Scenes of The Awkward: Still, The Scramble
"Ron, why are you running from me? I thought you liked me!"
Ron was doing just that. Some would call it sprinting, others would say escaping, but whatever way it could possibly be described, Ron was running, and he was running hard. While he didn't do it often, it can certainly put to bed the old notion that the blond was unathletic.
"Ronnnnie, I could chase you forever..." The voice teased seductively. He knew that the voice that was gaining on him was right. It wouldn't be long until he was caught. When the young man was chased by bullies and the like in the past, he would concede defeat, stop running, and allow the individuals to do whatever they were going to do. He knew, a couple of bumps, bruises and gauze later, he would be all right. But this...
"I can feel you getting tired, Ron..."
Second Wind... Where in heavens was his second wind?
Hopefully, it would be in the immediate area, because the figure who was chasing after him wasn't going to give it up. He never feared being cornered by a bully... But if he was to be cornered by this person... Well, fearing the unknown wasn't that commonplace.
Apparently, fear was good for an adrenaline boost. With an extra burst of speed and the faint hope of escape flickering, Ron picked up the pace of his tired legs and got to third gear.
Escape loomed in the form of the Middleton Mall. Oh... If there was any time he was glad to ever be in that mall...
The first thing he figured was to go someplace... anyplace where he couldn't be followed. His first hiding spot: The kiddie toy store. Fonder memories than this came floating back to him. The good days, when there were no such things as crushes, puberty... or hormones, for that matter. How Ron would love to go back to when he was six. Anything, just anything to get out of what he got himself into.
Tempering his all-out sprint into a jog, the blond looked over his shoulder to see if he was being trailed. He let out a sigh of relief as he got the idea that he wasn't being followed. He finally came to a full stop. Twelve minutes of consecutive running, and maybe... Just maybe he was home free. The boy took a look at the sights of the toystore. Sure, people were looking at him like he was the latest heist suspect, but he didn't care, he finally escaped from the clutches of...
"Miss me, Ron?"
Oh... No. Behind him!
Before a hand was placed on him, the sidekick took off once again. He knew it couldn't be that easy. For once, he knew what it felt like to be a Doctor Drakken, or a Shego, or any of the baddies that his best friend, Kim Possible did battle with. Only difference was the fact that if they got caught, they would face significant jailtime, if he got caught... Well...
The blond was looking for somewhere... anywhere he could make his escape. Ahead of him, about thirty feet away from his advance, stood two pathways; one to the left, and the other to the right. Going with his gut, he chose going toward the left. He quickly regretted it. He couldn't stop himself fast enough as he almost literally ran into the arms of his pursuer.
The captor didn't bother holding the young man for that long, as it was known he would keep running. Instead, the pursuer decided to take more of a psychological approach.
"You can run, but you can't hiiiide..." the stalker whispered elicitly.
While the age-old phrase correctly depicted the situation that the he was in, Ron wasn't going to let a little thing called 'fact' disrupt him from trying to escape. Regardless of truth, he took off once again, full-tilt in the opposite direction. He ran past the food court, and saw one chance at hiding; The restroom. Ignoring the fact that his temples that were doing a drumline on his head, he sucked up whatever energy he had left and took off into the direction in the men's room. Once inside, he nearly collapsed from the fatigue that comes with running full-speed for twenty minutes.
As his thoughts on how to escape wandered about, he wondered how marathon runners managed to do this...
He figured that for the time being, he would lay low in here... and if any of the male mall patrons looked at him strange as they went in-and-out, he would simply ignore them.
Speaking of strange... There was a strange sound coming from above him. He feared the worst, his stalker was going to come in through the air vent!
Whoever taught his follower the ropes of being so painfully resourceful...
With a dash, the boy dashed out of the bathroom. He searched on the fly for venues where he could use as a hiding place. 'Dairy Prince... No. Duncan's Doughnuts? No! Nasty Burger? So definitely not.
Three different options. Three No's. And that was just the food court. Continuing his run, he took a look over his shoulder... Wait... No one was chasing him. Maybe the chase was given up.
Maybe.
Out of relief... and just a little bit of exhaustion, the sidekick stopped running. That did it... He wasn't going to run anymore. His heart was pounding mercilessly and his legs felt like jelly. Then again, he wasn't going to make himself available to his pursuer... There was one more surefire place he knew where his tracker wouldn't be able to find him. With a large inhalation of O² in preparation, he took off once again.
Sure, being a part of the work force was nice, what with the money and all. But days like these, sometimes it was downright dull.
Conversely, Monique knew of all the perks of being a salesgirl at Club Banana beforehand. The girl knew of the up's-and-down's. However, when she saw a familiar blond run into the clothing store... She shook her head in exasperation.
This was the fourth time this month that she saw the blond running into this establishment, looking for a place to hide. Thus, it didn't surprise when the blond rushed over to her and grabbed her by the shoulders.
"Please, Monique... You gotta help me find a place to hide, she's after me again..." He urged breathlessly.
"Nicole, give me a minute," she said to the other clerk. Rolling her eyes, she dragged the hapless boy to the back of the store. The African-American girl had grown seriously weary of this 'Hide Me' business with Ron. After three other incidents where she decided to hide the hapless blond this month, now was time to give the young man the honest truth about what was going on and why he was being chased around so often.
"You cannot be serious, Ron," she said.
"Note: Serious Face," the blond replied, making what could be described as a serious face. "I don't know what's wrong with her..."
"You wouldn't happen to think that she's chasing you around because she likes you, do you?" The clerk asked sarcastically.
The blond made a horrified face. "What? No...! Kim has never liked me. We're friends... I just don't see..."
"But you like her, don't you?" She asked, ignoring the boy's defense.
"Well... Yeah," he replied, a fierce blush presenting itself on his cheeks. "But the other way around? No way... Not in a million years... There's got to be something wrong with her."
"I know what's wrong with her."
"Really? You do?"
"Yeah," Monique began. "Somehow, you've managed make your way into her heart. And for whatever reason, you don't believe someone like yourself would attract someone like her... I mean, come on, Ron... Why not you?"
"Why not me?" He asked dubiously, disbelieving the notion. "Let's start with..."
"Look... You're always been by her side, come hell or high water. You two have been friends since the early 90's, when the Pittsburgh Pirates weren't a minor league baseball team..."
"Wow..." Ron muttered in awe. It had been a while since the Pirates didn't su...
"...I mean, if I had a BFF like Kim had you, I'd be all over him too," she explained.
"What if your best friend forever was a girl, then?"
"OK... Not so much... But you get the idea,"
"I don't know, Monique... Can't you just hide me in one of the dressing rooms for the time being?" He begged.
With a frustrated growl, the clerk led Ron to the small row of dressing rooms. Ron sighed in relief as he saw the disgusted look in the girl's brown eyes as she led the way.
"Here, you go cower in there. But remember, this is the last time I'm helping you. Next time, your going to have to help yourself," she said with the sternness of an older sister. The blond hastily locked the door as his heartbeat slowed down to a normal rate in the first time in hours. As the blond collected his breath, he had a small feeling that would be safe here... Kim would never suspect him to check into Club Banana under any circumstance.
Or at least, that's what the tired young man had thought.
Surprise, Surprise...
Monique's eyes lit up as she saw her friend, Kim walk into the fashion store.
"Hey, Monique," Kim greeted jovially.
"Hey, girl," Monique replied. "What can I do for you. There's a clearance sale on..."
"I'm not exactly here to shop, Mon. I thought I saw Ron run into here. You haven't seem him around, have you?"
The dark-skinned girl's eyes flashed like... scary, scary lightning that seems like it's two feet away from your house with the thunderclap that comes immediately afterward and ultimately freaks you the hell out...
Either way, it presented a quandary for the clerk. Where would her loyalties lie? In the hands of a close friend, Ron, or in one of her best friends in Kim?
What do you think?
"As a matter of fact..." Monique began.
Ron wondered how long it would take for him to make his way out of the mall and into more safer, Kim-less grounds. Either way, he knew that he couldn't hide forever, and he wasn't planning to. Whenever the courage decided to present itself within him, he would talk to Kim about...
"Hey, Ron? You in there?"
The sound of Monique and footsteps jarred him out of his thoughts.
"Uh... Yeah... What's up?"
"I've got someone who can help you with your being chased problem."
"Who?"
"Open the door and you'll see."
Ron had been fooled by that phrase before. He had a right to be skeptical in her reasoning.
"How do I know you're not lying?"
"Ron, if you don't open the door, I'll have you taken away by security."
Ron could almost feel the smirk on Monique's face as he was held to no other choice than to open the door. Hesitantly, he opened the door and saw the form of the dark-skinned girl.
"So," Ron began. "Where's this mystery help at?"
"Oh... They should be right about... here."
At that very word, the red-haired menace jumped from behind the rack of designer shirts and tackled the unsuspecting blond. When Ron gained his bearings, he was petrified to see that his pursuer was on top of him. Darn that Monique! She tricked him into coming out of his only sanctuary, and now he was powerless to stop Kim.
How powerless, you ask?
powerless (pou-er-lis) adj.
1. Lacking power to act; helpless.
2. Unable to produce an effect. 3. The Democratic Party of the United States
4. Kenny Rogers without pine tar.
5. The Dallas Cowboys.
He was at the redhead's mercy. Wait... at her mercy?
"Ron, why have you been running from me?" She asked.
The look in her emerald green eyes made the boy feel guilty. The girl on top of him had been his best friend for over a decade, and out of the clear blue, he was running away from her as if she had a disease or something. His inner guilt made him want to explain himself.
"Uhh... Remember when you started getting really... close to me that night?" He asked.
"That's the night I said I was crushing on you," Kim said.
"Uh... Yeah... that night," Ron muttered.
"Oh," Kim said, getting the point exactly. "You could've just--"
"No-No-No! I do... it's just that I'm nervous about some things..." He admitted.
Upon his explanation, the girl's expression brightened, followed by one of concern.
"Nervous about what?"
"Uh... Well, since we both kinda like each other... What happens if it doesn't work out, K.P.? I mean, I don't want what we have now to get down the--"
"It won't come to that, Ron... I promise," the auburn-haired girl said solemnly.
"How can you be so sure?" The blond asked, panicked.
The girl placed a finger on his lips to quell his queries.
"Don't be afraid, Ron..." She simply replied as she drew closer to the blond beneath her. The warmth of the girl managed to calm the blond down and let the inevitable come to him. His lips tingled and he felt the lips of his best friend touch his for the first time. The girl's lips were so soft. Forget about the awkward... he could definitely get used to this. As their embrace continued, the blond wrapped his arms around the girl possessively.
The kiss only intensified. From a distance, the peacemaker of sorts, Monique watched everything that transpired. She knew this would be good for the boy... and apparently things were going to work out after all.
Now... To get them out of the store, however... Was a new challenge unto itself.
Beep, Beep, Beep...
"Wha-What? Was that a dream?"
End of Part 2
Yes, 'nother one of those Dream Sequence chapters for ya. Now, using your powers deduction, which one of our heroes actually dreamt that? I'll give you a hint, it's not Rufus...
...or is it?
Questions? Comments? Fearful that the Democratic Party might take over the Senate come Tuesday? Review. And remember, ask a silly question, get a silly answer. Ask an intelligent question... Still get a silly answer.
S-Chrome (Registered Democrat, btw... :-D)