A/N: Once again, I no own, you no sue. It belongs to SM. I'm just fucking with shit in the 'verse. Leave some love!
Remember that this story is rated M, has future lemons, adult themes, violence, and should only be read by people 18 years or older.
Thanks again to RemyKilday for pre-reading.
I worship at the altar of HammerHips' ass.
Chapter 2: This Ain't A Scene
I wrote the gospel on giving up
(You look pretty sinking)
But the real bombshells have already sunk
(Prima donnas of the gutter)
At night we're painting your trash gold while you sleep
Crashing not like hips or cars
No, more like p-p-p-parties
This ain't a scene, it's a god damn arms race…
-"This Ain't A Scene, It's an Arms Race" by Fall Out Boy
Jasper POV
I smiled and stubbed out my cigarette as Rosalie's red BMW M3 pulled up in front of me and I motioned for her to pop the trunk, as I rushed through the torrential rain. She obliged and I dumped my rucksack in before slamming it shut and hustling back to the front to climb in.
"You're paying to replace the leather if it gets ruined." She said by way of greeting.
"Aw, shit, nice to see you too, Rosie. God, you know it's only been about two years since I saw you last, me being in the sandbox and in the Army and all."
She glared at me and took off, expertly guiding her car through traffic. Now, I'm in the Army and I'm used to crazy ass drivers and tailgating because that's what you do in a caravan, but JESUS FUCKING CHRIST!
"Shit, Rose!" I yelled, stomping on an imaginary brake pedal as taillights zoomed toward us.
She snorted. "Shut up, Jazz." She looked at me disapprovingly. "When did you start smoking? Emmett's not going to want you smoking around Sage."
Of course not. Because Sage has never seen a cigarette before. Nasty little fuckers, they corrupt your mind and tell you to do bad things. What I actually said was, "I've been smoking for almost three years now. And Sage is a big girl, ties her own shoes and everything. If she doesn't want me smokin' around her, she can fuckin' tell me and she knows it." She glared and I sighed and settled back into the seat. "So how long are ya'll in Forks for?" I watched the remains of Sea-Tac Airport fade in the rearview mirror.
Rosalie groaned. "Until Sage graduates, I guess. That depends on if she's planning on putting up a fight about the dorms."
"What about the dorms?"
She sighed again and I could tell that today had obviously been one of Sage's I'm Mad As Hell and Not Taking Emmett's Shit Anymore days. "Emmett said she could move into the dorms and she was really looking forward to it… now he's not so sure and she's pissed he's reneging. Top that with the tattoo…"
"What tattoo?" Jesus! What had I missed in the week I'd been stateside?
She smirked now. "She came home last night, looked Emmett straight in the eye, and told him she got a tattoo for her eighteenth birthday. She's refusing to say where it is or show it to us."
I thought about that for a moment. "Sage turned eighteen in January and it's fuckin' April."
"I'm aware." She snarked. "I think she only just now had the guts to tell him… or maybe she was looking to start a fight, who knows?"
"Or maybe Emmett already started the fight and she decided to fuel the fire." Not the smartest move, but I knew Sage well enough to know she'd calculated her risks.
"Why do you always take her side?"
"Why do you always take Emmett's side?" I countered. "You know, if I acted toward you the way Emmett acts toward Sage, you'd have killed me before I hit puberty. In fact," I added angrily. "I recall a time I did act that way and what happened after." She winced, but then shrugged a bit. "She just wants her own damn life and I don't see anything wrong with that. She's smart, it's not like she's gonna run out and get knocked up or get into drugs or anything."
Rose watched me carefully out of the corner of her eye, but said nothing. We passed the rest of the drive to Forks in silence, speaking only when she shifted the car into park and we climbed out. I grabbed my rucksack from the trunk and we trudged up the front porch steps.
Before Rose could open the door, it was whipped open and we came face to face with Emmett's hopeful expression. It quickly fell and I immediately knew something was wrong.
"Emmett." I greeted as he shifted to allow us inside.
"Hey, Jasper." He sighed.
Rosalie paused in the entryway, listening. "No Fall Out Boy blasting. That's her angry music… did you two make up?" he shook his head. "Where is she?" his head hung lower. "What is it, Babe?"
Emmett groaned and closed the door before settling himself on the couch and pinching the bridge of his nose. "So… Henry Davidson called while Sage was doing her homework…" That's not good.
