KarateGirl77: Aw thanks. Thank you for telling me to update on my own time.
I love Kick Ausally and GeCe: That's a good reason. I'm glad you love this story.
theditor: I don't know. I went down a completely different path.
MoVe-It-Or-LoSe-It: Oh, did I make it sound rude? I'm sorry! I forgot intentions don't always transfer on the internet. I really didn't mean to be rude. I promise.
KCKarateChick: Glad my story's humorous.
kittykat2506: Great insight there. That's a valid reason. And yeah, Jack's a pretty hurtful character in this story.
Indiebay: haha, I might. I just might.
Oh, and the last cameo? The seventh person I forgot to count? It was Kevin. He's Macy's "boyfriend." Don't worry, he was hard to find.
Kim
"I have an idea."
I looked up at Jemma. I was in the library with Melody, Brody, and Ethan, researching for the Greek report due next month. "It's not ridiculous, is it?" I asked her.
"No!" She lightly shoved me. "I'll tell you guys later."
"Are we included in on this powwow?" Ethan asked playfully.
"Of course you are," Melody reassured him.
"You're part of the group, aren't you?" I asked, remembering when we added them in on our plans.
"You told them, right?" I asked Brody.
"Of course I did," Brody rolled his eyes. "They'll be here in a few minutes."
"Okay," I said, snuggling close to him.
"Why are you snuggling with me? You should be snuggling with Jack," Brody whispered in my ear. I blushed.
"Shut up," I mumbled.
"Hey," I looked up. There was Kevin, Blake, and Ethan. "You said there was something we had to discuss?"
"Yeah," Jem came out of nowhere. "It's about our sensei and Seaford High."
In five minutes, Jemma had summed up the entire dillemma.
Kevin looked shocked. "Wow," he breathed.
"Didn't realize Sensei Ty was THAT insane," Ethan shook his head.
"We knew," Macy commented as she and Melody joined us, giving their respective boyfriends a kiss on the cheek before sitting down.
"But why would they destroy Seaford High, if most of the Black Dragons go there?" Blake asked.
"We think it's because of me," Melody said bluntly. "Since I'm both a Swathmore student, and I was a Wasabi warrior. Not to mention my cousin Jack and some of his Wasabi dojo friends were the Swathmore Imposters."
"To be fair, it might also be because we didn't tell anyone that we knew who the Swathmore Imposters were," Macy pointed out.
"And Brody, you knew about this?" Kevin asked. Brody nodded.
"So... are you in?" I asked finally.
The three boys looked at each other hesitantly, as if reading each other's minds. "We're in," they said simultaneously.
"So, what's your plan?" Macy asked as we all walked to karate, "and why do we have to discuss it before karate?"
"We need to let more people in," Jemma announced.
"What?" We all shrieked.
"Listen!" Jemma hushed us all. "Not any strangers, of course. I was thinking Brianna, Mariela, and Mandy."
"Nu uh," Melody shook her head instantly. "No need to involve outsiders in on this."
"Why not?" Jemma asked. "I don't see why not."
"What's in it for them?" Melody answered. "They'll get kicked out if they're caught, or we'll get in trouble for including them. We already included Blake, Ethan, Kevin and Brody because they have legitimate information on the inner workings of the Black Dragons. Ty chose them himself. We're not condemning others to throw away what their parents are paying for for no reason."
"I think you're overexaggerating," Jemma challenged.
"I don't," Ethan backed up, an arm around Melody's shoulders.
"But they don't," Jem gestured to the rest of us.
"I actually agree with Melody," Kevin said.
"Me too," Macy nodded.
"So do I," Blake said sheepishly, and Jemma turned angered eyes on him.
"I do too," Brody said.
"Well, looks like everyone turned on me... except you," Jemma turned her freezing eyes on me. "Right?" When I didn't answer, she repeated, "Right?"
"No." Jemma's eyes burned with a freezing cold fire that threatened to engulf all of us. "I don't think any of them need to go through this."
"You traitors!" My sister snapped. Whirling, she stalked off, in the opposite direction of the dojo.
"Jemma," I breathed, my voice full of guilt.
"Let's get to practice," Macy sighed as she turned her back to her own sister. "We can't be late."
"Where's Jemma?" I turned at Brianna's curious voice. We were waiting as Sensei did the attendance. Ethan, Brody, Blake and Kevin each gave us a "romantic" goodbye before heading to their separate area of the dojo for practice with Sensei Ty.
"She couldn't go," I lied.
"Oh," Brianna didn't seem to know what to say. "Did you know a video of your performance was put on the internet and went viral?"
"What?" I gasped.
"Yeah," Mariela, who had just joined us, nodded. "I'll show it to you after practice."
"Where's Jemma Crawford?" I heard Sensei ask.
"She's not here," Macy answered. "Couldn't go."
"Okay, then," Sensei wrote it down in her attendance roster, and then continued with the names.
The entire practice, I was rather distracted by Brianna's question. So much, I nearly flipped the Sensei. Thankfully, she was so calm, cooled, and collected, she didn't mind. "Glad your reflexes didn't rust somehow," was her answer, complete with a smile.
When practice was finally over, I showered and got changed rather quickly, and ended up waiting for Mariela to come out of the locker rooms, looking as girly as ever. You wouldn't believe she spent an hour or two at karate practice.
"You seem impatient," Mariela commented with a light laugh.
"Long as ever," I giggled. "Can I see?"
"Of course," She conceded, as she pulled out her tablet. Going onto VidView, she selected a video called, "Forgotten Crawford's Spectacular Voice!" The video played, and only then did I realize the people in the crowd whispering, "She has an amazing voice!" And then I saw the comments.
