Chapter Text
Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Kim Possible or Disney, nor anything I borrowed from other media.
Changes
*Late that night*
"I can't believe Bonnie sometimes. Why does it always have to be her way, the darn food chain way, or the highway?" A frustrated Tara questions, pacing back and forth in her room.
Tara and Josh started dating around the time of the Middleton Festival, and things were going well until recently, when Josh became physically impatient with her. He wanted to go all the way with Tara, which didn't feel right for her, considering how aggressively he pursued her. When she denied him, Josh got angry and broke up with her, saying he should have stayed with Kim and how it would have been easy to get inside of her pants by the way she acted around him. (The break-up happens during the Showdown at the Crooked D episode)
Hearing those words hurt Tara deeply, but she was glad that he proved that he was one close to monkey, as a certain blonde used to say. Speaking of that blonde, Tara had thought her feelings for Ron Stoppable had disappeared when she started dating Josh. However, she realizes that is not the case when, one day, she turns the TV on to watch America's Star Maker and happens to catch Ron performing the Naked Mole Rap song. During his performance, Tara got so into it that she literally blurted out that Ron looked so hot doing his rap.
Saying that felt natural to Tara, which led her to conclude that she still has feelings for Ron. Though her so-called best friend, Bonnie Rockwaller, didn't approve of this revelation. Today, Tara decided to tell Bonnie about her long-lost feelings for Ron, but it did not go well. Despite being upset with Josh for what he did, Bonnie refused to consider a relationship with Ron, aka loser, because it would hurt Tara's status in the food chain.
Tara growls in frustration, reflecting on the conversation and how she barely stood up for herself, allowing Bonnie, as usual, to run her life. "I wish I could be with Ron; he's cute with his never-be-normal motto, kind, loyal, and funny. Unfortunately, my shyness had always gotten the best of me when it came to him, and Bonnie would tell me false reasons not to be with him."
Seeing how late it was, Tara put on her sleep clothes as she looked in the mirror. When she finished, she walked away, only to notice that her reflection didn't follow her.
As Tara turns to face herself in the mirror, her reflection copies her moves until it waves at her, saying, "Finally, I have made contact with you."
Tara jumps back in fear. "Who... Who are you?!"
The other Tara only laughs and points at Tara. "I am you, more like your alter-ego, Amy."
"My what? I don't understand; this must be a dream." Tara, in disbelief, pinches herself, hoping to wake herself up from this crazy nightmare, only to feel pain when she does so.
The other Tara, Amy, shakes her head over the display. "This is no dream, and by alter-ego, let me put it like this: you, Tara, are sweet, innocent, and shy, while I am the bad, naughty, and confident side of you."
"I don't have those qualities in me," Tara claims, still not believing she was talking to her mirror.
"You do; everyone is capable of having certain attributes they don't expect to have if they are willing to embrace them," Amy explains.
"Maybe. Why have you been trying to contact me, and why can I hear from you now?" Tara questions.
Amy reveals a sympathetic expression. "Your inner feelings are what allow me to appear. From what I have witnessed, I know you are hurting. I have felt the pain you have been dealing with for the longest time, with people not taking you seriously because you're a blonde, how Bonnie kept you on a leash when she was supposed to be your best friend, how you long for the guy of your dreams."
Tara backs away, struggling to hold back tears as she realizes everything she heard is a painful truth about her life. "How could you know all that?"
"As I said, I am you. Therefore, I have seen and felt everything in your life. Now that I'm here, I want to help you, for you have a special gift that can only be used by me if you allow it. Maybe you can learn to access this gift as well. The question is, are you willing to embrace the gift waiting to be activated?" Amy then extends her hand towards Tara, whom she had just told.
Tara didn't know what to do at that moment. She still thought she was losing it, but she couldn't help but feel curious about this strange gift that her double declared that she had.
"So if I accept this offer, you will help me become a better version of me?" Tara nervously asks Amy.
Amy nods her head. "Yes, I will. I will show you what you are capable of tomorrow at school. Just take my hand, and we can begin."
Tara hesitates but slowly walks over to the mirror, extending her hand to Amy. As soon as she touches the mirror, Tara starts to feel extremely lightheaded and feels herself getting ready to pass out. Right before she does, she hears Amy say, "Don't worry, Tara. Everything will be different now that I'm here." After hearing those words, Tara passes out as the change begins.
*At Ron's room that same evening*
Lying under the covers in his bed, tired from the long plane ride home, Ron continued to stare up at the ceiling, going over what had happened in his life recently.
