Authors Note: As always, a big thank you goes out to everyone who is reading. I never thought a Camille story would be so popular, nor that I would write one this long.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kim Possible.
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"Know thyself."
~Inscription at the Oracle of Delphi
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On Tuesday Ron didn't even bother going to school. Like he had done so many times in the past he had convinced his parents that he was too sick to go to class. He felt the dark irony of knowing that Camille would be proud of his performance. This time he wasn't completely lying though. Since his chat with Camille the previous night he had been feeling physically ill. But he knew that it wasn't a disease affecting him, unless one could classify a broken heart as one. No, this feeling was one of stress and anxiety. All he knew was that he hurt inside, and that was good enough for him.
He had spent most of the day moping around his house watching bad daytime TV. The amazingly stupid soap operas only served to remind him of his own troubled relationships. His girlfriend had used him to help out Dr. Drakken. But worse, his trust in his best friend had been shattered. He now knew that what Kim had been saying about Camille was true. And because of this he no longer held a grudge against her about it. She was right, and he was wrong. It wouldn't be the first time in their long history together. It wouldn't even be the hundredth time. But none of that was a priority anymore.
He moved his hand to the back of his neck. He couldn't feel anything abnormal, but he assumed that's where it was. That… thing that she and Wade had put inside him. He wondered what else they had done to him without his knowledge. Part of him wondered if his paranoia was getting the better of him. Of course they wouldn't do anything to him. He and Kim had been best friends for the past twelve years. But then why had she and Wade put it in him in the first place?
All of this had put him in a bad place. He had sunk into a state of depression he had never felt in his young life. What was there to believe in anymore? He lived in a world where anyone was capable of betrayal, no matter how close they were to him or how genuine they seemed.
He had to get out. He had to do something. Sitting around at home with no distractions had turned out to be a disastrous choice. His mind had been purely focused on all of the bad things in his life rather than at least being busy with school work. But then again he wasn't so sure about what would happen once he did go to school. By now the entire school population must have known that Camille had "dumped him". It wasn't true, but that's what they would choose to believe. No one in their right mind would ever believe that Ron Stoppable had willingly dumped Camille Leon.
It was around three in the afternoon when he decided to go out. He would hang out a bit with Felix. He was the closest friend he had at the moment who hadn't betrayed him. Of course there was Monique too, but the two of them rarely hung out alone. Ron figured that an afternoon of video games with Felix would be just what he needed to take his mind off of the pain.
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"You okay Ron?"
Ron was snapped out of his daydream and saw the message on the screen. He had lost. Again. He didn't even remember playing. Looking to his right he saw Felix giving him a curious look. Ron sighed before responding.
"Honestly?"
"Honestly."
"Dude, I've never felt so bad in my life."
Felix frowned as he set down his controller.
"I'm almost afraid to ask. Does it have something to do with Camille?"
Ron merely nodded.
"Come up Ron. What's up?"
Ron sat in silence for several moments as he thought about what he was going to tell his friend. He took a deep breath before looking anywhere in the room but Felix.
"You know how Kim was saying that Camille was… well, evil and stuff?"
"Yeah."
"It's true. It's all true."
Felix nodded solemnly. Unlike Ron he had not turned a deaf ear to Kim's accusations. With no veil of love covering his eyes he soon saw the truth of what Camille really was.
"Yeah. I suspected it along with Kim and Monique. But after what happened with you and Kim, I didn't know how to approach you on it. I didn't want to make you think I was jealous too."
"I understand. I was a total jerk to Kim and Monique."
"Does that mean you forgive them?"
"For that, yes."
"What do you mean, for that? What else is there?"
"You haven't heard?"
Felix shook his head.
"They put a tracking chip in me."
"Wait, what?" Felix gasped.
Ron picked his controller back up and started a new game. Seeing this, Felix did as well. He figured that maybe it would be easier to talk about while playing a game of Zombie Mayhem.
"She and Wade put a chip inside me. Like I'm some kind of pet or something," he said angrily.
"And Kim told you that?"
"No. I found an anonymous note in my locker. When I asked her about it she admitted everything."
"Who put the note there?"
"I don't know and I don't care!"
Felix noticed that Ron was smashing the buttons on his controller angrily. Maybe talking about it while gaming wasn't helping after all.
"I didn't realize that the controller hurt you so bad," he commented.
Ron stopped playing and looked down at his hands and chuckled a bit. He was surprised by his reaction. It was the first time he had smiled all day.
"I know… I'm sorry man. I don't mean to be taking any of this out on you."
"No worries Ron."
"I'm just so angry. I'm mad at my best friend and my ex. You're the only person I have to turn to."
"Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering…" Felix smiled.
"Thanks Yoda, but I can do without the whole dark side speech."
"Fair enough. But in all seriousness you shouldn't stay mad at Kim. You have to at least try to talk to her."
"I know, I know…" he sighed. "I mean, I know I'm going to forgive her eventually. How could I not? We've been so close for so long, we have to get through something like this. It's like knowing that we're going to get somewhere, just not knowing how we're going to get there or how long it will take. Does that make any sense?"
