GRACIE SCOBELL WAS SO MANY THINGS. she was an artist: a singer and a musician. she was a muse for luke. she was a sister for alex. she was a best friend for reggie. she was a support beam for julie. she was a close friend and an inspiration for flynn. she was a poet written by julie, a song composed by luke, and a goddess for the world to look up to.

never in her entire life could gracie imagine to be so loved, to be so seen. but she was. somehow, in some extraordinary way, she was seen.

she had spent her entire life wishing to be loved, to receive and feel it deep in her bones, and she finally could say she was. her parents understood her, her brother was never not smiling as he spoke about her, and her sister realized that she had just as valid dreams as her own. she had a second family with her band, a boy she was silently sure was her soulmate alongside her throughout their entire journey. she had the best friends she could ask for. her heart was brought back to life.

gracie wasn't perfect, but it sure felt like her life was. and not a day went by where she didn't thank the higher beings for it.

gracie and luke silently sat in the studio, waiting for the rest of the band to come back from julie's house, where the ghosts went to grab the girl. she kept her eyes trained on her pick, balancing it between her fingers with the full knowledge of luke's hazel eyes on the side of her face.

it wasn't often that the boy was quiet - in fact it was hard for anyone to shut him up - but gracie always seemed to do it without knowing, silence him. she was always too peaceful, too perfect to be disrupted by him. luke almost always found himself hypnotized by her, putting the boy into a state of such deep enchantment by her beauty and mind and talents. there was no way of denying his endearment for the blonde haired, green eyed girl sitting beside him. just a quick glance in his direction made his breath catch. even the slightest of laughs at one of his dumb jokes made his heart stutter. god, even her presence made his neck and ears heat up.

but... he was a ghost. and there was no changing that. somehow, the newfound fact of their ability to touch made it worse. because he was at the edge of a cliff, ready to jump off and dive down into the deep, dark pit that was tempting him so fiercely... for just one kiss. just one hug. just one more touch and he would never complain again. if anything were to happen, as much as luke would love it and cherish it with every dead cell in his body, it would only hurt her. gracie wouldn't be able to live a normal live with a ghost as her boyfriend. she'd grow old and he'd stay a teen, he had to accept that. if he tried to push what he craved for, she'd never get married, never experience real teenage love, and never be able to even introduce him to her family.

not a day went by that luke wished he had never eaten that spoiled hot dog. then again, he wouldn't have met her.

"you're awfully quiet over there." gracie said lightly, flickering her eyes over to his face. luke cleared his throat, instantly whipping his head from her face.

he scratched his head as he attempted to casually lay back on the couch, "yeah?"

"yeah," she chuckled softly, making him swallow roughly, "what's goin' on in that pretty little talented mind of yours?"

his lips parted and gracie smiled at the way his chest rose and fell more rapidly. finally, he stammered out, "little?"

gracie adjusted so she could face the ghost on the couch, one leg pulled up and crossed under the other. she tilted her head just slightly, trying to catch his eye, "luke...?"

she softly sang his name in a way that made the mentioned boy's jaw twitch. his eyes rolled around the room before he slowly turned to face her, an action which instantly lit up her face. he almost forced himself to look away again, this wasn't helpful.

"what's up?" she asked again, pouting her lips unknowingly.

luke's face contorted into one of pain before he sighed and said, "chairs, apparently."

gracie paused, taking a second to look up at the odd choice of decor before shoving luke's shoulder semi-roughly. it still amazed her they could touch, but luke always inched away with his head ducked when she did, so she tried to resist it.

luke inhaled, attempting to cover his fluster by whipping his head to the girl and asking, "what was that for?" his brows were furrowed, and paired with his red cheeks, gracie's small smile wavered.

"just say you don't wanna talk, i don't get why communications so hard for gen x'ers." she mumbled, crossing her arms lightly.

luke's features softened and he sighed, "i'm sorry... it's just..." the slightest of movements in her brows made his exterior crack and he slowly blinked, lips parting.

"are you okay?" gracie asked, leaning in to peer up at his expression.

luke moved without thinking, his left hand stretching out for the crook in her neck while the other grabbed her waist gently. her eyes widened before drooping at close proximity he was pushing. their lips were inches apart, the blonde subconsciously holding her breath. luke seemed to realize last second what he was about to do and looked up from her lips to her eyes that were staring at his.

his grip loosened on her and the ghost instantly felt panic rush into his body. however, before he could back up too far, gracie grabbed the back of his neck and pulled him in, the held breath instantly escaping her.

she'd seen people talk about what feels like fireworks going off during the perfect kiss before, whether that be in movies, books, shows, or in person, but she never believed them. fireworks? really? sure, she's had a good few kisses before, but fireworks isn't a word she'd use to describe them. more like... wet. but kissing luke... feeling his callused hands hold her jawline up and roam her bare waist... she knew what they meant. how he held her so delicately and simultaneously like he could never have enough of her made her legs weak and she was suddenly glad they were on the couch. her own fingers were tugging on his hair, holding his head tilted down towards her's to make up for their height difference and she smiled when he groaned softly. electricity was coursing through their veins, wrapping the teens in a blanket of energy. there was no other way to describe the feeling other than pure, colorful, and beautiful fireworks.

he suddenly laughed, pulling away with his hands up at her neck. she was panting, smiling at the red cheeks he had (and the ones she knew were painted similarly on her own face) beside his wide smile.

"...you... don't know how long -" she cut him off with another deep kiss, pulling away to laugh as she adjusted to her knees so he had his head tilted up instead of her. his hands dropped to her waist, hugging her tightly.

"wait - wait, grace," luke paused, breathing heavily as he pulled away through her many kisses, "does this mean... that you like me?" she stared down in amazement before laughing loudly.

"no, luke," she pecked him, "i absolutely," she pecked his lips again, "despise you." she pulled on his chin, once again instigating a deep kiss which made the boy shudder and the girl inhale sharply. somehow it only got better as it continued.

once it broke, the blushing boy nodded quickly, "yeah, yeah - no, me too."

she grinned down at him before collapsing onto her butt again. just in time, too, because the garage door swung open to reveal julie with a bouquet of flowers and the boys following her.

"ooh, who're those from?" gracie asked, casually twirling her hair around her finger as her chest rose and fell rapidly.

julie blushed, placing the bouquet on the piano as the guys collapsed onto chairs, "nick."

"no! really? wow, he must really like you." gracie smiled at the other girl.

luke stared at the side of her face, unable to even process what had happened. it was quite a scene: the boy blushing with his hair messy and stuck up in millions of ways, pink lipstick smudged on his face while the girl who had caused it all looked like she was clueless.

"what hurricane hit you?" reggie asked luke, a teasing smile on his thin lips.

luke blanked, giving alex a moment to laugh loudly and sassily reply to their friend, "looks like hurricane scobell, to me." gracie pushed down her smile to look over at luke who was still looking around like both a deer in headlights and a newborn puppy.

maybe it could work. maybe they could happen. maybe they could date. maybe they could even fall in love, heaven knows luke was already well on his way. and maybe, just maybe, the stars aligned for them.

the end.