Disclaimer: I don't own the Power Rangers, or the settings where they have taken place. They are owned by Saban. I don't wish to get sued.
Authors Note: Here is the next chapter of a story that I have neglected unfortunately. It will not be neglected any more! Please R&R!
He doesn't know the answer to that, and even if he does, he is trying not to show it,
"Don't make me answer that Hannah, because I have no idea."
"Oh." She sighs, turning her back on him, "Tommy, I like you a lot."
"I like you too."
"That's all I need to know." She smiles.
He smiles at her. He does like her, but he loves Kimberly. 'Who knows maybe something will come out of us.' He thinks.
"I hear we're going scuba diving today."
"Yeah, have you ever been?"
"Yeah." She says, as he takes her hand, "But not for a while."
"You'll have fun." He smiles, looking at her. She brushes a piece of long blonde hair out from her green eyes.
"Do you think Kimberly will ever come around to me?"
"I think she will… I hope she will." Tommy sighs.
"We should do something, just us tonight. Maybe go for a bike ride, take a look at the sunset. What do you think?"
"We'll see." He sighs. If he ever watches another sunset it would be too soon. "Maybe not the sunset, but we'll go for a ride."
"Ok." She says, happily.
"You hungry?"
"Getting there."
"How about we go get breakfast?"
"Won't the others wait for us?"
"Nah. Kim knows that we are together. She'll put two and two together when we aren't there."
"Ok." She smiles, as they walk down the beach to the café.
Back at the hotel, "Is Tommy coming?" Adam asks.
"Tommy and Hannah went for a walk." Kimberly says, standing up on her ankle, "Ouch." She says, pointing her toes.
"Should we wait for them?" Zack asks.
"They'll probably be doing breakfast alone." She sighs, "If they come, they come."
"They going scuba diving?"
"I think so Kat." Aisha replies.
"They are." Jason replies. "Tommy wouldn't miss scuba diving."
"Definitely not." Kim says, "Where are we going to eat?"
"Let's just go to the hotel restaurant. It will be easier on your ankle for the time being." Zack says.
"Don't worry about me. I'm fine." She says, walking around, "See?"
"Yeah, I believe that." Zack says, watching her face grimace, "Keep it up Kim, or I'm not letting you go scuba diving."
"I'll be fine." She says, sighing.
"If not, you're going to have an X-Ray."
"It's not broken Jase. An X-Ray won't show anything."
"Well then an MRI." He replies.
Kimberly groans, "Let's just go eat." She says, pulling on her flip-flops.
Her ankle still hurts, but loosens up after they eat breakfast. As they leave the restaurant, Tommy and Hannah are walking back in.
"Where did you guys go?" Trini asks.
"To the Café on the beach." Hannah smiles.
"How's your ankle Kimberly?"
"Better thanks." She says to her ex.
"Let's go suit up and head down to the boat." Rocky smiles, "I wanna scuba."
"Easy Rocky." Kim laughs.
"Where I have heard that before?" Aisha smiles.
"That day was awesome." Adam smiles.
"Yeah, it was." Tommy agrees.
"What day?" Hannah asks.
"When we went skydiving, well Aisha, Adam, Billy, Kimberly Tommy and I." Rocky smiles.
"You went skydiving! You guys are nuts."
Kim looks back at her, "If only you knew."
"Knew what?"
"Anything about us." Kim sneers.
"I think I know more than you think Kim." Hannah replies, "Remember, I've been here for five months, you've been gone."
Kim's face gets beat red, "You know something Hannah…"
"Kim." Rocky says.
"You aren't worth it." She replies, keeping her cool. She turns and walks towards the elevator, the gang following her. They get into their wet suits and head out. Each of them owns their own wet suit, with their colored zippers. The girls tie their hair back and move out. They smile as they walk down to the boat that was taking them out.
"Josh! Lana!" Tommy smiles as he sees his cousins in scuba gear.
"You didn't think you'd be going scuba diving without us did you?" Lana smiles, hugging her cousin. "We're gonna anchor the boat and dive with you."
"Awesome." He smiles.
"You gonna introduce us?" Josh asks Tommy.
"Sure, this is Adam, Aisha, Rocky, Katherine and Hannah. You know Trini, Zack, Jason and Kimberly."
"Yup!" Lana smiles, "How ya been guys?"
"Great." Trini smiles.
"And it's nice to meet you guys." Josh smiles at the new ones. "So Hannah's the new one eh?" He asks.
"Yes." Tommy says, jabbing his cousin in the ribs, shooting him a glance.
"Sorry." He mumbles, seeing his cousin's ex there.
"Can we get a move on it?" Kim asks, walking onto the boat.
"Sure." Josh says, "What's her problem?"
"Hannah."
"Ahh."
They get onto the boat and head out. "You wanna scuba with Dolphins?" Lana asks.
"That would be awesome!" Aisha smiles.
"We got the perfect place. The dolphins love being around humans, just don't touch their blowholes."
"Right."
Subconsciously, they buddy up. Kimberly goes with Jason, Adam and Trini, Rocky and Kat, Aisha and Zack, Hannah and Tommy, and Lana with Josh. "Take off anything shiny, or make sure it is secure in your wetsuits." Josh says.
Kim laughs, "We've all done this before, so let's do it." She says, pulling her hood up and her mask on.
Under the water it is so peaceful. Kim and Jason swam around at arms length. The dolphins were right up against them, playing around them. They stood on the bottom, and watched the fish and dolphins swim around them. It was amazing. They all stay in the same vicinity and point to everything. They stay underwater for about an hour and a half before they surface.
"That was awesome!" Trini smiles, as she gets onto the boat.
"Totally!" Rocky laughs.
"What are you guys doing tonight?" Lana asks.
"We aren't sure."
"Well, let us know, and we'll go with you."
"Alright." Tommy smiles.
"Well, I know that Tommy and I are going to be going for a ride later on tonight." Hannah smiles as she wraps her arms around his waste.
"Sounds like fun." Lana says. "You taking her to see the sunset?"
Tommy feels Kim's eyes on his back, "I don't think so."
"Oh Tommy, you have to!" Lana says.
"I don't want to watch the sunset." He says, "We are just taking a drive."
"You know how pretty the sunsets here are Tommy! It's a great place to bring a significant other." She says.
'God Lana, are you that dumb!' He asks himself, "We're going to drive around the island. That's it."
"Fine… see if I help you again." She jokes.
"I think it may be fun to watch the sunset Tommy…"
"You'll see it when we ride on the bike." He replies.
"That will be fun too. Just spending time with you is all I need."
Kim clenches her fists, 'I'm too good for her. She may deserve to be slapped, but I'm not going to do it… yet.' Kim tells herself. "Let's go to a gym tonight. Is there any around here Josh?"
"What like a Karate gym?"
"Karate, works."
"Yeah, there is a karate studio slash gymnastics studio. It's kind of like your Youth Center."
"What do you guys think?" Kim asks.
"Sounds good, but is your ankle up to it?" Zack asks.
"It's fine. I need to practice anyway, and I am in the mood to spar a bit."
"That sounds like a lot of fun actually." Aisha smiles, "Let's do it."
"Alright, so after dinner." Jason says.
"Let's make it an early dinner." Rocky says.
"All you do is go straight down Sunset Boulevard, and hang a left onto Fourth Street. It's a block down." Josh says.
"You guys coming?" Jason asks.
"I'll be there." Lana smiles, "I need to work on my routines."
"Gymnast?" Kim asks.
"Yeah, are you?"
Kim smiles, "I do a little fooling around."
"Cool." She smiles. "Maybe I can teach you some things."
"I'd like that." She says. Kim was not trying to be mean, but after her constantly pressing her ex and his girlfriend to go to the sunset, she felt a little white lie wouldn't hurt. Aisha looks at Kim and smiles.
By 5:00, they were eating dinner, by 6:00, Tommy and Hannah split up, saying they would meet the others in a while. They get to the Youth Center, which was called Maui Gym, and smile. There was not that many people there so they could easily access the equipment. Kimberly practically springs onto the beam after stretching, and smiles.
