For those of you who are confused, just so you know that the plot won't start to unfold until in a few chapters when he is in California. I plan to have him already experiencing college life by chapter 5.

Disclaimer: The Characters used in this story are owned by Disney and only Disney. The series itself is not my own, otherwise there would be a lot of changes.


Chapter 2: Discussions at the Vet.

Waiting…

Waiting…

Waiting…

Oh how simple, yet so frustrating it could be. Just standing or sitting in one place with hardly any activity at all. All just to wait for one thing to happen that you feel should have happened five minutes ago, instead of just waiting. Not even the magazines on the coffee table. Not even the sometimes-present TV could occupy you. Not even your own activities from home like pocket games and cell phones could satisfy you. And what was worst than waiting? It's simple.

Waiting when you have a bunch of animals that wouldn't keep freakin' quiet!

That's what Ron was experiencing right now. Here he was, at the Middleton Animal Hospital, waiting in line for the vet to see his new monkey. He was, like the 3rd person who was next to see the veterinarian? It felt more like an eternity. The fact that most of the dogs kept barking and the birds kept squawking wasn't helping things for the better, either. Surprisingly, his new simian friend was the quietest of them all, as he was asleep. However, he felt it was just a matter of time before he woke up and went crazy as well. And then he'd have to be the one to tame him…again…

"How long does it take to wait?" He sighed as, if he didn't know any better, the squawking and barking were becoming louder.

"Since you're so bored, maybe we can talk while we wait." Tara says with a smile, showing a bit of seriousness. At least she was nice enough to come along with him and keep him company. As far as cheerleaders go, Tara was the sweetest. Even sweeter than Kim, at times! The girl was basically a saint! He heard that she had a crush on him, but he didn't found out until she started dating Josh Mankey. It would've been nice if someone actually told him, but what's done was done. His fault or not, he had his chance and he lost it. At least they could be friends. That was the bright side of it all…

"Talk? Sure…" Ron shrugged.

"Okay, let's talk about after graduation? Like what college are you going to?" Tara then said silently, "That is if you can get into one…"

Ron heard her as his eyes narrowed. "Let me guess: Bonnie again?" Was this girl being forced feed all the shit that came from Bonnie's ass or something?

"Yeah, but it's not like she's totally lying. I mean let's face it. You do act dense most of the time and you are a bit lazy."

Ron shrugged. "I'm more of a 'Go with the flow' kind of guy. I'm more reactive than proactive. But my grades improved this year. Now I'm at a B- average." It was now his turn to say something quietly as his thoughts went to Kim and Eric. "Especially since I've been having more time on my hands…"

And it was Tara who, this time, heard the silent comment. "This wouldn't have something to do with Kim, right?"

"What does she have to do with this?"

"I'm not just talking about your grades, Ron. I'm talking about your attitude! At school you've been feeling depressed." Tara stated. 'Or as Bonnie would say, you looked more pathetic than usual.' She sighed. "At practice, you don't have that spirit anymore. I haven't even hear you give a 'Booyah' since forever. It's like you're from a different world, now…"

"I've just been doing some thinking, lately." Ron admitted. "Thinking just where the hell is my life going?"

Tara blinked. It was true that she was worried about him. But the question she sometimes asked herself was why. Why would she, a cheerleader, care so much about Ron, a social outcast and the best friend of her best friend's rival? She didn't know and frankly she didn't care. She didn't care what anyone said, Ron was a likeable guy. But back on subject, she didn't think that Ron would be this serious. From what she's seen and heard about him, she wasn't sure that he could do serious.

"Tara, be honest, how do you feel about me?"

Tara blinked at Ron's request. "How I feel about you?"

"Seriously Tara, how do you feel about me?" Ron said as Tara could tell how serious he was. His brown eyes said it all, he has finally reach a point in his life where he had to decide what he was going to be and only he could make that decision for himself.

"You want my honest opinion?" Tara asked.

"Yes…" Ron nodded as the platinum-blonde sighed.

"I'll be honest. I like you, Ron. I really do, but let's face it. You're an outcast. Hardly anyone likes you! You're clumsy, you hardly take anything seriously, you get saved by a girl every time you're in trouble, you basically follow said girl around like a lost puppy, and you're a coward most of the time!" She said before she remembered…

It was just recently at cheer practice, and Kim and Bonnie were arguing…for the millionth time. It was an argument over who should go on top of the pyramid…again. Tara and the other cheerleaders were already in formation and now all that was needed for the other two pieces to be in place. However, the girls could only held each other up for so long, even if it was before the arguing between, what some of the cheerleaders had come to call them, "the two biggest prima donnas" ended, as at that moment they all collapsed on the floor. Luckily, everyone was alright as Ron just sighed as he shook his head. As if it all would've been avoided. This situation only made the prima donnas argue even more, this time blaming each other for the latest catastrophe. This was when she witnessed the unexpected from Ron, let alone from his mouth…

"WILL YOU IGNORANT DIVAS PLEASE SHUT THE HELL UP?"

