No, We Don't Come Easy

January 29th, 2009: Part 2

Kennedy and Wendy sat in a rather comfortable silence as the warm heat hit their skin, causing them even more comfort. She drove through the twists and turns of Bloomington as he listened to the soft music playing from her iPod. Kennedy had decided she had very good taste in music, almost the same as his. Kennedy didn't know where exactly Wendy was taking him. It's a hell of a lot better than shoveling an icy driveway, he thought, rolling his eyes to himself. Her cheeks were flushed lightly, as she was still cold from the winter air. He noticed her nose was a little pink, causing him to smile slightly. She was just so gorgeous.

"Tell me something about yourself," She said softly. "I mean, it'd probably be best if I got to know you."

Kennedy chuckled, "Alright." He tried to think of something that might impress her in the slightest bit. "I'm in a band. You might've heard of them. The Maine?" He asked, but she shrugged and shook her head. Kennedy blushed a little, causing her to giggle. She has the cutest laugh, he thought to himself.

"I'm sorry, Kennedy, but - "

"Please call me Kenny?" He begged.

"I prefer Kennedy," She smirked. "Anyway, I can't say that I've heard of your band. I'm sorry." She blushed again.

"It's no problem," he shrugged. "We were just on a tour with All Time Low, Mayday - "

"All Time Low?" She asked. "I've heard of them. 'Remembering Sunday,' right?" Kennedy nodded, envious of Alex, Jack, Zack and Rian at the moment. "Sorry, I interrupt people a lot. It's just a habit. Sometimes I get a little excited and say something that's on my mind. Don't take it personally."

And it's absolutely adorable, he thought.

"It's fine," he smiled, stuffing his hands in his pockets. "Oh, I love this song!"

"Really?" She asked, furrowing her eyebrows as 'Shiver' by Coldplay flowed through the car speakers. Kennedy nodded and took in a deep breath. "Interesting," she muttered to herself and Kennedy cocked his head to the side, but left it alone.

"So, where are we going anyway?"

She turned to him and grinned, "You'll see. But, it'll be a while until we get there. It's a little out of town, sorry."

"It's alright," Kennedy chuckled.

"Why don't we play a game?" She suggested. "Truth?"

"If you say so," Kennedy shrugged, hoping she wouldn't bring up anything embarrassing. "You can start if you want."

"If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?" Kennedy opened his mouth to say something, "And don't say Arizona. I've already heard that one a million times."

Kennedy sighed and thought for a minute, "London."

"Why?" She asked curiously.

"Never been," he shrugged again.

"I guess that's a reasonable answer," she smiled wide at him.

"What about you? Where would you be right now?"

"That's easy," she smiled and paused. "Auschwitz."

"Really?" Kennedy asked. "Why there?"

"Never been," she mimicked, then chuckled. "No, I'm just really interested in the Holocaust. It was my favorite subject in school, and I always wanted to research it a little more. If I ever did go there, I'd take lots of pictures and just take it all in. I mean, all the people that got tortured and killed there - it's horrible, but very inspiring at the same time." This girl was different to Kennedy, but at the same time...

He was very intrigued by her.

"Who was your first boyfriend?" Kennedy asked, grinning at her. She blushed and let out a little cough, then pressed her lips together in the cutest way.

"I'll tell you that I don't really classify him my first 'boyfriend.' More like my first 'lasts-a-week-or-a-few-days type of boyfriend.' " He chuckled and motioned for her to go on. She sighed, "His name was Eugene." Kennedy let out the loudest laugh he'd ever had since he'd been in Minnesota. "Shut up! He was cute, I swear! He hated his name, so I always called him by his middle name, which was Taylor. Then he was cuter after that. We dated for almost a week until he said he 'liked' someone else. I never really thought much of it and I didn't really take it too seriously. Now I think it's stupid I even agreed to be his 'girlfriend.' It was completely and utterly pointless in my eyes." Kennedy nodded, understanding her opinion. "So, Kennedy." He cringed at his full name. "Who was your first girlfriend?"

Kennedy sighed. He had hoped she wouldn't bring anything embarrassing up. "Well, brace yourself. It's a little embarrassing." He paused for dramatic effect.

"Oh, just tell me already!" She complained, giggling a little.

"Her name was Sandra, and well, she was popular. This was my freshman year of high school, by the way." Kennedy sighed, not really wanting to tell his story to Wendy. "Anyway, I thought she really liked me. We 'dated' for about a month before I found out she was just making fun of me behind my back because I thought we were actually 'a thing.' It was really embarrassing and I got laughed at by my entire class, besides my friends." He paused again, this time because he was having painful memories.

"I'm sorry," Wendy said with a slightly concerned tone. "That's really mean." She scrunched her eyebrows together in a hurt way. She was starting to feel pain for him.

"I saw her a few weeks ago, and I thought that maybe she had changed, or matured in some way. I was wrong. She was the same old Sandra, making fun of people that walked by her. I walked up to her and said hi to her. She looked at me for a minute, then I guess she realized who I was and she blushed. She looked a little - guilty, from what I could tell. I just - all I wanted was for her to apologize, because she doesn't know what kind of shit I went through for her. And how I felt so stupid that I actually thought we were something."

"She didn't apologize, did she?" Wendy asked knowingly.

Kennedy shook his head, "No, she didn't. I told her that she could take her stupid reputation and shove it down her bulemic throat." Wendy laughed, but Kennedy wasn't even chuckling the slightest bit. "What?" He asked.

She just kept laughing and laughing. She couldn't stop. "Did you - really - say that - to her?!" She cracked up more.

"Yes, I did," He gave her the weirdest look she'd ever recieved, but she just couldn't stop laughing. "Okay, tell me exactly why that's so funny? Please, Wennifred?"

