Title: Deep Within

Summary: Kim and Ron are now attending college. Together, they experience new challenges, missions, and a love that could save the world from its darkest hour. Sequel to "Yes, It Can Be".

Disclaimer: Kim Possible is the creation of Disney, I don't own it. Nuff said.

Author Notes: 1) Read and enjoy, and please review! Reviews that say you like it are nice, but reviews that say why you like it are better.

2.) I want include a big thank you to ThePerfectImp, who was my Beta for this story. His patience is unparalleled with how long it's taking me to write chapters for this story. Plus, his dligence in doing a beta a chapter mutiple times is without question, more than helpful.

3.) While it isn't a necessity to have read "Yes, It Can Be" to enjoy this story, I do highly recommend you read it first if you haven't already done so. I believe it will make reading this story more enjoyable. Here's a quick link to the story for your convenience: s/6689988/1/Yes_It_Can_Be

Chapter 1: Northern Shore University

After three long hours on the road from Middleton in the fully packed Sloth, Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable entered the outskirts of Mountainburgh at a little past nine on Saturday morning. Seeing Polar Bear Lake up ahead to their right, Kim exclaimed, "Finally! This drive's taken forever. If we weren't caravanning with the 'rents, we'd have made it up in an hour like we did for Freshman Orientation two months ago."

"It's all good KP. It's like standard parental procedure to help their kids move in for their college freshman year. Traffic was light, so we kept moving. It only took an hour last time because we flew instead of driving," replied Ron.

"I know, I guess I'm just antsy."

"Don't worry, after we finish moving in, we can check out the town. We didn't get to do too much of that when we were here for Freshman Orientation."

As they were passing Polar Bear Lake, Kim said, "Sounds spankin'. Classes don't start until Monday anyways."

Shortly after crossing Valley Road, signs indicating Northern Shore University entrances were seen on their right. At the corner of Bear Street and Peak Avenue, the words 'Northern Shore' were stacked upon the word 'University' in sculpted ice-blue block letters, indicated the start of the college's property. After passing by the Bear Street and University Place entrances, Kim turned right onto Knowledge Way and headed towards the residence hall that would be their home during freshman year.

After navigating through all the check-in chaos, Kim, Ron, and both sets of parents had made it to the parking lot next to Summit Hall, the third of four residence halls along Knowledge Way. All the dorms were built in the same style. Each of the reddish buildings was brick built with five stories and a hipped shaped, slate shingled roof. The first four floors had rectangular double-hung windows for each room, while the top floor had circle top styled windows.

"So you're both in the same dorm?" Mr. Possible questioned with a raised eyebrow as they got out of the vehicles.

"Yes Daddy. We went over this. Each pair of bedrooms shares a bathroom, sort of like a suite. Each suite is one gender, but the floors and halls are co-ed," answered Kim in a matter-of-fact voice as she started to pull some suitcases out of the Sloth's trunk.

"College has changed a little since our day Dear," Mrs. Possible chimed in.

"Yeah, I guess it has," replied the elder male Possible.

The conversation was interrupted by the sound of boxes falling onto Ron as he opened up the back of the Possible's van. Before anyone could react, Ron's muffled voice came from beneath the pile. "I'm okay, just a little setback." Rufus quickly scampered out from underneath the boxes and stood atop the pile. The naked mole rat just stared at the boxes as he scratched his head. Kim could only smile and shake her head at Ron's 'little setback'. Ron eventually worked his way out of the pile. "Which floor do we have to take your stuff to again KP?" Ron asked as Rufus jumped onto his shoulder.

"Third floor Ron, I'm in room 307. Why don't you grab that big box and follow me up?" Kim then grabbed a few bags of clothes and headed towards the residence hall.

After finding a way to balance the box that was almost as tall and wide as him, Ron started heading into the dorm as the parents began organizing the boxes by weight to make transport easier. Ron followed Kim to the elevator. Rufus aided his blinded owner, by navigating for him, since the naked mole rat could see around the box from his perch. Ron consistently shifted left to right to keep the box balanced. The box is light enough, but why does the weight keep shifting inside of it. He asked, "What do you have in this thing?"

"It's just my entire Cuddle Buddy collection. Well not Pandaroo, she got a box to herself, but the rest of my collection is in there. When I talked with my roommate, Susan Keen, at Freshman Orientation, she told me she was a pretty big Cuddler too. Her favorite is Lionrus."

