The heat was stifling. It was unnaturally warm and Kenna couldn't remember the last time that she had felt so incredibly hot, even with the windows in her classroom open and fanning herself with a paper fan, Kenna felt faint as if she was about to pass out from heat stroke any second now. This wasn't any normal heat, it wasn't like the temperature in New York was at an all-time high in the fall because of the effects of global warming, no this was something different in the slightest. It was something more abnormal than normal which was pretty much the story of Kenna M. Linderman's life as she had never known a normal day in her entire life. From the time she was a little girl, Kenna had known that she was very different from all the other girls her age as not every little girl had been referred to as Princess Lindy growing up, nor were they mostly raised in a casino in Las Vegas. Instead of having tea parties with her stuffed animals, Kenna had grown up having elaborate tea parties with her father's employees and being taught card games. By the time Kenna was eight years old she was already apt at several card games such as Texas Hold'em, Blackjack and Poker. It wasn't exactly a normal childhood by any means and being spoiled beyond endless means by a father who adored her, meant that Kenna had grown up in a very unique situation which was anything but ordinary. Sort of like her current situation. This overwhelming heat made Kenna feel like she was melting from the inside out, which was pretty odd for her as Kenna was used to the heat, she lived in Nevada until her father shipped her off here to New York to attend high school and she regularly went back home to Vegas whenever the opportunity presented itself.
But in all her life, Kenna had never known Vegas or even New York to be this hot, in fact it was chilly today by New York standards but that didn't stop Kenna feeling like she was a Thanksgiving turkey being cooked in a very large oven. There was nothing more Kenna wanted to do than go home and jump into an ice cold shower but for the foreseeable future she was stuck to her desk grading papers. Knee deep into reading another one of many essays on Alice Walker, Kenna was granted a brief break by the small beeping sound. Allowing herself to look away the paper in front of her, Kenna pulled out the thermometer that had been sticking out of her mouth.105° F. Kenna couldn't help but groan in annoyance as she whilst she hadn't been expecting any less but a part of her was hoping that all of this would just go away. In the six months, things had been happening to Kenna which weren't normal even more her. Like her temperature. Having a temperature of 105° F wasn't anything new to Kenna, for the last few months her temperature had been fluctuating between normal and very concerning levels and the numerous doctors she had seen about it, couldn't make heads or tails of it. Physically Kenna seemed fine but her temperature would be sky high for days before turning back to normal before the cycle would begin again. It never ended but the temperature thing was the least of Kenna's problems. There were other things going on with her that were just as weird and unexplainable.
"Kenna Marie Linderman, as I live and breathe teaching at a public high school. When I heard that you were here, I just had to come and see it for myself."
Looking away from the thermometer in her hand, Kenna glanced up to see perhaps one of the last few people on earth that she wanted to see; Nathan Petrelli. Kenna couldn't help but grimace at the man she had considered to be a family friend as she had kind of been avoiding the Petrelli family for the last six months, which was odd seeing as they had all used to be so close. Nathan's parents Angela and the recently departed Arthur Petrelli were old friends of her father and Kenna had been best friends with their younger son Peter for the better part of twelve years ever since good old Daddy Linderman had sent a 14 year old Kenna to New York to continue her education. But all that was in the past. Things had changed and now Kenna kept her distance from the people she once considered to be her second family, so it came as much of a surprise to see the dark haired, straight laced, barely two inches taller than her, always smartly dressed Nathan Petrelli standing in the doorway of her classroom. Nathan stood out like a sore thumb as in an English classroom of a public high school was the last place you would have ever expect to find someone who was running for Congress.
"How'd you find me Nathan?" Kenna demanded forgoing all the formalities that her father had instilled in her as a child. Manners didn't cost a penny as Daniel Linderman would always tell Kenna but right now she was too annoyed to be cordial as she was not happy to see the elder of the two Petrelli brothers, if Nathan was here than it meant Peter wasn't too far behind and Kenna especially didn't want to see Peter. She hadn't seen him since the night of the accident and Kenna wanted to keep things that way. It was a night of chaos, confusion and a whole lot of anger which still made Kenna angry at the mere thought of what happened in that hospital. Kenna had learned of a shocking betrayal that was heading her way and she had quickly fled, packing her bags and disappearing into the night. It was days after the accident that all these strange things started to happen to Kenna.
