Kendra and I walked to my truck. It was an old soul, complete with rust, a faded black paint job, and three large scratches down the middle of the hood. Inside the leather interior was cracked and began allowing fuzz to go through it. I had nicknamed the vehicle The Beast, for it rode like one and I hated it so.
We entered the Beast and strapped ourselves in. “Alright Ms. Kendra,” I said, pulling my seatbelt over my shoulder. “Where are we headed?” 
"I don't know," she replied. "I don't particularly want to go home." Are you freakin' serious right now? I thought to myself. I was taking this girl home out of the kindness of my heart, and she expects me to drive her someplace else? I didn’t even like this girl! I was not exactly inclined to do her any personal favors. Hell I didn’t even want to take her home! I was only doing this as a favor to Sarina. I took a deep breath and asked, "Well then where should we go?"
"Wal-Mart," she responded.
"Wal-Mart," I repeated.
"Yes," she said. 
"Oh what the hell," I sighed, giving up.
Kendra and I drove to the nearest Wal-Mart. The lights were bright against the evening sunset. The huge store was painted tan and bore the large white letters proclaiming its name. I hadn't been to a Wal-Mart in a long time because of the fact that I was creeped out by the old people who wore pajamas and smelled like firewood that hung out there. And the fact that when I got a job there, I was fired because I was caught smoking a doobie in the bathroom. So when Kendra and I went to Wal-Mart, I was secretly terrified.
I turned off the ignition and sat there for a second. Kendra gave me a weird look. "What's up?" she asked.
"Oh! Nothing," I said. "Let's go in!" So we got out of the car and went into the store. As I walked on the smooth, hot pavement, my heart was pumping fast. I wanted to get in and get out quick. I had no idea what this girl was planning. I didn't even know her! She could've been an axe murderer for all I knew. Yet, I followed her anyway, because I felt as though I had an obligation to protect her. I felt as though I was her white knight and that she was the beautiful girl that needed saving. Plus my employee discount may still be intact.
We entered the store. The store had been remodeled since the last time I had been there. The walls gave the area a more spacious feel, unlike how it used to make you feel like you were in a cave. The walls had been painted a clean white, as opposed to how it used to be the yellow similar to the shade of a rotting lemon. It didn't smell like weed, but a fresh smell that protruded the area. This was not the store I used to know.
Kendra grabbed my hand, but I yanked it back immediately. She looked at me as though I was the creepy one. "C'mon!" she said. Reluctantly, I let her hold my hand and we walked around. "Do you want to get some cheesecake?" she asked me.
"Uh…" I responded. I was feeling really uncooperative with this girl. "Sure…" I eventually said.
"Cool. Can you buy it?" she said. ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! This girl was a freakin’ mooch. A moochy axe murderer. That totally doesn’t sound like the plot to another Michael Bay film that would do very successful at the box office.
"Yeah, why not?" I said. She clapped.
"Let's do something funny!" she said after grabbing the "perfect cheesecake". I don't know what her idea of fun was so I just ended up playing along with her little delusion. While we were in the food section, Kendra grabbed a pair of cantaloupes. I was curious as to see what her motives for what she intended to use it for was, but I didn't comment on this. From there she took me to the female underwear section. I felt uncomfortable going here because I don't shop for women much… at all actually. But she knew exactly what she was doing. Going up to the section of bras, she sized up the melons to a bra, which was 34 DD. Then we went to the movie section. A recent Nicholas Cage movie had been released and there were posters advertising the movie everywhere. Pulling a pair of scissors out of her purse she cut off of the terrible actor's faces off. Then she cut holes in the eyes and used a hair clip to pin it to my head.
"Put the bra on," she commanded.
"No!" I said incredulously. I was appalled at the idea of wearing a bra. I didn't know what she was doing but I imagined that she was going to have me put the melons into the bra and have me prance around with it on. I would not be willing to have my dignity and self-respect violated for some random ass girl's practical joke.
"Aww, come on!" she whined. "I can't offer you much, but I could offer you anything in my purse." She ruffled through her purse and found a couple sticks of gum, some lip gloss, a pair of sunglasses, extra panties, and gummy bears. Gummy bears. GUMMY BEARS!!! I snatched the gummy bears from her hand, ripped the package open, and shoved the whole bag down my throat. My mouth was crammed with gummy bears. They were my weakness.
"Deal," I muffled. She attached the bra to my back and put the melons into the bra. I looked like what would happen if a heterosexual boy had an acid trip while watching Ghost Rider.
"Here's what you’re going to say to the cashier when you go to pay for the cheesecake," she said. She whispered it into my ear. I laughed. "Where did you hear that from?" I asked her.
"iFunny," she said.
She pulled out her phone and went behind the register. She took a video as I walked up to the counter. The older woman that stood there was half asleep, so when she saw me she gawked as though she was dreaming. "Hello," I said. I put the cheesecake down. As she slid it over the scanner, she never took her eyes off my bra. "What?" I asked looking down at it. "Are you staring at my national treasures?" Kendra burst out laughing. The cashier mumbled, "$9.59." As I swiped my credit card, I tried not to burst out. After grabbing the cake, I walked out and dumped all the crap.
Kendra followed me. "THAT… WAS… HYSTERICAL!!" she said between fits of laughter. I could help but laugh myself. Maybe this girl wasn't as bad as I thought she was. She actually made me laugh. And she had gummy bears in her purse. Mmmm…. gummy bears. So I laughed along with her.
She was crying with tears of laughter. "You… should've… seen her… face!" she said. I chuckled as we walked back to the truck.

