CHAPTER 3:
After Shannon returned from the bathroom with Lucy…
"Okay, so where were we?" She asked.
"Meeting Emily and having her as my best friend made my senior year one to remember. I didn't want our friendship to be a come and go one, but seeing as how we went to different colleges, I knew it was bound to end sometime," Garrett said.
"I know Emily got accepted into Barden, but where did you get accepted?" Aubrey asked.
"NYU. I studied computer science and that's how I eventually met Shannon," Garrett said, prompting a flashback.
August 27th, 2015
In a classroom at NYU, Garrett was sitting at his desk in the front row when he noticed Shannon sitting at the desk to his left.
"Hi," Garrett said, nervously to Shannon.
"Hi," Shannon said, smiling.
"I like your shirt," Garrett said, noticing Shannon wearing a Minnie Mouse t-shirt.
"Thanks," Shannon said.
"Have you ever been to Disney World before?" Garrett asked.
"Of course. It's my favorite vacation destination," Shannon said.
"Mine too. I'm Garrett, by the way," he said, prompting a handshake.
"Shannon," she said, accepting the handshake. "So, what got you into computers?"
"My dad and I put together our very own PC years ago. It was like a father/son bonding project," Garrett explained.
"Interesting. As for me, I've been interested in computers ever since my dad got me my very first laptop for my 13th birthday," Shannon explained.
"Do you still have that laptop?" Garrett asked.
"I traded up when support for Windows XP ended last year," Shannon explained.
"That's good. Does everything run better on this one?" Garrett asked.
"Definitely. So, where you from?" Shannon asked.
"Atlanta, Georgia. You?" Garrett asked.
"Bristol, Connecticut. I had my heart set on going here since my sophomore year of high school," Shannon explained.
"So did I. My parents were worried at first about me going away to college, but so far it's been going pretty well," Garrett said.
"Nice. I'm glad things are working out," Shannon said.
"Me too," Garrett said.
"Want to have lunch with me later today?" Shannon asked.
"Definitely!" Garrett said.
"After that first conversation we had in class, Shannon and I had lunch together everyday. Then after about a week, I finally got the courage to ask her out," Garrett said.
September 3rd, 2015
In the cafeteria, Garrett and Shannon were finishing their lunch when Garrett was prepared to make a bold move, and hoping that unlike his failed promposal from high school, it'd work out in his favor this time. He remembered how his face was of mixed emotions when he tried asking Emily to prom back in high school.
"Hey, Shannon. I wanted to ask you something," Garrett said.
"What's up?" Shannon asked.
This is going to be hard to ask, but I was wondering if you'd want to...I don't know...go out with me sometime," Garrett asked.
"You mean, like on a date?" Shannon asked.
"Totally!" Garrett said.
Shannon gave it some thought before giving Garrett an answer.
"Sure, I'd love to go on a date with you," Shannon said, prompting a sigh of relief from Garrett.
"Great. How about I pick you up at your dorm room, say...5:00 tonight," Garrett proposed.
"Okay. See you tonight," Shannon said before the new couple left the cafeteria.
Present Day
"Our first date ended up being one to remember," Garrett said.
"Garrett told me his favorite restaurant was TGI Fridays. So we went there for dinner and then afterwards, we went and got soft serve ice cream," Shannon said.
"I went with my usual vanilla and Shannon ordered a chocolate," Garrett said.
"After we had ice cream, we decided to go for a walk," Shannon said.
"During the walk, we started to share things about each other. It felt so great to find someone that has the same common interests as me," Garrett said.
"At first he didn't have much to share because he wanted to be sure it was going to work out first," Shannon said.
"Looks like things definitely turned out well," Emily said.
"Oh, they did. And it took til our third date for me to realize that," Garrett said, prompting a flashback.
September 18th, 2015
"So, for our third date, Garrett let me pick the restaurant. So I decided on us having dinner at Cracker Barrel," Shannon said.
"The dinner went well as usual. During that date, I finally felt confident enough to open up more about myself. Especially as we were leaving the restaurant," Garrett said.
As Garrett and Shannon were exiting the restaurant...
"Shannon, there's something about me I think you should know…" Garrett said.
"Yeah?" Shannon asked.
"It's hard for me to talk about with people and it's not something I feel comfortable making public on the internet," Garrett said.
"Well, what is it? You can tell me," Shannon assured him.
Garrett tried to keep it together, and not look too nervous, as this was something he wasn't sure how she'd react.
"When I was three, I was diagnosed with autism," Garrett confessed.
"Really?" Shannon asked.
"Yeah. It's been an ongoing struggle in my life," Garrett said.
"Wow," Shannon said, sympathetically.
"Does that scare you?" Garrett asked.
"No, of course not. Come here." Shannon said, grabbing Garrett's hands. "We're going to get through this together. I promise, I'm not going anywhere."
Hearing Shannon say those words made Garrett smile. He was grateful that she was so understanding about what he was going through.
"Thank you," Garrett said as they shared a smile as well as their first kiss.
Present Day
"That was one of the best dates of my life," Garrett said.
"I'm glad for you that Shannon was so understanding. You're lucky to have found her," Emily said.
"Yeah, I definitely feel lucky," Garrett said as the doorbell rang.
"I'll get it," Aubrey said, getting up to answer the door.
"Hey, guys. I hope we're not too late," Beca said.
"Not at all. Please come in," Aubrey said as Beca and Jesse did so.
"So, we have some big news to share," Jesse said.
"What is it?" Emily asked.
Beca paused for about five seconds before making the big reveal.
"I'm pregnant!" Beca said.
"Oh, my god. Congratulations!" Aubrey said as the Bellas in attendance joined together for a group hug.
After they broke from the hug, Beca noticed Garrett and Shannon.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I don't think we've met," Beca said.
"Oh, yes...Beca, this is my best friend from high school, Garrett, and his wife, Shannon," Emily said, introducing them.
"It's nice to meet you, Beca," Shannon said.
"You too," Beca said.
"And congratulations," Garrett said.
"Thank you," Beca said.