Smoke and Fire

It was the second date in London. Kennedy looked fantastic onstage, as usual. In earlier shows I'd seen, before he'd asked me out, Kenny would never really move across the stage, not like Garrett did. But now both he and Garrett were all over the place. Even though I'd been frustrated with him, I couldn't help but feel proud at how he inspired so many people. But then he smiled at the crowd, and suddenly blanched. I turn to Rachael and tugged on her arm. "Did you see that?!"

"See what?", she asks absent-mindedly, still keeping her eyes on Gary. 

"Why are you even staring at him? He looks like emo Jesus right now!"

Still not paying much attention to me, she says, "Don't worry. He'll shave soon. We've been busy." With that last word, she looks over to me with a smirk on her face. 

Covering my face with my hands. "Ew Rachael. I so do not need to know that you're getting it on with Chewbacca."

She gives me another devious grin. "So, what were you saying about Kenny?"

I look over at him again. Everything seems normal again, but he's avoiding looking at the crowd. And moved from where he'd been before to the opposite side of the stage. "Is there anyone in the crowd you saw? He looked out and totally freaked out. His face was all white and now he moved from where he was!"

Rachael frowns. "That's so weird. We're in Europe right now. Who could they even know?"

"Maybe there was this band whore or something.", I say miserably. 

"Could be. But Kenny would never react that violently from one. He'd only hook up with one of them if he's super drunk, and if he was super drunk, he probably wouldn't even remember her face.", she shrugs. "Not from that far at least."

"Can you please check the crowd?", I beg. "Maybe it's someone you know."

"I doubt it.", she says. But seeing my face, she turns her head away from Garrett and scans the crowd. I study it carefully. 

"He was on the opposite side of the stage before.", I remind her. She turns her head that way, and looks at the crowd. Suddenly, she gasps. 

"No. What is she doing here. It's fucking London.", she mutters. "Shit. This will kill him. She better be leaving. And soon."

"Hello? I'm still here Rach.", I say. "Who is it?"

She shoots me a sympathetic glance. But all she says is, "Keep an eye out on your phone."

"Who is it?!", I ask desperately. "I need to know."

Rach purses her lips and shakes her head. "Kenny should be the one telling you this."

Sighing, I turn back to look at the boys again. And for the first time in a few days, I see him turning and looking at me while playing. When he sees me looking at him, he shoots me a large smile. Laughing, I smile and wave back at him. When the song ends, I see him turn his back away from the audience. A minute later, I feel my phone vibrate. Pulling it out, I see a text from Kenny. Smiling even before I open it, I wonder what he wants. "Meet me outside after the show ;)" When I look up, he gives me a wink. The smile still on my face, I nod back at him. 

After their set, Rach says, "Have fun while Kenny shows you off tonight."

"What?", I look at her startled. "How'd you know?"

"Please.", she says rolling her eyes. "I know you've wanted to come to London forever. Remember how he took you out to the dock that first night? I hinted at that. And Gare told me that Kenny was freaking out about when to tell everyone. He talked to me, and I suggested here. And that's what Gare told Kenny. Since he didn't do it last night, he's definitely doing it tonight."

Laughing, "And here I was thinking my boyfriend was romantic."

Smiling lightly at me, she says, "Don't worry. He is. All I really did was mention you liking the beach and the sunset. And separately. Kenny is head over heels for you. And you guys are good for each other."

Giggling, I ask, "You think?"

"I know. And now go!", she says shooing me out of the door. "Your man's waiting for you."

As I leave where we'd be sitting, I bump into someone. Looking up, "Oh. Hey there handsome." I smile coyly at him. "Looking for someone?"

"Tease.", he says, pulling me closer to him. An inch before his lips touch mine, he moves away. "Let's go show you off today."

Shocked, I let him pull me into the crowd. "And I'm the tease?", I whisper into his ear, taking the chance to place a small kiss on the sensitive part right below it. 

I feel his breathing quicken, and I can see the fans starting to notice us. A few begin calling Kenny's name. Giving me a mischievous smile, he asks, "Want to really give them something to stare at?"

Before I can even process what he said, Kennedy has my back pressed against the wall, his lips on mine. When we pull apart to take a breath, I smirk at him. "Well, two can play at a game." And grabbing his hand, I pull him out of sight again. As soon as I'm sure the fans couldn't see us, I drag him to me again. "Let's give them something to wonder about.", I breathe in his ear. As my hands move to his hair, I feel his hand go up my shirt. I stop. "Something to wonder about Kenny!", I complain. "I never said 'Do me here.'"

