Maybe I Didn't Settle After All

by singabella

Jasper's a musician, who thinks his feelings for a dark-haired beauty are unrequited.

A/N Hope you enjoy the story.

Maybe I Didn't Settle After All

I have grown up playing the drums. I played them when I was the lanky blonde geek on the football field with the high school band. I even continued playing them with a small group of friends in a garage while I was going to college. I graduated from University of Texas with a double major of both music and business. It probably seems odd to choose two completely different fields of study, but it worked for me. I originally thought that having the double major would mean the chance of a lifetime in getting a job. My dream job was to play for a rock band. I settled for something else entirely.

This was my second year of touring with Fire and Ice. There were three women who formed the group while the rest of us, such as myself, were in the background as musicians or backup singers. While Fire and Ice might sound like it could be the name of a rock band, it wasn't.

The women that comprised the band consisted of two vocalists, Bella Swan and Rosalie Hale. They both had amazing voices and instead of belting out rock songs, they harmonized together to sing old fashioned love songs, hymns, and lullabies. You could probably compare them to Celtic Women except they weren't Irish. The third woman in the group is Alice Cullen. She plays the violin like no other. While Bella and Rosalie might sway or slightly move their hips to the beats of the music, Alice will be on the stage jumping, dancing, swirling, and anything else you can imagine while playing the violin the entire time. I'm not sure how she can manage to not miss a note or at the very least, get dizzy from all of those spins she does sometimes.

When I first joined the tour, Alice scared the crap out of me with how energetic she could be. I thought she was a doll from the first time I laid eyes on her, I just wasn't really comfortable with the bouncing energy vibe. Although, Bella wasn't really my type, I was more comfortable around someone like her, who was calm and laid back like myself.

That was then and this is now. After growing accustomed to Alice's behaviour on and off the stage, she's definitely grown on me. In fact, I'm pretty sure I love her. My only problem is that I'm too cowardly to tell her. I really don't want to have her stomp on my feelings.

It's only an hour before the show starts and I'm staring down the hallway at Alice, who is talking and laughing with Bella and Rosalie. I want to walk over there, but I really don't have any ideas on what to say that wouldn't sound stupid.

"You're looking a little emo," Emmett McClarty said clapping me on the back. "Come on, let's go warm up."

I watched Emmett walk out onto the stage where all of the instruments were set up. Emmett was the other drummer in the group. While we both had drums sets on upper levels of the stage opposite one another, I also had a few other percussion instruments that I would switch out on depending on the particular song that was up.

"Don't worry about doofus," Edward spoke as he came up behind me. He was the pianist and Alice's younger brother. His gaze seemed to follow where I was looking. "I think you would be surprised by her response if you would just man up."

Before I even had a chance to ask him about what he meant, Edward had walked on the stage and was heading toward his piano to run through a few scales.

I knew he was right and I just needed to say something to Alice about how I felt. After all, people say it's better to try and fail than to never make the attempt. I stood up a little straighter and decided that I was going to tell Alice how I felt before the night was over. I probably ought to go confess my feelings for her now, but I knew I needed to go warm up with the rest of the band.

The wardrobe for all the musicians on stage was pretty simple. We all some sort of variation on a black shirt with black pants. Emmett had the black tank on with some black jeans. Edward was more upscale in his appearance with a black silk button-down shirt with some black dress pants. I was the middle of the road with my fitted black short sleeve shirt and black leather pants. It was comfortable and I knew I probably looked pretty good in it based on looks I've received after shows from women. The rest of the musicians seemed to dress almost alike with cotton button-down shirts and black pants.

I headed onto the stage and climbed up to where my drum set was placed. I grabbed the drum sticks that were sitting there waiting on me and started my warm up by making random beats on each of the drums. I could see Emmett across from me really getting into the rhythm he was beating out as he banged his head along with the beat. Looking down to the corner below Emmett, I could just make out some of the piano music that Edward was playing. He hadn't turned the microphone on yet, so it was hard to really tell what he was playing down there. There was another three guys set up below myself and across from Edward who were warming up with various instruments. One of the guys, Jake, played a variety of instruments, which included flutes, trumpets, and saxophones. The other two guys, Seth and Ben, each had a guitar they were strumming to make sure they were tuned properly.

