and we've entered the last episode. we're almost done here. thank you so much for all the amazing support and comments i've gotten from all of you. it really makes writing this book even better

[1.9]

"didn't you key moira richardson's car"

The four ghosts stood nervously under the Orpheum sign. The marquee that displayed the bands that would be performing for the night read "Panic! At The Disco" and "Downslide," though if all went well, one of them would be absent. Willie was off doing his part of the plan, making sure that Downslide was too far away to get back to LA in time for the show. While they waited for him to get back, they all stood anxiously outside the venue.

"Look, don't worry, guys. Willie said he'd get us on that marquee," Alex assured them.

"This is gonna work, right?" Reggie asked, still not sure about the plan. He hugged Mickey tightly to try and ease some of his nerves.

"It has to," Luke said.

Then another jolt hit them. Reggie kept Mickey from falling over as they both groaned in pain. She rubbed her chest, not sure how much more she could take of those. As the pain started to fade, Willie flashed in behind them.

"Hey, you guys okay?"

"Just peachy," Mickey muttered, leaning weakly against Reggie.

"Yeah," Alex said in a nicer tone. "Yeah, it's nothing we haven't felt before. How'd it go."

"Well, when that opening band wakes up, they're gonna find their bus two hundred miles outside of Vegas with no chance of getting back in time," he said, while showing off the Downslide jacket he had also stolen. "And they'll find itching powder in their shoes."

"Mickey," Alex mumbled, sighing and shaking his head. Willie chuckled and gave Mickey a low-five.

"And that means there's probably a promoter upstairs right about now freaking out," Luke said, grinning.

"Nah. This is Hollywood, man. I'm sure he's being very professional," Willie said, snickering.

Alex glanced at the others before stepping closer to Willie. Mickey grabbed Reggie and nodded to Luke, letting them know to give the two boys some space. Though, they were nosy, so they did watch from afar as the two boys spoke softly.

"They're hugging," Mickey quietly squealed. Reggie chuckled and pulled her into his chest to try and calm her down. "It's so cute."

"Yeah. They're good for each other," Luke said, smiling sadly. "Too bad it's not gonna matter in a few hours."

"Way to be a Debbie downer," Mickey mumbled.

But, he was right, and they all knew it. After a few moments, Willie skated away and the others rejoined Alex, who watched him go with a despondent look on his face.

"Alex, you all right, man?" Luke asked, putting a hand on his arm.

"Yeah," he said, nodding. "Yeah, I'm okay."

"Well, thanks to Willie, Panic! At The Disco needs an opening band," Luke stated.

Alex glanced up at the building. "Then I guess someone up there needs to know we're available."

When they flashed upstairs, they were greeted by a very stressed out promoter. He was on the phone with Downslide and angrily yelling into the phone while his assistant searched for an alternative band.

"No — No, stop. Stop! Stop saying the bus drove itself!" The man then repeatedly slammed the phone down angrily.

"Yeah, Willie was right," Reggie whispered as if the lifers could actually hear him. "This guy's a total pro."

"All right, boys, Princess. Let the magic happen," Luke said. "Alex, no dancing."

Alex smirked at him before hopping up on his toes, mimicking a ballerina. He danced behind the assistant's desk and twirled before knocking her pen cup to the ground.

"I mean, I've seen worse arabesques," Mickey complimented, which made Alex grin.

As the assistant got up to pick up the pens, Reggie quickly typed on her computer while Alex scribbled on a notepad. Reggie pulled up their YouTube video and Alex wrote Julie's cell phone number down. When Mickey noticed the assistant getting back up, she pulled Reggie back by his jacket.

"She's coming. She's coming," he muttered.

They all crouched behind the unaware assistant as she watched the Edge of Great video. They all silently prayed that the plan would work.

"Tasha," the promoter called. "Get me CJ. Tell him I need a band to open in three hours."

"Sure, but you might wanna check this out," Tasha said, nodding to her computer. He hung up the phone and came over to watch. "Somehow this video started playing on my laptop. It's got half a million hits in just two days."

The promoter watched with an amazed look. "Who are they?"

"They're a hologram band. They call themselves Julie and the Phantoms."

