It all started one week ago…

Ken had always made it his life mission to tag along with Barbie and help her any way that he could; especially when it came time for her going on a journey to the Real World. He didn't really see why exactly she had to go; she seemed as beautiful as always.

"I've got flat feet and—and cellulite!" she exclaimed to one of the other Barbies. The other Barbies had murmured in surprise, shock on each of their faces.

Meanwhile, Ken stood off to the side with the other Kens, not understanding why she was making such a big deal about it. She was still pretty. So what if she had…flat feet? Him and the other Kens had it, and it didn't seem to affect any of them. But the gears in his head turned as he mulled over the other word she had said; cellulite. It didn't really sound like a bad thing. Did him and the other Kens have it? Maybe. Maybe not.

He tried his hardest to get her to reconsider, but nothing could change her mind:

"You don't understand, Ken," Barbie sighed, looking a bit down. He swore he could see dark circles under her eyes, as if she hadn't slept at all the previous night.

Something tightened deep inside his chest, and suddenly he had the urge to just pull her into a strong, yet gentle, hug. But she would never allow him to touch her which, as much as it hurt, he tried to respect.

"Then help me understand," Ken said softly. He reached out, attempting to grab ahold of her wrist, but she jerked her hand away.

She shook her head. "You just wouldn't get it…" Guilt flashed across her face for a brief second.

"Okay," Ken conceded, shrugging. Despite the ache that grew in his chest. "You're right. I probably wouldn't get it."

"Oh, Ken…" Barbie looked away, eyeing the crowd of other Barbies closeby, they were all busy discussing amongst themselves to really notice her and Ken. Ken nearly leapt out of his shirt as he saw her reach out and slowly wrap her hand around his wrist. "You're a really good friend, y'know that, right?

Ken blushed and let out a tiny giggle. His whole face felt like it was burning. "Y-Yeah, I know~"

And for the first time that day, he saw Barbie smile.

It wasn't long after that Barbie separated herself from him, leaving him feeling surprisingly empty inside, and readied herself to begin her journey to the Real World.

Only after being prompted by Surfer Ken did Ken finally muster up the courage to leap into the backseat of Barbie's convertible and tag along with her. On a journey to the Real World, whatever that entailed.

Don't worry, I'll always help you, he thought hopefully, we'll get through this together. I promise. And a tiny bit of hope warmed his chest.

Ken had stared at the strange new place—The Real World—around him, taking in the weird, bland, murky colors here compared to the bright shades of pink of Barbieland that he was used to.

It was a bit unsettling just how…dull the world here looked.

Not to mention how unfriendly the people seemed…

It wasn't long before him and Barbie, rollerblading away from the beach, started encountering some unsavory folks. People giving them odd looks; women looking at them admiringly, and men looking at them dangerously.

The pair got into trouble at least three times before finally deciding maybe sitting down on a bench was a better idea than stealing clothes.

"What should we do?" Ken asked, glancing around, hoping that no other police officers would bother them.

"I don't know about you," Barbie stated. "But, I'm going to sit here and try to think of the little girl that's playing with me."

"And what am I supposed to do?" Ken asked, staring at her with puppy-dog like eyes. Everything within him was screaming to just stay close to her. But…slowly, but surely, something new was beginning to shimmer just below the surface.

"You could, I dunno, sit here and be quiet and stare at the trees?" suggested Barbie. She patted the spot beside her on the bench and Ken gladly took it.

While Barbie closed her eyes, Ken stared at the concrete ground below, boredom already creeping into his mind. At a certain moment, he glanced around, suddenly enthralled by all that was happening around them.

The Real World is so….strange, he thought, noticing the way that the trees moved.

Wait, they actually moved!

It wasn't just some pink, plastic, obviously fake tree. It was real! He could see the way the branches swayed in the wind, that the leaves rustled. Which made him wonder, did the waves move here too?

A strange, new feeling overtook him and he jumped to his feet. Barbie startled, blinking up at him, confusion on her pretty face.

"Ken, what're you doing?" she asked. Then the confusion turned to alarm. "Wait! Where are you going?" She reached out, as if to grab his wrist, but he pulled away; that newfound feeling erupting inside of him, consuming him.

He couldn't put into words how he felt just now. He just knew he wanted to do something. Something important. And then it finally struck him, he knew what he wanted to do. It wasn't him sitting on the bench, waiting for Barbie to find that little girl, it was him going out and exploring this strange, new place.

The Real World.

"Don't worry, I'll be back. I just need to do something!" he shouted, joyously, as he turned and sprinted away. "Just stay there!"

"Ken!" she called.

"I promise, I'll be back!"

If only he had turned around at that very moment, he would've seen her shake her head in exasperation, and a small smile tugging at her lips.

Ken began his journey through the Real World, only for his attention to immediately wander to a fluffy, black cat with big green eyes that was strutting down the sidewalk. He went towards it, curiosity pulling him along like a fishhook in his core. The cat let out a soft meow as it saw him approach, then it started pawing at Ken's boots.

"You're so precious!" Ken cooed, crouching down so he could pet the cat. He ran his fingers through the thick, soft pelt, and the cat purred away, contentedly. Joy bursted inside his chest and he smiled. Soon, a tear slid down his face.

What is this? he thought as he dabbed at the wet streak. Fear began to creep up his spine.

Uh Oh.

What if something was wrong with him?

Wait.

Was he experiencing the same thing that Barbie was going through?

Oh no.

Maybe he was beginning to malfunction too.

Ken shook his head, dislodging that poisonous thought that tried to take root in his mind. He reminded himself that Barbie was not, in fact, malfunctioning. That she was amazing as always. And that it was just a dumb thought that had crept up on him.

