Chapter 2: Redemption

The building beside me explodes and the force sends me shooting across the sky. I plummet through glass and cement, taking out three offices and the bank, before I'm able to recollect myself. I shoot back through the crater I made and tackle Butch to the rooftop of another tower. I treat his face like a punching bag and don't stop until I see blood. He catches my wrist and throws me aside. I dig my heels into the ground to come to a halt. Butch cracks his knuckles.

"Are you deaf? Or were you not listening when Brick told you to back off?" I growl.

He shrugs casually. "He won't ever know what happened."

"I'll tell him."

"You won't live to." He slicks back his dark hair and gets into a fighting position.

I raise an eyebrow. "You think I'll lose to a twig armed pussy?"

He sneers and ignites a green flame in his palm. I inhale slowly and hold my breath. With a quick lift of his arm, the fire flies towards me. I blow out a mist of white that cancels out the flame as they meet. Once the fire and ice evaporates, I meet Butch's emerald eyes.

"Stupid bitch, I'm going to make you-!" In a blur of green and red, Butch is taken to the ground and pinned beneath the tall, muscular figure of his brother.

"What the hell did we talk about!?" Brick shouts, eyes glowing furiously.

Butch opens his mouth to retort but Brick slams him back down.

"If I see you hit her one more time, you'll be sorry."

I snicker at the look on Butch's face. He looks like a deer in headlights. Big, scary, strong Butch is at the mercy of his brother.

Brick steps aside so Butch can get up. The green ruff grumbles, "I don't see why you like her."

I place a hand on my hip. "I don't see why your brothers like you."

Butch throws his arms in the air. "You're such a b-"

Brick snatches Butch by the collar of his shirt and pulls him close. "Finish that sentence. I dare you."

My face lights up with amusement.

After a minute of silence, Brick releases Butch. My counterpart looks to me. "I'm late...again, I know."

I nod. "It's been an entire month, and not a thing has changed."

He grins. "I guess not. Something that does need to change, however, is Butchie boys attitude." He shoots a glare at Butch, the green ruff grunts in response. "He's been throwing a fit about every little thing cuz he hasn't seen his girlfriend in forever."

"Aw, does Butch miss Buttercup?" I coo.

He clenches his fists. "Hey she ain't my girlfriend!"

"Yet." Brick teases.

I laugh out loud, adding to Butch's fury. "Gee, Butch, aren't you a hypocrite. Just last year you were talking shit about me and Brick being friends, now you're hooking up with my sister!"

Butch's face pales. "We ain't hookin' up!"

Brick crosses his arms. "Suuuure."

Butch growls. "I swear! All I missed was beating her up, cuz she's a cunt and I hate her!"

"Watch it dipshit!" I shout.

"As amusing as this is-" Brick begins. "There's a party at 1 and I don't wanna miss it."

I raise an eyebrow. "Who's house?"

"Jayce."

At my puzzled look, Butch explains. "He's a hardcore alcoholic over on the west side of town. Even though he's a total ass, his parties are fucking sick. Beer, food, chicks, he's got all the good stuff."

I nod. "Sounds interesting." My gaze flickers to Brick. "Will my sisters find out?"

He shakes his head. "None of the prissies know about parties in the hood."

Brick referring to my sisters as 'prissies' ticks me off, but the party does sound fun, as long as theres no VIP room.

"You might wanna change though." Butch says, a grin tugging at his lips.

I glance down at my jeans and t-shirt. "Why?"

"Don't want attention drawn to yourself? Gotta blend in, and the girls at these parties only wear bikinis." Butch states.

Brick snickers. "It's true."

I cross my arms. "I am not showing up in a fucking bikini."

My counterpart shrugs, "Then you ain't going. I'll just find myself another girl to hang around with at the party. There are plenty of private rooms if we need some alone time."

My temper boils and I clench my fists. "Fine! I ain't wearing a bikini, but I'll blend in. What time is it?"

Brick shrugs again. "When I left, it was 12:20. So it's probably quarter to 1 now."

I curse. "Stay here, I'll be back in 10."

