"Oh, yeah! Check it out!" Milton exclaims, swinging around a bo staff. "I got this! I got this!"

Ashton and Kate stop sparring, both of them had been practicing for the upcoming tournament, but they stopped to watch Milton. After thinking it over, Ashton had decided to ask Rudy if he could join the dojo and once he showed his moves off to Rudy, he immediately agreed, pleasantly surprised when he found out Ashton never did karate before and just learned the moves from watching karate. Ashton was already counted as a yellow belt with the moves that he knew and for the upcoming tournament he planned to get his green belt.

Kate cringes, shaking her head. She glances over at Ashton and whispers to him. "He doesn't got this."

Ashton shakes his head in agreement, whispering back to her, "No, he doesn't."

Just like Kate predicted, Milton was starting to lose control and starts to panic. "I don't got this! Woah!"  

Everyone watched with surprise as the bo staff landed in the wall besides the door to Rudy's office. "Dude, you just put a hole in the wall." Jerry noticed.

"Rudy's gonna be mad." Kate grimaced.

"Maybe he won't notice." Ashton shrugged.

Jerry pulls out the bo staff out of the wall, but has trouble when suddenly the bo staff was yanked back. He glances over at his friends worriedly. "You gotta help me out. This wall is putting up a fight." He continued to try to pull the bo staff out and in the end, the bo staff was pulled through the hole in the wall and he hit his face on the wall. He groaned in pain as he fell.

"Oof, that gotta hurt." Kate winced, Ashton, Eddie, and Milton nodded in agreement.

Rudy walks out of his office, holding onto the bo staff. Jerry chuckles as he stands. "Rudy, that's exactly like the bo staff we just lost...." His eyes widen in realization and with a panicked look he points over at Milton. "He did it!"

Rudy looks at Milton and Eddie with disbelief. "What is wrong with you two? We have the biggest tournament in the ihstory of this dojo tomorrow!"

Eddie chuckles. "That's right! Tomorrow I get my orange belt."

"That is exact..." Rudy pauses, turning to face Eddie with surprise. "Wait, that's this tournament?" Kate chuckles, rolling her eyes at her cousin as Eddie looks at Rudy with offense. "I mean, of course it is." Rudy quickly said, sending him an encouraging smile. "Yes, uh, we're all very proud of you. Good work, son." Eddie smiled, nodding as he walked away.

Rudy looks over at the entrance as Jack and Kim walked in. "Hey, where have you guys been? Practice started a half-hour ago."

"Sorry, Rudy." Jack apologizes. "It's Wednesday. We volunteer at the nursing home." 

Kate smiled slightly. She found it sweet he and Kim volunteered at the nursing home. She would've joined them as well, but recently she had to help her dad out at his mechanic shop after school. He doesn't have many employees since he doesn't always need many people to work with him, but he has gotten more customers lately than he expected so he had asked Kate to help. Kate was just glad that he taught her how to work on cars as she grew up because otherwise she would've been lost on what to do. 

"'We volunteer at the nursing home'." Rudy mocks Jack and then glares at him. "Get your priorities straight, people. Tomorrow is the Champions Tournament!"

"Yeah, we know, Rudy." Kate rolls her eyes. "It's, like, all you've been talking about for the past few days."

"And it's where I am getting my orange belt." Eddie chimed in.

"I said we're proud of you, now zip it." Rudy snapped.

"Rudy, man, you're a little wound up, but we are ready for the tournament." Jack reassures him. "Kim's been helping me with my spinning back-kick."

Kate couldn't help the way her smile faltered upon hearing he had been spending time with Kim. Lately, she noticed that Jack and Kim were hanging out a lot and she honestly felt a bit jealous. She knew that they didn't like each other that way since she knew Ashton and Kim liked each other, but she couldn't help but think if Jack liked Kim that way. He didn't blame her if he did, Kim was amazing so how could she compare to Kim?

She shook her head, bringing herself out of her thoughts and watched as Kim grabbed a board off a bench to stand a few inches away from Jack. She held up the board and Jack broke the board with the spinning back-kick. Kate smiled a bit, clapping along wtih her friends.

"Dude, that was great!" Ashton grinned.

"That is perfect." Rudy agrees. "Y-You need to do exactly that tomorrow. You never know who's gonna be watching you."

"My whole family's coming to watch me get my orange belt." Eddie cut in excitedly.

