Disclaimer: I do not own the Scott Pilgrim series or any of the characters mentioned in this story. All original characters and lines belong to Bryan Lee O'Malley. This story is for entertainment purposes only. Any similarity to persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

A/N: More of the continuing story of Kim and Scott's night of confusion. Feedback is appreciated, and remember… I'm a guy, so writing about what a bridesmaid dress looks like is a little difficult for me to pull off with certainty.

One Night of Trouble

Part 2

Kim Pine (Age: Who the hell cares at this point? Status: No no no no no…) sat up on her pallet, her mind racing. What had happened last night? She couldn't remember, and any time she tried to concentrate, her head swam.

Tequila…

She was hung over. They'd had so much tequila last night she couldn't remember what had happened. She glanced under the covers and immediately pulled them back down again. Yep… it really WAS that bad.

"Scott?" she probed, still hoping this was all a bad dream. Scott rolled over and draped an arm across her, which she immediately treated like a poisonous snake, scrambling to get out from under it. The jostling woke him up.

"Rammy?" he said sleepily (Kim Pine Note: Ouch. I mean… this is not a good situation on any level, but that hurt…).

"Not quite, idiot," Kim said.

Scott's eyes snapped open. "Kim?"

"I'm glad it didn't take you three guesses," she replied, trying to keep her voice as calm and level as she could.

"Wha… what happened?" Scott stammered (Scott Pilgrim Status: *static*).

"Tequila happened. We're gonna have to remember that you can't handle that stuff," Kim said. "But FIRST… you've got to get out of here!"

Kim got up and began trying to pull Scott to his feet, but he made no move to help. He seemed paralyzed by the revelation of what had just happened.

"C'mon Scott... you've got to go!" Kim grunted as she continued to pull on him. The exertion was bringing her headache to the forefront, and it pounded in her head, taunting her with what she'd just done.

"But… shouldn't we… talk about this?" Scott forced out between tugs.

Kim dropped Scott's arm. "Talk about this? You ignore my feelings for years, and now, after we've gotten into this much trouble, you want to talk about this?"

"But… I think I should tell Ramona…" Scott started.

"Don't you dare, Scott Pilgrim!" Kim shouted. The idea of Ramona knowing that she'd had anything to do with this sliced her to the bone.

"But we've got that whole honesty thing…"

"That honesty thing is for little stuff. You got drunk and kissed Lisa… you offered casual sex to Knives and Envy… THAT kind of stuff!" Kim continued her tirade, beginning to pace around the room. "NOT… you slept with your roommate, who was SUPPOSED to be the most trusted girl in your fiancee's life… her MAID OF XXXXX HONOR… all because you had a little fight and got a little drunk! Now GET OUT OF MY BED!"

Kim kicked Scott hard out of the pallet. He stood up, but wasn't moving fast enough for Kim's tastes, as she began pushing him towards the bedroom.

"You can't be here right now Scott... you've got to go NOW!" she yelled, shoving Scott out of the room. As soon as he was in the bedroom, she slammed the door and sat down on the floor in front of it. Scott tried to talk to her through the door.

"Kim…"

"No Scott," she cut him off. "I have to get ready for work, and then I'm going dress shopping with Ramona. I don't want to talk about this… I don't even want to think about it, so just STAY IN THERE!"

Kim looked up at the ceiling, tears forming in her eyes. This was NOT going to be a good day.

The walk to work was horrible. Kim walked down the street, trying desperately to remember the night before. They couldn't have done what she thought they did. There was no way. Even as drunk as they'd been, someone would have had a clear head for a SECOND! Even Scott couldn't have been that dumb.

There it was again, Kim thought. Ever since waking up in the pallet next to Scott, she'd been trying to blame him for it. Somehow it was HIS stupidity. It had to be. She was past that part of her life… had been for months. But the more she thought about it… the more she knew that some of it had been her fault. She'd been the one to take Scott to Julie's party. And when the kiss had come, rather than breaking it off like she had before (Kim Pine Note: And then, it'd been REALLY hard), she embraced it. What kind of person was she?

"Hey Kim!" came the excited voice of Ramona Flowers (Name: Ramona Flowers, Status: On the Clock).

Kim jumped almost a foot off the ground. If there was one person she hadn't wanted to see this morning, after everything that had just happened, it was Ramona. "Hey… Rammy. What are you doing here?" she asked, inwardly cringing with every word.

