Hey, thanks for the review! I didn't expect anyone to read or comment on this so fast...or at all lol. I'm SO happy you did. The Freaks & Geeks fandom seriously needs to be bigger! Anyways. When I get in the writing mood I can't stop so without further waiting, here it is. :)

The cool thing about community parks was that they usually had public bathrooms. The less cool thing about them was they reeked like piss and stale smoke.

Kim squinted at her reflection in the smudged bathroom mirror, disgusted, and groaned. "Oh nooo."

The girl frowning back at her looked like she'd lost in a bar fight after a three-day bender, and was then tossed in the closest ditch. Sure felt like it. Maybe she could braid her dirty hair and make out all right, but her old clothes were sweat-soaked from the summer heat and her jaw was unusually broken out with red, angry zits. Thank God she had some breath spray in her car.

Her fists pounded the glass.

"Ugh, I cannot go to school today. No way."

The sun was hanging in the middle of the sky. It was probably around lunch time and that meant she skipped her first four classes. Ah, well. The teachers really missed out on her radiant presence, she laughed to herself. They'd have to deal.

Some people were just born restless, and Kim was one of them. So it was no surprise when she ended up in the school's parking lot. She grabbed some food from the cafeteria on-the-go (if you called that food) and set off to find Lindsay.

She had to tell her about her parents going berserk and how she escaped like she was some badass action chick, like Pam Grier or someone. Lindsay was gonna flip out.

The most obvious place to check was the smoker's patio. The guys would be there too, and no doubt give her a hard time about anything and everything. But she sucked it up and swung open the door. She was starting to miss those jerks anyways.

Ken was sitting on the bleachers, hunched over and looking bored. He was alone, which was rare. Only the usual nobodies were screwing around behind him, smoking and talking.

She walked up to him without hesitation.

"Hey," Kim greeted bluntly. "Where's Lindsay?"

"Well hello to you too." He spoke sarcastically, like always. "It's not like we haven't seen each other since school ended or anything." Ken seemed completely unsurprised by her abruptness. He shook his head and answered her anyway. "Beats me."

Ken's eyes flickered over the tall blonde's shoulder and she turned to look. There was a girl finishing a conversation with a school band member and Kim understood that he was waiting on his girlfriend, Amy or whatshername.

She crossed her arms against her chest. "Sorry, Ken," she played along, "Why don't you come over to my house later and we'll catch up and comb each other's hair?"

"Nah. I'd rather drink lead paint. And then, you know," he shrugged, "die."

Kim smirked. He gave her bedraggled appearance a once-over.

"Y'know," Ken said with a straight face, his voice laced with hidden amusement, "just because you hung around hippies all summer doesn't mean you should give up on the whole bathing thing."

Amy waved Ken over, ending both conversations.

"Shut up," she snarled. But he was already up and walking, trailing after his tuba girlfriend like some horny puppy. He returned her glare with a half-hearted nod goodbye, and left.

Kim watched him join Amy's side as they headed towards the real bleachers. When he turned his face, she saw him smiling. A real wide, goofy kind of smile. The kind she never saw when he was around her or his friends.

She frowned harshly. God, happy people made her sick. At least when she was miserable. Kim scoffed and pushed past a group of kids laughing a little too carefree for her liking.

If Lindsay's future career of being a famous math whizz or human rights lawyer or Nobel Peace winner didn't work out, Kim had a pretty good suggestion: government freakin' spy. Her friend was just about near impossible to find.

Make that im-fucking-possible. And, man, why does every girl in this dump have shoulder length brown hair?

She checked all the spots Lindsay might be: the lunch room, the bleachers, all the main grounds of the school.

She needed to talk to someone and spill. Kim started out looking for Lindsay, but she would take anyone at the moment. Nick or Ken or one of her scummier friends. She'd even take Daniel, especially him. Screw the break up, they were still friends...right?

Her feet were aching, matching along with the rest of her body. She had reddish and purplish bruises across her stomach and legs. The ones on her arm made her want to barf when she looked at them, so she threw on a blue flannel shirt even though it was way too hot for it. If she looked weird, no one dared mention it. Her reputation as a scary bitch paid off today.

Kim was roaming the grassy quad when she saw long, shiny brown hair blowing in the wind right in front of her.

There you are.

