Wonderwall

“I feel like dancin’ tonight! I’m gonna party like it’s my civil right!” Darcy sang loudly and obnoxiously along with headphones. She giggled to herself as she expected John to yell at her any minute. “Oh, I feel like dancin’ tonight!” When no yells came, she slipped the headphones from her ears to around her neck. She listened for a minute before frowning.

“John?” She yelled with still no reply. She sighed and put the can of soda in her hand down on the counter. “John Ohhhhhhhhhh!” She left the kitchen in search of her cousin and finally found him in the bathroom with the door open and his own set of earphones in. She snickered before yanking one earbud out of his ear.

“Fuck!” John covered his ear and then glared at her.

“Good morning to you too,” she grinned and winked before dropping his ear bud. She slipped behind him and then hopped up on the sink counter beside him. “Since when do you use earphones anyway? Don’t you usually just blare your music from the television?”

John smirked. “I put them in last night since I didn’t want to hear my best friend having sex with my lovely cousin.” Darcy rolled her eyes.

“We didn’t have sex.”

“I wasn’t going to take the chance.” He chuckled and then went back to what he was doing before Darcy had interrupted him, which was pulling out his razor and shaving cream. “What time did Kenny leave anyway?”

Darcy shrugged. “One or so,” she mumbled and looked over at the shower curtain.

“Any funny business go on that I should know about?” John’s smirk widened as he raised an eyebrow at her. Her cheeks went pink as she pushed his shoulder lightly.

“Shut up, John.”

John laughed. “It’s okay, Darc, as long as you don’t go making babies.”

“What are you getting ready for anyway?” She swiftly diverted the subject from her and Kennedy with high hopes.

John smirked at her for a moment before replying. “Just going over to Moose’s to play some video games.” Darcy rolled her eyes.

“Don’t you do anything productive?” She muttered as she crossed her ankles and swung them.

“Eh, from time to time.” John smiled cheekily at her before spraying a lot of shaving cream into his hand. Darcy smirked as she quickly slapped her hand against his, causing the cream to go in all different directions. He sighed while she giggled. “Really, Darc? Are we five again? I just friggin’ changed into these clothes.”

“Stop being a baby; you can change again.” She giggled and hopped off of the counter. “I’ll go change too so we can get to playing video games. You know I got mad skills.” She winked as she walked past him.

“I think your lover boy will be there too!” John yelled after her, trying to make her blush again. Darcy just smirked wider and turned around, pointing toward her chin.

“You got a little cream down here, Johnny Oh.” He glared as she giggled and ran off toward her bedroom.

Darcy already knew that Kennedy would be at Moose’s house playing video games. She’d asked him earlier what was on the agenda via text. She smiled as she remembered him offering to ditch his friends to hang around her bedroom again. Kennedy was just so sweet. It truly broke Darcy’s heart to think of how she was technically leading him on.

She changed into some shorts and a regular shirt and then slipped on her sandals before going to the living room. John was still back in his bedroom so she sat down on the couch and watched TV while she waited for him.

Finally he did come out, in new clothes, and ruffled her hair from behind. “Come on little Darcy, time to go.” She scowled at him and then clicked the TV off.

“There’s only like three months between us.” She muttered and stood up, following him all the way out to his car. She snickered as he turned the car on and Celine Dion played through his speakers. He hit a few buttons and gave her a look. “My heart will go on?”

“I let my mom loan my car. It’s her CD.” She giggled.

“John, that,” she pointed toward the stereo, “was not in this car when I got here and I’m positive that you have not let your mom borrow moon beam since I got here. Don’t lie to me. I will always prove you wrong.”

John rolled his eyes as she turned the stereo over to radio and started fiddling with the stations. “Mentioning my mom, we’re going over for dinner Tuesday night.”

“Can we spend all day over there?” Darcy begged and pouted at him even though his eyes were clearly stuck to the road.

“My mother would have it no other way.” He mumbled but then cracked a smile as she cheered beside him.

“I missed all of you guys so much. Is Ross going to be around? I heard he got accepted to ASU!” John chuckled.

“He got accepted like last semester, Darcy, but I’m sure he’ll come home if you text him.” He side glanced at her and found that she was already tapping away at her phone. This gave John the opportunity to play with the radio and change the station to something he wanted to listen to. Darcy was in her own little world as she fervently texted her cousin.

