My standard Kim Possible disclaimer:
I know Disney owns "Kim Possible"...lock, stock, and Rufus.
If they want to sue me, they have to get behind all my other creditors.
Since I am in south Florida, the line has formed to the right
…and goes all the way to Sacramento!
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To all readers:
1) This is the first tale I have written in quite a while that is set within the 'timeline' of the series. It is placed a little after 'Blush' (Kim's last known date with Josh) and immediately after 'Ron Millionaire' (the last time Bonnie was actually nice to Ron before 'Homecoming Upset'). Since 'Showdown at the Crooked D', the next episode in production order, seemed to signal the start of summer vacation before Team Possible's junior year, this story would be placed just before the end of the school year.
If it really doesn't, well...Just consider this as taking place near the end of the sophomore year, right after both Kim and Ron turned 16, please-and-thank-you!
Two items of warning, though…
First, this story is rated 'T', for graphic violence.
Second, I'm going a little 'AU' with this thing after a while. Just because this tale falls into a spot on the timeline, that doesn't mean it can't stray from that point onward.
2) Once again, this is delaying a few of my other projects. I'm sorry, folks…I will release my originally-planned tales soon enough. I just got hit with this 'Plot-Zilla®' and knew it was too important to hold it back for later.
3) Please check out captainkodak1's DeviantArt page. There, he has a depiction of the 'Hall Locker Memorial' scene (in chapter 2) that is a downright PERFECT description of my vision for that scene. 'Right Hand Salute' to you, Captain!
For now, let's just sit back and…
Enjoy the show!
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'When Good Times Go Bad'
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Chapter One: 'Party At Malcolm's House'
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…For Sharon Knudsen…
…Killed by a drunk driver within hours of her 18th birthday…
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…The lunch period started pretty much like any afternoon at Middleton High School. Students were milling about the cafeteria as Kim and Ron engaged in their daily eating ritual. While Kim's mother warned her never to 'play with her food', she was forced to parry and spar against the gray 'Mystery Meat' on her tray in order to finally consume the…substance.
Without warning, Ron was nearly tackled by a bespectacled young man wearing black slacks and a white ruffled shirt.
Ron looked up to discover…
"Malcolm Needious?" Ron wondered. "What are you doing here?"
"Yeah." Kim added as she continued her odd 'food fight'. "I thought you were busy with rehearsals for the Spring Play."
Malcolm raised a hand in acknowledgement as he let go of his target. "I know, I know. I just wanted to thank Ron for his brilliance last year."
Kim and Ron gasped together, "Ron/Me? Brilliant??"
Malcolm nodded. "Of course, my man. After that whole 'Everlot' thing, you suggested I join the Drama Club."
Kim interjected, "You do have the shirts for it. I gotta give you that."
Malcolm agreed. "That's what he said, too…and in the last year and a half, I've kept up my grades and appeared in three different productions at Middleton High, two more at the Middleton Community Theater, and some 'Summer Stock' work with my uncle in California. Last night, I found out I got accepted at Julliard."
Ron exchanged 'high-fives' with Malcolm and shouted, "Boo-yeah! You are the man!"
Malcolm continued, "And I owe it all to you, Ron-man. To celebrate, my folks are throwing a monster party Saturday night at our house. You're both invited, of course."
"Ummm…Malcolm," Kim reminded the white-bloused boy, "you do know I'm still dating Josh…right? Ron and I are just friends."
Malcolm answered, "Hey, that's cool. Bring whoever you want. The more, the merrier." He grabbed Ron's shoulders again and finished, "It starts Saturday at 8:00. I'll see you there."
Malcolm proceeded to hug Ron once more before Mr. Barkin stomped over to the group and hollered, "Stoppable…Needious…Knock off the PDA!"
Ron looked at Mr. Barkin and argued, "Hey! I was just minding my own business. It was Malcolm here with the case of the grabs."
Mr. Barkin sneered, "I know what I saw…and just for that crack, both of you have a 'command performance' in my office…RIGHT NOW!"
As he and Malcolm were being escorted out of the cafeteria, Ron hollered behind his shoulder, "See you after school, KP."
Kim could only smile and wave as the cafeteria's doors closed…with Ron's pants caught in the handle. The tell-tale 'R-I-I-I-I-P' was heard by one and all in the lunchroom, followed by the collective sound of every eye in the room rolling simultaneously…
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…Ron left Mr. Barkin's office with a saddened look on his face. The mood drifted with him all the way through class that Thursday afternoon. He finally met Kim in the parking lot after his detention and her cheer practice.
