Title: Her Loss, Her Gain
Author: Mykkila09
Chapter (s): 1/1
Setting: what would be the TURBO era; they're in their senior year of high school; the year is 1998
Summary: AU: they are not rangers. Tommy is in love with Kat and Kat is secretly in love with him, but because her friends don't like Tommy and because he works with his uncle as a mechanic, Kat refuses to date him. Years later, she sees him and hopes to hook with him. Will it work or has Tommy finally moved on from the blonde?
Characters: Tommy, Kim, Kat, Tanya, couple OCs, Aisha, Rocky, Trini, Jason
Story Word Count: 6,869
Disclaimer: Power Rangers belong to Haim Saban and the song belongs to Avril Lavigne.
A/N: I was listening to the radio and I heard Avril Lavigne's Skater Boy and I just had to write this story...enjoy
Tommy slammed the door to his jeep close and hurried into the school. He had already missed the first bell and he had to get to homeroom before the second bell rang. He ran through the halls, bypassing his locker and skidded down the hallway to the classroom. Seeing it in his sight, he sighed slightly before speeding up. He opened the door just as the second bell went off.
"Just barely made it Tommy," Mrs. Appleby smiled; she was a heavy set woman, with short dark hair and wore glasses, but she was one of the more popular teachers.
"I know Mrs. A," Tommy panted out as the other students laughed. He straightened up and made his way to his seat where his best friend was grinning delightedly.
"Wow," Kim laughed as she looked at him. "Breathing alright there Speedy Gonzales?"
"Shut up Kim," Tommy retorted good-naturedly. "At least I made it."
"Yeah," Kim grinned. "Just barely; why were you late this time?"
"I wasn't late," Tommy rolled his eyes, "I made it before the second bell."
"Minor details," Kim waved his words away with a smile. She looked him over and took in his clothes; he was wearing a pair of jeans that had dried oil spots on various places, a white vest and over it, was a green plaid shirt that was hanging slightly off his left shoulder. "On second thought, I know why you were late. You were at your uncle's garage, weren't you?"
"Maybe," Tommy smiled sheepishly before he bit his lip. "I lost track of time."
"You're weird, you know that?" Kim shook her head. "You get up ridiculously early to help out at Uncle Jon's garage, but yet, you still get to school late."
"I can't help it," Tommy chuckled. "You know how I get when I start on a car."
"I know," Kim said wryly and gestured to his clothes. "I see that. Maybe I should start to pick up you from the garage; at least that way, you'd get to school on time."
"You don't mind?" Tommy looked at her.
"Of course not," Kim smiled, "you're my best friend Tommy; picking you up for school aint that big a deal."
"Alright," Tommy nodded before his gaze drifted pass her to land on someone else and by the goofy look that came into his eyes, she knew exactly who he was watching.
Katherine "Kat" Hillard; she was the epitome of gorgeous. She was tall, blonde and blue-eyed with an Australian accent that—according to a decent amount of the male population—was to die for.
Kim sighed before turning to look at the blonde. She was sitting on the other side of the room and as usual, she was surrounded by her cronies; Tanya, Veronica, Jessica, Melanie and Nathalie. Kim couldn't stand any of the girls, because to her, they were stuck up, snobby and rude. Personally, she thought the girl needed to come back down to earth.
She rolled her eyes before looking back at her best friend; she and Tommy had been friends since they were babies. Their moms had met during their first year at college and had been best friends ever since. So, it was no surprise that their kids would be as well.
"Really Tommy," Kim huffed. "I really don't know what you see in her."
"You're a girl Kim," Tommy tore his eyes away from Kat and looked at his best friend. "So, of course you won't see what I see in her, but that's not the point. She's a great girl."
"How would you know?" Kim crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "You've barely spoken to her!"
"So?" Tommy shrugged before leaning back into his seat.
"It's like talking to a brick wall," Kim threw her hands in the air.
"I resent that," Tommy chuckled. The bell rang, and they stood up—as did the other students—and headed to the door.
Kim grumbled under her breath and walked ahead of Tommy.
"Kim," Tommy quickened his steps to catch up to her and threw his arm around her shoulders, pulling her into his body as they walked out the room and down the hallway. "You know I love you."
"Whatever," Kim turned her head so he wouldn't see her smile.
