I've Had The Time Of My Life

Chapter 5

Willie had never meant to hurt Alex. But after Caleb caught Willie helping Alex and the guys, he knew it was over. Even if it broke Alex's heart... or his own heart for that matter.

Willie had wanted to do nothing more than to cheer on Alex when he played the Orpheum, but Caleb had taken away the only other thing that he cared about – the marginal freedom he had. Caleb had somehow blocked Willie's ability to poof as well, so he truly was trapped. So instead of being there to watch Alex shine, he stayed at The Hollywood Ghost Club. Caleb had been furious, and he took it out on anyway who crossed his path. A few days later however, Caleb had a renewed energy and a devilish smile. Willie found it more terrifying than angry Caleb.

A few days after Caleb's mood changed, a young lifer came to the club. Caleb was immensely interested in him, and after some careful eavesdropping, Willie learned that the young boy was Julie's brother. Willie didn't know what Caleb's plan was, but he couldn't let another person Alex cared about get hurt.

Later that night, Caleb announced they were going to hit the road soon. Carlos returned with a fierce look on his face, which in turn was met with an obviously forced fake frown on Caleb's. It made Willie nervous how Caleb looked at the young boy. Willie tried to keep a close eye on Carlos, but it was challenging with Caleb hovering. As the week went on, Caleb was becoming more and more frustrated with Carlos.

Caleb called Willie to have him leave a note for Julie and her band at the Hollywood Ghost Club. Willie was suspicious as to why Caleb would want him to deliver the note, but he immediately complied, and moments later, Caleb had transported Willie to the club. Willie had looked for something he could use to signal Alex, to let him know something sinister was happening, but it felt as if Willie was a puppet, and Caleb was pulling his strings back. When he returned later, Caleb had a small smirk on his face. Willie now understood that he was chosen as a form of cruel punishment.

Caleb had once again summoned Willie to return to the Hollywood Ghost Club. As Willie appeared once more, he heard the ding of the elevator closing. He spotted the note on the piano, and knew he had just missed the courier. Once back in New York, Willie handed the note to Caleb who seemed amused by its content. He handed the note back to Willie with the instruction to dispose of it.

Willie had to follow Caleb's commands, but that didn't mean he couldn't look for a loophole. Caleb did not say where or when the note had to be disposed. Willie silently creeped around the New York Ghost Club until he found Carlos in a closet. The poor boy had swollen eyes as he had obviously been crying.

"Oh sorry, I didn't see you in here." Willie said in a high-pitched voice.

Carlos looked around confused. This random ghost looked in the supply closet, spotted Carlos, and then immediately closed the door behind him. There was no way he was there by accident, and seeing as there was no one else in here, this ghost obviously had to be lying.

"Caleb wanted me to dispose of this, so I guess I'll just throw this note out in here. Oops, no garbage can, I guess I will just leave it on the floor for someone to pick it up... and throw away after." Willie gave Carlos a small smile and quickly left the closet.

Carlos was beyond weirded out by this guy. Carlos had noticed the weirdo looking at him every now and then, and it honestly was creepy. And Carlos had met Caleb, so he knew creepy. But obviously this ghost wanted Carlos to see the note, so he went and picked up the paper. He immediately recognized his sister's handwriting and felt broken by her words. He should have known better than to listen to Caleb's words. His dad raised him better than that. Heck, Julie raised him better than that.

Carlos needed to find that ghost. Clearly he was trying to be helpful. Caleb flung open the door, only to see someone blocking his view.

***

Julie and the boys took an uber home. She had tried to convince them to just poof home and grab the van, but Reggie reminded her they didn't take the van in the first place because they were being **iNcOnSpIcUoUs**. They settled on the couches in the living room and tried to think of what to do.

As much as they were hoping to continue on with Operation Fallen Crow – Reggie obviously named it – all they could do right now is wait. Unfortunately, none of them were feeling patient.

Reggie announced that he was going to spend time at the dog shelter. It didn't go unnoticed that he changed his outfit several times, which was challenging considering he mostly wore black jeans, a white tee, and his leather jacket. It made Julie smile to see Reggie getting all flustered over a girl. Alex sighed and rolled his eyes before putting his hands on Reggie's shoulders and telling him he looked fine. Reggie gave a quick blush before poofing out.

Alex wondered if he should also be going to work, but honestly, he couldn't handle the stress with everything going on PLUS having to figure out his new job. Ray had told the boys they needed to have jobs if they weren't going to go to school, but now that he knew their whole story, Alex was hoping he might be able to convince him otherwise. Since Ray had been working from home – hoping Carlos might appear at any second – Alex poofed into his home office. Julie and Luke chuckled at the scream that happened soon after Alex left, clearly Julie wasn't the only one who had a strong reaction to being surprised by ghosts.

Julie smiled and grabbed Luke's hand, and walked out to the studio. Luke, being the teenaged boy he was, hoped that Julie was going to kiss him again. Instead, Julie grabbed Luke's lyric notebook and brought it over to the couch. So no kiss then. Not that Luke was disappointed, well maybe a little disappointed, but he and Julie connected so much through song writing so he really wasn't complaining.

They sat on the couch, knees pressed together, and started working on a new song. Julie was starting to lose her earlier hope, which meant her lyrics kept getting darker and darker. Luke noticed and rubbed small circles on the back of her hand with his calloused thumb.

"Hey Jules..."

"Mmm?" she mumbled while scribbling something down. When he didn't say anything back, she looked up at him. Luke smiled gratefully, as if Julie was the shining sun after a brutal storm. He leaned forward and placed a soft, but long, kiss on the lips. Julie hummed from the back of her throat against his lips, as her shoulders relaxed.

"Nothing. I just missed doing that." He said before turning back to the notebook. She reached out and intertwined her fingers with his. "You know, you're making it awfully hard to write anything."

Julie smiled as she closed the notebook and cuddled up into Luke's arms. "I know," she said. "But I think after everything that's happened lately, we could just use some quiet time and let our brains have a break."

Luke liked Julie's idea, and repositioned so she had her back to his chest and he placed his head on her shoulder. Julie pulled out her phone and went on youtube to numb their brains. Luke knew there was a lot going on, but he was thankful for this moment of quiet tenderness.