Love Will Tear Us Apart

So there we were, sitting at a table, in a clockwise order it was Marc, Nikki, Brian, Me, and Daniel sitting at the table. Soft music played in the background as couples danced in perfect harmony on the dancefloor. Marc had been talking for awhile, and I think Nikki was the only one listening to Marc. Brian would give out loud sighs as he sat back in his seat in a cavalier manner. Daniel had been watching me in the corner of his eye as he tried to listen to what Marc had been saying. And I suppose I should have been paying attention, but all I could think about was Garrett. Would he be angry with me? Would he still love me? Even after 6 years? A part of me had wanted him to be angry with me, just as I had been angry with myself. But the other part of me had only but an ounce of hope that he just might still love me.
Abruptly we were all interrupted from our spacing outs and reveries, pushing back his chair, Marc stood up.
"Ah, here's the guy I've been talking about! Garrett come over here!" Marc practically yelled.

At that moment it was as if time had drastically slowed, almost standing still, like all the sound and commotion of the party had been silenced all to a whisper, but all I could hear was "The Way We Were" by Barbra Streisand.

"Audrey." Garrett spoke, sounding almost as if he was relieved.

I stood up and turned around to face him.

"Garrett." It only came out as a whisper.

He reached out to me for a hug and quickly I embraced him, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face into his chest. He held me close. "I've missed you." He whispered.

"I've missed you too." I replied.

"What a reunion!" Marc clapped, he was all of a sudden beside us, "Here have a seat!" He pulled Garrett away and pushed him into the seat next to Daniel.

I cautiously sat down, still in a slight shock.

"Do you two know eachother?" Brian asked, looking curiously back and forth from me to Garrett.

"Oh do they ever! Shall I tell the story?" Daniel asked rhetorically.

"No." I whispered.

He ignored me and began, "Picture it, L.A, 1995. Audrey comes home from Seattle to live with us at the tender age of 10, and then meets my bestfriend Garrett Hedlund. From that moment on the two of them were inseperable. All throughout highschool they were the "it" couple, like Jay-Z and Beyonce. He was the star quarterback and she was the head cheerleader, total cliche movie of the nineties but it was theirs. Their love story was like 'Wuthering Heights', He was Heathcliff and she was Catherine. Or, or, like Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford in 'The Way We Were'. He was her Teenage Dre~" I kicked Daniel under the table before he could finish.

"That's an understatement." Nikki smirked.

"So then, the two of you dated" Brian said.

"Yeah..." I quietly answered.

"Oh well, I'm Brian. Audrey's current boyfriend." He stood up and extended his hand toward Garrett.

Daniel looked up at Brian with a raised eyebrow and a look that said, "You've got to be kidding me." Perhaps Brian was trying to show some sort of superiority toward Garrett, standing tall to emphasize his heigh of 5'10" and to better show off his well-built body. Well if so, i think he underestimated Garrett.
Garrett smiled his perfect smile and stood up, straightening his 6'2" frame, taking Brian's hand and shaking it in a sophisticated manner. The pride that was once written all over Brian's face was now wiped away. He looked Garrett up and down, seeing that he wasn't a short, clumsy person, but a tall, strong, fit, and extremely handsome individual.

"I'm Garrett." He politely smiled.

"Nice to meet you." Brian quickly sat down.

I sighed, knowing what Brian was trying to do.

"I'm gonna go get something to drink." I stood up. Garrett stood up, being chivalrous.

I stood there and softly smiled at him.

"Hey babe while you're over there, do you think you could order us another round of drinks?" Brian asked.

Nikki gave him the look of death, "Why don't you just~"

"No problem." I cut Nikki off. I walked away to the bar and ordered them some more drinks, and sat at the bar to get away from being in the midst of the tension between Nikki, Daniel, and Brian.

"I hope no one has made you a wallflower." A deep yet smooth voice said to me.

I turned to face Garrett.

"Would you like to dance?" He asked.

"I'd love to." I smiled. (cue music)

He took my hand and led me out to the middle of the dancefloor and excused some other couples.

It was him. There he was, perfect and flawless, the way I had hope that I left him. He was the one who made me feel whole, who made me feel alive again. It was as if nothing had happened. He was still the man that made me hear "Linger" by the Cranberries whenever I saw him.
By now I had realized that I was staring at him, which I had assumed he already knew, for he was staring back at me. His blue eyes inquisitively focused on mine, as if he was trying to get an answer out of a question not asked, then a gentle smile formed on his full and perfect lips. I turned my focus to our hands, but only for a moment for I felt that I could not possibly stand it any longer.
As we slowly danced, the strong yet gentle touch of his hand carefully held mine in the place of his. His eyes had followed mine to see our hands.

"My class ring." He whispered, smiling at the ruby ring on my finger.

"I forgot I had it, If you want it back-" I looked up at him.

"No, it looks better on your finger." He smiled, gently pulling me closer to him.

I smiled and continued to gaze into the face of my past. His lightly tanned skin tone was radiant in the chandelier lighting. His sandy blonde hair that used to be a long and wavy mess many years before was now a short and matured look. His tall frame was no longer an awkward teenage one, he was now muscular but still slim. Years had changed us, the boy had become a man, and I had become a woman. Could it be that the feelings that I had abandoned so long ago, have come back to me? I could ask these questions all night, but one thing I knew for sure was that I didn't want this moment to end. Being here in his arms again, feeling a connection to reality, feeling the assurance that things were gonna be okay. He always had this thing, I was never sure what to call it, but whenever I would talk to him or just be in his presence, he never once made me feel dumb or like I was unworthy. He made me feel like I was the only girl in the world. Being with him made me feel safe, I wanted him to hold me forever and never let me go. but it all ended too soon.

"Thanks for keeping my girl." Brian said, pulling me away from Garrett and into a slow dance with him. Brian smelled of rancid alcohal.

As we danced I kept my focus on Garrett.