Author's Note: I do apologize for once again, getting behind on this story. Between finishing up the semester, ccelebrating my birthday, which, I'd like to publically thank everyone on Fan Fiction for the lovely birthday wishes, whether it was through PM's, writing a special story in my honor, or both, thank you so very much! A pun on something the Rugrats might say, you guys are the bestest friends a fan fic author ever had! Without further a due, while I still have a tiny bit of writer's block, hopefully, this chapter comes together ok in the end.
Chapter 13, The Christmas Parade
Fourteen-year-old Kimi was in her room, curled up on her bed, with her cell phone pressed to her ear, completely getting lost in her conversation with Zack, as they shared a few sweet moments on the phone together. Everyone was in high school now, and over the previous summer, Zack and Kimi had shared their first kiss as an official romantic couple while Zack was attending Tommy's barmitsfa, and over the summer, while the bulk of the gang thought Kimi had taken an internship at a sushi bar in Japan, to spend some time with her biological father and maternal grandparents, in actuality, she had gone off to Wheeling, West Virginia, where she and Zack spent the entire summer together. She worked at a local frozen yogurt shop called What's the Scoop, and their relationship grew. But unknowingly to either Zack or Tommy, Kimi had only put herself in a secret love triangle, where while Kimi secretly bounced between the two boys, Tommy and Zack still had no clue what the little Japanese teen was up to, and it would only be a matter of time, before they found out.
"So what are your plans for Christmas Zachary?" Kimi asked into the phone, a goofy grin on her face, as she listened to the soothing voice of her blond boyfriend on the other end.
While his voice was still changing, it didn't sound as squeaky as some boys did during this time in that awkward stage known as puberty.
"Well, my aunt and I will be leaving in an hour for the annual Christmas party. This year, my maternal grandparents, Liz and Harold are putting it on, and I hear that grandma Liz is making her famous banana bread this year. Mmmm! I can taste it already!" Said Zack, as he lay on his bed, licking his lips in thought, as he'd glance over at pictures of Kimi he had lining his dresser.
Just as Kimi was about to speak, Tommy walked into the room, dressed in a Santa suit. Hearing the quiet footsteps, she looked up and saw who was in the room, so saw to quickly wrapping up her conversation with Zack.
"Uh, I've gotta go. I'll try to call you later. Merry Christmas." Said Kimi quickly into the phone, as she hung up her cell and put it into her pants pocket before Zack could get in another word in edge wise.
Once her phone was safely pocketed, she sat up on her bed and stared over at Tommy standing in the doorway.
"Uh, who was that?" Tommy asked.
"Uh, just, wishing my dad and half sister Kiki in Japan a Merry Christmas." Kimi lied.
"I thought Kiki was in a performance of the Nutcracker, playing a reindeer." Said Tommy.
"Uh, she is, but that's not until tonight, and it's only early morning in Japan right now." Said Kimi.
Though truthfully, she was lying, as while her half sister was in the Nutcracker, the performance was the previous week, before Christmas eve.
"Now, I've gotta ask you something. Why are you dressed up as Santa Clause?" Kimi asked.
Tommy just gave her a look like she was dumb.
"What?" Kimi asked, rolling her eyes at him.
"Don't tell me you forgot." Said Tommy.
"Forgot what?" Kimi asked.
"Tonight's the Christmas parade in Sandiego, remember? I, president of the Yucaipa High Film Club, am dressed as Santa Clause, and we're going, along with selective members of the Drama Club, to represent our school in the parade, dressing up as well-known Christmas characters, and singing Christmas carols." Explained Tommy.
"But, Mister Salmon told me I only had to go as an alternate." Kimi replied, as she slumped back on her pillows.
"Well, I take it you didn't check your school email today. Clarissa got ill, so come on Kimi, put on your elf costume and let's go." Said Tommy, as he walked into Kimi's closet, and returned a few seconds later, holding her elf costume in his hand.
Kimi just gave him a look of embarrassment.