Aimesters: Why didn't anyone find this superstar?
mollcat: OMG she has a great voice!
KarateGal: look, its the complete crawford sisters! finally!
My smile widened. I had finally been seen.
"Congrats, baby sis," Macy cheered quietly as she and the boys came out. "You're now famous."
"Let's have a celebration. Frozen yogurt at the FroYo GoGo on me," Brody suggested. "You can come too," he added, gesturing to Brianna, Mariela, and Mandy. And then he saw Li and Lex, Brianna's little sisters.
Ethan knelt down to Li and Lex's levels. "Do you want to go get frozen yogurt with your sister and her friends?" He asked sweetly, almost innocently.
"What's frozen yogurt?" Lex's adorable voice was endearing, naive, and all around innocent.
"It's like ice cream, but it tastes like yogurt. Do you want some? We're getting everyone some," Kevin explained, also kneeling to their levels.
"Can we?" Li looked at Brianna with a pleading look.
"I already texted mom. She's okay with it," Brianna assured.
"Let's go!" Li and Lex squealed as they grabbed Brianna's hands and jumped up and down. "Let's go let's go let's go!"
"I guess that's it, then," Blake chuckled. "Let's go."
We walked into the shop, where I found a pretty blonde working the counter. She was busy working with the cash register and the cabinet behind her, and she turned her back to us as we approached her.
"Hi," I greeted, gathering her attention. She whirled around in surprise.
"Hello..." Her own greeting faded as she caught sight of my face. "Are you Kim Crawford?"
"Y-Yes," I stammered, suddenly a bit shy.
"Can I have your autograph?" She asked.
"R-R-Really?" I asked for clarification.
"Uh..." The girl looked a little caught off guard. "Did I offend you?"
"No!" I shook my head. "No one's asked for my autograph before."
"Really?" The girl did a double take. "Because I know most of the employees here want your autograph."
She handed me a piece of paper and a permanent marker. Looking closer at it, I saw what was on it. A picture of me, Melody, Jemma, and Macy, on the Seaford Pageant stage, performing "Had Me at Hello." I was singing my heart out while hitting the chords almost absentmindedly but perfectly, while Macy banged on the drums, her hands a blur. Jemma deftly and professionally playing the guitar, and Melody playing on the keyboard, her hands flowing. Quickly, I signed my signature. "Who should I make this out to?" I asked, repeating what Macy and Jemma say to anyone who wants their autographs.
"Mackenzie," the girl said. Quickly, I signed a "To Mackenzie" on the top and handed it back to her, along with the marker. Then Mackenzie - assuming that's her name - turned to Melody and Macy. "Could you sign it too?"
"Sure," Macy flashed the girl a sweet smile as she signed it.
"Really, me?" Melody asked, though she still signed it.
"Of course," Mackenzie grinned. Then she looked closely at our mismatched group. "I don't see Jemma anywhere, is she here?"
"No, she's a bit busy," Melody said smoothly.
"Well, I'd better get onto business here," Mackenzie smoothed her apron. "Welcome to FroYo GoGo, please enjoy!" she gave us a giant grin as she presented the cups with a flourish.
I grabbed a small cup and filed it with cookies and cream before topping it off with chocolate chips and some marshmallows before sitting down somewhere.
After we had all eaten our fill, we left the shop satisfied. I had surprisingly given autographs to nearly the entire staff and even a few customers, along with Melody and Macy. We were famous - me for being another talented Crawford, Macy for being, well, a Crawford and a sister, and Melody for being a part of it all. Blake left with Brianna, Li, and Lex (whose real names were Lianna and Alexa) to walk them home, leaving Ethan, Kevin and Brody to escort us home.
"That was fun!" Melody giggled.
"It was like a mix between a triple date, babysitting, and friends hanging out," Ethan commented, making us laugh.
"We should do it more often," I said. "Just us karate kids."
"Definitely," Kevin nodded.
"Well, we're here," Macy said awkwardly.
"We'll see you tomorrow, girls," Brody smiled as he leaned in. The instant his lips were on my cheek, I was startled, and I turned -
Only to end up kissing Brody full on.
He let it last a second more, before he pulled back. "Thanks, love," he said in a cheeky British accent before walking away.
"That escalated quickly," Melody joked, making us laugh as we walked in.
"Does kissing a guy you don't actually like feel nice?" I froze. Macy started, and Melody leaped backwards, in a fighting position.
A smug Jemma leaned against the arch leading into the kitchen, her eyes trained on me.
But that wasn't the worst part.
Leaning against a wall in the main hall, arms crossed, was -
"Jack."
Betrayal.
I decided to apologize for my lack of updates with a longer chapter. Almost 2000 words, and about 600-800 words more than usual. I never thought I'd turn down a darker path than I had. This was supposed to be a more lighthearted story about Kim becoming famous and winning the heart of Jack, not faking a romance with a cute guy to save the guy you fell for who fell for your famous older sister. Oops. Anyway, if you're still reading this AN, there are two polls on my profile page. If you check them out and answer, I'll know you read the entire AN. ;)
The worst part, though: School's starting. And School... not so fun. I'll try to do updates once every two weeks, but it'll be difficult. Why? The dreaded schedule: School, Two competitive sports (one for school, one for personal training - and eventually for school), music, and homework. (I'm in honors class. Yay.)
So I apologize for late, irregular updates. I wish it was like last year, when I updated once a week. I sooooo wish I could do that again.
And now I apologize for the long AN that will make this chapter 2000 words. Sigh...
~squirmyorchid