One More Sunset

"So how have you been?" Kennedy asked Brooklyn while they all sat on the tour bus.

The fans had cleared out by then and they were on the bus outside the venue. They delayed leaving to head to the next venue so they could all talk with Brooklyn for a little bit. Once everything had been loaded, everyone piled on to The Maine's tour bus to catch up with her.

She shrugged, taking the red plastic cup from John, who had made her a drink. "I'm fine, I've been doing well. How about y'all? Looks like you guys are doing great."

Everyone else said something is response, but it was all along the lines of them doing fine. More questions were exchanged between them all to catch up and small stories and small talk was made for the next hour or so.

"You seein' anyone, Brook?" Austin asked, his gaze briefly flashing to Garrett, who had been checking his phone at the time. As soon as the question was asked, he stopped, looking over at Brooklyn.

Her hair shook as she shook her head no. "No, I haven't had time actually. I've been working a lot, but my boss is out of town for the next week so I'm off, that's part of the reason I was able to come tonight, since it's a Wednesday and all," she explained.

Austin nodded slowly, saying that he was happy he didn't have to beat anyone up, which made everyone else laugh. "Where are you working now?" Jared asked. "Last I heard you were working at some restaurant."

"I'm actually working as a receptionist at a therapists office. My boss self owns it and he's been working with me to help me with on the job experience. Once I have enough, I'll be able to get a real job with this office that I've been talking with. And you guys all said being a psychology major was a bad idea," Brooklyn said, laughing at the end, along with everyone else.

For a little bit longer, they all chatted more. After another half hour, Tim sighed, catching everyone's attention. He claimed that he didn't want to ruin the reunion, but it was time to head out if they wanted to get to the next city in time. They all pouted, complaining in some form.

Brooklyn stood up to leave, smiling at the boys all there that used to be like her family. She started saying her goodbyes, hugging them all in a row. When she got to the actual members of The Maine, she felt her heart tug. First she hugged Pat, who said he was so happy to see her and that he missed her. She said it back, then promised to keep in touch. Jared was next, who she hugged as well. He ruffled her hair. For as long as she could remember, Jared was like an older brother. He always listened to her and gave her advice. She loved him like family, along with Pat and the rest.

Kennedy grinned, saying she better not disappear again or he'd beat her ass. With a laugh, she hugged him. John picked her up as he hugged her, giving her a sloppy kiss on the cheek. Brooklyn rolled her eyes but accepted the sloppy kiss with a laugh.

"Promise me you'll text me often? We've all missed you so much, girly," he said, his hands on her upper arms.

Brooklyn nodded and promised him before moving to Garrett. He nodded towards the door, saying he'd walk her to her car. She waved goodbye as they slipped out the door together.

As they walked, Garrett's hands were in his pockets. Brooklyn was playing with her fingers, not sure of what to say. They used to be so comfortable with each other and each of them thought this was weird.

"I uh, I'm sorry, Gare," Brooklyn finally said. She glanced at him, seeing that his gaze was already on her. "For everything, I guess. I'm sorry about it all."

He stopped walking, which caused her to stop as well. "It was never your fault, Brook," he said softly.

Shrugging, she opened her mouth to talk, but then stopped, not sure of what to say. "It was though," she finally said. "I never should've... I never should've just left like I did."

"It wasn't. You weren't... you weren't at fault. I didn't try hard enough, I didn't make you stay. I should've but I didn't and I'm the one that should be sorry."

Brooklyn frowned at Garrett, not wanting to say it was true. She didn't want him to think it was all his fault when it wasn't. It was both of their faults, to be honest. Neither one was working hard enough or even trying in their relationship at that point. It was just too much for them at the time.

"We uh, we'll be on this tour for about a month and a half more... We were talking earlier about coming back here or maybe asking you to visit us in Tempe. What uh... what do you say?"

She didn't know what to say. She didn't know if she'd be able to get off of work nor did she want them to go out of their way to visit her. "I'll have to look into it," she replied, "but I'd love to spend more time with you all. I've missed y'all like crazy."

Without realizing they'd started walking again, Brooklyn was surprised and disappointed that they already were at her car. She gave Garrett a warm smile just before he pulled her into a hug. Her head rested on his shoulder in the embrace while his body clung to hers. Neither would admit to the fact that they loved the feeling.

Finally, after what seemed like only seconds, but was actually a couple minutes, Brooklyn pulled from Garrett. She kissed his cheek then thanked him for walking her. She told him to be careful and that she'd call him soon.

And just like that, those boys were back into her life.

~

Three years earlier, August 7, 2010

With their show being finish and the fans being met, Brooklyn was excited to finally spend some time with Garrett. The past week had been more than hectic for all of this, with the constant shows and interviews, along with John's birthday being right there as well. She was missing the boy like crazy and she definitely wanted nothing more than to just be with him.

She wandered around the venue, looking for him in all doors and hallways, but he was nowhere to be found. Frowning, Brooklyn began to ask whoever she passed by, if they'd seen Garrett. Each response was no and with each negative answer, she was growing more and more annoyed and upset.

It was supposed to be their night. That was the plan they set up. They were supposed to spend the next sixteen hours together as they drove to the next venue. It was agreed upon everyone in the band that they would get the back room on the bus, with no or minimal interruption.

