All Again For You

"Savannah?" I heard my mom call as soon as she shut the front door. I heaved myself up off my bed, feeling sore from the previous night.

"Yeah, mom?" I asked reluctantly as I made my way down stairs to where she was in the kitchen. As soon as she saw me, she hugged me tightly, crushing me against her like there was no tomorrow.

"Woah, mom, calm down. I'm fine." I managed to choke out.

"I don't want you going near that Stephen boy ever again, Savannah Claire. You understand that?" She asked, holding the sides of my face in her hands. I could tell she was extremely worried. "You're lucky that you have such great friends that take care of you."

We stayed like that for a few minutes, the silence engulfing us both. I let out a sigh and gently pulled myself from her grasp.

"Are you okay? What happened, exactly?" She asked, pulling back and sitting on a barstool.

"I'm fine, just a bit sore. And to be honest, I'm not really sure what happened. All that I can remember was that I got to the party with Charlotte, I was talking with John, and then Stephen came up to me and we danced. Then he tried to kiss me, and that's honestly all I can remember." I sighed, playing with the end of my- I mean Garrett's- shirt. "Garrett told me he nailed Stephen in the gut." I smiled to myself, trying to keep from laughing.

"Then John and Garrett brought you back to Garrett's house, Charlotte was there as well and then Garrett stayed with you through the night." She finished the story for me. I nodded, leaning on my elbows on the counter.

"In the note that you left on the counter... do you know what I said in my sleep?" I asked nervously, bringing a hand up to my mouth to hide my nervous smile.

"I think you should ask Garrett about that. He told me something about the party and that you were glad he was there." She smirked.

"Oh my God," I groaned, putting my head in my hands. "Really?" My mom nodded in response.

"Charlotte called me at the shop before and she's coming over later to see how you are. Around nine or so, I'm guessing." She told me. "Now, I'm going to get dinner started. You go upstairs and rest." She pushed me out of the kitchen and watched as I went up the stairs to my room.

I lay back down on my bed, trying to recall all the incidents that could have happened last night while I was with Stephen. In the midst of my thoughts, my phone buzzed beside me. I answered without checking the caller ID, figuring it was most likely John, Garrett or Charlotte.

"Hello?" I answered, stifling a yawn that escaped my lips.

"Savannah, look, I am so sorry about what happened the other night," I recognized the voice to be Stephen's. "Really, I am."

"Stephen, how did you get my number?" I asked, cringing at the sound of his voice.

"Jess Bowen got it for me from Charlotte for me an-" That was enough to make me hang up. I threw the phone across the room and crossed my arms, rolling on to my side. I shut my eyes, hoping to go to sleep before my door flung open, and Charlotte collapsed on my bed.

"I hope you know I just ran here from my house for you," Charlotte gasped, trying to catch her breath.

"Yeah, that's like two whole blocks, Char." I laughed, sitting up.

"That's a lot if you're not wearing any shoes!" I looked down at her bare feet. She lifted up to show the soles, which were blistering red from the still-hot pavement.

"You're fucking crazy," I laughed, leaning back against the wall next to my bed. A photo fell, hanging crooked from it's place. I turned my body to fix it. It was a photo of Garrett, John and I from last summer at the lake. The summer they claimed me as their "soul sister," after I had called John and Garrett girls for not wanting to go in the water.

"Come on, you guys are such girls!" I called, splashing water towards them as I got closer to the shore. "Get in!"

"Fuck you! I'm not a girl!" Garrett yelled, throwing a bottle of suntan lotion into the water at me.

"Neither am I! And if I were, you would be my soul sister, and you know it." John pouted, crossing his arms loosely over his scrawny body.

"Well I guess I'm your soul sister then, since we're soooo alike, John." I smirked, grabbing for his legs as I neared the dock. "Come on, there aren't even any fish over here. It's too shallow for them to swim in." I laughed as John and Garrett dodged my grabs. I climbed out of the water, going straight for the two.

