Chapter Text
At least to herself, Julie could confess to liking the feel of Luke lying in her arms.
Granted, she didn’t like the unnatural heat of his skin - a byproduct of the fever coursing through him and leaving him miserable. The pained gasps he let out every time one of Tezcatlipoca’s jolts ripped through him felt like knives in her chest, causing a hurt she couldn’t touch. She could do without the shivering caused by his fever, her entire body shaking under the force of them. The worst part, though, might be the little nightmares - based on what little she heard him say just before he woke up each time, he seemed to be dreaming of the night he died. Over and over and over again.
It did not sound as though it had been a peaceful death.
However, while those aspects of this time together counted among some of the most awful of her life, her heart thrilled to be able to touch him. The feel of his skin proved he remained with her. Some fanciful part of her believed that as long as she could lay hands on his skin, she could keep him with her forever. Luke lay curled at the edge of the bed, on his side with his knees pulled upwards. Julie curved along his back, the heat from the bare skin of his back searing through the tank top she wore - she’d promised to touch as much of his skin with her own as she could, and she was determined to keep her promise.
Fingers tracing in aimless swirls over biceps, stomach, and breastbone, she tried to offer as much comfort as she could to the boy in her arms. Not for the first time, she wished he was alive.
Just over the curve of Luke’s shoulder, she could see the top of Reggie’s dark head. The bassist hadn’t left Luke’s side for more than five minutes at a time since she’d learned about what the guitarist was going through, and her heart swelled with fierce affection for how much the older boy loved his friend. Stretching her fingers out, she let her smooth through soft black hair as she murmured, “You awake, Reg?”
“Yeah,” he agreed, twisting to look back at her with a small smile. “I’m awake.” Eyes turning downwards, the smile smoothed away as he took in Luke’s features from his place in front of him. “I think he’s finally out.”
Relief swelled through her at the statement, forehead coming to rest against the back of Luke’s head in silent thanksgiving. Trying very hard not to wake him, she pulled free of Luke and rolled off the edge of her bed. “Julie?” Reggie questioned in a whisper. “Where are you going?”
Moving towards her dreambox, she reached up to pull it down from the shelf, nibbling on the inside of her lower lip as she considered what all she would need for this. “Nowhere, Reggie, I promise,” she insisted, turning to face him with a small smile. “Reggie, I need a favor.”
“Is it going to help Luke?”
“It should,” she agreed with a nod.
“Then anything,” he insisted solemnly. “How can I help?”
“I need you to go outside and gather the most beautiful flowers you can find. I don’t need a lot, just enough for a decent-sized bouquet.”
Clearly confused for a moment, he frowned, before shrugging. “Yeah, sure. Why?”
She could feel her lips twist uncertainly as she announced, “I have a goddess to summon.”
“A goddess,” he echoed with a frown, watching her with the kind of genuine concern she’d watched him show as he cared for Luke since this whole thing started. “Julie, are you sure that’s a good idea? I mean, how would that even work?”
She set her dreambox down on her nightstand then threw her arms around Reggie as tightly as she could manage. His arms came around her equally as tight, chin resting on the top of her head as the two clung to each other, his hand smoothing gently over her shoulder. Peace and calm swelled through her when his lips pressed against her forehead gently. “I don’t know if it’s a good idea, Reggie - I just know I have to try. I can’t . . .”
Twisting a little, she turned to look at Luke, curled up under her covers and so visibly miserable. “I can’t leave him like this. He needs help, and Willie told me this . . . nymph . . . would help me.”
“Luke will never forgive me if I let something happen to you,” Reggie insisted firmly, arms still tight and comforting around her shoulders, “you know that, right?”
“Nothing’s going to happen,” she insisted. If he’d pressed - demanded to know why she was so sure - she wouldn’t have been able to give him an answer. All she knew; this nymph had kept her promise to Julie’s mom, and that had to be enough for right now. “I have to try.”
His arms tightened for a moment, before he pecked the top of her head quickly once, then twice, then three times, before stepping back. “Okay. Flowers. I’m on it,” he agreed with a firm nod. “Just promise me, you’ll wait for me to get back before you summon anyone. Okay?”
“Promise.”
