falling for 13 || Johnny Kavanagh

Keep Quiet

G R A C E

I froze the moment I saw the door open, with Ollie standing in the doorway, holding Sean's hand. Johnny sat up quickly as he spotted my little brothers, wide-eyed and clearly piecing together what was going on. Sean clutched his favourite dinosaur in one hand, and Ollie was giving me a serious, suspicious look, like he was about to interrogate me and wasn't messing around.

My shoulders dropped. "Ollie," I began, trying to sound casual, "what are you two doing up it's way past your bedtime?"

He didn't answer. Instead, his eyes flicked from me to Johnny, sitting on my bed. "Grace... who's that?"

I looked back at Johnny, then to my brothers as I closed my door, knowing they wouldn't be leaving anytime soon. I was already imagining the trouble I'd be in if they blabbed about Johnny being here. But Sean, being three and blissfully oblivious, beamed up at Johnny, giving him a little wave.

I sighed, reluctantly deciding there was no point dodging this. "Fine, alright." I waved a hand between them. "Ollie, Sean—this is Johnny. He's... my boyfriend."

"Hi, Onny!" he squeaked out, unable to pronounce his J's properly. My heart gave an involuntary little melt, but Ollie's stare reminded me I had a situation to manage.

Ollie's eyes widened, and Sean just grinned, looking up at Johnny with pure adoration. Johnny flashed them both a warm smile, clearly trying to look as non-threatening as possible. I braced myself, expecting Ollie to be disgusted or, worse, go run and tell someone, but instead, he just tilted his head, scrutinizing Johnny with his usual mix of curiosity and seriousness.

"So," Ollie said, crossing his arms over his little chest, "what are your intentions with my sister?"

Johnny's lips twitched as he tried to keep a straight face. I groaned, burying my head in my hands. "Ollie! That's... that's not something you ask!"

"It's fine." Johnny grinned, giving me a small wink before looking back at Ollie with an equally serious expression. "Good question, Ollie. I intend to be respectful and... take good care of her."

Ollie squinted at him, clearly still suspicious. "Respectful?"

Johnny nodded, playing along like Ollie was an adult he had to impress. "Absolutely. She's important, you know?"

Ollie looked at me, then back to Johnny, his eyes narrowing. He was quiet for a moment, like he was deciding whether to buy it. "And you're not going to make her cry?"

I felt my face flush at Ollie's bluntness, but Johnny just kept his smile soft. "No, Ollie. That's the last thing I'd want to do."

Ollie's lips pressed together as he considered this. Meanwhile, Sean tugged on his hand, looking up at me and then at Johnny as he proudly showed his dinosaur. "Look! Dino!"

Johnny nodded, leaning forward to inspect the stuffed creature with all the enthusiasm of a little kid himself. "That's a class dino, Seanie. I used to love dinosaurs when I was your age too."

Sean grinned, clearly satisfied that Johnny passed his personal dinosaur test. But Ollie was still eyeing Johnny, arms still crossed. "Alright," Ollie said finally, "if you're going to date my sister, I'll let it slide. But you have to give me twenty quid for not telling anyone."

"Ollie!" I nearly squeaked, horrified and slightly impressed by his nerve.

"Twenty quid?" Johnny asked, stifling a laugh. "And if I give you that, you'll keep this our little secret?"

Ollie nodded solemnly, clearly seeing himself as the authority figure in this situation.

Johnny gave me a look, still grinning, before looking back at Ollie. "Alright, Ollie. Deal." He reached over and shook Ollie's hand, sealing the pact.

But Ollie wasn't finished. He gave Johnny a once-over, then turned to me. "I get to pick the movie on Friday night too?"

I rolled my eyes, shaking my head in surrender. "Fine, you get to pick the movie. But only if you don't tell a soul."

A triumphant grin spread across his face, and he looked back at Johnny, clearly pleased with himself. "Alright, I'll keep quiet. But only cause you seem...okay." He gave Johnny one last scrutinizing look, then grabbed Sean's hand again. "Come on, Sean. Let's go."

Sean, however, looked up at Johnny with big, curious eyes. "Onny sit!" He crawled up onto my bed, settling himself next to Johnny.

"Sean," I whispered, glancing at the door, suddenly paranoid someone else would come up and realize Johnny was here. But Johnny just gave him a warm smile, shifting to make more room on the bed for Sean.

"He's alright, Grace," Ollie said quietly, turning back to me with a little nod of approval. "But I'm still keeping an eye on him."

Johnny bit back a laugh, nodding in Ollie's direction. "Noted, lad. I'll keep that in mind."

As Ollie and Sean padded toward the door, Ollie paused, giving Johnny a last scrutinizing once-over before crossing his arms in a way that only an inquisitive six-year-old could manage.

"By the way... why do you talk funny?" Ollie asked, his eyes narrowing slightly. "You sound weird."

I stifled a laugh, covering my mouth as Johnny's brows shot up, surprised, before he broke into a grin.

"You mean the accent?" Johnny chuckled, leaning back against the pillows with a smirk. "That's cause I'm from Dublin. Moved here when I was a bit older than you."

Ollie's eyes got big. "You're from Dublin?" he asked, as if Johnny had just told him he was from Mars.

"Yep," Johnny said, smiling. "But I came to Cork when I was eleven. That's why I still sound a bit... different."

"Yeah, a bit," Ollie said, nodding seriously. "You don't sound like us at all."

"Dublin's better anyways," Johnny laughed, glancing at me.

I rolled my eyes. "Please, as if you don't say everything we say, just with a different accent!"

Ollie nodded approvingly, satisfied with the answer. "But just so you know, if you're dating my sister, you better not talk weird in public."

"Right. No talking weird. Got it." Johnny saluted, playing along by trying his best to do a Cork accent.

After Ollie and Sean finally left, I let out a sigh of relief, collapsing against Johnny's shoulder as he laughed softly, pressing his head back against the pillow.

"Well, that went well," Johnny joked, pulling me closer to him. "Think I passed?"

"Just barely," I murmured, feeling the tension leave me as I sank against him.

Johnny chuckled, his arm looping around me as he settled back into the pillows. "Guess I'll just have to keep impressing Ollie."

I laughed softly, closing my eyes for a moment, feeling the warmth of him beside me and the quiet of the room around us. Despite everything—the nerves, the sneaking around, the endless little challenges of making this work—I knew it was worth it.