Melody - JATP x Soulmate AU

Chapter 13

"What are you doing here?" If she didn't already hate us, showing up at her door definitely didn't help the situation. Although, she doesn't seem as annoyed to see us as I thought she would.

"We, uh, wanted to make sure you knew that Julie's band is playing tonight!" Thanks, Flynn, for saving my butt. Because I totally just froze.

"Right. The hologram band. How do you do those holograms anyways?" Great question. Not really sure, Carrie. It's not like they're actual holograms.

"The internet. It's not just full of makeup tips." Her fake smile drops for a second as I realize I just reminded her of the many times we tried to learn how to put on makeup and failed. I think it took us upwards of twenty videos to figure out, at the bright age of seven; we didn't know anything about makeup. It's weird to think about how we used to be in comparison with how much we dislike each other now.

"Anything else that'll make you leave faster?" Well, since my apology to her is more like a frog in my throat, I don't think there's anything else to say.

"Can we get a drink of water? I don't know about you, but I'm parched." Right. We're not actually here for that. No; we're here to find some idiotic ghosts who can't seem to get ahold of their own emotions.

Carrie huffs, but lets us in anyways, where Flynn and I start looking for the stupid undead sprits. Not that she can see them at all. We walk through the foyer into the living room, praying our whispers to find them actually work.

Turns out, it only caught the attention of a living human being. Wherever those ghosts are, they better prepare for me to wring their necks. Metaphorically, obviously. "I'm right here." Nick's here?

What am I supposed to say? What am I supposed to do? Whenever it comes to talking to him, I am worse than a two-year-old. Half sentences cut-off or blabbering on about nonsense, tripping over my own feet, and my heart is the most traitorous when I try to calm myself and all it does is beat louder.

"Look, Flynn, it's Nick!" My grip on the glass of water tightens as my palms grow sweatier. "Nickster! Nickypoo! Nickalicious!" Oh no. Here comes my inability to shut up. "Make it stop," I whisper in Flynn's ear, and she starts speaking immediately after I ask.

"Nickypoo! We were just here to tell you Julie's band is playing at the dance tomorrow night." On the plus side, I shut up. On the negative, my heart is beating out of my chest with nerves that he will be attending. How do you perform when you know the guy you like is going to be in the audience?

"Oh, yeah. I saw the post on your Instagram." Waving his phone around, Nick's smile seems to become more genuine than it was a few seconds ago. Maybe he's just happy about being at the dance. Or that there'll be live music, since it's more often than not there's just a DJ playing dance music.

"Are these girls bothering you, babe?" Carrie wonders, holding out glasses of water for Flynn and I. Since Nick is here, I need to figure out some other way to search around the house for the guys.

"No. They were just telling us about the dance." Nick shrugs, knowing Carrie's dislike for Julie runs deep. Or at least deep enough to where she can't seem to find a nice thing to say about her ex-best friend. He doesn't know where the dislike stemmed from, but he does know that mentioning Julie usually doesn't go over well with his girlfriend.

"Right, Julie's hologram band. There are going to be a lot of people there tonight." No need to remind me, Carrie. I already know. It's just kind of been at the back of my mind since I mentioned that Trevor Wilson, who is apparently Bobby No-Last-Name, lives here. "You girls know where the door is, right?" Nodding, I come up with the perfect plan to get me more time. And access to the second floor.