𝐑𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐬 | 𝐉𝐮𝐥𝐢𝐞 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐬

𝟐𝟓 | 𝐂𝐥𝐮𝐛

I didn't realise there was such a heavy weight on my shoulders until I wrote down everything that had happened up until that point. I felt like I was wearing an expensive fur coat in the middle of the summer, and had taken it off to reveal a string top underneath. I decided to take my notebook with me everywhere I went, starting with the ghost club we were apparently meeting at.

"I didn't think you'd come," Alex said as I approached the entrance.

Luke and Reggie weren't anywhere to be seen. Either they were late or they were already inside.

"Of course I came, this is important to you guys," I shrugged. "And I had nothing better to do with my dead time."

Alex smiled before giving me a hug. "You know he really likes you, right?"

I pulled away. "What?"

"Luke," Alex explained, pulling a piece of paper out of his pocket. "Don't tell him I gave you this."

Alex handed me the page entitled 'Ruthless.' Before I could say anything, Reggie poked his head through the door.

"Who's ready to get their ghost on?!"

"Yeah, man," Alex replied. "Just give us a sec."

Reggie saluted before disappearing through the door again.

Alex turned back to face me. "He wrote this the other day. Just tell me you'll read it."

I handed the page back to him. "I can't, Alex. This is an invasion of privacy."

"We look through Julie's dream box all the time," He reasoned. "It's fine."

"Yeah, I don't think Julie shares that sentiment," I laughed. "Besides, I already know Luke likes me back ... "

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Please, go on."

"We may have had a moment earlier," I blushed.

Alex threw his head back. "You two have been having moments since the day you met."

"Shut up," I laughed before holding up my notebook. "I'm starting to come to that realisation on my own."

"What's this?" Alex asked, reaching out for the notebook.

I pulled it away before he could take it. "This is me processing. I don't know if you realised, but we've all been through a lot in the last twenty-five years."

"Alright, alright," Alex surrendered. "I won't touch your diary."

"Thank - "

"As long as you promise you'll talk to Luke," Alex cut me off. "Soon."

I rolled my eyes. "Fine."

"Now c'mon," Alex clapped. "Let's get our ghost on!"

———

When we entered the lavish-looking hotel, we saw Luke and Reggie leaning over the balcony ahead of us. We walked over and stood either side of them.

"Oh hey," Reggie nudged me in the side. "We were just talking about - Ow!"

Luke had not-so-subtly kicked Reggie in the shin, cutting him off.

"We were just talking about this place," Luke continued, gesturing to the people below. "It's pretty cool, right?"

"Pretty cool? It's dope as hell, man!" Alex corrected.

"Hey guys!"

We all turned around to see Willie wearing a black tuxedo, which was a complete change from his usual skater boy swagger. I glanced over at Alex to see he was blushing a little. At that moment, I wondered what Luke would look like in tuxedo. I wondered if he was wondering if I was wondering about what he looked like in a tuxedo. That was when I knew my train of thought had to come to a stop. My cheeks flushed. It amazed me that I was able to give myself secondhand embarrassment.

"So this is where your hotshot ghost lives, huh?" Luke asked.

"Yeah," Alex continued. "We've walked past this hotel like a million times. How come we've never heard of it?"

Willie explained that the hotel had been sealed off for decades, and that you had to have an invitation in order to see it. After that, he excused himself to make sure everything was in order with his ghost friend. We continued to admire our surroundings.

"'Hollywood Ghost Club,'" Reggie read off of the elaborate golden sign beside the door. "This place is creepy."

"Yeah, well," Alex shrugged. "So are we."

"Boo!" I exclaimed, causing Reggie to flinch.

After gathering himself, Reggie leaned over the balcony. "I don't know about this."

"Well, if you get scared, you can always hide behind me," Alex offered. "I'll be hiding behind Luke."

"I call back row," I added. "Actually, I don't want to watch all of you die ... again."

"You guys need to grow up, okay?" Luke said. "We're gonna get back at Bobby. He needs to pay for what he did to us."

"Yeah," Alex agreed before lowering his voice and turning to me and Reggie. "I'm still gonna hide behind him."

"I think that spot will be reserved for Ruth," Reggie whispered, to which he received a bonk on the head. "Ow!"

Willie appeared beside Luke. "We're all good."

"Right," I pondered. "I forgot other ghosts can also do that."

"Hey, just so you know," Alex explained to Willie. "We only have like an hour because we got a gig with Julie."

"Oh yeah," Willie smiled. "No worries."