Healing - JATP Fanfic (Luke x OC)

Chapter 1

"So, how are you and Luke doing? Have you guys kissed yet?" Aliyah annoys her younger sister as she bites into a thin crust pepperoni pizza. She never fails to get pizza every Friday, but they always try a different kind of pizza, whether it be the kind of crust, the toppings, or both. It's a requirement, otherwise Aliyah picks whatever food she wants for dinner and Brielle has to suffer. Not really, but Brielle just enjoys having pizza every Friday and gossiping about each other's love lives.

"No, Lia. We just started officially dating a few days ago." Brielle reminds her, finishing off her own piece. "What about you and that Harry guy you keep mentioning?"

"Okay, that is not fair. We've gone out for coffee twice." Brielle stares at her older sister, wondering how the two aren't any different since those coffee dates were two hours long each and she failed to mention the multiple meet ups in the park. Brielle thought they were adorable and was actually required to go with her on their first official coffee date. Apparently, it was to gauge how decent of a guy he was. If he treated Brielle with respect, he was decent. If not, Aliyah wouldn't date him again. And Harry was nothing short of a gentleman, ensuring that Brielle didn't feel much like a third wheel and Aliyah still felt like she was on a date. Brielle has approved of him since she met him, but Aliyah is still a bit hesitant about dating him, especially with everything that's been happening. Aliyah has been contacting a record company over the last couple weeks to see if they're willing to sign her to the label, but between work and taking care of Brielle, it's one of the last things on her mind.

"Sure. And I'm a ghost." Aliyah rolls her eyes before there's a knock on the door, but Brielle doesn't hear it. She hasn't been able to see ghosts in months, but Willie is always polite and knocks before entering.

"Well, Willie's here, so if you want to listen to our conversation, be my guest, otherwise my car is free for you to use for the next few hours." Brielle had taken her driver's training early in the summer, and after Aliyah found out Brielle had not gotten almost any driving hours, she immediately went to change that and about a week ago finally got her license. She signed herself up during the summer, not that her parents would have cared, and acted as if her parents really did consent to her taking the class. Julie and Flynn both had yet to even take the driver's training class, but were hopeful that by the summer, they would be on their way to getting their own card of freedom.

"I'll be at Julie's then. And don't worry, I'll be home by eight thirty so you can head to work." Aliyah did gigs weekly at the club Julie and the boys performed at, holding a steady full time job on the days she wasn't working, getting paid decently enough to provide for the two of them. Willie is already in the apartment, sitting on one of the couches as Brielle grabs her things and heads to Julie's house, where Tía Victoria's chocolate cupcakes were begging her name.

"So, Willie, how's everything going?" Aliyah prods, hoping he'll open up to her about how he feels, finally. They talk almost every other day, usually while Brielle is at school or doing homework, but he never says anything about how list he feels without Alex.

"Fine. Caleb is still not back, so the club is pretty weird to be at, and that displaced spirit is doing okay." Nick's displaced spirit, to be precise. Caleb hadn't done the whole taking-over-a-body thing in so long he forgot that the spirit is displaced, not working alongside him. Another reason why he was so weird the first day he took over Nick's body. Not that acting a little off made him want to do the job any less.

"Is Nick around at all? Or where does he go most of the day?" Aliyah has never actually met Nick, in the flesh or meta-physical form, and is still eager to meet him.

"He stays by the beach most days. I can tell he's really depressed, but still has no idea about the other band members." Willie refrains from calling then ghost or human because he is sure that there's more to the story, which is why he decided to stop by the apartment that day. More information.

"I feel bad for the kid." She frowns, before Willie dives into the real reason he showed up.

"What about you and that Harry guy? I've seen you two and he definitely wants you more than he says he does." Willie wiggles his eyebrows as Aliyah rolls her eyes.

"I'm almost thirty years old, Willie. I think I can tell when a guy likes me."

"I'm technically forty-something, but sure, that's the excuse. He doesn't look at you with eyes of lust. I can tell when a guy wants a girl for his body because that's usually how I had to deal with the blows. He looks at you with adoration, admiration, and awe." Willie says, before feeling the all-too-familiar sting of the memories of Alex and how badly he wishes they could have said one more goodbye.

"Will, how are you doing with everything to do with Alex?" Aliyah wishes she could sit next to him and give him the comforting hug he needs, but there's no way they can do that. But, she can still see how much Willie wishes Alex was still a ghost.

"This sounds so selfish, but I wish he was a ghost. He can't see me or hear me anymore and he was the first guy I let in in a long time."

"You're allowed to feel a little selfish. Going through that must have been really hard. But, there will be other ghosts." Willie repeats that in his mind a few times before finally getting to the point of why he came by.

"So, I finally found out what all happened with the boys." Willie claims, and immediately Aliyah is intrigued.

"Do go on." Aliyah rests her chin on one hand, eager for the news.

"The boys aren't really lifers." Aliyah's chin slips from her hand as she processes the information.

"What do you mean by 'the boys aren't really lifers'?" Willie was just as surprised by the news a few hours ago as Aliyah is now.

"I mean, whatever they did to complete their unfinished business wasn't enough for them to cross over."

"What is crossing over, really?"

"Becoming a lifer again."

"Crossing over means becoming a lifer again?" Aliyah asks, wondering how that would even work.

"There's a lot of messy details, like dealing with the past, which is something I was not willing to read twenty pages on, and the fact that you have no powers, but yeah. You complete your unfinished business, you get to have a life again." Willie explains, remembering a lot of the details that went into Caleb's "Manual for the Lost Soul". There might have been some point when he did give those out, but not anymore. Not when he can tie spirits to the ghost world forever. "But, because they had that stamp, the boys will eventually revert back to their ghost selves."

"What?" Aliyah's mind starts to spiral as she realizes Brielle's boyfriend will become a ghost again. "How long do they have?"

"Thirty-one more days. If they don't help another ghost complete their unfinished business, they'll become ghosts forever. Never able to cross over." Willie says, just as Aliyah comes up with a brilliant idea.

"What if they help you?"

"I've tried for years. Nothing has worked yet. Plus, I'm tied to that club, too. So it would be for nothing."

"There's one tiny loophole." Willie tries to think of what that loophole could be but it's already set in Aliyah's mind. "You helped them cross over. Which means, they can help you, too."

Author's Note: Hey, everyone and Happy Mother's Day (make sure to spend time with your moms)! So, that was not was I was thinking was what happened when you crossed over at all, but I got that idea in my head and ran with it. Sorry this chapter's a bit short, but I LOVE cliffhangers. Please let me know if you guys have any ideas about what I should write about (anything is appreciated and I do actually read everyone single comment). Let me know what you guys think about this chapter and I'll be back in a week with chapter 2!

Loves,

mistyrider921

~𝄞~