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A series of loud bangs interrupted Emma's annual Birthday Star Wars Marathon and she swung her legs off the couch with a sigh; she had the feeling her night was about to be completely ruined.
"Come on in! The door's unlocked!" Not even bothering to turn around, Emma allowed her two best friends into her sanctuary. Ruby Lucas and Belle French were the two best friends a girl could ask for but they didn't quite get the concept of solitude when they wanted to go wreck something. Belle, a librarian and english tutor was one of the hardest drinkers Emma knew, and Ruby, animal shelter volunteer and co-proprietress of the towns only B&B could party a rock star into a coma. Emma's night was ruined, and she'd probably wake up in the hospital tomorrow morning.
"EMMA!" came a high pitched shriek form behind the couch. Oh yay, Ruby was excited already; this only meant bad things. The leggy brunette bounced into Emma's eye line in the shortest, tightest, blackest skirt known to man, woman, god, or demon. She also had on a large but stylish pair of goggles and the worlds most impressive push up bra under a gunmetal halter top with the most sinfully high heels ever created in the same shade. She was also dangling a black top hat above Emma's head.
"Hi Emma, we're kidnapping you. Your mother called us and said we should take you out. Don't mind the porn star, she's dressed for the occasion." Belle, a slightly shorter brunette in less dangerous heels pulled Emma up off the couch and grinned evilly at her. Belle was in a maroon corset with gold lace and a tan pair of shorts that would be classified as underwear by any civil person, she also had a piece of purple ribbon tied in a bow around her neck. Belle was more reserved but only slightly, Emma knew this outfit. It was the "My Boyfriend Is Getting Lucky" outfit. That corset had taken hours to find, Emma knew because she had helped search for the wretched thing.
"What! No! I'm not going anywhere my mother be damned! It's my birthday and i'm spending it with a bottle of merlot and a scruffy rogue in tight pants. Go break hearts with out me. And will you please stop waving that hat!" Ruby continued waving the hat in Emma's face until she grabbed it and rammed the thing on her head; the girl wouldn't have stopped until it was worn anyway.
Not having any of that, Belle dragged Emma up off the couch and spun her around by her shoulders with a disapproving tutting noise.
"What the hell are you doing?" asked Emma, slightly sore and dizzy from the rough handling. Belle was deceptively strong, lugging books all day did her some good.
"Wondering if we'll be late if we force you to change. It's not too bad. The hat is the most important part anyway. Ok Ru we can go" Before Emma had time to ask any more questions, her two friends marched her out of the apartment and into a taxi cab.
The cab driver turned around and asked Ruby where they were headed.
"The Rabbit Hole please. And if you could step on it that'd be great. We can't miss the opening number!" She leaned forward just a little bit to give the driver a better view of her cleavage and he drove 15 miles over the speed limit until they were at their destination. Ruby had that effect on men. Emma was completely lost; Ruby looked like she stepped out of a steampunk porno, Belle was half ren-fair half sorority girl, and they were outside the biggest nightclub in town.
"Ok, i'm out of my apartment and I can feel my liver getting an anxiety attack. Why are we here and what opening number was Ruby talking about?" The question was addressed to Belle as the three of them approached the solid wooden door to a large brick building.
"My boyfriend's band is playing a show, and since it's your birthday and Ruby is a wolf in sheep's clothing, I figured we could go see them play. I can get us backstage, I told her I'd only do it if we could get you to come with us. There's someone I want you to meet." The red lights of the bar glinted peculiarly off of Belle's bright blue eyes and make her look less human and more fairy trickster. Emma was going to have to join her liver soon in anxiety mode if that look meant what Emma thought it did.
A ticket handed to her by Ruby had "BELIEVE OR LEAVE: A Mind Bending, Soul Cracking, Panty Dropping Night of Oddities Galore". It took a moment for the gears in Emma's brain to click but she'd heard there stuff once or twice before. Loud, bombastic, fun, fast, and sexy in the most peculiar way. It had shaken her down to her bones and left her wanting more but she'd been at work at the time and it had buried itself in the back of her mind to be found at a later date.
Emma sighed and let the tide of people moved the three of them around the room, a large bouncer gave Belle a once over, she flashed three fingers and Emma's birthday began properly. They found a spot in the wings to watch the show and Emma got on her toes to get a closer look at the band in question.
She knew Belle's boyfriend a little, enough to know that the significant age gap wasn't an obstacle. Tonight he was painted green and appeared to be dusted with little gold flecks of light, it was a David Bowie kind of sexy and Emma could see why Belle liked him. He had a gold shirt and maroon vest on to match Belle's corset and his microphone was dyed bright purple like the ribbon around Belle's neck.
Ruby was all but vibrating on the spot and Emma spotted a man in an almost Sergeant Pepper's-esque black jacket that went down past his knees in the same dark grey her friend was wearing and he had a set of goggles perched on his close cut blonde hair. There was a bouquet of what appeared to be grey hybrid roses next to him just off stage. Very austere and serious looking, Ruby was probably attracted to just how different he was from her. He appeared to be tuning a guitar, how he could do that in the glove he was wearing had Emma totally beat.
Belle was glancing around with a concerned look on her face and pulled Ruby aside to whisper something in her ear before flagging down a mic tech and asking something Emma couldn't hear. She was too busy staring at the guitar leaning against a keyboard set up. Was there supposed to be someone else with them? She reviewed the instruments: drum set, two guitars, a keyboard, 3 microphones and what looked to be a small computer set up. Someone or at least two someones were missing. The computer rig wasn't decorated so it was probably some tech guy who ran it, the two instruments that caught her eye were conspicuously missing a person though and Emma got the impression that the show would be lacking without them.
A series of sudden, teeth rattling chords blasted through the speakers courtesy of the man in the Sergeant Pepper jacket and Belle's boyfriend began warming up the crowd. A streak of black and red bolted past Emma and slid on stage, nearly colliding with the keyboard. The streak righted itself and Emma was staring at a young man not much older than her wearing a trenchcoat on D&D steroids, a scarlet waist coat, and a large black top hat. Belle nudged Emma in the ribs and nodded to the hatted gentleman frantically tuning his instrument.
"Son of a bitch is late, but that's who I want you to meet Em. His name is Jefferson, he's a really great guy, kind of intense but genuinely sweet. And he can work some serious magic with those hands of his. I'll introduce you after the set ends." Belle waved and Jefferson nodded, returning the wave. He caught Emma's gaze in his and he smiled, it was warm and very contrary to the strangeness of his outfit. She wasn't in the mood to be flirted with and glared at him. Belle must have seen Emma's expression because she shot the Hatter the finger and he grinned. Clearly he had a mischievous streak.
"What the hell was that about? Is he always that creepy?" Emma swiped the hat off of her head and folded her arms tight across her chest as the band started to play.
"Method, yes, creepy no. He's supposed to be the Mad Hatter. He gets into it by unsettling people a little bit. I guess he likes you because you're the only one he smiled at. Normally he just glares. It drives people crazy! His fans are the ones wearing hats. Victor's are the ones in goggles because he's got a Doctor Frankenstein thing going, and Rum's are the ones in red and gold. The purple is what he picked to represent magic. He figured out the band's concept and he's the sort of magician of the three of them" Belle applauded loudly and swayed along to the music while explaining.
Ruby had her eyes fixed on Sergeant Pepper, apparently his name was Victor; she looked hungry. Emma almost felt bad for him until he picked up his microphone and began to sing. He had the same effect of women that Ruby did on men, only he sang where she giggled and flounced. He could probably handle her. He had a touch of Freddie Mercury to him and he put on a hell of a show for someone who was so reserved during warm ups. Richard, or Rumplestiltskin, as Belle's beau was called on stage, was a consummate showman. He had the crowd going absolutely insane, they were jumping, screaming, waving, and dancing at just a word from him. It was like watching a master puppeteer manipulate strings to get his puppets to obey.
Jefferson's hands blurred across the guitar so quickly that Emma wouldn't have known they were there had she not watched him pick the thing up. Belle was right, he had a gift. Emma watched him closely, he was intense too. Hyper-focused on his work and only occasionally smiling at the crowd. Not that it mattered, she was sure a few girls in the front row fainted when he looked out into the house. If she had to pick, he'd be the best looking though she still couldn't shake the feeling that he'd been rummaging around in her head. He picked up the mic after Victor and Emma was frustrated to learn that he could sing too. He had smooth and controlled quality to his voice that she found interesting considering the pace and range of the tempo and notes. He could probably also train lions and make babies stop crying too but only if he took that jacket off.
Their set was incredible, Emma actually stopped glaring at Jefferson long enough to enjoy it. Belle pounced on Rum as soon as he walked off stage and nearly knocked him backwards with a forceful and enthusiastic kiss. Victor grabbed the bouquet of roses fromt he other side of the stage, slipped around the back of the wings and ended up right behind a desperately searching Ruby with a wolfish smile across his lips, once Ruby turned around, the pair were gone in about five seconds flat. Emma laughed and made a note to call her friend in the morning to make sure she was safe and sound. Strange men with flowers were all well and good but musicians were a wily bunch. That left Jefferson, he appeared virtually out of nowhere, scaring Emma half to death, with the most infuriating grin she'd ever seen.
"I'm sorry about nearly knocking you over earlier. I like women to fall for me on their own. I'm Jefferson, you must be the birthday girl Belle told us about." He offered his hand to her and she was relieved to see that a slightly less manic version of the man she'd seen earlier was the one waiting for a reply.
"It's fine, you were in a hurry. I haven't fallen for you quite yet. I'm Emma, the birthday girl indeed. Belle and Ruby sort of brought me here under duress" Emma shook his hand, taking care to avoid making prolonged eye contact and letting go as soon as it was polite. He was charming, attractive, talented, and she couldn't find it in herself to like him. Belle noted later that knowing this meant that Emma liked him very much indeed.
"So you're wearing my hat and you aren't a fan? Oh princess that'll have to change. Your friends seem to be occupied so how about we go down to the bar now that this place is clearing out and I'll see if I can make you like me a little bit more. They have tiny red velvet cakes and waffle fries. Both are suitable birthday foods." Jefferson looked sincere, the eye liner he had worn on stage was gone, he'd shed the jacket and untucked his shirt. He looked more like a victorian dinner date and less like a musician now and Emma found that maybe she'd get that quiet night after all.
"Red velvet cake and waffle fries? I'm in. As for liking you, the jury is out on that one. I was supposed to stay in tonight and marathon Star Wars. I don't think a pretty face and carbs will make me forget that." Emma took the arm Jefferson offered and he led her down to the well stocked and skillfully manned bar.
"I have fantastic abs too if that helps. You were going to sit by yourself and watch Star Wars for your birthday? That'd be a crime if I didn't think i'd do the same thing. " Emma slid onto a red pleather barstool and Jefferson sat down next to her. Emma ordered a beer and he ordered a soda.
"You not drinking? Or are you the type of guy that waits for the girl to get hammered first." The menu was handed to her along with her beer as Jefferson toyed with his straw.
"I'm the type of guy that wears a ridiculously heavy leather jacket and jumps around on stage for several hours at a time. I like to hydrate before I start drinking properly. No worries. Belle would skin me alive and roll me in salt if something bad happened to you and it was on me." He asked for two orders of fries and those tiny red velvet cakes for Emma.
"Well, you put on a hell of a show and you're buying me fries. I don't think I want to be responsible for a flaying. Unless you decide you want it to be an artistic tribute to your newest fan on her birthday of course. Then maybe i'd be okay with it. I'm pretty sure Belle carries a knife when she goes out anyways..." Emma stood up and began playfully waving to try and grab Belle's attention. The brunette looked over, waved, and went back to her conversation at the edge of the stage.
"Before you ask, no. I don't make a habit of picking up girls after shows, certainly not Belle's friends anyway. She just said it was your birthday and I think she feels bad about me being the unattached one. Victor has a different girl every night, or at least he did until your friend in the shoes started showing up. So here I am. Amazing, talented, dead sexy, and all yours to do with as you please." Emma had a hard time processing the words and the intent separately. He wasn't bad company so far, so maybe tonight wasn't a total bust.
"I wouldn't have agreed to let you buy me food if I thought you were the type of guy who slept around. It's not my thing lately, I would have a year or two ago but I put a little more value on myself now. Break ups with good guys do that to you. But enough about me. why the Mad Hatter?" The food arrived and Emma immediately dove into the plate of fries, she was ravenous. She must have danced at some point and hadn't noticed. The music filled her whole brain and some of it was danceable.
"Well he's from my favorite book and I like hats. I needed something to do with my hands when I was younger so I taught myself how to make them. The one Belle gave you to wear is one I made. She swiped it off of me last night during rehearsal. It looks much nicer on you though." Jefferson eyed up a piece of cake and scarfed it down with an expression of joy seen only in sugar high children and exhausted twenty somethings during their second wind.
"Actually, Ruby was the one who gave it to me but I bet that's probably because Belle wanted to be sneaky. She and my mother don't like the idea of me holed up in my apartment, she wanted me to meet you and you knew it was my birthday so this was planned in advance. I could foil her right now and leave you just sitting here. Or I could could let her win and stick around. You don't suck as much as I thought you would. Most of the guys I meet are sleazy and gross."
"Well, i'm pleased to have your approval. I'm honored to be occupying your time when you could have left by now and been home watching Han Solo be cooler than everyone else. This was our last show for a while, and i'd like to be able to see you again. Maybe during the day when I don't feel like i'm going to fall over into a plate full of cake." That sincere expression from earlier returned and Emma found that she did very much want to see him again.
"I'd like that. A lot actually. I don't think I'll be seeing Ruby again tonight and I imagine Belle is going to make her own way home or at least somewhere close. Thanks for the food. You do look a bit dead on your feet. In a sexy corpse kind of way. And I just said that, yeah, I should go home. Thanks again!"
Emma scribbled her number in a clean napkin and pressed it into Jefferson's hands. She was getting tired now and she didn't want to interrupt Belle to say goodnight. "Call me tomorrow, when you're awake and i'm more composed. Goodnight Jefferson." Jefferson nodded enthusiastically and grabbed a small box for the cakes behind the bar.
"Definitely! Oh, and take this with you!" He handed her the cake and smiled. "Make a wish when you get home. Goodnight Emma, and happy birthday." He kissed her lightly on the cheek and she walked out to hail a cab.
Emma was bordering unconscious when she found a small candle in her baking cabinet to stick on one of the cakes. She lit it, thought about her day, smiled wider than she had in awhile and made her wish. If she got a phone call tomorrow her wish had come true. Happy birthday to her, maybe next year she'd have someone on the couch with her.