When they reached the elevator, a sign posted apologized for it being out of order on move-in day. Kim groaned and Ron grunted as they shifted directions and headed back through the first floor crowd to the stairs.

A few minutes later, the couple had made their way to Kim's door, which was slightly ajar. Kim pushed it open to see a tanned, blue-eyed, blonde girl unloading some Cuddle Buddies from a box. "Susan, good to see you again," greeted Kim from the doorway.

The blonde turned around and said, "Kim!" as she came over and gave the redhead a quick hug. Backing up, she added, "It's really special getting the famous Kim Possible as my roommate. From our conversation at Freshman Orientation, it sounds like we have a lot in common."

Before Kim could reply, Ron spoke from behind her, "Uh KP, do you think I could get in to set this box down?"

"Oh, sorry Ron!" Kim replied as she stepped into her room so Ron could come in with the box. He quickly came through the doorway and set the box on Kim's bed.

Susan then said, "Oh Ron! My bad, I should have greeted you too, but I didn't see it was you behind that box. Did you actually carry that thing all the way up the stairs by yourself?"

"It's okay, I'm just happy to get that box out of my arms." Ron replied as he sat down on Kim's bed to rest a little. As he did, Ron took a glance around the room. It was a typical dorm bedroom. Let's see- wood flooring, ceiling lighting and one relatively spacious closet. The finest generic university provided furnishings - one four drawer dresser, two desks with matching chairs. The beds are bunk able too. Felix and I will probably do that, but I'm not sure if Kim and Susan will. All this stuff is in that generic light natural wood color too. Through the open bathroom door, Ron saw the plain ceramic tile floor. It figures the university would use industrial grade tile, cheap but durable. Usually on sale at SmartyMart every March thought Ron.

"Yeah, he brought it up here by himself. It's a great thing he's in such good shape, or that would have been brutal." After glancing at Ron leaning on the box, Kim added, "Susan, can we catch up later? Ron and I need to finish unloading the vehicles and it'll take a little longer to move things in since the elevator is out. You seem to be just about done."

"Yeah, I got here around seven this morning, but I only had to come from Springfield. It's only about forty-five minutes west of here. Anyways, I'll let you two get back to unloading all your stuff. I'll finish organizing what I brought with me so I'm out of your way."

"Thanks Susan," Ron and Kim said simultaneously. Kim quickly added, "Jinx, you owe me a soda." Ron smiled and sighed in defeat.

The couple departed back towards the vehicles. As they started down the steps Ron commented, "At least my room's on the first floor. I got lucky with Felix as my roommate."

"That'll make moving in less of a drag. You're in room 113, right?"

"Yup, and I get to pick which bed I get since Felix won't move in until tomorrow. He's helping Zita move into Upperton University today."

"That was really nice of him to do that for Zita. Although I actually kind of wish we had those advanced cyber robotics to help us move into our rooms."

"What do you mean? You've got the Ron Man to help you move in," replied Ron as the duo reached the bottom of the stairs.

Wrapping her arms around Ron, Kim whispered in his ear, "True, can't carry as many boxes at one time, but definitely has the advantage of providing Ronshine when I need it." She took advantage of the moment for a tender semi-quick, kiss.

At this point Rufus, sticking out his tongue and muttering "bleh", hopped off Ron's shoulder and scampered into his pants pocket. Breaking their kiss, Ron and Kim giggled for a moment then continued smiling at each other on their way back to the vehicles.

At the same time Kim and Ron were moving into their rooms, some upperclassmen were moving into rooms in the private apartment complex across from the University on the other side of Peak Avenue called Mountaineer Village. While the building on the north side of the complex that was perpendicular to Peak Avenue was all apartments, the two buildings parallel to the road had retail venues on the first floor, with apartments on the four floors above the first. Looking out across Peak Avenue, residents could see the pristine mountain range. The bustling retail and residential village was its own bubble of life, just a short walk from the college, with restaurants and shops for both residents and students from the university to take advantage of.

