A/N: So, so sorry for the ridiculously long wait for this! I've had so much school stuff to do...essays really aren't fun. I promise the next chapter won't take as long!
On a brighter note, thank you to my lovely reviewers...you're great, and like I said, I'm sorry! Also, to the people who read/voted for my story 'Prom Night Algebra' in Jayeliwood's contest, I really appreciate it! If you haven't read that, go check it out – after reading and reviewing this!
Anyway, here we go...hope you enjoy. Love, Jude ;) x
P.S. I don't know if American universities actually have student unions...British ones do, so let's assume they do exist. ;) x
Third Time (Un)Lucky
"So what's this party for anyway?" Jen asked as she leant in towards the mirror to apply her mascara. "I know it's at the union, but otherwise…?"
"I'm not actually sure," Becca confessed as she wriggled her way into a pair of black jeans that hugged her legs. "Chris would probably know, he's the one they approached to ask for our band. It's something to do with the student union, I guess…and I think they're being extra careful at the moment. I think they're trying to cut down on off-campus parties."
"Don't want to lose any more students." Jen's laugh was humourless. "It's great they asked you to play though, honey. You're going to be amazing."
"Hope so." Becca twisted around to view her outfit from another angle, the pale grey top flaring out slightly as she spun before settling back to hug her curves. "We did get more rehearsing done after Sarifina stopped coming…"
Jen snorted her disapproval of Matt's girlfriend. "Why the hell are you so nice to her? You looked incredibly cosy last night with your heads together chatting. What were you talking about, anyway?"
"Be nice, Jen. She's actually okay." Becca reached for a hairbrush. "She asked for my help organising something for Matt's birthday next week, she wanted to have a bunch of people out to dinner but she didn't know where to go, who to invite…"
"So she asked you." One of Jen's eyebrows rose infinitesimally.
"Luckily. She was going to book a Chinese restaurant."
Jen rolled her eyes. "And the problem with that would be…?"
"Matt hates Chinese food." Becca winced as she tugged the hairbrush through a tangle. "Everyone knows that."
"Or not. So who's invited?" Jen wondered if Becca would ever realize just how much like a girlfriend to Matt she acted – knowing favourite foods, restaurants, paying attention to every detail. Probably not.
"The whole band plus girlfriends, you and Dan, Hannah and Josh. Twelve of us, if everybody can make it. No, leave your hair down, it looks amazing." Jen rolled her eyes but obeyed.
"It's such a pain though." She turned, bright green eyes roaming up and down over her best friend critically. "You look stunning, honey. Dressing to impress anybody in particular?"
"No. No! Jen, quit that." Becca brought up her hands to cover flushing cheeks as her friend simply lifted her eyebrows. "Maybe I just want to look nice."
"What, in case you bump into Soda Boy again? That's it, isn't it?" Jen exclaimed with incredulous glee as Becca only flushed redder, turning quickly away under the guise of grabbing her jacket. "Don't be embarrassed, honey, I think it's great! No matter what you say about you and Matt, it's not good for you to keep hanging around just in case he needs you. I'm your best friend, Becca," she added gently, cutting off the girl who opened her mouth to object. "I know."
Becca lowered her head in defeat, shining chestnut hair curling down to curtain her face. "I don't know what to do, Jen," she admitted quietly. "I think –"
"Go out and have fun, Becca," Jen told her firmly. "I can tell you like this Soda Boy, even if you've only spoken to him once. If Matt never gets his act together and admits to himself how he feels about you, all I can say is it's his loss."
"Thanks, Jen," Becca whispered. She lifted her grey eyes to meet Jen's gaze. "But I'm not going to do anything just for the sake of it. Come on, we need to get going."
"Matt! Sarifina." Chris added the latter with perceptibly less enthusiasm, prompting a snigger from Jamie and a scowl from Matt.
"I'll just go help Brooke set up." Sarifina flashed a nervous, model-worthy smile at Becca before quickly going to join one of the girls just going out the door carrying a crate of bottles.
"What did you have to talk to us about, Chris?" Becca leapt in without giving anyone else a chance to start an argument.
"Yeah…well, you know my cousin Ross? The one who works for that music company. Well – don't freak out, Ryan – but he's here tonight and he said he's going to film us performing, show it round his work –"
"Dude, are you serious?" Jack looked incredulous. "That's awesome!" He high-fived Matt, who was grinning.
