Work Text:
The first time it happened, it was a pure accident.
Reggie was following Ray around, watching the man dance about his kitchen, singing along to a new Julie and the Phantoms song, that the band had just released.
Ray stepped back, and, while it wouldn’t do anything, Reggie held up his hands, trying to stop Ray from stepping into him. Even if the man would just pass through, like normal.
Except this time, Ray didn’t pass through like normal.
Instead, Reggie was Ray.
A blue smoke bubbled around them; Reggie’s body disappeared.
It lasted for 30 seconds, before Reggie figured out how to get out.
And Ray carried on, as if nothing happened.
***
The second time, it was for fun.
Reggie told Luke and Alex what he did, and they both freaked.
Alex, out of concern and horror.
Luke, out of shock and excitement.
“Reggie, you can never do that again. Do you hear me? Never, ever!” Alex stressed, pacing around the studio.
“Are you kidding? Dude, that’s awesome! Imagine what we could do?” Luke grinned, “I gotta learn how to do it! That way, I can take Julie to the dance-“
“Luke, stop it!” Alex snapped, halting his step. “You can’t be serious right now? Julie would kill you- no, us, if you do something that reckless.”
The trio stared at each other, all wearing different expressions.
Alex was frustrated by his friends.
Reggie was guilty for bringing it up.
Luke was annoyed by Alex’s worries.
“Fine, I won’t do anything. S’not like Reg knows how he did it,” Luke scoffed, folding his arms over his chest.
“Yeah man, it was a total accident, I don’t even know how it happened.” Reggie weakly offered.
While he didn’t know how it happened the first time, Reggie had dedicated the rest of the day, testing out how to do it again.
Turns out it was a lot easier than he thought.
“So, we’re all in agreeance, no ghost possession, ever again?” Alex asked. Luke and Reggie both nodded, easing the drummers posture. “Thank you. We really can’t risk it. What if something went wrong, or someone gets hurt? We just, we can’t risk it. So thank you guys.” He smiled. “I’m gonna go for a walk.”
After Alex disappeared, Luke turned to Reggie.
“No-“
“Come on!” Luke whined, “we don’t have to tell Alex.”
“Luke, Alex said-“
“Please.” Luke begged, “we’ll test on some stranger! Alex will never know.”
“Fine, we’ll go to the boardwalk… Not a word to Alex.” Reggie pointed his finger in Luke’s face, a grin slowly spreading across his lips.
Cheering, Luke jumped up, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
The pair poofed to the boardwalk, Luke instantly started looking around for someone who was alone.
While Luke had promised to test on a stranger, he couldn’t help himself when he saw Nick.
“So, what do I gotta do?” Luke clapped.
Reggie explained what he’d done, and how he suspected it all worked. Luke nodded along, before poofing towards Nick with a smile that could challenge the cheshire cat.
Placing his hands on Nick’s shoulders, Luke started fading into an orange smoke, before he disappeared.
Shaking his head, “Nick” blinked for a few seconds, before looking directly at Reggie with a grin. The ghost gasped and poofed over.
“Luke, you said a stranger! Not Nick.” Reggie hissed, nervously looking around. “What if he gets hurt? What do we tell Julie?”
“Relax, Ray was fine! Besides, Nick’s been possessed before. At least I’m like a cool version of Casper,” He grinned. “Hey, check this out.”
Luke started dancing, a hybrid of terrible, solo, ballroom dancing and 70’s disco. Onlookers gave Nick funny looks, which made Luke laugh.
“I am so doing this, in time for Julie’s school dance.” Luke beamed.
10 Minutes later, Luke had enough of making Nick look like a fool. He followed Reggie’s instructions and pulled away from Nick, orange smoke materialising into Luke again.
“Sweet.” Luke grinned.
Nick paused for a moment, before he sat back down in the sand and picked up his phone.
******
The final time, was a total accident.
Luke would never intentionally hurt Julie, ever.
“Julie, give me the book!” Luke begged, standing in front of her.
“Did you complete ‘Perfect Harmony’?” She gasped.
“What? No! That’s your song. Now come on Jules, stop messin’ around. Give me, my book.”
“Nah-uh. Not until you admit that you completed ‘Perfect Harmony’ without me!” She fake pouted. She looked down at the book and grinned. “Awh Luke, you big softie, this is perfect! We could even take some of these reserved lyrics and make a second song!”
“Stop!” Luke whined, reaching forward again. Julie leaped backwards, a wide smile on her lips. “Is this revenge for your dream box?”
Cackling, Julie shrugged, her entire stance playful and loving. While Luke knew she was messing around, he couldn’t help the slight panic coursing through him, at the idea of Julie judging him for his work.
“Give me the book, or else!” Luke pleaded, his threat falling flat.
“Alex, Reggie, save me!” Julie squealed, “Luke finished our love song and is now going to kill me!” She tried to hide behind Alex’s drum kit.
Blushing furiously, Luke lunged forward and grabbed Julie’s wrists. Everyone’s eyes widened, shock written on their faces.
“How the hell are you touching me-“ Julie gasped, Luke’s body was pulled towards her’s, before he disappeared in a light orange smoke. “Luke! What the hell-“ Julie’s cry was cut off.
She stood frozen, Alex and Reggie leaped toward her with shocked expressions.
“Julie?” Alex clicked his fingers, the girl looked at him with a strange expression. “Hey, Julie? Where’s Luke-“
“Where’s Luke? Guys, I’m Luke...” Julie coughed.
“Very funny, but seriously, you like, ate him-“ Julie cut Reggie off.
