Kim Possible sat in an old, well worn recliner and listened to the storm outside. Sighing quietly to herself she let the book she had been reading fall into her lap as she looked out the window just in time to catch a brilliant flash of lightning cut across the sky. Blinking slowly and mentally counted off the seconds till a thunder peal ripped through the mesmerizing sound of the rain on the roof. "Bout a mile
off or so" she thought to herself as she looked back at her forgotten book in her lap. Suddenly she didn't feel much like reading. She looked towards the couch where she could see Josh's form sprawled out across it length.
She watched him for a moment just as another flash of lightning lit the sky filling the small room with light. Shaking her head slightly she looked back out the window and thought of a sandy haired boy. Smiling softly she remembered how he had tried to get her to go outside in a storm just like this one and dance in the rain. She wondered what he was doing right now. He loved thunderstorms; something about the raw power of nature and the peaceful sound of rain falling. She couldn't remember the exact words.
Sighing again she pulled her legs up into the chair and leaned her shoulder against its back. The last time she had sat and talked with him was shortly after their last mission together.
*Flashback*
They had met at the park that day, he arriving there before herself. As she walked along the path she caught sight of his blonde hair as he sat on a bench under a massive oak. He was leaning foreword resting his elbows on his thighs. She had stood there and watched him for a moment. Having known him for the better part of 15 years she had come to be able to read his body language like an open book with extra large print, not that he ever really tried to hide anything from her. And right now she could see that he was troubled by something.
Frowning slightly she approached him quietly till the snapping of a twig gave her away. His head rose a few inches and turned slightly.
"Nice try KP" he said jokingly but without much conviction in his voice.
Smiling, she approached him and sat down. "What's up Ron?" Her voice lacked her usual spark and she knew he could tell.
Plastering on his best smile he looked up at her. "SSDDBP, you?"
She looked at his curiously. "I'm good. Are you channeling Monique or something?"
"Same stuff, different day, bigger pile" he replied chuckling slightly
"Ahh, How goes things in your world"
"Could be better, could be worse. Bout the usual. I got promoted to head chef last week but me and the manager are having some...creative differences as far as presentation of some of the dishes goes" He said as he turned his head looking off across the lake.
"Such is the way of things I suppose. Congrats on the promotion though. I knew you could do it." She looked at him her suspicions now confirmed. He never just stared off into the distance unless he had a lot on his mind.
"What about you?" he asked not looking back at her.
"Bout the same actually. College classes are going good but I think I really need to cut back on my course load next year. I barely have enough time to study and get some sleep. Josh has been kind of edgy about that, He seems to think I am intentionally trying to spend less time with him." She frowned slightly as she noticed him stiffen at the mention of Joshes name. At least now we are getting somewhere she thought. "I mean, Josh and I are getting along fine and everything, but he can get a little clingy and childish about me not spending time with him." She watched him closely for his reaction.
He sat forward a bit more resting his elbows on his knees still staring off across the lake. She could almost see his mind working trying to process what she had said. "Well KP, Some people are just like that I suppose. At least it shows that he is interested in keeping what you have going. Give him time, I am sure you and him will find some middle ground in all of this."
She sat back stunned for a moment, having to force herself to keep from staring at him. Did he just say what she thought he said? The last thing she had expected was for him to try and defend Josh. What was going on with him. Before she and Josh had hooked up officially Ron had been very apprehensive about the whole thing. Maybe it was because of the previous times her and Josh had gone out hadn't lasted more the a few days before they mutually went their own ways. Ron seemed to be getting harder to predict as the days went by. Maybe it was because they were spending less time together lately. Not that she wanted that but they both had their own lives to live now.
While they in college together at Middleton University they had hung out all the time just like they had always done. But then he graduated because the culinary degree he was working for was only a two year course where her Social Sciences course was a four year. With her in class all the time and him starting his career as a chef they wasn't that much time for them to get together. Then when Josh had transferred from the community college to Middleton U. that time seemed to all but disappear when they started dating again.
Ron had seemed a little jealous at first but eventually encouraged her relationship with Josh. It was around that time that Ron seemed to become more withdrawn and somber, a far cry from his usually happy go lucky, nothing can get me down attitude. It had worried her, seeing that change in him. The smiles that occasionally graced his face slowly appeared to become more forced and his shoulders more slumped. As her relationship with Josh progressed and deepened, so did Ron's downward slide until now it was a though he forced himself to be happy around her.
