Title: A Surprising Recital

Summary: When Kim's gi is ripped off her body, she inadvertently reveals one of her biggest secrets. She explains it to the guys, who become protective of her and her secret. When Frank gets involved, will he find out? Will he tease her? Hurt her?

I'm back! I mean I never really left but anyways. I have a few things in the works, may or may not post, we will see. May post soon, may post in a year, you know the drill. Anyways I'm in my pjs in bed still. My class got canceled today so it's stay in bed day now!

"Stupid clasp…" Kim muttered. She fuddled with her gi for just a few more seconds before giving up and throwing her things in her bag and tucking it under the bench.

When Kim walked out of the dressing room the boys had already started warming up. Well, Jack had started warming up while Jerry and Milton prolonged working and sat off the mats.

Feeling somewhat energized on this particular day, Kim decided to join Jack and jumped right into some simple warm-ups while she waited for Rudy.

"Wow, Jack, you look like a superhero with that bo staff," Milton complimented. "Your movements are flawless."

"I've never seen such a graceful and perfect martial artist in my life," Jerry added.

"The rest of us are so far below your skill level."

Kim frowned at the comments the boys kept making. Sure, Jack was good and all, but so was she. Did they forget she was there? They knew she was almost just as good at Jack, right?

"Seriously, I'm mesmerized."

"I mean look at the way his motions are just so smooth."

"The way he controls the staff. It glides through the air."

"Not too bad," Kim shrugged, unable to stop herself from chiming in. "Although I think if you bend down and use your legs to push off the floor a little more it would be even better," Kim added with the obvious side message 'almost perfect'.

Jack and the others all turned to Kim with a less than amused look.

"Oh, well thanks for the tip, Kim," Jack thanked awkwardly.

"Like you could do any better," Milton scoffed.

"Yeah, if you're so good, why don't you show us what you mean?" Jerry taunted.

Jack hid his smirk as he held out the bo staff for Kim.

Kim snatched it and closed her eyes as she tried to calm herself and channel her inner peace.

She could do this.

Kim waited for the guys to stand back before taking a breath and performing Jack's trick to the very best of her abilities.

When Kim got to the part of the routine she had specifically critiqued, Kim added a tasteful little hop before bending down low. Then, Kim shot up, expecting to be able to gracefully land and spin the bo staff ever so perfectly.

In reality, the moment Kim straightened, her foot caught on the bottom of the ill-fitting gi, and suddenly the entire outfit, pants, shirt, and all, ripped off her body.

The pure shock of the event had Kim frozen for a second before she realized what had happened.

What was even more shocking to Jack, Jerry, and Milton, was that Kim was not naked underneath.

Rather, there Kim stood in the middle of the dojo in a black leotard, a pair of tights, and a thin silk ballet skirt tied around her waist.

Kim screamed as she took a step back and tried to cover herself. The guys stared at her and she squirmed under their thick and uncomfortable gazes.

Kim quickly glanced around the room for some sort of exit or covering or something. When she spotted one of Jack's jackets on the bench she shuffled over and wrapped the fabric around herself, hugging it close and clinging to it like a lifeline. The jacket only barely fell to her hips but it was better than standing exposed in a leotard and tights.

"I-" Kim stopped, still speechless and completely unsure what to do or say. Her face was hot and her mind was foggy. She could feel her heart beating out of her chest.

The guys just kept staring at her, the gi, and her attire.

Kim knew she had to say something and she searched her mind for a reasonable response.

"Um… what- what's wrong with my gi? Who, uh, who designed that?" Kim let out a nervous laugh and cut herself off when it turned into the beginnings of a sobbing fit. She felt like she was having an out-of-body experience.

Jack and Milton seemed confused but before they could ask the real questions, Jerry gasped and gathered up the material.

"No way!" he exclaimed with a victorious chuckle. "It worked! I can't believe it worked!"

"What worked?" Jack asked, tearing his eyes away from Kim.

"My rip away gi," Jerry explained. "I took one of the old gi sets from the lockers and cut it open. I put some Velcro on it but when I tried to wear it, it was too small. I never got around to testing it."

"Wait a minute…" Milton muttered, snatching the gi and giving them a look for himself. "These aren't old."

