Here's a one-shot I wrote when I couldn't sleep a couple nights ago. As for anyone who reads After All This Time, I'm sorry I haven't updated in forever, but I have a few chapters written that are in the stages of being edited, so I'll post them as soon as possible. I don't own Kickin' It. Hope you enjoy "Kim's Guide to Crushing!"

Jack's current love interest, Bella Mathias, was on her way over to his house for a study date. The brunet had intended to organize his overly messy desk, but he hadn't gotten very far. Just halfway through one of the many piles of stuff on his desk, Jack found an interesting paper. It had a neon colored pattern, clearly torn from a small notepad. After inspecting it a little longer, Jack realized it was a note Kim had given him when she had first seen him noticing Bella. The top of the paper read "Kim's Guide to Crushing," in Kim's neat handwriting. Since Bella was coming over, he decided to read it once again.

Do you stare at her a lot, or notice small things about her appearance?

Jack first noticed himself looking at Bella a few days into sophomore year. He and Kim were standing next to his locker, talking about their most recent karate tournament. Bella had walked up and politely asked Kim to move, as the blonde was standing in front of her locker. Once Kim had moved, Bella ignored the other two, but Jack stared at her for a few more seconds, until Kim snapped him out of it. Kim being Kim, she yelled, "Eyes on the prize, buddy. The prize being me! We're kind of having a conversation here!"

Jack nodded and turned his attention back to Kim. He saw how Kim's eyes sparkled when she talked about karate, making it obvious how much she loved the sport. She may not have meant it that way, but she really was the prize. Naturally, he tried to avoid it, but he kept looking for that sparkle every time he saw Kim.

2) Do you laugh at her jokes even if they're not funny, or smile when she does something cute or slightly stupid?

The first project for chemistry class that semester, Jack and Bella were lab partners. Kim and Milton were lab partners, and seated directly across from Jack and Bella. Immediately after the teacher explained the assignment, Bella started adding chemicals together. Unfortunately, one of the chemicals caused the contents of the test tube to explode all over Jack and Bella's notes. Bella exclaimed, "Aww, skittles!" Jack smiled at her, although she didn't notice.

Attempting to lighten the mood, Kim said, "Hey, guys. Two scientists walked into a bar. The first one said, 'I'll have H2O.' The second scientist said, 'I'll have H2O too.' The second scientist died. Wanna know why? Because H2O2 is hydrogen peroxide!" Kim giggled at her own joke. Jack started smiling, and then laughing. Nothing could describe Kim better than absolutely adorable.

3) Do you find yourself doing things she loves, even if you're not interested in the activity?

After the lab incident, Jack and Bella had started to become friends. A few weeks later, Bella invited Jack to one of her cheer competitions. Watching people being thrown in the air was not Jack's activity of choice, or anywhere in his top twenty, but he went because Bella seemed so excited about someone watching. It turned out that Kim was also in the competition, but for the school team instead of a private team. Jack cheered for both teams, but when Seaford High came in first, he went to congratulate Kim on the win. The two ended up spending the next few hours together, a good portion of the time taken up by Jack's questions about cheerleading. He wasn't quite sure why he was so interested in Kim's answers. When Kim asked Jack if he would go to her next competition, he instantly said yes, and loved how happy Kim looked because he agreed.

4) Do you do little things for her, just to see her smile?

Although he still wasn't into cheerleading, Jack stayed true to his word and went to watch Kim's next competition. He noted that when he cheered for Bella, who was also competing, the ghost of a genuine smile appeared on her face. When it was Kim's turn to do a solo stunt, Jack yelled, "C'mon Kimmy! You got this!" and Kim's smile lit up the room. Jack didn't know why, but seeing Kim beaming made him feel great and he started smiling too.

For the rest of the competition Jack cheered loudly, and was rewarded with Kim's smile every time. At the end of the afternoon, Jack hugged Kim and told her she did amazing. He then promised her that he would come and cheer for her at every cheerleading competition in the future, no matter the location, though he still didn't know why he had such an interest in cheerleading.

5) Have you gone out on a date with her and had a great time?

Jack asked Bella out on a date the first day of February that year. They planned to go watch a movie and get fro-yo afterwards. The idea wasn't one of Jack's best date plans, but there wasn't much more they could do, being only fifteen and the date being their first. Jack had worked up the courage to hold her hand during the movie, and they had a nice time at the fro-yo shop, but the conversation quickly grew stale once they found out they didn't have much in common.

During one of the many lulls in the conversation, Jack found himself thinking back to his first date with Kim. It wasn't really a date, and they were only thirteen, but he had loved it all the same. He and Kim had gone out for burgers around nine o'clock, and stayed at Circus Burger until they were kicked out well past midnight, having the best conversations. Both teens had been grounded for two weeks for staying out past curfew. Jack was upset about being grounded, but the awesome time he had spent with Kim was well worth it.

Deeper into his thoughts, Jack realized that every "date" he and Kim had gone out on was amazing. Even the time they had spent together after the issue with Lindsay and the Zompire movie, and the terrible horse tamer film, was great. After those "dates," Jack had asked Kim out for real, even labeling it as a date, but it had been the same as the others; they were just two close friends hanging out and having a good time. Every single time, Jack had sat awake at night, thinking about how much fun he and Kim had together.

If the first three are true, you are definitely crushing hard on this girl. Number four and five are things you should do if you really like her. If the fifth has already happened, you and the lucky girl are destined to have an amazing relationship. Follow your heart and ask her to be your girlfriend, any girl would be crazy to say no. Good luck, you're gonna do great.

~Kim

Kim had given him that note when he had started becoming interested in Bella. The blonde was clearly right, he was crushing hard, just not on the person either one of them thought he was. Looking at his watch, he noticed that Bella would be over in less than twenty minutes to study. It wasn't a date to him, not anymore. She was just a girl who he thought was pretty for a while, and she would never be anything more. There was no reason he should have to clean off his desk, friends could study in the kitchen. Jack made a mental note to tell Kim how he felt as soon as possible. Just the thought of her made him smile. He chuckled to himself, realizing that it was obvious he had it bad. Jack just had to come up with a way to ask Kim out without freaking her (or the guys) out. That marching band date auction was coming up pretty soon…