Chapter Text
“How do you think it’s going?”
Alex frowned, trying not to be annoyed as he tapped his drumsticks against the Orpheum stage, but that had to be the millionth time Reggie had asked the same question that in the past hour alone. They both knew the answer was most definitely “not well,” but Reggie was such an optimist he was probably having a hard time coming to grips with it. And, well, Alex would be lying if he said part of him didn’t hope that maybe, maybe it went okay.
How could it, though? They were all dead for crying out loud, and Julie was very much alive. She was gonna grow up and no doubt live an amazing life, she couldn’t be stuck with teenage ghosts forever. Especially not romantically.
Still… Anyone could see how much she cared about Luke, how much she cared about all of them. And she was such an inspiring person, it was hard not to get caught up in her energy, to forget their whole situation.
“Yeah, that’s what I thought,” Reggie said glumly when he got no answer from Alex as he got lost in thought.
“We shouldn’t have helped him, this was a terrible idea,” Alex said after a little while. “This is gonna be a disaster.”
“Aww, c’mon, you don’t know that-“
“Rule number one of bands, man: don’t date your bandmembers, it never ends well. And that’s not even bringing in the whole ‘he’s dead, she’s alive’ thing!”
“But look at all we’ve made together. We got to play the Orpheum, for crying out loud!” Reggie gestures around the stage to emphasize his point. “She’s what makes us amazing, and it’s obvious she likes him, too.”
“Which is exactly why we shouldn’t mess it up by putting that all out in the open. We gotta crush that shit down,” he says, dropping his fist into his open hand for emphasis.
Reggie gasps dramatically. “No, not crushing emotions down.”
“Like a bug.”
“How dare you.”
There’s a myriad of slamming and cursing coming from above them, ruining their humor with a reminder of how serious their situation actually was. Luke had poofed to the catwalk above them, kicking at stage lights and other equipment, obviously upset.
Alex and Reggie shared a look. “Told you.”
“Maybe it’s a good mad?”
“Man, do you hear yourself sometimes?”
They poofed up to the catwalk in an instant, just behind Luke, but giving him enough space to realize their presence.
“Heeey, man,” Reggie said awkwardly. “How’d it go?”
“Like shit , how do you think it went?!” There was a tightness to his anger that they both knew meant he had been crying. “It was stupid and tacky and she got upset and we didn’t even have the stupid picnic.”
“You wasted my charcuterie board -“
“ Reggie ,” Alex chided. “Slightly bigger things happening right now.”
“Flynn and I were on Pinboard all day working on that!”
“Pinterest,” Alex corrected.
“Who cares about a stupid shark-whatever board!” Luke yelled, turning to face them. Yup, definitely crying. Oh, man. “She probably never wants to see me again because I made it all weird and the band is ruined and I’m never gonna see her again!”
“Okay, take a breath,” Alex said as he tried to get Luke to sit down on some stray equipment. “Did she say she doesn’t want to be in the band or something?”
“No,” he huffed. “She just… said we couldn’t do that.”
“Do what?”
“You know… Be together,” he managed to get out.
Reggie sits next to them. “But she still wants to be friends and be in our band, though. Right?”
Luke shrugs. “We didn’t really talk about that, but… I mean, she didn’t say she didn’t want to be in the band, so… Probably?”
“You guys just talked?” Alex asked.
“Yup,” he said, a little too forcefully as he stood and started walking down the catwalk. “Just talked.”
Reggie’s face split with the giddiest grin. “Oh they definitely did not ‘just talk’-”
“ Reggie , not now.”
They got up and followed Luke down the catwalk, trying to catch up with him.
“Look, man, even if it’s weird, we’re all still in this together,” Reggie said when they got to him. “It sucks, and I’m sorry it couldn’t be different… But we’re here for you.”
“Yeah, and you know we always will be,” Alex added.
“You are kind of stuck with us, after all.”
Even with how upset he must have been, they were rewarded with just the faintest hint of a smile. “....Thanks, guys.”
Alex pulled the other two into a bear hug, him and Reggie holding Luke in the middle. It was a perfect, quiet moment… for all of two seconds, before Reggie opened his big mouth.
“So about that ‘we just talked’ thing that was obviously a lie-”
“I’m gonna push him off this catwalk.”
Alex put his hands up in surrender. “I warned him, anything after this he brought on himself.”
“Hey-”
Luke picked Reggie up around the middle to unceremoniously toss him over the railing. They heard Reggie poof before hitting the ground, but when they looked over the side, he was spilled out on the stage like he had actually fallen.
“You’re lucky I’m already dead!” he yelled as they laughed at the sight.
Already, Alex could see some of the tension leaving Alex. He was obviously still upset, but not irreparably so. They had all been through so much already, they could get through this.
Yeah, they’d be okay.