Chapter 2 (Kim/Luke POV)

"Okay, okay, so, like, who do you listen to?" Kim asked through her laughter.

The two had been talking about random subjects for a few minutes, each getting to know the other a little bit more while continuing to tease one another with modest sexual innuendo. For the first time that night, she wasn't thinking about Daniel... and had momentarily lapsed on what her ulterior motives for Luke were. There was something that was instantly drawing about him to her and, once she realized how much she had veered off course, she immediately began to scold herself.

Listen Blondie, she chided in her head as Luke spat out a few cliché bands that she somehow knew he would, Daniel could turn around any corner at any minute and see you. Do you just want to look like you're smiling and having a good time or like he needs to get you back before you move on? Start pulling him in or this night's gonna be a bust.

Taking a cue from her own motivation, Kim arched her back slightly and stuck out her chest a little more as Luke spoke, twirling a strand of her hair in her fingers and curving her smile provocatively. If there was one thing Kim was confident she was able to be, it was sexy; and by Luke's reaction, she was hitting the mark in spades.

He had stumbled in his listing of one band to another, jaw hanging agape as he gave her new posture a fair up and down, darting his eyes away when they stopped at her chest, just as she hoped they would. She wasn't wearing a skin-tight shirt, there wasn't a bit of cleavage showing (even with a scoop neck cut it didn't go low enough), but even in a white and brown irregularly stripped shirt (the second favorite in her lackluster wardrobe), she knew how to use her assets to her advantage... and she wasn't ashamed to. Kim may not have had the biggest bust out of all the girls she knew, but hell, she wasn't sporting an A cup either.

Her grin spread a little more when he brought his head back up and met her eyes with his, a light hue of red flushing across his cheeks in embarrassment. For someone who was giving nothing less than the impression of a smooth talker, this sudden show of humility came across as very cute to Kim. Her venture to bewitch him seemed to be rolling without a hitch (almost effortlessly, really), but was she the only one working some kind of magic? It dawned on her that, even though they had not been talking for long, there wasn't a word said or action taken that she wasn't charmed by... at least a little.

"The, um-" He cleared his throat and shook his head slightly, tilting it a little to the side. It looked like he was trying to shake a few cobwebs loose to Kim, which only made her more confident in herself.

"The music we listen to can reveal some of who we are without saying a word, ya know?"

As he spoke, his voice regained the composure that she was sure was faltering at the start.

"Oh yeah?" She was twirling another tendril of hair and immediately winced after her words, fighting the strong compulsion to blast out a curse word or two as well. Somehow, while spiraling her locks, several rogue strands caught around her ring and she had yanked them from her scalp upon moving her hand to her lap. The wince turned to a scowl as she immediately grew angry with herself. This was supposed to be her 'thing' and she was already messing it up. Her gaze, which had went from Luke to the coffee table in front of the couch, returned to him.

He had undoubtedly caught her slip-up, as the two were looking right at each other when it happened, but he carried on without drawing attention to it. "Yeah! Like, take Nick for example. He listens to a ton of rock and he really gets into it a lot of the time. His leg'll start tappin', head noddin'... hell, he'll usually start drummin' on his thigh to the beat when he's fully into it. He gets so enthusiastic you can almost see the notes coming out with each imaginary snare hit."

Kim smiled, thinking of how Luke had a point. Nick really did get into a song when it hit him right, closing his eyes and jamming away as if he was envisioning himself as part of the band.

"So, while he listens to stuff like Zeppelin, Pink Floyd and Skynyrd, they reflect shades of intensity and rebellion in a person."

Kim noted that two out of the three bands he just listed, bands she knew for a fact that Nick liked, were also in Luke's series of favorites from earlier.

So, do you have a little intensity and rebellion in you, too?

She turned in her seat, facing him directly and resting the side of her body against the ugly plaid couch, propping the side of her head with her hand. With just her facial expression, Kim knew she could make her current body posture say anything she wanted. A blank stare could mean complete and utter boredom and disinterest. A harsh glare could signal annoyance, or outright anger if she hit the look hard enough. Neither of those were the message she wanted to convey though, so she instead lightly bit her lower lip, pulling it back slightly while making sure to keep the corners of her mouth at a small upward angle, masterfully mixing a come-hither look with curiosity.

