Regret || Reggie Peters

//*Chapter Five*\\

•Asher POV•

Reggie and I poofed our way back to the studio where Julie, Luke, and Alex were patiently waiting for us.

"Okay, so while you two were catching up, we came up with a plan to get Julie back into the music program." Luke says, getting right to it.

I smile brightly. "Really? That's great!"

"Hold on a second." Alex interjects. "Are we not gonna adress the elephant in the room??"

Luke's eyes suddenly widen slightly as he turns to face me. "That's right! You can sing!" He shouts excitedly.

"Like, come on!" Alex exclaims proudly. "You're gay and you can sing?!?! Oh M Gee, it's like he's a little mini me!!"

I laugh at their excitement. "Guys, this is about Julie getting back into the music program." I say, trying to steer the conversation away from me.

"Yes!" Luke exclaims, still excited. "Julie is gonna sing a Sunset Curve song and smash her way back into the music program!"

Julie and I share a look as we try to keep our laughs in. "What song are you singing, Jules?"

"Bright!" Luke answers giddily.

I turn towards Luke and smile gratefully at him in jest. "Why thank you, Julie."

"You're welcome." He replies, the smile never leaving his face. I love how happy he is. I love how happy they all are.

"Alright then Julie, you should get going if you don't want to be late for school." I tell her.

She smiles as she grabs her bag and heads towards the door of the studio, truly happy for the first time since her mom died.

"Good Luck!" Alex shouts after her.

Once she's gone, I turn to face Reggie who hasn't spoken a word since we got back from the beach. "Are you okay?" I ask him carefully.

He looks up at me from his daze and then to the other two, now noticing that he's the center of attention.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He says softly as he plasters a small, fake smile on his face.

I frown slightly. He's lying.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Luke asks softly.

"I said I'm fine, okay?! Why can't you just leave it be!" He snaps, and then he's gone.

"Someone should go after him." Alex whispers, as if he's afraid to say anything.

Luke gets ready to poof out but I stop him. "I'll go." I say. "I think I know what this is about."

I poof over to the beach, somehow knowing that my comfort place would be his own. When I arrive, he's just sitting there, staring at the lake.

As I walk closer, I notice tears in his eyes and my heart breaks at the sight. I sit down next to him quietly and hesitantly wrap my arms around him. His postures relaxes at my touch.

"I'm so sick of people telling me how to feel." He says, almost as if he's saying it to himself. "I died and I have to be okay with it, my house got turned into a bike shack and I have to be okay with it." He lists off.

"Whatever, it's fine. I'm good at pretending." He shrugs off. "What I can't pretend, is that I'm okay with you being dead."

That's what I thought this would be about but I wasn't completely sure. Death isn't something to take lightly and the fact that Luke and Alex seem to be handling it pretty well...it must be difficult.