Without thinking, she grabbed their shoulder and spun them around.

It wasn't Lindsay, obviously. Too tall and too male. A lanky boy stared back at her, unshaken. He had plain sort of looks and glasses. Come to think of it, he kinda looked like a nerdy John Lennon.

She just laughed in his face.

"...why are you laughing?" he asked calmly but with caution.

"Because I thought you were my friend, geek. Nice hair. Let me borrow your conditioner sometime."

The boy met her head on, face-to-face. "Who's your friend?"

"Lindsay," she said, a little taken aback by his boldness.

He turned contemplative. "Lindsay Weir?"

"Yeah?" She fired, lifting her chin. "What, you know her or something?"

"She's Sam's sister."

When he said the kid's name, he looked to the left across the yard. Three teenage boys were walking closely together, heading back into the building.

Well whaddya know. Sam Weir had gone through a big growth spurt and he didn't look so much like an overgrown toddler anymore. He wasn't a babe or anything, not like Daniel, but he wasn't half bad. For a geek.

Kim raised an eyebrow and turned back to him. "Yeah, well, have you seen her?"

"No," he replied, matter-of-fact. "I can't say I have."

"Great," she sneered to no one in particular. "Can this day suck anymore? God." She began to stomp off, but his strangely tranquil voice stopped her.

"Are you ok?"

It was the worst thing he could have said to her. She couldn't believe this stranger—who was a glasses-wearing geek—was the only person in the whole world who bothered to give a damn about her and her pitiful life.

Kim raged on him. "Look, loser—"

"Harris."

"Excuse me?"

"My name," he clarified. "It's Harris."

"Ha. Alright, Harris." She moved uncomfortable close to him, but he didn't seem afraid. "I don't need pity from you and I sure as hell don't need your help."

"No, not necessarily," he said evenly. "But you do seem to be searching for help."

Kim's eyes blazed. "What was that? What do you know? God, you are so frustrating!" Her fingers gripped into fists against her sides. Shocks of pain traveled through her right wrist. "That's it. I'm gonna kick your ass."

"You're not frustrated because of me. You're frustrated because of someone else—or something else."

He took a step back to make some space, but she closed it again.

"So what if I am?"

"It's nothing to me, but don't you think you should go set whatever's upsetting you straight? You'd feel a lot better." Kim stared at him. "And I don't particularly care for getting beat up," he added drolly.

"Some things can't be set straight, genius."

"Then just fix the things that can be," Harris said sagely. "And forget the rest."

"I..." She swallowed.

A few months with deadheads and all their 'love the world, love your neighbor, let's all be happy rainbows and get along' BS had gone and made her soft. This geek should've been begging for mercy by now.

Oh, yeah. Deadheads...Wait, could they help? She needed somewhere to stay still. Maybe Laurie or Frank knew a place, she thought. It was worth a shot.

Kim went deadly silent and then huffed. "You know, geek, I've decided not to kick your ass. Today."

"Must be my lucky day. Perhaps I'll find ten dollars at the bus stop later," he said with understated sarcasm. "And it's Harris."

She looked over her shoulder as she walked away. "Harris," she agreed, almost kindly. The kid had dignity; she had to give him that.

"So, like, that's what happened."

"Wow, that's terrible," Laurie croaked out in her glassy voice. She reached out to touch Kim's hand. Frank nodded in agreement but seemed to be deep in thought.

Kim told them everything that happened, even down to the more uncomfortable details. Like Jack's totally hilarious orange and red stripes boxers with little rocket ships on them. She was never abashed in her entire life.

"Where are you going to live?" Frank asked calmly.

"Well it's not like I can spend another night sleeping in my car. My back is freakin' killing me," she complained, stealing a chip. She chewed it loudly. "And I'm pretty sure someone got axe-murdered in the park a couple summers ago."

The two exchanged looks across the lunch table.

"Kim," Frank began. "You can stay with me, if you'd like."

Kim glanced at Laurie from the side of her eye. "I got no problem with it, but I'm not into the whole 'free love' thing. So I'll pass."

Both of them laughed together at the same time, in the same way.

"No, silly," said Laurie, shaking her head slightly. "We know that."

Frank gave her a warm smile. "I'm asking you if you want to stay at my house as a friend. My parents would be cool with it."

