A/N: Another chapter of Hooked all! I know this is a bit on the shorter side, but next week y'all in for a treat :) Special thanks to waterwicca, just because she is awesome!
And speaking of waterwicca, here is a snippet from the WONDERFUL Past The Sorrow:
Kendall and Sage hadn't said a single word to each other during the drive or as they moved stealthily up the staircase and into his room. Katie was fast asleep, but the light from Karen's bedroom flooded from the bottom of the door, creating a harsh, bright line across the dark floor of the hallway. The two teenagers shuffled into Kendall's room. They looked at each other for a moment. Just as Sage was about to break the silence there was knock at the door. The blonde girl stared at her boyfriend with wide eyes and then snapped into action, shutting herself inside of his closet.
"Come in," Kendall called out just above a whisper. His body had gone completely rigid, and his eyes were locked on his closet door.
"Did you get Sage home okay?" Karen walked in with a warm smile.
"Y-yeah," his voice cracked slightly at the lie. Sage was not okay.
"What's wrong?" Karen immediately sensed the change in her son's attitude. He had lost his cheery demeanor, "…You seem upset. Were you crying? Did you and Sage have a fight?"
"Absolutely not!" Kendall raised his voice. He was agitated and defensive. He still wanted to beat the shit out of Elliot until the man's heart stopped beating… and he just wanted to hold Sage. Kendall's body wasn't just aching and tingling like usual. It was burning like hell. It was as if there was poison running a marathon through his veins. It was so debilitating… he felt utterly helpless and out of control.
"Okay…" his mother responded uneasily at his tone.
"Sorry, Mom," he recovered with a false smile that physically hurt his face. "I'm…I'm just tired…"
"Alright…" Karen was still hesitant but decided to drop the subject, "I'll let you go to bed then. Sweet dreams!"
Kendall only managed to respond with a slight nod before his mother made her exit. He knew that he would most likely have nightmares, and he'd be lucky if he didn't dream at all.
Even after Karen left, he stood completely still, waiting to hear her door shut at the other end of the hall. As soon as he heard the gentle click of the knob, he rushed over to his closet and ripped the door open.
Kendall's heart broke even more than he thought possible at the sight he was met with. He thought it had completely shattered the second Sage had hit the floor by Elliot's hand, but now she was standing there half cloaked in darkness. She was finally crying with strangled breaths and hot tears running down her abused face. She let out a shaky sob and bit her lip before running and launching herself into Kendall's arms. She jumped to wrap her legs around his waist and buried her head into his neck. Sage had never needed him more.
Kendall backed up and sat on his bed with her wrapped in his embrace. He let her cry, his own tears falling as he rubbed her back soothingly. He used his arms to pull them against the headboard so that Sage sat fully in his lap with her hands clutching onto him. Kendall finally let his muscles relax against the bed. This was as good as it was going to get for the time being. He had Sage captured tightly in his arms… She was safe… for now….
You love it, don't you? Yeah, I thought so. Read and Review!
And make sure to Read and Review Hooked! Don't be shy! Tell me what you think, please! Reviews definitely encourage me! :D
I don't own anything except Stella and The Tregger's, and other OC's. I don't own Retrace by Anberlin.
Chapter Eighteen: Retrace
For late February, even in Thief River Falls, it was freezing. Stella's freckled cheeks were naturally rouged by the quick and bitter wind that traveled through the town, chills cascading up and down her back, through the thin blue cardigan of Kendall's she wore. It must've been at least 11 o'clock at night as she wandered down Main Street, her heart beating faster anytime she saw a man that resembled anything close to Kendall.
Oh, how I've tried to get you out of my head.
And I lied, broken words I said.
Never thought I'd walk on this street again.
Standing where it all began.
Tried to forget when I left this town,
But it takes me right back when I come back around.
Stella closed her eyes as she walked with each step, thinking of Kendall. How much she missed his touch, how much she loved his green eyes, how warm his hands were. She thought of how his lips fit perfectly on hers, how slim and muscular his body was and of course, the way his beautiful voice carried through air like magic. As she walked more and more down Main Street, she thought of how she could've ever pushed him away, knowing that the he was the only one that loved her, even if she didn't know why. She thought of all the lies she told him, and how distant she was at first to this boy who she indeed was in love with. Stella wanted nothing more than see Kendall in front of her, but knew that it was reality and it going to be a long while until she saw him again.
Retrace the steps we took on that long summer night.
I'm right there by your side.
