Chapter 4

Bonnie Rockwaller lay in her bed, clutching a pillow to her chest. Ignoring the ringing of her phone again, probably Tara, the brunette lost herself in thought. She had never found herself in a situation like this before, and she didn't know what to do.

The girl had convinced her mom that she was sick so she wouldn't have to go to school. Yeah. Worried sick was more like it. Her place on the food chain may have been irrevocably lost. Even if she could spin it in her favor, she couldn't do that to Ron. He'd at least earned that much. Not that there was a way to twist being dragged out of the janitor's closet for making out. Others probably saw them before Mr. Barkin stopped them.

Bonnie checked the clock to see that school would be letting out soon. Breathing a deep sigh, she got up and dressed in jeans and a sweatshirt. Knowing Tara, she would come over as soon as possible to check up on her. While comforting, the brunette just wanted to be alone. Besides, she knew what the bubbly blonde would tell her.

When she arrived at Middleton Park, she made her way to her favorite spot for thinking. It was a hill in a less traveled area of the park. Sitting on the cool grass, Bonnie let her thoughts drift like the geese and ducks on the not-so-distant lake.

Without her being aware of it, she realized that someone familiar was now sitting beside her. "How'd you know where to find me?" she asked, not looking at her companion.

"I'd like to say I know you better than you think, but Tara said you come her when you want to be alone," Ron said with a trace of humor in his voice. "She's probably at your house by now."

Bonnie smiled sadly. "My life is over. How can I ever show my face at school again?"

"With grace and beauty like you always do."

"Easy for you to say. You don't care what others think about you."

"I care, but only some opinions matter. There are hundreds of people in the school; only a handful have ever tried to get to know me. It's too much work to worry about what people who can't even bother to know my name think."

"But I've worked so hard to be popular. To be on top."

"And look where it's gotten you. You're freaking out because we were caught together." Ron looked intently at the side of her face. "I think you're getting worry lines," he said, pointing towards the corner of her eye.

She slapped his hand away. "That's not funny. My friends are important; I might lose them because of this."

"Tara is your friend, and she's ok with it. Even if we're a mistake, a friend would still accept that this is your mistake to make. Anyone that would drop you because they disagree with a part of who you are doesn't deserve to be called a friend."

Bonnie looked off into the distance. "I don't know. It's all I've ever known."

The young man shrugged. "It'll be hard, but you have to remind yourself that it's easier to change now that later. And you do have friends that will help you."

The brunette smiled sideways at him. "How did you become so insightful?"
Ron chuckled. "Eh. Saw it in a movie once."

Bonnie laughed and leaned into the blond. "You know that the woman is supposed to be the smart one."

He wrapped his arms around her waist. "I'm sure you'll be right from now on. I've just got to get it out of my system now so I don't get delusions of grandeur later."

"I could like a mature Ron once in a while," she replied before silencing his 'yes ma'am' with a kiss.

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Bonnie stood outside her car, staring up at the school. She wished she hadn't told Ron her going in was something she needed to do alone. The brunette was sorely tempted to simply get back in her car and drive until she was out of gas. She jumped when someone tapped on her shoulder. "Tara, don't sneak up on people like that!"

Tara frowned. "I've been calling you for the last few minutes." The blonde noticed the nervous look her friend was giving the school and decided to take matters into her own hands. "Well, let's go before we're late for homeroom," she chirped, putting her arm through Bonnie's.

The young girl's weak protests fell on deaf ears. Not that she minded. This meant she could blame Tara if things went bad.

The brunette prepared herself for the chaos when the two girls entered the school. Looking all around her, she saw…students rushing to finish assignments or talking with their friends. No one with torches or pitchforks going on about the "rules" or the "food chain." No one even cared, though she knew the news had to be out. Bonnie pouted; someone should be making a big deal for all of the emotional trauma she went through.

No sooner had she thought this than Ron took her free arm. "How's my favorite cheerleader doing?"

The tanned beauty was struck dumb at the honesty of his smiles and the sincerity of his words. She could tell that he was saying it because he meant it, and her only reply was a blush.

"I'm doing great, but I think you should ask your girlfriend," Tara answered cheerfully. "I caught her trying to make a run for it."

Bonnie stiffened. "I was not trying to make a run for it. I was deciding how to make my entrance," she stated indignantly.

The blonde girl gave her a skeptical look. "Do you believe her, Ron?"

"She seems trustworthy to me," Ron grinned.

The tanned girl frowned. "You guys are insane," she asserted, causing all three to laugh.

Their laughter died when they came upon a wall of cheerleaders. "We need to talk with Bonnie," Hope stated.

The three teens shared a look. "It's ok, Ron. We'll catch up later," Tara told him.

Bonnie kissed his cheek. "I'll see you in class."

Ron looked at all the girls again. "Uh, ok. I guess I'll go check with Kim to make sure there aren't any villainous plans that might need foiling." Walking off, he gave one more look over his shoulder before rounding a corner.

The brunette girl returned the serious stares of the other girls, though she was trembling inside. Was this going to be the backlash she had feared? At least she had Tara by her side; she now realized how good it felt to know she had a friend.

To her surprise, the cheer squad broke into big smiles as they encircled her and bombarded her with questions. Why she never told them she was seeing Ron, was it because of the bet, was he a good kisser, where they were going on their next date. Bonnie laughed as she tried to answer all of their questions while they walked to their homerooms.

For the rest of the day, the young girl enjoyed the euphoria of her feelings. When possible, she spent time with her new boyfriend. Other times, she would gossip with some of the other girls. Bonnie felt like all the pressures and burdens she had carried with her were gone. She felt like she could do anything, and she had friends that would support her. The brunette didn't know why she had never seen how many she could truly call friends, and she wished she'd been able to see it sooner. It almost brought her to tears to fill the void in her heart that she never realized was there.

At the end of the day, Bonnie was telling Ron about how her day went. Everyone could tell that the smile on her face was genuine. Most guys she dated were only interested in her body or her status; Ron was actually listening and sharing in her happiness. The two teens didn't even see Amelia until she had pulled Bonnie aside. "I don't know if you've noticed, but Stoppable's not the kind of guy you want to be seen associating with. He's a loser ranked down there with the freak and geeks. You don't want to be dating a loser, right."

"Uh, I can still hear you," the blond boy called out.

Bonnie looked at the other girl and smiled. "You're right," she answered as Amelia's smiled. "That's why I'm dating Ron." With that the brunette took her boyfriend's hand and kissed him on the cheek. "Let's get to Bueno Nacho. The rest of the squad is meeting there."

Without a backwards glance, the young couple walked off, returning to their previous discussion. They never saw the look of rage from the senior. Not that they were concerned. After all, they both had good friends to help them if needed.

A/N

Yep, I've finally updated. I do believe this will be the conclusion of this story. I've gotten a laptop, so I'm hoping that updates will be more forthcoming. For the most part, I do like how this story came out. I'm not sure if I'll be able to do more Ron/Bon; depends on what story ideas I come up with. For those that enjoy Ron/Bon stories and may not have heard of this one, you should check out "Biology, or Chemistry" by Whispers from the Shadows. It's fairly similar to this story, but it deals with more issues and situations. A really good read.

I've fixed a couple problems if anyone's noticed. Thanks to Cylon One for noticing that I completely skipped a word. And I've done a work around to add the break between scenes. It's been in the original file, but it hasn't wanted to update.