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It’d been a few weeks since the truth came out… they all needed time. Some needed a lot more than others. And, as usual, Kel was the first to try and bounce back. Key word being try.
Sunny’s, and subsequently Basil’s, confession changed… everything, really. Even if Kel didn’t completely see how at first. He knew everything would be different, but… he didn’t see why that had to be a bad thing. Sure, what happened was horrible. But… it was an accident, right? Everything had already become so different since that day. He wanted to prove to everyone that they were just as strong as before: a family. Hero made him feel that way. Sunny’s words made him feel that way.
…there was a small voice in his chest that told him it still wasn’t time. But he could hear his brother’s words echoing in his brain.
“There won’t be a good time, bud… there will just be better ones and worse ones. And now is… surprisingly, a better one. We’re all talking again. You should do it before I have to leave town.” Hero said with a sigh, shaking his head.
“…you really have to go back?” Kel had asked, dejected, for he already knew the answer.
Hero frowned in response to the question. “I don’t want to. I… I know you guys need me. But they’ll have you, yeah? And you’ll still have me— you all will. Just not here.” As much as he wants to stay with his old friends, he knows that he can’t stick around forever. University beckons. “But while I am here, I think… they should know.”
“…Yeah, I know.” Hero’s words won over in the end. They furthered their discussion, and Hero helped him make a plan to tell their friend group. That is to say, he made the plan himself and Kel’s job was to simply follow it. Sunny was up first, seeing as talking over the phone seemed a lot simpler than a face-to-face confession. It went really well… especially since he still considers Sunny his best friend. He might be relatively quiet, but Kel likes to think he’s always been able to tell how Sunny was feeling. Their bond made for a familiar conversation— they talked for a few hours, and that was that.
The talk with Basil was just one step up in terms of difficulty. Sometimes, Kel can be too loud or extroverted for Basil and overwhelm him, but that didn’t happen this time. Their discussion was lighthearted, for the most part, but something that Basil said had struck a chord within him. He mentioned that this was the first time he’s ever heard Kel talk about his feelings. He knows that he didn’t mean it in a bad way or anything, but it sort of shocked him. He guesses he wasn’t aware of how rarely he spoke from his heart. But again, they talked for a while, Kel helped with his gardening and was soon on his way.
Now came the most daunting task of all. He’s got to tell Aubrey.
Aubrey was… well. How can he put this? Not the easiest to talk to. Especially with their history and the nature of their relationship and… well, everything that had happened in the last four years. She had developed a lot of issues surrounding the whole thing. Issues that only became apparent to their friends once they’d gotten back on good terms.
Before learning the truth, she used to think that was nothing more to understand. Mari left, then everyone else left, too, and they forgot about the both of them. It was her worst fear come true. She’d always had a lot of trouble fitting in as a kid, and she had gotten used to assuming that everyone she befriended would leave her eventually. When that actually happened, god... she didn’t know how to handle it. Recently, she’s come to the realization that everyone was just trying to cope with what had happened in their own way, but the shock of new information opened so many new levels to the incident, and she could barely wrap her head around any of it. How the hell are you supposed to react to something like that, anyway? It all made her so frustrated. So angry. She felt like she needed more time to herself, even after all the isolation she’d felt for years before.
But.. ultimately? She couldn't help but sympathize with Sunny. It's so easy to fuck up and hurt the people you care about. She’s been in his shoes before. He didn't mean to, and.. god, it just hurts to think about how alone he must've been. What Hero said when they all slept over at Basil's house that night was true; the worst mistake they made was leaving each other when they needed each other the most. She's not going to let it happen again, even if the wounds have been reopened.
She's been trying her best to stick together with everyone. She's been spending more time with Basil, trying to make up for how she acted toward him in the past (even if things between them are a bit rocky.) She's been trying to reconnect with Hero before he leaves town.. she's even been talking to Sunny more. He doesn't live in town anymore, but she has his landline and stuff… and, well. Kel is Kel. She's.. tolerant of him. Most of the time, at least.
Now is not one of those times.
He’d been not-so-subtly following Kim around after they got out of school. Wherever Aubrey goes, Kim is sure to follow. And yeah… maybe he did sit outside Kim’s a few houses down, kicking rocks by the curb, just to make sure he caught Aubrey alone. He was practically asleep by the road when they finally came back outside. He nearly jumped up, hopping from his place by the curb to hide behind a telephone pole that definitely wasn’t big enough to conceal him, and from there, he heard the front door to Kim’s house open, followed by two familiar voices.
"Thanks for coming over, Aubrey! We've gotta hang more often— you've been spending way too much time with those nerds..."
"Yeah, I hear you, Kim. But you know how it is.." Aubrey sighed, slinging her bookbag over her shoulder. Kim shot her a soft, understanding smile.
"...yeah, I know. But hey, I'm glad you guys have been getting along better... see you at school tomorrow?"
"Course. See ya.."
Aubrey turned away to start walking home, but paused before heading down the driveway. Kim, too, hesitated to close the door. Both of their gazes were locked on the same sight: An orange-clad idiot standing behind a pole that was much too thin to serve as a proper hiding spot. The two of them stared for a moment. Kim squinted through her red lenses, raising her eyebrows.
"...I think that's for you, Aubs." She half-snorted. Her old friends may be total nerds, but Kel is the biggest nerd of them all. Aubrey’s eye twitched more the longer she looked at him. "....Yeah, I know." She answered with a huff, turning back to face Kim.
She reached a hand out to her, and with immediate understanding on Kim’s end, the two performed a secret handshake of course, which ended in a playful flip of the bird from each girl before they went their separate ways.
Aubrey approached Kel, standing in front of the pole, but not moving behind it.
"...Kel,” She started, folding her arms. He jumped a little from the sudden confrontation. He hadn’t been peeking at them from behind the pole. He was in a state he liked to call ‘full stealth mode’, but of course, it wasn’t enough to fool Aubrey. “If you're going to follow me around all day, you're going to need a better hiding spot."
“Hey!” He stepped out from behind the tall hunk of metal. “I wasn’t following you… I was following Kim, who just so happened to be following you.” And while that was true, they both knew of Kel’s real intentions.
"...Tch. What do you want?"
He swiftly moved beside Aubrey and swung an arm over her shoulders. He jostled her a little bit, but in a playful way. “I wanna come over! Duh.”
“You want to come over,” She repeated, her voice quieter than it had been moments ago. She closed in on herself, though not as a result of the contact from Kel. "..to my house?" She muttered, distaste evident in both her voice and her expression.
Kel had only been over to her house once before. It was recent— the day before everything happened with Basil and Sunny. She wasn’t proud of that place. It was her house; she’d lived there all her life, but it wasn’t somewhere to call home. It hadn’t been for a long time.
“Yeah!” Kel affirmed with a nonchalant smile. “I wanted to switch things up, ya know? My house is boring, anyway.” In all honesty, he sort of knew that suggesting Aubrey’s house would make her uncomfortable, but he thought he could try anyway. He hummed a little tune as he began to lead her down the street. The soft melody was just quiet enough so that he could catch Aubrey muttering something about her's reeking of alcohol, along with the sound of her sneakers scuffling against the pavement as they walked side by side.
Oh, well. Worth a shot. “Uh… we could… oh! I know where we can go! Come on—” He released her shoulders, only to grab onto her hand and yank her along behind him. Aubrey was strong, but Kel had always been the faster of the two. She made a little noise of surprise as Kel began to drag her down the sidewalk, nearly tripping over her feet as she tried to keep up. "Wh— Kel..! Where are we going?"
“Hopefully, somewhere cool if it all works out! Come on, pick up your feet, Aubs!” He smiled joyously, without a care in the world, turning the corner that would usually indicate they were heading to his house.
