On the Verge

Micah and Garrett said a very awkward goodbye at her apartment. To his surprise, she had hugged him. He had frozen completely when she quickly threw her arms around his neck, pressing her chest against his. He could smell her perfume on her, and her shampoo. She thanked him again as he tried to concentrate on anything besides the warmth of her skin through the fabric of her shirt, the way her arms felt around his neck. When she pulled away, she pressed her lips together into a shy smile, and it took so much effort not to kiss her. He said goodbye quietly as she slid out of the cab, handing the drive a ten dollar bill.

He didn’t arrive back to the studio house until nearly one. When he walked in, Jared and John were in the kitchen, making what looked like macaroni and cheese. He ducked as he walked past, and no one noticed his lip. He made his way to the bedroom, and when he noticed that all of the beds were full, meaning it was his night for the sofa, he sighed. He grabbed his pillow and blanket, which someone had conveniently thrown on the floor, and a pair of sweatpants. He changed in the bathroom and examined his lip in the mirror.

It was extremely swollen and there was a purple area around it. He didn’t notice until then that his nose had also been bleeding. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand before fussing with his hair. He tossed his clothes into the hamper and left the bathroom.

As he collapsed on the sofa, he could hear John and Jared talking in the kitchen. He rolled onto his stomach, his head turned to face the back of the sofa. The only light in the room was the light from the kitchen, which spilled into the room by way of the doorway. Garrett closed his eyes and let out a relaxing sigh.

Staring at the blue fabric of the sofa, his mind wandered back to Micah. He couldn’t stop thinking of the way the smile had faded from her lips as soon as that bastard walked into the bar. Closing his eyes, he could still smell the faint smell of her perfume, mostly masked by the smell of smoke and booze. Eyes still closed, he frowned and tried to think of something else, but it didn’t work.

When he woke the next morning, he was on his back, his arm across his forehead. His eyes opened, and the first thing that came into focus was Em, hovering over him. Her presence startled him and he cursed, pulling his blanket up to his chin.

“What the fuck happened to your lip?!” she demanded, sounding shocked. He rubbed his eyes, yawning. He pushed himself into a sitting position and looked at the clock. When he didn’t answer, she repeated herself.

“I got punched,” he grumbled. Not only did he not want to talk about it, but in his mind, it was too god damn early to deal with her. He stood up and walked around her. As he walked down the hall to get a change of clothes and to hopefully get a shower, she followed him.

“Did Micah punch you?” she asked, sounding a bit hopeful. She laughed once before continuing. “Let me guess: you tried to lay the moves on her and she punched you!” She paused to laugh obnoxiously while Garrett tried his best to ignore her.

“No, actually,” Garrett started with an irritated sigh. “After you ditched us at the bar, her ex showed up. He started saying stuff to her, I stood up for her, and he punched me. There. Now leave me alone.” Em was either too shocked or impressed to respond, and she let him disappear into the bedroom without another word.

When he finished showering, he had just enough time to eat a quick bowl of cereal before Em rushed everybody into getting in the van and heading to the studio for the day. In the van, Garrett got a text from Micah, asking if they were on their way. He responded, telling her that they were nearly there.

As soon as they arrived at the studio a few minutes later, he headed straight back to the control room. Micah was on the sofa, like she usually was. Her legs were curled under her, and she was wearing a skirt, which surprised him a bit. She was barefoot, her shoes on the floor beside the sofa, and she looked as though she hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before. Her eyeliner was a bit smudged in one corner, and her hair was down.

She patted the sofa beside her, motioning for Garrett to sit down. When he did, she immediately put a hand under his jaw, turning his face towards hers to examine his lip. A heat rushed up his neck as his thoughts clouded. He was too busy concentrating on her skin against his, and he missed what she had said to him.

“C-can you, uhm, r-repeat that please?” he stammered, his eyes flicker to the floor. She smiled.

“I said, ‘He really got you, didn’t he?’ ” she said again, smiling in sympathy. “Does it hurt?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “Nah.” She smirked, knowing he was playing the tough guy act. Her smirk faded into a soft smile as she dropped her hand from his jaw.

They both sat in silence, a small smile on Micah’s lips. Their moment ended soon when the rest of the band entered the control room, followed by Jonah, who was quick to put everyone to work.

Micah simply sat there for an hour, until Jonah begged her to go to Starbucks for him. She reached for her bag, sitting on the floor beside her feet, and made sure that her phone was in it’s usual pocket. She rolled her eyes as she stood up and shoved her feet into her flats before plucking the five dollar bill from her brother’s hand. She already knew what his drink order was going to be, so she didn’t bother to wait around and hear it.