"It's been almost six months since we last saw each other and I'm met with hostility? What happened to the Kenna I knew? I was expecting to be met with open arms at least." Nathan quipped, his questioned lined with humour and Kenna just rolled her eyes as she carefully stuck her thermometer into the top draw of her desk. Nathan hadn't even been elected and yet already he was acting like a politician by answering a question with another question. Kenna looked into Nathan's brown eyes, dark eyes that reminded her so much of his sweet little brother, Kenna knew she had to be careful around the baby politician. Despite all the history and the fond memories Kenna had shared with the Petrelli's, she still remembered that Nathan, at one point had been trying to destroy her family even though the two of them were supposed to be childhood friends. It was that betrayal that had led to Kenna cutting the Petrelli's out of her life for almost six months now.
"Sweet talk isn't going to work on me Nathan as I am not I'm not some potential donor for your campaign fund, I don't hold the purse strings. That's all down to my dad and I think we both know that he has already donated a sizeable amount to this campaign of yours. So stop trying to schmooze me because I'm not giving you a cent of my money. But before you head out the door, I would appreciate it if you told me how you managed to track me down." Kenna retorted with a forced smile, avoiding answering Nathan's question all together. She was going to entertain Nathan by giving him the details of what she had been getting up to over the last few months as that was no longer any of his concern. Not to mention, Kenna knew that Nathan didn't really care what she had been doing, he was just asking for the sake of being polite. Hopefully Kenna had sped things up and she could learn how Nathan had somehow managed to track her down after she had spent the better part of six months flying under the radar.
"I'm running for congress Kenna I have a lot of contacts and people on my staff, it wasn't too hard to track you down."
Kenna could afford to laugh now as she had almost forgotten how unbecoming Nathan's arrogance was but that wasn't his fault, his ego was a direct result of his parents putting him on a pedestal and giving him a big head by telling him how great he was. Kenna used to be like that until she had met Peter, the younger Petrelli had rained her ego in and Kenna had been a better person because of it. Nathan, unfortunately seemed to be quite immune to humility. It was a shame as Nathan was a decent guy when his parents weren't filling his head with nonsense. Kenna also knew that there was no way that Nathan got someone minimum wage employee of his to waste time looking for her instead of working on his campaign. Despite the fact that Kenna was the only child of Nathan's biggest donor, she also knew that she wasn't important enough for so much time and energy to be spent looking for her. "I would have believe you Nathan if you had said anything but that, so I'm going to venture a guess and feel free to tell me if I'm wrong. I'm pretty sure that you called my father and after some tedious small talk, my old man caved and told you where to find me. Now how did I do?"
"I wouldn't have had to go to your father if you hadn't of taken off Kenny, you were here one day and then gone the next. You moved out your apartment, changed your number, took off without telling anyone and seemingly vanished off the face of the earth until two months ago when you returned to New York. I didn't exactly peg you for someone who would pull a Houdini, so what was with the disappearing act Kenna? You're not exactly the running away type, you've always been the kind of person to face your problems head on." Nathan questioned as he wondered further into Kenna's classroom and she could only watch as he went about examining her classroom with a huge amount of distaste. The snobbery that had come with their privileged upbringing was clear for Kenna to see.
"That shows how little you really know me Nathan."
"Whatever it is, must have been pretty bad for you to take off." Nathan noted and Kenna could already start to feel the anger bubbling inside of her as the memories of the night of the accident came rushing back to her. She could recall every single word of the conversation that she had heard between Nathan and Peter, she could recite word for word what the two brothers had discussed the night and how she felt when she realised the huge betrayal that was heading her way.
"Yeah, it was…" Kenna weakly allowed herself to admit as she squeezed her hand into a tight fist in order to control the boiling anger within herself that was threatening to become unleashed. She couldn't afford to lose control here. Not in the one place that had brought Kenna the first thing that resembled real joy in the last few months.