Retrace the steps we took when we met worlds away.
Counting backwards while the stars are falling.
Stella looked up at the stars, and smiled as she continued her walk. They had guided her here. Not all by themselves of course, seeing as she had taken a few buses the past few days to get here. But she knew that up in the heavens, they were still watching her, telling her it was right to come here. She thought of how she and Kendall had planned to stargaze together that night in the cabin, but ended up making love instead. Just the thought of having him like that made Stella shudder with delight, as well as disgust for her intercourse with Cooper that she had cried rivers over in regret.
Oh, how I find every subtle thing screams your name.
It reminds me of places of times we shared.
Couldn't live locked in these memories.
Now I'm chained to my thoughts again.
And I tried to forget when I left this town,
But I'll take you right back if you come back around.
She had tried so hard to forget Kendall Knight, that somehow, when she let herself remember, he came back as vividly and as strongly as he would if he was there in the first place.
Retrace the steps we took on that long summer night.
I'm right there by your side.
Retrace the steps we took when we met worlds away.
Counting backwards while the stars are falling.
I need some shelter, I need some safety.
Photographs, they haunt me lately.
Chasing shadows as the evening takes me.
I'm still searching, but the picture's fading.
She needed nothing more than Kendall Knight's warm arms wrapped around her body, holding her in an embrace that was no longer foreign. She needed to feel safe like she had that week with Kendall, which could by far be the best time in her life. She needed that security of knowing when she opened her eyes in the morning, that even if Kendall wasn't staring back at her, he was thinking of her.
Retrace the steps we took on that long summer night.
I'm right there by your side.
Retrace the steps we took when we met worlds away.
Counting backwards, still counting backwards.
And no where else has ever felt like home.
And I can't fall asleep when I'm lying here alone.
I replay your voice, it's like you're here.
You move the earth, but now the sky is falling.
She felt like she was home here in Thief River Falls. Out of all the places she had been in her life, Stella felt like this place had something about it that made her want to be here. Whether it was meeting Kendall Knight on the deck of the Tregger's mansion, or kissing him under the stars, there was something alluring about this place. And now, as she made her way back through the streets, and retraced her steps, she didn't know how she could've left here in the first place.
Retrace the steps we took on that long summer night.
In my mind, I'm back by your side.
Retrace the steps we took when we met worlds away.
Counting backwards while the stars are falling.
She looked up at the stars and smiled, closing her eyes and she ceased walking, and stood there in the bitter cold, small puffs of fog coming from between her lips. Her pink lips curled up into a smile as she took a deep breath and her whole body was at peace.
She imagined Kendall Knight by her side.
Kendall hadn't spoken a word to James, Carlos or Logan since their fight nearly twenty four hours ago. He had ignored all their text messages, phone calls, and even their visit to his house earlier this morning. Kendall had been busy packing anyway.
Kendall slid up his phone in the front seat of the car, and saw that he had one new text message. He sighed, fixing the one headphone in his ear as he opened it.
From: Logain
Kendall, we need to talk man. I'm sorry, really. Please?
Kendall angrily closed the message out and slid his phone back into his pocket, as Kim redirected her eyes from the road to her son next to her. Katie was thankfully fast asleep in the back seat, using the six hour car ride to and from Thief River Falls as an excuse to take a long, well deserved nap.
"Sweetheart, I know you're angry at Logan for what he said to you, but you shouldn't just ignore him," Kim said softly with a sad expression. Kendall had filled Kim in about what Logan had said to him, what he had overheard in California, and how James and Carlos reacted to everything. After the three boys silently left the Knight house, with nothing as much as a small good-bye, Kim got curious. She immediately went up to Kendall's room where she saw her son in tears, crying about his father, and she instantly held him in her arms until the tears ceased and Kendall began to tell her what had happened.
She had to admit, she had been disappointed in Kendall, and was reconsidering this trip, but seeing Kendall that upset, more so over that fact that his best friends weren't being best friends now, gave Kim more of a push to send him.
"I have every right to ignore him about after what he said about Stella, and after what he said," Kendall said, his voice wavering a bit as he closed his eyes tightly, "about dad." He looked out the window with a sigh at the tree's lining the highway and sighed, wondering just when they were going to get there, when he was going to get to see Stella.
