Tales Of The Awkward: Chapter Four (Popular Stoppable, Part 2)


A Critical Recounting of Past Events
1. Ron Stoppable changes up style. Allegedly dumps
'Never Be Normal' mantra in favor of being... Well, normal.

2. Monique, and worldly-known teen superheroine, Kim Possible begin to take notice.

3. After bungling cheerleader-themed pyramid manuever, Kim falls into the arms of one smooth-er and more graceful Ron Stoppable. The Apocalypse is coming.

4. The aforementioned Ron Stoppable kisses Kim goodbye. Kim feels hot afterward, but for what reason?

5. By some strange turn of events, Ron is seen by Kim at rival Bonnie Rockwaller's table.

6. The sky is falling...


"Uh, Kim? Are you supposed to stare that much without blinking?"

It was hard not for the redhead to keep to boring a hole through the table located about fifteen feet away from her. What in the heck was Ron doing fraternizing with Bonnie and the rest of the Snooty Army? She didn't mean to totally ignore what Monique was saying to her from across the table, but this was critical... seriously critical. The sky was the limit on how much the brunette would do to attempt to corrupt her best friend. She had to stop this... immediately. Didn't she?

She watched the blond say something to the brunette, who giggled good-naturedly. The redhead's left eye twitched involuntarily... It was almost like that girl forgot that the boy she was talking to was Ron Stoppable. To say that Kim was outraged was pretty much on-key. Her mouth gaped open when she saw what happened next; he whispered in her ear... and Bonnie giggled even more. This time, her right eye twitched.

"Is all of that eye twitching healthy?" A curious Monique asked.

Kim shot her best female friend a look that said something like: "Shut up or you'll get the brunt of my jealous rage." As expected, Monique shrank back.

What could they possibly be chatting it up about...?


"You know what, Ron? You're not so bad," Bonnie said, impressed with this new incarnation of the blond. Once again, he was flabbergasted to hear his name being called from the brunette... Twice in one day.

"Does this mean you're not going to call me names anymore?" He asked.

"Of course I won't... as long as you don't revert. If you do, all bets are off then..." She said with a girlish giggle.

Ron chuckled right back, although forcedly.

'Riiight... Ho-Bag...'

With nothing more left to say, the blond got up from the formerly forbidden section and was prepared to disappear to his usual spot. He hoped that no one saw him there... That would lead all kinds of confusion. Before he took his first step, however, his hand was grabbed by Bonnie.

"I almost forgot...," She said, handing the blond a piece of paper. "This is an invitation to Brick Flagg's Spring Break Bash, which is Friday at 8PM... As you may know, everyone that's considered everyone will be there."

"Actually, I didn't know," Ron said.

"...Anyway... Since you're somebody now..."

"...Wait a minute, I am?"

"Of course you are... I said so," The brunette laughed, giving the boy a playful punch on the shoulder. Sure enough, Ron winced in pain. "Now... You can invite a friend or whatever..."

"Really?"

"Yeah."

Was that so? The blond was courageous enough to come over to this table. So why not try something insane?

"Soooo, Bonnie... I've got an invitation to Brick Flagg's..."

He was stopped by the brunette's uncontrollable snickering.

"...What?"

"You may not be a loser anymore, Stoppable. But I'm still way out of your league," she said, affectionately pinching the boy's freckled cheek.


OK... She was crossing the line now...

"What is she doing?" An outraged Kim asked whoever would listen.

"It looks like she's pinching his cheek," Monique stated.

"I can see that!" Kim snapped. "But... Why?"

"The better question is why do you care? You're acting like a jealous girlfriend."

Gasp! Outrage! Slander! Scandal!

"What did you say?" The redhead asked, fully unleashing her outrage.

Monique clearly wasn't backing down. Did she ever? "You heard me, girl. A jealous girlfriend..."


jealous (jel-es) adj.

1. Fearful or wary of being supplanted; apprehensive of losing affection or position.

2. Resentful or bitter in rivalry; envious: jealous of the success of others. Inclined to suspect rivalry.

3. Having to do with or arising from feelings of envy, apprehension, or bitterness: jealous thoughts.

4. Kim Possible, April 4th, 12:32PM

girlfriend (gurl'frend') n.

1. A favored female companion or sweetheart

2. A female friend.


"I am not," Kim said defensively.

"Yes you are," Monique replied.

"It's just that I'm concerned... Who knows what Bonnie said or did to him over there. Can't I just be concerned for my best friend?"

"Yes. Maybe without the eye twitching, give or take."

"Grrrr..."