"I get it. And that has to be a sucky feeling."
"It is. Part of me wants to make everything better right now. But how can I? How can I just go to her house and be like, 'Hey Kim I forgive you and Wade for putting a tracking chip inside me'. I don't. I really don't. I just feel so violated and betrayed."
"Perfectly understandable, dude. Wounds like those won't heal overnight. You need to take time to vent and be angry. Otherwise there will just be resentment underneath your friendship."
"You really are wise like Yoda," Ron laughed.
"I'm just glad to get a laugh out of you."
"Yeah… thanks man. I really needed to have this talk."
"No problem. We're bros. If you can't talk to me about girl issues I don't know who else you can."
"I know. So how bad was it at school today?"
"What do you mean?"
"Camille told everyone she dumped me, right?"
Felix gave him a confused look. He had no idea what Ron was talking about.
"Nope. No one said a thing about it."
"Really? I thought it would be at least kind of a big deal."
"I didn't hear anything. Monique didn't say anything either. And if anyone would know it's her."
Ron scratched his head and frowned. It didn't make sense.
"Weird. She said she was going to ruin my reputation because I didn't want to team up with her."
"Team up with her? I think you're leaving out a lot of details."
"Yeah. I guess I am."
"So come on. What happened last night between you two?"
Ron took a deep breath. He might as well share the rest of the story with Felix. Keeping it bottled up inside wouldn't do him any good. Maybe getting everything out in the open would actually help with his depression.
"Okay. It all started when I snuck into her house because of a bunch of stuff Monique said…"
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The day had thus far been surprisingly tame. Maybe Felix was right.
When Ron arrived at school on Wednesday he hadn't exactly known what to expect. He had played a number of different scenarios in his head over and over. In some he had merely ignored the taunts and jeers from other students, and in others he actually worked up the courage to fight back… both verbally and physically. He knew that there was almost no shot of him ever doing that though. Teen hero or not, he couldn't bring himself to be bad like that no matter how good it would feel. For a moment he wondered how capable of a fighter he could be if he ever understood the strange mystical power he had been blessed with.
But when he had walked through the doors it was as if nothing had taken place between Camille and him. Everyone acted normally around him. Normally as in they pretty much ignored him. It was better than the alternative though. He made sure to keep an open ear to those around him who just might be talking about an ugly break up.
Then there had been American history class. It was the first class of the day that he shared with Camille. He was already seated when she had walked in. She had paid zero attention to him. He returned the favor.
One down, two to go.
Ron had just taken his seat in the library as he always did during study hall. He was thankful that he had plenty of makeup work to do. He smiled at the thought. Never in his life would he have thought that he would be happy to be doing school work. But at least it helped keep his mind off of everything else in his life. It was then that he remembered that he had lunch after study hall. He didn't know what he was going to do. He couldn't sit at the cheerleader table anymore. That was Camille's territory now, seeing how Bonnie was still suspended. And he didn't know if he should sit with Kim, Felix and Monique. Sure, he didn't have an issue with two of the three. But as he and Felix had discussed the prior day, he wasn't ready to forgive Kim yet. In time he would, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it yet.
A familiar face took a seat across from him. For a fraction of a second he thought about greeting his friend warmly. But then he remembered the truth.
"Hey Ron," Jill smiled.
"Camille," he said coldly.
She giggled at his reaction to seeing her.
"That didn't sound too nice."
"What did you expect? Did you think everything would be okay with us? Or rather with your little alter ego?"
"There's no reason for the attitude, Ron."
"What do you want?"
Camille looked up to the top of one of the book shelves sitting around them before looking back at him.
"I was just wondering if you could help me get a book from up there. I'm too short."
Ron let out a small, cynical laugh.
"Cute. That's how I first met Jill."
"Yeah… good times."
"For you maybe."
"You're saying you didn't have fun?"
"If you call fun being manipulated and taken advantage of by you, then oh yes. I had loads of fun," he said sarcastically.
"Who says all of that was me playing you?"
"Every word you said was working toward breaking up Kim and me. You admitted it yourself."
Camille gave a slight nod of her head acknowledging his point.
"Fair enough. But in all honesty, it wasn't all fake."
"Okay then. Tell me something that was real."
Camille looked off into the distance in thought. After a few seconds she returned her attention to him.
"Do you remember what I told you that night in the car after Bonnie's party?"
Ron's serious expression changed as he thought about it. He had so many pleasant memories of that night. He felt horrible knowing that they were all tainted.
"You said a lot of things that night. What are you referring to?"
"Do you remember what I said about being rich?"
"You mean that nothing in your life is real? That all of your friends just like you for your money?"
"You got it."
Ron laughed. It was a dark, mocking laugh that he couldn't ever remember hearing before this moment.
Camille's eyes narrowed in anger. What could he possibly be laughing at?
"What's so funny?" she growled softly.
