Melody and Words - jatp/reggie

1.03

the next morning, luke and alex still had yet to return to the studio. sydney and reggie weren't surprised, luke did say he wanted to stay out until the sun came up. the two ghosts at the house decided to go for a short walk around the neighbourhood.

they walked by all the places they used to go when they were alive. the park that was a few blocks away, a small coffee shop, they walked past their old elementary school.

even though she didn't say anything, reggie made sure to avoid the area of sydney's old house. he knew she wouldn't want to visit there, at least not yet.

after walking around in mostly silence for almost an hour, the sun began to rise so they made their way back to the studio to see if the other boys had returned yet.

as the two walked up the drive way, they saw alex and luke pressing their ears to the studio doors.

"what are you-" sydney begins to ask a question, interrupted by her brother shushing her quickly and waving her and reggie over to them.

they quietly walked over, leaning their ears to the door as well. sydney could hear singing, amazing singing, and she instantly recognized the voice to be julie's.

"i thought she said she didn't play?" sydney whispers, looking to the boys who all looked equally confused.

"yeah, that's what she said." luke nods quickly. he quickly poofed the four to stand behind julie at the piano.

they all froze, staring at the girl in amazement as she finished the song. she really was an amazing singer, sydney couldn't figure out why she would lie about it.

julie lifted the last sheet of paper, holding it up for a moment before hugging it to her chest and letting out a small content sigh. alex took a step forward, reaching his hand out for her should but luke stopped him, motioning to all four to go back outside.

the group poofed back to the driveway in front of the studio, alex turning to luke.

"dude, why'd you stop me?" he asks quickly. "julie needs a hug."

"bro, a ghost hug isn't the feel good moment that you think it is, all right? trust me." he states. "what julie needs right now is just a bit of privacy." he explains.

"you know what, i think you poofed us out because you can't handle when other people cry." alex says accusatorially. "i should know! i cried in a room for twenty five years and I didn't get a single hug from any of you!" he looks to reggie and sydney on his other side.

"all right, bring it in." reggie holds his arms out to the blond.

"don't touch me!" he snaps, turning away from reggie again.

"okay," luke stops their argument, looking between the boys. "i think the first thing we should do, once we get the courage to go in there, is ask julie why she lied about playing the piano."

"yeah, and you know, maybe tell her how amazing she is." sydney adds, making the boys all nod quickly.

"yeah, of course." luke agrees.

"she's legit!" reggie adds. "i got ghost bumps." he holds up his arms, the happy smile in his face making a small grin spread on sydney's lips.

the gate opened and another girl came down the path, crying as she walked. as she strode past the ghosts she let out small sobs, making all their eyes go wide.

"oh my gosh, was she crying too?" alex asks after she walked through the studio doors, all four looking around at each other.

"yes!" luke says quickly. "and the only thing scarier than one girl crying, is two girls crying!" he states, a slightly scared look in his eyes.