𝐁𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃'𝐒 𝐁𝐎𝐘𝐅𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐍𝐃

forty

𝑭𝑶𝑹𝑻𝒀

—

𝒌𝒆𝒏𝒛𝒊𝒆

nadia and i walk around the institute for awhile, observing each piece of art. for our first day in chicago, we decided to go to the arts institute of chicago before the interview today. i took a deep breath as i observe "nighthawk" by edward hopper. "you should post this on instagram." nadia hands her phone to me and i stare at the picture. "will do," i smile, "just send it to me."

"crazy, huh?" she says, joining me at staring at the painting. "what is?" i ask. "how we were just kids, painting with water colors, and now you're traveling around the country and i'll be going to school here." i smile and pull her into a hug. "i'm going to miss you." "yeah, me too." just then, my phone rang. "it's lauren."

i hit the green button and put the phone up to my ear. "hey laur." i respond. "hey, where did you guys run off to?" "we decided to go to the art institute." i say, "well you better start getting back here. the interview is in two hours and you should start getting ready." she says, "yes please, i miss you already." i hear johnny yell. "i'll be there soon." i laugh, and hang up.

the crew had graduated high school and were either off to colleges or to start their new careers. nadia got accepted to the school of arts institute of chicago, and aidan is attending the university of chicago. annie and asher are working on their own music careers. brynn got an internship and were able to pursue her dream of being a fashion designer. jayden went on to be a professional dancer, and so on and so on. after "what if" became a hit, mackenzie changed her program to music but still expressed her love for art by painting on the side. for the next three years, johnny and kenzie continued to write and produced songs. now that high school was over, they were both able to go on tour, together.

"hey baby." mackenzie says when she walked into the hotel room. johnny attacked her with hugs and kisses as she laughs. "john, i saw you this morning before i left." "i know but i missed you." he says, still clutching onto kenzie. "hey to you too," lauren says, walking up to them. she stares silently at johnny and hopes that he gets the message. "what?" he asks as he catches on. "hello? can you leave so we can get ready?"

"lauren, i've seen her naked before." he says, finally letting go of mackenzie. "ew! ew ew ew! i did not need to know that!" lauren gags resulting in mackenzie to burst out laughing. even as adults, they still acted like kids. lauren shoo's johnny away, who got his stuff and head to aidan's and nadia's room. after nadia came in, they went to work.

mackenzie slipped into a simple, plaid, dress over a white shirt. the dress showed off her curves, but subtle, and it was cute. lauren helped her curl her hair and she did her own make up. she slipped into her doc martens, she got a small backpack and stuffed what she needed in. "okay, let's go."

𝒋𝒐𝒉𝒏𝒏𝒚

"so, you guys sure are one of the greatest couples in the music industry. together for three years, now?" the interviewer, carmen richards, continued. i nod and squeeze mackenzie's hand tighter. "well, you guys started as a duo and had a small break after a year. but after, you guys came back as solo artists. why so?" he asks and we both nod in response. "around that time, we gotten into a pretty intense fight that resulted in us to break up." kenzie replies.