"Alice, what the hell was I thinking last night?" Jasper asked. "Did I really ask Edward out on a date?"
"I dunno man. Do you want it to be a date?" Alice asked him.
"I don't know. I got this really odd vibe from him. There's something a little weird about him, but not in a turn off way. I can't figure out what it is though."
"Jazz, you're always getting vibes from people. I swear you have some kind of super power sometimes." Alice reminded him.
"Whats his super power?" Lauren asked, coming in to the room with a giant cup of coffee.
"Mmm, I need coffee now. Smells good" Jasper announced, as he got off the couch and headed toward the bar. "Fuck! If were going to let Jake work on his bike in here, he needs to stop leaving tools all over the floor."
"I know dude, I got attached by a wrench this morning too." Alice called to him. "Now hurry up and get back in here! We need to talk about this boy!"
"So. Jasper." Alice demanded as soon as Jasper sat back down with his coffee, "Tell us whats so intriguing about this Edward."
"Other than the fact that he's gorgeous anyway." Lauren added. "If you don't end up dating him, maybe I'll try. I mean, you don't know for sure that he's gay anyway."
"I don't know what it is exactly" Jasper tried to explain "But its like theres some weird connection already. I feel like I know him, but I'm almost positive we've never met. It's kind of weirding me out actually."
"Maybe you were lovers in a past life." Lauren suggested. "Your soul recognizes him."
"Past life Lauren?" Alice asked, trying not to laugh. "What kind of Hippy shit are you reading now?"
"It's real Alice." Lauren said, getting defensive.
"It doesn't matter what it is!" Jasper interrupted. "We need to be trying to figure out if this is a date or not."
Before they had a chance to continue the conversation however, Jaspers pants started vibrating. Or rather the phone is his pocket did.
"Shit! I think thats him." Jasper said, suddenly nervous as he looked at the 773 number showing up on his phone, and ran downstairs to his room.
Emmet woke up around noon, and was surprised to smell coffee. That usually meant Edward was already up, but it had been a while since Edward had even left his room. Carlisle must have said something right last night. He came down stairs and found Edward sitting on the couch, working at his laptop.
"Good morning?" Emmet asked, unsure what to expect from his brother. "Did you have a good time last night?"
"Yep. I did surprisingly." Edward replied, sounding happier than he had in months."And don't worry about Jasper and Rosalie. I think you were right."
"You on drugs or something?" Emmet asked, staring, "Yesterday you were hyperventilating at the THOUGHT of seeing them, and now all of a sudden they're cool?"
"Yeah, I was totally over reacting." Edward explained casually. "I talked to him last night. I wonder if he's up yet. I need to call him and figure out what the plan for tonight is."
Emmet continued to stare as Edward stood up, and closed his laptop, draining his coffee simultaneously.
"Wheres your phone dude? Jasper said you had his number."
Emmet was so surprised by what was going on that he could barely respond
"It... uh... should be..."
"Found it." Edward announced, grabbing the phone off the charger on the counter, and began flipping through Emmets contacts, and then entered Jaspers number to his own phone.
"Thanks Bro!" Edward called over his shoulder as he ran up the stairs.
"What the fuck happened to him?" Emmet said to himself, as he watched his brother disappear to his room. It was great to see him happy again, but this was just weird, and it made him a little worried. Especially with Jasper back in the picture. He had to meet up with a band at the studio to start recording though, and didn't have time to figure out what the hell had happened to cause Edwards drastic mood change. He would have to remember to stop by Carlisle and Esme's later, and see if they had any idea's.
Emmet got back home around 6 to find Edward pacing around the kitchen, with a joint one hand and a beer in the other.
"Dude! I need your opinion on this shirt. It doesn't make me look too girly does it?" Edward asked him anxiously.
Emmet tried not to laugh as he looked at Edwards outfit. His shirt had thin black and grey vertical stripes, with every 5th one being pink, with a pair of black skinny jeans and his old beat up chucks.
"Nah, maybe a little gay, but definitely not girly. Boobs made you look girly."
"Fuck you man!" Edward yelled at him, getting defensive.
"Sorry, man. I guess it's not a good night for jokes." Emmet apologized. Some days Edward would have joined in joked about himself, and others, joking about Edwards female history could start a fight. "Seriously, you look good. Guys are allowed to wear pink you know."
