Texts From Last Night By ...

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Texts From Last Night By EverythingIDo
Chapter One: Tour de Franzia
May 2013
I walked down to the beach, a large bonfire acting as my Northern star. As I drew
closer, the people that had helped me find myself came into view and I smiled.
Though everyone else had arrived earlier in the day, I hadn't been able to get a
flight out of New York until late that afternoon, so I was a little late to what I was
sure would be first of many parties during the upcoming week of celebrating all
things Jasper and Alice.
The past five years had changed us; we'd grown older, gotten real jobs, moved to
opposite ends of the globe, and fallen in love. The only constant in our crazy lives
was this: our friendship that lasted through four outrageous years of college and
into our roaring 20s.
As I approached the crackling bonfire, the sand rustled beneath my feet and I
saw up close the faces of the people who knew me better than I knew myself.
The people I had spent my first nights away from home with and complained
about cranky professors to, the people I shared countless nights I can't
remember with and, most importantly, the people I would always consider my
soul mates.
A little over a year ago, Jasper had finally swallowed his fears and popped the
question to our fair Alice. Finally, after a year and a half of planning, the event
was here: their wedding in Charleston, South Carolina.
It wasthe first time we would all be together in the same place since the summer
after our graduation from Yale when we had spent two weeks at the beach house
Emmett's parents owned off the coast of North Carolina, drinking and laughing
and saying goodbye to our reckless college years and each other.
Alice, always the obsessive-compulsive planner, was the master of ceremonies for
the week ahead, right up until the minute she and Jasper were to say 'I do.'
Because it was her wedding and she had been planning it since birth, no one
dared to even think about making his or her own plans. We had learned quickly
not to question Alice. None of the other guests or members of the wedding party
were arriving until Friday, the six of us having coordinated our calendars a year in
advance to spend a few days just being together again before two members of
our tight knit group became a unit for all of eternity.
"Swan's here!" Emmett bellowed as I came into view. He stood and lumbered
over to me after putting his red Solo cup onto the ground for safe keeping,
wrapping his big arms around my waist and lifting me off the ground in a big bear
hug.
I smiled; this was familiar. "Put me down, McCarty," I squealed, having a little
trouble breathing due to his mass of arm muscles and their tightness around my
midsection.
He chuckled and released me. "You're looking hot, Swan. Look out, Rose, you
might have a little competition," he joked, winking in his girlfriend's direction.
"Yeah, you better stay on your game," I said, carrying on with the joke. Rose
shook her head back and forth in a knowing way at Emmett's typical actions.
By now, everyone else was standing to greet me. Alice was the first to move in,
squealing and jumping up into my arms like a monkey. "I'm so glad you're finally
here!"
I grinned and held my best friend to me; living on separate ends of the country
had made me miss her desperately. "I've missed you, A," I said as she
unwrapped herself from me.
"Look what Em bought," Jasper said from behind the small crowd surrounding
me. I looked over Rosalie's shoulder to check it out; he had a box of the terrible
boxed wine, Franzia, in each hand.
Oh shit. "You didn't..." I said fearfully, shooting daggers in Emmett's direction.
Edward piped up from my right side as he handed me a red cup of my own. "Of
course he did," he said, "and you have some catching up to do." After my cup
was securely within my grip, Edward greeted me with a hug as well, though he
didn't attempt cutting off my air supply like Emmett. So kind of him.
"Tour de Franzia, round," she paused, unsure of how many years this tradition
had been carrying on, "five or six?" Alice announced as she held her plastic cup
up in a toast. Apparently we were going to start the week off just like many
weekends in college; with terrible boxed wine that we used to think was hilarious
and ironic.
None of us bothered to figure out the correct year as we nodded in agreement,
joining our cups together and cheering.
I giggled and took a sip, the sour liquid coating my throat. "It's only fitting,"
Jasper added, "after all, Franzia is what what brought us all together."
xXx
September 2006, Freshman Year
Bella's POV
(518): apparently people get pissed when you take the bag of wine out of the
franzia box and put it in your purse before leaving the party
I warily followed my roommates, Alice and Rosalie, across campus towards the
rambunctious fraternity house. Flashes of reminders from Renee and Charlie that
I be careful about leaving my drink unattended and avoiding guys that seemed
'sketchy' ran through my mind.
