You Found Me

To say that John was frightened of the idea of going on stage was an understatement. He couldn't stop moving around and he kept fiddling with his tie while he was at some room at this bar they've booked a show at. The rest of the band seems like they're cool or at least they're doing their best to hide it.

Jared and Kennedy were sitting at the other side of the room, trying to go through the six songs they were going to play today. Three were covers and John had written the others. And every time I watched them practicing, he always ordered me to get out of Pat's basement whenever they played their original songs. Daisy was beside me and she rolled her eyes when I asked her if she and John were okay. I took it as a no, even if she said that everything was fine. They've been talking, but it was way too obvious when Daisy tried cutting their conversation short.

She took one final look at John before just groaning and walking to him with her arms crossed. John stared at her with wide eyes and he stopped fidgeting, which was a good sign. I laughed to myself and leaned back on the couch, waiting for them to go out on stage.

Pat was somewhere around the venue, fixing some things up with whoever was in charge around the bar.

I was messing around with my phone when I felt the cushion of my seat move. I looked to my right and saw that Garrett just dropped on my seat, with an unreadable expression on his face.

"Are you okay?" I furrowed my eyebrows and looked at him curiously.

"I am," he nodded and gulped, not taking his eyes off of mine. I raised my eyebrow slightly at him. "Are we?"

My mouth fell slightly agape even if I wasn't that taken aback by his question. I knew it would come up eventually, but I didn't know that he wanted to talk about this minutes before they were going up on stage.

We hadn't spent that much time over the week so the baking incident never came up. We would glance at each other awkwardly during lunch or Trigonometry and Baking but we never really got together. But really, how was anyone supposed to bring the topic up? Hey, remember that night? I think you missed when you tried eating the frosting off of my face. You hit my lips. Bad aiming, Garrett. I had no clue because before him, I only had Kean. And he was the one that straight up said that he liked me. I never had to deal with the "what's up with us?" thing.

I looked around the room and when I saw everyone kind of busy, I stood up and pulled Garrett out of the room and to the hall. Thankfully, there were no people around and it was just me and him. The moment he faced me, I threw my arms around his shoulders and went for it, pressing my lips straight to his. I'd be lying if I said that I'm confident about what's going to happen next, but just imagine my relief when he slid his hand on my back, making me step closer to him.

When I stepped back, I bit my lip nervously and looked at him. His mouth was open and there was this slight hint of a smile on his lips.

"You nervous?"

"Nope. No. Not at all. Not even. Not even slightly," he shook his head and smiled brightly at me.

"Good," I broke into a smile. "I'm sure you'll do great."

"I wasn't really sure five minutes ago, but I am now," he laughed, putting his arm around me. I reached for his hand, tangling his with my fingers. We started walking, making sure to stay close by just in case they needed to go on stage already. "I'm kidding. Nerves are getting to me again."

"Why?" I asked softly, glancing at him?

"We're just starting out, right?" He explained, tightening his hold on my hand. "Are we ever going to move on from this point? Are we going to have our big break one day and tour or have our own solo show where we get to play songs from our albums."

I understood where he was coming from. Even John gets hell of a lot nervous when he's thinking of this stuff. But he knows he's got a back up. I know that our parents are planning on sending him to ASU after he finishes high school.

"This is only one of the few things I'm good at and if I fail at this I have no idea what I'm supposed to do," he said. We stopped where we were and I turned to him, holding his hand. I opened my mouth to say something, but I really had no idea what to say. "It's okay, September. I really just wanted to tell someone."

I wanted to tell him that everything was going to be alright. That they were going to get big and eventually go everywhere and play for people. Somehow, I really just really knew they were going to make it big. In the music industry, not all of the artists and bands become the Beatles or the Rolling Stones or Nirvana. Not all make it big like Blink. There really was no assurance that everything would work.

"Well, at least you have that one fan that won't go away," I shrugged, trying to make him smile.

"Mom?" He scratched his head, making me roll my eyes. "You haven't even heard our original songs," he chuckled.

"S-she will, soon," Pat emerged out of nowhere and it the both of us retract our hands so fast and put it in our pockets. If he noticed or not, I didn't know because he didn't mention it. "Better get t-to the stage. We're starting in five."

We walked back to the room and we found Jared and Kennedy still talking to each other and Daisy sitting next to John, deeply engrossed by a conversation they were having. John's gaze went directly to the door though and by the way he looked at Pat, I knew he was too nervous.

"I think the whole place can hear your heart beating," I nudged at him while we walked out of the room.

"This is the first time we're going to play original songs," he said, staring straight at the empty space in front of us.