She laughed for a few seconds, then slowly calmed down, "I don't know, Kennedy. It's just - I don't know. You make me laugh, Kennedy. A lot."

Kennedy smiled softly at her, then returned his gaze out the window. "It's your turn." He muttered, grinning over at her. She sighed, thinking a little. Her eyes were squinted the slightest bit, like she was contemplating something.

"When did you lose your virginity?" She asked, looking over at him. His breath caught in his throat. Kennedy most certainly did not want to answer that question. The blood flowed to his cheeks and they turned the darkest shade of pink he could imagine. "Oh, come on. You can tell me. I mean, it's not that bad if it was at a young age." Kennedy shook his head. "Oh. You're - oh." She looked over at him and tried to surpress the smile that was forming on her lips. She thought this was absolutely adorable about him. "Kennedy, are you a virgin?" Kennedy turned his head towards the window again and sighed.

"I think that this game is a little too personal. I mean, we've known each other for what? A day and a half?"

"Kennedy, it's alright if you're a virgin. Just tell me, please? You got yourself into this."

He sighed again, "Yes, Winnifred. I, Kennedy Brock, am a virgin."

"I think that's cute," she confessed, smiling softly over at him. Kennedy shook his head. "No, I'm serious! I think it's mature and responsible, unlike me."

"What?" Kennedy laughed. "To me, you're like the most mature person I've met! How is that possible?"

"Well, when your boyfriend lures you into drinking, you don't really know what you're doing and you let him take advantage of you." She was becoming a little bitter. "That's how."

There was a moment of silence and Kennedy sighed, "I'm sorry, Wendy. I didn't mean to - "

"It's fine, Kennedy," she smiled. "We're here anyway." Kennedy looked at where they were and cocked his head to the side.

"Where exactly is 'here?' " Kennedy looked around as he stood up from out of the car.

"The circus, my dear," she said, causing butterflies to fly around Kennedy's stomach.

She called me 'dear,' he thought, then stuffed his hands in the pockets of his NorthFace fleece jacket and followed her into the cliche tent. He was surprised at how exactly cliche everything about the circus was.

"Are you excited?" She asked and Kennedy shrugged.

"I've never been to a circus before," he confessed.

"Are you kidding me?!" She laughed and grabbed his hand, causing Kennedy's blood to flow to his fingertips and right back up to his cheeks. "Come on! You're going to have soooooo much fun, I swear!"

Kennedy chuckled at her excitement and sighed as they sat down on a bench in the stands.

The circus was not what Kennedy had imagined. All the bright colors, the fire, the animals. Kennedy was surprised at how it looked exactly like all the movies he'd seen.

The ringmaster emerged from behind the tent and threw his hands in the air, "Ladies, gentlemen, children of all ages! What you are about to witness is purely and utterly beyond your wildest dreams and strongest imaginations! You're about to go to a place you've never been before; witness things you've never seen; imagine things you never thought you could ever possibly imagine! Let the show begin!" Wendy clapped excitedly and slid her arm through Kennedy's. She was strangely comfortable around him, unlike other guys she had known. Kennedy was different to her. A good different.

A clown flew his way out into the center of the ring, three steel circles in his hand. He threw one up and easily caught it, then added another and another. He juggled them, making it all look so easy. Kennedy smiled a little and looked down at Wendy. She had a huge smile on her face.

"You know, when I was a kid, my dad used to bring me here every year, to see this show. It was the only place I'd ever go with him where it was just the two of us." Kennedy smiled down at her as she turned her attention back to the clown.

Then Kennedy realized something.

He was having fun.

In Minnesota. The one place where he didn't want to be. And he was enjoying it.

Kennedy and Wendy emerged from the tent, smiling. The two walked towards her car. A balloon animal from the clown was placed on Kennedy's head and even though he felt absolutely rediculous, he didn't care. Wendy had insisted on him wearing it, and he agreed.

After all, it was all for Wendy or nothing at all.

Wendy let out a silent yawn, covering her mouth.

"Do you want me to drive?" Kennedy offered. Wendy chuckled and shook her head. "Why not?"

"Because I'd fall asleep instantly and you wouldn't know your way back home even if you had that stupid, talking GPS system with you."

She was right. Kennedy sighed, "Whatever."

Fireworks started blasting off into the sky. Kennedy and Wendy looked up, mesmerized. He leaned on the hood of her car and folded his arms across his chest, watching them all fly into the pitch black darkness. Wendy smiled softly at him as he looked up, then her eyes went wide. "Stay right there, Kennedy. Don't move an inch." Kennedy furrowed his eyebrows together, but obeyed her demands anyway.

Wendy jogged around to the trunk of her beat up Suburban and popped it open. Then she digged and digged until she found what she was looking for. The Polaroid camera was still full with film paper, and Wendy smiled in hapiness. She thought where Kennedy was was absolutely perfect.

He looked at her as she approached him again and sighed. "No pictures, please." He complained, throwing his head back dramatically. "Can we not?"

"No, we have to. This is perfect," she smiled and held the camera up to her eye. Kennedy smiled at her, the balloon figure still atop his head. She snapped the picture and the flash stung Kennedy's eyes, seeing as it was rather dark out. "Thanks," she smiled, pulling the film out of the camera. She shook it a little, trying to dry it faster and walked over to Kennedy, setting the camera on her hood. "Minnesota isn't so bad, is it now?" She smirked at him.

Kennedy sighed and thought for a minute, then came to a conclusion. Wendy was the reason why he was enjoying himself. He liked spending time with her. He was beginning to need it. She was an addiction. And it had only been one single day.

He smiled wide at her and looked at the picture she handed to him. A chuckle escaped his lips as he gazed at it, "I think I'm beginning to warm up to it."