8-7-10
10:55pm
Summary–Blossom loved school. She loved getting the best grade in the class on any given assignment. Blossom hates when someone takes her Number One spot. She hates even more that it's an undeserving Rowdyruff Boy who's done it. Blossom/Brick
Disclaimer–I do not own The Powerpuff Girls, which belongs to its respective owner(s) and is only being used in a fan-made, fictional story.
READ ME: I do briefly explain the circumstances that eventually lead to these events (i.e. how the Boys are in school with the girls) but it might be better if you read "Completely Crushed" first. Or at the very least the first few paragraphs of that fic. Thank you. Also, just in case you don't realize (which you should when I mention Kindergarten) the main characters are five years old.
Also, this is the second in "series" (though each can stand alone). The first was "Completely Crushed" (Buttercup/Butch) and the third and final is "Messed Up" (Bubbles/Boomer).
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Title–Top Marks
By–Moon Prynces
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It had been two weeks since the Rowdyruff Boys were sent to attend Pokey Oaks Kindergarten class with the Powerpuff Girls in hopes of discovering a weakness to defeat them or slowly wearing them down some other way. (And also Mojo now had freedom to do whatever he normally did around his home without the trio causing mayhem and madness for him.)
Butch was still challenging Buttercup to any sport or game during recess, which she never declined, and with both parties enjoying the thrill of competition. Sometimes it required skill, sometimes it required brute force, sometimes it required strong will. But it always required Buttercup and Butch grinning fiercely at each other as the other kids scattered away from the two.
Boomer was the most contented of his brothers. He was still trying to learn the valuable lessons of sharing and participating in class discussions, but no one bothered him and he didn't try to start any trouble. Just that...not interacting with his schoolmates wasn't exactly a good thing. It was okay, Ms. Keane was sure she could handle it.
Brick, though, was becoming a handful.
But not by himself as one might have guessed.
True, he was the oldest and sometimes the worst of his brothers, but for once he wasn't channeling all those negative thoughts into completely negative actions.
He noticed from day one that Blossom was crazy about school and grades and being the best.
At first he scowled at her do-gooder attitude, finding even more reasons to hate her and wish for her demise.
School was stupid to him. There wasn't any point in trying to mess with the Powerpuff Girls when he and his brothers were ordered to follow the rules (by Mojo and Ms. Keane, who was surprisingly intimidating when she wanted to be).
But later (on that first day) Brick also noticed the way Blossom frowned every time someone else got to answer before she did. How she glared when she wasn't chosen to write the answer or solve something on the blackboard. How she looked so dejected that she wouldn't speak to anyone the one time someone else did better than her on a test. (Sure it was kindergarten and the tests weren't all that hard but she had realized too late a stupid mistake on her part.)
Brick looked down at the paper that had been put in front of him – a copy of the test that the class (minus him and his brothers) had taken and were reviewing the results of. The test that Blossom was so upset over.
He didn't understand anything on the page. But that's when he grinned to himself mischievously and decided to use this to get the upper hand against her.
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It was only a few days later that his hand suddenly shot up with such enthusiasm that he actually floated a bit out of his seat.
Ms. Keane, along with the rest of the class (and especially Blossom whose own hand was hanging in the air unsurely), stared in shock.
"Yes, Brick?" Ms. Keane asked.
"The answer's 47!" he shouted and then fell back to his seat with a smug smile.
Ms. Keane smiled (in relief and then with pride, because they were her students after all) and wrote the answer on the board before turning to ask another question.
Brick noticed out of the corner of his eye as Blossom glared. At him.
He couldn't even tell if it was because he had taken her opportunity to shine or just because he was a Rowdyruff Boy.
He was hoping it was the first. He was hoping it was because he had stolen her spotlight. He was hoping...that he could do that again.
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So he did. Over and over again Brick proved to be a very intelligent...evil villain.
Sure, he actually went home and studied but it was worth it every time he saw Blossom's face in awe and disbelief.
Soon, Brick was throwing his hand into the air for every single question. And he was usually right.
