Kindred Souls

When I finally saw Alivia again, it was two days later, after she got home from work at one-thirty in the morning. I was on my Macbook, looking for some ideas for the wedding I was planning, and texting a few people, including Lynzie, who hardly ever slept.

“Oh, hey, Lee.” She said as if she wasn't expecting me to be sitting on the couch when she stumbled through the door.

I raised an eyebrow at her, “Hello...”

She pulled off her boots and left them right next to the door then threw her keys on the front table against the wall, “How're you?” She asked as she collapsed in the loveseat. Ryan got up from next to me and waddled over to her.

“I'm fine.” I replied shortly, “Thanks for leaving me at John's the other night, by the way. Garrett had to drive me home.”

Her eyes got big, “Oh man, I'm sorry! I had totally forgotten you were there. I was pretty drunk and Kenny took me back to his house.” A smile spread across her face as, I guessed, she thought the whole incident was done and over with, that I suddenly wasn't pissed off anymore. “I met his mom yesterday. We made dinner together. She totally loves me.”

She already met his mother? Wasn't that moving a little quick? My brow creased at the news, “You guys haven't been going out for long at all, though.”

“I know, but he said he wanted me to meet her. And it's not like we haven't known each other for a while.” She shifted her body so her legs hung over the armrest. I watched as she grabbed the remote from the coffee table and started flipping through the guide. Obviously she didn't notice I was watching The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. “Leland, he's the one. I feel it in my bones.”

I resisted the urge to shout at her “you've only been together three weeks!” Instead, I closed my laptop, picked up my phone, and got off the couch. Being near her was making me tense. So I walked to my room, Ryan following me, and shut the door.

I set my computer down on my bed, but kept my phone in my hand, “Hey, I need to get away. Wanna go to Vegas in the morning?” I texted Lynzie.

Thursday morning, we were on the road. It was Lynzie, her sister Zowie, and Zowie's best friend Val. I'd met them both before at one of Lynzie's birthday parties. They were both cool girls I could get along with easily.

Zowie had a more spacious 2011 Scion TC that we all could kick back in comfortably. Even though it was a two-door, the back seat was extremely roomy. It took six and a half hours to get there and the whole way we all sang our hearts out to Tegan & Sara's discography.

We shared a room at Aria and all practically collapsed when we got to it. It wasn't long before we were all up, getting ready for a night on the town. Which really wasn't on the town, but more like a night in the club downstairs. I was more of a bar person, but I was ready to cut loose in an overly crowded, sweaty, loud club. Maybe I could hook up with someone while I was there? I really didn't doubt that I would.

The rest of the weekend was a huge blur. As soon as I left the room, already pretty tipsy from the pregaming we did while we got ready, everything was a haze. The club was also appropriately named Haze, as well. I don't remember much from the first night other than a lot of alcohol and a lot of guys buying me it.

Every morning, we woke up with hangovers that we cured with champagne brunch at the buffets. For the better part of the day, we would sit at the buffet ordering more and more mimosas until we couldn't stop laughing at everything we were saying.

There was some dirty, naughty things, involving a few nameless guys (nameless because I couldn't remember them) at the clubs we went to, but I doubted anyone really cared. I sure as hell didn't. I was having fun! What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.

Friday afternoon, we went over to the Tropicana to Nikki Beach which was a new, outdoor pool club. It was extremely hazy that day as well. Saturday we went to Club Nikki which was the half indoor, half outdoor club at Tropicana. There was a live set to play along with the DJ and everything was crazy. I'd never had that much fun. I didn't want to go home, but sadly I had responsibilities as a wedding planner back home.

The ride home seemed to take a lot longer than the ride there. It was also not as fun. We were all ridiculously hungover and miserable and just wanted to get home. I didn't wait around at Lynzie and Zowie's place, where we had all met up. I immediately got into my Beetle and took off for home. My head was pounding and I couldn't make it stop. The only sound accompanying me was the soft sounds of Sarah Jaffe playing from my speakers as I drove to the first and last place I wanted to be.

I wanted to be home because it was well, home. I didn't want to be home because Alivia was there, probably with Kennedy. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to turn around and head in the opposite direction.

Just as I suspected, Kennedy was at the house when I pulled up. To add to my annoyance, his car was parked in my spot in the driveway. Pulling my duffel and makeup case out of the trunk, I lugged it up the driveway and into the house.

