School Days
Chapter 25
It's News to me
Ron threw his helmet against the far wall as he entered the locker room. It bounced off the wall and clattered to the floor. He had been escorted to the locker room by a game official. The yells and screams that followed him would be something he would remember. The coach had stepped over and told him to shower and then wait for them in the locker room. Several of his teammates had come up to him and then patted him on the back or on the shoulder pads. He had walked past the benches and off of the field. Kim tried to catch his attention, but right now he really didn't want to talk to her. He had already heard some of the talk about Kim and the grad student. He had been really short with her that day and he was sorry for it. But, she had failed to mention the supposedly handsome grad' student was a part of the project. He wanted to trust her, as he had always trusted her, but with everything that had been happening lately he just didn't know what to do. They REALLY needed to talk. A long serious talk. He stripped off his uniform and then headed for the showers.
When he came out of the shower he turned on the television that was in the room. Flipping through the channels, he quickly found the game's broadcast. Vandercraft had taken his touchdown and added to it. Something had happened to really fire up the team. The defense had smothered the Braylor offense and the Braylor defense could not stop the Vandercraft offense. The commentator came on as Braylor called for a time out.
"I have no idea what has gotten into the Vandercraft team, but they have absolutely taken over the field! After young Stoppable was ejected from the game, the Vandercraft offense and defense really cut loose on the Braylor team. They really united behind young Stoppable while in the meantime Kingston has led them along. The Braylor offense is coming back on to the field with just two minutes left, but they have little hope overcoming the deficit."
Ron watched as the defense smothered the Braylor quarterback, sacking him twice in three plays. The seconds ticked off as the Vandercraft players started to cheer. The gun went off and the team began to celebrate. A cameraman ran into the group of Vandercraft players with a reporter. The reporter stopped one of the players and asked what exactly had fired up the team.
"Fired us UP? FIRED US UP? I'll tell you what fired us up! It was Ron! That's what fired us up! He got out there and showed us what he was made of! He gave it all man. Some of those Braylor dudes had been trash-talking Kim Possible. He made them pay for that. So he got kicked out of the game! Big deal, I would have done the same thing for any of the guys on this team. Ron and Kim are two of the greatest people ever to be on this team. You talk trash about one of them and we'll take it personally! Wayne? Wayne showed us what needed to be done. He, Ron and Kim are buds and he wanted Braylor to pay. WE MADE THEM PAY! GO STOPPABLE!"
The player ran off with the rest of the team. The reporter saw Wayne walking with the rest of the team as they made their way off of the field. He ran over to meet Wayne.
"Wayne, you helped lead this team to victory. What do you have to say about what happened with young Stoppable?"
Wayne stopped and looked at the reporter and into the camera.
"You are right, he is young and inexperienced. The inexperience showed with the display he put on. But you will have to admit that his sacrifice really got this team into the game. We won today because of him, not in spite of him. He has a lot to learn about playing at the college level but he is a fast learner. He'll be a great asset to this team for the years to come."
The reporter nodded and then asked another question.
"What about this rumor about Kim Possible?"
Wayne stopped, looked around and then back at the reporter.
"Kim Possible is a fine young woman and she is a great asset to the university. She and Ron are a fine couple and everyone knows of the things they have both done for this world, and this country. There were some rumors that the other team had said a few things to Ron about her. He apparently lost his temper with that display of his. He'll learn to get his temper under control, but today I think it worked to the advantage of the team."
Wayne walked off as the commentators started talking about the game and of what Wayne had said.
Ron waited in the locker room as the team spilled in and when they saw Ron standing there, they began to cheer. All of them crowded around him as the coach walked into the room.
"Alright, hit the showers! Stoppable, in the office now!"
Ron slumped as he made his way across the room as the rest of the team started to strip and head into the showers. Ron followed McClintock into the office. McClintock closed the door behind Ron and motioned for Ron to have a seat. Ron dropped down into the seat and stared at the floor as McClintock at first stood in front of the desk and then leaned back against it.
"Ron, you have the best talent for a player your age that I have ever seen. But I have also seen a bit of immaturity along with that talent. I detest what you did today. I will never condone displays like that. Now before I begin my tirade, I want you to know this. I've heard why you may have done this. That is not an excuse. You have to let things like that slide off. I know the two of you have had a really bad time since you've came to Vandercraft, but like it or not, you two are public figures and you will be held to a higher standard than anyone else. Now, just between you and me, what you did today gave this team a fire in it's heart that I haven't seen in a long time. They rallied around behind you and took that to the other team. I want to use that in the future, just not in the manner of how you did it today. You have a great future with this team, Ron. You really seem to inspire people around you to do great things. I can now see how Kim has done the things that she's done. Now that said, it's time for me to go into my tirade. Hang on to your ears, 'cause this will be a good one."
