Green and Gray

Things on the family front weren't as great as I would have liked. There was still bad blood between Ryver and I, which meant that I really had no desire to attend our weekly lunches. It was really the only time I got to see any of my sisters, but I knew just seeing Ryver's face would infuriate me. So being the selfless person I was, I decided I wouldn't attend them so they would go on without the tension that would surely be there if I did.

Instead, I drove myself over to my parents' house that Tuesday afternoon to spend my lunch with two of my favorite people. My mom and dad were sitting at the kitchen table, enjoying a bowl of salad. I smiled at the familiar tune of “New York, New York” by Frank Sinatra emitting from the old record player in the living room.

“Hi guys.” I greeted then leaned over and kissed my father on the cheek.

“Oh, hello Bird.” He said, using my childhood nickname, as I rounded the table and pecked my mom's cheek as well.

“Hi, Sweetie.” She smiled cheerfully. She had her long hair in a side braid with a flower at the base of her neck, just like usual. There were only rare occasions when my mother didn't wear flowers in her hair. The only reason for her garden in the backyard was for her hair. It was all apart of her quirkiness. But I wouldn't have her any other way.

“Why aren't you at lunch with your sisters?” She questioned in concern.

I sighed in response and plopped into the chair next to her, "I'm still not talking to Ryver, so I decided to spare everyone the tension and not go.”

My mother gasped. I knew it would kill her to know two of her very own daughters weren't speaking to each other since she had the “love everyone” mentality.

“Why aren't you and your sister talking?” My father asked as he stabbed his fork into a piece of lettuce.

“It's because of a boy.” Mom answered for me.

“I thought Ryver liked Landon?” He questioned in confusion.

“Oh, she does.” I said.

“Sparrow's friend, John, got back from tour two weeks ago and Ryver doesn't think she should talk or hang out with him.” She explained.

“Oh, all right.” He nodded. I knew that's really all he wanted, but my mother decided to elaborate.

“They got into this huge argument the other day when we were looking for dresses. So, now they're not talking.” She turned to me, “Which is a shame because you're blood.” I rolled my eyes.

“Wait, is this the boy who took you to Seattle recently?” I nodded warily, curious as to how he got his information, “Ryver was complaining about that the other day.”

I scoffed, “She needs to learn to mind her own business.” I felt myself building up a rant, but my mom quickly changed the subject.

“What did you do over the weekend?” She queried.

My anger vanished as the memory of Friday night entered my mind, “Uhm, I went to a wedding on Friday evening.”

They both stared at me in confusion, “Wedding? Who got married?” Mom asked.

“One of John's friends. He needed a date and I wasn't busy, so I went.”

She nodded then took a bite of her lunch, “Did you and Landon do anything?”

I shook my head, feeling almost guilty, “He was actually in California, visiting a specialist for his dad. He'll be home tonight.”

She smiled, “That's good.”

My phone vibrated as I nodded. Quickly, I dug it out of the pocket of my leather, studded jacket. I smiled at Landon's name. How ironic that he would text me right as I was talking about him.

“I can't wait to see that pretty face of yours tonight.”

Things like that made me remember why I chose him. But I didn't “choose” him. He just happened to sweep me off my feet when I was completely set on waiting for someone else to get home.

Just then, the front door opened then slammed shut, “Hi, Family.” Clover exclaimed with a bright smile as she strolled into the kitchen.

“Hi, Clo.” We all greeted.

She put down her purse on the counter then took a seat next to Dad, “You really need to talk to Ryver.” She said to me.

I looked up from my phone at her with an “are-you-serious?” look, “I was just defending myself. I'm not apologizing.”

She rolled her eyes with a groan, “You're both so frickin' stubborn, I swear.” I shrugged; it wasn't my problem

“Oh, Clover, I think I found your wedding photographer.” I said after I wrote Landon back a quick “I'm so excited.”

Her eyes lit up, “Really?”

I nodded, “Her name is Sawyer Santino and she's really good. She went to Brooks Institute in Santa Barbara and has done some band promos that have been everywhere.” I explained in excitement. When I got home from Seattle, I texted Nick and asked him about his wife's photography. He sent me the link to her website and I checked it out. She was really good and I knew Clover would like her.

“How'd you find her?” She asked curiously.

“Her husband is Nick Santino, who is in a band that played at that holiday show in Seattle. His band and John's band go way back, so I talked to him a bit.”

She pursed her lips and nodded, taking in my information, “How old is she?”

“I'm not sure. You can talk to John if you'd like; they're really good friends apparently.” She nodded once more just as my phone vibrated against the wood table again. I was expecting it to be Landon, but was wrong.

