"What is this place," Maya asked, running her fingers over the wooden walls, "and are you sure Caleb won't find us here?" I had taken her to the first place I could think of, somewhere I knew Caleb didn't know about.

"It's my childhood treehouse," I explain, glancing around the small space; to my surprise, unlike my old bedroom, nothing in here had changed; in fact, I don't think anyone's been here since I left, "We should be safe here for now." I don't expect us to live here forever, obviously, but for now, it's better than nothing.

Old polaroids and pictures hung all over the walls; ones of Hanna and I, the boys, and more than anything, Luke and I. The treehouse was something I used all the time when I was really young, but once I'd hit 13, I stopped coming up here as much; that is until Luke, he loved this place, we spent every spare minute up here, the treehouse became more than just mine after we got together, it became his as well.

"Oh my gosh," Maya laughed, picking up one of the photos to inspect it further, "Is this you?" She held the picture out for me to see; it was of Luke and I; we were both in the treehouse, Luke with his guitar on his lap, while my head rested on his shoulder, a book in hand; Hanna had stuck up and took this.

"Yeah," I laugh, "a lot has changed," I still looked the same, minus the preppy fashion and glasses, another perk of being a ghost? I have perfect vision now.

"So, tell me," I plop onto a stack of cushions, gesturing for Maya to sit, "what was the old Maya like, before all of this," Maya shook her head in amusement, but shuffled beside me anyway, immediately filling me in on her life before being a ghost.

It turns out; I wasn't the only one who's changed a lot; Maya hadn't always been the girl she is today; back before she died, she was anxious and introverted, she told me about how much she regretted not coming out of her shell, because by the time she wanted to, it was too late.

"I wonder what they're doing?" The two of us were lying down now, staring out at the stars through the skylight above.

"Probably annoying everyone," Maya answered quickly, "Luke is probably rambling about his music." I was probably supposed to laugh at that, but my mind had wandered to something else, "you always laugh at my jokes," Maya nudges me, "what's on your mind?"

"I just can't stop thinking about what life would be like if we could all be free," I say; I'm grateful to have Maya, don't get me wrong, but I also can't help but wonder what it'd be like if we all could escape together, with Willie and the boys.

"What'd it be like?" Maya asked; she laughed lightly, as if she imagined something funny, "Well, you and Luke would probably be off in some corner, acting all gross and coupley." I smack her arm, shooting her a playful glare, "Alex and Willie would probably be having some deep conversation over there." She pointed to the other corner of the treehouse, "and I would be stuck with Reggie," She shrugged; she didn't sound annoyed at that thought; a sad smile danced across her lips at the mention of the bass player.

"I'm sure you would've hated that," I nudge her.

Maya, who I had never seen actually have serious feelings for anyone, blushed, "He wasn't as annoying as I thought," She admitted, I chuckled, nodding for her to continue, "like he was still annoying, don't get me wrong, but he was also adorable, and kind."

At this moment, I could tell just how much Maya was hurting too; even though she didn't have a history with the boys like I do, they still had affected her life in some way, "I'm sorry you never got to tell him that,"

Maya shook her head, "Me admitting my feelings for someone?" She scoffed, "gross." I can tell she doesn't really mean that, but I don't push the topic of Reggie further.

"So, where should we go," I change the topic, "We can go anywhere in the world."

"I've always wanted to go to England," Maya admits, "we can sneak into the palace," her sad expression was now an excited one; this was clearly something she'd thought of before.

"Oo, we could try on ballgowns?" I add Maya nods rapidly; soon, the two of us have grabbed empty journals and have written out all the places we want to see and the things we want to do, the world is ours, and we have no limitations.

"Did you hear that?" Maya asked, placing her notebook down; I was listening, the only sound being crickets chirping.

"No, I-"I paused, the sound of a pebble hitting the treehouse breaking me away from my thoughts; hope fluttered through me for a brief second, until I reminded myself he was gone.

"Someone's down there?" Maya whispered; I shook my head, returning my attention to my planning, "Well, I'm going to go look; if it's Caleb and I get kidnapped, just know it's your fault." She joked, crawling over to the other side so she could peer out the window, "Harper," She sounded serious; a nervous pit instantly grew in my stomach.

"How did he find us?" I hiss, "Alright, um, meet me-"

"No," She shook her head, turning to face me; she didn't seem nervous at all, she looked happy, and were those tears in her eyes? "You need to go down there," She nodded to the ground, I open my mouth to respond, but she cuts me off, "now!"