"What?", he exclaims, pretending to be hurt. "You don't want me?"

"Anytime, anyplace, babe.", I say winking at him. "Just not now where people can actually see us."

Sighing, he takes my hand and pulls me back towards the crowd. When we walk back outside, I can practically hear the girls thinking, "Slut. Whore." And the like. And I can't blame them. Kenny's hair is messed up, and my shirt is probably messed up looking. Looking down, I try to fix it so that it looks more presentable. "You look fine Sam.", he says into my ear. "Now let's show you off."

As soon as we walk past the security guards, we get bombarded by the girls and their questions. "Who is she?" "Are you going out?" "Is this your girlfriend?" "Where'd you guys meet?" and more repeats. I can see some girls giving me glares. But most of them are smiling happily for Kenny. And me? Probably Kenny. Or at least smiling to our faces. A few guys make their way into the crowd, and whistle. "You're hot.", a few yell out, and I blush. Kenny looks at me and chuckles. "I can't disagree with that now, can I?", he says quietly. 

As the tumult died down, fans begin to come up to us individually. Most of them ask for autographs and pictures with Kenny. A few ask for pictures with both of us. Some guys request just a picture with me, surprising me. But for the most part, I watch Kenny interact with his fans, only making me fall for him even more. He truly enjoys what he does. Every single smile he gives the fans is genuine, and it never fails to put a sparkle in his eyes. Watching it from afar doesn't even compare to being here with him. 

As even the latest remaining fans begin to leave, I ask Kennedy, "Is Gare going to tell everyone?"

Kenny gives me his crooked grin, and reassures, "Don't worry. The two of us planned this together. Everyone will know soon enough."

"Good for them.", I reply with a smile. "Although I don't envy her. Some fans are going to be pretty shocked, at least from the stories she's told me."

After a moment, I looked at him, since he didn't reply. There was a frown on his face, and his eyebrows were knit in concentration. Feeling my stare, he offers me a weak smile. "Promise me.", he says seriously. "Promise me you don't let any of those girls bother you with their hateful words ok? You're better than all of them combined, and you're my girl. Got it?"

I smile at his concern, but I could also see that it worried him a lot. "I promise. Maybe I should turn off my anon setting for now."

He smiles at my idea. "Yea. Maybe that'll filter a few things out. You're such a genius!" And I'm up against the wall again. Damn. That boy is just all over me tonight. 

As my hands began roaming under hit shirt, and tugging at his jeans, we hear someone clear their throat. Before we can disentangle ourselves, a soft voice goes, "Kenny?"

Immediately, I feel him stiffen up. When he turns around, his face is completely cold. "Gabi.", he says tersely. Gabi? THE Gabi? So I guess that's who he saw in the crowd. And who Rach saw, too. I'd almost forgotten about it. 

"Can we talk?", asks Gabi. 

Kenny's face is impassive as he remains silent. Barely suppressing a sigh, I tug on Kenny's arm. His expression softens as he turns to me. "Do you want me to go?", I ask softly. "She probably doesn't want me here."

Now completely turning away from her, he gives me a small smile. "No. I need you here with me.", he says. 

"But...what about her?", I ask uncertainly. 

"I don't want to talk to her.", he says more loudly, hoping she'd get the point. 

"Kenny.", she says, trying again. "I really think--"

Letting out an audible sigh, he says abruptly, "Have you met my girlfriend Sam?"

Looking startles, she stutters. "G-girlfriend?"

I bite back a retort, and hold my hand out graciously. "Yupp!", I say brightly, popping the "p". "I'm staying with them during this tour."

Initially eyeing my hand uncertainly, she moves forward to take it, shaking it firmly once. "I'm Gabi."

Rolling my eyes, I couldn't help but say, "Yea. Got that by what Kenny said and his reaction. I don't think he wants to talk to you." Yes. It was a bit mean, and somewhat snide, but what girl wants to see her boyfriend's ex?

"Right.", she says slowly, turning back to Kennedy. "Can we please talk for a moment? Alone?"

I pull Kenny towards me again. "Go talk to her. It's fine. I'll just wait for you back there."

"This isn't a test or anything right?", he tries to joke. 

Giving him a stern look, "No Kenny. I think you need this. And also, yaknow, she's never going to stop bothering you if you don't."

Furrowing his eyebrows for a moment, he then nods his head. "Fine. I will." Before I leave, I pull him in for a light kiss, and he deepens it for just a moment. Our subtle reminder for her to remember that he is no longer hers. I saunter away, knowing Kenny's eyes will be on me until I am out of sight.