Time and Consequence

Garrett and Sadie were definitely acting different, Pat observed. They would give each other secret looks when they thought no one was looking, sit closer than normal when the whole group would watch a movie, and while they tried to be nonchalant, it was obvious they liked each other. John and Kennedy noticed that Garrett would often glance to look over at Sadie after shows by the fans every so often. Jared could notice how they both brightened when the other was around. It was good seeing Garrett happy. A few late night chats after shows gave them the chance to get to know each other more. Sadie learned about Garrett's tattoos, his past, love life included. And while the rest of his band mates could tell he was smitten with her, Sadie was having doubts. She wondered if he felt the same jolt of electricity she always did when their hands would accidentally brush, and the more they talked, the more she came to really like his sarcasm and humor, that half smirk and those blue eyes. Sadie thought back to when she and Garrett were by the bunks, and when he brushed by her in the narrow hallway, she was certain they were about to kiss. But he just ran a hand through his hair and stepped away. Why would he like me after being with someone with Carly? Sadie thought. And while Carly was never "with" Garrett and definitely wasn't his shining moment, she still felt inferior. Carly was girly. Tall with a skinny body that allowed her to pull off anything she put on, which was always something intricate and fashionable. Carly also wore more than just mascara and lip balm for makeup. She looked ready for photo shoot at any time. She looked older, appropriate. Sadie felt self conscious when comparing her own appearance. While Sadie was skinny, she was also short, and her legs didn't exactly go on for days like Carly's. Her auburn hair was never exposed to any product other than shampoo and conditioner, green eyes never with more than mascara. Her jeans and a t shirt wardrobe didn't exactly help her seem mature, either. How could she compete? She decided to just focus her time on the photography, the real reason she was there. She continued to let herself daze out, staring out the window at the road as the guys were on their way to Canada next. "Sadie," Jared leaned over his laptop and waggled his fingers in front of her zoned out face," Anyone home?" Sadie blinked and turned over to him. "Yeah, sorry. I was out of it." Jared nodded and pointed to his laptop,"You can use this now if you want." Her own was packed away safely so it wouldn't fall to the floor or get damaged in other ways while the bus was moving. Sadie thanked him, taking the laptop on to her lap(haha) and logged into her tumblr. Her pictures had been getting quite a few notes, in the hundreds. She noticed she had some questions clogging up her inbox, so she decided to answer some. "Are you dating Garrett?" "How are you at EVERY show?" "You're Dirk's girlfriend, right?" "I didn't know you were traveling with them?" "Are you Garrett's girlfriend?" were just some of the questions lined up, some anon, others brave to show their usernames. Sadie furrowed her brow. How would anyone get those ideas? Not that she could answer them herself anyway. She couldn't call herself Garrett's girlfriend, though not just his friend, either. But was she thinking wrongly? She decided to search her username in the tags to see if anyone else had said anything. Sure enough, there was a picture of Garrett, a fan, and half of Sadie after a show. People reblogged it with comment saying "Omg that's her!" "that girl is at every show!" "Garrett's new girl?"It made her sound like a possessive girlfriend who just HAD to be there every second, when she was neither possessive...or a girlfriend. It was all too weird. She scrolled down in the tag and found a text post written by someone with the username "Allthatglitterscarlyx." It read "I'm close friends with the band and went out with them the other night. Sadie is indeed Garrett's girlfriend. :)" Sadie couldn't help but laugh at her word choice of "close friends with the band." Jared looked up at her with a confused look on her face. Garrett plopped down on a seat beside him, shirt and hair looking as wild as usual. "What's so funny?" Jared asked. Sadie turned the laptop towards them and explained the messages she had gotten and Carly's post. "That's hilarious," Garrett whipped out his iPhone to see if he had gotten anything on the matter. He soon found that he had at least 50 twitter mentions about the subject, and about a dozen on tumblr. Sadie bit her lip as she watched him hunched over his iPhone, his messy hair shading his face. She couldn't help but get that feeling in her stomach when he caught her eye and grinned. Soon everyone on board caught wind of the tumblr messages and handled it with humor and a roll of the eyes. "Teenagers," John explained. He didn't feel comfortable saying anything bad about the fans without any real means to. Sadie nodded and closed the laptop, heading towards the back of the bus to set up her camera. She had mastered the art of walking while the bus was moving, and she had a show to get ready for.

