The World Awaits Your Smile

Finding Holly on a bench shortly after, Cody let out a sigh and jogged over to her, sitting down next to her, Cody nudged Holly's arm,

"You're a hard woman to track down, missus." she said, trying to lighten to the mood. Holly turned to look at Cody, her cheeks stained with tears and her eyes red. Upon seeing her friend like this, Cody sighed, pulling Holly into a tight hug, shushing her and swaying her from side to side slightly as Holly cried into her shoulder. "What did John say, to make you cry like this?" Cody asked, softly.

"Can we not talk about that dickhead, right now, please?" Holly sniffed, pulling away from Cody.

She nodded, "Okay, fair enough." Cody replied, looking around at their surroundings.

"I wish you weren't leaving." Holly said, tears threatening to fall again. "Who am I going to have for times like this?" she asked, "Those boys aren't good at tracking people down, like you are." Holly finished, making both of them laugh.

"Trust me," Cody began, wrapping her arm around Holly's shoulder. "There will always be someone. Even if I have to get on the next plane here, I'll do it." she smiled.

"Good." Holly mumbled. After a few moments of silence, she spoke up, "I hate John." she said.

Cody laughed, "Why's that?" she asked.

"He freaked out and went in a mood with me because Pat and I were cuddling. Pat was comforting me crying, whilst John wasn't. It's not right." she stated.

Cody let out a sigh, "John's a stubborn bastard. He," she paused, for a moment, gathering her words. "John cheated and he knows the signs. If he sees something, so much as a cuddle, he's going to think something's up."

"That's the least of my thoughts, though!" Holly exclaimed, "He just doesn't fucking understand." she said, her voice cracking towards the end.

"He's never been in this type of situation, Holls." Cody stated, "He doesn't know what it's like, nor does he know how to comfort someone that's dealing with something as heavy as this."

Holly sighed, "All I want off him is to know he's there, a shoulder to cry on, you know?" she said, "He doesn't have to say or do anything, just be there to listen to me when I need to get something off my chest." she finished. Cody nodded, before she felt her phone go off in her pocket. She took it out, reading the text that had been sent to her. She sighed,

"Garrett wants to know how long we'll be." she informed Holly. Holly shrugged, looking at Cody,

"You go on back to Denny's, I think I'm gonna head off home." she said. Cody pouted at her,

"But I want you there! This is gonna be the last time we'll all get to hang out as a big group for a while..." she said, still pouting at Holly. Holly smiled at Cody,

"We can hang out before you leave, catch a movie or something," she said, still smiling, "I'll make this up to you, I promise. I just don't feel like facing everyone right now, I feel like an idiot for storming off." she said, laughing lightly. Cody smiled, a frown still slightly present on her face as she nodded,

"Okay. I'll see you when we get back, then." Cody hugged Holly and said her goodbyes before walking the short walk back to Denny's. Making her arrival known, by the breeze blowing through the diner, Cody walked over to the table and sat down on the seat. "She's gone home." she said, answering the stares she was getting.

"Is she okay, though?" Justin asked, concerned about his cousin.

Cody nodded and smiled softly, "Yeah. She just needed a good, girl heart-to-heart."

Small talk engaged around the table as Cody got John's attention and motioned to go some place quiet. Exiting the table without anyone asking any questions, the pair made their way outside.

"You're a fucking tool, O'Callaghan." Cody stated, as soon as the doors closed behind them both.

"Wow, thanks." he sarcastically replied, sitting down on the curb for the second time that day.

Cody narrowed her eyes at him, "I'm serious, John. Holly was so fucking upset when I found her. She was crying on my shoulder telling me that you don't understand. She shouldn't be saying that about her boyfriend."

"It's not my fault!" John raised his voice, "She's happy one moment, then a total bitch another moment."

"And can you really blame her?!" Cody exclaimed, "Her mother and brother died, John. That's a serious thing, considering she was close as hell with them. She only wants you to be there; to comfort her, just to listen, basically. Why is that so hard for you?" she asked, lowering her voice.

John shrugged, "I don't know. I've never really had to comfort anyone, that much. Well, apart from when you lost your pet goldfish and cried for a week, solid." he smirked.

"Hey! Larry was a great fish," she pouted, "Don't make me kick your ass for saying that."

He let out a chuckle, "I'm kidding." he smiled. Cody sighed, her expression becoming serious again,

"But seriously, John. Just try and understand what she's going through at the moment," she paused, "And even if you can't do that, just be there for her. I don't want any phone calls off Holly, crying her eyes out as soon as I arrive in Maryland, saying you've been a dick to her," she smirked, "Or else I will come back down here and kick your ass. Got it?" she asked. John rolled his eyes and nodded,

"Sure, sure." he answered. "Seriously, Cody. I'll do whatever you say." he said, after seeing the serious look in Cody's eyes.

"Don't just do it because I'm saying you have to do it. You have to mean it, John. She's your girlfriend, for Christ's sake." Cody sighed.

John rubbed his face with his hand, "I can't help it, Codes. There was no drama in our relationship, not really, anyway. So, when you're piled with all this new stuff, just a couple months after you've been with each other, it's hard."

"Each relationship is different, John. Don't judge your relationship with Holly on what ours used to be like." she said, "Holly's sensitive, right now. That'll slowly fade and, hopefully, everything will be back to normal. As they say, time heals everything, right?"

John nodded his head, "Yeah.." he whispered, "Thanks, Cody. You've been a real friend, lately. We'll probably all have breakdowns, when you leave." he joked, making the tension lighter.

"You'll cope." Cody replied, smiling. "Now, come on. I want food!" she said, pulling John to his feet.