Thanks for the reviews, follows and favorites. As always- you all are awesome!
To 'Guest' who posted, "damn son, that's pretty tasty" - I have to admit I laughed out loud and was (and still am) alternately super flattered and super amused by your comment. Probably one of my favorite things ever. So thanks! (I'm also very curious as to which part/parts were so tasty- or if it was a general comment about the entire fic.)
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I just noticed that I changed the layout of Jimmy and Kyle's apartment. At the start of the fic it was one level and in the last few chapters it's been the same layout as in the show. Poop. (And sorry...) I'll get around to fixing it one day- but as it doesn't affect the fic in any major way I'm gonna let it ride until I get this finished.
Also, sorry about the delay on this chapter- the last couple weeks have been crazy. And this one did NOT want to be written. Not sure what the issue was- but it was stubborn.
And finally, apologies in advance for any errors. I only did a quick edit before posting since it's been two weeks since I updated.
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In his mind, Jimmy imagined everything would be easier once Karen left. He could start moving on. She wouldn't be around, Kyle wouldn't talk about her all the time, life would go back to normal. He was relieved.
Or he tried to be.
But as he was all too familiar with, life didn't work out as planned.
The week of graduation came and went. He worked extra shifts - it was good money- all those families in town for graduation meant more people eating out. And the restaurant needed the help- half the staff had company visiting.
And he'd already said goodbye to Karen- it's not like there was anything else to say.
Though apparently his subconscious disagreed. His dreams were plagued with memories of Karen, of her smile, her laugh- of futures with her that would never be- of apologies and kisses and… Karen.
Always Karen. Dammit- why couldn't he get her out of his head?
And now it was starting to seep into his waking hours too. The other day at work he'd had to ask a customer three times what their drink order was. He was dropping plates, tripping over the bar rugs and forgetting to ask for side items on meals- mistakes he NEVER made.
All it would take was for a brunette of approximately Karen's build to walk through the restaurant and Jimmy's concentration was gone. Even after he determined it wasn't her, his distraction persisted.
Once again, he was in bed, trying to sleep. And once again it eluded him. He was adjusting his pillow to turn over when lyrics popped into his head unbidden.
"So sing to me, and I will forgive you- for taking my heart in the suitcase you packed…"
His laugh was bitter to his own ears. He'd meant his heart to stay firmly in his chest- he'd done everything he could to keep it there- and yet somehow she managed to steal it away anyway.
And now she was gone. LA had called her name and she'd run off.
Not that he'd tried to stop her. Hell, he'd pushed her out the door- nearly literally- just a few days before she got the call to go.
He ran his hand through his hair and blew out a sigh. Realizing sleep wasn't going to come soon, he got up and padded down the stairs to the piano.
Maybe if he got the song out of his head he could sleep.
/
"...Oh, and nothing comes easy when everyone's rushing
I thought I could love you, I thought I could love you"
His voice and the last notes faded as he dropped his hands from the keys and sat, breathing heavier, staring at the keyboard.
"Wow. Did you just write that?" Kyle's voice snapped him out of his reverie.
"What? Um. Yeah. It's nothing. Just couldn't get it out of my head." Jimmy shook the offending body part and gave his roommate an apologetic smile, "Sorry if I woke you."
Kyle shook his head once, but was silent. He studied his roommate for a minute, considering his words. "You could call her, you know…" he offered quietly.
Jimmy closed his eyes and sighed. "I doubt she'd want to talk to me after the things I said."
Kyle shrugged, "You never know until you try."
Jimmy stood up. "I'm going to bed." He clapped Kyle on the shoulder as he passed, "You should too."
"Night!" he called from the stairs.
/
The days and weeks passed and instead of getting easier, it was worse. His boss was getting irritated with him, even mentioned in passing their random drug testing policy.
If only his problem were drugs- that'd be less painful.
He'd be lying to say the idea hadn't crossed his mind- but he'd walked away from that life years ago- and he wasn't about to visit now. And Kyle would kill him.
On the way to his dinner shift, he stopped at a coffee shop. Maybe coffee would shake him out of the fog that had lingered since she left. Not that it'd helped so far- but hey, today was a new day, right?
He pushed through the doors and stopped almost immediately, nearly getting run over by another customer who was following behind him too closely.
She was there. KAREN was there. Sitting at a table not ten feet from where he stood.
He closed his eyes and, pinching himself to be sure he wasn't mistaken- again- he reopened them.
It was her. There was no mistaking it at this distance. He just didn't know why- or how- it was possible.
There was also no mistaking that she wasn't alone. Her laugh and the man laying his hand over her arm, his fingers gently stroking the skin there, couldn't be hallucinated either.
With his stomach located somewhere near his toes, and his heart in his throat, Jimmy turned and fled out the door, bowling over a petite woman who'd just opened the door. He muttered a half assed apology and focused on the concrete beneath his feet and getting as far away from that scene as fast as possible.