Everyone looked at the pissed-off mascot, whose fists were clenching, as the two "divas" in question glared at the blonde. Bonnie's more out of aggression as Kim's out of warning. However, Ron fired back with one of the coldest glares Tara's ever seen from the usually-placid teen.

"Honestly, you both have been acting like idiots for the past 45 minutes and you've got nothing accomplished. Your teammates are hurt and, thank god, not injured at all and instead of checking up on them, you decided to play the blame game! And why? It's because of something trivial as who gets to be on top! Does it even matter? So Kim, let Bonnie be on top! What's the big deal in that? It's just the top of the freakin' pyramid! It's not like she's becoming the new squad captain!"

This caused a smirk from the brunette's face. How ironic that Kim's own best friend was agreeing with her being on top instead of "Little Miss Perfect!" However, her smirk changed to a frown as the blonde continued.

"Then let Tara be on top! Let Hope be on top! Marcella, Liz, Crystal! Let them all have a chance to be on top, Kim! I know we only got a few more weeks until cheerleading season's over, but damn it it's a team! Yeah, I know that there's no 'We' in 'Team,' but there's sure as hell isn't no 'I' in team, either! This is supposed to be at team. And when I say team, I mean as in everyone is a cog inside of a machine, everyone is as important as anyone else! There are no stars! No underlings! Sure there's a squad captain, but that's just to make sure that everything's going well! And lately, I've seen less squad captain and more divas! I am sick an tired of having to deal with the two of you having your little bitchfest every practice, and I know that they'll probably deny it since it's just 'the sidekick' who's talking, but the rest of the squad feels the same way! And what's sad about it is that you're both Seniors, yet you both act like goddamn two year olds arguing over a toy!" Ron turned away as he walked out of the gym. "Jesus… I've seen Pixie Scouts more mature than you…"

Tara sighed at the memory as she continued to answer Ron's question. "But that day during practice, when you just lost it from the arguing? That shocked everyone! Even Kim and Bonnie! We never thought that you had it in you! And seeing you at the vet with something that you were afraid of, let alone caring about it, it makes me think that if you can overcome your greatest fear, then you can do anything if you put your mind to it. After all, usually if there was a monkey you'd be running around screaming and making a big deal about a monkey being here. And another thing: you are a great cook. You were serving world-class dishes, for gosh sakes! Why don't you work on your strengths instead of worrying about your weaknesses?"

"Actually, I've already made plans to go to the culinary school in Cali." Ron informed.

"Does Kim know about this?" Tara asked, thinking about their life-long friendship. Despite everything that was going on lately, Ron wouldn't just leave without telling Kim, right?"

"I've tried to tell her but she was just either too busy or she just ignored it." Ron admitted. "But if she can't handle it, tough luck. If she was a true friend, she'd respect my wishes. It's not like we're going to be hanging around each other all the time. We haven't been doing that lately. Ever since she's started dating Eric, I've been feeling like a 3rd wheel. Besides, Kim and I have been drifting apart anyway. I guess some of my resentment came after Rufus…past away."

"Rufus? You mean your naked mole rat?" Tara asked, a bit surprised at this revelation. "What happened?"

"I had to go to a family reunion that was taking place in Chicago. Unfortunately because of spacing issues, and the fact that the hotel we were staying at had a zero-tolerance policy on pets, I asked Kim to take care of Rufus. She did do a good job like last time, so I thought 'Of course she's the right choice. She's the perfect choice.' Kim decided to go to the mall and brought Rufus along. That's when she saw Eric and decided to hang with him. I don't exactly know the rest of the details, but Kim told me that she was 'So sorry' and begged me to forgive her and she'll get me a new Mole Rat. That's what made me angry."

Ron shook his head as he continued, a tear started to pour from his eyes. "Rufus was practically family and Kim just acted as if it was just a pet, that he was expendable. I then asked her how he got... killed, and she said that she didn't know and she and Eric were busy doing god knows what. Apparently Rufus wanted to go to Bueno Nacho so he went by himself. And when Kim and Eric were leaving, Rufus tried to catch up to the bike, but as soon as he did, they were on the highway. And then…Draw your own conclusion.

"After that, it was then when I realized that I had a choice: I could just continue to feel sorry for myself and pray that Kim would come over and hang just like in the good old days, or I could do something with my life and fill the emptiness in my heart." He sighed. "Well enough about my problems. How about you, Tara? What are your plans after graduation?"

"Well, I plan on going to a University here in Colorado and after four years I can go to a good veterinarian school to become a vet." She explained. "I just like working with animals, taking care of them. I mean, I just spent countless hours at the Middleton Animal Shelter. And now this is a good chance for me to see a vet working in action."

Ron gave out a snicker, "So that's why you decided to come with me."

"That, and I wanted to see what you were up to." Tara admitted as Ron raised an eyebrow.

"Aren't you dating Josh Mon-er…Mankey?" He asked.

"Was dating Josh. We broke up a few days ago." Tara admitted. "Now he's dating Hope." Ron noticed the small tears coming out from her eyes.

"Tara… I… Are you okay?" Ron asked as Tara wiped her tears away.

"S'okay… It's okay." She assured. "It wasn't working out anyway. The only reason why we went out was because Bonnie was basically pushing us to each other. She basically wanted me to get over you. 'The sooner the better,' she said. And she basically wanted to stick it to Kim. So it was basically killing two birds with one stone."

"Typical…" Ron shook his head at Bonnie's latest plan. "Too bad KP didn't care."

"And neither did you." Tara reminded. "Funny, she tried to stop me from telling you how I felt, and you didn't even know about it. Are you sure you didn't know that I liked you?"

"I'm serious. I didn't know. It would've been nice if somebody told me, ya know?" Ron shrugged. "It could've been a conspiracy against me for all I know."

Tara playfully punched him on the shoulder. "Just admit it, Ron. You're horribly oblivious. You had your chance, and you failed…"

"I know I know…" He sighed. "I don't know how the hell I got that bad trait… But I'll say this: Bonnie seriously needs to get her head out of her ass."

"Well, she could be nicer, that's for sure…" Tara reluctantly admitted. She couldn't stand it how people would talk down about her best friend. But knowing the names she's called him and all the putdowns, Ron was more than justified. "Do you want to know another thing that I liked about you?"

Ron raised an eyebrow. He actually had another likeable quality to him? This he had to hear for him to believe. "What was it?"

"That one week ago, when you basically said what was on your mind, and not even caring if you got into trouble or not? I heard you bragging about kissing a mannequin and 'tellin' it like it is.' I liked that, and I'll deny it if you repeat this to anyone, but I think some of the other cheerleaders liked that, as well."

Ron sighed as he remembered. That was when he and Kim were zapped by Drakken's Truth Ray which forced them to tell the truth and not lie at all. While it basically ruined Kim, it did the opposite to him. He did end up meeting one girl, but it was ruined the next day. He learned that being honest and speaking your mind, no matter what the ramifications, had its advantages. Maybe he should speak his mind more often. It would probably do his social life wonders like it did before.

"Stoppable?"

Ron looked over as the nurse called for him. All of this talking really did make the time fly by. He then tapped on the baboon's head as it soon woke up. "Time to see the doc, guy!" He said as the baboon gave him a worried look. "Don't worry, it'll be fine…"

Tara could only smile at the interaction. Ron was something else. Just yesterday she could hear him ranting about how evil monkeys were, and now he's taking one to the vet. Nevertheless, she got up from her chair as she followed. Perhaps she could get a head start by learning something from the check up.

As the two and the chimp walked towards the nurse, Tara mused. "You really need to give him a name."

"I know… I've been thinking about what name to give him." He replied.

"Well…" Tara made a suggestion. "How about…let's see… Marcel?"

Ron looked towards the monkey as it showed a look of disgust. He then looked towards the platinum blonde. "No dice."

"Okay…how about 'Rudy?'" Tara suggested.

Ron shook his head. "Sounds too much like 'Rufus.' I don't want it to seem like I'm replacing him." He sighed, "No one can or will replace Rufus…"

"Alright…" Tara sighed.

"Don't worry about it. It'll come up in due time." Ron assured as they walked in, ready to see the vet that'll check up on his new simian friend.


A bit shorter than I would have liked, but this seemed to be the perfect spot to stop. Anyways, next chapter will focus on the night of graduation, then graduation itself and finally it's onto LA! R&R!