alright I've worked pretty hard on this playlist and I had 10+ songs I wanted to add, but they just wouldn't fit. so here's this list of 23 (of the 41) songs that I listen to while I write this story. most of them have to do with the story, but honestly some of them are just jams that I couldn't not include. I highly recommend listening to all of them because they're all great.
thank you & love you all!
"Ivy! Ivy! Watch me!"
I briefly glance up from the book in reading to watch Ethan go down the slide...for the thirteenth time in a row. "Good job, E!"
Bethany claps her hands in her carrier set in the grass next to the bench I'm sitting on. She was the one who made us all go to the park with her non-stop request "par-par" all of breakfast. Surprisingly, all of the kids- excluding Addison who decided to go to the mall with some friends- agreed to come, though they'd normally just sit at home watching television or playing video games.
It's a beautiful day outside, not too hot, but still warm and relaxing. The sky is blue, the clouds are gone, and Elliott Kennedy woke me with a kiss this morning.
Though the kiss was definitely not a Snow White and Prince Charming kiss. He first jumped on my bed to wake up me up, and it can only give a girl a heart attack to be woken up so suddenly. After he saw how scared I was, well, that's when he gave me the oh-so-precious-good-morning-kiss. Then immediately afterwards I kicked him out of the room before of the kids woke up as well.
"Ivy! Ivy! Watch me!"
Once again, I look to Ethan who goes down the slide. I give him a thumbs up and focus back on my book.
I stare at the words on the page blankly as my mind goes back to Elliott. We're really doing this. I'm plunging deeply into the freezing cold waters beyond the cliff, just praying I won't drown. I have to open up to Elliott because I want to be emotionally connected with someone other than my lame subconscious. A person can lose their mind talking to themselves their whole lives. If it weren't for Mikey, I probably would be in an asylum by now.
Obviously things are so much different with Elliott than Mikey. I don't actually talk to Mikey about everything. He's just the person I talk to the most about anything. It's a lot of pressure on a pubescent boy to be my only real friend and family. My relationship with Elliott won't be this one-sided. He is giving just as much as I am, and he knows that.
The most difficult thing for me right now is the timing. I can't just dump an entire life's worth of opinions and experiences on him. I want our relationship to be fun and light-hearted. Moving too quickly too fast is only going to create more collateral damage.
"Ivy! Ivy! Push me!"
I sigh and close my book, placing it on the bench before going to push Ethan on the swings. He doesn't get the whole concept of a swing, so it takes me a few minutes to explain it to him. After I explain it, he looks at me with his mouth formed in an 'o' shape and jumps off the swing.
"Watch me go down slide!" he says and runs back to the slide. As I turn around to sit back on the bench, he screams, "I said watch me!"
"Hey, why don't you watch your attitude?" I say with my arms akimbo.
He smiles with fear in his eyes before sliding down and running over to the twins and their friends near the small rock wall.
When I head back over to the bench, I see my book has been tossed to the ground and a couple has occupied my seat. Sighing, I walk over to pick up Bethany and relocate to a spot in the grass. I look over my shoulder to see Jonas playing soccer with his teammates. I still don't like those prepubescent bad influences.
"Hey, Ivy!"
I smile as Jett joins me in the grass, Myrtle in his hands. "Hey, Jett. How are you?"
"Good. Myrtle and I just went on a three hour walk," he says. "We're super tired."
"I can only imagine." I rock Beth's carrier back and forth gently. "Why don't you go join in on Jonas' soccer game?"
"Oh, no. I couldn't," he mumbles. "I'm the least athletic person to ever walk the earth."
I laugh. "It's just a scrimmage game. Go," I urge.
He sighs and hands me his pet turtle. "Could you watch Myrtle for me?"
"Sure." I set the tortoise on the grass, not exactly sure how to take care of the thing. "Sit. Stay."
After about ten minutes of me trying to control this pet, I hear some commotion from the scrimmage game. At first, I assume it's just your typical competitive fighting and name calling, but I'm very wrong.
