Elliott and I haven't spoken in four days. He had his Spanish final yesterday and is now done with his summer school. Now, he has no real reason to come home every night. He has already taken advantage of that. We left off at an awkward place.
Speaking of awkward places, Addison hasn't been acting comfortable around me recently. There is no doubt in my mind that is has something to do with Mike. I don't know what to say to her because quite frankly I don't see what is uncomfortable about the situation. I'm clearly not a threat; he's like a brother to me and I'm like a sister to him. I know him really well, yes, but that doesn't affect their relationship. I don't want Addison to feel any animosity towards me.
Other than that, things have been going smoothly in the Kennedy house. Jonas has moved on from his grudge towards me and even joined Nora, Jett, and me on our walk. I took Bethany along too since she doesn't get out much.
The twins and Ethan love their camp, so I don't have to worry about any 'homesick' calls. The counselor told me it happens often, even though it's just an eight-hour day camp and most of the kids live five minutes away. Ethan told me Manny, his best friend, was one of those kids who hated camp. His mom has to pick him up everyday after lunchtime, which is also the time when the kids do physical activities outside.
"Can I get this?"
I turn my head to see Jonas holding up a pack of ten water-guns. "Why would you need those?"
"Why wouldn't I?" he challenges.
"Put that back," I sigh and grab pancake mix off the shelf.
Jonas pouts and shoves the pack back on the shelf before taking the cart out of my hands and riding it down the isle. I roll my eyes at his childishness.
"Can I get these?" he asks next, pointing to a box of eighty fruit-roll ups.
"First of all, be careful with Bethany in that cart," I start. "Second of all, I know you'll eat the entire box in one day. Too much sugar."
"I'm a mature thirteen-year-old man. I can handle my sugar."
I stare at him long enough for him to let out a huff and put the box back. Taking the cart back before he hurts himself or Beth, I continue my shopping. I had each of the kids edit the shopping list for this trip. I had to cross out three suggestions of buying a puppy and six suggestions of a trampoline. Realistically, I only have fourth-three things on the list. And there were one-hundred items to begin.
"Who asked for pads? Is someone joining the football team or something?" Jonas asks in confusion, reading the list with his eyes squinted.
"Not football pads, bud," I laugh and take the list back.
He looks confused for a bit longer before finally figuring it out. "Gross!"
I smile and push the cart down the next idle. We are able to get everything that is on the list in a little over half an hour. That included the time Jonas bothered me with random stuff he just needed to have. I think he'll survive without a electric head-scratcher.
In the checkout line, Jonas unloads the cart and jokingly puts Beth on the conveyer belt. I snatch her off in time, scolding the boy like his mother. Throughout the chaos, I don't even realize who the checkout boy is until I have to pay. He looks out-of-place in his uniform, a blue vest and a buttoned shirt with khakis. His smoldering look gives me chills.
"Hey, do I know you?" he asks. "You look familiar."
"Uh, I don't think so," I say awkwardly, not meeting his gaze.
"No, no. I definitely do. You're Elliott's girl!" he exclaims. "I'm Yogi. We met on Friday."
"Your name is Yogi?" Jonas asks, an eyebrow raised.
"Well," he pauses to grab his name tag, "this thing says Landon. I mean, Landon? I'm one letter away from being a fucking continent!"
"London isn't a-"
"My parents started calling me Yogi because I ate gummy bears for every meal," he informs, cutting off Jonas.
I nod. "Interesting. How much do I have to pay?" I ask in hopes he'll realize I don't actually want to have a conversation with him right now.. or ever.
"Gummy bears every meal? Hey, Ivy, that doesn't sound like a bad idea!" Jonas exclaims.
I roll my eyes and ignore him. "I have a coupon for the tissues."
Yogi ignores me just as I did with Jonas. "It's not a bad idea, kid. Look at me, I'm hot as hell."
Jonas smiles admiringly. "I want a cool nickname. I-I like Cheerios!"
"Cheerios, huh?" Yogi pauses, thinking long and hard before clapping his hands together. "I got it! You can be Sting."
"Sting?"
