You Found Me

"He hates me," I groaned, putting my palms to my face. I let myself fall on Daisy's bed. "Why I am I in the middle of all of this."

"Because we're your friends and you have something going on with Kean," she rolled her eyes and sat beside me. "You know, I would still try and convince you to stay away from him but I know you won't listen to me anyway."

"He's not like that. He's not like Kat or the other people he hangs out with," I shook my head slightly, denying that he's being influenced. My mind drifts off to the bottles I see in his room and how he always has these headaches in the morning. I shook my head and sighed.

"You're going to the wedding and you're going to have fun with me," Daisy said, grabbing my wrist. "We aren't even going to be with the guys often. They'll be up the stage so we won't really get to hang out with them until after they're done playing."

We both stood up and as I made way to hook where I hung my dress, she walked over to her closet to get the baby blue dress we bought last Wednesday. My dress is something that I've worn a couple of times back home. My mother had bought it for me to wear to the book release party of her friend and thought I could wear it here. It's a way to save money too since the price of the dress Daisy bought was way too much for me so if I bought at the same place, I'd be broke for more than a couple of months.

Me and Daisy mustered up on our very little make-up skills and tried to do everything to make ourselves look presentable for the event. We managed to get Daisy's mom to help us and by the end of it, I guess I could say that we look presentable enough. Daisy borrowed my nude heels while I borrowed my mom's white ones. Her brown hair was curled and held up by multiple bobby pins and she completed her look by wearing some necklace. I looked much simpler, not wanting to gather much attention. I am still the new girl around here and I was going to a wedding where I didn't know anyone but the band and Daisy.

I let my blonde-brown hair down, just blow drying it and brushing my bangs off of my face. The white dress fell just on my knees and Daisy's mother lent me a white bangle to match everything else. It was already four o'clock when we were both done preparing. Garrett had just pulled on Daisy's driveway wearing a suit and a white button up underneath with the black matching suit. Daisy and I went down the stairs to get to him and his mouth fell instantly on the floor the moment we got down.

"Oh shit. Melissa's going to be so pissed when she sees you two," he chuckled, recovering from his state of shock. "I mean, why the fuck would you make yourself pretty on the wedding day? She might get self-conscious or something."

A blush crept on my neck and my cheeks and I tried my best not to show a smile but it was already there anyway.

"You're such a babe, Daisy," Garrett wiggled his eyebrows at her. "Seriously. You look like a girl. Big change from all the jeans and the buttons ups."

She scoffed and crossed her arms. "You don't look too bad yourself, Nickelsen. You better get to the venue now. The wedding's going to start soon."

"You're not coming with?" I asked, eyeing her curiously.

"I-uh, John said he's picking me up," she smiled shyly.

"Make sure John gets to the wedding and the reception, okay?" Garrett said, a grin hanging on his lips. He held his hand out and guided me to his obnoxiously yellow car.

We drove there in silence with the sound of Ryan Adams coming from his stereo. I can't bring myself to start a conversation with him partly because he hasn't said anything to me since we've been alone and because I'm still nervous about coming to the wedding.

I was starting to think that this was such a bad idea when I thought about how the band was going to play and Daisy was the only person that I was going to get to talk to and if she had another person beside her, I would be alone and I wouldn't know what to do or where to go.

Garrett must've noticed it because the sudden contact of his hand from mine made me flinch and when I turned to him, he gave me a little smile. "Don't be nervous, June."

"I don't know anyone at this wedding," I said, tightening my hold on Garrett's hand.

"I'll stay by your side the whole wedding, a'right?" He glanced my way and gave a reassuring squeeze on my hands. "I'm sure Daisy won't ditch you like that at the reception anyway." I leaned back on the seat and tried relaxing as much as I can before we got to the venue. I learned that the venue for the ceremony and the reception was just one place. The wedding was inside the ballroom hall and the reception was outside on the place's garden. Garrett and the rest of the guys thought it was convenient enough so they decided to attend the wedding too rather than just the reception. All the guys were kind of close with Garrett's cousin anyway.

"March," Garrett suddenly said just I was about to exit the car. "You look beautiful."

