Come As You Are Ch. 15

"Amen, sister." Sadie glanced around the table. "So we're all on the same page as to who here has fucked who else here? Because seriously, I'm a gamer girl AND a turboslut and I can't keep up with all this new information. The past twenty-four hours feel like someone just dropped a huge patch on my reality."

"See," Vienna said to Garrett, gently poking him in the ribs. "Everything's changing. All because of you. You're a damn chaos muppet." Garrett put his head on Vienna's shoulder, a warm smile on his face. "So now that we've laid out our sexual coterie chart," Vienna asked the table, "what's next?"

"We're gonna dance," Michelle immediately suggested in a tone of voice that told everyone listening that it wasn't a suggestion. "Too much talking, too much drinking, too much drama." She stood up from her chair and leaned against the table with both hands. "Every single person at this table is going to get up and follow me out to the dance floor," she told them, slowly turning her head to meet everyone's gaze, finishing with a look directed at one particular person. "Even you, Garrett. No excuses."

"Alright," he said nervously. "Just let me fix my shoes and I'll be right out."

"You better be," Michelle said. "I will drag your ass out there if I have to."

"I'd listen to her," Brenda added. "She'll do it. After all, according to Danny Michelle's a flat-chested psychopath."

"Well if you three hadn't taken all the tits in this group," Michelle good-naturedly shot back, "I wouldn't have to get my bras from American Girl. Come on, butts out of chairs, asses on the dance floor. And I'm giving you two minutes to follow us out Garrett."

Sadie waved a hand. "I'll stay and make sure he comes along." Michelle nodded, squeezing Sadie's shoulder as she walked past her. The rest of the table followed Michelle as she led them towards the dance floor.

Garrett turned a nearby chair around to face Sadie. "I honestly have to fix my shoes. My dress socks turned into quitters on me tonight."

Sadie watched as Garrett put his feet up on the chair and, after lifting his pants' cuff, began to adjust one of his socks. "What a night so far, huh?" she asked.

"It's been fucking weird." Garrett laughed quietly as he began to re-tie his shoe. "I had no idea what to expect coming in, but it sure as hell wasn't any of this."

"Now you know how we felt last night at dinner. What did you expect to happen when you ran into any of us girls?"

"I figured it would be politely awkward. We'd talk and chat for a bit, and then go our separate ways for the rest of the evening. Instead, I'm knee-deep in the hoopla. I'm not complaining, I'm just... star-struck and confused. That's the only way I could put it."

"You honestly thought you'd just dip into the corner? Face it," Sadie laughed, "you're a rock star. You just didn't know much of one until tonight. The four of us, let alone Vienna and Gio, aren't going to let you dip back into the shadows anytime soon. I'm pretty sure your circle of friends and my circle of friends just became one big circle of friends. With Evelyn possibly thrown in to boot."

"You're right," he told her while tying off the final knot. "Being the center of attention makes me nervous, though."

"Just imagine us naked. I've heard that helps."

"That'll calm me down. What about you? Are you having fun?"

"Hell yeah, I am. Not just catching up with the girls, but talking with Gio, Vienna, hell, even Evelyn. Who the hell saw her coming?"

"Gio. Multiple times."

"There was nothing I could do about that joke. I just had to sit here and let it happen." Sadie motioned to the dance floor. "You want to know how I stayed friends with those three for so long? Ever since kindergarten and first grade, we've never stopped talking. And I'm getting that same impression about you, Gio, and Vienna. So yeah, I'm having fun. I'm looking forward to the future."

"So am I." He sighed wearily. "I still need to tell everyone the truth about why I ran, though..."

"Later. The time for drama's over. Let's go have some fucking fun. Are you done with your shoes?"

Garrett nodded. "We should go dance before Michelle comes looking for us."

"You mean looking for you. Come on. Time to be a rock star."

Garrett extended his hand to gently assist Sadie to her feet. Her hand in his just felt right. Without a word, the pair made their way towards the dance floor, their hands swinging between them. At one point their fingers intertwined, and Sadie gave Garrett a reassuring squeeze that he gently returned.

The dance floor had slowly filled up over the past fifteen minutes as the open bar slowly lowered inhibitions and the music from their teenage years drew the reunion goers from their tables onto the gym floor. The general cliques were still evident -- the alpha bitches, the basketball team, the literary types -- which is what made the large group occupying one corner of the dance floor so curious.