  It was reaching 2 am, and I was wide awake, because next to me sat probably the most down to earth and full of life person I had ever met. Kendra was the sun, bright, warm, and full of energy. I liked her. A lot. I liked her probably more than I should have because I enjoyed being around her more than I enjoyed being around most other people, Zach included. So I didn't mind driving around with a girl who I had met only a few hours before.
She began off quiet. Then she saw my guitar. "Can you play this for me?" she asked.
"Sure," I replied. "I actually write my own music sometimes."
"Wow! That's really cool," she said. "What do you write about?"
"The relationship between my ex-girlfriend and I."
"Like… what?' she inquired.
I sighed. "My ex-girlfriend, Sarah, was nice. I don't know what it was about her but she was really cool. But one day I found her cheating on me with one of my friends, so now I write music about how much of a-"
"OOO! LET'S STOP HERE!" she randomly screamed at the top of her lungs as she pointed towards the closest park. I nearly had a heart attack, so I stopped the car at the park. From there she jumped out of the car and ran into the park. I followed her. There was an old swing set and she hopped on it. "Push me!" she said. Reluctantly, I bounded towards her. I lightly pushed her on the back as she swung forward and backward. "Wee!" she pretended to say like a child. I laughed.
After about an hour of this, I sat down. She continued to play on the playground. She walked on top of the ancient monkey bars. She slid down the short slide. She twerked on the see-saw. I couldn't help but laugh at her because I found this to be extremely hilarious. She was funny. She was funny without being mean. I thought of her as one of the most hysterical people I had ever met.
She came over and sat down by me. "Whew!" she said, clearly exhausted. "That was fun!" I laughed at her.
  "Do you have a thing for playgrounds?" I asked her.
"No," she replied. "I have a thing for guys who take me to playgrounds." I laughed again. "So are you going to play that guitar for me?" she inquired. Damn, I forgot about that, I thought to myself. I went to my truck and grabbed the old guitar.
"Now this song wasn't originally written for the guitar, so it may sound different," I said. Strumming the chords, I began to sing.

