"I'mma come clean, I'm addicted to you..."

__

Luke is going to make them late to AP Calc.

"Jesus, Luke," Kennedy exclaims, as he stares at himself in the mirror above the kitchen sink, running his hands again through his hair. "How long does it take you to get ready?"

"As long as it takes to get ready."

She rolls her eyes. "Woooooow."

Kennedy thought she spent ages in the bathroom.

Obviously, not as long as Luke.

"Who are you trying to look cute for?" She asks, leaning against the counter, "Michael?"

"Eew," he replies, pulling a face in the mirror. "Fuck no."

And at the sound of Kennedy's laugh, he turns, facing her. And a small grin slowly makes its way upon his face as he really sees her for the first time this morning.

His head tilts slightly.

"You look pretty today," he says.

"Eew," Kennedy groans, wrinkling her nose and pulling her baseball cap lower over her eyes. "Don't look at me. I'm wearing zero makeup."

"What? You look great. C'mere," he exclaims, reaching for her as she evades his grasp, hands still on the bib of her Dodgers cap. He laughs, chasing her around his kitchen. "C'mere--Kenn," he laughs. "Like, would you stop?"

"Hell no."

It's nearly 7:30 on the following Monday morning, and Kennedy, after receiving a very needy text from Luke -- pls pllsss kenn come pick me up i cannot be in the car w emma this morning i hate dropping her off at school -- she decides to be a nice girl and pick him up.

So now, she's at his house.

Which, despite knowing that Luke likes her, is kind of nerve wracking.

"Kennedy," he laughs, as she runs with her hands on her cap around his kitchen. "Come on lemme see."

"No," she whines, as he actually jumps over the kitchen counter, sliding across the marble to jump in front of her.

"No fair, you're like a giant!"

Luke's brow furrows. "Thanks?"

"I mean," she grins, "if you wanna take that as a compliment..."

Luke frowns, "Hey!" He exclaims, as Kennedy laughs loudly in his face.

And so he grabs her, pulling her tightly to his chest.

She yells, face upturned. "Lucas!"

"You're so mean to me," he mutters, face against the crook in her neck. "Why can't you be nice?"

"I am nice," Kennedy replies, her heart hammering. She's so lucky Luke can't see how deeply she's blushing. Her voice is also coming out a bit shakier than she'd like.

She clears her throat, attempting to push away from him. She's glad half of her face is not only hidden beneath a hat, but behind her oversized glasses, today. "I am nice to you."

"No," Luke replies. "You're not."

"I am," she exclaims, wriggling in his grasp. "I'm so nice--"

"Kennedy."

She pouts in his arms, "What?"

"Stop."

And to his surprise, she does, shoulders drooping.

"Are you ready to go?" She exclaims. "We're gonna be late to schoo--"

But, Luke turns her slowly in his arms, forcing her to face him.

"Kenn," he says, hands on her shoulders.

"What, Luke?" She grumbles, hating now that she's got to look up into that wide-eyed, concerned face of his.

He shakes his head, eyebrows pinched. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't fucking tell me nothing, Kennedy," he exclaims. "It's like, everytime we're together I do something wrong," he frowns, chuckling softly. "What'd I do now?"

"Luke, it's nothing--"

"Kennedy," Luke exclaims, frustration growing. "What the fuck, Kenn? Why can't you just tell me the truth?"

"'Cause you'll laugh at me!"

"Laugh?" Luke shakes his head. He wasn't expecting that. "What makes you think I'd laugh at you--?"

"Look," she shakes her head, "it doesn't matter. Can we drop it?"

"We haven't even talked about anything?"

Kennedy pulls away. "Exactly," she nods. "And we should keep it that way, okay?"

Luke shakes his head. "Whatever, Kenn," he steps away from her. "Honestly, it's whatever."

__

The ride to school is pretty much silent, save for the sounds of the radio and Luke's, "Thanks for the ride," that he mumbles halfway out of the car as Kennedy parks in the school lot.

