And You And I

Chapter 22: I can feel the pressure

Chapter Twenty-two: I can feel the pressure

It had not been a fun night for Kim Possible. In fact, it had been one of the most restless she'd had in a long time. Amidst warm sheets and in the humid summer air, her temperature had spiked again and she had woken up in the early hours of Sunday morning dripping in sweat. She'd been forced to get out of bed, strip out of her pyjamas and find a towel with which to dry herself. Given that the room she had been in was no longer her bedroom, she had been forced to return to bed naked. Soon after she'd had to huddle the blankets around herself as she had been freezing, but then woken up sweating again less than an hour later. The fluctuations in her temperature had gone on all night and so by the time her mom had come to wake her for breakfast, she had still been exhausted.

After she had eaten some of her mom's homemade pancakes, the woman had drawn her a bath before subjecting her to another examination. While she had dodged a trip to the hospital, she had not escaped another shot of antibiotics and more painkillers. However, her mom had taken pity on her, fetched her some fresh pyjamas, changed her bedsheets and allowed her to go back to sleep. The jury had still been out when it came to her plans to go out that night. When Kim had finally awoken mid-afternoon, she had felt a lot better. Her temperature had stabilised, her energy level had increased and the painkillers were keeping the pain at bay while not making her all Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. However, it had not been until after an early dinner, that her mom had given her the ok to actually go out, albeit with a few conditions.

The first had been that she was not allowed to drive. Meaning her mom had taken her home in order to get changed, driven her over to Monique's house and then dropped both of them off in town. Number two had been that she could only have a maximum of four alcoholic drinks and none of them in any way shape or form were allowed to be strong. Naturally, she'd told her mom that she didn't drink and received the, "Kimmie, I was your age once too. I don't mind if you're drinking, so long as you do it responsibly," routine. It had come as a slight surprise, but a welcome one. However, she suspected that the only reason underage drinking was remotely acceptable was because it constituted a 'normal' thing for someone her age to do. Number three had been that they go to Heartbeats and stay there, as her mom did not think it a good idea for her to be bouncing from bar to club to bar and so on. This suited Kim just fine. Finally, at the end of the night, she either had to phone her mom for a lift or take a cab back to her parents' house.

Kim reclined back on one of the leather sofas that flanked the table she shared with Monique. Dressed in a pair of red linen trousers, a black and white floaty top, a black boyfriend blazer and short onyx boots, she had managed to pull off stylish yet comfortable. It was perhaps the first time in a long time she had been out with someone other than Shego and not felt self-conscious in any way. The location helped too. Heartbeats was definitely on the upmarket side of town and like Spritzers had a relaxed feel to it, albeit with live jazz permeating the air, which complemented, rather than bombarded the atmosphere. In the centre of the room was a dancefloor, with the small stage across one side and low tables with an assortment of comfy chairs and sofas dotted around the other three. There was also a mezzanine floor around the same three walls with more space for sitting.

"Kim," Monique said excitedly from the sofa opposite her, "two cute boys at six o'clock."

She turned her head around to try and locate them but received a quick slap on the wrist from across the table. "What was that for," Kim hissed, returning her gaze to her best girl.

"Easy, Tiger, they've only just walked through the door. Give them a chance to get a drink, figure out that seating is at a premium, then we move in on them."

"Right..." she agreed, unsure of what else to say. This had never been her strong suit. For some reason, she could jump across the carriages of a speeding train without hesitation or ride an unstable rocket-powered lawnmower across a chasm and not even blink, but approach a boy and not make a fool of herself... no chance. "Any ideas?"