"Oh, please." Rudy groans. "Let it go!" 

****

It was now the day of the Champions Tournament. Ashton did great with his turn and received his green belt. Kim had immediately ran over to him to hug him and he had picked her up and spun her around out of excitement. Soon it was time for Kate's turn. As the match went on, Jack watched with growing concern. He could see that Kate was getting tired, her opponent was a lot more aggressive and mean than she was. It was clear her opponent was taking advantage of her tiredness. 

"Come on, Kate, you can do this." Jack muttered under his breath, urging her on.

But in the final moments of the match, Kate let out a surprised yelp when her opponent kicked her. She stumbled to the ground, holding onto her ankle in pain. The kick wasn't an illegal one so the reff didn't make her opponent be disqualified, but after noticing his cousin was hurt Rudy called a time out. 

"Kate!" Jack shouts, rushing towards her, followed by Rudy. "Are you okay?" 

Kate winces in pain, but tried to put on a brave face. "I'm okay, Jack. I'll be fine." 

Jack knew better though, he knew she was lying. He could see the pain etched on her face and knew that something was wrong. He knew Rudy also knew better too since Rudy then said, "I don't think you should continue on with the fight." He looks at her worriedly. "I don't want you to get hurt worse."

Kate's heart sank. The last thing she wanted to do was quit the tournament. She frowns. "But I can't just forfeit. This is the Champions Tournament." 

"You're a lot more important than this tournament." Jack told her, causing her heat to skip a beat. 

"Fine." She grumbles. "Now, help me up 'cause my ankle is killing me."  Jack and Rudy help her up and they help her back over to the others where a medic was now at. After getting her ankle checked on, the medic explained she had a sprained ankle. She was told it would soon be healed and that she should try to stay off it. She now had her ankle wrapped up and ice resting on it. She hated that she had to forfeit because that meant her opponent won. She was so close to winning if it wasn't for her opponent's harsh behavior on her. 

Eddie was next with preforming his routine and he was very excited to gain his orange belt. Then Jack was up after him. "Oh, he's here, he's here, he's here!" Rudy said excitedly, rushing over to the entrance. 

Kate exchange a confused look with Milton, who sat by her. "Uh, who's here?" Milton questioned.

"Uh, certainly not a mysterious stranger from Japan who could change our lives forever." Rudy replied.

Kate raises her eyebrows, glancing over at the man who stood at the front doors. "I assume that's exactly who's here." Rudy waved a dismissive hand at her, earning a small giggle from her, and he rushed over to greet the man at the doors.

Kate then looks over where Jack and Kim stood when she heard Jack speak. "I'm kinda nervous." Jack admits. "This guy I'm going up against hasn't lost in two years." The three teens glance over at the boy he was up against, the three of them wincing as the boy cracked his neck. 

"Well, he's about to." Kim tells him. She smirks. "He doesn't know who he's messing with." She looks at everyone with a smirk and calls out, "Bobby Wasabi's best student right here! You don't want any of this!"

Jack looks at her with an embarrassed expression. "Kim, stop, please."

"'Cause boom goes the dynamite! Boom!" Kim shouted.

"Kim, stop booming." Jack pleads. "People are looking."

Kate chuckles lightly as Kim shrugs, clearly not caring people were staring. "Jack, don't worry." Kate smiles reassuringly at Jack. "You got this." 

He smiles softly at her. "Thanks, Rina." Kate returned the soft smile, glancing away when she felt her face heat up. 

Kim sits back down with the others as Jack puts his helmet on and got on the mat. The fight was a tough one and it was neck in neck. At one point in the match, it seemed like Jack's opponent had the upper hand since at the hit he threw at him Jack stumbled backwards. But in the end Jack kicked his opponent down and he won. Everyone cheered and applauded for Jack. Kate didn't miss the fact that one of the many girls who were there to watch Jack held up a 'i heart you, jack' sign which mde her roll her eyes. But she then despite her ankle still in pain, she took her ice off it and got up to ran over to Jack excitedly.

Jack takes his helmet off, raising his arms in victory. "You did it!" Kate cheers, smiling brightly at him and he grins at her, pulling her into a tight hug. "I knew you would do it!" After realizing they hugged each other longer than they probably should, they pulled away from the hug. Awkward tension filled the air between them as they smiled nervously and walked away from each other. 

