Chapter 8

"Ron, honey, are you feeling well enough to go to school?" my mom asked me through the bedroom door. Ever since Friday night, the day she told me the truth, I would just lie on my bed and cry, and my parents would leave food outside of my bedroom door, assuring me that whenever I wanted to tell them what happened, they'd be there to listen. I love my parents, and I know they're extremely worried.

"Yes, mom, I'm going to school today," I replied as I got up to get dressed. For the first time since Friday, I set foot outside; the gloomy weather and the biting cold seemed fitting, foreboding more trouble at the onset of winter. I proceeded to get into my car and drove to school, not caring nor fearing whatever it could throw at me. After all, what could be worse than what she did to me? The mere thought of it sent shivers through my body. I headed straight towards my locker upon arriving, and to my surprise and bitter rage I saw her there, standing next to it. How dare she show herself again after what she did?

"Ron, please hear me out. I can't live like this, knowing just how much I've hurt you. Ron, you have to understand that you are and always will be my—" Did she take me for a fool? Did she honestly believe that she could make things right just by trying to give some bullshit reason covered with warm and fuzzy statements?

"Friend?" She gave me a surprised look. "That is what you were going to say, wasn't it?" She nodded. Bitch. I turned my head and stared into those eyes, those beautiful eyes that destroyed my world. Pangs of anger, betrayal, and sadness swept through my body, resulting in a conglomeration of hostile emotions. "Listen here, you have you some nerve coming here. You have no fucking clue just how much pain you've caused me. It was you who ran to me looking for comfort, and I gave you that and more. I gave you my undying loyalty and love, and you threw it away. Do you honestly believe any fucking thing you say will change anything that happened? Do you honestly believe it's going to take away my bitterness and pain? You're a fucking bitch, KP, and—"

"Don't call me that, Ronald Stoppable!" she yelled back. "DO YOU THINK I LIKED DOING WHAT I DID? Do you honestly believe I feel any better than you about what I did?"

"Yes, I honestly do believe you feel better about what you did than I do, because at least life still goes on kindly for you," I whispered slowly. "Time will mend your wounds, and you'll find a new…replacement just fine. After all, what you did doesn't make you any less attractive to others does it? I, on the other hand, wasn't born with such blessings. Not only that, but I truly did love you KP, and I've come to realize that the line between love and hate is very, very thin. Listen, and listen carefully Kim. I'm only going to say this once. As of now, we're enemies. You can fucking die for all I care. And I swear to you, I will be great someday, and I'll show you that hard work can make up for the lack of God given talent KP. Hope that our paths never cross on the fields of contention because I will hold nothing back against you." I walked away, leaving her stunned. Screw this. I'm going to Drakken's now, to work full-time. I'm old enough to quit school anyway. I arrived back in the parking lot, entered my car, and started driving away from school.

Kim's POV

This weekend has been Hell for me. How could you, damn it? Sixteen years of nearly indestructible emotional attachment and you snap it in four seconds flat. I had been trying to cope with my actions all weekend, tried to justify them at some sick level. No matter how much you try Kimmy, the pure and bitter facts are out there; you can't change them.

"Kimmy Cub, do you want to stay home today?" My parents had been worried sick about me; I told them what happened and, for seemingly the first time in my life, they didn't completely take my side. After all, Ron was as close to family outside of our bloodline, and what I did wasn't exactly something that could be argued over. It was purely and utterly wrong. In any case, I had to go to school today; I had to talk to Ron.

"No dad, I'll be fine." I brushed my teeth, showered, got dressed, and headed out the door, omitting breakfast. Food could wait; Ron couldn't. I had to get to school early so I could wait by his locker, to show him that I was truly worried for him. Were you worried when you strung him along and then let him fall?

I arrived at school an hour early and proceeded to Ron's locker. Eventually, I saw a lone figure walk towards me, and I knew it was Ron. His face contorted into a mask of hatred and sadness, driving me to bits.

