A/N: Thanks for the reviews, they made my week! Keep on reviewing, they encourage me to update faster and the constructive criticism included is really helpful.

Oh, and the recent Kickin' It episode "Capture The Flag" just proved another one of my theories that has to do with this storyJack (and everyone else) would totally look hot in private school uniforms. Just saying. Jack in a sweater and tie—don't even get me started. Or else I might not stop.

I know the last chapter was a fast update and this one was also pretty fast considering my usual updates are slower. Since I've written quite a bit ahead updates might be quicker now, since I'm going on vacation for the whole upcoming summer of 2012. This chapter is dedicated to TheOppositeOfOptimistic, a fabulous writer. She reviewed on chapter seven asking for a bit more Kat/Kyle and Kat!backstory so I complied. Sienna, this chapter and the next chapter will have a bit more Kat—I hope you enjoy this!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kickin' It.


"Aim for the sky and you'll reach the ceiling. Aim for the ceiling and you'll stay on the floor."

—Bill Shankly


CHAPTER NINE: Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind

Kim raised a hand and rapped on the wooden door. It was getting late, and most students were returning to their dorms to get started on the mass of homework always assigned on Thursday nights, but this was far more important. This situation required immediate attention and she had to be at the airport in less than an hour.

The strap of her small duffel bag, emptied of her soccer gear and filled to the zipper with her overnight things and a change of clothes, cut into her shoulder, digging into the flesh as she tapped her foot impatiently.

There were a few scuffling noises before Rudy's voice called out, "Just a minute!"

Kim rolled her eyes, despite her somber mood. "Rudy, it's me. And I know you have a cat. There's no need to stuff Tip-Tip in the closet."

"Oh, okay."

At this, Kim pushed the door open and strolled in without further hesitation. She was very familiar with Rudy's office, as the two had a very close captain-coach relationship and she always seemed to seek him out for advice whenever she happened to need it. He was happy to comply and though some of his stories rambled on for forever and never seemed to end with a point, she enjoyed them all the same.

The room was dimly lit; only the desk lamp was switched on, and Kim had to suppress a smile at Rudy's forearms, which currently bore several scratches, undoubtedly from his recent scuffle with his cat.

The cuts reminded her of Kat's arm, though, and she her amused manner abruptly evaporated into thin air.

Rudy seemed to be working on something, but his attention perked up as soon as she entered the office and took a seat. "What's up, Kim?"

She considered the question thoughtfully, wondering how to phrase her answer correctly.

"I'm not going to be here for this weekend's game," Kim whispered. "On Saturday."

Rudy's head snapped up from where he was organizing the players' personal files, and he fixed her with a long, calculating stare before he completely dropped the files and folded his hands on his desk, the perfect picture of attention. "Tell me why."

"Do you want the real reason or the fake one?" Kim stalled nervously.

"Both," Rudy waved her guarded tone off carelessly. "Come on, Kim. If you're going to be skipping one whole game, you have to tell me why."

Kim breathed out shakily. "Right, okay. Well, the cover story is that I'm going to be in bed with a hundred-and-three degree fever. Only Grace and the principal know about this, and Mr. Wasabi is going to tell all the teachers so they won't get suspicious. Grace is just going to cover for me so no one else can get into my dorm room and see I'm not actually there with a high fever."

"Right, and what's the real reason?"

Kim squeezed her eyes shut, a slight wave of vertigo rippling through her before she blurted out, "My sister was hospitalized this morning."

Silence.

"Oh…" Rudy's voice was laced with genuine concern. "Courtney? Wow, that's serious, and I completely understand. I'll figure something out, run practices, cover for you. But why was she hospitalized?"

She twisted uncomfortably in her seat. "The doctors aren't sure…" Kim hedged carefully, her voice high-pitched. However, her lying skills were anything but adequate. If there was one thing she detested about her abilities, it was the inability to tell even a single, tiny white lie—she simply couldn't do it, and Rudy knew that.

Rudy merely arched an eyebrow and waited patiently.

"…But they think she has anorexia," Kim finally divulged. "She was so thin, didn't have any food inside her…and my mom wants me back there at least for a day to see her and maybe cheer her up. I'll probably get back in the afternoon on Saturday, I'm spending tomorrow back in Tennessee and I'm leaving tonight. I don't think I'll be able to play in the game, though, so I thought I should warn you."

Rudy shook his head in sorrow, "I'm so sorry. Tell your sister I said hi and that I hope she gets better, okay? I'm sorry you have to deal with this now…among other things."

He didn't have to specify what "other things" he was implying but Kim already knew that he was referencing the Ricky "Fiasco" that had taken place last year, and she flushed scarlet. "I'm over that, Rudy. And again, I'm sorry for everything that happened."