"More than that," Luke continued, his eyes scanning her face and seeming to soak in the look she was giving him, "Nick is a romantic. His taste in rock music tells me that, too."

Kim would have scoffed at the statement if she hadn't already known it to be true. Heidi Henderson was proof enough that Andopolis was a sappy romantic.

"Of all the times we've just hung out, listened to music while gettin' high, there are two songs he always plays the most."

"Let me guess," Kim cut in, fairly certain that she knew exactly which songs Luke was referring to. "Ride On and Save Me?" The respective AC/DC and Queen songs were almost too perfect of a fit for how Nick dealt with a failed relationship.

"Those would be them," Luke affirmed, matching her smile with his own. "Those two songs tell me he is a tad romantic. They're not exactly the best example, but I can only work with what I get. Him playin' them as much as he does tells me he's a heartbroken romantic."

In addition to being Nick's ex-girlfriend, Heidi was a constant reminder that he fell too hard, too fast sometimes and, as far as Kim knew, he never discussed the disastrous breakup with anyone who wasn't there with him right when it was happening, so why was Luke hinting that he knew Andopolis went through some serious heartache?

Sheer curiosity begged her to ask her next question. "You seriously got that just from the crap he listens to?"

A simple nod in reply made her giddy with a sudden thought.

"Okay, alright, do me next!" Considering their suggestive banter, a better fitting collection of words couldn't have fallen out of her mouth if she tried. She knew the request for a sudden switch may have seemed cold-hearted, but this side of Nick was a complete downer and Kim just didn't have time for it this evening.

Luke pulled his leg up and almost swiveled on the cushion, now facing her directly with their legs butted up to one another. There was an eager look upon his face, one that read like he had been anticipating her invitation before she even thought to ask it. "Okay, Kim, tell me a few bands or musicians you like to listen to."

A few names had already been brewing in her head ever since the subject was first broached. She didn't want to sound like a broken record and just repeat what he already had, so she purposefully picked out some of her favorites that were never previously listed. "Um, Van Halen, The Who, April Rain... I mean, wine. April Wine." She giggled uncharacteristically, not at all being able to help it as she felt her buzz grow more and more. Her fourth beer of the night was well on the way to being finished and while the first two were uneventful, she swore she was starting to feel a little drunk with the third one and it really started to take effect this time.

"Okay, now how 'bout some bands you listen to but you like to keep secret?"

"Ohhh, so you wanna know some of Kim Kelly's secrets now?"

His smile grew wide and he closed his eyes, laughing a few times. "Yeah. More than a little." When he looked at her again, his face was simply beaming, and she knew she had him right where she wanted him.

Finally! she chirped in her head. Took damn long enough. Now I gotta keep him here.

"Hmm..." she mused exuberantly, "Well, of course there is my nickname namesake, Blondie. I have to pretend to hate her or people probably won't even call me Kim anymore. I like Rod Stewart, too, but I'm, like, the only one of my friends who does and then..." She trailed off, looking as if she was really considering a good one for the last spot. When it came to her, she gained a momentary look of euphoria that was instantly replaced by seriousness. "Okay, this is a big one and if you tell anyone, I'll kick your ass, okay? I mean it!"

"Alright." He held his hands up with a sly smile, conceding to the condition.

"Bonnie Raitt."

"Really?"

Luke attempted not to ask through a bout of laughter, she could hear him trying to stifle it in his throat, but he failed miserably.

"Hey! Don't be a jerk. She was my first concert ever and, yeah, I still think she's great." She punched him in the arm a little harder than she had intended to and a faint feeling of alarm ran though her as she envisioned her impromptu aggression ruining all her groundwork. All it took was his continued ear-to-ear smile for relief to quickly wash out her concern. "No more free secrets for you. If you want any more, you're gonna have to work for 'em."

"Oh I'm sure I will."

Luke went on to explain his interpretation of Kim based on her music listings. Mainly, he focused on her three secret contenders. To him, they spoke volumes about a side of her she didn't exactly want on display. Two of the artists were female and the third sung more middle-of-the-road soft rock than anything. He ascertained that Kim mainly hung out with a group largely dominated by men who were more into hard rock and didn't give female vocalists a lot of play time in their collections, so it made sense that she wouldn't expose those picks without some prodding. There was also something tamer about the three choices that he was sure reflected some part of her that would be at odds with a part of how she presented herself outwardly, though he wasn't exactly sure of what.