"Please tell me you didn't." Rose whispered before I had a chance to growl those same words.
"It just came out!"
"Emmett!" she cried in exasperation.
"The next thing I know she's yelling and swearing, and then she comes charging down the stairs! She actually had the nerve to throw her cell phone at my head before she stormed out!" he glared to a small corner of the living room where the remnants of Sage's iPhone lay. "He broke it off in text…"
Rosalie was stunned. I could tell by the way she just sunk down next to him on the couch. I, however, was pissed.
"Where is she?" I asked. When he didn't answer, I yelled, "Dammit, Emmett! I'm not even back in the country a whole damn week and you've pissed her off so bad she's not here to be surprised, so tell me where the fuck she is!"
He sighed dramatically. "When she's pissed, she usually goes down to the high school and shoots hoops. Rain or shine."
I growled and headed toward the open bathroom door. "Not even in my fuckin' civvies yet and you're shooting shit to hell and gone." I ground out. "I'm gonna change and you're gonna point me to the school."
I peeled off my BDU's and rolled them carefully before pulling on a pair of faded jeans, a blue Element T-shirt, and my old battered combat boots. After so long wearing them, it would take some time for me to wear my shit-kickers or sneakers.
When I emerged, Emmett's jaw was set and he was glaring at me, ignoring Rose's quiet whispers. He narrowed his eyes as he stated, "I'll go with you." He made to stand up, but I held up a hand to stop him.
"Emmett, I realize you're trying to do right by Sage, but you will let me handle this." My tone left no room for argument and it only pissed him off further.
"You're not her brother… or her boyfriend." He growled.
"No, you're damn straight, I'm not." Right. Not. I'm not. "But I am her friend and right now, I'd say I know a fair shade more of what's going on in her head than you do." He glowered at me, but I ignored him. "Which way is the school?"
Rose gave me a weak smile and ran her fingers through Emmett's curls. "Two blocks east, hang a right on Oakmont."
I simply nodded and headed out the door. Sage had obviously taken off on foot. The bright orange VW Beetle I knew to be hers was still parked in front of the house. Well, at least it was only misting here.
I walked quickly, not really in the mood to run or even jog, but I was also trying to buy myself time. I'd expected my surprise reappearance in Sage's life to be a happy moment, but it was about to be tainted with her fury over Emmett's actions and while I was good at placating her on paper, I had no idea if I'd be any good at it in person. I'd been counting on getting reacquainted with how she operated in day-to-day life before having to deal with the shit storm that was her and Emmett's relationship.
No time like the present though.
I turned right at Oakmont and the high school came into view immediately. Under the graying sky, everything about it was washed out, including the gray concrete slab and two black hoops at the front of the property.
I saw a tiny figure in jeans, a hoodie, and black Converse; she was moving, jumping, the ball bouncing off the back board as she caught it deftly without having to chase it. As I got closer, the familiar tune of her favorite Emmett Anger-related song reached my ears.
"This ain't a scene, it's a GOD DAMN ARMS RACE! This ain't a scene…"
I smiled and stopped next to the picnic table where she'd set up her iPod and portable speakers. Her back was to me and she hadn't noticed me at all as she continued shooting and missing. She must've been livid, she knew how to shoot a damn basket.
Taking a deep breath, I reached over and hit Pause on the iPod. She froze immediately and I could tell she was debating whether or not to yell at Emmett to fuck off.
"I came all the way across the damn world to see you, least you could do is turn around and say hi." I drawled out, knowing it'd catch her attention.
She turned slowly, the basketball still at chest height, and her eyes widened as they settled on me. For a moment, I watched her mouth my name, and then she was tossing the ball aside and running to me, throwing herself into my arms. I caught her gratefully as she hugged me about the neck.
"Jazz, what are you doing here?" she whispered.
I hugged her tighter. "I'm out, Sweetheart." She tensed. "What?"
Suddenly, she was pulling out of my arms and whacking me soundly across my arm. "What the hell is wrong with you? Do you have any idea how worried I've been? No letters for three weeks, I thought you'd been blown up or something! I've been watching the news every chance I get praying to God—"
I yanked her back into a hug and her arms found their way around my middle. "I'm sorry. I wanted to surprise you."
"Done." Her reply was muffled against my chest. She sighed and pulled away. "I can't believe you came."