"You think she missed the beam?" Jason asks.
"I think she misses practicing." Rocky replies.
"I haven't seen her routine yet." Kat says, sitting down at a table.
"Ask her to show it to you. I'm sure she will." Trini says. "Hey Kim."
"What?" She asks, turning around to see Trini.
"Show us your routine."
"Give me a few minutes ok? I need to go through a few warm ups ok?"
"Sure." She smiles.
"Thanks." She smiles.
Kat watches her with great intent. She sees Kimberly begin her one move she was hurt on, and her body turned to pins and needles and she turns her head.
"What is it?" Trini asks.
"You heard when she was in the hospital right?"
"Yeah, I heard all about that, how you…"
"Yeah, well that move right there was what she was doing when she fell. I felt awful."
"It wasn't your fault though Kat." Trini says, "You were…"
"I know, but still. Do you honestly not think Tommy feels awful still for when he was evil?"
"I suppose your right."
"Only with me, Kimberly got hurt."
Trini sighs, "Well, that's over now. She's fine, and she's going to win the gold. I know she is."
"You're right Trini." Kat smiles. "How's it going Kim?"
"This dismount has been giving me problems." She says, taking three seconds to concentrate. She turns and does two back handsprings and off into two flips with a twist, only she over rotates and lands on her butt. "GRR!" She says, smacking the mats with the palm of her hands.
"You alright Kim?" Adam calls.
"Fine." She grumbles and mounts back up onto the beam. Three more tries, she still ends up on her butt, "Oh, this is getting ridiculous."
"You're trying too hard Kimberly." Aisha says. "Relax."
She sighs, and mounts up, "Maybe I'm not trying hard enough." She sighs. Finally after two more times, she gets it, "Yes! There it is." She smiles. She gets up and does it two more times perfectly.
"Looks like it isn't gonna be giving you anymore troubles." Trini says.
"You'd be surprised." She says, "You wanna see the routine still Trin?"
"Yeah." She smiles.
"Alright." She smiles, and mounts the beam with an impressive handspring onto the springboard, where she flips, twists and lands facing forward on the beam.
"I've never seen that move before." Aisha says, "At least not from her."
"I have." Tommy says, standing behind her with Hannah startling Aisha.
"Jeeze Tommy! You scared the hell out of me!" Aisha says, swatting at him.
"Sorry." He says, watching Kimberly, "Did the dismount give her trouble again?"
"She's got it now."
"She's good." Hannah says, watching her in amazement.
"No, she's great." Tommy says.
"She's gonna win the gold." Aisha smiles.
"You bet she is." Tommy smiles.
Five minutes later, Kimberly was dismounting off the beam.
"Awesome job Kim!" Trini smiles.
"Thanks." She says, turning towards Aisha on the mats, "You never saw that mount before?" She smiles.
"Not from you."
Kim laughs, "Yeah, well, it was something that I was toying around with for a while, and it finally clicked. I actually think Tommy was the only one who has seen me attempt it." She says quietly. He nods and smiles.
"Come on Tommy, teach me some moves." Hannah smiles, "You were really good Kim."
"Thanks Hannah." She says, with lack of sincerity.
"Come on babe." She smiles.
"Alright." He smiles back at her.
Kim sighs, and walks over to the empty mat, next to where her friends are, "Concentrate Kim, that is when you don't get hurt. Don't worry about him. You have to go through your routine and then you can go and spar." She tells herself. Kimberly goes through her routine twice, and then heads over to where the others are. They all told her how great she was and she thanks them, "Alright, I'm in the mood to spar." She says.
"I'll spar with you." Hannah smiles.
Kim looks shocked, "I…"
"I don't think you're ready to spar yet." Tommy says, knowing Kimberly could floor her in almost a minute if she wanted too.
"Yeah, you aren't ready." Kim says, turning her back.
"I think I am."
"Oh yeah?" Kim asks, "How about this, I'll spar with one of the guys, and you can tell me if you are ready or not."
"Alright." She says, as Tommy sits down, and she sits on his lap."
"I'll spar with you." Rocky says, standing in the middle of the mats, "Remember, use your head. That's how you win."
"Right." She says, as they bow to each other. "Hiya!" She says, and starts right out at him.
"Your head Kim, not your body." Rocky says, "Concentrate." He says throwing a kick at her, which she blocks, "Good!" He smiles.
"Keep at him Kim." Adam says smiling.
"Don't let your guard down for a second." Aisha says, watching her best friend matching Rocky.
Kimberly quickly back flips away from her friend, and throws a kick that totally has him off guard, so she finishes him, smiling victoriously, before helping him up, "What'd you think of that Rocco?"
"I think you remembered Tommy's move." He laughs.
"Did you like it?"
"I love that move, and he must have worked on it with you for a while, because I can't get it right."
Kim smiles, "Yeah, he did."
"See though, she got it right away Rocky, you still can't." He laughs.
"That's because YOU showed it to her Tommy."
"Yeah, I did." He laughs.
"Well Hannah, you still wanna spar?"
"Maybe with Rocky." She says, grinning.
"That does it." Rocky says, "Adam, get your ass up here, I need someone to beat."
Adam laughs, "So why pick me? We usually tie."
"Because I know your moves." He smiles.
"Alright." He says, coming over to his best friend, "You're going down."
"Oh no little black frog, I think it will be you going down." Rocky says, smiling.
"Frog?" Hannah asks.
"Yeah." Aisha says.
"I'm confused."
"Don't worry about it."
"Why not? I'd like to know why he just called Adam a frog."
"It's his favorite animal." Kimberly says, causing Aisha to bust out laughing.
Kimberly and Aisha look over to Adam, "I'm a frog." They say, the exact way he did when he got his ninjetti animal.
Adam looks up, "Not cool you two." He says, smiling, "Whoa!" He says, getting kicked in the chest by Rocky,
"Like the one you kiss, to become a handsome prince." Kim finishes, giggling.
"Hey, they are wise, they are cunning." Adam continues, "And they can kick the shit out of apes." He says, "Hiya!"
"Seriously girls, what are you talking about, ape, frog, bear?"
"Some things are better left alone Hannah." Aisha exclaims as she looks over to Rocky, "Honey, you are about to lose again." She laughs, watching Adam beat Rocky.
"Damn." He says, "So much for tying Adam."
"I saw an opening, and I took it."
"I blame it on the heat."
"Dude, we live in California." Zack laughs, "It's hot for all except 3 months, and then it's only 50 degrees."
"So, how's your bar routine going Kim?" Aisha asks.
"Ugh, I hate the bars so much. I can do them, but I hate them."
"Well, why don't you get over there and show me how much you hate them? You got uneven bars here." Aisha smiles.
"Ugh, no."
"Come on Kim, I hardly ever get to see you up on those." Kat replies.
"So, watch Pan Globals."
"Please!" The girls practically beg.
"Alright!" Kim says, finally giving up, "Can I warm up a bit?"
"Of course." Trini smiles.
Tommy's cousins arrive while Kim is warming up. They say hello to the owner of the gym and then head over to where Tommy is.
"Hey." Tommy says, smiling at the two, "You made it."
"Yeah, we're here." Lana smiles, "I see Kimberly found the equipment."
"Holy shit she's on bars… voluntarily." He says, watching her.
"Not really voluntarily Tommy. We kind of forced her on them." Kat smiles.
"Yeah, I wanted to see her routine." Aisha replies.
"The real challenge will be getting her on vault." Hannah says.
"No, the really challenge is getting her on the bars."
"She scared of them?"
"No, she just doesn't like them."
Kim dismounts from her routine, "There, are you happy?"
"Quite. Now do your vault." Aisha says.
"Ugh, I'm getting tired guys." She sighs, "And my beam routine needs more practice than my vault."
"You need help with the beam?" Lana asks, "I can help you, that's my best event."
Kim looks at her, "Oh really? I'd love to see your routine."
"Sure!" Lana smiles at her cousins ex. Kim really does want to see her routine, she was not being sarcastic in the least, however, she was looking forward to showing her up. "But before I do, Tommy! Did you take her to see the sunset?"
