Chapter Text
Jerry was acting strange lately. Well, stranger than usual. Kim noticed how he was always beside Milton the last couple of weeks, and the time that they usually spent together with the whole group was now dedicated to only Jerry and Milton, leaving Jack and Kim confused and forsaken. To be fair, they were okay with the extra couple time they had these days but it would have been nice to hang out all together sometimes.
That wasn’t their only concern though. When Kim mentioned something being off with Jerry, Jack added some more observations to the table. As it turned out, Jerry stopped flirting with girls – granted every one of them had been ignoring him for more than a year now – and instead, he started taking his studies seriously. And what was even more shocking, Jerry’s efforts granted him access to Milton’s study group and group projects. They were hanging out a ridiculous amount of time together – even for best buds.
So, Kim and Jack concentrated on paying extra attention to their friends. A little spy game ain’t hurt no one. Thankfully, they didn’t have to wait for long.
The next day at school, Jerry was being suspicious once again, starting with the fact that he was early – the bell hadn’t gone off yet. He was just leaning against his locker, doing nothing and looking around as if waiting for somebody to show up. Jack and Kim exchanged glances. Jerry was obviously looking for Milton.
And rightly so, when Krupnick appeared in the hallway, Jerry’s face lit up with a huge welcoming smile. “Yo, Milton,” he greeted, taking the red-haired boy in his arms. Not their usual bro half-hug thing. Just one more oddity.
During classes, the conspirators detected something else. In history class, as later shared by Kim, Jerry couldn’t take his eyes off of Milton – perhaps, the reason was Krupnick’s excited face as history was always one of his favourite subjects. Jerry even got in trouble because of his carelessness and if it hadn’t been for Milton’s prompt, Martinez would have been done for. Jerry’s focused attention to the nerd, however, went unnoticed. By everybody but Kim.
Jack’s report consisted of an incident that occurred during literature class. Jerry was entertaining (and distracting) Milton with what appeared to be jokes and funny commentary when the teacher, irritated but not at all shocked, asked Martinez what was so important that they couldn’t wait until break. Undeterred, Jerry answered that they were simply discussing a poem. The teacher obviously tried to expose his lie when she told him to share the poem with the class but Martinez was ready for that. He deliberately stood up and recited some short piece of Spanish poetry in a dramatic voice while looking directly at Krupnick. Now, Jack’s Spanish wasn’t all that great but even he was able to understand that it was about love. Of course, Milton didn’t get a word of it, although he was still slightly impressed by Jerry’s little escapade. The teacher didn’t speak Spanish either so she had to let it slide.
In conferring their findings, Jack and Kim came to an evident conclusion that
Jerry Martinez was hopelessly in love with Milton Krupnick.
But also, that
Milton Krupnick was awfully oblivious.
Despite all the proof, Kim suggested some more snooping around. Just in case they deduced wrong. And that’s what they decided to do.
Trying to be sneaky, they were keeping their distance while pursuing Jerry to the dojo. However, when they turned a corner, they were in for a surprise. They bumped right into disgruntled Jerry, who was looking directly at them, arms crossed. All the unlucky spies could do was to smile and wave.
“Hey, Jerry, it’s so good to see you,” Kim said, trying to be casual.
“So, ah… You’re going to the dojo, too. Wanna come with us? We were just heading there,” Jack joined in, playing along.
Jerry wasn’t having any of it though.
“Why were you spying on me?” scowled Martinez.
“Oh, so you noticed?” the fake smile faded away from Kim’s face. She decided against bluffing. As they say, honesty is the best policy. Especially when you were caught red-handed, and especially when you were a terrible liar.
“What, you thought I was stupid?” resented Jerry but in a moment, his face shifted into a neutral expression. “Wait, don’t answer that.”
“Jerry, we were just worried for you,” Jack explained.
“Worried for me? Why?” the confusion in Jerry’s voice was increasing with each second. He was shifting his gaze from one of his friends to the other.
Brewer and Crawford shared one more look.
“Jerry, we see that you’ve fallen in love with Milton,” Kim hesitantly answered, sympathetically pursing her lips.
“What? I’m not in l-” Martinez trailed off, thinking hard about the events of recent days. “Actually, that would explain a lot of things, like my heart acting weird whenever I see Milton, or the sweat on my palms, or this strange electricity I feel when we touch…”
Jack and Kim looked at each other meaningfully.
“Oh no, you’re right,” Jerry concluded, his eyes round as realization suddenly kicked him in the guts. “I am in love with Milton.”