Disclaimer: I don't own the character used in this fic, The Walt Disney Company does. That means I don't get paid one red cent for using them.

Author's note: This is a continuation of my story Snark which takes place during Kim and Ron's senior year of high school. You'll have to read that first story if you want to make any sense outta this one.

Xxxxxx

Snark 2

Chapter 1

Definition

Xxxxxx

Kim Possible was simply stunned at what she saw Monday morning as she and her boyfriend, Ron Stoppable, entered Middleton High School.

Normally, a majority of the students milling about the hallways would be lethargic and uninspired to get to their classes first thing Monday morning, having a hard time getting back into the swing of the regular school routine after the weekend. You could almost say coming to school on a Monday morning was like attending a funeral, full of sorrow and dread and not wanting to be there in the first place.

Today was obviously different.

Today, Kim and Ron were greeted at the doors by a totally awake, raucous and cheering throng of students lining the hallway that enthusiastically ushered them into the gymnasium where the entire student body was cheering while the Mad Dog Marching Band played the Middleton High School fight song.

From the many handmade posters and banners visible in the crowded gym, it appeared that there was a pre school day pep rally for the winning cheer squad that had brought home the Regional Cheerleading title, and that Kim and Ron were being singled out for most of the praise. The young couple had come up with the idea of using other club members and athletes, including Ron in his football uniform, instead of just the girls of the cheer squad during their routine, and that had put them over the top and won the competition.

The teen duo was hurried up onto the stage at one end of the gym where Bonnie and the other cheerleaders, along with Mr. Barkin, greeted them with hugs and pats on the back. (The girls did all of the hugging while Mr. Barkin merely patted Ron on the back, rather hard, almost knocking the blond boy off the stage.)

"What's all this," Kim queried in confusion.

"This is all for you and Ron Ron," Bonnie Rockwaller answered, having to yell over the loud crowd. "We won the Regionals because of you two so something had to be done to give you the recognition you so richly deserve."

Kim was ready to wave off the accolades with a 'No Big' comment but she was interrupted by the big, burly Teacher/Vice Principal as he proudly held up a trophy and bellowed, "All Right People, Listen Up! If some of you haven't already heard, our own Middleton Mad Dog Cheerleaders won the Regional Cheer Competition on Saturday."

There was a huge cheer from the student body and Mr. Barkin had to wait for a half a minute for it to die down before he continued. He put his arms around the shoulders of Kim and Ron, walked them to the front of the stage and said, "And it's all due to the efforts of Head Cheerleader Kim Possible, and record-breaking, Mad Dog Running Back, Ron Stoppable."

There was a bigger round of applause and cheering, with some of the students calling out "Go Kim!" and "Go Ron!", although some of the kids who were yelling called Ron by a different name like John or Don.

For some unknown reason that really ticked off a certain teal-eyed brunette.

Bonnie stomped up to the front of the stage and screamed, "It's Ron you losers! Get his name right! I will from now on!"

That outburst quieted down the raucous crowd even more effectively than when Mr. Barkin first hollered to settle them down. You could even hear a cricket chirping somewhere under the bleachers at the far end of the gym for a few seconds, but Bonnie's piercing glare somehow even quieted the noisy insect.

Bonnie's angry stare panned over the crowd before she continued. "Ron came up with the concept of using members from the different teams and clubs in our routine and that's what put us over the top and won the competition, so he deserves the full credit and recognition for the win!"

She let that information sink in for a few seconds before she said, "You guys know about the missions Kim goes on against all of the evil villains that try to take over the world. Well Ron goes on those missions too... despite the fact that he's probably scared out of his mind most of the time. I know I'd be scared fighting henchmen that are at least twice as big as me while trying to stop some doomsday device that can blow up the entire world at any second, taking me out first! And why does he do it? He fights the henchmen and stops the big bad devices so you all can have a normal life... not be subjugated by some wacko that wants to rule the world! That's why I'll remember his name from now on!"

Bonnie swiftly turned away from the gym full of students. The teens on the stage could see that she was fighting hard to stop the tears that were welling in her eyes as her body quaked in anger, frustration and the other emotions running through her. Six of girls from the cheer squad quickly surrounded Bonnie to lend their comfort and support.

Mr. Barkin didn't notice Bonnie's distress. While he agreed with the general reason to hold this assembly, to pump up school spirit and support the athletic teams, (and specifically honor the accomplishment of the cheer squad in this case,) he didn't really like the unruliness of pep rallies to begin with and this one, in his opinion, had swiftly degenerated into sheer chaos. That was something he could not and would not tolerate in his school. Barkin quickly stepped forward and dismissed the assembly, quickly moving the students on to their first class of the day.

