Author's Note

Disclaimer: I don't own Kickin it

Now onto the story


Monday, February 11th, 2013

Jones Residence

This week was the week Ms. Dane announced the cast and crew list of Hairspray. Three weeks ago Eddie would be jumping for joy and impatiently waiting for Friday. Now Eddie doesn't care as much, he barely cares at all. Why does it matter? He's moving at the end of the year.

The whole reason he joined the play was because he wanted to get close to Grace and win her over. But even if he did manage to accomplish his goal he won't be here next year. He'll be in Seattle. He knows better than to try long distance relationships. Glee taught him that with Blaine cheating on Kurt.

Eddie tried to ignore the earth shattering news for the first two weeks. He gave his all during his audition for Seaweed. Tried to remember the reason he was in the auditorium after school. The reason was sitting a few rows down sitting chatting with Lyndsey.

But it became harder to ignore when his mom started telling him to start getting rid of any 'excess junk' he has in his room. Things he doesn't really need or use anymore and Friday his dad started cleaning out their garage. It really started sinking in that his family was moving. That he will be leaving Seaford,

If it wasn't for the calendar on his wall he wouldn't have even remembered that today was the day the cast list was announced. He went through the motions of getting ready. He searched his messy desk for his Spanish homework that he knows he only halfway finished. Half credit was better than getting a zero. He finally found it and while grabbing it to shove in his backpack something else fell to the ground. Once his homework was securely in his backpack he bent down to see what fell.

It was a picture. Of him with his friends (former friends?). From the outfits he could tell it was from this summer when he convinced them to join him on his geocaching trip. It was at the very beginning of break before Milton and Kim left for their family vacation.

His lips unconsciously tugged into a smile as he remembered the trip. It was a complete disaster but in the best way possible. Kim was attacked by falcons, Jack had his first kiss with a frog, a chipmunk ran up Jerry's dress, and Milton fell from a tree trying to get the box. He was the only one that came out of the trip unharmed which his friends grumbled about.

Still they all agreed that they had a blast geocaching. Despite the bickering and mishaps the trip just brought them closer together. And for Eddie it really made him believe that he was part of the group. That they actually really did care about him and didn't just put up with him. Despite their nearly two years of friendship he still felt like that at times. Especially Jack and Kim. They were the newest to the group and very different from the rest of them. He can admit the former trio made up of him, Milton, and Jerry were outcasts. Their outcast-ness helped bring them together, it was something they bonded over.

When Jack and Kim came along they brought change to the group. Unlike Milton, Jerry, and him, Jack and Kim had potential for popularity. Girls actually talked to Jack, cute girls, and Frank and his goons didn't mess with him. Jack was cool but not an asshole. He and Jerry got along quickly, bonding over their love of Kung Fu Lightning and the Zompyres movie series. Two things Eddie wasn't into, (with him being terrified of the latter). Jack gained Milton's respect after defending him from Victor Straffman then started helping him with his karate.

Kim was friendly to them but besides Jack, the only other person she seemed to really like was Milton. She seems to only tolerate Jerry. Before the whole Kelsey thing he did get along well with her. Once he stopped stammering like an idiot in front of her and got over the whole 'hot girl talking to him'. She was an easy person to talk to. They bonded over their love of music and singing. They even liked some of the same shows, one of them being Glee. After a new episode aired they would call each other to discuss what happened. If they couldn't do that then they would discuss it at breakfast or lunch at school.

But of course they don't do that anymore. Because of the prank he helped pull on Kelsey. He had no one to discuss the new episode with and it bummed him out more than he cared to admit. His stomach churned uncomfortably at the reminder as a wave of sadness washed over him. It became unbearable looking at the picture so he dropped it on the ground then rushed out of his room.

After he was dressed and secured his backpack on his shoulders he headed downstairs. He was desperate to think of something else, anything else, and the first thing that came to mind was Valentine's Day.

That was in three days.

Just before he rounded the corner to the kitchen he heard his mama's voice. "-if we want to get the house on the market on time." She says

Eddie's eyes widened in disbelief. He felt his stomach swoop as he entered the kitchen. "You're selling the house?!"

Marcie's head snapped towards the direction of her son's voice. A guilty expression dawned on her face. "Eddie, baby, hey!"

Nathaniel, on the other hand, was as unflappable as ever. "Of course we're selling the house boy, we're moving." He says before taking another bite from his half eaten pancake

"When were you planning on telling me?"

"Today after you got home from karate practice." Marcie answers

His parents were selling their home. His home. Eddie has lived in this home ever since he was a baby. This home was a part of his family. He has so many memories here. From the measurements on the wall that steadily recorded his growth to when he got his head stuck on the staircase railing when he was six. In his backyard in the failed attempt to bond he and his dad attempted to build a treehouse. They didn't make it far. He can't imagine living anywhere else. He doesn't want to live anywhere else.

