Disclaimer: I do not own Kick Buttowski.
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Kendall peeked around a food stand suspiciously; her team was relentless. They had given her a day (a day) free of pestering then had ambushed her the movement she stepped out of her home this morning. They were employing Group-Interrogation Tactic #5; surprise with promises of fun then, when relaxed, subtly drop simple, no-thought questions that eventually lead to ones that gave answers to what the group wanted to know. She scoffed; they couldn't seriously believe they could use the very tactic she had taught them against her… then again…
She considered herself lucky that the festival was such a huge event; not only had it been easy to lose them, but it gave her plenty of places to hide as well. Although, there was no way she was going to spend the entire weekend hiding or looking over her shoulder.
A stand selling pirate costumes caught her eye and she couldn't help but smirk; she was so not getting caught up in their little tricks.
"I make a pretty good pirate if I do say so myself." She commented as she posed in front of a mirror. "Can't believe I let them pick my costume the first time… this one is much better." She wore a semi-loose white blouse with a red sash around her waist, a yellow bandana to match her hair (not because she wanted to somehow match Kick's jumpsuit), black, form-fitting pants that were made of breathable fabric, boots, a fake sword and a captains hat along with some gold hoop-earrings.
She was wrapping her hair into a bun at the base of her neck when someone appeared next to her, "Wouldn't it be better to hide your hair completely?" She shrieked and jumped a foot into the air.
"Wow Kendall, jumpy much?" Haley raised and eye brow and grinned at the scowl her soccer captain gave her.
"If the others are with you-"
"Relax," Haley raised her hands in a motion of peace, "Andre's got the boys distracting them."
"Oh god… that's just asking for a blood bath!" Kendall buried her face in her hands for a moment then looked up at the sky with an expression that clearly screamed 'why me?'
Haley laughed and placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "They're not going to kill each other… well some of them might try but I'm sure it'll turn out fine."
"I blame the boys vs girls game we have every year… they wouldn't hate each other so much if it wasn't for your stupid competition."
"I resent that; Andre and I get along just fine."
"Of course you would, you guys had this weird flirty thing going on before you even joined the team."
"You're just bitter."
Kendall grabbed a hat and shoved it good naturedly into Haley's hands, "No, I'm annoyed 'cause the team wants to talk about something I'm not ready to discuss and it doesn't help that last night you and Brianna kept me up for hours talking about… that!"
Her friend snickered, "I'd correct you on what "that" is, but we're in public and there are little ears around so I'm gonna keep it as PG as possible." A devious smile appeared, "Did you dream about a sleepover with him last night?"
"HALEY!"
Kendall ducked her head in mortification as people who were passing by openly stared at them, from both her outburst and Haley's maniacal laughter. "OH MY- HAHA! OH! OH MY SIDES! HAHAHAHA!"
"Shut up!"
Haley gasped for breath, though her smile remained, "Sorry, sorry. I'll make it up to you I swear."
"You better," Kendall huffed, "Or you'll be suffering for it on the field." She felt as small amount of satisfaction at the brunettes gasp of shock.
"You would never take advantage of your position as captain like that!"
Kendall smirked, "There's a lot you and the rest of the team don't know about me."
They left the costume stand in companionable silence, viewing each sales stand and playing a few games before they ventured into the food court. "You know," Haley began as she bit into a corndog, savoring the taste before she swallowed and continued, "We don't really mean any harm when we bug you. The girls and I just wanna help out." Kendall raised an eyebrow at her, "Ok some of us wanna help out." Haley relented, "The new girls are too nosey for their own good."
She smiled as a laugh escaped her friend, "I know, I know," Kendall grinned at her then sighed, "A lot of us have been on the team for almost 3 years, and I trust you guys; you were some of my first friends… but… I'm just not ready to talk about."
"… Keeping it bottled up for the rest of your life isn't going to heal you, Kendall."
"I wasn't going to-"
"You only gave us basic details of your life before you moved here when you couldn't find a way around it, we had to find out you were form Mellowbrook from your mom."
Kendall gripped her bottle of lemonade nodded towards a more secluded bench, one perfect for hiding from observing eyes, "Can we sit down?"