Kim and Ron were simply stunned by Bonnie's rant to the point that they didn't know how to respond and were frozen in place. After a few very long seconds, Ron finally stepped forward and wrapped the sobbing, quivering brunette in a gentle embrace. The six cheer squad members, probably sensing that something private and possibly very special was about to happen, back up a bit to let the blond boy comfort the brunette solo. Ron leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Thanks Bonnie."

Bonnie took a deep, shuddering but cleansing breath as she snaked her arms around Ron's waist and buried her head in his chest before she murmured, "You deserve it Ron. I know you don't want any of the glory but you deserve to at least have them know what you've done for the cheer squad and the school. I know and I appreciate you... now."

"You've never shown it before," the blond boy lightly chuckled trying to cheer up the brunette.

"Weren't you listening to what Tara said at the intervention?" Bonnie giggled softly, trying to keep everyone else from listening in on her and Ron's personal conversation. "I've been figuratively dipping your pigtails in an inkwell all these years. You were suppose to notice me and ask me out."

Before Ron could say a word, Mr. Barkin stepped up to the duo and said, "All right you two, break it up. You're in school and there are rules."

"Sorry Mr. B.," Ron nervously laughed as he tried to untangle himself from the brunette's firm grasp, but couldn't. "Bonnie got a little emotional and I was just trying to lend a little support, if you know what I mean."

"No, I don't Stoppable," Barkin growled in frustration, never having had a close lady friend that needed support during an emotional breakdown. He'd been too focused in college getting his degree to worry about the opposite sex and when he was in the army, well, enough said. Then he noticed the slightly smeared, runny mascara on Bonnie's tear-stained cheeks. He relented a bit and said, "But you did the right thing. Help her get to class."

Barkin turned to the other girls and said, "That goes for the rest of you. Classes start in ten minutes and there will be no excuse why any of you should be late." Marcella, Jessica, Hope, Crystal, Liz and Tara took Mr. Barkin's warning to heart and quickly scampered off. They weren't exactly running, which would be a clear infraction of the school rules, (even though they were in the gymnasium and not the hallways) but they quickly made their way out of the gym and Mr. Barkin's sight.

"Mr. Barkin," Kim said, finally coming out of her stunned state from seeing Bonnie's tirade supporting Ron and then her breakdown, and stepping forward. "I'll help Bonnie get to class. I think she may want to stop in the restroom to fix her makeup before anyone sees her."

"Very well, Possible," Barkin said as he left the stage. "Just don't take too long." And with that said he rapidly moved across the gym and out the door to take up his normal, pre-class post to stop any and all forms of major (or minor) infractions of the school rules.

"Bonnie, I..." Ron started to say as the trio walked out of the gym before Kim cut him off.

"Ron, you go ahead to class," the redhead harshly growled as she stared dagger at the brunette. "I'll be along shortly."

"Oh, okay KP," Ron said in surprise at the forcefulness of Kim's voice. It sounded to him more like an order than a suggestion or request. It was fairly obvious to him that Kim wasn't happy about something, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out just what. "I'll grab your books outta your locker and save you a seat. Bonnie, I'll talk to you later."

"Please and thank you," Kim firmly said as she and Bonnie briefly paused outside the door to the girls restroom to watch him walk off before entering.

Bonnie went to the one of the sinks lining one wall to wash her face. Kim on the other hand, checked the stalls to made sure they were alone in the room before she turned on the brunette and fiercely growled, "Okay Bonnie. Just what did you say to Ron."

"That's between him and me," Bonnie nonchalantly said as she started to reapply her makeup, having quickly recovered from her emotional outburst in the gym. "What's it to you? He's not really your boyfriend, just the sidekick on your missions. You only pretend to be a couple."

"Ron is my boyfriend," Kim barked as she stomped over to the brunette and defensively crossed her arms over her chest for the inevitable face-off. "Ron and I have been best friends since the first day of Kindergarten and we got together after the Diablos incident last year at the dance."

"Got together?" Bonnie let out a loud laugh and had to stop applying her mascara for a few seconds so she wouldn't put her eye out with the applicator. "Aside from that one kiss at the prom last year you hardly show him any affection. The most you do is hold hands. I spent all of yesterday reading your online mission reports and they show exactly how you treat your so-called best friend/boyfriend. Is being a best friend what you call it when you try to totally change him by making him get a new haircut? Or how about when you practically abandoned Ron to run off and save Milwaukee when you both were working at Bueno Nacho... or how about when you met Monique?"

