I.

Exiting the dryness of Ronald's car, Bonnie clutched a plastic bag to her chest in an attempt to protect the contents from the rain. Bonnie never would have thought that she would find herself in her current position, yet here she was clutching a bag full of clothes from Smartymart as though they were the most precious thing in her whole life. Who are you kidding? This is only the second most precious thing, a small voice said from inside Bonnie's head. Most precious, second most precious, either way she never thought she would have gone shopping in Smartymart with the person she thought was the biggest loser from high school. And yet she had not only done that, but she was smiling and almost content about it all.

"Penny, for your thoughts?" Ronald asked as he opened the door to his apartment.

"Just a penny?"

"All I can afford right now after setting you up in style."

"Hmmp, I wouldn't call four pairs of underwear, three pairs of socks, a couple of t-shirts, and a pair of pants as styling."

"Compared to a few days ago, I would say you're ready to strut down the cat-walk." Ronald said with a lopsided grin as he walked through the living room and into the kitchen.

"Touché, but don't hold your breath on watching me walk down the cat-walk in these new clothes." Bonnie retorted before smiling. "Still, it was nice of you to buy me these clothes since I don't have any others."

"What happened to them?" Ronald asked as he sat out two small plastic cups and filled them with water.

"They were stolen." Bonnie sighed before plopping down on to the couch, "Just one of the dangers of living on the streets."

"I can only imagine." Ronald conceded as he handed Bonnie one of the cups.

"That's all you're going to say about it? No 'It services you right' or anything like that?"

"Why would I do something like that?"

"Payback for how I treated you in high school." Bonnie answered meekly as she lowered her head.

Ronald stared at Bonnie for several seconds as his mind worked to come up with a response. However, his thought process was cut short when Bonnie, having a sense that she was being stared at, spoke again.

"Why are you staring at me? I deserve it. It's not like I was ever nice to you."

"Bonnie, we've been over this already. You know I'm not so petty as to try and hold that against you. Yes, I didn't like the way you treated me, but that doesn't mean I should do the same to you. What possible good could come of me doing that?"

"It would make me feel better." Bonnie answered softly.

"Say what?" Ronald asked, completely perplexed.

Lifting her head to look Ronald in the eyes, Bonnie explained, "I'm not quite the same Bonnie I used to be, the old 'Queen Bee' of high school. I've had to grow up a bit and realize that the world doesn't just revolve around me."

"You weren't all that bad in high school."

"Nice try Stoppable, but we both know that I was. Do you know why so many people called me the "Queen Bee" in school? It didn't have anything to do with comparing me to a queen bee and her drones, but instead, it was a worse insult."

"To be fair, Bonnie, there were several times I called you 'Queen Bee' myself."

"I'm sure both you and Kim did. The difference is that I doubt you meant it the way everyone else did. When they called me 'Queen Bee', the emphasis was on the B."

"Ok, let's pretend I have no idea what you're talking about." Ronald said.

"What sort of disparaging word do you know of that begins with B and applies to females?" Seeing the continued confused look on Ronald's face Bonnie decided to tell him. "Bitch! They were calling me a bitch, not only behind my back but in my face as well and I didn't even know it." Bonnie said quite flustered before sighing. "And the worst part was that I actually deserved it most of the time. I'm trying to be a better person, even if I don't really know how to do it. And if that means letting some one give me pay back for how I treated them in high school then that's what I'll do."

"Bonnie, I think that's the most unshelfish thing I've ever heard from you." Ronald said in amazement, "And based on what I've seen from you today I would say you've come a long way in being a better person."

As Bonnie listened to Ronald she began to slowly smile at his compliment and had to wipe away what was the beginning of a tear from her eye.

"Now before you go and get all teary eyed on me…"

"I wasn't crying." Bonnie responded sternly.

"As I was saying…," Ronald stopped to let out a yawn, "I have to be at the diner early tomorrow, which means you have to as well. We should be heading to bed since we'll have to get up around five AM. So if you'll excuse me I need to brush my teeth before you lock me out of the bathroom." With that Ronald got to his feet and walked towards the bathroom.

"Fair enough. I'll let you use the bathroom first since it is yours after all."

"See, being a better person isn't so hard is it?" Ronald teased just before he shut the door.

A few minutes later Ronald emerged from the bathroom and saw that Bonnie had already found an extra blanket and pillow and was attempting to make a bed for him on the couch.

"Thank you."

"Your welcome, just don't expect me to make your bed for you in the morning." Bonnie retorted as she began to walk past Ronald before stopping.

"Something wrong?" Ronald asked.

"Ronald. I. I just wanted to say thank you for my new clothes." As Bonnie finished her thanks she gave Ronald a small peck on his right check. "Goodnight Ronald. See you in the morning." Bonnie said before locking the bedroom door behind her.

Slowly lowering his hand from his check Ronald finally managed to utter a reply to the now shut door, "Goodnight Bonnie and pleasant dreams."

II.

Bonnie awoke with a start. Looking around the unfamiliar surroundings Bonnie fought through the fog of sleep to try to recall where she was. Finding that she was alone in a bed things began to slowly come back to the brunette.