Once, he had even been chosen to go to the blackboard over Blossom, who had been the only other person with their hand up wanting to be picked.
When he got up there and took the chalk in his hand and before even looking to the equation, Brick glanced over his shoulder to make sure she was watching.
He caught sight of her gritted teeth and eyes glinting dangerously. She. Was. Pissed.
He turned back, finished up the problem in an unnecessary blur of movements (just to show off) and then floated back to his seat.
"And that's how it's done," he said while sitting down, and purposely looked at Blossom with a smirk.
She saw.
Of course she did. She had been watching him the whole time. Waiting for him to make the slightest mistake so she could jump up and cry out the injustice of him being picked over her.
Blossom just fumed and looked away, further satisfying him.
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"What're you doing?" Butch asked one night after his 'grocery run' (which was usually him stealing from the nearest mini mart).
Brick didn't even look up.
"What does it look like I'm doin'?" he bit out angrily.
Butch stared at his brother. Then his face scrunched up in suspicion.
"I'm not sure..."
With his patience already being thin, Brick looked up at his brother and shouted, "I'm studying!"
Which obviously meant he wanted to be left alone.
"What the heck would you wanna study for?" Butch asked himself in disgust while leaving the room.
The next day they had an exam and Brick was prepared to not only ace this stupid thing, but then rub it in Blossom's face. He was so sure he could do better than her.
He had studied! He had caught up on weeks and weeks of material (things that had been taught before him and his brother's enrollment). He was even making Ms. Keane glow with pride (though she had no clue as to his malicious reasons for the interest in academia).
He was so sure.
Which was why it came as a complete shock when he received the results later in the day to find he only got an eighty-two. Out of a hundred!
He quickly flew over to Ms. Keane's desk and demanded to know why this was. She was surprised at his behavior but took the time to explain everything while the other students continued an assignment (that obviously involved crayons and paper).
Brick flew back to his desk, angry at himself, with the paper crushed in his grip.
Blossom glanced up a moment to see this. She watched quietly as he sat down, still holding the paper, and frowned down at the tabletop.
She watched, and soon he shook his head, put the paper on the table and grabbed a nearby crayon.
Then she watched and winced as Boomer immediately shot three blasts of his eye lasers.
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Though it became obvious there was some sort of rivalry between Blossom and Brick, they had never actually spoken to each other while in school.
Brick would rather swallow his tongue than converse with her and Blossom was trying to stay on top of her schoolwork while simultaneously watching out for the Rowdyruff Boys, in case they decided to cause trouble on school grounds.
She even tried to pretend they weren't there (because of their very subdued behavior) but that wasn't given a chance when Brick decided to try and ruin something she so enjoyed: being at the top of the class.
It wasn't that she was a control freak or know-it-all. Blossom just loved to learn new things. And then she loved to let people know she knew these things. And then it turned into knowing more about things than everyone else. Pretty soon after she couldn't help wanting to, well, know it all.
It made kids come up to her with their questions instead of opening a big book (that sometimes could only explain things as if a scholar were reading it).
She liked being the one people came to for help because she liked helping them.
It just happened to put her at the top of the class. It became a symbol to show the other kids what she was capable of, that they could count on her for answers to any of their questions (even if she was unsure sometimes).
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Another week passed by after the disappointing test for Brick. Another week meant another test.
He was ready this time. He had to be. This time he had stayed up almost all night just to study and check and recheck everything.
Another week and...another disappointment.
This time Brick didn't bother saying anything after he saw the ninety with a smiley face next to it.
He glanced over to see Blossom smiling proudly with her triple digits on the page.
He hated himself and promised to try harder.
But he still crumpled the paper in his hand unconsciously and Blossom noticed.
So later on, at recess, she carefully surveyed the area.
Brick didn't care about recess so much. The other kids were just a waste of time. He wasn't there to have fun. He was there to beat the Powerpuff Girls! ...In what had turned into any way possible.
So he was sitting down in a corner at the moment with a book open, already cramming things inside his head for the next test (another week away).
