She Had the Most Amazing Smile

Graduation was in a week, the seniors couldn't believe that High School is over. It feels like it was just yesterday when they went to their first day of freshmen year and now they were gonna leave this place, the place that everyone hated, the shithole that everyone wanted to escape. They were gonna miss it for sure, all the memories, the first times and stuff. It was gonna be over in a few days and they will enter another world.

It was a Saturday afternoon, Jared and Halvo were walking to John's place, debating if they should proceed.

"Jared, I'm telling you, this isn't a great idea" Halvo said
"We need to help him, Eric. He's having a hard time"
"What are we gonna say to him huh? We've never had a crush on our friend's girl. And why the fuck did you call me Eric?" Halvo whined
"I know, I know. But John needs us, HALVO" Jared emphasized the 'Halvo' "He needs someone to talk to about this"
"Fuck okay you win"
"I always win in our debates"
"Fuck you, you won because we're already in his house" Halvo laughed
They rang the doorbell and surprisingly, John answered
"What are you doing here?" John asked with a confused look on his face
"Why are you answering the door?" Halvo chuckled
"I don't know" John laughed
"Then that's our answer too" Jared grinned
"Smartass, come on in" John laughed as he let his friends in "So, what are you guys really doing here"
"We wanted to talk to you" Jared said as he sat on the couch
"About what?"
"About her" Halvo said nervously
"How many more times do I have to tell you, I don't need your help. I can't even help myself and--"
"Because you're in love with Elle" Jared cut John off while Halvo remained silent, just biting his lip
"Who the fuck told you that I had a crush on her, I don't" John laughed nervously
"You do like her, I know you. When she enters the room your eyes just sparkle, I know it's gay because I don't really know how they sparkle but they just sparkle"
"Sparkle?" John laughed
"Fuck you, they do. Dude, I know it when you're gonna play with another girl, I know you"
"Yeah, you played with every girl you went out with" Halvo said
"And your point is?" John asked "You see, you said it yourself, I always play with girls so how can you tell that I like her"
"Well first, like I said it's in the way your eyes sparkle" said Jared
"And?"
"Well, you treat Kenny.... rudely. You're not nice to him like you are to us" Halvo said
"And whenever the two of them comes our way you whisper things to yourself and BOOM you're in an off mood in an instant" Jared added
"And lastly" Halvo finally said "Whenever you're having a bad day, she could always make it better, by talking to you"
"You don't know that, you're not even there when we talk" John defended
"True" Jared nodded "But after your talk you're happy and you're smiling and you're.... y'know, you're in love" after that John remained silent
"We're right aren't we?" Halvo grinned
"Oh fuck it" John grunted "Yeah, so what if you are! It's not gonna change anything. She's going out with Kenny and I can't do anything about that"
"Fuck you're right" Halvo sighed
"Yeah, but you can show her how much you love her! Show her that you can love her more than Kenny can"
"Yeah" Halvo agreed
"Are you suggesting that I should make her fall in love with me? Are you seriously on Team John here?"
"It's not that, man" Jared shook his head "This is really hard to be completely honest"
"Yeah, Kenny has feelings too y'know? And let's not forget, he's been into her since the fifth grade"
"So now you understand my crisis?" John asked and his friends nodded "You can't help me"
"Yes we can" Jared insisted "There has to be a way"
"What?" John asked
"Make her choose" Halvo suggested
"You're a genius!" Jared agreed
"What the fuck?" John asked
"You make her fall for you, okay? And then when she fell for you--"
"You make her choose! You or Kenny" Halvo finished Jared's statement
"Isn't that a little bit hard on her part?"
"Well, that's the price she has to pay for having two guys fall in love with her"
"No" John shook his head "I don't want her to have a hard time, I just want her to be happy"
"But what if she's happier with you?" Halvo asked
"Wow, you're pretty smart today Halvorsen" Jared complimented "He's right, what if she's happier with you?"
"Is that even possible?"
"You guys are best friends and you know her more than Kenny knows her because in the first place, you were their bridge, you told Kenny what she's like. Her likes and dislikes and shit. You know her well, John" Jared said
"To make it all short..... it's possible"
"You're right" John nodded
"Yes!" his friends said in unison
"But when?" he asked
"Start this week, and then make your move at the Peter's after party after graduation, everyone's gonna be there" says Jared
"Okay" John said nervously "But what if she doesn't feel the same way?"
"If you never try you'll never know, my friend" Halvo grinned
"And then again Halvorsen, you're pretty smart today" Jared laughed'

