Kindred Souls

The next day, after I went to work, I texted Garrett, asking him if I could pick him up. He agreed and told me he'd be ready when I got there. It was a while before I got to his house because the office was in Scottsdale which was a twenty minute drive.

I texted him when I pulled up to his house and waited. It wasn't long before his pale body walked out the front door and down the walk way to my car. He had a pair of Wayfarer sunglasses shielding his blue eyes from the sun and his hair was pushed back under a fedora. Not until then did I realize how attractive he was. The corners of my mouth pulled down in a “not bad” expression.

“Hey.” He greeted once he got in my car.

I smiled, “Hi. How are you?” I pulled away from the curb and he pulled his seatbelt on.

“Not bad. How're you?”

I shrugged, “Eh.”

He chuckled then pulled his phone out of his front pocket of his skinny jeans, “What're you listening to?” He asked after a few moments of silence.

“This band from Chicago called Empires.” I reached over and turned the volume up a tiny bit just so he could hear “Voodooized” off of their EP called “Bang”. It was a sexy song, in my opinion, and I couldn't help but love the use of guitars in it.

“It sounds awesome.”

I nodded vigorously, “They are. Did you ever listen to The Academy Is... when you were in high school?”

He nodded, “Almost Here brings back a ton of memories.”

I smiled widely at him, “I grew up on it. Anyways, Tom Conrad is in this band now.”

He seemed impressed and a little shocked, “No shit?” I nodded, “That's pretty cool. They seem awesome.”

“I'll have to let you borrow it.” I continued to smile and maneuvered my way to an Ulta to get hair dye. I didn't know exactly what color I wanted to do, but I was sure I would be able to figure it out when I saw the stock they had.

“What are we doing?” Garrett asked when I pulled into the shopping center parking lot.

“I'm getting hair dye.” I said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Where in the hell are you going to get hair dye around here?” I shot him a look before pulling into a spot close to the door. He looked out the window at the store then back at me, “Ulta? I never knew what this place was.”

I smirked, “It's Jesus.” His eyebrows shot up at my response then he laughed.

Inside the store, he followed me like a lost puppy. I knew he had no idea what mostly anything was, which relieved me because it was all beauty products. If he had known what a good majority of it was, I would have had to question his sexuality.

I found the shelf of Jerome Russell Punky Colours fairly easily since I was there buying it often. As I stared at the colors I had to select from, Garrett fidgeted with everything around us. It was like going to the store with a child.

“Do you think this guy hates his life?”

My brow furrowed at his question as I looked up at what he was talking about. He was holding a box of wash out red dye with a very model-esque guy on the side with bright red emo-cut hair.

With a laugh, I nodded, “Probably because that's the only modeling gig he could get.” Garrett smiled as he set the box back, “Help me pick a color.”

He crouched down next to me and looked over the choices. Most of them were blue, but I wasn't exactly in the mood for blue hair. He picked up the one I didn't really pay much attention to.

“Green.” I took it from his grasp and looked it over, “Your whole head.”

I gave him a sideways glance, “You're aware I plan weddings for a living, right? I'm lucky to even put the amount I do now.” I rolled the jar in my hand, “Maybe after I quit.” I got up, then and he followed suit.

“You're going to quit?”

I shrugged, walked out of the aisle and over to the cash register, “I've been thinking about it.”

“What will you do?” He asked as the cashier took my credit card, giving Garrett a look that he definitely must've missed.

“Maybe I'll go back to doing hair.” I signed my name and clicked “OK”. “Thank you.” I said to the cashier once she gave me my receipt. She was too busy staring at Garrett to notice my politeness, though.

“You did hair?” Garrett asked as he followed me out of the store.

“How do you think I learned my shit?” I chuckled.

“I don't know! Maybe practice?”

“Yeah, at a school!” He rolled his eyes with an amused smile then got in my car.

Having Garrett bleach my roots might've been a horrible idea. I never knew someone could be so terrible at taking directions. I tired to do it myself, but it was no use. So I tried to direct him the best way possible.

