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chapter nine: chemistry
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"we could really feel the chemistry."
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the band was in the studio, rehearsing for the gig tonight. fin was looking at alex with worried eye since he was hitting his drums pretty hard. he's been upset ever since he went to go talk to willie earlier, who they spotted spying on them.

fin looked at luke and reggie, seeing that they had noticed that alex had been playing very angrily. the trio had stopped playing their instruments, looking at him. he had noticed that they stopped playing, making him stop as well.

"hey, alex, you alright?" luke asked.

"yeah." alex answered. "yeah, yeah, why?"

"i know it's tough, man." reggie started. "people say you never forget your first ghost."

this made fin look over to luke with furrowed eyebrows. the patterson boy looked back at her, shrugging his shoulders.

"maybe that's true. but. . . i'm sure there will be others." reggie finished.

"yeah, thanks, reg." alex said.

"yeah."

"and, alex, you're a great drummer and a great guy, okay?" fin told the mercer boy.

"exactly. i wouldn't let all that stuff get in between you and what you love." luke added.

"i don't know, man. sometimes a little fire can make things better on stage." reggie said, making everyone look at him. "like fin and julie."

fin furrowed her eyebrows, looking at alex before looking back at reggie. "what - what is that supposed to mean?"

"come on. everyone can see the way you look at her when you sing." reggie told her, making her look at alex who was smiling. "you guys ooze chemistry."

"you should never say 'ooze' again, but, yeah, i agree." alex told him. "right, luke?"

"uh, yeah." luke said.

although he was jealous, he knew that alex and reggie was right.

fin took off her guitar, putting it on its stand. "okay, no. i have chemistry with everybody that i sing with."

alex and reggie looked at each other, giving each other a knowing look. fin noticed this.

"seriously, watch. um. . ." she told them, looking at the boys before she turned back to reggie. "i believe, i believe that with just one dream, away from who we're meant to be, that we're standing on the edge of. . ." she sang, stepping closer to reggie. she then put her hand on his neck, pulling him closer. "great."

"wow. i see chemistry." alex said.

"that was pretty hot." reggie said.

fin smiled, kissing reggie's nose before backing away. fin's smile widened as she watched reggie's cheek turn red.

he cleared his throat, "girls. am i right?"

"yeah." luke smiled.

"yep." fin stated, putting her guitar strap back around her shoulder.

"no." alex said, making fin release a chuckle.

