Guys Our Age (Wattys2017) (UNDER CONSTRUCTION)

Chapter 49: Goodbye Means Forgetting (Hannah)

"Are you kidding me? Is this a My Little Pony Poster?"

I sent a quick look at Johnny over my shoulder as held the poster in front of him, laughing.

"I was eight, idiot."

"It's cute." He replied, smiling as he rolled it up and stuffed it in a box, "I mean, as long as you don't have some weird obsession with it."

I shook my head and zipped my suitcase, glancing around my empty and bare room. I hadn't seen the place so vacant in my life. It looked as if nobody had lived here the last eighteen years.

"Is that it?" Johnny questioned. I rested my hands on my hips and gave my room one last once over and nodded.

"Yeah, I guess it is." I whispered. He picked up the last box and made a gesture with his head for me to follow him out of the room. I grabbed my suitcase and hurried after him, nearly running into my dad and Justin in the doorway.

Once Johnny and I had stuffed the last of my things into the bed of his truck, we walked back up the steps to my ex boyfriend and father.

"I can't believe you're leaving early. I thought I'd have three more months with you." Dad sighed, pulling me into a hug. I stood awkwardly for a moment before hugging him back, my face buried in his shoulder.

"I'm gonna miss you, sweetheart." He said quietly when I didn't respond.

"I'm going to miss you too, Daddy." As much as I hated him for what he did in the past, I couldn't hold it against him for our future. He was still my father, he still raised me. He was there and he took care of us. I wasn't going to look past that over a mistake he made years ago.

When I stepped back, ready to hug Justin, I felt Johnny's eyes burning into the back of my head, a warning that I shouldn't get too close to him.

Hugging Justin wasn't the same as it had been for the last four and a half years. The butterflies and warmth in my stomach were gone, the aching in my chest from being away from him too long wasn't present. It was as if I were hugging Mason, a close friend that somehow seemed to know me better than I knew myself.

"I love you." he breathed into my ear, his fingers buried in my hair. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and laughed quietly.

"You have a really shitty way of showing it." I pulled back, "I love you too, Justin."

I backed right into Johnny's arms, feeling them snake around my waist seconds later. I smiled weakly and tried to shake him off.

"We should probably get going, Han. We still have to pick up Mase and Hail so they can tour the place with us, and that in itself will take an hour or so. Then another two to get to UCLA."

*

I'm sure I was quite possibly the only person in the world that could handle a car ride with Johnny Carson. Even after my protests, he found some sort of sick enjoyment out of flipping through my Spotify playlist until he found something that caught his fancy. I was relieved when we finally stopped in front of Walt's to pick up my sister and Mason.

If there was anyone in the world that could stop Johnny's bad habits, Mason would be the closest we'd get.

After taking over five minutes to shove their things into the trunk of the car, they climbed in back and leaned forward, as if Johnny and I were having some secret conversation they wanted to listen in on.

"So?" Hailey started.

"So?" I shot back. She frowned, eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"How did Loverboy and Dad take your departure? Did they cry?"