"Wipe that look off your face, we're not putting it on the market anytime soon." Nathaniel scolds

Marcie sent her husband a warning look before focusing back on her devastated son. "We were thinking of May." She tells him gently

Eddie was speechless. He works his jaw as he tries to remember how to talk. Tries to force some sound past his dry lips. "May?"

"Yes. That should give us enough time since your school year ends in June. But we'll talk more about this when you get home from school." Marcie says. "For now just eat your breakfast before we leave."

Eddie numbly sat down in one of the seats. He mechanically fed himself even though his appetite was completely gone.


Seaford High

Main Corridor

"-no I'm serious when I turn seventeen I am going to play that song." Brody insists

Kim laughs. "You're an idiot."

The two decided to meet up at the seating area by the staircase before school starts. Kim was surprised she was even able to get up on time today. She and Brody were texting late into last night about the Scott Pilgrim comics. She finished the first book and surprisingly liked it more than she thought she would.

She actually really liked the movie too. It was wacky, ridiculous and kinda stupid but very entertaining. And kinda funny. Chris Evans was as hot as ever even with the weird eyebrows. She was surprised to see Anna Kendrick in the movie. She was her new favorite celebrity after starring in Pitch Perfect. One of her new favorite movies. As soon as it came on DVD she instantly bought it. She attempted the cup song many, many times before she finally got it down. She proudly posted it on her Keek and Facebook.

Kim was dreading going over to Brody's house to watch the movie. She thought about canceling multiple times as multiple thoughts warred in her mind. Like what the heck was she doing? Has she completely lost her mind? Why did she agree to the offer? ANd most importantly why doesn't she want to cancel?

When the day came she had one last chance to cancel. She already had an excuse ready; saying she can't come because she had to watch Belle. Having a little sister ten years younger than you can come in handy. But alas she didn't.

She's glad she didn't. She had…fun. Ms. Willow was very warm and welcoming. There wasn't much of a resemblance between her and her nephew besides their tan skin and hazel green eye color. Her hair was long and jet black where Brody's was brown. Her nose was more narrow while his was larger. He had thicker eyebrows while she had thinner ones. And she had a cupid bow mouth and he did also but his lower lip was more fuller. Not that she was spending a lot of time looking at his lips. Of course not, that would be weird.

They watched the movie in his living room. They had pretzel bites and orange juice for snacks. Very quickly all of her nerves washed away. She felt silly for being so nervous before. It was just them hanging out at his home. Nothing more nothing less.

"You know Valentine's Day is this Thursday?" Brody casually asks

Kim looks up from her book in slight surprise. She nods then tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Yeah, this school year's flying by! Before we know it it'll be Spring Break. I cannot wait until Spring Break."

Her and Kelsey's family were going to visit the SeaWorld theme park in San Diego. Donna was of course tagging along just without her horrible sorry excuse for a mother that doesn't care about her whereabouts. Moving on, despite living in Seaford for around five years she hasn't been to SeaWorld.

She was never a big fan of sea animals growing up; she was more of a horse girl. Kelsey went there twice and loved it. She loved the performances, her favorite being the dolphin presentations. Kim was more excited for the rides and rollercoasters.

"Yeah, yeah." Brody nervously agrees. "Um, do you have any Valentine's day plans?"

Kim shrugs as she fiddles with her bookmark. "Uh no not really. Maybe I'll do something with my friends but nothings planned."

Brody nods. Kim looks up to him and her brows furrowed in slight concern. He was starting to turn red from the neck up. "Cool uh well SCC is throwing a Valentine's Dance."

Kim raises an eyebrow as she slowly nods. Not really sure how to reply to that. She sneaks a glance at him before focusing on her book again. "Oh?"

Brody nods again. He was doing a great impression of a bobble head. "Yeah it sounds fun. Music, dancing, good food. My friends are going with each other as a group but I'm kind of the odd one out."

Kim blinks. Slowly it clicked to her why Brody was telling her this. She never claimed to be a genius. That was all Milton and the Swathmore Rejects. Her stomach did a somersault as her heartbeat picked up suddenly. She slowly raised her gaze towards him again. He was already staring at her.

Oh.

"Wait, are you- are you asking me to the Valentine's Day dance? Like as a date?"

Brody shrugs and starts nervously rubbing the back of his neck. "Maybe?"

Kim continues staring speechlessly at him with her mouth slightly agape. Her mind blanked. She thought they were just friends. She thought everything was clearly platonic. She thought they were on the same page.

That's what she drilled into her own head anytime she wanted to think about the teasing from Desiree and Remy. She brushed off any questions from Donna and Kelsey about her getting close to Brody. Kim swore to herself they were just friends. Especially during late nights when she can't sleep and Brody drifts into her mind.

It always starts with his eyes. She can admit to herself late at night that she thinks he has pretty eyes. Hazel eyes with swirls of green and brown in them. She could stare at them for hours without ever getting bored. If she was an artist she would try to draw them but probably won't be able to capture them perfectly. It's not just his eyes though. But also how his nose wrinkles whenever he laughs, his smile that causes unexplainable swoop in her stomach.