I finished warming up and allowed my mind to wander for a minute. I wasn't sure what I was going to say to Alice and I needed to come up with something good. I've seen her being hit on numerous times by other guys and they always get turned down. I really didn't want to be the next one on that list. I was hoping that I could say or do something that would make me shine above all the rest and give me a chance with her.

Normally I wouldn't think it was a great thing that I was surrounded by couples in this show, but tonight might be a different story. Rose and Emmett have been a thing for years, but she still gives off a vibe that can be scary at times. However, Bella and Edward have been dating pretty seriously for the past couple of years. I know he's serious about her because he's even mentioned looking at engagement rings to me. I think I could ask Bella what she thinks about my predicament with Alice. I know that she would be as helpful as possible without looking down or making jokes on my behalf.

With this thought in mind, I jumped down from my drum set and hurried backstage. I picked up a bottle of water from the bucket near the stage entrance and walked toward the door that was Bella's dressing room for the evening. I heard movements from inside the room and knocked lightly on the door.

"Come in!" Bella called.

I opened the door to find Bella putting the finishing touches on her first dress for the evening. All three of the women wore red dresses for the first part of the set. The only difference in their dresses was that they were all designed differently. I think they had the girls' personalities in mind when designing them because they all seemed to more or less fit the personality for the performer.

For instance, I was looking at Bella's dress and it was one of those A-line numbers. At least I'm pretty sure that's what I heard one of the wardrobe ladies say. Regardless, it was fitted through the bodice area with a nice little flare in the skirt. I knew that Rosalie's dress was pretty much skin-tight and hit around her mid-thigh. Emmett was always drooling over that little number. Alice had a dress with spaghetti straps. The dress came to her knee but was slit up to just barely cover her unmentionables in several places. I still get that jealous feeling every time I see her on stage with the guys watching. I know exactly what they're thinking because I have the same thoughts.

"Hey Jasper," Bella greeted, "is there something you need?"

I looked down at the floor for a moment while shuffling my feet around nervously. I finally looked up and met her brown eyes, which were staring at me with a look of concern.

"I wanted to know if you had any advice about asking Alice out," I finally told her.

I saw the smile play on her pink lips. Edward really was a lucky man to have a girl like her. I can't wait until they get married and have a house full of kids.

"So you're finally going to tackle Alice?" Bella asked teasingly.

I guess my shocked expression surprised her too.

"I didn't know anyone knew about that," I told her.

She laughed, "Jasper, I think everyone on this set knows about you and Alice except for you an Alice."

"So you think she would go out with me?" I asked just to make sure I was understanding her right.

Bella nodded her head gleefully. "Of course she'll go out with you. Don't tell her I said this, but I'm pretty sure she's just as smitten with you as you seem to be with her. Now, that doesn't mean that our little Alice won't make you work for it."

"So what do you suggest?" I asked.

Bella tapped her chin in thought. "I would say that Alice would enjoy a good surprise. If you do something different, then she'll be more likely to say 'yes' without a fight."

"So something original," I repeated trying to think up possibilities. I didn't want to completely forget my manners in the midst of my musings, so I quickly wished Bella good luck on the show before leaving her dressing room.

"Show starts in ten minutes," Angela told me as she walked through the hallway in her black dress. Angela was one of the backup vocalists for the group. Everyone loved having her on the tour because of her friendliness.

"Thanks, I better get back on stage," I told her as I walked past.

The lights to the audience had been turned down to darkness with only small glowing lights from the ends of each aisle seat shining. I still had enough light from some of the stage lighting to easily find my way back up to my percussion set.

The show's intro started with some piano music from Edward. Emmett and I soon joined in to the group and it wasn't long after that our other musicians joined the fray with their instruments. As Bella and Rosalie joined the stage with the beginning verses of our first song, the crowd cheered. The noise was near deafening from the crowds cheers. It was always hard to imagine this kind of crowd getting louder, but that's exactly what happened when Alice ran on stage playing her violin.

While I couldn't watch Alice every single second, I tried to catch as many glimpses of her as I could while maintaining my rhythm. During the performance, Alice was constantly running, jumping, and kicking across the stage to the beat of the music. Even after seeing her in action as many times as I have, I still have a hard time believing that she can do all of this while playing the violin without missing a single note. I know that the audience has to be awestruck by the performance.

The opening performance soon came to a close and Bella was left on stage. She said a few words to the audience before starting a solo performance. Bella and Rosalie both have very good voices and each of them gave a solo performance before Alice was back on the stage to perform by herself.

I think all of the guys have a good time when we're performing with her. While you will never hear a single one of us utter a bad word about Bella or Rosalie, Alice just ignites a fire in all of us when she's on stage. More so than the others, she can really make you get into the performance. Alice just brings life into everything she does and it comes out even while performing.

I feel a light sheen of sweat grace my brow as I hit the drums in sequence. Across from Emmett is banging on the cymbals and moving his head to the beat of the music. I glance down for a second and see Alice attacking her violin with gusto. She takes a break in the music and twirls the bow in the air before doing an up and down motion with it in order to get the audience to clap with the music. I hear the noise level rise with the clapping in time by the audience members.

Alice seems to use this to further her excitement level. She begins playing again and runs across the stage to leap off so she'll be a little closer to the audience. The leap isn't really a huge one. She just jumped down three steps instead of completely off the stage. Regardless, the audience loves it. She runs back up the stairs and twirls around enough times to make a normal person dizzy from just watching her. When she finally stops twirling, she punctuates parts in the music by jerking her violin up in the air at the same time Emmett and I hit the drums. Shortly before the song ends, Emmett and I engage in a mini drum battle while Alice is playing the violin and headbanging. Even to this day, I've never seen another violinist headbang. It's strange and amusing at the same time. The song ends with Alice doing a giant kick into the air before hitting a few high notes on the violin and giving a quick bow before running off the stage.

We finished the first half of the show to roaring applause. There was a fifteen minute break to give us a chance to cool down. The guys all went backstage and were crowding around the cold water. I knew the girls had probably already grabbed a bottle or two and headed to their dressing rooms to change into their other outfits for the evening.

"Man, the crowd is wild tonight," Emmett said as he guzzled a bottle of water.

"I love playing to great crowds," Edward responded cheerfully. "It just feels so good to hear them enjoying the performance."

I didn't join in to their conversation. I was coming up with a strategy on getting Alice to go out with me. I guess my lack of focus on the conversation brought attention to myself because I felt a heavy clap on my back that got me coughing because of some water that I didn't quite manage to swallow right away.

"Oh, sorry man," Emmett said to me while I was having my coughing fit.

All I could do was just wave at him as I tried to get my coughing and breathing back under control.

"Leave him alone, Emmett," Edward told him. "He's probably working on how to ask Alice out."

If it wasn't for the fact that I was just barely able to contain my coughs now, I would have slugged the guy for spouting off my business. Instead, I just shot both of them an angry glare.

Emmett just laughed instead of heeding my warning look for him. "So really man, what kind of plan do you have?"

I had finally calmed down from the coughing fit and looked between Emmett and Edward, who were both focused on me. "I don't really have a plan. I was just thinking of maybe coming up with a good joke or something to get her laughing after the show."

Edward groaned. "Jasper, you can't just tell her a joke and expect that to work. Alice needs to know that you're willing to put some effort into this. How many guys have you seen her date?"

His question got me to thinking about the number of men I had seen with Alice since I started working with the show. "I'm not sure," I spoke slowly. "I might have seen two or three, but I'm sure there were others that I didn't see."

Emmett put his huge hand on my shoulder and looked at me solemnly, "Man, she hasn't dated anyone in years. If you saw her with any guys at all, then they were probably some of her cousins."

I just looked between him and Edward, who was nodding his head to confirm what Emmett had just told me. "But if that's the case, then why would she want to go out with me?" I questioned in challenge.

"This is just between us," Edward told me, "but I've seen her give you some looks occasionally. I'm pretty sure that's she's interested in you, but Alice isn't the one who will typically make the first move. If she's interested, she'll just wait around to see if you're ballsy enough to do something about it."

"So what you're telling me is that I'm going in blind," I replied.

"Blind as a bat, mad as a hatter, red as a beet, hot as hell, dry as a bone, the bowel and bladder lose their tone, and the heart runs alone," Emmett said.

