No, We Don't Come Easy

March 10th, 2009

"Wendy, go." Taylor urged, pushing his sister out the door. "Grandma's going to take care of us now." Annabelle smiled next to him and latched on to his pants. She was now five years old and growing up too quickly for Wendy's liking. Kennedy stood next to Wendy, clutching her hand. "I promise we'll be fine. Go have fun. Go be the teenager that you are."

"Taylor," Wendy chuckled, kissing his cheek. "You should look in a mirror sometime. You're too mature for your age, you know."

"It's what I'm good at," he shrugged. "Now go."

"Bye, Kenny!" Annabelle exclaimed, climbing on him. Kennedy chuckled and bent down to her height, then embraced her while kissing her hair. "I'll miss you!"

"I'll miss you, too, kidd-o," he smiled at the little girl, then stood back up and led Wendy to The Maine's van. "Come on, 'lil lady. We've got a plane to catch."

"Who's going to drive the - " Wendy pointed to the van, her eyebrows furrowed.

"Got it taken care of. Max, our handy-dandy slave, is going to drive to Arizona, while us successful people fly."

"You guys are dicks," Max growled from the front seat. "This is mean. Like really mean."

"Tour's over, man," John laughed. "You'll get to rest up when we see you at home, buddy." John patted Max's shoulder, only earning a glare from the boy. "See you in a few days!"

Two yellow taxis drove Wendy, Kennedy, John, Jared, Garrett and Pat towards the Bloomington Airport and dropped them off. Kennedy grabbed his bags, plus Wendy's carry-on, while she carried her own suitcase.

"I can get that," Kennedy smiled, trying to take the suitcase from Wendy's hands.

"I think not," Wendy glared. "I can handle myself, thank you very much." She rolled her eyes and muttered, "Just 'cause I'm a chick."

"I'm sorry," He chuckled, kissing her cheek. "If it makes you feel better, you're probably stronger than Pat over here."

"Shut up!" He screeched angrily. "If anything, I'm the drummer, and I can own all of you. And any girl, at that."

John shook his head and stuck his foot out, causing Pat to trip and fall over, his things tumbling down with him. Wendy burst out in laughter, covering her mouth, trying to hide her wide smile as Kennedy laughed next to her.

"Wendy," He groaned. "You're supposed to stick up for me."

"Not this time, Patty," She giggled, clutching onto Kennedy's hand. "You disrespected the woman gender. I shall see that you've stood corrected."

Kennedy laced his fingers with her's and kissed her cheek softly, causing Wendy to blush slightly and bite her lip, then look at her feet. Kennedy watched as she pushed a piece of her hair behind her ear, watching each step she took.

"I must remind you," Kennedy whispered in her ear. "Pat got beat up by a girl in the seventh grade." Wendy only giggled at this, then smiled a little as she looked back at Pat, who was trudging behind them.

"What," He muttered, still rubbing his butt. "Kennedy, what did you tell her?!"

"The truth," Kennedy smirked, turning back around, but not before running into a woman, causing her to spill her briefcase, around fifty papers falling out and all over the place. "Oh my God! I'm so sorry!" Wendy tried to hide her giggle as she watched Kennedy bend down and help the middle-aged woman helplessly, while blushing a billion shades of red.

"I'm fine," She growled, picking up the last of her papers, stuffing them back in her briefcase and hastily walking away, muttering, "Teenagers."

As soon as the woman was out of ear-shot, all the guys and Wendy cracked up, hunching over from laughter while Pat held up a phone.

"That better not be the Buzznet phone," Kennedy pouted, blushing even more.

"You couldn't be more correct, Kenny!" Pat cheered, jumping up and down. "This is what Kennedy does in front of girls he likes. He completely and utterly makes an ass out of himself."

"Oh, come on Pat," Wendy rolled her eyes. "I thought it was cute."

"Whipped," John sing-songed, stuffing his hands in his pockets, earning a smack on the shoulder from Wendy. "Hey!"

"You deserve it, asshole!" She glared, then helped Kennedy up, brushing him off a little. "Are you embarrassed?" She giggled, causing him to only nod and stuff his hands in his pockets. Then she leaned up to his ear and whispered, causing him to go weak in the knees, "If it makes you feel any better, you don't squeal like a girl, like Pat does." Kennedy smirked and kissed her cheek, resting his hand on her waist. "Let's go." She grabbed his hand and pulled him towards security.

John smirked as he came upon the security belt, then, to Kennedy, "I bet that hot security guard is going to pat me down, man!"

"Don't get your hopes up," Kennedy rolled his eyes as he took his shoes off, along with his studded belt and wrist-watch. "You're such a perv."

"Just watch," John nodded to the woman. "She wants me."

