The Princess and The Pauper

Posted on Thu Mar 28th, 2024 @ 4:11pm by Kennedy Kelly & Shinobi Shaw

5,838 words; about a 29 minute read

Mission: Episode 4: The Savage ConneXion
Location: Mansion and Salem Center
Timeline: August 27, 1990

Kennedy folded and stuffed what felt like the millionth envelope of the day. The work was tedious and boring, making it one of the worst ways she could think of to spend an afternoon. Then again, this was supposed to be a form of punishment and penance for her bad behavior. So she continued, sitting alone in the back corner of the library chipping away at the giant stack of papers that needed to be tri-folded and placed in marked and stamped envelopes.

It was only when she saw movement in her peripheral vision that Kennedy looked up. She smiled a little when she saw who it was. “Hi Jace, how’s your head?”

Jace had changed into tennis shoes, blue jeans, and a black tee-shirt with a faded logo of Appetite for Destruction from Guns N' Roses. He was glad for what he was learning in the training sessions. But he was also glad when they were over. He'd taken to wandering the mansion afterwards to clear his mind. This time, he ended up in the school's library. He was paging through a random book that he'd pulled off the shelf when he heard a voice.

"Eh, not too bad," he said when he saw that it was Kennedy. He put the book back on the shelf and strolled over to where she was working. "I never got a chance to officially thank you for dragging me from the field to the plane. So, thanks," he said, adding a half smile. "You pack a lot of hidden strength somewhere."

“I can’t lie, carrying you sucked.” She said with a small short laugh. “I think your feet left two very distinct dragging marks in the mud for the entire distance.” Kennedy went back to folding letters and stuffing them into envelopes, the task was menial enough that she could talk and continue the work. “Plus that guy, Magneto, was pretty intense. I couldn’t leave you behind, so you’re welcome.”

Jace chuckled. "I wouldn't doubt it. Leave it to me to make a mark. But yeah, he seemed like he had lots of tension to match, too. Anyway, I owe you one for saving me." He paused and watched what she was doing for a few seconds. "They have you doing the mass mailings for recruitment? Or do we get pen-pals here?" He laughed a little and grinned.

“This.” Kennedy looked down at the massive pile of papers in front of her “This is my community service, I stuff envelopes for different charities around the area and mail them out. I’m on probation and I have about a hundred hours of community service I need to perform.”

She didn’t look like someone with a record, Kennedy was eloquent and cultured, her clothes looked expensive and she carried herself like someone who came from privilege.

“Each letter knocks off one minute of my community service. So I have about…” She looked over at the impressive stack of envelopes that had already been stacked “5,700 more to go.”

"Community service? You?" he said. A confused and quizzical look crossed his face. "I've...lived...with people who've done community service and worse. You don't look like you would do anything to get community service, let alone a court date."

“Well, I did.” Kennedy replied with a touch of shame and remorse in her voice. “It was my first offense and I had a good attorney. If I play by the rules and don’t make anymore waves I can have it stricken from my record when I’m older.” She sighed in defeat at the massive stack of papers in front of her and just how many it would take for her to finish her hours.

“What do people who get community service and court dates look like then?” Kennedy looked up at him, there was a keen focus to her blue eyes that was a little disarming. “If not me, then who?”

"A good attorney can be hard to come by," said Jace. "Sounds like you got really lucky." He hadn't been keen on helping a lot of people since he'd run away from home all those years ago. It had been every man for himself on the streets. But this seemed different and he was willing to chalk it up to the influence of the school.

Jace pulled up a chair and sat down. He returned her gaze and then started folding letters while answering her question. "Greasy, shaggy hair. Dirty faces and hands. Clothes that haven't been washed in a few days. Hookers. Pushers. Track lines. Bloodshot eyes. Old backpacks stuffed with stolen food or watches to sell." He paused a second. "Not like you or Iris or Bobby or Connor or anyone else here. At least, that's been my experience."

“I’ll have to introduce you to some white-collar criminals the next time I check in with my probation officer.” Kennedy teased with a smirk on her face but her expression softened when she realized he was going to help her.

“Thanks.” The smirk turned into a smile that gentled her features. “What were you doing hanging out with such hardened criminals?”

