"Hey, um Caleb," Willie ran backstage where Caleb, Maya, and I were drinking our pre-performance tea, "The three ghosts are here." It had been days since Willie met Alex, and all have of us had been on the edge of our seats waiting for the boys to come to the club; this afternoon, he finally came back with some good news, the boys were coming; which meant, Maya and I finally got to get in on the fun.

"Perfect William," Caleb said, stirring his tea, "I have a special table reserved for them." The table in the center of the room, closest to the stage; that was where we sat all of the new guests of the club; it was the best seat in the house; I remember being a newbie 25 years ago, sitting at that very table, "Good work William." Maya and I shared a glance, our eyes wide; compliments from Caleb were rare, especially ones towards Willie.

"Oh uh," Willie stuttered, clearly taken aback by Caleb's small gesture, "thank you?" He said it came out as more of a question though; Willie turned sharply to the right, about to leave when he realized he was going the wrong way, "this way," he pointed the other direction, correcting himself and walking away from us three.

"Oh William," I sighed, once the fumbling boy was gone, taking a small sip of my tea, "sweet, innocent William."

"Are you two ready for your part of the plan?" Caleb asked, ignoring my sarcastic remarks; Maya and I nod, "our part of the plan." Was to take care of the other two ghosts; Alex and Willie were clearly smitten with one another, and we've all decided that if it were Alex alone, he'd be easier to persuade into staying. The other ghosts, on the other hand, would need a little more coaxing, and that's where Maya and I came in; we'd each take one and work our "magic."

"All we have to do is flirt with the potentially hot guys, right?" Maya asked; I rolled my eyes at her choice of words, but nodded anyway, to say it simply, yes; all we needed to do was "flirt" with these ghosts, it was still up for debate whether they were attractive or not, "sounds easy."

"Let's hope you're right, dear Maya," Caleb said, placing his tea down, "I have a feeling once they see this place, though, they'll want to stay."

"Of course they will," I scoff; this club was magnificent, like no place I'd ever seen, what could be better than this?

"Take your place, ladies," Caleb said, walking up the stairs, "and make sure you turn up the charm; don't tell Willie this, but without you two, I'd be lost." I smile proudly at Caleb, nodding my head; he was right though, Willie was amazing, don't get me wrong, but he leads with his heart; unlike Maya and I, who lead with our heads, never letting our emotions get the better of us.

"So, how do I look?" Maya asked as we walked to the place we'd wait until we had to poof in; I did a once over of her outfit, nodding my head in approval, "you too, this dress is everything."

"Isn't it?" I ask, watching the frills that hung off it moves around as I walk; another perk of the club was the wardrobe; when I was alive, my wardrobe was nerdy and dull; but here, I felt like a star every time I changed into one of my extravagant dresses, this feeling almost made me understand why people pursue music, "So is yours; the new ghosts are gonna love you."

"of course, they will," She said, a proud smile drawn on her face; before I could respond, the lights dimmed, and music began playing through the club.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," I speak, the mic attached to my dress carries my voice throughout the room, "back from the dead by popular demand, please welcome Caleb Covington." Although most of our audience visited almost every night, they cheered loudly for their host. Seconds later, the audience gasps; Caleb was now levitating above them. I peeked out into the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of Willie and the three ghosts, but instead I was blinded by a bright light; I guess I'll just have to wait until I'm out there.

"Did you miss me?" Caleb asked the crown; the audience yelled their responses enthusiastically, "I did too!" He replied; Maya and I shared a grin, mouthing along to Caleb's monologue. "Welcome, to the party of your dreams." Caleb basked in their applause, "from the Egyptians to the druids, to the person sitting next to you; we've all wondered, where do we go when that final light is snuffed out? Allow me to show you," Just like every other time Caleb sang, the audience went silent, mesmerized by his music.

"See ya out there," Maya bumped her hip against mine; just as the chorus started, dancers, musicians, and background singers all appeared behind Caleb. Despite not seeing the audience properly, I could hear everyone gasp in surprise, cheering excitedly. While poofing in and out was nothing special to me at this point, to new ghosts and lifers who paid to come to the club, it was insane and always a crowd-pleaser.

"Life is good on the other side of Hollywood," Caleb sang, finishing the second chorus, my cue to teleport in; as he rehearsed, I caught the staff Caleb threw right as I poofed in, causing the audience to gasp.

"The rain don't blind the rising souls; they got too much to see." I sang; no one ever got solo's in the club, Caleb was the star; but every once and a while, he'd give me one, "I got your glamour, got your gold; got all you'll ever need."

"Let me hear you now?" Caleb sang; as the various dancers and singers repeated after me, I decided to find Willie and the three new mysterious ghosts. I saw Willie first, then allowed my eyes to travel to the newbies, except they weren't new faces, not to me at least. Sat alongside Willie were exact replicas of Alex Mercer, Luke Patterson, and Reggie Peters, three boys I never thought I'd see again. I blinked, I was definitely seeing things, but when I opened my eyes again, Luke was now staring right back at me, his eyes squinting in confusion.

"Yeah, I said watch me make a move, watch me make a move, boys." Caleb sang, breaking me away from my thoughts; I took a breath, following him down the grand stairs, Maya and I on either side of him. As I danced closer, I was almost 99% positive the boys in front of me were the boys from sunset curve; I was also sure that Luke hadn't decided if I was me or not yet; after a minute though, he just shook his head, allowing himself to bop to the music again, he definitely just thought it was a weird coincidence and not the real thing. Most girls would be thrown by seeing their ex-boyfriend after all this time, but a lot has changed since I'd last seen Luke; I was not that girl anymore; seeing him only made me want to prove myself, even more, to show him how good I was doing on my own, without him.

"Ain't it the best?" Caleb sang, finishing up the song; Maya and I stood on either side of him, holding a black sheet, "long live the dead."

"Bye-bye," Maya and I said in unison, moving the sheet up; when we moved it down, Caleb had disappeared, causing the audience to cheer; both of us poofed away seconds later, now standing at the back of the club, amongst the guests.

"Harps," Maya squealed, squeezing my hand excitedly, "did you see them? They're gorgeous."

"Mhm," I hummed; the adrenaline from performing was fading, the realization that I'd have to see the boys sinking in, "I know them," I stated calmly, the exact opposite of how I actually felt.

"What?" Maya asked, furrowing her brows in confusion, "how do you know them? Didn't they die recently?" That was the part that still confused me; if Alex, Luke, and Reggie just died, how are they still so young?

"I went to school with them," I shrugged; while we'd shared a lot about our pasts, one thing I've always left out is the boy who broke my heart; I was embarrassed that I used to allow boys to affect me the way Luke did. "Luke watched me for a bit, but I think he just thought he was seeing things." I didn't blame him for not believing it was me; despite not aging, becoming a ghost and living at the club changed me; my boring, preppy, girl-next-door style had changed into glam, sophisticated, and expensive, I was a whole new person, inside and out.

"Oof," Maya replied, shaking her head, "and you have to flirt with one of them? That's going to be awkward." I bit my lip, wishing I could resign from the plan.

"Harper, Maya," One of the Maître' ds walked over, breaking Maya and I away from our conversation, "Caleb is requesting you at table 1." I nodded, taking a deep breath before I teleporting away; here goes nothing.
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^^ Harpers dress

🤍
Harper saw Luke... and he isn't sure if it's her or not🙈
So excited for y'all to read the next chapter!!