On the Verge

When Em called Micah the next morning, and asked if she wanted to go for lunch later that day, Micah knew that John would be the main topic of conversation. Once Micah arrived at the studio the day before, she had avoided John like the plague, and he had done the same. As soon as she’d entered the control room, he’d stood abruptly and left, hardly looking at her as he’d passed.

Garrett hadn’t bothered to show up at the studio that day, but while he was out of sight, he wasn’t out of mind. When John had left the control room, the uncomfortable silence that filled the room was unbearable, so Micah retreated to her father’s office, where she spent the rest of the day.

Her father had known that something was up with her, and she knew he’d hear about her sexual encounter sooner or later, but she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him. The pair went out for lunch and she sat in on a few of his meetings.

Piper came over that evening for a few hours, but when she left at ten, Micah climbed into bed and slept for what felt like forever. She received Em’s text about lunch when she woke up at eight. She responded immediately, agreeing that they should get lunch. Sitting up, she sighed, reaching for the to-do list on the lamp shade. Dress like you give a fuck, try to talk to Garrett, try not to punch John, eat something fattening and feel no regret, smile, don’t kill anyone.

After dragging herself out of bed, Micah showered quickly. She blow dried her hair and allowed it to curl naturally. She put on neutral tones of make-up and dressed in a pair of grey skinny jeans and a green t-strap tank top. Looking herself over, she shrugged. Her goal had been to dress like she gave a fuck, and she had, more so than the day before. She tossed a few things into her bag and put on a necklace and earrings, as well as red lipstick. She called down for her car and grabbed a bowl of granola cereal before heading for the elevator.

She hit traffic on her way to the studio and as she stifled a yawn, she wished she had stopped for coffee. She rolled her eyes, pulling into a random parking spot, still irritated that every day, The Maine’s van took her normal spot. She walked into the studio, removing her sunglasses. She stopped into her father’s office to tell him good morning before continuing to Jonah’s control room.

Em greeted her with a smile, waving her over to the back sofa where she was sitting with Garrett, while Kennedy was working with Jonah. Micah and Garrett made eye contact for two seconds before he looked away, his cheeks a bit pink. Micah felt her own cheeks flush as she sat down next to Em uncomfortably.

“So,” Em started, turning towards Micah. “Where do you want to go for lunch? I’m kind of on a tight budget, so cheap works.”

“I’ll take you to the place I always go with Piper. And don’t worry about it, Dad knows the owner, so he never makes us pay,” Micah explained, trying to push the thoughts of Garrett from her mind.

“Wanna go with us, Gary?” Em asked with a bright smile, turning around to face him.

“Fuck off,” he grumbled, rolling his eyes.

Em punched him in the arm and he grunted. “Who pissed in your Cheerios, Mr. Grump?” she questioned, scowling at him.

Micah fought the urge to stand up and leave, but remained seated, her cheeks flaring again. She sighed quietly, pressing her lips together. An awkward silence pursued that only worsened when John walked in. John looked around and his eyes settled on Micah. Garrett saw this and quickly stood and walked towards the door. John soon forgot that Micah was even in the room and he went to sit with Jared and Pat. Micah closed her eyes, pulling her knees to her chest.

The hours passed unbearably slow. Garrett came back, casting an unsteady look towards Micah when he entered. He sat as far away from her as possible and Micah sighed, reaching for her phone. She texted Piper, simply so she’d feel less awkward sitting there. Em had left with Kennedy fifteen minutes before and Micah wasn’t sure she wanted to know where they’d slipped off to. John and Jonah had left as well, so Micah was left with Garrett, Pat, and Jared.

It didn’t take long for Jared to clear his throat and nod his head towards the door. Pat nodded and they both stood up and walked for the door, leaving Garrett and Micah in an awkward silence. She clicked her tongue, irritation. She quickly realized that they had set this up, so that her and Garrett would be alone together, in hopes that they would talk.

Garrett sighed, glancing over his shoulder to her. He cleared his throat and a quick smile flickered over his lips. He looked nervous. “I-I, uh, I think they s-set us up,” he stammered, his cheeks flushing a bit.

Micah licked her lips insecurely. She took a quick breath and nodded. “Seems like it, yeah,” she commented, trying to sound nonchalant. It didn’t work too well.

He was still looking back at her and his brow creased when she pursed her lips, looking back to her phone. He looked away after a moment, and she took to opportunity to sneak a peek at him. The collar of his shirt was stretched out severely, his collarbones visible. His hair was messy and hanging in his eyes and he looked tired. Her eyes traced the outline of his jaw and his lips.

She opened her mouth to say something to him, anything really, yet at that moment, Em reentered the control room, breaking the silence. From the look on her face, she realized that she had interrupted any progress that Micah and Garrett had made. She sent Micah an apologetic look and cleared her throat, looking nervously towards Garrett.

“When did you want to go for lunch?” Em questioned, looking towards Micah. Micah quickly looked at the clock on her phone and realized that it was nearly one in the afternoon.

Micah stood up quickly, dropping her phone into her bag before pulling her bag onto her shoulder. “I’m ready now,” she answered, toying with the tassel on the end of her necklace. Her eyes drifted towards Garrett who seemed to be sitting uncomfortably still. Em smiled quickly and they headed for the door.

Twenty-five minutes later, Micah and Em sat in the cool air of the restaurant. Now miles away from Garrett and John, Micah could feel herself finally relaxing. She ordered a pomegranate iced tea and a grilled chicken salad. There was a slight tension between her and Em, she could feel it.

“Garrett thinks you’re mad at him,” Em said, chewing on her straw. She looked up at Micah, twirling the straw between her teeth.

“Why would I be mad at him?” Micah questioned, frowning.

