Come As You Are Ch. 16

Previously on "Come As You Are" - Four lifelong friends reunite for their ten-year high school reunion -- professional chef Brenda Lattimore, video game streamer Sadie Bedford, ski instructor Michelle Min, and local business owner Colette Hansen. Over drinks and dinner the night before the reunion, the girls discover that they all share a secret lover in one of their classmates, the quiet social outcast Garrett West.

When Danny Eastman attempts to apologize for the way he acted in high school, reactions are mixed. Most of them accept his apology, including Brenda, although she takes something convincing after Danny tells her that he refuses to apologize to Garrett.

Vienna, however, storms out of the reunion without allowing Danny a chance to apologize. Garrett goes after her. During a heartfelt talk, Vienna reveals that she and their friend Gio hooked up several years earlier.

Another heartfelt talk is had, this time between Garrett and Sadie, where Garrett finally reveals that an assault at the hands of Danny was what drove him from Emerald Pines several years earlier. Garrett mentions that if Danny knew he had slept with Brenda, Danny would kill him. Unfortunately for him, Amy Yates was listening nearby, and when she tells Danny what Garrett said, Danny immediately decks Garrett in the middle of the dance floor...

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Come As You Are

Volume V - The Reunion

Chapter Three - "Move Along / The Big Payback"

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Blurry.

Everything was blurry. His ears were filled with cotton. Was he underwater? No, he was lying on... wood? A hard wooden surface. And shouting. Someone was shouting, but he couldn't make out any of the words. "Stop yelling," he muttered, feeling himself speak the words more than hearing them.

Back. He was on his back on a hard wooden surface. The first thing he needed to do was get on his feet again. But for some reason just rolling over onto his hands and knees made his jaw hurt...

Pain exploded in the pit of his stomach. He crashed onto his side from the sudden impact. Any air left in his lungs was knocked out of him. He felt himself curling up into a ball as his body tried to desperately take another breath.

"...stop it!"

The blow to his body knocked the cotton from his ears. Managing to finally roll over, he got on to his knees. His vision focused on two distinct blurs. The smaller blur was screaming at the larger blur, and he was finally able to make out what it was yelling once his mind and body resynced.

"...what the hell is wrong with you Danny?"

Getting to his feet, Garrett quickly took in the full picture. Standing about ten feet away from him, fists clenched and murder in his eyes, stood Danny Eastman. The basketball superstar was red in the face. Sweat creased the brow of his sandy-blonde hair as his shoulders rose and fell with tense anger. Standing between Danny and Garrett was a furious Sadie Bedford. Despite the towering form standing opposite her, there was no fear in her words. "Back off! Right now!"

"No," was Danny's reply. There was no rage in his words, nor was there anything that could be considered a threat. It was a simple statement of facts spoken in a tone that sent a chill of fear down Garrett's spine. "This ends tonight."

Sadie, Danny, and Garrett were surrounded by their classmates. The rest of the high school reunion had fallen quiet. The DJ hadn't even put on the next song. They were all stunned as a drama that played out nearly daily for four years was rebooted right in front of them. The only one not staring was a grinning Amy Yates, who had her smartphone out to record the scene in front of her.

When Garrett tried to speak, white-hot pain flared in his jaw. He rubbed the spot where Danny had cold-cocked him. "What the hell Danny..."

"Shut the fuck up West," he hissed in response. "Sadie, you have ten seconds to get out of my way, or I will pick you up and move you myself."

At the sound of Danny's threat towards Sadie, boiling rage spilled over inside of Garrett. Before he knew it he was charging towards Danny, shoulder low, ready to catch him in the stomach and drive him back...

Stars flashed in front of Garrett's eyes, exploding from his nose as Danny decked him without effort. His brain momentarily offline, Garrett stumbled backward and found himself falling. He tried to catch himself with his right hand, only to misjudge the distance in his rattled state. The rough landing caused his wrist to bend at a funny angle, jamming several fingers against the wooden floor.

"Come on," Danny said, sounding offended while Garrett, wincing at the pain in his wrist, climbed to his feet, "I told you before, I can read you like a book. And," he added, stepping forward, "I'm gonna write your final chapter..."

