em

“Yes?” You answered with a raise of your brow, clasping your fingers together patiently as you waited for Allan to explain.

He huffed dramatically before crossing his arms, practically glaring down at you. “You need to stop hanging around Ken,” He stated.

You almost choked on air at the sudden request. “I’m sorry; what?” You managed to respond after getting over your original shock.

“Barbie…” Allen began with a sympathetic glint in his eye. “You’re only gonna end up getting hurt if you keep up this friendship with him,” He explained, confusing you further.

“Allan, I have absolutely no idea what you’re trying to tell me here,” You spoke dryly, not being very amused by his initial proposal of dropping one of your good friends.

Your friend rose a palm to his head, dragging it down his face tiredly at your ignorance to what was obvious to himself. “You’re in love with him!” He exclaimed. “You’re hopelessly in love with him and he can’t return those feelings because he’s hopelessly in love with his own Barbie!”

In all honesty, you hadn’t expected that outburst at all. You felt your face burst into a bright red at the sudden confrontation of your otherwise ignored feelings for Ken along with some hurt that trickled its way into your chest over the honest brutality of Allan’s words.

“Not cool,” You spat, pushing yourself up from the chair behind the register to face your friend with a fiery scowl.

“Barbie, I had to be realistic with you,” Allan looked at you desperately. “I’ve watched you the last few months get progressively more upset over this Ken and I just cannot stand it anymore. As your best friend and your brother from another mother, I’m telling you to leave this friendship behind.”

You stared at Allan blankly for a few moments before furiously shaking your head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about, Al,” You scoffed. “I’m perfectly okay—and I’m not in love with him.”

“I’m your best friend, not blind,” He remarked with a roll of his eye. “If what you feel for him isn’t love, then I clearly hate volleyball.”

You tried to hold in the giggle at his remark, wanting to stay mad at Allan for being so blunt with you—and frankly, for hurting your feelings.

“Please leave my shop, Allan. I don’t want to have this conversation,” You mumbled as you disappeared behind one of your many bookshelves, desperately trying to hide from the situation.

Of course, however, your best friend was quite determined to make his point as he followed you in through the maze of shelves. “I’m serious, Barbie!” He hissed, crossing his arms across his chest with a fiery look on his face. “It’s killing me; seeing you hurt yourself over caring for this guy.”

You grind your teeth in your mouth, taking a deep breath through your nose before slowly turning to face Allan once again. “And I’m serious—I would like you to drop this conversation,” You spoke firmly. “Regardless of what you think about the situation, at the end of the day Ken is my friend and I won’t be dropping him—”

The ringing of the bell over the front door stopped your conversation in its tracks, forcing you to speedily walk back behind the register to tend to whatever customer had just walked in.

“Oh! Ken!” You looked at him in surprise. Of course he would have perfect timing. “What can I do for you?” You asked through grated teeth, desperately trying to give Allan a look to tell him to get out after he had appeared from behind the shelves you had just left behind.

“Just the usual, please. What book do you have for me this week?” Ken asked excitedly as he put last week’s book on the counter to return. “And I have this…” He sent you a charming grin before revealing the hand he had hidden behind his back, holding a tall and healthy sunflower out for you to take.

You gasped, your eyes taking in the ring of bright yellow petals. “Ken! What—?”

“I seen it in the flower shop and I thought of you… Sunflowers just fit your vibe,” He explained sheepishly as you took the stem into your own hands, the tips of his ears turning a bright red.

“I… I don’t even know what to say, Ken… It’s beautiful,” You looked up at him radiantly, your whole face lifted up with the smile tugging at your lips. “Thank you.”

Behind Ken, you hadn’t noticed the disappointed Allan as he trudged his way out of the shop to leave you both be—his whole argument was already forgotten in your mind, so what was the point?

. . .

“KEN?” You questioned from behind your front door, tiredly rubbing your heavy eyes after answering the knock of the door in your pyjamas. “What are you doing here so late?”

“I had to talk to you about this book, Barbie! It’s so fascinating… I couldn’t go to sleep without talking to someone about it, and backflip Ken told me to buzz off, and I usually talk to him about the books I read, but—”

“Okay. Pause,” You cut his rambling off by raising a hand up to his face, letting out a quiet yawn. “You do realise how late it is, right?”

Ken’s face suddenly dropped. “Shoot… Is it really that late?” He asked worriedly. “I hadn’t noticed… I was reading.”

You couldn’t help the smile that grew across your mouth, admiring that he had picked up a habit you yourself had as a reader. “Yes, it’s quite late,” You nodded before noticing that Ken was ready to suggest he should leave. “Come inside,” You quickly cut in, stepping aside for your friend to enter you house.

