Chapter 36: Staking Claims, Part 1

note: There are youtube links to the songs in this chapter on my profile. Aice's song in particular is something you might like to hear, since it's like the theme song of her and Jasper's relationship...lol...it's about a girl who's put so much out for a guy who really doesn't deserve or even notice.

Bella: Suck My Kiss by Red Hot Chili Peppers

Laurent: Get Stoned by Hinder

Alice: Been It by Cardigans

note: Thanks for all the song suggestions you guys have pm'ed me! I've kept a list of every song suggested so far. A quick note on song choices for these chapters: since Bella is trying to line up the weekly gig for the sports bar, the songs they've picked are with the sports bar's main demographic in mind: young, drinking males. So, alot of the songs that were chosen for these chapters are party anthem type, musical comfort food for the 22 beer suckling male. lol Thus the reason Bella in particular keeps getting sorta machismo laden songs and what not.

note: Thanks for all the reviews! I should finish up the show by next chapter-I didn't mean for the show to be this long, but once I start writing and having to fit in all the various storylines going on, it's hard to fit everything in one or two chapters.

note: Anthony Kiedis--lead singer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers

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JPOV(a/n: Song Bella is singing during this part: "Suck My Kiss" by the Red Hot Chili Peppers)

"Hit me you can't hurt me

SUCK MY KISS"

Bella was singing with her usual moxie onstage as I walked back to Edward. I fully expected him to interrogate me about what just went down with Seamus. And then I remembered. Edward hadn't been able to focus on anything other than Bella for a month now. Oblivious to my return, he was mouthing the words back to Bella with a wry smile as she sang straight at him:

"Kiss me please pervert me--stick with this

Is she talking dir-ty?

Give to me sweet sacred bliss

Your mouth was made to SUCK MY KISS"

"Groupie much," I said, surprising myself with the effeminate bitchiness that came out when I said it.

Edward stared in my direction absentmindedly for a second. His eyes were heavy lidded and a stupid grin was plastered on him. Too much information was written on his face about where his thoughts were at that moment. He nodded his head slightly my way and went back to mouthing the words to Bella. While I found his current state of whipped-ness somewhat annoying, I was glad he had shown some judgement in terms of who to be whipped over. Bella was an interesting girl and on a completely different level than any other girl Edward had pursured. She had the looks and attitude, but Bella also had a depth to her that was unique for someone so young. She reminded me of Alice in that respect, of being singular and distinguished from the girls their age.

Alice...I turned my attention towards her, and she was peering out in the direction of where Seamus was standing. I turned around quickly and saw him talking to Emmett while still holding his jaw. Emmett was cracking up at Seamus while he looked like he was still smarting from my punch. I glanced back at Alice quickly, only to see her expression grow with concern as she watched Seamus. She slowly looked back to me with a look of contempt, and shook her head slowly.

Great. She thinks I hit Seamus without provocation. How can I ever get a break with her when I'm constantly be stacked up against some guy she sees as an saint?

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BPOV (a/n: "Suck My Kiss" is still playing in this part)

"K - I - s - s - I - n - g

Chicka chicka dee

Love me like a banshee"

I smirked at Edward as I sang. I knew he liked this song in particular. And the big, loopy grin on his face seemed to indicate he liked me channeling a little Anthony Kiedis as well. His attention was broken for a split second however as he grimaced slightly to the left of him. I followed his gaze--just in time to catch Tanya and one of her friends getting their faux lesbianics on. Tanya and BFF were swaying back and forth together in an embrace, their lips lingering close together. Some of the guys around began to cheer them on, which only encouraged them. Tanya looked right at me with a knowing smile before leaning in and giving her friend a soft kiss on the lips. She then angled back to see if Edward caught the kiss.

Oh, the opening ceremonies were over and the games had just begun between Tanya and I. I could tell. This was classic alpha-female territory marking right now. I was getting too much attention singing, and she couldn't handle it. So, she met my Anthony Kiedis and raised it a T.A.T.U. I wasn't rolling over that easily, however: I smiled right back at her as the song wound down and the applause slowed.

I cleared my throat slightly and put on a super serious face.

"I just wanted to make an announcement to all the girls in the crowd. Contrary to some rumors going around, Joe Francis and his "Girls Gone Wild" video crew are NOT in the building. I repeat: Joe Francis and his "Girls Gone Wild" video crew are NOT in the building." I looked straight at Tanya as I continued.