The blow sounded like a gunshot, but this time it was Danny who was driven back when Gio landed a thunderous roundhouse to the side of his face. As Danny spun around from the force of the blow, Garrett's eyes caught something arcing through the air. A small white object bounced off the gym floor before scattering into the shocked crowd

A comforting hand fell on his shoulder. "You OK?" Gio asked. Garrett nodded. "Good." With that, Gio turned to face Danny, who had already recovered from the sneak attack. "Alright Danny," he said with unrecognizable anger in his voice. "You and me. Let's go."

A smile crept across Danny's face as he set himself to finally throw down with Gio. Before either one of them could act, however, a large form interjected itself between them. "Whoa, whoa," Tyler cried, throwing his hands up to stop Gio. "What the hell's going on?"

"Your friend," Gio said, his eyes narrowed with rage, "sucker punched my best friend."

"And I just saw you sucker punch my best friend. So you're either tied or you're up one. In either case, consider this a de-escalation."

"I can't do that this time." Gio pointed over Tyler's shoulder at Danny. "He's pounded on Garrett long enough."

"You know I can't let you do that." Tyler met Gio's furious gaze without flinching. "Come on man, you and I never had a problem. Let's be the cooler heads here." It took Gio a moment to process what Tyler said, but eventually, he put up his hands and took a step back. "Thank you," Tyler said calmly before turning around and bellowing, "What the FUCK, Danny?!? You promised me you'd stay away from Garrett! Are you trying to ruin your career? Getting charged for assault is a guaranteed suspension!"

Danny's fists were clenched tightly in front of his chest, ready to take another swing at a wary Garrett. "Turns out, Brenda cheated on me with West in high school. That's why she broke up with me. She and this waste of space were banging behind my back."

Sadie wasn't the only one to turn towards Brenda. The blonde's face mixed shock and embarrassment as nearly everyone in the gymnasium was now looking at her. "I... Danny..." She shook her head and took a deep breath. "Yes," she admitted. "Not that it's anyone's business, but Garrett got snowed in with me during the blizzard. And yes, we hooked up." She jabbed a finger at Danny. "But it was a one-time rebound thing because you sent me a text saying we were broken up."

"Bullshit," spat Danny. "We didn't break up until the morning we started back at school. In the cafeteria, remember?"

"Because you wouldn't take the hint and kept texting me and texting me and texting me until finally, you texted we were broken up. It was the second night of the storm."

"No. We didn't officially break up until the first day back. If I sent you a text, it's because I was angry, not because I wanted to break up."

"Jesus Christ," Garrett muttered, "are you arguing semantics a decade later?"

"Shut the fuck up West," Danny said without looking at him. "The adults are talking."

"No, the adults are done talking," Brenda stated definitively. "I didn't cheat on you. And how dare you bring up our dirty laundry like that. You haven't changed at all, Danny. Another rationalization to make yourself the victim. How did you even find out?"

"Sadie and Garrett were bragging about it in the hallway," answered Danny.

"No, we weren't." That was Sadie, who took a step forward, becoming the center of attention. "Me and Garrett were in the auditorium talking. He said if Danny found out he'd kill him. Turns out he wasn't exaggerating."

Danny glanced over his shoulder. "You told me you overheard them while you were in the bathroom," he stated in confusion.

Sadie leaned to one side to see who Danny was talking to. Upon recognizing who it was, she sighed wearily. "Amy. Of course. I'd give you a nasty look but nature beat me to it."

Amy smirked behind her smartphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, Sadie Bedford, Emerald Pines' answer to the question 'how many licks?' I'm sorry, Danny. I heard them talking while I was in the bathroom, but I followed them into the auditorium when I caught your name..."

"You were eavesdropping? Jesus Christ," Sadie proclaimed, "is your life that pathetic you have to spin the rumor mill back up ten years after we graduated?"

"My life is pathetic? You stream video games for a living! This shouldn't surprise anyone here," Amy continued, "but Sadie and Garrett banged on prom night." Next, she pointed to Michelle, who immediately tensed up and balled her hands into fists. "Miss Ice Queen over here fucked Garrett during Spring Break in college." Last, she gestured to Colette. "And I'd be careful getting anything from Candy by Colette, by the way, since she and Garrett did it in the storeroom on the last night of the Ski Festival."

With a triumphant smirk, Amy swung the smartphone towards Sadie. "Go ahead, gutter trash. Deny it. Any of it."

It was a mix of soft murmurs and scoffs of disbelief that filled the gymnasium. Colette's face was turning cherry red while Michelle looked like she was five seconds away from throwing Amy headfirst into Castle Creek. If there was anything that bound a small town together, it was juicy gossip and twisted scandal.

