December to Remember

My legs swung back and forth as I sat down on his wooden bench at his porch, waiting for him to come out from his house to go Christmas shopping together. It was cold out and snowing, a very rare day in Tempe, Arizona. I had my hands shoved into my pockets because I stupidly forgot my gloves back in my house. Before I could check on my watch for the thousandth time, the white door slammed open and Garrett stumbled out as he fidgeted with his coat.

“About time!”, I groaned and rolled my eyes as I stood up on my feet. “I think I’m turning into a human popsicle as I wait for you out here.”

“Sorry.”, he mumbled and put on his gloves. “You know how Riley is when I want to go out with you.”

I clucked my tongue and crossed my arms. “Seriously, Garrett, that girlfriend of yours really needs to mind her own beeswax. She and the whole goddamn world know that we’re only best friends, nothing more and nothing less.”

“Well, she thought that we had… something.”

“Something?”, I put on my air-quotes on the word. “She’s nuts, that’s something.”

Garrett sighed and tugged my arm down the steps and into the sidewalks. I knew he wanted me to drop it and that what he did every time we argued about his girlfriend. His bitch of a girlfriend. I pouted, thinking about how Garrett could loved when she treated him like shit and they were on and off all of those years they were together.

The walk to the mall was filled with silent as each of us wanted to start a conversation, but couldn’t. I decided, I needed to speak up first, at least to apologize. “Garrett, I’m sorry about Riley. I snapped again.”

“Nah, it’s okay. We always go through this over and over again.”, he chuckled and smiled at me. I twitched my lips to form a smile and honestly, Garrett’s smile was the only thing that could make me do the same. I liked him, no, I love him since I could remember. We met back in kindergarten and we’re friends through our lives. When Garrett’s band, The Maine, got signed and went on their tours and recorded their EPs and such, I was so happy for them, even though that meant won’t being able to see Garrett and the guys for months.

But, two tours ago, he went back to me with Riley, his girlfriend. At first, I thought she was nice and amazing, but then, she turned into a nosy bitch and always had bad thoughts on me. She thought I’d steal Garrett from her and she thought I put an African voodoo spell on him when he was away from her. Amazing.

“Come here, you!”, Garrett suddenly pulled me closer to his side by my shoulder and he ruffled my hair in affection. “You’re my buddy, and no one could change the fact. Not even Riley.”

I smiled and hugged him by his waist. When we got to the mall, it was not so crowded because probably loads of people were already done with their Christmas shopping. Garrett dragged me to the jewelry shop because he planned to get Riley a necklace.

The necklaces were shown perfectly under the glass counters and Garrett told me to choose one for Riley. One necklace caught my eyes. A locket hung perfectly on the necklace. “Dude, that one.”, I pressed my index finger onto the glass counter.
Garrett had his head on my shoulder and when I turned my head around, our faces were only inches apart. His sweet breath washed my face, made my heart raced up. He smiled. “That one?”

I blinked twice before turning my head back to the front. “Y-yeah that one.”, I stuttered and crooked a smile.

He asked the shopkeeper to wrapped that one up and when it was done, he paid it and dragged me out from the shop again. The thought of Riley wearing that necklace filled my mind. I actually chose that necklace because I loved it. Now, I couldn’t imagine that locket hung around her neck.

“G-Garrett, I don’t feel so well. I wanna go home.”, I lied smoothly as I stopped at my track, making Garrett stopped at his as well. He turned around and narrowed his eyes at me.

“You okay? You don’t act like yourself today. What is it, Maggie?”

I shook my head. “I just don’t feel so well. It’s probably a cold.”

He pursed his lips and nodded. “Do you want me to walk you home?”

“No, no.”, I forced a smile. “Riley’s probably waiting for you. It is Christmas Eve, and you two have plans, I don’t want her to wait for you.” Lie.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. Please Garrett, do have fun.”, I patted his shoulder before turning on my heels and rushed towards the mall’s sliding double doors. My legs ran all the way to my house, not caring about the slippery sidewalks or the cars that honked at me because I ran through red lights. The tears that streamed down my cheeks were almost frozen due to the cold, but I couldn’t care less.

When I arrived at my place, I took off my coat and ran up to my room, ignoring my mom’s call to help her at the kitchen. I locked my room’s door and kneeled besides my bed. It was stupid to wish on an evening star, but I was desperate and I just wanted to make a wish. ‘I wish Garrett would realize that I love him so much. I love him so much. I don’t want to lose him.’, I said, or screamed inside my thoughts.

Suddenly, there was a knocked on my door. I was about to say go away before my mom told me that Garrett was at the front door. My eyes widened and I stood on my feet before walking slowly to the front door. when I looked around my porch, I saw him.

He smiled and stood up from the garden swing my family had at the front porch. “Hey.”, he smiled.

“What are you doing here? Riley will flip out!”

Garrett chuckled. “No, she won’t, because she’s not my girlfriend anymore.”

“W-What?”, my eyes bulged out. “She’s going to fucking kill me!”

“Mags, please calm down.”, he laughed and took a step closer, taking my hand in his. “There’s a reason why I’m here.”

“And what is that?”

“Can I tell you a story? Well, I have this friend. She’s a girl. She’s unlike any other. Every time she’s next to me, it feels like she’s a magnet and I’m the other piece, she attracts me to her, she makes me want to be near her all the time. Every time she laughs, it sounds like music in my ears. Every time she has to sacrifice her feelings because I was being an asshole and not realizing this amazing girl next to me, I felt like I wanted to shoot myself for being an idiot. I’m an idiot for not realizing you, Maggie.”

Without my attention, my eyes watered and I bit my lower lip when he pulled out a long dark blue box from the pocket of his coat. “Remember this? I actually want to give this to you, that’s why I asked you to choose.”

“You shouldn’t.”, I muttered and chuckled as I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. “You shouldn’t have, Garrett.”

“I want to.”, he smiled and told me to turn around. I pulled my hair up so he could clasp the necklace on. When he was done, he kissed the back of my neck before I let my hair down again. “I love you, Maggie.”