The Other Side of Hollywood | Luke Patterson

TWENTY-SEVEN✨

I poofed in front of Julie's house, deciding against appearing directly in the studio. Maybe it was because I wanted more time, but mostly it was because I didn't think they'd appreciate me showing up abruptly; the least I can do is knock.

"Harper?" I stop walking, slowly turning to face Luke, who is leaning against the railing of Julie's porch. Despite how dark it is and the distance between the two of us, I can tell that Luke had been crying.

"Hi," I breathe; I mentally curse myself for sounded so awkward, "look, I know I'm the last person you want to see, I just came to apologize. I should never have lied to you; it's just Caleb owns me, and even though I used to hate to admit this, he controls a lot of my actions," I used to believe Caleb never controlled Maya and I, but it was becoming more obvious just how much he had manipulated us.

"Harper, you don't-"

"No, I do," I cut Luke off, finally finding the courage to take a few steps closer to him, "Luke, I used to think I was happy at the club; but I forgot what true happiness was until I was with you again." Luke smiles softly, taking a few steps closer to me, "I was selfish last night, this is more than just me and you being together; you're gonna be miserable at the club, and all I want is for you to be happy, even if that means we can't be together."

"You really mean that?" Luke asks; I nod, "thank you," He says; I smile as he reaches for my hand, interlocking our fingers, "for everything, Julie told me bringing the song to my parents was your idea."

"I just wanted them to remember how much you loved them," I shrug nonchalantly, "I was also hoping maybe this was some key to finding your unfinished business," I admit, looking down at our interlocked, "guess I was wrong, I'm sorry."

"You want to help?" Luke asked, shocked that I'd gone that far, "even though it means," he hesitated, not wanting to say the last part out loud.

"like I said," I finally look up, stepping even closer so now we're inches apart, "I just want you to be happy, Patterson, whatever it takes." Luke doesn't respond. Instead, he cups my cheek in his spare hand, pulling me in for a kiss; I smile into the kiss, pulling out hands apart so I can play with the ends of his hair.

"If things were different, I'd stay," Luke reassures once we pull apart, his hand holding my cheek still, "I wish things were easier."

"Me too," I mumble, leaning my forehead against his, "but love never is," I remind him, especially for Luke and me; being together has never been easier, but it was worth it, no matter how hard it was.

"We think we figured it out, though," I pull away slightly so I can see him more clearly, nodding for him to continue. "we have to-" I furrow my brows when Luke doesn't finish his sentence, his eyes drifting over my shoulder. When I peek back to see what he's looking at, I spot Julie walking up the driveway.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt," She chuckles awkwardly; I turn around to face Julie, stepping beside Luke, "You guys are okay now?"

"We're okay," I nod, reassuringly; as okay as we can be considering the circumstances, I don't add, "Thank you, Julie, for helping me bring that song to his parents."

"Of course," She smiled, walking onto the porch where Luke and I stood, "the guys have helped me feel more connected to my mom, so it was the least I could do." My heart panged at the mention of the death of her mom; for someone so young, she already lost so much. "Oh my gosh, I forgot to tell you guys," Julie exclaimed, changing the somber discussion, "Flynn said the video my dad made is trending on youtube!" I nod, smiling at the younger girl; their band deserved all the success; it was just too bad they couldn't go on for longer. On the other hand, Luke is staring at Julie with furrowed brows; I was clearly much more educated on modern things than he was.

"That's a good thing," I reassure Luke, squeezing his hand.

"A very good thing," Julie corrects me, "it means people love our music; we'll definitely be getting calls from managers now." Luke and I share a glance; they wouldn't be around for that.

"there's something I have to tell you," Luke finally says; I squeeze his hand, nodding at him reassuringly when he glances at me, "We figured out we have unfinished business; that's why the boys and I came back as ghosts."

"Oh," Julie nods, slightly confused by the abrupt change of topic, "what is it?"

"We have to play the show we never got to play," Luke explains; the Orpheum, it made sense that it was that, they died hours before they were supposed to take the stage, of course, that was it.

"At the Orpheum?" Julie asks, nodding understandingly, "That makes sense." Luke glances at me, silently asking me with his eyes to explain the rest; I nod, opening my mouth to tell Julie the reason he's saying all this. Before I can, Luke gets shocked by a jolt, knocking him back against one of the pillars.

"We don't have a lot of time," Luke winces, holding his stomach in pain; I move back, allowing him to lean on me.

"What was that? Are you okay?" Julie asks, concern evident on her face; Luke just nods, taking in shallow breaths as he recovers from the jolt, "Harper, what's going on?" I glance down at Luke, who just nods, reassuring me to tell Julie everything.

"The night the boys missed your school dance, they came to this ghost club, one that I've been working at for years," I begin; Julie nods, gesturing for me to go on, "They threaten the head of the club; besides him, no ghosts have ever been visible to so many humans. So, he put a curse on them, and if they don't do what he says-" I hesitate, not wanting to finish the sentence, "then those jolts will destroy them."

"Y-you, let this happen to them?" Julie asks, her voice laced with betrayal, I open my mouth to respond, but Julie cut's me off, turning her attention back to Luke, "what does he want?"

"He wants us to be in his house band for eternity," Luke answers, standing up straight, "but if we can play the Orpheum soon, then we can avoid all that and actually cross over."

"Cross over?" Julie asked, "As in, like what? go to heaven?"

"That's what we're banking on," Luke responded, shrugging his shoulders in response.

"I can't believe you let this happen," Julie snapped at me accusingly, "and how could you just forgive her like this? She's the reason you guys got cursed in the first place."

"Harper had no control over what happened," Luke tried to get Julie to understand, but she just shook her head stubbornly, ignoring what he said.

"Sure," She nodded sarcastically, "so, it's either you cross over, the boys join this club you work at, or these jolts destroy them?" Julie clarifies, shaking her head in disbelief; Luke and I nod sadly, "That's just great," She scoffs, turning to walk into her house.

"Julie," Luke called out, but it was useless; she had slammed the door, leaving the two of us alone on his porch.

🤍
Luke and Harper are back together, and Julie finally knows the truth!