Chapter 1: The Burgess World Record Attempt

(Author's Note)

Hello! My name is Hephaestus and this is my first Kickin' It story. I watched the show as it came out all those years ago and loved it, and, since finding it on Disney+, I binged the four seasons in three days, they were all late nights(and have since rewatched pretty much all the kick highlight videos on YT). I looked around the Kick fics on this site and wanted to try my hand at writing them.

If anyone knows of some really good kick fanfics, please lemme know! Bonus points for completed ones. I've looked around and found a few fics, but when I got to the last chapters I realized the stories hadn't been updated in ten years and were uncompleted, so that sucked. Also, I don't know if it was the years this show came out, or the age of most of the writers, or the fact that they were a lot of people's first stories, but man they were angsty! So much angst! So many stories with Kim being a bad girl with a tragic past and a Ferrari or Jerry cutting himself, or everyone's parents being abusive. This story, won't be like those at all. There's no angst. No bad parents. Just pure, unbridled fluffy kick goodness.

This short-story has already been completed, will be three chapters long, and will be released every weekend.

Remember to Follow, Favorite and leave a Review!

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Falling for you all over again

Today was Jack's big day. Weeks of training had gone into him getting ready to beat the under fifteen Burgess world record for the most bricks broken in a single strike, and Kim couldn't be happier for him.

Despite Eddie's belief that he had been a lot of help, she had been the one really helping Jack get ready for weeks. It always went like that, she thought, she and Jack working together whether it was to perfect a kick, or a new bo staff routine, anything, it was always the two of them.

Just how Kim liked it.

So that's why she volunteered to help set up the banner welcoming the Burges World Record judge above the small stage Rudy built out of wood be 'borrowed' from somewhere. Jack was off resting somewhere before his big record attempt, so Joan was helping Kim set up, despite supposed to be working, but that wasn't anything unusual.

"Oh, Kim." Joan said as she finished tying her side of the banner. "The whole malls' talking about Jack, even the guys at Captain Corndog, and they don't like anyone!"

Kim couldn't help but smile. "I know, it's a big day for him."

Joan continued on like Kim hadn't even spoken, "There hasn't been a buzz like this since the escalator outside Donut Dimension ripped off my security pants."

Kim actively fought back vile trying to go up her throat. "Thanks, Joan. I finally got that image out of my head. Now it's back."

Joan looked off into the distance and smiled at nothing. "Oh, I can still hear those hunky construction workers hootin' and hollerin'."

Kim let out a sigh. "I don't know how to tell you this, Joan, but begging you to cover up isn't exactly "hootin' and hollerin'"."

Joan looked a little put down. "Well, when you get to my age, Kim, the definition of a hoot gets mighty loose."

And before Kim was forced to come up with a response to that, she saw Jack heading into the empty dojo. So, realizing her opportunity, she told Joan goodbye and followed after him.

She was more nervous than she liked to admit, but she pushed it aside. "Hey, uh, Jack?"

He turned around at her voice. "Oh, hey Kim. What's up?"

"I, um, made you something to wear when you break the world record today." She slipped a bracelet off her wrist and handed it to him with what she hoped wasn't a smile that revealed how nervous she was.

He took the bracelet and looked it over with a smile. "Oh, sorta like a good luck bracelet?" He asked, before turning around and heading to his locker.

She faltered on the spot, more thankful than ever that he was facing the other way. How was she supposed to say this? She just couldn't come out and say it, right? No, he'd freak out, wouldn't he? But this was her chance, wasn't it? They were alone, and today was his big day. "Um… yeah. But it's also more of a…" She trailed off.

He turned around, giving her a look she couldn't really decipher. "What, like a friendship… bracelet?"

Kim's mind stalled. "Uhh…" Jeez this boy was clueless. "Yeah." She said, giving a small shrug and feeling like she was never going to get anywhere.

"Great," he said sarcastically. "It's finally official: were friends." He gave her a weird look before turning to his locker.

It took all of Kim's power to not judo flip him right then. Couldn't he tell what she was trying to say? What she was too scared to say? Couldn't he see the real reason why she had made him that bracelet?

"Jack," she said irritably, walking up to him. "You know I think of us as more than just-" her eyes shot open and she froze on the spot. She couldn't say it, no matter how much she wanted to, she couldn't.

He gave her a sideways look. "More than just what?"

Heat started to rise in her cheeks and she could feel her face going red. "Um…" She gulped, before chickening out. "I don't know. It's just a dumb bracelet. I gotta go!" She spun around and bolted towards the door, screaming at herself for being so weak and pathetic! She could hear Jack yelling after her, but she just ran. Kimberly Crawford didn't back down from anything. And yet here she was, running away-

Bo staffs rattled and before she knew it something heavy hit the floor. Kim spun around on the spot and saw Jack lying there. "JACK!" She was at his side before she knew it, with Milton, Eddie and Jerry there the next second.

Jack groaned and sat up, clutching his head.

"Are you okay?" Kim asked.

"Yeah, I think so…" He said, before looking around at them with an unregistered expression. "Just one question, though… who are you people?"

~Follow and Favorite~

Rudy called the mall doctor, and he determined that Jack just had a minor concussion and some minor memory loss and would most likely be fine in a day or so. The only problem?

Jacks' world record attempt started in fifteen minutes, and without his memories, he couldn't even throw a punch, let alone break bricks.

So, the Wasabi gang tried their best to help him remember himself by telling him stories of their time together, but in Kim's opinion, they mostly just talked about themselves. If she and Jack were alone, she thought, she'd have gotten him to remember at least her.

But after everyone shared crazy and rather ridiculous stories, Jack still hadn't remembered anything. So, reluctantly, they headed to the stage where they found Rudy freaking out.

"Guys, the judge from the Burgess book of world records will be here any minute."

"But Jack's not in any shape to break bricks," Kim said. "He could get hurt-"

"Well lucky for us, I came up with a foolproof plan." Rudy cut in. He held up a sledgehammer with a rubber glove over it. "I made this fake hand for him out of this sledgehammer."

Jack took the hammer and looked it over. "Yeah, I don't think this is gonna work."

"Oh, just trust me." Rudy said. "Just don't shake any hands, and, whatever you do, don't salute anyone. You'll kill yourself."

Kim let out a breath in disbelief.

Suddenly, Rudy began freaking out and ran off, muttering something about getting a backup.

Jack looked at her, confused. "Kathy-"

"Kim." She reminded him.

"-Kim," he said, holding up the fake 'hand'. "What do you think I should do?"

Kim shrugged. "I don't know, Jack." She said honestly. "This record means a lot to you-"

"So you think I should try it anyway?"

"-But it isn't worth getting hurt over." Kim finished, giving him a look." Just, I don't know…" She looked up to him. "Are you sure nothing's coming back? Not even…" She faltered. "Me?"

"I'm sorry." He said weakly. "Nothing." He gave her a look, tilting his head. "Are we, like um…"

"Yes?" She said hopefully, wishing he'd say it and she could say it back. That would bring his memories back, at least of her, she knew it for sure.

"What are we?" He settled on.

She started to reach a hand out to him, "Jack, we're- "

"Hey, guys," Rudy suddenly spoke up, bringing a man over. "This is Winston Burgess, from the Burgess Book of World Records."

Jack turned to her and she pulled her hand back before he noticed it. "I don't think I can do this, but I don't wanna let you guys down." He put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry, Katherine."

"Again, it's Kim." She said, "Look, I don't care about this record, I just want Jack back." She could feel the redness on her cheeks, but she ignored it.

He let out a breath. "But what if this helps me get my memory back?" He asked. "You guys said I do this sort of stuff all the time, so what if it's exactly what I need to remember everything?"

"Jack," she said, putting a hand on his arm. "I don't think that's a good idea-"

"I'll do it." He said. "I'll break the record. For you-" Her cheeks felt like they were on fire. "For all of you. Don't worry, Katrina. I'll break the bricks and get my memory back." He jumped on the stage before she could remind him her name was Kim.

"Good luck, Jack." She whispered under her breath.

He stepped up behind the nine bricks, took a few breaths, and nodded to Rudy and the judge. Then he looked back at Kim and she was a ball of nerves. It was like she was the only one in the crowd more concerned for his safety than him breaking the stupid record.

He gave her one last hopeful look as he straightened up, and she tried her best to give him a reassuring smile.

He yelled, raised his fist, slammed it down on the bricks-

-and let out a scream of pain.

