A/N
For those wondering, I'm still working on G.V.U.: The Freshman Rush, but this little plot bunny has been nipping at me for some time now.
The basic premise of this story is what would it have been like if Kim and Ron had their roles reversed.
- What if Ron had been the popular one in school and known for saving the world?
- What if Kim had been the social outcast and known as the sidekick?
In doing so, I build off one premise: that if you were to change a single event in a person's past, the life they would live would become very different from the one they know. So I've taken the one event that I feel catalyzed the whole thing, and flipped the roles. And now, I present the story of The Hot Guy and the Nerdy Girl.
Prologue –
It was the first day of a new preschool year, and several families were arriving with their children. Most were immediately heading in, but one family was standing off to the side, their little red-headed daughter seemingly doing everything she could to keep her parents from taking her into the building. Not to mention there were other things on the pig-tailed little girl's mind.
"Ooh! I felt my baby sister kick!" a four-year-old Kim Possible exclaimed excitedly.
Anne Possible smiled at her daughter. "Now Kim, remember, it might be a baby brother."
James Possible stepped up behind his wife with a large grin. "Might be two."
Anne glanced at her husband with a friendly warning eye. "Don't even joke."
Little Kim would not be distracted however, and latched onto her mother's leg. "Mommy, I want to stay with you and Daddy and my baby sister."
Her father smiled and knelt down to her comfortingly. "Now Kimmie-cub, if you did that, you'd miss out on your first day of preschool."
The precocious little girl crossed her arms and frowned. "Maybe I don't want to go."
Anne patted her daughter's head. "Kimmie, we know you're first day of preschool might seem a little scary…"
"But as soon as you make a friend, you'll see what a super time you're in for!" James added with a grin and an enthusiastic gesture.
"What if I can't make a friend?" the four-year-old asked nervously.
James Possible smiled at his daughter. "Kimmie-cub, there's something you must never forget."
"Always say 'please and thank you'?"
Her father couldn't hold back a small laugh. "Yes that, but I also want you to remember that 'Anything is possible for a Possible'!"
Kim let loose with a sigh of giving in. After all, if Daddy was this excited about this "school" thing, it couldn't be all bad. "Okay."
"That's my girl," James replied.
Then he gently took her hand and guided her inside the building, just behind three large boys who were already beginning to roughhouse a little bit. One of them even bumped roughly into the pig-tailed red-head, but one look at her father and he quickly rejoined his cohorts. As her father introduced her to her new teacher, Miss Honey, Kim glanced around the room. There seemed to be about an equal number of boys and girls in her class, but one in particular caught her eye. Maybe it was the presence of the three large freckles arranged in a triangle on each cheek, or it might have been the ears that reminded her of that flying elephant cartoon she liked. Whatever the reason, Kim could tell the blonde-haired boy might be interesting to talk to, even if he was currently off by himself talking to apparently no one.
Then her eyes fell on the three boys who had come into school ahead of her. All three of them seemed to be eyeing her intently, and she hated the look she was getting from them. She'd seen it too many times from playground bullies when either Mommy or Daddy to her to the park, and it never boded well. However, thoughts of them were banished from the little girl's mind when Miss Honey knelt down to shake her hand and Kim nervously accepted the gesture.
"Kimberly, I'm sure we're going to have lots of fun this year," the teacher said with a warm smile. "Can you tell me what your favorite color is?"
"P…p…purple," the four-year-old replied.
Miss Honey grinned. "Well, I tell you what, Kim. I've got two purple sleeping mats for naptime, and I'll make sure you get one of them, okay?"
"Okay," Kim replied, feeling slightly better.
The day started off okay. After all the parents had left (some with more difficulty than others), Miss Honey went around the room introducing each child to the rest of them. When she introduced little Kim Possible, the three roughhousing boys all snickered a bit as if they'd just heard an amusing joke. Kim didn't get what was so funny, but decided not to let it get to her. Then she waited patiently while the other children were introduced.
