"Please, Alex, promise me you'll come! You can bring anyone you want. Come on, tell me you'll be there," Rhea pleaded, making Alex sigh and finally drop her head in defeat.

"Alright, fine. But what should I wear? All I have is shit like this." Alex grabbed at the collar of her flannel shirt and plucked at her AC/DC shirt.

"You can wear whatever you want. It's not like there's a dress code or anything like that."

"Aren't those parties supposed to be fancy?"

Rhea shrugged and grabbed the roll of tape from its spot on the counter. "Not necessarily. Hand me that poster right there."

Alex passed her the rolled-up Led Zeppelin poster and watched as she walked across the room and started to put it up. "You really think that's a good spot? And yeah right. I'll show up looking like a complete gremlin and everyone else will be ready for the red carpet."

"I guarantee you they won't. But if you really wanna dress up, go right ahead. And why, do you think this is a bad spot?"

"Uh, I think it might be better over there, by the stairs." Rhea looked in the direction Alex was pointing and nodded as Alex spoke again, "hey, maybe I'll wear a dress."

"That would be a sight. I've never seen you wear a dress. Not to any of the dances, not to the last days of school, not to prom, and you didn't even go to the graduation ceremony..."

Alex laughed and shrugged. "I was only at prom for about half an hour anyway. And I thought that graduation thing was going to be lame, so I skipped it."

"Yeah, it was boring. What did you do instead? I remember Charlie Shepherd asking me if I'd seen you anywhere."

"Yeah, I still feel bad about that. Uh...my friend and I went down to the docks and rented a boat to hang out on."

"Which friend?"

"Well...my boyfriend." Alex looked down at the counter and ran a finger up and down its edge. "R-Remember Andy Wood?"

"Oh, yeah...I heard about...I'm so sorry..."

"It's okay, I, uh...at least I got those memories, right?"

Rhea sighed and nodded, walking back to where she'd been standing before. "Yeah, that's true. I remember him bringing that skateboard to school and you guys sitting on it and trying to escape that old security guy."

Alex laughed, the bittersweet memory bringing a sad little smile to her face. "He was the best." Her eyes lowered again and she allowed herself a moment to think of him before shaking her head and clearing her throat as she looked back up. "I don't have to bring an actual date to this party, do I?"

Rhea chuckled and patted her shoulder. "No, you don't have to. Valentine's Day is just my excuse to throw a party and get hammered. Then I can forget the fact that I will forever be alone."

"No you won't, but I'll sure drink to that," Alex said, and they shared another laugh before getting back to work putting up posters.

"So what are you doing after work?" Rhea asked as she grabbed one of the newer band posters.

"Something exciting. I'm finally getting a phone. Man, it'll be great not having to go down and use that stupid payphone every time I wanna make a call..."

✩✩✩

"PEARL JAM! PEARL JAM, PEARL JAM, PEARL JAM, PEARL JAM!"

"Jeff--JEFF--JEFFREY! Calm down, I have no idea what 'Pearl Jam' is or why you're yelling it at me at 3 in the damn morning!"

"Just...come to Stone's house in the morning, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I'll be there. Bye, Jeff. Call me at this hour again and I'll kick your ass." Alex yawned and closed her eyes, blindly putting the phone down. She looked to her left with the intention of apologizing to Charlie for being loud, but was instead reminded of the fact that Charlie was spending the night at the AIC house with Layne. She sighed and turned to lie on her right side, beginning to drift back off with the words Pearl Jam softly echoing in her mind.

She only got to sleep for a few hours, because the phone woke her up again at eight in the morning. Her eyes shot open at the loud ring and she groaned and turned away, figuring they'd leave a message if it was important. Finally, the ringing stopped, but a second later it started up again. She reached out and snatched the phone up. "WHAT?"

"Do you regret getting a phone yet?" It was Stone.

"No, but I regret deciding to give you the number. Is that all you called to say?"

"No. I wanted to ask if you could let us use your markers."

"Suddenly I'm getting grade school flashbacks. And I don't see why not...if I can find the damn things."