Bubbles is sleeping at her friend's house tonight and Buttercup is busy watching TV, so I sneak through the upstairs window and into my sisters' rooms. I steal a pair of dark stilettos from Buttercup then a skimpy black dress from Bubbles. It has no sleeves and a wide open back, it fluffs out a bit at the hips and ends right below my butt. The torso is nearly too tight for me, but I manage to squeeze it on and slip into the shoes. Bubbles usually wears this with a jacket or tights, but if I did that I wouldn't blend in. Fortunately, my hair is long enough to cover up half my back and my shoulders. If this doesn't do it, then I'm screwed.

The boys, to my surprise, are still waiting on the rooftop when I arrive back. I spot a head of blonde hair as I land and see that Boomer has joined them. The minute their attention is drawn to me, they drop their jaws.

Brick whistles. "I told you you look good in black."

I give him a small smile. "I took longer than I meant to, so we should go."

Boomer checks his watch. "She's right, it's 5 after."

Brick nods and the boys take off into the air, but he stays behind. He gives me a devious smirk, strides over to me, grabs my wrist, and pulls me into the sky. He really needs to realize that I'm capable of flying without his help.

Jayce's house is just like the ruffs, it's an old abandoned building. But this one has a lot more space to hold the enormous crowd that's showed up. And trust me when I say it's enormous, especially for a 'house' party.

"I'm kind of reconsidering." I mutter as we all make our way inside. Plenty of looks are shot our way, most of them directed at me. I'm disgusted by the clothes the girls are wearing, and I make it apparent, returning their glares.

"We're kind of popular, obviously." Brick says to me. He winks at one of the girls and I feel a twinge of anger.

"Well, like you said before...you're taken." I growl, yanking him closer to my side.

He snickers darkly. "You're really sticking to that saying, aren't you?"

I look up at him and shift my shoulder. "Maybe. Or maybe I'm just keeping you away from getting more STDs."

He tweaks my nose and I glare. His eyes fill with glee. "Don't worry, I'm clean."

I scoff. We walk farther into the house and the music grows louder, blaring over the obnoxious crowd. Butch and Boomer trail behind us and people seem to just naturally move aside. They're most likely afraid of the ruffs. Which is 100% understandable. It kind of makes me excited, to be walking around with the baddest, toughest guys in the world and having everyone fear us. I smirk. Tonight is for sure going to be fun.

It's about half passed 2 when I decide to split from the boys and grab a drink. Brick, surprisingly, is a total party animal just like Butch. Everyone watched them play beer pong, quarters, spin the bottle with shots, power hour, flip cup, and drunk football. Boomer tagged along for a couple of the games, but apparently he has a low-tolerance level and usually ends up naked in the streets when he gets too drunk. I was very tempted to join the games but after my last incident at the club...I think I should hold back for a bit longer. So I let Brick and Butch have their fun while Boomer and I head to the refreshment table.

"Did you know Brick can crush anyone at drunk football?" Boomer chirps happily as we squeeze through the crowd.

I shake my head. "I didn't think he was the sport type. Although a jersey would look pretty good on him." We approach the beer and I splash a good amount of Budweiser into a plastic cup and hand it to Boomer.

He takes it. "I still think it's weird."

As I pour myself a glass, I nod. "I know. It always will be. Brick and I being friends? Nobody will ever truly accept it, but hey...who gives a shit?" I look at him and he grins.

"Touche."

"Holy shit." I whip around and nearly crash into someone. I meet the eyes of a guy with a ripped up tank and shredded jeans, chains all over his wrists and neck, and the strong scent of weed following him. His thick eyebrows knit together. "You are one helluva woman, aren't ya?"

Movement behind him catches my attention and I notice there are four guys standing around the table as well. I place my hands on my hips and size up the man. "Is there something you want?"

He inspects me up and down and a wide grin develops on his face. "Follow me upstairs and I'll show you."

The guys behind him snicker. Boomer groans. "Jayce, get the hell outta here."

I glance back at Boomer and raise an eyebrow. "This is the guy who set up the party?"

"That's right baby." Jayce slurs.

I wrinkle my nose and growl, "Do not call me baby."

He wraps an arm around my waist and reaches below my dress. My eyes widen and I pull him down by the collar of his shirt and hiss into his ear, "If you don't let go of me right now I will personally see to it that you never walk or speak again."