"Why don't you go play with some dolls, faggot?"
I look up to see one of the boys pushing at Jett's chest. Jonas stands to the side, his eyes wide and mouth hung open. The rest of the boys are laughing as Jett gets picked on. I stand up, planning to put an end to this.
"Get out of here, freak!" another boy yells at Jett, who winces when someone fakes charging at him.
The boy from before points his finger towards a group of little girls at the park. "I think you fit in better over there, little bitch."
"Oh, shut the hell up, dickface!"
I stop dead in my tracks as Jonas finally speaks up. Although normally I'd be disappointed in him for calling someone dickface, today I am completely and wholeheartedly proud of Jonas.
"What did you just say to me, Kennedy?"
Jonas walks up to the kid, dickface, and punches him straight in the eye. "I said shut the hell up!"
That's when I (sadly) have to step in. I run over to the open field and stand between Jonas and dickface.
"Ivy! I-I can explain!" Jonas cries, panic in his eyes.
Dickface holds a hand over his eye, his breathing heavily. "So you need your nanny to protect you? I guess Darren was right when he said you were a pansy!"
"Hey!" I yell and whack the back of dickface's head. "You're lucky I stepped in to save you, kid."
He drops his head and nods.
"Go apologize to Jett right now," I demand.
Dickface sighs and turns to Jett, who is shyly standing off to the side and holding his stomach. "Sorry."
"Now, go home. Don't worry. Your mom will be getting a call from me shortly," I say and nudge him away.
The rest of the boys leave for either their homes or for a different spot in the park. Anywhere that scary nanny Ivy is not, I guess.
"You okay?" I say and walk to Jett.
He nods, wiping under his eyes. "I-I guess."
I rub his shoulder. "Those kids are so stupid, okay? They're just jealous because you know exactly who you are and they can't even make a decision on their own."
"Thanks, Ivy," he says with a warm smile. "I know they're stupid. And-and thanks for sticking up for me, Jonas."
Jonas nods. "Yeah, man. No one talks to my friends like that."
I smile and hug Jonas tightly, too proud to hold it in. He holds his hands at his sides with his faced squished against my shoulder.
"Can't...breathe..." he chokes out in a muffled voice.
I pull away and ruffle his hair. "I'm just so proud of you, Jo."
"So, does this mean I'm not grounded for punching a kid in the face?" he asks with raised eyebrows.
"Well," I pause, "we just won't tell your mom about this one, okay?"
He laughs. "Thanks, Ivy."
"Wait, where's Myrtle?"
I widen my eyes when I hear Jett's loud squeals.
After an hour and a half of searching for Myrtle, we found him in Bethany's carrier. I blame myself for not thinking of looking in there to begin with. It took Jett awhile to forgive me for leaving Myrtle, but eventually he decided I had no other option in that situation but to leave the turtle with a baby.
Back at home, Elliott and Flynn are playing ping-pong in the basement. They're blaring Kanye West and Jay-Z, rapping along to each lyric. I turn down the music to just hear my own thoughts.
"Hey, guys," I say and place my hands on the table.
"Hey, Ivy." Elliott moves to give me a kiss, but I shake my head subtly and glance towards Flynn. "I mean, sup...bitch." He shrugs with a mixed look of confusion and nervousness.
I roll my eyes. "What have you guys been doing all day?"
"We went on a boat ride with Kirk, then we came back here and have been playing ping-pong for two hours," Flynn answers.
"Fun!" I smile. "Are you staying for dinner?"
"Not me. It's my dad's birthday tonight," he says. "We're going out for dinner."
"That's nice," I comment. "Tell your dad I said happy birthday." I look to Elliott. "What about you?"
He looks down at his paddle. "Uh, I don't know. Jase and Angelina invited me to their barbecue tonight. I have to decide whether I'm going."
"You should," I say. "That'd be fun. And you had been saying how you haven't seen them in awhile."
"Yeah, I'll think about it," he sighs.