"No he didn't." Hannah sighs, "But that's alright. I really wasn't feeling up to the whole long bike ride."
"Why not?"
"I dunno, I just wasn't feeling great."
"You feeling better now?"
"Eh, better than I was, I guess. Anyway, maybe we can go tomorrow?" Hannah asks Tommy.
"We'll see." He says. Tommy watches his cousins routine, and smiles. She has come a long way over the past few years. No where near Kim's ability, but not many were.
"Not bad Lana." Kim says.
"Thanks! Let's see what you got!"
"Alright." Kim says, concentrating on her beam mount. "You better stick everything here Kimberly." She tells herself, "Just like if it were at Pan Globals." She mounts and goes through her routine, and Lana stares at her with an open mouth. Once Kim dismounts, she looks over at Lana, "Well!"
"That was amazing! I have never seen so many combinations or that dismount."
"You won't see that dismount. Well, not in pike position off the beam. It's a Kimberly Hart original." She smiles, "Don't feel bad Lana, I'm going to Pan Globals, and that is my routine."
"Wow, congratulations. I guess you could show me some things eh?"
"You look pretty good up there yourself." Kim says, walking over to the vault. "Here it goes." She smiles.
Everything about Kim is precision. If she doesn't do it right, she does it again. Luckily her vault was perfect, because she doesn't think her ankle can take another one.
"You ok?" Jason asks, seeing her grimace after her vault.
"Fine." She says, loosening her ankle. "Anyway, I think I'm done."
"Round house kick Kim." Jason says, holding up his hand, "Here."
Kim eye's it up and goes for it, "Kiyah!"
"Good."
"Why thank you." Kim smiles, walking away from him.
The guys spar for a bit longer, and the girls sit and talk at the table, drinking a smoothie. Around 11:00, they all leave. Kimberly goes right up to her room to ice her ankle, while the others crash in the "black room" watching a movie. Adam and Zack's room instantly became the hang out because it was the closest to the stairs.
Around 1:30 AM, Kimberly is lying awake in bed. For some reason she just couldn't sleep, so she quietly gets out of bed, not to wake Aisha sleeping next to her, or Trini in the next bed over, and walks out onto their patio. The moonlight shines brightly over the Pacific Ocean, as she watches the wave's crash against the sand. She sits down on one of the lounge chairs, and listens to the sounds of the island. She wishes someone was awake to keep her company, but then again, she remembers how nice the silence is. For about ten minutes she is alone, but soon, she hears a door open. She knows it's not from her room, so she looks over to the "red room" when she hears, "Can't sleep?"
"No, you?"
"Nah." He replies.
"Is Hannah sleeping?"
"Yeah, she really isn't feeling too well, so she's crashing in our room."
"Ah." Kim says, "What's wrong with her?"
"I think she's coming down with something. Her head and stomach are bothering her. They have been for a while."
"I hope she feels better soon." Kimberly replies.
"Me too." Tommy answers.
Kimberly and Tommy sit outside, in silence for about a half an hour, before the door opens once again, and Hannah comes out.
"How ya feeling?" Tommy asks, pulling her down between his legs, letting her lean against him.
"Awful." She says, leaning fully against him.
"No better?"
"No. I just got sick."
"Do you think it was something you ate?"
"Maybe." She sighs.
Tommy kisses the side of her head and looks over to see if Kimberly was still there.
"I hope you feel better." Kim says, before she goes inside.
"Thanks." Hannah replies.
"You should go and get some sleep." Tommy says, with sympathy in his voice.
"Will you come too?"
"Sure." He smiles, as they stand up and go into the room.
The next morning Hannah feels better, but is not feeling great. Tommy opts out of rock climbing to stay with her. They lounge around the hotel while the others climb.
"This is great!" Kat smiles, scaling the rocks.
"I agree." Rocky calls up to her, "Look at Kim and Isha go!"
"Come on slow pokes." Kimberly calls.
"On your tails." Adam calls, quickening his pace.
"Let's climb." Aisha smiles, finding her next grip.
"Careful Isha!" Kimberly says, as she watches Aisha's hand slip.
"Always."
The two girls make it up to the top first, followed by Adam who helps the remaining girls to the top. "Wow! You can see everything up here!" Kat smiles.
"Well, at least the island." Rocky jests.
"And water." Adam grins.
"I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I liked you a lot better when you were shy." Aisha laughs, jabbing him in the side.
"Yeah, that goes for me too." Kimberly laughs, passing her water bottle to Aisha.
"Thanks." Aisha says, taking a swallow before passing it to Zack.
"It's hot as hell up here." Jason groans, taking his water bottle back from Trini.
"It's Hawaii." Kat smiles.
They stay on the rock till noon, when they decide to head back down.
"I like going down rather than up." Zack smiles.
"You just like falling." Kim smiles. Jason, Adam and Rocky were already down the rock supporting Kimberly, Zack and Kat's weight. Once they are down, the guys support Aisha, Jason and Trini.
"You guys want to go grab some lunch?" Jason asks.
"Yeah, but shouldn't we ask Tommy and Hannah?" Kat asks.
"I dunno," Rocky says, "Hannah was up throwing up all night. I really don't think she'll be up for lunch."
"Glad you guys had her." Kat says.
"I don't care." Jason shrugs, "People get sick."
"I'd rather have her in her on room while sick."
"I didn't hear her." Jason says.
"That's because you sleep through anything." Trini laughs.
"I do not!" Jason smiles.
"You totally can sleep through anything when you want to Jase." Kim says as the original rangers laugh.
"Let's eat." Adam says.
"Good idea."
They all drive down to the café and then head back to the hotel to change for swimming.
Jason and Rocky get to their room and see Tommy in there on the bed, "How's Hannah?"
"She's feeling a bit better Jase. How was rock climbing?"
"Fun." Rocky smiles, "The girls are going to go shopping tomorrow, so we are going to go for a bike ride around the island. You wanna come? It will be an all day event."
"Just like the girls shopping."
"That sounds like fun, count me in!"
"Alright, you're obligated now bro." Jason smiles.
"Oh yeah, and no chicks." Rocky says, "We'll be engaging in activities that are not suited for passengers."
"Yeah, don't try to be Billy." Jason smiles, "It doesn't suit you."
"I got ya." Tommy says.
"We're leaving around 5:30 to grab some breakfast and on the road by 6:00."
"Great Jason."
"And now, we are going swimming. Do you want to come?"
"Let me see how Hannah's feeling, and if she's up for it, sure."
"Alright." Jason smiles as Hannah walks back into the room, ""how you feeling?"
"Better than last night, thanks Jason."
"You up for a little time at the beach?" Tommy asks.
"Sure, I guess for a little while."
"Ok." Tommy smiles. They get ready and head down to where Kimberly and Aisha have already staked out a place to put their things down.
"Hi Hannah, how are you feeling?"
"Better Aisha thanks."
"We're going shopping tomorrow. You are more than welcome to come if you want too."
"Well, that depends on what we're doing."
"Tommy's coming with us on a bike trip of the island. Guys only." Rocky says, pulling off his shirt.
"Well, I guess shopping sounds good.
"I'm heading in." Kim smiles, walking down to the water.
"Are you going swimming?" Tommy asks.
"No, I'm not feeling well enough, but you go sweetheart."
"Alright. I'll be back in a bit."
"Alright." She says, lying down on the blanket.
Tommy heads into the water, and dives under undetected by his friends. He finds Kim and Aisha's legs and grabs them. They scream and turn around quickly, "ASS!" Aisha says, punching him in the arm, as the others laugh.
"Jerk!" Kimberly says laughing.
"Scare ya?" He grins.
"Yes!" She groans slapping him.
"Let's go." Rocky smiles, as they make their way deeper to catch the waves.
"Take this one Rocky." Adam calls, as they body surf the wave in.
"What do you say we go and grab a couple of the real things?"
"You're on Rocky." Adam says as they go and rent a surf board. They were the first to surf before Kat and Kimberly get on, "Come on girl. Let's show them how it's done." Kat smiles.