Kim waited outside the locker room as she waited for Ron. She'd already heard about the chewing out that the coach had given him. She herself had some chewing to do when he came out. She was a little disappointed in what he did. Sure, maybe some of the other players had said something about her, but that was no reason to do what he did. Her heart did warm however knowing that he would do something like that to protect her honor. She planned to have a long talk with him about why he shouldn't do something like that. Then she planned to forgive him in ways that would make her father blush. She wanted to pay him back for the love and support he had shown that day. They still needed to talk about some other issues but they would have to wait.
Some of the other players came up to her and told her how long and loud the coach had been. All of them asked her to give Ron all the support she could. He had made a mistake for sure, but he would need her when he came out. The door swung open and a red faced McClintock came striding out of the office. He stopped in front of her and glared for a moment. She shriveled under his glare for a few seconds until the hint of a smile had come across his face alongside a subtle wink. She thought to herself, 'what was all that about?'
The door swung open again and Ron stepped out into the hall. She walked up to him and put her arms around his waist. He turned his head and wouldn't look at her. She raised one hand to touch his cheek and then to turn his head to face her. Their eyes locked for a moment. Normally, she could guess what was going on in his mind just by looking into his eyes; twelve plus years of friendship and over a year of being boyfriend/girlfriend had given her that ability. But right now, she couldn't really tell what was going on. His gaze was a mixture of pain, sadness, jealousy, anger, and a myriad of other emotions.
"Ron, are you okay?"
At the sound of her voice his eyes closed. He reached up, pressed her hand against his cheek and sighed wearily.
"KP?"
Kim's heart flipped at the sound of his voice calling those two letters. They hadn't had the chance to speak to each other over the past couple of days. He opened his eyes and looked down at her.
"I am so sorry I've let you down. I should not have done that. But I was just so mad. I..."
Kim covered his mouth with her hand.
"Ron, I think I owe you a BIG apology. We both said that we would be honest and open about everything. I should have told you about the whole sitch with the project."
His eyebrow went up.
"Including the hottie grad' student that you would be working with?"
Kim giggled.
"Yeah, including the hottie grad' student. That was my bad. I was just so mad about how you reacted that..."
Ron touched her lips with his hand.
"KP, I did something that I've never done to you in all the time that we have been friends. I turned my back on you. I promised to always be there and I wasn't. I..."
Kim shook her head.
"Later, we need to find somewhere else to talk and settle down. Besides, we will never get through this conversation if we keep interrupting each other."
Ron gazed at her for a few moments and then began to giggle. The giggle turned into a laugh and he gathered her into a huge hug. She welcomed and cherished the feel of his arms around her. She buried her face into his neck and inhaled the scent of his cologne, the warmth of his body, and the beating of his heart. They stood there for a moment, then after finally letting go of one other they joined hands and walked out of the building.
A fuming Wayne watched from the shadows down the hall. What was with those two? Everything had worked perfectly but the two of them were still hanging on to each other! This part of his plan had partially worked; Ron had done exactly what he thought he would do. That got him penalized and kicked out of the game. But, instead of causing the team to lose, people were saying that they won because of him. Apparently, one of the other players had heard Wayne talking to Ron and spread the word around the team. Kim and Ron were two of the most popular students on campus and they were definitely one of the more popular couples on campus. Ron had pulled the team out of several tough times and the players backed Ron all of the way. So, instead of turning the team against Ron, his plan had all but solidified Ron's position within the team. The team took what Ron did to heart and turned on the Braylor team. They were mad and so they took it out on the field.
Wayne walked slowly away from the building whilst watching Kim and Ron as they made their way back to the buses. Why didn't Kim get mad at Ron? It had to be somewhat embarrassing for her! Acting head cheerleader now, Freshman class president and your boyfriend nearly loses the game. Then the rumor that Kim had been seen with that grad' student while he was seen with two of the most prettiest girls on campus! What did he think of that? What did SHE think of that? No couple could be that forgiving or trusting! All he had to do was to work on both of them. Work on their egos and their trust in each other and they would be splitsville. The only way that they would be able to stay together would be if that they insanely trusted each other and were willing to absolutely degrade themselves to show how much they love the other. But NOBODY is that crazy.
He stopped and watched as Kim laid her head on Ron's shoulder. They got to the bus and stopped to face each other. Kim got up on her tiptoes and gave Ron a little kiss. Even from the distance he was standing he could still hear the rest of the team on the bus cheering and whistling for them. Wayne scowled; those lips would be touching his soon enough. Within a few days, things would start to happen. Those two will end up most likely hating the very sight of one another.
Trudging down the snow covered walkway, Ron kept this head down against the wind. It was a cold night and the wind didn't help things. Ron had expected the students to really come down upon him for making such a fool of himself. Instead, everyone seemed to be backing him up. Almost all of the girls on campus came up and gave him a hug and told him that Kim was the luckiest girl in the world. He kept it to himself that he considered himself to be the luckiest guy in the world.
Looking up, he noticed that one of the lights on campus had gone out. He's have to call security about it when he got back to the dorm. There was one thing that Kim was really big on and that was campus safety. He entered the darkened area deep in thought. The sitch with Kim working with the grad' student still bothered him, but he trusted her, just as she trusted him to be around those other girls.
A foot crunching the snow brought Ron back to reality, as did the splitting pain of something cracking across his back. He rolled forwards with the blow, going into full mission mode. His shoulder hit the sidewalk as he rolled forwards and onto his feet. He sensed at least three or four figures around him. He dodged to the right as another blow whistled through the air where his head had been moments earlier. It was bigger that a broomstick and longer. He realized that they were coming after him with what appeared to be either curtain rods or canes. His arm went up to deflect another blow and his arm stung from the impact. Spinning low, he kicked the feet out from under the attacker. The assailant hit the ground with a painful thud and his stick clattered to the ground. Scooping it up, Ron turned to face his other attackers. A kick to the side of the head of the prostrate attacker put that one down for the count. Now he wondered how many more were out there. Two more came at him from within the darkness with their weapons coming down at him. Ron reacted in an instant: holding the rod like the Lotus Blade, he met the two attackers.
There were several cracks as his rod lashed out and blocked one of the oncoming blows. But, the others still managed to hit him in the side. He hissed as one rib threatened to break. He blocked another blow and drove his elbow into the figures face. A satisfying crunch echoed as the figure fell to the ground groaning. Two more figures attacked from the darkness so he flicked out the rod and was soon rewarded with the wet crack of a couple of ribs cracking alongside grunts of pain.
There was another crack as one the assailants was able land a blow on his shoulder. Ron grunted as he spun around and then jabbed low at the shadowy figure. His cane met resistance and a high pitched squeal came from the shadowed figure as it dropped to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something he wished he hadn't. The glint of light reflecting off of the blade of a knife.
He turned to see the light reflecting off of the blade as it came at him from the dark. He tried to block the blow but he wasn't able to bring the rod up fast enough. The blade sliced through his coat and into his forearm. Ron hissed as he jerked back and then spun the cane in his free hand. He brought it up slicing through the air and across the wrist of the knife holder. A satisfying pop sounded and the knife skittered onto the ground. Ron heard some yelling in the distance and his attackers disappeared. Looking up, he saw a couple of the members of the football team running towards him. A couple of others chased after his retreating assailants. He yelled out.
"Let 'em go. One had a knife and they might have more."
The two students stopped where they were and then joined the other two in running toward Ron.
"Ron, are you okay?"
Ron nestled his forearm in his other hand.
"A couple of them got in some good hits and one cut me, I don't think it's too bad."
One of the players jogged over to the nearest of the emergency pylons that dotted the campus and hit the button. A blue light on top of the pylon started to flash. Ron watched as another player stripped him out of his coat and shirt and then pulled off his own t-shirt. He wrapped his t-shirt around Ron's arm. It was only then that Ron looked down to notice the puddle of blood at his feet.
He muttered, "Kim is going to freak, she just bought me this coat."
Kim glanced at her watch; Ron should have gotten back from class a few minutes ago. They were going to meet for a snack. As she glanced out of the window, the campus alarm system went off. Something deep within Kim knew why. She grabbed her coat and the Kimmunicator.
"Wade, get me a status on Ron right...."
But before she could finish her sentence however, her phone rang. Grabbing the phone she glanced at the screen. "Ron" was displayed. Flipping open the phone, she answered.
"Ron?.... WHAT?"
Janice watched as Kim's face went pale. She jumped to her feet as Kim's skin tone quickly went almost white.
"Kim? What's wrong?"
Kim looked into her eyes.
"A gang of men just attacked Ron!"
Kim ran out the door as she held the phone to her ear.
"Ron where are you? Are you okay?"