The apartments' outside architecture was designed to look like the residence halls of the college, but the inside were furnished spacious apartments instead of the economical living space of the dorms. The living rooms of Mountaineer Village were large enough for a dining table set in addition to the side tables, sofas, television and other entertainment furnishings. The kitchens came fully equipped with stove, oven, microwave, and dishwasher, as well as a full washer and dryer –no trips to the laundry room for these students. The bedrooms came with another spacious benefit, walk-in closets in every room. Finally, the apartment featured plush carpeting throughout with decorative ceramic in the kitchen and heated ceramic tile floors in the bathroom, quite a bonus for the cold winter nights. For the students of Northern Shore University, these apartments were the top echelon of residential options at their disposal.

Among the Mountaineer Village residents were three muscular, senior football players who had finished moving in very early that morning. They were now relaxing on some sofas in the living room of their three bedroom apartment. They were Gordon Beng, starting strong safety, Seth Nazar, starting outside linebacker, and the star of the team and big man on campus, Nick Alvah, wide receiver. Seth was stretched out on the couch, taking up about half the space, while Gordon sat comfortably on the left arm rest. Nick relaxed in a sofa chair to the left of the couch.

"Yo Nick, I heard you dumped Rita over the summer," jibed Gordon as he tossed a NSU foam football at the wide receiver.

Catching it easily with his non-dominant hand, Nick replied, "Hey a stallion like me needs the ultimate girlfriend. Rita was hot, but it wasn't like she was drop-dead gorgeous. Plus, she basically told me she wanted to pursue some of her own interests in the Psychology field." Switching the ball to his right hand, he passed it at Seth. The linebacker cradled it with his chest.

"So basically, you still haven't landed that 'ultimate girlfriend' you've been going on about for the past two years, right?" Seth used air quotes for emphasis while keeping the football in his left hand.

"No, I haven't found 'the one' yet. The ultimate girlfriend would be smokin' hot and answer to my every whim. I won't settle for anything less than that. If anything, I should get an ultimate trophy girlfriend. She would also be famous in addition to having a fantastic body and being a great side piece. She wouldn't have to worry about pursuing dreams or a career because she would have me and all the football and endorsement money I'll make when I graduate," described the football star.

"Yeah, we know what you look for in a girlfriend. Whether your description takes thirty seconds or twenty minutes, it's always the same. It's just a matter of how often you repeat it. I have to say I like that my girl is feistier than what you want. Lima transferred here from her college in Ashville, since Northern Shore is starting a culinary arts program this year. Her cooking is exquisite, a must for man who takes pride in his Italian roots like I do. Plus she's got a great body," replied Seth, gesturing to himself with the football as mentioned his Italian background.

Gordon interjected, "You and your Italian roots. In addition to your blonde hair and blue eyes not giving a stereotypical Italian impression, you lack a good Italian mustache," as he pretend to twirl an imaginary mustache.

"Not all Italians have mustache's fool. I figured a good beard works fine. It didn't look bad for Franco Harris. That man had Franco's Italian Army supporting him at football games. It's no different than you and your rap music collection," retorted Seth as he threw the football with some velocity at Gordon.

After catching the ball with both hands, the strong safety shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? MC Honey knows how to work a beat. You take pride in your Italian roots and I take pride in my African heritage." Gordon then added, "Anyways, is this the same girlfriend who's got the same competitive streak that you do?"

"Oh yeah, she won't settle for second place in any competition. I met her in Ashville when I attended that huge kegger they had during fall break last year. She's only a sophomore now, but she is without a doubt a full grown woman, if you know what I mean," commented Seth with a wink.

Nick added his critique. "I don't find anything wrong with your taste in women. I just have higher expectations for a woman to be my girlfriend."

Gordon replied, "Yeah, you want your girlfriend to be an anomaly like you. You're the rare white boy who can run, jump, and catch. Like Jason Sehorn, except you play wide receiver for a college team in Mountainburgh, and he played cornerback for a professional team in New York." He then tossed the football back at Nick.

After he caught it with his right hand, Nick twirled it as he boasted, "Dude, Sehorn played defense. I'm a wide receiver, white as Wes Welker, but as talented as Terrell Owens and Randy Moss. I'll be a professional soon enough though. Our football team is going to be great this year with all the returning starters we have. With as good as the team will be, it'll give me a chance to get some more national attention. It's going to be my year to break receiving records. With all that fame, there is nothing like living the life on the top of the food chain. Throw in my outstanding good looks and luck and trust me, I will land that ultimate girlfriend this year."

"That place was fantastic. Decent price, nice service, and probability of any kind of kitchen disaster is less than one percent," said Mr. Stoppable as he came out of the Mountain Man Pizzeria in Mountaineer Village with his wife, son, Kim, and her parents.