Blossom confidently strode over and put her hands on her hips when she stood over him. Brick was so involved in the pages that he had his guard down (for once) and didn't even notice anything until she loudly cleared her throat.
Brick blinked and looked up, then hastily fixed a glare on his face.
"What?" he asked harshly, wanting her to leave already.
"What are you doing?" Blossom asked right back.
He quirked a brow in confusion. "If you're wondering what plan we've got cookin' for you and your sisters you'll just have to wait," was all he could say. Even though the truth was they hadn't planned anything new yet. (There were only the few minor crimes they committed here and there.)
Blossom shook her head angrily. "Why do you care so much about school?"
But what she really wanted to know was why he had it out for her, in this specific area.
Brick just huffed. "To beat you of course!" he admitted with no shame. "Now go away so I can get back to this. Next time... Next time I'll be the one with the top score on a test and you'll be crying over your stupid mistakes!" he jumped to his feet as he spat these words.
Blossom grimaced as he stalked away, finally having her answer. He was just trying to make her life hell all around!
Still...
And she turned around to watch him go inside.
Still...he was just a kid (as was she). And well...him beating her in school was nowhere near as detrimental to her well-being as him trying to beat her to a pulp physically.
So what if he wanted to be at the top of the class, a spot she had held for so long. It wasn't something she couldn't recover from. It wasn't something that she desperately needed.
But it was definitely something he desperately wanted. Even if for the wrong reasons.
Blossom glared around the playground as everyone had started to head inside as well; recess was over.
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The next week went by and the next test came up.
Blossom didn't pick up her pencil right away and start scribbling insanely. She merely wrote her name and put the pencil back down.
She glanced across the room where she could see Brick with a determined expression (though it didn't contain any evil glint and so he just looked like a normal boy for a moment).
Then she hesitantly picked up her pencil again and began the test, still finishing with minutes to spare.
After lunch and recess that day Ms. Keane smiled widely at the class, holding the stack of graded papers.
"Well everyone, looks like someone new has gotten the highest grade in the class!" she announced happily, the pride showing some students clearly who she meant. "It's Brick!" And she walked over to hand him his paper.
Brick, who had been staring intensely before the news, was then looking down at his paper in surprise that quickly turned to suspicion.
He still glared down at the numbers.
Only a ninety-eight? Pfft.
But then he realized the magnitude of what Ms. Keane had said. He was at the top of the class? He started to grin in victory but then took a moment to glance at Blossom.
Surely she was glaring at him and crumpling up her own paper. Maybe she would even have an outburst and embarrass herself.
But instead he saw her take a quick peak at her paper before slipping it into her bookbag.
She didn't look sad or upset or angry. She wasn't even glaring at him for finally beating her!
Brick stared at her, waiting for her gaze to come his way but she never turned in his direction.
Was she that ashamed of her performance?
He left it alone, though the victory wasn't as great without a valid reaction from Blossom. She was, after all, the reason he did it.
But the rest of the day went on normally and she didn't shut herself off in a corner to sulk. She seemed perfectly fine and that was what led Brick to believe something was amiss.
So he decided to confront her.
Right after school he saw her just about to fly off with her sisters. He stood by the sandbox and glared up at them and she obviously sensed something.
Blossom turned around, stopping in mid-air and causing her sisters to do the same. Buttercup glared back at him, ready for a fight. Bubbles stared innocently with a hand over her closed mouth, waiting.
"Go on without me," Blossom finally said. "I'll be home right after."
Buttercup started to protest, so sure this was a trap because the other two Rowdyruff Boys were just inside. But then green and blue streaks were in the sky as Butch and Boomer decided to race home.
Buttercup and Bubbles reluctantly left Blossom to land on the ground before Brick.
"What did you get on your test?" he asked, getting to the point.
Blossom pulled out a folded up paper from her pocket (where she had hidden it after realizing her bookbag wasn't safe) and handed it to him without a word.
Brick stared down at it in disbelief after unfolding it. "Eighty? Eighty! What is this?" he asked angrily, holding up the paper in question.