"You're going to do great, alright?" I whispered just as the band went along to the stage. "Daisy and I will be somewhere at the back."

"Don't laugh at me, okay?"

"I'm not making any promises."

***

They sounded good. Now if only we could make John actually face the audience on the stage. That would be great.

They started the song "Daisy" and I glanced over at my best friend, who had this smile on her face. She noticed me staring and shook her head. "That song isn't about me."

My smile immediately faded and I raised my eyebrow at her.

"John didn't write the song," she laughed. "One of John's friends wrote the song about his girlfriend and he was supposed to be a part of the band but he moved away in the middle of the school year."

I just nodded and looked back at the stage. John had made some progress by glancing at the audience once in a while. I think it has something to do about Pat shouting at him while he was playing the drums. The kids watching seemed to be into what they were playing and everyone seemed to have a good time.

After playing the last song, they scurried to get off of the stage with the audience cheering and clapping for them. It was a great start, in my opinion. Because I've witnessed some bands before that completely sucked when they played live. I didn't even know John had song writing skills.

Daisy grabbed my hand and pulled me back to the room where the boys were. When we opened the door, everyone looked like they were so shocked and so pumped up from playing on stage except for that awkwardly blond boy sitting on the couch, just smiling slightly at the guys.

"So?" Kennedy raised his eyebrows at me and hung his arm on my shoulder.

"You guys we're alright," I shrugged, looking at them blankly.

"Were we really that bad?" Kennedy scrunched up his eyebrows and looked at me in disbelief, causing me to let out a chuckle.

"No, you guys were awesome," I laughed, making them grin. I shoved Kennedy's arms off and crossed my arms. "You're sweaty. Don't come near me."

"Guys, I think March wants a group hug," Kennedy said, making the rest of the guys have big smiles on their lips and close in on me. Before I could even run out of the room, the four of them engulfed me in their arms. The moment they let me go, I wiped my arms and glared at them jokingly. "You love us."

I rolled my eyes and turned to Garrett who just took my hand and led me outside of the room. "Can you come with me?"

"Where?" I narrowed my eyes at him. He just pressed a smile and pulled me all the way to some table at the back of the bar. One of the people seated looked vividly familiar and I could feel my heart in my throat but I just cracked a grin the moment we got to them. "Hi Mrs. Nickelsen," I smiled nervously, glancing at Garrett for a brief moment.

"I like her, Garrett. She's polite," she looked at me before smiling at her son. "Darling, call me Marianne."

"That's Trey," Garrett pointed to the person sitting next to his mother. In a way, they resembled each other except it was very obvious that Trey was the older brother. "And uh, Dad."

I sent them a small wave and a smile. "How'd you enjoy the show?"

"Is it just because of the angle from where we're watching or did John really look at us?" Trey laughed, making Marianne grin. "They were pretty decent. Who wrote the songs?"

"John did. He's such a poet," Garrett said.

"You did great," Marianne grinned at her son, making him smile brightly.

"If only it were a real job," Mr. Nickelsen spoke up. It was safe to say that I didn't expect that to come from him. I should've known better. Maybe he's the reason why Garrett's been worrying too much. I noticed that Garrett's smile fell and he began to just look back on the stage as if he was checking out who were playing next.

"Travis," Marianne shot him a look to which he just shrugged and took a sip of the drink he had in front of him.

I had seen the same scenario with John except I think both our parents were supportive of how John wants to be part of the band. The condition is still going to college but it's a sacrifice he was willing to take just to keep singing.

"I've never been on stage but it looked like they had fun," I grinned as I tried to ease the tension out. "Not everyone can actually play a guitar. I don't have a single musical bone in my body."

"Well Trey and Garrett are more than welcome to give you lessons," Marianne suggested nudging the older brother with her elbows. "You two should go along with your friends. Garrett, home before sunrise, alright?"

"Will do," he pressed one last smile before taking my hand and walking away from their table. "That turned out great," he said sarcastically, avoiding the waiters going around.

I sighed and took his hand, giving him a little smile. "You did awesome."

"Thanks," he said, pressing his lips to my forehead and putting his arms around my shoulder, pulling me closer to him.

***

What made me feel very happy and confident about the band was when they were all packed up in Pat's family's van with all of their instruments, some of the people who watched them earlier were actually waiting for them to talk to them about their set. Seeing the guys' grins and the sparkle in their eyes when an audience sparks up a conversation, it made me happy so much that people were appreciating what they were doing.

Daisy and I hung out at the side of the van and we were waiting for them to finish up with the people they were talking to because they told us we'd leave to eat dinner in 10 minutes.