"So don't bother with the fake lesbian bff crotch grabbing and boob squeezing, ladies. There are no free, .50-cent-made-in-China "Girls Gone Wild " t-shirts or truck driver hats to be had for such fiddle faddling tonight. Ashton Kutcher stopped wearing those trucker hats a half a decade ago anyways." I paused for a moment as a guy was taking pictures of Tanya and said bff with his cellphone.

"I take that back. Joe Francis is not in the building, but Tom Peeper over here is." I pointed to the cellphone boy for everyone to see." He's willing to film you being faux lesbian for free; and in return, he'll upload it on youtube with a title like "My Hot GF Gave Me a 3some 4 My BerfDay!"

Cellphone Boy looked up at me with a big grin and yelled back, "Yeah, it will be uploaded right next to the video I took while trying to look up your skirt earlier!" Edward looked like he wanted to pounce on him, but I just shook my head at Edward and laughed. Aw, now I understood why I was destined to waitress at Casey Moran's now --it had sharpened my tongue so I could handle almost anything that came out of a liquored up, 22 year old guy's mouth who was trying to impress his friends.

"You were one of those creepy kids who tied mirrors to your shoes, huh?"

The crowd burst out in laughter, and Cellphone Boy joined along. Tanya shot me a glare. I may have neutralized her attention seeking faux lesbianic guiles for now with my smart assness, but I had a feeling she wasn't backing down for good.

Alice leaned in closer. "How anemic was that performance of theirs? We could so outlesbian them if we needed to. Just say the word and we'll show everyone how Bella likes to keep it in the Cullen family." Alice gave me a reassuring nod and a pat on the back as I shook my head in laughter.

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EPOV (a/n: Song Laurent is singing during this section is Hinder's "Get Stoned.")

Laurent was warbling in the background as he started a new song, but my eyes were still fixed on Cellphone Boy. I kept staring at his cellphone, wanting to smash it into pieces now for taking cheap shots of my girl. I had noticed him hanging right below Bella as she sang earlier, but I didn't understand what he was doing.

"Oh, stop mad dogging the cellphone guy, " Jasper chided me. "Bella could handle him with one arm tied behind her back. You are a day late and a dollar short if you want to save her now."

I shot him a glare and was ready to respond, but Laurent started making his move. He started making his move from his microphone over to Bella's. His nipple rings better keep a safe distance from Bella's personal space, was all I could think. Jasper snickered as I eyed Laurents approach.

You wear me out

But it's on right now

Jasper held up his glass while jangling the ice cubes loudly together. "Let's see who has such good ice cube control now."

Laurent hovered closely over Bella as he started wailing overdramatically:

"Lets go home...and get stoned

We could end up makin love instead of misery"

I knew it was just a song, but I couldn't help but grimace at him singing those words at Bella. My sweet Bella...who I noticed was opening her mouth now...as if she was about to sing as well...wait...on shit...Together they sang the next line:

"Go home and get stoned

Cause the sex is so much better when you're mad at me"

Jasper burst out in hysterical laughter, accidentally spilling his drink on himself. He saw my opened mouth and wide eyes and simply nodded. "They sure harmonize well together, huh?"

Laurent yelped out into Bella's face: "You wear me out"

While

Bella responded: "We could end up making love instead of misery"

I eyed Jasper's drink, and it didn't escape his notice. He cupped his hand over his glass.

"No more Laurent ice cube flinging. It will piss off the girls. And apparently, it will piss off the New Zealanders too. Emmett will probably tackle you if you so much as hold an ice cube up over your head--"

I quickly slapped Jasper's cupped hand and dug my hand into his drink--coming up with a fist full of cubes.

"What the hell are you doing," Jasper retorted," you owe me a drink!"

I fantasized that I could see a bullseye on Laurent's head as I began to raise my arm. However, Bella got my attention and gave me a sweet smile. A sweet smile that said, "Wow, you are such a great boyfriend. Thanks for being so supportive. And for not pelting ice cubes at my bandmate's overly straight-ironed-haired-head."

I sighed and put my fist down. Bella knew how to get me to do what she wanted with the silghtest look of the eyes and lips-she was the most dangerous creature ever.

RPOV

Emmett went back to hanging by his friends, but he'd give me a smile every couple minutes. I decided to call him over when his head inevitably turned my way again.

"Yeah, Rose?" He leaned in slightly to hear me better, but was still maintaning a safe distance from me.

"You want something to drink?" I sounded so pleasant when I asked, I found it just as jarring as he seemed to. "Wait, you don't drink, drink right?"

He shook his head. " I can drink soda, though."

I started getting him a Coke, when he stopped me.

"It's okay, I actually don't drink caffeinated sodas, either." I looked at him like he was Mars.

