Chapter Text
It hadn’t taken Kenny long to want to see Rory again. Meeting up with him had made him realise how small his social circle was. He had his mom, his sisters, Heather… and that was it. After the betrayal, he lost Ryan, and the only other friend he had moved away a few years after the Texas trip. He was unable to remember the last time they talked. He’d never had the most packed social calendar, but thinking about lonely he often felt made an ache in his chest appear.
The only problem with seeing Rory again was that he was unsure what the protocol was. It wasn’t like they were really going out. He didn’t want to look clingy and weird if it was too soon, but he didn’t want to leave things too long and have Rory think he was ignoring him. Man, it was hard. He’d always worried about this stuff, but he never remembered it feeling this difficult. The fact he’d never been in a situation quite like this one didn’t help.
After coming home from another dinner shift at the restaurant, he sat down and began to Google date ideas, a task that only made him feel like more of a loser. Before he could overthink any further, he took a deep breath and sent the texts.
KENNY: hey :) i hope you had a good day
KENNY: i was wondering if youd like to go bowling sometime?
KENNY: only if you want to of course
He prepared to put his phone down and head off to the shower before bed, but before he could, the three dots that indicated Rory was typing appeared. The man really hadn’t been lying about being unable to remember the last time he was asleep before two in the morning.
RORY: would love 2 but cant
RORY: u steal a few bowling pins and they ban u for life :/
RORY: fuckin losers
Kenny wondered if the strange messages back were Rory’s way of trying to be gentle about not wanting to see him again so soon, but it was hard to tell. Before he could try and come up with a casual way to ask, more messages came through.
RORY: would be down 2 hang again tho
RORY: thought abt u today. saw a fry that looked like a flamingo ;)
Well… that was thoughtful, wasn’t it? No one he was sure he was dating had ever mentioned a flamingo shaped fry to him before. It was enough to inspire him to text back with his own date idea. It wasn’t one of the things mentioned in any of the articles he’d read, but it was authentically Kenny, and inviting Rory to one of the most important parts of his week felt like a nice thing to do.
KENNY: im going to the farmers market with my friend on sunday
KENNY: you can come with us if you want: :)
No reply came through for ten minutes, and Kenny began to worry. He hid in the shower and tried to quell his anxiety, and found a message waiting for him when he emerged.
RORY: ok
It was a more enthusiastic reply than Kenny had expected.
***
On Sunday, Kenny arrived at the farmer’s market first, scanning the parking lot for Heather’s black convertible. It was a stunning vehicle and hard to miss, him sure that she loved it more than most people. She’d bought it with some of her inheritance money, deciding she needed a project to put her anger and frustration into. Considering how much of both she had, it was no surprise the car had turned out so well.
While she was the only person who understood, he didn’t like to talk about the trip to Texas with her unless she brought it up first. It felt wrong to cry about being cheated on when her entire life had imploded. She lost her boyfriend and best friend in one shot, just as Kenny had, then found out her adoptive parents were kidnappers and she came from a line of murderous cannibals. She’d wanted to find a family and instead discovered that her only living blood relative was a serial killer who wore people’s faces. Instead of choosing between the Millers and the Sawyers, she decided to say ‘fuck it all,’ and forge her own path instead.
She dealt with a legal nightmare when they got home, from her adoptive parents trying to come after her inheritance, to the town of Newt, Texas being incensed by her very existence, and a lawsuit from Darryl McEwan’s family when his body was at last retrieved from the basement of the Carson Estate. That last incident had lead to the death of her only living blood relative. She wasn’t sad to see Jedediah Sawyer go and was relieved she never met the guy, but it had been another mess for her to clean up.
Her parents were now cut off. She made a deal with the townspeople that they would leave her be if she swore never to return and gave them the go ahead to torch the mansion to the ground. Darryl McEwan’s family went away when she settled out of court for a generous sum. She bought herself an apartment and rented a studio where she constructed elaborate bone sculptures, and displayed her art under the name E. Rose. Every now and then, the true crime vultures would descend again, but she made her mess of a life work.
Heather’s boots clicked across the parking lot, a hand sliding the handle of her black crochet tote bag over her shoulder. “Good morning, Kenneth.”
“Good morning, Edith,” Kenny grinned. He was the only person who could use her birth name without threat of murder, their “old people names” as Heather called them having become an inside joke. It was nice to have something about her painful past to laugh at.
He got up from the bench and stood with her, unable to see any sign of Rory in the parking lot yet. “How have you been lately?”
“Dealing,” Heather replied, blunt as always. “Nikki had the nerve to follow me on the art Instagram. Blocked her, of course. I swear, if she shows up at my next show, especially with a tripod, she’s dead.”
Kenny flinched at the mention of her name, even after all this time. Heather sighed, reaching over to squeeze his shoulder.
“Sorry,” she sighed. “What about you?”
“Good. The restaurant keeps me busy,” he said back. He tried to act casual, but a smile burst through as he looked down at the concrete. “I’m excited to see the guy from speed dating again. Thanks for being cool with me inviting him.”
“Of course. I’m excited to see him myself. It’s nice to see you out there again,” Heather teased, giving him a little nudge with her elbow. “All I hope is that he’s a haggler. I can’t have two of you apologising while you’re trying to get a better deal.”
Kenny laughed shyly, but before he could reply, had his attention taken by the sound of a blue car screeching into the parking lot. Music blared from it at a volume that made the car shake, and smoke followed it in a quantity that felt a tad concerning. Heather frowned as she took in the scene, letting out a cough.
“What a fucking loser, huh?” She spat.
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Kenny mumbled, shrugging.
The car stopped, almost hitting a pole, and the driver emerged, appearing to be shocked by the own force of him shutting the door. Heather rolled her eyes at the scene, and wondered if the guy was lost. She didn’t imagine he’d have must interest in fresh produce of the farmer’s market variety.
Her irritation turned to fear when the dickhead from the car staggered in their direction, shooting a big smile at Kenny.
“Oh no, no, no…” Heather said hurriedly, shaking her head as the man continued to approach. “Kenneth, you can’t be fucking serious.”
***
Going out with Kenny for a few weeks had seemed so simple in Rory’s head - go on a few dates, have fun, enjoy some delicious food, and get his mom off his case. He had now realised that it was not going to be that easy, even though he had a plan. He had not been counting on having to make an appearance at a farmer’s market… and at nine thirty on a Sunday morning as well. That was criminal. At least he hadn’t overdone it the night before, but he’d be lying if he said he didn’t wish he was still in bed.
At least the hit before he left had… woken him up, you could say. There was no way he was showing up at this lame place sober. It felt impossible to get through this strange morning without something in his system.
It was easy to spot Kenny when he got out of the car. He stood out in a sea of beige and grey, sporting a pink and aqua flamingo shirt. At least someone else with a personality came here. He wondered how many flamingo patterned shirts Kenny had, imagining a closet that was an inviting, vast kaleidoscope of colours. The thought of diving in there made him laugh, it coming out more like a wheeze. He only pulled himself together when he realised he was being glared at, which totally killed the vibe.
The source of the glare was the lady standing next to Kenny, and it was immediately apparent to him that she was hot. She was friends with Kenny? She’d mastered the whole messy on purpose thing with her hair, and had the most stunning light blue eyes he’d ever seen. Her stylish black jacket was open, showing off a black and white stripy top that he wished showed a little more skin, and those tight jeans were a work of art. She was not as attractive as his current number one unattainable hottie, social media sensation Nikki Waters, but she was up there, alright.
He gave her a lazy smile and hoped that she hadn’t noticed him checking her out. After all, he was there for Kenny, wasn’t he? He knew she’d caught on when he got no smile back. Damn. Ladies usually loved him. As usual, he brushed off the fact that ladies only seemed to love him when there was booze and drugs to score.
Kenny was oblivious to her distaste, beaming as he looked between them. “Heather, this is Rory Peters, the guy from speed dating I was telling you about.”
“Hey.” Rory broke out another charming smile, and held out a hand for her to shake. The handshake was brief, and she immediately reached into her tote and produced a small bottle of hand sanitiser to use. “Heather, right?”
“Yeah, Heather,” she replied, trying to keep the venom out of her voice for Kenny’s sake. Hands clean, she slipped the little bottle back into her tote, and vowed to never make physical contact with him again.
Rory raised an eyebrow. “Just… Heather?”
Her reply was deadpan. “Yeah, Heather. Just Heather. I don’t have a surname. Clerical error on my birth certificate. It’s quite rare.”
Rory decided to just go with it. Kenny took over as they headed towards the doors of the farmer’s market, and he tried his best to take in what he was being told. He and Heather came here every Sunday to shop for some of the supplies for the restaurant for the week, organise delivery, and do some light personal grocery shopping as well. Heather helped Kenny haggle, as he was terrible at doing it himself.