"I understand you are angry, Kendall. But after what you told me about Mr. Mitchell, maybe—maybe Logan does see tension in his family, and knows that it might be true that his father isn't faithful. You know how close Logan is to his father. I'm sure the reason he said that was not to hurt you, but to defend his own family," Kim said, veering off the highway onto that same road they had nearly two months ago. Kendall sighed. Of course his mother made sense, but Kendall didn't want to make sense of anything right now.
"Whatever. I just want to enjoy my vacation," he said with a half smile on his face, watching as the red mini-van got closer and closer to their destination. Kendall looked out the window at all the familiar things that they passed the first time around, wondering where exactly Stella was in this mess of a town.
Nearly fifteen minutes later, the Knight's red mini-van pulled up the familiar circular driveway of the Tregger's, Kendall's eyes immediately going to the window in which he last saw Stella, now covered by a curtain. His eyes looked at the artsy house next to them, and saw that it looked lived in. There were two cars in the driveway, a Mercedes and a BMW, as well as some other noticeable window treatments, and paintjobs to the house. Kendall's heart faltered a bit, but he smiled, knowing the good times he and Stella had in that house.
"We're here," Kim said loudly enough, making Katie's head shoot up in confusion, her brown hair messy and her eyes foggy.
"Hm?" she muttered out confusedly, stretching her tiny body in the backseat with a groan. Kendall chuckled and took his headphone out of his ear, wrapping it around his shut off iPod and sighing. The Tregger's house was just as he remembered it. Huge, nearly all glass from the big windows, and absolutely positively gorgeous.
Kim shut the car off, as Kendall and Katie stepped out of the car, Kendall going around back to retrieve his duffle. Kim opened the trunk and went to take the huge bag, but Kendall stopped her with a wide smile, hoisting it over his shoulder with a grunt.
"I got it," he said. Kim smiled at him and closed the trunk, as the three walked up the path to the Tregger's enormous front double door entrance. Footsteps were heard on the wood floors, Kendall, Katie and Kim standing in the cold as platinum haired Dave Tregger opened the door with a thousand watt smile.
"Hey guys," Dave said with a smile. Kim smiled in return, as Dave held the door open for the Knight's, Kendall nearly pushing a sleep ridden Katie through the threshold. Dave gave Kim a polite kiss on the cheek, and extended his hand to Kendall, to which the boy shook firmly. Dave smiled and looked at Kendall with a chuckle as their hands parted.
"Quite a handshake you got there," Dave said with a chuckle, as Kendall looked at his hand in a bit of awe. He had heard that before.
"Well no long time no see!" Jenny Tregger interjected in joy, running towards Kim, Kendall and Katie from the kitchen. Kim dropped Kendall's hockey duffel to the floor, and immediately opened her arms up to her short, blonde best friend as the two women embraced, Kendall and Dave looking on awkwardly, Katie barely standing up, still half asleep from the car ride there.
"I've seen you more the past few months than the last ten years Jenny," Kim spoke into her friend's hair with a chuckle. The two best friends parted, and Jenny turned to Kendall with a large smile on her face. Kendall had to admit, after what he had pulled last time he was here, he was a little unsure about staying at the Tregger's, wondering if he was welcome or not. He barely smiled at Jenny as she took no hesitation in wrapping him a big hug.
"It's so nice to have you staying with us again, Kendall," Jenny said, Kendall smiling at the warmth and good heart of his mother's best friend.
"Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Tregger. I really appreciate it," Kendall spoke as she pulled herself away from him, Jenny rolling her eyes amused at the blonde boy.
"Sweetie, I've told you a million times. You can call me Jenny," she spoke with a smile, her blue eyes shining in the light coming through the big glass windows. Kendall chuckled, sticking his hands deeper in his pockets as he looked around the large house. Now with all the Christmas decorations down, the house looked even bigger and brighter. Kendall couldn't help but direct his eyes to the back hallway, where he could just barely see the light peeking through the doors leading to the deck where he had first met Stella.
"Is Bryan around?" Kendall asked politely.
"He just went to Main Street with Serena to pick up some groceries for dinner. I'm sure he'll be back any moment," Jenny said with a smile on her face. Kendall nodded and shuffled on his feet awkwardly looking around the house. Just seeing the large staircase, the elaborate kitchen and dining room, the huge fireplace and the enormous glass windows was enough to make Kendall's mouth water and eyes shine at the prospect of seeing those fleeting locks of golden blonde hair, the soft pink of her lips, along with the bright blue irises of her eyes.
"Please Kim, you and Katie stay for dinner," Jenny said taking his mother's right hand with a smile as Kim sighed and smiled.
