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chapter two: this band is back
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"some brain cells?"
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"uh. . ." fin said, trying to come up with something but then decided to just tell the truth. or at least some of the truth. "i wasn't."

"how long were you there for?" julie asked.

"the last few seconds of the song." fin answered, walking towards julie and sitting on the bench next to her. "you have an amazing voice, jules."

"thank you." julie said, her cheeks heating up. "did you just call me jules?"

"yeah, is that okay?" fin asked. "if it's not, i can come up with another name, like. . . buttercup."

julie's cheeks heated up more, fin smiling at this.

"yeah, it's cool." julie mumbled.

"but. . . why didn't you tell me and the guys that you can sing and play the piano?"

julie shrugged. "reminds me too much of my mom."

fin opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the doors opening to reveal a girl around julie's age, tears running down her cheeks.

"uh, who is she and why is she crying?" fin questioned, her eyebrows furrowed.

this made julie turn towards the girl that fin was talking about. while the girl walked closer to the piano, fin caught a glimpse at alex, luke, and reggie peaking through the door windows. she rolled her eyes.

"carlos told me you'd be out here." the girl said to julie, making fin look at her with raised eyebrows. "we need to talk."

"are you okay?" julie asked, putting the music sheets back on the piano.

"no, i'm not okay!" the unknown girl answered. "you just got kicked out of music."

"whoa. really?" fin questioned, making julie roll her eyes slightly.

"i've been up all night thinking about what i was gonna say. might've drank seven sodas, but. . . i need to get this out." the girl continued.

"wait, i have something to tell you -" julie started.

"no, it's my turn to talk." the girl interrupted.

"i'm gonna assume that she's your friend, right?" fin suggested, turning to look at julie, who nodded slightly.

"you can't give up music. you're music's like a gift, that would be a tragedy. so you're basically, like, cancelling christmas, and i love christmas!" the girl said.

"flynn, i -" julie tried.

"uh - uh." the girl, who fin now knows is flynn, said. "when we were six, we planned to be in a band together. double trouble."

"i never agreed to that name." julie reasoned.

"that's not the point. jules, if you leave the music programs we'll be apart forever." flynn said. "that's just what happens. sure we'll see each other in the hall sometime, but. . . we'll have different lives, make new friends."

"she seems very optimistic." fin said sarcastically.

"that's not true." julie told her best friend.

"you're right. i won't be making any new friends. and the only time we'll contact each other is when we'll be liking each other's post on instagram." flynn said, making fin furrow her eyebrows. "every time i'll be hitting that little heart, my heart will be breaking because my best friend left me, and - ugh, do you have any soda? my head hurts."

"uh, wh - what's instagram?" fin questioned, looking at julie again.

"can i talk now?" julie questioned, making flynn nod. "i just played the piano and sang again."

"what? why didn't you just say so?" flynn asked.

"i was trying, then your seven sodas kicked in." julie answered.

"i'm so happy for you!" flynn said, a smile on her face. "and me!"

fin smiled slightly. she then heard julie giggle, making her smile even more.

"look at you, looking all, i don't know, alive again." flynn told her best friend.

"right? it's like i drank seven sodas." julie joked.

"i wish i can drink seven sodas." fin mumbled, starting to crave a can of orange soda.

"what made you play again?" flynn asked.

"i found this song my mom wrote me." julie answered, grabbing the music sheets and handing them to flynn.

the girl quickly skimmed them. "whoa."

"i know." julie said. "i was so afraid to play it. anything involving music reminds me of her. and then i woke up this morning. . . realizing that's why i should play it. to keep her memory alive."

fin looked over at the door, still seeing the guys peaking through the window.

"aw, come here." flynn said, making julie stand up and hug her. but then flynn gasped and pulled back. "we need to tell mrs.harrison you can play again so you can stay in school and my life won't be that sad picture i just painted for you."

fin chuckled softly, julie doing the same.

"my girl is back. double trouble lives again!" flynn exclaimed.

the two started to walk away, fin following them.