Her gaze sometimes lingers on his lips when he smiles. Thoughts she'll never admit out loud bubble up in her mind that she forces away. Those thoughts come back to her at night. She finally allows herself to dwell on them in the safety of her dark bedroom late at night. When she asks herself how much did she really hate Brody ever since he came back. And was there a reason she wanted to hate him so badly.

But now it seems Brody wanted to push her into bringing those late night thoughts into the daytime. Forcing her to confront what she's been struggling to push away ever since winter break ended.

At her continued silence he tries to salvage the awkwardness. "It doesn't have to be a date, date it could be a friend date."

"A friend date." Kim flatly repeats, trying to focus back to the present. To the boy sitting across from her

Brody nods. "Yeah that's a thing."

"Really?"

"Yeah." He readily confirms

Despite the warring emotions she was feeling she found herself laughing. A wave of fondness washed over her at Brody's dorkiness. She shakes her head, still smiling.

"So yes? No?" Brody presses

Kim taps her index finger against her book. Trying to organize her thoughts. "You and I don't have a good track record at country clubs."

Kim doesn't think she'll ever forget the stinging humiliation of being covered in hot chocolate. She wanted to cry, it took everything in her not to. A night that started off so beautiful like some sort of fairytale ended in such disaster. The guy she was thinking of dating was actually just using her. She was nothing more than some sick initiation so Brody could get into Black Dragons.

The only thing that made the night slightly okay was Jack was her white knight. She'lll never say that out loud because she is a proud feminist and believes she doesn't need anyone to save her. But Jack showing up to save her made her fall even harder for him. The girly part of her that loves Nicholas Sparks movies and secretly loves the Twilight Saga swooned.

Guilt crossed over Brody's face at the reminder. But for once Kim didn't get vindictive pleasure at seeing it. For once she wasn't trying to prove a point. She didn't want to see Brody feeling guilty because she finally believed he was sorry. She finally came to a point where forgiveness didn't seem impossible. She thinks she's ready to forgive him. Not yet but soon.

"Well to be fair that was at the Riverside country club not SCC and it was a different dance and that was two years ago." He points out

Kim presses her lips then looks down. She didn't have a response to that.

"This can be a make up dance then. We can create new, better memories. Together." Brody continues, desperation tinging in his voice

Mercifully the warning bell rings signaling it was time to go to class. She didn't have an answer for him. Accepting seemed like a stupid choice but at the same time she didn't want to reject him. She needed more time to think this over.

Kim turns towards him as she stands up. Nervousness was clear on his face. She hated that she found it adorable. "I'll think about it okay?"

He nods. Still staring at her with worry in his eyes. "Okay."


8th Period Choir

Eddie hurries into his last period with a single minded focus. Valentine's Day was nearing. You couldn't walk anywhere in the school building without seeing decorations for the holiday. Or turn on the tv without seeing romantic commercials or movies or special holiday episodes.

An idea sparked in his mind from all the advertising. His one last chance to win over the girl of his dreams. To be able to spend his final months as a freshman in bliss. He needed to talk to his brunette crush.

As if fate was telling him this was his chance, Grace was already in the classroom. She was standing alone in the area where their music folders were kept. For once Lyndsey wasn't attached to her side. He strides over to her with purpose as butterflies swarm in his stomach. She was looking in her folder so she didn't see him coming towards her.

"Hey Grace!"

The brunette slightly startled as her gaze snapped up from her folder. There was surprise mixed with something else in her green eyes as she took him in. "Oh, hey Eddie."

Eddie nervously shifts his weight from foot to foot as he tries to memorize the script he was going to say. He was blanking under the stare of her green eyes so he goes with the first thing that came to mind. "So uh, they announced the cast list goes up this Friday."

Grace nods then closes her music folder and sets it on the counter. "Yeah it does."

"You nervous?"

"Uh a little. Penny is a main character and it's unlikely they'd give her role to a freshman."

That was true. It was a known fact that underclassmen don't usually get main character roles in plays. They were either in the ensemble or minor characters. Of course there were a few times when they got a bigger role because they were really talented. For example Skylar Wright and Marcus Reed. For Addams Family they scored the roles of Wednesday and her love interest Lucas. But for the majority underclassmen, specifically freshmen were ensemble.

But Grace was one of the freshmen that deserve to be a big role. She has a beautiful singing voice and could act. "Hey I saw your audition. You were really good."

"I know I was," Grace agrees with a nod, "but so was Abby."

Abby Crawley: a junior who's in choir and theater and best friends with Ashanti Jenkins and Evelyn Barnes. Her audition was really good too, she has a very strong, beautiful voice hence the reasons she's in the upperclassmen honors choir. Still Eddie thinks Grace should get Penny. And if one of the reasons is because he believes he has a good shot to be Seaweed then so what?

"Yeah but in my opinion you were better."

She smiles sweetly at him. "Thanks Eddie."