As Kate walked (well, limped) away from Jack, Joan walks over to her with a  grin. "Woo-wee. You're turning this dojo into a Hungarian hothouse, missy."

Kate raises her eyebrows at her, only putting pressure on her left ankle so she's standing on her right ankle that's sprained. "What?"

"Oh, I saw what was going on between you and Mr. Kicky-kicky-chop-chop." Joan replied with a smirk.

Kate's eyes widen slightly, her face turning a light shade of pink as her heartbeat quickens. "M-Me and Jack? There's nothing going on between us. We're just best friends."

Joan raises her eyebrows. "Oh, ho-ho, really? Well, let me just take out my old passion meter, huh?" She raises her hand, waving it in front of Kate. "Boop. Boop. Boop." She raises her voice, holding her hand directly in front of Kate's face, causing Kate's heart to quicken. "Boop!" Kate rolls her eyes, glancing at the floor in hopes of hiding her blush. "Ooh, your first love is the most important one of your life." Joan smiles, putting her hands in her pockets. "You just pick up the old Joan phone if you're ready to talk or you know..." She does some karate moves. "Kick it." 

Kate jumps, startled when Joan's shoe suddenly came off during the kick Joan did. She and Joan watch with shock as the shoe flies across the room and crashes into something. "Oh! Holy Hana!" She speaks into her walkie-talkie. "Base, I'm gonna need a woman's right. Eight-and-a-half. Stat."

****

Since Kate had a sprained ankle and she wasn't exactly allowed to walk on it, after going to her doctor's with her dad, her doctor instructed for her to use crutches until she was healed. She hated crutches, they were so annoying and hard to walk with. The last class she was in she shared wtih Ashton so he offered to carry her books for her to their next class. As they walked around the corner at school the next day, Kate suddenly stopped, outstretching her arm to make Ashton stop. He turned to face her with confusion.

"What is it? Why are we stopping?"

"Just shush and listen." Kate responded in a demanded tone. Ashton nodded and shrugged, glancing in the direction Kate looked. 

The blonde-haired girl who was at the tournament holding the 'i heart u, jack' sign was walking over to Jack, holding a heart balloon. She smiles brightly at him. "Jack, you're just so awesome. I mean, that fly-kicky thing you did was, like, wow!" She hands the balloon to him. "I hope you like the balloon."

"Oh, thanks." Jack smiled.

"See you, Jack." She giggled and walked away.

"'I mean, that fly-kicky thing you did was, like, oh, wow!'" Kate mocked her, rolling her eyes as she walked over to where Jack sat on a nearby bench with Ashton following her. 

Jack laughs, smiling at her with amusement as he stands. "You really don't like her, do you?"

Kate turns to Ashton with a small smile. "I'm just gonna take this." She takes the pencil she had hooked on a notebook and uses the pencil she held to pop his heart balloon, smiling sweetly at him. "Does that answer your question?"

Ashton and Jack jumps, startled by the sudden pop of the balloon and stares at her with wide eyes, surprised by her response. "Yes," He immediately nods. "Yes it does."

"Gotta admit, kinda scared of you right now." Ashton confessed.

"Come on, Ash. We're late to class." Kate lied and she started to walk down the hallway and Ashton was quick to follow her. They meet up with Kim since they were going to walk to the next class together because they all shared the class. 

Kim shares a smile with Ashton when they locked eyes before she looks over at Kate and smiles at her with amusement. "You okay, Kate?"

"I've been better." Kate grumbled.

****

Having a sprained ankle sucked because that meant she couldn't practice karate, but Kate still went to the dojo to hang out with her friends, cheer them on, and help them the best she could. She sat on a bench with her foot outstretched on the bench and ice rested on her ankle. When she was able to, she would put ice on her ankle since it helped ease the pain. 

Eddie and Jerry were practicing with a dummy, Ashton was working on a routine he came up with while Kim kept an eye on Milton, who was doing push ups on a stack of mats. Kate glances over to her right when she heard her cousin and saw Master Tanaka, a professor at Otai Academy. She wasn't really for sure why he was there, but it was just an honor for him being there. The Otai Academy was where the greatest martail arts masters in the world trained there.

"Next tme you're in town, call me." Rudy suggests, following Master Tanaka towards the entrance. "It doesn't have to be business, we can just hang." He stops before the entrance, looking at Master Tanaka pleading as the man kept heading towards the door. "Do you foosball?"