Gio, still an incredible dancer, was paired up with Evelyn. Both her jet-black hair and her night-black dress cut through the air as if a murder of crows was flocking around the pale young woman.

Vienna and Colette were dancing face-to-face. At one point Vienna put a firm kiss on Colette's lips, an action that drew laughter from both women.

And perhaps the most eye-catching of all, Garrett and Sadie casually holding hands with each other as they walked towards Michelle, who was dancing furiously next to a more subdued Brenda. "I was wondering if you were going to show up." Michelle swung her hips from one side to the other, bumping against Garrett after he and Sadie had come up to her. "I was getting ready to drag you out here, with or without your chair."

"I'm here," Garrett said. Sadie felt a brief twinge of disappointment when he let go of her hand. "Just had to double-knot my shoes. I don't want them slipping off while I dance."

Michelle smirked playfully at him. "You stand in the same place when you dance. They're not going to fall off. Don't tell me you're still nervous about dancing."

"It's been seven years since I last danced," Garrett admitted. "Hell, you were there for it! But I'm out here and I'm ready to go. That's got to count for something, right?"

Another gentle bump of the side of her hips against his was Michelle's response. "Getting on the slope is half the fight," she said as the current song faded away. "You do you."

The low thumping beat that replaced the last song slowly grew with intensity. The guys on the dance floor laughed and cheered while the girls good-naturedly rolled their eyes. The beat caused a tickle in the back of Sadie's brain as she listened to it. She recognized it, but it wasn't until the lyrics faded in that she remembered the tune. The song had been huge during their freshman year of high school -- not so much for its originality or creativity, but because Owen Dunbar had managed to download a copy of the music video onto the school's iBook network where it had sat unnoticed by the teachers for a week. After being watched, re-watched, and watched again by almost every male student in Emerald Pines the video, which consisted of an aerobics class of sweaty female dancers doing sexually suggestive aerobics, was discovered and quickly removed by the administration, only to occasionally pop up over the next four years. In many ways, it had become their class's personal Rick Roll.

# Call on me, call on me #

# Call on me, call on me #

# Call on me, call on me #

As "Call on Me" by Eric Prydz came from the speakers, Sadie turned her focus to Garrett. His eyes were still the deep shade of emerald green she remembered from their time together. A nervous grin was painted on his face, while his entire body seemed to be shaking. It took Sadie a moment to realize that Garrett wasn't shaking. A glance down at the floor was followed by her head snapping back up while her mouth dropped open in shock.

Garrett's body was shaking because he was tapping his foot in time with the song.

# I'm the same boy I used to be #

As the song finally kicked in, Garrett began to dance. Not "shuffle in one place" dance, not "wildly flail his arms" dance, not "look like he was having a seizure one body part at a time" dance, but actually "in rhythm with the beat" dance. Sadie watched in amazement as Garrett moved his arms and legs in semi-fluid synchronicity thanks to years of swimming. It wasn't perfect, but Garrett was making up for his lack of experience with a healthy dose of enthusiasm.

"Garrett," she managed to call out, "you're dancing!"

"I know! Why aren't you!"

Sadie began to dance, however as her legs moved with the song her hands were gesturing to Garrett. "When the hell did you learn to do this?!?!"

"Don't worry about it! Just dance with me!"

As she began to dance the grin on Garrett's face turned into a warm, happy smile. She got into the groove of the song, which wasn't hard considering the repetitive beat and single lyric. It had been way too long since she had danced. The simple act made Sadie meet Garrett's smile with one of her own. For a few brief moments, the pair was alone on the dance floor, looking at each other, moving in time with the song their way, and perhaps most importantly, just having fun...

"OH MY GOD! GARRETT'S DANCING!"

...until Michelle's shocked voice called out over the music.

Garrett flinched as six pairs of eyes turned to look at him. Concern flashed across Garrett's face at the realization he was the center of attention. Much to Sadie's surprise, however, the anxious look crossed his face for only a brief instant before the smile returned. He stopped dancing to "Call on Me" and instead began dancing with Sadie. He let her take the lead so his movements matched up with hers. He was just a little bit off tempo, however, she barely noticed while calling the tune.

"Garrett," Colette called out, laughing off to the side, "you beautiful son-of-a-bitch!"

The sheer look of joy and amazement in Garrett's eyes meant the world to Sadie at that moment. No nerves, no concerns. It just felt right. Her heart was beginning to race. A thin line of sweat traced its way across the back of her neck as they danced.

