The Protagonist System

333 Cheering Up

Thanks to the short shopping spree the night before, Tara helped me pick out some high school appropriate clothing for me to wear. I couldn't wear the designer jeans all the time or people would think I only had the one pair, which was a fair point. I also pretended that I didn't see her slip them into one of her own shopping bags and I conveniently forgot about them when I wore the slacks out of the store.

I wore the same slacks this morning and a polo shirt when I knocked on the Possible's back door. I heard Ann's laugh and smiled as she invited me inside. She wore a similar outfit as the day before, dress pants and a blouse, with the pants a nice burgundy instead of beige. Her heart-shaped ass cheeks were highlighted well by the deep red color and I was sure her pants were about a size too small for her.

Just like with Kim not wearing a bra, I was not going to complain about the free show as she cooked eggs and toast. I also couldn't see a visible panty line... and yes, I made it obvious I was looking... and she just arched her back a little for me. What a tease!

“Good morning, Doctor Mrs. P!” I said with a huge grin on my face. “You're looking smokin' hot, like always!”

Ann laughed and waved her spatula at me. “No flirting at the breakfast table.”

“I can do it later? Awesome!” I said and plopped down onto my usual chair. “I'm inviting myself over here to dinner tonight.”

Ann chuckled and shook her head as she turned back around. “Sorry, Ron. It's Friday and we're going out for dinner.”

“Awww, man!” I pouted and crossed my arms.

Ann glanced back to see it, smiled, and went back to cooking. “I'll try and bring you back a doggie bag.”

“Really? Thanks, Dr. Mrs. P.” I said and glanced around. I wasn't going to let Kim show up without me seeing her like yesterday.

“What are you looking at?” Kim asked from beside me.

I held in my sigh at her sneaking up on me again and turned to look at her already sitting down. “Apparently nothing, cause you're already here.”

Kim smirked at me and picked up a piece of toast. She put jam on it and started nibbling on it. “Where did you go last night?”

“I went for a drive to the mall.” I said truthfully and motioned to my polo shirt. “I picked up a few things, too.”

Kim looked down at my outfit and then back to my face. “What's wrong with your old clothes?”

I smiled. “You just answered your own question.”

“I like your old sweater and I'm sure Rufus prefers the pockets in your cargo pants.” Kim said and finished her piece of toast as her mom put a plate of sunny side up eggs in front of her.

“I think he looks fly.” Ann said and put a plate of scrambled eggs in front of me. “That is what teens call well dressed these days, right?”

“Mooooom!” Kim groaned and slapped a hand over her face, clearly embarrassed.

I laughed and reached over to pat Ann's hand. “That was a great try, Dr. Mrs. P., it's 'bussin' for boys looking great and 'snatched' for girls who are on point and fashionable.”

“Snatched? Really?” Ann asked and shook her head. “Why can't they just use normal words?”

“We're teenagers.” I said, as if that explained everything, and sarted piling my scrambled egg onto a piece of toast.

Ann laughed and went back to the stove. “I didn't think I was that far off from connecting with a teenager's mentality.”

“We're both considered old folks to the kids these days.” Mr. Possible said when he entered the kitchen. He took the plate of over easy eggs from his wife and sat down at the table. He saw what I was doing and chuckled. “Is it worth the mess?”

“Totally!” I said and squirted ketchup on the top piece of toast and squished it into the eggs. I then picked the sandwich up and ate the thing in only four bites. “That was great, Dr. Mrs. P!”

The three of them stared at me and I laughed.

“I had to skip my morning snack because Rufus ate all the pizza nacos I left in the fridge.”

“Pizza nacos?” Kim asked and ate another forkful of egg.

“Yeah, that was the idea we came up with yesterday. Bueno Nacho wouldn't buy it, though.”

“Because pizza is associated with Italian food?” Ann asked and did up two plates of chopped up egg whites for her twin boys and put the yolks on her own plate.