"Rudy," Kate speaks up after Master Tanaka left. She chuckles. "Desperate is not a good look on you."

 Rudy ignores her comment and glances at everyone, gesturing for them to gather. "Alright, everybody, bring it in! Jack has an unbelievable announcement to make." 

Kate takes her ice pack off, standing up before getting her crutches to walk over to the others. The group all stood by each other, glancing at Jack curiously. "It's a little crazy." Jack admits. "But I just got offered a scholarship to the Otai Academy." Kate's shoulders dropped, her lips forming into a frown. Of course she was proud of him but she was upset he might have to leave.

"So full of ride." Rudy commented, already having teary eyes.

Ashton beams. "That's awesome, man!" 

"What?" Kim frowned.

"But the Otai Academy is in Japan." Milton said, his voice laced with sadness.

"Wait, it's in a whole other country?" Ashton's eyes widen in realization and frowns, not realizing until then just how far the academy was. He pauses for a moment, glancing at Kim with confusion. "Japan is a country right?" Kim chuckled lightly and nodded in response. 

"Wait, what are you saying, Jack?" Eddie questioned.

"I'm moving to Japan." Jack replied and Kate felt like the breath was knocked out of her. She couldn't believe it. Jack was moving? How would she be able to go through life without him? She already had to lose him because they both had to move away before, she doesn't want to lose him again. 

"Oh, no. My legs are going." Rudy comments. "Mat me! Mat me, Jerry!"

Jerry quickly grabs a mat, putting it in front of Rudy. Kate and the others wince as Rudy fell backwards. Jerry throws his arms out in frustration. "Dude, gotta be more specific."

****

The next day at the dojo, Kate sat between Kim and Jerry on a bench, her ankle outstretched with ice on it. Eddie stood behind them while Milton sat on a work out ball and Jack stood in front of them. "I still can't believe that I'm moving to Japan." Jack chuckles in disbelief. "I-I mean, I leave Friday."

Kate's eyes widen with surprise, her lips forming into a frown. She had no idea that he was leaving so soon. Eddie walks around to stand by Jack. "I was just reading about the Otai Academy. This brochure says the scholarship is for four years."

"We'll be in college by the time you come back from the academy." Kate realized.

"Wow," Jack said with surprise. He didn't even think about that. "You...You're right."

"Man, this place is unbelievable!" Jerry comments, looking at the brochure he took from Eddie. "State of the art training center, outdoor dojo...And teh cafeteria has got a 'make your own waffle' station! Shut up!"

"'Make your own waffle' station?" Ashton gasps. He looks at Jack. "Dude, I'm jealous."

Kate couldn't be here any longer hearing everyone talk about Jack leaving. She picks up the ice pack and stands, grabbing the crutches that rested by her. "It sounds like a great opportunity, Jack, I'm sure you'll love it." Kate forces a smile and Jack glances at her with a smile. He noticed her quiet behavior, but before he could ask her about why she was suddenly acting different, she starts walking towards the door. "I'll see you guys later, alright? I'm gonna head out." 

****

"Hey, why so glum, soul sister?" Joan questioned. Kate now sat at Falafel Phil's, sitting at a booth in front of Joan with her crutches rested beside her. Joan knew something was up since Kate hasn't even touched her food and was just messing with it with a sad look on her face.

"I have feelings for Jack, but now that he's moving to Japan I don't know what to do." Kate admitted.

Joan's eyes widen in shock. "What?" She raises her voice, startling Kate. Kate raises her eyebrows when she noticed Joan's eyes starting to get teary. "Let me tell you something. Eighth grade, the first boy I ever had feelings for, Brendan Harper, tells me he's moving to Wisconsin. You know what I did?"

"You told him how you really felt and let him go because that was the right thing to do?" Kate hesitantly asked since she wasn't sure if she wanted to know the real answer.

"No," Joan replies. "I put chains around his legs and locked him in our woodshed."

Kate stares at her with surprise. She grimaces. "He's still not in there is he?"

"No, he's not." Joan shakes her head. She looks at her with a stern expression. "But the point is, if you love something, don't set it free." A worried expressions forms on Kate's face as Joan continues. "You'll never see it again!"

Kate sharply exhales. "Thanks for the talk, Joan."

