In The Background, It's You.

Garrett Nickelson sat in his seat by the window with his headphones in, watching the scenery pass by. His iPod was on shuffle, and as the sound of Ryan Adams filled his ears, he could feel tears in his eyes. He tried his best not to let the tears fall, but as soon as he blinked, they were rolling down his cheeks. “Fuck,” he muttered softly, causing one of his bandmates to look at him from the rearview mirror. Garrett ignored his look of concern and propped his feet up on the empty seat next to him, laying down and closing his eyes.

“You okay, Gare?” John O'Callaghan, who was currently driving the band back to their homes in Tempe, Arizona, asked softly. Garrett didn't answer, though. He only turned to face the other way, falling asleep as he did so.

Garrett was walking through the old open field, the one that he used to go to with her. He didn't know what he was doing there. He knew he wasn't going to find her, but for some reason, he kept searching. He continued walking, stopping at all of the specific spots they used to go to and remembering everything that had happened there.

Garrett spotted the old tree. It was planted right in the middle of the field. As odd as it was, it was the place that Garrett had met her. He stopped in front of the tree with tears forming in his eyes. Reaching up, he grasped the first branch and looked up to where he carved their initials on their two year anniversary. Tracing the letters, he sighed softly.

“Gare?” A soft, distant voice called out, making Garrett snap his head up.

From a distance, Garrett could see her. He could see her long, messy brown hair blowing everywhere. He could see her bare feet and her slender figure that was covered with her favorite flower printed dress. He could even make out the silver heart shaped locket he had given her on their first six months together and the silver band on her left ring finger.

“Honour?” Garrett called back, taking a few steps forward and waiting for her to get closer. He didn't want to stray too far away from the tree, their tree.

“Garrett? Garrett!” Honour called out, running lightly toward Garrett. As soon as she was in front of him, he engulfed her in a hug, holding on tightly.

“Honour! I-I thought I lost you,” Garrett whispered as their foreheads touched. He placed both hands on either side of her face and brought her in for a sweet kiss.

“I'm right here, Gare. I won't leave, I promise,” Honour whispered back, and Garrett nodded, grabbing her waist and pulling her under the tree.

The two sat for what seemed like hours, reminiscing on everything that had been through together, from their first date to their last. Garrett smiled contently, his arms wrapped around the girl he loved, listening to her laugh as they remembered the first time Honour ever saw The Maine play.

Honour stopped in the middle of her story, staring at the sun for a moment before jumping up and exclaiming, “I have to go!”

“What?” Garrett said incredulously, scrambling to get on his feet. Honour had already taken a few steps away from him, but he grabbed her wrist and spun her around. “Where are you going? You can't just leave me, Honour!”

“I have to go, Gare,” Honour pleaded, desperately trying to take back her wrist, but Garrett wouldn't let go. “You have to let me go.”

“No! I just got you back! You can't go, you can't leave me again!” Garrett frantically cried, tears starting to fall from both of their faces.

“You have to let me go, Garrett,” Honour whispered, taking a step closer to Garrett and placing a hand over his. She grasped his fingers and pried them away from her wrist. “Garrett, you have to move on. I'm dead. You have to let me go.”

“No. No! You're not dead! You're right here. Baby, look, you're right here. This is our tree, remember?” Garrett said, pointing at the tree behind them. He wouldn't let go of her; he refused.

“I promise, Gare, you'll find someone better, okay? You'll find someone who is much better than me, and when you find her, I will be right there beside you every step of the way. I promise, Gare,” Honour said, taking a hold of Garrett's face and catching his eyes. “But you have to let me go.”

“There's no one better than you, Honour,” Garrett replied. He bit his lip as Honour kissed his cheek and took a step back from him. He closed his eyes as a feeling of loneliness took over him. Tears still streaming down his cheeks, he opened his eyes only to find Honour gone. Garrett turned around, searching for her. He walked around the tree twice, still not seeing her. He searched and he searched, but still, he couldn't find Honour anywhere. As soon as it hit him that she was gone, he sunk down under the branch that held their initials and cried.

Garrett woke up in a cold sweat, startled as he found his best friend, Pat Kirch, leaning over him and shaking him awake. “Hey, we're at your house,” Pat stated, his expression filled with worry. Garrett ignored it and got up.

Garrett quickly grabbed his things and muttered a goodbye to his bandmates before watching them drive away. He turned around, setting his things on his front lawn stood there staring at his house for a moment. It had only hit him then that he was going home to an empty house. He couldn't stand the thought of going inside and not being greeted by her, so he stood on his front lawn trying to muster up the courage and strength to go inside.

“Hey,” A voice interrupted his thoughts. Garrett turned to see a petite brunette walking toward him with a handful of envelopes. “Um, I collected your mail while you were gone,” The brunette stopped in front of Garrett, holding out the pile of envelopes. “My mom, uh, said you were on tour, and... yeah,” She finished.

“Uh, thanks,” Garrett replied unsurely, taking the pile from her hands and gripping it tightly as if it were to disappear. The girl gave him a half smile before turning to walk away.

“Garrett! Don't be stupid!” Honour scolded him, making Garrett widen his eyes in surprise as she was standing right next to him. His jaw dropped slightly, and he couldn't find any words coming out of his mouth. "Go on, Gare, invite her in."

Garrett blinked furiously before taking note that Honour wasn't going away any time soon. After all, she had promised. “U-uh, um... hey!” He called out to the girl, who was just about to walk up her porch steps. He gripped his mail tighter, making his knuckles turn white. “Do you wanna come in and have coffee? Uh... you know, a-as a thanks... for collecting my mail,” he finished, glancing next to him to see Honour smiling brightly.

“Sure,” The brunette smiled and turned to walk back toward him. “I'm Grace, by the way.”

“Garrett,” Garrett said, smiling softly and picking up his bags. As they made their way inside, Garrett dropped his bags on the floor, telling Grace to head into the living room while he made his way to the kitchen. Garrett dropped his mail on the counter and started on a pot of coffee. He leaned back on the counter for a moment, crossing his arms and biting his lip nervously.

“I like her, Garrett,” Honour spoke up, peering into the living room.

Garrett chuckled softly, before grinning. “Me too,” He whispered, lifting his eyes to meet Honour's.