Facing The Heat

Early the next morning, Kenny's eyes slowly cracked open as the new day's sun reached his eyes. With a slightly groggy look, he glanced around the dorm room, immediately lost at the fact that he was seeing sunlight. To his right, on the end table, was Ellie's laptop still open on the selection screen for a set of movies, and curled on his chest was the girl herself. Her long platinum blonde hair spilled over her face as she let out the softest of snores. Kenny felt a sense of calm overcome him, and he reached down, gently brushing her hair from her face, giving her cheek a tender stroke with his thumb. Ellie let out a small murmur, stirring from her slumber, and her blue eyes cracked open, glancing up and immediately letting out a tired but loving smile. "Sorry, I must have dozed off...did you pick a movie?"

Kenny let out a low murmuring laugh, "Elle, we both passed out; it's morning," He motioned over to the window with his head, and Ellie's eyes widened,

"Whoa, seriously?" Ellie sat up and let out a mewing yawn as she stretched, "I don't even remember what happened. I just laid down on your chest and...well, I guess that's it, huh?"

"Yeah, we didn't get very far after that dinner," Kenny chuckled, sitting up as well, "Man, I feel so rested...I haven't slept that well in weeks," He pushed a hand through his hair, slicking it back and out of his face, "Or months actually..."

Ellie scooted closer to him, "Really?"

"Yeah, I woke up every morning this summer just...thinking about everyone, trying to figure out what I had to do, who I had to do it with. I was always asking myself if I was doing things wrong or how I was supposed to fix what I had already done wrong. Last night though, with you on my chest," Kenny warmly reached out, cupping the side of Ellie's face, "I had nothing else on my mind finally. I was right where I wanted to be and who I wanted there was with me."

Ellie leaned in, giving the teen a short peck on the lips, "We need to talk," The blonde uttered as soon as the kiss broke.

"Uh oh, should I be worried?" Kenny gulped as he pulled back,

"I...don't know," Ellie climbed out of the bed and nervously wrung her hands together, "I honestly have no clue about what will happen, but -- It was the first thing I thought of as soon as you picked me last night and when I opened my eyes this morning -- We need to tell, Julie. I don't want us to have another situation like with Will. I can't deal with the stress of something hanging over our heads, waiting to drop and just fuck everything up, not now. Not again. She needs to know."

Kenny's cheeks puffed out as he exhaled, "Shit...right, we do need to tell her, don't we?"

"Oh crap, I was hoping you weren't going to react like that..." Ellie winced, chewing on her lower lip, "Is Julie really that bad when it comes to girls being with you?"

"Unapproved girls," Kenny muttered back with a toss of his eyes. Ellie raised an eyebrow, and Kenny gave his head an annoyed shake, "It's her stupid idea that she knows best for me. She thinks that if I end up with the wrong girl, I'll only get hurt or not live up to my "full potential" or some shit like that. And apparently, if I was with any of her friends, that's insulting,"

"Oh good, so it really is that bad," Ellie groaned, and Kenny quickly jumped up, moving over and pulling her into a tight embrace, "This is going to suck, isn't it?"

"Don't worry about it; we can face my cousin, trust me," He assured with a smile, pulling back to look the blonde in the eye, "You just need to tap back into that, no-nonsense, try and fuck with me, attitude you had when we first met,"

"Yeah, but I was pent-up, ignored, and really irritable back then. You sorta have a way of working that out of a girl when you're giving her everything she wants," Elie grinned back before shutting her eyes and taking a slow breath. "But I can do that..." Ellie took a few more slow breaths, taking close to a minute, before opening her eyes once more. They were now glossed over with a bored and near-threatening look, "How's this? Better?" She dryly asked back,

"Perfect, you look just as done with it as I remember; we can't lose now," He chuckled, pushing in for a full, heavy kiss.

Thirty minutes later, after a fresh shower and a change of clothes, at least for Ellie, Kenny and Ellie reached Juliet and Quinn's dorm room. "Okay, let me peek in there first. I don't want us to both walk right in if Quinn is in there. She probably won't want to see me at all, but she'd flip if you were there too," Ellie hung her head but gave a quick nod, "If she's there, I'll just ask Julie to come out so we can talk in the hall or back in your room maybe?"

"Sounds good," Ellie swallowed hard, "God, this is making me so nervous," Kenny placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, "No, no, don't mind me. This has to happen now. Just do it," The blonde swiftly urged, and Kenny nodded.

Slowly, Kenny turned the door handle and let the door creak open, peering his head inside. His eyes first flicked to the left at Quinn's bed, and thankfully the girl wasn't in sight. He turned his head to the other side of the room, and that's when Kenny and Juliet's eyes met. The brunette was sitting in her desk chair, arms crossed with a piercing stare, "I was wondering when you'd be getting back," Juliet muttered as Kenny slowly stepped inside.

"Julie?" Kenny gulped,

"Inside, now," Juliet stood up and snapped her fingers. Kenny took a step inside, and Juliet looked at the door, "You too, Elle, I know you're out there," Ellie let out a low sigh, her shoulder slinking as she reluctantly followed behind Kenny. "Door closed," The brunette ordered again, and with a soft click, Ellie shut it, "Good. Now would the two of you want to tell me --" Juliet's body started to tremble, her face turning red and jaw locking, "What the fuck is going on?!" She abruptly screamed out, making the pair jump and take a quick step back.

"Julie, breath, we want to have a discussion about this, not a screaming match," Kenny attempted, only for Juliet to storm right over to him,

"Discussion?! Sure, Ken, let's have a fucking discussion!" Juliet snapped back, "For starters, how about I give you something that you've earned?!" Before Kenny could blink, he felt a stinging slap right across his face, and Ellie let out a loud gasp, "That's for Quinn, you sonofabitch!" Juliet screamed into her cousin's face, "Thanks to you, I had to be the one holding her all last night while she cried about what you did to her! What both of you did to her!"

