Ghosted - Luke | Julie and the Phantoms

Chapter One

"Come on, Julie. Smile." I told the girl as I followed her down the hallway at school. She was wearing a baseball cap on her head as she stared down at the floor, approaching her locker.

"Hey, underachiever." Her best friend, Flynn, grinned as Julie opened her locker door.

"Hey, disappointment." Julie replied.

"There's the smile." I whispered as a smile grew on my face, watching the girl.

"Okay, I know you don't want me to ask you this, but have you figured out what you're gonna do today?" Flynn asked the girl.

"I'll know in the moment." Julie replied.

"Really, Jules? That's all you're giving me? Mrs Harrison said this is your last chance."

"I know, I was there."

I leaned back against the locker beside Julie's and I stared across the hall to find Carrie. Mine and Julie's ex-friend. "Ugh." Flynn scoffed as Carrie approached the three of us. "What is she handing out?"

"Desperation." I muttered, only nobody heard me.

"Desperation?" Julie then questioned, making Flynn laugh.

"Here you go." Carrie smiled as she handed both Flynn and Julie a flyer. "My group's performing at the spirit rally tomorrow. I'm sure you guys have nothing better to do."

"Oh my gosh, Carrie. Thanks!" Flynn exclaimed, sarcastically.

"Oh my gosh, Flynn. Don't bother coming." Carrie mimicked before she walked off with her boyfriend, Nick, following closely behind her.

Flynn then the screwed up the flyer in her hand and I couldn't help but notice the smile on Julie's face as she stared at Nick from across the hall. Flynn noticed this too. "Nick? Still?" Flynn asked her. "You know they're gonna get married and have a bunch of unholy babies."

"Nick's a sweetheart."

"Yeah, your actually have to talk to him to know that... And only one of them has to be a demon to make a demon baby." Flynn said before looking at Carrie. "Demon!" She shouted. Carrie's head turned immediately and Flynn and Julie began to laugh. I couldn't help but smile at the fact that Julie was starting to get happier. She was coming out of her dark place. "There's that smile." Flynn grinned. "Now, let's go and prove everybody wrong."

I started to follow Julie and Flynn to their music classroom when I noticed my best friend and my ex-boyfriend leaning against her locker, holding hands as they looked into each other's eyes. I was happy for them, truly. My opinion didn't matter anymore anyway. I died six months ago. It was my death that brought the two of them together.

"Julie, are you coming?" I heard Flynn ask and I turned my head to see my sister watching them both as well.

"Yeah, sorry." Julie said as we both continued to walk into the music classroom.

***

Nick stood up and performed his guitar solo in front of the class before everybody started to clap. "Nice job, Nick." Mrs Harrison exclaimed. "Almost as impressive as your game against Glendale." The room then laughed quietly and Nick took his seat beside Carrie. "Okay, we have one last performance. Julie."

I stood in the back of the room as I watched the girl slowly stand up and approached the piano. "Come on, Julie. You can do this." I whispered.

"Take your time." Mrs Harrison told her. Julie nodded and she sat down before placing her fingers on the keyboard. After of few seconds of silence, she stood up.

"I'm sorry." Julie said. I frowned.

"Is this where we clap?" Carrie asked before Julie walked out of the room followed by Flynn. I took a deep breath and ran after them.

"Not now, Flynn." Julie told her friend. Flynn frowned and nodded her head before she slowly walked away from the girl who went to her locker.

"You tried, Julie." I told her as a tear fell down my cheek. "I just wish you played like you used too."

***

When Julie had finished school, I poofed myself into her house where I found her sitting at the dining table doing homework. "You're home." Her dad said as he walked down the stairs and sat beside her. "I was about to go and watch your brother's game. I've had photo shoots all day. Didn't even get a chance to eat. But... I got a phone call today."

"Yeah, I figured as much." Julie frowned.

"It was from my realtor friend." Julie's face then lit up slightly. The man didn't know about the music program. "She says if we're serious about selling the house, then she wants me to take some pictures for the website. Which means we have to do a lot of cleaning and get rid of some stuff. Any maybe you can tackle mom's studio?" Julie then frowned. "You're the expert. You're brother and I wouldn't even know where to begin. It's okay is you're not ready, I-"

"No. It's alright. Maybe I'll try tonight." Julie told the man, who smiled.

"Awesome, mija. Oh, and don't forget the loft. You know, those old instruments that were there when we moved in? They need a new home."

"Mom would like that."

"Yeah, she would." The man smiled before looking at his watch. "I'm gonna be late."

The man then began to search the area for his keys. "Under the mail." Julie sighed.

"You're a lifesaver." He replied as he picked up his keys. He then kissed Julie on the head before leaving the house with me following him.

I poofed myself into the man's car and we drove to Carlos' game. When he stopped the car, he picked up a photo from the floor of the car before sticking it to the window. "I miss you, both." The man frowned as tears started to fill his eyes.

"I miss you, too." I whispered. "But please don't cry." The man then sniffed and wiped his face dry before climbing out of the car where the game had already started. I couldn't help but smile as I watched Carlos play and I screamed and shouted even though he couldn't hear me.