There's No Other Way

"Bueno Nacho. Home Economics…When it turned out I was better at something than you were…" He turned away from her, but she stepped back in front of him.

"You're better than me at a lot of things Ron. You'll probably always be better at a lot of things than me. I'm not perfect. As much as I would like to think that I can do anything, I know I can't. You helped me realize that." He turned away again, but this time Kim stayed where she was.

"The Molecular Muscle Enhancer Ring. The Haircut. When people noticed me. When people liked me…" His voice wavered.

"I always noticed you. Without the muscles or the haircut." She took the risk of putting her hand on his shoulder.

"Whenever it looked like I might be slipping out from under your thumb…" He turned slowly until he was facing her, but his eyes were focused on the ground at his feet.

"Is that what you think?" Her voice was quiet but understanding, almost loving. "Ron I care about you. I didn't want to see you get hurt, that's all."

"You don't have to pretend that you care about me, not anymore."

"I do care about you Ron. When you were using the ring and had the haircut…"

"People liked me…I liked me." It sounded like a quiet confession, the way he said it, as if it were a sin.

"People only liked what they saw. That wasn't the real you."

"The real me…" Ron coughed out a laugh. "What a joke."

"I like the real you…" Her words were genuine and spoken out of hope as she lifted his chin.

"There is no real me." He said as he pushed her hand away.

Ron turned away from her once again and began to speak. "I don't have the luxury of being like you Kim. You can be yourself; you can be just Kim Possible and people like you. I can't do that; I can't be just Ron Stoppable. I have to try to fit in, I have to try really hard." He stepped over on the path and stood in front of the bench. He lifted his head and looked across the park at a family on a picnic. "But I never can, I never will. Nobody likes me for me. I have to make myself fit their notion of who I should be. The sidekick. The distraction. The class clown. The loser." Ron sat down on the bench and buried his head in his hands. "Half the people in school don't even know my name."

Kim sat down next to him and put her hand on his knee. Much to her surprise he didn't stand up or force her away. "You're Ron Stoppable, my best friend."

"Not even you could say that I'm just Ron Stoppable." His face remained in his hands as tears found their way out from between his fingers. "You had to qualify it with 'my best friend'. I'll never be anything but that, 'Hey look its Kim Possible's best friend - whatshisname'." He looked at her through tear filled, bloodshot eyes. "I don't have a life outside of you."

"Yes you do. You have Monique, Cheer Squad…" Kim's voice trailed off as she realized he was right.

"No, I don't." Ron stood up and pulled his Kimmunicator out, "Maybe it's about time I got one." He let it fall to the ground and turned to leave

Kim stood up and grabbed his wrist. "Please Ron. Stay. Lets work through this together." She was pleading with him. "We're a team remember? We need each other. I want you in - I need you in my life. Please."

"I don't need you in mine," Ron choked out the words between his tears, "not anymore." He turned and walked away. Leaving Kim alone in the park, crying.

Therapy?

It was dinnertime at the Stoppable house and time for a family talk. "Son, we need to talk."

"What about?" Ron asked as he looked up from his plate.

"We think maybe its time for you to consider counseling." His dad broached the sensitive subject clumsily.

"Me? Why would I need it?" Ron asked obstinately.

"Your behavior these last few days has been - troubling. And…" His father paused slightly, hesitant to bring up her name. "With what Kim told us…"

"I told her to stay out of my life!" Ron was furious; she couldn't do the one thing he asked her to do.

"She's worried for you Ron." His mom added, with a pleading tone.

"I'm going to my room. I have homework to do." Ron stormed up to his room and picked up the phone, he pressed (star) 67 and then dialed Kim's number.

She answered, sounding unsure as to who was calling. "Hello?"

"Stay out of my life!" He shouted before slamming the phone down. Why couldn't she just leave him alone? Let him get through this by himself? He just needed time, time to figure things out. Time to be himself, to be Ron Stoppable.

His mom walked into the room and sat down next to him. "Ron…son please. You don't have to go through this alone."