"No way! I am not wearing that, thing, in public!" Kimi snapped.
"Awe, come on Kimi, you'll look cute!" Said Tommy, as he blushed and smiled at her.
Kimi took a deep breath, as she stared over at Tommy as Santa Clause, and gave him a small smile. Truthfully though, she was thinking about Zack, and if he had been there, she wouldn't care. She would do anything for him. But somehow, something inside her told her she couldn't just, do anything for Tommy. She was starting to wonder if she really liked Tommy anymore, or if she was only using him because she didn't have Zack's shoulder to snuggle on, or his tender lips to kiss everyday. She stood up and let out a sigh, as she slowly approached Tommy, and took the elf costume out of his hand.
"Ok ok, you win, I'll go get changed. I'll be back in about ten minutes." Said Kimi, as she left the room with her elf costume in hand, and went into the bathroom, but not without passing by Chuckie in the hallway, who was all dressed up for a Christmas party.
"Going somewhere?" Chuckie asked.
"Yes, I'm going to the Christmas parade out in Sandiego. They need me as the alternate elf." Said Kimi reluctantly, as she made her way into the bathroom.
"Well I'm off to Nicole's Christmas party. Have a good time." Said Chuckie with a smile, as she headed downstairs and ran out the door where Nicole's dad was waiting in the driveway to pick him up.
Kimi made her way into the bathroom, grabbed a quick shower, and changed into the elf costume. When she emerged, she found Tommy, still in his Santa costume in the hallway, as he studied Kimi up and down, enjoying how cute she looked.
"You look cute Kimi! Ready to go?" Tommy asked, taking Kimi's hand, and leading her to the top of the stairs.
"As ready as I will be I guess." Kimi replied, staring down at the floor, not making eye contact.
She really didn't want to go, as she figured eventually, Zack would get bored at his grandparents Christmas party, and want to talk, but she had to do her part for the school's drama club, so she and Tommy left for school, where they made it in time to catch the schoolbus that would be taking everyone who was participating in the parade, from Yucaipa to Sandiego.
Once everyone was seated on the bus, Kimi snuggled up next to Tommy, when a couple of people dressed up as reindeer, including Phil and Lil, walked by.
"Uh oh, Misses Clause better watch out. Santa's flerting with one of his elves." Said Phil, as he chuckled.
"Stop is Phil." Snapped Kimi, as she gave him an annoyed look, her face turning red.
"Besides, Misses Clause is not even remotely interested in me. She's interested in Paul, who went off to Maine for the holidays, remember?" Tommy replied, as he pointed across the isle to where Susie Carmichael, dressed as Misses Clause was sitting.
"Oh, hi guys, looking forward to the parade?" Susie asked, as Phil and Lil in their reindeer costumes took a seat behind her.
"We sure are, right Kimi?" Tommy asked.
Kimi silently nodded, as she turned back towards Tommy and snuggled up with him, as the bus continued to speed down the highway towards Sandiego. Eventually, she fell asleep, where she awoke, and discovered that Tommy and Zack had switched places, and now, Zack was dressed as Santa, and somehow, Kimi and Susie had switched costumes, as Susie was now dressed as an elf, and Kimi was Misses Clause.
"You ready sweetie?" Zack asked in the dream, as they got off of the bus, and found miles of snow before them.
Kimi looked around in confusion.
"Wait a minute Zachary, aren't we suppose to be in Sandiego? Where on earth did all of this snow come from?" Kimi asked.
"Didn't you hear? You're marching with me in the Christmas parade in Wheeling, and we got a foot of snow this winter." Zack replied, as he took Kimi's hand, and they walked over to the start of the line, where they got into a sleigh, that was being pulled by several donkeys, that were dressed as reindeer.
"Donkeys?" Kimi asked, confused.
"Yeah, my great aunt Vicky couldn't get any reindeer, so she settled for some donkeys instead." Zack replied, as he grabbed a hold of the reins and the parade took off.