"I have to admit that I'm surprised to find you here Kenny, at a public high school on the Lower East Side of all places. I would have imagined you at a school that was a little bit more refined. I can get my head around the fact that you want to teach but in a public high school? You could earn double what you're making now at a private school." Nathan noted flashing Kenna a bright smile and she just shrugged her shoulders in response as a response like that was a typical Nathan response. He tended to look down at things he didn't understand. It made Kenna wonder why on earth he chose to become a politician but she supposed it was that whole each to their own thing. Nathan couldn't understand why Kenna was here of all places and Kenna couldn't understand why Nathan wanted to become a politician when he had a rather decent career as a district attorney.
"I was never exactly the poster child for refinement if you can recall Nathan and you may find this hard to believe but it's not about the money for me. I'm fortunate enough that I don't have to worry about money like most people. I'm here because this is where I want to be, I like the diversity of my students, I like the fact that I can provide kids a good education without there being some ridiculous price tag attached to it. Besides Shakespeare is still Shakespeare no matter where you teach it, public or private school it's all the same." Kenna casually replied, leaning forward ever so slightly in her chair. Even though she was explaining this to the elder Petrelli, Kenna knew he wouldn't understand. The two of them had grown up in wealthy families and received the best education that money could buy and yet Kenna had decided to become a public teacher of all things. It was like a slap in the face in the world they had grown up in. Kenna was well aware that she didn't have to work if she didn't want to, she could just go swanning about and embrace her status as a socialite and heiress, doing nothing productive with her time. But that had never been her, Kenna had always wanted to forge her own career and be her own person, instead of trying her hardest to spend every nickel that her father had earned.
Nathan's snort backed up Kenna's knowledge that he wasn't a believer. "You and Pete are one in the same, always sprouting off some kind of nonsense."
"If I wanted a job that was all about getting a hefty pay check then I would have become a stockbroker or something else in finance but then again it's not like I even need to get a job because of my dad. But money was never a factor for me, it doesn't motivate me at all. I do this job because I'm passionate about what I'm doing, I love being able to teach some of my favourite pieces of literature to the next generation and helping them to grow and find their way in the world." Kenna affirmed although she knew she was wasting her time trying to make Nathan see the bigger picture here. He would never understand. Too egotistical to see past himself. Kenna remembered the days when she used to be like that, ignorance had been so blissful back then. She had blamed Peter for bursting her blissful bubble and bringing her into the real world.
"Are the kids going to be looking after you in forty odd years?" Nathan questioned and Kenna smirked as she pushed a loose piece of her auburn hair back behind her ear. That was an interesting question to say the least and Kenna had to give it a few moments thought, as she did she could feel Nathan piercing gaze on her, waiting for a response that would try to appease him.
"Look Nate I don't expect you to understand why I'm doing this, just like I don't have the faintest idea on why you became a politician -"
"-To help people and my country." Nathan interrupted.
Kenna smirked, she saw that response coming a mile away as it was such a typical thing for someone running for congress to say. Nathan was playing the role of politician very well, almost like he was made for the role. "That's sorta of why I'm here, when I was a kid I never knew what I wanted to do with my life, I had nothing to aspire to. It probably has something to do with always having whatever I wanted, handed to me on a silver plate. It wasn't until college that I fell in love with teaching, the idea of giving back and inspiring kids though some of the greatest works of literature. Over the course of my career I'll possibly teach thousand of kids and as corny as this sounds but knowing that I'm making a difference in their lives is something that satisfies me. You never know Nate, the next John Keats or Virginia Woolf could be sitting here in my class, or I could just get one of these kids to love literature like I do. I'm in an environment where I can help guide these kids towards their future, influence the person they will go on to become. These kids may not be taking care of me in forty years but they will remember me Nathan if I've done my job correctly and that's enough for me. Maybe one of the kids in my class may go on to be the next Nathan Petrelli,"
"The high school teacher and the hospice nurse, how did I end up with you and Pete?" Nathan questioned in disbelief and Kenna couldn't help but quietly chuckle as she saw this look pass by on Nathan's face. Even if he couldn't quite understand why Kenna had chosen to become a teacher, it seemed like he was now beginning to respect her choice.
