BE-E AGGRESSIVE! (be_aggressive) wrote in shadows_rpg, @ 2023-09-23 11:28:00 |
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Entry tags: | #group scene, #july 2018, elodie, jasper, jasper x jules, jules, logan |
Who: Jules, Jasper and Logan (Elodie cameo) PT 1
When: Night, Monday July 16th
Where: Bonfire at the Beach
Jules was definitely ready for some fun and a bonfire at the beach was just the kind of thing she usually looked forward to in the summer. It couldn’t be a bad thing to want some kind of normalcy for an evening, and Jules went out of her way to look good for it. Once she knew Jasper was coming to pick her up, Jules slipped a bottle of her favorite marshmallow vodka into her bag and walked outside to wait for him. It was warm and breezy with the sun setting, and Jules took a minute to breathe deep, hoping Jasper would have fun tonight. He didn’t know Ethan would be at the bonfire yet, but Jules was hoping the fact that Ethan would be there with Scarlett would keep things from going sour.
As soon as she saw Jasper’s car coming up the drive, Jules took another deep breath and smiled, eager to get on with the evening with her boyfriend. Hurrying around his car, Jules slipped into the passenger side and leaned over to kiss him hello.
“Ready?” she asked, once she pulled back, a smile on her lips.
Jasper felt a little like he was still recovering from his uncle’s bachelor party -- which had been kind of an unexpected blast -- but the prospect of a lowkey beach bonfire gathering was kind of appealing, especially since Jules wanted to go. He didn’t feel quite like he was a part of that group, since he hadn't actually graduated, but enough of his friends were going to be there to make it appealing. Jules, Logan, Ruby ... okay, so he needed more friends. But still, it didn’t sound horrible, and he needed to take advantage of any urge to be social these days, it didn’t come around too often anymore.
It was going to be a little weird to hang out with Jules and Logan in the same place, but he’d proven he could behave around his best friend when they were alone now, so Jasper just planned to get really stoned to endure the awkward bits. He couldn’t avoid having them in the same space forever, he loved both of them too much. They all had to get used to it, especially if he was truly going to move in with Logan.
Jasper hadn’t put any effort into his appearance by contrast, just throwing on a t-shirt and some board shorts, in case he wanted to wade in the water again. But Jules looked lovely as she climbed into his car, and Jasper kissed her back and then returned her smile. “Yup ... you look pretty,” he told her as he pulled away from the curb.
In all honesty, Jules wasn't really even thinking about Logan being there. For some reason, her mind didn't really see him as the type to come and hang out with recent graduates. She was more worried about Ethan and that whole... thing. But right now she was happy because Jasper was going to hang out with her and hopefully have a good time. "Thanks," she said, reaching over to slip her hand into his. She did her best to look good, especially since the stupid cast on her wrist was hideous and she hated it. "I've got some vodka," she said, shaking her bag a little and hearing the bottle clink against something inside. "But I know they'll have some beer there. Probably not kegs since those are harder to take if the cops show up, which they probably won't, but who knows." They'd had parties on the beach before with alcohol and they've never been busted so Jules hoped this was more of the same.
He hardly even noticed the cast anymore, except when she bumped him with it by accident or it seemed like her wrist was hurting her. Jasper just wanted her to heal up and feel better, that was all. He still had some reservations about how good of a monogamous boyfriend he could be to Jules, or if that was really what he wanted long term, but that didn’t mean Jasper wanted her to suffer at all, for any reason. Sometimes he wished he could clone himself, or get split in two somehow, to live both of the lives he seemed to want. He was in this one now though, and he’d promised to try, so he would. Jasper squeezed her fingers gently and pulled her hand up to kiss a couple of her knuckles. “I brought some stuff too,” he said, giving a nod toward the back seat. “Some whiskey and tequila. My dad’s not drinking it as fast these days.” Gavin hadn’t said anything about his dwindling bottles so far, Jasper doubted he would care about these disappearing. He glanced over at her and smiled a little. “It’ll be fun.”