"You wouldn't believe this, but I actually have a delivery for you," Ramona answered, holding out a package.

A good slap to the face? That would be what I deserve. Your fiancé too.

Kim looked at the package in Ramona's hand. It was, in fact, addressed to No Account Video.

"That's weird. We don't usually get our stuff from Amazon," Kim said as she looked at the package. Again, her eyes were drawn from the package to the ring on Ramona's left hand. "It usually comes from a supplier."

"Oh that's mine!" shouted Hollie Hawkes (Status: Looking very chipper to have been out drinking last night). "Sorry… I had to use this address for it. Sarah's real bad about not telling me when mail comes."

Kim sighed. Speaking of people she didn't want to see this morning…

"So how was the party?" Hollie asked. Kim's head jerked up. "I was expecting you to be pretty hung over today, but you look fine."

Kim looked nervously from Hollie to Ramona, who was smiling.

"So you DID go to Julie's party last night… I was worried you were just gonna sit reading that book all night," Ramona said.

"Nope," Hollie jumped in. "She was partying with the best of us."

And, apparently, sleeping with your fiancé. Kim forced a smile.

"Well… you'll have to tell me all about it this afternoon," Ramona said, looking at her watch. "But right now, I need you to sign for this and then I've gotta go."

"I'll take care of this," Hollie said as she took the pad from Ramona and signed her name. After a brief goodbye, Ramona skated off, leaving Hollie and Kim standing in front of the video store.

"So… did anything else happen last night?" Hollie asked innocently.

"Up yours," was Kim's reply as she walked into the store.

The rest of the day dragged for Kim. With Hollie smiling coyly at her every time she passed (Kim Pine Note: Seriously… I liked it better when she felt guilty around me), and no customers to take her mind off of anything, she stood at the counter, replaying the events of the night before. The drinking… the talking… the kiss. And then still… nothing. She was becoming glad for that though. The guilt was already enough to crush her without moving pictures of what had happened.

"So when are you going to break it to her?" Hollie asked.

Kim froze. How the hell did Hollie know anything?

"Break what to who?" Kim asked, trying to sound indignant (Kim Pine Note: I usually don't have to try this hard…).

"When are you going to tell Ramona that you still love Scott?" Hollie answered.

Kim almost sighed in relief. So Hollie didn't know. "Who said I still love Scott?"

"I've been your esteemed colleague for years. I think I know how to read you, unlike the rest of the world," Hollie said with an air of scholarship.

"I don't still have feelings for Scott Pilgrim," Kim lied. "That part of my life is over. He's with Ramona now, and I'm going to stand right there and smile when they have their storybook wedding."

"You're a better person than I am then, Kim," Hollie said sarcastically.

"I know I am," Kim shot back. "So are you gonna live with them after they get married?" Hollie asked.

"No!" Kim stated emphatically. "I'm just waiting to look for a place."

"Oh… well when you decide to look, I know some people," Hollie said. "You know… they're building houses just a few streets away. Now that you're manager, you could probably afford it."

"I'll keep that in mind," Kim said shortly, indicating she didn't want to talk to Hollie anymore.

At 4 o'clock, Kim said goodbye to Hollie and walked out of No Account Video. It was a short walk to the dress shop (Toronto Dresses: Family Owned and Serving in 3 convenient locations in Toronto! Come to us for your bridal and formal dress needs!), and Kim arrived just as Ramona skated in from the other side.

"Wow… right on time. I usually have to wait for Scott," Ramona smiled.

"Yeah…" Kim droned. She really didn't want to talk about Scott… at all.

The two walked into the dress shop where an attendant was almost immediately with them. "Welcome ladies! How may I help you today?" she chimed (Name: Unknown, Occupation: Dress Shop Attendant, Excitement Level: WAAAY too high to be doing this).

"We're here to finalize the dresses for the Pilgrim-Flowers wedding," Ramona said.

Kim looked around the shop. Even as jaded as everyone thought she was, she couldn't help but feel something looking at row after row of wedding dress. There'd been a time when she thought something like this could happen for her, but it just hadn't worked out yet. Her thoughts faded back to Scott, and she quickly shook her head, trying to physically shake the memories from her head.

"So who will be trying the dresses on?" the attendant asked.

Kim stopped looking around and glanced at Ramona, who was smiling at her. "Wait… no… you didn't say anything about trying ON the dresses," she stuttered.

