AN: I just realized I didn't put an author's note in the first chapter. Oops. The more you read, the more interesting this will get. With each chapter the plot thickens.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kickin it.
The final bell rings and I quickly get the books I need from my locker. Now commencing part one of the plan. I take a deep breath and fix my hair before approaching Jack at his locker.
"Uh, hey," I say awkwardly.
He turns to me and folds his arms across his chest. When I see his face I feel like I can't breathe. His face is structured so perfectly, and his eyes, and his hair, and everything about him makes my heart race. His face is hostile, which makes him even more intimidating. I clutch my books to my chest and say, "Uh, so, I was wondering if maybe… uh—"
"If you're trying to ask me out I'm not interested," he says bluntly.
I furrow my brows. "No, I just want you to tutor me for the math test on Monday."
"But today's Friday."
"And?" I ask, squinting my eyes and tilting my head.
"I don't want to spend my weekend doing more school-related stuff than I already have to," he says coldly.
"Please? Just for like an hour?" I beg.
He rolls his eyes and says, "Why don't you ask your nerd friend?"
"Milton? He's too smart. I don't understand half the words he uses when he tries to explain things," I say desperately.
"I'm not a tutor. I don't care how well you do on your stupid test." Wow, rude. I shrug it off and roll my eyes.
"What if I give you ten bucks?"
"Twenty."
"Okay, twenty."
He draws in a deep breath and sighs out, "Deal."
"Okay, great, thank you, let me just," I say, looking through my backpack, "find my phone so I can get your number… I can't find it…" I look back up at him awkwardly.
He rolls his eyes and pulls out his phone and adds a new contact, handing it to me so I can enter my number. I quickly type it in and hand it back. I stand there awkwardly, waiting for him to say something, but he just stares at me. I feel my cheeks heat up and awkwardly say, "So…"
"So…" he says, mocking me. "Go on. Leave." He shoos me away and my cheeks are burning from embarrassment. Why am I so awkward around him?
I step into the shower in the girl's locker room in the dojo for the first time. I'm surprised when the shampoo actually smells good. Like strawberries. And the body wash smells like peaches. I massage the soap over my muscles that were sore from my first practice at the dojo. I joined today and Eddie was right when he said that Rudy would pass out. He's a strange man-child but I like him. He seems… interesting.
When I'm done with my shower I change into clean sweatpants and a tank top. I zip up a hoodie over my tank and wring my wet hair out with a towel. My phone buzzes and I check it to see a new message.
Hi Cam. This is Jack. Call me when you get this.
He doesn't even know my name? I scoff and add him to my contacts before calling him.
"Hello?"
Wow. His voice is really deep… and hot.
"Hi. You wanted me to call you?"
"Yeah. I can come over and tutor you right now."
"Now? I'm not home yet."
"Will you be home soon?"
"Uhh, yeah, but… um, could you give me a ride?"
Silence for several seconds
"No."
No explanation? Just 'no'?
"Then I won't be home until around nine because that's when my mom can pick me up."
"I really just want to get this over with right now."
"Then I need a ride."
"Are you okay with riding on a motorcycle?"
"Yeah, that's not a problem."
"Where are you?"
"The Bayview mall."
"I'll be there in like ten minutes."
"Thanks. Um, bye."
Beep beep beep.
He didn't even say bye. He just hung up. Now I'm nervous. He doesn't even know my name! And I'm so awkward around him! And he's obviously not interested in me! What did I get myself into?
I stand outside the mall with my hands in the pockets of my hoodie. I see Jack on his motorcycle as he pulls it up to the curb. He takes off his helmet and looks at me. Damn. He just gets hotter every time I see him. His shaggy hair is slightly blowing in the breeze and the light from the streetlight is highlighting the contours of his perfectly structured face.
I walk over and he hands me his helmet.
"Why don't you wear a helmet?" I ask.
"I only have one. Now put it on or I won't let you ride," he says firmly. I put on the helmet and get on his motorcycle behind him.
"Hold on tight," he says as we speed off. I wrap my arms around him and hold him tightly. His hair blows in my face and it smells like vanilla. I close my eyes and rest my chin on his shoulder as I breath in his scent.
"Oh, make a right here," I shout.
"What?" He yells back.
"Right!"
He turns right onto my street. Luckily I live close to the mall or I'd lose my voice from shouting directions to him.
We're on a residential street now so we're going slower and I don't have to yell as loud.
"And it's the one on the right with the big tree, right there," I say, pointing. He drives past it though and parks in the empty driveway of the house next to mine. "Oh, um, you missed it. It's the one right there," I say. I realize there are no cars in my driveway. "Oh, my parents aren't home yet. I'm not allowed to have people over unless they're home."
"Ok," he says. Why does he barely ever talk? That's all he has to say?
"Uhh, so why did you park here?" I question.
He doesn't respond. He just walks up to the front door, finds a key under the doormat, unlocks the door, and walks into the house.
"I think this is considered breaking and entering," I say awkwardly. He just turns on the light and walks upstairs, expecting me to follow him, and for some reason, I do.
I follow him into a room and I come to a realization when he turns on the light.
"Oh. Now I realize you live here," I say awkwardly. He takes his leather jacket off and tosses it onto his bed.
"How did you figure that out? You know, you'd make a really good detective," he says sarcastically.
"Oh, shut up," I say, punching him playfully in the shoulder.
"Ah!" He grimaces and holds his shoulder.
"Woah, I didn't hit you that hard. What's wrong with your shoulder?" I ask.
He rubs his shoulder and says, "Uh, just a bruise."
"You're lying," I say. He looks up at me, still with a pained expression on his face.
"No I'm not." His face slowly goes back to his normal expression: hostility.