Flynn checks his watch before setting down his paddle. "Shoot, I have to get going. Later!" He runs upstairs, leaving just Elliott and me downstairs.
"Want to play ping-pong?" Elliott asks me with a lopsided grin.
"Sure," I laugh and grab Flynn's paddle to stand on the opposite side of Elliott. "So, what is there to think about in deciding whether to go to the barbecue or not?"
He serves the ping-pong ball and shrugs. "I just thought maybe...maybe you'd want to do something with me tonight."
I smile, hitting the ball with my paddle. "What did you have in mind?"
"See, I was hoping you'd have an idea," he says.
"Well, I actually was planning on making a nice dinner for Jonas."
"What the heck? Are you cheating on me with my younger brother?"
I laugh. "Your younger brother punched someone in the eye today and also called that kid a dickface."
"In that case," he pauses, "make him the best damn dinner this world has ever seen! We'll postpone our dinner until after everyone's asleep."
"You want me to eat dinner at one in the morning?"
"The things we do for love," he jokes.
I laugh and whack the ping-pong ball on his side of the table. We go back and forth for a bit, both of us focused on the game. Somewhere along the way, Elliott became super competitive, keeping score and cheering loudly whenever I messed up. I have a competitive side in me as well though, so I actually find it pretty cute rather than annoying.
When my phone rings, I immediately drop the paddle to answer it. Without my defenses, there isn't much I can do as Elliott serves the ping-pong with aggression and the white ball flies straight into my eye.
"Shit!" Elliott mutters and throws his paddle to the side before rushing over to me. "Are you okay?"
"Do you hit all the girls you like in the eye with a ping-pong ball?" I ask, poking at my bruised eye.
He smiles lightly and rests his hand on my jawline. "I'm sorry. Let's go put some ice on it."
I grab my phone and follow Elliott upstairs. The notification of my phone is for a missed call and a voicemail from my mom. I click on the voicemail and hold the phone up to my ear to listen.
"Just landed here in Oregon. I'm staying with Jewel for a few days. Call me back."
I nod, not too surprised that my mom would go to her friend's house rather than go to her own daughter. I'm always there for her, but she chooses to cry on the shoulder of someone else. I'll never understand it.
"Who called?" Elliott asks, taking an icepack out of the freezer.
"My mom," I answer and sit on one of the stools. "She's staying with her friend who lives in the town over."
He nods and hands me the icepack. "We have a guest house she could stay in. I'm sure if you talked to my mom she'd be okay with your mom staying here while you're working."
I touch the ice to my eye, pulling it away when the coldness is too much and resting it on the counter. "Thanks for the offer, but I already know she'd decline. She doesn't like the privileged and entitled rich people."
Elliott raises an eyebrow.
I widen my eyes when I register what I just said. "I-I didn't mean it like that. That's just what my mom calls people with more money than us. She's really just a bitch about it."
"She's not too far off from the truth," Elliott says with a smile. He takes the icepack and gently holds it against the side of my eye, standing in between my legs. "You should at least let her know she has that option."
I nod, though I've already thrown that idea in the trash. There's no way I want my mom near my work. She's a toxic mess after a breakup, one that needs to stay far, far away from the Kennedy's.
"Let me get a look at your eye," Elliott says and sets the icepack on the counter. He lifts his fingers and presses lightly on the stinging area. "Does it hurt?"
"A little," I admit.
He leans forward and kisses on the spot just above my eyelid and just below my eyebrow. I place my hands lightly on his abdomen, giving him a small push back. He smirks and juts forward to kiss me on the lips before moving back to sit on one of the stools.
I shake my head. "You're already starting off so careless. Anyone could've walked in."
"You were asking for it, Red."
"Shut up," I say with an eye roll. "Want to help me make dinner for Jonas?" I jump off the stool and hold the icepack to my face.
"Sure." He stands up and goes to the cabinet, pulling out a box of Cheerios and placing it on the counter. "Done."
I laugh. "Hey, Jonas! Can you come in the kitchen for a second?" I yell to him.