I managed to tackle Garrett and John to the dock, pinning them down for several seconds before John wiggled out from underneath me and helped Garrett up. They gave each other a look before running straight towards me, John grabbing me by my hands and Garrett pushing my back. They went headfirst into the water with me, continuing to dunk each other under then.

"So, now we're official," John laughed, spitting out lake water.

"Official what?" I questioned, pushing my bangs back out of my eyes.

"Official soul sisters!" John replied flamboyantly. I glanced at Garrett, who was trying hard to keep a straight face. "Gary, you're one too, don't deny it."

"Oh, of course, John. Of course."

I placed the photo back in its proper place, sighing.

"You're thinking about him, Sav." Charlotte sighed, rolling onto her stomach. I rolled my eyes, not bothering to reply.

"I'm not, not about him at least," I said sub-conciously. "Remember that one time at the lake and John and Garrett said they were my soul sisters? That's what I was thinking about."

Charlotte didn't reply, and instead changed the subject to something that I was actually interested in talking about.

"Jared's pool party is back on, it's on Tuesday." She picked at a loose thread on the edge of her dress mindlessly.

"His parents aren't going to be home?" I asked, staring back up at the ceiling.

"Nah, at least I'm pretty sure they won't be." A silence came between us before Charlotte decided to speak again. "We need to do something."

"It's almost eleven, Char." I sighed, running a hand through my hair.

"Exactly. And the guys are at 8123, let's go." She sat up on her knees, pleading. "Get dressed, I'll call Kenny."

"Isn't Pat with Garrett though?" I tried to stall, but knowing Charlotte, it would do little to phase her plans.

"Yeah, at 8123 with the rest of the guys, Sav. Come on, get dressed!"

Fine, you win," I threw my hands up in the air and walked over to my closet, asking Charlotte to come over and help me choose something. She pulled out a pair of jeans, a ruffled top, cardigan, and flip flops.

"We're not going to a party, just wear whatever," Charlotte pulled her phone out of her pocket to call Kennedy, her fingers flying against the keys of her phone. I dressed in my bathroom, figured that we wouldn't be seeing anyone else other than the guys there and left off my makeup.

"Let's go! He'll be here in a few to pick us up." Charlotte said through the door just as I was exiting.

As promised, Kennedy rolled up to my house along with Pat, who voluntarily moved to the back so Charlotte could be by Kennedy. I smiled as he sat down next to me in the tight backseat, and hugged me.

"How are you, Sav? Like, after the party, I mean." Pat asked, buckling his seatbelt.

"I'm good, I guess. The whole shock factor has pretty much worn off by now." I did the same as him, buckling my seatbelt before Kennedy began to speed back off down the street.

"And welcome to 8123 Hunt road, ladies." Kennedy said, pulling into the large parking structure. He went all the way up to the top, parking right next to Garrett's yellow car.

"What about me?!" Pat screeched, tucking his hair behind his ears and rolling down the window, climbing out of it. Kennedy put his head in his hands as I opened the door, stepping out of the car.

"Every single time..." He trailed off. Pat jumped on to Garrett's back, causing him to go face first into the pavement.

"Jesus Christ, Pat! Get the fuck off me!" He shouted as Pat climbed over him. Garrett pushed Pat off him, managing somehow. I walked over, patting Pat on the back and telling him to go sit on the curb until he calmed down. He walked over to the curb and sat down next to his new girlfriend, Sara. She hugged him, smiling wide, and he returned the favor.

Garrett turned back to face me and I retracted in shock. "What?" He asked.

"You- You're bleeding," I stammered, reaching my hand up to his nose. I touched where the blood was coming from, the tips of my fingers instantly getting covered in the red substance.

Garrett smiled with a slight laugh. "I'll be fine, Savannah. Really."

