Wandering Thoughts And Wandering Eyes...*complete*

[jasper hutchins]

*Hello, Dolly! This is Louis! It's so nice to see you where you belong, Dolly! You still look swell, darlin'...*

Ah, back to the place where memories are made. Back to the place where history is forever preserved. There's a certain air here at The House that Satchmo built; the nostalgia of old times, where sweethearts waltz to the large jazz bands, swinging to Jelly Roll, and Louis, and of course, The Duke. The air itself even stank of imaginative thinking, leftover smells of kisses that dreams were built on. Jasper looks on at all of it, admiring the gradour of all of it.

"If only..." he sighs to himself. His hands brushed over the glass covering the memorabilia, yearning to feel some sort of spark; perhaps a glimmer of the past, where Louis himself would surge through Jasper's veins, taking over and making him glow out in joy; or maybe, just maybe, he would even get some sort of an energy to keep his life going. After all, there was a reason he came here today.... wasn't there?

Eventually, he lifted his hand off of the glass, his imagined surge of life, of flowing music coming to an end. "Jazzy?" O, that voice! That voice! Lyrical, soothing, the answer to all of his pains... Good Lord, how that voice had an effect on him. "Livvy?.... LIVVY!" He turned around and saw her; standing there in the glare of the Sun, next to an open window, her hands tickling the ivory keys of the piano in the room. She smiled, radiantly of course, he thought, walking over to her and embracing her.

They'd been friends since he could remember; but of late, he had been thinking about her and no one else, not even himself. He held her for an extra moment longer, arms wrapped around her waist, her tip-toeing up to meet him; immediately, his head floated around again. He thought back to his father, "Biggy"; how they would meet in front of the Apollo Theater, and hug each other ("I missed you Daddy!" Jazzy would scream, "NO, I MISSED YOU MORE!" Kerry would always respond; his booming voice resonating in the air) with Jazzy tip-toeing as Livvy was now doing with him. He looked down, smiling, then felt the oncoming rush of red flow to his cheeks, and let go.

She was slow to do the same; her hands staying on his shoulders and sliding down after a while. She looked up and said to him, "I can't be long today. I know I promised you, Jazzy. I'm sorry. Here, i brought this to make up for it." Jazzy took it. "What is this?" he thought as he looked at it. He shook it.

It JIGGLES!

He opened it. It was..... a key. A simple skeleton key, like to a lock. Attached to a necklace. "How odd." he mouthed. He kept pondering and pondering. He never noticed the lock around her neck, hiding ever so,elegantly on the silk scarf covering up her slender neck, and her many bruises. "Thank you."

"You're always welcome."

[olivia christine wood]

OVER AND OVER
i fall for you.

olivia felt her cheeks go pink and she stayed close to jasper as they wandered around the house. she had seen it hundreds of times in her life, some visits more interesting than others. this one was mostly anxiety-filled on her part, carson would be wondering where she had gone off to. although he could probably guess who with.

she knew he didn’t approve of them hanging out at all but olivia was old enough to make her own decisions. just a jealous boyfriend.

“livvy, are you thinking about something?” he asked.

“oh, I don’t know…just thinking about carson. he’ll probably be in a bad mood, probably expects me to be working instead of out having fun. it’s not my fault he’s too lazy to get a job. but let’s have fun,” olivia smiled.

“Hmm…carly’s been keeping quite a tab on you lately, hasn’t he?”

“sort of. but really, let’s just enjoy ourselves. i gotta admit, i do love this house. even if jazz isn’t my thing. next time we go to the art museum, right?”

jasper nodded in agreement olivia grabbed his hand, pulling him down the hallway. her favorite place in the house was the living room, where they had a few pictures up on the walls. she loved to stare at them, think about who painted them and why. how the armstrong’s found them. she loved to think about these things every time she saw a new painting, or even an old one.

“do you ever look at a painting and wonder what inspired the person to paint it? rr where they were or what they were doing when they got the little idea for it, and how excited they were to paint it? i love that feeling when you get an idea and it’s just like…bam. and it’s in my head and i know exactly what i want to do with it,” she said softly.

the whole house was beautiful, really. today it was making her want to go sit in her tiny studio, in a comfy chair and draw something. maybe turn it into a painting, sell it for a few hundred dollars. get groceries and pay the rent, tadaaa. paint another one, get more groceries, pay the electricity bill, maybe a new paintbrush or some pencils.

and of course, all the while Carson would be sitting on his ass. demanding a sandwich.

OVER AND OVER
i try not to.

word count: 398
tagged for: james/jazzy, Gloria/carson
lyrics from: OVER AND OVER | three days grace
outfit: effort.
notes: I’ll do better next time.
credits: made by MADDIE. steal or modify and she’ll eat you.

