Chapter 2



Professor was setting the table when Blossom came down stairs fully dressed and ready for school the following morning. She sat her book bag down on the couch and walked into the kitchen immediately going to the refrigerator and pulling out the orange juice.

"No need Blossom, I'll get it," Professor spoke softly, he gazed at the redhead with saddened eyes. He knew she had probably overheard what had gone on the previous night, judging from the loud "thud" that practically rattled the foundation of the house coming from the girls' bedroom minutes after his confrontation with Buttercup. He was a trifle embarrassed. Had he lost any of her respect, for not standing up to his dark haired daughter like he should have since he was playing the role of father figure?

"Don't worry about it Professor," she turned, her pink eyes meeting his brown ones her expression loving, "I can help you. Let me."

Professor felt his eyes watering, Blossom was not just offering her help with breakfast from the word she chose to use, nor the expression on her face. She was concerned about him, and letting him know she was ready to step in if anything got out of hand with... He blinked, "I shouldn't have pushed her last night."

"She shouldn't have threatened you."

"She didn't threaten me, Blossom."

"She challenged you Professor. She basically said you have no control over her, because she's stronger than you are."

"She's a hurt little girl, who didn't want her father figure prying into her private matters. I told you girls to give her space, and I went against my own advice. Whatever's wrong with my Buttercup, I won't find out by being a bully."

"You have to bully BC, or else she won't do anything right! I personally don't see anything wrong in what you did. She worried you, she broke the rules, you're supposed to punish her, not let her get away. I'll help you control her."

"Blossom this isn't about strength."

"With BC everything's about strength."

"Bloss..."

"Professor, she's gone wild. I won't stand for it anymore, and I need you to stand behind me. She can't challenge my authority as leader, and she can't challenge yours as a parent. Together we can put her in her place. We can make her talk, have her tell us whatever is wrong...or just get her to agree to behave and keep her silence," Blossom slammed the container of orange juice down on the kitchen table forgetting her own strength in her passion, and smashing the cardboard carton flat causing juice to splash and flooding the table and dribbling over its edges onto the floor. "Oops."

"Oh no Blossom, your blouse!" Bubbles dashed into the kitchen, her blue eyes wide at seeing the mess her pink eyed sister had created. She was surprised that it was Blossom making such a childish mistake at spilling the orange juice and not her, or Buttercup. Blossom was usually very careful. Bubbles disguised her surprise with her concern over Blossom's clothes. "This is your new one isn't it?"

Blossom shrugged, "Doesn't matter, I'll just change..."

"Well take the blouse off and give it to me, I'll put it in the wash," Professor said, his voice neutral, but his eyes penetrating... Leave Buttercup alone, they said.

Blossom stood tense, but then nodded unbuttoning her light pink blouse and yielding it over to the Professor. He held the cloth out as if to inspect it, but was really trying to avoid having the still dripping orange liquid from contaminating his starched white lab coat. He shot a last warning look at Blossom before disappearing in the direction of the laundry room.

"What was that about? And what happened in here? You don't spill."

"Nothing," Blossom said tersely. "Bubbles, be a doll and clean this up for me, will you? I'd hate for it to get sticky before I have a chance to come back down and wipe it up myself."

Bubbles frowned deeply, "It only takes a minute to snap on another blouse Blossom."

"Fine, leave it. I'll get it when I come back down..."

"Please leave her be," Bubbles begged. "Don't start a fight this early in the morning."

Blossom was already heading up the stairs. Buttercup had frightened the Professor. He seemed petrified at the idea of talking to her again. Blossom just couldn't let her get away with it. Maybe she did have a real problem, but she couldn't take it out on the people who loved her. She had to know she could pick on and yell at Blossom all she wanted, Blossom could take her..but not the Professor. Though Bubbles pointed out he probably did have a way of dealing with them physically, the mental damage Buttercup could dish out could leave him completely incapacitated. She had let it rest that night physically, and she thought she had let it rest that night mentally, but she hadn't. She realized at the start of the new day that she did not want to have to walk on egg shells around Buttercup, and she didn't want anyone else in her family to have to either. Buttercup was not special. She stormed up the stairs in her skirt and dress shoes, not caring about the ridiculous picture she made all dressed up from the waist down, and naked from the waist up.

The light to the bedroom was still on, and she walked in expecting to find Buttercup inside still lounging around, maybe half dressed like she had all the time in the world to get ready for school. No Buttercup. Blossom stalked to her dresser and snatched out the first pink blouse she laid hands on. She shook it out and put her arms through it, buttoning it quickly, then she made her way out of the room. The bathroom light was on. She should knock, but she didn't want to give Buttercup any advantage over her if she knew she was coming, so instead she threw the door open. The door gave way with a crack, letting Blossom know that it had been locked. She heard Buttercup cry out in shock and outrage as the door opened in on her. She stood half naked, desperately trying to cover herself as Blossom gapped at her.

She wore her panties and a sleeveless undershirt so her legs and arms were revealed, scarlet as a steamed lobster. It looked as if someone had been scrubbing at her skin with Ajax, scalding water, and a floor sander. "Wha..."

"Get out...GET OUT!" Her enraged screams had been quiet at first but they gained intensity as she began to hurl things at her sister and charge toward her in an attempt to throw Blossom out herself.

Blossom was paralyzed, she didn't even notice Buttercup barreling toward her in a blaze of fury until she was being bowled over by the smaller girl. "Why couldn't you KNOCK?! WHY CAN'T YOU LEAVE ME ALONE?!" Blossom didn't even defend herself as the raven haired menace attacked her and struck at her face and middle fiercely. "I hate you Blossom! I HATE you!"

"What's going on up there?" Professor's voice, and the sound of pounding feet settled Buttercup's rage a bit. She couldn't let anyone else see her undressed. She dashed back into the bathroom, and struggled to get dressed as quickly as possible.

"Blossom, what happened?" she heard Bubbles' timid voice as she pulled the heavy green sweatshirt over her head.

"Buttercup?" Professor was calling for her, she zipped her baggy blue jeans. She emerged from the bathroom, hair still wild, feet bare, with an expression she'd practiced in the mirror many a time before, indifference.

"What's going on between you two?"

Buttercup shrugged looking down at her toes cooly, then back at the Professor and Bubbles. She avoided Blossom's eyes at all costs, afraid of what she might see reflected in them.

"Blossom?"

"I..."

Buttercup felt the sore raw flesh of her shoulders tense as she waited for Blossom to tell the Professor and Bubbles what she had seen.

"I didn't know, and I barged into the bathroom...and I must have really scared BC. I'm...I'm sorry BC, it won't happen again."

Buttercup blinked, her green eyes did seek Blossom's pink ones then. Why hadn't she told? Didn't Blossom tell the Professor everything? The pink eyes stared clear into the green ones, we will talk about this, and you're not getting away from me this time.

"Buttercup, did Blossom scare you?"

Buttercup swallowed before answering, "Y...yeah. I don't know what I thought she was, but she startled me."

"Ok," Professor looked at a loss for words. He frowned at his dark haired daughter, "Well, I guess you'd better finish getting ready for school. Breakfast is on the table... I even mixed you some chocolate milk, ok?"

Buttercup glanced at him, her eyes filling for a moment... How could he still love her after how she treated him last night? She wasn't worthy of anyone's love, not anymore.

"Ok," she breathed. Professor stood with his arms down at his sides, his face so sad... did he want a hug? She felt she should give him one, she would have given him one in the past... But she wasn't tainted then. She was too unclean to be touched. Had she let herself be touched since that day? She shuddered involuntarily, she didn't think so. She had been very careful in making sure no one touched her and she touched no one in return, no one clean anyway...dirt rubbed off.

"Thank you," she said instead of touching him, and she passed by her family to go into the bedroom to slip on her socks and shoes and get her books together. Her hair....she never combed it anymore, appearances were for the wholesome. She let the shoulder length black sea of chaotic waves and curls fight it out amongst themselves.

She sat at the kitchen table across from Bubbles and Professor, beside Blossom, and lifted her fork without a word to pick at her breakfast. "Don't you like eggs and bacon anymore Buttercup?" Bubbles asked.

Buttercup set down her fork, staring down at the plate in horror. If she'd had anything in her mouth right then she'd have choked on it... It was the same breakfast she had eaten that morning..the morning when... She pushed her plate away hastily and got up from the table, "I'm gonna go on to school. I'll see you there." Before anyone could stop her she was out the door.

She took to the air as soon as she hit the sidewalk, she had total freedom while she was in the skies. She was in total control of herself, and if she wanted to disappear she could. She needed to work off the frustration for the morning, she needed something physical to do to occupy her desire to scream and break something of value. That was when she heard the distance roar of a beast crawling onto the sandy shores of Townsville Bay. Looks like the god were listening that day...if only they could have listened before.



"B...." They stared as Buttercup fled the kitchen leaving the house and her school books behind.

"What was that about?" Bubbles spoke she stared at Buttercup's untouched breakfast rations.

Professor shook his head, his face lined with worry. He didn't utter a word, he just took Buttercup's plate to the sink to wash away the offensive breakfast.

"I'm um...gonna go ahead and leave for school too, if that's ok?" Blossom stood, she went to collect her book bag and Buttercup's. "I'll take BC's books to her."

"Oh wait for me Blossom, I'll be ready in a second!" Bubbles called.

Blossom rolled her eyes, she wanted to talk to Buttercup alone, and the last thing she wanted was Bubbles tagging along.

"Catch up with me if you can," Blossom called to her blond sister and raced out the door to chase after Buttercup. She and the elusive Buttercup needed to have a one on one chat in an environment where Buttercup couldn't easily run out of.

She took to the air flying straight up hoping to get a glimpse of Buttercup. From a distance she saw a hint of green in the skies heading in a direction that would not take her to Pokey Oaks Elementary School. That was when she heard it...the call of yet another monster slithering in to try to devour Townsville. It looked like she would be letting Bubbles catch her after all. Duty called... but how she hated that the call of duty to her family always had to overshadowed by her call of duty to her hometown. Sadly, confronting Buttercup would have to wait.

When she spotted the blur of blue that was Bubbles approaching, she immediately changed her flight course, and began heading into to town toward the latest monster menace.

Sadly enough to say at that moment she didn't know if the monster menace she was describing was the intruding creature, or Buttercup.