Kim Crawford stood face to face with her opponent. Her eyes never left his face, searching for the next move.

There.

With enormous speed, Kim leapt to the side, easily dodging a clumsy punch that came her way, and then kicked her opponent square in the chest with so much force that he nearly flew across the room.

"Kim 1, Jerry nada," she said, grinning.

"Aw, come on, yo!" Jerry complained. "Why do I always get beaten by a girl? And one that also happens to be blon—best at karate!" Jerry smiled innocently at Kim's ferocious glare, knowing full well that he would pay later for that statement. He hobbled to the bench, clutching his side, ignoring Kim's smirk of satisfaction.

"Chin up, dude. You've had a good life," Eddie whispered to the boy. Milton nodded and patted Jerry's shoulder reassuringly.

"And if I hear anymore talking behind my back, another person—or people—will lose their life," Kim's voice rang out from the mat.

All three boys gulped and sat straight.

Just then, Rudy walked out, holding a black belt in both hands.

"Anyone know where Jack is?" he asked. "He promised me that he would help me clean the mats today."

Receiving negative responses from all four kids, he went on to add, "If you guys see him—"

Suddenly, a loud rumble of thunder cut him off.

"—let me know," Rudy shouted, and then darted into his office.

"Yes. It's a storm!" Kim said, grinning. She walked over to the window and looked up at the night sky, and at the clouds that were launching their raindrops like little missiles. "I love thunderstorms. They're so…majestic."

"I know what you mean," Milton said, coming up behind her. "Those synchronized flashes of lightning, followed by the precise sound of thunder. It's like the perfect formula." He sighed dreamily. Kim raised her eyebrows, unsure as to what Milton had reiterated, but decided to go along with it.

"It's beautiful…" she said, watching as a silver streak shot across the sky.

And then her peace was cut off by high pitched screaming.

Kim whipped around, looking for the source. She sighed when she saw it. Typical Jerry, she thought.

"Jerry!" she shouted over his noise. "JERRY!"

Said boy looked at her with wide eyes.

"I don't like storms," he said.

"Why?" Milton sounded slightly skeptical.

"Because…they're loud! And scary!"

Kim was about to start talking about how amazing storms really were, but stopped when she heard her phone ring.

"Hello?" she said, picking it up

"Hey, Kim."

"Oh, hey Jack. Rudy was wondering where you are."

"Um… yeah, the mats. Tell him I can't come today."

Kim frowned at the phone. Was it just a bad connection…or did Jack sound uneasy?

"Jack? Is something the matter? You don't sound so good," she said into the phone.

There was a little silence. During this time, a large rumble of thunder boomed across the area. Kim was now sure that something was wrong when she heard Jack yelp shortly after.

"That's it. I'm coming over!" Kim yelled into the phone. She was about to leave the dojo, when she realized that she was about to walk into a storm without any protection.

"Milton!" she yelled. "I have to go over to Jack's; something is wrong. Can I borrow your coat?"

"Sure," he said, preoccupied with convincing Jerry that there was nothing scary about a thunderstorm. "Be careful, okay?

"Always," she said and ran out the door.

Since Jack lived so close to the mall, Kim reached his house in less than ten minutes. She rang the bell, and waited. After ringing six times, she put manners to the ground and, reaching up into her hair and retrieving two bobby pins, picked the lock.

"And Mom said I would never need my lock-picking skills," Kim said to herself, smiling when she heard the click that told her she was successful. She stepped inside and closed the door.

"Jack? Jack!" she called, looking for his location in the maze of rooms that was his home.

"I'm in here," she heard a hoarse voice say, and followed it into the living room.

"Holy Christmas nuts," she said, shocked. Jack was wrapped up in a blanket, and huddled on the couch, shivering.

"Hey, Kim," he said. "Did I ever tell you that I'm scared of storms?" Kim could only look at him in shock. "Apparently, I didn't."

Shaking herself out of her stupor, she walked over to the couch and sat down.

"Why are you afraid of storms?" she asked, still trying to process the fact.

"Because…I don't know! They're loud and scary!" Kim shook her head, exasperated to hear the same answer she had received from Jerry.

Boys, she thought.

Another loud clap of thunder made Jack whimper and huddle down deeper into the couch. Kim sighed and wrapped her arms around the trembling boy, trying to ignore the shivers shooting up her own spine when Jack leaned into her, putting his head into the crook of her head.

"Well," she said, letting her head droop onto Jack's. "Let me make you see it my way."

"To me, storms represent a lot of things. There's the relationship between thunder and lightning, which could represent the harmony—or discord- between friends. The lightning comes down first, and then the thunder balances it out, in a way. Just like when a friend does something good or bad, it affects another close friend in the same way."

Kim yawned for a second, before continuing. She was becoming tired. "But my favourite relationship is the thunderstorm and the rainbow. The thunderstorm comes first. It unleashes misery and anger, a wild, terrible beauty. And then, the rainbow. It balances it out, comes right after the storm. Like it's telling the storm, 'Hey, everything's going to be okay. I'm here for you. Gaze at me, and let hope fill you.' It makes me think that if the storm and the rainbow were actual people, they would be…well, in a relationship of a sort. The storm to let out its emotions, and the rainbow to comfort it, provide a measure of security. Close friends, but also something…more intimate."

A comfortable silence fell.

Then, Jack thought of something. He could finally tell Kim his feelings for her, using the personification that she'd just used.

"Kim," he said softly, raising his head from her shoulder. He stared straight ahead, not wanting to see her face when she heard him out. "I think our relationship follows your theory. Whenever either one of us feels down, or angry, the other always tries to comfort the other. Like, right now, for instance." Jack paused, then plunged ahead. "I'm the storm...and you're my rainbow." He waited for her to say something, hoping that she could connect the dots enough to see his message.

"Kim?" he said, frowning when he, again, heard no reply.

Jack finally dared to look at her face, then groaned softly. She was asleep, chest gently rising and falling with every breath. He watched her sleep, smiling softly. She was truly beautiful.

Jack decided to call Kim's mother to let her know that she would be sleeping over. But before he left, he pulled the blanket over her and gently kissed her forehead.

"G'night, my rainbow," he said. "Thanks for everything."

And as he walked into the kitchen, where the phone was, he realized that his fear of storms had disappeared.

My rainbow, indeed.