After a while, we noticed that it they've already taken longer than 10 minutes, Daisy just groaned and went to the washroom, thinking the wouldn't be back sooner. I leaned on the van and fished my phone out of my pocket just to check what the time was. It was already about 8:30 and I was currently starving, waiting for all six of them to get back to the van.

I was toying with my phone when I flinched and cursed under my breath when Kennedy snuck up beside me, a grin hanging on his face. He's changed into a soccer jersey and for some reason, he looked extra happy tonight.

"Why are you smiling?" I shoved the phone back in my pocket and stared at him curiously. He didn't drop the expression and he had this cheeky grin that made me want to smile myself even though I tried to hide it.

"I can't smile?" He raised his eyebrows, the sighed and softened up his expression after I stared at him with one brow up. "I liked this night. I liked playing. And there were a couple of people who talked to us after saying that they liked us..."

I nodded, impressed by the fact that they got to attract a couple of people. They got them interested in their band after that and I'm assuming that they really have potential if they managed to do that after one show. "Got some chicks running after you guys."

"Oh yeah," he chuckled, a smirk gracing his features. "You should see John. He's loving the attention even if he couldn't even face the audience earlier."

I laughed along when I remembered John on stage. Pat was looking at him like he was the most ridiculous thing ever and I think if they muted the speakers, the whole venue could hear the long haired one shouting at John to turn around and stop facing him. His voice was good, I have got to admit and I never thought that he'd take the musical path.

There was a quietness between us for a couple of minutes before he just sighed, his big grin turning into a soft tight lipped smile. "I never got to say sorry for the way I acted the night when... And the morning when..."

"Treat me to several scoops of ice cream some other time and I'll call it even," I cut him off before he could even finish his apology. "

I wasn't one to get mad easily and if I did, I'd forget about it almost instantly (except Kean... He's a different story). I shrugged off Kennedy's mood swings because if he really wanted to get out of there, it must mean that it was something important. What I didn't get was he couldn't give me a reason why he had to. I know that these people were one of the most understanding people ever.

He smiled for a second then just sighed and looked at an empty space in front of us. He was also leaning on the van now with his hands in his pockets. I leaned my arm on the bus, with my arms crossed and I tried reading him and figuring out what was in his mind but I couldn't tell anything from what he's giving me.

"What are you thinking?" I mumbled quietly, trying to get him to talk.

He opened his mouth to speak but waited a couple of seconds before he did talk, "That the guys should really come over now because I'm starving and tired already," he gave me a weak smile and I could tell from his voice that he really was getting tired. But I knew that something else was bothering him.

"So what is it really?" I said lowly. Our surroundings was quiet and the only things I could hear are the bushes rustling because of the wind and the occasional car passing by. I could tell he felt uneasy, but I could also tell that he just tried his best to shrug it off.

"Why does our conversation keep ending up like this?" He chuckled and it was obvious that it was forced from the back of his throat. "I'm just feeling really tired is all." He turned to his right and I followed his gaze, seeing two figures emerge from the back door of the bar. It was the 6 footer skeleton I live with at home and my best friend walking side by side. Kennedy tore his gaze away and went back to staring at the empty space in front of us.

"Because I'm not going to stop bugging you until you tell me what's up," I shook my head and stared at him. He turned to his right again and saw Garrett and Pat walking out of the bar with smiles plastered on their faces. He shook it off crossed his arms. "In a few seconds, they're going to get to us here and I still won't stop bugging you."

He looked at the people who were approaching us and he stared at me, his mouth agape. He looked like he was trying to think about what he was going to do but he just sighed and pulled me to the other side of the van. "You are one of the most annoying and persuasive people I know," he rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

I grinned and looked at him giddily. "Thank you. Now what is it?"

"It's just the girl," he shrugged and breathed out, leaning back on the van. "It's driving me crazy."

"If liking her is bothering you that much, I think you really should just go make a move," I whined.

"I told you. Liking this person is like a piled up car accident waiting to happen. There are a lot of factors to consider and if only you knew all of them, I know you'd tell me to get over her," he said, looking at his feet. He peeked at the other side of the van. "Everything's just... Completely wrong," he sighed and shrugged his shoulders slightly, joining the group forming near the door of the van.

I was left in my spot with my mouth hanging slightly open. A thought struck my mind just a few seconds ago and I couldn't blurt it out because Kennedy might just kill me the moment I do. As much as I was tempted to make him talk more about it, I stayed quiet and waited for the right time to ask.

We began walking out of the parking lot, finding a place to eat at and I found myself glancing tons of times at Kennedy. He didn't seem like he was that affected by what he just told me and he just kept laughing with Jared about how the show went. I stayed at the back of the pack, my mind lost in thoughts.

