Teenage Casanova

Can someone please turn off the sun?

The mixture of hardly any sleep and the blinding light shining through the window was definitely not a combination that Kennedy was up for today. She groaned loudly and rolled over, thinking that she was tucked away in her comfortable bed, but was soon to realize that she was on the couch when she rolled right onto the floor and landed with an ‘oomph’. She mumbled, “Ow” before pushing her face into the carpet.

Another day, she mused as her mind wandered back to the events of last night. She tried her best to understand what was happening, she really did, but she just couldn’t accept it. There was no way that Hannah and Harry dating was a good idea and she knew that something was off about the entire thing.

Hannah was usually so smart; hell she graduated high school at the top of her class and was at law school. So how could she be so dumb when it came to boys and dating? It was so baffling and Kennedy wished that she could just understand how this happened. It was supposed to just be a one night stand!

“Are you comfy, baby sister?”

Kennedy lifted her head up slightly and squinted her eyes towards her sister who was readying herself for a day full of some great plans, she could only assume. She didn’t understand how Hannah could be such a morning person while she was the complete opposite.

“What time is it?” Kennedy moaned as she leaned her head back against the floor in hopes of maybe falling back asleep.

“It’s three–fifteen, Kenny. I was going to wake you up earlier, but you just looked so exhausted that I thought I’d let you sleep.” Hannah walked into the bathroom and started applying makeup that most likely would make her look like a clown, to Kennedy at least, and hollered, “How late did you stay up? I came out for a drink and I could hear you grumbling about something at four this morning!”

It was true, she was up late and she was stressing out about the obvious. How was she going to carry out her plan for revenge against Harry? She had his phone. She had something valuable that could possibly help her in achieving her goal for making his life miserable.

At least…that was the plan.

When she heard the news last night about Hannah and Harry’s new “relationship” she was dead set on trying to take him down in any way possible. She just had a feeling that something was up about it and she wanted to make him pay for even thinking about going after her sister. But she wondered if that was just her emotions getting to her because of what Harry had done to her personally. So could she really go through with that? She was afraid that if he ticked her off enough then she might take it too far, but at the same time if she didn’t do anything at all she might not be able to protect Hannah from this guy before things go bad.

So what was she supposed to do?

“Are you ever going to get up off the floor, loser?” Hannah returned from the bathroom and quickly went through her purse to make sure she had everything. “I don’t want to come home later and find you in that same position, do you hear me?”

“Where are you going?” Kennedy shifted her eyes to look at her sister and sighed. “You’re not going out with Harry tonight, are you?”

“Actually no. The girls I met down at the beach invited me to go out for a while and then get some drinks. Though,” she grinned widely, looking extra cheeky, “I do hope to finish the night with my new boyfriend.”

Boyfriend.

Kennedy hated hearing Hannah say that, especially because of the certain boy she was supposedly dating now. She would have been happy with her sister dating anyone else in the world as long as it wasn’t Harry. So why did she have to rain on her parade and do it? And why couldn’t she just listen to her for once and understand that Harry was bad news?

As Kennedy’s thoughts were once again invaded by the green eyed monster (as she would refer to him as), Hannah pulled the door open and immediately stopped when a boy stood there with his arm raised as if he were about to knock. They shared a few quick words and she let him in, looking back to her sister with suggestive eyes.

“Um, Kenny?” Hannah’s voice was full of curiosity. “You have company.”

“What in the world are you talking abou–” Kennedy lifted her head once more, getting a bit frustrated with all the interruptions, but was quickly taken by surprise when she saw the familiar boy with the zap tattoo standing there. “Oh! Zayn!” She jumped up quickly and straightened out her clothing, trying not to look like a complete dork that was just lying on the floor – even though that’s exactly what she looked like.

Hannah gave her a look as if to say ‘when-I-get-back-you-better-give-me-all-the-details’ before excusing herself to the both of them and leaving them alone.

“Sorry about just barging in,” he broke the awkward silence when neither of them said anything. “It was really rude of me so if you want me to leave and come back later I can.” Zayn hitched his thumb over his shoulder and towards the door, a bit iffy on whether or not he should just leave.

