Barbie Boy

Kydd had readily agreed to meet her at her house and then had instantly felt as if he was a giant stepping into a doll’s house. He had sat carefully, tucking his long legs under him like a gangly little colt. He had readily accepted the offer of hot chocolate and he smiled as she brought them over, taking a careful sip so he wouldn’t scald his mouth. “Mmm…. Delicious,” he grinned, and leaned over to see what she was showing him, careful not to spill on her furniture. He held it up, studying it as the light hit it just so, his own smile beaming as he felt the material under his fingertips.

“It’s perfect. I never would have thought to double it like that. Maybe do this bright color with dark buttons?”

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Barbie tried to be a good host, even when it was something as simple as giving her guest hot cocoa. Her apartment was a place she wanted everyone to like coming to. The company was nice, it got quiet around there. Growing up with sisters she was used to them constantly popping their head into her room or asking her to drive them somewhere. She missed the sound of other people more often than not. Kydd always put up with her ramblings, even though sometimes she worried none of it made any sense. Not everyone cared about the different shades of orange that could match a maroon jacket she found at the thrift shop. The same kind of thoughts that she had when working on the piece she was showing him her ideas for. 

“You think so?” Barbie’s expressions brightened at his approval of her plans for his suit. “I couldn’t turn own an opportunity to use a little pink, it is my favorite color after all.” Which was no surprise. Everyone who knew her knew she loved pink a little extra. “Yes! That’s perfect! Black? To match that shirt you have, you know, the lace one.”

She stood in the kitchen, pouring the warm milk over her chocolate concoction as it mixed into everyone’s favorite winter drink. After stirring she was sure to add mini marshmallows, though they were kind of useless she thought they were too cute to leave out. Not to mention she had company so she needed to make sure it was top tier. Barbie had invited Kydd over to look at her designs for the suit she wanted to make him. She’d based the design off the shirt she saw him in when they met, now using it as a starting point for the entire outfit. 

Barbie came back over to the couch with two mugs in hand and set each on their designated coaster on the coffee table. “Here you go, freshly made by yours truly,” she said with a wide smile before plopping back down next to him. “Where were we… Oh yeah, fabric.” The girl flipped back to the right page in her sketchbook and held up two small squares of fabric that he’d chosen when they went to the store together. “I like this one on the top and the pink on the inside of the coat as the liner. What do you think?” 

“It’s perfect. I never would have thought to double it like that. Maybe do this bright color with dark buttons?”

“My mama is a huge Dollar Tree fan. Any time we go in she stocks up on paints and all sorts of crafting supplies so we always had stuff like that handy. It takes longer to rot when you don’t cut into it AND all the parents helping don’t have to clean up a mess or pumpkin guts out of their kids hair. A true win for everyone because craft paint is washable and not sticky as far as I know which is aways good.

He laughed at her exclamation and mimed the knife slipping into the webbing of his fingers. “I’ve grown out of it now, in case you’re concerned about where this night is heading,” he said with a laugh. “At least I don’t expect any emergency room visits while using kid’s carving tools, at any rate.” He stood up with the squared off pumpkin wrapped in his arms

“Do we want to make a paint run or go ahead and carve?” He nodded over his shoulder towards an open table. “Your call bumblebee.”

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“Anyone who can appreciate a good deal is a person I like,” she said with a smile after his comment about his mother. Barbie saw the way he spoke of her and knew he must be a momma’s boy. That was something she could understand, growing up without a father her mom and her sister’s were all she ever had. “Honestly, I never liked the pumpkin guts thing. Sometimes we’d bake them but they weren’t really even that good to me. Just don’t tell my mom I said that.” A laugh tumbled out as she spoke, pulling the pumpkin closer to her chest. “And the fact they rot so fast is just sad. You watch it get worse until it’s a pile of goo.” 

Barbie gave him a little bit of a look before it turned into a smile. “Let’s paint them, just in case, and no goo pumpkin piles. And it’s something new for me too. You’ll just have to show me how the experts do it,” she said with a slight nudge before taking off towards the cashiers. “We should get some apples too, I can make apple cider!”

He tilted his head to the side like a curious dog until he was able to see what she was taking about. “Dude! Yes!” He laughed and nodded. “I see it!” He grinned and crouched to look at the pumpkins around him. “Have you ever painted pumpkins instead of carving them?” He asked as he frog hopped forward a bit to keep looking. “I don’t mind carving them but they always rot so fast. I hate pickin’ up a squishy punkin.” He finally found one that suited him and picked it up. “Plus it’s easier for my clumsy self to paint it. I ended up in the hospital one year and had to get stitches. He held up his right hand so she could see the pale scar from the stitches between the webbing of his thumb and index finger before picking up the pumpkin. “This one looks like me” he laughed, picking up the square shaped pumpkin that had a resemblance to Frankenstein’s Monster’s head. “I choose him.” No