he then counted them in before they started to rehearse again.

~~~

it was time for the gig, and fin peaked out of the windows, watching as everyone gathered around. she walked back over to her bag of clothes, grabbing her snap back. she pushed her fingers through her hair before she put the hat on backwards.

she had walked over towards the boys, feeling that familiar pain in her chest. she groaned, her knees buckling as she brought her hands up to her chest rubbing it. she had looked up to the boys, seeing that they didn't just experience the jolt.

why was that?

the boys were done getting ready, just waiting for the performance to start. they were all wearing their usual outfits, finn wearing a black sunset curve t shirt with a gray long sleeve shirt under it. she had on black ripped jeans, with converse.

"thanks for coming, everyone." julie said into the mic, flynn just finishing introducing them.

everyone agreed that it would just be fin and julie performing tonight, making luke feel some type of way. but he was starting to realize that maybe he should just let it go.

julie began to play the song, release a nervous breath.

julie fin both the band

running from the past
tripping on the now
what is lost can be found, it's obvious

and like a rubber ball
we come bouncing back
we all got a second act inside of us

fin and the guys appeared, playing their instruments as julie grabbed her mic and stood from the piano.

i believe
i believe that we're just one dream
away from who were meant to be
that we're standing on the edge of
something big, something crazy
our best days are yet unknown
that this moment is ours to own

julie danced with reggie, and she even danced with alex, which was new, but when it was fin's turn to dance with her, julie turned back towards the crowd. this made fin furrow her eyebrows, looking over at luke who just shrugged.

cause we're standing on the edge of great
(on the edge of great) great
(on the edge of great) great
(on the edge of great)
cause we're standing on the edge of great

fin stepped towards her mic, smiling as she began to sang.

we all make mistakes
but they're just stepping stones
to take us where we wanna go
it's never straight, no

fin had looked over to julie, seeing that she was staring back. the carter girl had nodded, telling julie to come over to her. but julie just looked forward and sand into her mic. fin felt a pang in her chest, wondering what she had done.

sometimes we gotta lean
lean on someone else
to get a little help
until we find our way

fin looked over to luke, who had also noticed the strange way that julie had been acting. he motioned for her to keep singing.

i believe
i believe that we're just one dream
away from who we're meant to be
that we're standing on the edge of
something big, something crazy
our best days are yet unknown
that this moment is our to own

cause we're standing on the edge of great
(on the edge of great) great
(on the edge of great) great
(on the edge of great)
cause we're standing on the edge of

fin watched as julie climbed onto the piano, sitting down as she let her legs hang off of the front.

shout, shout
come on and let it out, out
don't gotta hide it
let your colors blind their eyes
be who you are don't compromise

shout, shout
come on and let it out, out
what doesn't kill you makes you feel alive

a thought popped up into fin's head, watching as julie shift around on the piano so that she could be on one knee.

oh, i believe

fin walked away from her mic, doing a riff that they didn't rehearse. this made the boys all look at each other with knowing looks, smiles on their faces.

i believe that we're just one dream

fin continued to walk over to julie, still playing the riff. the two made eye contact, making fin smile.

away from who we're meant to be

fin turned around and leaned on the piano, still looking at julie. her smile widened as julie kept eye contact, looking down at the carter girl with a smile on her face as well.

that we're standing on the edge of great

fin finished her riff, walking back over to her mic. she earned a smile and a nod from luke, which made her nod back.

something big, something crazy
our best days out yet unknown
that this moment is ours to own
cause we're standing on the edge of great

cause we're standing on the edge of great
(on the edge of great) on the edge of great
(great, on the edge of great) on the edge
(great, on the edge of great)
cause we're standing on the edge of

while the boys had disappeared, fin made her way over to julie who had just sat down on the piano. she sat down next to her, both of them look into each other's eyes as they began to sing.

running from the past
tripping on the now
what is lost can be found, it's obvious

fin looked down at julie's lips, wanting to lean in right then and there. but then she poofed out, appearing between alex and luke. she smiled as she heard the crowd start to cheer and clap.

"nice job." alex said to her, nudging her slightly. "we could really feel the chemistry."

fin felt her cheeks heat up, but she smiled. there was definitely chemistry between the both of them, and even she could see that now. if only she wasn't a ghost.

~~~

fin was inside the studio. the boys were outside playing basketball. she had been looking looking through her song book, not really flipping through since she first got back. she stopped once she saw the name of a song, making her bring the book closer.

"i forgot about this song." she whispered to herself.

she had written a song about her coming out story. and we already know that it went wrong, so imagine what kind of song it was. i'll give you a hint. . . a sad one.

she poofed outside next to luke, her songbook still in her hands. "hey, guys."

"hey." alex greeted.

"what i miss?" fin questioned since she was in the studio for awhile.

"i was just saying that we should go out and celebrate. what do you think we should do?" reggie asked.

before any of them could say anything, they felt that familiar pain in their chests, a purple light glowing from their chests. fin had actually fell to the floor this time, her eyes filling up with tears. although they had all had a jolt at the same time, fin's was a lot worse than the boys.

"not that." alex mumbled, rubbing his chest.

"that wasn't like the other ones. it's getting worse." luke pointed out, standing from the floor.

fin stayed on the floor, trying to compose herself. she was breathing heavy from the pain, tears dropping onto the concrete.

everyone's eyes went to fin, who was taking longer to recover than the boys.

"you okay, fin?" alex asked. "yours seemed a lot worse than ours."

"i think. . ." she started, wiping her cheeks. "i think that's because it was."

luke and alex helped the carter girl up, looking at her with sad eyes.

"mines started as soon as i left that night. yours started a few minutes after you guys left. i left a few hours before you guys. my jolts started before yours. so maybe mines are gonna be worse." fin finished.

this made all of the boys look at each other with worried expressions, not liking how that sounds.

fin caught this, forcing a smile. "i'm fine guys. we just gotta figure out what's going on."