[/blockquote][/font]

[carson bennett]

That day, Carson was starting out his day with a walk around the city. It was a lazy day for him full of just walking through the bustling city and maybe stopping someplace to get some food to satisfy his hunger every so often. The loft wasn't too far that it was bothersome to walk, but all the smog in the air and sounds of constructions were enough to drive even the most sane mad. He wondered if traffic ever thinned out. Although, it was New York City and was always busy.

As he approached the building, a familiar window with decals greeted him and he knew it was hers. He just had to climb the stairs to get to it first. One after another, he jogged up the flight and found her door. A simple, purple post-it note was attached, which put a damper on his plans.

"Carson,
Went to Armstrong House."

That was all it said, and he pulled it down. She obviously went with that bastard, and he knew it because they only went there every other week. The annoyance and frustration was evident on his face, but hidden as he rubbed it away.His hand went across his jaw, and it was almost as if the action gave him an idea. She did say where she was and he could easily hail a taxi to take him there. Why not, there was nothing better to do. Plus the look on that guy's face would make his week.

Retracing his steps, Carson found him self at the curb wih cars rushing by and feeling dangerously close to him. A simple had motion called a yellow cab next to him, a scruffy guy with his hair a a mess of strands that blended together to form the mop he called hair. A five o'clock shadow already apparent on his slack jaw which held a lit cigarette between a pair of thin lips.

"Whadda want?" He questioned, paying attention more to fumbling with a radio than getting money. Carson slid in the back seat, "The Armstrong House." He said and the driver gave him a look, "Do you have an address?" He asked, a tone of annoyance present. "Do I look like All I know is it's some jazz shit." Carson replied bluntly gaining a glare that could've sent daggers at him

"You're lucky I know where it is."

"You're lucky if i decide to pay you."

It only took about twenty minutes to get to the museum house, the appeal it showed to her idiotic friend was missing to him. It was a house, and nothing more to him. Just happens that some guy lived there with the same name as the one biker in France. The whole thing was stupid, but he had to put on a happy face for Olivia. He didn't need some music geek on his back because he looked at her the wrong way.

The two he was looking for were right there, talking with Olivia's back facing him. The grimace on Jasper's face was almost immediate and just made Carson smirk at him. His changing expression caused Olivia to start to turn around, but Carson got to her wrist. His arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her close to him and away from Jasper. This was his girl, and he needed to know it.

"Hey baby." He greeted her , looking over her shoulder to see her face. The disdain rolled off Jasper in waves, and all it did was increase the size of the smirk on Carson's face. For good measure he pressed a kiss to Olivia's lips, thinking how the pretty boy in front wished he could do that. Carson took pleasure in the thought.

[jasper hutchins]

The humid air, moist with the voices of Jazz and Livv, seemed to quickly evaporate. Jasper sensed it and looked down the hall. Just then, Carson came up behind Livvy and wrapped his arm around her waist, Jasper's only light pulled away right in front of him.

"Hey baby," he said, glaring at Jasper, the aura of agony around that "poor sap", and in triumph, pressed his lips against Olivia's. "I've gotta put it to this kid that she's mine. Not his, mine!" and so he did just that.

O THE VULGARITY! How profane he is! Just pushing him aside like that... Carson wrapped his arm around Livvy and held her close, her eyes rolling up to greet his. It all seemed to be rehearsed, really. something had always been off about the two of them getting together... wait... how did they meet again?

Jasper suddenly remembered and cringed, as Carson engaged him in conversation.

"How you doin', bud?" Carson asked, trying to sound somewhat interested in Jazz's affairs; which he was not in the least bit concerned with.

"Fine. and how about you, Undertaker Carly?" Jasper couldn't help but smirk.

Carson shot him a death glare. Jasper expected the Haymaker. Instead, he got the obligatory handshake. "Doin' great. It's hard training for a match against an opponent with no name, ya know?" A hearty laugh protruded forth from his chest, full of lust and zeal; typical boxer.

Livvy cringed as Carson held tighter. laughing usually meant something bad was about to happen. A tighter hold afterwards confirmed it. Jazzy's heart cringed as he saw what was happening, and tried to distract him.

"So the other day, I heard that you were fighting Gavin Drury... is that right?" Jasper had a way with words; thank God for diplomacy.

"O YES!!!" bellowed Carson, afterwards taking pause for laughter. "Fight got cancelled though. Old news really. Blew a drug test. Or so he says. Personally, I think he was frightened by my left-hand Haymaker, right-hand undercut combo. It's BEAST!" More laughter. This guy was REALLY getting on Jasper's nerves, and surely the only reason that Carson bragged now was because of the fact that the fight was no longer on. For some reason, Jasper had the feeling Carson was more scared than he was letting on of "Quickfists" Drury. O yes, he read the Sports articles in the Times. But only to see if his Yanks won, and if Undertaker a meter across from him lost. It seemed as if people favored Drury over Carson; considering Carson has 30-1 odds against Drury's 2-1.....

