She Had the Most Amazing Smile

The last bell rang and it was time to go home.

"Hey, Elle wait up!" Kennedy shouted out as Elle and her friends were walking
"You guys go ahead" Elle whispered, her friends giggled and walked away
"Hey" Kennedy panted "Are you free tonight?"
Elle wanted to say yes but she remembered that she promised John she'd tutor him so she can't.
"Sorry, Kenny I can't tonight. I have to tutor John because Popper told us, if he got an A this semester, we'll be exempted for the finals" she explained "But I'm free tomorrow since it's Friday"
"Okay cool. So, tomorrow?" Kennedy smiled and she nodded
"Yeah, I'll be there" she smiled
"Looking forward to it" he nodded "Hey look there's John" he said as he waved at his friend
"Hey, dude" John said as he walked to the two "Elle" he smiled and she waved
"Well, I guess you guys better get going, I'll just go with the guys" Kennedy said
"Tell them I said Hi" John laughed
"Will do. Bye, Elle" he smiled as he kissed her cheek
"Bye" she blushed as Kennedy walked away "So shall we?"
"We shall" John nodded "Eee, you're blushing again" John laughed
"Uhh, stop it" she giggled as she smacked his shoulders "He asked me out by the way, but I said I can't because I have to tutor you"
"Shit, I'm sorry" he sighed
"Don't be. We'll go out tomorrow" she smiled
"That's nice" he smiled "So, where to?"
"Your house?" she said "My mom and her boyfriend are probably fighting again, I don't wanna see that shit"
"I'm sorry for that" he frowned "Then kick him out"
"Nah, mom loves him too much. It sucks" she sighed
"Hey, I'm here for you okay? No matter what" he gave her a warm smile
"Yeah" she nodded "Thanks"

--

They walked to the John's house. Elle has never been to his house before so she didn't know what to expect

"Mom, I'm home" John called out as they entered his house
"Hi, honey" his mom smiled as she walked to them with a hand towel "Oh hello" she said to Elle
"Good evening, Mrs. O'Callaghan" she smiled politely
"Mom, this is Elle. My lab partner, she's gonna tutor me" he explained
"Oh that's great" Mrs. O'Callaghan smiled "As long as you stay for dinner, okay Elle?"
"Sure" she smiled
"We'll go up now" John said as he pulled Elle's arm and led her upstairs

"So, this is my room" John said as he opened the door
"Wow" she laughed "It's too clean"
"Well, my mom kinda has OCD" he laughed
"Cool" she smiled "So shall we starte?"
"Yeah" he nodded

John was starting to understand the topics now and Elle didn't have a hard time teaching him. There wasn't a problem at all

"Kids! Dinner's ready" John's mom called out
"C'mon" John cheered, the two went down and Elle saw the whole family sitting on the table, she never experienced this, it was her first time eating dinner with a complete family
"Hi, I'm Ross" John's little brother waved
"I'm Elle! Hi" she waved back
"Well, have you met Shane?" John laughed as he gestured to his youngest brother
"Aww, Hi!" she smiled
"Hello" Shane waved

"So Elle, where are you from?" Mrs. O'Callaghan smiled as they ate dinner
"Oh, I live in the next street. Not so far away" she said
"So.. Are you two like.... dating?" Mr. O'Callaghan grinned
"No dad, we're not" John laughed "She's actually.. Kenny's girl"
"Oh Kennedy" John's dad nodded "He's a good kid"
"Yes he his" Mrs. O'Callghan agreed "Great choice, honey"
"Yeah, really wish John was more like him" Mr. O'Callaghan said
"Jay, stop it" Mrs. O'Callaghan whispered
"Nah, it's okay, ma" John smiled "I know I'm never gonna be good enough like Kenny. I don't blame you dad" he continued. Elle could feel the tension building up and she just stayed quiet while eating
"All I'm saying is that you should be like him. He doesn't fail, doesn't get detention, he's a good kid" Mr. O'Callaghan explained
"Yeah okay" John nodded "But I'm not Kennedy, dad. When will you see that? We're different people"
"Jay, just stop it okay?" Mrs. O'Callaghan said loudly which made everyone quiet then Mrs. O'Callaghan stood up from her chair
"Well" Mr. O'Callaghan said as he stood up from his seat "I'm sorry you had to see that, Elle" he said then he walked upstairs. John remained quiet and so did Elle, but Ross didn't
"Don't worry about it. It happens every other night" he said
"Ross, shut up" John grunted
"Whatever" Ross said calmly as he continued to eat his dinner.
Elle and John were done so John decided to take her home

