Okay, things happen in this chapter.

Sun-dress crouched on the ground, looking at the two dead men Jasper had drained dry. Smoking, and leaning against the alley, Jasper doesn't spare her a look. He could feel the slight curiosity, if even boredom, from her.

She wasn't interested in feeding. "You said you didn't drink human." He says, and Sun-dress nods, reaching out and poking one on their forehead.

"Oh, I don't. I'll go and get a stray cat or something later." She says, giving another poke and glances at him, looking. Jasper thought about the idea of eating cats. It appalled him – they probably had more diseases then humans did. Though less diseases then a whore. Still – it'd take a lot for him to eat animals; maybe if he was starving, or brain-washed. He glances at Sun-dress – what was with her?

She was mentioning around her own mouth. "You got a little …." She mentions around her mouth again, and Jasper reaches up to swipe a hand over his, pulling it back and seeing the blood. Sloppy much?

"Oh, well, damn. Grab us one of those shirts," Jasper muttered, and made a face at his dirty hand while Sun-dress ripped a shirt from one of the deceased, and walked over and handed it to him. "Ta, luv." He said off-handed, but paused when he heard the girl giggle and felt how pleased she was. "Hey, I didn't mean anythin'-" He went to correct himself, and clamped his lips shut to save his smoke, which the girl had flicked teasingly.

"I know that!" She says quickly, and rocks back on her heels. "Just let a girl dream …." Jasper snorts.

"Hah, girl." He says, and glances at Sun-dress when she stops rocking instantly, shooting out panic and upset and fear, he sighs. "I didn't mean anythin' by that either." He lies, and Sun-dress just nods, now hurt and almost scared. "… Okay; so now I feel like sh-crap. What'll make you be as annoyin' as normal, sun-dress?" Jasper says gruffly, and Sun-dress mumbles and shrugs, a small bit of hope inside her. "What? Say it again?"

"I just … could you stop running?"

"Um, no."

"Oh … poop."

Jasper rolled his eyes as her usual pouting, and then gets ready to bolt in the other direction.

"On that note; see ya!"

–

Jasper strums his guitar, hard. Singing loudly and without a care for the notes.

He was pissed because he didn't know where his wallet went, and he forgot what city he was in, and he was in the slums so he could do whatever the fuck he wanted. No one spoke in the back streets anyway. Especially if Jasper was the topic of conversation.

Man – he loved the poor end of big cities, and even if the name escaped him, he knew this city was big. The feelings just sort of swirled inside of him, powering the chaos he revelled in. But slums were great, really, he loved them ever since he was a human solider; the working girls, the cheap tobacco, the cheap other stuff, the unquestioned gunshots, the blind eye to when Jasper felt the need to pick on someone … so good.

"I'm surrounded by liars, everywhere I turn," He booms, knowing his voice wasn't exactly something that should be sung at such a volume, jumping around the roof, surrounded by a circle of dead bodies, all drained dry. "I'm surrounded by imposters everywhere I turn," He continues, and stops dead as soon as the breeze blows pitifully in his direction. "I'm surrounded by – fuck."

Yellow sun-dress. He could almost smell the naïve, innocent happiness, instead of just feeling it. He turns, towards the only chimney his erratic jumping hadn't turned him to.

She peeked out from behind the brick pillar, blinking at him. He wonders for a moment how he could have missed her; her horrid yellow dress practically glowed in the glaring clouded sky.

"… Gonna stop bein' as creepy as normal and step out?" He asked. She might as well stop her unnerving peeking. Yellow sun-dress grins, and runs over to him without another word needed.

"I wanted to keep you company!" She says brightly. Jasper looks at her, beginning to pat himself down; before stopping. No smokes; that was the original reason he hunted down the skipping school-children that surrounded them. Skippers had smokes; usually. So it seemed those brats weren't even good skippers, and Jasper got no smokes. Plus he had to put up with Sun-dress. He felt a bad mood approaching.

"Here!" The sun-dress continues, holding out a … cigarette packet. "Those guys dropped them when they saw you!" She explains, pointing around them. Jasper looks at the packet closely, weighing their worth to him.

He takes those; she follows him again, this time thinking she could walk next to him, like she wasn't some sort of stalker. But he doesn't take them, she'll follow him anyway. It was just what she did.

Fuck it. Maybe he should care more about the fact that she followed him then just running away from her – but he didn't. Maybe it was an undead thing. Who knew? He didn't run into many of his kind these days.

"Ta," He says, grudgingly, and takes the packet with a tight nod, taking no time in lighting up and heading for the edge of the roof. A ciggy was always worth it – at least until he could be bothered to quit. Yellow sun-dress, predictably, follows him, smiling.

Jasper was slightly uncomfortable with the situation. He planned on going and blowing some time before night; when he could go flinch some money, or burn down a building, but what was he going to do with a girl with him?

Sure; she was eccentric and a complete stalker … but he had to show girls a good time, right? That's what his ma taught him.

And last time he checked, girls didn't like stealing or burning. Girls were boring.

