ghost of you (luke patterson x oc)

chapter 10

Riley woke with a start, taking in a sharp breath. What happened? The last thing she remembered was calling Julie, and then...

She was met with four pairs of worried eyes. "Guys, I am so sorry. I didn't mean to cut that deep I was just trying to..." she said as she buried her face in her hands. Riley felt a hand rubbing circles on her back, most likely Luke, as she tried to calm herself down.

"Riley, you promised. You promised me that you wouldn't do it again. Why didn't you come to me?" Julie said sadly. Riley sprung up from the couch, swaying a little on her feet. "It's not like I knew that was gonna happen! It was an accident!" she yelled.

"It doesn't matter! You really think that makes it okay?" Julie yelled back with just as much ferocity. "Jules, why are you so pressed about this! It's nothing that hasn't happened before." The three boys in the room tensed at this, focusing their gaze on Riley. 

"I'm "pressed" because instead of going to the people who love you for support – instead of going to your best friend– you did this!" Julie said angrily. "How about we take a deep breath-" Alex tried.

"Can you just relax! It's not like I was trying to kill myself!" Riley screamed. Regret instantly made its way onto the girl's face. Her friends looked horrified to say the least. "Julie, I didn't mean to say that I-" Riley's hands were shaking now. 

Julie surged forward, throwing her arms around Riley and squeezing as hard as she could. "I can't lose you too Ry." she whispered into her shoulder. "I know." the other girl breathed out. 

Riley pulled away reluctantly. "I'm uh. I'm gonna go get changed. I'll be down in a minute."  she said before turning towards the stairs.

"That was-" Alex trailed off. "Intense." Reggie finished for him. Luke, still seated on the couch, had yet to say anything. 

"Hey Luke, buddy, you alright?" Alex said cautiously, taking a step closer to the shaggy haired boy. Luke snapped out of his thoughts before quickly standing up. "Yeah um. I'm just gonna go check on her real quick."

Luke paused at Riley's door before softly knocking. "Riles?" "Come in," came the quiet response. She had cleaned herself up, and other than the bandages still wrapped around her arms, she looked relatively normal. 

Riley engulfed Luke in a hug, her head against his chest. "Are you okay Luke?" she asked. "Yeah" Luke breathed out. "You just really scared me baby." The shorted girl hugged him tighter in response, and the two held each other in silence for a moment longer. 

"I love you." Riley said before placing a kiss to Luke's lips. Luke gently held her chin, deepening the kiss before slowly pulling away. He rested his forehead against hers, the two of them breathing in sync. "It's gonna be okay." Luke said softly. 

"C'mon, let's get back downstairs." Riley said as she led Luke out of the room by the hand. The couple returned to the living room to find Alex no longer there. "He went to find Willie. We have a plan to get a gig at the Orpheum," Julie said, noticing their confusion. 

"Sweet." Luke answered. "How about we go back to the studio?" Riley suggested before the four of them left her house. 

When they reached the studio, Reggie and Luke poofed out to find Alex, leaving the two girls by themselves. Riley and Julie settled on the couch as they waited anxiously for their bandmates to return.

"Sooo" Riley began. "How are things with Nick?" she said teasingly, wiggling her eyebrows. "Really Ry?" Julie giggled. "They're good. He actually asked me out the other." she said sheepishly. 

"Oh my God Jules!! That's awesome!" Riley said excitedly. "You'll have to fill me in. And this plan of yours to play the Orpheum?" 

"We're hoping that Willie can hijack the tour bus of the opening act and drive it as far away from LA as possible." Julie said as Riley gave her an 'are you kidding me?' look. "I know, it sounds stupid. But, if it works then the boys will poof into the Orpheum and book the gig for us." 

Just then the boys poofed back into the studio, causing the two girls to jump. "Did you find Willie? Did he do it? Are we playing the Orpheum? Somebody please say something!" Julie rushed out as she stood up on the couch. 

Luke, Alex, and Reggie dropped to their knees in front of the coffee table. "It's fine, everything's fine." Luke said with a smile. "You should be getting a call from the Orpheum right about... now" Alex said. 

The five of them stared at Julie's phone anxiously, before the screen lit up. "YES" Julie screamed. "Jules, pick up the phone!" Riley exclaimed. 

"Hi this is Tasha from the Orpheum. Is this Julie of Julie and the Phantoms?" the lady on the phone asked. "Yes, how can I help you?" Julie replied. "I was wondering if you were available to play tonight?" 

"Yes! We'll be there! Thank you so much!" Julie said excitedly before hanging up. The five of them cheered, jumping up and down around the studio as Riley yelled out. "You're playing the Orpheum baby!" 

Time Skip

The boys stood around the piano, waiting for Riley and Julie to finish getting ready. "Boys, I know this isn't how we wanted things to go, but it's our only option." Luke said as he noticed the downcast looks on his friends faces.

"Do we even know what happens when we cross over? Do we all still get to hang out together? You guys are the only family I have." Reggie said as a frown formed on his face. "I'm sure we'll be okay Reg." Alex reassured him. "Yeah, we just gotta-" 

Luke was abruptly cut off as the three of them were hit by another jolt, this one particularly more painful than the others. The three of them cried out in pain, clutching their chests. Riley and Julie reentered the studio and saw the looks of pain on the boys faces.

"Are you guys okay?" Riley questioned. "Fine, we just got rocked by one of those jolt things pretty hard just now," Alex said out of breath. "But we're fine" Luke said with a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. 

"Um, if you guys happen to see my mom, can you tell her that I miss her? And that I love her?" Julie asked quietly. "Of course Jules, anything for you," Reggie replied. "Band circle?" 

"If there's one thing we all know, it's that you two are insanely talented. You're gonna do big things I know it. And besides, we'll be watching you from above or you know" Luke said as he gestured to the ground jokingly. 

"Legends on three?" Julie said. "One, two, three, legends!" the five of them said, stacking their hands in the middle. "My dad's waiting for us, we gotta go Ry." Julie said before leaving the studio. 

Riley made eye contact with Luke before he pulled her in for a passionate kiss. "My eyes!" Alex said dramatically, covering his face with his hands. 

"I love you Riles." Luke said sincerely. "I love you too Luke." she said before exiting the studio. 

"I'm sorry Luke, I know how hard this must be for you," Alex said, placing his hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's okay Lex, I'll be alright. Take one last look around boys, this is the last time we'll be in here." 

"I wouldn't be so sure." a voice said from behind them. It was Caleb. 

"What are you doing here?" Luke said angrily. "I was just stopping by to wish you guys good luck. Crossing over, it's a big deal." Caleb said teasingly.

"We know it's your stamps that are hurting us." said Luke as he took an aggressive step towards Caleb. "Yeah, and we're not joining your stupid little club... Sir," Alex added, his voice cracking at the end of his sentence. 

"We'll see about that now won't we," Caleb said sinisterly. 

This couldn't be good.

Here's another chapter! I hope you liked it. The first chapter of my new book, "you've got everything to lose" is up now! Basically in it, Caleb possesses Luke instead of Nick. Go check it out!

- mands