It all started on the day of the Middleton Festival when Kim began acting strangely after finding out Josh and Tara had hooked up. Kim's mood kept changing out of nowhere until she suddenly developed a random crush on him. She chased him around the school like a lovesick puppy, finally kissing him after he agreed to go on a date with her. The date ended in a disaster for Ron, who felt that he and Kim's relationship wasn't right and that they should remain friends, even though she looked attractive in her black dress. He low-key wanted another kiss from her. Once he told her how he felt, Kim went into a rage, but it turned out the device was the cause, not Drakken's supercharging, which had made her furious. Luckily, Kim was able to remove the device and return to normal.
This event marked the beginning of changes in their friendship. After Kim returns to her old self, Ron curiously asks if the whole crush on him was just due to the moodulator, to which Kim replies that there are still fireworks. Still confused about their relationship status, Ron questions Kim about it during his cousin Shawn's wedding, where Kim assures him that she doesn't have feelings for him in that way. Even though he was okay with the answer, awkwardness grew between the two. It started with Kim not returning Ron's messages when she went to Montana with her family, and not making him feel appreciated, even though he was risking his life to return an overdue book to her. Leading to the moment, or instead, a person causing a significant change in their friendship.
"Eric," Ron mentions the young boy's name with venom.
Sometime after performing the Naked Mole Rap on live TV, Kim meets a cool boy named Eric. He is new to the city and had never heard of Kim, so he acted similarly to how she did with Josh. The vast difference is that Eric chased Kim, rather than the other way around. Kim quickly became enamored with Eric, and the only times Ron hung out with her were either on missions or as the third wheel on their dates once they became a couple.
Ron became even more confused due to an event that went down today. Yori made a surprise visit, asking Ron for help to find Sensei. Remembering the promise he made during his last trip to Japan not to speak about what happened, Ron had to lie to Kim when she began asking questions concerning Yori. Of course, Kim wouldn't let things go and track the two down, forcing Ron to spill everything. Ron fails to notice how Kim keeps attempting to outdo Yori and how she is supposedly jealous of her, especially when Yori kisses him on the cheek after she explains to Kim that she and Ron have a bond of honor.
"I still can't believe that Yori likes me, and I didn't know. Then again, it's not the first time that has happened to me." Ron recalls that after he saved the cheerleaders at camp, he chose not to mention the rest of it; Tara was the only one who gave him a peck on the cheek. Ron thought it was just her way of thanking him. Later, Kim revealed that Tara liked him, but it was too late because she had started dating Josh by then.
Ultimately, as Kim told him today, he didn't understand girls. "I mean, I don't get it, Rufus. Like Yori showing up was the one time I got her attention, yet as soon as we left Japan, she jumped back on the Eric train and forgot about me. It's almost like she didn't want me to talk to another girl."
"It always seems to be with Kim when it comes to our friendship, like the whole haircut thing, barely sticking up for me, bullies pick on me, naming the team her last name instead of a creative one, never getting any credit on missions, not telling me when girls like me..."
It then dawns on Ron that he has always had Kim lead the way while he drags behind her, much like Bonnie once described him as a lapdog.
"How can I ever step out from her shadows?" Rufus tries his best to console him after listening to his rant.
Appreciating his effort, Ron smiles at him, finally feeling the sleep creep on him. "Well, I guess I will talk to Felix about it tomorrow. Goodnight, Rufus, and thanks."
*The next day at school*
Usually, Ron would go to Kim's house to walk with her to school. When Kim and Eric started dating, they began ignoring him, even when he walked with them. Ron had had enough and decided to ride his scooter or walk to school by himself.
After his morning classes, Ron glanced down the hallway and saw Kim and Eric sharing a kiss while Mr. Barkin was away, prompting him to growl at the sight of the two as he opened his locker.
"I guess it's love in paradise, it seems?" A familiar voice catches Ron's attention.
Ron looks over to greet his other friend. "Hey Felix, and if that's paradise, I wouldn't want to be there with him." Ron points over to Eric, eliciting a laugh from Felix.
"I don't get what Kim sees in him, nor do I understand why Monique supports it. Eric comes across as another popular guy with no substance." Felix rolls his eyes as he gives his opinion.
"Amen to that brother." Ron goes back to put his stuff in his locker. "Speaking of Kim, I wanted to talk to you about..." As he closed his locker, Ron noticed that Felix was facing the other direction instead of him.
"Felix, hello, are you in there?" Ron waves his hands in his face to get his attention. Not affected by getting his attention, Ron looks up to see what had brought him into Lala land, and a sight that nearly made his eyes pop out of his skull comes into view.
