Life Isn't All That Bad

“Date? No way! Beau went on a date with John?” Kennedy asked, his surprised expression matching that which both Jared and Tim wore. Pat had a look like ‘I knew it!’ while Garrett remained emotionless. He’d known about the date. He had tried so hard to stop it.

And suddenly, I couldn’t breathe at all, the familiar anxious feeling crushing my lungs. I pulled my phone out, staring at the blank screen. “My mom needs me real quick. I’ll be back.” I forced out. Danny, who had seen the blank screen and knew that my mom didn’t need me, must have felt my rapid breaths as I struggled against the panicked feeling tightening around me chest. He let me go, and I hurried through the house and out the front door.

Stepping from the cool, air-conditioned house out into the Arizona heat was brutal. Breathing became even harder in the dry air. I sat down on his front porch, hiding my face in my hands. Tears were slowly forming in my eyes as I fought to breathe.

I heard the front door open and shut. Someone sat next to me, gently placing their hand on my shoulder. “Are you okay?” He asked softly.

“No, I am not okay! I didn’t want them to know about that date!” I said angrily through my rapid, unsteady breathing, still hiding my face.

“Was the date really that bad?”

I raised my head, turning to glare at him, tears blurring my vision. “No! That’s just it. The date was fucking wonderful, okay? And that’s exactly why I didn’t want to tell anyone, Garrett. I went on a date with John, and it was great! I just… I don’t know. I can’t like him. He’s too much like home,” I didn’t mean to start rambling to him. But after letting it all out, I could feel my anxiety slowly fading.

“You are home, though. Beau, Arizona is your home now. Forget New York. Forget whatever bad things happened there. This is home now,” Garrett said quietly, pulling me into a hug. I buried my face in his chest, the comforting scents of detergent and soap filling my nose, as tears leaked from my eyes.

He was right. Arizona was my home. New York had never been the place for me. I pulled away from him, sniffling as I did. “I-I’m s-sorry,” I stuttered out, my anxiety almost completely gone.

“Please don’t cry. A pretty girl like you shouldn’t cry,” he told me softly. I flushed at his words, but he didn’t seem to notice. He reached over, his thumb wiping away my tears. “Life isn’t all that bad. No matter what happens, there’s always something good. And you’ll find that somehow. Be happy, why not?”

I couldn’t help but smile. “Thanks, Gary.”

He leaned over, pressing a kiss to my forehead before standing up. “We better head back inside before the guys start to wonder,” he offered a helping hand, pulling me off the ground.

When we reentered the kitchen, Danny turned to me. “When I said date, you know I just meant that day that John taught you how to play piano, right?” He said; a desperate look in his eye.

I just nodded, my throat suddenly feeling way too dry. “Mom needs us to head home, though,” I forced out, trying to keep my voice from cracking.

He turned to the others standing around the kitchen. “Well, guys, it was cool meeting you guys. We should hang out again while I’m still here,” he said, before linking arms with me. I just offered a weak wave to everyone before getting dragged out of the house by Danny.

“I hate you,” I told him once the door was shut behind us.

“Actually, you love me. I’m irresistible to you,” he grinned. I just rolled my eyes.

Once we returned to my house, I tried to ignore Danny. To let him know how angry I was. I was more than angry- I was furious. But he was my best friend. He was right; I couldn’t resist talking to him. Besides, I was in serious need of guy advice. And who better to get it from then a guy?

It was late that night when I finally caved. “Hey Danny?”

He looked up from his comic book. “So we’re speaking now?” He grinned.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re speaking,” I said with a laugh. “But um, I need some advice…”

“Would this advice involve a certain boy that lives across the street, or does it involve the boy who is in a band with the boy who lives across the street?”

I let out a groan, flopping back onto my bed. “I don’t even know. Both, I guess. My life was so much easily when you were the only boy in my life.”

He chuckled. “You’re still the only girl in my life!” He shouted dramatically, jumping up, and sitting on my stomach.

“You are going to crush me!” I squeaked, trying to push him off. He rolled his eyes, but moved. “So, please, I need advice! What am I supposed to do? John obviously likes me, and I kind of like him, but I don’t want to! I just… He’s everything I hated in New York, so it just… doesn’t feel right liking him.”

“You can’t control who you like, Beau. It just happens, even when you don’t want it to,” he said.

“But then there’s Garrett. Who I like, and I want to like. But I don’t want to ruin our friendship…”

Danny gave me an odd look. “Ruin your friendship? Are you even kidding? That boy is head over heels for you! As soon as you left, he went chasing after you. And from the way you talk about him, you seem to be pretty head over heels too.”

“Y-you really think he likes me?” The thought that Garrett could possibly like me back had never crossed my mind. Butterflies gathered in my stomach.

“Yes. I do,” he said, before letting out a yawn. That caused me to yawn as well. “Now, it’s late, so let’s get to sleep, and we’ll talk more about it in the morning.

Danny kissed my forehead before climbing off my bed and onto the air mattress bed that was set up on the floor.

How did he expect me to sleep after telling me that he thought Garrett liked me?

I tossed and turned for hours, before finally falling into a restless sleep, Garrett never leaving my mind.