i lowkey hate this chapter

also, a warning: there's a lot of cursing oops

Elise was fifteen minutes early for their scheduled practice, but no one minded.

When she walked into the studio, longboard in hand, Julie was explaining to an apprehensive Luke and Reggie why the dance was a necessary gig.

"No, you're right. We rock these kid's faces off and then we play the clubs." Luke leaned on the edge of the piano, resting his chin in his hands. Reggie was just to his left, nodding in agreement.

"And then we release a hit single that gets a billion streams."

"I don't know what that means, but let's hope it lands us a manager and a tour." Elise joined the group, standing to the right of the two boys. She blew her hair out of her face and laughed, it was definitely a nice thought.

"Then we release a bunch of hit albums," She added in.

"Put out a country album that does surprisingly well." She cocked an eyebrow and Reggie was quick to address her questioning gaze. "I can shred on the banjo."

Elise laughed. "Then I'll learn how to fiddle."

"And before you know it we're being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame!" Luke celebrated their imaginary victory.

"-but one of us isn't there, because we had a blowout in 2032." Reggie looked around at the others.

"My money's on Elise." Luke wiggled his eyebrows. "She'll try her hand on a solo career. Using her father's name, of course."

She rolled her eyes, and Reggie added more to the story.

"Until she dies in a hot ballooning accident and comes crawling back."

"One of you will have murdered me, I'm 95% positive."

Luke shrugged, the group giggled.

"So what are we waiting for?" He said. "Let's get rehearsing." He spoke loudly, as if he were in the midst of pumping himself up.

"Uh- where is Alex?" Julie cocked her head to the side.

"Oh, who knows."

"Probably out with his ghost friend." Elise laughed at the suggestive look on Reggie's face.

"We can just que him in when he gets back. You ready?" They all silently agreed with Elise, moving to their respective instruments and preparing them.

They began playing through the set list that they compiled previously, the songs were already semi-rehearsed so with only a little tweaking to each they moved on the next.

After they were already halfway done with their first song, Alex waltzed through the studio door. He wore a giddy smile, his hands were shoved in his pockets.

"Oh, hey Alex!" Reggie smiled.

"Where have you been, man? We need to practice."

"Oh," he cocked his head in question. "For what?"

Elise opened her mouth to respond, when the sudden entrance of a very eccentric Flynn did just the trick for her.

"Dance news!" She raised her arms as if posing. "I don't have a date but I'm so psyched to see you guys perform that I don't care."

Alex's face twisted and he spoke in a disgust. She could bet that he'd gone through a story similar to Elise's before, too. "We're playing a dance?"

"Of course, dude. That's how you get a following nowadays."

"Yeah, get with the Program."

"Quit complaining," Elise laughed.

"What? The guys are here?" Flynn's back straightened and she flew to fix her hair, the corners of her mouth twitching upwards. Elise raised an eyebrow. "Hey, guys!"

She waved, facing the opposite direction of where the boys actually sat. She turned and tried again when Julie corrected her, Reggie waved back.

"Well now that Alex has graced us with his presence, we should get rehearsing."

"Yes, you're right." Julie shifted her gaze back to Flynn. "We're gonna' get practicing, do you want to stick around?"

"I'm supposed to blow up 500 balloons for the dance, but this sounds way better." Elise laughed.

A cheery silence blanketed the group for just a moment. Alex sat behind the drums, Elise stood. Before the rest got a chance to settle, Julie's little brother entered. This would be Elise's first interaction with Carlos, and it probably wasn't a great one. She wasn't good at first impressions.

He strutted in, a paper clutched tightly in his hand. He set it down on the keyboard in front of Julie, who grabbed it and knitted her eyebrows.

"I looked at the pictures dad took, and I think those little orb things are ghosts." He crossed his arms, smirking in victory. "But don't worry, I'll protect you. I'm the man of the house."

"Isn't dad the man of the house?" Carlos scrunched his face and thought over this a second as if this were new information.

"There can be two!" The boys shared a laugh, unknowing to him of course. "And dad needs all the help he can get."

