Dare to Dream
The Sole Survivor
AND NOW I PROUDLY PRESENT CHAPTER SEVENxx
Eyes wide, he slowly turned to see Kendall standing behind him as her wide eyes began to gradually fill with tears. The look of absolute hurt and betrayal on her face made his heart drop into his stomach. Kick gulped and frowned.
"K-Kendall..." He whispered and stretched a hand to her before glancing back at Gunther. "Um, how much of that did you hear?"
"I heard enough." She whimpered steadily. Kick racked his brain for answers.
"It's not what you think, I was just -"
"Is that really what you think?" Her low voice caught him off guard and he winced. Behind him, Gunther slowly emerged from the shrub. "Was this all just because of some deal? Was I just some... pawn to you?"
"Wait, Kendall, it's not Kick's fault. He was just -"
"SHUT IT, GUNTHER." Kendall forcefully interrupted the Norse boy and he promptly slapped a hand over his mouth with wide eyes. The blonde girl shifted her angered eyes back to Kick's and he felt a shiver run down his spine in response.
"Look, Kendall, it's not a big deal. All that happened was Mz. Fitzpatrick told me I needed to learn to get along with you and to get me to agree to that, she bribed me with things I wouldn't be able to resist under normal circumstances. Then we made a bet." Kick explained in a monotoned, uncaring voice. Kendall's eyes seemed to darken. She took in a deep breath before stomping up to the daredevil.
The slap she proceeded to give his unabused cheek should've surprised him more than it actually did.
He stepped back a few inches and glared at her but said nothing as he rubbed the stinging side of his face. The blonde then turned her red eyes to Gunther, making the boy let out an unmanly squeak. Without another word, she marched up to the daredevil's sidekick and kicked him as hard as she could in the shin. He howled in pain and collapsed on the sidewalk, clutching his leg.
"Why did he get the less painful option?" Gunther whined as Kick helped him back to his feet.
"Geez, Kendall. Psycho much?" Kick asked sarcastically, but when no sarcastic retort came back, he cut his eyes to her and frowned. Then he gulped.
To Kick, she looked positively livid. She looked so angry, seething in pure fury as she looked to be preparing for the hurt of a lifetime that it actually made him second guess himself.
But to Gunther, seeing past the loathing and feelings of dismemberment, she looked broken. She looked betrayed, but worst of all, she looked like she was positively heart-broken. The blond boy paused as he tried to process what that meant. If she looked like she'd had her heart broken, then that meant... That she liked Kick. If her violent tendencies were anything to go on, that is.
Gunther's eyes widened as he stared at Kendall. Not even having spent the entire day with Kick Buttowski, the boy she hated, and the short (1)twelve-year-old had managed to somehow "woo" the class president in that limited amount of time. The blond boy couldn't grasp the concept.
Kick must've been quite the gentlemen, Gunther mused as he glanced at the daredevil with wide eyes. The Magnuson boy didn't know Kick had it in him to even be remotely civil, especially to Kendall. The blonde girl always had had a way of getting on Kick's nerves and she his.
Just then, she angrily lashed out, snatching the front of Kick's jumpsuit and heaving him up to her level. The daredevil held his hands up in a nondefensive gesture with a wince. He thoroughly expected another punch from her. But after a few moments of holding his breath, he cracked open an eye when nothing happened and froze on the spot, his eyes wide. She was inches from his face, her narrowed eyes piercing through him like a sharp-edged knife.
He suddenly wished he were at Dead Man's Drop.
"Clarence," He winced at the venom in her voice that he'd never heard until now. Kendall's lips pressed into a thin line. He cringed and his eyes darted from her free hand to her face. "Was it all just a bet? None of it was real?" She seemed to be fishing for some kind of comfort, anything that would make something that happened today not just for the sake of a bet. Anything that would make it true.
Kick's eyes darted to Gunther, who was still standing silently beside his short friend and sighed, his gaze switching to her hand that was fisted up in his jumpsuit. "Well...honestly, it started out as a bet because I was going to lose my skateboard if I didn't ask you out, and I thought that -"
"I knew it was a date..." Gunther interjected softly, just loud enough for the two of them to hear. They both directed heated glares at the blond boy and he quickly turned away, whistling innocently. Kick rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to finish, but was interrupted by the blonde.
"I...I thought that..." The glare on her face vanished entirely as she gazed at the fabric on his jumpsuit. Kendall's chest heaved a few times, as if preparing for the crying session of her lifetime, but forced it down. "I thought you actually wanted to be my friend. I thought that we were having fun... I thought...that you...liked me..."
"Uh..." Kick's eyes widened. She then angrily released him as the tears overflowed from her eyes. Kick watched with a grimace as she tried to console herself and reached a hand toward her. She quickly turned away and forced the pain down.
"Why do I even care? It's not like I was enjoying myself or anything! Who would ever enjoy spending time with a jerk like you?" And with that, she was running, pumping her arms to get as fast as she allowed, as far away from him as she could get, a waterfall of tears pouring from her eyes.
Kendall knew she was overreacting. She knew she was just speaking out of a broken heart, but darn it, she had really thought that Kick liked her and was enjoying her company. Now that she knew he had only asked her to hang out with him was because of some bet, she felt her heart break without even really knowing why.
She hated how bad she was crying over this. It was embarrassing how much her heart hurt. She wanted to be alone. She wanted to be angrier at him. She wanted to fuel her hatred of him even more by hitting him until he hurt too. But... somehow she couldn't. Each time he had looked at her, she felt her heart tug on the inside and she didn't know why. Kick had been acting like the kind of friend she'd wanted all along.
Now that she knew it was all just fake, she felt like she'd been used up and thrown aside.
Behind her as she sprinted off, Kick and Gunther watched her go, each with equally saddened expressions.
"Kendall..." The daredevil said softly and extended an arm to her rapidly disappearing figure before he made as if to chase after her, but stopped. "KENDALL, WAIT! It's not, it's... AGH!" Kick cried out an aggravation and grabbed his helmet as though to yank it off and fling it off into the distance. Instead, he clenched his fist and sighed before he turned to his friend. He threw an arm in the direction that Kendall was in. "What... what do I do now? Now I'll lose my skateboard and get piles of homework. Not to mention that I'll be the laughing stock of the entire school because I failed." Kick frowned heavily and covered his eyes with his hands as a groan slipped out of his throat.
"Well, I didn't certainly didn't expect this outcome." Gunther finally spoke. Kick didn't reply but instead lowered one hand to glance at the blond boy. The daredevil sank to his knees on the concrete. The enormous weight of what just happened finally caught up to him and his eyebrows drew together in confusion as his stomach lurched almost painfully.
The daredevil clutched at his heart. "Gunther," Kick began softly, his deep voice almost breathless. "What have I done?"
Gunther was kind enough to provide a metaphorical list as he counted on his fingers. "You made a deal with our teacher out of pure selfishness, you asked Kendall out on a date... You did, don't deny it," He quickly interrupted the shorter twelve-year-old sternly when he went to protest. "You didn't think about her feelings while doing all these nice things with her, and finally, you stupidly revealed to her your true intentions and now she's run off crying and is heart-broken."
Kick blinked at Gunther with wide eyes.
"Did I leave anything out?" The Magnuson boy asked skeptically as he crossed his arms over his chest. The daredevil looked down at his feet and sighed softly, his eyebrows drawn up in his anxiety. If Gunther weren't trying to get Kick to see the light, then he'd feel guilty criticising his best friend. But right now, it needed to be done.
Finally, Kick shook his head and cringed as Kendall's words came back like a whiplash into his mind. He understood he had hurt her, and bad too, he just didn't understand why she was hurting as bad as she was. He and Kendall weren't friends, not even acquaintances. She'd said herself that they hate each other, so why was she crying over him using her in a deal? He raised his eyes back to Gunther's, who was still giving him a stern glare.
