Hi guys!
I know I don't usually have author's notes in the beginning of my chapters, but I felt that this was important.
Firstly, the Winx Club original characters are not going to be the main characters - my own characters are. I know these types of stories usually aren't popular, but in this story I want to explore some darker themes and how the Winx reacts to them (because as much as they battle evil and all that in the show, it's a children's show and of course, everything is kept simple so themes like self-harm and coping with death are never really explored) so I felt like creating my own character in that verse would allow me to stretch the verse further.
Secondly, updates for this story will probably be pretty sporadic (sorry). As I keep mentioning, jc life is super busy and I shouldn't even be writing this now (lol) but I started watching winx club again over the holidays (yes I'm seventeen and I watched winx club) and this plot bunny has been bugging me for a while now, so I just wanted to try my hand at writing it, and of course share it with you guys.
That being said, I hope you enjoy this - the first chapter really isn't that long or exciting, it's mostly just setting up the premise and stuff, so please be patient with me!
Sometimes, Bloom had feelings. They weren't usually very precise - she was by no means psychic, but she was able to sense when big changes were about to happen, an ability she'd always had that had grown stronger as she started using her powers. It seemed like most fairies had that ability, and she'd accepted it as a sign of her latent fairy powers in her earlier years.
And right now, that sense was creating a rather uncomfortable feeling in the back of her mind. She just couldn't figure out what it was, because it had been present and growing steadily stronger for at least a week now, and yet nothing out of the ordinary had happened so far that would have explained the sense she got that something big was about to occur.
She tried to put the nagging feeling out of her mind for the moment, since she was having a FaceTime conversation with her adoptive parents from Gardenia. She was trying her best to focus on what they were saying, since they were updating her on what was going on with her old friends, and she was more than interested in what they were saying, and yet that sensation in the back of her mind was driving her insane.
"Oh, by the way, your old friend Daniella is back in town," her father mentioned offhandedly, and Bloom sat straight up. "She is? Oh, that's amazing news!" she exclaimed excitedly, jumping out of her seat reflexively. A huge smile spread across her face. Daniella had been one of her best friends until she had moved to Magix. Now in her final year at Alfea College, it had been about seven years since she'd last seen Daniella. She grinned as she remembered her sweet friend with the long, black hair and huge, twinkling eyes that Bloom had envied for so long.
"I'll come back as soon as I can make time," she promised. "I can't wait to see Daniella again!" she exclaimed to Kiko. She wondered if he remembered her as well; after all, Daniella had gone with her when she purchased him from the pet shop, and had helped her choose him. By the confused look on his adorable little bunny face, though, probably not.
"Well, I'm sure she'll be thrilled," Bloom's mother told her. "You should keep in mind though, that a lot of things have changed since you both saw each other - for you and for her. The two of you aren't the same people anymore, and you can't expect her to be… exactly as she is in your memories."
Bloom's forehead wrinkled as she heard her mother's words. "What does that mean?" she asked, confused. Surely even if they had changed and matured with age, Daniella would remain the same sweet, loving person she had once been. She didn't expect for them to pick up right where they left off, of course. Bloom was twenty-three now, and so was Daniella. Neither of them would be exactly the same, but Bloom strongly believed that as much as people could change on the outside, they remained the same people at the core.
"You'll see," her father replied, exchanging worried glances with her mother. Bloom caught the glance and immediately knew that there was something her parents knew that they weren't telling her.
"Well, will you give me her number so I can contact her? I'd love to meet up with her the next time I go home to Gardenia," she requested of her parents. After they agreed to text her Daniella's new details, they exchanged goodbyes and hung up.
"Wow, that sure was unexpected," she told Kiko as he bounced excitedly on her lap. "Daniella… I haven't seen her in so long. Selina, Daniella and I used to be absolutely inseparable, but after Selina left, it was just Daniella and I. We didn't see her the last time we spent time on Earth after graduating from high school, because she was off at college, and somehow we lost contact with each other when I came here and she left. I can't wait to catch up with her!" she said, smiling at Kiko and his adorable antics.
