Unmaking Hunter Kennedy

by Anne Eliot

  “You KISSED Hunter Kennedy, but you’re calling him ‘only a GUY’? Can you NOT hear your own words? It’s insanity.”

  “Yeah...but once we started kissing, his name never even came into play.”

  “YEAH BECAUSE YOU WERE LOCKED ONTO HIS LIPS. OMG. Oh. MY. Aaaahhhhha!”

  Vere slowed her swing to a stop and turned her head to look at her friend who was now sporting a huge, goofy grin. Vere went on, “Uh. Are you going to yell at me for lying to you? If so, get it over with. And get over who I kissed, too. I need my best friend back so you can help me make a plan, please.”

  “Yell at you? Are you nuts? I’m going to hug you! This has to be the single, most positively amazing thing that has ever happened to us. To me, to you, to this whole town. OHMYGOD. Charlie was on the NEWS! Your house was on the news!”

  Jenna jumped off her swing and twirled around in circles in front of Vere. “We’ll have book deals, photo shoots, you and me on the cover of those gossip magazines. Maybe we will get our own reality TV show. This is going to be so cool. We’ll be on TV! Get to go to the Video Music Awards! Aaah! OHMYGOD.”

  “Oh no. We will not do any of that. Let’s just vote on that right now. Besides Charlie’s already beat us to the scum-bag-friend-low point. Be calm. Try.”

  Jenna put both hands on her head. “HOLY COW. CHARLIE IS FRIENDS WITH HUNTER KENNEDY. OMG. OMG! I’m friends with HUNTER KENNEDY. And holyOMG. AhhhAaahaha!” She twirled and twirled. “My heart is beating so fast, Vere. I’m going to die. I. Love. Him. So. Much.”

  Vere sighed. “Jenna. Stop. Get it out of your system. No weird behavior, no deals with shady newspapers, no hidden digital cameras in your nostrils. Nothing. Whatever ideas you are launching in that devious little mind, end it right now. We will not sell him out.”

  “Fine. No sell out. Unless my best friend, Hunter, agrees it is appropriate and he wants to do a reality show.”

  “You sound crazy, you know?”

  Jenna hopped up and down. “How can you even call me crazy after tonight? I thought you’d gone mental back at the party. As in total, psychotic break. You were certifiable right in front of the whole school. When you started laughing, I was sure you’d been possessed.”

  Jenna mimicked Vere: “I—I—I think I’m in loooove with Hunter Kennedy.” Her eyes bugged out and she threw her arms wide. “You saying all that, while Curtis lay flat on his back, while I was faking that cramp! Ha...”

  They burst out laughing together and both fell down on the sand.

  “Oh. My tummy hurts. Stop making me think about it. I can’t even go there. I’m sorry. I did sort of lose it,” Vere gasped out, staring up at the dark sky.

  “You’ve had almost a month to get used to this ‘Hunter Kennedy lives next door’ idea. I’ve only just ramped in.” Jenna crossed her arms under her head. “Oh-my-God! EEeeks!”

  Vere shook her head. “The clock is ticking, fangirl.”

  “A little patience. Not yet.” Jenna grinned. “Can we just talk about how last weekend I went to a lake cabin and played cards with the lead singer of GuardeRobe? And then he bought me a haircut, gave me make up tips and picked us both whole new wardrobes, including a homecoming dress for each of us! Please just let me scream or something. Please!”

  Vere smiled at Jenna. She was so funny. “Bad idea to scream in the park on Saturday night. I think we’ve drawn enough attention to ourselves this evening.”

  “Don’t put me into your messed up, WE equation. I didn’t go ape on the star quarterback because I’ve been making out with the lead singer of GuardeRobe. Oh God. Oh-my-God! You touched tongues with the lead singer of GuardeRobe!” She blinked. “How can you not be dying right now?”

  Vere flushed down to her toes. Did she have to mention the tongue thing? Her heart did a major flip. She stood up and went back to the swings. “Come on. I need some serious advice. I need to figure out a way to patch things up and I can’t do that until you calm down,” Vere pleaded. “I need you. Come back to me. So what if he’s a rock star? I don’t care about any of that. He’s just a regular guy to me. And to you. Just try not to think about the other stuff and help me figure out a way to apologize.”