I could feel the heat coming up my neck and my face and I hung my head low, trying to hide the redness of my cheeks. I smiled at him and slipped out of the car quickly. I straightened my dress out and he walked to my side, offering his arm to me. I linked my arms with him and we began walking.

The seats were almost taken but thank God we saw Jared and Pat sitting on the fourth row on the left side. They waved at us and we made our way there, smiling at the people that we passed by.

"Oooooh look at March," Jared hooted quietly, giving me a big grin.

"I officially hate Kean," Pat said, pressing his hands together.

My jaw fell agape and I giggled at their greeting. "Shut up."

"I'm not kidding, March!" Pat whined, crossing his arms. "Ugh. Why does Garrett get to take you to the wedding?"

"Because I actually asked her," Garrett smirked, teasing Pat. He excused himself and went to find the comfort room. I turned to Pat and saw that he still had this frown on his face.

"Easy Pat," I said. "I'm here to see you all play. The sole reason why I came. I am happy for the couple about to be wed, but if your band wasn't playing, I don't think I would've came."

"Let's just be happy dude," Jared saying, patting Pat on the back. "I mean, she's here. And I actually wouldn't be surprised if Melissa kicked you out of here," he chuckled. I scoffed at him and crossed my arms. "I'm kidding."

I settled down at my seat and looked at the altar which was beautifully decorated. The theme of the wedding was white and red and roses decorated the whole venue. Beautiful white drapes were hung everywhere and there was an arch at the beginning and at the end of the isle covered in flowers and vines.

I was still in awe with the whole venue when I felt someone tap my shoulder.

"Hey, is the seat beside you taken?" Kennedy pressed a smile but it instantly fell the moment I turned to him. "Wait, what?" His eyes widened and he stared at me. "You didn't tell me you were coming!"

"Well, I'm here," I shrugged, smiling at him. "You clean up good, Ken."

"Me? Look at you." He chuckled, falling back on the seat next to me. "You look... Wow. Why did you change your mind about going and how did you get an invitation, if you don't mind?"

"Garrett's plus one," I answered. "Took it as an opportunity to see you guys play on stage. You know... To see-"

"I get it," he said quietly. I'm guessing it was for Jared and Pat not to hear. "To see John sing. We're going to sing nothing but sappy songs Melissa requested so..."

I was about to say that it was a wedding and they were supposed to play sappy songs when I saw Daisy enter through the doors with John by his side. I snorted when I saw him in the suit and he rolled his eyes when he saw me.

"Glad you could make it," he said with a smirk.

"Oh yeah. Nice look, John," I laughed and he rolled his eyes again and took the seat on the farthest right. Daisy sat beside him and when Garrett made his way back, Kennedy moved to the other seat for Garrett.

I could hear Jared and Daisy teasing John about how his tie wasn't proper and how Daisy has to be his mom and tie it for him. I laughed quietly, knowing that John was watching multiple videos online on how to tie it properly.

On the corner of my eye, I saw a scowl on Garrett's face and I turned to where he was looking. My jaw fell instantly as I spotted her: wearing the red dress we saw last Wednesday, silver pumps, with her long curly blonde hair tied up into a bun.

I glanced over at Garrett and took his hand that was resting on his leg. I tangled my hand with his and gave him a small smile. "Relax, Gare. I can feel your scowl radiating all over the place. Smile. Give her hell."

He raised one of his eyebrows at me and relaxed on his seat. The corner of his lips pulled up and he squeezed my hand. I could feel Kat burning holes through our heads but I didn't glance at her anymore until it was already time for us to pay attention to the entourage walking down the aisle. We stood up and waited for the bride to walk in.

I've never met or seen Garrett's cousin, but she looked absolutely stunning while she was walking down the aisle. The dress was made of sheer and the gown fitted her perfectly. Her blackish brown hair was held up and she was carrying a white bouquet in her hand made from roses. She shot us a smile and walked straight to the altar to her husband to be.

