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Kindred Souls

eight

The rest of the night went smoothly and well. Jared's girlfriend finally introduced herself to me as Tessa. I found out they had been together since 2009 and she was a chef in the making. Which explained the exquisite food selection sitting on their kitchen counter for everyone to munch on.

I enjoyed myself fully and even got a bit drunk to the point that Garrett had to drive us home. Despite me telling him I was fine. “Come on.” He said, helping me to my car after I waved to everyone and drunkenly yelled out goodbye to everyone individually.

“No, I'm fine, Garrett.” I stressed.

He chuckled as he sat me down in the passenger's seat, “No, you're not, so shut up.” He pulled the seat belt over me and buckled it. When he got in the driver's seat, I began to laugh, “What?” He questioned in confusion.

“You're driving a chick car.” I slumped over onto the door and laughed hysterically. For some reason I found this so hilarious in my alcohol drenched mind.

“Shut up.” He grumbled as he started the car.

It wasn't long before we were on the main road, headed back for my house. Suddenly, I gasped at the harmonica flowing from the speakers, “I love this song!” I exclaimed about Ryan Adams' “Come Pick Me Up”.

“When they call your name, will you walk right up with a smile on your face?” I was turned to Garrett, singing passionately to him, “Will you cower in fear in your favorite sweater? With an old love letter?” I sang drunkenly then leaned over to turn the volume up, “I wish you would, I wish you would,” I took a large breath, “Come pick me up! Take me out! Fuck me up! Steal my records! Screw all my friends! They're all full of shit!!” I stopped because Garrett was laughing so hard. “Don't laugh at me.” I slurred as I leaned over and pushed his cheek, making his head turn to the window.

“I'm sorry, but your voice is just so horrible right now.” He looked like he was near tears from laughing so hard.

My jaw dropped in shock, “That's not very nice!” He merely smiled at me in return, still laughing lightly, “God, I wish I could play the harmonica.” I whined then noticed we were passing where we needed to turn, “Oh, look, my house.” I said innocently.

“What?” Garrett asked in confusion.

I giggled, “That was my house.” He groaned and pulled into another neighborhood to turn around. It wasn't long before he pulled into the driveway of my house and killed the engine.

As he got out, I unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned all of my weight on the passenger door, opening it slowly. This only caused me to end up on the cement. My right hand reached out to catch myself and my left let go of the handle, coming down next to it. Soon enough my body was sliding out of the car slowly and the top half of it was lying on the ground while my legs rested on the frame of the door. “Whoa.” I laughed as my body twisted in ways I knew could only happen when I had too much alcohol.

“Come on, Boozy.” Garrett laughed as he picked me up off the driveway. My feet kicked at the door and if I wasn't so drunk, it most likely would have hurt. They dragged across the cement as he pulled me up on them.

Stumbling up the walk way, in his grasp, I giggled, “You have very pretty eyes.”

“You are very drunk.” He laughed and I nodded with another drunken giggle.

It was only 11:30, so Alivia was still awake, which meant the door was still unlocked. We practically fell through the door when Garrett got it open thanks to me leaning half of my body weight on it. Alivia was sitting on the couch with her macbook sitting on the coffee table in front of her. She looked up in surprise at the sudden commotion.

“Allygator!” I squealed in delight as I flew out of Garrett's grasp and over to the couch.

“Whoa!” She said when I threw my arms around her neck, landing half on her and half on the cushion next to her.

“I'm so drunk, Allygator.” He breathed.

“I can see that.” She looked over at Garrett, who was standing by the now closed front door.

“She had a few too many at Jared's.” He explained awkwardly and Alivia laughed.

“Clearly.”

“I love you, Best Friend.” I said sadly, nuzzling into her neck, “I don't want to be mad at you anymore, but you make it so easy.”

She looked down at me, with her brow furrowed, “What?”

I rolled my head out of her neck and to my right, seeing Ryan at my feet, trying to get my attention. I gasped at the sight of my kitten and rolled to a sitting position, “Ryan!” I squealed as I picked her up. She meowed causing me to smile, “Kitty.”

Alivia laughed at my drunken actions, “Okay, let's get you to bed.” She stood up and looked at Garrett again, “Thanks, Gare. I think I have it from here.”

He nodded and shifted uncomfortably, “I don't exactly have a ride home because she picked me up.”

My eyes widened as an idea popped into my head, “You should stay here!”

Alivia looked at me disapprovingly, “Where is he going to sleep?”

I shrugged, “Anywhere. The couch. My bed. The bathtub.”

Garrett let out a chuckle, “The couch is fine.” He walked over and helped me up from the hunched over position I was in. Ryan jumped down and I pouted, “Come on, Boozy.” He repeated himself from earlier.

“Garrett, you are nice to me. You're not intimidated by my confidence. Thank you, you beautiful human being. You are a kind, kind, soul.” He laughed loudly at my rambling as we stumbled down the hallway.

“She tends to compliment people when she's drunk.” Alivia said, following behind.

“I can tell.” Garrett said, amused.

“Her room is on the right.” That was the last thing I remembered hearing before I blacked out.
+

Someone decided to pelt me with a pillow the next morning, startling me awake. For a few seconds, I was unaware of my surroundings. My mouth was dry and I could feel the sweat pooling at the back of my neck, which instantly made me feel gross.

“Wake up!”

I turned to the voice and furrowed my brow, “What are you doing here, Garrett?”

He rolled his eyes, “I'm waking your ass up to take me home.”

I groaned as I collapsed back into the sheets, “What time is it?”

“One.”

My eyes flew open and I jumped up, “In the afternoon?”

“No, in the morning.” I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm and threw my legs over the side of the bed. I was still in my clothes from the previous day, so no one had even tried to get me comfortable to sleep. I could only imagine they just threw me on my bed and left me like that.

Rubbing my eyes, I let out a breath, “Looks like I'm not going into the office today.”

He chuckled, “I doubt you'd be able to deal with people in your state anyways.”

I stopped rubbing my eyes and looked up at him with a smirk, “Your'e right; I feel like complete shit.”

“Yeah, you should because you got pretty wasted last night.”

Standing from the bed, I stretched, reaching my arms above my head and arching up on the tips of my toes. My bones were aching and I felt like my joints were going to crumble. My arms and shoulders fell with the breath that I let out as my body relaxed.

Garrett was watching me move around my room with interest in his eyes, “Wait,” I said as I turned to him, “why did you wake me up?”

“Because I want to go home...?” He said slowly and I groaned.

“You're going to make me drive?”

He shook his head with an amused chuckle, “You are ridiculous, Leland.”

I shrugged then slid my feet into a pair of flip flops, “If I remember correctly, you drove us here last night.”

He nodded, “Keys are by the front door.”

The boy followed me out of my room and out of the house, to my car. The sun was overhead and hotter than ever. Why did I live in such a miserable state? I knew the answer, but didn't want to accept it. Maybe it was time for a change.

I pondered this as I mechanically drove through my neighborhood and to the main road. I could go up north, or even east. Maybe even as far as Europe. Surely I could find somewhere to live and a job. Cracking my knuckles, I pulled up to a red light in a daze.

“You sure are quiet.”

I heard his voice, but didn't exactly hear what he said. Finally, It registered in my brain that he had said something, “Huh?”

He smiled, “I said you're being quiet.”

“Oh.” My hands fell back on the steering wheel, “I'm just thinking,” The light changed to green and I pressed my foot on the gas.

“Must be important if it got you to shut up.”

I shot him a look which he laughed at, “I'm thinking about moving to a different state, or country even.”

He seemed baffled by my words, “How could you just come up with plans like that and want to follow through with them?”

I glanced at him and shrugged, “I just want something new and exciting. I'm bored of Arizona, bored of weddings, bored of Alivia's crazy repetitive drama. I'm getting an itch to get out, seek out something new. Everyone else got out, why didn't I? Why did I come back?” I was unintentionally rambling, letting him deeper into my thoughts. This was very unlike me. I was always holding back, letting me be the only one who knew what was happening in my head.

Garrett didn't seem to notice I had let so much personal information slip out, “I understand. I don't exactly feel that way, though, because I'm gone for most of the year, exploring new territory.”

I sighed in longing, pushing away the feeling of anxiety, “It'd be so awesome to do what you do. You're very lucky.”

He nodded, “I know, and I'm very grateful. But if I were to stop for some reason, I'd be so lost; music and touring has been all I've known since I was seventeen.”

My eyes widened. It just occurred to me that I had no idea how old this kid was, “How old are you?”

“Twenty-one.”

“Well, that's four years. It would be weird to get a normal job after that.”

He laughed, “I pray I won't have to. I'd probably suck; I have little to no skill.”

I rolled my eyes at him, “You only play instruments well enough to be in a nationally touring band.”

He smirked, “I'm just being modest.”

I laughed, “Oh, my apologies. I applaud you for being so modest.”

His smirk only widened at my sarcasm, “Well, I do try my hardest.”

I smiled at him, continuing on driving to his house, “Did you always want to be a musician?”

He nodded immediately, “I've been playing in bands since I was thirteen. It's all I've ever known.”

“It must be nice to know exactly what you wanted since such a young age.”

His brow furrowed, “Surely you had something you wanted to be when you were younger.”

I shrugged, turning the corner into his neighborhood, “That's another story for another day.” I said once I pulled up in front of his house.

He eyed me suspiciously. I could tell he was intrigued; he wanted to know more about me. I was always good at reading people. I was very observant of people's behaviors. “Thanks for the ride.”

