"happy birthday bitch!" kenzie beamed after i opened the front door. i laughed as she flung her arms around me for a hug.

"thank you" i hugged her back then let her inside the house.

we settled in the living room where i switched off the tv that i was watching whilst eating breakfast.

she rattled the large gift bag in her hands, "i got you something".

"what?" i dropped my shoulders in awe. "i said i didn't want gifts, kenz".

"and when do i ever listen? here, open it".

i took the bag from her and pulled out the colourful tissue paper before gasping. hidden underneath was a brand new black handbag and a pair of gold hoop earrings.

i instantly held the jewellery up to my ears, testing them out in the nearby mirror.

"oh my god, i love them" i told, hugging her again. i cocked my eyebrow. "steal them?".

she shook her head, "well, the money came from selling stolen stuff but doesn't matter. what does, is that i was able to get my best friend a gift on her birthday".

i warmly smiled at at her then told her that i had to head up to my room for a textbook i couldn't forget today. as i packed it into my backpack, i remembered back to that kfc dinner a few days ago.

kenzie stood in the doorway of my room as i glanced up at her.

"hey, the other night with chanel coming to see jack. i know they have a bit of history, but with how much they talk, i feel like i'm missing the bigger picture" i shrugged.

kenzie came further into my room to check her hair and outfit in the long mirror.

"jack's always been kind of a pussy when it comes to chanel" she informed.

"what do you mean?".

she sighed, "okay, don't tell him i told you because he doesn't like to admit it and would kill me, but you're close enough to know now".

i narrowed my eyebrows in confusion, waiting for her to continue.

"their relationship used to be way more than jack leads on" she explained. "my brother isn't the boyfriend type or the one that falls before the girl does, but it was different with chanel".

i lightly chuckled, still slightly baffled, "what, so you're saying that she dumped his ass and broke his heart?".

"if you wanna put it like that, yeah. but now he can't stand her" kenzie added. "although chanel's like a fucking pest".

once again, i frowned in uncertainty to her metaphor leaving her to roll her eyes.

"she always knows what she's doing, sofia and she'll always find a way to worm back into jack's head".

after taking a little time to process what she said, i soon noticed the time and placed my backpack on my shoulder.

"alright, let's go. don't wanna be late" i told.

belching a loud, my dad walked into the living room with us. we cringed in digust as he stroked his beer belly and noticed my gifts on the couch.

"what is all this?" he asked, holding an unlit cigarette between his lips.

"if you must know, it's your daughter's birthday" kenzie informed as i quickly packed away my presents.

"kenz, don't bother" i interfered. "i hate my birthday because for as long as i can remember, no one ever cared about them and i usually spend it alone. he wasn't even there on the day i was born, so what makes you think he'll care eighteen years later?".

i placed the gift bag in a hidden corner behind the couch - away from my unpredictable family.

"i don't give birthday gifts to ungrateful kids any ways".

"fuck off dave" i gladly gave him the middle finger.

as we both left the house, jack walked around the corner and waited for us outside the gate.

"that man is unbelievable" kenzie stated.

i scoffed, "you're only just realising that now?".

"talking about me?" jack smirked, making kenzie frown in repulse and push him slightly.

"sanchez!" behind us, tommy and nina peravích crossed the street and headed straight towards my house, where we still stood.

"here comes trouble" i mentioned before they arrived.

"hey, your brother owes me fifty bucks" tommy informed me.

"half brother" i corrected.

"half-i don't care" he responded. "where is he?".

"i don't know. sleeping, getting high" i listed, not finding a single care in this topic. i turned to nina. "hey, going to school today?".

"yeah for once or i'll be held back next year" she nodded. "and you know, i don't really want to miss out".

her focus happened to remain on kenzie as those last words left her mouth.

i bit back an excited smile at the possibility of them becoming a thing if kenz grew the guts to talk to her more. and also at the clueless look on jack's face.

"so, still refusing to hop on this dick?" tommy ran his tongue over his lips.

"well when you put it like that" i pretended to hesitate. "...yes".

he shrugged, fidgeting in his pockets for a lighter, "couldn't handle it anyways".

"if you say so".

in the moment, jack placed his arm over my shoulder to pull me slightly closer.

"come on, we gotta go" he quietly spoke to me.

"you guys walking with us?" kenzie asked.

nina shook her head, "gotta wait for an extra brother".

"see you at school then" i told as the three of us began walking away.

"seeing your ass walking around the hallway is the only reason i go" tommy called out.

i turned around, walking backwards with a biting lip, "good to know, tommy".

when i turned back to the twins, kenzie blurted out a laugh, "what was that all about?".

i shrugged, "it's just harmless flirting. you've seen jack do it all the time".

"no, nope, it's different for guys" he quickly protested.

i took his muscular arm and flung it back over my shoulder and held onto his waist.

i looked up at him with a teasing smile, "why? you jealous?".

"fuck no. jealousy is for pussies" jack responded, leaving his sister and i to outnumber him as per usual and mock his ridiculous argument.

once we reached the school grounds, i was starting to wonder why jack hasn't mentioned anything about my birthday yet. he's technically my best friend too so you'd think that he would remember.

but then again, it's not like i spoke about it a lot before today came. i hate this occasion and making a fuss over it is just not me.

as i followed kenzie into home room, i was quickly stopped by jack pulling back on my arm.

