Girls Do What They Want

Four months later.
"You know, it would be really cool if you came out to the show tonight, Car." Garrett said, playing with the ends of his copper hair.
"Are you insane, Garrett Nickelsen?!" I exclaimed, arching my perfectly sculpted eyebrows at him.
"What? I mean, it's been four months. C'mon, they don't totally hate you." Garrett replied, making me sigh.
"Garrett, you're the only one that still talks to me. Obviously, they still hate me."
"That's not true," He said. "Kenny's fine, and Pat healed up. Jared kind of forgot what happened."
"And John?" I asked, choking up at his name.
"He... well, he's still a little hurt." Garrett bit his lip. "Well a lot hurt. He's been sleeping around with chicks ever since and he's not the same."
"And you think coming to the show tonight is gonna make anything better? C'mon Gare, you and I both know that it's only gonna get worse."
"Well will you at least think about it?"
I nodded. "Maybe."
"Thanks, Car." Garrett smiled. "Well I gotta get going. I'll see you tonight though."
I rolled my eyes. "We'll see."
He chuckled as he waved goodbye, ending our video chat. For four months, Garrett and I kept in touch through text, phone calls, and Skype. He was the only one that continued to keep in touch with me and wasn't that angry -- he was also the only one that knew why I really left.
Speaking of which, I still sadly wasn't over John. I thought about him everyday and missed him like crazy. I missed all of the guys in fact. I was currently working as a waitress at TGIFriday's, and my life had slowly spiraled down in the past four months. Avery, Garrett, and a girl named Molly that worked with me were basically my only friends, and I hadn't seen my parents in months. Though they lived in Florida and I kept in contact with them both, my salary had heavily decreased since I got fired, and I couldn't afford to fly down to see them. And since they were both 63 years old, I refused to make them go on a plane for six hours just to come to see me.
Anyways, The Maine were in town tonight, playing a show at a venue an hour away from me. Garrett had been asking me to come see them for nearly a week now, but I was on the fence about going. I mean, I could go, watch their set, quickly say hi to Garrett, and then run back home. But that seemed impossible since I probably breakdown crying when I saw them perform. I sighed, grabbing my phone and dialing Molly's number. Since meeting her, she had become my best girl friend besides Avery (who still worked at Fearless), and I had told her everything about what happened. She had a five year old boy named Ethan and he referred to me as Auntie Carter.
"Hey chica." Molly instantly greeted.
"Hey," I greeted back. "So, I just got off video chat with Garrett."
"Did he try getting you to come to the show again?"
"Yep." I answered, popping the 'p'. "I don't know if I should go or not."
"It's been four months, Car. I think they're all over it. Well... almost all of them are over it."
"But it's gonna be so fucking weird, Molls! I haven't seen or spoken to them with the exception of Garrett." I exclaimed in frustration.
"Look, how about this -- I can ask my mom to watch Ethan for the night and we'll go to the show, you and me. I'll be there to kick anybody in the balls that is a bitch to you." Molly said as I pursed my lips in contemplation.
"I dunno, Molls..." I said, my voice trailing off.
"What's so horrible about that?! C'mon, what's the worse that'll happen?" She questioned, making me sigh.
"A lot of things."
"Carter."
"Fine, fine," I breathed out, glancing over to my alarm clock. "The show starts in three hours. Meet me at my house in two. I'll tell Garrett we're coming."
"Yeaaahhh, Carter!" Molly exclaimed into the phone, obviously excited. "I'll see ya soon!"
"See you soon." I laughed, hanging up the phone.
I quickly composed a text to Garrett, telling him Molly and I were going to go. Within seconds, he replied.
From: Garrett :)
Really?! Yay! I'm so stoked that you're coming. Nothing bad's gonna happen, I promise. And is your friend cute? ;) Just kidding. See you soon! <3
I rolled my eyes, smiling softly at Garrett's text message. Tonight was definitely going to be... interesting.
~
John's POV
"Holy shit!" Jared yelled as soon as we got off stage.