His mouth fell open in sudden realization, and he twisted to pull something out of his back pocket. By the looks of it, he had a container of salt. Elise's face fell; she'd watched Supernatural.

"According to the internet, salt burns out their souls." He smiled, his face the exact opposite of the rest of the band. Their eyes went wide and they each ducked as they attempted to avoid the the grains that Carlos was throwing around.

Alex, unlike the other two, was unsuccessful. He yelled out in fear as the salt soared right through him; after a moment huddled up in utter panic, he straightened out and cleared his throat, face coated in embarrassment.

"I'm fine." Elise had to hold back a laugh, she didn't want Alex to feel any dumber than necessary. He was quite entertaining.

Julie managed to catch Flynn's eye,
sending her a burning stare. It took her a moment to figure out what was being implied, but her mouth fell open at the sudden realization and she jumped to Julie's aid. "Carlos! I'm hungry, salt me a path to the kitchen?"

He smiled brightly and agreed, walking out with a certain overconfidence that made Elise laugh. Julie smiled a thank you before Flynn was out of sight.

"Oh, remind me later." Luke smiled, obviously basking in excited anticipation. "There are some Sunset Curve songs I want to show you later."

"Oo, show us now," Julie cooed. Elise hummed an agreement. He looked between the two girls and nodded eagerly.

"Alright." He smiled, grabbing the journal that sat beside his amp. "I dog eared the ones that I think Julie would slay."

She smiled and grabbed the notebook, pulling it open and flipping through. She stopped short, her finger running underneath the words blackened at the top of one especially tattered page. Unsaid Emily.

Her eyes narrowed and she grinned. "Who's Emily?"

"That one's not doggy eared–" He snatched to get it back, but Julie pulled away.

"I didn't know you were such a romantic."

"Oh he's not," Alex said. "That ones actually about–"

"No one. It's about no one." His voice quivered, just the slightest. Alex took a step back, face falling into a silent apology. "But if you go to the next page there's a song that's perfect for your range."

She peered over Julie's shoulder at the words on the page, confusion gripping at her as she read the words scribbled messily, line after line. Her face scrunched as Luke played the opening riff of one of her dad's songs, that didn't make sense.

"Oh, so you like to sample?"

Luke looked at Julie, laughing. "What do you mean?"

"You know, sample someone else's music." Julie glanced over to Elise, who scoffed. She could never seem to escape her father; her family's reputation. Why would Luke, of all people, do that to her though? "Me and my mom used to sing that song all the time.

"And my dad, because, ya know, he wrote it." The hurt in her voice was evident, and the three boys each made panicked and confused eye contact. How were they just as confused as she was? Elise set down her guitar a moment, taking a seat on one of the stools.

"yeah, It's a classic Trevor Wilson song."

"Nope, it's a classic our song." Luke grabbed his journal back from Julie, obviously growing annoyed at their persistence.

"Pure Sunset Curve," Reggie sided with Luke. "I've never even heard her dad's music."

"Maybe you're just mixing it up. With another song." Elise's mouth fell open at Alex's words, she knew her father's work. His music raised her better than he did. Did they think the girls were stupid?

"No, she's not." She felt a painful fluttering in her heart. That was most definitely her father's, but there was no way they could have been the ones to cause such a mix-up. She brought herself to her feet, her emotions taking control of her momentarily. "I think I could recognize my father's music. I've been to too many of his shows to count."

"Trust me," Julie reassured Elise with her eyes. "The two of us and Carrie used to be best friends, we hung out together all the time."

The boys were obviously growing uneasy with the teamwork of the girls, Luke's face was unreadable but certainly, his thoughts were nowhere good. Reggie seemed lost, Alex disbelieving. "Here. I'll prove it."

Julie pulled out her laptop, and one google search later a picture of Elise's dad was displayed clear as day on the screen. She bit her lip, awaiting the reaction of her bandmates. There had to be a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this.

Alex's face was the first to morph, shock written in his features. He grabbed Reggie's shoulder as he leaned forward. Luke's didn't change, as if he still hadn't processed the same emotions that the others were displaying.

