Author's Notes!

Hey there!

Now, first thing's first. Before writing this one, I checked on how this story is going along, and I am shocked to see that this has already went past the 10,000 view mark while also garnering a ton of favorites and alerts. Thank you to all those who supported me, either vocally or silently. It feels good to see that some appreciate this work.

Anyway, as I said from previous chapters, from this point on, we'll be tackling the relationship between Kim and Ron, and the danger it entails. Although we're through with the introductory stage, there will be appearances of KP characters that I haven't mentioned. The reason for the delay is I want to prioritize setting up the universe more rather than dumping all of them in one sitting. Suffice to say, I think that my plan bore fruit. So, wait for them to appear!

That's everything, I think? My name's kmtdiccion and welcome to the exciting continuation of...


"Possible's Pure Love Road"
by: kmtdiccion


Chapter Eighteen:
"Boundaries Between Two Worlds"


To make delicious coffee, one must start with the right choice of beans. Though if one's working with beans that have been imported from foreign countries, they're generally not bad. It's fine as long as you don't completely skimp on the cost. The current fad is using beans from individual crop owners hailing from Taiwan. They're well-balanced at a reasonable price.

Another thing to keep in mind is the roaster. This, however, is a matter of luck. Fortunately for the blonde boy, he was blessed with having a nice coffee shop near where he lives.

Finally, the brewing method. This is the only part of the process where the drinker has control over the taste. Using a mill, he poured a bag of freshly roasted beans inside and started grinding them. Placing a filter in the dripper, he poured the contents inside, and leveled them out evenly. He took the boiling water and slowly poured it into the center of the mound. His movements were slow but precise, making sure the liquid makes contact with the beans. The grounds swelled up as they absorb the water. After finishing, he let it sit for thirty seconds.

Ron whistled and smiled, as he thoroughly enjoyed this part of the process. He imagined himself as a world-renown barista while waiting on the counter. Once it was done, he finally began the drip brew. The mixture created a foam that looked like a mousse, and he slowly pour water on them again. He moved the kettle in a circular motion, making sure he puts it evenly, without getting any water on the filter itself. He continued doing this until the foam swelled up until it's barely within the filter.

All that's left is to wait for the cup to fill, and pull the dripper away as soon as the extraction's done, so as not to let any unpleasant flavor get in. Ron got two mugs ready and started filling them up slowly. Once he's done, he grabbed his own and gave himself a sip. The bitter taste was quickly registered by his tongue. Instead of rejecting, he smiled as the caffeine started hitting his body. "Ah~" He let out a sigh of satisfaction at that, not realizing someone was behind him.

"What a pain. It's just coffee." A certain pale green girl commented as she stared at the boy. He tensed for a moment, almost dropping the mug, before turning towards her "Agh, you scared me! How long have you been there, Shego?"

Shego narrowed her eyes as she replied in a slightly disgusted tone "From around where you were pouring with a suuuuper creepy smug face." Ron wanted to dismiss her claim, but the deadpan stare he got from her quickly killed his retort down. He let out a sigh and ushered him towards the empty seats "Please wait a little for breakfast. The toast's not done yet."

With a shake of her head, the girl smiled at him as she brought out a bag full of burgers "I'm fine on food for today. I still have these burgers from yesterday. Got anything to drink, though? Kinda weird just drinking water with these."

Bringing his own cup to her, the freckled boy offered "I have coffee, if you like some." to which the black-haired girl looked at him with curious eyes. She slowly took the mug from him and slowly puts it to her mouth. Ron flushed red from the sight of her face slightly reddening from the heat. He mused that her current look was a million times cuter than her usual playful self. When she did took a sip, however, her eyes went wide as she quickly placed the mug down "Mgh! It's too bitter! Nope! This goes awful with burger. Do you have any soda?"

He was about to say no when he remembered something. Ron went to the refrigerator and took a cup with the same brown substance inside. Going towards the cupboard, he brought out the syrup, milk, and some sugar and began stirring it. "Here you go." he said. Shego looked at the cup suspiciously before letting herself taste it for a bit. "Coffee again? I..." Her question was halted when the taste she got from the drink wasn't as strong as before. As a matter of fact, it was quite sweet. A small smile formed on her lips as she nodded "Oh, but it's sweet. I'm okay with this."