"They aren't the ones we outgrew?"

"These are Kim's," Milton realized. "Kim is the only one who wears a small top and extra small pants."

"Oh. Whoops," Jerry shrugged.

"Whoops?" Kim shrieked. "What if I was naked!"

"Why aren't you naked?" Milton asked skeptically, turning to Kim.

"Yeah," Jerry agreed, reaching out towards Kim. "What are you wearing under Jack's jack-"

"Back off!" Kim yelled as she forcefully swatted Jerry's hand away. Jack reached out and quickly pulled Jerry back.

"Dude," Jack scolded with a head shake.

"Try to undress me one more time," Kim hissed.

"Nobody is going to force your clothes off," Jack said with an edge directed at both Jerry and Milton. "But they do bring up a good question. What are you wearing."

At that, Jack turned back to Kim with a pointed look.

Kim shied back and shook her head. "Nothing!"

"We saw, Kim. It's not nothing. Why won't you tell us?" Jack asked, pushing his impatience down. Jerry and Milton had already lost what little patience they had. If Jack lost his patience too, Kim would shut down and there would be no answers and a disaster on his hands.

"It's embarrassing," Kim admitted, hoping that would pacify all the questions.

It did not, in fact, pacify the boys in the slightest. If anything, it only made them hungry for more answers. It intrigued them beyond deferment.

"Why? What is it?"

"I really don't… it's just-"

"Kim, we already saw," Jack pointed out. We just want to hear you say it yourself.

Sighing, Kim took a breath of courage as she unzipped Jack's jacket and clutched it in her fingertips.

Her leotard was on full display again but this time, she had given permission to stare.

"It's, um, a leotard." Kim cleared her throat before elaborating. "A ballet leotard."

Jerry let out a snort while Milton looked more quizzical.

"Why would you be wearing a ballet leotard?" Milton asked with a hint of amusement.

Kim shook her head in response. Maybe the guys could guess why but actually saying it was even more humiliating.

Kim wasn't going to bother with an answer but then Jack and Jerry looked at her with expectancy.

"You take ballet?" Jack asked.

"Why?" Jerry asked, borderline scoffing.

Maybe they were making fun of her a little but they also genuinely wanted to know and it would be hard to avoid.

"You're going to make fun of me," Kim said, positive the boys would. How could they not after their reaction?

"Tell us," Jack insisted.

Kim sighed, thinking back to why she started ballet in the first place and why she didn't stop.

"It just… I think ballet is pretty and it makes me feel beautiful." Kim twiddled with the jacket in her hands to avoid looking at the boys. "Karate makes me feel strong and powerful and I love it but I want to feel beautiful sometimes too."

"Kim…" Jack sighed, taking one step closer but stopping himself before he could take another.

"No, it's fine," Kim said, trying to brush it off and act as if she hadn't just admitted that she was, unfortunately, still a girl. "Let's just forget about it and move on," she encouraged. "Jerry, show me that nunchucks routine you've been practicing!"

Before Kim could run off or get Jerry distracted, Jack caught her arm in his hand and stopped her. "Hold up a moment, Kim."

"What?" she asked, itching to move past it.

"Why did you think you had to hide that?"

Kim nearly rolled her eyes. Of all the questions, that was not what she had been expecting. "Because! Your reactions just now are enough."

"We're surprised, Kim. You've been hiding this from us, of course we're going to react like this. But we're not judging you. You could have told us."

Kim shook her head. She had never once seriously considered telling the guys. That was never an option. "No, I couldn't have."

"Yeah, you could have," Jack countered. "Why would you automatically assume we would take it poorly? We're your friends. If Milton told us he was into playing fantasy football would you judge him?"

Kim, Jerry, and Milton scoffed at that.

"Milton would never do that," Kim stated.

"That's what you think but we used to think you would never have an interest in ballet. So if Milton was into fantasy football, or if Jerry played violin, or if I was into stage choir, what would you think?"

"Well, I would think it's a little weird since none of you are remotely into those things. But… I guess after the shock wore off I'd think it was kind of cool."

"See? So if you wouldn't judge us, why do you think we would judge you?"