"Yeah. The mascot for Cheerios is a bee. They sting and shit," he explains the thought process. "It'll be a sick nickname. It's totally rocker like that dude. Damn, what's his name?"
"Sting," Jonas answers.
"No, no, that's not it," Yogi sighs. "Damn! I can't think of it. But I think Sting is a wicked nickname, kid."
"I'm in the presence of a genius," I speak flatly. "Now, can I checkout?"
"As long as I can check you out!" he says with a wink.
Jonas cracks up. "This guy!"
I smile uncomfortably and hand him the credit card. He swipes it and hands me the receipt, continuing his conversation with Jonas all the while. I stand impatiently as they continue, my annoyance evident. Well, not evident enough for Jonas to see.
"We have to go pick up the kids from camp," I say and grab Jonas' shirt. "Thank you, Yogi. Have a nice day."
"Yeah! You too!"
"Bye, Yogi," Jonas says in admiration.
"Later, Sting."
I feel relieved once we get out of the store, pushing the cart through the parking lot. Jonas skips next to me, happy with his new nickname.
"That guy was so cool!" he exclaims. "Where'd you meet him? I wonder how Elliott's friends with him! I think I like him better than Flynn."
"That guy is not cool, Jonas," I say and open the trunk of the minivan. "He spends his days working at this grocery store and his nights chugging down beers in a forest."
Jonas raises his eyebrows. "It's like I can see my future."
I smack him on the back of his head and move Bethany into her car seat. "Oh, be quiet. Speaking of your future, I got a call from your soccer coach."
"Oh."
"Yeah, oh. He was just wondering why you missed the first two days of camp this week. I didn't know what to tell him, so I hung up."
"You hung up?"
"Yes, I hung up," I repeat and shut Beth's side door before getting into the driver's seat. "I told him Beth fell out of her highchair and threw the phone down."
Jonas sighs and sits in the passenger's seat. "Smooth."
"So, why didn't you go? You told me it was imperative you made the Eagles earlier this summer. This is your practice."
"I haven't been getting along with the guys on the team recently," he admits. "It's not a big deal. I'll make the Eagles on my own."
"Well, you haven't been to the park to practice either."
He sighs, "I'm not getting along with the guys at the park either. Don't you remember Darren?"
"Jonas, you can't let these kids determine what you do with your life. Soccer is important to you," I say.
"You know what else is important to me? Keeping my nose unbroken and my limbs intact. I don't exactly want fifty soccer balls flying at my face and cleats stomped on my body."
"I'll talk to the coach," I say. "He can punish the kids who hurt you, okay? It'll be fine."
"It won't stop the name calling and the ostracizing," he sighs.
"Is this all because you have a nanny?"
He shrugs. "It's other things, too. I'm not exactly normal, Ivy."
I frown and place an arm on his shoulder. "I don't think that's a bad thing. Jett doesn't think it's a bad thing. And you won't think it's a bad thing either soon enough."
"Don't compare me to Jett," he mumbles. "I just don't know what to do differently to make them like me."
"Maybe you should try and hang out with the guys. You could make amends!"
"I doubt it." He pulls out his phone and starts playing some game where he has to shoot aliens.
I sigh, turning into the parking lot of the kids' camp. The younger kids around Ethan's age are holding a rope to make sure they stay out of the lot. The twins are sitting in a circle with some of their friends, playing some game.
"Ivy! Jonas!" Ethan jumps up and down when he sees the minivan. He does this everyday.
The three kids come running to the car. Crystal gets in first, followed by Rose. Ethan hugs all of his friends before finally coming to the car. I make sure everyone is buckled and in their car seats. The ride home is filled with camp stories from Crystal. Ethan will tell me a random fact about one of his friends every once in awhile, but he can't speak clearly due to his excitement.
When we get to the house, Jett is waiting on the porch. He waves as I park the car, moving to stand on the driveway.
"Hey, Jett," I say, grabbing Beth from her car seat. "What's up?"
"Nothing. I just wanted to know if Jonas wanted to hang out today."
Jonas puts his phone in his back pocket. "Sure. This way I don't have to help Ivy carry in the groceries."
