ll wish he is when I’m done with him,” I snapped, already rolling up my sleeves. “If no one is going to do anything but lie here and at least take me to the goddamn club so I can show him that no one messes with my family.” 

The word ‘family’ seemed to snap Luke out of his daze. “It’s useless,” he muttered. “We’ll never book the Orpheum and we’ll never cross over and Caleb— Caleb wins.” 

“No,” I shook my head. “I won’t accept that. There has to be a way to get rid of him, there has to be.” 

“What have you got that Caleb doesn’t?” Alex sighed. 

“Exorcism?” Reggie offered. AJ had clearly been rubbing off on him. 

“Exorcism,” I agreed, listing off the things. “A large amount of anger in a small body, Jules and I can make you guys visible and… and…” I folded my arms, “The power of motherfucking friendship.”

“Lita, just leave it!” Luke protested, “There’s no point. Please, just stop.” 

“This fucking sucks!” I practically exploded, hurtling my sketchbook— my literal prized possession — across the room until it struck the piano and fell flat on the floor, loose pages littering the area surrounding it. “If I have to march into that club and send that undead son of a bitch to hell myself I’ll do it because I am not sitting idly by and watching more of the people that I care about die. If you won’t help me get there, then I’ll just have to find it myself.”

The boys were almost stunned into silence as I made my way towards the door. The only indication that they’d actually taken in any of what I had just said was made by Luke as he poofed in front of me to block the door. I could’ve walked right through him, but something stopped me. I knew what would happen if I did, and I didn’t want to feel what Luke was feeling right now. I didn’t want to believe he’d really given up. “Don’t,” he whispered, his voice hoarse. “It’s too dangerous. You walk in there, you don’t walk out. One way or another, Caleb will own your soul for eternity, and we’ll still flicker out. It’s a lose-lose situation.” 

“Give me another option,” I pleaded, tears streaming down my face. “Give me another option and I swear to god, I will do whatever it takes.” 

“Alright,” the door swung open and Julie stood in front of it, arms folded like she meant business. “Snap out of it.” 

Her arrival shocked Alex so much he fell from where he was balanced against the sofa and the action sent one of his drumsticks flying across the studio, where it rolled to a stop neatly next to my overturned notebook. Reggie blinked. “Jeez, I think you broke Alex.”

Julie took charge and gathered our attention. “Do you want to cross over or not? If we can’t fight the guy who owns your souls or whatever— and I know Lita’s willing to try— then we’re gonna get you guys as far away from him as possible and off to whatever comes after. Get it together!” She punctuated the last three words with a clap and I had to admire her resolve.

“They’re never gonna let us play the Orpheum,” Luke pointed out, slumping back down until he was leaning against the sofa again. 

He wasn’t wrong. 

“We’re nobody,” Alex agreed.

“Less than nobody,” Reggie sighed. “We have no bodies!”

Julie sighed, “Someone once told me that you don’t ask for permission. You book gigs by doing!”

Luke let out a soft chuckle. Yeah, that seemed like something he’d say. 

Reggie nodded, “It was me.” 

“No it wasn’t,” Julie and Luke corrected simultaneously. 

“Yes it was,” Reggie muttered quietly, sulking. 

“This isn’t over,” Julie decided. “We were brought together for a reason: to help each other.” 

“Yeah, but it’s like Luke said…” Alex sighed. “People don’t just play the Orpheum because they want to.” 

“People don’t,” Julie conceded, but the sly smile never left her face. “But ghosts do.” 

I followed her train of thought and nodded as she folded her arms. I walked over and leant against her shoulder. If we can’t free the guys from Caleb, then at least they get to go out on their own terms. We were going to help them cross over, or we were going to die trying. Relax, it’s a metaphor. 

“Jules is right,” I agreed, drying my eyes with my sleeve and steeling myself into action. “But you guys aren’t. We’re not ‘nobody’, we’re Julita and the frickin’ Phantoms. And if we decide we want to play the Orpheum, we’re gonna play the goddamn Orpheum. Now… are you in, or what?”

Notes:

completely unrelated to the story, but if i got to choose between a tainted street dog and my a-level bio course right now then i'd probably pick the goddamn street dog. you didn't need that information, but now you have it