When he doesn't abide, I lift him up off the ground and throw him over my head. I barely put any effort into it and yet he breaks through the wall and gets crushed by the falling debris. The other guys rush to help him and I simply walk away.

Boomer follows me and sighs. "Butch said he was an ass."

"He was right." I say. "For once."

Boomer chuckles. "Ya know, I don't see why he hates you so much. You're pretty cool."

I look at him and smile. "You ain't so bad yourself. But if you think I'm cool...wait till you get to know Bubbles."

His eyes light up then he frowns. "No. I can't. She's-"

I groan, "Your enemy. Yeah I get it. You and Butch both have this crazy notion that you can't be with my sisters because you're their enemies. That's exactly what my sisters think, too. But your brother broke that rule and he's your leader. You'd follow him anywhere, wouldn't you?"

He scratches the back of his neck. "Yeah."

"Just as I'm the leader and I broke the rules, my own rules. But what bad has come from it? Have my sisters been hurt? Have you guys been hurt?"

"No."

I soften my tone. "Exactly. So what's stopping you and Butch from trying to end this rivalry between us all?"

He looks down, then into my eyes. "I'm not changing. I'm not going to be good."

I frown. "You don't have to."

He shakes his head. "Bubbles is too sweet, she wouldn't accept a villain like me."

I cross my arms. "Oh, so I'm not sweet? I've come to terms with Brick being a villain and I'm apparently a 'nerd' and a 'goody two shoes.'" At seeing his look sadden I place a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Look, Boomer, she's my sister, I know her. She wouldn't push you away because of how you were raised. She would give you a chance. That's what me and my sisters do, we give people chances."

He runs a hand through his pale, shaggy hair. "I suppose she'd try to change me, huh?"

I shrug. "Maybe she will. Or maybe you'll see the world from someone else's viewpoint and realize that being bad isn't all that good."

He forms a small smirk. "Guess it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot."

I clap him on the back. "That's the spirit. Now let's go join that beer pong tournament!"

We find Butch and Brick gathered around the people playing beer pong and I can't believe that neither one of them looks drunk, even after like 20 drinks. I find a spot beside Brick and nudge his arm. He looks down at me and his deep red eyes seem to brighten.

"Guess what." I smile.

He snorts. "What?"

"Boomer is gonna try to befriend Bubbles." I say.

His eyes widen. "You're kidding."

I shake my head. "Nope."

He grunts. "You're gonna have to teach me your ways." He takes my hand and intertwines our fingers. "You know, the sooner we get our siblings to make immense, the sooner you and I can hang without having to sneak around all the damn time."

I smirk and slip my hand from his grasp. "I kind of like sneaking around. It's exciting."

He tries to take my hand again. "I knew you were bad."

I cross my arms to prevent him from getting my hand and roll my eyes. "We've all got some evil in us."

An arm falls across my shoulder. "Hey are we gonna play or what?"

Butch grins down at me and my jaw drops in shock.

Brick high fives him and is able to grasp my hand during my confused state. He chuckles, "Hell yeah! Let's show these losers who's boss!"


"Where were you last night?" Buttercup asks me as we sit down at the kitchen table.

I pick at my eggs with a smile strung across my face. "Out."

Bubbles sets out a glass of orange juice for each of us. I thank her. Buttercup doesn't, she's too focused on me.

"Out where?"

I take a sip of the tart liquid. "Library."

"Doing what?"

I'm lost in my thoughts as I answer, "School work."

"It's summer." Buttercup states.

I glance up at her. "So?"

She shakes her head and returns to eating. Bubbles joins us at the table and stirs up a conversation.

"I was thinking..." She begins, eying both me and Buttercup to see if we're listening.

"Hope you didn't hurt yourself." Buttercup mutters.

Bubbles ignores her. "We should go on a vacation next week."

I furrow my brows. "Where?"

She spreads a napkin out on her lap. "Hawaii? Jamaica? Florida? I don't know."

Buttercup shrugs, "I think California would be nice. It's got everything."

I nod slowly. "Yeah...but how long would we stay?" The first thing that comes to my mind is Brick. He would so not let me go on a vacation. He gets angry if I miss even one night with him. It's tough, but I've grown used to it. Plus, hanging out with Brick is fun, like last night. I smile. Last night was one of the best moments of my life, I've never been so thrilled and happy to be around people. Drinking? Dancing? Being completely insane and wild? Horrible example. But so much fun.