A lull fell between them. For a moment he lost all brain capacity from the smile. The only thoughts in his head were pretty girl smile at him! and love her, want her. That smile was definitely not puppy cute smile that Jerry told him about. Grace pulls her phone out her pocket then raises her gaze again to look around the room. She was probably looking for Lyndsey who still hasn't entered class yet.

"Valentine's Day is this Thursday." He blurts out then internally cringed at how awkward that sounded. He could've tried to sound smoother

Grace's green eyes focuses back on him again, her face unreadable. She nods in agreement. "Yep."

C'mon spit it out Eddie. He unconsciously tightens grip on his backpack staps as he forces his next words out. His heartbeat racing in his chest as if he was running a marathon. "Do you have any plans?"

Grace pushes a strand of glossy brown hair out of her face before looking back down at her phone. "Yeah, I do."

Eddie's heart dropped to the pit of his stomach. He blinked dumbly at her as he was momentarily rendered speechless. Maybe it didn't mean what he thought it meant. Maybe she was just hanging out with her girl friends. "You do?"

She nods nonchalantly. "Yes. SCC is having a Valentine's dance for middle schoolers and ninth graders. I'm going with Brad." A smile broke across her face when she said that

Ice surged through his veins at that smile. Eddie recognized that smile. It was the same smiles girls gave Jack. A soft, sweet, smitten smile with hearts in their eyes. It was completely different from the smile she gave him just minutes ago. His heart throbbed in his chest as a knot was forming in his stomach.

His brain for the second time short circuited. No, no, no this can't be happening. Eddie finally unglued his tongue from the top of his mouth. "With Brad?" He weakly repeats

"Yeah. We're going together as friends but I'm hoping by the end of the night it'll turn into something more. I think he's finally getting over his horrible ex." She checks her phone again and glances over Eddie's left shoulder. Her eyes lights up in relief before tucking her phone away in her pocket

"See you later Eddie!" She throws over her shoulder as she walks away from him and to Lyndsey who finally entered the classroom

Eddie barely heard her over the rushing noise in his ears. It was over. He lost any chance he might've had to Brad Wolfe. Everything was over.


Bayview Mall

Forever 21

"Ooh this is so cute!" Kelsey squealed in delight as she unhooks a white sleeveless textured turtleneck knit top from the rack

Donna eyes the shirt with clear disapproval in her cerulean blue eyes. "I guess." She says, completely unimpressed

After school Kelsey's mom dropped them off at the mall. It was their usual routine since Kim had karate practice not long after and usually Kelsey wanted to stop by Barnes & Noble while Donna practically lived in Hot Topic. Today instead of Kelsey's first stop being her favorite bookstore she wanted to head over to Forever 21. Kim agreed, for once not concerned about seeing another change in Kelsey. A certain brown haired hazel eyed boy has been stuck in her thoughts since early this morning.

Kelsey gasps dramatically. "You guess?! This is cute and I have a skirt that can go perfectly with this!"

"What happened to your overalls and colorful striped pants and shirts? I haven't seen you wear your favorite jacket in weeks."

Her favorite jacket is a multi-colored oversized jacket with the colors pink, purple, yellow, and sky blue. It was very flashy and the colors kinda clashed but not in a big ugly way. Just in a loud and vibrant way that was all Kelsey. Or from the looks of it, a version of her that was slowly fading away.

Kelsey shrugs, her gaze locked on the shirt. "Eh, I don't like it anymore." She nonchalantly dismisses

Donna's eyes widened as her jaw dropped at the bottle blonde's words. "What?! Why not? That was your favorite for years." She presses

"I just don't, okay?" Kelsey snaps

Sensing the tension Donna holds her hands up in surrender. "Okay."

Mollified, Kelsey continues browsing through the rack. A tense silence fell over them. Donna glances over to Kim who was robotically going through another rack until she was snapped out of it by Kelsey's outburst. The two shared a look but Kim didn't know what to say. She just looks back at the clothing rack.

"Anyway." Kelsey says, breaking the silence with forced enthusiasm in her voice. "We should have a Galentine's Day."

Kim looks over at Kelsey in confusion. "What the heck is a Galentine's Day?" She asks

"It's Valentine's Day with your gal pals instead of a boyfriend." Kelsey explains then sthe starts walking over to another section. Her friends trail after her.

"Did you just come up with that?" The natural blonde asks

"No it's a thing! I read about it on Tumblr."

"Of course you did." Donna mutters with a slight shake of her red and black ombre hair

Kelsey walked towards the accesary section in the front. She walks over to the necklaces. "C'mon it'll be fun. Come over to my house, eat some pizza, candy, watch chick flicks. Or we can go skating, whatever, It'll be fun!" Kelsey enthuses

Kim trains her gaze on the nail polishes. She forces a neutral look on her face to not arouse any suspicion from her friends. She hasn't told them about Brody asking her to the SCC Valentine's dance. She wasn't ready to hear the I-told-you-so's from her best friends.

Donna shrugs. She grabs a hair scrunchie and half heartedly examines it. "It's not like I have anything better to do."

