Mad as a Hatter, Thin as a Dime

A few knocks upon the door of their motel room cut through the tension of the racing game that Pat and Kennedy were battling over, and Garret tried his best not to show how happy he was as he tugged a grey V-neck shirt over his body and rushed to answer the door. He needn’t have worried; the other four were so desperate to see Kyra all their masculine dignity was washed away as they raced to the door, beating him of course. He waited a few minutes, ignoring his band that had transformed into a group of lapdogs, until they moved out of the way and he could finally see the girl he’d been waiting for. He nodded a quick hello to Kyra before sweeping Vesper up in his arms in a brilliant hug. It was stupid, really. They’d only been apart for a couple of weeks, and they’d only even known each other for a couple of months… But ever since she’d drunkenly spilled her deepest secrets, they were connected in a way that no one else could understand. Maybe Kyra understood it, but she was a part of it all. Garrett had been an outsider who Vesper had chosen to confide in. That made him feel something he’d never felt before. It was wonderful.

“Garret!” She grinned, and in that beautiful grin he couldn’t help but feel attracted to her again.

The way she said his name… The way her face lit up when she saw him…

God he’d missed this girl.

After an hour or so of catching up, having snuck away into Garret’s bunk to escape the rest of them, the mood changed from light-hearted to somewhat worried, as Vesper’s brows fixed themselves into an uncomfortable frown.

“What’s wrong, Ves?” he asked, resisting the urge to reach out and touch her cheek; an urge much stronger than he originally thought.

“Umm…” she began, clearly struggling for what to say. “I’m probably just worrying over nothing… Just being a drama queen…”

“What is it, Ves?”

“I can’t find my notebook. It’s only been missing for a couple of days… It’s probably just at the bottom of my suitcase or something…”

“Yeah, try not to worry. I’m sure it’ll show up…” he tried not to think of the consequences if it fell into the wrong hands, but they were painted clearly on Vesper’s face.”

“Yeah,” she gulped. “But what if it doesn’t?”

He pulled her into a hug, trying to pretend he didn’t feel her heart jump in her chest where his arm lay. It could mean anything.

“Oh hey!” he broke the tension, reaching under his bunk for something. She rolled her eyes as he pulled it out. “I saw your magazine spread.”

“Oh god,” she groaned, covering her eyes in embarrassment. He laughed.

“Don’t be so shy, you look beautiful.” He saw her eyes open through the fingers covering her face. “Wait… you have actually seen it, right?”

“No,” she admitted. “I’ve been trying to avoid it. I was forced into it, they wanted Kyra, not me.”

“Well,” he started, opening the magazine to show her the pages. “I don’t think it’s possible that anyone could have done a better job than you, not Kyra, not anyone.”

Vesper felt her heart lurch again. She didn’t usually get this heart-lurching thing around anyone but Ryan… apart from that one time she almost slept with Garret. It made her uneasy that she was feeling it around him again… and this time it wasn’t even sexual, and she wasn’t even drunk.

“Thanks,” she whispered, flipping through the pages for the first time. She still thought Kyra would have done a better job… There were definite flaws in these pictures… But overall… she looked quite pretty.

She looked up at Garret. She’d reconnected with Ryan since The Maine had left the tour, but they still weren’t quite the same as they used to be. For as long as she felt like this towards him, they never would be the same. Garret was her best friend now. And as long as this heart thing kept itself at bay, they would be able to stay that way. He shuffled around, crossing his legs and facing her straight on. He held her chin in the tips of his fingers, raising her eyes to his.

“Vesper Ashelford,” he began. “You are the most beautiful woman I have ever known, ever seen. I don’t know what it is about your sister that captivates other men, but you captivate me completely. You are stunning, and don’t you ever forget that.”

Her eyes glistened, and her heart lurched again, over and over. No one had ever spoken to her like this before. Kyra, who got this sort of thing a lot, had told her countless stories and she’d imagined Ryan saying it to her a hundred times (you know, just for a little self-inflicted torture), but it felt… indescribable. You could imagine how it felt but nothing even compared. It was like a kiss to the soul, it was perfect.

But it was Garret…

It was Garret.