When the group reached the parents' vehicles, Mrs. Possible said, "Well Kimmie, looks time it is time to say goodbye for a while. I know you'll make us proud."

"Thanks Mom," Kim replied as she gave her mom, then her dad a hug. "Take care Daddy."

"You too Kimmie Cub."

As Kim said her goodbyes to her parents, Ron did the same with his parents, hugging his dad then his mom. During the hug, his mom said, "Enjoy yourself Ronnie."

"Thanks, Mom. I will."

Ron gave a quick farewell to the elder Possibles as Kim said her goodbyes to Ron's parents. When Mr. Possible shook Ron's hand before departing, he made intense eye contact with Ron and tilted his head in the direction of his daughter. Ron understood the unspoken meaning of the gesture -take good care of my Kimmie Cub- and nodded in confirmation. The parents got into their vehicles and headed southeast, back to Middleton as the crime fighting duo walked across the street back towards their dorm.

"So, how do you think your brothers are fairing?" asked Ron as they walked.

"With Hana? Good question. I know Jim and Tim have a lot of energy, but even I don't know if they can handle your super ninja baby sister. If they're having trouble, it's payback for all the times they were inhuman when I had to babysit them. Actually, I really hope she's running full speed all over the house." Ron laughed at the thought of Hana literally running over and around Kim's brothers.

They continued to walk towards their home for the next few months. Enjoying being alone together for the first time since they arrived in Mountainburgh, Kim and Ron took their time strolling hand-in-hand through campus. They admired the scenery, especially the pristine mountain range that bordered the eastern edge of campus. The campus itself was mainly rolling hills with plenty of trees on the grounds to provide shade and some nice scenery. As the couple entered the residence hall, Ron asked, "So, which clubs and activities are you going to try to do?"

"I really don't want to get involved in too much like I was in high school. I figured I should try marinating a little more in college. I'll probably just try out for the cheerleading squad. I saw a flier in the hall giving the time people should show up. Between that, classes, missions, and Ronshine, I think I'll have a pretty full schedule." Kim paused to give Ron a twinkling smile, "Especially the Ronshine."

"Whether it be providing the Ronshine or supporting my lady at her cheerleading tryout, the Ronster aims to please."

"Speaking of tryouts, the football team is holding some for anyone interested in being a walk-on at the same time the cheer squad tryouts are. Are you going to try out? Both are at the football stadium. I think they call it the Snow Bowl."

"I guess it can't hurt with my mad running away skills." Ron thought for a moment, smiled and added, "If they don't need a running back, I guess I could always see if they need someone to be the school mascot."

"Yeah, but I think you'll be on the football team. I like cheering more when you're out on the playing field."

"After we're done, why don't we dine at that Winter Wonderland Restaurant that was right next to Polar Bear Lake? It looks similar to Chez Couteaux. Plus they were passing out 50% off coupons for students during the move-in insanity. The coupons varied on which night this week they are valid. The one I picked up is only good for tomorrow night."

Kim rested her head on Ron's shoulder, their arms intertwined as the duo started up the dorm's stairwell. At least it wasn't a kids eat for free coupon, Kim thought as she smiled and said contentedly, "Sounds like a wonderful night."

"…so you really think I should run for one of the Freshman Representative spots when elections start next month?" asked Susan as she and Kim were settling in for the night.

"From what you told me about being president of your high school's community service club, I think you'd be great at it. I'll help you put up posters and fliers and I'm sure Ron would help too."

"In the short time I've known you I don't think I've seen Ron not help when you've asked him."

"Yeah, we've had each other's back through a lot of stuff since preschool. Everything you've seen is pretty much small stuff. "

"I can only imagine, but I'm sure I'll hear plenty of stories soon enough. Now let's get some sleep; you have cheerleading tryouts tomorrow afternoon."

"Yeah. Good night Susan."

"Sleep well Kim."

It was two o'clock in the afternoon when Kim walked up to the audition table located on the visitor's sidelines of the football field. She was greeted by a cheerleader seated there, "Welcome to cheer tryouts! Are you a returning student or a freshman?"

"Hi, I'm Kim Possible. This is my freshman year."

