You and I Both…
Disclaimer: Not mine, I just own characters and places that aren't PR related.
: Thank you for everyone who has reviewed, I appreciate all your reviews so much. Life hasn't been as hectic as the last few weeks so hopefully I'll update more often. This is the forteenth chapter, hope you like it. Enjoy! ; )
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Chapter Fourteen: Finally, feelings development?
" How's Kim?" Jason practically yanked Zack's collar, demanding for an answer which better be a good one.
" The doctor's still checking her, Man. They haven't told us anything," the American African boy said gloomily. An extraordinary upset and grim expression masked his usual cheerful feature. He patted Jason's back. He's still in his red karate uniform with a black bandana wrapped around his forehead.
" I have contacted Kimberly's mother. Ms. Hart is on her way to the hospital," Billy informed. The beautiful Asian girl sat beside the genius, leaning her head on his shoulder to seek out some supports. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying.
" Tommy, at this rate, sooner or later you'll bore a hole on the floor," Marissa said, watching as the white clad boy walking in a small circle in the middle of the corridor.
The statement didn't stop him from continuing his pacing. Tommy felt cold inside. That was Kimberly in there and his brain found difficulties to wrap itself around it.
There's a loud and long honk which followed by a loud shriek. And another one and another one. He swirled around swiftly. Acting on instinct, Tommy dropped Marissa's platic bags and ran towards the crowds that had started to form. There's just something in that scream that was so awfully familiar to him.
He nearly fainted when he saw Kimberly seemed lifeless body lying on the street. That face, that familiar pink T-shirt and those caramel tresses. How could he not notice that it was her? Even with the streak of blood flowed down the side of her face. She was on her back and her eyes were closed.
" Call the ambulance!" someone shouted. Tommy tried to run through the mass of people.
" Excuse me, let me through!" after struggling for a moment, Tommy managed to walk through the crowd and he knelt beside Kim. " oh God, Kim. Somebody, call for an ambulance!" he almost yelled. His heart drummed wildly inside his chest.
" Oh, Kim…," Marissa whimpered softly, her hand coming up to cover her mouth.
Tommy touched Kim's pale cheek gently. He wanted to take her into his arms but knew that he couldn't, shouldn't, move her.
From there everything was like somekind of a blur. The ambulance arrived and they took Kim to the Angel Grove Memorial Hospital. Tommy went with her while Marissa followed them with her car. He held Kim's hand on the way there for what seemed like an eternity. Although the paramedics told him that they had her under control but it didn't keep bad thoughts away from his mind.
" It's my fault," Trini muttered, cutting Tommy's bewilderment reverie. He turned his head but not stopping his pace. " if only I went with her, this wouldn't be happening,"
" It's not your fault," Jason walked closer and stopped in front of her. He put his large hands on her trembling shoulders. " it's that bastard's fault and he'll pay,"
Tommy's eyes darkened at that. From the police, he collected that although there were some eyewitnesses who said that Kim was the one who walked and stopped dead on her track without paying any attention to the road, further investigation also proofed that the truck driver was appeared to be drunk.
Marissa got to her feet and started towards Tommy. She stopped exactly in front of the long haired boy, effectively blocking him from making another round of pacing. He asked impatiently," What?"
" Tommy, you have to calm down," she grabbed his arm and dragged him to a vacant seat, pushing him to sit down. " you've begun to make us dizzy,"
" That's Dr. Kirk," Jason muttered under his breath and abandoned his seat under a second. The others soon followed. " how's Kim, Doctor?" Jason asked, his dark colored eyes searching the young doctor's face.
Dr. Kirk took off his glasses, offering a tight smile at the anxious teenagers in front of him. " Kimberly is alright. We'll move her to her room in a moment. She experiences a light concussion and her left wrist is cracked. Bruised ribs and she got eight stitches on her temple,"
Tommy swallowed a lump in his throat, breathing out a hard sigh of relief. She's alright, she's fine. Her wrist was cracked, there're some bruised ribs, her temple was wounded, Tommy cringed when he remembered the streak of blood on her face, and she had a light concussion. But she's okay. She'd live and that what's counted.
Zack cringed at the doctor's result. " Are you sure she will be okay? That sounds just… terrible,"
" It will take time for her to recover, but I guarantee you, she will be just as good as before," Dr. Kirk said soothingly. " if you need anything, I'll be in my office,"
" Thank you, Dr. Kirk," Billy clasped the doctor's hand tightly, saying his gratitude.
" Can we see her?" Trini asked in concern.
" Sure, just one at a time. She needs a lot of rest," the doctor smiled and nodded before turning and walking away.
" Oh God! Jason!" Tommy turned his head and saw Kimbery's mother and his Dad rush towards the small group. Jason was quick to meet them halfway.
" It's okay, Ms. Hart," Jason tried to calm her down. He shot a quick look at Benjamin and returned his attention back to the woman. " the Doctor has come with her result. She'll be fine,"
Tears came down Caroline's face. Jason was repeating Dr. Kirk's explanation to Kimberly's dead worried Mom. Tommy knew that they'd got to be worried sick of Kim's condition. Jason was already like a big brother she'd never had and well, Caroline was her mother. Tommy glanced at them for a moment before turning to his Dad.
" Hey, Dad," he started weakly. The doctor had assured them that Kim would be alright but it only did a little to put his mind at ease.
Ben patted his son back. " Are you okay?"
His reply was a simple and dishonest, " I am," when actually he felt like he was going to be sick. He wasn't feeling fine in the slightest. Not until he saw her, talked to her and made sure by himself that she was indeed okay.
Ms. Hart was the first one who came into the room to see Kim, soon followed by Trini and Jason. When the two bestfriends finally exited the room, Billy walked over to Tommy and smiled encouragingly. Tommy looked up from his place.
" Why don't you go inside and see Kimberly?" he offered sympathetically, making Tommy's eyes bulged.
" You go first, Man," Tommy forced himself to say. As much as he wanted to storm into the room, he realized that it wasn't his place. Billy knew Kim since they were kids and so did Zack.
Zack moved to Billy's side, the first grin he showed after he heard about the accident appear on his face. "Go, bro. You know you want to,"
Damn. Was he really that transparent? " Well, if you say so..,"
Jason grabbed the still reluctant boy's shoulders, lifting him off the hard and uncomfortable waiting room chair. The martial artist gave him a shove with a playful smile tugged on his lips. " She wants to see you too," he added with a wink. Now, after knowing that his little sis was far from danger, he could display that smile once again.
" She does?" Tommy repeated, sounding more desperate than he would have liked. His face flushed red when everyone gave him a knowing smile. Even Kim's mother nugded his Dad's arm.
" Yes, she does, Tommy," Trini said, emphasizing each word.
" Are you sure?" he asked again, much to his friends' impatience growls.
" Do you want me to kick your butt down there, Tommy?" Zack said threateningly. And he would if he must.
Tommy looked at Jason who gave him a nod. He shrugged and walked closer to Kim's door. Room 165. He pushed the door knob and it opened slowly. He slipped silently into the room.
The room was not too big but not too small either. The soft blue painted wall gave him a warm feeling and the small form lying on the bed near the window warmed him even more.
Kim was in a pink hospital gown, kinda fitting her fondness of the color. Her eyes were closed and her head was bandaged. Tommy looked at her as her chest moved up and down constantly. He released a breath of relief and cast a lingering look at her before deciding to make his presence known.
" Hey Kim,"
When her eyes fluttered open, showing the soft brown eyes, Tommy was already on the side of the bed. She seemed to be a little disoriented if only for a while. She was startled and she moved her head which was not a smart move. Kim hissed in pain.
" Don't move," Tommy said, touching her shoulder lightly. " the doctor said you have a light concussion,"
" What are you doing here?" she asked a bit harshly and frowned but stopped when it increased the dizziness.
At normal condition, Tommy probably would try to come up with something to match her words but not this time. He sat on the edge of the bed.
" Who said you can stay?" she responded hastily, her eyes unusually steely.
" Kim, how are you feeling?" he ignored her previous sentence.
" You're the one who brought me to the hospital, huh?" she said it firmly, not answering his question. "Jason told me,"
" Yeah, I was around the place when the accident happened," he explained. Kim's mood seemed to go down the hill even more. " Kim?"
" Where's Marissa?" she asked directly, trying to keep her emotion in check. What an ironi. She felt like a total idiot, her body was sore from head to toe and her heart ached so bad. Seeing Tommy adding a lot of pressures and she didn't need it right now.
" She went home-," then he cocked his eyebrow, perplexed. " how do you know she was here?"
' Because before the truck hit me, I saw you and her together! You two were there in the'Crime Scene'!' she screamed in her mind. She knew she should hate him. And yes, she did hate him. Because of him now she was lying on the hospital bed, feeling completely useless. Plus according to Dr. Kirk, she couldn't have the decent sleep that she'd longed to have because of this damn concussion. Tommy's fault. Tommy's fault for making her thunderstruck until she didn't notice the truck coming. Tommy's fault for going out with Marissa.
" Well, you two seem to be so comfortable around each other lately," she began. " so it's just right to assume that if you're here, so is Marissa. I'm right, aren't I?"
" Come on, Kim. You're being ridiculous here. Why you always keep saying that I like her? I'm not, okay? How many times do I have to tell you?" Tommy was saying and he crossed his arms.
Her head hurt and had him here multiplied the pain by one hundred times. " Tommy, I'm so tired. I'll appreciate it so much if you leave the room right now," that's rude, she knew. But it should work.
Tommy looked like he was going to say something but closed his mouth at the last second. He sighed. "Okay, Billy and Zack will come to see you,"
Kim mumbled, closing her eyes. She felt him slipping off the bed and the next thing she knew, something warm brushed against her forehead softly. Kim opened her eyes almost instantly. Tommy was leaning over, he had both of his hands on the side of her bed, practically trapping her. Well, it's not like she could go anywhere.
" If only my wrist is not broken, the first thing I'm going to do is punching your face hard," she stated faintly. Though there's a funny feeling in her stomach, knowing that he just kissed her.
He smiled that Tommy smile. It's a mix between smirk and the lopsided grin he used to wear around her. Finally he pushed himself up. " You do that, as soon as you're out of this hospital," looking at the full of life Kimberly lying on the bed was distressing to say the least. " and it's not broken. Just cracked,"
" I promise you that,"
Tommy had to smile at the stubborn determination expression on her face. He looked at Kim. Pale and tired face, all bruised and scratched, but she's alright. Just like Dr. Kirk had said. " I'm so glad that you're okay. When I saw you I thought-,"
" You thought I was dead," she finished for him with small voice. After she woke up she had been talking to several people and it had started to drain her energy. " I'm sorry that I'm not, Oliver,"
He smiled bitterly. Yeah, he knew she's gonna be just fine.
The next day
- Angel Grove Memorial
" Tommy's not coming?" Trini asked while she and the others walked up the stone stairs. The cold air of the air conditioner greeted them, as well as the hospital smell that Trini disliked.
" He has classes to teach," Jason answered, grinning when he remembered Tommy's expression after Jason reminded him about his karate classes. The poor boy was unquestionably had forgotten completely about them. Talking about Swiss cheese memory, Tommy's the man. Tommy looked like a kid who got his candy stolen. " he'll be here later,"
" I can't stay too long," Zack said when they're waiting for the elevator. " my Mom has asked me to babysit Corey again tonight. She and Aunt Crystal have to attend a baby convention in Stone Canyon,"
His friends laughed. While Zack was good with kids, to baby-sit a three year old almost every night was not a very appealing thing to do.
Caroline Hart welcomed them with a tired but happy smile. She told them to get inside while she freshened up a little.
" Hey, Kimberly!" Zack glided smoothly into the room. " glad to see you, girlfriend,"
Kim turned her head and smiled at her friends. Last night had been hell. Her head seemed like it wanted to explode and the fact that she had to be wakened up every hour or so made it worse. Fortunately, she's feeling better now. " Hi guys,"
" So, how are you feeling, Kim?" Billy said, walking around to the other side of Kim's bed.
" I can't wait until I can get out of this damn place," all four happy faces looked down at her but she couldn't help but searching for the fifth face.
" Don't worry, Kim. Tommy will be here soon," Jason said, trading amused glances with Zack.
" I didn't say anything!" Kim protested.
" Easy, Hon," Trini touched Kim's good hand.
" We're just informing you. That's all," Zack pointed out, beaming widely. Kim narrowed her eyes. She wouldn't tell them that the reason she got hit was because of seeing Tommy and Marissa walking together. It sounded a little bit silly, even for her.
" How's school?" Kim changed the subject to the less self-embarrassing topic.
" Tons and tons of homework! Tell you what, those teachers are all crazy!" Zack groaned and Jason nodded his head in agreement. Billy and Trini just smiled. Kim understood. Billy and homework sometimes was just inseparable. Well, homework. That's what they got as students.
" Then at least there's a good side effect for being in this place," Kim joked.
Jason was the last person to stay. The smirk he gave Kim right before he closed the door left her with confusion for some moments until her mother came in with a huge grin on her face. Kim somehow got this very bad feeling of what made the smile.
" Sweety, there's someone here to see you," Caroline declared.
It's obvious, Kim thought. And she really had a good idea who's that person gonna be. Especially after that smirk Jason flashed her. Had she tried to remember the karate class' schedules Jason mentioned sometimes ago… she got a good intuition why Jason decided to leave ten minutes before six.
When a bashful Tommy came in, the question was answered already. Kim made a mental note to send Jason to his doom once he came for a visit. His face was red and Kim knew what might be the case. Her mother just knew some ways to make people embarrassed, in a good way. This time, it's easy to tell. Well, it's kind of hard to hide such a big bouquet of flowers.
" Your timing is perfect, Tommy," Kim's mother said after taking her purse from the table beside the bed. Kim's eyes widened. She couldn't leave her with him! " I have to take care of something, will you accompany Kim for a while?"
The only thing she had to take care was Kimberly! She's her daughter! What any other thing could be more important than that?
" Sure,"
" I'll be right back, Honey," Ms. Hart promised before leaving.
And then there were Tommy and Kimberly. Kim chewed her lips, not too sure what to say. Finally Tommy made the first move.
" Hey, how're you doing?" he asked, walking closer to the bed.
" Better," at least he came alone. Not with the redhead slash tall slash gemometry master Marissa. Kim was curious about the shopping trip Tommy and Marissa had yesterday. But since she didn't tell Tommy that she saw them, it must be kept as a mystery. Asking could tease his suspiciousness and she didn't want that.
Tommy tugged at his ponytail and reached out the hand that's holding the flower. " This, um, for you,"
" Thanks," she murmured back. She accepted the beautiful bouquet of flowers and inhaled the scent in. She couldn't help but smiling at the man on the side of her bed. " this is really pretty,"
" Sure it is," Tommy chuckled and suddenly asked, " do you remember that time on the Covenant Island?"
Of course, who could forget that awful experience? That was definitely one of the most embarrassing and frustrating events that had ever happened in her life. " definitely. You said my head was harder than a frozen pipe that day," Kim quipped.
Tommy rolled his eyes. " Oh, said someone who hit my head with an apple," the memory was still fresh as if it happened yesterday.
" Not to forget you laughed at my purse!" Kim continued, recalling his expression when she took out the Hello Kitty purse.
" I said it was cute, didn't I?"
" So? It still didn't make up for the other things you did,"
" You haven't returned my hankie yet," Tommy shot back. Kim blushed red. Oh yeah, she really really forgot about that one. " and my shirt as well. You owe me, big time,"
" Oh, forget it! What's the deal with it anyway?" she asked. His grin seemed to become wider. " what?"
Tommy took the liberty to seat on the edge of the not-so-comfortable bed. He ignored her glare. " The reason I bought you this," he touched the flowers with his fingers. " is because I pity you,"
" Excuse me?" did she hear him right? Pity?
When he answered, his eyes were fulled with laughter. " Do you remember our room?"
Kim fought the blush that threatened to break free when the words ' our room' slipped out of his mouth. Then the image of the horrid room number 4 clouded her mind. " It's just so nasty. That motel, what it's called? Beach Wave Inn? Remember that cockroach?" she made a face.
" How about the firefly?" he clearly remembered about his attempted prank that led Kim to shriek on the top of her voice and storm into his arms. The first time he found out that his early guess was wrong. Her petite figure was perfect.
" Oh, don't go there!" Kim growled.
" Your reaction disappointed me, Kim," he shook his head.
" My reaction?"
" Yeah, you just said,' oh, thanks, Tommy. This is really pretty'. I was expecting the shocking shriek that you did when you saw that daisy in our room," he shrugged casually, still regarded the room number 4 as 'our room'. Did he realize that it could be taken more than one way? " that was just one flower and I brought you a handful of daisies!"
Kim vividly remembered about it. Her eyes looked up at him with wonder. " That what you meant by pitying me?"
He nodded, beaming. " Well, you acted like you had never seen a daisy before. So I got you a handful of it,"
Kim was in awe. Tommy didn't have the best memory but he actually remembered about it. She smiled sincerely. " Thanks, I guess,"
Tommy tousled her hair. " Good,"
Angel Grove High, a few weeks later
- Kimberly
Kim stood against the locker, sighing. On her right, Jenny had been gushing about Tommy for the last fifteen minutes. Jennifer, her ex-teammates in the squad was also Thomas Oliver's fans. Why that didn't surprise Kim? She thought the 'Oliver Fever' would evaporate as the time went by. She was wrong.
" I mean, look at those eyes, so beautiful! Don't you think so, Kim? I was walking to my next class when suddenly someone pushed me and all my books fell. Tommy helped me to pick them up!"
" Those eyes are just eyes," Kim responded quietly, shuffling her feet.
" And.. that earing is so sexy!" Jenny went on. She put some textbooks back into her locker and put on some lip gloss.
" Maybe you haven't noticed this before, Jen," Kim tutted, eyeing the scar on her arm. She still had to wear the cast for sometime. Most people might be relief if their left hands were the ones that cracked. But for a left-handed Kimberly, it's a total bummer. " but almost every guy in this building wears one. Kevin even has three! Does that make him sexy? No,"
Jenny scoffed, looking sharply at the shorter girl but not stopping her praises for the one and only Tommy Oliver. " Then his body. His abs, that steely chest!"
It was so hard not to gag at it. Tommy brilliantly chose that time to walk passed them. Shirtless. His body was slightly covered with sweat. Kim gave him a disapproving look and rolled her eyes at the mischievous wink Jason sent her. All the while, Jenny's eyes nearly fell off their sockets.
" Open your mouth," Tommy demanded. Kim involuntarily followed. She opened her mouth and Tommy fed her the disgusting hospital food. She chewed slowly. Since her mother hadn't returned yet when the nurse came with her dinner, Tommy had willingly offered himself to do the honor. He blatantly ignored the fact that Kim's right hand was still working.
" This is gross," Kim grimaced. Tommy pushed another spoon of the bitter mashed potatoes into her opened mouth.
" The nurse said you have to at least eat the half of it,"
" Can I just have the watermelon?"
" Later,"
" I don't need you to babysit me," this was embarrassing. If Jason saw this, he'd tease her about this until the end of the world. " I can eat by myself, you know,"
" Open up," he opened his mouth when Kim stubbornly pursed her lips together. She stiffled her laugh. Tommy looked so silly.
" Now who looks like a mother hen?" she said gently, recalling his old comment about her being like a mother hen.
" I'll take that as a compliment," was his answer and he continued to feed her." Kim, tell me about him,"
" About who?"
" That germany guy. Max?" he handed her a glass of water.
" What about him?"
" What did he look like?"
" Max?"
" No, your grandfather," Tommy piped up. " of course him! Who else I was talking about anyway?"
" Well, for starter, he's cute," so cute that he could make her knees buckled just by smiling at her. " he has beautiful hazel eyes,"
" Yeah, I can imagine,"
Kim closed her eyes. It's not so difficult to picture Max Winthrop in her mind. " short spiked dark hair,"
" Okay, okay, I get the picture," Tommy put the half empty plate on the table. His expression was hard to read.
" You're the one asking," she reminded him, wiping her mouth.
" I was," he nodded. " I'm just thinking,"
" About?" she left her sentence hanging, waiting for him to continue.
" I was thinking about how this Max guy looks like me," he said confidently. That caught her off guard. He leered.
" Who?" Kim asked between giggles.
" Me. There're some similarities between us. Me and Max,"
" Who asked?" Kim finished innocently and giggled when he pouted. " sorry. Continue,"
Tommy cleared his throat loudly. "Well, he's cute. I am cute though I much prefer the term handsome more. He has dark hair. Me too. My eyes aren't hazel, but my dark brown eyes are definitely better. Giving that kind of melancholy impressions. And it always helps with my puppy dog looks,"
Kim couldn't hold back any longer and she bursted out laughing. Those words tickled her to no end. She laughed so hard until her stomach hurt. Kim wiped the tears from her eyes. " Tommy, you really are crazy!"
" Kimberly, are you listening?" Jenny waved her hand in front of Kim's smiling face. It snapped her back. She blinked.
" Yeah, of course, I am," Jenny thought the smile Kim wore was because of her story.
" Do you know that next week is his birthday?"
" Tommy's birthday?"
" Yes, next Friday to be exact,"
Kim grinned. Tommy's birthday… That should be interesting!
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: That's the end of chapter 14. Kimberly was alright and there're some improvements in Tommy and Kim's relationship. Thank you for reading and please don't forget to leave your reviews. Your reviews make me happy and they encourage me to update. NO FLAME!
- Yuuri : )