Ken took a moment to look surprised before making his way into your dream house, looking around curiously—he hadn’t actually been inside before. He quietly admired the fairy lights that lined your walls along with the aesthetically messy assortment of book and film posters. “Wow, it’s so…”

You couldn’t help the cringe that grew on your face, scrunching your shoulders after realising that you had just invited him into your cluttered home. “Messy, I know—”

“What? No. I was gonna say it’s so you,” He shook his head approaching your wall to take a closer look at one of your movie posters. “It’s so awesome.” There was a moment of silence. “I’ve never been inside a dream house…”

You felt quite horrified at this statement—he’d never been inside a house before. “Oh…” You replied stupidly, not being entirely sure what to say in response to that bomb of information. “Well, uh… let yourself get comfortable. Want a drink?” You asked awkwardly, pulling on the hem of your fluffy white pyjama sleeve.

Ken cleared his throat before nodding. “Yes please—just a drink of water.”

You quickly ran to your kitchen, grabbing one of your pink cups before “filling it” with water and handing it back to your friend who gratefully took a “sip”.

“So… Has Barbie really never invited you into her house?” You asked curiously, sitting beside Ken on your sofa.

He shook his head solemnly. “No, she’s always busy when I ask to visit,” He shrugged.

You nodded hesitantly, knowing that was probably a lie being a friend of Barbie’s and all. By all means, Barbie didn’t owe Ken any right into her home if she didn’t want him, but you had assumed that they were friendly enough for visits… Maybe their relationship was purely reliant on Ken’s pining?

“Right,” You nodded. “Well, you can always come visit me at my dream house,” You shrugged, leaning back on the soft cushions on your sofa. “I enjoy the company.”

Ken’s cheeks flushed a soft pink at the invite, not being entirely sure what to do with it but feeling elated nonetheless. “Sick,” He brushed off coolly, crossing his arms over his chest as he also sat back against your sofa to get comfortable.

“Well then, what did you want to talk about with the book?” You eventually asked, referring back to the whole reason he had arrived at your doorstep in the middle of the night.

. . .

RAYS of light refracted through the glass and around the room, annoyingly shining right onto your eyes and waking you up. You stretched your arms and gracefully rose from your place of rest, which you quickly noted was your sofa, and remembered that you had a guest over.

You glanced over to your side where Ken was curled up into a comfortable ball on the other side of the sofa, making you chuckle quietly before reaching over to gently shake him awake.

“Huh…?” He mumbled, still half asleep, before shooting up and frantically looking around. “I fell asleep! Oh gosh, Barbie, I’m so sorry! That was a mistake,” He rushed, jumping up off of the sofa and making you flinch from the sudden movement.

You furrowed your brows. “You’re fine, Ken. Allan stays over all the time,” You explained.

Ken shook his head. “No, no… Staying over is for boyfriend-girlfriend, and I’m stabbing Allan in the back by doing this because we’re not boyfriend-girlfriend!” He shrieked dramatically, pacing around your living room.

You ignored the pang in your chest over his words and decided to focus on the middle part of his outburst, shaking your head with a chuckle. “Do you think Allan and I are boyfriend and girlfriend?” You hid your grin behind your hand. “Because we’re not, and it’s normal for friends to have sleepovers. You do it with the other Ken’s all the time, right?”

“That’s not the same. We all live on beach together,” Ken stared at you flatly, raising an amused brow as he looked down at you with his hands resting on his hips.

You rolled your eyes before pushing yourself up off of the sofa. “Regardless, it’s normal for friends to sleep over,” You continued, walking past Ken. “Do you want some cereal? I can’t cook you eggs or anything because I need to buy more food from grocer Barbie…” You mumbled to yourself.

Ken shook his head, looking awkwardly tense as he continued to stand in the middle of the room. Clearly, you weren’t going to be able to sway him on the whole “sleepovers are normal” topic.

“I guess I should go,” He scratched his neck.

You sighed, nodding your head understandingly before leading the blond man to your front door. “You’re welcome here anytime, Ken,” You pursed your lips up at him as he stopped in your doorframe, looking down at you thoughtfully before pulling you in for a quick hug.

“Thank’s for having me over, Barbie!” He thanked you cheerfully, already gone back to his normal self—it was bizarre how quickly he had switched from being frantic to merry.

You waved your friend off as he strolled down the street and out of sight, spotting one of your neighbours, doctor Barbie, giving you an odd look. “Hi Barbie!” You sent her a wave, gritting your teeth together for as genuine of a smile you could muster. This was slightly awkward—she had caught Ken leaving your house.

She sent you back a rather confused greeting before getting into her own car and driving off, leaving you behind as you let out a sigh of relief and walked back into your home.

. . .

—> part six

“Barbie! It’s so good to see you!” Stereotypical Barbie cheered before pulling you in for a hug, making you giggle slightly as she shook you from side-to-side.

“Hey Barbie,” You echoed her greeting with a toothy grin. “Sorry I haven’t been to girls night in a few days…”

Despite always enjoying girls night, your social battery simply wouldn’t allow you to attend the parties every day—it was a natural extension to the ‘Book Barbie’ persona.

