So sorry guys! I've been busy with the trip and settling into school and fitting in extra activities and the play which just started picking up. I love doing the play. (: Anyway, that's why it's totally late.

Kim's POV

The moment I had gotten into the car I had started crying.

It was a miracle that I had made it home, really. Angel had been kind enough to let me take her Volvo, saying that she'd hitch a ride with Grace and Riker, so about two hours ago I had started on my journey home.

And now I am sitting on the floor in sweats and an old Victoria's Secret tank top, drying my eyes with a soggy Kleenex, tossing random objects out of my beloved hope chest.

Now, why am I doing this exactly?

Well over the years I've acquired a fairly large collection of Jack's stuff. For ex; I have his blue sweatshirt from when we were nine and caught in a storm at the lake. I also have one of his little league baseball bats that I borrowed for the school play one year and forgot to give back.

Then there are the gifts, such as the pink bear he gave me for Valentine's Day in fifth grade and one of his karate video games because he knew I liked it.

So I'm crying as I take each thing out and throw it in the ever-growing pile, because I'm basically flushing memories down the drain.

But it's better than being scarred. He's making me into a huge mess of rubber-bands and nerves, and one day I'm going to snap.

I hope to stop this before it gets that far.

About half-an-hour later I'm glaring at myself in the mirror. I. Look. Like. A. Freaking. Monster. The bags under my eyes are screaming 'sleep deprivation' and blowing my nose had resulted in me becoming a Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer look-a-like. Yes, my nose is that red. Stupid tissues…

Oh well. If anybody answers the door I can just drop the mess and run.

I pick up my garbage bag – I put all of the crap in there – and trudge downstairs. Slipping on my flip-flops I start the horrible journey to my neighbor's house.

Now I've got to admit – in the short time that they've been renovating the house, they've got a lot done. The original house was a light, faded cream color, about half the size that it is now, (still very large), and even in all its grandeur, it was still crumbling slightly. Of course, no one had lived in it for many years.

But once the Brewers got to it, well now it just looked magnificent. They know how to fix a house, I'll give them that. It has some definite charm, and it reminds me of the plantation house my aunt once owned.

It's a two-story home, the front painted a soft white color, contrasting nicely with the dark gray roof that's shaded by manytrees. The porch is as long as the house, and right above that on the second story is an impressive balcony of the same width. They have beautiful double glass doors, with multiple windows so that a large quantity of natural light can seep in. A huge, white wicker swing sits underneath a weeping willow.

Two steps away from the porch is a cobblestone path that leads to a clear, glassy pond in the middle of their yard. Flashes of orange and white interlace the water, and I can only guess that they're koi. Beautiful violets, tulips, bleeding hearts, and a multitude of other colorful flowers are planted carefully around the perimeter. The grass is green and lush, almost like it belongs in Portland instead of sunny Seaford.

My doom looks beautiful, does it not? Well, standing frozen in the driveway it sure does.

I sigh, try, and fail to get my feet to move closer to the looming mansion.

Ok Kim, you can do this. At the worst, Jack could answer the door whilst making out with that preppy bed-girl… what was her name? Cathy? Caren? Carla? Oh who cares? The best… well I guess Jack could get down on his knees and apologize? No, that'd be horrible, I would be tempted to forgive him… with those huge, chocolate puppy dog eyes and the hair to match… He doesn't show? Well that would be good, only I would kind of like to throw his stuff at his face… Especially the baseball bat… Well, his parents could answer it! Ok, no. THAT would be a sight to see. Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Brewer! Here's all of Jack's stuff he's given me over the years! I don't need it anymore! I look like I've been crying?! Oh, certainly not! It's not like your son ripped out my heart and started jumping on it or anything! Oh, what a silly idea! Yes, yes, you have a good day too! Oh, and if you see Jack, could you tell him that if he ever comes near me again he'll get shot with a handgun multiple times and chained to a wall? You could?! Oh, why thank you Mr. and Mrs. Brewer! Ok! Goodbye! Goodbye now-

"Kim?"

Oh gosh, hide! HIDE!

My hands involuntarily clenched into fists around the rim of the plastic and I took off in a wild sprint. Or at least tried to. Needless to say I didn't go very fast. DROP THE BAG YOU IDIOT!

My clammy hands unclenched and I took off into a sprint again. Wildly, I looked over my shoulder and spotted a shaggy brown-haired boy huffing after me.

I screeched a little. He's gaining, he's GAINING!

