A/N Sorry abut the cliffhanger, I had a small case of writer's block.
Chapter Two
Angela and the strange man stood face to face in the rainy London ally. When he spoke Angela was captivated by the smooth, deep sound of his voice. She was so stunned that she missed what he said completely and had to say, "What?" like an idiot. She felt like a total idiot standing in front of him like that. She didn't realize it consciously, but that was the way she felt around Jordan Catalano too. He said, "I'm sorry, I don't know who you're talking about." Angela thought about what she could say to save herself. "Oh, I must have mistaken you for someone else." She gave him an apologetic smile.
James (Jimmy to his friends) only wanted to have a quiet smoke in the alley before his horrible job at the bakery where he had to smile at everyone and endure all the middle-aged women hitting on him all day. What he really wanted to do was sit at home with his guitar and write songs. But then there was the fact that he didn't have a guitar and his mother couldn't meet the rent with only her own crappy job. Then some strange girl (American by the look of her) had to interrupt him, almost knock him down. She was slow, too, apparently because he had to repeat twice that his name wasn't Jordan. Who the fuck was Jordan anyway? But then she smiled at him and put her hair behind her ear, something that always endeared women to James. James decided that maybe she wasn't that bad, kind of cute really and invited her to a party later at one of his friend's houses. He told her he would pick her up at 11:00 in front of the hotel.
If you had asked Angela how she was feeling at that very moment, she couldn't have responded. She felt exactly like the first time Jordan had kissed her. She was blissful, her mind having been taken off the problem of Jordan and Brian. She felt she could even stand a few hours of her family. She still had to pretend to be sick, though so she told her parents she wanted to go to sleep early and faked it for an hour or so until they fell asleep themselves. It was almost 10:30 when that happened, so she had to get ready quickly. She changed into one of her favorite party outfits, a get-up that she felt Rayann would be proud of. She felt a small stab of guilt when she thought of Rayann. Angela then made a promise to herself to make up with her once they got back.
Angela was surprised how easy it was to sneak out of the hotel room. The door opened without a sound and there were no bellhops or creepy managers hanging around the lobby. Angela was sure to bring a key with her for soundless entry when she got back, whenever that would be. The small blue car was waiting for her outside, with him driving. She was caught again by how much he looked like Jordan. "It's the eyes" she thought to herself quickly before stepping into the car. The front was already occupied, so she sat in the back with an attractive 15-year-old girl. The girl looked Angela up and down appraisingly before nodding a silent salutation. James did the same gesture. The atmosphere in the car was slightly awkward, because a stranger was there, so the guy in the front seat nervously began to pick up the thread of conversation. "So, with Nikki on bass, me on the drums and you on lead guitar and vocals we could really ummm... rock...or whatever." He said, stuttering a few times. James seemed totally at ease in the car and answered the guy smoothly, "Mark, mate, how many times do I have to tell you, I have no guitar?" Mark seemed to be feeling more comfortable himself retorted, "And how many times do I have to tell you that my friend has an old Fender that you can buy cheap?" And they were there.
The party was at an old, abandoned warehouse a few blocks away form the bakery where James worked. Indeed, it was James that had suggested that the party be there. Another friend of James's was the DJ, spinning a mix of Metal and Dance records on some secondhand equipment that managed to sound halfway decent. James took Angela around, introducing her to people and seemingly magically refilling her drink whenever it ran out. After about an hour Angela found herself in a corner with James, sitting on some old boxes, talking about music. Angela wasn't really a music freak but she had picked some things up, hanging around Frozen Embryos. She managed to sound smart for about half an hour until all of Jordan's tidbits ran out and she turned to the reason she knew all the information. They started to talk about Jordan and their messed up relationship which horrified Angela and she tried to steer the conversation elsewhere but James wouldn't let her.
James was feeling the same way he felt about all parties when he went. He felt connected to everyone because he knew everyone, but underlying that was a feeling of discontentment because he felt like he knew everyone too well, like he could tell you how the party was going to go before he even got there. That's why he ended up talking to the new girl, Angela. He needed something new in his life, he needed excitement. He was fascinated by her artist's perspective of music, as though she had been there. Then he learned about the man that Angela had seemed to love so passionately in such a short period of time and how she was so uncomfortable talking about herself. In fact, she didn't look at him once, when she was talking about Jordan. James's mind began to work out the problem even while his mouth was busy trying to get Angela to come out of her shell and really talk to him about Jordan. Even as his brain came to the brink of a conclusion, the words came out of Angela's mouth. "You look exactly like him."