"I was hoping we could go for a month!" Bubbles chirps.

I drop my fork and it clatters to the floor. My sisters stare at me in horror.

"Or not..." She whispers.

I bite my lip. "No, it's fine. I just-"

"Don't wanna miss your precious reading time at the library." Buttercup grumbles.

Bubbles purses her lips. "You don't think there are libraries in California?"

I pinch the bridge of my nose. "I didn't say that. I just think a couple days would be enough. We aren't overflowing with money right now."

Buttercup throws her arms up. "A couple days!? What the hell is the point of even going then?"

"Language!" Bubbles snaps.

I almost laugh at that remark, but decide not to.

"A week." Bubbles states. "A week or two would be nice."

Buttercup looks to me and so does Bubbles. A week? Or two?! Brick is going to be so pissed. I release a long sigh and mutter, "Fine."


The sky is clouded with mauve colors. There's a dense breeze coming in from the east, following behind it is the low growl of thunder. A storm is coming, and not just from the sky.

I sit on the ledge of the same rooftop I've been meeting Brick on for 3 months now. Below me is a gang circled around the dumpster that they've lit on fire. In the glow of the heat, my hair almost appears orange again. I remember when it used to look like a carrot, with my straight cut bangs, and big red bow. Man, now that was embarrassing. The way my hair changed is pretty cool actually. Apparently, according to the Professor, the Chemical X in my blood melted the color into a red tone. Brick's hair probably did the same. The Professor always had an answer to everything. He was the smartest man alive, he never gave up on his experiments. He never gave up on me. If only he had found the answer to his most difficult experiment...a cure for cancer.

"Dude, I have the perfect plan for breaking into the Museum!" I turn my attention back to the men below.

"We can set the Mayor's office on fire then when they're distracted we can break in, steal all the gold and jewels, and boom we're rich!"

I roll my eyes, what a dumb plan. Do they really think I'd be stupid enough to fall for it?

"That's the best you've got?" I call down to them. Instantly, they all pull out knives or guns and stare up at me.

"Who the hell-!?"

"Scatter before I smash your heads against the wall." I spin around and find Brick standing at my side.

Once all of the guys run away, Brick takes a seat. He removes his hat and combs his fingers through his messy hair. As always, I feel butterflies in my stomach at seeing his handsome face.

"It's going to rain soon." I say.

He shrugs. "I like the rain."

The wind sweeps passed me and twists my hair around. Brick tenderly brushes the strands from my face. He takes my chin in his hand and turns me to him. "How were you feeling this morning?"

I tuck my hair behind my ear. "Okay. I was a little dizzy at first, but it didn't last long. I slept really late." I glance away for a split second, then meet his gaze.

The shadows on his face are more prominent, illuminated by the flames below. His red eyes narrow ever so slightly. "What's wrong?"

I blink. "Nothing." I avert my eyes again. "Just...um, I'm going on vacation."

"Where?" He asks.

"California." Before he can ask I say, "For up to two weeks."

I suck in a breath and just as I expected, he shakes his head. "Nope, you ain't going."

"It's not your decision!" I shout.

He glares. "Oh really? If I told you to rob a bank, would you do it?"

I don't respond. He already knows what I would've said.

"You're not leaving for two weeks." He states.

The wind picks up and the thunder grows louder. I groan in frustration. "I tried to change it to only a couple days but my sisters want to go on a long vacation."

"Get out of it." He says.

I scowl. "I'm not ditching my sisters. I haven't hung out with them in ages. Because I've been with you."

He rolls his eyes. "Not my problem. And besides, two weeks alone." He smirks and leans in.

I push him away. "No! They're my family and I'm not letting them down. You're being a total asshole right now."

His teeth clench. "Two fucking weeks is a long ass time you know."

I scoff, "You'll live."

He stares at me. "If you go then you better the hell not miss a night up until then."

His eyes are burning with evil intent. I cross my arms. "I won't."

