Scraps

Kim sat in her room doing homework; her parents were taking this grounding thing way too seriously for her taste. 'If it weren't for the fact that my day has been tweebless so far I'd consider this to be cruel and unusual punishment.' She closed up her Trig book, deciding to take a short break from studying. 'I wonder how Ron is doing on his homework.'

Kim picked up the phone to call him, only to notice that the line in use light was on. 'Maybe later.' She decided, setting the phone back into its charging cradle.

She walked over to her dresser and opened the top drawer, the drawer where she kept her unmentionables, pulling a scrapbook out from beneath the collection of lacy garments. She carried the tome over to her bed and sat down, idly flipping through the pages. Most of the photos and items contained within were from years ago, when she was just a child, before she started going on missions. 'I haven't looked at this in a long time… too long.' Memories, both good and bad, came flooding back as she revisited her past.

Tears fell from her eyes as she looked over a page from just two years ago. One of the last pages she had put in. When she had lost her best friend, 'correction, my best girl friend.'

"…Sarah…" Her voice barely audible.

Ron had stayed with her through the entire ordeal, from the long days spent sitting in the hospital, to the funeral, to the final acceptance of loss. 'I don't know what I'd have done without you by my side Ron.'

Kim stood up, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, and walked over to her desk picking up a recent photograph of Ron from it. She leaned back against the edge of the desktop, just looking at his face. Studying it, memorizing it. 'Could it be? Are we supposed to be more than just best friends?' She ran a finger across the smooth glass, following the line of his jaw. 'I wish I knew the answer.'

Mirror

Tara skipped her normal routine of studying in the living room, opting instead to sequester herself in her bedroom. She sat at her desk studying last year's Middleton High annual, looking at the photo spread of the cheer squad. Looking at Ron, looking at him looking at Kim. In every photo. 'They're supposed to be best friends, and just best friends. It isn't fair.'

She pushed back from her desk and stood up, placing the book back onto its shelf, stepping over to her dressing mirror. Standing silently, looking at herself, questioning. Was she that different from Kim? She unbuttoned her shirt and took it off. 'Mine aren't any bigger than hers.' She turned slightly sideways to the mirror. 'Maybe not as pointy, but not any bigger.'

Tara's fingers ran through her hair, it was longer than Kim's but not by much. She pulled it up into a ponytail, exposing her slender neck and delicate ears. 'I should wear my hair like this. Maybe he'd notice me then.'

She never expected to fall so hard so fast. Not for a guy like him. Not for Ron Stoppable. 'Could I ever be more than just a friend to him?' She lay back onto her bed, staring at the ceiling. 'I wish I knew the answer.'

Phone

Ron had been working on his Trig homework for the last hour and a half. He was fairly certain that he had gotten at least 2 of the 4 problems solved correctly. He glanced over at the clock, 'Five o'clock. Maybe I should make that phone call.' He reached over and picked up his phone, dialing her number.

"Hello?" A male voice answered.

Ron hadn't been expecting this, "Andy?"

"Yes, who is this?"

"It's Ron… Ron Stoppable."

"Oh, hi Ron. Did you want to talk to Tara?"

Flustered, Ron stammered. "N-no, I, uh, is your dad there? I was supposed to… He wanted to talk to me about something."

"No, he isn't here. He's out of town on business until Wednesday." Andy explained before asking, "Are you sure you didn't want to talk to Tara?"

"Why would I want to do that?" Ron asked. "I mean, why would you think I, that I called to talk to her?"

Andy chuckled, "Ron it's ok. I know you two hung out together Friday and Saturday. And today at school, you think I didn't notice how she sat next to you? It's cool with me if you like her, because…"

Ron blushed, this was going all wrong; he panicked, hanging up the phone.

"He hung up, I can't believe it." Andy said, to himself, as he clicked off the phone on his end.

"Andy will you go upstairs and get your sister? Dinner is almost ready."

"Sure thing mom." Andy started up the stairs to Tara's room. He knocked on her door, "Tara? Dinner's ready."

Tara sat up on her bed, "Ok Andy, I'll be down in a minute. I just have to put on a top."

Call

Tara had just brought the last of the dishes in from the dining room, setting them on the counter next to the sink for Andy to wash. "This is the last of the dishes Andy."

He picked up the stack and set them in the sink to soak. "Ron called."

Tara's eyes lit up, "He did?"

"Yeah," Andy chuckled, "He claimed to want to talk to dad, but I think he was calling for you."

"Why would he want to talk to dad?" Tara asked, confused.

Andy shrugged his shoulders, "I dunno, he said that dad had wanted to talk to him about something."

"Was he going to call back?"

"I don't know, he got nervous or something and hung up on me. You could always call him back."

"No, I'll see him at school tomorrow." Tara started out of the kitchen toward the living room. "I can talk to him then."