The rest of the evening, I felt on edge, worried that at any moment, either A, the boys would get hit with a jolt in front of me or B, Willie would poof in and explain everything to them; I just needed to get through tonight, and then everything can go back to normal.

"Hey, I'm gonna go wait in the audience," I informed Luke, wrapping my arms around his waist from behind as he tuned his guitar; besides my own internal worries of anything going wrong, it seemed like fate was finally on my side for once.

"Okay," Luke hummed, looking back at me; even though Julie and the other two boys were in the room, Luke leaned in, placing a chaste kiss on my lips.

"We're gonna talk to them about the club soon, right?" I ask in a quiet voice; Luke turned around on the stool he was sitting on, now facing me directly.

"Yeah, of course," He nodded, smiling at me reassuringly; I let out a breath, smiling at him gratefully, I am so ready for this whole façade to be over, "I think we're going on soon, I'll see you after."

"Break a leg," I winked at him playfully before poofing out of the studio and into the crowded audience outside of it. Tons of kids all around Julie's age mingled and chatted, anxious to see their classmate and her "hologram band." I moved to the side, walking through the crowd until I made it near Luke's mic stand.

"Julie and the phantoms," I flinched in surprise as Maya poofed in beside me, squinting slightly at the band name written across the garage in flowers, "Not gonna lie, that's a pretty catchy band name."

"What are you doing here?" I asked her, shaking my head in amusement; I assumed she was at the club, about to start performing for all the members.

"I wanted to see what all the hype was," Maya shrugged, "and I'm too impatient to wait for updates." I chuckled, now that sounds more like Maya.

"Well, after tonight, I won't have to come back and forth delivering updates," I inform her, smirking proudly.

"Shut up," Maya exclaimed, slapping my arm excitedly, "they agreed to join Caleb's house band?"

"Sort of," I responded, shrugging my shoulders; Maya's excited expression faded, and she gestured for me to go on, "Okay, so Luke and I are kind of back together," I mumble, looking at my hands.

"Wow, you work fast," Maya nodded, I scolded her, shaking my head, "sorry, continue,"

"and I told him, I don't think we can work if we're constantly in different places," I continue explaining; Maya smiles brightly once more, "so he agreed that he and the boys would come to the club, part-time."

"Part-time?" Maya laughed, shaking her head in amusement, "oh, you're screwed; we both know Caleb does not do "part-time" aren't you worried the boys are gonna hate you?"

"They'll probably be mad for a little bit," I shrug, I didn't doubt the boys would be upset with me when they learn the truth, but it's Luke, Alex, and Reggie they can't stay mad at; me for long, right? "They'll get over it though, I mean, Alex will have Willie, me and Luke can finally be together, and Reggie is too sweet to stay mad at me forever."

"Hmm," Maya hummed, thinking over everything I'd just told her, "I hope your right," She finally said; Maya, who is usually snarky and sarcastic 24/7, looked at me seriously, almost as if she was worried about me, weird.

"I am," I nodded confidently; sure, I had a few doubts, but there was no use in dwelling in those, not when everything was going so well; the boys will be at the club in no time, and once they are everything will be okay.

"What's up everybody," Julie's best friend, who I learned was named Flynn, spoke into the mic, "time to put your hand up, do a little dance, yup." She rapped, "here's a new anthem from Julie and the Phantoms." The audience applauded as the studio doors were pulled open, revealing Julie, who smiled brightly at everyone as she walked up to the grand piano in the center of their makeshift stage.

"Running from the past, tripping on the now," Julie began singing, playing along with the piano; for the first verse, just Julie performed; I had no doubt she could make it without the boys, which made me feel a little bit better about breaking their band apart. As the chorus kicked in, the boys poofed in behind her, causing the audience to cheer excitedly. I giggled quietly when Reggie's eyes landed on Maya; she waved slightly, causing his smile to grow even brighter.

"We all make mistakes," Luke began singing, glancing over at me slightly, "but they're just stepping stones, to take us where we wanna go, it's never straight, no."

"I can see why you're into this guy now," Maya whispered approvingly; I nod, keeping my eyes on Luke. The pure joy on his face was evident as he performed; all three of the boys looked at home performing with Julie, but they'll find a home at the club, I mentally reassure myself as they sing the final chorus.

"Running from the past, tripping on the now; what is lost can be found, it's obvious," Julie sang softly into her mic, the boys poofing out of sight behind her. The crowd erupted into applause as Julie took a final bow.

"Wow," Maya mumbled, the crowd around us abuzz, all trying to talk to Julie; the boy's I assume are in the studio, "They're gonna make great additions to the club," Maya said louder this time; I nodded, I had no doubt they'd fit in great and elevate our performances to the next level, "speaking of the club, I should get going, I told Caleb I was having a hair emergency,"

"and he believed you?" I ask, laughing at her lame excuse.

"he's too worried about this plan to notice anything else," Maya admitted, shrugging her shoulders. "Seriously, it's getting annoying how stressed he is about them joining. I can't wait until they join, then Caleb will never have to talk about the importance of them joining ever again."

