Chapter Twenty Three

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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"How the hell do you think you're getting to New York John?" Lauren asked in a mix of confusion and anger.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I have money saved up for a new car, but I can spare some if it to get on a plane." He explained as she followed him out of her room.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"You're insane, you're really going to go to New York City for this stupid girl you're hung up on?" Lauren question in a fit of anger. In a way he understood why she could be angry, he was being a reckless teen. Going across the country on the slim chance that Kenzie might forgive him, but she meant a lot to him.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"She's not just some stupid girl Laur, she's like no other girl I've ever met. We have a connection so deep it doesn't even feel real sometimes, and there is no way in hell I'm letting that slip away from me." He explained, and he was pretty sure he rendered his younger sister speechless.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Whatever John, but when she breaks your heart don't come crying back to me!" Lauren answered stomping back to her room. Johnny understood she was being protective of him, but it was his life. She didn't understand, she couldn't.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Kenzie sat on the couch next to Maddie. They had a bowl of buttery pop corn, and their favorite show was on.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀It was only about ten o'clock at night but they had all the lights off, because it was a pretty crappy day out in NYC. It had been raining and snowing, so basically it was just the mush, that is in between the two.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀They were watching The Vampire Diaries for about the millionth time, both gushing at how hot just about every guy is in that show.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Ugh why did it take so long for Elena to see that Damon was the only one for her." Maddie sighed dramatically, and the two of them erupted into a fit of laughter.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Mhm but I can totally see why she stayed with Stefan for so long, he is way hotter." Kenzie chimed taking a handful of popcorn, and Maddie's jaw dropped.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Not true, Damon is like a trillion times more attractive...okay maybe that was a stretch..." She giggled, and it felt so nice to just laugh with her sister. Kenzie hadn't known what it was like to be stress free, and just have fun, for a very long time.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Fine, they're both really hot!" Kenzie chuckled, and for the first time in a long time her biggest problem was the fact that she was probably going to eat too much pop corn. No stupid boy drama, no family problems, and no fake friends.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Speaking of hoy guys, after you and Hayden broke up...was there anyone?" Maddie asked with a smirk, and suddenly Kenzie felt her giddy mood drop.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Uh...kind of." She answered more serious than before. Talking about Johnny made her get a lump in her throat, and feel like she was so close to having something great, but it slipped away.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Im sorry, is that a touchy subject? I didn't want to make you sad---" Maddie began to ramble before Kenzie cut her off.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"It's fine Mads, there was just this boy, I thought we had something but I don't know." Mackenzie explained and Maddie nodded slowly.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"If you want to talk about it, you know you can always talk to me." Her sister said sympathetically, and she did know. She always knew she could count on Maddie, she was the only person who had always tried to be there for her the best she could. She didn't ever give up, even when she was across the country.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I know, I just don't think I'm ready to talk about it..." She said and Maddie nodded, as they both turned their attention back to the TV, but Kenzie was barley watching. She'd already seen this episode before, and now Johnny was stuck in her brain again.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀After about twenty minutes the episode went over, without Kenz even noticing until Maddie stood up.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I'll be right back." She said as she walked out of the room. Mackenzie nodded and just sat there twirling her thumbs.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀She felt pathetic, that Johnny was consuming all of her thought, when he obviously didn't care about her. Just like every other person, besides Maddie, he didn't give a damn about her. People back home may have worshiped her, and some people may think that life is glamorous, but it's so lonely.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀No one is actually there for you, no one actually wants to be your friend they just use you. It sucks, and it turned Kenzie into this awful, and mean girl.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Kenzie looked up, and sighed, it was late who could possibly be there?