“No, no! It’s fine, really!” She smiled as she tried to pat her hair down, which was flying in all different directions, so that she wouldn’t look like a hobo. “Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting you so early. I thought you had said four?” Her eyes trailed over to the clock on the TV box that said 3:27.

Zayn just ran a hand through his hair as his cheeks filled with blush, completely embarrassed in him. “I did and it was stupid of me to show up earlier than expected. I was just in the neighborhood and I didn’t know if you were ready or not and I mean–I just–I thought maybe,” he finally sighed and stopped his rambling. “I’m really sorry. I’m an idiot so I’ll just go.”

She grabbed his arm and laughed, stopping him from leaving. She couldn’t help but just grin at how adorable he looked while freaking out. It was something she wasn’t used to seeing in him since he always seemed to have it together when they met. Wait, did I just call him adorable? She shook away her thoughts and gave him a warm smile. “Can you just calm down, you goofball? I said it was fine.”

“Really…?” He didn’t seem too sure.

“Of course.”

“You’re not just messing with me, are you?”

“Zayn!” Kennedy slapped his arm as the two of them shared a smile. “I really like spending time with you, okay? So I don’t care if you came early.”

She didn’t even see it coming, but she was definitely taken by surprise when she found herself under Zayn’s grasp as he wrapped his arms around her quickly. He was…hugging her? It wasn’t unusual, of course; Kennedy had been hugged many times. But for some reason she couldn’t help but feel something different when it was his arms around her.

She felt her heart flutter as he pulled away quickly and looked at her with wide eyes, that same embarrassment crossing again. “I’m sorry, I don’t know what came over me I guess I was just–”

“Zayn–” she just grinned, “–It’s okay.”

He just sighed in relief as he rubbed the back of his neck. She could still tell that he was a bit flushed and, once again, those same thoughts of how adorable he was crowded her mind.

“Give me a few minutes so I can stop looking like a caveman and we can head out, okay?” He just nodded in response as she headed towards the bathroom, still a little lost in thoughts of Zayn.

Of course he was adorable, sure, but he was also incredibly attractive. And both of those scared her just a little. She had never really considered herself good at communicating with boys, especially attractive ones, and she was terrified that if she kept thinking these things of her new friend that she would start having the same problems she always did.

She couldn’t help but glance once in Zayn’s direction, looking him over as he took a seat on her couch, waiting for her to finish getting ready. But soon enough his eyes met hers and they were locked in one of the most intense moments she had ever experienced.

It was like in one moment there stood Zayn, her new friend whom she barely knew but was hoping to get to being great friends, and the next he was this completely different person who was suddenly making her stomach feel like it was infested with butterflies. How in the world did that happen?

She finally was able to tear her gaze away from him and she quickly hurried into the bathroom, locking the door behind her and leaning against it as she placed her hand against her chest. She had to calm down. He was still Zayn; the zap boy. Very attractive, yes, but ultimately still the same person he was each time they met.

There was no way she was going to let this attraction get in the way of her finally finding someone she can trust and feel good around. Not happening.

She quickly turned the water on and hopped in the shower, trying to finish as fast as she could so she wouldn’t leave Zayn by himself too long. She accomplished her mission and was out of there, wrapped in a towel, within ten minutes. The only thing she didn’t think of was the fact that she had to make a mad dash from the bathroom and towards her room while Zayn was sitting on the couch smack dab in the middle.

She avoided any and all eye contact with Zayn as she stumbled her way past him and towards her room.

“You’re reading The Great Gatsby?”

“Huh?” Kennedy sighed to herself and turned towards Zayn, holding the towel as tight as possible so she wouldn’t have a stupid moment and drop it in front of him.

Zayn just grinned at her and held up her beat up copy of the book. “I didn’t mean to be nosy, but I saw it sitting here and couldn’t help myself but look over it. It’s one of my favorites.”

Kennedy blushed, feeling completely uncomfortable standing there in just a towel. “It’s one of mine too. Sorry, hold on one second.” She didn’t even give him the chance to reply as she dashed towards her room and she wasn’t quite sure, but she thought she heard him chuckling as she shut the door behind her.