Suddenly, the phone rang, and Jasper dipped his hand into his pocket.

Carson watched him anxiously, waiting. He squeezed Livvy's arm again. "OW!" She whispered under her breath. "Shut up."

Jasper looked up finally. "Sorry I have to run off so quickly after having seen you again! Let me answer this real quick." Carson smirked. Finally. Scumbag.

Jasper turned and walked away, hearing the hurried whispers of that odd couple. In reflection, he probably shouldn't've brought up Carly's boxing career. Surely, he would inevitably feel that "killer combo" soon at the rate he was going. "How can I help it?" he thought, "i hate the guy!"

He hid by a nearby corner. "Hello?"

"JK? Hey man!" O boy, it was Polly; his brother. The last thing he needed to hear. "Apollo, not now! I need a few!" Jasper replied, more tersely than he had intended on doing. Apollo, normally not so bright, caught on. "Oh, ok, later. Bye." Jasper hung up, and peered over the corner.

Carson continued to hold her close, whispering into her ear. From the look on Livvy's face, it wasn't fit for human consumption. Then, the whispering stopped and they started to walk around the hall. It was a rather largesse hall, so it was hard to keep track of them. Jazzy gave chase. Finally, he hid behind a curtain as they admired the piano.

"So how was your excursion, babe?" he said, rather calmly considering the fury he held in him a couple minutes prior. "Fine. And stop calling me that. You know that it annoys me." Livvy sharply replied. He squeezed her, his powerful arms holding her an unwilling captive.

Quickly, she changed the subject. "Isn't this a beautiful piano?" she chimed. "Ya, I guess so." Boy he sounded so unsmart, the simpleton. His voice grinded against Jasper's ears like a mill stone to wheat. "You know, Louis himself bought this. Used it in his concerts and everything. It was the piano he rewrote "When The Saints Go Marching In" on. Inspiring music that." He scoffed. "Sure, if you're into all that gospel shit."

"Really, Carson, be more open." He laughed again, that bloated, self-serving laugh. "O, how it annoys me!" thought Jasper. "Open? Baby, I'm as open as it gets. present me an opportunity and I take it. Just like with you!" Again, the lusty laughter. Livvy glared at him. "I didn't present an opportunity, you made one." He took her hand. "Olivia, baby, you have to know something. Opportunity and luck are the same. You make both of them." More laughter. She looked at him, then in her nervousness, felt her neck. "We have a lot to talk about when we get home; you owe me a sandwich anyways."

[olivia christine wood]

OVER AND OVER
i fall for you.

“o-okay. you got it, one sandwich as soon as we get home,” she mumbled.

olivia could sense jasper watching them and she felt her cheeks going pink. whe hated being seen with carson holding onto her arm like that, talking to her like this. calling her ‘baby’ even though he knew it drove her crazy. she had asked him so many times not to call her baby, and yet he always did it every time he saw her.

“well, carson…would you like to see anything?” she asked.

“no, i don’t want to see any of the shit in this house. who cares, he’s just some guy with the same name as that french guy. it’s just a house for god’s sake and his music wasn’t even that good.”

“j-jazzy likes it…and i think he was talented. and oh my goodness, this is such a pretty house…” olivia grinned.

she tried to pull away from carson but obviously he was much stronger than her. she settled for just pulling him out of the room and up the stairs. there was a bedroom up here and it was nicely decorated too, one of the few other rooms up there.

“isn’t this pretty? it’s just so cozy, i love it.”

“yeah…you know, we could make it a little more cozy. intimate even…” carson said.

olivia felt her cheeks get warmer. she hated when carson would say things like that about her, especially out in public. even worse when jasper was around. she sighed and tried to smile at him, and look like she didn’t mind his little comment. “oh, yeah…maybe at home,” she mumbled. like that was actually appealing to her.

just then, jasper came in and olivia breathed a sigh of relief. “hey guys! there you are, i was wondering where olivia dragged you off to,” he said.

“oh…jasper, hey. i didn’t mean to run off like that, i’m sorry,” she said. jasper shrugged and she finally pulled her arm out of carson’s hold. she tried to move a little closer to jasper but he didn’t let her, wrapping his arm around her waist. she gave in, putting her arm around him.

“how nice of you to come back, we were missing the pleasure of your company,” carson said, sarcastic. of course, he couldn’t just be civil for once. had to pick on jasper. at least he hadn’t said anything that could be counted as a direct insult…yet. honestly at this point she just wanted to go home, be alone for a while maybe or just with jasper. or maybe only with carson, because he was still her boyfriend after all and he was nicer than when it was just the two of them together.




OVER AND OVER
i try not to.

word count: 453
tagged for: james/jazzy, Gloria/carson
lyrics from: OVER AND OVER | three days grace
outfit: effort.
notes: better.
credits: made by MADDIE. steal or modify and she’ll eat you.