"So...let me get this straight. You pray and fast alot, can't drink or smoke, don't have sex, and can't even imbibe in a Coke? What the hell do you Mormons do for fun?"

"Dancing. Lots and lots of dancing. It gets all the nervous wiggles out. Swing, ballroom, you name it." He was trying not to laugh as my face turned into a frown.

"Wow, that's a visual that may give me nightmares tonight, Emmett...Wait, a minute, I saw "Footloose" and it was set in Utah. I thought Mormons couldn't dance."

"Footloose wasn't a documentary, Rose." I stuck my tongue out at him. "In fact, my friends are having a big luau in a couple weeks. You should come and check it out for yourself to see all the Mormons dancing up a storm. Don't underestimate a room full of virgins and a strong beat."

"Yet another image to give me nightmares tonight, Emmett. Thanks." He laughed loudly as I got an idea. I mixed together a drink quickly and slapped it right in front of him.

"What's this? Koolaid?" He lifted the glass up, checking out the cherries inside and the deep, fake red color.

"A Shirley Temple. Apparently, that's the only drink I can make you from the bar that will fulfill your requirements." I turned around quickly, picked up to mini-umbrellas and plunked them on top of the concoction. He shook his head as if to scold me.

"Well, at least you'll know I'm comfortable enough with my masculinity to cradle a drink that looks like this." I laughed and started filling some orders that were piling up.

No more than two minutes later, I saw a beautiful girl approach Emmett. She greeted him flirtatiously; he answered her back politely, throwing a quick glance my way.

"So, what are you drinking there, "she giggled. Great-I just gave Emmett a total conversation starter for a drink.

"Um...I forgot..." Emmett looked quickly at me and caught me watching. A slight smile played on his lips. "What is this drink called, Rose?"

"A Shirley Temple, " I barked out, looking away from them. The girl chuckled at the answer and put her hand on his shoulders. She introduced herself as Kristen. Emmett introduced himself politely in return. He kept stealing glances my way while Kristen chuckled through the basic getting-to-know-you conversation. God, I hate chucklers. What's more, Kristen's chuckle sounded more like a hyena cackle at times when Emmett got her going. I filled two more orders, and the girl was still running her mouth off as Emmett settled in on facing on the band while she talked.

"You've never eaten a Snickerdoodle before?" My head turned briskly in their direction when I heard Kristen's incredulous tone. Emmett pretended to drink his Shirley Temple while staring at me with helpless eyes. He shook his head at her and shrugged. What the hell is this girl going on about?

"No, I've never even heard of them. Are they a cookie?"

She raised an eyebrow. "A warm, sweet, tasty cookie, that you'd want to lick right up." She leaned in closer with each new adjective. My hand was on the soda water pump, in the middle of mixing a drink, when said hand took matters into it's own...hand. Said hand lifted the soda water pump up in Kristen's direction and pushed the button.

"What the hell are you doing??" Kristen stood up quickly, touching the side of her head I barely grazed with the soda water stream. More than anything, I was suprised at how much air the soda water got when it was released from the pump--impressive. Kristen stomped her foot, insisting I acknowledge her. So I did.

"That's a man of God you are talking to, you dumb ass. Show more respect for God's chosen messengers. He's one step away from a freaking priest-why else would he be cradling a Goddamn Shirley Temple?"

I looked over at Emmett, and his eyes were as wide as saucers. Crap, I just argued for the side of God while taking His name in vain and cussing simultaneously. Kristen stomped off as Emmett's expression softened.

He raised his Shirley Temple to me in salute, threw back his glass, finished the Shirley Temple in one gulp, and threw down the glass dramatically. "Hit me again, bartender." A wicked smile spread onto his face as he pointed at his glass with his lips. Why did I find lip directing so attractive? "Just put the soda water pump down first, you are a little dangerous with that thing."

I started making him another one: " I hope you have a designated driver for tonight. These drinks are a little strong on the Maraschino Cherries. I don't know how well you handle your Maraschino."

"Are you offering to be my designated driver," he teased. "Oh, and by the way, Rose. For future reference, God's chosen messengers are angels." He smiled as he put his elbows up on the bar.

"Anyone who gets my landlord to replace my water heater IS an angel." I looked down shyly for a second, worrying he'd take that the wrong way. It was unnatural for me to try to be nice at my bartending job. I was so used to wearing a thick suit of aggressive armor, that any attempt to try to be congenial seemed to fail miserably. The words ended up sounding forced and unnatural.

"It's okay, Rose," Emmett said in a low tone.

