Jamie

The second day of classes was fairly uneventful. I've had dinner, fed Benji and taken him for a walk. And now I'm standing in front of mirror in my underwear wondering what the hell I should wear to go over to Aubrey's dorm. Her friends are gonna be there, and I bet they're all pretty and super into fashion and style and all that shit. I, am not. Gimme a band t-shirt, ripped jeans and converses or vans any day. But I guess I should put in a little effort. I wanna make a good impression with these girls. If they can't handle my weirdness later, then I'll know it wasn't meant to be. But for tonight, I want them to think I'm normal.

So I decide on a black leather pencil skirt, black leather boots, and a grey top coupled with a black choker (I'll stop wearing black when they make a darker colour, okay?). I put on mascara, black liquid eyeliner and a little blush. I paint my lips nude, paint my nails black. And I'm ready.

"Oh, don't look at me like that." I say to Benji, who is lying sulking on my bed because he knows I'm about to leave.

I pop in my contact lenses (for vision purposes only, I don't like wearing my glasses when I go out), spray myself with some of my favourite perfume, grab my purse and I'm good to go.

As I walk down the stairs, I can hear male voices coming from the garage. The guys are here, why am I not surprised. So rather than walking out the front door, I head down the stairs in the kitchen into my garage. It's a spacious double garage. I always park in the driveway, so it's only my dads jeep parked in one half. The other half contains Patrick's drum kit, some of our guitars, amps, a couple of couches, a TV and a mini-fridge (which is usually stocked with soda, water and beer). And right now, Patrick is sitting at his drum kit, fiddling with his symbols and Joel is sitting on one of the couches opening a soda. They don't even notice me coming down the stairs.

"Why can't Jay just come here?" Patrick asks as he focuses on whatever he's doing with his symbols.

"He said Jamie's going out with some new girlfriends or something." Joel says, while examining his soda. It's like he's never seen a coke before.

"So what? We can keep Benji company while she's out. Where is Benji anyway?" Patrick asks, still not looking up.

I'm suddenly filled with confidence that these guys would be fantastic defenders of my property if a burglar ever came around. Not. They still haven't even noticed that I'm standing here. So I clear my throat.

"Oh, hey Jame. Wow, it is a big girls night out indeed, huh?" Joel beams at me, as Benji runs past my feet and over to Patrick.

"Aww, who's my best friend? Benji is, Benji's my best friend!" Patrick gushes at Benji as he pets him. He still hasn't looked up at me. At least Joel is always complimentary.

"Why thank you, Joel." I say with a smile. "I thought I'd put in a little more effort than usual, wanna make a good impression with these girls, you know?"

"Totally," Joel says, "I guess most girls usually dress like that when they go out drinking. You'll fit in just fine."

"Dress like what?" Patrick says. He stops petting Benji and sits up straight, finally looking at me.

"Jesus Christ, Jame." Patrick leans forward and rests his arms on his legs, openly staring at me at in mock fascination. "If you weren't my best friend, I would totally be hitting on you right now."

"Shut up. Joel, please throw a cushion at him."

Joel obliges, laughing at Patrick pretending to be wounded by the cushion.

"What are you guys up to tonight?" I ask. "Did I hear you say you're gonna go over to Jays?"

"Yeah, we'll have a couple beers at the palace then meet you and your new friends at The Grill later." Joel says.

The palace is how we tend to refer to Jays parents house. It is fucking ridiculous. He lives on the fancy side of town, because his dad is practically a millionaire. He's the CEO of some global investment banking firm, and Jays mom doesn't work, because she doesn't fucking need to. I love Jays mom, Denise. She was best friends with my mom in college (they both went to NBU) and they stayed best friends, until my mom died of course. Denise treats me like the daughter she never had, she always has done, even when my mom was still here. And my mom always treated Jay like the son she never had. Jays dad, however, can be somewhat distant because of his job. But he would do anything for Denise, she's the love of his life, and he's always whisking her away to exotic places, where he does business and she does whatever a lady of leisure would do in the Maldives. Jay totally hates how rich his parents are, and he hates it when we call his house the palace (it is a palace though, there are like twenty bedrooms and a fucking pool). Jay totally could have turned out to be a spoiled little rich boy, but he didn't, and I love him all the more for that.

