Disclaimer: I own NOTHING! Well, actually, I do! I own AnneMarie! YAY ME!!!!!! LOL =)
Summary: This may be out of order in whatever way, but hey, its my story, I get to decide how it goes. ;-) Sorry if it takes a while for me to get it posted, but I've been writing it in whatever time I get between classes and stuff and I'm laptop less so its all scribbled down on paper and I've actually gotta find time to type it all up. But hopefully I'll find enough time somewhere. =) Happy Reading!
******************************************************************************
Preparing To Leave
Wednesday Evening, Jason's House
"Kimberly, I can't believe you're leaving. I'm going to miss you so much!" a girl said as she hugged Kimberly tight.
"Thanks Amber, I'll miss you too."
"When are you leaving?"
"Sunday. Jason wanted to have a party before I left through, so we had it tonight. That way I have some packing time. But I'm pretty much ready."
"I didn't even know that you were back in town until yesterday, when I ran into Trini at the store. And now you're leaving again."
"I know. Its weird, I just got home a few weeks ago, and a lot has changed since then."
"Yeah, I know what you mean. But anyway, tell me, what have you been up to all these years?"
"You know I went to Florida for the Pan Globals . . ."
"And you brought home the gold."
"Yeah . . . Then I moved to Paris to be with my mom for a while. Then a few weeks ago, I came home to Tommy, but I'm staying with Trini and Jason for a while."
"Oh! Where's Tommy?"
"I don't know. I haven't seen him since Friday. We're not exactly speaking . . . . ."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. I always though you guys were perfect for each other."
"You're not the only one. But anyway, I haven't seen you in Forever! What have you been up to?"
"Actually, a lot! My Dad got transferred to Virginia when we moved 5 years ago. I pretty much just went to school there, then spend a year in Europe after graduation. My friend and I decided we wanted to travel for a while, so we did. And we went all over Europe, which was just amazing! So I did that, then went home to my parents and worked for a while before we moved back to Angel Grove about 6 months ago."
"Awesome! Where did you go in Europe?"
"Only everywhere! England, Whales, Paris, Belgium, Turkey, Germany, Russia . . . . . We visited every place we could. I loved Paris, Ireland and Denmark. They were just so romantic!"
"I love Paris!"
"And you'll love Milan too. I got to spend a month there. Its amazing!"
"Really? Trini liked it too."
"You'll love it!"
"I'm going to really miss Angel Grove though. This place is home."
"Yes it is!"
"So what else have you been up to? Where are you working now?" Kimberly asked.
"I'm going to AGU and studying to be a nurse, while waitressing at Norman's in Stone Canyon."
"Oh cool! I heard that place is really good."
"It is. You should come visit before you leave."
"Yes I should! I'll see what I can do."
"Kimberly! Girlfriend you're lookin' GOOD!!!" a voice said from behind her.
"Oh my gosh!!!" Kimberly gasped. "Aisha!!!"
"Girlfriend!!! Where's my hug!?!" she said throwing her arms around her best friend.
"Aisha, what are you doing here?!?"
"I just flew in to surprise you. Trini called me the other day and I jumped on the first flight I could. I've missed you so much!!!"
"I've missed you too! I just can't believe you're here! You remember Amber, don't you?"
"Yeah, of course! She had that big party before she moved."
"Yeah. Welcome back Aisha!" Amber said sweetly.
"Kimberly, you look amazing!" Aisha told her.
"Thank you! I just wish I felt amazing. Its been a rough week."
"I heard. Tommy still hasn't called or anything?"
"No . . ."
"Oh girl, I'm sorry. Is there anything I can do?"
"No . . . . . I miss him, but I think he's pretty upset. I thought for sure, he would have at least called by now."
"Have you tried to call him?"
"No. I was hoping I'd run into him somewhere, but I haven't. I guess he's laying low or something. I don't know, I miss him."
"You know what Kim, Aisha and I will make sure you have a good rest of the week, regardless of what a jerk Tommy is being." Amber told her.
"Ouch . . . I guess I deserve that." a voice said from behind them.
"Hey Tommy." Aisha said as the girls turned around.
"Hi Aisha . . . Kimberly, can I talk to you for a minute?" Tommy asked in a soft voice.
"We'll be inside if you need anything." Amber told her, then followed Aisha inside the house.
"Kim, I'm so sorry." Tommy said once the door closed.
"I'm glad you're here . . . I've missed you . . . . ." Kimberly said softly as she gazed at Tommy.
"I'm sorry I shut you out. I just didn't know how to deal with you leaving . . . Every time I looked at you, I could feel my heart breaking. So I pushed you away because I'm stupid and thought it would make things easier."
"Did it?"