Aubrey cursed under her breath— this guy, god… he’s infuriating sometimes. He’s just running around, all happy-go-lucky. She’s losing her breath. It’s not any easier to catch up with him now that he’s got those stupid long legs. He’s all lanky, built just like the telephone pole he hid behind. She flushed, half from frustration, and half from… running. Yeah.
Kel, on the other hand, wasn’t even breaking a sweat. He continued to make small talk. “So… what did you and Kim do today?”
“None of your business,” She shot back hastily, but in a few moments, corrected the answer to be less, well... bitter. "...we were watching TV. Kim Possible."
“I still haven’t seen that one. It sounds like Kim would like it, though... One might say it’s… possible… that Kim would like it.”
Aubrey groaned in response to Kel’s god-awful pun, glaring daggers into the back of his head as they appeared to move closer to his house. She could hear his grin, even from behind him.
“She does,” She huffed in reply. “I think it's sort of cheesy, though.”
“You should watch Teen Titans! One of the girls looks like you.”
“Yeah, I guess I can.... oh.” She trailed off as they passed Kel's home. He had slowed down a tad, but it became clear that they weren’t stopping there… are they going to Sunny's old place..? Kel, unphased, continued with the conversation at hand.
“She’s like, this cool alien girl with green fire powers and pink hair. I think her name is Starfire. Cause she’s an alien and has fire powers, you know?”
“Kel,” She interrupted, shaking her head a little. "Why are we going to Sunny's house?"
“Oh. Uh—” He scratched at the nape of his neck for a moment, coming to a stop on the sidewalk. “When I talked to Sunny last Saturday, I asked if anyone was trying to buy the house. He told me no one was interested yet, so I mentioned it would be cool if he could keep it forever, right? And he said—
“Get on with it,” She panted, just a bit tired from all of the running... Now that they’ve stopped running, they're just sort of standing on the concrete, holding hands. This is strange.
“Sunny said they never picked up their old spare key… like in case they lost theirs. So it’s still around here somewhere! He even asked his mom about it, and she said we could hang out in the backyard as long as we clean up. So… I mean, I was gonna wait until we could all get together again, but I thought we could hang out in the treehouse.”
"...Oh." Aubrey blinked at him, eyebrows furrowed... it seemed like Kel's got some thoughts floating around in that head of his, after all. She considered it for a few moments, then nodded her head, looking up at him. “That... sounds nice, actually..”
“Sweet! He mentioned that they wanted to stop by soon because we’ve still got a couple of things up there, but woo! Getting our stuff back early!” He explained, the two picking up their pace again.
"Woo. I guess it's better that Hero grabs his stuff before he leaves again." Aubrey noted, kicking a nearby rock with the tip of her sneaker as she turned toward their friend’s old home. She watched as it skipped into the sewer grate, then looked up at the door. “He’s gonna be so excited. I think having those books back will help.” He didn’t specify with what. The what was implied, and they both understood. “C'mon. He said it was hidden under one of the rocks out front.”
Aubrey nodded in acknowledgment as she headed up the driveway, beginning to inspect all of the rocks (starting with the ones she found to be most suspicious, first.) Kel, on the other hand, went around the whole yard, picking up every rock he came across, including ones that were clearly not decorative and just existed naturally. Aubrey spotted him from across the yard. She sighed to herself, taking a seat on the edge of the steps leading up to the door to bear witness to Kel’s shenanigans in all their glory. The key was underneath one of the first few rocks she picked up, but watching Kel run all over the lawn, turning over every rock he could manage was pretty amusing.
Eventually, he was breathing heavily from his antics and decided to stop searching. He slowly approached Aubrey, his shoulders slumped in defeat.
“No luck? Huh... maybe they did remember to grab it before they left... Oh, or maybe someone stole it? What if they’re already living inside—”
“Nah,” She interrupted. “I found it a few minutes ago." She held up the shiny silver key and then handed it to Kel.
"...just had to get back at ya for making me run all the way here."
“…rude.” He glared in her direction, but as he walked past, she could probably hear him chuckling to himself.
Aubrey smiled behind him— it was this stupid little grin, one that she'd die before letting Kel know he was the cause of. God, he'd be even more insufferable.
She followed moments later, standing up and turning to face the door. She leaned against the frame while she waited for him to unlock it.
He fumbled around with the key a little before he managed to successfully unlock the door. Upon walking in, he immediately cringed and groaned. “Ugh… they turned off the AC? It’s so hot, oh my god.”
Aubrey kept following behind him, and while she made a face at the heat, she still reprimanded him. "Kel, nobody's been here for weeks. Why would they leave the air conditioning on?"
“I-I dunno! It’s— it’s like, August— everyone in Faraway knows it’s crazy hot. Maybe cause the heat would hurt the house? I dunno—”
"It doesn't matter," She interrupted, walking across the empty living room. "We're going back outside, anyway. Come on."
“Fiiiiine…” Kel groaned once more, especially dramatically. He’s always been weak to heat— he gets itchy when he’s too hot. Aubrey can’t complain, though, not while she’s wearing a sweater. Even so, she's used to it. Her home doesn't have any air conditioning either. It’s usually just her, Bun-Bun, the leak in the roof, and a dusty, oscillating fan. Kel knows all about that, though. It’s just another piece of debris forgotten in last month’s shitstorm.
Aubrey pulled open the sliding glass door and proceeded outside, slipping her jacket off her shoulders and tying her jacket around her waist as she trudged through the tall grass.
“Freedom… sweet freedom…” He dragged the theatrics out, hoping that Aubrey might at least find his suffering a little funny. And in a different circumstance, she might’ve. She didn’t answer this time around. Actually, she stopped moving completely, just a few feet away from the entrance. She was very clearly fixated on something. Kel didn’t need to know why she stopped… he assumed it was because of her. The stump was still there… but now, Aubrey’s pinwheel is on top of it as well. That made him feel just a little less sad. It gave the stump a new meaning.
“…Hey. What’s up…?”
Her pinwheel stood still on the stump; it was a hot day with no breeze. The pink had faded drastically in the sun. She glanced over at Kel when he spoke up, her eyes slightly glossy.
It wasn't completely because of her. It’s just… that last time they were all there together, she had a bit of a breakdown. All of her friends needed to help calm her down. They all hugged… Kel told her that he'd always be there for her. But since then..? Things have already gotten so different. It sort of stings in a way that she can't describe.
Aubrey shook her head, brushing a few pink strands behind her ear. "It's nothing," She replied, sighing quietly. "Let's just go, okay?"
And as much as he would’ve liked to give her a bear hug in that moment… He obliged, nodding along with her suggestion. He knows that group hug embarrassed her enough.
“Yeah, whatever you want. Lead the way.”
Aubrey pushed forward through the unkept yard, through the next clearing, and towards the treehouse with Kel in tow. She leaned against the big trunk of the tree, running a hand over the wood of the ladder. It's a little strange to be here without everybody. She can still remember when they all built this place together... Kel misses it, too. He can’t help but remember all the happiness stored inside those old wooden planks.
“Is it just as hot up there as it was inside…? Cause I can just lay in the grass and shout to you from here.”
"Heat rises," Was the only explanation she offered as she looked up at the treehouse from below. "...I can just stay in the grass with you. I'm not sure how efficient hanging out will be if I'm ten feet in the air.."
“Ehh, I’ll deal… I did when we were kids, right? No way am I more of a baby than twelve-year-old Aubrey...”
"Oh, shut it. Just get up there." She muttered, nudging him a little bit with her elbow. With a small giggle, Kel climbed up ahead of her. He was pretty fast— he didn’t even use all the rungs on the latter. He basically jumped to the top when he was three-quarters of the way. Aubrey blinked up at him. Honestly, she wasn't sure why she expected him to do anything different. He’s the same old Kel… just a lot taller and lankier.
“Yaknow… we should really bring some chairs up here.”
“Yeah," She sighed, looking around the forgotten playhouse. "It's.. really dusty up here."