She hailed a cab outside and directed the driver to the nearest Starbucks, hoping that the line wasn’t too long. Luckily, it wasn’t, and the cab driver offered to wait while she ran in to get the drinks. Micah was grateful, even if he did leave the meter running. She was in and out of the coffee shop in seven minutes, coming out with a grande mocha coconut latte for Jonah, a passion tea lemonade for herself, and two cups of regular coffee, one being for her father, the other for the cab driver.

She knocked at the driver’s window of the cab and handed him a cup. He thanked her graciously as she slipped into the back of the cab again, and instructed him to return her to the studio. She paid him, including a tip, when he pulled up outside the studio.

She chewed on her straw as she opened the front door and waved to the secretary. She walked back to the control room but only stayed long enough to hand Jonah his coffee and to smile at Garrett. Still chewing on her straw, she knocked on the door of her father’s office before twisting the door handle and pushing open the door.

Her father was more or less sprawled on his desk, his head still turned to stare at his computer screen. He forced himself to sit up as Micah set the coffee cup in front of him.

“You must’ve read my mind, Mic,” he said appreciatively with a wide smile. He took a long drink and sighed.

“I thought you’d enjoy it,” she said as he looked her over as she took a seat in the arm chair across the desk. She smiled a bit nervously as she took a sip of her tea.

“How are you?” her father, Ian, questioned, taking another quick drink of coffee. “You haven’t been around as much lately.”

She shrugged, slipping her feet out of her shoes and curling them under her. “I’ve been busy,” Micah said with a sweet smile. Her phone, in her bag, chimed and she reached for it. It was a text from Garrett, asking her when she would be coming back to the control room. She tried to hide a smile, but was unsuccessful.

“Busy what, flirting with band members?” he asked as she sent Garrett a reply.

She looked up cautiously, licking her lips as she did. “Not exactly.”

“Well, that’s not what I’ve heard.”

“From whom? Jonah?”

“Great guess,” Ian said, raising his eyebrows quickly. She tried to keep a nonchalance about her, yet it didn’t work. She took a quick drink as heat burned in her cheeks. “Just remember that they’re clients.” She took that as her cue to leave.

Micah rose to her feet, avoiding her father’s eyes as she stepped into her flats. She mumbled a goodbye, and when she stepped out of the office, she let out a breath of relief. She wiped her damp palms on her skirt, her phone chiming again from it’s spot in her bag.

Piper had texted her, asking about lunch. She didn’t respond right away, knowing that there were still three hours until her lunch break. Instead, she returned to the control room, where Em, Pat, and Kennedy called her over to sit with them.

They talked for a while before Micah could feel her attention and focus fading. She smiled politely before standing up and walking towards Jonah, who was working on a guitar part with Jared. She rolled one of the desk chairs over and plopped down, slouching immensely. She sighed loudly, clicking her tongue and earning her brother’s attention.

Jonah looked over at her, one fair eyebrow raised. She smiled sweetly and he rolled his emerald green eyes. She stayed seated for a few moments, still sipping on her tea. When Jared stood later, setting the guitar down, Micah turned her eyes back on her brother and he pursed his lips.

“What do you want?” he asked, sounding rather indifferent.

She narrowed her eyes at him. “What did you tell Dad about me?” she questioned, leaning in
closer to him. A look of “oh, shit” washed over her brother’s face.

“I didn’t tell him anything,” Jonah lied, turning to the computer screen in front of him.

“Bullshit, Jonah,” she said loud enough that her words rang through the small room. In the corner of her eye, she could see Garrett and Em look their way with inquisitive looks on their faces. She paused, licking her lips. She continued, in a lower tone of voice. “You told him I was flirting with the band members.”

“Which, technically, you have been,” he reminded her. “In fact, you’ve already bedded one.”

“Bedded, really? Of all of the euphemisms for sex, you decide to use one from the Tudor reign?” she taunted, smiling ever so slightly.

Jonah couldn’t help but laugh. “Don’t deny it, you love the Elizabethan period as much as I do,” he teased, and all at once, her frustrations vanished, as did the tension between them.

“Please,” she started, pausing to lick her lips. “Can you just not use my love life as a topic of conversation, especially with our father?”

“I’ll try my best. But no promises though.” He winked at her and she made a face at him. She rose from her seat and didn’t bother to return it to its proper place.

She stood there for a moment, crossing her arms over her chest. A slight brush crept up her neck as she could feel Garrett’s eyes on her. She ran through a list of things she needed to do within the next few hours. Paperwork? Not a chance. Flirt with Garrett? That could wait a little bit. Text Piper back about lunch? That could work.

