Dear Dahlia // B1

[8]

"Another spirit rally?" Lydia, one of my only friends, asks.

"Dirty Candy is performing and Carrie personally handed me a flyer," I sigh, closing my locker. "I think we should go."

"Carrie is a demon. Isn't she like enemies with your sister or something? Why would you support her?" Lydia questions.

"They used to be friends, and I was really close with her too. I know, her and Julie fight a lot now, but so do Julie and myself. I'll still support Julie, so why can't I support Carrie?" I shrug. "Besides, she doesn't have many real friends anyway. People want her money, her status. I'm sure she just wants someone who'll support her because they care about her, not because of how expensive her earrings are."

"Okay Dahlia, no need to be so woke," Lydia jokes.

"Stop, you sound like a boomer," I laugh. "I'm just saying, I think there's more to Carrie than people think."

"I don't know," she shakes her head. "I still think she's a demon."

I shake my head and we walk to the gymnasium together. By the time we get there, most of the seats are already filled and we end up pushing our way to a corner of the bleachers that were still available.

"Hey, Bobcats!" A high pitched voice rings. Applause and cheers erupts through the crowd as Dirty Candy walks out onto the floor. I clap my hands together out of courtesy. The kind of music that Dirty Candy performed, wasn't really my taste.

Halfway through the performance, I saw two girls walk into the gym: Flynn and the one and only Julie. I was shocked to see Julie here. With her no longer part of the music program and Carrie's nemesis.

"What's Julie doing here?" Lydia leans over to me.

"I don't know," I shake my head. When I look back at my sister, three boys appear at her side. I open my eyes wider, shocked to see them here. Julie is obviously shocked too, judging by how fast her head snaps in their direction.

When Julie turns back to watch the end of Carrie's performance, arms crossed over her chest, I make eye contact with Alex. He waves and smiles before syncing up with Carrie's dancing. This makes me laugh, which costs me a dirty glare from some of Carrie's friends sitting in front of us. I hold my hands up apologetically until they turn around.

Carrie's dance ends and everyone claps and cheers. I can hear a someone scream "we love you Carrie!" And I hold back more laughter as I see Flynn and Luke glare into the crowd. The principal heads to the front of the crowd before we disperse and tells us a few announcements. There's something about the girls' swim team and boys' lacrosse practice before she dismisses all of us. Lydia and I get up and walk down the bleachers.

"Hey, I'll -uh- catch up with you later, yeah?" I pat Lydia's shoulder. She nods before walking toward the exit. I fight my way through the flow of the crowd toward Julie.

"What are you doing here?" I ask Julie once I reach her and the boys. I look over her shoulder at them, hinting that the question was also for them.

"Julie's going to get back into the music program," Reggie answers.

"And we came to watch her stick it to the man," Luke adds.

"Are you okay, Julie? You look nervous," Alex points out. "Like, yack in a bowl nervous."

Luke smacks Alex's chest before turning back to Julie.

"I don't think I had enough time to practice the song," Julie says, nearly on the verge of tears.

"I wouldn't have given you the song if I didn't think you were going to nail it. Now, there's a piano up there with your name on it," Luke reassures her.

"Hey," I say, putting my hands on her shoulders. "I believe in you."

"I-" she starts.

"Get up there before everyone is gone," I cut her off. She nods and runs up the stage steps. She plays a few chords and then smiles down at me. A light comes on somewhere onstage and shines on Julie. She starts playing the song and begins singing the first couple lines.

"She's really good, you know," Luke whispers, leaning over to me.

"I know," I smirk. "That's my sister, remember?"

Luke smiles before poofing away. I look around for him, only to see that the rest of the guys also poofed away. That's when I hear the crowd gasping and a small laugh waver Julie's voice.

Onstage, Alex sits behind his drums, Reggie strums his bass, and Luke sings Julie's harmony. My heart skips a beat.

"H-how?" I mutter.

The band and Julie perform the song together beautifully. Not to mention the fact that the entire school can see the boys, the ghost boys.

Reggie and Luke sing on the same mic for a few lines, earning them lots of screams and swooning. I laugh to myself. Knowing that Reggie is basically a big toddler kinda downgrades any "hotness factor" that I could think about him.

When the song is nearly over, Julie and Luke sing on the same mic. I can feel my face getting red. I wasn't sure why, but my ears felt as if they were on fire. The heat in my face grows until its overtaken my shock.

Julie walks through Luke, his image wavering around the edges. I could feel the tension in the audience, half of them were amazed but the other half were just confused. I put my head down until the song is over and the crowd erupts with applause. I look back up and clap for my sister. As her and the boys all bow, Reggie, Alex, and Luke all disappear.

"What was that?" I hear multiple people in the crowd asking. "Where did they go?" "How did she do that?"

I see the boys standing on the other side of the crowd. Reggie walks up the stairs and wiggles his hips. I put my head in my hands, trying to forget the image that I know is going to be burned into my memory.

"Were those holograms?!" Someone shouts.

"Yes!" Julie lies. "I plugged it into the school projector before the show. I would explain it but it requires algorhythims and science stuff."

The crowd is quiet for a few more seconds before they all start clapping again.

I put my head down and push through the gym. I can feel my heart pounding against my chest as I quickly try force my way to the locker room. The air leaves my lungs when I crash into another body, moving just as quickly as mine.

"Oh my god," the body says. "Are you okay?"

A.N.

Hey guys!

Thanks for sticking around. Again, so sorry I didn't update yesterday.

Remember to vote, comment, and share!

-Redd