"Have you ever had a feeling
That we're not alone?
Hold to call the feeling senile
They unearth more
Going down the dusty roads
We are cold and see-through

I need you

There's a reason after all
All the things that I have done
Pump the blood and leave it alone
Anywhere you take me

See it all
Just go and solve it all"
"What was that song called?" she asked me.
"I Need You," I replied.
Then out of nowhere, a platypus appeared. I didn't even know that they lived in America other than in zoos. I was shocked when it appeared. "HOLY CRAP IT'S A PLATYPUS!" I yelled. Kendra squealed with delight.
"Oh my god! Platypuses are so adorable!" she said. I didn't particularly agree with this statement. Platypuses are ugly little creatures. In my opinion, the only attractive platypus was Perry the Platypus, and only he held priority because he was a semi-aquatic egg laying mammal of action. Going forward to pet it, she inched towards it.
"Kendra, be careful," I warned her. She scoffed at me.
"Don't be such a pussy," she retorted. She patted its little head. From beneath her hand, the creature bit her hand. "OW!" Kendra exclaimed in pain. Her glasses fell off her face and she waved her hand. They didn't smash but the platypus ate them and wobbled away before we could catch him.
"Damn platypus took my glasses!" she said. I giggled. Then Hunter came out of nowhere. "Hey guys," he said. I was shocked.
"Hunter!" I said, trying not to act surprised. "I thought you got shot by the police!" I told him.
"Yeah," he said, nonchalantly.
"Your shoulder's bleeding," Kendra said. He looked at his shoulder.
"Oh yeah. It seems its bleeding."
  "Doesn't that hurt?" she inquired.
"Nah," he responded. "Just a flesh wound." I laughed, although I probably shouldn't have. It's such an overused line. It’s actually become a disgrace to Monty Python. Kendra looked like she was about to throw up. She was probably pretty squeamish.
"Can I poke it?" I asked him.
"Sure," he said. I went forward and began jabbing my finger into the gaping hole in his shoulder.
"Whoa! That's trippy!" I said. He laughed.
“So how can we help you Hunter?" I asked him, after I stopped touching his "flesh wound".
"I just wanted to chill with you guys," he said. He seemed pretty sincere, but then again he did leave us for a girl getting a tub of popcorn.
"Sorry," Kendra exclaimed. "Private party only."
Hunter looked hurt. "Aw," he sighed.
"Sorry bro," I told him, not bothering to argue with Kendra. The lady is always right.
"Well, because I'm probably going to die tonight," Hunter began. "I just thought I would let you know that I had always wished you had come out with us that night last year." I remembered what he was talking about. "I secretly preferred you to Julio. May he rest in peace."
"JULIO'S DEAD?" I yelled.
"Nah, I just gave him some Benadryl and he passed out in the street after we found the moped." I was relieved. Then the cops came running in.
"FREEZE DIRTBAG!" the cops yelled.
"Oh s***!" and Hunter was running again, followed by the same gentlemen that shot him earlier. Unfortunately, he got shot again by the police, and when I saw him fall, I knew he was dead.
"What the hell just happened?" she asked. I stood there blankly.
"I don't know," I eventually said.
"What was he referring to when he said he wished you went out with them?" she asked curiously. I sighed.
"Back when I first met Hunter, I didn't realize he was a drug dealer. So one night he comes up to my house and he said, 'I'm gonna go sell this big ass bag of weed to my bro, Brandon. You wanna come?' I ultimately said no. I was legitimately considering it, because back then I was intrigued by the idea of smoking big bags of dope, but I had to show some self-control and that is ultimately why I said no. He comes back by my house the next morning. He said that he woke up in a dumpster behind an Olive Garden and he asked me my knowledge of STD's. Turns out he had contracted chlamydia." I recalled. Kendra looked disgusted.
"Well, I'm glad you didn't go. Then I might not have met you," she said. My heart melted a little. I had developed feelings for this girl. I really did like her. I know I had met her hours before, but there was some sort of spark between us.