"Are you okay?" A voice said beside me and I was met by one of the most beautiful blue eyes ever. He had this faint smile on his lips but still looked concerned. "You're spacing out."

"I'm hungry," I smiled teasingly, making him chuckle. I was getting too good at hiding one half of the truth. "You guys took forever talking with your newfound fans."

"I just can't believe that they were in to what we were playing," Garrett said. I could see his eyes sparkling and he had the biggest grin on his face. "And you should see this girl. She was totally head over heels in love with John."

I twisted my face but I changed it with a smile immediately when I thought it would be too obvious. "John, huh? How about you? Does anyone dig you?"

He shot me a smile and raised his eyebrows. "There was this girl a little bit smaller than you who gave me her number. I think she goes to our school." I shot him a look, feeling curious and amused at the same time. "I'm kidding. So how'd you think the band do?"

I shrugged and tried to make it look like I didn't care that much. "I don't know. They're alright. The bassist was awfully jumpy and all over the place." He hooked his eyebrows up and glanced at me with a crooked smile. "But y'know, I always took a particular liking to bassists. They're so hot."

"Sure," he rolled his eyes but the smile was still evident on his lips.

"Would you consider dating a fan?"

"I think the fans would consider John being the more date-able member," he chuckled.

"I'm your biggest fan."

"You hate us," he grinned, taking my hand in his.

"How can I hate your band when I have the biggest crush on your bassist?"

"You are unbelievable," he laughed, pressing his lips to my cheek, making me crack a smile. I'm pretty sure I was as red as a tomato because I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks, making me feel kind of hot. I looked away from the boy beside me just to see that John was looking back at us while walking. His had his eyebrows shot up and he had this amused look on his face. I just rolled my eyes and held Garrett's hand tight until they stopped in front of a diner.

We all casually flipped through the menu, looking for something to order and when we had given the waitress our orders, we all sat in silence, awkwardly glancing at each other.

"Okay," John began, looking at each and everyone of us with a smirk on his face. "I think we can all stop pretending we don't know there isn't anything going on with March and Garrett."

From the corner of my eye, I could see Garrett's hands going to his face, shaking his head slightly. My jaw dropped to the ground and I stared at John, not expecting that bomb at all. Everyone at the table was in a fit of amused grins and smiles except for Daisy.

"HOW DID I NOT KNOW THIS THOUGH?" She glared at all of us with her arms crossed. "YOU NEVER MENTIONED THIS TO ME."

"I never mentioned this to anyone," I put my hands up in defense, my eyes still wide.

"You'd have to be blind not to notice, D," John laughed. "I saw Garrett kissing March on the cheek just before we went in."

"Cheek? Man, I caught Garrett almost kissing March full on the mouth!" Jared said, making my cheeks feel hot and burning. I scratched the back of my neck, glancing awkwardly at Garrett.

"Oh you should see them flirting with each other b-b-before the show even started," Pat smiled mischievously, making me groan.

Daisy turned to Kennedy who just shrugged and smiled. "I got nothing but I knew they had the hots for each other."

"SO MUCH FOR BEING BEST FRIENDS," Daisy sulked in her seat, making John pat her on the back.

Despite the embarrassment, I smiled at Daisy and I guess it's because she called me her best friend. I just really thought that being assured that your best friend thinks of you as her best friend too was such a good feeling. But I looked down at my lap, because apparently, all of them already knows what was going on with us.

And for a second, I thought Garrett was ashamed that everyone knew. But he slid his hand in mine under the table while he was looking at the guys blankly. He moved my our hands and put it on the table, making a loud sound. I widened my eyes and looked at him in disbelief.

"What are-" I started but he already spoke up before I could finish my sentence.

"I never had the intention to hide it anyway," he shrugged and put our hands back in between us. There was a quietness around us and we were all just glancing at each other. "Now that's out of the way, tell us, how'd you two make up or something?" He said, pointing at John and Daisy.

John turned to her with a smirk while Daisy just rolled her eyes, leaning her chin on her hand. "She loves me so much that she can't go two weeks of being mad at me."

"Don't ask me to try, John," she laughed, shaking her head slightly. "I can do it if I try."

"Shutting up," he pressed his lips together making Daisy smile in triumph. "Hey guys, was I really that bad earlier at the show?" Everyone nodded silently while John had this horrified look on his face. "You kept screaming at me!" John frowned at Patrick and scrunched up the paper napkin and threw it at the drummer.

"You kept looking at me and honestly, was it so hard to look at the people who were watching our set?" Pat glowered at him, throwing the paper back at John, hitting him straight on his face. "But the moment you step on stage, all of the girls come flocking over at you."