****

Kate was at the mechanic shop with her dad that night, working on an old Impala. The Impala was in pretty good condition, but the brakes didn't work and had rust scattered across the outside of the car, covering up some of the blue paint. Despite the fact her dad tried to stop her from working since he didn't want her to get hurt worse, Kate reassured him she wouldn't put any pressure on her sprained ankle. She wanted to work on this car. Her dad said that if she got it fixed up and working that she could have it on her 16th birthday. Before she started working on the Impala today, she changed into old clothes she brought with her, knowing she would probably get dirty and she didn't want to get her everyday clothes dirty.

Tanner stood at the front desk, doing some computer work when the door opened. He glances up from his computer, smiling when he noticed Jack walk in. "Hey, Jack! What brings you by?"

"I wanted to speak with Kate." Jack admits. "I checked next door only to find she wasn't there so I figured she would be here since lately it seems like she spends most of her time here."

Tanner chuckles. "Yeah, that's true. She's determined to get that old car fixed before she turns 16. She honestly came a pretty far way with it so far." He smiles. "Hey, I heard that you're moving to Japan on a scholarship with the Otai Academy. That's great, Jack!" 

Jack smiles a bit. "Thanks, Mr. Mitchell." He points at him when he remembered something and he looks at him curiously. "Didn't you train at that academy?"

Tanner grins. "I sure did. It was honestly the such a great experience." He sighs. "Although I did get homesick a lot and missed my family and friends everyday." Jack nods in understanding, his response making him slowly start to rethink his decision of moving. "Oh, Kate's out back, by the way. " Tanner pointed over his shoulder towards the back door that led to the back where the old cars were kept.

"Thanks." Jack smiled and walked around back. 

Once he got outside where he heard faint music being played on a speaker. He walked in the direction he heard the music - which happened to be a Taylor Swift song, he wasn't surprised since Kate loved her songs. He then found where Kate was working, noticing she was painting. It looked like she had got all the rust off the car and was now touching up the paint. Kate's overalls had blue paint scattered on it along with some blue paint marks on her grey shirt and her hair was pulled up into a messy bun, but Jack still thought she looked beautiful. 

"Hey, miss mechanic." Jack greeted in a teasing tone, gaining Kate's attention. 

Kate stops humming along to the Taylor Swift song that was playing on her phone, glancing over at Jack with a grin. "Hey, Jackie."

"I still can't believe you're still working on that car." Jack comments. "You've been working on it for what seems like forever."

Kate chuckles. "I know, but it's my baby. I'm not giving up on it until it's perfect." 

"It looks great so far." Jack grinned as he looked at the car. Kate smiled and she couldn't help but feel a sense of pride. She had been working on this car for months tirelessly and it had became her passion project.  

She stands up from her kneeling position since she had been painting the lower part of the car and she sets her paint brush on the table before pausing her music. "What's up?"

"I wanted to check upon you." Jack confesses. "You seemed kinda off earlier and I just wanted to make sure you're okay." Kate hated the way her heart flutters because of the fact Jack went out of his way just to check on her. 

"I'm fine." Kate reassures him, giving him a soft smile. "But I appreciate you coming to check on me."

"No problem." Jack smiles, ignoring the way his heart skipped a beat at seeing her soft smile. "I also I wanted to give you something before I leave." He pulled out a small wrapped box from his pocket and handed it to her. Kate's shoulders drop in defeat as she frowned slightly.  had known that Jack was leaving, but she didn't want to believe it. She had always secretly hoped that Jack would realize he had feelings for her and stay.

Kate glances at him with surprise, smiling a bit. "You didn't have to get me anything. If anything, I should be the one getting you something as, like, a goodbye gift." She takes the box from him, opening up the box and gasps at what she saw inside. It was the charm bracelet that she saw the in the mall last weekend when the gang hung out at the mall together. She was going to buy it, but decided not to at the last minute.

"I saw you looking at it at the mall last weekend and I figured you would want it." Jack rubs the back of his neck nervously. "I wanted to give you something to remember me by."

"Jack, you didn't have to give me something for that. I'll always remember you." Kate reassured him, glancing at him with a bit of shock since she didn't think he would think that she could forget him. 

Jack looks relieved and he smiles at her. "And I'll always remember you." He offered to put the bracelet on her wrist, both of them feeling a spark when they hands touched but they ignored it. 

