September 15th
Cambridge, Massachusetts
11 months ago...
She was completely freaking out.
Her first ever exam since coming to MIT and she was running late. Blossom cursed to herself, wondering why she ever let her roommate talk her into studying past two in the morning. If she did not, the redhead would not have to weave through her unacquainted classmates on her way across campus to the biology building.
Blossom glanced at the time on her phone, noting she was already three minutes behind and had seven more to go considering her distance. However, she pushed through, picking up her pace.
Making a sharp turn on a corner, her eyes still on her phone, Blossom felt her body crash into someone else, falling backward. Her phone getting thrown out of her hand.
Before she fell to the ground, a strong hand wrapped around her arm, catching her fall. In an instant, Blossom was pulled closer to whoever her savior was.
"Careful there," a deep voice warned her. "You wouldn't want to damage that beautiful face of yours."
Blossom combed through the fray strands of her hair she accumulated from her fall and her running, glancing up to a smiling brown-haired male. He had crisp green eyes remindeding her of the color of Granny Smith apples. His caramel-toned hair was matched with thick eyebrows. She could tell he workouted a lot given by his muscular arms which were on display in the tight t-shirt he wore. When he smiled, a deep-rooted dimple formed on his right cheek, while his eyes crinkled up.
Her face reddened at his compliment as she smiled weakly out of embarrassment, "Thank you," she mumbled. "I really appreciate it."
"No problem," he replied. "It's the least I could do since I did bump into you."
"Well, I was being an idiot and staring at my phone instead of where I was going."
"I'm sure you had a good reason."
"Yeah, I—My exam!" she exclaimed, quickly grabbing her phone off the ground. The feeling of relief washed over her body to see it did not get cracked from being dropped—only a few scratches. Blossom threw a glance over her shoulder at the kind stranger, "Thanks again," the redhead said as she ran off towards the biology building, leaving the male confused but also smitten.
August 24th
Townsville, Arizona
Present Day…
Blossom stared at the alarm clock sitting next to her bed. The bright red numbers blinking back at her, taunting her over the sleepless night she acquired.
The redhead spent half of the night tossing and turning, unable to sleep due to prolonging thoughts about what happened on Friday night, and the other half in misery as she gave up on any hopes of having an ounce of sleep. Her eyes feeling heavy, stinging from warmness.
On the bright side, her headache seemed to calm down. It now simply felt like a constant but manageable pressure against her skull.
Blossom watched as the number flickered from six to seven, sighing to herself and tossing her covers to the side. If she was not going to get any sleep, then she better get a cup of coffee in her system.
She made sure to take the lightest steps down the stairs to ensure she would not wake her mother, creeping into the kitchen. Blossom was taken back when she saw her mom was already in there, coffee mug in hand.
There was something different though.
Her rose-colored eyes immediately landed on the orange slices lying on a plate in front of her mom.
Her mom would only eat oranges whenever there was a death in the family or there was a setback in her career—she liked to tell her daughter the Vitamin C helps cheer her up but Blossom thinks it is more like a placebo effect on her mom.
"What's wrong?" Blossom asked instantly, her voice a little hoarse from just "waking" up.
"Blossom…" her mom whispered, a little startled by the sudden appearance of her daughter. She then blinked back, reverting back to the proper composure she always possesses, "The old factory caught on fire last night."
"Are you serious?" she breathed in disbelief. Just four days ago, the redhead was staring out to the building. Her mind remembering the shadowy figure calling out to her, wanting her to enter the abandoned building. Blossom wondered if, whatever she had seen on that day, had anything to do with the fire but did not vocalize it as her mother would think she was going crazy.
Her mom nodded, "It happened at midnight. Luckily, no one was harmed since everyone was asleep but it also means no witnesses. Then there's the fact…" she trailed off, not wanting to finish her sentence as she became aware of who was speaking to.
"Fact of what?" Blossom asked, her voice on edge. She was not going to disregard her mom trying to keep something from her.
"It's nothing, Blossom," her mom said firmly. "It's a matter of taxpayer money. That's it."
The redhead eyed her mom suspiciously but decided not to press on. Instead, she poured herself a cup of coffee and took a seat next to her mother.
"Everything will be fine, mom."
Her mom's face remained emotionless. Her eyes focusing on the mug in hand as Blossom could tell she was conflicted about something but would not express it.
"I hope you're right."
September 25th
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Eleven months ago…
"Blossom, it's not that big of a deal," her roommate, Tina, reassured as she applied a bold shade of red to her lips. "So you got a sixty on your exam. It's not like you failed."
"I know…"
"And it's manageable enough that you can still end the semester with a high B."
"I guess," she replied, sinking her shoulders. "I just… I wanted to be on top of my game for everything."
"Rookie mistake," Tina grinned, winking at the redhead. "But trust me. Going out tonight will make you feel ten times better."
Blossom decided to remain mute, applying her eyeliner as Tina began gossiping about some individuals who were putting on the party they were heading to. Going out for the night was the furthest thing on her mind but Tina pressed on how Blossom needed to blow off some steam.
"I've never seen someone so wound up tightly before," her roommate had joked a few hours ago.
The statement made Blossom reluctantly agree to go with her to some party off-campus.
Tina was from Seattle and was majoring in mechanical engineering. Her parents had immigrated from Vietnam ten years before she was born. Growing up, Tina was pressured to focus all her time on academics. It was this that caused her roommate to take on a rebellious streak during her final years of high school in which has carried over into college.
While this party would be Blossom's first since coming to MIT, it would be Tina's twentieth. The redhead could not even judge her roommate as she maintained her grades despite partying almost every day since school started.
"So what are you wearing?" Tina questioned, fluffing her shoulder-length jet black hair to add some volume.
"Jeans and a blouse."
"Oh no, no, no," her roommate challenged, shaking her head. "You're not going to show up at this party wearing a pair of jeans."
"Why not?"
"Because we're trying to get you some dick here, Blossom. And jeans are a definite no."
Blossom felt her face warm up, furrowing her eyebrows, "Um. I did not agree to this nor do I think you should be making that decision for me."
"Fine," Tina huffed. "But you're not wearing jeans."
"Alright. Then what am I suppose to wear?"
Tina snapped her fingers together, rushing over to her closet in the room, "I have just the thing," she said proudly, presenting a black dress to Blossom. "You would look so fucking hot in this."
Blossom raised an eyebrow at the dress, inhaling loudly, "You're not going to be satisfied unless I wear the dress, aren't you?"
"Yeah, that's about right," she nodded.
"Let me go put it on then," Blossom sighed, heading towards their bathroom and grabbing the dress from Tina. Closing the door, the redhead stripped herself from the clothing she wore from earlier in the day and shimmed herself into the dress.
Once on, Blossom stared at herself in the mirror. The dress flattered the small curves she possessed, running smoothly against them, while the fabric stopped mid-thigh, showing off her milky white legs. The sweetheart neckline of the dress allowed her to show up her assets but in a tasteful way. Blossom held up her hair, wrapping it up into a high ponytail as she felt it was the best hairstyle for the outfit.
She entered back into their shared dorm. Tina grinning widely at Blossom's appearance.
"I was totally fucking right. You're hot as shit, Blossom."
"Thanks," Blossom murmured, pulling the dress down a little but did silently agree with Tina.
"And now that you're ready," Tina began, grabbing her and Blossom's keys. "It's time to fucking party!"
"So what is your major?" Blossom shouted over the loud music of the party. The bass shaking the entire wooden structure of the house. She was surprised there has not been a noise complaint yet.
As Tina requested, Blossom attempted to speak to some of her male classmates. At the moment, she was speaking to Anthony, a tall sophomore from Persian descent. So far, he has barely listened to a word she has had to say, finding her chest to be more appealing.
"Huh?" He raised an eyebrow, blinking at her, taking his eyes off her chest for the only the second time since they started their conversation. "What did you ask?"
"Never mind," she frowned before finding a way to excuse herself from him. The redhead wallowed her way through the party crowd, not sure of where to go when she felt a hand grab her arm, spinning her around.
"Any luck?" Tina asked enthusiastically. A red cup in one hand, the other removed from Blossom's arm to be placed on her roommate's hip.
"Other than having the same conversation with five different guys who were more interested in how I looked over what I had to say, I have not been lucky."
"Blossom. Forget about trying to talk and focus more on cutting loose," Tina encouraged. "It's college. Have a one night stand, girl. Everyone does."
Blossom's cheeks reddened as her gaze fell to the pair of black wedges on her feet, "Tina, about that, I…"
"Oh my god, Blossom," she gasped, grabbing the redhead's shoulders and whispering to her, "You're a virgin? That's why you're so mopey about this?"
