All Again For You

I was greeted by a smiling Jared and Pat as they walked into the bakery, sitting down at table closest to the counter. I tossed the rag I was using to wipe down the counters under the sink, and sat up on the stool behind the counter.

"Hey guys, welcome to A Slice Of Heaven, how can I help you?" I asked, putting on my professional tone. I aws going

"Hmm... seeing as we totally don't know you or anything..." Jared laughed as I threw the towel I had just been holding at him. "Hey! Be nice to your customers, you bitch!"

"Psh, you wish I were." I rolled my eyes at him, turning away. "And I do believe that it's you that's the bitch in this situation."

"Oh, don't make me come back there, missy." He warned, sitting up and leaning forward in his chair. Chaos ensued until Pat screeched.

"Guys! All I want is a brownie and some peace and quiet!"

"Aw, sorry Patty. Here, this one's on the house." I took a brownie out of the chilling case and handed it to him. He munched on it happily as Jared took the liberty to explain why they were here.

"We're having a pool party. Well, I'm having a pool party, rather. Next Thursday, you in?" He asked, leaning on his elbows.

"Who's all going?" I didn't want to tell Jared that I wasn't up for a huge party with loads of people like the one he had last week.

"Just us, the guys, really. And Charlotte, of course, so you won't be the only girl there." He smiled, practically pleading me to go. I sighed, giving in after contemplating for a few minutes.

"Alright, I'll go. What do I need to bring?"

My mom walked out of the back, covered in flour, along with a few other unidentified substances that looked an awful lot like vanilla extract. I held back a laugh, while Jared and Pat on the other hand burst out into hysterics.

"We'll tell you later, Sav. We've got practice in a few." Pat smiled, following Jared out of the door. I waved goodbye and faced my mom.

"What happened to you?" I asked, sitting up on the counter as my mom maneuvered her way to the sink. She washed off her hands, and took off her apron.

"The souffle I was trying to bake wasn't cooperating, and basically exploded all over. No big deal," She let out a short laugh, running her fingers through her hair. "Business is going pretty slow today. How about we close up early and take a day to go to the marketplace?" She put her hands on her hips, looking around the shop. "And, nothing serious needs to be done, so we have time to."

"I think I might just have to take you up on that offer," I grinned. I loved shopping with my mother. Most girls hated it, but my mom knew what I liked, what I disliked, and what was absolutely hideous.

"Good," She smiled back. "We're going to have to stop back at the house though. I'm not going out in public covered in baking soda and vanilla extract."

We both drove our separate cars to the house, me in my gray Dodge Viper SRT10 that my father had sent me for my sixteenth birthday. Where he got the money for it, I had no clue, and I didn't question it at the time. All I can remember was the look on the guy's faces when I pulled into my driveway after picking it up. I basically cherished the car, and my mom did as well. She often borrowed it liking the "Vroom of the engine," as she put it.

I waited in the kitchen for my mom to finish washing up, texting Charlotte on my phone about the pool party later on in the week. She told me that she had seen Garrett earlier, and he was in one of the worst moods ever.

"Mom?" I asked once she was in the kitchen, grabbing two water bottles from out of the fridge. "Can I go to Garrett's tonight? Charlotte said he's not in a good mood and we're gonna try and cheer him up."

"Of course!"

&&

After my mother's and I small shopping extravaganza and dinner at Chipolte, I called up Charlotte, asking if she wanted to go help me confront Garrett about what was happening.

"He sounded a bit mad at me when I asked him what was wrong." She said hesitantly.

"How so?" I queried, unlocking my car and getting in the driver's seat. "What did he say?"

"Well, he basically told me to fuck off in a not so pleasant way, let's just leave it at that." She sighed. "I think it might have to do with John and last Tuesday. Kennedy said something about them talking and then Garrett storming out on him and the rest of the guys."

"Well, I'll see what I can do, Char. Let's hope he's just man-PMSing." I laughed. I hung up and started my car, pulled out of the drive way and sped down the road and out of my neighborhood. Motion City Soundtrack's "Disappear," blasted through my speakers as I turned onto his street. I slowed down, parking on the road across from his house. The sun was just about to set as I made my way towards the front door where his brother answered.

"Maybe you can talk some sense into him. He seems to listen to you best." Trey patted me on the back as I made my way towards Garrett's room. I could hear him plucking away on his bass, not the notes I usually heard coming from him. These notes were more heavy and upsetting sounding. Violent, if even possible.

I held my breath as I knocked on the door. The bass playing stopped and a loud groan was easily heard.

"What, Trey? The door's unlocked, you dip shit." He said harshly; I opened the door cautiously.

"So you think I'm Trey now, eh?" I couldn't help but smirk at his misunderstanding. "I don't know if I should take that as a compliment or to offense."

"What are you doing here, Savannah?" He asked, staring at the ceiling from his bed.

"I came to ask why you haven't been speaking to any of us, Garrett." I crossed my arms as I sat down in the chair across from his bed.

"You're not getting any answers, I hope you know that."

"Gar, you and I both know how stubborn we both are. I don't care if it takes all night of me sitting in your room. I'm getting answers." I pressed my knees up to my chest, wrapping my arms around them.

"Tough luck, Sav. You're not getting jack shit on what happened." He sat up and glared at me as I smirked. I'd already gotten one thing out of him, and it was that something had happened. I decided to wait a while before going at him with another question.

"Ah, so something did happen then. With who?" I began to name people off the top of my head. "Jared? Pat? Kenny? John?"

At John's name he stiffened, he sat up again, anger evident in his eyes.

"You know, you can honestly shut up now about him, Savannah Claire."

"Who, John?" Garrett shook his head, knowing I had gotten to him. I knew he wasn't going to give up easily, he never did.

"He just really pisses me off sometimes, you know?"

"Well, that's John for you. One minute he's a fun, loving guy, and then the next thing you know, you want to take a rifle and shoot him. I know, I get that feeling a lot." I smiled softly. Garrett let out a small chuckle, his mood slowly lightening.

"Well, what happened? With John, I mean." I moved from Garrett's chair so that I was sitting on his bed, indian style with my legs tucked underneath me. I could almost hear the gears of his brain working as he sat next to me, trying to think of ways to form what he was about to say.

"I-it was at Jared's party on Tuesday. He was talking to this one girl and it just... pissed me off, I guess. Cause I mean, I really like her, and he basically... stole her?" I could tell he was lying at some points in his explanation, but looked past it.

"Who was this girl?" I asked. Garrett's face flushed a deep scarlet, almost turning him a plum shade. "C'mon, Gary, I'm your best friend. You can tell me these things." I nudged him lightly in the shoulder, gently prodding him for answers.

"You don't know her. She's from... Peoria." He stammered. I nodded my head feeling slightly drowsy.

"Alright, Gary." I got up from his bed and stumbled towards the door. I glanced at the clock, which read 2:49 AM. "Holy shit, I need to get home!" I made a mental note to call my mom and make sure she wasn't worrying about me.

"Sav, it's almost three in the morning. You can't drive home at this hour." He argued. "You're gonna stay."

"If you insist, I will." Garrett gave me a sweatshirt and a pair of basketball shorts to change into. I headed into his bathroom and changed, walking back out I saw he had set up a space on the floor with a pillow and blanket. Just as I was about to lie down, he shooed me away.

"You get the bed, I'm sleeping on the floor." He pointed to the bed, not moving.

"Garrett, don't be ridiculous," I stated, but he came back with an argument. "Fine. Then we share the bed." I put a hand on my hip and cocked it, letting him know I was serious. "It's no fair if you get to sleep on the floor and I get a comfortable bed." His cheeks turned a rosy shade before he took of his jeans and shirt, leaving him in his room in his boxers. He climbed into his bed, letting me have the open side that wasn't against the wall. I shut off the light and pulled the comforter over me, trying to get comfortable.

"Garrett?" I asked before shutting my eyes. All I got in response was a simple "Hmm?"

"Goodnight."