[1.2]

"i mean, i can still kick you in the shins"

After doing a bit more exploring, the four ghosts made their way back to Julie's house. It was odd to Mickey how it wasn't hers anymore. The boys, who had always lacked boundaries, had immediately sought out Julie's room to snoop around. Mickey joined them, but stayed by the foot of the bed and just looked over what used to be her bedroom.

Mickey didn't hate the new decorations, but it wasn't her style. The walls were no longer the soft yellow color that she loved so much. Pictures of her friends were replaced with ones of Julie and her own. All of her dance portraits had been removed, as well as the glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. The bed was closer to the door than Mickey had kept hers, which Reggie was lounging on.

Reggie had tried to coax her onto the bed with him as he made snow angel motions on it, but Mickey stayed put. It felt like a completely different space, and she didn't feel welcome enough to snoop through it like the boys. It was probably a good thing she didn't try to look through Julie's things though, because the young girl soon came in, and she didn't look pleased when she noticed their presence.

"What are you guys doing in my room?" she asked, looking between all of them, annoyed.

"We were looking for the kitchen," Luke quickly lied. Though he was obviously going through the stuff on Julie's shelves.

"I told them not to," Mickey mumbled, looking down at her nails. They were painted pink, and she wondered if they'd stay like that forever now that she was dead. "If it makes you feel better, they did this with my room all the time."

"This - this can't happen. It's creepy," Julie stated, narrowing her eyes at them. "Get off my bed, please."

Reggie quickly hopped up and joined Mickey's side. She smiled at him as he wrapped an arm around her. But after a second, he got tired of standing and ended up sitting on the big pouf at the end of Julie's bed — which was basically sitting on her bed, but Julie didn't bother to fuss at him again.

"Hey, Julie," Luke said, raising his hand like a child in school. Then he pointed at a colorful box on the shelf. "What's in the box?"

"That's off-limits," she stated.

"Oh," Luke said, chuckling. "Oh, Okay. Girl stuff."

"Oh, like butterflies and glitter?" Reggie asked, with a very serious face. Mickey rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair. He smiled and reached up to grab her hand and intertwine it with his.

"Oh, come on," Alex said, scoffing. "I'm sorry about them."

"It's none of your business," Julie snapped. "And yes, there might be some glitter."

Reggie smirked, knowing he was right, and gave a pointed look to Mickey, who grinned at him. Alex went back to trying to pick stuff up, and he finally managed to pick up a framed photo that was on Julie's vanity table.

"Hey!" he said excitedly, walking over to the bed with it in his hands. "I actually picked something up." However, a second later, it slipped through his hands and dropped on the bed, making him pout. "I dropped it."

"Is that your mom?" Luke asked as they all looked down at the photo. It was a young Julie with her mother and they were sitting in a field together.

"Yes, and it's my favorite picture of us, so if you break it, I'll break you," she threatened while snatching the picture away.

"Okay, well, sorry because we're kind of unbreakable at this point," Alex told her.

"I mean, I can still kick you in the shins," Mickey said, smirking at them. Luke frowned and knelt down to shield his own knees — he had been frequently kicked throughout their friendship.

"I don't get it," Julie told them. "You guys can mess up my bed, pick up your instruments, but you can't pick up other stuff?"

"I know, right? It's hard. But for some reason, our instruments, easy."

Reggie agreed with Luke. "Yeah, like super easy. Oh, and check out what I learned today." Reggie stood up and held his arms out, only for his bass guitar to appear in his arms and he fell right back down from the weight.

"Yeah, that looked super easy," Julie said sarcastically.

Mickey smiled down at Reggie and lifted the guitar off of his chest so he could sit up.

"It's like I always thought — our instruments are attached to our souls. And Mickey could even pick up her brother's guitar earlier," Luke said smiling.

Then Julie's father walked in, surprising them all. "Hey," he greeted.

Reggie got back to his feet and pulled Mickey into his chest as if Ray posed a threat. Alex and Luke also panicked and grabbed each other's hands. Mickey couldn't help but smirk when Luke held Alex's hand to his chest.

"Everything okay?" Ray asked Julie, unaware of the ghosts.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Julie said.

"Okay. I thought I heard you talking to someone," he said.

"Nope," Julie lied. "Must have been my laptop... that I just closed.

Ray smiled and nodded. "Okay. Well, if you need anything..." He gestured to the door, asking if she wanted it open or closed.

Julie nodded. "Yeah. Thanks." Once Ray was gone, Julie sighed and rubbed her forehead, seemingly very stressed out.

"Your dad seems like the kind of guy who likes to barbecue," Reggie told Julie. "I bet he has a great ribs recipe."

"We can't eat anymore, Reg," Mickey muttered.

"I don't know, but if you guys wanna talk to me, then we have to do it in the studio. He's worried about me enough as it is."

"He seems chill. You should just tell him about us," Luke said.

"You're kidding, right?" she asked, sighing. "This past year, everyone's been watching over me, being super nice, as if they're waiting for me to snap. If I tell my dad I met a ghost band, I'll be back to talking to Dr. Turner three days a week."

"You probably shouldn't tell him," Luke said, changing his mind. Then he wandered back over to the shelf with a longing look on his face. "Julie—"

"Oh my gosh! I thought I told you to leave that alone!" she exclaimed.

"I know," Luke whined. "You just should've said nothing, cause now I can't stop thinking about it. The same thing happened when I found out Mickey kept a diary. I read that thing cover to cover—"

"What?" Mickey practically shouted as she turned to glare at him. "That's private!"

"Uh, it's not like I learned anything new, Princess. I already knew that you're in love with R— ah!" Mickey managed to pick up one of Julie's pillows and chucked it at Luke, making him shut up. Her cheeks heated up and she ignored Reggie's curious gaze. Luke glared back at her before turning back to Julie. "What's in the box, Julie?"

"It's just my dream box, okay? Whenever I get a thought or something, I write it down and get it out of my mind," she explained.

"Like lyrics?" Mickey rolled her eyes, knowing that there was no way he'd give up on the box now.

"They would be if I still wrote music like I used to with my mom," Julie admitted. "Now it's just full of stuff that doesn't make me sad."

Mickey nodded in understanding. Whenever she was feeling sad, or any other overwhelming emotion, she would let it out by coming up with a new dance. It was a wonderful outlet for expressing emotion, and she was starting to miss it. Maybe she could teleport into a ballet studio and get some dance time in — it wasn't like she would get caught.

"But, I mean, you do play. We heard you this morning," Alex told Julie.

"In the garage?" she asked, getting angry all over again. Mickey sighed and rubbed her forehead while Luke smacked Alex's arm in annoyance. "So you were there too?"

Luke quickly hopped on her bed and stared up at Julie with wide, innocent eyes. "So, where is your kitchen, by the way?" he asked, leaning his head in his hands.

Julie gave him a fake smile and knelt down to look him in the eye. "Okay, we need to set some boundaries. For starters, stay out of my room!"

Luke scrambled off the bed and ran for the door. "Mh-hmm. Crystal clear. Let's go."

"We're leaving," Reggie declared as they followed Luke out. "Yes, ma'am. We are out of here."

Mickey awkwardly waved at her before walking through the door. Alex doubled back to say something to Julie, but the rest of them headed to the studio. As they walked through the house, Mickey took notice of all the changes. She wasn't too eager to thoroughly explore the rest of it though, knowing that it would just make her sad. Just passing Carlos' room, which used to be Bobby's, made her heart hurt.

Once they got to the studio, Alex explained that Julie hadn't managed to get back into her music program. It was unfortunate, but it wasn't like any of them could fix it for her given that they were dead.

Mickey went up to the loft and started digging through the stuff, hoping that she could find some more clothes. She was getting tired of wearing her leotard and was thrilled to find a whole box of old clothes. After loudly announcing that she was changing and that the guys had to stay away, she changed into a big Duran Duran t-shirt, which she may or may not have stolen from Bobby, and some baggy jeans. Then she flashed back down to the bottom floor.

There, Luke was waiting for her with her brother's guitar held out.

"Luke," she whined, crossing her arms.

"Mickey," he said, copying her tone. "Please, Princess. Just play one song with us."

"Julie doesn't want us playing without her in here so that no one in the family hears us," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"C'mon. Let's just run through Bright. I wanna show it to Julie. Maybe she can perform it for her teacher and get her spot back," he explained.

"But she already asked and they said no—"

"Mickey, when you wanted the role of Clara that year that you danced in the Nutcracker, you didn't ask. You put itching powder in Moira Richardson's slippers so that she'd mess up and you'd get the lead," Luke reminded her.

Mickey rolled her eyes and ignored the surprised looks that Reggie and Alex shot her — they hadn't known about that little scheme. She had come up with the idea with Luke one night after he had moved into the garage. "Julie doesn't strike me as the sabotaging type. She's too nice."

Luke chuckled. "I don't mean sabotage. I just mean she's gotta do something big to get back in. This could be it. So, come on, and let's get the song ready to show her."

Mickey sighed but eventually agreed. Luke grinned and shoved the guitar in her hands before rushing to grab his own. Reggie joined her side and gently nudged her shoulder with his.

"Itching powder?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and smirking.

She shrugged and fixed the strap around her neck. "It was a cutthroat program. At least I never put razor blades in anyone's shoes."

|||

Julie had spent the rest of the night learning Bright. She sounded truly wonderful and was going to sing it for her teacher at school. The four ghosts had all agreed to go to her school and support her for it.

Mickey was pleased to learn that Julie went to the same school as Carrie. She hadn't really said anything about her to the guys or Julie, but perhaps she could introduce them after the spirit rally. They flashed to the school and arrived shortly after Carrie's group, Dirty Candy, had started their routine. Mickey was a little upset that they were too late to watch from the beginning.

"What are you guys doing here?" Julie whispered to them when she noticed their arrival.

"We wanna see you stick it to the man," Luke explained. "Isn't that right, boys?"

