Brick's hair stood out from everyone else's, save for the person trying her hardest not to notice that fact. The red was in stark contrast to his white suit, calling attention to him immediately. Blossom hadn't meant to stare, but she did. It had been years since she'd even spoken to him, and now here they were, mere feet away from one another.
"Tell me again, why did Buttercup have everyone wear white?" Robin asked, holding a chocolate-coated strawberry away from her white cocktail dress. Robin was in good company, Blossom noticed; it seemed every girl there had the looming fear of staining the virginal color.
"Something about trying to keep as far from tradition as possible," Blossom explained, her eyes straying back to the redhead in the corner.
Robin noticed-one of her more annoying habits was that she noticed everything-and shoved Blossom in Brick's direction. "Saying 'hi' won't kill you."
Blossom sighed, adjusting the straps on her gown and glancing away from where he stood with Boomer, his back to her. "It may not kill me, but I still don't think it's a good idea."
"Oh, come on," Robin urged. "You obviously miss him."
It was true. It had been a while since the breakup, but after dating for as long as they did, it was almost impossible to not fall victim to lingering feelings. But still, Blossom didn't want to admit to anyone-or to herself-that she was hung up on some silly romance.
"That's neither here nor there," Blossom mumbled. A caterer walked by with hors d'oeuvres and drinks, and Blossom helped herself to some wine before it could be politely offered. Robin glanced from the startled caterer to Blossom and back again. She grabbed a champagne glass and offered a warm smile before before turning back to study Blossom's expression. She sipped her wine slowly, looking anywhere but where Brick was.
"I probably don't have to say 'don't look now' since, you know, you're very nonchalantly not looking anyway, but don't look now because Brick is coming this way." At Robin's words, Blossom choked on her drink and looked up just as Brick was passing by.
"Drink much?" he asked with a scoff. "Hello, Robin." He nodded his head towards her, offering a small twitch at the corner of his mouth before disappearing into a crowd of Utoniums.
They had been broken up for nearly three years, and he was still getting along with her family. Uncomfortable didn't even begin to describe how she felt anytime she had to endure the "Oh, where is Brick? He's just so delightful," conversations on holidays. They could never seem to remember that Brick wasn't exactly affiliated with the household anymore. Ignoring the small details of him being the best man at her sister's wedding and the best friend of her sister's soon-to-be husband, he had no place being so close to all of her relatives. It was infuriating.
But still, watching how smoothly he joked with her father and how casually he twirled her younger cousin on the dance floor, making her giggle as her blonde curls cascaded around her face, Blossom couldn't help but feel a familiar sort of longing. She was a family woman at heart, and despite being busy working on countless projects for the foundation and being kept from a number of family events as a result, it had always been very refreshing for her to have Brick. He fit in with her family like a puzzle piece, and it would always smooth out the rough edges formed by missed birthday parties and skipped dinners whenever she would bring him around. He was the perfect glue holding her and her relatives together. Since the breakup, Blossom had hardly made it to any important events. The wedding was the first since Christmas-eight months ago.
"Well, that was a bit harsh," Robin noted as she placed her free hand on Blossom's shoulder, guiding her away from the scene.
"He's closer with them than I am nowadays." Blossom glanced over her shoulder and watched Brick sweep her sister Bubbles into a friendly hug, taking extra care not to squeeze her stomach too hard. It stung to see how close Brick had remained with her sisters even after the breakup. "I haven't even heard from Bubbles since she announced her pregnancy."
"You've been busy, it's justified."
They arrived at their seats and Blossom immediately reached for her purse. She dug through its contents until she found her phone. Blossom sighed as she glanced at the screen, reading notification after notification indicating the 6 missed calls, with voicemails to accompany them, and a slew of text messages, all waiting for her attention. Before she could unlock her phone to deal with it, it began buzzing. Blossom excused herself and exited the room where the wedding ceremony would soon be held.
"Hey Dex, what's up?" Blossom tried to speak quietly, but the hallway she had entered wouldn't allow for subtlety. She listened as her voice bounced off the walls, echoing back to her.
"Um, hi boss! Listen, we're having a couple...erm, issues here." The voice of her assistant on the other line was a mixture of frazzled and confused.
"I told you I was taking a personal day today." Blossom reminded him. She was tapping her foot in an attempt to concentrate her annoyance in an external location.
"I may have messed up a bit. See, I thought your personal day was tomorrow, so I scheduled a pretty big meeting for you today."
Blossom's stomach dropped. "What meeting did you schedule for today, Dex?"
"Well, Indra Nooyi is waiting in the lobby-"
"Oh no..." Blossom slid down to the floor and rested her head in her hands. She took a few moments to collect her thoughts. "You scheduled PepsiCo for today?"
"I'm sorry boss, it was a huge oversight on my part." After a few more moments of silence, Dex added, "I'm not fired, am I?"
"That's hardly an appropriate question to ask over the phone. We will deal with that tomorrow." Blossom stood back up and brushed her hands over her dress. "Tell Indra I will be there in half an hour and let her wait for me in my office. And please keep her there. I'm on my way now." She hung up her phone and returned it to her purse.
Blossom turned around abruptly, planning to make a quick escape before anyone could notice she was leaving. She gasped and clutched her chest when she came face-to-face with the blushing bride.
Buttercup's dark green dress was a shocking sight after being in a room full of white attire; the color stood out even more than Brick's hair. The style of her dress was far different from what Blossom had ever pictured her in. The neckline plummeted down to just below her breasts, exposing more skin than Blossom was used to. Lace fabric wrapped up her arms, ending at her shoulders like vines growing up the side of a house. The bodice was tight to Buttercup's skin, and then it suddenly broke off in a wave of deep green chiffon with hints of blue teasing the ends of the fabric. Her dress ended at her thighs, revealing a pair of black leggings underneath. Blossom noted the choice of flats as well, and wondered how Buttercup could make such...unique fashion choices look so sophisticated.
Tears escaped from Blossom's eyes before she could compose herself, and she reached to place a hand on Buttercup's shoulder. "You look so beautiful."
Buttercup stepped back from her touch and Blossom met her sister's eyes, finally noticing that the soft glow she expected to see had been warped into an angry glare. "You're leaving?"
Blossom was caught off guard by the resentment in Buttercup's tone. Her speechlessness overtook her as she stepped back.
"Of course you are. It wouldn't be an important event without you failing to be here," Buttercup scoffed.
"Buttercup, you don't understand." Blossom's shoulders sunk and she stepped toward her sister again. "The CEO of PepsiCo is waiting for me in my office right now," she explained, hopeful that her sister would be a bit more understanding.
"And your sister is moments away from being married right now." Tension filled the air as the two sisters stared at each other. Blossom broke eye contact first, glancing at the exit down the hall. Buttercup rolled her eyes and scoffed. "Go."
"Buttercup, I'll be back before-"
Buttercup cut Blossom off in the middle of her sentence. "No. I don't want you here." Blossom started, bewildered at her sister's resolution. Silence filled the space between them again and Buttercup's eyes hardened some more. All traces of lightheartedness were absent from the bride's face. "Leave."
Blossom tried to reach for her sister again, but Buttercup walked away before she could make contact. Her sister disappeared into her dressing room, slamming the door as she went. Blossom considered knocking on the door, and she thought of all the things she could do to make the situation better. Then she wiped the tears threatening to spill from her eyes and walked down the hall to the exit.
***Hey guys this is part one of a two part story that I've been working on. This is not a re-post, so at least I've been sort of working on some content. I do almost all of my writing at work so hopefully the second part will be out within 2-4 business days. xoxo-Kelsilynne***