The song began to reach its crescendo, the beat thumping harder and the looped vocals crashing into the air. Sadie moved closer to Garrett. She danced not with the physical intimacy of their encounter on prom night but with the emotional intensity. For the final beats, Garrett wrapped around her hip to bring their bodies together. As silence descended, Sadie put a hand around Garrett's neck. Panting, foreheads dotted with perspiration, and looking into each other's eyes, they smiled all the while.

"When did you learn to dance?" Sadie breathed.

"After I decided to come to the reunion." He was still holding her by the waist as he said, "I knew Michelle would drag me out on the dance floor so I spent today watching dance videos and practicing in front of a mirror." Garrett laughed, shaking his head. "I've probably screwed up my YouTube algorithm for the next month, but totally worth it. How did I do?"

Sadie's answer was a soft, gentle kiss that lingered against Garrett's lips. The world fell away. The ambient noise of the reunion was replaced by a silence that draped over the former lovers like a cloak of the softest velvet. A drop of sweat got caught between their lips. The light taste of salt enhanced the sweet tenderness of the moment. "You kick ass Garrett West," she told him quietly when she broke the kiss. "Fuck anyone who tells you otherwise."

Garrett smiled before turning to face his friends...

The impact of the blow was a thunderclap across the gymnasium. Unaware of his assailant's presence, Garrett had turned directly into the sucker punch giving him no chance to roll with it. The shot landed square on his jaw. One moment he was upright. The next he fell to the floor like a ragdoll, limbs splayed.

"GARRETT!" Sadie was immediately on her knees to roll Garrett over. His body was completely limp and his eyelids fluttered rapidly, eyes unfocused beneath them.

"I should have known," a nearby voice uttered. "Talking shit about me behind my back for four years is one thing. Trying to dislocate my shoulder was another. Fucking my girl? That's the last thing."

Sadie looked up with a horrified expression as Danny stepped forward, surrounded by stunned classmates. "Well," he said, smacking a fist into the palm of his hand, "you and I are going to finally settle this. Get up West. I got a package for you, special delivery. Sign on the dotted line so I can hand you your ass."

X X X X X

Author's Notes

- This chapter of the rewrite has all the changes...

- The biggest change is that instead of Brenda and Garrett being interested in each other, it's Sadie and Garrett. The more I thought about rewriting "CAYA," the more I imagined those two ending up together. They not only had good chemistry, but when I thought of any future Emerald Pines stories (and there are a bunch!), it was those two I envisioned together. The clincher was when I thought about how Brenda's life would go post-CAYA and ideas immediately started clicking in my head.

- The penultimate chapter of the first edition of "CAYA" had Brenda and Garrett standing on the roof of the high school, where she asks him where he went after high school. In that edition, Garrett had ended up a blackjack dealer in Las Vegas. There was no drama, no angst, no anxiety about his hometown. He was nothing more than an aimless young adult looking for a spark who turned inward to find it and came up with nothing. While it's incredibly relatable in this day and age, it was a letdown of a revelation.

- Now, there's a concrete reason for Garrett running away - because his brain couldn't rationalize the good things that happened to him thanks to Danny. For most of my life it felt like the universe was out to get me because when things started going my way, or when I was making concrete progress to improve myself, I'd experience some kind of major setback or make a major mistake and immediately give up. And, ironically, I've dreamt of running away more as an adult than I ever did as a child. For all of the wild sex and exciting encounters Garrett's had, this chapter is the closest to him being a self-insert.

- In the original "CAYA," Danny encountered Brenda in the hallway instead of Amy and seemed ready before drunkenly trying to kiss her. When she told him no, he once again blamed Garrett and stalked off, before sucker punching him as he and Brenda climbed down from the roof. This cliffhanger works better for me - there's once again a brief moment of happiness for Garrett before Danny brings it all crashing down.

- For those of you who guessed Amy would cause mischief, imagine me handing you a blue ribbon. Her actions are the catalyst for how this all shakes out, so I made sure to sprinkle references to her throughout the story so her presence didn't come out of the blue.

- Gio and Vienna. Sometimes friends hook up. It might lead to more, it might lead to less, and it might lead to nothing. This chapter needed a sex scene, and it was fun to write something so spontaneous and unexpected.

- One more chapter to go...