I shrugged, “Thanks for taking care of me last night.”

He smiled softly, “It's no problem,” A smirk slowly spread across his lips then, “Just promise me never to sing Ryan Adams again.”

I groaned as he opened the door and got out, “I apologize for my horrible sining voice.”

He laughed, shaking his head, “Bye Leland.”

“Bye.” I said then he shut the door.

Just as I was about to pull away from the curb, my phone vibrated in the cup holder. “Alivia: Lunch at La Pinata?”

“Be there in ten.”

+

I arrived at the Mexican restaurant before my best friend since she was further away from it than I was. As I waited, I ordered the guacamole and an iced tea and pulled my hair up off of my neck. This place really needed to invest in a better cooling system.

“How long have you been here?” Alivia asked as she sat down across from me ten minutes later, “And why are you still in yesterday's clothes?”

I looked down at the crop top and high waisted shorts I was wearing and shrugged, “I've been here for about ten minutes. I'm wearing these clothes because I didn't have time to change, or really care to.”

Her brow furrowed as she pulled her phone out of her bag and set it on the table, “Where were you?”

Popping a chip in my mouth, I answered, “Down the street at Garrett's, dropping him off.”

She raised a suggestive eyebrow at me, “What's going on there?”

My brow creased, “Nothing?”

“Since when are you picking Garrett up and going to get drunk at Jared's?”

“Since he invited me and didn't have a car because it's in the shop?” I said as if it was the most obvious thing. Why would she assume I was leading a double life, hanging out with Garrett behind her back?

Alivia plucked a chip out of the basket between us and dipped it into the almost gone guacamole. I had almost devoured it while I waited for her, “I didn't even know you guys talked other than when you both were at the bar.” She stuck the chip into her mouth while I shrugged.

“We hung out on Fourth of July. We had lunch yesterday -”

Her eyes widened, “You guys had lunch then hung out all night?” Alivia looked like she was going to have a heart attack, but I mean, I never really just hung out with guys much. The guys I hung out with, I was sleeping with.

“Well, I saw him on the side of the road, so I stopped to see what was wrong. In the end, we ended up at Chipotle while he waited for someone to call him back.”

She smiled at me, quite creepily if I do say so myself. I knew that look, though. Her mind was brewing, “You guys would be so cute together.” There it was. I rolled my eyes, “Hear me out.” I looked at her, waiting for her to go on, “He's funny, weird, and has good style. You both seem to have the same music taste from what I've seen and heard. You seem to get along. He's not that bad looking and you aren't either.”

I scoffed, “Thanks.”

Ignoring me, she went on, “I really think you guys would be perfect for each other.”

I nodded, “Oh, I know we would; he's an Aquarius.”

He eyes widened as did her smile, “See! He's exactly what you're looking for in a guy!”

I shook my head, “That would be true if I was actually looking.”

She groaned and slammed her head against the table, “You're killing me here, Lee.”

I laughed, “Why?!”

Quickly, she lifted her head, “Because you're most likely going to let what could be your perfect match – according to your standards – slip by just because you're not looking!”

I widened my eyes at her outburst, “He's not looking either! We've already talked about this.”

She stared at me, “I swear, you are the weirdest girl I've ever met. What girl doesn't want to be in a relationship? That's what we crave.”

I rolled my eyes again, falling back into my seat. Here we go again with the same old bullshit, “I don't. I crave adventure and the ability to do as I please.” She stared at me again. She was getting frustrated with my views just like I was getting frustrated with hers. “Face it, Alivia, we're never going to see eye to eye on this, so we should just drop it.”

Alivia sighed but obliged to which I was thankful.
+

Alivia had to work that night which left me home alone. My boredom was at an all time high at around eight after I ate dinner. I was antsy and needed to do something. I hadn't been to the gym in a while, so I texted Lynzie who agreed to meet me there.

“What's up, Girlie?” Was the first thing she said when I got out of my car.

I shrugged, “Same old bullshit.”

She nodded as we walked in, “How're things with Alivia?”

I shrugged again, “She's still bugging me about my love life, more so now that I've been hanging out with this guy.”

Her eyes widened in interest at me, “What guy?”

I rolled my eyes, stepping onto the treadmill, “One of her boyfriend's band mates. We really haven't even been hanging out. We just went to lunch yesterday then he invited me to his friend's place to watch the baseball game and get drunk.”

Lynzie gagged, “You actually got drunk yesterday after being drunk for four days straight?”

I laughed, “I was such a lush last night, oh my god. Garrett had to drive us back to my house and he had no way home because I picked him up, so he had to crash on the couch.”

She laughed, “You're so horrible, Lee.”

I laughed again, “I'm pretty sure I was just still drunk from the weekend.”

Lynzie chuckled, “I wouldn't doubt it; I'm sure you downed five bottles of rum the whole time we were there.”

