Disclaimer: I do not own Kick Buttowski.
I am so sorry to all the people whom I (inadvertently) made believe that I had given up on this fic. I had lost my flash drive and I normally don't save anything to my laptop since my siblings always use it. So yeah, it obviously took a while to find. But here's a new chapter to make it up to you. (Bows Humbly)
Thank you for the reviews though! On with the story!

"This is stupid." Gunther looked from his lunch to his girlfriend; it was probably the millionth rant that day so far, but he listened anyways. Occasionally Jackie herself wondered how he put up with her sudden out bursts, but she suspected it was for the same reason she dealt with his short attention span and constant worrying.

"I mean really," She continued, "The past week has been the most awkward as far as I can remember. I can't even knock sense into Kendall when we're alone!"

"Have you tried-"

"The only think I haven't tried is beating the living daylights out of her."

Her boyfriend sighed, "Well at least Kendall isn't sulking; I haven't seen Kick act like this since he lost his helmet… I'm just glad he mopes when no one's around."

Gunther glanced at his best friend who was sitting under one of the many trees the school had before pulling his girlfriend into a hug.

"I missed you last weekend." He mumbled.

"Well tomorrow's Homecoming, so don't worry about not having me around…"

"But your still gonna keep an eye on Kendall." Gunther sighed when she nodded, "That French guy has skill. OW! What was that for?"

Jackie glared as he rubbed his shoulder, "Don't compliment him! Deception is not something to be proud of!"

"I didn't mean it like that. I meant to say it's hard going up against someone who has so much experience in this."

"Hey guys…" Jackie crossed her arms when the couple noticed the new arrival.

"Finally decided to sit with us, Kick?"

"I just wanted to make sure Kendall wasn't gonna come." He replied with a shrug.

"Kick, Kendall's been going to the library for lunch since your big argument." Gunther took a bite of his sandwich, "I doubt she'll join us today."

"Don't talk with your mouth full."

"Sorry Jackie,"

"Look," Kick raised a hand and began counting points on his fingers, "First off, Kendall doesn't want to talk to me. Second, even if she did, she wouldn't listen to me anyways. And third, for all we know she could suddenly say 'Hey, I miss my friends. I think I should go see them' and then she'd see me and probably either leave or shove me aside and start bragging about how 'wonderful' Homecoming will be."

Jackie raised an eyebrow, "Glad to see you keeping an optimistic attitude."

"Hey, I'm taking a huge risk just by being here!" He retorted hotly, "I don't want to argue with her again."

"YOU IDIOT!" Jackie grabbed her tray and smacked Kick's helmet.

"HEY! What the-"

"Just go find Kendall and apologize!"

"Why should-"

"I bet that cruel scheming fox walked away on purpose!" This time she hit the table, earning a jump of surprise and worry from her boyfriend and current victim. "So that Kendall would tell us and all you'd notice was she didn't say 'no' and get all jealous and argue with her!"

"Well she didn't have to get up in my face either! HEY!" Kick quickly covered his head as Jackie lifted the tray again, "It's not like it's not her fault either!"

The brown-haired girl hesitated for a moment before tossing the tray aside, "Gunther, talk some sense into him. I'm heading to the library."

Kick let out a breath as Jackie walked away, "Man, how can you put up with her?"

"I heard that!"

Gunther laughed as his best friend ducked, "She's got spirit, not to mention really stubborn, but I like that about her. Anyway, you two have a point: both you and Kendall need to apologize."

"And just how am I gonna do that?" Kick crossed his arms, "It's been a month since that guy came up and we still haven't found a way for Kendall to see who he really is."

His friend shrugged, "Maybe we tried too hard."

"What?"

"Well based on what Jackie's told me before, Andre's been doing this for years and it's pretty hard going up against a professional. Then there's the fact that, especially with someone as stubborn as your 'girlfriend'," Gunther smiled at Kick's blush, "People just don't like being told what to do. Especially when it's from someone they're close too. Why else do you think even advice from family members gets ignored?"

"You think that by telling her what to do I made her go with André?"

"Yeah," Gunther hesitated, "Well sorta… I'm pretty sure she didn't mean it, but when you said 'you better tell him no' she kinda got defensive."

The Viking ignored Kick's scoff, "Also, André is the 'perfect gentleman' and by, and I quote: "Being mean when we don't even know him", we made him seem like the victim." He took another bite of his food, "It wasn't the best way to prove he's not that great."