“We really didn’t have time to clean last time… hah..” He glanced around, lifting up her former best friend. “Out of everything we left in here… I gotta say: Mr. Plantegg’s betrayal may be the worst.”
"...yeah, I know." Aubrey muttered, glancing over at the plush that Kel was holding up. "...I forgot he was even up here. I looked for him for ages.."
“…It’s okay Auby!” He held the plush in front of his face so it was obscured, putting on a goofy little voice. “I missed you too!”
"Auby?" She snorted, lowering the plush so that she could see Kel again. "Nobody's called me that in years."
He kept up the goofy voice and pushed the dusty plush her way. “Well, I haven’t seen you in years, Auby…!”
She took a step back, turning her head away. "God.." She laughed that time, making a bit of a face. "He's so gross.." Kel huffed, pouting a tad. “That’s a bit rude to say to a friend.” The voice is rather convincing… but he did drop it to talk to her. “You want me to take him? My mom kinda knows how to fix the unfixable when it comes to toys.“
Aubrey gazed at him, some of the childlike hope having returned into her eyes. Despite all those years apart, she'd really grown to miss Mr. Plantegg. "...Really?"
“Dude, yeah! One time, I left one of mine in a mud puddle that dried up for a whole weekend. Well— it was actually Hero’s but… point is she made it as good as new. This would be a piece of cake!”
Aubrey scrunched up her nose at the explanation, but the look in her eyes remained (even if she glanced off to try and hide it). "...yeah, that’d.. that'd be nice. Thanks."
“Course’… lil’ guy deserves a makeover. Maybe we could even buy him something cool. Like a bow tie!”
"Yeah, okay.. maybe I could give him my old pink one.." She suggested, twirling her hair around her finger.
Kel laughed sweetly, nodding his head. “That’s a good idea!” He eventually set Mr. Plantegg on the table that sat at the center of the treehouse, still littered with cards from their last game of go fish.
Aubrey hopped up onto the edge of the table, pushing the eternal game of cards aside. "...This place brings back memories, but… it seemed a lot more fun when we were kids. I'm not sure there's much to do up here anymore."
“I don’t think so.” He responded simply. He didn’t offer any argument— mainly because he didn’t view it as one. He chose a spot on the floor rather than the table, planting his butt down about two feet away from Aubrey.
"I mean, you wanted to hang out, right..? Not that there'd be much to do at my house, either, but.." She shrugged a little, unsure of what she wanted to say. All she knew was that Kel invited (followed) her, and now they’re sweating it out up in the treehouse.
"Maybe we should've brought, like.. a CD player, or something…? I dunno.."
She rambled, feeling just a tad awkward. Kel’s stalling isn’t helping much. He knows why he’s nervous. It’s different with Aubrey. He knows that she’s a rational girl. But she’s… she’s still a girl. He felt like that changed things. Maybe she will be upset about him bringing it up so soon. Or maybe she’ll be mad he waited so long. What if she’s both because he told her last?
“I, ah…“ He ended up coughing. “There really is a lot of dust up here, heh… but, um. Yeah, I actually did want to do something.”
Aubrey couldn't tell that he was nervous. Not yet, at least. She just feels strange. They haven’t spent time alone like this, since… well, since ever. And in such a sentimental place..? It’s got her deep in thought. When Kel spoke up, she snapped out of it, glancing down at him. "Oh," She paused for a second, then spoke up once more. "..what'd you wanna do?"
He’s impossible to read right now. That’s the thing about Kel. The guy’s sort of an enigma if you don’t understand how he works. He feels his emotions so outwardly. You can always tell if he’s happy, sad, angry… until you can’t. Because Kel is usually focused on staying positive or using his shenanigans to make everyone around him feel better. He isn’t used to being in the spotlight. He’s grown comfortable in the shadows of backstage curtains. So… this isn’t exactly in his comfort zone, either. But he isn’t complaining. He’s never been the type. He’s the kind of kid who still says he loves the school food even if it sometimes has questionable edibility.
“…is talking fun enough for you? Heh.”
The way he phrased his question... Aubrey knew that was strange. She understands Kel better than she'd like to admit. Even after all this time, she knows what makes him tick. And she knows that there’s no way in hell he trailed her and Kim around all day just so they could have small talk in a tree.
"Um... you want to talk?"
Similarly, the way Aubrey phrased her response made Kel’s stomach turn a little. He took a breath, as casually as he could manage… It’s no biggie! He’s trained for this. He’s got so much experience telling people, and… and it hasn’t gotten much easier.
“Yeah. Is that not cool…?”
"It's fine," She watched his expression carefully, folding her arms. "Just didn't think you'd follow me around all day so that we could talk." Saying it out loud made her realize the weight of the situation. The meaning that Kel’s words held. It was clear in her expression.
"...is everything okay?"
He let a small frown appear on his face. “Yeah! Stuff is… stuff is good! I’ve just been… I mean, we all have…”
Hero had helped him rehearse how to talk about this since… honestly, Hero knew more about whatever he was going through than Kel did during parts of their lives. He just had to follow the script.
“…after the hospital, I know… things changed.”
Suddenly, Aubrey is very aware of how weird the situation is. Before it was awkward, sure, but now it’s straight-up weird. Kel is acting so strange— He followed her around, he wanted to go to her house, and now they're alone together and he wants to talk. Oh— Oh god, is this what she thinks it is? All of a sudden, she's feeling very hot and very nervous.
Aubrey stared at him as he spoke, sort of at a loss for words. If this is what she thinks it is, she's not even going to know what to say..! Sure, she feels similar, but she's never ever even thought about telling him..!
“And… and I’ve been thinking a lot. As crazy as that sounds.” He continued, trying to make her laugh. The air could use some lightning. Maybe the joke was just as much for himself as for her.
She only let out this small, nervous laugh… but she didn't look too amused. If he knows how to read her, he could tell that she's trying to hide how worried she is. They’ve gotten a lot better at communicating now that the two of them are trying equally as hard to understand the other.
"Um... what have you been thinking about..?"
“About… honesty. And how brave Sunny and Basil were. I know that might be weird to think about and… and I don’t wanna use what happened as—” He took a second to collect his thoughts. “…I don’t want you to think I’m using what happened as my excuse to finally talk to you about this. I would’ve told you even if it didn’t happen. Honest.”
His words prompted a new train of thought… God, just how long has he been wanting to tell her? "I..." Aubrey rubbed at her arm, taking a deep breath or two to try and relax... it's okay... she'll figure out something to say. She can do this. "Okay.”
Kel nodded along with her for a moment. She doesn’t seem angry or upset… That’s good. Now he can move to part two of the conversation. There’s really no other way to bring it up… he and Hero have gone over it. He’s just gotta get this over with.
“Aubrey, do you know anything about the, uh… the LGBT community? Like… gay people?”
…He had a feeling he was blowing this. Aubrey’s expression was evidence enough. The question visibly upset her. She still doesn’t look angry— just sort of sad. And… frankly, a little surprised. She nodded, though, lowering her voice, as if even she didn't want to be able to hear her question. "Kel, are... are you gay?"
“What?”
He just about jumped up, realizing how horribly he phrased this from the start. “Oh, no— No— no, no I’m— I’m not gay— I’m sorry, I— I did this all wrong, hah... I’m… I’m not good at this, huh?” He laughed at himself as he usually does, but it was half-hearted.
"Oh..!"
She seemed almost relieved by his answer. She laughed a little, too, offering him a sweet smile. "It's okay… where the hell were you going with that?" She half-joked, swinging her legs off the table. Her change in demeanor gave him only the slightest bit of whiplash, but he pressed on since she seemed to be keen on doing the same.
“Well, I’m… I’m not gay, but I am… uh, in it. I’m the T, not the G. You get it?”
This new information only served to confuse her. She stared at him blankly. She knows about gay people (it’s 2002, who doesn’t,) but her range on the topic is, well… lacking.