"Nothing in your life is real? You're totally right about that. After what you pulled with me it's no wonder you don't have any friends who like you for you."
"You don't know anything about me."
"Right again Camille," he said as he continued to laugh. "How can I know anything about you when everything you've told me is a lie? How can I know the real you when you hide behind all your fake faces and personalities?"
"I do what I do for a reason."
"And then to top it all off you completely screw everything up with me, the one person who honestly did like you for you."
"You liked what I did and you know it."
All traces of humor left Ron's face when she uttered those words.
"What are you talking about?"
"Being with me improved your life in more ways than you want to admit."
"Go ahead. Explain."
"I remember the first time we officially met. You were at your locker all worried about getting beaten to a pulp by Big Mike. You were such a coward back then. It was sickening."
The insult got his blood flowing. His anger was evident on his face but he didn't say a word. Instead he just continued to listen.
"It was me who told you to stand up for yourself. Tell me Ron, what did it feel like to be a man for once? What did it feel like to not let yourself be bullied by people who aren't half as smart and capable as you are?"
He considered her words quietly before speaking up to counter her argument.
"That only worked because Mr. Barkin came and caught him right before he broke my nose," he pointed out.
"Yeah. Kind of convenient for him to show up right then and there, wasn't it?"
Ron's expression changed to one of shock. It was another piece of the puzzle.
"That was you?" he gasped.
"I told you I'm a great actress. By the way, boy's bathrooms are so dirty. What do you people do in there?"
He didn't bother answering such a pointless question. He chose to stay on topic.
"So I have you to thank for never having to worry about Big Mike again."
"Not just me. You were the one who actually had the courage to stand up to him. Courage provided by me, but still. You made it happen."
"I guess you're expecting a thank you?"
"No, Ron. The only thing I expect from you is to realize the truth."
"The truth is hard to come by when you're involved."
Camille grinned at the intended insult. He was playing right into her hands once again.
"The truth is that I made you stronger. I made you better."
"How so?"
"Think about it. How many times in the past couple of weeks have you done things, said things, that you never would have done before we met?"
He didn't really know what she was getting at. He chose to sit there silently as she continued.
"You stood up to Big Mike. You defended me against Bonnie. You wouldn't sit there and let people insult me, like that guy outside the movie theater last Saturday. Face it Ron, you got mad. You broke out of your comfort zone and acted like a man. And you did it all for me. In fact you're standing up to me right at this very moment."
"That's… not true. I stand up for myself all the time."
It was Camille's turn to laugh. He looked at her curiously.
"Yeah. Like how you stood up to your little cousin Shawn? Or those idiots in D hall? Or Bonnie? Come on, you know that you've been a victim all your life. Didn't it feel nice to be on top of the food chain while we were dating?"
He hated to admit it, but she was right. He hadn't ever stood up for himself. Sure, he had used the attitudinator on Shawn to make him nice. But once his parents found out they made him turn Shawn back to normal. And then it was back to business as usual. As for the others, Bonnie, Big Mike, the other assorted bullies… he had never stood up to them before. He had just taken whatever they had thrown at him. He mostly counted on Kim to defend him against them. He remembered how it was Camille who had convinced him to not rely on Kim.
"Whatever," he sighed in defeat. "What's your point?"
"My point is that I didn't do what I did out of cruelty."
"Really? It all seems pretty cruel to me."
She shook her head sadly. He didn't know whether it was out of pity or actual sorrow.
"I had to do this. I had to tear you down so I could build you back up. I had to separate you from Kim because she's holding you back. She makes you weak," she said before pausing. Her expression softened as she continued speaking. "You're feeling alone, confused, betrayed… broken. I get it. You're hurt. But it had to be done. I'm going to be honest with you. I had to break you free of your pathetic existence in order to make you realize your true potential."
"Right… my potential. You still think that I would ever work with you?"
"And why not? My offer still stands. Didn't it feel good seeing Brick get dumped and humiliated by Bonnie? Didn't it feel good to know that Bonnie got suspended? Or that Big Mike got all that detention? Who do you think is responsible for all that?"
"You…" he sighed.
"Yeah, me. Like it or not I did dispense karma on them. I made your enemies suffer. I did it all for you. I had to make you believe in it, to make you believe in yourself, to make you believe in me. Now tell me the truth, do you really wish that none of that stuff happened to them?"
He didn't. He honestly didn't. He enjoyed the fact that those three got what was coming to them. No matter how selfish or cruel the thought was, he felt no pity for them. Despite the fact that Bonnie was innocent, or that Brick had been drunk thanks to Camille, he thought that they deserved it. They had done so many horrible things to so many people, himself included. To finally see some retribution made him feel like justice was being carried out.
"Yeah? So what? They got what they deserved. That doesn't make me anything like you."
"No, you're nothing like me…" she grinned. "And that would be one of the best parts of our partnership."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She had two answers in mind for him. But she chose to go with the safe route. It would be the truth, just not the whole truth.
"Ever hear of Socrates?"
