No, We Don't Come Easy

January 30th, 2009: Part 2

Kennedy had decided to go and get Wendy. He couldn't believe that she was actually angry about the whole ordeal. It was just a snowball, and besides; it was his way of payback for her brothers attacking him on his first day there. So he pulled on on his layers of clothing and stepped back onto his porch.

Secretly, Wendy was hiding behind a bush with her brother and his two friends. There were around fifty snowballs next to them; it had taken them almost forty-five minutes to create them all, but Wendy knew it'd be worth it.

He sighed and started walking down the walkway towards the driveway. Then something icy and cold hit his face. He hung his head and smiled, then looked towards where it came from. Wendy stood, her hand resting on her hip with a smirk on her face.

"Alright," he held his hands up in defense. "I deserved that."

"Not quite," she smiled. Then another one hit his face. Then another one.

"You've got to be kidding me!" He exclaimed, laughing a little. "This isn't fair! It's four against one!"

Within almost five seconds, there was a full out snowball fight going on. Kennedy tried his best to attack them, but there were too many. Around ten minutes later, Wendy's brother and his friends had left and Wendy and Kennedy collapsed onto the snow covered ground, laughing uncontrollably. Wendy held her hand over her stomach and tried to catch her breath, and Kennedy took sharp breaths.

"That was great," she said breathlessly. Kennedy looked over at her and smiled.

They stood up and quickly shoveled the driveway, stealing glances at each other. Wendy's auburn hair blew in the wind and her cheeks were flushed. Kennedy glanced at her body. She was thin, but not too thin, and she had the most perfect curves he'd ever seen. Her blue eyes were so gentle and beautiful that sometimes he had trouble looking away from them. She had the perfect nose, and the cutest, tiny lips. He could sit and listen to her voice all day, and her laugh was just beautiful. Everything about Wendy was so...

Inviting.

After they finished, Kennedy led Wendy into Trent's house and walked into the kitchen. They were both extremely hungry and thirsty.

"I'm going to use the bathroom," she announced and Kennedy nodded at her. She made her way to the familiar bathroom, then looked at herself in the mirror. Then she shook her head vigorously.

Wendy wasn't one to believe in love. Not that she was in love with Kennedy. But she knew there was something there. The way his short, coffee-colored hair fell into his face. His smile, and the way his eyes lit up when he was having fun with her. Every time he sighed, the way his chest fell up and down. The clothes he wore, his eyes, his nose, his shoulders, his chin. His voice, his laugh, his personality and sense of humor. Everything about Kennedy intrigued Wendy, and this scared her.

But she was enjoying it, nonetheless.

Quickly, she splashed some water on her face and tried to recompose herself. She grabbed a white towel from the rack on the wall and wiped her face gently. She didn't think she had been in there long, but realized she probably was when she heard a knock on the door.

"Wendy, are you okay?" Kennedy's voice rang through her ears, causing her to smile.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just washing my face." She said, then realized how stupid she must have sounded.

"Alright," he sighed and walked back into the kitchen. He had begun to make some hot chocolate, with pieces of toast in the toaster. The way his mother used to make all the time. Kennedy smile at the fond memory, then looked over his shoulder when he heard a creak in the floor. Wendy emerged into the kitchen, a smile on her face. She sat down at the small, circle-shaped kitchen table and crossed her legs in the chair. "I made some hot chocolate and toast."

"Toast?" She giggled.

"My mother used to make it for me and Trent all the time," he smiled softly. "Surprisingly, it's a rather good combination. Want jelly on your toast?"

"Strawberry, please," she smiled, then shivered a little. "Did your furnace go off?"

"A few days ago, yeah. But I thought they fixed it," Kennedy shrugged.

"You know, you and Trent could always stay at my house until it's fixed again."

"That would be wonderful," Kennedy smiled. "It's freezing in here."

Kennedy had always wondered something. He had never seen any type of parent or adult figure come out of Wendy's house. And he was curious.

"Wendy?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah?"

"Where are your parents?"

She stopped sipping her hot chocolate and looked up at him, then sighed. "It's a long story."

"I've got time," he smiled weakly, then sat down next to her.

She sighed again, "My dad left us when I was around ten, and my mom died in a car crash when I was nineteen. She made me the legal guardian of Taylor and Annabelle."

"Annabelle?" Kennedy cocked his head to the side. "You have a sister?"

"Yeah. She's three and a half. But we have a nanny that comes every morning to give me a break. She babysits them and sometimes I do odd jobs for people or community service. Charity work, stuff like that. Or I hang out with you sometimes."

"I'd like to meet Annabelle," Kennedy smiled.

"She lights up my life," Wendy smiled softly. "If you really want to, we could go see her now. She's probably up, I think."

Kennedy absolutely loved kids. So he was excited to meet her sister. They walked across the street and she led him into her house. He looked around. "Nice house."

"Thanks," she smiled. "Come on." She led him into a playroom type thing, and there was a little girl with blond hair, playing with an older woman. "Hey, baby." Wendy kissed her on the temple and picked her up.

"Wendy!" She screeched, causing Kennedy to smile. She was too cute. "You're home!"

"Yeah!" Wendy smiled. "Annabelle, this is Kennedy. He's Trent's brother."

"Are you going to marry Wendy?" She grinned, causing Kennedy to blush.

"Uhm," Kennedy took in a sharp breath and Wendy's eyes went wide.

"Annabell, why don't we go into the kitchen? Get you a snack, maybe? Come," She walked out of the playroom and into the kitchen, Kennedy at her feet. "Sorry about that." She blushed. "I don't mean to make you maybe feel uncomfortable, but we don't have any spare rooms, and I'm sure you don't want to share with my brother."

"I'll sleep on the couch - " Kennedy pointed to the living room, but she shook her head.

"I don't want to make you do that. Just take my bed and I'll sleep on the couch."

"Wendy," Kennedy chuckled. "This is your house. I'm not making you leave your own bed for my benefit. It wouldn't be fair to you."

"But making you uncomfortable wouldn't be fair to you," she complained. "I'd feel bad. Really bad. Please just take my bed? For me?" She batted her eyelashes, causing Kennedy to smile and sigh.

"Fine," he replied. "On one condition."

"Whatever," she rolled her eyes.

"Stay in the bed with me. You can't win everything, you know."

"If you say so, Kennedy."

"God, will you stop calling me Kennedy?" He chuckled, shaking his head.

She smirked, "No."

Later that day, Kennedy and Wendy got in her car and she started driving out of the neighborhood. Her grip tightened on the steering wheel every once in a while, like she was nervous. As they were on the highway, Kennedy looked at his surroundings. Hills and hills covered with snow and ice. Secretly, though he'd never tell anyone, he thought Minnesota was beautiful. If it wasn't so cold, he'd enjoy it even more. But Wendy made up for that inconvenience. Every time she looked at him, the blood rushed to his cheeks, warming him instantly.

"Where are we going?" Kennedy asked.

"Shopping," she smiled deviously. "At the Mall of America."

He sighed, "I guess that's pretty cool."

"Pretty cool?" She laughed. "Kennedy, there's a roller coaster in the freaking main area."

He chuckled, "Touché." After a moment of silence, he thought back to the fond memory of Annabelle calling them out on getting married. "Your sister's adorable, Wendy."

"You got that right," she smiled. "I don't know what I did before she was born. Life was so...boring. No offense to Taylor or anything, but he's just a pain. She's the sunlight to my rainy day. That's all there is to it."

Kennedy knew Wendy wasn't like the other girls he'd known. They were all so high maintenance, and their vocabulary consisted of the words 'slut,' 'whore,' 'bitch,' and 'fuck,' plus other obscene words. She was very proper in her wording, and as much as Kennedy wanted to deny it, it turned him on.

They arrived at the Mall of America and walked in. Kennedy guessed there was around a few thousand people in the mall at that time. Wendy grabbed his hand and pulled him to the first store she saw, American Eagle. Kennedy smiled. Secretly, he had always loved a girl in Hollister and all those type of brands. It was different; and Kennedy liked different.

After Kennedy had gotten a few winter things he'd needed, they went to the food court. The rather large food court. She led him to the cookie stand and smiled. "They have the greatest cookies here." She looked at the person who was taking her order and tapped her chin. "I'll take the chocolate chip with chocolate icing and Reese's bits? And, uh - what do you want, Kennedy?"

He smiled. Her choice seemed very appetizing, "I'll have the same."

They sat down at a table and Wendy crossed her legs in the chair Indian style; another thing that Kennedy thought was adorable about her. She took a bite of it, then set the cookie down and looked around. "Wanna ride the Ferris wheel?" She smiled excitedly. Kennedy looked up, then gulped. He had never been one to absolutely love heights. "Oh, come on. Please? For me?"

That was all she needed to say. And to put on that pout of her's. Kennedy nodded immediately, "If you want to."

She grabbed his hand and finished her cookie, then led them to the line. It was awfully high, making Kennedy grimace. He never knew how he could ride planes with his band traveling from place to place, yet he couldn't ride a single high ride at a carnival or amusement park. She handed five dollars to the man in line, then smiled as he opened the gate for them. She grabbed his hand again, and Kennedy sighed.

She really needs to stop doing that. All the blood's going to leave my brain and I won't know how to function if it's all at my cheeks.

She sat down in the seat and pulled Kennedy down with her, then the man put the bar over the both of them. Kennedy took a deep breath and winced as the ride jerked, starting to pull them up. Wendy looked over at him and furrowed her eyebrows, "Are you okay, Kennedy?"

He looked over at her and took in a sharp breath, "Yeah - no, I'm fine. Just - a little nervous."

"Are you afraid of heights?" She questioned, receiving a slight nod from him. Then she smiled warmly and grabbed his hand, intertwining their fingers together.

Kennedy had never felt so happy in his life; well - other than when The Maine got signed. But it was a close, close second.

They arrived back at Wendy's house and Kennedy walked across the street to grab some clothes, then informed Trent that he was going to stay at Wendy's. Trent simply chuckled and muttered to himself, "Pansy." Kennedy rolled his eyes and walked across the street the same way he always did. Slowly.

Wendy instructed him as to where the bathroom was, then let him change. She couldn't stop thinking about how her hand had fit perfectly with his; and visa-versa. Then she blushed, knowing she couldn't be feeling this way.

What is wrong with me? She questioned herself, then splashed water on her face again. She didn't want to trust anyone. She had huge trust issues ever since Troy.

"Are you okay?" Kennedy asked from just outside her doorway. She looked up at him, shocked, then nodded her head and waved him in. "Alright." He said, though he wasn't really convinced.

They both laid in her bed and Kennedy was trying to resist. He was usually a cuddler, and got the feeling that she wasn't to that level with him yet. So he pushed himself to the very edge of the bed, careful not to freak her out. Then her voice rang through his ears.

"Kennedy?" She whispered, her lip quivering.

"Hm?"

"Hold me?" Then a tear slid down her cheek as she remembered Troy, and what he had done to her. "Please?"

Kennedy turned around and noticed that she was crying softly, then quickly rolled towards her. He put his arms around her and she rested her head on his chest, taking in his scent. His wonderful, breathtaking, scent.

She was beginning to give into the idea of liking Kennedy. And she didn't know how she felt about it.

Wendy didn't know if she was ready to trust again.