Deeper Connection

"I vote we eat something," Kenny replied as he pulled over his hiking pack and unzipped the top, fishing out a pair of granola bars, "Heads up," He easily called while tossing a bar to Nicole which the girl tore open in seconds and took a hefty bite, "Hungry, huh?"

"Try starving," Nicole jokingly replied as she took another bite, "Thanks, you thought of everything,"

"You didn't pack any food?" Kenny asked back while reaching over and grabbing Nicole's bag, "Nikki...this thing feels half empty?"

"I...pack light?" Nicole smiled back as innocently as she could,

Kenny's eyes drooped and he immediately opened her pack, searching around the mostly empty interior, "Nicole, you barely brought anything Brian told us to pack,"

"I figured we'd walk around for a bit and then go back, not get stuck in a box from nineteen-seventy-four," Nicole replied with a small toss of her eyes, "I know, I know, I'm irresponsible, sorry, dad,"

Kenny cringed and shook his head, "Please don't call me dad again,"

"Yes, daddy," Nicole teasingly replied causing Kenny to scoff and give her a quick shove on the shoulder, "What, not your fetish?" The redhead giggled,

"Not at all," Kenny replied with a small shudder, "Not planning on ever calling you kitten either,"

"Won't catch me complaining," Nicole took another bite from her back and let out a long exhale, thinking for a moment. Kenny opened his wrapper and did the same, chewing silently for a few moments. "Oh, I got it, grab that box, let's see what these old fuckers left behind,"

Kenny glanced over and saw the stack of two cardboard boxes that their current "bed" came out of. "If this old sleeping back is anything to count on, I'm betting not much," He pointed out as he scooted and dragged over the boxes to them,

"Hey you never know, maybe they left some cool shit behind that they didn't mean to. If this place was running around the same time of that thief I'm betting they had to search around Kaster, right?" Nicole suggested as she scooted over and pulled open the box once more.

One item at a time Kenny and Nicole pulled items out of the boxes, and unfortunately, there was nothing so grand waiting for them inside. A few old dusty books, a compass, a few maps of the area, and an old ranger jacket were all that made up their stash. "Well...that's a little disappointing huh?"

"Yeah, but what are you gonna do right?" Nicole shrugged, "Jacket is cool though, at least I'll have a little souvenir to take home with me," The redhead reached for the bundled jacket and unfolded it only for a small bottle to tumble out of the center, clinking to the floor. The label was long faded and slightly torn off but the brown liquid inside told Nicole everything she needed to make out what it was, whiskey. "Oh shit, now we're talking,"

"What the hell is that?" Kenny asked with a tilt of his head as Nicole snatched the bottle up and swirled it around,

"Whiskey, bonehead, this job was probably lonely as hell, the guy needed some way to get through the day," Nicole hummed as she tossed the small bottle over to Kenny while smoothly pulling on her new jacket, "What do you say, I hear it only gets better with age. That might be the best whiskey you or I will ever have,"

"You have a more optimistic outlook on old booze than me," Kenny jokingly replied as he unscrewed the cap and took a small sniff, "Oof, that smells like ****,"

Nicole let out a giggle and reached over snatching the bottle and smelling it as well, "No, that smells exactly like whiskey. You're not much of a drinker are you?"

"Is it that obvious?" Kenny returned, not feeling overtly shamed or embarrassed over that fact, "I had a few drinks occasionally at those parties you brought me to, but nothing strong like that,"

"Well allow me to help pop your liquor cherry," Nicole hummed as she grabbed the bottle and took in half a mouthful of the strong drink. Kenny watched as he gulp it down with ease and let out a small growling exhale, "Fuck, talk about warming you up," Nicole muttered to herself before handing the bottle back to Kenny,

"I don't know, it still stinks like all hell," Kenny nervously replied as he gave the bottle a little swirl,

"Oh come on, please? I hate drinking alone," Nicole sweetly begged with the saddest pair of puppy dog eyes,

Kenny gave his eyes a slow roll, "Jeez, talk about a guilt trip, Nikki," He said under his breath before reluctantly bringing the bottle to his lips and taking far too much of a gulp for his own good. Nicole let out a gasp that fell into a laugh as she watched Kenny guzzle his share before breaking down into a hacking fit.

The redhead took the bottle and brought her other hand to Kenny's back, patting it firmly, "Jesus, Kenny, I said a sip, not three shots worth, holy fuck!" Nicole cackled as Kenny did his best to fight the burn in his throat,

"Okay...okay...that sucked, wow," Kenny's scratching voice weakly said as he got himself back under control. Nicole giggled and took another small sip herself. The pair went silent once again but this time Kenny was the one to break the silence, "Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot," Nicole agreed with a friendly smile,

"Earlier you were saying how different you used to be a few years ago, and I was...you cut yourself off and I was still wondering, you know, what changed?" Kenny asked his voice tentative but sincere, "I know you said you got boobs, but that's not the full story, is it?"

Nicole let out a profound sigh and set the bottle down, "No, it's not," The redhead scooted around so her body was fully facing Kenny, "You sure you want to know about all this? It's not very interesting or...or fun for that matter,"

"If I didn't care I wouldn't have asked," Kenny instantly replied as he too turned his body so he was facing Nicole, "If you don't want to tell me I'll understand,"

"No, it's fine, I don't...what the hell right? We have nothing better to do tonight," The girl denied doing her best to feign a joking smile that fell just short. "So, it was like this; remember how I said I went to that science camp in freshmen year when I was still, you know, mega dork?"