The three boys turned out to be Dayton, Jack, and Steven, and each one put on the "little angel" act that kids that age are so good at. However, each one also shot a spiteful look at Kim, and she really didn't liking the attention the not-yet-confirmed bullies were beginning to pay to her. There was also a pretty little platinum blonde named Tara who smiled so much Kim wondered if the girl ever frowned. Then there was a young brunette girl named Bonnie that Kim was curious whether or not knew how to smile in a nice way.
Finally, it was the little blonde boy's turn, and Kim learned that his name was Ron Stoppable. It didn't take two seconds for Kim to decide she liked the name, but the fact that the boy kept seemingly talking to no one still bothered her a bit. It was weird, she decided, but still she couldn't shake the feeling that she and Ron could be good friends. Maybe he was the one her father had referred to, although she knew from his loving little teases that Daddy wouldn't be happy her first friend was a boy. Still, Kim smiled when Ron looked her way.
The rest of the morning was pretty enjoyable, with coloring, snack-time, recess, and the beginnings of learning how to write the alphabet. Kim was already a pretty good reader and writer, so that part sort of bored her a bit, but this whole "learning at school" thing was actually kind of fun. There was also a class picture taken, and Kim couldn't help but wave at the cameraman when he waved at the class to get them to smile. For the most part, the four-year-old was having a good time on her first day of preschool.
However, it wasn't all fun. Once or twice, she felt something hit the back of her head, but she never could tell where it had come from. However, she did notice the snickering of Dayton, Jack, and Steven every time she looked for the source of whatever was hitting her. Not to mention that once or twice during morning recess they cut in front of her or stole a swing out from under her, always without a teacher seeing so they wouldn't get in trouble.
Lunch was okay, although this "cafeteria" couldn't come close to matching Mommy's macaroni and cheese. Afterwards, it was naptime, and little Kim was comforted a bit when Miss Honey kept her promise and made sure the pig-tailed red-head got one of the two purple sleeping mats. However, Kim couldn't help but overhear the three boys who placed their mats near hers as they whispered about what they planned to do to her during afternoon recess. She also noticed little Ron on the other side of them also listening intently, although he had a strange look on his face and kept whispering to seemingly nobody in his weird way.
At recess, Dayton, Jack, and Steven seemed to be leaving her alone, so Kim decided to forget about them and have fun. She quickly got involved in a game of ball tossing with Tara, and was thoroughly enjoying herself until an errant toss went over her head. She quickly ran over to get the ball, and was about to pick it up when Dayton, the largest of the three bullies snatched it away.
"Hey, give it! It was my turn!" Kim complained with a pout.
"Was it?" Dayton replied. "Cause I don't think it was."
Then he and his two cohorts began advancing on her, and Kim started to back off a little bit until she heard a voice behind her.
"Leave her alone!"
Kim turned to see the blonde boy standing there defiantly, a determined look on his face.
"It's her turn!" young Ron declared with his hands on his hips. Then he began walking forward holding up a hand and reminding Kim of that president man Daddy kept watching on TV. "Taking turns is the basic foundation of preschool! The jungle law of daycare is behind us! We have structure, we have rules!"
"Get him!" Dayton called as he shoved Kim to the ground and then joined his friends in advancing on Ron.
The young blonde held up his hands defensively. "I'm warning you! I have an imaginary friend, he's huge! Rufus!"
Realizing that the bullies were about to hurt the smaller boy, little Kim called out, "Hey bullies!"
Unfortunately, that action had the effect of turning their bullying back on her, something the little girl hadn't expected. She began backing off, but ended up next to a tree with no place to go.
"Well, what do you want, Pig-Tail?" Dayton said menacingly.
"Leave him alone," she said shakily, "or I'll tell the teacher on you."
"Oh really?" Jack and Steven said in unison. "And what if we pick on you instead, Piggy?"
"Quit calling me that," little Kim replied as she felt her voice quivering.
"Make us!" the three boys replied nastily as Dayton shoved her again, this time knocking her hard to the ground and causing the tears to start.
"Hey!" Ron called. "That's not a nice thing to do!"
"And what are you gonna do about it?" Dayton sneered as he turned around.
