Unavoidable Secrets 8


Summary: Pretty much just a catch up chapter cause I'm bored, and then I'll move it on a bit more later on (if I feel like it).

Rating: R.

Disclaimer: Mine mine MINE!!!! Uh.....no, not today. Maybe tomorrow.

Author's Notes: Hurrah, no exams this week! There is the small matter of there being about 20 crammed into a fifteen day period after that, but I can cope (she says frantically). Hopefully in this chapter I'll get a few loose ends tied up, and then I can move on with the story, although I don't know how long to carry on with it for. Any ideas how many chapters I should do?? I'm already on chapter 8, which is really hard to believe.

Thank You's: Anyone and everyone.


It had been so strange. All nine of them gathered in the same room for how long? About six years, Aisha thought, and no-one had had a word to say to one another. The situation had been one that called for silence, and eventually she had fallen asleep.

Then in the cold light of day, she, Adam, Rocky, Billy and Trini had left before they really had a chance to talk to either Kim or Zack. Aisha had buried herself in her work that day, refusing to believe that she had let her relationship with Kim die so much that she hadn't noticed her slipping away.

It hadn't been an easy ride for Aisha returning to America after three years in Kenya. She'd finished her college education in Chicago and pottered around Angel Grove until she found a job working as a receptionist. It wasn't the most intellectually stimulating job in all the land, but it was in an established firm who paid well and gave away promotions as though they were chocolates. She had been promoted only a week ago and was now working as an apprentice in one of the side offices. She still didn't have a clue about what it was the company actually did, but at least she was getting paid well.

On this Monday morning, Aisha Campbell rolled reluctantly out of bed, and got ready to face the outside world.

An hour later, she was almost prepared to leave the house, when she suddenly noticed that her answerphone light was blinking insistently. She quickly crossed the room and pressed the Play button.

"Aisha, it's Tommy. Kim got a phone call from Dave about an hour ago on her cell phone, and she's pretty stressed about it. I'm not sure what we're going to do about it, but the police are on their way. Could you please do me a favour and tell Adam and Rocky about it? Thanks Eesh, I'll let you know what happens later. See ya."

"I have a feeling this is going to be a bad day," Aisha murmured and looked at her watch. It was seven forty-five, too late to ring Rocky before he left for his accounting job in Stone Canyon, but Adam would hopefully still be at home.

Aisha dialled the number of her oldest friend, her hands shaking slightly. They'd known that Dave was back in town, but how did he know Kim's cell phone number? Surely Kim was sensible enough to keep her number a secret from him, but if she had truly loved him once upon a time who knows what she could have done.

"Hello?" Adam said, sounding entirely too wide awake for that early hour.

"It's Eesh. I don't know if someone's already told you this, but Kim got a call from Dave last night."

"Oh god..." Adam muttered. "No, I hadn't heard. What did he say?"

"I have no clue. I only just picked up Tommy's message, he said the police were on their way, but I don't know what time he called."

"Shall we go there after I finish work tonight?" Adam suggested. "When I get into work I'll ring Rocky and we'll go together if you want."

"That sounds great," Aisha said gratefully. "I wouldn't feel right going by myself, not when they can probably tell I'm petrified for them both."

"I would say 'what could he possibly do to them', but considering he stabbed the object of his twisted affection in the leg, followed them from Florida to California and sent her and Zack sick notes, I don't think it wouldbe entirely appropriate," Adam said. "I'll ring you at work when I've called Rocky. Oh, and thanks for letting me know."

"That's ok," Aisha said and hung up the phone. She hurried to get out of the door, and promptly tripped over the dangling phone cord. "I have a feeling it's just going to be one of those days."

* * *

He didn't have a class to teach that morning, but Zack had insisted that Tommy go into work.

"Don't put your life on hold just because Kim and I are in a mess. You only live two minutes away, if anything happens to us we'll yell."

So Jason was currently watching his best friend punch the living daylights out of a punchbag. Tommy had been monosyllabic all mornind, and after talking to the manager of the Surf Spot, Jason decided to get Tommy talking before his first class showed up.

"Come on bro, it's time for a break," Jason called from the other side of the practising area. Reluctantly Tommy made his way over, grabbing a towel to wipe his sweating face with as he went.

They stood in silence for a moment, then Jason asked,

"Did you find out where he was calling from?"

Tommy shook his head. "Some sort of security lock, I don't know. The police were still looking into it when I left."

"What do the men in uniform have to say for themselves?" Jason asked, feeling his fists clench by his sides.