Accepting her word without further protest, the bassist poofed! out of her room and into the garden, leaving Julie to start clearing a space for the little altar she would need to build Xochiquetzal. Finding the candles might have been the most difficult part of the whole ordeal, in that she had to sneak into the hallway to the storage closet near the master bedroom in order to find a few. It was midnight - if her father heard her out here, he’d come out to make sure she was okay. Much as she loved her dad, she just didn’t know how much she could tell him without finding herself back with Dr. Turner again. Her father did not now - and likely never would - believe in ghosts.
Locating a small lighter and a pair of white votive candles, she arrived back in her room just in time for Reggie to poof! back into her room, with Alex in tow. The blond drummer looked worried, demanding, “You’re summoning a goddess? Are you insane?”
Giving him a sharp look, she questioned, “Can you think of a better idea?”
His jaw worked at the question before his shoulders slumped and he shook his head. “No. I just . . . Willie told me about your mom, and I just . . . I’m worried about you, Julie.”
“I know and I appreciate it,” she promised, juggling the things she held so she could free a hand and reach out to grab his arm. “If I thought I had another option, I’d take it.”
As if on cue, Luke’s breath caught, the telltale singeing sound of a jolt slicing through the air. The guitarist gasped through a sob, his eyes flashing open wide and unseeing, as his back arched. Julie shoved the candles into Alex’s arms without thought as she moved to his side instantly, one hand finding his cheek while the other moved to smooth along the back of his neck and down his spine. Soothed once again, Luke barely woke at all, before drifting away again. Feeling the sob catch in her throat, Julie whispered, “Luke is running out of time. We’re past the point of no return, Alex.”
Alex sighed behind her, his tone resigned as he agreed, “Okay, but . . . you’re not doing this alone.”
“I’m never alone,” she reminded him with a tearful smile.
Reggie beamed at her, coming to her side and wrapping her up in another firm hug, the petals of the flowers he still held brushing against the curve of her cheeks, as he agreed, “Because we always have each other.”
Clutching him tightly, she let herself take comfort in the embrace, a couple of tears sliding down her cheeks as she fought to get a grip on her emotions. Reggie stood like a stalwart, calm and steady against the buffet of her emotions. Affection and something she wasn’t quite ready to define swelled through her as she burrowed deeper, needing the comfort he was offering . . . and needing it specifically from him.
She loved Alex, a brother from another mother if she’d ever had one. He was sarcastic and charming and so sweet - just the idea of not loving him felt foreign.
As for Luke, he was her Person. Her other half - the part of her that fits into all the places she hadn’t realized were empty.
But Reggie . . . a little ashamed to have been so intent on Luke she’d missed out on how she felt for him, she closed her eyes and held on tighter. She loved him - how, she didn’t know yet, but what she did know included how good it felt to be in his arms and someone he cared for as much as he cared for Luke.
A gentle press of his lips to her forehead accompanied a soft murmur of her name, the bassist attempted to coax her back to the job at hand. She took a deep breath in, then stepped back. Looking up, her eyes caught his, the two staring at each other for a long moment. She could see it in his eyes - that realization of some shift she could feel within her own self. They would need to talk about whatever had changed, about what they were feeling - right now, though, both of them had a singular focus.
Luke.
Accepting the bouquet of brilliantly colored marigolds - stunning white, bloody red, blushing pink, burnt orange, cerulean blue, plum purple, and yellow-centered black - she lifted the spray to her nose for a deep inhale. “They’re beautiful, Reggie,” she insisted, looking up at him with a small smile.
His shoulders went up a little bit - Julie felt sure that if he could have, he would have been blushing. “Blue for Luke, pink for Alex, red for me, and white for you.” Fingers reaching to touch the petals of the other colors, “These ones were just pretty.”
She chuckled, as she inhaled the strong scent once again. “I think they are too.”
“Well then, let’s hope your goddess thinks so too, yeah?”
“She totally will,” she agreed with a broad grin and a wink. Turning to the dreambox she’d set up on her vanity, she grabbed up the white ribbon she’d worn for her confirmation, and wrapped the stems of the flowers into a tidy bouquet. Setting them on top, she accepted the candles back from Alex and set them at each corner of the box on the table itself. Taking a deep breath to steady her nerves, she sent out a desperate prayer to her mother that this would work, then lit the candles. “Help us,” she begged in a breathless undertone. “Xochiquetzal, you made a promise to my mother . . . please, help us?”