"Make you stop!" the young blonde declared.
Then he threw as hard a punch as he could directly at Dayton's nose. It wasn't that hard of a blow, and really, even by toddler standards it was pretty weak. Still, it hit the mark, and the much-larger boy fell backwards onto the seat of his jeans. He wasn't even bleeding, but immediately the waterworks started.
"OWW!" he cried. "I'm telling on you!"
"Go ahead," Ron replied. "But if you do I'll tell the teacher what you've been doing to Kim all day! Then you'll be in trouble too!"
Dayton sniffed, and got up quickly and ran with both Jack and Steven on his heels. After watching them go, Ron turned towards Kim and offered his hand.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he helped her up.
"Yes," she sniffed. "Why'd you do that?"
"Rufus told me to," the little boy replied as if it were the most natural thing in the world to listen to one's imaginary friend.
"You're weird, but I like you," Kim said with a smile.
"I like you too," Ron replied with a smile that made Kim giggle.
"Want to be my friend?" she asked hopefully.
"As long as it's not your boyfriend," he replied.
"That's gross," Kim replied with a giggling smile. "But would you agree to be my special friend?"
"Only if you'll be mine," Ron replied.
+++
~~ KP ~~
+++
Later that afternoon, when Mommy picked her up, Kim was still smiling.
"Did you have a good first day, Kimmie?" Anne said with a smile.
"Uh huh," the four-year-old replied excitedly. "And I made a special friend, too."
"Really?" Anne said in surprise. "What's her name?"
"Actually, Mommy, he's a boy, and his name is Ron Stoppable. He's weird but he's really nice."
"A boy, huh?" Anne replied with a smile as she pulled the car towards home. James is going to have a heart-attack.
Nine years later, a teenaged Kim Possible sat at her new computer, setting up a website for the babysitting business her parents had finally said she could start. As she worked, she couldn't help but continuously run her tongue over the braces she'd gotten almost six months ago. It was a bit of a worker's habit she'd picked up that came out whenever she was concentrating on something. And right now, she was concentrating on making the website with her name on it look right. So far she'd designed the logo, placed it, and was working on the slogan.
Let's see, "Kim Possible – she can do anything." Nope, too braggy. "Kim Possible – she can handle anything." Nope, still too braggy.
Just then her phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Hey, KP."
"Hey, Ron. What are you doing?"
"Working on my computer."
"You got one too?" she said excitedly. "It's so cool that we both got new computers."
"I know," Ron replied. "Thought for a bit I was going to get stuck with my dad's old one, but it crashed out so they bought me a new one."
"So, can you get online?"
"Yep, with more than one window, too. Currently designing a website and researching hairless pets at the same time. Parents finally said I could get a pet, but no fur because of Dad's allergies. And you'd be surprised how many have fur."
"Spankin'," Kim replied. "I'm making my own website, too."
"What for?" Ron asked.
"Same thing as you, Ron," she replied matter-of-factly.
"Mowing lawns and doing chores for people?" he answered quizzically.
"No, silly. For babysitting and stuff like that. Parents said I could start my own babysitting business as long as I keep my grades up."
"Like they have to worry about that," Ron replied with a laugh. "It's impossible for Kim Possible to get anything less than a ninety-five on an assignment."
"Hey!" she countered. "I'll have you know I've never gotten anything below a ninety-seven!"
"Just teasing you, KP," the teenage boy replied. "Best friends are supposed to do that with each other, you know."
"So what's your website address?"
"I've set it to ronstoppable dot com. Check it out. It's totally Boo Yeah!"
Kim typed it in, and was surprised at what came up. The website looked fairly professional, but what really made her wonder about this was the slogan her best friend had chosen.
"'Nothing's too big a job for the Unstoppable Ron Stoppable.' Sounds a bit braggy, don't you think?"
"Like a commercial, KP. Supposed to make me look good so I can get more jobs."
"If you say so. Still, I think I'm going to go with something tamer for my website. Don't want people thinking I can do something I can't."