"Welcome to Northern Shore University." The cheerleader handed Kim a spiral playbook, containing the standard cheers used by the squad and some diagrams of some of their basic routines. "I'll put you down for the 2:05 audition. Just scan through that book and pick a routine you feel best demonstrates your abilities. You can have a seat on the bleachers while you wait. The evaluators will call you over when they're ready for you."

"Okay, thanks." Kim scanned through the book on her way to the bleachers. These are just basic cheerleader routines. I guess she wants to see how solid someone's basics are and try more complicated routines later. After picking the most complicated routine, Kim sat down and the bleachers and turned her attention towards the football field. She had gone on ahead to the cheerleading tryouts as Ron helped Felix move in. Ron should be here soon…oh, there he is. Kim smiled a little wider as she saw a familiar blond jogging onto the football field heading towards the home team's bench where an assistant coach was sitting at a table.

As Ron reached the table, he asked the coach "Is this where the walk-ons are supposed to sign up?"

"Sure is," replied the middle aged man. He then turned away from Ron and yelled, "Coach Holler, we actually got a walk-on this year."

A black haired, crew-cut man dressed in Army issued gym clothing, walked over from the middle of the field where he had been watching the team do their warm-up stretches. The six and a half foot tall, buff head coach eyed Ron discerningly from head to toe and demanded, "What position are you looking at, blondie?"

Ron gulped and then replied, "Running back."

This scrawny chicken a running back? I'll give him one shot. I'll throw him into the fire and see what he's got. The head coach body language only showed indifference to Ron. Holler looked over at the assistant. "Franco, go ahead and get him suited up." Coach Holler turned and went back to the team.

Coach Franco got up from the table. "That's Coach Holler for you. I'm Barry Franco, the running backs coach. Just follow me."

"I'm Ron Stoppable."

As Ron and Coach Franco entered the locker room, the running backs coach pointed, "The lockers at the end of the room have spare pads and uniforms hanging. Just put on a set that fits and I'll take you out to the field."

"Thanks Coach." As he was putting on his gear, Ron asked, "So…how many running backs does the team have?"

Coach Franco chuckled, "Technically two, but they're actually fullbacks. They can get some tough short yards, but they mainly excel at blocking. With our passing game, we tend not to run too much. We've had one of the top wide receivers in the country the past three years, and he's back for his senior year. The offense is designed around him. Anyways, how would you describe your running style?"

Ron finished putting on the blue uniform jersey. "I never really thought about it before. I just run."

He put the gear on without any problems, so he's obviously played before, but I really wonder if this guy is in over his head. "All right let's get back to the field."

While Ron was in the locker room, Kim was called over by the cheerleaders who were evaluating the applicants. As she came to stand before them, she was politely greeted and given a surprise.

"Welcome to Northern Shore University. I'm Karen Agnes, a senior here and one of the two vice-captains on the squad. To my right is Hillary Brooke, she's a junior and to my left is Jessica Caroline, she's a sophomore. As you can see, we don't discriminate based on class standing. Now in addition to rooting for the NSU teams at various events, we also compete in cheerleading competitions with our Polar Bear mascot. Sometimes we might lose a team member for a competition at the last minute because of an exam, and have to change the routine on the fly. To see how you would handle that kind of high pressure situation, for your tryout, you can't use any of the routines in the book you were just given. You can start when you're ready."

Kim couldn't help but find this 'test' amusing. High pressure situation? Please, I mean sure, it's a pressure sitch, but far from being high. This kind of thing is about as common as Ron losing his pants on a mission before our half-aversary. High pressure would be more like Lorwardians on the verge of conquering the planet.

Within seconds she started the routine she had designed but had to perform in Ron's body because of Drakken's brain switch machine. She finished the routine by perfectly switching her weight from her left foot to her right and hitting the heel stretch at the top, then springing into a back somersault, landing in a perfect split, her arms thrust upward.

The three cheerleaders were speechless when Kim finished her routine. Kim then spoke to break them out of their stupor.

"So, do I need to go anywhere else or do something more?" politely asked Kim.

The cheerleaders quickly conversed amongst themselves at the table. Karen then spoke. "Kim, welcome to the squad. You are officially a Polar Bear Cheerleader."

Jessica added, "I have to say, I was skeptical that your reputation of 'can do anything' was exaggerated. I didn't think someone that close in age to me could be that good. To come up with something that complicated that fast…and off the top of your head... and to execute it perfectly, too! Just incredible! I'm happy to say that I'm wrong. Welcome!"