"Um... I don't..."
That’s fine! He doesn’t get things sometimes, either… but that’s okay. They’re learning. “So, it’s.” He’s blushing. The explanation is even more embarrassing than outright admitting it.
“It’s… transgender. I am. That’s what I am. Trans. That’s the, uh, that’s the T thing.”
She’s pretty quick-witted. Just not formerly knowledgeable. She also doesn't seem to know what the full word means, because she still looks extremely confused. She stayed silent, in hopes that he’d continue speaking.
…Damnit. He’s gotta keep going. He had to explain the full thing to Sunny as well, but it was easier to do that. Sunny isn’t a man of many words. “It’s… so, um… My name isn’t… It’s not Kel. Well— it is. I want it to be. But it’s not my name, like, legally, ya know?”
"Uh… okay?" This is worsening the confusion. She stared at him some more, eyebrows knitted together in thought. She isn’t connecting the dots here.
“My um…”
He didn’t really want to tell her this part. Rarely do people ever see Kel this visibly jittery or unsettled. But you can’t pretend the conversation isn’t getting you down when the conversation’s about you…
“…my name used to be Kelsey.”
Kelsey…? Yeah, she thinks she remembers that..! But that's... wait. Trans…gender…
Kel can probably hear the gears in Aubrey's head turning by now. “You guys actually knew me before I knew… so, uh. You might actually remember that part. Sorry.” He smiled at her, and it was sweet… but in a slightly sad and nervous way.
Aubrey nodded at him, taking note of how his demeanor had changed. "Yeah," She said, playing with the ends of her hair again. "I do remember, actually… I guess I just… never really thought about it like that, you know..?"
“Yeah… Sunny said he remembered a lot better. I knew him a year or two before I met you.” He moved one of his knees up to his chest, resting his arm on it.
“So you get it now?”
"Yeah, I get it. Sorry it took me a minute… I don't really, uh… know much. About that stuff, I mean…"
She trailed off, murmuring her next words. "...did you tell Basil, too..?"
“Yeah, he knows. I told him yesterday. And I didn’t expect you guys to know. I just… hoped you didn’t look at me differently after.”
"Oh..!" She perked up a little, shaking her head quickly. "No, that's... that's dumb— why would it change things..?"
“Because it’s… It’s not exactly, um. Normal… I mean, a lot of people really don’t like it. I was scared you guys might not get it.”
"I didn't even really know it was a thing until you told me," She admitted, giving a slight shrug. "But you're just, y’know. Being yourself, right? It's not that hard to understand..."
“It’s… I mean, you’re right. But when have people been excited about others being themselves?” Aubrey knew about that more than anyone in their friend group. She snorted softly at the remark. "I guess you're right.. well, you know I won't judge you… Actually, if anyone does, you can let them know that they've just scheduled a meet-and-greet with me and my bat."
Kel smiled a bit, nodding. He’s sure she has questions— how could she not? “Thanks… if there’s anything you wanna know, I’m fine talking about it.”
"I think I get it… but I'll let you know if I think of something, yeah..?"
Aubrey smiled back at him. She can't believe that this is where the conversation went. She really thought he had something else in mind… Oh, well. The information is enough for now. She'll ask her questions as they come... For now, she just looked down at Kel, her smile lingering for a few seconds as he spoke.
“Really? That’s… alright. Yeah.” He seemed shocked. It was so complicated to him that he expected her to be full of questions… but the fact she didn’t actually have any made him feel warm.
"Hey… thanks for telling me. I know it was probably difficult, and, well…" She brushed her hair behind her ear, as if she was a little hesitant to say the next part.
“If you ever need to talk, I'm here for you."
“…talking, is… hard?” He spoke the word ‘hard’ in a confused laugh, which was cute, but also a bit worrying. As much as Aubrey tries, neither she nor anyone else in their circle really knows the full extent to which Kel hides away.
"Uh… I mean, it just… it seems like a sensitive subject." She murmured back, a little confused by his response. There was a certain sadness to the way he said it. It’s worrying.
“…Basil told me that this was the first time I’d ever talked to him about myself.”
Kel looked down and started twiddling around with the chips in the wood beneath him. “I’ve talked to you about me, though… right?”
Aubrey thought for a few moments, watching as he found a few future splinters to keep him busy. She doesn't think she's ever seen him get this introspective.
"...I don't think you've ever needed to.” She replied, her voice having softened. “Not like this. Even now… I feel like I still know you as well as I did when we were twelve. You don't need to tell me about yourself. Everything about you is so… open."
“I guess you’re right…” He kept picking at the ground, his short nails catching on the small raised parts of the wood. Based on his reply, Aubrey suspected that her answer wasn’t quite what he wanted to hear. Or rather, what he needed to hear… because who wants to hear about Kel? He’s just Kel. You know all you need to after five minutes of speaking to him. Right?
Hm… How does she let him know that he’s fully welcome to talk about himself? That she’d enjoy it, even? God, that’d sound totally lame. She continued, trying again. "That doesn't mean you can't, though. I told you, I'm here for you.."
“Is there seriously nothing you wanna know? I really don’t mind talking about it. I’ve never had the chance. Except for Hero but… that’s different. He’s my brother.”
Hearing him say that… she understood why he brought it up. “It's not that I'm not interested," She started, sounding a little saddened by the implication. "I just… I didn't have any questions. If you want to tell me about your experience, I'd… I’d really like to listen.”
“…Yeah. Yeah, okay.” He just has to gather his thoughts. That’s the hard part. He started chuckling again. “Sorry… Hero wrote me this whole script on how to tell everyone and helped me figure out what to say. So, now I’m at the part without the Hero stamp of approval.”
"I dunno…” Aubrey hummed in thought, raising an eyebrow at him. “I can't see Hero telling you to say “Uhh, Hey Aubs, do you know about, like, gay people?’” She teased, putting on her best Kel voice just to poke a bit of fun at him.
“Shut up! I dunno how to ask people that stuff!” He flushed a rosy, pink color, covering up his face. But he was smiling. That was good. Aubrey laughed sweetly in response. She was smiling right back at him. “Not like that, you doofus..!”
“Well, how would you have? How did you even know about it, anyway? By chance, or…”
“...Sort of. Kim likes girls." She offered quietly, but Kel’s response made up for the lack of volume in hers. “Kim likes girls?” He sounded shocked. “Does— is she out? Am I supposed to know that?”
"Oh." She probably wasn't supposed to tell anyone, huh..? Damn. So much for being told in confidence… “I mean, she was pretty casual about it when she told me, but… I don't know. I think it's okay..? You're... you're the T.”
Kel snorted at her. “People usually don’t say it like that, but yeah, I won’t tell. My mind is a vault.” It most definitely is not, but she’ll take his word on this one. “Sorry,” She scratched at the back of her neck. “I don't really know, uh… how do you say it again?”
“What? Transgender?”
“Yeah. I can say that, right? Like, it's not... offensive?”
“Uh… no, it’s not. It’s what I am. It’s like how it’s not offensive to call Kim gay. It’s just who we are.” Aubrey nodded slowly. She's learned to ask beforehand. The one time she didn't, she ended up feeling so bad… “Alright. I got it.”
“But, yeah… transgender. Trans for short. You can even get more specific like saying FTM or trans guy.”
“FTM..? What does that mean?”
He changed positions, laying down on his back and staring up at her. “It means female to male. It lets people know which way you transitioned.” Aubrey stared back down at him with those striking blue eyes. She looks so different. Kel’s noticed, but he hasn't been able to put his finger on it. “That makes sense. So... that's the same as being a trans guy, right? Because you transitioned into a guy?”
“Yeah! Basically the same. You get it.”
“Yeah!”
“Hero researched it when he thought I was upset being me… he knew a lot more than I did. I kinda learned about myself from him. But back then, he basically told me there was a lot of science and stuff behind why it happened and that I was just born this way. And that it would all be okay.”