“That’s what I said!” Em agreed, her voice raising. “I mean, if anyone should be mad, it should be him. I mean, you did ditch him to go fuck one of his best friends.” Em shrugged, taking a sip of her lemonade.

“Oh, thanks for making me feel so much better.” Micah scoffed, stabbing a few pieces of lettuce with her fork. She rolled her eyes as she chewed. “Did you bother to tell him that I wasn’t mad?”

Em made a face at her. “Why would I do that? I mean, he probably wouldn’t believe me, and he should really hear it from you.”

Micah thought over the words her friend had just spoken. They made sense, but talking to Garrett seemed much easier said than done. Talking to him before the party had been difficult, and now it seemed nearly impossible. She swallowed her mouthful of food and pursed her lips.

“So, has John said anything? About me?”

“Are you sure you want me to answer that?” Em asked skeptically. From her expression, Micah could only guess that John had said plenty about her. “He’s just not a serious relationship type of person,” she tried to explain, her voice slow.

“He’s more of a ‘hit it and quit it,’ person, I get it,” Micah said with a shrug, running her tongue over her teeth. “I’m over it, trust me. I don’t know why I slept with him in the first place.”

“You were drunk, Micah, that’s probably why.” Em laughed, taking a bite of her pasta.

“I honestly wasn’t drunk though. Tipsy, yes, but not drunk,” Micah explained, taking a sip of tea.

The rest of their lunch went nicely, once the awkwardness passed. John turned out to be a topic of conversation, as did Garrett. They finished their meals and split a caramel sundae before hailing a cab and returning to the studio. Micah handed the driver a ten as they climbed out of the cab back at the studio.

They entered the lobby laughing, and Micah quickly stopped when she saw Garrett waiting for them in the hall. His attention was directed to his phone, and he was leaning against the wall. He looked rather irritated as he sighed, shoving his phone into his pocket. He didn’t notice the girls until they were only two feet away. He looked to Micah, his eyes a bit wide as he cleared his throat.

“Well, Gary, it seems that you’re waiting for us,” Em teased, sending him a wink. She giggled softly as Garrett rolled his eyes.

“I wasn’t waiting for you,” he growled at her, his temper already running short. He let out a short breath and his eyes darted towards Micah.

“I’m gonna go tell Kenny that you yelled at me,” Em told him, scowling before taking off down the hall, towards the control room.

Garrett rolled his eyes again before looking to Micah. She pressed her lips together rather anxiously. She met his eyes and he looked her over quickly. She was instantly thankful that she had put on a fresh coat of lipstick in the cab.

“You, um, y-you look nice today,” Garrett said, stumbling over his words. He smiled nervously, rubbing the back of his neck as he looked towards the floor.

“Thanks,” she responded, shifting her weight to her opposite foot. She felt a slight blush creep up her neck and she laughed quietly. “I’m glad you think so. Dressing like I actually give a fuck was one of my goals for today.”

“Goals?”

“My mother always talked about a day without achieving something is a day wasted, so every night, I write down my goals for the following day on a Post It note and stick it to my lampshade,” she explained with a self-conscious laughed, looking at her toes. “It’s stupid, I know.”

“It’s not stupid,” he said, clearing his throat. “It’s actually really smart.”

A smile flickered over her lips and the smile quickly spread to his. They made eye contact and neither looked away. She felt a weight leave her chest as she tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. She could feel Garrett’s eyes tracing over her features and she blushed softly.

“So, uhm, are we good then?” she asked after a moment of silence. Garrett looked at her timidly.

“Y-you’re not m-mad?” he stammered. He wiped his palms on the denim of his jeans, a lump rising in his throat. Slowly she smiled, licking her lips quickly. He could see a light in her eye begin to twinkle and a smile tugged at the corners of his mouth.

“Of course not!” she said with a quiet laugh. “If anything, you’re the one who should be mad. I mean, I did kind of ditch you, then sleep with your bandmate...”

Her words stuck a nerve in Garrett’s gut and he flinched. “Yeah, can we maybe not talk about that?”

She realized her mistake and nodded silently, her lips pressed together. “Sorry,” she apologized, her voice quiet. “And I’m sorry for the other night too. I don’t know why it happened.”

Garrett swallowed, looking away. He nodded once, signalling that she was forgiven.

“Y’know, it’s been kind of lonely the last two days, without someone to have an actual conversation with,” she commented, toying with the hem of her tank top.

“You had Em to talk to,” he reminded her. She glanced back up at him, eyebrows raised.

“This is Em we’re talking about, G. Any conversation she has with someone revolves around Kennedy, peanut butter, and her Corgi.” Micah rolled her eyes and shaking her head once. Garrett laughed, realizing she was right.

He was extremely surprised when she reached for his hand, lacing her long, narrow fingers through his. She smiled softly, noticing how warm his hand was. She could feel the callouses on his fingers from playing his instrument. She licked her lips, butterflies suddenly swarming in her stomach. She took note of his shocked expression and couldn’t help but giggle quietly. She squeezed his hand tightly before releasing it.

“I, uhm, I have some papers my dad wanted me to fax, so I should probably get to them,” she said, smiling widely as she took a few steps away from him.

He cleared his throat, nodding. “Y-yeah. Can I, er, text you tonight?” he asked, his voice quavering as he spoke.

Micah pressed her lips together, nodding. “I’d like that.” She gave him a final smile before walking towards her father’s office.

“You seem to be in a far better mood today than yesterday,” her father noticed the moment she stepped into his office. She shut the door behind her and inhaled the familiar smell of vanilla spice, a custom brand of incense her father liked to burn.

Micah failed to hide a blush as she slipped into the chair across from her father’s desk. “Your point?” she asked, holding her chin up in false confidence. Her father only shrugged, turning back to his computer screen.