"not our band name." julie told flynn.

"i gave you a t - shirt in the 7th grade that says otherwise." flynn reasoned as julie grabbed her book bag.

the two walked out of the studio, fin walking through the door to see reggie sitting on the floor, luke leaning on one of the doors, and alex checking out a lamp. this made the carter girl roll her eyes.

"oh, hey!" julie greeted once she saw them.

this made flynn stop walking and turn towards her friend with furrowed eyebrows.

"let's hustle!" julie quickly said, walking towards flynn.

as the two walked away, julie started to wave towards the band. but then flynn turned around, looking at her best friend weirdly.

"don't worry. we weren't listening." reggie told the molina girl, who was still waving to them.

fin gestured to flynn, making julie quickly look at her. she quickly pretended that she was swatting a big away from her.

the two walked away, fin looking at her three best friends.

"you know you guys are idiots, right?" she questioned.

"no we're not!" luke said, playfully glaring at the short girl.

"reggie might be, but we're not." alex then added, making luke nod.

reggie nodded too, a small smile on his face. the smile then dropped once he processed what alex had said. "hey!"

the other three teens let out a few laughs before they walked through the closed doors of the studio. they looked around quickly.

"i wonder why julie didn't tell us she could shred on the piano." reggie said.

"and sing!" fin added. "that girl can sing!"

"it probably has something to do with her mom." alex said, making fin point a finger at him in agreement. "you know? must've been hard."

alex walked up to the ladder that went up to the loft, the band starting to spread out.

"anyway, i really feel for her." alex said as he climbed up.

"yeah, but. . . now she's got music back in her life, just like us." luke said.

alex then peaked down, him and fin making eye contact quickly. "yeah, i'm not sure you can call what we have a life."

"maybe an afterlife." fin mumbled.

"oh, hey! some of the clothes we left behind are still up here." alex yelled up from the loft before he dropped a bag down.

alex dropped down fin's duffel bag, the girl catching it. she smiled as she saw all of the words that were written on the bag with a sharpie.

"oh, same clothes since '95, guys." luke said as he pulled off his muscle tee.

fin being fin, pulled her shirt off right then and there. the boys have seen her undressed before, and she had seen all three of them undressed as well.

she quickly pulled on a gray and blue cropped top, some ripped up mom jeans, a pair of converse, and one of luke's flannels.

"how did you manage to take one of my flannels?" luke questioned as he pulled out another muscle tee.

"we lived here together for a long time. you didn't think i'd take something of yours?" fin questioned. "and don't feel bad, i have something from all of you. you guys are a lot taller than me and i like big clothing."

the boys chuckled at fin. then one of the studio doors opened, revealing julie's father holding a camera. not being able to see him, for obvious reasons, he walked right through reggie.

"whoa, that was weird." reggie whispered. "but somehow i can tell this man has a kind heart."

fin rolled her eyes as she quietly grabbed her bag and put it by the ladder that led up to the loft. she then looked up at the loft, seeing alex sitting on the edge of it.

"so, how've you been?" julie's father asked.

reggie looked around quickly, checking if there was someone else in the studio. "honestly, not that good. see, we are these hot dogs, and -"

"julie sang for the first time this morning." the man said. "she hadn't done that in almost a year. you would've loved it."

"yeah, we saw cause we were. . ." reggie said, making fin roll her eyes. "ohh! oh, i get it. he - he's not talking to us."

"you are so lucky you can play bass." luke told the peters boy.

"pretty sure he's talking to julie's mom." alex said.

the three ghost that was on the main level followed julie's father over to the piano, him taking pictures every few seconds.

"she's such an amazing young woman." he said, setting his camera down on the piano. "every day she reminds me more and more of you."

"called it." alex said from the loft, making fin smile.

"oh, i'm, uh, i'm taking pictures for the real estate website." julie's father continued, picking his camera back up."i don't really wanna move, but. . . i guess it's best for julie."

fin frowned, watching the man sit down at the piano. she felt alex walk up next to her, making her put his head on his shoulder.

"move?" luke questioned, leaning on the piano.

"there's so many memories of julie playing next to you, and. . . carlos trying to sing with his missing two front teeth."

this made luke release a shaky breath, covering his mouth with one of his hands. fin lifted her head up from alex's shoulder, her eyes starting to tear up.

"awe." she said.

"oh, luke, fin, not you too." reggie said from besides fin.

"he. . . he's talking about moving, but the poor guy, he doesn't wanna move." luke said as julie's father got up and grabbed his camera, going over by the plants to take another picture of the piano.

"it's like they grew up. . . out here." he continued.

"oh, man, now he's got me too." reggie said, fanning his eyes with his hands.

"okay, how am i the emotional one?" alex questioned as fin wiped her eyes.

"c - c - can we go see my family and see how they're doing?" reggie asked his bandmates.

"yeah, yeah, listening to this feels. . . wrong." alex answered.

"hey, do you remember when the kids were at your sister's, and we came out here on our anniversary. . ." julie's father started.

"yeah. no, definitely wrong." luke said before he poofed out.

"yeah, i'm out." fin mumbled, poofing out as well.

the band all warped to reggie's house, or at least what used to be reggie's house. it was not a bike shack. fin frowned, looking down the block to see that all of the house that were once there were all turned into shops.

"a bike shack right where my house used to be." reggie said. "right here."

"yeah, i'm sorry, man." luke said, patting reggie's chest.

"they made the meyersons' house into a noodle shop." reggie pointed out. "why couldn't they have made mine a pizzeria or something?"

"they tore down the whole neighborhood." fin said.

"i guess my folks are gone." reggie said still looking at the bike shack.

fin watched luke go and sit on a log, seeing that he wasn't really bothered with the new found information.

"no, everyone's gone. 25 years, gone." alex corrected. "friends, family, bobby, everyone."

"bobby, that's right." reggie said.

"wow, i forgot about him. guess that vegetarian lucked out." fin said, running her fingers through her short hair.

"what do you think happened to him?" reggie questioned.

"he probably just got old like everybody else and moved on." luke answered.

"dude, how are you so casual about all of this?" alex asked him. "i mean, don't you wanna figure out what happened?"

"let's be real for a second." luke started. "it's not like any of us were that close to our families. my folks always regretted buying me that guitar. reggie, your parents were literally a fight away from a divorce. alex, i. . . your parents were never cool again after you told them you were gay. and fin, after your brother left for college, they put all this pressure on you to be just like him. a - and when they found out you liked girls, they kicked you out."

fin frowned even more, remembering how much she had hated her home life. and then she thought about her older brother, wondering where he was or if he was even alive, which made her sadder.

alex caught onto this, making him frown even more. "okay, none of us had it great. all right? but at least we had something. you know, what do we have now?"

"and before you say cool teleportation skill, i'm not exactly okay with that either." fin quickly said, looking at luke.

"neither am i!" alex agreed. "it tingles. in weird places."

fin made a face of disgust. "ew."

"i'll tell you what we have." luke said, standing up from the log. "it's what we've had since the day we came together." he continued, jumping onto the log. "guys, we have us. we're the only family we're ever gonna need. you know what else we have?"

"let me guess, death breath." reggie suggested.

"our music, you dork." luke told him, chuckling. "we have our music, you guys. people, actual people, can hear us play. they can't see us, fine, but they can feel us. if i had my guitar, i'd play for all these people right now. just like what we used to do down at the pier."

"yeah, they can't tip what they can't see." alex said.

"it's not about the tips, alex. it's about playing music." luke told the blonde, stepping down from the log. "connecting with people. making a difference in their day. i just. . . i wish i had my guitar."

and out of nowhere, luke's guitar appeared in his hands, making fin's eyes widen.

"whoa! that was rad. how'd you do that?" reggie questioned, speaking everyone's thoughts.

"i don't know." luke answered, looking down at his guitar. "i - i - i mean, i wished for it, a - a - and it came in my hands."