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He was adorable, she couldn’t deny it. From the moment she met she knew he had something special about him. That ‘it’ factor she’d heard so much about. The fact he was a model didn’t come as a surprise to her but she was happy that he’d agreed that day to let her dress him in her designs. Now she’d found herself a friend and she couldn’t be happier about it. “Wait, no, what? That is like way smarter! Like they turn to sad little mushy lumps so fast. A cute cat carving can turn into a nightmare real quick,” she said with a nod. “Most of mine don’t even make it to Halloween!” Barbie toss her arm up in exasperation, holding her pumpkin between her other hand and her hip. “You did not? Kydd!” A small gasp came out as she spoke. “How did you do manage that?!” The girl took his hand and looked at the scar before frowning up at him. “Let’s stick to painting this year for sure then.” She let out a soft giggle before letting his hand go as he picked his own pumpkin to design. Once he chose she stepped back to see the resemblance, squinting a little. “I can barely you two apart!” She said with a laugh. 

He laughed at her exclamation and mimed the knife slipping into the webbing of his fingers. “I’ve grown out of it now, in case you’re concerned about where this night is heading,” he said with a laugh. “At least I don’t expect any emergency room visits while using kid’s carving tools, at any rate.” He stood up with the squared off pumpkin wrapped in his arms

Oh boy. He was in over his head when it came to bee and he didn’t care if he drowned. The realization had hit him hard but it didn’t make him back down from their decision to go to the pumpkin patch together. If anything, it just made him more excited to go. He had donned his green make up and leather jacket and had picked her up, happy to wander the pumpkin patch with her, looking for just the right pumpkin. She held up the pumpkin and he grinned, holding out his hands and cupping them around the oddly shaped gourd. “You’re just like my mama. She always chooses the odd lil guys and makes something out of them.” He laughed. “She found one that was vaguely lizard shaped and made it into an iguana.”

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Not everyone understood why she was the way she was but she never minded. All that mattered was that she did, that didn’t mean it didn’t make her smile when someone else did. “Well thank you! That’s quite the compliment,” she said with a grin. Barbie turned the gourd around, squinting her eyes and holding it out for a wider view. Her lips pursed while she tried to think about what exactly this one could be turned into. “He isn’t giving me iguana vibes.” The girl tilted the pumpkin a few different ways to get a different perspective before gasping softly. “If I turn it on its side it totally looks like a squirrel, right?” She asked before flipping it and facing it towards him. 

He watched a load of emotions flash past on her face and before he could pinpoint any particular one, she was grinning and looking down at her slightly wonky jack o lantern. “Wilson, I like that.” He glanced down at his pumpkin with a careful eye and then laughed. “Gourd-y. He is named Gourd-y.” He started laughing so hard he could barely stand it, wrapping his arms around himself. “He’s a very distinguished fellow.” He patted the back of the jack o lantern and listened to its now hollow thump with amusement.

Anna couldn’t believe the absolute joy she got from simply carving a pumpkin, nor that she had never done this before. If or rather when she went home this was definitely going to become a tradition. “Gourdy! It’s perfect! Wilson here is a country music star, if you can believe it.” She said, joining in on the laughter. “Tell me what else do people do for Halloween? Is it always this fun?” 

Kydd had decided early on that he wanted to be a rockabilly Frankenstein’s monster and had dedicated all his free time leading up to the event getting stuff ready for it. Now, as he wandered around the park, to pick a pumpkin out for carving, he was glad he’d had some time off to come out and enjoy it. He watched everyone have fun in between carving pumpkins, grinning at a couple of kids dressed in their paw patrol best ran past him to get some hot coco. At the sound of someone talking to him, he turned with a grin, looking down at his weird little jack o lantern with a fond smile. “Well thanks! I come from a family that takes every holiday seriously. We would carve pumpkins every year as a family. I guess practice does make perfect.” He leaned over and laughed. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about tho! It doesn’t look bad at all!”

Anna could no longer imagine the kind of family life where everyone did fun holiday activities together, but the idea of it was alluring. She felt a brief longing for her sister and quickly pushed it aside - convincing herself that they would soon be reunited and their troubles would be put to rest had recently become a frequent pass time of hers. “You’re right.” She nodded, seriously considering her creation. “The lines are a bit jagged but he has character. I think I’ll call him Wilson. What’s yours called?” 

After meeting Kydd they had been spending quite a lot of time together. She’d been growing fond of him since the day they met, honestly. He was becoming one of her closest friends. Barbie was excited when they’d agreed to meet at the pumpkin patch, she hadn’t carved them since her childhood and was excited to enjoy a spooky evening of Halloween shenanigans. After being cooped up inside working so much lately she was ready to do something different for a change and having company made it all the more exciting. “I kind of like the weird ones, you know? Like this little guy,” Barbie said before holding up a small, deformed pumpkin. “He’s just got so much personality!”