Haley nodded and waited patiently after they took a seat. "We lived in the same neighborhood," Kendall began, "This is probably going to sound really weird and maybe a bit ridiculous, but my dad married into my mom's family; we have her last name. Back when I was still a kid, and mom still lived with us, I was probably the biggest tomboys you'd ever meet and my parents, along with my sister, encouraged it."
A wistful smile appeared as she looked up towards the street, "She was so different from me, I mean sure we shared some interests, but my sister was almost the polar opposite of me. She was at all of my games though, and I went to each of her ballet recitals. Then we had to move to Mellowbrook for my dad's job and mom moved here for her work and well, my sister decided she wanted to live with my mom. Back then I thought maybe the fight we had the night before about me tracking my muddy cleats through the house and accidently getting her leotard dirty made her decide she didn't want to live with me anymore.
"I had never really paid attention our age difference, so I hadn't realized it was because she needed to get ready for University. I thought maybe I could make it up to her by acting more proper. Then later she decided to give up inheriting our mother's business to pursue her own career." She shook her head, "I mean… I get it now, I completely understand her reasons for staying and I've accepted it wasn't my fault and that I don't have to follow in my mother's footsteps, but I was just a kid back then and I thought if I changed… things could go back to normal.
"A lot of people don't get it, but you can't truly understand something unless you've been through it." She sighed and looked at her friend, "A little while after we settled down I met Kick and it was like a soccer ball to the gut, because he could be himself without worrying." She frowned, "Now that I think about it that was probably why I was so rude to him after he performed a stunt the first day I met him. It was really rare for us to get along after that."
"…But you did get along?" Haley prompted after a moment of silence.
Kendall smiled, "Yeah, we did. It's still kinda surreal, how it all happened, but we started dating right after freshman year ended." Her eyes glazed over and a dreamy expression crossed her face, "And I loved every second of it."
"What happened?"
The serene look on her face became stormy, "He hadn't let go of how I used to be. I hadn't told him everything, but I thought he had at least tried to understand the pressure I felt when I was younger. That it wasn't easy for me to suddenly let go of all these habits I had practiced for years. But I guess he wanted a girl who didn't carry all that baggage…"
She blinked in surprise as drops of water hit her hands, when had she started crying? A sob suddenly escaped her, "I really, really liked him Haley. I really d-did and I was so happy; he was l-like a breath of fresh air and I finally felt like I c-could finally work to b-becoming myself again. He was so honest and open and I never thought-" She took a deep breath to choke down another sob, "He didn't even wait to dump me before he moved on."
"Oh, Kends..." Haley wrapped her arms around her friend and for the first time in nearly three years, Kendall allowed herself to cry.
Kick eyed the funnel cake Gunther held in one hand. "How many pictures of your food are you going to take?"
"Jackie wants to know if the food here is good enough for her to make a trip."
"Oh god… she's not planning on coming is she?"
"I plead the Fifth."
Kick face-palmed, "Can you at least convince her not to come?"
"Still pleading the Fifth,"
"… I'm going to take a walk, don't bother calling unless it's important."
Gunther shrugged and snapped another picture, though this time it was of his friend's despondent, and slightly irritated, expression rather than the sugary treats he had bought. Kick sighed and headed towards the game stands; it just wasn't his day. Though, if he was being honest, it just wasn't his week. Vacations were meant to be relaxing, fun and just… not what he was experiencing.
Great chimichangas what had he gotten himself into? If he had known-
He shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets with a glare; it actually could've gone either way. Part of him wanted to curl up under a rock and never risk facing the depressing bitterness of one particular memory, the other wanted to march up to her, make her listen to what actually happened and then kiss the living daylights out of her.
Yeah he was still a sap.
A laugh that pulled at his heartstrings caught his attention and he looked up in surprise; despite her costume, the pirate at one of the games was definitely Kendall (he'd recognize her smile anywhere) joking with a brown-haired girl that looked familiar. They were tossing rings onto glass milk-bottles, though it was obvious they were sabotaging each other in a friendly sort of way.
He smiled; she still had that air about her when she allowed herself to relax that just made him feel… content. It was nice, knowing that part of her was the same.
