"Oh, I'm gonna be late!" Kim shouted, running through the kitchen and swinging her bag over her shoulder.
"Honey, your toast!" Mrs. Possible called after her, waving a plate with 2 slices of toast in her daughter's direction.
"Thanks, Mom! Gotta go, bye!" she responded, sweeping the toast off the plate and stuffing them in her mouth, shooting out the door and down the street. By the time she'd gotten to the front doors of Middleton High, only one piece of toast had disappeared, the other still between her teeth. Throwing open the front doors, she stood witness to a sight she would not have expected ever.
Her first thought was "Who's that?" but, soon switched to "Is that—?" upon hearing Sonic's addressal.
Sonic was talking with Bonnie in the center of the locker hallway. At least, that was what first caught her eye—his electric blue hair. Secondly, Sonic had grabbed another guy by the back of his collar as he tried to escape into the crowd. Kim had never seen the guy before.
He wore a black T-shirt with black slacks, and his hair looked a little like Sonic's, but didn't bunch in the same way as his. It was jet black with red highlights. His eyes were a deep brown—and furious at Sonic for holding him back. His shoes looked different from ones she'd ever seen—red, white, and black with an angled-upward toe.
"Shadow, would you calm down?! I'm trying to have a conversation!" Sonic scolded, releasing him and crossing his arms.
Kim's eyes widened. Shadow? The guy she overheard talking with Sonic yesterday?! What was he doing here?! Who was he?! Ohhh, why did he have to look so cute?
"Sonic, I swear, if you—" Shadow started in his deep, growly voice, before he stopped, glancing over at the door. He looked Kim straight in the eyes before glaring at Sonic again. "Sonic, I said no."
"But, I didn't even say anything!" protested Sonic, throwing his hands up.
"Whatever. I need my schedule. Where do I get it?"
"Upstairs. Third door on the right." He paused for a moment, a grin spreading across his face. "You can count, right?"
Shadow growled and stomped off into the crowd, leaving a very speechless vicinity. Bonnie was shocked silent. So, was Kim, at least, for a few seconds. Making her way toward her locker, she immediately called Wade. While it was dialing, she pulled out her homework for first hour and looked it over, scanning for any errors. She emptied her books into her locker, all except for her first hour one. Wade came up on the screen, snoozing.
"Wade? Wade? Wade!" Kim called, stuffing her backpack next to the monitor.
Wade jerked awake instantly. "I'm awake!" Kim gave him a questioning look, which he answered with a yawn and a stretch. "Okay, mostly awake. About this Sonic guy—"
"Hey, Kim!"
Turning, she met both Sonic and Ron's gazes. Looking over Sonic's shoulder, she saw Bonnie fuming at her loss of attention from him. Internally, Kim giggled at her own luck and felt relieved that he wasn't clinging to her desperately. That in itself could have consequences for his sanity.
Ron offered Wade a wave and a wink. "Wade, guess what? My life is not over! Kim got me the Nacho-ito yesterday! It was spankin'!"
"That's my line!" Kim said, smiling and crossing her arms.
"Yeah? Well, things rub off, y'know?" he returned, rubbing his fingernails on his shirt coolly.
"I believe I heard my name somewhere over here," Sonic said, a grin returning to his face.
Kim didn't know what to say. Mostly, because her blush was taking over. But, also because, what could she say? If she told him the truth, he'd think she was weird and a stalker! If she lied to him, her conscience would be killing her, not to mention that when/if he found out, he'd hate her forever! Mentally, she face-palmed. Avoid the topic, that's it.
"It's nothing," Kim said, waving if off, "just some personal research. Anyway, who's the new guy? It looks like you know him."
Sonic put a hand behind his head, seemingly dreading the subject. "Yeah, I guess. We're friends, but he tends away from people. You know, not a people person. Secretive and bossy…Insists on doing things his own way and on his own. Can't control his temper…" He sighed and put a hand to his face. "I need new friends big time."
Ron looked from Sonic to Kim to the direction the Shadow had left in and hmmm-ed, staring strangely at Sonic. "There's something else here—" Ron started. Sonic glanced up quickly, giving a questioning look. "—isn't there?"
"If you count competing in everything we do, then, yeah, I guess that's something else."
"Why didn't he come yesterday?"
"Well—" again, with the uncomfortable hand behind head "—like I said, he's not a people person."
"Maybe, because it was only going to be for a week?" Kim blurted, immediately covering her mouth and turning away, blush expanding. Sonic froze, emerald eyes widening.
"Uh—heh—you—uh—you didn't—uh—" He face-palmed. "Well, I'm dead."
Wade interrupted. "Whatever it is, we can help. We've done this all before."
"Too many times to count," Ron said, trying to count off on his fingers. Rufus imitated him, chittering on his shoulder, but he gave up and flopped down on Ron's open palm.
Sonic almost grinned. "Shadow is going to explode, but whatever! Heh-heh. Meet me after school out at the back fence. We'll talk there—ow!" He flinched and cupped a hand over his ear and glared at thin air to his left. "Anyway, I'll explain there. Gotta go."
Kim, Ron, and Wade all stared at him as he disappeared down the hallway. Ron scratched his head, confused.
"Does anyone know what just happened?" he asked, shrugging. Even Rufus blinked rapidly in utter confusion.
"I have no idea," Kim said, blush fading. Ron noticed her red and looked her over suspiciously. She waved a hand in his face to get his mind off of it and glanced away, grabbing her textbook for first hour. The bell rang overhead, queuing them for class. "I'll come by at lunch, okay?" she told Wade. He gave her a thumbs up and the screen went dark. "Come on, Ron. Time for math."
~Skip forward 3 classes to lunch~
"I don't get it, KP," Ron said, carrying his tray of mushy, gray slop to a nearby table and taking a seat. "What does all of this even mean? I mean, he just suddenly appeared in Midtown yesterday, but he's only staying for a week before he disappears again because both our dimensions will be blown up? Like…that doesn't even make sense!"
"I don't know, Ron," Kim replied, setting down her tray beside him. "I don't think I've ever been this worked up and confused before in my life. I want to try to figure it out, too, but there's just too much to it."
The cafeteria doors opened, revealing a crowd of girls surrounding two someones with spiky blue hair and black hair with red highlights. The blue hair made his way to a random table nearest to the door and sat down. Bonnie stood behind him, wrapping her arms around his neck.
"What do you want for lunch today, Soniku?" she asked sweetly, making Kim's blood boil with frustration.
Sonic gently detached her. "Please don't call me that. Anyway, I don't really care what I want. Wait here for a sec." He grabbed Shadow by the shoulder and led him a few feet away from the group of girls standing around his table. Shadow was on the verge of bursting out laughing, but Sonic started whispering something to him, a smile growing on his face, and the expression on his friend's face contorted to pure embarrassment.
"I DARE YOU!" shouted Shadow, completely losing it.