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"Exactly!" He chuckled when she agreed with him about the marshmallows. He didn't doubt that he was the only one who felt that way but hearing someone say it out loud with him gave him the validation he needed. It was absolutely sad that that was something he needed validation on but it was what it was.
Her sigh gave him a little crease in the middle of his eyebrows before it eased as she spoke. He had expected her to be sad but hearing her speak about her hometown made him smile. But she did look a little sad and for that he felt a little sorry for her.
Home, for Sam, was right here. He stopped thinking of Vermont as home the moment he was recruited. Which was why when he answered, it didn't cause him great pain not revealing the actual truth. "Just Montana. And now here. So you miss New Orleans huh. What's stopping you from going back?" He asked as he took a sip from the mug.
The way he talked about his previous homes made her a little sad. She couldn't imagine not having that little spark in her heart when she talked about home. Although, if he was from Montana, she supposed there wasn't much spark to gain from there. She hadn't really liked it that much. Kenny had a feeling it went deeper than that though, but she wasn't about to push him on it.
His question was one that played on repeat in her mind. Why hadn't she gone back to New Orleans? It was her favorite place in the world and it held one of the most amazing human beings she knew; her dad. But even still, she couldn't quite make the move. Moving would mean trying to drag her aunt and her brother along with her, which she had a feeling would be more difficult than she could handle. Besides, Oregon was starting to grow on her. She had all of her friends in the academy and there were proving to be a lot of cute boys.
"I stayed at the academy to get a better hold over my ability. It has a tendency of rubbing me the wrong way sometimes and with what I intend to do with my future, I need to get a better hold on it," She gave a firm nod and smiled at him. "Why'd you stick around the academy instead of picking a different college?"
Sam tried not to stare at Kenny for too long but when he did look at her, he couldn't help but smile. He accepted her answer, even though he felt she wasn't telling him everything. She didn't have to of course. They had just met, but he was definitely curious to find out more about her.
When the question came, Sam had to actually think about it before coming up with an answer. "Well...for one it's free?" He chuckled. "And my sister is here. Also...I'm studying to become a trainer here so I felt the need to stay."
He looked out the window where people had abandoned the snowball fight. It was quite still and beautiful from here.
"How's the warming up coming along?" He asked when he turned to her with a smile on his face.
McKenna had her attention focused on him, she didn't care if she came off a little crazy with the way she was looking at him. She was just taking it all in. It did help that the school was free, although, her parents had told her it was nothing she needed to worry about when the time to make the decision came. She could have gone anywhere. The mentioning of a sister caught her by surprise and she smiled. If there was anything she could relate to, it was staying put because of family. Kenny had been apart from her brother for a long time, she had no intentions of letting it happen again.
And he wanted to be a trainer. Her smile widened and she nodded, it seemed fitting.
Kenny's teeth sank into her lip and she could feel the heat rising in her body. He definitely aided in warming her up. "I'm still a little damp, but it's not so bad. Although, I can't quite promise that you'll be getting this jacket back soon. I'm considering hijacking it because it's really comfortable." And it smelled really good, just like him. She brought the mug up to her lips and took a sip before setting it back down.
"Sam, can I ask you what your ability is? I know it's kind of a personal question when it comes to us, I'm really just curious."
Sam wasn't all that good at reading signs but when a girl says she's keeping a guy's jacket, it had to mean something, right? Beyond wanting to be warm and such? He didn't want to read too much into it but he couldn't help it. Kenny liked him and he liked her back. This was a good sign.
"It's fine. I've got plenty. You can keep that if you want."
He smiled and gulped down more of his hot chocolate. When the question about his ability came around, the groan that escaped him was followed by a wince. "Sorry. I...my abilities are..." he was struggling to lie but if Kenny knew, she'd close up like a clam. And then Sam would be left alone because who in the hell would want to be friends with a snitch?
"I can...uh...tell when someone's lying. I won't know why but...it's difficult for me not to know that they are. Lying I mean." He looked down at his mug, disappointed in himself for having the need to be truthful and fearful that Kenny would leave.
When he decided that he would let her keep it if she wanted to, her heart squeezed uncomfortably and she grinned wider. She couldn't believe that he was willing to just let her keep it. She'd only been joking, but she wasn't complaining by any means. Kenny pulled the jacket around her tighter unconsciously and breathed it in.
His reluctance was clear in his expression and she wished she could suck her question back in and take it all back. She made the decision that she didn't like seeing him like that and she would make a point to make sure it didn't happen again. Not because of her.
She couldn't help the frown that with his struggle, but as he tried again, her eyes widened. Lie detection, she'd heard of it a time or two, but had yet to come into contact with it. McKenna reached out to touch his hand in what she hoped was a comforting gesture, "There's nothing wrong with that. People should be held accountable for their lies. At least no one can hurt you by making you believe what isn't true." She didn't understand what was wrong with his ability that it made him reluctant to talk about it.
Watching her pull the jacket tighter around her made Sam smile. So she did like him. That was good. That was really good.
It didn't occur to him that his reaction to the question had made her feel guilty and when her hand moved over his, he turned it over so he was holding her hand. This was the most physically affectionate he had been with anyone not Alex and the thought made him sad.
