The following Thursday, Nicole arrives at my house at ten thirty pm on the dot.

"Oh, hey, I didn't know you'd be –"

"Cut the bullshit," She says and pushes me aside so she can come in. "I can't believe you hadn't told me what went down, I'm here for the gossip and your step dad's food,"

I close the door behind her, unsurprised and slightly sore. "Well then, it's nice to see you too,"

With a wide smile, she presents pack of gum from out of her bag and offers me a stick. I decline graciously but she forces it into my mouth anyway and then makes her way up the stairs to my bedroom where Stacy is lying on the floor. She only got here about fifteen minutes beforehand in basically the same manner. It seems like it may be girls night and I'm suddenly the host.

"Hey Nic!" She rolls over and stands up, giving her a hug and then sitting at the foot of my bed.

"Stacy," Nicole confirms and blows a stray piece of hair out of her face. She folds her arms and turns to me with a glare. "So, Kennedy Freedom Johnson, when were you going to tell us?"

I frown at my phone, slightly confused. "What didn't I tell you?"

She rolls her eyes and takes a tentative seat on my bed. "Fuck you mean 'what didn't I tell you?' Stacy, can you buh-lieve this shit?"

"No, I really can't." Stacy puts a cheese puff in her mouth. "How rude of her,"

This is stressing me out and I don't even know the root of the problem. "I literally have no idea what you guys are talking about right now, so do you want to fill me in?"

Nicole raises her eyebrows and puts some lip gloss on in a few swift movements. "Well, I was just browsing on the charming website named Facebook this afternoon."

Ah. I see where this is going.

"And," she continues. "I see my best friend of eleven years –"

"Twelve," I correct whimsically, taking some of Stacy's cheese puffs. She swats me away with disinterest, eyes glued to her cell phone.

"TWELVE years! My best friend of twelve years, Kennedy Freedom Johnson, has updated her relationship status!" Nicole stands up again and throws her hands up in the air. "And she has a boyfriend! How is that supposed to make me feel?"

Feeling smug, I stuff a cheese puff in my mouth and pick a movie to watch on Netflix. "Well, I don't know... maybe happy?"

She's probably rolling her eyes at my wishy washy answer. "Stacy, how did it make you feel?"

Stacy lays flat on her stomach and eats one last cheese puff with slight apprehension. "Well, I was surprised at first, but then I got pissed because she didn't think to tell us about it,"

"Exactly!" Nicole reaches forward and pinches my thigh. I yelp and turn to face her, slightly annoyed, mostly still smug. "What?"

"You just pinched me?"

"Yeah?"

Sensing that this will go nowhere, I turn back around to face my laptop and decide that tonight we will watch Pretty in Pink. She pinches me again and I ignore it so she comes to sit down next to me.

"How long has this relationship been established?" She asks, sounding a lot like a journalist.

"Saturday," I say, thinking that I'm being quite specific. Stacy scoffs and shuffles over toward me, still laying on her stomach. The whole manoeuvre kind of resembles a worm wriggling around.

"When on Saturday?" She punches me in my arm and I have half the mind to go and somehow report my friends for child abuse. "I don't know about Nicole but I came for you to spill the details and your snack drawer,"

I roll my eyes. "In the evening," They don't seem appeased. "Around ten thirty?"

Nicole, at least, relaxes a little bit and reaches over me to see what movie I've selected. "I see you're wearing his sweatshirt,"

Being smug is totally my new aesthetic. I turn to face Nicole, a gleam surely complimenting my eyes. "How'd you know?"

She rolls her eyes but can't help but smile at me. "His name's on the back, doofus. And his baseball number too. Shit, girl you've got it made."

Stacy opens a pack of candy that she conjured up from nowhere. "I haven't officially talked to him yet y'know. I don't even know if he's good enough for you."

"Considering I've known him since elementary school, I can assure you that he's perfect for her and it's only a matter of time before they reveal their nine year plan to us on how they're going to manage school, their marriage and work all at the same ti-"

I throw a pillow at Nicole who dodges it gracefully. She sticks her tongue out at and rests her head on my shoulders when I turn around.

"Stop mentioning marriage, it's creepy," I tell her. "Um, Stacy, could you turn off the lights?"

Nicole snuggles her face into my neck. It's slightly hard for me to believe that this is the same girl that came charging into my house with a bitter expression on her face only fifteen minutes ago. "But it's natural when it comes to the two of you,"

Stacy sits down again after turning off the lights. "I can totally see the wedding happening," I press start on the film and pick up a piece of candy from her pile.

"What would the colour scheme be?" I ask, only ninety five percent interested.

"Rose gold." Stacy barely hesitates. "At first you were probably going to go for pale pink and gold but then Dante reminds you that there's a colour that combines both of that and your daughter who is gloriously named after the greatest person alive –"

I go to interrupt but then Nicole puts a finger to my lips, totally captivated by what Stacy has to say.

"Your daughter, Beyoncé, wears this beautifully crafted dress made out of silk with a chiffon bow on the back cries because she can't believe her parents are finally getting married! And I'm your chief bridesmaid because Nicole over here is married to one of her many boyfriends –"

"Max," She applies more lip gloss.

"Sure, Max," Stacy gives me a practiced and fleeting pointed look before continuing. "Anyway, I cry during the speech and then you and Dante dance the night away,"

She releases a long breath and sighs as Molly Ringwald gets to school. Nicole begins applauding her almost immediately. It takes me a while to figure out where to begin with my questions but as I am a trooper, I get there.

"My daughter, Beyoncé?"

She giggles and puts her hands on her flushed cheeks, pretending to be embarrassed. "Well, what can I say? I'm living vicariously through you,"

Oh my God.

*-8*-8*

I had thought my friends were overreacting when they had found out the good news, but it was somehow ten times more dramatic when Tyler found out. To be honest, I should've expected it, considering I live with him and we share a sibling but I've found that it's easier to not expect anything with Tyler.

"You know you've broken Chad's heart, right?" He sits in front of my table during AP Biology while I'm looking at some plant tissue. I squint at him through my goggles.

"Tyler? You don't even take this class?"

He chuckles. "So? I have a free period and we're seniors, nobody cares."

Apparently my name is now Nobody.

I go back to examining the organelles in my plant cell, attempting to ignore his existence entirely. It doesn't really make a difference to him though because he leans over until he's almost blocking me from looking into the microscope and I'm forced to give him my undivided attention.

"How did I break Chad's heart?" I ask, unwillingly. My teacher doesn't seem to care that I'm not doing the work but so be it.

"Well!" Tyler stretches his legs until they're both in the aisle. "We were just joking about and he began to stalk your facebook on my phone!"

A large part of me wished he had omitted that from his impending speech.

"And guess what the first thing we see is?"

I sigh, knowing what it is. "Kennedy changed her relationship status?"

He claps his hands together, attracting attention from other people in my class. "Exactly! Kennedy changed her relationship status to IN A RELATIONSHIP! And Chad's heart literally dropped out of his ass!"

Gasping, I go back to my precious plant cell. "He should really get that checked out."

"FUNNY!" Tyler says loudly. Something tells me he doesn't find it as funny as he claims it to be though. "I was very shocked by the fact neither you nor Danny told me what was going on!"

"His name's Dante," I correct and straighten up again.

He folds his arms and purses his lips. "I could forgive him for not telling me, after all, I haven't seen the dude for about two weeks. You on the other hand... we live together –"

I sigh, feeling about ten years older. "Tyler –"

"We share a sibling. Does Jackie know that you've finally gotten a boyfriend?" He asks, somewhat accusingly. I roll my eyes.

"He assumed that Dante was my boyfriend from the get go, I don't really need to tell him-" He opens his mouth and I raise my hand in the air to stop him from saying the obvious. "SAME goes for McKinley. Though I did call her up and tell her."

Tyler's eyes suddenly narrow. "So – I'm the only one that didn't know?"

"Tyler, get out of my biology class," I point to the door but he doesn't even budge. Instead, he comes over and sits right next to me, eyes still narrow and arms still folded.

