THIRTEEN.   I'll be getting over you my whole life

      The next morning, the Nevermore students gathered at town hall to reveal the new Joseph Crackstone statue. Kennedy stood with her arms crossed while she watched the band set up. She felt someone come and stand beside her. "Your ex boyfriend is very obstinate."

She looked down and saw Wednesday. She narrowed her eyes. "Why do you say that?"

"I went to the old pilgrim meeting house in the woods last night."

Kennedy's eyes widened. "Wait, you went by yourself? Why didn't you have me go with you?"

Wednesday almost glared. "I don't need your help. I can do it myself."

"Well yeah, I know that." She rolled her eyes. "Okay, what'd you go for?"

Wednesday looked around to make sure nobody was around or listening. "So you remember when I had that vision during The Poe Cup?" She received a nod. "I saw this girl. She looked just like me. I've seen her in my visions before. Her name is Goody Addams and she's an ancestor from the 1600s. Crackstone accused her of being a witch and wad going to have her burned at the stake but she escaped,"

Kennedy slowly nodded. "Okay. . ." she trailed and took in the information. "How does this connect with the pilgrim house?"

"Crackstone gathered all the outcasts in the house and burned them alive. Goody told me that he won't stop until he kills at the outcasts. That's what Rowan was trying to tell me. Crackstone is the man from the book."

Kennedy was silent while she listened. She blinked slowly while trying to process the information.

Wednesday saw that she was doubting her. "You don't believe me."

"I didn't say that!"

"I can smell it off you." She sneered and walked away from her.

Kennedy quickly followed her. "Hey, hey, I believe you,  okay? I'm just trying to take it all in. But I believe you."

Wednesday paused and gave her the side eye, her stare dubious.

"What, uh. . . what does all of this have to do with Xavier? You said something about him." She remembered.

"He followed me."

"What?"

"He was probably hoping you were there," Wednesday said and started walking again. Kennedy followed beside her, discreetly rolling her eyes at the comment. "I saw the monster."

"The one that killed Rowan?" Kennedy gasped. "Wednesday!"

She waved her off. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. But that's not the important part. His footprints turned into human footprints."

She was almost perplexed. "H-Human footprints?"

Wednesday nodded. "Xavier showed up and said he overheard me talking about the Crackstone house. I told him about it and the footprints but he didn't believe me. He's very arrogant."

"Like you wouldn't believe," Kennedy muttered. "He's just. . . he believes everything his dad says. Even when Rowan was acting out he still didn't believe him."

"Kennedy, come on!" Presley shouted and waved the girl over to the stands.

She looked at her for a second before turning to Wednesday again. "I believe you. Don't worry." She told her and jogged away. "Good luck. I'll be cheering for you!"

"If you do, i'll rip out your vocal cords." Wednesday said back.

Enid spotted her coming to the stands and she jumped up. "Kenny, Kenny, you're not going to believe it. I have a date with Ajax tonight!" She exclaimed joyfully.

Kennedy gasped. "Really?" She grabbed her hands. "Yay, I'm so excited for you!"

"I already gave him the talk. Hurt her and we hurt him." Said Presley.

She nodded. "That's right." She climbed to the next stand and sat beside her. "If he breaks your heart, Presley will drain his blood."

Enid smiled at them. "Aww, thanks guys!" She sat on the seat in front of them and leaned her head against Kennedy's leg.

"It is my honor to celebrate our town's history and Jericho's noble forefather, Joseph Crackstone!" Mayor Walker announced to everyone. "Now, he believed that with a happy heart and an open ear, that there was nothing our town couldn't achieve. So together as one, our community and our friends at Nevermore Academy, we've built a monumental to celebrate his memory. Now, may the spirit of Joseph Crackstone be memorialized for eternity."

"Let's not, actually." Kennedy mumbled.

The band started to playing a rendition of Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac. Wednesday started playing the cello and her face remainder stoic and deadpan as ever.

Xavier slid beside her in the stands. "She doesn't look happy."

"Does she ever?"

He cracked a grin. "Guess not."

They watched the performance and Kennedy wasn't able to shake off what Wednesday told her. She leaned closer to him. "Why did you follow Wednesday to the meeting house?" She whispered.

He looked at her with wide eyes. "What?"

"Don't bother trying to lie. She told me everything. What were you doing out there?"

Xavier's mouth gaped like he was looking for an excuse. "I was, um. . ." He paused and she raised her eyebrows. "I was worried you two would be in danger."

"I wasn't with her."

"I thought you might be."

"So you followed her out there thinking i'd be there?" Kennedy asked again, thinking about Wednesday's statement.

He nodded and her stomach started to hurt like she could throw up. "Even if I was there, we'd have it handled. I can take care of myself." She kept her tough exterior on display.

Xavier smiled at her. "I know. Still worried though."

He continued to watch the performance but Kennedy kept her eyes on him. She didn't know how to feel. She didn't want it to be true. It couldn't be. Because if it was, that meant he broke her heart for nothing and all the pain she went through was for nothing. That couldn't be.

When Kennedy started to smell smoke, that's when she looked away from him. The Joseph Crackstone's statue erupt into flames. The crowd screamed in panic and began to scatter. "Holy shit!" Xavier cursed and grabbed her hand on instinct, dragging her off the bleachers.

The Nevermore students rushed back to the buses and Kennedy looked over her shoulder to see Wednesday still playing her cello.

For what seemed like the hundredth time this semester, Kennedy couldn't sleep. It was like her mind was running a marathon constantly. Presley was sound asleep in her bed, or above her bed, and she was snoring. Kennedy groaned in frustration and climbed out of bed and slipped on her shoes and jacket. She tip toed out of the room, careful to not wake the vampire.

It was a cold night. The air made her eyes water with tears. It was a quiet night, too quiet. Kennedy kept her arms wrapped around herself. She eyed the dark woods that she walked in. Xavier's art studio and as she walked closer, she saw him standing outside locking the doors. "Xavier?"

Her voice caused him to spin around. "Kennedy." He uttered with a wide eyed look.

"What are you doing out here so late?"

"Oh, I was. Uh. . ." He stuttered. "Uh. . ."

Her eyes landed on scratch marks embedded on his neck. "What the hell happened to your neck?" She walked closer to him.

Xavier quickly covered the marks. "It's nothing—"

"It doesn't look like nothing." She interrupted and took his hand away from his neck. "Xavier. . ."

"I scratched my neck," he claimed. She gave him a look that she didn't believe him. "I, uh, was stressing over a drawing I was doing and I accidentally scratched my neck too hard."

She looked at the marks again. "Those are pretty need scratches."

He nodded anyway. "I'm okay, Ken. I promise."

She stared at him a little longer than she intended.  She knew he was lying. Xavier's nails weren't that long. He had a habit of biting them. But she didn't want to start a fight by accusing him of lying. She had been there and done that.

"What are you doing out here?" Xavier quickly asked before she could ask another question. He playfully smirked. "Monster hunting?"

"Ha ha." She laughed sarcastically. "No. I couldn't sleep."

"Yeah, me neither." He motioned his head in the direction of the school. "Come on, it's cold out here."

The two of them headed back. "How come you can't sleep?" She asked him.

"I'm not sure, honestly. I've been staying up lately.  Thinking about things. . ."

"Like what?"

He glanced at her. The light from the moon shined on her face and made her dark eyes glimmer. Even when she was tired she looked beautiful. She was beautiful no matter what but Xavier recalled all the days in the summer when he thought she was the most beautiful person he had ever saw. Her smile was brighter than the sun and her laugh was like watching the leaves change colors.

The fall was when she was the most beautiful to him.  It's when she shined the most. She was heavenly.

Kennedy's face went red because of his staring. "Why are you looking at me like that?" She nervously laughed.

He didn't realize how long he'd been staring. "S-Sorry. Didn't mean to." He stammered.

It was a quiet walk back to the school. By the time they got back, it was well past 10:00. They had to sneak in. "Do you want me to walk you to your dorm?" He whispered.

Kennedy grinned. "No, that's okay. I can manage." She whispered back.

He went to say something else, but he was interrupted by heavy footsteps. Both of their eyes went large and Xavier grabbed her hand, pulling her away so they wouldn't get caught. They hid under the stairway and he peaked his head out to see the housemaster walking along the halls. He cursed under his breath.

"What is it?" She whispered again.

They were so close that he could feel her breath hit his ear. He tried not to shiver. "It's the housemaster." He answered.

When the footsteps died down, Xavier grabbed Kennedy's hand again and dragged her out from under stairway. "Come on."

He started pulling her in the direction of his dorm hall and her eyes widened. "What are you doing?"

"My dorm is the closest. We'll hide out till they leave."

"I'm allowed in your dorm!" She hissed under her breath.

Hearing the footsteps again, Xavier disregarded her statement and dragged her away again up the stairs.  Running down the hallway, he quickly opened the door to his room and they quickly walked in. He quietly shut the door behind them.