"Tell your friends," Reggie added, smirking at Tasha. Mickey giggled at how adorable he was.

"Where are they located?" the promoter asked.

"Our very own City of Angels."

"Book 'em!" he ordered.

"Yes!" They all cheered and pulled each other into a group hug.

"Sure, I just don't know how to..." Tasha trailed off and noticed the notepad on her desk. She picked it up and stared down at the number with a shocked look.

"Your handwriting is better than mine," Luke mumbled, looking over Tasha's shoulder.

Mickey rubbed his arm. "Everyone's is."

The four of them flashed back to the studio, where Julie was anxiously waiting. Her pacing stopped as soon as they poofed in.

"Oh my gosh! What took you guys so long? Did Willie do it? Did you talk to them? Did they watch? Did they like us? Are we playing?" she asked quickly. "Someone answer! Why's no one talking?"

"Girl! Chill out!" Mickey exclaimed, trying to get her to calm down.

"Woah! That's a lot of questions," Reggie told her, putting his hands up. "Luke, you wanna take this one?"

"Take a seat," Luke said. Julie sat on the couch and they crouched in front of her. "It's fine. Everything's fine."

"Yeah. You should be getting a call right... now!" They pointed to Julie's phone excitedly, but it remained silent. Mickey patted Alex on the back, and he tried it again. "Okay, right... now!"

And that time, the screen on the phone lit up as it rang. Julie squealed excitedly but then didn't answer the phone. They all gave her pointed looks, considering she was the only one that could pick it up.

"Go!" Mickey shouted.

"Oh, um—" Julie cleared her throat before answering the call. "Hello."

"Hi. This is Tasha from the Orpheum in Hollywood." As soon as they heard her voice, they all jumped up and down excitedly. Reggie picked Mickey up and swung her around. "Is this Julie of Julie and the Phantoms?"

Julie motioned for them to be quiet and they all froze as she picked up the phone. "Yes. It is."

Then the jumping continued. "Hi. Are you available to open for us tonight?"

"Yeah, totally!" Julie said.

"Okay."

Alex took a running start before leaping at the others. Mickey ducked out of the way, but Reggie and Luke caught him, spinning him around.

"Thank you so much."

"See you then."

Julie cheered after she hung up. "We're playing the Orpheum, baby! Yeah!"

They all cheered, while the guys still spun Alex around. He moved his arms like he was in water. "I'm swimming."

"Dork," Mickey said, snickering.

Once they put Alex down, Reggie came over to pick her up again. He spun her around excitedly before peppering kisses all over her face. Mickey giggled before holding his cheeks.

"We're gonna play the Orpheum," he said, sounding like he still couldn't believe it.

She stood on her toes and pecked his lips. "We're gonna rock it."

|||

Mickey was very focused as she went over the steps of her routine. She had shoved most of her furniture to the side of her room, giving her space to dance. The opening night of Swan Lake was quickly approaching, meaning she spent pretty much all of her free time practicing. Of course, she knew the steps as if they were tattooed on her brain — she could've done them blindfolded and drunk from how often she practiced. But she could never be too prepared.

Her concentration was broken when she heard Bobby enter the house, screaming his head off. She heard him before he even made it upstairs, and then he was bursting into her room. Mickey came off her toes and looked at him with a raised eyebrow. Before she could ask any questions, he was sweeping her up in his arms and spinning her around excitedly. Mickey laughed, waiting for Bobby to set her down.

"What the hell has you this excited?" she asked, giggling.

"You're never gonna believe this," he said breathlessly. "We were getting the confirmations for the summer tour, and oh my god, I still can't wrap my head around it."

"Out with it, Bubba," she said, slapping his arm. "Now I'm anxious."

"Mickey, we're playing at the fucking Orpheum."

She gasped. "No!"

"YES!"

"Oh my god, Bobby!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around him. He excitedly spun her around again. "I'm so proud of you guys."

"I just can't believe it. I mean, everyone, Mick, everyone that plays there becomes a legend. This is gonna change everything," he said, not able to stop grinning.

Mickey felt happy tears prick at her eyes, knowing how much work the boys had put into Sunset Curve and it was finally paying off. She hugged her brother tightly and he kissed the top of her head.