"Alright," I mutter and squeeze his arm lightly. "You can only hang out with Jett after you help me bring in the groceries." I turn to look at the young kids. "That goes for you guys too."
"I'm too weak and adorable!" Ethan screams and runs into the house, almost running into Flynn on his way in.
"Oh my gosh! It's my favorite people in the whole world!" Flynn exclaims as he walks out onto the front porch.
"You guys were home?" Jett asks when Elliott and Flynn step outside. "I rang the doorbell like fifteen times."
Flynn holds up his hands innocently. "Hey, I said we should get the door. Elliott nearly tackled me when I went to get it."
Elliott shrugs and leans against the side of the house. "Sorry, kid."
"Hey, Liott, guess who we saw at the store today!" Jonas challenges as he grabs eleven grocery bags at once.
"Who?" Elliott asks, staying on the porch while Flynn moves to help with the groceries.
"Yogi," Jonas says happily. "He's so cool. He gave me a nickname! I'm Sting!"
"Yogi?" Flynn repeats in confusion.
Elliott shifts awkwardly. "Weird. I haven't seen him in forever."
"That's not what he said," Jonas says without thinking. "He said he met Ivy with you on Friday."
Flynn snaps his head in Elliott's direction. "Are you kidding me, Elliott?"
I sense the tension and know it's best to leave the two alone. "Okay, let's get those grocery bags inside, kids!"
The twins, each with two grocery bags, quickly move into the house. I hold Beth in one hand and a grocery bag in the other, going into the house and closing the front door after Jonas and Jett.
"Ivy, can we go to the park?" Ethan asks, jumping in front of me just as I walk into the house.
"You just got home from camp, E," I remind. "Aren't you tired?"
"Not really."
I sigh, "well, nanny Ivy is very tired."
"Nanny Ivy sucks," he mutters and runs upstairs.
"Thank you!" I call after him before placing Bethany in her playpen and walking into the kitchen where twenty bags of groceries wait to be unloaded by none other than yours truly.
As I'm unloading, the front door slams shut and Elliott comes into the kitchen with a scowl on his face. Flynn is close behind, mid-rant.
"It just doesn't make any sense why you'd lie to me!"
"Um, because I was avoiding this exact moment," Elliott says, waving his arms around.
"Oh! I'm sorry! Do you not like when I raise my voice to you?" Flynn asks angrily. "I'm so sorry for caring about you!"
Elliott shakes his head, jumping on to the counter top as if he's not in a heated argument with his best friend. "You're so dramatic."
Flynn scoffs. "I am not dramatic. You know how I feel about you diving and yet you went behind my back and lied to my face."
"You just don't understand how I feel about diving and you never will because you never listen."
"I listen. I'm a great listener. You're the one who doesn't tell me anything," Flynn fights back. "I can't listen when you don't speak!"
Elliott looks down at his lap, biting his lip in concentration. "You wouldn't get it."
"How do you know that? I'm your best friend. I get everything you do. That's why we're best friends, idiot."
"Don't call me an idiot."
"I'll call you what I want, idiot," Flynn snaps.
For the first time in this fight, they notice me just standing near the pantry organizing the graham cracker boxes. Elliott has a lost look on his face, while Flynn looks overly angry.
"Ivy, are you angry with Elliott?" Flynn asks, his hands on his hips.
"I-I don't really feel like it's my place-"
"No, no. It's imperative," he urges.
I look at Elliott briefly before going back to Flynn. "Not really."
"Right." Flynn nods. "Right. Now, here's the catch. Elliott is mad at you. Why? Because he feels like you rejected him."
Elliott opens his mouth to say something, but Flynn holds his finger up. Elliott knows not to mess with Flynn while he's this worked up.
"You're the one who's supposed to be mad, Ivy," Flynn says. "That's the thing! You deserve to be the bitchy one!"
"What's your point, Flynn?" Elliott asks.
Flynn runs a hand through his light brown hair. "I deserve to be the bitchy one! Somehow, you always turn things around so you get to be the bitchy one!"
"I guess Elliott just feels called to the bitchy life," I say calmly, putting the spaghetti sauce in the fridge.