Ron winced as the nurse in the infirmary rinsed the cut on his arm. It didn't look as bad as it did before as at least his blood wasn't all over the place. The nurse was examining it a little more closely when the doctor walked in.
"Well Mr. Stoppable, you are becoming one of my best customers. Let's take a look of what we have here."
The doctor took Ron's arm and examined the cut. Gently, he probed both sides of the injury.
"Well Mr. Stoppable, it appears that your famous luck has held out. I think we can go without any real stitches but I would like to use some butterfly stitches."
Ron nodded. He was very familiar with the small white strips. He had used many in the years that he had been saving the world with Kim. Using them saved many a trip to the emergency room. He watched the doctor as he spread a number of the white strips across the wound. Just as he finished, he could hear yelling out in the waiting room.
"Don't tell me I can't go back there! Ron is back there and I am going to see what's going on!"
A flustered nurse opened the door and Kim charged in. The nurse looked over at the doctor.
"Sorry doctor, but she insisted."
The doctor nodded as he smiled.
"It's quite alright nurse. Miss Possible can come in."
Kim rushed over to Ron and gently took his arm. Looking at it for a second she glanced up at him.
"You okay?"
Ron shrugged.
"I'm okay KP. But that new coat you bought me bit the dust."
Kim stared at him for a second then giggled.
"RON! I don't care about the coat, I DO care about you and your arm! Anything else?"
Ron nodded to his shoulder and his arm.
"They got some hits in but the coat cushioned most of the blows. I guess it helped with blocking most of the cut too."
Kim glanced over at the doctor. He nodded at Ron.
"He had some pretty good bruises on his arm and his back. I don't think they are serious, although they might hurt a little bit. The cut looks bad but it's not actually too deep. I think those butterfly stitches will just do fine. The nurse will come in and put a bandage on it, and then he can go. Have a good evening and I really do hope that I don't see either of you here soon."
The doctor walked out as the nurse began to wrap a bandage around Ron's arm. Kim squeezed his hand.
"Can you tell me what happened?"
Kim made her way across the campus toward the gym. She had sat with Ron as he described to the campus police and Dr. Director what had happened. A search of the campus had shown the assailants had disappeared. One of the campus cameras revealed the men jumping into a van and disappearing off of campus. The van was found the next day, burnt out into a husk on the other side of town. It had been stolen the day before. The camera pointing to the area where the assault had occurred had been disabled just seconds before the attack. The security officer responsible for watching the screens had just called one of the other officers to check the camera out when the alarm had come in.
Glenda was back and Kim was happy to return the head position of the squad back to her. She may like being out front and in charge, but the cheer-leading squad was just a little too much for her right now. Ron had not been given a suspension after the game. Several news groups including Celebrity Third Degree screamed favoritism. However, the NCAA put out a press release that whilst the display was over the top, it was thought that ejection from the game was punishment enough. However, a warning was given that another, similar display would bring severe consequences. The two of them had not had a good chance to talk yet. Both of them knew that they needed to, but with their classes and other responsibilities they were having a hard job just getting the time. They had been invited to participate in a demonstration of Japanese martial arts and sword fighting, better known as kenjutsu.
She was a little apprehensive over the coming demonstration. She knew that she could beat most if not all of the members of the group in hand to hand. She thought she just might be able to hold her own with a bokken. Ron was another matter. He should be able to hold his own in the hand to hand but the sword fighting was an unknown. He would not be able to use the Lotus Blade here and the members of the group were well versed in kenjutsu. She pushed open the door to see Ron standing there in an gi, but this one was a little more baggier than normal. Grinning, she skipped over to him and gave him a kiss after rising up on her tiptoes.
"Hiya bad boy."
Ron gave her a peck on the forehead. She purred as she wrapped her arms around him.
"You ready and what is this getup?"
Ron grinned.
"Well, I thought I would let you clean their clocks in the hand to hand. The Ronman is going to go bonking with the bokken."
She giggled.
"Okay RONMAN, just be sure you don't get bonked. Let me go get ready."
Kim smiled as she approached the mat. Kim bowed to her opponent as she stood on the mat. The lithe young girl smiled a wicked little smile back at her. They took their positions and started to circle each other. Kim feinted to the right and then attacked with a knife hand strike followed by a punch and a leg sweep. The girl blocked both attacks and jumped over the sweep. She followed with a straight arm punch to Kim's chest. Kim stumbled back a step before spinning with a high kick, but she never completed it. Collapsing the leg she was standing on, she drove a arm strike up under her opponents block. The strike spun her opponent to the floor.