“JohnOh: We're hanging out tomorrow, so don't make plans.”

My brow furrowed, “Uhm, I think I already have plans with Landon.”

“I guess he can come along...”

I snorted at his response. With his views on Landon, I had a feeling that it would be an interesting day.

Landon came over that night with Chinese take out. We sat comfortably in my living room and watched Dead Poet's Society while eating from cartons. I was content with him and I had a feeling he felt the same. He never told me how happy he was or anything, but I just knew.

“So, what are we doing this weekend?” I asked as the credits rolled. I was leaning into him and loosely holding his left hand as it hung over my shoulder.

“Well, Love, I was thinking we could spend it all inside. I'm going to come over after you get off on Friday and I'm going to make you dinner.” He leaned down and kissed me softly, “Then on Saturday, I'm going to make you breakfast in bed and we're going to play board games all day.” He kissed me again and I giggled.

“Will you let me do your hair and makeup like a real slumber party?” I joked.

“Babe.”

I laughed, “I kid, I kid.” I said then wrapped my arms around his beck and kissed him. We didn't make it to the bedroom for the first round, but boy did my bed get a workout that night.


“What's on the agenda for today?” Landon asked, late the next morning. I'd just gotten out of the shower and was working on towel drying my dark hair. He was lounging on my bed, typing away on his phone.

The text from John the previous afternoon popped into my head, “Uh, John wanted to hang out.” He pursed his lips and nodded with a tiny scowl, “He said you could tag along.” I was nervous for some reason. I think it was mostly because I was beginning to feel as if he didn't like John.

“Really?” I nodded, “And what time was this all going to happen?”

I shrugged and dropped my wet towel on the ground by the bathroom door, “I'll text him.” I looked at Landon for a response, but I didn't get one; he was too busy on his phone again. I sighed in defeat then made my way into my closet.

Our plans were to get together at John's place that he shared with Garrett and Kennedy and we would all hang out. I'd never been to their house, so I was a little antsy to see where they lived. Landon was tense the whole way there, but he was almost rigid when we walked up to the door. I didn't know why he was acting the way he was, but I knew I didn't like it.

Kennedy answered the door, which I was kind of grateful for. I quickly introduced the two before we were invited inside. We were informed that John was still in the shower, so we congregated in the living room where Garrett was playing Left 4 Dead on XBOX. I introduced the two then sat and waited. Landon seemed to be extremely intrigued by the game on the screen, but was still lightly grasping onto my fingers in his lap.

“Hey, sorry about that.” I'd never felt someone tense up as quickly as when John walked into the room from his room.

“It's no problem; Garrett was entertaining us with his skills.” I smiled then got up to greet him. He pulled me in for a quick hug then went on to say “hello” to my boyfriend.

“Hey, Man, nice to see you again.” They shook hands and Landon let out a tense, “you, too.”

I sat back down with a smile, but it disappeared when I saw the look Landon was giving me, “What?” I mouthed, but all he did was scoff and shake his head.

John eyed me awkwardly as he sat in the love seat caddy-corner from me. The tension was palpable. I sighed.

“So, uh, Landon,” Kennedy began, “what is it that you do?” He asked politely.

“I'm studying to be an architect in London.” Kennedy nodded.

“How is it over there? We were just over there in September on tour.” John said, to be polite..

“Then you would know what it's like since you were just there.” Landon spat. I gave him a dirty look and gently slapped his leg with the back of my hand. He shot me a look then looked away from me. What the hell was his problem?

John cleared his throat awkwardly, “Okay.” I looked at him apologetically, “How are you enjoying Arizona?” He tried again. At least he was being civil.

Landon shot him an annoyed look, “It's wonderful. I like watching my father deteriorating in front of my own eyes.”

I didn't know what to do. I looked over at Kennedy and Garrett with panicked looks, which they seemed to match. Garett had abandoned his game to sit awkwardly as far away from Landon as possible.

“Look, Man, I'm just trying to be nice and get to know you for the sake of Sparrow.” I looked at him gratefully. At least he was being the bigger person.

“Oh, right, like you'd even care if you got to know me.” John rolled his eyes and I shot Landon a distressed look, telling him to knock it off.

“Hey, Gare, you, uh, want to go get lunch started?” Kennedy asked Garrett awkwardly.

“Yeah, definitely.” They both jumped up and practically ran out of the room.

I leaned back into the cushion of the couch and crossed my arms over my chest with a sigh. John looked at me in worry, but I just shook my head.

“We're having hotdogs. I hope that's okay.”