He turned and walked away. If there was one thing Kick would openly admit (to himself) that worried him, it was how much she had possibly changed over the years apart. Yes, their last few encounters were similar to the ones they had as children, but it could've been because she was still upset over what had happened. And anyone had the right to stay hurt if it had happened to them but it had been a misunderstanding! A huge blow up that had caused him the biggest head (heart) ache of his life because it had been nothing but drama that was only supposed to exist on those ridiculous shows his mother and sister (and occasionally Brad) watched.
He wandered around the fair-grounds for a while before he spotted her again, and he couldn't help the jealousy that arose in his chest. She was sitting on a secluded bench with her beloved boyfriend giggling and blushing and just ripping his heart out with every passing second. It was a bit of a surprise, how much a person could hurt someone without even noticing or trying. Andre pulled out a rose from behind his back and Kick was caught between going over and pulling her away or turning in the opposite direction to ignore them for the rest of the day.
As Kendall pulled her boyfriend into a hug, he opted for the latter.
"Feeling any better?"
Kendall sniffed and pulled away from her friend's arms, "Yeah actually, thanks Haley."
"No problem," Haley placed a comforting hand on Kendall's knee, "It's ok to feel sad every once in a while."
"Yeah," She sighed, "I know."
They jumped as a ringtone blared, "Oh great," Haley mumbled once she read the text, "Feel like helping me stop the girls from murdering Andre's team?"
"And risk them grilling me about Kick? No thank you."
Haley nodded, "Yeah I figured. I'll text you once it's all sorted out."
"Thanks." Kendall watched as her friend left before turning her gaze to the sky. She felt… lighter; as if allowing herself to be human for a moment had lifted a weight off her.
"Ugh… I still have that stupid habit of trying to be perfect all the time."
"No one's perfect, Kendall."
"Andre!?" She jumped in surprise, "What- where-"
"I'm doing fine thanks, and you?"
She flushed, "Don't get all snarky with me, Andre. I'm your girlfriend's best friend!"
"I'm just kidding," He laughed and sat next to her, "A penny for your thoughts?
"Oh, um…" She looked at the ground, "Nothing really, Haley and I were talking earlier and I'm feeling a lot better."
"I can tell; you've been wound tighter than a two dollar watch for almost a week."
Kendall shot him an incredulous look, "Who even says that anymore?"
"I do, obviously."
"Yeah well you didn't have to use such a dorky quote."
"I could've said tighter than a banjo string."
"Oh god that's even worse… you're so lame."
"I am awesome, thank you. And- Hey don't distract me!"
She ducked her head and laughed, "Not like its hard; I wouldn't be surprised if you were an animal in another life! You're just as bad as my cat when I use the laser pen!"
"Hey!"
Kendall nearly fell over in a fit of giggles, and despite how he was shaking his head; Andre had a smile of amusement on his face. "I'm glad you're feeling better you know."
"Thanks," She smiled, "I'm surprised you're not with the guys. Haley got a text saying my girls were about to-"
"Destroy my team? Yeah I got one too. I'm sure they'll be fine."
"You're not worried about them?"
"Nah, it'd give the newbies a chance to out shine the ones dumb enough to provoke the girls' soccer team."
"… I don't think I can really argue against that."
"Of course you can't," Andre grinned and leaned against the bench with his arms behind his head, "I'm just amazing at rationalizing things."
She snorted, "Yeah, which is why you can't ever say no to your girlfriend."
"I wasn't the one stuck having a very mature conversation with her yesterday."
"… Touché."
They sat in silence for a while.
"You know," Andre turned to her, "I think I'm going to talk to him."
"Kick?"
Kendall nodded, "Yeah; I think it's time I moved on."
"That sounds like a good start." He looked pensive for a moment, "I did tell you he thinks we're dating, right?"
"Yeah you did, and that's just- EW!"
Andre raised an eyebrow, "I'd feel offended if I didn't share the same opinion."
"Sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude but EW!"
"Please darling," He said in an exaggerated French accent as he placed a beret on his head, "You don't know what you're missing."
She laughed, "Oh please, you're not my type."
"I am everyone's type!" He pulled a flower from behind his back."