"My test," she finally answered.
"No it's not!"
"Well, it has my name on it!"
"You would never get an...eighty." And he spoke the number with disgust.
Blossom shrugged awkwardly. "I just...didn't do as well as I normally would. It's okay."
"No it's not!" Brick exploded, gripping her paper tighter and inflicting creases and wrinkles. "You're Blossom! You don't get eighties! You don't ignore a bad grade and you don't go back to being all happy after a bad mark either!"
She stared at him. "How would you know what I would and wouldn't do?"
He stopped a moment, frowning.
"I didn't try as hard. I didn't study like I normally would. I just...let it happen," Blossom said with a sigh.
"Why?" Brick demanded.
It wouldn't be any fun to get the top mark without her fussing over it.
"Because...it meant a lot to you. You wanted it so badly." She paused. "You're Brick. You're a Rowdyruff Boy. But...you're still just a boy. And it just seemed like...you know, the nice thing to do."
He opened his mouth to say something, and by the looks of it, in anger.
"But I didn't just let you win! I didn't just doodle on the paper and hand it in! I still tried from what I already knew," she tried to defend herself. "I don't care, it's just a..." she winced, "A grade."
And in that moment as Blossom tried to explain in some twisted up way that what she had done was for him, Brick realized something.
No one ever did anything for him.
No one ever fed him; he went out and got his own meals (even though it was from stealing). No one took care of him (Mojo only let him and his brothers crash, literally, at his place because he liked being known as their creator/father-figure). And certainly no one had ever let their grades slip just because they knew he wanted to beat them in some weird school rivalry.
He was almost...touched.
Brick almost gagged at the word but it didn't stop the emotion from spreading through him, something he wasn't sure he wanted to stop.
"Fine," he finally decided.
Blossom gave a weird look.
He didn't say anything further, just stared at the ground to the left of where she stood, her paper being held limply in his hand.
"Um, okay." She took to the air, turning around a moment. "Okay, I'll see you tomorrow."
Brick waited until he was sure he wouldn't be able to see her anymore before looking up. He remembered the paper in his hand and brought it back up to his face to examine it carefully.
And he took it home with him, staring at and memorizing her girly handwriting (unconsciously). And maybe he admitted to himself that it wasn't just some perverse pleasure at watching her get upset that he enjoyed with their academic rivalry. Maybe...it was just watching her become determined and full of energy – his own expression reflected back on him.
But then again it was still fun to see her mad.
Not that he had a crush on her or anything. No, that was Butch and Buttercup.
Brick snickered as he headed home to torture his brother.
Though he never did throw away Blossom's test...
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8-8-10
2:32am
Ah, done? Yeah, done.
To be honest I wasn't sure if I should add something more...but the ending was kind of dragging along so yeah it's over.
Technically I finished this at around 2:30am last night (as the time up there suggests). But I had a really long day yesterday and I was so tired I couldn't get on with the rereading, editing and such. Today I came on, reread it all, fixed up some things and added like four lines at the end.
Right, and also in case you didn't read the READ ME note at the beginning, this story could be considered part of a series. The first would be "Completely Crushed" featuring Buttercup and Butch. This is the second one, I suppose. And finally I will be writing a third one for Bubbles and Boomer, the title of which is "Messed Up".
There is also the story "Paying Attention" that I wrote a few days ago (featuring Buttercup and Butch) while they're teens but I'm thinking I'll write a story in the same basic universe for Blossom and Brick because I've already got the ideas down.
Lately, (probably after reading nothing but Powerpuff Girls fanfiction the past week) I've been getting inspiration to write for these three pairings with every song I listen to, fanart picture of them I see and just anything really.
If you like this even a little go on and read one of the other stories I've written. And in case you're wondering, "Paying Attention" isn't written in quite the same style as "Completely Crushed" and this fic. There is less story-telling and more dialogue in that one (and naturally it will be the same for the next in that series).
Okay I'll shut up now.
Next is Bubbles and Boomer, hopefully I'll start it today.
8-8-10
11:43am