"Alright, thanks. You're coming later, right?"

"You gonna give me a ride?"

"Hm. Yeah, just call me whenever you're ready."

"Alright. I'll go look for the markers now. Uh, bye," Alex awkwardly said.

"You suck." There was a click and the line went dead.

Alex pulled the phone away from her ear and held it out, staring at it for a moment. "Did this bitch really just--"

She tore up the apartment and woke Jo in the process of looking for her markers, but she eventually found them all. She packed them into an old shoebox and asked Jo if she'd like to go to Stone's house, then called Stone back to tell him to get McDonald's on the way over to the apartment (she was pleasantly surprised to see that he actually did it). She also wanted to know why he needed the markers and why Jeff had called her at 3 in the morning yelling something about Jelly Jam, but he kept quiet about that.

"Jelly Jam," Jo repeated. "That's what I imagine's in your head, Alex."

"Instead of brains?"

"Uh-huh."

"You're not wrong," Stone said as he parked the car. "I bet it's all just pink mush."

"That's what I'm gonna turn you into if you keep talking," Alex grumbled.

"You wouldn't," Stone said as he parked the car. "Get out."

A weird scene awaited them. Music was playing through the speakers at an unusually high volume. All of the house's doors were open, and Alex recognized Ben's old truck next to Layne's car, both parked just up the block.

"You having a party or something?" Jo asked as they walked up to the front door.

"No, it's just--" Stone started to explain, but Jo nodded and patted his back and walked away when she saw Matt. Stone put a hand over his heart and turned to Alex, who put her own hand on his shoulder and gestured for him to continue as they walked into the living room. "I mean, everyone's here, but it's not a party. I have no idea who put the music on this loud...oh well. Alright, so...do you remember that really creepy lady you drew in high school?"

Alex paused and gave him an incredulous look. "You remember everything, don't you?"

"No," he replied, shrugging. "I mean, that lady's pretty memorable. Anyway, do you think you could draw her again?"

"Shit, uh...yeah, I think so. Why?"

"It's for a poster. And I'm gonna need you to pull out those graffiti letter skills."

"I can't exactly-"

"There you go, plenty of paper to work with." Stone gestured to the little table. Alex glared at him and sat down on the floor after putting the shoebox down.

"Alright, get lost. I'm about to create art."

"Whatever you say. Hold off on the words, though--I have something special I need you to write."

"What, the name of the band?"

"Yeah, but we changed how we spell it. Just...tell me when you finish the drawing, will you?"

"Yes, sir," Alex said, saluting him. He laughed and rolled his eyes before going to talk to Jeff. Alex got to work, picking up a black marker and carefully drawing the outline of the monstrous woman she'd thought up in 10th grade. She loved drawing, but never really had time nor any reason to do so. She realized just how much she'd missed it as she colored in the monster's claws and gave her hair.

Alex was at her best when a can of soda suddenly appeared in front of her. Her eyes followed the arm connected to the hand the can was being held in up to Jerry's face. He was staring down at the drawing. "Hey, that's pretty cool."

Alex took the can and looked back down to continue her work. "Thanks."

"How'd you come up with it?"

"Oh, I don't even know. I..." Alex paused while she searched for a purple marker, "...was in detention...and I got really bored. Then I remembered that there was a marker in my pocket. So I took it out and started drawing on the desk. Just whatever came to mind. I'd just finished it up when the teacher walked back in the room. He saw it and gave me another afternoon of detention. And you know what I did?"

"What?"

"I went to that detention and drew it again."

Jerry laughed and moved to sit next to her. "So why are you drawing it now?"

"Well, the drawings stayed on the desks, and everyone in the school saw them at some point. That includes Stone. I guess it must've spoken to him," Alex laughed, "because he asked me to draw it for a poster."

"Did everyone know it was you who drew it?"

"Uh, yeah. The teachers never stopped saying stuff like 'don't draw on the desks this time' or 'you can't bring that marker in here, who knows what you'll do the desks' and I guess people caught on."

"Damn. I'm friends with a famous person. That's crazy," Jerry said, reaching out to open the can of soda for her.

Alex put her marker down and faced him. "It's too early to be high, Jerry."

"Alright, first of all, it's never too early to be high. And second, I'm not!"

"You--I'm--never mind. Can you draw?"

Jerry looked at Alex's drawing again and shrugged. "Not like that."

Alex slid a blank piece of paper in front of him and handed him a black marker. "Here, draw something."

"Alright. But you can't look at it until I'm done. Keep drawing your monster or whatever."

They got to work. All Alex had to do now was add more color, so she reached across the table to grab the box of markers. Jerry automatically covered his paper with his arm but didn't look up until Alex went back to her own. Alex looked at him to see him squinting at her face before going back to his drawing. She rolled her eyes and grabbed another marker.

"Done," Jerry said just as Alex was coloring in the hair of her monster. Alex held her hand out and he put his drawing in it. She grabbed the can of soda and took a sip as she examined it.

"Who is it?"

"What do you mean who is it? It's you! Can't you tell?"

Alex had to put the soda down and swallow hard to avoid choking as she started to laugh. "I-I don't look like that. She's hotter than me. And the eyes are just blue dots."

"Okay, I'm sorry I'm not Michelangelo. But I think it's good enough. You're just hating."

"I'm not--okay, come on." She stood up, motioning for Jerry to follow as she went into the kitchen to get Charlie. "Hey Charlie," she said when she spotted her, "do you recognize this girl?"

"Um...she looks like you."

"What--no, I--Sean! Look at this." She held it up when she saw her cousin walk in.

"That's you."

"Nailed it," Jerry said from behind Alex.

"I hate all of you," Alex said, clicking her tongue as she walked back into the living room with Jerry still following.

"You're just mad because I draw better than you."

"Oh, definitely," Alex replied, lifting her hand to brush her fingers against the side of his neck. He instantly squeezed his eyes closed and pressed his head against his shoulder, reaching out to try to get her back but failing as she quickly moved away.

"That was mean. You're not allowed to know if I'm ticklish. And hey, I could start the second Renaissance with my art, if I wanted to."

"It's not like I'm gonna use it against you," Alex said, only to put her hand up again just to laugh at how he raised his shoulders and backed away. She shook her head and sat down in front of the table again, looking over her drawing and picking the red marker up. "And you know, the Renaissance was also for music. So you could start another one just by playing the guitar. No investments in art supplies needed."

"Aw, you think my music's good enough to start a Renaissance? Yeah, so do I. You can start the visual aspect of it with your weird monster lady."

"I'm gonna do a spell to bring her to life and send her after you."

"I'll do another spell to make her get you instead."

"You don't even know how to cast spells." She added another line to her drawing. "Get Stone in here, I'm done with this."

"You're not the boss of me."

Alex stared at him with a look that expressed the opposite of amusement. He held up his hands and walked out of the living room to find the other guitarist.

"That fast?" Stone asked Alex as he was being dragged into the living room by Jerry.

"I'm a professional," Alex said, reaching for the black marker. "Can I write the name now?"

"Oh, sure. It's P-E-A-R-L--space--J-A-M."

"What--but that doesn't spell--" Alex dropped the marker and snapped her fingers. "That's what Jeff was yelling when he called this morning! What the fuck is that?"

"The new name of the band," Stone answered. "We're not Mookie Blaylock anymore."

Alex leaned back and began to write the words out in her neatest letters. "Nope. You're..." she gave the last letter a fancy little swirl and capped the marker before grabbing the page and holding it up. A smile spread across Stone's face and he and Alex said in unison:

"Pearl Jam."

✩✩✩

Valentine's Day was on a Thursday that year, so Rhea's party was to be held on the 9th. Alex initially only got Charlie and Jo to agree to go, later also convincing Matt and Layne to join by telling them it'd make the girls happy. And eventually, through the powers of her Alex-charm, she persuaded Stone, Jeff, Eddie, Jerry, Sean, Mike, and by some miracle, even Chris. The rest refused to go, claiming something against Valentine's Day and everything related to it.