Jules glanced in the back of the car, pleased to see more hard liquor. She would drink beers and ciders if there was nothing else, but she had always preferred the stronger stuff at parties. Jules was glad to hear that Jasper's dad wasn't drinking as much anymore. That was healthier and stuff and she hoped next time they talked face to face he didn't look as beat up and tired as he usually did. She did want to go by and see him again soon. Relaxing back in her seat, Jules returned his smile. "It will be." At least she hoped it would be. If it wasn't, well, she'd just drink some more and go home. "So, I talked to my mom and I think I may be getting a place of my own. She only agreed to let me do it if I get a job, so that's gonna happen." Jules made an unhappy face before shrugging. "But it'd be worth it to move out and do my own thing."
Jasper’s heart twisted and thumped harder as his anxiety suddenly rose. Of course she would want to talk about a fraught subject on the way to the party. It should have been a totally normal and easy statement to make, something Jasper could be happy for her about, but it felt like a minefield already. Jules was going to have Feelings about the idea of him moving out to get an apartment with Logan, and he wasn’t sure yet how to navigate all of that. He wet his lips and nodded a bit. “That’s awesome,” Jasper murmured. “Like a one bedroom apartment, or ...?” Jules’s mom had lots of money, so god knew what kind of place she was actually offering. He was going to have to give her his plans too, but Jasper wanted to let her talk some more before he made her all upset. “What kinda job are you gonna look for?”
"Yeah, probably a one bedroom. I don't think I'll need a roommate." Though it'd probably be less lonely if she got one. She just couldn't think of anyone she could tolerate long enough to live with and Ethan seemed pretty happy on his own. Jules felt the weight of the vodka bottle on her lap and she sort of wished she could have a drink already. "I don't know about the job though. I'm going to start looking this week. Hopefully I won't get stuck doing anything too lame." Obviously, Jules knew she would eventually have to get a job but she had always imagined it would happen after college, something awesome with a fat paycheck. More wishful thinking.
“Yeah, hopefully,” Jasper murmured. He thought about making some lame joke about how she could come work with him, but she might break a nail ... but thought better of it. Jules had grown past a lot of that superficiality. Not that she wanted to be a mechanic in the first place, but he didn’t think she would give a shit about her nails if she tried it. “Good luck, though. If I hear of anything open you might not hate, I’ll let you know.” Jasper gave her a faint smile, then cleared his throat and shifted a bit. “Me and Logan talked again about being roommates, getting an apartment together. It’d be nice to sleep somewhere with windows, you know? Stop living in my dad’s basement like some internet loser.” He snorted softly and glanced over at Jules again.
Jules still took care of herself, but no, she didn't cry if she broke a nail anymore. There were much worse things to cry about now. Hearing Jasper was probably moving in with Logan should've been one of them, but she felt tapped out crying over that too. He was going to do what he wanted and if she vocalized any discomfort with it, she'd be a bad girlfriend, jealous and irrational and all that stuff. He didn't want to live with her, but he'd live with Logan, so. Yeah. It was fine. Jules gave him a small smile of her own and shifted her bag in her lap a bit. "Your basement is a lot nicer than those internet loser basements, I bet. But yeah, I mean, that'd be cool. You should have your own space."
It occurred to Jasper then that he’d never invited Jules over to see his basement. It wasn’t all that bad, just half-finished, but now he even had a shower down there. Jules might even be comfortable down there. The place just still didn’t feel like it belonged to him. Probably because it didn’t. It was Charlie’s house, his former English teacher, and Jasper was never supposed to live in her basement while he was still too fucked up to take care of himself. “Yeah ... Dad’s put a lot of work into it since I’ve been there,” Jasper said, absently rubbing his thumbs against the steering wheel. “You should come over sometime and see it, before I go.” In spite of Jules’s nonchalance, he was sure she probably wasn’t happy hearing about it -- but living with Logan felt like a completely different prospect than living with Jules. “And you’re ... okay with that?”
Jules would rather see the basement he lived in with Charlie than the apartment he shared with Logan. Which was probably more of that irrational behavior but she couldn't really help it. His question prompted an inward sigh because of course she wasn't okay with it and he knew it. Maybe he wanted her to say it out loud so he could get upset or angry or something. "It's fine, Jasper," Jules said evenly. "Even if it wasn't fine, is it really going to change anything? You're allowed to live with whoever you want to live with." Obviously the last time this came up they'd had a fight about it, but that was forever ago. Things had changed and Jules was trying hard to let Jasper do whatever made him happy, even if that meant moving in with a friend he'd had sex with.
