Best Friends Since Pre-K chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible. No joke this time.

Yay! I'm back to updating and everything!

Enjoy the chapter!

A chill wind felt its way between buildings, nipping softly at passers-by, whispering of the last vestiges of winter before it fully gave up its hold. It flitted past Diana and she clasped her arms around herself, although mostly from reflex. She didn't feel cold. If anything, she still felt a little too warm, as though she were slightly feverish.

She glanced down at her clenched hands, hidden inside their brown leather gloves. That had been her first stop after leaving the hospital. Her mother had suggested it, rather hesitantly, not quite looking her in the eye, and had gone into the store to buy them for her. Diana, for her part, had waited until they got home, and then dug through her closet to unearth her winter supply of hoodies. She'd stayed up late to select her outfit for school the next day. It wasn't strictly necessary, as she had come home on Thursday, and her parents had offered to excuse her from school the next day, but she had insisted.

She didn't really know why. She didn't feel like going to school. She didn't want the questions from friends and acquaintances, or the surreptitious looks from teachers and the rest of the student body. She knew she would get them. She had covered up as much as she could, but it was still obvious. Her hair was in a bun; she thought it was less noticeable that way, but she had declined a face mask. That would just cause more questions.

She didn't want to be going to school, but she would rather do that than stay home and hide. Her brothers had gotten home on Monday, and had already been back at school for a couple of days. She knew people would be asking them about her, and none of them were very good at keeping their mouths shut.

She would like some questions of her own to be answered. The five of them had been in the backyard together. They had all been injured when the comet hit; that blinding array of colours searing them with heat and pain. They had all been hit, so why was she the only one…

Ron was waiting at their regular corner. He was scuffing a shoe idly at the pavement, but looked up with he heard her. He smiled warmly, and Diana smiled back, though she knew it was a pale imitation.

"Good morning Ron."

"Hey Di." The blond cocked his head to the side slightly, warm brown eyes scanning over her many layers. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm okay." Diana shrugged, adjusting her backpack. She didn't really need to, but it gave her something to do with her hands. She wasn't exactly okay, and both of them knew it, but Ron didn't say anything to contradict her. They resumed walking towards school, shoulders hunched against the wind.

"I got a part in the play," Ron said suddenly. Diana stopped walking abruptly. She could feel her face heating up a little

"Oh Ron," she said contritely. "I forgot to even ask!"

"Don't worry about it." Ron waved a hand. "I didn't expect you to remember. You've had way too much going on. I just really wanted to tell you."

"Well, congratulations!" Diana was struck suddenly by how nice it was to talk about something normal. "What part did you get?"

"Not The Man, of course; Michael Gordon is playing him." Ron shrugged one shoulder. He would have liked that role, but he hadn't really had the option. Michael always played the male leads. "I'm playing one of the people in the windows; this drunk guy at a party. He's fun."

"That's great, Ron." Diana's smile was more genuine now. She felt herself relax a little as Ron continued to talk, going over his part in the play and who else had made the audition. Diana enjoyed listening, and the walk passed swiftly for her. She commented occasionally, but mostly left the floor to Ron, simply enjoying being an audience. It almost felt like a normal day. At least until the school came in sight and all of her anxieties returned full force. Diana's feet slowed, and she fell behind Ron for a moment until he noticed and halted. He didn't say anything; just stood next to her and looked at the school building.

The sunlight had been somewhat muted by the heavy cloud cover, and the large windows of the library were blank and empty looking. The warn, grey stone facing of the building looked darker than normal, and the small groups of students milling around outside were small and indistinct at this distance.

"You could still go home," Ron offered quietly. "No one'll mind. You could come on Monday instead."

Diana hesitated. The proposition was more tempting now that she was actually looking at the place, but…

"No." She shook her head adamantly. "I don't want to hide from my problems. I'm going to have to face them eventually." She smiled at her best friend. It was still smaller than her normal smile, but she felt that it helped her give voice to what she needed to say next. "Come on Stoppable, let's go to school."