Kick sighed, "The fact he knows how to get under my skin doesn't help either."

"Right, but the truth always comes out eventually. Rather than force it we probably just shoulda stuck around her and waited for the perfect opportunity."

"I wonder if she's busy after school..." The daredevil mused to himself. "I should probably stop by her room. Maybe get some ice cream for her."

Gunther smiled, "You do that. But hey, are you gonna finish that sandwich?"

Jackie glanced around the library before walking around in search for her friend. Although she hadn't given him the satisfaction of hearing he was right, or eventually arguing with him about whose fault it was, Kick had a point; Kendall and Kick shared the blame equally. Jackie was probably the only other person Kendall (rarely) wouldn't argue with when the blonde girl got upset, but even then Kendall always had something to say. Maybe it was time for a different approach…

Jackie shook her head; she couldn't resort to beating her just yet… Sure she had 'asked' Kendall to talk to him, but never to apologize. Maybe that was what they needed.

She eventually found her friend in a corner at the far end of the room, "Hey Kendall, watcha workin' on?"

"Hi, I'm just finishing up some applications I've ignored."

The brown-haired girl glanced at the papers as she sat down. "Still stuck on going to University during senior year?"

Kendall nodded, "I've been working on this since we entered high school and I've given up a lot of things to make sure this happens, a possible relationship with Kick* included, but-"

"What do you mean a 'possible relationship'?" Her friend interrupted, "You don't have to ignore him because of these," She gestured to the papers, "You're the type of person who could handle a boyfriend and finishing High School while taking University classes at the same time. And don't think Kick doesn't like you, because he does. And I'm sure he'd understand if you just told him."

Kendall gave a sad smile, "If we had talked about this a week ago, I would've believed you, but… well… I don't think it matters anymore. Kick and I aren't exactly on good terms right now."

"Then just apologize," Jackie threw her arms up in exasperation, "You two are so stubborn! I'm sure that if you hadn't been all, 'Oh I need to be accepted before I think about a boyfriend' we wouldn't be dealing with 'André is a nice guy, why don't you all like him?' and a bunch of other drama!"

"Jackie! We're in a library!" Kendall scolded, "And Kick wouldn't listen to me anyways. Not that I blame him since I was kinda mean-"

The brown-haired girl scoffed, "Yeah, you definitely could've handled the situation better…"

"But I'm tired of playing 'referee' between all of you."

"I play referee all the time," Jackie mumbled before scolding her friend, "At least acknowledge that it's weird that three out of four of us haven't liked him since we met him."

"People didn't like us when we were kids either, Jackie." Kendall gave the brown-haired girl a pointed look, "We know what being judged is like, I mean yeah I wasn't the best person around but that didn't mean I wasn't affected by how people viewed me."

"Yeah but like you said, you gave people a reason."

"Andre's been nothing but sweet to you-"

"And I told you from be beginning I didn't like him." Jackie paused for a moment, "I get the feeling you were a bit unsure of him too at first. Or am I wrong?"

Kendall suddenly found the table extremely interesting, "HA! Even you knew!"

"Jackie-"

"No, no. Let me savor this moment!" The blonde girl smiled and rolled her eyes, "Ok moment over. " Jackie took her friend's hand, "Anyways, we're just lookin' out for you Kends."

"I know." Kendall smiled, "And I really do appreciate it. If Kick hadn't helped me become a better person, we probably wouldn't be friends who stay by each other's side, give advice and comfort one another when things look down and push each other forward when things are going great."

Jackie smiled, "Yeah, who would've thought right?"

"Tell me about it," They giggled for a moment before Kendall grabbed her things, "Come on, the bell's going to ring soon and I have to turn these in before our next class."

"You are going to talk to Kick though, right?"

Jackie crossed her arms as an unsure look crossed her friend's face, "Listen, you already acknowledged that it's partly your fault too and I know he wants to talk to you just as much as you want to talk to him, so you really shouldn't be so doubtful."

"I know." Kendall sighed, "And I will. Just… not now, maybe after school."

Jackie placed a hand on her friend's shoulder, "A misunderstanding isn't worth a friendship like the one we have. Think about that Kends."