Rudy waved it off casually, which deepened the guilt constricting Kim's chest. "Kim, I know you're genuinely sorry and I've forgiven you a hundred times. We all make mistakes and you're not perfect. However, I'm really worried about Courtney—and you. So make sure you keep your health up, okay? I know you've been working really hard during practices but don't overwork yourself. You need rest and relaxation as well."

Kim remembered suddenly that Rudy had used to coach her older sister, once upon a time—it explained why he was so concerned. Courtney was the perfect older daughter of the Crawford family and though Kim resented her sometimes for getting all the attention she was still worried nonetheless—they were family, after all.

"Thanks for understanding," Kim nodded as she stood up. "I have to go, I gotta catch the bus to the airport leaving in about ten minutes."

Rudy pushed his chair back and rose in tandem with her, smiling sympathetically. "Of course. Take it easy. Do you want me to pass on a message to the team? Words of encouragement for the game, notes, small tidbits of wisdom?"

"I'm not a fortune cookie," Kim shook her head, a slight smile appearing on her lips, before the two fell into an awkward silence.

Rudy waited expectantly for a real answer.

The note in her pocket seemed to be burning a hole through her jeans and finally she pulled it out, a piece of notebook paper with written instructions and diagrams she'd been hard-pressed to write down before leaving her dorm and saying her goodbyes to Grace. Kim had been trying to hurry and think up formations as fast as she could, as she wanted to leave enough time for her meeting with Rudy.

She now pulled out the sheet reluctantly, offering the folded paper to the soccer coach. "Don't tell any of the other players about this until gametime," she requested. "Please. It leaves instructions in there for the game and a captain in everything, because I'm probably not going to get back. Pretend Grace gave it to you because I was too sick to deliver it in person."

To his credit, Rudy didn't even hazard a sneaky glance at the paper, heeding her wishes. "Of course."

"Thanks," Kim nodded gratefully before checking her phone and shouldering her duffel bag. "I have to go now, or I'll miss my bus."

Rudy smiled and added, "Take all the time you need."

The one thing Kim had learned since arriving at Bobby Wasabi Private School was that she, in fact, didn't have all the time in the world.

And that time couldn't fix everything.

However, she merely put on a brave face and turned around, coming to a stop at the office door before composing herself and her facial expression, trying to seem strong—for herself and for the rest of the world.

Kim opened the door and left, closing it behind her with finality.


Kat stared straight ahead, refusing to let a single emotion appear on her face. Her dark eyes focused instead on a pink wad of chewed gum stuck unceremoniously on the opposite wall, and her eyebrows drew together in slight disgust.

"I can't believe you."

Kat's head immediately snapped to the side, her piercing eyes seeking out the source of the voice—a very, very familiar figure turning the corner of the hall right next to her. His dark brown hair was slightly messy, as if he'd run here in a hurry, his dark green blazer slung over his shoulder haphazardly.

Her voice was neutral, cold. "Believe it."

Kyle plopped down next to her on the bench outside of the principal's office, examining her with his intense blue gaze. Refusing to acknowledge the fact that she felt uncomfortable under his penetrating stare—though not for the most obvious reason one might think—she merely tilted her head just a centimeter higher and continued to stare forward.

"Why on earth did you punch Randy Hale in the face?" Kyle demanded after another second of silence. "Are you crazy?"

"No," Kat's voice took on a sharper edge. "You know me, Kyle."

"Exactly," Kyle enunciated slowly, deliberately, as if she were a misbehaving child and he the adult. "And I know that you don't just punch guys in the face for no reason. You may have PMS the entire month instead of just a few days—"

A corner of Kat's mouth twitched up in the tiniest hint of a grin.

"—But you do not just punch guys in the face, not even if they're assholes like Randy. So, explain," Kyle finished, a triumphant look on his face.

The slight hint of Kat's smile disappeared instantly, and she kept her face stoic, her tone giving away nothing as she replied, "Randy was pissing me off."

"You sent him to the nurse with a bruise covering half his face," Kyle rolled his eyes. "Not that I'm complaining, but I think he did a bit more than just piss you off. What's going on?"

Something in Kat's gaze faltered, but she turned away from him and back to the wall. "He accused me of cutting myself."

If she'd bothered to look at Kyle's face, she would have noticed a brief flash of pain cross it—but she was still staring determinedly at the wall, as if it held answers and time would reveal them all. Kyle shut his eyes before breathing out, almost inaudibly, "Are you?"