"Holy Naco."Both Ron and Felix stare as the blonde cheerleader, Tara Strong, walks up to them like a model. She is wearing a black and white striped top with a black miniskirt that falls just below her knees, her messy hair styled in a way that suits her.
"Hey Felix, Hi Ron." The way her voice changes when she says hello to Ron makes Felix's mouth drop.
Ron, on the other could feel his sweating. "Tara hey, I mean, hey Tara. Um, you look..."
Tara giggles at how bashful Ron was acting. "You like my outfit?" She does a twirl for him that leaves Ron speechless.
"I will take that as a compliment." She smiles brightly at him.
Felix leans over and nudges Ron on the arm to say something. "So what brings you by?"
"Well, I have noticed recently you and Kim haven't hung out much lately, so I was wondering, since you most likely will be free for lunch, would you like to sit with me, and we could get to know each other more?" She offers to pretend to be shy about it.
"I mean, sure, I would like that if my bro Felix doesn't...
"Please, I insist that you two go and enjoy yourselves." Felix quickly answers, enjoying the action unfolding right now.
"Thanks, Felix. Ron, I will see you at lunch." She sends him a wink and bites her lip before walking away with a sway to her step.
Ron tries to control his thoughts as he watches Tara walk away, just as she did. He then sees Felix have a grin on his face. "What?"
"Dude, your Ronness worked out to your favor."
"I don't know what you're talking about?"
"Seriously, I will spell it out for you. Tara is back, crushing on you." Felix states.
"So not, she probably just wanted to be polite since Kim doesn't have time for me," Ron argues. He noticed a few signs of attraction from her, but he didn't want to jump to conclusions. Besides, as far as he knew, she was currently dating Josh.
"She sure was acting super friendly by the way she was so close to you," Felix smirks.
"I think you are reading way too much into this."
Felix waves his hand in defeat. "Whatever you say Ron-man. Enjoy your lunch date with Tara, for you know you're going to give details afterward." Felix heads to the cafe with Ron following behind him.
"It's not a date." Ron shoots back, but wonders if it could be one.
*With Tara*
After completing her task, Tara goes inside the girls' restroom to bask in the glory of getting a lunch date... well, more like Amy, since she was the one in control at the time.
Amy faces the mirror, seeing Tara behind it with a shocked expression. "I can't believe you did that."
Amy shrugs with proudness. "See, there was nothing to be nervous about. Now you are in the beginning stage of getting your dream guy."
"But I never approach a guy like that." Tara points out the flirty attitudes Amy had towards Ron.
"True, but with Ron, it was so worth it with the way he was so nervous around us, it was like so cute. Glad Felix did his job as the wingman; he's cool in my books." Amy said, fanning herself in front of Ron.
"Not that I am upset that I finally get to spend time with Ron, but aren't you forgetting a major factor concerning lunch?" Tara questions, getting Amy's attention.
Am shrug with confusion. "What's the problem?"
"Um, Bonnie my best friend?"
Amy's mood changes to anger with the mere mention of Tara's so-called best friend. "If you let me have control when it comes to her, trust me, she would not be a problem ever again."
Fearing the worst of what Amy would do, Tara calms her down, saying, "Remember, we agreed to give this whole whatever this is a trial run for you, only allow you to take over when it comes to certain things like Ron."
"I know, and my advice is to let me give Bonnie a piece of your mind," Amy response scares Tara even more until Amy bursts out laughing.
"I'm just kidding, but seriously, we need to work on your confidence more so you can say how you feel without me babying you. How did you feel when I was interacting with Ron?"
"Despite how unusual it was for me, I didn't mind it because it was Ron, and it was like I always wanted to be that with him," Tara answers honestly.
"See? Just stick with me, and you will finally have and do all the things you want in life." At that moment, Amy and Tara switch places, and Tara takes control while Amy appears in the mirror.
"Anyways, let's head to lunch. From what I heard, you got a lunch date with a hot blonde."
"Hey, I didn't permit you to say things like that about my Ron. Where did that come from?" The immediate reaction that came out of her mouth stuns Tara, but she realizes Amy influenced it.
"Sorry, couldn't resist." Tara only sighs and heads to the cafe to have her one-on-one time with Ron.
TBC
AU: I uploaded this story a long time ago but deleted it due to a lack of interest, so I'm trying again to see if it will gain traction. As you can tell, the central pairing will be Ron/Tara. In this case, brave Tara and shy Ron will lead to Ron growing confident due to Tara's support.