I furrow my brows at her, but poof down anyway; I expect to see Julie, or maybe even Willie waiting down here. Instead, Luke, Alex, and Reggie wait for me, "Wh-what are you doing here?" I stutter, immediately stumbling into Luke's arms, my arms instantly go around his shoulders, his hugging my waist tightly, "Was it too late?" I ask, pulling away slightly as I can look at him; he has tear stains on his cheeks; he'd been crying, "was the Orpheum, not your unfinished business? I'm so-"

"Harper," Luke cut me off, a reassuring smile on his lips, "We're okay,"

"No, you're not," I shake my head, my hand instantly cupping his cheek. "Luke, you didn't cross over; you're going to- "

"Seriously, Harper," Alex cut in, stepping forward; Luke released me, nodding for me to go see Alex and Reggie; both of them held their arms out for me to look at, I fully expect Caleb's stamp to be there still, but it's gone.

"H-how is this possible," I mumble to myself, rubbing my hand over where their tattoos used to be. "you're okay," I finally say, a sigh of relief floating out of my lips. I instantly pull Alex into a hug, holding him tightly for a minute before moving onto Reggie; both of them hold me tightly in return.

Maya poofs down once I've finished hugging all three of the boys, "how are you here?" She asked; I held in a giggle as she pulled Reggie into a hug, his eyes were wide in shock, his arms limp at his side. I smiled as she pulled away, he finally hugged back, letting go seconds later.

"Turns out playing the Orpheum wasn't our unfinished business," Reggie began explaining, a bashful blush coating his cheeks." We went to Julie's studio right after, so no one would find us, but-"

"I was right, as usual," Alex cut in, a proud smirk on his face, "Julie found us just as the jolts got really bad," I frowned, looking up at Luke, whose hand was resting on the small of my back; they pretending to cross over, Luke was never one to give up, but he almost did. "Julie found us and tried convincing us to go to the club, so we didn't have to leave," I looked back to Alex as he continued, "but then, while we were talking, out of emotion, she hugged Luke,"

"Hold up," Maya held her hands up, "a lifer hugged you?"

Luke nodded, "yeah, and then the stamp disappeared," he held up his wrist, "weird, right?"

"Very," I mumbled, running my fingers over the wrist he held out to me.

"Boys, why don't we give Harper and Luke some space," Maya spoke, nodding at Reggie and Alex to come into the treehouse, "you can tell me more about what happened at Julie's." Both of them nodded, smiling at me before poofing away.

"I can't believe you're here," I mumble, wrapping my arms around Luke once again; I bury my head in his shoulder, my fingers playing with the ends of his hair, "how'd you know I'd be here?"

"You always come here when your sad," Luke stated, rubbing my back, "and I figured never being able to see me again was something you'd be sad about," He shrugged, his voice teasing; I flicked the back of his neck in return. "ouch, I'm kidding." He whined as soon as my nail hit him, "I missed you more than you know, Harps," He reassured, placing a kiss on the top of my head.

"I missed you," I mumble, tears brimming my eyes as I pull back to look at him, I didn't think I'd see him again, yet here we are.

"Hey, it's okay," His hand instantly moved to cup my cheek, his thumb catching a stray tear, "What're the tears for?"

"I thought I was never gonna see you again," I don't hold back the tears; Luke's frown deepens even further.

"I'm right here," He reassures, stroking my cheek, "I'm not going anywhere for a long time, promise." Luke ducks his head, placing a soft kiss against my lips; we stay like this for a minute, my hands playing with his hair while his one holds my waist, the other cupping my cheek.

I pulled back slightly, leaning my forehead against his "I love the suit, by the way." I whisper, winking at him teasingly, "greatest thing Caleb's ever done."

"I hated the jacket," Luke admits, chuckling lightly.

"Make sense," I nod, moving my hands so they can run down his toned arms, "you've always hated sleeves." We stay like this for a while, holding onto one another as if we were scared if one of us let go, the other would disappear, "What happens now?" I ask; for the first time in a long time, Luke and I didn't have something pulling us apart; it was a nice change.

"I don't know," Luke mumbled, "but we'll figure it out together, just like we always do."

🤍

and just like that, The Otherside of Hollywood is finished...
Thank you to all my amazing readers, I hope you enjoyed reading Harper and Luke's story as much as I enjoyed writing it.
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