"I'll come by tonight to share the news with everyone," I reassured Maya, "I'm going to check on the boys; I'll see you later." Maya and I both poofed out, going our separate ways; the three boys were waiting in the studio when I poofed in, all animatedly talking about their performance.

"Harper," All the boys exclaimed excitedly, still high on energy from performing.

"I noticed your friend Maya came," Reggie admitted, smirking at me, "what'd she think? Did she mention me? did she hate it?"

"She thought you guys were great," I reassured Reggie, shaking my head at how dramatic he was being, "she wanted to come say hi, but she was needed at the club,"

"And what did you think?" Luke asked, leaning his head on my shoulder; I glanced down at him, acting as if I had to think about my response, "ouch..." Luke muttered sarcastically.

"I loved it," I reassured him; and I meant it; I loved every second of watching Luke, Alex, Reggie, and even Julie perform, they were all born to do this, "Hey, can I talk to you for a minute," I ask Luke, we need to bring up the club to the boys tonight.

"We'll go outside," Alex gestured between him and Reggie, the two of them poofing out of the room.

"Everything okay?" Luke asked, sitting up straighter so he could look me in the eye.

"Yeah, of course," I reassured him, placing my hand on his knee, "it's just, I told Maya about you guy's coming to the club, and-"

"You're wondering when we should tell Alex and Reggie?" Luke asked; I nodded, happy he understood what I was getting at, "we can tell them now," Luke suggested; yes, I mentally cheered.

"Luke, Harper," Reggie called into the studio, "We're playing basketball and need you two for equal teams, are you done?"

"We'll be out in a minute Reg," I called out, shaking my head in amusement.

"Good," Alex called back, "I call having Harper on my team." I chuckled, and silence fell over Luke and I once more.

"How are you going to tell Julie?" I ask Luke; I'll probably end up being the one to break the news to Julie in the end; there's no way Caleb would let them see her again, but I can't let her go thinking the boys abandoned her, that will break her.

"I guess we'll that out when the time comes," Luke shrugs sadly, "but I mean, it's okay, right?" Luke asked; I furrowed my brows, gesturing for him to continue, "It's not like we're quitting the band; we're doing both."

"Yeah," I nodded, lying through my teeth, "exactly,"

"You alright?" Luke asked, furrowing his brows together in concern. Could he sense the guilt I was feeling? Was it showing on my face?

"Yeah, I'm just tired," I reassure him, "I'm really happy we're doing this, though,"

"Me too," Luke nodded; he seemed so genuine; I just hope he'll still feel this way when he learns the truth.

"I'm just going to change, then I'll meet you outside," I inform him, kissing his cheek before poofing into the washroom; I can hear the basketball being thrown around from in here and the sound of the boys faded laughter following behind. I wash my face, brush my hair, and then change out of the dress I'd put on for their performance, putting on something a little bit comfier, poofing out once I finished.

"Feels like we should be celebrating or something," Reggie announced, catching the basketball in his hands, "what do you guys wanna do?"

"Actually," Luke started, glancing over at me, "Harper and I have something we want to- "before Luke can finish his sentence, a familiar flash strikes the three of them in the stomach, knocking them to the ground. I take in a sharp breath, kneeling beside Luke; I guess the best thing I can do is pretend I have no clue what this is and then get them to the club?

"That wasn't like the others," Luke mutters; I offer him my hand, helping him stand up, "It's getting worse,"

"That's happened before?" I ask, despite knowing what's happening to them; the worry in my voice is genuine; I need to get them to the club before they get worse, I can't lose them again.

"Why is this happening to us," Reggie muttered in pain; I open my mouth to answer; when another voice answers before me.

"It's because you guys are in serious trouble," I cringe, turning to face Willie; just when I the plan was succeeding, everything decides to fall apart; first, the boy's got jolted in front of me, and now Willie show's up? "Harper," Willie nods at me; I've never seen Willie look so disappointed in the years I've known him; I can feel Luke's gaze shifting between Willie and I; it was obvious something I wasn't telling him.

"Willie?" Alex asks, clutching his side as he walks over, "what are you-"

"We need to talk," Willie cut him off, "but not here, meet me where we met last time," He poofed away; Alex and Reggie both glance at me before poofing out, leaving Luke and I alone.

"Harper, what's going on?" Luke asked; I glanced down at my hands anxiously; no matter how I answer, he's going to hate me, "did you know we were in trouble?" He asks again in an accusatory tone; I cringe at how harsh he sounds.

"Luke, I grab his hand, "I-" Luke cuts me off pulling his hand away.

"The boys are waiting," He says, poofing out, leaving me alone; Willie is about to tell them everything, about the plan, the side effects of the stamps on their wrists, the downfalls of staying at the club, and I don't think they'll ever believe me again. I knew the boys would be upset with me, but I thought I'd have to deal with that later, once they were already at the club; I take a breath before poofing to where Willie and the boys are, they'll understand; I reassure myself, they won't be mad forever.
•
•
•

^^ outfit Harper changes into

🤍
Uh oh...