"i - i - i wish i had a puppy." reggie quickly said, closing his eyes before opening them. nothing happened. "a hamster?" nothing. "pizza?" nothing.

"some brain cells?" fin added, reggie kicking some sand before plopping down in it.

"hey, i think i know something that'll cheer you up." luke told the peters boy before he started strumming his guitar.

luke looked at fin and alex, telling them to join it. fin rolled her eyes but looked down at her sad friend.

"come on, reginald." fin said, alex starting to drum on his chest and thighs.

"a one, two, three, four." luke said.

reggie smiled, shooting you from the sand as he started to sing.

can you, can you hear me?

"yep, loud and clear." alex said.

we gotta get, gotta get ready

"cause it's been years." luke said as all four of them jumped onto the log.

whoa, this band is back
whoa, this band is back

reggie sang as they started to walk around.

woohoo, woohoo

fin started to sing now, going over to a group of people.

can you, yes we can, can you hear me?
loud and clear
we gotta get, wanna get, gotta get ready
cause it's been years

the boys joined her as they continued to walk around, noticing that people were dancing to their song.

whoa, this band is back
whoa, this band is back

"you won't find a speaker. it's direct spot audio. heard about it in a ted talk." a man said, making fin look up at the boys as they continued to sing.

they then walked away from the beach, luke still playing his guitar.

"what's ted talk?" fin questioned.

