All Again For You

I must have passed out in Garrett's car while he was driving me back home, since the first thing I noticed when I woke up was that I was in my own bed, in my own house, with my mom standing in the doorway of my bedroom on the top floor.

"So, Garrett brought you home?" She started. I let out a groan, not wanting her to start on one of her "You need a real boyfriend, Savannah Claire Harrison!" banters that always ended up with the suggestion of Garrett and I. "What? He's a good kid, Sav."

"Yeah, mom. He also happens to be one of my best friends. You know my whole policy on that sh- stuff." I caught myself. I hated cursing in front of my mom. "I don't want to ruin our friendship. Even if I was interested in Garrett, he's always busy with the guys and their band."

"Time can only tell, love. Time." Was all she said. My mom liked to be cryptic when it came to me and the guys, hoping I would eventually pick up on the messages she would send me. "By the way, Charlotte's on her way over." She reminded me just as the doorbell rang. "I'll tell her to come up, she sounded really... frantic on the phone."

Within moments of my mother's disappearance from my room, Charlotte was in her place, screeching at the top of her lungs. She bounded across my room, practically flinging herself onto my bed.

"Savannah." Breath. "You." Breath. "Last night." Breath.

"Woah, woah, Char. Catch your breath and then tell me. What about last night?" I asked, biting my lip.

"You and Garrett on the couch! Oh my God, it was so fucking adorable." She beamed. "He looked so happy, and I could tell he was concentrating on more than just the movie." She wiggled her eyebrows. I threw a pillow at her, hoping to hit her in the face. Just my luck, she caught it and threw it back even harder. "And you're wearing his shirt! Jesus fucking Christ, just date the boy already!"

"Shut up," I rolled my eyes and flopped back onto my bed. "Don't remind me, Charlotte." I played with the end of Garrett's shirt, feeling uncomfortable in the situation. That was something about Charlotte, she knew how to make any ordinary situation uncomfortable, especially ones having to do with me and Garrett. "It was nothing, end of story."

"So," She began as I braced myself for an unwanted game of twenty questions. "What happened on the car ride back, other than you passing out?"

"Who told you I passed out?" I asked, lifting my head up. I wanted to smack myself. Who else was in the car with Garrett and I when he was driving me home?

"Garrett, duh. Now answer my question." I could tell she wasn't going to drop the topic that easily. And being myself in this type of situation, I had but only one choice to give into her questions.

"Nothing!" I squeaked. "He drove me back and brought me up here. That's it, and nothing more." I silently prayed that she would back off and sense my being uncomfortable.

"Uh-huh." She eyed me skeptically. "Anyway, are you going to the party tonight? Jared's, I mean." Jared usually held big parties on Friday nights when his parents were out of town. When he and John discovered the invention of booze, that's when we initiated them to be at his house. The get-togethers that once involved just the seven of us on summer nights turned into ones that involved mass amounts of beer and people from out of town.

"I don't know, am I?" I fired back. I wasn't really in the mood for getting plastered tonight, but by the look on Charlotte's face, she wasn't letting me off the hook that easily.

"You still owe me for ditching me at Jess Bowen's party in Scottsdale last month. It's only fair." She smirked. I sighed, giving in to her temptation.

"Help me pick something out?"

&&

Before we even got inside Jared's house, we could hear the music pumping from the surround-sound speakers in his house from outside. We let ourselves in, knowing no one would be able to hear us knocking.

"Char! Sav!" John slung an arm around both of our shoulders, already starting to get plastered. "D-do you guys want some drinks? Better yet, do I want some more drinks?" He laughed giddily, slurring his words together.

"We'll get some later, Johnny Ohh. Have you seen Kennedy anywhere?" Kennedy was Charlotte's boyfriend. They had been together for nearly three years, and all of us were practically begging them to get married already.

"Sure, married at twenty and nineteen. That's always the norm." Would be the usual response we would give.

"I think," John began, leaning on me for support. "That he's in the kitchen versing Jared in pong-pong-pong." He laughed, stumbling backwards. John was a happy drunk, and sometimes it got way too out of hand. Tonight would probably be one of those nights where he would probably end up on the floor of Jared's living room, with a huge hangover going along with it. I shook him off, causing him to stumble into a bleach blonde. He focused his attention on her, obviously putting on the moves.

I turned to my left, about to open my mouth to say something to Charlotte when I noticed her in the kitchen, Kennedy's arm held tightly around her waist. I smiled to myself, then headed towards the back door when Pat stopped me, gripping my arm tightly.

"Sav, I need your help." He said, keeping his voice low. I nodded, motioning for him to continue. "Garrett's ex is here. you know, Marie?"

"Oh shit. Has he seen her yet?" I asked. Pat shook his head quickly. "Where is he?"

"Outside, somewhere by the pool, I'm guessing." He shrugged. "Anyway, can you... help him? Just in case he, you know, sees her?"

"Of course, Patty cake," I smiled, patting him on the shoulder. "Will do."

I wound my way through the crowds of people outside, looking for the messy hair that belonged to none other than Garrett. In less than ten seconds, I felt someone push past me with a great force, almost knocking me over. I looked behind me to see who did it, and wasn't necessarily surprised. I followed Garrett, slipping past people and trying to keep under the radar. I felt like a spy on a mission following him or something into the front yard where literally no one was.

"Garrett?" I called out softly. Dumb ass, he probably can't hear you over the music coming from inside. I thought. I saw him sitting on the curb by his car, probably in a mental battle of whether he should leave or not.

"Garrett?" I asked again, sitting down next to him. I kept my distance, knowing an angry or upset Garrett with alcohol in his system wasn't generally safe.

"How can she have the fucking nerve to show up here with that sleaze she calls a 'new boyfriend,' Sav?" He asked. His voice was watered by the tears welling up in it.

I didn't know how to respond, so I did the best I could. I put an arm around his shoulders and tried to comfort him when the words escaped my lips. "She wasn't good enough for you, anyway. You deserved better."

"Are you fucking serious? We dated for two years, Savannah. Two years where I basically gave everything I had to her, and she threw it all back by cheating on me with the guy she's with tonight." Garrett had a few loose tears rolling down his cheeks now, and it killed me to see him- my best friend- like this. "She was the best thing I had at that time."

"But she wasn't the best you ever had. In fact," A smile crept across my face, thinking of the one song that would make him laugh. "I say you da fuckin' best, you da fuckin' best friend, you da best friend I ever ha-a-ad." I sang my rendition of Drake's "Best I Ever Had" off key, and changed up the lyrics a bit. A smile formed it's way on Garrett's face, causing me to smile as well.

"Well that makes two of us, then. Best friends through thick and thin for sure, totally." Garrett did his best impersonation of a Valley Girl before standing up.

"Going back inside?" I asked after he helped me up off the curb.

"Nah, I'm going home. I don't really feel like dealing with a wasted John and... her." He grimaced. "I'll see you later, though. I'm probably gonna go home and third wheel with Trey and Amanda." He smiled. I nodded and said goodbye; as I turned to go back in, he said, "What, no hug goodbye?"

"You're so demanding, Gar." I laughed, hugging him quickly before running back inside. I didn't hear the roar of his engine until I was through the front door, looking for Charlotte.