Author's Note: Here's the latest installment of Seaford High. I can't tell you when new chapters are going to be but I will try my best not to have the wait be too long.

Munira261: I live for your reviews. I love how detailed you go into them and truly invested you are in the story. Also I pm'd you back

Disclaimer: I don't own Kickin it

Now onto the story

Crawford Residence

Saturday, October 27th, 2012

"-first Halloween party! Or any party really. Birthdays don't count, this is my first real teen party with The Elite no less. I wished we could've gone with our original plan to be Totally Spies but-" Kelsey was enthusiastically rambling as she put on her last piece of her costume, assuming her best friend was listening. That assumption was proving wrong as Kim was zoned out from where she sat at her vanity.

The two girls were getting ready for Ember's Halloween party as Taylor Swift's Red blared in the background from Kim's iPod Touch. Ember invited Kim after cheer practice ended last week. Ember didn't want a big blowout party so she kept the guest list exclusive and small, it was mainly full of Elite members. The Korean girl did tell her she could bring a friend and when Kim pushed for two the tenth grader agreed with much reluctance. Despite knowing the answer the first person Kim asked was Donna and the red and black ombre haired girl laughed. The blonde already knew she wouldn't want to go but she asked anyway. If for anything, a reason for Donna to get out of her house and away from her mom.

The next person she asked was Jack and he agreed to go only to support Eddie and Milton. Surprisingly, Eddie's band managed to get the gig to perform at her party. Not to say Eddie wasn't talented because he had a nice voice and so did Ana. She was just shocked that he managed to score the gig of performing at Ember's party. She would think the tenth grader would want someone more professional but the freshman guesses it saved money. Also if she did spend that much money her parents might notice and that was something Ember didn't want. Kim definitely couldn't wait to hear what the band was going to perform.

On another note, things have been a bit awkward between Jack and her since their fight two days ago. Neither one of them apologized, in fact they haven't really talked much since then. Kim; busy with the play, and Jack; busy doing whatever it is that he does with Randy and Jerry. They continued to text but it was different, it didn't flow as easy as it did before. Their last conversation was about their halloween costume but their conversation was so stilted and awkward Kim ended it feigning she had homework to do. They both ignored the elephant in the room, too stubborn or afraid to bring it up.

Kelsey was now checking out her costume in Kim's door mirror, "-do you think Eddie will like my outfit? I can totally pull this off right?" Lacking the reassurance from her best friend, Kelsey finally turned around to look at her, "Kim, Kim!"

"Huh?" The blonde finally snapped out of her trance to look at her annoyed friend that had her hands on her hips, "where are you space cadet?"

"I'm sorry, there's just a lot on my mind." Kim quickly apologized, kicking back into motion by getting her wig on her head

Kim heard Kelsey walk behind her then the sound of a chair being dragged until it was next to Kim's. "Still thinking about Jack?" she correctly guessed

The blonde huffed out a loud breath, hating that she was so easy to read, "Yeah."

"He's coming to the party right?"

"That's what he said. I just hope that when he does he doesn't run into Brody." Over the past few weeks working with Brody hasn't been that bad. Mainly because Kim does her best to avoid him but when they do cross paths it's not bad. He's not insufferable to be around which Kim secretly hates because it makes it hard to hate him

"I just wish I knew what his deal is. Why is he acting like such a... jackass?"

"You seriously don't know?" Kelsey laughed

"What?"

"C'mon Kim, why would your boyfriend be mad at someone that you were into. Then on top of that was actually using you?"

Kim never really thought about it that way. After their fight with the Black Dragons, Jack seemed civil to Brody. She thought maybe Jack was being the better man and forgave Brody since he joined their side for the fight. After that, it was the last time they'd seen Brody for a while, until a little over a month ago. Jack was just being such a jerk to him in the dojo but Brody took it all in stride.

"I don't think it's just that though. I think maybe it also has to do with the fact that Brody is a bit better than him in karate."

