Tuesday April 25th 3:45 Pm
Less than five minutes after quitting the Middleton Highschool Cheer Squad, Ronald Stoppable settled down in one of the more secluded areas of the school's vast and empty library, where he stared at the mountain of textbooks and notes that were spilling out of his book-bag onto the table in front of him. He was finding it hard to mentally prepare himself for what he already knew was going to end up being yet another dirty, dirty slog, of a study session... Ron had a lot of cramming to do to prepare for the exams he needed to take on Friday morning, and he had only three more days (including today) to do it.
Ugh…
When it rains it pours...
Ron needed to keep up the momentum. He needed to remember how he'd felt when he was sitting in that closet. He needed to focus on the vow he made to make changes in his life. Of course, at the time, Ron hadn't meant all at once or overnight, but that's exactly what this was becoming...
"This is an opportunity to improve, so no more bitching," Ron announced, quietly, to himself.
"You've changed… or perhaps I should say you're changing..."
Ron's head snapped up, at the sound of a soft, sweet sounding voice, filled with absolute conviction. Then he did a double take, because the person standing in front of him was a surprise. Blonde, heart shaped face, teal eyes, pink lips, creamy pale white skin, slim nearly to the point of looking fragile and yet curvy almost to the point of indecency… It was Tara Strongwell...
Ron didn't know how to respond to the stunning blonde standing before him, so for several moments in a row, he just stared up at her. Finally, after an indeterminable amount of time, Ron managed to shrug. "I'm working on it."
"No... You have changed," Tara softly repeated, as she pulled out a chair and sat down across from Ron. "Something big must've happened to you. You're letting yourself become more… assertive, for the very first time."
For the second time in less than half a minute, Ron didn't know how to respond. He was being thrown off by both Tara's certainty, and the way that she was staring at him. Finally, he decided to sidestep her implied question, to imply one of his own. "I didn't think the cheer squad was going to send anyone..."
"They didn't, and if I'm to be honest I don't want you back on the squad... like... at all." Despite the fact that Tara had replied in the exact same sweet and soft tone of voice she always uses, in that moment, she'd managed to sound extraordinarily serious.
"Uh, well then... I'm… confused." Ron clicked his pen several times, before he finally lay it down, and put his palms flat on the table. "Here's the deal Tara... Despite your poor choice in friends, I know that you're a very kind young lady. I highly doubt you're here to screw with me or set me up or something... That's why I'm just going to ask the question. Why are you sitting in front of me right now?"
Tara frowned slightly for just a second, before her features smoothed out, and she took a deep breath. "I'm not going to defend Bonnie, because she's always gone way too far where you're concerned, and we both know it. I'm just going to say that she has circumstances of her own, and she needs me."
Tara was loyal to Bonnie. Ron could understand loyalty… Or, at least, he'd have understood that brand of loyalty five days earlier. Now Ron didn't know if he was a loyal person or not anymore, and that hurt. Either way, he nodded his head at Tara and said "I can accept that. Why are you here?"
"I'm curious... interested is perhaps the better word. I'm interested in you." Tara nodded as if she'd only just figured out her own intentions after he'd asked about them.
About a year earlier, Ron had received a random kiss from Tara, and after the fact, he'd wondered if she had a crush on him or something. After a few weeks passed however, he'd ended up deciding that the kiss he'd received had been meaningless.
Tara had kissed Ron immediately after he saved her and the rest of the Cheer Squad from a mutant criminal named Gill. Due to the timing of the kiss, both Ron and Kim had always just assumed her actions were a product of runaway gratitude. It was an opinion that had only grown stronger since the incident, because Tara had never been anything but indifferent towards Ron, and her best friend Bonnie continued to harass him. That's the reason why, instead of yelling out a happy booyah like he's prone to doing, Ron just arched an eyebrow at Tara's confession.
At Ron's incredulous look, Tara nodded again as if she understood exactly what he was thinking. Then she hesitated for a few moments as she bit her bottom lip in thought. Finally, she seemed to come to a decision, and she leaned in to brace her elbows on the table. "You saved us all at camp Wanaweep Ronald, which is why I... got away... with kissing you."
That sounded slightly wrong to Ron. "Why you got away with it?"
Nodding again, Tara canted her head to the side this time, as if she was having trouble forming her explanation. Then she brightened and pointed at Ron. "You are… perhaps I should say you have been, a possession of Kim Possible's, and for that reason, you've been something that Bonnie wants to destroy. Nobody's going to try to get in between that, and I'm too close to Bonnie to even consider it." Tara paused for several seconds, before she abruptly leaned even further over the table and started whispering. "You've never even had a girlfriend before, have you?"