"Yeah," the redhead breathed, feeling embarrassed even though she had every right not to be. It was just the topic was something Blossom has never openly discussed with anyone. Not even when she was friends with…
Blossom cleared her throat, meeting Tina's charcoal eyes and forgetting the memories overflowing her mind, "I'm going to get some air."
"Do you need some company?" Tina asked sincerely. "I'm sorry for overstepping. I didn't… I didn't know. Shit, Blossom. I—"
"It's fine, Tina," Blossom smiled weakly. "I just need to be alone right now."
"Okay," her roommate mumbled, moving out of Blossom's way.
With that, the redhead made her way to the back entrance of the two-story colonial style home. A refreshing breeze blew through her hair as she leaned against the railing of the deck attached to the house. Her eyes captivated by the size of the moon overhead.
In the distance, she could hear a group of guys chatting to themselves on the lawn but other than them, the backyard was empty. Blossom let out a deep breath, happy to not be in the cramped house anymore. No more sweaty bodies bumping into her or having to yell over the deafening sound system.
Just her and the chilling wind of the onset autumn weather.
The redhead sighed contently to herself, her mouth turning upward. It was moments like these that made her not regret her decision.
That leaving everything she has known and ruining all her relationships, to start her life over again, was worth it.
"Hey…" Blossom snapped out of her thoughts, glancing at the group of guys passing by her to re-enter the house. One of them stopping to speak to her, his bushy eyebrow raised while the others continued on without him. "I know you."
Blossom narrowed her eyes at him, reading his face in the moon. His crisp green eyes becoming recognizable. With a grinned, she addressed him, "You're the guy that stopped me from falling."
"And you're the girl who left me wondering what your name was," he said coolly.
She raised both of her eyebrows, "Wow… Quite a charmer, aren't you?"
He shrugged his shoulders, joining her by the railing, leaning casually, "Oh, definitely."
"You like this with every girl?"
"Only the ones I like."
"How do you know you like me?" She teased. "You don't even know my name."
"Call an intuition."
"Smooth."
"So I've been told," he chuckled. His eyes never leaving hers, "How about that name, now?"
"It's Blossom."
"Blossom," he repeated with an electric smile. The way he said her name, sent chills down her spine. He had such affection in his voice that she could not fathom how he could have from two brief encounters but he did.
"And yours?"
"Henry."
She smiled softly at him, reading his expression to see where this was going but hoping it would not end soon.
"Well, it's nice to properly meet you, Henry."
"I can say the same."
"So… are you from around here?"
"I'm from Nashville," he replied. "Although, my mom's family is from Rhode Island, so I kind of had an idea of the general area before coming to MIT."
Blossom nodded, "I've always wanted to visit Nashville. I even considered applying to Vanderbilt."
"What changed your mind?"
She frowned for a brief second, recalling the memory. Bubbles and Buttercup had discovered her application one day and confronted her about it. After convincing them she was merely applying for the fun of it and was not actually going to attend, Blossom did not have the heart to finish out the application.
"I… I didn't have enough money for the application fee," she lied, decidng she wanted to move on from any memories associated with Townsville. It was less painful this way.
Henry furrowed his eyebrows for a moment before lighting his expression, "Well, Cornelius Vanderbilt was a Robber baron, so it does match up."
Blossom laughed lightly, "History jokes? Really?"
"Hey, I originally was a history major," he defended playfully. "If I can't do it for a living, I have to reference it at all times."
"Not to be rude or anything, but why would come to MIT for history?"
"Passion," he answered with a half-turned smile. "That and I wanted to piss off my dad."
"Daddy issues, I see?"
"Quite the opposite," Henry chuckled. "He's actually a history professor, which why I fell in love with the subject. But he wanted our family to be more diverse in our academia and suggested I should do something more scientific since my sister got to major in English and my mom teaches high school algebra."
"That sounds… a bit ridiculous."
"Exactly," he grinned. "Which is why I tried to piss him off."
"Did it work?"
"Oh yeah," Henry nodded. "For my entire first semester, he would not speak to me. I had to change my major for him to finally acknowledge me."
"That's terrible," Blossom frowned, lightly brushing her fingers against his forearm in comfort.
He shrugged, "It is what it is. Besides that, we get along fine," Henry finished, his eyes drifting to Blossom's hand, a wide grin on his face.
Her face reddened at his reaction, retreating her hand to her side. "Sorry…" she coughed.
"No need to apologize. I do not mind it at all."
Blossom raised an eyebrow, playfully rolling her eyes, "Alright… so what are you majoring in now?"
"Astrophysics. With a minor in history but that's top secret," he answered with a wink.
"What a rebel," she teased.
"I can be," Henry coaxed, a mischievous grin tugging at his lips.
"Oh, well…" Blossom fumbled, her face becoming inflamed again. "What year are you?" She asked, pretending her fluster did not happen.
Henry expressed mild disappointment at her shift in conversation but continued on, "I'm a junior."
"A junior?" Her voice going a higher octave with her question. "That means you're like twenty—"
"Twenty-one," he finished. "I have an early birthday."
"Oh…" The lightness she has felt from the interaction deflating. Suddenly, Blossom could not help feeling as if she was a child full of naivety. Hell, she was barely eighteen and he could legally drink. There was too much of an age gap between them.
"Not a good answer, huh?"
"Considering I just turned eighteen a month and a half ago, I don't think so."
"Why not?" Henry shrugged
Blossom furrowed her eyes, confused by his nonchalant reply, "I'm like a baby compared to you."
He looked her up and down with an eyebrow raised, "You're definitely not a baby, Blossom."
"What—I…" She could not formulate a response, flustered by his action.
Henry grinned at her reaction, clearing his throat. "Anyways. Enough about me, what about you? Where are you from?"
Blossom inhaled sharply. His disregard to her worries about their age rubbing her the wrong way but she decided to ignore it for the sake of the conversation, "Oh, um. This super small town in Arizona. Right outside of Phoenix."
"Arizona? You're a long way from home."
"Yeah… I am," she mumbled, her chest becoming heavy at the thought.
"You alright?" Henry asked with a concerned look on his face. "Your vibe has totally shifted. Did I say something wrong or—"
"No," she whispered, interrupting him. "I just… I don't like talking about my past. That's all."
"Okay," he nodded. "Then we'll just focus on the future, shall we?"
Blossom smiled softly at him, feeling enlightened again. The doubts clouding her mind disappearing. "I like that."
"Good because I was thinking about taking you out to the movies next week," Henry grinned sheepishly, presenting his hand to her. "So how about it?"
She wanted to think it over. Make a pros and cons list about going out with Henry but Blossom spoke before her mind could even process anything, pulled in by his charm and compliments.
"I would love to," she accepted, placing her petite hand on the palm of his hand.
August 24th
Townsville, Arizona
Present Day…
Blossom drummed her fingers against her steering wheel, wondering how she could ever think this was a good idea. There was no way anything beneficial would come out of this. But she had to try.
She had to show she cared.
Mustering up all the courage she had, the redhead exited her car and walked up the driveway of the house that used to be like a second home to her. Blossom waited patiently after ringing the doorbell, rehearsing the speech she had prepared in her head.
When the door open, she smiled weakly at the individual in front of her.
"Hey, Mrs. Utonium," Blossom greeted with a forced politeness. "It's good to see you again."
"Blossom Bellum," the dark-haired women addressed, staring unimpressed at the redhead with her electric green eyes. "Sara didn't tell me about you being back."
"Yeah. I came back about a week—"
"So I guess you weren't cut for those east coast snobs, huh? I always told Buttercup that you wouldn't make it," Mrs. Utonium interjected. "Wasted your time, didn't you?"
Blossom pursed her lips. This type of reaction was common when dealing with Sedusa Utonium. Once an elite among the citizens of Townsville, the woman grew ever-so bitter after the mysterious death of her husband, Jonathan Utonium. Not only did she lose her partner in life but Mrs. Utonium lost all of her financial security. Despite opening a salon in the middle of town and having an above average amount of success, she has never properly adjusted to the lifestyle change nor to John's death.
"Is Buttercup home?" the redhead asked after a few seconds of an awkward silence.
Mrs. Utonium narrowed her eyes at Blossom, folding her arms, "Doesn't my daughter hate you? I could swear the last time she spoke to me about you, she said you were a pretentious, little bitch. Which, given your mother, I can completely agree with Buttercup."
"I…" Blossom paused, shaking her head. "Just forget it. This was a stupid idea."
"Obviously," Mrs. Utonium replied, staring at her talons of nails which were painted a blood red. "But I didn't have to go to some fancy-pant university to figure that out, now did I, honey?"
"Have a nice day, Mrs. Utonium," the redhead murmured before walking back to her car and attempting to forget the entire interaction ever happened.
December 25th
Cambridge, Massachusetts
8 months ago…
She has been staring down at her phone for the past ten minutes, unsure of whether to send the text message which has been taunting her or to give up. It should not be this big of a deal. It was simply a "Happy Holidays" text message to her four former best friends but Blossom could not do it.
