This is the end of this story. It was a bit long but I had a lot of ideas running through my mind. I'm trying to decide if I should continue the story from the stopping point of this story or start a completely new story. I'm not sure yet. Thanks to everyone for reading it and leaving reviews. Be patient with my ending as it is there only to setup the next story...I guess I will continue this story line, as I find the texture of the characters, and of Middleton very interesting.

The week leading up to the home coming dance was hectic one for Ron, work and the big meet with Lowerton was at the forefront of Ron's thoughts. Ron arrived at the track on Thursday like a man on a mission. He knew Kim had the girls back to cheer for him, his parents and Lacey's parents were in the stands also.

He ignored them all and focused solely on the race. Ron did his pre-race stretching; he didn't partake in the usual banter with the other runners. On his sweat suit he had a little penguin pin and the red looped cancer ribbon pin, Ron had never been more motivated in his life.

He walked up to J.D. Rottler the best runner Middleton had and told him flat out what was about to happen today, "J.D…I'm going to win this one today and I don't much care who I have to run over to do it, so don't screw with me out there."

J.D. nodded, he knew Ron was serious, he could see it in his eyes, there was an intensity about him, it appeared to J.D. that Ron was almost angry.

When the race started Ron fell into line in third, he knew not to extend himself early but he didn't want to fall too far back either. Third was a good holding spot, if anyone challenged he'd stay even or pull out just a little from the other runners.

Once the field strung out he just hung there in third behind J.D and Wally Tamron another Middleton runner. Once the turn was made to head back to the Middleton stadium, Ron picked Wally off and held a firm second, J.D. moved over a to the right to give Ron a lane by him, he knew Ron was serious about running over the top of him.

Once they reached the stadium they had to make a lap around the track to finish the race, and Ron kicked it into high gear and pulled out to a solid lead over J.D. who fell back into line behind him. Ron crossed the finish line first and he knew he was spent, he slowed to a trot and then a walk, J.D. came from behind and messed up his hair, Wally slapped him on the back on the as he made his way past.

Ron was cooling off and had his hands on his hips walking the rest of the track, "I don't believe it, I…I won a race…I won a race and I feel empty." Ron said to himself under he breath.

Ron made it back around to front Kim had everyone hooting and cheering for him, he turned and waived, "Smile, don't want anyone to think you not happy." Ron thought sadly to himself.

Ron went up and got his time and for winning he received a small trophy, a medal, and a t-shirt, "Swell another t-shirt, I'll give this on to Kim."

Ron went over and hugged his mom and then Lacey's parents, he gave them the medal. They didn't want to take it but Ron said he would have wanted Lacey to have it.

Kim watched from a distance, "Wow, it sure is emotional over there, Ron's parents are here. I hope he doesn't move away after high school…I wonder if I'll be moving away after high school?"

Kim was finally starting to think about life after high school, she had looked at colleges but nothing serious. She realized that now she might have to think of a life with her parents or without Ron. She shook her head, "Don't think about it now, there's still plenty of time for that." She thought to herself.

She looked up and realized that Ron was heading over to her; he hugged the other girls and then came to Kim. Ron was smiling, "Hey KP, have a shirt, Thanks to all of you guys for coming out…I really appreciate it…I won…I still don't believe it…thanks." Ron said in a very quiet voice.

Kim could sense something was wrong, but couldn't quite figure out what it could be. After everyone left she stayed with Ron, "Well you gotcha a race, good job, the cross country team is still undefeated."

Ron looked at her, "We are?"

Kim nodded, "Yes, didn't you know that?"

Ron shook his head, "Oh…yea…yea…I knew…I've just got a lot going on…I must of forgot."

Ron said absently. Kim nodded, "You alright?"

Ron nodded, "Yea…I think I am….sure." Ron said in an unsteady voice.

Kim nodded, "If you need to talk, you know beep me, page me."

Ron smiled, "Yea…We still on for Saturday night?"

Kim smiled, "YES, I got a hot new dress just for you."

Ron smiled and nodded his head, "Booyah…I'll be over around…six?"

Kim nodded, "Six will be fine, drive me home?"

Ron nodded, "I can do that, just give me some time to say my goodbyes." Ron said happily.