Ron had leaned in to hear the whispering of the already soft spoken blonde, but when he heard her question, he had to force himself not to recoil in annoyance. Then he thought about why Tara might think that, calmed back down, and gave the cheerleader an understanding look. "Well, you're wrong and you're right at exactly the same time. I have in fact had a girlfriend, but my ex wasn't a student of this school, so I can see your point." Ron sighed then and leaned back in his chair. "Her name was Zita Flores, she worked at the movie theater, and she was scared off pretty quickly after meeting Kim. I don't think Kim actually said or did anything but… Kim can be… weird, when she finds out I'm into a woman. She gets kinda pissy, despite the fact that…"
"Despite the fact that she clearly doesn't see you as anything even the least bit resembling boyfriend material, and she's been trying to find a boy who isn't you, off and on, since the very beginning of freshman year?" After a moment, Tara winced at her own extremely blunt, soft spoken words. She only relaxed again, when Ron waved her off.
"It's okay to tell the truth when it's that obvious," Ron said, with a shrug of his shoulders.
"I'm sorry anyway Ron. I've just been very... annoyed... frustrated is perhaps the better word. Yeah... I've been frustrated." Tara nodded again, and then steepled her fingers. "As things stand, there's nobody guarding you. There's no one keeping me from being here anymore… so here I am."
Ron almost arched an eyebrow again, but he controlled himself this time. "Won't Bonnie get pissed off at you, if she finds out you were talking to me?"
"Would it surprise you to hear that I've always been more concerned about the irrationally possessive, Kung fu fighting, superhero redhead, you hang out with?" Tara shrugged and then waved her hand dismissively as she continued. "I'm Bonnie's best and only friend and she needs me, so she'll eventually forgive me if/when she finds out. Kim on the other hand makes me nervous."
Ron nodded his understanding again, but then he remembered how shitty Tara's timing was. "Umm Tara… You really are a good girl and you're gorgeous and I'd love to get to know you better, but… If I don't blow my exams this Friday, I'm going to be in Japan for several months, starting next week."
At first, Tara smiled a wide happy smile at Ron's compliments, but then her expression dimmed at the reminder that he was leaving soon. Over the next few moments, Tara bobbed her head back and forth, in thought. Then it appeared that she just decided to go with the extremely blunt approach. "Is this exchange program very important to you Ron? If it's not, then I'd rather you not leave, and I can be extremely... persuasive... when I really want to be."
"Unfortunately it's very important," Ron answered immediately, through a growing blush. "I'm not going to be Kim's hapless sidekick anymore, but I still want to help people. This Japanese school I'm visiting is actually pretty special. The reason I'm determined to go is because they can train me to become extremely strong, in record time. If I pull this off, I can still do the whole missions, saving people thing, and I can do it on my own terms.
To Ron's surprise, in the moments following his explanation, a beatifically happy smile bloomed onto Tara's face. He spent several seconds trying to figure it out, but he was at a loss. That's why, in the end, Ron was forced to give Tara a very curious expression with the hope that she catches on. So far, the blonde cheerleader sitting across from him had proven to be uncannily perceptive. Ron had every reason to believe she'd notice his confusion and then help him understand.
After taking in Ron's deliberately confused expression, Tara smiled indulgently at the boy. She also decided to have mercy on him. Not everyone was able to read between the lines after all, and Ron just might be the dense kind of guy. "I've always liked… Perhaps I should say several girls have always liked the fact that you go on missions and help people. It'd have been a shame for you to retire from that just because Kim started treating you like complete garbage, all of the sudden, for seemingly no damned reason... Abruptly, Tara covered her mouth in embarrassment, at the heated words she'd let slip.
"You don't need to censor yourself around me, and I appreciate your… protectiveness." Ron really was kind of touched at the depth of Tara's feelings, but he was also getting the impression she was going to mama bear him, if he wasn't careful.
Tara smiled happily again and then gestured at Ron's textbooks. "Well then… unlike you, I've always been a stellar student in most classes. I excel in English, but I'm not too shabby at Science either. I want to help you… and then I want you to return the favor…"
"I'd really appreciate whatever help you can give me," Ron immediately enthused. Then he caught up, and realized that there was a return favor involved in this arrangement. "What do you want in return?"
Tara leaned forward on the table with her arms propping up her breasts, as she stared at Ron. "Well… My request actually comes along with a story and then an apology. Do you want to hear the story?"
Due to his age, his good health and Tara's provocative pose, Ron was reduced to nodding his response like a bobble-head. The way Tara was staring at him was sapping his will to do anything but stare right back.
While thoroughly enjoying Ron's not so subtle meltdown, Tara began telling her story, in soft, velvety tones. While her tale may not be scary and they may have been sitting in a well lit room, that didn't stop her from sliding right into campfire story mode. "It was in the morning of our trip to Camp Wannaweep, last year. Our bus had only just arrived, but somehow you were already covered head to toe in milk, so you left to go get clean. I was kind of out of it that morning. I'd had a fight with Bonnie, and was wandering around by myself just staring at the lake. That's when I saw it… perhaps I should say I saw you… naked."
