Untangle Me

The next day, Jess was showered and dressed by 7 am. When she wandered downstairs, bag in hand, she was pleased to find that everyone else in the O'Callaghan household was still sleeping. She scribbled a note to her aunt letting her know where she was going before she stepped out into the surprisingly cool morning air, closing the front door behind her. Jess made her way down the gravel path to her car parked in the driveway. She had noticed the night before that the O'Callaghans lived right on the outskirts of Tempe, making it easy for her to find a Starbucks only 5 minutes away and she was soon sitting at a small table, sipping a Caffè Mocha. Pulling her laptop and spiral notebook from her bag, Jess read over her assignment notes while she waited for her computer to connect to the coffeehouse's wifi.




The first person to come to mind was John, but Jess quickly ruled him out because she had technically known him her whole life. She next thought of his group of friends. Jess figured she's be seeing quite a lot of them over the next two months, so she would have the opportunity to decide on her subject within the next few days. Satisfied, she shut her notebook and opened Facebook on the internet browser, seeing that she had 3 new friend requests. Smiling, she accepted Kennedy, Garrett, and Eric's requests. Almost immediately, a chat message popped up on her screen from Kennedy.

Kennedy Brock: hey :)
Jess Rhoades: hi there
Kennedy Brock: what's up?
Jess Rhoades: at starbucks, you?
Kennedy Brock: not much, chilling at jared's
Kennedy Brock: btw i want to apologize for yesterday, pat and i honestly thought john was in there, not you
Jess Rhoades: it's cool, no worries. i'm just really irritable when i get woken up
Kennedy Brock: lol i know what you mean
Kennedy Brock: well i have to go, jared is kicking me off the computer. but it was nice meeting you :)
Jess Rhoades: you too :)

Only a few moments after Kennedy had logged off, Jess recieved a friend request from Jared. Rolling her eyes and grinning, she accepted. She was surprised to admit it, but she was really starting to like her cousin's friends. They all seemed like really good guys and she was oddly eager to become friends with each of them.

Glancing at the clock, Jess realized that almost two hours had passed and she decided to go back to the O'Callaghan's. When she arrived back at the house, Jess noticed an unfamiliar yellow car parked outside on the street. Letting herself in, she made her way into the kitchen, greeted by the smell of bacon.

"Good morning, sweetie!" she was welcomed by her aunt, spatula in hand.

"Morning, Aunt Denise," Jess smiled, "would you like help with anything?"
Smiling, her aunt shook her head, "No thanks, honey, Garrett's already set the table for me."

Jess hadn't noticed the boy sitting at the kitchen table before then, whom she grinned shyly at before sitting down in an adjacent chair.

"Hi," she greeted, "I believe you owe me a game of COD."

Garrett returned the smile, "Well, are you busy now?"

After receiving a few pieces of bacon from her aunt, Jess followed Garrett into the basement and settled onto a large chair as he started up the gaming system. The two played for about an hour before Jess tossed the controller aside, admitting defeat.

"You've won this time, but I guarantee it won't happen again," she smiled, running a hand through her hair. Garrett grinned, "Are you any good at Left4Dead?"

Jess rolled her eyes and grabbed her controller from the table beside her, "That's like asking if I can breathe. I will demolish you at Left4Dead."

Garrett put the game in and returned to his seat, grasping the controller. Jess glanced at him then back at the screen, "I think I kick so much ass at this game because I'm obsessed with zombies. Are you ready to lose?" she teased as the game started.

Garrett scoffed, his eyes glued to the screen, "Um, zombies are my shit, you're gonna lose."

The pair played quietly for a while, the only sounds filling the room were zombie moans and gun shots. Garrett broke the silence by asking, "So, why are you in Arizona?"

"My mom got sick of me so she shipped me here for the summer," Jess shrugged, "how long have you known John?"

"Only for like, a year and a half. I met him when he joined the band."

Jess giggled, "John is in a band? I can't really imagine that."

Garrett nodded, looking over at Jess before returning his gaze to the screen, "Yeah, we're called The Maine. John sings and I play bass."

"Can I hear y'all play sometime?" Jess asked, glancing over at Garrett, whose tongue was sticking out of the corner of his mouth in concentration, causing her to grin.

"Sure, Garrett replied, glancing at her a moment longer than he should've because she threw her arms up in victory, "Ohhhh, you just got beat!"

She smiled at him and he reciprocated the gesture before opening his mouth to speak, but just then John came running down the stairs and jumped in Garrett's lap. He was clad in nothing but boxers and Garrett did not seem too appreciative of that as he struggled to push John to the floor. John eventually wound up on the carpet, his bedhead even more disheveled than it was before. He crawled over to Jess and placed his head on her knee and looked up at her like a dog before he spoke, "Wanna come to a party tonight?"

Jess was hesitant in her reply; as much as she loved to party, she wasn't a fan of new people. She looked over at Garrett who didn't seem too thrilled about the idea, "I'm in if you're in."

Garrett sighed, "I'm in, I guess."

John jumped up from the floor, a huge smile on his face. Garrett stood up, "Bro, we gotta go to Halvo's to pick up our amps and shit."

John groaned, "I totally forgot about that." He turned to his cousin, "Gary and I gotta do some stuff, but we'll pick you up at 7, okay?"

Jess nodded, obviously unsure about the party. She gave Garrett a small wave as the two boys headed upstairs. Sitting back down in the chair, Jess turned on the TV and flipped through channels. She found herself unable to focus on any of the shows playing across the screen, her mind wandering to the subject of the party. As much as she liked the fun aspect of parties, she didn’t like being alone in a crowd of people she didn’t know. She didn’t expect John, Garrett, Kennedy, or anyone else to stick with her the whole time; they all had their own friends. Turning off the television, she returned to the kitchen upstairs and greeted Ross who was sitting at the table. Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was nearly one in the afternoon and she was noticeably hungry. Deciding to explore Tempe a little, she left the house and drove in the direction of the Starbucks she visited earlier that morning. She parked at a meter and walked down the street, noticing that the temperature was considerably hotter. Looking in through the windows of each little café or shop, Jess eventually came across a Chipotle and walked into the air-conditioned building. Placing her order, she sat down and got to work on devouring her burrito.

“Jess!” a voice greeted, causing her to turn and come face-to-face with one of John’s friends that she had met earlier, Jared. Jess smiled, “Hey, what’s up?”

“Just getting some lunch,” he replied, gesturing to the tacos in his hand, “do you mind if I join you?”

“Not at all!” Jess replied, moving her drink to make more room for Jared on the table.

“So, how do you like Arizona so far?” Jared asked, taking a bite out of a taco.

“It’s… hot,” Jess said, causing Jared to laugh, “and it’s good to see John and everyone again. I had only met them all once a few years ago , and John and I hit it off pretty well.”

“How long will you be staying with John?” Jared asked, taking a sip of his soda. Jess rolled her eyes, “My mom shipped me here for the whole summer.”

Jared smiled warmly, “The guys and I will help entertain you.”

“Promise?”

“Promise,” he confirmed, taking a bite out of his taco. The pair ate in silence for a while before Jess spoke up, “Are you going to the party tonight?”

“Yupp, everyone you met yesterday will be there too. My girlfriend Kara is going with me, I think you’d like her.”

Jess smiled appreciatively, “It’d be cool to meet some more people, I’m not much of a party person.”

Jared gathered his trash and stood, “It was cool seeing you, but I gotta meet Kara now. I’ll see you later tonight!”

Jess smiled and waved, “See ya!”

She spent the next few minutes finishing her meal before continuing her walk. She wandered along the sidewalk for a short while before a dress in the window of a small, yellow store caught her eye. The sign above the door read Minnie’s and as she peered into the window, Jess saw that it was a vintage thrift store. Upon entering, an old woman greeted her and informed her of the current sale. Jess began browsing the rows of clothes and after she combed through a few sections, her eyes fell upon a floral dress. Plucking the hanger from the rack, Jess continued her way through the shop and had a decent-sized pile in her arms by the time she reached the dressing rooms. After trying on each of her selections, she decided to purchase a denim floral crop top, a pair of black wedge boots, and the floral dress, which happened to fit her perfectly. Exiting the store, Jess glanced at her phone and saw that she had a missed call from John. Dialing her cousin’s number, she placed the phone to her ear and waited as it rang.

“Yo!” John answered, causing Jess to laugh.

“You called?” she asked as she began walking back to her car.

“Yeah, I wanted to ask if you would be cool with Kenny picking you up instead.”

“Uh, sure,” Jess replied, balancing her phone between her shoulder and her ear as she dug for her keys in her bag, “why?”

“He has a thing for you,” John replied nonchalantly, causing Jess to nearly drop her phone in surprise as she got into her car.

“What?” she asked incredulously, starting the car, ‘He doesn’t even know me.”

“He’s gonna fuckin’ kill me if he finds out I told you. And listen, I have to go, but he’ll pick you up at 7. Later!” John hung up without waiting for a reply, causing Jess to shake her head and drop her phone back into her bag. She pulled into the O’Callaghan’s driveway, parking her car. Walking into the house, she was greeted by her aunt who was sitting in the family room, reading.

"Jess! Where have you been all day?" Aunt Denise asked, putting her book facedown in her lap.

"I thought I'd explore Tempe a bit, but I didn't go very far."

Eyeing her bag, Aunt Denise smiled brightly, "You went to Minnie's? John's ex-girlfriend Kelsey used to love shopping there! If you have no plans tomorrow, would you want to go shopping with me? I could take you to this adorable boutique downtown."

Jess smiled warmly at her aunt, "I'd like that."

"I assume you'll be accompanying John to this party tonight?"

Jess nodded and brushed a strand of hair from her eyes, not bothering to hide her discomfort towards the idea. She had been much more excited about the idea since her lunch with Jared, but now that Kennedy was taking her, she was nervous all over again.

"I know you'll have a great time, sweetie," her aunt reassured her, "but could you try to keep an eye on John? If he comes home drunk one more time, I might not let him leave the house ever again," she laughed. Jess checked her phone to see that it was already 5, so giving her aunt one last smile, she began climbing the stairs to her room to start getting ready. She had a thin layer of sweat on her from being in the heat earlier that day, but she decided against showering because she knew she'd start sweating again the second she stepped outside. Jess then decided she may as well unpack, seeing that she'd be staying for the next couple months. Opening the door to the small walk-in closet, she saw that John's clothes had been pushed aside to make room for her. It took her nearly no time at all to hang up her clothes, and she soon discovered an empty drawer in which she put her undergarments. Once she was fully unpacked, Jess placed her suitcase underneath the bed and walked into the closet to asses her options. She figured that the party would be fairly casual so once she settled on an outfit, Jess had to figure out how to tame her hair. Her long, dark hair did not agree with the humidity in Arizona; the ends had curled slightly and was slightly frizzy. Jess tied it back in a simple ponytail, deciding any effort would be wasted as soon as she stepped outside.

Checking her reflection in the mirror on the door, Jess tucked her phone in the pocket of her shorts and made her way downstairs to wait for Kennedy. She sat in the now-vacant family room and drummed on her knees, bored. She didn't even particularly like Kennedy, but she didn't dislike him either; the only thing she knew about him was that she could kick his ass at Call of Duty.

Just then, the doorbell rang, causing her to jump slightly. She walked over to the door tentatively and opened it, coming-face-to-face with Kennedy.

"Hi," he greeted, "are you ready to go?"

She smiled shyly and followed him into the night air, shutting the front door behind her. The car ride was short, but quite awkward. Neither Jess nor Kennedy said much of anything, they just listened to the soft music coming from the stereo fill the car. When they pulled up outside of the house, the party was seemingly already in full swing. From the moment Jess opened her car door, she could hear music coming from the house. Kennedy smiled at her as they entered the party, and Jess immediately scanned the sea of people for John's face. Kennedy grabbed her hand laced their fingers together as they made their way through the throng of people. They soon found John playing beer pong with a short, red-haired boy.

"John-O!" Kennedy greeted, releasing Jess's hand to give his friend a hug, "are you kicking Nick's ass at pong?"

Jess instantly felt alone as she watched the three boys joke around together, so she wordlessly wandered off to find a drink. It didn't take long for her to find a keg, placed appropriately in the kitchen. Sipping out of a red plastic cup, Jess began exploring her new surroundings. The house wasn't particularly big, but she was pleasantly surprised at what she found when she stepped out onto the back patio. Not only was there a large in-ground pool, but as she wandered further outside past all of the people Jess came across a huge garden. There were lights strung across the entire back yard and a small stone pathway that lead into the garden. Following the path, Jess began walking farther away from the noise of the party and found herself surrounded by an abundance of flowers and cacti. Jess sat down on a nearby rock, just off the path, and sipped her drink as she gazed at the breathtaking scenery. Looking up at the lights, Jess was mesmirized, a small smile on her face. Her thoughts were interrupted as a nearby voice exclaimed, "Oh, hi Jess."

Garrett was standing on the path, his hands buried deep in his pockets.

"What are you doing back here?" he asked, "I thought you came here with Kennedy."

"I did," she replied, "but I wanted to explore the house a little and I found this place, isn't it beautiful?"

Garrett nodded, "I love it, whenever Nick has parties I always find myself here."

"Why are you back here?" Jess asked, patting the rock beside her, indicating for him to join her.

"I'm not much of a party person," Garrett mumbled, settling beside her on the rock.

"Why not?" Jess inquired, her eyes darting over his face. Garrett shrugged, "I don't drink."

Jess raised an eyebrow, "Why not?" she asked again, interested. Garrett shrugged again, "I just don't."

Garrett glanced over at Jess, their eyes meeting momentarily before he quickly looked away.

“So, tell me about your band,” Jess inquired, turning to face Garrett more.

“Well, it’s me, John, Jared, Pat, and Kenny,” Garrett said, starting at his hands as he began ripping a leaf apart into tiny pieces, “and right now we’re kind of pop-rock, but I want to change that. Would you wanna hear us practice sometime?”

Jess smiled and nodded, “Yeah, sure.”

Garrett licked his lips before he continued speaking, “We practice at Pat’s ‘cause he plays drums, in his basement. We also play shows and stuff a lot too, I actually graduated early so that we could go on tour and do the music thing full-time.”

“You guys tour?” Jess asked, impressed, “so you’re pretty serious?”

Garrett nodded, “Really serious. This band… I don’t know, it’s my life.”

He paused for a moment and tossed the leaf fragments onto the ground, “What kind of music do you like?”

“I like a lot of music,” Jess replied, “you’d have to go through my iTunes to get the full picture; but right now I’m really into Wild Sweet Orange.”

A small smile appeared on Garrett’s lips, “I love them.”

“What about you?” Jess asked, her eyes coming into contact with Garrett’s blue ones, neither looking away.

“I like a lot of different music too, but my all-time favorite artist is Ryan Adams.”

“You like Ryan Adams?” Jess asked excitedly, “seriously? I love him! I’ve never met anyone else who knew who he is.”

Garrett nodded, “I know what you mean. None of my friends listened to him until I introduced them. He’s seriously my idol.”

Their conversation was interrupted as Kennedy appeared on the path, a cup in each hand.

“Jess, I’ve been looking for you everywhere! What are you doing back here?”

Jess could tell he was well on his way to being drunk, and she exchanged a knowing glance with Garrett.

“I was just looking around when Garrett found me,” Jess explained, looking down into her now-empty cup. Garrett abruptly stood and turned to Jess, “I’m gonna go before John tries to guilt me into being designated driver. I’ll see you later, though.”

Jess gave him a wave, slightly confused at why he was leaving so quickly. He began walking down the path, giving Kennedy a nod as he went. Kennedy then joined her on the rock, sitting in Garrett’s now-vacant spot.

“I was surprised to see him back here with you,” Kennedy stated, handing Jess one of the drinks. Jess shot Kennedy an inquisitive look before taking a small sip of her drink. Kennedy mirrored her actions before explaining, "Gary's kind of shy. I mean, when he's with friends and stuff we can never get him to shut up, but he doesn't really like talking to people-- especially cute girls."

Jess suppressed an eye roll at his lame attempt of hitting on her, but was surprised at what Kennedy had said; Garrett didn't seem uncomfortable talking to her. She was a bit confounded at the how badly she wished Kennedy hadn't interrupted her conversation with Garrett, she was really enjoying getting to know him. Jess didn't know why she was so interested in him, but she did know that he was the perfect subject for her essay.