The lights in the living room and kitchen were on, along with some stupid Will Ferrel movie on the TV. But Alivia and Kennedy were no where to be found. My brow furrowed as I moved to the hallway. As I got closer, I heard moans. My confusion turned to disgust as I heard my best friend moan out curse words in pleasure.

“Ew. Gross.” I said then quickly ran into my room and shut the door. I dropped the duffel and searched my room for my remote so I could drown out the noises from down the hall.

When I finally found it in the many blankets on my bed, I turned it on. The music station for Adult Alternative was the channel I had it on last. I rejoiced at the sound of “Home” by Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes.

Just then, Ryan poked her head out from under the bed and meowed. “Baby!” I squealed in delight then picked her up. She meowed in response, “Did Alivia and Kennedy's sex noises scare you?” She meowed again, making me laugh.

My body began to ache, then, and I felt my bed calling my name. I pulled my phone out of the pocket of my shorts and set it on my nightstand. Next, I slipped out of my shorts, leaving me in my underwear and tank top. I really couldn't give a shit as I slid into bed. I was out like a light, cuddling Ryan soon after.

I didn't see Alivia in the morning since she had school. I was to meet with Lisa to get the actual planning started seeing as we had the venue booked. I was still feeling exhausted from my weekend, so I really didn't want to work. Sadly, I had to make a living somehow.

As I walked to my car, I noticed Kennedy's car in the driveway still. With a roll of my eyes, I slipped into the driver's seat and took off toward Chandler. I was irritated that my best friend seemed to forget about my existence now that she had a boy to occupy her time.

This was how it always was, though. Alivia got a guy to give her attention, I was pushed off to the side while they had fun. As soon as the guy breaks up with her, she'd come crying to me. It's happened countless times and I wasn't about to be there again for the next one.

It was difficult for me while I was with Lisa. I still felt hungover despite the fact that I had slept from seven-thirty to nine in the morning, I was still tired. And also hungry since I didn't have time for breakfast in the morning or even dinner the night before.

Lisa noticed I wasn't able to keep my mind on track, but I powered through it and listened to all of her ideas she had come up with, giving my input when I knew she was going overboard or when I knew something would work better.

I left her house three hours later, around one-thirty, and headed for the Chipotle in the closest shopping center. I was so hungry and didn't care to wait until I got closer to my house.

As I drove through the streets of Chandler, a bright yellow Chevy Cavalier on the side of the road caught my attention along with the boy sitting on the hood with his phone in his hand. I was in the neighborhood one over from Lisa's, which made me confused to see Garrett.

I pulled my car up behind his and extracted the key from the ignition, opening the door as I did so. “Hey!” I called out as I shut my door. Garrett jumped and turned with a creased brow behind his Ray Bans. His confusion vanished as he realized who I was. “What are you doing? Hanging outside in the heat on your car for shits and giggles?”

He chuckled and shook his head, “No, not exactly. My car won't start.”

My face scrunched up as I folded my arms across my chest, “Shitty.”

He nodded, “Yeah, I was at my friend's house, but he had to leave for band practice. No one is answering their phones.”

“Sure does suck to be you, huh?”

He chuckled again with another nod, “It does. I can just feel my skin melting off.”

I smiled in amusement, “Come on,” I said then turned to walk back to my car.

“Where?” He asked warily.

“Well I'm sure you don't want to sit out here and melt until you get ahold of someone, so why don't you come to Chipotle with me?”

He looked around the neighborhood then back at me before shrugging and jumping down from the hood, “Hold on, though.” He said then opened his door and pulled his keys and wallet out. With the slam of the door, he locked it, a small beep emitting from the horn. He turned back to me with a smile and we started for my yellow Beetle. “Wait,” Garrett stopped short and I turned to him with an irritated sigh, “you expect me to drive around in that thing?”

I looked at my car then back to him, “What's wrong with my car?!” I asked, offended.

“Nothing! It's just so,” He struggled for the right word, seeing I was getting offended, “girly!”

I rolled my eyes and went to open the driver's side while he stood there with a look of discomfort, “You can either put away your “manliness” and get in the damn car, or you can fry in the sun.”

Garrett grimaced before moving around the front of my car and sliding into the passenger's seat. He looked around, no doubt feeling awkward, before his eyes landed on my dashboard, “Do you really have a sunflower?” He asked as I started the car.

