You're Living a Lie, You Just Can't Hide From Me

“Where were you last night?” Pat asked, sitting at the breakfast bar, eating cereal when Garrett walked in.

“With Natalie.”

The drummer chewed thoughtfully, swallowing before smiling at his friend. “So it was a walk of shame?”

“No, its not like that… we went out to a jazz club and then hung out at her apartment. We fell asleep.”

The older boy gave his friend a lookover.

Garrett’s hair and clothes were disheveled, his blue eyes looked tired. He had a sleepy smile on his face, and had his head in his hand. He probably hadn’t gotten very much sleep at all.

“You really like her.”

“Yeah…” Garrett sighed. “I really do.”

Before Pat could even ask anything else, Garrett excused himself.

He was still very tired and just wanted to go back to sleep. He wasn’t needed in the studio until later that afternoon. Sleeping in such close proximity to the girl he cared for was surprisingly difficult. He took everything in: her bed, her walls, her scent, her closet. Everything about Natalie mattered so much to him and he wanted to remember it.

He stripped to his boxers, and crawled into bed, hoping not to wake Kennedy, who was asleep in the next bed.

“Way to go, Gary.” Kennedy’s soft voice called. “Did you just get back from Natalie’s?”

“Nothing happened, Ken.”

“Sure.” He teased.

Garrett chuckled softly, turning on his side and closing his eyes.

He didn’t totally understand why everyone was so obsessed with his relationship with Natalie. They were just two people hanging out. Sure, he was a boy and she was a girl. He thought she was gorgeous and pretty much perfect. But it didn’t mean that they were automatically fucking.

They fell asleep in her bed, just as they’d fallen asleep in his. It was purely literal, and purely platonic. Sure, he’d thought about doing more. He wanted to kiss every inch of her skin, to see her true beauty. He wanted to lay claim to her, to hold her in his arms, and to show her just her incredible he thought she was. But right now, that wasn’t an option.

He couldn’t stop thinking about her. It didn’t matter if he was awake or asleep. Even his dreams were filled with her, the way her green eyes lit up when she laughed, and the way her smile was contagious. How when she blushed, her cheeks became a similar color to her hair. She was just incredible. And he had no idea if she could ever be with a guy like him.

John didn’t like how he felt about Garrett spending so much time with Natalie. He understood that they had become friendly, but he didn’t understand why she had been so quick to go out with him when John couldn’t get a straight “yes” for a date.

Maybe the fact that they went to high school together was something that the younger boy had going for him.

Natalie was friendly with the others, but not like she was with Garrett… what about Pat? They went to high school together too. He didn’t know what she possibly saw in Garrett that he didn’t have.

“Why are you so jealous?” Jared chuckled, looking up from his guitar.

“I’m not jealous.”

“John, you’re being an asshole.”

The singer sighed, crossing out a line in his songwriting book, groaning that he couldn’t finish the song in a way that sounded less than cliché. “I’m not being an asshole.”

“Well then, you need to do something.”

All he could think about was how she had him on his knees for her. Natalie wasn’t like the other girls, and that was what caused all of these problems. He didn’t know how to handle this unique situation.

Putting his notebook aside, he turned to Jared, who was playing something he thought was beautiful. The ginger boy looked up from his guitar, tilting his head to the side. He didn’t know why John even cared so much. He could get any girl he wanted. What made her so different?

John sighed, standing up and stretching his long limbs.

He needed to think of something that he’d be able to win Natalie over with. Alyssa had told him that he was being crazy and that if Natalie didn’t see him as a potential suitor, then she was crazy. He was a great guy, attractive, talented, smooth, and awkward in an endearing sort of way. He wondered if he had a better chance with her than he did with Natalie. She was a great girl herself, but she wasn’t Natalie.

It had been a while since he’d actually found a girl he cared about for more than one night. So many girls back home were so silly. He tired of them so easily because they weren’t hard to figure out. Natalie, however, was full of mystery. She was shy, and something about that drew him to her.

So it frustrated him that he wasn’t winning her over. Garrett wasn’t supposed to be the one who she fell for. He had never had to compete for a girl before. He’d never really had to work for a girl like Natalie was making him. He had to figure something out and figure out how to make her his.

Garrett walked in with a wide grin, unpacking his bass.

John almost groaned.

“Dude, what’s wrong?” The younger boy spoke, sitting down with his bass.

“Did you fuck her?”

“What?! No.”

“Why not? Aren’t you so close?”

“John, chill out. Nat and I are just friends.”