“You got it.” I said and picked up my dirty plate and brought it over to the sink. “They can't dilute their brand.”

“Understandable.” Mr. Possible said and glanced at me, then he shrugged and put his two eggs onto a piece of toast, used a small squirt of ketchup, and added another toast on top. He bit into it and smiled. “That's not bad.”

“You're welcome!” I said and stepped back as the twins ran into the kitchen. “Kim, I need to wash my hands and then I'll wait for you outside. There's no need to rush with my new ride.” I said, waved goodbye to her parents and brothers, and went to the bathroom to wash up. I left her house and went to my garage to prep my motorcycle. I didn't start it up yet, though.

I rolled it outside and closed the garage door before I used my X-Ray vision to watch Kim be interrogated about my new ride and why I would need one. It kept me chuckling as I put on my leather jacket and she deflected each question from her parents, quite poorly I might add, and then she fled and barely washed her hands before coming out through the front door.

“I said you didn't need to rush.” I told her and held out a helmet to her.

“Less talking, more riding!” Kim shouted and shoved the helmet onto her head and hopped onto the motorcycle.

I laughed and put my own on and slid in front of her. I started it up and the loud 'vroom' sound echoed pretty far in the early morning air. There was suddenly four shocked faces pressed against the front window of Kim's house and I waved to them as I kicked the motorcycle into gear. I had learned to not give it too much gas right away and we shot out of my driveway like a canon instead of a bullet.

Kim sighed with relief behind me and I didn't comment about that or tell her she was hugging me closer than usual. Maybe she liked the leather? It was pretty soft and smelled great.

We arrived at school with plenty of time left before first class and quite a few of the students looked at us as I pulled into the parking lot. I did the same kill the engine and coast the rest of the way trick, just to cover the fact I did it the day before because of the pathetic sounding scooter engine.

Surprisingly, Tara, Jessica, and even Hope waved to us. Bonnie frowned at them and huffed as she crossed her arms, which was huge progress after only a single day. She should have shouted at them for it and she stayed quiet, so Tara really had made an effort on my behalf and I would have to thank her later.

Kim hopped off as soon as I parked and pulled off the helmet, hung it on the handlebars, and jogged over to the other cheerleaders. I didn't bother listening in as I hopped off the motorcycle myself and stored my jacket and the two helmets inside the seat compartment. I used a key-fob and turned the alarm on again and walked towards the front doors of the school.

I could see approval on the faces of the popular kids when they saw my clothes and I did my best to not show that I had noticed. The old me would have made an obvious statement about fitting in better, which would have ostracized him more instead. I entered the school and went to my locker.

There was cheerleader practice this afternoon after gym class and I changed my exercise clothes to appropriate ones. There were only classes for the morning and I could probably sleep through them... and then realized Ron felt the same way, which was why he usually messed up assignments and reports. Well, that wasn't happening today.

English class was first and the person that made the schedule should be shot. Who had the bright idea to teach Shakespeare first thing in the morning? You need to warm up to subjects like that and ease into them with a sharper mind. Teenagers after just waking up were not the sharpest tacks in the box and it was no wonder why the class had the lowest marks in the whole school.

I grabbed the book and a notepad, read over my previous notes, and laughed at the doodles of Romeo hanging himself off of Juliet's balcony because she killed him with her long-winded speeches. These are great notes, old me. I thought and went to the class early. The teacher usually put the chapter on the board before class and I would have the time to read it over before class started.

Mr. Berkin was sitting behind the desk and I tried to not laugh, because he worked more jobs at the school than anyone else, and he was only supposed to be the football coach.

“You must be making bank as a substitute, coach.” I said and sat down in the seat in front.

“That's none of your business, Stoppable.” Mr. Berkin said and then he smirked at me.

“Heh.” I said at him confirming it. I wrote down the chapter number and flipped open the book to the right page.

“You better not be looking at that for the first time.” Mr. Berkin warned.

“No, sir. I'm just refreshing my memory.” I responded.