A sly smile formed on Kelseys lips. "Yeah, like watching black and white movies by yourself in your room."

Donna throws the hair scrunchie at Kelsey who cackles in glee. Kim smirks slightly at their bickering.

"What do you think, Beulah?" Donna asks.

"You can invite Val if you want." Kelsey offers. "Even Sloane if you think she'd be interested."

Two sets of eyes were now set the blonde. Kim tried to control the flush that she could feel slowly creep up her neck in nervousness. She gulps. "Uh I don't- I'm not sure." She hesitantly says.

"What do you mean you're not sure?" Donna asks

"You're not sure if Sloane would be interested?" Kelsey adds

A Galentine's Day sounded like a good idea. Under any other circumstances she would've readily agreed. But there was Brody and his offer. Something she should've probably rejected but…she wasn't sure she wanted to. Which means she needs to tell her friends about what happened. Explain why she can't readily agree to the Galentine's idea.

Oh no, hear it comes.

"No, no not that," Kim dismisses, in all honesty she wasn't sure what Sloane would've said if she asks. It's fifty fifty with her.

"It's just that uh- I mean…" she trails off. She needs to just rip the band-aid off. She inhales a steadying breath then braces herself. "Brody asked me to the SCC Valentine's dance."

Silence.

Donna's eyebrows raised in silent shock while Kelsey's face went scaringly blank. Then the next think Kim knew sharp pain suddenly radiated from her left shoulder and Kelsey was right next to her.

Kim's jaw dropped in shock as she glares heatedly at her friend. "Ow! Kelsey! What the heck!"

"We're just friends you said, nothing more you said, I knew you were full of crap!" The bottle blonde ranted

Donna calmly turns towards Kelsey. "You owe me ten dollars Kels."

"Huh? Wait, did you guys bet on me?"

"Of course we did." Donna unashamedly confirms

Kim needed new friends. She scowled at them. "I hate both of you."

"Love you too sweetheart." Donna snarks

Kelsey glared at her but there was no heat in her eyes. "Now I'm down ten dollars cuz of you. I should hate you."

"So lemme guess, you said yes?"

"I told him I'll think about it."

Donna cocked her head to the side in thought. "Huh, now that's actually surprising."

Kim crossed her arms. "What do you mean by that?"

"Kim, c'mon don't succumb to the dumb blonde trope. You're better than that."

If it was anyone else who said that to her, especially one of the boy's they would've been punched.

"So this is it then. You're dating Brody now."

"Did you hear what I just said? I didn't agree to anything."

Kelsey scoffs and waves dismissively at her. "Oh please you're going to. Then you're going to fall in love and everything that Brody did in seventh grade will be completely forgotten. Along with Jack."

"Kelsey I'm really getting sick and tired of all your ass kissing for Jack. If you think he's so great, why don't you date him?!"

"What? No, I don't want to date him. He's your lobster. You guys are meant to be together, not some jerk that used you and was the reason you got chocolate spilled all over you."

"That was a long time ago and he apologized for it. You of all people should believe he's changed and believe in second chances. The only reason you don't want to is because you're too obsessed with Jack."

"I'm not obsessed, I can just see the truth. You're supposed to be with him not Brody. If you agree to go to the dance with Brody then you're an idiot."

There's two things that get Kim really heated. Feeling weak and feeling stupid. She had to deal with many blonde jokes growing up which got her in a lot of trouble because her way of dealing was with violence. When she was little she sometimes hated her blonde hair because of the bimbo stereotype. She sometimes wished she was a brunette and would even beg her mom to dye her hair. Her mama said no of course.

Her mama told her she can't be so quick to hit boys. That it wasn't under any circumstances okay to hit someone, no matter what they said to her. She was still in therapy back then her therapist gave her alternatives to cope. Kim decided she only hit boys if they really deserved it like saying something really sexist.

Then on top of that she was southern so she would get teased about being a hillbilly redneck. It mostly came from Lyndsey, Lori and Grace. Her favorite way of dealing with them was giving them a good tongue lashing. She didn't have the southern response down yet; passive aggressiveness hidden behind smiles.

Kim worried sometimes if she was too much like Lester. She had his temper. It came fast and hot, rushing out of her like lava. She wanted to burn the subject of her anger with her words. She needed them to feel the full pain that they made her feel. It scared her sometimes how fast it bubbles out of her.

Right now she could feel that rage boiling in her so she did what she did best.

"Oh yeah? Well I'd rather be an idiot than so obsessed with my friend's love life because I don't have one."

Kim regretted the words as soon as they left her mouth. She went too far. Way too far. Seeing her blue eyes sparkle with hurt as her lips pressed together and her jaw wobble sliced something deep in her chest. Kim wanted to apologize but her mouth couldn't form the words. Her tongue was a useless muscle in her mouth. Kelsey didn't say anything as she turned and fled from the store, carelessly throwing the top she was holding on the ground on her way out.

