What Were We Made For? - Ken x Allan

Dance the Night

I wake up, greeted by the pink chandelier over Barbie's bed. Another sleepover... I should be grateful she still accepts me after all the patriarchy stuff, but sometimes... I don't know. It feels like we're moving so fast. I wish she could stay my long term, long distance, low commitment, casual girlfriend. It feels like we're the opposite of that lately.

I turn over, only to find that Barbie has gotten out of bed. I hear Lizzo playing in the background. (we should really get that song changed, I'll have to bring it up at our next Supreme Court meeting.) I guess she's already awake and getting ready for the day. I have my own morning routine too, but it's nothing fancy like Barbie's. I try to hide my jealousy as I join her outside.

"Hi, Ken!" She waves to me. I greet her and wave back. All negative thoughts I previously had wash away when I see her smile. That damned smile.. it's impossible to not love her. I almost don't realize it, but she's walked up to me!

"Have any plans for later tonight?" She asks, beautifully.

"Just the dance party." I say, trying my hardest to remain calm. "It's gonna be pretty cool.. the Kens and I, we're doing this awesome dance routine, we got matching outfits done and everything. Gonna be quite the show..."

As I talk, I notice she's walked off. She's now talking to another Barbie. I sigh dramatically, walking over to the other Kens. I guess they'd be more interested in what I have to say.

"Hi, Ken!" Ken says, waving me over. "We were just discussing our outfits."

"Awesome! I'm actually really excited, I think the red jumpsuits will suit my complexion nicely." I say. The Kens shoot each other nervous looks, clearly knowing something I don't.

"Oh god.. would red not suit me?" I exclaim.

"No, it's not that!" another Ken speaks up. "Red is amazing on you! It's just that... we decided in the groupchat last night that we're switching to blue. Didn't you see?"

My heart drops. Groupchat? What groupchat? How could they have one without me? Do they not like me?

"Um.. no, I didn't see that." I say, looking around at our group. Well, I guess it's their group now. "I wasn't aware that there was a groupchat..."

"We're sorry, Ken. We didn't think.." Ken sighs, trailing off. The Kens start to look visibly guilty. "Well, as long as you know that we went with blue now, everything should be fine!"

"Yeah. Sounds great." I say, walking away from them. It's not fine... I mean, I look great in blue, but it simply wouldn't go with the song we picked. It's disheartening to know they didn't even think to consult me about such a big change. I mean, they know how much I care about fashion and dance routines. I guess you never know who your true friends are.

—-

Later that night, I'm in my dressing room at the dance hall. I can hear the music pumping through the walls, and the Barbies laughing and having fun. Even though today was disheartening, I need to keep my head up. I need to give the citizens of Barbieland a performance they'll never forget.

Suddenly, I hear a knock at my door. I flip my head around and see Ken poking his head in.

"We're on in five. Are you ready?" he asks, looking around my room. I still have a bunch of horse posters from my patriarchy era taped to the walls, as well as my white fur coat. I can't read Kens expression as he notices. I hope he doesn't think I still believe in those things.. because I don't.

"Ready as I'll ever be." I reply, running a comb through my hair and strutting out to meet the other Kens. I listen to DJ Barbie announce our performance, as I stand in formation with the Kens.

"Ladies and Allan, please welcome The Kens! Tonight they'll be performing a dance number to the hit song, Va Va Voom as made famous by Nikki Minaj!"

The Barbies erupt with applause, cheering us own. But instead of feeling ecstatic like I usually do before a performance, I feel my blood run cold. This isn't the song I thought we were performing. We've been practicing all week! How could I have gotten confused? Perhaps something got mixed up behind the scenes?

But as the curtains lift and the other Kens begin to dance, I realize that this was no mistake. They switched the song and the choreography behind my back! First the jumpsuits, now this? My heart was racing as I stumbled along, trying to follow the other Kens movements. I felt a brush creep along my face. I'm ruining the whole performance, and everyone knew. How could they not notice how poorly I was dancing? I must stick out like a sore thumb.

As I attempt to dance, holding back tears, a thought occurs to me. The Kens must have betrayed me. Maybe they want me out of the dance troupe? But why couldn't they just say that to my face? Why did they have to embarrass me like this?

After the agonizing song was over and the curtains fell back down, I burst into tears. I ran out of the dance hall, ignoring a Ken who called after me. Why bother calling out to the person you betrayed? They know what they did would hurt me. They're such fakes! I knew only one place would help me cheer up...

—-

I look across the still water, the moon reflecting and the salty wind in my hair. The beach was starting to become the only place I could truly call home. I didn't have my Mojo Dojo Casa House, I didn't have my dance troupe. I didn't even have a horse. But the beach will never leave me or betray me. I guess that's why I fell in love with it in the first place. It's always been the only constant in my life..

"Are you okay?" I hear a familiar voice ask. I turn and see Allan walking up to me, awkward as ever. I guess he's the only other constant thing I have.

"Oh, hey Allan." I sigh. "Everythings fine.. just looking at the stars."

He sits next to me, silent. I glance down and notice that his nails are painted, a pastel blue. Since when did Allan paint his nails...? I guess you can never know everything about a person, even the boring ones.

After some time, he speaks up. "I liked your dance." He says, running his fingers through the sand.

"Thanks, I guess. It wasn't the song I thought we were doing. I didn't know the choreography."

"I wouldn't have thought that.... You looked really natural out there."

"Thanks.." I sigh. He doesn't know what he's talking about. He doesn't dance like I do.

"You're welcome." He says. He finds a seashell, and sets it next to my hand. "Sometimes I wish I could dance with you guys.."

"With the way the Kens act? Pfft, no you don't." I scoff, standing up. Allan looks up at me, confused.

"They're backstabbers. I learned my lesson tonight."

And with that, I walk away, leaving beach and Allan behind. Tomorrow, I'll confront the Kens. But tonight, I need some rest. I don't know why they betrayed me, but clearly, something isn't right...