“Yeah, that's fine.” I said. Landon stayed silent. I rolled my eyes in aggravation, gradually getting more and more annoyed with my boyfriend. He was being such a little bitch and I didn't understand why. Well, I knew it had to do with John, but I didn't know the reason.

After a bit of awkward silence, John slapped his hands against his thighs, “I'm going to go see if they need help.” He was up and gone, leaving me with my bundle of joy boyfriend.

Landon didn't seem like he was going to address anything, so that left it all up to me, “What the fuck was all that?” I was pissed and I wasn't about to hide it from him.

Landon turned his head toward me, “What?”

I scoffed, incredibly annoyed, “Why are you being such an asshole?” He rolled his eyes but stayed silent. This set me off even further, “You have no reason to treat John how you are.”

This time, he scoffed, “That picture you have of you two on your phone. You're practically sitting on top of him with that big smile. Your hand is on his thigh, Sparrow, and you're sitting too close to him for it to be just friends.”

My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water. I was left practically speechless. I couldn't wrap my head around what was coming out of his mouth, “What are you insinuating?”

“You and him used to date!” He looked so furious all of a sudden. His face was getting red and a vein in his neck was beginning to show through his skin.

I shook my head, “No.” I knew he didn't believe me.

“Bullshit.”

I sighed, “We went on one date, then he invited me to his band's show, which is where that picture was taken.”

He shook his head, “So what happened? You guys decide you were better as friends?” He sounded so bitter.

“He left for tour the next day.” I answered truthfully, “Then you showed up.”

He was quiet and I assumed he was thinking over everything, “I really like you, Sparrow.”

My heart fluttered and a light smile graced my lips, “I really like you, too.”

He nodded, “So I'm sorry if I'm being a little bit overprotective., I just don't want you to run off with him.”

I shook my head as I wrapped my arms around his neck, “Never.”


I could see the shock on John, Garrett, and Kennedy's faces when I walked into the kitchen practically attached to Landon. They were even more shocked when he apologized for his behavior. I caught John's eye and smiled, but he ignored it and turned back to the counter, where he picked up a cake pan full of raw hotdogs and buns.

“I'm going to go throw these on the grill.” He said then headed for the backdoor.

“Let me help you.” Landon said, letting go of my hand and following after him. John shot me a confused look, but didn't protest to anything.

When the door shut, I let out a loud sigh and collapsed against the counter, “Oh my God, I'm already exhausted and we've been here for thirty minutes.”

Kennedy laughed while Garrett snorted, “Next time you come over, please leave your boyfriend at home.” Garrett said then continued chopping onions on the cutting board on the counter he was standing at.

“Trust me when I say that I didn't think Landon would act like this.” I said desperately.

“We didn't think you did, but seeing you with him is killing John.” My heart panged at Kenny's words, “He's not going to say anything because you're his friend, but it's really hurting him.”

Garrett nodded, “Now, we obviously don't want John to suffer because he's our friend, but we don't care that you're dating that guy. As much as we'd love for it to be John, it's not, so we're not going to fuck with it.” He gently wiped the remaining diced onions off the knife then set it in the sink.

“I don't know what to do, guys.”

Both of them looked at me, almost sympathetically. “You're going to have to stop stringing John along.” Kennedy said.

“I'm not stringing him along! He knows I'm with Landon, obviously.”

“Let me ask you this,” Garrett began, turning and leaning against the counter and folding his arms across his chest, “if John wasn't on tour when you guys met, would you have gotten with Landon?”

I blinked at him, “Probably not; the tour was the main reason why we didn't get together. If you guys were home and I was seeing John regularly, then I wouldn't have even given Landon the time of day.” I confessed.

“Why didn't you deny him anyways?” Kennedy asked and I shrugged.

“I hadn't heard from John since the show and Landon just showed up in the shop one day, looking all attractive and sounding all British. You can't say no to an attractive British boy.” They both groaned and rolled their eyes, “That same day, John texted me.” I frowned.

“Shouldn't you have taken that as a sign?” Kennedy pointed out.

“Probably, but I really never make the smartest decisions. I mean, I got blackout drunk the night before an early morning job interview back in high school and threw up all over the manager from being so hungover.”

They both began laughing just as the door opened. The two boys on topic walked in, carrying a tray of cooked hotdogs. They both looked tense again, which worried me. What happened outside? John looked at me then quickly averted his eyes. Something definitely happened outside.


Throughout lunch, I felt like running away. Landon and John were making snide remarks at each other, much to my dismay and I felt like every ounce of energy in me was being drained all the while my anxiety and stress levels heightened. I hated the drama and regretted even thinking the two of them could ever get along when they were together.