Donna closes her eyes and lets out a deep breath. "Well that was a shit show."


Bayview Mall

Food Court,

Eddie should've known.

He should've known it was pointless chasing after Grace. That no matter how hard he tried he never would've won her over. Girls like Grace Overland don't go out with guys like him. She goes out with guys on her popularity level, guys that look a certain way and act a certain way. Guys like Brad Wolfe. Seaford High's very own golden boy who is from one of the founding families.

The guy she's been crushing on for years. The guy that was completely unaware of her crush and instead dated Sloane Jennings of all people. Seriously Sloane? Scary Sloane? Eddie would rather try his luck with Lyndsey than her. At least with Lyndsey he doesn't have to worry about her doing grievous bodily harm to him.

Everyone loves Brad. Following in his older brother Logan's footsteps, Brad is one of the most popular boys in his grade. But unlike his older brother, Brad is not an asshole about it. From what he heard, when Logan went to Seaford High he was like a mix of Ethan and Kevin. He was the captain of the football team, known for throwing the best parties, and picked on people he deemed as losers. He was a huge player and never dated a girl longer than two weeks. There was one girl that SDL speculated he might've actually had real feelings for because he dated her for two months. Unfortunately that was proven false when it was revealed he was cheating on her with a cheerleader.

Brad was nothing like that. He talks to kids that aren't as popular as him and treats them nicely. Teachers adored him, nerds adored him, and of course many girls do as well (Grace unfortunately being one of them). He was captain of the JV football and was on the honor roll as well. He was just the perfect guy, rivaling Jack with his perfectness. Of course Grace was in love with him.

Eddie should've known it was only a matter of time before Brad got his head out of his butt and started looking at Grace. Realizing the perfect person for him was right next to him after all this time. That Grace was the Topanga to his Cory.

So all of Eddie's efforts were for what? They were meaningless, stupid, all for nothing. Absolutely nothing. What did he even accomplish the last few months? If he really thought about it he knew the answer. Losing a good friend and almost losing another one.

Since Eddie liked to torture himself he pulled up a picture of Grace on his phone. An older one from her FaceBook account. It was a selfie of her holding her index finger above her lip. On her finger was a drawn on mustache.

Eddie sighed before setting his phone back down on the table. What has his life become?


Tuesday, February 12th, 2013

Bayview Mall

Bobby Wasabi Dojo

Another training session was coming to an end. Sensei Rudy had Jack and Brody spar in the remaining time they had left. Kim can't help but always be a bit on edge when they spar. Especially back when Jack was openly hostile towards Brody. The few times they did spar Jack did it with barely concealed anger and brutal kicks and hits. The funny thing was his anger was what caused him to lose. He was more focused on wanting to hurt Brody than how to properly win so he lost every time.

Now Jack has toned down his hostility and pretty much any feelings he has. So when they're paired up Jack isn't fueled by rage and bitterness. He's clear headed when fighting and thoughtful in his movements. That makes their sparring exciting to watch because you can never be sure of who will win. They're pretty evenly matched but if Kim was being honest Brody was slightly better than Jack. Still a few times Jack has gotten the upper hand. Brody is always a good sport about it. He bows at the end of the match and congratulates him. When Brody wins Jack is being a better sport recently then when he was a few months back. His gruff congratulations sounds more sincere.

As usual Jack and Brody were neck and neck. Sloane and Milton were watching the match in rapt attention since the two of them were the point keeper with the flags. Both of them were tied with two and two now they were just waiting to see who would score the final point.

Kim's gaze lingered on Brody. The two of them haven't talked much since yesterday. Kim still hasn't made a decision and she didn't know how to be around him now without feeling awkward. So she decided to not talk to him at all.

She hasn't talked to Kelsey either. It's only been a day but Kim already missed her like crazy. She hates fighting with her girls. They hardly ever fought but at times when they did it's usually over small things. It never warranted Kim hitting them below the belt like she did yesterday. She never caused Kelsey's face to look like that and she really didn't want to do it again.

Jack bent down and gained the final point with a leg sweep knocking Brody down on his butt. Sloane stands up, sticking the flag out and declares Jack the winner. Brody stands back up bows to Jack who bows back. Sensei declared the training over and the group got up and dispersed. Jack walks towards one of the benches where his water bottle sat. Kim gets up from the mattress and walks over towards him.

Despite reconfirming their friendship the week after winter break they haven't talked much after.

Kim smiles nervously at him. "Hey Jack."

Jack turned towards her and gave her a quick once over. "Hey Kim."

Kim crossed her right arm over her chest to grab her left elbow. She began to unconsciously rub it. "Nice leg sweep."

"Thanks."

"You're a killer with that thing. It could become your new signature move." Kim weakly jokes while internally slapping herself for the dumb comment

Jack stares at her blankly then blinks. "Okay." He says

For some reason Kim couldn't seem to stop. "No, I mean it. It's a killer. It's a good finishing move. You can catch-"

"Kim not to be rude but did you want something?" The boy interrupts

Kim was taken back from the question. "No, no," she denied once she recovered. She crosses her arms then forces a chuckle. "I didn't realize I needed a reason to talk to you."

