"I'm so sorry that this is so last minute! Addison and Elliott are both out tonight. I'd trust Jonas if he weren't Jonas."
I laugh. "Don't worry about it, Mrs. Kennedy. I'd be happy to come over and watch the kids for a couple of hours."
Levi's drops his jaw, throwing his hands up in the air. I shrug.
"Thanks, Ivy. I really appreciate it. Sorry to bother you again!"
"No worries! I'll see you tonight," I say. "Bye."
"Bye."
I put my phone in my back pocket. "Don't say anything."
"Uh," Levi pauses, "'Oh, I'm not busy at all, Mrs. Kennedy!'" he mimics me. "What am I to you, Ivy?"
"I'm sorry, Levi," I apologize. "I just haven't seen the kids in awhile. I see you like everyday."
He shakes his head. "I just didn't realize that our plans mean nothing to you."
"Yeah, well, I guess now is a good time to tell you that you mean absolutely nothing to me and I hate spending time with you," I joke.
He nods. "Alright, alright. I respect your honesty."
I sit back down on one of the beanbags in his room. "Did you see the new guy Kendra hired today? I felt so bad for him. He dropped like eight glasses in the kitchen."
"On his first day? Poor kid."
"Yeah," I sigh. "I think he might be one of the chefs' nephew or something, so they won't fire him."
"Once again," he pauses, "poor kid."
I laugh and bring one of the pillows against my chest. "Are you really going to quit soon?"
He shrugs. "The only reason I've stuck around so long is to hang out with you, Ivy."
I feel something flip in my stomach, but I ignore it. It must've been the sushi I ate earlier today. "Yeah?"
"Yeah." He sighs and stretches his arms in front of him. "But now that you're leaving for Rhode Island soon, I better get out of there as fast as I can."
I smile. "Clarissa will miss you so much!"
"I know. I don't know how anyone will function without my sarcastic humor and beautiful waiter talents."
"Your beautiful waiter talents?"
He nods. "The ladies always give me really nice tips, if you know what I mean." He winks awkwardly, his eyebrows moving in a weird wave.
I shake my head and throw a pillow at him. "You're so conceited, Levi. You're so conceited."
"Did you just reference my favorite movie for me, Ivy?"
I shrug and skillfully stand up from the beanbag. "I should get back to eat an early dinner with Jett and Nora before I babysit."
He pouts his lip. "I'll miss you so much, Ivyboo."
I give him a weird look and walk out of his room. He follows me out of his room and down the steps of the apartment building.
"But, seriously, I'm pissed that you're ditching me to work. What am I supposed to do tonight without my wing woman?"
"I don't know. Watch a movie or something."
"I'm not going to stay home to watch a movie on Halloween weekend, Ivy! I should be dressing up like John Cusack in Say Anything and going into parties with an inflatable boombox on my shoulder."
"You are so embarrassing, Levi." I hide a smile. "Why don't you ask Amy or Mo if they have any parties for you to go to?"
"Uh, maybe because Amy and Mo have the weirdest friends!" He sighs. "Plus, I already asked them before I asked you. Amy is in California and Mo is staying home with his grandma."
"I heard Mrs. Morrison is super fun to hang out with," I say. "She'd love your John Cusack outfit."
He shakes his head. "Ivy, please tell your ex-boyfriend's mom that her son is a hoe and you refuse to babysit in the same house he poops in."
"Oh my God," I mutter. "You are the worst, Levi Webster."
He smiles, a cute giggle falling from his lips. "Thanks."
"But since you are a good friend of mine and I'd hate to see you bored on the Saturday of Halloween weekend," I pause, "I'll let you babysit with me."
"What?"
His eyes widen, and he wipes his forehead with the back of his hand. "Whoa, meeting the kids? I-I don't know if I'm ready for that step in our relationship!"
I roll my eyes and push the side of his chest. "I'm serious, loser. You can if you want to. Costume optional."
"Will you have a costume on?" he asks curiously.
"No."
He frowns. "No wonder Elliott dumped you. You're a total party pooper!"
"Okay, I'm taking my invitation back. Have fun watching John Hughes movies by yourself," I say and open the car door.
"No! Ivy, I can't help my sarcastic humor! You know it's my life goal to meet the iconic Jonas Kennedy!"
I laugh. "Okay. Come to my house at six."
Levi pumps his fist in the air before running back into his apartment complex. I get in my car and pull out of the parking spot, the radio playing softly while I drive back home.
It's weird to think that I have become so close to Levi in just two months. He is probably my closest friend as of now. I can so easily tell him anything that is on my mind. Of course I'll get a sarcastic answer occasionally, but most of the time he is really sweet about things. His mom is a psychologist, so he must've learned from her how to have the perfect responses to just about anything.
