Ron let out a loud desperate scream and felt a huge blow onto his back. He opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was Rufus looking down at him worriedly. He sat up abruptly, throwing Rufus off-balance in the process, and looked around. As his mind slowly cleared he realized that he was back on the carpeted floor of his room in Belladonna Hotel. There was no fog, no wet soil, no spindly black gates, no tombstones and no wooden crosses. The unmarked wooden cross which was supposedly Kim’s grave wasn’t there. Nothing. Just the Paris landscape painting, the cable TV, the wardrobe, the bathroom door, the table and chair beside the cable TV facing the wall mirror, the windows and the verandah door. Everything was just where he had last left them.
“I’m…I’m back…? I’m alive…?” Ron muttered to himself as he picked Rufus up absentmindedly. Somehow, he craved for the mirror. There was something inside him that told him he needed to confirm a certain matter. He let his legs lead him to the wall mirror and stopped directly in front of it. He didn’t look at his face though. His gaze was focused on his chest and he saw the part where his heart was supposed to be glowing dimly. Ignoring Rufus’ startled yelp, Ron stared even closer and saw that the cracks that were supposed to be about his heart were gone, and instead of going pink, it was glowing a bright blood-red. It was so new, so alive, so strong. It was as if his heart had never been broken before.
“My heart…It’s cured. It’s not broken anymore,” Ron smiled as he fingered the slowly disappearing light on his chest. “I’m not a Broken-Hearted anymore! I’m cured! I’m free! Everything that had happened was real!”
Ron grabbed the still confused Rufus and danced around with him in the room, laughing out loud as he continued his jolly rant, “I’m not a Broken-Hearted anymore! Yippee! It was all real! Those spirits did it all within one night! They’ve cured me! They’ve shown me the light! My heart won’t be taken away and I don’t have to live like a cold, non-emotional statue! Booyah!”
“Huh?” Rufus was still confused, a little irritated even. What has gotten into his master? What was he raving about? What was it that made him so happy? Was it a wonderful dream? If so, he didn’t need to fling and dance him around like a rag doll.
“What day is it today?” Ron looked around, then put down Rufus and said, “Never mind, I’ll ask around myself.”
He went over to the phone and dialed for the receptionist. A man’s voice with thick French accent answered his call.
“Bonjour, reception?”
“Uh, yes, this is the VIP suite, Room No. 1719. I was wondering what date is it today?”
“Why, monsieur, eet iz ze most sacred day of ze year. Eet is Le Valentine.”
“Booyah! I’m not too late yet,” Ron muttered to himself, then spoke again on the phone, “Right, send one of your best man up to my room right this minute. There’s an errand I want him to run.”
“Oui, oui, monsieur. Ve vill zend our trusted bellboy to you. Expect him to be zere at 5 minutes.”
“Merci boccu,” Ron grinned and hung up. As promised, a bellboy came knocking. He took out his wallet and answered the door. Before the young bellboy could greet him, Ron pulled him inside, scaring the daylights out of him.
“Take whatever you want, monsieur. Pleez don’t hurt me!” the bellboy pleaded in fright.
“Sorry, kid,” Ron grinned. “I don’t want anyone to see us out there. Do you know anywhere that sells the best roses and chocolate candies?”
“Do I? oui, monsieur! We have juz ze store right across ze street. Zer roses are very fresh—I know ze owner, she has zis rose garden and she peeks zem everyday—and she makes ze most magnifique chocolates in ze world! Muah! Excellente!” the bellboy imitated the way a chef complements a cuisine well done.
“Yeah, well, here’s about…” Ron opened his wallet and took out a few batches of francs he changed 2 days ago, “1,500 francs. I want you to go to that store you just said and get me 5 bouquets of roses—a hundred in each bouquet—and 5 of the biggest box of Valentine’s Day chocolates you can find. Keep whatever change you get as your tip. And,” he took another franc bill, “here’s another 50 francs for you if you can get them all delivered to Miss Kimberly Anne Possible in VIP suite Room 1720 within 10 minutes. Don’t tell her you did this for me. Say it’s from an unnamed guy.”
