Finally Free -- JATP Luke x MaleOC

Chapter 17

Sorry it's been so long since my last update, I had finals to get done. But now it's winter break, which means more updates for you all! Thank you so much for all the love you've given this story and I hope you all stay tuned for what comes next.

"Is everybody fired up for Julie and The Phantoms?" Flynn announced into a microphone, earning a large cheer from the crowd. "Great! Keep that fire, cuz that's later. We're a little behind schedule, but don't worry. Just enjoy these mind-blowing beats!"

Flynn turned up the volume and queued her next track before coming offstage to where Julie and Jay were standing.

"Julie and The Phantoms?" Julie asked.

"I had some free time in French class," Flynn excused. "And you'd better like it because I registered it on Insta, Twitter, Snapchat-"

"No," Julie said, stopping Flynn and placing a hand on top of hers. "I love it."

"It'd be better if the actual Phantoms would show up," Jay grumbled, tapping his foot in frustration. There was no easy way to contact them, so it wasn't like he could just call them up and remind them that they had a gig. They were already late, and Jay wasn't sure what they would do if they didn't show up at all.

Flynn's demeanor suddenly changed and she pointed behind Julie and Jay. Jay turned around to see Nick coming up to them and quickly moved away, patting Julie on her shoulder before he did.

Meanwhile, at the Hollywood Ghost Club, the boys had lost track of time while conversing with the guests at the party. Reggie had just found out about Han Solo and Jar Jar Binks, Alex and Willie were hanging out, and Luke was just enjoying the vibe.

"I take it you boys are enjoying yourselves?" Caleb asked as he approached the table.

"Yeah, I mean," Luke took a breath. "You'd have to be insane to have a bad time here."

In the back of his mind, Luke wondered how Jay and Julie would like the Hollywood Ghost Club. But the thought quickly left his head as the conversation continued.

"Well, entertainment is our specialty," Caleb said with pride. "So now, I understand there is something I can help you with."

"Yeah, we hope so," Reggie said. "There's an old buddy of ours who ripped us off big time, and we wanna make things right."

"Yeah, we wanna look at him in the eyes and make him admit what he did to us," Luke added.

"So if you could make us visible, that would be perfect," Alex concluded.

"Well sure, I could do that, but we're at a party," Caleb said, gesturing to the rest of the club. "Why focus on those who have wronged us when we're among friends? Now I understand that the three of you are talented musicians."

Luke looked at his friends, an inkling of where this conversation was going in his head. Reggie looked prideful at Caleb's compliment and Alex's face was unreadable, but he looked interested in Caleb's words.

"I doubt your dream is to settle a score," Caleb continued. "No, your dreams are bigger than that! You're like me: born to perform your music in front of sold-out crowds."

Caleb snapped his fingers and one of the workers brought over a chair for him. All four of them sat down, interested in what Caleb had to say.

"What if I were to tell you that with a wave of my hand, you could share the spotlight with me and join my house band?" Caleb asked, waving his hands as he spoke.

"We already have a band," Luke chuckled, his mind returning to their hours spent rehearsing. What time was it now? They have a performance to get to.

"Yes, yes," Caleb conceded. "But when you're done performing, you disappear. You cease to exist."

Luke's half-smile fell as Caleb continued speaking. He looked at his bandmates, his brothers, while listening to Caleb's offer. He would be lying if he said he wasn't tempted by the offer because Caleb made a solid point. They wouldn't get to soak up the applause they normally would have been able to. They wouldn't really get to ride that adrenaline high that came with performing all the way to the cheers and calls for an encore.

"Well, it would be cool to play here," Luke stuttered out, looking back to his bandmates.

"Oh, it's not just here," Caleb said. "We party like this all over the world. Tonight, Hollywood. Tomorrow, Paris."

"Oh la la," Reggie said, completely taken in by Caleb's offer. 

"It is all of your dreams come true," Caleb said. "Forever."

The three boys gave no response to Caleb and the man left them to discuss and mull over their options. At a snap of his fingers, several platters of food had arrived on their table and Luke was gone. It had been twenty-five years since he had last eaten food and he had almost forgotten just how good it was. He immediately began stuffing his face with pizzas, sliders, and meatball subs, the night beginning to slip away from him and any thoughts of Jay, Julie, or their performance seemed to evaporate more and more as he ate and ate.

Back at the dance, Jay was beginning to get angry. It was eleven PM, the dance was nearly over, and the boys were still a no show. Flynn had been trying to convince them to play by themselves, but both Julie and Jay were against the idea and shot her down. When Nick came back to talk to Julie, Jay moved away to give the two of them some privacy. 

He tried to convince himself that he was only angry with all three of them. And even though he was, Jay couldn't help the worry that arose as the clock kept ticking. If they were only a few minutes later, it would have been okay. The ghost boys would have gotten off with just some irritance. But once the clock hit ten, Jay's irritance turned into anger. Another hour passed, and it turned into a mix of anger and concern. 

"Hey everybody!" Nick's voice echoed through the gym, forcing Jay to stop his pacing and stare at the DJ stand. "We fixed the hologram thing! Who wants to see a show?"

Jay ran towards Julie, grabbing her arm as gently as he could. As angry as he was, Julie wasn't going to be at the other end of it.

"What happened?" he asked, but Julie was speechless at the scene in front of her, the crowd's cheers bellowing forth.

"Now...give it up...for Julie and The Phantoms!" Nick announced.

The crowd cheered more and Julie and Jay shared a look before they both walked onto the stage. Julie took the mic from Nick and Jay shot the boy a glare before he turned to look at Flynn, who just returned a look of sympathy and apology.

"Anybody know the Heimlich?" Carrie asked the crowd as she walked onto the stage. "Julie's choking."

"Carrie," Jay warned, his voice low. 

"Only one way to save this dance," Carrie said, ignoring Jay and walking to take the microphone from Julie. "Who wants to see Dirty Candy?"

The crowd cheered and Jay felt anger boil in him more. He glanced over at the DJ table, where Flynn broke off the knob. Under normal circumstances, he would either try to act as the adult mediator or defend Julie, but he knew that if he opened his mouth right now then he would do something he'd regret. Carrie announced a party at her house and everyone quickly left the gym, leaving Julie, Flynn, Jay, as well as the boy who had originally taken Julie's spot in the music program and another girl.

"Well, that backfired," Flynn commented, swinging an arm over Julie's shoulder.

"Yeah, no duh," Jay said acidly, storming off the stage and out of the gym.

"Jay!" Julie's voice called out to him as he stomped out of the gym.

"Leave him, he needs to cool down," Flynn said as the new kid and the tall girl went to the center of the gym, holding hands and swaying slowly.

"Little man has game!" Flynn said, making Julie chuckle as she rested her head on Flynn's shoulder.