Dear potential reader:

I do not own Kim Possible, nor any of the other characters appearing in this story. This story is not intended to generate profit; it was written for the joy of writing and, hopefully, your enjoyment in reading.

The places and people depicted in this tale are fictional. Any resemblance to any existing people, city, schools or other institutions is completely coincidental. If anyone reading this tale sees and is offended by a similarity, please contact the author and alterations will be made. Now the the preliminaries have been dealt with, please enjoy...

Prologue: Camp Gottagrin.

Fingernails on chalkboards were more relaxing. Her cousin Larry's nasal laughter was more relaxing. Kim Possible had suffered through more than her share of unpleasant noises in her life, but she hadn't had to try and sleep through them. Bonnie's all-night snoring was the sort of thing that even Shego wouldn't try to inflict on someone. Kim removed her pillow from where she had wrapped it around her head in a vain effort to drown out the racket and looked around the cabin, hoping for a sympathetic look from Tara or Hope, the other two girls in the cabin. No luck.

Tara was wearing ear buds and had her phone set to play music. Hope was wearing big, ugly earmuffs. Unfortunately, this wasn't something that Kim could do. Maybe it was her alpha personality, maybe her life as a heroine meant that she couldn't stand the idea of not being aware of her surroundings. Even while asleep, she wanted to be able to react to things around her. The logic was brutal and unavoidable; she wasn't going to be able to sleep in the same room as Bonnie.

Of course, logic also gave her a way out. She couldn't sleep here and she needed to sleep, therefore, she had to go somewhere else. She pulled on her robe, grabbed her pillow and blanket, and slipped out of the cabin. Looking over the moonlit camp, her gaze fixed on the boathouse. She realized that this was probably the only building in the camp that would be unoccupied through the night and early morning. Maybe she could pile up some life jackets to make a bed and get a little sleep. It was as good a plan as she could think of, so she set her course in that direction, while setting an alarm on her Kimmunicator to wake her up in enough time to slip back to the cabin before she was missed.

She was frustrated; the week had started with such promise: The squad was ready and even Ron had the respect of the other mascots. They were in the top position before Bonnie started her petty demands and Ron developed his ridiculous infatuation with Gil. Now, the team's cohesion was just about nil, she was tired and cranky and Ron was almost to the point that he didn't dare show his face without facing a deluge of scorn and hurled debris.

The cool air seemed to calm her, so she walked past the boathouse and onto the dock. There must have been a touch of wind, not enough for her to feel but enough to give the surface of the lake a bit of a ripple, making the moon's reflection break into a million sparkling points. Enthralled by the sight, she didn't spot the boy on the dock until he spotted her.

"Oh, excuse me!" They both said, trying to keep their voices down, instant co-conspirators who were out of their cabins after dark, and thus doing something they shouldn't be doing.

"I guess I should ask what brings you here," the boy told her. "But I think you should be asking me the same thing."

Even though the light was dim, she noted that his smile was very bright.

"I have a cabin-mate that loves challenges," she sighed. "She's challenging me for the captain spot, she's challenging everyone to be on the top of the pyramid. Right now, she's challenging any chainsaw to a noise-making contest."

He snorted, and she noted that he was very cute.

"So, now that I've told you my story, what brings you out here after dark?"

"A couple of my cabin-mates have decided that being out in a forest, by a beautiful lake and surrounded by pretty girls isn't good enough," he told her. "They decided to alter their perception of reality and the products of combustion from this process make me feel a little ill. I'm out in the fresh air, waiting for them to get done, so I can go back and open the windows, then wait until the cabin airs out a little."

She nodded her understanding. Whenever a large group of high school students got together, it seemed that a few of them would sneak something along.

"Oh, maybe I didn't get out of the cabin in time," he noted. "Where are my manners? My name is Chase Ziemlich, I'm from Central High in Southville."

"Nice to meet you," Kim offered her hand, which he took and shook. She noted that his hand was warm and strong, even though he didn't squeeze hers. He loosened his grip so that she could remove her hand, which she did so reluctantly. "I'm...I mean...I'm..."

"You don't need to introduce yourself," he assured her. "Everyone knows Kim Possible from Middleton High. Instead of telling me your name, maybe you could answer a couple of questions."