"Is he the guy who did all those peaceful protests in India?"
She was at a loss for words. Was he actually being serious? One look at his face told her that he was.
"No… he was an ancient Greek philosopher."
"Oh see, that's my problem. I'm taking Latin. Now if I was taking Greek then maybe-"
"Ron! Focus!"
Her raised voice earned them a dirty glare from Ms. Hatchet. She began speaking softer.
"Here's the abridged version. He was sentenced to death for corrupting the minds of the youth with his ideas. But really he was the smartest guy there."
"Okay, what does this have to do with me?"
"Being my partner might seem like I'm… corrupting you. It definitely will to Kim. But in reality I will be making you a better and stronger person. I can make you powerful. I can make sure that no one ever messes with you again. And together we could have anything we want."
"I already told you that I'm not interested," he said coldly.
"So you're just going to let yourself be pushed around all your life?"
"No. I can change on my own. I don't need you for that."
"Yeah right. If it wasn't for me you would still be paying off bullies every day so that you won't get your ass kicked."
Ron just looked down at the table. He didn't want to agree with that, but the more he thought about it the more he realized that it was true. Then another thought came to him.
"Did you tell people you dumped me?" he wondered.
"No. I didn't," she admitted.
"Why not?"
She considered what she should say. Of course she could be honest and tell him that it would be much easier to get him back on her side by not telling people that they had broken up. Hurting him would only make things worse. If he was back on the lowest social level in the school it would only increase the chances of him having to rely on Kim's friendship. If the status quo remained he would at least be somewhat popular, especially amongst the cheerleaders.
"I had some time to think about it. It wasn't the right thing to do," she said truthfully.
"So as far as people are concerned we're still dating?"
"Yup."
"What if I just tell people that we broke up?"
"Really? Do you want to be back on the bottom of the food chain? Do you want to get picked on again?"
"And if I tell them I dumped you? Wouldn't that put you at the bottom, being dumped by someone like me?"
She smirked at his bravery.
"Do you honestly think they'll believe you? All I have to do is say you're lying and that I just didn't want to ruin your rep by spreading the word that I dumped you. There's no way anyone in this school would believe that you dumped me."
"Kim will," he said defiantly.
"Oh right. How is tracking chip girl?"
"I don't know. I haven't talked to her in days."
"She's just another person who walked all over you because you could never stand up for yourself."
This was yet another statement that made Ron's anger grow.
"Don't you ever say something like that about her," he growled. "Kim's not like that. She's not like you."
"No, you're right. I'm much better than her. One perfect day you'll see it too."
He didn't feel like arguing anymore. He just wanted to be done with this.
"Have you said what you wanted to say? Are we done with this conversation?"
Camille exhaled loudly. He was tougher than she had thought he would be.
"Yeah. We're done here."
She stood up and walked over to the other side of the library. After she sat down she closed her eyes and thought about everything they had talked about. She had been foolish to admit something truthful about herself. He had thrown it right back in her face. More than that, he was fighting so furiously against her arguments and proposals. What had started as a fun little game had turned into an obsession. She had make him realize his potential. She had to break him.
She knew that she would have another shot with him today at cheer practice. And she had already assured that she would have him alone there with no interference from a certain redhead.
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Kim was on her way to the girl's locker room after school. It had been another long day. Ron had come to school, but had not spoken with her. She had not even approached him to talk. If he needed space she would give it to him. But it pained her so much to be without his presence at lunch. She didn't know where he had gone to eat, only that he hadn't been in the cafeteria.
As she walked down the hall she saw the hulking form of Mr. Barkin approaching her. His eyes were set on her as the two neared each other.
"Possible," he called out.
She stopped in her tracks at the sound of his voice. He didn't sound happy. Then again he never did.
"Yes Mr. Barkin?"
"Where do you think you're going?"
"Cheer practice."
"Have you forgotten that you have detention today?"
The confused look on Kim's face would have spoken for itself. But it didn't stop her from asking what he was talking about.
"Detention? Why do I have detention?"
"You know what you did. Today before fourth period you were running down the halls and you ran right into me. Running in the halls earns you a day of detention."
"What are you talking about? I never did-"
A cold realization hit her. Of course he had run into her today. The school had a student who could pose as anyone. Camille had already done it with Bonnie. And now she had turned her attention back to Kim.
There was no way Mr. Barkin would ever believe the truth. Kim could protest all she wanted and tell him that it was really Camille. He would laugh at the story and probably just give her more detention in addition to a call to the local mental hospital. She would have to serve her time today. Afterward she would deal with Camille.
She admitted defeat.
"Yes Mr. Barkin."
"Good," he said before looking up to one of the clocks. "You've got five minutes to be there or else you're late. And being late to detention gets you another day tomorrow."
He walked off toward the detention room with Kim standing there in silence.
She felt her teeth grind as she turned around and followed him. She didn't know why Camille had chosen to give her detention today. All she knew is that it couldn't be good.