The bellboy stared at all the cash he was holding in his hand, looked rather confused and shocked at what he was told to do and his reward for doing it. Ron eyed the unmoving bellboy a little impatiently before shoving another 50 francs into the bellboy’s pocket, saying, “Uh, hello? Roses? Chocolates? Kimberly Anne Possible? Room 1720? 10 minutes, stats?”
The extra 50 francs knocked him out of his senses and almost immediately, with a flustered face, he saluted and said, “Oui, monsieur! I’ll have eet done wizin 5 minutes!”
Ron chuckled to himself as he watched the bellboy practically flew out of the room and into the streets. He changed into his T-shirt and slacks and realized that his pet Rufus has been watching all this happening in awe and wonder, almost to the point of disbelief. He smiled and pocketed Rufus, saying, “This is the new Ronster you’re looking at, my hairless friend. From now on, no more Mr. Chicken Guy. I’m gonna do what I’ve should’ve done years ago. Just you wait and see.”
“Wohoo!” Rufus cheered as he got the message. He gave his master an “Ugh! Finally!” look and excitedly waited and watched for the extreme surprise.
“Would you believe it, girl? 5 bouquets of roses and 5 boxes of Valentine’s chocolates, all addressed to you by a nameless guy! You definitely got a secret admirer here, girl!”
“Quit it, Monique. I’m still in shock here.”
It was the weirdest morning call she had ever got. She had the most startling surprise in her life when she saw the bellboy standing before her with 6 heart-shaped boxes stacked on top of each other in his hands. 3 more bellboys followed with 2 bouquets of roses (the third had one) in their hands. Even Monique was shocked out of her sleep seeing them marching in with the gifts. When she questioned the bellboy, he only told them they’re from a nameless gentleman. Kim was sitting on the chair still in shock.
“I mean, who in the world would produce so much stuff at once! Can’t be the fans! There’s no card or anything! The security made it clear that no fans, paparazzi, reporters, journalists or whoever are allowed to come here! I just don’t get it, girl!”
Just then, there was a knocking on the door. Monique immediately jumped and answered it, expecting another batch of Valentine’s gifts from the bellboy or the nameless guy himself, but was greeted by Ron’s smile instead.
“Oh, it’s just you,” Monique muttered disappointedly and let him in.
“Good morning to you too, Monique,” Ron replied with a small frown, then widened his eyes in pretend surprise, “Woah! Now what exactly have I just missed here?”
“Isn’t it romantic?” Monique exclaimed as she put her hands on Kim’s shoulders. “A secret admirer just gave these roses and chocolates to Kim! We suspect it could be one of the guest in this very hotel!”
“Really? All these for you from a guy?” Ron asked as he turned to look at Kim innocently. “Cool! I didn’t know you were such a magnet, KP. But then, you’re a singer, so it’s rather expected.”
“Yeah, I guess…If you put it that way…” Kim replied halfheartedly. Ron noticed a slight trace of disappointment on her face. He had half-expected that. But this wasn’t the right time to do it. Not now. But he sure knew what could make her feel happy. He grabbed a box and took a handful of chocolates, much to Monique’s annoyance and Kim’s surprise.
“Hey, Ron! What in the hell do you think you’re doing taking Kim’s Valentine’s chocolates? Those are for her, not for you!”
“Nothing, just trying to inspect and see if it’s poisoned or anything. You know sometimes those mystery gifts come with a catch, like on TV when those people thought they’re getting a gift but it was actually some time bomb or something like that,” Ron replied nonchalantly and started popping them one by one into his mouth, chomping them hungrily, “Hmm, this one tastes OK, caramel-filling, very sweet…Hmm, tastes suspiciously nougat…I need to get back to that…”
Monique continued to stare in horror as he popped more and more chocolate into his mouth and was adamant that he could not take the other boxes to sample them, ranting and raving at him as she took all the boxes away from him. Kim watched all this in amusement and let out a giggle as Ron and Rufus continued to eat chocolates that were still in Ron’s hands. Both were full and didn’t seem like they can hold anymore. Ron held another one between his teeth, turned to face Kim and said in a muffled voice, “Yo, Kim, I think this is safe. You wanna try?”
