{ A/N }

Greetings! I am the Alpha portion of AlphaBetaSoup.

Some of you may recognize me as the author of the relatively popular Kickin' It FanFiction Vandals Anonymous. Others may recognize me as the author of the Lab Rats FanFiction InOrganic. Some of you may not recognize me but recognize the username since the Beta portion of AlphaBetaSoup has been updating recently. Others may not recognize me or the username at all. Regardless of whether you recognize me or not, I welcome you to The Game.

I would just like to thank everyone that chose to read this FanFiction and I hope that some of you will leave reviews.

For those who are unfamiliar with me, there is a longer A/N at the bottom. I hope that you all enjoy reading the prologue for The Game. Please keep in mind that this FanFiction is rated T and will be a little dark.

As a friendly reminder, I do not own the characters or places mentioned in the Disney XD television program, Kickin' It.

{|Prologue|}

| The End |

"Three can keep a secret, if two of them are dead."

—Benjamin Franklin

{|Prologue|}

The sun slowly slipped beyond the horizon as eventide settled over Seaford.

Evening had overcome the small Californian town much earlier than the residents were used to despite the fact that it was well into November. Even during the cold winter months, the sun was known to spend a few extra hours warming the residents before slipping away into obscurity. But that evening, the sun had refused to spend any more of its time desperately clinging onto the edge of the sky.

Some said that if the sun had remained in the air for those few extra hours, the event that had taken place later that unfortunate night would not have occurred at all.

As eventide settled over the small town, a red convertible raced to escape the darkness. The infamous red convertible cruised along the deserted highway at speeds that would have had any driver arrested.

Any driver, but a Crawford.

Long blonde curls whipping wildly about, Kimberly Beulah Crawford raced down the highway at breakneck speed, an abstruse expression overwhelming her usually very telling visage.

Although tension hung thick in the air around the blonde, only one could guess why. Her heavily glossed lips, surprisingly enough, told no secrets as they were pressed into a hard, firm line.

The only windows to her innermost thoughts were her eyes, yet they had been hidden behind the Ray Bans that sat perched upon the bridge of her lightly freckled nose. Her warm, brown eyes often revealed the emotions she had buried deep within herself to those around her, regardless of whether or not she wanted them known. However, the tinted glass she wore prevented her eyes from doing just that. They prevented them from revealing her deeply buried emotions. They prevented them from revealing her innermost thoughts.

Some said that perhaps that was the very reason why she had put them on in the first place.

Indolently running her fingers through her long blonde curls, Kim continued on at her dangerously accelerated pace.

She barely flinched as her phone vibrated for the umpteenth time, the face of the other Crawford Girl materializing on the lockscreen once more.

With her long blonde curls and bright blue eyes continually lighting up the screen of the white iPhone, Bethany Luann Crawford called her sister for the umpteenth time. She had been desperately trying to contact her sister for hours now. She had been calling and texting her, doing almost anything to hear from her, yet she could not reach her because Kim did not respond.

She refused to.

Instead, she allowed her phone to vibrate as she raced off the highway, moving down the deceleration ramp at her highly accelerated speed. She only released the breath that she had been unaware that she had been holding as the iPhone's vibrations ceased, because she knew that if the phone had not stopped vibrating, she finally would have caved. She finally would have caved and answered the call.

Some said that if Kim had answered the call and had heard the news the other Crawford Girl had desperately wanted to share, she would have returned home that unfortunate night.

Barely pausing at the red light that had caught her at the end of the deceleration ramp, Kim drove on, allowing her phone to vibrate as the Other Crawford girl tried to contact her once more, determined to reach her undetermined destination with steely resolve.

She tore through the streets of Seaford at her highly accelerated speed, weaving in and out of sideroads with no names but many tales. Her convertible was a mere blur of red as she tore through the aforementioned sideroads, leaving nothing but dust and dirt in its phantasmal wake. She was already a ghost in her small seaside town, a mere figment in the illusion of reality.