A plaintive meow brought him out of his spiraling thoughts. The fluffy cat was looking up at him, its tail swishing back and forth like a snake in the grass, its wide green eyes staring at him intently. Like it was looking right through him, and into his nonexistent soul.

"Do you," he began, his voice breaking. "Do you think that I'm…malfunctioning?" To his own surprise, the cat simply stuck its tongue out. It looked so dopey he couldn't help but let out a laugh and pet it some more.

"Okay, okay, I guess I'm not malfunctioning." The cat purred, headbutting his hand and Ken smiled. "Y'know, for what it's worth, you're really sweet. Do you have a name? I guess not, I mean…you don't have a collar or anything so I guess you're nameless?" Then he gasped. "Wait! I've got a name for you. No one deserves to not have a name."

The cat slowly blinked, flicking its ear. It took everything within Ken not to break down crying from the sweetness and cuteness.

"Eclipse," he declared. "Eclipse, the sublime cat I met and pet in the Real World!"

Cats, as Ken quickly realized, were pretty awesome. So, he decided to take Eclipse the cat with him. He scooped her up into his arms and carried her away, all the while trying to find the beach so he could see some actually moving waves.

Ken wasn't really sure what to think of the Real World.

On one hand, it had cats and actual moving waves! But on the other hand, it was kind of smelly and mean…

Okay, scratch that, the Real World was actually very smelly and very mean.

In the span of at least five minutes he already, somehow, managed to tick off a few people; and in general a lot more people were staring at him, unfriendliness in their gazes. They looked at him like he didn't belong there, like he was some kind of inconvenience.

It felt like how the Barbies back at Barbieland always looked at and treated him…Which, as much as it hurt to think, was painfully true.

"Hey! Watch where you're going," one woman exclaimed. Ken narrowly avoided bumping into her, an entirely new feeling—shame—burning him from the inside out. It seemed like the beach was swarming with people.

Not to mention, Eclipse didn't seem to like the water. She dug her thorn-sharp claws into his forearms, leaving tiny little pits embedded into his skin.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, moving away from the woman, making sure to shield Eclipse from the rest of the people.

I don't like it here, he thought, I need to go back to Barbie, at least she's nice…

As cool as watching the waves were, it didn't compensate for how weird and rude everyone else here was acting. So he took off, running away from the beach and back to where Barbie was. A few people looked at him as he passed, but he refused to spare a thought for them.

To his own budding relief, Barbie was still sitting on the bench, staring out at the street, a contented smile on her face.

"Hey! I'm back," Ken announced.

"Hi, Ken!" Barbie greeted warmly, waving at him. "I just had a realization!"

"Me too!"

"You should go first." A flash of alarm went across her face as she finally noticed the cat that was curled snuggly in Ken's arms. "Um…you should really explain that."

"Nah," Ken said, dismissively "You can go first."

Eclipse had her eyes closed and she purred away, contentedly.

Barbie nodded. "Okay." She took a deep breath and said in a rush, "I think I know where the girl that's playing with me is!"

"Really?"

"Yeah!"

Ken sighed in relief. "Sublime! We should totally go and find her!"

"We can go," Barbie said, pointing at Eclipse, "after you explain where you got that cat from."

"Seriously?" Ken huffed. "Does it matter where I got her from? She's my cat now. Her name is Eclipse and she's totally sublime!"

Barbie gasped. "What? You can't just bring her back with us to Barbieland."

"I wasn't planning on doing that…" he mumbled, feeling hurt by the thought of not being able to bring Eclipse along. Surely she'd have a better life in Barbieland than in the Real World. It definitely beat walking around in this heat anyways. "Eclipse is just gonna hitch a ride with us and then when we leave I'll, like, say my goodbyes to her and all that."

When Barbie still didn't look quite convinced, Ken bit his tongue to keep from saying anymore. A poisonous emotion sparked deep inside of him; he didn't have the word for it yet, all he knew was that he wanted to snap at her, to tell her to let him make his own decisions.

Maybe I don't want to play second fiddle to you anymore. The thought came, unbidden, and Ken let it stay in his head.

It must've shown on his face, because Barbie was now looking at him worriedly. She took a step towards him, her eyebrow raised.

"Ken, are you okay?" she asked softly. Suddenly acting as if she hadn't just asked him to give up a thing that he loved.

"Yeah," Ken said through clenched teeth. "Yeah, I'm fine." He turned away from her, his entire body suddenly feeling stiff, and added, "So, uh, where's that little girl right now? Do you know?" Eclipse continued to stay still in his arms and he cooled off some, glad to still feel her weight against him.

"I think she's at school," Barbie answered.

"Cool."

Silence descended upon them, as thick and suffocating as a blanket. For a few breathless moments, Ken could only hear the sound of the tree branches creaking from the gusts of wind, could see cars flying by, and heard the click of Barbie's boots as she got closer and closer to him.

"Ken, are you sure that you're okay?" Barbie placed a gentle hand on his back and suddenly he wanted to run. Just run and run and never come back. That poisonous emotion from earlier came back, tenfold, and it took everything within him not to just snap at her, like he so wanted to do.

"I'm fine," he lied. "Let's just…y'know…go find that girl and go back to Barbieland."

Back to Barbieland….where I'll be nothing to everybody…

It was so sad he wanted to cry. Or laugh. Or maybe both.

But he didn't. He couldn't.

Instead, he simply let Barbie take the lead, trailing behind her, glaring at her as he followed her.

And soon a word emerged in his mind, a description of what he was feeling:

Resentment.