The redhead was not prepared for the type of response she would get from them. She was not ready for the inevitable radio silence from them.
After further consideration, Blossom erased her words, turning her phone off and tossing it to the side of Henry's bed.
She sunk into his pillows at the head of the bed, waiting for him to come back from downstairs with her present.
Never in Blossom's mind did she ever consider spending the holiday season with her boyfriend instead of her family and friends, yet, here she was in the apartment he shared with three other classmates, lying on his bed like she belonged there.
But she did belong there, Blossom tried to tell herself repeatedly ever since she stepped foot in his room the first time after a month of dating.
Henry was definitely a charmer, never stopping to make Blossom flustered with either a compliment or innuendo. He also could not get enough her, always asking to see her every day even if they were busy or not.
He was her first boyfriend though, and because of that, Blossom wanted to take things slow with the entire process. The redhead could tell he would get a little agitated with moments where she would pull away before things got to the point of no return. It made her feel guilty for not being fully there for him.
For being too inexperienced and uneased about their relationship.
Then there was the age difference between them in which Blossom felt had a strong affect on their relationship even though she could not necessarily pinpoint exactly what it was.
There has been only one other instance other than the night they properly met when Blossom approached him about the topic of their age.
It was Halloween and they had dressed up as Adam and Eve for a party thrown by one of his friends. After being there for an appropriate amount of time, Henry suggested they go back to his place. Blossom knew what he was truly insinuating and rejected the idea, much to his dislike, added on with questions as to why. She answered with the belief she was not ready. Henry pressed with the idea of him understanding and he was not going to pressure her into anything. Blossom then asked him if he thought it was even appropriate for them to doing anything since she was 18 and he was 21.
Henry simply replied, "Age doesn't change how I feel about you, Blossom."
After that comment, Blossom ended going to his apartment.
Nothing happened between them. Just an intense make-out session, some cuddling, and watching The Nightmare Before Christmas together. She was in complete bliss entwined in his arms. The thought of whether that was what love felt like crossed her mind on repeat for the next three days after the night.
"Okay babe," Henry said, entering the room with a small box wrapped in shiny blue wrapping paper and shutting his door behind him. "I—woah, what's with the long face?" he asked, pausing in his steps.
Blossom shook her head, "It's nothing… just thinking about things at home."
"I thought we were going to focus on the future, Blossom?" Henry teased.
She had told him about her situation in Townsville after their sixth date. His response was that everyone can go fuck themselves and Blossom did not need them. She was better off because she had him now. Repeatedly telling her on how she only needed him and not some fake friends.
"Yeah… you're right."
"Great. Now be prepared to be wowed."
Blossom raised an eyebrow, grinning with amusement, "That's the best you got?"
"I'm going to let the present do all the talking," he grinned, winking at her as he sat next to her on his bed. Henry handed her the box, watching intensely.
She giggled at his enthusiasm, peeling away the wrapping paper on the present, revealing a Tiffany Co. jewelry box. "Henry. Please tell me you didn't spend this type of money on me…" she said softly, opening the box, her mouth agape in shock.
Inside the box was a rose gold necklace with a flower pendant. In the center of the flower was a diamond, reflecting brightly at her.
Blossom stared at the gift with bewilderment, not able to comprehend how someone could spend so much money on her like this.
"Do you like it?" Henry asked, snapping her out of the trance she was under from the astonishment.
"Henry," she whispered, nodding. "How could I not?"
He flashed a grin at her, motioning for her to turn around, "Come on. Let's see how it looks on you."
Blossom did as he suggested, her back facing him. He pushed aside her hair before removing the necklace from the box. His fingers brushing against her skin as he placed the necklace around her neck before lightly leaving a trail of kisses on the back of her neck to her shoulder blade.
"Henry…" she warned, turning back around. A playful grin on her face as she met his eyes. Her fingertips grazed on the pendant that fell just above her chest.
Henry arched an eyebrow, a mischievous smile on his face. "You look gorgeous…" he whispered, moving along to the croak of her neck. "But you're always do."
Blossom ran her hand through his hair, breathing in his scent of sandalwood. "You're always such a flatterer."
"Blossom…" he murmured in between in his kisses. "I want to see you in nothing but that necklace."
"What?" She startled, pulling away from him. His eyebrows furrowed at her reaction. "Henry… we can't."
"Why not?" He asked, a slight annoyance in his voice.
"Because it's too fast," Blossom said quickly as other reasons came center frame in her mind.
"So what if it is?" Henry challenged. "I love you and—"
"Wait," she interrupted. "You love me?"
He smiled sheepishly at her, "Isn't obvious?"
"I… I don't know what to say."
"Say that you feel the same."
There it was again. The sense of him rubbing her the wrong way. Blossom could not put her finger on why or what it was.
She peered intensely into Henry's eyes. He was on edge, waiting for a reply. Blossom inhaled deeply.
There was no way she could not say she did not love him. Blossom knew he spent a hefty price on the necklace she wore. How could she leave him high and dry after doing so? She was being selfish and inconsiderate of his feelings.
Blossom knew she did feel grateful for Henry. Then there was the nights after Halloween where she questioned the prospect of loving him. In a general sense, the redhead assumed that she did.
Furthermore, Henry was the only person she had. Blossom could not risk losing him. She could not risk with being left alone.
By saying the three words back, it simply made things easier for her.
"I do… I love you too."
He smiled widely at her, wrapping his arm around her waist, "Then what's so bad about moving fast?"
She examined his face, searching for an answer to reject his proposition but could not find one. Blossom owned this to him.
"Nothing I guess," she whispered.
"So… are we doing this?" He asked cautiously, excitement flashing through his eyes.
Blossom hesitated before nodding. There was no going back now.
"Yeah… we are."
In the aftermath, with Henry sleeping soundly beside her and her hiding under the sheets of his bed, Blossom felt sore, sweaty, and gross.
She felt used.
The redhead could not explain why. He was her boyfriend and they loved each other. This is what usually happened.
So why did she feel this way?
August 24th
Townsville, Arizona
Present Day…
Blossom could say she has always been a curious person. Always asking questions and wanting to investigate everything. While she may have lost a bit of her logic during her time at MIT—when she could have needed it the most but atlas, being back in Townsville allowed the redhead feel her old detective self coming back again.
With that, it did not surprise Blossom when the thought of checking out the factory fire crossed her mind and immediately changed her direction to head into town.
A small part of her was excited to see the ruins of the factory. She felt it had a connection to what happened Friday night and it could give her some clues.
Turning down the road to the main street where the factory laid, Blossom was greeted by police blockades and a large fire-truck blocking her view. She sighed to herself, noticing the lingering police present in the area and turned her car around. This was what Boomer and Bubbles meant by needing to keep a low profile.
However, she was not going to give up so easily, deciding to go the back way around the factory to see the other side of it.
Blossom was shocked to see the back entrance was given the same treatment, the road blocked off from the public likewise.
She groaned, making the decision to go home when a neon sign caught her eye.
White Kitty's pet store.
Blossom parked her car in a nearby parking lot and headed towards the pet shop, hoping Boomer was working and they could talk about the factory fire.
A bell chimed over her head as she entered the store, finding displays holding various domestic animals lining the walls and an empty play pit in the middle of the store for when they let the puppies stretch their legs but no one was in the building.
"Hello?"
Her question was met with the sound of squeaking from a hamster wheel. It was like a ghost town in there.
She glanced around the store one more time before turning on her heel and push against the door to leave. As the bell chimed again, she heard a voice call out to her.
"Blossom?"
The redhead turned around, eyebrow raised to find Robin behind the cash register. Blossom wondered how she got there so fast since the brunette was not there a few seconds ago.
"Hey Robin," she greeted, walking over to the counter. "Is Boomer here?"
Robin frowned at her question, her cheeks becoming a light hue of red, "No. He has the day off."
"Oh okay."
"Is that all you wanted?"
Blossom stared at Robin, taking her question to great consideration.
"Actually… no. It's not."
"Really?" The brunette asked eagerly. Blossom nodded. "What can I help you with?"
The redhead narrowed her eyes at her, "What exactly do you recall from Friday night?"
"Friday night?" she repeated, biting down on her bottom lip and downcasting her blue eyes. "I just remember being alone for the majority of it until I left around midnight… no one even noticed I left, I suspect?"
"Oh. Um… Bubbles and I did," Blossom lied. From what Robin was telling her, the brunette did not recall the meteor. She did not have a blackout of memories. The redhead knew she had to be cautious with her questioning now to avoid Robin getting suspious of anything.
"You don't have to lie, Blossom."
"I'm not. We truly did."
Robin smiled weakly at her, "Thanks…" She arched her eyebrow, "What is with the question though? Having trouble remembering the night?"
"Sorta… What exactly do you remember about me?"
"Other than you and that hot guy in the red hat getting friendly–" Blossom blushed a little at Robin's comment as the brunette continued with her side of the story, "–I do recall you and Bubbles having a little too many wine coolers," Robin answered.
Blossom smiled sheepishly at the unfamiliar memory, "Yikes."
"Yeah… I don't know how both you drove home after that but I'm glad you're okay."
"Me too…" Blossom murmured.
"Is that all you wanted to know?"
The redhead nodded, meeting Robin's eyes for the first time since they started their conversation. There was a flicker of fear flashing through her eyes as she smiled at Blossom with unease.
Blossom furrowed her eyebrows. She knew from that, Robin was not telling her the truth. There was something the brunette was hiding and she was afraid of Blossom finding out.
"For now, yeah," Blossom answered, turning on heels. "I'll see you around, Robin."
The redhead headed towards the exit, the bell chiming as she left the store, leaving Robin alone with the animals. She was not aware of the brunette letting out a heavy breath she had been keeping in the entire conversation. Nor could Blossom see Robin's body becoming transparent before disappearing in thin air.
March 2nd
Cambridge, Massachusetts
5 months ago...
Henry called her. He said it was an emergency but Blossom had the nagging feeling it was something else. He wanted her to drop whatever she was doing to come to his apartment, stating he could not wait another second.
Blossom wanted to voice her concerns. She wanted to tell him she was planning to hang out with Tina for the night since the redhead could not even remember the last time they even spoke for more than ten minutes.
But she could not.
Blossom could feel the guilty seeping into her body when the thought of disappointing Henry crossed her mind. So she agreed.
The redhead did wait for Tina to get back to their dorm to reveal the change of plans.
"Of course," Tina had puffed, throwing up her hands. "How unfortunate for me to even consider you'll put something before your boyfriend."
"Tina…"
"I don't want to hear it, Blossom. Have fun with Henry," her roommate had dismissed, exiting their room and proceeding to slam the door while doing so.
Blossom had no time to digest how she felt about Tina or how to fix the situation as she had to get over to Henry's.
Making record time, the redhead was at his door, her rose-colored eyes full of misery. Blossom felt like she could not breathe. It was as if she was trapped, slowly suffocating herself as the days went on.
Henry did not notice, opening the door and asking her to follow him to his room. He shut the door when they entered, her choosing to stand as he sat on his bed, placing his MacBook on his lap.
She sucked in a tight breath, waiting for what she expected.
For him to break up with her.
It seemed to be the inevitable. They had been arguing a lot more since Valentine's Day. Most of their arguments were about how Henry could be a bit pushy or about Blossom being too distant. Nonetheless, the redhead was the one who had to do the apologizing each time and had to make it up to Henry, which usually was to have sex with him.
The feeling of being disgusted with herself never fleeing her even after the first time.
"So what's up?" She asked softly.
He did not bother looking up to her, his green eyes glued to his computer screen. "You took Professor Ellis' class last semester, right?"
"Biochemistry 2012?"
"Yeah."
"Yeah, I did," she answered coming out more like a question. This was his emergency? She got into a fight with Tina over this?
"Great," he grinned, finally looking at her. "I'm been having a piss poor time trying figuring out how to approach the paper that's due at end of the semester and I was wondering if I could use yours as a template on what to do."
"I don't know…" she mumbled. "Isn't that cheating?"
"How? I'm not going to copy it?"
"But still…"
"Blossom. I'm your boyfriend. You should want to see me succeed and you should also do whatever you can do to help me in any way."
"Henry—"
"Don't you love me enough to help me?" Henry asked, his eyebrows furrowed in frustration.
Blossom let out her breathe, staring down at the cheap wooden floors of his apartment. Her mind swimming with guilt. She felt like she was abandoning him.
She could not risk losing him. Henry was the only person she had left. Her friends in Townsville wanted nothing to do with her. Tina hated her now. Henry was the last person and Blossom was not going to screw it up for once.
"Yeah. I do," she sighed, taking a seat on his bed. "Let me check my email."
Henry pulled her close to him, kissing her temple. "You're the best girlfriend ever."
Funny. She has never shared the same feeling.
May 3rd
Cambridge, Massachusetts
3 months ago...
All Blossom could hear was her heartbeat. Everything else being said was drowned out by the loud thumping in her ears.
How could this have happened?
She had been requested to the Dean of Student's office, not having the slight clue as to why.
Then Dean Wallace told her.
She was going to be under academic investigation after a paper she wrote was sold to about a hundred students.
After that, Blossom could not listen anymore. Slowly she was overcome by a sense of panic, suffocating her as tears rolled down her cheeks.
Her mouth was moving rapidly but Blossom did not even know what she was saying. It all seemed incoherent to her.
Dean Wallace simply stared at her, waiting for the redhead to gain her composure to continue on.
It took Blossom a good ten minutes to feel the panic subside, though the effects still lingered within her. Her body physically ached from her sobs.
"I didn't do it," the redhead whispered.
"Ms. Bellum, we can trace the biochemisty paper back to your fall semester. It's clear to us that it is, in fact, your paper. Now if you're saying that someone else shared it with everyone without your knowledge, that does indicate you did share it with another person… am I right?"
The answer to her question flashed through her mind.
Henry did this.
Blossom balled her fist, her face furrowing with outrage.
She should expose him. She had every right to. He betrayed her trust. He lied to her.
The redhead softened her expression, tears emerging from her eyes again.
"What are the consequences of this?"
Dean Wallace raised an eyebrow, "I'm afraid that's not up to discussion."
"Please… please tell me something," she begged quietly.
"Ms. Bellum…" The dean sighed, frowning at the redhead, unable to resist the sympathy she had for the student. "If the investigation proves you did commit academic dishonesty, then you will be kicked out… But that is after an extensive investigation, given what you seem to imply. Which will probably involve interviews will all of those involved, and that will be a media nightmare given the amount of those who bought your paper."
"Media?" Blossom cried. "The media will get involved?"
"I'm afraid so…"
Her mind jumped to her mother. If the media got involved, then there was a chance it would all lead back to her. With her involved, it would bring a dark cloud to her family name and her mother. The thought of tarnishing her mother's career which depended on the power of her name was not an easy thing to swallow.
Nor was the idea of ratting out Henry. He did lie but Blossom was not a malicious person.
She could not do it to him. She could not ruin him with ease like he did to her.
Even if Blossom wanted to, the redhead knew she would put everyone above herself.
She was going to protect Henry even if she should not. She was going to protect the hundred individuals who got swindled by Henry. She was going to protect her mom.
Because that was what Blossom does.
She puts everyone before herself.
"How may I prevent any of that from happening?" Blossom asked. Her voice coming out as a murmur.
"Admit to the academic dishonesty and take the repercussions," Dean Wallace. "But Ms. Bellum—"
"Then…" Blossom inhaled sharply, not believing the words coming out of her mouth. "Then I did it…"
"Ms. Bellum, are you sure that you want—"
"I do," she said firmly, nodding. A single tear rolling down her cheek.
"Okay…" Dean Wallace breathed. "Let me explain to you how this will work…"
Her sadness had evaporated. Now all she felt was the rage.
She knocked furiously on Henry's apartment door, waiting for him or his roommates.
"Yes?" One of Henry's roommate, Gary, greeted her. His eyes followed her body up and down.
Blossom cleared her throat to gain his attention, sending him daggers, "Is Henry here?"
"Oh fuck, you're Henry's girl," Gary chuckled. She narrowed her eyes at him. Blossom could swear she has had at least ten conversations with the guy before this. As she thought of this, a strong scent filled her nostrils, which made it obvious as to why he did not remember her. It also explained his bloodshot eyes. "I swear, with a body like that, I'm sure you're not the clueless child Henry makes you out to be."
Her face contorted with confusion, anger flashing through her eyes, "Excuse me?"
"What?" Gary raised an eyebrow, staring at her for half a minute before gasping. "Ohhhhh. You haven't figured it out that he's taken advantage of you yet, have you?"
Blossom blinked as a response, "What?"
Gary scratched the back of his neck, "Yeah… You haven't heard it from me but Henry has been fucking other girls behind her back for the past couple of months but doesn't think you would find out or notice because, you know, you're eighteen—"
"And I would be too naive to have it cross my mind," Blossom finished, venom in her voice. "He thinks I would be so consumed by having an older guy's attention to notice."
"Yeah… yeah, yeah," Gary nodded, laughing to himself. "That's the exact same shit Henry said, I swear."
Blossom rolled her eyes, folding her arms, "Is Henry here or not?"
"Oh, yeah… I'll go get him."
As she waited, Blossom paced back and forward, debating on what she wanted to say.
Then Henry poked his head out the doorway, a grand-old smile on his face, and his arms open wide to hug her. Blossom took a step back away from him as he furrowed his eyebrows at this action.
"Blossom, is everything—"
"It's over, Henry," she said through her teeth. "I know about everything."
He narrowed his eyes at her, staring as if she was stupid. "Which is what, Blossom?"
"That I was right. I was just some kid to you," Blossom retorted. "I know about the other girls. I know you've been taken advantage and manipulating me…" she inhaled deeply before finishing. "And I know you're the reason why I have been kicked out of school."
"Kicked out?" Henry questioned.
Blossom nodded, glaring at him, "Yes. Kicked out. Dean Wallace told me about your little side business."
"Blossom. Please tell me you didn't—"
"You're safe," she mumbled. "But it's nice to know what you truly care about."
Henry reached out for her but Blossom pushed his hand away. His jaw grinded to this, "Come. We can work through this."
"No. We can not. You've done nothing but lie to me this entire time."
"I've only lied occasionally but everyone lies."
"I don't care."
"But… but I love you, Blossom."
Blossom scoffed at him, "If you really loved me, you would run down to Dean Wallace's office and tell her the truth."
She watched as Henry's entire body froze. He mumbled something undetectable under his breath, avoiding Blossom's eyes.
Blossom chuckled darkly to herself, shaking her head, "I rest my case."
"You can't end this."
"And why can't I? It's not like you don't have some other girl you can do the same things with."
It was Henry's turn to laugh. His laughter full of spitefulness. "You're right. I can move on from you. But you? You have no one. If you leave me, you'll be alone."
"You're right…" she muttered.
She pushed Tina away to the point of there no longer being a relationship between the two. The one time she put herself above everyone else resulted in her relationships in Townsville to be burnt to a crisp besides her mom, and it was not like her relationship with her mom would ever be in the perfect shape for Blossom to blindly trust her with anything. Without Henry, Blossom would be truly alone and in some twisted way, it was Henry's manipulation that has led her in this path to cut off all ties with anyone who was not him.
He drove her away from Tina by consuming all her time to the point she neglected their friendship.
His constant comments on how her former friends in Townsville were bad news and she did not need them, affected her enough to start believing it. Perhaps, this whole time they were waiting for her to reach out but instead, Blossom let Henry get in her head, avoiding any contact with them to fix things.
She had become dependent on him and it disgusted her.
Her eyes searched Henry's face, unable to see the same appeal she once saw at the house party months ago. All Blossom could see now was all her regret.
She had let a boy destroy her future because she was too busy running way from her past. She was too busy trying to separate herself from Townsville, not realizing Henry had soon gained too much control over her.
Blossom took a step forward towards Henry, determination in her face, deciding she was no longer going to be manipulated anymore. "But I rather be alone than spend another second with you."
Henry snorted to himself, "Yeah right."
"Believe what you want, Henry."
"Whatever," he dismissed, rolling his eyes.
Blossom turned on her heel, heading down the stairs in which led to the parking lot of the apartment complex but paused on the first step, tossing a look back at Henry.
"Was this always your plan?" she asked. A hint of sadness in her tone. "To use me?"
Henry sighed loudly, rubbing his temples, "Not at first… The night at the party, I actually did see something in you. So much so, that I wanted you all for myself but you never seemed to give into the idea. That's why I played you whenever I could because I knew you weren't going to be invested in me as much as I was in you. I have needs too, which why I was sleeping with other people behind your back but you brought this on yourself, Blossom. You fucked up our relationship, but it had nothing to do with your age, if that's what you're thinking, Blossom. It made things easier, I'll admit. But really, it was your outlook on life."
"What's that suppose to mean?" She asked but Blossom knew what he meant. It was her lack of dealing with her problems. Her strong need to runaway and pretend everything was fine.
"You know exactly what I mean," Henry said flatly before entering his apartment and shutting the door behind him.
August 15th
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
About over a week ago…
It has been three months since she has last seen Henry. It has also been three months since Blossom had left MIT for good.
After Dean Wallace cut a deal with her by simply settling by having her drop out instead of being expelled, Blossom decided to do some soul-searching.
The first thing she did was buy a car. A Volkswagen Beetle painted a blush pink. It was the type of decision that would make her mom gag but Blossom was going to make decisions for herself now. And what she wanted was a pink Beetle.
She then traveled through all the states of the Northeast. She ate lobster rolls in Cape Cod, got maple syrup in Vermont, visited Time Square and Central Park.
Then Blossom soon went to Pennsylvania and experienced Amish country before going to Washington D.C. She spent a week there, checking out all the museums and monuments. Being at the core of politics reminded her of her mom a lot.
She stopped in all the small southern towns in North and South Carolina, all reminding her of Townsville without all the desert vibes. In Savannah, Blossom visited the bench used in Forrest Gump and participated in a few ghost tours.
Now she was in Florida. She traveled from St. Augustine to Orlando for a week full of theme park fun and then to Fort Lauderdale. Miami and the Florida Keys were next on her agenda before going back up the other side of the peninsula state and heading for New Orleans.
Blossom made sure her days were jammed pack with activities to do. To find museums, exhibits, tourist attractions, zoos… literally, anything she could find, Blossom decided to check out.
She wanted to be proactive. By doing so, it kept her mind off of everything.
It kept her mind off of Henry and her failure at MIT. How he was right about her outlook on life. On how she wanted to prove to him and herself that she would not allow herself to be a puppet again.
Nonetheless, she did make draw some conclusions about the situation. The relationship between the two was utterly unhealthy—it was actually very abusive, if she thought long and hard about evrrything. Henry was not a good person but she did give him too much power over her.
It was for that reason Blossom did not blame Tina for dropping their friendship. She had put all her eggs in one basket and it was her fault for doing so.
She did have to thank Henry for break her naivety about relationships. He was the reason why Blossom now knew what she wanted or did not want in a relationship if she dared to have one again.
Besides her thoughts about Henry, the constant activities kept her mind off the urge to have any concern over her decline in weight due to the stress decreasing her appetite.
To ignore the sadness that was inescapable inside of her, which Blossom was pretty sure was a form of depression.
But more importantly, being productive made her forget about the longing for Townsville within her.
There was a calling. An aching feeling that she needed to go home.
At night, she would only think about Townsville. Blossom would tell herself, she would finally call her mom in the morning before sleeping but each time she woke up, the redhead changed her mind.
Blossom could not shake the feeling on needing to be there. Her conscience speaking loudly with each passing day. Yet, she resisted more and more.
But then, she sat out on the beach for night. Staring out at the ocean as the sun was setting behind her. Her skin was still pale despite being out in the sun more nowadays. The grains of sand sticking to almost every inch of her body.
It was a picture perfect and mesmerizing sight yet Blossom could not enjoy it because Townsville was on her mind. Her mind telling her she needed to go home now. The idea of Townsville needing her too, stirred through her thoughts.
In an instant, Blossom knew she could not run away anymore. She packed up her things from the beach, shaking off the sand, and heading back to her car. Once inside, Blossom pulled out her phone and dialed in the single number she knew by heart.
The line rang once before the other picked up.
Blossom took a deep breath before speaking into the phone, calming her nerves and the thoughts of sounding like a failure.
"Hey, mom… I was wondering if I could come home?"
August 24th
Townsville, Arizona
Present Day…
Unsatisfied with Robin's information, Blossom decided to further her individual investigation of what happened Friday. Given she was not on any sorts of speaking terms with four out of the other six involved, the redhead was left with one option.
It was not like she was going to complain.
She smiled softly as the sign notifying her of Jojo's auto repair came into her line of sight. After parking her car and noticing Brick's truck was the only other car in the parking lot again, Blossom approached the door to the office. As she pulled to open, the door did not budge, giving her the knowledge it was locked. She frowned at the fact, taking a step back.
If Brick's truck was here, then he had to be around. Her eyes drifted around the corner of the building leading to the garage. Deciding to ignore her moment of obliviousness, Blossom walked over to the garage, finding the door open and legs sticking out from under some Toyota.
She paused at the hood of the car, coughing to herself in an attempt to get his attention.
"We're closed," she heard Brick say under the car after a sigh, noticeable irritation in his voice.
"But I heard you're the best mechanic in the fifty-mile radius? I can't possibly go anywhere else."
There was a slight chuckle from the other end before Brick rolled from under the car, an eyebrow arched. He sat up from his creeper, his forehead and hands stained with black grease while his hair was a ruffled mess of red waves.
"Back already?"
"Like I said, I can't possibly go anywhere else," she grinned.
Blossom watched as amusement crossed his face before it quick fled with Brick clearing his throat. His ruby-colored eyes stared absently out to the vacant desert road.
"Your AC acting up again?"
"No," she frowned, confused by his shift in mood. "I actually wanted to talk to you."