As she drove farther and farther away from the heart of Seaford, the forests grew thicker and thicker and the lights appeared sparser and sparser. Within minutes, she was driving in complete and utter darkness, the only luminosity on the single road emanating from her headlights.

Her speed did not falter despite the absence of any form of luminosity. Instead, the twilight spurned her on, reaffirming her resolve to reach her undetermined destination.

Which, eventually, she did.

Tires screeching, the infamous red convertible pulled up at its final destination.

The secluded single road had led to an abandoned parking lot at the heart of the dense woods. The pavement was cracked and verdure burst through the crevasses all lush, thick, and green. Any markings on the pavement had faded away, leaving behind only the faintest of unidentifiable markings. There were no lights in the parking lot, streetlamps or otherwise, due to the lot having been long since forgotten.

This was, by no means, a place that such as pretty young thing, like Kim, should be. Nor was it a place that most people would expect her to be.

Some said that perhaps that was the very reason why she had chosen the place for the meeting.

With a pull of the gear and the turn of the key, Kim powered down the ignition. With a sigh, she leaned back in her seat as she removed her Ray Bans from their ideal perch on the bridge of her lightly freckled nose. Once again indolently running her fingers through her blonde tresses, she pulled open the glove compartment and slipped the sunglasses in, and pulled a sealed purple envelope out.

The stationary from which the envelope came was a beauteous shade of lavender. The envelope was bordered by a thin strip of gold that glimmered in the weak light, and a K written in the finest calligraphy gleamed in the bottom right corner of the envelope in a matching shade of gold. The seal on the back of the envelope was a lustrous shade of gold imprinted with the monogram of Miss Kimberly Beulah Crawford.

No one did stationary like the Crawford family.

Firmly gripping the envelope in her perfectly manicured hands, Kim slid out of the convertible. Gently closing the cardoor behind her, she edged her way towards the woods, her eyes filled with trepidation.

With her Ray Bans tucked safely away in the glove compartment of her convertible, her eyes were exposed to the world. The only windows to her innermost thoughts were now exposed, revealing the emotions she had buried deep within herself, whether or not she wanted them known. The unease she had tried so desperately hard to hide—the fear, the foreboding—had been denuded. She had now been exposed.

Wrapping her arms around herself as if to hide what her eyes now revealed, Kim took her first steps into the woods, a lonely silhouette against the milky, moonlit backdrop.

She stumbled her way through the forestry, batting away rogue tree branches. Scratches lined her arms and cheeks, angry and red like her mother had been when she had revealed the unfortunate news that had led to their most recent fight. One particularly deep scratch drew blood, smearing across her arm in an all too familiar way, a way she had once seen on a friend. She grabbed her arm, blood dripping down her Forever tattoo, the one on her right wrist, muttering curses in annoyance and pain.

Curses her religious parents would have had her exorcised for.

As Kim bled her way through the woods, her phone—the one that she had left on the passenger seat in the convertible—began to ring.

This time, though, instead of the other Crawford Girl, the face of Her Boy materialized on the lockscreen.

With his lush dark hair and warm brown eyes lighting up the screen instead of long blonde hair and bright blue eyes, Jack Brewer called his bestie for the first time that evening for their goodnight ritual. Their ritual usually began with a phonecall soon after the sun had set and ended with an unsaid I Love You soon after the stars began to fade from the sky. They spoke for hours, about nothing really, but they did not mind. They simply enjoyed being in one another's company.

It reminded them of a simpler time when their biggest fear was having to eat the mystery meatloaf in the school cafeteria or having to eat their old sensei's homemade hamburgers at his annual Labor Day party—neither of which wielded particularly good results.

A time before the secrets and the lies.

Some said that if she had answered the call and had heard his voice, Kimberly Beulah Crawford would not have done what she did that unfortunate night.

Blood no longer dripping down her wrist, Kim released her grip on her arm, wiping her bloodied hand in the folds of her skirt as she examined the purple envelope for blood. Aside from a few stray droplets, the most notable one right next to that gleaming gold K, the envelope remained unmarred.

Good.

Content with the appearance of the envelope, Kim continued on, moving deeper and deeper into the woods. She became more and more lost, as she moved deeper and deeper into the labyrinth, becoming more and more phantasmal or ethereal.

She continued on and on, blindly stumbling through the dark woods, until she finally reached her final destination.

The meeting place that she had chosen.

Kim stumbled off the waning dirt path into a startlingly desolate clearing. "Startlingly desolate" because the last time that she had been there, the clearing had been filled beyond capacity with teens from all over the immediate Seaford area, drunken teens milling about the bonfire that had been lit at the heart of the clearing, hidden away from the prying eyes of the Seaford Community police force.

It had been Halloween night. A bonfire hosted by none other than Randy Plotski. Girls and boys had been dressed in costumes that revealed too much. Though, not as much as their alcohol tainted tongues had.

Kim remembered swiping yet another drink from the cooler as she had made her way back to the bonfire. She had filled her bladder to the brim with drinks so she had drunkenly stumbled away from the party to relieve herself in the privacy provided by the thick forestry.

As she had stumbled away from the bushes, she had stumbled across a couple who had their tongues crammed down each other's throat. The couple had been Catherine Davis and Brad Wolfe, no doubt. The two were always making out.

Kim remembered the jealousy that had bubbled up within her because her own makeout buddy—her boyfriend, now ex-boyfriend—had not come to the bonfire. Brett Thayer had called in sick that morning, claiming that he had caught some nasty virus from one of his snotnosed younger siblings. While in her sober mindstate she knew that it was not at all his fault that he had fallen ill, Kim could not help but to feel a little upset anyway because she could not spend the night with him as she had planned.

Even if he had not been ill, Brett still would have been unable to attend the bonfire with her because his mother would have made him take his snotnosed younger siblings trick-or-treating, but at the very least she would have been able to spend the night with him and his siblings trick-or-treating. Now Kim had been disallowed that pleasure and she had become a jealous mess.

But Kim remembered that the jealousy and bitterness had left just as quickly as they had come as she had slipped back into her seat in front of the bonfire with her drink, nestled between some blonde Swathmore Girl and her bestie Jack Brewer, only to resurface with a vengeance when she was called away from Her Boy by the Donnas, who were nestled in the arms of their boyfriends, lips heavy with their unshed Confessions.

Kim shook the hazy memory away, unprepared to relive the past or the mistakes she made.

That incident had marked the beginning of the end.

Her alcohol tainted tongue had revealed far more than she had ever bargained for and had inadvertently begun the chain of events that had led to this very moment.

The very moment that she had been waiting for ever since she had received that very first letter.

Masking her consternation with the very confidence that she had once prided herself on, Kim stepped out into the desolate clearing, quickly suffused with moonlight as she moved further and further away from foliage, blonde tresses now appearing more silver than gold.

Although the increased lighting allowed the blonde to descry the shadows with much more ease than before, she felt her stomach roll with unease as she stood alone in the vacant clearing.

Standing alone in the clearing, Kim could not help but to think that she had become the very girl that she ridiculed in those horror movies that her male friends adored for their macabre and profanity. She stood alone in the clearing with no provisions for succor. She had no weapon. She had no phone. All she had was herself and that purple envelope in her hold. In other words, she had nothing, just like those girls that she ridiculed in those horror movies her male friends adored. Nothing to save herself with. Nothing to protect herself with.

Absolutely nothing at all.

Biting her lip so hard that she drew blood, Kim anxiously fingered the hem of her bloodied skirt, feeling the worn mask of confidence slip from her countenance. She looked down at the purple envelope in the palm of her hand, knowing all too well that, regardless of how she felt, it was now or never.

And the Crawfords always chose now.

Sliding her mask back into place, Kim raised a slender browned arm into the starless sky, waving the purple envelope around like a flag.