"Even though I'm, y'know, a girl?" she asked skeptically.

He nodded. "My parents would love to have you over. They're great."

Kim almost got up and left. Nobody's parents would 'love' anything about her. And she never heard of anyone willingly call their parents 'great'. It was too bizarre.

But she knew she could trust Frank and Laurie. They became friends of sorts over the summer, although they were more like pal-around types who let her have her fun without judging. Still, she could count on them. For now.

"I'd invite you, but we're moving this month," said Laurie, a bit mournful. "Sorry."

"Oh, no, it's cool," Kim dismissed quickly, gesturing. She focused on Frank and grinned. "So your place, huh?"

"We can pick you up in the van after school," he offered, smiling back.

"I drove here so just give me your address and I'll come by later."

Laurie ripped a piece of paper and they watched him scrawl his address in loopy handwriting.

Kim snatched it when he finished. "Thanks. I mean it. You totally saved my life."

The shrill bell rang and interrupted Frank before he could respond. Mumbling teenagers slowly got their things together.

"God, I did not miss that sound," Kim groaned, collapsing in her seat.

Her lunch mates were already up and moving, waving goodbye. "Bye, Kim."

"Seeya," she returned, mock saluting.

Should she go to class? Might as well. Kim pushed off the table and started heading towards...Wait, what class did she have sixth period? She never picked up her stupid schedule. Laughing bitterly, Kim stumbled into the main office.

Yep, it was official. School still sucked as much as it did last year. The classes were boring, the teachers were condescending assholes, and most of the students were more braindead than her actually brain damaged brother.

This place bites.

Forensic Science was the only class she actually paid attention in. Crime and law stuff was interesting. It felt like real stuff, not like random math equations and lame history articles about pilgrims churning butter.

She was a C+ student but sometimes she got Bs. (And sometimes she got Ds.) Once she got an A in Biology sophomore year. That was a miracle. She wasn't too bad at school, but she hated sitting still in a chair when there were things she could be doing and fun she be could be having.

Kim crushed her finished cigarette in the sink. The bathroom on the east side of the building belonged to girls like her. The faculty had long given up trying to stop them from smoking and talking to each other after (and often during) class.

"Later, Amanda," Kim said to a redhead intently focused on fixing her makeup. "Thanks for the cover up."

"Yeah," she replied distractedly, making a kissing face to the mirror.

The last bell rang for the day and Kim entered the halls filled with kids still high on summer break buzz. Hazing didn't start until later on in the week so even the freshmen losers looked happy. They were sorta endearing in some pathetic way.

She escaped outside and made her way towards her car.

The one moment Kim forgot she was searching for Lindsay, the girl finally showed up like magic.

She wasn't wearing her trademark army jacket, but it was definitely her. Lindsay was standing around talking to some guy in the far distance. Squinting, Kim recognized the back of Daniel's sleeveless black shirt. His lean, muscled forearms pushed against the brick wall to leave. But before going, Daniel lowered himself down and pressed a short kiss on her forehead. He walked off without looking back, strutting naturally with lazy confidence.

A small smile tugged the corners of the Lindsay's lips. An unmistakable look of fondness flashed across her sweet face, leaving as fast as it came.

Kim saw it. And it hurt like hell, more than any bruise she had. Those damn jabs to the heart were always worse than any real punch. But which one of them dealt the blow? The only girl who was a true friend or the only boy who...No, Daniel didn't love her—and she didn't love him.

Kim picked up her pace and immediately confronted Lindsay. "What the hell?" she demanded, arms flailing.

Her brown eyes widened like a deer in headlights. "Oh, um, hey, Kim. I was just talking to Daniel—"

"Funny. Didn't look like talking from where I was standing." She was radiating pure anger and Lindsay picked up on it pretty quick.

"He was just thanking me for dropping off a car part. That's all, I swear to God," she added with desperation. Kim believed her. She had to believe her. "He's been having some problems lately—"

"Daniel has problems?" she said fiercely.

"Yeah, he does, Kim. He...he went through a lot this summer."

"Oh, yeah? Like what? He finally got herpes from some slut and has to get his infected dong removed?"

She snort laughed, but Lindsay just stared back with faint disgust.

"Well for one his dad hasn't been doing too good," she said seriously.