Kat inhaled sharply, a sudden intake of air that sent oxygen whistling down her throat, expanding her lungs just a little too much. She thought he'd dropped the topic during the night at the movies, and here it was again, come back to bite her in the ass because she hadn't killed the rumor when it had been fresh. "That's none of your business."

"Of course it is!" Kyle's voice was taking on an angry edge now, and he pressed on, "Kat, you and I are best friends—if you're hurting yourself, I need to stop you."

She thought back to the scars on her arm, and her eyelids fluttered closed impatiently as she snapped back, "No, you don't!"

"So you admit that you're cutting yourself!"

"I did no such thing."

Pause.

"Can…" Kat struggled to compose her face again. "Can we please just talk about something else?"

Kyle was quiet for a long moment before his hand tentatively reached out and brushed some of her hair back from her shoulders, sending electricity tingling up her spine. "When did you cut your hair?"

Her fingers reached up as well, accidentally bumping into Kyle's before he removed his hand from her shoulder. She tugged on a lock of the dark hair, shrugging. "This morning, in my dorm bathroom. Emma helped me cut it off, I didn't feel like waiting for the weekend. It's just hair, anyway."

"It's what, four inches shorter?"

Kat thought back to how much hair had been in the trash can when she'd left for school. Her long, glossy hair had originally cascaded down to the middle of her back but now it had been chopped shorter—shorter than she'd been accustomed to, anyway. Her roommate, Emma, had done a pretty decent job of cutting in a straight line, and it was good enough for Kat; it was even and straight. "Something like that. Now that I think about it, it looks horrid."

"I don't know," Kyle smirked, his blue eyes catching the light and sparkling at her for just a fraction of a second. "It makes you look…older. I think it's very—"

"Katerina Chen?"

The principal's office door swung open, and Mr. Wasabi's assistant stepped out, an iPhone in one hand and a clipboard gripped in the other.

"Yeah?" Kat answered, her voice and expression stoic once more. "What's the verdict?"

Mrs. Turner glanced down at her clipboard. "After careful consideration, Mr. Wasabi has reviewed your current situation and concluded that you were goaded and aggravated into doing what you did. However, this cannot go unpunished."

Kat's right eyebrow rose dangerously. "…Oh?"

"Yes," she nodded, businesslike. "You will serve detention for an entire day with Mrs. Whelan."

Kat wasn't concerned—it wasn't her first time getting detention, although she abstained from receiving them too often. "When?"

"This Saturday."

Kat's mouth dropped open. "I—"

An outraged expression appeared on Kyle's face, and before Kat could stop him, he'd stood up. "Mrs. Turner, there's a soccer game this Saturday! Kat has an obligation to the team!"

"Well, maybe she should have considered that before taking physical action against another student," Mrs. Turner returned crisply. "Very well, Miss Chen, you are free to go."

Kat swung her book bag onto her shoulder and started down the hall, fury beginning its familiar burn through her veins. Out of all the days she could have gotten detention in an entire week, Mr. Wasabi had to put it on a Saturday? The day of all the soccer games? Soccer was one of the only damn things she looked forward to at this school anymore, and now—

"Hey, hey!" Kyle placed a hand on her shoulder, slowing his jog to match her hurried pace. "Don't feel bad, it's just one game."

Kat fixed him with a sardonic stare. "Don't feel bad? Don't feel bad?"

Kyle nodded slowly.

Kat snorted, turning away. "It's too late for that."


"She's sick?" Jack repeated incredulously.

Grace threw up her hands, projecting the perfect picture of concern mixed with exasperation. "Yeah, she's in bed with a high fever. No one's allowed to see her."

Lying was one of the many things that came naturally to Grace West, though she usually never used it for selfish reasons. Grace balanced the ball between her feet as she and Jack stood at the edge of the goal, waiting for their turns to run sprints down the field.

Grace felt the most guilty lying to Jack out of all the players on the team—probably because while Jack was not just the new player, he had this…altruistic aura around him that he probably didn't even know he possessed, and he probably valued honesty above several other personality traits. Plus, Jack was still oblivious to the biggest secret the team held, mainly revolving around Kim—and Jerry.

"Well, that's great," Grace heard Jack mutter sarcastically to himself. She caught his next words, "Kat is already banned from playing in the next game because she blew her top and punched someone and landed herself in detention—"

"I thought it was pretty badass of her," Grace commented offhandedly, before holding her hands up in surrender to Jack's skeptical, narrowed glance. "But yeah, she needs to calm her temper down a little bit before she ends up getting kicked off the team completely."

Jack nodded in agreement before suddenly asking, "Is Kim going to be at tomorrow's game?"