"Sure," she decided that it was more pleasant to talk to a cute boy than try to sleep in the boathouse.

"What's wrong with your mascot?"

"Oh, Ron can't seem to let go of the past," she told him.

"The past?" He asked. "He has some sort of a past with that other mascot...Gill?"

"Gil," Kim corrected him. "Or, at least it is now. The last time we saw him, it was Gill, with two l's, and he was a mutant."

Chase was silent for a couple of breaths. "I don't want to act like you're messing with me," he finally told her. "But that's some story."

"It sounds far-fetched, I know," Kim admitted. "But it was right here and Gill was out for revenge against Ron for something way back during elementary school summer camp. Ron got the best of him but can't seem to grasp the fact that he's rehabilitated, or that the lake is cleaned up."

"Okay," his expression showed that he was trying to decide if she was feeding him a story or not. "Maybe he has a reason, but he's taken it too far. Maybe I shouldn't have chucked that plum at him."

Kim frowned momentarily. "I guess everyone else was doing it," she said. "Please, just don't do it any more. Do me a favor? Try to spread the word that he has his reasons, even if he's overreacting."

"Sure thing," he smiled. "But you owe me another answer in return."

"Okay," Kim liked the idea of standing in the moonlight with him, trading small favors.

"Is your coach always like that, or his he putting on some sort of act?"

"No, Mr. Barkin is pretty much like that twenty-four seven," she smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Really?" Chase looked stunned. "Our coach, Mr. Bight, is the same way! He acts like every competition, every class is some sort of military operation and the fate of the world rides on it."

"Don't tell me he's the assistant principal and the substitute teacher for every class in the school," she groaned.

Chase's expression gave her the answer.

"I can't believe it!" She reached out and squeezed his shoulder. "I guess all Mr. B's are the same!"

"You must see a lot of that," he told her.

"A lot of what?" She asked.

"Everything!" He answered. "You travel all over the world...do you care to share some stories?"

"Are you sure you want to listen?"

"Hey, being out in the moonlight with a pretty girl is a lot better than sitting in a cloud of pot smoke."

"Okay, but let me know if you start to get bored."

Kim started telling him about the missions, the criminals she fought, the volunteering she did and the people she helped. Every once in awhile, he would make a witty comment that would leave her laughing. He told a few stories of silly things that happened at his school and in his town, making her laugh even more. Occasionally, one would reach out and squeeze the other's hand or shoulder. Without realizing it, they slid closer and closer together.

Soon, he was asking her about how she felt on the missions, what made her happy and what irritated her. Soon, she was talking about what made her feel good about herself. He asked her about how being a heroine affected her life and if she sometimes asked herself if it was worth it. She found herself unwinding, talking about herself and the things that made her happy. She also noted that he was a little taller than she was, the height that she found the most appealing.

"So, while the rest of the school was dancing to a popular band, back in Middleton, I wound up dancing with a naked mole rat in New York City," she finished her latest story.

He chuckled a little bit, then tilted his head. "I can't believe that you didn't have a date for the dance," he commented.

"Well, I was awfully busy," she admitted. "That's why I put those shoes on in the first place."

"Yeah, but look at you. You're gorgeous, smart, witty and kind."

"Well, I guess I'm not all...that...much...of..." she stammered to a halt, realizing just how close together they were and that as much as it was disconcerting, it was far from unpleasant.

His face came down to hers and she rose to meet him. His arms around her felt perfect, as did his neck within hers. When his tongue brushed against her teeth, she opened her mouth and welcomed it in. She didn't know if she slid her hands up under his shirt before or after he slid his inside of her robe, she only knew that the feel of his bare back under her hands was almost as stimulating as the feel of his hands caressing her back through the thin fabric of her pajamas.

Did she nudge them towards the boathouse, or did she follow his lead? Once inside, did he draw her down onto the pile of life jackets, or did he follow her lead? He mumbled something about protection and consequences, which she assured him wasn't an issue. Her last rational thought was amazement that he seemed to be under the same spell that she was...a spell that she couldn't remember casting on him.

It was dark when the Kimmunicator's harsh tone woke her. The young man, who was partially next to her and partially underneath her, also lurched into wakefulness. Her first reaction was shock over what she had done the previous night. The second thought was that with the magic of the moment gone, the makeshift mattress wasn't very comfortable, the boathouse was drafty and the smell wasn't exactly pleasant...but he was still enormously cute. Then it was time to quit thinking and scramble to find the clothes they had tossed in all directions the night before. All too soon, they were both dressed and facing an awkward moment.