"Well you were always stuck with Peter since he's your brother but you ended up with me after our fathers became friends during Vietman. Call it luck or a chance encounter but where would you be without the Linderman's? You certainly wouldn't have my father bankrolling your campaign and you would be without my delightful charming self to keep you entertained." Kenna retorted, feeling herself slipping back into her old self who used to trade friendly barbs with Nathan on a frequent basis. The nostalgia was slowly seeping back in and despite the lingering angry that Kenna held towards to the Petrelli, she couldn't deny that it was good to see Nathan again. She had practically spent most of her adolescences running in and out of the Petrelli house. All of them had meant so much to her, Mama and Papa Petrelli, Nathan and especially Peter had all held a very special place in Kenna's heart and it had been hard to leave them all behind. However necessary of an evil it was.
"Good one Kenny… But all joking aside now, I need you to talk you about Peter. He's been acting a bit weird over the last few months, you know Peter's always had his head in clouds but he's acting even weirder than usual. It kind of started not long after you took off Kenna and I've tried speaking to him but Pete won't listen to me and he's starting to become a bit of a problem in terms of the campaign. I need you to come talk some sense into him, I know Pete will listen to you."
Kenna vehemently shook her head, her stomach fluttering with butterflies as she tried to process what was being asked of her. "I can't do that Nathan."
"C'mon Kenna, you broke Peter's heart when you took off." Nathan retorted and Kenna began tapping on her desk in an irritated manner as this was exactly the kind of thing she had been hoping to avoid. She had wanted to escape from the madness that came with being associated with the Petrelli's but now Nathan was asking Kenna to go back to exactly what she had tried to leave behind six months ago.
"Peter broke my heart first." Kenna barked in annoyance as she was in no mood to be playing the blame game with Nathan especially since she knew that he had been planning on trying to get her father indicated prior to the car accident that had rendered his wife Heidi paralysed. Sure, Kenna had taken off without telling anyone and had cut off all cut contact with the Petrelli's upon her return to New York two months ago. But she had not been the one to start all of this. That blame, she placed squarely on the Petrelli's. But Kenna didn't want to get into that today as she had too many things on her plate at the moment and she didn't need to add anything else onto her pile.
"He needs you Kenna."
"I highly doubt that Nathan, Peter has always been the most put together person I've known and there's no way any of that has changed in the last six months. Whatever you think is going on with your brother, I can tell you for certain that Peter will be fine. He always is. I can't do what you're asking me to do Nathan." Kenna relied in a cool manner, easily dismissing Nathan as she rose from behind her desk and started to pace around her classroom, idly half admiring the displays on the walls. All this talk about Peter was bringing up so many unresolved feelings that Kenna had, feelings that she didn't want to deal with. None of this was supposed to happen. She had walked away for a reason, Kenna was finally starting to move on with her life and now she had Nathan Petrelli seeking her out trying to pull her back into what she had tried to leave behind. Today was not a good day for Kenna.
"Why not Kenna? Pete's your best friend and if it was the other way round, we both know he would be here in a heartbeat." Nathan retorted and Kenna tossed a glare his way as that comment was slightly below the belt. But Kenna would begrudgingly admit that the elder Petrelli did have a point. She had always been able to depend on Peter ever since the first day the two of them had met, he was her truest friend and these last few months without him in her life had been hellish. There hadn't been a day that had gone past that Kenna hadn't missed him but what had stopped Kenna from calling him was the deep betrayal that she still carried with her. Peter was involved in trying to get her father sent to prison knowing full well how close Kenna was to her father, it was something that she wasn't quite sure that she could ever forgive him for. Then there was the thing that had happened the night before the accident, the night of Peter's graduation. Coupled together, Kenna had felt that she had no other choice but to leave.
"It's not that simple Nathan, I left town for a reason and I am the last person who should be talking to Peter about anything. Things between Pete and I, are a bit tense to say the least as we were in a pretty bad place when I left and I don't know whether we can come back from it."