"Wanna go to the pub?" He asked, slightly lost as to why he was letting the stalking girl follow him. Wait; he just answered his own question – ma taught him to treat a woman right. Even if it was a mini-woman. In a bright yellow dress. That stalked him.

"'Kay!"

Well; that was easy.

–

Jasper shifts slightly away from Yellow sun-dress – she reminded him of her name, again, but he wasn't listening – as the waitress gives them the usual spiel.

"… Just give me a beer." Jasper says, and doesn't bother with apologies when he realises he's interrupted the woman. She gives a nod anyway, and jolts the order down, then turns to sun-dress with a smile. Looks like the woman liked the idea of another woman in the pub, if Jasper was feeling relief. And he was. Though she wasn't really in the company of another woman anyway.

Sun-dress, though, was busy picking over the menu. Consider it was a page long, Jasper didn't really know if there was anything to consider. "Um … a … oh! Strawberry Surprise! That's sounds nice!" She beams at the woman who gives her a warmer nod and writes the order carefully.

"Coming right up!" She says, and walks off. Jasper gives a yawn, and glances at Yellow sun-dress; who catches his look and smiles. Jasper looks away.

"So …." He begins; and wasn't quite sure how to end. He was starting, though, to question the little sanity he had, that the wars had let him keep. Yellow sun-dress, though, gives him a sheepish look, and a nervous feeling.

"Question time?" She asked, and Jasper shrugged.

"Sure – why the hell do you follow me?" He snaps, composure changing completely to anger. The little darling asked for questions. She looks at the table, and tracing the grain of the wood.

"Well … when I was first … one of Us … I saw you – so I decided to find you! Found you!" She said, cheerfully, and pointed at Jasper, smiling. Jasper scowled.

"Do you know how creepy you sound? Besides; why don't you see someone else and find them!" He mimics her cheerful tone, which made him sound angrier than he intended. Sun-dress shrugs though, her nervousness increasing.

"But … I don't see anyone like you …." She mumbles, and Jasper feels a long-dry vein in his forehead throb.

"What do you mean by seein'!" He demands, stopping himself from shaking the cryptic girl. Sun-dress blinks.

"Um … I see things … you know; like visions." She says the last word in a whisper, leaning closer to him, more nervous than ever. Jasper leans back.

"… What?" He snaps, utterly confused. Sun-dress sighs.

"The future. I usually see only a few days or hours ahead … but the first time I really saw, when I was first one of us, it was me and you! And we were walking together!" She says, back to her cheerful happy self, and Jasper blinks.

"Walkin' together? You know you already make me walk with you, right? Maybe you saw that. Now you can leave me alone!" He says, though he puts on a more convincing act of being fake-happy, but he drops the BS smile as soon as he finishes speaking. Sun-dress shakes her head, Jasper's mockery not affecting her.

"Oh, no! We haven't walked like the way I see us, yet! You act much different than now. So it still hadn't happened! But I'm willing to wait …." Sun-dress says the last part quietly, so he ignores her for the more important things she says.

"Different? You can't change me. Don't try." He says, suddenly very angry. The nerve! She's the stalking little-

"Oh, no! I don't try at all!" Sun-dress says, and smiles at Jasper. "You change by your own free will." She assures him, looking happy, and Jasper scowls, very not happy with the information. What was wrong with the way he was now, hm? He didn't feel too much like changing himself right now. Blood and guts was a part of him. But something still bugged Jasper.

"… Prove it." He says suddenly, and Sun-dress blinks.

"I'm sorry, what?" She asks, and Jasper gestures at her.

"Prove you can see the future. Hacks are a dime a dozen." He says, critically, and Sun-dress oozes offence and anger.

"I'm not lying!" She insists, glaring at him for once. Jasper scoffs. "I'm not! …." Sun-dress stares into Jasper's unimpressed face. "… The waitress drops your drink. She falls and it breaks. But I don't care because it's not mine." She sniffs and turns her head away while crossing her arms, and Jasper's eyes narrow, while he rolls his eyes at her childishness.

"You …."

Crash! Thump!

"Ah!"

"Irene; you alright?"

Jasper turns in his seat … the waitress was on the floor, glass surrounding her … and her was only holding a deep red drink with an umbrella in it. Definitely not Jasper's; and the drink smelt strongly of strawberries ….

"See?" Sun-dress says, sounding proud. Jasper couldn't give a flying fuck. The girl – Irene, she was bleeding … right into Sun-dresses drink, which she clutched under her dripping chin, in her hand, the only hand that she didn't try and catch herself with. Typical; the sun-dress got a good dose of something she could drink in hers, and Jasper's was all over the floor.

Still … Jasper cleared his suddenly parched throat, licked his lips, and made to get up.

"No!" A small hand pushed his chest, and Jasper glared at the Yellow sun-dress. She was glaring right back, and holding him in place. "Don't you dare! I'm going to help her; you stay right put!" She warns, and Jasper scowls, about to protest. Just a little nip wouldn't hurt! "No!" She cuts him off, "I let you drink those other guys because they were bad people, and they were pushing that girl … that girl! Irene's that girl from before! I'm helping her!" Sun-dress says, and before Jasper could actually work out what she was saying; Sun-dress was across the room and helping Irene carefully to her feet, while holding her breath. Jasper rolled his eyes as he too held his breath.

