Even this late at night, Sunset Boulevard is packed with people. Sirens blare in the distance, the faint blue and red competing with the bright green and turquoise of the various neon signs. The cold night air of Hollywood washes over us, and I shiver, the only one without a jacket. Once again, I don't learn.
Let's rewind a little bit to after we performed and helped Ray and Julie clean up the mess in their backyard.
"Whoo!" Reggie whoops when Luke successfully does a free throw in front of the studio. He goes to collect the basketball and dribbles it a couple times.
"Oh, please," I scoff, crossing my arms. "It's not that hard."
The boys raise their eyebrows and share a surprised look before Reggie passes the ball to me. I let out a slight scream and sidestep it, and they all stare at me with dopey looks. I give them a cheeky smile and run after the ball, soon getting into position in front of the net, where Luke just was.
I bend my knees, stick my butt out, and hold onto both sides of the ball, eyeing the location on the net where I want to aim, and magically, I lift off, the ball leaving my fingers when I jump no-so gracefully. And guess what.
I miss completely.
"What were you saying isn't that hard?" Luke teases, leaning his chin on my shoulder from behind, and Reggie passes him the ball again, more roughly this time, making Luke stumble backward.
"Yeah, I meant for anyone with a coordinated bone in their body. I am currently accepting donations if anyone has one of those donor friends. Please and thank you."
"Mhm, sure," Reggie says, throwing an arm over my shoulder and pulling me away from Luke. "Feels like we should be celebrating or something. What do you guys wanna do?"
Suddenly, all the boys fall to the ground, the same purple electric current shocking them as before. I rush to help Reggie, trying to help him back up, but they can barely move from the pain. It looks like it hurts to even speak.
"Not that," Alex grunts, holding onto his chest.
"That wasn't like the other ones. It's getting worse," Luke says as he straightens back up, a worried expression spreading on all of our faces.
"Why is this happening to us?" Reggie's still doubled over, barely able to look up at me or the boys.
"It's because you guys are in serious trouble." Willie appears from the shadows without his skateboard, and he looks determined.
"Willie?" Alex breathes, and I would squeal but this is a serious matter. I'll bookmark it. Note to self: squeal later.
"We need to talk."
And now we're back to the present.
I shiver again, and Reggie notices, draping his leather jacket over my shoulders. It's already warm, having been worn by him all night, and I don't try and refuse because I know that'll get us nowhere.
The five of us make our way down the strip, following the trail of large granite stars built into the ground.
"All these jolts that we're feeling is because Caleb put his stamp on us?" Luke sums up the entire conversation with Willie in one question, and in any other situation, I would have done a victory dance. Once again, not the time.
"He's threatened by you," Willie tells us, not missing a beat. "He wants you under his control. You're the only ghosts that can be visible to lifers without his help."
"And you let him do this to us?" Alex's voice cracks slightly, and I feel terrible. Poor Alex is heartbroken.
"I can't stop him. He owns my soul! Alright? He owns everybody's soul at that club. If he even knew I was here talking to you, he..." Willie sighs, taking a breath, and his shoulders go slack. "He would destroy me.
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Oozing Chemistry
Fanfiction[Reggie x OC] Completed! On what was supposed to have been Sunset Curve's biggest night at the Orpheum, Bobby's sister and the boys' number one fan was there to support them, including during the infamous hot dog celebration gone wrong. Having been...