"Not a lot as far as I heard. Just that they hadn't seen him again, and they thought the best thing to do would be for them to carry on staying with me until they catch him and do him for GBH."

"How do you feel about them staying with you?"

"I'm glad that I'm doing something to help, to be honest," Tommy admitted. "I can't help feeling that I let Kim down through all of this, that if only I'd followed up the letter and kept in touch, none of this would have had to happen."

"Don't think that," Jason warned. "If you do, you'll drive yourself mad."

"What, and you aren't blaming yourself at all for what's happened?" Tommy retorted, pushing the towel away. "Somehow I find that very hard to believe."

"No, you're right. I keep on flashing back to Murianthias, I could tell that something was wrong even then, but before I made a move to speak to her-"

"She skipped out," Tommy finished his statement for him.

"You got that right." They paused for a moment, but Tommy decided to get his thoughts off a subject that was hurting him more than it should for a guy who was supposed to be completely over his ex-girlfriend, and change the subject.

"Before the evil guy rang last night, Kim and I were having a very interesting chat about a intriguing subject."

Jason, thinking that Tommy was insinuating that he and Kim would be getting back together, smiled wickedly, and said "Yeah..."

"Yeah, so spill. What's going on with you and a certain Ms Kwan?"

The look on Jason's face was a picture. "W-what? Nothing's going on between me and Trini," he said feebly. "I'm with Emily."

"Yes, but you have to admit there's been a lot of flirtation going on between the two of you," Tommy said. "Anything that you would care to share?"

"There's nothing to share," Jason said. "We hang out sometimes, end of story. She's been my friend for nearly twenty years!!!"

"Scary," Tommy commented. "Anyway, stop your denial in progress and get on over to your class, looks as though they're waiting for you."

"See ya later," Jason said, and took off for the teaching area opposite them, where twenty six year olds stood, having been brought over by their first grade teacher to begin learning the basics of karate. Tommy stood watching his friend for a moment, then once again headed over to the punching bag to take all his worries out on it.


* * *

Kim and Zack had slowly been driving each other crazy all day.

"Zack, could you please get up off the floor and dry the dishes for me, will ya?"

"You do it," he said grumpily, refusing to open his eyes and face the harsh reality that was the outside world. "Stop acting like a demented housewife."

"Whatever," Kim sighed, and decided to let the dishes dry for themselves. She joined Zack in the family room, and said, "Heard from anyone today?"

"My mom called, but she didn't stay on for long," Zack said. "You should know, you took the call."

"What the hell is wrong with you today?" Kim asked twisting to face him. "Everything I say, you bite my head off. If you have a problem with me I'd prefer you said it to my face instead of making snide comments all day."

"Fine," Zack said, finally opening his eyes and sitting so he could see Kim. "I have a problem in the fact that I've had to give up my career, and not see my girlfriend for god knows how long, all because of some maniac who will probably just hang around long enough to target your little toe this time or something, and then disappear again. There, was that direct enough for you?"

Neither of them had noticed the owner of the apartment slip in silently in the middle of Zack's tirade, not wanting to interrupt the long needed venting of emotions.

"Well excuse me, Mr Pro Dancer," Kim shot back, in her anger standing up to face him once again. "I'm a qualified psychologist, and somehow the only work I seem to be doing is analysing some pyscho's moves to see what he's going to do next, which I didn't bargain for when I decided what to do with my life. May I remind you that I've been stuck in the middle of this shit for three years now, and I've had to sacrifice a hell of a lot more than you have over that time. Couple that with having to put up with everyone's pity, knowing that the guy I should never have given up is letting us stay heer and I have absolutely no idea why he would want to help me after what I did to him, and you have someone who is coming to the end of her tether."

"Join the club," Zack muttered.

"Yeah, well now that you two both know where you stand, can we get on with choosing paint colours?" Tommy asked acerbically from his vantage point byt he closed front door.

Kim whirled to face him, petrified of what he must have heard. She opened her mouth to say-what? She wasn't sure- but was interrupted by an insistent knock on the door. Tommy did a 180-degree turn to look through the peephole. Swallowing hard at what he thought he saw there, he turned back to Kim and Zack, asking quietly as he did so,

"Did this Dave person have brown spiky hair, a kind of weird spot thing in the middle of his forehead?" Kim and Zack nodded slowly in tandem, both knowing what was coming. "Then I think we may have a problem."

Author's Note (again): I've written Chapter 9, it just depends when I get a chance to type it up from my battered old notebook and post it! Stay tuned.