“I am Luke!” Her voice came out strangled, oddly deeper than usual. Hands instantly moved to touch her face, fear in her eyes. “I can feel Julie in here! She’s panicking, I’m panicking!”
Reggie and Alex stood there with their jaws dropped, unable to process what was going on. Suddenly, Reggie started piecing together what had happened.
“You’re joking,” Alex deadpanned, glancing between Julie and Reggie.
“I’m not, Alex! It’s me, Luke.” Julie pleaded.
Alex stared at his friends for a moment, before he gasped in horror.
“Reggie, please tell me you didn’t teach Luke how to do this-“
“Hey! Even if he did teach me, I wouldn’t possess Julie, are you crazy?!” Luke hissed.
“Oh, so you did go out and learn! After I asked, no, I begged you not too!” Alex scoffed, crossing his arms and glaring. “And clearly, you would possess Julie! Look what you’ve done!”
“I’m sorry! I didn’t think it was a big deal.” Reggie held up his hands, apologetic eyes glancing at Alex.
“I’m gonna murder you both.” Alex groaned. “Go on then, out you get.” He flicked his hand, waiting for Luke to reappear.
“I can’t…” Luke trailed off. “I feel trapped, like we’re bound together.”
“Dude, get out of Julie!” Reggie smacked ‘Julie’. “Wait, can she feel that? Julie, are you in there-“
“Reggie! Stop, you’re stressing us out. Okay, um, Alex, can you grab my hand and pull?” Luke begged, holding Julie’s arm out.
“Hey, we could call you guys, Juke! Right Alex- “
With shaking hands, Alex gripped Julie’s, eyes widening when his hand didn’t pass through. Carefully, Alex started pulling, jaw dropping when Luke’s figure started appearing.
“Woah, this is like Ghostbusters.” Reggie mumbled, watching the scene unfold.
However it was short lived, with Luke snapping right back into Julie’s body.
“Shit.”
***
Luke, in Julie’s body, paced around the studio with his hands tugging at his hair. Alex and Reggie sat on the couch, heads following their friend(s?) strutting.
“Okay, so Ray isn’t gonna be home until tomorrow night, we can figure this out, right? Like, we can get me out of Julie, before he even gets home... Right?!” Luke rambled, stopping mid-strut and staring at his band mates.
A pain stabbed at his stomach. Groaning, Luke hunched forward. The other two ghosts leaped towards Julie, wide eyed and anxious.
“Something’s wrong, Julie’s in pain, my-our-Julie’s stomach hurts!” Luke gasped, clutching his lower abdomen.
Reggie looked panicked, worried hands moving to grab Luke’s shoulder. Laughter burst out from Alex, as clapped his hands.
“Oh, this is great!” He cackled. “Hey Luke, did you ever pay attention in sex ed?” He snorted. “I shouldn’t be laughing, but this just, oh God.” He bent forward, breathing heavily.
A gasp of laughter left Reggie’s lips, watching as Luke turned to them, with a horrified expression. He straightened up, wincing at the discomfort.
“Julie is currently screaming at me to get out, before- Okay! I won’t finish that sentence,” Luke flushed, hands nervously twisting in Julie’s hair.
“Wait, Julie’s talking to you? As in, you can hear her?” Reggie asked. “That’s different, normally- “
Alex’s head snapped towards Reggie.
“Normally?” He sassed.
“Ahem, the few times I’ve done it, they’re unconscious… So that’s, uh, new.” Reggie finished, not looking at Alex.
Luke’s hand froze, mid twist. Alex gave Luke a sympathetic smile, which was probably directed more to Julie, but Luke still took the sympathy. Holding his hand out, Alex gripped Luke’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.
“Hey Julie? My sister used to have awful periods, I’ll help Luke deal with this. I promise to protect your dignity.” Alex protectively reassured Julie, who was currently calling Luke a collection of mean, and in Luke’s opinion, unfair, names.
“Julie’s reassured me it’s just her pre-period cramps, which can I just say, if this is pre-period, then I’m so sorry about actual period- sorry, yes, I know! I have a few days to get out before- okay I’m sorry! I didn’t know I couldn’t tell the guys- Jules- alright!” Luke whined, having an internal battle with Julie.
Flopping down onto the couch, Luke tightly held his stomach with a blush. Swatting Reggie’s hand away, as the bassist tried to brush back Julie’s hair.
Helplessly turning his head away, Luke stared at his-Julie’s reflection in the mirror. Wincing at the sharp pain that spread along his lower back.
Reggie quietly went back to stroking Julie’s hair, snorting as Luke gave up, trying to swat him away. Alex disappeared into the bathroom, before reappearing with a glass of water, and two small pills.
“Take these and close your eyes for an hour or so. You’ll feel better in no time.” Alex ordered, sitting beside Luke.
***
A few hours later, Luke was awake and feeling so much better.
Stepping into the kitchen, he grinned as he opened the freezer, eyes scanning through all the delicious options inside.
While this whole situation was embarrassing, stressful, and freaky, Luke was incredibly excited to eat, and taste, food again.
Watching with a jealous expression, Reggie sat on the kitchen counter, arms folded across his chest. Luke pulled out a tub of chocolate fudge ice cream, a wide smile on his lips.
“Man, you don’t even appreciate food like I do!” He mumbled, watching Luke ripped the tub of ice cream open.
“Bro, I can’t wait to try half of this food! The last thing I remember tasting were the hotdogs,” Luke groaned, taking a spoonful of the frozen treat.
Eyes instantly rolled into the back of his head, as a moan of satisfaction came out of him.