There was one single sound that rose about the verbal clutter - a slow, heavy, audible clap. "Duuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuude," Ian Rocker proclaimed to Garrett, "you are the fucking MAN! We've got to get high together sometime."

Garrett could only offer a sheepish grin and a confused, half-hearted thumbs up, at least until Sadie threw an arm around his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek. "Damn right we banged on prom night." She thumped him solidly on the chest. "This boy's a volcano in the sack. Oh, and since we're spilling secrets, we banged after Garrett knocked Danny out for shoving me into a pool table."

"Yeah, I sure as hell don't remember that happening," Danny countered.

"Considering you were drunk as balls," Sadie shot back, "I'm not surprised."

"Speaking of surprises, let's talk about Michelle..."

"You better pick your next words real fucking carefully, Amy," Michelle snarled.

Amy threw up her hands defensively. "I was just about to say how proud I am of you for embracing your inner freak. Michelle here gets off on watching other people get off. She and Garrett hooked up while watching Gio get lucky." Amy's clapping was enthusiastically sarcastic. "And here I thought your life was going to be dreadfully boring."

Now all eyes turned to Gio, who turned his eyes to Garrett. A raised eyebrow from Gio was answered with a nervous nod from his best friend. "Dude," Gio chuckled, "why didn't you tell me your Spring Break was that awesome?"

"You're not freaked out by your best friend watching you get laid?" Amy asked incredulously.

Gio shrugged. "I mean, technically I made two women happy at the same time. That's every guy's dream."

The comment was meant with gentle laughter. Garrett could see the desperation cross Amy's face as she realized she was losing the crowd. The spell was broken, however, when Michelle began angrily stalking her way towards Amy. She quickly held up her smartphone, making sure to catch the furious look on Michelle's face. "Don't think about it," Amy blurted out. "You hit me and I'll have enough video evidence to get a nice legal settlement out of you."

The threat was enough to make Michelle pause, which gave Amy a chance to swing the phone towards Colette. "And speaking of settlements, do you guys know where Colette got the money to open her candy shop? The annulment settlement from her former husband. Turns out Colette can't have kids. Barren and crazy. That's one hell of a combination."

"That's enough Amy," Linda Layton called out from the crowd. "Now you're just being a bitch."

"I'm being a bitch? Look around. These four thought they were so damn special in high school, and it turns out they're just as..." Amy fell quiet when she caught movement from the corner of her eye - Vienna, throwing Colette's hand from her arm and heading straight at her. "Don't you dare Vienna," Amy proclaimed. "You punch me and..."

There was no pause or hesitation in Vienna's steps as she zeroed in Amy. Amy quickly backtracked, keeping Vienna in her phone's viewfinder. "I swear Vienna, you touch me and... I fucking mean it, don't you... oh my God, don't..."

Amy's last words were squealed in a high-pitched tone right before Vienna clocked her. The smartphone dropped to the floor as Amy spiraled into a nearby table like a ballerina with vertigo. Several drinks tipped over and a chair scattered from the impact. "You hit me," Amy shrieked once she managed to recover. "You fucking hit me!"

"Say something else about my girlfriend, Amy. Give me another excuse." Vienna bent down and calmly picked up Amy's smartphone. "Take care of this," she said, tossing it to Michelle.

Michelle stopped the video and quickly erased it. "Deleted." Next, she turned off the smartphone. "Deactivated." Finally, she put the smartphone on the edge of the table and pressed it down. Amy began to protest, but a simple glare from Michelle stopped her in her tracks. The smartphone began to bend, eventually snapping cleanly in half. "And destroyed," Michelle proclaimed before casually tossing both halves to Amy.

Amy managed to catch one half before fumbling for the other one. "You owe me a new phone, bitch!"

"Please," Michelle scoffed, "you probably had it insured."

"And I'm pressing charges," Amy continued. "The second I get to a phone I'm calling the sheriff's department and charging Vienna with assault!"

Danny took a step forward. "I'll back you up." He stared daggers towards Vienna. "I witnessed the entire thing."

"Don't get involved," Tyler firmly warned. "This is a mess you don't want to get tangled up in."

"Just as a witness," Danny countered. "Vienna walked up to Amy and punched her completely unprovoked."

"Unprovoked?!?" Sadie pushed away from Garrett with an incredulous look on her face. "This bitch was the opposite of unprovoked! She was provocateuring!"