At first, Ron blanched at that news, but then he just assumed Tara meant she'd seen him with his pants down. That kind of thing happened to him with a startling regularity, due to his oversized and baggy clothing. "Umm Tara... That's a little embarrassing, yeah, but my pants fall down like once a wee…"
"Naked, Ron... Naked." Tara gave Ron an extremely level stare so that he'd fully understand just what level of naked she was referring to. After just a few seconds passed, Tara saw the exact moment that he came to grips with her meaning. His ears and neck started burning a bright red and his eyes slowly panned down towards his own body. Shaking her head in response, Tara leaned even more of her body over the table. "I know why you wear the baggy, long sleeved clothing Ron. I've seen it. I was uphill from you as you washed off in that outdoor shower stand, and by some fluke I had a pretty good view of you. At first I didn't know who I was looking at. I just looked down and saw this blond boy showering as I walked along a hillside. Then I stopped, transfixed. At the time, I knew I should look away, but I couldn't Ron, and do you know why?
After drumming his fingers on the table for several moments, Ron snapped out of his thoughts and looked up into Tara's eyes. "My body is… dramatic Tara. I'm not exactly sure what you were looking at, but I can make one or two guesses."
"You'd be wrong then Ron." Tara grinned even as she shook her head again. "I was about forty yards away so at first I didn't have a good view of your skin. What I was able to see was your... muscle tone." Tara blushed a light pink at her own words, but she never dropped her eyes away from Ron's face. "Ron… You are… not some skinny weakling, like your baggy clothing suggests."
"Umm, I've never said that I'm a skinny weakling," Ron responded, with a confused expression upon his face. "How could I possibly do any of the mission stuff I've done if I was physically weak? On a semi-regular basis I have to halo jump skydive directly into the ocean, then swim several miles to some obscure island lair, only to have to hike and climb for hours through the jungle, while carrying tools… All of that happens before the mission has technically even begun."
"Exactly," Tara replied, with a wide grin growing on her face. "Because of all the missions you've completed, your body looks like that of an Olympic gymnast, acrobat, and I… I was mesmerized. I'm going to apologize now because of what I did next. I'm sorry…"
As he was starting to understand where this was going, Ron's neck started warming up again. "I'll uhh, try not to judge too harshly. Go ahead."
Tara bit her lip in a rare nervous display, but then she firmed up her posture and looked Ron directly in the eyes. "I moved closer instead of looking away, and I silently pulled aside the tarp flap behind you. I wanted to get a better look. I succeeded. I saw... I saw everything Ron."
After several seconds of pregnant silence, Ron finally nodded his head, both in his acceptance of Tara's apology, and his understanding. This very social and chatty girl knew something about him that even Kim wasn't aware of. Leaning back in his chair, Ron took a deep breath and then let it leak out of his mouth. "Hookay… You haven't told anyone since that day? Scratch that. I'd know by now if you had, because the gossip would've eventually reached my ears."
"No!... No. I haven't." Tara rapidly shook her head, and then basically laid herself out on the table so that she could whisper… "I wouldn't have because you're clearly hiding it all for a reason. I also wanted to keep that information very far away from my girlfriends."
Ron smiled at Tara's thoughtfulness, but then he cocked his head to the side in confusion. "I appreciate you protecting my privacy but why did you want to keep my secret?'
After almost scoffing at Ron's rather dense question, Tara found herself blushing instead. Any answer she gave to that question was going to be extremely revealing. Then again... This would work. Tara drew in a deep breath and lay it on him. "Umm Ron. If I were to describe your body to my friends… I'd just be creating increased competition."
Ron wasn't completely capable of containing his surprise. "But you saw… you saw my skin."
"Yes, yes I did," Tara immediately answered, with an assertive nod. "I did see the scarring Ron, but you seem to believe that I was horrified by what I saw." Abruptly, Tara leaned in closer to Ron and grabbed a hold of his right shirt sleeve. "Ron… What I saw was an extraordinarily fit teenaged boy, covered head to toe in scars both big and small. You looked like a warrior or crime fighter from an action movie Ron. You looked hardcore like I'd never seen before and I was…"
"Morbidly fascinated," Ron supplied, with a grin.
"Hugely aroused," Tara interjected, immediately after, with quite a bit of heat in her voice. A situation that only got worse when you turned towards me to rinse out your hair and I saw your…" Tara didn't finish that sentence, but she didn't have to. Her flaming red face was explanation enough. "I... I heard the sound of people talking in the distance, so I made a getaway, but I spent the rest of the day thinking about what I'd seen."
As Tara had delivered her explanation, Ron had slowly but steadily turned a bright red, but as more time went by, he was beginning to move beyond his embarrassment. After all, it sounded like the blonde cheerleader sitting in front of him didn't mind his appearance.
Tara tightened her grip on Ron's sleeve as she continued her story. "Later that day, Gill attacked us, and you were the only one not caught in his trap. The squad saw you dash off into the woods, and with the exception of Kim, everyone else was worried that you were deserting us… Not me. I knew you were coming back. I'd seen firsthand exactly what going on those missions has cost you. I knew exactly how committed you are to doing the right thing.
Feeling just a little awkward at this point, Ron just shrugged his shoulders. "Well you're right that I don't run away." Grinning boyishly, he continued. "I much prefer calling it a strategic retreat."
