Once Kim flounced out of the dojo, and Jack only now noticed that her group of friends was actually right outside looking in through the windows, that he realized fully what happened.

He had a date with Kim... He gave in to the temptation and asked her out. He gave into the distraction.

Oh, he could only imagine what his father would say. Although, his father did not need to know. The date might go horribly and nothing would come of it. And if did go somewhere, he would deal with it then.

And there was the most dangerous thought: that he wanted it to work out. He wasn't quite conscious of it when he sought her out before, even though it was stumbling at best. He wasn't planning it at all. Kim was this confusing, fiery, sharp tongued, girl wrapped in GreenBean's brown apron and bright eyes, and something about her just called him to get close. Some part of him that was a teenage boy wanted to see what she'd be like if he could get her naked, wanted to know if she'd be feisty or let go of that tough front and just melt. A much larger part of him that was his mother's son, and was raised right, wanted to know what it'd be like to really talk with her, to get into her head and her heart and find out what made her tick, what made her so strong, so optimistic, so full of life.

He got home just before dinner, which thankfully was going to be just him and his mom. His father once again out for a business meeting. He clambered upstairs and simply dropped on his bed reliving the entire conversation with Kim and that moment where he really did almost kiss her.

"Jack!" His mom's voice filtered up from somewhere near the kitchen and Jack rolled over to face the wall.

"Come down here and talk to your mother! I feel like I never see you anymore!"

He didn't want to do this with her, not today. Yes, he confessed that he was troubled. And she was concerned and 'just wanted him to be happy'. Jack had no idea how to get across to her that he's not 'unhappy'; he was finally realizing that he was stifled, and sick and tired of all the expectations. The minute he graduated, he'd be gone, away from these expectations, at least for a while, and Jack knew it'd break his mom's heart a little, but he didn't think she'd be surprised.

He could hear her footsteps coming up the stairs, but didn't turn to face the door. They stopped outside his room and Jack heard his mom sigh.

"Are you okay, honey?"

No, he thought, but all he said was, "Yeah, mom, I'm fine, just tired."

The weight of her sitting down on his bed barely moved him, and Jack had the passing thought that he didn't remember when his mom started seeming so much smaller than him. Her hand started petting through his hair and Jack felt the fight go out of him. He still didn't want to look at her, but he already regretted avoiding talking to her.

"Well, you should get some sleep," she said, and Jack could tell from her tone she knew he was lying, but decided it was not worth it to push anymore. "Dinner will be in a couple hours, I can come wake you up if you want to take a nap."

"No," he muttered at the wall. "I have homework, I'll be up."

He didn't say anything else, and Zoe stayed quiet too. Finally she said in a light tone, "I found a decent coffee shop the other day. And the music there was good."

He made a mumbling noise to indicate that he heard her and she continued, "The barista was very nice. With a good taste in music. And her cappuccino was good too."

Oh! No way! He turned around to look at his mom agog.

"Mom, was it really necessary?"

"Darling, you won't talk to me and I was curious. She is pretty. And is very-very charming. I can see why you like her."

"Please tell me you did not try to chat her up."

"Jack! I know how to handle myself. I just commented on the music and asked her if she was a musician herself, that's all." His mom was smiling a quiet smile and he really could not stay mad at her for long.

"I have a date with her!" He blurted it out and immediately regretted it for his mom's face lit up.

Then her smile faded a little, "You know your father's attitude about distractions..."

"I do. But, the date may end up being a disaster and then there would be nothing to worry about."

"And if it isn't?"

"Then I'll worry about father and his reactions."

She was silent for a moment, "Well, I am on your side Jack." With that she left and Jack stayed on his bed, thinking in circles about the date, his father, Kim and her bright eyes.

By the time he shuffled downstairs to eat, he didn't have any part of the Kim problem worked out besides that she was ruining his life, and maybe, just maybe, it might be good for him.


It was Thursday (three days after she agreed to the date) when Kim really began to think she screwed up. She left the dojo, not quite sure if she was stumping out because of the residual indignation or simply getting away from Jack because she almost kissed him. Her friends were all round eyed and shocked at her seeming bravery (stupidity, as Kim privately thought). She assured them that she was never in danger from Jack, other than her own unexpected reactions to him, but she never told that part.

She wasn't sure what to expect from him afterwards, but Jack has been brooding around the school, not even hiding now he's been watching her, his dark eyes on her felt like brands. She'd seen him hanging out less and less with his usual crowd and it was obvious. He and Brody left the table mid-lunch and she got death stares from Donna and Lindsay.

On top of it Randy suddenly upped his attempts to talk to her. So far Kim avoided being alone with him at all times. Her friends were great about that, even Grace, who would interfere whenever Randy tried to approach their table at lunch. She told Kim that Randy now started getting the idea that she, Grace, liked him.

"We are friends and all, Kim, but I've got reputation to keep. I can't be stopping him anymore."

She actually had one more conversation with Randy, when be sort of cornered her near the lockers.

"Listen, Kimster, I know it looked like I was always with the team and Grace has been on my tail, but I want you to know, I am in. All the way."

Before she could respond, Randy was suddenly flanked by Frank and one more guy holding a guitar and it was like a car crash in slow motion. The guitarists struck a chord and Randy opened his mouth and she closed her eyes and was bracing herself for the 'grand gesture' ... when she heard a crash and cursing and the sound of wood splintering. She opened her eyes a little and saw that Jerry and Milton were on the floor on top of Randy, Frank and the guitarist. All boys were moaning and groaning, and Frank was cursing up a storm. Jerry caught her looking and motioned for her to leave. And she did, thankful for her friends.

After that episode, Jack's mood got even worse. She didn't know what got him so worked up, but his was openly scowling at some members of his group and aside from staring at her, he hadn't made any attempts at talking to her. It seemed he was more tense with every passing day, and on Thursday, he bumped into her in the hall and put a hand on her arm.

Kim looked up at him and saw his expression was stuck halfway between intense and peaceful, if that was possible.

"Please, wear something nice on Friday," he said, catching her eye for a second and then skipping away to look out across the hall.

"O...kay?" she said, unsure if he needed a response and trying not to stare at his arm on hers. He had large hands.

"And I need your address."

She rattled it out quickly still bewildered by how tense he was.

He nodded absently, looked at her again and just like that he was staring again, eyes deep and unfathomable. Then, as if he remembered where he was, he let his loose grip on her arm fall, and kept walking.

Kim stood in the hall staring at the spot he left for slightly too long before making her way to chemistry class.

"Hey," she whispered at Julie when she took her seat next to her. "Can you help me out on Friday?"

"Sure," Julie said automatically. "Why?"

Kim hadn't told them she had a date (oh god, she had a date) with Jack on Friday, and she hadn't been able to get around to figuring out why. Maybe because Julie might have a fit. Maybe because Jerry will be entirely unable to shut up about it. Either way, she had no idea what's going to happen on Friday, and Jack's odd behavior after this week's brooding had put her on edge.

"I'm going out with Jack on Friday."

Julie made an inarticulate noise, and Kim shushed her quickly when their teacher looks over at them. She still had a frustrated look on her face when the teacher finally looked back to the board and Julie started hissing at her.

"I can't believe you're going out with him!" she said under his breath. "Were you not paying attention to the fact that that boy attacked Milton for, I don't know, looking at you? And the fact that he broke his cousin's hand? Don't you think a date with an unhinged person might be a bad idea?"

"That's why I'm asking you," she said placating. "I don't think anything is going to happen, but I'm not stupid. So can you guys be ready to pick me up if I call?"

Julie frowned so hard, her glasses slid down her nose and she pushed them back up.

"Why can't your dad pick you up?" She asked.

Kim stared hard at her. "If I tell dad I'm going out with a guy, and I think I might need an escape strategy, there's no way he'll let me go."

"And you don't think that means something?" Julie asked pointedly.

Kim breathed out hard through her nose. She was not looking to argue with Julie, and she knew this might be a bad idea, but Kim had never been the kind to give up on people, Julie would know. She had to do this, if only to prove to herself one way or the other if Jack Brewer was just an irritating fascination or something more.

"I am sure it does. But he also has been nice to me and Milton most of the times," was what she told Julie. "And he thought he was helping me. One way or another, I'm doing this. Now can I count on you or not?"

"That's not fair," Julie said. "Of course I am there for you."

"Good." Kim turned to actually pay attention to the class then. It's a minute or so before Julie spoke again, and it was very quiet.

"Just make sure this is what you want."

If only Kim knew the answer to that...


Friday night was the most anxious Jack has ever been. It was not like he'd never dated. Or hooked up with a girl before. It's just he hadn't been invested in a girl like this though. He debated where to take Kim, and now that it had come down to it, he was not at all sure it was a good idea.

Randy was talking about Kimster and her obvious affections and even though he knew there was nothing there, he was irritated by it. Donna and Lindsay talked about Kim in that passive aggressive way that left Randy thinking it was complimentary, but the rest of them knew to be a criticism. Brody would routinely leave the table in the middle of lunch and Jack would often follow unable to hold his temper. He did lose it once with both girls, after a particularly vicious putdown.

"You'd think that Milton, genius that he is, would see through any pretenses."

"You are naïve, Jack. Guys would do anything for a prettyish face." Here she smiled knowingly at her friends, who all laughed as if they knew first hand what she was talking about.

"Oh? You have experience with that then, Donna? Using your looks to get something from guys? How is it different?"

Donna looked almost hurt, as if she expected him to be either loyal to her or to, at least, stay out of her tiff with Brody.

It felt momentarily good to take Donna down a peg, but he really didn't want to stoop to her level. He got up to leave, telling everyone to enjoy their meal. He left and spent the rest of lunch in the car lamenting the situation that brought him closer and closer to the fray of school politics.

It was one of the reasons he avoided Kim at school. He was worried that if it were known that he and she had some sort of understanding, then the claws would really come out. He was not sure he wanted to add to Kim's misery for what could be a one-off date.

To make matters worse, his father showed a lot more attention and interest in Jack. Not in the usual way of 'you must live up to the Brewer legacy.' His father started having conversations, not lectures, about what Jack wanted out of life. Of course, his father steered it all back to the amazing future he would have if he only followed the plan he had for Jack. While Jack was not exactly fooled by the conversational tone, it was most disheartening to see his mom's expression. She was beaming and looked so happy, but Jack was just waiting for the other shoe to drop. It hurt to watch her fall back into the resigned and nearly silent behavior next time father said something about focus and distractions from what was important.

Some part of it made Jack think of him and Kim, as well, and how all they've done was swing wildly between fighting and flirting. The pit in his stomach had been steadily growing all afternoon, and now, standing at Kim's door, it felt like it might swallow him whole.

He rung the doorbell anyway, because Jack Brewer never backed away from the challenge.

The man who answered the door looked nothing like Kim. In fact, after the first moment of disorientation (did he get the wrong door?), Jack realized that he was starting at Kim's presumed father for a long time and the cold panic he was feeling before multiplied.

"Hello, Jack, right?" Mr. Crawford said mildly and Jack swallowed hard.

"Um." Jack immediately started cursing in his head. "Yes, sir, I am Jack Brewer. Nice to meet you. Is Kim home?"

Was dating always this stressful? He did not remember being so nervous before. Here he was, standing on a girl's doorstep in nice pants, shirt and a blazer, somehow stuttering to her father, who probably thought he was up to no good.

"She is," Mr. Crawford said, still only sounding the slightest bit stressed. "Would you like to come in? I can call her for you and we can chat." He said more forcefully.

Kim came charging forward before Jack could say yes or no, and pushed past her dad out the door.

"Thanks, Daddy," she said in a rush, grabbing Jack by the sleeve and starting toward the elevator with him. "I'll be home by curfew."

"And you will keep your phone on?" her father said somewhere behind them.

Kim pushed Jack toward his elevator, power walking away from her apartment and ignoring her father. Jack only blurted "have a nice evening" before the elevator arrived. When they stepped in, she sort of collapsed against the wall and sighed. "Hi, Jack. How are you today?" She said with a practiced politeness and he let the whole thing with the rushed escape from the apartment go, even though he had a lot more questions. Like, where was her mom?

They sat in the car for a moment of silence, after Jack's opened the door for her and climbed in himself. It was awkward, there was no two ways about it.

"You look nice," they both said, layered over each other. Jack started laughing after a beat, while Kim put her head in her hands and groaned. It felt like he's been stressing so hard about this, he almost forgot Kim might be nervous too, and seeing her embarrassed released that bubble of tension in his chest. They both had no idea what they were doing.

"This is going to be terrible," she muttered, and Jack stopped laughing.

"No it's not," he said, whipping around to look at her fully. "You look great, and, though apparently you dad is over watchful, we have plenty of time, and the most awkward part is over. It's going to be fine."

Kim gave him a skeptical look, and Jack ignored it, starting the car.

"Which do you like better, Italian or action?"

Kim gave him a look that said she had no idea what he's on about, but answered a bit hesitantly anyway.

"Action..."

"Great," he said, pulling out of the drive. "Movie starts in fifteen minutes, we can get food after."

Kim shook her head, laughing softly to herself, and then pulled her phone out.

"Well, that's rude," Jack said softly, mostly joking. "Aren't you supposed to be on a date?"

"Don't worry about it," Kim said, pocketing her phone after a moment. "I'm all yours."

"Are you now?" Jack turned for a half second to raise an eyebrow at her, and was gratified to see Kim blush slightly.

They made it to the theater with a few minutes to spare, and they had a short argument about whether or not Kim would pay for her ticket, which Jack eventually won by snatching her debit card out of her hand and holding it above her head while he paid. She pouted prettily and he cursed his own hormonal self, because he really wanted to kiss her now.

The movie was actually very good, with an appropriate amount of action and drama, and Jack spent a good half of it not paying attention because he was trying to decide if it would be a good idea to hold Kim's hand. He decided not to, but he did catch her glancing at his hand where it rested on the armrest once, and couldn't stop himself from smiling.

After the movie, Kim was much more animated, and her nerves seemed to have calmed. They talked about the plot and tropes, and praised the characters and fight scenes, and Jack was impressed with her knowledge of martial arts when they discussed the final fight. He knew about her brown belt, but it was impressive nonetheless. He said as much and Kim laughed, saying that she was too rusty now, and Jack blurted out that he could help her with that. Kim put a hand on his shoulder and said, "Maybe sometime." And the pit of his stomach was growing heavy again, but it was warm and bubbly.

She conceded the point over dinner and let him pay for her half of the food. It was halfway between casual and formal, filled with people so that they have to raise their voices a bit to hold a conversation. Kim ate like she knew and appreciated food with moans of satisfaction that made him think severely inappropriate thoughts.

He really was trying to be a gentlemen, and held doors for her and when they got back to her apartment around ten, he walked her to her door and dithered about whether he was supposed to kiss her.

He wanted to. Kim did dress nicely, in the second dress he'd ever seen her in: it was yellow and came to just above her knees, with her hair pulled up in a neat bun. She had been smiling more as the night went on, and Jack had been good. He hadn't touched her in any way that was less than polite, had enjoyed her company and gotten a mental workout debating with her, and he'd really like to kiss her. He was constantly physically aware of her during the date and her pouts and moans did not help matters. He wished he had a longer work out today...

He was certain the date went well. And that he wanted another one. Which reminded him... He pulled out his phone and when he looked up at Kim she was pouting again.

"Are you calling someone? Because giving your buddies a run down of the date before the date is over is kind of uncool."

"What?" He flushed. "No! I wouldn't! I just thought we could trade telephone numbers. I hear it's what people do when things go well."

"Oh." Smiling back at him, she fumbled with her own phone. "It's what people do when things go well." When it was done, she passed his phone back to him and he held on to her hand. To hell with it...

"And you know what else they do..." he knew he sounded like a cliché, but then he dropped his mouth on hers and it did not matter anymore what he said.

At first he thought she wasn't going to kiss him back, but then another small hand landed on his chest and he could feel her raise a little to even out the height difference. She tasted like chocolate gelato they ate for dessert. He literally dug his fingers into the meat of the palms to prevent himself from grabbing her and pulling her tight, letting her set the pace. She was doing it slowly, without opening her mouth yet, but it still felt monumental to him.

"So... Can I call you and maybe take you out again?" He whispered against her lips.

She laughed a little, "Well, I am pretty busy, but I'll see what I can do."

He kissed her again, keeping more control this time, wrapping his hands around her and holding her up and she yielded a little, her lips opening when she gasped and he swallowed the sound and pressed for more, learning the shape and taste of her mouth.

Somewhere in the periphery he heard footfalls and they pulled apart reluctantly.

"Good night, Jack."

"Good night, Kim." A last touch against her cheek, and she opened the door and was gone.


Kim closed the door softly behind her, hoping her dad was asleep. He turned in early most nights, but it's not so late and Kim definitely did not want to report on her date though.

She was not that lucky.

Dad was sitting up in the kitchen, eating a bowl of cereal and working on a crossword when she walked past on her way to her bedroom.

"How did it go?" he asked in a voice that carried in a way that says he expected an answer.

Kim paused in the doorway, feeling awful that she enjoyed her date. Somehow she could imagine her dad thinking about mom and it was just awful.

"It went well," Kim said. "We saw a movie and had dinner."

Dad beckoned for her to take a seat and looked up from his crossword. Kim sat, and found him smiling softly at her. Somehow, his approval was more unnerving than if he'd been disagreeable.

"You know, I am so glad you are moving on," he mused. "Friends, dating..."

Kim blinked at him, unable to figure if she was meant to reply.

"You don't let him give you any crap, Kimmy bear," he said after a second. "Your momma would not want you to mope forever, but she also would not want you to date inconsiderate jerks. Next time you have a date, I want to talk to him."

Slowly, Kim smiled.

"Thanks, Daddy," Kim said, standing. She leaned over to kiss his cheek, and he squeezed her hand, bidding her goodnight.

Kim's phone chimes with a text alert when she was getting out of the bathroom, and it's from Julie.

So?

I'm alive. She sent back. And i think i might have another date?

Ok, but we will talk about it.