Before Sloane, Brody, and Audrey, joined the dojo Jack was more playful and happy. Now, he's more serious and doesn't indulge in

"I think maybe he was used to being the best student in the dojo and he doesn't know how to handle being second best to Brody," she paused in thought, "well actually third best." She corrected

"Who's the best now?"

"Sloane."

Kelsey nodded thoughtfully, "Yeah I guess that makes sense. Have you talked to him about feeling neglected?"

Kim looked down, "No." she admitted

"Why not?" Kelsey slowly asked

"Because saying that makes me sound like such a girl!" Kim exclaimed

This time Kim knows Kelsey was looking at her like she was an idiot, "Newsflash Kim, you are a girl."

"You know what I mean."

The two girls lapse into silence, the only sound was Taylor Swift singing about feeling twenty two. Kim finally got her red wig on correctly and breathed a sigh of relief. Her costume was finally completed.

"Kimmy, mommy says you and Cici need to get downstairs now to leave." Belle tells her older sister as she entered her room. Belle was the only person Kim allows to call her that. Cici was Belle's nickname for Kelsey because saying her full name was hard for then two year old Belle. Kelsey adores her nickname.

Convincing her mom to let her go to Ember's party wasn't easy. Of course no parent wouldn't happily allow their fourteen year old daughter to go. She had to assure them that there was going to be no alcohol and it was small in numbers. It was just a cheerleading party and it wasn't going to go on all hours of the night but will end at ten. That was a half truth and she explained Kelsey's attendance by stating she was allowed to bring a friend with her.

Kim nodded her understanding, "Ok we're coming." she got up from her stool to turn off her iPod

The toddler takes in the two girls' costumes, "You look like that mean queen from Alice in Wonderland and you look like the nice one."

"Thank you! That's what we're supposed to be." Kelsey

"You look funny with that red hair Kimmy." Belle

"You think? I think I look pretty good in it."

"No, you look silly." Belle told her, blunt in a way only toddler is

"I'll show you silly." Kim playfully growled then dived for her sister and attacked her with tickles causing the little girl to erupt with laughter

Kim will be honest, when her mom first told her that she was pregnant four years ago she wasn't thrilled about the news. If anything she was furious. They were finally settling into their new state and city and Kim even made two new friends. She was just getting used to her new normal when her mom dropped that major bomb. What made it even worse what that it was with a one night stand. Luckily everything turned out fine, her one nighter found out and wanted to be a part of his unborn child's life. Long story short her mom and him fell in love, they got married and now he's Kim's dad legally and all since he adopted her. Life was good.

Once the blonde was finished with her attack she picked up her sister and hoisted her on her hip. "C'mon Kels let's head down."

"Yay! I'm so ready to get my party on!" The brunette girl enthused


Chung Residence

Seeing some of the choices people picked for costumes were amusing. There was the cliche angel/devil costume, the host of the party paired up with one of her friends to dress as characters from Spongebob. It was the superhero duo that the black belt can't remember because she hasn't watched that show in ages. Also she never really got into that show and was more of a Fairly Odd Parents type of kid. Grace and her bitch squad decided to dress as those people from Grease. Brad asked her beforehand if she wanted to do a couple's costumes but Sloane shot him down. She finds couples costumes to be cringy.

Ana of course decided to do a couple costumes with Brett; they were Cleopatra and Mark Antony. The diva enthusiastically informed her all about her Halloween plans for the party and her upcoming performance at their meetup at the mall. It was the first time the two best friends hung out one-on-one in a while. It was nice, it felt like the old times when it was just the two of them, before things changed and got so messy. Before Sloane started feeling weird things for Ana that she doesn't understand. When things were simple, she longed for those days again.

Sloane has Brad now and he's a good guy. He's sweet, respects her boundaries, and is an overall gentleman. He's basically the ideal boyfriend and she's lucky because she knows she could be dating an asshole. Like that Ethan guy. Sloane's trying so hard to cast all her judgments away and give him a chance. Be the doting girlfriend in return and make herself feel the same way back. She allows PDA even though she finds couples that engage in it disgusting. She tame down her bitchiness and even played nice with Grace and Lyndsey. Hell she even went to one of his football games even though she doesn't really care for sports if it isn't karate or gymnastics.