The wedding went by smoothly and I never let go of Garrett's hand. And as much as I didn't want to like doing it, I did. Something about it was just very comforting. Soon enough, the ceremony was done. The rest of the band sneaked out to go and get ready for the reception. Daisy stayed by my side until we out to the garden. I caught sight of Jared and Kennedy tuning their guitars and John and Pat talking to each other. The bassist put his own instrument down on the stand and hopped off of the stage to go to walk to me. Daisy wondered elsewhere and I shot him a smile.

"Shouldn't you be getting ready up there?" I asked, motioning at the stage. The others seemed pretty busy with making preparations.

"It's a bass guitar. Besides, I already tuned it before we got here. Unlike those knuckleheads that waited the last minute to tune them," he chuckled. "And the sound person's covering for us. Y'know, playing a couple of songs before we go on."

I opened my mouth to speak but I saw his cousin approaching us so I just pressed a smile.

"Melissa," he said, wrapping his arms around the bride's waist. "Are you sure you couldn't have done more with the make-up? You look horrible."

His cousin pulled away from the hug and swatted Garrett lightly on the arm. "Speak for yourself, Garrett You look so bad in that suit."

"All for you, Mels," he grinned. "You look like the perfect bride."

"Yeah, I know," she laughed. "Why haven't I seen Kat?"

He looked at me quickly before looking back to Melissa. "Oh she's here. She shouldn't be here, but she's here."

"Why, what's up with Kat?" She eyed him curiously.

"We broke up," he shrugged. "I took March because she's a good friend of the rest of the band, if that's okay."

"That's no problem. But..." Melissa mumbled, turning back to the band's table. Kat was already seated to one of the chairs and I could see Garrett's eyebrows shot up. "There was a planned seating arrangement," she said slowly, a sheepish look on her face. "I can put March on another table, but I can't really change the arrangements anymore."

"It's alright," I spoke up, smiling at the bride. "I mean, I'm lucky that you're going to let me stay. I'm sorry for going in uninvited."

"If Garrett took you, it's no problem," she grinned. "He's like the brother I never had so," she smiled over at him. "I'm really sorry if I can't make any other arrangements. Oh, and you can call me Melissa, alright? Make yourself comfortable."

"Thanks, Mels," he smiled as Melissa walked off to talk to other guests. He turned to me and gave me a soft smile. "I'll be up in the stage the whole time so I don't think the seating arrangement would matter anyway," he chuckled. He slipped his arm around my waist and smiled, "I think I have to get up there now."

"Go," I said, pressing a smile.

He walked up the stage and they started playing while a waiter guided me to the seat I was put in. Thankfully, it was next to the table where Daisy and the band sat. Unfortunately, Kat was also seated in that table. The program went on as planned and soon, people were starting to dance to a slow song John's band was playing. Daisy moved next to me when the seat beside me was already unoccupied.

"So what do you think?" Daisy said, a grin forming on her lips.

"The wedding's a lot better than what I expected," I nodded, smiling at her. "I mean, Kat hasn't strangled anybody yet, the band is playing good, and well I'm actually fine with everything."

"Good," she gave me a sweet smile before turning to the band. They were playing some slow song to where the groom and the bride had the first dance. "Hm, have you ever slow danced before?" Daisy glanced at me briefly.

I shook my head slightly, watching as the newly-wed couple danced around the floor. "Never had the opportunity to."

"Well, you have prom this year," Daisy gave me a smirk.

"Maybe I'll go study on prom night," I rolled my eyes. Romance has never been my thing until Kean decided to smack his lips against mine. It's never had a place in my life until Kean decided that we spend almost every afternoon together just talking about everything and catching up with each other. While most of the girls where I came from already had their prom nights planned with their boyfriends, I was studying for our English finals and I was already studying Advanced Chemistry.

Now that I think about it, I'm such a nerd.

"You suck," Daisy stuck her tongue out at me. "Prom was fun last year. You should've seen how John's date bitched out to him the next day because he left her to go with Jared, Ken, and I to some diner."

"I can imagine," I laughed, turning back to the couple. What made me smile was when I realized how good John's voice was. His raspy voice suited the slow ballad they were playing now. It was almost too untrue to realize that everything they were doing was coming together. And deep down, I really hoped that their band would get big someday. "Are they going to play until the end?"

