Treadmill

V.II

KENNEDY

Kennedy closed the door behind Rebecca and walked back into the apartment, sighing slightly. This was exhausting, this show she was being forced to put on. But it would all come together eventually.

She walked through the living room and into the kitchen, where Lyla and Rian were lounging around the island drinking the coffee Kennedy had made and talking about the latest episode of their favorite reality TV show.

"Ken, this coffee sucks." Rian said as soon as Kennedy walked into the room, "How do you drink this?"

"It was a bad batch." Kennedy shrugged, "Tasted like absolute shit. Honestly, I don't even like black coffee to begin with."

Lyla rolled her eyes and set her mug down, flattening out her robe from where static had attached it to the kitchen island and turning to face Kennedy.

"So...who is this girl? Is she the one you've been with literally the entire weekend? The one you invited to the party on Saturday who was dancing with Drew?"

"Yeah, and like...why are you hanging out with her? She dresses like she's in middle school. So not a fan." Rian added her thoughts on to Lyla's.

Kennedy shrugged, pausing for a second before answering. She had known her friends would have questions. Why wouldn't they? Kennedy Abrams had gone from being standoffish to people she didn't know to inviting them over multiple times in one weekend without warning.

But just because she understood her friends' concerns didn't mean she had to tell them anything.

"Honestly guys, I just feel this...connection to her." Kennedy replied, shaking her head in mock confusion, "I feel like we were meant to be friends for some reason. I know she isn't the stereotypical person we would hang out with, but she's honestly really cool and way funny, and I think that we could really have fun hanging out with her, inviting her to things. Just trust me on this one."

Rian and Lyla exchanged glances and shrugged in unison. They weren't going to argue with Kennedy—she was the reason they had any sort of clout at Clemson and the reason they got invited to every party on campus. They weren't going to jeopardize that over a girl whose fashion sense they disagreed with. It didn't matter in the long run if someone else was invited into their group, so long as they kept their own statuses.

"I'm gonna go get ready for class." Kennedy said, walking out of the kitchen and checking her watch. 11:09. She had 41 minutes before she had to be out the door and driving to campus.

It was becoming tiring, her preparation routine. Curling her hair, doing her everyday makeup. That meant it was time for a switch, but not on that day. Not when she had so little time to get ready.

Kennedy curled her hair and did her makeup like usual, opting for a slightly different eyeshadow base color to mix things up at least a little bit. She threw on a sundress and wedges before walking out into the kitchen and grabbing her protein waffles and popping them in the toaster.

11:42 and she began eating her waffles, scrolling through Instagram as she went. While she scrolled she began to think about her conversation with Rebecca from earlier. A fake influencer account.

What would it take, to make a fake influencer out of thin air? A name. A handle. A following. A model to be the influencer in looks alone. That was really it. As long as a following was cultivated, anyone could become an influencer.

Kennedy felt herself start to get excited and exited out of Instagram to open her messages. She scrolled down and found her conversation with Rebecca before opening it up and beginning to type.

Big idea. Come over tonight.

She sat there for a few seconds, her mind on overdrive. She could picture it all: the account, the millions of followers, the merch, the money. Everything could be perfect. And it would all be 100% a ruse. No one would be the wiser.

Her phone buzzed in her hand and she looked down at Rebecca's reply.

Can't, I'm sorry. I have work until 10 tonight.

Kennedy rolled her eyes. 10:00 was early. Rebecca could come over after her shift.

Come over after. For real, big stuff. It'll change everything.

11:49 and Kennedy was walking out to her car when Rebecca replied.

Alright, fine. But I don't really want anything to change.

Kennedy grinned and closed her car door, starting the engine while typing out her reply.

Trust me. You will.

A/N: Thoughts? Let me know! And be sure to follow @someshelfawareness on Instagram for updates on my books and blog posts!

-Katherine