"Chase, last night," she began. "It's not something I..."

"I know," he interrupted. "I kind of got caught up...I hope you aren't mad at me."

"No!" She insisted. "But...does this go any farther? Are we an item now?"

"If you want to," he told her. "But we live about four, five hundred miles away from each other. Can we make this work?"

"I'd like to try," she confessed. "But we have to get moving! My cabin-mates are going to wake up before much longer."

"Mine won't," he snorted. "But you're right, we have to get moving. There's always delays after the competition, maybe we can talk before we get bused off."

"I'd like that," she told him, dropping her eyes shyly. "After all, this is a cheer competition. It's not like some giant monster is going to go rampaging through the camp and distract us."

Present Day:

"As you know, Central High isn't a normal opponent of ours," Coach Barkin announced to his players, as they gathered together in the visitors locker room prior to taking the field. "This game is a personal pledge between myself and the opposing coach, Mr. Bight. We were in the same squad back in the service, where we pushed each other to excellence. We promised each other that we would continue to do so in civilian life, therefore, when he became coach, it was an honor to schedule a game against him. It is an even greater honor to play him on his school's homecoming game. We will further honor him by demolishing his team."

A ragged round of cheers echoed through the room.

"Men, you are representing Middleton High against a school we very rarely face! This is your opportunity to make a lasting impression. You will not fail! We have prepared! We have drilled our plan over and over. You are ready! It is now merely executing the game plan! Execute, force your will upon the opponent! Execute, and force his responses to become so disjointed and confused that they become irrelevant. Execute, and we will have victory!"

Ron joined in on the cheers this time.

"Now, for those of you who are not motivated enough to give your utmost for the sake of your school and teammates, I have another piece of news for you. As you know, college scouts will be watching this game, they are present for almost every game. However, the scouts here tonight are not the ones usually watching us play or usual rivals. Some of you are hoping to fund a college education through athletic scholarships. This is your opportunity to impress a new group of potential recruiters, so let's go out there and crush Central, for your school, for your teammates, for your futures and for the simple joy of proving your superiority!"

Ron didn't know how such a simplistic, silly speech could be so rousing, but it worked. He cheered with the rest of the team, then trotted out of the locker room and onto the field. As was the custom, the hosting team wasn't on the field yet and this far away from Middleton, the vast majority of the spectators were fans of the home team. The Mad Dogs took the field to a mixture of polite applause and slightly less polite boos. He took his spot in the lineup and went through the pre-game stretching, while glancing to the sidelines and looking for his girlfriend.

He spotted the Middleton squad talking to the hosting team's cheerleaders. This was a custom but what wasn't customary was the several slightly older people, not wearing uniforms, accompanying the Central High cheerleaders. It didn't take Ron long to figure it out; this was Central's homecoming game and graduates were encouraged to come back and interact with those who were still students. Ron frowned a bit when Kim shared a quick hug with a boy wearing a Granite Peak State hoodie, but the frown faded when she moved on and shared hugs with other Central cheerleaders and graduates.

Faded, but didn't go away. Something seemed familiar about the boy. Unfortunately for Ron, the stretching was the same every game, so he was able to put himself on autopilot while he dug through his memories to try to figure out who the boy was. Also unfortunately for him, he never forgot a bully or someone who had insulted him. It took half of the stretching time before he jogged his memory. While he didn't know the older boy's name, he remembered the face. He was one of the cheerleaders who had called him a loser and threw debris at him when he tried to warn them about Gil. He, like everyone else, failed to apologize when Gill attacked. Okay, the disruption might have prevented a proper apology, but you'd think someone would have made the effort, especially after he had willingly turned himself into a beaver-mutant to fight his nemesis.

Well, that was just fine! Now that his memory had been set on that path, he noted that a couple of the Central cheerleaders had been present at Wannaweep, and had joined in on the shouting and throwing. He wasn't so petty that he'd resort to getting revenge, but maybe he could put in extra effort tonight. After all, he wasn't getting even; he was correcting them. Losers didn't scorch an opposing team during its homecoming game.