Amy laughed. "Look at you butchering a ten-dollar word! I wasn't provoking anyone, Sadie. I was simply telling the truth, which, for the record, none of you denied. Well, except for Brenda..."

"Oh Jesus Christ, Amy, I didn't cheat on Danny! We broke up!"

"No, we didn't!"

"Danny," pleaded Tyler, "cut your losses here..."

"Yeah," added Gio, "get out of here before things get worse."

Tyler glanced at Gio. "Not helping, man."

"Let him be," Danny laughed. "Gio was always all talk."

"Tell that to your missing tooth," Gio shot back.

"Maybe you should charge Gio for assault," offered Amy, "like I'm going to charge Vienna."

"Keep running your mouth and you can put my name on the list too," Michelle snarled.

"If there's anything left of this bitch when I'm done with her," said Vienna.

Garrett could only watch, along with the rest of his classmates, as the conversation quickly degenerated into a multi-directional squabble between his old friends, his new friends, an old enemy, and apparently a new enemy. He couldn't keep track of the jibes and insults being thrown around as fingers were pointed and threats were made. This wasn't supposed to happen. Tonight was supposed to be fun. No drama, no worries, just seeing friends and catching up with old acquaintances. But the moment things turned Garrett's way, right when Sadie kissed him, Danny was there to knock him down and almost out. Coming back had been a mistake. Maybe he could slip away. Go home, throw everything in his car, and take off. Idaho was supposed to be nice...

"Dude."

Garrett glanced over at Ian Rocker, who had slipped beside him during the commotion. Even after ten years, Ian was the only person he ever met who could somehow look like a surfer bro despite living in a landlocked state - long blonde hair, tan skin, and a dopey, infectious grin. The faint scent of marijuana still hung around him, but it was less pungent and more refined than it had been in high school. He gestured at the chaos in front of them. "This is because you hit that? All four of that?"

"Don't say 'hit that.' It's degrading."

"Huh. Yeah, it is kind of douchey. Sorry, bro. But seriously." Ian once swept his hands towards the roiling argument in front of them. "This is all you?" Garrett nodded, causing Ian to laugh quietly. "Way to be the eye of the storm."

"I didn't mean to be." Garrett sighed. "I wanted a nice quiet night. And now every bone in my body is telling me to slip out the back and run. Tell me not to do that, Ian. Tell me not to run."

"Can't dash. You were the catalyst for this, one way or another. Bolting now would be the ultimate dick move and I don't think you have a dick bone in your body. Cause, you know, dicks aren't bones. They're blood and muscle. Right?"

Garrett couldn't help but smile at Ian's perplexing question. "I think so." The argument was still going fast and fierce while Garrett rubbed his face, trying to determine his next move. As he did, he caught sight of Colette. She hadn't moved since Vienna had stepped forward to coldcock Amy. Garrett realized she was trembling. Her hands flexed as she tried to clench them, but he knew her mind wouldn't let her. With all eyes on the argument, no one, not even Vienna, had noticed her emotional slow dive. "I need a favor," he said to Ian. "I think Colette's having a panic attack."

"Whoa. Yeah, she's having a baaaaaaaaaaaaaaad trip right now."

"Can you get out of here? The second I move all eyes would be on me, and Vienna's way too worked up right now. Tell Colette I sent you and you're taking her somewhere to calm down."

"No problem bro. I've walked people through panic attacks plenty of times. We'll be in the boys' locker room if you need us." Before Garrett could inquire about Ian's choice of location he was taking the long way around the crowd towards Colette. Once he was beside her, Ian said something that Colette answered with a nod. He gently took her wrist and began leading her towards the corner of the gym. When they disappeared into the stairwell leading into the locker rooms, Garrett took a deep breath to brace himself before slamming his fist down on a nearby table.

He immediately realized his mistake as a bolt of pain enveloped his wrist. Switching to his left hand, it took three more solid knocks to break through the loud din of yells and screams. All eyes turned towards him as he hit the table a final time. "All I wanted was a nice, peaceful, drama-free night," he began. "Come to the reunion, see old friends, catch up with people, and then head to Pike's for a nightcap or two. But tonight made it obvious. Danny and I can't co-exist in the same space. It's ten years after graduation and the two of us being here caused all of this drama." His statement was directed towards Amy as much as it was towards Danny, and the brunette reacted with a mocking smirk. "So let's end this, right now. Danny... I'm sorry."