The black belt did all these things but something was still missing. She doesn't feel butterflies when she holds his hand or kisses her. To be completely honest she doesn't feel anything when she kisses him. She doesn't have an urge to spend every waking moment with him and he isn't constantly on her mind. She doesn't understand, was something wrong with her?

"Hey sorry for leaving you alone. Grace wanted to take group pictures since I wasn't able to do it before at her house. You know since I was over at your house." Said boy apologized as he walked up to her, finally escaping Grace.

"It's cool, no worries. I have a cellphone to keep me company." The black belt assured him with a quick smile

Sloane finally caved and introduced Brad to her dad and her aunt Winnie Homecoming night. Since Brad asked her which she wasn't surprised about and her dad told her that if he did he had to introduce Brad to him. It was supposed to just be her dad but when her aunt found out about it she demanded to be there as well. Her aunt was basically her mom in all ways except giving birth. Brad came over an hour before the dance to have dinner with her aunt and her dad. Brad was of course a perfect gentleman and won over them almost instantly. Her aunt played the tough, intimidating one, asking all the questions and what his intentions were with her. Her dad was laid back, welcoming Brad in instantly because he already knew Brad was a good guy.

When Brad asked her to go with him to the party with him Sloane reluctantly accepted. The idea of being in a room full of Elite members sounded like torture. But she was still trying to be a good girlfriend so she agreed. When she asked her dad about going he easily agreed after she promised not to stay out too late. He trusted her to make good decisions and knew she had a good head on her shoulders. He was especially happy to hear that he wouldn't have to drive her. Benny- Ember's boyfriend- agreed to pick Brad and her up. Almost as soon as they entered Ember's house, Grace dragged him away wanting to take group pictures. That left Sloane alone and she camped out on the couch on her phone. She probably should've tried to socialize but she still doesn't care much for any of the bitch squad.

"You don't want to talk to anyone here?"

"Well considering Ana is currently onstage there's no one here I want to talk to."

"You can talk to my friends, they're very nice and will welcome you with open arms." Brad offered

The brunette bit back her instinctive reply of laughing at that and telling him Grace and Lyndsey would be anything but welcoming. "I'm not sure about that."

"Just to clarify I wasn't talking about Lyndsey. She takes a while to warm up to people and I know she hasn't been that nice. Ember really liked you at the Founder's party. In fact she encouraged me to invite you to this party."

"Yeah she's cool. I guess I could talk to her later."

"Great, can I get you a drink?"

Sloane nodded, "You can get me a soda. Coke."

Brad nodded, "Coming right up."

"Hey I just wanted to tell you that you have an amazing Corpse Bride costume." A familiar voice appraises her

Sloane turned out ans was surprised to see the owner of said voice, "Kim?"

"Sloane? Hey I didn't even recognize you!"

"Yeah that was kind of the idea," she gestured towards the other girl's costume, "Red queen?"

"Yep, my friend, Kelsey, is the White queen."

"Well at least that's original. Especially compared to the bitch squad and their Greaser's costume."

"You know Grease?"

"Ana." the brunette replied for explanation.

"Gotcha," Kim replied with a nod, "surprised to see you here. Wouldn't think an Elite party is your scene."

"It's not. Hell no it's not but trying to be a good girlfriend and all that. Plus Ana would've never let me hear the end of it if I missed her big debut." The

Kim nodded her understanding, "She has an amazing voice. To bad that also came with an egotistical personality."

"Yeah," Sloane agreed, "that's just Ana. Sometimes you like her, sometimes you want to strangle her. Even now sometimes I swap between them."

Kim lightly chuckled, "I can imagine. Eddie complains a lot about her trying to undermine him."

"Sounds like her. She complains about Eddie not listening to her fantastic ideas."

"Of course she does. She's determined I'll give her that."

"It's as if that word was made just for her." Sloane

"So where's jackass? Is he not coming?" Sloane questions

The shaggy haired boy made his dislike for her clear because of her being the best in the dojo. He was never outright hostile but she felt his glare and scowls directed at her, especially when their sensei praises her. She didn't care if he liked her or not but he was definitely not the nice guy everyone says he was.