"I would love to Jenny, but Katie is pretty exhausted already, and I need to be home for work tomorrow morning. I don't want to get home too late," Kim said with sad smile. Jenny nodded, understanding as Kim turned to Kendall with a smile, her eyes a bit wary.
"Remember what I told you. You punch anyone in the face again, you're gonna end up in the hospital from me," Kim joked with a stern glare, Kendall's face turning a bit blush.
"I know mom," he mumbled embarrassedly out under his breath, as Dave swept down and hoisted Kendall's bag over his shoulder.
"I'll go put this in your room for you," Dave said, sensing the upcoming mother-son talk he felt rather awkward being present for. Kim and Kendall both smiled and watched Dave as he walked away, Jenny keeping her distance from the mother and son, allowing their secrets to be exchanged as she talked softly with a now more awake Katie.
Kim put a hand on each of Kendall's shoulders, and stared up into his green eyes with a smile. The absolute excitement and anxiousness to see Stella was written all over his face, and Kim saw it in an instant. As much as Kendall hid from her, and as much as he pulled away from her, his mother knew him like the back of her hand.
"And remember why you're up here, okay Kenny?" Kim said with a warning in her blue eyes. Kendall blushed at the use of the nickname, but smiled a bit at his mother's affection, as she grabbed his shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. Kendall had dealt with so much disappointment the past year, she didn't want it to happen anymore. It hurt her to see him cry, and it hurt her to see the look on his face the past few months.
"I know, mom. Believe me, I know," Kendall said. Kim smiled at her son once more, looking at how much he was trying to grow up, and be better in attitude, body and spirit.
"And as far as Jenny knows, Kacey is still Kacey," Kim whispered. Kendall smiled a bit relieved at his mother, his eyes shining down at her. He didn't really want anyone else finding out that Stella was indeed a runaway, if she so happened to be up here. Kendall wasn't even sure that he was going to tell Bryan of the whole situation, wondering that if Stella were to return as Kacey, that her secret would be exposed.
Kendall leaned down and gave his mother a kiss on the forehead, letting his lips rest against her warm, smooth skin for a moment, his hand resting at the back of her head, fingers through her auburn hair. In that moment, Kendall's heart beat regularly, his breathing slowed down, and his mind became at peace.
"I love you, mom. And thanks for everything," Kendall whispered out with a smile on his face. Kim smiled and chuckled at her son's tender nature, and took in the moment. Kendall had been pushing away from her for so long, and now, finally, even though he was anything from fully back to his old self, he was getting there. Kim had prayed for moments where Kendall would do so much as to just utter a word to her after Kris died, and now, here he was thanking her, and kissing her forehead like she was swept down from heaven.
"No problem, baby."
Kendall began to make himself comfortable in his room, the same one he, Katie and his mother had stayed in just a few weeks ago. Katie was with him, helping him take his clothes out of his duffle and put them into the drawers for his stay. She picked up what she thought to be a dark blue shirt, but soon realized that she was holding a pair of Kendall's boxers. Her face twisted up in surprise and she let out a small scream, throwing them across the room as Kendall turned around and looked at her with a confused, surprised expression.
"What the heck was that about?" he exclaimed, settling a shirt down into the drawer, Katie shuddered and pointed across the room to where Kendall's blue boxers hung on the burnt orange count he had spent so many nights on. Kendall rolled his eyes and chuckled. "Katie, it's just underwear, it's not going to kill you."
"I don't care! It's your underwear!" Katie said out of breath, as if Kendall's boxers had been the scariest thing she had ever seen. Kendall chuckled and walked over to his duffle bag, dipped his hand in and pulled out a red and white plaid pair, and launched it at his little sister with a conniving laugh.
"KENDALL!" Katie screamed in annoyance, but with slight laughter in her voice, as she dodged the underwear successfully. He took out another pair and threw it at her, moving closer to her as the two siblings began an all out war full of laughter. Katie ran around the couch to which Kendall followed, picking up the first blue pair hanging off it and sling shotting it to her, as she began to lose her breath running around. Kendall laughed hysterically, jumping over the couch with a grunt and grabbing Katie by her tiny waist, as she cackled.
"Kendall, put me down!" she giggled as he swooped her up, and carried her bridal style over to the bed, Katie kicking in a fit.
