just friends • luke (julie and the phantoms)

everything to lose

tw: panic attack

Caleb Covington was not a moral man, nor was he a very good one to begin with. However, twenty-five years in the company of the girl who would make even the devil himself rethink his ways slowly started to make him understand his faults. But with that understanding came his terrible need to justify everything he did, just to make himself feel better. This included stamping the boys of Sunset Curve and making Wille sign over his soul in 2000. Caleb figured that Amber loved him too much to ever judge him completely because she would be too biased in his favor to see his true self clearly. 

When he found out he was wrong, it ruined every bit of morality he had started to gain. 

Suddenly, the only way to keep his princess in her castle was to make sure that the ones she loved most could never leave as well. She would be his forever, and if that didn't work, he'd have to stamp her too. He'd force her into eternity by his side, sure that she would forgive him one day. 

Of course, the stamp would be the last resort, only to be used if the boys did not cooperate.

And Caleb's showing up at the studio was the beginning of their last chance to save not only themselves but Amber from the horrors of the Covington's stamp. 

Without a second to even interact with the magician, Amber and the band were transported to the Hollywood Ghost Club with a snap of Caleb's fingers. All four suddenly had the fanciest of clothes on, from Alex's cream suit to Amber's navy flapper dress, paired with a matching headpiece. 

"Caleb, what are you doing?" the girl exclaimed, knowing that the boys only had a few minutes before Julie was expecting them at the Orpheum. 

"Look, I know you boys aren't my biggest fans," the man said, ignoring the Mercer girl, "and an eternity at my club might seem... overwhelming. But, I just put you into some sweet threads, so humor me for my last pitch, okay?" The boys glowered at him as Amber's eyes started to fill with tears of shame. "Now for starters, isn't it nice that you're all here together? And believe me, everything you want- including Willie and the lovely Amber- is here! And on my stage, you don't vanish when the music stops. You get to stay and soak in the applause for as long as you want... and the connection that you feel with the audience will be like no other. I promise."

"You forget that you don't own me," Amber gritted out, teeth clenched as she tried to keep herself from strangling the man in front of her. "I don't belong to you, and I never will."

"You don't belong to me yet," Caleb corrected. "I could easily stamp you as well if the boys refuse to cooperate, remember?"

All three boys' faces paled at the thought of the girl they loved so dearly going through the same pain that they had been experiencing. However, Amber did her best to call his bluff, stepping closer to the man to try and intimidate him to the best of her five-foot-three ability. "You wouldn't dare."

"Ah, but I would," he smiled with an evil glint in his eyes. With a wave of his hand, the stamp appeared on Amber's forearm, nearly identical to the ones that tainted the skin of the boys around her. "The only difference is that yours is a stamp of a different variety. Instead of fading into nothingness- because I would never kill you, my dear- you will merely become a prisoner to eternal pain as your soul rests in the dungeons of this castle. And the only way to release yourself is to sign your soul over to me. Either way, I already own you."