"I told you we'd see each other as soon as I got back… I've been going through the discharge process and now I'm here." She gave me a half-smile and I tugged her back to the picnic table, careful to sit her on my lap to keep at least one of us off the damp wood. "So… you gonna tell me what clusterfuck Emmett got into now?"
She groaned and her head fell back to my shoulder. "Same old shit. Henry called to ask me what color flowers he should get for my corsage and Emmett proceeded with the If you touch my sister, look at my sister, have wrong thoughts about my sister spiel." She sighed. "It figures."
"Why's it figure?" I asked, hitching her higher to keep her from slipping.
She snorted. "Because I found a really nice dress and now I'm not going. A dress like that deserves its own audience." She sighed, got up, and retrieved the basketball. "It. Just. Figures." She ground out as she shot another basket and it rebounded off the backboard.
"Sweetheart, calm down. The backboard didn't do anything to you." I teased, hoping to lighten her mood. She didn't answer me but her shoulders visibly relaxed as she lined up another shot. "Sage?" no answer. "Sage-ey?" no answer. "Don't make me call you—"
"What, Jazz?"
I smiled. I'd only been able to tease her like that in letter-form before; it was nice to know she responded so easily. "How about you come back over here?"
"I feel like punching something." She warned.
I choked trying to hold down my laughter; the thought of sweet little Sage throwing a punch was absurd to me. I sighed and stood, crossing the court to her, taking the basketball and giving her a warning look as she made to object.
"Sage McCarty, I would be honored if you'd allow me to escort you to prom." I said, exaggerating my accent.
She giggled at my words, but then there were tears in her eyes. "You don't have to do that." She gave me a watery smile and made to take the basketball back.
I held it out of her reach. "I want to." More than I cared to admit to myself. "If you'll have me, I'd love to take you." I wiped away the one tear that escaped and she smiled again, but then it was gone and she lunged and got the ball away from me.
"I don't need a pity date, Jazz."
"It's not a pity date!" that stung a bit, dammit, and it was kinda ego-bruising. "Sage, I'm fuckin' back from Iraq not even a week and first you're fighitn' with Emmett, which is par for the course, I grant you, but now you wanna fight with me? Seriously? I figured you'd at least have some fun with me, not to mention it'd take a hell of a lot more than Emmett to run me off, plus he probably would back off you just a bit considering it is me and he knows you're safe if you're with me." That wasn't entirely true. Something in Emmett's eyes earlier told me I wasn't completely trusted, but I would be trusted more than any kid Sage would bring home. She watched me carefully, considering me, and I noticed a vein at her lower right jaw throbbing with the stress she was holding there.
"Swear it's not a pity date?"
I rolled my eyes. "I know better than to pity you, Sage McCarty." I got a half-smile in return, so I held out my hand. "Go to prom with me?"
For the first time since I'd arrived, she gave me a true smile, the kind only Sage can give, that made me feel lighter, easier, and not quite so world-weary. She took my hand and I pulled her into another hug.
"OK." She murmured and I chuckled.
"Come on. Let's get back and tell Emmett the good news." She quirked an eyebrow at me. "What? You don't think he'll be happy to have a soldier fresh from the sandbox—one who hasn't laid eyes on a decent female in eighteen months—taking his baby sister to prom?" I grinned and she turned beet red and burst out laughing. "That's my girl!" I wrapped an arm around her shoulders and we started walking back to the house.
"Em's not gonna like that."
"Don't I know it." I smirked. "I may agree with his notion of protecting you, but I don't always agree with his methods. At least he won't be able to scare me off… and I have a sneaking suspicion Rose feels bad enough to vouch for me. We can let him worry for one night; you and I both know nothing's gonna happen, but he doesn't need to know that."
She laughed at that. "Yeah, I guess not." We walked in comfortable silence for a while. "I'm glad you're home."
I smiled. "Me too." I sighed and hugged her tighter. "Guess what." She looked up at me curiously. "I got into Berkeley."
"Seriously?" she squeaked and I nodded, laughing. "Jazz, that's great!" she hugged me around my middle again. "Now I won't always feel the need to kill Emmett."
"Always good… So… you gonna let me have a go on that Samick at some point?"
She shifted uncomfortably for a moment. "Well… it's kinda yours… The only reason I took it when she offered was because I knew you wanted one."