That was when Kim widened her eyes and for the first time, blushed a healthy pink. Why would he suddenly offer her a chocolate through his mouth? This is new. Why the sudden gesture from him? What does this mean? What is he trying to do? Kim was hesitant to make a move.
“Come on, KP. My mouth is tired and my hands are full. Take it and try it. It’s really good.”
Kim’s heart began to pound. She didn’t know what to do. Should she risk going over and take the chocolate through his mouth? What if something should happen? Probably the unthinkable would occur…like…a first kiss perhaps? She eyed Monique warily and received a sideways glance towards Ron from her. In the end, she dare not risk it. She reached out her hand and took the chocolate from his mouth with her fingers. Ron almost expected her to take it with her mouth, but it was just wishful thinking. No way would she do embarrassing things like that in front of someone else, even when her best friend Ron was there. Ron knew Kim too well to expect her to do something like that. He just smiled as Kim popped the chocolate into her mouth.
“See? It’s really nice, isn’t it?” Ron asked.
“Hmm, almond,” Kim said as she chewed her chocolate. “Not my favourite. But it tastes good nonetheless.”
Just then, Monique’s PDA rang. Monique went to check it out and saw her reminder of today’s flight for the concert blinking. Almost immediately she jumped and ushered Ron out of the room, yelling, “Hurry up! Go back to your room and get packed! You too, Kim! We got an Upperton Town flight to catch and we gotta be at the airport 2 hours beforehand! Hurry!”
Kim, Monique and Ron were safe and sound in the airplane with the rest of the crew. They made it in time 2 hours before the flight and were all relaxed in their seats, chattering about the upcoming concert and their preparations. Some were talking about the lightings, some were talking about the instruments, others were blabbering elaborately about what the props and structures of the concert theatre might be since they last did their world tour there and Monique and the wardrobe crew were arguing hotly about what Kim should wear for the concert—navy-blue or fresh pink-red. Some were even arguing about whether they should just buy a private jet plane to save the trouble of having to rush to the airport 2 hours in advance all the time.
Kim let out a tired sigh and shook her head helplessly as she looked away from the bickering Monique and wardrobe crew. She turned to Ron and noticed that he was sitting there staring at his notebook. She craned over to see what he was reading but Ron noticed her first. Almost immediately, he hid the book from her.
“What’s that you’re reading?” Kim asked curiously.
“Oh, nothing. It’s just the new song I’ve been talking about,” Ron replied a little nervously. Kim grew even more curious, suspicious even.
“Come on. What’s so secret that you have to hide it?”
“Well…you see…it’s just that…”
Ron didn’t get to finish his words. Their plane suddenly gave a huge jerk, shocking everyone on board. Kim and Ron quickly stared out of the window and saw a metallic-blue aircraft the size of a Boeing plane and the shape of an UFO. The driver of the aircraft was no other than Dr. Drakken and his loyal henchwoman Shego!
Kim’s Kimmunicator beeped. Kim answered it, but before she could say “What’s the sitch?” Wade has already begun exclaiming, “Kim, look out! Dr. Drakken had just stolen the latest hush-hush technology created by NASA and he’s heading your way!”
“Too late for warning, Wade,” Kim said as she turned the Kimmunicator to face the window. “He’s already here.”
Dr. Drakken drove the aircraft closer to their plane and crashed them, sending a lot of people falling headlong towards the floor. He crashed about three or four times, laughing menacingly, before Shego jumped off the aircraft and onto the airplane wing. She activated her killer glowing hands and slashed at the window, breaking it to pieces. Almost immediately, the pressure began to pull at everything inside the plane. Everyone screamed and panicked as they hung on for dear life not to be sucked out of the plane into the horizon. Shego made the opening bigger and began attacking the Dynamic Duo. As they fought, the rest of the crew started looking for parachutes to leave the plane safely.
