Call it Fate, Call it Karma

Jeopardy

On our walk home, Nick brought up something that made me roll my eyes in annoyance. "So, there's this party-"

"No." I growled through gritted teeth.

He raised his hand  "Let me finish! So there's this party on tomorrow night, and I found out the dude that has the record label is gonna be there..."

"Nick, no."

"But this could be our only chance!"

"Julian's gone missing and you're thinking about parties? Count me out."

"But Jade," Nick whined again. "...we haven't all had a fun night out together in ages." He finished with a frown that made my heart ache.

"That is true..." said Nikolai, swinging a grocery bag back and forth as he walked.

"We can have a fun night at my place." I said with a scowl. I then turned to Fab, who also had the same sad look.

"We could talk to this guy and ask if he's heard our demos yet." Nick explained. "It could give us a better chance at getting signed."

I could tell it meant a lot to him and the others, and it would make me so happy to see them get the recognition they deserved. But I wasn't sure if I could handle being surrounded by alcohol and drugs without something bad happening.

I made a small whimpering noise as I dragged my feet along the pavement, reluctant to give in. "I'll come only if Julian shows up."

"Yeah!" Nick cheered with a big grin. "Thanks Jade."

"You know parties are no good for me." I sighed, thinking of what was yet to come. "What if I completely lose it again?"

"It'll just be one night to let loose, okay? We'll make sure nothing bad happens." said Fab in a reassuring tone as he walked close beside me.

"Okay...but seriously, if Julian doesn't show anytime soon, I'm not going."

"Heard you the first time." Nick chuckled.

"You guys staying over for a while?" I asked as we approached my apartment complex.

"Nah, we've gotta work on some stuff." said Nikolai.

I looked over at Fab with a pout. "Fab?"

"I need to go change, man!" he said as he pulled on the collar of his shirt that he'd most likely worn 3 days in a row.

"You guys suck. I'm gonna be alone all afternoon!" I groaned at the thought.

Nikolai handed me the grocery bag with a soft smile. "We'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

I took the bag from him, then taking the others off Fab and Nick. "Don't get your hopes up."

They all hugged me goodbye and I dragged the bags up to my front door. I put one down so I could open the door and I then stumbled in, freezing when I saw Julian on the couch. I cleared my throat, catching his attention as I hauled the bags in.

"Jade." he greeted me with a nod.

"You've got thirty seconds to explain yourself. I almost had a heart attack. I was so worried!" I yapped as I put the bags on the kitchen counter.

"Promise me you won't get mad."

"I'm already mad."

Julian took a deep breath in before he spoke. "I suddenly really felt like a drink. Like, really fucking bad. And I was gonna tell you, but you looked so happy and I didn't wanna ruin the mood." he explained with a frown. "So I snuck away and I was gonna go grab a beer or something, but something in me changed my mind last second, so I just came back here."

"Okay, I'm really pissed off that you didn't tell me, but at the same time I'm really glad you didn't drink." I walked over and wrapped my arms around him with a big smile. It didn't take long for him to hug me back tightly.

"Thanks." he mumbled into my shoulder.

"I fear that any sort of abstinence from alcohol will be in jeopardy tomorrow night, though." I told him with a sigh. "Nick's informed me that we're all going to a party, and that its vital we go, because he told me your potential manager guy is gonna be there."

Julian's eyes lit up. "Really?!"

"Yes. You game?" I sighed again, holding back a smile.

"Of course I am!" he beamed.

"Right, now help me unload the groceries, then we can watch a movie or two." I said, jumping up to walk to the kitchen. "Have you spoken to Albert yet?"

"Yeah, he called a few minutes before you got back. He'll be home soon."

"Did you find out what his problem was?" I asked as I put away the milk.

Julian popped open a bottle of coke. "I thought it'd be a good idea to just drop it. He'll tell us if he wants to." He finished, taking a sip.

"Wise." I nodded to myself. "Do you think he's going to wanna come to the party?"

"No, but if he founds out that guy Nick's been talking about is going, then probably." he passed me the half empty bottle of coke to finish off as he leaned over to go through another bag.

I chugged it down and sighed as I thought about the party. I didn't want to go, because I was scared that I might go over the top again and do something stupid, falling back into bad habits again.

I threw the empty bottle in the trash can and walked back out into the living room, where I put on Dazed and Confused -- a movie that I'd bought a few days before. Everyone talked about it when it first came out and I never had the chance to see it.

Julian soon joined me on the couch and we sat in silence. He picked up the cover and chuckled. "Is this movie about us?"

"Looks like it." I laughed back. We watched until the character 'Ron Slater', the typical stoner, came on screen, obviously stoned out of his mind.

"That's so Fab!" Julian yelped, causing me to start laughing uncontrollably.

"It is too!"