Back to the beginning.
Authors note: I want to quickly thank zmonsta. Without their help, I would have struggled to write so many of my stories. I'm British, and even though I have some knowledge of American culture, I don't know enough about it. But Zmonsta has helped me so much with terminology, culture and just so many different things. Thank you, you are amazing. I feel like I should list you as my official #1 resource .
I also want to thank the other people who have left reviews and sent me messages with feedback and inputting their ideas. It means a lot to me that you care so much about what I'm writing.
Anyway. Let's get started.
Chapter 17 – Welcome to Angel Grove High.
October 1989
Jason Lee Scott, a 13-year-old newly turned teenager was sat up against the headboard in his bedroom, fully absorbed in the comic he was reading. That was, until he was disturbed by a knock on the door.
"Yeah?" He called out, taking his eyes off the comic he was reading and squinting slightly from the sun blazing through his window.
"Kimberly is here to see you Jason." His mother said from outside the door.
"Okay." Jason quickly glanced around the room and found that he was content with how it looked. He then took a quick look at what he was wearing and was satisfied with his jeans and red tank top. "Come in."
Jason waited a few seconds as Kimberly made her way from the top of the landing and knocked on the door before coming in, saying goodbye to Mrs. Scott and closing the door behind her.
"Ummm, hey Jase." She said, peering over at Jason laid on his bed.
"Hey Kim, you OK?" He asked her. Closing his comic and placing it on his bedside table whilst he sat up on the edge of the bed.
Kimberly instinctively raised a hand to her eyes to shield her face from the late afternoon sun. "Yeah. I'm okay."
Jason stood up and quickly pulled his curtains to block the September sunshine from blinding his friend. "You know, Sensei has been asking about you. You haven't been down to the dojo in quite a while"
"I know, sorry." Kimberly frowned slightly. "I'm just so busy with my gymnastics. I don't have the energy and the time to do karate too."
"I understand. Why are you stood up?" He asked her, sitting down on the bed himself and patting the space next to him for Kimberly to join him.
"I dunno. I didn't want to interrupt you, I think." Kimberly replied, hastily moving to sit next to Jason, who in turn, slanted his head to his side to look into Kimberly's brown eyes, trying to read her mind and figure out what was going on.
"Why you talking weird?" He asked her when he surprisingly, for once, couldn't read her thoughts.
"I'm not." Kimberly removed a stray hair from in front of her eyes and looked back at the boy in front of her. "You've been a bit weird lately yourself Jason."
"What do you mean?" Jason asked, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Well, ever since we played truth or dare. Ever since that kiss." Kimberly's eyes flickered down to the ground for no more than second before she apprehensively brought her gaze back up to level Jason's. "You've been acting weird around me."
"Have I really?" He asked her, slightly amused with himself.
"Yes."
"I'm sorry if I have. It's just, well, I don't know how you feel about it, and you've been a little different around me too ya know. So I didn't know how to act"
"Have I? Sorry." Kimberly momentarily glanced at Jason's mouth and then back down to her knees as she sat up straight on the edge of the bed, not knowing why she just looked at his mouth. "I don't know what to think if I'm being honest. All I know for sure is, that I just don't want to lose you Jase."
Jason nudged closer to Kimberly and placed an arm around her shoulder. "Why would you ever lose me Kimmy?"
"You've been quite distant from me in the last few days. And we'll be going to high school next year and well, people change in high school." Kimberly relaxed and leaned into the comfortable arm around her shoulders. "And if you're already changing now. It doesn't look good for high school, does it?"
"I guess I have been acting a little weird." Jason let out a big sigh. "I'm sorry Kimberly. It's just, Zack has been teasing us and stuff. And he's not the only one that teases us. It would be okay if it was just him. Everyone in school teases how close we are and people go on about us being in love and It just kinda got to me. I'm sorry." He explained, feeling much better getting it off his chest.
"Well, I thought you do love me, don't you?" Kimberly asked, looking into Jason's eyes.
"Of course I love you!" Jason answered, allowing Kimberly to breathe a sigh of relief.
"But then, why are you being weird when someone tells you that you love me?"
"They don't mean it like that. They mean it like in love with each other kinda thing. Dya get what I'm saying?"
"Yes, I get what you're saying. I think." Kimberly blew a stray hair from in front of her eyes. "I don't care though. I don't know what the difference in all the types of loves is, but what I do know, is that I love you and I don't care what anyone says." Kimberly said with conviction accompanied by a light tug on Jason's red tank top, pulling him closer to her.
Jason smiled and gently pressed the side of his head onto Kimberly's so that their temples were lightly touching. "I'm sorry Kim. I love you too. You're my best friend and I'll never stop loving you. I'll always be there for you no matter what!"
"Even when we go to high school and people tease you even more?" Kimberly asked, smirking at her best friend.
"Yes. I'll never stop being your friend. You're stuck with me. No matter what happens, where ever life takes us, you're stuck with me and there's nothing you, or I, can do about that." Jason answered, gazing into Kimberly's eyes with both love and determination.
"Pinkie promise?" Kimberly smiled at his response and stuck out her pinkie finger, pushing it towards Jason, who quickly grabbed it with his own little finger.
"Pinkie promise." Jason squeezed their fingers together and offered his best friend a loving smile. "Come on. Let's go and have some fun. I'm sure Trini, Zack and even Billy, will be up for some arcades and a burger." Jason said.
Kim smiled back before becoming a little serious again. "I love our friends. I really do. But, can it just be you and me today?" Kimberly looked deep into Jason's eyes, a slightly sombre expression plastered on her otherwise, pretty face. "We haven't done that in a while now where just you and me hang out." Kimberly confessed.
"Yeah, of course. What shall we do?" Jason asked her, nonchalantly placing his hand into hers and making sure he made her expression lighten up again.
"Shall we go to that new Blockbuster store and see what movies they have?" Kimberly suggested, peering down at the hand on top of hers and deciding to gently squeeze it.
