You Found Me

I slipped in some black pair of jeans, a loose white crop top and lazily put my black and white low cut Converse on. It was currently 6:43 and I just got up from bed thirty minutes ago to take a quick shower. I decided that I'll let my dark blonde wavy hair down since I couldn't find any elastic bands to throw it up in a bun.

I found John sitting on the couch downstairs, wearing a different shirt from this morning. He was watching something on TV but he shut it down the moment he saw me emerge on the living room. I grabbed the purse that I had left on the kitchen counter and put my phone and wallet in it, slinging it on my shoulders.

I walked out of the house and John followed shortly after I did, motioning me to go in his car. I hesitated for a moment because I knew that I was still partially mad at him because of this morning and last night, but I went in anyway, knowing that he wouldn't go in until I did.

He started the engine and I turned the stereo on, the music filling the car until we stopped in front of a house. There were already a lot of cars parked around the area and I made a mental note to ask Pat what he meant when he said 'small get together.' John cut the engine and I was already about to open the door to my side when John grabbed my arm.

"Think about it, March. These people you're hanging out with, they're already my friends and it's very clear they want you to be theirs' too," he said, looking at me with sad eyes. He let go of my arm and went out through his door.

I sighed softly before coming out of his car and heading inside.

Pat greeted me the moment I stepped inside the door. "January!"

"When you said 'small get together'," I started looking around the house. There were plenty of people and all the couches on the living room were occupied. Several people were standing by the staircase and there were some more people scattered on the halls.

"Yeah, I guess you could consider this a party," he laughed, pulling my wrist and leading me to which I think is the kitchen. There were plenty bottles on the island counter and it made me think if half of the people here even care that they're underage to drink. I'm pretty sure they didn't because I don't think one person wasn't nursing a red cup in their hands. "Do you want anything to drink?"

"I'm seventeen," I stated, crossing my arms.

"So am I?" He laughed, showing me the bottle of beer he had in his hand.

"That isn't legal," I laughed, pointing at the bottle.

"So, Coca-Cola?" He asked, a laugh coming out of his mouth. I nodded as an answer and smiled at him while he went to fridge to grab a can of soda. "Lighten up, March. How'd you get here, by the way?"

I looked down at my feet, finding the answer to his question. My brother, John O'Callaghan dropped me here. Do you know who he is? I looked up and I opened my mouth to speak but I was cut off by someone who slung his arm over my shoulders.

"I ran into her at the mall and we decided to go here together," John smiled at Pat. He turned to me and wiggled his eyebrows.

"What part of 'don't hook up with March' don't you understand?" Pat said, shoving a strand of his hair behind his ears.

"I'm not hooking up with March!" John said, putting his arms up defensively. "She really... Really... Isn't my type."

"Who isn't your type?" A voice said from behind me and John. We turned around and saw that it was Kennedy and Jared with Daisy standing in the middle of them and closer to us.

"March is," John shrugged.

"What's wrong with March?" Kennedy raised his eyebrows at John.

"Oh my God, nothing is wrong with March. She just really isn't my type," John said.

"Then who is your type?" Daisy asked, her eyebrow raised at John.

"Is that a trick question?" He furrowed his eyebrows and stared at Daisy. The glass door opened John immediately turned to face it to see a red haired girl wearing a skimpy floral outfit. The girl looked at John the moment she stepped foot on the kitchen and gave John a wink. John raised his eyebrows and he turned to look at us again. His stare lingered a little longer on Daisy the back to me. "Well... She is," he said, pointing to where the girl went. "I'm gonna go," he excused himself and after a few moments, he disappeared through the people in the house.

I noticed all the guys staring at Daisy for a while without saying anything and I furrowed my eyebrows, curious to why. I already had an idea, but I didn't want to assume.

Daisy looked at all the guys before just shaking her head. She looked at me and pressed a smile, "Do you have any plans on Wednesday?"

"I've got a hot date with my textbooks that night," I answered, nodding my head. "Why?"