Her tone made his stomach twist a bit, like she was trying her best to keep her cool already. On one hand he appreciated that, but it felt so dishonest at the same time, and didn’t they need to be honest with each other if this was going to work? “I know that, I’m not like, asking permission,” Jasper said, aiming for even and calm with his own tone. “But I wanna know how you feel about it, or I wouldn’t ask. And it doesn’t sound fine.” He did care how Jules felt about things, whether she believed that or not. Jasper just didn’t know how to apply her feelings to his decisions, or if they could even find a compromise here or what. He didn’t want to live with her, that was too much like getting married and he wasn’t ready for that, but he didn’t want to live on his own either, that felt ... kind of dangerous, if he was being honest. His head went to bad places often, and knowing someone else was in the house helped ground him.
Jules was trying to keep her cool because why couldn't he just accept that she was okay with what he wanted to do? No, he wasn't asking her permission, but what did that do if she said it bothered her? Nothing. So she would rather just deal with it on her own instead of making Jasper feel bad for her feeling bad. And Jules didn't want to start arguing, especially before they even got to the bonfire. "If you really want to know how I feel about it, I feel weird about it," she said finally. "I mean, how would you feel if I slept with Ethan and decided to be roommates with him?" She had slept with Ethan, but that wasn't the point. They weren't moving in together. "It's just... weird. But I'll get used to it. That's why I said it was fine."
The thought of Jules sleeping with Ethan, much less moving in with him, made Jasper’s stomach churn. He was aware of how hypocritical that was, so he bit the inside of his cheek against his first impulse to respond. Logan being his best friend since childhood and helping Jasper expand his understanding of himself and his sexuality seemed completely different to him than some rich older asshole suddenly invading Jules’s life and trying to get into her pants. Maybe that wasn’t a completely fair assessment, considering the way Jules and Ethan were bonded through their power, but that just made it feel even worse to him. Jasper tried to push down his gut reaction and focus. They were quickly getting into sticky territory, and it was a bad time for it. “I dunno how I would feel,” he muttered. “But not good.” It would feel like a breakup to him, but Jasper didn’t think he could explain how it was Different in his mind. “But it’s not ... I just wanna make sure you know it’s not like we wanna be together or anything.”
Jules glanced at him and wondered if that was true. Again, she thought maybe he had wanted to get back together because she had been in an accident. Maybe he regretted it now. She wanted to ask him, but she also didn't want to know the answer, at least not right now before they'd had any real fun. "I know," she said after a moment, looking out the window again. "I sort of assumed if you'd rather be with him that we wouldn't be going out together tonight." Unless he felt like he had to, of course. Ugh. How had they even gotten on this topic and why was drinking in a moving car against the law? "Can we not talk about Logan right now? I know you want to get out of Ms. Harris's basement and he's your friend and you want to live with him and it's okay. I just don't want to talk about it anymore."
Jasper felt so many different things at different times, it was hard to parse out what he actually wanted. He knew that was something he had to do, people kept saying it to him, but he had no idea how to actually do that. He could make a Pros and Cons list of traits of both Jules and Logan ... but that felt gross and weird. He wasn’t trying to decide between one dog breed or another, they were both people Jasper cared desperately about, who fulfilled different needs for him. Fully being with Logan wouldn’t be like fully being with Jules. He wondered in a vaguely pouty way why they couldn’t all just be together and comfortable with that, but Jasper knew that was a pipe dream. “Okay,” he murmured, letting it drop. Out loud, anyway. He almost warned her that Logan was coming to the bonfire tonight, but decided not to. She’d said don’t talk about him anymore, so he wouldn’t.
She didn't think it was an unfair thing to ask. He didn't like hearing about Ethan, after all. All Jules wanted to do was have fun tonight. It felt like forever since that had happened, especially with Jasper. Not wanting to get there with things feeling tense between them, Jules leaned over to rest her head against his bicep, not caring about the console between them. There seemed to be so much hovering over them both, things they weren't talking about, but Jules was too scared to even try. Was it wrong to just want to hang onto him for a while? Logan would get him pretty much every day and when Jules got a job it might be even harder to spend time together.