"Now that would be a change of pace, white-collar criminals. I look forward to it," Jace added with a chuckle. He put the few envelopes he'd just finished near Kennedy's 'done' stack and nodded. "You're welcome." He grabbed some more and continued to fold. "They took me in and raised me for the last five years or so. The hookers and the pushers and the streets of Seattle, Washington. That's where I lived after my abilities showed up. Play the game with whatever hand you're dealt and hope for a royal flush one day. That's life.'

“You lived on the streets before you came here?” It had been a common story amongst the students but most had managed to do better than sex workers and addicts for company. “Weren’t you sacred? Didn’t they try to hurt you?”

Kennedy had been born with a silver spoon in her mouth and she had lived in a bubble of affluence and wealth. Her ideas of what the streets were like was mainly fueled by television and the movies.

"Yep. An old street kid though and through," said Jace. "But yeah, I was scared at first. The addicts were mean, but their dealers were more pushy and angry. The ladies of the night had me from them most of the time. The worst, though, were the gangs. Especially the mutant hating gangs. At that time, the only part of my density manipulating power that I had a handle on was increasing the density. I practiced more, took some hits, practiced more, took some bullets. Broke a few bones of their bones here and there. Most of them left me alone after that."

“Bullets?” Kennedy straightened up a bit at the idea for walking the streets and being shot at. True, they had all been shot at thanks to their recent missions against the Purifiers but that was a different environment with uniforms and code names. “You’re telling me people tried to shoot you as a kid on the streets?”

She shook her head in disapproval, causing her blonde curls to move across her shoulders.“That’s so scary, what if your powers didn’t work?”

"Not really at me, no," said Jace. "More like getting caught in the crossfire. But if my powers hadn't worked, I would probably still be living in the suburbs of Tacoma." He paused and thought about what Jeri had said. "Or somewhere. When the powers started working is when I left home. They couldn't stand having a mutant for a child. Or as a brother."

He looked over at Kennedy. "How about you? Big city or suburbia?"

“I’m from Boston.” You wouldn’t have known because there was no regional accent in her voice. Kennedy had been tutored and educated in a worldly manner, to make her sound like everyone and no one in particular, grooming her into being in the public eye, well-spoken and relatable. “We had a home in the city, another on Nantucket Island and a third in rural Connecticut. So I guess both? But I spent most of my time in the Boston, my old school was there.”

"Both sounds pretty cool, I guess," said Jace. "Best of both worlds and all. Which did you like better? Boston, the Island, or rural Connecticut?"

“It doesn’t really matter which I like best.” Melancholy appeared in her voice as she recalled all the things she had lost. “I’m not welcome at my home either, I too was kicked out once they knew I was a mutant. My mother’s final act of kindness was bringing me here, though I don’t think she knew the secrets this place holds.”

Kennedy sighed as she shook off the memories of her past life. It was getting easier for her to step away from them, to no longer dwell and lament over a lost family. “I guess the x-gene is the great equalizer when it comes to treatment by humanity. It doesn’t matter where you started, we all end up in the same place.”

"Oh." There was a quiet solemnity to his voice. "I'm sorry," he said simply. Jace folded a couple more letters and stuffed them in the envelopes. "Yeah, it shows us who cares and who fears. And so here we are, living it up at a mansion and folding letters for community service." He paused, grinned, and stuffed some more.

"You know, I didn't even know this place existed," he went on. "Let alone the secret basement stuff. But I guess that's the way it has to be for now. Sure would be nice if it were different, though. Like, being able to go out in public without worrying whether it's a 'mutant friendly' place or not. Or whether somebody's going to recognize you from news reports and start something."

“My family is in the public eye and they openly discuss mutant issues, I knew of the X-Men and of Xavier’s school but I had never put the two together, though it feels a bit obvious in hindsight.” Kennedy looked down at the letter she had folded crooked, the lines were all diagonal and it would take some effort to fit it into an envelope. She was distracted by Jace and their conversation.

“If you could go back home, would you?” While many had been displaced from their mutant abilities Jace’s situation was similar to her own. She was curious if he ever wanted to go back.

Jace sighed deeply. That was quite the question. One which he hadn't thought about for a long time. "Been a while since that's crossed my mind. For several weeks after I left, I missed it. The security of a home. The comfort of my bed. Regular meals. But my dad...Troy...was a jerk. 'No son of mine is a mutant.' He'd say that at least twice a week after my powers showed up. But now, nope, I wouldn't go back there. Ever."

He stopped folding letters and looked at Kennedy. "Would you? If you ever got the chance?" She wasn't as far removed from her home, time-wise, as he was from his. Maybe she was still in those early stages.

“Depends on the hour of the day.” Kennedy confessed “Sometimes I hate them for disowning me and I never want to see them again. Other times all I want to do is go home. I miss my brother and sister, my friends, and my boyfriend… maybe not so much the last one, we broke up on bad terms.”

"Family's not easy," said Jace. "Of course, neither are break ups, in general. A bad terms break up though...sorry to hear that. But hey, you're at a school with a bunch of people that could act like a large family. Wouldn't be quite the same. And the girl to boy ratio is more in your favor than it is ours. So who knows."

This was probably the most chatty he'd been with anyone since arriving at the school. Especially when it came to his background. The snark was also dialed back more than normal. Who could say what the reason was...similar stories of being kicked out, the 'criminal' connection, or something else entirely. But at least Jace was relaxed for a change.

“Yeah, well… I stole his dad’s car, hence the community service.” Kennedy picked up her most recently folded letter and waggled it in the air like it was an exhibit in court. “So I guess I shouldn’t be too surprised that he broke up with me. I kind of had it coming.”

She folded a few more letters and added them to the pile. “I guess I just feel a lot of pressure around here to click with people. Everyone says the same thing, it’s a family, you’ll find your people, we’re here for each other. But what if you don’t? Is that how you join the Brotherhood?” Kennedy smirked at the last part, it was kind of, sort of a joke.

Jace chuckled a little. "Dang girl, grand larceny? Or whenever it's called here in New York. Guys I used to know would say you got off lucky with community service." He tapped the ever growing pile of envelopes and stuffed some more.

Jace was quiet for a few seconds while that sank in. "I was a street rat, a survivor, when I showed up here. And in a lot of ways I still am a survivor. It's not easy to click with people when you're not used to it. I have rough edges that I don't think the Prof or anyone else is ever going to shave off."

"As far as the Brotherhood, I don't know. Patrick, uh, Maestro, that guy we just fought? I was captured with him and some others and taken to Canada from Seattle. We escaped and then the X-Men showed up. He gave me a choice, him or them. And here I am, helping a car thief with her community service." He returned her smirk. "Fighting for peace or fighting for war, we're still fighting."

Kennedy nodded her head in agreement with his statement about fighting. “I never considered myself a fighter, at least not in the physical sense. But after seeing everything that’s been happening, it’s hard not to.”

Her fingers were starting to get tired from the repetitive motions so she took a quick break from folding letters. “I dunno, if I’m going to be thrust into all of this I might as well put up my dukes and stand up for something.” Kennedy snorted a little laugh over her statement. “Sorry, I sound so confrontational.”

Jace smiled at her snorted laugh. After everything the group had been through recently, it was nice to hear some laughter from someone for a change. He noticed that she had stopped folding letters and finished the one he was working on before following suit. With a dismissal wave of his hand, he said, "Eh, no apologies necessary. It never hurt anyone to be a little confrontational. If you don't stand up for something, you might as well stand up for yourself. Put up those dukes," he added with a laugh.

“Grrr…” Kennedy faked a growl as she put up her fists in a defensive manner. A feigned look of aggression on her face, it looked nothing like her face did when they were X-Men on a mission, in the field she was cold and calculated with the eyes of a hunter. Here, her scrunched up nose in a mocking snarl made her look more like a rabbit than a predator.

Jace had put up his fists in a poorly made boxing style and made a few short punches to the air. But then Kennedy growled and scrunched up her nose. He tried really hard to hold in his laughter and let out a growl of his own. Unfortunately it came out sounding more like a drunk hyena with a bad cough.

"Well that's new," he said between laughs.

Kennedy dropped her fisticuffs and began to laugh even harder at the strange sound that Jace had made.

“What was that?” She asked him but before she could answer, Kennedy loudly snorted through her nose. Her eyes went wide in shock from the awkward sound before she covered her mouth and turned pink in the face all while her laughter continued and grew.

Jace was about to answer Kennedy when she snorted again. He stopped, mouth still open and about to form words. He was silent for a few more seconds before erupting in laughter. "I...I have a feeling that...that people going by might think there's a...a zoo in here." He noticed how her face had turned pink. "A snorting flamingo and a coughing hyena go into a library...." His joke trailed off as he began laughing again.

Kennedy continued to laugh and as if on cue a rather loud ‘shush’ was delivered from the other side of the library. She covered her mouth to help stifle the sound before gesturing to Jace with a nod of her head towards the door.

Once out in the hall, Kennedy leaned against the wall and caught her breath from all the laughter. “Oh my gosh! I haven’t laughed like that in ages.”

Jace leaned against the wall next to Kennedy and took several deep breaths. After that meeting in the Professor's parlor back on the twenty-fifth, he'd been feeling a little better about things. He'd even started following his roommates advice to lighten up a little. It wouldn't be an immediate change or a complete one. One little peppy step at a time.

"I don't think I've ever laughed that hard," he said. "Thanks. I guess we both needed a break. You from community service and me from mansion monotony."

Kennedy suddenly became aware of the space, or rather the lack of space, between them and her grin became a coy smile. “Yeah, you’re welcome.” Her voice was soft now as she matched the distance between them. “It is nice to take a break with someone.”

Jace immediately picked up on the change in her voice and then the distance. He lowered his voice, but not too much. "Well hello there, Blue Eyes." He made a show of squinting a little. "Or Freckles," he said with a wink. "Either way, yeah, breaks are better when you share them." Then without missing a beat, "Maybe we share a longer break and I drive you into town to mail the letters we finished. Hangout."

“I’d like that a lot.” A touch of delight in her smile but she keeps her tone cool and collected. A debutant through and through, Kennedy was much better equipped for situations like this than she was for a battlefield. “Let me get my things.”

The tall blonde slinked past Jace and his leaning stance against the wall to return to the library. She was back a moment later with a soft leather bag across her shoulder, a stack of letters in her hand, and a touch of freshly applied gloss across her lips. “Lead the way.”

Jace nodded his head as Kennedy came back out. "It'd be my genuine pleasure, Freckles."

He led the way to the garage where he expected to be able to sign out a car or borrow one or something. After arguing with the attendant in the office for a good five minutes, he returned to Kennedy in the waiting room. Frustration was evident in his stride and countenance.

"Apparently the Prof has an 'approved driver list' for his cars and I'm not on it," he said, shaking his head. "I guess I call a taxi, we drop off and mail letters, and then hang out."

Kennedy chuckled at his confession and his attempt at finding a solution to their problem, she appreciated that he was at least trying to make his proposed plan come to fruition.

“Is that all? We just need access to a car.” Kennedy made her way over to the stand and filled out the form to keep track of who took what car and when before picking up a pair of keys.

“Come on.” She gestured for him to follow her through the garage. Kennedy went to the end of the row of cars, where a black Lexus with Massachusetts license plates was parked. “I have to appear in person for all my appointments with my probation officer, in a lovely spin of personal accountability, my parents agreed to send my car to me.”

She unlocked the car doors and placed her things in the backseat. “Plus it makes it easier to mail my letters when I’m finished with them. Which is the excuse I used today to get us into town for a bit.”

Jace's frustration was slowly replaced with admiration as he realized what was happening. He smiled and nodded. "Well aren't you just full of surprises. Lucky us today." He walked around the Lexus and ended up just a few feet back from where he started. He looked at Kennedy standing next to her car. "Now there's an ad for Car and Driver if I've ever seen one. That'd make me want to buy a Lexus for sure," he added. "Though...strike a pose and let's see," Jace said playfully.

Kennedy laughed a little before she began to showcase the car like one of Barker’s Beauties. Sweeping gestures and an exaggerated smile as she displayed the mirrors and tires of the Lexus. As she approached the front of the car, her thoughts turned to MTV and the bevy of music videos that played.

Kennedy climbed on the hood of the car and did her best impression of Tawny Kitean. With a toe pointed up into the air and a flip of her blonde hair, Kennedy degraded into another fit of hysterics before she slowly slipped off the hood of the car and onto the floor. “I don’t think I sold it, my future in automotive sales is doomed.”

Jace clapped, woohoo-ed, and yelled like he was on a gameshow and had just won the grand prize. He kept it going until Kennedy got to front of the car and on the hood. Jace recognized the Tawny impression and went from gameshow winner to jaw-dropping 'dayum.' He whistled right before she started laughing again. And then she slid to the floor.

He waited a few seconds to see if she okay before he laughed along with her. Jace walked over after a few seconds and took both of her hands in his to pull her back up. "That may be the case, but I'm sold."

“There’s a sucker born every minute.” Kennedy teased as she graciously accepted his help up from the ground. Her hands and her eyes lingered on him for a moment too long before she finally turned and made her way back to the driver’s side of the car.