"Are you kidding me?" Grace snorted incredulously. "Jack, she's in bed. As in, sick with a fever over one hundred degrees! She won't be able to play! She might make it to the game at the end to watch but she's not in playing condition."

A wave of guilt crashed inside of her again as she took note of Jack's slightly disappointed expression before it was the aforementioned brunet's turn to start his sprint. Jack took off down the field, dribbling the ball expertly between his feet and effectively cutting off their conversation.

Rudy was running practices today and Grace was thankful that no one else had noticed the secretive glance they'd exchanged at the beginning of the practice, as if Rudy was verifying that Grace really did know the real truth about Kim's absence today and vice versa. Grace was fully aware of the fact that she had to play her part, and convincingly too—only Rudy and the other teachers of the school knew the reason why Kim had suddenly disappeared from the student eye and Grace had been careful to keep her dorm room locked and she refrained from letting anyone inside.

Jack jogged up back to her from his sprint, his breathing slightly hitched, and Grace shot off like a rocket, zooming down the field, dribbling the ball easily, the movements now coming naturally to her. She took a shot at Jerry at the other end of the field, who was in the goal—of course—but her mind must have been elsewhere today, because he caught her soccer ball quite easily.

"Wow, Grace," Jerry teased as he tossed the ball back to her with a wink. "You're a little off today, aren't you?"

"Shut it, Martinez," Grace returned as she finally allowed herself to giggle and struggled to hold back the blush that had appeared at his teasing and intense gaze. "I'd like to see you do better."

Before Jerry could reply, Julie had taken a shot at the goal and Grace took it as her cue to dribble back down the field. The sprint back was filled with slight disappointment and confusion; butterflies seemed to have begun to flutter around in her stomach for no apparent reason.

As soon as she crossed the line and Kelsey had started her sprint, Jack once again roped her into a conversation. "How is Kim doing?"

"Uh…" Grace grasped at random excuses in her mind in a panic, as Jack's genuine brown eyes were waiting for an answer. "She's sweating. A lot. High fever, headache, you know? And it doesn't help that she's, um, on…her…uh…period?"

The words achieved the desired effect she'd been hoping to produce: Jack's brown eyes had widened in slight alarm, and though she had to give him credit for not turning red she didn't miss his suddenly awkward expression. "Oh…"

"Yeah," Grace pressed forward eagerly, satisfied with her newfound excuse. "She's on her period, and don't tell her I told you this or she'll kill me, but all the cramps and stuff are making her—"

Jack looked highly uncomfortable. "Yeah, I get it."

He turned away jerkily, as if recovering from a blow Grace had just dealt. Inwardly, Grace praised herself for her cleverness. Jack probably wouldn't prod about Kim's current health state any further, for which Grace was glad—because she really had nothing to deliver.

The period excuse worked for everything.


"I can't believe she's sick," Jack emphasized yet again.

Jerry tossed an unconcerned glance at Jack, while Milton and Eddie watched eagerly. "Dude, chillax. It's just a fever. A high one, but know, just a fever. It's not like she's gonna die or anything."

The four teammates were inside Jerry and Jack's spacious dorm room, contemplating tomorrow's game with a war-like mindset. One of their key defenders—Kat—had gotten herself detention, and now their main leader, their captain, was gone.

"You seem worried," Eddie observed as Jack continued to pace back and forth. "Mind telling us why?"

"He's worried about Kim, obviously," Milton supplied primly before Jack could offer up an explanation. "And the fact that she has a really high fever."

Eddie rolled his eyes. "I know that. What I want to know is why he's so worried. Sure, we're all worried about Kim—she's our captain. But it's only a fever, even if it is a high one. I have a feeling that if it were me or you with the fever," Eddie nodded at Milton, "he wouldn't be pacing back and forth, looking like he needs to pee his pants."

Jerry flicked glances between the other three teenagers before stating, "I'm confused."

Jack ignored him as he turned to answer Eddie's question. "I would too be equally worried! I'm just…a little suspicious, is all. Grace seemed a little off when she told me that Kim had a really high fever at practice and when I tried to visit Kim after dinner to just see how she was doing, Grace wouldn't let me in."

"So, that's normal," Milton pointed out. "Kim probably doesn't want to get anyone else sick."

"But…" Jack could tell that he was losing any point of view he might have gotten the others to see. "She's…sick! I know she doesn't have pneumonia or something serious like that but I'm surprised that you guys aren't more concerned about her. She's your best friend, and you're sitting here like she just needs to have a cough drop and some Tylenol and then she'll be fine."

Milton shrugged as Jack whipped around again, striding to the other wall in his determined pacing. "Maybe you're just too worried."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jack stopped completely in his tracks and sank down onto his bed next to Eddie.

"Well," Milton reasoned. "You're right, none of us are that worried about Kim—mainly because we know that while it's bad, sickness is a normal thing. You seem to be overreacting, which leads me to think that this doesn't just stem from your worry about Kim's health."

Jack paused, "You lost me there. Mind speaking English?"

"Hold up," Eddie raised a hand. "I speak fluent Milton-language. What he means to say is that he thinks you like Kim."

Jack appraised Milton with questioning eyes and when the intelligent midfielder didn't make any move to deny the claims, Jack finally accepted that Eddie did, in fact, work as an accurate translator.

"Of course I like Kim," Jack shrugged it off. "She's the captain, isn't she?"

"As more than a friend," Eddie hinted slowly.

Jack considered the words for a few seconds before shaking his head vehemently, refusing to let any incriminating emotion show on his face. "Nope, no way. I don't like her like that—and I can't believe you guys would think about something at a time like this! When she's sick!"

"Yep, he totally likes her," Milton nodded to Eddie knowingly.

Jack didn't miss the slightly worried glance Eddie was giving him, and Jack suspected that it wasn't just because of the fact that Jack was obsessing over Kim's high fever—Eddie still remembered the phone conversation that he'd eavesdropped on last week. Jack had completely forgiven him for listening in the first place, because Eddie's curiosity had simply taken over during those few minutes—but it still didn't change the fact that he feared that Eddie knew his one biggest secret.

"I don't like Kim like that," Jack said with conviction. "Now can we please talk about something else?"

Milton raised an eyebrow, and Jack steeled himself for something smart to come popping out of his mouth. "You were so eager to debate over Kim's slightly suspicious fever just about three minutes ago and now you're begging us to change the situation? Sounds like someone has something to hide…" Milton smirked, confident with the knowledge that he had Jack pinned down.

"Jack loves Kim?" Jerry raised his head from his pillow sleepily. It appeared that the Latino goalie had been taking a short nap of sorts while the other three were conversing about Kim.

Jack shook his head hurriedly at the same time Milton and Eddie nodded theirs, with identical grins on their faces.

"Okay, cool," Jerry mumbled before dropping his head back onto his pillow. "Just don't let the penguins bite me, okay? Oh-kay…swagalicious, yo…"

Milton, Jack, and Eddie traded confused glances with each other before simply shaking their heads and continuing on with their conversation.


The day of the game dawned bright and sunny, though it was nowhere near as hot as their last game had been; in fact, a cold front seemed to have blown in, twisting the air so it seemed like a blustery fall day. Jack had chosen to put the dehydration episode/fiasco out of his mind and instead focused on this game and making his plays better and more accurate.

It was now early afternoon, about two o'clock, and they were due to start at two thirty. Everyone had an edgy look to them, and even Jack felt the same way the team did—nervous, now that they were missing two very talented players. Jack had heard nothing exceptional about the team they were facing but he'd lost a game or two in his past experience by underestimating his opponents due to his arrogance.

Needless to say, he'd learned from that.

Jerry's usual sparkle was toned way down as he threw the ball to himself, strapping on his goalie gloves in the process, catching the soccer ball every single time. "First Kim has a fever, and now Kat has detention. We're totally screwed…"

Jack chanced a glance at Rudy and noticed that the coach was rummaging through his large bag of soccer equipment before finally freeing a slightly crumpled, folded sheet of paper.

"Hey, guys," Rudy called out, and the team gathered in their usual huddle, a circle surrounding the coach. "Before I left, I managed to get this note from Kim about this game. Unfortunately, she's still sick but she said she'd try to make it to the end of the game."

Rudy held the note out and Jack made a grab for it, the rest of the team pressing closer to him in attempts to catch sight of the message.

Jack never seen Kim's handwriting before but it was round and large. He was surprised to see that she dotted some of her letters with hearts—yes, hearts—but then, he remembered that she wasn't just a soccer captain, she was a regular teenage girl. *

Sorry I can't be here for the game today—I really am sick. You all will do great, I know it. This is one of the most cliché things I've ever said, but I think it fits this situation—believe in yourselves and you'll do great. Here's a plan for the first half, if you all need inspiration and a rough estimate of where to put everyone:

Below that, she'd drawn up a rough diagram of what players she thought would be helpful in starting the game. Jack skimmed right over the diagram, not even bothering to seek out his name as he was interesting in seeing what other words she'd written.

I'll try my hardest to get recover before the end of the game so I can see you guys play at least a little bit, even if I won't be able to be in the game myself.

