─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

"hi girls!" stasie cruised into the school's music studio with a cardboard take-out cup carrier in her hand, "i went to the coffee shop before i got here and brought you guys some drinks."

"oh stas, you're the best." flynn clapped her hands.

"thank you!" julie grinned as she sat down at the grand piano.

"a latte for jules." she placed the drink down on the top of the piano, "and they didn't have any sodas you liked, so i just got you coffee two sugars, no milk." she handed flynn her cup.

"thanks." flynn hummed as she took it from her hands.

"how much was it?"

"no worries." stasie shook her head, "now, what have i missed?"

"luke and i spent all weekend writing songs." julie explained, "i was just about to play a snippet."

"ooo, don't let me stop you." stasie grinned as she took a sip of her hot chocolate.

"here's a bit of the chorus." she told them, "♪ cause we're standing on the edge of great, great, great ♪"

"wow!" flynn nodded, "i like it!"

"it sounds great already," stasie added, "pun intended."

"definite gaga vibes." flynn chimed after chuckling at stasie's lame joke.

"oh, you're so right."

"thanks! i think we have an anthem with this one." julie described, "it's something my mom and i were working on."

stasie and flynn both gave her a small smile at the mention of her late mother.

"luke and i finished it. check it out," julie spoke, "♪ and it's one, two, three, four times. that i've tried for one more night ♪"

the two girls began swaying to the melody and their friend's angelic voice.

♪ light a fire in my eyes, i'm going out of my mind ♪

"that's... that's beautiful."

"it's wonderful, jules." stasie agreed as julie chuckled.

"and our girl's got a crush, and his name is luke." flynn continued.

"what?" julie frowned, "no. luke's a ghost."

"a cute ghost." flynn simplified.

"and a kind ghost."

"with a perfect smile." julie swooned.

"ha!" flynn high-fived stasie in triumph. "i knew it! just remember he's made of air."

"cute air." julie reasoned with a shrug.

"just don't get hurt, okay?" flynn's face softened.

stasie cleared her throat, "my dollar, please."

julie scoffed, "you guys bet on me?"

"well, after friday's performance, stasie said you'd admit your feelings in a few days whereas i thought in about a week." flynn told her as she dug in her back pocket looking for the money.

"i won." stasie explained, "thanks jules for confessing."

"and when are you going to be confessing, miss jackson?" julie shot back at her.

"pardon?"

"not that we've been counting, but according to alex, you have blurted out around ten facts so far since reggie has been around."

"reggie? he's the one that was wearing the flannel, right?"

"right." julie nodded with a smirk.

"i have nothing to confess." stasie crossed her arms, she could feel a statement crawling up her throat and she knew she wouldn't be able to stop it. "except the fact that kangaroos cannot walk backwards." she quickly slapped her hand over her mouth.

"a-ha!" flynn pointed at her, "you're nervous."

"everyone gets nervous." she defended herself.

"i mean, you get nervous when speaking about reggie."

"okay, okay." stasie sighed, "he's nice."

"improvement." julie whispered to flynn before stretching over and giving her a fist pump.

"can we please go back to jules and luke?" stasie sealed her eyes tightly and felt her cheeks heating up.

"good idea, they have a connection." flynn accepted before redirecting to julie, "everybody's wondering when you'll play again."

"play again?" julie questioned, "we don't even have anything planned. luke and i have just been focused on writing songs."

"lucky for you, your marketing team has been way ahead of you," flynn reassured her.

"i don't have a marketing team."

she reached into her backpack and drew out a handmade poster, "yes, you do!" flynn told her while she pointed at stasie and herself.

"we're your marketing team." stasie gave her jazz hands. "oh, and surprise!"

"you're playing the school dance tonight, and i'm dj-ing too while stas supports me and works behind the scene." flynn explained while sliding the sheet onto the piano for julie to see, "i posted it all over social media."

"while i promoted it on my account and stuck up a few posters around the school." stasie beamed.

"you have an excellent marketing team." flynn hip-bumped stasie.

"surely we're a marketing duo regarding there's only two of us." stasie voiced her thoughts.

"well, team makes us sound more professional." flynn shrugged.

"no. no." julie shook her head in disagreement as she examined the poster, "this is in front of the whole school."

her phone buzzed and she pulled it out, "sorry, you already have 98 likes."

"oh, you just reminded me." stasie went ahead and grabbed her mobile too, "99 likes now," she stated while she double-tapped the photo.

julie huffed and watched as the two exited the room, "wait!"

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

"we're playing a school dance?" reggie scanned the sheet, "sweet!"

after a long day of school, the two made their way back to julie's to show the boys what gig they'd booked. as stasie swept the floors and julie watered the plants, two out of three of the ghosts were looking at the poster.

"it's not exactly the strip." luke pointed out, looking slightly disappointed.

"and you're not exactly alive," reggie reminded his buddy, "so, you should be happy we have our first gig."

"when stas and flynn showed me, i wasn't in love with the idea at first either, but it could be a great way for us to build a following, right?" julie declared.