Both siblings were reveling in laughter and joy, when Kendall's text message ringtone went off, filling the huge room with the music of Kendall's favorite band. Katie fidgeted of out his grasp, still out of breath from running and laughing as he went over to his phone, and looked at who the message was from, opening it. Katie lay down on the bed, pushing Kendall's bag aside as he read the text message.
From: Logain
You were right.
Katie, who was still giggling from her and Kendall's fight sat up on the bed, and watched how her brother's face changed upon reading the text message. Cocking her eyebrow confused, she looked at him, hopping off the plush comforter and coming next to him suspiciously.
"What's wrong with you?" she asked, standing on her tippy toes to see the message. Katie scrunched her nose when she saw that it was from Logan. She briefly knew that Kendall had a fight with the boys, but had no idea how bad it was, or even what it was about. "What were you right about?" she asked.
Kendall swallowed hard, looking at the phone, wanting to text back Logan. As he began to dive into a new message, his hands shaking, he stopped and closed his eyes. All the horrible things Logan said flooded back into his brain. How he called him stupid, and lovesick, and what Logan had said about his father. Kendall's hand began to shake in a bit of anger, looking at the cursor of his phone blinking before him, before he slid it down and shoved it in his pocket with wide, afraid eyes.
"Nothing," Kendall said gruffly, his mood immediately changing from lighthearted to serious. Katie saw it and frowned as her brother returned to putting his clothes in the drawer, a bit more angrily than before. Katie may have only been ten, but she noticed the change in atmosphere once Kendall read that text, and could sense the guilt that Kendall felt for not responding radiating from his body. She swallowed hard and went to Kendall's bag, making sure not to pull out anymore underwear, and felt a piece of paper under her fingers. Confused, she took out the crumpled sheet of loose leaf and opened it, Kendall's head whipping around at the sound. Katie read the paper to herself quietly as Kendall ran over to her, and plucked it out of her hands.
"Katie, don't go through my stuff," Kendall spoke upset, making sure the paper wasn't ripped or torn, it holding the words he had so desperately wrote. Katie looked up at him curiously.
"What was that?" she asked. Kendall furrowed his brows at her upset and shook his head.
"None of your business," he spoke harshly, returning to the dresser, taking the rest of his jeans and putting them in the top drawer. Katie looked down a bit saddened that Kendall wouldn't share what was on the paper with her. The two had been so incredibly close before their father died, and the past year Kendall had been a wreck. Katie wanted nothing more than her old brother back.
"W-was it a song?" she asked curiously. Kendall stopped his movements, his back to Katie, and said nothing, closing his eyes, the piece of paper in his hand. "Cause if it was, I-I thought it was really nice. Well…what I read anyway," she said shyly. Kendall swallowed hard, and looked at the piece of paper in his hand, the soft crinkles in it not enough to smudge the pen of his words. Kendall turned around to his little sister who sat there innocently, and bit his lower lip.
"Really? You liked it?" he asked surprised. Katie nodded and shrugged.
"I only saw the first line or two, but it seemed really pretty," she said softly. She looked up at Kendall with a small smile. "Did you write it for Kacey?" Kendall looked at her with wide eyes. He didn't know how she knew that, because he knew his mother hadn't disclosed his love affair to anyone. But then again, he wasn't surprised. It was Katie, the slyest girl he had ever known, besides his mother of course.
"Yeah. I did," Kendall said with a small smile, walking towards her, and pushing his bag to sit near her. He sat down with a sigh and Katie smiled. She had never really seen her brother so crazy over a girl. Of course she had remembered Kendall's first date a few years ago, when her mother had taken pictures of the boy until he was blue, well rather red, in the face.
"You know, when she was here for dinner Kendall, you reminded me so much of Daddy," Katie said with a small smile, looking down at her feet. Kendall smiled widely and looked at his sister prideful with a smile.
"Really?" he asked her with surprise, allowing the open paper to be at his hands, allowing Katie to see all of it if she really wanted to. Katie looked up at her brother's green eyes, which always reminded of her father. She could see the small excitement in them, little flecks of gold jumping up, along with the curl of his lips into a smile. "How?"
Katie smiled at him and shrugged, trying to fight off her emotions.
"The way you looked at her…was the way that Daddy used to look at Mom," Katie spoke softly with a small hint of sadness in her voice. Kendall's smile became infectious as he slung an arm around Katie, and pulled her into him to cuddle. Katie loved the smell of her brother's natural delicious scent, which immediately gave her security and stability. Kendall didn't know what came over him, but the joy that Katie had made go through him in that moment was amazing. Kendall's little sister never ceased to amaze him.