Tara scoffed, then she giggled and shook her head. No Ron, you found a way to even the odds, and you fought for us. I... perhaps I should say we... the cheerleaders, we were all far more impressed than we let on. After the attack you were standing there with both Kim and Bonnie, so a lot of the team kept a distance. I didn't. I couldn't. I drifted closer during the chaos and I took advantage of an opportunity. I wanted to kiss you and I didn't want to lose my chance."
Ron took a few moments to think things through before he finally replied to Tara's story. "Well… I do remember the kiss, but your plan also worked perfectly. Both Kim and I have always thought that you were just grateful for the save."
"I was and I am, but… that isn't why I kissed you." Tara paused there and took a deep breath. "Anyway that brings me to my request."
Ron waved his arms in a lay it on me fashion, because he didn't know what else to do.
"I've learned through gossip that your... parents aren't home all that often," Tara began, with a mild form of sympathy injected into her tone. She leaned closer again, and lowered her voice as she continued. "I want to tutor you, at your house... and then... in payment... I want to see your body again."
"You have a thing for grotesque amounts of scarring then?" Ron didn't know if this question was going to ruin everything for him, but the question needed to be asked either way. His current body looked completely different than it did on the day that Tara saw it. He needed to know where her interests lay.
Tara shook her head in denial even as she grinned at Ron's overly blunt question. "No, I'm not a sadist with a scar fetish Ron. In fact, if I'm to be honest, I wasn't particularly attracted to the redness and roughness of some of your scarring. Instead, I was massively attracted to what the scarring said about you as a person. I also just really liked your muscle tone."
Ron nodded his understanding, and then looked at his books. He pulled aside English, Biology and Chemistry, and then looked at Tara questioningly.
Nodding in silent agreement, Tara stood up to leave. "I need to go back to the cheer practice before someone notices I ditched. I'll arrive at your place at five thirty tonight. You should spend the time while I'm in cheer practice studying either the social sciences or math."
"I'll do that." Ron paused there and just stared at Tara, because a lot was happening to him right now, and he was having trouble keeping his head in the game. Tara Strongwell was one of the most beautiful girls in all of Middleton High if not Middleton the City. She had an entire fleet of nearly fanatical admirers among his male classmates. For that reason, it was actually a credit to Tara's character that he didn't suspect a trap. While the blonde appeared to have motives of her own, she genuinely seemed interested in helping him achieve his goals. Ron didn't know Tara well enough to predict whether or not they were good for each other romantically, but he was more than willing to hang out, and see what happens. However... One thing was of near vital importance to Ron's new self-improvement initiative. He couldn't allow himself to end up completely mesmerized by Tara, like he'd always been with Kim. It was important to Ron that he be the one making his decisions from this point forward, and that meant no more yes man bullshit.
Ron was pulled out of his reverie when Tara suddenly rose to her feet, and begin circling the table towards him. He started turning around in his chair as Tara walked behind him, but then two smooth hands straightened him in his seat. As he sat there, wondering where this was all going, those same soft hands began massaging his shoulders, chest, scalp and neck. The girl's hands were unbelievably soft and a sigh of contentment slipped out of Ron's mouth unbidden. Very rapidly, all of the concern that he'd had about the whys of his current situation started dropping away, as well as his stupid lone wolf, independent, alpha male, credo. Then he felt Tara's hot breath blowing against his ear from extremely close range, and he shivered from top to bottom.
Tara was making the most of just one last moment of stolen time before she had to run back to the gym. She was also confirming to herself just how damned solid Ron really was under all of his baggy clothing. Her hands roamed around his shoulders and chest for several moments with that in mind and… good Lord… no regrets. Finally satisfied, Tara leaned down and whispered hot air directly into Ron's ear. "I'll see you in two hours." Then she kissed his cheek right next to his mouth, dashed down a side aisle, and made excellent time back to the gym.
"How am I supposed to focus on anything after having that happen?" Despite his complaints, Ron was grinning as he pulled out his math textbook. Since he was unbelievably bad at math, it was best that he tackle the subject with as much residual positivity as he could.
Tuesday April 25th 5:10 Pm
Packing up his textbooks and notes, Ron released a relieved sigh, and rose to his feet. He'd just had one of his better study sessions but there were still several loose ends where his brain just didn't want to cooperate. What he needed more than anything was another tutor like Tara, only with mad Math skills… Shaking his head at his delusional expectations, Ron walked past the school's librarian and gave her a nod.
The crotchety old librarian named Angela nodded back at Ron, as she continued to file and sort the books sitting on her desk. Then as Ron was moving past her, she extended her arm out and caught his shirt sleeve. Angela was no stranger to sheltering bullied boys, but this afternoon had been an especially busy time for her. No less than eleven boys of various cliques and teams had approached her while she was working, asking if she'd seen Ronald Stoppable anywhere. Just by looking these boys in the eyes, Angela had known that they were up to no good, so she'd just shaken her head in the negative, and they'd moved on. Now she looked up at the boy and spoke in an extremely quiet voice. "Be careful on your way home Stoppable... There are several boys roaming the halls looking for you."