It takes a few moments of tension filled silence before the thunder growls and it begins to pour. I start to shiver from the cold, despite my ice breath, and I slip off the edge. I land on the cement and walk over to the burning dumpster. It's beginning to die, so I light my hand on fire and add it to the trash. The flames lick at the sides of the container but stay inside, blending into a pink color. I spot Brick out of the corner of my eyes, still on the roof ledge. He's looking away from me. I pick up an empty pop can on the ground and chuck it at him. Just as it's about to make contact, he catches it, crushes it in his hand, and drops it in the fire. He still won't look my way.

"I ain't gonna show up if you keep being a dick!" I yell. When he doesn't react, doesn't even glance at me, I growl and kick the dumpster. It breaks open and bursts into flames. But I don't even care. I turn away and float into the air, ready to go home.

"I think it's cute that you've started talking like me."

My eyes flash with anger. "Wow, I guess being forced to be with you for so long really left an imprint, huh?"

He shrugs. "You were only with me for a couple weeks, then you started coming willingly for the rest of the time."

I clench my fists. "Because I'm a nice person. I actually care, unlike you."

"You can bitch at me all you want, Red. But you can't change a person who doesn't see an issue in their actions."

My rage boils over and I lift the dumpster over my head. He finally looks in my direction when a giant, flaming trash can is projected at him. He ducks and it soars over his head, colliding with another building and lighting it on fire. His eyes meet mine, then red lasers shoot towards me and I drop to my stomach. Quickly, I get up and catch a metal pole. I bend it to form a U shape and fly through the rain. I dodge each of his punches and attacks before looping the pole around him, securing his arms to his sides. I twist the ends tightly and wrap them around his torso. I think I have him pinned when suddenly the metal turns red and melts away from his arms. He breaks out of the bindings and cracks his knuckles. His eyes are furious, murderous. The second he leaves his position, I'm thrown into a building so hard that it destroys the frames. I try to catch my breath when I see the top of the building begin to descend. My eyes widen. The sound of wood and glass shattering surrounds me as the sides of the building and the roof that is hundreds of feet above me crumble. I suck in my last bit of oxygen and squeeze my eyes shut as the entire building collapses on top of me.

My body stiffens and trembles with pain as I'm pinned beneath the heavy debris. I lay there for a while, too scared to move, until I run out of oxygen. I begin to squirm under the heavy cement, twisting my arms and lifting my legs. Every movement hurts because theres something sharp positioned at a horrible angle underneath me, every time I shift it digs deeper into my leg. But I can't breathe so I force myself to push at the rubble and try to get out. Suddenly, I feel rain splash against my cheek and I open my eyes. Brick shoves the debris aside and extends his arm out to me. I take it and he pulls me out. The rain soaks me, but it feels much better than being stuffed under a building with no air. I sit on the collapsed building and for a minute I just breathe. Then the anger strikes me again and I stand.

Brick gazes at me with distant rage. "I'm not apologizing."

I scrunch up my nose, disgusted by everything about him. "I didn't think you would." Then I take off into the sky. To my surprise, and only to add to my fury, he follows.

"You're freaking out about nothing!" He shouts.

"Family isn't nothing!" My face heats up.

"This doesn't have anything to do with family!"

"Yes it does!" I growl. "And just as a heads up, you'll never be a part of mine!"

"Hell, I'd rather be dead than a part of your family, WHORE!" I glance back at him in disbelief. "I should've killed you when I had the chance!"

I stop mid air and cover my mouth to hold back the sobs. He stops too and his eyes just begin to soften when thunder booms over head and a flash of white blinds me. Theres a blur of red, but he's too late.


"We should rip his fucking head off!"

"Language!"

"He almost killed her!"

"But he didn't, he brought her here and that's why she's alive."

"HE CAUSED THIS!"

"No he didn't, Buttercup. She was struck by lightning."

"The asshole could've been lying! He's a criminal, what'd you expect!?"

"Would you stop shouting? You're going to wake up the whole neighborhood!"

"I'm not shouting! I'm talking like normal! You're the one shouting!"

I groan and sit up.

"BLOSSOM!" As soon as I'm sitting, I'm pushed back down by my sisters. They stand on either side of me with clear worry written across their faces.

"Ugh, what happened?" I murmur and glance around. I'm in a hospital.

"You got struck by lightning...right?" Buttercup says.

Realization hits me and I blink. "Oh my god."

"What!?" Buttercup shouts.

I face her. "Where is he?!"