“Why go to all that trouble?” Rory asked with a laugh. “Can’t you just steal it?”
Heather turned to look at him with an expression of utter contempt as Kenny disappeared through the doors. “Just stay out of the way and let us work, alright? I swear, if you fuck this up for Kenny…”
She didn’t even have to complete the sentence. Usually, Rory would have something to fire back with in the pipeline, but found he had no words. Up closer, Heather’s blue eyes were definitely still pretty, but also had a freaky aura that told him to stay in his lane… a little. He had a sinking feeling that Heather had seen right through him, and he didn’t like it at all.
“Whatever,” he muttered.
“Glad to see we have an understanding,” Heather replied, shooting him a forced, fake smile. She mumbled something else under her breath as she turned away to follow her friend. “Kenny still knows how to pick them…”
Heather disappeared to catch up with Kenny before he could come up with something to say back. That last bit needled at him, and he wished he could have asked about it. What was Kenny’s taste usually like? It couldn’t be that bad if he was giving him a chance for a few weeks. All that would have to wait for later, though, as while he had dragged his feet, it was now time to find out what the farmer’s market was all about.
The place appeared to never end. There was fresh produce as far as he could see, all sorts of stalls selling bottles of homemade salad dressing, sauces, jams and chutneys, an extensive butcher’s section towards the back, fresh milk in cute glass bottles… it was like something out of a lame ass TV romance movie. He was out of his depth, but told himself to get a grip. He did not get intimidated by things like farmer’s markets.
He could “haggle” too. He’d come back with a bunch of stuff and Kenny would be so impressed that Just Heather wouldn’t be able to say a word about it. Kenny did know how to pick them, very much.
Rory tried to acquaint himself with his surroundings before he made any moves, but the place was so large that it felt impossible to keep track of everything. His eyes were drawn to a stand filled with avocados, and as soon as he thought he could get away with it, he stuffed two in his pockets. He followed it up with two cobs of corn, and some green apples Kenny could bake a delicious pie with… hopefully for him. That was a good start. He was getting better deals than Kenny’s scary, hot friend already.
The cute little jars of jam looked good, but the lady behind the stall was watching her products like a hawk, him deciding to give it a miss. He moved on and finally located Heather, currently haggling with a farmer over punnets of strawberries while Kenny mumbled apologies beside her. His energy was so anxious and it sucked. If he could just chill out more, he would be so much cooler.
Deciding it was for the best to leave them alone, he continued on, his attention caught by a stall piled high with artisan cheeses. It was time to mix things up a little - he’d show Kenny that Just Heather wasn’t the only one that could do the haggling thing.
“Hey,” Rory called out to the man behind the stall. “Look, I get that you uh, have to milk cows and churn shit… but this is fucked up. Twenty five dollars for the world’s smallest hunk of cheese? You should be arrested for that. Locked. Up.”
This was often the part where someone took a swing at him for being so annoying. Today, though, the man studied him, frozen at first, before hurriedly telling him he could have it for fifteen dollars instead if he promised not to come back. Rory nodded, and the deal was sealed. He told the guy he should be ashamed of himself, and laughed when he got a gulp in response.
He continued the same technique at a few other stalls and continued to produce results. He could sense Heather’s glare on his back, but she never intervened, so she couldn’t be too angry with him. Kenny caught on too after awhile, and to Rory’s surprise, he was the one to say something, face a little red.
“Thanks for uh, helping…” he mumbled, and it appeared to be a fight for him to come out with the rest of the words. “But… maybe you’re being a bit too… harsh. S-sorry.”
“It’s cool, Kenny,” Rory replied dismissively. “You don’t want people to walk all over you.”
He thought Kenny wanted to protest, but couldn’t get the words out. Instead, his eyes flicked down to the pocket of Rory’s hoodie, and after a moment of hesitation, he reached over and plucked a capsicum out. He placed it back on the stand with a sheepish smile, and then walked off to find Heather. As soon as he was gone, Rory put it back in his pocket and laughed to himself. Kenny really had to live a little.
***
It had been a rather successful morning at the farmer’s market for Kenny. Deliveries would be arriving at The Purple Flamingo tomorrow, and Heather had secured some good deals. To his surprise, Rory had helped too… in his own way. He wasn’t sure about his somewhat threatening way of haggling, and the stealing was mortifying. He hoped none of this had ruined his standing at the farmer’s market, but the thought of saying anything else to Rory about it made him feel bad. He didn’t approve, but he was fun to hang out with. It was a look at a person Kenny could never be in a million years.
“So…” he asked, his own grocery bags slung over his arm, “next stop’s the coffee shop?”
At first, all he got was silence. He thought he saw Heather shoot Rory a glare, and the man winced as Heather “accidentally” stepped on his foot. Kenny told himself he was misunderstanding things - they’d seemed to have gotten along fine at the farmer’s market.
“I uh, just remembered I have work later,” Rory stammered.
Heather smiled. “Yeah. Would be a shame if you were late. See you.”
“Guess so,” Rory muttered. “Bye, Heather… Just Heather.”
Rory retreated with a smirk, squeezing Kenny’s shoulder, Heather watching on with a sour expression. Kenny seemed to be melting as he watched Rory speed out of the parking lot in a cloud of smoke, and that brought Heather back down to earth. She reached for his hand, gripping it tightly.
“Let’s go get that coffee,” she told him.
This week, it was Kenny’s turn to pay, so Heather went to grab their usual table before anyone could snap it up, settling down in a comfortable red chair. The line gave Kenny time to think, wallet in hand as he waited. He reminded himself that Rory was not looking for anything serious, and he wasn’t supposed to be either, so it didn’t matter if Heather had liked him or not. He wouldn’t be sticking around… but unfortunately, he already wanted to see Rory again. He told himself not to get ahead of things, as he often did in any situation that involved dating.
He returned to the table with their order, sitting down opposite Heather. She slipped her trusty notebook back into her tote and had a bite of her blueberry muffin, giving the coffee time to come down from scalding. Kenny took a bite from his usual raspberry danish and tried to control himself, but the question came out of his mouth in no time.
“So, what did you think of Rory?” He asked.
Heather couldn’t hold in her laugh. She and Kenny were a lot closer than they’d been before the trip to Texas, and now, she couldn’t lie to him at all. Maybe she was brutal sometimes, but it was for his own good.
“I mean, he was something. Don’t think I like that something, though,” she said, reaching for her coffee. She let out a sigh of contentment as the caffeine buzz hit her. “I wish he’d refrained from stumbling out the door with avocados in his pockets, but… well… the guy was clearly high.”
“What?” Kenny asked, almost choking on a crumb of raspberry danish. “He was not! I would’ve been able to tell.”
“Did you see his eyes?” Heather laughed, shaking her head. “God, Kenny, I sometimes forget how naive you are. You couldn’t even smoke a cigarette without having an asthma attack.”
Kenny cringed, feeling like such a loser. “I mean… I still would have been able to tell. It doesn’t matter that I don’t… do stuff.”
Her voice softened as she continued, leaning in a bit. “I’m not judging you, Kenny. I just thought it was… of note. A little something at a party is one thing, but I don’t think you’re doing too hot if you have to get blasted to go to a farmer’s market.”
“He didn’t seem that different to me,” Kenny mumbled. He wondered then if Rory had been high every time they’d ever been in contact with each other, but brushed the thought away. He didn’t want to think like that.
She wiped her hands on a napkin and reached to take his hand, her bracelets jingling as she did so. It was cold, and coarse from her work as an artist, but comforting all the same.
“I just… care about you,” she said, fidgeting a bit. “I don’t want you to get hurt again, Kenny. I know what happened with Ryan and Nikki really fucked you up.”
Their names made Kenny wince, but his stubbornness made the pain easier to ignore this morning. Instead, he leaned in a bit, a little smile spreading across his lips.
“Well, uh… I do have something to tell you,” he began, “you just can’t tell my mom or my sisters.”
Heather grimaced. “Fuck, Kenny, was “speed dating” your code word for a drunken marriage?”
“What?!” Kenny exclaimed. “Oh god, no! I just mean… Rory and I have a… plan. We’re not serious about this… it’s just a few weeks thing. His mom’s worried about him, and you know what my sisters are like, so we thought we could help each other.”
“I can see why his mother would be worried,” Heather muttered under her breath. “Are you sure about that? I know what you’re like, Kenny. You go… all in when you like someone. I’m still worried that you’ll get hurt.”
Kenny tried not to wince. Heather seemed to be able to reach into his brain and just know him. He pulled his hands away gently so he could pick up his mug with both hands, not trusting himself with one right now. The heat against his palms was pleasant, but did little to calm his nerves.
“I’ll be careful,” he told her. He was unsure if either of them believed it.