It ripped me out of my thoughts and I raised my head defensively in his direction. "What does that mean anyways, " I asked defiantly. "You've said that to me before--why are you always saying that?" Sometimes Emmett came off as well meaning yet overly presumptious. I hate presumptions.

His eyes were gentle as he shrugged. "I honestly don't know why I say that to you, Rose. But for some reason, I feel like you need to hear it. That it's going to be okay."

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JPOV (song playing during this part: "Been It" by the Cardigans)

For just one moment, I tried to filter out all the negativity of the last half hour. I put Seamus'' stinging words to the side, along with Alice's icy stares. All I wanted to do was focus on the girl with the bass onstage. Alice didn't so much as fidget as she was getting ready to sing. The song that the band started playing was unfamiliar to me, but it somehow sounded like Alice. It was bouncy and light hearted sounding and catchy. Alice had always drawn people to her from the minute they met her. She was the essence of "catchy."

She looked radiant up there, and all the qualities that I've always loved about her were shining through. Her ability to make everything look effortless, from her stunning appearance, to her bass playing, to her stage presence. Her confidence and poise--she stood up there like she had been doing this forever. Bella was great onstage, but sometimes she tried too hard to play the bad girl when I knew deep down she was more squeaky clean than a mouseketeer. But Alice? Everything she did onstage was organic and rang true about who she was.

She caught my gaze and met it with equal intensity. Her lips pouted slightly for a second before she started into the song:

baby boy

Your face is pretty and your life's a toy

Her eyes looked hard at me as she sneered the last line. Was she somehow making these words up on the fly? Because that sounded like a dig at me.

what are you gonna try to be

where are you gonna go without me now

She shook her head forcefully as she sang those words toward me. What started out as a moment to simply enjoy her sing was turning into something else. It was starting to feel more like an episode of "This Is Your Life."

I've been you mother, I've been your father

who can ask me for more?

I've been your sister, I've been your mistress

maybe I was your whore?

who could ask me for more?

I felt like the wind was socked right out of me all over again; but this time, the force didn't come from Seamus' fist. It came from the words Alice was singing with so much feeling. I looked around reflexively, completely sure everyone knew that she was laying out our history in those lyrics. I had always trumpeted the fact that I was her big brother. And yet, in retrospect, she fulfilled many more roles in my life than just sister. Hers was the window I'd constantly knock on after midnight in high school, when I couldn't stand being in my house for yet another ugly showdown between my parents when they still lived together. She'd let me into her bed, but not before making me her heralded banana-peanut butter-honey sandwiches and lending me a sympathetic ear.

We never did anything physically but cuddle and comfort eachother; and yet, there was an silent understanding that no one could know what we were up to. Not her parents, not Edward, not her friends, definitely not the girls I was dating at the moment. And I started it right up again when she came to college when I think about it. I did it under the guise of wanting to bring her breakfast and walk her to school--that was my alibi to Edward at least. But getting into her bed while she slowly woke up was always a part of the ritual, and only Bella was privy to that detail. It never occurred to me until lately just how I must have made her feel, keeping so much of our relationship to one another a secret. How in many ways, she might have felt like the "other woman"--the one I kept in the background while giving less worthy girls the public recognition that she truly deserved. Maybe I was your whore...

Sweetiepie

I'm you personal pro, you know

you know what number to try when you cry

She smiled at me innocently, but I heard the scorn behind the grin.

I've been you mother, I've been your father

who can ask me for more?

I've been your sister, I've been your mistress

maybe I was your whore?

The sneer was slowly being replaced by a more defeated emotion over her face. Regret? Sadness? I wasn't sure. All I knew was that her head was shaking side to side. Shaking as she named off all the different roles she played in my life--mother, father, sister, mistress; roles that were given as gifts to me willingly, even when it was at Alice's own expense. Everyone around me was clueless to the dark undertones of the song, and it's direct message to me. I could tell by all the bobbing heads and dazzled faces that they simply saw a sexy girl singing a catchy song. And wasn't that how I had set things up for Alice all these years? To have Alice maintain a happy face while keeping what we truly had hidden from public view?

But the public facade was breaking down right before me. Alice stared at me hard then shut her eyes. She sang the last words breathlessly:

You still ask me for more?

Even with her lids closed, I could see that they were fluttering furiously, trying to stop the inevitable from happening. It was too late though; a tear escaped, finding refuge on top of her quivering lip.

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a/n: I wanted to thank withthevampsofcourse for letting me steal her snickerdoodles!lol

a/n: happy birth--I'meanvacation--day, ereeen..!