"C'mon Kim. I have to be able to see the dress on someone, to see how the color looks. And since Lisa is flying in too late, and Stacey's at work… I need you," Ramona pleaded.

Kim sighed. She knew there wouldn't be any winning this battle, so it was pointless to even start. With Ramona giggling just a little (Kim Pine Note: She's having WAY too much fun with this), Kim allowed herself to be led away by the attendant.

A short time and a whirlwind of fabric later (Kim Pine Note: Seriously… it's like she had some strange power or something… got me into a dress without any cooperation needed…), Kim walked out of the dressing room and into the store. The dress she wore was simple, a scoop necked baby blue satin sheath with a sash under the bust that tied in the back. Ramona mocked applause as Kim walked out in front of her.

"Don't push it, Flowers," Kim said.

"I love it," Ramona said to the attendant as Kim turned and looked at herself in the mirror. She DID look pretty nice. Not as nice as Lisa would look, and definitely not as nice as Ramona would, but still... nice.

"So you'll be needing three of these dresses before the 17th?" the attendant asked.

"Yes," Ramona answered. "We'll have Stacey in for alterations in a few days. Lisa… will need to be just a few days before the wedding. But I was wondering if you could go ahead and take care of Kim's right now."

"Yay... more time in the dress," Kim said sarcastically.

The attendant nodded and began to work on measuring Kim, simply moving her where she needed without question.

"So… how was the party last night?" Ramona asked, lounging on the chair.

Kim swallowed hard. "Oh, it was the same old thing. A Julie party is a Julie party, right?"

"I guess so," Ramona nodded in agreement. After a long pause, she spoke again. "Did Scott say anything after I left?"

Kim's mind raced. Should she tell Ramona that she'd taken Scott to Julie's party? She knew she couldn't tell her about the events that had happened after that, but maybe it would make her feel a little less guilty if she at least told SOMETHING that was the truth.

"No. He seemed kind of quiet," she answered. "Did you guys have a fight?"

"Yeah. It all seems kind of silly now. He was just telling me he wanted a Zelda cake topper and I just kind of lost it," Ramona said with a frown. "It felt like this is all one big joke to him."

"He's Scott Pilgrim," Kim replied. "It's his nature."

"I hope he was okay after I left," Ramona said. "I didn't mean to storm out like that… I just knew if I stayed, I might have said something else I was going to regret."

"He was alright. I took him with me to Julie's party," Kim blurted out.

Ramona looked up at Kim for a moment, and Kim braced herself for the tirade that was surely coming. After a moment though, Ramona smiled.

"I'm glad you did. That's probably exactly what he needed," she said. "I swear Kim… if it was possible for you to be both my maid of honor and his best man… I'm sure we'd have you do it."

That's me… friend of the freakin' year. Kim smiled weakly. "But then I wouldn't be able to wear this beautiful dress," she said.

"Wow Kim... I had no idea you were so keen on wearing that dress," Ramona teased.

"Shut up," Kim responded.

Kim and Ramona walked down the sidewalk, Ramona with her roller blades in hand. She always did that out of consideration for Kim, who couldn't really travel through subspace without throwing up (Kim Pine Note: Seriously… I didn't even know it existed until a few years ago…).

"So you don't think he's too torn up?" Ramona asked.

Kim had been trying to avoid the subject of Scott since their earlier conversation, but seemed to be failing. An idea had been forming in her head for the last few minutes, but she needed to not be thinking about Scott when she revealed it, or it might betray her. "He was upset, but nothing that's gonna make him change his mind or anything."

"I'm glad you're here for us Kim," Ramona said. Again, Kim felt a stab of guilt. "Sometimes I wonder if you're the only one that can really get through to him."

"I can't get through to him," Kim retorted, trying to get off that subject. "I'm just cursed with being able to understand the mystery of Scott Pilgrim."

"Well… I'm going to head off here," Ramona gestured to a side street. "Figured I'd pick up dinner and head over to Scott's. See you there in a few?"

"Yeah," Kim said absently.

The two walked their separate ways, and once Kim was sure she was out of sight, she broke into a run. Feelings came rushing back to her, and this time, she didn't try to stop them. She had thought she was past her feelings for Scott Pilgrim. She had even considered it her proudest achievement to have gotten over him, at long last. She bounded up the stairs to the apartment and stopped at the door. After taking a deep breath, she turned her key in the lock and opened the door.