“I guess he was right,” She replied, crossing one leg over the other. “So… did he, like, know before you, or..?”
“Kinda…?” He took a deep breath. “Hero was a lot older, so he thought something might be wrong. I already had the nickname Kel since I was sort of a tomboy… but I used to get upset about not being like him.”
“I think I remember that, too… You really looked up to him when you were younger." She recalled, thinking back on it a bit more. “He's a really good guy. I'm glad he was able to be there for you. Figuring that sort of thing out on your own sounds like hell.”
“I still do. I mean, I didn’t even have the words for it.” He smiled at her, reminiscing on it. “My parents thought I just loved him because… I mean, he’s Hero. But who regularly steals their brother’s clothes and tries to…” He trailed off. He thinks he’s made a mistake— that next part is more embarrassing than even he can bear.
“...Go on.” She'd love to hear the rest of his story. It’s been pretty damn amusing. Hero was so much taller than Kel when they were little… she can't imagine he'd actually fit into those clothes.
“…Okay, just— Just don’t laugh too much.” Kel tried to ignore the heat in his face as he told the rest of the story. “One time, my mom caught me trying to use the bathroom ‘like Hero’ and gave me a whole talk about it. Of course, Hero heard. She can’t be quiet about anything.” He’s one to talk. Getting Kel to control his volume is like teaching a cat how to bark. Aubrey proceeded to laugh way too much. “Aw, dude..! You did that regularly?”
“I did it enough for Hero to tell me last Friday that he knew the whole time, even before my mom lost her mind.”
“Oh, man, that’s… At least he was cool about it, right?”
“Hero has been cool to me for ninety-five percent of our lives together. Of course he was…” His back was starting to get stiff from laying on the floor, so he got up and hopped next to Aubrey. “It wasn’t until I started to… get really upset about what I was going through that he thought I might be more confused than he thought. Or anyone thought.”
Aubrey scooted over so that he'd have room. Kel used to be tiny, but he’s taller than her now. Taller than Hero, too… But he didn’t mind being close to her. It honestly made him feel less awkward. “How upset are we talking?” She asked, glancing over at him.
“I… I mean…” He’s deflating again. Despite his usual demeanor, a question like that brings pause. Aubrey took note, speaking up again before he could follow up. “You don't have to answer that one if you aren't comfortable. I just... I guess I can't really picture you like that, you know? I don’t remember you being upset at all.”
“That’s cause, well… I never felt different around you guys. I just felt like Kel. I didn’t need to be anyone else. But when… when you’re a kid, you don’t feel that… pressure. Ya know?”
“Yeah.” She doesn't recall feeling nearly as pressured as she does nowadays. When you’re that young, you’re free to just be a kid. All she can really remember are those good times they had together.
“Hero tried to make me feel like we were equal, but… I mean, my family is Hispanic. I wasn’t escaping that fate no matter how hard I tried.” He tried laughing about it because that’s all he knew how to do. The topic, though, was not one to smile back on. “Hero liked cooking a lot more than me. He was better at it, too. He had a real passion, but… it was my job to help mom. Cleaning, too… just… that’s how it works. When I was younger, I didn’t have to worry about how different we really were. But when I started to notice I…”
The explanation made Aubrey frown. "Is it any better now?" She felt like that was a silly question, but she just needed to ask. Of course, it held a deeper meaning when tied to the topic at hand… She wondered if he understood.
“Kinda… My parents are trying. Once again, Hero comes in to save the day…! Heh… but, uh. He was the one who did all the research and fought with them if they didn’t get it. They don’t not love me. They’re just… They’re my parents. They get confused sometimes, but I think they’re trying… and of course, being the only doctor in the family helps our case. Or, well. Soon-to-be doctor.”
“Okay, that's good, I guess, but…” Hero seems to be doing a lot of saving the day, but he's back and forth from college nowadays. She's almost afraid to ask.
“Kel, did… did nobody else know about this until now?”
“…Huh? Oh. Um… No. No one did… Hero knew, and I knew. And then…” He had been thinking about it. But he didn’t want to make her upset. Or… he guessed he didn’t want to make himself upset either. “…there was a reason it was really rocky with my parents. I didn’t come out at a good time.”
Aubrey wasn't really sure where he was going with that. It certainly wasn't the point she was trying to make, but… “What do you mean?”
“I… I came out the same week as Mari and Sunny’s recital.”
“Oh.” She really wasn’t expecting that from him. The surprise was clear in her gaze. She stared up at him, at a loss for words. “Kel, I…”
“Hero… He thought I should get a suit for it.” His voice warbled a little. There are tears pooling in his eyes. “And my parents asked… why? Ya know? Why would I want one? And we told them. And it was really hard.”
Aubrey has no clue what to say in reply— she's no good at this. She can feel her heart hurting for him, but she's not sure if she’s got the voice or even any words to express it… and all of a sudden, she's tearing up, too.
“B-But when… it all… happened, and Hero was… he couldn’t help. And I didn’t… I didn’t care. Not about him, but about my family caring. They had to focus on him, and I just… I didn’t wanna correct them because it didn’t matter. And—” His voice was starting to shake more. He was repeating things, trying to keep the story straight. But the memories were clearly unhappy, and the events were all fuzzy and jumbled up in his head. “And Hero still hates me for that. I know he’s just too nice to say it. Things would’ve been easier if I could’ve stood up for myself without him there.”
“That's— That's ridiculous..!” She half-shouted, and yes, by now, more than a few tears have fallen. “Kel, you… you were only twelve— There was no way you could've handled all of that by yourself..! There was no reason you should’ve, I…” Her voice got all quiet after a few moments. “I'm sorry that I wasn't there for you.”
“N… No, it…” Seeing her cry did it more for him than anything else. “You did enough by treating me like a boy back then. I promise, I… I just didn’t want to mess anything else up. And after my parents, I… I didn’t wanna risk it being another bad time. But after that, there were nothing but bad times, and… here we are, four years later, right?”
He put his hand on her knee and gave it a squeeze. “It’s okay.” He said, but Aubrey shook her head hard, sniffling loudly. “No. It isn't okay, Kel, you… you know I didn't. None of us did. When Mari died, we all… we all just left each other when we needed support. But no matter what happened, you should've been able to rely on your friends for help.”
“No, Aubrey, I… I mean it. You couldn’t have known about that stuff. With everything happening, I should’ve been there for you all. I was too busy trying to escape.”
“So was I,” She countered with a huff, looking up at him. “Kel, listen to me. Something like this, you… you went through all of it, alone. That's fucked up. And you're allowed to be upset about it.” She used the side of her hand to wipe the tears off her face. “You don't need to comfort me, it's not about me.”
He sniffled again, his grip on her knee growing more firm. The weight of her words sunk into his heart, and he started to cry a little more than he had before. And then, a lot more. And then he was leaning onto her shoulder for support. Aubrey leaned in with him, moving her arms up around his torso so that she could pull him into a proper hug. She let him cry into her skin, resting her chin up against his shoulder.
Kel squeezed onto her like she was his lifeline. He shook against her, something so foreign for him. Not to cry… he cries. But it’s never in front of anyone. And if it is, it’s in front of Hero. Yet crying with Aubrey didn’t feel… foreign. It felt safe. It felt like coming home again, for the first time in a long time. “I’m sorry—”
“Shh…” She interrupted, beginning to trace little shapes onto his back with her fingernails. “None of that…” Seeing Kel cry is quite upsetting, but she's glad that she's able to help. Sometimes all you really need is a good cry. She’s had her fair share in the past couple of years. As for Kel… it felt good to finally let it all out. He wasn’t really done having his meltdown, though. He’s got a lot to say now that the barrier is broken.
“We had our first fight after it all happened. I didn’t get to tell you guys about that, either.”