/
Kyle came home later that night to find Jimmy in their kitchen.
"Uh, shouldn't you be at work?"
Jimmy tipped his full shot glass in Kyle's direction before swallowing it down, "Yup."
"Ok…" Kyle said slowly, waiting for Jimmy to explain. Instead, he watched Jimmy pour himself another shot. When it became obvious that no explanation would be forthcoming Kyle put his hand over the (now) empty glass and took the bottle from Jimmy's hand.
"Hey! I was using that!" he protested.
"I can see that- it was full when I left." He looked at his friend closely, "Why aren't you at work?" Realization dawned, "Oh God. You didn't get fired did you?" Kyle was well aware of Jimmy's trouble at work.
"Ha," he barked bitterly, "No. I mean... I don't think so." Jimmy shrugged, pitching himself off balance, causing him to nearly fall off the stool.
"Ok, then what prompted the two man party between you and Jack?"
Jimmy made another grab for the bottle. "I'm hoping that it'll make me forget that I saw Karen and her new boyfriend today. I hear alcohol kills brain cells." He wrestled the bottle out of Kyle's grasp. Ignoring the shot glass, he tipped it up to drink out of the bottle, 'She's in town by the way- did you know?" His question was meant to be at least half joking, but the lightness was lost in delivery. The bottle thunked on the island heavily, the liquid sloshing against the sides.
Kyle's answering nod was nearly non-existent. Jimmy stared at him in disbelief.
"And you didn't tell me?" Jimmy's voice rose an octave.
"I didn't think you'd want to know." Jimmy pushed himself off the stool, stumbling as his feet tried to find purchase on the floor. "Jimmy…"
"Did you know about the boyfriend too?" he demanded. He grabbed his stomach, "I think I'm going to be sick." He lurched for the sink, gripping the metal rim, shoulders heaving as he tried to steady himself and his stomach.
Kyle watched helplessly, unsure what he should do. It wasn't like Jimmy needed him to hold his hair back- and he probably wouldn't appreciate Kyle rubbing his back.
"I didn't know about him. I swear- she just said she had to meet with some people here. She wanted to get lunch with me and Ana before she left. That's all," Kyle pleaded with Jimmy's back.
Jimmy nodded, still taking deep breaths. "I think I'm gonna go lay down." He turned, forcing a tight smile before climbing the stairs slowly, his hand gripping the wall for support.
"Yeah," Kyle sighed to himself. Spotting his phone beside his hand, he snatched it up, tapping the button to dial as he exited the apartment, closing the door behind him.
It was answered on the second ring, "Kyle!"
"Hey Karen. Um, hey listen…"
"You ok, Kyle?" Karen asked, concerned.
"Yeah," Kyle ran a hand down his face, shaking his head. He should of thought about what he wanted to say before he called. "Um, look. I know it's your choice and all, and Jimmy is an idiot- but did you meet someone the second you got off the plane? I mean you've been there like three weeks! And did you have to bring him here with you?"
Karen was silent for a moment and Kyle worried he'd made her angry.
"What are you talking about Kyle?" she finally asked slowly.
"He saw you!" Kyle burst out.
"Who saw what?" Karen's confusion had reached new heights.
Kyle sighed. "Jimmy. Saw you. With some guy- your new boyfriend apparently." Kyle paused, "You didn't tell me you were bringing anyone- or that you were dating anyone. Not that it's any of his business- but I would have thought you'd have mentioned it to me."
Karen laughed, relieved to finally know what was going on. "I'm not dating anyone. The only guy I've seen since I got here last night was some sleazy producer." Karen shivered.
"He kept touching me- and talking about how great we'd be together. Professionally of course…" Kyle could hear the eye roll in her voice. "I told my agent I didn't want to work with him. But, I have one more meeting tomorrow morning. I was hoping we could grab lunch after- if you still want to."
"Uh, yes! Of course! Is Ana coming too?" Kyle had missed his friends. Ana had been busy working and Kyle had been stuck inside studying. Summer classes sucked.
"Yup."
Kyle grinned, looking forward to the next day. He turned to head back inside. Seeing his door though reminded him of the friend on the other side of it.
"Hey, Karen-" he began.
"Yeah?"
"Um, I think you should talk to him. Not that you owe him one or anything- but you know- um, to explain things to him." Kyle toed the door frame, debating his next words, "He was pretty torn up about… things."
She sighed, "He won't listen to me, Kyle- you know that."
He nodded into his phone, chewing his cheek, "But you don't even want to try?"
/
Let me know what you think so far! Leave me a comment/ send me a message/ come find me on Tumblr- our little fandom is so small- it would be awesome to talk with some other Karen/Jimmy/ Smash fans!
Thanks for reading! Probably one chapter left.
