Ron wiped his nose with the back of his hand. He ran his free hand through his blonde hair, gently combing through the tangled mess with his fingers. "But KP…"

"No time, Ron. I have lots to do," she held up her hand, hitting each finger as she listed today's to-do list, "Monique and I need to go get mani-pedis, I have two hours of cheer practice after school, and the squad has finals this weekend. I don't have the time!" Kim's eyebrows raised in frustration as she emptied the contents of her week onto him.

He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably, all this was piling up. She really couldn't find any time to spend with him? He really needed her; to talk to her. About her. This whole thing between them, it wasn't… She wasn't spending enough time with him. Here was the boy with the ultimate amount of time on his hands, dating the girl with ultimately none. He was a total loser and she knew it.

So why did she still want him around? That question had plagued his mind ever since the day after the Diablo incident. That kiss had been an initial step for the 'relationship' they were now developing, although he was clueless when it came to those. Kim, on the other hand, had had other relationships. She had much matured since her first crush, but Ron hadn't, really. He knew it, and felt it was painfully obvious when he was around girls.

An object flashed before his eyes, causing him to come back to reality. Kim's hand wiggled in front of his face, "Ron, are you even listening to me?" She groaned, quickly adding, "I'm sorry. Are you sure Felix isn't free?"

His brow furrowed in frustration. "No. He's not." I was just expecting us to hang out. But those plans were canceled. Again. "I hope you have a good time with Monique." He flashed a sympathetic smile.

"I'm really glad you understand. I've just been really busy-"

"It's fine, KP, really."

"Okay, well, see you in Latin." She pivoted on her heel, an obvious spring in her step as she walked through her classroom's entrance. He was glad that she left, he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted her there, regardless.

First period was the only class he didn't have with her; he would have to face her in Latin, next period. With a heavy sigh, Ron shuffled dejectedly to his science class.

They had, in fact, encountered one another during Latin. It was relatively inevitable, because they sat next to each other. The fiasco started when Kim leaned over, placing her hand on his knee to steady herself. She repeatedly attempted to ask him about the upcoming events of his weekend. He took a moment before responding, calculating all actions carefully before replying to the heroine. He raised a pale finger to his lips, emitting a small hushing noise. He gestured to the lecturing teacher with his free hand, inferring that her silence was necessary.

These actions elicited quite a response from the red-head; Kim's lips pursed into an unsatisfied frown as she sat deep into her seat and crossed her arms tightly against her chest. The one moment he thought he had actually done something right, it was actually wrong. It's the side effect of being a loser.

A loser; is that the only word people would associate him with? Everybody was labeled with something, Kim as the social butterfly, Brick as the jock, and Bonnie as the cheerleader. He, of all things, was known as the loser. Of course, every school has it's share of these 'losers,' but don't they usually break out and become some popular kid? Oh wait, that's only in the movies. Next thing you know he'll be ending up like Drakken, with some mad plot to take over the world because of some high-school grudge.

He groaned aloud before he could catch himself. Now, even Kim was refusing to acknowledge him any longer. He was expecting her to reach over, and at least shush him back. Instead, she sat there, rigid, staring blankly at the board. He could never read her; well, he could never read girls in general. He could almost imagine a bit of banter between the two of them. Kim had always had that soft side, the one with which she was kind to everyone. Sometimes, he just wished she was sassier. He couldn't say anything, though, since it might be the only time he might ever get a girlfriend. Annoyed, he threw down his Latin book and followed Kim's gaze to the board.

During English, he had once again made the mistake of angering Kim. He wasn't entirely sure how he managed to piss her off, but it repeatedly came back to bite him. She again began pestering him for an answer to the questions above. He decided to lie to her, just to get her off of his back. A natural salesman, he sold her the lie that Felix had had a sudden cancellation in his schedule, and they had planned to video game all weekend long. He flashed her a signature goofy grin, hoping to at least convince her slightly. Instead of the positive reaction he was desperately searching for, yet another pout crossed her features. He just couldn't do anything to please her!

At their lunch periods, Felix and Ron were getting deep into a conversation about the newest video game release.

"It's so much better."

Ron raised his hand to object. "My heart is still sworn to the second edition."

"Some things will never change, will they, Stoppable?"