Aubrey nodded along with him, continuing to draw the little patterns on his skin. “With Hero?” She asked softly, pushing her nose against his skin. A nod from Kel confirmed it. “What happened?”
With a deep breath, Kel began to retell his story. Just like he had to Sunny. That talk… It was just over a month ago. Now that he’s thinking back, that might’ve been the start of him opening up.
“He stopped caring,” He reached up, wiping the snot from his nose with the back of his hand. “Stopped going to school, stopped baking and cooking… He stopped living. For a whole year.” Kel blinked more tears out of his eyes. They rolled down his face and collected on his chin. “Nobody knew how to help him. Not me, my parents… We tried so hard, but…”
“But…?”
He took another breath, shaking his head. “It did more harm than good. This one night, I went over to him while he was all curled up in his bed and I just started… talking. I told him about how everyone was so worried, and… how Mari wouldn’t want to see him like that. But he got angry.”
“Angry?” Aubrey raised her eyebrows, her grip lightening up. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hero get angry.”
“I know,” He almost laughed, but once again, the memory was unhappy. He kept it in, swallowing hard as he continued. “He started screaming. At me, I mean. I got really scared. I think I blocked a lot of it out. But the more he yelled, the harder he cried, and no matter what I said, he just… he got worse. And before I knew it, I was crying, too.”
“Oh, Kel…” She shut her eyes, inching her hand up to begin scratching at the base of his neck. He needs more comfort than she can offer. He says that less was enough before, but this doesn’t feel adequate, either.
“After a while, our parents ran into our room and rushed over to him. They hugged him and calmed him down, but they… they ran right past me. I think that’s when Hero came back to his senses, 'cause he ran right over and hugged me right away. He wouldn’t stop apologizing… he got a lot better after that, though. Started taking care of himself again. That’s what’s important, right? I didn’t care about what happened. I never even mentioned it. I was just really glad to have my brother back.”
Hearing all that… Aubrey feels sort of worse. Every time she hears more about her friends’ situations… She feels so ridiculous for prioritizing her own. Especially after hearing Kel explain everything that was going on with him… she can't believe she downplayed what he went through. He never moved on. He didn't forget or abandon anybody. None of them did.
“I never meant to keep it a secret for so long,” He shook his head and pushed further into Aubrey’s shoulder, relishing in the comfort. His tears dripped down her skin, but neither was bothered enough to wipe them away. “I just… it all happened and I couldn’t. Nobody needed that.”
“I understand.” She said, squeezing onto him. “But that doesn't make it any less awful. I'm so sorry, Kel…”
“I couldn’t keep it in anymore. It’s so hard, and with you especially— I just… I want to be able to talk about what I’m going through. Hero can understand half of it. B-But he’s not… he’s not…” He didn’t need to spell it out. Aubrey understood. They both had that same pressure placed on them growing up. She feels it every day. With every stare, every hushed comment from concerned parents and churchgoers… The feeling doesn’t end.
“But you are,” Kel continued. “I just wanted someone else.”
Aubrey lowered her voice to just above a whisper. “I'm here for you.” He said, sort of for the both of them, taking a deep breath against Kel's shoulder.
“…thank you.” He whimpered, scooting a bit so he could lean against her more comfortably. Their height difference made it a little harder, but it was sort of cute. Aubrey is hyper-aware of the differences and the lack of space between them. Thank god Kel can't see her face, because she’s redder than Sunny on a day at the beach. “Of course.” She murmured. “This is what friends are for.”
Kel drew back after their lingering embrace. He fanned at his eyes, wiping upward and to each side with his palms. “Whew,” He breathed out with a small smile, sniffing up the remaining droplets that threatened to leak down his face. “Do you mind if I… Can I show you something?”
“Yeah,” Aubrey drew back, too, wiping her tears with two fingers. They were cool on her warm skin, but the tracks weren’t a pretty sight. Especially not with how her mascara was running. “What's up..?”
“Hero actually doesn’t know that I still do this… He, ah. He thinks it’s dangerous. So you gotta be cool about it, okay?”
“Is it dangerous..?” Her brows were knitted together in thought. Hero’s his big brother. He’s bound to be a bit overprotective, but if Kel’s in any sort of danger, she won’t stand for it, either.
“It doesn’t hurt… not if I’m careful. W-Which I am. He worries way too much.” He snorted in another attempt to clear his nose after all that sobbing. He still felt on the verge. “I’m fine, alright? I promise.”
“...Okay.” It sounds just a bit sketchy from his description, but she trusts him. “What is it?”
Kel scooted back further onto the table, enough so that he could cross his legs and sit more comfortably. “Don’t freak, I don’t mind you seeing or anything.” That line just about panicked her, but with a reassuring glance from Kel, she relaxed, nodding to signify that he could continue. He lifted up the hem of his tank top above his stomach, just enough to show off the barely visible line of ace bandages circling his upper half.
“It’s how I keep… It’s really hot in the summer, and I don’t have any other way to hide… them, or whatever. It’s just so I look right.”
Aubrey blinked at the exposed skin, trying to ignore Kel's toned stomach in the process of examining the makeshift binder. “It works really well,” She decided, and quickly followed up with a “Where'd you learn how to do that?”
“I dunno…” He released the fabric from his hand. “It just came to me. I was wrapping my foot so I could go practice at the park, and I just thought… maybe it’d let me wear less layers. And it worked really well.”
“Huh…” She muttered to herself, nodding a little bit. “That's… pretty cool, actually. You can't even tell.” Kel smiled at her, the chuckle he let out sounding a little weak due to the tears coming to his eyes again. Aubrey nudged him playfully. “Oh, c'mon— I didn't even say anything sad that time…!”
“I know,” Kel wiped his tears once more. “It’s cause you said something nice.”
Aubrey's cheeks began to redden again after a moment or so. She scoffed quietly and glanced off with the tiniest of smiles. “Stop that…” Her little smile only made Kel’s widen further. “You swear you won’t tell Hero?”
She replied with a roll of her eyes and a soft nod. “Yeah, yeah… I'll keep quiet. Just don't go hurting yourself, ‘kay?”
“Of course. I don’t wanna break my ribs or anything…” He muttered, far too nonchalant about the topic, which spiked Aubrey’s worry once more. Maybe he should’ve kept that part to himself… “Whoa, dude… You can do that? With… like, the bandages?”
“Ah… yeah. Since they’re for holding muscles, ya know— they squeeze and compress, so I just don’t put them on super tight.”
Aubrey nodded again, a bit slower that time. “Seriously, though. Be careful. We've already been to the hospital way too many times this summer.”
Kel smiled sadly and nodded back. “You got it. I don’t wanna go, anyway. Doctor visits suck.”
“I could imagine, yeah…” Having to change your schedule and slow down to accommodate an injury already sounds annoying, but for someone like Kel, it's probably a hassle.
“But… yeah. That’s it. They keep me flat so I can wear tank tops. And show off my arms of course, which is the real goal here.”
To that, Aubrey snickered softly, her cheeks a little red again at the thought. “Is that right..?”
“Duh! Everyone knows people just wear sleeveless stuff to show off their guns.” He flexed just to prove his point. Kel isn’t huge. He’s more bone than muscle, but his lack of fat meant that flexing showed off the small biceps he was building up.
What a cool dude.
“Well, I mean… you're not wrong. That's why I wear mine.” She gave a sly smile, lifting up her arm, almost threateningly; A clear challenge.
The action made Kel pause. It’s not his fault that he can’t keep any weight on. Believe him, his mom has tried her best to make it happen. He started pouting.
“Not fair.”
“Yeah, it sort of is!” Aubrey flexed for him with a grin. She’s got quite a bit of muscle on her, more than Kel has by a longshot. The realization caused him to frown more, crossing his arms and turning his head away from her. “…rude.”