Kim stared at him as he spoke, almost completely enamored with the way his mind was able to join pieces of a picture-less puzzle together from something as simple as a few favorite bands.

"How do you do that?"

She didn't confirm or deny that his findings were correct with her question, but the pure awe in her voice indicated that he was at least on the right track.

"I learned it from my dad, mainly. He studies lots of stuff in relation to psychology. Behavior analysis, linguistics, cogniti..." He trailed off without finishing and simply shrugged, shaking his head and scrunching up his face in a dismissive fashion for a brief moment.

The fact that he had trailed off only registered momentarily for Kim, as she was trying to hang on to the pronunciation of a word he had just said. "Lingui... ling-what?" she asked, giving up on trying to say the new term. "I've heard of, like, linguine before, but not whatever the hell you just said."

Luke grinned and looked down at his hands for a moment. He tried to muffle another laugh and again failed spectacularly. "I'm not laughin' at you." He raised his head back up to meet her eye to eye and when he did, she felt a small sensation ping in her stomach. She wasn't hungry, but...

"It's just..." Luke continued, trailing off again, but keeping his eyes locked into hers. "It's a little nerdy, innit? I mean, are you really interested in what linguistics is?"

His question stopped Kim in her tracks and made her really consider what he was asking. He had a decent point, really; she did consider this kind of talk to be 'geek speak' and kind of hated talking about anything in that category because it both made her feel like she was back in school and, even worse, dumber than a bag of hammers because it almost always flew over her head. But he didn't sound like a geek when he spoke, he certainly didn't look like any geek she had seen before (at least not at McKinley) and he didn't speak to her the way some of the geeks in school did... the way that made her feel intellectually inferior and angry enough to punch their faces in. Moreover, she had never met a geek who liked to smoke pot. That alone netted him more than a few points.

If Lindsay smoked pot then maybe she would be cool... Kim thought, becoming easily sidetracked with the mix of ideas, but I've seen the way she looks at Daniel, the way she grins just after they talk when she doesn't think anyone is looking. No, I've gotta make sure she-

"Uh, Kim?"

She snapped her eyes up, looking a little lost and realizing that she must have been thinking for quite a while longer than she should have.

"See? It's so nerdy and boring that your brain shut off just thinking about it."

"No," she shook her head. There was something about him that made her want hear whatever he had to say about... well, whatever he wanted to talk about, nerdy or not. "No, I really want to know what ling-whatever is."

"Linguistics."

There was a smirk on his face again, but the way he wore it and the how he was looking at her made all the difference in how she perceived the expression. She didn't feel judged, but more like he was flirting with her just by his gaze alone.

"You were close with linguine though, I'll give ya that. But instead of pasta, linguistics is a study of language. Ya know, like what it means in form, meaning and context. And then we have kinesics, which a lot of people call body language..."

Kim nodded slowly, trying to remain interested but already feeling her attention begin to wane.

As if he could see her curiosity declining right before his eyes, he gave her an example that brought her right back to the forefront.

"Like, when you were playing with your hair just a minute ago and then you seemed to get mad at yourself. It kinda looked like you were trying to play a role that isn't you: a bubble-headed, simple blonde who just wants to have fun and can't be anything other than cute. Gauging from your reaction, that is anything but you and I know from experience that it's hard to imitate what you hate without losing it. Now, that's not to say you aren't cute, because you are, but- no, scratch that. You're beautiful... but ditzy? Nah, not buyin' it."

Kim didn't interrupt him, she didn't react with anger or irritably defend herself against his words... she merely listened. It wasn't that she was mesmerized by him as much anymore as she was growing slightly fearful that maybe he could see her deepest, darkest thoughts, feelings and the words that were always on the tip of her tongue but she dared not let escape. She prided herself on the fact that she wasn't an open book, that nobody could read her (well, except for Daniel, but he had time and experience on his side), so the idea that a complete stranger might be able to was a little scary to her.

"I got the same vibe when you put on a fake smile and tried to sound as happy as you could when Nick and I were about to turn tail and run. And when Nick asked you if you had seen Daniel, something clicked in your head. I could see it. It wasn't hard to tell that you were annoyed with the guy, but there was more to what you said... and how you said it."

Kim wanted to ask what he meant, but at the same time she didn't. This whole thing was quickly becoming a little too real for a Friday night party, even a lame one like this, and deep in some far back crevice of her mind she knew what he was referring to anyway. After Nick had asked about Daniel, she recalled that she said something about how 'he could've drank himself into a coma for all she cared anymore' and that simple last word must've been what gave her away. Anymore...

"You have a relationship with him, maybe current, maybe former," Luke continued, and something in his eyes shifted after his last word, "or maybe it's in a place where you don't even know where you two stand right now, but ever since Nick mentioned him, maybe even before, he's been on your mind."

Kim shifted uncomfortably, switching her positioning so she was facing the table in front of the couch again. She almost slumped back into her seat once both feet hit the floor, slouching down even further into the cushions of the couch. Swirling the last of the liquid in her cup, she looked at it for a long moment before tipping the cup to her mouth and finishing the contents. After that she simply crossed her arms over her chest. Kim didn't have a response, she didn't want to respond... she simply didn't know what to do.

"Shit," Luke sighed from beside her and situated himself on the couch accordingly. "I went a little overboard there, huh? I get so into showing off with that sometimes that I don't even understand I crossed a line somewhere until I am well over it."

He sounded genuine enough to her in his words, but she was certain he would continue to connect the pieces in his head and eventually figure out she was just looking to use him... which would make her the bitch... again. She was so tired of always being called a bitch for something she did or said. This is the only way she's even known to act, the only way that has ever gotten her any worthwhile results. Was that so bad that everyone had to think she was a bitch because of it?

"Hey, I'm... I apologize. This is usually a fun little party trick that breaks the ice for me. Of course, it works better when I do it on a group of people and no one feels like they're being picked at. Look, I really- I didn't mean to be a jerk and invade your privacy or anything."

I never said you were a jerk, Kim thought, that one single word sticking out to her in his apology. He must resent a stinging negative stereotype as much as she did, she reasoned.

"You're not a jerk, Luke. That's all just... a lot to take in, okay? It's a little freaky that someone who I just met guessed all that stuff about me." Again she purposefully did not say yea or nay to any of his speculation. Even though most of it was right on the money, she felt awkward about letting him know that.

He nodded. "Yeah, no- that's... I get it."

"Tell ya what..." She made sure she had herself as collected as she could before turning to face him. "How about you get me another drink, we meet back here in about a minute or two and we don't talk about psychology stuff anymore?"

He reached out to take the cup from her outstretched hand, impressions of a muted smile returning to his lips. "I think that sounds doable."

The two went their separate ways and Kim walked right to the Weir residence bathroom, locking the door after she entered. Putting her hands on either side of the countertop sink, she leaned into the structure and let her hair tumble forward, shrouding her face as she sighed long and hard. Truth be told, she still didn't know how to deal with what had just happened; her brain was still processing it all. When she broke it down and went over it in pieces, it became substantially easier for her to grasp as a whole though. Overall, he hadn't said anything that was outlandish, insulting or really all that false. He had even worked in a few sly compliments, but just the mere fact that he was pretty much in her head, fingering through the filing cabinet of things better left hidden, was something Kim was still having trouble coming to grip with. If he could read her that easily, who else could? How many of her classmates already had?

She lifted her head, running a hand through her hair to pull back her renegade mane before looping her front locks behind her ears to make sure it all stayed out of her face. She looked at herself in the mirror, trying to see what Luke saw. Was she keeping parts of herself a bit repressed from her friends? Well, yeah... but that was how she was sure it had to be. Was she really beautiful like he said? She wasn't so sure... especially not with the pained expression of perplexity written across her face. Certainly not ditzy, he was right on that.

I'm not a brain like Lindsay, but Bs and a few Cs ain't too bad either, right? There was a half-smile at the thought of reassurance. Don't forget the one stupid D, she reminded herself and groaned aloud in protest.

If anything, Luke had at least provided her with an interesting twist in an otherwise dull night... and a whole hell of a lot to think about over the weekend.

A commotion started up outside the room a minute later as Kim was pondering how to pick up where she and Luke had left off without bringing any awkwardness into the picture. She was sure she knew at least one of the raised voices. No, both of them. It was Carl and Ken. Their distinct drawls were unmistakable.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kim sighed and reached for the door handle.