Everyone going to the party met at the girls' apartment a while before they were supposed to head out. It was almost a pre-party of some kind; they listened to music and danced with each other in the living room, even moving the coffee table out of the way to make space for their antics. They danced in pairs, randomly trading off and taking little breaks to take sips from the large bottle of Jack Daniel's on the kitchen counter. They were all so happy; Charlie and Layne were having some kind of dance-off, the hilarity in that being that neither actually knew how to dance; Jeff somehow headbanged so hard he fell backwards, making everyone nearly die laughing; Jerry and Sean danced around together in what could only be described as a high-energy ballroom dance; Stone twirled Alex out onto the balcony and she ever-so-dramatically leaned over the railing to look out over the city before he pulled her back in; Eddie and Chris and Mike stood and watched and quietly tried to guess who'd be the first to trip and fall.

"Hey, we were supposed to be getting ready!" yelled Alex, after a while of those shenanigans. Charlie gasped as she remembered she'd wanted to do her hair. She grabbed Layne's shirt and kissed his lips before dashing into the bathroom. Jo's eyes widened as she realized she was supposed to be looking for her leather jacket and suddenly tore the cushions off the couch to begin the search. Alex nearly fell over laughing at the panic she'd caused and skipped into the bedroom to change.

Her outfit was simple; her favorite red-and-black flannel over a black dress she'd found at the thrift shop, and the shoes Eddie had gotten for her. She looked at the shoes in the mirror on the floor and couldn't help a smile before stepping back and leaning down to see if her hair was okay.

Jo finally found the jacket and put it on over the shirt she was already wearing, then put on her least faded jeans and Alex's boots (because Alex had recently replaced the tape on them and they were now in better shape than Jo's own). She put a clip in her hair and went to rejoin the guys.

Charlie was glad to see she could still manage her hair, styling it using the hairspray the girls only used for special occasions. She put her black flannel shirt on, leaving the last few buttons undone and tying the ends into a knot near her hips. Her dark red shorts were somewhat hard to find under the pile of clothes in the bedroom, but they were worth the mess she had to make to get them, because when paired with that flannel and her boots, they made for a nice outfit.

The drive to the party was nothing short of chaotic; none of the friends wanted to take more than one car, so half of them crammed themselves into the cab of the truck they'd convinced Ben to lend to them while the other half tied a tarp over the bed and slid in under it. As long as no one raised their head too much while they were in the city, they could pretty comfortably sit in there and remain undetected.

It took half an hour to get to Rhea's house thanks to Alex's poor sense of direction, but they eventually made it, and they couldn't believe their eyes when they saw the place. It wasn't a house, as Rhea had said it was, it was a mansion, and they were all a little too surprised to even go up and knock. Luckily, they didn't have to, because the front doors were suddenly thrown open and out came Rhea to welcome them in.

"Someone told me there was a bunch of people outside just staring up at the house," Rhea said as she walked down the pathway to the gate. She gave Alex a quizzical look as she lifted the lid on the security device to access the keypad. "Didn't I give you the code for this?"

"Yeah, I was just admiring the place," Alex sheepishly replied. "You told me to look for a mint-colored house--don't you think it would've been easier to tell me it's a mansion with a fountain out front?"

"It's hardly a mansion," Rhea replied as the gate whirred and began to swing itself open. "So, are you ever gonna introduce me to your friends?"

"Oh, right," Alex said, turning to gesture to each one as she recited their names. "Jeff, Stone, Matt, Jo, Chris, Eddie, Sean, Jerry, Mike, Layne, and you remember Charlie, right?"

"Of course, oh my gosh! How have you been?" Rhea hugged Charlie and shook everyone else's hands.

"Nothing short of swell, and I hear you're doing great with the businesses and all," Charlie replied.

"Aw, there's nothing to it all. Well, come in, you guys. There's an open bar and you can hang inside or out; the yard's where all the real food is at. And feel free to smoke anywhere." They all started the walk up to get inside. Rhea moved closer to Alex and said, "that dress is really cute. And I love your shoes!"