"I am alone…" He buried his head in his pillow, trying to hide his tears from his mom.

"We're here for you." She gave him a reassuring hug and gently kissed his cheek. "We'll always be here for you."

"And we love you son." His dad added from the doorway.

"I know. I love you too."

Bueno Nacho, Monday

Ron had just finished ordering his after school snackage, two grande sized Chimeritos and a medium Surge. Everyone who knew him thought it was odd for him to be here alone; he usually always had Kim with him. Seeing him without her was about as common as seeing an elephant riding a bicycle.

"So where's that redhead you're usually hanging out with?"

"Well," Ron looked across the counter to read the nametag of the girl getting his order, "Stacy, I don't know…and I don't care. Just get my food ready."

The uncomfortable silence that followed was interrupted by a familiar chime. Two new customers were entering the restaurant, Kim and Monique.

"Hey Ron. You coming over to Kim's tonight and watch Pain King's: Night of 100 Bruises with us?" Monique asked as she waited on line at the counter.

Ron barely turned to look at her when he answered flatly, "No." He turned back to Stacy, a strange cheeriness in his voice, "Could you make it to go? Thanks." He picked up his food and walked out without saying another word.

"What's up with Ron? He's been acting like a jerk all day." Monique asked as she sat down into the booth with Kim.

Kim shrugged her shoulders.

Monique looked puzzled, "I thought you knew him better than anyone."

"I feel like I hardly know him at all." Kim said as she stared out the window, watching Ron as he walked away down the sidewalk, and out of her life.

Latin Class: Part 2, Friday

It had been a difficult week for Kim, being alone, not having her best friend around. Every morning she hoped that Ron would show up at her door to walk to school with her. That he would realize just how much she needed him. That he would realize just how much he was hurting her by excluding himself from her life. But he didn't. He went on with his life like nothing had happened, like he hadn't lost anything special to him.

It was breaking her heart, to respect his request to 'stay out of my life'. She had lost friends before, when Amber Myli moved away in the fourth grade, when Sarah Petersen was killed in that car accident two years ago. Both losses had hurt her, but not like this. Why was losing Ron different? Was it because he was still here? He was sitting only a few feet from her, but he may as well have been in Japan. He was so close, yet inaccessible.

The teacher spoke just before the bell was to ring. "Ok class listen up. Monday is the last day for you to turn in any projects for which you want credit. And, homework for Monday is chapter 15 questions 1,3,4,7 and 10." The class let out a collective groan; none was louder than Ron's however. The bell rang, signaling the end of the period. "Class dismissed. Ron Stoppable! I need to speak with you." Ron walked up to the front of the room; he knew what this was going to be about. Meanwhile Kim had made her way out the door and around the corner, stopping to eavesdrop.

"Ron. You do know if you don't turn in at least 5 projects on Monday that you'll receive a failing grade for the semester." The teacher informed him.

"I know. It's just…I can't do it alone. It's too much work…"

"I know you had problems before, and your friend Kim helped you through them. Maybe you could ask her for help?" The teacher's innocent suggestion hit him hard. Kim hadn't been holding him back, he hadn't been under her thumb. She'd always been there to pick him up, to help him when he needed her.

"…I don't need you in mine…" His voice trailed off before he even started speaking.

"What?" The teacher was obviously confused.

"Nothing. Forget it." Ron turned to walk out, dabbing his eyes with his hand. Kim hurried away before he noticed she had been listening in.

Kim was busy looking in her locker for a book when Ron stopped at his. He knew he had to ask her for help, would she be willing to give it to him? He needed her. "Kim I…"

"Hey Kim." Josh Mankey interrupted him, "Stoppable."

"Josh" Kim answered him without turning away from her locker.

"Kim I was wondering, are you doing anything tonight? Maybe we could go out?" Josh asked.

"Sorry Josh, I already have plans." Kim said as she found the book she had been looking for.

Ron turned and walked away, his head hung low. 'So much for asking her to help me'.

"Uh. Ok…Hey Bonnie!" Josh strode up the hall and asked Bonnie if she had plans, she hadn't, but she did now.

