Irreconcilable Differences

++++++++



"Sam," Kelly grumbled as she lay in bed. Sam had been curled up behind her, sleeping, but now she was stretching out, her paws pushing into Kelly's back.



"It's not time to get up," she pointed out, but could feel the dog sitting up.



"Alright, come on," Kelly said, getting up and slipping on some sweats, looking at her clock that read five o'clock. "I swear," she sighed, following the dog out of her room and down the stairs. "I can't wait for this pregnancy thing to be over with because I'm tired of you having to pee every thirty minutes."



Sam just wagged her tail happily, waiting for Kelly to open the door to let her out. Kelly smiled as she let the dog outside, following her out the door. She sat on the back steps watching Sam play in the wet grass. Kelly sighed, realizing she would have to give her a bath later.



Her phone started to ring, so she pulled it out of the pocket of her sweats.



"Hello?" she yawned.



"Hey, I'm not waking you am I?"



"No, it's ok. Sam beat you to it."



Carrie laughed, "Well, I got some news."



"Good or bad?"



"Depends on how you look at it."



"Ok?"



"Well, I'm gonna be spending a couple of weeks in Texas," Carrie explained.



"Well, that doesn't sound like a bad thing," Kelly replied.



"I guess that depends on how you feel about company."



"Company?"



"Clive thinks it'll look good for our friendship if I stay at your place. I tried telling him that he couldn't just impose on you like that, but you know how he is."



Kelly laughed, "He does know that we're not fighting anymore, right?"



"Yea, I tried telling him, but he was being his usual ass self, and not listening to a word I was saying."



"It's alright. Don't worry about it. I have plenty of room here, and I'd love to have you."



"Really? Cause if not, I can easily get a hotel. It's no problem, really."



"I'm sure. Besides, I'd rather you stay here than in some stuffy hotel anyway."



"Thanks Kell," Carrie smiled. "Well, I'm flying there tomorrow afternoon. The plane is supposed to land around five. Is that alright?"



"Yea, I'll come pick you up."



"Ok. Thanks again, seriously, you're great."



"Yea, yea," Kelly rolled her eyes. "See you tomorrow."



"See ya."



+++++++++



"You sure about this?" Ashley asked as Kelly searched for her keys.



"Yea, I told you, we're good now."



"I know, but it's one thing to get along. It's entirely different to live with someone."



"It's just a couple of weeks," Kelly replied, smiling triumphantly as she pulled out her keys from under the seat cushion in the living room.



"Ok. It's up to you. Do you want me to cook something?"



"Um, yea, sure. I should be back around seven, seven-thirty."



"Alright. Drive safe," Ashley said.



"Always," Kelly smiled.



+++++++++



Kelly waited at the gate that Carrie had told her to. She looked down at her watch and sighed. The plane was nearly half an hour late. She took out her phone to call Ashley to tell her they were running behind when she heard the voice over the loud speaker announcing the plane's arrival. Kelly smiled, putting her phone back in her pocket. She watched as the passengers exited the gate, reuniting with loved ones.



Kelly couldn't help the nervousness that was surrounding her, though she didn't know why. An excited smile formed at the sight of the country blonde noticing her. Carrie smiled back, rushing over. She dropped the carry on bag she had been holding and stepped closer, but stopped.



"What?" Kelly asked.



"I just figured...the no touching thing...you know," Carrie frowned.



Kelly rolled her eyes, "Come here."



Carrie smiled as she wrapped her arms around the shorter girl, embracing her in a tight hug. She let out a deep breath, relaxing into the touch, enjoying the warmth it surrounded her with.



"You ok?" Kelly asked, pulling away and picking up Carrie's bag.



"Yea, it's just good to see a friendly face for once," she replied, trying to take the bag back only to have Kelly swat her hand away, making her giggle.



"So how much luggage do you have?" Kelly asked as they approached baggage claim.



"A lot," Carrie admitted.



"So, you're one of those girls," she teased.



"Not everyone looks good in jeans and a t-shirt," Carrie replied.



"Yea you do," Kelly replied, honestly, giving her outfit the once over.



"Oh, there's one," Carrie said quickly, hoping to change the subject as one of her suitcases rolled around.



Kelly's eyes grew wide, "That thing's bigger than I am."



++++++++



"Here we are," Kelly said triumphantly after fifteen minutes of trying to remember where she had parked.



"Am I being Punk'd?" Carrie asked, looking at the old, beat-up Ford Explorer before her.



"No," Kelly replied, helping her put her stuff in the back.



