~Friday~
~Part Two~
"What are you doing, Rose?" Bella watched her from a few paces behind.
"What? Nothing."
"Yes, you are. You're looking at every pedicab that goes by. Looking for someone?"
"I don't know what you're talking about." She stuck her nose in the air and sped ahead of them, just out of talking distance.
"She's got it bad," Alice sang.
"Yes, she does," Bella agreed. "So, what's the plan?"
"Well, we've got a couple of hours to burn, so I thought we could just veg at the hostel until we needed to get ready to go." She thought ahead to the night they had planned. "The show doesn't start until nine, I think. So if we're lucky, we can get a table and eat there. Angela's new boy toy is going to meet us there, but I'm not sure what time."
"What about Rose's pedicab driver? Do you think he's working tonight?"
"I'm sure he is. I imagine that the convention would mean a boost in business for him and the rest of Pedicab Junction. Maybe we'll see him riding around tonight."
Up ahead, Alice saw her friend pause in front of a CVS and then dash inside. "What do you think she's up to now?"
"I have no idea, but I bet it's going to be interesting, Angela piped up from beside them. She hadn't said much of anything on their way back from the convention center. She'd obviously had someone on her mind since their run-in with the cute Stormtrooper in the Exhibit Hall. Alice couldn't fault her; he was too cute in his uniform.
"Let's go see what Rose is up to." Alice led them into the pharmacy and through the aisles until they found her standing in front of the hair dye. She had a different color of red in each hand and was holding them up to compare with the others on the shelf.
"Seriously?" Bella laughed.
Rose looked back at them sheepishly. "Emmett likes 'em red."
"Holy shit, you've got it bad!" Alice couldn't help laughing at her friend—the situation was just too bizarre.
"Stop laughing and help me pick out the right color. I don't want to end up looking like a carrot or one of those magenta-haired old ladies." Alice rather enjoyed Rose's sad attempt to keep a scowl on her face; her best friend indeed had it bad.
The following hours were spent in one of the communal bathrooms near their room dying Rose's blond hair the perfect shade of red. The end result was striking, yet natural. By the time they were ready to leave, Alice could hardly contain her excitement. As much fun as she was having at the convention, she had been looking forward to tonight's show at the House of Blues more. One of her favorite indie bands, Grape, just happened to be in town playing, and this was her first chance to see them live. The venue was perfect. The band was playing on the smaller stage in the dining room. It was going to be intimate, yet full of excitement and energy as she had heard the band always put on a hell of a show.
Surprisingly, the restaurant wasn't that busy, and upon entering, Angela spied her little Stormtrooper right away. The addition of Ben to their party was easy with his quiet demeanor and witty banter. He fit right into their group without any awkwardness.
During dinner, the bar slowly filled to capacity. There was barely any room to walk. The extra bodies had increased the temperature inside by what she thought was at least ten degrees, so they all decided to take their drinks out onto the patio for some relief while they waited for the band to arrive. It turns out that was probably the best decision they could have made. On her way back out to the patio from the replenishing her drink, she came face-to-face with none other than Jasper Whitlock, front man of the band. Well…who she considered the front man anyway. The band, Grape, was an indie funk rock sound from L.A., and all of the members were equally talented where instrumentation and vocals were concerned. In fact, they often switched instruments throughout the show. There wasn't necessarily a lead vocalist or guitarist since they all switched around so much between roles—it was part of their charm...and genius—as far as Alice was concerned.
She smiled and quickly moved off to the side, so he could get by with his load of guitars. He smiled and nodded thanks to her as he swaggered by, looking smooth and sexy as only a Texan could. She stood there for a minute admiring the view as he passed out of sight. He was wearing his trademark cowboy hat and leather cowboy boots with a nice pair of tight-fitting jeans. He was definitely drool-worthy as far as she was concerned. As soon as he was out of sight, she skipped back to her friends.
"You did not just skip over here," Rose teased her.
"So what if I did? I just had an interlude with Jasper Whitlock, and my excitement is totally skip-worthy. I am not ashamed."
"An interlude, eh? What kind of an interlude are we talking, dear?" Bella grilled her. "Did he ravish you in the back hall? Did he kiss you and whisper naughty, unspeakable things in your ear?"
Alice huffed and flicked Bella on her shoulder. "For your information, he smiled and nodded at me as he walked by. Keep your mind out of the gutter. Besides, if he did unspeakable things in my ear, you'd never know. A girl doesn't kiss and tell."
