Tara appreciates the Fannie nomination and hopes her performance in this chapter meets the expectations of her many fans. This non-profit offering borrows characters from The Mouse who, as a recent forum post pointed out, eats its young.

Chapter 5 - Departure

Tara fumbled with the hook of her bra and Ron pulled away. He had seen her in bikinis that showed more, but this was different. He felt himself begin to respond, sparking an internal conflict between his hormones and what he knew was right. "Whoa there. I'm really, really sorry, Tara, but we can't do this."

He felt her fingers wander across his pants and she smiled, "oh, I think you can."

"Yeah, ummm, the little guy down there would really like to get to know you better, but we can't"

Tara giggled. "He's not so little and why not?"

"I never, I mean me and Kim never, and besides I'm leaving tomorrow and don't know when I'll be back so it wouldn't be fair to you, 'cause you deserve more than just one night and…"

Tara felt drained. She looked at him. "Leaving?" she asked in a weak voice.

"Umm, yeah. I kinda had this offer from a school in Japan. A umm cooking school. They have a special program and I start Monday. I already gave notice at Smarty Mart. I want to be gone before the graduation party. Sorry."

Part of her wanted to scream, but she kept her cool. "That's life, I guess. It isn't just for school, is it?" she asked.

He bowed his head, a look of deep sadness on his face. "You're right. It's Middleton. So many memories here, so few that don't include her. I need to get away for awhile."

It was almost a puppy dog pout, but not quite. "Can't you stay until the party? We can go together."

Ron shook his head. "She'll probably be there. Flirting with all the guys. I don't think I could take it. Me and Kim, we been together almost forever. Now I got nothing but memories. I just feel so, so, I don't know, I guess empty. It'll be a long time before I'm ready for another girlfriend."

"I'll wait, Ron," she whispered. He looked into her eyes and shook his head. "I will. You're worth waiting for." He didn't notice her hands behind her back as she spoke softly into his ear. She let her bra fall away as she pushed him back on the blanket and straddled him, her breasts grazing his bare chest as she leaned forward and kissed him. She could feel him rising to the occasion. "We can make some new memories, even if you're leaving," she whispered.

He flipped her on her back, a playful grin on his face. He leaned down and gave her a quick peck on the lips, then said, "I'm tired. Think I'll just snuggle down between these two nice pillows and take a little nap."

Tara slapped him playfully, then let her hands caress his back, holding him close. "Just my luck. I wind up with an idiot who thinks they're pillows."

Ron chuckled softly. As they lay together enjoying each other's company Ron began to drift into sleep. He spoke softly, thinking aloud, "Always knew wouldn't last. Do something stupid, some new hottie, maybe college. Over." As he fell asleep Tara wrapped her arms around him, holding him close, wishing she could take away his pain. As they lay together the thought crossed her mind. 'she does not want him but he will never be free of her.' Her lips moved soundlessly. "Damn you Kim Possible. Damn you to Hell."

KPKPKPKPKPKPKP

At one point during the night Ron's thrashing and babbling roused Tara from sleep. He never fully woke. She stroked his hair gently and whispered that everything would be all right. After Ron relaxed Tara felt the evening chill, put her shirt back on and pulled a large beach towel over them for warmth.

The sun rising over Lake Middleton found the two teens sleeping soundly on the secluded beach. Ron began to wake, slowly realizing he was not in his bed and not alone. There was a leg across his legs an arm draped across his chest and a head nestled between his arm and his shoulder. By force of habit he began to stroke the long hair. Somehow it didn't feel right. He shook off the last vestiges of sleep and glanced at the girl lying next to him. Blonde hair, not red. It took a moment for his sleep-addled brain to process the fact that he was at the beach on a blanket sleeping with someone other than Kim. Then the memories of the previous evening came rushing back.

He shook his companion gently. "Tara, time to get up," he half whispered to her.

Slowly Tara awoke, looking around for a minute. "Morning already?" she asked as she untangled herself from Ron and sat up. Looking at her watch she remarked, "it's nearly seven. We should find some breakfast."

"My parents and sister are in Denver. We can go to my house and I'll make breakfast," Ron responded. Tara nodded. They quickly gathered up their belongings and then headed back to Tara's car. They passed the time with small talk driving back to the Stoppable home. When they arrived, Ron led the way to the door. He saw Kim's note, grabbed it, crumpled it and stuck it in his pocket.

"What was that," Tara asked.

"Just another flyer for something nobody wants," he replied, opening the door.

Once inside, Ron led Tara to the kitchen, pulled out a chair and seated her at the table. She smiled at his thoughtfulness, wondering to herself how any girl in her right mind could let a man like this go.

"What would the lady like for breakfast?" Ron inquired in his best haughty waiter voice.

Remembering Ron's skill in the kitchen, Tara smiled. "Eggs Benedict," she replied.

"Ah, one of our specialties. An excellent choice," he replied. Tara giggled as he began gathering the ingredients.

As Ron stood at the stove stirring the Hollandaise sauce, Tara came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He quickly realized that she had only replaced her shirt the previous evening. "Don't distract the chef. You wouldn't want me to burn the sauce."