It was probably some kind of bad sign, but things did feel much easier when they weren’t talking, when they were just being together. Jules smelled good and her warmth felt so nice against his arm. Jasper curled his arm to lightly stroke his fingers against Jules’s hair while he drove with the other hand. He was vaguely tempted to suggest they just drive off somewhere else to park and have some time alone ... but he couldn’t keep avoiding his peers forever. Well, maybe he could, but he probably shouldn’t want to. They could get drunk and high at this party and maybe have some fun, which they both desperately needed. “I love you, Jules,” Jasper murmured quietly after a few moments of silence. He hoped they had a good time tonight, but he also hoped that if Jules hit her social wall and couldn’t stand another minute around all those people all of the sudden, she would tell him so they could bail together.
He had said it a lot before but Jules still liked hearing it, especially now when she constantly doubted herself. "I love you too," she said, lifting her face to press a kiss to the spot just beneath his ear. And she knew what it meant that Jasper was going to this bonfire. He would be around people he didn't know very well, or like, and she hoped he didn't feel too uncomfortable. Or have any panic attacks. Hopefully he would tell her if he did. "Do you want to stay the night after the party?" It would be really nice to fall asleep with Jasper beside her.
Just like her, Jasper intended to get decently fucked up at this party, which would make the social nature of it all a little easier to deal with. He hoped, anyway. And if that meant catching a ride or uber-ing back to Jules’s place, that was fine by him. He would rather have a good time and be a bit inconvenienced the next day getting his car back than spend a party sober and miserable. He glanced over at Jules with a faint little smile. “Yeah, that sounds good,” he said, and meant it. Jasper almost invited her back to his basement instead, but he had no idea if Elodie would be there, and he and Jules didn’t need more problems. Jasper turned the car down the drive that would take them to the beach. “I’ll try not to drink enough to get liquor dick,” he added, trying to sound light about it.
Jules snorted softly with amusement and let her hand fall onto his thigh, inching inward toward just crotch just a tiny bit. "Well, if you get liquor dick I guess I'll have to just take care of myself instead. You can always watch." Hopefully neither of them would get too wasted. Maybe just enough to zero out all the heavy stuff weighing on them both. As they were nearing the beach parking lot, she could already see the bonfire going down on the sand and there were plenty of people milling around. That made her feel a little better. Jump right into socializing and hopefully having a drink and some weed. "You sure you're okay?" she asked after a moment. "If you start to feel... uncomfortable or something, just tell me and we can leave."
Jules’s hand and words were both tantalizing, and again Jasper was tempted to suggest they skip the party altogether. “Don’t sweet-talk me into just takin’ you home,” he drawled with a lazy little grin. They couldn’t just spend all of their time fucking and avoiding hard conversations though, he supposed. To be together, they had to do stuff together, and hopefully this would be a good start on that. Re-start, whatever. Jasper glanced over at Jules when she spoke again before he pulled into a parking spot. It was sweet of her to remember that the social crowd might be an issue for him. Jasper was determined to do his best not to ruin this night for her, even though he’d already kind of started on a crappy foot. He put the car in park and leaned over to kiss Jules’s cheek. “I will,” he promised, and gave her another smile. “Doing okay right now, and it shouldn’t be too like, crowded.” There was a lot of space on the beach, being outside was a little less overwhelming. “Same to you though, okay? If you hit your limit, just say so.”
Jules kind of wished they could just have sex and not talk about the hard stuff. At least their bodies communicated better than their brains did. But this was good too. After they became "official" last year she had always liked going out with him, no matter what her friends said about it. She just hoped he enjoyed himself tonight, at least for a little while. "Yeah, I'll tell you," she promised, ready to have some fun herself. Things were going to be okay. Then they could go back to her house and be alone together and Jules could bask in that for a while too. Jules climbed out of the car and slipped her bag strap back over her shoulder before waiting for Jasper to join her so she could take his hand.