[/blockquote][/font]

[carson bennett]

What a self-confident jackass that Jasper was. Carson could sense the air around him, to protect Olivia from him because he was just so big and scary. Being like that had Olivia in an attitude now and Carson shrugged pulling her as close as he could, taking pride that he was the one holding her and her fruity scene that radiated from her was embedded in his clothes by the end of the day and not his. Olivia gave him a look, almost like she knew he was having some satisfaction in causing an annoyed grimace on the guy's face. It wasn't his fault the look of utter disappointment and frustration on 'Jazzy's' face caused he's ego to expand just a little bit more each time he saw it.

"Ya' know Olivia, I need to talk to you. Alone." He said, glancing up to examine and take in the expression on Jasper's face. It wasn't like he needed the guys permission to talk to his own girlfriend in private. All that was needed was to face away from the accusing stare he always seemed to draw out from Jasper every time he was in a 5 foot radius. It wasn't like it was any of his business what he needed to say anyway. Jasper has no call on what Olivia did, and shouldn't try to interfere when they needed to talk. Although the talk wasn't necessary, he didn't need to be overheard by some airhead with a little crush who would try to stop what ever Carson wanted out of Olivia.

Carson could feel the effort Jasper was putting to overhear everything, and made sure he couldn't, "He's kinda ruining everything. I thought we were gonna have some time alone. Why can't you spend your day with me, you've been here before and like every weekend. When do I get some time with you?" He asked and she tried to shrug him off, "I wanted to come here." She mumbled and he tightened his grip on her, feeling her side get warmer from the pressure his hand gave off, "That ass doesn't need to be around you twenty four seven, and I'm sure he'll live if we could just leave and have a nice day together." He muttered, not really giving Olivia a choice in the matter.

Carson turned around, "Well, we've got to split. You can finish looking at the house yourself. " He told Jasper, who didn't look like he believed any of that statement. Carson could only smile, a smirk almost. They spent enough time together, people would get the wrong idea. Carson's girl going with more than one guy, how absurd. He could keep an eye on her easily, and no one ever stepped behind his back. His grip on any situation was top notch, and nothing got passed him. Jasper could understand that somewhat, he figured. A guy needs a handle on his girlfriend and it's been that way for decades.

[jasper hutchins]

"I've got the feeling I'll be seeing him again soon. And not in the best situation, either." That was what Jasper thought as he saw the look on the face of Carson, that incipiently stubborn man across him, as his goodbye, really a badly concealed atttempt to spew venom at him, dripped from his mouth.

"Well, we've got to split. You can finish looking at the house yourself."

Carson possessively wrapped his arms around Livvy, who had no choice but to co-operate. "Why does he feel the need to pee on her stick in front of me? It's just disgusting." thought Jasper as he watched the scene in front of him. It entertained him really to see Carly so worked up over his own (by admittance) slight presence. Livvy's eyes smiled at Jasper, then upon the deathly serious glare of Carson, looked back up at him. Satisfied with her obedience, Carson turned to leave with Livvy in tow. "Well c'mon now babe, You've had your fun today. Besides, you owe me a few things anyway." Another laugh erupted from his muscular chest, forcing a cringe from Livvy. She knew what was coming.

"Save me." she mouthed.

Jasper, hesitant, could only give her a look of pain and mutual sorrow as he turned away.

Immediately, Jasper found himself in deep thought. "Now why would she say something like that? Save me... To be certain, Carly had a rough side, but even he has to be civil every once in a blue moon....... right? Wait.... was it even possible for him to be civil?..... NAH; I could see why she would say that now."

He walked through the house, unseeing. How could he after Carson left his suffocating aura in it? It seemed to sap the life out of everything around him; family pictures suddenly seemed a lot paler than before; the instruments, once pristine, suddenly showed signs of tarnish. Even the art, which Livvy loved, seemed to him grotesque and unsightly in his eyes.

"I have to get out of here."

Quickly, he found the door and opened it. "How pleasant... It's raining." Jasper flipped up the collar on his jacket, his usual hoodie M.I.A. and probably in Livvy's possession. She had a tendency to take his hoodies when he wasn't looking. It was annoying yes, but it was really very cute; endearing too. Endearing. "That's a good word to describe it," he thought aloud. He fingered the key with the necklace in his pocket as he walked faster to beat the rain. In doing so, he bumped into someone, who resembled his uncle Scott. "O i'm so sorry Uncle Sco--!" "No, my fault. Shouldn't be reading the Journal and walking at once." The man adjusted his glasses. "and i'm pretty sure you're not my nephew.... Good day to you!"

Jasper walked away. "What an odd bird, that man." In speaking of odd birds... what was Carson putting Livvy through? Surely that look and her words had a significance.

"Save me....." What could that mean?