Jonas walks into the kitchen, wrapped in a blanket, looking like a caterpillar in a cocoon. "I was summoned."
"Yeah, what do you want for dinner?"
He puckers his lips and ponders the question for a few seconds. "I kind of want to go out to dinner. Have you ever been to that restaurant where they insult you the entire time?"
"The food sucks there!" Elliott argues.
"Hey, did you punch a kid in the eye and call that same kid a dickface today?" I ask. "Didn't think so." I turn back to Jonas. "We can go there if you'd like, kid."
"Sick," Jonas comments before leaving the kitchen.
Elliott shakes his head. "This is so dumb. The last time we went there, Jonas ended up crying because the waiter hurt his feelings. There's only one real reason he wants to go there tonight."
"What's that?"
"I was banned from there," he sighs.
I raise my eyebrows. "You were banned from a restaurant?"
"The waiter hurt my little brother's feelings!" Elliott exasperates. "He had it coming."
"What'd you do?"
"I called him a bitch-ass-douchebag-whore-dick. And then I punched him in the throat."
I cover my mouth with my hand, not sure whether to laugh or to be concerned.
"Look, I was fifteen and Flynn knew Jonas was sensitive about wetting the bed."
"It was Flynn?" I ask.
"Did I not mention that earlier?" He shrugs. "But it's whatever. I'll just go to the barbecue for dinner and then come home for our date."
"But what if I need you to be there to call our waiter a bitch-ass-douchebag-whore-dick?" I ask, a smile on my face.
He laughs. "After seeing the incident with Darren, I think you can handle yourself, Red."
I probably should've listened to Elliott's warnings about this restaurant. Within the first ten minutes of our arrival, the twins have started crying because a waitress called them soulless gingers.
The smile on Jonas' face is the only good thing about it. He loves the insults being thrown his way. Even more, he loves when the rest of us are insulted. It makes him laugh harder than I've seen him laugh before. It's a little bit twisted, but we always knew Jonas was different.
As for the food, it tastes worst than expired cafeteria food. I find myself looking forward to my dinner date with Elliott at one. Though to be completely honest, I don't know how much better the food then is going to taste than this food.
When the waitress comes to take my half eaten plate, she looks me up and down with an annoyed face. "It'll take a lot more than skipping dinners for you to lose that baby fat."
"Thanks," I say and pull out my credit card to pay for the dinner, so ready to bolt out of here.
"Roasted!" Jonas yells from the other side of the table. "God, I love this place!"
"You know what, Addison didn't get one insult tonight," I point out. "Even Bethany got picked on!"
Addison smiles and sips her drink. "I'm just too perfect. They had nothing to work with."
"Oh, please," Jonas scoffs. "You're adopted because your mom looked down and thought she just gave birth to a moldy piece of cheese! Boom! Roasted!"
As we drive home, Jonas decides he is going to 'roast' each and everyone of us, since apparently is his calling. Spoiler alert: he's not very good at insults.
Crystal, Lindsay Lohan just called, she wants her un-famous life back.
"Boom! Roasted!"
Bethany, did you poop your pants? Oh, wait, I didn't see you there, Ethan!
"Boom! Roasted!"
Rose, you'll never be as cool as Crystal!
"Boom! Roasted!"
Ivy, you're named after a poisonous plant! Suiting because everyone stays away from you!
"Boom! Roasted!"
Eventually, we do make it home and are able to get away from Jonas. Addison locked him in the van for twenty minutes,and I didn't even notice until I tripped on his shoe on the way upstairs and went to go yell at him.
Elliott gets home after I put the twins, Bethany, and Ethan to bed. Jonas and Addison are already in their rooms and will stay on their phones for another three hours.
"How was the barbecue?" I ask, cleaning up the family room of all the toys.
"Fun," he says and plops down on the couch. "I went diving for the first time in awhile. I sort of forgot how much I love it."
I smile and sit next to him on the couch. "You have to take me to the cliff with you one time so I can cross it off my wish list this summer."