“Really.” He said and squinted his eyes at me. “Then you shouldn't mind reading a few passages from it after everyone else shows up.”

I was going to laugh at him calling me out for it, then realized it was the perfect place to show off a little and I could use the opportunity to ask Tara something I forgot to do last night. “Sure thing, coach. Just say when.”

Mr. Berkin looked surprised for a moment and nodded. His issued challenge had been accepted and he respected that.

I flipped through the pages pretty quickly and made sure this version of the book was the same as the one I remembered from Greg's memories back in Worm. It matched, word for word, so I was all set. The best part about the scene was that it was the iconic balcony scene where Romeo declared his love for Juliet, Act 2, Scene 2.

*

Tara and the other cheerleaders entered the classroom and she couldn't help smiling at Ron, whom pretended he didn't notice the cheerleaders. He did lock eyes with her for a brief second before dropping his eyes back to his desk. She definitely liked the socially smarter Ron and she let her hand drop to graze across the back of his hand as she passed his desk. Yes, acting like a bad girl really gave her a thrill.

She sat with the others and they kept softly chatting about cheerleading practice this afternoon and about the fashion show tomorrow. They couldn't wait to meet someone knew and Bonnie had contacted Elsa Creeg, a fashion guru looking for the next big thing to hit the scene. With both her and the new designer, they could see the start of a fashion trend that could sweep the world!

After everyone sat and the bell rang, Mr. Berkin gave a short speech about the next chapter in the book and then pointed at Ron.

“Yes, sir! It's showtime!” Ron said as he hopped to his feet.

“You're not in the actual play, Stoppable. Just read the lines.” Mr. Berkin responded.

“Where's the fun in that?” Ron asked and ran over to the corner of the classroom and behind a changing screen.

Was that there before? Tara asked herself and then caught her breath when a period authentic Ron stepped out wearing Romeo's outfit. He looked downright handsome and every girl in the room made a soft sound of surprise, then he took two steps towards her seat and knelt on one knee. OH MY GOD!

“But soft, what light through yonder window breaks? It is the east, and Juliet is the sun.” Ron said and gazed lovingly at her. “Arise, fair sun, and kill the envious moon...”

Tara blushed to a deep red and kind of missed some of his words.

“...it is my lady, O, it is my love. O, that she knew that she were!”

Tara felt a little faint and tried to take several breaths, because Ron had just said he loved her.

“...I were the glove upon that hand, that I might touch that cheek.” Ron finished and his hand reached out to her face and lightly brushed his fingertips across her soft skin.

“I LOVE YOU!” Tara yelled and tackled him to the floor and kissed him senseless.

The entire room gasped and then watched as Tara didn't seem like she was going to stop anytime soon.

A manly sigh cut through the silence and everyone not Ron and Tara looked at the teacher, whom had a hand slapped over his own face. “That's why I said to just read the lines, Stoppable.”

There was a loud squeak and everyone looked down to see if Ron grabbed Tara somewhere inappropriate and they all stared, because it had been Ron that made the sound and Tara had grabbed his crotch.

“I think that's enough.” Mr. Berkin said and he grabbed Ron by the shoulder and pulled.

Tara made a very disappointed sound when Ron was saved from her.

“I'd give you detention, except you would use it as an excuse to be alone.” Mr. Berkin said and set Ron on his feet. “Get changed and stay at least ten feet away from Miss King until cheer practice this afternoon.”

“R-r-right coach. Will do.” Ron said and tried to wipe off the many lipstick marks on his face, gave up, and went behind the screen to change. He had also completely forgotten to ask Tara to be his date for the wedding on Sunday.

Funnily enough, not one single girl was angry at Tara for doing what she did, even if it was with Ron. Apparently, all of them felt envious that it was Tara that had the most famous romantic scene in the world performed for her and none of the boys they knew would ever do that for them, especially in public and in costume.