Wendy and Kennedy got patted down first, then John stepped up to the plate as he smirked at the brunette security guard, her hair long and flowy. She rolled her eyes and patted him down, causing John to nod his head.

"I bet you like this job," He smirked. "Getting to pat down cute guys all the time?"

"You couldn't be more wrong," She sighed, thrusting her fist into his gut, causing him to hunch over. Security guards rushed over, but she waved them away. "No, he'll be fine. Just a little misunderstanding, right?" She winked at John as he smiled sarcastically, walking over to the guys.

Wendy winced as she watched John limp towards her. She handed him his shoes and belt, then pouted. "That's what you get for hitting on security, Cornelius."

"She was cute," He shrugged. "It was worth a try."

Around twenty minutes later, all of The Maine and Wendy, minus Max, arrived at the gate, and Kennedy looked over at Wendy. She gulped, and bit her lip, then squeezed Kennedy's hand.

"What's wrong?" He furrowed his eyebrows together, turned towards Wendy and resting his hand on her cheek.

"I'm not really a fan of flying," She pushed her lips to the side and looked at her feet, then smiled weakly up at Kennedy. "Or any heights for that matter. You know, once I went on a Ferris wheel, and we got stuck on there for forty-five minutes. It was horrible."

"But you're the one who forced me on the Ferris wheel at the mall!" He chuckled. "What happened to her?"

"I lied," She giggled. "Inside I was almost ready to puke."

Kennedy kissed her softly, "Same here."

"Get a room," John scoffed, causing Kennedy to roll his eyes. "What? There are children present, you two. How shameful."

"You're the one who was about ready to feel up the security guard!" I protested, sticking my tongue out at him. Kennedy chuckled from beside me and wrapped his arm around my waist. "Yeah, find a hole in that one. Oh, that's right. You can't." Wendy rolled her eyes and walked into the long walkway towards the plane, her carry-on on her shoulder.

Kennedy and Wendy sat next to her, John on the other side of Wendy, causing her to be in the middle.

Wendy looked to her right and glared at John as he 'checked out' the flight attendant, "This oughtta be fun."

Later that night, at Kennedy's house, Wendy stood in his bedroom, her jaw open at the sight of the mural his sister had painted, "Oh my God."

"I know, right?" He sighed. "My sister, she's kind of an art fanatic. She's on a full scholarship to SCAPA, and hopefully NYU in two years."

"This is - amazing," Wendy set her jacket on Kennedy's bed and touched her fingers lightly on the staff of notes. She ran her fingers along the lines, smiling softly when she felt Kennedy's arms wrap around her waist. She inhaled his scent, turning her head slightly towards him. "I'm tired."

"The lady should sleep, then," He smiled, kissing her neck, then let go of her. "I'll be in the bathroom." Wendy nodded, letting go of his hand as he strolled into the bathroom, shutting the door. She heard the sink running, and she slid off her pants, then changed into boxer shorts. She ran her fingers through her hair and slid her shirt off just as Kennedy walked out. He gazed at her frame, then let it linger on her stomach. Wendy bit her lip, shook her head, then looked at her feet, causing Kennedy to walk quickly towards her and embrace her while resting his hand on her stomach.

There was a long brown scar running just below her belly button. Kennedy furrowed his eyebrows together sadly, then ran his fingers along it gently, biting his lip and looked back up at Wendy. She shook her head and looked away from him, trying to pull away.

Kennedy only pressed his lips to her's and embraced her tightly, causing her to let a single tear fall.

"I'm so sorry," He breathed. "You don't deserve that, Wendy."

"It's not your fault," She pried his hands off her stomach and climbed into his bed, facing the wall. Kennedy sighed and laid down with her, wrapping his arms around her stomach. "Why did I start trusting again when I met you, Kennedy?" She asked quietly, turning to face him. "I mean - what attracted me to you? I just don't get how quickly this is all happening. I don't even know if that makes sense and - "

"It makes perfect sense," He shook his head. "I'm just going along with it, Wendy. I don't know where all this is going, but it has to be good. I've only had good feelings, to be honest."

She nodded, "Me, too."

There was a moment of silence as Kennedy rested his forehead in the crook of her neck.

Wendy sighed, "You want to know something, Kennedy?"

"Hm?"

She bit her lip and faced him, "I think I'm starting to fall in love with you, as crazy as it sounds."

Kennedy smiled, "This reminds me of a certain time when I told you how I felt about you and you totally rejected me - "

"Shut up," She kissed him softly, resting her hand on his cheek. "It's true, you know."

Kennedy nodded, "I'm beginning to fall in love with you, too, Wendy. Rather quickly, as a matter of fact."

They kissed once more, "Looks like we're on the same page, then."