Chapter 1
This continued for the first few minutes of the song as Garfield stood at the spacious corner of the circular room and watched her peers intimately hold each other. She envied being there but the person she wanted to be there with stood with another man, bodies clinging tight together and groping each other. The scene made Garfield's outfit feel more restrictive than she previously thought. The outfit she wore wasn't something she personally wanted to wear but she didn't care. If her grandmother wanted her to wear it, she would. If it were her choice she would dress like the man she envied to be that night, the man that held the only person she couldn't fully grasp but was lucky enough to hold close.
Removing her sight from the two teenagers, Garfield turned her head and saw Anne, leaning on the wall awkwardly staring into the bodied crowd with a look of disgust. Thando wasn't disgusted at anything or anyone but herself. All night she had went through a million scenarios of how to ask Garfield to dance with her. She knew this was the only opportunity she had to express even a fraction of her feelings to her but every movement towards her would heighten her anxiety. After a few minutes of failing, she eventually gave up and stuck to the wall, watching everyone else have the courage to dance with someone they wanted to dance with or at least weren't disgusted by.
What Anne didn't notice was Garfield walking towards her while she gave envious glares at her peers. Garfield for the first time was relieved to see Anne, the timid girl seemed to always arrive when Garfield needed someone. She thought that if she couldn't dance with Amanda then Anne was the perfect second option. She stalked towards her with a look of determination and a small smirk of relief. It took Anne a moment to notice that Garfield was standing in front of her and it took her just as long to ask her why.
Garfield didn't bother with words as she grabbed Thando's hands, part of her wondered if Anne would pull away and as she took her fourth step a slither of hesitation broke through her rhythm before she noticed that Anne was following her quietly.
This was always the case for their new found relationship, Garfield would always push them in one direction and Anne would follow with no hesitation. This blind trust in their relationship was one that would make anyone worry since they had only known each other for a year but both Anne and Garfield came to a personal conclusion that if they felt that boundaries were being pushed they would tell the other. Anne voluntarily wore a blindfold and walked whatever direction that Garfield pulled her towards with no questions other than if Garfield was safe or not. What Garfield was fully aware of was that this was because Anne was helplessly in love with her.
Anne had always loved Garfield, the short stubby teenager had stolen Anne's heart the moment they met and there was nothing she could or wanted to do about it. So the moment her hands connected with Garfield and they walked towards the center of the hall, she gladly followed and the butterflies that flapped in her core seemed to flutter louder the closer to the center they got.
Garfield stopped abruptly her hands slowly surrounded Anne's waist waiting for silent permission from the person in front of her. Anne interlocked her hands around Garfield's neck, hands trembling while they swayed to the rhythm of the song.
Garfield had heard the song a thousand times, she had memorized every lyrics on her bed at night as she dreamt of another reality where she was a princess or an assassin and each time her thoughts would be a continuous vision of her walking in a forest filled with nothing and no one in content bliss. That reality was far away and for a split second she almost got wrapped up in it but she liked this reality to. The reality where she was dancing with someone she liked, someone she felt close to, someone she felt she would never have to disregard like people in her past.
"I didn't know you came alone."
Anne's words got lost in the raging somber song just barely reaching Garfield ears. Garfield tightened her hold on Anne's waist as she pulled her closer so she can hear her words better. Anne's arms tightened around Garfield's neck and bent hers to be closer to Garfield's ear. The tingle whispering on her waist playing a noticeable rhythm of satisfying agony.
"I thought you would come with Amanda." She raised a voice louder this time.
"We broke up a while ago" Garfield answered nodding her head as if to accept the words herself before slightly separating herself from Anne to look at her outfit before syncing their bodies close together again.
Anne wore a silk dress that hung to her petite curves just barely. Enough to leave a lot to the imagination but also to extenuate her best assets. Garfield subconscious licked her lips at a flashing desirable image but quickly removed the thoughts before focusing on her friends face which had a confused expression on it.
"Something wrong?" Anne pulled Garfield closer so she can hear her but also because she wanted to feel that feeling again, the feeling of being so close to her.
Garfield shook her head with a comforting smile while Ms Wilson walked towards the dj with a look of anger and a raging finger pointed at him. The dj, Joseph gave a small smile before reducing the volume of the music, suddenly noticing that they could hear each other, some teenagers separated slightly from each other and others separated completely deciding to focus more on the drinks and food on the tables.