"Ron, please hear me out. I can't live like this, knowing just how much I've hurt you. Ron, you have to understand that you are and always will be my—" Friend? Are you that pompous and arrogant, to believe that he cares that he will always be your friend? I had to try, so opened my mouth to finish my sentence before he finished it for me.

"Friend?" I looked at him, surprised. The indignant and bitter look on his face signaled that my attempt to mend his wounds had failed miserably. "That is what you were going to say, wasn't it?" I could only nod silently. The betrayal in his big, brown eyes still sparkled clearly, making sure I didn't forget my sins.

"Listen here, you have you some nerve coming here." He was right; it did take a lot of nerve to face him in this state, but it was necessary. "You have no fucking clue just how much pain you've caused me." How could you do it Kim? "It was you who ran to me looking for comfort, and I gave you that and more. I gave you my undying loyalty and love, and you threw it away." Do you realize how accurate his statement was? That's exactly what happened wasn't it? In a way, you used him and then disposed of him, and whether you liked it or not doesn't change anything that happened. God, Ron, I'm so sorry; I never wanted it to come to this. I felt like crying again, but I knew I had to do my best to hold it back because he wasn't crying despite suffering probably a hundred times more. "Do you honestly believe any fucking thing you say will change anything that happened? Do you honestly believe it's going to take away my bitterness and pain?" Why did you come here? Why did you carry the hope that you could mend something so irreparable? Don't you remember his eyes? No one, least of all you, can solve his problems. Ron…I just wanted to hug him and cry on his shoulder, to take away his pain. God what have I done? "You're a fucking bitch, KP, and—" You know he's right. Yea, I did, but I couldn't let Ron, my former best friend, say that to me. He's acting like I enjoyed ripping his heart out.

"Don't call me that, Ronald Stoppable!" I yelled back. "DO YOU THINK I LIKED DOING WHAT I DID? Do you honestly believe I feel any better than you about what I did?" Those words seemed empty even to me. Why does it matter, Kimmy, if you liked it or not? Does it change anything, anything at all? And yes, you do feel better than he does after what you did because you committed the action; he, on the other hand, would have never, ever said the same things to you, no matter what the circumstances.

"Yes, I honestly do believe you feel better about what you did than I do, because at least life still goes on kindly for you," he whispered slowly. What did he mean? You know damn well what he means, Ms. Beautiful and Perfect. "Time will mend your wounds, and you'll find a new…replacement just fine." Those words stung me. They only hurt because they're true Kimmy. You know you won't have to face this alone, but the true victim will. "After all, what you did doesn't make you any less attractive to others does it? I, on the other hand, wasn't born with such blessings." When did Ron get so perceptive and…pessimistic? Maybe when you broke his heart dummy, when you took whatever shred of innocence he had left and destroyed it. Now he's the one who's going to suffer sleepless nights and torturous days alone, while you will have boys standing in line to comfort you. "Not only that, but I truly did love you KP…" I felt tears brimming in my eyes; why couldn't I just love him back? I know he loved and probably still does love me deep down, and that's what kills me the most inside. "…and I've come to realize that the line between love and hate is very, very thin." 'I don't blame you Ron,' I said to myself. I'm not too fond of myself right now either. "Listen, and listen carefully Kim. I'm only going to say this once. As of now, we're enemies. You can fucking die for all I care." I'm so sorry, Ron. "And I swear to you, I will be great someday, and I'll show you that hard work can make up for the lack of God given talent KP. Hope that our paths never cross on the fields of contention because I will hold nothing back against you." He walked away, never looking back. When I knew he was gone, I broke down sobbing. I still can't believe you did what you did Kimmy.

"Kim, you okay?" asked a soothing voice. I didn't know who it was, though I was hoping (impossibly) that it'd be Ron. It didn't matter anymore, and I embraced whoever had asked me that and just sobbed on his chest.

"It's going to be okay; I'm here for you Kim." I looked up to see who it was, and to my ambivalence it was none other than Josh Mankey hugging me.