you and me

chapter twenty four

JOHNNY'S POINT OF VIEW
•••

i could hear lauren and kenzie giggling through the paper thin walls between our rooms. kenzie wasn't here. they were skyping each other.

me being the inquisitive boy i am, put my ear to the door, and just as well, because just then i heard my name being mentioned.

"as i was saying before you rudely cut me off, is there anyone new in your life, or do you still like my brother?" lauren was asking mackenzie.

i could feel my eyes widening, but i continued to listen, even though i knew i was 'invading their privacy'.

since when does mackenzie ziegler like me? even the thought was stupid. "i've barely met anyone here, except for maisy, so getting over him's gonna take a while, but i really gotta do it."

i moved away from the wall, unable to calm my thoughts. mackenzie ziegler liked me. at that moment, i heard the laptop in lauren's room slam shut, so me being the great brother i am, went straight to her room to bombard her with questions.

i walked in, not bothering to knock and saw her on her bed, her phone in her hand. "lauren.." i began.

she jumped in fright. apparently she hadn't realised i entered. rude much?

"what do you want?" she rolled her eyes. "i uhm..heard the conversion between you and kenzie," i admitted.

"johnny vincent orlando! you can't eavesdrop on my conversation! how much did you hear?" lauren asked, evidently flustered.

"excuse you, i'm the one bombarding you. i wasn't eavesdropping. our walls are simply paper thin," i replied. lauren made a tsk sound with her tongue and repeated her question, "how much did you hear?"

"enough," i simply replied. "define enough," she shot me a glare. i raised my eyebrows at her.

"please don't tell kenzie," she begged me. "but is it true?" i questioned, embarrassed that i was having this conversion with my sister.

lauren slowly nodded. "and...do you like her as well?" i sighed. "i don't know."

that was the honest truth. i thought back to when i was fake dating kenzie. sure, we had our moments, but they never really meant much to me.

then i thought back to when i was really dating her. she could be a witch, but she wasn't a bad person over all.

"you mean...she has a chance?" lauren's asked me. i just shrugged. "don't tell her anything, or you're dead," i shot her what i hoped was a scary glare.

lauren groaned, since evidently she planned on doing that, but eventually relented. relieved, i went to my room, and snoozed off.

•••
KENZIE'S POINT OF VIEW
•••

"this is actually so frustrating! i was supposed to start last monday, but it was postponed and that gives me even more time to be nervous and now i'm going mad because what if i don't have any friends. i mean, i have maisy, but that's it. and she knows other people so if she leaves me alone i'll literally be a loner and then-" i rambled, and finally stopped to catch my breath.

"kenz, it's gonna be okay. you'll make friends. but anyway, as i was saying before you rudely cut me off, is there anyone new in your life, or do you still like my brother," lauren asked me

i paused before replying. "i've barely met anyone here, except for maisy, so getting over him's gonna take a while, but i really gotta do it."

i turned red when i saw the delight on lauren's face. thankfully, before she could comment, i heard maddie call out to me. i hurriedly waved goodbye, before hanging up.

i went outside, only to realise she wanted help with a puzzle. rolling my eyes in frustration at her lame call for help, i stormed back to my room.

i lay flat on my back, staring up at my ceiling. how can i like someone who lives across the ocean? how can i like someone i used to like? how can i like someone i'm supposed to hate?

how can a teenager's love life be so confusing?

•••
JOHNNY'S POINY VIEW
THE NEXT DAY
•••

"avery," i began. lauren had just barged into my room, without knocking, rude i know, and asked me if i had chosen between kenzie and avery.

i saw disappointment flicker across her face. "is amazing. but she isn't kenzie," i finished. lauren squealed and began jumping on my bed.

i turned a dark shade of red. "don't tell kenzie. i need to talk to avery first," i gave lauren a warning glare. she nodding, before skipping off to her room chanting jenzie.

i decided to meet up with avery today itself to end things. old me wouldn't have said a thing, but right now, it just felt wrong.

i texted her to meet up at starbucks, and she replied almost instantly, agreeing. i got dressed and then grabbed my car keys, before heading out the door.

avery was already there when i arrived. i sat down opposite her and she gave me a smile. "i thought you were ignoring me," she confessed.

i forced a grin, and shook my head, even though she was right. i was about to go and get my order, but she stopped me.

"i've ordered for you. i like the double chocolate chip shake, so i got that for you as well," she chirpily announced. i thanked her, but all i could think about was how kenzie knew which drink i liked.

deciding not to beat around the bush, i finally opened my mouth. "avery..we need to talk," i sighed. she imitated my sigh.

"you wanna break up, don't you?" i sheepishly nodded, my eyes looking down. "it's okay. i swear. even though it's barely been a while, i enjoyed everything with you," she forced a smile.

she just nodded. "can we stay friends?" i asked her, knowing that's what we're supposed to do during a non messy breakup.

"we can try, but uhm i need some time. this should cover my drink. i gotta go," maisy pulled out a few notes and got up to leave.

i grabbed her hand. "i'm paying. no arguing." she just nodded and left. i felt bad, because she seemed hurt, but at least i wasn't leading her on any longer.

•••
i wrote this on jb's bday
when even is it-

[ word count — 1074 words ]
( EDITED )