Kenchanting || Ken

Kenabling

Since that day, Ken's been hanging out with Penny a lot more. It used to be that they'd play games before bed, but go their separate ways in the mornings. Then she'd hang out with Allan or Barbie or someone else, while Ken hung out on the beach and desperately tried to win Barbie's affection.

But Penny hadn't seen Ken follow after Barbie in days. When Barbie would come to the beach, Ken seemed to stay where he was and keep a distance between them.

Penny had been trying to set up something where the three of them could hang out together. Maybe if she was there, she could ease tensions and help the two talk, but it never seemed to work. Barbie would be doing something else, or Ken would say he wanted Penny to enjoy spending time with Barbie without worrying about him.

She didn't want to force it. If she forced it, someone else might get hurt again, but she didn't know what she was supposed to do. It ate at her. She felt a pit form in her heart, and it was growing bigger with each day that passed.

Every second that passed, her smile became more forced, and her joy diminished. Allan was the only one to notice the change. He made a point to seek her out each day and tell her dumb jokes he'd come up with that he knew she'd enjoy. If he hadn't seen her in a while, he'd send her one in a text, and the two would continue their ping-pong match of puns and goofs until one went to bed.

Penny wasn't sure what things would be like if Allan wasn't there.

Another of Barbie's big blowout parties was happening tomorrow. Today, Penny had been teaching all the Kens the choreography for the big dance number that she learned at girl's night the day before. Whenever she'd teach them a step, they'd all get it instantly. It made her realize she was the only one who had to practice these steps to get them right. Everyone else in Barbieland knew exactly what they were doing. They were all so perfect.

After she finished showing them the choreography, they all split up and went their separate ways. Today was Pen and Ken's night, and she needed to talk to Ken about all of this.

The sun fell, and she headed back to their home, wondering how to broach the subject.

She knocked twice and opened the door to find Ken sitting on the floor with a game of Uno already set up.

"Hi, Penny." He beamed. "Uno okay?"

"Sounds perfect." She answered, settling onto the ground in front of a pile of cards already laid out for her.

It was quieter than normal. Both were lost in their thoughts, not recognizing that the other person needed to be pulled out of theirs.

Only after Ken played a plus four and said "Uno, blue," did Penny's worries push themselves back to the corners of her mind.

A small grin played on her lips. Ken recognized the look on her face and groaned playfully. "Really?" he asked.

"Really," she responded, placing a plus four down on his. Only three cards were left in her hand as Ken drew eight, leaving him now with nine cards he had to get rid of.

The first time Ken, and she played, she taught him about stacking plus twos and plus fours. For some reason, Mattel hated this rule, saying it wasn't how the game was supposed to be played. Penny didn't care. House rules go, and Penny's house rules always existed to make the game more fun.

Ken noticed the way her face lit up, and even though he was so close to winning, he couldn't help but smile with her. He never cared about winning or losing; he only ever had fun playing these games because Penny was having fun. Her infectious laugh and smile would overtake his senses, filling him with whatever joy she was feeling.