"You guys are gonna rock it."

|||

Carrie wasn't sure how to feel when she found out that Julie and the Phantoms had booked the Orpheum. On one hand, she was incredibly jealous of Julie. It was a legendary venue and Dirty Candy couldn't even imagine performing somewhere like that. On the other hand, she couldn't believe Mickey and the three other ghosts had actually booked it. It had taken her father years to book that venue when he was just getting started — as a solo act at least.

But lastly, she felt sad. Playing the Orpheum wasn't Mickey's unfinished business, meaning she wouldn't cross over at the end of the night. She would likely vanish from existence while continuing to feel those painful jolts. And Carrie would never see her again, which made her feel horrible. At least if anyone noticed her bad mood, she could just blame it on her jealousy of Julie.

Carrie sat in her living room, watching the Edge of Great video on YouTube once more. It had wracked up half a million views in no time, and she could only dream of Dirty Candy accomplishing something so huge. In the background, she could hear her father come in, but she kept her eyes glued to the screen.

"Hey, baby," he greeted, catching his breath from his run.

"Hey," she said, waving over her shoulder.

He started towards the stairs but stopped when he heard the music. "What is that? Sounds good."

"Please don't say that," she said on instinct. Besides, she was supposed to be acting like she didn't know about Mickey and the fact that they were ghosts.

He walked up behind her to look at the screen. At first, it just shows Julie sitting at her piano. "Is that - is that Julie?" he asked with a smile on his face. He hadn't seen her since she and Carrie stopped being friends, but he had always loved Rose's daughter.

"Yeah," Carrie said, taking in a breath. She knew what was coming next in the video, and she didn't know what to expect. But she made sure to keep an eye on her father. "She has a band with those people. Of course, she needed a gimmick. They're holograms. And somehow, they're playing the Orpheum tonight."

Carrie glanced at her father, taking in his expression. He was leaning in close to the computer, trying to see it better — it could've been shot at a better angle. His mind was running a mile a minute, because how in the world were Alex, Reggie, and Luke playing in Julie Molina's backyard — his old backyard? And then the camera changed angles and he saw her.

The same blonde hair, wearing a t-shirt she had stolen from his closet and strumming on his old guitar. Trevor went pale and his breath caught in his throat. It wasn't — no, it couldn't be her, he thought. It had to just be someone that looked like her. After all, it wasn't a close-up shot of her. There was simply no way that he was looking at her. Like his daughter has said — they were just holograms.

"How is that even possible?" he muttered.

"I know right?" Carrie said, trying to keep her normal, snarky attitude. But she watched him closely and did her best not to give it away. She had wondered if he would explain Mickey to her now but was disappointed when he didn't

Trevor stood straighter and pulled his phone out to make a call. "It's Trevor. Get me into the Orpheum tonight. Plus one."

Carrie scoffed, not believing he still didn't tell her about his sister despite seeing her on the laptop. But, she needed to make it seem like she was just jealous. "Why do you hate me too?"

"Only love, baby," he said before running up the stairs. "Only love."

It was definitely going to be an interesting night for the Wilson family.

|||

The four ghosts were in the studio without Julie. Luke had a pen and paper and they were trying to figure out what songs to play. Mickey leaned against the piano while Reggie held her hand.

"Julie and I were thinking we'd start with Stand Tall," Luke told them.

"Perfect," Alex said.

"Sounds good," Reggie added, while Mickey just gave him a thumbs up.

"Sounds good?" Luke repeated. "Dude, wake up! I wanna hear, "It sounds awesome!" I know this isn't how we wanted this to turn out, but we gotta be all in tonight. This is our second chance at playing the Orpheum!"

"I - I get it. I get it, but it's hard," Reggie mumbled, sighing. "Do we even know what's on the other side when we cross over? Do we all still get to hang together? Do I still get to see Mickey? You... you guys are the only family I have. The only family I've ever really had."

Mickey felt tears prick her eyes, but she held them back. The answer was no, but she couldn't bear to tell him that. She moved off the piano and pulled Reggie into her arms. He rested his neck in the crook of her neck, placing a comforting kiss there.

