Layla and Sarah took the lead up to the door, knowing exactly what to expect. Alex fit in almost anywhere. He wasn't the slightest bit uncomfortable. Nick on the other hand, was a little wary of the scene. Not only did he have to keep trying to impress Layla, but now he had a whole party of people to worry about.

"Just relax and be your friendly selves," Layla assured, making the most eye contact with Nick.

He smiled, feeling a little more assured; but nothing, not even a sweet look from Layla, could have prepared him for what he was about to enter. Once the door was opened, their ears were greeted by the sound of psychedelic rock; their eyes were greeted by the sight of people that were absolutely mellow and friendly looking and their noses were greeted by a smell that wasn't unusual but it wasn't common either.

(The song ‘Magic Carpet Ride’ is playing)

"Alex, are you gonna be okay?" Nick asked, concerned about his friend.

"I'll be fine."

"Alex, there's some people I wanna introduce you to. Nick, hang with Layla for a while." Sarah secretly gave Nick a wink and grabbed Alex's hand, pulling him towards a large group of guys.

Layla watched as Nick's eyes wandered his surroundings. As far as she knew, their two worlds were absolutely different. For someone who'd been around the world, he seemed so caged and sheltered. "Follow me," she smiled.

Nick tore his gaze away from this unknown territory and took Layla's outstretched hand. "Where are we going?"

"Just trust me." She led the way towards a balcony that overlooked the roaring ocean. "It's so gorgeous," he breathed.

"You like the water?"

"Are you kidding? I could spend my entire days in the ocean. If I wasn't swimming, I'd be on my boat."

"You have a boat?"

"Yep, I bought it a while ago. I just drive it out into the middle of nowhere sometimes so I can just get lost in its beauty."

She admired his honesty. Here was a young man that had lived the life of an older adult and he still managed to keep that youthfulness. His eyes shone the innocence of a child, but she was sure she couldn't say the same for his mind. "So, Nick, what's your usual scene? I'm almost positive that this isn't it," she giggled, waving her hand towards the party inside.

"Nah, not normally," he smiled. "I'll sometimes head to the nightclubs or sometimes I'll just hang at my place...or the hotel room...depends on if we're on tour or not. I try to stay away from the party scene when I'm on the road. Alex needs support after everything he's been through."

"Sarah told me a little about that. It's one of the reasons I wasn't sure if I should invite you guys or not. I figured since you were both here, he'd be okay."

"He should be fine. It's when bartenders start shoving drinks in his face that he's not okay." He looked deep into her eyes, just now realizing how easily he was talking to her. It's as though he forgot how beautiful she was. "So, tell me about yourself."

"Well, this whole thing is kinda me. I don't go to the clubs, I don't do the 'in' thing...I guess you could say I don't exist in the moment," she laughed.

"Do you not want to?"

"I think I'm just more comfortable being how I am."

"How do you know what you are if you haven't given anything else a chance?"

"Ah, very wise you are," she grinned. "Everyone I've ever hung with, Sarah being the exception, has been like me, so I never felt the need to be any other way."

(The song ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ begins to play)

"I can understand that. If I never met up with the guys, I don’t know what I'd be like."

She looked around. "If you can keep a secret, I'll tell ya something." His eyes lit up a little and he shook his head yes. She moved dangerously close to him, sending shivers up and down his body. "I'm not totally ignorant about the present. I keep a heads up on what's going on. I kinda have to with the business I'm in. I just view things as a lot simpler back when. Front doors didn't have to be locked. Kids could go out and play without the worry of being taken. Drugs may have been around but I don't think they were anywhere near as destructive as they are today. And then there's the music. Don't get me wrong, I'm sure you guys are great." Nick began to blush a little and looked down. "But the music back then was so fresh and new. Rock and Roll had just entered the scene the decade before and the possibilities were endless. Now it seems like the industry is just trying to repeat itself and make something better out of a type of music that was already perfected."

"Well, I can only speak for myself and my group. We're not trying to perfect anything. We just want to do what makes us happy, hopefully making other people happy along the way."

"At least you're in it for an honest reason then, not just to make a quick buck. I totally respect that."

"Layla, I didn't know you were here!" They both turned around at the sound of the exasperated voice.

"Sabra, how are you?"

"Layla, Jasper needs to talk with you." The girl suddenly took note of the new guest. "Who's your friend?"

"Sabra, this is Nick. He's a friend of Sarah's. Nick, this is Sabra, girlfriend to my best friend."

"It’s nice to meet you. Layla, you go talk to Jasper and I'll keep your friend company."

"Are you okay with that?"

Nick was extremely uncomfortable with it, but didn't want to ruin anything. After all, he was only a guest. "Yeah, that's fine."

"I'll be right back," she promised.

There was an awkward silence between the two after Layla left. Sabra grinned as Nick turned back to the ocean. "So, Nick, how do you feel about getting high and then fucking?"

Nick's eyes widened and his head whipped around immediately. He knew this would be a long night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

(The song ‘Heroin’ is playing)

Layla felt her heart pound as she approached the door, not knowing what kind of state Jasper would be in. She rounded the corner of the doorway, seeing he was sprawled out on the couch with a bottle of Absolute. "When is it gonna end?" she managed to get out.

"The party of life never ends," he replied knowingly.

"Don't you understand what you're doing? At first it was about being individuals and having fun. It's not fun with you anymore."

"The door can easily hit you in the ass if you keep it up. I didn't pay good money for this high only to have it shot down."

She composed herself, not wanting her temper to come out. "Sarah brought some friends, two guys, seem really nice."

"Are you keeping one of them company?"

"I'm talking with one. The other is her boyfriend."

"Well, then, you'd better scat and return to..." He paused, waiting for her to give a name.

"Nick, his name is Nick. Sabra's keeping him company at the moment."

"Is he one of us?"

"No, he's nothing like us."

"Then you definitely don't want to leave him alone with her for an extensive length of time." He looked longingly at her, as if trying to memorize every inch. "You can go now. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

She closed her eyes, shaking her head sadly in the process. "You'll never change." With that, she walked away.

"But that's what you love about me," he whispered. "I don't change for anyone."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Layla let the tears fall from her eyes, almost blinding her sight. That's when it happened. Thud

"I'm so sorry," soothed a male's voice.

"No, it's my fault," she apologized. "I should look where I'm going."

He bent down a little, tilting his head to the side and looking into her beautiful eyes. "It's understandable why you couldn't. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, just a misunderstanding with a friend."

He looked up; taking note of the direction she seemed to be coming from. "Are you friends with Jasper?"

She laughed lightly. "Who isn't? Look, if you're going to see him, be my guest. He should be all baked and ready for ya. I have to go, someone's waiting for me." She began to walk away quickly, but suddenly turned around when she reached the stairs. "Sorry I bumped into you," she said sweetly, and then continued down the stairs.

"By the way, my name is Devon!" the man yelled, but figured it was too late.