They all burst into laughter at Alice's last statement because they all knew she would be the last person to keep something like that from her friends. Alice spent the next fifteen minutes watching Jasper walk in and out of the club from the perfect vantage point. She was far enough away that she could admire him without being in the way or looking like a crazy fangirl. There was definitely a difference between respectfully admiring from afar and invading the man's personal space. She was not going to be that girl, now or ever.
By the time the show finally got underway, the area in front of the stage was packed, so she and her friends found a small pocket to stand by a large table. The music was phenomenal, and the show the band put on had so much energy that she could feel it vibrating inside of her—it was probably the bass, but it was an exciting feeling nonetheless. About midway through, she grabbed a vacant chair next to her so she could get a better view of the band. The crowd was so thick she couldn't see anything. The sound was amazing, but she wanted to actually see them play. Of course some jerk-off had to bump into her, and she toppled over into the girl standing behind her.
"God, I'm sorry. Are you okay?" Alice rushed to apologize.
"It's okay. I'm fine," she answered back with a genuine smile.
"Was I in your way standing up there?"
"No, you're fine. I'm kind of tall so I can see everything all right."
"I'm Alice by the way. The show is fabulous, isn't it?"
"It is. I'm Victoria. See the blond up there? The one without the hat?" She pointed toward the stage.
"Yeah, that's James, isn't it?"
The girl nodded and leaned in close. "That's my boyfriend. The rest of the people at this table are his family."
"You're kidding!" Alice said in surprise. "Wow. That's really great that you all came out to see him play. They sound fabulous tonight."
Victoria nodded, and they continued to watch the show. Throughout the evening, she and Victoria continued to converse. She was really nice and told her a few stories about how the guys in the band had all met. After the show, she led her over to a side booth they had set up to sell CDs. Just as Alice was paying for her CD, James came up behind Victoria and joined their conversation.
"Vic, we're about ready to head out. Are you coming with us or meeting us back at the hotel?"
"I rode here with your parents, so if there's room I'll ride with you."
"There's always room for you, babe." He kissed her on the cheek.
"James, this is Alice."
"Hi, Alice." He held out his hand to shake hers.
"It's nice to meet you, James." She gripped his hand in a firm shake. "That was a fabulous show. Thanks for playing."
"You're welcome. We love to play." He looked at her CD. "Would you like me to sign it?"
"That would be awesome, thanks! I didn't want to seem rude and ask." She handed him the disc. He quickly signed it and handed it back.
"Thanks again. I better get back to my friends." She motioned over to one of the groups of girls that were standing near the entrance to the patio. "And I'm sure you have to get going too. It was nice meeting you both!"
Victoria and James said goodbye and disappeared back into the restaurant as Alice made her way as coolly as possible back over to her friends. As much as she wanted to vent her excitement, she waited until she got over to the group and she was sure that Victoria and James were no longer in hearing distance, then she let out a short squeak and covered her mouth with her hand.
"Oh my God, you guys! They were so nice." She couldn't contain her smile or her enthusiasm.
"I'm glad you had a good time, Alice." Bella chuckled. "And she was really nice to us earlier in the crowd."
"So, are you ready to go?" Rose looked at her watch and then out to the street. She wasn't fooling anyone. It was probably time for them to head on back to the hostel to get ready for the Harry Potter line, but they all knew she was scoping out the street in search of a certain handsome pedicab driver.
"I guess I'm ready if you guys are." Alice agreed. She'd already gotten what she'd came for tonight—a great show—even if it would have been nice to catch one more look of that sexy Texan on his way out to his car. Just as she was about to turn with the rest of the group, a small commotion erupted behind them at the entrance between the patio and the restaurant. Some girls had lined up at the door and were following the band members out of the club. James and the other members quickly surrounded Jasper as the girls erupted loudly, calling out his name.
Alice was disappointed by the display and shook her head in disgust at the girls as they rushed the group. James and the others were able to head them off at the entrance to the patio, but two girls made a break for it going in for a second rush as they opened the door to the band's vehicle.
Incensed, Alice grabbed them from behind and pulled them away. "Exercise a little self-control, will you?"
The two girls brushed her off and muttered obscenities at her before moving off. She looked at her friends who stared at her with surprise. "What? Can you believe them? Talk about rude!"
"Hey!" she heard someone call.
"Are you guys ready to go?" Alice looked at her friends.
"Hey!" She heard the voice again. "What's her name?"
"That's Alice," she heard Victoria say. Great, she thought, now she was in trouble for man-handling the fans.
"Alice?"
She turned around to look toward the group huddled around the open door of the car. Jasper was leaning out of the door, looking at her. She looked around and then pointed at her chest. "Me?"
"If you're Alice."