"Like that could happen," Ron replied. "People will know we're just teenagers looking for a little spending money."
"Like the other kids at school know I'm not just some braniac?" she pointed out.
"KP, who cares what those others think? The food chain isn't really that big a deal."
"So that's why you cling to it?" she countered.
"I don't cling. I simply accept what comes my way. To tell the truth, I actually dislike the whole concept."
"Which is why you're still crushing on Tara Matthews?"
"Touché, KP. Touché. By the way, you coming out to see my tryouts for football?"
"I would, Ron, but I've got this massive paper for Mrs. Johnson coming up."
"KP, the thing only has to be three pages. Which I know you already finished."
"Ron, I go for it all, remember? She said it could be ten pages, so that's what I want to get to."
"Okay," Ron replied. "Just don't forget to have some fun while you're at it. We are still young after all."
+++
~~ KP ~~
+++
"Stoppable, you're up," Coach Steve Barkin called out.
While Ron trotted out onto the field, Brick Flagg, Jack Reynolds, and Pete Peterson looked on skeptically.
"Dude's a shrimp," Pete replied. "No way he'll be able to do anything."
"Don't worry, man," Jack said with a smirk. "The whole defense knows you don't like Weird-Ron, so we're planning a little dog-pile action."
However, despite the best plans of others, no one on defense touched Ron during the tryouts. He was simply too quick.
"Stoppable, that was incredible!" Coach Barkin said with a grin. "Middleton, we have a new running back!"
"Boo Yeah!" Ron called triumphantly.
Just at that moment, Kim came running across the bleachers. "Ron, you got a big hit on your website! A major ferocious hit!"
"Big hit?" he replied quizzically. "Not mowing the Tyler place again. That thing is like three acres and I only have a push mower."
"No, danger!" she replied.
"Danger?"
"As in 'off-the-chain, needs your help like now' danger!"
Barkin held up his clipboard. "Stoppable, you're on the team. Practice starts first thing tomorrow. And you have to get your equipment today."
Ron shook his head. "I know, Coach B., but I promise I'll show up early first thing tomorrow. And this'll never happen again, I swear."
+++
~~ KP ~~
+++
A short while later, the two teens were pulling up to a large mansion in a car driven by Kim's neighbor, Mrs. Mahoney. As they got out, Ron turned towards the woman with a large smile.
"Thanks for the ride up to Upperton, Mrs. M."
"It's the least I could do after you rescued Tabby from that tree, young man. You kids be careful, now."
"No prob," Ron replied.
"And we will," Kim added as the woman drove off.
"You sure this is the right address, KP?" the young man asked as he eyed the large gates with a giant P on them.
Kim nodded. "Positive. Someone's in trouble in there, and they asked for your help."
Ron scratched his chin. "I don't know about this. I mean, maybe we should call Officer Hobble or something."
Kim shook her head. "Ron, your website says no job is too big. You want to tell the truth, right?"
"Well, yeah, but I don't know about something like this. I mean, I meant just for odd jobs and lawn mowing, stuff to help people with their daily chores and tasks, not with rescues." He sighed. "Still, I guess it wouldn't hurt to take a look. First step: getting in."
"Major security," Kim replied as she eyed the control panel. "But shouldn't be too much trouble." Quickly, she went to work on cracking the code.
"Thought you said your mom didn't want you using your alarm cracking skills anymore."
Kim grinned. "She said I couldn't develop them anymore. She never said I couldn't use them."
However, after a bit, she still hadn't cracked it. "Tougher than I thought."
Ron's face lit up. "Hey, maybe I've got something that'll help."
He reached inside his pocket and pulled out what at first looked like a tiny pink ball. However, the ball unfurled, revealing itself to be what Kim was sure had to be the weirdest creature she had ever laid eyes on. Its skin was pink and hairless, its eyes looked kind of bulbous, and it had two very large front buck teeth. As it sat there in his palm, it seemed to stretch and yawn.
"Ron, what is that?"
"A naked mole rat," he replied. "Got him yesterday at Smarty Mart."
"A naked mole rat?" Kim said, unconsciously recoiling a bit.
