His Name Is Kirby Jones

“Oh my god!” Elena squealed happily as she was called to Starbucks urgently the following day, with Zack and Kirby also.

“I know…” Zoey said happily as Kirby hung his arm around the back of the chair she was sitting in. She glanced at him and he gave an encouraging smile.

“So you guys are official now…boyfriend, girlfriend?” Zack asked, slightly confused as what was going on.

At the same time, Zoey and Kirby nodded. Elena clapped her hands together quickly, and grinned at her friends.

“Oh I’m so happy!” she said, and pretending to wipe tears from her eyes. Zack rolled his eyes and reached out, as Kirby and he shared a quick high five.

“Congrats man, just….no funny business.” Zack said seriously, and Kirby nodded.

“Thanks and don’t worry, I don’t intend too.” He vowed, he knew how protective Zack was too. He’d heard it a lot when they were dating, unofficially.

“So have you told your family yet Zoey?” Elena asked as she sipped her drink, which Zack had brought for her.

Zoey shook her head “Not yet, tonight though…as I want to change my status and you know, not sneak around…” Zoey laughed, in which Elena joined in.

“Tell me about it, for the past two weeks; Drew’s been looking at me thinking we were lesbians…” Elena joked, causing the group to laugh. Zack stared longingly at Elena, and grinned cheekily.

“I’m up for that, having lesbian best friends…..” he joked, which made the group laugh more.

“Have you told your Grandma?” Zoey suddenly asked her boyfriend, she smiled at the word to herself. Kirby grinned, feeling relaxed more than ever.

“I told her as soon as I got up this morning; she told me it was about time.” Kirby laughed.
Zoey beamed proudly, she couldn’t believe that they were actually a couple. The group continued to chatter, when Zack suddenly piped up.

“So, there’s Tucker’s party next weekend, you guys going?” he asked intrigued. Zoey and Kirby shared a glance.

“It should be pretty good…” Elena persuaded. Kirby nodded, in which Zoey smiled.

“Yeah, we’ll be there.” She confirmed. Elena and Zack shared a celebratory high five accompanied with a quiet cheer.

Kirby’s phone suddenly rang, fishing it out of his pocket, he glanced at the number and quickly pressed to answer.

“Hi Grandma…” he said softly, knowing that cell phones weren’t Dora’s best friend. He heard shuffling before a reply.

“Kirby, sorry to annoy you but I need your help urgently. Your Grandfather has locked himself in the bathroom and refuses to come out, he thinks I’m a stranger….please could you come home?” Dora asked, Kirby could detect the scratchiness in her voice. She had been crying.
His heart tore and his face fell. Zoey watched him worriedly.

“Yeah course, I’ll be ten minutes…” he said quickly, Dora thanked him before they hung up.

He glanced at Zoey, who looked worried.

“Everything okay?” she asked. Kirby knew not to worry her; he didn’t want her to worry.

“Yeah, everything’s fine….she just needs chores doing. I have to go help her.” Kirby said, getting up, he picked up his leather jacket which hung on the back of his chair.

“Oh okay, want me to come with you?” Zoey offered. Elena and Zack shared a look as they saw Kirby’s eyes flash with concern.

“No, no, it’s fine….I’ll call you later okay?” he said quickly, Zoey nodded sadly.

“Sure, drive safe.” Zoey said, trying to sound cheery. She didn’t want to appear clingy and whiny. She just really loved being with Kirby.

Kirby leaned over his chair, and they shared a quick kiss. “Bye” he whispered, and then nodded at Zack, gave a quick wave to Elena, who waved back.

“Bye guys!” he called, and quickly leaves the branch, and practically runs to his car. Elena and Zoey share a quick sympathetic smile, and Zack quickly swaps seats, so he was in Kirby’s seat, he put his arm around Zoey.

“Everything’s okay Zoe.” He assured her; Zoey nodded and leaned in against Zack, thankful to have him.

“It’s not just me right? He was acting weird then…” Zoey asked, confused. Elena nodded, and Zack did, in confirmation. Zoey sighed.