Edward got quiet and became very interested in reading the label on his beer bottle, before chugging the end of it and tossing the empty bottle in the recycling bin.
"I don't know if this is such a good idea anymore." he admitted.
"So your really hanging out with Jasper? How did that happen anyway?" Emmet asked, prying for details about the night before.
"I'm still not sure exactly. I ran into him at the cafe last night, and totally freaked. I fucking ran away and hid behind a dumpster. It was pathetic."
"You hid behind a dumpster? Seriously?" Emmet was struggling to keep a straight face, and the joint Edward had passed him wasn't helping any.
"I did, laugh all you want. But then when I finally calmed down enough to go back and grab my shit to leave, he was standing outside the door smoking a cigarette. He stopped me and wanted to talk, saying he didn't understand what he did when he had never met me before."
Emmet grinned at his brother. "Told you he wouldn't recognize you."
"Yeah, and you were right. Asshole. He seemed really honest about it, and for some reason talking to him actually calmed me down. I found my self agreeing to go to his roommates gallery opening tonight."
"Hmm.." Emmet replied, still not sure how he felt about the whole thing."You know I'm not going to tell you how to live your life, but be careful, okay?"
"I will. Thanks man."
Edward calmed down a little after talking to Emmet. He was all he had really. The only person who had really been there for him after he came out and told everyone he was planning on transitioning. Emmet had even moved to Chicago with him and helped him start over after the majority of his friends had ditched him. Their parents hadn't actually disowned him, but still refused to call him their son, and still referred to him as Elizabeth. Knowing now that Emmet didn't think it was a horrible plan, at least not horrible enough to say something, helped him make a final decision.
Looking at the clock, Edward realized he was going to be late, and ran out the door to meet up with Jasper and a few of his friends.
Jasper had gone to the gallery early to help Alice finish setting up her pieces, and found himself spacing out the whole time. He was excited that Edward had actually called and agreed to meet him at the opening, but he was kind of nervous about how the night would go. It had been less than 24 hours since Edward had panicked at the sight of him and run away, and he was still haunted by his voice saying to make sure he never came around again.
"Jasper! Come on dude!" Alice yelled to him impatiently. "Remember how you were going to get the last piece out of the van for me?"
"Oh right, Sorry" Jasper said, heading toward the loading dock.
"Stop worrying dude. He'll be here."
Less than an hour later, the gallery was starting to fill up, and the caterers were busy keeping the wine glasses and hors d'eourves plates filled. Alice and Jasper stood in the corner, watching people talk about her art.
"Lets sneak outside before someone finds me." Alice suggested. "You know I can't sell art on a clear head."
"Sounds good" Jasper agreed, grabbing her hand and leading her toward the van out back. "Would the lady prefer a joint or glass tonight?"
"Ummm, joint. And maybe we should make it two."
Edward found the gallery easier than he expected, but wasn't ready for the crowd of people inside. Suddenly his nerves returned, and he wasn't sure if he could handle Jasper and a crowd at the same time. He was ready to turn around and leave, when Bella and Seth spotted him through the window, and waved to him to come in. 'I guess theres no turning back now' he thought, and made his way into the gallery.
"Edward! You made it. Jasper was afraid you would bail." Bella told him. She seemed drunk already, and quickly disappeared after a waiter for another glass of wine.
Edward and Seth stood awkwardly for a moment, before Edward finally broke the silence.
"So where is Jasper anyway?"
"I'm not sure exactly. I think he and Alice went off to smoke a joint or something. She gets really nervous at these things." Seth explained. "He should be back any minute. Get your self a drink."
"Thanks man" Edward said, before walking away to find the bar. A drink definitely sounded like good idea to him.
He got a glass of wine, and began to look at Alice's pieces. They were all so intricate, and detailed. Mostly mixed media collages, consisting of fabric swatches and random objects, and a couple of sculptures. It all seemed pretty safe, until you looked closely and found the pages from a couple playboy magazines layered into the collages, and several dildo's among the doll parts and toy cars in her sculptures.
"I started off in fashion design, but I got kind of bored with it." A voice suddenly announced from behind him.
Edward turned around to find a tiny girl with spiky dark hair looking up at him.
"I'm Alice" She announced, putting out her hand. "Your Edward right?"
"Yeah, thats me." he said, shaking her hand. "I'm glad I came tonight."
"I told Jasper you would." she told him confidently. "He was afraid you would bail. You should go talk to him. He's over there."