"Good idea. We haven't been there yet, have we?"
"Nope. And it's right next to Burger King too." Kimberly winked at Jason. Knowing very well that he wouldn't be able to resist his favourite food.
"You've won my heart. A movie and a burger back at our den? Just you and me?" Jason asked.
"Yeah. Sounds perfect." Kimberly smiled. Her earlier expression now just a distant memory as her face showed obvious signs of happiness and excitement. Jason telling her that she had won his heart, made her feel happier than she would have predicted.
"Right. It's a date." Jason said, kissing Kimberly's hand and standing up to put on some clothes.
They were at the level of friendship now where they felt so comfortable with each other that they would often dress whilst the other person was in the room. They wouldn't undress mind you, but Jason would be comfortable putting something over his tank top and Kimberly was very comfortable slipping something more suitable over her lounging clothes .Jason would often see Kimberly wearing her girly pyjamas that not everyone had the privilege to see. In other words, they were extremely close.
But looking up at Jason, pulling on a hooded sweatshirt, Kimberly noticed his work paying off at the dojo. He was becoming very toned and masculine and Kimberly to her surprise, started to feel a tad nervous. Especially as Jason had mentioned the word date.
"What's up now?" Jason asked her, tidying up his hair with his hands and peering over at the mirror next to the wardrobe and taking a glance at Kimberly's reflection.
"Nothing. Come here, I'll do it." Kimberly replied, allowing Jason to stand in front of her and bend down slightly. Kimberly pushed Jason's fringe back and ran her fingers through the top of his head, sweeping the hair backwards and running her fingers along the sides to ensure it was neat.
"What would I ever do without you?" Jason murmured, looking up at Kimberly's face.
"I dunno." Kimberly whimpered, taking a large gulp as she quickly glanced at his lips and then rapidly back up to his shirt which also needed some attention. She didn't know what was going on so she ignored what she was feeling in the pit of her stomach and stood up and pulled out a part of the crimson hooded top that was stuck inside at the collar. "I feel like your mom at times."
"Eurgh. Don't say that." Jason grimaced.
"Why not?"
"I dunno. It's just weird ain't it." Jason answered, looking at his clothes which were now all in order, thanks to Kim. "I know we're close, but mom is just nasty."
"Yeah, it definitely is. I shall retract my statement, as Billy would say." Kimberly giggled slightly, being helped up off the bed by Jason.
"Thank god. You ready?" Jason asked, Kimberly still in his arms.
"For what. Our date?" Kimberly replied, smirking slightly, feeling her cheeks becoming rather warm.
"Umm," Jason hesitated for a moment, walking towards the bedroom door.
"You said it was a date. Don't go back on your word now." Kimberly called out to him, grinning like a Cheshire cat.
"Okay sure." Jason replied, turning around to face Kimberly, trying not to respond to the quick, hard pulse in his throat. He tried to ignore the fact that his mouth now felt like the Sahara Desert and desperately swallowed as hard, but as quickly as he could. But it was proving difficult.
"What's wrong? You look like you need the toilet." Kimberly said with a little chuckle, walking towards Jason and linking arms with him.
This made Jason feel a little better. He couldn't explain how, but it did. "Nah, I'm just really thirsty."
"Me too."
"We'll grab a drink from downstairs before we go to the video store." Jason said opening the bedroom door.
"That sounds like a plan." Kimberly closed the bedroom door behind them. "How do i look?" She asked him, moving away so he could get a good look at her.
"Very pretty indeed Kim." Jason said, his cheeks slightly turning red, just now noticing how beautiful she looked in her outfit.
"Good. I've never been on a date you know." She whispered, taking another look at her jeans and frilly pink shirt.
"Me neither. But we've done this so many times. So, I guess we'll be absolutely fine with it."
"Yes. You're right. Another thing to add to our list of secrets." Kimberly giggled, waiting for Jason's response, as he linked arms with her once more and they hopped down the stairs to get a drink and then head out to start their evening.
September 1990
"Wow, I keep forgetting that this school is huge!" Zack exclaimed, walking inside the Angel Grove High school grounds for the first time since they visited it since the initial orientation.
"I know right. It's massive." Jason agreed, looking around in awe at the huge, red bricked walls they had passed when entering the school.
"I'm scared." Kimberly added, nervously peering at a group of junior year students who were stood near some lockers inside the building.
"Hey. Don't be scared Kim. Not all freshman's have a nice group of friends when they start. We're in this together." Jason told his friend.
"Precisely." Billy added, keeping his eyes in front of him, not daring to look around just yet.
"Guys, this is it." Trini said as they reached the classroom for the freshman students.
"Are you ready guys?" Jason asked, grabbing a hold of the door handle.
His friends nodded their heads and Jason opened the door, allowing everyone inside.
They were pretty early and the class only had a few students sat in their seats.
"Hello kids. Welcome to Angel Grove High. Please find your seats with your names on the desk and we shall wait for the rest of the students." A plump, kind looking teacher with short brown hair said.
"Remember guys. We have to sit in alphabetical order." Jason said quietly, glancing at his best friend, Kimberly, who sadly nodded her head.
"That'll be me, towards the front." Billy said excitedly as the rest of the group went to find their seats.
"I'll see you at the end of class, Scott." Kimberly said, frowning slightly. Her fingers lingering over Jason's hand as she spoke, not wanting to part with her best friend. "I wish they did alphabetical order by our first names."
"Yeah. We'd be sat right next to each other." Jason replied, matching Kim's slight frown. "But don't worry. You're near Trini." He pointed over at Trini sitting down in a row with Kimberly's name on a piece of paper two seats away from her.
"You have a point. I'll see you later." Kimberly said, quietly and quickly brushing her fingers along the top of Jason's hand.
"Yeah, good luck Kim" Jason replied, giving her an encouraging smile.