Kim rolled her eyes at the insult but let it slide, "He's coming. He's just gonna be late."

"Uh huh," her disbelief was clear. She thinks Kim could do better than him but that was none of her business.

"He is. Punctuality has just never been a thing for him." Kim insisted

Sloane just shrugs and is saved from any more of Kim's defending her boyfriend when Brad comes back with her drink.

"And here is your coke." Brad hands the cup over to his girlfriend once he was next to her

Sloane nods her appreciation, "Thanks."

"Oh hey Kim, nice costume." Brad complimented

Kim smiles, "Thanks, you too."

"Ah thanks it was Grace's idea."

"Well I'm gonna go find my friend then say hi to Ember, any idea where I can find Ember?"

"She's in the kitchen refilling the punch bowl." Brad informs her

"Thanks, see you guys later."


Kitchen

"Hey thanks for inviting me to this party." Kim tells her fellow cheerleader once she located her in the kitchen refilling the punch bowl

"Yeah no problem. Your friend's band is pretty good."

"Yeah they are. I'm happy for both of them," Kim agrees with a smile

The freshman eyes the girl costume. It was a black jumpsuit that looked like leather with a black belt and weird cuff things on her arms. To top the look off she wore black boots and a red wig. "Who are you supposed to be?"

"The Black Widow," seeing Kim's still blank look she further explained, "she's a comic book superhero. She dated the Winter Soldier which is who Benny is dressed as."

"Oh well I'm not into comic books so I'll just take your word for it."

Ember chuckled, "Yeah I'm not really either but it's what Benny wanted. Also I think I can pull off this leather spandex look, right?"

"Yeah totally, I'm not sure I'll have the confidence to wear leather spandex."

"It takes a certain je ne sais quoi." Ember jokes

"Okay someone needs to pull me away from the Snickers before I eat them all." Kelsey says as she walks up to Kim

The White Queen notices Ember costume, "Hey nice Black Widow costume!"

"Thanks, you read the comics?"

"Religiously and watched all the current MCU movies. It's my obsession. Are you into DC comics? I wanted to go as Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy but Kim didn't."

Kim checked her phone again, still impatiently waiting for Jack to text her. The last text she got from him when she was still getting ready at her house. That was forty minutes ago and he said he'll be here no later than eight. It was eight thirty.

"Sorry I'm not much into comics I'm only dressed as this 'cause of my boyfriend."

Kelsey's shoulders slumped in disappointment, "Oh."

Brody came over to them from the kitchen holding a cup, "Hey Ember, Cara and Rose want you on the patio."

The Korean girl turned to look at him, "For what?"

"Pictures I think."

The tenth grader turned back to the girls, "Okay well you guys later."

Once she was gone Brody turned to face the girls with a nervous smile, "Hey Kim, Kelsey."

"Brody." Kim greeted back in an even voice, her face blank

"Hello." Kelsey greeted in a clipped tone, blue eyes narrowing as she sized him up. She still holds hostility towards him for what he did to her best friend

Kim still didn't know what to make of the boy. He's been irritatingly polite and civil to her during play practices whenever they had to talk. If they didn't need to he kept her distance like she wanted. What was up with that? Is he trying to lure her into some false sense of security before pulling the rug out from underneath her? Or is he actually just a halfway decent guy?

The Wasabi Warrior doesn't know and that not knowing irritates her.

Brody looks them over, "Nice costumes." He appraises

Kim crossed her arms, "So I've heard," she dryly replies

Brody nodded, "So are you guys enjoying the party?"

"Sure." Kelsey answers with a shrug

Brody seemed to be raking his mind for something to say, "Eddie's band is good. Didn't know he could sing like that."

"Eddie is good at many things you don't know about. A lot of people like to write him off." Kelsey

"Right," Brody shifted awkwardly on his feet, "Is Jack not with you guys?"