"why is this happening to us?" reggie asked.

"it's because you guys are in serious trouble." the voice of will said, making the band look at him.

"willie?" alex questioned, taking a step forward.

"we need to talk." will told the group, making al of them look at each other.

the next twenty minutes consisted of the band and will walking around while willie explained how the stamps that caleb had put on the band are the reasons for the jolts.

"all these jolts that we're feeling is because caleb put his stamp on us?" luke asked.

"he's threatened by you. he wants you under his control." willie told them. "i mean, you're the only ghosts that can be visible to lifers without his help."

"and you let him do this to us?" alex asked, the band stopping.

"i can't stop him. he owns my soul." willie told him, turning around to face the group. "all right? he owns everybody's souls at that club. if he even knew i was here talking to you, he. . . he would destroy me."

"so if we don't join his club, the weird power outage thin continues until there's no power left at all?" reggie askwd.

"yes." will answered.

"what exactly happens when the power goes out." reggie asked.

"that's - that's it. you're done." willie said.

"uh - huh. yeah. and what exactly do you mean by 'you're done'?" reggie questioned.

"you just - you don't exist. . . anymore. not anywhere." willie answered.

"what?" alex asked.

"well, that's great." fin mumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

"so we have no choice?" luke asked.

"not only that. we have to say goodbye to julie, give up everything we've just built together. . . just to work for caleb?" fin asked, her heart hurting slightly.

willie didn't answer, looking directly at fin.

"that's - that's a wonderful club you guys got going on there." fin stated sarcastically, scoffing.

"but there is another option." willie quickly said. "that's why i'm here."

"another option?" alex asked.

"just please hear me out." willie begged. "all right. if you guys could figure out what your unfinished business is, you do it in time, you could cross over and be free from all of this."

"okay. so what's our unfinished business?" luke asked.

"i - i don't know, but since you all died at the same time, you know - it might be something you need to do together." willie told him.

"why should we listen to a word you say?" alex asked.

"because i care about you, alex." willie answered, looking the drummer straight in the eyes. "and i hate that i brought you. . . and your friends into this mess. i, uh, i can't be away much longer. i'm so sorry. for everything."

with that, willie poofed out, leaving the band standing there by themselves.

"this is all my fault." alex said after a few seconds of silence. "i - i met willie, willie introduced us to caleb, and now. . . now we're screwed."

"we all wanted to go see caleb." luke pointed out.

"even i wanted to go, even though i got that bad feeling in my gut." fin added.

"we have to tell julie." reggie said.

"no, we can't do that." fin said. "this will just add more loss into her life. but if we don't want caleb to own our souls, then we have to figure out our unfinished business."

"yeah, fin. and how are we supposed to do that? all right?" alex asked. "there was so much we wanted to do."

fin released a sigh, her eyes looking past alex and towards something. she nudged luke, making him look at her and follow her gaze. alex noticed this.

"what is it?" he asked.

"yeah, but the night we died, there was one thing we all wanted to do together." luke pointed out, him and fin still looking at the same thing.

this made alex and reggie follow their gaze, their eyes landing on the bright orpheum sign.

"play the orpheum?" alex asked. "getting that gig was literally impossible. even after people knew who we were, w head to hustle, call in every favor we had. it took us years."

before anyone could say anything, the jolts appear again, the light flickering before disappearing. fin felt her eyes water again, her knees buckling as she quickly grabbed onto alex for support. she let out a few coughs, trying to get air back into her lungs.

"we don't have years." luke said, holding his chest.

"wow. . . every time, it literally takes my breath away." fin mumbled, groaning at the sting in her chest.

"this all makes sense, now." alex said.

"what does?" fin asked, standing up straight, still holding her chest.

"your jolts are worse because you left before us. caleb stamped you hours before us." alex explained. "we need to hurry up and figure this out because you don't have the same amount of time as we do."

"thanks for scaring the fuck out of me, alex." fin mumbled.

~~~

okay, this chapter is a little late. i know. but my parents made me help them with shit around the house. but here we go, another chapter.