Edward and I just paused and stared at him for a beat.

"What?" Emmett said with a shrug.

"Anyway," Edward said ignoring Emmett, "you need to get your butt in gear and just ask the girl out on a date."

"I second that," Emmett put in raising his hand.

"Okay, okay," I said holding both my hands up in a stopping motion. "I'll ask her out tonight."

"You'll be thanking us later," Emmett said with a wink that might have been creepy to any other guy who didn't normally associate with him.

"We need to get back on the stage before the next set starts," Edward told us after glancing at his watch.

The three of us followed in some of the other musicians to the stage where we took our places for the second half of the show. I was already formulating my plan and felt a grin slowly take over my face. I'm pretty sure Alice won't expect me coming tonight.

A few minutes later, I saw the auditorium lights dim to near darkness. This left the room in pitch blackness with the exception being some small lights running along the lengths of the aisles. Some smoke drifted up from a machine near the edge of the stage and opening chords on a guitar were played by one of the older guys on the tour, Alistair.

The stage lighting focused on Alistair first as he played the guitar. Then it began picking up Edward, Emmett, and myself as we joined into the opening notes of the song. I saw the girls enter the stage from the sides, but the audience either couldn't see them yet or they would just appear as shadows for the moment without any spotlights focusing their way.

Of course, all three girls would be able to turn heads in their wardrobe for this half of the show, but I thought Alice was certifiably drool-worthy. She was dressed in a red corset that amplified her chest to give her the illusion of having additional cleavage. Alice had on some black leather pants to pair with this along with some four inch heels. I don't know how she never makes a misstep in shoes like that. They just look painful to me even though I have to admit she looks hot in them.

Rosalie was wearing a tight, green halter top with a black mini skirt that just barely concealed her assets. I'm sure Emmett loved the view. Edward was always funny to watch when Bella first comes out onto the stage for the second set. His eyes seem to glaze over and he probably has some drool that he needs to wipe away from his chin. I couldn't help but to laugh one time when he even missed a note because of his enchantment with Bella. She's probably the tamest of the three women, but it certainly doesn't deplete her of beauty. Bella's currently wearing a strapless blue dress. The dress isn't as tight-fitting as what you would normally see Rose wearing, but it is a little on the short side with it only barely reaching her mid-thigh.

Right before the music peaked, the girls burst out from where they were standing into the spotlights. Rosalie and Bella were singing in tune with each other while Alice was playing her violin at a pace that almost looked violent. I'm pretty sure that's why she can scare the crap out of some people.

The first song was a hit with the audience as all three girls took bows to loud cheers and rounds of applause. Bella and Rosalie skipped off the sides of the stage because they weren't in the next song for the set. This was all Alice and I thought it was time to make my move.

Alice began the next song with another fast pace melody. I watched from my stand as Emmett swung around to pick up a single bass drum attached to a scoop. While he was doing that, I picked up a set of tenor drums attached to a scoop and put them on. We made eye contact with each other from across the platforms and gave a slight nod to show we were ready before descending the platform and heading toward Alice, who was still in the midst of her solo.

While the music Alice was playing might start out strong and vigorous, it actually turns into something that could be seen as a flirty little ditty. The music is actually written to be based on a girl who is trying to choose between two different guys. This is the sole reason behind the staging of Emmett and I leaving our platforms behind with a single set of percussion instruments. We both reach either side of Alice at the same time. She's dancing around like she normally does to the music but stays more or less in the same place once we arrive next to her.

Part of the act is for her to give both of us a hip-check during the song. The way this part of the show is choreographed is for Alice to hip-check us and we pretend we've been shoved away. She bumps hips with Emmett first and he pretends to fall away. Even from my vantage point, I can see how bright her eyes are shining with glee. Alice gives me a hip-check next, but instead of falling away like I'm supposed to, I bump her hip back and give her my best smirk and a wink before falling back. My smirk turns into a wide grin when I see her eyes widen in shock. I knew she wouldn't expect me to do anything during a performance.

Alice gives me another look, but I'm not sure what the expression is on her face. It could be anger, disbelief, or something else. I don't ponder it too much because Emmett and I have to finish up the song and move back up to our stands.

The rest of the set seems to go by quickly. Finally, the final notes are fading and all three girls are up on stage holding hands and smiling brightly as they give bows to the audience.

