Jazz and Liquor sequel <3
Three months after Tilly's disappearance, she's returned with a newfound confidence and a plan that doesn't seem to include Brendon. He tries his best to give her the space she needs but if he doesn't intervene in her bu...
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Give me a sign I wanna believe
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Spencer eventually moved Rory's set to the bottom of the list to save them both some time. It made everything run much more smoothly and even gave Spencer some time to sit at the bar with Brendon and Melissa.
"I come bearing gifts!" Melissa announced, waving envelopes around as she approached her friends. "We're having a housewarming party and Tilly said I could invite you." She handed an invitation to Pete. "Hope you can make it."
"Could you give this to Rory for me?" Melissa asked Brendon, handing him an envelope as well. "I couldn't find him."
"I'll make sure he gets it," Brendon said.
"I feel so bad because she didn't want to invite you," Melissa said, also handing an invitation to Spencer. "I even gave one to Mr. Weekes at the door."
"Don't worry about it, I'll have a club to run anyway," Brendon responded, forcing himself to find something else to do rather than obsess over a woman who didn't care about him.
"I don't think it's fair, though. You two need to work out whatever issues you had. Holding grudges is bad for your health, you know," Melissa said.
"Tell that to your sister."
"I have but she doesn't listen!" she exclaimed. "Here, she gave me an extra. You deserve to come." Melissa handed Brendon another invitation.
"She doesn't want me there, I don't think-"
"Well, I want you there, so come. There's gonna be liquor from that distillery Rory has. It'll be fun," Melissa said, smiling at Brendon. "If you hate it that much then you can leave. No one's forcing you to stay, alright?"
Brendon nodded but knew he wouldn't show up out of respect for Tilly's wishes. He wasn't even sure he was ready to talk to her, or even be in the same room as her. However, he was absolutely certain that he didn't want to upset her again, which is why he had to stay as far away from her house as possible.
Rory stepped outside for a smoke after his performance making for the perfect opportunity to hand off the invitation. Brendon grabbed his hat and his coat and said goodbye to his friends before exiting through the alley.
Brendon couldn't help but imagine Rory being Tilly's new boyfriend and the thought was absolutely infuriating. What did they even have in common? Did Tilly cry to him about how awful Brendon was to her?
Rory stood at the end of the alley way conversing with some men in a truck. Brendon was annoyed that he had to interrupt a conversation just to hand off a stupid party invitation. He lit a cigarette and waited for the talk to end.
Brendon ripped open his invitation in the meantime, curious of what her new address was. It was obviously in the nicer part of town and wasn't a terrible walk away from his house. He contemplated showing up for a few minutes but his conscience quickly dismissed the idea.
A sudden series of yells and screams echoed through the alley way, startling Brendon out of his trance. Rory held a gun in the window of the truck and yelled some incoherent commands that only worsened the screams. Brendon pressed his back against the wall as the truck sped down the alleyway and made a sharp left at the corner. He looked back just as Rory returned his gun to the inside of his coat. Brendon could see him grin in the flickering gas lamp lighting.
"Mr. Urie!" Rory called, waving at Brendon. "What can I do for you?"
"I just wanted to give you something," Brendon said, taking out his invitation. "It's from Tilly."
"She's wonderful, isn't she?" Rory asked, thanking Brendon for the envelope.
"Yeah."
"A housewarming party! Sounds delightful. It's a beautiful home, have you seen it?"
"I haven't."
"It fits her so well. It's like she's lived there all her life," Rory sighed, tucking the invitation into his coat pocket, most likely next to his gun. "Are you going?"
"Her sister invited me but I don't think I can make it. Someone has to look after the place since most of my staff will be gone," Brendon said, flicking ashes onto the cement. "She wouldn't wanna see me anyways."
"She said you broke her heart." Rory kept his hands in his pockets as an ominous breeze flowed through the alley.
Brendon wasn't proud of it. "I did."
"She also said that you need to give up the distillery or else she's not gonna help me sell the liquor," Rory added. "That's a rather bold request, isn't it?"
"I guess but it's understandable. I wouldn't wanna work with me either," Brendon mused, slightly hurt she'd posed such a steep ultimatum. "Why did you give both of us access to the distillery in the first place?"
"The more people using it, the better. But I really need Miss Clarke's expertise with selling this stuff so I might have to cut you off."
"We hadn't even started doing business together...?"
"I know but I really need Tilly. We can talk about this later. I have somewhere to be." Rory nodded at Brendon and advanced down the alley way without turning back.