"Right." Kim smiles, and the girls head out. The girls show up the boys for a while.
"Damn surfer girls." Rocky laughs.
Tommy looks over towards his girlfriend, "I'm gonna go see how Hannah is."
"Right." Aisha says, as she takes the board from Kat, and Trini takes the board from Kimberly.
Tommy swims to shore and walks over to her, "Hey, how ya doing?"
"Ok." She says.
"You feeling alright?"
"I'll live."
"Good."
"Can we go back soon?"
"What?" Tommy asks, looking at his watch, noticing they have only been out for a half an hour.
"Can we go back to the room soon?"
"We?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah, sure. Let me just get on the board once."
"That's fine." She smiles.
"Alright." He says quickly, and turns to get back to the water, "I'm on next. Hannah wants to head back to the hotel."
"Oh." Jason says.
"You know, Kim would never ask you to go back with her… OUCH!" Rocky says, getting punched hard in the arm.
"Let's go Jason." Tommy says, taking the surfboards from Kat and Aisha.
When they finish, Tommy and Rocky swim ashore, "What are you doing?"
"Renting another board."
"Oh."
"You should stay."
"Nah, Hannah really isn't feeling well."
"So?"
"So, I'm heading back for a bit."
"Right." Rocky says, before adding, "I was serious about that comment before…"
"If it was Kimberly who was sick, I would have gone back."
"Yeah, but she wouldn't have asked you."
"Still."
"Rocky…."
"That's all I'm going to say."
"You ready to head back babe?" Tommy asks walking towards the blanket.
"Yeah." She says, standing up, "The suns getting to me."
"Feeling sick again?"
"Yeah." She sighs.
"Well, we'll stay in tonight."
"Alright." She smiles, taking his hand, hearing him sigh, "You don't mind do you?"
"Of course not."
"Ok."
"Are you going to want dinner?"
"I don't think so. I may just eat a couple pretzels."
"Ok. I'll probably end up going to dinner with everyone then."
"You won't stay with me?"
"I'll grab dinner and then I'll be back."
"Alright," she sighs, "I thought you were going to stay in…"
"I am, but I need to eat."
"I understand." She says. "What are they doing tonight?"
"Who knows, but I think Kimberly is going back to the gym. She wasn't happy with her routines yesterday, and since her ankle is feeling better, she thinks she'll be better."
"Oh." She says, lying across Tommy with her head in his lap, "I can't believe that we are out of here in three days."
"Yeah, it has gone by fast."
The rest of the vacation was very nerve-racking for the friends. Now, Tommy and Kim would barely even talk to one another. They decided that they didn't want to fight anymore, and now instead of them fighting all the time, it was silent. They wouldn't talk directly to each other more than three times a day. Kimberly decided that instead of trying to get to know Hannah, she would just tolerate her. She would be leaving in a week and everything would go back to normal.
Saturday morning came, the day they were leaving. They had all packed the night before so they could sleep in a bit longer than usual. Their plane left at 12:30 in the afternoon, and they planned to be there at 11:00, so they have time to check their bags. Aisha set the alarm, and the next morning they woke up at 9:00 to have breakfast. Kimberly wasn't really hungry, in fact, she couldn't eat more than a fourth of her food. She was not feeling well at all. When they get back to the room, she looks at herself in the mirror, "Ugh." She says as she sees her pale complexion, "Great… I probably have what Hannah has."
"Kimberly, you ready?" She hears Aisha call to her.
"Yeah, give me a minute." She says, splashing water on her face.
"You alright?" Trini asks.
Kim opens the door, "Fine, let's go."
"We're taking the bikes to the airport. Tommy's uncle already had our bags taken."
"Good." Kim says, "Our carry on?"
"Will be waiting at check in for us."
"Outstanding."
They head down, and Tommy was saying goodbye to his family. The group thanked his uncle, and jumped onto the bikes. Kimberly was slow moving, but jumps onto Rocky's bike. The ride was only about 25 minutes and the guys were thrilled to drive the bikes the last time. As the ride went on, Kimberly felt worse. They were the last ones in the convoy. "Rocky, you need to pull over." She says urgency in her voice.
"What?"
"Please pull over." She begs.
He pulls the bike to the side of the road and Kim takes off her helmet, promptly getting sick. Rocky puts the kickstand down on the bike and goes over to his friend, "You ok?" He asks, when she was finished, helping her up.
"Yeah…" She says, "I hope this is a one time thing." She groans.
"If not, it's going to be a long flight for you." He says, handing her, her helmet, "I hope you don't have what Hannah has…"
"Me too." She sighs, shakily sitting down on the bike. She was almost too weak to hold on tightly to Rocky, and somehow he knew this, and took the last stretch of the bike ride slow. When they get to the terminal, they park the bikes, and leave the keys at the check in station, where Tommy's uncle will be picking them up. They grab their bags and head to the boarding area for their flight. Kim makes a hasty retreat to the bathroom, leaving her friends clueless.
"Is she ok?" Kat asks.
"She has Hannah's flu." Rocky sighs.
"Great…" Jason says, "This is gonna be an awful flight for her…"
"And who ever is sitting next to her." Hannah says smugly.
"We'll make sure it's you Hannah." Jason grumbles, "And we'll sit her in the window seat so there is a better chance of her throwing up on you."
"I'm going to go check on her." Aisha says, walking to the bathroom. "Kim you ok?"
"Peachy." She says, walking out of the stall to rinse her mouth.
"Great time to get the flu." Aisha says.
"You're telling me. This is going to be a long six hours." She sighs, splashing water on her face.
"You've had a shitty health streak this time home…"
"I think the first one was my emotions, even if I did have a fever. I think I was just worn down."
"You gonna be ok?"
"I'll live." She sighs.
"Do you feel better?"
"Not at all."
"You are gonna be sitting with Tommy and Hannah again. It will be closer to the bathroom."
"That's fine, I plan on sleeping the entire time anyway." She says.
They hear their flight boarding, "We should probably get going."
"You're right." Kim says and they walk over to the boarding area.
"You alright Kim?" Adam asks.
"I'll be fine."
"Sick?" Trini asks.
"Yeah." Kim sighs, grabbing her carryon bag. They board the plane, and Kim sits on the isle side, next to Tommy. She closes her eyes and hopes that she can make it the whole flight home with out getting sick.
"You ok?" Tommy asks.
"Yes." Kim says. Those were the first words that they spoke to each other the entire day.
"If you need anything…"
"Thanks." She says, closing her eyes again, taking a deep breath.
Throughout the entire flight, Kim was sick. Tommy was getting concerned after the fourth time on the three hour flight, she went to the bathroom.
"I hope she's ok…" Tommy says, aloud.
"She'll be fine. It is exactly what I had." Hannah says.
"No. You weren't throwing up as much…"
"She'll be fine." Hannah says, leaning her chair back and closing her eyes.
Tommy sighs, and watches Kimberly walk back to her chair. She sits down, and immediately closes her eyes. "How ya doing?"
"Awful." She says.
He puts a hand on her forehead as he watches her shiver, "You got a fever…"
"That would explain why I'm so cold." Kim says, not having enough energy to move his hand from her head, "Tommy, don't. I don't want you getting sick." She says.
"If I'm gonna get it, I will. I had Hannah in my room and bed all night while she was sick, and now you are sitting next to me…"
"Don't do anything more to get this though. Touching me included."
"Don't worry about me getting it." He says, as he watches her shiver. He stands up and reaches above into the carrier and pulls down his sweatshirt. He hands it to her, "Here, wear this." He smiles, and she pulls it on sighing.
"Thank you." She says. She knows he doesn't care, but she was always worried about him getting sick from her. He was the same way, but she never cared. They use to be more worried about each other rather than themselves, "Stop it Kim!" She shouts at herself. She can't wait till she goes back to Florida, so she can get on with her life. It was only two days away, so she will recover from this flu, and then head down to practice. The rest of the flight was hell. When she wasn't throwing up, she was trying to sleep, or getting pestered about how she was feeling. When they land, they are split up between Tommy, Rocky, and Jason's car. Tommy decided to take Hannah, Kim and Aisha home because his house was closer to Aisha's than the others.
