Bruises - JATP Fanfic (Luke x OC)

Chapter 24

The two girls arrive home, seeing Luke with a somewhat solemn expression because he misses his family more than anything. He never got to meet his baby brother, who is now older than he is, and his parents are still grieving the loss of their eldest son twenty-five years later.

"Hey." Brielle walks up the steps first, wishing they could touch one more time and she could tell him his parents forgive him. They don't blame him for running away, especially after she and Julie gave them that song. The Pattersons know this is what he was meant to do.

"Hey." Luke looks at her with pain etched across his face, but a special kind of peace behind it knowing his parents finally got to see the song he wrote for them.

"I'm sorry for overstepping." Brielle apologizes, and Julie heads inside, trying to give the two lovebirds some space.

"It's okay. I just had to leave. That was—" Luke steps closer to the girl he's falling for and she continues to apologize.

"You don't have to say anything." Brielle cuts him off, feeling as if she went too far bringing Julie to his parent's house with the song.

"Yeah, I do." Luke takes one step closer and they'd be nearly touching if it weren't for the fact that Luke's body is made of air. "I don't have many regrets from my life, except for running out on my parents. Especially my mom. Thank you."

"It was the least I could do after you helped me get out of my parent's house."

"It was perfect." Luke places his hand in hers, and instead of curling around hers, it passes through. The two of them would give anything to touch each other like they did when they were dancing. "This is an interesting little relationship you and I have." Luke jokes just as Julie walks back outside to tell Brielle about dinner.

"Hey, you two. I almost forgot to mention that Flynn said the video my dad made of us is trending on YouTube." Luke just looks between the two girls trying to figure out what "trending" means. He's learned what streams are, and a few other new terms that came with being launched twenty-five years into the future, but trending is not one of them.

"It means that a lot of people are watching the video and liking it." Brielle explains to the hopeless boy before Julie continues talking about how people love their music and managers are going to be at their front door soon enough.

"Julie, there's something I've been meaning to talk to you about." Luke says before the two girls can head inside. "We figured out that we have unfinished business." Brielle's face falls, but Julie isn't looking at her to realize it isn't good news. "That's why we came back as ghosts."

"Oh. What is it?" Julie wonders, although she has a sneaking suspicion it's related to playing music.

"We have to play the show we never got to play."

"At the Orpheum. That makes sense." A jolt runs through Luke, surprising both girls, as he slams against the post on the front porch. Brielle winces, knowing how much those stupid jolts ruin things.

"We don't have a lot of time." Luke says, groaning because it's the only kind of pain ghosts can feel.

"What was that? Are you okay?" Julie asks, and Brielle takes the lead in answering Julie's question.

"That night the boys missed the dance, they went to this club where a super powerful ghost put a curse on the three of them. If they don't join his stupid club or complete their unfinished business, they'll disappear. Forever." Julie looks at her friend, who has tears in her eyes but has no idea why she's so upset.

"Why is joining the club so bad?" Julie asks.

"It's for eternity. They never get to leave." Not in a way that really counts, anyways.