Going in Circles Around the Square (Kendra/Cecil)

Kendra was considering whether or not she actually wanted to go to the movies. On one hand, she wasn't sure she wanted to use money to see a movie she'd probably already seen before. On the other hand, she would have an easy area of escape from her parents and she might see something new and entertaining.

She knew about what had happened recently with the news. Her parents had wanted her to avoid the area for a few days just in case. Kendra, however, was not going to listen to whatever stupid warning her parents had when she wasn't affected by the situation. She leaned up against the nearest wall she could find, looking around. Maybe some random object she saw could help influence her decision.

A boy and his headphones moved through the area, idly wandering. He...actually felt rather refreshed, to be honest. Trying to figure out a date was a lot less mental strain than studying in nearly all your free time.
It was far, far more nerve-wracking though.
He'd traded one problem for another.

At least this way, he could wander more, get some time to himself...excuse himself that he was seeing what he could find that might be good. There had to be something that'd be perfect for this.
He needed it to be perfect.

Kendra was still trying to figure out whether or not she was going to go see a movie when she noticed a familiar figure. She wasn't completely sure she had seen him, but she figured it would be better to double-check whether or not it had been him. She checked again, eyes landing on Cecil. Considering her new arrangement with Nadia, and the fact not a lot of people were named Cecil around here, she decided to take a chance and assume some things.

"Cecil! Great to see you again!" She yelled excitedly as she ran towards him, looking like a child who had just seen an ice cream shop. She stopped as soon as she was in front of him, bouncing on her toes. "By the way, I should tell you your girlfriend is a very good catch. Nadia's really smart and kind, and she has that kind of Victorian Era Gothic charm thing. Really beautiful." If Kendra had any social skills, she probably would've realized that was not what you were supposed to say approaching a guy you met and ended up dragging around and pestering.

Cecil removes his headphones as a feminine voice pierces their isolation, looking over to where the voice to see...Kendra, running at him? That...yes, it was her...the enthusiastic greeting utterly baffled him.
And then she started telling him he'd landed a very nice girlfriend, and soon all higher brain function started to shut down.
"I-I-I, y-you, what? Wh-aaat are you-u taalking about?"

Kendra raised an eyebrow, looking mildly annoyed, though confusion took up most of her face. "Hello? I'm talking about Nadia Marquee? Likes randomly drawing people and helping others? Kind and wise? A Victorian Era style beauty? My new roommate? Oh yeah, I'm sort of living with Nadia now. Thought you might wanna know." In Kendra's mind, going on a date with somebody meant those two were going steady. She really didn't understand anything about romance.

"But what are you up to? Are you planning a surprise for Nadia or something? That's what a boyfriend does, right? At least that's what happens in romance movies." The girl remained oblivious to the fact she was talking to somebody who was basically a complete stranger. She also remained oblivious to the fact romance movies were not good reflections of reality.

"You're living with her?!" It seemed Kendra was determined to throw Cecil's mind into disarray, sending him reeling with one startling blow after another to his mental coherency. After every strike, she doubled down with another, sending everything into a wild spin that confused sense and direction.
He pressed a hand to his head as he tried vainly to recentre himself. "We haven't even dated or anything yet...! She's...not, not my girlfriend." He starts to laugh, slightly hysterically. "Me? With a girlfriend? What kind of delusional reality is that?" He shakes his head, the laughter not stopping. "This...this isn't a movie. This is really life and I can't understand how these are actual questions now!"

"Yeah! We talked about some things and, to make a long story short, she helped to encourage me to run away from home. So we're roommates now. It seemed Kendra couldn't quite understand the fact that Cecil was getting overwhelmed. To her, it seemed like a very straightforward concept, and she couldn't get the fact somebody might be overwhelmed when some radon girl came forth to talk about how nice somebody's girlfriend was and mention they had moved in with her.

""Nadia mentioned going on a date. And if you two are going on a date, then you two must be in a relationship. I have to admit though, I have a hard time seeing the two of you together. Nadia seems so much cooler than you! No offense. Kendra was just too happy to keep a filter on her mouth, words spilling out of her like a waterfall. "Wait, are you saying those movies aren't true in the slightest? There has to be some kind of fact in them. Like with advertisements. They always make the products look better than they are. I'm sorry, I'm just talking too much. Really excited. How's your day been? Never answered my question about what you were up to? Kendra's brain was moving faster than her body, though her mouth kept in time with it. She eagerly awaited an answer, shifting weight from one foot to the other.

"O...okay...that's a thing! That's definitely a thing now!" As much as he knew the idea was utterly ridiculous, it was hard not to feel that someone up on high was determined to screw with him. The odds of this scenario were stupidly low - and yet, here he was, currently trying not to lose it because it had decided to happen anyway.

The laughter wouldn't stop, hysteria ramping up and up with every word from Kendra's mouth. He needed it to stop but it just kept going, increasing bit by bit as it threatened to start stealing his breath. "Have...have you never heard of first dates?! Testing the waters?! Trying to figure things out?!" His hand starts to clench his hair, starting to tug and tear at a fistful of blond strands. "I can't even understand how I'm here in the first place! I know it's hard to see! Forget how cool she is or isn't, just going with me of all people is scraping the bottom of the barrel!" He pauses, a low, mad chuckle emanating from him as he shakes his head. "No...that's not right. It's more removing the bottom of the barrel. Dig a nice little hole underneath. Then you jump in, and empty the dirt RIGHT back on top of you! How can anyone see worth in something like that?!"
Low, manic giggling that threatened at a hysterical breakdown shook Cecil's body, intermittently spiking into blind, hysterical laughter as he pulled at his hair.