When we sat down, I thought we could have a decent time, but I was sadly mistaken. It all started out quiet and awkward, but it didn't stay that way for long.

“Christmas is coming up.” I stated, trying to start a conversation. “Anything in particular anyone wants?” I looked at Kennedy, “Kennedy?”

He seemed startled that I put him on the spot, but swallowed the bite he was chewing on and answered my question, “Uhm, there really isn't anything I desperately want, but an iPad would be cool.”

“Dude, that thing is just a giant iPod Touch.” Garrett argued and I laughed.

“Well, what do you want, Garrett?”

He shrugged, “Some movies and a couple of video games. Nothing too major. Nothing like a giant piece of shit iPad.” I saw Kennedy roll his eyes.

“What about you, Sparrow,” John said, gaining my attention, “what do you want for Christmas?”

It was my turn to shrug, “I have pretty much everything I want. A few gift cards would be nice, maybe a life supply of Starbucks.” He smiled at me, “It'd be amazing if I got tickets to see The Duke Spirit on the thirtieth, but they're playing in LA at The Roxy, so that'll never happen.”

“The Duke Spirit?” He asked and I nodded.

“They're an indie band from the UK. I've been a fan for a while and have never seen them live.”

Landon finally spoke up, “I saw them last year when they played in London. They're really good live.”

My mouth dropped in shock, “I didn't even know you liked them.”

He shrugged, “It was never brought up.” I was positive I played their music in front of him before and he said nothing. I let it go, though.

“I'm sure it was brought up if they're one of her favorites.” John said with an annoyed look. 'oh great,' I thought.

Landon rolled his eyes, “I don't see fit talking about every band I like or every concert I've been to.”

“Well obviously that's where we're different.”

“Yeah, you're the no one musician and I'm the successful architect.” Everyone looked at Landon as the sentence left his mouth. I even raised my eyebrows at him.

“Man, we sell out shows and we're on a major label. People from where you're from even know who we are. And you? You're still a student. Oh wait, you're not at the moment because you're here.”

Landon narrowed his eyes at John, “Piss off!”

Kennedy abruptly got up with a sigh, “I need a beer.”

“Grab me one, too!” Garrett called to which Kennedy waved in acknowledgment.

I looked at Landon, praying he wouldn't ask for one because I knew John would say something. But things weren't exactly going the way I'd hoped.

“Could you get me one, too, please? It seems as if I'm going to have to be a little intoxicated to deal with this pompous asshole.” John rolled his eyes and let the insult roll off his back. I was sure he'd been called worse.

Kennedy returned to the table and passed the bottle of Bud Light to him without a word. I could tell even he was annoyed at the behavior of my boyfriend. If I must be truthful, so was I.

“You don't want one, John?” Garrett asked, a bit surprised. John, in return, shook his head. “What's up with you these days, Johno? You're not drinking like a fish anymore.”

He shrugged, “I just thought I'd be respectful to my friend that doesn't drink.” I shot him a gracious smile, which he returned. “I mean, someone has to since there are people at this table who won't be.” It was a shot at Landon and he knew it, but Landon just ignored it.

“Does this have to do with Seattle?” Kennedy queried.

“Seattle and other things.” John was leaning back in his chair, already finished with his lunch.

“What happened in Seattle?” Landon asked, worried. It felt good knowing he was worried about something concerning me.

I shook my head, “Nothing really.” What a lie, “John got drunk, tried to force me to drink, and said some things. It's all been forgiven, though, so no need to worry.” I smiled reassuringly at him, but all he did was turn and glare at, what seemed to be, his worst enemy.

We didn't spend much more time at their place. Landon wanted to go and I wanted to leave he hostile environment I was in. I hated the situation I was in. I hated how Landon was acting. I hated the drama that had become my life.

“I don't want you to talk to John anymore.” We were driving home when Landon dropped the bomb on me. I almost choked on my own spit and stepped on the brake at the same time, but didn't.

“Excuse me?” I glanced at him incredulously then back to the road.

“Sparrow, he obviously has feelings for you and I think that if you stopped talking to him, we could have a healthy relationship.” My brow furrowed; since when was our relationship unhealthy? “Can't you do this one thing for me? For us?” The way he said it made it sound like he was asking me to take out the trash, and in his mind, I probably was, but this was a person I was “throwing away.” I was so confused at his request. It was like my mind couldn't wrap itself around what he wanted from me. Even though my head was screaming “no!” my mouth wouldn't work.

He eventually took my silence as an agreement and laced our hands together, “I knew you would understand.” He brought my hand up to his mouth and kissed it, “This is going to be good for us, you'll see.”

Since when did I let boys walk all over me?