She looked at her friends in disbelief and then walked over toward the car.
"Thanks." He smiled at her crookedly.
"You're welcome," she said breathlessly. "It was nothing."
It was all she could do to stop herself from turning around and squealing at her friends. Jasper Whitlock was talking to her…little Mary Alice Brandon.
"Thanks the same." He smiled at her again. "Listen, James and Victoria said you're pretty cool. Would you like to come hang with us for the rest of the evening?"
"Um...I'd like to, but I've got to…" She was about to turn down Jasper Whitlock—what was she doing? "You know what? Yeah. I'd love to. Can you give me a minute? I just need to go tell my friends where I'm going."
"Sure." He sat back into the car, and the rest of the band filed into it. She rushed back over to her group, knowing they had witnessed the whole exchange.
"Do you mind if I go?" she asked hesitantly. She felt bad about ditching Bella and the girls, but when it came down to it, she would rather spend the evening with Jasper and the band than huddle under a blanket all night.
"Go. Get out of here." Bella waved her off. "I'd never forgive myself if I asked you to give this up for me. Just…have fun…and text us so we don't worry."
She clapped her hands together and backed toward the waiting vehicle. "Thanks you guys, I owe you!"
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do!" She heard Rose yell as she shut the door.
Alice settled in the seat and looked at Jasper expectantly. "Where to?"
He smiled at her mischievously. "Let's get it on…"
~CC~
Bella looked on as her friend pulled away in the band's SUV. There was no way she could have asked Alice to stay with the group. Besides, Alice was a big girl. She knew where they were going to be—there was no reason for her to not go and have the time of her life. They'd see her in a couple of hours.
The remaining members of their group made their way down Fifth Avenue toward their hostel. They needed to stop at their rooms for provisions before heading back down to the convention center to get in line for the night.
"Can you believe Alice just ditched us for a rock star?" Rose mused.
Bella couldn't help but laugh. "Yes. Yes, I can. Besides, it wasn't just any rock star—it was Jasper Whitlock. Alice has had a crush on him for ages."
"You know we're never going to hear the end of this, right?"
"I think in this one instance we can afford to let her live a little and then hear about it for years afterwards. I think she and Angela deserve some bragging rights after this trip." Bella smiled as she watched Ben and Angela moon over each other ahead of them on the sidewalk. "How about you?"
"How about me, what?" Rose tried to brush her off.
"You know." Bella motioned to Rose's hair. "Any regrets since we haven't seen your man this evening?"
Rose sighed and then laughed, twirling a piece of her newly vibrant hair around her fingertips. "It was kind of a stupid move, but no, no regrets. Like you said—live a little. I've got my own little story out of this trip even if it didn't earn bragging rights."
"Hey, Red, is that you?" Startled, both girls turned toward the familiar voice that called from across the street.
Bella snickered and elbowed Rose. "Speak of the pickle."
"Shut up, Bella." Rose returned the elbow and started to laugh. "Hi, Emmett."
Bella glanced down the street where Angela and Ben were walking ahead in their own little world and then quickly crossed the busy street with Rose—there was no need to interrupt them.
"Good evening, ladies." Emmett greeted them and then focused his attention on Rose. "Nice 'do, Rose. Did you do that for me?"
Rose blushed but looked him in the eye. "Why would I do a thing like that?"
Emmett full out laughed at her response, but there was no denying the sparkle in his eye at Rose's gesture. "Having a good time this evening?"
"We are, thank you," Bella said. "We're actually on our way back to the hostel to pick up our stuff so we can go camp out in line for the panels tomorrow morning."
"Pulling an all-nighter, eh?" He paused, but not long enough for either of them to respond to his remark. "Listen, I'm on break and I was hoping I could steal Rose for a few minutes…"
Bella looked at Rose to gauge her reaction. If the smile on her face was any indication, she wanted to stay with him, badly.
"I can bring her back to the hostel in time for you guys to get downtown-"
"I think that's a great idea, Emmett." Bella started to back away and waved to the couple on the sidewalk. "Rose, I'll see you in a few."
"Bella-" Rose began to shout after her.
"Have fun, Rose!" Bella waved over her shoulder and took off across the street. Rose deserved her own bragging rights.
She walked swiftly in order to catch up to Angela and Ben—which wasn't that hard since they were deep in conversation and walking at a snail's pace. She kept a careful distance—just enough to keep them in sight, but far enough away to afford them some semblance of privacy on the busy sidewalk. Looking at the couple ahead of her, she couldn't help but feel disappointed that out of all of her friends, she was the only one to not find some sort of adventure during their trip.