He's pretty flirtatious, but that's just part of his personality. I've gotten accustomed to just ignoring his comments about us going on dates or how "the mood is so perfect to kiss right now." It's not like he doesn't understand my situation with Elliott, because he knows more about it than anyone else. He just has no filter when it comes to those things. And I think he knows that I'm getting close to being over Elliott.
"Hey, guys! What's for dinner?" I ask when I walk into the kitchen, tossing my keys on the counter.
"Uncle Vic cooked a turkey," Nora says blandly.
I open my mouth, unsure of what to say. "Oh! Good..."
"Yeah, he's not home yet," Aunt Lucy says. "I just want everyone to at least pretend to like it, okay? He's really excited about it."
"Okay, but, Auntie, he sucks at cooking," Jett says. "I am too young to die from my uncle's turkey."
"You're not going to die, J," Nora sighs. "You might throw up, but..."
"Nora!" Lucy scolds. "Come on, everyone. You can go to McDonald's as soon as the two of us head to work. Just eat the turkey and hold in your tears!"
I laugh and help Nora set the table. When Victor comes home, he has his turkey and is ready to serve it. I take a couple slices of the meat, actually starting to feel concerned for my health. Jett throws his turkey in the trash when no one is looking. That backfires. Victor puts even more turkey on his plate. Nora keeps gagging whenever her uncle looks away. It's Lucy who amazes me; she doesn't even react.
After dinner, Nora goes upstairs to change into her costume for the party she is going to tonight. Flynn is coming back home to celebrate with his friends from high school, and Nora couldn't be more excited.
Jett is going to a party as well. I wonder why Jonas isn't going with too, but the two have been pretty distant recently.
"Ivy, your boyfriend is outside," Jett screams.
"Can you get the door?" I ask, touching up my eyeliner.
"Sorry, I'm a little busy right now. My wig is stuck to the bed frame."
I roll my eyes and toss my eyeliner on to the dresser, rushing downstairs to get the door. Levi stands on the porch with his phone in the air, In Your Eyes by Peter Gabriel blasting. I lean against the doorframe with a smile on my face and check out his outfit. It's a long, brown coat paired with a white t-shirt and black jeans.
When the movie song ends, the next song on shuffle starts playing. Gimme More by Britney Spears. Levi nearly drops his phone, quick to turn off the song.
"Nice," I comment, fighting back a laugh.
He laughs. "You ready?"
"Yeah."
We cross the street together. The twins open the door before I even ring the doorbell.
"Ivy!" Crystal cries and wraps her arms around my waist. She looks up at Levi, her smile disappearing. "Who the heck are you?"
I smile, crouching down to hug Rose. "Girls, this is my friend Levi. Since I'm always telling him stories about you guys, he's been dying to meet you."
"Why is he dressed like a serial killer?" Rosie asks, whispering in my ear.
I bite my tongue. "It's just a costume."
"Hi!" Ethan says excitedly, squeezing on to my leg.
I pick him up in my arms like I always did and step inside the house. Mrs. Kennedy runs over from the kitchen, dressed up like Cinderella.
"Hey, Ivy! And..."
"Levi," he says, sticking out his hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Kennedy. I'm Ivy's friend from work. I didn't want to stay at home watching John Hughes movies by myself."
She smiles. "Okay. Nice costume, Levi."
"Thank you."
I shake my head and set Ethan down. "Where's Jonas?"
"He's listening to Madonna in his room," Crystal says.
I nod. "What happened?"
"He lost his soccer game," Rose says. "I think he blames himself because when he threw the ball in from the sidelines, he hit their star players nose and broke it."
"I laughed," Crystal says proudly.
Mrs. Kennedy walks back into the room, eyeing her daughter suspiciously. "Alright, kids, you better behave for Ivy and Levi. And make sure to have fun, yeah? I love you, guys."
"Love you," they mumble.
She waves to me before going out the front door.
"Party time!" Ethan screams, popping out from one of the closets next to where Levi was standing.
Levi screams and falls to the ground, his hand on his heart. The kids and I laugh at him.
Ethan runs over to the fallen Levi, touching his cheek lightly. "Is he dead?"
"No, E," I say. "But you can't go around popping out at strangers like that, okay?"
Levi stands up from the floor, flustered from the scare. "Yeah, not cool, kid."
Jonas comes downstairs, humming a Madonna song. He stops on the last step, his eyes moving from me to Levi. "Who's the stranger?"
