Jasper could hear the DJ's music coming from the party as he slowly drove around the block, cursing as he searched for a parking spot. "Damn. Why the fuck did I decide to drive this morning." Because he was running late, and probably would have gotten fired if he hadn't. Finally he found a spot, and managed to squeeze his beat up Honda between 2 huge SUV's. "Fucking gas guzzlers" He muttered to himself. "I don't understand why people drive those damn things". He slipped a pint of Whiskey into his back pocket, and lit a cigarette as he headed to the party to meet his band.
Still hung over from the night before, and jittery from drinking too much Red Bull at work, he was in no mood to play a show tonight. It didn't help that he was running late from work, would be stuck wearing whatever crazy outfit Alice had picked out for him, and that Seth would be setting up his Guitar and amp for him. Please let this not be a disaster, he thought to him self as he headed down the ally to find the stage.
Edward had spent the night pacing around the back yard, waiting for a disaster. He hated crowds, and having this many people at his house, combined with punk music and alcohol, was making his anxiety sky rocket. He did have to admit that they had a perfect back yard for live bands, and the money they made off these parties was worth it. Across the yard, on the cement patio that served as a stage, the members of the next band were pacing around anxiously, waiting for their guitar player to arrive. It was a new band for Edward and Emmet to be working with, and they had been hesitant to book them in the first place without knowing any of the members. So far it seemed to be a pretty standard punk band, consisting of skinny tattoo'd boys in even skinnier Jeans, with a chick wearing too much make up on vocals.
"Where the hell is he?" Seth asked, scanning the crowd in search of Jasper's curly blond hair.
"Relax Seth" Jacob warned, "I told you already, He's looking for a parking spot. He'll be here any minute."
"Don't forget he needs to get changed" Bella reminded them. "And with Alice in charge of his wardrobe it could be a while."
"Shit, your right" Seth said with a groan. "Thank god they have a DJ or this crowd could get crazy"
Finally, Jasper came running out of the house, dressed in the black and white plaid pants, doc martens, and 'the Queers' shirt Alice had picked out for him. He shoved through the crowd and onto the patio, apologizing for being late. After a quick swig of his whisky, in a toast to not fucking up, he picked up his guitar and began tapping his foot along the beat that Jacob had set on the drums. As soon as Seth's bass joined in, and Jasper got through the first couple of chords of the opening song, he managed to relax and enjoy himself.
And the kids in the crowd seemed to be enjoying the show as well. It didn't take long for a circle pit to form, and before long a group of kids he had seen at some of their past show made there way to the front of the pit and sang along with Bella.
Edward had slipped back into the house, where he normally spent his time during shows. As the kids got drunker, they tended to wander into the house. They didn't mind the stoners who would often smoke blunts in the living room, but it got to be a problem when people started looking for bedrooms or raiding the fridge. It was pretty quiet inside, and the next band had started, so Edward decided to head back outside and check them out. The band sounded good, so it seemed to have been worth the wait for their guitar player.
He grabbed a beer from the cooler, and walked along the fence to get a better angle to watch from. The band members were all full of energy and jumping around the stage, and Edward found himself nodding his head to the beat. After a couple songs, the Guitar player, and only member Edward hadn't met previously, stepped up to the mike to introduce the next song.
"How's everyone doing tonight?" He called out, getting a jumble of cheers and whistles in response. "We're Felon Love from right here in Chicago, and I think It's time for some introductions! Give it up for Jacob back here on the Drums, Seth on the bass, the lovely Bella on Vocals, and I'm Jasper, your punctuality challenged guitarist!"
Edward suddenly froze up as Jasper began his introductions, and felt a sudden chill of anxiety down his spine. "Shit... shit... that can't be him. That doesn't make any sense. He's not supposed to be in Chicago, Nobody is supposed to be here." Edwards mind was racing, and he suddenly had goosebumps popping up all over his arms. He took a deep breath and tried to relax, convincing himself that he had to be wrong, that it couldn't be the same Jasper. It was just a coincidence. A huge fucking coincidence that he would probably laugh about later.
Then he saw Rosalie off to the side, singing along while she danced, and completely panicked. He needed to get away from that back yard, away from Rosalie and Jasper, and He needed to find a way to make sure neither of them ever came here again. He ran for the house, and upstairs to his bed room. He quickly locked the door, shut the windows, and turned on some Daft Punk with the volume blasted. Lying on his bed he closed his eyes and tried not to think about what was happening outside. He couldn't shut of his brain though, and the worst case scenario's kept getting worse and worse.
Finally, he managed to stop shaking long enough to pack a bong, and once he stopped coughing, he finally managed to relax. He grabbed a sketch book and starting randomly doodling, hoping Emmet would be able to handle the party on his own. He had seen their neighbors Esme and Carlisle, and knew they would help with crowd control if things got out of hand.
Felon Loves set was a huge success, with the band playing better than they had in months. Once they had finished taking down their equipment and loading it in the back of Bella's truck, Jasper finally had a chance to relax and drink a few beers. Emmet eventually came by, congratulating them on an amazing set.
"Felon Love!" he called out as he stumbled across the lawn toward them "You guys rock! Great set guys! You have to play here again sometime."
"Thanks for having us man!" Jake said, passing a joint in Emmets direction. "We'd love to play here again. Its a great spot."
"Yeah man," Jasper agreed. "You must have some amazing neighbors to be allowed to do this all the time."
"We do." Emmet said with a grin. "Of course it helps that half our neighbors end up over here most of the time. I got drunks to take care of, but I'll be in touch soon!"
Jasper finished his beer, and stood up to go.
"I gotta get out of here guys," he said, sounding dissapointed. "I have to work tomorrow, and James seems pretty serious about firing me if I'm late again. Fucking asshole. I think I have to work with that bitch Victoria tomorrow too."
"Alright man" Seth said, waving goodbye, "Have a good night".
Jasper started heading toward the gate when Alice jumped up and ran after him.
"Hey! Jazz! Don't forget your clothes! They're still in that bedroom you changed in earlier.
"Shit, Thanks Al." Jasper said as he turned toward the house.
Jasper got to the house and found the room he had changed in, but the door was shut, and he heard music playing loudly. "Fuck" Jazz wispered to himself. "thats the only work shirt I have." He started to knock, hoping someone would hear him inside. After knocking several times, and yelling to the mystery stranger to please open the door, he reluctantly tried the door knob. It was locked. He was starting to knock again when Emmet came up the stairs behind him.
"What do you want Dude?" Emmet asked, confused to find Jasper outside his brothers door. Edward was usually very selective about who he allowed in there.
"I uh, I had to find someplace to change earlier, and there were people in the bathrooms, so I uh, changed in there. I need to get my work clothes back." Jasper explained nervously. He couldn't explain why, he had sensed a strange nervous energy when he got to the door, and was suddenly very uncomfortable.
"Oh, ok." Emmet said with a shrug. "I'll try to get in there for you."
Jasper stepped aside so Emmet could get close to the door.
"Edward! Open up a sec." He yelled, as he banged the side of his fist against the door. "Edward!"
After a couple seconds the music stopped.
"What do you want?" Edward yelled back
"This guy left his clothes in there and needs to get them back! Can you just open up for a sec?"
After another brief pause, Jasper heard the click of the lock, and a cloud of pot smoke escaped as the door opened.
"Hurry up and grab your shit!" Edward growled.
Nervously, Jasper stepped into the room and glanced around for his shirt and pants.
The nervous energy Jasper had felt before, had quickly been replaced by fear. Quickly finding his clothes, Jasper grabbed them and ducked back out into the hall way. Glancing back over his shoulder he noticed that this kid Edward had gone pale, and was staring at him. As he started back down the stairs, he heard Edward call to Emmet and paused to listen out of curiosity. What the hell had happened to that kid to make him freak out like that?
"Emmet, you need to help me and make sure that kid never comes here again. Promise me."