"Named him Rufus. This way, I get to keep my buddy and people won't think I'm as weird."
"Ron, you're still carrying a naked mole rat in your pocket. It does seem a little off."
"But maybe just enough to be considered cool for a change."
"Maybe," the red-head replied doubtfully.
"Hey, Rufus, buddy, think you can get us inside?"
"Uh huh," the creature squeaked before diving from his palm into the access slot of the security panel. After only a few seconds, parts started flying out of the slot, and shortly after that the gate opened. Then the mole rat emerged, jumped to the ground, and bowed, apparently very pleased with himself.
Kim walked over and cautiously picked the little guy up. "A naked mole rat. Gross, but curiously intelligent."
She tried to hand him back to Ron, but Rufus seemed to grow an immediate fondness for her, and scampered up to where her neck met her shoulder. And surprisingly, Kim felt her gross-out factor slipping away as the mole rat held on to her shoulder trustingly. As such, she allowed him to stay there as they casually yet cautiously entered the mansion. Inside, it was unusually quiet except for a calm buzzing. Deciding to follow the source of the noise, they came to a vault where there were several red beams emanating from the ceiling and walls and moving around in erratic patterns. And huddled up in a corner were a short, squat man with red, curly hair and a skinny, lanky man with black hair. A short ways away from the tall man, a laptop sat smoldering in two sparking pieces. It appeared that both men were sure if they moved they would be in the same danger that had befallen the laptop.
"Lasers," observed Kim.
"Yes," the short man replied. "We would like those turned off please."
"Trust me, Mr. Paisley, Team Unstoppable are professionals at this," the tall man reassured him.
"Just tell me how to do it," Ron replied.
The tall man pointed to a remote halfway across the room that was barely avoiding being sliced by the moving lasers. "Get that remote, but avoid the beams at all costs. They're set at lethal levels."
Ron studied the laser pattern for a moment, then smiled and backed up like he was preparing to dash in!
Kim put her hand on Ron's shoulder. "Ron, are you sure about this?"
"Positive, KP. After all, I'm the unstoppable Ron Stoppable."
"Wait, before you go, take this," she said, holding out the belt she had just pulled out of her jeans. "Don't want to take a chance, you know."
"Thanks, KP," he said with a smile as he threaded it through the loops on his pants.
Then Ron dashed in, weaving all about to avoid the lasers. More than once, Kim and Rufus cringed as he came mere centimeters from losing a toe, an arm, or his head, but each time he managed to avoid it, once or twice even vaulting over a virtual ladder of lasers that swept by him with the only clearance being above them. He also leapt off the wall a few times, pulling moves that would have made any free-runner proud. Then, he made a mad dash for the remote, snatching it like he were grabbing a loose football and pressing the button quickly before sliding to a stop in front of the tall man.
"A football player?" the tall man said in surprise.
"That's Ron Stoppable," Kim declared. "Nothing can stop him! Check us out online!"
Then she noticed the plush Mr. Paisley was holding. "Is that a flamingoat? There's only like ten in existence, so it's like the rarest Cuddlebuddie there is. This so blows my Pandaroo out of the water. I never thought I'd even see one."
A few minutes later, the police arrived, having been alerted when the gate alarm was broken into. A news crew also arrived, and Kim and Ron learned that the people they'd saved were John McHenry, inventor of the McHenry Laser Grid (which Ron had just cracked), and eccentric billionaire collector Milton Paisley. When the reporter asked the two of them how they'd been able to perform the rescue, Kim repeated the same line.
"He's Ron Stoppable, and nothing can stop him! Check us out online!"
If only they'd known how much that evening was to change their lives forever.
a/n
So, what do you think? Have I got the makings of a winner or a dud here? Remember, this is AU, so the characters are going to be OOC from the show on quite a few things. But I'm hoping I can still keep their general personalities as I work on this.
Either way, comments and reviews are definitely welcome. :)
EDIT: The inspiration for the rewrite of Kim and Ron's exchange at the football practice was provided by my fellow KP author, Slipgate.