“Ah well, he’ll call me later.” She said, cheering up. The three amigos continued their catch- up, but Kirby never left Zoey’s mind. She was in deeper than she thought.
--
That evening, Zoey was beginning to feel nervous, so nervous in fact; she began to feel sick alongside.

Walking up the steps, Zoey opened the door and shouted: “I’m back!” she called, dumping her bag on the couch. Kennedy was watching cartoons, and occasionally smiled when one of the characters got dramatically hurt.

“Hey kiddo…” Zoey murmured, leaning over the back of the chair, and kissing his hair. Kennedy looked up, and stuck his tongue out. Zoey giggled, and stood upright.

“Where’s everyone?” she asked softly finally noticing how quiet it was. Kennedy shifted so he could see her properly.

“Dad’s gone to the market, Tommy’s still at work; Lucas and Jonah are upstairs…” Kennedy listed.

“Damn” Zoey thought, she would have to wait till dinner before everyone was home. Kennedy looked at his sister, noticing something was different.

“What’s going on?” he asked curiously. Zoey, who was checking her phone, looked at
Kennedy surprised.

“What?” she attempted to laugh off. Kennedy narrowed his eyes at her.

“Something’s up…” he murmured, Zoey shook her head, chuckling hoping he wouldn’t question any further. Zoey went into the kitchen, feeling for something to eat; she wandered over to the fridge and had a peek.

Deciding on yoghurt, she got it out and helped herself to a spoon. She didn’t notice, Kennedy had followed her into the kitchen.

“What’s up buddy?” Zoey asked, spooning an amount into her mouth. Kennedy sighed.

“We haven’t hung out in a while…” Kenney said sadly, guilt instantly hit her. Zoey gave a sad smile.

“Aw I’m sorry sweetie, I’ve been busy…I’m free now, want to go play basketball outside?” Zoey offered, in response, Kennedy instantly grinned. Zoey quickly finished her yoghurt, while Kennedy put on his shoes and found the ball.

“Let’s go!” he urged, and they both ran out to the front, where the basketball hoop hovered over the garage door.

“First one to ten” Zoey said, as she watched Kennedy dribble the ball, he had definitely gotten better.

The two played energetically, throwing playful insults at one another. It came to 9-7, Kennedy in the lead. Zoey would admit she was never very good.

Luckily, Zoey hit another basket, and basked in her glory by doing a small victory dance, which involved shaking of the hips. The timing was bad, as Drew’s car pulled up at the end of the drive, leaving enough space for Marcus to park, in which the teenage boys which were passing, wolf-whistled.

Drew slammed the door, grabbing the attention and flipped them off. Zoey giggled, but due to this distraction, Kennedy grabbed the ball from his sister’s grasp, dribbled twice, before making a jump-shot. It went in.

“YES!” Kennedy cheered victoriously, jumping in the air excitedly. Drew beamed proudly, and ran over.

“Well done buddy!” he cheered, picking Kennedy up, throwing him over his shoulder, they both cheered. Kennedy squealed with delight, and Drew laughed as he put his now dizzy brother down.

“Good game, good game…” Zoey teased nonchalantly. Drew ruffled her hair, in which she mumbled some colourful words. Kennedy giggled, and Zoey quickly realised, apologizing to Kennedy, enforcing he didn’t repeat them.

The three bombarded inside, Drew went upstairs for a shower, and Zoey and Kennedy resided in the living room, watching cartoons.

Another hour went by, in which Marcus came home, followed shortly by Tommy. Zoey offered to help with dinner, and by eight o’ clock, the whole family was sitting down for dinner.

“Pass the salt, please” Kennedy said, Jonah passed him the small shaker. The family ate in silence, and it was now, Zoey knew she had to tell them.

“So, I have some news…” she said quietly, in which Marcus stopped eating. It took a few seconds for the others to comply. Lucas watched warily, as Zoey fidgeted in her seat.

“What’s that then peanut?” Marcus asked lightly, as he ate some more string beans. Zoey felt her stomach suddenly tightened, and her mouth go very dry.

“I’ve been seeing this guy lately, Kirby Jones…” Zoey began, this stopped Drew eating completely and Lucas buried his head in his hand in fear.

“A guy?” Tommy repeated slowly. Zoey nodded.