"Gunther." Kick began and reached out with his gloved hands and set them on his friend's shoulders. "You know why, don't you? You know why she's crying like this." When Gunther didn't respond, Kick shook his shoulders. "Gunther, I... I have to fix this. Tell me why she's crying."
Gunther sighed. "Kick, even if you know how to fix it, what are you even going to do?" Kick threw his arms up in the air, a last ditch attempt at keeping what was left of his sanity.
"I don't know, I just don't know! I never understood the female mind. But I have to do something! I can't just... let her be alone right now. She's... she's crying, Gunther. She's crying because of me. I have to know."
Gunther blinked in shocked disbelief. Hesitantly, he reached out and tapped the boy on his helmet as if making sure he wasn't a phantom of his imagination. "Are you really Kick? Because you're being awfully sentimental." The Norse boy concluded with a suspicious expression. Kick gave him a deadpan glare and waved his hand away.
"Don't remind me." He grumbled before flinging his arms down by his sides. He slowly dragged his hands down his face. "Gunther, please."
The blond boy blinked at the desperation in his friend's voice. It wasn't his usual deep-throated tone, it had a pleading edge to it now. The look of concentration on Kick's face was intense and focused. He put his hands on the daredevil's tiny shoulders in response.
"Kick, listen to me carefully, okay?" Gunther began slowly, making sure he had his attenton. The shorter of the two tended to be a bit attention deficit sometimes when he wasn't doing a stunt, so he had to be positive that Kick was listening to him. But considering the situation, Gunther had to wonder if he'd had the stuntman's attention the whole time.
"Kendall likes you." Kick blinked owlishly back at him.
"...What?"
Gunther groaned under his breath. "Kick, watch me, okay? Kendall," He paused and pointed in the direction that the distressed blonde had run off in, watching as Kick's eyes flickered that way as well. "Likes," Here, the Norse boy pointed a finger at Kick's chest. "You."
"B-but..." The daredevil stuttered with wide eyes and the blond boy swiftly placed a hand over his mouth to quiet his broken sentences.
"Just trust me, she does." Gunther interrupted. "She practically gave herself away just now when she slapped you and... kicked me," He muttered with a grimace and rubbed his leg. "Besides, you should've seen her face when you opened the door for her at the ice cream shop." The blond boy teased and nudged the daredevil. The shorter boy didn't acknowledge it. Kick was still trying to process that Kendall actually liked him.
"Kendall... likes... me?" The daredevil carefully asked, turning wide eyes to Gunther in disbelief. The other boy nodded sagely. "Kendall... likes me..." He repeated again breathlessly as he placed two hands on his chest, indicating himself. Then his eyes widened and his eyebrows rose up in a sudden realization.
"Kendall likes... me! I get it now!"
Gunther was surprised when Kick suddenly took off down the road without a moment's hesitation, snatching his skateboard off the sidewalk, and flying off in the direction that Kendall had run off in. Cupping his hands over his mouth, he called out, "WAIT, KICK! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
"I HAVE TO TALK TO KENDALL!" Kick called back over his shoulder and soon, he vanished from view. Gunther sighed and took out the notepad, writing down a few things.
"I wish I were getting paid to do this." He sighed.
xx"Stupid jerk..."
The blonde muttered to herself. "Stupid, idiotic, rebellious, immature, ugly, short, JERK! I hope he contracts some weird, embarrassing, fatal disease and just dies. I hope he just dies from it!" Kendall whispered harshly to herself, hoping she didn't sound crazy as she sat at the library. She was sitting in the very back at a vacant table, hunched over and hugging her legs as she cried into her knees. But she figured if Kick would even decide to come looking for her, he woudn't come there first.
"Well, y'know, that's the thing about fatal diseases," Someone drawled next to her. Startled, Kendall's head whipped to the side and saw the least person she ever expected to find in the library of all things - Kick's elder brother, Brad Buttowski. He was leaning against a shelve of books casually, inspecting his fingers. "They do tend to kill people."