"You don't, it's just I'm still not finished training. I want to stay focused on that."

Kim's brows furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean you're not finished? The session is over."

Jack shakes his head. "Not for me. I signed up for an extra one on one session with Sensei."

"Oh, ok." Kim looks down. "I just- I just feel like I haven't seen you around much lately."

"I've been busy." He says evasively as he avoided eye contact

"I can see that." The blonde snarks but Jack doesn't say anything back. He just shrugged and took another sip from his bottle

Kim got the hint. He wanted her to leave. The conversation- if you could even call it that- was over. Kim burned in both embarrassment and anger at how dismissive he was treating her.

"Okay well I guess I'll just leave you alone to train."

"Thanks. See you later." Jack says then quickly walks away from her and back onto the mat


Jones Residence

"Hey mom." Eddie calls as he enters his house and closes the front door behind him. He knows his dad doesn't get home until an hour later

"Hey baby you're home early." He hears his mom say. He follies her voice into the room on the right of the front door, the living room

There she was sitting on the couch with three cardboard boxes spread out in front of her. The coffee table was cluttered with family photos.

"Yeah I finished early at the library."

Marcie sets the pictures she was holding down on the coffee table to focus on her son. Excitement danced in her brown eyes as she smiled. "The cast list came out today, right? Did you get the role of Seaweed?"

Eddie looks down in sadness at the question. "Oh uh no. Marcus got the role."

"Aw I'm so sorry baby." His mom sympathizes and opens her arms in an offer of a hug

Eddie shrugs then walks towards her on the couch and drops his backpack down on the floor. "It is what it is. I kinda figured when I saw his name that I won't get it."

"Come here." She pulls him into a hug. "You have a beautiful voice."

Despite himself, he does feel better. "Thanks ma."

She pulls away from the hug far too soon in his opinion. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be okay. I kinda expected it so I tried not not to give my hopes up." His dismisses with casualness he wishes he actually felt

"No, not that I mean in general. Are you okay?"

Eddie turns towards her on the couch to look at her in confusion. "Why are you asking me that?" His mama met his gaze with a scrutinizing look of her own

"Something about you has just been off about you lately." She clarifies

Eddie breaks eye contact to look down at his lap. He restrains himself from twisting his fingers, a clear sign that he was nervous and hiding something. "What do you mean?"

"You seem to be isolating yourself. You haven't been hanging out much with your friends as much as you used to. You used to go over to Milton's house after practice but you don't anymore. And Kim, you guys used to write songs together but I haven't heard anything new. In fact I haven't heard much about her lately."

She wasn't wrong. In a matter of a few months his social circle has dwindled down to one person, Milton. He isn't friends with Kim anymore and by extension doesn't talk to Donna and Kelsey for obvious reasons. Jack took Kim's side after finding out what he did to Kelsey, then he became a loner after the Frank thing, and now he's so obsessed with training for karate he doesn't hangout with anyone much anymore. Jerry has been spending most of his time with Randy, Mika and her group. He's been smoking weed and partying a lot more with them now that he was kicked off the dance team.

That only left Milton, his best friend through it all. But even he has been spending more time with the preps. Milton invites him to hangout with them but Eddie always declines because he has no interest in hanging out with them. When he isn't with them he's busy with student council stuff and studying.

She doesn't know about his fall out with Kim. His mom thinks the reason for his bruised nose was that it was a sparring accident. He'd rather die than tell her the truth of how he got it. His rear would be black and blue from her belt and he wouldn' be able to seat for at least three days. Then she'd have him properly apologize to Kelsey.

"Yeah she's been busy so we haven't really had time."

"Mmhm." Marcie hums unconvinced

His stomach churned with something he realized was guilt. He didn't need to do what he did to Kelsey. He used her freaky crush on him to lure her to Shore Park to get pelted with water balloons. Was it possible that Grace used him in the same way as well? Did she never really like him as well? Was Kim actually right?

"Mom."

"Yeah baby?"

"I think- I think I made a really big mistake."

His mama hums in consideration. Then she leveled him with a look. "So what are you going to do about it?"


Crawford Residence

Kim doesn't understand boys at all.

Boys complain that girls are a mystery but they really aren't much better. They say one thing but apparently mean a completely different thing. One moment they say one thing and they make you think things are good but then a week later they act differently.

Of course by boys Kim means that idiot Jack.

She was lying upside down on her bed staring at a picture of her and Jack on her phone. It was from back when they were dating. They were sitting side by side and her arms were wrapped around his shoulders and his right arm was resting on her waist. Both were grinning into the camera. Back when things were so much simpler when she still couldn't believe she was dating him. When she thought they would stay together for all of high school.

