Chapter 540) Summer’s End

“Sometimes the right person for you was there all along.
You just didnt see it because the wrong person was blocking your sight.”

Brindleton Bay
The Elysium

A party at the Elysium wasn’t anything unusual, but this party was special in its own right.
By and by Bri and Iris’ friends had turned 18, the entire summer was filled with one milestone birthday after the next, the twins were the youngest of the group and their 18th was only a few months away. Jackson was about to turn 20 in a few weeks.

The bittersweet melancholy of the event mixed with the intoxicating late summer air on the warm summer breeze, the scent of many flowers tickling the olfactory senses, while the beats of Latin music were making it hard for the party guests to stay in one spot.

Among them Stryker and Sophie, the latter for once not here to provide catering, but just as a guest.

And since Stryker had been invited, Connor had brought Jackson as well. Some guests were in their swimwear as the pool area was a big hit on one of the last summer days of the year. Winters were cold, wet and long in the Bay.

While the adults were mostly accumulated in and near the large party pavilion, the younger crowd had gathered near the fire pit. Some couples were flirting or making out, several batches of young people had walked off along the quiet and mostly dark paths in the parklike backyard for some alone time. Some friends remained near the fire and were talking about their future over a cold soda munching on party food, some were moving to the music.

Returning from a trip to the cooler, Jasper handed out drinks to some of the friends, when he passed Iris Marie hers, their eyes met, they smiled at each other, when he pulled her can away as she tried to take it, several times, until she grabbed his wrist and pulled his hand back. Her boyfriend Sterling next to her groaned and rolled his eyes, so Jasper pulled Iris up before she ever had a chance to open her soda.

“Thinking I need some birthday lovings. You too Bri, don’t just sit there, come here! I am 18 now, I am fucking adulting over here!” he reached across Leon and Ava and grabbed Bri’s hand pulling her to him too.

Giggling, Iris Marie and Briar Rose both started playfully smooching and hugging around on Jasper, till he cheered loudly, pulling both girls up close.

“That’s what I am talking about, bitchez! WHOOOOOO!”

It wasn’t hard to notice that Iris Marie’s boyfriend Sterling wasn’t too thrilled about this, even Briar Rose’s ex Brad didn’t look very amused, while Jackson just shook his head, smiling.

A while later, Iris Marie looked clearly bored sitting in a chair next to Sterling again, staring at her fingernails while he was talking to some of the others, when a hand appeared in front of her eyes. She looked up and her brilliant, baby blue eyes were met with Jasper’s dark as coal ones, the deepest brown, almost black in this light, making a striking contrast to his tan skin and blonde hair.

He raised his eyebrows, she smiled as she took his hand and he pulled her up to standing, then into his arms with a twirl, the movement harmony of two people who used to take dance lessons together for many years, as her pelvis crashed against his, his hand found her lower back, pressing her against him as they began to sway to the rhythm.

At first it seemed just like two friends were feeling the rhythm together, but the way they danced, the way he held her, the way his face got so close to hers, the way she seemed to get lost in his eyes when she swayed her hips just so against him until his hands pressed them against his again and they undulated to the music in unison, her arms wrapped around his neck, their faces closer yet, Jasper’s hand on the lower part of her back, dangerously close to inappropriate, quickly captured Iris’ boyfriend’s attention, along with everyone else’s.

Moving like a show dance couple, their daring salsa moves, the hip sways and intense stares into each other’s eyes had most watching them get hot under the collar, until Iris’ boyfriend Sterling had enough, threw down his soda, jumped up and roughly pulled Jasper away from Iris by the collar, making her stumble as well.

Jasper turned around, shoving Sterling back and the two began shoving each other while yelling unflattering things at one another.

Jackson tensed up, watching the scene, but when Bri put her hand on his thigh, which instantly distracted him for a variety of reasons, his eyes met hers and the scared expression in her eyes had Jackson’s emotions on overdrive.

“You gotta help him! Jasper can’t take Sterling, he works out all the time. Jas has no chance! He’s gonna get hurt!” Bri sounded genuinely worried, so Jackson didn’t waste a second.

He jumped up and approached when Sterling’s tone had turned dark and warning

“You need to keep your hands and groin off my woman, Vatore! You have been getting on my nerves all day with your arrogance, wandering eyes and grabby paws, but now you crossed the line! Final warning!”

Jasper just looked angry as he poured more oil into the fire.