"That's right, I'm at Ronald's place."

Glancing at the clock next to the bed, the glowing numbers on it indicated that it was already five in the morning. Being an early riser, as she had been for most of her life, Bonnie decided it was no use lying in bed anymore and decided to get up. Besides which she and Ronald would be fighting for the bathroom soon enough, so she might as well beat the rush. Speaking of Ronald, the former high school cheerleader wondered how he was doing.

Unlocking the door between the bedroom and the living room, Bonnie poked her head out and spied Ronald sprawled out on the couch, his blanket having nearly completely fallen off of his body during the night. Bonnie couldn't help but to grin at the scene, while he was not as buff as Brick had been Ronald had still filled out nicely. Aside from the dark circles under his eyes she could consider him reasonably attractive.

"Poor Ronald, he looks so uncomfortable." She softly said to herself as she picked up the blanket and gently placed it on him before retreating to the bedroom to take a shower.

Ronald bolted off of the couch and assumed a crouched position as the sound of an alarm going off woke him from his slumber. As the shock of the unexpected sound began to wear off and he exited what Kim used to like to call "mission mode", Ronald noticed a small alarm clock on the coffee table next to here his head had been lying on the couch. Standing up from his crouch Ronald first turned the alarm off and then wondered where it had come from. As far as he knew the only alarm clock he had was in side of his bed room, the one that Bonnie was now occupying.

Bonnie had just pulled her shirt over her head when she heard a knocking on the bedroom door.

"Bonnie, are you in there?"

"Well who else would it be? Unless there are other girls that you let sleep in your room." Bonnie answered snarkyishly.

"Well I do let Hana sleep there when she visits." Ronald answered as Bonnie opened the door.

"Is this going somewhere or did you have a reason you knocked on the door to ask me a question?"

"Oh, I, uh. I just wanted to ask if you knew how an alarm clock got placed next to my head this morning? It surprised the heck out of me."

"Poor baby, scared by a little alarm clock." Bonnie laughed, "I put it there this morning after I got out of bed. Didn't want you to oversleep."

"Which I didn't. But you could have placed it near my feet or something and not next to my head, and set on the loudest setting."

"Look I told you last night I'm trying to be a better person, I didn't say I was good at it yet." Bonnie replied with a "I'm guilty as hell but trying to look innocent" smile. "At any rate I'm done in the bathroom so you can use it now."

Fifteen minutes later a showered but still in the process of shaving Ronald walked out of the bedroom. "Bonnie, can you get the plates out for breakfast? I'm going to have to hurry to make…."

"Make what?" Bonnie asked as she sat two bowls on the kitchenette table.

"Did you make breakfast?"

"Hey try not to sound so shocked there Stoppable. Unlike Kim I can actually make something edible in the kitchen. Although today all I had time to make was some oatmeal."

"That's ok." Ronald said with a smile, "Oatmeal is part of a good for you breakfast, and you just saved me a lot of time this morning."

"No problem. But since I cooked you get to clean up." Bonnie informed her breakfast companion.

After breakfast, and yes Ronald did clean up the breakfast dishes, the two left the apartment and headed for Ronald's car.

"Brrr, it's cold out this morning." Bonnie complained.

"The weather man said this rain storm is supposed to last through tonight it probably won't get above sixty degrees all day."

"Then hurry up and start your car so we can get some heat going."

"Yes malady." Ronald answered sarcastically.

Sensing that she may have pressed her luck too far, Bonnie wisely decided to ride out the remainder of the trip in silence.

"Ok, everybody, we're here." Ronald announced after he had parked his car and turned off the engine.

"I see that." Bonnie replied as she got out of the car. "Ronald, why are we here so early this morning? It's a couple of minutes till six AM, and your diner doesn't even open until 9 am."

"I'm getting a food delivery today, and it usually takes a good hour to put all the food away." Ronald replied as he opened the door to the diner, "In fact, the delivery truck should be arriving any time now."

Not five minutes later, a small van pulled up to the front of the diner and out hopped a middle-aged man.

"Morning Ronald." The large man with an Italian accent called as he exited from his truck. "It's a good thing you got a small delivery today. It'sa just me today."

"Hi Luigi, where's your brother?" Ronald asked.

"Ah, he'sa outa sick, too much of mamma's spaghetti last night. So it's just me to haul all this stuff."

"I'll be more than happy to help." Ronald offered as he grabbed a box from Luigi.

"That'sa what I'm goinga to miss about ya Ronald, your good people." Luigi praised as the two carried the food inside.

"Sorry to break your heart, Luigi, but nothing stays the same forever, and maybe I can make a new start of things."

"Does that new start include her?" Luigi asked as he noticed Bonnie for the first time.

"No, she's just helping me to organize my files this week."

"If you say so."

"Please, you men are all alike. You just assume that because a woman and man are working together, then they must be sleeping together." Bonnie retorted, "Now why did we have to leave your place so darn early if all you're going to do is make snide comments, and what do you mean make a new start of things?"

"Bonnie's right, that was rude of us." Ronald conceded. "Besides, we should leave making snide comments to the expert," he teased.

After that comment, Bonnie completely lost focus on her question as she felt almost as if she had been slapped in the face by Ronald's comment. Briskly turning around, she silently stormed into the "office" she had been working in since yesterday as much to get away from the hurt as to hide it from the two men. Seeing the look of concern on Luigi's face, Ronald reassured the man that Bonnie was just a little cranky because they had to be here so early in the morning. Rightly deciding not to get into the middle of what very well could be a lover's quarrel, Luigi simply nodded his head and continued to unload the truck.

Later

Waving goodbye to Luigi as the Italian man drove off to his next delivery, Ronald walked back inside of his diner. Closing the back door and locking it, the young owner and chef went in search of his current business partner and hopefully still friend.

"Bonnie, can I talk to you a minute?" Roland asked as he poked his head in to what he had begun to jokingly refer to himself as 'Bonnie's' office.

"Why? So you can poke fun at me when I'm not expecting it?" Bonnie asked tersely.

"No. I wanted to apologize for what I said. I meant it in jest, but I guess I didn't think about how you might take it."

"That's right, you didn't think about how it would affect me." Bonnie retorted angrily. She then took a deep breath to calm herself before continuing, "Ronald, I respect you for the nice person that you are. You don't go around carrying grudges against people. That's why you're willing to help me out even after all I did to you in high school. That's who you are. it always has been and probably always will be. I'm not like that. I'm used to wearing a mask to hide my true self and emotions, and last night I let that mask down, to show you that I wanted to change, that I was worthy of your help. Ronald, I need you to be sincere with me for now, ok? Please don't joke or poke fun at me, I'm just not ready for that right now."

Ronald stood in the doorway, staring at the brunette as she gave her speech that sounded almost pleading at the end. He had just assumed that Bonnie would always be Bonnie, a pillar of strength that could shrug off a few words thrown at her. Apparently, he was wrong. Something had happened to break down the former ice queen and leave her in this emotionally exhausted and fragile state.

"Ok, Bonnie, I'll do that for you." Ronald said with a grin. "The last thing you need is to receive mixed signals from the person trying to help you."

"Thank you." Bonnie whispered.

"Now, let's let gones be by gones, I could use your help putting some stuff away."

"I thought you were done with that already, didn't that fat plumber guy, what's his name, Mario, didn't he leave already?"

"No, the food guy is Luigi,  fat plumber named Mario is his cousin, and you're right he did leave. But I still have some non-food items like cups and napkins that I need help putting away.

III.

Stepping onto a small step stool, Bonnie muttered under her breath as she reached as far up as she could in order to put the last bag of napkins onto the top of the storage self. At five foot six, Bonnie was no short little girl. However, she was still having a difficult time reaching to the top of these shelves. Maybe she should talk to Ronald about doing something about that in the future if she was going to be here the rest of the week she thought to herself. Speaking of the future, hadn't Ronald said something about starting anew? Did that mean he was going to try harder working at his diner, or did he plan on moving away? With these thoughts going through her head, Bonnie lost track of how close she had come to the edge of the step stool and soon lost her balance. With a scream of surprise, Bonnie fell from the step stool towards both the floor below and the cardboard box she had been using to carry the cups, napkins, and other assorted diner supplies in

Hearing the scream, Ronald rushed to investigate what was happening. Arriving on scene, he found Bonnie half lying on the floor while the other half of her body had crushed the empty cardboard box it had landed on.

"Bonnie, are you ok?" Ronald nervously asked as he kneeled next to the woman.

"No, I'm not ok." Bonnie complained as she attempted to sit up, "Ow ow ow."

"Where does it hurt?"

"Here." Bonnie said as she indicated towards her stomach, "That's where I fell on the box."

Gently lifting Bonnie's shirt a little, Ronald checked for bleeding or bruising. "I don't see any bleeding or bruising."

"It still hurts." Bonnie protested.

"Here, I'll help you to your office and get you something for the pain." Ronald said as he gently yet firmly lifted Bonnie to her feet and helped her walk to the office.

Helping Bonnie to her seat, Ronald then went in search of some pain medication. Returning a couple of minutes later, Ronald handed Bonnie a glass of water and two white pills. "Aspirin was all I could find."

"Thanks, their better than nothing." Bonnie assured him.

"Well, I need to finish getting the place ready to open. Why don't you just take it easy in here for a while and let me know if you need anything."

"I will."

Popping the aspirin in her mouth and chasing them with some water, Bonnie slowly turned her attention to the desk and pile of paperwork in front of her. While she had made a good dent in cleaning up Ronald's bookkeeping, and she did use the term loosely, she still had a ways to go. Letting her eyes drift over the piles of stuff, her attention was soon caught by a small picture frame sitting on the corner of the desk and nearly buried by documents. Lifting the item from underneath its paper tomb, Bonnie saw that it was a picture of Kim and Ronald. Counting the one hanging in the diner, plus the four others in Ronald's apartment, it was apparent to Bonnie that Ronald was still pretty hung up on the red head. Sighing, Bonnie put the framed picture back down where she had picked it up from.

"Kim, I don't know why you and Ronald broke up, but I can't imagine that it was anything that he did. But whatever your reason, I hope it was worth it."