"Brick?" Bubbles asks.

I nod.

"Who cares he-!"

I interrupt Buttercup and repeat myself, "Where is he!?"

Bubbles puts a hand on my shoulder. "We don't know. He just dropped you off at home and told us you needed immediate medical attention, then left."

My heart stops and I jump off the bed. I look around and upon seeing a door, I hurry out and begin towards mine and Brick's meeting spot. My sisters call my name as I go, but I ignore them. When I arrive on the rooftop, I'm petrified.

Three buildings lie on the ground, one in ashes, the others in rubble. Firemen are gathered around another site trying to put out a fire that only continues to spread. Quickly, I help them out by using my ice breath to permanently kill the flames. Before they can thank me, I shoot off to the suburbs.

Bubbles and Buttercup have for sure lost me. But just to be certain, I land in an alley and run the rest of the way.

For the first time in my life, I arrive at the ruffs' house and knock. Boomer answers the door.

The second he sees me, his eyes widen. He steps aside and I walk in.

"Where is he?" I ask.

"Holy shit! Pinky?" Butch strides into the room.

"In his room." Boomer answers.

I nod and make my way upstairs. I don't knock this time, I throw open the door and find Brick on the edge of his bed. His cap is tossed on the ground and he's shirtless, I can see a fresh cut running through his abdomen and I know it's from me. He has his head in his hands and doesn't notice me because he has ear buds in.

The music is playing so loud that I can hear it and once I recognize the song, my stomach sinks. It's the one he always listened to while we hung out. He said he only listened to it when he thought about me.

Only when I start to think about it
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
You hate everything about me
Why do you love me

I draw closer to him and nearly gasp when I see a tear slide down his face.

Every time we lie awake
After every hit we take
Every feeling that I get
But I haven't missed you yet

Truly, I don't know why I came here. I don't know if I planned to apologize, throw a fit, beat him up, or simply talk. But now I feel that two of those options have been thrown out.

Only when I stop to think about it
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you

His breathing grows heavier and I myself have to hold back tears. Seeing him vulnerable like this crushes me. It tells me how hard of an impact I made on him. It breaks my heart to know that I'm the reason he's like this.

Only when I start to think about you I know
Only when you start to think about me do you know
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you
You hate everything about me
Why do you love me
I hate
You hate
I hate
You love me
I hate everything about you
Why do I love you

I hear the song end and theres a chance of silence. "Brick."

His head snaps up and he sets his eyes on me. He tears the headphones off and tosses them, and his phone, to the ground. In a single stride, he's in front of me and pulling me into his arms. I bury my head into his strong chest and mutter two words that I hope can mean the world to him. "I'm sorry."

I pull away and stare into his intense, crimson eyes. He glares. "Don't apologize. I'm the one who nearly killed you. And if you died...I wouldn't live one second without you. I would sooner take my life than yours." He brings me close, holding onto me tightly, protectively, as if challenging me to try to escape.
"I love you." He says. His hot breath brushing against my neck. "I don't want to lose you. Don't you dare leave me."

I shake my head. "Why would I do that?"

He pushes me back so that I can meet his gaze. "Because we're enemies."

"I don't care."

His eyes brighten. Suddenly, he tangles his hand in my mess of curls and crushes his lips against mine, covering up my gasp. I nearly lose my balance from the force and have to tie my arms around his neck. He uses his other hand to push me closer by the small of my back. As the kiss lengthens, I run my fingers through his hair and am surprised to find that it's soft, not gelled. Then, he lifts me up and I wrap my legs around his waist as he carries me to the bed. He places me down and continues to kiss me. He escapes the kiss a brief second so we can both breathe before diving back in. One of his hands falls against the side of my head while the other holds onto my hip. He pushes deeper into the kiss and growls, making me shiver with excitement. I pull him down even further and then dig my nails into his neck when he bites down on my lip.

The door swings open. "Is pinky gone or-HOLY FUCK!"

Brick breaks away and gets off me. I nervously sit up and pull my sweatshirt down, my cheeks red hot.

Butch and Boomer are stood in the entrance with their eyes wide.

"What the hell are you staring at!?" Brick snaps at them. "Obviously she ain't gone!"

Butch stares at me, then his eyes descend. "Did you guys-?"