“He came here like two months ago and we really hit it off…anyways what I’m trying to say
is, that Kirby and I are….officially dating…” Zoey said slowly, watching carefully for each response.

Nobody spoke for a couple of seconds. “Like a boyfriend?” Kennedy asked, confused.

Zoey nodded.

“You’re kidding?” Drew responded, Zoey shook her head.

“You’re going out with this Kirby dude?” Tommy asked, confused.

Zoey nodded.

“What the fuck?” Jonah snapped, he knew who this guy was. Marcus didn’t even scold him. He too was in shock. He calmly put his fork own, and cleared his throat.

“This is a bit of a surprise Zoey, how long has this been going on?” Marcus asked slowly.
All eyes stared at her expectantly. Zoey wringed her hands together and looked her father in the eye.

“We were dating for four weeks, I was using Elena as my excuse because I was afraid at what you would say….then he asked me officially yesterday.” Zoey said softly. Marcus nodded, and he took a sip of water.

Nobody spoke again, not even the sound of forks moving. Everyone was staring at her, completely in shock and confusion. It wasn’t till Drew finally cracked.

“Absolutely fucking not!” he snapped furiously, slamming his hand on the table. Zoey jumped and Kennedy looked worriedly at his sister.

“This is outrageous; you’ve only known the dude two months!” Jonah shouted, his own anger boiling through.

“Zoey this isn’t even funny!” Tommy snapped, he was still in denial. Marcus put his hand out, silencing the boys on his right hand side.

“Zoey, why didn’t you come to me?” he asked gently, suddenly feeling terrible that his own daughter was afraid to talk to him.

“I was scared on how you would react. It took you ages to accept that Zack and I were just best friends…” Zoey said sadly, looking down at her half eaten plate.

“Dad, you can’t just accept this!” Drew roared furiously. Marcus turned his attention and glared.

“And why not Drew?” he snapped.

“Because Zoey doesn’t even know this guy and he’s probably only dated her for sex!” Drew snapped furiously. Kennedy did his usual, and covered his ears.

“Excuse me!” Zoey screeched, Drew didn’t retract his statement, and instead glared at her.

“You heard me…that guy is only with you for one thing, sex…” Drew hissed like the word was poisonous.

“Not all guys are like you Drew!” Zoey hissed back. Drew blinked, taken back from her comeback.

“Guys calm down!” Marcus ordered, getting frustrated.

“Zoey, you can’t date this guy…” Tommy began

“Why the hell not?” she interrupted, her own anger flaring up.

“You hardly know him!” Jonah piped in, Zoey scoffed.

“It’s not about time limit Jonah, we do know each other and we have….we have…” she faulted, her face dropping as Drew and Tommy smirked, identically.

“Chemistry?” they repeated, glancing at one another.
Zoey glared hard, sick of being treated like a child. “We do!” she cried, feeling her throat begin to ache as a lump formed.

“Boys…” Marcus began, noticing a somewhat evil glare had become on his eldest and his third eldest.

“I use that line all the time…” Drew said, laughing coldly.

“Shut up!” Zoey said defiantly, not wanting to think doubts.

“He’s just going to use you…” Tommy trailed off.

“You don’t know him!” Jonah snapped, repeating his point.

“Stop arguing!” Kennedy tried, but it was no use. Soon, all three brothers were talking over one another. Lucas had remained silent throughout this whole conversation and he wasn’t sure what to do. But as he looked up from staring down at his plate, he saw his sister’s eyes full of hurt, confusion and sadness.

Then it happened, her eyes began to well with painful tears. It was the last straw for Lucas, his fists clenched and this white blinding anger came out of him. He stood up furiously, scraping back his chair.

“EVERYBODY SHUT THE FUCK UP RIGHT NOW!” he screamed at the top of his voice, and every single person went silent. You could hear a pin drop. Everybody stared at Lucas in shock, the quietest of them all had exploded, and he had finally cracked.

Lucas had only done this a few times before as a child. Lucas rarely had tantrums but when he had them, he really had them.

“It actually sickens me to know that you assholes are treating your own sister like this!” he spat towards Tommy, Drew and Jonah’s direction, the latter was the only one that showed shame on his face. Drew had a fiery temper, and instantly flew back.

