❝You're braver than you believe, stronger than you seem and smarter than you may think.❞
- A. A Milne
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Dedicated to hannaiyx ! I can't believe I haven't dedicated a chapter to you before because you are soo active and you've read pretty much all my stories– for that, THANK YOU XX
Johnny is now aged 19,
& Mackenzie is 18.
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Johnny Orlando
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"And the last girl to be graduating Highland Girls School is... Mackenzie Ziegler!" Mackenzie's principal announces, smiling at her as she walks across the stage. Taking her plaque and certificate, she heads to the end of the line, eyes searching the crowd.
Today she looks absolutely stunning; dressed in a black playsuit that has elegant sleeves and red heels that twist and tie around her ankle. When she notices me in the back row, she positively starts beaming at me. I wasn't going to be able to make it because of all my training to be a doctor, but I twisted a few strings and it's definitely worth it.
I haven't seen her in a few days, as we live on opposite sides of town now, so I'm happy to see her healthy. Scratch that– she's absolutely radiating happiness.
When they've finished taking photos and successfully threw their hats in the air, Mackenzie goes rushing off the stage to come meet me. I weave through the buzzing crowd, a smile transforming my expression. With her hair flying out behind her, I see her coming and open my arms, laughter bubbling up from inside of me as well.
"I did it!" She yells victoriously when she's a few steps away from me. "I graduated!"
It's now that she launches herself into my arms, smiling like the cat that got the cream. I hold her waist, rocking her back and forth. She's nowhere near as tall as me now, even in heels, and I sigh in admiration at all the skin her dress shows.
"I'm very proud of you." I grin, lifting her up a little. She begins to shriek, blushing.
"Put me down!" She giggles, eyes alight. "How'd you manage to get here anyway?"
"I pulled a few strings." I smile, and immediately she gives me a stern look.
"What did I tell you about missing class for me?"
"You said not to do it." I say cheerfully. "But I care about your happiness more than my career most of the time, sooo..."
I watch the look in her eyes transform, and know that I'm off the hook. A few seconds of silence pass, and I take this opportunity to brush my lips with hers. She kisses back, but we both pull away after a while because we know we're in a public place.
"Are you free to go home?" I ask her, eyes dancing.
"Yeah. But we have to walk, and I'm tired." She sighs. "And these heels may look nice, but they sure as hell aren't comfortable."
"I caught the bus here, we can catch that home. Although, the bus stop is a while away..." I trail off, thinking.
"No– absolutely not!" She giggles, catching on to my thoughts.
"Why? I haven't been to the gym today so I might as well." I reason.
"You can not carry me!" She laughs. "I'm way too heavy!"
"Firstly, I've seen you bare and you're tiny." I say cheekily. She blushes, but I continue. "Secondly, have you seen how much I can lift?"
Her eyes flit to the corded muscle around my shoulders, and I take her hand, leading her away from the crowd. Many other girls have left already, eager to party the evening away.
I bring us to a stop by a picnic table, gesturing for her to take her heels off.
"You're right, these do look nice, but they must be annoying." I smile, watching her untie them. When the first shoe is off, and she drops it onto the damp grass, I pick it up.
She raises a perfectly manicured eyebrow at me. "I can carry my own shoes you know."
"No, I insist. This is a special day and you don't need to be taken down by the weight of these heels." I snort in mock seriousness.
She only shakes her head, muttering something along the lines of bloody gentleman.
"Amour, it's time for you to clamber on." I say, turning my back to the rusty old picnic table.
"Johnny, I am way too–"
"Heavy? You're so tiny and skinny that it'll be like carrying a matchstick." I retort.
At this remark, I hear her giggle faintly. "A–are you sure?"
"Definitely, now get on or we'll miss the bus that goes past your house."
Gingerly, she climbs on top of the picnic table and then eases herself onto my back. When I go to walk, she gasps, fisting her hands in my shirt.
It's safe to say I almost crashed off course and died of laughter.
It took us a mere half an hour to get to the bus stop, and Mackenzie got more and more animated with each step. I was barely working hard, and we chatted about aimless things.
When the bus drew up beside the curb though, we were glad to step inside. A couple behind us were arguing about who should carry whose shoes– obviously they'd been watching us come down the road.
While inside the bus, I'd tried to start talking about an important topic; our future, but there was a little girl there that Mackenzie seemed to like talking to so much I didn't want to interrupt.
When the bus swung around the corner to the stop a few streets away from Mackenzie's house, we both said bye to the young girl, whose name was Embry, and walked silently into the night. I'd offered to carry her again, but she politely declined. She only retreats into a polite mood when she's sad, so I was weary as we were walking.
Inside her house, I grab her a glass of water before going up to her room. She's redressed into blue nightie and done her hair in a bun; confirming my thoughts that she's upset about something. Relaxing on her bed beside her, I pull her into my lap, handing her the water, and she leans into me even more.
"What's wrong?" I prod gently.
"I dunno it's just... Do you ever think about what would have happened if I didn't lose our baby?" She sighs sadly.
"It was the little girl on the bus, wasn't it?"
Mackenzie nods.
"I think about it a lot." I murmur into her hair. "But hey, listen to this."
She shifts so she can view my face.
"There's no reason why we couldn't have kids in the future, yeah? But we have to sort out ourselves first."
"Makes sense." She mumbles, smiling softly.
The only sound to be heard after that is the ticking of her clock, before I gain the courage to ask her something I've been wanting to for a while.
"Would you like to move in with me?"
Her eyes flicker up to mine, a smile turning up the corners of her mouth. "You're serious?"
"Of course."
"Yes." She breathes. "Yes yes yes!"
Delighted, I begin to kiss her softly.
And that's how we spent the rest of the night; wrapped up in each others arms, kissing and talking about everything under the sun.
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[1302 words]
Qotd: freckles or dimples?
Aotd: freckles– I really badly want them !!
Oh, and before you go...
Make sure you give me a follow ;)