She'll Be The Death Of Me
Ten
John’s POV:
“Hey, anyone wanna go get food?” Kennedy asked. Jared, Pat, and Garrett nodded. I looked at Mackenzie, who just shook her head slowly and continued looking around the bus mindlessly while laying on my chest. I’m sure it looked like we were a couple. But we weren’t. If only we were…
“What about you, John?”
“Nah, I’ll stay here with Mack-o,” I said. After the words left my lips, I realized it sounded like I said Mack Oh, making it sound like we were married. That explained the small blush Mackenzie wore on her cheeks for a moment.
The guys nodded, and left, leaving Mackenzie and I in silence.
“Mack?” I said, not able to bear the silence anymore.
“Hmm?”
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She nodded. “Just thinking,”
“About what,” She shrugged.
“Stuff.” I smiled. What a Mackenzie answer.
“Like penguins dancing?” I suggested playfully.
She giggled. “Yeah. They’re doing a the chicken dance,”
“Penguins doing a chicken dance? Interesting,”
“John?” She said my name thoughtfully.
“Mackenzie?” I mimicked. That earned me a playful slap on the chest.
She began toying with the hem of my shirt. “Why do you think we’re here?”
The serious question took me by surprise. “What do you mean?”
“I mean like, why are we here. Not on Earth, just here. Why here? Why not like, Mexico?” She said, still not meeting my eyes.
“Are you implying you’d rather be in Mexico?”
She laughed. “No, it’s just, some people don’t get as much as we do in places like that. Why do we get to be… chosen,” She thought her wording out carefully. “To get the privileges we have, when some people take them for granted, or don’t even care that some people have it so much worse?”
“I don’t know, Mackenzie,” I admitted. “When did you become so serious?”
She shrugged. “Just a thought. How can you not think about it when you’re living like this,” She gestured around the bus, making me laugh.
“You think this is glamorous?” I chuckled, looking at the messy, small bus.
“You know what I mean!” She exclaimed, laughing a bit herself. “I can’t imagine what it must be like to be you. Getting to be on stage, having thousands of fans,”
“It is pretty great,” I said, now thinking about everything I had. I never really took the time to appreciate all of that kind of stuff. Mackenzie was changing that about me, too. “What are you afraid of, Mackenzie?” I asked randomly.
I felt her slightly tense in my arms as soon as I asked that. For a split second, I expected her to answer something like spiders, but then I remembered this was Mackenzie. She wasn’t the girl to be afraid of a bug.
“I’m afraid of getting older,” She replied shakily. “I don’t want to grow up,” She admitted, finally looking me in the eye.
“Why?” I pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, letting my fingers linger on her face for a few seconds before dropping my hand back to my side.
“Because, John, what if I’m not the same person? What if I become all serious and boring?”
“I don’t think that’s physically possible for you, King,” I chuckled softy.
She cuddled up a little closer to me, making me fight back the urge to wrap my arm around her waist. “John, I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. The future… It scares me, John,” She explained. “I have to figure it out, though, because I can’t go home with my sister John, I just can’t.” She breathed out, sighing at the end.
“Than you don’t have to,” She looked up at me questioningly. “You can live with me,” I suggested, smiling.
“You know, I might just end up doing that,” She giggled quietly, making my heart skip a beat. “But really, Johnny, I want to know what’s in my future, like you do. You know that for most of the rest of your life, you’ll be a musician, and where that will get you, and you know the people who you’ll be with. I don’t know any of that. That’s the reason I skipped college, I didn’t know what I wanted to be, and I still don’t,”
“You’ll figure it out, Mackenzie, it just takes time. I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a long time, too. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to be in the band until we really took off,” I reassured her. “But I figured it out,”
She nodded slowly. “You know what I think, Johnny?”
“What do you think, oh wise one?” I asked sarcastically, raising my eyebrows.
She pouted. “Fine, if you don’t want to hear it, I won’t tell you,” She huffed.
“Awe, I’m just kidding, Mack, tell me.” She bit her lip, trying to hold back a smile.