I looked at him in mild confusion, “Yeah, why wouldn't I?” He shrugged and I laughed, “You're such a pansy, Garrett.”

He turned back to me with wide eyes, “Me? Why?”

Turning out of the neighborhood, I chuckled, “You're having a panic attack because you're driving around in a Volkswagen Beelte. Man up!”

He let out a soft laugh and shook his head, “I'll try.”

I smiled at him as we pulled up to a red light, “That's all I ask.” We sat there, smiling at each other before we both awkwardly looked away. What just happened?

“So...” Garrett said as he rubbed his hands on the thighs of his jeans, “What kind of music are we listening to?”

Just noticing the volume was turned all the way down, I reached over to turn it up. Recognition washed over his features at “Aberdeen” by Cage the Elephant. “It's a mix I made the other day. Just some songs I'm currently obsessed with.” He nodded then began to drum his hands on his thighs to the beat. It was cute how he automatically got lost in the music.

By the time the song was over and Romantic Rights by Death From Above 1979 was starting, I was pulling my Beetle into a spot at Chipotle and pulling the keys out of the ignition. It was hot and bright outside. My sunglasses seemed like no help to keep me from squinting.

My hair was getting stuck to my neck from the sweat collecting at the nape of it. Growing disgusted with it, I gathered my purple and white hair and pulled it to the top of my head. Just as we arrived to the door, I was wrapping it up into a top knot. Garrett gave me a strange look as he held the door open for me, seeing me with a completely different hairstyle.

“What?” I asked.

“You looked perfectly fine with it down.” He said as he followed me into the Mexican restaurant.

“I know I did, but my neck was sweating. No one wants a sweaty neck.” I said then turned to the girl behind the counter, who asked me what I wanted.

When I got to the cashier at the end of the counter, I got myself a drink along with chips and guac. “Is that all?” The girl asked, rather bored.

“And whatever he's getting.” I said, pointing to Garrett behind me, who was waiting to pay for his bowl.

“What, Leland! No, I can pay for my own.”

I shook my head at the girl, “He really can't; he a starving musician.”

Garrett rolled his eyes as the girl laughed, accepting my twenty. She gave me my change and I threw it into my bag. I probably had three dollars worth of change hanging out at the bottom of my purse. I really needed to do something about that.

“Come on, Pansy.” I laughed as I handed him his cup. We both got our drinks then sat down at a table in the middle. It wasn't too busy seeing as it was nearing two in the afternoon, so that gave us free range to sit wherever we desired.

As soon as we got settled, I ripped the top half of the bag of chips off for easier access. “Help yourself.” I said, placing the bag between us.

“Thanks.” He said, reaching in and pulling out a few and setting them in his bowl, “For lunch and picking me up when I was stranded.”

I shrugged, “Always trying to help the needy.”

He rolled his eyes with a playful smirk and I laughed, biting into a chip, “Which reminds me, why were you driving through Chandler?”

I chewed my bite of burrito, not really caring that I most likely looked like a slob. Once I swallowed, I answered, “I had a meeting with a client. I was at their house for three hours.”

He nodded, pushing the contents of his burrito bowl around, “For a wedding right?”

I nodded, “Yup. Good ol' weddings.”

He laughed, shoveling a forkful of rice and chicken into his mouth, “Don't sound too excited about your profession.”

Chuckling, I reach into the guacamole with my fork and spread it on my burrito, “It's not that I'm not excited. It's that I'm fed up with love and weddings and all that bullshit. Being tied to someone for the rest of my life? No thanks. I have way too many things I'd rather do than sit around, worried about someone.” I took another bite as I finished my rant.

“I totally know how you feel. I don't want someone breathing down my neck about every little thing I do. I like my freedom and independence.”

I nodded vigorously, covering my mouth that had onions and bell peppers hanging out of it, “Oh my God! You know exactly how I feel! I need space, for sure. Everyone Aliva seems to set me up with definitely doesn't respect that.”

Curiously, he looked at me, “How many guys has she set you up with? I mean, I heard your argument at the bar about that douche that made you pay for everything and I saw how angry you on Fourth of July when she said she found the “perfect” guy for you.”

I sighed heavily, “There's really too many to count. She's been very adamant about finding me a boyfriend this year for some reason. It's been her goal since high school to find my perfect match.” I shook my head in annoyance.

“And none of them were it?” He asked in amusement.