Kim sighed. "This isn't the first time someone found out. When I was still with the Black Dragons," Jack sucked in a breath at the mention of Kim's stint as a Black Dragon, "the others weren't so supportive of my other interests. It was bad enough that I was a girl, but the fact that I was actually into some girly things put them over the top."

"What did they do?" Milton asked.

"They just teased me at first. They would make comments during practices. Bother me at school. It wasn't anything too horrible, but it was incessant and I just didn't want to deal with that anymore so I lied and convinced everyone that I quit."

"We won't tease you about it," Jack insisted.

"I probably will," Jerry added with a shrug.

Before Jack could scold Jerry, Kim shook her head. "The teasing, I could handle. What I couldn't handle was what happened when Elliot found out that I lied."

The mention of Elliot was enough for Milton and Jerry to wince. Jack was just confused.

"Who's Elliot?" Jack asked.

"Grade A jerk, that's who," Milton spat. "He used to live here. He moved away just a little before you moved in. Used to be a Black Dragon. I don't know much about him besides the fact that he was constantly walking around with a permanent 'don't mess with me or I'll tear you to shreds' look."

"Yeah, one time this kid double-crossed him and ratted him out to a teacher for cheating. The other kid came to school the next day with dark circles under his eye, left school early, and never showed up again. Apparently, he transferred to another school two counties over."

Jack looked to Kim for confirmation. When Kim nodded Jack frowned. "What happened when he found out you lied?" he asked, scared for the answer.

"You have to understand that when I was a Black Dragon, things were different. To Elliot, we were his friends. Until we weren't. That's just kind of how every there worked. You hung out together but as soon as someone did something you didn't like, they were your number one enemy," Kim explained.

"With Elliot, we were on fairly good terms. The ballet thing was in the past and I mostly kept to myself and did as Ty asked. We weren't really friends, but I didn't do anything to hurt Elliot so I didn't really see him as someone to be afraid of. We were in the same kind of league.

"When he found out that I was still taking ballet he was furious. When we were younger and everyone knew, it was just some girly thing that I did. When we were older, it was a betrayal. He didn't like that I had any other activity besides karate, he didn't like that it was a feminine activity, and he especially didn't like that I had lied and hid it."

"What did he do?" Jack asked, afraid of the answer.

"He yelled at me at first, lecturing me about priorities. I ignored him, of course. But he followed me after practice one time. He waited in the parking lot. He ambushed me and ripped my leotard and tights and threw my shoes in the gutter. He told me to quit dancing or else he would tell everyone and it would be a lot worse."

"Did you?" Milton asked.

Kim shook her head. "I hadn't decided if I was going to or not. I stayed home from school the next day. When I went back the day after, he was gone."

"Gone?" Jack asked.

"Yeah, Elliot got expelled. Apparently he put something in someone's locker and a teacher found out. None of the schools would take him and his family had to move out of state just to enroll him in another school."

"Woah," Jack breathed. "That's kind of suspicious timing…"

Kim sighed. "Yeah. What I never told anybody was he put a note in my locker. The school called my parents but nobody ever told me what it said or who did it. When Elliot was gone the next day, it wasn't hard to piece together. I'm not scared of Elliot coming back, that's not why I didn't want anyone to know I took ballet. I just know last time people found out, things escalated and it wasn't fun for me. The Black Dragons never found out and I'd like to keep it that way."

"Of course," Jack agreed, eager to support Kim. "Only what you're-"

"Uh, speaking of Black Dragons," Jerry said, nodding at something outside. "Here they come."

Jack looked up and saw a hoard of Black Dragons approaching, just as Jerry said. "Crap."

Acting quickly, Jack grabbed Kim and moved his body between her and the door, hopefully keeping her out of sight. He frantically looked around for his discarded jacket, spotting it on the ground by Milton.

"Milton, the jacket!"

Milton quickly handed the jacket to Jack who had just enough time to drape it around Kim before the bell above the door dinged.

"What's up, losers," Frank laughed as he walked in. "If you're trying to hide your precious little Kimmy it's not going to work," Frank said as he took note of Kim's form hidden behind Jack.

Jack quickly pulled the front two panels of the jacket together and held them in a tight grip and turned around, letting Kim face the Black Dragons even though he still held his jacket firmly closed.

"Why would she hide?" Jack asked. "We're not afraid of you," he scoffed.