While his father forced him to sell back most of the items he bought with his initial Naco royalties check, Ron was satisfied in knowing the money would be re-invested so he would be set for life once he reached his 21st birthday.
Even with the massive 'sell-off', he was allowed to keep some of his 'bling' and one of the more practical cars from his fleet. It was a black, two-door coupe, adorned with the golden 'naked mole rat' hood ornament taken from the limousine Ron had to sell. This modest sedan was enough to normally put a smile on his face whenever he got behind the wheel. After all, the sixth time was the charm when he finally got his license the previous week.
Kim noticed the sad look on his face and commented, "Ron, I know Barkin's got you down; but look on the bright side…The weekend's only a day away; and we're all going to that big party at Malcolm's house on Saturday night. Besides, if you drive us over to Bueno Nacho, I'm buying. I'll even 'grande size'."
Ron rushed over to open the door for Kim before she could reach the door's handle, the glum look never leaving his face. "Kim," he moaned, "I know you're trying to cheer me up. That's usually my job; and, from experience, I know you are doing great at it. If it's all the same, though, maybe I should just take you home."
Kim sat in the front passenger seat and buckled her seat belt. While Ron went around the coupe to take his place behind the wheel, she eyed him suspiciously.
"Alright!" She growled. "WHO are you and WHAT have you done with my best friend?"
Ron nervously half-chuckled, "It's still me, KP. It's just that since Rufus is at that electronics convention with Wade for the next week, it just won't be the same. Besides, Barkin gave me one of his 'special assignments'. He said he would kick me out of school if I didn't complete it just right."
Kim's eyes grew wide. "Expel you? Isn't that a bit harsh?"
Ron removed a page from his pocket and handed it to Kim. He pointed to the page and explained, "It's a list of all the times Barkin has seen Rufus on campus, along with the passage from the student handbook barring any animals from campus except for 'guide animals and experimental subjects'. He said he could have had me expelled because of all those times he spotted my little buddy. He's also still a little tweaked about that whole 'ski trip' thing with DNAmy."
Not another word was spoken while Ron drove most of the distance to the Possible house. When they neared the driveway, she offered, "Maybe I could help you with this assignment. I mean, it's the least I could do after that whole 'embarrassment ninja' sitch."
Ron shook his head. "Not this time, KP. If Barkin even suspects you tried to help, he said he would throw the book at me." He scratched his head and pondered, "Of course, hitting me with a book would be easier than getting expelled, but…"
Kim had to laugh. "It's good to see the Ron I know is still in there somewhere."
Ron opened the coupe's door for Kim and escorted her to the Possible's doorstep. He returned the smile as he opened the front door and suggested, "Maybe you and Josh could catch a movie…or you could go to Club Banana and score one of those bon-diggety party dresses you talked about yesterday…or—"
"Or…" Dr. Anne Possible interrupted as she met them in the open doorway, "…you could look after your brothers while your father and I go out for a night of karaoke." She leaned toward her daughter, patted her handbag, and whispered, "Don't worry, Kimmie…I'll be wearing ear plugs when he hits the stage."
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…The party was a monstrous success, for the most part. Mr. and Mrs. Needious provided more than adequate supervision to make sure the refreshments were untainted by alcohol and the partygoers were kept on relatively-good behavior. While it was freely accepted for dates to hug and kiss, getting any further than 'first base' was strictly forbidden. Most of the teens at the party didn't care about such matters anyway, as they were too busy gorging on the nearly endless buffet or enjoying Brittina's live performance on the outdoor stage.
Kim's dress, as Ron expected, sent Bonnie into a slow boil…that is, until she heard about Malcom's uncle, who put in a good word for the boy's acceptance at Julliard. She then changed her tune and hung on Malcolm's every word, hoping for some sort of insight on how to secure her own acceptance to the hallowed institution.
As much as Ron enjoyed the party, he was starting to feel a little bummed. After all, it's not like he actually had a date with him or anything; and Brittina had already wrapped up her performance. He really felt bad about interrupting Kim and Josh as they shared a dance. Still, he knew he had to talk to his best friend for a moment.
"KP," he piped above the music played by a local DJ, "It's been a great party and all…but I'm gonna call it a night." He turned to Josh and confirmed, "You can make sure Kim gets home safely, right?"
Josh shook Ron's hand and reassured him, "Of course I will. You just take care of yourself, okay?"
Ron maintained the handshake long enough to give Josh a look that practically seethed, 'You hurt her, you die!' as he left the room.