Anne was extremely cautious about the next string of words she wanted to tell Garfield, she knew that this was the moment. Everything was calm at least for the moment and Amanda was at least a minute away in Garfield's mind.
The turmoil of expressing everything she was holding in made her more exhausted than trying to hide away from her father. She knew she seemed a bit distant but she could tell that even Garfield was and a part of her envied the thought that plagued Garfield's mind.
"Where did you go?" The words seemed to snap Garfield out of her thoughts as a smile appeared on her face. This wasn't a smile to indicate she was happy or that something particularly good had happened, no this face was the one that scared everyone in their friend group. It's the face Garfield made when she had an idea or figured out a problem. The smile took all the light from her eyes and all that was left was a dark brown void, the sight of that smile made the hairs on Anne's arms raise.
"Come with me? there's something I wanna do." Garfield's voice whispered into the hall's ceiling not once reaching Anne but she seemed to ignore it. Instead she just carried on pulling Anne with her, pushing past people while only paying mind that Anne didn't get hurt in the wake of it.
Moments before she stepped past the threshold of the hall's exit doors, she spotted something, the subtlety of the object would have gone unnoticed if she didn't already have her guard up since this afternoon. Garfield abruptly stopped, her fingers tensing around Anne while their bodies barely touching as Anne looked towards the direction Garfield was. A man in a suit stood there.
The suit looked familiar to Anne, it had a beautiful blue colored design embroidered on the tips of its sleeves that spread shyly at the bottom of the jackets endings. She had just held that jacket just minutes ago but what she didn't feel whilst she was dusting the specks of dog hair from it was the shiny black glock that was peeking from the pants of the suit. Even as she stared, scared of the implications of what the gun meant, she couldn't help but notice how beautiful the man who owned it looked as he stood, his eyes focused completely on Garfield.
Anne watched Garfield as she carefully separated their interlocked fingers and moved towards the beautiful man, even thinking that this man was beautiful was confusing for Anne. She always looked at Dom as the brooding henchman of Garfield but as Garfield walked quickly towards him she couldn't help but to appreciate his looks.
His hair sat at a nice brush, his hands in his pockets, pelvis pushed slightly forward while he leaned against the wall next to him.
A smile teased the side of his lips, a smile that seemed almost dangerous. A smile that both Garfield and Anne knew all too well by now. Dom closed the distance between him and Garfield by grabbing a stray braid from her bun.
"Love the hair." His voice rasped out as he twirled the pink striped braid around his index and thumb.
"Like the suit, would love it even more if you didn't advertise the gun with it." Garfield said while pulling Dom close, their bodies just a breathe from touching as she tucked and hid the gun behind the jacket of the suit.
"Sorry." Dom spoke when there was a little more distance between them
"You just arrived?" Garfield questioned
"Yeah." Dom answered nodding while the two stared at each other for a moment
The interaction seemed cold and monotone to any who visited any conversation between these two and maybe at this moment the conversation was cold at least that was what Anne thought as she watched the two friends interact and it worried her.
Dom on the other hand was more worried about the peace that plagued him and his friends these past few days. Their involvement in risky dealings had made it harder for him not to take two more looks behind him as he adjusted his collar. This wasn't the first time he had to bring a weapon to school, he did it almost all the time in his old school and twice in the academy. This however was the first time he was worried he had to use it, every conversation he had with his uncle would seem to haunt him every three minutes since he walked in with it.
Never stand too comfortable....always be ready to pull the trigger with no regrets...
Garfield's glare seemed to bring Dom back from his obsessive thoughts as the two shared a knowing look together, a look that gave assurance to the other. The little creases that formed on Dom's forehead disappeared little by little as the gigantic man took Garfield into his arms in a tight squeezed hug. Both held each other tight, both trying to forget memories that surface when they are together but both sharing comfort that they have someone to rely upon with the fear of those memories.
Anne stood just a couple feet apart, envious but curious at the surprising exchange between the two best friends. Within moments the two separated and Dom's eyes finally settled on Anne. Not knowing what to do and being highly aware of the attention she got, Anne waved at Dom who gave a wink in receiving gesture.
"You clean up nice, Tsotsi." Anne shouts jokingly while walking towards them
"Thanks." Dom manages to say while roaring with laughter at the nickname.