"KIM! Stop running! YOU'RE GONNA GIVE ME A HEART ATTACK! AND I'M TOO YOUNG TO DIE!"

My feet went faster like he had just scorched me with a red-hot poker. I hope he gets a flippin heart attack…

Rounding the corner, I spotted my front porch. 10 feet… 7 feet… 5 feet… 4 fee-

"WHAT THE FREAK!" I screeched, writhing from side to side.

"Kimmy! Freaking. Calm. Down!" The strong arms around my waist turned me around and my eyes met beautiful wind-blown brown hair, a toned, muscled chest, and… very… green eyes.

Green eyes.

"Oh my gosh, Jacob!" I threw my arms around him. He sighed and then laughed breathily, lightly hugging me back. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were Jack!"

He laughed again. "Yeah, I could tell by the way you were screaming like a wounded cat."

I flushed a little at that. "Yeah… um… sorry… about that." I stammered out.

"Well, the neighbors probably think I'm abusing you or something, but don't fret, dear lady!" (He added a very flirtatious wink here for emphasis.) "I shall redeem my reputation somehow!"

"Um… I hate to break it to you, but what reputation? You don't even live in California anymore!" Then a thought struck me; "Wait, what were you doing in the Brewer Mansion anyway?"

"Uh, you ever heard of Summer Break? Plus, I'm looking for an awesome place to live, and I think I'm close to finding somewhere."

"You mean you've been here the entire summer and you didn't even bother to tell me?!" I yelped. My hands fell to my hips in an entirely disapproving gesture.

His leaf-green eyes danced down at me as he shrugged. "Sorry?"

"I should think so!" I huffed.

His response was to simply laugh at me. Then he rested his hand on my lower back and started pushing me back towards his beautiful house. My feet dug into gravel.

"Oh come on Kim!" He whined. "Don't make me be like my brother and have to pick you up!"

"You just better not do that!" My pointer finger waggled in his face. "I still don't know how he picked me up without collapsing under my weight." I grumbled.

Whoosh.

"I SWEAR! YOU STUPID BREWER BOYS ARE GOING TO BE THE FREAKING DEATH OF ME!"

I felt his chest rumble with laughter against my hip. "Kim, really now. If we were really going to be the death of you, don't you think you'd be dead by now? Besides, I promise, you weighwaaaaayyyyy less than you think you do. It doesn't even feel like I'm carrying anything!"

"I swear, you Brewer boys have a fetish with carrying me. Gosh." I muttered.

He laughed again.

"Either that or you have an extreme mental disorder."

"HA! I WIN! Oh yeah, I win! IN YOUR FACE BOY! WHOOH!" I hopped onto the small couch and started bouncing, the controller swinging wildly from my arm. "Yes! BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE! I SAID BOOM!"

"Ok Kimmy, settle on down."

I narrowed my eyes at the man who was sitting across from me on the other couch.

His eyes met mine. They narrowed with an unspoken challenge. One side of his mouth inched up. My eyes flickered back to his eyes.

For a minute there was silence. My leg muscles were taut.

Then I sprung and landed right on him.

"Oomph. Kim, KIM STOP!" His protests were cut short with wild laughter as I sat on his lap and started violently tickling his stomach. Then, (unexpectedly, might I add), he flipped me over and pinned my legs down. His face distorted into an evil, evil smirk, and he started tickling my feet.

He made me laugh so hard I snorted. Which made him start laughing harder.

My fingers desperately inched around for some type of arsenal, and hit the edge of a tan pillow. My arm swung up, hauling the heavy pillow with it. It smacked Jacob right in the face, loosening his grip on me. I sprung out of his grasp, laughing like an evil maniac, and we started circling each other.

He threw the pillow at me and I jumped madly to the left. He smirked again and flash, there went another pillow, right by my head.

Oh it's on now, brotha!

Just as I was starting my amazing swing with a random pillow pet that was lying on the floor, the door opened. My pillow, (which was totally thrown off course by the intruder), landed right next to the piano.

"Hey Lisa!" Jake yelled, running over to the random girl standing at the door. The girl laughed as he picked her up and swung her around. I carefully inched into the kitchen, shutting the door behind me. No need to watch their sappy love-fest.

I carefully walked out of their backyard, closing the door softly, and made my way back to my house. I was proud of myself. I only felt a little jealous of that girl and the wonderful relationship she would no-doubt have with a boy like Jacob.

