thē ງirl ຖēxt ໓໐໐r ✰ jenzie

-chapter twenty three-

A/N: after a vvvv long time of not writing, ally finally decided to get off her lazy butt and write 👏

johnny's pov

"No, you did not just do that." I stare in horror at the game board, where our game of Ticket To Ride is spread out.

Kenzie giggles. "You should have known it was coming. Also, I can read your face as if your cards were lying face up on the table."

"Oh, really." I say, snatching up another card from the pile. "Let's see if you can guess what color I just picked."

"Blue." Kenzie says, smirking.

Lauren laughs. "You're bleeding, John."

I look down at my cards and the one I just grabbed is face up. My cheeks turn red and I laugh. "Uh-huh, that was on purpose."

"Totally." Kenzie rolls her eyes and sticks out her tongue at me.

"You know, the only thing that's bleeding right now is my heart. Because Kenzie took my route." I trace a tear down my cheek and they laugh at me.

"Let's get something to eat. I'm bored of this game." I jump up and grab my phone. "Pizza anyone?"

"Hashtag: when Johnny knows he's losing at a game and needs a getaway," Kenzie says, grabbing my arm and pulling me back onto the couch next to her. "Nice try, honey."

"So no one wants to pizza?" I shrug and throw my arm around Kenzie's shoulder. "Suit yourself."

"So you don't want to try hard at a game so you leave? Suit yourself." Lauren shakes her head in mock disapproval.

"Just go on, you can finish your route another way," Kenzie pleads, reaching over to try to grab my train tickets from the table.

I slap my hand over hers. "Don't you dare try to look at my cards."

"I'm trying to help you, jerk. Look, you're trying to get from Montreal to Atlanta, right?" Kenzie removes her hand from under mine and traces it along the board. "Just go around the back here."

"Wow, you're a genuis." I run my hand along her jawline teasingly. "How did I ever meet someone like you-"

Kenzie slaps away my hand. "Stoppppp."

"What, you don't like physical touch?" I put my hand against my chest, pretending to be hurt.

"Nope. Not from you."

Lauren rolls her eyes. "Let's go, lovebirds. John, make your move."

"What if the move I make is to make out with Kenzie?" I say, raising my eyebrows suggestively.

"EW!" Kenzie squeals, jumps off the couch, and runs away to the other side of the room.

"I'm kidding, I'm kidding." I throw down four black train cards and place down the trains. "You should be used to my jokes, by now, Kenz," I tease. "Come on, sit down again, I miss you already."

"Nuh-uh. I won't get used to your gross jokes until we're dating." Crossing her arms, she plops down next to Lauren and props her feet up on the coffee table.

"Until we are? Not unless?"

Kenzie blushes. "Erm...Lauren, it's your turn."

"So when will that be, Ms. Ziegler?" I continue, grinning at how pink Kenzie's cheeks are.

"OK, MAYBE PIZZA IS A GOOD IDEA, LET'S GO." Kenzie jumps up, laughing. "I'll order."

"Cool, let's go." I grin, and hop up too, grabbing my keys. "Lauren, you coming?"

"Uhhhhh....maybe I'll let you two...uh, I'm not going to third wheel y'all, let's just say that."

Kenzie glares at Lauren, but she follows me out to the car.

"Where to?" I ask, pulling out my phone and setting it on the stand on the dashboard.

"Uh, let's try Marielle's maybe?"

"Sure." I put in the directions and we pull out of the garage and onto the street.

"Remember when I told you that I knew Mark was the one?" Kenzie asks, looking out of the window, and then turning to look at me.

I stiffen. "Yeah."

Kenzie sighs. "I had a list of things I wanted to see in a guy. I thought he fulfilled all of them."

"Geez," she laughs awkwardly and wipes away the tears that roll down her cheeks, "I thought I was over him."

"It's okay," I reach over and squeeze her hand.

"Anyway, what I was trying to say is..." Kenzie takes a breath. "I didn't listen to you guys. And I'm sorry."

"What do you mean?"

"You can have a bunch of qualities you look for, but at the end of the day, people can look a certain way and not actually be that." After a pause, she goes on. "Sometimes, you just need to rely on your closest friends' advice."

"It's okay, Kenz. I wouldn't expect you to listen to me or Lauren. We all make mistakes."

"But I barely knew the guy," Kenzie shakes her head.

"I didn't really warn you."

"Lauren did."

"So..." I turn down another street and weave my way through LA traffic. "What are those things you look for in a guy?"

Kenzie doesn't answer right away, and I pull into the parking lot of Marielle's as she finally speaks.

"I-"

Parking the car, I turn to look at her. "Yeah?" Smiling, I add, "It's okay, I won't judge you." I hop out of the car and over to her side of the car to open the door for her.

"Thanks."

I nod and wait for Kenzie to go on.

"Anyways...I don't really remember all of them right now. But I do know one thing." She takes a breath, and then looks up at me.

"You fulfill all of them."

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A/N: Shoutout to jenzieisthebest for spamming with votes ❤️! Also, does anyone else's app always crash when you try to tag someone in a chapter? It took me a billion tries to tag ^ lol