"You too." Kimberly said before she walked away to the middle of the class in to the row which had Trini quietly sitting down, extracting her stationary from her school bag.
Jason walked over towards the back of the class, not too far away from Zack, in the seat next to him to be exact, clasping hands excitedly and sitting down.
The classroom filled up pretty quickly in the next five minutes with all the twenty or so seats being nearly entirely taken. Kimberly looked behind her, three rows back and Jason was sat right there, directly behind her. She gave him and Zack a little smile and then smiled at Trini and Billy who were very close to her too, both of them beaming widely in anticipation for their high school journey to get underway. Kimberly allowed herself to smile. It wasn't too bad after all. Jason was right behind her and the rest of her friends were surrounding her too.
"Welcome to Angel Grove High. I'm Ms. Appleby and I will be taking you through your first lesson at your new school." The teacher announced, writing her name on the blackboard as the bell rang to signal the start of the first day of the new term. "Are you excited?" The teacher asked the classroom, who all responded with a mixture of yeses, some excited, some nervous.
"Excellent. I see that everyone is here apart from two others." Ms Appleby checked the clock behind her and then smiled at the class. "But I think we should start anyway. We are going to start off with something very simple and a little fun." Ms. Appleby beamed at the class once more. "In front of you, there is a sheet of paper. What I want you to do is, write your full name and underneath it, write one fact about yourselves that is special."
Ms. Appleby waved her finger at a boy in the third row who looked rather disappointed. "No young man, we all have something special about us. So I want everyone to think and come up with what makes you unique. What makes you, you. " Ms. Appleby clasped her hands together and shared another smile with her new students. "After this has been done, I will collect everyone's pieces of paper and we shall all try to guess who this is. Does that sound good?"
" Yes Ms. Appleby." The class replied.
The door burst open and a very slight and gangly boy was seemingly pushed into the classroom.
"Excuse me. May I help you?" Ms. Appleby asked, looking rather annoyed as the youngster straightened up and looked around the interrupted classroom.
"Hey mizz. Is this the class for the freshmen?" An overly round and rotund boy said as he strutted into the classroom, which caused Jason, Kimberly, Billy, Zack and Trini to share incredulous looks with each other.
"Excuse me young man. I am Miss Appleby, and yes, this is the class for the new students." The teacher narrowed her eyes and glared at the two additions. "You and your friend are very late. An apology would be nice."
"Don't worry miss Apples." The teacher glared even more once Bulk got her name wrong. "We just couldn't find the class. We'll be earlier next time."
"Yeah. We'll be earlier next time." Skull echoed.
"I somehow find that hard to believe." Ms. Appleby scoffed. "I trust you will be able to find your seats, since there's only two remaining."
Bulk and Skull looked out at the two remaining seats. One was next to Billy for Farkas Bulkmeier and one seat next to Jason for Eugene Skullovitch.
"Oh man. I don't want to sit next to the nerd." Bulk eyed up Billy with his pencils and stationary already arranged neatly on his desk in front of him. "Can I swap seats with Jason."
"No you cannot! Seating is alphabetically pre arranged to avoid these situations. Now SIT DOWN! You have held up this wonderful class of students long enough already. Now go!" the teacher barked, her cheeks turning into the colour of fresh blood scattered over a dark floor, her previous pleasant disposition now being tested. "And I will not tolerate name calling in this classroom!" she added. Her eyes now looking as though she was about to fire blazing hot lasers at the two late comers.
Bulk and skull knew that they had overstepped and quickly moved to the two spare seats. Skull quietly sat down next to Jason, and Bulk grimaced as he took the seat next to Billy.
"Now, before you two interrupted us. I was telling the class to write your names on that piece of paper in front of you, and write one fact about yourselves which is very special. Once that is done, we shall collect the papers and I will read these brilliant traits and we shall guess to whom they belong." Ms. Appleby explained for the second time, smiling once again at her new class. "You may start."
"Hey. What's your name?" A blonde-haired girl asked quietly, sitting next to Kimberly and pretending to write on the paper in front of her.
"Hi. I'm Kim and this is my friend, Trini ." Kimberly answered, pointing at Trini who offered the two girls a wave.
"Hi. I'm Brittany, and that's my friend Stacy there." The girl replied pointing at her strawberry blonde haired friend directly behind Kim.
"Nice to meet you." Kimberly said, smiling at both of them.
"Yeah definitely. I love your hair! It's so beautiful." Brittany commented, looking at Kimberly's sleek brown hair, slightly curled and falling down elegantly onto her shoulders.
"Thank you. Yours is pretty nice too."
"Thanks. So, is that your boyfriend?" Brittany asked, pointing to Jason behind them with a subtle nod of her head.
"Oh, ummm."
"I can't believe you have a boyfriend. I mean yeah, he's pretty cute but boys can be so gross." Brittany said.
"He's not my boyfriend. And not all boys are gross." Kimberly replied, starting to dislike the girl slightly now.
"Good. You'll be teased if you have a boyfriend. My big sister told me it's awful." Brittany said.
"Why, what happens?" Kimberly asked, her saliva starting to dry up a touch.
"Well, my sister told me that all the kids will make fun of you. So It's best to stick with girls, at least until you get to sophomore, if not junior year."
"Really. Why would they do that?" Trini asked her.
"I don't know. Girls can be pretty mean." Stacy replied.
"It's not just about girls being mean though Stacy." Brittany said, shooting her friend an annoyed look. "Guys should hang out with guys and girls should stick with girls. There's no need to have an annoying boyfriend getting in the way."
"Okay. Well he's not my boyfriend anyway so I guess it's cool." Kimberly said, putting her head down and writing her name on the paper in front of her as Brittany turned to her other side and introduced herself properly to Trini who didn't look eager to strike up a conversation, especially with the teacher beginning to get annoyed at their talking.
"Hey dweeb. Can you do mine for me?" Bulk asked Billy next to him.
"That's no way to address an individual. Are you incapable of writing your own name?" Billy replied with a frown.
"Of course I can write my name. The other bit."
"I don't know what your special attribute is. Only you can know that."
"Yeah okay. Whatever, specks."
Most of the students finished rather quickly, so the teacher collected everybody's sheets of paper and stood up at the front of the class with the papers in her hand.
"First one is, I can beat Super Mario bros. 3 in five hours. Okay, I don't know what that is but can anyone guess who this may be."
"Is it Jason Scott?" Zack quickly shouted out with his hand raised.
The teacher shook her head.
"Well, I can do it in five hours, but it's not what I put." Jason pointed out.
"Okay, nobody has any guesses? Well here's the clue, this person is a male, their last name begins with an A."
The kids on the front row quickly looked over at each other to try and figure it out, a young girl quickly raised her hand. "Is it Matthew Adams?"
"That's right." Ms. Appleby smiled and clapped her hands once. "Would you like to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about your special skill Matthew?"
The young kid walked to the front of the class and explained his love for video games and the fact that he could complete this game in just under five hours, no easy feat. It wasn't long before the teacher read out the second paper.
"Right, Let's see, I can eat two pizzas all by myself. I wonder who that could be." Ms. Appleby said, narrowing her eyes and glaring at Bulk.
"That one's easy. Bulk has pizza night at least twice a week, and it ain't just pizzas he's good at eating." Skull screeched rather loudly.
"Geez. Thanks numb skull."
"Would you like to tell us more about your umm, special trait?" Ms. Appleby said.
"No thanks miss. I think my friend here, has already done that."
"That's fine with me." Ms. Appleby said, swiftly picking up the next paper. "Oooh this is a good one. I am a black belt in karate. "
It wasn't even a second since the teacher read out the trait before Kimberly shot her hand up high into the air, beating Zack to it.
"Yes miss Hart."
"That's definitely Jason Lee Scott." Kimberly quickly said with a proud smile.
"That's right. Jason, would you kindly come to the front to tell us a little bit more about your brilliant skill."
Jason stood up and nervously walked to the front of the classroom and faced the students.
"I got into Karate about seven years ago now." He looked at all of his friends, starting from Billy at the front, to Zack at the back of the room. "I became a black belt last year and now I'm trying to earn a second-degree black belt, which is even higher than a black belt." His new classmates looked at him in awe whilst Bulk and Skull rolled their eyes having known him since elementary school. "I love karate and taekwondo, they're so awesome that I am going to go for my certificate in training to be a sensei." He said, finishing up and walking back to his seat amid a round of applause. He looked down a few rows at Kim who offered him a thumbs up, the reaction he valued the most.
The teacher read out a few more names and subsequently, the kids got up to tell the class a little about themselves and their special attributes, this ensured that the class got to know each other a little bit more and, in a way, broke the ice.
" I can do a full handstand. Aaah, this one is nice. I wonder who this could be. There's not that many people left." The teacher said, looking out to the class and seeing Jason's arm immediately shoot up in the air. "Yes Jason."
"Kimberly Ann Hart, for certain."
Kimberly smiled and nodded her head, not seeing the seething look Brittany had just given her. Kimberly stood up and walked to the front of the class at Ms. Appleby's request.
"I have always done gymnastics since I was little. It took me forever, but I finally mastered the handstand. I can now do a full handstand with ease."
"Why don't you shown us then." Brittany said.
"No, I don't think that's a good idea. We don't want an accident to happen." Ms. Appleby said.
"I can do it Ms. Appleby. It's easy." Kimberly protested.
"Are you sure?" the teacher questioned.
"Yes Ms. Appleby."
"Okay. Fair enough. Be careful dear." Ms. Appleby said, quickly moving away towards the classroom door.
Kimberly found some space in between the teachers desk and the students and pulled off a magnificent handstand, held it for a second and elegantly flipped back onto her feet. Jason and her friends started an applause, and the rest of the class joined in.
"Well done Kim, that was awesome." Jason shouted, causing Kimberly to giggle nervously and send him a wave.
"Hey. I thought he wasn't your boyfriend." Brittany said to her once Kimberly sat back down.
Kimberly frowned a little and glanced at Jason before facing Brittany again. "He's not my boyfriend. But he is my friend."
"Eurgh. You're friends with a boy?" Brittany responded in a hushed tone.
"Three boys actually. Zack, Billy and Jason."
"Well, you better be ready for all the girls to tease you then." Brittany whispered.
"Maybe they won't." Stacy added.
"I guess we'll find out." Brittany replied
"If they do, you can still hang out with us." Stacy offered with a smile.
"Thanks." Kimberly whispered to the much nicer Stacy sat behind her.
Kimberly quickly looked forward as the teacher asked them to stop talking and moved on with the lesson, Kimberly's mind now thinking about what Brittany had just said. She didn't want to be bullied for hanging out with friends who meant a lot to her. Maybe Brittany was just being over dramatic.
Twenty minutes later, they said goodbye to Ms. Appleby and left the classroom to go to second period, science.
The five friends met up outside the classroom and walked to the science room together.
"That wasn't so bad was it? It was kinda fun." Jason said, clutching his backpack in his hand.
"Yes, but. You heard Ms. Appleby, the next lesson we will be starting properly and getting homework too." Trini replied.
"That won't be too difficult. We can use free periods and study together right?" Jason said.
"Oh yes, most certainly." Billy agreed. "If we utilise our free periods wisely, we will be limiting the amount of time spent at home partaking in the homework."
"Yeah. What he just said." Zack smirked.
"Kim, you okay?" Jason asked Kimberly who was walking along quietly next to him.
"Yeah I'm fine." She replied, her gaze fixed on Brittany and Stacy who were in font them, sending occasional glances towards Jason and Kimberly.
"You've made some new friends huh." Jason asked her.
"They're a bit annoying really." Trini answered.
"Yes, they are." Kimberly agreed.
"Well, at least you two lovely ladies have us amazing guys ." Zack said with a little spin.