“So good to see you, princess,” Shego said as she aimed a punch at Kim, which missed. “We were just in the neighbourhood. Thought we might drop by for a visit and to wish you good luck on your concert.”
“You know it’s bad luck to actually wish good luck on a concert,” Kim said as she kicked at Shego.
“Which is why I said it.”
“Actually, the term ‘break a leg’ applies,” Ron said as he tried to help Kim with the fight. Shego grinned and aimed a kick into Ron’s gut.
“Thanks for suggesting. That’s exactly what I’m gonna do to you!”
As they continued to fight, the pressure began to tear the plane apart. Everyone had safely jumped out of the plane through the opening with their parachutes, leaving none for the Dynamic Duo. They continued to fight with Shego as they fell freely towards the ground 3,000 feet below. A sky-diving style of butt-kicking and face-punching ensured. They were closing in to 1,500 feet now. Shego, with all the strength she could muster, gave a sucker-punch at Kim, knocking her unconscious before Dr. Drakken steered the aircraft towards his henchwoman and picked her up.
“So long, princess! Too bad you and your sidekick won’t live to attend our wedding!”
“They’re getting married?” Ron exclaimed as he fastened the button in his slack to keep the terrified Rufus from falling out of his pocket. He had no time to contemplate when these unlikely two ended up together. He saw Kim continued falling and falling right before his eyes. His heart skipped a beat. No! He can’t let her fall! He can’t let her die! He can’t lose her again! Straightening himself, he dove for her and hugged her, maneuvering himself so that he was facing the ground. He didn’t care that he was soon going to feel the impact of the ground, breaking his bones into a million pieces. He didn’t care that he was gonna go through instant death. All he cared about was keeping Kim alive. He brought her closer and tighter to his chest, not realizing that he was blocking a lot of air from his lungs. As the air pressure build around him and he losing breath and consciousness, the only thing that continued to linger in his mind that he was never letting go…
“Wait, wait! Give him room! He’s coming to!”
Ron opened his eyes slowly. The first thing that greeted him was Monique and a few doctors looking down at him. His arms felt empty, like hugging at thin air. He tried to remember what had happened. The gang on their way to Upperton, then Dr. D and Shego’s attack, then falling from the plane, then him hugging Kim close…
“What? Where? Who? Where’s Kim? Where am I? Where’s Kim?” Ron sat up and blabbering panickly, looking around to see where he was and where was his secret sweetheart.
“Careful, baby boy. You had a shock and near brain damage just now,” Monique laid him back down onto the bed he was lying on. “You’re at Upperton Medic Home now. Kim’s at the next room. A little dehydrated and shocked, but fine.”
“What…What happened? How did we get to Upperton? I thought the plane…”
“We almost thought we’re a goner too, but because of that demented green girl trashed the plane, she kinda activated the distress signal built inside. We were lucky to be spotted by the airplane rescue team and they brought us into their plane one by one, thanks to their expertise and our parachutes. A couple of sky-divers just zoomed down and grabbed you guys just in the nick of time before parachuting down to the ground below. Then I briefed Wade about the matter and he called in the medics to take us all to this medic home.
“That blue mad scientist and his green girl on the other hand have just been apprehended, thanks to Wade’s quick thinking and way cool technology. Turned out that Dr. D and Shego had been dating for a while and were planning to get married in Broadway while creating chaos at the same time. Some sort of a pre-newly wed excitement before their grand union or something. Guess they’ll have to have their honeymoon behind bars! We almost lost you, you know. You ran out of oxygen because of the air pressure and your brain was going down from ho to low, man. Kim survived without a scratch, thanks to you.”
Ron sighed in relief, then fingered his pocket and asked, “Rufus…Where’s Rufus? Is he OK too?”
