StD - Diablo
"Pushing me away"
By : Linkin Park
I've lied to you
The same way that I always do
This is the last smile
That I'll fake for the sake of being with you
Everything falls apart
even the people who never frown
eventually break down
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie
Everything has to end
you'll soon find we're out of time
to watch it all unwind
The sacrifice is never knowing
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away
I've tried like you
To do everything you wanted too
This is the last time
I'll take the blame for the sake of being with you
Everything falls apart
even the people who never frown
eventually break down
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie
Everything has to end
you'll soon find we're out of time
to watch it all unwind
The sacrifice is never knowing
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away
We're all out of time
This is how we find how it all unwinds
The sacrifice of hiding in a lie
We're all out of time
This is how we find how it all unwinds
The sacrifice is never knowing
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away
Why I never walked away
Why I played myself this way
Now I see your testing me pushes me away
Pushes me away…
Chapter 4 : Hiding no more
The meeting with Tara had gone really good. Much to Ron's shock she was far from surprised and said she had suspected that he had been hiding himself for several years now. After Ron had let out a few choice curses he had decided to just drop the façade….it was pointless now as so many people saw through it.
They spent several hours coming up with plans on how to watch Eric and how to remain unnoticed by him or Kim. It was suddenly clear to everyone just how intelligent Ron truly was. He came up with plans and strategies that were nearly fool proof.
Wade and Felix were beyond thrilled that their friend was going to be himself for now on but a little worried. Ron being himself meant that Ron would do less to restrain his temper….which could be quite explosive at times. But they knew he was smart enough not to hurt someone unless they really deserved it…..Ron was after all chivalrous to a fault.
That night Monique had called Ron and they had a nice long talk. He was surprised to discover that she already knew everything about his secrets, powers and abilities. When he asked she said that she needed to keep her secrets for now but she would tell him soon. Ron had a suspicion about what she might have that could of told her but decided to just leave it be, she had after all promised to keep it a secret unless it was a emergency.
Kim had come to school alone the next morning. It was raining and Monique had dropped by to pick her up. Ron would most likely be arriving in his Avalanche.
As she entered the halls of the school she noticed that the whole place was in a uproar. Students were whispering quietly to each other and a good amount of them were clustered near a set of lockers.
"What's going on here?" Kim asked. "If you guys don't hurry up you'll be late for class."
"Haven't you heard?" Zita asked.
"Heard what?" Kim questioned.
"Ron Reager's locker has a huge hole in it!" She said excitedly.
"Wha…..how did that happen?" Kim wondered.
"Huh…..Ron shoved his fist through it." Zita stated.
Kim looked a bit surprised. "Reager rammed his fist through his own locker?"
Zita chuckled. "Wrong Ron chica, it was Ron Stoppable that did it….after Bonnie said something to him that is." Zita said and then showed Kim the locker.
Kim looked at Ron Reager's locker. There was a human fist shaped hole in the locker door. The hole was very clean yet you could tell that no mechanical device was used to make it.
"Ron!...My Ron did this!" Kim asked incredulously.
"Sure did!" Zita exclaimed proudly. "Bonnie "Buntha" pushed one to many of his buttons yesterday and "BAMM!" He shoved his fist through the door and threatened her within an inch of her life and the stalked off…..I watched the whole thing….along with half of the school."
"Bu…but those doors are made out of solid carbon steel! That's impossible…..his hand must have been seriously injured!" Kim said franticly while trying to digest the information.
Zita shook her head. "Sorry chica, but he just removed his hand, cracked his knuckles and walked off…..not so much as a scratch." Zita stated.
"This is to weird….I gotta find Bonnie." Kim muttered and dashed off to find the obnoxious brunette.
A few moments later Kim found Bonnie in the girls restroom. "Bonnie…can I talk to you for a second?" Kim asked.
Bonnie let out a small shriek and jumped with a start. "KIM! Wha….what do…do y…you w…want?" She asked shakily.
Now Kim was really confused, she had never seen Bonnie so shaken up before. "I want to know what happened between you and Ron yesterday." Kim said.