Ron shook his head, his mouth curved into a straight, serious line. Kim had begun to approach the table, sashaying over to the duo's heated debate. She placed her hands on the table, clearing her throat as to interrupt the conversation.

"Yes, KP? We're kind of in the middle of something."

The words never to say to a girl, or even reference in your sentence: I don't have time for you. On every level a woman will find a way to pin that against you any way she can. Ron had learned this the hard way.

"Fine. You don't have time for me? So be it." Kim stomped away, her thin lips forming a scowl as she made her way over to Monique's table.

Felix eyed Ron wearily, looking from Kim back to Ron. "What was that about?"

Ron shrugged, answering with a simple, "Relationships are complicated."

Felix muttered under his breath before finishing the earlier debate. "Have you even used the flame-throwers yet?"

She didn't bother him for the rest of the day. Ron actually focused on some of the material throw at him during classes because of this, but it didn't give him any more insight as to what the teacher was scribbling on the board. Everything was so confusing; how had the tables suddenly been turned so that he had no time for her? Wasn't it just this morning she was telling him all that she had to do, as a reason she couldn't be with him? He felt as though she was just poking and proding at him get a rise. Was she?

Ron really didn't realize why these small misunderstandings were provoking such severe responses from her. At any rate, he figured he should apologize for whatever he had done. He had tried to do so after school, the result, was not as expected.

He grabbed her arm as she was closing her locker. "Kim, I'm really sorry. I'm not even really sure what happened today."

"You really don't know?" The unbelief in her voice was evident.

"Uh.. no." The tension was slowly crushing his confidence.

"It's your fault! How could you not see that you're pushing me away?" He really couldn't see how this was his fault. It was basically nothing she was screaming about. He knew this was a stressful time of the year for her, but...

Even her fights with Shego weren't doing anything to relieve her stress. Speaking of the villianess, she had seemed a tad distracted during the fights, as well. Since Ron was more of a side-lines type of guy, he often observed the quarrel between the two ladies. Kim, she had seemed more aggressive, as if she was trying to relieve some stress. Shego, on the other hand, had seemed distracted. Her technique was a tad sloppy, though Ron one to talk.

He suddenly zoned back into their argument. "Kim, I..."

"Yeah, if you're going to apologize, save it."

For what, exactly? "Kim, you know you haven't exactly kept me close, either."

"Excuse me?"

He appeared to be taller, now, his confidence was slowly growing. "It's like, every other weekend, or once a week, we hang. Once. You might be busy, but do you think about me, KP? About us? We've hardly had any time together. You either have cheer practice, or missions, or hanging out with Monique... But what about your Ron time? Don't I matter at all? Obviously not. It's not like you make an effort."

The whole time, he could see the surprise on her face. He knew that she knew that he had been lonely, for a while now, but she didn't try. Did she? He wanted to think so, deeply believe that she had an inkling to be there for him, but he knew he was just a convenience for her. A sidelines type of guy. His eyes, now masked with conviction, bore into those of her own.

He could feel her falter to find a response. "Ron.. You don't think I care about you? Why would I make time for you if I didn't?"

"That's the whole problem, Kim. You don't make time for me. You don't try. You never did, and doubt you will in the future. You're life is too overwhelming, and trying to fit me in there isn't going to work."

Kim's taut strings were being plucked, one by one. He could feel the anger as it radiated off her. "Ron, you're lying. I try. Hard."

"Not hard enough." Three words, three words can make such a big difference. A life changing difference. He felt as if a large, heavy weight had been lifted off his shoulders, one that had been holding him down for years. He almost felt refreshed, in a sense.

Kim, on the other hand, was the opposite. He could see she didn't know what to say, what to do. It worried him, but he knew it was useless. Come down to it, she'd choose something else over him. What did people want with a loser, anyways?

"If that's the way you feel..." Her eyes slowly fell to the floor, tracing the lines of the tile beneath them. "We can make it permanent."

The last part came out as small, insignificant. Almost muttered. She made it seem almost natural... He hadn't really absorbed all that she was throwing at him; he couldn't think. His brain wasn't functioning. Why?

"What?"

"You heard me. End this. Us."

"I never said that's what I wanted, KP."

"Did you consider that's what I might want?"

Yes, I make a vague reference to the episode of "Number One". Let me know if you spot it? c;