Her eyes narrowed, her defensive walls building up as he nonchalantly walked over to her and sat down silently in the chair beside her. She scooted away with a distrustful glare but he pretended not to notice and picked at his teeth. His eyes shifted to her back and he raised an eyebrow. "Are you crying?"
Kendall froze and turned her face just enough that she could see him out of the corner of her eye. "No." She said softly.
"Hm..." Brad gave her a look of disbelief, as he could see the red veins in her eyes, but shrugged. "Eh, not my business." He leaned his arms on the table, still peering at her out of the corner of his eyes. She blinked and sniffed, rubbing her nose with the back of her hand.
"What do you want, Brad?" She growled, not one to be messed with at the moment. She knew of Kick's brother and all the things he did. Selfish things. Seems that runs in the family, she thought scornfully. The eldest Buttowski boy blinked at her tone before he grinned wickedly.
"Oh, don't worry, I'm just passing through. Though I must say, I've suddenly taken an interest in your case." Brad told her, a sly look in his eyes as he leaned his chin on the palm of his hand. Kendall glared at him distrustfully and curled in on herself.
"Oh, go jump off Widowmaker's Peak, why don't you." She mumbled.
"I'm afraid that's my brother's fancy, not mine." Brad stood and circled her chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "Hm... if the reason you're crying is what I think it is, then I think we have a way of helping one another." The blonde girl raised a suspicious eyebrow.
"What makes you think I'll help you?" She snapped. "You've never gone out of your way to speak to me until now, so why the sudden attention?"
He did nothing but cross his arms. "I've been looking for an excuse to pound the dillweed, not that I actually need one but I just need to know where he is, and you obviously need closure or something. Whatever it is that girls like to do when they're dumped." Brad waved a hand idly.
Kendall slowly raised her head, her watery eyes wide. "Dumped? You... You think I was dumped?" She asked, her fragile brain, already shattered beyond repair, tried to feel at least insulted by the comment but to no avail. Blinking, she let out a humorous laugh and glared at him. "Closure? Why would I need closure? There's no reason for me to need closure." She rambled. She knew she was rambling. She usually rambled when she was upset, hurt, or in need of comfort. Right at the moment, she could really use the last one. But Brad was the last person she would want to go to for that.
Honestly, she didn't even know if she wanted Kick pulverized to begin with, so she went with the safer, non guilty route. She wiped her eyes and took in a deep, calming breath. "You don't need to do any of that for me, I'm already feeling better, but thanks for the concern, Brad."
Brad's eyes narrowed and Kendall was reminded of who he was related to. "Cut the crap, blondie. I know my stupid brother did this to you. I know you want some kind of revenge on him and I'm the only one who can give it to him. Besides, I'm not doing it for you. I have a... score to settle with Kick for what he did to me earlier." He sneered and cracked his knuckles. "It would just be hitting two birds with one stone, you know what I mean?"
Kendall thought long and hard about her answer. She knew it could mean, but not in the literal sense, life or death for Kick. On one hand, she got her revenge and might quite possibly feel better about the whole situation. On the other, Kick lived on happily in his life and got to keep his little skateboard and his happy little friends. Her eyes narrowed and a slow, evil grin spread across her face. Brad, having watched the emotions playing across her face, smirked and held out his hand.
Reaching out as well, they shook hands. "What do you need to know?" Kendall grinned. xx A/N: YESIAMSOREADY. I think this is my favorite chapter. I finished this as fast as my little fingers could go. But I had a dream. About Kick and Kendall. FINALLY. It was depressing and angsty BUT BRILLIANT. So I got up and began writing. And writing. And WRITING. OMGIWROTESOMUCH. I hope this is also... satisfactory. c: After you read and review this one of course, psh, haha. :3 Oh. (1). I noticed that in the first chapter, I said Kick was eight. That was my mistake and I've been corrected, so now I use his correct age. :'D DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT, NOR DO I EVER, OWN KICK BUTTOWSKI: SUBURBAN DAREDEVIL. ...THANKS.
Okay, I know this is getting pretty high up on the chapter numbers, so just let me say that the next chapter shall be the last one. YAY.
BY THE WAY...