"Want me to sing my song for you, Baby Sister?" Kendall spoke with confidence and pride. Katie looked up at him with big wide eyes, and smiled knowingly to Kendall's surprise.
"I was wondering when you were going to use that voice."
Stella had figured she was fired from the General Store since she had stolen a few items before her abrupt departure, to which she didn't think twice of. She had taken some granola bars, water bottles, and a few other necessities to bear the cold, harsh Minnesota winter. Therefore, she had no intention of returning back to the General Store, but knew that if any of those customers recognized her on the street, if she happen to run into them, she must keep her persona of Kacey Roberts. Stella sighed at the confusion her already off-track life had amounted to the past few days, as she curled up with Kendall's blue cardigan at her face on a bench near a small park on Faye Avenue.
She had wandered the town aimlessly since eleven last night, and it was nearly already half past seven at night here. She had made her way back "home" to the Tregger's, seeing that the forest behind the place she used to call home had been shamelessly torn down, her cabin, which still held some items from her and Kendall's tryst half destroyed in the middle of brown tree stumps.
She sat on the bench, huddled to herself in the cold, with a smile on her face. She knew that in her heart, Kendall was the only way to go. No matter how she was living her life, no matter how she was trying to push him away, Kendall Knight was imprinted in her head permanently, and he wasn't going anywhere.
She closed her eyes, and took in the scent of his cardigan, never surprised at how it smelt just like him even after so many days. She rubbed it against her fair cheek, and took in the feeling of the texture on her skin, reminding her of the last time she and Kendall had made love the day before he left. She remembered the way he had tried to prolong the act, and how after they had pleased each other, Stella fully broke down in front of him, crying into his soft blonde hair.
Stella found that every time she thought of him, she would be brought back to a specific moment in time they spent together, and it would be so vivid, it would be as if she was actually there with Kendall Knight in that moment. Her heart would race, her eyes would shine, and she'd lick her lips just thinking of what it would be like to have him hold her, and kiss her hair, and tell her he loved her. It was weird, as just weeks ago, Stella denied all the love that Kendall was offering her right to his face. She had told him he was a mistake, and that he was nothing more than just a visitor to her runaway persona. She couldn't have been more wrong.
Stella had meant what she said in the cabin that night. She loved Kendall Knight.
As she sat on the bench, her hands between her legs, trying to get warm, she thought about what Kendall was doing at this moment. She looked up into the sky and smiled, the stars reflecting back into her eyes. She wanted to be connected to him, and wished that she could somehow summon him to look up at the sky, so they could be connected through the shiny stars that stood bright against the black sheer draping over all of Minnesota's sky.
Stella guessed that Kendall was home, either playing guitar or writing music. Or he was with his three best friends he sometimes had mentioned, although Stella wasn't too sure of their names at the moment. Either that or he was out on the ice pond by his house that he had told her about, skating around with his new stick in his hand, effortlessly and gracefully gliding like he was born into the game. Whatever he was doing, Stella hoped that he was happy, and that he was thinking of her.
As she looked at a few cars pass on the road, the sky getting darker and darker, more and more people retreating into their homes for the night, she looked to her left and saw a large pond frozen over, maybe about a hundred feet away or so. Stella chuckled, the second her eyes scanned the glossy ice, her mind instantly went to Kendall, as it did when she looked at most things. Gripping the cardigan in her hand, she got up and walked over the icy glass and asphalt over to the pond, a smile on her face the entire time.
She sighed at the beautiful, glassy pond, and how beautiful it looked under the darkening sky, and the brightening stars. Seeing nothing better to do, nowhere else to go, Stella sat down by the edge of the pond, with Kendall's cardigan around her shoulders, looking at a pair of old, tattered hockey skates that had been abandoned beside her.
"So, have you talked to Kacey at all since you left?" Bryan asked Kendall, as the two walked through the snow and ice on their way back from the pond. Kendall had his duffle over his shoulder with his stick in his hand, Bryan carrying the same with his skates around his neck as the two boys made light conversation.
The second Bryan had walked in the door, the two eagerly went to the pond, not wanting to waste any time they had before the sun truly set on useless conversation, when it could be spent playing hockey. The two had a one-on-one training session, where they two boys caught up with each other about school, friends, and of course Kendall's experience at the Wild game in California.