Saturday night had arrived; Ron was dressed in his suit that he wore for the funeral. The only change he made was he wore a blue tie, Rufus tied him a beautiful Windsor knot, and Ron looked pretty spankin'. Ron was sitting on his bed, staring at himself in the mirror, "I should be happy but I'm not, I don't understand this, things are going pretty good now…and I'm not happy." Ron thought to himself sadly.

Rufus came and tugged on his arm, it was quarter till six, Ron closed his eyes, "Time to go." He said to Rufus. Ron walked downstairs and out to his car, and drove down to Kim's house.

Kim was getting prepared for the dance, she was upstairs and then back down stairs ordering her family around, "Act normal, he'll be here any minute."

Kim's mother just shook her head, "Calm down Kim, it's only a date, not a national emergency."

Kim looked at her mom in horrified shock, "MOM, it's not just another date…This is Ron."

Then Kim took off up the stairs to put on her shoes. Kim's mom watched her run up the stairs and just smiled and shook her head.

Ron pulled up in the driveway, he had not been inside the Possible house since May, and he had never been here to pick up Kim for a date. Ron got out of the car and swallowed hard, he stood at the bottom of the stairs and looked at the front door, "I never thought I would ever be nervous about visiting the Possible house…I am not nervous…I am scared." Ron shook his head, ashamed at the way he was feeling.

Then Ron walked up the stairs and rang the doorbell.

The door opened and there was Mr. Dr. Possible, "Good evening Ronald, long time no see."

Ron nodded, "Hello Mr. Dr. Possible, I've come to pick Kim up for the dance."

Ron said in a confident voice. Mr. Dr. Possible crossed his arms, "We're working on a Jupiter probe, if you don't have Kim home by 11:00, I'll see to it your on it."

Ron looked into his eyes, "I was good enough to be Kim's friend, but not her boyfriend…He doesn't like me anymore…Lacey's parents thought I was ok…It's too soon, I should not be here….this is wrong." Ron's mind was running away with self doubt.

Mr. Dr. Possible was looking at Ron, "There's something wrong, he's not talking, why is just nodding his head…hmmmmm." T

hen he heard Kim's voice from behind him, "Dad, let Ron in." Mr. Dr. Possible backed away from the door

Ron walked into the house, it looked pretty much the same as when he was last here, and then he saw Kim, his eyes just about shot out of their sockets and his mouth hit the ground, Kim was wearing a strapless red dress and Ron was just bowled over by it.

Kim came down the stairs, "Well what do you think?"

Ron just stared and then tried to find an answer that would be dad friendly, "You look…wow…that is a great dress."

Kim smiled, she got the response she was after, "You look good too." She told him as she came down to meet him.

Ron looked over to where the twins were, "Hey guys, I got someone with me for you to baby-sit."

The twins came running in, "Rufus" they said together.

There was movement in Ron's suit pocket and Rufus popped out, "Hello" and then he scampered off to let the twins make him a test pilot.

Then Ron saw her, Mrs. Dr. Possible, she had her hands folded together, he could tell that she was happy he was there. Ron started to tear up, "Ohhhhhhh…I missed you sooooo much." Ron hugged Kim's mom and started to cry.

Mrs. Dr. Possible hugged Ron back, "I knew you'd be back Ron, I just knew it."

Kim was starting to get impatient and ready to leave, "Ron quit hugging my mom."

Ron straightened up and wiped his eyes, embarrassed and a little angry at himself for not being able to control his emotions.

Kim's mom patted his chest, "It's good to see you again…now go pose for a picture." Ron smiled and nodded.

They drove to the school, Kim talked a mile a minute about this that and everything and Ron would just smile and nod as if he were listening.

Ron smiled to himself, "Now that's the Kim I remember, a big ol' chatter box."

Kim caught Ron's attention, "Am I talking to much."

Ron smiled and shook his head, "Nope"

Kim started where she left off. "You see we had this routine, it's similar to the routine we had done last year and the year before, but now Bonnie wants to do things all different and it's just a big mess."

Ron smiled and nodded and shook his head, "Awwwwwwww now leave the nice Jewish girl alone." Ron told her in a teasing voice.

Kim laughed and punched him in the ribs, "She's not nice."

Then they both laughed. Ron was starting to feel more comfortable.