Scott was sitting on the couch (Kim Pine Note: Wonder if he had to go to work today... hope not). As soon as he saw Kim, he sprung to his feet. "Kim... I..."

"Stop right there, Scott. I didn't wanna talk about it this morning, and I'm sure as hell not going to talk about it right now," Kim said as she closed the door.

Scott just stood in the living room, confused. Kim took that as an invitation to continue.

"It was dumb, it was stupid, and it was a mistake. And you're not gonna tell Rammy, any more than I am," Kim said. She steeled herself for her next statement. "And because I obviously can't be trusted to be around you..."

Kim was cut off by the sound of another key in the lock. In just a moment, Ramona came through the door with bags of food (Sneaky Dee's Curbside Service: How Tex-Mex was MEANT to be enjoyed!) "Hey everyone! Hope you're up for Mexican," she said as she walked in the apartment. Then, she noticed everyone was silent in the room. "Everything okay?"(Awkwardness Quotient in Room: Sky High)

"Everything's fine," said Kim as she lowered her eyes. "I was just telling Scott that I'm moving out this week."

"I didn't even realize you were looking," said Ramona as the three sat in the living room floor, a towel placed under their food, picnic style. "If we're making you feel like a third wheel, we can stop. That's no reason to move out. I mean... have you even found a new place yet?"

Good enough reason for me. Kim took a bite out of her burrito (Not Fun Fact: Idiots STILL forgot to put sour cream on this...). "Hollie told me about some houses that are being finished a few streets over," she said. "After all, you two are gonna have kids right? I've gotta have a place before they come asking good old Aunt Kim to tell them embarrassing stories about their father."

Ramona blushed slightly at the mention of children, but Scott just kept eating his nachos (Scott Pilgrim: In Eating Mode). "Well, we aren't going to immediately," stammered Ramona, "but if you really want to move out, we can help you. Don't you want to wait until next week though... just make sure you have somewhere to go?"

Kim looked at Scott, who was still very interested in his nachos. "No... I don't think it can wait," she said.

A few days later, Kim Pine (Status: Finally out of Scott Pilgrim's apartment) stood in front of her very first house. It had been remarkably hard to attain on such short notice, but luckily, Hollie hadn't just known about the houses, but was actually connected to the owners and very eager to try and ingratiate herself to Kim (Kim Pine Note: She still owes me though…).

"I've gotta tell you Kim… this is freakin me out a little bit," Scott Pilgrim said as he walked by with a box of stuff.

"We've already done this Scott… so you know how it ends," Kim answered. "Just get the stuff in there."

"Hey… mind if I help?" Kim turned to find Jason Kim (Role: Ex-boyfriend, Status: Not worth the air he takes up) walking up the sidewalk.

"Sorry… Stephen and Scott have got my moving pretty much taken care of," Kim said, gesturing to Stephen as he walked out of the house (Name: Stephen Stills, Status: Feels like he's missed out on some important stuff…).

Jason walked up to Kim. "Kim… what is it gonna take for you to let that go?"

"A lot more than helping me move again," Kim answered, acid in her voice.

"How about I do your lawn work for the rest of my life?" Jason offered.

Kim paused and looked at the lawn. It WAS the first time she'd had anything resembling a front yard. And she abhorred the idea of operating a lawn mower. "That MIGHT cover it," she said. "But you use the best lawn mower you can find. Get to work."

Jason saluted her and walked back to his car, presumably to go find a lawn mower. Ramona walked up next to Kim and put an arm around her.

"Hey… isn't that that guy you dated?" she asked.

"Nope. He's just my lawn guy," Kim smiled.

"Hey... I was wondering if you could go pick up Lisa from the airport for the wedding," Ramona started.

"Of course. What else is a Maid of Honor for?" Kim said.

"Apparently resolving conflicts between the bride and groom," Ramona answered with a smile.

"Yeah. Just promise me one thing,"

"What?" Ramona asked.

"Keep him away from tequila," Kim said dryly.

With that, Kim walked up the sidewalk to the front door of her new home.

THE END

A/N Part 2: Alright... I know this isn't a REAL ending, but it's not supposed to be. Consider this a... prequel offshoot of what I'm about to write, "Scott and Ramona's Precious Little Wedding." It's going to fit in there, and we'll see the final resolution of this towards the end of THAT story. :-) So... hope you'll read that one too. See ya then!