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Ron stepped out of the boy's locker room and into the gymnasium in his Mad Dog attire. The mats were on the floor and the cheerleaders had assembled. His fake canine head was underneath his arm as he made his way toward the bleachers. He looked around for the two people that he didn't particularly feel like talking to. He only spotted one.
Scanning the room again he saw no sign of Kim. But Camille was there chatting with the other girls. He approached them and overheard the middle of the conversation.
"So I was all like, you call those imported? Yeah, maybe they're imported from sweatshop in West Korea or something," Camille said to a few of the cheerleaders. "As if I'm going to buy your cheap little knockoffs."
"So what did the clerk say?" Jessica wondered.
Camille scoffed at the question.
"Like I remember anything that ugly chick said," she laughed. "I mean her outfit was like, so last season. Why would I ever pay attention to anything she said? I just walked out."
The girls gathered around her laughed at the story. Ron didn't get it. He figured he wasn't supposed to.
He was amazed at how she was acting. To them, in fact to pretty much the entire world, she was just some dumb, shallow bimbo. She was a stereotypical blonde. If only they knew the truth of who she really was and what she was capable of.
He decided that he didn't want to draw too much attention from her. He took Tara aside and spoke softly to her.
"Do you know where Kim is?" he asked.
"Oh she got detention earlier. I don't remember why, but she won't be here today."
"So who's leading practice?"
"I am. Seeing how Kim and Bonnie are both gone I have seniority."
"Ah. Well that's good for you I guess, even if the circumstances aren't the best."
She smiled and nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, I don't really like why I'm in charge today. But I would be lying if I said that it wasn't cool to be leading the girls for once."
She took a few steps away from Ron and turned to the other cheerleaders.
"Okay everyone, let's get started!" she said happily. "Everyone take a few minutes to stretch out before we get to the routines."
The girls began spreading out to do their regular stretches. Ron noticed that Camille had turned her back to him and was bending over to touch her fingers to her toes. The view was obviously one that she wanted him to see.
Despite nearly every brain cell he had telling him to keep looking, he forced himself to turn away. He wandered over to another section of the mats to do his own stretches. He had barely even begun before he heard Camille's voice call out to him.
"Hey Ron, can you help me stretch out my hamstrings?" she asked sweetly.
He looked up and stared at her for a moment. She was sitting down on the floor with her long, smooth legs extended in front of her. He noticed that a couple of the other girls were looking at him, waiting for him to go over there. As far as they were concerned the two of them were still together.
"It's okay Ron, some stretches are better with a second person helping out," Tara said reassuringly.
He hesitated before he walked over to his ex girlfriend and knelt down beside her. She laid down flat on the mats and looked over at him.
"Kay, I need you to lift and bend my leg, and push my knee back up against my body," she told him.
He did as he was instructed and grabbed her leg. As he pressed it against her stomach a soft moan escaped her lips.
"That feels good," she said gently.
He held it there for a few seconds before doing the same with her other leg.
"Why are you doing this?" he whispered.
"Because I don't want to cramp up or pull something during the routine."
"You know what I mean. Why are you putting me in this position?"
"Oh, I could have sworn you were attracted to girls," she joked.
He sighed and shook his head as they completed the stretch.
"I am. I'm just not too attracted to you at the moment."
"You don't think I'm hot?"
"Of course I do. I think any guy in the world would call you attractive. Stop playing games. You know what you did to me."
"And I already told you why I did it."
"I'm not interested in another argument. Especially in front of them."
He stood and walked away.
Camille sat up and watched him move to a different section of the mats. She continued doing her other stretches with the rest of the group. The way he acted was so confusing to her. Was he really that dedicated to his whole hero act? Any other guy would have taken up her original offer in an instant. She even explained to him why she had done what she did. He still seemed to hate her for it. She would have to think of another way to make him fall for her.
XXXXXXXXXX
Camille was carefully reapplying her eyeliner, not that she truly needed it. But such touchups to her makeup had become a daily necessity. Years of being in the public spotlight taught her that she always had to look her best no matter where she was. She never knew what would come up in an instant and who would be there to take pictures of her. Therefore one had to look beautiful at all times.
She set the small cosmetic pencil down and examined her work. It was perfect. She demanded nothing less than perfection. She had learned that trait from her parents. And Ron was a blemish on that perfection.
She sighed as she continued to stare into her bathroom mirror. Why was he so difficult? It was really beginning to frustrate her. She had always gotten what she wanted in her life. It wasn't just that she had been wealthy growing up, she was good at getting people to do what she desired. Whether it was by using a compelling argument or her own feminine wiles, the word "no" held no meaning to her. And if by some chance somebody did manage to not cave into her demands, she worked to break them. Sometimes it got a bit ugly, but she always wound up getting what she wanted. Until now.
She opened up a small container of eye shadow and gently dipped the small brush into it. Before she could apply it she noticed that her appearance had changed. A girl with brown hair and teal eyes looked at her from the mirror.
"You're pathetic," Bonnie's face told her.