"I'm Levi. I'm like your biggest fan," Levi says with a wide smile.
Jonas gives me a look. "Okay, well, I told Ivy that I'm not seeing any fans at this time. I'll send you an autograph in the mail."
Levi laughs and points to Jonas. "Legend."
"Hey, Ivy," Jonas says and gives me a hug, which is a bit surprising for him. "I like your costume. You make a really nice bride of Frankenstein."
My jaw drops. I push him away from me. "Excuse you!"
"We're going to be great friends, you and me," Levi says, throwing his arms over Jonas' shoulders.
Two hours later and Levi predicted things perfectly.
Jonas loves Levi. They have the same humor. It can be a bit much, but it's just nice to see the kids smiling so much. The twins like Levi as well, probably more than they like me. He's surprisingly good with kids. I think it's the way he just treats them like he would anybody.
We played credit card Monopoly for a few hours. It came down to just Ethan and Levi. Levi was not going easy on the kid. He didn't even crack during Ethan's puppy dog face. Even so, Ethan came out victorious, bankrupting Levi in the end.
When I went upstairs to put Bethany to bed, I could hear all of them laughing from downstairs. They were in the middle of an intense game of "don't touch the floor." I stepped right into the lava, and Ethan ended up using me as a human sacrifice. I didn't like that game as much.
After that, I had to put Ethan to bed. He was reluctant and forced me to get Levi to put him to bed instead. I stood at the doorway and watched Levi put the little boy to bed. He told him this boring bedtime story that somehow got Ethan to fall asleep within seconds.
"What kind of sorcery was that?" I whisper, closing Ethan's bedroom door.
"A magician never gives away his secrets, Ivy."
Crystal and Rose convince us to put on a movie. They pick Enchanted because, according to Rose, Levi looks like the prince.
"So, big guy, what are your intentions with our Ivy?" Crystal asks, plopping down next to Levi on the couch with a bag of popcorn.
"My intentions?" Levi laughs, looking at me with a smile. "Well, I intend to date her one day, if she ever lets me. There's a good chance that'll never happen. But if it were to, I'd be a great boyfriend. Eventually, I'd ask her to marry me. She'd say no. So, I'd ask her four more times until she said yes out of pity. Then we'd have a wedding and your brother would be my best man because I have no other friends and had he never broken up with Ivy then I would've never married her. We'd live in Oregon, maybe Rhode Island. I'd like to live by my parents though."
The girls look at each other.
"Oh."
They turn their heads to watch the opening of the movie.
Levi smiles proudly.
I shake my head, sitting on the other side of him and placing a bag of popcorn between us. "Seriously? You had to make Elliott your best man?"
"Yeah, I'm totally offended by that, man. I totally deserve to be your best man," Jonas says as he adjusts himself to lie on the floor.
Levi nods and places a hand on Jonas' shoulder. "Sorry, kid."
I stare at Levi, an odd sensation of attraction towards him coming to me. He looks surprisingly hot sitting there right now. I kind of want to make out with his face.
"Why are you staring at me, Ivy?" he asks, his eyes locked on mine.
Suddenly, the front door swings open. Elliott comes stumbling in, a scarcely dressed black cat closely behind him. The girl giggles, a bottle of wine in her hands. I feel a knot in my stomach.
"Whoa," Elliott gapes when he notices all of us. "What are you guys doing here?"
The twins slouch down on the couch, their faces sad.
"Hi, Elliott," I say, a forced smile on my face as I stand up from the couch.
He smiles, his eyes glossed over. "Hi, Ivy."
"Who's your friend?" I ask sweetly, smiling at the girl.
"Uh..." He scratches the top of his head and starts laughing. "I totally forgot her name!"
I nod. "Okay, well, I think you guys should go back to the party you just came from."
"No way!" Elliott laughs. "That party sucked balls!"
"I also suck balls," the black cat attempts to whisper, but fails to do so in her drunken state.
"Okay!" Levi says and stands up. "Let's go." He lifts the twins up in his arms and walks to the kitchen to take them upstairs. "Jonas!"
Jonas runs after Levi, an amused look on his face as he looks at Elliott and me and the black cat.
"Who was that?" Elliott asks, his eyes to the kitchen where Levi just disappeared. "Is he your boyfriend?"
"No. Look, Elliott, you really can't be here like this. Your siblings shouldn't see you drunk or with a girl that you don't even know the name of."
"I'm Ingrid!" the black cat introduces herself, sticking the hand holding the wine out.
"Hi, Ingrid. It's been a pleasure, but you two really need to go."
"Just between us girls, I think Elliott brought me here to have sex with him," Ingrid says in her whisper-scream voice. "So, if you could just let us go upstairs, I'd love you forever!"
