Cinderblock Garden // Julie and the Phantoms (Luke Patterson)

23

"Hey, Julie, Cassandra, it's time," Rob said through the closed door.

"Just a second," Julie and Cassandra replied.

Cassandra frowned. "Something's wrong. The boys were getting those jolts pretty bad as we were leaving. And they wouldn't stand us up again. They must have run out of time." Her voice broke, cracking slightly as she struggled to maintain her composure.

Julie and Cassandra tried to hold in their tears as Flynn said softly, "I'm sorry."

"They didn't cross over," Julie said. "They're gone, and we didn't even get to say goodbye."

The three friends hugged each other.

Rob knocked on the door. "Hey, Julie, Cassandra, you two are on!"

Julie and Cassandra ran from the room in tears.

"What are you two doing?" Flynn called after them.

"Where are they going?" Rob asked.

Flynn shrugged. "Where do any of us really go?"

Rob spoke into his headset. "We've got a problem."

---

Julie and Cassandra found a door and made their way to an alley, taking a deep breath. Cassandra slid down a wall as a tear fell down her cheek.

Julie glanced up. "I don't know if you can hear me, Mom, but... We can't handle it. Flynn says you're supposed to be behind everything, but we don't know. If we're supposed to help the guys, we didn't. They're gone. And I'm so sorry. They were our friends. Our band-" She let out a sob and Cassandra tried to keep from bursting into tears. "Our family. Why can't you just come pick me up... and... and hold me in your arms and just tell me that everything's gonna be okay and that I'm gonna get through it?"

Cassandra closed her eyes and sniffled as she tried to keep from bursting into tears. "And that -- that even though they're not here with us, they're still up there with you. "

"I just wish you were here."

A woman walked past Julie and Cassandra with a bag of flowers. She turned when she saw the crying girls. She pulled out two flowers and handed one to Julie and the other to Cassandra. The flowers were dahlias. Julie's mom's favorite flower. Julie and Cassandra smiled as they held the flowers close to them and smiled.

"You think?" Cassandra whispered as she stood and hugged the dahlia closer to herself.

Julie nodded. "Let's make my mom proud."

---

The Orpheum seats were filled.

Rob, in a panicked tone, said into his headset, "Let Panic! know they are going on now!"

The door opened and Cassandra and Julie walked in.

Julie and Cassandra held up the dahlias and said, "Signs."

The two girls set to perform began making their way to the stage.

"Wait," Flynn said. "Where are you two going? They're going on stage!"

"Hold on," Rob said. "Julie and Cassandra just walked onto the stage."

"Those are my girls!"

"Welcome to Live at the Orpheum. Now give it up for CJ and the Phantoms!" the announcer said.

Julie placed the dahlia on the piano, while Cassandra held hers, and pulled her mic from the stand.

"Hi," Julie greeted as she looked at the audience. "We're Julie and Cassandra. Um... Tonight, we'd like to dedicate this song to my mom, who's been there with us every time we've played. And thank her for... not giving up on us."

Cassandra smiled as she said in a shaky voice that slowly grew more confident, "We'd also like to dedicate tonight's performance to... three special friends who have changed our lives completely, who have brought music back to us. It was their dream to play here, and... this is for them. This song is for anyone who's lost their way."

Julie and Cassandra exchanged a smile before saying in sync, "Step into your greatness. Don't give up. Stand tall. Thank you." The audience applauded.

Carrie scoffed and said, "Been here before."

Trevor glanced at his daughter and a look of disbelief crossed his face at her words.

Cassandra smiled at her friend as Julie put the mic back on the stand, took a deep breath and began playing on the piano.

Carlos looked at sister, proud of her. The audience cheered Julie and Cassandra on.

The girls began singing.

Suddenly, Alex appeared on stage, playing the drums. Cassandra and Julie looked at him and smiled.

Trevor leaned forward slightly, seeing Alex. Carrie watched the performance silently, focused on her sister. Deep down, she was incredibly proud of Cassandra.

Reggie appeared next with his bass and Cassandra and Julie smiled at their friend.

The girls continued singing. Nick and Toby bopped their heads to the music.

Luke began appearing and kept disappearing, obviously struggling to stay in one place. Cassandra and Julie exchanged a worried look and the dirty blonde-haired girl tried calming herself. She would bring him back. She and Julie both would.

Julie and Cassandra kept staring at Luke, the latter with a fonder expression, who finally was able to fully appear after looking at Cassandra and sang.

Cassandra and Julie walked towards the audience next to Reggie.

Trevor watched the performance, in complete shock. Carrie crossed her arms, in both awe and jealousy.

Alex stood behind his drum set and sang.

Cassandra and Luke shared one mic, as they'd done many a time before.

The five stood in front of the stage as the song came to a close. The boys grabbed hands, as did the girls. They bowed and the ghosts disappeared.

Julie and Cassandra caught sight of their families and smiled.

"Still don't know how they do those hologram things," Ray said.

"One big mystery to me," Carlos replied, knowing exactly who the 'holograms' were.

Carrie stood slowly and clapped her hands. Bobby remained in his seat, in total shock.