So I admit—I have been so enthralled in reading the works of others that I have neglected my own…which is good and bad. Good because I have decided to go in a different direction to the story to obtain a bit more originality. Bad, because I never wanted to take so long complete chapters. In any case, I have revamped my original ideas a bit and have decided to head down a different path with the story line.

So to make a long a/n longer…thanks to those who have been reading. Please review as it is inspiration.

**Characters belong to —chapter titles belong to MAC as I am addicted to lip gloss and MAC happens to be my favorite!**

When The Lights Go Out

You can be oh so mean. I just can't see, no in between. You know what the sun's all about when the lights go out. ~ The Black Keys

"You've got that anxious look." Alice said as she leaned against the frame of my bathroom door.

" I know Alice, I'm trying."

"Bella." Alice replied, pausing to inhale while carefully choosing her words. "You don't have anything to worry about. Rose and I will be there. Besides, Midnight Sun is a small bar and we are not going to let anything happen to you. You have to face your fear at some point. We talked about this."

" I know." I sighed, turning from the bathroom mirror to look at Alice, giving her a small smile to let her know that I would be alright.

"For such a small bar, you sure look hot." I said while looking Alice over.

Alice stepped back from the door while putting one hand on her hip. She was wearing slim denim bleached ankle jeans with shredded holes. Her top was white leather. The front of it was shaped like a triangle and the back was secured by thin leather strings.

"Oh, this old thing." She giggled and turned on her stiletto heel. "Well you never know who you might meet." She said as she walked out of my bedroom.

"And Bella." She called back to me.

"Yeah Alice."

"The swoop neck top with the Serfontaine straight legs I got you. Now hurry up, we're meeting Rose in thirty minutes and you know how she gets if we are even ten seconds late."

I turned back to the bathroom mirror rolling my eyes at my crazy little friend. I could not remember the last time I had actually picked out my own outfit. But that was Alice. Physically she was small in stature and had wild jet black hair, sticking out in every direction. Mentally, she was the most insightful and focused person I knew. She always knew what direction to take. Whether it was what to wear, where to go or deciding to work in the fashion industry. She never questioned herself. And she always supported me.

I walked from the bathroom into my bedroom closet and pulled out the jeans and shirt.

Twenty nine minutes and thirty seconds later we walked up to Rose outside of the bar.

"Thirty seconds…you had thirty seconds." Rose said while taping her red heel. Her long legs were covered in tight black leather and her red shirt hung loosely from her shoulders allowing her golden blond hair to cover where material did not. To say that my friend was stunning was an understatement and as usual she had the attention of everyone walking by. Whether male or female.

"Sorry Rose, it was her." Alice teased while pointing in my direction.

Rose smiled looking at me knowingly, silently mouthing "no worries" to me.

I nodded back and took a deep breath. "Just breathe Bella," I told myself before taking a step towards the door.

The club was quite intimate, but had to have been close to being full. Tables and chairs were placed in front of a small stage. And to the rear was a bar. I shuffled from one foot to the other trying to decide if I was capable of moving away from the entrance. Before I had a choice to turn back towards to the entrance I felt a small nudge from Rose.

"You two go find a seat and I will get us some drinks." Rose directed us towards the few available tables.

Alice grabbed my hand taking the lead and walking towards an available table closer to the bar. I knew the chance of something happening to me here were slim but I could not seem to get my heart to trust my brain. I took a deep breath willing my breathing to slow as we walked through the small crowd toward the table. Alice and I settled into our chairs and as an automatic response I began to look for each illuminated Exit sign throughout the bar. I needed to know where the exits were. I needed to know which way would provide the quickest escape.

Rose came back holding three beers. "The bartender told me it's open mic night. This should be fun." She smiled, winking, trying to lighten the mood.

We sat for a while more watching than listening to Alice dramatically tell the story about a client when a voice came over the now fading music.

"For those of yall' who haven't been to Midnight Sun yet, welcome to Mic Night. For those of yall' who have- thanks for coming back. Now tonight is a special night for me. I've been trying to convince my closest friends to play here for almost two years and thanks to them losing a bet to yours truly they will be. So, let's get started. First up are some familiars. Please welcome Indigo."

"Well this should be interesting." I mumbled turning in my chair to look back at my friends. As the music began I glanced over at Alice. "Alice, Alice, hello Alice!" I waved my hand in front of Alice trying to get her attention.

"Did you see him? Did you see him! Ohhh he is so mine!" Alice jumped up preparing to bolt from the table. Her eyes frantically searching.

"Who Alice?" Rose asked.

"The guy on the mic." Alice called over her shoulder while half running away.

"Well it shouldn't be hard for her to find him. All she has to do is look for wild blond hair and a seriously southern drawl."

I smiled back at Rose nodding my head and reaching for my drink. Hoping alcohol would soothe the remains of my frazzled nerves.

"Bella are you doing okay? If it gets to be too much…"

"No Rose," I replied not allowing her to finish. "I am going to have to deal with being in places like this at some point. I promised myself today was my start. It has been over a year. I can't stay locked out of these places. I am twenty five. I have to start really living again."

Rose nodded back at me and I hoped that I could believe the words that I had so easily spoken.

