Don't Give Up On Us
The Lake...
I woke up to the sounds of Kennedy and Garrett downstairs talking and laughing. I reached for my phone and turned it on.
1 missed call - John Ohh
I grunted and threw my phone on the floor. I looked down at myself still wearing the dress from last night. I jumped out of bed and headed for the shower.
* * *
I went down the stairs and Kennedy and Garrett went silent. I sighed.
"Garrett, I'm really sorry for yelling at you and just leaving you both." My voice cracked.
I looked down at my hands. Garrett and Kennedy got up and hugged me. I began to cry.
"They're back together ! John and Melissa are freaking back together! Why?! She's horrible for him, what was he thinking letting her back into his life?!"
"I don't know, Val" Garrett answered softly.
"John said he's been trying to call you since last night, maybe you should talk to him." Kennedy suggested.
I wiped my tears and looked at both of them. I pouted.
"I love you guys !" I hugged them both tight.
"I love you too" They said.
* * *
I don't know why I decided to talk to John but I texted him to meet me at the lake we used to always go to for years. It was pretty hot out so I wore shorts with a loose tank top and sandals. My phone vibrated.
What time?
The message said. It was noon now. 12:30 I texted back. He quickly answered
Alright, see you there my dear (:
Really?! He's calling me that after what just happened. Unbelievable, so why did I smile when I read the text? I put my phone in my front pocket and headed downstairs.
"Well, I'm going to talk to John, see you guys later."
I blew both of them a kiss and went out the door. The walk to the lake was quiet and calming, it gave me a chance to think about what I was going to tell John.
It was only about two minutes to get to the lake from my house but it felt like it took forever. I went under branches and stepped over twigs finally reaching the lake. There he was, putting out his cigarette and shoving his hands in his pockets. He didn't notice I was there until I cleared my throat. He looked up almost startled but began to smile. His green eyes showing love and happiness. It almost made me forget why I came here.
"Hello my dear," John said walking towards me.
I didn't say anything, I just hugged him. I heard him exhale.
"I missed you." He whispered.
I let go of him and sat down, leaning against the big tree.
"Why didn't you tell me you two were back together?"
He sat down next to me, looking up at the sky and squinting at the bright Arizona sun.
"I don't know, I didn't want to tell you over the phone and I was planning on telling you last night at the party but when I saw you, I just....I don't know what happened to me"
"Why are you even with her?" I looked down, embarrassed. That was too forward.
"Opposites attract I guess,"
"Not all of the time, John" I said with a bit of anger. He put his arm around me.
"I'm really sorry that you had to find out that way,"
I rolled my eyes. I didn't want to talk about last night or about her at all.
"I love you, do you know that?" He added softly. He did love me, just not the kind of love I wanted him to feel.
"Love you too, John." I responded with a smile. We stayed that way in the comfortable silence for quite a bit.
"You looked amazing last night by the way," He looked down at me "You always do."
I was at a lost for words. I knew I was blushing and he let out a chuckle. We continued sitting in the comfortable silence while I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.
* * *
I opened my eyes to see that we were still at the lake. I quickly sat up and looked around for my phone. The time said two-thirty and I had 3 missed calls. Two from Garrett and one from Kennedy. I texted both of them letting them know that I was still at the lake with John.
I looked down at him. He was still asleep. Being the crazy person that I am I sat on him and shook him hard. His eyes went wide and almost cried out until he saw it was only me. I began to laugh
"You were so going to cry!"
John's eyebrow raised and with one swift movement he was up and had me over his shoulder. He was running towards the water
"John! No!" I called out between laughs and he threw me in the water, jumping in after.
I playfully hit his arm and he raised his hands up defensively
"We're even now!"
He and I started to laugh and swim around, listening to the sounds of the water whenever we moved. When we got out he went to his phone to check the time, it was three o'clock. He grunted.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Melissa's been trying to call me." He dialed her number and put the phone to his ear.
"Melissa, it's John, sorry I couldn't get to you but I, uh, I went to the lake and took a swim.....with Valarie...." I really wished that he didn't include me. "...so call me back when you get this message I guess. Bye."
He hung up and put his phone in his pocket. I looked up at him noticing that he was already looking at me.
"Remember when we used to come here to the lake and just stay here for hours talking, swimming and just having fun?"