Diana hadn't been worrying for nothing; there were plenty of stares. When they had first arrived at the large double doors into the school building, she had become conscious of a kind of bubble which surrounded her. People stepped out of her way, their eyes sliding over her as if they couldn't help themselves. Perhaps they couldn't. Ron stayed solidly by her shoulder through the whole harrying walk; through the double doors, down the hallway, turn to the left to their lockers.

Neither of them wanted to spend too much time in the hallways. There were lots of people who were apparently passing by but who had unexpected loose shoelaces to tie up, or schedules in their backpacks that just had to be gone over right then. Nobody approached them, so Diana and Ron did their best to ignore the watchers. The two of them grabbed their books and binders for the first block, than made a beeline for the relative privacy of their first period History class. Ron snagged a couple of seats near the back of the classroom, clearly feeling the pressure almost as much as she did. The two of them sank down gratefully and busied themselves pretending to get their notes in order while the rest of the class filed in.

Several times she heard someone approach like they wanted to talk to her, but as Diana was very studiously buried in the depths of her binder, they went away after a minute. She knew she couldn't avoid the questions and comments forever, but she wasn't quite ready to stop pretending that this was just another Friday. Gradually the classroom filled.

As Mr. Cormac took attendance, Diana lifted her eyes surreptitiously, and was relieved to see that, while she had garnered some looks as the students took their seats, attention had now fully shifted to the teacher. It was helpful that first period was history. Mr. Cormac was a fun teacher, but he was also strict and kept a firm order in his classes.

Diana let herself relax again. It seemed like the day was going to go basically how she had expected, but that was fine. She could handle the staring. It wasn't pleasant, but it was manageable. She was glad she didn't have cheer practice today. She would have to take off her gloves and turtleneck, and she wasn't ready to do that. She frowned internally. She didn't like this feeling. Shaking away her thoughts, Diana lifted her eyes again to focus on the front of the room, where her teacher had begun writing on the whiteboard. Right now, she would just have to take the day one hour at a time.

In fact, the first two periods of the day went fairly well. After History, Diana had Biology, but Ron had to go to Social Studies. He offered to sneak into her class wearing a fake beard, but Diana waved him off. She couldn't stay glued to him all day, and she didn't want him to miss his classes for her. She got through that period much the same as the first. She kept her head down and exuded a very clear vibe of leave me alone. Grade 11 Biology was a tough course, and Ms. Daniels liked to lecture, so the entire class was focused on desperate note taking. Diana managed to slip out right at the bell for break in case anyone tried to catch her eye. She was supposed to meet Ron, but she had to use the washroom first, and she was also feeling a little overwhelmed.

When she got to the washroom, Diana slipped inside a stall and stayed in there a little longer than necessary, until she couldn't hear any other voices. She opened the stall door to find an empty washroom, and washed her hands with an eye on the door. As she was drying them, her eyes wandered up to the large mirror above the row of sinks, and then she found she couldn't look away.

The washroom lights were harsh, and she stared at her face with a kind of sick fascination. Slowly, one still damp hand was raised and Diana gently touched her green-tinged cheek. She examined her face in the mirror; green skin, green eyes, even a green sheen to her long, black hair. Diana pulled her gloves on hurriedly. This could still be temporary, but it had shown no signs of diminishing in the week since her bandages had come off.

Narrowing her eyes, Diana turned from her reflection. It was time to meet Ron, and it was probably time to talk to people as well. She had thirty minutes until classes resumed, and she couldn't ignore them forever. With a final glare behind her, Diana Sinclair left the relative safety of the washroom, and headed out to find her best friend.

Thanks for reading!

No, Diana and her brothers haven't developed/discovered their powers yet. We will begin to see a little of that in the next few chapters. We will also begin to see a little more of Diana's family, including the brothers. We will see how Ron interacts with them, as he is the altered part of this AU. I always found it interesting that Shego was the only one of the siblings who couldn't make her skin appear normal. In this AU I am planning to have it so that when her brothers are accessing their powers, their skins are coloured, but Shego's is always that way.

I am trying to update my stories as much as possible over the summer before everything gets busy again. Next up will be either a chapter for Loving You Behind Closed Doors, or one for Shades of Self.

Hope you enjoyed, and see you soon!