Regret || Reggie Peters

//*Chapter Three*\\

•Reggie POV•

"Can you guys please leave?! Asher, can you please come down from there and back me up on this?!" Julie shouts and I freeze.

That name only brings back pain and longing.

"Asher?" Alex asks, befuddled. "I had a brother named Asher before I died." Alex says sorrowfully.

Something like recognition flashes in Julie's eyes as Alex rambles on, but the others don't notice.

"He's probably in his forties by now, with his dumbass boyfriend, trying to legalize gay marriage like the badass he is." Alex finishes and Julie looks at him incredulously.

"Gay marriage is legalized, dumbass!" She shouts unnecessarily.

"Oh my gosh, he did it!" Alex beams and I hear a snort coming from the loft. We all do.

"Wait." Julie interrupts, drawing our attention away from the loft. "You're Alex Mercer?" She asks Alex in disbelief.

"Yeah..." he agrees hesitantly. "How did you know my na-"

Julie interrupts him. "And you're Luke Patterson??"

"Yup." Luke says, popping the P.

She then turns to face me, an admiring expression on her face that I don't know the reason for. "Reggie Peters." She breathes out. It wasn't a question because I think she already knew the answer. I nod my head.

"Wow okay, so you're all...then why would he...but he said that..." Julie rambles on but I'm drawn to the loft once more.

I ignore Julie's confusion and Alex's rambling and Luke's obvious infatuation with our new friend. I climb the stairs to the loft without the others noticing and when I reach the top...nothing is there.

My heart aches at that and I don't know why. I don't even know what I was expecting to find.

I look down, frustrated and exhausted. I poof back down to the studio only to notice no one else is in here.

I end up finding Luke and Alex outside, with Luke staring longingly at the gate where I assume Julie had walked through.

"Reggie, guess what?!" Alex shouts excitedly. "Julie said we could stay in the studio!!"

"That's great." I reply with the best smile I can manage. Alex doesn't seem to notice the difference either way.

"Come on boys, I wanna show you something!" Luke says, shaking out of his daze.

"We're are we going?" I ask curiously.

"To the Orpheum."

•••••

•Asher POV•

The minute I saw Reggie start to walk up those stairs, I poofed out. Don't get me wrong, I miss him a lot, but there's no way in hell that I am ready for that encounter.

So now I'm sitting in Julie's room, waiting to talk to her about the boys, the music program, and my inevitable doom now that I'm binded to Caleb.

It doesn't take her long to burst into her room, demanding answers. How did she even know I'd be here?

"Was that really your brothers band?! Why didn't you talk to them?! You told me you really missed them so I don't kn-"

"Julie!" I shout, trying to get her to shut up for a minute. "I'm just not ready to see them yet. They don't know I'm dead, and up until now I didn't know they were dead either."

Her crazed look softens. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have started yelling at you. I was just really confused."

I nod before remembering why I was here. "Julie?" Her wandering eyes meet mine. "I..."

I can't tell her that Caleb stamped me. She's going through so much already and I'll just make it worse.

"I...just wanted to say that I'm sorry you got kicked out of the music program."

Her face falls slightly before I see an idea spark in her eyes. "I wanna sing my moms song."

My eyes widen. "I wanna sing my moms song and I want you to sing it with me." She states firmly as if she's been thinking about this for a very long time.

It takes me less then a second to recover from the shock. "Let's do it."

We both go back down to the studio and I wait outside while Julie checks to make sure the boys are gone.

She then pokes her head out the door, telling me it's safe to come in.

Julie walks slowly to the piano with me right behind her. She presses her finger against a key and then another. Then she sings. She actually sings.

"Here's the one thing
I want you to know
You got someplace to go
Life's a test yes
But you go toe to toe
You don't give up no you grow"

I can't help the smile that spreads across my face as she looses herself in the music.

"And you use your pain
'Cause it makes you you
Though I wish
I could hold you through it
I know it's not the same
You got livin' to do
And I just want you to do it
So get up, get out relight that spark
You know the rest by heart"

I join in with Julie for the chorus.

"Wake up, wake up if it's all you do
Look out, look inside of you
It's not what you lost
It's what you'll gain
Raising your voice to the rain
Wake up your dream and make it true
Look out, look inside of you
It's not what you lost
Relight that spark
Time to come out of the dark
Wake up
Wake up"

Julie let's me sing solo the next verse, so I give it my all.

"Better wake those demons
Just look them in the eye
No reason not to try
Life can be a mess
I won't let it cloud my mind
I'll let my fingers fly
And I use the pain
'Cause it's part of me
And I'm ready to power through it
Gonna find the strength
Find the melody
'Cause you showed me how to do it
Get up, get out relight that spark
You know the rest by heart"

Julie joins in again and by this point we're both up on our feet, dancing to our hearts content.

"Wake up, wake up if it's all you do
Look out, look inside of you
It's not what you lost
It's what you'll gain
Raising your voice to the rain
Wake up your dream and make it true
Look out, look inside of you
It's not what you lost
Relight that spark
Time to come out of the dark
Wake up
Wake up"

I give the floor back to Julie knowing that she has to do this on her own a little bit.

"So wake that spirit spirit
I wanna hear it hear it
No need to fear it you're not alone
You're gonna find your way home
Wake up, wake up if it's all you do
Look out, look inside of you
It's not what you lost
It's what you'll gain
Raising your voice to the rain
Wake up your dream and make it true"

The three boys quietly poof into the studio and I make direct eye contact with Reggie.

"Look out, look inside of you
When you're feeling lost
Relight that spark
Time to come out of the dark
Wake up
Wake up"

I don't give him time to say anything. "Julie, I gotta go." I say quickly, before poofing away.