CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO !
( i promise. )
A LARGE burst erupted from the pool, following nicks canon ball into the water. matt walked out the back door of the house, following the rest of the friends, after dylan had suggested the idea of going for a night swim. laughter filled the entirety of the backyard as chris practically face planted into the pool, being pushed into the water by dylan. she stood on the edge, unable to contain her own giggling, before jumping in after him.
matt smiled, and sighed in disbelief, unable to understand how he could possibly be related to them, as he watched his brothers wrestle in the water. he felt soft fur brush past his leg, before ozlo darted toward the pool, leaping into the water.
his eyes traveled along the yard, taking in the scenery. the moon had just come up, the sky being a shade of lavender, fading into indigo. dusk. his favorite time of the day.
when his eyes landed on the lounge chairs off to the side of the pool, he felt his breath hitch to his throat. kennedy's milk chocolate hair falling perfectly into place, mixed with the blue glare from the pool lights, made his stomach flip, she looked pretty. but his expression immediately faltering, realizing the girl sat there deep in thought. her legs crisscrossed in front of her, as she focused intently at her hands, picking at the excess skin surrounding her nails.
"you okay?" he spoke softly as he made his way toward her. quiet enough for the bafoons in the pool not to hear. kennedy quickly pulled her hands away, letting out a subtle uncertain 'mhm!' nodding her head in reassurance, reaching for a piece of brownie from the plate beside her and taking a large bite.
"why do you ask?" she shrugged her shoulders, her voice muffled by the brownie she was chewing.
"just thought i would," he began, taking a seat beside her. his arm softly brushing against hers, sending chills up the both of their spines. "you're just sitting over here alone, you seemed to have something on your mind." he explained.
he was right, she did have something on her mind. you would assume it would have been the conversation she had just shared with dylan in the kitchen, but it wasn't.
kennedy found herself thinking about the album. not only was she was still contemplating whether or not she should mention it to her friends, but now, she was unsure if she should even release the album in the first place. she anxiously worried about how the media would respond to the music. she especially worried about how xander would respond.
"hey," matt's voice pulled her from her trance. "something's obviously on your mind." he expressed. he placed his arm around her back, landing his hand on her shoulder, softly rubbing it to comfort her. "you can talk to me, what's going on."
"no it's fine, i don't wanna make you listen to my bullshit," she explained, laughing off her nerves, a shy smile forming on her lips. the smile being so visibly forced, it sort of made him angry.
"kennedy." matt's head tilted at her. "trust me, i'd rather you talk about it than keep it to yourself." his words sounding so genuine.
kennedy couldn't bare it, at this point, what was there to lose. "i wrote an album."
"that's great though, right?" he questioned himself.
"it is, it is." kennedy took a deep breath in, feeling matt's hand fall from her shoulder, which she just ignored, not wanting to make it evident that it upset her. "i want to release it."
"why don't you?" matt asks in confusion.
"i'm scared."
matt looked at her sincerely, obviously asking for her to continue, without making her feel like she had to spill her guts to him.
"i'm scared of how people will react to it, y'know? most of the songs are about someone, someone who isn't in my life anymore. i'm scared of how they'll react too, if they'll get mad at me. i don't know i kinda sound craz-"
"you don't sound crazy at all." matt cuts her off. "at this point, you've written the entire album. who cares if some people don't like it? who cares if that person doesnt like it. they aren't in your life for a reason anymore, they shouldn't have control over that. they shouldnt have that kind of control over you." he expresses, their eyes making direct contact with one another as he continues. "we practically just met, and i already can tell your an amazing person. if you love music, and you want to do something with it. than do it. don't let them ruin that for you, okay?"
kennedy felt her heart practically melt. every word of his made sense.
"okay." she responded with soft expression, trying her hardest not to reveal her smile.
"okay." a smile growing on his face, hoping that a smile from him would provoke one from her as well.
the two of them sat there in silence, just looking at one another. kennedy felt her entire body burn up, her expression becoming flustered. matt felt his cheeks grow a light pink, apparent butterflies fluttering around in his stomach. their faces just inches away from each others.
kennedy immediately thought of the conversation in the kitchen.
"admit it."
"admit what."
"you think he's cute."
"i don't think of him like that."
the both of them moving their bodies apart from each other.
"um," matt cleared his throat. "so, are you gonna go in?" he asked, motioning his head toward the pool.
"yeah, maybe, i don't know." she smiled awkwardly, once again, an insincere smile. matt's faced unfolded a unamused look, hoping, just hoping for one smile from her. she noticed his expression, diverting her eyes away from him to avoid the awkwardness. she glanced toward the pool, seeing that no one was swimming anymore.
"you guys coming inside?" nicks voice echoed from the door, wrapping a towel around himself, both of their heads turning to where his voice was coming from.
"yeah, we'll be right in." matt responded, watching the three of them enter the house.
kennedy stood up from beside matt, "i guess we'll have to go in another time." she told him, shrugging her shoulders, another forced smile appearing on her face.
"i guess so," he responded with a tone of defeat, standing up from the seat as well.
matt reached for the plate of brownies, before kennedy started to walk toward the back door. hoping she would give him one sincere smile, his thoughts immediately began to take over. he looked up at kennedy, noticing she was standing still, faced away from him, obviously waiting for him to follow her inside. his thoughts ultimately got the best of him, as down the plate onto the chair.
"or," he mumbled.
"or?" kennedy questioned him.
before she could even get the chance to turn to look at him, she felt a pair of warm arms snake around her waist, picking her up off the ground. she pulled her knees up to her chest as the unexpected arms grabbed her, she turned her head to see that the arms belonged to matt. as she opened her mouth to speak, she felt herself be completely submerged under water. his arms unwrapping from her waist once they hit the water.
she pulled herself up for air, immediately feeling one of the arms that were once around her latch on to her again.
"or, we could go in now!" matt's laughed, using the free hand to push his wet hair back, out of his eyes.
all kennedy could do was laugh, "what the fuck, matt." her words weren't angry, more surprised. her laughter was revealed with the sight of her soft deep red lips parting to reveal her teeth. her smile this time, genuine.
"there's that smile." he smiled.
"what smile?" she scoffed, feeling matt's fingers make contact with her forehead, pushing away the straggling strands of her hair from her eyes.
"nothing," he laughed, attempting to keep his thoughts secretive.
ozlo, who had just followed the other friends inside managed to sneak back out the door, sprinting toward the pool, jumping straight back into the water, and creating a large splash. the splash immediately soaking the two, even more than they previously were.
matt realized his arms were still around her, so he let go of kennedy, and began to swim toward the puppy immediately playing with him.
kennedy laughed in response, swimming after him.
"ken," matt began, as he gently played with ozlo. the use of her nickname caught her off guard.
"ken?" she question him in laughter.
"what? what's wrong with ken?"
"nothing, you've just yet to call me that. it's always kennedy."
"alright then, kennedy." he responded sarcastically. "can you promise me something?"
"depends what it is." she shot him an uncertain look.
"promise me you'll release the album?"
in all honesty, that was the last thing she expected for him to ask. she wasn't to sure as to why he was asking her this. but she felt like it was something she had to do. something she had to do for him.
"okay." she gave him another genuine smile. "i promise."
avas note
these kind of pool scenes are such an overused thing in fanfics but i have a soft spot for them so you'll just have to deal ☺️
much love,
ava <3
{unedited}