"Yeah" I began to smile at the memories of me, 14, always hanging out with John (who was 18 at the time) and the guys. I always used to fantasize about us being together one day. My crush on him was obvious to everyone we knew. But not to him, I wasn't always sure if he knew or not. It seemed like he didn't know.
We walked to the front of my house and I looked up at him
"I missed hanging out with you," He said hugging me. When we let go he kissed me on the cheek and gave me that cute smirk I loved.
"See you tomorrow, my dear" He whispered in my ear and ran off.
* * *
"....And he gave me a kiss on the cheek and said 'See you tomorrow, my dear.' That's about it guys, now can I take my nap?" I looked from Garrett to Kennedy waiting on a response
"So you two didn't kiss?" Garrett asked. I sighed.
"Nope"
"Not even once?"
"No, not once. He has his stupid girlfriend anyway." I rolled my eyes at the thought of her. I pouted.
"Lets go watch a movie in the living room, we have practice at noon tomorrow but you need to just get your mind off of everything."
I smiled at Garrett, he just knows me. Kennedy nodded his head
"And no more Star Wars, Garrett, I think she suffered enough,"
We all laughed and headed for the living room.
"Alright you know the rules, whoever finds the control first picks the movie. And no tackling people, Val!" Garrett explained.
* * *
I woke up between Kennedy and Garrett on the couch and rubbed my eyes. I stretched and shook both of them. Kennedy tried to shoo me away and Garrett didn't even move. I looked over at the clock
"Oh crap, guys wake up ! It's noon already ! You're gonna miss practice, wake up a-holes!" I began to slap them with a nearby magazine.
They finally woke up noticing the time and dashed up to their rooms and got ready. I quickly went to my room to get ready wearing shorts with a fitted tank top. I started to fix my hair when my phone began to ring. I looked at the screen and smiled.
"Hello Mr. Ohh" I heard him laugh.
"Hello Ms. Daniel, I hope you're coming over"
"Of course I am"
"Good, I really want to show you something"
"Uhh, okay, we're going to be there in about five minutes"
I heard him begin to tune his guitar. We said our goodbyes and hung up.
I heard Kennedy and Garrett calling out for me so I went downstairs and we left.
It was extremely hot out, we almost ran to my car and turned on the air conditioner quickly, heading to John's house.
1 missed call - John Ohh
I grunted and threw my phone on the floor. I looked down at myself still wearing the dress from last night. I jumped out of bed and headed for the shower.
* * *
I went down the stairs and Kennedy and Garrett went silent. I sighed.
"Garrett, I'm really sorry for yelling at you and just leaving you both." My voice cracked.
I looked down at my hands. Garrett and Kennedy got up and hugged me. I began to cry.
"They're back together ! John and Melissa are freaking back together! Why?! She's horrible for him, what was he thinking letting her back into his life?!"
"I don't know, Val" Garrett answered softly.
"John said he's been trying to call you since last night, maybe you should talk to him." Kennedy suggested.
I wiped my tears and looked at both of them. I pouted.
"I love you guys !" I hugged them both tight.
"I love you too" They said.
* * *
I don't know why I decided to talk to John but I texted him to meet me at the lake we used to always go to for years. It was pretty hot out so I wore shorts with a loose tank top and sandals. My phone vibrated.
What time?
The message said. It was noon now. 12:30 I texted back. He quickly answered
Alright, see you there my dear (:
Really?! He's calling me that after what just happened. Unbelievable, so why did I smile when I read the text? I put my phone in my front pocket and headed downstairs.
"Well, I'm going to talk to John, see you guys later."
I blew both of them a kiss and went out the door. The walk to the lake was quiet and calming, it gave me a chance to think about what I was going to tell John.
It was only about two minutes to get to the lake from my house but it felt like it took forever. I went under branches and stepped over twigs finally reaching the lake. There he was, putting out his cigarette and shoving his hands in his pockets. He didn't notice I was there until I cleared my throat. He looked up almost startled but began to smile. His green eyes showing love and happiness. It almost made me forget why I came here.
"Hello my dear," John said walking towards me.
I didn't say anything, I just hugged him. I heard him exhale.
"I missed you." He whispered.
I let go of him and sat down, leaning against the big tree.
"Why didn't you tell me you two were back together?"
He sat down next to me, looking up at the sky and squinting at the bright Arizona sun.