He's frustrating. So completely frustrating that she wants to smack some sense into him. Ever since the Frank Thing Jack has just been a completely different person. It was like he was replaced by a clone who was trying to learn how to act like Jack. Sometimes they get things right but sometimes they get things wrong. She just wants Jack back, her Jack from before the Frank Thing. But that's starting to look more and more impossible. At this point she just doesn't know what to do with him.

Kim sits up on her bed then exits out of her photo gallery and turns her phone off. She hops off her bed and walks over to her vanity where her Ipod Touch was currently sitting in its dock. Florence from Florence and the Machines was crooning through the docks speakers.

Then there's Brody. He was a surprise but not a complete unwelcome one.

She never thought she would ever see him again after he moved away in seventh grade. She never gave him a second thought after he moved. Sure he stood with her and the gang against Frank but he still tricked her. He humiliated her and made her feel dumb, two things she hates feeling. So that was it for her.

But two years later he comes bursting into her life again.

Pleading to her with those dumb hazel eyes that he's changed. That he wants a second change and is deeply sorry for what he did in seventh grade. Kim thought he was full of shit. She was pissed that not only was he back in Seaford and at school but he infiltrated her dojo too. One of her safe havens. So no matter where she went she couldn't escape him. So her next best thing was to ignore him.

Brody remained kind and patient. He never snapped back at her whenever she snarked at him. He gave her space after he let her know that he was regretful for the millionth time. It irritated her to no end because she wanted his nice guy act to slip. She wanted to see him be the douchebag she knows he is. But he never slipped. Then came winter break at Big Bear and she finally let her guard down.

So far he hasn't disappointed her yet. His nice guy act remained. He hasn't led her into some sick trap to humiliate her. Again. He was still sweet and kind and funny. She still wrestled internally if she should trust him. A part of her was still deathly afraid of fully letting him in again.

But if she was being honest she thinks she's already starting to let him in. She was remembering why she liked him in the first place. He was funny, he had a bit of dark humor that she wouldn't expect from him. He was sarcastic too and could match her with her sass. They were both into theater, one of them being Mamma Mia and their love for Abba. He's a real all around cool dude. A cool dude who's really kinda cute. Okay, very cute. And unlike Jack is upfront about what he wants. He doesn't beat around the freaking bush and give her mixed signals.

Kim stares at the photobooth picture of her with Kelsey and Donna. Unconsciously a smile tugs at her lips as she stares at the photobooth strip. Suddenly a memory floats into her mind. The talk she had with Donna at Milton's end of summer pool party. Donna telling her that she can't spend all of high school pining over Jack. That if it comes to it she needs to be able to move on from him.

Her eyes trailed over to another picture she taped on the frame of the right side of the mirror. She was holding Jack on her back while Kelsey was in the background with an exaggerated look of shock on her face. The picture was taken in May at Jack's house. The three of them paired up for a science project and were over at his house to work on it. But they got bored and started goofing off. One thing led to another and Kim dared Jack to see if he could carry both her and Kelsey on his back. The answer was no. Well kind of no. He was able to last like eight seconds before collapsing under their weight.

Kelsey dared Kim to see if she could carry Jack on her back. Kim is never one to back down from a bet so she bullied Jack into doing it. Surprisingly it wasn't that hard, he wasn't really heavy. The only thing that made it slightly difficult was the height difference but she was able to carry him on her back. Wanting evidence of her accomplishment she asked Kesley to get Chuck to take a picture of them.

Kim's brown eyes lingered on Kelsey in the picture. Her heart ached in her chest. She knows she needs to apologize, she doesn't want this fight between them to linger but she still hasn't texted the bottle blonde back. Kim knows she went too far, she was unnecessarily cruel, Kim can admit that but also…she wasn't wrong. She could've worded it better, should've worded it better but Kelsey has been team Jack from the beginning. Even during times when Kim thought she should be on her side. Like during the brief time they were dating and Jack was being a bad boyfriend Kelsey still tried to defend him.

Kim huffs and tears her eyes away from the picture. She got up from her vanity to grab her phone off of her bed then walked over to her bay window. She didn't want to think about Kelsey right now. She could only focus on so many stressful things before she explodes. She chews on her lower up as she opens her phone. Her thumb hovers over the screen. Donna's advice and Kelsey's angry words swirl through her mind. Along with little moments she had with Jack that she used to spend all night in middle school obsessing over.

Then Brody popped up; her first impression of him when he came up to her in the halls asking where Ms. Clarke's class was. How caught off guard she felt at how bold he was in flirting with her. Before, only two guys have flirted with her, and she only liked one of them back. Carson Hunter from sixth grade who was her first boyfriend. Then Randy no matter how many times she's threatened to hurt him.

Then there was the stinging humiliation from the cotillion. The hatred that lived inside her for so long from him. But then he came back this year and the icy hatred finally melted away to something else. Something fond.

She releases her lip then inhales a deep breath before exhaling. She grabs one of the throw pillows and hugs it to her chest for comfort for what she's about to do. She opens her contacts then presses on the name of the person she wants. They answered on the second ring.

"Hey Brody…"