Kenny rubbed his stinging cheek and stood back up straight, "What happened between Quinn and me is just that. It's between us. Leave Ellie out of it," Kenny firmly replied, his tone remaining calm and controlled, "I know she's your friend, and you have a right to be upset. I can't change how I feel, though, I picked Ellie; that's the unfortunate truth about this."

"Oh, I know, trust me, I heard all about how you've picked Ellie! Months of you two going behind my back! Hooking up even while she was still with Will! I mean, honestly, are you two fucking serious?!" Juliet boomed, and Kenny's face tightened,

"What happened with us is private, Julie. My relationship with Will is no one else's business but my own," Ellie argued, only for Juliet to glare over at her with flared eyes.

Kenny stepped between the two girls, though Juliet immediately looked around him, keeping her eyes deadlocked on Ellie's, "No one else's business? That's a fucking laugh!" Juliet attempted to step closer though Kenny quickly extended an arm, forcing Juliet to stay back, "You fucking -- Ugh! Let me make this real fucking easy for you, Westchester! You are never to see my cousin again, you hear me?! Never! I don't want to see your face anywhere him or me again!"

"Juliet, enough!" Kenny gave a small push, forcing his cousin away from Ellie, "You don't get to say stuff like that! It's not your choice who I spend my time with!"

"Are you fucking serious, Kenny? Look at who I'm talking about!" Juliet shouted back, pointing at Ellie, who was receding back further and further, "Ellie Westchester! She was the biggest slut for the first three years of high school! She's been passed around by half the school! She cheated on her goddamn boyfriend! She'll do the same fucking thing to you! You can't trust her! You can do so much fucking better!"

"Juliet!" Kenny finally screamed, his voice full of fury,

"I -- I can't do this," Ellie's broken voice finally said. Kenny glanced back, finding the blonde in tears as she rushed to the door, "I'm sorry, Kenny," She croaked out in a sob as she rushed out of the room.

"Ellie!" Kenny called out to the blonde, who only slammed the door shut behind her,

"Good riddance," Juliet sneered, and Kenny slowly looked back, flames in his eyes, "What? This was for the best, Kenny. You'll see that eventually,"

"Shut up!" Juliet's eyes widened as Kenny spun around and stepped closer to her, "How fucking dare you, Juliet. You don't have the fucking right! Where in the hell do you even get off? She's your friend, and you just spit on her like that?! Let alone how you treat someone I care about!"

"Kenny, your head is in the clouds! You're not --" Juliet attempted to argue,

"No!" He sharply cut her off, "I know exactly how I feel about her! I don't care about the mistakes she's made or her past! Newsflash, Julie, no one is fucking perfect!" Kenny threw his hands in the air, "Did I jump your shit when you were sneaking around with JJ behind my back?! Did I call him no good?! No! Of course not! I was fucking happy for you, and I was hoping you'd be happy for me too!"

"That was -- JJ is very different from Elle," Juliet stepped back, tucking her head low and keeping her eyes off Kenny's,

"There is nothing different about this! The only difference is, that you think you can decide how I live my life. I expected better out of you when it came to this. I expected respect, which clearly you don't have." Juliet looked up, her eyes filling with hurt, "And if you can't give me and Ellie that simple decency, then I don't think I need to be around you." Kenny finished with a scoff, "Goodbye, Juliet."

Juliet's eyes widened as Kenny turned and went for the door, "Kenny, wait!" The teen grabbed the doorknob, "Wait, I'm sorry! Hang on, please! Don't walk away like this! I am sorry!" Kenny started to pull the door open, but he paused. He took a few sharp, angered breaths but looked back, "Please. Let me explain. Please?"

Kenny struggled for a few more seconds before letting go of the door and turning back, giving her a **** look, "Explain what?"

"Everything I said...I don't know where it really came from." Juliet sheepishly rubbed her arm before wincing, "No, that's not true; I do know where it came from. It came from Quinn." Kenny let out a low sigh, "I'm sorry, but it's true. She came back here last night, inconsolable. She told me everything, and she was heartbroken, Kenny. My best friend was heartbroken, and all I saw was red."

"Julie, I can understand that, but just because she's your best friend doesn't mean you can say the things you just said to Ellie. I feel like shit for what I did to Quinn, but that's between us, not between her and Ellie." Juliet silently nodded, "I can't, nor do I want to change how I feel about Ellie. I can't just put them aside and be with Quinn out of pity. It's not fair to only "love her," so she's not hurt now. It's not fair to either one of us. What I should have done a long time ago was make this choice that way, she wouldn't have been as hurt. But I didn't. That's on me,"

"I know, but it's not easy to accept. It feels -- She just -- I felt like I had to make a stand for her. Quinn was just so hurt, and I..." Juliet sighed and rubbed her face, "I know it's not an excuse. I know I shouldn't have said all that. I know Ellie's a different person, and I know, or well, I guess I don't know, what you two have together, but clearly, it's serious, so...I'll respect that. I promise Ken; I won't let this happen again...just please don't leave me, and please forgive me."

Kenny pursed his lips, thought for a moment, and let out one sharp exhale before motioning Juliet towards him with open arms. The brunette rushed forward into an embrace, "I forgive you, Julie," Kenny softly replied as he gave his cousin a squeezing hug, "Let's just...forget all this,"

"I'd like that," Juliet replied as she broke away from the hug,

"Good," Kenny gave a nod before glancing back to the door and quickly pulling away, "I gotta go find Elle,"

"Okay, please, Ken, tell her I'm sorry. Tell her I didn't mean all those horrible things I said," Kenny gave an assuring nod as he yanked open the door and took off, jogging down the hallway.