Kimberly was just about to tell Zack that, that was the problem but before she could even form the words, a loud voice interrupted them all.
"Excuse me young man! No dancing in the halls."
The kids looked for the source of the noise to see a tall, greying man with a stern expression on his face.
"Sorry sir." Zack said to him.
"Good. Familiarise yourselves with the rules and we shall have no problem. Now get to class kids."
The group did as they were told and walked onwards with their next classroom in sight.
"That was principal Caplan right?" Trini asked her friends.
"Yeah." Jason answered for her.
"He's a bit of an jerk isn't he." Zack said
"One must be a little strict to keep order." Billy commented, his friends agreeing with his statement and entering science class.
They once again separated and sat in their seats with their names on them. The first science class wasn't too bad. They didn't do any crazy experiments. The teacher introduced them and made them familiar with the plans for the term and got to know them a little bit more. They found out that they would be dissecting some frogs and pig hearts later on in the term, to which many of the students showed excitement, but before they knew it, it was time for lunch.
Jason, Kimberly, Billy, Zack and Trini put their equipment in some lockers and made their way to the lunch hall together. It was pretty daunting because all the second period kids were having their lunch and there were many older, and larger students with them in the schools cafeteria. But they stuck together nonetheless.
"I wonder if this school has any decent food." Zack said, holding his lunch tray.
"I hope so." Jason replied.
"I'm going to probably just get a sandwich." Kimberly said.
"You can't go wrong with a sandwich." Trini responded.
"Yeah and it's healthy. Sensei told me and Zack to start looking after our diets to make sure we are fit and strong." Jason explained.
"I know, but bro, look at that pizza." Zack pointed at the three different pizzas that were on offer. A cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza and what appeared to be a California style chicken pizza too.
"Man, don't!" Jason pleaded.
"Even though sensei loves me, you know, we share the same last name." Zack elbowed Trini and grinned, "he's still pushing us to eat healthier. But that pizza looks too good. I don't know if I can resist it." Zack confessed.
"Oh man." Jason whimpered in defeat, knowing that he too couldn't resist the cheesy charms of the pizza.
"Hey, stick with me. I'll make sure you get a salad or a sandwich. Turkey is healthy, isn't it?" Kimberly said, pointing at the sandwiches that a lunch lady was giving out from a more healthy station.
"Yeah, it's healthy, but that looks so depressing." Jason muttered whilst being dragged away by his arm from the pizzas and burgers and towards the salads and sandwiches.
"Zack. Come on! Let's try something healthier." Trini said, tugging at Zack's elbow.
"My body mass index is just below average, but I'd be willing to join you both if you go for a healthier alternative." Billy said to his two friends.
"Thank you Billy. Come on, let's join Jason and Kim." Trini successfully dragged Zack and joined in with their friends just as Kimberly placed a turkey sandwich on Jason's tray.
"Thanks, I guess." Jason said quietly.
"It's good for you. I think sensei Taylor will be pleased when you tell him what you had for lunch."
"Yeah. You're right." Jason said, smiling at Kimberly.
The group of friends picked up their sandwiches, salads and of course, some chocolate skim milk and walked over to an empty table in the schools cafeteria.
"Guys, I've noticed something strange." Zack said, taking a big bite of his tuna sandwich.
"What?" Jason asked.
"Look around. We're the only freshman table with both boys, and girls."
The four friends looked around the cafeteria, and saw that Zack was correct. The older students were free mixing towards the back of the room, but surrounding them, the younger students were all sat in male only and female only tables.
"And I guess that's the " cool" table." Kimberly pointed out.
The rest of the friends followed her gaze and saw a table of freshmen boys, most of them clad in bomber jackets and combat boots, a group which included Bulk and Skull as well as a couple of guys from their elementary and middle schools. Though they were thankful that Brad wasn't here.
"It's cool. We can hang out with whoever we want right?" Jason said, turning around and starting his lunch.
"Yeah. I mean, what's the worst that could happen." Kimberly replied, assuring herself with a nod of her head. She spoke too soon though.
"Are Zack and Jason turning into geeks now too. Hanging out with a nerd and two girls." Bulk shouted over from his table.
"Just ignore him." Kimberly said to Jason and Zack.
"I thought you two might grow up and shake the nerds off once we got to high school. But I think I was wrong." Bulk said.
Brittany passed by them on her way to a table of girls to have her lunch and gave Kim a look that said I told you so. A look that Kimberly tried to ignore to the best of her capabilities. It didn't help that the entire table of girls were looking at her with shock written on their faces. Some of the girls clearly whispering about her.
"Look Bulk. We're just trying to have our lunch. Why don't you just enjoy yours and chill?" Zack spoke up first, Trini's hand on his arm, hoping to keep him calm.
"What. You're having lunch with those geeks?" The large bully snarled.
"I'd rather sit here with these awesome people than sit there with bullies and idiots like you guys." Jason replied, trying his best to stay calm. His words bringing smiles to his friends faces.
Bulk and his friends stood up and walked over to Jason's table, towering over them. Jason wasn't scared of Bulk and neither was Zack, but there were eight of them to be fair.
"Bulk. You were a bully and an asshole in elementary and in middle school. Don't you think it's about time, you grew up?" Jason said, ready to stand up, but Kimberly's small, rather warm hand on his shoulder, stopped him from rising to the bully.
"That's it geek. I'll show you how my fist will grow up in your face." Bulk snarled
"Yeah. I'll show you how my fist will grow up in your face." Skull repeated, furrowing his eyebrows. "Hey Bulk, that doesn't really make sense."
"Shut up numbskull. Get him, boys." Before Bulk and his friends could take another step forward, a loud voice rang throughout the cafeteria.
"Freshmen!"
Mr Caplan came marching towards the younger students sat together in their part of the cafeteria.
"What do you think you are doing?" The principal asked Bulk and his group of misfits.