Twenty minutes later I was lounging on a green sofa, flipping idly through the TV channels. Let's see, dog chasing a clown, brown haired boy sitting with a reporter, blonde chick yelling at a little boy, some stupid soap opera, Mickey Mouse. My finger froze.Wait a minute… My finger hit the back button three times. Brown haired boy sitting with a reporter.

I hit a button and the title of the show sprang up:Entertainment Weekly. All of the breath left my lungs in a big huff as Jack started to talk.

"Yeah. The official due plan is that my movie's coming out on DVD and Blu-ray September third."

The reporter smiled at him. "Marvelous! Now, can you tell me about your new CD? My daughters have been running around the house like crazy singing your new single 'She Rocks My Heart' ever since it came out last week."

"Yeah, it's my favorite song on the disc. It's coming out next week on Thursday, and there will be thirteen songs. Actually the track list is being put on my website today."

"I will definitely be looking for that album!" The female reporter laughed. "So Jack, what can you tell me about what's going on between Catherine and you?"

"I don't know if I'm allowed to say anything…"

"Oh come on Jack. The whole world wants to know what's going on between Hollywood's steamy new stars!"

Jack's face lit into a smirk. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Most definitely. Though I can't say if the rest of this studio can." She laughed as if she had just made some big news-worthy joke.

"Well then, I'll just tell you, Mrs. Harrison."

"Call me Liz."

He smiled a real, genuine smile. "Ok then, Liz. Catherine is great. Actually, from the first time I met her I knew that she was special. We both got along great, and I think that the movie basically solidified what was already there."

"So what you're saying is that you two are dating?"

"Liz, I'll just leave that up to you." He winked.

Mrs. Harrison chuckled a bit. "You're not going to give me a solid answer, are you." She didn't even say it like a question.

He laughed along with her.

"Ok then, Jack. Since you're so elusive on the subject of Catherine, why don't you tell me about the mystery girl that you went to a movie with a few weeks ago?"

"What mystery girl?"

"Come on Jack. We all know that you went to the movie with the 'Mystery Blonde'. Isn't that cheating on Catherine?"

"Like I said before, what mystery girl? I went to the movie to wait for my friend Jerry, but he never showed up. In fact, I was getting up to see him when I was bombed by paparazzi when I walked out of the theatre."

She stared at him for a moment and pursed her lips. "So what you're saying is you don't know who this girl is?" A picture of me, the same one in the report a few weeks ago, flashed up behind them.

"Well, no. I already told you," he leaned back casually in his chair, "I don't know her. I didn't come in with her, and I didn't leave with her. I only like one blonde."

My shaking hand hit the power button as I curled up into fetal position. All I could think was; what just happened?! I mean,yeah, I didn't really expect that we could ever have a relationship. Come on! He's turning into some big star! He's hardly the boy I knew! Even though he did kiss me…

It was nice…

But I thought, ya know, that we maybe could have stayed as friends or something.

But I'll give him one thing. The public rejection works in his favor. He'll never have to see me again.

Minutes later I heard the door slam and feet slide on the tile floor, but I stubbornly bundled up tighter, glaring at the little buttons on the couch cushion.

Two tennis shoes halted in the living room for an instant, and then raced over to stop in front of me.

"Kim!" Jacob exclaimed.

My brow furrowed further.

"Uh… Kim? Are you ok?"

I didn't answer for a minute, and I watched Jake shuffle his feet nervously, an unsure look on his face.

"It's not like I'm going to suddenly burst into tears. I'm not some crazy, fragile, hormonal girl, Jacob, so quit looking at me like I am."

His feet shuffled again. "I'm sorry… Uh… So how are you?"

What a question.

I sighed. "Just peachy."

"So… you saw the report, then?"

After a few seconds of silence Jacob tried again; "You know, I'm sure he didn't mean it…"

I sat up and glared at him. "You're not Jack, Jacob. You don't know what goes through his stupid, hair sprayed head. So don't you tell me he didn't mean it, cause I'm pretty dang sure he does."

We stared at each other for a minute. His green eyes looked dark and troubled, and his face scrunched up a little bit in thought.

"You really don't think that he likes you?" He asked softly. I let out a dry laugh and fell back against the couch, crossing my arms.

"Oh, I know he doesn't like me. He couldn't have screamed it out any clearer. And apparently he doesn't even want to be friends, which means eight years of my life have been an utter waste. So, in that case, if he's done with me, than I'm certainly not going to cry my eyes out over a boy who just lead me on and broke my heart. I'm done."

Hi. Tell me whatcha thought. Oh, and if any of you did the Online challenge, you'll be getting that bonus chap soon. (: