holding on • jenzie

11 ⇝ turn that frown upside down

» Maybe home is nothing but two arms holding you tight when you're at your worst. «
~ -everythingtrustme ♡

「 In which Kenzie decides to be happy rather than melancholy. 」

Dedicated to: kenziesdolan for leaving so many nice comments!

A/N ~ I feel absolutely horrible for not posting yesterday even though I said I would. Long story short, I was busy the whole day and with me being a perfectionist I didn't feel it was right to post an unedited chapter, you know? Please forgive me!! ♡

POV: Mackenzie Ziegler
DATE: 15 January 2026

•••

"You know I love it when the music's loud but c'mon, strip that down for me, Baby." Johnny sings out loudly, making me laugh. We're currently in pajamas and doing the dishes– Lauren's orders. We figured singing is something we love to do, so mix that with good company and it'll make crappy jobs a lot more fun.

"Now there's a lot of people in the club, but only you can dance for me!" We chorus together, me executing a perfect full plié while shimmying my arms around. His grin becomes wider, and his eyes twinkle like he's looking at something he loves. My cheeks are flushed, and my hairs probably wild, but I continue to dry the dishes with my heart pumping pure joy through my veins.

At the chorus, Lauren walks in and casually starts putting the cutlery away, a small smile playing around her lips. I hold the side of my stomach and gasp for air when Johnny claps his hands together, making soap suds and bubbles fly everywhere. Lauren allows herself a smile, if a secretive one, and when the songs over she reaches over to turn down the speaker a little.

"I'm off to work. Enjoy your last day of freedom." She tells us, and Johnny reaches to give her a hug– soapy hands and all. I capture the brief moment on my phone before setting it back down on the counter and pausing the music.

"We will." I reply, smiling at the siblings.

"Good. Remember there's last nights leftovers for lunch on the bench if you want any."

John pulls me in for a friendly side hug after pressing a chaste kiss on Laurens cheek. "We'll have so much fun without you."

"Oh yeah?" She cocks an eyebrow.

"Yeah." I back Johnny up, crossing my arms over my pajamas that have Donald Duck painted continuously over them. I probably look ridiculous, but as the Orlando's are as kind as they are good-looking, they probably don't care.

Lauren's answering grin is sly.

When she's gone, I rub my wrists together. They ache, as well as my ankles. Maybe executing pliés isn't such a good idea, especially given the fact that I haven't taken a ballet class since I was about sixteen.

"Turn that frown upside down." Johnny jokes, lifting up my chin with a finger.

I shake out my feet, plastering a thin smile over my features. It probably looks more like a grimace, or a wince, and he picks up on this easily.

"What wrong?" He asks. "You know, since we're best friends now, you can tell me."

This time I smile a little more genuinely. "My ankles hurt. And my wrists. Nothing major." I convince him.

"Oh." He thinks for a while, and then his face lights up like a kid on Christmas. I brace myself for a horrible joke. "I bet you've got arthritis! I mean, how old are you now? Eighty... six?"

I laugh. "If I'm eighty six, then you're eighty eight." Then I stick my tongue out. "Shame."

He punches me in the side jokingly, and I smile before turning back to the dishes. It's silent after that, but a comfortable one. When I'm done drying all the cutlery, I hang up the tea towel and Johnny pulls the plug.

"You had enough food?" Johnny asks, pointing to the stack of pancakes Lauren made last night. They're resting on a napkin. I shake my head and turn to them– but a wet object makes contact with my back and I scream. Johnny's laughter sounds out through the room, and I spin to find him running away in another direction, towel clutched in his hands.

"Oh you did not just do that!" I yell, searching for another towel in vengeance.

"Sorry, but I did." He grins from the other side of the breakfast bar.

My hands close around a towel that's peeking out behind a chair, and ever so slowly I tiptoe around to him with an innocent persona.

"I'll get you back one day, but I can't be bothered right now." I sigh, acting, but really I'm trying to think of his weaknesses.

Singing high notes? Not appropriate right now. Eating too much pizza? Also not appropriate. Flirting?

Perfect.

His broad smile falters a little and he drops the towel at his feet.

"Can you hold me?" I ask, taking a few more steps towards him. "We could watch a movie?" I throw in a cheeky smile, bat my eyelashes, and when he doesn't reply I bite my lip.

"You want to do that?" He asks holding my gaze with slightly flushed cheeks. "With me?"

I remind myself I'm acting, and I head the last few steps towards him with what I hope is an  embarrassed smile. "Yeah."

It safe to say he's completely defenseless and unaware when I whip out the towel and start beating him senseless around the middle. (I'd aim for the face, but I'm a little too short!) I cackle with laughter, holding my side when he falls on his ass and scrambles for the towel he dropped there. I waste too much time twirling mine around though, and when he gets my ankles with it I topple over. Bracing myself for the fall, I manage to carry myself across the kitchen floor by tucking my head close to my knees and doing a forwards roll to stand. He blubbers, incredulous, before scurrying to his knees and hitting me again. This continues for at least five minutes before I throw my hands up in defeat and tip my head back, giggling senselessly. I manage to plonk myself on the couch, and it dips when he lounges next to me; leaning his shoulder on mine. My wrists and ankles hurt much more now than they did before– but the smile on his face makes it completely worth it.

"Ziegler, you have no idea what you just started."

"A prank war." I challenge.

"You up for that?" He teases. "I mean, five or six minutes ago you wanted to watch a movie and cuddle."

"Shut up." I laugh. "That was a tactical move. Anyway, I could win a prank war against you anyday!"

"Could you Ziegler? Could you really?"

•••

[1188 words]

Ooooh a war ;)

Please leave CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM below– for my sake as well as yours. If you tell me something you think I can improve on that equals longer and better chapters! (And we all want those hehe.)

Again, I'm sorry for not posting yesterday but I hope you all have a good day today ♡