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Reggie watched as Luke and Julie "hugged" - well, what they called hugging at least, which was just like Julie putting her arms in the direction of Luke and vice versa. He knew they liked each other, and he was so glad that Luke found someone, really he was, but didn't that hurt? Not being able to touch the people you care about? How was this fair to either of them? And to anyone else that could come into their lives? He frowned as he watched Julie then stand on her tiptoes and press a "kiss" to Luke's cheek, which once again, was just her kissing air pretty much. Reggie shook his head and went back to strumming his bass. Ever since they played the Orpheum, they could get a little more solid, but any time Julie and Luke tried to touch, he would phase back into his ghostly self. She hadn't been able to touch the guys since that night, but they could be a little more solid from time to time. When Luke came back into the studio, Reggie looked back up at him, the words spilling from his lips before he could stop them.
"Doesn't it get lonely?" Luke looked at Reggie, whose cheeks were pink but he didn't look away.
"Does what get lonely?" Luke asked, and Reggie shrugged.
"Just... you and Julie. You guys are so totally into each other, but you can't do anything about it. Like... doesn't that get lonely? Don't you miss being able to touch someone, kiss someone? And I don't know, it just... isn't it torture, to know that... that the person you want will always be out of reach?" Reggie's voice cracked during his sentence and he averted his eyes while Luke put his hands in his pockets and just shrugged.
"Well, yeah, but I mean..." Luke trailed off, he didn't even know what to say. Yeah it sucked, but it's not like anything could change. Reggie sighed and just went back to his bass, ignoring his best friend as well as the weird feeling in his chest.
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"Jules, can I ask you something?" Flynn asked as the two girls were spread across Julie's bed and doing homework.
"You just did," Julie chuckled, and Flynn threw a pillow at her. Julie laughed and grabbed the pillow, holding it to her chest as she looked at her friend. "What's up?"
"Are you okay? I mean..." Flynn tried to figure out what to say here - she had watched her best friend fall for a guy that she "had" but could never really "have", and she just didn't want to see her get hurt when she inevitably lost him. "You and Luke seem...happy?" Julie nodded, but Flynn saw the quick glimmer of something else in her eyes. "What is it?"
"Nothing," Julie said immediately, but Flynn wouldn't stop staring. "It's just... I thought after The Orpheum, when I could touch them, that I could keep touching them, feeling them. But I can't. I can't touch Luke. Every time I try, he just slips through my fingers." Flynn scooted closer to her friend to put an arm around her.
"I know you like him, like a lot Jules, but is this really fair to either of you?" Julie sniffed, her eyes watering, and Flynn hugged her. "You know eventually you're gonna get older, and he's not going to. He's gonna be 17 for like, ever." Julie nodded again and felt Flynn press a kiss to her hair. "I just want my girl to be happy."
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"Hey Alex?" Alex looked up from where he was twirling his drumstick and glanced at Luke, who had found him laying in the loft.
"What's up?"
"You and Willie... you can feel each other right?" Alex nodded - it was common knowledge that ghosts could feel other ghosts. "You guys are kinda dating, yeah? Like hold hands, hug, kiss, all that junk." Alex shrugged now - he knew Luke didn't care, that he was happy for him, but he could also tell there was something up with his friend.
"Yeah... what's going on?" Luke fell to the ground next to his blonde friend.
"I don't know man. Like, You know I'm crazy about Julie, but... am I being fair to her?" Alex sat up and glanced at Luke, who looked like a kicked puppy.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, I can't touch her, I can't hold her if she needs it, I can't kiss her... I'm just a phantom. I'm always gonna be a phantom, but she's gonna keep going and living and... I'm not being fair keeping her to myself am I?" Alex had never heard Luke sound so serious, except maybe when he was writing that song to his mom.
"What brought this on?"
"Reggie asked me if it got lonely, ya know, being with Julie the way I am. And I didn't think it did, I mean she makes me feel something, but-"
"But it's still lonely." Luke nodded and glanced over at Alex, who had his thinking face on.
"What, man? What are you thinkin'?" Alex shook his head and gave his friend a sincere smile.
"You ever thought about maybe this feeling for Julie is so you don't gotta face something else?" Luke looked confused and Alex just shook his head again. "Nevermind. You should just talk to her." With that, Alex poofed away.
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“Hey dad?” Ray looked up at his daughter, giving her a gentle smile. He may not be as good with everything as his wife had been, but he could tell when she had something on her mind.
“What’s wrong mija?” She blew out a huff of breath and sat down next to her dad, trying to figure out where to start.
“There’s this guy…. That I really like. And we’re like super good friends. But… he’s practically off limits,” she said, and her dad nodded, showing he was listening. “And like…” she shook her head, deflating a bit. “I just don’t know what to do. Like when I talk to him, I’m so happy. But that’s like all we would ever get to do.” Ray nodded and put his arm around his daughter, pulling her a bit into his side.
“Mija,” he started, trying to think what his wife would have said during this situation. “You just need to listen to your heart. You know, love can only take you so far.” She looked up at him and he gave her a small squeeze. “There also needs to be compassion, understanding. You both need to know where you want to go in life, and if your paths align, then I say go for it. If not, then maybe you’re better as friends. No one says you have to leave each other’s lives forever if things don’t work out like this. A strong friendship is what makes everything work.” She nodded and hugged him.
“Thanks dad.”
“Anytime.”
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Luke ended up at his parents house - every time it broke his heart to see them, but it was one of the few places he could go that helped him think. He popped in on his parents making dinner, his mom looking at a picture of Luke, Reggie, and Alex - she had taken it when they had first formed the band, the boys only 15 in the picture.
“Mom, I wish you could hear me. I could really use your advice right now,” he said, hopping up on the counter and swinging his feet. He heard his mom let out a soft sigh and looked at his dad.
“Do you think they’re together?” His dad turned from the stove and looked at his wife, and then the picture. It still hurt them to think about their son after all this time, but ever since that nice girl came and gave them the song their son wrote, it was getting a little better. He let out a small laugh and put down the spoon he was using to stir the food with.
“Yeah hon, I do,” he said, taking the picture from her as she leaned into his side. “Those three were inseparable. It’s no wonder they died together,” he chuckled, and his mom let out a soft huff.
“At least Luke wasn’t alone. Can you imagine how scary it must have been?” His dad nodded and kissed her hair.
“With those two by his side, he was never alone.” She let out a quiet laugh now and smiled at her husband.
“You think those two ever figured it out?” Luke perked up at that - what two, and figured what out?
“Oh I hope so,” his dad said, putting the photo down and giving his wife a small hug. “Those two were so crazy about each other.” She chuckled and looked at her husband. Luke was confused - who was crazy about each other? They couldn’t be talking about him and Alex, that was just like a month long thing that really didn’t go anywhere. So what were they talking about?
“He was always so caught up in his music, he probably had no idea,” she agreed, picking up the picture again. “He probably had no idea that Reggie was even there.” His dad laughed and Luke’s eyes widened. Reggie? What were they talking about?
“No, I don’t think so,” his dad said, stirring their dinner. “I think he loved that boy just as much.”
Luke’s jaw dropped. In love with Reggie?! He wasn’t in love with Reggie! Sure, he dated guys before - see, Alex - but no, Reggie was… Reggie was his best friend!
“Well, I hope wherever they are, they’re together, and the two of them worked out their feelings.” Luke was panicking, quickly poofing away from his parents house and landing on the roof of the studio.
Where Reggie happened to be, the glowing of the setting sun behind him and oh. Reggie smiled at him, that same goofy smile, and things clicked for him right then and there.
“Hey man, what’s up?” Luke’s jaw was still dropped as he just stared at Reggie, unable to formulate any thoughts or anything right now. Still panicking, he poofed away.
And into Julie’s room.
Julie looked up at him and he fell on her bed.
“Luke, are you okay?” she asked, and he shook his head, eyes wide as he tried to think through all of this. He thought about what Reggie said, about not being able to touch someone you really wanted, and then thought about Alex saying he was avoiding something else, and then what his parents said. His parents! And then he remembered the smile Reggie had given him, and how it made his heart pound - which should be impossible, since he was ya know, dead. And then he thought back on all the years they were together. How many times had he and Reggie hid out together, either in one of their rooms or in the studio, choosing to share a bed or the couch instead of leaving one on the floor, their limbs in a tangled mess by the morning, bodies touching way too close; or how about whenever Luke did try dating in high school, that he would often just end up leaving his date so he could hang out with Reggie; and what about the chemistry they shared when they sang, it was like nothing he experienced when he sang with Julie, there was a reason he always sang with Reggie before; and sure, maybe he wondered what it would be like to kiss those soft lips, maybe pressing his fingers to Reggie’s in a mock kiss was because the thought had crossed his mind before, what did that matter?
His dad's words rang in his ears. “I think he loved that boy just as much.”
“Crap,” he muttered, looking up at Julie finally. Crap, Julie. His kind-of girlfriend right now. Shit.
“Are you okay?”
“No,” he said, sitting up to look at her. “Listen, Jules-”
“Actually, Luke, can I say something?” He nodded and she sighed, toying with the edge of one of her bracelets. “You know… I like you so much. I love making music with you, and you make me feel something… but… I need to be realistic. I can’t touch you, I can’t kiss you. And I’m eventually gonna get older. But you won’t. So… I hope you’re not mad but maybe we should just be friends? Just enjoy the music we make and the time we have together?” Luke’s shoulders dropped, but he smiled.
“Yeah, yeah of course Julie. I mean, I’m crazy about you too, but-” Luke didn’t know how to say he just realized he was in love with his best friend.
“I know,” she said with a small smile. “And hey maybe you’ll be lucky like Alex and find a cute ghost girlfriend.” Luke was already shaking his head.
“No… not a girlfriend,” he said quietly, and she cocked her head. “I may already have someone in mind.” A slow smile spread across her face and she giggled.
“I’m honestly not even surprised,” she said, shaking her head fondly at him. “Like I kinda thought there was something, but then there was the way you looked at me so I wasn’t sure…” Luke laughed and shook his head.
“Yeah I just kinda… it just kinda hit me.”
“Well go get ‘im,” she said, shooing him away. He jumped up and poofed away, landing back on the roof next to Reggie. The sun was still setting, and now that Luke was aware of his feelings - that had been apparently settling for over 25 years - he couldn’t get over how gorgeous Reggie was. The way the sun was behind him, silhouetting him, Luke could see the way his eyelashes curved up, the freckles down the slope of his nose, and he was sure if he got close enough, he could make out every strand of color in those blue-green eyes of his.
“Luke? Why are you staring?” Reggie asked with a small laugh, and Luke’s eyes were drawn to his lips before he met his eyes, his own looking much brighter than they had in a while. He scooted a little closer, until their knees were touching, and then slowly lifted his hand to cradle the back of Reggie’s neck, not unlike that time in rehearsal. “L-Luke?” Reggie asked, voice cracking just a bit.
“Reg…” Luke said, unsure how to say what he was thinking, so he decided to just act. He leaned a little closer, and their noses had just brushed, when Reggie sighed.
“Are you just doing this because you can’t kiss Julie?” he whispered, and it broke Luke’s heart because he realized he was a complete idiot for not noticing how Reggie was feeling all this time.
“No, I’m doing it because it’s about 25 years overdue,” he whispered back, and he heard the small huff of a laugh his friend let out and then saw the curve of his smile.
“Oh.” Luke chuckled as well and then finally closed the distance between them, gently pressing their lips together, both boys' eyes fluttering closed.
And oh, this is definitely something Luke had been missing, even when he didn’t know it. Kissing Reggie was like… well it was like when he learned to play guitar the first time, or when they sang so close together and shared the same mic. It made all those little feelings merge into one and yeah, this was definitely something they should have been doing years ago.
Reggie couldn’t believe Luke was kissing him. If he was being honest with himself, he had thought about kissing Luke before. Like, a lot. But he also knew that even if Luke wasn't completely straight - he knew about the brief thing with Alex - he didn't think Luke ever saw him past his best friend. Which Reggie was cool with, he really was - all he ever wanted was his friends to be happy. But after the whole 'chemistry' thing in the garage a couple weeks ago, Reggie couldn't help but wonder if maybe... but then Luke was with Julie, and Reggie was happy because Luke seemed happy. Until he didn't seem happy, which is what made Reggie open his big mouth in the first place, which he had instantly regretted because he had seen the way Luke's eyes had gotten kinda distant ever since. But tonight, Luke had looked at him with that bright passionate look in his eyes, and Reggie thought maybe things were going to be okay now.
And now they were kissing.
Some part of him still thought that maybe Luke was doing this because he didn’t have anyone else to kiss, that maybe since he was really the only other ghost he knew he just took what he could, but then Luke was swiping his tongue across Reggie’s lips and all thought pretty much flew out the window. He brought one hand up to slide into Luke’s soft hair, and the other bunched up into the fabric of his shirt, while Luke kept one of the back of his neck, keeping him close, while the other one rested on his side, holding him.
They kept the kisses light, just getting used to how each other moved and the feel of each other.
Luke didn’t think he’d ever get tired of kissing Reggie, and he had an eternity to find out.