“Oh, you’re fine! We get it; you’re busy with your shop!” Barbie responded brightly, seemingly delighted to see that business was good as per usual for you. “Come on in, everyone’s been asking for you.”

You felt your face flush a slight red, appreciation beaming from your expression at having such caring friends who worried about you.

A wave of compliments hit you as you walked into the heart of the party, as it did for every Barbie that arrived to the party with her stylish 70’s costume.

There was a sudden cheer from the crowd of Barbie’s as a song came on, and you found yourself being dragged onto the dance floor by president Barbie as you all fell into a line of synchronised dance moves.

It wasn’t long before you were scuttling back away from the group after having had a particularly embarrassing fall when trying to spin—you couldn’t allow yourself to get back out there after that…

You had been content watching your friends have fun from then on, your trance being broken once you noticed stereotypical Barbie slip away from the party to approach her Ken, who had suddenly appeared in front of her house with a big wad of roses in his hand.

He had looked hopeful as the conversation started, but it quickly turned to an expression of disappointment after Barbie waved him off with her hands and began to join back into the party.

You decided to run after your friend, calling out to him to stop him from briskly walking away from the scene as he had been doing. “Ken, wait!” You shouted and he turned around to you in confusion. “Are you okay?” You asked him as you finally approached him, completely out of breath from running.

Ken shrugged, desperately trying to hide the upset on his face. “I’m fine…”

“Ken,” You began, reaching out to grab his arm and squeeze it gently. “It’s okay to not be alright—it’s never okay to be brushed off like how Barbie just did to you,” You tried to console him, sending him a warm smile. “These flowers are beautiful, anyone would be lucky to have them.”

Ken moved between looking at your face and the flowers in his hand, his mind clearly hesitating before he reached his arm out. “You take them,” He offered, referring to the handful of roses.

You felt your face flush as your mouth slightly opened in shock. “Ken- I can’t take them off of you! You bought those for Barbie…” You mumbled, admiring the flowers with a soft smile.

Ken shrugged, a sheepish expression slapped across his face. “I want you to have them, Barbie,” He pushed further. “It’s a small way of saying thank you, too.”

You looked at him curiously. “‘Thank you?’”

He nodded. “I mean, yeah. You’ve been looking out for me the last few weeks, especially with Barbie,” He explained. “You probably deserve it more than she does, so here.”

There was a small silence between you two as he passed the flowers into your arms and you took in their fruity scent. It took you off guard, but you felt your bottom lip start to tremble—were you about to cry?

“Uhm… are you okay?” Ken asked worriedly.

“I- Yes! Yes, I’m fine,” You rushed out, giving yourself a light slap on the face. “Sorry, it’s just… I’ve never been given flowers before,” You continued to explain, tears now brimming your eyes.

Ken looked at you sadly before pulling you in for a hug, wrapping his arms around you as you sunk into the inviting warmth coming off of his body. You were his friend, and seeing that you had never been much appreciated beyond an invite to a sleepover hurt his heart.

It reminded him of himself.

“Barbie, you’re like… totally cool. If I could, I’d give you all the flowers in Barbieland,” He looked proud of himself for his attempt at comforting you, lightly rubbing your back as he kept holding you in a tight hug.

You couldn’t help the chuckle that escaped your lips. “Thank you, Ken.”

“You should probably get back to that party, though—I don’t wanna keep you from your girls night. Plus, it’ll cheer you up,” Ken eventually stepped away, looking down at you gingerly. “I don’t like seeing you upset.”

You nodded, a warm smile now pulling on the corners of your mouth. “Yeah, I probably should before the girls start wondering where I am…” You scratched your neck. “Genuinley thank you, Ken. I’m glad we’re friends.”

Ken waved a hand dismissively, his cheeks burning a subtle red under the light of the street lamps. “What else are friends for,” He tried brushed off.

You pulled Ken in for one more quick hug before running back toward Barbie’s dream house, sending him a final wave before disappearing behind the front door. Ken stood in his place for a few more moments, his mind racing a similar speed to his heart.

From then on, it was decided that he’d bring you flowers all the time. He was determined to never see you upset like that again, and for possibly the first time ever, another person took priority over his own Barbie.

. . .

—> part five

. . .

You sighed lightly before getting up from your chair and walking around the till. “Yup,” You nodded with a warm smile. “Where are we going?”

Ken chuckled. “We’re going to Barbie’s restaurant, obviously,” He replied as if it was obvious, referring to chef Barbie’s restaurant in town.

You rolled your eyes with a chuckle as you both approached the front door, opening it for Ken to walk through first. He expressed a small ‘thank you’ and you both began to make your way through town in a comfortable silence, not feeling any need to fill in the gaps.

. . .

“..AND then when the twist was revealed I nearly threw the book across the room in surprise!” Ken exclaimed with a loud laugh, throwing his arms up dramatically with a knife and fork in hand.

You sent him an amused smile—you had personally seen the twist coming when you’d read the book, but you’d also been reading for as long as you could remember and knew most of the tropes out there. “What did Barbie think of that one?” You asked with a forced look of expectation, already knowing what the answer would be.