While nodding his head in understanding, Ron's face took on a grim cast. "I already have all of my books so I don't need to go to my locker. Thank you for your concern and I'll see you tomorrow."
Angela nodded her head again, and then went back to her work.
Ron began walking down a series of empty hallways, to one of the school's most obscure and out of the way side entrances. While going out the front entrance would have been the fastest route, Ron was going out of his way in order to avoid an ambush. Unfortunately, his idea didn't work. As he turned the corner towards the school's smallest entrance lobby, Ron saw two goons leaning against the doors like bouncers. In an instinctual reaction, Ron stretched out his shoulders and wrists, as he walked quickly up to the goons. He needed to put these guys down ASAP, and he didn't have much choice in the matter. Unlike him, these kids both had cell-phones, and they couldn't be allowed to call their friends for backup. With that thought in mind, Ron realized that he wasn't going to be able to follow Team Possible's use of force standards. He couldn't afford to fail a negotiation right now, and he refused to stand around as a target. He was going to have to take the initiative…
"Ah Stoppable. You're just who we were looking for." The boy who spoke first, was a biker looking goon, on the right side of the hall.
"You kept us waiting for too long Stoppable." The boy, who'd growled out those words, was a thug type goon, on the left. He also cracked his knuckles in preparation for a fight.
Smiling affably, Ron approached the two goons, with his hands raised as if to say I'm unarmed. It's interesting that having your hands up is the universal sign for "I mean you no harm," as well as a great way to square up into the beginnings of a fighting stance. "Woah hold your horses guys. Neither of you are on a sports team or in Bonnie's social circle at all. Why are you doing what she says?"
The biker looking goon scowled at the reminder that he was beneath Bonnie in the pecking order, but he answered the question anyway. "Bonnie promised to invite everyone involved in your punishment to a house party she's having this weekend."
Ron's smile didn't falter as he continued closing in on the goons, and he nodded his head as if their actions were completely justifiable. "Hmmm Well… Okay then… No hard feelings then?"
"Nope, none at all," the thug goon replied, with a happy sneer, as he raised his arm to throw a punch. Then, all of the sudden, his whole face became an explosion of blood, as his nose was smashed into a pulpy mass.
Ron had moved to within striking distance during the time the thug goon was caught gloating and he hadn't hesitated to use the boy's distraction against him. Quick as a thought, He'd dashed inside of the boy's sloppy punch, and retaliated with his own hard, right cross.
Crunch!!
Thug goon groaned as he slid down a wall to the floor, and held his hands to his face, in abject misery. "My nose man! You've broken my nose!"
Ron was a little too busy blocking and dodging biker goon's fast paced punches to respond, but if he had, it would've been to act sarcastically apologetic. As things stood, he was just trying to disable biker goon, who was a far better fighter than anyone else he'd fought so far. Case and point, biker goon stepped back, grabbed the chair he'd been sitting on, and threw it at Ron's face. Faced with a sudden lack of options, Ron had no choice but to intercept it with his own raised fists, and he felt his knuckles tear against the rough wood.
This fight needed to end right this very second, if Ron was going to avoid the rest of the mob. The problem was that he couldn't afford to just win at the moment. What he needed right now was to win as dramatically as possible, so that all the other goons seeking him out would think twice about it... It was in that moment that Ron realized something… None of the goons that he'd fought so far had ever used their legs at all.
Amateurs…
With no warning whatsoever, Ron dashed right through Biker goon's renewed punches and sandwiched himself between the leather jacketed boy and the closest wall. When he was firmly wedged in place, Ron kicked out with both his legs at full strength, launching the goon clear across the hallway. The Biker goon slammed into the far wall shoulder first with an audible popping sound, dropped to the ground like a sack of potatoes, and then whimpered in pain while cradling his newly dislocated shoulder.
"S.someone get over t.to entrance number three Stoppable'ss getting away!" The downed thug goon was just barely managing to slur out his words through the blood in his mouth, but he had his cellphone in hand and was calling for help.
Very briefly, Ron debated truly punishing both of these boys for attacking him, but then he thought better of it. Right now, he needed to focus on getting out of the school, where he had a massive red target painted on his back. Sticking around for revenge on your enemies is a bush league mistake that some of the dumber supervillains tend to make. Ron was many things, but he wasn't a noob. Less than three seconds later, he was out the door and running down the street.
Twenty minutes later, Ron was walking down the street to his house, and giving himself a once over, after all of the fights he'd been in. He'd never been hit with anything stronger than just a glancing blow to the shoulder over the course of the day, but he'd thrown far too many punches at people and then he'd had to block that chair. Looking down at his hands, Ron wasn't surprised to find his knuckles were both raw and red. As soon as Ron finished checking himself out, he grinned at his minor victory. He was essentially damage free and he'd been in eight fights in the last two days. While that was no small feat, Ron figured it did make sense. He was used to fending off professional Henchmen, who have both martial arts training and huge amounts of muscle mass. As it turns out, the only people worse at fighting than a super villain's paid henchmen were Bonnie Rockwaller's volunteer bully squad…
"Just a bunch of kids," Ron muttered, in a quiet voice as he unlocked his front door.
Before Ron could continue walking into his house, a car that he didn't immediately recognize pulled up into his driveway. It was a teal colored, VW Beetle, with tinted windows, so that Ron couldn't see who was behind the wheel. Ron waited as the car's engine turned off and the front door opened. A long, lean leg unfolded out of the car's driver side door, followed closely by a second.
Apparently Tara Strongwell was the punctual type, because it was almost exactly five thirty Pm on the dot.
Ron waited dutifully, holding his front door open as Tara gracefully rose out of her car and walked towards him. Her clothing was normal for her, which is to say, she looked extremely trendy and well put together (sexy as all Hell). She was wearing a light blue colored sundress that didn't show off too much cleavage or stop too high above her knees. On paper at least, what Tara was wearing was family friendly. It really wasn't. In reality the dress was clearly custom fitted to Tara's slender body like a second skin, and didn't hide even a single millimeter of her curves. Ron arched an eyebrow as Tara approached him, and he couldn't stop himself from asking the question. "Should I be concerned that you're wearing your 'I'm torturing the boys in my class' dress, Tara?"
Grinning in amusement, Tara slowly shook her head. "I have good intentions Ron, but I wanted to look good tonight, and I don't pull my punches."
Ron nodded his agreement. "No. You most certainly don't. You're completely stunning."
Tara smiled at Ron's compliment as she walked up to him and leaned against his doorframe. "You don't look so bad yourself Ron. Your hands however... are in even worse shape than they were two hours ago." Tara gently took a hold of Ron's right hand, looking at his blood flecked, red and swollen knuckles. "How many this time?"
"Just two generic, non-sport team related goons, but this time they tried to work together. It wasn't too bad because only one of the two knew what he was doing." Ron looked down at his own knuckles and then shook his head. "I might start taking mission gloves to school, starting tomorrow."
"I'm going to assume that all of this fighting is completely necessary because you're a little too heroic to get off on senseless brawling." Tara nodded to herself as if she'd just said something completely profound. "I have a request though... If you must keep fighting every idiotic bully that populates our school, then I'd appreciate it if you continue winning. I like your face and I don't want it damaged." With that said, Tara gently ran a hand across Ron's cheek, and then continued into his house as if she owned the place.
Ron had been charmed by both Tara's implied faith in his character and the way she kept touching him, so he found himself obediently following her inside. It was dark and quiet in the house as they shed their shoes in the foyer. Ron led Tara through the living room to the stairs, without even bothering to turn any of the lights on.
"You're taking me straight to your bedroom, Ron?" Instead of looking angry, Tara looked like she was a little bit impressed at Ron's daring.
Pausing at that question, Ron's neck started turning a slightly pink color. "Umm, to be honest, I never even thought about it. Kim and I used to hang out in my bedroom all the time without any problems, so I…" Ron shrugged. "If we're going to study, I think we'll be most comfortable in my room, at my desk. The rest of this house is…" Ron stopped there. He didn't quite know how to explain how the rest of the house felt empty and neglected, despite the fact that it was completely clean and tastefully decorated.
Tara just stared at Ron for several moments before she nodded her head. It was unclear whether or not she truly understood how he felt, but it appeared she knew something bothered him about his living arrangements. "Let's go upstairs Ron. I want to study your bedroom, and make snap judgments about you as a person, based on what I find."
Ron grinned as he walked backwards up the steps. "If that's the case, then you'll have to ignore several brand new blank spaces on my walls."
"Photos of you and Kim that you've taken down?" While Tara didn't know exactly what had caused Ron to end his relationship with Kim, she couldn't say that she was surprised. Lately, she'd been forced to listen to Kim yell at Ron day in and day out, over essentially nothing. It had been hard to watch without getting angry, so she was grateful that it was coming to an end.
Ron simply nodded his head as he walked down the second floor hallway and pulled open his door.
While walking into Ron's bedroom, Tara's eyes tracked from side to side, taking in all of the various media represented on his walls. "You have extremely eclectic tastes," she eventually declared, as she scrutinized his movie and music collection.
"Yeah. I'm not such a huge fan of picking a favorite genre of music or movies and then having to defend them. I'd rather enjoy a wide variety of things." As Ron spoke, he booted up his computer, and lifted a pile of papers off of his second desk chair.
"You also have a hero complex a mile wide," Tara pointed out, while sitting down on Ron's old Fearless Ferret bed cover.
Right away, Ron could see that Tara was actually pretty good at this snap judgments stuff. He nodded his head and then decided to make a guess of his own. "You've become skilled at picking up information on people based on small, easily missed clues. It's a skill you picked up out of necessity. You're a social elite so everybody wants something from you..."
It was Tara's turn to nod her agreement to Ron's words, but she didn't stop looking around his room even as she did so. "Not everyone wants to use me... you don't… I… I like your room. You've indiscriminately surrounded yourself with the things that you like, with no regard to color scheme or even... continuity." Tara gestured at the Star Warz and Star Treck posters sharing the same wall.
Ron smiled at Tara's kind words, despite the fact that he hadn't really been concerned about her opinion of his room. "I'm getting the impression that your bedroom is pretty classy. I bet it's all pale neutral colors, soft, smooth pillows and very little in the way of distractions."
Tara bobbed her head from side to side before finally shaking it in the negative. You're right and you're wrong at the same time. My room looks a lot like what you've described, but I also have a laptop, an Ephone and an Epad so… plenty of distractions."
While nodding his understanding, Ron wished for perhaps the millionth time that he had a smartphone.
"You don't have a cell phone at all do you? We'll have to change that as soon as possible. I wanted to text you earlier and then I couldn't. I wanted to let you know that I was on my way over here, and I wanted to flirt." Tara had never stopped rooting through Ron's stuff the entire time she was talking, and she appeared to be having a pretty good time. Looking into an open bedside drawer, she pulled out a pair of boxers, with a duck printed on them. Then she grinned as she looked back at Ron. She and almost everyone else at school had already seen this pair of underwear, on several occasions.
"I've started wearing plain white recently," Ron commented casually. "No need to be flashing ducks and hearts all over the place, all the time."
"I suggest you start wearing clothing that actually fits you," Tara immediately responded, as she settled down on Ron's bed.
"I wear baggy clothing for a reason," Ron returned, as he sat down a foot to Tara's right.
"A reason I suspect doesn't even exist anymore," Tara replied, while folding Ron's boxers and putting them back into his bedside drawer.
As Tara's soft spoken words settled in Ron's mind, he was surprised by how incredibly astute the blonde cheerleader really was. Then he grinned at her and rubbed the back of his neck in chagrin. "Oh... wow… You're probably right… I've always worn baggy clothing and long sleeve shirts to conceal all of the slings, bandages and bindings covering the injuries that I receive on missions. I've always worn these clothes so that Kim wouldn't worry about me on missions, and get herself hurt. Until just now, I hadn't really thought about the fact that I don't need to bother anymore."
"At some point in the not so distant future, I'm going to help you buy a whole new wardrobe," Tara declared, as if she had every right to it.
Ron winced even as he saw the sense in what Tara was saying. "I imagine someone as trendy as you could get me sorted out pretty quickly, yeah. My only stipulation is that I get to veto clothing too far outside of my comfort zone like pinks & frilly things."
At Ron's acceptance and cooperation, Tara found herself smiling happily again, and her entire body bounced around in her excitement. "Shall we get to the studying then? I really like the idea of you completing some high risk, high reward training program in Japan, and coming home super strong. I want to help."
Ron grinned back at Tara because the cheerleader's enthusiasm was infectious (duh, she's a cheerleader). "Alright then. I'm leaving myself in your capable hands Tara. Let's get to it."
2 hours later….
Ron felt like his eyes were rolling in their sockets because of all the Biology terms and definitions that were running around inside of his head. On the other hand, he was also making excellent progress, and he was well aware that it was all because of Tara. She was an almost perfect tutor, with her velvety soft voice and near infinite levels of patience. If there was an imperfection in Tara's approach to teaching at all, it was just that she'd slowly and steadily drifted closer as they worked, until having her just inches from him started becoming a massive distraction. Tara Strongwell smelled so good, looked so good, and she was going so far out of her way for him...
Of course, Ron was no stranger to casual levels of female attention, because he and Kim used to… Well he and Kim used to be inseparable. A little over five months ago, it wouldn't have been all that weird to see them lounging around essentially on top of each other, while watching a movie or something. On the other hand, having Tara brushing up against his shoulder while pointing out a line of highlighted text he absolutely must remember, felt completely different. Ron was nervous. He couldn't get his heart to stop pounding in his chest, and the skin of his arms were developing goosebumps under his sleeves… He supposed it might just be the fact that Tara had alluded to having a romantic interest in him, but he doubted that was the only reason. Tara Strongwell was a complete smokeshow and having her hover so close to his body was getting him amped up in a big way.
"I think we're done studying for the night," Tara announced at random, as they finished chapter 11 of the Biology text. "You're essentially prepared for Biology now, so tomorrow we'll move on to Chemistry."
While nodding, Ron smiled at Tara in his appreciation. He was in waaaay better shape for the Biology exam than he had any right to be, and he knew it.
"Now for my payment," Tara continued, in a far too casual tone of voice.
Ron had his suspicions about where this was going, because he wasn't a complete moron. With that in mind, he took a deep breath to calm his nerves and asked the question. "What would you like from me?"
"Why, I want you to strip naked for me of course." Tara's reply made it sound as if she was requesting something trivial, as there wasn't even an ounce of hesitation in her voice.
Despite just having his suspicions confirmed, Tara's demand was still a huge blow to Ron's calm. He took yet another deep breath, stood up, and looked down at Tara's eager looking face.