They arrived at the dance, Kim took Ron's arm as they entered the room, then Kim spotted Ned and Tina, "Ned is that you?"

Ned turned and smiled and held up his hand for a high five from Ron, "Rita rocks Ron."

Ron slapped the held up hand, "You know it boy!" and they had a good laugh.

Kim lifted an eyebrow, "who is Rita?"

Ron smiled, "She can do anything….with hair."

Kim nodded still not convinced, "Uh huh…anything…with hair."

Ron smiled and nodded, "Yep…did I mention she's a red otter?"

Kim narrowed her eyes, "Too much information Ron."

Ned smiled, "You were right Ron, she doesn't like bras."

Ron winced, "Ned, not in front of the girls."

Ned lost his smile; "Oh"

Ron quickly looked around, "Let's go see who else is here."

Then Ron took Kim's hand and they were off. "Ron we will talk about this later."

Kim said in a slightly tweaked tone.

Ron shrugged, "What?"

Ron was trying to play innocent. Ned and Tina watched them leave, and Tina was not very happy with Ron, "Ned I don't think you should hang around with Ron anymore, he's a bad influence."

Ned smiled, "Yea…bad influence." Ned would never tell her that Ron was the one pestering him to ask her out.

Kim found a group of the cheerleaders and they all became engrossed in some big important conversation, Ron just stood back and watched. He was starting to feel sad again, "He really doesn't like me anymore; I don't know why…I'd never do anything to hurt Kim."

Monique walked up and broke into Ron's thoughts about Kim's dad, "So you you're back with Kim, I see."

Ron was starting to feel down again, "Yea…it won't last though…and I know that, she'll stumble across someone new, or a new kid will come to school, he'll be good looking and smart…and I'll be back to being plain old Ron again."

Ron was starting to tear up a little, "And…that's ok, because it's happened before and I was ok…so I know I'll enjoy this for however long it lasts….and when I'm dumped, I will go on…and on…and on."

Monique was listening to Ron and shocked with what she heard, "He's not looking for this to last, why is he so down."

Monique excused herself and went and found Kim, "You better go see to your boyfriend, he's becoming morbid over there."

Kim turned and looked at Ron, "Thanks Monique, I'll see ya later."

Kim heard the DJ was starting to play music, she ran and grabbed Ron by the hand, "Come on Ron I want to dance all night."

Ron smiled, "I've got some badical dance moves."

Kim shook her head, "Not needed this is the kind of dancing I want to do."

Then she put her arms around Ron and drew him close and they rocked back and forth to the music. Ron nodded and whispered in her ear, "I can do this."

Kim chuckled and held him tight.

They danced for hours, the only minor interruption was when Bonnie walked up to Kim, "Kimmie can we switch dates for a while, Brad doesn't dance."

Kim held up her hand, "Talk to the hand Bonnie, the face is dancing."

Bonnie turned and stomped off. Ron chuckled, "Now that was mean."

Kim smiled, "You got away from me once…never again."

Then she gave Ron a big sole searing kiss.

Ron smiled, "Her tongue is bigger than Tara's." he thought to himself.

After the dance they went to Quarry Lake, they fogged up the windows of Ron's car. They weren't too foggy; Kim could tell that Ron's heart wasn't into it.

So she settled for cuddling. She knew something was wrong with Ron; he'd be there one minute and then outer space the next, "Outer space, Ron I gotta go home."

Kim's thoughts had jogged her memory about her curfew. Ron sat up quickly and fired the engine, "Oh no, it's after 1:00, I am so dead."

Ron drove Kim home; he promised he'd drop by before work in the morning. Ron pulled up in front of Kim's house and got out; he had to pick up Rufus. Kim gave Ron a big kiss good night, "I'll go get Rufus for you."

Ron was starting to feel like his old self again he had a smile on his face and was thinking about his schedule for the coming week.

Kim went to the front door and opened it, there was her dad waiting up for her to come home. Her dad did not look happy, "Your home a little late tonight."

Kim pulled in her head, "Sorry we lost track of time."

Kim's dad nodded, "I guess they didn't have any clocks at the dance?"

Kim smiled a weak smile, "Sorry, I have to go get Rufus for Ron."

Mr. Dr. Possible nodded, "While you do that, I'll go have a word with Ron."