“Please, just don’t make Julie eat gross things, she doesn’t need that trauma,” Alex begged, rounding the corner. “And by gross things, I mean-“
His eyes widened when he was what Luke was holding. He quickly swiped the pint of Carlos’ ice cream out of Luke’s arms, placing it back in the freezer, before replacing it with the brand Julie eats.
“You know Julie doesn’t eat actual ice cream, you idiot.”
“But Julie’s ice cream is made out of coconut, coconut Alex!” Luke sulked, “I don’t remember that even being a thing when we were alive!”
Rolling his eyes, Alex walked back towards Reggie with a smirk, the bassist was desperately staring at Luke, as he tried the coconut ice cream.
Gagging, Luke spat the dessert back in the tub, screwing his face up at the flavour.
“No way, Julie, you don’t seriously like this?! That’s disgusting,” Luke grumbled, flicking his hair. “Okay, and Julie, your hair? I’m cutting it off- oh yeah? What are you going to do? - Cut my, what?! Okay, okay. Yes, I will ask Alex to- sorry boss.”
Tilting their heads, Alex and Reggie watched as Julie- Luke, argued with himself.
“Alex, Julie has asked that you help me tie up her hair, I’m not allowed to touch it.” Luke grumbled, shoving a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth.
He spat it out.
Again.
*****
It was almost 1am by the time Luke headed to bed.
Sitting on Julie’s bed, Luke looked around nervously.
He wasn’t allowed in here without Julie.
And well, technically, she was there.
Luke was Julie, at this current point in time.
Standing up, he slowly approached the mirror. Eyes looking over Julie’s body, with curiosity. Normally, he’d secretly admire Julie. Never bold enough to look at her, while she was looking.
Thank God, Julie had “disappeared” a few hours ago, after begging Luke to just ‘go to sleep’.
He first stared at her face, the small dimples beside her mouth, how her eyes crinkled when she smiles. Grinning, Luke felt his heart flutter, as the toothy smile he’s come to adore, faced him.
Eyes trailing down her body, Luke stopped, feeling as if he were violating her.
As if possessing her, wasn’t a big enough violation.
Stepping back, Luke turned towards her closet and froze.
He was going to have to get changed.
Using the bathroom was embarrassing enough, with Julie basically shutting down and begging Luke to hurry up.
In his defence, it had been almost 26 years since he last used a bathroom.
Sighing, he reached in and pulled out a familiar t-shirt. Butterflies erupted in his stomach, at the sight of his magenta corduroy, neatly hung with all of Julie’s favourite jumpers.
Pulling it out, he gasped when he noticed another one of his t-shirts. Julie having multiple items of his clothing, made him feel a certain kind of way.
Avoiding any mirrors, Luke quickly got changed, hesitating to take Julie’s bra off, he started talking.
“Hey Julie? Can I, um, take your-“ He winced, “braoffplease”
A silence greeted him, before Julie quietly agreed.
“Man, this feels so wrong, I’m so sorry about this Jules. I swear, I never meant to cause you this much hassle…”
With hesitant fingers, Luke unhooked the bra clasp and wiggled the straps off of his shoulders. Huffing in annoyance, he tried to pull the clothing item off, without distressing Julie anymore.
“This is not how I picked taking your bra off of- “Luke froze, blushing in embarrassment. “You…” He trailed off.
***
The following evening, Flynn paced around the studio with an unreadable expression. Juke, Reggie and Alex played an instrumental version of ‘Flying Solo’, with Luke mumbling and humming along, just to keep the guys visible.
“So, let me get this straight,” Flynn started, “You’re Luke, inside Julie’s body?”
“Yes.”
“And you don’t know how to get out?” Flynn finished.
“Correct…”
Throwing her hands in the air, Flynn groaned.
“My best friend is currently possessed by her potential ghost boyfriend, and you have no idea how to get out? Luke! Ray gets home in like 40 minutes and will want Julie inside for dinner. He’ll be able to tell that you’re, obviously, not Julie!”
Luke nervously looked at Alex and Reggie, unsure on what to do. Trying to break the tension, Reggie turned his attention to Flynn.
“Flynn, while we try and figure this out, I think we should call them Juke!” Reggie suggested, again.
“Juke, huh? You know, Julie would be blushing… I like it.” Flynn smirked, tense posture relaxing a bit. Luke rolled his eyes, unable to handle his friends.
He pressed his hand to his forehead, groaning at the pounding headache that started to overtake his senses. Silently, Flynn passed a water bottle and sheet of medication.
“How did you…?”
“Julie gets migraines when she’s stressed, and you being in control of her body, is probably incredibly stressful. I’d also guess, that just because you’re occupying her, doesn’t mean the migraines stop.” Flynn sympathised.
The two ghosts, who were still playing music, frowned at this new knowledge.
“Julie, if you can hear me, just know, I’ll get you through this, and we’ll get Luke out of you.” Flynn promised, squeezing Julie’s hand.
“She says thank you,” Luke whispered, looking down his hands. “And to, as much as she hates this, remind you that she’s also on due for her period in a few days, and hating every second of her life right now.”
Flynn, unable to contain herself, burst out in laughter. The girl pulled Luke into a tight squeeze, shoulders still shaking while she hugged Julie.
***
Dinner was anything, but smooth. An entire hour, of Luke and Flynn, desperately dodging any and all questions.
Carlos instantly knew something was wrong with Julie, the moment she ate all of her food, without even slightly picking over any part of the meal. Or the lack of screwing her face up, when he told everyone about the blood nose his friend got at the sports camp.
So when he started asking Julie questions, Flynn kept having to swoop in and answer, leaving Luke to anxiously fidget with his hands, and shovel food into his mouth.
Which was, by the way, the best part about this whole experience.
Eating, and tasting, the food.