"No problem," she calls to deaf ears.

He's halfway across the lot, backpack over his shoulder.

"Solid start to the morning," she mutters, rising from her car and grabbing her books. She's grateful to see Lola, as she fixes herself in her mirror, swing into the space beside her.

Boys are hard. And complicated. And honestly, Kennedy just needs to vent. Everything always seems to go wrong with Luke every time she thinks things are actually going right.

She needed some girl talk.

And she shifts her bag upon her shoulder, leaning against her car to wait for Lola, when she realizes that her friend isn't alone.

The Range Rover isn't carrying just one passenger this morning.

"Thanks, but...this isn't the '50s, Ash," Lola says, as Ashton hops from the car and opens Lola's door for her.

He holds out his hand and she takes it anyway, despite her eye roll and hair flip.

"Really," she says. "I get out just fine on my own."

But Ashton's helping her down.

"So?" He shrugs. "Chivalry isn't dead, m'lady."

"You're so corny," Lola replies, but she's attempting to hide a blush behind her curtain of dark hair. "Literally, where did you come from."

Ashton lets go of her hand, that dimpled grin on his face as he grabs their bags from the backseat. "Same place we all did, Lols. My mom's--"

"And this is how conversations are ruined," she sighs as he laughs. "God, what's wrong with you?"

"Actually," he hefts his own bag over his shoulder, "good question."

Lola laughs, and as she does so, Kennedy watches as Ashton slips his hand into Lola's. 

"So," he clears his throat. "When are we gonna, uh--"

Lola's eyes widen. "Gonna what, Ash?"

"Like, y'know--"

"Hey guys."

And both Kennedy and Ashton jump backwards, startled as Kennedy comes to lean against the car. 

"Where'd you come from, Kenn?"

She smirks, because she totally caught all of that conversation, and Lola's impassive mask has yet to reappear. 

Kennedy motions towards her car. "There, silly," she replies, still noting how Ashton's got his fingers through Lola's. "Right next to Lols."

"Good morning, lovely," Lola grins, and Kennedy almost laughs because Lola is not one for PDA and Ashton still won't let her hand go. 

Lola was apparently not available for girl talk this morning. 

Where was Royce?

And she catches sight of her as the threesome enter the school building and approach the lockers. She sees Royce, tote on the ground before her as she slips books into her bag for her first few periods. 

And Kennedy grins, her friend's name on the tip of her tongue as she approaches, watching now as someone makes it to her first.

"Royce!"

Royce looks up, turning her smiling face from her phone to Calum as he wraps his arms around her waist at her locker.

"Hi, best friend."

"Best friend?" His nose wrinkles as he rests against the locker beside her. "Did you just friend zone me?"

"I said best friend," she grins. "Technically that's better than a regular friend."

"Technically?"

"Technically," she giggles, "you're a notch up in importance to me."

"Oh, that makes me feel better."

"Technically, you're kind of important."

"Kind of."

"Kind of really," she wrinkles her nose. "Maybe."

"Well," he leans closer to her, ignoring everyone else as they filter to their first period classes, "based on this technical relationship..."

She hums.

"...can I kiss you good morning? 'Cause I kind of really wanna kiss you."

"Depends. Did you brush your teeth?"

He scowls. "Fuck you, Royce--"

And laughing, she leans forward, planting a kiss on his lips.

It startles Calum and Kennedy and all their classmates in the vicinity.

"Did you see that?"

"Since when are they a thing?"

"Royce? Seriously? Royce Greene? How'd Calum Hood catch Royce Greene?"

Royce can't hear any of the whispers traversing the halls.

She pulls from the kiss, smiling broadly. "Alright," she says. "Minty fresh."

"What the fuck?"

And the two look up, as both Kennedy and Lola approach, backpacks over their shoulders.

Kennedy's mouth is open.

Honestly, she's shocked.

She's shocked, not that Calum likes Royce, but that Royce seems like she likes Calum.

A lot.

And she's shocked because Lola's in denial, but she could say the same for her. Kennedy is shocked because her friends are liking her other friends and none of them are leaving room for her in the middle.

And, she's shocked because of all days she needed to vent and have some girl talk with her best friends, the fucking boys have taken her girls all to themselves.

And she didn't know how to feel about that.
__

Luke isn't in AP Calc.

"Where is he?" Kennedy asks Calum after class.

He's got his arm around Royce's shoulder as they filter from the room. "I dunno," he shrugs, looking up from his conversation with Royce. "Must've skipped."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious."

That got a laugh out of Royce.

Fuck.

This day is so fucked up, Kennedy thinks, as she sits in the rest of her classes and can barely focus because she's caught up in the argument she'd had with Luke that morning. She's wondering if he likes her anymore. She's also wondering if she just fucked up their double date.

She's been texting him all day. He has yet to answer, and as lunch rolls around and she still hasn't received a response, she thinks that she might have to find Michael for an ounce or two so she can go smoke.

Because the girl is stressed.

And that's when it hits her.

"Where're you going without me?" Lola exclaims, as Kennedy grabs her coat and her lunch from her locker, slamming it behind her.

"My car," she replies, shrugging on her jacket. "I just...I left something," she lies.

She's trying to go at this alone.

"Okay, good," Lola sighs. "Because I can't handle Royce and Calum all kissy and coupley and shit."

At that, Kennedy laughs.

"It's disgusting," she pulls a face. "And I hate being third-wheel."

"I'll get Ash to keep you company," Kennedy exclaims, backpedalling down the hall.

"Ha ha," Lola wrinkles her nose. "Funny."

Kennedy can't help but crack a smile at that. "Be back!" She calls.

"You'd better!"

And, still laughing to herself, Kennedy walks down the hallways towards the back of the school -- the parking lot -- which makes her grin a little wider because Luke sure as hell can't drive.

But, Mikey can.

And she sees his mom's sedan parked in the lot behind the school. The little old black Volvo looks out of place amidst the shiny, expensive new cars.

But, Kennedy doesn't care.

All she cares about in this moment, is the fact that the windows are fogged up and she can tell someone's inside.

She grows nearer to the car and can smell it.

Someone's hot boxing in the car.

And Kennedy pulls her coat tighter around her body as she picks up her pace, jogging towards the car and rapping heavily upon the driver's side window.

"Open up, Mikey. I know you're in there."

The window cracks open slightly, and the escaped smoke curls in the foggy air.

"Shh, shh. It's Kenn..."

She rolls her eyes.

She can see Michael's lips through the cracked window. "What's the password?"

They're so high.

"Open the goddamn door, Mikey," she replies. "I need to talk to--"

"Nope," he shakes his head, lips curving into a smile. "Wrong. Wrong, mate."

"So wrong."

"Shut up, Ash," Kennedy calls. "Is Luke in there?"

She can hear Ashton's muffled giggle. "...Maybe."

Kennedy clicks her teeth, catching sight of his blonde head ducked in the passenger seat, blunt to his lips.

"I see you, Luke!"

"So what?" Michael asks. "I see 'im too, yeah? Now you see him," and he slowly rolls up the window, "now you don't."

Ashton's laugh is still audible as she stalks around the car, going immediately to the passenger side window and yanking open the door.

"Whoa, what the fuck, Kennedy?"

"You on your period today?"

"Got to be."

She ignores these words. "Luke Hemmings, get up."

"What the--?"

"Get up, Luke! I need to talk to you!"

He throws up his hands, quickly passing the blunt. "Okay! Okay!"

"Whoa," Ashton asks in that high-pitched giggle of his. "You just gonna let 'er talk to you like that?"

Michael holds out his palm. "S'like she just..." and he slowly curls his fingers into a fist, "Like she just grabbed Luke by his balls and...and, squeezed."

Luke scowls viciously as he rises from the car. "Fuck you both."