"I'll take Aisha, Kim and Hannah." Tommy says, grabbing Kimberly's bag.
"Alright." Jason says, "I'll take Zack and Kat then, and Rocky, you can take Adam and Trini. That is probably the easiest, because we won't be going out of our ways."
"Alright. How about we all get together tomorrow then?" Adam says.
"Sounds good." Aisha smiles.
"I'll give you a call tonight Kim." Jason says.
"I'll answer it if I'm up." She replies, "I can get that Tommy." She tells him about her bag.
"Don't worry about it." He says. Her coloring was awful, and she looks ready to collapse. He doesn't want to do anything to put more strain on her. "I'll drop you two off first."
"Thanks Tommy." Aisha says, as they pile into his car. Kim's father and brother were out of town, so she decided to spend the last days of her trip west with Aisha.
"No problem." He says.
They drive in practically silence to Aisha's house. They were all exhausted. Tomorrow they would have plenty of time to revisit the trip. Kim and Aisha thanked Tommy and said goodbye to the last two people in the car and then they walked into the house. Aisha's mother was cooking dinner.
"Girls, is that you?"
"Yeah mom." Aisha says.
"How was your trip?"
"It was a lot of fun."
"How about you Kimberly, did you have a good time?"
"Yeah, it was fun." She replies with lack of enthusiasm.
"Well that didn't sound too enth… you look awful honey." She says, noticing Kim's complexion, "Are you sick?"
"Yeah." She sighs. "Hannah ended up sick for a day, and I was the lucky one to get it coming home on the plane… well an hour before."
"You should go lay down. Are you hungry? Do you want anything to eat or drink?"
"No, thank you." She says, and walks upstairs to try and get some sleep. She lies in her bed, but can't sleep. She felt too sick to do so. Every time she would fall asleep, she'd wake up a few minutes later, sick. "This is getting ridiculous." She says, brushing her teeth for what seemed like the thousandth time.
Around 9:00, there was a knock at the door, and Aisha answered it, "Hey Tommy."
"Hey." He says, "How's Kim feeling?"
"She's still pretty bad off." She says. "I think she's sleeping right now."
"Oh, well, listen, she forgot her jewelry in my car, I have it here. Do you think she'd mind if I go up and see how she is?"
"Nah." Aisha sighs, "She's probably too sick to care."
"Alright." He says, walking up to her room. When he doesn't see her, he goes over to the bathroom and opens the half opened door. He kneels besides her and pulls her hair out of her face.
"What are you doing here?" She asks, when she is finished retching.
"I brought your jewelry back. You left it in my car."
"Thank you." She says shaking.
"Are you ok?"
"My chest and stomach hurt so much…" She says, "It's all dry, and it hurts."
"Come on, let's get you back into bed." He says, helping her up.
When she lies down, she says, "Here, do you want your sweatshirt back?"
"No, you keep it until you feel better. We're all going to be getting together tomorrow, so you can bring it if you feel well enough."
"Alright." She says, looking him directly into his eyes, "Thank you."
"No problem. You get some sleep, alright Kimberly?"
"Yeah."
"I'll see you tomorrow." He says, watching her eyes close. He sighs and stands up, patting her arm, before walking out the door.
"She ok?" Aisha asks.
"She'll be fine by tomorrow." Tommy says, "Do you know what we are doing tomorrow?"
"No, probably just hanging out. It's Kim's last full day with us, so we'll probably hit up the Youth Center."
"When does she start practice again?"
"Tuesday."
"She doesn't give herself much time."
"She wanted to spend as much time as she could with us." Aisha sighs. "Who knew all this change could occur in three weeks."
"Yeah." Tommy sighs, "Well, listen, I'm gonna head home. I'll see you girls tomorrow sometime."
"Alright. See ya Tommy."
"Bye Aisha." And with that Tommy walks out, into his car, and drives back home. His sister was sitting in the living room when he comes home.
"Hi Tommy."
"Hey Morgan." He smiles, kissing the top of his little sister's head.
"How was Hawaii?"
"It was great, how have you been?"
"Pretty good." She says, "Are you still with Hannah?"
"Yes, I am."
"Will Kim come over and visit us again before she leaves?"
"I don't know Morgan, she's sick right now."
"With what?"
"Some stomach bug."
"Eww." She says.
"Exactly. Hannah got it, and Kim was its next victim." He smiles. "But, I'll see how she is feeling tomorrow, and if she's up to it, she'll come over and say goodbye."
"Good."
"I got you something from Hawaii." He says, knowing that would take her mind off of his ex.
"Really! What did you get me!" She asks, eagerly.
"Come and see." He says, walking up the stairs to his bedroom.
"They are SOOOO cool!" Morgan smiles, hugging her brother. They were native Hawaiian Earrings, and when it comes to earrings, Morgan loves them all.
"Glad you like them." He smiles, looking at his watch. "Listen, Hannah and I are going out for ice cream, would you like to come and get to know her?"
Morgan hesitates for a second, "I know her already, and what I know I don't like."
"Well, maybe you will get to like her. Come on, we haven't hung out in a long time." He smiles.
"Ok." She sighs, knowing that she isn't going to like the girl, but goes along anyway to be with her brother.
"Great, come on." He says. "She lives over where Jason lives, do you remember where that is?"
"Not really, but I remember where Kim and Aisha live." She smiles.
"Enough Morgan." He says, groaning. "Come with me." He says as the park the car in the drive way, and walk to the door. Tommy knocks and Hannah's mother comes to the door, "Hi Mrs. Christie."
"Hi Tommy, how are you?"
"Fine, you?"
"I'm fine, thank you. Did you have a good time?"
"Yeah, it was a lot of fun." He smiles.
"And who might you be?" Mrs. Christie asks Morgan.
"This is my sister, Morgan."
"Well hello Morgan, it is very nice to meet you."
"You too."
"How old are you?"
"14." She says, looking at her brother.
"Is Hannah ready?"
"Let me get her, come on in." She says, and calls up to her daughter.
She comes downstairs and smiles at Morgan and Tommy, "Hey sweetie." She says, kissing his cheek. Morgan makes a face of disgust, "How are you Morgan?"
"Just peachy." She sighs, turning away from Hannah, "Can we go Tommy?"
"Yeah. Good to see you again Mrs. Christie."
"You too honey, and it was nice to meet you Morgan."
"Bye." Morgan says, and walks out the door. She knows the routine, when she is out with her brother and his girlfriend she sits in the back. Normally she doesn't mind it, but because it's Hannah she is miserable. There were times where Kimberly would sit in the back with her and talk, or sometimes, Kim would let Morgan sit up front and she would be in the back. The ride was quiet, which was something else Morgan wasn't use to. She was not included in most of the conversation that was going around. She decided that this change wasn't a good one, but wanted to make her brother happy, so she was as outgoing as she could be. By 11:00, Morgan and Tommy took Hannah home. She jumps into the front seat as soon as Hannah is out of the car, and watches her brother take her to the house. When Tommy comes back into the car he says, "Well?"
"Still don't like her." She sighs, and looks out the window.
"You will Morgan."
"I don't want to like her Tommy." She mumbles, "But I'm glad I got to hang out with you." She smiles.
"We don't do this nearly enough." He smiles.
The next morning Kim was feeling a lot better than she was. She woke up around noon, and had a little something to eat.
"Hey, how ya feeling?" Aisha asks, as she comes in from outside.
"Better, a lot better. Where were you?"
"That's great, and Adam, Rocky and I went for a run. We haven't done much just the three of us."
"Yeah, I know how that feels." She smiles. The original five haven't done much together either.
"So, what are you up to doing today?"
"Anything." Kim smiles.
"Great. We are going to be meeting everyone at 1:30 at the Youth Center…"
"I actually was thinking about heading over to Tommy's parents for a bit and say goodbye to Mrs. Oliver and Morgan. I really haven't seen much of them, so you may not see me until almost two."