"Nothing Mr. Principal sir." Bulk replied.
"Then why is your fist clenched and raised as though you are about to punch someone?" Mr Caplan retorted.
Bulk realised that the teacher was right. He was caught red handed so to speak. The abnormally large bully quickly relaxed his hand and put it behind his back.
"This is your first day here and you behave like this? Targeting a group of kids half your size. Bullying will not be tolerated at Angel Grove High." Mr. Caplan shook his head in disappointment. " Detention!" he shouted at Bulk and skull. "And let's not make a habit of this." The stern teacher spun on his heel and walked back over towards the food to inspect whether it met his standards or not.
Bulk and his friends quietly walked away and back to their table without another word.
"I don't understand why people have to be so mean." Trini said, resuming her lunch.
"I don't know. I just don't see the point in being assholes." Jason replied, getting stuck into his turkey sandwich.
Kimberly watched on as Brittany and the group of girls walked back past their table chattering away no doubt about Kimberly and Trini. Brittany shared another glance at Kimberly before walking out of the cafeteria.
3pm
The opening day of Angel Grove high had just finished. The freshmen had the first day under their belts and though the day was relaxed, the kids were ecstatic to be finishing.
"That wasn't too bad was it?" Jason asked his friends as they exited the school and walked over towards the parking lot and exit.
"It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Zack replied.
"It was most interesting." Billy added.
"It was very enjoyable. But principal Caplan seems to be very strict." Trini said, flinging her school bag over her shoulder.
"Yeah, he does, but he also seems fair." Jason replied, his friends all nodding in agreement.
"My dad is here, does anyone want a lift?" Billy asked his friends, waving at his dad sitting in his metallic blue, Ford escort.
"No thanks Billy. We only have a short walk." Kimberly answered, tilting her head towards Jason.
"I'll be going with Zack. But thanks anyway." Trini said.
"Yeah. If my dad makes it. He's always late." Zack said.
"He's coming from work. Cut him some slack." Trini scolded Zack, who nodded his head in realisation.
"I'll see you tomorrow guys." Billy said, waving his friends goodbye and getting into his father's car.
"Bye Billy. We'll see you tomorrow." Trini said, waving at her friend as the others joined in.
Jason and Kimberly said goodbye to Zack and Trini who had just seen Zack's father pull up outside the school.
"Catch you tomorrow." Jason shouted back as he and Kimberly walked out of the school and towards Angel Grove Park.
Kimberly nervously looked around as she felt Jason place his arm in hers, resisting slightly.
"Right. What is up with you Kimberly?" Jason asked, gently pulling his arm away and standing still on the spot.
Kimberly, who had carried on walking, looked back at Jason and walked towards him, dragging him forward by the arm. "Come on. Let's get away from here."
"What. I thought you liked it?" Jason said, glancing back at the school behind them
"I do."
Jason furrowed his brow in confusion by Kimberly's short response. He then looked at how Kimberly was gripping his arm and dragging him forward. "What's going on?"
"Nothing Jason."
Jason tried to get a look at Kimberly's face but she was intent on looking forward, marching them towards the nearing Angel Grove Park, and towards safe haven, Beech Grove.
The park was within their sight now, and Kimberly began to relax her grip on Jason's arm, and slow down a little.
"You were right Brittany."
"I knew it!"
They turned around and Kimberly's heart sank as they saw a small group of girls walking up behind them.
"Knew what?" Jason asked the blonde girl at the front, feeling Kimberly let go of his arm and step away from him.
"That you were Kimberly's boyfriend." Brittany replied, eyeing Kimberly carefully.
"I'm not. But even if I was, it's got nothing to do with you." Jason was getting annoyed now. Who did these girls think they were.
"We saw her holding your hand." Stacy retorted.
"I wasn't holding his hand. We're just walking home together, because we live near each other." Kimberly said.
"Hey. You don't have to make excuses. It's fine if you have a boyfriend. You just shouldn't have lied to us." Brittany said.
"Well, it's not fine really. Going over to the dark side already." A light brown-haired girl scoffed.
"Having a boyfriend so early. It's just gross." A freckled girl added.
"He's not my boyfriend!" Kimberly shouted, glaring at the girls. "I don't even like him, He's like a brother to me so whatever you're going on about, it's nasty." Kimberly added, quickly looking down at her feet, pre empting the more than disappointed look that Jason had given her. Her mind was replaying what she just said and she instantly regretted her words and how foolishly she chose them.
"Oh, right." Brittany said, looking around at her friends. "Sorry, I guess. We'll see you at school tomorrow, Kim."
"Yeah. See ya." Stacy added as she joined her friends who had done their damage and were now walking away, past a frozen Jason who had not yet taken his eyes off Kimberly. Still glaring at her, not fully understanding what had just happened.
"Brother? You don't even like me?" Jason asked Kimberly once the girls had disappeared from view.
Kimberly was still rooted to the spot, not daring to look up. "I didn't mean it in that way Jase."
Jason's eyes fought as hard as they could to not shed the tears that were building up in his tear ducts. "So which way did you mean it then?" his voice betraying his falsely composed demeanour.
"Jase, I just don't want anyone teasing us and bothering us for no reason." Kimberly found the courage to finally, cautiously raise her eyes to look at Jason next to her. Jason looked away as soon as their eyes met, causing Kimberly to quickly grab a hold of his wrist. "You know I didn't mean it like that. I'll always love you. No matter what happens. In some way, you'll always be my best friend. My most favourite person in the whole world."
Jason yanked his arm away from her grip and stiffened his upper lip. "Your most favourite person in the world? If I meant that much to you, you wouldn't give a crap what anyone thought." Jason finally moved his gaze and found Kimberly's tear ridden eyes. "Remember about a year ago, you said that people change in high school, and you thought I would push you away?"
Kimberly nodded her head in recognition of the very chat they had, dabbing her eyes with her sleeve.
