THEY SAY BEST FRIENDS -- ALEX

[JESSE WILLIAM MASON]

Jesse smirked as he closed his computer and pushed himself up from the table where he sat on his tour bus. He really didn’t know why he hadn’t thought of calling Alex before. She was always so bubbly and excited every single time he was with her. Plus, she was hella fun all of the time. He had been depressed the past couple of days and he needed her to get out of this funk he was in. Pix had tried but she had lost a bit of her fun-ness since she had a boyfriend and couldn’t get into too much trouble anymore. It was saddening but he didn’t take too much offense to it. It wasn’t something he wanted to meddle with since he broke up her last relationship by sleeping with her. She deserved to have someone special and he wasn’t going to get in the way anymore. Jesse stretched and flexed his muscles as he had been sitting for far too long. The bus was completely empty and he hadn’t noticed when everyone left to go get something to eat. He grabbed his jacket from his bunk and donned on his sunglasses before he stepped off the bus. He looked like hell and he didn’t need Alex making any silly comments.

After hailing a cab, he was on his way to pick up Alex from the airport. He couldn’t stifle his excitement – he really missed her and he was going to give her the biggest hug once he was able to. It took about fifteen minutes for him to get there because there was some traffic going in as there always was. Quickly, he navigated his way around the same airport he had arrived at just a few weeks ago. Airports were always scary and crowded and busy. He didn’t know how he was going to navigate through all of the terminals but he decided it was best to go to the baggage claim for international flights. Alex had said she was coming from London and she needed help with bags…. So it seemed like the best choice to make. He wondered for a second just how many bags she had. The bus didn’t have that much space and he doubted she would want to store her things down below with everyone else’s. Jesse decided it would all work out and he would offer his bunk to her if there weren’t any more.

He stood awkwardly, his hands shoved into his pockets as he looked around for the redhead. Where was she? A small smirk appeared on his lips as he saw her from behind. There was no mistaking that outstanding form and if he wasn’t mistaken, he could smell her glorious shampoo from here. Taking a chance, he hugged her from behind.

[alexandria kaylee grace]

Alex shifted around on the bench she was sitting on. Her pillow was slipping of the edge so her back was leaning against the hard metal. It was really uncomfortable to be honest, but she was too busy typing away on her computer to fix it. She was talking to Jesse in this chat thing, and since he was the reason she was here she figured he was more important then her comfort. She could tell even over a computer screen that he was upset, so she couldn't help but throw a few insults Delilah's way. Hopefully the skank decided to log on later and take a look at the messages on the screen. Maybe even Travis too, but Alex would have plenty of time to make his life hell... after all, she would be joining the tour. Jesse had invited her and now she just had to let the rest of the pieces of her plan to fall into place. The first step would be to get as many fans for Fallen So Surrender as possible, while comforting Jesse of course. She was positive that in the next few weeks there would be a lot of snuggling going down. Alex didn't mind though. Jesse was one of the few people she could actually get all snuggly with without wanting to jump in his pants. The last time she'd seen him he'd been confused about which way he wanted to go anyways, so that had just made it easier for her to play the good best friend.

Sliding her laptop closed, Alex left the chat and put her laptop back in her backpack. Pix had given her the right location, thankfully, and now Jesse was on his way to pick her up. Since Alex had planned on hopping on the tour anyway, she had actually packed pretty light. She had her backpack and two suitcases. She had a few pairs of shoes, some jeans and shirts, and a bunch of her favorite bras and such. What? She was an underwear model after all... so she preferred walking around half naked anyways. Hopefully The bandmates on the tourbus didn't mind this, because they were going to see a lot of that.

Alex got up to get her bags. She might as well wait outside for her best friend, because there was no point waiting in here. The odds of him finding her in this sea of people was slim to none. It'd be easier for him to spot her dark red hair from outside anyways. " Excuse me, but please keep your..." Alex turned around in a pair of strong arms, expecting to see some stranger. To her surprise, this was no stranger. This was Jesse. " Woah... what happened to you? Did you join the gym then hit the tattoo parlor? " Alex's eyes were still wide with surprise at the new, muscley man who stood before her.

[JESSE WILLIAM MASON]

There was no denying that Alex was a beautiful girl especially with that red hair and tiny form. She was probably the best thing he had ever seen while he was on tour and really ever since he met her. Sure in the past, he didn’t know which way he wanted to swing but he had always been attracted to her for more than her big personality. There was no way any other person could be so perfect. It was hard to be compared to Alex, a perfect ten, when he was currently messing around with sixes and sevens. The groupies he slept with weren’t that great and he just used them to make himself feel important and then he’d pull a Situation and call them a cab. They tended to run off with some of his clothing and that was getting old so he desperately needed Alex or Delilah to take him shopping. Everything he wore had to be preapproved. Maybe tomorrow they could go before the bus left. But tonight would be spent in Los Angeles, enjoying the last few hours before they started on their journey to Las Vegas.

A small smirk appeared on Jesse’s lips at Alex’s attitude towards thinking he was a stranger. I will keep my hands wherever I please. He joked with her before hugging her tightly. It had been way too long since the last time he saw her. Alex looked exactly the same but Jesse knew he had changed quite a bit over the past year. He supposed that he was one of those late bloomers or something. His hair was longer and darker, his build was more defined, and he was taller and more decorated in terms of tattoos and piercings. It was as if he were a different person but not really. He was just more masculine now since he had made the decision that he wasn’t the kind of guy to be feminine (confused or not). But he was pretty sure he liked girls and that his high school experimenting was over. He looked down at himself as she spoke as if oblivious to the changes. Jesse had been like this for a while so it didn’t register to him that she hadn’t seen him like this yet. Yeah, I did. It’s not that big of a deal Miss Grace. I’m still the same person. The smirk appeared once more before he let her go and pulled at her hand. Common, stop ogling, where are your bags?

He didn’t want to waste anymore time in the airport when they could be back on the bus snuggling. They had a lot of catching up to do and Jesse hoped she brought him surprises in terms of her newest shots. We shouldn’t do that again. We need to see each other every other day. Jesse nodded in approval and grabbed one of her matching bags while outstretching his hand for the other. I missed you way too much. Everyone else is boring and doesn’t know how to have fun.

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[alexandria kaylee grace]

Alex had always loved Jesse, but had never thought of him as any more then a friend. It wasn't that she didn't find him cute or anything, he just hadn't really been her type? He'd just been that cute and cuddly little guy who you had movie nights with. Alex was more into the masculine guys with a stronger build. So naturally, all she'd seen him as was a best friend. Now however, was a different story. Looking him over, she resisted the urge to touch his tattoos. He had transformed into everything that she looked for in a guy, and knowing his personality, that was a bonus. How was this even possible? Was he on steroids or something? No, she didn't believe that her little Jesse would do such a thing. But... what was the other option? He couldn't have just transformed into this sexy man beast... could he? Okay, her mind was blown. He really must have been hitting it up in the gyms and decided to go with a new style. She'd been so used to his tight jeans and loose v-necks. Now he was all punked out with a lip piercing and all kinds of random tattoos. This was unbelievable. What had Pix done? An extreme makeover?

Alex blinked at the sound of his voice. She had to force her eyes to look up from his chest to his eyes. " You certainly will not! Unless you'd like me to smack that cute little smirk right off your face. " Alex gave him a cocky smile, indicating that she had not lost her fiery attitude. The only thing was, she wouldn't actually slap him. One, because she wasn't really upset. And two, she didn't mind having him hold her. What? Having strong arms wrapped around you was a nice feeling. " Not that big of a deal? Have you seen yourself, hot stuff? I'm going to have to fight off packs of fan girls who want to jump your bones. " Alex laughed a little, knowing that she would most likely end up doing just that. Of course she wouldn't mind though, because Alex was a champ when it came to cat fights. Redheads always packed a pretty good punch and bloody noses were her specialty.

" Ogling? Who is ogling? " Alex fluffed up her curly red hair and rolled her eyes. " Here, " She handed him the handle to her first suitcase then slung her backpack over her shoulder. " Well, if I'm lucky I'll be sleeping in your bunk, you'll be seeing me every night and morning . " Alex gave a playful wink. " Aw, I'm sorry to hear that love. Lucky for you the party has arrived. " She smiled up at the male and urged him forward a little. She was ready to get out of this place.

[JESSE WILLIAM MASON]

Jesse didn’t take any steroids and never would. Those things made your junk smaller and he certainly didn’t need any of that just to get a little extra muscle mass. He had made his man beast transformation all on his own with Pix’s help of course. She had given her opinion like a good friend should and offered some advice and suggestions. Of course she didn’t expect him to follow through with it but Jesse actually thought that he looked good with these changes. So he wouldn’t plan on going back to scrawny frail Jesse anymore. He got more attention when he looked this way and he was beginning to be more than just a stupid bassist. It was important to him to become his own person and to act on his own. It was about time that he became separated from his band so perhaps people would recognize him and wouldn’t lump him together. It was a weird feeling but Jesse was used to feeling weird and out of place. Now, was the perfect time to make that change. Life was going to pass him buy and no one would even know who he was and he couldn’t have that any longer.

He made a face and a slight pout as she threatened him. ”Excuse me, but you know you won’t. You love me way too much to cause me any physical harm.” Jesse was pretty confident in that she wouldn’t hurt him if she could help it. It was good to be able to joke around with someone and have her retort back effortlessly. ”No, not recently.” Jesse hadn’t looked in the mirror today so he really didn’t know how he looked but if he looked like how he did yesterday, it wouldn’t be a pretty sight with those circles under his eyes masked by his aviator sunglasses. ”You’ll have to get in line then if you plan on jumping me.” Jesse would never let her wait on line, she would always get a free pass for whenever she wanted. Chuckling softly, he shook his head and started leading the way out of the airport and to the cab that was waiting for them.

”Pix is going to be happy to see you.” He commented as he shoved her things in the trunk before climbing in the backseat. ”I’m sure she’s itching for some girl time since she hasn’t hung out with D since the wedding. She’s too busy now that she’s married and junk.” Jesse shrugged, a bit annoyed that poor Pix didn’t really have anyone to hang out with besides the puppy. It was like Delilah got married and ditched her friends but whatever, it probably wasn’t even that bad and Jesse was making it out to be worse than it actually was. ”How was your flight? And what have you been doing for the past year that you haven’t come to see me?” He pouted as he looked to her and snuggled against her side.

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[alexandria kaylee grace]

It took a minute for Alex to get over herself before finally giving in and hugging the guy. It was insane how much she'd actually missed him. Over in England she'd been too busy to even think about missing someone but now she could feel it. It had been just too long. A whole year... It had been an entire year since the last time she'd hugged him and look at just how much she missed? She hadn't been there to see her cute and confused Jesse turn into this beautiful hunk of sexiness. It was times like these she realized how much her job really did suck. Maybe she should just stick to shoots in the U.S. At least that way she'd be somewhat closer to her friends. Oh, even better idea. She should just model for his band. It sounded like a pretty good idea, but she knew better then to get her hopes up. Her parents wouldn't allow that. Nope. No way they'd let their most successful daughter throw her career down the sink just to be close to her friends. Then she'd get a whole speech on how sometimes you had to suffer to be successful and blah blah blah. But honestly? Alex was twenty-one, so she could do whatever she wanted to do without her parents consent. And it wasn't like she needed their money anyway, because she had her own bucks. After all, she was the model, not them. However, it would be a lot easier if they just supported her decisions. But knowing Mr. Grace, he would not be pleased if she did end up being the merch model for Fallen So Surrender. Good thing he was all the way in England.

" Yes, I do love you Jesse, but don't tempt me. " There was a flicker in Alex's eyes that said she wasn't joking around. No matter how much she loved a person she'd have no problem snapping them back into reality. If Jesse honestly believed she wouldn't slap him he was horribly mistaken. Under the given circumstances though, she wouldn't harm him. He was simply playing around with her and nothing serious had happened to set her off. " I'll have to get in line? Ha, you're funny. If I want to jump you I will. " Alex put on an innocent smile and batted her thick eyelashes. Of course she could have her way with him if she wanted, because that's how things always worked in her world. If she wanted something she took it. She refused to 'wait in line'. Plus, she wouldn't let other skanks touch her mancandy. Too bad Jesse wasn't her's. Well, in a way he was, but not in the boyfriend/girlfriend kind of way. She was his best friend and that gave her certain rights.

Alex slid into the back seat of the cab. She snuggled her pillow a little and waited only a moment before Jesse joined her. She was feeling a little sleepy from her flight over here, but her skin froze over at the the mention of Delilah. Oh how she hated that disgusting whore. She shouldn't be married. She should be off working some street corner. " Oh? " Alex's voice was hard, but she tried her best not to let the pure hatred leak into it. She knew how Jesse felt about the slut, so she was going to keep her mouth shut as long as possible. At some point though, she'd end up cracking. " Well I'll make plans with her for next week. " The redhead nodded, letting herself cool off a little when Jesse snuggled up next to her. " Eh, it was okay. I was stuck next to a talkative blonde and I must say, she fit the dumb blonde stereotype perfectly. " Alex laughed a little, pulling his arm over her shoulders so she could steal his warmth. " Oh you know, just the usual. Photo shoots and such. I have all of the pictures on my laptop, so I can show you later if you want. " A yawn escaped from her lips. Boy, plane rides really did steal away all of her energy, and the change in timezone didn't really help either.

[JESSE WILLIAM MASON]

Jesse’s parents didn’t care what he did with his life and that was very relieving. He didn’t have to fight with them to pursue music and for that he was grateful. They lived their dreams through his two older successful brothers and that kept the pressure off him. Besides, he was receiving royalty checks these days and that was good enough. Ellie was still in high school and trying to figure out what she wanted to do with her life. He loved his sister a lot and she was one of his best friend; he was closer to her than either of his brothers and always offered words of encouragement. His mother, a wedding dress designer, had hoped that her son would follow the bible and choose a female life partner but she was more liberal than his conservative father who wouldn’t hear anything of the sort. It was fair to say that everything was kept from his father who would probably flip out should he know about Jesse’s past thoughts. Alex would probably get along good with Ellie since they were relatively similar. Ellie was just a bit more shy and probably wouldn’t take her clothes off as much as Alex did.

Noting the look crossing Alex’s face he backed down knowing he didn’t want to argue over something stupid the first day she got here. It wouldn’t be a good start to her joining the tour and he couldn’t have that since there would be tons of drama to come. ”We’ll see about that.” Alex had a way of getting anything she wanted. It was similar to how Pix used to work things to her favor. It was amusing to see the redhead hold such power over every little aspect of her life. It made him want to do the same but that was probably unlikely to occur. Still, if she wanted him she would have him and he doubted there would be any protesting on his side about it. At least if he was with her, he knew he wouldn’t ever get hurt again and that she would look out for his best interest and protect him from evil skanks that seemed to be lurking at every show, waiting to grab at him when he was most vulnerable.

He could feel Alex tense in the cab at the mentioning of Delilah. The brunette had made her choice and he supposed that if she wanted a deadbeat with a baby momma to be her boyfriend, then whatever. He refused to lose anymore sleep over it. Alex wouldn’t let him anyway. ”Ew, I don’t like blondes most of the time. They’re too perky for me.” Jesse allowed himself to be moved and fixed to provide her with the optimal level of warmth. His arms squeezed her gently once she was finished getting comfortable. ”Oh yes, you must show me. I love your pictures, I bet you get fb stalked all of the time.” He smirked as she yawned and placed a kiss upon her forehead. ”Take a nap and I’ll wake you up when we get there. We have plenty of time for fun.”

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[alexandria kaylee grace]

Alex couldn't help but hate Delilah. I mean, she stole her ex and now she was breaking her best friend's heart in order to marry her ex? No. Just no. There was no way she was going let this bitch get off scott free. Alex already had a plan cooking up in her devious little mind to get revenge on bother her and her dumb-ass husband. She already a bunch of insults filed in her mind, but that was easy for her. Alex had always been good with coming up with quick comebacks and was a genius when it came to insults. She knew just how to tear someone down and she didn't really care how bad she hurt your feelings. The way she looked at it was if you brought her to say all of those nasty things... you probably deserved it. You see, even though Alex may come off as a harsh bitch, she really only got that way when given a reason to. She didn't just randomly snap on people, she had to have a reason to. Sure it was easier to push her buttons... but still, that's what you get for pushing her limits. You should know better then to mess with a redhead. Simple as that.

For a moment, Alex was amused at the fact that even though Jesse was so manly looking, she still had to be the one to comfort him and stand up for him. He really need to harden up his personality a bit. He needed to learn how to fight back! If she had been in his shoes, she would have gone right over to Trav's house and knocked him out cold with one good blow to the face. Then she would have called Delilah every bad word in the book. What? That's what they deserved. If her heart had been broken like that she wouldn't let anyone be happy. She'd make everyone's life hell. Though, that's kind of what she planned on doing now. You see? She was fighting his battles. Not that she minded really. This was the kind of stuff she was good at. Revenge was her game and if you were her target you're pretty much screwed. No, she was not doing this because of Travis. She could care less about him. She didn't need that fleebag. He'd sleep with anything that had legs, and she could certainly do better then that. Why do you think she flew off to England without looking back? Anyways, she was going this because she wanted to make it clear that Jesse was not some rebound guy that D could use whenever she felt like it.

" I'm not a fan either. Especially since most of them are fake anyway. " Alex nuzzled into Jesse's side, tempted to let her eyes slide closed but she refused to fall asleep. There would be plenty of time for sleeping later. Now she had some catching up to do, though she knew Jesse would insist that she rest. " Haha, that's exactly why I have a private facebook and then a fanpage. " Alex smiled and looked up at him. Yes, she had gotten the feeling once or twice that there was a creepy online stalker trying to locate her whereabouts, but so far she hadn't found any disturbing notes on her doorstep. " I really think you'll like my new stuff though. They're... interesting. " The girl smirked slightly. All of her new stuff was pretty much her in fancy bras, but the scenes were different. Her favorite one had been the shoot at the beach. She'd have to be sure to show those to him first. " Nap? I don't take naps. And plus, I'm not all that tired anyway. "

[JESSE WILLIAM MASON]

Jesse understood why Alex would hate Delilah but if she really cared about him, Alex wouldn’t start any trouble. As far as he was concerned, he had enough trouble to deal with and he didn’t need any more added on to it. Given, most of his trouble and dramatics was created by only him but he couldn’t help feeling the way he did and thinking the thoughts he thought. He was a complex being, so very unsure of himself and where his place was in life. He wasn’t sure of what kind of girl he should be with or where his future would lead him. Those were all decisions for him to make on his own and he just didn’t understand where he should start and if he really should. Alex always had the answers for him and he was used to depending on her a lot. He knew that it wasn’t the healthiest of choices but he didn’t know any other way. Fortunately, for his sake, Alex had always been kind enough to lead him through the thickest clouds of smoke so he had to make sure that he repaid her for this. She had put her whole life on hold just to come and help him. That was a pretty big favor and she deserved a really big, really expensive present. He didn’t know what yet but it would hit him soon enough.

He knew somewhat of Alex’s past relationship with Travis, but he never really gotten into it with her. Jesse had no idea whether they were serious or not or how long they were together. For all he knew, she could have still loved him and that was the real reason of her agreeing to come on tour… to steal him back. Honestly, Jesse hated Travis and he hated Jesse so the feelings were mutual. Jesse thought Travis was a tool bag or something of the sort but by the way Jesse had been acting lately, he knew that he was comparable to do the same. He really hoped he wasn’t that bad though.

Good, I can’t wait to see them. He gave her a strong squeeze as he looked out her window at the scenery, prepared to entertain himself while Alex slept. If you say so. Jesse wasn’t going to force her to sleep simply because he was a bit selfish, obviously. So tell me, are you excited to see your lovely ex on tour? He couldn’t help but to laugh just a bit, knowing that she might have a bit of jealousy towards Delilah.

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[alexandria kaylee grace]

Okay, Alex had to admit, she had planned on starting trouble. She planned on making claw marks and pulling out some hair. Maybe even slip in a few bad words here and there, but now she was rethinking the whole thing. Jesse seemed rather quiet and she could tell that he was still pretty hurt by this breakup. So, being his best friend and all, she'd need to take care of him first before cutting a bitch. Or maybe she should just stay away from D all together. The thought of not being able to get her revenge lowered her high spirits a little. She wanted so badly to make that girl's life a living hell, but she knew now that she couldn't do that. She knew this because she'd partly making revenge out of her taking Travis. Maybe helping out Jesse would help heal her slightly damaged heart. No, she wasn't going to lie to herself anymore that she didn't care that Travis just went off and got married without really considering her, but that didn't mean she had to go around telling other people. It might be hard to believe, that Alex was actually hurt, but after all, she was a girl. Their feelings tended to be easy to play with, Alex just built up walls that kept people from seeing her true colors. But one easy way to spot that she wasn't really okay or if a subject was a little rough on her was that she got really defensive. She couldn't help it. It was like a natural reflex. You brought up a touchy subject and she'd most likely get all up in your face. It was just her trying to distract the person or get them to leave her alone because she simply didn't want to talk about her feelings. Feelings showed weakness in her eyes, and Alexandria Kaylee Grace could not show weakness.

Anyway, it was pretty safe for her to say that she no longer had any feelings for Travis. She'd blocked him out. Bam. Done. Gone. He was disgusting and she wanted nothing to do with him, unless she was planning out his death. But other then that, she could careless about him now. If he was happy with his slut then so be it. Alex would move on to bigger and better things. Plus, she didn't really need a guy in her life anyways. She was fine on her own... for the most part.

Alex continued to snuggle Jesse as the cab drove them down a few different streets. She watched out the window, looking at the people and building the passed by in attempt to keep her eyes from drooping any lower. " I'll be doing my best to avoid him actually. Not that it will be too hard, seeing as I'll be too busy with your band to pay any attention to his. But if I do happen to run into him... I'll be sure to keep the damage to a minimum. " Alex laughed a little. She was joking for the most part, but who knows, acting rash was something she seemed to be good at.

[JESSE WILLIAM MASON]

Jesse wasn’t very hurt about the whole breakup. He was just hurt that Delilah would choose a toolbag like Travis over all of the other guys in the world. She could have picked anyone and he would have been fine with it; she could have chosen someone better than himself and he would have been okay. But to downgrade to Travis blew his mind. What made Jesse so horrible that she had to lower her standards like that? It just didn’t make any sense and he supposed that you really couldn’t pick or choose the people you fell in love with but Travis? The manwhore who had like five baby mommas and kids all over the place? Why? He just really couldn’t understood and doubted that he would ever. Delilah was one of his best friends and he was supposed to be looking out for her but how could he have prevented this? She was going to be unhappy sooner or later and as much as Jesse would like to tell her I told you so, he knew that when the time came, he wouldn’t be able to. So he supposed that he would have to bottle up all of his anger towards the situation. Travis wasn’t going to treat her extra special like she should be treated. So he would be around when Trav came up short… again. It was only a matter of time. And what a situation it would be when she looked to Jesse for comfort and Jesse had someone new on his arm. He wasn’t going to sit around like a pathetic heartbroken emo boy and wait for her to come back. No, it was about time he was moving on to bigger things; not necessarily better.

To know that Alex had a piece of Travis at one time or another made the whole thing funny. Alex knew what he was capable of and what he wasn’t. She knew his tricks, lies, and real personality. Lord only knew what Delilah saw in him to actually tie that knot. She was in for a real hum dinger. At least one of his friends was able to steer clear. He’d be utterly alone if she hadn’t.

He snuggled into Alex more, enjoying the sweet smell of her shampoo. ”I bet you’d win against him in a fight.” A smirk came across his lips, knowing Alex’s strength from experience. It might be very interesting to see that fight. The cab stopped at the venue where three of the other bands were conducting sound check. Jesse’s band had the night off so he would be happy to spend all of his time with her. He didn’t want to move but he forced himself to not before giving Alex a kiss on her head. ”Common, the sooner we can get inside, the sooner we can snuggle again. Plus you get to meet my roomies. Hopefully, the back lounge is free for us to hang out. The bunk is small so I wouldn’t suggest hanging out in there more than necessary.” Getting out of the cab, he grabbed her bags from the front of the taxi and paid the man. ”Just be nice, okay? They’re girly girls and you probably won’t like them.”

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