Ron grinned at his success and nodded back at her. He settled in to his own seat as he relaxed, watching the delinquent in front of him rummage from her bag and brought one burger from it. It didn't take long for Shego to gobble up the entire sandwich in a moment's time. After taking the last bite on her third one, the girl stared at him for a moment before commenting "But you know what? You're a real weirdo."

With his brow raised considerably, Ron asked "How so?" to which she answered "I kidnapped you and tried to beat your girlfriend to a pulp yesterday, but you're totally fine eating breakfast with me." He chuckled softly at that before waving his hand in a dismissive manner "Ahaha, yes that's true... Well, nothing major happened, so it's all water under the bridge for me." Thinking back, the freckled teen supposed that Shego did nothing on him. As far as he recalled, it was Food Chain that hurt him, and they were the one ending up losing in the end.

The girl, meanwhile, looked over him for a moment, not noticing a small smile forming on her lips. She shook her head and returned to her mug, muttering "Weirdo." When the toaster clicked, Ron excused himself to get the toast out. Just in time as she was finished drinking, she heard footsteps from the stairs, and so without any other word, Shego quickly went to the window and hopped out of the house.

"Moooorninh'" Adrena yawned as she approached the dining table. Ron waved at her and greeted "Good morning, sis. Breakfast's ready." He placed the plate with toast on the table and realized that his companion has already left. The elder of the Stoppable siblings looked on the table's contents and furrowed her brows "Breakfast is... toast and hamburgers? What kinda combination is this?"

He looked over the chicken fillet burger and fish burger laying on top and let out a sigh "A gift from the fairy, I guess. Let's eat."

Thankfully for him, she didn't say anything else and went to her seat. The hustle and bustle of the festival has ended, and school continues as usual starting today. Ron wished they could have at least today off, though he knew it was just wishful thinking since today's a weekday. Adrena, on the other hand, placed her hand on her forehead and tried to control the urge to bang her head on the table due to her hangover "Sigh... I drank too much yesterday."

"You had a girls' night with your university friends right after the festival, right?" Ron asked. With a small pout, Adrena fired back with a question herself "It's fine, isn't it? Every now and then." He let out a sigh at that and advised "It's okay as long as you're sparing about it. It's not good to drink too much all the time, though."

The elder Stoppable looked at him for a moment, before springing up another thought "Oh, that's right, I'll be out of the house this Sunday. There's apparently going to be a mini class reunion for university." Ron stared at her, definitely sure she was ignoring his advice. He let out a deep sigh at that and noted "Okay."

Adrena brought her hands to comb her hair as she muttered "It's always a mixer when they say that, though. What a pain." His ears perked from the word 'mixer' and rose his brow. She saw his expression and instantly went near him, teasingly said "Worried?" Ron laughed at her and replied "Not at all."

Clicking her tongue, the elder sister muttered "Annoying... There's going to be, let's see... a model, a doctor, and a young company president. They're all guys that tried to ask me out before. This is really going to be a pain." She looked at the blonde boy, who was just staring at her with a deadpan, before asking sweetly "Worried?" He didn't say anything for a long while, before standing up and carrying the mug and plate he used while saying "I'm going to go on ahead and prepare for school."

"Don't try to act tough! Admit that you're worried!" She yelled at his retreating figure, but unfortunately for him, he didn't pay her any more attention.


Riverside road...

After preparing, Ron set foot out of the house and went on his usual route towards Middleton High, and as per tradition, he greeted everyone he knew of along the way. "Good morning!" He shouted to one of the store-owners from the old shopping district. The large man grinned at the freckled teen and hollered back "Good morning, squirt!"

Passing his favorite deli store, Ron saw one particular long-haired brunette standing in front of the door. "Good morning, Amelia!" He smiled at her. Said girl turned around slowly and smiled back, trying to hide the pained expression she's wearing earlier. Unfortunately for her, the boy noticed she was slightly leaning on one foot. Ron looked at her, this time with concern etched on his face, and asked "What's the matter? Did something happen?"

She shook her head at that and tried to cover up when she realized she almost slipped up. "I'm suffering from a bit of whiplash. Someone I'm not on good terms with slug... hit me." Ron's eyes went wide from that. He could never imagine someone as soft-spoken as the girl in front of him would be hit by anyone. Concern turned into fury as he pressed on "R-Really!? I can't forgive that. Who did something that violent to you? I would give them a piece of my mind if I were there."