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀People coming to her house un-invited always creeped her out, cause like what if it was a murder? Okay maybe that was a bit dramatic, but still.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Kenz, can you get the door?" Maddie yelled from the other room. She pulled the blanket off of her lap, and began to stand up.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yeah." Kenzie answered walking across the room. She was wearing pajamas, and the whole apartment was dark, so it felt weird to go to the door.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Her fingers grasped the door knob, as she began to pull the door open. As she did so, she kept her eyes trained on the ground.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Once it was fully open she looked up and the sight before her took her breath away. Saying she was surprised was an understatement.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"What are you doing here?" Kenzie asked with a slight gasp.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I came here to see you." Johnny said simply. Yup, it was Johnny, the jerk that she did not want to see. She was so afraid she'd forgive him to easily if she talked to him or saw his face, and after what he put her through the last week he didn't deserve it.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Kenzie stepped out into the vacant hallway, closing the door behind her. She couldn't believe he came to New York to see her.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Uh huh, but you're supposed to be in LA, not here." She said kind of frantically, she honestly wanted to see him so bad, but she knew she couldn't do this. She was trying to suppress her feelings, not re-surface them.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Well, I flew out here yesterday to see you." Johnny said as if it were not a big deal. He was dressed casually with a grey t-shirt and black jeans, he looked like this was an everyday thing for him. Little did she know he was dying of nerves inside.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"John, you got my letter, I'm trying to move on...you know what I'm not doing this. You wasted you're money flying out here." Kenzie snapped suddenly, beginning to turn her back on him. Johnny reached his hand out and grabbed her arm, stopping her from stomping away.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Kenz, I got your letter, and I flew out here the next day, after going through hell trying to convince my parents it was fine. I came here because I'm so confused...and I had to see you in person." Johnny explained, and Kenzie watched him speak intensely to try and catch him in a lie.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"John I get it, you're not the guy I thought you were, and if you really are the guy I thought you were and I'm mistaken this still won't work. Cause the boy that stole my heart, I didn't deserve him but truthfully...I really don't believe that's the real you."
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Kenz please, Jaycee was at my house for Lauren, there best friends...I would never hurt you like that." Johnny said not letting go of Kenzie's arm. She stared at him, looking right into his emerald green eyes that's she'd come to love so much. He didn't seem like he was lying, but the fact that just an inkling of him not caring about her made her so sad made her feel weird. He had such control over her emotions.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"She-she is?" Kenz asked, it was the only words she could conjure up.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yes, Kenzie like I said you mean so much to me, I wouldn't move on that fast nor would I want to..." He answered his hand sliding down to her hand. Slowly he interlaced his fingers with hers, and she didn't stop him, although she felt like she should. They were both acting like they were dating and going through a break up which was even weirder to her, because all that happened was they kissed.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"John, the truth is I like you...a lot. Now apparently it's making me a super jealous bitch, and I just don't think you deserve that. You're amazing, and you deserve someone who's not a mean, awful person like me." Kenzie admitted, and to her that was the truth. She had been in this mind-set for over a week that he was an asshole, but now that she knew it was just a misunderstanding, the realization of how paranoid and mean she was set in. That the world had turned her into such a bad person. Johnny was so different, and he was the person she thought he was, for the first time in her life someone was.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀He was so kind, and he was real, but she wasn't. As much as she'd hate to admit she was just like the rest of them.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Kenz that is not true, not even one bit." Johnny exclaimed, feeling angry at her for thinking of herself that way. It's weird how when you care abut someone so deeply, them not realizing how amazing they are actually can hurt you.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yes it is Johnny. Me and you, we come from such different lives, different worlds even. We were never meant to even be friends, but somehow fate right us together, but I ruin everything I touch. I'm not ruining you, because it seem as though I've already started..." She trailed off as a single tear fell down her cheek. This was not what she wanted one bit, but she felt like she had to. Johnny slowly raised his arm up to her face and wiped the tear softly caressing her cheek.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Kenz look at me, you're the most beautiful, amazing, and kind girl I've ever met. If anything you deserve better than me. You have only and made life better the whole time I've known you, and I'm not letting you slip away again." Johnny whispered, and without Kenzie even realizing there faces had gotten very close, and he never moved his and from her cheek.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀She was starring into his eyes, she had no words. That was probably the sweetest thing anyone had ever said to her in her life, and without even thinking about it she lifted herself on her tippy toes and pressed her lips to his.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀She knew she shouldn't have done that after telling him she wasn't good enough for him, and everything but it felt right.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Johnny's hands cupped her face softly, and her hands went near his shoulders. Kissing him for the third time was even more amazing than the last.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀It was like every cell in her body was aware of his lips on her, and like there was a thousand fire works around them, slowly the both pulled away, resting their forehead together.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I love you." Kenzie whispered without even thinking about it.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I love you too." Johnny smiled, and slowly kissed her again.

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