Since she was sitting in the common area of the suite the Winx Club shared in the dormitories, Stella was sitting on the nearby loveseat, giving herself a pedicure. "Who's Daniella?" she asked offhandedly, as she admired the stunning shade of teal that was painting itself onto her toenails, courtesy of the first magic spell she'd ever created.
"One of my oldest friends," Bloom said, leaning back into the sofa as she smiled dreamily up at the ceiling, lost in her reminiscence. She told a half-listening Stella about the best adventures she'd had with Daniella, starting from when they had met on the first day of first grade.
"I was an only child, so I had never really interacted with kids that much, especially since I was rather quiet in preschool. Daniella was just the opposite, always smiling and laughing, surrounded by our peers. I remember when I first saw her in first grade, I was immediately intimidated by her. She'd just moved here so she was completely new, and didn't know anyone. Despite that, she was already surrounded by the other first-graders in our class. When I walked into class and saw her, I ducked my head and just walked to a desk at the back of the classroom, but she saw me and she was so friendly!
"She told me she loved the color of my hair and that my outfit was really cute. Even though she'd always been popular, starting from that first day of first grade, she never let it get to her head, was never mean and petty the way Mitzi is. She was nice to everyone, always smiling, and was pretty much the sweetest person I've ever met. She was a lot like Flora, come to think of it, but more bubbly and vivacious. The way she could connect with people, it was incredible," Bloom enthused.
At the moment, Flora opened the door to their suite and walked in, humming a quiet tune under her breath.
"Oh, speak of the devil!" Stella exclaimed, startling Flora, who had been thinking about rearranging the plants in the Alfea greenhouse to facilitate the cultivation of some new plants she'd heard of on a faraway planet.
"What are you guys talking about?" she asked, seeing Bloom's distant, dreamy smile and Stella's bare feet propped up on the coffee table.
"Oh, Bloom just got a call from her parents, one of her old friends is back in town," Stella said, waving her hand to make her bottle of nail polish cap itself.
"Oh, not one of my old friends, my oldest friend!" Bloom exclaimed to Flora. "And I was just saying to Stella how much she reminded me of you. She was one of the sweetest people I've ever known, although come to think of it, she was as vivacious and confident as Stella as well," she said.
"Well, she sounds like quite the girl!" Flora said, smiling as she took in how happy her friend was. She took a seat next to Bloom.
"Oh, she was, and I can't wait to see her again! As I was telling Stella, she was the first friend I made in first grade, and we were inseparable ever since. She, Selina and I were the best of friends, and she was always the life of our little group. I owe a lot of who I am to Daniella, in fact, she taught me a lot about how to be a leader and stand up for myself."
Soon, the whole club had gathered as Bloom happily told them stories of her childhood with Daniella and Selina, all the adventures they'd had and the trouble they'd gotten into as youths, and all the best memories she'd had with them.
"Well, we have midterm break next week, maybe you can go back to Gardenia and reunite with Daniella then," Tecna told Bloom.
"Oh, that's right!" Bloom realised, her eyes widening. "I can't wait to find out how she's doing! I wonder if she has a boyfriend or is married by now," she mused. "You know she was the first one of the three of us to ever get a boyfriend. She and Steven got together when we were thirteen and he was a year older. No one ever expected them to last long, because I mean most relationships then are doomed to failure, but they managed to stay together up until I left. I wonder if they're still together, it would be adorable if they're married by now."
Stella, Musa and Flora gasped. "Oh, that would be so romantic!" they agreed enthusiastically. Tecna and Layla were less excited, though they did smile and admit that it would be cute.
"You know, I would like to meet Daniella," Stella suggested, looking askance at the rest of the Winx Club members.
"Oh, that does sound like fun!" Flora picked up on Stella's intentions immediately, and agreed.
"You're right! Let's all go to Gardenia over midterm break! We can invite the specialists too, I'm sure they'd be interested in meeting such a special person," Layla said. Bloom agreed happily, saying it sounded like a lot of fun, and with that, it was settled.
Hope you enjoyed that! As always, I would love it if you dropped me a review telling me what you thought so far.
Love,
Peachy Hikaru