Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.
Author's Notes: I apologize for not updating more. I had a case of burn out coupled with fatigue. I took some days off work and went up to the wine country here in Arkansas. Yes, there is wine country in Arkansas. Some very nice wine was sampled and purchased and batteries have been recharged.
Ron slammed out his hand at the annoyance on the nightstand next to his bed. On the second strike, he was able to find the week point of the alarm clock to cause it to stop screeching at him. He slowly, oh so slowly, moved his feet to the floor and shook the cobwebs from his head as he opened his eyes. Upon fully opening them, he saw that he was looking into twin emerald saucers.
"GYAHH!" Ron was fully awake, instantly. Gaining his breath again just in time to see his mother rush through his door, "I'm okay Mom. I forgot that I set my alarm."
"Oh, okay dear. I know you have been… out of sorts lately. And that is perfectly understandable. I just thought…"
"It's okay. I know you are worried because you care. I'm okay, really. I need to change. I'm going to start running in the mornings."
"What brought this on? Not that it is a bad thing."
"Well, Kim used to try to get me to run some. This is kind of a remembrance of her. A better me as a memorial to her."
Ron's mom patted him on his hand and smiled, "Well then, I will have some juice and some fruit for you when you get downstairs. It can help with energy."
"Thanks, Mom." Ron closed and locked the door behind her. He turned to the hovering image of his friend. "Two things, one, personal space." Kim snickered as she floated close to him, their noses intermingling in space, and then floated back. Ron growled. "Secondly, what were you doing?"
"Watching you sleep."
Ron just looked at her. "I had never really done that. You looked so peaceful. Relaxed. Nothing like your normal self. I wondered if that was the real you. So I kept watching. There was nothing that showed me the goofy, klutzy guy that had been my friend. I couldn't understand where he went." She turned and floated away a little. "I thought he was there, but I wasn't sure." She turned around towards Ron. "Is he still here?" Phantom tears coursed down her translucent cheeks.
Ron took a step towards her and held out his hand. "I'm still here, KP. Sometimes the goof was a mask. I can't keep it up all the time. I had to take it off when I slept. But I will always be there for you."
"Thank you. I think you said something about running?"
"I need to change first. Would you mind…"
"No." She looked at Ron and he looked at her. "Oh, you mean would I mind not looking at you. Right." She turned around and drifted away from him.
Ron changed into his sweats quickly, even though Kim's face wasn't facing him. Sliding the top over his head, "Okay, let's go." He opened the door and let Kim follow before he shut it. He ran down the stairs and into the kitchen where his mother was sitting down. He grabbed the apple that was sitting next to a glass of orange juice. He quickly swallowed the juice, kissed his mother on the cheek and opened the door. He turned to wave to his mother as Kim went through the opening and closed it behind him.
"Thank you, but you really don't have to open the doors for me."
"Think of it as a token of resistance of my sanity." Ron started off jogging towards the road and then turned right and started to run through the still wet from rain streets. He looked up and noticed that the clouds were breaking in the light of the dawning sun. He looked to his left side and noticed that Kim stayed even with him. She didn't say anything, she just watched him quietly. Ron started to breathe in puffs of air and noticed that he had gone about twenty blocks and had made a couple of turns. He looked at his surroundings as he waited for a car to turn before he crossed the street. He was in Bonnie's neighborhood. Shrugging he started to head for her house to see how the party went.