Kim scowled, 'Can't Josh go one Friday without a date?' She turned back to where she heard Ron talking from. Maybe, just maybe, he was ready to let her back into his life. "Ron what did you…" But he was already gone.

The Way We Were

Ron arrived home, needing to at least attempt to do his projects. Maybe he could cut and paste stuff off the internet, after all, it had worked before. "I have homework to do, let me know when dinner is ready."

"We're going out with the Possible's for dinner son. We left you some money on the kitchen counter, go ahead and order a pizza or something."

'Everyone has a date or plans, except me. Stupid homework.' Ron worked a bit, cutting and pasting, trying his best to make it look like something he could have done. After his first project, he logged onto the PizzaHut.com website to place his order. The site was really lagging for some reason. 'Lousy cheap dialup connection.' It would be about thirty minutes until his pizza showed up. 'Probably enough time for one more project.' Ron was about halfway finished when the doorbell chimed. 'Whoa, the pizza guy is actually early for a change.' Ron hurried downstairs and opened the door. It wasn't the delivery guy, it was Kim. Standing on the front step, holding a pizza.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked, "I thought you had plans for tonight."

"I do, helping Ron Stoppable with his Latin homework." She stepped in past him and he didn't try to stop her. "You ready to get to work?" She walked upstairs to his room and he followed her, not knowing exactly why.

"I thought I told you…" He turned away, not wanting to look at her, as he nervously shuffled through papers on his desk.

"I just want to help. If you want my help, fine. If not, that's okay too. I can always just leave."

He knew he needed her help if he wanted to have any chance of passing Latin. "Kim I…"

"I know we aren't on the best terms right now. That you don't want me around, that you don't need me. But its like I said, I need you Ron. I need my best friend back in my life."

Ron sat back into his chair and scooted up to the desk. "I don't think that's going to be possible Kim, going back."

Kim pulled another chair up along side him and sat down. "Well, if not. I can still at least help you with your homework."

Ron sat quietly for a long while before he spoke softly. "I'd like that."

Kim worked with Ron for almost 3 hours; they finished two of the five projects he needed to pass. With enough work this weekend, he might pull a 'C minus' in Latin this semester.

Kim stood up to stretch, she had been sitting too long and was stiff. "It's nine o'clock already? How about we call it a night and start fresh in the morning?" She asked, hoping that Ron wouldn't say no.

Ron didn't want to admit it but working alongside Kim again, it felt good, it felt right. Kim was putting her books back into her book bag when Ron reached out and took hold of her hand. He didn't look up at her, he couldn't. "Kim…I'm sorry. Thank you."

Kim put her hand on his shoulder, when he finally looked up at her, she smiled. She had taken a small package out of her book bag and placed it on the desk. "I'll see you tomorrow." She walked out of his room and back into his life.

Ron sat staring at the package for a long while before he finally opened it. 'I wondered what had happened to this.' It was the sketch of Kim that he had done in the park on their date. She had gotten it framed, the inscription read. 'Ron Stoppable's Friend'

Epilogue

Ron's mom and dad returned from their evening out to find the money they left for Ron still lying on the counter. Carolyn whispered to her husband, "It looks like Kim's plan worked."

They walked upstairs to Ron's room and looked in. Ron was sitting at his desk, holding the framed sketch in his hand. "How'd the homework go son?"

"I got a lot done…Kim helped me."

"Kim?" They had to try and sound surprised.

"Yeah." He paused. "She was here for me when I needed her. Even after the way I treated her." Ron broke down and started to cry.

"Son…" George Stoppable rested a hand on his son's shoulder.

Anguish thickened his voice. "What am I supposed to do?"

"You'll have to forgive yourself. There's no other way."

Ron tried to stop his tears long enough to say what he needed to get said. "Maybe Monday…We could go to that counselor?"

"Of course Ron." They knelt down and pulled him into a close hug. His parents couldn't be happier. Their son was ready to face his demons and hopefully overcome them.

The End…except for the epilogue