"Uh, a bit," Kendall said awkwardly with a smile, scratching the back of his neck as they trudged up a steep hill, the crunching of snow and ice beneath both their boots. Bryan chuckled and hit Kendall's shoulder playfully.
"Dude, just a bit? Come on. I mean, you lost your virginity to the girl," Bryan said laughing in a light tone. Kendall expected a joking about this, seeing as how Bryan had no idea of the monumentality of Stella and Kendall's relationship. No one seemed to understand, except his mother, somewhat.
"I don't know…could we not talk about it?" Kendall asked uneasily, praying that Bryan would just stop talking about it, seeing as he wasn't getting Kendall's hints. It's not like Kendall didn't want to talk about Stella, it was just that when he talked about her as Kacey, he felt like he wasn't being true to their "relationship".
"Oh. I-I'm sorry," Bryan said awkwardly, biting the inside of his cheek as the next few steps were taken in silence. Bryan sighed as he stopped for a minute, Kendall not realizing about his counterpart's halt.
"Shit, these skates are giving my neck rug burn," Bryan said, as he eased his skates off his neck, bit his glove off his hand with his teeth and brought it to the tender red marks on his neck, wincing in pain from the laces. Kendall gave Bryan an odd look, as he dropped his duffle and brought his own hands to his neck, feeling that his skates weren't there.
"Fuck," he mumbled, as he instantly went to his duffle in the darkness, and ruffled through it, feeling for the sharp blades of his skates.
"What's wrong man?" Bryan asked confused, as Kendall frantically ripped out his practice jersey, his gloves, his hat, and a few pucks before sighing in frustration.
"I think I left my skates at the pond," he said annoyed, hanging his head in aggravation, his hand balled up into a fist. Bryan sighed and looked back towards the direction of the pond, and then back down at Kendall with an easy going smile.
"Its okay man, we can go back," Bryan said with no worry. Kendall looked up at him miserably, going from kneeling to standing as he sighed, and brought his hand to his head.
"I'm sorry," he spoke nervously, seeing as that it was getting darker by the second, knowing that Jenny didn't like Bryan out when it was dark since the pond was a bit desolate from the rest of town. Bryan chuckled and grasped Kendall's shoulder with bright blue eyes, his platinum blonde hair peeking out from under his wool knit cap.
"Kendall, really. It's not a big deal. The pond is like…ten minutes away from the house. We're not even halfway home yet," Bryan reiterated. Kendall nodded, picking up his duffle again as the two boys began to more hurriedly work their way back to the pond, step by step as the ice crunched under them.
Not even five minutes later could they see the pond in the near distance, the stars in the sky illuminating the ice, where Kendall could barely make out someone skating around aimlessly. Bryan looked a bit confused as the two boys neared closer, knowing that they had been the only ones here the entire time, except for a group of thirteen year olds.
"That's weird. No one is ever usually out here past dark," Bryan spoke out, each step the pond and the figure getting closer in sight. Kendall furrowed his eyebrows, now remembering that he left his skates on the side of the pond near a rock, seeing a large canvas bag next to it in place of his skates.
"This dude stole my skates, Bryan. I left them right here," Kendall said angrily, as they neared closer to the skating figure. Suddenly, as if someone had poked a hole in the black drapery of the sky, the stars seemed to get ten times brighter, as Kendall reached the side of the pond, Bryan staying back a bit and letting the boy step forward, but not before warning him to be careful.
"Hey, you wanna give me my skates back?" Kendall said angrily, as the beautiful, blonde haired girl stopped dead in her tracks, her back towards the two boys. She knew that voice, and she had thought she was imagining it. She stayed still on the skates for a few moments, her mind a blank for anything except the words that came from Kendall's mouth. "I'm talking to you," Kendall spoke to the person, who was wearing a dark black cardigan. Stella did not move, her breaths heavy, as tears pricked the corners of her eyes. No. This wasn't happening. Kendall Knight was not here. Her mind was playing tricks on her again.
Kendall, having enough anger already, decided to forgo skates and walked out onto the ice carefully, knowing just how to balance himself so he wouldn't slip. As he got closer, the figure seemed to turn into a woman, with long blonde hair. Kendall thought his mind was playing tricks on him, as he neared even closer, and recognized the dark blue cardigan that was slipped around her shoulders. His entire body went white with intensity, his vision a bit blurred, and his sense of where he was indefinitely warped.