I came to an abrupt halt, stunned. "Sage, that's… I… Wow." There were no words. I pulled her into a fierce hug, trying to convey my gratitude.
We chatted animatedly about guitars the rest of the way home, but quieted instantly as we neared the house and saw Emmett sitting on the porch steps staring at us. We stopped several feet away and he stood and made to approach us, but Sage pressed herself into my side and I hugged her to me. I couldn't miss the hurt in Emmett's eyes at that and I knew he and I were going to have to have a talk.
"Sage…" he sighed. "I'm sorry."
She squared her jaw at him. "Jasper is taking me to prom." It wasn't a mousy admission. She was telling him what was going to happen and her tone said it was going to happen regardless of what he thought. His eyes flicked to me and narrowed minutely before flicking back to her. "You're not going to ruin my night, Emmett." This time it was a warning.
He watched her for a moment and I could tell he wasn't used to her fighting him so hard on things. Today was truly a first in his book; he had no idea how she felt most of the time. Finally, he nodded. "OK, Sage."
She untucked herself from me headed up the steps. When he reached for her, she twirled out of his reach. "We are not OK." And then she was gone.
Emmett sat back down on the steps, his eyes downcast for a moment. "I just want what's best for her." He murmured.
"Well, maybe you need to let her decide what's best for her sometimes." I replied, earning me a glare from him. "Look, Emmett, I'm not gonna pretend with you. I get that you want her safe, hell, I want her safe. But you trying to run every minute of her life is not helping her. If she doesn't learn to deal with guys now, in a more controlled setting, how the hell is she supposed to be able to handle them when there isn't any control to be had?" he didn't say anything. "And for the record, I'm not trying to be Sage's big brother." The glare deepened. "I'm not trying to be anything but her friend." I amended. "She got me through some shitty times when my mom died and she got me through the desert; no one in my brigade had someone from home so dedicated to their letters. She was my anchor over there and now I'm gonna do my damndest to repay her in kind. That means that I'll protect her from everything…" I took a deep breath. "Including you."
I didn't wait for his response as I headed into the house to find Sage.
Sage POV
Having Jasper around was an easier adjustment than I realized. At least it was for me. Emmett was cold to him, though I'd actually never seen them interact with each other to begin with. Rose seemed happy that Jasper was home safe but I got the feeling that their relationship paralleled mine and Emmett's in a way. She never told him what to do or tried to control him, but she seemed to ignore him a lot, which was sad to watch.
Jasper had arrived in on a Friday, and he wasted no time in helping me with my Emmett issues, and then with dinner. When Bella left for the University of Arizona the previous fall, I'd taken up kitchen duty so as not to be subjected to Uncle Charlie's 'fried eggs and bacon for dinner' routine.
Jasper was good in the kitchen, helping me season and broil steaks and bake potatoes. We laughed and joked, and he told me more about Peter and the other guys he'd hung out with. I told him about yearbook staff, soccer, track, and the guys down at La Push.
When six o'clock rolled around, Uncle Charlie strode in, hung his coat and gun belt on the peg by the door, and toed out of his boots before heading into the kitchen.
"Smells good, Sage." He murmured appreciatively. He smiled at Jasper and held out his hand. "Jasper, good to see you." They shook hands.
"You too, Sir."
"Glad to be home?"
Jasper smiled. "More than you know."
Uncle Charlie's tone turned serious. "Rose said your regiment was hit by an IED a few months ago. You alright?" I dropped the knife I was using to cut tomatoes for a salad and turned to see Jasper's eyes scrunched closed, his shoulders in a near-permanent cringe.
Regiment? That was smaller than a brigade and I knew by Charlie's tone and phrasing that he meant that Jasper had been involved, which meant that Jasper had lied to me and told me everything was fine, omitting the fact that he'd been in danger.
He cleared his throat and regained his composure, watching me out of the corner of his eye. "Yes, Sir. We were headed out to Qatar on leave and the transport in front of mine struck the IED."
"Any casualties?"
"Thankfully, no, Sir."
Uncle Charlie nodded and his eyes slid from Jasper to me. I must've looked murderous because he shifted uncomfortably, clapped Jasper on the back, muttered "Good man", and went to hide in the living room with the sports channel.
I immediately turned back to the tomatoes, taking out my anger and frustration on them so that I didn't inadvertently hurl the knife at Jasper.
