the boy next door • jenzie

12 | It's Whatever

Johnny is awoken that same night by a ringing sound coming from the laptop sitting on his bedside table. He grabs it and opens it groggily, seeing it's Kenzie requesting a Skype video call.

"Hey, Kenz," he says while yawning.

"Are you awake?" she asks.

He smiles. "No, I'm just sleeptalkin'."

She giggles. "Sorry for waking you up."

"No problem," he mumbles. "So, what's up?"

She lifts her finger to her mouth and chews down on one of her nails. "Ashton and I broke up today."

This catches Johnny's attention and immediately makes him more awake. He sits up in his bed, propping himself up against his headboard with pillows.

"What? Why?" he asks, trying to hide his excitement. He's sad for her because she clearly loves Ashton, but at the same time, Johnny loves her, so knowing that she's single gives him hope that maybe they can happen.

She shrugs. "He just said that the long distance thing wasn't working, and we're both different people now. Him coming here was just the proof he needed I guess."

It's a blatant lie, but she can't let Johnny know the real reason. She doesn't think that Johnny loves her back, so for her to tell him that Ashton broke up with her so she could be with him would just ruin their friendship. ⠀⠀⠀

Johnny frowns. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that," he lies.

"It's whatever," she says.

"Are you okay? Y'all were together for a long time," Johnny asks.

She nods slowly. "I mean, it feels weird because he's been my boyfriend for so long, but I saw it coming. Long distance never works out. And Sunny certainly is happy he's gone because now she gets to sleep on my bed again."

Johnny laughs as Kenzie shifts her Haydenera towards the small yellow lab curled up in a ball on one of her pillows.

"If Sunny is happy, that's all that truly matters," he jokes.

Kenzie lifts a hand to cover her mouth as she yawns. "I should probably get some sleep and let you get back to yours."

Johnny nods.

"Goodnight, Johnny."

"Goodnight, Kenz."