Keep Your Heart Wide Open.

Gianna took one last look at Joel, staring into his eyes. Green with envy. She bit her lip and spun around to face Garrett again, swallowing her real feelings and pulling Garrett closer. As they swayed, Garrett looked over her shoulder at Joel, still confused. Every few seconds, the girl that Joel was dancing with would bump into Gianna, or “accidentally” stomp on her foot with her five inch heels that belonged on a street corner at midnight. Gianna scowled, nearly lunging at the girl when Garrett pulled her back.

He led her to the kitchen, holding her by the wrist. He tilted his head and looked down at her, a small smile on her face. Fake. He narrowed his eyes. “What’s up with you? You seem off.” She cleared her throat and shook her head, anxiously grabbing his wrist tightly before pulling him out of the room once again. “Me? No. I’m fine! I just want to dance.” He nodded and followed Gianna, landing on the complete opposite side of the room as Joel.

They continued to move to the beat, their bodies moving in sync with the pumping bass. Gianna would look at Garrett, then search for Joel, before looking back at Garrett. It was a sick routine that she continued to practice until she spotted him. She thrust her hand into Garrett’s and pouted her lips. “Gar, why don’t we go over there? It’s uh, less crowded.” Garrett followed her gaze and shrugged his shoulders without putting up a fight.

Once again they were in the company of Joel and his latest catch, who were still dancing feverishly. It took everything inside of Gianna to not lose it as she watched the girl dance with Joel, running her hands over him in ways even Gianna never had. As Gianna stared at the girl, Joel looked right at her. He bit his lip, a hurt look on his face. The look sent a new feeling through Gianna. It was one more painful from before. She almost regretted what she was doing. She almost pulled away from Garrett. She almost ran over to Joel and kissed him right there. But she didn’t.

She blinked away the tears that were beginning to form as she continued to stare at him. The girl dancing with him turned around to face Gianna once again, rolling her eyes before turning to Joel. She scoffed and spoke to Joel. “Come on, babe. Let’s get out of here.” The girl spoke loudly, quite obviously on purpose, knowing that Gianna would be able to overhear her. Gianna stopped in her tracks and stared at Joel, looking like a deer caught in headlights.

She waited to see what he did. The girl stood there waiting for him with her hand outstretched, her perfectly manicured nails visible. Joel stared at Gianna, studying her face without saying a word. He sighed and moved his gaze to Garrett before looking down and shaking his head before grabbing the girl’s hand and following her out of the party.

Gianna watched as Joel walked out of her sight with the girl. She couldn’t believe her eyes. She had stopped dancing and was now standing completely still, as if she were a statue. Garrett lightly waved his hand in front of her face when he saw her staring into space. “Hello? Earth to Gianna.” She shook her head and came back to reality, her lip quivering. “Oh, uh, sorry.” He put his hand on her shoulder, looking her directly into her eyes, once again.

“Gianna. Tell me what’s really going on. Please?” She bit her lip and nodded, taking him away from the crowd of people and leading him outside where they could talk alone. She sniffled and exhaled, trying not to look him in the eye. He placed his finger under her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes. “Does this have anything to do with Joel?” Gianna bit her lip and took a deep breath, exhaling loudly. She nodded her head and wrapped her arms around herself.

Garrett pulled her to the porch, pulling her down with him as he took a seat on the concrete. He wrapped his arm loosely around her shoulders, allowing her to rest her head on his shoulder. “Tell me everything.” So she did.

She told him how she had sat at the piano with him, feeling the electricity from a small touch. She told him about their “almost” kiss when he walked her to the buses for the first time. She told him about their talks and how they ditched the double date with John to hang out with each other. She told him how Joel had kissed her and how Gianna had never felt anything like it before. She told him how jealous she was of the girl tonight, and how she had tried to make Joel just as jealous.

When she had stopped talking, Garrett just sat there. He let her let it all out. He didn’t judge her. He just let her be. She turned to him, smiling lightly as she ruffled his hair. “I’m sorry I ruined your night.” He chuckled and shook his head. “Gi, I’m always here for you. You know that. You didn’t ruin my night.” She gave him a loose hug and once again her head landed on his shoulder.

After what seemed like forever, Garrett moved slightly, causing Gianna to look at him. “You know what you have to do right?” Gianna stared at him, waiting for him to continue. “You need to talk to Joel. You need to tell him how you feel.” Gianna looked down, resting her chin in the palm of her hand. She closed her eyes and exhaled. Garrett lightly banged his shoulder into hers. “Listen. The guys and I have known the This Century guys for a while. I’ve never seen Joel look at anyone the way he looks at you.”

Later in the night the party had dissolved and Gianna had made her way back to the tour bus, climbing back into her bunk. She stared up at the ceiling, a thousand thoughts running through her head. She tried to work out exactly what she was going to say to Joel, and failed miserably. After deciding that it was pointless trying to plan what she was going to say, she drifted off to sleep.

As she slept she thought of better times, hoping that this would work out. No matter what.