Oh, before I forget, she'd scribbled, the words becoming hastier and hastier as they neared the end of the page, losing their slightly girly edge. I'm assigning a replacement captain for this game. He'll be able to make changes, do what he thinks is right. Once I tell you who it is, you may be surprised—and so am I, for making this decision, but…I have a feeling he'll be good enough.

C for this game: Jack Anderson

I'm sure he'll be very helpful. Good luck, guys!

Kim

Jack's mouth formed a perfectly rounded O as he finished reading the note and he stumbled back slightly in shock, nearly toppling into Julie, who moved out of his way just in time.

He was captain?

Jerry had completed his examination of the paper before Jack—that was actually the fastest Jack had ever seen him read—and he clapped him on the back in obvious congratulation and delight. "Replacement captain, Jack!" Jerry crowed, evidently cheerful, gaining some of his old happiness back. "Guess the ice queen does have some warmth in her, right?"

"Kim hates me," Jack pointed out, his tone sharper than he had intended it to be, surprise rubbing his voice raw. He managed to utter a small cough before continuing, "Why would she assign me as captain?"

Eddie joined the conversation, retying his cleats as he added in thoughtfully, "Maybe she's had a change of heart. Or maybe it's just a test, right? Anyway, she's never assigned a replacement captain before—are you really going to turn this opportunity down?"

By now, the white paper had circulated throughout the whole team, and Jack was met with several expectant glances. Milton, Jerry, and Eddie—hell, everyone was smiling at him encouragingly.

"Well?" Milton prodded.

Jack shrugged uneasily. It wasn't that he didn't have the experience—he was practically lousy with experience. He had been the team-appointed captain of his old select team. He was familiar with assigning people positions, taking people out, substituting people in the game. However, it had been a long time since he'd actually played the almighty role of captain, and still wasn't completely familiar with everyone's playing styles and fortes.

But hey, he was Jack Goddamn Anderson. He didn't back down from a challenge, regardless of how great it was.

Jack nodded at Rudy's questioning expression. "I'll do it."

Most of the teammates cheered supportively, and Jack managed a tight smile at all of them before glancing down at the formations she'd drawn up, checking to see if he had to make any changes.

His eyebrows drew together in slight confusion as his eyes roved over the line of defenders, written in Kim's feminine hand. Kim had placed Kat in her usual place, a defender, which struck Jack as odd—hadn't Kim heard that Kat had been banned from playing this game just on Thursday night? Shouldn't she have made corrections?

Weird.

It was possible that it could have just slipped Kim's mind, but Jack couldn't shake the feeling that something was off about this. Kim didn't make mistakes, not when it came to soccer.

However, he chose to brush it off. There were more important things to be worrying about and the newly acquired pressure of being assigned captain tugged at his mind, begging to be heard. Jack borrowed a pen from Rudy and made minor adjustments to the lineup before presenting it to the coach.

Rudy nodded agreeably, "Good plan."

Jack finally allowed himself a grin, the familiar rush of power that came with being captain stealing through his veins again. It had been a while since he'd assumed the position of leading a soccer team but he had not forgotten how to do it.

He clapped his hands sharply, and everyone else quieted down.

"Right, so here's how we're going to start off the game…"


Kim sank back against the soft seat, the humming engine of the airplane blending into the background as she allowed herself to relax for the slightest fraction of a second.

"Can I take your cup?"

Kim's eyes opened at once and she looked up into the face of one of the flight attendants, pushing a cart now filled with empty plastic cups that had previously held beverages.

"Sure."

After the flight attendant had taken her cup with a smile, Kim leaned back again, pulling out her phone and checking the time. The Wasabi Warriors were no doubt starting their game now, if they hadn't already begun. Kim's flight was landing shortly but she knew firsthand how long it took to pass through the terminals and find her way out of an airport.

Then, of course, there was the actual issue of getting to the field complex.

Her visit back home to Tennessee for all of one day had been…interesting. The entire time, she hadn't been able to stop worrying about the choices she'd made for the lineup and whether assigning Jack to captain had been a wise decision. She remembered Rudy mentioning something about how Jack had previously held the role of captain on his old select soccer team, and that was what had finally convinced her to let him take her position.

She just hoped it was going well.

Kim struggled to prevent different pictures from flashing in her mind—snapshots of her sister, lying in the hospital bed, as thin as all get-out and so, so pale. Kim had been trying in vain for several hours to erase those horrible images but they were burned into her brain, there to haunt her for the rest of her life.

Why? That was the only question Kim had asked herself since seeing her sister early Friday morning for the first time. She couldn't fathom a single reason why Courtney would have been so insecure as to starve herself to lose weight. Courtney was already thin and in a perfectly healthy weight range—why limit herself to one apple slice and three saltines a day and burn all of that already minimal energy on a treadmill, for hours at a time?