"That's Bobby."

"Seriously? I just told you his name is Trevor."

Alex stuttered out the next words, panic-stricken. "Okay, then he changed it. That is definitely Bobby. He was-" He looked at Elise, who was fighting to keep any emotion from her face. And definitely failing. Alex's voice dropped an octave; the girl was not going to like what he said next. "He was our old rhythm guitarist."

She knew what this meant. She was upset, to say the absolute very least, but she was more upset that she was by no means suprised. But that didn't stop the tears that now pricked at the back of her eyes. She didn't let them fall, however. They stayed building up inside.

Julie scoffed. "Trevor Wilson was in your band?" She didn't seem to believe it for a second.

"No- Julie," she choked out. "The CD. I knew Sunset Curve because I found it in my dad's stuff. This..."

She opened her mouth to argue again, but for some reason, she fell short.

"I can't get over how old he looks."

"He looks like a substitute teacher-"

"That's your concern right now?" She stepped forward. She spoke the words much harsher than she'd initially intended.

"What were his other hits?" Luke clutched the strap of his guitar with white knuckles, avoiding the eyes of the girl as she began rattling off her favorites. Something flickered in his features, marking the very beginning of the spiral that was about to occur.

"Yeah." He snapped. "I wrote those." He lifted the strap over head neck and set down the guitar.

"Wait, this is kind of freaking me out," Julie said, eyes knit in disbelief. "Trevor's songs are kind of big to me. He kind of introduced us to rock."

"Yeah," Alex sighed. "Luke introduced you to rock."

"This whole time I thought you were connected to my mom, but you're really connected to El's dad?"

A dot connected in her mind. This was why she could see them, it had to be. But there had to be a reason Julie could as well, right?

"We'll just add it to our list of questions." Alex looked straight at Elise now, a mix of confusion and betrayal painted in his eyes. He didn't think... did he?

"I didn't know." Her voice cracked at the end, she felt helpless. Her dad's music was the only part of him he could trust, and now she didn't even have that. "I swear."

Alex's eyes dropped to the floor, he nodded sadly. Luke had taken advantage of the dartboard on the other side of the room, hurling the sharp objects at the target in front of him. His gaze didn't stray, he groaned in frustration with each throw.

"Yeah well, your dad screwed us over big time. How do we know you won't, too?"

There were a few immediate protests to what Luke had said coming from everyone else in the room, Elise's mouth fell open. But he didn't seem sorry; his words were definitely aimed to hurt her. Whether or not he'd meant it was up in the air.

"I am not my father." There was no chance she'd be able to control her reaction now, she couldn't stop the flow of feelings that ebbed in her head. Once she started, she was gone. "I understand that you're upset, but guess fucking what. I don't know if you've noticed but we're not exactly 'tight.' This– I can't even begin to describe how much I hate him right now."

She didn't even realize the way her voice had begun shaking, she couldn't tell what she was feeling. Angry, most likely. But no matter how she would describe it, she wanted to scream at her father until her face was blue. Luke's expression didn't change.

Elise continued, she didn't have time to think through her words before they were spoken. "My God, Luke. You are insufferable."

Luke turned away from the target now to face her, taking a few steps forward.

"What makes you so different than your family?" He spat.

Julie came to stand beside her, her hand interlocking with Elise's as she sent daggers to Luke. "What is your problem?"

The boy stalled a moment, taking a sharp inhale. He eyed their hands, after a few seconds a look of clarity disrupted the cloud on his face. He remembered their conversation; Elise was a friend. His fight was not with her.

His eyes flicked over all the faces in the room, despite everyone's mixed emotions it was clear that Luke's outburst had shocked all of them. Julie squeezed Elise's hand to try and reassure her once more, she allowed herself to take a deep shaky breath.

"Oh, God." He took a gentle step toward her, which she countered with a step back. "I'm sorry, I'm–"

"I need to go talk to my dad." She pulled away from Julie, hands itching for the girl's the moment she lost contact. Luke buried his face in his hands, the others stared after her as she grabbed her board and all but ran out of the room. She heard Julie yelling at Luke as she exited.

