Slipping Under

Chapter Five

"Nobody's perfect."

"Except you." Garrett picks at the grass, tossing it up into the air.

"Garrett,"

"Can we go home?" He looks at me with those eyes, the streetlight glinting off of his glasses.

"Yes." I stand up first, holding my hand out for him to take, which he does begrudgingly. He wobbles for a bit, steadying himself by reaching out, his hand squeezing my bicep. "Come on," I lead him to the car, waving at Caleb and Ricky as I shut Garrett's door, they wave back, disappearing back inside.

We had to stop by Jack in the Box before making our way home, Garrett swore he'd die if he didn't have a taco and "some damn curly fries, please, Andrew!" He'd whined, and of course, I'd obeyed. He had me wrapped around his finger I would admit, not to anyone but myself. "And a coke?" He prompts, grabbing onto my arm.

"And a large coke please," I shout through the speaker, pulling forward, I pay and take the food and drink from the girl in the window.

"Have a nice evening."

"You too." I smile and begin to drive off, Garrett already rummaging through the bag,

"Curly fry?" Garrett waves the fry in front of my face, nearly causing an accident. I can't help but laugh as I take the fry from him.

"Thanks."

The drive back is short and quiet, mainly because of Garrett's eating, but also because I had no idea what to say. I wondered if now would be the right time to tell Garrett of my feelings, or if I should wait. I look over at him as I park the car, he's eating, happily and I can't believe I'd been so blind to my feelings for this long.

"God, you're so cute." It slips out, and I freeze as soon as he turns towards me.

"What?" He stops eating, bewilderment flooding his eyes.

"You ready?" I try to ignore what I'd said, opening the door to get out, but he reaches over and shuts it, his face only inches away from mine. I swallow nervously, not know what the next move would be.

"You said I was cute."

"Uh, yeah, yeah, I did... So what? You tell me all the time?" I try to deflect, only now realizing that now wasn't the right time to profess my feelings for my best friend.

"Yeah, but, that's my thing, I tell everyone that they're cute."

"Garrett—" Before I can explain, he's kissing me.

His hand settling on my inner thigh, squeezing gently, his lips interlocking with mine. I make my move, cupping his face in my hands, tracing along his jawline. I can smell the alcohol, and I know this is the wrong time for this. I pull us apart, breathing heavily.

"I'm sorry." Fear filling his eyes, as well as tears.

"You're drunk, it's not right." Is all I say, opening the door I walk around the car to help him out, although he didn't need it. He follows me into the house, setting his cup down on the counter.

"I'm sorry I lied to you."

"I'm sorry I texted Ricky."

"It's fine, you were only looking out for me,"

"I'm not your mom, I should've just left it alone."

"Can we stop talking about this? Can we, can we talk about what happened?" I sigh, I figured he'd bring it up but nod my head.

"Sure,"

"You think I'm cute?"

"Garrett, come on, you heard me."

"I did, but I kinda wanted to hear it again... please?"

"I think you're cute, Garrett."

"Aw, Andrew." He smiles, "you're not so bad yourself," I roll my eyes, feeling my cheeks turn a little pink,

"Thanks," the room falls quiet for a bit, "are there any more fries?" He nods, handing me the bag.

"Thanks for coming to get me, I really didn't want to sleep on the couch."

"Oh yeah, what happened with that? They told me that you got upset? Was that because of me?" I knew it was, but I wanted to hear it from Garrett, I wanted to hear his truth.

"I was mad," He sits down, placing his head in his hands, "but you were right, I shouldn't have gone to that party, not if, not if I really do have a problem." I search for the bottle of pain killers and fill a glass with water, handing both to him.

"I was just trying to help."

"I know, I had no right to get that angry, the alcohol just does something to me, it's almost like I'm a different person." I nod my head slowly, sitting down beside him.

"I wasn't going to tell anyone this," pausing before I continue, taking a minute to collect my thoughts, "but, I think I need to... maybe to give you a little perspective."

"What is it?"

"My dad used to drink... like a lot, I mean it started off as just a few beers after work, but eventually, he stopped going to work, too hungover to wake up on time, too drunk to function even," I stop, the memories all coming back, flooding my mind.

"I'm sorry, Andrew, I had no idea."

"You didn't know... anyways, I basically was forced to watch him destroy every aspect of his life, growing up, well, it was hard, and I don't know," I stop for a second, feeling a lump beginning to grow in the back of my throat, "I just worry for you, Gare. You have such an amazing life ahead of you, I just know it."

"Andrew," Garrett places his hand on my leg, "I promise,"

"Don't," I close my eyes, I hated that word, "don't promise anything, just tell me you'll try, if not for me, then do it for yourself." He nods his head

"Okay, I'll try, for you and me."