10-12-12
8:48pm
Summary–Even as class president, soon-to-be valedictorian and all around do-gooder...there are still things Blossom comes to learn just a few months before graduation. One teenage party after another, the influence of her peers, and mocking/scolding looks from her longtime rival has her making up for seemingly lost experiences.
Disclaimer–I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which is copyright and belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.
Warning/Disclaimer: 1-These kids are in high school and doing illegal things like underage drinking. Don't think that means I'm encouraging any of you to do anything illegal, or that I approve of you doing anything illegal. 2-Some of the songs I used for inspiration and mention as choices for you to queue up contain explicit lyrics. There's no way around it. I'm not writing PG rated fluff here. So if you can't handle the songs then don't listen to those specific ones – which I will inform you of beforehand.
xoxo
Title–blossoming
Party 1–seed
By–Moon Prynces
xoxo
She wasn't nervous. No need to be.
Sure, it was her first time and all she could go on were rumors and stories from peers, and scenes from movies and TV shows but–
Someone bumped into her shoulder when she was only five steps through the front door and she nearly dove into the nearby end table.
She caught herself and glanced around to see if anyone noticed before reaching up with one hand to self-consciously smooth back her ponytail.
Maybe she should have called up a friend and gotten a ride so she wouldn't be walking into her first teenage, high school party by herself, looking pitiful and lost.
Blossom stood up straight, moved closer to a wall, and looked around.
It was only a little after nine o'clock on this slightly chilly Saturday evening, but the house was decently crowded with people – half of whom she didn't even recognize. They were mingling easily with each other though, holding beer bottles and large plastic cups with questionable contents. There was a set of big speakers positioned around the living room where someone was DJing to a makeshift dancefloor of girls in tiny skirts and guys waving their half empty cups around.
She sighed and went wandering through the place at her leisure.
Heads turned as she passed by.
Though the music was focused toward the front of the house, it was loud enough to filter through the other rooms. Which was something considering it was a pretty big place. Whose house was this again?
She didn't know. All she remembered was the address that had been thrown around during lunch yesterday. It made everyone who got wind of the party tremble with excitement and anticipation. All except her, who didn't really care about these things.
If anyone noticed her lack of interest, it didn't surprise them. After three and a half years of being a goody two-shoes; smarty-pants; and always putting academics, extra-curriculars and volunteer work first...no one ever expected her to start showing up for this mindless debauchery just three months before graduation.
But there was nothing to do now that it was basically over. Schoolwork was laughable, everyone was cutting class all the time, and she'd already gotten into a bunch of universities and taken her pick.
So, with all this free time she was a little curious to see what the big deal was. What kind of fun was this that made people regret and yet go back again and again?
As she observed the surroundings like one did with the liquids in chem class, she noted the atmosphere was very mellow with people doing what they normally did at school. Most were standing around talking while taking sips of whatever it was they were drinking; a large group was throwing themselves around on the dancefloor; and there were pairs hidden throughout the rooms in corners, on sofas and against walls just making out at their own pace.
Okay, maybe it wasn't really the same as school. It was...
...the alcohol, she realized with a blink. They all look so happy and...free.
Or at least stress-free.
No one was worrying about tests and homework. No one was being bullied or complaining about their families. Everyone was strangely sedated, willing to do things they normally wouldn't even consider.
That had to be why she saw mainly couples treading up the stairs to dimly lit hallways...
And then she finally spotted a friend.
"Hey!" she said happily while hopping over.
The group looked up at her entrance, a few people just giving a glance before going back to their conversation.
"Blossom?" Amy questioned, holding one of those cups and looking a little unsteady.
"Why didn't you tell us you were coming?" Mel joined in.
She just waved off their concern. "It was a last minute decision."
The two glanced at each other, most likely agreeing – but with a certain insinuation that might have her feeling insulted. So she looked around in time to see a guy she didn't even know the name of stumbling his way over.
Of course, even with her being as smart as she was, she didn't realize yet that he was probably drunk out of his mind.
"Wow, you made it!" he said upon reaching her, as if this were his party and he had personally invited her.
"Uh, yeah. I did," she said, glancing around to see her friends shake their heads with grins.
"No one thought you would make it out tonight," he slurred, putting a hand on the nearby wall as support.