However, Ray was starting to get suspicious of his daughter’s lack of conversation, and increased fidgeting, and maybe even her new appetite, when she went back for seconds and thirds.
“So, Julie, written any new songs with the guys? I’d love to hear a sneak peak of a new song?” He asked, Luke’s head snapped up, a smile spreading onto his lips.
“Yeah! Myself and Julie- and the Phantoms, just finished a new song, yesterday! I’m sure the guys would love to show you once we’ve perfected it,” Luke stumbled, excitement not wavering.
Sadly, his excitement was short lived, when Flynn aggressively gripped his leg, under the table, and cleared her throat.
“Well Ray, dinner was spectacular, but Jules and I wanna go design some new album art, J had a great idea earlier! So thanks for dinner, we’ll see you in the morning!” Flynn rushed, dragging Luke out of the room, and towards Julie’s room.
Once they were safely in Julie’s room, Flynn closed the door and spun around towards Luke.
“Patterson, get out of Julie, right now. Or so help me, I will get this house exorcised, saged and, or, blessed!” Flynn snapped, fingers poking into his chest.
“Hey! I’m trying, but I have no idea how I even ended up in here!” Luke cried, flopping onto Julie’s bed. “And Julie hasn’t said a word, since before dinner, and I’m starting to feel cold.” Luke frowned, worry lacing his voice. Alarm flashed over Flynn’s face.
Reggie and Alex appeared behind her, grins on their faces.
“We know how to get you out!! Willie, finally, dropped by, to ask Alex on a date- what! It’s true!” Reggie whined as Alex slapped his shoulder.
“Not important Reg. What is, is that he found this,” Alex held up something silver, “and explained how to free you both!” Alex rushed, walking towards Luke.
“That’s great!” Luke grinned, sitting up straight.
“Hello?” Flynn looked around, “tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum, is that you?” She snipped. “Do you know what to do? Can we get my best friend back?” Flynn begged.
“Shit, sorry, yeah. The guys are here, and Alex is about to explain what I need to do.”
Nodding slowly, Flynn sat beside Luke, and stroked the back of Luke’s hand. Fingers playing with Julie’s rings.
“Hold on Jules, you’ll be okay in a minute.” Flynn whispered, concern in her voice.
Upon closer inspection, Luke realised Alex held out a silver necklace. He cautiously grabbed it, looking between the jewellery and Alex.
The drummer started rambling, hands moving quickly to explain what Luke needed to do.
“Willie said this has anti possession abilities. Once you put it on, it should just throw you out of Julie.”
Standing up straight, Luke rolled his shoulders and inhaled, delicately looping the necklace over his head, Luke looked up, his mouth opening on it’s own.
Luke gasped for a second, before forcefully exhaling. The same orange smoke as yesterday, filtered out of Julie’s body, materialising in front of everyone, as Luke.
The guitarist stumbled back for a second, before he shook his head and grinned at everyone. Flynn stood, unknowingly, beside Alex and Reggie, eyes wide and anxiously watching.
Alex and Reggie rushed over to Luke, pulling him into a tight hug.
Flynn shot towards Julie, who was hazily staring at the wall, she gently touched Julie’s shoulder.
The curly haired girl dropped, her legs gave out beneath her, head hitting the floor with a thump.
“Julie!” Luke yelped, rushing to her side.
Dropping to his knees, he pulled her head into his lap and started stroking her hair.
“She’s so cold, I don’t understand. Alex! Find Willie, find out what’s happening.” Luke begged, tears in his eyes.
“Holy shit.” Flynn murmured, “One, guys, I can now see you all. Two, Luke, you’re touching Julie!”
“Okay, great, that’s not our priority Flynn! Julie is, and right now, I think I’ve killed her-“
Reggie stepped towards Luke, silencing him.
“Hey, don’t panic. We’ll fix this,” he calmly spoke, squeezing Luke’s shoulder.
Kneeling beside them, Reggie hesitantly reached towards Julie, hissing when his hand touched her arm.
Cold and pale, her breath was weak, and her usual glow was nowhere in sight.
Alex disappeared, rushing off to find Willie again. Flynn ran out of the room, ranting about finding water and heat packs for Julie.
Cautiously, Luke and Reggie lifted Julie up, placing her on her bed, before Reggie slipped in beside her, and started brushing her curls back.
Luke stood back, staring down at his hands with an unreadable expression on his face. Flynn ran back in, throwing a water bottle at Reggie, who uncapped it and tried to pour some into Julie’s mouth.
The pair quietly worked on placing heat packs around Julie’s body. A hot water bottle was placed on her stomach, along with a few wheat bags, tucked under her. Luke hesitantly pulled a blanket over her body, gently tucking her in, before he stood back.
“If Julie’s hurt, because of me? I could never forgive myself…” Luke whispered, looking up with tear filled eyes.
“Luke, as mad as I am at you, we all know you’d never hurt J. We’ll figure this out,” Flynn paused, “man is it weird talking to you, without music playing.” She snorted, trying to lighten the mood.
Nodding slowly, Luke moved towards the bed again, and sat on Julie’s other side, a finger gently stroking her cheek.
***
Less than 20 minutes later, Alex and Willie appeared, both boys looking calmer than anyone expected.
“Willie, man, you gotta help me, to help Julie!” Luke begged, tear-stained cheeks desperately looking towards the skater.
Stepping towards the bed, Willie gave Luke a warm smile. Hesitating for only a moment, Willie reached out and touched Julie’s hand, nodding as he made contact.
“Ghosting 101, never possess your anchor to the living world.” Willie huffed a laugh, easing the tension in the air.
