Dead and Alive

Chapter 14

They played every song from their demo and the audience ate it up.

By the time they'd finished their encore and returned to their seats, Luke's hair was damp was sweat and he was absolutely flying.

It's what he'd always wanted: that connection with the audience formed through music; The sense that they were all joined together, hearts beating to exactly the same rhythm.

"That was incredible!" he gushed to Reggie as soon as they sat down. He pounded Reggie's shoulders for emphasis, feeling like there was too much energy to store under his skin. He wanted to get right back on stage; he wanted to run through the streets. He wanted to find Julie and kiss her absolutely senseless.

Thinking about Julie turned down his mood like he was turning down the volume on his guitar. She should've been there with them, singing her heart out. Sharing the connection, the energy. With him.

"I wish Julie was here," Reggie said glumly. Luke patted his arm much more gently. He knew exactly how he felt.

"Guys, I don't think we should talk about—" Alex started, but then shut up as soon as Caleb approached. He was followed by Matthieu, who was carrying a tray of what looked like flutes of champagne.

"Well done!" Caleb said, handing out the flutes with a flourish. "A performance that excellent deserves a celebration."

"We're underage," Alex said.

"You're dead." There was a note of challenge in Caleb's voice.

"Yeah, Alex," Reggie said, picking up a glass, "and it's not like we haven't done this before."

Alex glanced at Willie. "It's okay," his boyfriend said softly. Luke saw Alex's shoulders relax and he picked up a glass.

"To Sunset Curve!" Caleb said, and downed his glass in one swallow.

Luke looked at his bandmates, shrugged, and chugged his whole glass. The champagne was light and surprisingly sweet, like drinking a sparkling glass of strawberries.

"Another round?" Caleb served the boys before they could reply.

"This is great!" Reggie's eyes were gleaming. "I didn't know ghosts could drink alcohol!"

"We can't," Willie said. "Well, not normally. But things are...special here."

"Can you eat here, too?" Reggie asked Caleb hopefully.

"Anything you like." Caleb snapped his fingers and two waiters went scurrying. They were back in moments, with trays of meatball subs, pizza slices and beef sliders.

Luke seized a sub and shoved it in his mouth before the plate hit the table. He wasn't hungry in ghost form, even when he used his Gift. But here, it was totally different. He was absolutely starving.

"Your Gift takes a lot out of you, hm? Eat up," Caleb said.

Luke didn't need to be told twice. He slammed the sub and then devoured a slice of pizza in less than a minute. Another glass of strawberry champagne appeared at his elbow and he downed that too. He wiped his mouth with a napkin and sat back, feeling full and buzzy and wonderfully light. He grinned at Reggie and Alex. "I love you guys."

Alex smiled back at him, blue eyes happy and shy. He nibbled on a slider; side pressed against Willie.

"And I love you, and pizza," Reggie sighed with happiness. "I haven't eaten anything since the last time Julie made us solid."

Caleb's strangely intense eyes focussed on Reggie. "What did you say?"

"Julie made us solid," Reggie repeated obligingly, "it's a thing she can do."