"Well, someone did change, and it wasn't me!" Jason said in a low and disappointed, but angry tone. "I would've followed you to the end of this world Kimberly." Jason said, turning his back on his former best friend and walking towards the park in solitude.
"What do you mean? Jason, are you leaving me?" Kimberly called after him.
"No. You left me."
"Jason. Please don't go. I still love you. You're still my best friend." Kimberly shrieked, still rooted to the ground.
Jason didn't reply, but carried on walking home without another look back, leaving Kimberly stood outside the park's entrance, all alone, giving in to the pain that was possessing her soul. Tears now escaping her eyes as she watched her best friend walk away to their street all by himself.
The next few days were very tough on not only Jason and Kimberly, but also on their friends. Kimberly to her surprise, actually befriended Brittany, Stacy and another couple of girls from their grade and spent a bit of time with them. They actually treated her very well and didn't mention much of Jason or her friendship with the other boys in her group at all, especially now that Jason wasn't talking to Kim. This didn't prevent Kimberly from hanging out with Trini, Zack and Billy, and trying her best to make amends with her best friend, Jason. The new friends she made helped her feel a little better, talking about fashion and hair and all sorts of girly stuff, but it didn't come close to healing any of the pain she was feeling without her best friend by her side.
Jason and Kimberly had had a few arguments before, but they had never stopped talking for more than a few hours. It was now Thursday and it had been three whole days since that fateful afternoon when Kimberly had blurted out words of desperation to be accepted within the social norms of freshman year. Three whole days and Jason had not yet uttered a single word to Kimberly. Three whole days that Kimberly spent without her best friend by her side.
Kimberly, in response to Jason avoiding her, had chosen her lockers right next to Jason's, and he still avoided her like the plague. So, she had resorted to knocking at his house door, only for Jason to refuse to see her. Their parents were worried of course, and they all told Kimberly to give him some time. That was no help to her however, the absence of her best friend was impacting her life more than she could have ever imagined. She couldn't just give him time, walk away from him in the hope that he would talk to her again. She just couldn't wait that long.
Brittany wasn't giving Kimberly a hard time after what Kimberly had said that day after school. She still had her doubts, but in actual fact, Brittany was being very nice to Kimberly. Kimberly however, preferred Stacy and a girl called Ashley. They didn't care as much about Kimberly's relationship with Billy, Zack and Jason and were more willing to accept Kim and Trini in to their friendship circle. It was due to Brittany's nosiness and her persistence, that Jason and Kimberly were no longer on speaking terms, and Kimberly wasn't going to forget that but she had to fill the void left by Jason.
Even though Kimberly had found these new friends, they would never replace Trini, Zack, Billy and Jason, who she would accompany everyday for lunch and free periods. Ensuring she would not push Jason away any further.
"What, so like you guys are having an actual fight aren't you?" Zack said, sitting down at a table in the cafeteria.
Kimberly slowly nodded her head, gloomily looking at the salad in front of her.
"Whoah." Zack frowned and glared at the two former best friends in surprise. "It's been ages though. Come on guys." Zack said, nudging Jason in his arm and getting comfortable in his seat, watching on as Jason devoured his food like a tiger who had just struck down a zebra.
"You two are so close. Please don't let it go to waste Jason." Trini said, looking at Jason, trying to preserve his friendship with Kimberly.
"I'll see you in class, guys." Jason said, having already finished his lunch in what could possibly have been in world record time. He stood up and briskly walked away leaving his friends gobsmacked and leaving Kimberly no longer wanting her lunch. Her heart and mind solely on Jason. Her hope was slowly melting away, but she hadn't given up just yet though. That tiny, miniscule glimmer of hope was still pushing her onwards.
Jason however, would not talk to her, no matter how much their friends attempted to reconcile them. All week, he would grab his food, eat it in swift silence and say goodbye to his three other friends before they barely had the opportunity to even touch their lunch. Again, Kimberly was told to just give him time. Nobody understood though, she didn't even truly understand, why it was so agonising not being able to talk to Jason. It was like there was a huge part of her life that was missing. She didn't feel comfortable, she almost lived these past few days on autopilot, going through the motions and just about coming out at the other end. She didn't really understand what was going on, but she knew one thing. She knew it was totally unbearable and she couldn't go on like this any longer. But no matter what she tried, her attempts at making peace with Jason and resolving their issue came with a harsh, deafening failure.
The class following lunch was now in session, and Kimberly wasn't looking forward to it at all. Another few hours of Jason ignoring her. Yippee.
"I have something very exciting planned for you all now." Ms. Appleby announced with a wide grin. "We are going to start our first little project. A project on foreign language." Ms. Applebee clapped her hands together in excitement.
"I will pair you up with a partner and what I would like for you to do is create a vocabulary poster using foreign languages. You can choose the languages you use, but the topics will be chosen by picking them out from this box here." The teacher tapped a cardboard box on her desk that had a small opening at the top. "How does that sound to you all?"
The teacher was greeted with a round of mild excitement by the class following a more enthusiastic reaction from Billy, "Most intriguing."
Ms. Appleby started from the front and paired up the students. She obviously didn't pair Bulk up with Skull, she paired him up with a very intelligent girl called Marge, Bulks protests were shot down until he realised that he could manipulate Marge to do all the work. The teacher had paired up Billy with Trini much to their delight. Zack was paired up with a girl they recognised since all the way back in elementary school called Angela. He wasn't complaining at all with his pairing.
"Why don't you pair up with Jason, I think you'll make an excellent team." She told an overjoyed Kimberly.
"Oh Miss Appleby, can't I have another partner?" Jason shouted out.
"Excuse me Mr. Scott." Ms. Appleby shook her head in disappointment. "I did not expect this from you out of all people. Please do as I say." She said before moving on to the next students, leaving Jason with a scowl plastered on his face.
"Right. Swap seats and move to sit next to your partners. This is what we shall be doing for the remainder of the week, so these will be your seats until we finish the project. Come on, now, chop chop." Ms. Appleby clapped her hands and the students began moving around and sitting with their partners.