"Gaaah!" He fell to the stage floor, and Kim was beside him before she knew what was happening.

He hadn't broken the bricks. He hadn't gotten his memories back. And now he was hurt again, because of her.

"My hand!" He yelled, clutching one hand with the other. "My hand!"

Kim grabbed his shoulder, worry clear on her face. "Jack, are you okay?"

He tried to put on a smile, but it faltered and he let out a swear. Rudy and the judge were beside them asking how Jack was, and Kim wasn't sure when they got there. She was focused on him too much.

An ambulance was called and Rudy had to pull her back to let the paramedics check on Jack. Kim watched with tears in her eyes as they put him in an ambulance and drove off. Before the sirens even faded into the distance, Kim was running to the nearest bus stop.

She had to get there, she thought. She had to make sure Jack was okay.

~Page Break~

It took Kim over an hour to get to the hospital by bus, and with every second that passed, her worry grew. Rudy wasn't answering his phone, and that filled her with even more dread.

The nurse at the front desk took pity on her and told her Jack's room number. Kim hadn't even finished thanking her before she was running off down the hall.

She found the room and nearly ran into a doctor who was talking to Rudy, neither had noticed her, and all her attention was on the boy in the bed.

It was Jack, with a big brace over his wrist and hand. He was laying on the bed, looking really out of it.

"Mr. Gillespie," the doctor said. "I just got off the phone with Jack's parents. Since they are out of state for the next week, they have decided to give you permission to make medical decisions for him."

"I understand, doctor." Rudy said, looking more serious than Kim had ever seen before. "What do you think we should do?"

The doctor took out a breath. "Well, I'm afraid we can't let Jack go home by himself while he's in this state. The broken hand aside, with his memory loss, well…" He trailed off and Rudy nodded.

"I can look after him." Rudy said. "Jack's my student, and he's my responsibility. It's my fault he's in this mess. I'll call his parents and see what they say."

The doctor nodded. "Alright, but I can always try to pull some strings and get Jack permission to stay here overnight if you need it."

"Thank you, doctor." Rudy said. "Is there anything else?"

"No," the doctor said. "Just ensure that he refrains from using or putting any pressure on his hand for the time being, and follow the packet the nurse left for you." He gave Rudy one last nod before turning around and nearly bumping into Kim. "Oh, young lady! I'm sorry, but visiting hours are-"

"She's with me." Rudy lied. "She stepped out to get me some Coconut Crunchies." He gave her a look. "But it looks like she failed that particular mission."

The doctor looked like he didn't believe Rudy's lie for a second, but said nothing as he left and headed down the hall.

"Kim," Rudy said once the doctor was gone. "What are you doing here? More importantly, how did you get here? Did you parents-"

"I took the bus." She said, before walking around him and standing next to Jack's bed. "I had to make sure Jack was okay."

Rudy's face softened, and he joined her. "He's been in and out of sleep for the past twenty minutes." He told her. "Hey, it looks like he's waking up."

Kim took him in, instantly noticing how weak and un-Jack-like he looked in the hospital bed. She was used to him looking invincible, like nothing in the world would stop him, but now, here he was in front of her, hurt.

Because of her.

Jack's eyes slowly opened and he looked up to Kim with a look of almost no recognition. "Hey… you're, uh, Kelly, right?"

She looked worriedly to Rudy, who mouthed, "He's on a lot of medicine." She let out a breath she didn't know she was holding.

"Sorry for not breaking the record, guys," he mumbled, looking ashamed. "I know it meant a lot to you-"

She smacked him in his good arm, hard.

"Ow!"

"Don't worry about something so stupid." She scolded. "You've gotten seriously hurt!"

"Oh." Jack said, on the verge of falling asleep again. "I…" He mumbled. "I just wanted to… remember- remember everyone…"

Before Kim could say anything, a nurse came in and told them they should leave and let him get some rest. Kim didn't want to leave, but Rudy pulled her aside. On her way out, Kim saw the bracelet she made for Jack on the table, most likely discarded by some nurse, so she grabbed it and stuffed it in her pocket.

Once they were in the waiting room, she mustered up the courage to speak.

"What are we going to do, Rudy?" She asked. "Jack can't go home like that. Not by himself."