"Nope. According to John, I think the groom also has a cousin that's wants to DJ so he'll take over halfway," Daisy shrugged.

I nodded silently and when my gaze went to John. "Why wasn't John your date last prom?" She blurted out, saying was supposed to only be inside her head.

"Because he didn't ask me. Simple as that," she sighed, leaning her head over to her hand. "I had three other dates so I guess everything was fine."

I assumed that the three other dates were Kennedy, Jared, and Pat so I left it at that. I haven't even noticed but Daisy drifted off somewhere and I was left on the table. I took the glass of iced tea in front of me and sipped on it.

I felt my phone vibrate and I took it out of my purse. Kean.

I wish you were already here.

I rolled my eyes and tried to hide the smile on my lips. I'll get there, alright? Don't worry, I replied, shoving it back in my purse. I noticed that the band stopped playing and when I turned to the stage, I saw the bassist hop off of the stage and walk towards me. When I looked over to the stage again, the rest of the band was already walking off of stage and to their table. A short guy, maybe mid-20s walked over to the stage with a laptop in hand. He must've been the DJ. I looked back at Garrett and the next thing I knew, he was already holding his hand in front of me.

"What?" I stammered, looking at his hand as if just grew like 3 more fingers. "No. God- no."

"March, it's just one dance," he reasoned out, not taking his hand away. "If you're worrying about jeopardizing your relationship with your boyfriend, it won't." He kept his eyes on me and I finally rolled my eyes and I took his hand. He pulled me to the middle of the dance floor while the DJ started playing a song.

He held my one hand and placed my other one on his shoulder. He slid his hand behind my back and pulled me closer. I got startled when I was already only a few inches from him but I didn't complain, actually feeling comfort in his arms.

That was the way to make everything clear. At least it's crystal clear to both of us how I have a thing for Kean.

"Isn't it kind of a waste of time to set all of this up only to be replaced by a DJ halfway?" I started talking while we swayed to the beat. "I mean, you had to get all of these amps and you had to set up Pat's drums."

"We don't get a lot of gigs," he explained. "It's kind of the perfect time for all of us to practice. It's a win-win situation, really. Melissa gets a band and we get practice."

"Those were the songs you want to play when you're big shot?" I raised my eyebrow at him and bit back a laugh.

"It's a wedding, May. We were afraid that the old people are gonna get a heart attack if we try playing something we actually want to play," he laughed. "Are you saying you really didn't enjoy seeing us play?"

I bit my lip and stared at his blue eyes. I nodded and smiled. "You were amazing."

"Really?" His face immediately lit up more and he had this big grin plastered on his face. "That's good."

I smiled at him one more time when I noticed something from the corner of my eyes. Kat was burning holes at the back of Garrett and I's heads. My smile fell and I switched my gaze to him. He looked at me curiously and turned to where I was looking. He turned to me again and shook his head.

"Don't pay her any attention, May," he said, his voice deeper and more serious.

"Guess I don't need to," I said, seeing that she stood up and stormed off of the venue. "And stop it with the month nicknames."

"What month nicknames, August?"

"The joke's getting very old now," I rolled my eyes.

"Good," he muttered, a smirk on his lips. "Then I'm the only one that'll use all of these month nicknames with you."

"You suck," I swatted him slightly on the chest and giggled. I saw Daisy and John when I looked over at Garrett's shoulder and smiled to myself. I wanted to smack John at the back of his head actually, and make him instantly stop seeing all of those joke of a girlfriends that he has. I looked back at Garrett (or rather, his neck because I was eye level with it) and smiled to myself. He must've thought I looked like an idiot smiling to myself because he chuckled softly, making my face feel hot. I bit my lips and looked at the floor, trying to hide the fact that I probably looked like a dodgeball ball right now.

"I'm glad you said yes," he mumbled, a soft sigh escaping his lips, making me look up at him.

I opened my eyes to speak but when I couldn't think of anything to say, I pressed my lips together and looked to my left so I could hide my face with my hair. He used our hands to move a strand of hair away from my face and I was left to stare up at his eyes. "Gare," I breathed out, my eyes going back and forth between his blue ones or his lips.

"Don't," he shook his head and pressed a smile. "You don't have to say anything. I'm just... Really happy you're here."

When Garrett felt a tap on his shoulder we stopped dancing instantly. "Mind if I steal him for a while?" Daisy asked, a big grin on her face.

I shook my head no and smiled at the both of them.

"I-uh let me just walk her back to her table," Garrett turned to Daisy and took my hand. He was about to guide me back when John took my arm.

"No," he looked at Garrett then me. "Let me dance with her for a while." I nodded slightly at Garrett and he let go of my hand. John pulled me a few meters away from Daisy and Garrett then started swaying to the music. "So do you think we're any good?"

"Since when did my opinion matter to you?" I raised my eyebrows at John and grinned.

"This may be Melissa's wedding but you're the one I wanted to impress the most," John shrugged and pressed a soft smile.

"I'll forever be your number one fan," I chuckled and smiled sheepishly. "Along with Daisy of course... And speaking of Daisy," I said, eyeing him curiously. I should've asked about him and Daisy way back then when I first observed there was something going on, but it never came up. It seemed like the best time to talk about it.

"What song did you enjoy the most from today?" He asked, trying to change the topic casually. "We still have to work on it and I obviously have to practice more but we're-"

"You suck so bad at changing the topic," I giggled, making him roll his eyes and turn his smile into a frown. "You can tell me anything."

"Like how you tell me everything that happens with you and Garrett?" He raised his eyebrow at me and showed a lopsided smile.

"That's because there isn't a me and Garrett," I said. When he kept his eyebrows raised and looked at me like he wasn't buying a word I said, I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "No Garrett. Kean."

"Garrett's a much better dude," he shrugged. "Anyway, we were planning on eating out in a while. You're coming with us, right?"

I rolled my eyes, seeing that he really wasn't going to fill me in with what was happening between him and his best friend. I let it go and shook my head. "No. I'm supposed to go to Kean today. He doesn't really like the idea of me being Garrett's date anyway."

"The guy has the hots for you."

"Who?"

"Does it matter?" He laughed when my smile faded away. "Both, March. Come on. I'll drive you there and I'll just catch up with the others." We walked to the table where Kennedy, Garrett, and Daisy was. Pat and Jared joined soon after.

"Gear's all packed up," Jared said. "Let's eat?"

"Just text me where you guys decide to go," John said, putting his arm around my shoulder. "I'm going to drive March to Kean's."

Garrett took a step forward me and John and stared at his arm for a moment before turning back to me. "You aren't coming with us?"

"No," I said quietly, noticing all the disappointed looks the band and Daisy was giving me. "I promised Kean that we'd hang out after the wedding."

"It's cool, March," Jared shot me a smile and nodded. "We see you almost everyday. You could use a little time away from our faces."

"Yeah," Garrett pressed a smile and crossed his arms. "Stay safe."

"Awwwwwww carebear Garebear," John said in an irritating voice, making me roll my eyes. I shoved John's arm away and started walking out of the venue. He followed closely behind and glanced at me with a smirk. "He has the hots for you. Both of them."

"Shut up."

***

"You know I wasn't kidding when I said that Garrett's a much better dude, right?" John said with a serious tone as he turned the engine off and parked in front of Kean's driveway.

"I thought you didn't want me to date any of your friends?" I said, giving him a confused look.

"Don't get me wrong, I still don't like that idea. But I'm just really starting to think that Kean isn't who he was back then and that he's not good for you," he stared at me intently. "You need to tell me if there's something wrong, okay?"

I smiled softly, realizing that even if it's a big pain in the ass to be her sister, John still truly cared.

"Now get out of my car. I'm starving and we would be eating right now if you just came with us." I laughed and slipped out of the car and straightened out my dress. He rolled the window down after he started the engine. "Stay safe."

"Awwwwwwww John. I'm so touched that you actually care," I pouted my lips, making him chuckle.

"Whatever."