A/N: A smaller, quieter chapter. Our couple separates for a week. Kim's perspective. The next chapter is mostly done, so it would be probably the normal update schedule.

Jack and his grandfather leave to go back to Seaford after Santa Rosa. That night, after... after (Kim can't even vocalize it in her own head), they all had dinner together and the two teens said their official goodbyes with a chaste kiss. They could not do anything else with her dad there. They texted mushy little messages to each other ('i'll miss you' and 'i miss you already'), but Kim slept poorly, partly because of the memories of what they have done on this very bed earlier in the day, and partly because she was missing him very much.

She wakes up to a chirping noise from her phone at 6 in the morning and it's Jack, texting her to come down to the lobby. Oh, he's here. Heart hammering hard in her chest, Kim scrambles to throw on Jack's hoodie that she took earlier in the trip and runs to the lobby uncaring that she is essentially in a tank top and pajama pants. He is waiting for her by the elevators and the moment the doors open she takes a running jump into his arms and they are kissing. She hasn't had chance to brush her teeth, but it does not seem to be a problem, because Jack's tongue is already invading her mouth and they clutch at each other desperately. There is some sort of big potted plant or a tree near the elevators and Jack's walks them to stand behind the plant for some sort of privacy. Which is a problem, because now Kim's back is against the wall and Jack is pressing her into in and Kim is only aware of him, his scent, his strong body in front of her, as his kisses literally take her breath away. She can already feel the heat between them rising and makes a monumental effort to push him off slightly. He leans back, but his hips are still fused to hers and she can certainly feel him now.

"Jack... we can't... you have to go..." she whispers just as she runs her hand over his chest.

"I know, I know... Just had to see you and kiss you properly..." his answering whisper is a little breathy and she is proud that she makes him sound like that.

He takes a full step back and they walk to the door, holding hands and making googly eyes at each other.

It's only when she's actually on the plane, like physically thousands of feet in the air, travelling at God-knows-what speed to a different state, that it fully hits her, everything that happened with Jack. She imagines that she is on a different plane, going to a different country and then it nearly wrecks her, this knowledge that whatever she and Jack are doing would be the last time any of that will ever happen until she is back almost a year later. The stolen glances, kisses, make-outs, quiet knowledge that she loves him, all just. Over.

(And of course there's everyone else, too. Mom, dad, friends and other family - they're all still fresh on her mind, too.)

But there was some desperation to their last kiss, in the hotel lobby, like this coming week-long separation is a preview of what it would be like if she goes to Otai.

Well, she thought she could handle it.

But.

After everything that's happened, she doesn't think her feelings for him can be easily put away. She now thinks it would be unreasonably hard to pull away and plaster on a smile and choke out a goodbye.

It's cold in Portland.

Her heavier jacket is stuffed at the bottom of her suitcase, so she wraps his hoodie tighter around herself, shivering, while she waits for her bags to roll round. Her dad is surprisingly quiet and only smiles at her when she looks morose at the scenery passing by. He has to go to work for the rest of the day and they make plans to have dinner. For her part, Kim more than anything just wants to sleep.

She leaves everything unpacked to deal with later.

Before going to bed, she spends an inordinate amount of time thinking about home.

Kim sends two messages to Jack - 'missing you already' and ten minutes later 'i hope you're handling this better than i am.'

She replays their moments from the end of the school year party til this morning like a movie montage again and again.

When she wakes up, some 2 hours later, with the muted light is filing through the shabby wooden blinds, it takes her a second to remember where she is.

Her cheek, pressed into her pillow, feels sticky and itchy and raw with dried tears.

Kim shakes off her gloomy attitude (rather she stuffs it deep down for a time being) and tries to focus on the touristy parts of the travel. She has not been in Portland before and there is no family here, but Kim is determined to make the best of the situation. So she unpacks, grabs warmer jacket and goes to explore around their hotel. There is plenty to see, though she decides against science and nature attractions. She chooses the art museum and is glad for it. There are exhibits on the Native American art and she is taken with the feeling of this being a uniquely American thing. She actually buys the illustration book in the museum gift shop trying not to examine too closely why she is buying such keepsakes.

She is debating whether calling him now would be too soon or whether she should wait for him to call her, and how is it that she is stuck in this situation? Shouldn't their dating status makes things less awkward? Instead, she posts a picture from the museum vestibule and puts it on Twitter. She is no the most consistent of users, but she has sort of keeps the constant stream of updates of her trip.

She is at the small coffeehouse when her phone chirps and she sees that Jack has responded.

'Nice. And no ugly fish in sight! Can't wait for you to come back! There is plenty of pizza here...'

She's floored. Like, literally, she is a puddle of goo on the floor. She is squealing on the inside, because Jack is implying on public forum that he misses her and hints at that shared memories from the beginning of the trip. Oh, she can deal with one week of separation.

Her dad brings a co-worker to dinner, who brings her teen aged son with her. Apparently, dad has to stay in Portland an extra day and dad thinks Kim would be too bored here by herself. Luke is like a brunet version of Milton - he is skinny, tallish (enough to be taller than Kim, but not by much), and talks about their planned museum trip with excitement rivaling her red-headed friend. Kim shoots her dad a glare, but much too polite to decline so they agree to meet tomorrow at the hotel to explore the science museum of Portland.

When she is back at the hotel, she calls Jack and they chat about their respective days. Jack and his grandfather have been driving non-stop to make it back to Seaford and Jack is obviously tired. They end their talk with soft 'i miss you' and Kim drifts off to sleep with images of Jack's face (and his body) in her mind's eye.

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is actually better than Kim expected. It has the planetarium and Kim would admit that the night sky with stars is always a gorgeous view even if Luke is droning about constellations and distant planets. There are also hands-on, interactive exhibits that she thinks even Jerry would have liked. She tweets the picture of one of the exhibits, where circles made of various metals were put on the floor for people to step on and create sounds of various resonances. She feels like a kid jumping from circle to circle, but this is fun and she shrugs it off.

It's evening now and Kim had a quiet dinner with her dad at their rooms, because dad was busy with some reports and Kim was checking her phone for messages from Jack. He finally calls her and she answers on the first ring.

"Hey there! How are you? Are you almost in Seaford?"

"Yeah. I think we'll be there tomorrow for sure. How are you? Very much bored?" his tone is light, but the last part comes out weird. Like he stressed it out for some reason.

"I am fine. Had another educational day at the museum."

"I saw. Who is that guy you were with? I thought you don't have family in Portland." His tone is light, but the question is very pointed. Is he? Oh, wow... apparently Jack's jealous... Kim smiles to herself and relishes this fact.

"Luke is not my family. He is a son of my Dad's co-worker. Apparently Dad felt like I needed company here. But now he is done here in Portland and we are flying out to Seattle tomorrow." There, it should clear everything for Jack.

"Oh... So, four more days..."

"Yeah, four more days..."

She literally cannot wait this long.

Seattle is even colder than Portland and she misses Seaford with its nice, predictable and mild weather. She is not sure she likes all the rain, fog, mist and general humidity in the air. He hair is horrible: frizzy and hard to control. At least the family they are seeing her is nice. Her cousins are much younger than her and she does not have to do much sight-seeing, rather she is baby-sitting her younger relatives. It's nice. Kim got enough of the travelling, touristy things to last her a while and she enjoys being in a comfy home rather than impersonal hotels.

Jack is already in Seaford and they talk a lot. There is a lot if mindless chatter and general gossip about their friends, but it's all so familiar, like they've done countless times before and she is grateful that they are still friends, even if they are so much more now.

The last day before their flight is a slog. The night before her and Jack had come close to having a phone sex, if you can call it that. It started with the general 'I miss yous' and progressed to Jack's describing in some very heated details all the things he misses about kissing her, hugging her and being with her. She could barely sleep that night, tossing and turning, recalling all their firsts so far.

It is literally painful to watch the minutes pass by and Kim has been packed since that morning. Her Dad promised to wrap everything today and leave the office early, so that they can go home that evening. She did not think, could not imagine, that she would miss home (really, Jack) this much. Her aunty, who is a bit younger than her parents sits her down and asks probing questions until Kim spills most of details of her relationship with Jack (minus more intimate details). It feels so good to finally let it out and share with someone. Her aunt is thoughtful by the end of the story and only asks Kim if she know what she will do in the end of the summer. She is still not hundred percent sure, but she thinks she is definitely leaning one way.

Their plane lands at seven o'clock in the afternoon and Jack assured her that he would be waiting for her as soon as she got off. And as planned, she spots him ways away wearing a beaming smile. He didn't even try to hide his excitement behind his masculinity. She can't stop her hurrying steps even with her Dad present.

His bashful smile grows wide when he sees her walking towards him with a little hop in her step. Soon they are an arm's length apart and without skipping a beat, Jack steps up and wraps Kim in a tight embrace. He huffs out a laugh of excitement as his arms make their way around her entire body.

Kim, too overcome with emotion and excitement as well, giggles as she hugs him tightly, almost as if she is trying to meld their bodies together.

Still wrapped around her, Jack is the first to actually speak. "I missed you so much," he breathed into her hair. She agrees. It's funny, they'd spent entire summers apart before this one, but now after everything that's happened between them, she can't imagine being away from him for any amount of time.

Pressing her face against his chest she mumbles, "I missed you too." She rubs her hands along his back, just so grateful that he is actually there.

After another long moment of their embrace, they pull apart so they can look at one another. They entwine their hands and all Kim can think that it is very cliché fact that they are staring longingly at each other in an airport. "I'm going to kiss you now," he whispers as he smiles.

"What about my Dad and broken legs?" Kim smiles at him.

He laughs and leans in, cupping her face with both hands.

"I'll take that chance."

They are both smiling when their lips met. It is a sweet, lingering kiss. When Jack pulls away, staying only inches from her face, they share another smile. She thinks she can see the moment his eyes linger a little on her lips and he leans forward and kisses her once more. It is hungrier and frantic.

After a few moments, Kim speaks against his mouth between kisses, "Jack…Jack!"

"Hm?" He pulls away, his hands still holding her face.

"Airport. We're in an airport. Where my Dad can see us," she laughs.

He rests his forehead against hers, "Right. Let's go and get your luggage." He kisses her nose and finally releases her face.