"I don't know, I didn't want to tell you over the phone and I was planning on telling you last night at the party but when I saw you, I just....I don't know what happened to me"
"Why are you even with her?" I looked down, embarrassed. That was too forward.
"Opposites attract I guess,"
"Not all of the time, John" I said with a bit of anger. He put his arm around me.
"I'm really sorry that you had to find out that way,"
I rolled my eyes. I didn't want to talk about last night or about her at all.
"I love you, do you know that?" He added softly. He did love me, just not the kind of love I wanted him to feel.
"Love you too, John." I responded with a smile. We stayed that way in the comfortable silence for quite a bit.
"You looked amazing last night by the way," He looked down at me "You always do."
I was at a lost for words. I knew I was blushing and he let out a chuckle. We continued sitting in the comfortable silence while I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes.
* * *
I opened my eyes to see that we were still at the lake. I quickly sat up and looked around for my phone. The time said two-thirty and I had 3 missed calls. Two from Garrett and one from Kennedy. I texted both of them letting them know that I was still at the lake with John.
I looked down at him. He was still asleep. Being the crazy person that I am I sat on him and shook him hard. His eyes went wide and almost cried out until he saw it was only me. I began to laugh
"You were so going to cry!"
John's eyebrow raised and with one swift movement he was up and had me over his shoulder. He was running towards the water
"John! No!" I called out between laughs and he threw me in the water, jumping in after.
I playfully hit his arm and he raised his hands up defensively
"We're even now!"
He and I started to laugh and swim around, listening to the sounds of the water whenever we moved. When we got out he went to his phone to check the time, it was three o'clock. He grunted.
"What happened?" I asked.
"Melissa's been trying to call me." He dialed her number and put the phone to his ear.
"Melissa, it's John, sorry I couldn't get to you but I, uh, I went to the lake and took a swim.....with Valarie...." I really wished that he didn't include me. "...so call me back when you get this message I guess. Bye."
He hung up and put his phone in his pocket. I looked up at him noticing that he was already looking at me.
"Remember when we used to come here to the lake and just stay here for hours talking, swimming and just having fun?"
"Yeah" I began to smile at the memories of me, 14, always hanging out with John (who was 18 at the time) and the guys. I always used to fantasize about us being together one day. My crush on him was obvious to everyone we knew. But not to him, I wasn't always sure if he knew or not. It seemed like he didn't know.
We walked to the front of my house and I looked up at him
"I missed hanging out with you," He said hugging me. When we let go he kissed me on the cheek and gave me that cute smirk I loved.
"See you tomorrow, my dear" He whispered in my ear and ran off.
* * *
"....And he gave me a kiss on the cheek and said 'See you tomorrow, my dear.' That's about it guys, now can I take my nap?" I looked from Garrett to Kennedy waiting on a response
"So you two didn't kiss?" Garrett asked. I sighed.
"Nope"
"Not even once?"
"No, not once. He has his stupid girlfriend anyway." I rolled my eyes at the thought of her. I pouted.
"Lets go watch a movie in the living room, we have practice at noon tomorrow but you need to just get your mind off of everything."
I smiled at Garrett, he just knows me. Kennedy nodded his head
"And no more Star Wars, Garrett, I think she suffered enough,"
We all laughed and headed for the living room.
"Alright you know the rules, whoever finds the control first picks the movie. And no tackling people, Val!" Garrett explained.
* * *
I woke up between Kennedy and Garrett on the couch and rubbed my eyes. I stretched and shook both of them. Kennedy tried to shoo me away and Garrett didn't even move. I looked over at the clock
"Oh crap, guys wake up ! It's noon already ! You're gonna miss practice, wake up a-holes!" I began to slap them with a nearby magazine.
They finally woke up noticing the time and dashed up to their rooms and got ready. I quickly went to my room to get ready wearing shorts with a fitted tank top. I started to fix my hair when my phone began to ring. I looked at the screen and smiled.
"Hello Mr. Ohh" I heard him laugh.
"Hello Ms. Daniel, I hope you're coming over"
"Of course I am"
"Good, I really want to show you something"
"Uhh, okay, we're going to be there in about five minutes"
I heard him begin to tune his guitar. We said our goodbyes and hung up.
I heard Kennedy and Garrett calling out for me so I went downstairs and we left.
It was extremely hot out, we almost ran to my car and turned on the air conditioner quickly, heading to John's house.