Chapter 9: Just An Innocent Little Game

Ron's eyes were slowly awakening, opening to the dimly lit room. The skies were bathed in a gloomy, darkening light. His fingers twitched, attempting to move or transition into a fist. The day was tiring, he felt a sense of healing as he drifts off into sleep again. Before his eyes closed all the way, he caught a glimpse of the clock.

'Hmm, 6:57.' He thought. It was then his eyes completely shut and was about to go back to sleep. Next thing he knew, his eyes widely opened. He thrashed about his bed and tried to gain his footing as he attempted to stand.

"Rufus? Rufus, we gotta go!" The naked mole rat stood on the nightstand, aware of Ron's rude awakening. The covers were sticking to Ron's sneakers as he wiggles them off. He got one foot free, then the other. Rufus got into Ron's pocket and the boy took off to Bonnie's residence.

'Screw it, I need to get there fast or I'll be late.' Ron had then made a beeline for the rooftops. He didn't go for any flashy moves, it just consisted of thief vaults, obstacle vaults, rolls and fold flips. About thirteen minutes of this passed and he arrived there at 7:10. As he ran to the Rockwaller residence, he could see Bonnie's car still on the driveway, but the lights were on. She was still there, waiting for him. It was something of a half relief, he slowed down from running, wanting to catch his breath before getting into her car.

He wiped the beads of sweat that began to trickle down his face. As he approached the car, he could see Bonnie in the drivers seat. She looked restless, a bit impatient. She was probably mumbling under her breath 'Where are you Ron?'

The blonde made his appearance known by tapping on the window. That made Bonnie jerk her head to the right. She was able to see him with a smile on his face, waving. A click could be heard as the car doors were unlocked, allowing him to get inside.

"Sorry I'm late." He said as he shuts the door and puts on his seatbelt. He leans back on the seat, resting after rushing to her.

"I was getting worried that you weren't gonna show. Jeez what happened to you?" She says with concern. How is it that Ron gets into these things? He's just a magnet for it.

"Ok uhh… let's start with me getting a call saying that Middleton bank was being robbed. I said 'let KP handle it', they say she's indisposed and it's all up to me. I still said no but… Wade put me on this pity trip and I said yes just to get it over with."

"Why was Kim indisposed? I mean if this happened today, we know for a fact that we saw her at school."

"She had to go to her cousin Larry's and she was in detention to boot." Ron gave evidence to his point, which Bonnie was able to believe.

"Larry, the nerdy cousin?" Bonnie questioned.

"Yep, he's the one. His birthday's coming up and she's gonna be outta town for a bit. Authorities weren't able to do something about the bank so they sent me to do it. I stopped it, but not after going to Bueno Nacho to get something to eat, I bumped into Felix and we talked for a bit."

Bonnie had then pulled off the curb and began to drive. "So what did you talk about?"

"Well, for one example, him and Zita are kinda sorta dating."

"Him and Zita?" Bonnie had a tone of disbelief, well there's some food for thought.

"You heard my words." Ron said.

"Zita Flores?" She questioned.

"The one and only." Ron confirmed it with the brunette. She was entirely surprised to even hear this. Her lips curled because a certain question came to her mind.

"How are you taking it? I mean she was your first." Bonnie asked. Although Zita wasn't his first time, but she was his first crush.

"Really?" He playfully asks. Ron had a feeling Bonnie wanted to play some mind games. "I mean it hasn't been five minutes and you're already putting it out there?"

"Aww c'mon, spill. You'll know I'll find out eventually." She pushed.

"I'm happy for Felix and Zita getting together. Look, they're both smart, they seem like a good couple. They're just taking it slow. When I said that they were kinda sorta dating, I was saying that they were getting to know each other."

"Thought you'd be jelling."

"Nah, I dunno. After dating Zita, I guess her and I don't have much in common. It's just… maybe I was forcing myself to like her, to not break her heart and that junk, but she called it off, and I'm fine with that. She was gentle with it, so y'know it's… whatever."

Hearing Ron's words when it came down to relationships showed that he was looking for someone that he could relate to. He wasn't gunning for looks like most people would. Matter of fact, she wanted to throw Tara's name into the mix… but she couldn't. Whether it was noticeable or not, Tara harbored feelings for the blonde which was detected by Bonnie. She probably wanted to plot to get those two together, but maybe she shouldn't force those two together, maybe it would be best if Ron chose the person he loved out of free will.

"How's the martial arts club going? It's been three months and you haven't walked out on it. So I'm thinking that you must love it."

"It's worth it, sparring with guys who know different variations helps you expand your mind. You get to even learn them too." That was then Bonnie felt a sense of triumph wash over her.

"Say it." She tells him.

"Say what?" Ron asks. It was more like he wanted to deny that he knew the truth. The boy knew what she was driving at.

"You know what to say. You know exactly what to say." She pressed the matter further.

He sighs in defeat. "You were right, the martial arts club was a good idea."

It was then they saw the mall on their right. "We're here." Ron mumbles.

"Let's hope there's a good parking place." Bonnie responds. As she drove to the parking lot, she could see a spot. 'Least it won't be crowded' thought the brunette.

Once she parked the car, she took that as a sign to unlock the car doors for them to get out. She then locked the car and set the alarm.

"Already got your license and you don't need an adult?" Ron implies.

"It took some convincing, but Mom and Daddy budged through. They would let me drive from time to time. The car has a GPS, and a built in camera, like if you're going to parallel park and you need to see the car behind you, it has that. Also a couple more things."

"Ok, so we're at the mall…" Ron says as they both got into the entrance and heard pop music echo throughout the area. "What do we do now?"

"C'mon Ronnie, let's just go with the flow and check out the stores." She answers. The blonde boy sees that giddy smile on her. He couldn't help but notice something else about this.

This was the second time that Bonnie addressed him as 'Ronnie'. He felt that this was something similar to how he would call her 'Bon-Bon'. But unlike it, he actually enjoyed it when he referred her to that name. Another thought came to him; what if Bonnie actually loved the nickname Ron kept calling her. Her mother calling her that was one thing, considering that she was the first one to address her as such, but when Ron said it, there was a certain blush that took place. Maybe it could be true, he stayed with that mindset.

"Let's head here." Bonnie instructed. They went into the clothing store. With her eyes set on several outfits, there was also something else that caught her attention, with an amorous smile, she grabbed that as well.

"You sure ya don't wanna buy the store?" He joked. He placed his hands in his pocket and chuckled.

"A girl's gotta keep up with the styles Ron, it's a powerful thing." As she went to the cashier, Ron remembered something a little important. Monique works here, at Club Banana to be exact, it was her shift after all, but it was coming to a close in about eleven minutes.

As they walked further into the mall, Bonnie's eyes lit and looked at Ron as they went into the next.

"C'mon Ron. Let's head here." They went into the clothing store. As they walked in, they went into the men's section, in the blonde boys case, he knew the young Rockwaller wasn't looking for clothes that was probably going to Brick. It was for him. He could tell by grabbing a red button up shirt his side and spreading it out to reveal how it looked when it wasn't folded.

Ron sighs. "Bonnie, c'mon, I don't need clothes, I'm alright with what I have." This was the part where Bonnie was going to interject.

"Yeah, you do. Let's be real here. That style is five years ago and it's pretty much the same type of attire you wear everyday. Just try it out, it won't bite."

"Yeah… but you will." The blonde boy mumbles. He looked away at her and blushes a bit. There was an odd thought that he had of Bonnie biting, yet looking at her would strengthen the fantasy.

Bonnie playfully sighs "You'll be fine Ron, think of it as a bit of improvement." She said as she placed her arms around his neck and played with the locks of his hair.

Ron saw Bonnie making her little move, it should be fair that he made his. His hands found the way to her slender body and placed them on her curvaceous hips. "I'd rather bake you a cake if it meant ending this sooner."

"Bake me a cake." She said as a statement and a question. The brunette repeated his words, yet when did he learned how to cook.

"I forgot to tell you didn't I?" Ron asked her. "I'm actually in the culinary arts club back at school."

Her eyes widened and she let unwrapped her arms from his neck. Ron took it as a sign to let go of her hips, even if he desperately wanted to hold onto her a little longer.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Looks like her hands were on her hips and she questioning him like a detective.

"I was gonna bake you a cake and tell you. That was how I wanted to say it."

Bonnie was livid at first but then again, she wanted to see something for herself, or in a manner, taste. "Tell you what, back at the house, I have ingredients for a red velvet cake. Maybe you could…" she was pointing at something.

"Ok, if it means you won't be mad at me." He says half-jokingly.

"How about one last stop, and we take this over to my place?" She says suggestively. Ron took the hint and smiled at it. "Heh, no problem."

They head over to the place where Ron felt a sense of dread wash over him. Club Banana. Monique was still there, her shift was drawing into a close soon. The only was to get through her, was discreetly and one at a time.

Bonnie went in first, she looked around for the fitting rooms. As she ventured there, Ron then took his entry. He followed Bonnie to the fitting room. She had then given Ron a pair of clothes that he bought. He didn't want Bonnie paying for his outfits. Even if it was a kind gesture, he felt that is would be like manipulating her into buying him stuff. It wasn't like he helped Kim saved the world for free, did he?

As he went inside. Bonnie looked around, she could see Monique gearing up to leave the place, that meant one thing: her shift was being done and another person was taking over.

She waited a bit and spoke. "Hey Ron, you done yet?"

"Uhh y-yeah, but I don't think I should come out." His tone came out shy and timid. Well, at least he put on the clothes.

"Aww Ron, don't worry about it, I'm sure you'll look fine." Encouragement was being poured into his ears.

"Ok." He responded with a tone of uneasiness. He comes out of the room with a sight to be marveled upon. Her eyes widened at the sight.

Ron wore a red button up shirt with tan jeans and white sneakers. With the blonde hair that grew longer, as well as those gleaming chocolate brown eyes, the brunette could only stare at him, allured by the sight of him.

"Bonnie, be honest, how do I really look? It's just that… I mean this is just so weird."

Bonnie was snapped out of her hypnotic trance and answered him. "Ron, if someone saw you now, they'll look at you like this major hottie."

"Well, OK. Only cause you picked this out."

"That's good. Hopefully you won't bury these in your closet, like you did with all the stuff I send you on the holidays." She says in an agitated manner as she pokes him in the chest. Ron begins to ask himself why is his chest so prone to be poked.

"You know I wear them… occasionally. Think about it, if Kim and Monique saw a change in my clothing and it's this good. They'll know somethings up."

Bonnie sighs. "Yeah, but could you just wear one of them at least?"

"I promise, I'll wear these outfits you picked out for me." They talked as they walked out of Club Banana. Ron couldn't help but notice a lock of hair that was on the corner of his eye.

"Can I get a haircut after this? Having my hair like this feels weird."

Bonnie shook her head. As of this moment, Ron was getting a complete makeover, some stuff would be kept and some stuff would go. One of those things that had to go, was the cowlick. "Nope, Ron your hair may be longer, but you have a lot more definition with it. I don't think you should get it cut."

"But Bonnie-" he was going to continue until the brunette shushed him and made a deal with him. "If you agree with me on this, I'll let you model me in my clothes."

"But don't you have to do the same? You modeling me in my own clothes?" He questions suspiciously. There were thoughts flying out and about between the both of them, yet this innuendo felt a bit frisky.

"Mm-hm." Her answer was.

Ron had to respond quickly "Sounds like you wanna model me in not just clothes, maybe like in swim trunks, considering you had me buy a pair, and you did but a swimsuit too."

Bonnie blushes and smiles at his move. Oh it was a good one, seems he's learning a bit from the Rockwaller. "Who knows, maybe we'll go and have a little swim together." She sultrily says. Whether they knew it or not, the game of seduction was being played between and it was going both ways.

She clung to her arm in a friendly manner, yet somehow it felt like it was more than that. No one they knew saw them like this and that was a good thing.

Yet that's what they were made to believe. A certain girl had her eyes set on the two, her eyes weren't playing tricks on her, this was happening right in front of her. She couldn't take her eyes off of them.

"Oh my God." She whispers.