Silence of Music

24

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

"Just a second," Julie replied.

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

Julie and Bianca 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 four friends hugged each other.

Rob knocked on the door. "Hey, Julie, Bianca, Ricky, you three are on!"

Julie and Bianca ran from the room in tears. Ricardo hesitated, not sure if he should follow his sister or not.

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

"Where are they going?" Rob asked.

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

Ricardo shot her a look. "Not helping."

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

---

Julie and Bianca found a door and made their way to an alley, taking a deep breath. Julie took Bianca's hand, but the brunette pulled away.

Julie glanced up. "I don't know if you can hear me, Mom, but... We can't handle it. Flynn says you and maybe Andro are 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 Bianca 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?"

Bianca closed her eyes as tears fell down her cheeks. "And that -- that even though they're not here with us, they're still up there with you two. Andro, please take care of him. For me?"

"I just wish you were here."

"I miss you, Alejandro. I miss being able to hug you. Look out for him, okay? Don't let him miss me too much."

A woman walked past Julie and Bianca 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 Bianca. The flowers were dahlias. Julie's mom's favorite flower. Julie and Bianca smiled as they held the flowers close to them and smiled.

"You think?" Bianca whispered as she hugged the dahlia closer.

Julie nodded. "Let's make my mom and your brother 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 Bianca and Julie walked in.

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

The two girls and boy 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, Ricky and Bianca just walked onto the stage."

"Those are my girls!"

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

Julie placed the dahlia on the piano, while Bianca held hers, and pulled her mic from the stand. Ricardo glanced at them with a smile as he slipped his guitar around his shoulder.

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

Bianca smiled briefly as she said, "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 Bianca exchanged a smile before Ricardo said, "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.

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

Carlos looked at sister and his sister's friend, proud of them. The audience cheered Julie, Bianca and Ricardo on.

The trio began singing.

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

Trevor leaned forward slightly, seeing Alex. Carrie watched the performance silently

Reggie appeared next with his bass and Bianca's smile widened. He was still here, meaning she hadn't lost him.

The trio continued singing. Nick bopped his head to the music.

Patricia and Diego listened from the audience and smiled proudly at their children and Julie.

Luke began appearing and kept disappearing, obviously struggling to stay in one place. Bianca, Ricardo and Julie exchanged a worried look and the siblings could very nearly feel their friend's panic.

Julie kept staring at Luke who finally was able to fully appear after staring at Julie and sang.

Bianca, Ricardo and Julie walked towards the audience next to Reggie. Bianca had a wide smile on her face. The tattoos Bianca and Reggie had were glowing once again.

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

Alex stood behind his drum set and sang.

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

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

Julie caught sight of her family and smiled. Ricardo and Bianca caught sight of their parents 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.

Patricia glanced at her husband. "She's a star. Ricky is incredible."

Diego nodded. "They are, amor."

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