 "Shh!" I whispered to Kendra. She was jittery and making random noises as I picked the lock to the community swimming pool door. We had left the park at this point. I had taken her hand in mine and from there we ran to the pool. When we had reached the door to the pool, she was shaking. "I've never done anything like this before," she told me. It was 4:30 in the morning and 65  degrees. It was pretty warm outside. Getting into the pool was the easy part. I had grabbed a lock pick and a screwdriver from my truck. Jamming them into the lock, I jimmied it until it was able to open. When it was opened, Kendra seemed to relax a little bit. "Well? Let's go!" I said. She grinned at me and took my hand as we walked in. The moonlight shinned against the water, which splashed around. The jets underneath the water roared with life, and the lights underneath turned the water an electric blue color. I felt like I needed a swim.
I peeled the shirt from my sweaty body. I looked down and realized how unsexy my body was. I had stringy blonde chest hair, small nipples, zits all over, and a fat stomach. I felt embarrassed. Kendra took her shirt off. Her torso was skinny and pale, with moderate sized breasts which were covered by a purple bra. I could tell that she was embarrassed as well. "I don't blame you if you think my body is as ugly as my face," she said, unsure of herself. It hurt me to think that she wasn't as admiring of herself as I was.
"I think you're beautiful," I told her. She laughed.
  "I'm not kidding," I said, taken aback. She was tearing up, yet had a sort of strained grin on her face.
  "I know you're not," she said, wiping the fake grin from her face, as it became blotchy and red. "No one has ever said it to me before." She was crying now.
"Kendra, you are the most beautiful person I have ever seen," I said to her.
  "Do you mean it?" she sniffled.
"I've never meant anything more in my life," I promised. Our faces inched closer and closer, until finally we kissed.  Her lips were soft and tasted like strawberries. Her breath had a sugary-sweet taste to it, as though it was a minty Lifesaver. Her tongue darted around my mouth, dancing across mine. She wrapped her hands around my neck, pulling me into her. I held her head in my hands, gently stroking the silky smooth hair she had. For what seemed like forever, we were kissing. Then when she pulled away from me she said, "No one has ever kissed me before." It saddened me to hear that.
"Well, you deserve more than that," I told her.
I stripped my remaining clothes until I was in only my boxers on the side of the pool. Frankly, I felt inadequate considering the other people that would be having sex (even if its Hunter in the bathroom of a movie theater with a chick he met at in a line for popcorn). I felt so small. I don't know exactly what was going through Kendra's mind at the time, but I hope she didn't think any less of me. Kendra's body was small. She had a small ass that was covered with a thong that matched her bra. Her toenails were painted black.
I dived head first into the pool. The water was chilly, but refreshing. As I resurfaced, I saw that Kendra stood on the edge of the pool, looking scared. "What's wrong?" I asked her. She looked at me.
  "Promise you won't laugh?" she replied.
"Depends on whether or not you have gonorrhea," I said. She looked at me seriously. "Fine," I grunted, rolling my eyes.
"I can't swim," she told me.
I now knew why she told me not to laugh, because I wanted to laugh my ass off. "I'll teach you," I tried to stifle my laughter, doing a good job of it.
I swam over to the edge of the pool and took her hand. I pulled her in slowly and when she hit the water's edge, she began to flop like a fish. "I'M DROWNING!!" she yelled. I chuckled and held her tightly to me.
"I got you," I told her. She began to relax.
Gasping, she said, "That… was… terrifying." She looked as though she had been attacked by a bear.
"Kendra, its okay. You're with me," I comforted her. She grabbed onto me. For the next 45 minutes, we practiced swimming.
At the end of it, I was exhausted. "Sing to me," she said. I thought about this.
In hopes of getting laid soon, I said, "Okay." She clapped. "I'm lying on the moon. My dear, I'll be there soon," I began. I sang her the song from my favorite movie. I danced with her as I sang. We slowly waltzed under the water. She smiled and put her head on my shoulder.
When I finished, she asked me, "What song was that?"
I replied, "The Moon Song, from the movie 'Her'."
She looked at me. "It's almost morning," she said. I looked up at the sky. It began to show signs of morning.
"Let me show you something," I said

