Hey y'all. So I haven't updated this story in a few weeks and I felt like it needed to be because I really like where this story is going...in my head haha.

I'm getting tons of compliments and great reviews about how Kim is portrayed in this story and I'm so glad to hear you guys like it. I just thought that with all the stories out there that make Kim appear as the damsel, that maybe she needed to have a strong comeback. Hence the tough girl look and attitude.

Anyways...enjoy.

XOXO

-M

Chapter 2: The Pizzeria

I had learned a number of things on his first day at Seaford High. One, don't get caught staring at Kim Crawford. The teacher will call you out and you will look like an idiot. Two, always remember to watch where you step in biology, there's always that chance of tripping and spilling all the smelly, gross remains of the dissected frog all over your partner. Finally, stear clear of Donna Tobin and her posse. They might look like a group of normal teenage girls, but really it's only a ploy to trap you with their beauty and then leave you with an STD and a fear of the opposite sex. Seaford was beginning to seem like a much bigger challenge than I had anticipated.

"I'm telling you bro, Donna has her little beady eyes on you." Jerry stated as we sat down at a table in the back of the cafeteria. He pointed over towards Donna's table where she was indeed staring at me, most likely undressing me in her mind. I shivered. Just the thought of touching Donna gave me the creeps. I couldn't even tell whether or not she was attractive with the ten pounds of make up she had caked all over her face. In what world did any girl think that was cute? I shook my head at her and looked down at my food. As disgusting as it looked, it was a much more appealing sight than Donna 'the barbie' Tobin.

"Ok, what is this?" I asked Jerry as I poked a mound of brown goop with my fork.

"Oh that? It's mashed potatoes drenched in gravy. It looks gross, but it's actually one of the better meals we get." He answered. Ok, make that four things I learned. Always bring your lunch from home.

"This so isn't appetizing." I mumbled. Jerry snickered.

"Oh there's Eddie and Milton." Jerry said as he stood up to flag down two guys who had just walked into the room. One was a short, pudgy African American, and the other was a tall, lanky red head.

"Jack, this is Eddie and Milton. Eddie, Milton, this is Jack. He's the new guy." Jerry introduced us. Eddie, the short one, shook my hand before plopping down next to Jerry. Milton stood there for a moment staring at me. It was like he was analyzing me, contemplating on whether or not to accept me. A minute or two later, he shook my hand too.

"Sorry, I'm always extra cautious about meeting new people. I'm a very nervous individual." Milton explained.

"He's scared of people. Being the school nerd guarantees you a wedgie or two every once in awhile." Eddie said. Milton rolled his eyes.

"I am not scared of people. I am scared of the Black Dragons." He retorted.

"What are the Black Dragons?" I asked curiously. The guys all exchanged a look before turning around in their seats, Jerry nodding his head towards a crowded table of a group of guys all wearing red and black jumpsuits with big bold letters on the back reading "Black Dragons".

"They're a group of asshole karate dudes that think they're better than everyone else." Jerry said.

"They kind of are better than everyone else. We could never beat them." Eddie added.

"Rudy has been trying to recruit more students but no one wants to train at Bobby Wasabi's when the Black Dragons are around." Milton sighed.

"Whoa, you guys do karate for Bobby Wasabi?" I questioned them.

"Yeah, you heard about the dojo?" Eddie asked. I nodded my head.

"Yeah, my grandfather was Bobby Wasabi's sensei. He taught him everything he knows. He taught me too. I just didn't think there were any dojos in Seaford." I answered. All three of them were now wide eyed and staring at me like I had sprouted a second head.

"What?"

"Dude! Your grandfather trained Bobby Wasabi! And you? What belt are you?" Jerry was basically on the edge of his seat now.

"I'm a third degree black belt." I said.

"Whoooooo!" Jerry was suddenly on his feet waving his arms around and shouting. Eddie rolled his eyes before pulling Jerry back down into his seat. I looked around noticing how everyone's attention was now focused on us.

"You have to join!" Milton shouted.

"Why?"

"Dude, you're a third degree black belt! The only other person in Seaford that is a third degree is Kim Crawford and no one has been able to get her to join any dojo. Not even the Black Dragons." Eddie remarked. Now it was my turn to be stunned. Kim Crawford, the beautiful blonde in my math class, was a third degree black belt? The guys could clearly see the surprise on my face.

