Disclaimer: I do not own the rights to any of the characters in the powerpuff girls z. Just this story.
This is my first fan fiction. I intend to do more with the powerpuff girls so please read and review so I can improve for you all :)
Troubled Bubbles: One shot
The brisk Autumn air scraped her cheeks as she walked down the sidewalk and forced her blue eyes to water. Her hair two curled pigtails flapped in the wind with each gust. That day she was wearing a baby blue long sleeve plaid shirt, a black skirt with sheer black tights underneath and black knee high boots. Despite the weather she figured she needed to try to keep her spirits up the only sure fire way she knew how on this day.
Bubbles walked past the park that Blossom, Buttercup, and herself had spent many days keeping the city safe. She sat herself down on a bench and let herself reminisce the good times. She giggled thinking about the time they had saved the city from sushi monsters, laughed thinking about the time they had tried to protect their solid gold statue from the League of Lovely Ladies, shuddered at the thought of Him's mummy minion trying to steal pastry puffs and their white light force. She looked to the top of the hill in the middle of the park. There was one memory that Bubbles couldn't erase. It was at the top of the hill where she and Cody had re-united and re-kindled their friendship after having been separated for years. A small smirk broke her face when she remembered the moment he transformed back to his normal self. Then she remembered the first time she visited Cody in the hospital. Her face started to burn up and her cheeks flared red remembering being pushed into his room and forced to talk to him. Ultimately she was happy it happened, she started to visit him every week following that.
Cody was her childhood crush. She remembers from the first time that they met that he was something special. Her earliest memory was a blond-haired blue eyed boy protecting her from bullies and then teaching her the coolest bubble blowing trick she had ever learned. Since then, every time she thought about Cody her heart sank to her stomach and her cheeks blushed as red as cherries. He was her first love of course.
Bubbles got up from the bench and continued to head in to town. She thought back to the last visit she had with Cody. Although it was a while ago she remembered it as if it happened the day before. She remembers sitting at Cody's bed side with her hands inside of his. "Bubbles, you have so many better people for you, don't waste your precious time on me. If I could choose to have one thing for you, it would for you to be happy" he breathed.
"Because there's no one better than you Cody. I really care about you." She responded reassuringly. She remembers seeing the defeat in his eyes.
"I care about you too, but why waste your time on someone like me? You're the most beautiful girl, why not find a nice guy who can bring you home to his family instead of a hospital room?" He argued.
"Cody, I feel at home being right beside you." Bubbles concluded. She felt short winded at the thought of Cody calling her beautiful. It had been so long since she heard him say it. She couldn't stop thinking about her most recent visit while she wandered the streets. It helped her keep her mind off of things and helped her stay in a happy place.
When she finally snapped out of her flashbacks she found herself in front of Blossom's favourite Candy store. That reminded her, Bubbles opened her cell phone to have messages from Blossom and Buttercup. Blossom's messages asked Bubbles if she was okay and asked her to meet up in the evening so she wouldn't have to be alone, while suggesting she get herself candy. Buttercup's messages told Bubbles that she was thinking about her and that if she needed anything to call her. Her two best friends knew how difficult this day would be for her. Both Blossom and Buttercup recognized that Bubbles was behaving differently at school. Instead of entertaining her male suitors like she used to, she instantly ignored them and refused to talk to them. It even went as far as not talking to Blossom about the cute boys Blossom had seen in her daily travels. They had a good reason to worry, Bubbles seemed deflated. Although she kind of wanted to be alone she appreciated the fact that her friends did their best to check up on her. She decided to take Blossom's advice and get some candy. She was looking for just about anything that would help make this day easier.
The interior of the Candy store was full of all sorts of vibrant candies and colourful chocolate bars. Bubbles felt wrong being in there. She didn't feel all colourful and vibrant, instead she felt very blue. She walked past yellow and green lollipops on the shelf beside purple and red jaw breakers. Nothing truly caught her eye until she saw a package of sky blue bubble gum. She walked up to the package of gum sitting on the shelf. She giggled to herself a little bit. It reminded her of the time she snuck a package of this brand of gum into Cody's hospital room.
She hid it under her coat and slipped him a piece when the nurse had left them in the room together. They blew bubbles together and giggled as each bubble got bigger and bigger. She remembers having a competition with him to see who could blow the bigger bubble. She giggled at the time that she had blown a bubble so big that it blocked her eyes from being able to see the boy she fawned over for years. It was quickly interrupted by Cody's finger popping the Bubble. "You couldn't have won if you don't have proof!" He teased.