"Don't be shy Ron. I'm doing this for several of my own reasons, but one of them is because you need to understand something. You're definitely not some kind of hideous, Quasimodo type. Tara leaned closer to the edge of the bed as she spoke, and she bounced around as if she couldn't wait.
Once again nodding his understanding, Ron dropped his hands to the hemline of his shirt. Then, with one fast motion, Ron removed his long sleeved tee and dropped his pants at a similar speed. Immediately after, Ron found himself in nothing but his ankle socks and boxers, with a shocked looking Tara Strongwell, staring at him with the intensity of a high power laser.
"Hu..huh?… Ho..how did… How is that possible?..." Tara's face was a bright red, her mouth was wide open, and her breathing was becoming irregular.
"You mean the scars." Ron knew well and good the scars were what Tara was asking about, but right now he was stalling for time. Any explanation he gave about his body was going to be hard to give, because it all sounded completely ridiculous…
"Of course the scars," Tara immediately replied, as she traced his every contour with her eyes. "They're so different now. They're silver instead of red and they're smooth instead of raised. How did you heal to this extent in just a little over a year?"
"I'm afraid you won't believe me," Ron began, in a quiet voice. Even as he said those words, he was stepping closer to both the bed and the intensely staring woman.
"Try me," Tara breathed out, as she reached out and traced a hand along a particularly large, smooth, silvery scar, trailing down Ron's ribs.
"I was involved in an explosion of spiritual power that came out of a sacred Japanese relic, during a particularly dangerous mission about seven months ago. The experience seems to have... well… it changed me." Ron stared Tara in the eyes as he spoke, to see if she'd believe him. Judging from the amazed look on her face, she really did. Warmed by her ongoing faith in his character, Ron found himself revealing details about his body that he'd always kept secret. "Nowadays, I heal far faster and more completely than normal, and my old scars have become… this. They don't hurt me anymore, they're just…" Ron spasmed a bit under Tara's roaming hands, and then he laughed. "The scar tissue's become a little sensitive is all."
"Your body is… surreal… or perhaps decadent is the word," Tara whispered, as she ran her hands along Ron's near mythical eight pack stomach. You look like a warrior from a Tarantino film. Your scars look like they've been painted on by an artist. This is exactly what I've kept from my friends, Ron… If my friends found out about this... I'd have to either kill them or... share…"
Ron had no idea what to do with himself at the moment, so he just stood there, enjoying the sensation of Tara's amazingly soft hands roaming around his chest, stomach, arms and hips. Then, very suddenly, he realized that he was enjoying himself far too much. His cock was rapidly becoming hard, and it was beginning to strain the living Hell out of his boxers. Since he didn't have a hope in Hell of hiding his growing erection, Ron was extremely relieved when Tara visibly didn't mind what she was seeing.
"Take the boxers off," Tara demanded, with her eyes locked on Ron's.
Even though Ron had known that this was coming, it still felt like a huge amount of development in just a single day. Wasn't his entire focus supposed to be on getting over his Kim Possible fixation and improving himself? Immediately following those thoughts, Ron internally screamed at himself to stop being such a damned pussy! The beautiful, kind, happy, wonderful, blonde cheerleader wants to see your dick, so whip it out you idiot!! At the tail end of that furious thought, Ron grabbed the top hem of his boxers, pushing them to his feet, in one fast motion.
"Gasp!!"
Ron whipped his eyes back up from the floor at the sound of Tara's startled inhale. Then he relaxed again when he saw her doing the whole staring as if mesmerized thing again. "Uhhh I know it's a little…"
"Little's really not how I'd describe this majestic beast Ron." Tara didn't look away from Ron's dick when she answered him, and she was rubbing at her own thighs, as if trying to keep her hands to herself.
"Uhh yeah I'm aware that I'm… Well... Yeah... Okay... I'm fucking hung." Ron shrugged. "Too bad one of the reasons Zita Flores said she couldn't date me was because I was way too damned big for her to handle. She never let my dick anywhere near her pussy."
Tara tried to take what Ron had just said seriously, but then she just couldn't. She scoffed both loudly and derisively, shook her head and rolled her eyes. "Ron… What you have there, is the reason no woman will ever cheat on you. It's just…" Abruptly, Tara shivered, and her eyes took on a half lidded quality. "I'm no slut Ron... I've slept with only one boy and he'd been my boyfriend for about half a year when he took my virginity. I'll tell you this right now though. I've wanted you for a long, long time now, and I'm not going to wait patiently for your training montage to end."
At Tara's words, Ron's cock twitched up and down right in front of her nose, causing her to go just a little cross eyed as she stared at his dickhead. Ron shivered again but his voice became all business. "What time can you stay here til tonight?"
"I'm expected home at 9:30 on the dot," Tara replied absently.
Ron looked over at his clock radio and saw that it was 8:10 Pm. They didn't have a lot of time considering Tara would need twenty minutes to commute home. Looking back at Tara, he decided to just have some balls for once. "Get naked for me Tara. I've wanted you since junior high.".