Hillary looked back at the audition table. "You've already met Lauren Best. She's the captain and by the looks of the line at the table we should only have three or four more auditions today. If you want, you can head back over to the bleachers. We're just going to chill after the auditions and watch the football practice today. Normally we'd have the whole team here and practice at the same time, but on audition day most of the team gets the day off."

"Okay, thanks," Kim replied as she went over to the bleachers. As she sat back down, Ron was coming out of the locker room.

As Ron made his way to the polar bear logo at midfield, the head coach yelled to the team that was circled around him, "Alright everyone, we're going to run some scrimmages now. YOU, the walk-on, what's your name?"

"Ron Stoppable," replied the running back, obviously intimidated.

Ron's reaction provoked some snickering amongst the players. The defensive captain, Edgar Finbar, joked, "I thought we wanted unstoppable players coach."

Coach Holler turned and immediately snapped, "Finbar, shut your yap and get your defense to the offense's twenty yard line stat."

"Yes, sir."

"Dakota, do your job and get your unit into a huddle already." As the offense and defense units moved to the desired yard line, the head coach added, "We're doing extra men scrimmages, starting with defense. Stoppable, get in there so we can see what you've got."

As the groups huddled, Ron asked the quarterback, "What does he mean by 'extra men' scrimmages?"

Carlos Dakota, the quarterback, looked over at Ron and answered. "Coach gives the offense or defense an extra player, so one unit is playing eleven versus twelve. In this case the defense gets an extra defender, so it's harder for us to move the ball." He turned to the whole huddle, "Coach Holler said he wants to see what Stoppable here has, even if he doesn't have any idea what the playbook is. We'll just do a simple off tackle going right to start things off. Hike on three…Ready…Break."

As the squads conversed in their respective huddles, the four cheerleaders Kim had met were sitting down with her in the bleachers. A fifth cheerleader was with them.

Lauren Best, the team captain, spoke up. "I suppose I should give you the official captain's welcome. The girls spoke very highly of your routine. From their description, I have to say I'm quite impressed too."

"I appreciate the compliments. I've already met Hillary, Jessica, and Karen, who's the new cheerleader with you?"

"Oh, sorry. Kim, this is Jezebel DeVille. She's one of the vice-captains on the squad."

"Pleased to make your acquaintance," Kim greeted as she stuck out her hand.

Jezebel just looked at Kim and replied, "Yeah you should be. There aren't many high class students at this school." She turned away from her and focused on the football field.

Jessica, who'd sat behind Kim, leaned forward and whispered, "Don't take it personally. She's pretty much like that to everyone. Just ignore her."

"I think I'll be alright. She reminds me of someone I dealt with in high school." Maybe having to deal with Bonnie all those years was good for something after all.

To change the topic of conversation, Karen chimed in. "Well, seven girls made the squad, but you're the only one who decided to stick around and watch football practice."

Kim beamed a little. "I stayed to watch my boyfriend."

"That's so sweet. What's he majoring in?" asked Hillary.

"He's in the Culinary Arts Program here."

"A man that cooks? You are a lucky girl." commented Lauren.

"I'd say that I'm lucky to have him," agreed Kim.

Back on the field, the squads had broken their huddles and walked to the line of scrimmage. The offense had a tight end lined up on the right side and three receivers on the left with Ron as the lone running back about seven yards deep behind the quarterback. The defense came out with four defensive linemen, four linebackers, and four in the secondary. Dakota started his cadence, "Duck 86-Duck 86, hut, hut, HUT."

As the quarterback faded back after taking the snap from center, he turned and firmly placed the football in Ron's gut. Ron started to sprint right, but the defense had anticipated a simple play call. The defense read the way the offensive line blocked and the entire twelve man unit flowed in that direction. Two men jetted into the backfield untouched. The middle linebacker Finbar was coming straight up the middle and a cornerback was coming around on a corner blitz. Seeing the jailbreak, the three wide receivers started to jog over to the right side of the field, expecting the play would end soon near the line of scrimmage by the right sideline.

However, Ron quickly came to a stop and jumped backwards to avoid being tackled by Finbar. The defensive captain was in complete shock for a moment when he realized Ron had eluded him.