Even though it was the fastest she'd ever rode, the time between Julie's house and her own felt the longest. She didn't have the weight of her guitar to pull her down, her mind was set on one single thing as the wind seemingly carried her through the streets; what she was going to say to her father.

Was it really worth it? He was bound to find out at some point, probably soon, so what was the point in waiting. Right now, he was sat in his tower overseeing the throne that was not rightfully his. Elise wanted to be the one to rip it from his hands.

Hair disheveled and breath lost, she burst through the front doors. No one was in the living room, the white couch was empty. She called out for Carrie.

"Care! Where's dad?" Her response was near immediate.

"He should be home soon!" Her voice carried from the den, which was a few doors down.

He wasn't even home yet, which left her more time to bask in her anxiety. Her mind didn't rest, was she making a mistake? What would he say? It's not like she could tell him about the boys, he could throw her in a psych ward for telling him that her ghost friends tattled on him.

She paced, squeezing her eyes shut and wringing her fingers.

"He recorded 'My Name is Luke.'" Her eyes flew open. Luke stood at the other end of the room, staring at one of her father's platinum records. "My name is Luke."

Oh, well that one made a little more sense now.

The boys of Sunset Curve were lurking near the entrance of the house, mouths hung open as they gawked at the mansion that was her father's home. Even if she could be defensive of her own lavish lifestyle, she had to admit that the man was quite extra. No one needed a self portrait ten times multiplied hung in their living room.

"What are you guys doing here?" She kept her voice low just in case someone heard. She was fairly sure Nick was there as well, the last thing she wanted was for him to think she was crazy. The guy was actually a sweetheart (how Carrie managed to cuff him was beyond her.)

"Same reason as you, pretty much." She kept her eyes on Alex as to avoid Luke's.

"I appreciate that, but it's not like you guys can talk to him. And this is my house too, what if I'm not comfortable with you being here?"

"Then that sucks." She glared at Luke. This was a normal gesture for the two, but this time there was no hint of any playful intentions. Right now, the anger that bubbled inside of her at just the thought of the boy in front of her was completely real. "Look, we have just as much right to confront him as you do. He stole my songs, remember?"

She pondered this a moment. It's not like she could exactly kick them out, Luke was stubborn, and exactly what threat would she use? It's not like any would hold weight. They were kind of, well, dead, after all.

Alex stepped up to her, eyes dripping with an empathy that was actually kind of comforting. "Elise, how exactly would you explain this to him? He'd just deny it, and you can't really tell him about us."

"Well, not unless we give him a reason to believe you first." Reggie smirked, just slightly. She understood what he meant, maybe that was the best option. For now, at least.

She sighed, her shoulders slouching as she stared at the floor in defeat. "Fine."

Reggie celebrated, Luke as well. Alex didn't have the same reaction, he stared at the girl with a certain concern she hadn't seen in a long time. As the other two walked around once more, he stayed in place.

"Hey, it's gonna be okay. This isn't your fault, it's out of your control." She was suddenly so, incredibly, exhausted. Just being awake, standing in the living room, was too much work. She just wanted to sleep, to forget about today for just a little. "And, don't listen to Luke. We aren't our parents. He didn't mean it."

His voice dropped, emotion pouring from his words. Whatever experience he was drawing from was something genuine. Elise didn't know much about his backstory, and it obviously wasn't a comfortable question. If she thought about it, she realized none of the Sunset Curve boys had their lives out on the table. Not even her own father; she barely even knew him anymore.

"Does he hate me?" She hadn't meant to say it, that was an absurd thought, wasn't it?

"Luke?" She nodded. "No, dude. After you left he was practically screaming at himself. He kept going on about how awful he felt."

"I'll be waiting for his apology, then." Alex laughed.

There was a loud bang. It took Elise a second to recognize it as the closing of a car door. Luke's eyes flashed, and he turned back to the girl. "Just, let us deal with this?"

She grunted, running an anxious hand through her hair. She watched through the window as her father grew closer, stomach spinning as her mind ran circles.

"Ugh– fine!"