Luke’s terrified expression didn’t falter, his tear-filled eyes squeezed shut, trying to work out what Willie meant.
“She’ll be okay, Luke.” Willie reassured, “she’ll wake up soon, the same as normal old Julie. It’s just shock, I’ve seen this before.”
Swallowing hard, Luke nodded, cheeks flushed pink, tear trailed down his face. Alex gripped Luke’s shoulder and gave him a reassuring squeeze, before his gaze looked towards Julie.
“Why did this happen?” Luke sniffled. “How could I have hurt her? I didn’t hurt anyone else?”
“You didn’t hurt her, Luke. Ghost possession is difficult to master. Caleb spent decades perfecting it, and even then, he’d run into a complication.” Willie reassured. “You possessed your anchor, the one person who gives you all power. Combine that, with how tightly bound your souls already are, and you get yourself into a bit of a pickle.”
Everyone nodded along, eagerly listening to Willie’s explanation.
“To simply sum it up; Luke and Julie’s souls are incredibly similar. Both just as passionate and strong, as the others. So, Julie’s living soul, suddenly coming into contact with Luke’s dead one, has put her vessel into a state of shock.” Willie explained. “She’ll wake up soon, I promise. She’s just overwhelmed.”
“Let me get this straight, Julie and Luke have the same soul? And Julie anchors us here? Our existence, is totally tied to hers?” Reggie slowly asked.
“You’d think it’d be a perfect harmony, given they’re like, the same.” Flynn snorted, unease still clear in her tone.
Perfect harmony.
The damn song that caused this entire mess.
“There is one minor side effect…” Willie trailed off.
Four set’s of eyes, snapped towards Willie, wide and desperately anticipating him to continue.
“Luke, how do you feel about having a permanent connection to Julie?” He asked slowly, “something called a soul bond?”
“A what now?” Flynn sassed.
“Well, because you’re not skilled in possession, and given your pre-established relationship with Julie-“ Reggie and Alex snickered, making Luke pout. “You guys will now be able to communicate, without speaking-“
“Like telepathy?!” Reggie gasped, “oh man, Luke got to eat for a day and gets telepathic powers?! Alex, we gotta possess Julie when she’s better.” He playfully whined.
Everyone looked at Reggie with blank expressions, making the bassist shrink back, weakly holding his hands up.
“I was just kidding…” He mumbled, lowering his hands, and running one through Julie’s hair. The soothing action was a habit Reggie had picked up over the last few days.
“To be clear, you guys might need a bit of practice to get it right, it’ll start out with a few thoughts and feelings slipping through. But eventually, you’ll be able to have full conversations, regardless on where you are, and you’ll be able to feel the other’s emotions.” Willie smiled. “There could be other stuff, given Julie’s established connection with ghosts already. Who knows what else will come out of this!”
Yawning, Luke squeezed his eyes shut, unable to fight the fatigue that was washing over him.
“You’ve had a long day, Luke. Rest, that’s something you’ll need to do more of, now you’re linked with Julie.” Willie gently spoke, giving Luke a warm smile.
He pulled Alex into a side hug, letting the blonde rest his head, in the crook of his neck. Inhaling lighting, Alex closed his eyes. The drummer had spent the past day and a half, stressed over Julie, that he hadn’t taken a moment to relax.
Luke snuggled closer to Julie, resting his cheek on-top of her head, closing his eyes. Reggie moved his hand from her hair and intertwined his hand with Julie’s. Eyes carefully watching as she took shallow, but even, breaths of air.
Flynn sat at the foot of the bed, tears running her eyes. The events finally hitting her. The idea of her best friend being hurt, in anyway, was overwhelming for the girl.
Looking up, Reggie was the first to notice. He gently nudged the pillow beside Flynn and gave her a reassuring smile.
“She’s okay, Flynn. This whole mess is over, and Julie’s going to be okay.” Reggie spoke, sadly watching as the girl leant onto Julie and broke down.
Not even thinking, he reached out and placed a comforting hand on her back, rubbing slightly. Flynn tensed up, slowly raising her head to look at him.
“I can feel you…” She gasped, Alex and Willie moved towards her, placing their hands on her shoulder. She flinched, eyes flicking between their hands and their faces.
Sitting up, she moved off of Julie, everyone gasped as their hands passed through Flynn, like normal. Frowning, she placed a hand on Julie, and yelped when Willie’s hand caught in her jumper.
Laughing, Flynn started messing around, hands grabbing and letting go, of Julie’s leg. Grinning at the ghosts, the four teenagers kept messing around, accidentally bumping Julie’s sleeping frame.
At that, Luke finally opened his eyes, blankly watching his friends, going as far as to kick Reggie off of the bed, when Flynn pushed him onto Julie’s legs.
“I’m glad you guys are having fun, but I’d really appreciate if you guys could let us rest?” He pleaded, “For the first time in almost 26 years, I wanna sleep, in my own body. Please don’t take this from me.” He lightly joked, closing his eyes again.
“Sorry Luke,” Alex sheepishly said, stepping away. “I’m actually going to head back to the studio, go lay on the couch and not think for a few hours. You coming?”
Wordlessly, Willie grabbed Alex’s hand and poofed them out. Reggie gave Flynn a silent goodbye, before following the two other ghosts.
“Will you be okay if I go home?” Flynn asked, “I can stay, if you need, but I’m sure you’d like to be alone…”
“I’ll text you, if I need you. But I think we’ll be okay, she’s not as cold anymore, and her breathing is a lot stronger.” Luke hummed, keeping his eyes shut.
“Okay, goodnight, Luke,” Flynn farewelled, stepping out of the room.
***
The next morning, Luke woke up early.