Courtney had seemed to cheer up upon seeing Kim next to her in the hospital and they'd just chatted for a while, Kim's parents leaving Courtney under Kim's care while they went out and grabbed breakfast. Kim had reluctantly confessed to her older sister about what had been happening on the soccer team—from the fact that one of her teammates might be cutting to potential budding romances to the new kid that had shown up, with loads of talent practically rolling off of him in waves.

After Kim had described Jack to Courtney, the latter had winked and said, "Oh, he sounds like a hottie. Is he cute?"

Kim had immediately turned red.

"I bet he is…"

At Courtney's knowing smirk, Kim had chosen to merely pull out her phone and proceeded to open up Jack's Instagram profile, and Courtney's grin had grown even wider, the latter seeming completely like her old self again, despite the pale, stretched skin and the bags under her eyes. "Yep, he's cute. Get him if you can."

At that point, Kim's parents had returned and a) blushing too hard to act normal and b) unwilling to engage in another fight with her mother, Kim had simply walked out to go get a drink from the cafeteria.

The rest of the day had passed by agonizingly slow, and after explaining to Courtney that she couldn't afford to take anymore time off of school, Kim had spent the night in her old house before waking up, visiting her sister one last time, and heading to the airport.

Alone, of course.

"We will be landing in San Jose shortly. Please buckle your seatbelts, right your seats in their original position, and put your tray tables up. Thank you for flying with us."

Kim snapped her tray table back and braced herself, leaning back as the plane started to pitch forward.

Time to go back to school.

Kim didn't think those words had ever been so appealing.


"Come on, guys," Jack gritted his teeth. "We can do this."

Grace and Kyle—whom he'd moved up to play as forward—watched him with serious gazes, determination hardening their eyes.

Jack couldn't deny the desperation that was now starting to take a hold of him. There was about ten minutes left in the second half and that was enough to get one more goal in. The score was tied 1-1—Jack had scored the first goal—and Jack was not going to leave from this game with anything else but a win.

Not even a tie would satisfy him.

Plus, he felt that he had the need to prove himself to the entire team—not just Rudy or Kim. Jack Anderson knew how to be a damn good captain, and coming out with a win would just help his case even further.

What infuriated him the most was that the other team wasn't even much of a challenge—their defense was extremely sloppy—but the Wasabi Warriors seemed to lacking their usual fire today, what with two players missing and a sudden, new change in leadership.

Focus, Jack reprimanded himself.

Oh, and win, he added as an afterthought.

Tensing up, Jack received the ball easily, a long pass that had come up from their defense, and almost immediately Jack, Grace and Kyle spread out, splitting into three different branches and thoroughly confusing the other team.

Good.

Jack took it a few feet before stepping back and sending it flying across the field, soaring above Kyle's head crossing it over to Grace. Jack continued to push up the field, edging closer to the goal as he watched Grace receive the ball—

Out of desperation, the midfielder on the other team practically tackled Grace, slamming into her slight figure and knocking her over, her back now flattened against the grass. However dirty that trick might have been, Jack had to admit that it had achieved the opposing team's desired effect—the midfielder passed it all the way up to their forwards, who immediately began pressing forward with it.

Jack was torn between helping the defense and checking to see if Grace was okay—the brunette was still lying on the ground, though struggling to get up. As Jack watched, Grace slowly straightened up, nodded at the referee next to her, and continued to jog with a slightly pained expression on her face.

Jack cursed under his breath as he finally pulled his eyes away from Grace and realized that the other team had somehow managed to make it past the Wasabi Warriors' defense and shoot the ball—only Jerry's excellent goalie skills stopped the score from becoming 2-1.

Thank god for Jerry.

The little clock inside Jack's head continued to tick down, and he estimated that they had about five minutes left before the game ended completely.

And somewhere, in the back of his mind, he noted that Kim had still not come to the game yet.

Jerry's punt landed somewhere in the midfield, where Milton dived for it, overshot it a little, and sent it flying out of bounds, much to the other team's delight.

Damn. The faster they scored the goal the better, and though Jack didn't blame Milton in the slightest for accidentally kicking it out, even Jack had to admit that they were running on limited time—and time in this game right now was everything.

The other team threw it in, a long pass that landed right in front of Eddie, who bounced it off his chest before winding back and aiming it straight to Kyle. Spurred into action, Jack jogged quickly to Kyle's right and waited in case the center forward needed someone to pass it off to—Kyle was charging straight up the middle of the field and defenders were beginning to swarm him.

