Certainties
an All Grown Up fan fiction story
by Lord Akiyama
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Author's Note: It's been a very, very long time since I last watched Rugrats on a regular basis. Let's say several years ago before the first movie came out. I caught it maybe once or twice after giving the second movie a shot and have slowly worked my way into watching All Grown Up. So I beg your pardon if it seems like I'm writing this kids out of character.
All Grown Up and its characters copyright © Klasky-Csupo, Nickelodeon and Viacom. This story has been produced for sheer fun and enjoyment. Please don't sue.
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Chapter One
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Being sixteen years old was a very big deal for teenagers across the country. It meant that you've reached the age in which you could earn yourself a driver's license and legally be allowed to operate a vehicle. Angelica and Susie were the first to get theirs, followed later by Chuckie and then Kimi. It was Tommy's turn to earn himself the privilege of driving.
Chuckie drove his dad's station wagon to bring Tommy to the DMV. Kimi, Dil and the twins tagged along. Susie was visiting a relative for the weekend and Angelica was going to go out on a date, needing to spend all day preparing for just one night. Fighting off the boredom of waiting, Phil brought his Game Boy Advanced SP along and was playing Metriod Fusion. Dil watched from his perched position on the roof of the station wagon. Lil was lying down upon one of the back seats while Kimi and Chuckie sat up front, looking for a radio station to listen to.
"How long does it usually take?" Dil asked, his tone in a mixture of curiosity and impatience.
"Depends on how fast you finish," Kimi replied. "Sometimes it takes thirty minutes to pass the driving part. And that doesn't include parallel parking."
"Didn't Tommy have trouble with that?" Phil asked, though keeping his attention on the game.
"That was the one he was worried about the most," Chuckie said. "I was, too. I got so scared about messing that one up that I took forever in parking during my test."
"So what's the fastest any one's ever finished their driving test?" Dil asked.
"I doubt they would post such information in the DMV, Dil," Lil said. "Unlike NASCAR, it's not a competition with someone else to finish this."
"It's a competition with yourself," Kimi giggled thoughtfully. "There's so much pressure you place upon yourself because you make yourself believe driving is the most important thing in the world. So you want to be as careful as can be to listen and do everything that you are instructed to do to pass."
"Speaking of which," Lil said as she shot up into a sitting position, "here he comes."
The others turned to watch as Tommy Pickles exited the DMV. He had his hands stuffed in his pockets, not revealing anything as to whether or not he passed. His body language was also unreadable. He face said nothing and the way he walked was as plain and normal as could be. Moments later, Tommy was standing in front of the others, looking at them as they impatiently awaited the results.
And then he cracked a grin.
"Ace in the hole, gang!" Tommy cried.
---
After pulling into the driveway of the Pickles residence, Tommy watched as Chuckie made sure of everything before turning off the egnition. Satisfied, Tommy and Dil unbuckled and stepped out of the station wagon. After closing the door, Tommy turned back to face the others and leaned on the window frame.
"You know, this calls for a celebration," Tommy said with the typical kind of self-confidence the others knew and, quietly admitted, loved about him. "I say we hit The Java Lava and then catch a flick. I'll buy."
"Whoa, no can do, bro," Dil said. "I'm still grounded, remember?"
"Oh yeah," Tommy sighed after being reminded. "Sorry about that, Dil."
"Whatcha do this time, Dil?" Phil asked with a wicked grin and a raised brow.
"Remember last Thursday night?" Dil simply said with a sense of pride. The other took a moment to think about what happened then and were soon laughing once they figured it out. Definitely something that deserved the younger Pickle a form of punishment, though they didn't bother to press further on how long he was grounded.
"Speaking of remembering," Chuckie said after the laughter died down, "I forgot to mention that The Java Lava is gonna close a little early to the public. We got reserved out by a local college playing a big game tonight against one of their school rivals. And dad needs me to pull double duty tonight, so I can't go any where."
"Luckily for me, today's my day off," Kimi said proudly. "I don't think mom and dad would mind if I took you up on your offer, Tommy." With that, Kimi immediately unbuckled her seatbelt and stepped out of the car.
"That leaves you two," Tommy said to the twins. "You guys able to come, or do you have previous engagements you can't break tonight?"
"The latter, I'm afraid," Lil sighed. "Mom is making us help Chuckie since Kimi has the day off."
"Why are you still able to get the night off any way, Kimi?" Phil asked curiously.
"I worked a lot of overtimes last month," Kimi replied. "I needed the extra money for the concert this Wednesday."
"Didn't you already have enough, though?" Chuckie asked with confusion, raising a brow.