Elliott shrugs, a small smile on his face. "She's not wrong."
Flynn nearly explodes. "Screw you, Elliott!"
"Screw me? Geez, Flynn, I feel like I'm on some dumb teen soap opera right now." Elliott laughs at his own joke. "You have to calm down. I'm not mad at you and I'm not being bitchy, so why are you acting like this?"
Flynn shakes his head, clenching his jaw as he paces through the kitchen. "I'm just tired of it!"
"Of what?"
"Of you! You lie to me, you think you're cooler than all my friends, you hang out with sickos like Yogi, you try to sleep with your nanny, you're a jerk to your younger brother, you don't tell me anything, you hide your emotions, you hit Carter in the eye with a ping-pong ball, you-"
"That was an accident!" Elliott argues.
Well, she did have that photoshoot with Tyra Banks, I think to myself, knowing it is best to keep my comments to myself.
"You're a complete jackass and I don't want to be your best friend if you don't even attempt to be mine!"
Elliott looks a little taken aback. "Damn."
I feel unbelievably uncomfortable being in the room for this. If I try to make a run for it, it'll just be more awkward for everyone. I stay put, quiet, and keep my eyes on the floor.
"I hate fighting like this." Flynn looks at the kitchen clock. "I have to get home. My sister's making dinner for the family." He walks towards the backdoor, stopping to look at me. "I'm sorry. Bye, Ivy."
"Bye," I say quietly.
He shuts the door, leaving just me and Elliott alone in the kitchen. I continue to busy myself with putting away groceries. The task doesn't last very long, considering I only have the peanut butter left.
After that task is done, I turn to look at Elliott. "He seemed just a little bit angry."
"He'll get over it," he says.
"You sure? It didn't seem like he'd just forget about it."
"He always blows up like this and gets over it the next day," he assures, though the look on his face doesn't show that he's super confident in that theory. "So, yeah. I'm not worried."
"If you say so."
Elliott nods and swings his legs back-and-forth under the counter. "He was wrong about me being mad. Because I'm not. I'm not mad at you for rejecting me."
"You're not? But I thought you hated me!" I exclaim jokingly. "And I hated you even more!"
"I was just embarrassed," he admits sheepishly. "You have to let me be embarrassed after that."
"Oh, definitely. I mean, did you really think that was going to work?"
He shrugs. "I don't know you yet. Every girl is different in the way she falls for me."
"Right." I sit on the counter across from him, kicking my legs in a similar form. "So, is there a reason you thought I'd be the girl to fall for the passionate and daring cliff diving way?"
"You like my danger side," he answers simply.
"I don't think I do actually."
"Yeah, I noticed as soon as you started yelling at me." He holds up his pointer finger. "Though I don't disregard the fact that my danger side is attractive to most girls, but you've seen me with my little siblings which ultimately erased the appeal of my danger side."
I nod, holding back a laugh. "Well, I'm just glad we've established that you should feel embarrassed about what happened Friday night and I should be the bitchy one."
"No, Flynn gets to be the bitchy one," he corrects with a smile.
"We'll see," I say and hop off the counter as Jonas and Jett walk into the kitchen. "Hey, Jett, are you staying for dinner?"
"He can't!" Jonas exclaims nervously. Jett frowns. I can tell Jonas feels guilty as he goes on to talk. "Well, it's just.. I invited some guys from the soccer team and I-I don't want you to have to cook for so many people, Ivy."
I raise an eyebrow. "How many guys from the soccer team did you invite?"
"Before I answer that, I just want to remind you that you were the one who told me to try and make amends with them. That's what I'm doing here.. amending."
"How many?"
"Nineteen."
~~
AN:
nineteen kids & counting (hey that would be a good chapter name hopefully I remember for next chapter)
aw bro fights are sad though this was kind of sad to write :(
hope you enjoyed!! I love seeing your comments & thoughts on the story. I see everything. I'm like big brother. Or a ninja.
side sassy author note:
there is nothing more irritating than comments that say "update" the second after I just updated a new chapter. pls don't bombard me with those comments. I don't like seeing them and feel overwhelmed when there's twenty or so on one chapter. please & thank you.
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