Amelia laughed weakly as sweat slowly rolled down her forehead. After saying their pleasantries and helping her a bit with setting up the front, he went on his way. Turning left on the intersection towards the small park, he bumped into a particular short-haired brunette. The two went down to the concrete floor. When Bonnie noticed that it was him she bumped into, she immediately shrieked "Agh, it's you!"

Propping himself up again, Ron offered his hand to help her, to which she proudly declined. "Now that's just rude." His line made the brunette to narrow her eyes at him as she dusted dirt off of her clothes and muttered "This is why I didn't want to come this way." Although he was taken aback on how much she hated him, the blonde teen tried placating her temper "Don't worry. I haven't told anyone about what happened in the river yesterday."

Her vein popped at the memory "Duh, moron!"

"Was everyone okay after yesterday?" Ron decided to steer the conversation elsewhere to appease her anger. Suffice to say, it worked enough as her anger subsided slightly as she answered "They're fine. I took Emmie to her house, stayed the night there, and I'm heading home from there right now."

Ron sighed in relief as he heard the good news. He's glad that everyone involved was fine, even though they were the reasons for starting up the mess in the first place. His heart is still too kind to just turn a blind eye to those who were hurting. And that look didn't sit well with the brunette, who is now feeling that the blonde is now pitying her. She clicked her tongue in agitation and pointed at the boy "... Tch! Don't get cocky. Things didn't go as planned yesterday, but I'm not going to give up. I'll show you just who you've been dealing with someday!"

With that, she stomped off and started walking away. The way her imposing back stands out from the surrounding made her less of a teen and more of a proud woman, and Ron can't help but be in awe in how powerful she looked. Too bad for her, she didn't notice a bump on the road ahead, and so she went down for the second time with as much grace as a delinquent has.

Quickly rushing towards her, Ron asked "A-Are you okay!?" Bonnie's hands went to her bruised knee as she started cursing under her breath. "Ngh... S-Shit... Ow, ow... IT DOESN'T HURT!" She suddenly stood up, as if the fall didn't happened at all. Although she stopped shaking, Ron noticed that she still had a small scratch on her knee. Taking his handkerchief, Ron knelt down and said "But you've skinned yourself here. Just a second, please..."

But before he could wipe the blood away, he felt her hands pushing him away forcefully. Her face red in a mixture of anger and embarrassment, she lashed out at the boy "Get away from me! JUST YOU WAIT, STUPID!" And without any second to waste, she ran away from the bewildered blonde. When the Food Chain leader was out of his sight, he let out a sigh and stood up, returning to his walk towards school.

The sight that greeted him from the school gates wasn't anything out of the ordinary. The Possible Corps is still there, waiting for their leader as usual, while the rest of the student body quietly walked a few feet away, trying their best not to get their attention. Ron saw the small brown-haired second-in-command fidgeting around while muttering "Just doesn't feel right not getting to see Cousin Kim's face in the morning." One of the members nodded his head and said "There's nothing we can do about it, since she herself wasn't up for it."

He could hear whispers from the group of ending their morning rituals since their leader wasn't showing up from the gates like she usually do. Although he thought that the entire school would greatly appreciate the act, seeing their sad expressions made him feel a bit sympathetic to them. With that, he went to his classroom and settled down to his seat. "Good morning, Ron." He heard Josh's voice beside him. Ron was about to greet back when he saw Monique in front of him, smiling brightly.

"Good morning!" The class president greeted, and Ron swore her pearly white teeth shone even brighter than ever. The girl looked like she had done incredibly good today, and the near-perfect smile can attest to that. Josh, on the other hand, balked at that and muttered "So bright." Ron, meanwhile, asked "What happened, Mon?"

Monique smiled even wider at that "Oh, nothing, really. Life's just been too much fun lately." She then went near the blonde and stared at her, anticipating his next words "Now then, Ron. I'm sure there's someone you should be greeting before you waste your time with me." Ron looked at her with a questioning gaze until she softly pushed his back. His gaze was shifted until he found himself staring at the one and only Kim Possible. Their eyes connect as Ron felt his heart beating so hard.

The redhead blushed lightly as she tried to avert her eyes, but it would always gravitate back at him. Taking Slowly raising his hand, Ron waved at the girl and said "G-Good morning..." Kim, meanwhile, could feel her cheeks firing up as she tried to greet back "... M-Morning."

