Jasper I

*Smash* was the sound of a vodka bottle as it hit the ground falling from Jasper's hand. The noise got him on his feet no longer half asleep thrown over the couch like a blanket.

"Welp need a refill I guess" jasper joked laughing to himself. Dizzy, with double vision he slowly made his way to the fridge and fell to the ground like a magnet to metal. He was out like a light and was woke up,

"Are you kidding me Jasper? Get up man I can't keep picking you up off the ground every night. I know things are rough but you can't be drinking all the time." North said pulling Jasper up from laying to now sitting. North was Jasper's roommate and they'd been friends as long as they can remember. Jasper looked at the time on the microwave and seen he was out for three hours or at least he thought. He didn't really pay attention to much being wasted all the time of day. Finally standing Jasper pulled the fridge open getting blinded from the light,

"No more alcohol" he thought.

"Hey, I'm gonna run to the store, you need anything?"

"Uh yeah wanna pick me up a lighter and a bag of jerky" North said. Jasper nodded and grabbed his jacket and wallet off the table before heading towards the door.

"Why are you going to the store?"

"Just for some chips or something I'll see when I get there" Jasper lied. North knew too well that Jasper was going to the liquor store like almost every other night. "You want a ride? We can probably be there and back before Penelope gets here" North said. Penelope was North's eight month long girlfriend who spent all her time away from work over.

"Nah don't worry about it" Jasper said leaving and starting his walk. He didn't have a vehicle himself, he never did own one. He did have his license though, that is until he lost it from a DUI. They had already lived downtown so the liquor store wasn't very far of a walk for him anyways. Ten minutes later the store bell rang as he walked in, he got the same thing every day. Getting to the register he put down a twenty sixer of vodka and gave a fake smile to the cashier.

"Are you guys hiring?" Jasper asked and the cashier laughed loud like a hyena. Jasper stood confused -

"Oh I'm sorry, I thought you were joking. It's just you're in here everyday buying the same bottle, are you ever sober?" The cashier said ringing the bottle through and placing it in a paper bag. "Thank you" Jasper replied ignoring the cashiers comment, giving him money and taking the vodka with the other hand. On the way back home he thought about how he needed and wanted a job. He got fired two months prior and had been on welfare without North being aware. He would leave the house before North and come back once he seen his car leave. North just figured he always got off before him and started drinking then. If he had any days off Jasper would just go out and stay at a bar all day. Jasper walked into the house and North shouted

"Hey man you got back just in time for the game!" North was obsessed with hockey. Jasper didn't really care for sports but he'd get into about half way through a bottle.

"Did you get that stuff for me?"

"ah shit man, I totally forgot. Want me to run back?"

"Don't worry, it's all good. You wanna come watch the game with us? Penelope is here."

"No you two enjoy your time together, I'm going to head to my room. Hey Penny."

"Hey Jasper" Penelope answered and Jasper went to his room. Sliding the paper bag off the bottle he balled it up and tossed it in the corner with more than fifty others. Sitting down he turned on his radio and some glam metal came on. He took off the cap to the vodka and took a swig looking at a picture frame next to him. It was of him and his grandma who had been sick of cancer for almost a year now. A tear rolled down his left cheek as he took another swig. Next to that picture frame was another with a picture of him and his ex-girlfriend Tessa. She had left him shortly after he heard about his grandmother and he started heavy drinking. He found himself so stupid now to think she was the love of his life when she left him in the worse time of it. A third swig and another tear before he took the picture frame with him and Tessa throwing it to the ground. After a fourth swig he began to feel hungry so he went out to the kitchen. He decided to have left over spaghetti and put it in the microwave when Penelope entered the room.

"Hey Jasper, how've you been doing?"

"Good, good, you?

"Don't lie. It's okay to not be good, you can't always be. Me and North are always here for you Jasper" Penelope said placing a comforting hand on his arm. They were about a foot away from each other now and Jasper felt something he hadn't in awhile.

"Look I know you don't like me much but-"

"I like you, I just keep to myself, you know?" Jasper told her. Not knowing if it was the fact no one (especially a girl) had been there for him since Tessa. Maybe it was the fact he was a bit tipsy probably both of those things but he kissed her. She pushed away from him and said

"What the hell are you doing?" North said as he walked in. He ran at Jasper and pushed him -

"You piece of shit, you're supposed to be my best friend" he shouted. Jasper pushed back and North fell back into the table hitting his head. He held onto his head where the pain was before stepping back up and pinning Jasper to the floor. He swung a left and a right and then a left again connecting to Jasper's face. It was already swelling and his nose began to gush blood as Penelope pulled North off of him.

"Stop baby, that's enough!" she screamed. North got back breathing heavily and said "Get out you Irish fool, I never wanna see your face again." Jasper couldn't believe what he had just done, he grabbed his jacket and bottle then was leaving.

"Jasper don't leave, I don't want to be in between you two" Penelope said.

"Let him go. He has nobody left and it's his own fault" North said pulling Penelope back inside closing the door. Jasper made his way down the driveway not having a clue where he was heading. Then the microwave beeped for the finished left over spaghetti.