Kendra blinked, looking very concerned. Maybe she should've just tried to avoid Cecil. Their last encounter wasn't that great either, now that Kendra took the time to remember it in full detail. Still, she couldn't exactly leave him like this. He looked like he had just broken out of a mental institution. She moved closer, unsure of what exactly she was supposed to do. She was aware people were staring at them, but was there anything she could actually do?

"No. I hadn't. Not exactly a social butterfly. I'm like a caterpillar in that sense. I only have romance movies and the occasional romance novel as a guide." She looked a little irritated, as though Cecil should've found this kind of stuff obvious. She continued to try to calm him down though. "When you think about it, it isn't. I asked her a few questions. It sounded like she really liked you, so you have to have some good qualities, right? Nadia wouldn't just choose you randomly. She's clearly smarter than that. So cheer up and have a little faith in yourself." She couldn't stop the last few words from coming out like an order, but she hoped the point was made. Poor guy clearly needed a confidence booster, and a nap.

"Look, why don't we stop talking about Nadia. It's sort of obvious you like her somewhat and you're stressed out. You should go and see a movie or something. I'll pay for you if you want." Kendra shouldn't have been handing away money like that, but she did basically cause the guy to have a meltdown so it was the least she could do.

Slowly, the laughter dies down, until Cecil lets go of his hair and let out a long, sullen sigh. "...I guess you have a point there. I should probably trust her judgement. I just...don't understand it."

He looks over to Kendra as she makes her offer, and waves it off with a thin smile. "There's no need for that. You don't have to waste your money on me because I was being a bloody idiot, or...whatever reason it is. If you're running off from home, you're probably going to need it more than I need to see a movie on your wallet." His smile turns from thin to wry. "Money doesn't grow on trees, even if they used to make it from them."

Kendra shrugged because, in all honesty, she had no clue why Nadia liked Cecil. He kinda seemed like a meh while she seemed like a catch. However, Kendra wasn't the one making the judgment call, much to her own irritation. Really, she could've found somebody a lot better suited for Nadia if she tried. "Just trust her. You gotta have trust when you're in a relationship with somebody else."

The same fire that had been in Kendra's eyes when her fit of stubbornness had begun was present. "I insist. Consider it as an apology gift because of what happened the last time we met. Or better yet, go pick a movie, and I'll pay for snacks and the movie itself." Kendra didn't seem to care about the money she had. Considering she was rooming with Nadia, was technically running from home, and didn't really have a stable job she probably should've been, but Kendra was set on doing this.

"It's not-" Cecil grits his teeth, placing his hand against his forehead. "...it's too soon to be saying like that yet, alright? This stuff isn't something you take lightly. - not the trust thing, just...you get the idea, alright?"
I hope?

Kendra's further insistence starts to make Cecil uncomfortable. "I'm not sure you really need to apologise for making sure I wasn't stranded in the festival with a splitting headache. That's generally something people thank you for." He shrugs. "I can't exactly think of anything showing right now I'm interested in seeing, anyway...even if I thought I was a good use of your money, I'm hardly going to have you spend it for something I didn't really care much for anyway."

Kendra frowned a little, biting her lip slightly. She didn't actually get it. She had never really been a romantic at all, despite watching romance movies, because she couldn't really understand it. "I get it. Don't have to act like I'm dumb or something." Kendra couldn't help snapping a little, her pride wounded slightly. "I'm not taking it lightly either." She crossed her arms, standing on her toes just a little bit to gain a height advantage, though that failed miserably considering she was a 5'0 ft 17 year-old girl.

"Just take the money, dude. I need to apologize for acting like a stalker and trying to take control of a situation I wasn't a part of anyways. Just take my fucking money and enjoy it. Maybe buy flowers for Nadia or buy yourself some sweets or whatever it is you want." The words came out a lot more aggressively, her anger from earlier still roaring inside her. "I'm not letting you leave until you come up with a sum of money and take it."

Cecil's eyes widen as he starts to gesture wildly in the air. "Nononononono, I'm not what I, I don't think you're, why did you think I-" He continues to sputter out assurances and denials, desperate to smooth out the unintentional slight he perceives until he groans loudly and buries his face in his hands. "Goddammit, what is wrong with me...?"

As lifts his head back up again, he notices the slight wobble as Kendra stands on her toes and faces him down, and looks on somewhat confusedly. "...why are you standing like that...? That can't be comfortable to keep up...is something up?"
He gives a small shake of his head. "Also, uh...why are you insisting on this so much...? Can you, uh...try to calm down a bit...? We've...kind of gone from one of us getting overly worked up to the other. Why does this bother you so much...?" Confusion turns to concern and worry at the anger he was being faced with. It wasn't doing anyone here any good, so...why?

Kendra continued to glare at Cecil for a few moments, making sure she stayed perched up on her toes despite her wobbling. ]]"I'll believe you for now. But if I even suspect you're talking about my heights I'll be sure to bring you down to my height permanently." She slowly stopped glaring.

Of course, the glare came back when he questioned her way of standing. "It's what tall people do to add more height! Because I'm already tall, and you're just way too tall!" She looked vaguely distressed, as though she was desperate to make sure that was the truth.

Her aggressive behavior seemed to be fueling her desire to force Cecil to take some of her money. "I'm doing this because I behaved badly, and I'm trying to make it up to you!" To Kendra, her rage at the fact Cecil wasn't accepting the thing she had decided would act as an apology was normal, though to anybody else it would be abnormal. "And now I'm getting upset all over again! You'll need to take more money." The anger was unwarranted, but she couldn't stop the anger even if she tried.