Holland Richmond had wanted nothing more in life then to meet Reggie, the brother she never got to know. Although born 8 years after his untimely death, Holland grew up on her mother's stories of the brother she never knew, propelling her into a lif...
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"You know what I never expected to miss this much being dead? Hot chocolate!"
Alex Mercer and Luke Patterson couldn't help but roll their eyes and laugh at Reggie's comment, the boy's eyes wide as saucers as people made their way back to their seats with steaming cups of hot chocolate in their hands. Alex had to physically reach over to close his mouth so he'd stop gawking, not that it mattered: no one could see the three ghosts anyways.
"Can you guys just keep quiet over here?"
Then there was the girl sitting in a seat directly next to where they stood, glaring toward them from the corner of her eye and annoyance in her voice: Julie Molina, one of their two exceptions to the 'seeing ghosts' problem, and now their touch problem too. Flynn was at her side as well, with Reggie's mother and her husband sat with them.
"It's not my fault that it looks so...delicious!"
"Reggie, I love you, but if I could pour that hot chocolate on you right now I would,"
Luke was ignoring the hushed conversation that Julie was having with the pair while trying not to seem insane talking to the air, his eyes focused on the stage ahead of him. A lovesick smile was etched onto his lips as he saw the silhouettes on stage take their places, Alex rolling his eyes at the literal 'heart eyes' Luke had the second the stage lights came up.
"My winter nights are taken up by static, stress and holiday shopping traffic," the crowd in the small theater in Loz Feliz for the annual Holiday Showcase, headlined by the winner of Beyond the Voice, cheered as the lights came up and the angelic voice (as Luke called it) rang out. The winner herself, Holland Richmond, stood at the mic with a smile, waving out to the crowd before her. "But I close my eyes and I'm somewhere else just like magic."
Winning Beyond the Voice once again solidified for Holland that this was all she wanted: to perform her music on stage for hundreds, even thousands. So, in the month and a half since the competition, she had found herself a regular drummer, guitarist, and bassist to play alongside her. The boys had offered their help, but she concurred that her mother would probably have a panic attack if she saw her dead son on stage with her very much alive daughter.
"In my heart is a Christmas tree farm where the people would come to dance under sparkling lights. Bundled up in their mittens and coats and the cider would flow, and I just wanna be there tonight," her smile only grew as her eyes flickered over to her parents, her best friends, and finally to the three ghosts who meant the world to her. Alex, the second brother and best friend she needed so badly. Reggie, the brother she always wanted to have in her life. And Luke, the love of her life she never saw coming. "Sweet dreams of holly and ribbon, mistakes are forgiven, and everything is icy and blue...and you would be there too."
Luke couldn't help but sing the lyrics under his breath to himself as she sung, their eyes never separating from one another. He had helped her write it after all. Luke's smile only grew, his cheeks reddening as Reggie and Alex both clapped him on the shoulder as Holland pointed over to her family, though Julie and the boys knew she was pointing to Luke.