"Look at you. You're all red in the face and you still haven't taken your eyes off of them. I don't think you're concerned. I think you're jealous," The black-haired girl concluded with unconvinced crossed shoulders.

"So not..." The teen super-heroine said through gritted teeth.


"Oh well... Well, eh... I'll be going now," The sidekick said, as he attempted to hold back a slight blush.

"See you on Friday,"

"Yeah... Friday..."

He was genuinely surprised by the countenance of Bonnie. Hmm... For a short moment in time, he actually understood why everyone else didn't consider the cheerleader as a prissy, stuck-up, self-centered, gold-digging, snooty, conniving Ho-Bag... In fact, if one was on the 'right' side of her, she could be quite nice... which he still didn't agree with in any case.

He surveyed the lunchroom, and was surprised to see Kim at their usual spot. It may have been the astigmatism, but if he wasn't mistaken, she looked as if she was upset about something. He hoped that she didn't see him over there... That would cause a myriad of misunderstandings... But he also figured that she wouldn't have too much problems with it. So as if no one noticed, he took a seat on the circular table. About three to six seconds later, however...

"What were you doing over there?" Kim asked in about six layers of intense anger.

Uh-Oh... busted. And by the way his best friend sounded, it sounded like a little more than a problem.

"Uhh... I was... eh, talking to Bonnie about... stuff," He explained nervously.

"What kind of stuff?" She grilled.

"Uh... I don't know... regular stuff?"

"Regular stuff, huh?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Then what was that piece of paper she gave you... Was that her number?"

"What? No!"

Viewing this back-and-forth, Monique was amazed how fast the redhead's moods can change so quickly. She was in a fairly pleasant mood about up until she saw Ron at that table. She went from normal, to suspicious, to outraged, to downright psycho, all in a matter of forty minutes.

"Then what was it?"

"It's... nothing."

"Really?"

"Yes, K.P. You've got to believe me," he said desperately. "I wouldn't hide anything from you...I'm the same old Ron, remember?"

Almost like that, the red-haired girl snapped back into reality. She uncrossed her arms, the redness in her face subsided, her voice, formerly rife with concern and not jealousy, now calmed down.

"I'm sorry, Ron," she said guiltily.

Instead of fanning the flames and asking why she had been so nosy in the first place, the blond decided to refrain from it and spare himself from the prospect of extra grief.

"S'OK, K.P. It's not everyday you see your best friend conversing with the enemy," the blond said with a wink.

The expression on the redhead's was one of relief. She then gave a cheeky sneer in Monique's general direction as if to say; "Hah!" Monique simply shook her head.


Just a few hours ago, Kim was about to shoot through the roof after watching the interaction between her best friend and supposed rival. Why was she thinking so much about it now?

The late afternoon glare of the sun made the redhead shield her eyes. What was it that made her outraged to see it? Was she a bit too concerned? It had to have been that, because regardless of what Monique said to her hours ago, she was definitely not jealous... Not jealous of Bonnie, or... that Alexis person, or any of the girls that the boy had been approached by in the last few days.

Right?


Minor Error: 322 - Insecurity

Treatment: Ask mother for advice.


With that thought in mind, she rose up from her desk and went downstairs. Luckily enough for her, there was her mother in the kitchen, preparing dinner.

"Hey, Mom," she asked.

"Good evening, Kimmie. What's new?" The brain surgeon asked, her back turned away from redhead.

The teenage girl shuffled around. Was it really safe to divulge this information to her mother?

"Um... Well... Something different happened at school today," she said tentatively.

"Really? What happened?"

"You know how I told you about Ron?"

Mrs. Dr. Possible did remember, in fact, she got a first-hand look at the new Ron a few days ago. She was impressed by the change of her daughter's best friend. By the way that her daughter reacted, it looked like the blond had changed for a little more of a reason than the need for changes.

"I do admit he does have a new look about him. Did anyone notice?"

"Did they? It's like they forgot who he was! This girl asked for him and she didn't even know who I was..."

She didn't mean it entirely, but as Kim continued to rant, the older redhead began to let her drift her thoughts from what her daughter's rants to other things... Like her wonderful husband, James. He was always so calm in the face of adversity, even back in the days when they first met. It was something about him that made her so attracted to him in the first place. Well, that, and his wonderful, cute, tight...

"...and Monique said I was jealous! But I know that I am not jealous... and I do not like Ron that way."

Whoa... Wait a minute... jealous? Liking Ron that way?

While Mrs. Possible was a brain surgeon, she did know a good deal about psychology. It sounded right now that her daughter was very much in denial.

"Mom?"

'Wow,' the elder redhead thought. She thought about the very real possibility of her daughter Kim, liking her best friend.