"Are your new friends hot?" Patrick asks.

"Patrick, don't." I fold my arms and give him a stern look. "We've talked about this before. My girlfriends are off limits."

"But you don't even know them. They could suck, for all you know."

I consider this. "Okay, that's fair. If after tonight, I don't wanna be friends with them, you're free to fuck whoever you want."

"Do you need to use that word?" Joel says, as he visibly cringes.

Patrick laughs at him and throws the cushion back at him. "Sorry, Joel. I know you hate hearing about other people fucking. But just because you never do it, doesn't mean we shouldn't talk about it."

"Why do you have to say fucking though? It just sounds so harsh." Joel says.

I laugh and Patrick dramatically rolls his eyes. "Ohmigod, Joel. I apologise for the derogatory word choice, but if I recall correctly, Jamie said fucking before I said fucking."

"Okay, I get it!" Joel cries out. "Just stop saying fucking now, please?!"

"All right, next time we'll say making love" Patrick says with air quotes.

I laugh at the two of them, they always bicker like this. But time is getting on, and I need to head over to Aubrey's dorm.

"Well, let me know when you guys are heading over to The Grill, okay? Make sure Benji has plenty water laid out before you leave. And lock up!" I call out as I head back up the stairs.

***

I knock on the door outside of Aubrey's dorm. I've never actually been inside the dorms before, but I've heard they're pretty cool. They're set out in 'suites' so it's more like apartments than your typical dorm rooms. Some guy out for a smoke downstairs let me in, and Aubrey texted me her dorm number, so here I am. The door opens, and I feel a little nervous.

"Hey girl!" Aubrey exclaims before pulling me into a hug. Okay, personal space, but whatever.

"Hi Aubrey, you look great. And the dorms seem awesome." I say as I step inside, looking around. She's wearing a little blue dress with silver heels. She looks amazing.

"You look super hot today! Loving this dark, grunge look you have going on."

I smile sheepishly. She thinks I'm dressing in a particular way just for this evening, but this is just the way I always dress for a night out. She'll soon realise this, if we do become friends.

"So this is Kim, my roommate. And this is Nikki, she and Kim are in Production class together." Aubrey tells me as she gestures at two other girls sitting on the couch. They smile up at me, but one word just grabbed my attention.

"Production class?" I ask the girls, eagerly. "You guys are taking Music classes?"

"Totally." Kim says. "I'm a song-writer. It's what I wanna do after graduation."

"Same here." Nikki says. I think my smile is reaching my earlobes right now. Songwriters? I have totally lucked out in the potential friend pool!

Aubrey laughs at my reaction. "And I'm a singer. So you can imagine how happy I was when I learned my roommate was a songwriter." She winks at Kim and they both laugh. Seriously, I must look like the Cheshire Cat right now.

"This is so awesome! I'm a songwriter too!" I say, as I take a seat next to Nikki on the couch.

Nikki is dark skinned, with black corn rows. She's wearing a deep velvet lipstick that totally works with her colouring. And Kim is like the complete opposite. Really pale, with silver dyed hair (I love her hair, if I was a natural blonde I would totally dye my hair silver, but being a brunette I don't think I'd pull it off). They're both really pretty, just like Aubrey. I bet we look like a pretty cool group of misfits together. I have a good feeling about these girls, note to self: do not let Patrick fuck any of them.

"Well, I'm in a band actually." I explain as Aubrey hands me a glass. I take in the fruity looking cocktail pitcher on the coffee table. "With three of my friends from High School. They're all at NBU too, they'll be at The Grill tonight actually so you guys can meet them too."

Aubrey pours some of the cocktail into my glass as I talk. The girls all look genuinely interested in what I'm telling them. I pause to take a sip. Sex on the Beach, I like it.

"Sounds good!" Nikki says with a smile.

"You wanna call and invite your band mates over here?" Aubrey asks.

"Oh no, I mean I would, it's just, being around three dudes all the time. It's good to get some girl time every now and again, you know?" I say with a small laugh.

"You're in a band with three boys?" Kim asks, looking very interested.

Aubrey and Nikki look pretty darn interested too. Oh shit.

