Ghosts {L.P.}

6:50

Ｇｈｏｓｔｓ Ｍａｄｅ Ｈｅｒ
Ｆｅｅｌ Ｗｅｉｒｄ

▶︎ •၊၊||၊|။||||။၊|• 1:53

Riya set the strap of her guitar over her shoulder, running her hands over the smooth pale yellow body of her guitar. The murmuring of the crowd had yet to stop from the second her and Julie set foot on stage, and no matter how much Riya tried drowning the noise out with the song in her head and triple checking every setting possible on her guitar, piercing whispers still reached her ears.

"Hi," Julie's voice nearly made Riya jump, her head snapping towards her, already sitting at her piano with her microphone in its stand. Julie looked perfectly at ease where she was, meanwhile Riya was gripping the guitar with enough force to snap a twig in half and eyes so wide and full of fear she may as well have been facing a bear rather than a harmless crowd.

"It's actually 'Julie and the Phantoms'," Julie corrected the announcer, her words immediately followed by a loud cheer coming from the bar section of the venue.

Limb by limb, Riya began to loosen at the sight of the cheering, clapping, and whistling person at the bar, her father. His shirt already had a stain on the side of one of the sleeves while he nursed a half empty glass of some drink, Riya should have expected his shirt wouldn't have remained pristine the entire night. The rest of the attendee's gave him a weird look while he cheered the girls on, but he didn't seem to care and kept clapping and grinning like it was no one's business.

Riya wondered if he had acted the exact same way with her mother and if she had reacted with the same bashful smile Riya was reacting with.

Julie chuckled into the microphone, already settling her fingers over the keys before facing the crowd once more, specifically Flynn behind their faux projector, another place Riya was able to stare at without being overcome by a fearsome sensation which froze her on the spot.

Flynn flicked on a switch behind the faux projector, dim lights shining from it on to the stage before shooting Julie and Riya a thumbs up, they'd ere ready on her behalf. Julie turned to Riya, silently questioning if she was ready to begin as well.

Riya sighed, looking back to where she had seen her father's face appear, he was drinking from his glass when their eyes locked, however he was quick to set it down and shoot her a thumbs up before motioning to breathe, which Riya did, the muscles around her fingers all loosening at once.

She nodded at Julie, the lights dimming around her as the first keys of the piano were played, head lowering to face her feet until her cue came in. Riya got it, maybe it wasn't school, and it was a much bigger venue with much more important people, but she had rehearsed the song enough times to play it during a coma.

Riya intended on taking Luke's and her father's advice, she'd let the music carry her.

"Hearts on fire
We're no liars
So we say what we wanna say,"

Julie begun the song, the murmuring crowd quieting around her voice, while the dimmed lights around Riya slowly lit up as her cue to come into the song. Shaky hands went to grip the microphone they had set for her in the middle, nails digging into the cool smooth metal around her palm.

"I'm awakened
No more fakin'
So we push all our fears away,"

Julie begun the song, the murmuring crowd quieting around her voice, while the dimmed lights around Riya slowly lit up as her cue to come into the song. Shaky hands went to grip the microphone they had set for her in the middle, nails digging into the cool smooth metal around her palm.