he could be the one

f i v e

the boys and i stood on the beach, staring at where mine and reggie's family home once stood. it was heartbreaking to see it had been torn down, just like the rest of the rest of the neighbourhood, but none of the horrible memories of what went on inside of the home came to me. of course i will never forget them as they were now apart of me and my brother, but in this moment all that mattered was that i was with my three best friends and i felt safe. safe, that is something i never felt in my home. 

"a bike shack, right where our house used to be." reggie huffed. i rubbed his back to console him, out of the both of us he was more sensitive when it came to family stuff. "they made the myerson's house a noodle shop. why couldn't they make ours like a pizzeria or something."

"is all you think about is food reg?" i huffed, as reggie just shrugged at me and turned back to face where our house once stood. 

"they tore down the whole neighbourhood" alex said as he scanned what was now stood before him."

"guess our folks are gone" reggie went into a sulk.

"of course they are gone, it's not even like they cared when we died reg. they were too busy arguing all the time they didn't make time for us. we had to do everything ourselves from such a young age!" i snapped, the boys knew my parents made me angry so they knew the best thing was to ignore me and let me calm down, which ended up happening. 

"everyone's gone, twenty five years gone." alex sighed, "friends, family, bobby."

"bobby? that's right, i forgot about him. what do you think happened to him" reggie said. 

"he probaly just got old like everyone else and moved on" luke finally joined in.

"how are you okay with this?" i asked luke as i sat down on the log next to him and placed my hand on his. 

"well let's be real for a second, it's not like any of us were that close to our families" he began. "my folks always regretted buying me that guitar. reggie, georgia, your parents were a fight away from a divorce and alex your parents were never cool again after you told them you were gay"

"okay, none of us had it great. alright but at least we had something, what do we have now? and before you say cool teleportation skills, just know i'm not entirely okay with that either! it tingles...in weird places." alex snapped as we all gave him a weird look after he said the last sentence but we tried to just shake it off. 

"i'll tell you what we have, it's what we've had since the day we came together. guys we have us" i couldn't tell if luke was saying this to try bring the mood back up, but it wasn't working. "okay we are the only family we're ever going to need. you know what else we have?"

"let me guess...death breath" reggie sighed as i jokingly punched him on the shoulder.

"our music, you dork." luke smiled, "we have our music you guys, people can actually hear us play! they can't see us, fine, but they can feel us. if i had my guitar, i'd play for all these people right now, just like what we used to do down the pier. 

"yeh they can't tip what they can't see" alex said as he placed his hands in his pockets and rocked backwards on his heels. 

"it's not about the tips alex, it's about playing music, connecting with people, making a difference in their day. i just wish i had my guitar" just as luke said that he spun around and there it was, his guitar was in his hands.

we were all stood there in shock and amazement. 

"oh that was rad, how'd you do that?" reggie asked.

"i-i-i i don't know, i mean i wished for it and it came in my hands"

"i-i-i wished i had a puppy...a hamster...pizza!" reggie tried but it was no use, he kicked the sand to signal he was now in a bad mood and slumped his body onto the sand in a huff. 

"hey i know something that'll cheer you up," luke smiled as he started to strum his guitar. 

alex and i walked over to where luke was stood and we all looked at reggie who was now sat cross legged on the sand staring up at us. "c'mon reginold" alex said as he started patting his chest and thighs with his hands and i joined in by clapping along with the beat. reggie eventually gave in and started singing and we harmonized with him. everyone around us was able to hear us, they were dancing, having fun and smiling all because of our music. we started to finish the song as we all skipped our way back to the studio, reggie put his arm round me and we all entered the studio and sat down as we were all laughing. 

"man we haven't had that much fun in ages," i said whilst trying to catch my breath. 

"agreed g! honestly you just create the fun," luke smiled at me and when he noticed reggie wasn't looking he gave me a little wink. i felt my cheeks going red until alex caught me off guard. 

"hey g!" he said as he gave me a look. i stuck my tongue out at him and he stuck his tongue at me.

"did i miss something?" reggie asked as he turned around.

"nope nothing" i said quickly, i tried to scan the room for luke as reggie gave me a look to say he was not convinced but luke was no longer in the studio. "where did luke go?" i asked. both boys shrugged their shoulders and we all poofed out to go find him.

we found him in julie's room, she had such a beautiful room, it was a room i wish i had when i was her age. reggie made himself comfortable on her bed and alex tried to pick up this photo frame. luke was stood at the other side of her bed and i went over to join him. a few minutes had passed until julie had arrived home from school and entered her room. 

"what are you guys doing in my room!" she shouted.

we all looked at one another to see if anybody could get us out of this.

"we were looking for the kitchen" luke replied as reggie snapped his fingers towards him to try convince julie that was the truth.

"this, this can't happen, it's creepy" she said as she motioned circles with her finger. "get off my bed please" she ordered reggie as he slid his way off the bed. 

"hey julie" luke raise his hand, "what's in the box?" luke asked. 

"that's off limits" julie said crossly as she folded her arms.

"oh okay, girl stuff " luke laughed. 

"ohhh, like butterflies and glitter" reggie responded. 

i hit my brother on the back of the head, "that's just a hurtful girl stereotype, we ain't all like. have you met me?" i scowled at the both of them as they both held there hands up in a surrender position. 

"oh come on, i'm sorry about them." alex sighed.

"it's none of your business and yes there may be some glitter" julie snapped as reggie nodded his head towards her. 

alex walked back over to the picture he was trying to pick up, "hey look, i picked something up" he said excitedly as he walked over to the edge of the bed where we were all stood until..." i dropped it" he said as his smile became a frown. julie looked very unimpressed. 

"is that your mom?" luke asked. 

"yes, and it's my favourite picture of us so if you break it, i'll break you!" julie scowled.

"well sorry, cause we're kind of unbreakable at the point." alex replied back.

"i think she's forgetting how ghosts work." i whispered to luke and he nodded. 

"so where is the kitchen by the way," luke jumped onto her bed as he placed his hand underneath his chin to support his face. 

"okay we need to set some boundaries" julie said as she narrowed her eyebrows, "first, stay out of my room!" she shouted as she pointed towards the door. we all left in a hurry and headed back down into the studio. i fell onto the couch and started to close my eyes, it had been a long day and i needed the rest. before i knew it, the night had turned into day. 

hey guys i hoped you enjoyed this chapter!! sorry it's a bit long. i hope you're enjoying the book so far and thank you for all your support :))