“We’re just telling her the truth!” he argued.

“You don’t know jack shit about this guy Drew so stop acting like you know fucking everything. Zoey is old enough to make her own decisions and to have a social life, including a boyfriend. She clearly likes this guy and we should be supporting her, not fucking doubting her. Zoey is sensible; she knows what she’s doing!” Lucas shouted, breathing heavily at the end.

Marcus, who knew it was time to speak, suddenly said: “Lucas is right.” He said, and Drew glared instantly.

“You can’t be serious.” He scoffed.

“Be quiet Drew, you shouldn’t even have a say in this.” Marcus barked irritably. Lucas huffed and sat back down, and saw Zoey silently thank him.
Marcus turned his eyes to his daughter. “I’m sorry Zoey.” He murmured gently, she nodded, wiping her eyes.

“I….” he began, then glanced his eyes around the room.

“We” he corrected. “We apologise for behaving this way, Lucas is right…we are treating you unfairly and we should trust you on this. If you and this boy wish to date, then so be it, none of us will stop you.” Marcus said calmly. Drew muttered some cuss words.

“This is bullshit.” Tommy snapped. Marcus ignored and gave an encouraging smile to hi daughter, who smiled meekly back at him.

“So…you have no problem with it?” she asked, Marcus hesitated before shaking his head.

“We entirely support you.” He vowed, in which Zoey grinned and quickly got up and hugged her father tightly.

“Thank you so much” she said into his ear. Marcus kissed her cheek as they pulled apart, smiling at one another. Lucas smiled too, satisfied.

“Well you can count me out of this ‘we’ business, I don’t support this an I do have a fucking problem but you know what Zoey, go ahead, fuck the guy and get pregnant…see if I care.” Drew snapped, getting up and storming out the room, and Tommy loyally followed.

After a few more minutes, Jonah mumbled some words to Zoey, giving a guilty look as he too followed his brothers out. A couple more minutes passed and Drew’s car could be heard, screeching away from his parking space.
Marcus sighed, glancing at the empty seats. “I’m sorry.” Zoey mumbled.

“Don’t be.” He assured her, and put his hand over her shaking ones. He squeezed them tight, before getting up, picking up his plate and going into the kitchen. Lucas glanced at Kennedy who looked shocked and scared, as well as upset.

“C’mon Kennedy, let’s go watch TV…” Lucas murmured, stroking Kennedy’s head as they walked out. Zoey swiftly got up, and slowly made her way upstairs. She collapsed on her bed, and sighed, staring intently at the ceiling. She willed her phone to ring, desperate for Kirby’s voice.

She was tempted to text him but thought she should leave him alone. Zoey blinked away tears, as her lips wobbled. She felt her phone vibrate by her side, she quickly picked it up, putting it to her ear.

“Hello?” she croaked, unable to hide her emotion.

“What’s wrong?” he asked instantly. She tried to smile but couldn’t.

“I told them.” She blurted out, covering her mouth to prevent sobbing, but it didn’t work. She heard him sigh.

“Was it bad?” he asked gently.

“Drew told me I was going to get pregnant and you're using me for sex….my Dad, Lucas and Kenny are the only ones being support.” She cried, wiping her cheeks roughly.

“Oh Zoey…” he murmured. He hated her crying, he hated the fact that they ruined it.

“Kirby, this was meant to be a happy occasion….but instead I feel so crap and I just…I feel so alone right now.” She whispered, her voice cracking at different moments.

“I wish I was there.” He said softly, desperate to see her suddenly. Zoey sniffled, wiping her nose.

“Me too.” She whispered, the two stayed silent as she collected her thoughts.

“Can I change my status now? Make all the guys jealous?” Kirby asked suddenly, in return Zoey laughed.

“Yeah, I’ll go online in a bit too…” she murmured, holding the phone tighter.

“It’s going to be okay you know…” Kirby assured her warmly.

“How’d you know?” Zoey asked curiously, sitting up right.

“Just trust me.” Kirby replied, and Zoey did, she did without any questions because Kirby Jones had that effect on her, always had from the start.