The brunette icily glared at the redhead and added in a low, firm voice, "You definitely weren't a best friend when you ignored Wade and Ron's warning and went out on a date with Josh, almost blushing yourself out of existence. I doubt if you ever even thanked him for that."

Kim knew that Wade Load, her web keeper/tech creator and friend, kept a fairly detailed account of all their mission for their fans to read on the website so she knew what Bonnie was talking about. She always read the reports herself to make sure they were accurate. (As if there were any doubt with Wade writing them.)

"Well," Kim faltered for a second before she rallied and said, "Ron and I are still a couple even if we don't show it in public. We do everything together. He comes along on all of my family vacations; like to my uncles ranch in Wyoming and when we moved Nana into her new apartment down in Florida. And I've always helped him whenever he's gotten in over his head; like when he tried to stop Drakken during Christmas or got trapped on the space station with Monkey Fist."

"Yeah, I suppose," Bonnie admitted as the two girls left the restroom and started to head for their first class of the day. "But you didn't go with him when his family took that trip to Paris and you still take advantage of Ron whenever you get the chance. He deserves a better, more affectionate girlfriend than that."

"And I suppose you think you can be a better girlfriend than I am?" Kim incredulously begged.

Bonnie suddenly stopped in the hall, a look of shame on her down-turned face as she softly said, "I know I can be... if he'd let me."

Kim swiftly stepped in front of the brunette to stop her from walking any further up the hall, planted her hands on her hips and firmly said, "You know this doesn't have to become a competition for Ron's affections, B. You can be friends with him... With both of us."

"I know that, K," Bonnie sniped, quickly coming out of her funk as she used her skills in ballet to gracefully pirouette around Kim's human roadblock, then nonchalantly proceeded up the hallway. "But Ron's only had one other girlfriend two years ago. That was Zita Flores, and she didn't kiss him or hold his hand either. I think it's about time for a girl to start showing him some affection for the man he's becoming."

"Hello!" Kim practically screamed as she chased after the teal-eyed girl. "I'm a girl, and his friend! So what does that make me? Chopped liver? I'm his girlfriend!"

"There's a big difference between being a girl friend and a girlfriend."Bonnie snapped at the redhead."I think you're still stuck in just friends mode. There's more to being a good girlfriend than just holding his hand and talking to him."

Kim was stunned at that little bit of verbal clarification. So stunned that she let Bonnie walk away from her as she stood stock still in the hallway, running those last sentences over and over in her mind.

What struck her hard was that Bonnie was right. Sure, she gave him an occasional quick peck on the cheek in private, but mostly they just held hands and hung out together. Beside the more frequent hand-holding and very rare hug or kiss, their everyday lives weren't any different then what they'd been for the past fourteen years.

Were she and Ron so stuck in their normal routine that they couldn't move on to inappropriate boyfriend/girlfriend activities such as the occasional groping/make out session? Or even a passionate kiss? Was she such a Goody-Two-Shoes, something both Bonnie and Shego had called her in the past, that they couldn't move their relationship on to the next level beyond just friends? And did Ron want more from their relationship that what they now had? They'd never talked about it at all.

Luckily, she'd snapped out of her deep pondering in time to make it to her first class before the late bell sounded.

Xxxxxx

Kim and Ron sat down at their regular table in the lunchroom. Their discussion was light and amiable, despite the fact that they were covering the events of their last mission that'd happened only yesterday.

"Come on KP," the tow-headed boy joked to his lifelong friend, now girlfriend. "You gotta admit it's kinda awesome that I got a 'B plus' just for writing a spur-of-the-moment song and singing it on American Starmaker while you fought with Shego in the dressing room."

"Yes," Kim finally ceded with a light chuckle, "I guess it is a bit awesome... even though that brain washing shampoo will only control Shego for like, twenty-four hours. You know she and Drakken will break out of prison any day now and we'll have to go after them again when they hatch a new scheme."

"Yeah," Ron laughed, still in a happy mood despite the fact that he was going to be chased around Dr. Drakken's next lair by a bunch of big, burly henchmen and/or synthodrones in the near future. "But I still got a 'B plus' on my report. That's, like, almost an 'A' which I've had very few of. Before the one in Home Ec last year, the last 'A' I got was in recess back in first grade."

"He's got you there, girlfriend," Monique laughed. She was sitting next to Kim who was sitting between Monique and Ron at the table.

Before Kim could riposte, she was interrupted by another voice. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Not at all Bon," Ron quickly answered as he stood up and held the chair next to him so Bonnie could sit down.