“Kel, I drag a bat around, like… everywhere I go. Besides, basketball seems like… how do I put this,” She paused, trying to think up a wording that would refrain from offending him. “It’s… more of a legs sport, anyway.”
Kel remained unmoving: A physical expression of his bruised ego. “…”
…He’s not gonna let this go, huh? What a big baby. Aubrey sighed loudly, reaching up to give Kel's bicep a gentle squeeze. “...Oh, wow. So strong. I'm swooning.” She deadpanned, and though she tried not to sound completely sarcastic, it only sort of worked. But Kel didn’t care how she sounded. He had won. He smiled widely and leaned onto her as he giggled. “Awesome.”
Once again, they're quite close to each other… The swoon may be losing its irony.
“…would you mind saying that on camera?” Kel began to push, smile widening. “I need proof for when I tell everyone you said that—”
“Absolutely not,” She interrupted, lowering her arm. She seemed almost flustered by the idea. “You aren't telling anyone.”
“What’s the matter? Are you afraid of people knowing how much you loooove me?” Aubrey shoved him that time, imploring his silence. “Leave me alone. What was I supposed to do, let you look all sad and pathetic? You’re like a kicked puppy!”
Kel stretched out his legs and allowed them to swing off the edge of the table as he continued to tease Aubrey for her secession. “Awww… you care about my feelings… you liiiike me!”
“No I don’t!” Overly defensive, per usual… but regardless of what she says, her outward reactions indicate otherwise. “Shut it, before I push you off the table and roll you out of the treehouse.”
Kel snickered like the twelve-year-old boy he still was inside. He leaned forward, getting all up in her face and wagging his hands at her. “Oooooh, you wanna touch my arms agaaain because you like me… you wanna kiss me soooo bad.”
He’s only teasing, of course, but Aubrey… she couldn’t let this slide. His words made her stomach flip. This is so frustrating! She was trying to be a good friend, and he’s clueless toward her feelings, and he’s still getting the better of her, damn it! She huffed, and for just a moment, she tried to piece together the best course of action. The best thing she could come up with was her initial gut reaction, and that’s what she went with. Without an ounce of hesitation, Aubrey reached forward and grabbed onto the neckline of Kel's tank, dragging him forward into what was mostly a headbutt, but partially, a kiss. The action caused Kel to freeze up immediately. His face flooded with warmth as he suddenly realized that, yes, Aubrey had dragged him into a kiss in response to his empty threat. Maybe he’s too good at this? He couldn’t tell if this was a joke or not.
As the two remained stuck in place, the existing pit in Aubrey’s stomach grew into a bottomless pit. The fact that he wasn’t moving an inch, let alone kissing her back caused her to panic. What a stupid idea— She shouldn't have done this, she's such an idiot..! Stupid, stupid Aubrey..! How the hell are you gonna get yourself out of this one?
She was a bit lost in her head.. so she didn't really pull away. The awkwardness of the situation only increased the longer the two of them sat there, unmoving. After a couple of seconds, though, Kel seemed to come to his senses. He tentatively started to lean into her. He figured that a couple of seconds must be far too much time to be a joke. And in a way, he was correct. His movement made Aubrey snap back to reality, and she, too, pressed against him.
Her terrible, awkward headbutt had turned into a nice moment. Sure, the kiss was sort of shitty, seeing that neither of them had kissed anyone before… but it was nice nonetheless. Well, it was, until Kel thought about it for more than a second and realized just who he was kissing. He suddenly pulled away, his mouth agape with shock.
Once she felt him jerk away, Aubrey frantically let go of Kel’s shirt, looking up at his baffled expression. Alright, maybe... maybe she can still play this off as a joke? She wore the coolest expression she could manage, crossing her arms over her chest.
“...S-Serves you right.”
“…Oh! Y-You were… joking? I guess the five-second rule only works with germs…”
Aubrey blinked at him, and when it was clear that he didn’t plan on elaborating, she spoke up again. “...Okay, what? How would that even apply here?” She swiftly dodged his question, despite how sad he sounded.
“B-Because! You… you kissed me for five seconds, so I figured that meant it was serious! I’ve never kissed someone— I don’t know the rules!” He stumbled through his sentences. This is rare form for Kel. Watching him like this— unconfident and freaked out… it broke her heart to see.
“M-Me neither! I didn't…” She trailed off, looking away from him. She’s tearing up a little. Her revenge failed and her excuse failed and now she wishes she never left her house this morning. Kel, being the people-pleaser he is, immediately dropped his own woes and quickly attempted to tend to Aubrey’s instead.
“Hey— hey… Aubrey, no, I… why are you crying?” He asked softly, to which Aubrey immediately denied while she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. “I'm not— I…” She sniffled, and after taking some time to compose herself, spoke again. “I’m sorry, Kel.”
“Why?” He looked confused. All he wanted to do now was help her. His hands looked anxious— they were slightly reaching out, but he didn’t know if they could comfort her. “…d-did I really kiss back that badly?” He asked, his voice hushed with embarrassment.
“No!” Yes. But she liked it anyway.
“I... I just…” Her next words matched Kel’s quiet volume. She said them. but wasn’t entirely sure she wanted Kel to hear them.
“I didn't want you to find out like this.”
“Find out what?” He questioned so innocently. He’s so dense— after teasing her about it, he still doesn’t get it. To be fair, he was only kidding because he likes to see Aubrey blush (she looks so cute right before she wants to kill him!)
“C-Come on, don't make me say it..!”
Kel blinked at her, utterly clueless. “Say… that I kiss bad?”
“No, you idiot..! I like you!” Now she's blushing, and it's clear that this time, it's not due to anger.
His reply took about a full minute to put together and leave his mouth. “Wait… like… you like like me?”
“Yes..!’ She cried, desperation evident in her voice. She sniffled again, staring down into her lap. She couldn't bring herself to meet his eyes anymore. “You… don't have to say anything, or whatever… It's fine. I get it.”
“N-No, I— I’m sorry. I’m an idiot. I just…” He tried to find a way to cheer her up. He hopped off the table so he could stand in front of her. “We both tease each other all the time, I just… I wanted to make sure it wasn’t more of that. I kissed back.” He assured her, then reached out to take her hands.
She shot him a bit of a look, not yet fully turning to face him. “...Yeah, but then you pulled away.” Her tone was bitter, but she wasn’t angry. Just upset, mostly with herself.
“Because I realized I was kissing you! And that’s…” He stumbled again, trying to find the right thing to say. “That’s… really big. I overreacted. I'm sorry.”
“Big... good, or..?”
“I… I think so. I-I mean— yes. Yeah.” He dropped down on his knees in front of her, trying to catch her gaze. “But… are you sure? I’m… it’s not different now? At all?”
Aubrey looked at him for a moment, but her eyes soon darted away nervously. She feels ridiculous… when he posed his question, though, she glanced back at him. “What do you mean?”
Now that it was her turn to ask the questions, Kel was the one looking away. “…I’m not… I’m…” He didn’t know how to phrase how he felt without hurting his own feelings. “I’m… different. From how you thought I was. I mean, unless you started liking me two minutes ago…” He chuckled shyly, one of his hands instinctively rising to scratch at the back of his neck.
Aubrey thought on it for a moment or so. “I mean.. you're still Kel, you know..? If that hasn't changed, then nothing's really different.”
That answer filled Kel’s eyes with hope. “You really mean that…? Cause, it… might, um. It might affect a lot more than you think.”
“Like what?” Aubrey questioned with genuine curiosity. She's pretty sure that nothing Kel could say would change the way she feels... but it's always good to be prepared, right?
“Like, uh… I don’t… I mean, people might look at us weird. If they find out… but… it means I can’t really… Ya know…”
“Dude, I have pink hair. I get weird looks every day of my life.” She laughed a little that time, then allowed him to continue. “What else you got for me?”
“I-I can’t say it!” He’s getting a little flustered at the thought. “And— you, you get mad at me for not catching hints.”
