You Can Find Me In The Space Between

Chapter Three

a/n - I am not nearly creative enough to come up with song titles for each chapter. so.... we're just going to pretend that never happened, kay?

Pete smiled at his computer. All things considered, he was going to count that as a victory. He pulled up his youtube account, and was bummed to see that Reggie and Alex hadn't found him yet – or the fact that his videos had barely been seen by anyone. But that was a problem for another day. He reheated some beans for a late-night snack, and was out like a light as soon as his head hit the pillow

Pete was sure that Julie would hate it if she knew he was following her – Julie was a big fan of boundaries – but she hadn't noticed him before, so he figured it would be the same situation now. He justified it by telling himself he was just looking out for her, and he figured if Alex or Reggie had come back, that they would come to Julie too. Therefore, he had to stay close. Just in case.

He hadn't saved up enough to buy a car, even a junky one, but it was a nice day so he decided to walk. He wondered what Ray did with the van he had bought for Luke. And then Pete wondered if he was going about this all wrong. Should he have reached out to Carlos first? Carlos definitely believed in the supernatural, so maybe that would be his way to Julie?

By the time Pete had arrived at Los Feliz High, students were milling about for their lunch break. Not wanting to appear like a weirdo, he sat on a bench across the street and pretended to read a book. If anyone had looked close enough, they would have noticed he hadn't flipped a page for several minutes. Pete was wearing dark sunglasses so he could scan the school grounds for Julie or Carlos, as he was now in high school. He hadn't spotted either, so he decided he would wait 20 more minutes before he left.

"Are you serious?!"

Pete flinched when he heard the voice screaming behind him. "Oh, hey Jules. Fancy seeing you here." He said with a sheepish smile.

"How many times do I have to tell you to not call me Jules! And what – are you stalking me now?" Julie asked with her nostrils flaring.

"Jules, I mean Julie, please just let me talk to you. I'm Luke – and I can prove it to you, I swear!"

"I don't want to hear it bub. You can stay right there and keep your delusional thoughts to yourself! You better not come around here again, or... or I'm going to get my boyfriend to beat you up!" Julie huffed before turning on her heel and walking back to the school.

Pete sat frozen, watching her storm off. So Julie did have a boyfriend. Obviously – it didn't surprise him that Julie would stay single, she was too great. But it still stung to hear. Pete was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't notice a guy walking towards him.

"So, you're reading Cloud Atlas? That's heavy man." The guy said. He was standing right in front of the sun, so Pete had a hard time seeing his face.

"Oh, um yeah. It's kinda about reincarnation... so it's interesting for me I guess." Pete mumbled. Truthfully, he found the book super confusing and it was really really long, but when he had asked the girl working at a book store for a recommendation on reincarnation, that's what she had suggested. But it was just too dense for him to get into.

"Gotcha..." Neither boy said anything and watched each other silently. "So, what did you do to piss Julie off this much?"

Pete scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Oh uh well, I just wanted to talk to her, but she wasn't interested. I wasn't like aggressive or anything like that, but she just didn't want to talk to me." He hoped he didn't sound like he had verbally assaulted her or something.

"Really? My sister doesn't usually blow up at strangers." The boy replied.

It took Pete a minute to realize what the guy had said. "Wait – Carlos?!"

The young man cocked his eyebrow. "Do I know you?"

Carlos seemed to have grown in the past year. Like puberty had hit him hard. He was now a good 5 inches taller, and his voice was lower. But now that Pete really looked at his face, he could see that it clearly was Carlos.

"Oh man – you don't know how happy I am to see you! It's Luke. Well, not how you knew me, but this is my new body." Pete started to ramble. "It was so crazy. I woke up 6 months ago in Greece, and Michael, remember him, left a letter being like this is your new body and your name is Pete and don't tell anyone cause then they'll think you're crazy and but I knew I had to find a way to get here, but because he didn't give me any money, I worked for this women Athena, and I eventually was able to fly over here and I got settled and then yesterday I went to see Jules, but she doesn't believe it's me, and now she won't even let me try to explain." He took a deep breath after that massive sentence.

Stunned, Carlos plopped down beside Pete on the bench. "Okay then." He was clearly at a loss for words. "So... Greece?"

"Really? That's all you have to say?"

"Hey! I'm trying to process all of this. My sister's ghost boyfriend is back but not really and it's a lot to take in!"

"Trust me, I get it." Pete mumbled back. "... So, how has she been doing?"

Carlos gave a small smile. Luke or Pete had only seen Julie for a few moments and was already whipped again. "She's been about as good as can be expected after everything she's gone through." He looked over at Pete again. Carlos couldn't believe that Luke was back. Well Carlos could believe it, but it was still crazy to think about. "So, where are Reggie and Alex?"

Pete looked down solemnly. "I don't know man. We didn't come back together... I don't even know if they came back... hey – you haven't noticed anyone new coming around, have you?"

"Sorry Luke, or should I call you Pete? Either way, I can't think of anyone being weird and cagey." Carlos looked over at the school, watching as students were walking back into the building." Hey – I hate to do this, but I've gotta go. I've got a test next period, so I can't be late. But let's meet here at 3, and we can figure out how to get Jules to believe you. I mean, I think she just needs to listen to you talk, you'd know enough about her to prove you're Luke."

Pete nodded. "Sounds good." Carlos got up and started to head back to the school. "Hey Carlos – uh, thanks. You know, for believing me. I missed you man."

Carlos smiled at Pete's words. "Don't get all mushy on me now. I'll see you at 3." And with that, he crossed the street and was quickly lost in the crowd of students.

"Being negative only makes the journey more difficult. You may be given a cactus, but you don't have to sit on it." Joyce Meyer