Placing the key in the ignition, she waited for Jace to get in and settled into the passenger’s seat.

“I really haven’t spent a lot of time in Salem Center.” Kennedy confessed as she pulled out of the garage. “I usually just go to the post office and back. Bliss mentioned a place for burgers, but we’ve yet to go. Is there anything else?”

"We could probably find a coffee shop," said Jace. "I've heard of an ice cream place. Unless it's the same place as the burgers. We might be able to find an arcade where we could shoot some pool or something. There's plenty of outside things to do. Lots of nature everywhere up here. What sounds good to you?" he asked, turning to Kennedy. "Food, snack, or chill?"

“I wouldn’t mind a cup of real coffee.” Kennedy suggested as she exited the mansion’s driveway and took the isolated road towards the closest thing to civilization. “The stuff at the school tastes like mud half the time, so the caffeine induced insomnia is worth it for something that resembles a real dark roast.”

She snickered a little from the thought that followed. “I say that now, but when I'm stuck listening to Bliss snore at 2:00 AM I’m sure I’ll have a different opinion. Do you have a roommate?”

"Here's to some real coffee, then." He paused and chuckled. "So Bliss snores, huh. Well that secret is safe with me. But yeah, I have a roommate. I don't see him that much during the day and he pretty much keeps to himself at night. Unless he has some criticism for me. I keep hoping that he'll switch or move to a room by himself. But I might end up just asking someone if I can switch rooms. It's a big enough mansion."

“I don’t mind the roommate, I get lonely sometimes and it’s nice to have someone around.” Kennedy confessed to Jace. “Plus Bliss is really nice, I think her time in foster care made her a little more empathetic to people being down and out.”

Kennedy was a mixture of hard and soft. When dressed as an X-Men she was focused and determined. She didn’t hesitate or falter with her actions and merely performed as required. Outside of the costume, she was much more human. There was a sweetness and a sense of humor to her as well as a feeling of being adrift in this new life.

“But she’s super horny for Connor.” Kennedy said with a laugh “I think she’s secretly cursing me for occupying her personal space at the worst time possible.”

Lonely. What a word that was. "Well if you ever want someone around, I suppose you could come find me," he said. "We can make up some of that mud that the school calls coffee and hang out or something. Might even see if we can find a rec room. Or go clear some trees." He chuckled at the thought of tearing down or blowing up trees in Xavier's forest. "Though I don't think the Prof would like that much. Might be more fun to just be mischievous."

Jace then laughed. "Bliss and Connor? Really? Dang, students horny and hooking up...Prof's gonna have his hands full." He laughed some more as a thought creeped into his head. "Xavier's School for Gifted Horndogs. Nah, just doesn't have the same ring." He took a few seconds to let the laughter subside.

“Plus that one girl got knocked up by a teacher, so I Xavier’s hands are all ready too full.” Kennedy chimed in, adding to the layers of drama going on around them.

"Thanks for driving, by the way. If I could fly or run fast, I'd have carried you and we'd have made the delivery like that." It didn't bother Jace at all that his original plan didn't work out. It seemed like if you were an X-Man, the first plan never worked anyway.

“Oh sure, and I wouldn’t want to fly or run anyways, they mess up your hair.” Kennedy glanced at him and smiled to show she was joking before her eyes returned to the road. “I didn’t realize what a hot commodity a car would be, I’m sure I’ll get suckered into more driving once everyone knows I can. So we’ll just enjoy this afternoon out before this becomes a whole thing.”

Jace chuckled when he saw that she was joking about the hair. "Eh, if anyone finds out, it won't be from me. So what kind of coffee do you like? Or how do you like it is probably a better question." Jace was the furthest thing from a coffee connisuier, but he still enjoyed a good cup and good company.

“Is my being able to drive into town a secret now?” She wiggled her eyebrows and smirked at him and his comment about not telling anyone about her newfound attribute.

“I like most coffee, I started drinking it when I was preparing to stay in Paris for the summer. Coffee with breakfast is common and I wanted to live like a true Parisian. I prefer it with milk though, Café au Lait.” The French words rolled off her tongue with ease. “You were in Seattle, you should be telling me how to drink coffee.”

He laughed at her question and nodded his head before returning her smirk with a half-grin of his own. "You bet it is."

