IT TOOK ME ABOUT TWENTY minutes to get ready before I teleport to where Willie had told me to meet Luke; The Orpheum Theater. I now stand in the grand archway that leads into the legendary theater itself.

I lean against a pillar when I see him, sitting on the opposite side of the room, on stage, fiddling with his left sleeve. "Hey," I say softly, letting him know of my presence.

His head snaps up to look at me before replying in the same tone. "Hey."

"You wanted to see me?" I ask my voice showing the little hope I have for this conversation not to go bad as I push myself off the pillar and I shift my weight between my legs and cross my arms.

"Yeah, I'll go to you," he stands before teleporting a few feet in front of me. He reaches a hand out to pull my arm down slightly, telling me he wants to sit and talk. We do so, sitting with our legs crossed as we sat facing each other but enough for us both to see the stage from our spot.

After a moment of admiring the stage, I decided to break the comfortable silence. "So, what's up? Willie was telling me about how you guys are thinking of a plan to crossover?"

"Yeah we're still figuring out that part, but that's not the only reason I wanted to see you. I... I'm really sorry for how I left things yesterday. We had a moment and then you were honest with me and I ghosted you... literally," He jokes, making a smile creep its way to my lips as I roll my eyes at the bad pun. "It wasn't cool and I'm sorry," he adds seriously.

"You don't need to apologize. If I were in your situation- hell, I am in your situation and I didn't take it too well either," I share humorlessly.

There's a moment before he asks, "So you've been working there against your will this whole time?" I huff out a breath as I look down before nodding in reply. He takes my hand in his, intertwining our fingers which makes me look up at him. "How long have you been there?" He asks softly.

"Forty years or so," I reply in the same tone. I spent so much time in that club I lost track of exactly how many years I've been there but from what I remember, it was around four decades ago.

"Forty years?!" He repeats, shocked.

"Yeah, I died in the 80s'," I inform him, looking down as I fidget with the rings on my left hand. He takes a moment to process as he looks back at the stage. I take his silence as an opportunity to continue, looking out to the stage as well. "I was here on that night." Luke looks at me as I let out a deep breath. "I had just started rehearsing for a show here when I went to make a phone call at the phone booth that was across the street." I could feel myself starting to get emotional as I thought about the last conversation I ever had with Lila.

We both groan as another one of those jolts of pain happens.

I took another deep breath before continuing, doing my best to suppress the pain. "I was walking back to the Orpheum when I got hit by a car... next thing I know, I'm in my apartment trying to comfort my girlfriend who was sobbing on the floor, as I was unable to do anything... I think that was the most helpless I've felt in my entire existence."

I stare off at a spot on the floor as I feel a tear slide down my cheekbone. I've never talked to anyone about it. Not even Willie. I could never bring myself to it until now.

I felt Luke's thumb rub across the back of my hand, making me turn to look at him with watery eyes. He lets go of my hand and pulls me into a much-needed hug. I scoot closer as he wraps his arms around me in a comforting embrace. I bury my face into the crook of his neck as more tears find their way to my cheeks. Luke kisses the crown of my head, knowing how hard it must have been for me to share what I had been keeping to myself for so long.

He holds me in the warm embrace for a few minutes before I pull away, almost regretting leaving the comfort of his arms as I did so. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that," he apologized.

I give him a sad smile as I hold his hand once more, this time playing with his rings instead of my own. I look to see if he minds but all he does is smile at me which I can't help but genuinely return.

"Thank you for listening," I tell him softly.

"Of course. You can talk to me about anything."

⋙♪⋘

After Luke and I's conversation, he told me that he wanted to show me something, not giving me any details of what it could be. He took my hand and teleported us in front of a house I don't recognize. I look ahead at the red front double doors, turning to look at Luke only to get distracted by Julie. Why is Julie here? Is she meant to be here? Where are we?

She has her pointer finger hovering over the doorbell. "Luke, Victoria!" Julie says in surprise, noticing our presence causing Luke to look at her as well.

"What are you doing here?" Luke asks, his voice soft. He seems sadder than he did when we left The Orpheum.

"Ok, look. I-I just wanted to know more about you, y'know, just curious. Um," Julie stutters. Luke steps back from the door, his hand still in mine, which Julies notices with a subtle smile before returning to the original topic. "So, I came here last week on your birthday."

"You were spying on me?" Luke asks, eyebrows raised. "Even after all your speeches about boundaries, you were spying on me?"

"I know," Julie agrees regretfully. "I'm sorry it was wrong."

"What's going on, Jules?" I ask her politely.

"I worried," She admits.

"You don't have to be," Luke dismisses, looking down at his shoes. I rub my thumb against the back of his hand as he did for me less than an hour ago to bring him some comfort.

"I get it," Julie states. "I know how hard it is when you want to speak to someone you love and can't. I feel that way every day."

Oh. So this is his parent's home. He wanted me to see his family before we lost the chance.

Luke thinks for a minute before sighing. "But, I don't even know what I'd say to her, even if she could hear me," He says the last part while giving me a side glance.

"Yes, you do," Julie and I say at the same time. The boy looks between us with a confused expression. "You already said it," Julie adds. Well, technically he wrote it, but I won't disagree.

Luke looks between us again before ringing the doorbell. DingDong. We step back as Julie moves to stand in front of us. Luke looks at me as I give his hand a gentle squeeze, my way of telling him that I'm here for him.

The left door opens inward to reveal a tall skinny man with glasses and greying hair. He looks around before his gaze lands on the only visible person here, Julie. "Hello. Can I help you?"

"Hi. I'm Julie," she introduces herself. "I believe you had a son named Luke?"

The man smiles a little, making Luke squeeze my hand again. "Yes, that's right. And you are again?"