“Fine, I think that if the band fails -which it most likely wont- still, if it does, you should become a psychiatrist!”
“I don’t want to deal with crazy people for a living!” I laughed.
“You deal with me everyday and don’t get paid a cent,” She grinned.
“True, but I’m talking about full blown insane weirdo’s,” She smiled wider.
“Like Jack?” I nodded, chuckling
.
“Just like Jack,” She toyed with my hair, smiling. “Maybe even a little crazier than Jack,” I added.
“Now that is not physically possible, Jonathan,”
“The people on Maury are worse than Jack,” I pointed out.
“Oh you mean those kind of crazy people!” She exclaimed, making me burst out into laughter.
“Isn’t that the kind of psychiatrist you were talking about?” She shook her head.
“I was just talking about the kind of psychiatrist that helps weird people who were dropped on their heads as babies, like Jack,” She smiled innocently.
“There’s no such thing as a psychiatrist for that kind of stuff!” It was entertaining to me that we had just been having a serious conversation, and then went into a totally different direction, which led us to talking about crazy people.
“Oh,” Her mouth formed into a huge circle. “I knew that,”
“Sure,” I scoffed. I looked at the clock, which read ten fifty. Jack told me that she had to be back at eleven, because we left the next day for Georgia. “I should get you back to your bus,” She pouted. “I have to wake up early to get to psychology school,” She smiled, now.
“Fine,” She agreed, standing up, and jumping on my back when I did the same.
Once we got back to her bus, she slid slowly off of my back, not wanting to fall. “If you want to switch to my bus, you can just call,” I said. I secretly prayed that she would want to switch buses.
“Okay, thank you Johnny,” She cooed, hugging me.
“Night, Teddy Bear,” I said ruffling her hair.
“Nighty Night Mr. Oh,” She said, skipping onto the bus. When she opened the door, girlish screams coming from Jack could be heard.
I walked back to my bus, smiling. Every time I was around her, I began liking her more and more each second it seemed. Too bad we would only be friends.
“Hey, anyone wanna go get food?” Kennedy asked. Jared, Pat, and Garrett nodded. I looked at Mackenzie, who just shook her head slowly and continued looking around the bus mindlessly while laying on my chest. I’m sure it looked like we were a couple. But we weren’t. If only we were…
“What about you, John?”
“Nah, I’ll stay here with Mack-o,” I said. After the words left my lips, I realized it sounded like I said Mack Oh, making it sound like we were married. That explained the small blush Mackenzie wore on her cheeks for a moment.
The guys nodded, and left, leaving Mackenzie and I in silence.
“Mack?” I said, not able to bear the silence anymore.
“Hmm?”
“Are you okay?” I asked.
She nodded. “Just thinking,”
“About what,” She shrugged.
“Stuff.” I smiled. What a Mackenzie answer.
“Like penguins dancing?” I suggested playfully.
She giggled. “Yeah. They’re doing a the chicken dance,”
“Penguins doing a chicken dance? Interesting,”
“John?” She said my name thoughtfully.
“Mackenzie?” I mimicked. That earned me a playful slap on the chest.
She began toying with the hem of my shirt. “Why do you think we’re here?”
The serious question took me by surprise. “What do you mean?”
“I mean like, why are we here. Not on Earth, just here. Why here? Why not like, Mexico?” She said, still not meeting my eyes.
“Are you implying you’d rather be in Mexico?”
She laughed. “No, it’s just, some people don’t get as much as we do in places like that. Why do we get to be… chosen,” She thought her wording out carefully. “To get the privileges we have, when some people take them for granted, or don’t even care that some people have it so much worse?”
“I don’t know, Mackenzie,” I admitted. “When did you become so serious?”
She shrugged. “Just a thought. How can you not think about it when you’re living like this,” She gestured around the bus, making me laugh.
“You think this is glamorous?” I chuckled, looking at the messy, small bus.
“You know what I mean!” She exclaimed, laughing a bit herself. “I can’t imagine what it must be like to be you. Getting to be on stage, having thousands of fans,”
“It is pretty great,” I said, now thinking about everything I had. I never really took the time to appreciate all of that kind of stuff. Mackenzie was changing that about me, too. “What are you afraid of, Mackenzie?” I asked randomly.
I felt her slightly tense in my arms as soon as I asked that. For a split second, I expected her to answer something like spiders, but then I remembered this was Mackenzie. She wasn’t the girl to be afraid of a bug.
“I’m afraid of getting older,” She replied shakily. “I don’t want to grow up,” She admitted, finally looking me in the eye.
“Why?” I pushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear, letting my fingers linger on her face for a few seconds before dropping my hand back to my side.
“Because, John, what if I’m not the same person? What if I become all serious and boring?”
“I don’t think that’s physically possible for you, King,” I chuckled softy.
She cuddled up a little closer to me, making me fight back the urge to wrap my arm around her waist. “John, I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. The future… It scares me, John,” She explained. “I have to figure it out, though, because I can’t go home with my sister John, I just can’t.” She breathed out, sighing at the end.
“Than you don’t have to,” She looked up at me questioningly. “You can live with me,” I suggested, smiling.
“You know, I might just end up doing that,” She giggled quietly, making my heart skip a beat. “But really, Johnny, I want to know what’s in my future, like you do. You know that for most of the rest of your life, you’ll be a musician, and where that will get you, and you know the people who you’ll be with. I don’t know any of that. That’s the reason I skipped college, I didn’t know what I wanted to be, and I still don’t,”
“You’ll figure it out, Mackenzie, it just takes time. I didn’t know what I wanted to do for a long time, too. I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to be in the band until we really took off,” I reassured her. “But I figured it out,”
She nodded slowly. “You know what I think, Johnny?”
“What do you think, oh wise one?” I asked sarcastically, raising my eyebrows.
She pouted. “Fine, if you don’t want to hear it, I won’t tell you,” She huffed.
“Awe, I’m just kidding, Mack, tell me.” She bit her lip, trying to hold back a smile.
“Fine, I think that if the band fails -which it most likely wont- still, if it does, you should become a psychiatrist!”
“I don’t want to deal with crazy people for a living!” I laughed.
“You deal with me everyday and don’t get paid a cent,” She grinned.
“True, but I’m talking about full blown insane weirdo’s,” She smiled wider.
“Like Jack?” I nodded, chuckling
.
“Just like Jack,” She toyed with my hair, smiling. “Maybe even a little crazier than Jack,” I added.
“Now that is not physically possible, Jonathan,”
“The people on Maury are worse than Jack,” I pointed out.
“Oh you mean those kind of crazy people!” She exclaimed, making me burst out into laughter.
“Isn’t that the kind of psychiatrist you were talking about?” She shook her head.
“I was just talking about the kind of psychiatrist that helps weird people who were dropped on their heads as babies, like Jack,” She smiled innocently.
“There’s no such thing as a psychiatrist for that kind of stuff!” It was entertaining to me that we had just been having a serious conversation, and then went into a totally different direction, which led us to talking about crazy people.
“Oh,” Her mouth formed into a huge circle. “I knew that,”
“Sure,” I scoffed. I looked at the clock, which read ten fifty. Jack told me that she had to be back at eleven, because we left the next day for Georgia. “I should get you back to your bus,” She pouted. “I have to wake up early to get to psychology school,” She smiled, now.
“Fine,” She agreed, standing up, and jumping on my back when I did the same.
Once we got back to her bus, she slid slowly off of my back, not wanting to fall. “If you want to switch to my bus, you can just call,” I said. I secretly prayed that she would want to switch buses.
“Okay, thank you Johnny,” She cooed, hugging me.
“Night, Teddy Bear,” I said ruffling her hair.
“Nighty Night Mr. Oh,” She said, skipping onto the bus. When she opened the door, girlish screams coming from Jack could be heard.
I walked back to my bus, smiling. Every time I was around her, I began liking her more and more each second it seemed. Too bad we would only be friends.