Garfield couldn't help but smile at the semi- awkward moment between the two. The friends hug then separate and look at Garfield as if wondering what to do next. Taking it as their cue, Garfield grabbed Anne's hand and started walking towards the destination she was determined to go in the first place.
Anne stumbled behind Garfield but not before waving a small good bye to Dom who seemed too preoccupied with his phone to notice the gesture. Thando sighed and focused her attention back to the path that Garfield took her to. The two teenagers, walked towards the school field, Anne with her heels in hand while Garfield hunched the bottom of her skirt to walk better.
The two giggled, both taking little glances at each other having small unimportant conversation as they ran down the stairs and towards the grass. Once on the grass, the two sat facing each other, legs open and slightly touching each other. Their eyes focused on anything and everything around them before focusing on each other in a comfortable silence. Their smiles widespread with excitement.
"I wish I met you three years ago." Anne said trying to fill the air with conversation.
"No, you don't." Garfield stated with a small chuckle suddenly moving closer to her, her legs going over Anne's gently.
Their bodies so close, they could feel each other breath. Anne had always suspected that Garfield knew how she felt that's why they were always moments where Garfield would passively make moments that were more intimate than they meant to be.
"I had a crush on you." Anne breathed out the little truth she could in a almost jokingly manner.
"I know." Garfield answered almost immediately.
The silence that sat in between that breathe felt thicker with every minute as Anne digested Garfield's answer. Garfield moved closer shifting their bodies closer, their thighs intertwined as she gently grabbed Anne's chin in her hands.
Anne being too confused to defuse the situation went with an automatic response of completely following Garfield's lead and found her self just an inch away from her.
"Since when?" Anne whispered as her eyes dropped towards Garfield's lips, the glistening lip gloss looking more inviting with each blink of her eyes.
"I have a better, more or less cliché question." Garfield couldn't help but smile as she looked at the beautiful girl in front of her "Can I kiss you?"
The subtly cringey question seemed to flabbergast Anne as her eyes snapped towards Garfield's eyes. Her body was completely stuck in this moment, no part of her wanted to move in case it ruined the mood in anyway. Garfield tilted her head, waiting for an answer that Anne already had but was too scared to say so instead she nodded. A moment passed after her actions.
As a way to initiate, Anne's head moved towards Garfield's while her eyes stayed focused on her lips, their breathes syncing for a second before Garfield moved her head back, leaving more space between them. The slight movement scared Anne as her eyes snapped back to look into Garfield's amused ones.
"I need you to say it. " Garfield said not once moving eye contact and Anne's hands instinctively grabbed Garfield's naked back just a touch away from where the fabric of her dress reappeared.
"Yes."
The moment Anne's lips connected with Garfield, any thought of actual feeling slipped Garfield's mind. Everything around her felt hazy and for a millisecond, she couldn't feel Anne's lips that was until her tongue's tip grazed the entrance of Garfield's lips brewing her with nothing but utter need and desire.
Anne's hands gripped Garfield's hips pulling them close leaving no fraction of space between them before slightly lifting her up and laying her on the grass beneath them. The action shocked both of them but before Anne could over think anything, Garfield's lips had found hers again. Garfield hadn't done it to ease Anne's mind of any actions, instead every action that Garfield made since grabbing Anne's hand in the ballroom was done to help forget about everything.
Her confession to Amanda, Amanda's rejection, the rotting body of Dom's uncle that sat at a drug dealers house with a bullet hole in the skull and his four teeth in the pink envelope with a small signature on the tip of it.
Every movement of their lips together would spark a tingle down Garfield's spine that would remind her that she didn't have to think about tomorrow or yesterday or two hours ago. All she had to do was focus on how amazing it was to be held, to be touched and needed.
Anne on the other hand felt the opposite, she enjoyed every moment just as much as Garfield but she worried about how this moment would affect them tomorrow. Will this pave a way for them or was she just another warm body that Garfield had happened to charm her way to. Even with all the thoughts, Anne's heart raced with every movement of Garfield, every slight moan from her lips or the way her legs tightened around Anne's torso every few seconds.
The two girls despite their growing thoughts not once let each other go as they continued until the field sprinklers went on. The moment their lips separated, like primary kids they avoided all eye contact after their actions. Anne grabbed Garfield's hand pulling her up. The two friends took a second to breathe before running back to the hall where they danced with their friends respectively not once taking a glance at each other but both knowing that the other was close by.