Someone chuckled. "He has a point. Isn't it past your bedtime or something?"
It just had to be him, didn't it? But she pushed aside any further thoughts on their acquaintance.
Blossom turned her offended face toward the newcomer. "What's that supposed to mean?"
A few of their peers, all people she knew and had had class with at some point, turned to see the confrontation.
Brick grinned. "I mean, this isn't exactly your scene. Did you lose a bet or something?"
Technically, he hit the nail on the head. It was what everyone was thinking, but didn't want to say out loud. But of course he did so without blinking, opening the floodgates.
A girl behind her agreed. "Sorry Blossom, I gotta say I'm surprised too."
Which then started on most people within earshot agreeing as well.
Brick just shook his head, still grinning, and then tilted it back to swallow whatever was left in his cup before turning around and leaving the scene. People were still looking on in mild interest as Blossom turned back to her friends and the few people they were chatting with.
"Whatever," she muttered while tuning into the conversation.
"I hate to say it, Blos," Amy spoke up, causing the redhead to shoot her a glare which obviously said, 'Then don't say it'. She (of course) ignored the warning. "But why are you here? You don't drink, you don't dance and you usually prefer socializing with people at school functions."
Mel raised her brows with a face that said, 'Quick! Add something!'
"No offense," the other girl said, glancing back to Blossom after catching the look. "This isn't your kind of fun."
My kind of fun? she wondered, wide-eyed and stunned, feeling like she'd been slapped in the face.
Was that what everyone was thinking? That she couldn't have fun the same way they did?
Just because she hadn't ever tried didn't mean she should be shunned from all these experiences. Would it always be like this wherever she went? Did being an overachiever close doors to so many social activities?
That can't be right, she thought, a little disturbed.
Blossom stuck around with the group for another half hour, not making much conversation and trying not to feel bitter at the assumptions made about her character.
She was only curious to see what happened at these things – was trying to find a way to pass time between now and when she set off to college. She knew she was completely inexperienced when it came to normal social activities that everyone else enjoyed. She liked reading and hanging out with a small group of friends at someone's house, but that didn't mean she didn't– couldn't like drinking and dancing and partying. She wouldn't know until she tried, right?
She was still thinking this while heading home before it even turned eleven.
xoxo
10:42pm
11-20-12
4:49pm
(PLEASE READ ME) I know I haven't put up anything in a while and even in the past year things have been sparse. This story is something I've worked on for quite a while (much longer than a year) but we'll get to that later. Instead of bogging down the end of each chapter with long End Notes I'm going to include a lot of my thoughts and feelings on this story at the very end, in its own chapter – much like there is a director's notes/commentary in movie DVDs.
There will be about ten chapters total, though I only have the first seven completely written and edited. I didn't want to upload until I had the entire thing finished, just for continuity purposes, but I've given in. This will take five weeks to two months to post, but I'm still unsure how often each chapter will come out. It could be between every 2 days to about once a week (or according to the actual story timeline, which you'll understand as it comes out). It'll also depend on the response I get from you guys, so be sure to tell me how you feel about what's going on.
...
My biggest recommendation to you all is, if you have the opportunity, to read this (and any story) out loud. It's one of the more wonderful, awesome, exciting things you can do when reading anything, but especially fiction. Alter your voice just slightly when reading a conversation so that you can understand the characters and their tone. Try to read passages the way they're written – whether it's the rambling, I-have-no-idea-what-I'm-doing style or a more aggressive, this-is-who-I-am approach that tells you about the point of view you're reading. Read it with all those meaningful and purposeful punctuations and dramatic pauses. Get into it. Read like you're reading it to someone else – like when people read books to children at the library or book stores.
Reading out loud is my favorite way to read fiction, when I've got the opportunity. It's also how I reread my own stories when editing, or even after having posted them to whatever site. Sometimes I get so caught up I forget that I wrote the thing.
So seriously, I feel like this is one of those stories that you should read out loud and immerse yourself in and get so lost that you're suddenly at the edge of your seat, gasping along with it and making facial expressions and hand motions that correspond with what's going on in the story. (Or maybe those are just the actions of the more eccentric like myself?)
I love writing, but even more I love reading. And hopefully you do too, and that's why you're here. So let's see how this plays out.
9-8-13
8:15pm