"I need to shop for a dress for next next Saturday and I need you to find one for me. I'm pretty sure you're going to need one too, right?" Daisy smiled. I noticed that the three other guys around us drifted off somewhere and we were left standing in front of the kitchen counter.

"Why would I need a dress for next next Saturday?" I said, tilting my head and narrowing my eyes. As far as I knew, I didn't have any plans for the following weeks.

"It's Garrett's cousin's wedding and she let Garrett's band play so he could invite anyone..." Daisy said but her voice faded as she said that last part. "Oh shit."

I bit my lip and looked down at my feet again. I shouldn't be sad but I was and it thought it was very shallow, but I can't seem to push it aside.

"March, maybe it's because you're new around here. I mean, the invites did get sent out two months ago," Daisy said, tugging the sleeve of my shirt.

I looked up at her and showed her a smile, just to show her that it was okay. "I get it. It's not like he has to invite me. We barely know each other anyway. I'd still love to come and help you pick out a dress if you want," I offered.

"Really? That would be nice," she grinned. We pulled out one of the chairs on the dining table and stayed there talking for a few moments.

I learned that starting last summer, she barely has any girl friends anymore and that she only hangs out with the band and a few other people. What amused me was we had the same reason why our lives were a little bit like hell right now.

My brother. And apparently, Daisy's self-proclaimed best friend.

"At John's first day, he had made an amazing impression with everyone. God, everyone loved him. Some people wanted to talk to him more than the other people that have been here for the longest time," Daisy laughed and shook her head. "All my friends were all gushing about how John's so perfect and how they think he's into them and things like that."

I nodded silently, bringing the can of soda I had to my lips and sipping. That was a more than accurate description of what happened when John was around even back where we lived.

"I was the one that didn't want to talk to this guy. I didn't talk to him when he was around and I didn't try catching his attention. But by doing that, I caught his attention big time," she rolled her eyes. "He kept bugging me about why I don't like him but eventually we did become friends. Close friends, actually. And he was best friends with Jared and Kennedy while I was friends with Garrett and Pat." She paused, bringing the red cup to her lips and drinking the rest of what she had in there. "So that's how they all hated me. Because they thought I was that bitch that enjoyed being the center of attention of these boys when in all honesty, the only reason why I got close to them was because I tried to ignore them."

"You didn't care that you don't get to hang out with those girls anymore?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"No, not really," she answered. "I mean, I did at first. Of course. I ran out of people to hang out with aside from the band. It's partly because I didn't want to set them up with Garrett, John, Kennedy, Pat and Jared. I was obviously getting used and when I said I didn't want to, they thought I was very selfish," she explained and laughed. "It's very funny when I think about it. At least I have them to hang out with."

"Yeah," I muttered to myself, a smile creeping on my lips. It got me thinking how similar our situation was. How hard could it have been to befriend these guys that they needed Daisy to get to them? Did the people at home think John was going to bite if they talked to him so they befriended me first?

I was already about to think about telling them that John was my sibling when I realized another thing. People like Daisy's friend did want to use her to get to John. What was my assurance that people aren't going to do that around me?

"I'm going to find John, okay?" She smiled and when I nodded, she stood up and went out of the kitchen, leaving me there. I stood up to get another can of soda and I was about to sit back down on the table and enjoy me being alone when someone hovered above me.

I furrowed my eyebrows and stared at him. "Hi."

"Can we talk outside?" He asked, pointing his thumb to the sliding glass door. I took one good look at him before nodding and following him outside.

Silence filled the air and the only thing I can hear is the wind blowing and the faint sound of music coming from the inside of the house. I crossed my arms and stared at the grass, not having a single clue why this guy called me to go outside.

"I know," Kennedy said quietly.

I turned to face him and narrowed my eyes. "What do you know?" I asked, my lips tightening.

"OC?" He raised his eyebrow at me. "O'Callaghan?"