As Kenny reassured him, the niggling thought to tell her about his biggest side effect overwhelmed him to the point of a stomachache and he winced. "Well, part of the reason why I had to stay in isolation was because of my uncontrollable snitching." He breathed out lightly as the stomachache abated slightly. "The uh...side effect to my ability is that I can't lie. Not even a little white lie. So...there is a lot of hurt going around." He tried to lighten the confession with a small chuckle.
"If you wanna leave, I won't stop you. Even if I want to. I...can understand why you would."
McKenna considered his words and took in what he was saying. He couldn't lie. Was that really such a bad thing? She often thought that she was a very straightforward person who didn't avoid the truth. She wasn't brash, but she didn't believe in lying, it never got her anywhere when she tried. But he was worried about himself not being able to lie.
Lacing her fingers through his, she gave his hand a squeeze before looking up at him. He genuinely looked scared that she would leave. But he hadn't given her any reason to. She liked him, he was sweet if not a little awkward. He reminded her of herself and she was not a malicious person. If he couldn't lie to her, she would take it as it came happily. There was a difference between being honest and being hurtful and she didn't see him doing it to hurt her.
"You don't know me very well, but you'll come to find out that I'm not the ditching type. There's nothing you can do about your ability, Sam. It's what we're given and we do the best we can with what we have." She gave him a reassuring smile and bit her lip as she cast her eyes down. "I really like this, though. Hanging out with you, I mean."
Having Kenny's fingers lacing through his was a surprise that he welcomed happily. She wasn't going anywhere it seemed, and she liked hanging out with him. It was bizarre, frankly, but he was going to take it.
His cheeks heated up and he smiled before looking up at her. "You're...really sweet, Kenny." He said. "I like this too."
He looked down at their joined fingers and his smile turned shy as his thumb grazed the base of hers. What were the odds of him finding a really cute girl who liked hanging out with his dorky self?
He was very glad he came out today.
He sipped from his mug some more and gestured outside with his head. "D'you think you're up for another round of snowball fights?" He asked, a hint of teasing in his voice.
Kenny couldn't place a time when she'd ever felt quite as content with a boy that she hadn't immediately saw as one of her best friends. She was comfortable with her two blonde protectors, sure, but she'd never seen them in the way that everyone else did. However, as she looked at Sam with his big brown eyes and that silly grin of his, she could feel herself melting. And she wasn't scared.
Her eyes lifted when he teased her and she made a face, "Although I enjoyed the outcome of the fight, I think I may need a crash course on snowball making before entering another fight." Plus, she had high hopes of the snow melting soon so that she could enjoy the weather again. She missed spring and summer because that was when she felt she thrived the most. It was more of her element than winter was.
"I almost had you though! For it being my first time and all, what does that say about your abilities," She grinned and brought the mug up to her lips as she shrugged.
Sam laughed and nodded before giving out a scandalised "Hey!" at her tease. "Almost being the operative word, thank you." He chuckled, squeezing her hand before pulling away to scratch the back of his neck.
"I may not be skilled at dodging snowballs but creating them is easy peasy." He waved a dismissive hand as he finished up his hot chocolate. "They should totally give us an edible scooper to get the bits from the bottom of the mug." He mused aloud as he tipped his mug and head back to capture the melted marshmallows near the bottom.
After he managed to get them, he set the mug down, leaving a ring of chocolate smudge on his cheeks.
"Yeah, yeah, sure," She scrunched her nose up and laughed. It made her laugh that he was so defensive about his skills. She assumed that came from having a sibling because she could relate. Cameron always gave her a hard time, but she guessed that was part of having an older sibling. Or maybe just a sibling in general.
McKenna's hand shot up to cover her mouth before she could laugh at the ring around his face. She was struggling to keep from bursting out and eventually her attempt failed. She giggled and bit down on her lower lip, "Uh, Sam, ya...ya got a little," She motioned in a circle around her face and hoped that he would understand between her burst of giggles.
When Kenny started giggling, Sam gave her an amused but confused look. He was about to ask what she was laughing about when she answered it for him by gesturing to his face. He rubbed at his face and found it to be sticky.
"Oh no. Not again." He groaned as he used his t-shirt to scrub at his face. "Did I get it?" He asked.
McKenna was relieved by the sudden change of mood. While she kept the information tucked away in her mind, she didn't want to keep going if it upset him. She hoped that with time she would get to learn more about the deep parts of his mind and his life, but she was content with their silly bantering for the time being.
Her lips pressed together tightly and she tried not to laugh anymore. As he wiped at his face with his shirt, she giggled again and cleared her throat before giving a nod, "Yeeeeup, you got it, hun. All good to go." She couldn't help the wide smile on her face, as it was beginning to be a permanent fixture in his presence. He had a way of making her laugh even when he wasn't trying, and it wasn't even at him, it was just because of the way he was. Like he didn't give a care what people looked at him like.
If only Kenny knew how much Sam actually did care, she would probably not find him as amusing as she thought. Sam was by no means a people pleaser but years of isolation had taught him that nobody liked him and that didn't sit well on him. Getting out of isolation made him realise that it wasn't that they didn't like him, they just didn't care for him.
That Kenny even noticed him and liked him was a feat all on its own. He didn't know how he had accomplished it but he was glad that he did.
Sam watched Kenny with a soft smile on his face. She radiated sunshine and it was directed at him. He couldn't help his heart skipping a beat as he looked at her. He was glad that she was accommodating enough to glaze over their previous conversation so he ventured further.
"Hey, if you're done, we should definitely hit the snow again." He grinned.