She let out a breath of relief as she dropped her towel and quickly grabbed her clothes from the drawer, tossing them on in a hurry. She pulled on her dirty converse and was running a brush through her damp hair when she noticed Harry’s cellphone sitting on her nightstand.

Her thoughts immediately traveled back to wondering if and how she should get him back for what he was doing. She was so certain that Harry was using Hannah for some reason, she just had no idea why. And maybe if she kept his phone for a bit longer she could find out exactly what he was up to.

And messing with him seemed like fun as well.

She quickly grabbed it and stuck it in her pocket as she finished with her hair, picked up her bag and headed back out to greet Zayn who was still sitting in the same position on the couch and reading over her book.

“I look human again.”

Zayn pulled himself away from the book and greeted her with a smile. He closed it and put it back where he found it before quickly standing up. “I thought you always looked human,” he shrugged his shoulders. “I was actually getting used to your, what did you call it, ‘caveman’ look.”

“Oh shut up and let’s go!” Kennedy pushed on Zayn’s back and forced him towards the door.

She pulled the door shut behind her shut and the two quietly headed down the hall and towards the elevators. He pressed the down button and leaned against the wall to face her, smiling wide.

“What are you smiling at?”

“I think it’s kind of funny how we went from me almost hitting you with my motorcycle to eating your mangos to bringing you to my job to you crying on my shoulder and now you’re cooking me dinner,” he shrugged his shoulders and that cute grin that was plastered on his face was starting to get to her a bit. “I just think it’s a bit strange.”

“Well, I’m not cooking you dinner. I’m helping you cook dinner for your friend,” she leaned right next to him as she kept her eyes glued to him. “And it is quite strange. I don’t usually hang out with people who almost kill me and steal my fruit.”

“I’m flattered then, Kennedy.” Zayn leaned in a bit and soon enough their faces were only inches apart. “You know, I’m really glad I almost hit you that day.”

Now it was her turn to blush from not only the closeness, but also his choice of words. And there they were again; the butterflies. “Is that so?”

A little bit of relief crossed her as the elevator doors opened and she quickly moved away from him and walked into the elevator. He huffed out a small laugh and shook his head as he joined her.

And then…silence.

She knew that if she was Hannah then she wouldn’t have a problem with being around Zayn. She was the sister that was good with boys and all of that. She knew everything right to say and she didn’t get nervous. While Kennedy, on the other hand, was a complete sissy and would rather bottle up her feelings and pretend that they didn’t exist.

She tried her best to rid her mind of these thoughts. She wanted to just be there with him, her friend, and not be afraid of embarrassing herself or saying the wrong thing. She wanted to be herself with him always, no matter how scary that might sound.

“Are you okay?”

His voice brought her away from those same thoughts that she was trying to stop worrying about. She glanced up and met his eyes, seeing the concern clear in them.

“Sorry,” she apologized quickly. “I’m being weird, aren’t I?”

“Well, you’re being quiet which is something I really don’t think suits you well, blue eyes.” He gave her a reassuring smile. “I’m not gonna pry and force you to tell me what’s bothering you, but if you want to talk you can always talk to me.”

Dammit, why does he have to be so sweet? If only the thing that was bothering me wasn’t about him I would take him up on that offer. Her inner crisis was growing rapidly the more she was around him and she really wished that it would just take a break.

“Look, if you start looking like you’re actually having fun, I won’t drive as fast as I did the last time.” As they made it to his motorcycle parked out front he grabbed a helmet and pulled it over his head before grabbing the other in her direction. “I brought that for you.”

She cradled the helmet in her hands and sighed. She couldn’t do this. She couldn’t let these weird feelings psych her out. She wasn’t here for boys this summer and she just wanted to spend her time getting to know people and just finding a place where she belonged. So what if every time Zayn looked at her she felt her heart skip a beat? Why was she going to let that get in the way of having fun with him?

So she was going to do what she did best; bottle it up.

She took a deep breath and smiled, pulling the helmet over her head before climbing on the back of his bike and wrapping her arms around him. “Not too fast,” she warned him as he revved the engine and glanced back in her direction, chuckled slightly, and took off down the road.



“So you’re telling me that you’re an artist?” The two walked together up the stairs of his apartment complex as they headed towards his door.