Groaning, he sat up and looked around, frowning when he realised he’d snuggled under the covers, along side Julie.
“I came back up and tucked you in at around 3am, thought you looked cold.” Alex’s voice caused Luke to jump.
“I didn’t even…”
“You were tired, Luke. You still look terrible, like you’ve not slept.” Alex snorted, “Julie hasn’t woken up yet, but she looks better. It’s nice to see some colour in her cheeks again.”
Looking beside him, Luke smiled, leaning into her and inhaling. The comfort that washed over him, was indescribable.
“You’re screwed, utterly, screwed.” Alex hummed.
“I know, and I’m okay with that. After all, we did write ‘perfect harmony’ for each other…” Luke shyly replied, glancing at Alex.
The pair sat in comfortable silence, waiting for Hurricane Reginald to grace them with his presence.
Within 20 minutes, Reggie poofed into the room, arms full of his bass, Luke’s guitar, and Alex’s drumsticks.
Huffing, the bass playing set the instruments down, before disappearing again, he was only gone a minute, when he reappeared holding Alex’s box drum, that Julie had bought him a few months ago.
“Reggie, what the hell are you doing?” Luke groaned, shifting a sleeping Julie, so she was laying on his chest.
“Julie loves music, so, we’re gonna play her some music!” He cheerily said, handing Alex his drumsticks.
“Reg, buddy, I don’t need these, with that,” Alex pointed, gently taking the sticks.
“I know, but I couldn’t decide on what you’d wanna play,” Reggie shrugged, handing Luke his guitar.
Heart’s melting, Alex and Luke nodded, accepting their instruments from Reggie.
Shifting again, Luke moved Julie off of him, sitting up and shifting, strumming his guitar softly.
“How about a little acoustic set, hey boys?” Reggie grinned.
The band sat and played for a few hours, singing gently and even coming up with new tunes. Luke noticed a peaceful feeling washed over him, each time a song that Julie recognised, started to play.
Eventually, they decided it would be best to let Luke and Julie rest some more. Even if Julie had been asleep the entire time, Luke was confident she could hear everything.
***
When Luke woke again, it was late in the afternoon. A wave of panic choked him.
He felt as if his chest were void of oxygen. No matter how deeply he inhaled, he couldn’t get air in.
Which was crazy, because he basically was air.
Eyes snapping open, he sat up and looked beside him, where Julie sat, hands grasping at her chest, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“Woah! Hey, hey, hey, Julie, just breathe, you’re okay! Breathe for me, follow me.” Luke grabbed her hands, wincing at how terrified she looked of him. “Inhale in, and exhale out. Like this!” He continued, deeply inhaling and exhaling.
After a few minutes, Julie’s breathing finally steadied out, the tightness in Luke’s chest eased. Cautiously, Julie met Luke’s gaze, eyes rimmed with tears.
“Luke?” She quietly whimpered, hesitantly looking at their hands.
“We can touch, it’s a-“ he winced, clearing his throat. “A side effect.”
Giving his hands a gentle squeeze, Julie nodded, moving closer to Luke and burying her face into his chest.
“What happened? It’s still a bit, fuzzy.”
“What do you remember?” Luke anxiously asked, fingers gently stroking her back.
“You were in me. Like, possessing me! It was cold and- and terrifying, but I was also so safe… But I couldn’t move, Luke. I couldn’t move or even take a breath of air…” Julie cried, tightening her grip on Luke. “I knew I was safe, but I still felt terrified.”
“I’m so sorry, Julie. I didn’t even know I could do that. I promise-“
“Luke, it’s alright.” Julie whispered, sniffing. “I know you didn’t mean it, I can also remember the amount of time you’ve apologised,” she weakly chuckled, shifting so she was facing him.
“How do you feel now? Any pain? Are you still cold? Should I call Flynn, or Alex? Maybe Willie-“
“I’m alright, just tired and cold…”
“And?” Luke pressed.
“My head hurts-“ Luke tensed, a wave of panic washing over the pair of them. “But I’m sure that’s normal, given the whole, ghost possession, situation.” Julie finished, shivering.
Not questioning the sense of panic, she placed her head back onto Luke’s chest, inhaling his scent. Closing her eyes, Julie moved her hands so they were resting on his chest.
Neither of them spoke for a few minutes, quietly taking in the events of the last day.
“This is a pretty nice side effect. Being able to touch, without you randomly turning back into air.” Julie spoke up, fingers playing with his sleeveless tee. “What other side effects, should I be expecting?”
“Well, for starters, the ability to touch us, which is pretty neat!” Luke grinned, “Flynn could see all of us, after I, um, exited you… That sounds-“
“Gross,” Julie laughed.
“Yeah, exactly! Anyway, Flynn can see us, and Willie! Without any music playing, so the running theory is that whatever powers you have, have been amplified.”
Nodding along, Julie hummed. Yawning, she squeezed her eyes shut for a moment.
“I’m exhausted. I must look terrible, because I sure feel it,” Julie groaned.
“Don’t worry boss, I’m not judging.” Luke winked.
‘Besides, you always look beautiful.’ Luke thought, eyes flicking over her face.
Julie’s eyes snapped open, a deep blush coated her cheeks as she looked at Luke. The guitarist froze, unsure about what was happening.
“You think I’m beautiful?” Julie shyly asked, Luke’s eyes widened, cheeks heating up.
“Um, shit, you heard that, huh?” He cringed, huffing a chuckled. “But yeah, I mean, you’re Julie? You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever met… Screw this stupid soul bond.” Luke stumbled, looking away.
“Soul what now?” Julie repeated, leaning backwards. “What the heck are you on about?”
