We Could Make It Right

After dinner, I went upstairs to freshen up a little bit. I heard footsteps behind me, but I didn't think anything of it thinking it was Vee or Andy. That was when I realised that it wasn't. It wasn't either of them , it was Garrett.

"What are you doing up here?" I said just above a whisper. I stared into the mirror on top of vanity where now we both stood. Surrounding the mirror were pictures of the group all at different stages; The Maine's first gig, Halvo, Jared & Vee pulling a face at the camera, a group shot from my birthday and even a few couple-looking shots of Vee and John.

"You know Craig will kill you if he finds you up here," I said, still staring at our reflection as I fumbled with that one visible bobby pin.

"I'll take my chances," he pecked my cheek. Smiling, he rested his chin on my shoulder. His arms had somehow managed to sneak their way around my waist.

"Besides, Evan's got them occupied in baby Katie stories."

"Oh god." I squirmed, trying to escape out of his grip and crash onto my bed and hide under the covers and never come out. He spun me around; I tried to escape his grip but his grip was as tight as a little kid latched onto a teddy bear.

He had this smirk on his face; the kind that makes girls re-evaluate their existence and whether or not this is real life. The kind that makes you think 'holy shit, this is actually happening.' I felt my heartbeat pick up and suddenly I was reminded of what almost happened this afternoon. I was brought back to attention when Garrett started to mention a few of those wonderful stories Evan was telling Aunt Madelynn and Craig about me actually were; the time I'd dressed up as a fairy princess for my fifth birthday and insisted that everyone wear tiaras including Evan and Kevin and that time we had Bailey, our tabby cat and as a toddler, I'd almost squished him to death by hugs countless times.

I didn't properly remember that last one, but I knew that Bailey did have some kind of grudge against me and now it actually makes sense.

"It's cute,"

"Gare that's not cute, I almost killed a cat."

"Trust me, I think almost hugging a cat to death is more invigorating than jabbing a dead pigeon with a stick on a school field trip at age 7. Needless to say I'm scarred for life because come to think of it, its carcass was kind of bloody and disgusting looking."

He grimaced at the thought and all I could do was laugh. He carried on, stating that it was on a school trip to Washington State; he didn't want to go initially and that the dead animal was the only thing that kept things interesting.

I soon realised after staying upstairs for a quite a while that we still haven't been caught for being the only two in the bedroom; after a while he decided that it would benefit us to do some snooping. We took a quick glance into Andy's bedroom where Vee was watching John not act his age with Andy and his vintage car collection. It puzzled me why John, Vee and Andy didn't invite us to hang out with them after dinner, but I didn't push it, there was probably a good reason for it.

Into the living room we travelled, Garrett almost became enthralled by yet another embarrassing tale from the work-in-progress known as my life. Somehow, in this story I'm no longer a baby and Evan's telling Aunt Madelynn and Craig about the time I bit the dentist when I was 6 years old; but in my defence, he mentioned how difficult he was at the dentist too. We were definitely some of Dr. Butler's favourite patients.

"You really were a problem child, weren't you Reeves?" Garrett said, poking his head through the archway trying to get a better listen. I tugged on his arm, instantly pulling him away from the scene.

"Shut up, like you were any better Nickelsen,"

"I never bit my dentist, if that's what you were thinking." he laughed; slowly, a smug smile appeared on his face. Playfully, I nudged him in the stomach making him squirm just a tiny bit. "I guess I deserved that."

**

"Wanna go for a walk?" he asked out of the blue after the kitchen became less and less interesting. I put back the Oreos I was originally going to take with me after realising that was indeed the empty packet from this afternoon. No one was interested in what the teenagers were doing anymore, Craig had taken out some of his 'special occasion whiskey' from the liquor cabinet. They were now sharing stories of Vee and Andy and even some of their own mishaps as teenagers.

When we walked out the door, we were hit by a quick brush of cool breeze. We walked side by side, our hands stuffed into our pockets. The Arizona night sky was beautiful, especially on a clear night like tonight. We kept catching awkward glances at each other as we walked the first couple miles without saying a word.

"Just so we're clear, you're not taking me hostage again, right?" I said as I tried to keep a straight face. The sounds of crickets and cars in the far distance quickly filled the silence. Memories of the first time we hung out at night came flooding back; especially since I memorised the dirt road leading up to the park. In the darkness and the small amount of light emitted by the street lights, I could make out his smile.

"Correct." He laughed, nudging into me slightly.

"That's definitely assuring."

"You know me, Katie. Always one to please."

We walked up to one of the park benches that overlooked the lake; glistening, whimsical even. I'd never properly acknowledged this lake in our past few visits; which is ironic because it's almost the main focal point - a rarity in Arizona, some would put it.

"I talked to Evan after dinner earlier…actually, he talked to me." he said, staring directly ahead.

"He made me swear not to hurt his little sister and I don't know, we do make out a lot for two friends and if I"ve learned a thing or two in the past from Trey's relationships...that kinda counts as playing with emotions."

I could feel my heartbeat pick up rapidly; it was hard not to feel floaty, but I had to keep myself together.

"Which is why I-uh wanna know if you'd like to go to the pep-rally with me as my girlfriend?…" he turned to face me. His eyes were sincere. A smile quickly appeared on his face and his face slowly turned red.

"So…what do you say? I mean, I can't promise that I'll be prince charming or whatever, but we could work. I've never been more sure about this and please tell me we're on the same level here."

"I don't want prince charming. I honestly just want you for you, Garrett."

"I can do that." he faced me, smiling. He bit his lower lip as he moved in closer. It started to become harder to breathe; overwhelmed with so many emotions at once.

"Call me girlfriend." I managed to say.

"Girlfriend." he said smiling, sealing it with a kiss.