the boy next door • jenzie

6 | Don't Mean a Damn Thing

"When she asked you, did she make it sound like it was Netflix and chill or like it was going to be her new dog cuddling with her while you're pushed to the other side of the couch?" Hayden intrigues after school as he walks with Johnny to the parking lot. "Because there is a very big difference, my friend, and you do not want to be in the situation with the dog."

Johnny shrugs. "I dunno, man. She just asked if I wanted to have a movie night at her house."

Brynn pops up out of nowhere and wraps herself up in Hayden's arms. "Who asked you?"

"Kenzie asked Johnny to Netflix and chill," Hayden says.

"She did not!" Johnny exclaims.

Brynn reaches out and pinches Johnny's cheek. "Aw, look at you steppin' up in the world."

Johnny's face was bright red with a mixture of annoyance, anger, and embarrassment. "She has a freaking boyfriend!"

"That don't mean a damn thing," Brynn says. She reaches up to her mouth to cover it with her hand as Hayden looks at her in confusion. "I have to go!"

She tries to make her escape, but Hayden follows after her, and Johnny can hear him ask, "What's that supposed to mean?"

As the couple continues on their way to a location unbeknownst to Johnny, he continues towards his truck, where he can see a brunette leaning against the side door, tapping away on her phone.

He unlocks the car, and as the sound goes off, Kenzie's head pops up, and she smiles at him. "Hey! Did you decide anything for tonight?"

He nods his head. "What time should I come over and what should I bring?"

~ ~ ~

Johnny stands on the front porch of Kenzie's house and is terrified to knock on it. He can hear shouting from inside. One voice screaming is definitely Kenzie, and he can make a pretty good assumption that the other one is Greg. He can't make out their exact words, but it seems like they're arguing over something having to do with a boy, probably Brandon.

He is still standing there when the door swings open, and Kenzie pauses in the doorway when she notices him there. Her eyes are wet with tears. Her cheeks are red with anger.

"Oh, um," she says, wiping her eyes. "Is it already eight?"

Johnny nods. "I can come over some other time, it's alright."

She shakes her head. "No, I already ordered pizza. Come on in."

She moves aside in the doorway to let him in and closes the door behind them.

Greg is still standing in the living room, arguing quietly with Melissa, when Kenzie and Johnny enter the adjacent living room. They look over at the two teenagers and then exit the room to continue their fight somewhere else.

Kenzie sits down on the couch, and Johnny follows suit, leaving an ample amount of space between them. The lab puppy jumps up onto the couch, curling up in a ball on Kenzie's lap. She preoccupies herself with running her fingers through the soft fur.

"Want to talk about it?" Johnny asks.

She shakes her head. "He hates me, and I don't know why. I haven't done anything to him."

"He doesn't hate you," he says softly. "All he could talk about before y'all got here was how excited he was for you and your sister to live with him."

"And now all he talks about is how much of an embarrassment I am to him," she cries. "The way I dress, the way I talk, the people I've become friends with... He says that I'm a bad representation of him. The people in town are talking about me, and it makes him look bad."

"Kenz, you're not like the people here, so people are going to talk about you. That don't mean there's something wrong with you," he tells her.

"Stop being such a nice person," she jokes, laughing a little.

Johnny scoots over on the couch and wraps his arm around her, letting her put her head on her chest. "You're a good person, Kenz, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

"This is so not how movie night was supposed to go," she laughs.

"Well, let's watch some funny movies and eat some pizza and cheer you up."