While the two were blushing and being awkward at each other, Josh watched them with slight fascination and commented "What on earth? Is Ron on good terms with Possible now?" Monique giggled at his question and answered him in a playful manner "Oh, yes. Fufufufu~ very good terms, indeed~" Josh just stared at her giddy face with an incredulous face, while the curly-haired girl pointed "Just look at them. So fresh, so innocent. Hahhh~ It must be so nice to be so young."

"I believe we're all the same age here, no?" Josh muttered softly.

Meanwhile, Kim and Ron were still blushing hard. It looked like both of them wanted to say anything, but the awkwardness of their current situation held any words that dared to leave their mouths. In Ron's case, he remembered what he said the day before yesterday that the 'love mote' scene was purely by accident. But, the kiss by the end of the festival yesterday felt very different from that. The mere thought of reminiscing the taste of her lips brought him down more with embarrassment.

The redhead rubbed the back of her head as she laughed "... Ahahaha... So Sunday, right?" Ron nodded his head. They both promised to go to the amusement park together on Sunday, using the couple's ticket that she won. The two went silent once again, but this time, the awkwardness started to slink away. The two eyed each other, this time, a small smile forming on their faces.

In fact, they were too engrossed with each other that they didn't realize that some of their classmates were taking note of them. "I wonder what those two are talking about?" One female classmate asked to her group of friends, to which one of the responded with "Looks like they're friends."

Felix eyed the boy with mirth in his eyes and commented "Well, Ron could become friends with just about anyone." Gil shook his head, still disbelieving about his friend's claim "But Kim Possible? Really?" Ned shifted his eyes from Ron and Kim and added his own two cents "He's not scared of Kim Possible. That's another talent altogether, I guess."

While the boys were discussing about the pros and cons of having one of their friends interact with Middleton's Bloody Fox, Josh rubbed his chin and let out a hum. He murmured after staying quiet for a long while "I'm rather worried, but if it's Ron, then even a delinquent couldn't be mad at him." Monique nodded at him, approving of his thoughts. The aspiring artist then let out a smile as a weird thought suddenly entered his brain "And for some reason, I also feel that they suit each other, somehow."

"RIIIIGHT~?" This time, Monique's eyes is overflowing with joy as she shouted, causing said boy, and even some of their classmates, to lean away from the sudden cheeriness of her voice. Just in time, the bell rang, and so they went back to their seats before their teacher arrived.

The teacher placed his materials on top of the desk and started "Now that the Pickleworks Festival is over, we'll be going back to regular classes starting today. There's only a month left before finals, so make sure to study, everyone. We'll now be discussing the start of the Renaissance period. Miguel de Cervantes once said that..."

As he start droning about the lecture, Ron is sitting in heavy thought. The exams are soon, and he can't afford to fail as his sister is within the faculty. He was sure that Adrena would raise hell on their home if she saw any grade less than B on his report card, and so he needed to prepare. But more than that, he's super excited for Sunday. Just like when they were preparing for the festival, Ron started planning on the things he wanted to do with the redhead delinquent and make sure that they would enjoy the entire day to its fullest.


After classes...

School day went by quickly. Ron wanted to talk to Kim more, but when he turned around, he noticed that the redhead had already left. Although he wanted to talk to her regarding their upcoming 'date', he shrugged it off, since he still has time. He was sure things would just get awkward between them again if he approached her.

Now that the redhead is out, he supposed that he'll just have to go home with Josh, since it's been a while since they last did that. Before the whole delinquent thing, Ron only had Josh to talk to on a regular basis. He was one of the first few friends that he created in his entire life, earning his spot as one of his precious people. He walked towards the blonde artist and said "Let's go home." to which he nodded and followed him out of the door.

While walking down the staircase, Josh started with a comment "It's been a while since we've gone home together, hasn't it?" The freckled teen laughed at that and replied "Yeah, because I had to help with the Pickleworks preparations."

Josh just stared at him for a moment before he gave him a knowing look "That's right. Speaking of, it seems like you've become friends with Kim Possible." Ron balked at that, causing said friend to laugh. He tried to avoid talking about how she had been looking forward to the festival, but since it was already done, he supposed that it's fine to say a little bit about them, and so he eventually answered "Y-Yeah, I am. We've been talking a lot."

"You always wind up attracting strange people, Ron." He affably stated, causing the other blonde boy to snort. "Yeah, weird people like you." Ron's comeback made them laugh at each other as they started throwing another slew of banter. Although in his mind, the resident hottie may be a bit eccentric, he knew that he's a good person. Josh softly punches the side of his shoulder and said "I may not care about what the other average people think of me, but you're the only person I wouldn't want to hate me."

Ron nodded at that, feeling a bit happy from his trust. What came next from his mouth stopped him to his tracks. "But no matter how tolerant you may be of eccentrics, I can't say I approve of you becoming friends with even Kim Possible. Delinquents are all good-for-nothings."

When Josh noticed that his friend wasn't beside him when he reached the hallway out, he turned around and saw him with his face full of conflict. The freckled teen stared at him for a moment before speaking slowly "Kim's a good person. You know, I don't like the way you always judge people you don't know that well based on image alone."

Clearly, that didn't sit well with the aspiring artist, as his concern for his friend started to cloud his judgement. But before they could escalate, a feminine voice rung from behind them "Ohh, oh! Stoppable, right? Thanks for yesterday!" Ron felt the tap on his shoulder and saw the grinning face of Joss, The Possible Corp's adjutant. Ron smiled and waved back at her. The short brunette smiled at him as she placed her arm around him "Heard from Cousin Kim. You're a new underling of hers, right?"

Josh's eyes went wide from the revelation while Ron shook his head and corrected "I'm her friend." He left out the bit where he was her boyfriend up until the Pickleworks since he felt like he would die if she were to learn it. Joss, on the other hand, didn't paid his correction any mind as she continued "But man, that surprised me. Never woulda guessed that someone would seriously go up against Food Chain and Massacre all by themselves." She pulled him closer as she pumped her fist "You're really something, Ron Stoppable! You're exactly kinda guy we need in the Possible Corps!"

After a rain of heavy pats on his back, the small girl let him go. For all of her short stature, she could let out a mean wallop as Ron let out a strained smile. Joss pointed at the building south of the grounds and said "You can come on over to our secret hideout. I'll let the others know you're cool, so come to the old audio-visual room whenever you feel like it. All right?"

He didn't really quite get what she's been talking about, but he mused that he was supposed to appear to the place she was pointing at, and judging by the smile on her face, he guessed that it won't be like how it went with him and Food Chain, and so he would agree. But before he could let out a single word, Josh suddenly spoke with complete seriousness "You there. I don't know who you are, but you're a delinquent, aren't you? Don't seduce Ron onto the path of villainy."

Ron quickly turned around and saw his friend glaring at the brunette, who is now scowling at him "Ahh? The hell're you?" In an instant, the air surrounding them start to tense as the honor student spoke to a delinquent with a haughty tone "You seem to belong to Possible's group. I'm not speaking against all of you, but you should at least rethink the way you speak to someone a level above you."

"The fuck're you lecturing me for? Don't make me kill you." Joss threatened the boy, to which Josh didn't even flinch. The freckled teen started sweating as he tried to placate them from escalating further, but all of his efforts were in vain. Joss unconsciously pushed Ron aside as she went near the hottie and snarled "You wanna go!? I'll fuck you up anytime!"

She tried to grab on his collar, but Josh knew better. Ron winced as his friend perfectly deflected her hands and grabs a hold of it, before throwing her down into the cold ground. For all his jokes about his friend's 'delusion' of being the select few, the achievements and feats he has done under his belt was no laughing matter. Aside from being a quiz bee champion, a rapidly-growing renown in the arts, and his Adonis-like features, he's also an expert in Taekwondo. And so, he winced as he heard a dull thump as students around started walking away, fearing for the impending chaos.

Joss just doesn't stand a chance.

She rubbed her side as her voice started to grow deeper in anger "Ow... You piece of shit!" Josh looked at her with indifference and taunted "Hmph. Kim Possible herself has things together, but you seem to be just an average delinquent, the worst kind. Talking to you is a waste of time." The way he eyed the girl like she's beneath the dirt he's stepping on made her blood boil. Ron went near his friend and said in a hushed voice "There's no need to taunt her, Josh!"

He looked at him and replied "It isn't a taunt. It's the truth." Josh turned back to the downed girl and stared until he noticed something's wrong with the girl's... apparel, or the lack thereof. With a weary sigh, he advised "Also, a word of advice from an upperclassman. Not wearing underwear is in bad taste." Ron and Joss' eyes went wide as the girl shifted her sights down below, to which she saw her skirt flipped up, exposing her lower body in front of the him. "The fact that you're wearing a skirt out in the public, it's downright idiotic to not wear one."