Once he had grabbed his liquor bottles and was out of the car, Jasper took Jules’s hand to walk with her down the path that led to the beach. They were greeted with various shouts and waves and directed to the cooler where there were a few sleeves of solo cups, ice, and mixers available. Jasper mixed them up a couple of drinks and handed Jules’s off to her. With a wry smile, he tapped the plastic cups together. “Here’s to being done with high school,” he said before he took a sip.
Jules took her drink, smiling faintly at his "toast" before she took a sip. It was strong, which was how she liked it. Being done with high school brought on a whole new range of emotion, since she knew who she was in high school. Now she had no idea what she was going to do. Jules was about to say so when Logan approached them. It startled her, since she had no idea Logan would be there, and Jules was grateful she didn't dribble any liquor down her chin. She glanced at Jasper but still somehow managed to smile casually at Logan.
"Was wondering when you guys would make it," Logan said, grinning, oblivious to any tension. They were both drinking, so that meant happy in his book. He glanced down at Jasper's shorts. "Already planning another swim?"
Jasper’s eyes were roaming, so he spotted Logan on his way over before Jules did. It felt weird to get tense in the presence of his best friend, but that was what happened anyway. As far as he knew, this was the first time Logan and Jules had seen each other since everything had started. Jules’s smile looked tight to him, but Jasper knew it was probably subtle to anyone who didn’t know her really well. “Hey man,” he greeted with a faint smile of his own. Jasper glanced down at his clothes too and shrugged as he chuckled. “You never know, right? Just staying prepared.” This definitely wasn’t the crowd to strip in front of to go skinny dipping. Jasper dipped into his pocket to pull out one of the joints he’d rolled and cocked a brow as he offered it to Logan. “Wanna get it started?”
Jules didn't have much to say as Logan took the joint from Jasper to get it going. Her gaze roamed around and she cringed internally when she saw Clint. Was Ruby here too? Maybe they got back together. There were plenty of her friends around though and she smiled and waved at a couple until Logan had taken the first drag from the joint and offered it to her. "Ladies second?"
She looked back at Logan and stared at the joint blankly for a moment before she took it. It was good stuff, but then again Jasper always had the good stuff. Taking a long drag of her own, she then handed it to Jasper. The urge to wander off was strong, but she didn't want Jasper to think she was ditching him right as they got there.
"Elodie's here somewhere," Logan said, taking Jasper's cup from his hand to take a sip. "Asked me if you were coming then disappeared. Probably getting ready to pounce, so don't say I didn't warn you."
Jasper let out a little laugh-groan as he took the joint and let Logan take his cup, not thinking twice about it. It was alcohol, they’d shared countless drinks before. “That’s never a good sign with her,” he said lightly. Jasper hoped like hell Elodie didn’t actually pounce, he was sure that would just make Jules mad, and he was trying to avoid that tonight. He took a deep hit and held it for a second before blowing skyward, then offered the joint back to Jules. “I brought some Jack and rum, help yourself,” he told Logan, nudging the bottles in the sand with his foot. He almost offered Jules’s vodka too, but thought better of it before it came out. Jasper glanced at his girlfriend and offered a little smile. Her silence made his stomach squirm a little. “Should we uh, mingle?”
Jules wasn't Elodie's biggest fan, but Elodie had been there with Jasper Over There and Jasper didn't seem to despise her anymore, so Jules didn't really hate the other girl anymore. She would rather Elodie pounce on Jasper than Logan. Not that there was any pouncing happening. Just sharing of alcohol and drugs. After another quick hit from the joint, Jules offered it back to Logan, glancing at Jasper. "Yeah, there are some people I want to say hi to. You don't have to come with me, though, if you want to hang out with Logan." Maybe Jules wasn't thrilled about things, but she wasn't about to drag Jasper away from his friend because she was jealous.
Jasper had no real desire to say hello to any of Jules’s friends, they all made him feel awkward, but it suddenly felt like he would be failing a test if he opted to stay and talk with Logan and let Jules walk off alone. But then again maybe she wanted some privacy to see her friends? They’d split up at parties plenty of times before. Fuck, why was this so hard? He licked his lips and glanced between them in indecision. “I mean, uh ... I think they all kinda hate me,” he said to Jules with a sheepish sort of smile. “So I’ll go with you if you want, but ...” Jasper wanted to leave it up to her, so he didn’t do the wrong thing here, like he was so good at doing. The pressure wasn’t making that nervous feeling in his gut any better, but more booze and weed would probably take care of that.