She sat down on the sofa, where she had been earlier in the day. It didn’t take long for Garrett to move from the arm chair across the room to the spot beside her and she smiled softly as she reached for her bag.

“So, uhm,” Garrett paused to clear his throat. “What are you doing for lunch today?” he questioned.

Another smile flickered across her lips as she bit her bottom lip to try and hide it. She looked up at him, still fishing in her bag for a tube of chapstick. She spread it over her lips quickly before speaking. “Actually, my best friend texted me twenty minutes ago about lunch, and I’m just about to text her back.”

“Oh.” The monosyllable word was quiet as Garrett looked down at his feet. Micah rubbed her lips together and curled one of her legs under her.

“I’m sorry,” she said with a hint of amusement in her voice. She sent Piper a quick text about wanting to meet for lunch before she looked towards Garrett again. “I’d offer to let you come with us, but Piper’s a bit off the wall.”

Garrett laughed quietly. “I-it’s fine. I just thought I’d ask, y’know?”

“Y-yeah, I’m glad you did.”

The pair spent the next hour talking and awkwardness set in rather quickly. They had gotten to the point where a faint smile and a quiet laugh would ease the awkwardness. Her knee brushed against his thigh when she changed her seating position and he flushed rather pink. Soon, Pat wandered over, feeling the need to join their conversation and break the flirty bond. They lapsed into a conversation about nineties sitcoms, which lasted for a while.

Midway though a rather heated debate over which sitcom family was better, the Tanners or the Mathews, Piper walked into the control room, taking Micah by surprised. Micah beckoned her friend over and Piper sat down rather awkwardly. Piper seemed rather uncomfortable, which Micah noticed, so she excused Piper and herself, deciding to take an early lunch.

“D’you something?” Piper asked twenty minutes later, sipping at a martini.

“What, Pip?” Micah responded with a quiet sigh. She ripped off a small piece of bread from the loaf on the table of the upscale Italian restaurant and popped it into her mouth.

“We need a vacation.”

“We do?” she questioned skeptically. “Why do we need a vacation? You don’t work, and you’re life is total bliss. My work life consists of coffee runs and entertaining band members.”

“Regardless of the difficulty of my life, I need a change of scenery,” she said with a nonchalant shrug, pursing her lips.

“By change of scenery, do you mean a new place to shop?” Piper didn’t find Micah’s joke to be nearly as funny as Micah hoped.

“What’s been up with you lately?” she said, a great deal of annoyance in her voice.

“Absolutely nothing.”

“You’ve been hanging out with those guys too much.”

Micah rolled her eyes as the waitress set her salad down in front of her. She was so suddenly irritated with Piper that she didn’t bother to point out the fact that she had asked for raspberry vinaigrette on her salad, rather than ranch, and that she’d asked for no onions.

“Actually,” Micah said, stabbing a cherry tomato with her fork. “Garrett asked me to have lunch with him today, but I said no because I already had plans with you.”

Piper didn’t respond, she only sucked her teeth and picked up her fork, starting on her salad. They ate their salads in silence and Micah could feel herself giving in to the idea of a vacation. When the waitress refilled Micah’s water glass and cleared their table a few moments later, Micah wiped the corners of her mouth with her napkin and looked to Piper.

“So where did you have in mind?” she asked her friend, reaching for her phone to check her schedule.

“For what?” Piper responded, one eyebrow raised.

“For our vacation. silly!” Micah offered a smile, raising her glass to her lips and sucking through the straw. Piper’s eyes lit up, knowing she had won.

“I was thinking about Miami,” Piper started.

“Really?” Micah groaned. “You picked the one of the only cities in the country that are hotter than LA.”

“Shut up.” She rolled her eyes. “Dad has that condo on the beach, and he’s putting it up for sale in a few weeks, so we need to go now! And come on, I know you love Miami!”

“What the hell makes you think that?” Micah asked, laughing incredulously.

“The last time we were there, you had a great time!”

“No, the last time we were there, you had a great time. I had a miserable time, because you got plastered every night and threatened to puke on me if I didn’t hold your hair for you!”

Piper laughed at the memory. “So, Miami then?” she asked hopefully.

“Whatever,” Micah said, shaking her head. “When did you want to leave?”

“Uhm, tonight?” Piper suggested. Micah narrowed her eyes at her. “Oh, come on! My dad can have the jet ready in two hours, and if we leave around midnight, we can sleep on the plane. We’d be ready to hit the beach by ten a.m.!”

She grumbled something under her breath before sighing in defeat. “Fine. I’ll talk to my dad when I get back about letting me off work for a while. I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“Brilliant.” Piper gave her best friend a white smile, biting her bottom lip in anticipation.