Time and Consequence

It didn't take long for everyone to catch onto Garrett and Sadie dating. In fact, the guys pretty much saw it coming. Garrett and Sadie acted as if they had been dating for months instead of the couple days turned couple weeks they actually were. Sadie now slept in Garrett's bunk with him and the couch became the place to crash when too lazy to move. She noticed the looks she'd get while she was in the photo pit, that more and more people knew or had a hunch about her and Garrett, but she decided to shrug it off, who cared if anyone knew? Garrett and Sadie hung on the bus while everyone else went to explore, both feeling a little tired. Sadie's phone started to ring, interrupting the movie they were watching. She excused herself and walked away to answer it. "Hello?" "Sadie!" it was Zoe. Sadie grinned at the familiar voice. Texting and Facebook really were not enough. "What's new?" Zoe rambled on and on about what was going on back home in Boston, and finally took a deep breath to ask "What about you?" "Well....I'm dating Garrett now," Sadie said, Garrett walking over to her at the sound of his name. "Who's that?" He whispered, She held up a finger, motioning for him to wait. "Knew it would happen. You two do it yet?" Sadie gasped and started to laugh at Garrett's puzzled face. If only he heard the conversation. They were close, but it was hard to be alone when living with a bunch of other people. They soon hung up and Sadie and Garrett made their way back to the couch. "Zoe?" He guessed, Sadie's face smiling from the phone call. She nodded and rested her head on his chest, an arm across his stomach. Garrett leaned into kiss her but was interrupted as Pat and the rest of the group climbed back on the bus. "Oh la la" Jared teased as he walked by them, grabbing his phone off the charger. "Where'd you guys go?" Sadie asked, extracting herself from Garrett so she could grab her laptop. "Just walked around, y'know," John explained, busy scrolling through his phone. Zoe had mentioned how Kennedy and John both had been texting her and that she was entertained by the whole thing. Sadie nodded and signed back onto her tumblr, this time logging into to find 50 messages in her inbox. Her photography had been getting recognized and she was excited to see what people had to say. "You're such a slut" "Groupie" and "Band whore" were just some of the messages displayed. Her face fell. "You okay?" Pat asked, noticing the distressed look on her face. "Just my tumblr..." she muttered, scrolling through more of her inbox. It was chock full of messages, telling her she wasn't good enough for Garrett, or that her photography stunk. That hurt the most. Garrett rolled his eyes as he leaned over her screen, "Just ignore them." Easy for him to say, most people were afraid to leave risky questions on his tumblr or twitter. "Petty drama," Jared commented. Garrett noticed that whenever he had a relationship or something that resembled one, the fan base would erupt. It was weird, and it was also why he liked keeping things like that private. Sadie rolled her eyes. It was annoying. She didn't want to be seen as a bad person, or have her photography overlooked, only noticed because of jealousy. "Not his fault he's such a hot ticket," Kennedy joked and the mood was lightened. For now.

Just before the show, Garrett pulled Sadie aside,"Can I ask you a question?" he sounded nervous. "You just did," Sadie teased,hoping to ease the sudden tension. Garrett sighed,"Look. Maybe we should...lay low." Sadie looked up at him, confused. "What do you mean?" Garrett ran a hand anxiously through his messy hair. "I know it shouldn't matter and we shouldn't have to change things for other people. With the whole tumblr messages and stuff at shows, though...maybe we should just...Instead of coming out with everyone else after shows, maybe just take a walk or something before following us on the bus. It'd take away from the situation?" Sadie's eyes narrowed. He was basically telling her to scram, at least for a little while. "It would just be until this died dow-" "I get it," Sadie snapped, dodging his hand reaching for her arm. She walked away from him, Garrett biting his nails as he walked back stage. It wasn't her fault his fans were like that. He should say something, Sadie thought. It was getting to be too much. She climbed over to the photo pit but was off her game, her pictures were blurry and distorted. Frustrated, she just turned her camera off for the night and watched the show, her mind elsewhere. At the end of the show, she turned to walk away from the venue when all of a sudden she heard "SADIE!" "WHAT? YOU AND GARRETT BREAK UP?" "FUCKING FINALLY!" She turned around and noticed a group of girls who looked like Hot Topic exploded on them. They were grinning at Sadie's appalled face. The guys were oblivious to all of this as they were busy with other fans. Anger rushed through Sadie as the girls continued to heckle her. They actually seemed to be following her, not even caring how far from the venue they were or that they weren't going to meet the band they supposedly loved. Pat noticed Sadie walking with a group of girls, but assumed it was nothing or people she knew. "What'd you have to do to tour with them? Inquiring minds want to know," sneered a girl with a short, blunt hair do. Oh god, Sadie thought. They were not leaving her alone. Where were they? The venue was out of sight and the street light's were dimming along the way. "Sorry, I have to get back," Sadie tried to be polite, but they blocked her path. Sadie could feel her teeth start to chatter, something they always did when she was nervous. Where these girls going to hit her or something? "If you break his heart..." one of the girl's started. As if they knew him. "He doesn't need a slut like you in his life," the other spat. As if they knew her. Sadie shook her head and finally brushed by them. She couldn't help but tear up a bit, she was being ridiculed for absolutely nothing. How could fans so "loyal" be so cruel? She slipped her uncomfortable shoes off, tucking them under her arm as she walked slower than usual, everyone already on the bus by the time she got back. "What took you so long?" Jared asked, shuffling a deck of cards. "Yeah, you weren't outside after the show!" Pat. Sadie shrugged as Kennedy waved hello, a microwaved bowl of mac & cheese on his lap. She weakly waved back and threw her shoes down on the ground, wanting to sleep more than anything. After changing into pajamas, Sadie realized the last thing she wanted to do was sleep in Garrett's bed after the night she had. Since the guys were occupying the couch, though, she had no other option. She stepped out of the bathroom, feeling Garrett pulling her over to him. They stood in the narrow hallway by the bunks, too close for comfort. "What happened?" Garrett noticed the redness in her eyes, the exhaustion that came with sadness or crying. Sadie sidestepped away from him, "Nothing," she said, harsher than usual. Garrett frowned as he followed her. "Tell me," he pleaded. "I'm tired..." She started, heading back towards the bunks. Pat made eye contact with Garrett, sensing something was wrong. Pat knew how Garrett got during relationships, how he was too optimistic but then pessimistic after them. The downfall of being guarded yet too open at the same time. Garrett shrugged and continued to follow her lead. Sadie crawled into the bunk and wiggled under the covers, her back towards Garrett. She could feel him sigh as he collapsed next to her. He drew shapes on her back with his finger. He knew how much that calmed her. She wanted to be mad, but the back rub made it difficult. Sadie wasn't trying to start drama, but it clearly clung to her during this tour. "I'm sorry," Garrett whispered in her ear, guessing she was hurt from the conversation they had before the show. He wasn't one to apologize, but actually felt something towards Sadie, an old feeling he forgot he knew existed, and didn't want to see her upset. Sadie rolled over towards him studied his face. He looked anxious and sad, his hair completely out of control. "You should be," she gave a small smile and patted his face before turning away again, but neither could get much sleep.