JATP One-Shots

5- The Magician

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Summary: AU where Julie and the Phantoms are the opening act for new up and coming magician Caleb Covington (Everyone is alive)

Setting: The Orpheum 2017

Warnings: Death

Words: 1,019

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This was the band's biggest gig yet. They were playing the brand new venue that was built only months before, The Orpheum. Although they weren't the main event the opportunity to even play on The Orpheum stage was more than they could ever ask for. Julie and the Phantoms had been hired to open for the famous magician Caleb Covington. The band had been following his work for a while now, actively trying to debunk every trick they saw the magician pull off. None of their attempts had yielded any answers, so they were ecstatic that they would soon share a stage with the mysterious man.

"...bright forever," Julie sang the final note signifying the end of the band's soundcheck. They listened to the final instructions of the stage director before setting down their instruments and heading backstage. The crew quickly jumped into action making sure everything was prepared for the tricks Caleb planned to perform later that night. Watching intently, the band tried their best to see anything that might tell them how he managed to pull them off. Suddenly, Luke spoke up.

"Hey, guys! Look up there," he pointed up to a man that was standing on the catwalk trying to line up something they couldn't quite make out with a purple line of tape on the stage. "He looks important."

"You're right. Ok, here's the plan," Julie responded before pulling the boys into a small huddle. "We are going to split up. Alex and Reggie are going to go that way, and Luke and I are going to go this way," she instructed pointing. "Look for a way onto the catwalk. Once we finish our set we will go up there and see if we can finally find the truth behind his tricks once and for all. "Legends on three." Jullie put her hand into the center of the circle before counting down.

"Legends," They all yelled in unison before breaking off into their respective groups.

                                                         ***

They finished their performance and thanked the crowd quickly before running off the stage to put their instruments away safely. Alex and Reggie pulled the other two in the direction of the catwalk stairs that they had spotted earlier. They climbed the metal stairs as quietly as possible before turning the corner to see the same man from earlier holding a rope that the band could now see was tied to a sandbag hovering 50 feet above the piece of purple tape. The band did not know what the purpose of this setup was but before they could ask the crew member stopped them.

"You can't be up here," he stated barely above a whisper due to the show beginning below them.

"Sorry sir, We are the opening band and we couldn't really see well from the wings so when we found the stairs we figured the view from above would probably be better," Luke responded quickly.

"I understand that, but you still can't be up here it's crew members only. If you don't leave I'll have to call security," the man acknowledged shifting his grip on the rope slightly.

"Please? Reggie here is a huge fan of Caleb's, but he has never been able to actually see him perform," Luke pleaded. He pointed at Reggie who was standing between Alex and Julie as they all stared intently at the scene below trying to catch a slip in Caleb's performance.

"I'm sorry, but I can't have you up here," the man said releasing the rope with one hand to touch the earpiece that rested in his left ear. "Ya, the opening band in on the catwalk can you have security sent up her to escort them down?" Before anyone could react the rope in the man's hands slipped slightly and the bag dropped another inch or two lower. He hastily tried to grab the rope again with his other hand but it was too late. Everything seemed to move in slow motion.

The man completely lost his grip on the rope. His frantic grabbing at the rope in an attempt to stop it from falling caused the sandbag to swing back and forth crashing into the nearby lights. The band saw Caleb look-up as the lighting fixture directly above him snapped.

                                                         ***

Sirens split through the air as the band stood slightly off to the side of the other members of the audience that were ushered out of the building after the incident. Alex was pacing. The rest of the band watched in horror as the famous Caleb Covington was rushed out of The Orpheum in a body bag.

"We did that," Alex whispered to the rest of the group. "We distracted that crew member, which made him drop the rope, which made the light fall, which crushed him!" He was pacing again.

Reggie grabbed ahold of Alex, stopping him dead in his tracks, and pulled him into a small huddle with the other two members of the band. "Look, We need to change the band name and forget this night ever happened. My vote is Sally and the Spirits. Any objections?" he whispered.

"Sally and the Spirits is too close to Julie and the Phantoms people will figure it out, but hear me out I got one. Sunset Swerve," Luke responded.

"Sunset Curve," Alex said quietly.

"I like that," Julie agreed.

"Sunset Curve it is," Reggie finalized the band's new name. "Now let's get out of here before people start talking."

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I know it's late but I'm writing this on New Year's so Happy New Year's! May your 2021 be everything your 2020 wasn't.

I really hope you enjoyed this little AU idea. Tomorrow I will be posting a one-shot entitled The Debate, but in the meantime please vote and comment. It really does mean a lot.

Also, requests are welcome and greatly appreciated. Just leave a comment on the first Author's note in this book and I will get it written ASAP. Any and all ideas are welcome.

Until Tomorrow Fantoms!