The Other Side of Hollywood | Luke Patterson

FOUR✨

I find it funny how I went from someone who didn't understand a passion or love for music to someone who performs every single night. I sometimes find it hard remembering the girl I used to be before I came here; the weak girl who only cared about grades, school, and her future career; the girl who was so heartbroken about a boy that she ran off; so upset I never saw the car coming. The new me would never let a boy hurt me bad enough that I would run off like that; the new me was a heartbreaker, not the other way around.

"Is Willie back yet?" Maya asked, poofing into my dressing room; he had gone out hours ago to skate Hollywood boulevard and find these boys that Caleb was talking about, meaning both Maya and I have been bored out of our minds awaiting his arrival.

"Not yet," I muttered, breaking away from my thoughts; it was rare I thought of my past, but for some reason, memories just kept flooding my mind today, memories I wish would go away.

"What's got you in a grumpier mood than usual?" Maya teased, laying down on my bed; I guess she doesn't plan on leaving for a while.

"Do you ever think about your past?" I ask her, Maya's eyes widen, and she sits up, looking at me with a confused expression.

"No," She answered quickly, "why would I? my family sucked, we barely had any money, joining this club is the best thing that's ever happened to me." I nodded; I already knew this; Maya, Willie, and I had all shared our backstories with one another, well an to an extent; I was not going to admit how just how pathetic alive Harper was, "why? Are you having doubts?"

"What? Of course not," I scoffed; like Maya, this club was everything to me; it's the reason I'm the person (ghost) I am today. Without it, I'd probably be some nerdy old spinster by now, who still obsesses over her rocker boyfriend who broke her heart years ago, "I was just thinking about the person I used to be, how different I would be if you never found me that night." Maya nods in understanding laying back down again.

"Yeah, you were pretty pathetic," Maya chirped, smirking at me; even though it happened 25 years ago, Maya loves to bring up the day she found me crying. The new Harper would never react to something like that; fear and sadness were no emotion I felt very often anymore.

"Shut up," I roll my eyes, throwing a pillow from the couch over to where she laid; Maya just rolled her eyes in response; seconds later, Willie teleported in, his skateboard tucked under his arm.

"William," I greet him, motioning for sit next to me on the couch, "how'd it go? Did you find them?" both Maya and I stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to tell us about what went down this afternoon and what the new ghosts were like.

"I found one of them," He responded; I don't know what reaction I was expecting from Willie, but it wasn't this; his cheeks were flushed, and a slight smile tugged on the corners of his lips. I'd only ever seen this look one other time in my life, over 25 years ago; I pushed the image of the shaggy-haired boy from my past out of my mind, turning to face Willie.

"Okay, and?" I ask, impatiently gesturing for him to continue.

"Was he hot?" Maya asked, now laying on her stomach as she faced Willie and I, who were on the couch; Willie bites his lip holding back his grin as he stares down at his hands, "shut up, he was?"

"He was cute," Willie responded, too respectful to use Maya's choice of vocabulary, "very cute." He corrected; Maya and I shared a look; sure, the three of us had talked about boys before, but neither of us had seen Willie act this way about one, ever. "and he was around our age."

"Is he coming to the club?" I asked, sitting up straighter; Willie's smile fell.

"I-uh," He stuttered, shaking his head, "I forgot to mention it."

"You forgot?" Maya asked, her voice rising slightly, "how did you forget? You had one job, Willie, get him to the club, and Harper and I would help with getting them to stay."

"I'm sure Willie has a plan," I reassured Maya; I wasn't actually sure if he did or not, but I knew Maya if I didn't cut in, she'd tear him apart, "Right, Will?" I asked, using one of the nicknames I used whenever I teased him, hoping it'd lighten the mood.

"Right," He nodded, flashing me a grateful smile, "From what I've learned so far, he seems really anxious and confused; it's gonna take a bit more coaxing than we originally thought."

"Hmm," Maya hummed in response, observing her chipped nails, "maybe Caleb was right? Maybe these boys are different."

"Did you learn anything else about them, any unique abilities?" I ask, changing the subject; Willie opened his mouth to say something but quickly shook his head instead, "Hm, I wonder what makes them so special to Caleb then?" I wonder aloud; While we wanted as many ghosts as possible here, Caleb sometimes got these "special feelings." About certain ghosts, usually, they had a unique ability or power. Willie and Maya were both able to manipulate electronics with their minds, while I could levitate in the air as if I was flying, just like Caleb.

"Alex didn't bring anything up," He shrugged; My heart lurched at the name; even though Alex wasn't an unusual name, I still couldn't help but be taken aback by it. It felt like my past was trying to invade my perfect afterlife, jabbing me with little memories every once and a while.

"Alex?" I ask; it'd been years since I'd said the name of the boy I used to consider one of my best friends; it felt almost foreign to say.

"That's a cute name," Maya nodded in approval, "did you learn the names of his friends? Did he mention if they were hot?" I don't know why, but I held my breath.

"No, he didn't," Willie shook his head; I sigh, snap out of it Harper, Willie said these boys are young, Alex, Reggie, Bobby, and Luke are well into their forties by now, "and no, sorry; him having attractive friends didn't come up." I bit my lip holding back my laughter; though Willie was nowhere near as sarcastic as Maya and I, everyone once in a while, he would make some pretty funny comments.

"Ugh," Maya groaned, "Well, convince them to come here soon; I'm getting bored."

"Don't rush," I tell Willie, though it didn't make sense why people wouldn't want to spend their eternity performing here; some ghosts took a few tries to convince, but once they saw how fantastic the club was, they never want to leave.

"I would love to stay," Maya sat up from my bed, "but I have a fitting for a new costume; see ya later?" She asked; both Willie and I nodded, and she poofed out of the room, leaving Willie and me alone.

"So," I start, smirking at the taller boy sat next to me, "did you actually have a plan? Or did I just save you from the wrath of Maya?" Willie just shook his head in amusement, neither confirming nor denying my question.

"It's been a while since I've talked to an attractive guy," Willie reminded me, "leave me alone, Harps; I mean, what if his friends are really cute and get you distracted from the plan, huh?"

"I'm a professional William," I reminded him teasingly, "no boys for me, no matter how cute they may be."
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^^ Harpers outfit

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The boys will be coming soon, I promise:)