“Willie might have mentioned that we’re, kinda, connected via a soul bond. Basically, we can feel each other's emotions and hear each other's thoughts…” Luke trailed off, mindlessly grabbing Julie’s hand.
“Oh.” Julie mumbled, “Will it ever, go away?”
Luke winced, looking down at their conjoined hands, fingers.
“Shit, no, Luke.” Julie gasped, “Not that I don’t want this, whatever it is, with you! But I just, don’t want either of us to be embarrassed about our thoughts, or feelings..” Julie frowned. “Luke, it’s no secret, I really like you. But I don’t want that to make you uncomfortable-“
“Julie, you could never make me uncomfortable.” Luke whispered, glancing at her.
‘Besides, I’ve only been in love with you since the day I met you.’ Luke thought, praying Julie could hear it.
The browned eyed girl looked up at Luke, her eyes shimmering with tears, a soft smile on her lips. Leaning up towards Luke, Julie paused for a second, before she planted a gentle kiss on his lips.
Frozen, Luke didn’t move, his brain unable to process what was happening.
Julie had kissed him.
No-
Julie was currently , kissing him.
Brain finally catching up, Luke kissed back. Hands finding their way into Julie’s hair, callus fingers intertwining with her thick curls.
Gasping into the kiss, Julie hummed, enjoying the moment. Fireworks danced around her, she felt as if the entire world had fallen away, and all that mattered was Luke.
Pulling away, Luke stared at Julie with swollen lips, a massive grin on his face. He bought his fingers to her lips, carefully tracing her bottom one with his thumb.
“God, you’re perfect.” He whispered, soft eyes flicking over her features.
****
Julie and Luke got lost in each other that afternoon. Spending the entire time cuddled up together, stealing kisses and making quiet conversation about date ideas.
Lying on-top of Julie, Luke kissed her tenderly, drinking in the taste of her, as if it were his only source of life. While the position was compromising, the pair were honestly just kissing.
A loud gasp sounded from in front of them, causing the pair to roll apart. Panic flooding their bond, from both parties.
There stood Reggie, Alex and Willie. The three ghosts each wore a different expression.
Willie’s was proud, a subtle smirk spread across his lips, happy for the lovebirds.
Alex’s was one of joy, and slight embarrassment, having broken up a moment, between two of his best friends.
Reggie wore a look of pure horror, apparently the bassist hadn’t fully considered the possibility of Julie and Luke finally getting together.
Mouth gaping like a fish out of water, Reggie stared at his friends.
“What- No, when!” He gasped, desperate eyes flicking towards Alex and Willie. “Wait… I’m the only single one, in the band- nope, not allowed. Julie, break up with him.” Reggie whined, kicking the rug under his feet.
Laughter bubbled out of Julie, watching her friend with a fond expression.
“Sorry Reg, looks like you’re out of luck. I quite like, Luke.” Julie hummed, glancing at the guitarist.
“How’s that soul bond?” Willie asked, curiously.
“Well, I find it very convenient, but Luke on the other hand…”
“I can’t think anything without it bouncing into Julie’s head! How do you think she found out I liked her!” Luke whined, “not that I’m complaining about the outcome, but how the hell are we meant to surprise each other?”
“Luke, when have you ever surprised Julie?” Alex asked, crossing his arms. “And before you say something stupid like, ghost possession-“
“Huge surprise, by the way.” Reggie pointed out.
“I don’t quite think Julie was okay with that one.” He finished, with raised eyebrows.
“I wrote her a song, or two-“
“Luke, honey, you write songs for everyone.” Julie pinched his cheek. “You surprise me every day, by finding new ways for me to fall in love with you.”
Freezing, Luke looked at her with wide eyes, his expression unreadable. Gently moving a strand of his hair, Julie moved her hand and tapped his nose, warm eyes never leaving his.
“This is, too much. I miss when you two had to stare tragically from across the room.” Alex cut in, making Willie snort.
“Babe, this isn’t gonna end anytime soon. They’ve been deprived of each other.” He pointed out, “worse than how we were.” Willie chuckled.
“Okay, point taken. We’ll give you guys some room.” Alex laughed. Nodding at each other, the couple poofed out of the room.
“Oh, come on!” Reggie sulked. “Okay, subject change! Julie, are you doing okay?” He seriously asked, nervous gaze flicking over her face.
Heart melting, Julie nodded. She shifted and opened her arms, allowing for Reggie to move closer to the bed. Carefully, he sat down and pulled Julie into a tight embrace, his tense posture melting away, upon feeling her reciprocate the hug.
“I’m okay Reg, thank you.” Julie quietly spoke, closing her eyes and enjoying Reggie’s presence.
“I was so scared that you weren’t going to be okay.” Reggie sniffled.
When he pulled away, his eyes were red rimmed, with a few tears sliding down his cheeks. The boy looked exhausted.
“Hey, I’m fine. If anything, I feel better than fine. I can finally hug my best friends.” Julie leant down and placed a kiss on the top of his head, smiling as Reggie closed his eyes. “It was scary, but Luke didn’t hurt me, and I can remember how carefully you and Alex handled the situation.”
“I joked about-“
“Juke? I like it! It’s fun and makes Luke blush.”
“Hey!” Luke sat up, pouting.
Reggie sat back up, wiping his tears and offered the couple a smile, sadness no longer haunting his expression.
“So, you guys are really together?” He asked, “I’m proud of you two. All it took was a friendly case of ghost possession to make things work.” He laughed.
Shaking her head, Julie groaned in embarrassment and exhaustion, still tired from the whole experience. Lying back slowly, she closed her eyes.
