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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏𝟕
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐆𝐇𝐎𝐒𝐓𝐒

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Lexi continued to stare at where Alex once was standing as the silence of the room wrapped around her like a snake. She replayed the brothers' interaction in her head a few times before finally looking back over at her father. The Daniels girl found him still staring at where the blonde ghost once stood. As she watched the man in front of her, the thoughts in her head left the brothers' interaction behind before she began to think about how she would feel if she lost Ryder. Lexi wouldn't know what to do without him.

The redhead studied the expression on her father's face for another moment or two before she found the courage within her to wave her hand in front of his face to draw his attention to her. The man just stared at his daughter before a small sigh passed over his lips as his eyes fell back to where the drummer once stood.

"Are you okay, Dad?" the young girl quietly asked while placing Ryder's bongos on the floor next to her bed. When he didn't respond right away, guilt replaced the concern running through her veins before a sigh passed over her lips. "I'm sorry. I should have waited until you both agreed to meet."

"Lexi, what you did was amazing," Andy told her then pulled her in for a tight hug before whispering, "thank you for that. It really meant a lot to me."

A small smile appeared on the Daniels girl's face as she wrapped her arms around her father to return the embrace. The pair stayed like that for a while until Lexi heard her phone going off. The ginger stayed in the blonde's arms for a moment longer before pulling away from him to grab the device to see her alarm telling her it was time to go to Julie's.

"Looks like it's almost your time to shine," her father said as a proud smile formed on his face before he pulled his daughter in for another hug, "good luck, Lexi. You're gonna do great."

"Thanks, dad."

"Oh! I almost forgot! Isaac's coming too! He flew out from New York just to see you perform."

The Daniels girl's smile unnoticeably faltered a bit at the thought of the stress her uncle being here would put on Alex before she managed to shake it off a bit. "That's great! I can't wait for him to get here!"

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The Daniels girl walked through the garden of the Molina residence and down the stairs that led to the studio before stopping at the sight of Carlos hiding behind the door. Lexi just watched the younger boy while trying to figure out what he was doing then her eyes landed on the phone in his hand that was pointed at Julie and Luke. Her eyes stayed on Julie's younger brother while this continued for a moment longer before she caught the smile on his face beginning to slowly fade. After sliding his phone into his back pocket, Carlos turned around to make his exit, only to jump when he saw Lexi staring back at him with a quirked eyebrow and curiosity in her eyes. Before Lexi even had a chance to ask him what he was doing, the Molina boy sent her a sheepish smile and sprinted past her toward his house.

The redhead rolled her eyes at his actions before she made her way inside the studio just as Luke and Julie finished their conversation. Right as Lexi hung what she was planning on wearing for their performance that night on the door handle, the guitarist announced that they were going to have a band circle. That caused a small smile to form on the Daniels girl's face as she made her way toward her best friend and the ghost boys. She took Julie's hand into hers as soon as she was close enough before hovering the other over Alex's.

"We don't know what brought us here, but what we do know is the two of you are stars. And just because this is our last night together, it doesn't mean we won't be watching you from above...or..." Luke paused as he gestured down toward the floor, making the two girls in front of him smile before he continued speaking, "now let's go rock this show. Let's give them a night they'll be talking about until the sun comes up, okay?"

"Legends on three," the guitarist said as he placed his hand in the middle of their circle then Alex and Reggie copied his movements followed by Julie and Lexi. The group counted down together before shouting "legends" as loud as they could before their laughter filled the air. It wasn't long after that when a car horn blasted through the air, causing Julie to exchange a look with Lexi before the two looked back at the boys.

"That's my dad," the curly-haired girl told the ghost boys before a small chuckle passed over her lips, "he's driving us there, so we'll see you guys soon."

The five of them shared one last smile before the girls grabbed their clothes and walked out of the studio, only for Lexi to stop in her tracks when Reggie called out her name. The Daniels girl turned back around to face the bassist to find him staring back at her with a hint of sadness in his eyes. "Can I talk to you for a second, Annie?"

The redhead found herself glancing over at her best friend, who simply nodded in response before she followed the bassist to the other side of the piano so they could talk in private. Lexi just stood there for a moment as she watched Reggie have what seemed like an internal conflict before his blue eyes looked up to meet her brown ones.

"I need you to promise me something. You know, after we move on," the raven-haired boy told her as he began to mess with the sleeves of the flannel tied around his waist. When the girl in front of him sent him a small smile, he took that as his cue to continue speaking. "I need you to promise to keep music in your life, no matter what. I see the smile you get when you get on stage and I don't want you to lose that."

The grin on the girl's face did nothing but grow as she unconsciously reached out to take Reggie's hands, only for hers to fall right through them. Lexi quickly shook off the awkwardness that she was beginning to feel before she looked back up to meet the ghost's eyes. "I promise."