"I'm going to miss you a lot." Kate frowns. "I can't believe you're really leaving. We've been best friends since we were kids."

"I know," Jack frowns. "I'm gonna miss you too, but this is an opportunity of a lifetime for me. I can't pass it up. But I hate leaving everyone behind. Especially you."

Kate felt her heart skip a beat. Did he just say "especially you"? Was it possible that Jack felt the same way she did? Kate nods, trying to hold back tears. "I know, but I'm happy for you. You deserve this scholarship. I'm just going to miss you so much."

Jack does a bold move and takes ahold of her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "Hey, don't worry. We'll still keep in touch. We can Facetime and text and call each other all the time."

Kate smiles weakly. "Yeah, I guess that's something. But it won't be the same without you here."

Jack pulls her into a hug, his heart heavy. "I know, but we'll always be best friends. No matter where I am in the world, you'll always be my favorite person."

Kate hugs him back, feeling the warmth of his embrace. Not only was she going to miss him, she was going to miss his hugs. They always made her feel safe and comforted. "You'll always be my favorite person too, Jack."

As they pulled away from the hug, Jack wipes away a tear from Kate's cheek with his thumb, tears threatening to form in his eyes at seeing his best friend cry. "Don't cry, Kate. We'll see each other again soon, I promise."

Kate smiles through her tears. "I know, but it won't be soon enough."

Jack smiles back at her and sighs. "I should probably go, my mom is waiting in the car and I still have a lot to pack." 

"Okay, I'll see you tomorrow before you go." Kate said, watching with a frown as he turned around and left. Things wouldn't be the same without Jack and she couldn't believe that she didn't have the courage to tell him how she really feels. Now he'll never know.

****

Apparently Eddie, Milton, and Jerry hired someone to be the new Jack. They got the new kid Zane to be in the dojo after seeing he knew some karate. They boys were worried that they wouldn't have any protection from Frank and his thugs without Jack not being there and when Ashton and the girls weren't around so they figured they should get someone to be like how Jack was. And after seeing Zane had some girls with him they knew he would be the one. 

Kate didn't see why they needed a new Jack, but she had to admit he was very nice. Kate stood by the rest of the group with the help of her crutches. They were all gathered on the mat, teaching Zane the Wasabi Code. "Okay, let's try it one more time." Zane suggests. "I think I got it."

"We swear by the light of the dragon's eye, to be loyal, and honest and never say die." The seven teens spoke in unison with their hand to their fist. "Wasabi!" The group didn't even notice that Jack had walked in, noticing the sign Rudy put up by the entrance which read 'my student got a scholarship to the otai academy, you could be next!'. On the sign it had a picture of Rudy holding up a picture of Jack doing a karate move.

Kate beams at Zane. "Zane, that was great!"

"Yeah, you got it, Zane." Kim smiled.

Zane smiles at them. "Thanks."

"Hey, guys." Jack spoke up, waving at the group as they looked at him.

"Oh, hey, Jack." Jerry smiles. He points at Zane. "This is Zane. He's the new you."

"Awkward." Milton sang in a high-pitched voice.

"Oh, Jack, Zane's gonna need your locker." Eddie chimed in.

"Yeah." Jerry nodded.

Milton grimaces. "Awkwarder."

"Yeah, yeah, that's no problem." Jack shrugs, waving a dismissive hand. "I was coming to clean it out anyway."

"Don't listen to Jerry, Jack." Kate quickly speaks up, sending him a smile. "No one could ever replace you." Jack looked relieved and he smiled softly at her. 

"We're going to Falafel Phil's with Jack's replacement." Jerry announced. Kate looked over at him with a glare as Jerry and the others left.

Kate uses her crutches to help her walk over to Jack as he cleaned out his locker. Her ankle was slowly starting to get better, but she still had to use crutches to help her walk. Then she remembered what Joan told her she should do. She shook her head. As much as she didn't want Jack to leave, she couldn't be the reason he didn't got to the Otai Academy. 

"Kate! Check these out." Kate glances over at Jack, his voice bringing her out of her thoughts. She smiles slightly at the photos they took at a photo booth. He smiles at her. "We took this at the photo booth down at the pier, remember?" 

"Yeah, I remember." Kate smiled a bit, her heart skipping a beat because of the fact he still had the pictures.

