Chapter 12
"No flipping way." I exclaimed, standing in front of Jasper's mansion.
He had sent me the address an hour back and then I had used my phone to get here. There were black iron gates looming in front of me. They looked kind of creepy. I swallowed my hesitation and walked to the buzzer. I pressed it and heard Jasper say "Hello?" And then there was a muffled sound and Zach's eager voice floated through the speakers. "Dude, it's probably Lexa, open the damn gates."
"Yes, it's me." I said, biting back a smile. The gates opened and I walked in. Before I could even ring the bell, the door opened. A hand clamped down on my arm and I was dragged in.
"She's mine!" Zach screamed while laughing in an evil manner. He was holding me in front of him, almost as if.... I was a shield. I looked around and saw every member of the band holding a pillow and circling around us.
"I can't believe you're trying to cheat in a pillow fight." Liam grumbled.
"It's not cheating. It's strategic thinking." My captor explained, still hiding behind me.
"Oh come, Z. Give up. You're the only one who didn't get hit yet. You win anyway." Scarlett said, looking bored.
"No. I want you all to retreat and say you lost."
"Sure." Jasper said and then charged with the rest of the band. I was nearly smothered by the large number of pillows.
When they finally decided that the game was up, someone offered me a hand and pulled me to my feet. "Sorry about that. Sometimes stuff escalates into an all out war. It's more fun here because there's so much room."
"Right." I managed to say
"Come on, we'll show you around." Liam continued.
I walked around the house, taking in the sheer size of the house. There were about three floors and a basement. There were rooms for entertainment, a swimming pool and a room completely dedicated for music. I spent some time in there, marveling at the grand piano in the centre of the room, the posters and the records on the walls. There was a space for the band to practice, with amps and stands scattered around.
"It's our favorite too." Scarlett said softly, shocking me into nearly falling over a wire.
I recovered my balance and smiled. But the moment was already gone and she was looking out of the window. We went to the backyard next and I admired the comfortable looking seats near the pool.
"Let's go back to the movie." Liam suggested.
They took me to the movie room and I could see that they had been hanging out here for quite some time before the pillow fight erupted.
"What movie are you watching?" I asked, collapsing onto a bean chair.
"Friends with Benefits." Jasper claimed. I looked at him, startled. But I realized he was joking when Scarlett swatted the back of his head.
"Fine. Band Slam." he pouted. "You guys just don't get humor."
"We don't like your type of humor." Liam corrected. "There's a difference."
They started the movie again.
I reached for the popcorn and was embarrassed when my hand touched Jasper's instead. He looked at me and whispered "Really? Is that your way of getting my attention? Seriously, all you needed to do is just say you want me."
I rolled my eyes at him, picked up the popcorn and threw some at his head. I think I was starting to get used to his lousy attempts at being seductive. I didn't realize I had said the last part out loud until Liam started choking on his popcorn and laughing at the same time.
After he calmed down, he sat up straight and said "Hey, weren't we supposed to formally introduce ourselves today?"
I nodded.
"Well. I'm Liam Coulter. I'm nineteen years old. I'm kicked out of my place. I play the guitar and have a kick-ass band. I'm trying to get into a college for performing arts."
"Nice to meet you Liam." I grinned.
"I'm Zachariah Jackson, as you know. I have a younger sister and I live with my parents. I just turned eighteen. I enjoy playing the drums and I'm going to attend the same college as Liam."
I turned to look at Jasper.
"I'm Jasper Lee. I'm seventeen. My parents are divorced. I live with my mother. I started playing the piano when I was seven years old."
That explained why the house seemed kind of empty. Having no siblings and father around must be hard. I looked at him and saw his shoulders tense up, a defending look coming onto his face. He thought I was going to pass a comment about his family. I turned to look at Scarlett, sparing Jasper the suspense. I wasn't an interfering type of person.
"My name's Scarlett Hawethorne. I'm nearly eighteen. I live alone, as you could see the other day."
She volunteered no more information, and as for my part, I did not press the matter.
We finished watching the movie, and then started doing random things. Zach, Jasper and I were playing a computer game while Scarlett was surfing the Internet. Liam was listening to music with headphones on, ignoring us. There were no interruptions until he spilled juice on himself by mistake.
"Great. Do you have an extra shirt I could borrow?" he asked Jasper.
"Yes. You know where my room is. Go to it, open my wardrobe, and take out the blue one on the top."
Liam nodded, walking out of the room. After a few seconds, I realized I was thirsty.
"Where's the kitchen?" I asked Jasper.
He sighed, pulled himself up and said he would just show me himself. We walked out of the room the same way Liam had left and walked into the kitchen. Weirdly, Liam was at the sink with his back to us. His headphones were still on so he didn't hear us walk in. He was singing along to the song he was listening to.
"I'm too sexy for my shirt, too sexy for my shirt." he sang and then turned around, pulling his shirt off.
We stood there, frozen staring at each other for a whole minute. I didn't know who was turning more red, me or him. I tried not to stare, but how could a girl look away from a hot, shirt less guy? I yelled at myself internally for being so creepy.
Then Jasper started shaking. I turned to look at him, confused and saw that he was trying to hold back laughter. Which didn't work. He burst out laughing and ran out the door, cackling wildly. Embarrassed wasn't the word to describe the look on Liam's face. He slowly pulled on the other shirt he was holding. Jasper's blue one.
"I don't even like that song." he sighed.
That started me off. I think my eyes were tearing up because I was laughing so hard. After a second, he joined in, being the good sport he was. We walked out to join the rest and saw Jasper trying to stop laughing long enough to explain what had happened, but failing to do so. When he finally calmed down, he turned and asked Liam "What the heck were you doing?"
"Changing." Liam said, frowning.
"Who the fuck changes like that?"
"Language, Jas." Liam warned him, looking at me anxiously.
"It's OK. I'm used to it." I wasn't that innocent to have never heard people swear.
"So, I repeat. Who the fuck changes like that?" He was starting to laugh again. There was an awkward silence.
"I don't know...?" I said, to break the silence.
"A stripper." Jasper blurted, got up and ran as Liam lunged for him.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
I hope that made you laugh.
Vote!
Oh and that's a drawing of Lexa on the side. :)
