It was only after Reggie went back downstairs to rejoin the boys that I had a spark of inspiration hit me, leading me to finish the rest of "Great". I had no idea what was going to happen in the future, and I wanted to have the opportunity to perform it at least once, though who know when our next gig was going to be.
"Good news, Julie's Dad got us a gig." Reggie said, re-entering the garage the next morning.
"Sweet, what kind of gig?" Luke questioned as I poofed down from the loft to join them.
"Well, not a gig exactly. Flynn's gonna throw a party for a bunch of Julie's friends and then Ray is going to film it professionally and put it online." He explained.
"Ray?" I inquired. "You and Julie's Dad are on a first name basis, are you?"
"Oh yeah. We're buds now." I smiled, shaking my head.
"Well, what song should we do?" Alex asked. I bit my lip.
"Well, um...I finished 'Great' last night." I suggested. "I mean, it could still use a bit more work shopping, but...the lyrics are down at least."
"Ok awesome, let's see what you've got." I poofed upstairs again and then poofed back, handing Luke my notebook. He took it, his eyes skimming over the words before looking up at me again. "Delilah...its brilliant. Seriously, its so good." Reggie walked over, looking over his shoulder and reading the words before looking up at me.
"Its perfect." He said. I smiled, pushing my hair back out of my face.
"Come on, let's get this thing ready for the gig. When is it?"
"Tonight." Reggie clarified. My eyes widened.
"Hey, its all cool. We got this." Luke told me, putting a hand on my shoulder.
~~~
We all sat around the coffee table a couple of hours later. Luke and I were going through the song and working through the technicalities, while Alex sat with his feet on the coffee table, watching Reggie pluck away absently on his guitar.
"Look, we add the echoes during the chorus, then Julie comes in with the melody, its gonna sound perfect." He said excitedly. I smiled, nodding in agreement. I opened my mouth to note something else when we heard a sound from outside. We all turned, looking up to see Willie's head in the garage door window. I furrowed my eyebrows.
"Again? What's that all about?" Reggie questioned.
"My guess? He knows what his boss did to you guys so he's keeping an eye on you." I poofed out of the garage, landing in front of him just as he turned around to skate off. He jumped and I crossed my arms, shooting him a hard look.
"Wow, uh...you must be Delilah. I've heard a lot about you." I nodded.
"I bet." There was another poof and then Alex appeared beside me.
"Dude, what's your problem?" He questioned. "Its like you're tracking me down just so you can keep running away."
"I wish I could explain, man, but I can't."
"You'd better find out how you can!" I said, stepping towards him. He took a step back. "You led them right to him, knowing full well what he was capable of, so at the very least you owe us an explanation! What are those stamps gonna do to them-"
"Whoa, Delilah, take it easy." Alex said, pulling me away from him.
"Take it easy?!" I exclaimed. "Alex, he-"
"Just let me handle this...please?" He asked. I sighed, crossing my arms again but nodding anyway. He turned back to Willie. "That's not good enough, ok? I mean, you've been acting weird ever since Caleb's club. You know, I thought we were having fun together."
"We never should've met."
"Ouch...that hurts."
"Hey, I'm sorry Alex. I really am. I'm sorry for all of you." He glanced at me. "You're a great guy."
"You could be one too," I said, stepping closer to him again, "Please, just tell us what Caleb did to them. Tell us how we can undo it."
He opened his mouth, like he wanted to say something, but instead just winced and put a foot on his skateboard, poofing away. I shook my head.
"So that's great...our one chance at finding out about those stamps is gone, and..." I trailed off, seeing the look on Alex's face. I sighed, putting a hand on his shoulder, prompting him to look at me. "You ok?" He shook his head so I wrapped my arms around his neck, crushing him into a hug. He hugged me back, and we stayed like that for a long while. "I'm sorry."
"Its ok." He pulled away, taking his hat off and smoothing his hair down before putting it back into place. "Come on. We've got a show to put together."
"Are you sure you're up for it?"
"Yeah. Let's just go." He turned, poofing back into the garage, leaving me alone outside. I sighed, following after him.
~~~
We got in our usual band formation, turned the amps down to the lowest setting, and began rehearsing the instrumentals for 'Great'. For the most part it went smoothly...but it seemed that Alex was taking out his frustrations on his drum set, which clashed dangerously with the general vibe of the song. Reggie, Luke, and I stopped playing, leaving Alex to traipse off on his own for a while before noticing that we weren't with him.
"Alex, you all right?" Luke questioned.
"Yeah. Yeah, yeah, why?"
"Because, if you hit those drums any harder, you're gonna wake the dead," I said with gentle sarcasm, "Or at the very least give them a light headache."
"I know its tough, man," Reggie continued, "People say you never forget your first ghost. Maybe that's true, but...I'm sure there will be others."
"Yeah, thanks Reg."
"Yeah."
"Yeah, and Alex, you're a great drummer and a great guy, ok? I wouldn't let all that stuff get in between you and what you love." Luke told him. He nodded in agreement.
"I don't know, man. Sometimes a little fire can make things better on stage." Reggie pointed out. "Like you and Julie." I chuckled, and Reggie did too.
"Uh, wha...What is that supposed to mean?"
"Come on. Everyone can see the way you look at her when you sing. I know that look, I had that look on my face for Delilah and I's entire friendship." I smirked. "You guys ooze chemistry."
"You should never say 'ooze' again, but yeah, I agree." Alex threw in.
"Ok, no. I have chemistry with everybody that I sing with." Luke argued, taking his guitar off.
"Ok, no. You sing with Reggie and I all of the time, and I've never seen you act like that with either of us." I argued.
"I do! Seriously, watch. Uh..." He looked at me and I furrowed my eyebrows, shaking my head.
"Yeah, no, that's not happening." Reggie agreed, stepping up closer to him. Luke locked eyes with him instead.
"I believe, I believe that we're just one dream, away from who we're meant to be," He walked over, standing inches away from Reggie with a serious look on his face. Reggie looked at him in shocked confusion as he put a hand on his face. I raised my eyebrows. "That we're standing on the edge of...great."
"Wow. I see Chemistry." Alex said, slight amusement in his voice.
"That was pretty hot." Reggie said nervously. I furrowed my eyebrows as Luke kissed two fingers, brushing them on Reggie's lips.
"I'm sorry, do I have to compete with Luke now?!" I exclaimed, holding my hands out in shock. "If you could not hit on my boyfriend, that would be much appreciated."
"Well I wasn't allowed to hit on you, so...beggars can't be choosers." He shot back. I shook my head, looking at Reggie, who cleared his throat.
"Girls, am I right?" He said. I tilted my head to the side, looking over at him.
"Yeah." Luke agreed.
"No." Alex said. They picked up their instruments and started playing again and I just shook my head, pinching the bridge of my nose.
YOU ARE READING
What Death Can't Touch (A Reggie/Julie and The Phantoms Fanfiction)
Fanfiction"Those that we love never truly leave us. There are things that death cannot touch." -Jack Thorne Truer words had never been spoken when it came to Delilah. She was beloved to everyone who knew her, even at the young age of sixteen. She was kind, bu...