"Talk to me?" He questioned, his amusement returning. This made Blossom smile again. "I'm honored."
"You don't even know what I have to say," Blossom laughed lightly.
Brick shrugged his shoulders, "It's not every day a Bellum actively seeks me out."
Blossom paused to herself, raising both of her eyebrows, "What do you mean by that?"
He shook his head, laying back down on his creeper, "I'm going to be done in about ten minutes. Afterward, I'm going to Citiesville to get something to eat…" She could see him hesitate, closing his eyes before saying, "You're welcome to join me if you want."
"Yeah. Sure," she grinned. "I would love to."
Once Brick finished and a small disagreement about whose car they were taking—Brick coming out victorious—Blossom wondered to herself where they were going to eat. She considered he might take her to a super local eatery in the Citiesville area. Or perhaps a macho bar. Maybe a sit-down chain restaurant.
Imagine her surprise when Brick turned into the parking lot of a Dairy Queen and joined the drive-thru line.
"Dairy Queen? Seriously?" Blossom chuckled.
"Hey. You can get a burger, fries, and ice cream all under ten bucks," he defended with a grin.
"Alright," she surrendered, reading off of the drive-thru menu as they crept closer in the line. "In that case, I'll have a chicken basket and vanilla cup with strawberry sauce."
"Are you sure about that?"
She watched as Brick stared at her with a puzzled look. Blossom sighed, downcasting her eyes as she assumed it had to do with her weight. His expression was the same others would give her now when they saw her weight loss. It was making Blossom more self-conscious about herself than she was before she came back to Townsville. And now Brick was judging her about it too. It was definitely getting under her skin.
"Yeah. I'm going to eat it, if that's what you're thinking. I'm only thin because of stress, not because I don't eat."
"That's not what I meant," Brick replied, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.
"Then what did you mean?"
"If you really want to get strawberry?" Brick asked with curiosity. "You really want to make that terrible mistake?"
"What's wrong with strawberry sauce?" Blossom challenged. A wave of relief washing over her but she was also slightly embarrassed by assuming Brick was going to judge her. However, she was glad he did prove her wrong.
He put his hands up to motion no harm, "Other than being overly artificial tasting, it's gross looking."
"You think so?"
"Yes," he nodded firmly.
Blossom leaned over on his console, her elbow brushing up against his arm, "Then I'm definitely getting the strawberry sauce," she said huskily.
Brick did not respond, simply arching an eyebrow at her before noticing the line of cars being held up in his rearview mirror. He pressed on his gas, moving forward to place their order, going to the first window to pay and then the second to receive their food. The redhead handed the bag of food and cup holder containing their sodas and ice cream to Blossom before peeling out of the parking lot.
Blossom opened up the bag, breathing in the unsettling but appetizing smell of grease and fried foods. She dipped a hand into the bag, attempting to grab a loose French fry but was stopped by Brick's hand reaching out to the bag and shutting it.
"No eating yet."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't like eating in my truck."
"Then what's the point of going to the drive-thru?"
"Convenience," he grinned at her, taking his eyes off the road for a split second.
Blossom rolled her eyes, placing the bag of food by her feet and keeping the cup holder on her lap. She directed the AC vent towards her thighs, hoping it will keep the ice cream cold.
"So where are we going then?"
"You'll see."
She pursed her lips at his response but decided not to pester. Instead, Blossom analyzed the vehicle she was in.
The interior of the truck was impeccably clean. There was not a single speck of dirt she could find. Despite being a dated car, Blossom could tell the upholstery was recently updated. It was a smooth, cream-colored leather covering the only two seats of the two-door truck. Besides the new leather seating and cleanliness, Brick did not have anything else crowding his truck. Only a tree-shaped air freshener giving off the scent of cinnamon was on display.
From that, Blossom could tell Brick was either not a fan of clutter, took pride in his truck, or was not a sentimental guy. Furthermore, it could be all three. She was not sure but perhaps she could find out.
After a ten minute drive and the ice cream melting a little, Brick took a sharp turn down a dirt road. Blossom had to grab onto the roof handle of the truck to brace herself.
"Sorry," he mumbled, keeping his eyes on the road, driving down on the pathway steadily.
Blossom took notice to the setting of the sun in the distance and closeness of airplanes taking off in the air. It almost seemed like they were close enough that they would be able to touch them if they stretched out their arms.
"Wait… are we at the Citiesville airport?" she asked with confusion.
"Sorta," Brick answered sheepishly. "We're at the back of it."
"Isn't this closed off?"
"For transpassing? Oh yeah," he nodded. "But I've been coming here since I was seventeen."
"Three years isn't a good amount time to just assume you're above the law," Blossom argued, growing anxious with the thought of being caught. Her mother would be absolutely furious.
Brick glanced at her for a second, one hand on the steering wheel, his jaw tight as he spoke with no emotion, "I'm twenty-three, Blossom."
Blossom's eyes widened, recalling the conversation she had with Boomer on the lake's beach. He was a senior when she was a freshmen in high school.
He was four years older than her.
"Oh."
They traveled down the road in silence until a chainlink fence was in front of them. Brick softly pressed on the brakes, parking his truck. His eyes drifted to his rearview mirror as he opened his door.
"Bring the food," he said to her before exiting the truck and closing his door.
She raised an eyebrow at this but followed his actions out the car with the bag of food and cup holder in hand. Blossom walked to the back of his truck where he had climbed into the cargo bed, standing three more feet taller than usual.
His ruby-colored eyes looked down to her as his hand was presented towards her, "Come on."
Blossom wrapped her free hand around his, feeling the rough skin of his palms as she stepped one leg into the cargo bed. She took notice to the great amount of heat his hand transmitted, warming her entire arm. Swinging her other leg into the bed, she grinned at him.
"Why thank you."
He gave a single nod towards her, "Of course."
He took the cup holder from her, taking a seat in the cargo bed. His back against the window that looked into the truck and his long legs stretched out, almost taking up all of the small space. Brick patted the space next to him, signaling for Blossom to join him.
She chuckled to herself, doing such. Once the redhead took a seat, she unwrapped the paper bag containing their food, handing Brick his food and placing her's in her lap. Brick placed the cup holder in between his legs, giving Blossom her soda.
For a moment, the two ate silently. Side-by-side, their shoulders a few inches apart. Planes passed overhead as the stars shined from above. To Blossom, the scenery seemed like something out of a movie. She could not help but stare up at the dazzling lights overhead.
The redhead heard Brick chuckled softly, tossing her attention to him as she popped a fry into her mouth.
"What?" She asked after chewing.
"Nothing," he responded, shaking his head and taking a sip of his soda.
"It's not if you're laughing."
"Trust me… it's nothing."
"Fine…"
Blossom watched as Brick continued to eat, getting a good look at him for the first time that night. He had changed out of his jumpsuit before leaving, now wearing a pair of dark blue jeans and a white t-shirt. The grease stain on his forehead was gone as well as any that were on his hands. A red hat, the same from Friday night, was placed backwards on his head, masking his messy red hair.
His face was illuminated from the various lights of planes flying above, softening his appearance.
When she looked at him like this, he did not seem to be a stranger. Nor did he seem twenty-three.
Instead, she felt as if he was an old high school friend. Someone she grew up knowing her whole life. A person that she could trust.
"Ever since I moved to Townsville, I've always came here to clear my mind," he said softly, his red eyes twinkling with the lights. "It's the only good thing here if I'm going to be honest."
"Moved here?" Blossom asked, nudging his shoulder. "I could have sworn you were a native Townsvillian."
"Is that what you really call yourselves?" Brick grimaced.
"My mom is trying to get it kick-started. So in a couple of months, we will."
"Of course."
"So where are you originally from?"
"I'm actually from Pineville, Louisiana," Brick revealed as he began to eat his vanilla ice cream covered in chocolate sauce.
"Louisiana?" She repeated, now understanding why he spoke with a slow draw. He had a watered-down Cajun accent, which must have loosened over time since it was not thick anymore. "I almost went there this summer."
"Not for Pineville, I'm sure."
"No. I was planning on going to New Orleans. Go see Bourbon street and the French Quarter." Brick glanced at her, laughing quietly. She narrowed her eyes at him, "What?"
"I just can't picture you walking around the boozed-up mess that is Bourbon Street."
"And why not?" Blossom challenged.
Brick paused, eating a big spoonful of his ice cream before pointing his spoon at her, "Because you're a Bellum."
Blossom scrunched her nose in response, "Okay. That's twice you've pointed out my last name. What's the deal?"
She watched as he contemplated, his eyes focusing on the ice cream in front of him like it was the most important thing, "...Politics are a nasty game where reputation matters over everything," Brick explained. "I'm sure you agree?"
"Yeah…" she exhaled, understanding now what he meant by her visiting Bourbon Street. It did not explain the comment for earlier, however. "I do."