"Cody! I did so win! It would've gotten so much bigger if you hadn't…" He interrupted her with a kiss. Although she remembered that not being their first kiss, each and every kiss felt like the first time with him. The thought of the kiss forced her to snap back to reality. She was smiling ear to ear while staring at the piece of gum. Once again she was reminded that she hadn't seen him in a long time. She tried to justify herself by saying she got really caught up in doing schoolwork and helping take care of her grandma. She sighed, this day was hard enough without the guilt of not visiting Cody. Her eyes made their way back up to the shelf and the package of gum. While picking it up off of the shelf she noticed that there was a little bubble blower attached to the back of the packaging. She took it all as a sign, maybe if there was anyway to actually get through this day it was to finally visit Cody for so long. The walk through the park, the long memories, finding the package of bubble gum and the bubble blower attached to it. She snatched the package of gum off of the shelf, paid for it at the counter and then walked out the door.
As she wandered through the streets she felt her chest get more and more heavy with each step. The thought of seeing him after all of this time made her more and more anxious. She was going to have to explain to Cody why she hadn't visited all this time. She hoped he wouldn't mind. She swallowed hard when she got to the gates. Just further inside was the boy that she battled with and for, the boy that stole her first kiss and then her heart. While walking to go see him she thought about the other boys she had avoided while Cody was in the hospital. The school council president had asked her for dinner, the captain of Buttercup's soccer team had tried to take her to the movies, and several boys tried to message her on social media platforms asking for her number. Thinking back, she thought it would have been nice to meet these different people and make friends but she loved Cody, she closed herself off.
There she was. Standing in front of him. "Hi Cody," she said. "I brought you a gift, just like last time. Except this time I didn't have to sneak it in." She stood staring at a head stone. The name read her love's name, Cody. Died on November 14th 2017, exactly one year before. Her eyes began to water while reading the head stone. "I'm sorry I haven't visited you in a long time." She paused to catch her breath. With each word she spoke she felt herself get more and more emotional. "I was going to tell you why I hadn't come for so long but the truth is I don't have an excuse. I should have come to visit you sooner…" She felt her tears stream down her rosy cheeks. "I'm so ashamed, you were always there for me despite being in the hospital and I couldn't even visit you." She was choking up. She moved her eyes down to the ground. She couldn't look up at the headstone with his picture. He was so handsome with his blue eyes and sandy blonde hair. She gingerly placed the package of bubble gum beside his headstone. Upon dropping the bubble gum she collapsed to the ground. She tucked her head in her knees and sobbed. "I miss you more than words can say. I just feel so lonely now. Without you theres a hole in my heart I just can't fill." She opened up the package of gum, left a piece in front of his head stone and took a piece for herself. She sat in silence at the side of the head stone. She watched as the evening sun set and the moon began to glow and the brisk air turned to shearing cold. She thought that her outfit would help her feel better but instead it made her feel more cold, more helpless. Not wanting to stay in the cold for much longer, she stood up said her good bye to Cody and walked home through the cold streets.
When she got home she snuck through the door and hid in her room. She hadn't stopped crying since she left the cemetery. Laying in bed she tossed and turned back and forth not being able to get the thought of Cody out of her head. She sat at the edge of her bed and looked past her desk out of her window. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the bubble blower that came with the package of gum she had purchased earlier. Out of frustration she threw it out of her window and looked up. She realized that she could see the park from the window in her room. Unable to get comfortable in her own space she focussed her gaze on the park itself. She wiped the tears from her eyes, composed herself, and snuck out of the door and headed to the park.
Moonlight caked her shoulders as she made her way through the park. She kept her eyes on her feet. She didn't need to see where she was going, she knew this park like the back of her hand. The paths were eerie as she walked them. The only sound was the wind lightly blowing against the branches of the trees. When she raised her head she stood at the foot of the hill in the middle of the park. Once again she remembered the time she spent with her friends and most vividly Cody. Her eyes filled with tears as she slowly made her way up the steps and sat on a bench that was placed under a light.
Bubbles sat on the bench and silently sobbed. Sitting on a park bench in the middle of the night without anyone just reminded herself of how lonely she felt. She didn't want to be around her friends though. The only thing she wanted was to have Cody in front of her and hear him call her beautiful one last time. She lifted her head. Her eyes were red and swollen, her cheeks damp from the tears. She thought back to the kiss again. She remembered being so happy then.
She snapped back to reality when she heard chuckling coming from behind her. She whipped around expecting to see a masked assailant poised with a knife ready to send her to the aether. The immediately thought that it wouldn't be a bad thing, at least it would bring her back to Cody. Instead she saw a head of blonde hair sitting on the bench facing the other way. Then all of the sudden she saw a stream of bubbles floating out from the light above his bench. With each stream of bubbles she heard a hearty chuckle come from the blonde haired boy that sat on the other bench. He whipped his head from side to side as if to check his surroundings. Then their eyes met, his blue just like hers. She felt something deep inside her stomach. "Oh I'm sorry. I didn't notice you there, I didn't mean to be obnoxious," he laughed. His voice was sweet, very soft very comforting. Before she knew it he was sitting beside her on her bench smiling. He had a boyish smile, one that said he was innocent but mischievous at the same time.