"I don't know if I give you my blessing yet," He says, nonchalantly.

I'm three seconds away from throwing my hands in the air. "This doesn't concern you! Go spend your free period cheering up Chad,"

He stands up. "Okay. I will."

Surprised, I turn to watch him go. "You're leaving?"

He nods. "We will discuss this later in a closed environment when half you class isn't listening while the other half freaks out about plant napkins."

Oh my fucking - "Tissues, Tyler," I correct, feeling my youth leave me. Next time I see Dante, I'm going to be an old woman and he won't even recognise me anymore.

Tyler squints at me just as he passes my table on his way out. "Why do you need a tissue? Girl, you didn't sneeze," He rolls his eyes and strolls out of the classroom.

Why do I even try?

Of course, I don't take his claim to talk about this 'later' seriously, but when he comes into my room with a tub of ice cream and his red flip flops, I begin to realise that there's something seriously wrong with him. He sits on the floor, and opens the huge ass tub, evidently not ready to share.

"What do you want?" I ask him, completely frustrated.

After he had left my Biology class, a few people came up to me and asked me if I really had gotten a boyfriend. And then there was this awe about having one at the end of high school that I really didn't get at all. By lunch, word had somehow spread to a couple of my old middle school friends, including this girl Tracy that I used to be super close with. They all ended up reminiscing with Nicole about all the embarrassing things Dante and I used to do around each other while Stacy and I sat on the edge of the table, ate grapes and sulked.

"I'm going to tell you a story," He takes a spoonful of ice cream in his mouth and then clears his throat. My phone vibrates a few time and I pick it up, seeing a text from Dante on the screen.

I have a game tomorrow, are you coming?

BIG HEAD♥♥♥: 9:44PM

Of course I'm coming, stop it

YOU: 9:44PM

Stop what? :(

BIG HEAD♥♥♥: 9:44PM

Being cute

YOU: 9:45PM

I'll stop when you stop sweetheart

BIG HEAD♥♥♥: 9:46PM

"I was not invited into your bedroom just to watch you text your boyfriend all night." Tyler says, sounding sorely offended.

"Invite – Who invited you here, Tyler?!" I ask him. His offence grows.

"Well then! Maybe I won't tell you my little story after all." He folds his arms and drops his ice cream spoon in the tub.

"Are you gonna leave then?" I turn back to my phone and continue texting Dante, meaning that I miss out on his facial reaction. It must not be that much of a reaction though, considering the fact he doesn't move an inch from his coveted spot on the floor. But he does keep silent for a long while.

"You know why I hated you when we were kids?" Tyler suddenly speaks up. I look up from my cell phone, kind of interested, kind of still wanting him to get out and let me live in peace. He doesn't continue speaking, instead digging for glory in almost finished tub of ice cream.

"Why?" I ask after a long pause. He licks his spoon thoughtfully.

"It predates to when our parents had just started dating," He starts. "That was back in what - fifth grade? Yeah, my dad and I were always at your old place and he had such a big smile whenever he spoke to your mom or you because you were so nice to him all the time,"

I'm lost. "So?"

He drops his spoon and sighs. "It was like you and your mom had stolen him from me,"

Oh dear. When I attempt to start speaking, he shushes me and then clears his throat.

"And then on their wedding, Danny was staring at you for way too long and he told me that you looked really pretty, which really pissed me off 'cuz I could tell he liked you. So then, it was as if you had just successfully stolen my dad and now my best friend was under your spell too,"

"Shit then," I rub my chin. That explains why he always used to make fun of me whenever I was near him. Eleven year old me was shook though because I couldn't figure out what I had done to make him mad. "I never knew you felt that way,"

He nods. "Oh yeah, I totally did. Plus, you were pretty much an easy target because you always got upset easily and it was kind of funny when I was a kid."

I roll my eyes, all sense of sentiency leaving me.

Tyler stretches his arms upwards, his ice cream almost finished. "I also thought that if I could get Dante to tease you too and make you hate him, I'd still get to keep my best friend even if my dad was with your mom,"

"Did that plan work?"