Kennedy leaned against the wall and laughed. "Holy shit, that was close."

Xavier chuckled back. "Yeah, it was." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, I didn't mean to drag you."

"It's okay." She said with a grin. She watched him rub his neck and she looked at the deep scratches. "Hey,  let me clean those for you."

"Oh no, that's okay—"

Kennedy held up her hand, making him go quiet. "I'm not giving you an option. Sit down." She ordered and went to his bathroom.

He listened and sat on his bed. Xavier rubbed his hands on his legs, suddenly feeling warm. He cracked his knuckles.

Kennedy came back with a wet rag and bandages. She got on her knees and pressed the rag to his neck, making him wince. "I'm sorry."

He shook his head. "Don't be."

She cleaned the blood more gently. Xavier titled his neck slightly so she could clean it better and she tried the best she could to refrain from looking him in the eye.

Every part of him stiffened with nerves. It was quiet, which made the tension in the room grow hotter, and Xavier was practically sweating. His eyes flickered to her every so often while hers was settled on the marks on his neck. "I feel like we haven't really got to talk." He spoke

She stifled a laugh. "We talk all the time."

"No, no, I mean. . . really talk, y'know."

"Oh. . ." She went quiet again. "Yeah,  I guess we haven't."

His eyes softened. "How have things been for you?"

She knew what he was referring to. Kennedy didn't like to talk about her home life. Very few people understand how things were for her. Xavier was the only person who she truly confided in when it came to her issues with her mother and her mental health. He always made it easy for her to talk to him.

But they weren't together anymore and Kennedy wasn't sure if she wanted to confide in him anymore. "My mom's still a drunk, my dad's still dead, and I'm still fucked in the head." She attempted to joke. The amusement went away when his face fell. "Sorry, that was funnier in my head."

She threw the bloody rag away and unwrapped the bandages. "Ken, it's okay to talk about these things. Especially with me. You know that." He assured her.

"Is it, Xavier?" She suddenly asked, more hostile than what she meant.

His brows furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I was having the worst day of my life and you broke up with me the same day." She continued and her voice gradually got louder. She didn't know why she was getting so angry.

"Because things weren't working out with us, Kennedy."

"No, you didn't want to fight for us!" She accused and stood up from the floor.

"Are you serious?" Xavier questioned and angrily stood up from the bed. "I fought for us every single time we argued! I tried keeping how I was feeling to myself because I didn't want to hurt your feelings. Don't try and tell me I didn't fight for us!"

He stopped yelling when he saw that she had started to cry. "Hey, I'm sorry." He spoke softly and moved closer to her. "I don't want to fight, Ken."

"But don't you see!" Kennedy hissed through the tears. "We can't even be friends without fighting. I can't keep doing this, Xavier." She didn't realize those were the same words he uttered to her the night of their break up.

Without thinking, Xavier grabbed the sides of her face. "Don't say that, Kennedy. You're so important to me. Your friendship means everything to me. I'm sorry for yelling. I didn't mean to. Just please. . . don't give up on this."

Neither of them knew exactly what he was referring to. Or maybe they did and they chose to ignore it. Whatever it was, that were both feeling it heavy in their hearts. It was such a dreadful feeling to want something so much and not being able to have it.

Kennedy would be getting over him her whole life.

Her hands pressed against his wrists and she closed her eyes. His thumbs rubbed soothingly against her cheeks and he wiped away the tears that had fallen. It was weird for him to think about how pretty she was when she cried but that's what he was thinking.

Kennedy slowly opened her eyes and felt herself being captivated by his. They were bluer than every dancing sky with infinite hues illuminate. Slate outer rings with teal all the way to the black.

She didn't register how close they were until their lips were almost touching. His breath was on her face. Her face was still enclosed in his hands. All she could think was how divine he was to look at. He was as glorious as the art he created everyday. When their noses touched, she breathed in deeply. Paint and nature. That's what he always smelt like.

She had to fight against herself to be able to pull away. "I can't, Xavier. . ."

Xavier froze where he was. His eyes scanned her face. He saw regret and sorrow. He didn't want to lose her. If it meant he would never be able to be with her again, he would be okay with it eventually. Because she was here and she was in front of him. That was enough for him.

So he hugged her. It was a spur of the moment thing. It shocked them both. But one thing Kennedy could never resist were his hugs. Xavier's hugs were the best. She closed her eyes again and wrapped her arms around his waist and she suddenly felt like she was home.