West Chester Beauty Queen

Chapter Three - Tear Down The Walls

~Johnny's Point of View~

I was leaning against the counter in the kitchen replaying what had almost happened before Bam, Dunn, and Steve-O walked in.
I had lost control of myself and I had almost kissed Joey. We were so close to kissing. I knew it wasn't a smart move but when I had heard she technically hadn't had a first, I told her I hoped that the person she kissed was someone that truly loved her and understood her beauty and value.
"Did we interrupt something?" Dunn asked Joey and I and we bothlook at each other and then she says, "No. Johnny and I were just talking. I was, uh, just heading to bed actually. Night all."
"Night." the guys and I say and I watch as she walks out of the room.
I don't know why, but I felt kind of rejected. She passed off our moment like it never happened. Even though she was right, nothing happened, it still kind of stung my heart the way she said it so easily.
"You alright Johnny?" Dunn asks
I sigh, "Yeah." I say, "I'm going to bed too."
I push away from the counter and head back upstairs.
Before I opened my bedroom door, I was tempted to talk to Joey. But the way she jumped away from me, the way she said what she said to the guys and how quickly she left the room made me feel as if it wasn't a good idea.
'Great. I probably ruined any chance of us being together in the future.' I thought as I went into my room and plopping down on my bed.

~Joey's Point of View~

When I woke up again, the room was darker than what I figured for 2:30 in the afternoon. But it turned out that someone had closed the curtains on my window.
I stretched and that's when I noticed something on the screen of my iPhone.
I sat up and picked it up and read.

'Joe

We all went to the gym, I didn't want to wake you up. We'll be back around 3. You better be up!

-Bam'

And the PS said,

'I found your phone across the room. We'll talk about that later.

-O'

I rolled my eyes and kicked the blanket off of me and went into my bathroom and splashed some water on my face.
I slipped my 'Electric' sweatshirt back on and went downstairs grabbing my phone.
I plopped down on one of the couches and turned the tv on and flipped through the channels.
I replayed what happened last night in my mind. Well, mainly the part where Johnny and I almost kissed.
I shake my head and focus my attention on the first show I landed on, which was 'Below Deck'.
A little while later I hear the door close and I heard the boys chatting to each other.
They were in the doorway and all five of them were drenched with sweat and it felt like I was smacked in the face with a sweat soaked towel, it wreaked.
"Hey! Look who decided to get up!" Chris exclaims and the guys laugh.
"I missed you!" Steve-O exclaims and starts walking over to me but I say,
"No! Don't come anywhere near me! Not until you take a shower."
He looks a little hurt and then a wicked smile spreads on his face.
"Uh oh, somebody's grouchy. Somebody needs a hug! Come here!" he says
"No, no, and no!" I exclaim and jump off the couch just as Steve-O launches himself at me.
Bam reaches for me but I slip out of his grip and as I run for the stairs Ryan and Chris wrap their arms around me and I was trapped in between two sweaty guys.
"Let me go!" I exclaim and then the rest of the guys join in and we fall to the ground.
"Alright! You've made your point, let me go!" I exclaim and one by one the guys get off of me.
"Ugh." I say once I was up off the floor, "Now I need a shower."
"That's what you get for hurting my feelings." Steve-O says touching the end of my nose with his finger like I was 5 and I stick my tongue out at him.
The guys laugh and Bam says, "Alright, shower up guys! We're going skating after."
We went upstairs and went to take showers.
I went in my room and made my way over to my bathroom. I turned the water on and turned my phone on to listen to music as I shampooed my hair and washed my body.
When I was dried off I walked out into my bedroom and Steve-O says, "Whoa!"
I jump and clutch my towel that was wrapped around my body closer to my body.
"Steve-O!" I exclaim
"Sorry," he says, "I didn't mean to be a creeper. Most girls get dressed in the bathroom."
"Why are you in my room?" I ask
"I was done with my shower and nobody else was." he says, "And besides, I wanted to talk to you."
I roll my eyes and go into my closet, close the door, and put on some skinny jeans and a Hollister t-shirt, a gray Aeropostale hoodie, socks and grabbed my black converse sneakers.
I walked out and put my hair up in a ponytail and plop down on the bed next to Steve-O.
"What's up?" I say sitting cross legged facing him.
He mimics me and says, "This morning before we all left your phone was across the room on the floor, not plugged in. What's that about?"
I look away from him and down at my hands.
"I just...got tired of it." I say
"Tired of it, huh?" Steve says, "Tired of what?"
I chew on the inside of my cheek and then say, "Why does it matter?"
I start to get up but he grabs my wrist and stops me, "Because of many reasons. You're my best friend's sister, you're one of my friends and I care about you." he says
I avoid his eyes and say, "My ex called."
"Okay. And?" he encourages
"For like the millionth time. I always ignore him but he keeps calling and texting. This time when I told him to go away he called me a 'bitch' and a 'piece of shit', it's nothing new but...for some reason it got to me this time." I say
"What? Does Bam know?" Steve-O exclaims
"That him and I broke up? Yeah. That he calls me names and shit...y-no." I answer, "And I want to keep it that way. At least for a little while longer."
"Why?" he asks
"Because...he was already uneasy with me being in Nashville pretty much on my own. If I told him what was going on with Steven he would've brought me back to West Chester on the first flight himself." I say
"Why is your ex acting like this? How did you break up?" Steve-O asks
I sigh and tuck some hair behind my ear. I had to tell someone. If I wanted to be close to these guys I have to open up...no matter how much my entire being is protesting me no.
"My boyfriend and I...dated all throughout high school. He asked me out in freshman year and dated up until we were freshman in college. But one of the many problems was...he and I were different." I say
"Different?" Steve-O asks
"Yeah. You know, personality wise. I was the skater girl and he was the football star." I say
"Ah." he says
I sigh and say, "His friends never liked me and...well the one friend I had was in love with just about everybody." Steve-O smiles and I continue, "Well...one day, it was a few days before my Aunt JuJu died, and I got a text message from my friend telling to come over to her house. So I did, after work. And I regretted it ever since."
Steve-O grabs my hand and says, "What happened? It's okay, you can tell me. I promise not to tell a single soul."
I sigh and say, "I pulled up in her driveway and I always walk right in because she was my best friend...they...were...in her bedroom. Having sex."
Steve-O's mouth drops open and his eyes filled with anger, "What?" he says, "That bastard!"
I sniff, just aware of the tears threatening to fall.
"I was crushed. And I ran out back to my car and drove home. Steven called, and texted but I wouldn't answer any of them. When I finally told him to fuck himself, he started the name calling and the harassment. Some days it'd be really bad, some not so bad, and some days he'd try and be really sweet.
I broke up with him and he kept trying to apologize and stuff but...I couldn't go back to him. I finally realized what I should've realized when we first started dating." I continue
"And what's that?" Steve-O asks
I look up into his eyes and say,
"That he was a loser and I should've broken up with him long before then. But, I was a teenage girl and head over heels and blinded by the idea that someone, the high school quarterback nonetheless, could ever want someone like me."
"Joey, you can't think that," Steve-O says, "Well, the part about breaking up that loser, you're right. But the part about you thinking you're not good enough for anybody, that part you need to get out of your head. Any guy would be lucky to have you in their life."
I weakly smile and he tucks some hair behind my ear and says, "You are beautiful, Joey. You know that, right? Don't let losers like that douchebag tear you down."
He pulls me in a hug and then I say, "Thanks O. You're a really good friend."
He chuckles, "I try." he says and I laugh
"Haha! There's that beautiful smile I've grown to love." he exclaims pulling me away, "The world is a lot brighter now."
I chuckle and I wipe stray tears away with the heel of my hand.
"Just so you know, not all guys are like him. He's just a minor setback. You'll find someone who loves you, as cliche as it sounds. All you have to do is let people into your heart." Steve-O says, "And, if this son of a bitch continues to harass you, let me know. I'll take care of him."
I smile, "Thanks." I say
"And also, I seriously think you should tell your brother. That guy can't hurt you now, and even if he can...Bam can't help you if he doesn't know what's going on. Besides, you're no longer in Nashville so Bam can't fly you back anywhere." Steve-O says
I sigh, "Yeah. I know." I say, "I'll do it soon."
Steve-O kisses my forehead and says, "We should probably go. The guys'll be getting out of their showers soon."
"Okay." I say, "I'm just going to splash some water on my face."
He nods and I get up and go into my bathroom and splash some water on my face and as I pat my face dry I couldn't help but feel a little...relieved. It felt like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.
Once I was done in the bathroom I walked out, put my shoes on and grab my skateboard and leave my room.
I walk downstairs and all the guys were in the living room. Bam had his back to me so I sneak up behind him and jump up on his back.
"Hey there my evil twin." I say
"Hey." he says, "Can somebody get this thing off of my back? It's driving me crazy!"
I fake a gasp, "Bam!" I exclaim trying to sound hurt and hit his shoulder.
"I'm kidding!" he says and then adds to everybody, "Off we go!"
He starts running with me on his back and I couldn't help but laugh.
I jump off Bam's back and run past him and yell out to the boys, "Last one there is Dunn's bitch!"
I beat them all to the ramp and drop in and do a kick flip. Then the rest of the boys join me.
After awhile I got tired so I took a break and sat down in the grass next to Johnny.
"Hey." I say
"Hey." he says, "That was a nice run."
"Thanks." I say and he offers me a water bottle and I take it.
"Look Joey," Johnny says loud enough for only me to hear, "About last night, in the kitchen. I'm-"
"It's okay," I say interrupting him knowing full well what he was talking about, "Seriously. Don't worry about it."
"I was way out of line-" he says
"No, Johnny," I say grabbing his hand, "It's fine. I promise. I'm not mad or anything. If you want, we can pretend nothing happened."
He smiles appreciatively at me and says, "I'd like that."
I smile too and say, "The part where we almost kissed. Not the Oreos and milk part."
He laughs his signature laugh, "I wouldn't forget that part for the world." he says
We smile at each other and I bite my bottom lip and he tucks some hair behind my ear.
A few minutes later, Bam challenges me to a skate-off. The person that skates the best won. A friendly brother-sister competition. I, of course, won.
We all go inside and we decide to go out and have some fun.

****

I changed into a white t-shirt and a blue flannel shirt, slipped my glasses on, and put on my red sneakers and left my room and bumped into somebody.
"I'm sorry." Johnny and I say together.
We look at each other and my heart melts as he smiles at me.
I look away biting my lip and say, "Come on. Before the guys come find us."
We head towards the stairs and it was only Bam and Chris down there.
They look at each other and Bam says,
"What the hell Joe? I thought I was your twin."
I was confused until I looked over at Johnny and noticed he was wearing pretty much the same thing.
I look away and walk over to Bam and pull his hat over his eyes and take the cigarette out of his hand and take a hit off of it.
"Hey!" Bam exclaims, "Get your own!"
I hand him his cigarette back and hands me an unlit one from his pack and I light it.
After awhile, when everybody was ready, Johnny picks me up and throws me over his shoulder and carries me out to Bam's hummer.
Johnny and I had to sit all the way in the back of the hummer because there was only 5 seats and six of us and Johnny insisted on sitting with me.
He had an arm wrapped around my waist and held me securely to his side and where his arm was touching my back and where his hand rested on my thigh it felt like my skin was on fire.
"So, how's my twin?" Johnny asks
I giggle and say, "I'm fantastic. How about mine?"
He smiles and my heart warms, "Well, I'm not as beautiful as you are but I'm fine." he says
My smile fades a little bit and I look into his brown eyes, "Yes you are." I say
He chuckles, "Aww, you think I'm beautiful? Thanks." he says and I laugh.
"You're handsome." I say making him look at me, "And don't you dare forget that."
He smiles and I smile too.
"I like this." Johnny says
"What?" I ask
"This...thing we have. A system if you will." he says, "You smile, I smile. You laugh, I laugh. You cry, I cry."
I smile and bite my bottom lip, so I wasn't the only one that noticed.
"Remind me to not cry then." I say
He chuckles and I giggle my ridiculous giggle.
"I also like your giggle. It's cute." Johnny says
"No it's not. It sounds like a kitten with hiccups." I say
He laughs at this and my heart warms again, "Well...you're a cute kitten with hiccups." he says and I smile and look away.
"Hey," he says making me look at him, "What is up with you and looking away?"
I smile and he smiles too and then Bam says, "Alright! Let's go party!"
We all clamber out of the Hummer and Johnny gives me a piggy-back ride into the bar.
"Guess what time it is, Pebbles." Bam says
"Time to start drinking!" I exclaim and the guys laugh and we each order beers and start drinking.

****

After a few hours and beers later, we all were pretty well intoxicated.
"Would you care to dance?" Johnny asks me offering me his hand.
"Ooh." says the guys
"Sure." I say choosing to ignore them and take Johnny's hand and he guides me over to the dance floor.
We get out there and he spins me around and dips me. I suddenly felt a weird feeling in my chest. It took me awhile to realize what it was.
The walls I built around my heart many years ago were falling down. My heart felt free and it was a foreign feeling...but I liked it.