"Um, yeah, I am..." I say, worry evident in my voice. "But Jay's totally hung up on my friend Erin - she's at NYU now though so he is single. But still, he's not ready to move on yet, you know? Joel has really high standards, like, not that you girls aren't all knock outs, because you are, but if it isn't a perfect fit Joel isn't interested. And Patrick, fuck. I'm telling you all right now, Patrick has absolutely no interest in dating, he'll tell you what you wanna hear to get in your pants then never call you again. So, I don't know. I just wouldn't go there with any of them girls. And I never have, of course! The guys are all like brothers to me. Especially Jay, we've been friends forever . So, uh. There you go." I take a breath, "so please, don't go there with any of the guys tonight."

The girls all look at each other and laugh. I don't really get it, but whatever.

"Wow, that was a lot of information to get in 10 seconds!" Kim says, trying to stop herself from laughing.

"Jamie, don't worry about that! We're not gonna go there with your band mates." Aubrey assures me.

"Yeah, girlfriends don't do stuff like that." Kim says with a smile.

I exhale and feel myself relax a little.

"Awesome. And I've already warned the guys too." I tell them. "They're all super sweet, you guys are gonna get along great."

"Cool." Kim says, setting her glass down on the coffee table and looking at me seriously. "Are they good looking?"

"Kim, she said they're like brothers to her." Aubrey says, raising an eyebrow at Kim.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean she's blind." Nikki says with a laugh.

"Oh totally, the guys are all good looking." I assure them, picking up my glass again. "But I'll let you girls be the judge of that when we go over to The Grill."

A couple of hours (and quite a few cocktails) later, and we're heading into the Grill. I've had a good time so far, and I know Aubrey, Kim, Nikki and I are genuinely getting along well. I can tell we're gonna be good friends, so I'm feeling really good. The only thing that will make this better right now, is if the girls get along with the guys. We walk into the Grill, and I spot Jay, Joel and Patrick standing at the bar. It's pretty busy, which is saying something because it's a huge space. You walk into the Grill, and immediately in front of you is a bar in the middle of the space (kinda like those kitchen islands you get, but on a much bigger scale). Beyond this bar, you go down a few steps and you're on a lower level floor, which is full of tables and chairs, and has another bar along the back. Beyond this level, and down more steps, you have the lower level of the Grill, which is where the fun really happens. There's a bar along the back of this level too, more tables and chairs and then the stage. It's an awesome venue to perform in. Intimate, yet big enough that you know you aren't just messing around playing songs in front of a few friends. I see the girls looking around in awe, and I smile. I love this place, and they look impressed.

"Hey guys!" I call over to Jay, Joel and Patrick. I'm thankful that they're hanging around the upper level island bar. We usually hang around the lower level, so we can be closer to the stage when people are performing. It's a random Tuesday night though, and by the looks of things there's no one performing. Music is playing from the speakers though, of course.

The guys all turn to face us, and I feel myself scrutinising their appearances more than I normally would. You know, that weird reflex that only happens when you're introducing someone you know like the back of your hand to someone new? It's like you're seeing them for the first time too, trying to imagine how the new person is seeing them. So that's what's happening as I think the following:

Joel is undeniably handsome. He's wearing a white t-shirt, covered by a grey blazer, and faded denim jeans. His smile is flawless, and he just oozes marriage material. Well, not for me, but you know what I mean.

Patrick is the literal definition of bad boy. He's dressed in dark jeans and a black shirt, as usual, with his tattooed arms on display from his sleeves down. His black hair is pushed up a little at the front (most likely because he recently removed one of the headbands he wears while he's drumming to keep his hair out of his face). He doesn't smile at me and my new friends, instead, I notice his dark eyes sweeping over the girls appreciatively as he rolls his lip ring with his tongue. Yeah, I'll need to have words with him.

But it's Jay that I feel the most love for right now. He's dressed in his usual attire; ripped jeans and a band t-shirt (tonight, it's Muse) with a blue checkered shirt on top. His blonde surfer style hair sticks out in every direction of top of his head, as usual, and his warm smile looks genuine. I know this kinda thing is gonna be hard for him (after all, Erin only came crashing into his world because of me, and I know meeting new girlfriends of mine will probably remind him of that) but he's smiling, and he's here, and he's ready to put in an effort with my new friends. Even when I know he'd rather be at home playing sad songs on his guitar, drinking Bacardi and chain-smoking into the wee hours of the night.