Chapter Two
Angela and the strange man stood face to face in the rainy London ally. When he spoke Angela was captivated by the smooth, deep sound of his voice. She was so stunned that she missed what he said completely and had to say, "What?" like an idiot. She felt like a total idiot standing in front of him like that. She didn't realize it consciously, but that was the way she felt around Jordan Catalano too. He said, "I'm sorry, I don't know who you're talking about." Angela thought about what she could say to save herself. "Oh, I must have mistaken you for someone else." She gave him an apologetic smile.
James (Jimmy to his friends) only wanted to have a quiet smoke in the alley before his horrible job at the bakery where he had to smile at everyone and endure all the middle-aged women hitting on him all day. What he really wanted to do was sit at home with his guitar and write songs. But then there was the fact that he didn't have a guitar and his mother couldn't meet the rent with only her own crappy job. Then some strange girl (American by the look of her) had to interrupt him, almost knock him down. She was slow, too, apparently because he had to repeat twice that his name wasn't Jordan. Who the fuck was Jordan anyway? But then she smiled at him and put her hair behind her ear, something that always endeared women to James. James decided that maybe she wasn't that bad, kind of cute really and invited her to a party later at one of his friend's houses. He told her he would pick her up at 11:00 in front of the hotel.
If you had asked Angela how she was feeling at that very moment, she couldn't have responded. She felt exactly like the first time Jordan had kissed her. She was blissful, her mind having been taken off the problem of Jordan and Brian. She felt she could even stand a few hours of her family. She still had to pretend to be sick, though so she told her parents she wanted to go to sleep early and faked it for an hour or so until they fell asleep themselves. It was almost 10:30 when that happened, so she had to get ready quickly. She changed into one of her favorite party outfits, a get-up that she felt Rayann would be proud of. She felt a small stab of guilt when she thought of Rayann. Angela then made a promise to herself to make up with her once they got back.
Angela was surprised how easy it was to sneak out of the hotel room. The door opened without a sound and there were no bellhops or creepy managers hanging around the lobby. Angela was sure to bring a key with her for soundless entry when she got back, whenever that would be. The small blue car was waiting for her outside, with him driving. She was caught again by how much he looked like Jordan. "It's the eyes" she thought to herself quickly before stepping into the car. The front was already occupied, so she sat in the back with an attractive 15-year-old girl. The girl looked Angela up and down appraisingly before nodding a silent salutation. James did the same gesture. The atmosphere in the car was slightly awkward, because a stranger was there, so the guy in the front seat nervously began to pick up the thread of conversation. "So, with Nikki on bass, me on the drums and you on lead guitar and vocals we could really ummm... rock...or whatever." He said, stuttering a few times. James seemed totally at ease in the car and answered the guy smoothly, "Mark, mate, how many times do I have to tell you, I have no guitar?" Mark seemed to be feeling more comfortable himself retorted, "And how many times do I have to tell you that my friend has an old Fender that you can buy cheap?" And they were there.
The party was at an old, abandoned warehouse a few blocks away form the bakery where James worked. Indeed, it was James that had suggested that the party be there. Another friend of James's was the DJ, spinning a mix of Metal and Dance records on some secondhand equipment that managed to sound halfway decent. James took Angela around, introducing her to people and seemingly magically refilling her drink whenever it ran out. After about an hour Angela found herself in a corner with James, sitting on some old boxes, talking about music. Angela wasn't really a music freak but she had picked some things up, hanging around Frozen Embryos. She managed to sound smart for about half an hour until all of Jordan's tidbits ran out and she turned to the reason she knew all the information. They started to talk about Jordan and their messed up relationship which horrified Angela and she tried to steer the conversation elsewhere but James wouldn't let her.
James was feeling the same way he felt about all parties when he went. He felt connected to everyone because he knew everyone, but underlying that was a feeling of discontentment because he felt like he knew everyone too well, like he could tell you how the party was going to go before he even got there. That's why he ended up talking to the new girl, Angela. He needed something new in his life, he needed excitement. He was fascinated by her artist's perspective of music, as though she had been there. Then he learned about the man that Angela had seemed to love so passionately in such a short period of time and how she was so uncomfortable talking about herself. In fact, she didn't look at him once, when she was talking about Jordan. James's mind began to work out the problem even while his mouth was busy trying to get Angela to come out of her shell and really talk to him about Jordan. Even as his brain came to the brink of a conclusion, the words came out of Angela's mouth. "You look exactly like him."