Author’s Notes: This story has been sitting around collecting dust for the past few weeks. I hesitated to post this since I wanted to finish ‘Christmas with the Cranky’ first (it’s just a tad overdue for Christmas, lol). But since writer’s block has struck again, I figured I’d go ahead and post this.

And for any concerned about the progress of ‘Christmas…,’ I’m already half way through the chapter, and the writer’s block isn’t too bad. Hopefully it’ll pass soon.

Note: This story takes place soon after “Stop Team Go.”

Anyway! On to the story!

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All along the horizon, the sky began to lighten from a blue dark enough to be black, to the gray of false dawn. Then, gradually, the gray gave way to the reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows that announced the arrival of the sun after a long night, which chased away the pale stars with its warm light. Birds, the first to wake, flittered about in the trees, singing songs to one another while searching for breakfast.

A warm breeze stirred the new spring leaves on the trees, promising a mild weathered day. Only a few cottony clouds, dyed lavender from the rising sun’s rays, drifted along in the still multicolored dawn sky. One by one, the residents of Middleton woke up, adults preparing for another day of work and their children milking every last minute of sleep possible before having to head off to school.

As the sun climbed higher still in the sky, cars left driveways and buses started on their daily routes. School goers waited patiently for said buses to pick them up or, if the option was feasible, began their trek on foot. Bells rang and school halls emptied as students hurried to their classes.

Indeed, everything seemed to be following the path of yet another completely uneventful, ordinary day: right down to the out-of-breath blonde senior bursting into the freshman health class three minutes late, as usual. The already seated freshmen no longer paid much attention to Ron Stoppable’s tardiness. Instead, they counted down to Mr. Barkin’s reaction, Stoppable’s excuse, and the punishment (depending on the teacher’s mood, it ranged from extra homework to a few days of detention).

3…2…1…

The health room door burst open, a gasping blonde staggering through right on time.

Er, not on time.

On time to be not on time.

“Sorry…Mr. B…,” Ron sputtered between breaths, “my little…sister…homework…paper dolls…not pretty…won’t be late again…I promise!”

Everyone, including the tow-headed teen hero, waited for the inevitable outburst from their military-like teacher.

Except, it never came…

“Fine, Stoppable,” Mr. Barkin muttered without even the slightest hint of his usual gruffness.

Tense silence deafened those in the small classroom. It hung so heavily it was almost tangible. Everyone stared, opened mouthed and wide eyed at their teacher who was currently writing the day’s lesson on the chalkboard. Mr. Barkin hadn’t even glanced at Ron.

With cautious steps, the blonde shuffled to his seat. He kept both eyes on his teacher incase of a delayed reaction. But he reached his chair with no difficulties.

“Alright class. Take out your homework,” Mr. Barkin sighed. His students adhered to his command solely from habit of obeying their burly teacher. Had any other teacher expected compliance from a group of twenty-some ninth graders (and a senior) having used such a deflated voice, he or she would have had to be insane.

Each teen sat their work out on their desk to be scrutinized as usual (one student’s work in strips, cut in the shape of dolls holding hands). But Barkin simply glanced at them from his desk and nodded a half-hearted approval.

“Alright class. Today we’ll be talking about healthy…food…or something.”

Barkin’s voice was barely audible as he slumped down into his chair with a sigh.

“Open your books to page ten and review silently.”

A puppy was more commanding.

All around the class room, students shared nervous glances. A non-threatening Barkin was the equivalent to appetizing, re-heated mystery meat: unheard of and cause for disorientation.

Ron tentatively leaned over and whispered to the freshman next to him, “Is it just me, or is Barkin a little…off?”

Fear of disobeying Barkin had been drilled quite thoroughly into the scrawny ninth grader, and he responded with a look of sheer terror at the blonde. Students weren’t allowed to talk during lessons after all.

But their teacher didn’t even look up from the photograph he was looking at.

Sensing an opportunity, Ron decided to push his luck even further.

“Hey, uh, Mr. B.? Could I go to the bathroom?”