By lunchtime, the whole school had heard about what happened and everyone was talking about it. Tara was on cloud nine and the bright smile she had, never left her face. Even at lunch when she had to sit at the far side of the table away from Ron, she kept smiling, probably because all of the girls in the school were giving her looks of envy.

Ron looked a little dumbfounded, because he was allowed to sit at the popular table without Tara as buffer. He wasn't sure how that had happened and he stayed quiet about it. He wasn't going to question his good fortune or reminded everyone that he wasn't supposed to be there without her.

Gym class was next and it was volleyball today, so the girls had a great time and the guys grudgingly played along. The boys lost spectacularly, as was proper, because they didn't think of volleyball as a worthy game to be competitive in. They retired at the end of class with a loss of five games to nothing. Plus, it made the girls happy and put them in a good mood, so in the eyes of the boys, they technically won.

After a quick shower and change, the girls came out of the locker room wearing their cheerleader outfits and looked great. When Ron left the boy's locker room, all of them focused on him. Some glared a little and others were looking at him with a much softer expression.

The only one that looked worried was Kim, and that was because she knew Ron was going to pull out his Mad Dog mascot costume and anger the other girls... only, he didn't. He walked over to Tara, whom looked both embarrassed and eager, and he gave her a quick kiss and then whispered in her ear. She looked surprised and then nodded, then she went over to Bonnie and whispered in her ear.

“No. Way.” Bonnie said, her voice flat.

“Yes, way. He said he's sorry for ignoring how he could help us cheer better and wants to change that, starting with being the bottom of the cheer pyramid and later by tossing us into the air if we want to do our own signature moves.” Tara explained.

Bonnie was skeptical, so Tara went back over to Ron and whispered what she wanted. Ron nodded and stayed silent as he stepped back. Tara did a short cheer, then she did her usual high kick to the front and hugged her knee to her chest, leaving her toes pointed straight up in the air.

Tara dropped the leg and repeated the short cheer. Just as she reached the last word, Ron grabbed her waist and hefted her up into the air smoothly, set her right foot onto his palm and lifted her above his head, and Tara did her high kick again and hugged her knee. She was perfectly balanced on Ron's raised palm and looked almost majestic as she posed.

They held it for only a few seconds, then Tara hopped slightly and dropped down into Ron's waiting arms, where he easily caught her and swung her around, then placed her on her feet.

Bonnie walked over to her smiling friend and then pointed behind her at Ron. “Do the basic cheer moves without speaking.”

To everyone's surprise, Ron performed each move properly, and in the right order, and even raised a fist when he was supposed to cheer the team's initials and then both hands when he should have cheered their name.

Bonnie looked from a beaming Tara to a blank faced Ron. “He gets one chance.”

“YES!” Tara yelled and lunged at Ron, whom caught her, and they kissed several times.

“At least she didn't tackle him this time.” Crystal said with a smile.

“She tried, except Ron was ready for it this time.” Monique said with a chuckle. “He's even blocking her hands.”

The other girls started softly laughing as they watched Ron fend off Tara's exploring hands.

Bonnie sighed. “I hate admitting that a teacher was right.” She said and pulled Tara off of Ron and his face was again covered in lipstick marks. “Ten feet apart until necessary, you two.”

Tara giggled and Ron nodded his head several times.

“All right, people. Let's do form one and Jessica can use Stoppable as a step for her scissor kick.” Bonnie ordered and everyone moved into position.

“That's going to look super!” Monique commented and the other girls agreed.

They did the first cheer and Ron moved around in front of Jessica at the right moment and went down on his hands and knees. Jessica used his back like a launching platform and leapt off as she did her signature scissor kick, then landed with a huge smile on her face.

The other girls gasped at how great she looked and immediately surrounded her. She told them how easy it was to stand out with Ron's help and they all started talking about how to use him for their own moves and to make themselves look good.

The only one not enjoying the conversation was Kim, because she knew her best friend Ron would never let someone use him like that, completely forgetting all the times she did the same thing to him during their missions.