Kim spun back to her feet as her opponent snap-kicked to her feet. She gave slight bow to Kim, acknowledging the unusual move.
"A most unusual move, Kim-san."
Kim smiled at her.
"Someone once told me, 'never be normal'."
The two continued to circle each other making a number of attacks. Kim noticed a pattern in her opponents moves. Years of fighting for her life had tuned certain skills of hers to a point a little above most others. She waited for her opponent to make a shift in her footing. That was a sign she made when she was about to launch a jump kick followed by a punch. Kim waited as she prepared to jump into the kick and acted first. She leapt toward her opponent just as she started to jump. Closing the distance, Kim slipped to the side and struck her opponent across her chest with her outstretched arm. The strike clothes lined her opponent and sent her crashing to the floor. Kim then followed with a knee drop but never completed the hit. The girl stared up at her from the floor and slapped the mat with her hand. Kim smiled and reached down to help her off of the mat. They bowed to each other before leaving the mat. The girl grinned at Kim.
"If I was to be defeated this day, I could only have hoped to have been defeated by Kim Possible."
Kim bowed the girl again and took her seat with Ron. The Sensei of the group stepped out onto the stage.
"We are honored to now present a demonstration in kenjutsu. This is the art of sword fighting. Many, many years ago, this was the way of how the samurai trained. Instead of actual swords, we use the bokken."
One of the members of the group handed the master a long wooden sword. He turned back to the audience.
"This is a bokken, and as you can see it is basically a long craved wooden rod. It is balanced similar to a sword so that the user will have the same basic basic feel. The movements and tactics of sword fighting can be taught without serious injury to the participants."
At that moment, two members of the group suddenly attacked the master of the group from behind. In a series of lighting quick moves he blocked the attacks and knocked one to the floor while disarming the other. He turned back to the audience.
"Of course that does not include bruises..."
Everyone in the audience gave a nervous laugh. They had been shocked at both the speed of the attack and of the defense. The master bowed to the audience.
"Let our demonstration begin."
Kim and the audience all watched as the demonstration continued. Kim marveled at the formality of each match. Each participant would step up onto the mat, then bow to one another. They would then draw their bokken slowly and kneel, placing them tip to tip with one another. After a quick bow from the kneeling position, they would then rise from their kneel holding their individual bokken in a fighting stance. Then, with a yell, they would attack each other. After several matches, the Sensei of the group stepped to the center of the stage once again.
"We have been honored to participate in the demonstration. We were also honored to have one of your fellow students participate in the first part of our program. Miss Possible, will you please stand again?"
Kim stood from her place on the front row. Cheers and whistles broke out among the audience as Kim turned and waved to the group. Wayne was sitting just above all the football players with Robert and . Robert elbowed him as they watched Kim waving from the front.
"You still want a piece of that?"
Wayne leered.
"Ohhhhh yeahhhhhh. Just wait. You'll see."
The master smiled as Kim turned back around to retake her seat.
"Now, another of your fellow students has agreed to participate in our exhibition. Ron-sama, will you please join me?"
Kim watched as Ron stepped out onto the stage. He was wearing the same type of outfit that Kim had seen him in earlier except that this time he was wearing a bokken at his side. Ron walked up to the master of the group and the two exchanged a bow. The master then gestured to the side of the mat and thus Ron took his place on that side. Another student stepped up to his side of the mat and the two faced each other. Kim began to grow nervous. The student facing Ron was the top student in the group. In the back of her mind the thought came to her that that Sensei of the group had called Ron by Ron-sama. Before she could have another thought about the matter, Ron and the other student stepped up to the mat and bowed to one another. After going through the rest of the formalities, instead of keeping their bokken raised at each other, they both placed their bokken back in to their belts and then bowed once again. Then, they started to circle each other.
There was almost total silence in the room as the two stalked each other. Everyone nearly jumped out of their seat when the other student suddenly drew his sword and attacked. One moment nothing was happening, but then in a blink of an eye the two had exchanged several blows. Both pulled back as the other student held his bokken high whilst Ron held his low. They circled each other once again but then Ron attacked. The two of them threw themselves at each other. Sometimes the blows came so fast that it sounded like machine gun fire. They pulled back for a moment and then charged one another once again. In a flurry of blows, the other student managed to lay a blow onto Ron's arm causing his bokken to flip to the floor. Ron took a step back as the student flicked his bokken out and then lightly tapped Ron on his chest. Ron stepped back and with his arms at his side and then bowed to his opponent. The student placed his bokken at his side and then bowed back to Ron. Kim smiled at her boyfriend; she knew that he was good with the Lotus Blade, but he still needed to practice. She then noted that she would have to give his bruises some 'special' attention later. The audience exploded into applause and cheers as Ron stepped back off of the mat and then bowed to the Sensei. Kim's heart nearly exploded in pride as he stood and waved at the audience.
Robert nudged Wayne once again.
"You still want to take on that? You better be sure, 'cause I don't want to be around when Ron finds out. He is liable take the nearest tree and beat you into a greasy pulp! No way man, count me out from now on. I can think of quicker and less painful ways to die."
Robert got up and walked off as the exhibition ended. Wayne continued to stare at Kim as she jumped up onto the stage, running to Ron. She wrapped her arms around his waist and gave him a hug. All Wayne could see however, was himself standing in Ron's place. He got up and left the gym. It was already getting dark. As he made the turn around the corner of the building, two figures dropped into step on each side of him. The one on his right grunted.
"Keep walking and no talking. Davy wants to see you. He's not happy about what happened."
Wayne kept his mouth shut as the two heavyset figures gestured toward a van parked in a nearby parking lot. As the three of them approached, the side door opened and Wayne stepped in to take a seat. After the door had closed, a figure in the rear seat began to speak.
"You didn't tell us everything, did you?"
Wayne tried to not sweat.
"I didn't know for sure. I heard the rumors and I told you he was a martial arts expert!"
The figure took a puff from a cigarette.
"Yes, you did. But you didn't tell us that he could do what he did. I found the show inside quite enlightening. If I had known what he could do I would have handled it differently."
Wayne scowled.
"You were supposed to just hurt him, not try and kill him!"
The figure sighed.
"That was before he seriously hurt Blake and Greg. They were lucky we have our own little doctor. Otherwise, a trip to the emergency room would have been followed by a trip to jail. I expect double pay for our trouble."
Wayne shook his head.
"NO WAY, you got paid, and that's it."
The figure motioned for the driver to turn on the in vehicle video system. Wayne broke into a sweat when he realized that they had taped him making the payoff and telling them when and how to ambush Ron.
"It would be a shame for such a nice little video to wind up on YouTube. You tell Daddy to cough up the dough or his little boy will not be getting the Heisman 'cause his little boy will be in jail. I expect payment in three days. You will be contacted where. Have a good evening."
The side door slid open and Wayne was dragged out from his seat. The two who had escorted him to the van climbed in and then closed the door. The engine started and then the van casually drove away. Wayne wiped his forehead. He was not looking forward to calling his dad, even though it was his dad who had made the first contact. He stuffed his hands into his pockets and then headed for his dorm. It didn't matter. Everything would hit the fan overnight. After that, Kim Possible would be on the way to being his and Ron Stoppable would only be a name that Kim would say in hate.
The sun was shining through a few clouds as Kim made her way toward cheer practice. Several students seemed to be staring at her. Kim was about to ask what was going on when Glenda ran up to her.
"Kim, Mrs. Sweeney wants to talk to you in her office."
Kim followed Glenda to Mrs. Sweeney's office. Mrs. Sweeney was waiting for them as they came down the hall. She held the door open for the two cheerleaders and quickly closed it behind them. Motioning for Kim to take a seat, Mrs. Sweeney took her own behind her desk.
"Kim, have you seen any TV today?"
Kim shook her head.
"No, I overslept so I got up and went straight to class. This is one of my busy days so I haven't seen any news. What's wrong?"
Mrs. Sweeney and Glenda shared a glance as the cheer captain picked up a TV remote and turned on the TV. Kim noticed that the channel was on "Celebrity Third Degree". The screen was frozen and Kim heart dropped; behind the man who seemed to have a fetish on finding dirt on her and Ron was on camera. Behind him were pictures of Kim and Ron. If he was displaying their pictures then it would not be for a good reason. Glenda pressed the button to start the recording and the man began to speak.
"This is Celebrity Third Degree, I am Ian Quisition and have I got a story for you!"
The scene behind his changed and the words. 'I slept with Kim Possible' went all the way across the screen along with Ron's picture.
"What are the intimate secrets of Team Possible? Just what do they do coming back from missions? Is Kim Possible a screamer? Do the members of Team Possible and their families get special treatment? Here are the facts. Did you know that Kim Possible actually was in on a surgery with her brain surgeon mother? Did you know that her father allows and even condones her two brothers in carrying out dangerous experiments in their home? How about storing dangerous and top secret chemicals at the family home? Yes, we have reports that all of this is true and even have a signed affidavit by Ron Stoppable that all of this is true."
Kim sat in shock as Ian kept talking. It seemed every little thing he was talking about was twisted and turned. Her mother was made out to be some irresponsible crazy doctor that allowed her children to do anything. Her father was made out to be some spineless fool who was a danger to the security of all the projects he was working on. Her brothers were made out to be some sort of wild, crazy hoodlums with no regard for safety. On top of it all, she was portrayed as some slut who jumped on top of Ron or any other guy at the first opportunity! She was visibly shaking by the time the report was finished. Glenda turned off the TV.
"Kim, we saw this on this morning and didn't know if you knew. It's all over campus. Where is Ron?"
Kim gritted her teeth.
"I am about to find out."
Ron swallowed as he ran across campus. He was in shock and had to find Kim. After seeing the show on TV he was feeling sick. That day in the room playing games was coming back to haunt him. He had only signed one piece of paper in two weeks. That was in that room with that guy and the other students. Come to think of it, that guy seemed to be a little too old to be a student. He was in deep trouble and he knew it. He could only hope that Kim would listen. This sitch would really push the envelope of trust.
Looking up, he could see her coming toward him. Her stance and her stride told him all he needed to know. She was tweaked but it was not your everyday tweak. This was a Shego temper sized tweak. This was the iceberg that had sunk the Titanic sized tweak. Her eyes locked onto him and he would swear the air between them went subzero.
They met face to face on the sidewalk and stared at each other for a few moments. Ron tried to get his mouth to work.
"Kim, I..."
Kim raised her hand and for a moment, Ron thought that he would be on the receiving end of another slap. Kim stopped and slowly closed her hand as she closed her eyes. Ron thought that he could see her lips moving quietly as she counted. He stood there for a moment watching her. After a few seconds had passed, her eyes opened and she stared up at him. This time it was a stare and not a glare. Her eyes glimmered as they always did when he had done something that had hurt her. They were also filled with that special love that she held dear for him.
"Ron, right now I really don't know how I feel. This hurt and somehow you had a part in it. My mind is telling me that you let your head get big again. But, I know in my heart that you would never knowingly do something like this. We need to find a place to talk and figure out where we need to go from here."
Ron nodded.
"Okay KP."
He reached out of touch her but she pulled back. Ron stopped and lowered his hand. Kim reached out and she took his hand, placing it against her cheek.
"Sorry about that. Can I have a hug?"
Ron nodded and enveloped her with his arms. Sighing, she settled into the embrace and for a few seconds, everything went away except for the two of them.
"Okay. Tell me what happened."
Ron dropped his head.
"Wayne caught up with me a few days ago before practice. He invited me to go over to a friend's room. Apparently the dude had the newest Zombie Mayhem out. You know me, I can't turn down a chance to bash zombies."
Kim snorted. Ron hesitated for a moment but then continued.
"Well, they kept asking questions about us as I played the game. I guess I was paying attention to the game more than what I was saying. I mentioned that we had slept together during a mission while we waited for pickup. I didn't realize what I had said until it was too late. I didn't realize it until later that there was some other dude in the room. I had never seen him before. He kept asking about you and your family. Like the stuff about your mom and your brothers. I told him that it was none of his business. That's when I left."
Kim scowled over at him.
"Okay, anything else. How about this paper they said you signed?"
Ron stopped and bowed his head. Kim reached over and touched his face with her fingers.
"Just tell me what happened."
Ron looked up at Kim. She could see that look in his eyes. It was the same look that he had when he had done something wrong and he didn't know exactly how to tell her.
"Ron?"
He shuffled his feet.
"Just as I was leaving, that same dude that had been asking all the questions asked for my autograph. He handed me a clipboard with some papers on it. I looked at it and it was just class notes for some math class. He asked me to sign on the blank paper on the bottom, so I signed it."
Kim covered her face with her hands and mumbled through her fingers.
"You DIDN'T check what you were signing?"
Ron shook his head.
"Nope."
Kim punched him in the arm.
"RON! What have we talked about? How could you just sign something without looking at it?"
Ron rubbed his arm.
"Sorry Kim."
Kim turned to the side and looked out over campus whilst shaking her head.
"It's okay Ron. I don't think I would have checked myself. How many times have I signed whatever someone gave me to autograph. I guess we will both have to be more careful. That really tanks."
Ron stepped behind her and wrapped his arms around her again.
"Okay Kim. I'm sorry...I really am. I love you. I always will. No matter what. So, we okay?"
She purred as she pulled him into a hug.
"We are SO okay."
She started to say something but her phone rang. Grabbing it and looking at the screen, she noticed her home phone number was on the screen. She groaned; now was so not the time. She showed the screen to Ron and he turned pale. The phone continued to ring until she flipped it open.
"Hello? Hi, mom. Yeah, believe me we know about it. How did daddy take it? That bad? Okay, I think we'll head home after our classes in the morning. Yeah, we sorta know what is going on but I'd rather discuss it face to face. See you tomorrow afternoon."
Kim closed her phone with a flip.
"Well, we have be 'asked' to come home."
Ron arched an eyebrow.
"Asked as in we needed to be there yesterday?"
Kim giggled a little. She could count on Ron to be himself when she needed it.
"Yeah, they are expecting us tomorrow afternoon. The Sloth should be able to get us there pretty quick. Why don't we go get our normal Thursday night dinner at the steakhouse. Meet me at the Sloth about 6:30?"
Ron pulled her into a hug.
"Are you sure that we should go out?"
Kim nodded as she laid her hand onto his chest.
"So sure. We need to go on like nothing has happened."
Ron bent down and gave her a kiss on the head.
"I'm game if you are."
She got up on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss.
"See you then. Let's do casual tonight."
Kim brushed a flake of snow from her face as she made her way toward the parking lot. Pulling the collar of her coat up around her neck, she noticed that someone was coming towards her. It was Wayne and he was carrying some flowers. He saw her and picked up the pace of his steps. Kim groaned inwardly. He was not one she wanted to deal with right now, but maybe she could get rid of him fast. She stopped as he walked up to her.
"Kim? Are you doing okay?"
Kim shrugged.
"What do you mean?"
Wayne looked around.
"Kim! Everyone is talking about the broadcast and what Ron said and did. I am really sorry, I tried to get him out of there before he put his foot in his mouth but you know Ron. When he gets to talking he can't stop. Especially when he is bragging. I know that had to hurt knowing he said and did those things."
Kim just shrugged her shoulders and before she could say anything else he handed her the flowers.
"I wanted you to have these. Listen, I know things are pretty tough right now but if you need to talk I'm here. I'd never run off at the mouth like Ron did. I mean I was telling your dad the other day that I was worried about you and that Ron might do something that would hurt you."
Kim held her breath for a moment.
"When did you see my dad?"
Wayne shrugged his shoulders.
"He came through one evening looking for you. The two of you were out on some mission so he invited me to supper. We had a nice talk that night."
Kim's eyes went down to the ground and she thought silently, 'Daddy, how could you?'
Wayne kept talking.
"So I told him that I was worried about you and that Ron might say or do something that would hurt you. I mean look at what's happened. I mean, he just kept going on and on that day. Then he told everyone about the time when your brothers did some experiments on your cheer uniform and that he got a good look at....at you. I'm as so sorry KP. He really doesn't deserve someone as special as you. I heard that he really had to go home tomorrow. Would you like to go out or something?"
Kim had several thoughts running through her head.
"Not really Wayne, there is something I REALLY have to do. When I get back, we will have a nice face to face talk. Okay? I need to run into town for a few things. I'll call you."
Wayne smiled as he stepped back.
"Okay KP, I'll see you then."
Kim watched as he walked off toward his dorm. Kim turned and headed for the parking lot. When she got to the Sloth, she noticed that Ron was already sitting in the driver's seat. She pulled open the door, flopped into her seat and buckled the seat belt. Ron looked at the flowers.
"Where did the flowers come from?"
Kim growled.
"Wayne showed up. HE gave them to me. He had a few interesting things to say."
Ron glanced over to her.
"Wayne?"
Kim nodded.
"Do you really need to be in class tomorrow?"
Ron thought about it for a moment.
"No, not really, why?"
Kim glanced at the flowers in her lap.
"I don't either. Let's go eat and then get our stuff. We're flying the Sloth home tonight."
Ron's eyes went wide.
"Tonight! KP, what's going on?"
Kim pointed out into the darkness.
"Drive, I'll tell you."
Ron started the Sloth and pulled out of the parking lot. The Sloth had gone only a mile before it pulled off to the side of the road. Kim got out and stuffed the flowers into a trash bin. As she got back into the car, she mumbled.
"Daddy, you are SO busted."
The sitch is getting interesting. Wayne is running off at the mouth and he actually called her KP. It seems MrDrP has been around Wayne too much. Now Kim and Ron are heading home to face the music and makes some notes of their own. Thanks for reading. Please leave a review. I would appreciate it.
The Captain.