Her face was a mask of confusion as she looked at herself in the mirror. Bonnie mimicked her own expression, but it didn't stop her from speaking.
"What's wrong Camille? Getting all upset because you can't play that loser like you can everyone else?"
"I'm not upset," she said defensively.
She watched in horror as her appearance changed again. Her hair turned red and her eyes became a purer green color.
"As if Ron would ever want to be with someone like you," Kim's face sneered. "Now that he knows the real you it's hopeless. Give up while you still have some dignity."
Camille shook her head violently to try to regain control of her own thoughts and actions. She was pleased to see her familiar blonde hair and blue eyes in the mirror again.
"Freaky…" she said as she looked back down to her makeup.
She was about to start applying the blue eye shadow to her face when she noticed that Jill's face was now the one looking at her.
"You know it's not your fault that you turned out the way you did," she said kindly. "Your mom and dad didn't know how to raise a kid. They only did what they thought was best for you."
In the blink of an eye she had changed once more.
"Yeah. They really screwed you up good, didn't they?" Bonnie laughed. "Poor little socially awkward Camille never had any friends growing up. That's what you get for being isolated from all the other kids when you were homeschooled. Your parents thought the other kids were beneath you. You really took that idea to heart, didn't you? That's why you look at everyone else like a toy to be played with."
Memories flooded into Camille's mind as she closed her eyes tightly. Thoughts of being tutored at home by expensive, snobby teachers came back to her. They, like her parents, wouldn't settle for anything less than perfect. No daughter of theirs would grow up to be stupid. No daughter of theirs could stain the family name by growing up to be a failure. She had to study. She had to live up to their expectations. And the inferior common rabble of society would soil her mind if she got to associate with them too often.
"It's not your fault," Jill repeated. "You had to create us to keep yourself from going insane. Imaginary friends are better than no friends at all."
She heard mocking laughter as she opened her eyes and saw Bonnie's face again.
"Face it Camille. You're already insane. Look at yourself. You're talking to yourself in a mirror while you use your freaky powers to change your face. You're a total nutcase."
"I'm not crazy, I'm just lonely," Camille said weakly.
"Exactly," Jill agreed. "You live in this house all by yourself. You've been alone your entire life. It's all you know."
"And you did a great job of pushing away your first true friend," Kim said. "You don't deserve a great guy like Ron in your life. He hangs out with people like me who are actually worth the effort."
"Shut up. You don't know anything."
"Don't know anything?" Kim laughed. "I'm you! I know everything about you. We all do. But you don't seem to realize that you've created so many characters and personalities in your life that you don't even know who you are anymore."
"You know who you are, and so do Kim and Ron," Bonnie said. "To them you're just a bitch… like me."
"That's not true," Jill protested. "She's a sweet girl who likes Shakespeare. Remember when you were young how you fell in love with Iago's character? That's what got you hooked on Shakespeare. It's not your fault that your parents were so distant and you had to find a way to escape from a lonely life."
"They had important things to do," Camille agreed. "Dad had a business to run."
"Yeah I remember," Bonnie said. "Your dad was always off on some business trip, probably with some classy whore to keep him company. I remember the thing that hurt the most was that while he always remembered to send you a car or some jewelry for your birthday, he never once remembered to send a birthday card. That little personal touch was always missing. I bet he never even remembered your birthday and that it was just his secretary doing it for him."
Camille gave up on trying to put on her makeup. She stuffed everything in her purse before looking back up into the mirror.
"So what did you do?" Bonnie continued. "You became bitter. You closed yourself off from ever getting hurt again. You decided that you didn't need anyone in your life to be happy. You decided to believe that the world existed purely for your own enjoyment. You were rich and privileged, so why not? That's why you got the surgery. So you could always get your way, so that no one could ever deprive you of what you needed. You did it so you could manipulate anyone you wanted, so you could finally have the control over your life that you so desperately craved."
"And now I know everything you've done," Kim smiled. "You know it's only a matter of time until I bring you down. I can do anything after all."
"No. No one's going to stop me once I get Ron on my side. I've seen what he can do. No one will ever be able to hurt me again."
"You're so hung up on that boy and his so called 'potential'," Bonnie smirked. "You know exactly why you didn't answer his question the other night. You didn't want to make yourself vulnerable in case he still rejected you. And you really hate being vulnerable, don't you? Everything always has to be on your terms. You keep people at a distance so you can control them. You do it so you can't get hurt."
Camille noticed her eyes glistening as she morphed back into Kim.
"Face it Camille. No one will ever love a screwed up girl like you. Your fake relationship with Ron is the closest thing you'll ever have to a real one. You're a sociopath."
"Shut up Kim!" she screamed.
"Still crazy I see," she laughed. "You don't even know who you are anymore."
"Shut up!"
Camille lashed out and punched the laughing redhead in the mirror. The glass cracked on contact, and she immediately pulled her hand back in pain. Looking down at it she saw blood flowing out of a deep gash on one of her fingers. She gritted her teeth in pain as she immediately turned on the faucet and held it under warm water. Red-tinted water flowed down the drain as she stood there breathing heavily. She closed her eyes tightly as she felt the throbbing pain in her hand.