The two of them shared one last smile before Lexi walked toward the barn doors to grab her clothes then she made her way out of the Molina's studio and toward their driveway. Once she reached their car, she hopped into the back with Julie while Ray called out for Carlos to hurry up. As soon as the youngest Molina joined them in the car, they began their journey toward the Orpheum.

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After a few hours of getting ready, Lexi sat on one of the couches in the dressing room while Julie sat in front of the mirror to apply her lip gloss. Nerves that she hadn't felt in a long time began to resurface as the redhead placed her head in her hands to give herself a silent pep talk. Just as she was beginning to doubt herself once again, there was a quiet knock at the door before both girls turned their attention toward the entrance of the room.

"I've got your roadies," the stage manager told the two girls before Julie called out for them to come in. The Daniels girl watched as the door swung open to reveal Flynn, Ryder, and Cami before the trio entered the room with giant smiles on their faces.

"Holograms are good to go," their third Musketeer told them while the two older teens stood off to the side to watch the trio's interaction.

"I'll be back in a few minutes to walk the two of you to the stage," Rob told them before leaving the dressing room after receiving thank yous from the two girls.

As soon as the door closed behind the blonde man, Flynn began to freak out about her backstage pass while Lexi and Julie watched her with small smiles on their faces. "We had sushi with Brandon Urie."

"Good for you. I threw up in the car on the way over here," Julie responded to the energetic girl.

"I can confirm that," Lexi muttered with a disgusted look on her face while picking up on laughter coming from Ryder and Cami before the ginger turned her attention back to Julie, "but you still look amazing."

"You both do," Ryder said to the two girls as the two older teens walked over to finally join the trio's conversation, "we also made friends with the tech crew."

"Yeah! You're gonna love what we have planned for the two of you," Cami added as the smile on her face grew before she took Ryder's hand into hers.

"The guys are here right?" Flynn asked while glancing around the room with a giant grin on her face.

"We haven't seen them," Julie told her before turning away from everyone else in the room to go back to finish getting ready.

"Wait, you don't think they changed their mind and took Caleb's offer, do you?"

"Definitely not. That's the last thing that they wanted," Lexi told her as she sat down in the chair next to Julie.

Ryder's eyes stayed glued onto his sister for a long moment before he and Cami exchanged a concerned look. The Daniels boy then spun both Julie and Lexi's chairs around so they were facing him once again before he took a step back as his small smile reappeared on his face. "You two are gonna kill it. Now, you three have some snacks and relax a little before you go on. While you do that, Cami and I are gonna make sure Mom and Dad aren't freaking out."

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Another hour passed of the three girls hanging around the dressing room and eating snacks while they waited for the ghosts of Sunset Curve. Lexi's legs were bouncing uncontrollably as she sat on the couch next to Flynn while Julie paced back and forth in front of them with a concerned look on her face. The redhead watched her curly-haired friend for another silent moment before finally finding the courage to break it.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak to her two best friends, Lexi got cut off before she even started by Rob knocking on the door once again to take the girls to the stage. The Daniels girl's blood ran cold as Julie called out for another second before the Molina girl turned to face her friends with a panicked look on her face.

"Something's wrong," Lexi stated, drawing the other two's attention toward her before she continued speaking, "the boys were getting those jolts pretty bad when we left.

"And they wouldn't stand us up again," Julie added as the concerned look on her face transformed into sadness, "they must have run out of time. They didn't cross over. They're gone. And I didn't even get to say goodbye."

Before Flynn or Lexi could say another word to their best friend, the Molina girl ran out of the room. Not even a second after that passed when the other two girls exchanged a look and rushed after her. Despite everyone calling out to her, Julie kept running and didn't slow as she raced through the halls. The redheaded girl continued to follow her friend while Flynn stayed behind to talk to the stage manager.

Lexi was able to keep Julie in her line of vision until the latter forced the backdoor open and made her way out into the alley. The Daniels girl watched from the small window in the door as the Molina girl stared up at the dark sky with watery eyes before her attention fell to her shoes. Confusion began to flow through the ginger's veins at the sight of her best friend talking to herself before a woman walked by with a bag of flowers and handed one to Julie. As soon as the stranger was gone, Lexi slowly opened the door to join her friend in the alley and pulled Julie in for a tight hug. The two girls stayed like that for a long time before the Daniels girl gently pushed the Molina girl away while keeping her hands placed on her shoulder.

"Let's get back in there and put on the performance of our lives. We can do this Jules," the redheaded girl said as a single tear slid down her cheek before she slightly tightened her grip around Julie's shoulders, "if anything, we need to do it for the guys."

As soon as her friend finished speaking, a small smile appeared on the Molina girl's lips before she slowly nodded. Sighs passed over the duo's lips as they made their way back inside the building with their arms slung around each other's shoulders to perform for the three ghosts who gave them courage again.

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