Bonnie's eyes darted around nervously. "Wh….where is Stopp……R….Ron….he's….n…not….here is h…he?" She asked.
"Damn! Whatever Ron did he scared the crap out of her. But the only time I've ever seen Ron scary was when he turned into Zorpox." Kim thought with a shudder, she hoped to never have to face a evil Ron ever again.
"Ron's not here Bonnie…..please tell me what happened." Kim said.
Bonnie told Kim the whole story and even had the grace to look ashamed of herself for the remarks she made. She stated how scared she was and how she ran off after Ron yelled at her.
Kim sighed…she really didn't care what Bonnie said about her but even she knew better than to push Ron's buttons on a bad day. She of coarse had learned that the hard way about a year ago when she crewed a grumpy Ron out after a failed mission. Ron had rounded on her and gave her one of the biggest tongue lashings of her life. That was another time she had been frightened of Ron, he looked so angry and his eyes, normally soft and gentle, were harsh and cold. After they had cooled down and apologized to each other she vowed never to cross him on a bad day ever again…..even Shego would have backed off when he was like that.
"I'm really sorry Kim…..I promise….I'll never say such horrible things about you ever again." Bonnie said, she had tears in her eyes and you could tell she was still very afraid.
"So it takes nearly having your head smashed in to change your tune?" Kim sighed.
Bonnie nodded. "Wouldn't it you? I…I was never so scared in all my life. I have never seen Ron so angry….his eyes were so cold…..he looked….so strong….so manly…..he was actually kind of cute…." Bonnie trailed off a blushed.
Kim's jaw nearly hit the floor. Bonnie had always made fun of Ron and now she thought he was cute? This day was getting weirder by the second.
"Hey K?" Bonnie asked. "I'm really sorry about what I said….and….I want to apologize to Ron too…..maybe even start over…..but for you please leave me alone….I need to think." Bonnie said softly, Kim nodded and left the other cheerleader with her thoughts.
Ron was standing next to his locker with Felix and Brick, they were talking about how to fix up Brick's Ramcharger and other things that had happened for the past couple of days.
"It's nice to see you finally acting like yourself dude." Brick stated.
"Yeah." Ron nodded. "It feels good to not have to act like a friggin idiot too."
"RONALD DEAN STOPPABLE!" A familiar female voice yelled.
"Crap." Ron grumbled. "Didn't take her long to find out." Ron turned around to see a disgruntled looking Kim Possible. "Hey KP….what's up?" He asked.
"Cut the act Ron." She snapped and grabbed his hands….not even a scrape. "I know you shoved your fist through Reager's locker door and scared the hell out of Bonnie….now spill." She said crossing her arms.
"Bonnie just pushed some wrong buttons…that's all, it's no big." Ron said getting defensive.
"NO BIG!" Kim cried out. "You shoved your fist into and through a carbon steel locker door like it was tin foil! That's pretty big in my book."
"It was an accident…ok." Ron stated, he was starting to get uncomfortable and the lights were flickering.
"Ron it's not like I'm asking the world here, I just want to know what's going on and why you are hiding it from me." Kim said in a softer tone, she didn't want to piss him off either.
"Nothing." Ron growled shortly.
"Ron you're my best friend and a terrible liar…..now spill." Kim said a bit more sternly.
"Dammit Kim!" Ron cursed. "Do you have to know all of my fucking buisness?"
Kim gasped….it wasn't like Ron to curse like that. "I don't want to know everything." Kim said starting to get nervous, she had never seen his temper flare so quickly. "I just want to know how you got so strong, I can keep a secret….not that it'll do you much good now."
Ron growled and Kim watched in awe and a bit of fear as his chemistry book buckled and caved in with his iron grip. She let out a slight gulp and pointed down to his ruined book. Ron glanced down a scowled.
"Well that's just prime….that's the third one this month." He grumbled and tossed his ruined book into his locker with enough force to make the other lockers tremble.
"Ron please don't be mad…I was just curious." Kim said in hopes of calming Ron down.
"So you start yelling and chewing my ass out….great way to get the info Kim." Ron snapped.
"Look I'm sorry I yelled at you." Kim apologized sincerely. "This is a lot to take in all at once. I just want to talk Ron….talk with the real you….not the mask that you seemed to have been hiding behind lately."
Ron sighed and shook his head. "I'm sorry for snapping KP….but this is….the real me, your going to have to get used to it….I'm not hiding anymore." Ron said.
"Does that mean the Ron I've always known was nothing more than a façade he put on to hide himself? For what reason….why couldn't he let me see him for who he is….I'm his best friend…aren't I?" Kim wondered and for the first time in her life questioned her friendship with Ron.
"Kim…when I'm ready…we can talk but this is neither the time nor the place for it. These are my problems and I need to handle them on my own." Ron stated.
"But Ron, you don't have to….I'm here and I'm your best friend, I can help if you'll let me." Kim said with a worried tone.
"Thanks KP but like I said, it's my problem, my buisness and I need to do this myself." Ron said in a calmer tone. "When I'm ready we will talk…but not before then ok….I just need some time."
"Alright Ron." Kim relented with a sigh. "But please don't let me wait to long, you know how I hate being left in the dark." She said and gave him a small peck on the cheek and flushed, it was so automatic she didn't have time to think about it until she did it.
Ron nodded but had a light blush as well. "S…so we up for Bueno Nacho after school?" Kim asked a bit embarrassed.
"Sorry KP but I got swim practice tonight and the rest of the week is booked to, I promised to help Brick whip his truck into shape so we are going to scout the salvage yards for parts." Ron said apologetically.
Kim looked a bit upset. "Your going to be busy all week?" She asked.
Ron sighed. "Yeah…but I'll try to get some time in for ya….okay?"
Kim was about to say something when a book sailed past her face and straight at Ron's head. Ron not even flinching snatched the book in mid flight like a ninja would a knife.
"Hey!" Ron yelled. "Watch where the hell you're tossing shit!"
"Sorry Ron-man." Josh said apologetically. "Matt Kruger nailed me with his tennis racket, it surprised me and well….you know what happened."
Ron let out a low growl that made Kim jump back and look at him. His face had gone stoic as if set in stone, his eye cold and determined. It at this moment that Kim found herself missing the façade, she liked the fake Ron much better than the real one…the real Ron was scary.
"KRUGER!" Ron bellowed and the young man turned around.
"What do you want asshole, I got more important things to….ACK!" Matt was cut off as Ron's hand went around his throat and with one arm hefted him up.
"The next time you decide to nail on of my friends over the head with that damn tennis racket of yours I'm going to ram it so far up your ass the doctors will have trouble removing it….GOT IT!" Ron snarled and Matt did his best to nod and not look absolutely terrified.
"Ron! Let him go before you kill him!" Kim cried out.
Ron growled at Kruger and dropped him to the floor unceremoniously. Matt took off like a shot and nearly fell over himself trying to escape.
"You alright Josh?" Ron asked.
"Yeah…..the prick caught me off guard." Josh said. "You and the guys up for hoops later during free period?"
"Sure thing buddy, we'll meet you there." Ron said and patted Josh on the shoulder.
The rest of the day went without incident and Kim noticed that Ron was almost back to his usual self. Although she did notice that Ron went stiff when ever Eric was around. She also noticed that quite a few other boys didn't seem to like to be around him, she couldn't imagine why though, he was such a sweet and cute guy.
The cheer squad he all decided to get in a little extra practice that afternoon so they were all going to meet during their free period. Kim decided to head over early and warm up a bit when she noticed the weight room door was open.
Her jaw dropped and eyes shot wide open when she saw who was in the room. Ron was standing over near the weight bench doing curls; the weight of the barbell was so much that the bar had bowed under the pressure. He was lifting easily three times his own body weight and doing it with such ease that it was unreal.
Kim flushed as she watched his muscles ripple and bulge with each movement. His shirt was off and he glistened with sweat. Kim forced herself to tear her eyes away as the rest of the cheer squad came into the room.
Just as they were about to start their practice Ron came out of the weight room, still shirtless, and walked over to the area the martial arts students did their training at.
All thoughts of cheer practice flew right out the window as the entire squad watched as if mesmerized. Ron was using a mixture of Judo and Shotokan styles on one of the practice dummies. His movements were fluid, graceful and precise.
"Would you get a load of that body." Bonnie muttered with a glazed look.
"And those movements, I wonder when he mastered martial arts?" Marcella said in a distant tone.
"I wonder if he has a date for the prom later this year." Hope added with a giggle.
Kim fought with herself not to snap her teammate's heads off. She suddenly found herself not liking the idea of other girls looking at her Ron. Although she wouldn't admit it she was developing a huge crush on Ron….it had started after the Moodulator incident and had slowly grown since then.
The entire squad including Kim continued to watch in awe as Ron mixed in gymnastics with his martial arts, just like Kim did only his seemed deadlier.
Having finished his training for the day Ron walked over to the bleachers and picked up his water bottle. He took several deep pulls off it and dumped the rest on his head to help cool down. He then grabbed his towel and noticed the cheer leaders and Kim on the other side of the room.
"Hey KP!" Ron greeted and walked over to them. "What are you ladies doing here?"
"W…we decided to get a little extra practice in." Kim said in a slightly squeaky voice. "What are you doing here?"
Ron chuckled. "Sorry….guess I forgot to tell you but I come here every day to get in some exercise and training."
Kim nodded. The gym was usually empty at this time of the day and it would have been easy for Ron to train and not be disturbed or anyone finding out. Kim's blush continued to grow as she looked a Ron's ripped bare torso.
Ron noticed that Kim was a bit pale and very flushed and began to wonder if she might be getting sick. "KP….you look a bit pale and flushed are you felling alright?" Ron asked.
Kim blushed more and nodded. "Yeah……I…feel fine Ron." She said sounding more confident than she felt.
Ron arched an eyebrow and sighed, she wouldn't tell him even if she was sick. So Ron placed his hand on her forehead and couldn't tell anything so he bent down and placed his lips there. Kim squeaked and turned beetroot while the other cheerleaders looked at her with envy.
"You are a bit warm KP." Ron stated standing back up straight. "Maybe you should take it easy for today, don't want ya coming down with a cold or anything." Ron said in his usual protective tone.
Kim nodded her head with a dazed look in her eyes. Ron smiled and gave her a peck on the forehead. "Take care KP….I don't want to see my best friend in the hospital cause she's to stubborn to take good care of herself." Ron said and turned to the others. "Keep an eye on her okay, see you ladies later." With that he walked off not realizing that he had left a dazed and crushing Kim Possible and a smitten cheer squad behind.
Kim found herself getting a ride home with Eric that night. Ron had simply vanished without a trace along with Brick, Josh and Felix. The scene from the afternoon still fresh in her mind as she went up to go to bed.
Two young men filled her mind. The first was Ron. He was her very best friend and the only person to ever be there for her no matter what. Then about a year ago was the Moodulator incident, that had opened her eyes to what Ron might be like as a boyfriend. She had to admit even in her early teen years she had a small crush on him but since that fateful incident it had grown. Then she was hit with all these sudden changes. Some she liked and some bothered her. She had always suspected that Ron was hiding something from her but she could never figure out what, although she was sure it had something to do with Yamanochi.
The sad matter of the fact was that she realized that they were beginning to drift apart and it scared her more than anything else. She needed Ron in her life to keep her down to earth, to comfort her when she was sad and to lov……Kim shook her head….he was her best friend…she wasn't supposed to think about him like that.
Eric was another problem, she was crushing in him as well. He had the body, the looks, the charm and the attitude that made him absolutely perfect. Eric was almost everything she had ever dreamed of in a man but for the life of her she couldn't place what felt left out.
Sighing Kim found no answers to the questions that were plaguing her. So she turned off her lights and curled up for the nights rest as her mind swam with the images of Ron and Eric. She soon fell into a deep sleep but her mind continued to mull over her situation. For Kim Possible rest was not to come easy this night.
Disclaimer : We do not own Kim Possible
Authors : DragonMaster & Doug4422