I raise my eyebrows, looking at Elliott.
He's smirking proudly. "Don't worry, Ivy." He leans in closer to whisper, "I'll be thinking of you."
I'm caught off guard, and end up standing frozen for a few seconds. When I snap out of it, Ingrid and Elliott are heading upstairs. Levi is coming back down, so he blocks them from going upstairs.
"Okay, dude, I don't know who you are, but you're really pissing me off," Elliott slurs.
"Hey, I can drive you two back to whatever party you came from. No charge."
"I have to pee," Ingrid says, turning to walk down the stairs. She trips and falls down the stairs. The wine bottle shatters all over the floor. "Oops."
Ingrid cut her hand, and the blood starts dripping onto the floor. I rush over to help her, careful not to step on any glass. Levi sees the blood and passes out on the top step.
He really is the older version of Jonas.
"Oh, shit," Elliott mutters and goes to help Ingrid. "Are you okay?"
"I don't feel a thing!" she laughs.
"Well, we need to take you to the emergency room," I sigh. "Jonas!"
"What do you-" He stops mid sentence. "What the heck?"
"I need you to take care of Levi and the glass. I have to drive this girl to the emergency room to get stitches. Call your mom if you need to."
He nods. "Okay."
I help lift Ingrid and walk her through the glass. Elliott follows us.
"Why don't you stay here?" I suggest. "Get sober before your mom comes home."
He looks sad. "Ivy, I-"
"Just stop," I plead, tired of all of this. "Please."
~~
"So, tonight was fun."
I smile. "Yeah, sure was."
"Who'd you leave Ingrid at the hospital with?"
"Her mom. She's sixteen. She told me on the way to the hospital. I almost crashed the car." I flip to my left side on the bed and hold my phone to my other ear. "Sixteen."
"Damn."
I nod. "So, how'd Jonas do with taking care of you?"
"He didn't. I woke up to his mom screaming at Elliott. We were both passed out on the stairs."
I laugh at the image. "I feel so bad."
"It's not your fault. I mean, maybe it is. I did tell you to tell Mrs. Kennedy that her son was a hoe."
"Yeah."
Levi breathes on the other line. "Yeah."
"Well, thanks for being with me tonight, Levi."
"Anytime."
I smile, feeling oddly giddy. I think I'm just overly tired from everything that happened today. "Levi?"
"Yes, Ivy, I'll be your boyfriend," he says jokingly. "Just stop asking me, for Christ's sake!"
"Shut up." I bite my lip. "I actually have something serious to ask you."
"Oh my gosh. I'm dying in anticipation! This better be good."
"There's this wedding I got invited to coming up soon. Will you be my plus one?"
He laughs. "God, if that's your way of asking me to marry you!"
"Levi," I shake my head in laughter, "stop."
"Yes, I'll marry you, Ivy Lynch. Do I have to wear a tuxedo?"
"I'll ask my friend," I say.
"So, who's getting married?"
~~
AN:
leaving you with a cliff hanger (sort of) because I think it's funny
also. there is something serious I need to address.
earlier today I was searching this story to find out Levi's last name from the last chapter, and I saw that there was this other story called The Bad Boy's Nanny. I knew this was newer because when I first chose this title there were no other stories with this title. So, naturally, I click on it.
The main character's name is Ivy. She's been babysitting since she was seven. The "bad boy" is named Elliot (one t, but that's a whole other story). There is a sibling Addison's age. Twins. A boy Jonas' age. And a little boy. The moms name is Lesa (Mrs. Kennedy is Lena). She even made this joke about how the house was so big it could've been the kardashians. Seemed a bit too similar to my Brad and Angelina joke.
Basically, I'm super pissed off.
This story is copyrighted, so this girl actually has no right to steal any of my ideas and my content. It's disgusting that someone would steal something I worked so hard to create.
I mean, she didn't even change the main characters' names???? it's just so frustrating.
what do you guys suggest I do? I thought I'd message her as well as report her story for copyright reasons. please let me know, especially if any of you have experience with something like this.
kind of sucks. I'm in a bad mood. I want to cry.
on another note. WHY DO ALL OF YOU SPELL ELLIOTT'S NAME WITH ONE T??! ð it's just amusing to me. but seriously. why. lol. I love you guys.
just trying to stay positive & think about how lucky I am to have all of you â¤ï¸
ps I am now properly obsessed with skam and I blame all of you who I follow on Twitter for always tweeting about it like omg you did this to me
and the next chapter may possibly be in Elliott's POV so y'all can know what da heyck is going on
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