“He’s fine,” Monique said as she took a sleeping Rufus from her pocket and placed him on Ron’s chest. “He’s been injected with a mild doze of anesthetic just to calm him down. He’ll up and about in no time.”
“Can…Can I go see Kim? The concert isn’t canceled now, is it?”
“Kim wouldn’t hear of it, no matter how we try to talk her out of it. She said something about not letting down the fans after so much preparation and all and ordered the crew to set up the props as planned. You might as well try talking her out of it while you’re at it.”
Ron pocketed Rufus walked over to Kim’s room to confirm for himself that she was alright. He soon saw Kim busy talking to Wade on the Kimmunicator asking him favours to continue helping out with the setups of tonight’s concert. It was best not to bother her when she’s busy. He knew her too well to try and butt in her business and try talking her out of things that she’s made her mind up of. He just stood there watching her without alerting her of her presence. She looked even more beautiful than he ever imagined her to be. She was his best friend, his comrade, his companion, his everything. His Kim. Nothing in the world could take her place.
“Tonight, Kim. Tonight will be the night.”
The crowd went wild as Kim made her debut appearance. She was dressed in a wonderful Victorian dress the colour of the dimming sunset and the tiny sparkles embedded on her skirts illuminated her even more, shining and glimmering as she walked. The intensity of those sparkles and her aura increased as spotlights were shone on her and the flashes of cameras from fans and reporters hit her. She greeted everyone and, after giving her music crew the cue, she began singing all the familiar tracks that were in her ‘Lost in Loveville’ Valentine’s Day album. Crazed fans were either cheering on or singing along with her. Songs like ‘Lovin’ You, Beggin’ You’, ‘Won’t You Save This Aching Heart of Mine?’, ‘Is It So Hard to be By Your Side?’, ‘Listen’, ‘You’re All I’m Living For’, and more echoed throughout the entire theatre, including everyone’s favourite song ‘Say the Word’ which was featured as a bonus track in the album.
Suddenly all the lights went out and fireworks began to flare. The fans went wild, thinking it was all part of the act. Kim looked around, puzzled. She glanced at the music crew and they, too, shrugged, not sure what was going on. ‘This isn’t in the schedule,’ Kim thought. ‘What’s going on here?’
“Ladies and gentlemen, may I have your attention please?”
“Ron?” Kim was surprised to hear Ron’s voice echoing throughout the theatre. What was he doing here? Wasn’t he supposed to be with the crew, checking out the instruments’ conditions or helping Monique out to sort her wardrobe for her act? What’s going on?
“This is the famous Ronald Kennedy Stoppable. I think you guys all know me: I’m Kim’s song writer,” Ron’s voice continued to echo for everyone to hear. Monique ran out to see what was going on and received a shrug from Kim. “I know this is a little bit of a last minute notice, but I have a surprise for the person I love. There is this song I wrote back in grade school. It’s called ‘Together Forever’ and it’s about how I discovered how much she really meant to me and how blind I was to not notice that till then. If you’re listening, my love, this is for you. Rufus, Wade, hit it.”
There was a clicking sound, then a spotlight shining on Ron. Ron was wearing a Victorian tux to match Kim’s outfit and held a mike in his hand. The music played and Ron began to sing:
I used to think that we were just friends
I used to think that friendships are meant to end
But then one look into your beautiful eyes
Whatever I used to think were soon thrown out into the abyss
Never mind the games we’ve played, the things we did
Or the words we’ve said
All I need to know now is if
We could be together forever
Chorus:
Together forever
That’s all I ask for
Together forever
There’s nothing else I want more
If I have to cross the Fire of Hell or the Gates of Heaven
I’ll do it, yes, I will
Together forever
That’s the only thing I need
They say that friends can never be lovers
They say that these kind of relationships never last very long
But when I look deep into your wonderful eyes
Whatever they all say are just leaves blown by the wind
Never mind the lies, deceptions and doubts
All I need to know now is
Can we prove our love exists?