Then, something unexpected happened. Zack's sleigh took to the sky.
"Wow! I had no idea donkeys could fly." Kimi replied, as she looked around, as snowflakes started to come down.
"Anything for my little dumpling." Said Zack, as he reached in, and gently kissed Kimi on the lips.
Kimi closed her eyes and snuggled tighter into Zack, as the sleigh continued to soar through the sky.
"Oh Zachary, this is the best Christmas ever." Kimi whispered into his ear.
"Anything for you Kimi." Said Zack, as she fell asleep on his shoulder.
"Kimi? Kimi are you there? Earth to Kimi, wake up." She heard Zack say, but the last couple of words quickly changed into Tommy's voice, as he was shaking her awake.
"Oh Zack, tell me when we land, I'm cold and tired." Kimi muttered out loud.
"I'm not Zack, I'm Tommy. Come on Kimi, wake up, we're here and the parade is going to start soon." Tommy yelled in Kimi's ear, as she sat upright, looking around, realizing she was no longer in a donkey drawn sleigh in the sky.
She was back on the bus, wearing her elf costume, as she saw Susie dressed as Misses Clause exit the bus, along with Phil and Lil as reindeer. She and Tommy got up and joined the others, as they departed, while Tommy went to the front of the line with Susie, and Kimi went and found the other members of the Drama Club and Film Club, who were dressed up as elves, taking her spot.
"Ok everybody, are we ready?" Mister Salmon asked the group.
"Yes Mister Salmon." All of the students replied in unison, as they all took their places in the line of the parade route, and started singing their first Christmas carol, Deck the Halls.
The parade carried on, as they marched along, singing the songs they were singing on the route. While this was going on though, Kimi couldn't wait to get finished, so she could head home, and hopefully talk to Zack one more time, before it got too much later, seeing he still lived three hours ahead of her time, and his aunt didn't like him being on the phone passed two o'clock in the morning.
Before Kimi knew it, the parade had ended, and they were rebording the bus, where she distracted herself on the ride back to Yucaipa, California, by playing the moble version of U-Gotta-Go on her phone, as she had recently downloaded the U-Gotta-Go app with a check she had received in the mail from her biological father Hiro, who sent her some Christmas money this year, since sadly, she and Kira couldn't make it to Japan for the holidays, due to business being slow at the Java Lava as of late, making finances tight this holiday season.
"Uh, Kimi, we're back at school, and your mom is outside, waiting for you." Said Tommy, as he nudged Kimi in the ribs to get her attention.
She looked up from her U-Gotta-Go game on her phone, and noticed where they were.
"Oh, sorry." Said Kimi, as she put up her phone, got off the bus and ran over to where her mother was waiting in the parking lot.
"So, how did it go Kimi Chan?" Kira asked, as she and Kimi got into the car and drove back home.
"It was fine." Kimi replied in a plain voice, sounding bored.
"Is there something wrong sweetie? You don't sound too happy." Kira replied worriedly.
"No mom, I'm fine." Kimi said, as she frowned and stared out the window, as Kira pulled into the driveway, and Kimi got out of the car, ran upstairs, and quickly changed out of her elf costume and into her soft pink pajamas.
She then curled up in bed and before putting her phone on the charger, she saw she had missed a text from Zack. She opened the message to see what he had to say.
"Saw you had signed into the U-Gotta-Go server to play a game. Sorry I couldn't play with you, was busy at my grandparents' Christmas party. The banana bread was delicious. Sorry you couldn't have any, I think you would have liked it. Merry Christmas Kimi." Read the text message, along with some heart emoticons and some smilie faces.
Kimi noticed her phone was only at ten percent battery, so she composed a quick message, before her phone completely died.
"Merry Christmas Zachary. Heading off to bed, will talk tomorrow." Kimi wrote in her text message, before sending it off to Zack, placing her phone on the charger, and rolling over and going to sleep.
