Jack and Kim returned to the set the next day for their first rehearsal. Dolph met them at the door.
"There are my stars!" He said with a smile and led them into the building. He led them to the set and once they were there, he turned to them and asked, "Have you guys gone over your scripts?"
They both nodded hesitantly. He didn't notice the hesitation as his smile widened.
"Perfect!" He exclaimed happily before getting everyone in position for the first take. Once everyone was where they needed to be, he yelled, "ACTION!"
It went by breezily for Jack and Kim at first, almost as if it came naturally. The acting, not the karate. The karate always came naturally for them. However, things took a rough turn when they began closing in on the kiss scene.
"Okay, so this kiss isn't a simple kiss, but a passionate one. I want to believe that you two are in love with each other and are expressing you're feelings through the kiss" Dolph had told them. Oh he was going to believe it since it wouldn't be an act, they thought.
Jack and Kim slowly started to lean in, but before their faces even got close, they stopped. Dolph yelled "CUT" and then walked over to them.
"Is something wrong?" He asked, slightly impatiently. They looked at each other nervously.
"Uh...n-no, no nothings wrong" Kim answered when neither said anything for a minute, and looked to Jack.
"Yeah, no, we're good" He supplied. Dolph didn't look convinced.
"Okay, look, I can tell what's going on between you, so to help, I'll demonstrate what you have to do" He said and then began to call in an actress and actor to help when Kim and Jack stopped him.
"NO!" They exclaimed in unison. Dolph nodded.
"Well, let's try it again" He stated before taking his seat back in his directors chair. He yelled action again once they got into position. Kim and Jack repeated their lines and started to lean in for the kiss. When their noses bumped each other, Kim stopped. She opened her eyes, having closed them for the kiss, and looked up at Jack with fear.
"I...can't" She whispered quietly. Right when Jack opened his eyes to look at her, Dolph spoke up.
"Okay, take five everyone. This scene is going to take some time!" He shouted and then pulled Kim to the side. "Kim, Kim, Kim, something is wrong?"
"Well, it's just really awkward, you know, because me and Jack are like best friends" She replied with a sigh.
"If you want, I can get another girl to do kiss" He offered, but she immediately shot it down. The idea of some actress kissing Jack, and in front of her, it made her blood start to boil.
"No, don't do that!" She exclaimed and then paused before defeatedly saying, "I'll do it"
He grinned. "Okay, we'll do another take in five minutes" He told her before going off to talk with one of the lighting people. Kim sat down on a bench against the wall, opposite of the set, and grumbled as she put her face in her hands.
"Are you okay, Kim?" Jack asked as he approached her, slightly startling her. She looked up and gave him a weak smile.
"Fine" She responded before scooting over to allow him room to sit. He did. A silence, similar to the one they experienced yesterday, blanketed them again, but this time, she didn't want to go through it. They needed to talk about this. She turned and looked at Jack with a sullen expression. "Listen Jack, I'm sorry about making a bigger deal of this than I should"
Jack chuckled. "Kim, it's okay. I mean, it's just as awkward for me too"
"But, I just don't want to hurt our friendship. You mean a lot to me and I don't want to lose you over a dumb kiss" She said, making him smile. He grabbed her hand and looked straight into her eyes, losing himself in their sad brown pools.
"I promise it won't do anything to our friendship, and you're not going to lose me that easily. But if it really bothers you, we won't do it" He said, though a sliver of disappointment managed to escape into his voice and she heard it.
"Aw, did someone want a kiss?" She teased with a smirk. He blushed and coughed, looking away. Just then, Dolph came back over and clapped his hands, looking between them.
"Are we ready for another take?" He asked.
"Actually-" Jack began but was cut off by Kim.
"We're ready" She told Dolph, who nodded and gestured for them to follow him. They did and as they were walking back to the set, Jack nudged Kim's arm with his elbow and when she looked at him, he gave her a puzzled look. She just flashed him a smile before they got back into position for the kiss scene.