“A gummy bite from the toddler now?! I danced with Iris, you fool, since you bored her to tears, this is supposed to be a party, not a fucking funeral! Iris doesn’t want to spend all day watching you eat, drink and flap your gums about how awesome you think you are, you consolation prize! Spoiler alert: nobody cares about the guitar you got for your 18th birthday! NOBODY! We all had or are about to have birthdays and got cool shit too, nobody else is showing off and no one jizzes themselves over your lame crap! Especially not those with ACTUAL musicians as parents, like – oh, I don’t know – IRIS MARIE, BRIAR-ROSE … ME! Know your audience, you lush! I had a guitar like the one you got since I was 10! Think you’re so cool when you are just another hedge fund kid in a leather jacket! You poser wouldn’t be cool if someone locked you in a freezer overnight!” Jasper snarled back.

“Make a move, Jasper. Come on, gimme a reason!” Sterling taunted.

“Sterling, come on now … stop this.” Iris Marie tried to diffuse the moment.

“You need to stay out of this! You and I are gonna have a talk about this shit later! After I beat some sense into this dumbass!” he yelled at Iris grabbing her wrists a little too hard, clearly frightening her, at which point Jackson stepped in.

“HEY! That’s enough, hands off her now and ya heard the lady. Cool it down. They were dancin’, that’s all.” Jackson’s tone was deep and dark as he stepped in the middle of them, facing Sterling, shielding Iris behind himself.

“What the fuck do YOU want from me now! Form a line, you’re next, redneck!” Sterling shouted.

“Yah, I don’t think so. I just made front row to tell ya to take a walk to cool down.” Jackson growled.

“I don’t need your help, Jackson! I can handle this inbred caterpillar on my own!” Jasper exclaimed.

Sterling attempted to swing at Jasper, Jackson caught his arm, shoving him backwards by it, then received his own shove from his blind side, stumbling a few steps before catching himself, as he turned around, ready to punch, he hesitated. It was Bradford Cunningham, Bri’s ex. Jackson knew how much Bri still liked him and if he hit him, she might not like it.

“I am sick and tired of you, Jackson! Come here from God knows where just to make a mess of everything. And don’t you start with my friends now. Sterling has every right, Jasper was coming on to Iris, we all saw it! Stay out of it and mind your own for once.” Brad yelled at Jackson.

“Hey, Brad you bitch, I thought we were friends! What are you doing siding with Covington now?!” Jasper complained at Brad.

“We were, but not anymore, Jasper, I don’t want friends like you, nobody here does. YOU helped Bri and that cowboy do what they did and now you are trying to take a page out of his book and steal someone else’s girl!? DSV has changed you! You used to have a good character, not anymore, now you fit right in with those degenerates.” Brad yelled at his best friend. Or probably former best friend, by the sounds of it. Sterling now turned on Brad as well, snarling angrily.

“Get lost, Cunningham, I don’t need your help! I am not like you, I won’t just stand there watching my own girl whore around on me. I’ll beat sense into any guy who comes on to her, even Vatore, so he’ll remember to stay away from her. That cowboy asshole is next, just because he doesn’t know his place, but he will when I am done with him!” Sterling shouted at Brad, then at Jackson.

“Wonder whatcha dream of at night!” Jackson chuckled briefly, unimpressed by the posturing.

“I dream of a world without the likes of you, society mooch! You have no business being here, you hick! You don’t belong here! Go back where you came from and stay there!” Sterling yelled at Jackson.

“Got that part right, I sure don’t belong here, but neither do you. Last I checked, this ain’t yer home either, but Bri and Iris’, or didcha forget where ya live? Well, it ain’t here!” Jackson’s tone was still calm, but warning.

“Mind your own business, redneck, you have been nothing but trouble since you showed up, you’re making Bri criminal, trying to turn her into the same trailer trash you are!” Brad was extremely angry.

“I’m the trouble here?! ME?! Got ourselves a regular funny guy here! Yer daddy shit the bed and you helped him with it! You can start pipin’ up at me once you found your spine and yer balls! The only reason you’re not pickin up yer teeth off the ground already is cos I know Bri likes ya, but I had you up to here now! You had so many chances with her and blew ’em all! I am still waiting for my ONE chance, you rabid weasel!” Jackson shouted back, it silenced everyone, his words seemed to echo off the walls.

After the moment of total gasping frozenness, suddenly the brawl ensued in full force, nobody could say for sure who threw the first punch this time, but someone did, and it was two teams, Jasper and Jackson versus Brad and Sterling until Connor showed up and separated the four fighters with his bear strength, dragging Sterling and Brad with him like ragdolls, then returning to pull Jackson and Jasper with himself into the house, after telling the remaining teens to not bother follow or deal with the consequences.

End of part one, part two will be the fallout from this chapter.