Kenny Is Once Again Distracted

As Kenny and Zoey returned to his car and began to drive back towards the lodge, Kenny's mind was in a state of turmoil. Unlike before where his mind was curiously asking what he thought about Zoey, and how far his feelings for the girl went, now they were fully screaming at him. Not only that, thanks to Zoey's gentle reminder of being fair with Nicole, his conscience began to drip with guilt for never once looking the girl in the eye and completely apologizing for all his previous indiscretions with the other girls. Kenny knew that Nicole was hurt by them, but he was selfish, only looking at her mistakes and expecting her apology.

Kenny reminded himself that everything with Nicole wasn't lost, they were going to have a talk today, he promised her that and Kenny knew that she felt something for him, so she had to give him a chance. However, the longer and longer Kenny thought about Nicole, the more he wondered if he even should press for something with her. Zoey's words continued to ring through his mind, questioning why he would pursue something real with a girl who seemed to have commitment issues along with a free spirit and if he was being honest, a slight anger problem. Of course, Nicole would always be the beautiful girl who gave him nearly his first everything, but just like with Mindy, being someone's first doesn't mean he has to end up with her.

The brown-haired teen let out a soft sigh as he drove, peering over to Zoey out the corner of his eye watching as the girl's head rested gently against his window, watching her hometown pass by as they drove. Kenny slightly began to grind his teeth together as he thought of Zoey's kiss, it had seemingly come out of nowhere, but now Kenny couldn't help but think about everything she did prior. His mind finally making the obvious connections of her compliments and confidence boosting words while putting Nicole down for her actions against him. Then Kenny replayed the girl Zoey described that he needed, and everything pointed to one girl only, Zoey.

Kenny could feel his stomach twisting in knots as he wondered if Zoey truly tried to express that she was a better fit for him than Nicole. His mind tried to deny it over and over, thinking that she was merely trying to look out for him, making sure he wasn't going to end up in a bad situation. Yet, Kenny couldn't stop from feeling that the redhead meant more. The kiss they shared supported the theory entirely, it wasn't some quick thing that just happened, and it wasn't only sexual like when Nicole did it. Zoey put something more in, he knew that he felt that, but the way she ripped away kept hitting him with a wall of confusion. It just didn't make sense to kiss him like that then decide that it wasn't right...or maybe it was, maybe he was only upset because he didn't want her to stop.

The inner turmoil of Kenny's head didn't stop once until they got back to the parking lot at the base of the mountain. Not once did Kenny remember the one important thing he wanted to handle while he was out with Zoey. As he shut his car off and tried to clear his head for the first time in the hour drive, Zoey spoke up, "Oh no...it's Eric," She almost gulped while slinking down in the car seat,

"Hmm?" Kenny hummed back while glancing out his back window seeing Eric pulling in behind them, "Oh...I guess he left to get his stuff too," Kenny deduced while looking at the girl, "Do you want to wait until he goes up?"

"Tsk, it's pointless, it's not like I'm going to be able to ignore him once we're all in the lodge anyhow," Zoey mumbled back while looking back at the teen, "Ken, things aren't weird now, are they? I hope I didn't end up, making you feel awkward because of the things I did and said..." The girl softly stated with a nervous bite of her lip,

"No, it's fine," Kenny instantly replied, though he knew he was slightly lying, "Telling me you need to think doesn't make me upset or off put, I swear,"

The pair suddenly heard Eric closing his door, they both turned their heads and watched the teen pulled a duffle bag out of his trunk and slung it over his shoulder. Eric made his way towards the cart station and glancing into Kenny's car as he walked giving the two of them a small wave as he passed them. "Ugh...that makes it even weirder if we don't go now," Zoey groaned before shaking her head and fixing her beanie back on her head, "Fuck it, let's go now, let's just do it before we miss the chance,"

Kenny and Zoey both abruptly got from his car, Kenny grabbed Zoey's bag and followed the girl as she made her way up the stairs into the cart station. The two of them made it just in time to get on the cart before the doors closed, now awkwardly standing next to Eric while was genuinely surprised to see them here. "Oh, hey guys," Eric murmured out,

"Hey man, uh...got your stuff?" Kenny awkwardly replied with a smile,

"Yeah, um, that Zoey's?" Eric asked back while motioning to the bag in Kenny's hand,

"Yeah," Kenny nodded,

"Ken was nice enough to carry it for me," Zoey added in with a bit of an aggressive grunt, almost trying to get a rise out of her ex,

"Oh, that was nice of you, Ken," Eric mumbled as he stared down at his feet before groaning, "Fuck, okay, I can't do this. Zoey? Look, I'm sorry," He sincerely stated,

"Not this again," Zoey sighed with a shake of her head,

"No, it's not that, I'm genuinely saying to you, that I am so sorry for what I did. I kept thinking that what I was doing was for the best, in my mind, it felt like I was being fair." Eric explained with a near ashamed look, "I never wanted to hurt you in this Zoey, I thought that I was doing the right thing for myself but...but that's the problem, I only thought about myself." Zoey's head finally raised and looked Eric in the eye, "I can try and keep saying that I did this as not to string you along, or because I was following my heart or some other shit, but the simple fact is I made a choice that hurt you. So, again, I'm sorry for that. I'm not trying to get you to forgive me, or tell me that it's all okay, but I just want you to know that I'm sorry for hurting my friend. For ruining your first relationship. For...for leading you on, making you think that there may have been more here than there ever was..."

"Eric..." Zoey whispered under her breath as she hugged her body and shook her head, lowering her head once more,

"I know..." Eric muttered back while giving a quick glance at Kenny, "I just had to say it," He sighed before wandering towards the other side of the cart, taking a seat.

The trio was silent for the rest of the trip, and on arrival Eric quickly left the cart, giving Zoey some distance from him as he was sure she needed some space again. As he left Zoey began to let out some quick breaths from her nose and let her head fall against Kenny's arm, "You okay?"

"I don't know...I just want this all to stop; I want him just to leave me alone, let me grieve for our relationship, but...just now..." Zoey muttered back,

"It sounded genuine," Kenny finished for her causing Zoey to nod,

"You should go talk to Nicole," Zoey said as she smoothly took her bag from his hand, "And...And I'll talk to you soon, okay? I think I really do need a minute completely alone for once,"

"I get it," Kenny said with an understanding nod, "Take all the time you need,"

Kenny took a few steps away before hearing Zoey's small soft voice, "Ken?" He turned back, and the girl quickly walked forward embracing him, "Thank you...you've done so much for me, and I...I just...thank you, Kenny," Before he could respond or even hug back, Zoey pulled away from Kenny and powerwalked out of the cart. Kenny lowered his head and let out a long exhale, wondering what that hug meant now, but he soon pushed the thought away, refocusing on the task at hand, talking to Nicole.