Jack noticed that Kyle did perfectly fine. The forward's blue eyes were manic with a sort of adrenaline Jack had seen in his fellow teammates before and Jack was suddenly glad that Kyle was finally get his chance to shine.

"Shoot!" Jack screamed, a minute later, after Kyle had neared the goal enough to take a good shot. Kyle complied, and Jack watched, as it seemed to be soaring in—

The goalie lunged for it and while the goalkeeper didn't catch it fully, he tipped it sideways and out of bounds.

Corner kick.

Jack swore under his breath, taking care not to be heard by the referee four feet from him, and was thankful for the fact that he didn't even have to tell Grace what to do. The brunette had already grabbed the ball from behind the goal and sprinted toward the corner, fully aware that their time was running out and if they didn't make a goal, quick, this game would end in a very unsatisfying tie.

And Jack Anderson did not accept ties.

1-1, 1-1, 1-1…

The score repeated over and over again in his head, a very annoying mantra, as he positioned himself slightly to the side, edging farther from the goal and into a small space where there were no defenders pressing in on him. He watched as Grace took several large steps back, took the referee's nod as confirmation, and bounded forward, crossing it high—

Jack dived to the side and received the ball, controlling the pass with his feet while his head snapped up, frantically searching for any potential threats in his immediate area.

An openmouthed Kyle, right at the edge of the goal, calling for the ball—

No time.

Three defenders, in three different directions, all starting to rush him at once, as if they were robots and their controller had set them to KILL mode.

He needed to shoot—now!

Jack took a deep breath.

Steeled himself.

Shut his eyes for a fraction of a second.

Prayed to whatever god or deity there was in the universe.

And kicked it, as hard as he could.


Maybe later, Jack would remember that the whole time, Rudy had been screaming his head off at him, or that the crowd was cheering so loudly that it had hurt his eardrums.

It was quite possible that he would recall Grace practically screeching in victory, regardless of the disheveled state of her once-perfect ponytail and her usual, glamorous demeanor, before the brunette had sprinted all the way back to the other end of the field and practically tackled Jerry in a hug.

The next few minutes after the ball had swished into the net had passed in a sort of numbing daze.

He was vaguely aware of the fact that the whole team had swarmed him, right next to the other goal, and they'd jumped up and down for at least half a minute in sweaty victory. Rudy had eventually just moved the team huddle from the bench to the center of the field, and made a short speech containing congratulatory words, but Jack had barely registered them. He remembered something about Rudy praising him on being a good captain for this game, and Jack had just nodded slightly.

Jack had been pretty much ready to start leading the team to the bus when he realized that he still hadn't picked up the ball from the net, where it had lain, forgotten, these past few minutes. The game ball was their school's and they couldn't just forget it.

He jogged slowly back to the goal, acknowledging congratulatory shouts from his classmates that had come to see the game, and crouched down to pick it up.

Something inside him, an instinct, made him look up.

A very, very familiar blonde was standing above him, on the other side of the net, just a few feet away, merely staring down at him. Jack couldn't believe he'd missed her in the first place. Her eyes weren't intimidating, or antagonistic, or calculating—they were simply trained on him and focused on his face, as if she was pondering what to say.

She had her soccer bag slung over her shoulder and looked as if she were exhausted, but that didn't lessen the intensity of her gaze as Jack stood up slowly to meet her, the game ball forgotten, his nerves acting up once again.

Jack had no doubt that she'd seen the goal he'd made.

Kim smiled—an actual, genuine grin, before dropping her eyes down to the ball still stuck in the net with a slightly curious expression.

"I might get tired of saying this…but nice goal."


A/N: I usually hate putting little notes or numbers in the actual chapter because it ruins the flow of the story but I starred one sentence above, and it was during the explanation of Kim's handwriting. I want to point out that her handwriting is really like this, as shown in the episode "Reality Fights". I analyzed all their handwritings during the 'introductions' to the reality show (because I'm obsessed like that) and I thought the styles fit each character's personality quite well. I also noticed that my own handwriting is most similar to Jack's—just a random fact about me.

I'd like to explain a bit more about Kim's character in this particular story, as I've gotten some reviews interested as to why I've made her a bit OOC. The Kimberly Crawford we know on the show is sarcastic and feisty, but even I don't think she's as cold as she is in this story. Keep in mind that PlayingToWin!Kim also has a backstory revolving around Ricky and the rest of the Black Dragons that has shaped her character into what she is now. I assure you that she will change a little later on, but her trust in anyone, not just Jack, has been a little...broken, to put it simply.

Anyway, I hope that cleared up some confusion about Kim's character in this story and I hope her mean demeanor is not hurting your interest in "Playing To Win".

Review, please!