As the day went on Jackie and Gunther found that despite their talks, neither Kick nor Kendall seemed willing to make the first move in repairing their friendship. While her boyfriend insisted to give them time to work things out themselves, by the end of the day Jackie had decided to give them a little push…

"So the bus is gonna be late," Jackie nudged her blonde friend as they walked outside, noticing a certain daredevil standing not too far away from them. "Are you gonna talk to him?"

Kendall felt her cheeks grow warm, "Well… I-"

"No Choice! Hey Kick! Come here for a sec."

"What are you doing?!" Kendall hissed.

Jackie smiled, "Just helping you out." She turned to the daredevil, "What's up Kick?"

"You called me over," He said with a shrug, "You tell me."

"Oh nothing, but hey where's Gunther?"

Kendall scowled when the brown-haired girl grabbed her hand as she tried to sneak away; she had spent majority of the day after her talk with Jackie thinking about what she would say once she gathered the courage to approach Kick. Especially since he, along with the rest of the group, would freak out with the news she had. Kendall wasn't asking for much… just a few more hours. Obviously her friend felt like throwing those plans out the window.

"Oh, he went to his locker-"

"Great! I'll go get him and leave you guys alone." Jackie grabbed his hand and placed Kendall's in it, "See ya!"

Both Kick and Kendall watched in disbelief as their friend practically skipped away before their eyes drifted down to their joined hands. They pulled away with twin blushes on their faces and refused to look at one other. Neither of them made an effort to leave though; deep inside they both wanted to fix things, but Kendall was nervous and Kick felt embarrassed. After what seemed like an eternity of awkward glances and uncomfortable coughs to ease the tension, Kendall broke the silence.

"So…" She began, "How was your day?"

"Fine," He scratched the back of his head, "But hey… Listen, I wanted to-"

"Actually Kick," Kendall interrupted, "I wanted to say I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you and I guess I just got… defensive when you got mad and this year's been hard especially with this 'André drama' so the stress just got to me. I didn't mean it when I said I wanted to go with him. And I know you usually take the first step in apologizing when we argue, and thank you for that but I can't help but feel it makes me a bad friend so I really wanted to be the one to ask for forgiveness first!"

Kick stared at her as she panted for breath before letting out the first wholehearted laugh of the week, "Wow, I forgot how much you can say in one breath," His eyes softened, "I'm sorry too, Kendall. It's just-"

He stopped when she took his hand again with a shy smile, "I know. I've been thinking about this a lot and since Andre's shoulder is better, I'm not going to tutor him anymore or hang out with him. Our friendship is more important."

Kendall felt her heart soar when Kick's face brightened with a smile, then it fell with his next words, "I'm glad you feel that way, 'cause I was thinking… Maybe instead of going to Homecoming this year we can just hang out?"

He rubbed the back of his neck, unsure why he was suddenly feeling nervous. Kick had spent plenty of 'alone time' with Kendall over the years, mostly during middle school, but now he felt like he was asking her for a date… Which he wasn't.

"You know… just eating ice cream, watching movies, bugging Brad and all that good stuff."

"Oh… well-" She looked at the ground; the idea of spending time together again was incredibly sweet and exciting but the unease of the news she had to share ruined the feeling.

"Kick, there's something I need to tell you. But I need you to promise that you'll listen till I finish."

He blinked, "Uh… Ok?"

"No. You have to promise."

Kick almost smiled at her serious face, "Alright. I promise."

Kendall took a deep breath and steeled herself, "Ok, yesterday-"

"Joli Fleur!" They internally sighed, one with bleakness and the other in irritation, as André came up behind them, "Moi petite Kendall, I was hoping you could tell me what color your dress is so that I may wear a matching tie when we attend Homecoming tomorrow."

Kendall felt the blood drain from her face when Kick let go of her hand and she looked in his eyes; they were disbelieving, betrayed and wounded. "You're going with him?"

"Of course," The French boy responded happily, "She accepted yesterday! And as I said before, I need to know the color of your dress."

Something sharp stabbed Kendall in the chest as she looked from Kick to André, "Well… Its blue, but André I-"

"Wonderful! I shall pick you up and we shall go to dinner and-"

"You know what?" Kick interrupted pulling his skateboard from his backpack, "I'm heading home. I'll see you around."

"No, Kick wait-" He didn't look back as she called to him, and Kendall suddenly found it harder to breathe the farther he skated away from her, "I… I wasn't..."

