This is the likely twist of Hit the Road Jack, where Jack actually decides to move to Japan.
Anyway, I really don't want to copy lights-guide-you-home's 'What Hurts the Most' - which is her last story. I wrote this, then temporarily ditched it, then started again - and by then, Taylor had posted her final story. I know it sounds like it, but it's more of a dedication than an actual story.
This is for Taylor, who's signing off FF officially. She's not going to write anymore and I'm going to miss her like hell because she's like, my best friend here. She's a phenomenal writer and I'm really going to miss her.
But as the summary says, Taylor - this isn't goodbye. This is 'see you soon'.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kickin' It.
Jack entered the airport, a blast of cold air hitting his rather subdued self. As he and his mom dragged a luggage along, the rest of the Wasabi Warriors and Rudy tagged behind them, armed with nothing but multiple packets of tissues. The silence became increasingly obvious as the group headed to the check-in counter, watching as the brunet and his mom checked their themselves in. The gang was particularly sniffly.
That's because Jack Anderson was moving to Japan, and nothing was going to change that. In about a few minutes, he would be on a flight to the Land of the Rising Sun, and there was nothing they could do about it.
Jack pulled away from the check-in counter, his eyes on the verge of bitter tears, and he strolled quietly towards his friends and Sensei. Then he unexpectedly threw his arms around them, initiating the longest group hug in history.
Passers-by may think they were crazy, but Jack didn't give a damn. He was more or less leaving his first real friends forever and he... He didn't want to leave. He wanted to stay tight in their arms and surrounded by those he loved, not a pack of competitive martial arts students as Otai Academy.
When Jack had first gotten news about the scholarship, he had been too thrilled to think - he almost exploded in excitement at the prospect of going to Japan and training in the best martial arts school in the world. The word 'yes' had been on the brink of tumbling out of his mouth, but he'd held it back with much difficulty - for his friends' sake.
The Wasabi Warriors had been his friends, ever since he caught her apple, ever since he'd been welcomed to their table, ever since he'd been invited to join the dojo. He'd never been so happy in his life - suddenly his life didn't seem quite as glamorous without the chemistry-obsessed know-it-all, the 'swasome' Latino, the tough blonde, the sweet African-American and the slightly crazy martial arts Sensei.
Then he'd gotten the offer to attend Otai Academy. How could he refuse? It was such a humongous, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. But of course, he had to take his friends into consideration.
He'd spoken with everyone individually on their opinion. Most had said yes immediately, as unwilling as they were. Rudy was bouncing with excitement, and for a moment Jack wondered if it was because the Sensei was anticipating his absence. Later, Jack realized the hyperactivity was due to sheer pride.
Milton had been confronted while he was testing out some lab samples. Jack approached him, asking about his opinion, and he'd said yes without a moment's hesitation.
"It's all for your own good. Don't let us prevent you from pursuing your dream," the gangly nerd had said. Jack swore his voice cracked.
The Latino had taken matters more lightly. Jerry Martinez was not one to break down crying or start speaking in an outrageously solemn tone. Instead, he'd simply finished his dance routine after three minutes of quiet contemplation, and said, "Dude... I don't know. I don't want you to. But at the same time, I want you to."
Jack had asked Eddie about it to, who simply shrugged and continued punching the training dummy. Jack knew how much the African-American envied his martial arts abilities and continuous triumphs and victories from street fights or competitions. He'd said, "Jack, I don't even know why you're asking me this. Yes."
The last had been Kim, and Jack remembered how mixed her emotions seemed to be. She'd started off by slapping him hard on the arm, causing him to recoil in pain. She'd hit him continuously, and Jack could tell tears were starting to blur her vision due to her increasingly inaccurate aim. Finally, Kim had broken down completely, screaming at Jack about how selfish he was being and how he could even consider going. Upon finishing her rant, Jack found his sleeve drenched by her salty tears as she had flung her arms around him, the tears flowing out at unbelievable speed. And what she'd said surprised Jack, considering her severe over-reaction - "What the hell Jack? You have to go."
Jack was confused by Kim's extremely strange reaction and behavior. She was overcome by emotions, simply tearing up every time she was around Jack ever since he had readily decided to go. Kim was never like this. The blonde was feisty, tough, brave, and a definite icon for 'girl power'. She was not a crybaby.
Part of the reason why Jack had been so hesitant was also Kim. She cared so much about him leaving that it aggravated Jack greatly. He started to blame her meltdowns on himself, but it was too late to back out.
Furthermore, Jack always had that itching curiosity on... On whether him and Kim could possibly become something more.