"Sage…" he murmured.
"I don't want to talk to you right now." I didn't have to look at him to know I'd hurt his feelings.
He sighed. "I didn't want you to worry."
Thwack thwack thwack thwack. The sound of the knife hitting the wooden cutting board wasn't nearly as satisfying as I'd hoped.
"Sage, come on. You know you'd have worried and I'm fine. Nothing happened to me." I dropped the knife and spun away from him as he tried to hug me.
"You don't get to just omit stuff like that and expect it to be OK because you had my best interests, or my feelings, or whatever at heart, Jasper." I snarled and his eyes widened. I'd never been angry with him before. "I worried about you the whole time you were gone, regardless of what was going on. You think I don't know what happens over there? I've heard stories, I've read the forums. Nothing excuses you from not telling me because I was worried no matter what! At least have the balls to treat me the way you think Emmett oughta be treating me!" he looked as though I'd slapped him.
I shoved his hand out of the way and continued mutilating the tomatoes, no longer caring if there was anything left of them for the salad.
I heard him sigh behind me and ignored him as an arm slid around my waist and pulled me backward into his chest. "You're right. I'm sorry." He murmured into my hair. The intimacy of the situation wasn't lost on me, but at the moment I was too pissed off to care. "Forgive me?" I tried to pull out of his embrace but he held me fast, wrapping his other arm around for good measure and he leaned down to rest his chin on my shoulder. "Sage, I'm sorry. You're right that there's no excuse… I just didn't want you to worry about me." He nudged my cheek with his nose. "Please forgive me?"
I rolled my eyes. "Don't do it again, Whitlock." I warned.
"No, ma'am." He smiled and let me get back to the mass of mush that had been tomatoes.
Dinner was quiet that night, but in truth, it was always quiet. Uncle Charlie and I never spoke much, and Emmett and Rose didn't have much to say when they visited. Uncle Charlie apologized because we didn't have more room, stating that Jasper would have to sleep on the couch; but Jasper just shrugged it off, saying that he'd slept on worse.
We all went to bed early that night, though I couldn't get to sleep due to the raucous sex going on across the hall. I sighed, rolled over and pulled my pillow over my head.
My alarm went off at its usual six AM and I slowly and quietly dressed in a pair of black shorts, sports bra, and red tank top. I grabbed some socks and headed downstairs as quietly as possible, pausing to sit on the bottom step while I put my socks and running shoes on.
Jasper groaned and sat up, looking around. When his eyes landed on me, he smiled sleepily. "Hey, what are you doing?"
"Going for a run." I answered. "Go back to sleep."
"Nah. I'm up." Then he smirked. "You need a protection detail, or you gonna be OK out in the big bad town of Forks?"
I glared at him. "I'll be just fine."
"Don't get pissy, Sweetie, I was only teasing." He ran his hands over his face. "We need to get me a tux." I stared at him dumbly for a moment. "Unless you want me in my Formal Dress Uniform… but something tells me olive drab may clash." He continued cautiously.
"Right. Tux." I finally said when it clicked into place.
He cocked an eyebrow at me and a flash of hurt crossed his face. "Unless you don't want to—"
"No, I do." I insisted and then I sighed. "It's early and I didn't sleep well. I'm only on about half-power right now."
He seemed appeased as he smiled. "Alright then. Today?"
I nodded. "Sure. Just… just let me get my run in; then I'll get ready and we can head down to Port Angeles."
I ran my normal five miles, stopping only briefly to buy another bottle of water at the gas station, before heading back home and upstairs to take a shower. I dressed casually in a pair of faded jeans, a Black Flag band T-shirt, and flip flops before pulling my long hair into a ponytail and then trudging downstairs.
Jasper was waiting for me in the kitchen smiling as he placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me.
"You didn't have to." I told him as he set a cup of coffee in front of me as well.
"I know… but it feels good to cook again… and actually have decent food." He shuddered and sat down across from me with his own plate and coffee.
I smirked. "MRE's not doing it for ya?"
"We had real food, you know that."
"Powdered eggs constitute real food?" I asked incredulously.
"Touché." He clinked his mug with mine and took a sip.
I sighed, staring at him for a minute. "So… part of my dress is pink…" I wasn't exactly sure what to do. Henry hadn't been comfortable with the idea of wearing any pink on his tux, so he was just going with a classic black tux, black cummerbund, and black bow tie.