--
The day finally arrived, after 4 years in High School this one ceremony will put an end to all of it. It's Graduation. Everyone was freaking out, the girls were in dresses while the guys were in ties. They're parents were there and they had to make sure that they looked presentable when they took pictures, who would want to look wasted on Graduation day? It's the last day in High School, they have to look nice.
"So, how's progress?" Jared asked
"Yeah man, how you doing so far?" Halvo added, of course the three of them sat beside each other
"Well, I've been doing a great job to be honest" John smiled
"How?"
"I've been doing a lot for her and she had a lot of fights with Kenny these past few day because of college. Pretty rough"
"What are they fighting about?"
"Kenny doesn't want her to go to ASU, he doesn't want her to go to college at all. He wants her to be our merch girl for tour"
"What the fuck?" Jared exclaimed and a few students heard him and shushed him "Sorry"
"I know right? Why the fuck would he stop her? She has her dreams too y'know" John added
"Are they at risk?" Halvo asked "For you though, what do you think?"
"Well, Elle told me it's not working out pretty well. He's not what she thought he'd be"
"Well that sucks" Jared frowned
"Yeah" John nodded with a bit of bitterness in his tone
"I mean for Kenny" Jared redeemed
"Yeah, it really is" John agreed and he meant it this time
"Seems to me like you have a great shot with Elle. Any actions lately? Like, signs that she likes you?"
"We hang out all the time and text each other. She even told me she wished Kenny was as understanding as me" John narrated
"Bingo, You do have a great shot"
"Yeah, man. I can really feel it too, the chemistry between us you know what I mean? We don't have to say it but we know it's there"
"I'm happy for you, bro" Halvo smiled
"Yeah, me too. But you also have to settle this with Kenny. You have to tell him"
"Why?" John asked
"He's you're friend, dumbass and basically making his girl fall for you is not a thing that a good friend would do"
"Well maybe I'm not a good friend"
"John, don't be that guy. Be a good guy"
"Fine, but I won't tell him yet. At the right time" John decided
"Good"

On the other side of the feild, Elle was sitting beside her friends. And they were talking about the same thing
"I'm gonna be honest, I like him" Elle sighed
"No" Haley said "That's not right"
"But you don't understand, I know I've been head over heels for Kenny ever since but he's not the guy who I thought he was"
"And how could you say that?" Cristine asked calmly
"He doesn't want me to go college"
"What?"
"Yeah, he wants me to go on tour with their band and be their merch girl. I have bigger plans than that. I'm not giving up my dreams for him,y'know? I want him to be happy but what about me?"
"I understand" Cristine nodded "But you have to talk to him about it. Have you?"
"Yeah, I have. We just end up fighting. And that's why I like John because he's always there whenever Kenny and I fight. He's sweet"
"Honey, don't you love Kenny anymore?" Haley asked
"I do. I still love him but things have been very complicated lately" Elle answered
"And do you love John?" Cristine asked
"More than a friend" Haley added
"I don't know" Elle sighed
"I think it's just an infatuation, Elle" Haley said
"Maybe, but what if Kenny was the infatuation?" Cristine said "Let's admit it, John knows a lot more of you than Kennedy"
"True" Elle nodded "But I've been into Kennedy for years"
"Are you happy with him?" Haley asked
"To be completely honest. It was fun but as each day passed, it's not anymore because I want to be perfect around Kennedy. I'm uneasy and conscious. I want to be with someone who I can be comfortable with"
"And John's that person?" Cristine asked
"Yes"
"So, you have it all figured out. You want to be with John"
"But Kennedy's my dream man, y'know? But with John I feel so happy. I can't decide"
"Ask yourself, Elle" Haley said "The Great Love or The Right Love"
"Are you serious? That's like.... deciding between The Breakfast Club and Sixteen Candles. I can't"
"We'll help you" Haley said
"Yeah" Cristine smiled "Kennedy, the great love, who you've always had a crush on but turns out he's not who you thought he was. And yes we understand that he is too much to let go because you've been into him since the fifth grade. Or John, that person who you just met lately, the person you judged and you thought was a badboy but turns out he's not. He's one of you're best friends and you can totally be yourself when you're with him and he knows you, the real you"
"I don't want to decide right now" Elle shook her head, it was too much for her to handle. Half of her heart was still stuck in the past but half of her heart was ready for the future, with another boy
"You don't have to do it pronto. But you have to decide soon"

The ceremony went on and on. The seniors sang the school's hymn for the last time and threw their toga hats in the air. Everyone cheered and roamed around. John and Elle were searching for eachother in the crowd of people, said congratulations to every person they bumped into. The two caught a glimpse of each other from a far and waved, they moved through the crowd to get to each other but someone pulled Elle
"Hey" it was Kennedy
"Hi" Elle smiled awkwardly
"Look, I'm sorry. You're right, I shouldn't stop you from fulfilling your dreams and--"
"Shh" Elle shushed "Happy Graduation" and Kennedy hugged her. And then again John was just standing from a far watching his nightmare, feeling sick. All he could do was walk away.

John walked to his family, and for the first time John could actually tell that his dad was proud of him

"Honey, I'm so proud of you" his mom said as she hugged him tight, he didn't mind
"Congratulations, son" his dad smiled "I'm proud of you"
"Thanks, dad" John smiled the brightest smile
"Oh look it's Elle" his mom smiled "We need to take a picture of you two"
"Yeah, there's Kennedy too. He should be a part of it" his dad added and of course this pissed him off
"Elle, honey!" his mom called and Elle and Kennedy approached them.
"Hi, Mr and Mrs O'Callaghan" Elle smiled "Hi Shane, Hi Ross"
"Good afternoon to you all" Kennedy said politely and John can't help but to roll his eyes
"Now, why won't you pose for a picture? I'm so proud of you three" John's mom said excitedly, it was kinda weird because Elle was in the middle of John and Kennedy, of course Kennedy couldn't feel the awkwardness but the other two did. John did his best to fake a smile.
"Thank you, kids" John's mom smiled and it seemed like she was gonna cry
"Mom, don't cry" John smiled as he hugged his mom
"Isn't it nice how John hugs his mom in school? I mean not all boys do that" Elle whispered to Kenny
"Yeah, oh speaking of moms. We should find yours! And after that we'll find my parents" Kennedy suggested, they said goodbye to the O'Callaghans and left.

More pictures were taken, more memories were made and they didn't even notice that they've been there for an hour, so decided to go home

"Any plans tonight?" John's dad asked as they drove
"Uh, yeah! There's this party at Peter's. Graduation party" John said
"And who said I was gonna allow you" his dad asked
"Jay, give him a break. It's his last High School party" his mom defended
"My house my rules"
"But we're in the car daddy" Shane said innocently and John grinned
"Oh you think that was funny, John? Maybe I won't really allow you to that party" his dad growled
"Give me a break, dad. It's gonna be the last for High School. I graduated" John said
"And why should I allow you?" his dad asked, he knew the answer but he didn't want to say it. He wanted to go to the party, everyone's gonna be there and it his last High School party.
"Because Kennedy's gonna there too" John finally said it
"Oh he is?"
"Yes dad, he is"
"Okay well then.... you can go" his dad nodded "You know how much I trust that kid"
"Yeah" John said in an irritated tone, it didn't matter anymore, at least he was going.

--

"So he allowed you because Kennedy's gonna be there" Jared laughed as he Halvo and John were walking to Peter's house
"Bullshit right?" John shook his head
"Yeah" Halvo agreed "You should go to the party because I'M gonna be there"
"No, that's bullshit" Jared laughed
"Ugh whatever all that matters is I'm here" John smiled
"Tonight's the night you're gonna tell her huh?" Jared asked
"Yup"
"Goodluck, bro. Wish you nothing but the best" Halvo smiled
"Same" Jared nodded
"Appreciate it" John thanked.