"NO!" I shout. "God Butch you're such a perv!"

Boomer glances at the green ruff. "You really are."

Butch shrugs. "Hey, all I'm saying is if you guys are ever interested-" He makes a gesture. "-cuz I'm interested so you know, we could just-" More gestures.

"You could just get out." Brick growls.

Boomer nods. "Yeah, Butch, let's go."

The blue ruff is able to grab hold of Butch and pull him out. "I'D TOTALLY JOIN!" He shouts from the hallway. "HIT ME UP!"

Brick face palms and I nearly throw up.


Mother Nature decided to make tonight beautiful. The moon glows in the dark sky above, circled by millions and billions of stars. Just beyond the city, on the other side of town, the good side, I can see my house. The lights are on, and with my excellent vision I can see that my sisters are packing for tomorrow. That's when we leave to California for two weeks. I'm excited to spend time with my family and relax for a while, but there's still an ache in my heart. That ache is caused by my arch nemesis, the greatest villain in town, my counterpart, and also...the man that I would die for. For the last night before I leave him, I chose to spend it with him. He gave me three choices; go to a party, go to the house, or go to a new spot. I told him, "I'd rather stay here. This is where we first met, isn't it?" He nodded and we started talking about our first meet. When all he wanted was to destroy me, he had no other feelings or emotions other than hate. I simply wanted to stop him from harming my family and the rest of the world, I didn't care about him in any way. But as the fighting between us grew, we saw more of each other. We saw something we had never seen in anyone besides ourselves. It was both intriguing and terrifying, a thrill of some sort. And that's the very thing Brick and I love, the thrill. Maybe that's what changed our feelings. Who knows? But honestly...who cares? All that I care about is that I'm no longer trying to kill him. I've found a good person in a terrible villain, he's found an evil girl in a perfect hero. Once you have what you want, you always want more. I will never stop wanting him. I will never stop loving him. I guess that's kind of the same. It's a constant need that I can't escape. I need Brick, and he needs me.

"I guess that's one of the reasons why you love me." His taunting voice causes me to turn around. He sits beside me with a smirk. "Because I'm always late."

I purse my lips. "Yeah, you're right. I totally love sitting in the cold by myself for 30 minutes every night when I could be sleeping, or better yet...eating."

He plays with a piece of my hair. "I'm always right, babe."

"When did I say you could call me babe?" I question.

His eyes light up with excitement. "When did you start telling me what to do?"

I roll my eyes. The wind hits me and I shiver, subtly. But of course, Brick notices. He wraps an arm around my waist and pulls me against his side.

"This time I came prepared." He says. I furrow my brows and watch as he produces a blanket from behind him. He drapes the red fabric across my shoulders and I pull it tight, making sure it's covering my entire body. He returns to his position and the combination of the soft blanket and his comforting arm causes me to grow tired. I rest my head against his chest.

"Are you cold?" I murmur.

"No." He says back. "Not with the hottest girl sitting beside me."

I chuckle and shift into a comfortable position, then stare up at the gorgeous night sky.

"I have a question." He says.

His glowing eyes stare down at me with hope. I sleepily respond, "Hm?"

"Do you love me?"

"Bitch, I hate you." His face falls and I smirk deviously. "But I will never, ever stop loving you to infinity."

He smiles and tugs me closer. Suddenly, I reach up and snatch his hat. His eyes widen and he reaches forward to grab it when I plant a kiss on his lips. I give him his hat and meet his eyes. "I'm going to miss you."

He kisses me back. "I'll miss you too." I fall back into a comfortable position with my head against his chest and begin to drift off to sleep. "You never know, maybe I'll visit ya in California."

I nod. "You should. Just don't get caught."

He plays with my hair again. "Who cares if we get caught. It'd be worth getting to see my girl."

"Oh? So now I'm yours?" I tease.

"You've always been mine, Red." He hugs me tighter. "Don't forget the saying."

I sigh happily. "I like that nickname."

"Red?"

I nod.

"Theres a reason I gave you that name." He says.

"Oh?"

He whispers in my ear. "My favorite color is red."

I smile the brightest, happiest smile I ever have and cherish the moment with Brick. I don't care what anyone thinks. Brick is my enemy...and I'm sure as hell gonna keep him as close as possible.