After about an hour of searching, Brooklyn gave up. She found herself pushing back tears as she climbed the few steps to the bus and began walking in. With little hope, she check the back room to see if he was there, but he wasn't. No one was on the bus except for a sleeping Vito in his bunk.

Brooklyn plucked her phone from her back pocket then clicked on his name to call him. It rang five times before he answered and in the background, all she could hear was loud music and even louder voices.

"Hello?" Garrett screamed into the phone.

"Baby, where are you?" she asked loudly, hoping he heard it.

She heard a couple shifted movements before she noise was slowing getting lower, then it was completely gone. "We couldn't find you earlier. The guys wanted to go out to this club they heard about," Garrett informed.

"Did you forget about tonight?" she questioned.

Garrett was quiet for a second. "What was tonight?"

Without replying, Brooklyn hung up the phone. She threw her phone down on the couch, then stomped off to the bunk she shared with Garrett. There was picture after picture taped on the walls of them, which made her more mad.

She couldn't believe he had forgotten. The past two months in their relationship had been nothing but rocky. Her coming on this tour with them was supposed to fix things but it was just making it worse. She barely got to see him and when she did, it was when he was on stage or they were sleeping. She was fed up with it.

Knowing the decision was bit rash and over dramatic, Brooklyn began to pack up her things either way. The intentions weren't to break up with Garrett, she just didn't see the point in being there when she wasn't even needed. All she did was help Vito with selling merchandise or unload and load the van. She was basically part of the crew and as bad as it sounded, that wasn't what she signed up for. Of course she loved helping, they were all her friends, but Brooklyn had paused her life to be there, to fix her relationship with the boy she loved more than life. Nothing was being fixed, it was being ruined even more.

It only took about half an hour to get all her things together. Just as she was zipping up the duffel bag, the door to the bus opened. Several drunk boys piled into the bus, catching Brooklyn in the moment she didn't want to be caught in.

Garrett was the last to stumble in, laughing at something Jared had said. They all paused, seeing Brooklyn with a guilty look on her face and a duffle bag over her shoulder.

She hadn't thought this far ahead into her plan. She hadn't decided if she was going to leave a note, just leave, or say goodbye. The biggest part of her mind was leaning towards a note, but that wasn't a choice now obviously.

"What're you doing, Lynnie?" Kennedy asked.

She opened her mouth several times, but nothing came out. Jared, who was always her big brother, stepped forward to her. He appeared the least drunk of them all, so he had a better idea to the situation.

He placed his hand on her arm. "Are you sure you want to do this, Brook?" he asked. She nodded, murmuring that it was the right thing to do. He frowned before hugging her. "Love you, Lyn."

"Love you, too, Jare."

He walked to the bunks after. Each of the boys figured out what was going on from that display, so they each began to say goodbye and that they loved her, followed by a hug. Everyone but Garrett walked to the bunk area. He still hadn't moved from his spot.

"What's going on, Brook?"

"I don't belong here, Garrett," she said softly.

He finally stepped forward, pulling the bag from her shoulder. "You can't just leave. You can't just leave me like this."

Brooklyn sat down on the couch as Garrett threw the duffel bag down the small hallway of bunks. She put her head in her hands for a moment, collecting her thoughts. "I'm not leaving you, Garrett. Do you remember why I came on this tour with y'all?" she asked. "I came on this tour to fix us, to fix what we have. Nothing is being fixed though, if anything we're ruining us even more. It was supposed to be just us tonight, do you remember that? We were supposed to spend tonight together, but you went out instead. I put my whole life on hold for you, Garrett. I was supposed to be taking summer classes to help with my degree and have a job working for my intern hours. I was supposed to be doing things for me, but I put all of that on hold for you. And I'm not blaming you for that, because I chose to, but I don't see how it was worth it if we aren't happy together like we used to be."

Garrett was quiet, not knowing what to say exactly. She was right and he knew it. He had fucked up completely and he had been, this was just the first time she called him out on it.

Tears were being pushed back in Brooklyn's eyes as she continued. "And I love you, Garrett, I love you so much, you know I do. But right now is not the best time for us. You're figuring out this band thing and I need to finish school for myself. It's not a good time for us to be together."

Garrett quickly sat next to her, pulling her face to his as he kissed her lips. When he pulled back, he pulled her into a hug. "I love you, Lynnie, I love you so much. I can't lose you."

"You aren't," she murmured, her hands going to his face. "You'll never lose me, Garrett. I'm always going to be yours." Her left hand reached for his hand. She placed it on her chest, right over her heart. "This is always yours, Gary. My heart is always yours. I'll always be yours."

He let out a shakey breath. "Please don't go."

Brooklyn frowned, then kissed him again. "I love you, Garrett, but I have to. I have to go. If I don't, it could ruin us forever. With how much I do love you, I know this is right and that we'll be together when it's right for us."

"Can you... can you at least not leave tonight? Can you stay with me tonight please?"

And she did. She stayed with him through the night. They made love that night for the last time and they exchanged words that probably should've been said to each other way before.

In the morning, Brooklyn was gone before Garrett woke up.