  Jenna sat back onto the swing next to Vere’s. “You aren’t keeping any other secrets from me, are you? Your parents aren’t secret agents? If so, kill me now, because our friendship will not be able to take something like this twice.”

  “Nope. That’s it.” She eyed Jenna suspiciously. “As long as we’re on this topic, what about you? You floored me last weekend with that whole ‘I’m marrying Charlie’ speech. So don’t act all high and mighty. Your secret crush on my brother ranks as high as the Hunter Kennedy thing. So if there is anything else on that front, spill it now.”

  Jenna sighed. “Well. Some of that’s changed. Charlie and I might not be getting married.”

  “Good! Did you finally realize he sucks?” Vere sighed, relieved.

  “No. I uh, came over yesterday. And you were out with your mom. And if you must know, I kissed Charlie in your kitchen. Mega-made-out. As in...LONG-TIME, kissed him.”

  Vere clamped her hands over her ears. “OH...GOD. NO!”

  Jenna nodded. “My marriage calendar is blown to bits but at least Charlie’s taking me to homecoming. We were going to surprise you and Curtis with a double date until you ruined everything.”

  “Jeez. Stop! Ew. Eeew.” Vere’s chin had dropped all the way to her knees. “Your turn to say you’ve been drinking, that you made this all up. Go on,” Vere grimaced. “This can not be happening to me.”

  “It’s true. We’re actually dating now. I can’t keep my hands off that guy. YUM. ME. Your brother kisses like a—”

  “Eeeew. Eeeeeeeeew.” Vere pushed Jenna’s swing away from hers. “Eew. Eew. Eeeeeew. This crosses the line!”

  “Hey. No screaming in the park.” Jenna rolled her eyes.

  “You will not be sharing any further details with me on this topic, ever.” Vere shuddered. “Seriously. You, plus Charlie, is the sickest thing I can imagine. I hope you two break up, and soon. In the meantime can we get back to my FIRST nightmare, please? JEEZ.”

  Jenna shrugged. “You asked. I told you. Fine...let’s get back to the Hunter Kennedy topic!” Jenna blinked. “OMG, VERE. How can we even talk about him. Him and you. He’s HUNTER KENNEDY and he’s been living next door to you!”

  Vere gritted her teeth. “Ugh. Put that aside. Just listen to the darn facts. My ex-brother (who is now your kiss-buddy/homecoming date and possible fiancé) just blew the cover of the one guy that has ever liked me—for me—and meant it.”

  “Formulating, formulating, keep going,” Jenna said.

  “This guy happens to be perfect for me in every way except for the part where he’s a rock star and I’m...you know...me.”

  Jenna blinked. “Yeah, but you just said he liked that part about you.”

  Vere’s heart clenched. “I know. And I blew him off when he said he was in love with me. LOVE. Jenna. He said the word LOVE.”

  Jenna shook her head, but thankfully held silent.

  “I want to say sorry. But after the way I treated him, and after the way Charlie betrayed him, he might be on his way back to Los Angeles. Oh. And he could hate my guts because I called him a—nobody.” Vere’s heart clenched and her throat closed up.

  Jenna wrinkled her nose. “So, you don’t care if you make an ass out of yourself when you’re trying to get him back?”

  “I can’t exactly sink any lower on the ‘ass’ scale after tonight. Who cares how much more foolish I look or act over this? This is real. I love him. I need to apologize. He deserves that I at least try.”

  “Okay, then I’m going to help you go after him as long as you are aware of what it might cost you, socially speaking. Oh-my-God! You’re going to go after Hunter Kennedy!” Jenna squealed and giggled one last time.

  Vere sighed, feeling desolate. “If it doesn’t work, then I’m going to wither away of a broken heart and you
will be left picking up all the pieces.”

  Jenna sighed and checked the time on her phone. “We have exactly forty minutes before you’re grounded for getting home late. We’ll use it like a deadline.”

  Vere nodded. “Adrenaline rushes might just save me if I freeze up and pull a shy attack. What can we do in forty minutes?” Vere asked.

  “Thirty-nine. First let’s get back to running.”

  They jumped off the swings and broke into a jog. “We’ll march right on over to Nan’s house and just knock on the door. Honesty’s the fastest. Practice saying, “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry, I love you, too.” Can you do that?”