"If you want to call it like that, sure, I remember," Kenny nodded back,

Nicole pursed her lips slightly and seemed to take a moment to gather herself, "I went to that camp because...I needed to get away from my mom. At the end of the school year, just before summer started my dad he..." Nicole let out a near-broken exhale, "He died, and that was fucking awful,"

"Oh Jesus, Nicole, I'm...I'm so sorry, I don't know what to say," Kenny wholeheartedly replied,

"Some stupid cock sucking mother fucker hit him with their car and just drove off...he..." Nicole swallowed hard and shook her head, "Afterwards, my mom was just a complete and utter wreck, she was crying every day and I couldn't take it, I didn't want to go at all, but I knew I had the grades to get into that summer camp and I took it, just to get the hell away from all the grief. Didn't do me a hell of a lot of good, I got there and hated it, just didn't give a shit about that stuff anymore, so after one week I just took off, headed back to town on foot," Nicole continued as she took the bottle of whiskey back into her hand and took a sip, "I just wanted to be alone you know? I didn't want to hear my mom in that pain but I damn sure didn't want everyone around me trying to talk to me and ask if I was okay. Of course, I wasn't, my dad was dead, you know?"

"I can't say I know what you mean, but I understand it, yeah," Kenny nodded, making sure as to not insult Nicole by pretending to know that level of grief,

"After that though, I started meeting new people, making friends who'd help me stay out of the house. Turns out concerts are a fast way to make friends, and the music they were into was pretty kickass. Then I started going to more parties, letting myself not be so nervous and scared like I used to be. Then Devin..." Nicole hummed in a mixture of bittersweet sadness, "I met Devin later into school, you know that I went to one of the parties his band was playing at. And I admit it, at that point, I was starting to become a real fucking idiot. I was playing around with guys constantly, just to mess with them, and one night...I ended up screwing with the wrong one,"

"Nicole you weren't...you know?" Kenny asked in a whisper, his eyes full of concern,

"No, I wasn't, honestly I don't know what was gonna happen that night but Devin showed up and told the guy to fuck off. He got in between me and him and protected me, he made me feel safe you know?" Nicole continued with a small shake of her head, "I latched onto him after that like a little school girl, I didn't know what I was feeling for him for the longest time until I finally asked him out, realized I wanted to be with someone who cared enough about me too...take a stand but also, is there for me. Course, Nicole Moore doesn't make the best judgment calls...obviously," Nicole bitterly added as she reached for the bottle again, "Didn't exactly hitch my horse to a winner,"

"You can't blame yourself for taking a chance on someone who you thought you could trust," Kenny lightly argued,

"Pfft, just the type of shit that happens to me. At this point I only have myself to blame when things do wrong," Nicole dejectedly added as she tried to take another drink, only this time Kenny reached out and took hold of it as well, "What?"

"Come on, you know that's not fixing anything," Kenny easily replied. Nicole yanked the bottle out of Kenny's hand and glared at him hard for a moment. Kenny merely continued to silently look at her sympathetically.

Nicole glanced down at the bottle and then back to Kenny before suddenly throwing the bottle across the tower cabin, letting it shatter right against the door. Kenny recoiled in some surprise at the outburst, "God fucking damn it!" Nicole exclaimed while jumping to her feet, "Why?! Why does this shit always have to happen to me?!" The redhead cried out in fury as Kenny also jumped to his feet, "What did I do to deserve such a shit fucking hand?! Am I just not allowed to be happy?!"

"Nikki, just take a breath, of course, you're allowed to be happy," Kenny replied as he held up a hand as the girl stormed around the tower,

"Am I? I put so much on Devin, and that blew up in my face! I know he cheated on me but maybe...maybe he's fucking right, I wanted this?!" Nicole whimpered with a flustered shake of her head,

"Nikki, don't be crazy, you know you didn't want this. All this pain and frustration, that's just him trying to dodge responsibility for hurting you," Kenny firmly retorted,

"No no, maybe he...maybe he had a point, Kenny. I don't know how to date people, I don't know how to do relationships. I know sex that's all, anything with real emotions...scares me, so I look for ways to get away from people once it gets to real. Maybe I pushed Devin away too? I've done it before, I could have --" Nicole began to babble only to stop as Kenny stepped forward and planted his hands on her shoulders, staring her directly in the eye.

"Nicole, you're not...broken or defective. You know more than just hooking up with people, you cared about Devin and I know just from talking to you since the break up that you gave it everything you had. He fucked up, not you. You'll find the right person one day, and even if it scares you, you'll give it everything you have again. Don't put yourself down, and don't count yourself out," Kenny honestly said giving Nicole's arms a tight squeeze, "I know you, Nicole, this may be unfamiliar territory but you never back down from a challenge, you'll conquer relationships and love just like everything else in your life," He added with an easy smile,

Without a second thought, Nicole suddenly lunged herself forward, her lips pressing against Kenny's in a wild mixture of want and lust. Kenny let out a small surprised hum as Nicole's hands grabbed his jacket collar tugging him in close while heavy, husky breaths escaped through the breaks on her deep needful kisses.