Our Place in the Food Chain: Part VII

Kim was frozen in her tracks. She felt like her insides were dropping, as if she was on a rollercoaster rolling down the first big hill, as if butterflies had multiplied a thousand fold in her stomach, all raging to get out at once.

The boy was taller than her. Not much of a feat since she only stood five-four. His golden blonde hair was a color that only nature could create. It hung in separate bangs that reminded her a little of Brick Flagg. This boy looked nothing like the former quarterback though. While Kim had always agreed Brick was handsome in his own right, he was precisely what she liked in a man.

This young man was. Dark blonde hair, deep brown eyes, faint freckles across his nose. He was perhaps just an inch shy of six feet tall and his shoulders were only slightly wider than his slender body. He was smiling at her and his toothy grin was nothing short of dazzling.

"Uh, um, hi." She finally said, still staring at those eyes. They were actually dreamy, luminous orbs of cocoa on white that would convey a smile if his mouth hadn't been doing so already.

"Hey, you're Kim Possible, aren't you?" he had the sort of neutral, Midwestern accent that could have come from anywhere in the country. His voice was deep, just a shade away from full maturity. He didn't once stop smiling as he spoke to her.

"Uh. Oh, yeah, that's me. Um, do I know you?"

"Nah. Yesterday was my first day here. My Mom and me moved here from Go City during the summer. Oh, where's my manners. I'm Cary. Cary Allen On."

She shook his hand gently. His skin was warm and soft but she could feel gentle strength in his fingertips. "Cary Allen On from Go City. Cool."

"I remember you from that time you were on the news, helping Team Go bring down that crazy bird guy."

"Yeah, that was me. Had to put the bird back in his cage." She added nervously.

Cary laughed, his voice almost musical. "That's so cool, you sounded just like Hego. So, I noticed you were in my English and Science classes."

"You're taking AP courses? You're a Senior?"

"Sure am…on both counts. At first I wanted to stay and finish school at Go City Central, but my Mom insisted so here I am. Maybe it's a good thing after all." Kim wouldn't have believed it possible, but his smile got even wider, more radiant. "Hey, since we're going to the same class, can I walk you there?"

"Uh, sure, why not." She said, shouldering her backpack, half expecting him to offer and carry it for her. It didn't matter, she was grinning from ear to ear. Even though she was pretty and considered popular, most guys, especially ones this hot almost never paid her any kind of attention. It was like there was a huge warning sign hanging over her head. This is Kim Possible, she's the weirdo who roundhouses goons out of windows!

Cary stopped right outside the door or the classroom. "Kim, I know you don't know me from Adam, but there's a dance coming up in a couple weeks…"

"The Spirit Dance." She supplied.

"Yeah, that one. Would you like to go with me?"

Kim gasped as a number of unexpected emotions surged over her. For one thing she had not been asked out on a date since…since that thing said it was its mission to take her to the prom. Guys simply did not ask Kim out. Josh had twice (the first time being the very same dance two years earlier) but that had been just about it. Maybe this guy was so new he didn't know the social mores of Middleton High School. The very thought that she could garner the attention of a young man this golden sent her heart aflutter. It made her feel so…appreciated.

Then something else occurred to her. It wasn't her status as a teen-hero that scared most guys off. It was something else entirely.

Kim had the reputation of being the single most 'spoken for' girl on campus. Even before Ron was her boyfriend, almost everyone had assumed that in reality he was. Everyone had seen what she herself couldn't, that even if she wasn't romantically involved with him any other suitor would have to deal with him in her life, like it or not. Most said not and steered clear of the one time pseudo couple.

Then one last emotion roared through her soul. She had hesitated like she was even considering his request. She was ashamed that the one possible answer had not immediately escaped her lips. "I…I'm sorry, I can't. I've got a boyfriend."

"Oh, cool. My bad, I didn't think to ask you."

"No big, like you said, you don't know me yet."

"Yeah, it's cool. The prettiest girl in school deserves a boyfriend. Does he go to school here or is he off at college?"

"He's a Senior here too. Remember the guy I was with on TV?"

"Uh, no, unless you mean Mego, though I thought he was a little older than us."

"No, the blonde guy, dressed the same as me."

"Um, sorry, no, I don't recall."

Somehow the floaty feeling that had descended on Kim like a light mist dissipated just slightly. She had the video of the news coverage on her computer at home. Ron was there clear as day, even though the reporter never once asked him a question. How could anyone miss him, he was standing right there beside her.

A tiny flush of anger appeared on her face. "His name's Ron Stoppable. Anyway, no, I can't go to the Spirit Dance with you, I'm already going with Ron."

They took their seats. She hadn't noticed him the day before because he was sitting near the back while she took her customary spot front and center. She spent the next few minutes trying to put him out of her mind, finding, to her shame, that she couldn't.

What was it about him? Hadn't she learned her lesson about feeling this way just because a guy looked good? That's all there is about him, isn't it? You don't know him. He's just a pretty face.

A pretty face with cocoa brown eyes, hair the color of corn and a smattering of freckles across the bridge of his nose. A face that was sitting in the highest level class taught in this school with her. That meant he's smart. Plus he seemed nice and he smelled good and he was polite.

He had brown eyes and dark blonde hair.

He had a square jaw and a thin, athletic build.

Kim's mind went back to the conversation she had with her parents the night before. Even though she knew she loved Ron and would love him if he stayed just the same the rest of his life, here was a vision of what he would look like if all her attempts to change him came to fruition. Cary was Ron perfected.

Just that realization made her shudder. Just how strong was her bond with Ron? Minutes ago out in Senior Hall she had done something that she had not done since her first day as a Freshman, spotting as modestly tall blue eyed, frosted blonde haired boy. For almost a year she had turned a deaf ear to Ron about Mankey until he finally asked her out.

She was a sheep, a crushing sheep and it scared her that it could still happen. No, it wasn't supposed to be like this. She loved Ron. She loved him with all her heart. It didn't matter he wasn't the best looking boy in the school. She was in love with him as the whole person, the soul she had come to know in a lifetime of friendship.

Why was she crushing on someone she had known for all of ten minutes? Am I that pathetic? She thought.

No! I love Ron! I've all but told him we're going to spend the rest of our lives together!

Somehow the next three periods just crawled on by. As they left the first, Cary smiled at her on the way out, his face causing her to melt and cringe at the same time. He flashed the same grin at her at third period. Kim took her seat and pounded her forehead on her books, the mixture of curiosity and shame tearing her up inside. As the ending bell rang she couldn't get back to her locker fast enough.

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Ron was still riding on a cloud after unexpectedly spending the entire night with Kim. They hadn't managed to do that since their mission to Isla Verde, when they ended up spending the night on an Island on the coast of North Carolina. Even when Doctor Drakken surfaced they were back home in the wee early hours, Kim heading for her room while Ron was banished to the couch. It was a measure of the trust Kim's father now had in him that they would be allowed to spend a night like that.

It seemed like things were finally starting to fall into place with his life. He had a future, he had a girlfriend and to top all that off, he suddenly had some semblance of social status. He was grinning from ear to ear as other upperclassmen clapped him on the shoulder or high-fived him as he made his way to class.

When he sat down Linda Platt turned around in her seat. She had been going to school with Ron since they were small kids but they had maybe said ten words to each other. He didn't even know her name until Kim told him she was Alan Platt's sister, one of the two spared 'Humiliation Nation' on the ski trip they had all gone on their sophomore year when their parents, the planned chaperones, called in sick.

"Hey, Ron, how's it going?" She asked, leaning on the back of her chair.

He didn't quite know what to make of her expression. She was sort of half smiling at him. It was a look girls simply did not give him, at least for the most part.

Oh, this is so cool. That's how Kim looks at me he thought.

"Can't complain." He said, leaning back with his hands behind his head.

"Hey, I never apologized to you."

He sat back up, looking slightly confused. "Uh, what for?"

"That time when you tried to ask me out and I shoved a book in your face. That was definitely not cool."

"I asked you out?"

"Well, I think you asked every girl in the school except Possible. I, uh, guess I wasn't thinking."

"Hey, it's cool. That was, like, two years ago now." He leaned back in his seat again.

"So, are you and Possible still hooked up? Cause if you're not I don't have anyone to go with yet."

Ron's grin got even wider. She was actually, literally asking him out. Never in his life had that happened. Sure, he went on lots of dates with Kim, but they were always mutually planned out, something that was not so much asked for but expected. Linda wasn't in Kim's league but she sure was cute in her own right.

"Yeah, me and Kim are pretty tight." He was still grinning from ear to ear, partly because he was thinking about Kim and partly because of the new attention. Having girls pay attention to him was cool.

No, it stadium rocked!

Spending the night with Kim, her parents worshiping the ground he walked on, guys and girls paying attention to him. His girlfriend may have claimed she didn't care about the 'Food Chain' any more, but it sure felt good to be climbing it after spending a whole lifetime on the bottom. It was fine for somebody who was on top to step aside. It was fine for those who didn't have a place in it to thumb their noses at it, but to actually raise your own stake? That was something special, something he wanted to celebrate.

Nothing could bring this day down!

Then, as the second hand counted down the last moments before the first bell a shadow fell across the classroom, sending a chill right down into his soul.

"No, it can't be." He whispered, trying to shrink down into his seat.

Kim Possible and all related characters © Disney