The singer gave him a pointed look, moving further from the bass player. Garrett was his friend, why was he so angry? If he’d said, nothing happened, nothing did. But still, Garrett had been in her bed…. She seemed to always want him around. He didn’t mean to obsess over the girl and whatever she was doing with his bandmate, but it was all he could think about.

Natalie smiled, humming softly to herself as she got dressed. She was hoping that the guys would want to come out with her and Alyssa. The two of them were going to try out a new restaurant and maybe check out a club.

It was great fun when it was just the two of them, but the boys made it even better. She really loved spending time with them, and Alyssa seemed to really like Kennedy. The boys were so talented, and she loved feeling as if maybe she could help them in their creative endeavors.

She didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life, but it felt right to help the boys. Garrett had told her that she made it easier to figure things out. She’d known just how to inspire him. The girl loved music, but could never make her own. It wasn’t a talent she had, but maybe she could help somehow in the field. All Natalie knew was that she loved music and she loved helping people. She hated sitting through class, and the idea of going to school scared her.

She was putting on her shoes when Garrett texted her to ask what she was up to, she smiled, immediately telling if to bring the guys over. Sure, she loved spending time alone with him, but the others deserved some attention too. Natalie was finding that she had a special interest in Garrett, but she’d been wondering what John had been up to lately.

She had barely heard from the singer and wondered if he was upset. She hadn’t rejected him, just said that she couldn’t go out with him immediately. How was she supposed to go out with him when her mind wandered back to the bass player?

Alyssa stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame. “The guys are coming over?”

“Do you mind?”

“No. I just was surprised to hear that.”

Natalie smiled softly.

“Tals, don’t do anything stupid.”

“Like what?”

The older girl didn’t say anything, just turned and headed back to her own room.

The redhead sighed, unsure what that was supposed to mean and instead brought her attention back to getting ready. She wore a pair of skinny jeans with a long tunic that had delicate detailing on it. It was one of the first purchases she’d made once she moved to Los Angeles. It was something tangible that reminded her that she wasn’t the same girl she’d been in Tempe.

The girl Garrett and Pat had seen was shy, and timid. She did nothing but what others told her to do. She didn’t stand up for herself, and didn’t really do anything for herself. But now she was more secure. Now she knew who she was and had a good idea of what she wanted.

Natalie grabbed her eyeliner, making a winged look that was subtle, but edgy. This time she wasn’t afraid. If she was going to make a fool of herself, then she was going to go out and do it well. She needed this to mean something.

Garrett stood uncomfortably, surveying the bookshelf that he’d already scoured. Kennedy and Pat were perusing through a Rolling Stone. Jared was sitting on the couch, drumming on his knees. And John? John was fussing with his hair, trying to make himself look presentable to Natalie.

And then she appeared, standing hesitantly in the foyer of the living room. Her red hair was pinned into a sophisticated bum, and her eyes were made up, looking even more vibrant than usual. As usual, she looked beautiful, and he didn’t have the words to express it. She made him speechless and nervous in a way that no woman before her ever could. But before he could even greet her, John had pulled her into a tight embrace.

“Hey stranger.”

“Hey yourself.” Natalie spoke, inhaling his scent.

Garrett’s smell was one she’d always found comforting, but John’s was different. He had a more manly scent… was it his natural musk? Was it cologne? She wasn’t sure. He smelt like Axe, but it wasn’t overpowering, still the underlying scent of the soap he used didn’t totally mix well. He didn’t smell of detergent, just of man.

The only reason she knew that he smelt like Axe, was because she and Alyssa had gotten a little crazy at the Supermarket, deciding what bath products they wanted. Alyssa had a crazy idea that they should smell the men’s products too to decide what they liked. She couldn’t tell which Axe product it was, but it wasn’t as overwhelming as some of the others they’d tried.

She liked John a lot, but he didn’t provide the immediate comfort that she got from Garrett. Still, she wasn’t going to let herself be bothered by her opposing feelings. She just wanted to go out and have some fun.

She let go of John, him more reluctantly before making her rounds greeting the other boys, saving Garrett for last.

He smiled, hugging her gently. “So, I listened to the CD.”

“Yes?”

“I think my favorite song is ‘The Shadowlands.’”

“Good pick.” She smiled.

He let go of her, turning his gaze back to John. The singer was too busy looking at Natalie to look at the bass player.

Natalie smiled again, letting go of Garrett.

“I think Lyssa and I wanted you guys to come out to dinner with us. She talked about going to a club too.”

“Sounds good.” Kennedy spoke as the other girl made her way into the living room..

With the way John and Garrett were exchanging looks, she figured it was going to be a long night.