"Come on Beautiful," Tommy smiled as he used his nickname for her; it was one he had given her when they were kids. Kim had played the part of Sleeping Beauty in a play when they were seven and he had called her "Beautiful" as a way to tease her and the nickname had stuck. In return, Kim had called him "Handsome". They were the only ones however, that were allowed to call each other that.
"Low blow Tommy," Kim grinned up at him, loving her nickname. "Using the "B" word."
"Got you to smile though," Tommy grinned as he squeezed her.
"Yeah, yeah," Kim laughed. "You're just lucky I love you Handsome."
"I know," Tommy nodded causing Kim to laugh again.
"Well if it isn't the couple that's not a couple," a teasing voice said and the two looked up to see their friends, Rocky, Trini, Jason and Aisha; the four had become friends with Tommy and Kim when they had moved to Angel Grove in their sophomore year. It was Rocky who spoke.
"How does that work by the way?" Jason crossed his arms and grinned at the two. He loved teasing them about the way they acted with each other because like Rocky said, they did act more like a couple.
"Shut up," Kim laughed. "Don't you guys have anything better to do?"
"Yes," Rocky nodded, "but messing with you guys is just too much fun. It's our priority."
"Don't mind them," Aisha, Rocky's girlfriend, smiled. "How was homeroom?"
"Was Tommy early?" Trini asked.
"Is he ever?" Kim quipped only to jump when she felt Tommy pinch her side."Hey! What was that for?"
"Nothing," Tommy laughed. "I was on time."
"He made it just before the second bell," Kim explained, "and then, he spent the rest of the time moony over Katherine."
"Seriously?" Jason groaned. "Bro, you need to forget that girl."
"Thank you!" Kim looked at Jason. "I've been telling him that for the longest while, but he won't listen."
"Would you guys lay off?" Tommy sighed; he knew they were just teasing which is why he wasn't really upset.
"Alright," Aisha nodded, "for now, we will."
"We should get to class," Trini said and they walked down the hallway towards their first class of the day.
~...~
When school was finally over that day, they all made their way to Ernie's.
"Where's Tommy?" Trini asked as she sat down at a table with Kim and Aisha. Jason and Rocky had decided to spar.
"At Uncle Jon's," Kim answered. "He called Tommy, saying he needed his help with something. He's going to stop by here before he goes home."
"Ok," Trini nodded.
"Really?" Aisha groaned. "Don't we see them enough in school?"
Trini and Kim turned to look at her and she gestured to where Kat had walked in, along with her cronies. They were all dressed in jeans, but each girl was wearing a different colour top; Kat was wearing pink.
"They're the only ones I know that wear expensive shit to school and the youth centre," Kim groused.
"You're telling me," Trini shook her head before turning away, the other two following her.
Soon enough, the three girls started talking, forgetting about Kat and her friends. Sometime later, Rocky and Jason had joined them, but the two guys were having their own conversation.
Almost an hour later, Tommy showed up and joined them.
"Hey guys," He greeted as he walked over to their table.
"Hey," the others replied.
"Did you take a bath in the oil or something?" Kim questioned, taking in the even messier appearance of her best friend.
"No," Tommy flicked her nose. "But, I did help Uncle Jon change the oil in a few cars and clean out the mufflers."
"That explains the mess," Aisha laughed.
"I'll shower when I get home," Tommy shrugged before his eyes caught Katherine as she did her ballet. "She's good."
"Not again," Kim groaned shaking her head, looking from the blonde to her best friend. "Handsome, why don't you just ask the girl out and be done with it?"
"Beautiful, you can't be serious!" Tommy turned shocked eyes to Kim. "I can't do that!"
"And why not?" Aisha asked, grinning inwardly at the nicknames between the two; when she had first heard them call each other by them, she had been sure that the two were a couple, until they had explained how the nicknames came about. Now, she just thought it was amusing to hear and a part of her still thought they were a couple. 'Or they will be.' she finished in her mind.
"Just because," Tommy shrugged.
"That aint an answer bro," Jason grinned.
"He's right," Rocky injected with a laugh. "Come on Tommy, why can't you ask out the lovely Katherine?"
"Lovely?" Aisha raised an eyebrow in the direction of her boyfriend.
"You know I only love you," Rocky smiled at her before turning back to Tommy.
"I can't," Tommy said before looking at Kim and smiling. "You can do it for me."
"No," Kim shook her head. "No way am I asking out Katherine for you."
"Please?" Tommy begged.
"No," Kim stood up from her seat.
"Aww Kim," Tommy stood up and threw his arms around her. "I'm your best friend, why won't you do this for me?"
"Because you are my best friend," Kim grinned, "and there are just some things you gotta do on your own. Now come on, I'll give you a ride home as you really need to get out of those clothes and you're messing mine up."
"Why are you driving him home?" Trini asked.
"Because," Kim laughed, "knowing Tommy, he left his jeep at Uncle Jon's because he decided to run when he realized he would be late."
Tommy smiled sheepishly as the others looked at him, prompting them to laugh.
"Only you bro," Jason shook his head as he tried to get his laughter under control.
"Shut up," Tommy said without heat.
"Let's go," Kim chuckled and grabbed her stuff. "See you guys later."
"Bye," Trini, Aisha, Rocky and Jason waved to the two.
"I hate you sometimes you know?" Tommy smiled down at Kim before squeezing her shoulders.
"You know you love me," Kim laughed as she wrapped her free arm around his waist and the two left the youth centre, but not before Tommy gave one last look in Kat's direction.
~...~
"Kat," Tanya called to her friend with a smirk on her face. "Tommy's staring at you again."
"Oh God," Veronica sneered, "as if he has a chance."
Kat shook her head with a smile before she glanced quickly to where Tommy was sitting with his friends. She knew that her friends didn't particularly like Tommy because of the way he dressed and other things, but deep down, she didn't care. Tommy was quite easily the hottest guy in school, even if he did dress the way he did. But, she knew she couldn't let her friends know that, so she would always agree with them when they started dissing on him. And she knew that another reason she allowed her friends to act how they did was because a part of her was disgusted with the way he dressed as well. She was who she was and she couldn't be seen with someone that dressed like that.
"What," Melanie snorted, "does he think he actually has a chance with you? I mean, you are gorgeous and guys would be lucky if you gave them attention, but him? Seriously, yeah right."
"I know," Kat laughed, "but he can dream, can't he?"
The girls laughed and inside, Kat couldn't help but to feel a little bad. She refocused on her ballet, letting her friends' words wash over her. It wasn't long before her gaze was drawn to where Tommy was sitting and not for the first time, she wished she had friends like them where it was so easy to see how caring they were of one another. Kat might be the most popular girl in school, but what no one knew was that she envied Kimberly. The girl was as well loved by the students as Kat was even if she wasn't as wealthy. As selfish and mean as it sounded, Kat couldn't understand why a lot of the guys in school wanted to date the brunette. The girl was the complete opposite of her.
Where Kat herself was tall, blonde and blue-eyed; Kim was petite, brunette and brown-eyed. Kat wasn't into sports, she preferred shopping—ballet really was the only thing she did that was close to a sport. Kim on the other hand, not only did she love shopping, but she loved sports as well; the girl could be seen sparring with Tommy, Jason and Rocky, or playing soccer, volleyball, throwing Frisbees or just running and she was an excellent gymnast. Last year, she had been approached by Gunter Schmidt, a renowned training coach, to come to Florida to train for the Olympics, but to the shock of everyone—the only one who wasn't shocked was Tommy—she had turned him down. Kat had been a diver when she was a kid and well on her way to the Olympics, but an accident and subsequent head injury had stopped that from happening and she couldn't imagine anyone turning a chance like that down.
Shaking her head, she erased her thoughts on Kimberly before glancing a look at Tommy; with his shoulder length, raven-coloured locks, dark brown eyes and slightly pouty lips, Tommy was gorgeous. If it wasn't for the fact that he dressed like a poor person, Kat knew they would've been together a long time now.
"Finally," Nathalie spoke up, "he's leaving. Now, our eyes won't have to take in the poor and offensive sight of him wearing those grease-stained clothes."
"Nat," Kat laughed as she shook her head as she performed a plié before moving into a single pirouette.
"He needs to seriously stop looking at you so much," Jessica grouched, "it's becoming creepy."
The girls laughed before they dismissed Tommy from their minds and went back to their talking.
~...~
A few days later, Kim was leaning against her locker as she waited for Tommy. Her class had finished early, so she was waiting for his class to be over. Minutes later, she saw him walking down the hallway and couldn't help the chuckle that escaped her; he was wearing faded baggy jeans that had a few ripped holes and faded grease stains and a green—slightly dirty—muscle shirt with an open black buttoned shirt over it, which was hanging off his shoulders. When she had questioned him about his appearance, his reason had been simple; why wear good clothes when he was bound to get them messed up in chop class and later on at Jon's garage.
"Hey," Kim smiled at him.
"Hey," Tommy smiled at her as he opened his locker to put his stuff inside. "How long have you been waiting?"
"Well," Kim looked at her watch, "class got done like ten minutes early, so about fifteen minutes."
"And you've been leaning against my locker for that long?" Tommy shook his head. "Beautiful, you didn't have to."
"Like you wouldn't have done the same," Kim rolled her eyes with a smile.
"Yes, but we're not talking about me," Tommy grinned at her as he closed his locker. "You coming over today?"
"What's mom cooking?" Kim asked.
"Pasta and shrimp, with corn on the cob, broccoli and garlic bread," Tommy told her.
"Then yes, I'm coming over," Kim nodded enthusiastically.
"So the only reason you're even coming is because you know what my mom is cooking?" Tommy raised an eyebrow at her.
"Yes," Kim grinned, "though, mom knows I love her."
"My best friend mooches off of me for my mother's cooking," Tommy shook his head with a sigh.
"And don't you forget it buster," Kim smacked his arm, "besides, you're always at my house when my mom is making all those French dishes."
"Yeah," Tommy smiled before he turned to head down the hallway, as he did, he saw Kat with her friends and stopped to look at her.
"Jeez Tommy," Kim sighed, a little frustrated with her best friend. "Just go ask her out already."
"You think?" Tommy asked, not taking his eyes from Kat. "I mean, what if she says no?"
"Tommy," Kim started, "you're one of the best guys I know; you're sweet, kind, caring and any girl would be lucky to have you as her boyfriend because you'll treat her like a princess. Kat would be a fool to say no."
Tommy was quiet for a few seconds before he nodded. "Alright, I'll ask her."
"Go do it," Kim gave him a slight push and watched as he walked away.
"Is he really going to do it?" Trini asked as she and the others came to a stop next to Kim.
"Yep," Kim nodded.
"Do you think she'll say yes?" Rocky asked.
"I don't know," Kim sighed. "I want her to say yes because I don't want him to get hurt, but we know who Kat is even if he doesn't."
"Yeah," Aisha nodded, "even if she did like him, she won't want to be seen with him just by how he dresses."
"Exactly," Kim nodded, but her eyes still on Tommy's form.
~...~
Tommy straightened a bit as he got closer to where Kat was standing with her friends. He watched as Melanie saw him before whispering to the others and all the girls turned to him.
"Hey Kat," he said nervously.
"Hi Tommy," Kat smiled at him, silently wondering why he was talking to her. She felt a nervous anticipation as she waited for him to continue. Behind her, her friends snickered and whispered as they looked at Tommy. "Is everything ok, Tommy?"
"Yeah," Tommy nodded, "Uhm, I was just wondering...well, I wanted to know if you'd like to go out with me?"
"Like on a date?" Kat asked, her heart beating faster as she felt butterflies fluttering in her stomach. She couldn't believe he had actually asked her; she felt so elated.
"Y-yeah," Tommy said, "that is, if you want to?"
"No she doesn't," Tanya cut in before Kat could answer.
"I can't believe you actually thought to ask her," Melanie added.
"Guys, I can talk for myself," Kat rolled her eyes before turning back to Tommy; she desperately wanted to say yes, but she knew her friends would give her crap for it, so she didn't. Instead, she placed a haughty expression on her face and answered him. "Tommy, look, it's sweet that you ask me out, I mean, what guy wouldn't want to go out with me? But the thing is, you and me, we run in different circles. I mean, look at the way we dress. I can't really be seen with someone who dresses the way you do."
"Do you even own clothes that fit?" Jessica asked snidely.
"The point is Tommy," Kat continued, "You're just not my type. Looking at you, I doubt you'd be able to take me anywhere fancy and I need a guy that is a bit more...better off than you are. Sorry." Kat looked him over before scoffing. "I can do way better than you. Just face it; I'm way out of your league."
Tommy felt each word like a blow, but he refused to let the blonde and her friends see how much it heart, so he placed a smile on his face and turned and walked away. He never saw the sadden look in Kat's eyes as she watched him leave.
~...~
Kim and the others watched as Tommy spoke to Kat and they saw her friends say something before Tommy turned and headed back towards them. Though he had a smile on her face, Kim could see the sadness in his eyes and knew immediately that the blonde had rejected him. Her eyes narrowed and her gaze drifted past him to throw a heated glare at the blonde and her friends.
"What'd she say?" Rocky asked when Tommy joined them.
"She said no," Tommy shrugged nonchalantly, but Kim knew him better than anyone and could read the pain in him.
"Her loss," Trini said before she threw her own glare at the blonde.
"Let's just go," Tommy said and he grabbed his and Kim's bags in his right hand, while his left grabbed onto Kim's hand.
Kim squeezed his hand before turning with to walk towards the exit. The others followed and Rocky looked at Kat, waiting until the blonde's attention was on him before he flipped her off and hurried after the others.
Later that night, Kim and Tommy were sitting on his back porch, looking up into the night sky.
"I'm sorry," Kim said, breaking the silence.
"For what?" Tommy turned to her with a confused look on his face.
"For this afternoon," Kim clarified. "Despite what I think about Kat, I had hoped she would've said yes."
"Yeah well," Tommy sighed, "so did I."
"It's her loss Tommy," Kim shifted around to face him and grabbed his face between her hands. "You're a great guy Tommy; you're sweet, kind, passionate, considerate and despite your stature, one of the gentlest guys I know. Someday, you're going to make some girl very lucky."
"Thanks Beautiful," Tommy smiled at her; he could always count on Kim as she always knew exactly what to say to him.
"Anytime Handsome," Kim smiled. "That's what I'm here for."
"I'm glad I have you in my life," Tommy said.
"Me too," Kat grinned, "and don't worry, years from now, Kat's going to look back on today and she's going to wish she had said yes."
Tommy laughed and pulled her into his lap before pressing a kiss on her forehead. "And you'll be right there to say I told you so."
"Damn straight," Kim laughed.
Five years later
Kat walked around the room, gently rocking from side to side before sitting down on the couch, mindful of the baby in her arms. She looked down at her son, placing the bottle at his mouth and smiling when he started sucking eagerly. She relaxed further into the couch before looking around; she sighed when she realized just how alone she was.
Her son's father wasn't around—hadn't been since two months before Jackson was born—and she was left to raise the baby on her own. She knew she could always ask her friends, but they had lives and sometimes it felt like their lives didn't include her. When she had graduated high school five years ago, she had been on top of the world; guys were after her, she had gotten into a very good ballet company...everything was going good.
'So what happened?' she thought to herself. 'How did I get here; a single mother, no baby daddy around? How did I let my life be like this? Wrong guy after wrong guy; trying to find Mr. Right, but only finding guys that wanted to show me off. Why can't I find a guy that treats me right?'
But she knew; she had found a guy once, but she had allowed her friends to convince to let him go. Sighing, Kat leaned her head on the top of the couch; as she shifted, she pressed on the remote and the TV came on.
"Might as well," Kat said as she grabbed the remote. "I have nothing else to do."
She flipped through the channels, trying to find something to watch; as she did so, her eyes widened and she moved back to the previous channel. It was ESPN and she couldn't believe what she was seeing. Glancing down at her son, she looked back to the TV and turned the volume up a bit.
"We're back on ESPN," a male announcer said, "I'm Joshua Thornton and here with me is Dave Michaels from the racing circuit. Now, Dave, the race that's coming up is one of the biggest ones yet, do you have an idea as to who to watch?"
"Well Josh," Dave started, "I've seen a lot of drivers, both old and new, but I have to say, the driver to watch is upcoming race-car driver Tommy Oliver. I've seen this young man in action from the moment he stepped on to the scene a few years ago and he's only been getting better."
"Do you think he can win this?" Josh asked. "I mean, he will be racing against some of top names in racing; racers who have been in this longer than he has."
"I think he can Josh," Dave nodded. "Like I said, I believe this guy is someone to keep an eye on. The fact that this rookie was able to advance so far in this business in such a short time; he's been coming in the top five since he started. He's good."
Kat stopped listening as the announcers continued on; she couldn't believe it. Tommy, the guy she had turned down in high school was a big shot. She had to talk to someone. Getting up, she placed her now sleeping baby in playpen and grabbed the phone and dialled Tanya's number.
"Hi Kat," Tanya said.
"Hi Tanya," Kat said. "You'll never believe what I just saw on TV!"
"What?" Tanya asked a bit intrigued.
"Tommy!" Kat said. "They were talking about him on ESPN, apparently he's a racer."
"I know," Tanya nodded, "He's in a race here in town tomorrow and me, Mel, Jess, Nat and Ronny has tickets. We were actually going to call and ask if you wanted to go with as Nat has an extra ticket."
"Do I?" Kat asked. "Of course I do. Just let me see if my mum will watch Jack."
"Alright," Tanya laughed. "Call me back."
"Will do," Kat smiled before hanging up. She squealed for a few seconds before she called her mother, who was more than happy to watch her grandson.
The next day, Kat took her son to her mom's before she headed to Ernie's. She was going to meet Tanya and the other girls there before they headed off to the racetrack together.
"Tanya," Kat smiled when she saw her friend.
"Hey," Tanya replied as she hugged the blonde.
"Where are the others?" Kat asked.
"Inside," Tanya answered. "We're just waiting on you."
"Well, I'm here," Kat grinned. "So, let's go."
"Let's," Tanya laughed as she and Kat headed inside where the others were. The six girls greeted each other before they left Ernie's and headed over to the racetrack. It seemed the whole town was going and Kat asked the question that had been on her mind since she saw the news feed.
"How is it I hadn't heard about Tommy racing before yesterday?" she asked.
"Because no one knew before yesterday," Veronica answered.
"What?" Kat turned to look at her.
"Yeah," Melanie nodded, "they kept it real hush-hush apparently. No one knew he was in the race until it came over ESPN yesterday. Needless to say, everyone is now super excited about it."
"Hey, do you think we'll be able to go down to the pit?" Nathalie asked.
"I don't know," Jessica said before she grinned in Kat's direction. "But, maybe Kat can get us."
"How?" Kat looked at her.
"Well," Jessica smiled, "remember back in high school and how bad Tommy had it for you? Chances are, he still does."
"That's right!" Tanya turned to look at Kat, smiling widely as she did so. "I bet he still loves you and he'd do anything you asked him to."
"Did you guys forget that I turned him down?" Kat raised an eyebrow, even though inside, she was quivering with anticipation.
"That was then," Melanie waved her words away. "Just tell him how sorry you were and that you didn't really mean then, but you'd be more than willing to give him a chance now."
"And what," Kat smiled, "he'll fall for it hook, line and sinker?"
"Yep," the girls nodded.
"Ok," Kat laughed. "You are right; he was in love with me and I am a hard girl to get over. So yeah, why not?"
"Let's go then," Veronica laughed.
The girls smiled and continued on the racetrack. When they got there, they were surprised at the turnout, but quickly found their seats. Soon enough, the race got underway. The girls enjoyed it, surprisingly, and they cheered just as loud as the Angel Grove citizens every time Tommy advanced in the race.
Coming on to the end of the race, Tommy was in second position; the crowd was on its feet, breath held in anticipation as Tommy raced down the long stretch neck and neck with his competition.
Several hundred yards from the finish line, Tommy's car took over first position and with an increased speed, he raced down the stretch and crossed the finish line, the other crossing a few minutes after him.
"And Tommy Oliver takes the win!" the announcer shouted out. The stands erupted into pandemonium as the citizens of Angel Grove rejoiced in the win on their own.
"Let's go!" Kat shouted to her friends over the roar of the crowd. The girls nodded and carefully made their way off the stands and towards the pit.
They bypasses everyone until they came to the where the pit was. They saw Tommy's car and headed towards it, but before they could get any closer, they were stopped.
"And where do you girls think you're going?" an older man stepped in front of them.
"Oh," Kat smiled, "well, we're here to see Tommy."
"Oh really?" the man folded his arms and looked at them. "And just how do you know Tommy?"
"We went to school with him," Tanya spoke up.
"Oh did you now?" the man asked.
"Yes," Melanie nodded, "look, could you just tell Tommy that Katherine is here. He'll let us back because he loves Kat."
"Is that so?" the man turned to Kat.
"Yeah," Kat smiled. "He loves me, ever since high school."
The man looked at them for a bit before speaking. "Wait here."
"OK," Kat nodded and they watched as he walked away.
~...~
Kim smiled as she watched Tommy drive back to pit and dashed towards him the moment he got out of his car, laughing as he caught her in his arms.