A few minutes later, the sound of a loud crash halted all of the party's activities. Dozens of people rushed outside the front yard to see what caused such a commotion.
What they discovered could only be described as gut-wrenchingly horrible. A large, white sedan wrapped itself perpendicular into the passenger side of Ron's little black coupe. While the sedan showed some front-end damage, the coupe was nearly crushed. In fact, the passenger side of the coupe was smashed hard enough to completely collapse and put itself against the driver's side, with a bloodied Ron still holding the wheel.
The driver of the sedan was a middle-aged gentleman with bleary eyes, disheveled clothes, four-day stubble, and empty whiskey bottles littered around the front and back seats.
Malcolm was the first person to reach the crash scene. He placed two fingers on Ron's neck to check for a pulse. He immediately screamed, "Somebody call an ambulance!"
Even though the police quickly prevented others from touching the crime scene, the images would remain forever burned into the minds of everyone who came out from the party…
…The police and fire crews rushing to pull Ron and the other driver out of their vehicles…
…Ron being covered in blood and open-bone fractures from head to toe, his lifeless eyes still open in shock…
…The staggering man being checked for injuries before blowing into a breath analyzer…
…The man being led off in handcuffs by police as paramedics attempt to make Ron stable enough for ambulance travel…
…The paramedics finally shaking their heads and pulling a white sheet over the boy before wheeling him away in the ambulance...
...It took Josh, Malcolm, four policemen, and the rest of the Middleton cheerleading squad to keep Kim from crossing the yellow 'crime scene' tape. After five straight minutes of crying in her boyfriend's arms, her voice finally returned long enough to beg, "Please, Josh…Take me home."
Josh was careful not to rush Kim as they walked toward his car. He opened the front passenger door and began to place her in the front seat as an envelope caught his eye. Pushing it aside to seat Kim, Josh examined the writing on the front of it.
He gulped as he handed the envelope to his girlfriend and noted, "Kim, this is for you. I…I think it's in…Ron's handwriting."
Kim slowly opened the envelope as Josh started his car and began the drive to Kim's house. She pulled out a hand-written note and began to read it:
'KP,
I see you and Josh came to the party first, so I'll try to keep this short…
Ever since Thursday, I have been feeling something strange. It's as if something terrible will happen soon. I mean…we're talking five hundred miles of bad road here.
Don't worry, Kim…This has nothing to do with my feelings about you and Josh. With all the times you've saved the world, nobody deserves true love more than you. I really hope you have that now…'
Kim looked upward and screamed in thought, 'Why couldn't you get it through your head, Ron? I didn't save the world. We did it…together. I couldn't have even done half that stuff without you to have my back for me!'
A new flood of tears began to stream as she returned to the note…
'You already know about that whole Barkin thing. It's just something I've gotta do on my own. Until I present my assignment to him on Monday, you may not see much of me, as I struggle to get it just right. Don't worry about me if I'm not really acting like myself. I'll be just fine. All I ask is that no matter what happens with this, you will still think of me as your friend.
Well, even though I never got a date for this, I hope the party lives up to the hype. I guess I'll see the two of you inside.
Your best bud,
Ron'
Kim clutched the note as Josh helped her out of the car and into the Possible house. When her parents came to find out what was wrong, she quickly rushed up to her room, leaving Josh to explain the details of the crash to the stunned couple.
Once he finished his explanation, the Doctors Possible silently embraced Josh as they soaked one another in a torrent of tears…
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Next Week...Chapter Two: 'Requiem For a Mad Dog'
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Author's ending notes:
1) I realize, with the heart of summer upon us, some people may want to 'celebrate the season'. Please…Please…PLEASE…Don't do anything stupid, like drinking and driving. This tale is not meant to lessen the importance of that message.
Most of you have families who would miss you (God knows why, but they do). Think of them, along with the innocent people (and their families) who may suffer due to the ignorance of a drunk driver.
Call a cab…Sleep it off…Choose a 'designated driver'…ANYTHING…Just have a little common sense out there, okay?
2) Like every one of my works, the production of this story is solely dependent upon the constructive feedback of its readers. I realize, with the 'AU' elements, I may receive a multitude of flames for 'killing off' a main character, one I myself have attempted to elevate since 'So the Reality: Amazing Race' began over a year ago!!
Going to this extreme shows just how passionate I am about this subject. If that means I get a lot of flames from readers...go ahead with your best shot. I can take it!
Once again, Review me, e-mail me if you wanna reach me! If you want to 'PM' me, that's ok!
Your friend in writing,
The Samurai Crunchbird