Girls Do What They Want

"Aunt Carter, when are we getting off this thing?" Ethan asked for the tenth time in the past fifteen minutes.
"Soon, E," I replied. "Hopefully."
As if on cue, an announcement was made over the plane's loudspeaker.
"Attention all passengers, we are currently approaching the Arizona Airport. We shall be arriving within five to ten minutes."
I let out a sigh of relief. The flight from California to Arizona had been way too long -- four hours to be exact. Molly had passed out within the first hour and a half, leaving me to entertain Ethan. Although I loved my "nephew", entertaining a five year old was extremely hard.
I nudged Molly roughly in the arm again, and she jolted awake.
"What?!" She exclaimed, her green eyes widened.
"Mommy!" Ethan giggled.
She sighed, a small smile on her face.
"Are we there yet?" She asked me.
"We're five to ten minutes away," I replied. "So we're staying at Garrett's right?"
Molly nodded. "Apparently there's a BBQ tonight at his house too. I told him it couldn't get too roudy though, 'cause of the E man."
A barbeque. Great. That meant John and Jared would be there. Mending things with Jared would be a lot easier than they would be with John. Mostly because I knew my feelings for him were still there. I had truly tried getting over him in the past five months, but it was no use. I couldn't help it.
A few minutes later, the plane landed. Ethan freaked out because of the turbulence, but Molly and I were able to calm him down. As we entered the Arizona Airport, luggage in toll, we searched for the guys' familiar faces. After a few moments of looking, I sighted Garrett.
"Garebear!" I squealed, hugging him tightly.
"Hey Carter!" He exclaimed, hugging me back. Next Garrett gave Molly a hug (a long one, too), and he bent down to meet Ethan.
"Hi there buddy." Garrett greeted. Ethan gave him a confused look.
"Who are you?"
I bit my lip as Molly spoke up.
"E, this is Garrett. He's friends with mommy and Auntie Carter. We're gonna be staying with him here in Arizona for a week." Molly explained. Ethan nodded slowly, observing Garrett. Garrett held out his hand, and a few seconds later, Ethan slapped it eagerly. Molly sighed in relief. Apparently a high-five was the universal sign for assurance.
"So how far away is your house from the airport, Gare?" I questioned as we retrieved our luggage.
"Not too far. Fifteen minutes at the most."
I nodded, waiting for Molly and Ethan to join us.
"Hey Car?" Garrett suddenly spoke up.
"Yes?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows at his nervous expression.
"I know you don't really wanna hear this but... y'know, it would be really nice if you and John made up. Jared's gonna be easy to apologize to, I mean he acts a lot tougher than he is. But John... you guys are so similar. I know you love him and everything, but there's no doubt in my mind that he has some kind of romantic feeling towards you--"
I suddenly cut him off from his little speech.
"Garrett, I know," I said in an annoyed tone. "It's been five months since I've talked to him. I don't think telling him that I love him is gonna make much a difference."
"It will, though! Please Carter, just listen to me." Garrett begged.
"I listened to you already. I know everything you want me to know. Just drop it, okay? I'm here for you, Molly, Pat, and Kennedy. I could give two shits about Jared and John." I replied coldly as Molly and Ethan joined us.
"We're ready!" Ethan exclaimed happily. I nodded, faking a smile on my face as we headed out of the airport.
"Are you okay?" Molly whispered.
I nodded quickly. "Fine."
As soon as we walked through the exit of the Arizona Airport, we were hit with a dry heat. This was my first time in Arizona, and although I had grown up in Florida and moved to California a few years ago, the AZ heat was nothing like the others. Florida was humid and California was just plain hot. Arizona was dry, and the second the air hit me, I needed water.
"How do you deal with this weather?" I muttered, walking towards Garrett's car.
"I've been living in Arizona all my life. I don't know anything different." He replied nonchalantly. I rolled my eyes, still annoyed at the episode between us. Molly knew something was wrong but chose to ignore it, strapping Ethan in the backseat of Garrett's small Mercedes.
I sat shotgun while Molly sat next to Ethan in the back.
"So we're having the BBQ tonight," Garrett said as we left the airport, trying to make conversation.
"Who's gonna be there?" Molly questioned.
"Everyone. Pat, Kennedy, Trey, Tim, John, Jared, and our friends from a band called A Rocket To The Moon." He answered. My heart hammered inside of my chest as I thought of seeing John and Jared again. Last month, when I saw them at the concert, they gave me the cold shoulder. I couldn't say I didn't blame them, but I was sorry. Especially to John.
"Are you okay with that, Car?" Garrett asked me, bringing me out of my thoughts. I quickly nodded.
"I'll be fine," I answered. If only.
~
John's POV
"So I heard Carter's gonna be at this barbeque tonight." Jared said as he pulled out of my driveway. As usual, Jared picked me up from my house and we drove to Garrett's house.
"So?" I replied, keeping my tone cold.
"So how do you feel about that?"
"What, are you my therapist or something now?" I asked. "I don't care. I'm over her."
"You and I both know that's a fucking lie, John." Jared said.
I rolled my eyes. "Are you gonna forgive her?"
Jared shrugged. "I'm not opposed to the idea. If you're over it than so am I."
"It's not a fucking group decision, Jared," I responded, growing angry. "You were hurt in a different way than I was. In fact, I don't even know why you're still pissed."
"What do you mean?" Jared pressed.
"I... uh, nothing." I muttered, instantly wishing I could take back my words.
"John..."
"I didn't mean that," I said, trying to cover up. "It was just that I felt partly responsible for her leaving."
"You like her, don't you?"
I looked at Jared, my eyes widened. "No!"
Jared chuckled. "You're acting like you're 17 again. You like Carter, don't you? You have all along."
"She's a nice girl, but she hurt me, dude. She's a bitch, let's face it."
"Maybe you're right, John. Maybe I don't have a reason to be pissed at Carter anymore. So why can't you forgive her and actually try being nice to her for once? It's obvious John." He protested, making a left turn.
"I don't like her." I muttered in frustration.
"Stop acting like a teenager, John! Time to man up!" Jared exclaimed, pulling into Garrett's driveway. I rolled my eyes, suddenly feeling nervous as I followed him into Garrett's backyard. We were instantly greeted with the scent of barbeque and alcohol, as usual. Of course, my bandmates and the Rocket guys were there, along with Carter, her familiar friend, and a small boy who was running around with Halvo.
"Hey, look who it is!" Nick Santino yelled, jumping up and greeting us.
"What's going on, man?" I asked, ignoring the fact that Carter's friend was basically staring me down.
"Nothing much," Nick replied. "So who's the girl? I heard you have a little something for her."
Leave it to Nick to get straight to the point.
"I don't," I said shortly. "I'm, uh... not really speaking to her at the moment."
"And you don't want a relationship with her? Nothing? C'mon John Oh, she's gorgeous!"
I sighed, finally spitting out a few words I would probably regret in a few minutes.
"I wouldn't be... opposed to the idea."
Nick grinned, putting his hands on my shoulder. "I got you, O'Callaghan!"
"Santino..." I growled, glaring as he went back over to Carter. I sighed. Tonight was going to be a long one.