It all started one day in fourth grade. King Bob's pyramids had melted away in the rain and he felt completely down trodden. Gretchen went to comfort the man who had been acting like a tyrant for two days, it was then she knew.
Now it was ninth grade and Gretchen was taking mainly Advanced Placement classes: English, Biology, Chemistry, History, and Calculus. The only class she had with her fellow ninth graders was P.E. and she had it with all her friends: Mikey, T.J., Spinelli, Gus, and Vince.
It happened in Biology, she had class with a lot of Juniors, Bob being one of them. She didn't recognize him, but he recognized her. She looked different, her chest had grown, and a figure had appeared. Her glasses were now smaller to fit her face better, and she opted to lose her pigtails for a tight bun positioned high on her head.
Bob had changed as well; he spiked his black hair and developed rippling muscles. He also had broken his leg during a football game and still had a small limp. Not to mention that he had stopped wearing the crown and cape.
Gretchen and Bob were partnered for the year in that class. It was the beginning of the year and they were learning about what makes an organism a life form. "Gretchen, I was wondering if you want to come over after school today. You know to start working out ideas for our project?" Bob asked as they were leaving the classroom.
"Yeah, sure, that sounds good, how about I meet you outside the main building after school?" Gretchen said.
"Okay, see you then," he said as they parted ways. Gretchen left and caught up with her friends for lunch.
"Hey guys," she greeted them taking her seat and pulling out her lunch. Mikey seemed distracted, Gus was pushing his food around his plate, T.J. and Spinelli were having one of their make out sessions and Vince was no where to be seen.
Vince arrived a few minutes later and took his seat next to T.J. and Spinelli. Gretchen wondered how he could stand sitting there. "So, guys, Kelso's after school right?" Vince said confirming their plans for today and nearly everyday of their life.
"Oh, sorry I won't be able to make it, I have a group project to do," going to Kelso's after school had become second nature so she sometimes didn't think of it as an already made plan.
"What?" Mikey questioned, since puberty his voice had become more baritone like his singing voice.
"Yeah, well you see Bob and I have this project in Biology and we need…" Gretchen was unable to finish her sentence.
"You mean 'King Bob?'" Gus asked. For some reason he was unable to let go of the fact that the kid who, during Gus' first year in this town, was called a King and treated as such was now just a regular guy.
"Yeah 'King Bob,' if you still wish to call him that, we have Biology together and need to start working on our project," she repeated and began to eat her lunch.
The rest of the day seemed to go by pretty quickly, nothing special, except that she was beginning to feel nervous about what was going to happen later that day.
At three o'clock she stood on the steps that led to the main building of her school. 'Maybe I can tell him that my mom and dad need me to stay home because they're going out,' she thought frantically. 'No, Gretchen,' she scolded herself, 'you're going to go to his house and study for a test. That's all.'
She walked down the steps and saw Bob standing by his white Toyota. A large grin spread across his face when he saw her and he whipped around the passenger side so he could open the door for her.
She slid inside and began to breathe deeply, Bob slipped inside next to her, his smile still prominent on his face. "Well, are you ready?" he asked maliciously.
"How long have you had your license?" she asked in response.
"Long enough," he replied starting the engine and slipping out of the parking lot and speeding down the road to his house.
They arrived about seven minutes later, and again Bob rushed to open the door for Gretchen. They walked up the walk to the door, Bob's keys jingled as he searched for the one for the front door. He finally found it, slid it into the lock and pushed the door open.
"Mom? Dad? Is anyone home?" Bob called entering the house. The living room was about average sized, painted with warm colors such as brown, tan and some eggshell white. The couches were overstuffed and somewhat old, and paintings were found every few feet or so.
"Well, I guess no one's home," he said tossing his keys on the counter. "Would you like something to eat or drink?" he was already halfway in the kitchen when he asked her.
"Um…water would be nice," she replied watching him as he slipped through the entry way.
Without thinking about it she followed him into the kitchen. She stood transfixed as she watched him move about the tiny room with ease. Despite his busted leg his was still able to be graceful sometimes. "Here you go," he handed her a glass which jerked her back to reality.
He led her back into the living room and gestured for her to sit on the couch. "We should just get started," he said and they both pulled out their school books.
"I think that maybe we could make a model D.N.A. strand," Gretchen suggested.
"Yeah, that's a really good idea," Bob said enthusiastically, "what should we make it out of?"
"We could make it out of wires, metal, tin, etc.," Gretchen said. They spent a few hours writing out possible design plans and presentation information they would need.
Bob stretched out his arms and let out a deep yawn, "What time is it?"
Gretchen looked down at her watch, "About six o'clock, we've been working for nearly three hours."
Bob shut his book, "Well, you know what that means? Break time." He got up and stretched out his legs, because he had been sitting down so long his busted leg was acting up.
"So how are your friends?" he asked from across the room.
"Oh, fine," Gretchen replied getting up and walking up behind him. "We haven't changed all that much, at least I don't think so."
"Hey Gretchen, do you remember when we were in elementary school and everyone used to call me 'King Bob?'" he asked looking back at her.
"Yeah, my friend Gus still calls you that," she replied laughing.
"Well, you remember that time when I tried to have everyone build those pyramids on the playground?"
"Of course I do," she replied. 'That was the day I began to fall for you,' she added inside her head. "They bricks were made of mud and when it rained the entire structure collapsed."
"I only wanted to be remembered," a sudden change had come over him, he was deep in thought, part of him was talking to Gretchen and the other was talking to himself. "I'm probably already forgotten, but I'm okay with that. When it all fell down you were there and I've never forgotten that."
He gripped Gretchen's hands, "Whenever I feel that I will just fall away I think of you and I don't care. I only hope that you will remember me."
Small tears welled up in her eyes and began to fall down her cheek. Bob took his thumb and rubbed the water from her cheek. He leaned his face down and brushed his lips against hers. 'I will always remember you,' Gretchen thought.
A/N: Okay, I haven't got a good night's sleep in a while so the grammar might be off or the sentences confusing. If so just tell me in the reviews and I'll revise it. Alright, I explain why I paired these two up in the story. I mean, when I saw that episode I saw potential. I started this story June 2004 and found it when I transfered all my story files to my new computer. I guess that's it, just the disclaimer left. I dont own these characters, someone else does. Darn them.