•Asher POV•
"So, we're playing a school dance?" I ask Julie mindlessly, wanting to confirm.
"Awesome." Reggie says.
"It's not exactly the strip." Luke counters and Reggie just scoffs at him.
"And you're not exactly alive. Maybe you should be happy we have our first gig." Reggie says, counteracting Lukes statement.
"I wasn't in love with the idea at first either." Julie adds. "But, it could be a great way for us to build a following, right?"
"Yeah!" Reggie agrees.
"Absolutely." I say.
"Yeah, we need to play whenever we can, wherever we can." Reggie states excitedly.
"No, you're right." Luke agrees with her. "Let's rock those kids faces off and then play the clubs."
"And then record a single that gets a billion streams?" Julie suggests and I immediately love that idea.
"I don't know what that is but hopefully it lands us a manager and a tour." Luke adds.
"And then release a bunch of hot albums." Julie says, finishing Luke's thoughts.
"Put out a country album that does surprisingly well?" Reggie adds and we all turn to face him. "I shred on the banjo." He shrugs.
"I'd like to see you play sometime." I tell him and he blushes.
"Before you know it we'll be inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame!!" Luke exclaims.
"But one of us isn't there." Reggie adds, getting a little too much into the story. "Because we had a blowout in 2032." He then looks at Julie as he speaks. "My money's on Alex, he's just so sensitive."
I laugh at his cute facial expressions.
"Let's get Rehearsing!" Luke shouts.
"Umm." Julie interrupts. "Where is Alex?"
My mood immediately turns sour. "Willie." I grumble underneath my breath so no one can hear.
"Guys, he's just with his new ghost friend." I say bitterly, still upset about Willie handing me over to Caleb. Willie must not have told Alex the full story. Alex would never forgive Willie for getting me killed...right?
"Okay, well we can start without him for now." Luke says. "Asher, you got any of your killer songs we can perform?"
I pull out my song book, ready to list a few. "Yeah, there's-"
I get cut off by Reggie snatching the book from my hands and reading through it.
"Hey, give that back!" I shout, panicked.
"That Arizona sky burnin' in your eyes
You look at me and, babe, I wanna catch on fire
It's buried in my soul like California gold
You found the light in me that I couldn't find." Reggie recites.
"Reggie, hand it over!" I shout desperately.
"So when I'm all choked up
But I can't find the words
Every time we say goodbye
Baby, it hurts
When the sun goes down
And the band won't play
I'll always remember us this way."
He tosses it back to me, trying to hide a frown. "You wrote a love song?"
I shrug nervously. "Yeah, I guess."
"Awww, Asher has a crush!" Luke coos. "Sing the song for us. Please!"
Reggie says nothing. He stays silent, looking down at the ground in an attempt to hide his feelings.
I know better.
That's why when I start singing the song, I look directly at him. I need him to know without really knowing, that this song is about him.
"That Arizona sky burnin' in your eyes
You look at me and, babe, I wanna catch on fire."
He looks up from where he's standing and I know I have his attention.
"It's buried in my soul like California gold
You found the light in me that I couldn't find
So when I'm all choked up
But I can't find the words
Every time we say goodbye
Baby, it hurts."
Tears gather in my eyes as I relive every word I sing.
"When the sun goes down
And the band won't play
I'll always remember us this way
Lovers in the night
Poets tryin' to write
We don't know how to rhyme
But, damn, we try"
By now, tears are pouring down my face and I don't know how to stop them.
"But all I really know
You're where I wanna go
The part of me that's you will never die
So when I'm all choked up
And I can't find the words
Every time we say goodbye
Baby, it hurts
When the sun goes down
And the band won't play
I'll always remember us this way
Oh, yeah
I don't wanna be just a memory, baby, yeah
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo
Hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo, hoo"
As the music softens, so does my voice.
"So when I'm all choked up
And I can't find the words
Every time we say goodbye
Baby, it hurts
When the sun goes down
And the band won't play
I'll always remember us this way, way, yeah
When you look at me
And the whole world fades
I'll always remember us this way"
The room is dead silent. Reggie and I never break eye contact for a very long time. Then...
"Wow, whoever you wrote that for must be a really lucky guy." He says sadly.
I mentally facepalm, unlike Luke, who facepalms in real life. I mean, how oblivious could this boy be??
"I need some air." I say quickly, before poofing out of the studio and to the beach. Something about this beach is just so soothing.
It looks like I picked the perfect time to disappear too, because only seconds after I'm here, another jolt hits me and I fall to the ground.
"Shit." I seethe in pain. I just wish it would stop, but of course, luck isn't on my side because only moments later, the last person I want to see shows up.
"What do you want, Willie?" I ask and he looks down guiltily again, acting like the lost puppy he always seems to be.
"I came here to warn you." He says. "I know I messed up big time and it's probably too late for you...but Caleb plans on using his stamp on your band mates.
"That won't work." I tell him. "Alex knows what Caleb did to me. He would never let the others go to the Ghost Club."
Willie looks up for once and meets my eyes, seeming extremely frightened. "Caleb knows that. He isn't trying to get them to go to him. He's coming to them."
YOU ARE READING
Regret || Reggie Peters
FanfictionTW: Abuse, Gaslighting, Death, PTSD, Alcohol ~~~~~ Asher Mercer is in trouble and he doesn't know it. Reggie Peters does. Reggie notices everything about the older boy and yet he doesn't know how to help him. When Asher moves away, Reggie is faced...
