secrets or lies: a johannie story

thirteen.

johnnys pov:
we walk into the store and annie's furious with me.
her moods are up and down i can't keep up.
i don't even understand why she's mad right now.
a: put your head down.
she says to me
j: what?
a: put your head down.
she says again.
j: why?
i ask confused.

a: will you ever just listen to me instead of questioning me all the time.
she says looking at me.
j: it's hard to listen when you don't communicate with me.
i say back.

fan: annie?
a girl yells annie's name and sprints over to her down the isle.
two others follow behind her.
j: who are they?
i say confused, but annie didn't respond.

a: hi guys!
she says calm while smiling.
fan: oh my gosh it really is her!
a: yeah i'm real.
she says laughing.
a: what are your names?
c: camille
k: kimberly
s: sara
a: annie.
she says shaking each of their hand.
i'm still confused as ever.

camille: i've watched you on bratayley since i was eight years old.
i have never heard of bratayley.
s: me too, i always rewatch "i'm never going to the park again" it's my favorite.
a: that's one of my favorite too, i watch it all the time. hayley screaming kills me every time i hear it.
they all started to laugh.

k: can we have a picture?
one of the girls ask.
a: of course.
s: who are you?
one of the girls said to me.
j: im-
s: can you be in the photo.
a: he's my friend, and he'll take it for us.
i smiled back at them, and she hands me her phone.

they all take their photos with annie.
kimberly: how are caleb and hayley?
a: ill call them and you guys can say hi.
all: yes please!
they all shouted.
annie group facetimed hayley and caleb and they greeted the girls.
the conversation was short and brief.
a: thank you guys for saying hi, hopefully i'll see you again soon!
annie says grabbing my arm and walking with me.

j: what was that?
i say laughing a bit.
a: the reason i told you to put your head down.
she says looking flustered.
j: annie you owe me an explanation, as to why i was just asked to take a photo with a fourteen year old.
a: i promise i was going to tell you, but i was just scared.
j: tell me what.
a: my family, we're vloggers.
she says covering her eyes for a few seconds then peaking to see my reaction.

j: vloggers? like youtube?
a: exactly like youtube.
she says flustered.
j: i'm a bit confused, are you saying you do david dobrik type vlogging.
a: we're a little bit more known then dd, and the content we put out is longer than his, but he does have a lot of footage that doesn't make the video. but theoretically yes we're similar to dd.
j: you know david dobrik?
i say shocked.

a: uh yeah, we're mutual and have collaborated a few times, but we're not best friend, he's close with caleb though.
she says flustered.
j: can you explain further?
i say confused
a: when i was six and living in maryland my family started a vlogging channel on youtube. we went kind of viral and had close to ten million subscribers. so we moved out here to los angeles to pursue it because i kept getting booked for jobs and so was caleb so we were out here most of the time anyways. once we started in hollywood we realized it was much different then doing it for fun. it wasn't the life we wanted so we quit.

j: you're famous.
i say kind of excited and shocked.
a: slightly known is a better term. i still post every once in a while because my fans love me and i love them just as much.
she says smiling.
j: that's pretty cool.
a: more or less.
j: is that why you've been acting strange, why were you scared to tell me.
a: people at school have been taking pictures of you and i together and posting them online, dealing with all of this is harsh sometimes and i didn't want to get you involved.

j: if it involves you it involves me.
she started to smile.
a: i want to keep what we have private, so we can't be touchy or anything like that in the hallways.
j: i'll be respectful of that.
i started to think.
j: a lot of things that you do now make more sense.
she started to laugh.

a: yeah, all of the broken pieces are now together.
j: you can talk to me though you know, i don't want you to be afraid to tell me things.
a: i promise i was going to tell you, after you left my table today, caleb, lilia, asher, connor, hayley, and jayde were all yelling at me, telling me i should've been told you. i didn't know how to say it and i was scared.

j: why?
a: i didn't know how'd you react, it's a hard thing to wrap your head around. those vlogs are my whole life since i was six years old, everything major that happened in my life is posted to the internet. i've been judged harshly for things that people didn't like or by people who just simply didn't like me, and some of those comments hurt extremely bad. i seem like a confident person, but it brings out a lot of my insecurities and doubts about myself. it's hard growing up and consistently hearing and watching people do things they know are going to devastate you, you know.

she says asking me.
hearing that made me feel horrible.
annie is a great person and i haven't been completely honest with her.
i like her a lot, and this is more than a bet, but i feel guilty i haven't called it off with hayden.
i need to tell her, but i'm scared she'll leave me.
when truth be told she's the only one who's actually been there for me.

a: sorry for keeping secrets and not telling you.
j: you told me now that's all that matters.
i say smiling at her.
j: so do i get to be featured in these special vlogs.
a: maybe one day.