Kim answers terely, "He's late but he's coming." He is, he has to be because if he isn't she is so going to kick his ass

"It'll probably be my best to steer clear from him." Brody noted

"Most definitely." Kelsey areed

Seeing that this conversation was going nowhere he decided it'll be best to leave, "Yeah well uh, I'll see you guys later."

Once he was out of earshot Kim turned to Kelsey "I still don't trust him," she confided, "I just wished I knew what his angle was. Why is he being nice?"

Kelsey shrugged, "Who knows, who cares?" She dismissed

Kim checks her phone again only to see that her boyfriend still has yet to text her.

"Still no word from Jack?" Kelsey asked, the girl in question shook her head

"Nope."

"Well I'm sure he has a good reason."

"I'm gonna go try to call him. I'll be right back okay?"

Kelsey nodded, "Yeah."

Kim left the living room to go upstairs to seek out some privacy. She's not entirely sure if Ember would be okay with that but right now she doesn't care. She just needs some reply from Jack, some answers. She hesitantly knocks on a random door, with no answer she opens the door. From the looks of it was a guest bedroom, it probably used to be Ember's older brother's. She sat on the bed then pulled her phone out and opened her contacts. She presses on Jack's name and it rings, she bounces her leg impatiently. It rings and rings until she gets his voicemail.

"Hey it's Jack leave-" She ends the call.

"Jack where are you?" She murmurs to herself


Patio

Ana looks amazing performing. You can really tell she's in her element when she's on stage singing. Or the very least a small area of the living room. She's completely focused on the music, body in tune as she sways with it. It's something beautiful. She's something beautiful.

Sloane snaps out of her reverie at the last thought. Chiding herself at the last thought. It was wrong. She can't keep having these thoughts. Why haven't they gone away yet?

The brunette turned her attention to the buffet table. It was filled with desserts and a few snacks such as bite sized eyeballs and mummy jalapeno poppers. Her favorite treat was the ghost cookie even though she secretly thought they were a bit cliche. She grabbed a plate to put a few on her plate then looked for a place to sit.

The backyard wasn't as full as the living room. She recognized a few of the people from their costumes. Ember was sitting by the pool cuddled up with her boyfriend and the other tenth grade chick that was dressed as a superhero from Spongebob was sitting on a patio swing chatting with a blonde dressed as a pink lady. Sloane thinks the blonde looks familiar, she was a classmate but that's all she remembers.

Seeing the canopy gazebo was free she eagerly walked towards it. Once she was seated she set her plate on the table then took out her phone. She had a few texts from Ro informing her about the TLC show she was watching with Remy. It was about couples going to the ER about of weird kinky sex they were into. The show was called Sex Sent Me to the ER, it was the weirdest show she ever heard of. She wanted to watch it.

"Hey stranger. I feel like I haven't seen you this whole party."

Sloane looked up to see Ana walking towards her. She secretly thought that the girl looked gorgeous in her Cleopatra costume. The white dress with a gold and turquoise belt complemented her caramel skin perfectly. The dress came with a baby blue cape and headrest.

Ana groaned gratefully as she sat down in a seat across from her, "Ugh these heels are killing me."

"I thought you were performing?"

"Ember's giving us a break. She's playing music from her iPod now." The girl in question explained then reached over to steal a mummy jalapeno popper from her plate.

"Oh."

Once Ana finished her snack she eagerly looked at Sloane, "So how was I?"

Sloane rolled her eyes, "Do you really need to tell me you were amazing as if you don't already know?"

Ana shook her head, "No, but I like hearing it," she admitted then stole another popper off her friend's plate

"Do you just want my whole plate?" Sloane asked in mild annoyance

Ana ignored her, "This is the best day ever. My first band's performance went off without a hitch, I'm at an Elite party, and with the best boyfriend ever."

"He's your only boyfriend ever." Sloane interjected unhelpfully

"Yeah but I couldn't have a better first boyfriend. Like I can totally see us being long term. The ultimate power couple; Homecoming court, prom king and queen, maybe even my husband."

"Don't you think you're being a little unrealistic? Nobody stays with their first boyfriend forever."

"That's pessimistic. I've heard of couples staying with their high school sweetheart. And I can totally see myself falling in love with him."

