I don't own these characters. Disney does.

7: Waxing

Bonnie's week was not what she wanted it to be. Kim had not been around much, getting called out on missions. The voice in her head began plaguing her with thoughts. Maybe Kim wanted to get away from her. Maybe Kim said they were missions, but it was something else. Maybe no one real wanted to be around her for an extended period of time. Bonnie had answers for the voice, did her best to keep her faith in Kim, and tried to keep her spirits up, but it was so hard.

She had not gotten much homework done, not wanting to go back to the library just yet, and unable to get much done at home between her sisters taunting and her father's yelling. She was not sleeping well, the voice in her head troubling her most in the quiet of the night. She managed to make herself up well, so Kim would not be able to tell anything was wrong with her. She also hoped that looking good would help her feel good.

She had no idea why she thought that. It never made her feel good inside to look good on the outside. Nothing ever made her feel good, except Kim and spending time at the Possible house. She just wanted to do that again. So, she decided to approach Kim and see if they were on for homework after school or if they could set up a date at some point in the near future. On her way to Kim's locker, she saw a sight that made her heart jump in her throat and choke her.

Lance was at Kim's locker, leaning into her as he spoke. Kim was sort of trapped, her locker at her back and Lance looming over her. Of course, if Kim wanted to escape she could, but she probably did not want to injure a classmate.

Bonnie studied the scene for a moment. Lance's smirking face, Kim's tense body language, and she contemplated hitting him again. A nice swift kick in the nuts would probably get him to leave her girl alone. Of course, he would probably punch her in the face after that, but she did not care.

What the hell was Lance telling Kim? Why was he leaning into her like that? Bonnie decided to go find out. She marched over to the scene like a soldier on a battlefield.

"Hey, Bonnie," Kim said and seemed to use her as an escape, sliding in close.

Lance smirked even more. "Yeah. Hey, Bonnie."

Bonnie glared at him. She was not sure how she managed, but she somehow kept from growling at him. The glint in his eyes showed he did not even care, making her skin crawl. Now, she had to refrain from slapping him in the face.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Bonnie demanded.

He nonchalantly put his hands in his jean pockets. "Nothing. I just wanted to see Kim wanted to come to a party this weekend. I figure she could bring you." He smirked even more and his eyes gleamed with disgusting lust.

Kim looked between them, obviously sensing the tension in the air. She doubted Kim knew what this was about, though. While it was common knowledge Bonnie and Lance once dated, not many people knew she hated him now. She was snide to him, but she was snide to everyone. But, with him, she meant it. Well, meant it more than she did with others. People could not seem to piece together why, though.

"We're not going anywhere with you, so why don't you go get hit in the head somewhere?" Bonnie informed him, jabbing her thumb behind him.

He laughed. "Why so hostile? I even invited your best friend, so you can go out now." He had the nerve to leer at Kim.

"Lance, cut the shit," Bonnie hissed, ignoring how Kim glanced at her. Sometimes foul language was necessary to get her point across.

"What? Everybody's gonna be there," he continued. He dared to give Kim another once over and it went by Kim once more.

"Not everybody and no one wants to go with you, so why don't you get moving? I'm sure there's some kid you should be taking advantage of. A nerd with lunch money perhaps? A poor kid with glasses you need to break?" Bonnie snapped.

"I don't get what the problem is, Rockwaller. I'm just being nice," he said, flashing a big grin as he put his hand to his chest.

She gave him a leveled look. "We both know that's not the case. Go peddle your dick wares elsewhere." Kim gave her a stern glare, but Bonnie was focused on Lance. She needed to get this douche away from Kim before this got any worse.

He laughed again and started walking. "Kim, let me know if you want to go. You'll have a really good time with me," he said as he walked away and Bonnie had to resist throwing her shoe at him.

"What was that about?" Kim asked with a furrowed brow.

"Nothing, Lance is just a jerk." Shaking her head, Bonnie scowled.

A red eyebrow arched. "Didn't you used to go out with him?"

Bonnie hissed at the memory. "That doesn't make him any less of a jerk. You're not going to go to the party with him, are you?" She would have to go, too, if Kim wanted to. Who knew what Lance was planning, after all, even though she had an inkling it involved getting Kim on her back. Like Hell I'll let that bastard do anything to her! She already knew what the stupid voice in her head would say. Yeah, because you totally want her v-card, right! Sighing, she rubbed her temples for a moment.