"Might be worth it," she replied softly.

"You never give up, do you?" he laughed in response.

"Nope. Mad Dog spirit, we fight 'til the end."

"Riiight. Go Mad Dogs. Go back to the table and wait for your breakfast!"

"You're no fun," Tara exclaimed as she returned to the table.

Playful banter continued as Ron served breakfast and they sat together eating. When the meal was finished, he cleared the table putting the dishes in the dishwasher. Then he suggested, "Let's go in the other room." Painful as it might be, Ron knew it was time to tell Tara how he was feeling. 'She deserves that much,' he told himself. Once they were seated on opposite ends of the couch, Ron began, "I know you don't understand what's going on with me right now, but maybe I can explain. Tell me, how many high school boyfriends did you have?"

Tara giggled. "Several."

"Yeah. For a while it looked like you were in the Boy of the Month Club."

Tara made a face. "I wasn't THAT bad."

"Once you got to know them, it just didn't work out, right?" Tara nodded in response. "And when you broke up, it was kind of a relief." She nodded again. "That's not how it is for me. Me and Kim, we've been best friends as long as I can remember. More than that, really. When you're a kid you don't understand a lot of things. For the longest time I could never understand why I felt so bad when I would see Kim happy with another guy, or even with a gal pal like Monique. And she was the same way with me, although she never admitted it. Then when we finally got together, well everything was just, you know, everything just felt right. Like it was how it was supposed to be. That's why I'm no way ready for somebody else right now. Kim and me, well, it's not just a breakup. This has gotta be what divorce feels like."

Tara saw how Ron just seemed to shrink into himself as he said that. She slid to his end of the couch and hugged him saying, "I can't begin to know how you feel, but even if you just want a friend, I'm here."

"That means more than you know, but still, right now I need to get away," Ron responded.

"Will you at least let me drive you to the airport?" she asked.

Ron thought for a minute, replying, "OK. My flight is at nine o'clock so we should leave here by 7:30." He glanced at the clock. It was a few minutes after ten. "You should probably go. I have to finish packing and putting my stuff away." He got up and led her to the door. As she was leaving she turned, hugged him and planted a gentle kiss on his cheek. Ron's gaze followed her as she walked to her car. His mind wandered back to a similar moment at leaving Camp Wannaweep. Just for a moment he wondered where they might be today had he seized that particular opportunity. After she drove off he closed the door and headed up to his room, the note in his pocket forgotten.

KPKPKPKPKPKPKP

Kim watched the clock hands move ever so slowly toward the end of her shift at Club Banana. Earlier she waited until the last possible minute before heading to work, hoping for a call from Ron that never came. As the hours crept slowly by, she kept looking out in the mall, wishing he would show up, but he did not. Finally her duty was done. She clocked out and drove to the Stoppable home. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the door several times with no response. She started to walk away then looked up to see a light in Ron's room. She returned to the front door and used Wade's universal key to enter. Slowly and quietly she walked up the stairs to Ron's room. When she reached the open door, she stopped gazing at the open drawers and nearly bare shelves. Ron was seated on the floor in front of several large boxes staring at a framed photo. As Kim watched he wrapped it in a towel and slipped it into the suitcase at his left. Then he closed the suitcase. Sensing the presence of another in the room he said, "Hey, Tara. Just let me put the last of these boxes away then we can head out to the airport."

"It's not Tara," Kim replied, her anger beginning to rise. "And why would you be going to the airport?"

"Oh, hey Kim. Didn't expect to see you again. I'm going away for a while. It's not like there's anything here for me any more."

Kim winced at his words. "What about our college plans?"

"Your plans, Kim. Pick any one of those fancy schools that wants you so bad. Me? I probably won't even go this year. Too many things I have to figure out."

"But Ron…"

There was bitterness in Ron's voice as he interrupted, "It's OK. Nearly a week and nothing from you. I may be dumber than anyone thought, but even I get it after a while. You don't want me around any more. So it's best I just go away and leave you alone. What I can't figure out is why you even bothered to come by now."

Hearing her own words echoed fed the emptiness Kim had felt inside for the past week. "Sunday night I said some things I didn't mean. I came to apologize, if you can forgive me," she said softly.

"Nothing to forgive. You were right. I'm not the boy you grew up with any more. I need to deal with that. That's why I need to get away from here."

Before Kim could reply, Tara's voice called up the stairs, "Ronnie, are you ready? We need to go if you're gonna catch your flight."

"Be right there," he replied. Kim looked away to hide her disappointment.

Rufus scurried up Ron's leg and into his pocket as Ron picked up his suitcase. Before leaving the room he pointed at a square box setting on his otherwise empty desk. "That box is for you," he told her. "From Mrs. Goldman at Temple." Then he turned and left the room.

"Ron, wait," she called after him. He merely shook his head and headed down the stairs. Kim looked around the now empty room, stripped of all reminders of the boy who once lived there as she walked slowly to the desk. She lifted the lid of the box to find Pandaroo, his wounds lovingly repaired. She clutched the small animal to her chest and collapsed on Ron's bed, sobbing softly to herself.