Ron landed on his right foot and started to spin to his right before his left foot even touched to ground to avoid a diving tackle by the cornerback. He turned out of the spin to the inside and started to run towards the left sideline. As Ron ran, Finbar had recovered from the surprise of his missed tackle and taken a great angle to force him out of bounds at line of scrimmage. Approaching that same point was one of the outside linebackers, and the strong safety.

With his practice at dodging spinning tops of doom, Ron contorted himself so Finbar went by right in front of him, allowing Ron to turn up field. The instant Ron faced up field, he hurdled over the other linebacker's diving attempt to corral him, only to find as he landed that the safety's arms were starting to encircle his leg from the right. Ron did a quick hop forward on that foot, as if he was a human pogo stick, and barely escaped the arms latching onto his leg.

By now, the other ten offensive players were all around the line of scrimmage staring in disbelief. None of the twelve defenders had given up on the play though. They were still chasing Ron as the running back was moving helter-skelter around the field, always narrowly escaping his would be tacklers as he made his way towards the end zone.

Over in the bleachers, Jezebel snidely commented. "Who is that? He's running like a demented squirrel."

Kim grinned with pride and admiration, "That's my guy."

Deville looked at Kim with disgust and figuring she had seen and heard enough, she got up and left.

Lauren looked on in amazement, "That's your boyfriend? How does he do that? He hasn't broken a single tackle, but he's dodged, like, twenty of them so…"

"Twenty-one," Jessica corrected.

"Okay, so he's dodged twenty-one of…"

"Twenty-two now!" added Hillary.

"Look I wasn't trying to get the exact number of dodg…"

"Make that twenty-three," Karen humorously quipped.

The captain gave up as she rolled her eyes. Kim just giggled.

"He calls it his 'mad running away skills'. He has a knack for dodging when he absolutely needs too."

By this point, some of the defenders were starting to drop as they grew weary of chasing Ron around the football field. As their numbers decreased, Ron started to run more in the open field towards the end zone. By the time he scored the touchdown, only two players were within five yards of him — a cornerback and Finbar. In the course of running from his own twenty yard line to the end zone, Ron had covered almost a quarter mile in total distance.

Barry Franco turned and smiled to the head coach, "I think we just found ourselves a running back. I've seen plenty who were stronger, faster, and definitely more graceful looking, but I've never seen someone more elusive."

Over by the end zone, Edgar Finbar walked over to Ron. "Dude, I completely apologize for that crack on your last name." He shook his head in disbelief. "We even had an extra defender too. I'm Edgar, defensive captain. This guy here is my friend Darren Crawford."

Crawford added, "After getting whipped like that, I've got to say I'm glad we only have to try and tackle you in practice.

"Ron Stoppable. Nice to meet you guys. I'm just glad I was only dodging tackles and not lasers, piranhas, or spinning tops of doom. As for the joke, it's all good man," Ron replied as he stuck out his hand in friendship.

As he shook hands, Crawford said, "Wait. Did you say 'spinning tops of doom'?"

"Yeah, but it's no big. I'll explain later. Say…what's with that guy?" Ron asked as he pointed towards another coach who was chewing out the offense.

Edgar answered, "Oh, that's Coach Wheeler. He's the offensive coordinator. His big thing is that you always play to the whistle. He's probably chewing them out for how none of them blocked for you after you made it past the line of scrimmage. Anyways we'd best get back over there before Coach Holler starts barking for us to get focused."

The three players headed back to the rest of the team. As they reached the sidelines, Carlos Dakota came up to Ron and said, "That had to be the craziest run I have ever seen."

"What can I say, I've got mad running away skills," Ron boasted as he put his arm up against a water cooler. Instantly the cooler fell forward onto Ron. Somehow, the top came off and Ron was drenched as he fell to the ground. As Ron sat there, he smiled ruefully and added, "I also have a great knack for stuff like this." Edgar and Darren just laughed.

Back in the bleachers, Hillary commented dryly. "For someone nimble enough to dodge all those tacklers, he seemed like a total klutz with the water cooler."

"He's a sweet, lovable kook," Kim grinned again.

Lauren Best said, "I think you'll fit in well with most of the cheerleaders Kim. Aside from Jezebel and her friends on the squad, you'll find the rest of us have moved on from the childish notions of the social food chain…"

Kim didn't really hear the captain as she just watched boyfriend get up and in true Ron style, slip one more time and somehow end up with a plastic cup stuck in his facemask. Yup, he's definitely my lovable kook.