"Julie Molina. Um, your son's band used to play in my family's garage?" She tucks her hand into her back pocket and pulls out a folded piece of paper, ripped out from Luke's lyric journal. "I-I came across this song that he wrote and figured you might be interested?" Julie says.

"Um. Well, yes," The man sighs. "Uh, please, please. Come in. I'm- I'm Mitch." He shakes her hand.

"Nice to meet you," She replies.

She walks in and stops at the door, looking back at the nervous boy next to me. "Luke," I whisper, getting his attention. "You ready to do this?"

"Yeah," He whispers back. I pull him inside with me as Julie closes the door behind us.

"Can I, um, get you something?" Mitch asks.

"Oh, no. I'm good. Thank you," Julie declines politely.

I look down to my right to see a picture of a baby boy giggling toothlessly at the camera as he plays with a toy piano. "Is this you?" I ask Luke softly.

He nods, the corner of his lips lifting a little, "Yeah. I think I was two."

"You're adorable," I smile at the photo before looking back at him.

"Did I hear the doorbell?" A woman asks as she strolls into the room before standing by Mitch's side. Luke tenses at her presence. I'm guessing by her kind nature and graying hair that this is his mother.

"Hi, hun. Um, this is Julie," Mitch introduces.

"Hello, Julie. That's a beautiful sweater," Emily complements.

"Thanks. It's my mom's," Julie smiles.

There's an underlying sad tone in the room that I can't help but notice.

"Julie lives in the house where Luke and the band rehearsed. She was telling me she found a song that Luke wrote," Mitch catches his wife up.

Luke's breath starts to become heavier as he looks between his parents. "Hey, hun. It's okay. If it's too much, just say the word and we can come back later," I whisper to him softly as I rub my right hand up and down his forearm, not wanting him to feel pressured.

"No, I- I can do this," he assures me. "I need to do this."

"Okay." I nod.

"It's about a girl named Emily?" Julie continues after hearing Luke.

"Emily?" Luke's mother repeats under her breath. "I'm Emily," she says breathlessly.

"Then I think your son may have written this song for you." Julie hands Emily the paper.

The couple looks down at the paper anxiously. They need to truly experience Luke's words. And Luke needs to be the one who tells them. I close my eyes, remembering the cords that he showed me weeks ago. An acoustic guitar plays lightly around us as I open my eyes to Luke. "Sing it." I nod.

Thank you, he mouths to me.

"Of course," I whisper back.

Luke sings Unsaid Emily to his parents, them being able to hear him due to my powers. They probably think it's just in their head, but I know that hearing it meant a lot to them. By the end, everyone in the room, but me is crying. Okay, my eyes may be watering a little.

A tear glides down Luke's cheek as he mutters into my hair, "Thank you," again.

I look up at him, wiping away the tear with a nod. I hold so much adoration for this boy.

"Um, You have no idea..." Mitch cuts himself off to take a deep breath as his wife sobs quietly next to him.

"I write music in the same room that he did," Julie tells them, her eyes now red from crying. "And I can tell you it is a magical, happy place," She adds, making the older couple smile as they lean into each other.

"That is so nice to know," Mitch tells her as he rubs his wife's shoulder.

"I know he was only seventeen when he..." Julies starts again, making Luke quickly wipe away another tear with his sleeve as he sniffs. "But he lived doing the one thing he was born to do. not many people find that, but Luke did. He was lucky."

This was it. Luke finally got closure with his parents. It wasn't easy, but it happened. Luke squees my hands again before teleporting us away. I glance around for a second before realizing we're at the private beach I took him to the other day. I hear Luke let out a sob so I pull him into my arms. He wraps his around my waist to hold me closer as he tucks his face into the crook of my neck. I gently rub his back as I let him cry. "You did so well. I'm so proud of you," I commend him, kissing him on his head.

We stayed there for a while, just me holding him as his tears became less frequent. We talked about it for a bit before moving on to lighter topics. I almost lost it when he said "This is an interesting little relationship you and I have."

"Relationship, huh?" I tease with a grin.

"Mhm," Luke hums in reply, smirking at me. "What would you like to call it?"

"I- I don't what we are," I smile, biting my lower lip as I shake my head and look out to the ocean, enjoying the view of the falling sunset which causes orange and pink colors to paint the sky and clouds. "I know I like it." I look back at him. "I know I like you."

He huffs a smile as he looks down at me. "Y'know that saying, I love you to death?" He asks. I frown a little as I nod. "Well, I like you to life."

I chuckle, biting my lip again as I look down, trying to hide my non-existent blush. My lord, this man is adorable.

"I need to go. Julie doesn't know about our unfinished business yet and we don't have a lot of time," he tells me softly.

"Right, of course." I nod. "Go, we can meet up later," I assure him.

"Okay. Bye." He leans in, capturing my lips with his soft ones in a kiss. My right-hand grazes his jawline softly before pulling away. "See you later," he whispers before teleporting away.

I'm left alone, smiling like an idiot.

⋙♪⋘

A/N: Sorry for being a few days late with this update but I hope you liked it. :) Don't forget to comment and vote! Love you all! - Zoe Manijeh <3 01.28.23

(Later note: I'm gonna take a break from the weekly updates due to the lack of reads on this chapter. But this book is not discontinued. INTERACT! It encourages me to update more often! - Zoe, 02.06.23)

⚠️ READ A/N BELOW!!! ⚠️

[Even later A/N: There weren't enough reads or votes coming in and I lost my love for writing this story... I'm sorry to say that I'll be discontinuing it. Who knows if I'll ever update PFT80S again. 🤷‍♀️ Thanks to those who supported this story and for getting it to 1K reads! Ily all! Much love! <3 ~ Zo, 07-27-2023]

Word count: 2518