Chapter Two

Alexis' POV

Jerry spent the rest of the Saturday morning showing me around the strip mall and telling me all about Seaford and how everything had changed since I had been in the states last time. I had so many things to tell him, things that needed to be said, and so eventually, I worked my way into the freely flowing conversation.

"Jerry, I kind of have a few things that I really need to tell you…" I said gently, quickly noticing his concern.

"What do you need to tell me?"

"I think we should sit down." I could tell that my voice had quivered when I said that but covered it up without any real trouble when I led him to an empty park bench.

"You're scaring me, what's going on?" His concern grew.

I wondered if what I was about to say would prove to be a mistake, but I knew it was far too late to head back by this point in time.

"Firstly you have to promise me you won't tell."

"I promise," Jerry said sincerely.

Kim's POV

I walked toward Jack, my heart pounding against my ribs as I shook absently, why was I this nervous, I couldn't deny the crush I had on him to myself, but I knew that what I felt was getting stronger and stronger as each day passed the both of us by.

"Hey Jack, you wanna train?" I asked him somewhat shyly, rubbing the back of my neck nervously and hoping that he wouldn't notice the strangeness that surrounded my disposition.

"Um, yeah sure"

There was definitely something up with him, he was acting….weird, I hadn't seen him act in such a way since a certain situation a while back, and I couldn't help but ask him about it.

"Is there something wrong, Jack?" I asked caringly but mostly out of certain curiosity.

"Oh, nothing really…" He hesitated and I could have sworn that I saw something light up in his left eye as he snuck a sideways glance in my direction. "I was just wondering if I should ask a certain girl out…"

Jacks POV

I needed to know what Kim felt toward me, it was eating at my brain, and if I didn't find out soon I was afraid of the prospect of my going mentally insane entirely trying to rack my brain for the answers. I came up with a scheme-like-plan to find out for sure, but I knew I would have to study her reactions to my speaking very closely.

"I was just wondering if I should ask a certain girl out…"

I lifted my gaze sneakily to find her looking right at me, so I figured that it wouldn't have hurt to just be completely cool and sensible about it, the last thing I wanted was for suspicions to arise, especially I found if those suspicions came from the one and only Kim Crawford.

"Out?" She spoke the word as if she had never heard of it before, like she was saying it in a form in which it was possible for the meaning of it to become somewhat questionable.

"You know, like on a date." I tried to supress the smirk that was hiding just behind my lips and threatening to reveal itself before becoming gratefully successful.

"Oh," Kim said simply, in a way that might have suggested if not for what came next that her mind wasn't quite functioning just as well as it could have possibly been. "You mind if I ask who?" Her southern accent began to slightly lift the almost lifeless conversation.

"I was thinking about asking Alexis out on a date, maybe after I get to know her a little, she seems really nice…" I found myself absent-mindedly explaining to Kim why I was going to do just that.

"Okay, cool…" I studied her reactions just as I had hoped to do beforehand, and I couldn't help the devilish smirk that curled upon my lips at that moment as I looked into her eyes, Kimberly Crawford was really and truly jealous.

Alexis' POV

"The reason that my dad and I and even little Joseph are over here, is because my dad requires medical attention, attention that we simply can't find back in Australia, and if he doesn't get it there's a chance that he'll die, we didn't want to let that happen, we couldn't." I kept my ordinary hard and unmovable exterior despite the many confused and bewildered emotions tearing me apart and leading me astray inside. I had to ignore them for now; I had to be strong, especially in the case of my little brother.

Jerry's eyes grew as he became speechless.

"Please don't tell anyone, I need time to figure out how to say it to your parents, but I really needed to tell someone and you know that I've always trusted you with anything…"

Jerry embraced me in a tight hug, one that I had never experienced before.

"I won't tell anyone until you think its right, this must be hard for you, but seriously A, do me a favour and don't get involved with guys right now, I can tell you're already heartbroken enough." There was slight venom pouring over his words and I laughed.

"I'm not that stupid Jerry, you mean Jack, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Isn't he already dating Kim anyway?" I asked, completely unaware of and all but unready for what was to come next.

"What? No, that's like ridiculous."

Jacks POV

When I saw Alexis and Jerry walk side by side into the dojo the smiles that had once formed playfully upon their faces had faded into expressions that I couldn't put down to being anything but worried.

Okay, time to introduce stealth into this mission I said to myself smoothly, even if the two of them were down at heart, I couldn't let an opportunity to aggravate Kim with her own jealousy go unnoticed, I was hardly that foolish.

"So, Jerry…" I pulled him aside casually after Alexis left his side to be part of a conversation that involved both Eddie and Milton.

"If I said that I was maybe, going to ignore everything you said and ask your cousin out, what would you say?" I asked smugly.

"Forget it Jack, she's not in a position to be messed with right now." Jerry warned yet again, seeming a little touchy, I wondered what had happened, but once again dismissed my pondering; I wasn't the type of person who went poking about people's private business, most of the time.

"Okay, now what would you say if I said that I wasn't going to hurt her in any way if I could promise it" I didn't notice that while performing the sacred art of my so called 'stealth' I was awfully close to biting my nails, a sign of what could only ever be labelled as nervousness, and again I regained a proper focus.

"I'd say 'hey that's great Jack, good for you' but we all know that's not going to happen."

"Come on, I'm not really that bad with the ladies am I? Don't I at least treat them with some respect?"

"Respect you dug up from the ground maybe." Jerry said grumpily.

Stealth mode de-activated.

"Alright Jerry, truths out, I'm going to tell you what this is all about…"

"I don't really care, Jack."

"What if I told you it required a role for the love guru." I said cheekily, folding my hands behind my back as I walked closer and closer to where he was standing, most likely invading his much needed personal space.

"I'm listening." There was a shimmer in Jerry's eyes as he spoke.

"That's the Jerry I know."