And his friends are still laughing as he slams the car door shut in their faces.

Luke turns, and he catches the glint in Kennedy's eye and dares her to laugh -- not after the day he's had.

But, at the same time, Luke watches as she hides her smile and can't even will himself to be mad.

Not with her.

He shrugs tiredly. "What'm I doing out here, Kennedy?"

"I've never been kissed."

He frowns at once, watching how Kennedy seems to step backwards, away from him, with this determined look replacing the light visible in her eye just a moment ago.

Her hands are balled by her sides.

He rubs his eyes. He's high.

"What?"

"I've never been kissed before."

Luke wants to laugh. "You're shitting me."

But, Kennedy shakes her head. "I've never had like, a real kiss," she says, Dodgers cap pulled low over her eyes. "I mean, like...yeah. No. Relatives don't count. And I mean, I was like, six when Jon Gurley kissed me at the swings. And I was in middle school and played 'Seven Minutes in Heaven,' but Mark Rickman kinda chickened out and felt me up by accident, instead..."

Luke laughs for real, now. "What the fuck?"

Kennedy shakes her head harder. "Nope. You're looking at a sixteen-year-old who's never been kissed before."

"There's no fuckin' way, Kenn."

She shrugs. "Apparently, there is."

"But..." Luke runs a hand through his hair. There's just no way. Like, Kennedy was too pretty to haven't done...well, done the things he had.

"Look, Luke," she sighs, because this anxious pit in her stomach isn't being alleviated by Luke's look of confusion. "I've never been kissed, okay? I've never had a real kiss. So," she takes another deep breath, "if you're not too high, you might be able to put some other shit together, too...Like," she lowers her voice, "Like, I've never done anything with a boy, before..." She stares at him pointedly. Anything, Luke."

"What?" He smirks. "You don't say?"

"Anyway," Kennedy forges on with an eye-roll, "What I'm trying to tell you is that I'm not experienced, okay? I'm not like those other girls who you've been with, so it makes me nervous every time we're together 'cause..."

"You think I care that you're a virgin?"

"Shit, Luke!" She lunges towards him, attempting to cover his mouth. "Tell the whole school!"

He laughs, evading her grasp. "Answer my question, first!"

"Yes," she exclaims. "Yeah, I think you'd care!"

His playfulness dissipates. "Why?"

"Because," she scoffs. "You're you, Luke."

He frowns, confused at to what that even means.

He decides not to ask, crossing his arms instead. "Well, I don't."

"Wait," he scowls, suddenly getting everything. All at once. "What'd you think...? That...that I'd stop liking you once I found out?"

"I--" She frowns, turning away.

That's exactly what she thought.

That's why everything -- from her friend's teasing, to Luke's affection -- made her more than uncomfortable, because she knew once Luke found out that she wasn't like the other easy girls he'd been with, he'd be real real quick to leave.

"Kennedy?"

She jumps, startled from her thoughts. "Yeah, Luke?"

"I know a lot'a the rumors are true--"

She snorts.

"--but, I really am more than my reputation," and he reaches out and tugs on the hoodie beneath her jacket. "I keep tryin' to get you to let me show you."

She sighs. "I know, I know...It's just..."

"Just?" And Luke laughs. "Either you're gonna trust me, Kenn, or you're not. Both aren't gonna happen."

"I know..." She frowns. "I just--"

"So," he continues, "we can take things slow...?" He asks hopefully. "Maybe?" 

She peers up at him, eyes shielded beneath her hat. "You want to?"

"I mean," and he shrugs adorably. "I'm still waiting to camp."

__

ok so (remix) chapters are all told completely in either kennedy or luke's pov

I heart little innocent kennedy. <3

I'M SO SORRY GUYS FOR THE WAIT THANK YOU FOR BEING PATIENT I'VE BEEN SOOO BUSY WITH FINALS AND PROJECTS AND APPLICATIONS OMG.

the kids aren't alright (remix) || fall out boy ft. azealia banks