4.0 | Arguing With Josh

KAI WOKE UP TO FIND that she, Ms. Crumble, an injured Josh, and Eli were the only ones in the mall. With an aggravated sigh, she wandered about the mall in search of her friends. Her eyes widened when she saw Eli Cardashyan on the other side of a gate.

"Eli? What the hell?" She asked, walking up to the metal wall of separation. "Why's this gate down?"

He shrugged, "Fists doesn't trust me, so he locked me up in here." He wandered up to the gate, right across from Kai. "How're you feeling?"

"I'm feeling alright, I guess. Where are the others?" She asked, sitting on the floor of the mall.

He joined her, "They went to get some medication for Josh. Idiot cut off his own finger thinking that he'd turn into a ghoulie because he got bit."

"Figures," she scoffed.

The pair remained silent for around thirty seconds before Eli spoke.

"I'm sorry, by the way." Kai gave him an odd look as he continued, "For what I did before the homecoming game."

She nodded, "That was a really shitty thing to do. Especially to someone who did nothing but help your bitch ass." She smirked towards the end of her sentence.

The day of the homecoming game, the day the bomb went off, Eli embarrassed the hell out of Kai. He decided to hold onto a loose thread on her dress, which she didn't notice at first. The dress was a knitted sweater dress, so it didn't take long for it to be nothing but one long string of yarn.

The entire school witnessed Kaira Dean in her lingerie, and it became hell for her. Girls laughed at her, and the boys sexually harassed her.

She ran into the locker room and grabbed her extra clothes from her gym locker. Sophia had found her and they went to the bathroom so Kai could wash her face. That's when the bomb went off.

"I forgave you a while ago, Eli." Kai stated, "but try any shit like that now, I won't hesitate to pierce your brain with a bullet."

Eli and Kai chuckled, "Yeah, sure you will." He joked, knowing that she wouldn't actually shoot him.

"Tell me something, Eli. Do you believe in second chances?" Kai asked, a small smile on her lips.

The blue eyed boy shrugged, "I don't know. I guess? It depends on how you blew the first one."

"Do you think I should give you a second chance?"

He stayed quiet for five seconds before looking the girl in her eyes, "I don't deserve a second chance, but it'd be nice if you gave me one."

Kai chuckled, "I'll give you a second chance, Eli. Is there another way into that side of the mall?"

"Yeah, there's a door in the mattress shop but it can only be opened from that side. Why?"

Kai smirked before walking over to the door Eli had told her about. She sighed before opening the door and entering Eli's side of the mall.

"Hi." She smiled, looking up to Eli when she finally reached him.

"Hi." He breathed. He hadn't been up close to an awake Kai since the day he almost ruined their friendship. He noticed how the artificial lighting of the mall made her eyes twinkle, as if stars had been placed into her eyes. Her blonde hair was in a messy bun, and her clothes were ripped to hell. "If you want new clothes, all of the good stores are this way."

Kai nodded and began to travel towards the clothing stores. When she realized that Eli wasn't following her, she smiled, "C'mon, come pick out clothes with me."

"Alright," he smiled, happy to have his best friend back.

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"How about this one?" Kai asked as she exited the dressing room, a red crop top clinging tightly to her skin, khaki colored pants clinging just as tightly, her black leather jacket, and her signature boots covering her feet.

Eli's jaw dropped at the sight. Yes, he had gone clothes shopping with her before the bomb, but she wasn't as fit as she was due to the apocalypse. He had always found her strikingly beautiful, but he didn't really put thought into it until that moment in time.

"Woah.." He drifted, "You look beautiful."

The blonde snorted, "Okay, you can stop lying now. Honest opinion?"

He furrowed his brows at the sentence. "Do you really not know how beautiful you are?" He asked, genuine shock in his tone.

Kai shrugged, "I just don't see it."

Sighing, Eli walked up to the shorter girl and grabbed her hand. "Follow me."

He led her to an isle of mirrors and walked her down it. "This is what you look like to me."

She walked up to a mirror and studied her body with her eyes. Kai would admit that she had gotten more fit, but she had also gotten more scars on her torso from different fights. She wasn't ashamed or embarrassed, she knew she wasn't the only person with them. But, for some reason, she felt the need to hide them with her jacket.

Kai was never used to being the beautiful relative, she was always used to being the most invisible.

Eli walked up behind her, looking at her through the mirror. He wasn't being normal Eli, though. Normally, he'd keep his eyes on a girl's body and not her face. But this time, his eyes were only focused on her face. Kai looked genuinely confused.

"Has no one called you beautiful before?"