“He’s coming!” She chirped happily after about five minutes. When she looked up she noticed John was pulling into a driveway that was semi-familiar. Then a little dread filled her. “This is the same place the party was at, right?” She tried to hide her worry as she looked over at John but failed.

“There’s not going to be any alcohol, Darc. Correction, there may be some beer, but you don’t have to drink it if you don’t want to.” He pointed at her and then shut the car off before he climbed out.

Darcy pouted for a few seconds before she hurriedly followed him. She didn’t catch up with him till he reached the front door. John walked in without knocking and she followed silently. She was still a little anxious at remembering what had happened in this house, but relief filled her lungs when John led her to the living room and all she saw was seven boys.

Her eyes immediately located Kennedy sprawled out on the couch and she smirked as she skipped over to sit on his lap. “Hey Darcy.” A few of the guys called and she muttered a reply before biting her bottom lip. She honestly didn’t remember their names.

“So are you and Brock officially fucking now? Cause that was the quickest I’ve ever seen it happen.” The boy sitting in the farthest chair blurted the comment out. Darcy’s mouth dropped open while Kennedy’s cheeks turned a light pink. The rest of the boys rolled their eyes while John even smacked the back of the boy’s head.

“You just epically failed, Moose.” The kid closest to Kennedy and Darcy shook his head. Darcy noticed he had a nice copper shade in his hair and took a liking to him.

“And you just died, literally.” The person on the copper’s other side laughed.

“Fucking dammit!” Moose exclaimed before tossing his controller to the coffee table. Darcy suddenly noticed that most of the boys’ attention was focused on the flat television screen that clearly was hooked up to a gaming system. “I’m getting a beer. Anyone want anything?” He asked as he stood up.

John picked the controller up and took Moose’s spot as some mumbles were exchanged. Darcy rested her head on Kennedy’s shoulder as she relaxed into watching the boys play Halo session after session. She got bored easily since she wasn’t playing so she turned her attention to the anxious boy with his arms around her waist.

She smirked and leaned in toward his ear. “Doesn’t Moose have a pool?” She whispered and then bit her bottom lip. She was pretty sure she remembered the pool, even in her drunken state.

Kennedy nodded and kept his eyes on the television. He could feel John watching them, as well as a few others, and it made him more nervous to be around her.

Darcy’s smirked widened as she noticed the effect she was having on him. She grabbed his hand and stood up, pulling him behind her as she guessed her way to the back door. John watched but kept his mouth shut and quickly diverted his attention to the video game.

Once in the back hall, Darcy couldn’t contain her giggles anymore. She leaned into Kennedy’s side and let them out. He smiled and squeezed her hand, loving the sound of her soft giggles against the video game noises in the background.

“What are we doing?” He whispered, though he wasn’t sure why he did. It wasn’t like anyone was around to hear them.

Darcy rolled her eyes. “Going swimming, of course.” She opened the back door as quietly as she could and then skipped out, leaving Kennedy behind to close the door. He followed slowly and watched as she stood by the very edge. Her eyes were staring at the clear water as if it were life.

“Do you ever go swimming when you’re actually in a swimsuit?” He put his hands in his pockets and smiled a little. It was burning hot outside. The cool water sounded like a nice escape.

“Don’t have a swimsuit.” She shrugged and then dipped her toes into the water. It was warmer than she was hoping, but still it felt good.

“You’re in Arizona and you don’t have a swimsuit?” Kennedy arched his eyebrows as she finally turned around to look him in the eyes. He was admittedly stunned by the color and intensity of her eyes. He wanted to kiss her again and he was more than taken aback by that impulse.

“Nope.” She grinned and tilted her head some.

He shook his head, mostly to clear the image from his head. “Come on.” He turned back toward the house and Darcy frowned.

“Where are you going?” She pouted but didn’t step away from the pool.

He glanced back and smirked. “To buy you an actual swimsuit.” He held his hand out and her stomach flipped even though she didn’t think it would.

Darcy bit her bottom lip before slowly stepping away from the pool. “What if I don’t want a swimsuit? What if I actually enjoy jumping in with my clothes?”

He chuckled. “I honestly just want to see what you look like in a bikini.” Her mouth fell open with shock and he laughed harder. “I’m just kidding.” He took the steps to her and took her hand. “But seriously, you cannot live in Arizona without a swimsuit. It just doesn’t work.”

She rolled her eyes but laced their fingers. “I suppose in that case, I could let you buy me one.”

“Good.” He was brave for two seconds and decided to kiss her cheek before he started to pull her back into the house. They crept down the hallway again. Darcy held her free hand to her mouth to keep from giggling out loud this time.

They made it through the house and out the front door without attracting anyone’s attention. Neither was quite sure why they were sneaking out, but they were both laughing when they climbed into Kennedy’s car. It took a few minutes of sitting in the heat filled car before the laughter died.

“I think I’m starting to melt. Can we please start the car?” She groaned and then leaned her head against the window, sticking her tongue out for good measure.

Kennedy shook his head and chuckled before putting the keys in the ignition. “It’s not even three yet, doll. That’s when it gets real hot.” He glanced over his shoulder as he backed out of the driveway.

“Doll?” Darcy eyed him and watched the corner’s of his mouth quirk. “That’s kind of cute.” She sighed and found a pair of sunglasses sitting in the middle counsel. She quickly grabbed them and put them on before she smiled over at him.

He smiled back. “You’re kind of cute.” Darcy bit her bottom lip as they fell quiet and the radio played softly in the background. She was trying to deny the butterfly feeling in her stomach.

It fell quiet again as Kennedy drove into town a little and stopped at Target. He reached for and held her hand again as they walked into the store. Darcy was still ignoring the sensation it was giving her as she periodically bumped into him, on purpose.

“So are we looking for a one piece or two?” Kennedy squeezed her hand as he looked around for some kind of sign that would tell him where to go.

“Um, two?” Darcy shrugged and pulled him in the direction of women’s clothing.

“My kind of girl.” He joked and then chuckled as she raised his eyebrows at him. “I think you should get something yellow.”

“Why yellow?” She slid the sunglasses to the top of her head and scanned over the racks of suits they were approaching.

“It’ll look great against your Arizona tan.” He smiled innocently as she let go of his hand to go looking through all the different designs.

“I miss having an Arizona tan.” Darcy giggled. “All the kids used to be jealous when I’d come back from my summers here.”

“Did you just stay for the summer?” He leaned against one rack and watched her intently. Every movement she made was intriguing. He caught himself starting to smile again.

“Well, my dad and I would both fly out for the summer and sometimes for holidays. My aunt decided that it would be better to alternate the holidays, you know. Like one year we would come to Arizona, and the next they would come to Kansas.”

“How come none of the guys have heard about you before now?”

She shrugged. “I suppose it’s because John and I kind of lost contact. I knew he was busy with his music and I was still trying to get on my feet. After I graduated high school, I took over the full-time care of my dad. It was hard to adjust to that with a full-time job as well.”

“What do you do, as a job, back in Kansas?” Kennedy winced as he noticed how awfully awkward that question was put together. It was a bit embarrassing. Kennedy knew he wasn’t as smooth with words as someone like John, but he generally he could keep himself from sounding like a fool. It seemed like Darcy brought out the fool in him best though.

“John didn’t tell you?” Darcy furrowed her eyebrows and glanced at him. “I guess that doesn’t really surprise me. John, himself, probably doesn’t even know.” She chuckled and shook her head. “I went through a lot of crappy small jobs, but I finally found the one thing I’m really fucking good at.” She grinned and then signed something with her hands. “I got certified as a translator about three months ago. I mostly work for myself right now, but I’m trying to get in with the government. They pay pretty big for translators and the work never runs out.”

“That’s really interesting.” Kennedy mused and then smiled as she giggled at him.

“You don’t have to fake interest, doll. I know it’s not that cool or neat, but it pays the bills and,” she shrugged, “I like it. I enjoy being that link between those two people that want to communicate so badly but it’s just not possible. I bring people together, in a way. I know it sounds foolish too.”

“I actually do think it’s intriguing. I can only imagine what’s it’s like to sit down in that kind of situation.”

“It’s amazing. Maybe I’ll bring you along sometime.” She winked at him and then grabbed the few suits she was eyeing. “But for now, I suppose I’ll go try these on.” She waved the hangers in his face before skipping off.

He bit his bottom lip and followed her slowly. He sat down in a chair beside the mirrors and stared at the ceiling. He was hoping to show a little self control when she stepped out, but after a few minutes he realized that she didn’t have any intentions of showing him what the swimsuits looked like on her.

“You know, these things have always made me feel like I’m just standing in my panties.” Darcy’s voice carried through the fitting room door and Kennedy couldn’t help but smile. “Some of these are even skimpier than panties. It’s kind of embarrassing.”

“Are you embarrassed about someone seeing your body?” Kennedy was, as always, intrigued. He wondered if she’d ever slept with anyone before or if maybe she was still a virgin. Then the door opened and he worked hard not to snap his head in her direction.

“I just think it’s just ridiculous. Why don’t they make shirts and shorts in this material? Some people are conscious of their bodies and swimsuits like these make things worse.” She continued to rant as she stepped out. “What do you think?”

Kennedy’s mouth was partial open as he stared at her face. She giggled at his expression and then twirled around. The ink on her back pulled him out of his trance and he sat up a little straighter. “Is that …” he trailed off and brought his hand up to his face.

Darcy gave him an odd look before she caught a glimpse of her ink in one of the surrounding mirrors. “Oh.” Her cheeks started to burn as she chewed on her bottom lip.

Kennedy smiled softly at her reaction and stood up, slowly taking the few steps toward her. “Can I?” She brought her eyes up to his and then nodded.

She started to turn around, but then stopped. “Just, don’t go getting big-headed, okay?” She arched an eyebrow and both his raised in confusion before she turned around. Across her shoulder blades, in fancy cursive writing, were the words ‘We All Roll Along’. Kennedy grinned like a mad man as he read them.

“Wow.”

“I said no big-headedness, remember?” Darcy warned and glanced over her shoulder at him. He just smiled at her and raised both his hands in defeat.

“I’m just touched.” He shrugged and she rolled her eyes before turning to face him completely again. “It’s always a weird thing to see our lyrics tattooed on kids, but this …” he trailed off again.

She nodded. “It was my favorite off the album and the phrase alone would get stuck in my head for days. About three months ago I walked by a tattoo parlor near my apartment and I just stopped. It felt right.” She shrugged and then placed her hands on her hips.

“Has John seen it?” He curiously asked and then chuckled as she groaned.

“God, no! His head would balloon up before I could punch him to bring him back to reality.” She turned back to the fitting room and closed the door behind her. “He’ll have to see it eventually though. I’m just kind of hoping it’s not for a few more months.”

Kennedy shook his head and then leaned against the wall. He couldn’t wipe the grin off his face as he crossed his arms and he knew he was definitely getting into something. “Hey Darc?”

“Yeah?”

“You looked gorgeous.”

Her cheeks burned as she looked in the mirror. She didn’t think she deserved such a compliment. The excitement turned to guilt quickly and she rushed to change back into her normal clothes. Once she exited the fitting room again, Kennedy was back to sitting in the chair. He stood up with his eyebrows furrowed as he watched her walk out with the swimsuits all in her arms.

“You know, I don’t really feel like swimming anymore. I don’t need a suit after all.” She shrugged and went to toss the things in her hands into the nearest basket.

Kennedy stopped her short and pulled the suit she’d tried on already from her hands. “You’ll need one for in the future.” He looked in her eyes and tried to pinpoint what had just changed, but he was unable to do so. She was looking at anything but him and her pretty eyes wouldn’t focus long enough for him to guess at what was going on.

“I think I just want to go home. I don’t feel so well.” Darcy wasn’t completely lying at this point. She did feel sick to her stomach, but it was because of what she knew she was doing to him. She was being her own worst nightmare. She was leading him on.

“Yeah, sure. I can take you back to John’s.” He put an arm around her waist quickly, showing his honest concern and making her stomach churn worse. “You want to wait in the car while I pay for this.” He pulled the keys from his pocket and held them out to her.

She glanced at the keys and then glanced at his face, his lovely caring face. She shook her head. “I’ll stay with you.” She leaned into his side and rested her head on his shoulder. He tightened his hold on her and steered her to the closest register.

Darcy hated to think about the truth. She wondered what Kennedy would be like if he knew the truth. She wished he would still be as sweet and kind, but she knew better. There was a reason she had a façade and a story to cover up the truth. People aren’t the same when the truth comes out.