Rudy sighed, rubbing his hands together. "I'll talk to mother and see if she'll be okay with Jack spending the next few days with us-"

"Can Jack stay with me and my parents?" Kim cut him off, her words surprising herself.

Rudy paused. "I don't think so, Kim. As Jack's sensei, it's my responsibility to take care of him-"

"It's my fault Jack got hurt." She cut him off, tears forming in the corners of her eyes, but she refused to let them fall. Rudy raised a brow in surprise, but didn't say anything. So Kim continued. "We were talking, and, um, it got really embarrassing," she hesitated. "I- I wanted to tell him something, but I ran off. And when he ran after me, he… stepped on the bo staffs and got hurt." She sniffed, feeling the tears break from her hold and start to stream down her face. "Jack got hurt because of me. I'll never be able to live with myself if he never gets better."

Rudy pulled her in for a hug, and he let her cry for as long as it took. Once she was able to get a hold of herself, Rudy said, "It makes me happy to see how much you care for him." Her breath hitched. "But what happened to Jack isn't your fault, you got that?" She gave a mute nod, not able to speak the lie. "Good," he said, patting her shoulder. "I'll talk to both yours and Jack's parents, and, if they agree, we'll let him stay with you."

A weak smile formed on her lips as she hugged him again. "Thank you, Rudy."

"Of course, Kim."

After a few phone calls and a lot of begging, Kim had permission to let Jack stay with her until his parents got back in the state. It had taken a full fifteen minutes for her to convince her dad to let a boy stay over at their house, but after getting her mom to convince him, he eventually caved. Thirty minutes later, he arrived at the hospital and drove her and Jack back to her house.

~Page Break~

Jack, on a lot of medicine, had slept for the entire ride to her house. And she had barely been able to wake him to head inside.

"This is home," she said as they entered the kitchen from the garage. Her mom had been making dinner, but was now talking to her dad in hushed voices in the other room. Kim wanted to get out of there. "Come on, Jack." She told him. "I'll give you a tour."

Her house wasn't very big. It was two floors, and decently sized. Not much to look at, but she liked it. It was the first time she had brought Jack over, so she was more nervous than she figured she should be.

"And that's my room down there on the left." She told him as they reached the end of the short tour. Her dad had been watching them from the corner of his eye the entire time, but Kim was doing her best to ignore him. "My dad would kill me if I showed you it, so we can't go in there."

Jack shrugged. "That's okay."

Kim opened her mouth to speak, but her dad's voice came out. "And no closed doors!" He yelled from down the hall, giving Jack a stink eye before heading into his room. Kim felt herself go bright red.

Jack blubbered, saying, "I barely even know this girl" in way of trying to seem innocent. He didn't see how it made Kim's face drop.

They stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before Jack scratched the back of his head. "Thanks again for letting me stay here until my parents get back. I do not remember you, so I'm surprised you're willing to help me."

"Of course I'd help you, Jack, I really-" she stopped herself, her cheeks going red. She cleared her throat and pretended to cough. "I, um, we're friends, so of course I'd help you."

Jack nodded, but she knew he had been doing it since he hit his head when he didn't know what to say.

"Come on," she said. "Mom has to be almost done with dinner."

The four of them sat at the dining table— with her dad at the head, her mom at his right and her and Jack sitting next to each other— and tried to act as normal as possible. Neither Jack nor her parents had met the other before, and this wasn't exactly how Kim saw herself introducing Jack to them. Her dad had been pretty open about his dislike of Jack staying with them.

"So, Jack," her mom said as she finished her bite. "I just want to say that you are welcome to stay here as long as it take your parents to come back." She gave him a big smile which he did his best to return. "I know your memory loss is… problematic at best, but I've heard so much about you from Kim. You're her best friend, so-"

"Mooom!" Kim groaned, giving her mom a death glare.

"What?" Her mom tried to look innocent, but Kim knew better. "From how much you talk about him, and how long it took for us to meet him, I was beginning to wonder-"

"Can we not talk about this right now?" She hissed, before giving Jack a worried glance. "Please?"

"Oh, alright." Her mom surrendered, before giving Jack a warm smile. "But I expect you to join us for dinner again once your memory comes back."

"Um, okay?" Jack said. "Sure, why not?" He gave Kim a look. "I mean, we're friends, right? And friends hang out at each others' houses, don't they?"

