𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐋𝐘 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐊𝐄𝐒 | Luke

Riff Off

Olivia paused as she glanced into her room. Her eyes catching the gleam of her six-string peeking out from her comforter that was falling off the bed. She glanced down the hall, and then back at the instrument. She supposed if she were going to wait in the garage, maybe she could show them a thing or two about playing.

She quickly pulled the black guitar out from under her bed, and ran down the stairs before Julie walked out of her room. She waved at Carlos and Ray as she ran past to the garage. The quiet sound of music coming from the studio made her smile.

Olivia pulled the strap over herself, letting the guitar hang to her side as she pushed open the garage doors. It was like as soon as she walked in, the boys stopped, which made a difference from the first time her and Julie walked in while they were playing.

"Why'd you stop?" Olivia asked, pulling the door shut while looking at each of them. Luke nodded, dropping his guitar to his side as he looked at her guitar. "Nice guitar." He flicked his eyes up to her, and she raised her brows and grinned.

"I thought you only played piano?" Reggie asked, tilting his head at the instrument hanging from her shoulder. Olivia held her hands out as she walked to the middle of their set up. "I'm full of surprises." She smirked.

Luke stepped towards her, moving his guitar back in front of himself. "Well, we don't know anything until you play it." He said, giving her a competitive look. Olivia nodded slowly as she pulled the guitar in front of her body. Was it cliché for her to be a competitive person?

"Oh, I bet I could play circles around you." She said, walking past him in the direction of Alex, who looked intrigued by her showing up with a six-string.

"That sounds like a competition to me." Luke said, and she turned back around to face him. They both held competitive yet playful grins on their faces, which made Alex and Reggie exchange looks.

"How about a riff off?" Olivia suggested, crossing her arms.

"A what?" Reggie asked, tilting his head.

"We will both go back and forth playing different riffs, first person to mess up loses." She explained, giving him a small smile. He smiled back, nodding with understanding.

Luke raised his brows. "You know I'm the King of Riffs, right? Can come up with them in my sleep." He bragged.

Olivia laughed, shaking her head. "Mm- seems like all talk to me, ghost boy. Let's go." She said. He grinned at her for a second before finally nodding and looking down at his guitar. He grabbed his pick, shooting her a smirk before strumming at his strings.

Olivia made faces as he played a riff that was actually really good, but she would never give him the satisfaction of saying it. He played his last note, letting it ring out before flicking his eyes up at her.

"I'll give you a C. Average." She shrugged, and he shook his head. "Alright, now you." Luke said, gesturing at her guitar. Olivia pulled a pick from inside her jacket pocket; she always had one on her- and then brought her hands to her strings.

She played the first riff that came to mind. It was one that she had been working on for a while. It went along with a song she had been writing, but never did anything with. She played the last note, raising her brows at him.

"Sweet!" Reggie grinned, and Olivia winked at him. "Oh whatever. Beat this." Luke butted in, gliding his fingers quickly across the strings as a rock riff exploded through the garage.

His eyes stayed locked on her as he played, so she made faces to try and throw him off. He simply made them back, which made her purse her lips and throw a middle finger up in annoyance. Even worse, the riff was even better than his first one.

Luke's hand swung down on his last note, and then he bowed. Alex and Reggie laughed, and Olivia could feel them looking to her to top that.

"It'd be good if this were the 90's." Olivia said.

"Oh, shit." Alex laughed, crossing his arms as he stood up.

Olivia grinned at Luke as she started another riff. This time, it was one she had just learned. The hardest riff she could think of off the top of her head.

Everything was all good at first, and even Luke looked a mix of worried and impressed, but then her downfall came. Her fingers got stuck on a string, and the horrible sound of a mute note filled the room.

Olivia pursed her lips, avoiding looking at Luke. She could feel them all grinning, sharing the victory he had just gotten,

"Don't say a word." She sighed, glancing at him. Luke shook his head, unable to hide his smile. "You know what, I won't bask too much in my victory. You have wicked guitar skills, mine are just a little better." Luke said, pushing his guitar down.

Olivia turned to face him completely again, not able to contain her smile. "Shut up, you asshat." She laughed, and he smiled.

"Where were you when Sunset Curve needed a guitarist?" Alex asked, stepping out from around his drums.

"Well, we had Bobby. Lucky guy." Reggie said, his smile faltering into a frown. Olivia raised a brow, but before she could question it, Luke quickly changed the topic.

"How did it go today? You know with the music program thing?" He asked.

Olivia sighed, crossing her arms and letting her head fall forward. "It was a complete bust. Mrs. Harrison wouldn't even hear her play, which is literally so damn stupid." She grumbled, rolling her head up to her shoulder.

The boys all frowned. There was a gloomy silence before Luke, once again, interjected. "W-wait! I've got an idea!" He exclaimed.

Olivia raised her brows at him, letting her arms drop to her sides. "What kind of idea?" She asked, feeling a grin curl onto her lips. If it had anything to do with pissing off Mrs. Harrison, she was so in.

Luke put his hand up as he ran over to the coffee table in front of 'his couch.' He came back with a tattered notebook that he was quickly flipping through.

He pulled a sheet out, handing it to her. He tapped his finger on it, bringing her eyes down to the bold title at the top. 'Bright.'

"A song?" Olivia asked, glancing her eyes up at him. Luke nodded, raising his brows as he took a small step back.

"It's a Sunset Curve song we never got to record. I think Julie could totally crush this. Maybe you could even help with your sick guitar skills." He said, and she couldn't quite tell if his last comment was suppose to be sarcastic or not.

Olivia skimmed the song, smiling to herself at the lyrics. They were pretty good, and it definitely fit Julie's range.

"So, I'm assuming, from you giving me this song for Julie, you want her to sing this for Mrs. Harrison?" She questioned.

Luke nodded, and the boys all gathered together in front of her. "Sunset Curve didn't get gigs by asking, we got gigs by doing. Which is exactly what Julie needs to do." He said, and Reggie and Alex nodded.

Olivia stared vacantly at them for a second, before a proud grin spread onto her face. "Wow, I might actually cry. That was so inspirational." She said, only realizing that her tone sounded super sarcastic, and the last comment actually was.

She shook her head quickly, throwing her hands up. "That didn't come out right," she laughed, and the boys shook their heads, "It's actually a really good plan. I'll go give this to Julie." She sighed, dropping her hands.

The boys grinned at her, and she returned the look. It was weird that in only one day, she had already become friends with them. And they were ghosts.

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𝐀𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐬 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐞- I actually really like this chapter because there's a lot more Olivia Luke moments💃. I also made Olivia lose on purpose because every story I've read, they make the character flawless and good at everything. I wanted it to seem more natural considering Luke is an amazing guitarist, but I also wanted to highlight that she is also an amazing player too.