"Always the gentleman, aren't you Ron Ron?" Bonnie gaily laughed as she sat and was helped scoot forward by the blond boy.

"You don't hold the chair for me," Kim said with a bit of a pout on her lips. (Though not the full force of the Puppy Dog Pout which was reserved for special circumstances.)

"I used to all the time," Ron countered as he sat down and started eating the gray-green, quote-unquote food that the school swore was both edible and met the State's nutritional guidelines.

"Yeah. You last held out my chair when we were, like, six years old, back in first grade whenever we sat down to finger paint."

"Well," Ron said with his mouth full and a noncommittal shrug, "we've know each other for a long time now and I know you don't go for none of that cavalry stuff." The three girls at the table knew Ron often mixed up his word and meant chivalry, but let it slide as he continued with his spiel. "Bon is our guest at the table so she deserves the full Ron Stoppable, gentlemanly treatment; Just like I did for Monique when she started sitting with us."

"Does that mean you'll stop if I become a permanent fixture at your table?" Bonnie innocently queried with a girlish giggle.

"That's about the size of it," Monique laughed along with the brunette. "Ron held out my chair the first two time I sat with him and Kim. After that, I was on my own."

"I didn't want you to think that I thought that you thought that I thought that you weren't a strong independent woman," Ron answered between bites of his... food. He paused for a few seconds as he ran that somewhat awkward sentence over in his mind a few times to make sure he got it correct. "Yeah, that's right," he said with a firm nod before scooping another mouthful of 'goop de gray' into his maw.

"Well, if that's all I can expect..." Bonnie laughed as she leaned with both elbows on the table toward Ron and coyly batted her eyes at the boy. The smile on her face showed the mirth in her voice, but it also slyly hinted that she might be trying to get away with something.

"Whoa!" Ron suddenly jolted in his seat, his fork clattering down onto his now empty plate.

"What's wrong, Ron?" Kim asked in concern.

"I think Bonnie lost her shoe," Ron said as he pushed himself away from the table and looked under it. Sure enough, Bonnie's right foot was minus one shoe and crossed in front of the other to where Ron had been sitting so it'd brushed up against his leg. "Here, let me get it for you," Ron chimed as he ducked under the table to retrieve the errant footwear that had somehow gotten kicked clear out to the other side of the large round table and beyond. (Probably doing it himself when he had bolted upright from the contact.)

Kim swiftly stood up and leaned on the table, trying to get in Bonnie's face, as she snapped at the brunette, "Playing footsie with Ron? How dare you!"

"I dare because it's a sign of affection and I want to get to know him a whole lot better," Bonnie angrily barked back at the redhead. "From his reaction, it looks like that was the first time anyone played footsie with him."

Before either of the two girls could say another word, a hand with Bonnie's shoe in it appeared at the far side of the table. The hand disappeared for a second but was quickly followed by Ron as he crawled out from beneath the table and said, "Here you go, Bonnie. Someone musta kicked it hard 'cause it ended up under the table over there." He point to a spot that was two tables over from the one they were sitting at. The occupants of the tables in between that spot and the table Kim, Monique, Bonnie and Ron were sitting at were all angrily glaring at the blond boy for disturbing their lunchtime conversations by crawling under their tables... twice. (Once to retrieve the shoe and the second time to return to his table.)

"Thank you Ronnie," Bonnie coquettishly giggled as she accepted her shoe and started to put it on. As she tied the laces, she said, "A gallant deed like that deserves a reward. Can I meet you somewhere after cheer practice and properly reward my hero?"

Before Ron could respond, Kim stepped in and said, "Unfortunately no, he can't." She turned to her lifelong friend now boyfriend and continued, "You need to start on that assignment that due in two days."

"Assignment? What assignment?" Ron questioned, totally at sea as to what Kim was talking about.

"The one for Latin Class that was given to us today," Kim answered a little more firmly than what was necessary. "The one that was assigned to us while you were in a deep conversation with Rufus about provolone cheese, so you probably didn't hear him."

"Oh, that Latin thingie," Ron nodded in realization. He turned to the teal-eyed brunette and said, "Sorry, Bonnie, I got to write a Latin paper about... Latin... or something. Can I give you a rain check?"

"Sure, Ronnie," Bonnie sighed, the disappointment evident in her voice. "We'll get together some other time."

Just then the bell rang, dismissing the students from the current period and sending them on their way to their next class.

Only Bonnie saw Kim turn to her and childishly stick her tongue out as the couple left the cafeteria.