Because I was really curious how the night went for Kennedy. Enjoy!

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"Your grandmother Maggie taught me how to do this," Carter said, twisting Kennedy's hair up into a french knot.

Kennedy stared at her mother in the mirror's reflection. "Really?"

It had been a delightful surprise to Kennedy to find her mother home that day. She hadn't been sure whether Carter would make it back from her assignment to help Kennedy get ready for Winter Formal. But there they were in the master bathroom, stationed before the vanity mirror. Bouncy music played quietly from Kennedy's phone adding an atmosphere of excitement to the occasion.

Her mother smiled as she grabbed pins and secured the french twist. Kennedy didn't want this moment to end. She wanted to savor the feel of her mother deftly fixing her hair. The quick, efficient hands that preformed every action with confidence.

"She did," Carter said, answering Kennedy. "I didn't know how to do anything with my hair until I was out of college. Up until that point, it was a ponytail or a tangled mess, there wasn't much in between."

The conversation Kennedy'd had with her father about her mother's past filtered into her mind. She sobered, dropping her gaze away from her mother. "Because your mother left when you were fourteen?"

Carter paused for a fraction of a second and Kennedy felt her heart tightening, unable to imagine what it must have been like to have a mother walk out.

"Yes, because of that." Retrieving her smile, Carter patted Kennedy's hair and Kennedy saw how the pain in her mother's expression was forced away. "All done! How does it feel?"

Knowing better than to try and prod around old memories, Kennedy tossed her head about, feeling the security of the up-do. "Like I could take on a pack of assailants and it would still be fine."

Carter laughed which lightened Kennedy's sadness. "Good. Now, makeup or no makeup?"

Kennedy locked eyes with her mother, noting that she never saw a hint of makeup on her face. The times she had seen her wear it was for formal functions or undercover assignments. Every time she saw her mother's face made-up it never felt real. Kennedy scrunched up her face, uncertain.

"I don't know. You don't wear makeup," she said. "But do you think it would make me look prettier?"

Carter wrapped her arms around Kennedy's shoulders and pressed her cheek to hers, holding her gaze in the mirror. Her mother smelled like coffee and a subtle perfume and felt like safety. "You are beautiful just the way you are," Carter said.

Smiling, Kennedy rolled her eyes, embarrassed. "You're my mother, that's what you have to say."

Laughing, Carter kissed Kennedy's cheek. "Nope, I say that because you have your father's amazing cheekbones and my chin and eyes. I'm merely backhandedly complimenting your parentage."

Kennedy shook her head but was happy she had so much of her mother in her. As she kept growing she hoped it would be more. Her confidence. Her fearlessness. Her determination.

"Well," Kennedy said, "I think the eyes you gave me would be enhanced by eyeliner, so let's go with that."

"Sounds good." Carter opened a drawer and found what she needed then crouched before Kennedy. "Close your eyes."

Kennedy did as instructed. "How do you have such a steady hand? I've tried this before and I shake so much."

"Well, you defuse a bomb once and it gives you a steady hand like you would never know."

Kennedy's eyes flew open. "You defused a bomb!"

Carter gave her a stern look that was only half convincing. "Eyes closed, this is delicate work."

"Yeah, the fate of the world lays on your steady hand now, not when you defused a bomb!"

Carter chuckled. Kennedy waited for the story, wanted to hear in what situation her mother would have to defuse a bomb. But it didn't come. Part of her knew it wouldn't. Stories of what her parents faced were rare and heavily redacted when they were told. Even though Kennedy knew it was for her own good, part of her couldn't help but want to know more.

"Look at me," her mother said, finishing the task.

Kennedy blinked and held herself from looking at her reflection so her mother would have the chance to observe her handy work.

"You're right, this totally does enhance the eyes I gave you."

Amused, Kennedy swiveled to the mirror, inspecting the result. She smiled, her eyes popping. As she was about to comment on her appearance, she heard a series of knocks on the front door and her father say something. Panicked, she jumped from her seat.