Chorus
Bridge: I never felt so afraid
To tell you how I feel
But your eyes soon told me
I gotta try
I really gotta try
Chorus
A long silence followed after Ron finished his song. Ron then walked over towards Kim and said, “I wrote that song after coming back from Camp Wannaweep. I know I’ve been acting very bitter in front of you every time Valentine’s Day arrives, and I know I should’ve told you the truth before, but…well, I guess I was just too chicken shit to be a man about it. Something happened to me last night that changed all that. I cannot fully explain what it was, but I can say this—it taught me a hard lesson that I should never put off something as important as this or I’ll live to regret it for the rest of my life.
“Kim, I love you. I loved you since the day I came back from Camp Wannaweep. There are no words to describe my feelings of what I saw when you walked into Bueno Nachos. I loved you even when you were crushing with Walter Nelson and Josh Mankey and I continued to love you despite all the other crushes you had throughout your life. It broke my heart every time to see you going out with a new guy and even more when you come crying to me with a crush gone. I had every chance to stop you from going out with them and to tell you the truth about my feelings but I didn’t dare to jeopardize our friendship. You’ve always seen me as a friend and I didn’t want to lose you as a friend. I couldn’t bear the thought of you not by my side ever again.
“Kim, I can stand here all day telling you about my feelings, but they can never measure up to the extent of my true feelings, so, Kim, I just want to ask,” Ron knelt down in front of Kim and fished out a box. He opened it and the spotlight revealed it to be a brilliant shining ring, probably more than 20-karat in value. Ron continued, saying, “Kim, will you be my bestest best friend till we get married and live happily ever after?”
The entire audience gasped and cameras from reporters began flashing again. Kim stood there in awe as she stared at Ron’s half-innocent-half-serious hazel-brown eyes, almost speechless. After what seemed like forever (Monique and the audience’s ushers and urges included), Kim finally broke the ice.
“You…You still remember that pre-K vow…?”
“Trying to bring back memories here,” Ron grinned his usual dorky grin.
“So…those roses…and those chocolates…you gave them to me, didn’t you?”
Ron nodded. No words need to be said about that.
“To…To tell you the truth…I also fell for you on that day in Bueno Nachos…There’s just not enough words to express how I feel for you that day…I guess we both are too chicken shit to face the fact.”
Ron didn’t reply. He just continued smiling.
“I…uh, I also want to tell you that…uh…our parents…”
“It’s OK, KP. I figured that out also.” One white lie like that wouldn’t hurt. “But I’m not asking you because of our parents’ plan. I’m asking you right now with my own free will. Would you…?”
“Yes…Yes! Yes! I will marry you!” Kim exclaimed as she flung herself into Ron’s arms. The audience first let out an “Aww!” sigh, then cheered and clapped as Kim and Ron locked lips, sharing a long and passionate deep kiss. Needless to say that it was all in the news on TV and on paper about Ron’s surprise proposal and Kim’s confession. The talk about this event went on for weeks and 3 months later, Kim and Ron were officially married in Middleton Chapel in front of thousands of fans, guests, reporters, paparazzi and of course, their family and friends. Their honeymoon in Egypt was a blast, and a pair of twins soon added into the new Stoppable family, namely Elizabeth Jay and Joey Kay Stoppable. Kim’s popularity as a singing crime-fighter soared even higher and made into all halls of fame. There is no one in the whole wide world who didn’t know Kimberly Anne Possible—now Kimberly Anne Stoppable—and her husband Ronald Kennedy Stoppable or didn’t remember that fateful day and incident at the concert theatre Upperton Town.
Yet, sometimes at night, when Ron stayed awake at night to write Kim’s new song, he would stare at the mirror for a while and sure enough, his bright blood-red heart could be seen and heard beating away softly as if it had never been broken before. And as he looked up at the starry sky, he would think of The Broken-Hearted and his collection of broken hearts in chains and the three spirits of his Valentine’s Day Time.
“You see? I kept my promise. I remembered.”
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