Logan handed Jasper his cup back as he brought the joint back up to his lips, not wanting to jump into whatever was going on between the two. Not that he knew for sure that there was something going on, but he wasn't totally oblivious to weird vibes. It was obvious to him that Jasper didn't really want to hang out with Jules's friends; she probably knew Jasper well enough to recognize that too.
Jules did recognize it, but it didn't really surprise her. Her friends may not like Jasper much but he didn't like them either. And it wasn't like she and Jasper had to be joined at the hip. "It's fine," she said with a small shrug. The weed was starting to settle nicely inside of her and she found herself wandering off without another word, her cup clutched in her hand. She had plenty of friends to talk to. She just had to avoid Clint. And Ruby. Unless that would seem suspicious. Fuck. Whatever. She'd be fine.
Logan watched Jules go and cocked a brow at Jasper, holding the smoke in his lungs. "You two have a fight?"
Jasper watched her go with a sinking feeling. Fuck. He didn’t want to hang out with her friends though, they were all so vapid and stupid and sheltered. Jasper barely understood why Jules still wanted to have anything to do with them either. Surely they couldn’t relate to anything she’d been through. He could sympathize with wanting to feel normal again, he just didn’t know if they ever would. Blowing some air out through his lips, he turned back to Logan to take the joint from him. “No. Well I mean, not really,” he muttered before he took a hit. “I just told her on the way here that you and me are moving in together. She don’t like it much. But it’s fine, she says, everything is fine.”
Logan couldn't even begin to pretend he understood women. But it was a universal fact that when someone said something was 'fine', it probably wasn't. And it looked like Jules was already jumping into being social, so maybe it was fine. He began to mix himself a drink now that he'd given Jasper's back. "Well, we did have sex. It's probably just weird for her." Logan didn't know that for sure, but he was trying to help anyway. A lot of girls had that territory thing going on and he knew from experience they could be super jealous. "After a few more drinks, she'll be fine. Like, really fine." Chuckling, Logan glanced at Jasper. "You need a few more drinks too."
It was more than just ‘we had sex’ to Jasper, but he didn’t want to quibble over the wording or dwell on everything that had happened between him and Logan. Tonight wasn’t the night for it, and he regretted saying anything to Jules at all about any of it. Jasper knocked back what was in his cup and then reached to mix up a refill too. “I need like, a straight IV of drinks, right into the veins,” he said with a huff. That wouldn’t help with liquor dick, but who knew if Jules would even still want him at the end of the night anyway. Maybe she would complain about what a bad boyfriend he was to all her dumb friends and they would convince her to break up with him again. Jasper sucked down some more weed and sipped on his new drink. “You having fun though?” he asked Logan just to change the subject. “Got your eye on anybody yet?”
Honestly, it was more than sex to Logan too but it seemed a bit pointless to talk about all that stuff now. And Jasper's life already seemed complicated enough. Logan didn't want to add to it. "I could make a joke about giving you an IV but it'd be dirty and I don't want to get in trouble." He snorted before taking a gulp of his newly mixed drink. His brow cocked at Jasper's question but he finished drinking before answering. "I just got here but yeah, having fun and no, haven't zeroed in on anyone yet. Any suggestions?" He glanced around, recognizing most faces but there were a few new-ish to him. Logan hadn't really come looking to hook up, but hell, he might as well attempt it.
Jasper’s gaze scanned the crowd as well and his first instinct was to say Jules’s name, like maybe if Logan seduced her everything would be okay, she would suddenly understand. That was a stupid idea though and he wasn’t drunk enough not to realize that. The three of them in bed together would just have to stay a fantasy. Jasper spotted Ruby talking to someone and he gave a little hum. “I think Ruby’s single again,” he said to Logan, shooting him a smirk before he hit the joint again. “You could kick Clint Nolan’s ass for her, sweep her off her feet.” He knew a lot of the names of the other people milling around, but Jasper wasn’t close with hardly anyone, especially not the girls.
Logan caught sight of Ruby and yeah, he did think she was hot. But... "I dunno. Ruby doesn't really seem like the casual type and I wouldn't want to hurt her feelings or make things weird for you, since you're friends." He reached over to pluck the joint from Jasper's hand. "I could still kick Clint's ass for her though. Hard to imagine who he'd fuck who'd be hotter than she is. Men are really dumbasses, aren't we." He took a hit and glanced around the crowd a bit more before shrugging. "But I dunno. My dick's not really feeling it right now. I'll probably just get shit-faced tonight and enjoy not having to work tomorrow."
Ruby did tend to like being in a relationship, so maybe Logan had a point. Jasper didn’t know though, maybe she would just want a fling to get over that idiot jock or something. But he wasn’t going to push, part of him secretly relieved that Logan wasn’t interested. Not that Ruby ought to be denied a good dicking down if she needed it, but he felt a little possessive of Logan even though he knew it was stupid. “Guess we are, yeah,” Jasper muttered his agreement. He found himself looking around for Clint too. “Maybe we should both jump him.” A fight suddenly sounded appealing for some reason, the kind of fight he knew he could actually win, as opposed to all the emotional fencing with his girlfriend. Jasper took another big swallow from his cup.
Logan didn't look opposed to the idea. "Maybe in a bit, when he's been drinking more. You know as soon as we jump him all his buddies are gonna step in." Then it could turn into something Bad. Logan didn't really care about that but he didn't want the cops showing up to ruin his good time just yet. But it was getting into fights with Jasper. Just like old times. The town deputies back then had known both of their names pretty well. He was sure they were still aware of the Lucas family, but Logan didn't think any of the deputies around now were around when he was still in high school. Except the Sheriff.
"Who're we jumping?" Elodie asked. She had shown up beside him more or less out of nowhere and Logan was startled, jerking his cup away from his lips and spilling a bit down his shirt. Jesus. She reached over to take the joint from Logan's fingers. "I wanna jump someone too."
Jasper was more used to Elodie turning up unexpectedly, so her sudden appearance didn’t shock him. She snuck up on him at home all the time these days. He looked over at her with a smirk. “Clint Nolan,” he answered. Elodie might not even know or care who that was, but she did seem always down for violence. Sometimes it was a little scary, but other times it was fun, and he hoped this was one of the latter. Jasper didn’t think they would actually do it tonight, there were too many people around and he knew Jules would probably freak out that he ruined their night together, but it was kind of fun to think about. “He cheated on Ruby, so we were just talking about fucking him up.”
Elodie scrunched her nose up in confusion for a moment until Logan gestured toward the guy they were talking about. She zeroed in on him and took another deep hit from the weed, sad to find it was almost gone now. Clint Nolan. His face was vaguely familiar in that way all kids she had gone to school with were vaguely familiar. He looked like a jock which meant he was probably a dick. But maybe had a nice one and she could use it. "I can fuck him up," Elodie said simply, having already made up her mind. She dropped the joint to the sand and used the toe of her shoe to nudge some sand over it. "Who'd he cheat with? I could fuck her up too, in a totally different way."
He snickered and then shrugged. “I actually dunno, Ruby didn’t say,” he admitted. Maybe that was for the best, if they were setting Elodie on the warpath. She was definitely more crazy than he and Logan combined, and he had a feeling Clint would end up regretting the hell out of sticking his dick into someone else. “Nobody gossips to me -- Logan, do you know?” Jasper asked, cocking a brow at his friend. It was a long shot, Logan had left school long before, but who knew what he heard at his job or just out and about in a small ass town like this.
"Nope." Logan knocked back the rest of his drink and went to make another. "Bet she's here though." Because it was a small ass town and a lot of pretty girls were hanging out tonight and while Logan knew guys with dicks didn't always have standards when it came to who they slept with, he was betting an Overlook Brat like Nolan did.
Elodie grinned. "That's okay. I bet I can find out. At least I know what I'm doing tonight." Maybe she was being too gleeful but it had been a while since she got to fuck around with someone. This town could be so damn boring and she needed entertainment to keep herself occupied. "Do you have another joint?" she asked Jasper, already holding her hand out for him to give it to her.
Ruby might not appreciate any of them even talking about it, much less doing anything about it, but then again maybe she would. Jasper didn’t know, but he wasn’t going to step in to try to stop anything Elodie wanted to do -- it wouldn’t work anyway. She did what she wanted, it was out of his hands now, right? Jasper glanced at Elodie’s open hand, then dipped his fingers into his pocket to pull out a second joint. He’d brought three, so he didn’t mind giving one up too much ... surely there would be more weed floating around this party anyway, on top of all the booze. “Have fun,” he told her with a little smirk.
Elodie took the joint and slipped it into her own pocket before heading off. Jasper was right that she would do whatever she wanted, and what she wanted tonight was to have fun. Logan watched her go then winced playfully at Jasper. "Siccing her on Nolan is probably ten times worse than anything we would've done to him." Not that Logan cared much. He didn't know Nolan well and they certainly weren't friends. "Kind of a shame we won't get to witness her crazy though," he added with a grin before taking a gulp from his drink. "Should I let you get back to Jules?" Logan didn't want Jasper to get into any trouble... or any more trouble.
Jasper agreed, he would rather get beaten up than have Elodie fucking with him. He couldn’t even imagine what she had planned, nor did he want to. As long as she didn’t leave Nolan’s dead body in Charlie’s basement or something, he didn’t care either. Jasper wasn’t even going to be there tonight. If he didn’t piss Jules off anymore, at least. Logan’s question brought her back to mind, and Jasper looked around to spot where she was, talking to some other people. He sighed a bit and nodded. “Yeah, I probably should go over there,” he said. He lifted his cup for a big swallow, then gave himself a top off before he tipped Logan a little salute with it. Jasper wanted to hug him, maybe even give him a kiss, but it wasn’t the time or place for it. “See ya in a bit, dude.”
Jules was making the rounds, trying to feel like her old self again. She actively avoided Clint, and Ruby, though she tried not to make it look like she was avoiding them. Every now and then she would glance over at Logan and Jasper and she noted Jasper seemed visibly less tense around his friend. Which made sense, of course, she just wished she wasn't a source of that tension. When Jules finally spotted Jasper approaching, she pulled away from the girls she was talking to meet him halfway, not wanting to make Jasper hang out with people he didn't care for. She was feeling actively buzzed now and her cup was nearly empty. Probably time for more. "I don't want to leave but it feels super weird being here," she admitted.
He was both relieved and a little disappointed when Jules pulled out of her little group of girlfriends. He was trying to prove that he could do boyfriend stuff, to himself and to Jules, and boyfriends sometimes had to be nice to their partner’s friends. Like how Jules hadn’t clawed Logan’s eyes out yet. Jasper wanted to do right by her, he just had to take it one situation at a time. He pursed his lips a bit and slipped his arm loosely around her shoulders. It sucked that she felt weird, but Jasper could definitely relate. “I’ve got another joint, if you want some,” he offered, then nodded to her drink. “Refill? And we can go whenever you want, just say the word.”
Jules wanted Jasper to get along with her friends too, or at least semi-get along with them, but she was more worried about Jasper getting along with Ethan than any of her girlfriends, and she knew Ethan and Scarlett would be there any minute. "I might want some," Jules admitted with a soft laugh. "I already feel buzzy. And yeah, another drink would be awesome." She didn't know if she wanted to go somewhere else yet or not, but she wanted to be with Jasper, no matter that might. "And I don't want to, like, make you feel like you can't hang out with Logan tonight. I know you don't like a lot of the people here. I'm just happy you came with me."
“You’re not making me feel that way,” Jasper told her and leaned over enough to kiss her temple. “I’m here with you, I wanna hang out with you.” He loved Logan to pieces, Logan made everything easy-breezy and fun -- as much as he could, considering Jasper’s whole mental mess lately -- but he loved Jules desperately too. He wanted to have actual fun with her. He didn’t know if that was likely tonight, considering their environment, but he was determined to try. And if getting fucked up would help facilitate that, he was in favor. “C’mon, let’s party.” Jasper steered them toward where they’d left their liquor bottles so they could top off and light up the next joint.