"For your information, Kean really was the one who gave me that nickname and it isn't reall-" I started speaking but he was quick to cut me off my clearing his throat. I looked at my feet and looked up at him, feeling a little uneasy. "Did John tell you?"

"He didn't tell me, March. I went to his house this morning to drop something off before you got home and Jenny asked me to bring the box of picture frames to her and I saw your family picture," he explained, giving me a slight smile. "John has nothing to do with this."

I groaned and put my palm to my face. Why did my mom had to instruct Kennedy to get the box for her? She could've just asked John to get it.

"Why are you doing this?" He asked, tilting his head. He stared right into my eyes and I felt like he could melt me with his gaze.

"You don't know what being John's sister got me where I came from," I said, shaking my head slightly.

"It was that bad?" He asked slowly, his eyes widening a bit. "I know that you're just trying to do what you think is the best for you, March, but this has got to be some hard shit."

"I am aware, Ken. Last night, I couldn't go home because John had Daisy over," I said. "I just don't want to disappear in John's shadow. I don't want girls to talk to me just because they want to know if there's a possibility if John's into them," I rolled my eyes, remembering the girls back at home. "Have you seen John interact with people? Jesus Christ, Kennedy. I can't name one person that doesn't like the guy."

He sighed and gave me a small smile, "At least consider letting the band and Daisy know. If being used is what you're scared of, don't worry, March. We're the ones that'll never be those people."

"Just..." I closed my eyes and breathed in deeply. "Just try and not tell anyone, Ken? Not if it's absolutely important and if anyone's life depends on it. I appreciate everything, but I don't want anyone to know just yet."

"Fine," he said quietly. "I'm here for you, okay March? I'm here if you need me. You can call me or text me if you don't feel like going home. If you're stuck somewhere. I just want you to know that I'm here."

"Thank you," I beamed at him. He smiled back and whispered 'come here' quietly before pulling my arm and engulfing me into a hug. I smiled into his shoulders and wrapped my arms around his torso. I pulled away and smiled at him. "I'm going to go in now. I think I left my soda on your table."

"It's probably gone," he said. He was right because the can on the table was gone and there were already three different people occupying the seats. "You don't want beer?" He asked as he made his way over to the fridge and handed me a new can of Pepsi.

"I'm not allowed to drink yet," I shrugged and took the can from his hand.

"You're just like Garrett," he rolled his eyes.

"Why am I like Garrett?" I asked, raising my eyebrows at him.

"Yeah, why am I like her?" At the same time, Garrett just walked in front of us while we were on our way to walk to the living room.

"The rarely drinking in parties type," Kennedy shrugged and looked at the both of us. "I'll go find Jared, okay? March, just... Call me if you need anything," he sighed and gave me a smile before disappearing upstairs.

I turned to Garrett and folded my arms, looking at him with a shy smile. I had no idea how to act around him. Last night, he really was just like my best friend. And finding out that they had a gig but he hadn't invited me, I guess I don't really have a right to be mad, especially because we've only known each other for two weeks, but I'm not going to deny it, I felt very sad.

I shrugged it off, thinking that it wasn't that important and smiled at him. "How've you been?"

"Exhausted, actually," he answered, a weak smile on his lips. "My back and arms are killing me."

"I shouldn't have urged you to drive me around for that long last night," I shook my head at him. "That was like what? 5 hours of driving anywhere? I'm so sorr-"

"March, stop. I'd be lying if I said that that wasn't one of the best nights I've had in a while," he chuckled. "How about you? How have you been?"

"I've been better," I said honestly, pressing a smile. "It's just... Things in the house has been a handful."

"You still have house problems?" He asked, a laugh escaping his lips. "You're more than welcome for another round of drive tonight."

"Really, Garrett?" I smiled sheepishly. "That was the reason why you're in pain right now."

"I've been in pain since the morning," he said. "But you know, that carpeted floor made everything a tad better."

"And I put you out of your bed!" I stared at him in disbelief. "I'm never going to set foot in your house again."