--
The night went by, people were getting crunk and drunk. Some were sober, some were a tipsy, and one major example of tipsy is Kennedy

"Kenny, just rest here" Elle said as she tucked Kennedy into Peter's bed
"Babe, I'm sorry I drank too much. Sorry for ruining this night"
"You didn't" Elle smiled
"I did, but let me make it up to you" Kennedy grinned and pulled her in and kissed her roughly
"Kenny, you're drunk" Elle pushed his chest, she could taste the alcohol in his lips
"I'm not. C'mon, babe let's make this a magical night" Kennedy said as he kissed her neck. She knew what he was up to and he didn't like it one bit and so she pushed him away once again but this time harder
"Stop it" she said angrily "What's wrong with you?" and then she stormed out the room. Kennedy was too drunk to get up the bed, he didn't knew why he did that and he knew that coming after her would make things worse so he decided to spend the night in Peter's bed, alone

"Elle!" John called as he saw her walking to the kitchen
"Hey" she forced a smile but it obvious the something was wrong
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing" she shook her head and drank the cup of booze in three gulps
"Hey" John said as he took the cup away from her hands "What happened"
"John" was all Elle could say, she sunk her face in his chest and started crying
"Hey, hey. Shh shh" John said as he wrapped her in his arms and tried to calm her down
"Can we go somewhere quiet, please?"
"Okay" John nodded, he knew where he's taking her.... to Peter's tree house, no one would bother go up there.

As soon as they got there, everything was quieter. Sure, they could still hear the noisy people but what's important was they could hear each other.

"What happened?" John asked as soon as she stopped crying, they were just sitting there, leaning against the wall
"Kenny got drunk so I tucked him into Peter's bed. Then he said he was sorry for ruining this night but of course I insisted and told him he didn't. Then he told me that he and I should make this a magical night and started kissing me roughly, ugh to make it all short he wanted to do it and I didn't want to but he tried to seduce me and ugh it's just so.... UGH" she explained
"He what?" John said angrily
"Chill, John"
"Chill? He was forcing you to have sex with him. That's not right"
"He's my boyfriend" after Elle said that John went silent. No matter what happened, Elle still belonged to Kennedy, not to him
"That doesn't give him the right to do that, Elle. You're a lady and you deserve respect, you deserve someone who respects you"
"He's drunk, he didn't knew what he was doing"
"Stop defending him, Elle. He still shouldn't have done that"
"But I bet tomorrow will be better, he's just drunk and--"
"Why are you always defending him?" John cut her off
"Because he's my boyfriend" she sighed
"So what? He was disrespecting you"
"You don't understand, John. He's the guy of my dreams, I've been head over heels for him since the fifth grade and now that we're together it's just a dream come true. It's too much to let go of"
"But what if that dream wasn't a dream after all?" John asked "The way I'm seeing it, he's not the prince charming you thought he was"
"You don't understand, what if you and Anon girl started dating? You've been into her for a long time and you can't just let her go right? She's your dream"
"Yeah" John nodded, and awkward silence filled the air
"Have you told her yet?" Elle finally spoke
"Well technically I have but seriously though.... I haven't"
"You should tell her now, do you have her number?"
"Yeah" John nodded
"Call her" Elle smiled
"Great Idea" John agreed, he took out his phone and dialed a number, three seconds later Elle's phone rang, she didn't look at the caller ID, she was expecting to be her mom
"Must be mom, gonna ask me how's the party going" she smiled and answered the phone
"I love you" John said through the phone but he was looking at her. Elle couldn't believe what she just heard, she dropped her phone in shock
"John?"
"Yeah, you've been her all along. Weird huh? You've been asking about the anon girl but the truth is.... you are anon girl"
"John I-I don't know what to say" Elle stuttered and hugged John
"You don't have to say it back" John said, Elle pulled away from their hug and leaned her forehead into his, they were looking into each other's eyes for seconds and John couldn't help himself anymore, he pressed his lips gently into her's and she kissed him back. He couldn't believe what was happening.... and neither could she. As their lips departed Elle leaned it to John's ears and whispered, "I love you too"
He couldn't believe it, it was all he was dreaming and it came true.