"Yeah, I mean, I don't know what's gonna happen either, but it's not like we have a choice," Alex said, shrugging.

Then another jolt hit them. Mickey knelt over, groaning in pain as tears sprang from her eyes. They kept getting worse and worse. Reggie caught his breath and looked down at his wrist, where Caleb's stamp is.

"I'm pretty sure we do," he muttered. "And it rhymes with the Hollywood Ghost Club."

Mickey sighed and leaned into his side. "That's not how that expression works, babe."

Then the studio doors opened and Julie walked in, holding the garment bag with her outfit for the night. "Are you ready?" She smiled brightly at them, but it fell when she saw the pained expressions on all their faces. "What's wrong?"

"Yeah. We just got rocked pretty hard by one of those jolt things," Alex said in a casual tone. He didn't want her to worry about them any more than she already was.

"Pretty sure I ghost-peed a little," Reggie stated.

Mickey cringed. "That's not a turn on, babe."

"But we're fine," Luke added, smiling.

"Actually, guys, I'm a little nervous," Julie admitted. Then she looked specifically at Luke. "Luke, can I talk to you for a second."

Alex, Reggie, and Mickey stepped back to give them some privacy. While they waited, Reggie took Mickey's hand and pressed it to his lips. They didn't need to say anything, knowing how the other felt.

"It's all gonna work out," she whispered, forcing a smile. He nodded and kissed her forehead.

"Guys, band circle," Luke called when he was finished with Julie. They all circled up and held hands — except for Julie, who just hovered hers over Alex and Reggie's. "We don't know what brought us here, but... what we do know is you're a star, Julie. And just because this is our last night together, it doesn't mean we won't be watching you from above... or..."

Luke glanced at the ground, making them all chuckle. "Please, I'm an angel," Mickey said, smirking.

"Didn't you key Moira Richardson's car?" Alex asked, narrowing his eyes. They all laughed as Mickey shrugged.

"Now let's go rock this show," Luke said. "Let's give 'em a night they'll be talking about 'til the sun comes up. Okay? Legends on three." Luke put his hand in the middle of the circle, and they all followed.

"One. Two. Three. Legends!"

They heard a car horn honk from outside. "That's my dad," Julie explained. "He's driving me there, so I'll see you guys soon." She went to leave but turned to look at them one last time. Julie smiled before grabbing her dress and running to meet her dad.

Before Mickey could poof to the loft to change clothes, Carlos sauntered into the studio. "Have a good show, boy band," he said, clapping. Mickey's jaw dropped as he spoke.

Luke crouched down and glared at Carlos, though he couldn't see. "Who you calling boy band?"

"Carlos!" Ray called.

Carlos pointed at his eyes and then back at them, though not quite in the right direction, signifying that he would be watching them. Then he headed out to the car.

"How did he find out about us?" Reggie asked.

"I don't know, Reg. Maybe it was the blinds," Alex said, narrowing his eyes at him.

"No, no," Mickey said, shaking her head. "It was definitely the blanket."

Alex nodded in agreement. "You know, it could've been any number of things you did in that house."

Luke put his arm around Reggie's shoulder. "It doesn't matter, you guys. We're not coming back here anyways."

"And where is it that you think you're going?" They turned to see Caleb, who had flashed on top of the piano.

"What are you doing here?" Luke asked, angrily stalking up to him.

Caleb playfully gasped. "Such hostility. I'm just here to congratulate you on your big night. Not everyone gets to play the Orpheum."

"No. Okay, we know that it's your stamp that's hurting us," Luke told him. "We already told you, we have a band. We don't wanna join your little club."

"Yeah. And you can't make us either," Alex snapped. Then he lost his confidence and took a step back, clearing his throat. "Sir."

Caleb clicked his tongue and his eyes landed on Mickey. Reggie quickly moved her behind him to hide her from Caleb's view. "Right. You're crossing over tonight. So exciting! Funny thing about the crossover, no one really knows what's waiting on the other side. But I know what's happening on this side."

Caleb kissed his hand before blowing some kind of powder at them. The four ghosts poofed out of the studio, having lost all control over their bodies. He had them right where he wanted them now.