"Mom, I'm just gonna walk Elle home, okay?" John said
"Okay" she nodded as she patted Shane's back "I'm really really sorry, Elle"
"Oh no, it's okay Mrs. O'Callaghan. I love your cooking" she smiled politely
"Thank you" she nodded

--
John and Elle were quiet as they walked, they didn't say a word. Elle was too scared to ask him if he was okay because she was sure that he's not. John was too ashamed for what happened and he didn't know how to explain things. Everything was silent until they reached her house

"See you tomorrow, Elle" John smiled
"Yeah, I'll see you" she nodded "Thanks for walking me home"
"Thank you for tutoring me" he laughed "Okay, I better get going"
"John" she said before he could walk away
"Yeah?" he said as he turned back, she walked up to him and gave him a hug
"Everything's gonna be alright. I may not know what's going on but always know that everything will be fine. Alright?" she said as they hugged
"Alright" he nodded as they pulled away "Thanks" he smiled

As he walked home, John thought of what she said and it made him a lot better.
--
The next day after school the two sat on the bleachers to study. They thought it would be better there since their homes wasn't a safe place for them.

"Hey John" Elle said as they studied
"Yo" John smiled as he stopped writing and looked at her
"If you don't mind me asking, what's your dad's deal?" she asked
"Okay" he said "You see, my dad likes Kennedy so much. He says I should be like him and I should look up to him. I'm not the ideal son that my dad wanted y'know? His ideal son is Kenny. So I'm used to him telling me all those shit"
"Hey" she said as she held his hand "Everyone's different, we can't be all alike. We're all unique in our own ways. I'm not being a bad influence or anything but.. just don't listen too much to your dad. You're special, John"
"Thanks" he smiled "I just want him to motivate me y'know? He says being in band will not help me in the future and shit. He tries to change me, he says he's saving, he wants me to be like Kenny. But I can't"
"Hey, I'm here for you" she said "I'll motivate you. You will get an A in Chemistry and you'll show him that you're different, okay?"
"Okay" he nodded
"That's the spirit" she cheered. John looked at her from time to time as they studied, he was captivated by her laugh, her eyes and her smile. John never felt this way before, sure he dates a lot of chicks but what he was feeling was different, it was something he can't explain.

"Hey guys!!" somebody said and it interrupted John and his thoughts
"Hey!" she cheered as she got up and hugged him, John saw him kiss her cheek and he felt uncomfortable
"Hey, John!" he smiled as they they sat down
"Hi Kenny" he smiled weakly and watched as the two talk to each other, she saw her giggle and it made him smile but then he remembered she wasn't giggling because of him she was giggline because of Kenny
"So, John. Let's wrap this up. It's getting late" Elle smiled
"Uh, y-yeah" he stuttered
"You okay?" she asked
"Yeah, man. You fine?" Kenny added
"Yes" he said "You two go ahead. You have a date tonight right?"
"Yeah" they said in unison and once again it made Elle giggle
"Go ahead" John said
"Bye dude. Be careful" Kenny smiled as he stood up
"Bye, John" Elle said as she gave him a hug "See you on Monday"
"Yeah" John waved then the two walked down the bleachers. John saw them walking together on the football field, holding hands. He saw Kennedy wrap an arm around her and somehow it made him sick.

"Snap out of it, John" he whispered to himself "Stop it"

John was completely aware that Kennedy and Elle liked each other. He knew that they've been hiding from each other for a long time and he was the one who helped them admit their feelings. He was completely aware that he was the one who made this all possible and now he's thinking if he did the right thing or not. He's sure that he did the right thing for the two, but he's not sure if it was the right thing for him.