I knew the words that had come out of my mouth were true. I could not continue to hide in my apartment. My life could not merely consist of only leaving the house to go to work, then coming home to bury myself in a new recipe. Cooking, being the only thing that preoccupied my mind long enough so that I was without the memories for a period of time. No matter how short.

We sat for a while somewhat listening to the groups that came on stage, while Rose gave me details about the 1959 Chevy Impala she was restoring. Rose was definitely beautiful, but on top of that she was a gear head. She had always enjoyed working on cars as a hobby but it was expected that after college she would move back to New York to continue the path her parents had made for her in banking and high society. Instead, she had made her own way. Modeling on the side and saving every penny to eventually open her own auto repair shop. In turn, creating a large rift between herself and her parents.

"I finally got my OEM style T3 head light set in today. And Bella, those babies are so sweet."

"Okay ladies and gentleman."

I looked towards the stage, relieved that I was saved from a lengthy conversation about car parts. On the stage was the same guy Alice had gone to chase. At the same moment Alice came barreling down to the table.

"Jasper…his name is Jasper." She breathed out as he began to speak from the stage.

"Like I promised, my friends are making their first and hopefully not their only appearance at Midnight Sun. So get on your feet for my boys- The Cullens!"

As Jasper gave the direction the majority of the bar began to stand in anticipation of what was to come. Considering I could not see what was going on, I turned my attention back to Alice.

"Okay Alice. Details. Where did you go? What is this Jasper about?"

"Bella, Rose…he's, he's amazing. He's the owner of Midnight Sun, he's from Texas, a southern drawl that could make any woman crazy. He bought this place two years ago from a friend of his named Peter who was looking for a change of pace when his wife Charlotte got pregnant. He was in the Army for a few years until he got injured in Iraq and got sent home on an Honorable Discharge. He's never been married, no kids and his best friends are about to play on stage in a second. Ohh, and we are going out tomorrow night."

"Damn Alice," Rose shook her head back and forth. "You sure work fast. I have never seen you so excited about a guy."

"None of them were him Rose." She almost whispered.

As Alice went on about the details of her brief encounter I could hear the tuning of a guitar and soon the tapping of a microphone. Soon after a voice was speaking into that microphone. And the sound that came from that microphone was the most soothing sound that I had ever heard.

"Umm, I'm Edward and this is Emmett and we-- we uhh lost a bet."

His voice was like being home. It felt like lying in my childhood bed in my home in Forks, Washington. The feel of being covered with heavy blankets, listening to the sound of rain fall outside of my window. His voice was like the feeling of security of knowing where you are, of knowing your surroundings. Of trusting those surroundings.

Am I going crazy? What the hell is wrong with me? Going crazy over a voice. A freaking voice Bella! Get with it.

I tried to control my reactions to the sound of his voice. But I soon found myself shifting in my chair trying to see over the standing audience. I had the overwhelming desire to see if the face matched the voice. I had to see the owner of the said voice. As I strained for a view they began to play an unmistakable cord. Immediately increasing my desire exponentially.

"Bella isn't this a Black Keys song? Don't you love them?" Alice stopped her story to look over at me. Raising her voice to compete with the sound of the drums.

"Yeah, the song is When the Lights Go Out." I was now tempted to stand on the table itself to get a clear view of the stage. Anxious to see who was brave enough to take on such a song.

No way in hell they sound anything like the original. Uggh I would hate for them to embarrass themselves in front of all of these people. Why do I even care? Why am I even thinking about this. These people they mean nothing to me. If some random guy wants to get up and embarrass himself and drag his brother along with him then so be it. Not my problem.

As the first sound came out of the singer's mouth I froze.

"Don't it hurt so bad, when you're standin' in the sun, in the bottom of your heart, you don't love no one."

His voice was raspy and smooth. It flowed all over my body like crisp ocean waves. Reaching my finger tips and continuing to flow outward. The base from the drum rocked from the floor into my feet and upwards sending welcomed vibrations through me. I felt like closing my eyes and being swept away by the music and this moment. But my desire to see who was singing won over the desire to fully be engulfed.

"You can be oh so mean, I just can't see, no in between. You know what the sun's all about when the lights go out."

"Rose, can you see who is singing? Is it the Edward guy or the Emmett guy?" The more he sang the more anxious I felt. I had to see who was singing. I had to connect a face to the voice.

"Sorry Bella, I can't see either. But Jesus, you are about to fall out of that chair. You want to go up closer?"

I thought about getting up to go towards the stage. Having to shift through the crowd. Random bodies in a small space, feeling hands, being touched.

"No, no Rose- it's fine. He is just really good. Amazing really." I spoke loudly to accommodate for the volume of the music.

Just as the words left my mouth I felt someone lean into me, whispering into my ear.

"If you think that's amazing. I bet you would love to see what I could do to you."

With the feel of this stranger in my space my heart had started to beat beyond what its capacity should have been. I felt my stomach churning and the need to recoil and run took over any other possible response. My current reality began mixing with past experiences and it was too much to handle. I jumped out of my chair running to the closest exit. Before I could reach the outside I could faintly hear Rose yelling at the stranger.

"WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU SAY TO HER YOU STUPID DIRTY MOTHER.........!"