Nathan farrowed his brows, the annoyance over Kenna's lack of co-operation was clear as day on his face. "What the hell happened between the two of you that was so bad that you won't go talk to Pete?"
"The night of Peter's graduation party after things had wound down, the two of us were drinking tequila and goofing around, well… I say we were goofing around, it was more like I was dancing to Billy Idol and Peter was watching me make an idiot of ourselves. We weren't drunk per say but we did have a lot to drink and one thing led to and we kinda slept together." Kenna begrudgingly admitted through gritted teeth as this story wasn't exactly something she was comfortable with sharing with Nathan of all people. However, Kenna was willing to tell Nathan as she knew that he needed a reason as to why Kenna wouldn't go visit Peter, if there was any hope of her being left alone. Kenna had no inclination to bring up the what happened the following night when she found out that Nathan was somewhat active in trying to get her father sent to jail. Right now wasn't the time to be getting into that and honestly, Kenna had no real desire in hearing Nathan's justification over the whole thing with her dad. If she got Nathan started on that then Kenna would never be rid of him.
"Again? What is that? Like the fifth time?" Nathan demanded and Kenna awkwardly looked away somewhat embarrassed, as she didn't feel like discussing how many times her and Peter had sex. It was weird and not really relevant to the whole bigger picture. It was only something that had happened a few times over the twelve years that Kenna had been friends with Peter and each time there had been alcohol involved. It wasn't that much of a big deal although apparently, it was to the rest of Petrelli's.
"No, it's the third time although I don't know why any of us are keeping track because Peter and I are just friends who occasionally do stupid things and what happened that night should have never happened. I had a boyfriend and I cheated on him which was an awful thing to do and getting involved with Peter like that never ends up well. I'm not sixteen anymore, I can't do things like that and put it down to me being a reckless kid and I don't know any better. I'm twenty-six years old Nathan, I need to start acting like a grown up." Kenna replied, knowing full well that it was a lame excuse but she didn't care. She felt like crap, she was sweating like a pig on thanksgiving and she just wanted to get rid of Nathan so she could go home.
"Are you in love with my brother?"
"No, why would ask something so ridiculous?"
"Were you in love him?"
"I don't know, maybe. But it doesn't really matter now as I moved on and I'm sure that Peter has moved on to pastures greener." Kenna added forcing a smile on her face for good measure as she pulled out the collar of her cashmere jumper, the last thing she need was Nathan to think that she was hung up on Peter of all things. Things were already messy enough as it was. "Look I appreciate the visit Nathan even though it was rather unwelcomed but I can't help you. I know you are worried about Pete and you think I can help you but honestly Peter is probably better off without me, so send him my best but please don't tell him where I am Nathan. Things are better off this way for everyone."
"Don't be so sure that Peter is doing okay without you Kenny, it's been a hard year for us all with the car accident and dad passing away. I thought Peter was dealing with it but apparently, it got too much as Pete tried to kill himself yesterday."
"What?" Kenna hoarsely asked unable to believe what she was hearing. Did Nathan really just tell her that Peter of people tried to commit suicide. It was a huge shock to the system and there was this hollow and sickening feeling in the pit of Kenna's system and all her thoughts were whirling around in her head. This explained everything, why Nathan had suddenly showed up after almost six months of her being away. It was unbelievable and beginning to feel light headed, Kenna stumbled back over to her desk and sat herself down in her chair. "H-How? Why we would he do something like that?"
"He jumped off the roof of a fifteen-storey building convinced he can fly... He'd been rambling to me about it hours earlier but never did I think he'd actually jump. You know what Pete's like Kenna, he's always been a bit of a dreamer but there's a big difference between dreaming that you can fly and believing that you can fly." Nathan rattled off and all of this information was whirling around Kenna's head as she tried to absorb it all, the idea of Peter killing himself was hard to take in. The Petrelli's were Catholic and Kenna was sure that suicide was a sin in Catholicism. It wasn't just the religion part but this was Peter that her and Nathan were talking about he was more likely to be the person talking someone off the edge of a building than doing the jumping.