"No . . . . . It just made it worse . . . . . I am so sorry Kimberly! I just hated how I was feeling. But I can't blame you if you hate me for it. And if you want to just end it all and walk away fright now, I'll let you . . . . ."
"Is that what you want?"
"No . . . . . I want you to come home, so I can make it all up to you. I love you, but I'll understand if you choose to walk away."
"I don't' want to walk away Tommy . . . Its way too hard . . . . ."
"Good, because I don't want you to either . . . . ."
"So, what now?"
"I don't know, its up to you. But if you want to come home at all, you can. You'll always have a place with me. And you're more than welcome there. You know that."
"Do you want me to come home?"
"Its up to you Kimberly. We've both had a rough week . . ."
"Tommy! There you are!" a voice said from behind him. "They told me I'd find you here." Kimberly looked behind Tommy and groaned at the voice's owner. "Hi Kimberly! Its nice to see you again! You look great!"
"Thanks!" Kimberly said, plastering a smile on her face.
"Kat! What are you doing here?!?" Tommy asked surprised.
"I just stopped by your house and your sister said I could find you here. How are you?"
"I'm good. Um . . . . ." he said looking back to Kimberly.
"Kimberly, I didn't know you were back in town How was Florida? I heard you took gold."
"It was good. I heard you're in London now. What are you doing back? I thought you were on a dance scholarship or something."
"I am. London is great! I just got a little homesick, so I came to visit some friends."
"Oh . . . How long are you staying?"
"A couple weeks. But I hear you're leaving for Milan?"
"Yeah . . . . ."
"That's Awesome! Its great there!"
"That's what I hear . . ."
"Tommy , how's your racing?" Kat asked.
"Its good . . ."
"Will you guys excuse me I see some people inside I need to talk to." Kimberly said stepping past Tommy.
"Wait, Kim . . ." Tommy said as she stepped past him.
"Its ok . . . I'll be inside. We can talk later." she told him, standing up tall on he tip toes to kiss his cheek before going inside.
"Kimberly looks great!" Kat said, watching her through the sliding glass door.
"Yeah . . ." Tommy agreed softly.
"I take it you two have talked . . . I'm glad. I know how much she hurt you . . ."
"Its in the past." Tommy said as he turned back around.
"Well good! That's where it belongs!" she said smiling brightly. "I've really missed you Tommy."
"Yeah . . . Uh, what are you doing here?" Tommy asked as she hugged him.
"I heard about what happened last week, and it made me realize just how much I missed my friends. So I came back to surprise you, and when I got to your house, AnneMarie said you were over here . . ."
"Oh . . ." he said as she let go. "Jason and Trini threw a goodbye party for Kimberly. Almost everyone is here. Even Billy."
"Yeah, I saw him . . .But no one ever told me she was back. How long has she been here?"
"About a month . . . She moved here from Paris a few weeks ago. But she leaves for Milan on Sunday."
"Oh! Wow, short visit!"
"She wanted to come home. She's only leaving because she got an amazing job offer with one of the biggest fashion design companies in the world. So she's moving to Milan for a while."
"Oh excellent! That's great! I'm happy for her."
"We all are. We're just really going to miss her."
"So I take it you two have worked things out between you?"
"Yeah . . . Um . . . . . We need to talk about that . . . . . . . . . There's something you don't know . . . . ."
"What is it Tommy? You know you can tell me anything."
"Remember when we decided to see other people?"
"You're dating Kimberly . . . . .I get it . . . You've always loved her. Even when you were with me . . ."
"I'm sorry Kat. I don't know what to say . . .Kimberly has always been the one thing in my life that makes sense. And any time I've ever dreamed of settling down . . ."
"Its been with Kimberly . . . . . Kimberly has always been first in your heart. I saw the way you looked at her while we were on Muranthias. Your heart just about broke when we found out that Divatox had her . . . . ."
"I do love you Kat . . ."
"But its different . . . . . You've never looked at me the way you look at Kimberly. I'm not surprised you got back together."
"I've tried not to love her . . . She's just . . . . . I can't help but want to be with her. She makes me happy."
"Are you going to Milan with her?"
"No . . . And I wish she weren't going either. But she is, and I"m happy for her. Kimberly deserves this."
"You've gotta be the most understanding guy on the planet."
"Unfortunately."
"You're good for her Tommy. Its obvious why she loves you."
"I'm sorry Kat. I wanted it to work out between us."
"We tried. That's all that counts You just never got over Kimberly . . . But as long as you're happy, that's all that really matters. You have everything Tommy. You deserve all the best."
"Thanks Kat. That means a lot to me."
"I've gotta get going. I just wanted to say hi My parents are moving back to Australia in a couple weeks, and I promised to help them pack."
"Ok . . .Thanks for coming by. It was good to see you again." Tommy told her. "Make sure you say goodbye to Kimberly. It'll mean a lot to her."