“Oh, she didn’t want to talk about it with me… but it’s okay—I’m sure she enjoyed it,” Ken shrugged, clearly a bit disheartened.

You took a moment to drink from your cup as your thought over your next words. “Ken…” You began slowly, earning a curious glance from the man across from you. “Why do you always try to impress Barbie so much when she doesn’t give you anything back?”

Maybe you were pushing too far, but the question had already been asked and you waited with baited breath as you watched Ken’s expression turn to one of thought.

“I don’t understand?” He replied, seemingly confused by what you had asked him.

“Well… You’re always doing things for Barbie but she never gives anything back… So why do you bother?” You repeated your question, swallowing nervously as you analysed Ken’s features.

There was a gradual frown developing across Ken’s mouth as he continued to take in what you had asked. “…Because I love her,” He finally spoke in a rather dubious manner.

He seemed sad as he gave his answer, almost as if a bit of realisation had crossed his mind—not that he showed it for long, as his attention was immediately back on you as a question of his own popped into his head.

“Why don’t you have your own Ken?” He asked suddenly, taking you off guard as you inhaled sharply.

It felt like time had frozen around your table as your heart hammered in your chest—it had never done that before. “I- I don’t know,” You answered unsurely, your eyes dropping to your heels under the table. There was a slight melancholy leaking it’s way into your chest. “I guess it doesn’t make sense for book Barbie to have a Ken…” You shrugged sombrely. “All I ever do is read. I’m super boring.”

Ken looked at you quizzically, seemingly taken aback by your answer. “I don’t think you’re boring,” He swiftly cut in. “I think you’re one of the most interesting Barbie’s in Barbieland, actually… Anyone who reads all those stories must be interesting.”

You felt yourself scoff and shake your head with a chuckle. “You don’t need to try make me feel better, Ken. I appreciate it but it’s okay, I’ve had to live with it since I arrived in Barbieland,” You tried to dismiss him, picking up your knife and fork to continue eating the ‘food’ from your plate.

Ken huffed out a small air of laughter as he watched you try and shove the conversation under the rug and reached forward to grab your wrist. “I can be your Ken,” He offered with a warm grin.

You felt your face burn a bright red at his words—he what?

“You and I could be best buddies, y’know! I’ll be your best Ken and you’ll be my best Barbie,” He chuckled at the thought, pulling his hand away from you.

There was a small dropping feeling in your chest—of course he meant it like that. It was probably foolish to think he would ever move on from Barbie. Just once, you wanted to know what it felt like to have someone’s attention.

His hand was warm…

You flashed him a pained grin. “Sure, Ken. I’d really like that,” You eventually answered.

“You should come to beach tonight for our boys blowout,” He excitedly told you, looking across the table with bright eyes.

You looked at him in complete bafflement. “Ken’s have a boys night?” You asked comically, trying to hold in your smile. “Where is it?”

“On beach, duh. It’s where we sleep,” Ken explained again as if it was the most obvious thing ever, making you roll your eyes once again.

“Wow, I can’t believe that’s where you guys sleep…” You shook your head in disbelief as you held in your giggles, imagining all the Ken’s curled up together on the sand every night. “I never even thought about it, actually.”

“Well, are you gonna come tonight? You’ll be the first Barbie to go!” He asked again excitedly, clasping his hands together as he looked at you hopefully.

You turned to look toward beach as the sun settled across the perfect blue sky, sighing slightly as you weighed over your choices.

“Fine, I’ll go.”

. . .

ALL eyes were on you as yourself and Ken approached the already established party where music was being loudly bumped across beach and a big bonfire was burning brightly in the centre of all the action.

“I think I might freak out if they don’t stop staring…” You whispered to Ken from the corner of your mouth before flashing a painfully forced smile toward the large group of Ken’s.

“They’re just surprised because they’ve never seen a Barbie at the boys’ blowout… Don’t mind them!” He chirped joyfully, completely oblivious to how uncomfortable you had gotten. He wrapped an arm around your tensed shoulders and dragged you right into the crowd and toward the large bonfire. “Cool, right?”

You stood in silent awe as you watched the flames dance well above your height—it was a huge fire. “Yeah, cool,” You nodded with your mouth slightly ajar.

“—Woah, hey Barbie,” A strange voice piped up from behind yourself and Ken, making you both turn around.

You had to hide your amusement from the utter surprise on backflip Ken’s face, his own surfboard tucked under his left arm.

“Hi, Ken,” You sent him a polite little wave.

“What’re you doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be at girls night with all the other Barbie’s,” He asked curiously, digging his surfboard into the sand by his feet—why he still even had it was a mystery to you.

You shook your head. “No, I don’t always go to girls night,” You explained.

“I asked her to come,” Stereotypical Ken cut in eagerly as he once again wrapped an arm around your shoulder and pulled you into close, not wanting to be left out of the conversation. He was always touchy around backflip Ken anyways. “Thought we’d have a totally fun night if she came along,” He continued on with a smoulder, making you snort.