Then Jasper realised Irene should have looked familiar. She was the girl that they had helped before, the one being pushed around by those dearly Jasper-style departed.

"You okay?" Sun-dress asks Irene from across the room, while Jasper broods in his seat. Damn … he was thirsty. What gave her the right to boss him around? He wasn't a push-over … though that would explain why he tolerated her.

Irene, instead of answering, runs over to Jasper, and quickly puts Sun-dresses drink on the table, before turning to where the yellow-clad lady had thrown herself into Jasper's lap, just before he planned on leaping at Irene, and smiling.

"Fine! Just let me clean up – I'm sorry about the drink; I'll get you a fresh one – I might've actually got some blood in yours-"

"It's fine! I don't think you did!" Sun-dress says, discreetly putting all her weight into elbowing Jasper to keep him in place. Jasper, miffed that the lady had managed to actually keep him pinned, both tried to look casual and throw her off of him at the same time. But so far he was having no luck digging his fingers into her back and pushing.

"Okay … um, hang on!" Irene says, and trots off, hands pressed to her bleeding chin, the smell of blood fanning away slowly.

"… You 'kay?" Sun-dress asks, getting up and looking at Jasper with concern rolling off her. Jasper gives a short nod, guessing that maybe restraining him was a good idea. Self-control was never one of his strong points, and a bar full of rowdy blokes was probably a bit too much for the salvageable remains of Jasper's conscience. He allows himself a small breath that he instantly regrets.

"Just … why is the smell still so strong?" Jasper hisses softly, and begins sniffing the air in earnest – the drink. Sun-dress and Jasper look at the drink at the same time, and Sun-dress swallows the sip she had taken slowly.

"How much blood is in there?" Jasper asks, and his nose wrinkles. He couldn't just very well grab a drink right here, could he? The place was full of men and Jasper didn't want to be labelled a fag in a pub like this for sucking on a bloke's neck, or wrist, or ankle or something.

"A lot." She whispers, and makes a face. "I don't want to drink it!" She squeals, and Jasper swipes it off her easily, taking a large mouthful and half of the drink along with it.

What he tastes makes his head spin. Strawberries, blood and … alcohol! Finally! For years he just watched the drunk men waltz out of the pubs, singing and laughing, now he could be one of them again! And without having to steal half of a liquor store again!

Jasper personally considered this a giant step in the history of his entire existence.

"Here!" Oh fuck, Irene was grinning with his blood-free beer. Sun-dress takes her drink back, and Jasper glares at her, then smiles at the waitress.

"Thanks." He says, and then begins to glare at his new drink.

"So! I hope those guys stopped harassing you!" Sun-dress pipes up suddenly, and Irene must've smiled; or looked some sort of happy. It was what Jasper felt from her and he couldn't be bothered looking up. He hated being near happy people when he wanted to brood – those assholes ruined his bad mood. Jasper was determined to make this angst session last though. How dare that bitch that turned her … he wanted alcohol. Bad. He liked alcohol, it was awesome, and why did he have to be denied ….

Irene was still as pleased as punch. Jasper wanted to punch her in the face, though he knew it was an empty threat and that he didn't mean it. "Oh, yeah! Thank you so much; I'm glad you two are okay though!"

"Really think I couldn't knock two drunk blokes on their asses?" Jasper cut in then, not the least bit sorry. "Please, it almost felt like a crime …."

Sun-dress, though, seemed quick to cover up for him. Foolish girl, he wasn't about to make this easy. Or touch his new drink. "Sorry about him! He's a little … um."

"Sober-" He supplied. That was true.

"Tired!" Sun-dress cut him off quickly, and kicked him under the table. He ignored her. "He's joking – he's tired!"

Irene saw through that one though. Maybe it only increased her confusion, because Jasper still wasn't touching that drink. "... Okay – but, you know; if you guys need any help around, I figure I owe you one, so-"

"I need a place," Jasper grunted, "where people go missin' but no-one asks questions-"

"Or the name of a cheap place to stay would be great!" Sun-dress needed to stop interrupting him – it was rude.

"Um … down-town for both your questions?" Jasper was finally sensing that unease he usually left people with from the Irene girl. It was about damn time. "The hotels are cheap … though they sort of put those 'dead-hooker' jokes into a whole 'nother light."

"That answered my next question." Jasper nodded.

"Okay, thank you! I think my boyfriend and I-"

"Boy-what?" That was the second time she said that and it still didn't make sense. How the hell did he give her that impression? He didn't even remember her name! … Though that was pretty intentional.

"- are just going to go now, um, here! For the drinks – and a tip." Sun-dress handed her a few hefty bills. Jasper's eye caught something she tucked into her pocket … wait a minute ….

Irene gushed though. "Thank you! So much! If you need anything else; I work here from one 'til one from Tuesdays 'til Thursdays, okay?"

"We will! Thank you!" Sun-dress chirped.

Jasper had other things on his mind. "... Did you just pay her from my wallet?"