Kim studied her for a long moment before replying. "No, I'll probably be too busy. But, he seemed all right. I don't get why you said he was a jerk, though."

"Are you serious?" Bonnie asked. Most people knew Lance could be a jerk, even if they never interacted with him. They just gave him a pass because he could catch a football and run fast.

"What? He seems fine and you dated him, so how bad can he be?" Kim countered.

Bonnie's mouth dropped open. "Seriously?" Kim is not this naive, is she? Well, no, this is a school social thing, so it probably doesn't register high on her "give a shit" meter.

"Yes." Kim threw her hands up.

Bonnie could feel the frustrated scowl etched deep into her face. "He was just being charming. You can't trust him. Hell, he was probably just sweet talking you to get back at me."

Kim tensed a little. "Why would you say that? Is it so impossible someone who used to date you might just like me?"

"That's not what I meant," Bonnie hissed. What the hell is going on?

And now Kim was frowning for some reasons. "Really? Because it sounds like you think no one could possibly just like me. He's got to have some ulterior motive involving you."

Making a fist, Bonnie actually shook from aggravation with this whole thing. "Look, you don't know Lance—"

Olive eyes glared at her as if she was the enemy. "No, I get that. I don't, but maybe he wants to get to know me and it has nothing to do with you. The world doesn't revolve around you, you know?" Kim huffed.

"I never said it did. This has nothing to do with what I'm saying," Bonnie hissed, crossing her arms and dropping them.

Kim folded her arms across her chest. "Doesn't it? No one who went out with you could actually just like me for me, right? But, you don't have to worry. I'm not going to try to go out with your ex-boyfriend. I'm not like that."

Bonnie knew this was a knock at her and she gnashed her teeth. "You know what, I don't have time for this. I've got class." And considering her lack of homework all week, the least she could do was make it to class on time.

She rushed off before Kim could say anything else. She heard Kim call after her, but she did not care. Mentally, she groaned and her stomach twisted. This week just kept on getting worse. But, you make things worse. It's what you're good at.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie managed to avoid Kim all day, but they had to see each other during cheer practice. This was the first time Bonnie found herself wishing Kim would get called out for a mission. Even when she felt like Kim was her bitter enemy, she always wanted her around for cheer practice because they needed to be at the top of their game. Now, though, she did not want to share space with Kim, who obviously did not think the best of her like she claimed.

This was probably the tensest cheer practice they had ever had, surpassing one really bad practice when Bonnie and Kim competed to be captain. At least then, there had been discussion during practice. It had been confusing for the squad, getting conflicting information from the two, but at least there were words.

Now, though, the practice was silent. There was no direction from Kim, the official captain again, or Bonnie, the unofficial co-captain. Hey, they needed someone to take over when Kim dashed off for missions and Bonnie was competent, just not as willing to work as long as Kim for some things. The coach did not know what to make of it and just put everyone through their motions, not wanting to upset the balance anymore than it was with Kim and Bonnie. The last thing they needed was to make things worse between the best two cheerleaders on the team.

Halfway through practice, Tara worked up the nerve to ask. "Uh… is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine. Let's work on formations again," Kim said, slapping her hands together. She pointed to where everyone needed to go. Well, at least she was talking now.

"Are you sure everything's fine?" Tara pressed, looking between Kim and Bonnie, who were definitely making it a point to avoid eye contact.

"Yes. Now, come on, while we have the time." Kim made some kind of gesture with her hand.

Tara glanced over at Bonnie, who made it a point to not look at Kim, even as she doled out instructions. Tara sighed. Obviously there was something wrong with the co-captains, but no one said anything about it through practice.

Once practice was over, Bonnie went to have a seat on the empty gym bleachers just for a moment, wanting to clear her head and also not wanting to be around anyone for a little while. Tara had other ideas, though, and sat down next to her. Sighing, Bonnie looked away and hoped Tara would take the hint for once in her life.

"That was a tough practice," Tara commented.

"I guess," Bonnie grumbled. It was tense, not tough.

Tara allowed a small smile to play on her lips. "I'm surprised you didn't say anything when Kim wanted to change the tumble routine."

Bonnie snorted. The tumble thing was ridiculous and she was tempted to call Kim out on it, but why bother? Kim would probably just claim she was being bitchy because of the thing with Lance. Because, obviously, everything in her life had to revolve around boys and Kim. Which is actually accurate, she thought bitterly and waited for the stupid voice in her head to chime in.

"You know, Kim really wouldn't date Lance if you didn't want her to. Kim's not like that," Tara said before the voice in Bonnie's head had chance to say anything.

Bonnie sucked her teeth. "You mean, unlike me who steals men left and right to make sure the great Kim Possible can't have them?" she sneered. She did not even bother to ask how Tara knew about that. Are all high schools this small in the sense that everybody knows everybody's hallway business? God, grow the fuck up, people!

Tara's eyes went wide. "No! I didn't mean it like that! I just mean Kim values your friendship now and I know she knows how upset you are, so she wouldn't do that to you. Just like you wouldn't do it to her now because you're friends."

Bonnie sighed. "Are we friends?" she wondered. Are we anything really? I haven't seen her for a week for more than a couple of minutes and the first time we get a chance to really speak to each other, she accuses me of being self-centered and won't listen to me? I didn't think our first fight would be about Lance. I thought for sure it would be all the mission bullshit, but here we are.

Tara smiled brightly. "Of course you are! You've been getting along and hanging out. It's made cheer practice much better… except for today, obviously. You guys'll patch things up because you're friends."

"Will we?" Bonnie was not sure, not after Kim seemed to throw all that faith she claimed to have in her right in her face earlier, and for Lance of all people. Lance, who was a douche on a good day, apparently, and an asshole any other time. Kim did not know him well, but she should be a much better judge of character. Hell, if Kim thought Lance was actually interested and worth it, what did that say about her judgement and what did that say about Bonnie? Decisions my ass.

"Yeah. You know, friends fight and then talk it out," Tara pointed out, like this was something Bonnie should know and maybe it was something Bonnie should know, but almost every word out of her mouth could be considered a fight with friend or foe. She doubted she had ever "talked it out" with anyone before.

Bonnie nodded, if only to get Tara to go away. She wanted to brood in peace. Tara studied her for a moment, gave her another smile, and then went to change. Bonnie sat there until she was certain everyone had left the locker room. Dragging her feet, she marched into the locker room, where it was completely silent. She sighed, not feeling much better.

Making her way to her locker, she sighed again and leaned against the cool metal. Nope. Still not feeling much better. Suddenly, there were arms around her waist and a nose pressed against her neck and her stomach unwrapped itself. Then, she remembered her anger — and where she was — and stepped away.

"Are you crazy? Anybody could've seen that," Bonnie hissed, glaring at Kim.

"So? I'm a friend comforting my friend," Kim said with a shrug.

Bonnie scoffed. "Oh, we're friends now? We didn't seem like such great friends five hours ago."

Groaning, Kim rubbed the back of her neck. "Not my finest moment, no."

"And, now, what? I'm supposed to forgive and forget? Act like nothing happened? Hold your hand and kiss you like you care?" Bonnie demanded. Why not? Your mom does it all the time, with Dad, with your sisters, even with you. You should start. Practice your plastic smile. Oh, wait, you have one of those already. Internally, Bonnie growled. Like hell! I'll never be her! The voice laughed. You already were. With Lance. How she managed to not throw up, Bonnie would never know.

"I do care," Kim declared, standing up straight. "How could you even think that?"

"Because I'm a god-awful person who thinks the whole world revolves around her!" Bonnie barked.

Kim had the nerve to jump back, like she was insulted. "I never said that!"

"Well, welcome to how it feels!" Bonnie hissed and then she remembered where they were once again. "I don't have time for this. I need to get dressed, so I can go home." Well, she needed to get dressed. After, she would phone a friend and hope her lifeline involved going some place and forgetting Kim Possible existed for a few hours.

"Bonnie, don't leave." Kim put her hands up and then reached out, like she would touch Bonnie, but thought better of it.

"Why? You do it all the time," Bonnie snapped. She clearly was not worth it. Kim lied to her, thought the worst of her, and could hardly stand to be around her.

"That's not fair. I have missions," Kim argued.

"Whatever." Rolling her eyes, Bonnie scoffed. "I don't want to talk about this. I just want to get dressed and get out of here."

"Bonnie…" Kim sighed.

Bonnie shook her head. "Just leave me alone."

Kim's shoulders sank, but she moved out of the way. Bonnie opened the locker and by the time she pulled her clothes out, Kim was gone. Bonnie was left to get ready in peace. Well, really just left to get ready. Peace would never come. She knew that.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie had to sneak into the house, having missed not just dinner, but her curfew as well. Of course, the curfew only mattered if her father felt like giving her a hard time or if her mother was still awake. She was lucky her mother had not waited up for her, but then again, it was late. She had a little bit of a buzz going, but did not feel great and it had nothing to do with the beer squishing around in her system. She managed to make it to her door before catching her sisters' attention.

"My, my, my, someone's out late," Connie commented from her doorway. She looked like she was smirking, but Bonnie could not tell in the darkness and the distance between her room and her sister's. Lonnie stood in her own doorway, not quite as far, but Bonnie still could just barely make out her smart-ass smile.

Bonnie snorted. "Jealous?" Why the hell are they home, anyway? Why were her sisters ever home, actually? Aren't they supposed to be super-popular or busy or whatever the fuck they're supposed to be?

Connie rolled her eyes. "Not hardly."

"Then get off my back," Bonnie replied.

"Isn't that where you're most comfortable, though?" Connie remarked with a chuckle.

"If that's the case, I learned from watching my older sisters," Bonnie countered before disappearing into her room. Connie seemed too shocked by the fact that Bonnie actually said something back to retort. Lonnie just gawked. She should be more careful, as she might draw flies like that.

Bonnie fell into bed, clothes still on. Her phone chimed, but she had been ignoring it all day. Kim had given her some space, only texting once to ask how she was. She had politely responded back, "Leave me alone." This time she decided to check her phone and saw it was Kim again, simply wishing her goodnight. Aw, sweet.

"Shut up," Bonnie grumbled because the voice in her head was being mocking, but it was sweet. No one she ever argued with would text her goodnight if they were still in the middle of arguing. Kim was still thinking of her. "So, maybe not forgive and forget, but maybe we can talk it out," she muttered while she texted Kim "goodnight" back.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonnie sat in Kim's bedroom. They both busied themselves — and stalled — by taking out their books and whatever else they would need to do their homework. Bonnie had not done homework in a while. She wondered if it would catch up with her or she would be able to make it before her final report card. She wanted to do better this term.

"Bonnie… I want everything to go back to how it was before, but I don't want to act like nothing happened. I was wrong," Kim blurted out.

"Wrong for what?" Bonnie asked. There was no point to this if Kim was apologizing just to apologize. She was not interested in lip-service.

"I was wrong for what I said about you and Lance. I should believe you when you tell me stuff. I was wrong for starting an argument after we haven't really seen each other for more than a couple of minutes in the past week," Kim explained.

Bonnie nodded. "I'm impressed, Possible."

Kim's face scrunched up. "You didn't think I'd apologize?"

Bonnie shook her head. "No, I knew you would. I just didn't think you'd apologize for the right things." This was new territory for Bonnie. She had never heard anyone apologize for the right things that did not involve physical harm.

Kim's face scrunched up a little. "Why would you think that?"

"Well, I'm sure you thought you were right at the time. And just for the record, I'm trying my best to learn the world doesn't revolve around me, no matter how much I try. Lance is a sleaze-bag and he thinks it's funny that we're friends and not a good type of funny, so he's trying to be a jerk to you."

Kim shook her head. "I was actually wondering why he was talking to me. He hasn't said a word to me since I was a freshman."

"Lemme guess, he asked you out then and you shut him down," Bonnie said.

Kim drew back a little and put her hands up. "I thought it was creepy. I mean, I was a freshman and he was a junior. I'm sorry, but I do."

Bonnie shook her head. "No, you're totally right. He's a creep."

Kim brushed her hair out of her face. "Yeah, and him being a senior for the second year trying to talk to me still isn't any better for me."

"That's good. You know who is better for you, though?" Bonnie asked with a smirk.

"Gee, I wonder who," Kim chuckled.

Bonnie leaned over and pressed her lips to Kim. Kim sighed and it made Bonnie melt on the inside. She knew she was in trouble now. She would never be able to be truly angry with Kim again. Not for more than a day, anyway.

"Hmm…" Kim practically hummed as they pulled away for air. "I really missed that."

"Me, too," Bonnie said. She had managed to forget how calming and wonderful it was to kiss Kim. "Try not to mess it up again, Possible," she teased.

Kim chuckled. "I'll definitely do my best." She reached over and ran her hand through Bonnie's hair. "I'm really sorry. I guess part of me still thinks you're going to tear into me. It's not because you're like that still, but because I've learned to expect it. It's something I gotta work on, okay?"

A little lump gathered in Bonnie's throat. How did Kim know she needed to know this was not her fault? How could Kim possibly know she had allowed those thoughts to plague her for long?

"You okay?" Kim asked.

Bonnie nodded. "How do you know…" she managed to ask around the lump in her throat.

Reaching out, Kim caressed Bonnie's cheek. "I know you, Bonnie. You're worried about being what Monique thinks you are."

Bonnie's face fell into a deadpan. "You've been talking to Monique?"

"She's my friend and I can only imagine what she says to you when I'm not around because I know what she says to me when you're not around. And I know you don't want to be the person you used to be and I'm planning to support you in that, but you're not the only one who needs work. Despite what people think or how hard I try, I'm not perfect," Kim admitted with a slight shrug.

"You're perfect for me," Bonnie replied with a smile. And it was the truth. Kim knew what she needed when she needed it.

Kim smiled and leaned over to kiss Bonnie. Bonnie returned the kiss, feeling everything inside of her settle. She was a work in progress and they were a work in progress. Kim wanted to work, so Bonnie would work, too. She did not know much about healthy relationships, but she would try her best.

-8-8-8-8-

Bonus Kim: Waning

Mentally, Kim cursed as she watched Bonnie walk away after their argument about Lance. She could not believe Bonnie actually thought the everything on Earth was about her. Well, no, she could believe that since this was Bonnie. Maybe Lance just wanted to get to know her and this stopped her almost immediately.

Why would Lance want to get to know her? Lance had not said two words to her since trying to ask her out when she was a freshman. It was a little weird. Hell, more than a little weird.

She put it out of her mind for cheer practice, but could not focus much on practice. Bonnie was not looking at her and that bothered her to no end. She tried giving directions, but even she could tell everything she asked of the other cheerleaders was horrible. Bonnie should have called her out on it, but she just went through the motions and never said a word. Kim realized this meant their argument was a lot bigger than just Lance maybe asking her out… which, ew.

The more Kim thought about it, the more she started to think Lance was a creep. She remembered him asking her out freshman year, but beyond that, she recalled he had dated quite a few freshman that year, Bonnie being one of five. And that was just who she knew about. She was not as up on school gossip as most, so the number might have been higher or even worse, he might still be dating freshmen.

When practice was over, she noticed Bonnie sat back. She knew Bonnie needed space sometimes to collect herself, but this only let her know she had messed up beyond the whole Lance thing. She had gone back on her words, her own promise, simply calling Bonnie's words and motive into question the second it came up.

"Damn it," Kim hissed to herself as she stood in the locker room. The other cheerleaders moved around her and it took a lot of control to keep her from punching her locker. She had gone after Bonnie as if she did not believe her, like Bonnie was not her friend, her girlfriend at that.

She found it was worse than she even thought when Bonnie rebuffed her and her hug. This action made her stomach fall. She would not allow this moment of stupidity to cost her Bonnie, but she knew she needed to give Bonnie space. Bonnie lived in her head and needed to regroup sometimes. Pressing her would only make this worse.

Giving Bonnie space also gave her time to work out what she needed to say to Bonnie. She needed to explain herself, yes, but she also needed to examine herself. Obviously, some part of her needed to catch up with these changes in her life. Even once she and Bonnie literally kissed and made up, Kim knew would have to be more careful in the future. She could not let this happen again.

-8-8-8-8-

Next time: sleepover.