“Oh,” Backflip Ken began. “Well, it’s super awesome that you’re here,” He sent you a small wink before pulling his surfboard out of the ground and running off with it into the distance—to where, exactly, you didn’t know.

“He’s an idiot…” Ken grumbled to your right, making you gasp lightly and leave an abrupt whack on his arm.

“Ken!” You hissed. “That’s rude.”

Ken chuckled as he clutched his arm, feigning an injury. “Ouch, Barbie… I might have to go get doctor Barbie after that one…” He pretended to cry and you rolled your eyes.

“You’re a big baby,” You joked with a wide grin, walking away to start talking to the other Kens.

. . .

—> part four

. . .

note | wow… i actually cant thank you all enough for how much support the first two parts have received!! I’ve read all your comments and reposts, and thank you all so so much!! I actually wanna cry over how many notes the last parts have gotten so genuinely thank you.

"I’m here!" You called back, pushing yourself gracefully off of the bean bag and briskly walking behind the front counter to greet the customer. "Oh, Ken," You raised a brow as you acknowledged stereotypical Ken with a friendly grin. "Here for another book for Barbie?" You asked curiously.

He nodded proudly, puffing his chest out with pride. "Yup," He flashed a toothy grin. "Barbie said she liked the book!" He may as well have excitedly jumped around the shop as he spoke, his infectious smile having its own effect on you.

"I’m sure she did, Ken," You remarked amusedly.

"I wonder what she thought when she read the part where the dragon and the lead Barbie battled…" He mumbled to himself thoughtfully, taking you slightly off guard.

"You read the book?" You asked, your eyebrows shooting up in surprise.

Ken looked at you oddly. "Of course I did—what if Barbie wanted to talk to me about the book when she finished reading it?" He answered as if it were obvious. "She didn’t want to talk about it, though, but maybe one of these days…" He shrugged defeatedly.

A sympathetic look covered your face as you glanced up at the poor Ken in front of you. No matter how hard he tried, Barbie was never going to see him in the same way he saw her.

"What did you think of the book?" You asked after a moment of silence, grabbing Ken’s attention once again.

"Huh?" He stared at you blankly.

"Uhm… Did you, like, enjoy the book or...?" You repeated, unsure of yourself suddenly—why did he seem so confused?

"Oh! Oh… Right, yes! I did enjoy the book," He replied more confidently this time, pushing his chest out once again. "I felt very inspired after reading it."

You couldn’t help but chuckle at his behaviour.

"Sorry, no one ever asks me what I think," He continued a little more awkwardly, his eyes shooting around the room as if there would be someone witnessing this rare moment for him.

Your eyebrow quirked up inquisitively, but you internally noted that this whiff of information was not actually as surprising as you initially thought. You were just used to hanging out with Allan, who was equally as different as you were in this small world.

"I can see why it’s your favourite," Ken commented suddenly, breaking the comfortable silence that had unknowingly settled in the room.

"You can?"

"Well, yeah…" He began sheepishly, his gaze falling to the floorboards below his feet. "I really liked reading it. And the story reminds me of you," He mumbled.

You started to laugh, a hint of red dusting over your face. "Oh," You stated in surprise. "Well… thank you; that means a lot to me," You cleared your throat awkwardly, not exactly knowing how to deal with this conversation anymore.

Ken eventually managed to look back in your direction, your eyes meeting before he opened his mouth to speak. "Cool," He had tried to say coolly, but it just made you burst out into a fit of giggles instead. "Hey! What’s funny?!" He exclaimed offensively.

. . .

"WE need to do this more; you’re always holed up in your shop... It feels like we never go outside anymore," Allan complained for what felt like the millionth time that day.

"I spend every other day at beach—we’re always outside," You countered, mixing your ‘drink’ with a comically large straw that seemed normal to everyone in Barbieland.

Allan rolled his eyes, dramatically dropping the fork that he had been twirling around his plate. "We don’t go out like this, Barbie," He looked at you pointedly. "It’s always either the book store or beach. It’s never the cafe or clothes shop like every other Barbie and Ken," He frowned.

You glanced up at your friend warily as you thought over your next words. "Yeah, well, we’re not exactly like every other Barbie and Ken, are we?" You remarked dryly.

Allan held your glance for a few painful seconds before he sighed and dropped his head. "You’re right… But still, that doesn’t mean that we can’t be going clothes shopping," He shrugged more lightheartedly, making you chuckle.

"We can go tomorrow," You sighed with a small grin as Allan cheered across the table, earning him a few joyful looks from the other Barbie’s and Ken’s sitting around you two.

Both of you were alarmed when you heard a yell from your sides, causing everyone to turn and look toward beach. A bit of relief flooded everyone, however, as they noticed it was just stereotypical Ken shouting for stereotypical Barbie’s attention from across the beach.

"Poor guy," You commented quietly, earning a small hum of agreement from Allan across from you. "And poor Barbie," You added with a humorous glance towards your friend. "She doesn’t get a moment of peace."

"Does he still go to the shop every week?" Allan asked after another moment of observing the pair had passed.

You nodded. "Mhm, he still thinks that Barbie reads all those books he gives her... I would say something, but it’s getting him to read the books because he thinks she’ll want to talk to him about it after. Plus, it gives me someone to talk to," You shrugged your shoulders, resting your chin on the palm of your hand after you had propped your elbow up on the table.

Everyone had resumed their conversations when yet another yell caused them to crane their necks back towards beach, albeit a little annoyed this time as they were being interrupted once again by Ken. You, along with a few others, decided to ignore Ken as he continued to shout for Barbie.

"Would Barbie not just answer the guy?" You grumbled, slightly irritated.

Allan went silent for a moment as he looked towards beach to see what was going on before he turned back to you with an amused grin. "I think he’s calling you."

"What?!" You hissed, glancing sideways to see that Ken was indeed calling over in your direction as he ran over. "I thought he was calling other Barbie!"

It was easily done. After all, you all had the same names—not that anyone ever acknowledged that.

"Hey, Barbie!" Ken once again shouted as he slowed his running, making you wince as you saw all the eyes in your area shoot towards you in annoyance.

"Hello, Ken," You greeted him in a friendly manner, trying to hide your slight embarrassment at all the attention that had suddenly been brought to you.

"I wanted to ask a favour," He spoke through the side of his mouth, trying to speak quietly, as he didn’t want stereotypical Barbie to hear as she approached the table behind him. "Could you ask Barbie about the book I gave her this week? She never answers me, but maybe she’ll answer you!"

You opened your mouth to respond before being cut off as Ken, once again, shouted behind him to call over stereotypical Barbie. "Barbie! Barbie here wanted to ask you a question," He sent you an enthusiastic wink.

You awkwardly looked between stereotypical Barbie and her counterpart Ken, quickly picking up on the desperate look she was sending your way. "Uh..." You began, swallowing harshly. "Did you... like the book Ken gave you? You know, the one about the journey to the island to find the hidden treasure?" You asked, emphasising your words about what the book was about.

Barbie seemed to pick up on what you were trying to do and happily nodded her head. "Oh… Oh! Yes, I did enjoy that book about the journey to the island to find the hidden treasure." She parroted your words, discreetly mouthing a ‘thank you’ as Ken had turned back to you gleefully after finally getting an answer out of Barbie. It was a miracle he hadn’t picked up on the lie, but Ken hadn’t always been the brightest doll in the house. "I really must be getting back to volleyball... Ken, why don’t you stay here with Barbie and figure out what book you want to get me next?" She asked hopefully.

Ken looked at her blankly for a moment, and you feared he had taken offence to her words, but the way his face quickly lit up told you otherwise. "Sure!" He nodded brightly.

You, Allan, and Ken waved Barbie off as she ran back to her game of volleyball on beach, and Ken pulled up a chair to your table. Allan sent you a questioning glance, and you simply shrugged your shoulders.

"So… What book should I get her next?" He asked excitedly before finally noticing the other person at the table. "Oh, hey, Allan," He sent him a small nod, earning a quiet ‘Hey, Ken’ in response.

You sighed, shaking your head slightly. "I’m not sure, Ken... I’d have to be in the shop to look for one before I can tell you what I think you should get Barbie," You explained with a small frown. "I’m kind of out here for dinner, too." You spoke slowly, hoping Ken would understand what you were trying to say to him.

You weren’t in the mood, basically.

"Oh! Well, let’s go to the shop now."He responded with a big, toothy grin.

He either didn’t catch your drift or he simply didn’t care.

You turned to Allan and sent him a hopeless look, almost begging him to help you out. In response, he merely sent you a mischievous grin.

"I’m finished with my food anyway, Barbie," He sighed and dramatically rubbed his stomach. "I’ll probably go join the other Barbie’s for volleyball before it gets dark," He nodded towards the loud game that was being played off in the distance on beach.

You quickly sent him a dirty look before turning back to Ken, who hadn’t seemed to have picked up on any of the glances that you and Allan had been sending each other.

"Right…" You sighed tiredly, pushing yourself up off of your chair. "Let’s go to my book store."

. . .

"THE sunset is so pretty," Ken commented whilst he stared out your shop’s window.

You were currently rooting through the ‘fairytale’ section for a story you thought Ken would enjoy. "Mhm, it always is," You replied mindlessly while reading the summary of one of your older books.

You knew that Barbie would never read any of these books, so you only ever picked a book you thought Ken would enjoy, seeing as he always read the ones he got for her.

"What’s that?" He asked suddenly from right behind you, making you jump and drop the book to the floor.

"Ken!" You snapped. "Stop doing that…" You leaned down to pick up the book with a grumble before standing back up straight and turning to face Ken.

"Sorry," He chuckled, glancing back down at the book you had just dropped. "It’s dusty," He commented.

You nodded, lifting it up to your face to blow the particles off of the hardback cover. Ken coughed lightly as you blew them into his face, making you giggle. "Sorry… but yeah, it’s one of the first books I got when I arrived in Barbieland," You explained with a reminiscent smile. "I haven’t read it in a while."

"Could I take this one?" Ken asked with a warm smile.

You shrugged, pushing the worn book into his hands. "Sure, but it’s not a fairytale like all the other ones... I’m not even sure why it was on that shelf—I must have put it there by accident," You murmured to yourself before turning around to approach the front counter, pulling out your small journal of names to keep track of who had taken out books from the shop.

"I actually wanted to ask you something," Ken began nervously, quietly kicking at the wooden ground under his feet.

You looked up at him curiously with a quirked eyebrow, inviting him to continue with a small nod.

"Would you wanna come out for lunch? To, y’know, talk about all the books I’ve been reading," He asked sheepishly, his grip on the book tightening slightly.

Your face flushed a light pink at the request—Ken was asking you out for lunch? "I’d like that, yeah," You answered gingerly.

There was an uncomfortable pause before Ken spoke up again, clearing his throat slightly. "I just wanna know for sure that I’ll be able to talk to Barbie about the books whenever she decides to talk to me about them," He explained with a frown, looking off to the side.

You felt your heart drop a little in your chest, hoping the disappointment wasn’t visible on your face. Maybe it was a bit too hopeful to think he wanted to hang out for the sake of spending time together—did he see you the same way you viewed him as a friend, or were you still just a way he thought he could get closer to stereotypical Barbie with?

"Right," You sighed quietly, anxiously tapping your fingernails on the marble counter next to your register. "I’m free any day, so just come see me in the shop and we can go out," You explained with a tinge of upset in your voice. "I should really be closing up now."

Ken blinked slowly as he took in your sudden shift in demeanour, not fully understanding why you had become upset. "Oh, okay…" He mumbled dishearteningly, slowly turning around to walk out of your book store as darkness started to loom over Barbieland. He turned back once more to look at the back of your head as you furiously cleared the mess that was left behind the till. "Bye, Barbie," He smiled weakly before leaving you alone in the shop.

. . .

—> part three

. . .

note | okay part two is finished… updates won’t be daily because i unfortunately have school and don’t always have the energy to write a chapter😭

i’d also like to mention that im posting this on my secondary blog so i cant reply to comments… im trying to hide the fact that im posting fanfiction from my main account, so it’ll probably be a while before i can reply to any—but i’m definitely reading them!!!

"Please come to beach, you haven't gone in days!" Your close friend, Allan, begged. You attempted to ignore him by hiding behind your book, to no avail, as he had simply pulled it down and away from your head.

"Don't make me, Allan..." You frowned, closing the book as you rested it on your lap. "You know how I feel about beach."

"But you haven't been in almost a week, Barbie... It's no fun going to beach without you," He looked down at you with his doe-y eyes, pouting out his bottom lip.

You thought it over for a few moments, looking away from Allan to avoid the sad puppy-look on his face. "I'll go for a little while," You finally huffed out, trying not to roll your eyes. It was only fair you went with him every now-and-then; he stayed with you at your book shop most other days. "Just let me close up the shop and I'll follow you down..."

Allan cheered, scrambling to the front door of the shop before turning around one more time. "I'll tell all of the Barbie's you're coming! They all keep asking about you," He spoke gleefully before disappearing outside and down the street toward beach.

You let out a small contesting grumble as you began to clean up around your shop to close for the day, double checking you had your beach outfit in the back.

. . .

"HEY Barbie! Long time no see!"

You sent lawyer Barbie a friendly smile as she greeted you at the bleachers on beach, welcoming you to sit down next to her. "Hi Barbie," You acknowledged her with a nod before taking the seat down next to her.

"Where have you been all week?" She asked with a frown.

"I've been... busy with the shop, sorry," You explained as your eyes moved to watch Allan cheer on the other Barbies as they played volleyball. The last thing you would ever do was tell the others you disliked beach. They would probably tell you to visit weird Barbie; no one hated beach!

"Oh! That's so cool!" She clapped her hands joyfully, excited to hear that your shop was doing well.

"What's cool?" Another voice piped in, making yourself and lawyer Barbie turn to see stereotypical Barbie looking at the two of you with her usual bright smile.

"Hi Barbie!" Lawyer Barbie waved to the blonde, signaling for her to sit down next to her like she had done for you. "Barbie was just telling me about how well her book shop was doing!"

"Oh my, that's amazing!" Stereotypical Barbie looked over to you excitedly. "Are you coming to girls night tonight?" She asked with an expectant smile, changing the subject to her nightly parties that she held at her dreamhouse.

You sent her a polite nod having known this question was coming—you couldn't possibly say no without bringing attention to yourself. "Of course, Barbie!" You grinned happily. "I've really missed it the last few nights... I've just been so busy!"