“It probably doesn't matter, anyway… I don't…” She paused for a second to take a breath, her face flushed.
“...I don't think anything you say is going to change my mind.”
Kel, too, flushed a little deeper. “…anything?”
“...Yeah.” She reassures him, confident as ever, while she gives his hand a firm squeeze. “Anything.”
“…even if I say you probably won’t be attracted to me underneath all this swag?” Kel mutters after a few more moments, averting his eyes once more. Once again, Aubrey paused in thought to think on his question. His phrasing was plain silly, but this time, she thinks she gets the implication. She nods her head with a little too much certainty.
“I… I don't think that'll be a problem, Kel.”
Her reply only made him blush a lot more. “…gonna be honest, I was expecting you to punch me. Which you can still do— I thought it would be funny.”
Normally, she might’ve. But she didn't think now was the time to poke fun at him. Her goal was to reassure Kel that she was attracted to him. “I'm not gonna punch you… even if that was ridiculous. Maybe later, yeah?”
That felt normal enough to make him grin. “Okay… and, I mean… I know it’s stupid. But we might not be able to do the things other people get to when they get older. You’d be okay with that…?”
Kel had always thought he was never going to be like everyone else. He didn’t mind… until he started imagining it. He couldn’t legally marry a girl. At least, not easily. And he couldn’t have a big family just like everyone else in his lineage.
“Like, um... like… children..?” Aubrey muttered, just trying to force the question out. Thinking about it sort of made her sick. “I-I think I'm pretty okay with that.”
“O-Or have a wedding—” Kel interjected, then thought on it again. “Well, I think we could still have one. Just not a real one.” As the words left his mouth, he suddenly turned a lot redder and started shaking his hands in front of him as a form of deniability. “I-I didn’t mean that like we’re going to get married— W-We aren’t even dating yet!”
“I-I get it—” She stammered, clearing her throat. “It's fine. It’s… important to talk about.” She said quietly, with the idea of marrying Kel now tucked away in a folder deep inside a far corner of her brain.
“But... no. It doesn't matter to me.”
Kel rubbed the back of his neck again… he glanced up briefly at her, realizing how stupid he must look from her point of view. “You mean it?” Aubrey nodded at him, smiling a little at his shenanigans. “Yeah. I do.”
“Okay.” Kel stated simply with an air of finality.
“...okay.” Aubrey repeated, chewing on her bottom lip, but not in an anxious way. She looks sort of excited. Giddy, even.
There was a bit of silence between them, and Kel was the next to talk. “…so are we, like… am I supposed to ask, orrr…”
Aubrey huffed quietly, a little embarrassed by the question. “Yeah,” She said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Isn't that what the guy is supposed to do?”
“Okay— okay, okay.” He bumbled around while trying to get up. When he was finally on his feet, he stood in front of Aubrey with the cutest grin. He held out his hand to her. “Aubrey, will you take me, Kel, as your boyfriend, for… until you get sick of me?”
“I'm already sick of you,” She replied almost immediately, but her taunt was rendered futile by the expression she wore. She was looking up at him with this adorable little smile. A genuinely happy smile like that is so rare to see from Aubrey these days… but hopefully with Kel around, he'll be able to see it a lot more often. “But…” She took his hand in both of hers, giving it a squeeze. “Yes. I will.”
Kel’s expression only grew more joyful and a bit shy as she held his hand. “…okay. Guess I’m a boyfriend now… awesome.”
“Yep… guess you can check it off your bucket list.” She murmured, swinging her legs off of the table as she stared up at him. “Hey!” He shot her a look, mocking offense. “I’ve had a ton of girlfriends… they just went to different schools.”
That line made Aubrey laugh softly. She kicked her feet a little faster. “Yeah, right.” Kel scrunched up his nose at her. “Pfft— uh huh? And how many boyfriends have you had? Mr. Plantegg doesn’t count.”
“Tch—” She looked off, cheeks rosy. “I haven't had any, but at least I'm honest about it!”
Kel just grinned at her. “I’m honest about the hundreds of girls who chase after me, Aubrey. I’m practically drowning in the ladies.”
“...you’d better tell them to back off then.” She mumbled in response, the smallest hint of envy in her voice. She was mostly joking. Mostly.
“Is someone… jealous?” He teased, his eyes lighting up at the opportunity. “No—” She answered quickly, and shit, she's blushing again. “I just… A girlfriend is exclusive. You can't be drowning in the ladies while you're with me.”
“You’re right. None of those ladies are my lady…” …Aubrey can’t be mad at that debonair smile. His comment made her smile, too. She looked off, gently pushing him away. “Oh, come on. That was so cheesy.”
“Well, cheese tastes good, so why not add a little cheese to your life?” Kel’s philosophies may be silly and simple, but they somehow become weirdly insightful.
“...Seriously, these are horrible. Stop trying to pick me up.”
“Oh, you want me to pick you up? If you say so—” In an instant, the lanky boy swooped in. He wrapped his arms around Aubrey’s waist and yanked her up and off the table just like that, leaning back and using his own weight to lift her with ease, despite her protests.
“Kel!” Damn, he’s strong. She made a little squeaky sound as she was lifted up and began to kick her legs, but it was no use. He's got her trapped. She couldn't escape. “Kel, put me down..!”
“Nah… I got it… I’m pickin’ up on your hints loud and clear, Aubs… Picking up completed. Now commencing spin.” He spoke the latter half of his statements in a dorky robot voice and began to slowly pick up speed. He spun in a circle with her still in his arms.
Aubrey is once again getting extremely flustered. She's so close to Kel— she instinctively clung onto him once he began to spin around, tucking her face into his neck. “No..! K-Kel, quit it! I have to climb down after this— I’m gonna fall!”
He laughed sweetly as they spun before he suddenly stopped short. He dropped the girl on her feet before declaring a loud and awe-inspiring revelation. “Oh my god… We have to tell everyone! I gotta go tell Hero—” He was already running for the treehouse’s exit and booking it down the ladder.
All Aubrey had time to do was watch as Kel scrambled to leave the treehouse. ‘Kel, wait!” She started after him once she realized he had no intentions of turning back. “Kel, we've only been dating for, like, two minutes!”
“Exactly!” He shouted from his spot halfway down the trunk of the tree. “That’s why we have to tell everyone!” From there, he used his strong legs to simply jump down the rest of the way into the grass below. However… he did stop for her once he got there. He had to make sure he wasn’t already blowing his new occupation: boyfriend.
“You do want Basil and Hero and Sunny to know, right?”
Aubrey had made it a few rungs down when he called up to her, and she looked over her shoulder at him to deliver an answer. “I do, I'm just…” She hopped the rest of the way just like he’d done, brushing her hair out of her face as she looked up at him. “I’m gonna need a better kiss before you start showin' me off.”
Kel’s eyes widened at her clear challenge, but he wasn’t afraid. Moreso surprised at how forward she was being. “R-Right— Right! Yeah, of course. Aha…” He chuckled breathily, his nerves getting the better of him when faced with the task.
Aubrey took initiative, reaching forward to place her hands on either side of Kel’s waist. She looked up at him through her eyelashes, a small smile on her face.
“Well…?”
And with a deep breath, Kel relaxed his shoulders, brought one hand up to cup his girlfriend’s cheek, and leaned in to place a much gentler and pleasant kiss on her lips. Time seemed to stand still as they shared that wonderful moment together, with Aubrey’s hair blowing in the autumn breeze and Kel’s thumb slowly stroking the soft skin on her face. They stayed just like that for what felt like forever, the two of them in their own, perfect world until they both leaned away naturally and pressed their foreheads together.
Neither of them spoke after; they didn’t have to. There was simply an understanding between them. They took each other's hands and with warm, content smiles, snuck back out of the familiar home and headed straight to the house next door, eager to share the good news with their family and friends.