"Yeah, but I was aiming for good seats this time," Kimi answered. She then turned to Lil with a huge smile on her face. "Front row seats, Lil! Oh God, I would just die if I get to touch Johnny Rzeznik!" The guys silently rolled their eyes as the girls squirmed together with excitement.
"And on that note, we'll be taking off now," Phil managed to say as he closed the doors. "Guess you're gonna have to spend that celebration of yours alone with the gushing fan girl, Tommy." Kimi reached in to smack Phil hard on the arm, causing the others to laugh in amusement.
"You know what to do if you need anything, sis," Chuckie said as he turned the ignition.
"Call if its in an emergency, call if there's any trouble, call if I'm coming home early," Kimi stated off the top of her head with a hint of sarcasm. "In other words, call if even the slightest thing happens. I'm sixteen and a half, dear brother. I know you mean well, but come on. I know how to take care of myself."
"Alright, alright," Chuckie responded. "I'm just making sure. Take care of her, Tommy."
"Wouldn't dream of doing otherwise, Chuck," Tommy said. Along with Dil and Kimi, he waved to the others as Chuckie backed the car out of the driveway and then drove away. When the sound of operating engines died in the distance, the three turned walked toward the house. "I'll see if I can get dad to lemme borrow the Maxima," Tommy said to Kimi.
"You know Tommy," Dil began to say, "since its just you and Kimi, this celebration is starting to look more like a date to me. You're borrowing dad's car, going to the movies, getting something to eat..."
"Oh, shut up!" Kimi protested, though she knew he was just messing with them and played along. "Like you would know what a date is as opposed to just a couple of friends having a little get together."
"Well, I am wearing a ski cap in the middle of summer," Dil deduced. "You make a fair point there, Kimi. So, what movie are you guys planning to see?"
"I dunno," Kimi replied. "Do you know what's playing, Tommy?"
"I know what's playing at the mall tonight," Tommy responded. "I'm just trying to think of what to see that would warrant cause for celebration of my being able to drive."
"Please tell me we're not gonna see another one of those mindless action movies again," Kimi sighed. "Or worse, a horror film. Remember when Lil and I had to watched the new version of Dawn of the Dead with you guys when we all couldn't decide on a flick? We were covering our faces almost throughout the entire movie!"
"Hey, you girls were out voted four to two," Dil stated. "The majority wanted to see that over some crummy Hilary Duff movie, whatever it was."
"It was A Cinderella Story, Dil," Kimi said with a playful glare to the other. "And how would you know if it was crummy if you hadn't seen it?"
"The previews were good enough for me to see that it was crummy," Dil responded.
Tommy just smiled as he stood in-between the two arguing individuals before placing the key to the house into the keyhole and unlocking the front door. He still had to figure out what movie he and Kimi were going to watch, but he had a good idea of what he wanted to see.
---
"See," Tommy said with a ridicules grin painted upon his face as they exited the movie theater. "Didn't I tell you that there was more to martial arts films than the fighting?"
"I have to admit, Tommy Pickles," Kimi responded with a sigh of defeat, though wore a grin of her own, "you have a very valid point on that. It was quite an emotional film." She raised her right hand and used her index finger to wipe away whatever tears remained.
"Yeah," Tommy sighed along. "I think this is one of those movies I wouldn't have mind admitting to have cried to. And I almost did."
"You did everything you could to keep a tear from forming on your eyelids, that's for sure," Kimi giggled. "Especially when she told them that she would remove the dagger, thus killing herself, if they didn't stop fighting."
"What can I say?" Tommy shrugged. "I guess I'm a sucker for a really strong dramatic scene."
"I'm sure you are," Kimi responded, rolling her eyes with disbelief. "Well, I guess I'll have to see if I can find my way into convincing the other girls that House of Flying Daggers is a pretty good movie to see."
"You know for sure Dil and Phil will wanna go see it," Tommy chuckled.
"Oh, but of course," Kimi giggled. "It's a martial arts film, after all. Not to mention guys practically drool over anything with Ziyi Zhang in it."
"You make it sound as if that's a bad thing," Tommy responded. "Like our crushing over her is any different than when you girls just swoon at the mention of Orlando Bloom."
"Hey, I can't help it if the guy is such a hottie," Kimi said in playful defense. "If you were a girl, you'd be falling that hunk just as fast and as hard as the rest of us."
"Just like if you were a guy you'd do the same over Ziyi Zhang," Tommy laughed.
The two continued to walk away from the movie theater until they were within the confines of the food court. They looked around, scanning the various names of the restaurants that had set up shop. Moments later her turned to her, signaling that she would be the one to choose what they would have for dinner.
"Hmmm..." Kimi managed to audibly produce. "Let me see... how about... oh, let's keep it simple. Let's have Subway."
"Sounds good to me," Tommy said as they began their walked toward the rather small line of customers standing before the restaurant's stall. "Was there anything you wanted to do after dinner?"
"Not really," Kimi shrugged. She then raised a brow as she looked over at the other. "Why? Did you have something in mind?" She wasn't sure if she was going to like what he was about to say.
"Perhaps..." Tommy chuckled.
---
"If I hadn't known any better, I'd say you've been watching Kevin Smith movies one too many times," Kimi stated with a glare upon the other.
"Hey, just because he uses it in his movies doesn't mean that only fans are the only ones who enjoy it," Tommy laughed.
"Okay, then lemme rephrase what I just said," Kimi responded with a raised brow. "Who, but Kevin Smith fans, would dare think getting a girl to play skee ball with him would register as having a good time?"
"At least think of it as a skill builder," Tommy laughed.
"Skill builder?" Kimi laughed along mockingly. "Tommy, where's the skill in rolling a ball into a hole?"
"It's not just 'rolling a ball into a hole,' Kimi," Tommy reasoned. He stood behind her with one hand on her forearm holding a ball, the other hand upon her opposite shoulder. He began to lower his voice so that only she could hear him. "The skill to skee ball is being able to roll it just right so that you score more points as opposed to the usual five and ten. The more points you get, the more tickets you get. But the tickets are just the bonus to the real prize."
"And what, pray tell, is the real prize in skee ball?" Kimi asked in the same volume as his speaking voice. For a moment, she almost sounded rather alluring. But he didn't think anything of it. Neither did she.
"To achieve the highest score," Tommy whispered in her ear with a smile. "It's the pinnacle of all sports and games the reach the highest point total at something. Skee ball is no different."
She turned her head just enough so that they would be looking eye to eye. Their smiles wide enough to go from ear to ear. "Well," Kimi began to whisper, "since you put it that way... teach me how to play." A light chuckle came out of his lips, the same as the giggle that came out of hers, as they turned their attention to the game.
"The trick to skee ball is how your entire body moves," Tommy said, his voice just above a whisper. "The fingers guide the direction of the roll. The hand releases the ball. The arm gives it the pressure so that the ball will enough roll. The shoulder moving the arm. The eyes giving the ball a target to shoot for. It sounds oh so simple, but it is just as hard to master."
Everything seemed to move in slow-motion. She let him move her body for her. But the hands and fingers were all up to her. With such gentle softness, he moved her forearm and allowed her to bring it back and forth to take aim. And then, with just the right amount of timing, she pushed all the pressure her arm could muster into her hand as it released the ball. Her fingers guiding the direction in which it ran, rolling just slightly to the left of the center. They watched in utter silence, listening only to the ball rolling upon the surface. And then, it rolled off the ramp and into the hole. She scored 25 points.
"Oh my God..." she whispered with sheer awe.
"I know," he chuckled, the volume still just above a whisper. "25 is a great score. Now let's do this five more times."
---
The parking lot was relatively empty. Most customers were already home by the time the mall closed at nine. Tommy and Kimi continued to take their time walking to the car, laughing along the way. In tow was her newly acquired plush doggy, scoring enough points to earn the tickets needed in winning such a prize. To achieve the highest score may be the real prize, but she'll gladly take a plush doggy on any given day.
"Oh man," Kimi exhaled aloud with a little bit of giggling. "The others have no idea what they missed. Tonight was such the most amazing night ever."
"I know," Tommy agreed with a hint of chuckling. "You don't get the chance to have nights like these."
She twirled in place and stopped to face him with a big smile upon her face while holding the plush doggy tight against her chest. "Thank you, Tommy," Kimi said.
"No problem," Tommy responded with a smile of his own.
The laughed a bit. His hands stuffed in his pockets as he dropped his head and watched his right foot play about on its toes. Kimi sighed as she leaned her head back, taking her right hand and running it through her hair while her left retained its tight hold on the plush doggy against her chest. Soon their eyes locked on to one another. Their smiles still upon their faces, they stared deep within each other. Wondering if they could read what the other might think, say or do. Time seemed to have stopped completely as they lost themselves in each others eyes.
And then...
... their lips met.
Quite suddenly, their eyes shot wide open and they pulled back. For what seemed like an eternity, they remained frozen and still. Staring at one another in utter disbelief over what just happened. Unsure of what exactly they should be feeling, though one was quite certain.
Fear.
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October 6, 2005