"You are going to set foot in my house again because I was wondering if you could help me with Trigonometry," he smiled shyly. "I'm having trouble with graphs. Or if you want I can stop by your house and..."

"No," I said, probably a little too quick to make him kind of suspicious. "I don't like people coming over because of a couple of problems around home," I covered for my response.

He just nodded and his smile fell when he saw the person beside me putting his arm around my shoulder. Garrett pressed his lips in a straight line and John looked at me with a smirk on his face.

"Hey John," Garrett said, his voice low. I noticed he was glaring at him intently.

John's hair was all over the place and if we came here with all of the buttons of his red and yellow checkered shirt on, several of them were now unbuttoned, revealing the white v-neck he had inside. "Do you want me to drive you home now, March?" It was obvious too that he was a little tipsy.

"I can drive you home if you want," Garrett turned back to me, his expression changing from pissed off to a small smile. "I don't mind. I'm completely sober too."

"Aw, Garebear," John said, pouting his lips a little. "Using your being sober to pick girls up," he laughed. "March's driving with me. Nothing you can do about it."

"You don't have to go with him," he told me quietly, staring at me with a serious look.

I put my hands in my pocket and shoved John's arms off of my shoulder. "No, it's okay. I went here with him and I told him that he could drive me home so." I wanted to go home with Garrett, really. But he would wonder why he would be dropping me at John's place.

He sighed defeated and gave me a smile. "Take care, okay? At least text me when you're home safely?"

I nodded and turned to John, tugging on his shirt to get him out of Kennedy's house. He stared at Garrett first with a smug smile and turned to go.

"Give me your keys," I rolled my eyes when we got to John's car.

"What, why?" He said, furrowing his eyebrows.

"You hooked up with that red head and you're tipsy. No way I'm letting you drive tonight," I said, extending my hand so that I could grab his keys. He reached for them in his pocket and dropped them in my palm.

I started the engine the moment he got into the car. He was tapping furiously on his phone the whole drive home. When we stopped at a stop light, he turned to me with a smirk on his face. "Garrett likey March."

"Shut up, John. Or I'm going to throw you out of your own car," I rolled my eyes and shook my head.

"I'm l-like eight inches taller than you," he slurred. "I think you won't be able to do that."

"I fucking did Taekwondo for P.E. I think I can kick you out of here if I wanted to," I said, glaring at him before looking back at the road.

I was waiting for his sassy reply but all I got was a groan after a few moments and him throwing his phone at the back seat. He put his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes. If he looked a little drunk then, he looked a little sober now.

"What's wrong?" I asked, glancing over to him and started driving.

"I'd rather not talk about it tonight, March. Can it wait for a few days?" He asked quietly. I simply nodded and minded my own business which was to drive us back. I was still a little confused with the roads, but I'm happy that we didn't get lost in the end and I found the way back to our house.

"Hey, March?" John said before I could get in our front door. I raised my eyebrow at him. "Do you like Garrett?"

I took one good look at him before deciding what I should say. "No. I don't like him," I said monotonously, still staring at him.

"Good," John mumbled. He looked a little sober now and I'm not even sure how that happened. "I'm just... I'm just not entirely sure you should be dating anyone from your friends. Not Garrett, not Kennedy, not Jared, not Pat."

"First of all, John. You don't have a say in who I date with," I said, holding one finger up. "Second, we aren't going to discuss this tonight. We'll discuss this when no alcohol is in your system and when you're ready to tell me your own problems."

He nodded at that and maybe it's because he already wanted to sleep, but I'm just glad that that conversation was over. He turned to me again with a sleepy smile. "I'm sorry, March." He didn't give me a chance to say reply anything. He just stumbled through the door and went up to his room without another word.

I rolled my eyes and took my phone out from my pocket. I tapped on the screen and pressed send.

Home safe. Thanks, Garrett.

He replied quickly.

Great. Good night, March. I'm glad you're home safe.