"There's four pictures here. You take two and I'll take two?" Jack suggested.

"Sure." Kate nodded, her smile widening while Jack ripped the photo strip in half, giving her two of the photos while he kept the other two. 

"Hey, I remember that one! That was when I gave you a wet willy." Jack laughed, pointing at the first picture she had.

Kate grins. "Yeah, but the next one is the best 'cause that's when I gave you a black eye."

****

"Listen, I rethought your whole situation." Joan said to Kate after school that day when they were at Falafel Phil's again. "Before Jack leaves, he has to know what's in your heart."

"I want to tell him," Kate admits. "But every time I try I chicken out and don't tell him."

"That because the heart doesn't speak..." Kate's eyes widen as Joan pulls out a keyboard. "It sings!" 

"Uh, Joan, maybe you shouldn't-" Joan interrupted Kate trying to stop her with playing the keyboard.

"I've had feelings for you from the very start. First you broke some boards, then you broke...My...Heart." Kate stared at her with shock. She glanced around nervously, noticing everyone was looking t them as Joan continued to play the keyboard.

"Snap, boom, crack, and snap." Kate's eyes widen, jumping slightly since she was startled when Joan suddenly hit the keyboard as if she was chopping it. "Chop, chop hyah, chop, chop, chop!"

"Wow." Was all Kate could say after Joan was done. "That was..." Her voice trailed off while she tried to find the right word to describe what she just witnessed. "Something that I'm definitely not doing." Joan frowned, her shoulders dropping in defeat.

****

Jack was supposed to leave soon, but Kate wasn't at the goodbye party. He had to admit he was disappointed he wasn't there. He figured she would be there, after all she's his best friend. He didn't want to leave without seeing her before he went to Japan. He knew he had to go and couldn't wait any longer.

"So, are you excited?" Rudy asked him, smiling at him as Jack sat beside him out in the courtyard.

"Yeah, yeah." Jack nods. "Uh, hey, can you do me a favor?" He pulls out an envelope out of his pocket. "Uh, give this letter to Kate?" He asks nervously, handing the letter to Rudy. "I, uh, wrote some things down I wanted her to know."

Rudy nods. "Sure." 

****

Kate was running late to Jack's goodbye party and she feared that she couldn't get there in time. She figured she should tell him her feelings for him even though he's leaving. He deserved to know. So she wrote it down in a letter, but writing the letter took longer than she expected. She got to the dojo, stopping when Rudy walked over to her.

"Oh, Kate, Jack put some of his personal thoughts down in this letter and wanted me to give it to you, so see ya." Rudy smiled, handing her the letter. Kate looked at him with surprise, not expecting for Jack to do the same thing she did.

Jack froze, panicking when he saw Rudy telling her about the letter. He rushes over to them, trying to signal to Rudy not to give her the letter but sighed, his shoulders dropping in defeat after Rudy handed her the letter. Rudy walks into the dojo to join the others as Kate glances at Jack with a smile. "Great minds think alike." She chuckles. "I did the same thing." She hands him the letter. There were just some things I wanted you to know. Just, uh..." She smiles nervously. "Promise me you won't read it 'till you're on the plane."

"I would, but...I changed my mind." Jack confesses. Kate's heart races and she looks at him hopefully, hoping he meant what she thought he meant. "I'm not going."

"That's great!" Kate smiles widely, looking relieved and Jack glances at her with an amused glint in his eyes. She sheepishly smiles and she blushes out of embarassment, a bit embarrassed at how excited and relieved she sounded. "I-I mean, it sucks you're not gonna take this opportunity, but I'm very glad that you decided to stay." 

"Thanks. I'm glad I'm staying too." Jack smiled.

"And since you're staying...." Kate continues, nerves overtaking her features as she eyes the letter Jack held. "I'm just gonna take this." She quickly took her letter back.

"And I'll take this." Jack quickly said, grabbing his letter she handed back to him.

"I just gotta know, what made you change your mind?" Kate asks, glancing at him curiously. "Going to Japan to study martial arts at Otai Academy is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

"Yeah, I know." Jack clicks his tongue, glancing at everyone inside with a smile and then glances at Kate fondly. "But I thought it might cost too much." Kate smiled at him, ignoring the way her face heat up. They shared a smile and walked towards the dojo where Jack opened the door for her. 

A/N jack & kate >>>>