"Yes, friends." Her mom chuckled into her glass. Oh, Kim would kill her later for this, that's for sure. Slowly and painfully. With knives. Dipped in lemon juice.

Her dad cleared her throat. "But while you are here, Jack, we need to set some ground rules-"

"Dad," Kim cut in. "Jack knows better. He's not going to-"

"You yourself said he doesn't remember anything, so, to me, that means he needs to be told the rules." Her dad said firmly, before looking to Jack. "And while he stays here, he needs to follow them."

"Yes, Mr. Crawford." Jack said, nodding his head rapidly. "Whatever the rules are, I'll follow them."

"Good to hear, good to hear. My ground rules are quite simple." He said, and Kim felt her stomach drop. He started counting on his fingers. "First things first; no closed doors. Second, no going into Kim's room." He gave a quick look to her. "And that includes you not going into his as well." He held up a third finger. "Third, you two aren't allowed within six feet of each other-"

"Dear," her mom cut in. "Don't you think that's a little too far? I mean, that would mean they couldn't even sit at the table together."

Her dad seemed to ponder this for a moment. "Four feet, then-"

"Dear."

"Fine," he growled. "Just don't do anything inappropriate, alright?"

Kim didn't dare look at Jack's face, but she knew her own was a shade of bright red.

After several more threats of disembowelment from her father, dinner ended and Kim offered to show Jack to the spare room he would be using.

"This is yours," she told him as they stopped in the doorway. Her dad was nowhere to be seen, but she was sure he was keeping an eye on them, and she wasn't about to disobey his rule about them being in the same room already.

He stepped into the room and looked it over. It was a simple guest room her mom had set up for company or family that never came over. It was nice, but lifeless.

He smiled and tried for a joke. "And here I though we would be sharing a room."

Kim's cheeks went red for the hundredth time today, but she was happy to see him getting more comfortable around her. At first, he was a bit weary of everyone. "Sorry to disappoint," she said with a smile. "But my dad would literally kill you if we did something like that."

He chuckled, before looking at her again, like he wanted to say something, but didn't.

"Well," she said when it got a little too awkward. Jeez, it never got awkward like this between them before! "Goodnight."

"Night." He said.

They stood there awkwardly for another minute, just looking at each other. Kim cleared her throat. "Ehem, um, if you need anything, my room is the next one over. If your memory comes back, let me know as soon as-"

Her dad's voice sounded from the bottom of the stairs, "If he steps one foot into your room, memory loss will be the least of his concerns!" She heard her mom chastise him, but she shook her head before looking back at Jack.

"Just… just let me know as soon as your memories come back, okay?"

"I will, Kandy, don't worry."

How many 'K' names did this boy have to go through before he remembered her name?

"I may not remember you," he said, looking a little unsure of himself. Very un-Jack-like. "And I don't remember who I was, either, and I don't understand what I could have done to deserve a friend like you." He lurched forward as if to hug her, but decided against it at the last second. Kim wondered if he wasn't sure if they hugged or not and wasn't trying to overstep any boundaries. Instead, he offered her his hand to shake.

She had to bite her lip as she shook his hand, feeling incredibly awkward. "You didn't do anything to 'deserve' it, Jack… you- you were- are an amazing friend… and I'm sorry." She blurt out those last words and was gone, running into her room and slamming the door behind her.

Kim slammed her face into her pillow, trying to not scream into it so he didn't hear. This was all her fault! Jack got hurt because of her! He failed the world record because of her! He would potentially never do karate again because of her! And, she thought weakly, any chance of them ever becoming more than friends was ruined because of her.

She pulled the bracelet she made for Jack out of her pocket and held it to her chest. "I'm sorry, Jack…" And, for the first time in years, the fearless Kim Crawford cried herself to sleep.

To be continued

(Author's Note)

Well, what did you think? Good, bad, meh, never write again? Lemme know with a Review. I rather like those, well, maybe not the mean ones, but whatever. I'm a grown ass man(who writes fanfiction), I can take it.

Should I try my hand at writing another Kickin' It kick one-shot or short story after this? Lemme know!

Thanks for reading! Chapter 2 will be released next week! Please let me know what you thought of chapter 1 with a Review!

Question Of the Day: What is your favorite non kick ship in Kickin' It? Milton x Julie? Jerry x Grace? Lemme know.

Hephaestus