Jasper seemed to cotton on immediately though and smiled. "I'm secure enough in my sexuality to wear pink and not be embarrassed."
That made me roll my eyes and smile. "Of course… plus, big old badass Army guy, who's gonna mess with you?"
"You think I'm badass?" he teased.
"Funny how you missed the old." I shot back.
"Oh! Oh! Now I'm not wearing pink for you!" he cried, holding his hand over his heart. "You wound me deep, Kid, and I'm—"
"Ego, maybe." I stuck my tongue out at him and turned back to my eggs. I was trying to not get in a fight today, but Jasper's nickname there had struck a nerve. Kid. That was what Emmett constantly reminded me I was whenever he was trying to rationalize whatever he was trying to control at the moment.
I finished my eggs at lightning speed and rinsed our plates. We each gulped down another cup of coffee and headed out the door. We climbed into my car and I plugged my iPod into the AV cable before handing it to Jasper.
"Anything but the Classical. I can't drive with Beethoven playing over my shoulder. Makes me want to sleep."
He smirked and I took off. We passed the hour and a half to Port Angeles in complete, but comfortable, silence. Jasper flipped through my iPod changing artists with every song, never sticking to a playlist for more than a few minutes, and when we finally parked outside After Hours Formalwear in Port Angeles, I thought I was going to have to kill myself.
"Do you have music ADD or something?" I asked as we climbed out of my Beetle.
He smirked. "No, but you have so many artists on here… some I've never even heard of. Just wanted to test drive some songs before I get you to copy some files onto a thumb-drive for me."
"Wow… Not even in town a full twenty-four and you've already decided to steal my music."
"Not steal… borrow… and it's not like you don't get to keep it." He nudged me playfully as we entered the shop.
It took us several hours to find a style we both liked and finally settled on a black two-button, satin lined tux, black collared shirt, black vest, and hot pink necktie to match my dress perfectly. After Jasper was measured, we headed down the block to a coffee shop.
"I thought only guys in the sandbox drank this much coffee." Jasper snarked as I smiled down at my large black Arabica roast. We walked briskly down the walkway and back toward the car.
I smirked. "I don't see colors until my fourth cup of coffee." I inhaled deeply, closing my eyes, and relishing the aroma.
"And she doesn't play well with others until the sixth!" someone called from behind us. We turned and I felt my face break into a smile at the too-big-to-be-allowed russet wonders headed our way.
"Hey, Jake!" I called back, waving. "Seth."
Both were simply too tall. Jacob was pushing seven feet and Seth was following close at 6'7". Both had short-cropped black hair and the same muscular bulk.
"Hey there, Shorty." Seth greeted, pulling me into a hug, but mindful of my coffee. "Who's the Jarhead?" he nodded at Jasper appraisingly.
"Ground Pounder, actually, Pup." Jasper replied.
Jake raised an eyebrow. "You datin' military now? You're gonna break Paul's heart."
I snorted. "Jasper's a friend. We go way back. Jasper, meet Jake Black and Seth Clearwater." I raised an eyebrow at him. "And Paul doesn't have a heart to break, or have you forgotten how poorly he treated Leah?" I asked pointedly.
Jake snorted. "Sam's making that all better."
Wait… huh? "What about Emily?"
They shifted uncomfortably.
"Sam says it just wasn't meant to be." Seth mumbled.
"Wow… awkward… I sent her an e-mail last week to invite them over for dinner soon."
Jake grimaced. "That actually reminds me… Did Charlie tell you we're having a cookout tonight? You guys are invited." He was still appraising Jasper over my shoulder.
"He didn't mention it. I'll double check with everyone then. It'll be nice to have a night off dinner duty." We said our goodbyes and Jasper and I headed back to my car.
"Boys seem a bit smitten." He remarked casually as I pulled onto the highway.
I smirked. "Don't start pulling an Emmett on me now. He sees guys checking me out just because they look me in the eye."
Jasper shook his head, rolling his eyes at me. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, Sweetheart, but your brother isn't mistaken in what he sees, only how he reacts."
My brow furrowed and I watched him out of the corner of my eye as he flipped through the iPod again.
End Note: I like reviews. And I hope you like my story… so maybe you could push that button and leave me a review? I'll send you a teaser if you do.