“Of some sorts,” he shrugged as he fumbled with the key in his door. “I doodle in my spare time. I don’t know if you would call it art.”

When he pushed the door open and let her in, she glanced around. It wasn’t what she was expecting, to be honest. She expected it to be the apartment of every young boy with pizza boxes all over the place or underwear thrown everywhere. She might have watched one too many sitcoms on Netflix though to expect that.

“It’s nice,” she grinned as he closed the door and tossed his keys on the table. “Do you live here alone now?”

“For now, yeah. Niall moved back to London last year so I haven’t really found anyone to move in yet.”

Kennedy couldn’t help but feel a little out of place there. It was her first time ever being alone in a boy’s apartment and she was a bit nervous. Especially considering that the boy was Zayn and she was finding herself really attracted to him.

You’ll be okay. Just be yourself. She sighed. It was easier said than done.

“Make yourself at home,” he insisted, but she just continued to stand there awkwardly. “Kennedy, don’t be so tense. Relax.”

“You don’t know me that well. Relaxing is not in my blood.”

“Well,” he reached over and turned on the radio behind her, “we’ll just have to change that, won’t we?

The music started to play behind them and he pulled back, lifting his eyebrows and grinning widely. She watched him suspiciously as he began humming to the song as he pulled his leather jacket off and draped it over the back of the couch.

She couldn’t help but smile and shake her head as he started full on singing off key as he walked into the kitchen. She followed quickly behind him.

“You are so strange,” she chuckled.

“You could be strange too. Come on, sing.”

“No way in hell.” Kennedy blushed and turned away. She definitely could not sing to save her life and she was not letting him see that side of her.

“You are no fun at all! Come on!” He poked her cheek, trying to get her to give in and just “relax”, as he would call it.

“Not happening.”

“Please?” He stuck out his bottom lip, letting it quiver. “Don’t make me beg.”

“I can’t sing!” She couldn’t help but laugh as he continued to look at her with those big eyes and his lip stuck out. “Come on, you’re not being fair!”

“Okay fine, you don’t have to sing. But you do have to dance with me.”

“What?”

“Dance with me!” he laughed, moving a tad closer to her. One of his arms slipped behind her back, right above her hips, and the other found her hand as he began what could only be described as the world’s worst ballroom dancing. Both of them were too busy laughing to really care, though. They swayed and rocked back and forth, giggling relentlessly at the other, not worrying about just how stupid they looked.

Zayn’s hand released her own and moved to join his other arm behind her back. Kennedy finally caught her breath from laughing and took the chance to glance up at the boy. And boy, did she wish she hadn’t. Zayn was staring down at her through his thick eyelashes, his whiskey eyes deep and stunning as they locked with her own. She had caught herself gazing at this boy so many other times, but never this close. And also never when he was returning the stare.

But being this close to him made her just aware of the tiny features. The way his eyes crinkled in the corners, pulling the edges up just barely anytime there was a hint of a smile on his lips. How his eyelashes fanned over the top of his cheeks just barely when he blinked. The laughter lines that ran on the outside of his mouth, which were only very visible when he smiled really widely.

It was astonishing to Kennedy that one boy could be this beautiful, and what was even more astonishing was the fact that he seemed to have a liking for her.

As if by a mutual decision, they both began to lean forward, the gap between them slowly starting to disappear. Zayn was going to kiss her, she realized in an instant. This model of a boy was going to kiss her, and all of those feelings that she was bottling up earlier seemed to have found a way to escape because she was going to let him.

Kennedy’s eyes closed as she leaned in a little closer, expecting to feel the pressing of his lips against hers. But all she met was air.

Her eyes fluttered open so fast as she stared at the boy who was pulling away and letting go of her waist as if nothing was wrong. What had just happened? Had she misunderstood the situation, yet again? This is so embarrassing…

“So I’m gonna hop in the shower and actually look decent. If you want to start cooking everything is here.” He looked a little awkward as he quickly walked past her and headed deeper into the apartment.

And there she stood, completely confused.

She tried to shake everything she was feeling as she began to cook, but the more she tried to push them away, the more it made her think of it. Did her breath smell? Did she overthink things and he wasn’t going to kiss her? Was he just playing with her mind?

