What A Small World - Julie and The Phantoms - Reggie

Chapter 3 - The Story

Trigger warning - panic attack

"Who you calling boy band!" Luke said jumping down from where he'd been sat on the piano raising his voice. Olivia put her arms up to surrender a giggle escaping her lips.

"Whoa calm down dude" Alex laughed grabbing the guitarist shoulder before he scared the girl away. 

Reggie still hadn't said anything which was unusual for him. He just kept his eyes on the stunning redhead in front of him. There was something about her almost like he knew her in some way. 

Something familiar about her eyes. Like a warm hug on a cold day or a bonfire on a beach. He wanted to live in them forever.

She looked at him catching him off guard. A small smirk on her face making him break out in his stupid warm grin. 

He shock his head trying to shake the thought out of his head. This was ridiculous. 

Julie was the next person to speak. "Olivia can you take a seat on the couch we need to tell you something." 

And so she did, she made her way over to the couch and sat as the rest gathered about her on the floor.

"So it started when dad wanted to me clear out the studio." Julie started. 

She sat there as the four of them told her a story of ghosts and music that she wouldn't quite believe if the boys hadn't been sat in front of her. She felt like she hadn't taken a breath for the whole half and hour. Julie told the most of the story, Luke getting excited and cutting her off when she talked about the music, Alex told the parts about Willie and the club but he just looked sad which she could feel and Reggie, Reggie just came with funny one liners that made the rest of the group groan but she loved it.

"And so we had a group hug and here we are." Alex said smiling at the girl as she just stared at them. 

"That was nice, we should do that again." Reggie said smiling to himself and rest of the band shock their head at him, Julie trying not to laugh at him. 

Olivia took a breath "So to round up you're telling me, you're a ghost band from the 90s, you died, came back because of a CD, you helped Julie play again, you all almost disappeared and now Julie can feel you." She was expressionless, as if she read her shopping list.

"Yeah pretty much apart from the fact you can see us too.....which is weird." Reggie said with a half smile nodding his head. 

She couldn't help it she started laughing. They all looked at her like she'd lost the plot completely. 

"So you believe us?" Luke said getting up from the floor looking down at the girl. 

"Well I mean why not." She said still laughing. 

"Olivia we're being serious, I wouldn't be telling you if it wasn't true and you can't tell anyone." Julie said taking Luke's hand to help her get up, Alex and Reggie getting up too. 

"I'm sorry but they don't look like ghosts, surely there isn't such thing as cute ghosts." She got up of the couch needing to stretching her legs. 

All three boys looked at each other with wicked smiles on their faces. "Fine." Luke said nodding to the other phantoms and with that they poofed out the studio leaving the two girls allowed. 

Olivia stopped laugh finally and her eyes went wide looking at Julie who had a big smile on her face with her arms crossed over her chest. "You asked for it." She said with the same smile the boys had 5 seconds before. 

As quickly as they where gone she heard a pop noise behind her and she slowly turned around. "Shit!" She said jumping and putting her hand over her heart like she was going to have a heart attack. 

"How? What.. Where did you go! You where here and then" She was flustered the whole story sounded ridiculous there was no way it could be true or could it?

She reached forward trying to grab hold of Alex's shoulder but her hand just went right there him. 

She stared down at her hand and then at the boys. "How did you do that. Are they holograms now?" She said turning to look at Julie who had taken a seat on the piano to watch this all unfolding thinking back to when the boys first came to her. 

"So you believe us now?" Luke said walking thought her just make a point to the girl. A chill going down her spine.

All the band members standing around the piano again. "How could I not! But why can I see you then!" She also screamed.

She felt like she'd stopped breathing. Her chest was tight like someone was sitting on her chest. She felt her heart beating it was in her ears so loud, her hands clammy. She felt like she couldn't get any air in her lungs making her breath quicker. She knew what was happening. This happened before. 

She stumbled backwards out the studio doors back into the fresh air. 

"She's having a panic attack." Alex said quickly before poofing outside to the girl. He knew these all too well.

The rest of the boys following suit and Julie running out the door to her. 

She was sitting on the floor now her hands over her heart. What was she meant to do. All the tricks she had learnt went out the window this wasn't a normal panic attack. It wasn't because she was getting in a car or because of a big crowed or a hospital. No this was because she couldn't think what all this meant for her parents.  

"You need to breath Olivia. In your nose and out your mouth. Concentrate on your breathing. Julie take her hands and make her look at you breath with her." Alex was calm probably the most calm Julie had ever seen him before.  

Julie did as she was told taking her friends hands in her own. "Olivia look at me please. You can do it just breath for me ok." 

Julie hadn't seen this before, she had no idea Olivia had been dealing with this since that night. She'd been taken the England before she could even see her. Her dad had told her what happened but she didn't realise the boys would set this off. 

Reggie and Luke stood off to the side not knowing what to do. Neither of them had ever experienced anything like this before. 

Luke just had worry in his eyes. He felt terrible if he'd known she would have reacted like this he wouldn't have tried to scare her like they did. 

Reggie just wanted to give her hug the kind of of hug that just made everything better right away. He wished he could take the pain away from her. It didn't seem fair to him. 

After a couple of minutes Alex and Julie had calmed her down enough to get to her to her feet and back into the studio on the couch. Julie put a blank around her as she was ice cold. 

"What just happened?" Luke said under his breath to Alex. But she heard. She was so embarrassed. That hadn't happened in a year. She also didn't remember ever having a panic attack that bad.

"She had a panic attack you idiot." He said hitting Luke in the arm. "That was a lot for her obviously." He had soft eyes as he looked at her knowing all to well what she was feeling right now. 

Julie hadn't taken her eyes off the redhead balled up on the couch. "What can I do?" She finally said. 

"Play me something." She finally said lifting her head and locking eyes with the concerned looking Reggie across the room a small smile rising on her face. 

"Ok" They all said making their way over to their instruments. They all looked at each other with questioning eyes. 

"The one you played at the Orpheum." She said quietly before any of them could ask. They smiled at each other, as many bad memories that night might hold for the boys it held the happiest too.