Quietly, Reggie and Luke started discussing how Luke was going with the situation. Reggie reached over Julie and placed a reassuring hand around the back of Luke’s neck. His touch comforting and familiar.
Once he was satisfied that Luke would be okay, he removed his hand and rested it around Julie’s shoulders. They sat in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, before a violent shiver wracked Julie’s body.
Frowning, Reggie looked at Luke with an anxious gaze, unsure on what to do. Luke gently poked Julie’s shoulder, waiting for her to open her eyes again.
‘I’m okay, I just need sleep, and maybe a blanket.’ Julie whispered down the bond, causing Luke to shiver himself.
“Trust you to master that within a few hours,” Luke grumbled, humour radiating off of him. “She’s cold and tired.” Luke relayed to a confused Reggie.
Wordlessly, Reggie gathered the heat packs that were now laying discarded on the nightstand. He disappeared for a few minutes, before returning with the packs, steaming.
Luke pulled Julie’s blankets over her, while Reggie placed the heat packs around her.
“Thank you, guys.” She whispered, snuggling into the blankets.
***
It was almost 8pm, when Alex reappeared in the room, alone this time. He raised his eyebrows at the sight in front of him.
“I’m gone for like two hours, and you guys have band cuddles without me?” He joked, walking over and sitting at the end of Julie’s bed. “How’s she doing?”
“Better, but I can’t shake the feeling that she’ll never ‘recover’ from this… Like, how can a human ‘recover’ from being possessed? That doesn’t happen anywhere, but the movies.” Luke sighed, putting mock air quotes up.
“Hey man, Willie is confident that she’ll be fine. Plus, she’s Julie. I’ve never met anyone as strong and resilient, as her. She’ll be okay.” Alex rambled.
“Yeah, that’s the thing. Julie’s always okay…” Luke bitterly laughed. “Her mum’s death, us entering her life, us almost dying on her, Caleb possessing Nick and tormenting her. Now me possessing her and linking us. Her life has been nothing but chaos, for the last three years.” Luke sighed.
“And I wouldn’t change a second of it.” Julie whispered, blinking slowly. She shifted her gaze around the room, smiling at the site of Alex. “Hi ‘Lex.”
Alex grinned, pulling his pink hoodie off and holding it out to Julie. She sat up and happily accepted, pulling the hoodie over her smaller frame, before snuggled back down into her blankets. Alex started crawling up the bed, and gently pushing Luke out. He easily slipped beside Julie, laughing as Luke fell onto the floor with thud and, ‘oof’.
“Aye!” Luke protested, sitting up. “Julie, are you gonna get him get away with that?” He whined.
“Yup, he smells better,” Julie sighed, cuddling into Alex. “Plus, he was the only one who didn’t go around possessing people, so Alex get’s all the love and praise.”
Scoffing, Luke pulling himself off the floor, and shuffled over to Julie’s desk, moving her journal aside and dropping down on top. Reggie rolled out of the bed and stood up, stretching.
“What was it like, being possessed by Luke? Was it scary?” Alex asked, carefully watching Julie’s face.
“Alex…” Luke warned, not wanting Julie to get upset.
“It was fine, Luke. It was more embarrassing than anything. I’m sure I can live with whatever side effects crop up, down the line. Plus, I now get to touch you guys, and I can hear Luke’s thoughts. You know what that means? We can tease him more often.” Julie bumped Alex’s shoulder.
The pair laughed, while Luke sent the playful glares, enjoying seeing everyone laughing together.
“I think I’m ready to get up, maybe venture out of my room?” Julie tested, wincing as all three ghosts frowned.
“You might not be ready, Willie said you’re going to need time to heal-“
Without letting Alex finish, Julie rolled away from him, pulling herself out of bed and weakly stood up. Reggie’s arms instantly moved to steady her, but he froze when she held up a hand, warning him off.
Taking a small step, Julie grinned, walking two more towards Luke, shooting him a proud smile.
‘Believe me now, lover boy?’ She thought, biting her lip.
‘My apologise, Boss.’ Luke shot back, licking his bottom lip.
“You two make me sick,” Reggie fake gagged, “come on Alex.” He disappeared, closely followed by Alex.
Luke snaked his arm around Julie, his right hand resting on her lower back. Gently, he pulled Julie towards him, smirking as a huff left her lips as their chests made contact. Leaning in, Luke pressed his lips to Julie’s, humming as she kissed back.
Placing her hand oh his cheek, Julie hooked her thumb under Luke’s jaw, tilting his head slightly. The kiss was deep and passionate, both hungry for each other.
“I’ll never get sick of this,” Luke mumbled against Julie’s lips.
Bringing her other hand up, Julie slowly trailed her fingers from Luke’s jaw, all the way into his hair. Fisting the hair at the nape of his neck. Laughing breathlessly, Luke groaned in response.
Warmth spread through Julie’s body.
Love.
The feeling overwhelmed Julie, with each passing second, she could feel the overwhelming emotion course through her veins, pulsing through her blood. As if it were the very thing she needed to survive.
Luke felt it too.
Pulling away, Julie leant her forehead against Luke’s, heavily breathing. Neither of them spoke aloud, allowing their little bond to do all the talking.
‘Love, huh?’ Luke thought.
‘You’re easy to love, Luke Patterson.’
———————
AN:
Aaaaaand she’s finished! Another unedited special, by yours truly ❤️ (I think it’s my brand to just post unedited fics, and hope for the best lmao)
Not gonna lie, this one started to drag on, because I didn’t know how to end it, so if you actually made it this far, I love you 🫶🏻.
Also thank you for all the love on my other two fics, I genuinely post these for fun, I never would have thought people would read (or even like) them 😭🥺.