I could hear the rented 80s cover band playing from the back yard. On the front
of the house a sign had been hung announcing the event of the evening, 'Sigma
Pi Alpha presents: Tour de Franzia 2006.'
It was mine and Alice's first fraternity party. Jasper, Rosalie's twin brother who
we had yet to meet because of his crazy pledge process, had invited the three of
us. Only Rose, who had been to the house a couple of times before to see her
brother on the rare occasion he wasn't being ordered around by the brothers,
knew what to expect. Apparently, the only beverage available for the entire
evening was a terrible boxed wine, carrying on a yearly tradition of at least five
years. They thought it was original and ironic. I thought it was an opportunity for
free alcohol.
I looked at Alice to gauge her initial reaction. Her face read an emotion of
excitement and apprehension; I felt roughly the same way. We headed towards
the door, Rose in front with her head held regally, and were greeted with red solo
cups full of the liquid of honor.
"Welcome to Sigma Pi Alpha, ladies," a burly guy with massive forearms
welcomed us as we stepped through the front door. He seemed immediately in
awe of Rose. "I'm Emmett."
"Hi," Alice stepped forward and extended her hand, "I'm Alice Brandon. This is
Bella Swan," she gestured towards me, "and Rosalie, Jasper Hale's twin?"
"Ah," he said, recognition flashing across his face. "The infamous and beautiful,
Rosalie Hale. Off limits, of course. Damn."
"What?" Rose seemed appalled.
The guy boomed with laughter. "Jasper's one of my pledge brothers. He
threatened us all on our pledge retreat last weekend. Apparently, we touch you,
we lose the, uh, ability to reproduce."
Rose giggled. "I love my brother and his good intentions," she said, "but you're
hot." For extra emphasis, she winked.
He grinned and stood up straighter. "Damn straight," he agreed proudly. Clearly
he didn't have an ego problem. "Well, ladies, enjoy yourselves. Jasper is manning
the Franzia pong tables downstairs." With the instructions, we turned and went in
search of Jasper.
"Franzia pong?" I yelled to Rose over the music as we fought through the
inebriated, loud crowd on our way towards the door that led to the basement of
the house.
Rose nodded. "Beer pong with that boxed wine shit. They think it's clever," she
seemed annoyed. I didn't know her that well yet, but, judging by the high
number of designer bags in her closet, she was probably inclined towards more
expensive wine that had been aged in wine cellars for decades.
I chuckled. This. was. awesome.
When we arrived downstairs, Rose spotted her brother instantly and dragged us
over to meet him. Introductions were made and I couldn't be sure, but I think
Alice fell in love on the spot.
"You ladies wanna play?" Jasper gestured to an empty table. Alice instantly
agreed, pairing off onto a team with Jasper, while and Rose and I followed suit,
forming a team of our own.
I was shocked by my superior Franzia pong skills. Jasper said something about
beginner's luck, but I disagreed. My clumsiness and overall lack of hand eye
coordination meant only one thing: my talent in life was, clearly, drinking games
that involved ping pong balls. College was going to be incredible.
After the first game (Alice and Jasper won), a beautiful guy with a mess of bronze
hair approached us. The owner of that head of hair and Jasper did the man
handshake and he was introduced as "Edward, one of my other pledge brothers."
I was suddenly in lust.
I heard the boys discussing an emergency situation involving solo cups that
required Jasper's assistance, so Edward joined Alice's team and the game
resumed.
Somewhere between midnight and two a.m., things started to get fuzzy. All I
remembered was playing several rounds of Franzia pong and then going out back
to hear the band play with Rose and Alice once Edward left for 'pledge duty'
upstairs.
Things were a little less fuzzy beginning around two thirty a.m., I guess Alice and
Rose cut me off after a while and I came out of my mini blackout. Yes, I was
being that girl.
"I'm hungry," I announced at the same time Emmett and Jasper approached us.