No response.

“Mr. Barkin?”

He could have been talking to a tree stump.

“Yo Mr. B.!!!” Ron shouted at the top of his lungs, much to the class’s horror.

“Huh? Stoppable?”

“Uh, yeahhh. Bathroom. Me. Go?”

Mr. Barkin appeared to have just woken up from a deep sleep.

“Sure Stoppable. Just be back before school’s over.”

The look of sheer pleasure plastered on the tow-headed teen’s face as he bolted out of the classroom was the first, and only, smile ever witnessed in Barkin’s health class.

---

It was odd.

Something was amiss.

If only she could put her finger on it.

Whatever it was, Kim Possible had a strange feeling there had been a change in the school.

Wait, why were the students looking so happy?

Kim was pondering the strange events as she continued to her locker when she saw a couple in a serious lip lock. And none other than Mr. Barkin was walking towards them.

The teen heroine felt sympathy for the couple. Barkin was particularly harsh when it came to PDA. Poor Ron had been given a week’s worth of extra homework just for trying to hold her hand on school grounds.

Kim counted down until the impending catastrophe.

3…

2…

1…

Nothing.

No, that couldn’t be right…

But Kim was seeing it with her own eyes: the couple blatantly continuing their PDA in plain view, while a forlorn looking Barkin trudged down the hall right past them.

As Barkin neared her, Kim gave a hesitant wave.

“Um…Hi, Mr. Barkin,” she called out.

Her teacher stopped and stared down at her blankly before finally seeming to recall her name. “Oh, hello Possible.”

Barkin continued on.

No warning to hurry to class.

No threat to pass on to Ron about detentions.

No caution to avoid any form of PDA.

Nothing.

Kim now had no doubts about what was different in Middleton High. But one answer had just opened up so many more questions. Questions that needed answering.

---

Leaning against Kim’s locker, Ron allowed his thoughts to drift peacefully. A world without Barkin was a good world indeed.

A moment later a tense, pensive Kim walked by him and opened her locker, dumping her books inside. Ron stood and pondered over his BFGF’s odd behavior. They no longer had to walk the halls in fear (well, more or less he didn’t have to), she should be elated.

“Ron, we need to talk,” the teen heroine stated, distracted by a paper that refused to stay in its place in her locker.

The tow-headed teen’s heart missed about eight beats, give or take.

Anything but those dreaded words….

Hearing nothing but eccentric wheezing, Kim peered around her locker door to see her lifelong friend and boyfriend having what appeared to be a stroke or a heart attack (perhaps both). Realizing what she had said, Kim groaned.

“Amp down Ron, for the four hundredth and sixty seventh time: I’m not breaking up with you!”

She gave his shoulders an abrupt shake to calm him down.

“Really?” the blond asked hesitantly once he had recovered his breath.

“Really,” Kim replied more softly, giving him an assuring look.

“Oh, phew, you scared me there KP. So what do you want to talk about then?”

The fiery redhead’s smile faded as a worried gleam entered her eyes.

“I think there’s something bother Mr. Barkin.”

“Isn’t it great? OW!” Ron rubbed the bruising mark on his arm where Kim had just given him a reprimanding thwack. “Hey, what was that for?”

“Ron, it is so not ‘great’ that Mr. B isn’t feeling well.”

“Um, is it fantastic?”

THWACK!

“OW, OW! Okay! I get it, I get it!”

Kim looked surprised. “Really?”

“Well, no, not really,” the freckle faced teen faltered, rubbing the back of neck. “I just figured it was what you wanted to hear.” He instantly flinched, expecting another bruise.

Fighting to hide her amusement, Kim put on her mission face. “Ron, we have to help him.”

Ron peeked through his fingers and was instantly assaulted by a full force Puppy Dog Pout. “KP! That’s cheating!”

“So you’ll help Mr. B?”

“As much as it will kill me on the inside, yes,” he pouted.

A slight twinge of guilt washed over the head cheerleader as she looked at her moping boyfriend.