"Freaking singer gets every single one of them," Jared rolled his eyes.

"Damn right," Kennedy laughed, leaning back on his seat.

My brow shot up at him and I looked at him curiously.

"Don't worry Ken," Daisy shook her head and leaned over to the guitarist. "John can have all her band girls. You have me," she said, pouting her lips and tangling her hands with his and resting her head on Ken's shoulders. He just put his arm around her shoulders, pulled her closer and messed her hair up. She closed her eyes and she opened one, peeking at John and stuck her tongue out.

John rolled his eyes and I wasn't even sure if he was or if he really was pissed. But his annoyance soon faded away when the food came. Of course. Food makes him happy.

***

I can feel all 4 pairs of eyes at us when me and Garrett were standing outside my car. We walked back from where we ate and decided to call it a night because everyone was tired, especially those who went on stage.

"I'll see you on Monday?" He said quietly, tucking a strand of hair behind my ears. I could hear John groaning from the distance and making a fake throwing up sound, making me and Garrett chuckle. "And I'll call you tomorrow. Good night?"

"Good night," I smiled. I had planned on kissing him but when all of your friends are watching you while you say goodbye to the person you like, you just throw the plan away. Jared was riding with Garrett and Pat was going home by himself. John was dropping Daisy before going straight home and Kennedy was driving by himself.

When they all went to their respective cars, Garrett sprinted back to my side and clasped his hands around me, closing the space between our lips. I pulled away with a grin when I could hear Jared's annoyed yells for Garrett to get back in the car and drive them home because he was tired as hell. I put my hand at the back of his neck and pulled him in for another kiss before just smiling and letting him go.

I went inside the car and I was about to drive out of the lot when Kennedy pulled up beside me and rolled his windows down.

"Can we talk?" He asked, a weak and soft smile on his lips.

I blinked a couple of times before nodding my head slowly. "Backyard, okay?"

***

"Aren't you tired?" I yawned, leaning on the metal railings beside me. We were at the exact spot we were on the night everything went downhill with me and Kean. The lights from our house were already closed and John had went straight up to his room when he got home, not knowing that Kennedy was here. I wanted to sleep, to be honest. But I couldn't turn down a talk with him.

"You have no idea how tired I am," he said quietly, his voice echoing through the silence.

I waited for several seconds before finally speaking up without glancing at him. "So earlier you said..."

"Yeah," he mumbled.

"Give one of the cars that might pile up." I faced him and realized that the smile he had on earlier was gone. And I have no exact words for his expression, but it sure wasn't anywhere near okay.

He hesitated to talk at first but he sighed and shrugged his shoulders slightly. "For starters, the band might break up."

I averted my gaze and stared at the space in front of us. I knew it. I was already having ideas on why he was acting weirdly when we were all together.

"Another is all of us not being friends anymore," he continued, running his hand through his hair and hanging his head down low. "The next car crashing is a Toyota called not-getting-to-talk-to-my-best-friends-anymore. Do you want me to go on?"

I rubbed my hands together because it was cold and because it kept me calm. I shouldn't be the one getting nervous, but I was. I shook my head and brushed my hair back to keep it from my face. I shifted my position so I faced him. "You like Daisy," I breathed out.

His expression was unreadable because he looked at me blankly. His hazel eyes were staring right through me and he licked his lips and shook his head. "Yeah," he mumbled, clasping his hands together in front of him and using his elbows for support. "That's it. I like her. And you know what might happen if I still pursue her."

"John would kill you," I said.

"Y-yeah," he nodded with a chuckle escaping his lips. "And I'm his friend. I'm not letting this one ruin everything."

"You're fine with that?" I asked, raising my brow slightly at him. "You're fine with letting him get the girl? What about you?"

"Do you want me to go after the girl I like?"

"I want you to be happy," I said sincerely, giving him a sad smile.

"That's not happening. Not anytime soon anyway," he laughed bitterly before staring at the steps in front of him.

I scooted closer and threw my arm around his shoulders. "Well, I'm always here for you. You have me."

"I don't have you, March," he looked at me from the corner of his eyes with a slight grin. "Garrett has you."

"Doesn't mean I can't be there for you," I ruffled his hair and smiled. "You told me you were going to make my stay here worthwhile. I'm still looking forward to that."

He rolled his eyes and put his hand to the side of my face, pulling me in to press his lips at the side of my head. "What would I do without you?"

"You lived like... Seventeen years without me. I'm pretty sure you can handle life pretty well."

"Yeah, I'd just like it more if you were in it."