"Oooh, nice French you got there. You probably would've fit in good during that summer," said Jace. "And who knows, you might end up in Paris someday anyway. Getting to drink coffee for breakfast and all that. But yeah, Seattle is known for that. Even on the street where I was, you managed to find coffee. If I can have my pick, though, I go for a good French roast. Strong and bold without the bitterness or battery acid. And on occasion a little sugar because it's nice to have it bold and sweet sometimes."

Kennedy chuckled a little from his coffee description, it was far more complex than anything she had been anticipating. For all of Jace’s comments about being on the streets, he had a rather refined palette.

“Bold and Sweet?” She repeated his choice in words. “I’ll have to keep that in mind.”

Kennedy turned onto the main road that would get them to Salem Center. The occasional farmhouse and building dotting the landscape, reminding them that they were getting closer to civilization. She became a touch more somber as they discussed Paris. “I was supposed to live in Paris for the summer between high school and college. Which is obviously no longer an option for me. I appreciate the optimism but I don’t have two pennies to my name anymore, I don’t really know when or how I’m going to get there. I’m not even going to college anymore. I’m going to end up living at the mansion forever like some of those first year students.”

The world around them was looking less and less like the countryside manor that was the X-Mansion. And Jace liked it. Even a small city or town was better than no city or town. Especially since there would be a coffee shop there. Jace listened as Kennedy continued. He wasn't sure exactly what to say or how to respond, but he had to say something.

"Look, I'm not gonna toss out the X-Men cliches about getting through it or they've got your back or family or the Professor can help. Life sucks sometimes, Kennedy. Things are going great and then lady luck leaves you in a ditch. Some people pull themselves out of it and some just stay and crawl through it, taking what they can find." He paused and sighed. "You can't always count on the people around you; no matter what they teach. The only one who you can really count on all the time is yourself. Don't let yourself down. Just because those first year students stayed around forever doesn't mean you have to." Even though she was driving and couldn't completely face him, he still kept his eyes on her. Friendliness, concern, and care showed on his face. Not everyone had to give up.

She smirked a little from his comments, not necessarily from the context of his words but from the honesty in which he delivered them. Kennedy had to agree that the ever present promise of ‘family’ and the steadfast hope she needed to have were a bit much for her and most of the time she felt really alone.

“Thanks Jace.” She took her eyes off the road for a moment and found him staring at her. “It kind of makes me feel better knowing that I’m not the only one around this place without infallible optimism. It’s okay to be mad at the shit that happens to you. It’s okay if you have to go it alone. Most people don’t want to think like that.”

"You're welcome Kennedy. And hell yeah," he said as he leaned his head back on the headrest. "You're not the only one that thinks that way at this place. It's okay to be mad. It's okay to go it alone. It's even okay to be scared." He paused for a second and laughed. "You know, we just might be the two most practical people here. We should start a club." Then he laughed some more.

“But I already ordered the pins for our other club!” Kennedy jokingly replied with faked exasperation. “I think when it’s said and done we’ll have a whole jacket covered in pins identifying all of our hang ups.”

They had finally arrived in Salem Center and Kennedy parked the Lexus right next to the post office.

“You know something, that isn’t a half bad idea. I guess that’s what it’s like being a telepath, they can see all our issues.” She grabbed her bag and walked the short distance to the mailbox. With a rather ceremonial flourish she dropped the letters inside.

“There.” Kennedy said while dusting off her hands “Now that we’ve performed the task we said we would, we’re free to enjoy the town. Shall we go?”

Jace got out of the car and leaned against it while Kennedy mailed the letters. "Eh, you've got issues, I've got issues, everyone has issues. We just seem to be more ready to admit and accept. And wear them on our jackets," he added with a chuckle. He moved off the car and walked towards Kennedy as she dropped off the letters. "Indeed we shall," said Jace. "Let's go hit the wild streets of Salem Center, find a coffee shop, and see what happens." He winked and held out his arm for her to join him. Maybe it was a bold move, maybe not. Maybe it wasn't bold enough. But there was only one way to find out. "C'mon, French Roast," he teased.

Kennedy took Jace’s offered arm and stood next to him with a smile. They were the same height and the level of her eye met his own, there was a momentary pause as they examined one another. Kennedy hadn’t noticed that his eyes were blue before, hidden by the shag of brown hair that hung in his face, but she noticed now as they stood arm and arm.

“French roast?!” Kennedy laughed at the comment “On m'a appelé pire”

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