He gives me the most sarcastic look ever. "He always used to tell me to stop it whenever I did it in his presence. Oh, and remember the time I dropped the brownies that your dad made for you at lunch and you blew up on me in front of the whole cafeteria?"

Ah, that was a very eventful day. Nicole calls it Balls Day because apparently it's the day I grew a pair of balls. We celebrate every January. "Eighth grade? I remember,"

"Yeah. After you told me about myself, Danny took it upon himself to yell at me for about twenty minutes about how much of a bully I was and how he hated it. Then he refused to talk to me for like, two weeks,"

My eyebrows raise involuntarily. "Really?"

"And it was really awkward because the new season was just around the corner and we had practice every night." He sighs and leans his head against my bedframe, looking thoughtful. "It was like my whole plan backfired on me and I didn't know what to do."

For a moment, the both of us keep silent. I play with my fingers, unsure what to say or do while he sits on the floor and stares at the ceiling with this weird look on his face. . "So what did you do? Like, in the end,"

He shrugs. "Well, first I talked to my dad and then he reassured me that he was never gonna leave me behind and that I was still his son and whatnot –"

"Aww!" I interrupt. Tyler rolls his eyes.

"Shut up. Then I told you that I was sorry when Danny was near so he'd hear my apology to you and knew I'd stop being a dick. And then he ended up telling me he liked you which was why he got mad at me... We created a lot of shit for ourselves as kids, right?"

"You created a lot of shit, Tyler, don't group us together," I say. He blows a raspberry at me but then smiles.

"I also figured out that if my best friend and step sister actually went out with each other, we'd be brothers. I mean, kinda – you get what I mean. It's why I never get you anything for your birthday,"

I squint at him, unsure of what he's talking about. "Why don't you get me anything for my birthday?"

"Isn't it obvious?" He catches sight of my expression. "Oh brother, I gave you the gift of love so what else more could I possibly have to offer?"

Oh my God. "You're such an idiot."

He starts laughing and it pains me to admit that I can't help laughing along with him. I'm not sure why he's telling me all of this but then it's okay because I can't say no to bonding time. Even if he's not offering any of his ice cream to me (not that I'd eat it anyway).

"Why did you tell me that story?" I ask. He's sitting straight up and has resumed eating his ice cream like nothing has happened. "I mean, what does it have to do with me and Dante now?"

Tyler shrugs. "I don't know, I just thought it was appropriate for me giving my blessing,"

"Your blessing." I repeat dryly.

"Yeah? My word is bond, sis. You'd never forgive yourself if you continued dating him without my blessing," He replies, sounding very sure of himself. I decide that it's in my best interests to just let him live.

"Shouldn't Dante be here too when giving your oh-so-valuable blessing? I mean, the both of us have to hear it, right?"

He finishes off the tub of ice cream. "I gave it to him when he told me he was gonna ask you to be your girlfriend,"

I frown. "When was this?"

"Last week Tuesday." He grins and my eyes narrow. "What?"

"So when you came into my biology class, exclaiming that I had betrayed you because I hadn't told you about it..." Tyler's eyes widen and I fold my arms. "... You were actually lying?"

"I can explain,"

"Explain, because I got a lot of shit from like fifty different people because of you."

He raises his empty ice cream tub in the air defensively. "I was just trying to... spread the word,"

"Oh." I relax a little bit and he smiles. "Spread the word, huh?"

"Exactly!" His smile widens a little bit. "Everyone needed to know about the good news and you needed a messenger, which is where me and my big mouth come in!"

"Spread the word," I repeat again and then mirror his smile. "You know what I think?"

He stands up, looking completely relieved. "What is that, Kenny?"

"That you have three seconds to spread yourself out of this room before I kick you,"

It takes him about half a second to digest what I said before he throws up deuces and sprints out of my room, ice cream in tow.

word count: 9018

this chapter's kinda weird but kinda unnecessarily necessary idk all I know is I love Frank Ocean