Kim glared at him, "Daddy…please."

Mr. Dr. Possible nodded at his daughter, "Please and thank you, don't mind if I have a word with Ronald myself." Mr. Dr. Possible walked down the front steps and Kim just shook her head and went to go find Rufus.

Ron was standing next to his car, "Ohhhhhh nooooo, here it comes." Ron thought to himself.

Mr. Dr. Possible nodded, "Good morning Ronald, a little tardy on the curfew tonight are we?"

Ron nodded, "Sorry Mr. Dr. P, we lost track of time." R

on said in a panicked voice. Mr. Dr. Possible was on a roll, he was in command of the battle field and he knew it, "So tell me Ronald, how far do you think this is going to go with Kim?"

Ron was caught by surprise, "Ohhhhhhhh…I don't know?"

Mr. Dr. Possible was getting warmed up, "I know how far Ronald, a date maybe two, you see Kimmie's special, and she'll realize this sooner or later and move on…Ronald you're a nice boy, and while anything is Possible for a Possible, I don't believe anything is Possible for a Stoppable." Mr. Dr. Possible was proud of that line, didn't take a rocket scientist long to think it up either.

Ron on the other hand had realized he had just been sucker punched and there was nothing he could do about it.

Mr. Dr. Possible continued on with a lecture on all of Ron's failures that he was aware of and poked fun at his ears and Ron's other short comings. Ron's mind had checked out he was beyond angry and he had stopped listening, "I said do we understand each other?"

Mr. Dr. Possible was waiting for an answer and all he was getting from Ron was non stop head nodding, "Ronald, I said…"

Ron finally found his tongue, "I gotcha….I gotcha" Ron wanted to say more but knew it was best to stay quiet.

Kim came out of the house with a sleepy Rufus, she saw Ron standing in the driveway nodding his head at her father, "Here ya go Ron."

She said cheerily handing him the naked mole rat. Ron put the sleepy Rufus into his coat pocket, "Thanks" he said from between clinched teeth, then he turned and climbed back into his car.

Kim could see that Ron was upset; Ron backed out of the driveway at a high rate of speed and then hammered the accelerator and spun the front tires on his car and took off for home.

Kim glared at her dad, "What did you say to him?" she asked in an angry voice.

Mr. Dr. Possible just shrugged, "I guess he didn't like hearing the truth." He told her flatly.

Kim turned and stomped into the house, she would get with Ron tomorrow and start the damage control on whatever it was that her dad had said to him.

Ron went into his room and closed the door, he put Rufus on top of the dresser and then he unloosened his tie and popped the top button lose. He sat on the bed and stared at himself in the mirror. He was angry and then the anger turned to sorrow, after all the old man didn't say anything new, hadn't said anything that Ron hadn't already fretted over himself.

He was caught off guard, he didn't expect an ambush but an ambush was exactly what he walked into. He turned away from the image in the mirror, "I wish Lacey were alive, non of this would of ever happened." He thought to himself as tears started to run down his face.

Ron knew it was one thing to think someone didn't like you and another thing to find out that it was true. Ron shook his head, "It will be a cold day in hell before I ever go back down there." He thought angrily to himself.

Then the self pity set in, "Why couldn't the old man of just let me have one nice date…he could have jumped me on the second one….If there will be a second one….this was a mistake…I shouldn't of dated anyone…it still feels like I'm not doing Lacey right…what have I done?"

He looked at himself in the mirror once again, "When it all comes down to it, I am still just a dork with a nice haircut, who am I trying to fool." He told himself sadly.

Ron could feel himself slipping into a deep dark hole of sorrow and now he didn't feel like fighting it anymore. It was becoming too much for him to handle and he didn't know what to do.

Ron fell asleep sitting up with his suit on, he had a familiar dream. He was back on the island with the white sand and blue water, he was sitting in a beach chair and he could see Yori dressed in her ninja outfit. She was about 40ft. away from him and yelling at him.

"Stoppable San, you are starting to lose yourself, you must come to Japan, you must come to the Yamanouchi School so that we may help you."

Ron shook his head, "I…I don't know how and I don't know if I can be helped." Ron wished that she was closer so he could talk to her but she wasn't.

"You must come, Stoppable San…It would be my honor…" Then the image was lost in the blackness of sleep.