Her newly applied eyeliner was running down her cheeks with a few scattered tears that had escaped from her eyes. All of her work had been ruined, much like all of her work on Ron had been.
It had been a long time since she had talked to herself like that. What had started out as a way to escape the dull reality of her life as a child had soon taken on a life of its own. Her lack of a social life as a child, her lack of friends, had forced her to create imaginary ones. Sometimes they were based on the Shakespearean characters that she loved to read about in her studies. Sometimes they were mimicking people she saw on TV. She didn't know any better back then, it was a way to conquer the loneliness.
It was why she had created her false persona of being a spoiled, ignorant celebrity. It was a way to escape her past. Her parents had been furious when they first saw her acting this way on TV. Their perfectly groomed daughter had become a celebrity icon for stupidity and shallowness. They had disowned her because of it. She was left with only the money in her bank account and her trust fund. She figured that it was good enough as long as she was free from the life they were forcing her to live. That was until the Seniors struck.
She wasn't able to access her trust fund until she was twenty two, which was still four years away. All of the money from that was stored at the Billionaire's Club. It, along with much of her family's fortune had been wiped out. It left her with precious little funds to support her future extravagant lifestyle. But more so than that, no matter how much she resented her parents, no one screwed with the Leon family. She had made it her mission in life to avenge her family and herself against the Seniors. So far things had gone decently, but she had not yet begun to make the billionaire villains suffer how she had envisioned.
After cleaning her wound she bandaged it the best she could. There was still blood seeping out of it coloring the gauze red. She only hoped that it would feel good enough for sectionals on Friday.
But right now she had a job to do. She had received a call from Shego offering her a new job. It paid even better than the original one from Dr. Drakken. How or why Shego was doing this she didn't know. But it was money. Money that she desperately needed if she wanted to continue to live in this house and ensure that her own plans were successful.
XXXXXXXXXX
Kim was sitting in her living room working on a Latin assignment when she heard the doorbell ring. She looked up and realized that she was the closest to the door. Grunting as she stood up she made her way to the front door to see who it was. She was surprised by who she saw.
"Ron?" she asked.
"Hey Kim…" he said weakly.
She was thrilled yet terrified. Did this mean he wasn't mad at her anymore? Or could it be something worse? Did he come here to formally end their friendship? As she thought about the exciting and horrifying possibilities she didn't even realize that he was still standing out there waiting for something to happen. He finally spoke again.
"Can I come in?"
"Yes!" she said a bit too excitedly. "I mean yes. Of course you can."
She stepped back and gestured for him to enter. He did so and the two walked back to her living room. They didn't bother sitting down, and just stood uncomfortably looking down at the floor.
"Kim, I don't even know how to begin saying what I'm about to say," he said sadly.
"It's okay, Ron. Remember it's me you're talking to. You can tell me anything."
He nodded before looking at her face.
"You were right. You were right about Camille, about everything. She played me."
Kim felt a mix of emotions. On one hand she was overjoyed that her best friend had finally learned the truth about Camille. The healing process could truly begin now. Maybe they would be okay after all.
But on the other hand it hurt her to see him in so much pain. She had never wanted it to come to this, even though she knew that it had to. The only way he could break free of Camille's grip on him was to learn who she really was. And that meant the heartbreak of losing his first girlfriend. More than just losing her though, learning that she had never even cared for him in the first place. It was a truly awful feeling.
"Ron… I'm so sorry. I know how hurt you must be feeling right now. But you have to remember that it's for the best."
He chewed on his bottom lip after hearing this.
"Yeah. I know. It just… well it sucks. I know that's a pretty simple way to describe it, but I can't think of another way to say it right now."
She knew what he meant. At least in theory. She had never experienced an ugly breakup herself. But she had seen enough episodes of Agony County to know how much pain a broken heart caused. She was determined to be there for him through it all.
"I know it hurts right now, but it will get better. We'll get through this together. I'm your best friend and I don't want you to forget that."
He nodded once more. It was then that Kim felt like it was her turn to apologize.
"I owe you an apology too, Ron," she said softly.
His eyes looked back down at the floor. He knew what was coming next.
"Ron, I'm so sorry about the tracking chip. Wade installed it like a year ago and I didn't even know about it until afterward. I should have told you right away. But I didn't. And I should have told you when you asked how I found you. But I didn't… I was so stupid. I was scared of how you would react. And it only made things worse."
A small, warm expression formed on his face when he heard her genuine words. He looked back up at her.
"I forgive you," he smiled.
Kim fought to hold back tears of joy. It was over. After all of the angst and sorrow, it was finally over. She had her best friend back. And she was determined to ensure that nothing would ever separate them like this again.
"Thank you Ron…" she whispered as she pulled him into a tight hug.
He returned the embrace for a few seconds before they pulled apart. Both of them were smiling.