"Congratulations!" Kim squealed as he swung them around.
"Thanks Beautiful," Tommy laughed before he set Kim down on her feet.
"I can't believe you won," Kim smiled widely, her doe-brown eyes dancing with joy.
"You didn't think I would?" Tommy looked down at her with a raised eyebrow.
"Yes," Kim smacked his chest with a giggle, "but, it's still unbelievable."
"I'm just teasing B," Tommy smiled, "I know what you mean. Hey, I'm going to go and change out of this jumper into my regular clothes and I'll meet you back here?"
"You got it Handsome," Kim smiled before she reached up kiss his cheek. "I'll be right here waiting."
"Alright," Tommy smiled at her before pulling away and backing towards his trailer. "I'll be right back."
"Ok," Kim nodded and watched him leave before sighing happily. She was so happy for him; this was what he had been working at for the last five years. She was about to go towards the car when she heard her name.
"Kimberly."
She turned and saw who it was. "Hey Uncle Jon. He was amazing wasn't he?"
"Yes he was baby girl," Jonathan smiled. "Listen, I got a couple of girls out here saying that they were friends with our boy back in high school and yet, I've never met any one of them."
"How many?" Kim asked with her brows furrowed.
"About six," Jonathan answered.
Kim looked thoughtfully for a few minutes before her expression cleared. "Was one of them, slightly taller than the others with blonde hair, blue eyes and an accent?"
"Yes," Jonathan nodded. "Katherine I think her name was."
Kim shook her head in slight amusement as she crossed her arms. "Let me guess, she was going on about how Tommy loves her, has since high school, and would want to see her, right?"
"Yeah," Jonathan grinned. "How'd you know?"
"Please Uncle Jon," Kim smiled. "It's me and I unfortunately know her."
"Ok," Jonathan nodded. "So what do you want to do?"
Kim paused for a few seconds before grinning at him. "Bring them back here."
"You sure baby girl?" Jonathan looked at her.
"Yep," Kim nodded. "I'm sure. Go get them."
"Yes ma'am," Jonathan smiled walking to where the girls were. Minutes later, he headed back towards Kim, whose back was now turned, with the girls in tow. He walked up to Kim and tapped her on her shoulder. "Here they are."
"Thanks," Kim smiled and turned around. "Hello Katherine." The shocked looks on their faces made Kim smile inwardly.
"Kimberly?" Kat looked at the petite brunette in shock. She hadn't expected to see her, though it really shouldn't surprise her as she knew that Tommy and Kim had been best friends in high school. She looked over the girl, taking note of her appearance; Kim still looked the same that she did in high school, except, her brown hair—which she had in a French braid—was now longer, reaching the small of her back and her body was a bit more tanned and toned. Kat couldn't believe how gorgeous the girl had become.
"What are you guys doing back here?" Kim asked. "You're not supposed to be unless you've got a pass."
"We could ask you the same thing," Veronica sneered.
"None of your business," Kim glared at the dark haired girl before looking back at Kat. "Uncle Jon says you want to see Tommy."
"Yeah," Kat nodded.
"Why?" Kim asked.
Kat opened her mouth to reply but was cut off by Melanie.
"Whoa!" her attention was past them. "Is that Tommy?"
Kat and the others looked to where she was staring and couldn't help the gasps that escape them. Tommy looked different; his long dark locks were gone, now he had them cut short and spiked which looked beyond hot, he wasn't as tanned as he used to be, but it still looked amazing on him, and his body was slightly more muscled than it was in high school. Kat had thought that high school Tommy was hot, but the Tommy walking towards them now was beyond hot, he was drop dead gorgeous.
"Hey Kim, I th—Kat?" Tommy stopped and stared at the blonde in shock. "What are you doing here?"
"Hi Tommy," Kat moved to hug him but was stopped when not only did Kim step into her path, but Tommy moved back.
Tommy looked from Kim to the blonde and back again. "Kim, I'll be at the car when you're ready to go."
"Alright," Kim nodded, "I'll be there in a few."
Tommy pressed a kiss to her cheek before walking away. The last time he had seen Kat was graduation; after the blonde's brutal rejection, he had spent the rest of his senior year putting her out of his mind. By the time graduation was over, he was well on his way. His life had gone on and he hadn't thought about her in years.
"What are you really doing here Kat?" Kim turned back to the blonde.