"Besides… Louisiana isn't anything special. Just an overglorified swamp," he said flatly, crumpling the paper bag placed between them while placing his trash inside of it.
"Not a fan?"
"Not in the slightest bit."
"Why did you came to Townsville then?" She asked, both eyebrows raised. "You think the smallest town where nothing ever happens is better?"
"I didn't have a choice on coming to Townsville," he mumbled.
"Oh…"
Brick sighed to himself, "I already told you I have a foster dad, right?"
Blossom nodded, remembering the picture in his office, "Yeah."
"Well… I didn't exactly have the grandest childhood. My mom died from complications giving birth and my dad was in and out of prison. Because of that, I was placed in foster care," he confessed steadily. "But I was a rebellious kid and caused a whole lot of fucking problems all the time. So I was always constantly changing foster parents. Then I was thirteen and I met Morris Jojo—or as I like to call him, Mojo… He was the first person who actually treated me like I mattered and I took notice to it and respected him for it. Afterward, we just… meshed together and he became my permanent foster home."
"Wow… Brick, I…" Blossom could not formulate any further words. Instead, she unintentionally placed her hand on top of his' in comfort. The heat of his skin becoming an adjustment to her.
"It's fine," he exhaled. "Anyways, when I turned sixteen, something changed with Mojo. All of sudden, he wanted to come back to his hometown. Townsville, Arizona… He ended up getting legal guardianship over me and then packed up all of our things. In less than four months, I'm in a new town with my 'new' dad… Took me awhile, but I adjusted and Mojo took over his shop once again. It was almost like we were a family..." Brick trailed, his eyes drifting to Blossom's hand. He cleared his throat, moving his hand away from hers.
Blossom frowned at him, "Did something happened between Mojo and you?"
She could tell Brick was hesitating to answer her question, his jaw shifting with unease, "No… I did decide to finish the paperwork for changing my last name to his' when I turned eighteen, if that's any indication."
"And he trusts you with his business," Blossom pointed out, a smile on her face.
"Yeah… But it wasn't like he had any other option. I dropped out in the middle of my senior year and it wasn't like I was going to get any job opportunities because of it… All I knew was how to fix cars and Mojo knew this, so he let me take over."
Blossom raised an eyebrow at the knowledge of him dropping out. A fact that surprised her, to say the least.
She wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them before speaking, "Why did you drop out?"
Brick chuckled to himself, shaking his head, "Can't get enough of interrogating me, can you?"
"Hey, you're the one who started opening up first."
"You do have a point," he replied. His eyes breaking away from the sky to glance over to Blossom, a crooked smile on his face. "Why do you care anyway? I'm not important."
"For starters, I'm a naturally curious person," Blossom listed with a grin. "Second, who says you're not important? I believe you are."
"Huh," Brick snorted. His eyes focused on her as if he was seeing her for the first time. As if he was seeing the real her.
"What?"
He shrugged his shoulders, "It's nothing."
A silence fell between the two, their eyes daring for the other to speak first. Blossom inhaled a sharp breath, deciding it would be her.
"So are you planning to be a mechanic for the rest of your life?" Blossom asked. She widened her eyes, realizing how harsh the question may have seemed, adding, "Not to be rude or anything. I'm just generally…"
"Curious?"
"Yes."
Brick's face remained unreadable. Not a single emotion attached to him.
"It's the only thing I can do since I don't have a degree, so yeah… I guess so."
"I don't think that's necessarily true," Blossom replied. "You can get your GED and then go to the community college."
"It's not that simple."
"Actually, it is," she pushed. "I can even help you study if you want."
Brick shook his head, signaling his disagreement, "Thank you but that type of opportunity for me passed a long time ago."
"I don't get it."
"What's there not to get? Life is fucking unfair but you just have to deal with it."
"Yeah—"
"Look, Blossom. I'm not like you. I never had the option of going to college or any type of that shit. So drop it."
"Okay…"
Brick darted his eyes to her, his chest growing heavy at the sight of her disappointment. He sighed to himself, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I'm sorry… that was out of line."
"No… you're right. I did grow up pretty privileged," she replied somberly. "It took me going to MIT to figure that out."
"The nerds broke you down?"
"If you're going to say they were nerds, then you're basically saying I was one."
"I don't know you well even to make that statement but… we'll see," he grinned.
Blossom felt her cheeks burn a little, a soft smile on her face as she continued, "Anyways…"
"So why are you here and not there, anyway?" He asked.
Blossom froze, "I—I don't–Why are you asking that?"
"You got to ask your questions, I get to ask mine."
The redhead slumped her shoulders in defeat, sighing to herself, "Fine… I… Let's just say I can't go back there. Ever again."
"You dropped out, didn't you?"
"What? How?" Blossom paused, noticing the amusing grin on Brick's face.
"That was the same type of shit I tried telling Boomer and Butch when I dropped out at South High."
"Oh."
"How does..." he coughed subtlety to himself before continuing. "How does your mom feel about this?"
Blossom raised her eyebrows, unsure as to why Brick seemed to be quite curious about her mom the entire night, "She doesn't know. She thinks I'm here for only a semester to take a mental break… no one knows except for you."
"Well shit."
"Thanks," Blossom laughed. "Just the type of response I wanted."
"What exactly am I suppose to say?" He asked, joining her in laughing. His laughter was as deep as his voice and was rough around the edges.
"Nothing. It was exactly the response I wanted."
Brick rolled his eyes but a grin was still attached to his face, "You're so funny."
"I can be."
"You sure? I couldn't tell."
"I guess we don't have the same sense of humor then."
"I guess not," Brick grinned, his eyes shining from Blossom smiling softly at him. There was a magnetic pull within them, drawing out the need for them to be closer. Telling him to reach out to her.
But he resisted for various reasons, shifting his eyes to anywhere that was not her.
Blossom pursed her lips, upset by his actions. "Did I do—"
"Why did you drop out?" He interjected, startling her.
Once she recovered, Blossom sighed to herself, "My ex-boyfriend tricked me into giving him one of my papers, in which he sold it and got me caught for academic dishonesty."
"What a little fucker."
"Oh, that wasn't the only thing that was little," Blossom smirked as Brick let out a hard laugh. "Anyways, I decided to drop out instead of letting them investigate because it was less chaos… especially for my mom."
"Right…" Brick muttered, his tone coming off roughly. "So you just dropped out and came back to this shithole?"
"Not exactly. I spent the summer traveling the east coast. From Massachusetts and New York to Florida."
"You can afford that?"
"Well, I had my freshmen year all paid for because of scholarships, so I had an untouched college fund that wasn't going to be used anymore."
Brick arched an eyebrow at her, "You're not much of the golden child everyone makes you out to be."
"If they say I am, they're talking about the old me," Blossom corrected. "Before I let a guy dictate my life."
"Blossom…" Brick pleaded. There was so much concern in his tone that it created a large amount of guilt in her body. She did not get why he would plead with her. To not tell him how stupid she was?
"I get it… I made a dumb mistake," Blossom murmured. "But that's what I'm good at, I guess… I should have seen it coming anyway. He would manipulate and control me so I became dependent on him."
Brick's fist tightened at the thought, forming a white-knuckle grip, "I already hate this guy."
"I do too... but I guess it is a good thing that it did happen," she acknowledged. "It taught me a lot about myself and what I want from a relationship."
"You still want to be in one of those? After everything that happened?" Brick questioned with doubt.
"Why so surprised?"
"I don't know. Usually, when people go through a traumatic experience like that, they swear off relationships."
"Well, I'm not going to dive into one blindly but if the opportunity does present itself, I'm not going to let it prevent me."
"Huh. I kind of like that."
"Thanks. It took me awhile to realize it. If I didn't, I don't think I would be able to trust people after what he did… He took advantage of my weaknesses… like how I was going to be alone and my inability to discuss the past."
"What is so scary about being alone? You were alone all summer."
"I'm fine with being physically alone… it's the loneliness of knowing you have no one in your life at all, that's what he threatened," she confessed softly. "I was exactly there this summer… and I realized it's not that bad as I thought it was but it's not best for my mental health."
"I get it," Brick nodded, arching an eyebrow. "But I would also like to point out that you can't avoid the past. It's the only thing that's inescapable."
"I just… I don't like talking or thinking about it but I need to get over it and open myself up more so something like that doesn't happen again."
"Well, you're making progress. Right now actually," he chuckled. It was not in a condescending way; it was directed more towards the irony of the situation.
Blossom paused, realizing he was right. Brick got her to open up with just a cheap meal and beautiful scenery. It was like they were a pair of old friends catching up after years apart.
It did feel like that. As if she already knew him. She knew all his secrets and flaws, and he knew hers'. Like there was an established connection between them, in some weird way.