"Hey." Kimberly whispered, putting her belongings on the floor and gently elbowing Jason, giving him a big smile. Jason didn't respond at all but Kimberly wasn't giving up anytime soon.
A member from each pair, went to the front one by one and picked out their topics from the box.
Billy and Trini got numbers, Zack and Angela got goodbyes, Kimberly picked out greetings. Bulk's overly large hand wouldn't fit in the box and it got stuck, sending the entire class howling with laughter. Luckily for him, he was the last person and Ms. Appleby had to cut open the box and give him the remaining topic, foreign names for each calendar month.
"Right class. You can use the plethora of books in this classroom, and I would recommend you take a trip to the library during your free periods. You will find many more books with the information you require. This poster needs to be handed in on Monday so you have plenty of time to make sure it is beautiful as well as informative." Ms. Appleby moved to sit down in her chair. "Right, enough of my rambling."
"You can say that again."
"Excuse me Farkas?"
Farkas Bulkmeier shifted in his seat uncomfortably. "I said, it's not rambling Ms. Appleby."
The teacher narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, watching as Bulk offered her a little smile.
"Let's get started class. I expect perfection from you Mr. Bulkmeier."
"I'll design the poster and make sure it looks pretty. And we'll work together to find loads of languages. Is that cool?" Kimberly asked Jason who nodded his head.
"I think we should write a list of languages we know and the greetings that go with them." Kimberly said.
"Yeah." Jason's short reply was enough to make Kimberly smile.
"Right, well I know how to say hello in French. It's bonjour ." She said, writing it down on a separate piece of paper. "I'm guessing you'll know how to say hello in Japanese and the other language from taekwondo?"
"It's Korean." Jason muttered.
"Oh right. Well what is it?"
" Kon'nichiwa in Japanese. And annyeong in Korean." Jason said quietly.
"Ummm, could you write them down for me please?" Kimberly picked up the sheet of paper and a pencil and handed it over to Jason, purposely brushing her hand on his, not getting a reaction. This didn't deter Kimberly though.
Jason swiftly jotted down the Japanese and Korean greetings and passed her the paper back.
"Thanks." Kimberly smiled at Jason as their gaze met for a split second. "I remember something you said. That I'm stuck with you and you're stuck with me. It certainly seems that way doesn't it?"
Jason for the first time in three days, finally looked into Kimberly's eyes. "Yeah. I've been trying to get rid of you all week but it ain't happening."
"Trust me. I'm more than happy with that." Kimberly said, a smile forming on her face. "And now you have to do this poster with me so you're back to being stuck with me again.
"Are you sure you're okay with that? I don't want you to have to be forced to sit next to me."
"Oh Jason. You're worse than a girl at times. You're my best friend and I love you, How do you say I love you in Japanese?" Kimberly asked, a mischievous smile offered to Jason who couldn't hide the amusement he was feeling.
"I have no idea." He smiled back.
"There's the smile I love so much." Kimberly placed her hand on top of Jason's under the table so that nobody could see, and to her surprise and joy, he didn't move it away. "I missed you Jason." She added in a hushed tone whilst looking into his eyes with a content smile on her face.
Jason's heart gave a little thump hearing those words come out from Kimberly's mouth "I-"
"How's the poster coming along kids?" Ms. Appleby cut short Jason's response, much to Kimberly's disappointment.
"Oh. It's really good Ms. Appleby." Kimberly quickly replied.
"I see that you have already wrote down a few words. And one of them I have never heard of. Impressive." The teacher said, patting the two of them on their backs.
This was exactly what these two friends needed to repair their friendship. A school project together and it was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Kimberly and Jason sort of slipped back into their old routines after this. They did however, decide to cool it down at school a little and not be so hands on. Jason and Kimberly made sure they kept their bond away from prying eyes but at the same time, they still hung out in their group like normal, they just didn't go overboard. But once the school closed for the day, and the sun began to die down, Jason and Kimberly would often meet up outside in their back yards, or in one of their houses, or even go for a little evening stroll in the nearby Angel Grove Park. Billy, Zack and Trini knew of course that Jason and Kimberly's bond was as tight as ever and they were happier than anyone to see them back to normal.
Jason and Kimberly agreed to push the term brother and sister for the rest of the school year. Nobody bullied them, nobody commented on their relationship, nobody cared. They played that role so well, that even they began to believe it.
Their bond didn't falter as they spent more time together outside of school. Sometimes, not all the time, but sometimes, they even hid their close friendship from their best friends. They didn't know why, they didn't care. They were happy in each other's company and that's what mattered. They would all hang out as a group and have an amazing time together. This circle of friends was more like family, and their bonds to each other only grew stronger by each passing day.
And then there was the relationship between Jason and Kimberly. Away from everybody else, they slowly began to get even more comfortable with each other. Kimberly's parents started to argue again, Kimberly thanked the heavens that it wasn't like when they were back in Seattle, but it was still upsetting for her and to get out of the way and clear her head, Kimberly would often head over to Jason's house. There, they would play on his Super Nintendo, laugh, joke around and have an amazing time together. Kimberly would often forget the stress she was feeling.
It was all going swimmingly well until that life altering event reared it's ugly head, puberty.
Along with its body altering changes, once they became sophomores, personality altering hormones also invaded their souls. Suddenly, out of nowhere, the term brother and sister they used so comfortably, was now beginning to make both Jason and Kimberly feel sick. They actually viewed each other differently both from a physical and emotional perspective, but would they open up and tell each other what they were thinking? Or were they too scared to open up about it in case the bullies hadn't grown up by now?
I'm sorry for taking so long in posting this. Life got busy, I got ill and well, I didn't want to do anything whilst I was sick lol.
It's out now though, it's a little flashback to further flesh out our main couple's history.
I hope you enjoy it.
Peace out
RedDragon