"Ahaha, what are you saying, Josh? There's no way." By this time, Ron swore the tense atmosphere grew thicker, but the reasons behind that were completely different. Joss, on the other hand, quickly stood up as she placed her hands down to the hem of the skirt, while scowling "SHUT THE HELL UP! T-T-This is... This is proof of my loyalty to Cousin Kim!" She remembered her promise to her beloved cousin, and she would damn everything if she didn't follow that.

Josh waved his hand in a dismissive manner and started "I don't mean to make any remarks on your personal preferences, but underwear is important for the sake of preventing the spread of bacteria..." His lecture, however, was interrupted as the short brunette cried "You assholes don't deserve to understand!"

And in a flash, Joss scampered away, leaving the bewildered Ron alone with his friend. Josh looked at her retreating figure and exhaled "Hmph. Exactly what you'd expect from a delinquent." Ron looked at him and commented "You're just so casual about being superhuman, Josh." to which the honor student replied with "I'll say it again, Ron. You should rethink keeping delinquents as company." The freckled blonde didn't say anything at that.

He knows he's right. Ron thought that he's still a bit hesitant about the whole 'delinquent' thing as a whole. The only thing that kept him from agreeing with him is the fact that there are some of them, like Kim and Shego, that he found easy to interact with. Nonetheless, he was happy that he's looking out for him, but as for this moment, he's still in the middle of the crossroad, trying to gauge on how he should approach it. And so, they went through the iron gates and out of the school grounds.

Along the way, Ron remembered of his upcoming date with the redhead, and so he blurted "By the way, I'm going to the amusement park on Sunday." Meanwhile, Josh let out a strained laugh and politely declined "I'm afraid I must decline such thrill-seeking."

Ron laughed at him and said "Not with you, Josh. I know you've never liked those hardcore rides, after all." The budding artist didn't like how wimpy he made it sound, and so he made an excuse "Saying that I dislike them would be a misleading statement. I simply shed tears when I ride them." Ron just chuckled at his defensiveness. The path of being the 'chosen one' as Josh would always call himself looks tough. The two went silent in a comfortable silence for a moment before an idea popped from his head "... A date?"

All he got from the boy is silence coupled with a faint blush. Nodding his head, Josh started to understand his situation "I see. You've become an adult. I won't pry as to whom you're going with if you're not ready. So? You're going to the amusement park, right?" Ron nodded his head and started to spill "I figured I might as well make plans for the rest of the day." Unlike their previous meetings, this one is just focused purely on having fun and spending time together. To put it bluntly, this is a proper 'date', and Ron didn't want to go without planning like last time.

"We've already decided that we're going to the amusement park, but I was kiiiinda wondering what we should do for lunch. Do you know any good restaurants? We're going to be close to the new commercial area." He asked in the end. Josh puts his fingers on top of his chin and pondered "So, you'd like to go somewhere classy... I hear there's a reasonable French restaurant that's opened up across from the Rockies Mark Tower. Maybe that'll be enough."

Ron knew of the place he mentioned, but he shook his head negatively at that "That's too classy." The honor student hummed once more and went into deep thought for a while before giving another idea "How about over by the brick storehouse? A drink together, at a bar overlooking the mountains." The freckled teen stared at him and let out a deadpan "We're both students, Josh. Also, I said it's lunch."

Furrowing his brows, Josh muttered "Hmm... How picky.", making said teen to let out a sigh. The two remained silent for a minute until Josh piped in another idea "How about Chinatown?" Ron nodded his head and thought about the area. It is close to the amusement park, but he hasn't been there after the renovation. "There's a store that serves some affordable noodles and dumpling filled with real meat at a cheap price. It's quite good. Give it a try." Josh commented.

At that, the freckled teen murmured "Chinatown... Hmm... I dunno about going there, to be honest. I'm afraid of getting lost."

Josh nodded his head and explained "Right, it's a bit of a mess over there even after the renovation. A lot of the shops look the same from the outside, too. Not to worry. It's easy once you memorize it. First, there's that main gate with the huge banner, right?" Ron nodded as he tried to follow his directions "Go through the gate, and there's a chestnut roaster to the left. Three buildings down, there's a salesperson that pronounces 'all you can eat' to 'arr you can eat'. Diagonally across from that, there's a chestnut roaster. Turn the corner to the right, and there's a big Canadian that pronounces 'all you can eat' with 'ohl you can eat'. Further in, there's a chestnut roaster, and the place I'm talking about is across from that. You'll know you're there when you see a place called 'steamed chestnut buns' and a Feng Sui shop with vaguely creepy dolls in the window."

