(A / N): Hey everyone, so like I said I'm updating today. I hope everyone likes the story so far. Kim's problems are a whole lot worse than they seem right now, and I promise I'll make them appear dramatically, just to keep you all on the edge of your seats ;) So this chapter will be in Jack's POV and Kim's. Enjoy.

Chapter 2: Excuses & Headaches

Jack's POV

I continued to kneel there next to Kim's bed with the half empty vodka bottle in my hand. Half empty vodka bottle in Kim's bag. Wow. How do I even process that? Kimberly Anne Crawford was not a drinker. At least she hadn't been three months ago when she hopped on that plane to Chicago. But here I was, holding a bottle of alcohol that came from Kim's bag. Kim's. I couldn't even fathom what was going on here. Was I imagining it? There was no way Kim, a girl so conscious about her health and fitness, was drinking. Was there?

Suddenly, I heard footsteps pounding up the stairs and I knew Kim was coming, but I couldn't move. I couldn't do anything but kneel there like a confused idiot.

"Hey Jack, so are you ready?" Kim stopped at the door after she had realized what I had in my hands. Her face fell immediately. I could tell she hadn't expected me to find the bottle. I could tell she hadn't wanted me to.

"Uh, your bag fell. I was just picking it up." I said as I slowly straightened up. Kim remained silent. She quickly rushed over to me and yanked the bottle out of my hand, stuffing it back into her bag and covering it with more clothes. Her cheeks were flushed.

"Thanks." She whispered.

What do I do know? Ask her about it? Stay quiet? Act like I didn't see anything? But how was I supposed to do that? Kim was my best friend.

"So, um…" I was lost for words.

"Jack. Just forget you saw anything, okay? It's not a big deal. It's just a bottle left over from some stupid night me and my cousin had." Kim looked at me with pleading eyes. Just a stupid night? I guess that was a plausible possibility to happen. Kim got carried away with her cousin. I knew her cousin was into drinking. Breanne was a year older than us, a junior in high school. Of course she was in that experimenting, partying stage.

"Okay, Kim. It'll be between me and you." I reassured her. She smiled. At least one thing about her was still the same. She still made my body go limp with that perfect smile of hers.

"Now, let's go swimming." She grabbed my hand and led me out to the back patio. The sun was beaming down over the clear, blue water of the Crawford's pool. Kim lifted her light yellow summer dress over her head, revealing her navy bikini top and silver bottoms. I suddenly found myself extremely light headed. When the hell did she get so many curves? I mentally socked myself for thinking of my best friend in such a sexual way. Granted I was a sixteen year old teenage boy, but when it came to Kim Crawford, I should know to keep my hormones under chains and lock.

I looked over at Kim who was now lying in the middle of the pool on a green floating chair. She giggled at my lack of awareness after realizing I had been ogling her since she took her dress off.

"You going to come in, or just stand there and admire how shiny the water is?" She asked. Yes, because that's exactly what I was admiring. The pool water, not your beautifully tan skin, or the immense amount of cleavage you're sporting right now. I was seriously wishing I could just kick myself.

I snapped out of my inappropriate thoughts and took my shirt off, throwing it to the side onto one of the beach chairs. Kim was still smiling at me, but I could see her eyes scanning my body like I had just been doing to hers a few minutes earlier.

"Don't be so shy Jack. Get in!" She chuckled at me. Getting into a pool with Kim was a whole lot harder than I had predicted. Just the way she was lying was driving dirty thoughts into my mind. I saw her bite her lower lip softly as I swan closer to her. Oh man, I would give anything to kiss those lips. God dammit.

"So Jack, you want to play a little game?" Kim questioned me, a little seductive glint in her eyes. A game, huh? I wouldn't mind if that game involved you and me making out for hours. Wow. I was a sick, sick boy.

"Sure." I managed to say. Kim slid off the chair and swiftly waded through the water to where I was standing. She leaned in towards me, her hot, sweet breath softly hitting my skin.

"Do I make you nervous?" She whispered in my ear. If I could explain how my body felt after those five words, I would, but there was no possible way in the universe. For being surrounded by cold water, my body sure was burning.

Kim backed away, brushing her soft lips against my cheek as she did. Her face was now a mere few inches away from mine. I couldn't pull myself to look away from her eyes. My train of thought was crashing and burning. Any hope that I had to keep myself from kissing Kim was vanishing quickly. I needed a way out, and fast.

I looked over at the clock above the pool shed and noticed it was 4:30. Karate practice started at 5. Bingo.

"Uh, Kim. We'd better get going. Practice starts in half an hour." I turned away and swam towards the stairs. I heard Kim sigh as I got out and wrapped a towel around myself. Was she disappointed I hadn't kissed her? Kim stepped out slowly, the water dripping off of her soaked body. I held my breath as I watched her walk the other way, grabbing another towel and drying herself off, almost in a teasing kind of way.

"Alright, let's go." She said as she slipped her summer dress back on.

All I could do was nod. She paralyzed me.

We had made it to the dojo just in time for practice. Kim left us to go change in the locker rooms, while me, Eddie, Jerry, and Milton sat around the mats waiting for Rudy to get back from Falafel Phil's. I knew the guys were itching to ask me questions about what had happened at Kim's house, but they were all too scared for Kim to hear and beat them to a pulp like she always did when they mentioned me and Kim as an 'us'.

A few minutes passed before Kim walked back out to join us. Even her GI had become more form fitting.

"Are we going to practice or just sit around?" She asked as she walked over to one of the dummies and started punching it. We just looked at each other and shrugged before joining in.

Kim and I had decided to practice sparring, so we took the main mat and started throwing punches and kicks at each other. She hadn't lost her touch one bit. She blocked most of my attacks, and even got a good kick to my stomach.

I was so focused on Kim's movements that I hadn't even realized it wasn't me that had made Kim fall. I hadn't even touched her when she suddenly fell to her knees and placed her hand over her forehead. Everyone quickly stopped what they were doing and ran over. I kneeled down in front of Kim and lightly touched her shoulder, trying to comfort her.

"Kim, are you okay?" Milton questioned as he kneeled down beside me. Kim nodded her head.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Just a headache." She replied. I couldn't tell if Kim was being honest, or if she was trying to make her condition seem less serious. But I wasn't one to push Kim Crawford. All I could get from her was she was in pain.

"I think I'm going to go change and just go home." She told us as she slowly stood up and made her way over to the locker rooms, still holding her hand against her forehead. We all just watched her walk away.

"Maybe we should cancel practice until Kim is feeling better." Eddie suggested. I nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. I'm going to take Kim home. I'll talk to you guys later." I said as Kim walked back out towards us. I grabbed my bag and followed Kim out to the mall parking lot where my car was. She wouldn't even look at me.

We kept quiet the entire ride home. I didn't know what to say to her, and it didn't seem like she wanted to talk to me. I understood why, seeing as the sunlight probably just irritated her, but I was desperately seeking a few words from her. I wanted to know if she really was okay, and how severe the pain was. She blankly stared out the car window though, all the way to her house, and once I stopped she bid me a silent goodbye and left.

This was not the Kim that left for Chicago. It wasn't even the Kim I was swimming with a few hours ago. This girl was an entirely different person, and I wasn't sure if I liked it.

Oh man, took me FOREVER to finish. Why do you guys think Kim was in so much pain? Was it really a headache? And what caused it so suddenly?

You want more? You gotta review ;)