"No problem." Aisha smiles, "We'll hang out there until you get back."
"Great. I shouldn't be long, but I really have to get over there…"
Aisha smiles and says, "I'm gonna go grab a shower, did you already get one?"
"No, but I'll grab one after you."
"Great." Aisha smiles and heads upstairs. She looks into Kim's room and sees that she already has everything packed away in a suitcase except for a few of the necessities. She sighs. Rocky, Adam and her talked about how much they were going to see Kim now that Tommy and her broke up. They decided that if they want to see her, they will have to go down to Florida, because there was too much pain for her in Angel Grove. Aisha didn't want to admit it, but she knows that Adam and Rocky are speaking the truth.
"You alright Aisha?" Kim asks, startling her.
"Yeah. Fine."
"What's up?"
"I'm worried."
"About what?"
"How much we are going to see you now that you two aren't together anymore."
"I didn't come up just to see him…"
"I know that, but he is still here…"
"I'll be around Aisha, as much as I have been… and once the Pan Globals are over…"
"You'll go to the Olympics." Aisha smiles.
"Yeah right." Kim laughs, "I may be good enough for Pan Globals, but come on, the Olympics?"
"If you want them you can have them." Aisha smiles.
"I'll be back, I promise." Kim says.
Aisha nods, "I'm jumping into the shower."
"Alright." Kim smiles and goes into her room to finishing the last bit of packing. This vacation couldn't end as fast as she wanted it too. Sure, she was glad to see her friends, but this Tommy thing really put a damper on her whole vacation.
Kim goes over to the Oliver's and sits with his parents and sister for a while before leaving to meet up with her friends. That night they all go out to dinner and then hang out at the park.
"So, what time does your flight leave tomorrow?" Trini asks.
"1:00pm." Kim says, "But I have to get there by around 12:30."
"I'll go with you." Trini smiles.
"So will I." Aisha says.
"I think we all will." Zack smiles.
"Except for Tommy and I." Hannah says.
"Why?" Jason asks.
"My little sister has a dance recital that afternoon." She says, "Remember?"
"Yeah, I remember." Tommy sighs, "So I guess we'll say our goodbyes tonight."
Jason looks over at Kim and can clearly see the hurt expression on her face, but she toughens up, "That's fine."
"Sorry."
"Don't be, you guys have something else to do, it's not a big deal. I'll see you the next time I come up."
"And when will that be?" Hannah asks.
"I dunno, probably in a few months, maybe around thanksgiving."
"When are the games?"
"The second week in May." Kim replies.
"Well, that sounds wonderful." Hannah says smiling.
"I'm looking forward to it, however, I'm not sure if Christmas will be an option for me to come home. Mom has been hinting around that she wants me in Paris…"
"That sucks." Aisha says frowning.
"There is nothing I can do about it… I was here this Christmas, so next one I guess I'll be in France."
"I guess." She replies.
"But let's not talk about that right now. It's my last night with you guys, let's go do something." She smiles.
"You guys up for volleyball?"
"Sure." They all agree. Kim plays till she tires and then sits out. She was feeling better, but still getting a bit weak on occasion.
The next day, they meet and head to the Airport. Kim was very upset that Tommy wasn't there.
"He had to go to the recital." Jason says to his best friend.
"I don't care." Kim says, "I really don't. He's not my boyfriend anymore, so screw it. I am jut glad that I'm getting away from him for a while."
"Don't be a stranger Kim." Rocky says, hearing the last part, "We are still here."
"I won't. I'll be back when I can, I promise. There is always a place for you down in Florida too if you guys wanna come visit."
"I think I'll take you up on that offer." Rocky smiles.
"Final Boarding call for Miami Florida, flight 267."
"Well, I guess I'll see you all soon." Kim says, looking at her friends, "I love you all."
They all say goodbye and give Kim a hug, before she hands her boarding pass to the flight attendant.
"Kimberly." Aisha says, causing her to turn around, "Call me when you get there ok?"
She smiles, "I will. Bye guys."
She quickly boards the plane and sits down at the window seat, "My god that was hard." She thought. She was furious at Tommy for not coming, and she didn't want to leave her friends. She was going to take a cab, so she didn't have to see any of them, but they insisted that they would see her off. She left without shedding a tear, but she wanted too. This was the most exhausting three weeks of her life, and she was glad to be leaving. Now she could forget about him, she could forget about the pain.
The flight was long, however, there was no turbulence, which she was grateful for. Cooper would be picking her up from the Airport, meeting her in Terminal B, baggage claim. She steps off the plane and sees him there, "Hey shortie." He says, hugging her.
"Hey Cooper. Thanks for picking me up."
"No problem." He smiles. Cooper was one of her gymnast friends. He was 5'9 with blonde hair and blue eyes. He is supposed to bring gold home to the United States. "Renee told me."
"Of course she did." Kim sighs.
"How are ya doing with that Kim?"
"It's been very hard, especially seeing him with the new girl, but being down here, I am sure will help a lot."
"No worries babe, we'll find you a new guy soon enough…"
"I'm not…"
"Once you are ready." He says, finishing her thought. "Lets get your bag. So how was everything else?"
"My friends were great, Hawaii was alright, and coming back here was wonderful."
"Hawaii was just alright?"
"Yeah, because of him and her, and the fact that I ended up sick coming home… which was awful."
'I could imagine. How are you feeling now?"
"Perfect."
"Ready for practice tomorrow?"
"Yeah, I am."
"You been practicing?"
"A little bit, so my ass will probably be at that gym all day tomorrow."
"Mine too shortie." He laughs. They get to their apartment complex and Kimberly grabs her bags, thanking Cooper. He lived on the second floor, Kim on the sixth. They say goodbye, and she goes to her room.
"Renee?" Kim calls.
"Hey Kim! I am so glad to see you! I've missed you!" The enthusiastic girl says, coming into the room. Renee was 5'5 with black hair and bright green eyes.
"I've missed you too."
"How you holding up?"
"It hurts, but I'll be fine." Kim says, sighing.
"Come on, let's get you unpacked." She smiles, "You can tell me all about it if you want too."
"You got about two hours?"
"I got all the time in the world." Renee smiles, as they go into Kim's bedroom and start to unpack her. She explains everything about when she got off the plane, how he wasn't there, then he tells her that he kissed this other girl, and how Hawaii was fun, but a flop. Renee listens to her, not believing her ears. She sat with her friend as she cried, and tried to tell her that it would be fine. "You'll get over him Kim. I promise. He'll be a memory after a few months. You will think, Tommy who!"
"I don't want to though Renee. I loved him. I still love him."
"Don't worry about him right now. All you need to do is concentrate on gymnastics. That's it."
"Yeah, I know. It's just what I want."
"I don't blame you. Are you hungry? Do you wanna go get food with Shawn, Cooper and I?"
"Yeah, that sounds good." Kim says, forgetting to call Aisha. In the middle of dinner, her cell phone rings, she looks at the number and says, "Shit…" before answering the call, "I am so sorry, I forgot to call you."
"Don't worry about it Kimberly." Aisha says, slightly annoyed, but more relieved that she was ok, "You there ok?"
"Yeah, I'm having some dinner with a couple of my friends."
"Oh, that's nice." She says, "Anyway, Tommy wanted me to tell you how sorry…"
"Please, don't say anything about him right now Aisha." She says, her voice wavering, "I can't talk about him in public." Cooper puts his arm around her offering her comfort.
"Well, ok, but he's sorry."
"Tell him that it's not a problem." She says.
"Ok, well I won't keep you from your dinner, I'll talk to you soon ok?"
"Ok. Tell everyone I said Hi and that I love them." She says.
"Here, you tell them." She says, putting her on speaker.
She hears, "Hi Kimberly." From everyone.
"Hi Guys, I love you, and I'll call everyone soon ok?"
"Yup! No Problem Kim." Rocky's voice flows over the receiver.
"Talk to you all soon. Bye." Kim says, and with a bye from the group, she hangs up.
The next morning at 5:00am, Kimberly's alarm goes off. She gets up and grabs a shower, trying to wake herself up. She has a bit of jet lag, so she didn't sleep as well as she would have. Renee and Kim take turns wakening up at 5:00. Some days Kim would take a shower first and some day's Renee would. Who ever took the shower first, was in charge of making breakfast, so today, Kim made waffles. The girls walked to the gym which was only about five blocks from their apartment, but it was still a good 5 to 10 minute walk. At 5:45, the girls began to stretch, talking to each other as they did so. The coach came out at 6:00, and smiles at his two gymnasts.
"Welcome home girls." He says with his thick accent, "Are you ready to work?"
"You bet Coach." Renee smiles.
"Good." He says, "Kimberly, Beam, Renee Floor."
"Ok." Kim smiles.
"I'll be working with the two of you today on these for the morning. In the afternoon I want Kimberly on Bars and Renee, you will be on Beam." The girls sigh at these. They are their most hated events. "Is there a problem?"
"No Coach Schmidt."
"No." Kim says, as they walk over to their respected areas. Kim couldn't get Tommy out of her head at all this morning. She couldn't get out of her head what happened, so her routines faltered. Her very first mount she slipped off.
"Kimberly! What was that!" The coach boomed.
"Sorry, I slipped."
"You need to concentrate! I don't need you back in the hospital because of your lack of concentrating."
"I'm sorry." She sighs.
"Do it again. I only want your mount. Ten times, before you can move on."
"Right." She says, and completes her ten mounts.
"That's more like it. Now, you may continue." He says, getting his stopwatch. Her routine can only be five minutes, no longer. If it is longer, she will get deducted. Her routine was almost six minutes long, "Awful! Just awful Kimberly! I have NEVER seen you do so horrible. Your routine lasted 5 minutes and 56 seconds! Where is your head today? It is obviously not in your footwork. Your legs were bent, your dismount took you five seconds to complete, not to mention a simple back handspring combination that you have been doing since you were ten! I want you to get your head into your practicing and continue. You are not going to be getting the gold this way. I'd be surprised if you even medalled! What do you have to say for yourself?"
"I'm sorry." She sighs.
"Sorry isn't going to get you the gold Kimberly."
Cooper watches his friend from over at the rings, he shakes his head, "Come on Kim, get your mind into practice."
"Again Cooper." The assistant coach says, as he helps him up onto the rings.
After an hour and a half on the beam, the coach is furious with her, "Get off the beam Kimberly, you are disgusting me. Go take a break and get your head into practice. If you can't you better get out of the gym. You are better than this Kimberly! What ever is bothering you better stop because I am sick of watching you throw away your practice time. You have fifteen minutes, afterwards you better be back on this beam practicing. Renee, let's see it!" The coach calls, as he hears her music start.
Kimberly quickly makes her way into the locker room. She sits down on the floor with her back against her locker and runs a hand through her hair, "Come on Kimberly, snap out of it." She thinks, "Get him out of your mind. He isn't worth you throwing something this important away." Then the tears begin, "Why can't I stop loving him? He threw me away, why can't I do the same to him?"
Lindsey come into the locker room to see how Kimberly is, "Kim?"
"Yeah." She says, quickly wiping her eyes.
"Are you ok?"
"I'm just not into practice today." She says.
"Renee told me…"
"Who hasn't she told."
"Come on Kim, you would have eventually told me." Kim sighs, Lindsey was right. She was almost as close to Lindsey as she was to Renee. "You better get out there Kim, and really work your butt off, because Coach is pissed."
"I know." She sighs, standing up. She heads out and works as hard as she can at her routine. She thought it ended pretty well, but the coach wanted her to run through it again.
"Now that is what you left with. Thank you!" He says to her, when she dismounts, "I can see that your dismount has been worked on."
"Yeah, when I was in Hawaii I took two nights and worked on my routines."
"How bout your bars?"
"I worked on them twice."
"Well, after lunch we'll practice with them."
"Ok." She says.
They all go to lunch and are back at practice by 1:00. The rest of the practice was tiring, and when she gets home all she wants to do is sleep, which is exactly what she does. She has four voice mails on her phone, but ignores them all, "They can wait till later." She concludes.
Around September, Kimberly really has gotten over Tommy. She was doing great, and having a great time. She still thinks about him often, however, she doesn't dwell over him because she knows it will ruin her life. She has to start moving on and she is. Maybe it isn't the fact that she has gotten over him, maybe it is the fact that she doesn't expect anything more to come of it.
"Today was an awesome practice Kim!" Cooper smiles at his friend, "You did great!"
"So did you." Kim smiles. "We only got a couple more months, and then it's Pan Globals time!"
"I know, I'm excited." Cooper smiles, "And it's really good to see you back to your old self."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean with Tommy. I'm glad you had closure on him…"
"Oh yeah, that." She sighs.
"Kim…"
"You know what, I'm gonna head home and get some food. I am starving."
"Alright. I'll catch you later."
"Later Coop." Kim says, moving quickly to her apartment. She goes into her room and locks the door, opening a box that's under her bed. She looks at all her old pictures and then puts them back, placing them in her closet, where she can't access them. She has gotten rid of almost everything Tommy gave her, well, meaning, she put it into a box in her closet. All her pictures are without him, except for one. It was the two of them at the park. His arms are wrapped around her waste, and his chin on her shoulder. She can't remember who took this, but she couldn't bear to part with it. She almost cries when she looks at it on her desk. "You're fooling everyone Kimberly, especially yourself."
Tommy was shopping Hannah so she could buy clothes for the new school year. Tommy was glad to be graduating this year, as was Hannah. Somehow, this shopping trip feels like he was missing something, and that something was Kim.
"What do you think Tommy?" She asks, as she displays a black and pink short-sleeved dress.
"I like it." He says, looking her over.
"Thanks." She smiles, kissing him. He sighs as she walks back into the dressing room. Tommy agrees with everything Hannah tries on, and then they go and pay. "Do you need anything?"
"No, I went last week." He smiles, as she takes his hand in hers, "Are you hungry?"
"Yeah." She smiles.
"What do you feel like eating?"
"Do you want Chinese?"
"Sounds good." Tommy says, as they walk over to the Chinese Restaurant.
"This summer went really fast." Hannah smiles.
"Yeah it did."
"I'm glad that school is finally starting. It will end sooner than we think though."
"I know. It is going to go by really fast." He smiles. "Do you need to get anything else?"
"Just shoes." She smiles.
Tommy hates shoe shopping. Kimberly would always drag him, and he detested it, "ugh."
"Don't you wanna go shoe shopping?"
"I hate shoe shopping."
"Why?"
"Because all you do is sit there, and you girls go through 8000 pairs of shoes." He smiles.
"Well, if you feel that way about it…" She huffs.
"I'm kidding Hannah." He says.
"Doesn't sound like it."
Tommy looks at her, "I don't like shoe shopping, but I don't mind going. I always went…"
"With Kimberly?" She says, "You did everything with Kim didn't you? I thought you were over her Tommy…"
"I am making a reference to my shoe shopping experiences…"
"And that reference happens to be Kimberly. I am sick of hearing all about her. All summer, it was 'I wonder what Kim's doing,' or 'Kimberly called,' or 'When is Kimberly coming home'. I am sick of hearing about her." She sighs, "You don't know what it is like living in the shoes of Kimberly. I hate it."
"No one is expecting you to live in Kim's shoes. She's still around… and if ANYONE knows what it's like to live in the shadow of Kim, it's Kat. She got over it, and you will too."
"But you didn't date Kat."
"Still…" He says, sighing, "Hannah, I really don't want to get into this again."
"I'm sorry." She sighs.
Tommy begins to think about where his relationship is going with Hannah. He likes her, but he doesn't know if it will be permanent. It wasn't the same as his relationship with Kim. He threw away something that he shouldn't have, and he is beginning to realize it.
October comes around, and it has been four months since Tommy and Kim have seen each other. School has been going great, and so has practice for Kimberly. Her head was back into the practice, most days, other days, she couldn't focus. She still misses Tommy, but has herself fooled that if she doesn't see him, she doesn't need him. She made her plans for Christmas in Paris with her mother, and she made plans to spend New Years with her friends.
"Again Kimberly." The coach says. She hates those words. "Stay tight Kimberly. Arms are slightly bent Kim, straighten them out." He calls to his best gymnast. "Excellent!" He calls as she dismounts, "That was your best performance yet!"
Kim smiles, brushing a piece of hair out of her eyes, "Thanks." She smiles.
"You look tired Kimberly, take the rest of the afternoon off. Tomorrow, practice starts at noon, after classes."
"Alright, thank you Coach." She replies. She has a ton of things to do before tomorrow, including homework. Physics was killing her, but the good thing is she'll be done in May. She already began applying to colleges, and hopes that she can stay down there and go to the University of Miami on a scholarship. She decided not to go back up to Angel Grove after Pan Globals because she would only be in school for a month, and there was no point of transferring out there for a month.
That night was difficult for her, because every friend down there keeps saying, "Kim, I have this guy…" and she just wasn't ready to begin dating. She was too busy to deal with the emotions of another guy, especially when she knows that they will not ever amount up to what Tommy was. Every guy they said she turned down.
"You have to start dating sometime Kim." Cooper says.
"I'll date when I'm good and ready Cooper." She says, in a very demanding tone of voice.
"I'm just saying…"
"I know what you are saying, and I am not interested, now, please leave because I have a lot of homework to do." She says.
"Fine." He says, going out of her room and over to Renee's. "I don't know what more to do for her…"
"How about leaving her alone, and letting her figure out what the hell she wants."
"She doesn't know what she wants."
"Just let her go Coop." Renee sighs, "She'll come around."
"I guess your right." He sighs.
Back in Angel Grove, Tommy is just fooling himself. He can't go on living a lie that he loves Hannah. It was getting too hard. All he could think about was Kim and how horrible he treated her. He needed to break it off with Hannah and go down to talk to Kim. He needs to tell her how he feels, even if nothing comes out of his trip. Angel Grove High is closed from October 10-October 19 for a long break. It was October 10th today, and he can't take it anymore.
"Hannah." He says suddenly when they were walking down the street, "I can't do this anymore."
She looks at him, "I know." She says.
"I love her too much Hannah."
She smiles at him, "I know you do, and it's ok."
"We're friends right?"
She nods with tears in her eyes, "Friends. I can do friends, because that's all we've been for a month."
He kisses her cheek, "I'm so sorry."
"Don't be. Go tell her, and if nothing happens, I'll still be here."
He smiles, "Thank you so much for understanding." And with that, he runs back to his house, and opens the door, "Mom!"
"What?"
"I'm going to Florida."
"What!"
"I'm flying to Florida. I have to talk to Kimberly." He says, running upstairs and throwing clothes into his suitcase, "I can't do this anymore."
"Tommy…"
"I know, it may not do any good, but I need to tell her. I've been fooling myself for too long."
"Do you have the money?"
"Yes…"
"Here, take your fathers credit card. Put the plane ticket on the card ok?"
"Right."
"Be safe." She says, "And be home before school starts again."
"I will." He smiles, kissing his mother. "Bye."
"Bye." She smiles, as her son jumps into his car and runs out.
He gets the first flight, which will drop him off in Florida around 4:00. He was very excited, and nervous, but he has to tell her. He can't take it anymore.
Hannah goes into the youth center, and sees her friends, "Hey guys."
"Hey Hannah." Aisha says, "Are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm fine."
"Where's Tommy?" Rocky asks.
"On his way to Miami…"
"WHAT!" Jason says, "What do you mean on his way to Florida."
"We're going to be friends, he can't lie to himself anymore."
"I'm sorry." Kat says, hugging her friend.
"I'm ok with it. We're friends, and that's all that I need. He hasn't been in the relationship in a month, so I'm not surprised."
"Should we call Kim and let her know?" Adam asks.
"I don't think we could get to her in time. She's at practice now…" Jason sighs. 'God, I hope this works.' He thinks to himself.
Tommy touches down around 4:00 in Miami. He grabs his bags and hails a cab.
"Where you off too?" The cab driver asks.
"The Seaside Apartment A, over on…"
"Sunset Drive?"
"Yes."
"Right. I'll have you there in a minute." He smiles, driving him about twenty minutes. Tommy couldn't wait to see her, even if her reaction to him was negative, he needs to tell her. "Here we are buddy."
"Thanks." He says, grabbing his small suitcase, then pays the cab driver. He takes a deep breath as he looks at Kimberly's apartment. He quickly goes into the apartment complex, grabbing the elevator and takes it up to the sixth floor. He walks down the hallway and knocks on her door, Apartment number 30 A. He knocks again when no one comes to the door, "Come on!" He says, "Dammit!"
"Excuse me." A voice calls from two doors down, "Who are you looking for?"
"Excuse me?" Tommy asks, the voice catching him off guard.
"Who are you looking for, Kim or Renee."
"Kimberly." He says, "Do you know where she is?"
"Yeah, she's over at the gym. She should be finishing up practice right about now."
"How do I get there?"
"Go out the apartment complex and hang a left. Its approximately three blocks down, you'll see Coach Schmidt's Gymnastics Complex. You can walk there. It's only about a ten minute walk, if that."
"Thanks a lot…"
"Shawn." He smiles.
"Shawn." Tommy smiles back as he turns.
"Hey."
"Yeah?"
"Are you Tommy?"
Tommy swallows hard, "Yeah…"
"I've heard about you."
"Oh…"
"Don't hurt her anymore." He says, with a strong tone of voice.
"I'm trying to fix it." He says, and he picks up his bag and heads quickly out of the apartment and runs down the three blocks to the complex.
Kimberly was coming out of the complex with Cooper and Renee, "You want to go get some food?" Renee asks.
"That sounds good." Cooper replies.
"Yeah, I'm starving." Kim smiles.
"You should be, coach really road you today."
"I was just glad that I wasn't getting yelled at." Kim smiles.
Tommy sees her for the first time in almost three months. He stops as she walks towards him with her friends, "Kimberly." He calls to her.
Her head snaps forward to the familiar voice and she goes white, "Oh my god…" She says stopping dead in her tracks, as her eyes begin to fill with tears behind her sunglasses.
"Kim…"
"Is that Tommy?" Cooper asks, getting a nod from the brunette standing next to him. He was like Jason, and hates seeing anyone hurt his friend. He wants to jump over and punch Tommy in the face for what he has put her through.
"What are you doing here?" She demands, her voice wavering. "What the hell are you doing here?" She says again.
"I…" Tommy starts. "I…." He sees the anger in the eyes of her friends, standing next to her. He begins to wonder if coming here was such a good idea, but he has to tell her.
Cooper walks towards Tommy, "What the hell did you come here for? Haven't you hurt her enough?" He asks.
"Cooper… please, don't." Kimberly calls to him. She knows that Tommy won't fight him, but she is still worried.
"Haven't you put her through enough!"
"This is between Kimberly and me." Tommy says.
"You're wrong."
"Cooper…. Stop it." Kim calls to him, "Please."
"Kim, you deserve…"
"I'm serious Cooper! STOP IT!" She says, as the tears roll down her face. She looks at Tommy through sunglasses, "What are you doing here Tommy?"
"Kimberly…" He says, walking closer to him. He can see her tense up. There is no escaping the truth now, "I want to tell you how sorry I am. I love you Kimberly…"
Kim stands there looking like she has been hit in the face with a ton of bricks. He waits for her answer, which felt like days. He couldn't read her face. She was crying, but her glasses were hiding her eyes.
TBC….
This chapter was long, because I wanted to get through the Hawaiian island trip and into the next section. I felt that having some drama was a good thing during this chapter.
The next chapter will be coming very soon! Let me know what you guys want to happen, and I'll try and incorporate it!
I hope you all enjoyed it! Please read and Review… they have really been great and I appreciate them greatly!
Check out "The Diary" Too if you get a chance and Review too please! Another T/K in the process.
I'll be posting another chapter very very soon, I promise.
Thanks!
LUNA