The long-winded direction caused Ron's mind to spin. "W-Where were we talking about again? Chestnuttown?" Josh nodded sagely at that and answered "They're roasting chestnuts with a vengeance this time of the year. You could also go from behind. You start with one souvenir shop that's famous for their mooncakes. From there, you head towards the chestnut roaster, and..."

Ron raised up his hand in surrender and lamented "We'll just eat lunch in the amusement park. They have crepes and stuff there." Josh smiled at him and nodded "That's fine as well. Any other preparations?" The boy looked down and saw his state of dress. As far as he was concerned, he never see anything wrong with how he looked, but since Sunday will be a special one, he needed to upgrade his apparel. With an embarrassed sigh, he said softly "Mm, man, this is a bit embarrassing, but... I want to get new clothes and I want you to come with me."

To say that Josh is surprised is a complete understatement. With his brows shot upward, he balked "Ohh!? So, you've finally opened your eyes to fashion!" Ron didn't say anything to that. He remembered how underdressed he was compared to Kim the day before the festival, and he mused that he must return the favor. Josh, on the other hand, smiled at the boy and commented:

"To think you'd get this serious. I may not know who the girl in question may be, but I know for sure that she's a fortunate one."


Possible's residence...

"Sunday, you say?" Monique muttered as she started sprawling some reading materials she brought ranging from make-up magazines to catalogs of the most recent of Club Banana fashion. On the other side of the spectrum, Kim looked on the daunting amount of references the class president has brought and said "W-We're going to hang out again."

The daughter of a world-renown fashionista tapped her feet as she mulled over her thoughts "Not much time again... You generally want at least a week to get your femininity up." The redhead closed her eyes in embarrassment and let out an apology "Sorry... It's just that Sunday's my only chance..." She stared at her classmate for a while. And when Monique noticed her and asked what's the matter, Kim shook her head and admitted "... Nothing. And you don't have to do what you did last time. The skirt was more trouble that what is worth."

Downtrodden, she whined "Aww! What a waste! There goes my Kim Possible Modification Plan." Kim caught wind of what she said and muttered "Hey, I think I heard something pretty ominous just now." When she just smiled at her with an innocent look, the delinquent can't help but let out a sigh "Thanks for helping me out last time, but I'm done with fashion."

Kim expected her to be sad, but surprisingly, Monique blew up with a shout "Excuse me!? What are you saying!? You're about to be reborn as Middleton's most beautiful girl by my hands!" The redhead leaned away from her sudden outburst and muttered "What the hell?" to which the curly girl paid her no mind. Bringing one magazine in front of her, Monique smiled "I've brought quite a lot today as well. Makeup tools, supplements for your skin, instructional books for exercises you can do to improve your metabolism..."

Rummaging through her tote bag, she produced a small bottle on her hand and offered it to her "Oh, I'd like for you to have this. Please drink it daily." With her brow raised lightly, Kim stared at the object on her palm and asked "What's this?" to which the black-skinned girl answered "It's balsamic vinegar. It's good for your skin. Drink until this line everyday, in the mornings and evenings. If possible, you should do stretches afterwards."

"I stretch every day." Looking proud, Kim commented. Monique nodded at that and said "Drink these before those, then... Oh, that's right. Do you know how best to do stretches? It'll be much more effective if you do yoga in addition to typical stretches." The redhead, meanwhile, heard the word 'yoga' and started thinking about the stuff she remembered to see in movies. She hesitated a bit and said "Uh... I don't wanna breathe fire or anything, so..."

Monique stared at her incredulously and shook her head "There's no need to go that far... Actually, you're already top-notch in terms of figure, anyway, so maybe normal stretches would be fine. Don't forget this, now." She brought out a couple more of bottles similar to what she handed to her earlier. "Remember, every morning and evening, okay?"

Her emerald eyes looked around and saw the vast amount of information she needed to remember, just to raise her 'femininity', as she likes to call it, and to be quite honest, she's a bit overwhelmed. "O-Okay... but..." Kim started, earning the class president's attention "Mm... I was just thinking it'd be weird to try too hard."

The girl stared at her hard for a moment, causing the redhead to be conscious about her words. "... So you're saying that trying to raise your femininity is lame." Kim tried to correct her thinking, but the curly girl was relentless "Honestly, I see your type every now and then." She slammed her hand on the table, making Kim's eyes to widen "Listen here, Kim Possible. It's true. There are many people, both male and female, that say they like people better without makeup, or that dressing up too much is a bad thing."