"I have to get dressed," she said.

"What's the rush, your father will keep Aaron entertained," Carter said.

Images of Aaron passing out from terror of what her father said flashed through Kennedy's mind. "That's exactly what I'm afraid of. The Commander will chew Aaron up leaving nothing for me to go to the dance with."

Before Carter could reassure her, Kennedy vanished into her parent's closet where she had stored her dress. Hurriedly, she unzipped her hoodie and left it on the floor followed by her sweatpants. She pulled her dress on and tried to close the zipper herself but with poor results. When she reappeared in the bathroom, she found her mother had cleared away the evidence of their time together.

"Can you help me?" she asked, spinning around.

The silky material of the dress encased Kennedy.

"Let's see," Carter said.

Even feeling pressed for time, Kennedy took a step back and held out her arms, letting her mother have the full view. The dress was a deep wine color that mixed well with Kennedy's almond skin.

"What do you think of the dress?" she asked.

Carter smiled. "You do look beautiful."

Kennedy laughed, her father had been right. "Dad said you would say that. He also explained how you feel about dresses."

Carter shrugged. "It's a complicated relationship." She waved her away. "Now hurry and get your shoes, it's been five minutes, you might still be able to save Aaron."

Remembering that her date was in peril, Kennedy scampered away. Snatching up her discarded clothes from the closet, Kennedy dumped them in her room and found the flats with the bows that matched her dress.

After sliding into them, she gave herself one more appraisal. A knot of nerves crowded her stomach and she took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. Grabbing a small purse her grandmother had given her for her previous birthday, Kennedy walked into the living room.

When she spotted Aaron still conscious, she let out a sigh of relief. She still had a date.

"Kennedy will be out in a second," Carter said.

"I'm here," Kennedy said, rushing out of the hallway.

Aaron's whole countenance changed when he spotted her. His eyebrows went up and he flushed. Kennedy smiled at the unspoken compliment. She had to admit he looked pretty good himself. His black hair was unruly, but in a cute sort of way and the button-down shirt and slacks he wore fit well on his gangly frame.

"Hi," she said, aware that her parents were politely giving them space.

"Hey," Aaron said, a bit breathless. "You look...so great."

Kennedy beamed. "Thanks, you look good too."

Aaron reddened. Feeling more confident by the minute, Kennedy took Aaron's hand. The second she did, he turned to stone, his eyes darting over to her father. In that look, she knew her father must have threatened him in some manner. When Donovan narrowed his eyes, Kennedy saw that Aaron look as if he might faint right then and there. Wanting to avoid that outcome, Kennedy tugged him towards the door and safety.

"We're going," she announced.

As she was reaching for the door, her mother called out.

"Aaron, sweetie," she said. He peered back as did Kennedy. Her mother smiled but Kennedy knew that look, there was an undertone of warning in it. "Know that I have a badge as well."

Kennedy yanked a wide-eyed Aaron out the door, not even wanting to guess what fear her father had burned into him that a statement like her mother's would scare Aaron more. In the elevator, Kennedy cast a worried glance at Aaron, he looked about ready to puke.

"You know they weren't serious, right?" she said, not wanting to risk her dress getting ruined.

Aaron swallowed hard. "You sure, cause your dad showed me his badge and it looked real."

Kennedy waved this away. "Oh the badge is real and he probably could do whatever he said he would, but he won't actually do it. He would get in trouble with the Bureau if he did."

Kennedy was trying to lighten the mood, but Aaron didn't look mollified.

It took the entire car ride to the school for Aaron to come out of the terror her parents had inflicted. If he hadn't, Kennedy was never going to talk to her parents again.

When she took his hand as they entered the school, Aaron relaxed. Kennedy was relieved, she hadn't wanted to spend the whole night with a petrified boy.