Kim was really wishing that her boyfriend didn't have the soft spot in his heart. Okay, she loved the soft spot, but it didn't always result in a good outcome. Case in point, one Bonnie Rockwaller talking about her new boyfriend, Senor Senior Jr.

"And for Christmas Break, he's sending his private jet to Middleton to pick me up," the brunette continued. "That trip is going to be so much more fun than this torture session..."

Okay, she had a point with that. Kim didn't know why Mr. Barkin had scheduled a game against Southville, but the result was a bus trip of over seven hours. She would have been able to call in a favor for the ride, but the school's policy stated that all players and cheerleaders were required to utilize school transportation for the trip to and from all school events. There was also a strict no-fraternization policy which translated into the team taking one bus while the cheerleaders rode on a mini-bus. Okay, the mini-bus should have been more comfortable for just six girls and two younger teen boys, but when one of the girls was determined to show up the others by talking non-stop about the boyfriend she just met a week ago, it was a torture run.

If it wasn't for Ron's soft spot, they wouldn't have taken her along on the mission. If it wasn't for taking her along on the mission, she and Junior wouldn't have met each other. Therefore, because of Ron's soft heart, Bonnie had hooked up with Junior. As a result, five girls, two young boys and a driver had to listen to her painstaking description of the Seniors' Island, despite the fact that Bonnie had only been to the place once.

"...so I don't know if I'm going to be lounging by the pool or lounging on the beach. I mean, their servants will be bringing us drinks and food wherever we lounge and if it rains, we can always go to the indoor pool or fly off to mainland Europe somewhere..."

Since starting to travel with the cheer squad as a freshman, since starting her missions in middle school, since going on family trips since before she had clear memories, Kim had never looked forward to the end of a trip as much as she looked forward to this one. She checked the GPS on her Kimmunicator repeatedly, begging the little symbol to move faster and get them to Southville before she went insane, or dragged the brunette out of the still moving vehicle and attached her to the roof for the remainder of the trip. Of course, the two outcomes weren't mutually exclusive.

Discretely, Kim checked her carry-along pack and confirmed that she had a roll of duct tape, just in case.

"...and the ballroom! They have their own ballroom and they invite the upper crust of society to their events! Junior's going to have the finest French and Italian designers make a gown, just for me! It's going to be such a relief to associate with these people, rather than the sort from Middleton."

Fortunately for Bonnie, they reached their destination at about that time. Since none of the squad, other than Kim, had been to Southville before this, there was a lot of looking out of the windows. Bonnie, realizing that her captive audience wasn't so captive anymore, stopped her tirade. Soon, they were at the school and a member of the Central High Cheer Squad showed them to their changing room. Putting up with Bonnie's comments was easier now, as everyone knew it would be just a few minutes before they were on the sidelines. In fact, the squad came close to setting a record for getting ready. Not a moment too soon, they were out the door and walking to the sidelines.

The Middleton section was mostly empty, as expected for a game this far away. Kim quickly spotted, and waved to, her and Ron's fathers. Soon, the Middleton Team appeared and ran onto the field. Kim led the squad in a cheer, even though there wasn't much of a response from the handful of Middleton fans. A few minutes later, the home team took the field. While the teams went through their stretches, Central's cheerleaders approached the squad to offer greetings. Central and Middleton didn't play each other during the regular season, but cheer competitions encompassed a wider area. Because of this, Kim recognized their captain, May. The Central squad was accompanied by several, slightly older people, not in uniform.

"It's homecoming," May told Kim. "So former squad members were invited to come back and spend some time with us. I'll introduce them with the rest of the squad."

Kim was a little surprised when one of the first to be introduced was Chase Ziemlich, who was wearing a college hoodie. Still, she recovered, giving him a quick hug, greeting the rest of the Central cheerleaders and alumni, then introducing the Middleton Squad, as well as Tim and Jim.

"What happened to your old mascot?" May, asked her. "He seemed to be having a complete meltdown back at Gottagrin, but he turned out to be right."

"Well, Ron's the starting running back now," Kim told her.

"Don't you think you're leaving something out?" Chase chimed in. "If the gossip magazines are to be believed, he's your boyfriend now."

Chase showed no sign of jealousy; he seemed happy that Kim was dating.

"Yeah, he's my boyfriend," Kim confirmed. "We got together at last year's prom."

"When you took down that blue guy," May added. "Congratulations on that, and on the boyfriend."

"Thanks," Kim smiled at her. "But how have things been going with your squad?"

"It can be a hassle," May admitted. "Mr. Bight is the football coach, the cheerleader coach, and substitute teaches for just about every class."

"I heard about him," Kim told her. "He seems to be the same as our Mr. Barkin."

"I wonder if our Barkin is worse than their Bight," Tara murmured.

There were some odd looks directed at the blonde, but the conversation was pleasant up until kickoff time, when it was time to become cheerleaders again. Kim was a little surprised to see that Ron was in the backfield to receive, as Barkin didn't like to put him in on special teams. The opposing kicker sent the ball into the air, flying left to right from Kim's point of view. She saw Ron catch it and start running to the near side of the field, then suddenly sprint to his right. She was at the field level and not very tall, so she quickly lost sight of him, but was able to track his progress by the frantic sprinting of the players between him and her. A moment later, he burst out in front of the pack and sprinted into the end zone for the touchdown.

Kim started her squad on the 'after a score' cheer, despite the very few fans lending their voices to support. That was fine; sometimes a cheer squad was the only support the team had. Off to her left, the Central cheerleaders were going into their 'pick up the spirits' cheer, while the kicking teams took the field. As her boyfriend trotted off of the field, he caught her eye and offered a small fist-pump. Deciding that Barkin must have wanted to make a statement, early, against this new opponent, she returned the gesture.

It wasn't exactly a nail-biting close game, but it wasn't a blowout either. It was the sort of game where Ron got a great deal of playing time and as per the usual outcome, he got better as the game continued. Kim was troubled, but not a great deal. She knew her boyfriend's body language, even when he was wearing his pads, and knew that tonight, he had a bit of an attitude. She had also watched him play several previous games and could tell he was running differently, taking a few more hits while trying to pick up more yardage. After particularly good plays, Tara gave her a discrete nudge. For all that she was a sweet soul, Tara didn't understand; she thought that Kim was basking in the reflected glory of her boyfriend's achievements. Instead, Kim rejoiced that Ron, so often overlooked, belittled and ridiculed, was thriving. Still, the blonde girl's intentions were kindly enough that Kim had no problem smiling along with her.

On the other hand, Kim had to struggle to keep from smirking at Bonnie. The snobbish brunette hated seeing the 'loser' overshadow Brick's accomplishments and hated that fact that she had to cheer for him while he did it, even more. Still, she was serious about cheerleading, so she plastered her overly-wide smile on her face and increased the volume of the chants and cheers, making up for the low number of Middleton fans.

Halftime came and the Middleton cheerleaders had more of a break than usual. Usually, halftime meant that the home team's band played songs to keep the spectators entertained and the cheerleaders would perform dance routines to the music. Instead, it was homecoming activities; with the marching band performing and the presentation of the homecoming royalty. Central High proved to be a gracious host; the Middleton Squad's dressing room was provided with some snacks and drinks, allowing the girls to relax before the second half.

Before the second half kickoff, Kim took the chance to talk to her father and Mr. Stoppable a little. She also spoke to Wade and was gratified to learn that the bad guys were quiet. It had been a long bus ride to Southville, which meant it would be an equally long bus ride back. They wouldn't get back until the sun was back up and she hated fighting the bad guys when she was exhausted. The rest of the squad was talking to other Middleton fans; with the exceptions of Bonnie, who was texting Junior, and Crystal, who was talking to Chase, when Kim rounded everyone up so they would be ready for the game.

The second half saw Middleton extending its lead. Kim was a little puzzled, as Barkin would usually pull Ron out of the game once he had a big enough lead. On a couple of occasions, when the Middleton defense was on the field, Ron approached Barkin on the sidelines, the two talked, and Ron was back in when the offense took the field again. Finally, partway through the fourth quarter, after Ron took a carry to one side of the field, broke a tackle and suddenly reversed his course and ran around the opposition for a long touchdown run, the big coach firmly sat her boyfriend on the bench. After that, with both teams' substitute players on the field, the clock quickly ran down to the end of the game.

Despite the fact that Barkin took pride in being incredibly blunt, he could often be hard to understand. A case in point was Ron's running style. Ron was both fast and agile, coupled with the reflexes he had developed by dodging various beams, rays, plasma blasts, angry henchmen and flying debris made him a formidable quarry for high school students in football pads. However, Barkin wasn't satisfied and demanded that he not shy away from contact, pointing out that the shortest distance between two points was a straight line. The big man also stated that other players, both Middleton and opponents, would respect him more if he made more contact.

However, it seemed that whenever he tried to run over people rather than run around them, Barkin chewed him out and told him to use his speed. By his third game, Ron had decided that an angry coach was a fact of life; much like mystery meat smiling up from the plate, his game controller jamming whenever he seemed about to beat Felix or his parents using the phrase 'this is our way of telling you.' Yet, tonight he seemed to have hit the balance that Barkin wanted. While he ran around people whenever he could, he hit people a little more often than usual, and Barkin seemed to approve. Because of this, he asked the big man to keep him in the game longer than usual. Also, he was in the zone and rolling up yards on Central High.

Every once in awhile, he would look towards the cheerleaders who had hated on him for trying to warn them that Gil was going to go Gill. Cheerleaders were supposed to stay upbeat and energetic throughout the game, but it wasn't easy when your team was being outplayed. Ron was the star tonight, and he took a great deal of delight in the occasional frowns he saw on the Central squad, both the current members and the graduates that had come back for the game. For the first time in his career, he was disappointed when Barkin pulled him from the game and refused to let him back in. Still, he had made his point, even if nobody else knew what the point was.

As per proper etiquette, and Barkin was a stickler for that, Ron trotted onto the field to shake hands and exchange pleasantries with the opposing players. He was more than a little shocked when the former Central cheerleader, they guy who Kim was talking to and who had mocked him at Wannaweep, approached him.

"Ron Stoppable," he asked. "Middleton's former mascot?"

"That's me," Ron growled his response.

"I just want to say that, I'm sorry for the way I treated you back at Gottagrin," he said, offering his hand. "You have to admit, claiming that some guy's going to turn into a mutant is hard to believe."

"Not when it happened only a year before," Ron protested. "It was in the papers."

"Yeah, I guess I got caught up with the crowd," he admitted. "Still, thanks for putting it on the line and saving our butts."

"Yeah, no big," Ron grumbled, finally taking his hand.

There were a few more hands to shake, a few more shoulders to thump before heading into the dressing room for a shower and the post-game talk from Barkin, before the long, long bus ride home. It was fortunate that the team had a couple of large buses, with seats that could lean back. It had been a very, very long day.

On Saturday, Ron came to the conclusion that it was sometimes good to be him. First, he had the skill to sleep just about anywhere, so the bus trip back to Middleton was nothing to him. He liked working in the pet department at Smartymart, so the morning went by in a breeze. However, the real luck came after he got off of work.

Kim liked fancy dates; this was why he had the job at Smartymart. But she only wanted them every once in awhile. The rest of the time, she was happy with nacos and a movie or other things that didn't require a lot of money or dressing up. Of course, asking her what she wanted to do probably helped with things.

"So, what do you want to do tomorrow?" He asked her, after sending the last bit of his naco down the hatch. "We can either hit the go-kart track, the bike trail, or rock climbing."

"Ron, you hate the rock climbing," she pointed out.

"True," he shrugged. "But you like it and I like being around you when you're happy."

"You knucklehead," she chuckled, but she did it with a slightly lowered head and a look at him that made his breath catch.

"Hey, if you want to do something different, just say," he suggested.

"I think we should go home, chill out on the couch and figure it out," she told him.

It was already dark out and it was chilly, so she bumped up against him; a gesture he had learned. He put his arm around her shoulders and she leaned into him as they walked from Bueno Nacho to her house.

"Life is good," he sighed.

She giggled a little. "What besides being with your girlfriend makes life so good?" She asked.

"Well, the girlfriend would be good enough," he told her. "But other things seem to be working out."

"Like what?"

"Well, I managed to find a home for Elizabeth today," he told her, pride sounding in his voice.

"The gorilla?" She asked "Who buys a gorilla?"

"Somebody who doesn't have one," he shot back. "Besides that, the game yesterday was awesome!"

"If you say so," she shrugged. "The bus ride was torture."

