Hamartia

Garrett was rather under the impression that we had successfully left the place without being sighted by any of his band mates but I was sure it was John's gaze that followed us until we were inside Bumblebee-- his astonishingly yellow car.

“You're mean.” I remarked with a hint of amusement as soon as I already made myself comfortable in the front seat. He was grinning from ear to ear as he revved up the engine, almost too eager to drive.

“I had to be.” He said smugly.

On normal circumstances, I would have refuted an offer to have a late-night coffee but having a remotely charming man politely asking for your company to do so wasn't considered as a normal circumstance. So I agreed without much discussion.

He had his elbow propped against the window while he wordlessly just drove with a contagious smile and I somehow managed to relax beside him and savor the warmth of the tranquil silence we were both engulfed in.

It didn't take long before he parked in front of Dewy's. I shot him a skeptical look.

“What? It's our place.” He shrugged innocently. “As in Garrett and Robin's place.”

I repeated the phrase in my head and tried to make some sense out of it because last time I checked, we have only been here once and that was when I was forlorn over the asininity that was my life so I didn't quite get it why he already considered this as our place. But I wasn't complaining, nevertheless.

It was already almost midnight when we arrived so it wasn't really a surprise when we found the cafe deserted. The place smelled like a cross between coffee and pastries which was enough to make your mouth water from the dire need to feast on their products, but I wasn't certain if that was the reason why Garrett had this really moronic smile plastered on his face.

Was he always this happy?

“Garrett.” I looked up from the remnants of my chocolate cake and eyed him suspiciously. “That smile is inconceivably bothering.”

He grinned some more and I found myself grinning back despite the effort I put into not giving in.

“I was lucky enough to convince you to come here so I'm going to push my luck once more.” He was peering at me over the rim of his cup but the faint smile on his lips was unmistakable. “Would you like to watch a movie or something?”

I raised an eyebrow at him because I was absolutely positive that there was no convincing that had happened and I didn't see the point of why he should push his luck once more because as far as I knew, luck had nothing to do with why I came here with him. Honestly speaking, I was more than willing to come along.

“What does it have to do with your exuberant smile?”

He pulled over a suburban house that was like my sister's, except that this one was painted white and that their front porch light was fully functional.

I was anything but ambivalent to go out of the car because, except for the fact that we would be watching a movie, I had no idea what his other motives are for bringing me over to his house. But before I knew what was happening, I was already being led upstairs and into a room which I could only guess to be Garrett's. The posters that were lined up on the walls didn't contradict my assumption.

“I could use some help.” He was kneeling in front a stack of DVDs and was obviously having a hard time picking.

I looked at him disbelievingly as soon as I scanned the whole of his collection. “Your fascination for zombies and gore is hopeless.”

“You don't like these?”

“I like those as much as I like having my head being cut off.”

“Fair enough.” He stood up and plopped down onto the bed. “Are you going to come here or what?”

I crossed my arms defensively across my chest. “Are you trying to seduce me?”

“That depends.” He replied, his voice suddenly husky. “Are you seducable?”

“N-no...” I stammered, shaking my head vigorously to the point that it must have been funny because it became pretty evident that Garrett was trying hard to suppress a roar of laughter. He was biting his bottom lips hard and I knew I shouldn't find that sexy but I did.

I sighed and willed myself to sit at the edge of his bed. “Let's just... let's just watch a goddamn movie.”

During the whole duration of Letters to Juliet--his mother's, he defended-- Garrett had been questionably quiet but I didn't dare interrupt. When the credits were already rolling, I figured it would be okay to speak up.

“I can't believe--”

“I don't usually let anyone decide on what to watch so you better feel damn special, Robin Flynn.”

I was beyond disconcerted on what he was trying to imply but I did feel damn special.