"I wanted to see Tommy," Kat answered. "I wanted to—
"You wanted to what?" Kim interrupted. "Oh, let me guess, you heard he was racing and you decided that since he was now famous, he was finally good enough for you."
Kat said nothing as she knew that Kim had hit the nail on the head. She looked to her friends, hoping they'd say something, but they were too busy staring at Tommy's form.
"Let me tell you something Katherine," Kim took a step closer to the blonde. "You had your chance with Tommy. He was so in love with you when we were in school and even though I thought you were nothing more than a stuck up, snobby bitch, I would've bit my tongue if I had seen that you made him happy. But you didn't; instead, you ripped out his heart and walked all over it.
"Tommy is the sweetest guy you could ever hope to meet. He would've treated you right, like you were the most important and precious thing to him and you couldn't see past his appearance to see that. All that mattered to you was how a person dressed or how much money they had. Sure Tommy wore shirts that hung off of him and his jeans were always messed up by oil or whatever, but that was only because he was such a hard worker. He was the kind of guy that had preferred helping his uncle out rather than going to a party."
Kat looked away briefly at Kim's words; she knew the brunette was right, about everything; it wasn't anything she herself hadn't thought about, but it still made it hard to hear.
"He was patient and understanding and so totally different from the other boys at school," Kim continued, "meaning, he wasn't a jerk. But you couldn't see that; you couldn't bring your head from out of the clouds and come back down to earth long enough to realize that you would have had such an amazing guy as a boyfriend. Well you know what Kat? It was your loss and my gain."
"What?" Kat looked at her with wide eyes.
"Tommy finally saw you as the bitch you were," Kim said, "he finally realized that the only thing you had going for you was your looks and that once you got past that, you were nothing more than a spoiled, rich brat that thought the world revolved around her. God, Tommy was so focused on you that his eyes would always find you whenever you were in the room, and you didn't notice or care."
"I did," Kat whispered, but Kim heard her.
"Well, it's too late for that now," Kim smiled. "You see Kat, you and I are complete opposites; not only because of our appearance, but because I was able to recognize a good thing when I see it and I did. And now, I have the most amazing guy totally in love with me. The thing is Kat, I'm just a girl and he's just a boy; I can't make it any more obvious than that, and you know what? We rock each other's world."
Kat was quiet for a short while as were her friends and they were all looking at Kim.
"Make him happy," Kat said finally.
"I don't need you to tell me that," Kim rolled her eyes and scoffed. "I already do and I plan on doing that for a very long time." And having had the final word, Kim turned and walked away.
Kat cleared her throat and spoke to her friends. "Let's go."
"OK," Tanya nodded after she looked at Kat for a moment before looping her arm through the blonde and turning them around, Melanie, Jessica, Veronica and Nathalie following.
~...~
"She gone?" Tommy questioned when Kim walked up where he was talking with Rocky, Jason, Aisha and Trini.
"Yeah," Kim smiled at him before turning to the others. "Hi guys."
"Hey Kim," they all answered.
"So," Aisha looked at her best friend. "What'd Kat want?"
"What do you think?" Kim snorted. "Now that Tommy is famous and dresses really good, she finally wanted him."
"She actually thought she had a shot?" Jason raised an eyebrow before turning to look where the blonde and her friends were just exiting the gate.
"Yep," Kim nodded before she relaxed into Tommy's body. "Lunch?"
"Definitely," Rocky nodded enthusiastically causing the others to laugh.
"That doesn't surprise me," Trini shook her head with a smile. "'Sha, your man has a bottomless stomach."
"I know," Aisha groaned as she started walking to where their cars were parked.
Trini, Jason and Rocky followed her laughing.
"You ok?" Tommy stopped Kim before she could move to follow their friends.
"Never better," Kim smiled up at him. "It actually felt really good to say those things to her. I've been wanting to since high school."
"I bet," Tommy laughed before he kissed her. "I love you Mrs. Oliver."
"I love you too Mr. Oliver," Kim smiled at him before she smoothed down the t-shirt she was wearing, grabbed one of his hands and placed it on the now visible small bump. "We both do."
"And I love you both too," Tommy smiled before kissing Kim again. "I love you Beautiful."
"I love you too Handsome," Kim grinned at him. "Now, let's go eat, I'm starving."
The End
A/N 2: so? What did you guys think? Review and let me know...
Kila