"Ok . . . Good luck with everything Tommy. Make sure you send me a wedding announcement."
"Yeah . . . You too. Thanks for everything Kat. It really means a lot to me."
"Uh huh! I'll see you later." Kat said forcing a smile before heading inside.
"Kat, are you leaving?" Kimberly asked as she passed by.
"Yeah, my parents are moving back to Australia, and I promised to help them pack."
"Oh . . .Well thanks for coming. It was nice to see you again."
"Its nice to see you too. Good Luck in Milan."
"Thank you!" Kimberly said with a bright smile.
"And Congratulations. I know how happy you must be . .. You and Tommy deserve all the best."
"Thanks, that's really sweet of you. Good luck to you too Kat. You'll find someone even better."
"Thanks Kim. I'll see you later." she said, then left. Kimberly stood there smiling for a minute, before turning, and going in search of Tommy. She spotted him a couple minutes later, standing in the livingroom, talking to a small group of people. Kimberly slowly approached him, not wanting to disrupt the conversation.
"Hey." Tommy smiled, slipping his arm around her waist.
"Kimberly, you look beautiful as usual!" one of the girls told her. "Its no wonder you're leaving for work for one of the biggest fashion designers in the world. You've always had an eye for style."
"Thank you! That's so sweet! I know how incredibly stupid this sounds, but I've been with Tommy way too long, its like we've switched brains. I know you're an old friend of Jason and Trini's, but I just can't seem to think of your name . . ."
"Oh, don['t worry about it, its been a really long time. I'm Macey Bowen. I actually dated Rocky about a year ago."
"Really? I did not know that! Rocky is sweet, isn't he?"
"Yes he is. He eats like there's no tomorrow, but year, he's really sweet."
"Have you seen him lately?" another girl asked. "He's almost as good looking as Tommy!"
"Hey hey, this one is taken!" Kimberly laughed as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend.
"Oh wow! What a ring! I didn't know you guys were engaged!" Macy said grabbing Kimberly's left hand.
"Me either." a guy added.
"We're not actually." Tommy told them. "Not yet anyway. I gave her that ring when we were 17, for our anniversary. Its just a promise ring."
"Well its gorgeous!!!" Macy said still admiring the ring. "Girl, not only did you snag the hottest guy on the planet, but you got one who buys you fancy diamonds!"
"How are you supposed to ever top that rock?" the guy asked.
"Well the nice thing is that Kimberly doesn't like huge rocks, so that's about as big as she'll go. And I've had her engagement ring for years. She's just never seen it."
"You already got her an engagement ring?!?" Macey asked in a shocked voice.
"You're awfully sure of yourself!" the other girl added.
"I've just always known that we belong together." Kimberly blushed as Tommy smiled down at her.
"Are you trying to make me stay on purpose?" Kimberly asked.
"Hey you guys!" Mrs. Oliver said as she approached the group.
"Hey Mom!" Tommy said cheerfully.
"Hi Sweetie. I see things are better?"
"Much. I owe you Mom!"
"No you don't. Just be happy."
"Thanks for coming Christine." Kimberly said smiling brightly.
"You're welcome Sweetheart. I actually want to borrow you for a minute."
"Sure! Excuse me." Kimberly said as she extracted herself from the group, and followed Christine to the kitchen.
"Kimberly, we're going to miss you so much!" Christine told her.
"I'm going to miss you guys too. But I'll be back. I can't leave this place forever."
"Good, I'm glad to hear that. Here, I brought you a present." she said handing Kimberly a large gift bag.
"Christine . . .You didn't have to get me anything."
"Yes I did. You and AnneMarie are the daughters I never had. And you know how much I love you."
"Thank you Christine." Kimberly said as tears started to well up in her eyes.
"Open your present Sweetie." Kimberly smiled brightly as she opened the bad and removed some tissue paper to find several presents wrapped in tissue, with ribbon around them. After unwrapping everything, Kimberly found aa sketch pad, expensive art set, portfolio for her work, and a framed picture of the entire Oliver family, with a copy for her wallet.
"I . . . I don't know what to say . . . . ." Kimberly said softly as she looked at Christine, fighting to keep her tears inside. "Thank you so much! You don't know how much this means to me. I really don't deserve it."
"Nonsense. You're welcome. You've done so much for our family since Tommy met you. And sometimes, I have no idea what I would do without you. We love you so much Kimberly."
"I love you guys too." Kimberly said as she wrapped her arms around Christine, hugging her tight. "I don't know what I would do without you either."
"Ok, no tears Kim. You promised!" Jason said as he entered the kitchen.
"I hate you Jase!" she said laughing as she let go of Christine, fanning her face to make the tears go away.
To Be Continued . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .