Here's the new chapter! Thank you so much for reading!
A few months passed and everyone tried to get back to their normal lives. Sensei returned to teaching the ninja students and Cam was at his side. Shane, Tori, and Dustin officially graduated from the Ninja Storm Academy and began teaching. Blake and Hunter competed in more motocross races, with Kelly as their sponsor. They were good enough to soon be called "professional motocross riders."
Aisha and Kim returned to Geneva. They didn't really talk too much about what happened. Aisha sensed that Kim needed space and time to think without everyone hovering over her. They both quickly returned to work and picked up their old lives where they had left off. But now, Aisha kept up daily conversations with Adam, Jason, Tommy, and of course, Rocky. She and Billy emailed regularly and all of them always asked about Kim, but Kim refused to speak to any of them.
Billy returned to Aquitar. He resolved to keep in better touch with everyone and even decided that he would try and search for their other friends.
Adam returned to LA, back to stunt work on movies. He, too, kept in better touch with everyone and was already planning a trip to Geneva with Rocky to visit Aisha and Kim. He deeply worried about Kim and constantly called and emailed Aisha to keep updated with how Kim was doing. He also sent Kim a few emails, all of which had been replied to with a simple message that never told him much.
Rocky returned back to culinary school and was already looking for schools and possible scholarships to study abroad, so he could be closer to Aisha. After defeating Lothor, the two of them were able to talk to one another and they officially began dating each other. It had been a long time coming for both of them and they each regretted not saying anything to one another when they were in high school. But they learned from their past and were each willing and ready to move forward.
Jason briefly returned to the gym and his apartment to gather his things. He quickly broke his lease and his contract with the gym and decided to move to Reefside, with Tommy. He kept in constant contact with Kim and Aisha, hoping to help break Kim from her funk. When she left, a remnant of the light in her eyes returned. Now, he was working on getting the whole thing back. While he often spoke to Tommy about Kim, he respected both of their privacies, allowing for each other to talk about whatever they wanted with each other, but still keeping the confidence of each of them.
Tommy returned back to school and finished out the rest of his school year. He graduated with honors and gladly shared the moment with Adam and Jason. He kept in touch with Kim, but didn't want to push her too far. He knew that she was still dealing with the effects of what happened and the things that she had done and he wanted to give her space. They exchanged emails and even the occasional phone call, but it was limited to the niceties rather than meaningful conversations.
A few weeks after graduation, Tommy received a phone call from Anton Mercer, a fairly well-known paleontologist, who guest-lectured in Tommy's class a few times. Apparently, one of Tommy's professors passed his name over to Mercer.
"Hello?" Tommy asked lightly, not recognizing the phone number.
"Hi, is this Tommy Oliver?"
"Yes. Who is calling, may I ask?"
"This is Anton Mercer. I believe I lectured in one of your paleontology courses a few times. Dr. Trahan passed your name and phone number to me. I hope you don't mind."
"Oh no, no, of course not. What can I help you with?"
"I'm glad you asked. I asked Dr. Trahan if there would be any of his former students that may be interested in accompanying me and my team to an island where we would like to conduct some experiments. Learn a bit more about the Earth's dinosaur history. Would you be interested?"
Tommy's face lit up. "Yeah, yeah, that sounds like a great idea!"
"All right, I'll just get some information from you and we can set up a meeting to discuss further details if that is all right with you."
"Oh yeah, of course!"
They spoke for a few more minutes before Tommy hung up the phone. He gleefully whooped in the air and excitedly danced around the apartment while Jason watched him, amused.
"So what was that about?" he asked.
"Anton Mercer just asked me to join him on this trip to do some experiments on dinosaurs!"
Jason's eyes widened and he bit back a laugh. "Sounds like fun," he said in an amused voice.
"It will be."
"I'm sure." Tommy danced around again.
"So you're gonna go?"
"Why not? It sounds like an amazing opportunity. And I doubt I'll be able to ever find something like this again."
"That's true. It does sound like a great opportunity...if you like that sort of stuff," Jason teased. "I would've never pegged you to be the dinosaur type!"
"Why? I like dinosaurs."
"Uh, hello, Bro. You were a dragonzord. Key word: dragon," he emphasized.
"Yeah, well...dragons are mythical creatures! Dinosaurs at least existed at one point or another."
Jason laughed. "I guess. You go have fun with that." He made a face. "Seriously, though, Bro. I'm glad for you. You should go, it would be fun."
"I think I am."
"Yeah, whatever."
The two of them laughed as they settled down on the couch. Jason flipped through the channels until they saw a boxing match that the two of them were interested in. As soon as the match was over, they heard a loud knock from the door.
Tommy and Jason glanced at each other. It was late and they weren't expecting anybody to be there.
"Anybody you know?" Tommy asked.
Jason shook his head. "No."
"I'll get it." Tommy stretched as he stood up from the couch. He headed over to the door and peeked through the small peephole.
He saw a short, petite brunette standing outside the door, carrying a small duffle bag. He saw her wave off a cab as she briefly turned away from the door.
Tommy threw the door open and stood in the doorway, in utter awe at the sight of the person standing before him.
Kim gave him a small smile. She slid a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well...are you going to invite me in?" she asked softly.
"Oh...of course! Come in, Kim. How are you?" He stood aside and gave her a hug as she passed by him. He kissed the top of her head and shut the door behind her. He gestured to the couch that Jason had just vacated. "Have a seat."
Kim nodded and dropped her bag. She circled around, taking everything in. "Jason!"
Jason emerged from the kitchen with a surprised look on his face. "Kim! What are you doing here? Did you say you were coming?" He gave her a tight hug.
"No...I didn't say I was coming, but...Aisha knows...so I'm fine." She smiled at the two of them.
"How are you?" Jason asked, leading Kim to the couch. The two of them sat down on the couch while Tommy sat across from them.
"I'm good, I'm good," she said. "Really, I am."
"Are you..." Jason struggled to find the right word. "Adjusting well?"
Kim nodded slowly and shrugged her shoulders. "Some days are better than others, I guess."
"That's expected."
"Are you having more good days than bad?" Tommy asked.
Kim nodded again. "Yeah...more good days than bad. At least, it's getting that way."
"That's good. I'm glad."
Kim smiled at him. "Thank you. Aisha...Rocky, Adam...they've helped a lot. The two of them are actually over in Geneva right now..."
"Oh, that's right," Jason said. "Adam did mention something about visiting you guys."
Kim nodded. "Yeah, they're over there right now. But how are you guys?"
"Good, we're good."
"Oh...that's good." Kim looked around nervously. She kept looking back and forth between Tommy and Jason.
"Uh, well, I'm pretty tired," Jason said, standing up. He gave Kim a kiss on the forehead. "I'm glad you're here, Kim. Feel free to stay as long as you want." He looked at Tommy. "Extra blankets are over there, Tommy," he said, pointing. He walked out of the living room, leaving Tommy and Kim in private. He could tell that Kim wanted to talk to Tommy alone, but didn't want to be rude to Jason, so he let them be.
"So..." started Tommy.
"So..." repeated Kim. She smiled a bit. "Tommy, I-"
"Kim-"
They giggled nervously.
"Sorry," Tommy said. "You go."
"Tommy...I just want to thank you."
"For what, Kim?"
She waved her hands around. "Everything. I just...I don't know how to explain it, but...thank you."
Tommy looked at her in confusion. "I still don't-"
"Tommy...what happened...well...we've been through a lot. All of us, not just you and me. It's...it's really been hard just...just trying to get over everything. You asked me...a while ago...if I forgave myself. At the time, I didn't answer because...well, because I didn't. I blamed myself for everything that's happened and in some ways, I still do. But I think I'm getting better at it. I don't...I don't blame myself so often anymore. I think...I think I'm finding some way to forgive myself...but...I need a lot, a lot of help with it."
"You know that I'm here to help."
"I know. And thank you." Kim smiled at him and she put a hand on his hand. "I think...you said...well, you said that you forgave me for the letter."
"I do."
"Okay. And...I never forgave myself for it. I...even after you said that you forgave me-"
"And I meant it."
"Even after you said that you forgave me, I...still couldn't bring myself to face it. But...I think I have now." She looked at him, tears forming in her dark brown eyes. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry that since what happened, I've been so distant. I'm sorry our friendship suffered for my mistakes. I'm sorry I showed up out of the blue."
"You don't have to-"
"But I am, Tommy. I am."
Tommy nodded. "Okay." They both paused for a bit. "So why are you here, Kim?"
Kim took a deep breath. "I'm here...I'm here because...because I miss you. I miss hearing your voice everyday, I miss your laugh, I miss you always comforting me, always saving me..."
"You hardly need saving now."
"But I just...I miss you."
"I've missed you too, Kim."
"And...I don't know...I've talked it over with Aisha and Adam...but...I don't know..." Kim suddenly looked very shy.
"What's up?" Tommy glanced at her, concerned.
"I...I want to give it another go with the two of us. Try again. Me and you. Boyfriend, girlfriend. I mean, if you want to."
A number of thoughts ran through Tommy's head. The first was to turn away from her and play her the way she did him so long ago, by the lake. The second was to grab her face and kiss her like she's never been kissed before.
The second thought outweighed the first and Tommy lunged forward, grabbing Kim's face and pulled it into his own. He tenderly stroked her face before gently lowering his lips onto her own. He felt tears falling from Kim's eyes and wondered why. He didn't want her to feel sad anymore.
"I'm not sad, Tommy," Kim said, through the tears. Evidently, he had said his last thought out loud. She smiled at him. "These are happy tears..."
And Tommy lunged forward again, pulling Kim into another kiss. If he could have it his way, they wouldn't even come up for air.
"I missed you, Tommy," she whispered into his cheek.
"And I missed you, Beautiful."
She melted at the sound of the nickname that she hadn't heard since high school and threw her arms around him. "I'm here, Handsome. Always."
"And forever," he whispered.