--
John and Elle killed hours just sitting in Peter's tree house, they can hear the party getting wilder and wilder. They could hear people being thrown in the pool, people chugging down loads of beer and doing all sorts of shenanigans. It didn't matter if they were spending their last party of high school in a tree house, what mattered was they were together.

"I'm so happy right now, aren't you?" John asked Elle who was leaning her head on his shoulder
"Yeah" she smiled
"Elle?"
"John?"
"What happens after tonight?" he asked nervously
"What do you mean?" she asked back as she sat up straight and looked at him
"What happens to us?"
"John I-I--" Elle started but her phone rang "Hello? What? Okay okay I'll be there" then she hung up and stood up
"Who was that?" John asked as he stood up too
"Cristine" she sighed
"What's wrong?"
"Kennedy's still drunk and he's looking for me. He needs me" she said all at once and walked to the door
"What? Woah, wait" he ran after her and held her arm which kept her from leaving the tree house
"John" she whispered
"What about me? What about us?" John asked, he was confused
"John, I have a boyfriend. He's your friend, you understand me, right? You were the one who helped me with him. You were our bridge, John" she cried "And I'm not supposed to stay on the bridge, I'm supposed to cross it."
"No" John shook his head, it was too much for him to accept "What about us? We kissed! I told you that I love you and you said it back. What about us Elle?"
"I love you, John. I love you as a friend" she said "There is no us. I'm so sorry" then she left. John didn't bother do stop her from leaving the tree house, he just stood there with his mouth half open and water forming in his eyes. He was crushed. For the first time.... A girl broke John O'Callaghan's heart

--
Elle did her best to keep the tears from falling as she walked through the crowd, she finally found her friend Haley
"There you are" Haley said
"Yeah here I am. Where is he?"
"In Peter's room. Jared, Halvo and Peter are there too"
"Okay" she nodded her head and ran in the house and up to Peter's room
"I need her, please where is she" she heard Kennedy crying
"Hey" Elle said with a worried tone as she sat beside her boyfriend
"Babe, I'm sorry. Please I'm sorry" Kennedy cried and hugged her. She tried to shush him
"It's okay, it's okay" she whispered in his ears as he kept on saying sorry
"I love you so much, Elle" Kennedy cried as he was calming down
"I love you too, Kenny" Elle said and right on cue John walked in with with an emotionless face, he was just staring at the two of them.

--
The party ended at 3am, Elle, Haley and Cristine were the last ones to leave. Everyone said goodbye to one another but John and Elle didn't say a word to each other.

"So, how did it go?" Jared asked, Halvo, John and Him were sitting at Peter's living room. Peter and Kenny were drunk and were sleeping
"Um, it went well" John nodded "At first" he laughed
"What do you mean 'At first?'" Halvo asked
"I told her I love her and she said it back. And we sat in Peter's tree house for hours, she was leaning into me and everything was perfect"
"Then?" Jared asked
"Cristine called and told her that Kenny was looking for her and I don't know.... Must've knocked her back into our senses and she told me that there is no us.... She has a boyfriend and.... dude, I don't really wanna talk about this anymore" John sighed
"I'm sorry bro" Halvo frowned
"For what? It's okay, man. I took the risk at least now I know. It's time to move on" he smiled
"But it's not that easy to move one, John" says Jared
"Yeah, you've never been heartbroken before" Halvo added
"Well then, I guess this is growing up. You get to experience the first times, right? First heartbreak, first moving on experience and shit"
"Wow, you're surprisingly taking this all too well" Jared smiled
"I'm proud of you, dude" Halvo patted his back
"Yeah" John nodded with a big smiled. But what his friends didn't know was that he wasn't okay with it, he just had to be okay with it because he can't do anything about it

"If this is growing up then.... Growing up won't bring us down, my friends" John smiled
"Touche" Halvo nodded
"We're in this together and we're gonna make it somehow" Jared added
"Growing up won't bring us down" John said for the last time