Kai shook her head, "No one's called me anything. It's always been that way. Even with family, Sam was the attractive relative, and I've always been the invisible one."

Eli walked closer to her, his eyes locked onto hers through the mirror. "Sam's pretty and all, but she has absolutely nothing on you, Kai. You're a goddess, while Sam's a mere queen."

The blonde chuckled, a tear threatening to escape the corner of her eye.

"And those scars?" Eli asked, removing Kai's jacket from her shoulders, "Those scars aren't something you should hide. You're beautiful, no matter how many scars you have."

She turned an hugged Eli tightly, that one tear slowly making its way to her cheekbone.

"Thank you, Eli." She said as they pulled away from the hug. "Seriously."

He smiled, wiping the tear from the girl's face. "Don't thank me for being honest, Kai."

As he was speaking, he noticed that she was staring at his lips. If he said he hadn't done the same thing, he'd be the biggest liar in Glendale.

"Eli," Kai began, "you still want me to give you that chance?"

He nodded, no words leaving his lips as the space between them slowly began to shrink. The boy's eyes were focused on Kai's lips, and vice versa. When the gap closed, Eli's hands found their way onto Kai's waist, and Kai's hands found their way into Eli's hair.

The two teenagers had gotten what they'd been wanting for two years, what they'd been waiting for.

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"What the fuck is going on in there?" Wesley asked, his eyes landing on a laughing Eli and Kai.

Kai's eyes darted to her friend, her smile dropping instantly as she rushed to the gate. "Wesley! Did you and Angelica get the stuff for Josh? Is he gonna be okay?"

Wesley nodded, "Yeah, he'll be fine. How the hell did you get in there? And, more importantly, why the hell are you in there?"

"There's a door in the mattress store that can only open from that side. And I came over here to keep Eli company."

That's when Wesley noticed her red lips mirroring Eli's. His eyes widened at the realization and a smirk painted it's way onto his lips.

"Yeah, I bet you were keeping him plenty of company." Wesley said with a wink. "C'mon, I'll let you back over." He began walking to the door, no longer able to see Eli and Kai.

Quickly, before the door could be opened, Kai pecked Eli's lips and rushed over to Wesley. She entered her friend's side of the mall and winked at Eli from over her shoulder.

Kai's eyes landed on a crying Josh, causing her to rush over to him. "Josh, what's wrong, are you okay?" She asked, frantically.

He looked up at her with glossy eyes. "No. No, I'm not fucking okay. Wesley and Angelica found Sam's body. She's fucking dead."

Kai froze at the information.

"I bet you're happy, aren't you Kai?" Josh said, angrily. "I bet you're so happy that the cousin you never stopped talking shit about is dead."

Anger rushed through the blonde's veins at his statement. Kai slapped Josh, creating a sound that could be heard from the other side of the mall.

"Do I look fucking happy to you, Josh? Huh?! I was closer to Sam than you could even fucking dream about being. And why do you care so much about her, anyways? You act like she didn't come crying to me before the homecoming game because of you. You act like she didn't tell me everything about that day." Kai screamed at him, tears streaming down her face. "Sam was like a sister to me. Was I jealous of her? Yes, of fucking course I was. Who wouldn't be? Everyone loved her. She was so beautiful to everyone and so nice to everyone. No one gave a shit about me, and no one does give a shit about me. I saved your lives who knows how many times, and the only person to show any form of gratitude is Eli. And I haven't even saved his life! So, next time you try to tell me how I feel about my own family, even Baron Triumph won't be able to save you." She growled before rushing to her things and exiting the area.

Kai walked by the gate, Eli instantly noticing her current state. He had heard everything, due to the mall being an echo chamber and the two teens screaming at each other.

"Kai!" He called, hoping to stop her. "Kai, stop." He said, finally stopping the girl.

She turned towards him, her eyes almost breaking his heart when he looked into them.

"Where are you going?"

Kai looked to her shoes, "Back to the warehouse. The place I've been living for the past six months. I was doing perfectly fine on my own."

"Kaira, please.. Stay here. You can come on my side of the mall, you can stay away from Josh. Just please don't leave. I don't want you dying." He begged, his tone genuine.

Kai looked in the direction of Josh, then the direction of the door leading to Eli's side of the mall. With a huff, she rushed to the door and walked up to Eli once it had shut.

The boy pulled her into one of the best hugs she had ever been given.

"I can't believe she's dead.." Kai drifted. "I didn't even get to give her a last hug."

"It's okay, babydoll. I'm here." Eli whispered, kissing the girl's forehead.