"Jack," his mother's gentle voice resonated in his ears. She tapped his shoulder, and he reluctantly pulled away from the group hug. "It's time to go."
That was when the tears sprung to Jack's eyes, the streams of water leaking out from his chocolate brown orbs. He rarely broke down - but this time, he couldn't help it. He was just overwhelmed with emotion, it seemed almost impossible for him to stop.
"Guys..." Jack croaked, staggering towards his friends again and embracing them tightly. Scratch that - his family. His real family, because they were nothing compared to his idiotic brother and condemned father. Unlike them, the Wasabi Warriors had always been there for him.
"I'm going to miss you all... So much," Jack whimpered, swiping away his tears. "You guys are all like my family, I... Oh my god."
With much difficulty, Jack pulled himself together and stumbled towards Jerry. The pair hugged each other tightly, and Jack patted the dancer's back, who had surprisingly begun to tear up.
"Yo dude, you'll be fine," Jack reassured. "Grab some girls for me, okay?"
Jerry nodded, his lips pressed in a thin like as he attempted to bite back an overflow of tears. "Who's gonna listen to Kung Fu Lightning with me? I mean, come on man, I don't even have their..."
At this opportune moment, Jack pulled his special gift for Jerry out of his jean pocket, causing the dark-haired Latino's eyes to widen to the size of dinner plates. As Jerry received the KFL CD, his eyes glowed with amazement and gratitude. He never owned a KFL CD, simply because his parents were on a tight income, and had little to spend on seven kids.
"Jack... Thanks man," he gasped, clutching it tightly. Giving him one last bro-hug, Jack strolled over to Milton.
"Hey Milton," Jack said with the slightest of bittersweet smiles. He refrained from hugging Milton - for some reason, Milton hated hugs, except for group hugs. This was weird, considering it had started only a month ago.
"Jack, I can't believe you're leaving." Milton's voice cracked, escalating in pitch. "I... Thank you. For everything. Helping me. Say hi to Nakamura for me?" His skinny hand brushed against his cheek, attempting to conceal the tears.
"Sure man," Jack said, patting Milton on the arm. He then rummaged around in his backpack before pulling out 'The Complete Book of Science' and tipping it gently into the science geek's trembling hands.
"And check it out..." Jack flipped the cover to the first page, pointing at the black scrawl covering the paper. Hey Milton - heard you love Science as much as I do. And that's saying something. Best of luck, buddy - your friend says you have the potential to end up like me someday. -J.T.
"You got me J.T. Parker's autograph?" Milton stared at Jack in utter amazement. "But... This book came out... Long queues for autographs... 4 hours... Jack, really?" His eyes shone like they had never before, the pair of jewels glistening with appreciation. "Thank you," Milton gushed. And caught up in the moment, the geek finally forgot all about his mortal fear of hugging, and flung his gangly arms around the black belt. "I'M GONNA MISS YOU SO MUCH!" he wailed.
Jack pulled away awkwardly, sensing that Milton was about to completely explode with pure reluctance. The nerd was going to suffer from some major withdrawal symptoms - he was such a drama queen (sorry, king) sometimes.
The brunet moved on to Eddie, moving in to embrace him in a 'man hug'. Jack clapped the African-American's back before his hand slid into his pocket and pulled out a slip of paper.
"Jack... A slip of paper?" Jack could detect disappointment in the boy's voice; he probably thought it was unfair that while Milton got an expensive book and autograph and Jerry got a KFL CD, he himself got a scrap piece of paper.
Jack gave him a smile, flipping the paper over, revealing 'Xtradorinary Records' and a mobile phone number scrawled on it in Jack's messy handwriting. Eddie's eyes dilated as he received the number.
"I just found out my distant uncle owns XR," Jack said. "I know how much you love rapping and how you're simply swag at it, so...give him a call, you have my recommendation."
Eddie seemed too shocked to speak. His fingers trembled as he tried to string together a coherent sentence. "Jack... This is amazing... Thanks."
"No problem bud." Jack clapped Eddie's back one final time before heading towards Rudy Gillepsie.
The dirty-blonde Sensei seemed overwhelmed by emotions to really say anything, as hard as he tried. Jack found himself face-to-face with a man in his thirties, attempting to sound like a true, mature grown-up, and bid Jack a simple farewell. This didn't happen though - after saying nothing but the brunet's name, Rudy had flung his arms around Jack, wailing at the top of his lungs.
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE GOING!" Rudy sobbed, pulling away and swiping violently at his streaked cheeks. "You... You saved my dojo Jack... What am I gonna do without you?"
"You'll be fine, Rudy," Jack said calmly. "You're the best Sensei ever. And a great friend. You're already so accomplished - you'll be very well-off, even without me there. Believe in that, Rudy."