"no idea." alex answered, making her laugh.

~~~

"guys, we shouldn't be in here." fin said as she leaned on a wall.

they were currently in julie's room, reggie being on the girl's bed, luke looking at a box, and alex trying to pick a picture up.

"oh, come on." luke said. "it's not like she's gonna catch us, she's school."

and as if on cue, julie walked into her room, seeing the guys sprawled out around her room.

"what are you guys doing in my room?" she asked.

"i told them it was a bad idea!" fin said quickly, making julie look at her.

"uh. . ." reggie tried.

"um. . ." alex said at the same time.

"we were looking for the kitchen?" luke said, freezing in his spot.

fin rolled her eyes, walking over to julie.

"this. . . this can't happen. it's creepy." julie said. "get off my bed please."

reggie did as told, standing at the foot of the bed.

"hey, julie." luke said, raising his hand. "what's in the box?"

"that's off limits." she answered.

he chuckled, "oh, okay. girl stuff."

"seriously, dude?" fin questioned, making the patterson boy shrug his shoulders.

"oh, like butterflies and glitter?" reggie asked.

"oh, come on. i'm sorry about them." alex apologized.

"it's none of your business." julie told them. "and yes, there might be some glitter."

fin watched as alex finally picked up the picture, making her raise her eyebrows.

"hey!" he said, chuckling as he walked over to julie's bed. "i actually picked something up."

and just like that, it went through his hands, dropping onto the bed in front of him.

"i dropped it." he said.

"yeah, we can see that." fin said, smiling at the blonde.

she then walked over, wanting to see the picture. "is that your mom?"

"yeah, and it's my favorite picture of us. so if you break it, i'll break you." julie threatened, snatching the picture off the bed.

"hate to break it to you, buttercup, but, uh, we're pretty unbreakable at this point." fin said, making julie blush and the boys raise their eyebrows at the name.

"i don't get it." julie said. "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." luke said.

"yeah, like, super easy." reggie added before standing up from the bean bag chair. "oh, and check out what i learned today."

he held his hands out before his bass fell from the air. because of the weight of the bass, it caused him to fall back into the bean bag chair.

"yeah, that looked super easy." julie said sarcastically, making fin smile.

"but it's like i always thought, our instruments are attached to our souls." luke said.

"hey." julie's dad said from the doorway.

this made reggie put his bass down, rolling over the bean bag chair to the guys, and for alex and luke to quickly hold hands. fin just looked at them with a smirk before turning towards the doorway.

"everything okay?" the man asked.

"yeah. i'm fine." julie answered.

"okay. i thought i heard you talking to someone." he said.

"nope. must've been my laptop. . . that i just closed." she told him, making fin look over at the laptop.

"okay." the older molina said, "if you need anything. . ." he then pointed to the door, silently asking if julie wanted it closed.

"yeah. thanks." she said.

he then walked out of the room, closing the door as he did so.

"your dad seems like the kind of guy who likes to barbecue." reggie pointed out, making everyone look at him with furrowed eyebrows. "i bet he had a great ribs recipe."

"i don't know. but if your guys wanna talk to me, we have to do it in the studio. he's worried about me enough as it is." julie told the band.

"he seems chill. you should just tell him about us." luke suggested.

"you're kidding, right?" julie asked him. "this past year, everyone's been watching over me, being super nice, as if they're waiting for me to snap."

"i know how that feels." fin mumbled, making the boys turn to her.

julie looked at her with furrowed eyebrows but continued talking. "if i tell my dad i met a ghost band, i'll be back to talking to dr.turner three days a week."

luke clicked his tongue. "yeah, you probably shouldn't tell him." he then turned stepped onto the stool, looking back at julie's little box. "julie. . ."

"oh, my gosh!" she exclaimed. "i thought i told you to leave that alone!"

"i know. you just shouldn't have said nothing cause now i can't stop thinking about it, so. . . what's in the box, julie?" luke said.

"it's just my dream box, okay?" she answered. "whenever i get a thought, i write it down and get it out of my mind."

"like lyrics?" fin questioned.

"they would be if i still wrote music like i used to with my mom." julie told her. "now it's just full of stuff that doesn't make me sad."

"but, i mean, you do play. we heard you this morning." alex said.

"in the garage? i thought only fin was there." julie questioned, looking over at fin who had a sheepish smile on her face. "so you were there too?"

reggie and alex tried to come up with a lie, fin rolling her eyes as luke got on julie's bed, putting his head in his hands.

"so, where is your kitchen, by the way?" he asked.

"okay, we need to set some boundaries." julie said, bending down so she could be eye level with luke. "for starters, stay out of my room!"

the boys nodded, reggie grabbing his bass as they quickly walked through the closed door, fin following them. but then she stopped, turning around and peaking her through the door.

"hey!" she said, making julie look back up. "uh, i'm sorry. i didn't mean to bother you. but did you get back into the music program thingy?"

"no. no, i didn't." julie answered.

"i'm sorry. that really sucks." fin said.

"thanks."

fin then looked around, actually taking in julie's bed room.

"is that it?" julie asked.

"yeah." fin answered. "actually, no. uh, can i maybe. . . come in here sometimes? it's just that. . . it's hard being the only girl in a band full of boys. i never really had a girlfriend."

julie raised her eyes, fin realizing what she had said. this made her cheeks heat up.

"i mean, a fr - friend that's a girl." she corrected, making julie giggle.

fin smiled at this, her cheeks heating up even more.

"i know what you meant, fin." julie said, a smile on her face. "but yeah, you can come here when you need to. just ask me first, okay?"

"thanks, buttercup." fin said, the smile still on her face.

she went back through the door, but not before seeing julie's cheeks turn red.

she warped out of the house and into the studio, the boy all looking at her. they all gave her questioning looks, alex having a smile on his face.

"buttercup?" he questioned.

"shut up, blonde." fin said, her cheeks heating up once again.

"someone has a crush." alex sang, making fin roll her eyes.

"hey, uh, since we went to see reggie's house, i was thinking i go see mine." fin told the boys.

"do you think that's a good idea?" alex asked.

"yeah, i mean, you hated living there." luke said.

"especially after your brother left." reggie added.

"yeah, i know, guys." fin said. "it's just. . . there still two parents. even if they did treat me like shit."

"okay, well. . . do you want us to go with you?" alex asked.

"nah, i think i should go by myself." she answered.

"okay." the boys said in unison.

"be careful." alex told her.

"i'm always careful." fin said with a smile.

and with that, she warped out of the studio and to her house.

~~~

ahhhhh, another chapter. i'm really excited for what i have planned.