"Oh! Is the rose you're using to ask Haley to the End of Summer Spectacular Dance?" She cooed over it for a moment, "It's so pretty!"
"Yup! Had to grow five different ones with the help of a greenhouse worker to finally get this one."
"She's gonna love it!" She threw her arms around him, "Congratulations!"
He laughed, "Thanks. Now why don't you head out and find your lover boy."
"Shut up!"
"Pure gold," Brianna held the phone away from and examined the photo with appreciation, "You just can't get quality like this anymore; reality-tv has nothing on real life these days."
"You're getting way too much enjoyment out of this." Gunther commented as she gave him back his phone.
"Please; they'll thank me one day."
"No, I'm pretty sure they'll kill you first and then maybe consider thanking you."
"Just keep eating your funnel cake."
"I would if you hadn't eaten it!"
She huffed, "Besides, you may be my brother's best friend but not even that could save you from his wrath once he finds out you helped me out."
"Against my will!"
"Schematics."
He shot her a glare, "Doesn't this bother you? Like, at all?"
"What? You mean seeing the heartbreak on both of their faces and absolute despair at the thought they may never find happiness?" She thought for a moment, "Nope."
"What are you heartless, woman?!"
She sighed, "Look Gunther, nothing worth having comes easy. Doesn't matter if it's a relationship or a job, even earning or giving forgiveness and trust takes effort because if you want something you gotta work for it." She gave him a look, and he was startled to find absolutely no mischief or deceit in her expression, "I believe it's possible for people to have a happy life, even if they haven't completely let something go. But just because everything and everyone around them is living in sunshine it doesn't mean that they always are. There's always going to be that little dark cloud in the back of their mind that they'll eventually go back to and you never know how they're going to react.
"I want them to live as happily as possible and sometimes forcing people to confront their problems is the only way to help them move on. This just so happens to be one of those times; even I know when there should or shouldn't be any meddling. Maybe they'll end up with each other, maybe they won't, but either way they don't deserve to have that hanging over them. Both of them ought to have as little regrets as possible."
They stayed silent for a while, as the gravity and sincerity of Brianna's words washed over them, before Gunther finally sighed and held out his hand, "Give me the camera. I better not regret this…"
"Knew you'd see it my way," She smirked, "And don't worry. I'll handle everything if they find out."
He smiled at her, "Yeah, sure… Don't get into too much trouble."
"No promises." She winked and skipped off in the opposite direction. "See ya later, I'm gonna check on a few cameras I hid around the fair."
He waited till she was out of sight before shaking his head, "I have no idea how Kick puts up with her."
"How Kick puts up with who?"
A manly scream escaped him, "Kick!" He grabbed at his chest and shot his laughing friend a glare, "Give me a heart-attack why don't you?"
"Sorry, sorry." Kick held up his hands in a motion of peace and grinned, "Didn't mean to."
"Says the guy who snuck up on me!"
"Hey now," He threw an arm over Gunther's shoulders, "Don't blame me just 'cause you weren't paying attention. Which reminds me, what were you saying about me earlier?"
Gunther sighed, "Brianna."
"Ah," Kick nodded solemnly, "What did that lovely sister of mine do this time?"
"You mean besides eat my funnel cake?"
"Ouch. Don't worry buddy, I'll buy one another one."
Gunther gave him a look of pure worship, "You're a good person, Kick."
"Well, what are friends for?" He brushed his nails against his jumpsuit as they headed towards the food court. "An since I'm an awesome friend I'm sure you wouldn't mind getting an extra-jumbo super-sized sloshie-"
Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of a familiar soccer jersey, but what caused him to actually turn and look was that the girl beside the current bane of his romantic life had brown hair instead of blonde and was being handed an extravagant rose he could've sworn was the same one Andre had been giving Kendall not 15 minutes earlier. And if that hadn't been enough to set his blood boiling, the kiss the stupid French captain gave the girl definitely was.
There was no way he was going to let Andre break Kendall's heart and live.
Ugh… I can't stand drama. I get mild headaches from it. But what is a story without some? My sister says carefree. Surprisingly there's a lot of drama in middle school. I'm worried about her going into high school; both my brother and I never dealt with it growing up, but it seems our two younger sisters are going thru their fair share.