So...this is chpater 4-er, 5-of Forgotten. And its in Miltons POV! YAY! Seriously, though, I've been waitng for this for ever. Milton, unlike the others, seems sort of under-developed, and I think he's really likely to change as he gets older. Or at least, I hope he does. Because my portrayal of him is rather different, to say the least. Anyways, this chapter should put me over the limit for beta reading, so I am now an available beta reader! YAY! So, if any of you wants me to beta or something...I would love to!

And thanks to all of you who favorited this story or put it on your alert list. And to you reviewers. I LOVE reviews-they're addictive. I swear.

Anyways, I don't own Kickin' It or anything...yada yada ya, etc, etc, blah...and now, on with the show!

Milton

The look on Kim's face as she begged-pleaded-with me to believe her stuck in my mind for hours after her mom dropped me off at my house. Desperate, messy and hopeful-she looked and sounded so much like she needed this to be true, and I honestly didn't have the heart to tell her no.

But it can't possibly be true, hissed a little voice in my head. I knew that—Jack Anderson was gone, and we all needed to accept that. But there was a look in Kim's eyes, and something in her voice as she broke the news—and for a second, I almost believed her. But then she mentioned Leyla, and Jack Richards, and I realized that Kim had lost it.

Because, as much as it hurt to say, Jack really was gone, and after two years, we needed to accept the fact that he wasn't coming back, and move on with our lives.

Which I had thought Kim was doing, until she completely lost it and tried to convince me that Jack had come back from the dead or something as someone else.

And now I had let myself be roped into some half-brained plan to figure out who Jack Richards really was.

And I knew, even though I'd never met him myself, that he was one hundred percent normal. Even at lunch that day, when Leyla had somehow steered onto the topic of family and she had told me all about her brother, I had gotten the impression of a kind of awkward nerdy boy who hadn't quite come to terms with himself yet. Really, the picture I got reminded me of a more timid version of myself a few years ago.

"Kim must really be convinced," I muttered, flopping onto my bed, "To actually think that some stuttering nerd is Jack."

My phone buzzed. Julie had sent me a text.

'where r u?'

I shrugged, grinning. Julie, my sweet, lovable girlfriend, always coming in at jut the right time.

'at home. why?'

She texted back within a few moments.

'want to see a movie?'

I grinned.

'sure. what movie?'

She didn't actually know, but she figured we could just pick once we got there. I grabbed my jacket and some money, and left.

We got there and decided on Alvin and the Chipmunks 3. It seemed cute, and Julie had this thing about chipmunks.

We bought a huge pile of sour candies—again, Julie's idea—and popcorn and some soda. We hurried into the theatre just as the previews finished, and sat at the very back.

"This is nice," whispered Julie as the chipmunks got blown out to sea on a runaway kite. "We haven't really spent much time together in a while."

That was true. Ever since Julie switched to AP biology—a course I'd already completed—and gotten a completely new schedule, we hadn't seen each other much. We didn't even have our lunches, and free period—which by some miracle we had together—had been ruined by the play.

I grinned and leaned back in my seat. "Yeah," I agreed, "It is. What is it about singing chipmunks that makes all the bad things go away?"

She looked at me sharply. "Bad things?"

I winced. Okay, so maybe that hadn't quite come out right. "I—the play, and everything! It's stressing me out!"

The look on her face softened. "Yeah. Yeah, I guess that would stress me out, too. Look, Milton, I was just wondering…"

I turned to her. "What?"

She sighed. "I just…thought maybe you might be having a hard time. It's getting kind of close to when Jack...left, and I was worried…"

I blinked. "Oh. Jules, you don't need to worry. I swear, I've moved on. I'm not stuck in the past like some people."

She sighed in relief. "That's good. You've just been so distant lately, and I thought you might have been thinking about—I dunno, disappearing like he did."

I grinned at her. It was false, but in the dim light she probably couldn't tell. "I'm not going anywhere, Jules. I've got you here, don't I?"

She laughed. "Right. Sorry. So just to clarify, you're not going anywhere anytime soon, right?"

I laughed and kissed her.

Maybe Kim had lost it and I was beginning to believe her. Singing chipmunks are the antidote to everything, and I was already feeling better.

Halfway through the movie, I excused myself to go to the bathroom.

I didn't actually have to go. But somewhere between my spectacular burst of happiness and the purple chipmunk's kidnapping, my thoughts had gone back to Kim and her insane claims of another Jack. I needed to leave.

So I stood in the lobby for a little while. I wasn't doing anything, but watching the people walk by and the cashiers behind the candy bar dancing to Katy Perry was strangely relaxing, in a messy, sort of crazy way.

After a little while, I headed back. Julie was so engrossed in the movie she didn't even seem to register my return, and I silently thanked whatever gods were out there for that. I didn't need her incessant questioning just then.

The purple chipmunk launched into a rendition of SOS by Rihanna, and I tried to process the day's events.

Jack is back. I groaned and buried my head in my hands. Julie looked at me, concerned, but I shook my head and mouthed 'headache'. She raised an eyebrow, disbelieving, but then the volcano erupted on the screen and she was distracted again.

Jack is back.

Jack was not back.

No, he is too!

Great. Even the voices in my head were beginning to try and convince me of it. And…they were beginning to sound a lot like Jerry.

I shuddered.

By the time the movie ended, I felt a bit better. I walked Julie home, kissed her goodnight, and then walked another mile and a half to my house. Thankfully, it was Friday. I didn't have it in me to go to school tomorrow and face Kim—and Leyla—and, oh god, Jack Richards.

I just didn't have it in me, period. For anything.

As I lay in bed later that night, I got one more text message from Julie.

'Whatever the problem is, I hope you feel better… Love, Julie'

I grinned. So what if Kim had single handedly ruined my entire life?

I was already beginning to feel better.

Okay. So that did not turn out like I had planned. Honestly, I had just wanted a sort of fluffy chapter with Julie and Milton, and some of his coming to turns with Kim's insanity...but I had planned for the whole movie thing and all that feeling better stuff to come later on, when his world really crumbles down on him. Because I think it would be sweet, and a really great way to advance the plot. Whatever. I guess I can always just come up with something new for later on...

So, read, review, criticize, etc. I don't really need to say it again.

Next chapter: Kim