"Man, I miss high school," Reggie said, staring at the dancing girls with an open mouth. Mickey couldn't help but narrow her eyes, wishing that Reggie had stared at her like that whenever he watched her dance.

There were five of them in the group, and Mickey quickly spotted Carrie because of the pink wig. The song they were singing was very upbeat, though different from the music in the nineties. The crowd clearly loved the performance. Mickey also loved their dancing, as well as Alex.

The pair of them started copying the choreography, though Mickey's movements were a little more confident and precise than Alex's. To her delight, Reggie went from watching the girls in the group to watching her with the same amazed look. After a moment, Julie noticed them enjoying the performance and looked at them in distress. Luke noticed and motioned for them to cut it out. Mickey rolled her eyes as they stopped. She was totally gonna ask Carrie to show her the moves later.

Once the song ended, Carrie stepped up and waved to the cheering crowd. "Thank you. Thank you. Oh, I love you too! Make sure to check out my new YouTube video." Then, as if it was an afterthought, she added, "Oh, go Bobcats!"

Once Dirty Candy left the floor, the Principal ended the spirit rally. Flynn wished Julie good luck before going to sit on the bleachers and watch. Julie turned to the four ghosts with a panicked look on her face.

"What are you waiting for? This is your time," Reggie told her.

"Yeah, I mean, you look really nervous. Like, yack in a bowl nervous," Alex noted.

"I just don't think I had enough time to work on the song," Julie said.

"I wouldn't have given you the song if I didn't think you were going to rock it," Luke stated. "Now, there's a piano on that stage with your name on it."

Julie took a deep breath before nodding and running to get on the stage. Despite most everyone getting up to leave the gym, the four ghosts stayed. Reggie put an arm around Mickey and pulled her closer so that they could watch Julie perform together.

No one really noticed as Julie sat at the piano. She nervously played the first few notes, but stopped and looked at the band. "You got this," Luke whispered. Julie nodded and resumed her playing and began to sing the lyrics that Luke had written so many years ago.

"Sometimes I think I'm falling down. I wanna cry, I'm calling out for one more try to feel alive. And when I feel lost and alone I know that I can make it home. Fight through the dark and find the spark. Life is a risk, but I will take it. Close my eyes and jump. Together, I think that we can make it. C'mon, let's run!"

More and more people had started to pay attention to her. However, just as Julie reached the bridge of the song, something odd happened. It was like the four ghosts had no control over their bodies as they flashed on stage. Not only were they there, but so were their instruments. Mickey, who had never been on a stage with Sunset Curve once, was stunned when she held Bobby's guitar in her hands. Though she followed the guys' leads and started playing the song.

"And rise through the night, you and I, we will fight to shine together, bright forever. And rise through the night, you and I. We will fight to shine together, bright forever."

Julie got up from the piano so that she could sing with them. But oddly enough, the students all rushed up to the stage and started cheering. After a couple of moments of playing, they all realized that not only could they hear the music, but they could see the four ghosts as well. A boy in a letterman's' jacket had even winked at Mickey.

"Uh, is this really happening?" Julie quickly asked Luke.

"Just go with it," he said, grinning. He stepped up to his own mic and continued the next verse. "In times that I doubted myself, I felt like I needed somе help. Stuck in my head with nothing left. I feel somеthing around me now, so unclear, lifting me out. I found the ground. I'm marching on."

When it got to the bridge, Reggie hopped to the beat all the way over to Mickey. He leaned in close and they shared a mic as they sang together. "Life is a risk, but we will take it. Close my eyes and jump. Together, I think that we can make it. C'mon, let's run!"

Reggie winked at her as Julie came back in for the chorus. Mickey couldn't help but feel like a hundred butterflies were set loose in her stomach. Performing with Reggie was way better than just watching him, no doubt about it.

"And rise through the night, you and I, we will fight to shine together, bright forever. And rise through the night, you and I. We will fight to shine together, bright forever."

Mickey spotted Carrie's pink wig in the crowd and grinned at her, but she was met with an icy stare. For a moment, she wondered why the girl was so upset, but shook it off, not wanting it to affect the song. She jumped up on the platform that Alex's drums were on and played next to him. Julie started to lead Luke across the stage as he sang into her microphone.

"In times that I doubted myself, I felt like I needed some help. Stuck in my head with nothing left. And when I feel lost and alone, I know that I can make it home. Fight through the dark and find the spark."

Julie walked right through Luke, which sent the crowd roaring. Even Mickey was shocked that she dared to do it, but now wasn't the time to think about how they would explain all this. She jumped off the platform as the beat dropped again for the chorus and went to share Reggie's mic for the rest of the song. Julie held out the long belts while the rest of them sang the backup vocals.

"We will fight to shine together. Bright forever!"

They all stared down at the cheering crowd and soaked in all the applause. Reggie grinned and put his arm around Mickey, just enjoying the feeling of performing in front of a live crowd — he didn't think he was ever going to get to again. Then, as a group, they all bowed. However, as soon as they did, the ghosts and their instruments disappeared from the stage.

Yup. Julie sure had a lot of explaining to do.