By the time all the foil was in my hair, it was almost 6:30. We had started at 4:45. The process usually only took about thirty to fourty-five minutes if Alivia was doing it.

“Oh my God, I'm so hungry.” Garrett complained as I cleaned out my tint bowl.

I glanced up at him then back down at the mess that was going down the drain, “There's not enough time for me to make anything anymore,” Thankfully, “I'm sorry.”

He shrugged, “It's cool.”

“We can go pick up something really quick, though.” I set the bowl and brush in the dish strainer and looked at him for a response.

He nodded, “Sounds like a plan.”

With my hair still in foils, I slipped on a pair of sandals, grabbed my bag and keys, and lead him out to my car. It didn't bother me to go out with my hair wrapped in foil, but Garrett thought it was the strangest thing.

“You're seriously going to drive around looking like an alien?” He asked as I pulled out of the driveway.

Stepping on the brake, the car came to a halt and I stared at him, “Are you kidding me right now?” Garrett seemed a little taken aback by my reaction, so I elaborated, “You hardly know me if you're asking such a thing. I couldn't give a shit what people think of me. I honestly couldn't.”

He grinned at me, “That's refreshing to hear from a girl.” I snorted and continued backing out of the driveway.

We drove through Del Taco then sat on the floor of my living room, eating our food on the coffee table. I seemed to really be on a Del Taco kick, but I had always loved it for some reason. It was cheap and I enjoyed the fact that they stayed open twenty-four/seven.

The TV was on, playing the latest episode of The Soup on the DVR and we were both enjoying ourselves, laughing at Joel McHale making fun of the ridiculous TV shows on.

“What the hell are half of these shows?” Garrett was so transfixed on the trainwrecks that seemed to be everyone's favorite things to watch. He was leaning against the loveseat, watching the screen seeing as he was done with his burrito. I, on the other hand, was still trying to get through my second soft taco. “Who seriously thought putting a whole bunch of drag queen looking little girls in pageants on a TV show? Their mothers all need to be beaten.” I snorted then covered my mouth to keep the food from falling out.

“Mom, you're making me look like a whore!”

Garrett's eyes widened and I laughed, “Oh my fucking god.” I laughed even harder. His reaction was so hilarious; he seemed so fascinated and horrified at the same time, “That little girl totally understands! She doesn't want to be a whore.”

The clip ended and Joel made a joke about it then moved onto “Toddlers and Tiaras' sequel, Teen Mom.” Garrett laughed loudly at the joke and looked over at me, “Who is this guy? He's really funny.”

Covering my mouth as I chewed, I answered, “Joel McHale.” I swallowed the bite in my mouth and continued, “He's hilarious. He's also on a show called Community that's really funny as well.” Putting down the last bite of my taco, I sighed. Garrett looked over with a raised eyebrow. “I have to wash this out now.”

“You should probably do that before you ruin your hair.” At least he knew a little bit about bleaching hair.

With another sigh, I got up off the ground and walked down the hallway to the bathroom to get my Aussie shampoo and conditioner I used only when I did hair. When I washed my hair in the shower, I used a better, more expensive set that I wasn't going to waste on hair dye.

“Come supervise.” I said to Garrett when I reappeared, clutching the purple bottles along with a bath towel.

“Supervise?” He questioned, getting up from his spot.

“Yeah, sometimes I miss some areas.”

Once I turned the sink on, Garrett jumped up on the counter. As the water warmed up, I placed the shampoo and conditioner next to the sink and the towel just in reach. When the water was at the right temperature, I stuck my head next to the faucet and began extracting the foil.

“Bunch these up for me.” I said, handing the first two pieces to Garrett. He took them and every piece after that, rolling them into a little ball. My fingers scrubbed at my scalp, working on getting every bit of bleach I could.

Just as I started to pull back and reach for the shampoo, Garrett stopped me, “Wait.” Freezing, I waited for what he was going to say, “You missed some.” I stuck my head back under only to have the feeling of water move to the nape of my neck. Garrett had pulled the head of the faucet out and was scrubbing the nape of my neck, getting the excess bleach off, “Okay, you're good.”

I smiled to myself and reached for the shampoo. When I began rinsing, the suds raced down and got into my eyes. The sensation burned and immediately had me clenching them closed, “Ow! My eyes. I got fucking shampoo in my eyes.”

Garrett laughed then began running his fingers through my hair to rid it of the shampoo, “You just can't do anything without my help.”

I snorted, “I can do everything without your help.”

“Oh, really now?”

“Yes.”

I heard him chuckle as he massaged my scalp, “Whatever you say, Leland.” That seemed to be a constant phrase in my life as of late.

Garrett ended up rinsing the conditioner out of my hair as well, much to my dismay. He watched as I blow dried the mess that was my white hair and questioned me about my life as I put the green in. I wasn't fond of talking about my family, but he seemed to get a few things out of me.

“Do you have any siblings?”

I glanced at him then back in the mirror, “I have two. A brother and a sister. They're both older.” Dipping my tint brush back into the color, I slopped it onto my hair.

“Where are they?”

My fingers worked on massaging the color onto my hair as I thought about the siblings I hadn't seen since I was eighteen, “Last I heard, my brother was in Boston and my sister at Berkeley. That was four years ago, though, when I was eighteen.”

“I take it you don't talk to them often?” That was an understatement.

I chuckled, “Not at all. I left home on my eighteenth birthday, the day after graduation. I haven't spoken to my family much after that. My parents moved to Canada... or Alaska.” I shrugged, furrowing my eyebrow, “Somewhere up north.”

“So everyone left Arizona, yet you – the one that likes change – stayed?” I looked at him then back at my self in the mirror, “That doesn't make sense.”

“Alivia needed me here.” I'd do anything for my friends, which could either be a good or a bad thing.

“You're a really good friend.” I glanced at him in the mirror. He was standing in the doorway, leaning against the doorframe.

“My friends are all I've got.” I simply stated.

“Is that why you put up with Alivia?”

I nodded silently, feeling uncomfortable at all of the emotions that were coming to surface, and how much he was getting out of me, “She's my family.”

By the time I let the green set and washed it out, it was almost eleven and I was exhausted. My hair was wet and I had no desire to blow dry it even if I would wake up with a mess of curls. I couldn't be bothered with it.

Garrett was sitting on my couch, looking almost as tired as I felt. Plopping down next to him, I sighed. His head lolled to the side toward me, “What?”

I looked at him, “Is it cool if I drive you home tomorrow? I'm tired as shit.”

He shrugged, “That's fine.”

“I'll cook you breakfast since I couldn't cook you dinner.” Thankfully, I was the best at breakfast foods.

He smiled, “Sounds like a good compromise.”

I stood then, “I'm sure Kennedy has a pair of sweats or something in Alivia's room. Come help me find them.” He followed me down the hall to my best friend's room. It took almost ten minutes to find a pair of basketball shorts Garrett recognized as his bandmate's.

He moved into the bathroom to change while I turned the lights and TV off. He emerged just as I entered the hallway, “Come on.” I said, following the light coming from my room, “I sleep closest to the window.” I said over my shoulder.

His brow furrowed as he bunched up his jeans awkwardly, “I thought I was sleeping on the couch...?”

I shot him an amused look, “Do you want to sleep on the couch?”

“W-well, no, but I didn't automatically assume I'd be sleeping in your bed with you.” He had suddenly gotten so flustered. I found it charming in a way.

I chuckled as I sat down on my bed, “I don't care, Garrett. If you want to sleep on the couch, that's cool. But my bed is extremely comfy.” I smirked.

He rolled his eyes playfully and I laughed. Without another word, I turned the TV on then got up on my knees to turn the ceiling fan on. Garrett tossed his jeans on the floor next to the bed then sat down.

I watched him, still on my knees, as he lied down. A groan emitted from his lips as his muscles relaxed, “Right?” I laughed then reached up and turned the light off.

“I can't believe how comfortable this bed is.”

I laughed again then collapsed down on my side, “It was the best investment I ever made.” I smiled over at him.

Lying in the dark, next to Garrett was a new experience. I hadn't spent the night with a guy I wasn't having sex with in a long time. I wasn't necessarily keen on the idea of sharing my bed with another person, but with Garrett, I felt fine with it. I even enjoyed it. It was all a little frightening.

The TV was playing The Office reruns, but I wasn't paying much attention. I was too busy trying to figure out where my head was at. I sometimes had trouble finding it when I suddenly had something I wasn't exactly used to in my life.

“I love this episode.” Garrett said, “It's the one where Dwight makes everyone think there's a fire.” He looked over with a smile then back at my TV, oblivious to my lack of focus.

Focusing on the screen hanging on my wall opposite my bed, I watched the show unfold. Pretty soon everyone was freaking out about a little smoke and there was a cat falling from the ceiling. Garrett was shaking with laughter and I was more amused by his reaction than anything. It cut to commercial and I rolled over on my side to face him.

“You're hilarious.” I laughed softly.

He looked over at me in confusion, “Why?”

I shrugged, “You just are.” He smiled in amusement then focused back in on the TV, “Tell me about your family.” He looked back at me, “I told you about mine. It's only fair.”

He chuckled then sunk further into the covers, “Well, I have a brother and a mother and a father. We all live together. My parents have been together for almost 28 years.”

“Do you get along with them?”

He nodded, “Oh, yeah. We're all close. I love them all dearly.”

“Good because the guys with bad relationships with their parents are the mentally fucked up ones.”

He laughed, “Where did you get that logic from?”

With a smile, I shrugged again, “Just something I heard when I was in high school.”

“Well, how does that go for the opposite? With girls?”

“Not sure...”

“You don't seem to have a happy home life if you don't even know where anyone is.” My body went stiff.

Talking about my family wasn't my favorite thing to do. In fact, it was one of my least. I wouldn't tell anyone, but I was upset that I never talked to them or knew what was going on.

Clearing my throat, I looked away, “We all got along really well until I told them I didn't want to go to college like my siblings. My parents wanted me to go to some university, but I didn't want to do that. I was done with classrooms and studying. I was never good at school anyways. Why waste their money?

“Since I wasn't going to follow their wishes, they told me I had to move out after graduation. The day after I got my diploma – my eighteenth birthday – I moved into Alivia's house. We shared a room and we lived there until she turned eighteen in July. After that, we went to Denver, Colorado then Knoxville, Tennessee and finally New Orleans before she got homesick and wanted to come back. I followed her home because she asked me to. It was my idea to travel and she tagged along, so I wouldn't be alone, so of course I'd come home and get a place so she wouldn't be alone.” I finished.

It wasn't like me at all to open up so easily to someone, but with Garrett, it felt right. With him, I felt like I could tell him all of my darkest secrets and feelings as if they were nothing. I had never felt that connected to someone before. Of course it terrified the shit out of me.

“How long ago did you move back?” He questioned then moved on his side to face me.

“Last Summer. She brought it up to me when I was wasted and I didn't start drinking until I was legal, so it had to be sometime in June.”

“Do your parents call you on your birthday?” I shook my head, “That's really fucked up.”

I shrugged, not wanting to get into it; it was a touchy subject, “How long have you been in The Maine?”

He paused to think, looking off into the distance at nothing, I'm sure, “Four and a half years.”

“And you guys go to a lot of different places?”

He swayed his head back and forth, “Kind of. We tour here all the time. We've been to Europe a couple of times. We just went to Australia for the first time in February along with the Philippines.”

I laughed, “So you do go everywhere?”

He laughed, “I guess.”

“It sounds really exciting. You get to do what you love. I wish I had that.”

“What do you love?” He questioned.

“I'm not sure. I never found that out.” He smiled sadly at me and I shrugged. I never did well with emotions. “I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.”

“I don't doubt that. You seem to know what you want and go after it.”

“I guess. If it's attainable, I'll try my hardest. It it's unattainable, I'll try until I can't anymore.”

He smiled sleepily at me, “You're a cool girl, Leland. I'm glad I met you.”

I chuckled, “You're not so bad yourself, Garrett.”