Going through old story ideas I ran in to this. I polished it up a bit and decided to post and see what y'all thunk about it.
Disclaimer: These characters still are not mine…
Unexpected
As Ron was walking through the empty gym of Middleton High after football practice, he thought he heard… crying? It was coming from somewhere by the bleachers near the emergency exit.
Walking slowly and quietly so as not to startle whomever it was, he made his way across the floor, and silently sat down on the bottom bench of the bleachers.
He didn't speak loudly, as all Ron wanted to do was help whoever this was. He didn't like to see or hear anyone having to cry. He had done too much of that in his short life.
"Umm… Hello?" Was all he said, and immediately the crying stopped. Then he heard a sniffle, and a muffled voice.
"Go away."
"You… don't have to tell me who you are, and I won't look. Want to talk about it?" He genuinely wanted to help this person.
"But won't you recognize my voice?"
"Actually it's kind of muffled, and I can't really place it, so I really don't know who you are." He paused for a bit. "So… Wanna talk about it?"
"You'll just laugh… just like the others." The obviously female, but muffled voice continued.
Even though the person couldn't see him, Ron put up three fingers in the traditional Boy Scout salute. "No, I won't. I promise. Now what is so bad that it has you crying all alone?"
"I…" The voice started, and Ron leaned a little closer to hear a little better. "I… thought I was loved."
"What happened?" Ron said as he leaned back on the bleachers, looking around the gym to make sure that no one was around. School was basically over, but the doors would stay open for about another hour for the janitors.
"Well… I… don't know where to start. (sniff)"
"OK, you said you thought you were… Loved. By who?"
"You… don't know them. At least I don't think so. He was… is… from another country."
"Can you give me a name?" Ron asked.
"No!" The voice said loudly, echoing off the walls of the gym, and then immediately went back to the muffled voice, and quietly repeated the word. "No."
"OK, that's cool. For the sake of the conversation though… let's just call him… Jim. Is that OK?"
"Yeah (sniff), that's fine."
"So where is Jim from?" Ron asked sounding genuinely interested.
"He's from… somewhere over-seas." Ron's eyebrow shot up.
"Had you been dating for a while?"
"Yeah. About six months."
"And he broke up with you?" Ron asked, taking a guess.
"It's not jus the fact that he… broke up with me, it's HOW he did it."
"How was that?"
"He… sent me an attached MP3 song to an e-mail. All the email said was, 'Listen to the song. It says everything I need to say'.
Ron felt a tap on his elbow and he looked over. The person he was talking to set an MP3 player beside him, along with headphones.
"File 3, track 5. That's what he sent."
Ron picked up the unit, placed the headphones on, and dialed up the song she had referenced. It was "American Woman", by Lenny Kravitz.
American woman
Stay away from me
American woman
Mama let me be
Don't come hanging 'round my door
I don't want to see your face no more
I got more important things to do
Than spend my time growin' old with you
Now woman
Stay away
American woman
Listen what I say… ay
Ron continued listening to the rest of the song and tried hard not to tap his foot to the beat, as well as performing an air-guitar during the solo
Bye bye… bye bye
Bye bye… bye, bye
You're no good for me
And I'm no good for you
I'm looking at you right in the eye
And tell you what I'm gonna do
I'm gonna leave you woman
You know I gotta go
I'm gonna leave you woman
I gotta go
Iiiiii gotta go
I gotta go American woman yeah
When the song was over Ron pressed 'Stop', removed the headphones, and slowly set everything back from where he had picked it up.
"That's harsh." He couldn't think of anything else to say.
"I… I thought… that he loved me." It sounded like she was going to start crying again.
"Hey… hey… Apparently he just wasn't the guy for you. I mean… Since Kim and I started dating… oops!" Ron clamped his mouth shut.
"Relax Stop… err, Ron. I know it's you, and I don't care."
"Well… since you know it's me, do you still want my advice?"
"Ohh Kaay…"
"If this guy you were dating ever really loved you, then he wouldn't have done this to you. He would have at least let you down easy. No one deserves to be dumped like that. It… it's just not right. I wouldn't even wish that on Bonnie."
"What?" The word sounded clear, and not muffled. Immediately the voice was back to that muffled sound. "Why would you say that?"
A corner of Ron's mouth ticked up in a smile she couldn't see, as now he was pretty sure exactly who this was. "Bonnie may be an egotistical blowhard that has no right to pick on Kim as much as she does, but I believe the girl actually has a heart underneath all that snarkiness." He shook his head as if to remove a thought from his mind. "But that really doesn't matter. What matters is that you find someone who you think deserves YOUR Love, and let them know it. To me, a line from the movie 'Always', with Richard Dryfus and Holly Hunter says it all. Richard Dryfus' character died, and he lamented on his own death, and being on the Other Side. He said… 'The Love we hold back is the only thing that follows us here.' I took that to mean, live life to the fullest, and never have any regrets. You know what I mean, Bonnie?"
"My names not Bonnie you los… (damn!)." The muffled voice said.
"OK… suit yourself." Now Ron was now positive this was Bonnie, but he wasn't going to say anything to anyone. He knew better.
As the young blond rose from his seat and walked a few steps away from the bleachers that same but now clear voice called out from behind him.
"Ron…?
Just as he turned around, Ron saw a flash of brown hair as well as the blue and gold of a cheerleader's uniform. Before he knew what was happening, lips were being pressed onto his as her arms were wrapped around his neck. There was no tongue, but the kiss was full of emotion, and… surprisingly… very passionate.
Ron tried prying Bonnie's vice-like grip from his neck, and when that didn't work, he placed his hands on her hips to try and push the brunette away. Just as he did so, he heard a voice he so did not want to hear at this point. Kim's!
"Ronald Dean Stoppable!" Her green eyes were wide, and tears were flowing in torrents down her cheeks at what she had just witnessed. "When I said we should try other things, I meant other restaurants, not other people! I simply can't believe you would do something so… unexpected! And with Bonnie! I don't want to talk to you or see you again… EVER!"
Kim then rushed out of the gym, forgetting her backpack as she had dropped it on the floor in her surprise at finding Ron lip-smacking with her most hated enemy.
"I… guess I better go explain all this to her." Ron said as Bonnie uncurled her arms from around his neck. "Now why did you do that in the first place?"
She looked up at Ron using her own version of a Puppy Dog Pout, but it wasn't near as effective on him as when Kim would do it. "I… just wanted to say thank-you… and I took your advice to heart."
Ron was dumbfounded. "I… I…"
"Just remember Stoppable…" Her voice was now starting to return to its usual temper. "From now on, when you hear me calling you a Loser, I actually mean the opposite."
Ron thought to himself for a couple seconds. "Wait… That would mean I'm a… Winner? What did I… win?"
Again Bonnie looked up at him with her PDP, and whispered just loud enough for him to hear. "My heart."
She then stood straight and looked him right in the eye with a wicked look, and yelled at Ron right in the face. "Now get out of here… LOSER!"
Ron could almost see the corner of her lip curl up slightly, but he stayed quiet. Quickly he grabbed his backpack, as well as Kim's, and ran out of the gym.
He only had one thought (well actually two) on his mind as he headed towards his girlfriend's house to try and explain to his redheaded girlfriend what had just happened. One, how was he going to get Kim to believe him… And two, did Bonnie Rockwaller just tell him that she was in Love with him?
It was all just so… so… unexpected.
The End…
I'm sure Ron can explain this and live, right?