Edward was trailing behind them, attempting to remove a blond bimbo from
where she had attached herself to the right side of his body like a leech.
Emmett grinned. "I'm always hungry, Swan!"
"We're officially off pledge duty for now," Jasper added, "Do you ladies wanna go
grab a bite?"
Alice bounced up and down, playing it off as 'getting into the music' or
something.
"Let's go," Rosalie answered for all of us.
Once we were sitting in the large, round booth at a diner a few blocks away that I
think we walked to, the conversation quickly began to flow. We learned each
others hometowns and that the three boys were roommates in the dorm across
from ours. They had decided to pledge the fraternity in the fall so that by the
time rush came around for the ladies in the spring, they could participate in the
chauvinistic festivities that went along with it. Typical men.
After we ate, I looked into my purse to pull out my wallet and was greeted by a
plastic bag filled with a pink liquid. 'No wonder it had been so heavy on the way
over,' I thought. I pulled it out, a questioning look on my face as I held it up for
examination. "Uh, guys?"
"Oh my God," Rose shot me a look of disgust while the other four began to laugh
hysterically. I'm glad I was around to provide comic relief.
"What?" I asked, waiting for an explanation.
"Swan," Emmett gasped between his laughter, "you stole a bag of Franzia from
my fraternity."
I dropped it on the table with a bang, knocking a fork into Alice's lap beside me.
"No I didn't. Someone must have put it in here when I wasn't looking."
"You did," Alice added, her laughter starting to fade.
"What? When?"
"After your last game of Franzia pong," Edward said with a smirk. "You said it was
your 'trophy for being kick ass with balls and cups'."
My mouth gaped. "Shit," was the only word I could think of. "Do you think
anyone noticed?"
"Nah," Jasper patted me on the shoulder with a reassuring smile.
I admitted to myself that it was actually kind of hilarious and made a mental note
to put it up after we got back to the dorm. It didn't look like it had been opened
after it was removed from the cardboard box it came in so maybe it would last a
few weeks in the mini fridge that Renee had insisted we buy at Target on our way
into town. I'm sure this wasn't the way she had envisioned me using my new
appliance, but what she didn't know would definitely not hurt her.
xXx
"I miss Franzia nights," Alice whined as she leaned her head onto my shoulder.
By now, we were sitting on the logs that had been placed around the campfire
before my arrival. Emmett and Rose were sharing a log, his arm tossed around
her shoulders as she cuddled in his side; it was a rare moment in time where
they weren't either all over each other or bickering. Edward was next to them on
a log by himself, his guitar propped up on his knee as his long fingers strummed
against the strings, a calm melody floating into the air. Jasper was inside getting
snacks because Emmett was, not surprisingly, hungry, and Alice and I were
sitting together on a log.
I nodded in agreement. "Remember that Sunday after Tour de Franzia
sophomore year?"
Alice groaned. "I wish I didn't."
"Pretty sure I was hungover all day..." Edward said.
"Me too!" Alice agreed. "I had to skip chapter."
"I didn't get off the sofa at the guy's apartment all day," Rose chimed in, sitting
up out of Emmett's grasp.
Jasper had returned with snacks and Emmett was too enthralled with the food in
front of him to add a comment. After catching on to our conversation, Jasper just
groaned and sat down, shaking his head back and forth at the memory.
xXx
September 2007, Sophomore Year
Jasper's POV
(203): franzia sundays are my new favorite holiday
Alice, Rose, and Bella had learned the art of pre-gaming by November of our
freshmen year, so by the time they showed up at the party around eleven, it was
game on. Bella, as usual, exhibited her Franzia pong skills, occasionally throwing
in a flip cup victory, and everyone else reaped the rewards.
Around two a.m., Alice started to get a little more touchy-feely than normal. For
the past eight months or so, we had been dancing around each other in a weird
game of cat and mouse. She would flirt, I would flirt, we would occasionally make
out when we had both been over-served, but nothing beyond that. I swore it
would be the death of me. To make matters worse, somewhere along the way I
had picked up morals and didn't want to sleep with my friend while we were both
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