"Great!"

"Yay!"

Cheered lawyer and sterotypical Barbie, thrilled that their friend would be joining them for the first time in a few days.

The three of you had been freely chatting amongst yourselves on the bleachers when there was a sudden voice that called over in your direction, grabbing the attention of anyone in your immediate area.

"Hey Barbie!" The voice shouted eagerly, clearly pumped to see his Barbie on beach.

"Oh, hi Ken," Stereotypical Barbie greeted with a pleasant smile, happy to see her friend.

"Are you gonna play volleyball with us?" He asked with an optimistic grin, his huge surfboard tucked under one of his arms. He had yet to acknowledge you or lawyer Barbie.

As you watched their painfully one-sided conversation, you thought about how you had always felt bad for stereotypical Ken. More so than all the other Ken's in Barbieland, he was regularly ignored by his Barbie. Despite his adorable retriever-like personality and his oddly captivating blond hair, she had never seemed very interested in her matching Ken.

"I'll join you in volleyball after my conversation, Ken!" She told him with a plastic smile, obviously trying to shoo him away. "I want to talk about a book with Barbie," She continued to explain whilst pointing toward you. This piqued your interest, as Barbie was clearly not very interested in reading nor had anyone ever known her to be.

Ken obviously shared this thought as his face seemed to light up with an idea, his eyes falling on you for a moment before turning back to Barbie with a slow nod. "Alright... I'll see you after then?" He asked with a small tilt of his head.

Barbie sent him a nod before she focused back on yourself and lawyer Barbie once again to continue with your conversation.

. . .

THE day after beach was a quiet one, so you busied yourself away once again with one of your books. All you ever did was read books, and sometimes that made you feel lonely. You wanted to hang out with the other Barbies and Kens but that meant regularly going to beach, and you simply weren't willing to make that compromise.

Again; you hate sand.

You jumped in your pink swivel-chair behind the register when the the bell at the front door dinged, signaling the arrival of a customer. You looked up from you book and quickly hid it under the counter, surprised to see that it was stereotypical Ken that had walked through the door.

"Oh, hi Ken!" You sent him a bewildered glance, pushing yourself up from your chair to go greet him. "What're you doing here?"

"Hi Barbie," He flashed a charming smiled as he approached the register, leaning over the counter lazily as he sighed. "I wanted to buy a book for Barbie," He explained, referring to stereotypical Barbie.

The meaning behind that glance he sent you yesterday finally clicked hearing his intentions; he wanted to buy a book to impress his Barbie.

"Well..." You began slowly, trying to hide the amused grin that threated to pull at your mouth. You didn't want to break the news to the poor guy that Barbie had only used the whole 'book conversation' thing as an excuse, so you decided to play along. "What books do you think she would like?"

Ken pursed his lips for a moment as he stared thoughtfully at the wall behind you. "...I'm not sure..." He finally answered, defeated at this revelation. "I didn't even know she read books until yesterday..." He mumbled to himself.

You had to stifle a laugh at his response.

"Well, what do you like to read? You're friends with Barbie so you must like similar things!" He asked eagerly.

"I love a good fairytale," You answered fondly and your eyes seemed to glimmer as you thought about all of your favourite stories. "They're the best stories to imagine yourself in. Sometimes you're rescuing a Ken from a tower protected by a dragon, or you're travelling through the most dangerous seas to find the magical stone to save your friends... You can be anything in a fairytale, and that's what makes them so fun."

"Well then, that should be perfect for Barbie!" Ken grinned, inwardly admiring your clear love for books. "Which story would be the best to get for her?"

You scrunched your face up in thought, wanting to get the perfect book for your friend. You thought it was adorable how committed Ken was to making Barbie happy. "I know which one," You nodded to yourself as you pulled out the book you had placed under the register earlier.

Ken raised an eyebrow at this. "But... aren't you reading that right now?" He asked hesitantly, feeling bad about you wanting him to take it.

You brushed him of with a wave of your hand, sliding the hardback across the front counter towards him. "It's fine! I've read it plenty of times already... It's one of the best books I have, so take it—Barbie will love it," You lied, knowing she would have absolutely no interest in any book he would give her.

Ken picked it up excitedly, holding it close to his chest. "Perfect!" He exclaimed. "When do want the book back?"

"Policy says within a week, so any time within then," You shrugged nonchalantly.

"Great, thanks Barbie!" He shouted over his shoulder as he practically ran to the front door, eager to bring this new book to his Barbie for her to read.

You could finally let out a chuckle as Ken disappeared down the street, trying not to feel too bad for feeding into his delusion that Barbie saw him as anything other than a friend. In fact, part of you started to wonder what it was like for someone to pay attention to you like Ken did to Barbie.

It must be nice, you thought.

. . .

—> part two

. . .

note | this is my first post and story on tumblr… i’ve written a few other things on other sites i’m too embarrassed to mention (😭) but it’s been a few years so i’m probably a bit rusty.