Our Connection • • Julie and The Phantoms

Chapter 21: "You can see us?"

We all share the same exact glances before Alex speaks up. "You can see us?" He asks cautiously, just incase he actually couldn't and was just playing a prank. "Am I not supposed to? Weirdo." Carlos says making Alex's eyes widen. Julie stands up and brushes off her clothes. "You can see all of them?" She looks at her little brother. He nods and points to Reggie. "That's your bass player. That's the lead guitarist, and that's your drummer." Carlos says, pointing at each of them individually. They stand up after Julie and Luke takes my hands to carefully pull me up. "Dad says dinner is ready but I guess I'll have to warn him we have more guests." Carlos shakes his head before walking back inside the house.

"How can he see us? Do you think it's only him?" Reggie asks and looks at Julie. "I don't know, but there's only one way to find out." She says, walking inside her house. I keep Luke's hand in mine as I follow her. Alex and Reggie walk behind us. Mr. Ray steps out of the kitchen and smiles. "No way. It's the hologram band!" He says excitedly, walking over to Reggie. "Uh hi- I'm Reggie." He sticks out his hand. Mr. Ray nods and shakes his hand. Reggie looked like he was either going to scream or pass out. We thought Mr. Ray was a big fan of Reggie? No. Reggie was a big fan of Mr. Ray. After the introductions and us still walking on eggshells as we weren't sure why everyone could see them now, we sit down for dinner. Mr. Ray made sure their was plenty of room for them. They were excited. They hadn't eaten food since the party. I was worried at first they wouldn't be able to but Luke picks up his fork and takes a bite. This was strange. We play a big show then as soon as I touch him, everyone can see him. I kept watching him as I couldn't believe this was happening.

"What..?" He asks quietly, looking at me. "This just seems weird. Unreal." I tell him and he nods a little. "As unreal as three ghost boys living in a studio?" He says which actually sounds more unreal. Honestly I didn't know which one sounded more unreal and which one I would believe if someone told me. Mr. Ray offers the boys a space to sleep in the studio, explaining the same thing Julie did when they first met. "The couch pulls out, there's a bathroom and shower. You're welcome to stay since you've come from so far." He says, smiling at them. After dinner Reggie helps Mr. Ray clean up the kitchen as my grandma texts me to come home.

"I'll walk you. Plus I want to meet your grandparents." Luke says. We stand up and I hug Julie and Alex goodbye before waving to Reggie. He smiles widely and waves back. I smile and walk outside. Luke takes something from his arm I wasn't paying attention to and lays his flannel over my shoulders. "Thank you." I smile at him. He smiles back at me and takes my hand. We walk together in a comfortable silence. I lean on his shoulder a bit. We make it to my house and I step inside, keeping his hand in mine.

"Grandma, grandpa. This is Luke. He's in my band and he comes from very far away. He's staying with Julie." My grandma walks over and pulls him into a tight hug. He glances at me in shock. I laugh softly and shake my head. He carefully hugs her back. "Thank you for getting my granddaughter back involved in music." She says, squeezing him gently. "Of course, Ma'am." He smiles a little at me. We sit in the living room and talk to my grandparents for a while. They tell us they're going to sleep once it reaches a late enough time for them to be tired. Once they go to bed, I decide to bring Luke to my room. He's been in here multiple times. They didn't know that obviously but still.

"I'm exhausted." I say before grabbing a change of clothes and stepping into my bathroom. I put on the pair of shirts and t-shirt, keeping Luke's flannel on top of it. He pulls off his shirt and lays in my bed. I walk out to see him getting comfy already. "Spending the night?" I ask jokingly. He nods and closes his eyes. I smile, moving to lay beside him. I cover us up with the blanket. His arm moves around my waist and he pulls me close enough to where my back rests against his chest. I could get used to this. We get comfy together. His breathing steadies as I knew he was just as tired as me. He's beginning to fall asleep. I glance back at him and smile. His lips part briefly to let out soft snores. Our legs move beside each other and I feel my eyes getting heavier. He keeps an arm protectively around me. Eventually after focusing on his breathing and how his arm was situated around me, I finally fall asleep.