 Kendra and I drove to the top of the hillside in town. It was 6 in the morning. Our night had begun 10 hours earlier and neither of us had a wink of sleep. I looked over at her as I drove. She had sleepy eyes and purple rings that weren't part of her eye shadow. She was still beautiful. "Tired, yet?" I asked her. She smiled.
"Not. One. Bit." she said to me. I laughed. She was the one person who could stay up for 36 hours and not want to go to sleep. I loved this.
We reached the top of the hill. The sun was still low on the horizon, yet it was higher than where it was 20 minutes ago. Stopping the truck, I took the key out of the ignition. I looked over at Kendra. "I had a great time tonight," I told her. She smiled. It wasn't just her average smile. When she smiled this time, I felt my heart melt away. I adored the woman in front of me. Never before have I found a woman who is willing to stay up with me,  go to the park, have a platypus eat her glasses, watch a friend get shot down by the cops naked, and learn how to swim with me teaching her. She was the perfect woman. I felt as though people should recognize her perfection comparable to that of Aphrodite, but the fact that she is so alone that no one sees that in her is appalling.
"Me too," she said.
"Why did Sarina bring you tonight?" I asked her. She looked at me with sadness in her eyes.  She recalled, "Sarina brought me because she felt sorry for me. I'm not actually just her friend, I'm her cousin. Everyday I would call her and weep on the phone to how I was a loser and had no friends. Tonight, she told me that there was a small get together and that I was invited. She picked me up with her car full of all these popular people that I felt so awkward around. I knew she brought me out of her own sheer pity for me. I felt like running away from the theater because I was so out of place. Before I entered the theater, I sat in the car after everyone had gotten out and I screamed as hard as I could at the top of my lungs. Sarina didn't even bother staying to comfort me. I cried and cried and cried and cried. When I was done, my eyes were red, so I looked through the center console and found some make-up to put on to attempt to cover it. I entered the theater sniffling, saying to myself  'If tonight doesn't go well, I will never leave my house again.' And then you talked to me. You were the only reason why I didn't bother leaving. I was so happy someone had the audacity to talk to me. When Sarina asked you to take me home, I was so excited! My heart started beating really fast and I knew from that moment that you were something more to me. Tonight was the best night of my entire life."
Did someone truly feel so excited to be brought home by a random stranger? I saw it as a punishment, but to her it was something else. Happiness prickled through my fingers as I heard her recall this story. "Kendra," I said when she was done. "Life can be hard. I'm glad you told me all about what has been going on. When I talked with you in the theater, I just thought of you as this random girl who had decided to crash movie night. But you are so much more than that. In my life, never have I met a single person that has been willing to stay up all night just to hang out and do random s***. I'm glad you came tonight because it was amazing that I could meet such a down to earth person that can do anything she wants to on a single whim and not give a damn what everyone else thinks about it.
"I love you," I concluded. Her eyes grew wide with surprise and happiness.
"I love you too," she responded.
  "Never before have I loved anyone as much as I love you," I told her. Tears of joy streamed from her eyes.
"My parents are going to kill me because of everything we've done tonight," she said.
  I laughed and said, "Just tell them you were falling in love."
"But what if they question it?" She asked.
"Then you truly have pissed someone off." And then we kissed. The sun rose over the horizon. The sky was purple, pink, orange, and red in a series of different combinations. It was glorious. "Sing me that song again," she said when she pulled away from me. I grabbed my guitar and strummed a few chords attempting to find the right pitch.

"I'm lying on the moon
My dear, I'll be there soon
It's a quiet starry place
Time's we're swallowed up
In space we're here a million miles away

There's things I wish I knew
There's no thing I keep from you
It's a dark and shiny place
But with you my dear
I'm safe and we're a million miles away

We're lying on the moon
It's a perfect afternoon
Your shadow follows me all day
Making sure that I'm okay and
We're a million miles away"
I put my arm around her shoulders. I loved this girl. I loved her because she was beautiful. I loved her because she was smart. I loved her because she was funny and kind and generous. I loved her because she had a tattoo of a heart on her wrist. I loved her because she helped me get over my fear of Wal-Mart. I loved her because she convinced me to buy her cheesecake when I put cantaloupes in a bra I was wearing with a makeshift Nicholas Cage mask. I loved her because she didn't care that a platypus ate her glasses. I loved her because she wanted me to teach her how to swim. I loved her because she loved me singing to her. I loved her for everything she was, is, and will ever be. I loved her quirks. I loved her imperfections. I loved her because she was sloppy, dirty, funny, sexy, and majestic, sometimes all in the same breath. I loved her weird fetishes that she hasn't told me about. I loved her good and bad. And never before have had I loved a person so much as I love her.
The End