  “Yes. Yes I can.” Vere blushed big time as she imagined saying that last part to Hunter.

  They turned into Vere’s cul-de-sac and froze. The whole planet seemed to be having an all-night party right in front of her house. This was way bigger than she’d expected. She knew the local news van and a few others would be around but what they were looking at was insanity.

  Cover blowing media frenzy: A++ for Charlie Roth, the backstabbing jerk.

  There were at least ten news media trucks, some even from Denver. Maybe Charlie hadn’t been the only leak? The end of her street was loaded down with floodlights and police cars, along with what looked like every single person from their high school.

  All of this filled their oval cul-de-sac to max overflowing. The highest concentration of people swarmed smack in front of Nan’s house and spilled over into their yard.

  A super-long, ultra shiny, black limo backed away from the crowd and pulled past them while the crowd screamed and followed its exit. Vere tried to see into the darkened windows as her heart sank. When it reached the corner where they stood, it turned right without even breaking at the stop sign.

  “Jeez. Jenna. We’re too late. I think I’m going to die. If he was in there, he must have seen us. He’s so out of here. So over me. I guess I deserve it.”

  Jenna gave her a quick hug. “You don’t know that. We’re down to thirty minutes. It is what it is. Let’s at least try to get to his door.”

  A police car pulled up next to them. “You kids need to go home. This cul-de-sac is closed.”

  “But, Officer. I live right there.” Vere pointed to her house that now seemed about two million miles away. She just wanted to crawl into bed and have a good, long, cry.

  “Sure you do. Do you think I was born yesterday?” The policeman sneered. “Now move along.”

  “Wait. I’m not lying,” Vere insisted.

  “Prove it, and I’ll drive you as close as I can.”

  “Oh thank you sir,” Jenna gushed, rescuing Vere from speaking as Vere handed the officer her driver’s license.

  He sighed and handed it back. He looked as though he wished he hadn’t promised to drive them closer. “Hop in. Do you two know this GuardeRobe band? Things should settle down now that they’ve driven away. What a nightmare. Those screaming teenagers popped my eardrums.”

  “GuardeRobe rocks!” Jenna said, as they jumped in the back seat. The officer proceeded to flash his lights and clear a pathway through the middle of the crowd.

  “He’s gone now, huh?” Vere asked halfheartedly, trying not to cry. “I saw that limo. Did he drive away?”

  “No, that limo brought the rest of the band to town. The lead singer, he’s still here on your street. With his family. The other guys have gone down to a local hotel. I wouldn’t expect things to calm down in Monument for awhile.”

  Vere’s heart soared. She grabbed onto Jenna’s leg and flashed her a look as she started chewing nervously on her lip.

  “I’ve still got a shot,” she whispered.

  There were a dozen policemen manning a line of yellow ‘Caution’ tape that separated the crowd from all the houses in the cul-de-sac. As the police cruiser crept through the throng, Vere caught sight of a very frustrated Charlie, trying to get away from a couple of cameramen and reporters.

  “Officer! Please stop. That’s my brother. Can he hop in with us? I’m sure our parents are freaking out. I can see them on the front porch. Probably looking for us.”

  The man sighed and stopped. “I’ll have to walk you from here, anyhow. Go get him, and I’ll see you through this mess.”

  Vere hopped out of the car with Jenna right behind her. “Charlie! Charlie! Over here!” Charlie turned at the sound of her voice but the look he gave her was not good. It was some sort of warning glance, as though to tell Vere to run.

  Vere vaguely noted that Kristen Hodjwick and friends were each in front of different news cameras. They must have all left the party and driven over here. What in the heck would the news want with Kristen? For that matter, it seemed as if least half of the junior class was standing in front of some camera. Were they all getting interviewed?

  Vere tried to ignore the chaos and stared up at Hunter’s room. The lights were out, but she could swear she saw TV lights flickering. Had she imagined it, or had his curtain moved as well?

  Hunter. See me. Please see me and come out!

  Vere waved frantically at the house just in case. Her heart sank when she realized she was now simply one of about two hundred other (way prettier) girls, waving at his window behind the police line.

  Ugh. He’ll never spot me, because he’s not looking for me. After how I treated him, it’s up to me to get to him, I think.