It was about four-thirty in the afternoon when the football practice was starting to wind down. Over in the bleachers, Lauren said to Kim, "They're just about done. Why don't you come with me to try on some cheerleader uniforms to see which size you are?"

"Sure, just let me grab my backpack. Hopefully this will be quick. Ron and I are heading to Winter Wonderland tonight."

"Okay, but we'll have to move a little faster if you want to get to the guys' locker room before Ron finishes changing. Our locker rooms are a little further away than the football locker rooms." Kim said some quick goodbyes to the other cheerleaders before she left with Lauren.

Fifteen minutes later football practice finished and players started to head for the showers. Nick, Seth, and Gordon loitered at the water cooler to get a drink before they headed in.

"Man, that freshman walk-on was a pain today. Most of our defensive drills after the scrimmage were on tackling. Whether it was angles or effective ways to gang tackle, Holler wouldn't let up," complained Gordon.

"So what? I actually had to deal with the idiot. He's says the stupidest things, like that 'booyah' phrase whenever he does something good," Nick added.

"Ahh, you're just upset that the coaches are actually going to give him some plays. Since they'll be run plays, that will mean fewer chances for you to showcase your stuff," commented Seth.

"Seth's right. You may be Mr. Smooth with the coaches, media, and other students, but we know you too well Nick," added Gordon.

"Yeah, yeah, let's just get to the locker room," Nick retorted as he started walking.

As the trio approached their destination, they saw a girl walk as if she was gliding on air, heading to the locker room door. Nick let out a subtle howl. He quietly said to his companions, "Hey, check out the new hottie. I saw her in the bleachers watching us practice; she's probably a new cheerleader. I haven't seen her before but she has got to have the best body I've ever seen."

They saw her stop and lean up against the wall of the building near the door. Gordon then added as they got closer, "Dude, I think that's Kim Possible. I heard rumors that she decided to attend school here."

Nick whistled softly. "The Kim Possible, huh? Someone that famous and with that drop dead gorgeous body — I think I just found the perfect person to be my ultimate trophy girlfriend."

Gordon and Seth just looked at each other and rolled their eyes. As the trio walked to the locker room door, Gordon and Seth went inside and Nick walked over to Kim.

The wide receiver put his hand up against the wall beside Kim and said charmingly, "Hi there beautiful. I don't think I've seen you here at Northern Shore University before. I'm Nick Alvah. How about I take you over to Mountaineer Village and treat you to a nice dinner?"

Kim smiled and replied politely, "Nice to meet you, I'm Kim Possible. I'm just started here at Northern Shore this semester. I'll have to say no to the dinner. I'm waiting for my boyfriend; we're already heading out tonight for dinner."

At this point Ron came out of the locker room in his usually red shirt and tan pants. "Ron!" Kim greeted as she hurried over to him. She hugged him and gave him a quick kiss.

Ron just beamed with his goofy smile with Kim in his arms. Seeing Nick behind her, Ron said, "Hey Nick. Sweet fingertip grab there in practice. I can see why Carlos called you the best receiver in the nation."

Hiding his shock at Ron being Kim's boyfriend, Nick kept his cool exterior demeanor. "Thanks man. I'll catch you later. I need to get in there and get a shower."

"Okay dude, peace," Ron replied.

As Nick went through the door he thought, it's obvious he's a decent running back, but that guy has nowhere near enough food chain status to be dating someone like her. Pickings must have been slim in Middleton for her to decide to go out with that loser. With my social cred and charms, I'll win her over in no time.

Meanwhile, Ron and Kim started to walk back to Summit Hall. Ron spoke first. "Nick seemed pretty polite back there. Weird, when I was talking with Carlos in the locker room, I got the impression that Nick was a bigger jerk than Bonnie."

"He's definitely not shy. I would have had a better first impression if he simply tried to have a friendly conversation instead of hitting on me and asking me out to dinner. Not sure if I would call him a bigger jerk than Bonnie, but I can see how someone wouldn't like him," replied Kim, adding "I think I might have met Bonnie's equivalent on the cheer squad. She's a vice captain, but very snobbish. The other girls were very friendly though."

"So aside from Bonnie's equivalent, everything is badical?"

"Spankin' Ron," Kim replied as their residence hall came into view. Then Kim started to pull him along and added, "Come on, I want to get to the restaurant before it gets too crowded."