"Oh yeah, I forgot. You're crushing on Kim." He smiled. I shook my head quickly.

"I am not crushing on her. I barely know her." I said. They didn't look convinced.

"Oh come on, you told me the teacher called you out in front of everyone for staring at her." Jerry accused. I shook my head again.

"It's ok Jack. We've all been there at some point." Eddie stated.

"Yeah, Kim Crawford is a babe." Jerry added.

"I'm a what?"

The guys became extremely still, almost like stone. Jerry's eyes widened in fear. Kim Crawford was standing directly behind him, and she had heard exactly what he called her. I gazed up at her slowly, scared to see how angry she actually was.

"I asked you a question Jerry." She said. Her face was serious, but I couldn't detect any emotion from her features. It was like trying to read a closed book. Was she mad? Was she upset? Maybe happy? Jerry slowly turned around in his seat to face the blonde beauty. Her friend Grace stood beside her, glaring down at him with her arms crossed. Kim stood there with her hand on her hip. I could tell she had no plans on moving until she got an answer.

"I, uh, I said you were pretty?" He replied unsure of his response. Kim cocked one eyebrow up and eyed him in a questioning way.

"I don't think that's what you said. So I'll ask again Jerry, what did you call me?" This time Kim bent over and rested her hands on the back of Jerry's seat so that she was eye level with him. I could see him shaking. I would be too if I was in his position. Hell, I was shaking in math class and I hadn't even talked to the girl.

"I...I called you a babe." He whispered lowering his head. We all sat there completely silent waiting for whatever horrible thing Kim was going to say to Jerry.

"Thank you." She said straightening herself up again. She flashed us all a smile before her and her friend Grace walked away leaving us totally speechless.

"What the hell just happened?" Jerry asked us as he watched Kim and Grace make their way to the opposite side of the cafeteria taking a seat at a table with a boy. Eddie started laughing.

"Dude, you almost pissed your pants. You should have seen your face." Eddie and Milton were both now busting up.

"Hey! That girl could break my face! You'd be scared too!" He defended. The guys began arguing and even though it was highly entertaining, my mind was somewhere else. I looked over at the table where Kim sat with her friends and watched her laugh and playfully nudge the guy she was sitting next to. He was fairly tall and had short brown hair. He wasn't exactly skinny, but he wasn't big either. Anyone could see that he worked out. I was curious about the interaction between them. Jerry had told me that Kim and Grace didn't date, but her behavior towards this guy said otherwise. Not that I cared or anything. Kim may have been a beautiful girl, but I wasn't interested in her. At least, not that much. It was purely physical attraction.

"Jack!" I snapped out of my thoughts as Jerry shouted at me.

"What?" I asked.

"Are you staring at Kim again?" Jerry smirked. I groaned.

"For the last time Jerry, no. I have no interest in her." Wow, even I had to admit that didn't sound very convincing.

"If you're wondering who that is, his name is Brody Carlson. He's not Kim's boyfriend so you don't need to worry. He's just her best friend." Milton explained.

"I don't care who he is or who he is to her. It's her life." I replied.

"Although, I heard they do have a thing for each other, but Kim has that no dating rule." Eddie added.

"Well maybe for all the other guys, but Kim hasn't gotten to know Jack yet!" Jerry shouted. I mentally face palmed myself. They were never going to quit.

"Can we just get going to class? I have to find the gym." I attempted to change the subject. The guys just shrugged.

"Sure. I have gym next too, so I'll help you." Jerry said as he walked over to the garbage can and dumped his tray. I followed. We said goodbye to Milton and Eddie before we made our way to the gym.

Gym went by pretty fast. All we did was play a game of dodge ball and then spent the last ten minutes talking. As much as I enjoyed meeting the guys and getting to know my way around Seaford, I couldn't wait to get home. I was tired of today and I just wanted to go to sleep and start a new day.

I said bye to Jerry before I walked home. I was hoping my mom wouldn't be there just yet. I knew she was going to ask me tons of questions about school and the people I met, but I was in no mood to answer any of them. I just wanted food and my bed. Of course I would have no such luck though, and as soon as I got into the house my mother immediately badgered me for information.

"Did you make any friends?"

"Yes."

"How were your classes?"

"Fine."

"Do you like the people here so far?"

"Sure."

"Do you want to talk?"

"No."

"Want to go out for pizza?"

"Ok."

That was literally our entire conversation. Although I could tell she wanted to ask more about my day, my mother knew that when I didn't want to talk, that she should just leave me be. Pizza did sound good though, so going out for an hour or two wasn't going to do any harm.

We drove into the town limits and searched for a nearby pizza place. Soon enough we came across a small little business called Luigi's Pizzeria. We were both too hungry to look for another place so we parked on the side of the street and walked in to the building. The inside was definitely better looking than the pale red brick wall outside. The walls were a dark green color surrounded by a white trim. The theme of the place appeared to be baseball as there were many pictures of famous baseball players as well as popular places like Dodger and Yankee Stadium. A tall girl with dark red hair greeted us at the door and seated us in a nearby booth.

"My name is Heather, I'll be your waitress for the night. Can I get you started with any drinks?" She asked kindly.

"Uh, I'll have a coke." I replied. She smiled at me in a flirtatious sort of way.

"And I'll take an ice tea." My mom said. Heather nodded her head and walked away towards the serving counter. I looked around at my surroundings. It wasn't fancy or all that wonderful, but it was still a quaint little place with a nice atmosphere.

"I'm going to find the bathroom." I told my mother. She waved me off as she read over the menu. I walked over to the counter trying to flag down an employee to help me. I couldn't see our waitress anywhere, but I did spot a blonde girl on the opposite side of the counter facing a sink busy washing dishes.

"Excuse me?" I asked. The girl took a quick glance over her shoulder at me and shut the sink off, drying her hands off before turning around and smiling at me.

Holy crap. It was Kim.

There stood Kim Crawford, sporting a black Luigi's Pizzeria shirt and a pair of light washed skinny jeans covered in pizza sauce and dough. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a loose pony tail and her bangs were pinned to the side with a bobby pin. Wow, even covered in sauce she was beautiful.

"Oh hey, Jack right?" She asked pointing at me. She was still smiling and it was making it very hard to speak.

"Uh, yeah. And you're Kim." I replied. She giggled.

"Yeah, that's me. You're in my calculus class. Did you need something?"

"Yeah, I have no idea where the bathroom is." I said sounding like a complete moron.

"Oh it's right down that hall." She pointed towards an opening on the other side of the restaurant. I thanked her and quickly took off towards the bathroom. Kim Crawford had a job? Jerry told me she was rich, so why would she waste her time working if she already had money.

I went to the restroom and walked back to my booth, but not without sneaking a glance over at Kim again. Kim was now wiping tables down and picking up dirty plates, and she STILL had a smile on her face. Why did this not seem normal? Everyone seemed so intimidated by her and Jerry made it seem like she was a mean person, but the Kim I was looking at right now and talked to only a few minutes ago was doing nothing but smiling and being nice.

"Do you know that girl?" My mom interrupted my thoughts.

"Uh, yeah. Kinda. She's in one of my classes." I said. My mom looked over at her.

"She's pretty."

"Yes mom, she is. But don't get any ideas. I'm not interested in her and she doesn't like me." I gave her a hard stern look that told her to drop it. She threw her hands up defensively.

"Fine, fine. Whatever you say."

It took us about fifteen minutes to get our pizza, another twenty to eat it, and five to pay our check. As we got up to leave, I couldn't help but look over at Kim. She was busing more tables and by this time her smile was beginning to fade and now she just looked exhausted. She gazed over at me once she realized we were leaving and began walking over to clean our table. She moved much slower than earlier and now she was wearing a frown and a pair of big brown sad eyes. I looked down at our table and suddenly I felt extremely guilty and bad for the mess that we had left. I decided to take out a five dollar bill from my pocket and I placed it under one of the plates. I followed my mom to the exit and once I was outside and across the street, I took a quick glance back at the pizzeria just in time to see Kim pick up the bill and her lips curve into a small smile.

"I saw what you did Jack." My mom said as she started the car.

"What are you talking about?" I asked trying to act like I had no clue. She rolled her eyes and smirked at me.

"Jack, drop it. That was a very nice thing you did, and I think you made her night ten times better."

I couldn't help but think I did too. I couldn't help but want to make her night better. But as we drove home, one thing remained in the back of my mind.

Maybe Jerry was wrong about Kim Crawford. Maybe there was something he didn't know.

HOLY SHIT. This literally took me forever to write and I don't even think it came out all that great. Tell me what you guys think. Good, bad? Like it, hate it?

Review. Please and thank you :)