"Well, it was worth it," he insisted. "Wade called me earlier, I set a new state record for rushing yardage in a single game. A state record!"

"I didn't think you were all that much about the records," she told him. Ron could tell that she was getting a little put off about his gloating.

"It's what the record means," he insisted. "College recruiters might have been watching, that game could have gotten me a scholarship!"

"Oh!" She looked a lot more understanding.

"I don't have the academics that you do," he pointed out. "Or the fame. Maybe the mad running away skills can get me a degree."

"That makes sense."

"That, and I stuck it to the Central High cheer squad," he declared.

"What?"

"They were at Wannaweep during the competition," he reminded her. "They called me a loser and threw stuff at me when I tried to warn everyone! It felt good to get the win over them."

Kim didn't have anything to say about that. Now, in the moment and not paying much attention to his girlfriend, he continued.

"And that jerk that hit me with the plum, he actually came up an apologized to me."

"He's not a jerk," Kim protested.

"He threw a piece of fruit at me when I was trying to warn him about Gil," Ron told her. "That makes him a jerk."

"How did you know it was him?" Kim demanded. "I thought that almost everyone at that assembly was calling you a loser and throwing things at you!"

"How many times has anyone hit you with a plum?" He asked.

"Well, I can't recall it ever happening..." she admitted.

"Exactly! It's a rare experience, so you remember! I can remember that face, even though he was wearing that college hoodie last night."

"I still don't think he's a jerk," Kim insisted. "He did apologize, after all."

"Over a year after the fact," he retorted. "That squad knew what school I was from, they could have sent a letter saying they were wrong...hey, why are you sticking up for him?"

"What?" Kim was caught off guard by his sudden change in subject.

"You're sticking up for that guy," Ron pressed. "I think he's a jerk because he called me a loser and threw something at me. Why are you defending him?"

"Well, maybe he's not a jerk."

Ron took his arm from around her shoulders and turned to look at her. "There's something more to this," he finally said. "You aren't defending the rest of their squad, why are you standing up for him?"

"I don't really want to talk about it," she told him.

"You started talking about it when you defended him," he pointed out.

"Can't you just let this drop?" She asked.

"I don't think so," he told her. "I'm invoking the Halloween promise we made each other two years ago. When one of us wants to know the truth, the other one has to tell it."

"Ron, I don't think you really want to know about this."

"You realize that telling your boyfriend that he doesn't want to know about it means that he's most certainly going to want to know about it."

"Okay, fine," she said. She looked around the street and realized that they were almost to her house. Hopefully, just out of the range of the eavesdropping devices her brothers used. "Maybe you do want to know. The last night at Gottagrin..."

"Wannaweep," he insisted.

"Fine, Wannaweep," she rolled her eyes. "Bonnie's snoring was bad, I mean really bad, so I slipped out of the cabin and headed for the boathouse. Down on the docks, I ran into Chase."

"So you remember his name," Ron was getting a decidedly uneasy look on his face.

She knew he was going to be upset, but she had said enough for him to fill in the blanks, and the truth wouldn't be any worse than what he must be thinking. She told him; she didn't go into any more details than she had to, but she was bluntly honest. He just stared at her for a time that seemed forever.

"I was in that boathouse earlier that day," he finally said. "I was hiding from everyone who decided that I needed more insults for being suspicious of Gil."

Kim flinched slightly at that.

"I hid behind those life jackets so they couldn't see me from the window and I noticed that they hadn't been approved by either Underwriters Laboratories or the US Coast Guard."

"What?" Now, she was more confused than nervous.

"Those life jackets weren't even approved for what they are supposed to be used for," he glared at her. "And you used them as a mattress when you..." his voice faded away.

"You're more upset about the life jackets than..."

"No!" He told her. "I'm upset about a lot more than that, but I'm not thinking very clearly right now. Maybe it's best that I go home and we deal with this later."

"What's to deal with?" She asked him. "What's done is done, it's in my past, where it belongs."

"I just neeto go home and think for a little while. See you Monday at school."

"But it's only Saturday," she protested.

He only gave her a pointed look before stalking off into the night.

A/N: I would like to thank CajunBear73, Sentinel103, Jimmy1201 and Mindless Violence Fan for taking the time to review the concept for this story. Biggest thanks to Joe Stoppinghem for beta reading.