The thought made my stomach turn, “Oh, God, don't remind me.”

She laughed at my reaction, “But what about this guy? Garrett did you say?” I nodded, “Is that going anywhere?”

I rolled my eyes, pressing the “up” arrow on the speed, “We're friends. Hardly that.”

She gave me a look, “You like him.”

“What?! I don't even know him! Why would you even think that?!”

She shrugged, “Anyways, I know you hate talking about that shit, so I wanted to ask you if you'd officially become my wedding planner.”

That was, honestly, the last thing I wanted to hear out of her mouth. I would have rather gone on denying my feelings for Garrett than having to talk about planning her wedding. Her smile was so hopeful, though.

“Yeah, sure.”

Her smile widened at my agreement, “Yay! Thank you!”

“No problem. I think this will be my last one, though. I need to move on.”

“What're you going to do this time?”

Shrugging, I continued to jog, “Maybe something not so stressful.”

Lynzie laughed, “You're ridiculous.” It seemed as if more and more people were calling me that.
+

When I got home around ten, I was pretty exhausted. Exhausted from the weekend still and getting hardly any sleep the previous night. I felt dirty, though, so I took a shower to rid my body of all of the sweat and filth that had accumulated from my workout.

Ryan was rolling around on my bed when I walked into my room, wrapped in only a towel. My kitten was getting bigger which made me sad. Once dressed, I picked my phone up from my dresser and took it over to where my charger was. When it connected, the screen lit up and I saw a text from almost ten minutes prior from Garrett.

“What are you doing?”

My brow furrowed at the random text. “I just got out of the shower. Why?” I set the phone down on my bed and walked back over to my dresser, where I picked up my bottle of lotion and lathered it across my arms. Just as I began rubbing it into my skin, I heard my phone go off. Curiosity got the best of me and I walked back over to it.

Pressing the home button with my knuckle, the phone lit up. “I'm bored as shit and I can't do anything without my car.”

I smirked, rubbing my lotioned hands against my bare thighs thanks to the shorts I was wearing, “So you're wondering what I'm doing so you could use me for my car?” I sat down on my bed then, waiting for his response.

It didn't take long, “What? No! I'm texting you because I'm bored, not because I want you to come pick me up.”

I laughed, “I was fucking with you. Calm your tits.”

“Calm my tits? I wasn't aware I had any.”


Laughing loudly, I quickly wrote back, “I don't know how you weren't because they're massive.”

That's how I spent my next half hour – texting Garrett. Well, I was watching reruns of Friends on Nick@Nite as well, but mostly texting Garrett. That is, until my phone started ringing and his name and a picture of him I had never seen before popped up on my screen. He must've done it the night before when I was wasted.

“Hello?”

“My fingers were getting tired.”

I laughed, “Talking is much more easier.” I sunk down into my bed and threw the towel from my head on the ground.

“What're you doing?”

“I am watching Friends on Nick at Nite.”

“So am I!” He exclaimed enthusiastically.

“The one with Rachel's Assistant?!”

“...Sure?” He asked in confusion.

I laughed again, “Sorry, it's one of my favorite shows.”

“Yeah, it's pretty funny. I really like Chandler.”

I smiled, “Me, too.”

We stayed quiet as we focused on the TV show on our screens. For some reason, being on the phone with him as we watched the same TV show wasn't weird. It felt normal.

“Whatever, Dude, you kissed a guy.” I said right along with Ross.

Garrett snorted, “Seriously?”

“I told you it's one of my favorites!” It was a commercial after that, so I got up from my bed and walked over to my dresser and vanity so I could comb my hair. I groaned when I noticed the fading purple and dark roots.

“What? Bummed about the commercials?” I could just picture the smirk on his lips.

“No, bummed about my ugly hair.”

“I'm sorry?” He asked more than said which made me let out a snort.

Finishing combing, I set the comb back down on the dresser, “What are you doing tomorrow night?”

“Hmm... Nothing.”

“Great; you can help me redo my hair.”

“What?!” He seemed baffled.

I rolled my eyes, “Come on! I'll cook you dinner or something.” I must have been desperate if I was offering to cook for him.

“How can I pass up a home cooked meal?” Oh, if only he knew how horrible it would turn out.
♠ ♠ ♠
Ola! How is everyone? Sorry for the long wait on this chapter. And I apologize for how all over the place it is, but I didn't want to split it up, so you get this extra long chapter.
Let me tell you, guys, what I'm writing in this story right now is so great. I can't even. I love Leland. I love Garrett. I love them together. :3
If you want, here is a cover of Come Pick Me Up by William Beckett. He's a kind soul, so you should watch it. ;)
Thank you so so much to elleeann, Hipsterism, OrdinaryRiches, andloveisaword, and trixilla for commenting. You all brighten my day. (: