Chapter 5: The Change

Disclaimer: I don't own Kickin' It.

KIM POV:

The next week went by easily. Scott made a routine of picking me up every morning. Then after school, we'd go to the library to do our homework then hang around Central Park for a bit. My mom was thrilled that I was making new friends and more than thrilled that I was learning to move on from the past.

My phone buzzed. It was Scott. "Here!" He said. I grabbed my coat and headed out the door, calling goodbye to my mom.

"Hey, cutie," he said when I got in the car.

"Hey," I said, smiling.

"How was your weekend?"

"Well, it mostly consisted of cheer, but yeah, it was good."

"Are you and Charlotte back on speaking terms?"

Ever since the day I started the cheer for Ronnie, Charlotte has been ignoring me. I kind of got why. She was Ronnie's friend and I had disrespected Ronnie, plus Ronnie was captain, so I could see why she wouldn't want to be on her bad side. But still, it hurt that she ditched me-especially since she was my closest friend.

"Nope," I said glumly. "But I've been hanging out with Sofie Colins. Do you know her?"

Scott chuckled. "Kim, everyone knows her. She's Sofie. As in Sofie-the-girl-who's-dating-that-senior Sofie. Sofie as in her boyfriend is the star of the football team Sofie. Yes, I know Sofie."

"You seem bitter about it," I observed.

"I am," Scott confessed.

"Are you jealous?" I teased.

"Of Zach Merchant? No!"

Zach Merchant was Sofie's boyfriend- not to mention the perfect part. He was smart, athletic, tall, sweet and funny, all bundled into one.

"Then what?" I asked.

"Sofie used to be my friend. We were actually really close. Then last year I had to let go of karate for basketball, and I took up skateboarding and she kind of faded away. Became this huge field hockey star, track star, plus works out extra time in the dojo. And she kind of let me go."

"I'm sorry," I managed. I felt bad for bringing up Sofie Colins.

"No, it's okay," Scott said. "I need to let go of the past. Like you."

My memory went screaming back to Seaford, thinking of how much I missed it, but without it, where were my great memories?

I smiled. That was then, this is now.

"Nah," I smirked. "Life moves on."

After school, Scott and I went to Tim Hortons, a coffee shop in the city. They were mainly in New York and Canada, and their coffee was to die for, if you asked me.

After our coffee we took a taxi back to my apartment. My grandma had to take my grandpa to the doctor and my mom was at work, so it was just us and Kitty.

Kitty climbed up in my lap and I patted his head. "Hey, Kitty Kitty, how you been?"

He meowed and jumped off my lap, going into the kitchen. He sat by the pantry.

"He's hungry," I told Scott. Kitty was funny-if he wanted food, he knew where to get it. If he wanted to go to bed, he would crawl in my grandmas bed and hide underneath the covers. In the morning bed climb up the stairs to the loft and hit my head with his paw until I woke up. Then he'd wait by the pantry for me to feed him.

Scott smiled. I got up off the couch and fed Kitty, then returned. "Alright, we had chem-"

"You know," Scott said, "I was kind of thinking the same thing."

I bit my lip and smiled. Scott was leaning in. I closed my eyes. He wrapped his arms around my waist and I wrapped mine around his neck.

His lips met mine. It felt good, and I was happy...but not satisfied.

I kissed him back anyway. I ran my fingers through his hair, which wasn't nearly as good as Jack's.

Why was I thinking of Jack?!

I pulled away.

"Are you okay?" Scott asked.

"Yeah, I'm great." I kissed him lightly.

"That's been long overdue," he whispered, his forehead touching mine.

"It has."

We kissed a few more times, and eventually he had to leave. I hugged him goodbye and ran up to the loft, Kitty trailing behind me.

I turned on my laptop. Six missed IMs. From Jack.

Hey pretty(:

Kim, what's up?

Why won't you answer me?

Kim, what's going on.

Kim. Are you okay?!

KIM.

I sighed. I had been ignoring Jack. Truth is, the more I shut out my old life, the easier it was to move on.

But there was a problem. It was November 20th. Jack was coming in three days.

Scott and I still had our normal routine. The next night he came for dinner. He said meeting my grandparents seemed a little much, but I assured him it was no big deal.

My grandma, however, was thrilled.

"Kim! Oh, Kim, a boy! This is amazing!"

"Yeah," I said halfheartedly. Since Scott kissed me the first time, I haven't been able to get Jack off my mind.

Scott rang the doorbell. I opened it and smiled. "Hey," I said.

"Hey, Scott," I replied.

Dinner was nice, but it wasn't great. I couldn't get Jack out of my head.

After dinner I took Scott up to the loft.

"What's wrong, baby?" He asked me.

"Nothing," I replied. My computer dinged. IM from Jack.

"Who is it?" Scott asked. My heart raced.

"Just an old friend," I muttered.

"Oh," Scott said. He kissed me. "You don't seem...happy."

"I miss it," I admitted. "It's great here, but..."

"No, I get it," Scott said. "But can we just focus on now?"

I bit my lip and smiled. "I suppose."

He kissed me once more.

After Scott left l checked my IM.

JackA: Kim! What's going on? Should I still come?

Kimm_15: Yes!

JackA: Why haven't you answered me?

Kimm_15: ...

JackA: Kim, what's going on?

Kimm_15: Nothing, Jack.

I logged off. I couldn't let myself fall back into the trap of the past. I wasn't going back.

I would have Jack come here, so I could say a real goodbye. That would be only fair.

JACK POV:

Kim wouldn't answer me. But when she finally did, I still got nothing. I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. My life had changed so much. Karate became the only thing I really cared about: it was my only link to Kim. I would run to the dojo after school and find myself there until after eight. My mom worried about me, but I told her it was just some extra practice.

She believed me until she saw my grades.

I was failing almost every class, if not failing, low Ds. Coming from a usual straight A student, my mom was shocked.

She knew I was dealing with a lot when Kim left, so she let it go, but eventually she had to get on me. She grounded me from all electronics at home and I was supposed to be straight home after 5:00, when practice ended. The fact that I didn't care threw her in a loop.

"Jack?" She called.

"Yeah?"

"Oh you're home. Honey, are you still going to New York?"

"Yeah, mom," I sighed.

"Alright, well you better start packing."

I sighed again and laid down on my bed. It was going go be a long night.

KIM POV:

The next day went really slow. The only thing I could focus on was my mix of excitement and dread that the next day Jack would be staying in my apartment. The harsh reality that I still liked him dawned upon me; the "harsh" part being that I had a boyfriend.

I had explained this to Sofie, who was now my right-hand man.

"Well maybe...I don't know, maybe you should try explaining this to Jack."

I considered it, but I loved Jack. I couldn't hurt him, then kick him to the curb because of some new-found crush.

"Jack's different," I said. "He would understand. He would get it, and then he would go home and blame himself."

"Then maybe you're letting go of the wrong person," Sofie had said. I didn't reply, mostly because I knew she was right.

None of my classes made sense that day. In Spanish, my teacher called on me a million times- "¿Que Necesito para viajar otra pais?"

I stared at her, not giving her an answer.

"Charlotte?"

"El pasaporte," Charlotte said in her I'm-perfect-and-you're-not voice, scowling at me.

I scowled back.

Sofie shot me a look as if to tell me to calm down.

After class Scott met me by my locker. I thought of what Sofie had said-maybe I'm letting go of the wrong person.

"Scott...we need to talk."

He led me around to a part of the school I'd never seen before.

"Most of the freshmen have classes here, so if you're in honors classes you won't come here a lot," Scott said. There was a separate small gym, a small weight room, and a small courtyard.

"There's something I need to tell you," I muttered.

"What?"

"So back in Seaford, there was this kid-Jack. He was my best friend, and before I left we kind of had a thing. No, more than a thing...we were in love, Scott. And I like you, a lot, don't get me wrong. But he's coming to visit...tomorrow. And I don't know what's going to happen. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. And I know it seems like I'm just using you to forget my past, but I'm not. You're a great guy, and I like you a lot, and I'm happy I spent the past three weeks with you...but I just need to see what's going to happen."

I said it so fast, that Scott took a moment to register. "We're...breaking up?"

I nodded. "I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Kim...I just want you to know, I couldn't ask for anyone better." He leaned down to kiss me one last time.

"You're a great guy Scott." I kissed him quickly on the cheek, and he walked me back to the main part of the school, this time not hand in hand.

The next day after school my mom came home from work early so we could pick Jack up from the airport. I was planning on keeping it as "just friends" so that I wouldn't grow too attached. I had to keep in mind that he was leaving, and I was staying.

"Are you excited to see Jack?" My mom asked.

"No," I admitted.

"Why not?" My mom exclaimed.

"Because, he's gonna leave again, and then I'll have to go through leaving him another time."

My mom bit her lip. "Honey, I know it's hard. But just try to have fun with Jack. If you shut him out you'll regret it."

"I know, mom, I know."

I sighed. We were at the airport. I got out of the car and we walked into the airport, meeting Jack and baggage claim M.

I was planning to keep it cool. I knew what I had to do. "Just friends" rang in my head.

If I didn't fall in love again it would be easier to say goodbye.

But that all fell apart when we turned the corner.

And there he was, fifteen feet away, looking straight at me with a big smile on his face.

Hi everyone! Sorry it's been so long since I updated, I've been super busy! Thank you so much for your reviews, and hope you like this chapter!

Xoxo,

Marie*