I looked up at him, “Maybe. I wasn't paying much attention since I never wanted to be there.”

He chuckled, “Speaking of Alivia, she had everyone over on Saturday, but you were gone.”

Alivia had a party while I was gone? Of course she did. I sighed in annoyance, throwing my foiled burrito down in the basket, “She's been annoying the shit out of me, so I went to Vegas with some friends.”

He stared blankly at me, fork half way to his mouth, “You just went to Vegas?”

With a confused nod, I responded, “Yeah...”

“On a whim?”

I nodded again, “I needed to leave, so I did. I do that sometimes.”

He seemed impressed by the way I lived my life. “Why are you so annoyed with Alivia?” The fork made it to his mouth and he chewed.

“Because she has her head so far up Kennedy's ass that she doesn't even know I exist. This happens every time she gets into a new relationship. Then she's so clingy that he breaks up with her and I have to hear her bitch and moan about how much she misses him and how much she wishes she wasn't such a psycho.” I rolled my eyes, “Then once she starts to recuperate, a new guy comes into the picture and it starts all over again. It's a vicious cycle.”

His face scrunched up, “I feel so bad for you. I think she would already be dead if she were my friend. I can't even begin to think about what I would do if I was friends with someone like that.”

I snorted, “There's been plenty of times where I thought about setting her bed on fire as she slept. When I start feeling like that, I leave. Last relationship I ended up in Boston for a weekend.”

His jaw went slack, “By yourself?”

I nodded then smirked, “Shit was insane.”

He shook his head, “You're something else, Leland.”

I smirked, “I've been told that.”

He laughed, “Next time you need to get away, call me; maybe I'll tag along.”

I raised an eyebrow at him, “Who said I would want you to come with me?”

He raised an eyebrow right back, “Well, you clearly like me if you bought me lunch and picked me up off the side of the road.”

I smirked again, “Like I said before, just helping the needy.”

He smirked and shook his head, looking down at his half-eaten bowl. There was something about this kid that I liked and I couldn't put my finger on it.

Garrett got ahold of his dad towards the end of our lunch and told him to meet him at “Tony's house” in twenty minutes. We finished up our lunch and I drove him back to his friend's, singing loudly along to “How Soon Is Now?” by The Smiths.

When I pulled up behind his little yellow car, he told me his father hadn't arrive, yet. So we sat in my car and continued to talk. He had mentioned that he enjoyed space and watching “space shows” which got me thinking.

Reaching forward, I turned down “Bloom” by The Veils and turned to him, “You know what I think is completely crazy?”

He smiled in amusement at me, seeing as I turned my whole body in the driver's seat to face him, “What?”

“How big the universe is.”

He nodded vigorously, “Me too!”

“Like, we're only in one galaxy. There's plenty other ones out there. We're definitely not alone. There's probably another planet just like Earth in another galaxy with people just like us.”

He continued to nod, “Yes! And we'll never know because it's so far away.”

I leaned back, “It boggles my mind. Who knows what those bitches have that we don't.”

He laughed, “They're probably riding around in flying cars and shit.”

“Or who knows, maybe they aren't as advanced as us and are still living like in the old days – light by candlesticks and shit.”

“They probably have other species, too. All these crazy looking animals.”

My mouth dropped, “But if you think about it, their animals wouldn't be crazy looking to them, ours would.”

He stared at me in astonishment then lean forward, grasping his head with his hands, “Ow, my head.”

I laughed loudly, “We're definitely two weird people.”

He sat back and looked at me with a wide smirk, “Nah, we're actually really smart. Who else would think of this?”

I laughed again, “You're right. We just discovered a new planet. We're the coolest motherfuckers alive.”

He laughed loudly, “Definitely.” A white truck pulled up, then, and Garrett went to open the door, “That's my dad.” I nodded with a small smile, “Thanks again, Leland.”

I shrugged lightly, “Anything to help the needy.”

He rolled his eyes then got out of the car, closing it behind him. Rolling down my window, I stuck my head out, “Hey!” He turned and looked at me, “Don't be a stranger.”

He shook his head, “I won't; who else am I going to be cool with?”

I shook my head with a laugh as he smiled. Nothing else was said. He turned back to cross the rest of the street and I rolled up my window, turning up the volume on “Not In Love” by Crystal Castles featuring Robert Smith. The song made my speakers shake, but I didn't mind as I drove off.