She worried about him but she knew that getting anything from him if he didn't want to talk about it would be next to impossible. He finally
seemed to find a way to resist the famous "Possible Pout." Even her mothers was now rendered ineffectual. One day she had tried to get him to spill finally having to resort to the pout. She nearly hit the floor when he looked right at her when she was in full pout and flatly told her "No." Since that day it didn't faze him in the slightest.
"Well, its getting late. I still need to run a couple of errands before I head home"
She was shaken from her thoughts as Ron spoke and stood up. Glancing at her watch she realized that she had been sitting there dwelling on her thoughts for more then an hour. Silently cursing herself for wasting time with him by being silent she stood up next to him. "Ron"
He turned to her slowly "Yeah KP?"
"You know that I am always here for you if you need to talk, right?"
The corners of his mouth tugged back slightly in a faintest for of a smile as he nodded. "I know Kim. I'm always here for you too." He stepped forward and hugged her tightly for a moment before he hesitantly released her. "Take care of your self, Tell Josh hi for me." He turned and glanced at the lake one last time before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking off down the path disappearing behind some bushes.
*End Flashback*
And that was how it went. It had left her more confused and worried about her best friend then ever before. He seemed so out of touch with her these days. She had seen him around town a few times since that evening. Always across the street or across a crowded store. She had tried to catch up and talk to him but he always seemed to loose himself in the crowd before she got within earshot. He always had a depressed look about him. Eyes cast down to the ground, hands in his pockets, shoulders slumped. She was rocked to her core one day when she saw him talking to, of all people, Bonnie. She couldn't hear their conversation but she saw Bonnie's face suddenly turn into her unmistakable sneer as she let loose with an insult. She saw how Ron's body flinched as the words were spoken and Bonnie turned and disappeared into the crowd with a flip of her hair. Ron simply turned and walked off shaking his head slightly.
She looked again at the book in her lap and picked it up tossing it onto the table next to the chair. She sniffed slightly as a tear made it way down her cheek. She was slowly losing her best friend. Every time she saw him he looked more downtrodden and it was tearing her apart. But what could she do? She simply did not have enough time in her schedule to trek all the way across Middleton, hunt him down and make him talk. Pulling her knees tighter to her chest she wondered just what had lead her friend to this.
She began running a list through her head of when all this started with him and was going on then. Ron's downward spiral in attitude started around the time she had gotten together with Josh. Before Josh, even though they hadn't been talking as much as they used to, Ron had kept his upbeat happy outlook. He had been reluctant to condone her accepting Josh into her life again simply because of her history with Josh. After a while he warmed up to it and supported her. To the best of her recollection, that was about when she first noticed him almost forcing himself to put on a good face for her.
She jumped slightly as another thunderclap ripped through the silence of her thoughts. Wrinkling her forehead in concentration she began probing her memories. The more he supported her relationship with Josh, the sadder he seemed to become. But why? Wracking her brain she worked through any possible reasons for him to have a reaction like that, and eventually come to one undeniable conclusion. With a sinking feeling she realized what was wrong with her friend. "Ron loves me?" she whispered to herself in disbelief. "He loves me and he is ignoring his feelings for me so he can support me being with Josh?"
She shook her head trying to wrap her brain around that possibility. It certainly seemed like something he would do, being the caring selfless person that he is. She had never thought about it much before, but Ron had always been sacrificing himself for her happiness. How many times had me made an embarrassing scene in the hallway at school to draw attention away from some humiliating posiition she had somehow gotten herself into. He had gone up on stage at the talent show and made a complete fool out of himself so she wouldn't miss her chance to perform. He had even gone on a mission alone to help her when Drakken tried to make her disappear during her date with Josh.
She quickly lost count of how many times Ron had destroyed his own social status to help maintain or elevate hers. She cursed herself for suddenly for being so blind. How had she not seen this before? How could she be so naive? "Just when you think you have a good bead on things Possible, it all goes down the drain" she chided herself. Sinking down further in her chair she let her thoughts wander. "He loves me so much that he is willing to let himself be hurt, and in doing so I naturally spend more time with Josh. Unintentionally hurting him again by unconsciously pushing him further out of my life by spending even less time with him. And judging from the way that Bonnie and their other classmates still gave Ron unending amount of flack he probably doesn't hang out with very many other people. At least not now that Monique and Felix moved to California together. My god, how alone he must feel right now."
