holding on • jenzie

25 ⇝ am i in a nightmare

» You are the first and last thing on my mind everyday. «

「 In which Johnny gets down on one knee. 」

Dedicated to: millionworthsmiles  Your comments are cute and lovely and ajslaksjkzkkak ILY XO

A/N ~ Thank you guys for being honest with me and telling me I'm not stuck up. I sometimes feel insecure, like any teenager, and just got worried that people might think that of me. Love yous <3

POV: Mackenzie Ziegler
DATE: 27 January 2026

•••

"So Laur, how was your time in the big city?" I ask from the passenger seat of my car. Johnny retrieved it from the dealers this morning, luckily; much longer and our precious car would have been sold to new owners. I'm glad it wasn't.

"Amazing." She beams, eyes glittering wistfully. "The people were amazing. The food was amazing. The city was–"

"Let me guess– amazing?" I interrupt with a smile.

"Yes." We laugh together. She changes lanes smoothly, in no hurry to be anywhere. It's nice to feel cool and collected after a morning of harsh rules and even harsher people bossing Johnny and I around. I feel horrible for leaving him there, but love is being selfish, and he willed me to leave with Lauren. There was an ulterior motive for him wanting me to go, I'm sure of it, but I respect that he has his reasons.

"I'd love to move back there some day." She tells me. I nod my head in agreement, not thinking at first, before whirling on her.

"You met someone, right?" I question. "And that someone lives in NYC."

"You know me well." She smiles secretively.

"Well tell me!" I demand, and it all comes gushing out of her.

She ran into Carson after a party Annie and Hayden hosted. They instantly clicked as far as I can tell– the cheeky little brat even went to stay with him in NY; without telling me I might add. They sound like they really get along. Due to the fact that she has a very, very protective older brother, most boys stood away from her in her teenage years no matter how good she looked. John could be scary when he wanted to be.

Lauren's never known true love, only lived watching others around her fall in it, so I'm more than happy for her. "Besides," she tells me, "Johnny can't beat any boyfriend of mine to pulp now– you'd kill him if he did."

"Shut up." I tell her, laughing again.

We reach home faster than usual. I suppose that's how time works when you really are having fun.

Inside the apartment, we lie on the couch talking and gossiping and basically confessing the deepest secrets of our souls. (We drunk a fair bit of wine. Drunk Mackenzie likes to be just as truthful as drunk Lauren; we spilled all the secrets that were knew we were keeping from each other.)

Morning turned to afternoon, afternoon turned to night. We gradually became more sober with time, but even so, when Johnny came home at roughly ten thirty I was still a little giggly. I refused to go to sleep until he was home; finding out whether your soulmate could possibly save you from your imminent death was a daunting prospect for me. I'd never be able to calm my mind into sleeping with thoughts like those in my brain.