Taking notice of the seeming lack of clothes on Kim, Brian eyed her nude-tights clad legs and Jack's jacket. "Is she naked?"

"No," Kim said quickly.

"Yes," Jack said at the same time.

Kim turned to Jack, glaring. She wasn't naked.

"No," Kim repeated.

"Then what are you wearing?"

"Nothing," Jack answered, hoping to move past the fact that something was up with Kim.

"So she is naked?" Ryan asked, disgusted at the thought.

"No," Kim insisted. "I am not naked, Jack."

"So why is Jack holding a jacket closed?" Brian asked.

"The zipper's stuck!" Jerry shouted, giving Kim a proud nod because he was able to come up with an answer so fast.

"Look," Jack said, "we've got practice to get to so if you could leave now that would be appreciated."

Frank scoffed and stepped closer to Jack. "When have we ever listened to you?"

"Not that I want to get into it," Jack started, "but I think our fighting is enough to make you back down."

Frank let out an amused scoff. He was amused at the notion that he had ever backed down from a fight. The truth was, he had. Many times. But that never hurt his pride for too long. Which was exactly why it wasn't that surprising what happened next.

Just to prove that he never backed down from a fight, Frank jerked forward with a raised fist.

Jack instinctively caught it, forgetting why his hand had been occupied.

The front of Jack's jacket fluttered open, leaving Kim's attire on display. Frank was standing so close that he was really the only one that could see it.

As soon as Frank's eyes caught sight and trailed up and down Kim's body, a flash of realization crossed them.

Then, quickly, Jack let go of Frank's fist and hastily grabbed Kim again, this time zipping up the jacket.

As Jack fumbled with the zipper with one hand and kept the other holding the jacket shut, Kim tried to calm Jack's fears.

"Jack, it's okay, Frank already knows because he comes to-"

Before Kim could finish the sentence, she was ripped out of Jack's hands. Frank had body-slammed her, tackling her to the ground and pinning her on her back. He straddled her with a hand over her mouth, preventing her from talking.

Kim squealed and struggled, trying to get the massive boy off of her before she ran out of air.

"Woah, not cool!" Jerry shouted, hurrying towards Frank to push him off Kim.

"Holy Christmas nuts!" Milton joined in.

Before either one could come to Kim's aid, the other Black Dragons stepped in, not exactly sure why Frank suddenly attacked, but also not caring as they launched their own attacks.

That left Jack to quickly come to Kim's aid and shove Frank off her. Frank fell to the side and completely ignored Jack, still scurrying towards Kim.

Jack grabbed his arm and pulled him back, giving Kim enough room to catch her breath and sit up. Her head was spinning a little and her heart was racing. Frank's attack came out of nowhere.

When she had gotten her bearings, she looked around and saw Jack holding Frank back while Jerry, Milton, and the other Black Dragons were staring wearily at each other.

"I think you should all leave," Jack said, throwing Frank's arm towards the door.

Frank didn't say anything as he stood up. He gave Kim one last glance before nodding at the others and walking out. Everyone watched their retreating forms until they were sure the Black Dragons were gone.

Finally, the boys turned back around to Kim.

Jerry helped her up, brushing the dirt off the crumpled jacket she was still in.

"Are you okay?" Jack asked.

Kim nodded. "I'm fine."

"Why would Frank do that?" Jack wondered aloud.

"You mean besides the fact that he's a Black Dragon?" Milton deadpanned.

Kim shook her head. "I think I know."

"What?" Jerry asked.

"I promised Frank I wouldn't tell anybody. I almost shared a secret of his, I think he just didn't want it out in the open. I didn't realize it was still a secret but I guess it's kind of my fault," Kim explained.

"What secret?" Milton asked curiously as the other boys nodded behind him.

"It's a secret," Kim said, rolling her eyes.

"Yeah but… it's us," Jerry said.

"It's not my secret to share."

"Frank just attacked you, and you will want to keep it?"

Kim sighed. "If it were me, I would want him to keep it too. I'm sorry."

"You really won't tell us?" Jack finally asked.

Kim shook her head apologetically.

"Fine," Jack sighed, his face falling. The others seemed just as disappointed.