"Hi girls, I'm Jamie, but please god, call me Jay. Nice to meet you" He approaches us, followed closely by Joel, who also greets my new friends politely. Jay, Joel, you're both gems.

"Can I buy you girls a drink?" Patrick calls over from the bar, not moving an inch. Patrick, you suck.

"Yeah, absolutely." Nikki says, walking over to join him at the bar. I throw Patrick my best don't you fucking dare look as Nikki gets the bar tenders attention. Patrick winks at me from over his shoulder then turns his attention on Nikki.

"Don't worry, he told us he was gonna do that." Joel says.

"Yeah, he's only messing with you." Jay agrees. "Right now, he's telling her to pretend she's flirting with him to get a rise out of you."

I look over at Patrick and Nikki, and on cue, Nikki tosses her head back and laughs. It's totally over the top, and I know Jay is telling the truth. I see Patrick laugh along with Nikki, genuinely.

"He's ordering beers for everyone, don't worry" Joel says.

"Awesome, will we grab a seat then?" Aubrey asks.

"Yeah, we should head down to the lower level though." Jay says. "Shaun Campbell's band are about to go on."

"Cool, lets go." Kim says.

We walk down to the lower level and pull a couple of tables together. Patrick and Nikki join us with a couple of pitchers of beer and some plastic cups (one of the best things about the Grill, and practically every bar near campus; they don't card) and everyone makes their introductions. Before long, three guys walks out onto the stage and start setting up their instruments. I recognise them all. Shaun Campbell, drummer. Bryan Dawson, guitarist and lead vocals. Max Coull, bassist and backing vocals. I've heard these guys play before, they're good. Shaun Campbell is from North Bridge, he's a few years older than me (Fourth Year at NBU I think) and I don't really know the other two guys. I've never actually talked to Shaun Campbell, but I like their sound and I like watching them perform.

"Who are those guys?" Nikki asks.

Joel fills the girls in. I learn that Max and Bryan are Fourth Years too.

"They're cute." Kim comments.

I never really thought about that before. She's right, they are all very attractive. Especially Shaun. Why have I never noticed that before? Whatever. They start playing their first song, so we stop talking for a while and listen to them intently. Well, Jay, Joel, Patrick and I listen intently. I can't say the same for the girls. They aren't looking at Shaun Campbell's band. They're drinking their beers and looking around the Grill with interest. I look behind me at the upper levels of the bar, and through the smoke and lights, I see him instantly.

Noah Adams. Or, if you prefer, Hot Asshole. He's standing up on the top level by the island bar talking to some girl. He has a girlfriend? Of course he does, look at him. As if a guy that looks like that wouldn't have at least one girlfriend. Come to think of it though, he doesn't seem particularly invested in the conversation. And she looks like she's trying too hard. Right enough, he says something and turns away from the girl, towards a couple of guys. The girl looks a little put out, then walks over to re-join her friends. Ouch, he just totally shot her down. So maybe he doesn't have a girlfriend.

I recognise one of the guys with him as John McDermott from my Guitar class. I don't know the other guy. He's cute though. But no where near as cute as Noah...

"Nice spot, Jamie." Nikki nudges my arm, causing me to snap my head back towards my group. I notice that the guys are still focusing on Shaun Campbell's band, which is good. I don't want them teasing me for staring at a good looking boy.

"Wow, they are unbelievable." Kim says, looking over at Noah, John and the other guy.

"That's John!" Aubrey exclaims.

"Oh, you know John?" I ask with interest.

"Yeah, we're both from Ohio. We went all through school together. He's a great guy." Aubrey tells me. "You know him too?"

"Yeah, we're in First Year Guitar together. He sat next to me yesterday."

"I didn't know John played guitar!" Aubrey says, looking at him again. The look in her eye tells me enough to know that I shouldn't tell her he most certainly does not play guitar. She likes him, so I don't wanna put him down like that. Besides, he'll be playing soon enough.

"Which one is John?" Kim asks. Yeah, Aubrey definitely likes him. She's even told her roommate about him already.

"The one with the long blonde hair and glasses." Aubrey laughs a little. "He really needs a hair cut, huh?"

"Um, yes. Yes, he does." Nikki says, looking a little disgusted.

I think his hair is far too long too, but who cares. He's a nice guy, and looks