Edward looked across the room to where Alice had pointed, and felt his heart begin to race. He started to wish Alice good luck, but she had already bounced off to talk to someone else. After taking a large swig of his wine, Edward made his way across the room to where Jasper was talking to Jacob. He had forgotten how hot Jasper was, and was sure he would be sporting a boner by now if it were physically possible.
Jasper spotted Edward coming toward him, and smiled at him, causing Edward to relax a little.
"Hey Edward, good to see you again." Jasper said, "Your not going to run away again I hope."
"No, not tonight" Edward responded, still a little nervous. "So how do you and Alice know each other?"
"We met about 4 years ago after I dropped out of college and moved back home" Jasper explained.
"We just kind of clicked and started hanging out almost everyday. She decided randomly one day that she wanted to move out here, and I had no reason not to come with her."
"So you just moved and started over?" Edward asked.
"Pretty much. Some crazy shit went down with the guys I used to hang with in college, and I decided I didn't want anything to do with them anymore. Alice became my only real friend after that."
Edward smiled after hearing Jaspers story, and he was relieved to hear that Jasper had ditched his friends. They spent the next half hour or so walking through the Gallery, and chatting with Jaspers band mates, before Jasper noticed that Edward looked bored.
"Sorry, man. I didn't mean to leave you out of the loop there." Jasper apologized, "Hanging out with you seems so familiar I forgot you don't really know anyone here."
"Don't worry about it. I'm having a good time." Edward told him.
"Do you want to get out of here? My place is a few blocks away. We can go hang there and drink some beers if you want." Jasper suggested.
"Okay." Edward agreed, surprised to find himself actually wanting to go.
A few minutes later they had arrived at Jasper's place. It wasn't an apartment like Edward had expected, but a converted bar.
"Let me give you the tour." Jasper said, turning on the lights. Jasper led him around the large space, pointing out the different areas, including the old cooking hood, which now hovered above the 'Toxic fumes corner", the DJ booth, The door to Jacobs room in the back corner, Lauren and Alice Apartment off to the side, and off course the fully stocked bar. "My room is in the basement, but we don't have to go down there now."
Jasper went behind the bar to grab a couple beers, telling Edward to sit down and make himself comfortable. Edward sat, looking around the space. It was kind of a mess, with ashtrays and empty bottles spread around the room, mixed in with random tools, art supplies and musical instruments including Jacobs drum set in the corner. He also noticed a couple easels arranged among the makeshift computer desks.
Jasper went up to the DJ booth, Setting his laptop to play a random mix of punk and rock music, before coming to sit next to Edward. They talked for hours, occasionally just sitting quietly listening to a particular song, as they added to the collection of empty beer bottles in the room. Edward found himself censoring his responses, carefully avoiding any mention of college and the 2 years he had spent in Seattle. He figured he would have to tell Jasper the truth about who he was eventually, but tonight wasn't the right time.
As they talked, Edward and Jasper found them selves moving closer and closer to each other. By the time they finished the second bowl Jasper had packed, Edward found himself snuggling up to Jasper, and Jasper had wrapped his arm around Edwards shoulders. They had stopped talking, and were just sitting there now, enjoying each others presence.
"I can't believe I got lucky enough to have such a sexy man all to myself" Jasper finally said, looking down at Edward smiling.
"I was just thinking the same thing" Edward said, returning the smile.
Jasper shifted his arm to reach around Edwards waist, pulling him closer. Edward sat up a little turning his body to face Jasper, their faces now inches away. Edward paused for a second, staring into Jaspers eyes before leaning in closer to kiss him. Jasper gasped as Edwards lips met his, before pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. Eventually Edward shifted so he was straddling Jaspers lap, and began biting and sucking Jaspers neck and ear.
"Oh god, that feels so good." Jasper moaned, as Edwards tongue slowly circled his earlobe.
Slowly Jasper began to move toward the buttons on Edwards shirt. He was just starting to undo the third button down, when Edward suddenly tensed up and pulled away.
"I can't do this" Edward suddenly announced, and Jasper noticed the same feeling of fear starting to over come him.
A/N Hmmm, its starting to smell a bit lemony in here. How is Edward going to tell Jasper about his past, and what did Jasper do to him anyway? Comments will get more chapters. Actually Unemployment and too much time on my hands will get you more chapters, comments will just make me happy.