Anna had spent weeks putting together the perfect costume. The yellow plaid blazer and matching skirt complete with the blonde wig had proven a little more difficult to find than she had thought, but after spending the duration of her time holed up in her small apartment catching up on pop culture icons nothing had been more appealing to her than being a normal teenage girl for a night - a luxury she had never been afforded. It was a little overwhelming to know nobody after growing up in a place where everybody knows your name, but she was determined to make the most of it. She sat, eyes furrowed in concentration as she carved a crooked smile into her Jack-O'-Lantern. The silly face reminded her of something, although she couldn't place her finger on what. She eyed the work of the person next to her, her mouth opening in surprise. "I love your pumpkin!" She turned her own harshly carved pumpkin to face them for show. "Seems you're a bit better at this than I am."

Barbie had send Kydd the address and meeting time the evening before to make sure he was able to make it. After making sure they were still on to look at fabric she was able to start thinking of designs. She started sketching in her bed that evening, thinking about what kind of blazer she’d want to pair with a shirt like the one he wore. Taking pieces from their wardrobe to incorporate into her looks was something she’d become quite fond of. It added some originality and personalization to her designs. 

As usual, she was the first to arrive and was waiting outside for him when he started to walk up. She was always punctual and could almost assuredly be the first one to get somewhere. Barbie was a planner, she couldn’t help herself. Once she saw him the girl gave a wave to make sure he saw her in front of the shop. “Hi again!” She said with a smile coming onto her rosy lips. “Glad that you could make it, ready to look at some fabrics? I also brought a few sketches of designs I’m thinking about to see if you’re okay with them.” Barbie was already flipping through her sketchbook to the right page before holding it out for him to take. 

He arrived a bit early, his smile blossoming as she waved to him. “Hi bee!” He grinned. “Yes, I am. I’m hoping maybe we can find some Halloween type things since it’s already October… wow can you believe that?” He laughed and took the sketchbook, his eyes widening when he saw her sketches. “Bee, this is…. Amazing! I can’t wait to model these for you!”

“It’s been busy,” he admitted with a sigh. “But I can’t complain. This campaign is big for me. Who knows what it could lead to?” He leaned back on the chair, spread out with his head back, quiet for a long moment before speaking. “I feel guilty but I made sure that I don’t have anything planned and I just… want a friend that’s mine and not OURS,” he admitted. “I feel like he’d… mess it up.” It felt blasphemous to say but Devlin had his hand in everything and sometimes it was taxing. He didn’t feel normal. “I give my all when he needs me. I just… want this to be mine… and I dunno. She’s cute. People younger than me have been settling down and having families. I kind of want that…”

— 🦢 —

“I can tell, looks like you’ve really been working hard and getting yourself out there,” she said with a smile that was somewhat forced. As much as Odette believed in her friend, she didn’t trust Devlin’s intentions the same way. He wanted to be something big and this could a path to get there but she worried what it might cost him in exchange. Devlin didn’t ever seem to give without taking a little more.  “I don’t think it’s bad to want something of your own. You shouldn’t give him that much control over your life, it isn’t worth it… Treasure your freedom like you have it.” The words came from her heart, as she had her own cage, and her own entanglement with Devlin but it wasn’t one she could escape. “I think it’s good to want that, shows you still have your head on your shoulders. If this what you want then I think you should give it a change. Whatever it is you want, that is.” At the end of the day all she wanted was his happiness. “Do you think you might have… a crush on her, Kydd?” Odette’s face brightened at the mention, feeling happy for him. 

“Another hour and a half or so,” he told her as he waved the bartender down for the requested soda. “Then I’m going to bed,” he laughed. “I’ve been up since six and I’m starting to feel it.” He turned to her, taking her long fingers in his hands and gently played with them. “Of course I did.” He smiled sweetly at her. “I would be foolish not to miss the gift of your presence.” He was not a natural born flirt. He started off as an awkward farm boy who grew up in Wisconsin. He had practiced in the mirror for many hours to be comfortable with it. He had no idea what he was doing to the pretty redhead in front of him by it tho he certainly never meant for it to be malicious. “Wanna dance?” He said, his eyes crinkling merrily as he held out his hand to her.

-

Anastasia checked the clock once again with furrowed eyebrows. She had about two hours, which was the perfect amount of time to woo and distract Kydd - certainly the perfect man to bring home to her mother and sister. She wondered if her family would be jealous of the men that Anastasia chose. “I’m sure that you’re very tired, then.” Poor guy, he must have been absolutely exhausted. “Oh, you make a girl swoon so much, Kydd!” She exclaimed, shoving his shoulder flirtatiously, this was becoming too much for her. Anastasia grabbed his hand, her heart pounding in her ear. “Of course I do, don’t you know me at all?”