  Acting like a dork groupie, was not going to help. She dropped her hand, embarrassed, and felt her cheeks tingle. Vere eyed the two policemen talking to each other on Nan’s front lawn and then her gaze travelled to the two policemen guarding the front door.

  “We’ll never get in there,” Jenna whispered, echoing her thoughts.

  “There they are! That’s Vere and Jenna,” Kristen screeched just as Charlie reached them. “They must have known all along!”

  The officer was getting impatient. “Come on, kids, I don’t have all day. Why is everyone pointing at you two?”

  “Vere. Vere Roth?” A stranger’s voice called her name. “A photo if you don’t mind, Miss Roth.”

  Vere swiveled her head to look behind her. “What?” A flash went off, blinding her.

  “Uh-oh,” Jenna gripped her arm. A swarm of people, lights, and escalating noise surged toward them.

  The officer shouted. “I don’t know what is going on, but you three get back into the squad car, right now.”

  The three of them backed away while the officer held up his hands to stop the reporters. He called for backup into his walkie-talkie.

  In seconds, the officer was swallowed up in a sea of flashing cameras and crushing reporters. Jenna, Vere, and Charlie jumped into the back seat of his squad car and ducked down.

  “Don’t say anything to any of them,” Charlie hissed. “Don’t either of you answer one question from these crazy people. The entire school has been interviewed and they know you and Jenna were Hunter’s only friends. They want your story. Hell, they want to know everything about us.”

  The reporters were rocking the squad car. Vere didn’t think the police officer was coming back.

  Vere glared at Charlie. “We aren’t the ones who ratted out a friend. You suck, Charlie. You totally suck. Why did you do it?”

  “I didn’t understand. He kept making you cry, so I figured he’d broken your heart. I thought this would get rid of him for you.” Charlie sounded very apologetic. “I had no clue the deal was reversed. You totally dogged him today, didn’t you? That’s why he was so pissed.” Charlie chuckled. “You broke his heart. How was I supposed to predict that when I’d been working so hard to make sure he didn’t break yours?”

  She nodded. “I didn’t—I—I was in denial and I lost my head—or I don’t know what.”

  “I heard you knocked out Curtis, too. You are on some kind of guy wrecking rampage,” Charlie groaned. “Poor Curtis. Bet he didn’t see that coming. The guy will never speak to me again.”

  Vere grimaced, her tone apologetic too. “I punched Curtis because I
like Hunter. And Curtis wouldn’t listen or take his meaty, pawing hands off me. What else was I supposed to do?” Vere shuddered, remembering. “The guy’s an octopus.”

  Charlie shrugged. “He thought you two were going out. Did you know Kristen Hodjwick has been going nuts talking crap about you?” Charlie shook his head. “So...why were you crying after you kissed him?”

  “Because he told me he loved me, and because I was all freaked out.”

  “No. He dropped the l-bomb and you crushed him?”

  “Stop saying that! It’s not my fault you overreact to everything, Charlie. I have it all figured out now. And I can’t even talk to the guy. AND IT’S YOUR FAULT. If I didn’t love you so much, I’d hate you big-time.”

  Charlie whistled low. “I thought he’d totally taken advantage of you. I’m sorry, but he’s a guy and I know how guys are. After I saw you two kissing, I assumed the worst about him. I’m sorry. I blew it. I love you back, by the way.”

  Vere made a face. “I know you do. I forgive you, but Hunter shouldn’t.”

  “No shit. I saw the huge scars on his wrists. Why didn’t you tell me he had all that other stuff going on? Did you know?”

  Vere nodded. “Yeah. We talked about it at the lake a bunch. Right before you punched the heck out of him.”

  “Damn. I SUCK.” Charlie flipped off a reporter who was trying to take a shot of them by lying on the police cruiser’s hood. He looked over at Jenna. “How you handling all this, beautiful?”

  “Awww.” Jenna shot Charlie a soft-eyed-puppy look.

  Vere shoved at his arm, but had to smile at that. “Oh shut up! EW. Eeeew.”

  She banged at her door and tried to open it even though she knew the back seat would had some kind of police ‘prisoner safety lock’ on it. And it did. “We are trapped in this car, does anyone even care?” She banged on the glass again.

  Charlie hadn’t heard her. He was making goo-goo eyes at Jenna. He’d dosed Jenna with his ‘manly’ wink and Jenna was actually gushing at him.