"Those are my skates," Kendall said wearily, his voice breaking off as he neared closer to the girl, until he was only a few inches from her, being able to feel his presence. Kendall closed his eyes breathing heavily, as Stella still remained frozen, her back still towards him. Without any doubt in his mind, Kendall's hands slowly maneuvered around Stella's waist, the heat from her body pleasurably pricking his fingertips, his shaking arms caught in her embrace.
"Stella," Kendall spoke softly, his heart nearly beating out of his chest, his voice shaky in the cold air. It was if his entire body went into overdrive, as his hands fell around her skinny waist, and her warm hands touched his, that a spark went off in his head. Here it was again. That feeling that nothing in the world could touch either of them. It was the same feeling Kendall got the moment he saw Stella for the first time, the moment he was hooked on everything about her.
"Kendall Knight," Stella barely whispered, small puffs of fog exuding from her lips, her body melting into his.
Stella shakily turned around, facing Kendall as her entire face lit up the second she saw him. Tears streamed down her cheeks, as she shyly hugged the blue cardigan to her frame, her pink lips turned up into a small, amazed smile. Her heart beat ferociously, and her mind flew as Kendall's hands squeezed her hips gently, making sure she was really in front of him. His own eyes scanned her beautiful face, and tears nearly came to them as he touched her soft, white skin, not believing that this was actually happening. She was here. She was really here.
"You don't know happy I am to see you," Kendall spoke waveringly with a large smile, his voice weak, as she gripped her closer, his breaths getting caught in his throat.
Stella's entire face twisted up in raw joy, as Kendall shakily took his hand to her cheek, and wiped her tears away, feeling her hot, smooth skin under his finger as an instant knee weakener. Stella swallowed hard, closing her blue eyes at Kendall's touch, her entire body shaking as if she was going through some transformation. The two totally ignored the loud sounds of cars passing them, Bryan Tregger's presence, and the cold, bitter air that hung around them. Kendall looked down, but instantly looked at her again, not wanting to take his eyes off her, as he pulled her closer to him, her hands touching his body as if he was warm water on a cold day.
"You—you never got my letter," Kendall spoke out sadly, a smile still peeking in through his face, awe still set at the bottom of his green eyes. "I waited everyday to get one back from you, and—now, it doesn't even matter cause I'm here, and you're here," he said softly. He touched her face again and let out a small chuckle, biting his bottom lip, his fingers tracing along the contours of her delicate cheekbone. "I can't believe we're here," he whispered out with a smile. "Together."
"I know," she barely spoke. "And I'm sorry. Just…just tell me that you love me, Kendall Knight," Stella said in desperation, closing her eyes and letting her warm tears fall down her flushed face.
She shook her head in the quiet night, feeling his strong hands wrapped around her torso. She had wished for this for so long, and now here it was, miraculously right in front of her, beyond some larger force that had brought them together. This wasn't chance, and both Stella and Kendall knew it looking into each other's eyes, taking in the sight of each other in absolute amazement.
"I need it so much, I need you," Stella began to cry out, the sadness in her voice an immediate red flag to Kendall, as he gripped her closer, allowing his chin to rest on her head, her shaky breaths tickling the skin on his neck that he was just dying to have kissed.
"I love you, Stella. Everyone doubted me, but I love you so much," Kendall whispered into her hair, as he rubbed her back soothingly, not being able to truly fathom what was going on. He parted from her, and looked down at her face, gently bringing his lips to her rouged cheeks, and kissing the trails of her wet tears to her chin. She smiled in joy, her hands grasping his forearms tightly, with each graze of his soft, moist lips on her skin, her heart jumped back into place.
Kendall, not parting his lips from her face, tipped her chin up with one hand as they searched in each other's eyes for something to tell them that they weren't crazy. Stella saw nothing in Kendall's green eyes, and Kendall found nothing in her blue ones. Seeing as their searches were over, with a shaky deep breath and a smile, he slowly brought his lips down to hers. Stopping just before her lips, Stella immediately closed the gap, as the familiar, wonderful, enthralling taste of Kendall flooded her mouth with surprise and satisfaction. She immediately parted her lips, allowing him to resume his passionate tryst with her, his hands squeezing her tight, Stella smiling, tears falling down from her eyes as small smacking sounds from their kiss seemed to echo worldwide. Not being able to hold in the tears of joy she felt, and the sense of security she needed in Kendall, Stella parted the kiss crying, both lover's lips feeling instantly cold from the previous moistness and warmth, as Kendall held her to his rapidly beating heart, his atmosphere engulfed in happiness.
"I fuckin' missed you."