Come Pick Me Up

"Hey Surrey,"

"What, O'Callaghan?"

"I wanna put a baby in your tummy."

Jesus it's like he wasn't even trying. "John, we both know you can do much better than that."

"Hey Surrey,"

"What?"

"You wanna do a 68? You go down on me, and I'll owe you one."  John leaned over the counter with a smirk on his face.

My mouth dropped open. "That was brilliant, O'Callaghan." 

"Really?!"

"Yeah, you'll be charming all the ladies' and the lads' pants off before you know it." I replied dully as I played with the key-chained picks on the counter. Apparently John is on 'Julia Duty' because Garrett will be running a little late on picking me up. I find it absolutely ridiculous that I need any sort of guardian. I'm 21 for fuck's sake. 

"He should be here in a while," John started but then his phone buzzed. He checked the text, pressed a few keys then turned his attention back to me. "Or not. Come on, I'm taking you home."

"You're bringing me back to Surrey?" I mocked an excited expression.

"Ha-ha now come on." He rolled his eyes playfully. 

John O'Callaghan is quite the character. Seeing as Kennedy and Garrett were busy with 'their girls', I opted to hang out with John instead of third-wheeling.

He's like a many shaded colour. First he would be all preppy and sweet, then he'd be mean and a diva, then he would hit on anything that breathes, then he'd be all deep and philosophical. Yes, John O'Callaghan was unlike any other person I have ever met. 

As I was about to pull down the accordion, a loud crack erupted from the sky, causing me to yelp in surprise and pain. I let go of the accordion which made an obnoxious scraping sound. 

A voice from the overhead speakers spoke up. "Due to a severe storm ongoing, we will be closing the mall. Everyone is advised to stay inside until further notice."

-----

Crack!

A scream erupted from my lips as I held onto John for dear life. I was beyond scared. This is almost as bad as the fireworks. 

The worst part is that this nightmare wouldn't be over anytime time soon. John said that his only happened one other time and that everyone had to stay wherever they were. He already texted Garrett and Kennedy that we would be staying inside the store until the storm passes.

"You know if you weren't Kennedy's play little sister and Garrett's property, I'd really enjoy this right now." John mused as he rubbed circles on my back. 

"I'm no one's play little sister or property, thank you very much."

"Tell that to them." I looked over to where John was pointing. There were two guys who had a duffel bag and were soaking wet, heading toward us. I squinted at the two lads and realized that it was no other than-

"You bludgering idiots! You could've gotten yourselves killed!" I tackled the two onto the ground, straddling each of their legs. "There is a bloody storm going on out there if you haven't noticed."

"Ow! Stop hitting me, Jules!" Kennedy swatted his hands around, trying to block my punches. "It was all Garrett's idea!" He grabbed my wrists and turned to Garrett. "See I told you she's fine."

I glared at Garrett. For fuck's sake he could've gotten themselves killed! It's like I don't know how to take care of myself.

I stood up and marched back to my previous position, slumped back on the wall at the back corner of the store. 

I've been going back and forth on whether I should stay here forever or go back to Surrey. My whole life is in Surrey. My friends, family, the company, and no matter how fucked everything is back home, it's where I belong. I can't just leave that behind and start from scratch. As good as it sounds, this is real life and things aren't that easy here.

"They're just looking out for you. They care about you a lot, you know." John stood over me, his knees a few inches above my head. "Garrett especially."

"Wish they'd stop caring so much." I huffed.

"Be careful what you wish for, kid." John patted my head then left me alone to my thoughts again. 

It's not supposed to rain in Arizona. In Surrey, yes but not here. This is supposed to be a change of scene but I'm back to square one again. Home sounded much, much sweeter right now even though it wasn't a very sweet place to begin with.

"I'm sorry." I didn't reply. "Be mad at me okay? Not Kennedy. He insisted you'll be fine."

"I'm a big girl, Garrett."

"I know." We stayed silent again. Not because I was mad, but because someone who wasn't Kennedy was willing to brave through a storm just to make sure I was alright. I stood up and encircled my arms around his torso. It took him for a while to respond but after a few seconds he seemed to have figured out what was going on and hugged me back. 

After what seemed like minutes, we pulled away but our bodies not very far from each other. I started playing with the string of his jacket, tangling it beneath my fingers. He grabbed a hanging string from my collar and started pulling on it.

Looking up at Garrett, I watched his eyes dance as he smiled sheeply at me. Arizona was really turning out to be a pain, but the benefits outweighed it all. Or so I thought. 

"Gare!"