"He's okay, right? Pete's not dead...?" Kenna asked slowly as her heart start beating faster in her chest as she tried to ponder the idea that Peter was dead. But that same heart that was about to jump out of her chest also told her that he wasn't dead because she'd know if he was dead. Call in it ESP or delusions Kenna would know if Peter Petrelli was dead.
"Pete's in the hospital, luckily he landed on a fire escape and he's pretty sore but he should be fine in a couple of days." Nathan said as Kenna took a visible sigh of relief as that must have been some act of god, if Peter had managed to survive jumping off a building. "He could really do with his best friend Kenny..."
"I don't understand how this happened Nathan as this is Peter we're talking about for god's sake… Why on earth would he want to try and kill himself? The guy I left behind was fine. What on earth happened in the months that I had left to make him suicidal?" Kenna demanded and the moment that Nathan sat down in one of the desk in front of her, Kenna knew it was bad and she sat and listened as Nathan told her the dark Petrelli family secrets. According to him Papa Petrelli – as she called Mr. Petrelli since her teens – had a history of depression since his twenties and his heart attacks had actually been suicide attempts that had been covered up to protect his family. The supposed heart attack that was behind Papa Petrelli's death was actually another suicide attempt and the Petrelli's believed that Peter could be depressed like his father had been. After Nathan had finished Kenna sat there in shock, if you had looked at Mr. Petrelli he wouldn't have seemed the type but then again depression wasn't one of those things that were obvious to everyone.
"Kenna? You still with me?"
"Yeah… What's Mama Petrelli saying about all of this?" Kenna finally asked as her mind finally stopped spinning at 10,000 mph.
"You know my mom Kenny she's trying to make it sound like no big deal but it is, Peter spinning all this crap about how he can fly is a big deal. It's not normal and after dad I'm seriously starting to worry about Pete." Nathan explained and Kenna wearily nodded her head as she didn't blame him for being so worried about his brother. Now Kenna was increasingly worried about Peter as from what Nathan was telling her, Peter was a different person from the man she had left behind. "I know you said that things with you and Pete were at a standstill but do you think you can talk to him Kenny? I really think he will listen and right now he needs the people who care about him around him. Please? Even if he doesn't listen, maybe just seeing you again Kenna will do him some good. My brother has been in love with you since the first time he saw you and Pete has missed over the last few months and I think you've missed him too otherwise you would have kicked me out a long time ago." Nathan pleaded and much to her dismay Kenna found herself caving into his request, she could say no even if she wanted to. Peter was in trouble and despite everything that happened between them, she needed to go to him.
"O-Okay, I'll see him but I can't make any promises Nathan." Kenna relented and Nathan let out a rather relieved looking smile and wrote down the name of the hospital in midtown that Peter was currently at. The eldest Petrelli thanked her again before making his way out of the door. "Hey… Nathan?"
"Yeah?"
"I probably should have asked earlier but how's Heidi doing these days? I've been thinking about her a lot over the last few months. I called the hospital a few times not long after the accident and I said I was family and they gave me updates. I just wondered how she's been doing since she came home." Kenna wearily asked not sure how to expect Nathan's reaction about her inquiring into his wife but she was surprised when he smiled at her. Both Nathan and Peter suspected that her father played a part in the car accident that had paralysed Heidi and even though neither of them had never said anything to Kenna, she was still weary about mentioning the accident and Heidi's condition in any shape or form.
"Better it's taken some time but she's getting there Kenny, she'd love to see you and so would the boys... Everyone would love to see you again so maybe you should think about coming out of hiding and come round the house for dinner. You were after all the daughter my mother never had." Those were Nathan's fleeting words as he left Kenna's classroom and left her alone with her thoughts.'
"Maybe I will." Kenna said as she snapped her fingers and a small flame ignited from her fingertips after a few moments she extinguished it. There was something definitely going on here, she could naturally create fire amongst other things and her best friend was now convinced he could fly... That was sure to be an interesting conversation.