"Thanks," Alex replied, beaming. She looked down at her shoes for a second and added, "Eddie got these for me for Christmas."

"He has great taste, then." Rhea lowered her voice to a whisper. "And he's so cute!"

"I know, right?" Alex whispered back, unable to keep from grinning.

"Man, all of your friends have the looks. And don't think I don't know members of Soundgarden when I see them."

"See, I knew you'd recognize them..."

"Yeah, them as well as Alice In Chains. Sean's your cousin, right? That is so cool. And what are Stone and Jeff up to these days?"

"They put a new band together. Eddie's the singer and the group's called Pearl Jam."

"Pearl Jam. I like it. Well, I knew I could count on you to bring the rockstars."

"Always." Alex put a hand over her heart and nodded.

The party raged late into the night, and Rhea stayed pretty close to Alex's group. They danced and talked and had a great time together. Rhea fit in perfectly with the friends; they'd not expected a stern businesswoman, but they were still a little surprised at how carefree and fun she was. They all loved her.

When they got finally got tired of dancing, they moved inside to find someplace to sit. Alex, feeling a bit parched, went to get a drink, and Rhea followed. "Alex, you have the best friends ever! This is so much fun. And...okay, this is kind of embarrassing, but I just have to ask...do you know if Eddie is seeing anyone?"

Alex blinked and thought about it for a moment. She wasn't quite sure why, because she knew for a fact that he was single. Single and free to do whatever he wanted and obviously free to date whoever he wanted. Even Rhea. But as she opened her mouth to give Rhea the honest answer to her question, she found that she couldn't. She wanted to, but it seemed her mouth had other plans. "I'm pretty sure he's seeing someone."

"Aw, damn," Rhea sighed as Alex turned away to fill her cup. She grimaced as she opened the tap of the beer barrel. Why the fuck did I say that?

"Yeah, it's a...bummer. Uh...I'll talk to you in a bit, I have to tell Jo something." Alex just about ran off. She saw Jo sitting on a couch and hurried over to her. "Jo, I need your help."

"What? What's going on?" Jo stood up. Alex hadn't meant for her to do that but figured she might as well lead Jo outside to where no one else in their circle could hear what she was about to say.

"Okay. Okay, okay. Rhea's nice, right? Funny and very kind and sweet?"

"Oh, yeah, absolutely. I love her already."

"Uh-huh. And if she wanted to ask one of our friends out, that would be perfectly fine by us, right?"

"Aw, is she going to? I think that would be so cool--"

"Alright, well..." Alex took a deep breath and ran her fingers through her hair. "She asked me if Eddie's seeing anyone, and I told her he is."

"Hang on, just to clarify: he is single, right?"

"Yeah, he is. At least, I'm ninety-nine percent certain he is."

"So you tell her it was a mistake. Big deal," Jo said, shrugging.

"No, you're not getting me," Alex said with impatience obvious in her tone. "I didn't make a mistake. I told her that on purpose."

"But why would you--wait." Jo grabbed Alex's shoulders and looked directly into her eyes. "Do you like him?"

"I don't! I mean, I don't think so! I don't know why I did that and now I feel so bad about it."

"Hey, you grew a conscience. Good for you." Jo lifted her right hand and gave Alex's shoulder a pat.

Alex slapped her hand away and grabbed her arms, giving her a shake. "Now's not the time; I'm in the middle of a crisis!"

"Aren't you always in a crisis? Like, constantly?"

Alex let go and stared at her for a moment. "You have a point. But still, it's getting worse every second. My brain isn't working right. How do I tell Rhea that I lied?"

"Don't. Just do what I said: tell her you were mistaken."

"Yeah, yeah, that's a good idea. I'm gonna go find her--"

"Are you sure you want to, though?"

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Well, you told her that for a reason, didn't you?"

"I guess, but who cares? That's just selfish. And dumb. And cowardly. And I'm not a fucking coward--"

"No one thinks you are. But don't you think you should at least consider your own feelings too?"

"No, that's what I meant by selfish. And anyway, I don't even like him. And if I did, it's not like I'd have some kind of claim on him." She stared at the ground for a moment, a look of disgust on her face as she shook her head. "I'm gonna go tell Rhea the truth. But not that I lied," she added, "because that's a detail no one's gonna miss, right?"

Jo raised her hands and looked down. "You do whatever you think is best."

"Yeah, I will. Thanks." Alex patted Jo's shoulder and hurried back inside in search of Rhea. But as she was on her way, Eddie, who was just going to get Jeff some more beer, stopped her.

"Hey, why do you look so...frenzied?"

"I do?" Alex tried to play it off. Looking at him now made too many questions go through her mind. "I don't know. Maybe I drank too much or something."

"No, you get really happy and bouncy when you drink too much. You don't get all weird and worried-looking."

Alex blinked. "Of course you know that. Anyway, I'm gonna go talk to Rhea. Just...ignore me and how I look." She walked off without giving him a chance to reply.

I am officially the worst.

She ended up being unable to find Rhea; it turned out the mansion was even bigger than it looked, and she was nowhere to be found. She gave up eventually, deciding to see what was going on outside and thinking that if Eddie did like Rhea, he'd ask her on a date and that would sort itself out.

Going outside had probably been the wrong idea. The yard was full of people dancing to the love songs on the stereo. What was she supposed to do, stand there and watch the happy couples? She looked around for a moment to see if any of her friends might be out there, turning to go back inside and nearly crashing into Chris, who appeared to have just stepped out.

"Where have you been?" he asked.

"Where have you been, Christopher?"

"Here and there. Anywhere and everywhere."

"Yeah, me too." Alex laughed and grabbed his hands, lifting them up and turning around before letting them down so she was in his embrace. "So, my love...why the fuck have you been so quiet these days?"

Chris looked down at her in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"We haven't had an actual conversation in somewhere around a month! What's up with you?"

"Nothing...I just have a lot on my mind, I guess."

Alex huffed and let go, finally moving away from him. "You suck. I miss our moments."

"Who said they went away? Come on, stop acting like I died. You want more beer? A cigarette? You wanna dance?"

"You would never," Alex laughed. She really believed he wouldn't, and the expression on her face when he raised one eyebrow and held his hand out was one of beyond suprise. "Okay, but you won't actually dance."

She ended up being proved wrong; she and Chris danced for so long she might've gotten tired had she not been having so much fun. Like Charlie and Layne, neither of them knew how to dance, and they really couldn't slow-dance, but it hardly mattered to them. Somehow, they made it work.

"Hey, you don't think anyone's wondering where we are, do you?" Alex asked as Something began to fade out.

"Maybe. They could find us if they wanted to, though."

"I guess..." After The Beatles came Berlin. "Wasn't this song in a movie?"

Chris nodded. "M-hm. Top Gun."

Alex had to think for a moment before remembering the scene. "Oh, that's right. Man, I always thought this would be a great song to dance to, but I suck at dancing."

"No you don't. I mean it's not like I'm even qualified to judge your skills," he said with a little smile. "I'm pretty sure I'm doing this wrong."

"Feels right to me..."

"You're right, anyway. I guess that's why it's playing right now."

"Shut up," Alex said. "Smartass."

He laughed and nodded, promising to not ruin the moment. It was silly, but Alex was happy she'd finally gotten to dance to that stupid song.

✩✩✩

TAKE MY BREATH AWAY IS A GOOD SONG AND FEAR OF CLICHÉS IS NEVER GONNA STOP ME

this chapter didn't take forever because i was having trouble writing...it took forever because i was having trouble stopping! it's somewhere around 5,000 words long. i hope you guys enjoyed it...don't get any ideas, alright?

please remember to stay safe and hydrated, have fun, listen to good music, be what you wanna be, and stay sober for Layne! apologies for any typos, i kind of rushed my proofread because i wanted to update before the chance escaped me. until next time!