Rudy sniffed and nodded. "You're right," he said firmly. "I'm Rudy Gillepsie and I... I'll be fine, even without my best student."
They finished off with a final hug, and Jack pulled away in the sudden realization that he hadn't got Rudy anything. Guilt stabbed him, and he awkwardly apologized, "Sorry I didn't get you anything, I... I didn't know what to."
Rudy shook his head, his gray eyes meeting the chocolate ones. "Jack, you've already given me everything I ever wanted. No present is gonna top what you've done."
Finally, the brunet walked over to Kim, and found himself facing her uncomfortably. Jack stared at how the blonde shuffled her feet, attempting to conceal evidence of her vicious tears with a sheet of angelic honey-blonde hair. Her hazel eyes were fixed on her green sneakers in an obvious attempt to avoid an awkwardness, and her fingers fumbled around, fingering a silver locket strung around her neck.
Jack's eyes widened - he was the one who'd gotten her the locket. It had been for Christmas, and he'd given it to the blonde as a symbol of their solid friendship and constant loyalty towards each other. Inside held a small picture of the pair in their Gis, with enormous grins and arms around each other. They were drenched in sweat and had smelled terribly, but they were still joyful for no damn reason. It was just being together that lit up both their worlds.
But they weren't going to be together anymore. Not in a long shot, anyway.
Which was why Jack knew what he had to do.
In a moment's impulse, Jack swept her blonde hair away, grabbed her shoulders and kissed her. His lips met her soft, plump ones for two seconds - it was a mere peck - but sparks had ignited. Jack wondered if it was possible for such a short kiss to feel so right.
As he pulled away, he first looked at everyone else's reaction. Everyone's faces were plastered with gleeful grins, and Jerry had even made a lame attempt to arouse some applause.
Jack finally dared to sneak a small peek at the blonde, who was rendered speechless as she stood here, her body rigid and frozen from Jack's impulsive kiss. She blinked repeatedly, as of untangling the knot of thoughts cobbled together in her mind. Finally, she threw her arms around him and sobbed in his shoulder.
Jack couldn't say he was surprised. He felt like doing the exact same thing too.
"Jack... You lovable idiot," Kim croaked, a small smile grazing her lips.
Jack comprehended Kim's words. He finally decided to get his feelings out and have enough guts to kiss her...but when he does, he has the worst timing - he kisses her right before he leaves her. Jack would've hated himself too.
"I'm leaving, it's bad timing but... I had to show you how I feel," Jack murmured, hugging Kim back fiercely. They just stood there for what seemed like hours, in each others' arms, until the pair pulled away, their faces cherry pink from the world of romance and interested onlookers.
"I got something for you..." Jack rummaged through his backpack and finally pulled out a silver object. Squinting and peering closer, Kim realized it was a bracelet.
"It's a bracelet," Jack said. He reached for Kim's hand, slipping it around her delicate wrist. "Whenever you think of me - whenever you miss me - ah heck, whenever something significant happens and your first thought is Jack, I want you to add a charm." At this point, Jack had plopped a pouch of tinkling, colorful charms into Kim's calloused hand.
"It'll run out of space soon, then," Kim said bitterly, biting back some more tears.
"Then it'll be nice to know my girlfriend really misses me," Jack commented, his tone coy and emphasizing on 'girlfriend'. Kim's eyes dilated, and she wrapped her arms around Jack once more, muttering on about how he was a 'stupid boyfriend'.
They pulled away seconds later when the announcement came on - "Those boarding Flight 79 at 10.45 am, please proceed to the gate right now. You will be boarding shortly."
Tears sprung to Jack's eyes, the barricades unable to hold them back. The water gushed out, and he rubbed his cheek fervently against the sleeve of his jacket. On cue, the Wasabi Warriors crowded in for one last group hug with Jack Anderson.
"Goodbye guys," Jack wept, his voice hoarse. He was pulled away by his mother, and found himself being steered away.
"Jack! Wait!"
Jack spun around to find Jerry had stopped him.
"Dude, this isn't goodbye," Jerry said. His dark eyes had never looked so sincere - ever. "It's 'see you soon'."
Jack nodded - "See you soon, then" - and turned his head, walking towards the gate with his head dipped and he tears still streaming out. The Wasabi Warriors stared after him, almost expecting the brunet to turn around and decide to stay like in the movies.
But he didn't. Jack Anderson had gone.
At this moment, Kim slipped the first charm - a 'J' - around the silver bracelet.
I really am not proud of this, but I hope you are Taylor, and all my readers.
Taylor, see you soon. :')
-Sienna