I reach out and lift the short sleeve of his tee shirt to reveal a large pink scar all across his (super buff) shoulder. I can tell it was a deep cut and there's parts where his skin is stretched and wrinkled. Whatever it was it must have been really painful. It looks like it cut into his muscles, which would mean his shoulder doesn't work very well. I look up at him in confusion. "What happened?"
He pulls his sleeve back down and mumbles, "Ugh, maybe you are a good detective." He turns around and sits on the foot of his bed. I walk over to his desk and sit in his chair. I wait for him to explain but instead he points at the math textbook on his desk. "Give me that."
I hand it to him and he flips through the pages. "Do the practice problems on this page," he says, handing the open book back to me. "There's lined paper right there," he says, pointing at the stack of paper on his desk.
I'm about halfway through the problems when I get confused. I spin around to see Jack laying in his bed, breathing softly. He's asleep. He looks a lot less intimidating. He looks peaceful and… really cute. I don't want to wake up him up but I need his help.
"Jack?" No response. I walk over to the side of his bed. "Jack, wake up," I say loudly. He's still sound asleep. I poke his arm. Woah, he has really big biceps. I grab his arm and shake him. "Jack!"
He blinks and looks at me strangely. "Are you an angel?" He asks groggily.
I blush and laugh. "No, Jack. I'm Kim."
He rubs his eyes and sits up, sweeping his legs over the edge of his bed. "Kim? Oh," he mumbles.
"Yep, Kim. Not Cam. I see how you could make that mistake though," I say with an awkward smile. He looks up at me and just stares at me for a while. I wish he would show some kind of clue on his face for me to figure out what he's thinking, but he does a good job of not showing any emotion other than anger or annoyance. Does he even feel emotions? Besides anger or irritation?
"Did you finish?"
"Uh, no, I got stuck and I need your help."
"Ugh. I wanna go back to sleep."
"Too bad. You said you wanted to do this now." I take the textbook and my paper and pencil and sit next to him on his bed. When I look up at his face he's still staring at me. It's not fair— I feel so vulnerable when he looks deep into my eyes and it feels like he's reading my thoughts, but I have no idea whatsoever what goes on in his mind. Wow, God really spent a lot of time making that face of his. He keeps getting closer and closer. His eyes flicker down to my lips for less than a millisecond, but I noticed it.
I can feel his breath on my face.
Hot breath on my face. Can't move my hands. Pain. So much pain.
Suddenly I feel nauseous. My heart is pounding too fast. My chest feels tight and I can't breath. I close my eyes and try to compose myself. I start breathing hard because no matter how much air fills my lungs I feel like there's not enough oxygen.
"Are you okay?" He asks. I open my eyes and finally see some emotion in his face: concern.
I try to catch my breath but I can't. The room is spinning and I have to find something to hold on to. I feel a warm pair of strong arms around me.
"Woah, don't pass out. Here, lay down."
He lowers me down so I'm laying on his bed. I instinctively push him off of me. "No, stop! Get off, get off! Please, don't!" I don't know where these words are coming from. I squeeze my eyes shut.
"I think you're having a panic attack. Slow down your breathing; you're hyperventilating and it's making you dizzy," he says calmly. "Just focus on your breathing."
I listen to him and after a few moments I'm breathing normally again. I open my eyes to see him standing away from me, his face still showing worry.
"Do you need me to give you some space?"
I slowly nod my head. He nods and leaves his room, closing the door behind him. What the hell just happened?
Feeling his breath on my face, being so close to me… I thought I liked it but it brought back a memory. A memory I didn't know I had until now. I now realize that tears are streaming down my face and my nose is stuffy. I rack my brain, trying to think of what happened, or where that memory came from.
It's been a few minutes when the door opens and Jack comes in with a box of pizza and a tub of ice cream.
"Hungry?" He asks. I nod as he sits back down next to me and sets the food on his nightstand. "Do you want to talk about it?" I look up at him and see that his face is expressionless now.
I take a deep and shaky breath before saying, "I'm sorry I freaked out on you. I just remembered something and I thought you were someone else who was hurting me and I'm still confused by what even happened. I don't even know where the memory came from, but it's like… something happened that brought it back," I say, looking at the floor. I look up at him and whisper, "I want to remember."
"No, it's best that you let it go," he says forcefully. "If you don't remember, it means your mind has been blocking it out for a reason."
"What? Why? I need to know what happened!"
He softens his voice and says, "Please, just trust me. Don't try to resurface that memory." His voice breaks when he says this.
"Okay," I say, nodding. "I'll let it go." For some reason I trust that he's looking out for me, so I believe him.
"Here's a slice. Let's see that problem you got stuck on."
I walk upstairs my dark and empty house and switch on the light in my room. I flop onto my bed and look at my window to see Jack staring at me from his room. He's sitting on his bed, holding a guitar. The fact that he plays guitar just made him even hotter, if that's possible. He waves at me awkwardly and I smile and wave back. I close my curtains and get ready for bed.
After a long warm shower I pull on my comfy PJs and lay in bed. I pick up my phone and see a new message.
You owe me five slices of pizza and half a tub of ice cream. How the hell do you eat so much? Weirdo.
-Jack
I laugh and text him back.
You're a weirdo.
I plug my phone into the charger and smile. The smile doesn't last long though because I remember the way I just freaked out at Jack. Where did that memory come from? Do I want to know? And how did Jack knew so much about what was happening to me? It's going to be a long time until I fall asleep.
AN: How was it? You probably think it's predictable but you'll be surprised by the next chapters. What do you think is going to happen? Also, review if you liked it! Or even if you didn't like it! Constructive criticism is always welcome. Thanks to whoever reads this. You rock! :)