"You were one of the best audiences ever!" Rose cheered.

"I hope to tour here again soon!" Alice yelled.

"Thank you guys and goodnight!" Bella called out.

The girls gave one last bow amidst loud cheers and applause before going backstage. We always waited until the final curtain was down before we took off for backstage. It always seems to take a while before that curtain falls, but tonight seemed longer than most. I don't know if it was the non-stop applause that kept coming our way or if it was because I was looking forward to seeing Alice backstage that was making me more impatient tonight.

The curtain finally came down and I jumped off the stage on my way to find Alice.

"What's the rush?" Emmett called from his drum set.

I just waved him off and vaguely heard Edward say, "Leave him alone," as I went backstage.

I thought I would have to go to Alice's dressing room to find her, but that little pixie was waiting for me in the hallway. I stopped short as she marched up to me with her hands held down by her sides in little fists. I was just thinking about how cute those little fingers were when I was brought back to reality by her jabbing me in the chest with one of those little fingers of hers.

"What are you playing at Jasper Whitlock?" she asked angrily.

"Umm...," I muttered. Good response time on my part.

"I didn't think you'd be angry?" I responded making it sound more like a question. I almost rolled my eyes at how much of an idiot I was being, but I didn't want to piss Alice off any more than I already had.

"You know better than to add in stuff to our show," Alice told me angrily.

I sighed heavily because I knew Alice was right. "I'm sorry, Alice. I wasn't thinking clearly."

I watched her face closely to see if some of her anger might dissipate with the apology. I was relieved when she didn't seem as angry anymore.

"Jazz, why did you do it anyway?" she asked. "You're not one who normally strays from the act. In fact, I've never seen you do anything out of the ordinary."

Alice was looking up at me with such expressive eyes that it was hard for me to even think things through. I kept hearing all the guys laughing and joking about me not having the balls to go through with asking her out. I'm not sure if that's what made me speak the next words or if somehow the power of her stare broke all my defenses down.

"I wanted to get your attention," I told her before cringing slightly at the brutal honesty behind those words.

"Well, now that you have my attention, what did you want to say to me?" Alice asked me with a hint of a smile.

That little smile could make me do anything for her. I took another step closer to her and gazed down on that beautiful face. If Alice noticed the lack of space between the two of us, she didn't say anything or make an attempt to back away from me. She still had a little smile on her face and I decided that once and for all I was going to put myself out there and just cross my fingers and hope for the best.

"I am completely enraptured by you and I want you to go out with me," I spoke softly to her.

"Are you now?" she asked flirtatiously.

"Will you go out with me?" I asked again.

Instead of answering my question, Alice asked another, "Have you ever wondered why I don't date?"

I managed to conceal my discouragement when she posed this question to me. "No one was ever good enough?" I asked.

"There wasn't a single guy out there that I liked who asked me out," Alice told me. "Even when I finally found someone with the show that I wanted to get to know better, he would be the one guy that didn't show enough interest in me to ask me out."

I would love to get my hands on whoever the guy was that she was talking about and strangle him for not showing interest to someone like her. Hell, I would be willing to make her happy by talking to the person. It would still be better knowing that she was happy with someone even if it wasn't me. Yeah, who am I kidding? I would hate the guy that settled down with Alice because it wasn't me.

I took a step back from her. "So, do you want me to go beat this guy up for not giving you the time of day?" I asked gesturing behind me because I was now in a hurry to get away.

Alice took a giant step toward me relinquishing the space I had just made between us. "Are you going to beat yourself up?" she asked with a glint in her eye.

It took a moment for those words to really make their way through my head. "Wait, you were interested in me?" I asked dumbfounded.

Alice nodded her head at me with a wide smile. "Ever since the first day I saw you playing on the stage. So, how about that dinner?"

I felt a huge grin break across my face. I couldn't wait to take Alice out on our first date together. Knowing her, I'll probably just be following directions to the restaurant of her choice, but I don't mind that one bit. Anything to make her happy.

Although that didn't stop me from taking advantage of our proximity and leaning down to capture her lips in what would be the first of many passionate kisses of the night. I'm starting to think that I made the best decision of my life by coming on tour with this band.