Tightening the mask that had once slipped from her cheeks, Kim screamed the words very that would seal her fate, the very words that would change the others' fate, and the only words that would change both fates.

"I AM HERE!"

The silence that followed was not one welcomed by Kim. She actually found the silence unsettling. The silence either meant that she was all alone in the woods or that she was not all alone in the woods. And unfortunately neither option seemed rather reassuring.

When the twig snapped, Kim immediately whirled around, long blonde tresses whipping wildly about. Her dark eyes grew wide and her pink lips fell apart as a strangled scream barely escaped her throat. She slowly backed away from the forestry, edging closer and closer towards the firepit that had once warmed the cool clearing, confidence shattered like a glass mask. A hand flew to her chest, manicured and bloody, in an attempt to slow her racing heart.

When another twig snapped and the leaves began to rustle, her racing heart sped up a little more. When the leaves finally stilled and her breathing did the same, an old compeer emerged from the shadows.

With their mouth curved into a smirk, their name left her tongue in nothing more than a shocked whisper.

The purple envelope was moved between fingers and was read by new eyes, its contents drawing the ire of its latest reader. The purple envelope was discarded on the floor and was angrily stomped upon, its contents igniting the fire that burned Kimberly Beulah Crawford.

The heated exchange began with hushed whispers but quickly escalated into deafening screams. The deafening screams never left the forest but quickly overwhelmed the surrounding trees. Creatures that lay in rest fled the night in fear of all the screams. They could sense the impending quietus as they hustled through the leaves.

The silence that eventually befell the forest was one to commemorate as thick warm blood drenched the ground in its wake.

{ A/N }

Thus the prologue concludes.

After a long torturous wait, The Game finally made its way back into the Kickin' It archive. I initially took the story down because I believed that it was poorly written and had minimal direction, however, I also believed that it had a great premise so I decided to repost the story in its rewritten form. It took hours upon hours of writing and planning, but I was finally able to complete this chapter and plan out many others. So I decided to post and here it is. I do hope that my writing is up to par with others in the archive since it has been quite a while since I last posted. Haha. More about that when I finally update my other but somewhat less intense mystery story, Vandals Anonymous.

So The Game is an AU mystery story about the alleged death of Kimberly Beulah Crawford, a popular blonde cheerleader at Seaford High. Her death rattles the small seaside town to its core, especially its cheerleaders at Seaford High who may know more than they are letting on. The FanFic follows Jack Brewer and Milton Krupnick as they try to figure out the shady game the girls have been playing that stole their best friend's life.

While The Game may have some similarities to other mystery series, such as Pretty Little Liars, it has many differences as well. Starting with the fact that, unlike in PLL, The Game exists and is a core part of the story. What the cheerleaders confessed to in The Game was what led to Kim's ultimate downfall. What the cheerleaders confessed to in The Game may also lead to their ultimate downfall as well.

Now, while characters both new and old will be featured in this FanFic, the chapters will alternate between three running points of view. The first point of view belongs to Jack, the second point of view belongs to Milton, and the third point of view alternates between the members of the Seaford High Pep Squad. A fourth point of view may be introduced to fill in any gaps in the story. Less essential characters, such as Jerry, may have this point of view.

KICK will be in the FanFic, although, their story will be told mainly in the form of flashbacks and memories. Despite the fact that Kim was dating Brett, she still had feelings for Jack. She broke up with Brett, though, for reasons unknown that will be further explored as the FanFic continues.

There are also two "That Night" scenarios that are key to the FanFic. The first being "That Halloween" and the second being "That Night Kim was Killed". Both scenarios are extremely important and have been riddled with hints and clues. As the FanFic continues, you will learn more and more about each "Night" and what happened in the weeks that led up to them. You will also learn how The Game and its Confessions impacted the events the occurred on each "Night". You will learn all of this from multiple characters.

I hope that each and every one of you will stick around for the mystery because it is just getting started. I also hope that you caught some of the clues I left behind in the prologue.

- ALPHA