"wait, wait, wait" he said as he stood over me against a nearby wall. "...happy birthday".

his lips formed into a smile as he placed a big kiss on my cheek. when he pulled away, i instantly punched his arm.

"ow!" he exclaimed. "what the fuck, sof?!".

"you idiot! i thought that you forgot" i explained, folding my arms in a pout.

"well, i might aswell have, geez" he rubbed and stretched out the sore area.

"so" i beamed on the balls of my feet. "what did you get me?".

"okay, you know that pizzeria in mccormick that we always pass?" jack began and i nodded. "you told me that you love it and how they have the same one back home. so tonight at seven, let's go. my treat".

i cocked my brow, "your treat meaning - we eat and leave one by one without paying the bill?".

"what? no, i genuinely mean - my treat" he corrected, then rubbed his hands together. "got some money saved up".

touched by the gesture, i frowned a little, "for me?".

"take it or leave it" he raised his hands.

i chuckled, taking hold of them to bring them down, "okay, okay".

"wait," he pulled out of my hold to point his finger at me. "as long as you don't flirt with tommy peravích again".

"you were jealous!" i practically gasped.

"this ass is mine" jack leant in closer, grabbing it over my tight jeans with his large hand.

"mhmm. yeah, sure" i sarcastically nodded with a laugh. as i began to notice the last few people entering home room, i reached up to peck jack's lips.

"shit, i've gotta go" i said, starting to leave his side.

"gotta wear something hot or the plans off".

with another laugh lightly erupting from my mouth, i shook my head at him and entered the class.

+

jack's pov +

after school, johnson invited me to his house for a small get together with a few other friends.

it was regular for us all to meet up, smoke weed, drink beer and play video games until our brains are practically fried.

"right, i'm out" i checked the time after just finishing a match of fifa.

"aw, no! come on!" everyone protested.

"dude, you just got here" johnson argued.

"dude, i've been here for like two hours" i corrected him.

"let him go" chanel chimed in as she sat in the corner with a female friend. "he's obviously got other plans with his new friend".

i shook my head in annoyance at her snarky behaviour.

"who?" sam wondered, restarting the video game anyways.

"sofia. she was there the other night, that's why i wasn't allowed inside?" chanel swapped her seat for the arm rest beside me. "you thought i'd upset your little girlfriend".

"one, she's not my girlfriend and two, you weren't allowed inside because you're full of shit, chanel" i retorted.

i picked up the controller to start choosing players for the new match.

"you're the one who stupidly knocked me up".

"fuck you" i immediately defended, letting out a small chuckle. "you've been with every dude in this neighbourhood. there is no way that baby is mine, you do the math".

"wait. it's not mine, is it?" sam scratched the back of his neck, nerves clearly taking over him.

"ew, no" chanel quickly disregarded his comment.

i got up to head to the kitchen and get myself another beer. for the past few weeks, chanel had been pestering me about being pregnant and thinking that i'm the father.

there's a few of these gatherings where we've all been black out drunk and i've possibly ended up having sex with her. but that hasn't happened in months.

i just don't need that baggage to be dropped on me for no reason, and i know that my mom would murder me if it were true.

i took a sip of the fresh beer just as chanel followed me in. i rolled my eyes as she rested against the counter near me.

"stop coming to my place" i told her. "that baby isn't mine and you know that".

she defeatedly dropped her shoulders, "okay, so say that it's not and it's some lowlife pervert from down the street. this is all gonna be a shit show with parents like mine, do you really not care about me anymore?".

i shrugged lightly, briefly scratching my nose with the back of my hand.

things were surprisingly good when chanel and i were together but neither of us are capable of a relationship. more so, her than me.

she sauntered closer, "we were so close before we broke up, jack. remember? all the fun times we had?".

she slowly took held of my beer with one hand and stroked the back of my neck with the other. reaching up, she didn't hesitate before kissing my lips.

chanel continued for a while until i moved my head to the side to pull away. she held a proud smirk at what just happened as i took my beer back from her.

i took a long swing and wiped my mouth.

"go fuck yourself, chanel" i raised my drink to her. her smile instantly dropped and i pushed past her to leave the kitchen.

i looked down at the time on my phone, seeing that it had just reached half six and i had thirty minutes to meet sofia.

"okay, i've really gotta go" i emphasised.

"g, we're in the middle of a game and a fucking blunt" johnson informed, taking the joint from sam to take a drag.

"what's the rush? sofia's not your girl and it can't just be for some easy pussy" sam continued.

"yeah, jack. so what's the rush?" with folded arms, chanel bitterly added.

i pulled my hands down my face and huffed, before returning back to my seat. johnson happily patted my back and passed me the blunt next.

"okay, but after this game" i explained, taking a long drag and releasing the cloud of smoke.

before i knew it, i was quickly drawn back into the video game. the music was turned up louder and i was mocking my friends for every poor move that they made.

-

first jack pov wow

recap: it's sofia's birthday. chanel is pregnant and says it's jack's but that's probably a big ass mo'fuckin lie. and jack's clearly going to be late to take sofia out for pizza.

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