"Jesus. Wow." Becca swallowed. "And you couldn't have given us any more warning, Chris?"
"You'd have only freaked if you'd known," the older boy grinned. "You look great, Ryan. There's nothing to worry about."
Becca turned a glower on him. "Patronising much, Chris? But Jesus, seriously…"
"Don't stress about it, baby sister," Jack teased her. "No pressure or anything, but if we do well tonight…"
He left it hanging, because he didn't need to finish. Do well and impress some music big-shots – hell, impress one music big-shot – and a whole host of opportunities would be laid out at their feet. Sponsorship, concerts…dare they even hope for a recording contract, tours, fame and fortune?
"Yeah, no pressure on anyone," Matt grinned. "Just don't fuck it up."
"Thanks a bunch for the vote of confidence, Matt." Jamie playfully drove his fist into his friend's shoulder. "Don't scare our baby sister."
"Would you guys stop that?" Becca complained. "What's with it anyway? Since when did I become your baby sister?" She intercepted the glance Chris, Jamie and Jack threw between them and then at Matt. "Oh, for God's sake. Grow up, will you?"
"We're doing our best." Jamie tried to look meek, but it backfired on him and only earned a sharp jab to the arm from the girl. "Because you're my baby sister, I'll let that pass," he pouted.
"Why do we put up with him again?" Becca rolled her eyes.
"Because he doesn't entirely suck at bass." Ross McMullen – tall, brown-haired, cousin to Chris and Dan – slipped easily into the conversation, appearing behind Chris and resting a casual arm about Becca's shoulder. She was probably the only one who didn't notice Matt suddenly bristle, instead smiling up at Ross oblivious to the waves of anger rolling abruptly from her best friend.
"So I'm guessing Chris has just dropped the news on you, right?" Ross grinned at his younger cousin. "Don't worry, you guys are going to do great. We won't be staying the whole night –" he motioned to a couple of people behind him who were carrying their equipment in, "– so I'll get onto editing as soon as I can. Is that okay?"
"Sure. Hey, Ross, how did Chris talk you into doing this anyway?"
Ross grinned down at Becca. "I owed him a favour. No, you're pretty decent, I'm happy to do it. Not promising anything, though."
"'Pretty decent'?" Chris echoed his cousin with mock anger.
"All right, then. You guys are actually quite good, and Becca's not too bad either." He pulled her briefly into his side for a one-armed hug, and she rolled her eyes as she laughed. "I'd better help finish setting up. Just yell if you need anything."
"Do you need any help?" Jamie asked, eagerly eyeing the recording equipment.
"Sure, if you want," Ross shrugged.
While Jamie went off with Ross, Chris and Jack began to organise the stage area, checking wires and plugs and all the other little details that would ensure the evening went off without a hitch. Becca and Matt, however, seemed to simultaneously hesitate, half turning towards each other before the girl glanced away again quickly. An awkward moment entirely uncharacteristic of their friendship; and Becca would perhaps have just let it slide had Matt not placed a hand on her arm, so that she automatically turned back to look at him.
"Be careful tonight, Becca, won't you?" His eyes held a sort of queer earnestness that she couldn't meet for more than a few seconds.
"Jesus, Matt, it's not like this is the first party I've ever been to."
"I know." He paused, and when he spoke again his tone was lighter. "So, looking forward to playing?"
The odd awkwardness melted away as they helped each other set up, slightly apart from the others while they talked and teased each other with an easy freeness which had been missing for some time, since the presence of his girlfriend had by necessity inserted some distance between them. Unspoken lay Matt's concern for her; sure, Becca was hardly new to the party scene, but for some reason this felt different. He had Sarifina; he couldn't, as was his wont whether she knew it or not, keep half an eye on Becca to make sure she was all right. And another taboo subject between them was the unease both felt concerning this party – the one following two with violently fatal ends. Becca had voiced, just once, the curious superstition of these things come in threes, but once had been enough. The unacknowledged tension hummed around them as they stood to take a final glance about the stage area to make sure everything was in place, as other people began to drift in and the sky outside darkened.
Becca and Matt's conversation finally stilled, words fading into quiet so that the noise and bustle of the rest of the room began to intrude upon what had been, until then, a world containing only the two of them. Wordlessly, in a gesture as comfortable and familiar as their friendship, Matt reached out to draw Becca into his side where she fitted perfectly with her head resting slightly on his shoulder. "How are you?" he asked quietly.