"That was crazy!" Pat exclaimed as I ran my hand through my sweaty hair. I followed the rest of the guys to the dressing room, where they were still raving about the show we had just played.
I grabbed a bottle of water, quickly finishing it within a few seconds. I was sweaty and hot and wanted to get out of this state as soon as possible. The entire day I had been thinking about her, and it didn't help that I knew Garrett had video chatted with her earlier today.
"Alright guys, you got fifteen minutes until you can go hang out with the fans." Tim told us, clapping his hands. I nodded, sitting down on the couch and cooling down.
I noticed Garrett slip out of the dressing room. He was probably going to the bathroom.
"Hey, buddy." Kennedy greeted sitting down next to him.
"Hey." I greeted back flatly.
"You doing alright?" He asked. I shrugged.
"I've been better."
"I know you're thinking about her." Kennedy told me. I bit my lip, looking away.
"She doesn't mean anything to me." Lie.
"Whatever, dude. Don't lie to yourself." He said, standing up and walking over to Pat. The dressing room door swung open, and in walked Garrett. With two other girls. My jaw dropped.
There she was. Garrett's arm was loosely hung around her shoulders and she bit her lip in anticipation, looking down as everybody stared at her in awe. The other girl -- who I didn't know -- stood beside her, staring at all of us. She looked extremely angry.
"Uh... guess who?" Garrett said awkwardly. She bit her lip, and to my surprise, Pat stood and ran towards her, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"Carter!" Pat yelled as her eyes widened in surprise. "I missed you so much!"
After a few seconds of being in shock, Carter hugged him back.
"Hey." She greeted, smiling as they broke apart. Then, Kennedy walked over, hugging her.
"I can't say I wasn't hurt, but I'm definitely over it." He said, as the two smiled at each other.
Jared stared at her, rolling his eyes as he stormed out of the room.
"He'll come around." Pat said, attempting to make the situation less awkward. I looked down as I felt Garrett's eyes on me. He cleared his throat.
"Whoever hasn't forgotten about what happened is obviously immature," Garrett said, turning to Carter and her friend.
"Pat, Kenny, this is Carter's friend from work, Molly." He told them, introducing them to each other.
They greeted each other, then began a conversation, asking Carter how she's been. They acted like I wasn't even there. I glared at Garrett, who simply rolled his eyes at me. I sighed, standing up and storming out of the room, looking to find Jared. After searching the busy venue for a few minutes, I decide to head out back to the fans.
Carter's POV
"He's being such an asshole." Garrett muttered, crossing his arms over his chest.
"It's not your fault, Gare..." I said quietly.
"It's not, but still. If he stopped being such a pussy and actually talked to you then he would obviously start acting happier."
"He'll come around." Kennedy offered.
"I can always kick him in the balls like I promised, Car," Molly said, making me smile softly as tears began to stain my cheeks.
"Aw, don't cry!" Pat exclaimed, wrapping his lanky arms around me.
To Kennedy and Pat, they thought I was crying because John was acting like an ass. But Molly and Garrett knew that I wasn't over him, and he was far over me.
"Maybe you should talk to him." Molly suggested when my sobs quieted.
"Yeah, call him tonight or something." Garrett agreed.
"I don't know..." My voice trailed off.
"He still has the same number." Kennedy told me.
I shrugged wordlessly.
Suddenly, the door swung open and Jared appeared.
"I hate to interrupt the little love-fest going on here but our fans are waiting for you three outside." Jared spat, slamming the door behind him. I sighed, swallowing the lump of tears developing in my throat yet again.
"We'll, uh, see you guys in like an hour, okay?" Garrett said, walking towards the door as we followed them.
"Actually, I think we're gonna get out of here." I announced, biting my lip.
"Why? Aw Car, don't let Jared and John ruin this--"
I shook my head, cutting Pat off.
"We have work in the morning. I'll come visit you guys in Tempe, though. I promise this time." I said, faking a smile for the three. They nodded, hugging Molly and I goodbye.
"You did good, chica," Molly told me as we exited the venue. "You did good."