Ron heard Wade pop up on Kim’s locker computer but was unable to say a word in greeting as he suddenly found Kim’s lips locked to him in a kiss that would have left the blonde swimming in a pile of extra homework the size of Mt. Everest during a month’s worth of detention. But Barkin was no where to be seen.

Wade gave a startled cry and fell off of his chair.

When the kiss was finally cut off, Ron was in a daze. “I thought you were pro-Barkin,” he muttered.

Kim smiled up at her boyfriend. “Oh, I am. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to pass up a great opportunity like this one to get in as many extra doses of Ronshine as I can.”

By this time, Wade had finally managed to climb back into his chair. “You guys really have to stop doing that.”

“Sorry, bro’,” Ron replied, still grinning idiotically.

“Anyway, the reason I called was to answer the message Kim left me about Barkin through the Kimmunicator. All the scans came back negative for anything odd.”

Kim had switched back into mission mode while Ron continued to stare off into space dreamily. “That’s strange. There’s got to be something…”

“Well, this might sound crazy, but I think he might be…lovesick…”

“Wade, you’re joking, right?”

“‘Fraid not. Look what I found:”

The image of Wade was replaced by a video stream of Mr. Barkin playing guitar and attempting to sing. The clip ended with a pack of dogs being set on him.

Kim winced as Wade reappeared on the screen. “Harsh.”

The tech guru nodded sadly.

“So all we have to do is convince Shego to fall back in love with Mr. Barkin,” Kim declared resolutely.

“Yeah, piece of cake,” Wade replied sardonically, rolling his eyes.

“We’ll find a way.” Glancing over at her boyfriend, still in a stupor, she gave him a peck on the cheek. “I gotta jet. Talk to you later?”

“Mhmm,” Ron murmured.

The blonde watched Kim walk down the hall until she turned the corner.

“Isn’t she the most beautiful girl ever?”

Wade nearly fell out of his seat again at his friend’s sudden question. “Uhhhh, I don’t think I should answer that…”

“Okay.”

Silence fell over the empty halls and between the two friends.

“So… Ron, how do you and Kim plan on convincing Shego to get back together with Mr. B?”

“That’s nice Wade…”

The computer genius knew he wasn’t about to get a solid answer from his friend in this state.

“Your hair is on fire Ron.”

“That’s great…”

That must have been one heck of a kiss, Wade grumbled to himself silently. Time to pull out the heavy arsenal.

“Kim’s breaking up with you.”

That got his attention.

“What?! Oh, Wade what did I do?! I thought she said she wasn’t but now she is! Wade I can’t live without her!”

“Ron! Calm down! For the four hundredth and sixty eighth time: Kim’s not breaking up with you!”

“But you just said she was…”

“No I didn’t.”

“Oh.”

“I asked you what your plan for Shego was.”

“What about Shego?”

Wade forced himself not to bash his face off of his keyboard just yet.

“How are you and Kim going to get Shego to like Barkin again?”

Ron burst out laughing. “Wade, the only way that’s happening is if we find another Attitudinator and turn her good.”

The tech guru suddenly looked thoughtful. “Actually…”

Alerted by the tone in Wade’s voice, Ron jumped. “Oh no. You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking…”

“Oh, I think I’m thinking what you think I’m thinking.” Wade grinned at Ron. “I’ll have your Attitudenator fixed up by the end of the day.”

“No! Wade, wait!”

Ron’s desperate plea was met only by a black screen.

“Oh man, Kim is so going to blame me…”

---

This beginning, to me, sounds a lot like johnrie18’s ‘It’s Good to be Bad,’ but just know that I plan on taking a completely different direction.

With that said, what do you think? (And I’m not a mind-reader, so you’ll have to let me know what you think by reviewing)

Fannie Awards Update:

Also, I just wanted to say a big 'Thank You!' to those who chose to vote for me so far in the Fannie Awards! It means so much to me!

If you still want to vote (not just for me, but for any KP author/story you like), but don’t know what the Awards are, or how to vote, just visit either my profile page, Zaratan’s profile, or send me a PM.