She twisted her head up to look at him. "I'm fine," she replied. "What about you, Matt? Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," he lied. And he dipped his head, just a little, to press a kiss to her temple. "I've missed you, Becca," Matt told her softly. "I'm glad you're here."
"Me too." But her heart was aching, because she knew he couldn't mean it in the same way that she did.
From the doorway, Sarifina paused; looked up at them on the stage together, the boy with his arm around the girl's waist to hold her nestled close. Her lips pursed in their model-worthy pout, her expressive dark eyes slightly narrowed as she studied the scene, and her mass of shining dark hair swung over one shoulder as she spun on her heel and slipped back outside.
The band wasn't needed straight away, so the boys immediately vanished in order to find their respective girlfriends and some sort of drink. Becca, however, was waylaid by Jen, who dragged her not-unwilling friend into the centre of the already crowded dance floor.
"Where's Dan?" Becca called over the blaring music.
"Can't a girl dance with her best friend?" Jen replied innocently. "All right, he went to buy me a drink," she admitted to Becca's raised eyebrow. "But come on, let's make everyone jealous!"
Becca might not have been as good as Jen at dancing, might not have prettiest girl there, but the pair of them still managed to attract enough attention that Dan – returning faithfully with a drink for Jen – scowled to see the boys surrounding them. His arrival coincided with the end of a song and Becca, laughing, hugged her best friend tightly. "I might see you later. If not, tomorrow, and remember to call me!"
"Only if you don't first, honey. Love you." Jen took the drink from Dan, slipped her hand around his waist contentedly as he glowered at the boys eyeing her. "Be careful!" she yelled after Becca, but her words were swallowed up in the music and the girl was already gone.
Becca bought a drink from the bar, leant back against the wall to survey the room. A light touch on her arm had her starting and she spun around to face Matt. "Jesus, Matt, don't creep up on me like that!"
"I'm sorry you didn't hear me over the music," he commented wryly. "Nice dancing, by the way. And I came to tell you, we're on in twenty."
"'Kay, thanks Matt." She took a swig from her bottle. "Where's Sarifina?"
The boy's brows drew together in a frown barely perceptible in the light. "I don't know where she vanished to. If you see her..."
"Sure. Maybe she's over on the couches? I saw Brooke heading that way about five minutes ago." Determined to enjoy herself, determined not to long after a boy who didn't want her, Becca grinned brightly. "Hey, I'm just going to say hi to Hamish. I'll see you in twenty, then."
The warning to take care died on Matt's lips as he watched her walk off, hips swaying in time to the music. He had to fight a strange, overwhelming urge to hurry after her, to stay by her side all night and make sure she came to no harm, because there was an uneasy feeling which wouldn't quite go away, an uncertainty about this evening that he couldn't interpret. With a sigh inaudible above the music, Matt turned away, turned to look for Sarifina. He didn't know what to do, because his girlfriend wasn't the one he wanted to spend the party with, not the one whose very smile gave him butterflies in his stomach. There was a girl who confused him, bewildered his emotions; and yet not being near her hurt. But she wasn't his girlfriend.
Becca headed towards Hamish without looking back to Matt. Halfway there, however, a cool breeze swept across her cheek from the suddenly opened doorway; a movement from the corner of her eye captured her attention, and Becca threw a brief glance over in that direction, ready to automatically catalogue the new arrival.
She froze as her gaze met a strangely familiar pair of dark eyes.
It was him. It was Soda Boy.
He reached up to brush that same dark blonde hair out of his eyes, the coloured lights glinting to momentarily colour them red in a face to which her memories had not served full justice. Seemingly even more gorgeous than before, a guy for whom modelling agencies would contemptuously throw aside their best in favour of. Becca's eyes skimmed down his body, noting how his dark shirt contrasted with his pale marble skin – why was tan fashionable, anyway? – and how his perfectly fitted jeans hung low on his hips...
Her eyes slid back up, almost guiltily, to find those lips twisting slightly at one side in a small smile. Becca's heartbeat quickened, and she blushed; she could have almost sworn in that moment that he suddenly froze, but in a split-second she made her decision and diverted her course towards Hamish so that she headed for the door instead.
She was still a few steps from him when he took one sudden, graceful step back, holding the door open in a mute offer for her to precede him outside.
Without a second thought, she did so.
A/N: Please, please review for me! Love Jude ;) x