That would be so sweet.

"Mom!"

"Oh... Sorry, Kim," the surgeon said. "I was just thinking about..."

Kim saw a strange gaze in her mother's eyes. It almost looked as if she had a dreamy look about her.

"Oh, No... You don't think I like Ron, do you?"

"No-No-No," Mrs. Possible said hastily, trying to hide the look on her face.

"It's just that you two would look kinda cute toget--"

Kim would hear none of it. She quickly took off back upstairs. So much for help from mom... Apparently, she was going to have to tackle this problem by her lonesome.

As the days drifted toward Spring Break, Ron Stoppable's mental makeup drifted toward inescapable anxiety. Other than bar mitzvah's and weddings, he had never been to such a large social gathering before. He didn't look like he was under the hot light, but he could have told you otherwise. He made his way down the road that led to Middleton High when he felt a hard pound to his shoulder.

With his nerves, or lack thereof, the way it was, the blond must've jumped six feet in the air, followed by taking a defensive stance.

He was met with a slight chuckle. Apparently, there was something to be said about people landing a frying pan for a hand on one's shoulder.

"Whoa, Stoppable-dude," a young man's voice said to him. "Go easy on the caffeine."

The blond opened his eyes to see the brawny form of Brick Flagg in front of him, along with Bonnie at his side. What was up with that?

"Oh... Hey, Brick..."

"Ahem."

"...a-a-and Bonnie," Ron corrected.

Brick just stood there, before the brunette gave the burly blond an elbow to his side.

"Oh... Yeah... We just wanted you to know that we're officially hooked up... I guess." He said.

Bonnie elbowed the quarterback once again.

"I mean, er... officially hooked up," he said, correcting his error.

It didn't exactly surprise him that they got together. What with Brick's popularity for being a star quarterback, and Bonnie's thirst to be the best. It was almost like those arranged marriages that they have in those third-world countries. Only question was why they were announcing this to him right now.

"That's awesome. But, why are you telling me?"

"Uhhh... Bonnie, why are we telling him?"

He got another elbow.

"What, babe? I don't know..."

With a huff, the brunette dragged the clueless QB off. The blond was confused. Was that one of the breaks that came with being a part of the upper crust of the school's hierarchy? If so, popularity was totally overrated.

Overrated or not, he was still nervous.


It's Friday Night... That Friiiday Night
And maybe if I'm lucky, things'll turn out right
Or maybe it won't, and maybe I'll just crash
And people will say I was that stupid a--

Ding-Dong

The boy broke out of his little self-deprecating spiel to answer the door. It was Kim, a very dressed up Kim, a very dressed up Kim who was surprised to see a very dressed up Ron.

"Ron?"

"K.P.?"

Not exactly awkward situation between the duo, but a bit confusing nevertheless.

"You're looking sharp, where are you off to?"

Hmm... There goes that white-hot light again.

"Uh... Well..."

With foot-shuffling hesitance, Ron got to explaining.

"Remember that piece of paper that Bonnie gave me that you got so worked up over earlier this week?"

Grrr... Her suspicions were right! She did give him her number! That conniving little... She would do anything under the sun to try and get under her skin... even to these depths! How low could Rockwaller possibly be? Well, she already knew at this point. Oooh... Wait until Monique heard about this... and she was going to hear about this one... Thinking that she could be jealous... Inconceivable!

Maybe Ron wasn't exactly Mr. Perceptive, thus he didn't know, or exactly see that his best friend's countenance was deteriorating from 'calm' to 'Head for the freakin' hills, she's about to explode.'

"...Yes," Kim said through gritted pearly whites.

"...Uh... Well, if you didn't know already it was..."


Could a girl's face truly turn tomato red? Find out on our next exciting edition of Tales of The Awkward which begins...

Riiiiiight now.


"...An invitation to Brick Flagg's Spring Break whatchamawhozit," the blond confessed.

"Oh..."

This look of surprise has been brought to you by the letter 'O', because conclusion-jumping could be very bad for a teen's blood pressure.

That's all that Kim could manage. Once again, as if someone dumped cold water on a grease fire, her facial features returned to normal. After a little more silence, the redhead spoke up.

"You got invited to Brick Flagg's party?"

"Yeah... Bonnie deemed me as 'cool', so there I go," the blond said with a shrug. "Surely, you've gone before."

"Actually, No,"

"Really?"

"Really," Kim said seriously. "I never went because you were never invited. What fun is it without my best-est best friend, huh?"