His demeanour changed when she came further into the light. He must have noticed her swollen eyes and her puffy cheeks. "It's a cold night, what are you doing out here all alone?" He questioned.
"Just going for a walk." She responded coldly.
"To clear your head no doubt." He suggested to her. She looked at him angrily, she didn't like having her life dictated to her by a complete stranger, even if he did make her feel the way he did. He seemed to recoil after facing her glare. "You know, I just mastered this cool trick with blowing bubbles, I could teach you. I found this extra bubble blower on the way over here, its still in the package!" Showing her the bubble blower that she had bought earlier that day. Seeing it made her stomach rise up to her throat. She was always the romantic type and this interaction made her think fate wanted this to happen. Before responding to this mystery boy she remembered the last time she visited Cody. "Cody I feel at home right beside you," played over and over in her head.
"No thanks." She shut down. She felt tears start to well up in her eyes.
"You hesitated… That must mean you thought about it. Trust your heart and just give it a shot!" He persisted. Bubbles played her memories again. She thought back to the time that Cody himself had taught her a blowing bubble trick and then once again to the hospital. Instead this time it wasn't the kiss, and it wasn't feeling at home beside him. This time, she played back the time he said "If I could choose to have one thing for you, it would for you to be happy." She bit her lip and then looked up at the mystery boy. For the first time in the past year she let out a genuine smile. She agreed to his offer. He excitedly unknowingly passed her her own bubble blower. He first demonstrated the trick. He blew a bubble, quickly blew a bubble on top of it and then blew a third bubble. He then popped the bottom of the stacked bubble and watched as the two bubbles gravitated towards one another sticking. Bubbles continued to smile. She tried, but when trying to blow the bubble stack it popped. He laughed, encouraged her and then demonstrated one more time.
As he demonstrated Bubbles found herself looking at the boy. This boy had no idea who she was, the kind of day she had but decided to help her out. She didn't know how to explain it, she just felt so comfortable and familiar with him despite just meeting him. She started to think about fate again, met a sweet hearted boy who likes to blow bubbles in the same park that gave her some of the most memorable moments in her life. To top it off he even gave her her own bubble blower. Again she thought back to Cody telling her he wanted her to be happy. She giggled and couldn't help but think that maybe Cody placed his mystery boy in her life.
The two spent the whole night blowing bubbles together. When Bubbles finally got the trick right the two teens jumped up and down and celebrated before finishing it off with a hug. When they released she could feel her cheeks fire up. She hadn't felt this way in so long. She looked up at him to se his eyes looking at hers. His cheeks were rosy too, it must have been the cold. "Glad to see you've perked up" he ribbed, "You know its really nice when you smile."
"Well its because of you I could finally smile." The two finally stood there staring at each other. Bubbles opened her phone, it had to have been a few hours since she last checked her phone, she was just having too much fun. The clock read 2AM. "Oh my gosh, I have to get home its so late! I had a lot of fun with you tonight" Bubbles exclaimed while standing up. She started to feel sad, she didn't want to just walk away from this boy.
"I had a lot of fun with you tonight too!" He paused. "Say, could I get your phone number?" He asked as an attempt to get at least one more minute with her. She looked back at him in dismay. She wondered if it was possible that this boy had those same weird feelings for her. She was speechless, it was almost as if when she stood up her voice left her body. She nodded and gave him her phone number, and then he gave his. "Th- thanks!" He chuckled and then looked down at the ground, "Could you text me when you get home? I don't want to have to worry about you all night."
"Of course! Thanks again for everything, I'm sure I'll talk to you soon!" She cheerfully said as she began to walk away. She made it not even five steps until she was interrupted once more.
"What can I call you? I mean uhh, I never got your name! Just so I know how to address you when I text you." He chuckled. As he laughed more and more Bubbles began to feel more and more warm inside.
"I'm Bubbles." She practically cheered.
"Very fitting. I'll talk to you soon Bubbles."
"Wait, what about you!?" She called to him before leaving.
"Me? I'm Boomer." He said laughing.
They both entered each other's names into their phones and headed home. Bubbles snuck back into her room for the last time that night and crawled into bed. She laid in bed, this time smiling up at the ceiling. She thought of this new boy, Boomer. Her stomach dropped just at the thought of him. Before fading off into sleep she whispered one short phrase, "thank you Cody."