"This is yours?"



"Yea," Kelly smiled proudly. "I haven't been home in a while, so I figured it could use a good run."



"It's not gonna like break down on us, is it?" Carrie asked, climbing into the passenger side, nervously.



"No, we should be fine," Kelly reassured her.



"Should?"



"I'd be more worried about my driving than the car lasting to be honest."



"And that makes me feel so much better," Carrie replied, double checking her seat belt as Kelly pulled onto the highway.



"Don't worry about it," Kelly said. "I haven't gotten in an accident in forever. Then again, I don't really drive as much as I used to."



"Still not helping."



Kelly laughed, changing the radio station, "So how was the flight?"



"It was fine. I got to meet the pilot which is always fun."



"Yea," Kelly agreed. "One time the pilot gave me his wings, and I asked if dewinging a pilot was the same as deflowering a virgin."



Carrie laughed, shaking her head, "And what did he say?"



"He didn't say anything, but his co-pilot, who I later found out to be his wife, gave me a pretty scary look."



"You've got to work on that filter."



"Yea, but then life wouldn't be as entertaining."



"True," Carrie nodded, turning the radio a notch louder.



Kelly's jaw clenched as the number 17 flashed over the screen. She could feel her hand twitching as the urge to turn the dial took over. She turned it back down a level.



"Too loud?" Carrie asked.



"No," she shook her head.



"Ok?"



Kelly sighed, "I'm kinda OCD about odd numbers."



Carrie had to stifle her laugh, "Are you serious?"



Kelly nodded, feeling a blush rising.



"So, if I were to put it on, let's say 15, what would happen?" she asked, her hand hovering over the volume control.



"Carrie, please," Kelly begged, keeping one eye on the road and the other on Carrie's hand.



"Come on," Carrie insisted, her hand inching closer. "It's funny,"



"No, it's not. It's embarrassing, and it sucks."



"Embarrassing for you, funny for me," she smiled, her fingers on the knob.



"Care," Kelly fussed, placing her hand on top of the country singers. Carrie looked at the two hands, surprised by the softness of the hand on top of hers. She slowly withdrew her hand from the controls, but closed it around Kelly's, studying it curiously.



Kelly couldn't help but smile at the way the two hands fit together. She let herself relax, bringing her eyes fully back to the road. Carrie fixed their hands so that the two were now interlaced, and Kelly had to struggle not to bite her lip as the nerves from earlier returned.



Carrie turned her hand, palm up, running her thumb almost soothingly over Kelly's. She felt the urge to bring the smooth skin up to her lips, but shrugged it off, figuring she had been watching too many romance movies.



"Care?" Kelly asked gently, breaking her out of her trance.



"Yea?"



"I kinda need that hand to drive. This isn't an automatic," she pointed out.



"Oh," Carrie blushed, letting go. "Sorry."



"No, it's fine," Kelly quickly reassured her with a small smile.



Carrie returned it before turning her gaze out the window, hoping to avoid any further embarrassment on the ride home.



++++++++



"So, this is where you'll be staying," Kelly said, leading her into one of the guest rooms. "I mean, if that's ok. We have a couple other spare rooms if not."



"No, this is perfect," Carrie commented, sitting on the edge of the bed. "Your house is amazing."



Kelly shrugged, "Yea, we had to do a lot of work on it. You should've seen it when we bought it. It looked like it hadn't been lived in in a century."



"Well, I love it. It's extremely...homey," she smiled.



"Thanks," Kelly laughed. "That was the plan."



"No, I mean, I've been to some people's houses where it's just so over the top, I was afraid to even sit on the furniture because it looked like it was worth more than my car."



"So what about you?" Kelly asked, sitting on the bed. "Fancy house or comfy home?"



Carrie smiled. No matter where the girl sat, her feet never touched the ground, "I have a couple apartments here and there."



"You never wanted a house? You know somewhere you could call home?"



"Well, yea, but I mean, where would I put it. Nashville? L.A.? Oklahoma?"



"I'd recommend Texas. It's the greatest place on Earth," Kelly said, matter-of-factly.



Carrie laughed, shaking her head.



"So, dinner should be ready if you're hungry. You can settle in after," Kelly offered, standing.



"Um, yea, sure," Carrie said, following her out the room.



+++++++



"Kell, someone stole my car," Jason said, walking into her room. Kelly was sitting at her desk, going through her hundreds of daily emails.



"No, I let Carrie borrow it. She had to go to a meeting in Dallas today," Kelly said.



"But, that's my car," he pointed out.



"It's under my name," she replied. "Besides, she'll have it back before tonight. What do you need it for anyway?"



"Nothing," he lied.



"If you were just gonna go riding around, showing it off, then it's better off where it is."



"You can't lie, if you were me, you'd do the same thing," Jason frowned.



"Take the Range."



"It's in L.A." he reminded her.



Kelly frowned, spinning around in her chair, eyeing him carefully, "Alright, come on."



Jason smiled as she stood up, walking out of her room. He practically skipped down the stairs, following Kelly out to the garage. She walked up to a concealed car, pulling the cover off of it to reveal a 1965 Mustang J-code convertible. Jason had to remind himself not to drool on the candy apple red paint. The red and white interior and chrome finishings made the car all the more beautiful.



Kelly smiled at it proudly. She had always had a love for classical things. Classical music. Classical movies. Why not classical cars? She had finally gotten it back from the shop where they had completely rebuilt the engine and updated the sound system.



"Now," she said, turning to him seriously. "If this car comes back with so much as a smudge on it, so help me Jason, you're dead. You hear me?"



Jason nodded excitedly, bouncing from one foot to the other. He had never in his wildest dreams thought he would be able to drive this car. Kelly hesitantly handed him the keys, feeling her stomach flipping in nerves as her brother raced to the driver's seat.



"I swear Jason!" she called out as he started up the car. "I will kill you!"



Jason gave her a thumbs up in response before pulling out of the garage and speeding off down the driveway.



"You let him drive your car?" Ashley asked as she walked back into the house, Sam quickly taking her place at her feet.



"Yea," Kelly nodded nervously.



"You don't even let me drive that car."



"I know, but I felt bad because I let Carrie borrow his without asking," she replied, making her way back up to her room, Sam right beside her.



"You hungry?" Ashley called out after her.



"No time. I'm behind on a bunch of stuff."



"Pizza later?"



"Perfect," Kelly smiled as Sam barked happily in response.



+++++++++



"You spoil that dog," Ashley laughed as Kelly fed Sam a piece of pizza.



"I do not," she argued, making Carrie laugh as Sam tried to steal a pepperoni off of Kelly's slice.



"Yea, you do," Jason nodded, joining them in the theater room, tossing Kelly the keys.



"How is she?"



"Not so much as a smudge," Jason reported, nodding.



"Good. I'll check her out in the morning."



"Her?" Carrie asked her confusedly.



"Kelly's car."



"It's a girl?"



"Yea," Jason laughed.



"At least I didn't name it," Kelly retorted.



"Whatever," he rolled his eyes. "Back to the subject at hand: you spoil that dog."



"I do not. She's had a rough life. I'm just making up for it. Besides, she's been good to me, why shouldn't I spoil her?"



Ashley laughed, "That's her philosophy for everyone," she explained to Carrie.



"Exactly," Kelly nodded, turning back to Jason. "So why not Sam? She's just as much a part of this family as you."



"I've been here longer," Jason pointed out.



"But she's cuter."



"She has a point," Carrie smiled, dodging the pizza crust that flew her way.



"No food fights in the theater room," Kelly reprimanded. "Unless it's popcorn."



"You have a popcorn machine?"



"Hun, I have a whole concession stand," Kelly smiled proudly. "You want something before we start the movie?"



"Heck yea," Carrie smiled, standing up and following Kelly through a curtained door.



+++++++++



"You've gotta be shitting me," Carrie said, mesmerized by the scene before her. It was a real life concession stand, complete with a glass counter, showing off the different types of candy.



Kelly raised an eyebrow at Carrie's response. She, herself, had always been one to curse like a sailor, but besides the 'Bitch' that had been thrown in her direction, she had never heard the other girl swear before.



"Pretty cool, huh?" she smiled, walking around the counter. She slipped on a red vest, adjusting the little gold plated name tag that read 'Kelly' on the front. "So what can I get you?"



Carrie shook her head laughing, "Are you serious?"



"Hey," Kelly shrugged. "I wanted the entire movie going experience."



"Alright, I'll take a small popcorn--"



"Small?" Kelly asked, innocently.



"Fine," she rolled her eyes. "I'll take a medium popcorn so I can share with a certain short Texan I know."



Kelly smiled happily, fixing the bag of popcorn, "Something to drink?"



"A diet coke," Carrie replied.



"And?"



"A water?"



"Yep," Kelly replied, fixing the diet coke out of the fountain machine, and pulling herself out a bottle of water for herself and a couple of drinks for Ashley and Jason.



"Candy?" she offered, waving her hand over the glass.



"Um, some snow caps?"



"Right answer," Kelly replied, pulling out a box plus some gummy worms and M&M's for the other two.



"Ok," Kelly said, putting all of the snacks and drinks on the counter. "That will be 35 dollars."



"What?" Carrie's jaw dropped.



Kelly laughed, "Just kidding. How bout you help me carry all of this and we call it even?"



"Alright," Carrie smiled as Kelly shrugged off the vest and scooped up as much of the snacks as she could.



"So, where you want to sit?" Kelly asked as they re-entered the theater room. The top row against the wall consisted of an extra long sofa and a couple of swivel recliners. The next three rows held actual theater seats, and on the floor was what seemed to be an oversized mattress that could easily fit five or six people.



"The floor," Carrie smiled. She had always loved to sit close up in the movies. Kelly laughed as Carrie settled onto the floor level, bouncing some as she got comfortable. Kelly handed Jason and Ashley their snacks as the two of them sat in the theater chairs before joining Carrie on the floor.



"You better quit bouncing," Kelly warned. "If you spill the popcorn, I'm not getting you any more."



"Oh yea?" Carrie countered.



"Yea," Kelly laughed.



Carrie tossed a piece of popcorn at her in response.



"You are so dead," Kelly warned, smiling evilly.



"Children, settle down," Jason laughed. "It's movie time."



"You're lucky," Kelly told Carrie as they settled down, lying back on the pillows, placing the bag of popcorn and box of snow caps between them. Kelly picked up the remote and pressed a button.



"Cool," Carrie whispered in awe as the huge curtains before them pushed to the side to reveal a giant movie screen.



Kelly pressed the button again and the screen lit up as the projector started to play the movie.



"What are we watching?" Carrie asked.



"I don't know, it's Jay's turn," Kelly replied.



"Jaws marathon," Jason replied with a smirk.



"Jay!" Kelly exclaimed, turning around and throwing some popcorn at him. "Not cool."



"I think it is," he laughed.



"What's wrong?" Carrie asked, looking at the two of the confusedly.



"Kelly's scared of the movie Jaws."



"Am not," she replied indignantly.



"Are too."



Kelly stuck her tongue out before laying back down to watch the movie.



"Hey," Carrie whispered, leaning her head in, Kelly following in suit. "Remember, like I said, I got you."



Kelly turned, smiling at her appreciatively. Carrie gave her a wink before turning back to the movie.



+++++++++



Kelly found herself waking up in an unfamiliar situation. She was lying on her stomach, but could feel something gently rising and falling beneath her. Her right arm was wrapped around somebody's rather small waist, and her right leg was intertwined with another smooth one.



She opened her eyes, slowly realizing where she was. She was on her stomach, half on the floor mattress, half on top of Carrie who was lying on her back. Kelly's head was resting on Carrie's chest as it rose up and down smoothly as she breathed. Her arm was thrown over Carrie's waist with Carrie's around her back, their legs intertwined beneath the blanket that Ashley or Jason must have thrown on them before they left.



Kelly stretched, trying to get the kinks out, but felt the top of her head hit something hard and heard a soft whimper. She looked up quickly to find Carrie waking up, rubbing her chin.



"Shit," Kelly giggled, yawning. "Sorry."



"It's ok," Carrie shrugged it off, her eyes completely clouded over with sleep. She looked at Kelly, curiously studying the position they were in.



"I don't know either," Kelly answered her unasked question. "If it helps, you're comfortable to sleep on."



"Thanks," Carrie laughed as Kelly rolled off of her, stretching once more. "So you really are scared of Jaws," she commented, clearly amused.



"No," Kelly lied.



"How many times did you cover your eyes last night?"



"A few," she mumbled.



"And how many times did you grab my arm?" Carrie laughed.



"A few, but come on, those are some scary movies," Kelly argued.



"Kell," Carrie tried her best to stop laughing, not wanting to offend the girl, but she couldn't help it. "The graphics are so bad in those movies. How can you be scared of it? The only way it could've be worse was if it were some cardboard cutout."



Kelly could feel her cheeks getting warm, "So you weren't scared at all?" she asked, looking at her in the eyes.



Carrie felt her heart melt at the gaze, knowing she couldn't hurt the girl before her, "I was scared a little."



"Really?"



"Yea," Carrie nodded.



"Are you just lying to make me feel better?"



"Yea," Carrie laughed, earning a playful slap on the arm from Kelly.