No… Zayn wouldn’t do that. He’s no Harry.

She made a face. Even thinking about Harry made her want to punch something. Unfortunately, she would probably regret it if she started breaking things in Zayn’s house. But there was one way she could get out her frustrations.

Kennedy reached into her pocket and pulled out Harry’s phone as the water boiled on the stove. She glanced down at it and felt her stomach drop before pulling up the text screen, selecting everyone in his contacts and typing out the message she was going to last night.

Hey, just wanted to let you know that I went to the doctor today. The tests came back positive, so you should probably go get yourself checked... sorry about that. -H xx

She stared down at the words she had typed out and sighed. Could she do this? Could she really send it out? She wanted to make him pay, of course, but was this the way?

Kennedy thought back to all the moments that led her to this. The trying to seduce her, sleeping with her sister, kissing her, and now using her sister for some reason. Everything he’s done so far has been awful. Someone needed to teach him a lesson.

She clicked the send button and quickly put the phone back in her pocket, forgetting about how wrong it was and going back to pouring the spaghetti into the pot and rushing around to get everything ready.

“That smells so good.” Zayn walked into the kitchen after a while and leaned over her shoulder. “What are you cooking?”

“Spaghetti and garlic bread.” She forced a smile as she stirred the pot, trying just to let things go back to normal as if they didn’t have that moment. “Can you toss the salad for me? I know it’s no pouring a bowl of cereal.”

“Hey, be nice.” He pinched her cheek before going over and doing as she said. “You know, if this is a success I might have to hire you to come cook dinner for me on a regular basis.”

“Are you saying that you’re going to pay me for this?”

“Well, I could pay you in gratitude.”

She just gave him a short smile and turned away, turning the stove off and pouring the spaghetti in the strainer. Zayn must have noticed that something was off because there he was behind her, putting his hands on her shoulder.

“Are you alright?”

Kennedy opened her mouth to respond, but just let out a sigh when there was a knock at the door. Saved by the bell? She’d say so. “I’m gonna go freshen up. I’ll be right back.”

As she walked to the bathroom, Zayn stood there completely confused. He didn’t understand what had just happened and why she seemed to be upset. But, just as he was heading towards the door he figured it out.

“You’re such an idiot, Zayn.” He smacked his forehead and glanced in the direction of the bathroom. Well, that would be a conversation they would have to finish when they had some time alone.

He sighed and pulled open the front door, smiling widely as he saw his friend. “Niall!” He pulled his friend into a hug. “It’s been a while. I’m so glad you called me and said you were going to be in town.”

“It’s great to be back.” He walked inside and motioned to the curly headed guy next to him. “Zayn, this is my mate Harry. Harry, this is Zayn.”

“Oh yeah.” Zayn shook hands with him. “We met at the bar, right?”

“Did we?” Harry thought back. “I guess we did. You’re the guy who had that boring date, right?”

“I actually found better company that night. She’ll be joining us shortly.” Zayn closed the door behind them as they all took their jackets off and exchanged meaningless conversation.

Kennedy, on the other hand, was in the bathroom splashing water against her face. She had to calm down. Sure, she was embarrassed about what happened. So what if she was a little confused? She shouldn’t care. She wasn’t here to kiss Zayn, or anything like that, she was here because he was her friend.

“It’s settled.” She stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying to smile. She wasn’t going to care. She was going to go out there, be happy, and have a great time.

She took a deep breath and walked back out, heading back towards the living room to join Zayn and his company. “Sorry about tha–” as she approached the three guys standing there she stopped instantly, her eyes falling upon a certain curly headed, green eyed bastard. His eyes met hers, which were also equally surprised.

“You!” They both yelled unison and pointed at each other, mouths hanging open. This was not happening. This was definitely not happening.

“Kennedy? Harry?” Zayn stood next to Niall, the two of them both confused. “You know each other?”

“You could say that.” Kennedy grumbled as she balled her hand into a fist, ready to take another swing at Harry.

Oh Harry, please don’t be here. Someone pinch me and prove to me that this is a dream. PLEASE!