“Damn that husband of mine to an uncomfortable hell.”
The new voice made Julie whirl, eyes huge and lighter out like a blade in search of the voice. The sight of her mother - not her mother, but so close it ached - bending over Luke with a small, maternal smile as she brushed a sweaty strand of hair from his face made Julie squeak in shock. “Mom?” she breathed, eyes wide and shocked at the sight of the nymph.
The woman looked away from Luke, kindness in her features but a different soul looking back at from those almost familiar eyes. The goddess clasped her hands in front of her, a sad curve to her lips as she insisted, “No, Child. I am sorry.”
Another new voice from near the door to her room made Julie jump, Reggie moving between her and the voice without thought. “Honestly, Xochi, you could just obscure your face.”
“Shut up, Pilli,” the woman scoffed with a roll of her eyes. “You can ignore my brother. He's an idiot, but he decided he wanted to tag along.”
Julie looked over as Alex spoke from her left, “I know you.”
A bright smile curved that dark handsome face, a purr in his tone as he agreed, “Ah yes. I had wondered if you would remember me. You are an excellent dancer, little one.”
Alex’s head ducked at the compliment, earning soft laughter from the man. “Yes, I like you. Too bad little William caught you first. Pity - ah well, I will simply pine from afar.”
Completely confused, Julie reached out to grab the back of Reggie’s flannel as she questioned, “What are they talking about?”
The bassist’s eyes were fixed on the god called “Pilli,” some thought cycling through his eyes, before they flashed open wide and he blurted, “You were one of the men Alex danced with that night at the Hollywood Ghost Club!”
The handsome man bowed with a flourish as he agreed, “Indeed I was. How are Sister Sweet and I supposed to bring that horrid little demon and his lackey down, if someone doesn’t do the dirty work of spying on them.” Winking outrageously he cackled at the bashful look on Alex’s face in response. “The best nights are the ones in which I get to have a little bit of fun while I’m at it.”
Julie watched as the man approached Alex, hand dark against the ghost’s pale skin as he leaned forward to press a quick kiss to the curve of his temple. A shine of light gleamed for a moment, before dissipating as though it had never been. “You are under my protection now, little one. You and yours have only to ask and I will do what I can to aid you.” Cocking his head with a small smile, he questioned, “Do you understand?”
“I . . .” Alex looked stunned at the statement, before swallowing hard, tone a soft squeak as he agreed, “I think so.”
“Fantastique!!” he agreed with an outrageous French accent that nevertheless made Julie giggle a little behind her hand. She had a feeling that under his playful facade, the nymph’s brother cared very deeply about those he claimed as his own.
The giggle died in her throat as Luke jolted awake with a sharp cry, curling inwards on himself as the sound of a jolt ripped through the air. The goddess moved out of the way as both Reggie and Julie lunged to catch Luke just before he threw himself off the bed, arms and legs writhing as the jolt sustained itself long past when the others had ended. She would never be able to figure out how he did it since she knew he didn’t poof, but Reggie managed to get to Luke’s side in time to prevent an ugly fall to the floor, the smaller boy’s body curled up against Reggie’s chest with fingers twisting restlessly in the flannel. Julie hit her knees beside the two, suddenly scared of going through him even as she reached to lay her hands on his bare shoulders. Luke hiccuped, staring straight through her as he begged, “Jules?”
“Shh,” she soothed, fingers of one hand smoothing over every available inch of skin as the other lifted to curve around his jawline. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
Somehow, Julie managed to forget the presence of gods in her room, the squeal of her bed springs pulling her attention around as the flower maiden took a delicate seat on the edge of her mattress. Genuine kindness and compassion lit her features as she watched the threesome huddle together on the floor. “All right then, Child of Rose,” the nymph addressed Julie directly, “ask what you wish of me. Whatever it is, it will be yours.”
Hope nearly choked her as she begged, “Make it stop.”
“Come now, Child,” she scolded gently. “There is a lot of grey area in, ‘make it stop’. Make what stop? Be as specific as you can bring yourself to be - there is no limit to my gift.” The nymph smiled at her, tenderness in her features as she insisted, “I loved your mother, Child - for Rose’s Daughter, I would move a great many mountains.”
Turning back to Luke and Reggie, Julie’s eyes scanned over the both of them, before twisting to look up at Alex. The pink garbed ghost came to crouch beside the other three, all four of them reaching to link hands. These were her band . . . her family . . . what were the limits to what she’d do to protect them?
Turns out, not many.
Turning back to the nymph, she took a deep breath and then spoke the deepest desire of her heart. “Protect them from Caleb forever . . . make them human.”
The nymph’s eyes warmed considerably, a smile growing across her face at the request. “Oh Child . . . a very wise choice.” A single nod precluded her next statement, “It will be as you wish. Enjoy your lives together . . . I have every faith this will be a happy one for you all.”
Lifting from the bed, she moved to kneel in front of Luke, the skirt of her gown making a shushing sound like wind through a garden as she swept it out of her way. The goddess wearing her mother’s face leaned forward to press a careful kiss to the very center of Luke’s forehead, remaining there for several long moments. Julie watched as the kiss lingered, Luke’s face smoothing out and eyelids growing heavy as the touch continued before at last he slumped back against Reggie, boneless and pain-free for the first time in entirely too long. “Rest, young one,” the woman insisted, her fingers smoothing over his cheek for a second. “You will be weak for some time, but the damage my vile husband wrought is gone. You will heal.”
“Thank you, ma'am,” he breathed out, green eyes very wide as he stared up at her.
“Such a polite child,” she teased, with a wink.
Luke’s head ducked a little, sheepish and quiet at the statement. When the nymph laughed, it sounded so much like the laugh of her mother, Julie felt her heart seize in her chest at the sudden gratitude for the goddess who had helped Luke. Shifting back onto her heels, she lifted the fingers of one hand to her lips and blew across them. From them floated a rainbow of flower petals - marigold petals! - and Julie’s head turned to look for the bouquet she’d offered up to the flower maiden as an offering.
As she watched, the flowers wilted as the nymph imbued them with her power and blew them across the boys’ faces so they could receive the gift Julie had asked of her. As the petals drifted and swirled around her boys, Julie couldn’t help noticing which colors clung to each of the boys.
Cerulean blue for Luke . . .
Bloody red for Reggie . . .
Blushing pink for Alex . . .
They all turned to look up at the flower maiden’s brother when he reached to lay a hand on Alex’s shoulder. “I will find your William . . . you will see him soon. And remember - my gift does not expire.”
Alex choked, struggling to swallow as he breathed, “Thank you.”
“Au revoir, mon cheri,” he replied with a wink. “It is a pity we will not see each other again.” Bending, he pressed a sweet kiss to Alex’s lips and insisted, “Live a good life.”
A bright flash seared through Julie’s eyesight, causing her to cry out in surprise, her head turning away from the light as she groped for Luke and Reggie’s hands. She could hear the goddess murmur, “Be happy, Child,” before the light faded and the four of them were once again alone.
Luke’s eyebrows furrowed in surprise as he looked around the room. “Where did they go?” he asked, fingers scrambling to get a better grip on Julie’s, lacing their fingers, while his other hand dropped to curl through the hole in Reggie’s black jeans.
“I don’t know,” Julie confessed with a shake of her head. “Honestly, I don’t care.” Reaching out with her free hand, she cupped his cheek as she begged, “How are you feeling?”
“Tired,” he agreed, forehead wrinkled over a frown, before his head shook, “but it doesn’t hurt anymore so I’ll take it.”
Whatever Julie might have said to that cut off as her door opened and she whirled to find her father poking his head into the room, “Julie, I thought I heard . . .” He trailed off, eyes going wide as his eyes scanned the room. Stepping fully into the room, both of his hands came up to rub against his eyes for a second, before he demanded sternly, “Mija . . . why are there boys in your room?”
“Wait, you can see them?” Julie asked, a thrill of excitement searing through her at the knowledge the flower maiden had kept her promise.
“Of course I can see them!” her father scoffed, hands coming to rest on her hips as his tone turned stern “Julianna Rosita Molina, it is midnight and there are boys in your room! What is going on here!?” A pause. “Wait - are these your Phantoms?”
Laughing out loud, Julie whirled to face Luke, grabbing his face and kissing him hard. Both of them were laughing as she pulled away from him, her tone joyful and excited at the blush on Luke’s cheeks as she announced, “Not anymore, Papi.” Leaning forward, and wrapping both Reggie and Luke in her arms, she breathed against Reggie’s neck, “Not anymore.”