Oozing Chemistry

4th Thing's 4th

"A bike shack right where my house used to be," Reggie frowns, Luke hanging off his shoulder. "Right here."

Sand sinks into my shoes and I cringe, shifting onto a hollowed log beside the boys.

"Yeah, I'm sorry man," Luke offers, patting his chest, but it does nothing to brighten Reggie's mood.

"They made the Meyersons' house into a noodle shop. Why couldn't they have made mine a pizzeria or something?" Reggie continues sadly, pouting his lip adorably as we all stare at the new outdoor mall.

"They tore down the whole neighborhood," Alex points out grimly, shoulders slack and arms dangling at his sides.

"I guess my folks are gone."

"No," I turn to Reggie, upset and still barely keeping myself from going full-blown psycho ghost. And then I realize I can't even touch anything! "Everyone's gone. Twenty-five years, gone. Friends, family, Bobby, everyone."

"Bobby, that's right..." Reggie slowly realizes, crossing his leather-clad arms. "I guess that vegetarian lucked out. What do you think happened to him?"

"He probably just got old like everyone else and moved on," Luke says, though clearly something inside him hurts, his eyes a soft red.

Something inside me hurts, too. Bobby may not be my biological brother, but he's still family. How did he deal with our deaths? Did he quit music like Julie? So many questions swarm my head, and the one thing I hate most in the world is being left in the dark. Ironic because we were stuck in the dark for twenty-five years!

"Dude, how are you so casual about all of this?" Alex asks, irritation lining his tone. "I mean, don't you wanna figure out what happened?"

"Let's be real for a second," Luke scoffs, trying to seem as disconnected with the subject as possible. "It's not like any of us were that close to our families. My folks always regretted buying me that guitar. Reggie, your parents were literally a fight away from a divorce. Alex, I... Your parents were never cool again after you told them you were gay."

"Meanwhile I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time," I frown, placing my hands on my hips. "Still, I think... I think I'd rather be with you guys right now than still at the club with Bobby. I don't think I could have watched him try to hit on Rose any longer," I try my best to lighten the mood, and the boys laugh lightly, though it doesn't last long.

"None of us had it great. Alright?" Alex admits. "But at least we had something, you know? What do we have now? And before you say cool teleportation skills, just know I'm not entirely OK with that either!"

I point at Alex and nod. "He's not wrong. It tingles in weird places..."

"I'll tell you what we had," Luke starts, a small smile forming on his face as he jumps beside me onto the hollow log. "It's what we've had since the day we came together. Guys, we have us. We're the only family we're ever gonna need. And you know what else we have?"

"I'm gonna guess death breath," Reggie shrugs, making Luke and I almost burst out laughing.

"Our music, you dork. We have our music, you guys. People, actual people, can hear us play! They can't see us, fine, but they can feel us. If I had my guitar, I'd play for all these people right now. Just like what we used to do down at the pier."

"Yeah, they can't tip what they can't see," Alex bags, hands shoved into his pockets.

Luke rolls his eyes and hops off the log, stopping right in front of the pessimistic drummer. "It's not about the tips, Alex. It's about playing music. Connecting with people. Making a difference in their day. I just... I wish I had my guitar!"