"No, at least hold a tissue to your nose to help make it stop, Gar." I protested. He didn't reply, only followed me over to Kennedy's car so I could find the first aid kit he kept on the passenger's side. Garrett leaned against the car, holding his head back to keep from getting blood everywhere. When I got out the kit and opened it, he insisted that the bleeding had stopped some, which it undoubtedly did.

"Hold it to your nose and hang your head forward for a little bit." I said, handing him the gauze. He did as he was told and followed me back over to where the guys were sitting on the curb.

"Aw, little Gary took a hit and needs his mommy to take care of him?" Pat laughed. "Sorry, bro. I'll try not to let it happen again."

"S'Alright. We all get fucked up sometimes, even John! And he's the virgin here," Garrett smiled. John glared at him, crossing his arms tightly across his torso.

"Shut up, Garrett." He muttered. I laughed and sat down next to him, putting an arm around him.

"Virgin or not, you're still... What's the word?" I snapped my fingers trying to think of the proper phrase to use.

"Awesome?" John asked hopefully.

"Yeah, that works. Anything, really." I smiled, giving his bony shoulders a slight squeeze. I looked up just in time to see Garrett biting his lip and looking away, then looking with icy eyes to John. John glanced from him, to me, then back at him and put his face in his hands. I took notice that my arm was still around John's shoulder, and I was sitting fairly close to him. I instantaneously removed my arms from John to cross them over my chest.

I glanced up at Garrett, who was trying to distract himself by fiddling with his phone. I turned to where Charlotte was, her hand intertwined with Kennedy's. She motioned for me to come over and stand by her.

"Dude, what the fuck just happened?" She leaned in, whispering. "All of a sudden I see your arm around John's shoulders, Garrett looking upset and then you and John freaking out. What's going on?"

"I don't know, Charlotte." I groaned, pressing my forehead against the cement wall. Charlotte turned to Kennedy, whispered something to him. He nodded as Charlotte grasped my arm firmly and dragged me to where no one was standing under a streetlamp. She looked back to where John and Garrett were doing exactly what we were doing- talking about what the hell just went down.

"Dude! First you like Garrett, and now John? What the hell?" Charlotte asked. I flinched, thinking she would most likely hit me or punch my arm like one of the guys.

"No!" I yelled, Charlotte covered my mouth quickly. Pat and Sara looked over at us, Charlotte mouthed something and Pat grabbed Sara's attention again. Charlotte forced me to look at her dark, nearly-black eyes.

"Alright, what happened then?"

"I was just trying to help out John! Jesus, Charlotte, it's not like I wa-" I was barely able to finish my sentence before she cut me off.

"Savannah I think you shouldn't ta-"

"Let me finish, Char. It's not like I was going to hook up with him or anything. I don't want that between us." I sighed, crossing my arms over my chest. Charlotte took me by my shoulders and spun me around. I was face to face with a very upset looking Garrett. I tried to smile at him, but I had a feeling that it came off more awkward and forced than I hoped it would.

"Garrett I-"

"Save it for someone who cares, Savannah." He spat, turning on his heels and storming back to his car. I walked over to where the guys were, staring at me.

"What?" I asked, my tone bitter.

"Come on, let's get going, Sav." Charlotte took my arm and led me to Kennedy's car. Charlotte got in the backseat with me, Kennedy starting up the engine. He knew what was going on, and he knew it wasn't good. He drove me back home, and waited for Charlotte as she walked me to the door. I gave her a quick hug goodbye, and she told me she would call me later.

"Try not to... I don't know. I'll talk to you later, Sav. G'night." She turned slowly and walked back to Kennedy's car, proceeding to go to either back to 8123 or home to her house.

I quietly made my way inside, knowing it was way past my curfew and tip-toed up the stairs as silently as I could. I made it to the second floor with ease, and checked in my mom's room. She was asleep, thank goodness. I smiled to myself, and headed up to the third floor, tossed my phone on my bed and changed into my pajamas. I climbed under the covers, did my best to clear all the thoughts buzzing throughout my head.