"Are you sure about this?" He asked, planning on stopping everything if she even had the littlest of doubts.
"Yeah" She said confidently before leaning in as the director yelled action. Without the slightest intention on protesting, he leaned in too, and their lips finally met in a chaste kiss. As they melted into it, Kim wrapped her arms around Jack's neck as he did the same to her waist. They weren't sure how long they had been kissing, but the next thing they knew, someone was tapping them on their shoulders in a not so friendly way.
They slowly pulled away and looked over to see Dolph, looking both amused and annoyed at the same time. "You do realize I've been yelling cut, don't you?" He asked.
"Oh, uh, sorry" Kim said, biting down on her bottom lip. In truth, both had completely forgotten they were doing a kiss scene for a movie.
Dolph lightly shook his head. "It's fine, anyway, you're kiss I love" He smiled at them, making them both blush. "But, I can't use it" He finally said. Their eyes went wide as they looked at him in shock.
"What?" They exclaimed in unison. He nodded as if in conformation.
"Yes, your kiss was good, but it was too..." He trailed off as he searched his brain for the right word. "..it was too good"
"What does that mean?" Kim half asked, half demanded.
"It means I'm not using it in my movie" Dolph said, and them turned his back to them to yell, "CAN SOMEONE BRING IN THE STUNT LIPS?"
He then walked off in the same direction he was turned to, leaving the two teens alone. Jack rocked back on his feet as Kim bit her lip.
"So..." He began awkwardly.
"So..." She prompted, glancing at him. He turned to her.
"Look, let's forget this happened, okay?" He asked, hoping they'd be able to avoid being awkward around each other. She thought about it for a second before smiling and nodding.
"Deal" She said and he grinned. He held his arm out for her.
"Now, shall we finish this movie, Kimmy?" He asked her. She looped her arm around his.
"Let's do it" They started walking off when she looked back at him, smirking as she said, "Oh and Jack? Don't call me Kimmy"
He laughed. "Sure thing, Kim" He said before shooting her a wink.
When Jack and Kim finished up doing their part in the movie for the day, they returned to the dojo, and to four waiting people. They had barely made it through the glass doors before they were ambushed by their sensei and friends.
"Is it true that you guys had to kiss?" Milton asked excitedly.
"Did you guys kiss?" Eddie asked.
"Did you get me some phone numbers?" Jerry asked, bouncing up and down like a kid who had just been told they were going to get a big bag of candy for their birthday. Everyone looked at him with the same looks, which read: 'Really?'
He put his hands up in defense. "I want a hot actress as a girlfriend, sue me for it" He said. They rolled their eyes and Rudy stepped in between Jack and Kim and Eddie and Milton(who were up in the black belts personal space).
"Lay off guys, we'll all see when the movie is released" He said and then turned to Jack and Kim and smiled, "Congratulations"
"About that..." Jack trailed off with a forced chuckle. He looked at them each and half-shrugged as he told them, "They brought in 'stunt lips' to do the kiss scene so me and Kim didn't have to kiss"
Kim caught on and added, "Yeah, they thought it would be better to do it that way"
"Oh" Eddie, Milton, and Rudy said in clear disappointment. Jerry looked at the two in puzzlement.
"So wait, you guys didn't kiss?" He asked.
"Nope" They replied a little too quickly, but lucky for them, the rest didn't notice. Eddie and Milton headed back over to the mats, mumbling things to each other, and Jerry went to one of the training dummies. Rudy patted Jack's shoulder.
"Maybe next time" He said before walking into his office. Jack and Kim shared a smile and then went to their separate changing rooms. So Dolph didn't put their kiss in the movie, big deal. As far as they were concerned, they got something out of it that was so much better.
Thanks for the awesome reviews, I'm glad you guys liked it :D Oh and about the whole not including the kiss thing, I thought about that actually happening in the episode haha.
I really wonder what will happen, whether they'll kiss or not. Cross you fingers they do! XD
