Julie and The Phantoms(Juke)

Chapter 7

Julie watched as Alex vanished just as Caleb's knife hit the floor with a "bang". He let out a scream filled with rage, his shoulders heaving up and down, his shadow painted across the floor. The lights flickered on once again, and a sense of relief ran through Julie.

They were safe.

In a second, all of the relief drained from her body.

But she wasn't.

Her mind made her freeze, telling her that if she stayed put he wouldn't see her.

But this guy wasn't real. He was a ghost. She had absolutely no idea what he was capable of.

Her heart was saying run.

Jolting up, she ran towards the door, stumbling and almost tripping on the carpeted floor as the lights continued to flicker on and off.

God, why did she have to be so clumsy?

She stopped short, almost ramming into a wall.

She was trapped.

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Julie tried to move but she was frozen, stuck in a trance. Caleb's knife shone in the moonlight, but not as bright as the fire and pure hatred that burned in his eyes. She watched as he stalked toward her, smiling wickedly, the flickering lights just adding to his evil demeanor.

She was dead.

A breathless laugh made its way past her lips.

She was going to die and she would never be able to say goodbye to her family, to her friends, to the band, to Luke...

Julie covers her eyes. It would be better to not see herself be stabbed. Just let it be over with. But it never came. Peeking between her fingers, she sees Caleb lying on the floor, Luke standing next to him, a microphone stand clenched in his fist, staring at him with intense anger. But then Luke turns to Julie, and his gaze immediately softens. He dropped the stand, which seemed to have taken a lot of energy to move. Julie lowers her hands from her face, smiling with an overwhelming sense of joy at Luke.

"Hey that...worked. I didn't think it would work, but-"

Julie collides with Luke, her lips pressed against his. He staggers back, overwhelmed by the sudden force when she hugs him, but quickly wraps his arms around her waist. She wraps hers around his neck, trying to remember the feeling of his lips on hers, his arms around her waist, the sense of happiness and elation she feels being so close to him. The kiss is soft, but couldn't be more passionate. It felt like everything she would have ever wanted, everything they could have wanted. Lifting her hands into his hair, she pulls away slowly, the feeling of his lips lingering on her own.

And that's when she remembers he's bleeding.

She jolts out of his touch at the sudden realization, widening the gap between them, but she realizes it's for the better when she sees her bloodstained shirt.

"Does it...hurt?"

She tenderly places a hand by the wound, and his face scrunches up in pain.

"A little bit."

She releases her hold on him, bending down to pull Caleb's coat off of him.

"What are you...oh."

Julie tears the sleeves off of the jacket, then takes the tail of it and folds it in half on his chest.

What was funny was how it was hard, this jacket was a ghost jacket. And probably made in the late 1800's, now that she thought about it.

God, she had to rethink her age theory.

Tying the two sleeves together, they hold together to keep the fabric across his chest, almost like a huge, makeshift band-aid.

"It doesn't do much but it should be okay until we get you to a real hospital. Which means we should...probably go..."

She stares at him intently, a small smile on her lips. They were alone and in love and they could use just one more moment by themselves. Luke stared at her with a look in his eyes, telling her he didn't plan to leave just yet.

"They'll live."

He looks back down at her again, flashing a bright smile. Julie brings herself up onto her toes, closing the distance between them, pressing her lips against his. They move together, almost as if they were made for each other, even the slightest movement was complimented by a quick adjustment by the other. They were perfect for one other, flowing together in perfect harmony, and slowly the world started to melt around them until it was just the two of them, lost in the other's eyes.