"Why don't you guys come to my dance recital?" Kim suddenly suggested, having a great idea. "I think you'll really like it."

The boys seemed a little hesitant, but Kim continued.

"I promise. I've never been able to invite my friends before, it would mean a lot if you came," Kim added, guilt-tripping them just a little bit.

"Fine," Jack agreed, sending the others glares until they agreed as well.

"Yay!" Kim cheered, pulling out her phone to give everyone the details.

On the day of the recital, Kim was giddy. She wasn't nervous per se, just anxious for her turn. The recital started with the youngest classes and built up. Hers were some of the last.

She peeked out the curtain and looked into the audience, scanning the seats until she saw three well-dressed but extremely bored boys. They came.

Just as Jack turned his head towards her, Kim jumped back before she could be seen. She rubbed her hands on her costume, fluffing out her tutu one last time before taking a deep breath and walking to her waiting area off stage.

She looked around nervously for her partner, hoping he would be there on time. She began to fiddle with her fingers and winced when she scratched herself too hard, drawing blood on her cuticles.

"Don't hurt yourself before the performance."

Kim whipped around at the voice with a relieved sigh. "Nice of you to show up."

"There's still a whole dance before ours," he said.

"You know I like to be ready early," Kim scowled.

"How are you feeling?"

Kim shrugged.

"I know you invited your friends. Aren't you nervous about that?"

Kim thought about it for a second before shaking her head. "No. If they're good friends, and they are, they'll support us."

"You sure?"

Kim nodded.

"Come on, we're up next," he said, ushering Kim forward. "Wait, your ribbon is loose."

He grabbed Kim's arm gently, pulling her in front of him while he fiddled with the ribbon wrapped around her bun. When he was sure it was tight enough, he lowered his hands and tapped Kim's shoulder.

"You're going to be great," he said as their music began to play.

"You too, Frank," Kim replied as she chasséd on stage with a gentle smile.

"Kim, that was amazing," Jerry complimented.

"I had no idea ballet utilized so much physics!" Milton remarked.

"It was beautiful, Kim," Jack added with a smile.

"So majestic."

"So graceful."

"Impressively flawless."

"Thanks, guys," Kim blushed, not used to getting such compliments.

Kim looked around the crowd, everyone was talking with their dancers, exchanging flowers, asking questions, the usual.

"Who are you looking for?" Jerry asked, noticing the way Kim looked at each face.

"Well usually after Fr-"

"Kim!"

Kim turned around and saw Frank walking towards the group. He eyed the guys hesitantly before looking back at Kim. He held out a small bouquet of flowers, he always got Kim flowers after they danced together.

Kim accepted them with a smile. "Thanks, Frank. You did really well today."

Frank just shrugged off the compliment, uncomfortable receiving praise just like Kim was.

The rest of the guys watched the exchange curiously, and Frank watched them curiously back.

Kim looked between both, wondering if a fight was going to break out or if she would need to intervene.

"Nice moves, Frank," Jack finally said. "Honestly," he added sincerely, "I didn't know ballet took so much strength. I'm really impressed, all those lifts couldn't have been easy and your timing was so precise," Jack rattled off. "That's like benching a hundred and thir-"

Kim smacked Jack before he could finish. "Don't you dare."

Jack smiled sheepishly. "That's like benching a lot over and over again without a break."

"Yeah," Jerry butted in, "and that leg kicky thing you did at the end was sick. You have to teach me that."

"I can see why the sport would be so appealing now," Milton added. "It's a whole-body workout. You have to be in very good shape to perform like that."

Frank was quiet for a moment, assessing the sincerity of the compliments.

Then he smiled. "Thanks, guys."

Kim smiled at the exchange, glad to have her secret out, glad that it went so well, and glad to have such amazing friends. She didn't know what she did to deserve them, but she swore she would never take them for granted.

She laughed at something Jack had said as she split off from the others to grab her things. The group decided the night was worth celebrating and the five of them, Jack, Jerry, Milton, Kim, and Frank, were off to paint the town.

This one was just a cute little interaction. I feel like I always write Frank as a horrible person and I wanted to give him a story where his sweeter side comes out. Let me know what you think! Thanks for reviewing, favoriting, following, whatever you do. byeeeee