So, if you are wondering how Kelly and Eric ended up dating, here it is.

Of Astronomers and Astronauts: Outtakes

Scene Three: Puppy Love… You Know, if those Puppies were Bloodthirsty Wolves

Much to everybody's surprise, Kelly had become a frequent fixture in the Kirby household. The fact that she lived eight hours away didn't faze her; she would often be found rattling up the driveway in her old truck, "Roberta" (and Eric had no idea why she felt the need to name her car) after some fight with her parents. The Kirby family didn't mind; she was more than welcome in their home, and had spent many a night in their small guest room.

However, her frequent presence had raised another problem: noise. To be exact, the noise caused by Eric and Kelly.

Eric's parents had eventually sat them down about the issue and told them to keep it in the garage.

"We're not going to stop your fun," his father had reassured. "You two don't seem to have much that holds your interest nowadays, so we won't put an end to what does. It's just that the constant banging is driving us crazy. So please, just do it in the garage and be careful, okay?"

The pair had abided by the rules of the house and had moved their operation into the garage, where they found themselves spending most of their time.

"So, I feel we should be dating," Kelly stated randomly one afternoon.

Eric frowned. "Why?" he panted distractedly. "Plenty of people do this, and they're not dating."

Kelly shrugged. "Why not?"

"I'm younger than you, for one thing," he pointed out.

Kelly rolled her eyes. "So? You're not that much younger than me, and anyways, if we were older, the age gap would be practically meaningless. Besides, it's not like we have many options. I haven't had a date that didn't want to spend the entire night talking about my father in forever, and I know your attempt with that Miranda girl crashed and burned. I like you; you like me. What's the problem?"

For a moment, Eric took his attention away from the task at hand and pondered the idea. She was correct on all accounts but… They had a nice thing going here. What if they ruined it? "What would we even do?"

"I dunno; hang out, I guess. Go to movies, talk on the phone, same thing we usually do."

Eric hesitated, thinking.

"Besides," she prompted with a smirk. "Can you imagine the look on my dad's face when he finds out?"

Eric grinned. "I like this idea."

"Good," Kelly smiled before turning the momentum of Eric's attack against him and slamming him into the ground.

They were still trying to figure out who was the better fighter.

Both of them had stepped up their game after the fight in Malcolm's basement. They had joined MMA clubs in their respective home towns to better their skills, and sparred whenever they were in the same city, which was usually San Diego and therefore at Eric's house. The only problem was that they appeared to be pretty evenly matched. Which, of course, had led to rematch after rematch, effectively driving his parents insane and getting themselves banished to the garage

"So," Kelly gasped, bending over in exertion. "Dating?"

"Dating," Eric agreed, groaning as he climbed back up to his feet.

Then, he promptly threw a punch at his new girlfriend, watching as she managed to dodge the fist but not the kick he had sent as the follow up attack.

Okay, so here's how I see the development of their relationship: All other attempts at dating crash and burn. They are two friends that understand one another, and harbor slight feelings for each other. They enter into a relationship, partly because they're young and hormonal messes trying to figure out how they fit in the world, partly because they want to freak out their parents. Their relationship gets more serious as they get to know each other, and they become one another's first "real" relationship. Eventually, they mutually break up because it's just not meant to be, but they remain friends.

Also, there are endless ways to misconstrue two teenagers in a sparring match. Just a note.