She sat up quickly as the tears ran down her face. How could she have let this happen to her best friend. Wiping the tears away fiercely she scanned the room and spied her Kimunicator laying on the coffee table. Jumping out of the chair, she practically dove across the room nearly taking out the couch in her haste to grab the small piece of blue plastic that suddenly dominated her thoughts. Josh mumbled something and turned over in his sleep. clutching the Kimunicator to her chest she made her way to the bedroom and closed the door. Punching a few buttons on the device she anxiously waited for an answer.
"Kim?" came a sleepy reply as the screen suddenly lit up with the face of a person who had just been roused from what was most likely a very peaceful slumber.
"Wade! I need your help!" Kim whispered frantically trying not to make too much noise.
"What's up Kim?"
"" she blurted out as she wiped fresh tears from her eyes.
"Whoa Kim, calm down. Take a deep breath and say that again at normal speed"
Kim took a deep breath and forced her sudden emotion surge down to a reasonable level. "Wade, I'm worried about Ron. I just realized that I have left him all alone since I got with Josh. He loves me but I didn't see it because I am with Josh and Ron supports that because he knows it is making me happy but I know he is hurting because of it. I need to tell him I am sorry for being so blind" she burst out.
"Oooook. So you are calling me at...3:30 in the morning because?" yawned a still sleepy Wade as he tried to brush the sleep from his eyes.
Kim took another deep breath and looked down at the screen. "I know you still have Ron chipped. And knowing you, you probably also have his place wired for video and sound, Right?" she asked hopefully.
Wade looked a little sheepish as he replied with a short "umm..yeah."
"Don't worry Wade, I don't care about the ethical aspect of that right now...But we will talk about it in the future" she warned. "Right now I need you to locate Ron for me. If he is home can you bring up the video?" she asked trying to keep a lid on her anxiety.
"One second Kim" the teen replied as his fingers started gliding over the keys on his keyboard. "Ron's at home right now, looks like he is in bed. But I am picking up another heat signature on my sensors. Hold on. Streaming video to you now."
Clutching at her long nightshirt in worry over what she might see, Kim watched as the video window suddenly popped up on the screen. The room was dark but there was just enough light to make out the bed and other furniture in the room. As she watched, another flash of lightning suddenly lit up the room and she could see Ron's form curled up on the bed. She could also see another form sitting on the edge of the bed with their back to the camera. The light from the lightning flash faded as suddenly as it came but she could still make out the two forms. Looking closely she could see the person sitting on the edge of the bed reach out and gently stroke the young mans face. "Its all right Ron. You are not alone" the figure said softly. Slowly the figure rose slightly and laid down placing an arm gently around Ron's body pulling him close. All movement in the small bedroom stopped and only the sound of two people breathing could be heard aside the muted sound of the rain of the roof.
Kim tapped a button on the device and the video window disappeared and was replaced by wades face again. She sat there for a moment trying to absorb what she had just seen. That voice sounded vaguely familiar but she couldn't place it. "Wade, could you run a voice scan on that?"
"Already tried Kim, there is just too much interference from the storm and the echo's in the room to get a positive. All I can tell you is that it is female but I am sure you figured that out already."
"Yeah. Thanks Wade. Apparently Ron isn't as bad off as I thought. I'm going to have to ask him about her next time I see him" Kim looked up at the window still mulling over what she had seen. Who was that woman, and why hasn't Ron mentioned her before?"
"Any time Kim, that's what I am here for. Have a good night" Wade replied with another yawn as the screen went dark.
Kim shook herself out of her thoughts and stood up setting the Kimunicator on the bedside table. She walked back into the living room and pulled a blanket out of a wicker basket behind the couch. She gently laid the blanket over Josh's still slumbering form and placed a soft kiss on his forehead. Turning, she closed the blinds over the window and made her way to the bedroom. Cracking the window open slightly she crawled into bed and pulled the soft comforter over herself. Sighing softly she closed her eyes. "I'm glad he's not alone" she whispered to herself as she slipped off to sleep.