A small but wicked smirk crossed André's face as he watched Kendall stare in the direction the daredevil had gone. It was too easy actually, causing more drama between them. André had been aware of Jackie's attempts to show who he was and her efforts in convincing the pair to talk to one another again, but her impatience had been her mistake and André was more than grateful for it. True, all his fan-girls had distracted and attempted to take up more of his time than usual (which he believed was Jackie's fault) but he had managed to get away and let the daredevil know Kendall had accepted (after another sad and overly emotional speech) to attend Homecoming with him.

Having her confirm it and watching the boy's reaction had made the victory that much sweeter. In an instant, his expression became thoughtful and concerned as he placed a hand on Kendall's shoulder, his earlier expression vanishing as if it had never existed.

"Kendall, I hope I was not the cause of his sudden departure. I merely wanted to know what is considered an important detail in this event for your culture."

The girl sighed, "Yeah I know."

Her tone said she was trying to push the feelings aside; that she was dealing with the disappointment in her own way. It was one of the more perfectly executed plans André had ever performed; arriving right as they had resolved their problems only to show that Kendall 'chosen' him over her childhood friend. The feelings of sadness and hurt at the fact that Kick had refused to listen to Kendall could be turned, indirectly, towards Kick. The idea of Kendall hardening her heart against the threat (to him at least) that was Kick Buttowski filled André with merciless satisfaction; it would make convincing her so much easier. Especially since emotionally distraught girls were exceptionally willing to accept propositions like the one he had in mind if it meant easing their heartbroken pain**.

"Will you be alright?" He gave her shoulder an encouraging squeeze when she hesitated.

"I will." She turned to him with a broken smile and pulled away. "I just need some time. Since your arm's fine, I'm sure you won't need my help anymore and actually, my dad wanted to take me out then drop me off at school tomorrow. So I'll meet you out front ok?"

"That is fine, but if you need someone to talk to; I am always available to listen."

"Kendall!"

André glanced over her shoulder as Jackie's voice rang out, "Ah, your friend is searching for you and so I must make my leave." He grabbed her hand and gave it a lingering kiss, "I shall see you tomorrow, moi petite fleur."

Rather than feeling comfort or nervousness at his obviously intimate action, Kendall found herself filled with a sour resentment as André walked away. She didn't hate the guy and she should've known better than to accept his Homecoming invitation, but still the idea of blaming him for the timing felt better than blaming herself. Which made her feel bad; he had simply wanted to know the color of her dress and hadn't caused her latest problem with Kick on purpose. Still, it didn't make the bitterness towards him ease.

Kendall punched the bridge of her nose as Jackie continued to shout her name; more than likely her friend already had an interrogation that would make any investigator proud. That girl needed to look into law enforcement as a future career.

Although, now that Kendall thought about it, things had gotten a bit complicated since she had become friends with the foreign exchange student. For some reason, the idea of him actually trying to get her away from her friends didn't seem as outrageous had before. She had gotten an uneasy feeling from him when they first meet, and all those weird encounters with Kick and everyone else didn't make sense. Maybe she had taken her promise to get to know people before she judged them a little too seriously, because it was weird that all five of them hadn't liked André in the beginning and that four of them (along with a certain blonde girl who was changing her opinion yet chose to remain unnamed) didn't like him.

The next thing she knew, both Jackie and Gunther were standing next to her; the latter trying to drag his girlfriend to the bus since it had finally arrived while the former bombarded her with questions. Kendall merely gave them a thoughtful and serious, if not somewhat upset, look.

"I don't want to talk about it."

*Remember in Chapter 3 when Kendall remembered she was the sensible one and pulled away from Kick because she was working on something? Yeah it was about her possibly taking college/university courses.
**I know not all girls are willing to give into a guy just because she's heartbroken (I know I never have and never would) but André is a guy who's obviously developed his own stereotypes.
Ok, this may sound a bit funny, but when I first started writing this chapter, it was originally combined with the next one, and a lot of what went on here wasn't originally planned. I guess losing my flash drive is a good thing haha. I did like how it turned out, because before it would've been so much shorter.
I'm glad I managed to put in some "Kendall suspecting André" in here; it was there in the beginning but kinda went out the window for majority of the fic…
Read and Review and remember Constructive Criticism only!
See ya soon!