Yep... Ron was convinced. He had the best-est best friend in the whole world. She was like the rock that he had to stand on. Wait... That didn't come out right. It might have been 'crutch...'

"So... uh... you wanna come with?" he asked.

With a friendly smile, Kim nodded, which quelled a bit of Ron's jitters. Maybe this night wouldn't be so bad after all.


Minutes later, the duo found themselves at the door of Brick Flagg's house. One look at the house, and the ostentatious cars in the driveway told one everything he or she needed to know about what the Flagg's status was. And if that didn't tip said person, here it is in layman's terms: Dude's family is freaking loaded, yo.

Even the look of the football player's digs had the blond in knots.

"Will you look at the--"

"It's just a house, Ron. A large house with three or four Ferraris in the driveway," Kim said as if what she was seeing was run-of-the-mill.

"Actually, I think two of those are Lamborghin--"

"Whatever... Let's just go in."

"Are you sure? Maybe we can stare at the--"

As usual, the redhead had to pull the hapless blond along with her. The loud music could be heard from the outside, thus, there was very little problems with finding the right address. Ron tapped at the door fastidiously, which in response, got him no answer.

"You're really nervous about this, aren't you?"

Ron nodded. This was strange to see... She had never seen the blond so self-conscious before.


Pep-Talk Time, Volume II!


"Ron, they're just teenagers, like you or me,"

"Thanks, mom," Ron quipped.

Kim sighed. "You've got people's attention this week. So what's to be afraid of?"

Valid, but Ron wasn't convinced.

"But--"

"No buts, Ron. Your motto used to be 'Never Be Normal,' and now you're changing it up on me?"

"Uhh... No... not really," he mumbled.

"So what's this? You actually care now what these guys think?" She asked in a challenging manner, pointing to the house that they had yet to enter.

"No." Ron said halfheartedly. Naturally, the domineering redhead wasn't buying his answer for a second.

"Really? So why are you all 'ooh I'm soo scurred'?"

Scurred?

"I'm not scared," he replied. "I'm just cautious."

"Ron, when Alex Rodriguez is at bat with runners in scoring position, he's cautious -- You are scared," she retorted.

Ooooh... That was below the belt.

"Yeah, well... What about--"

Kim knew where this was going. So, like last time, she shut the blond down.

"For once, it's not about me - it's about you, Ron," she said, the serious-as-a-heart-attack tone returning to her voice.

"Is it?"

"Yes," she urged. "Just be you... If they can't like you for that, then you have no business being here."

Why did it seem that every one of Kim's words were sage to Ron. She must've listened to her parents more than he did.

"So if I just be me, you think they'll like me?"

"Well, I like you."


Oops...

Error... Wait.. You know which one it is.


"...You know, as a friend," she quickly said, cleaning up the mess she made.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said. Instead of tapping on the door, he rang the doorbell. It didn't seem like it was there before. Instantly, the door opened.

"Who--? Ron! There you are..." the voice of one Bonnie Rockwaller as she greeted him. "For a minute I thought you went all 'loser' on us again."

"Me? Loser? Never... Again..." Ron said sheepishly.

"And you bought... Kim," The brunette said flatly. "Hey, Kim." She said coldly.

"Evening, Bonnie," The redhead greeted, returning the chill.

"Anyway, come on in, we've been expecting you," she said, dragging the blond the into the large house. Kim sighed... This had the potential to be one long night.


Ron wasn't exactly the center of attention, but boy, was he darn-near close to it. Talking, laughing, joking... dancing with a inordinate amount of girls. If one thing was true, it was the fact that he was a bon-diggity dancer.

As for her, Kim was comfortable playing the background, until...

"Kim. Didn't expect you to be here."

The redhead turned to the side. Josh. She remembered Josh very well. He was that handsome boy that she had the hugest crush on before all these Ron shenanigans began.

"Hi, Josh," she said, the familiar dreaminess in her voice absent.

Maybe this night wouldn't be such a wash after all. Just as the girl and the artist were about to immerse themselves in teen-related conversation and flirting, a familiar sounding beep coming from her pocket went off.

Ugh... Wasn't that always the way? Whilst Popular Boy was living it up on the dance floor, Kim had a mission to partake to.

"Excuse me a minute," she said to the fledgling artist.

She made her way through the large kitchen and out of the side door of the house. Once out of earshot and view, she pulled her trusty Kimmunicator.

"Sitch me, Wade," she said.

The aforementioned Wade popped up on the other end of the pocket-sized monitor.

"I just got a hit on the site... There's a heist going on at First Upperton Bank," the pre-pubescent computer genius said. "The Upperton Police hasn't been notified yet..."

"Sounds like an inside job," the adventurer said.

"Just what I was thinking... I can get you a ride in ten."

"Thanks, Wade. You rock," she said, giving the third member of Team Possible the over and out. Duty called. She found it regrettable that she couldn't hang around for, but she figured there would be other times for that. As for Ron... He probably wouldn't notice her leaving. He'd be all right.


He had only been here for about ninety minutes or so, but he concluded this little shindig had been more fun than a barrel of monkeys... Well, not monkeys. Monkeys were scary and evil. OK... So it was more fun than a barrel of clowns... Clowns were fun, right? Good music, pretty girls, and most of all, good friends. Now that he was away from the floor, he had to go over and thank Kim for that little talk that they had before they came in.

He scanned the room from left to right. No sign of Kim. Where was she?

He checked his watch, which read 9:45. It was a good hour and change before her curfew. She wouldn't just jump up and leave like this.

Ambling his way through the rest of the partygoers, he was about to check upstairs when a familiar face caught his eye.

Josh Mankey. He didn't know Josh went to these types of things. That is, until he saw the artist and his best friend conversing about ten minutes or so back. Despite the fact that he did see them from the corner of his eye, he couldn't shake that familiar pang that he gpt when he saw them together.

"Yo... Josh," He called

The brown-haired boy narrowed his eyes as if he didn't know of the guy who was calling his name.

"Ron? Ron Stoppable?"

No... Ron Reager, the sidekick thought. Sheesh, whatever did Kim see in Monkey boy anyway...?

The Million-Dollar Question

"Yeah, that's me," he said. "Have you seen Kim? Last time I saw her, she was with you."

"She said she had to step out for a minute. She's probably outside."

"Outside... Thanks, Monkey."

"What?"

"Mankey, I said, Mankey," the sidekick said, correcting his intentional unintentional mistake.

He found his way out of the inordinately large living room and into the kitchen. What a kitchen it was! What with the granite countertops, and the sweet dishwasher... More importantly, there was side door in an alcove to the right. That must've been where Kim slipped out.

"Going somewhere?"

The voice was certainly familiar enough. It was just a matter of turning around to face the brown-haired cheerleader who was a couple of meters from him.

"You're not leaving already, are you?" She asked, a slight pout forming on her pretty face.

"N-No," he replied shakily. "Just need to get some uh... fresh air. Yeah, that's it... fresh air."

"OK," The brunette said with a smile. "But come on back, we're playing 'Spin the Bottle' upstairs."

The blond just about lost his grip on the doorknob. Bonnie giggled playfully.

"Wha--Really?"

"No... just toying with ya." With that, she went back from whence she came.

Ron uttered a long exhale. If they were doing that upstairs, the search for Kim could wait. As he walked outside, he surmised that she had be around somewhere. Wait a sec... There a figure with red hair at the of the driveway. Figuring that it was her, Ron rushed on over.

"Hey, K.P.!"

Yes, she knew more than a dozen styles of martial arts and had the reflexes that bordered on feline. Still though, the teen heroine still jumped about six feet in the air.

"Oh..." She took a moment to catch her breath. "It's you, Ron."

"K.P., I was looking all over, what's up?"

"Nothing major... just a small mission in Upperton."

"Oh... When's our ride coming?"

"Our?"

"Uhhh, yeahh, I'm coming with you."

Ehhh... Wasn't he having the time of his life back there?

"You don't have to go," Kim insisted.

"Yeah, I don't have to... but I want to." the blond replied.

"Why?"

Ron was thinking hard... Sure, he was having a good time there... However.

"Uh... Well..." he began. "Some things are more important than this..." He said, thumbing over to the packed house.

"Like what?"

"Like.. Say, tagging along with your best friend on a mission... even though it's 'nothing major.'"

"So wait... Let me get this straight. You'd rather fight freaks with me and lose your pants than party with those guys," she asked in disbelief.

"Oh... I don't know... Yes," the blond answered with a smirk.

The dark night did a good job of hiding the extra-strength beam that was on Kim's face. "All right, you pulled my leg."

Moments later, their ride pulled up, and both entered the vehicle. The car sped off in a hurry.

She wasn't going to let it show directly, but she was genuinely touched by his words. Sure, he looked a little different, but he was certainly the same old Ron to her. He was still a bit off the pace and goofy, however, he was still the fiercely loyal, charming, and at times, sweet boy that she was used to. That warm feeling she got weeks back washed over her once again, but this time, there was no complaints.

The redhead took a look at her sidekick in the back seat. He was fast asleep and lightly snoring.

Yeah, she had nothing to worry about


End of Chapter Four

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