"right, that's why we came up with it." stasie nodded.

"yeah. yeah." reggie agreed, "we need to play wherever we can, whenever we can."

"no, you're right." luke stood up straighter, "let's rock those kids' faces off and then play the clubs."

"and then record a single that gets a billion streams?" julie continued.

"i don't know what that is, but hopefully it gets us a manager and a tour." luke nodded. his words made stasie clear her throat, he turned to her and gave her a sheepish smile, "a co-manager and a tour."

"that's more like it!"

"then we release a bunch of hit albums." julie resumed.

"put out a country album that does surprisingly well." reggie randomly announced, causing them to give him looks, "i shred on the banjo, so..."

"then i'll learn how to fiddle." julie told him.

reggie grinned before giving her an air fist-pump, seeing as they were unable to physically touch each other.

"and before you know it, we're being inducted into the rock 'n' roll hall of fame." luke exclaimed.

"but one of us isn't there." reggie said, "because we had a blowout in 2032. my money's on alex - he's so sensitive."

"what are we waiting for?" luke asked them, "let's get rehearsing!"

"one, two, three..." stasie did a headcount before trailing off, "missing person alert."

"uh... where is alex?" julie questioned the two.

─── ∙ ~εïз~ ∙ ───

stasie lounged on the studio's couch, looking through her notes from physics class as reggie, julie and luke performed a composition they had been working on.

"one more time." luke dictated, making them play the tune once more.

just as they concluded, alex passed through the door.

"oh. hey, alex." reggie greeted.

"where have you been?" luke asked, "we need to start practising."

"yeah? for what?" alex quizzed.

"dance news!" flynn burst into the room, "i don't have a date." she spotted stasie on the couch, "but i don't care because i'm so psyched to see you guys perform."

"i'll be your date!" stasie called out with a kind smile.

"i now have a date." flynn corrected herself.

"oh man!" alex frowned, "we're playing a dance?"

"of course, dude." luke started before looking over to stasie, "that's how we get a following nowadays."

julie chucked, "yeah, get with the program, alex."

"what?" flynn spoke, "the guys are here?" she tutted before kindly waving in the opposite way to where they were facing. "hey, guys!"

"other way, sweetie." julie told her.

"oh." she hummed before rotating and waving again, reggie and alex waving back at her.

"okay, well, now that alex has graced us with his presence." luke started.

"thank you, alexander."

"you're welcome, anastasia."

"can we start working?" luke finished.

"yes! we're gonna rehearse." julie told flynn, "you wanna stick around?"

"i'm supposed to blow up five hundred balloons for the school dance, but this sounds way better." flynn nodded.

"hey, julie." carlos matched into the room, a photo in his hand as he passed through alex, "remember those orbs in dad's pictures? i-i think they're ghosts."

stasie rose from her comfortable position and made her way over to the smaller boy, "what pictures?"

"here." he handed it to her.

stasie held it in her palms and inspected the image of three gleaming spheres behind the piano, "wow carlos, this is... nice."

"it is, but don't worry." he began studying around the room, "this room is-is- this room is clean.
i'm not getting the ghost tingles."

"wrong again, little dude." reggie shook his head at the young boy.

"okay, peter parker." stasie joked. she wobbled her head and returned the photograph to carlos.

"who's peter parker?" luke turned to his friends.

alex gasped, "you don't know who peter parker is?"

"have no fear." carlos pointed at julie, "if they come back, i will protect you because i am the man of the house."

"oh yeah?"

"yeah."

"isn't dad supposed to be the man of the house?" julie challenged his younger brother.

he shrugged shyly, "there can be two. and dad needs all the help he can get, right?"

they all laughed.

"according to the internet, salt burns their souls out." he placed the image on the keyboard and pulled out a bottle of table salt.

the boys began sharing glimpses of concern and slight panic.

"a little sprinkle will keep them from ever coming in here." he began shaking the salt around, making the boys move to the side to avoid coming in contact with it.

when he poured some in alex's direction, he wasn't quick enough to dodge it, "no! oh God, i'm..." the blond yelled out, "i'm fine. i'm fine - totally fine."

julie turned to flynn and cleared her throat, gesturing her head over to her brother.

"oh! carlos, you know who's hungry?" she asked him, "me. um, salt me a path to the kitchen."

carlos nodded and grabbed the photograph, "stasie, are you coming?"

"phew."

she turned to julie with indecision in her eyes but the molina girl shrugged, telling her she should do what she wanted.

stasie smiled and turned to carlos, "you up for some of my wonderful peanut butter and jam sandwiches?" she quizzed the two.

"of course."

"woo!" carlos raised his hands in celebration, "let's go!"

"hey, hey." stasie sounded, "slow down."

"you know i don't like it when you do that." flynn told the girl as she settled her arms across her shoulder.

"it's fun, there's really no difference between jelly and jam."

"big difference!" reggie yelled out as they exited the room, making her chuckle.

⎯ ❃ neens speaks!

thank you so much for all the love and support i'm getting on this book ahhh

gif is flynn and julie being a bunch of cuties