"Let's go right now!" he says and jumps up from the couch.
I tug on his arm and pull him back on the couch to sit next to me. "I can't leave everyone home alone, genius. Next time, okay?"
"Okay," he agrees. "How was dinner?"
"Well, I completely understand why you punched Flynn in the throat," I say. "I almost slapped our waitress like six times. And the food totally sucks."
He laughs. "You're in luck, Ivy. I plan to make you some gourmet grilled cheese for tonight."
I go with Elliott into the kitchen where he begins the ever-so-difficult process of making some grilled cheese sandwiches. Off his phone, he plays some REO Speedwagon and dances with me in the kitchen. I laugh has he swirls me around and pulls me close to his chest.
"Are-are you guys making grilled cheese?"
I snap my head around to look at Ethan who stands in the kitchen with his stuffed elephant toy. In a panic, I jump away from Elliott, knocking over the frying pan and dumping the sandwiches on the floor.
"Ethan! I thought you were asleep!" I gasp.
"I smelt grilled cheese," he says with puppy dog eyes. "Were you guys dancing? Without me?" He whispers the last part, horror in his voice.
"No, buddy. We were just preparing for your arrival," Elliott lies simply as he picks up the grilled cheese of the floor, taking a bite nonetheless. "Come here, E." He picks up his little brother and dances around the kitchen with him in his arms.
I decide to make two more sandwiches for Ethan and me. Elliott takes my hand to pull me away from the stove, handing Ethan to me. He finishes making the sandwiches so I can dance with Ethan. The little boy giggles as I bounce him up and down to the music.
After Elliott finishes making the sandwiches, the three of us go up to Ethan's room to eat. Elliott sits on Ethan's left and I go on the right. Ethan tells us a bedtime story, the crazy adventure of a turtle and a baby.
The story tires him out pretty quickly. Before even finishing, he falls asleep. I look over to Elliott, who has also fallen asleep. Covering in my mouth, I try to hold in my laugh as they both snore loudly.
I stand up from Ethan's bed and go over to kiss Elliott's cheek. He opens his eyes, a smile on his face.
"I'm sorry our first date got ruined," he says, reaching his hand out to take mine in his.
I shrug. "I wouldn't say it got ruined...just interrupted."
"Let me walk you home," he says and stands up from the bed.
I raise an eyebrow. "Walk me home?"
"Well, to your room," he clarifies, pulling me out of Ethan's room. We stop in front of the guest room door, our hands intertwined. "Thanks for letting me take you on a date tonight, Red."
I can't help but laugh at the cuteness of the situation. "Thank you for taking me on this date. The gourmet grilled cheese will have me coming back for more."
"Good." He smiles widely. "Uh...goodnight."
"Goodnight."
We stand outside my door for a few seconds, staring at one another in the eyes. There's something about Elliott that makes me feel safe, as well as completely vulnerable. I want to tell him everything I'm feeling, but at the same time I don't want to tell him anything.
"Goodnight," he repeats, a grin on his face.
"No, you hang up first!" I joke and open my bedroom door, stepping inside and going to close the door.
He laughs and holds his hand to keep the door open. "I don't want to hang up though."
"Then don't."
~~
AN:
...
lol I didn't know how to end it don't judge me take that saying how you want it but don't come asking me
omg guys the guy who I casted as Jonas was in an episode of once upon a time!!! (WARNING: do not spoil anything for me or I will never post another chapter of this story again I've just started season 4 and I've stayed so far away from spoilers don't wreck this for me)
I don't know why it was so hard for me to write this chapter but I got so stuck and that's why the update took so long. I just have so many things I want to happen, but I have to make sure I don't rush into anything. it's hard being me, people.
ugh how was this chapter be honest I feel like it was a mess let me know I need to know I want to redo it is it trash it totally is trash like even the title is trash I'm trash
you know what if you have a better title for this chapter tell me because I want to change it hit me up y'all
I feel like I'll get my mojo back soon
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