They handed in their tickets and stepped into the gym. Hugging the walls were tables filled with refreshments. A DJ stand was at the far end positioned before the dance floor, which was currently empty. Strobe lights attached to the crisscrossed beams overhead flashed in blue and white, distorting the crowded gym. Music blared from speakers, beating against Kennedy's eardrums.

Kennedy scanned the clusters of students, half of which were chatting with each other as others took pictures and stared at their phones. When she spotted Harrison and his date, Julia, she steered Aaron towards them. Harrison cleaned up well, his hair was styled and the suit he wore fit him so good Kennedy felt a tug of jealousy that it wasn't his hand she was holding.

Beside him was a girl that couldn't have been more of Kennedy's opposite, curvy, blonde, and pale. Kennedy wanted to believe it was purposeful, but she couldn't tell, maybe that really was his type. Everything she wasn't.

"Hey!" she said, as they stopped in front of the laughing pair.

Harrison brightened at the sight of her in her dress which made Kennedy's stomach flutter.

"Kenny, you look like a girl, that's strange," he teased.

In retaliation, she punched his arm, making him wince. "I always look like a girl, you're just too dense to notice."

"I notice," Aaron said.

Kennedy gazed up at him and smiled, unsure if she was happy with his comment or the way it made Harrison look at Aaron as if deciding he didn't actually care for the guy.

"You do look really pretty," Julia said.

Kennedy's smile turned brittle because the comment was completely sincere and Kennedy hated that it was. This girl was kind to a fault.

"Same!" she said, not wanting to be outmatched. "The dress works perfectly with your hair."

It was true, the soft yellow was a perfect blend with Julia's blonde curls, making her look a bit like an angel.

"I feel like this is where I should compliment you, Aaron but I'm not going to because that would be weird," Harrison said.

Kennedy knew it was a dig at her because she wasn't one for compliments, but Aaron laughed.

"Thanks, man. That means I don't have to find something to say in return."

Both guys grinned at each other and like that they were chill.

"I saw your parents are here," Kennedy said. Her eyes cut to one wall of the gym where Harrison's parents stood with their heads bent towards each other like they were two teens sharing secrets. Harrison sighed and glanced back at his parents.

"Yeah, they have decided that I should die a slow death by embarrassment." He looked at her. "I'm surprised your parents aren't here, ready to shoot anyone who wrongs you."

"Oh they're here," Kennedy said, flippantly. "You just won't see them."

Aaron froze as Harrison laughed and Julia looked baffled but amused. Wishing she hadn't made the comment, Kennedy squeezed Aaron's hand and dragged him towards the dance floor.

"It's fine," she said.

He nodded but swiveled his head about, searching.

She was going to kill her parents.

When they got to the dance floor, Kennedy fell into the rhythm of the music, letting it help her forget that the person before her wasn't the one she wished she had come with. The more she teased and flirted with Aaron, the more he relaxed and let the fear of her parents fade.

By the time the music shifted into something slower, he was smiling down at her, completely at ease. When he wrapped his arms around her waist, his hands were lower than necessary and Kennedy guided them upward. He flushed and she happily draped her arms about his neck.

Something in the corner of Kennedy's eye snagged her attention. She looked up just in time to see two black-clad figure disappearing through the skylight. She grinned.

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Bang bang!
(Into your heart!)

The white zone is for unloading your thoughts only. 🗯💭💬

The red zone is for loading your thoughts. ❤️

The green zone is where I hang out and generally just kick back and relax. 🟢🟩

So, I found this chapter really interesting to write because of how different writing Kennedy and writing Carter is. You might have noticed this but I go a lot more into what Kennedy is thinking and feeling than I ever do with Carter, which I don't find all that surprising.

Honestly, Carter still remains so much of a mystery to me that I'm not sure I could ever really get into her head, but it's not the same with Kennedy. I understand Kennedy, I can hear her thoughts and know exactly how she's feeling. Carter it always takes time.

How did you like the difference between the two chapters?

Vote, comment, follow cause you love me and you know it's worth it!