The concert, which was nothing short of amazing yet again, ended too soon in Sadie's opinion. She loved the vibe of shows, the roaring applause Arkells and Lydia also obtained, and the general aura. Fans regained feeling in their legs as they walked outside the venue to meet the guys. Sadie hung behind the crowd as she waited for it to die down before she joined the guys. "Are you Garrett's girlfriend?" A girl asked as they waited in line, her beady brown eyes seemed to stare right into Sadie, intimidating as if she could read her mind. Sadie's skin quickly heated up, her eyes wide. "I just photograph for the band...nothing more," she decided that would be her response from now on, and also to any questions on tumblr. The fan nodded, unconvinced, and walked away. Sadie knew nothing confrontational had happened, yet she felt light headed anyway. Who cared who Garrett was dating? The crowd fizzled out. She soon followed the rest of the band back to the bus. "Hey, wait!" Max Kerman from Arkells raced up to them, face flushed from the home show and the breezy night. They turned in his direction. "You guys thirsty? My treat." No one could refuse that offer, so out in to the night they went, and down the street.
The bar they went to had a more fun atmosphere than the one in Boston, the lights were bright and big TVs hung on the walls. Everyone seemed more relaxed. "This place is awesome," Max promised, splitting Kennedy, and John away from the group as they rushed to the pool tables. Pat and Jared laughed because as long as a pool table
was involved, most of their friends were game. "Not really good at pool," Sadie admitted and Pat agreed. "I'm gonna go over there," he pointed across the giant room to where the rest of Arkells and Lydia hung out. The place was so big and loud that it was necessary to say where you were so your friends could find you later. Jared followed him, grabbing a tall mug of beer on his way over. "Want a drink?" Garrett asked, wrinkling the money Max had given him in his hand. It reminded Sadie of the time in Boston, when she was so against hanging out with him. Sadie nodded and walked with him to the bar area. They ordered their drinks and after a couple, silent sips Garrett finally spoke "I saw that girl ask if you were my girlfriend. Yeah, sorry about that.." He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed that Sadie was getting bombarded with such questions. They were innocent enough, but he couldn't help but wonder if she was horrified at the idea of being more than friends with him. It wasn't every day he opened up to people like he had with Sadie, and he hoped it wouldn't be for seemingly no reason. Sadie waved her hand, "Nah. I don't mind it at all..." Sadie blurted, the liquor in her stomach making her honest already. "What?" Garrett tilted his head, unable to hear over the people around them, the chatter, and cheers from the pool game. "I said," Sadie took another sip of her drink then cleared her throat," It's fine." So she omitted the truth, whatever. Garrett mouthed "oh" and looked down into Sadie's green eyes. They seemed so honest and unexposed and true, unlike Carly's less than pure stare. In fact, he noticed and loved how different she was from Carly. How easily she laughed, how easy going and low key she was, fitting right in their group, while Carly understood none of his jokes and annoyed every one of his friends. That she respected personal space, needing time to herself sometimes, whereas Carly whined if Garrett wasn't talking or as enthused. How Sadie liked The Rolling Stones and was giving Ryan Adams a try ever since she burned his CD that Garrett lent her onto her laptop, while Carly only liked whatever was on The top 40. How Sadie had a passion for something other than makeup or celebrities, which was photography and life in general. Sadie darted her eyes away and blushed. His gaze was intense, whether he meant it to be or not. "Let's go for a walk," Garrett decided, holding his arm out for Sadie. There was something he wanted to clear up.
The two huddled close together as it was pretty cold that night, puffs of air coming from their mouths when they breathed out. "So,"Garrett asked, grateful to see petite Sadie by his side instead of skeletor Carly, "How are you liking touring with us so far?" He knew the answer, he just liked seeing how excited she got. "Wicked awesome. Honestly, the best time ever." She broke into a grin, her words coming out faster as they did when she was excited. Garrett smirked at her Bostonian word "wicked" and nudged her gently, "I'm glad." Sadie eyed him, his face pink from the cold and a bit from the drinks, his hair all crazy, grin shy. Which held Sadie's attention more than anything. She stopped short, Garrett slowed down his pace, standing still as he faced her. She had a thoughtful but dreamy look on her face" The shows have been awesome," he continued awkwardly, not sure of what was going on. Sadie sighed, "Garrett?" "Yeah?" He still had a clueless look in his eye. Looks like she was supposed to take this in her own hands. She stood on her tiptoes and inched closer. His heart beat quickened as he realized what was going on, and slowed down in a calm, rhythmic pattern as Sadie kissed him, his arms around her waist.
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