"But that's nothing but talk! Those people only care about looks in the end! You mustn't be fooled by their ways!" Monique passionately shouted.

Kim plugged her ears as she checked if it was still working "S-Something happened to you?" to which the class president started cooling down and replied "Jokes aside, don't you think it would be rude to the person you like if you didn't put in at least a little effort into being cute for a date?"

Although she averted her eyes, the blush on her cheeks is still visible. The redhead looked to the window and thought about a goofy blonde boy and muttered "Gh... W-Well, yeah." Monique squealed mentally when she realized that the infamous delinquent didn't even denied her claim of liking a certain blonde boy, and so she enthusiastically cheered her up "So, let's try our best, then!" Still blushing, Kim struggled for words "T-Thanks, then..."

She took out her wallet and brought out some money "Oh, I need to pay you back." But instead of accepting it, Monique gently pushed her hand away and said "No need. That was made at my grandmother's vineyards. It's the least that I can do."

Reluctantly, Kim retreated her hand and put her wallet back in her pocket. She looked at the curly girl who is currently engrossed on the magazine, and let out a rueful smile. Monique laid her eyes on her once again, to which she admitted "I was just thinking... You're a real grown-up." Monique rose her brow at that, to which the redhead continued "Everyone always says you're like a mother to them. I get what they mean. So then... well, you go on dates a lot, right?"

"Excuse me!?" This time, she managed to shriek in shock, clearly not liking where the conversation is going. Kim wasn't deterred, however, as she continued "Because, you know, this is what guys like, right? This... femininity stuff? You've really got it..." She could see the sincere adoration on her eyes that it made Monique to wallow in regret. "I couldn't possibly tell her that this is all just a hobby for me..." The class president thought. And so, wearing a strained smile, she nodded "W-Well yes, I'd say so."

Suffice to say, Kim bought it. She bought it too well for her taste as she could feel her body shaking from the lie which she made the Bloody Fox believe easily. With newfound determination, the redhead pumped her fist in anticipation and declared "Okay, I'll do my best... You've already done so much for me, so I'll stop trying to show off and learn this stuff." Her brightness easily wiped her regrets as Monique smiled with her and nodded her head.

As she was starting to read the paraphernalia on the table, the matriarch of the Possible family went inside and greeted the two. Monique politely returned the greeting while Kim didn't even bother since she's too engrossed with her reading. "There's also... Oh, this looks good. Exercises to help remove waste products from the body. Man, I haven't heard the word 'detox' in a while." Kim murmured while reading on "Let's see... 'popular among older women'... Why don't you try it, too, Mom?"

Anne smiled at them for a moment before they felt an intense chill crawling on their spines. The female medical practitioner leveled them with a venomous smile as she asked slowly "Popular among what kind of women, did you say?"

Kim gritted her teeth as she fought the fear that's trying to drown her heart. "Y-Youthful. It's popular among youthful women, it says." And in an instant, The atmosphere lightened as the elder redhead sat beside her and read on. Looking beside her, Kim saw Monique frozen in shock. It took her a while before she snapped back to reality. "That seems interesting..." Anne murmured as she read on the article. Meanwhile, Monique added "You should start doing them, too, Kim. Waste products exist in your body regardless of age."

"Really?" She asked curiously, to which the black-skinned girl nodded "Human beings store up waste products in their body starting from the moment they're born." The redhead was somewhat repulsed from the idea that there's waste inside of her, and so she nodded "Kinda gross. I think I'll do it then."

Meanwhile, the neuro-scientist watched with a bemused expression as the two teens delve deeper into the world of beauty and wellness. This has been the first time she had heard her talk something other than beating people up, and suffice to say, she enjoyed it a lot more. "Fufufu~ She's become such a girl now." Kim's ears perked at that and asked "You say something?" to which she responded with a laugh "Nothing... Anyway, are there any exercises to revitalize the skin?"

And so, the three girls spent the afternoon talking about beautification tips.


A/N's: Here it is! The first step in developing the relationship. You can suppose that this is the aftermath of the Pickleworks Festival. Although this is a bit shorter than last update, I do hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I had writing! Don't forget to leave a review to tell me what you think. Also, add me and this story to your favorite and following lists. Thank you so much for reading! See you next update!

'Til next time!
-kmtdiccion :)