Sloane felt her fist clench and tried desperately to keep the scowl off her face. She felt like she was going to scream at hearing the words that left her friend's mouth. Scream or possibly go crazy and destroy anything she can get her hands on. She wanted to shake Ana and try to talk some sense into her, doesn't she know how ridiculous she sounds?

Ana had a disgustingly lovesick look on her face as she twirled a strand of her wig and from her gaze her mind was somewhere else, "I mean he's everything I ever wanted; sweet, funny, hot, a football player, and popular."

Sloane stuffed her mouth with the rest of her ghost cookie to keep herself from saying something nasty.

"Honestly this year is just the best ever. I finally have a boyfriend, am becoming friends with the Elite, and have a band. It'll only be better if I had a lead role in the play." A flash of anger crossed her features before it smoothed out

Sloane reached for another cookie and tried to think of something calming. Photography, sleeping, music, punching Brett in the face.

Ana was still rambling, completely unaware of her friend's inner turmoil, "Could you imagine this is how our year would turn out? I mean your dating Brad? He's like the second person I can imagine being the best boyfriend. After Brett of course."

The brunette was snapped out of her thoughts at the sudden reminder of her boyfriend or kind of sort of boyfriend, "Yeah, he's a...total gentleman."

"I can imagine though I still kinda feel bad for Grace. She has feelings for him."

"Yeah I heard."

"Though it's not your fault he likes you. If I was him I'd fall for you too. You're the total package."

Sloane doesn't know why but it's at that moment it hit her. She can't fight or push her feelings away. She's in love with Ana and that's not going away anytime soon. Those words caused an ache in her chest that she never felt before. She hated it.

The Wasabi Warrior suddenly desperately needed to leave, "You know what I should um, I should find Brad."

Ana looked confused, "Wait S-" she began but the other girl didn't stop to hear. She rushed back into the house like a bat out of hell


Crawford Residence

He didn't show.

Kim waited the whole party for Jack to text her that he's on his way. To come through the front door dressed in whatever costume he chose. To spend the night by her side as they cheer Eddie and Milton on. To show her why she spent two years of her life pining after him. To be the guy she fell for. Not the guy that makes empty promises, picks fights with Brody, and blows her off for Randy and Jerry. Only there was no such luck, he let her down, once again.

The blonde was now back at home in her bedroom and out of her costume. She was at her vanity braiding her hair and getting ready for bed. She was ready for this day to be over with. She still did manage to have fun despite Jack not coming but it could've been better.

Her phone rang and she got up from her stool to grab it. It was laying on her nightstand. She froze when she saw the caller ID, it was Jack. She debated not answering out of spite. After a few minutes of debating it in her head she sat on the side of her bed then reluctantly answered.

"Hey," Her voice was flat, mirroring her mood

"Hey Kim I'm so sorry I didn't make it I swear I really planned on going."

She brought her legs up to sit criss cross on her bed, "I'm sorry too."

"It's just something that came up." He tried to explain but that didn't make her feel any better. She felt nothing.

Still she asked, "What was it?" but didn't really care about the explanation

"A church thing. I don't wanna bore you with the details." The blonde noticed the vagueness of his answer and the edge to his voice. If she didn't know any better she thinks he's lying

Kim squeezed her knee, "Uh huh."

"How was the band? Did they do okay?"

"Yeah they were okay. Good actually. Better than I thought they would be."

"Good for Eddie, I wish I could've seen them."

"Yeah, they do too,"

That was the last straw. She couldn't deal with this. If she didn't get off the phone now she might say some things she might regret later, "Look I gotta go. I'm tired."

"Okay, well um goodnight."

"Yeah." Kim ended the call then flopped back on the bed, head aiming for her pillow. She threw her phone somewhere on her bed, not caring where.

Author's Note: Jack needs to step up his game. Right now he's not winning many points in being a good boyfriend. But hey, at least Sloane stopped denying her feelings! What are y'all thoughts on Brody? Do you think he's a genuine decent guy who made a mistake or is he playing Kim?

Please leave me a review and tell me what you all think of this chapter!