"So where do we go from here?" she wondered.
"I don't know. But I heard from Wade that you got a souvenir from your trip to Australia."
"Oh right. The monkey head thing."
"Yeah, that's the one," he confirmed. "I wanna see the monkey head."
She started to walk to her room to retrieve it when a thought struck her. He wanted to see the monkey head? Why would he ever want to see something that had to do with monkeys?
She turned around and looked at him. There was nothing abnormal about his body other than the small bandage on his hand. But then she looked into his eyes. She hadn't had enough courage to look into them for too long when they were apologizing. She was simply too scared to make eye contact with the person she thought hated her. As she looked into them she realized that something was wrong. These were not the deep pools of love and kindness that she had come to know over their years of friendship. They were thinner, and looked almost… cunning… malevolent.
She looked at him fearfully, and it did not go unnoticed by him.
"Kim?" he asked. "What's wrong?"
"Ron… what do you call a person who refuses to shop at Smartymart?"
He thought about it for a moment before answering.
"I don't know. Sounds kind of smart to me. No risk of buying a cheap knockoff."
Almost as soon as he had finished speaking he felt a fist slam into his jaw. He was knocked to the floor with Kim pressing a knee down on his chest.
"Kim!" he shouted. "What are you doing?"
"I told you how personal you've made things with me!" Kim roared. "But you didn't listen! You've just made the biggest mistake of your life!"
"Kim what the heck! Get off of me!"
She sent another fist into Ron's face. He cried out in pain as he felt the pressure on his chest increasing.
"Shut up Camille! You have no idea how much you've hurt Ron and how much you've hurt me! Do you think this is a game? Do you think I'm going to sit back and watch you ruin our lives? If so you couldn't be more wrong. What you did just now is take this to the next level. You don't know what I'm capable of when I'm pushed over the edge."
She took her knee off of his chest for a moment and he tried to scramble to his feet. He received another punch to the face for his efforts.
"You have serious issues, Camille," she growled. "I don't know what happened to you as a kid, but you're messed up."
Ron's face erupted in anger at her words.
"I'm not crazy!" he screamed.
For a moment Kim was stunned by the response she received. It didn't matter though, she wasn't about to let him break free of her hold. But she couldn't stop others from intervening.
Drawn to the room by the screaming, Anne gasped in horror as she saw her daughter assaulting her best friend. She rushed over to the two teens and pried Kim off of him.
"Kim what are you doing!" she shrieked.
The battered body of Ron stood from the floor and rushed out of the room and through the front door.
Meanwhile Kim continued to struggle in her mother's grasp. She had to get free and pursue him.
"Let go of me mom! That's not Ron!" she yelled. "That's not Ron!"
But it was too late. By the time she was finally able to escape Ron was long gone. Kim stood in the doorway with her fists clenched and tears streaming down her face. It had all been a lie. There was no forgiveness. Everything was the same. No, not the same. Everything was a lot worse now.
She stormed past her mother and fled upstairs to her room. She didn't know what to do. All she knew is that she wanted to be alone.
XXXXXXXXXX
Ron entered his dark bedroom as he began preparing to go to sleep. All in all it had been a bad day. He learned more about his fake relationship with Camille. He learned about how all of the things he had accomplished over the past two weeks had been because of her manipulation. He had two options. He could either admit that he had not changed at all because none of the experiences had been real. Or he could admit that he had changed for the better, and it was because of her. Both choices were sickening. He didn't want to consider either.
He closed his door and flipped the light switch on his wall. When he turned around his heart skipped a beat. There was someone else in his room.
"Shego?" he said with a confused expression.
"Hello Stoppable."
He stood there dumbfounded as he continued to stare at her. He stupidly asked the only thing that came to his mind.
"Why are you wearing a cape?"
She didn't answer, and instead sent a hard fist into his face that sent him falling over on his bed. He looked up and saw that she had picked an object off of the ground. It sent feelings of horror coursing through his body.
She roughly forced a helmet onto his head before he began convulsing violently. It only took a few seconds for a small glass bulb to be filled with blue light.
When the attitudinator was finished with its work he slumped backwards onto his bed. The Supreme One removed it from his head and stood there for a moment while Ron regained his senses.
"What… happened?" he asked woozily.
He received his answer in the form of a second punch to the face. This one knocked him out cold as he again fell back onto his bed.
"Sleep it off, sidekick," she snickered. "You have a busy day ahead of you. Try to play nice with your classmates. Especially Kimmie."
She ignited her hands and broke the attitudinator into a thousand small pieces that scattered onto his floor. There was no point in keeping it around now that its job was done. And since the device was taken off the market after the debacle at the Super Villain Trade Show and Convention, there was no chance of a quick fix for the newest distraction in Kim's life. Luckily she had been able to purchase one before the buffoon had been turned evil the first time.
The Supreme One leapt out of his window, leaving behind only charred bits of plastic and metal, as well as two glass bulbs as the only evidence of what had just occurred.