Out where Zack was, he too was in bed, but he was at his grandparents house on an air matress in the living room, because they had invited them to go sledding with his cousins the next day, and the big hill for sledding was closer to his grandparents house than his, and Aunty Celeste didn't feel like going home and returning the following day, so they stayed the night at his grandparents.
While the party was going on, Zack felt a vibration in his pocket, and found it was a text alert from the U-Gotta-Go app, alerting him that one of his contacts was online playing, if he wanted to join them on the server. Zack was the one to introduce Kimi to the app while she was out visiting the previous summer, and got her hooked up. However, it wasn't a good time for him to be busying himself with U-Gotta-Go, as if his aunt knew he was getting distracted by his phone, she might ground it from him for the rest of the school vacation, and he didn't wish to have that happen, so he ignored the message, and once everyone had gone to bed, he sent Kimi a text back.
He was about to roll over and get some sleep, when Kimi's reply came in. Noticing that she was heading off to bed, Zack sat up and quietly composed a reply to Kimi, so as to not awaken his other cousins and his aunt, who were all sleeping in the room on air matresses and in his aunt's case, the sofa bed.
"Goodnight my little dumpling, Merry Christmas." Zack wrote in the text message field, before he sent it off, and he, too, fell asleep.
Back at Tommy's house, when he got off the bus, he ran over to his brother and father, who were waiting in the car in the parking lot. Tommy got in the back seat, as Dil was riding shotgun, and he didn't wish to make him move.
"So T, how did the parade go?" Dil asked, as Tommy shut the door behind him and put on his seatbelt.
"It was great! Susie sang beautifully, and thanks to her beautiful singing, we all managed to sing on key." Tommy replied, as Stu drove everyone home.
"That's great Champ." Stu replied, as they pulled into the driveway.
When they got out of the car, Tommy ran upstairs and changed out of his Santa costume, and into a pair of dark blue flannel pajamas that Lulu had made him as a Chanukah present that year. Then he went downstairs and fixed himself a cup of hot chocolate and sat down at the kitchen table.
He sat down at the table and started sipping on his hot chocolate, as Dil took a seat across from him, wearing a pair of flannel pajamas similar to Tommy's, only they were dark purple, rather than dark blue, and like Tommy's, Lulu made them for him as a Chanukah gift that year as well.
"Something wrong T?" Dil asked, as he stared across the table at his older brother, who appeared to be somewhat lost in thought.
"Oh nothing D, I was just, thinking about Kimi. She seemed a bit distracted on our ride back to school." Tommy replied.
"Is she still into that U-Gotta-Go moble app game?" Dil asked.
"Yeah, I caught a glimpse of her playing it on our way back to school." Tommy replied.
"Don't sweat it bro. Kimi still likes you, she just, well, she can't think about it every second of the day, so she's gotta do something else, or else, she wouldn't have no life." Said Dil.
"And you call obsessing over aliens a life?" Tommy asked his brother, as he refilled his hot chocolate and added some marshmallows.
"Hey! At least Kimi isn't steeling pennies from the mall fountain to buy more U-Gotta-Go cards, like her brother did a few years ago." Said Dil.
As Tommy sat back down at the table, he and his brother had a good laugh over that memory from a few years back, when Chuckie went through a brief obsession over U-Gotta-Go, right around the same time Angelica got her very first cell phone. Now, seemed everybody had cell phones, and U-Gotta-Go caught up with the times, keeping everyone distracted. No matter, Tommy put Kimi out of his mind for the moment, as he enjoyed that late Christmas eve with his younger brother, sipping on hot chocolate and enjoying the quiet Christmas atmosphere.
And this, ends chapter 13. Will Kimi and Zack have to spend anymore Christmases apart from one another? Find out next time.
Author's Note: A brief callback to the All Grown Up episode, U-Gotta-Go from season 3, came up in this chapter. And while I don't recall Dil being present at the fountain when Chuckie dove in for pennies, I'm sure he heard about it later, hince, knowing of it and being able to recall the events a few years later after it happened.