Kim grimaced. "Mr. Desario's never good," she replied. Her anger was simmering down into dread.

"Yeah, but he got worse," Lindsay said quietly. "Worse than ever. I mean, Daniel had to get a summer job to help his mom pay for meds."

"Daniel...has...a...job?" Her tongue found it hard to form the sentence. She wasn't sure if those words were meant to be strung together. Like, ever.

"He was working at the movie theater as a projector guy," Lindsay explained, rambling the rest of the details. "But not anymore. Right now he fixes little car things for people on the side. He charges half the price of the auto shop so kids from school have been coming to him. He's pretty good at stuff like that, when it's on his own time."

Daniel...It's been hard for you, huh?

She shrugged. "So the jerk's making you do his errands for him?"

"No, I'm helping him out here and there. By choice," she stressed with slight annoyance.

Kim squinted her eyes. "Why, though?"

"Because he's my friend."

A tense moment passed between them. Lindsay glanced around and shifted on her feet, waiting for a response to end the uncomfortable silence.

"You're my friend too, right?" Kim still sounded irritated but her throat was closing up for some reason. "Right, Lindsay?"

"Kim..." Her dark eyebrows furrowed from concern. "Of course. You're, like, my closest friend. My best friend."

"Then where the hell were you during lunch?" she accused, going full force. "I looked everywhere for you! I had to talk to Ken, stupid Ken, and some geek, uh, some kid named Harris who has the same hair as you and then...well, whatever. The point is you weren't there."

Lindsay's mouth was hanging open, trying to make sense of it all.

"Lunch...oh, I was, um. I was with the Mathletes," she said sheepishly. "We were in a class going over some stuff. I know its lame, but they're gonna give me first block and I figured, why not? It'd make my parents happy and I'm kinda tired of making them sad all the time. Plus I sorta like winning." Lindsay took a breath. "I was going to tell you, but you weren't in English or around anywhere so I thought you skipped out today. Sorry."

"Wait, wait. You got first block?"

She looked bewildered. "Yeah, I mean—"

Kim threw her arms around her friend. "Holy crap! That's like a big deal, right?" She let go and lightly smacked Lindsay's upper arm. "Awesome."

"It's not that amazing or anything, but, yeah—"

"We should go celebrate!" Kim cut in excitedly. She took her friend's arm and walked her towards the parking lot. "Oh by the way, my parents threw me out of the house. Basically. It was totally mental, but Frank's letting me stay with him so it's cool."

"Are you sure?" she asked, uncertain.

"Pft, trust me. You're a pro at math. I'm a pro at pissing off and ditching my parents," she said casually, waving away her worries. "Let's go celebrate you kicking that snobby chick's ass."

Lindsay still seemed a bit iffy about it all, but then smirked. "I'd say we're both pros at pissing off and ditching our parents."

"Ooh, right on, Linds." She knocked shoulders with her. "So. Are they still giving you grief or has my plan worked? Have I soiled their perfect princess beyond hope and turned her into one of the bad kids?"

"They didn't take it well and I got into huge trouble, like I told you on the phone." She paused in thought. "But they're getting over it. Slowly. I can still get into a good college and have fun at the same time. They'll see."

"Do you regret it?" Kim asked innocently, but there was an edge in her voice.

"No." She smiled. "Not even a little."

"Lindsay Weir, you're kind of a badass, y'know?"

They laughed together. It felt good to laugh.

"If you say so."

"Hell yeah I do!" Kim stopped suddenly and gave her friend a real, long hug. "God, I missed you."

She returned the embrace with a tight squeeze. Kim gasped in pain. "I missed you too."

"Yeah, yeah, enough with the sappy stuff." Kim grabbed her friend's arm again and dragged her towards her car. "Let's get ice cream."

"Sure, that sounds good."

"The server at Sal's is so hot. We're going there. You got money, right?"

"That guy with the mustache?" Lindsay said, wrinkling her nose. "Seriously?"

"What? Ew, no. The one that looks like John Travolta, but not so, ya know, disco-y." Kim grinned wickedly. "Unless you got a thing for mustaches..."

She laughed. "I really don't."

"So porn star guys, that's your type, Linds?" she teased. "I should tell Nick so we can all watch him try to grow one out."

"Oh, shut up, Kim."

"God, I missed you."