A part of Blossom was a bit freaked out by this feeling. The calmness and comfort around him. The easiness of their conversations. The sense of feeling they could be best friends except, Blossom knew, they would not be just best friends.
There was a unspoken mutual attraction between them. A curiosity surrounding each other added on with a magneticed pull drawing them to each other despite not normally doing so with someone else.
Blossom did not understand how she felt this way around him. All those emotions with only knowing of his existence for about a week. It was eerily familar to how she felt about going back to Townsville. She needed to be close to Brick, just like she needed to come back.
With all those feelings, Blossom did feel like she was right for believing earlier in the night that she could trust him. There was nothing putting in doubts on why she should not.
Not her mind.
Not her heart.
Nor her gut.
"Yeah. I am," Blossom smiled. "And I did not even realize it."
"Not so hard, is it?" Brick replied, smiling lazily.
"I don't know about that…"
"You'll see later that it's not."
"Making a promise?"
"I don't make promises, sweetheart." Blossom raised an eyebrow, opening her mouth to reply but Brick beat her to it, "So what's the plan after your one semester home?"
"I'm not sure," she mumbled. "Probably try to get into another school. If that does not work out, maybe I'll travel again. That seems to be the only thing I'm actually good."
"Any places in mind?"
"Backpacking through Europe sounds quite appealing."
Brick snorted to himself, "I wish."
"You want to travel?"
"You really think I want to be stuck in Townsville?"
"Then why don't you leave?"
"We both know it's more complicated than that, Blossom," he said firmly. "As much as you try, it always draws you back in."
Blossom sighed to herself, "You're right… that's actually why I came back. I just had this strange… calling. Like I had to come back or else."
Brick's eyebrows raised for a split second before reverting back to a neutral expression, "Interesting."
"Speaking of strangeness," Blossom approached, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "The reason I wanted to talk to you was because of Friday night."
"Alright…" he replied, his voice coming out more like a question.
"What exactly do you remember from that night?" she asked.
"I remember showing up, being surprised you were there, starting a fire for Bubbles, us walking on the beach… Then Butch and Boomer got shitfaced and I had to drive them home around one."
"Oh."
"Why do you ask?" he questioned, his ruby-colored eyes peaking with interest.
"I think my memory is a little fuzzy from the wine coolers I had," she answered, recalling Robin's side of the story.
Brick furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "But you didn't drink."
"I…" she paused, confirming to herself that Robin did, in fact, lie to her. "I had some beforehand."
"I didn't know you were a drinker."
"Only on special occasions because my mom hates it and thinks everyone will sell me out for doing so."
Brick chuckled to himself, not commenting on her statement. Instead, he diverted his attention to the stars overhead. Blossom's eyes scanned over him, still not willing to finish picking his brain. She wanted to continue the conversation about his future. Blossom did not want Brick thinking he could not achieve the dreams or plans for the future he had despite the odds being stacked against him.
She reached out for his hand again, cupping his with her's. This gained his attention, his face contorted with confusion, shock, and… disappointment? Blossom was not sure but she did not question it as she spoke to him.
"You know… you shouldn't dismiss your future. If you want, I can help you find some options… We can get you out of Townsville."
His eyes clouded over with conflict, his entire body paralyzed by Blossom's offer. "I…"
"It's okay," she whispered, patting his hand. "Give it some time to think it over."
"Why? It's just going to be a waste of time," he scoffed, his eyebrows furrowed in anger before slumping his shoulders in defeat, having accepted his reality a very long time ago. "I'm a lost cause."
"Not in my eyes," Blossom smiled softly despite her hand feeling as if it was on fire from his touch.
"You barely know me."
"True, but it doesn't mean I can't see potential in you."
"How inspirational."
"I got more of that if you let me help you."
Brick huffed to himself, a half-turned smile on his face, "I'm starting to think you're a pest."
"But you like it?"
He paused for a second, pondering over her question. Despite the nagging voice telling him the numerous reasons why not, Brick nodded.
"Unfortunately."
"More like you're so fortunate."
"Corny."
Blossom shrugged, "You're right. Not one of my best."
Brick's eyes drifted to her hand again, surprised to see she has yet to remove it from his. Instead of saying anything or moving his hand way again, Brick remained mum, letting himself become enthralled with the new planes setting off or returning from different destinations.
Blossom noticed this, blushing intensely but was glad Brick was not paying attention to her anymore. She decided to do the same as him, taking in the roar of the plane's engine and sparkling light of the stars.
However, she focused all her attention on the heat of Brick's hand. Her mind crossed with a form of deja vu from the same intense temperature radiating from a person's touch.
It was similar to when she touched Bubbles in the diner a few days ago. The only difference was Bubbles was icy to the touch while contact with Brick made Blossom feel like her hand was experiencing its own heatwave.
And if Bubbles' cold touch produced ice, then what could Brick's boiling skin create?
She was unable to answer her question as Brick opened his mouth again, his deep voice becoming distinctive to her now.
"...You want to tell me what happened at MIT or you still don't like talking about the past?"
Blossom furrowed her eyes, considering his question. In any normal situation before everything happened with Henry, she would have said no. She would have stated they barely know each other and it was too personal.
But she had to stop running away from the past and her mistakes.
The strange fullness in her chest helped her to do so, telling her to confess to him. It pushed her to be open with him because somehow, it told her it would be easy like it was earlier in the conversation. Blossom felt like telling Brick would be like she already told him the truth.
It was destined.
"Yeah," she sighed, smiling weakly. Her mind still dictated around the heat of Brick's hand as she recalled her year at MIT. "Let's see. It all started when I was running late for a biology exam…"
Date unknown
Townsville, Arizona
Timing Unknown...
There was a furious knock at the door. It was loud enough to wake her up from her upstairs bedroom.
Blossom rubbed the sleep from her eyes, slowly walking down her stairs. She glanced out the blinds in the entryway of her home, confused to see a pair of sheriffs on her porch.
She opened the door, an eyebrow raised, "Can I help you?"
"You're Sara Bellum's daughter?" She nodded. The officer frowned, taking off the hat on his head, "I'm sorry to tell you this but there was a fire at city hall tonight… Your mom… she… she did not make it out..."
Her stomach immediately dropped as she fell to her knees. Tears flowed down her face like rapids of water. She covered her mouth to hide her sobs. A hand rubbed her shoulder as she blinked away tears to see the officer crouching down to comfort her.
"Why?" Blossom asked incoherently. "Why would… how could… I shouldn't…"
"Shhhh… take deep breaths."
Blossom did so, attempting to wipe away the tears from her cheeks but it seemed like they were always replaced by more.
Never leaving the back of her mind was the knowledge of who had done this. She knew exactly who caused this.
August 25th
Townsville, Arizona
Present Day…
"Excuse me?"
Blossom blinked to herself, snapping out of the trance she was under. She wiped her cheek to see if the tears from her vision were real but found her skin to be dry, only to find some of the cheap concealer she used on the back of her hand. The paralyzing emotions still circulated through veins. Her adrenaline at a high while her skull was pounding harder than her accelerated heart rate.
It was the second vision she had in the past five days. This one felt more realistic though. In a sense, Blossom knew she should be more concern but she decided to brush it off, believing it to be another trick her mind was playing on her like the shadowy man at the diner.
However, deep in her soul, Blossom knew something was not right. That something larger was at works here and there was nothing she could control.
She lightly rubbed her temples, frustrated by the return of her powerful migrates. Blossom was beginning to believe there was a correlation between the headaches and her "powers", just like Bubbles and her low body temperature or Boomer and his hydrophobic skin.
"Are you alright, Ms. Bellum?"
Blossom glanced up at the worker behind the desk, smiling weakly at them. "Yes. I'm sorry. I just blanked out for a second."
"It's fine," the person reassured, looking over at the computer screen in front of her. "I'll take the liberty of repeating myself and telling you that you are all set for class registration."
The redhead nodded, trying to appear she was excited but could not commit fully. A few months ago, she was at MIT to study biomedical engineering. Now she was registering for night classes at Townsville Community College.
Blossom did not want to knock community colleges as they could be a way better option than attending a four-year university. It was the reality of how she did not ever see herself here. The disappointment of the drastic change to her future was what upset her.
Her new plan was to attend night classes and then attempt to enroll at CalTech in the spring or maybe next fall. If all else fails, she was going to purchase a one-way ticket to Europe like she told Brick the night before. She was not sure yet on what to do and considering everything that is going on at moment with her powers and the mysterious night at the lake, Blossom could not see herself leaving Townsville anytime soon anyways.
Brick said it the best. There was always going to be something pulling them back into Townsville. Whether they know what it was or not.
"Sounds perfect," Blossom replied, taking a step away from the counter, wrapping her hands firmly on the lanyard containing her keys. "Thank you."
After a brief discussion about her schedule and handing her a folder with the necessary information she would need, Blossom left the community college's enrollment office and into the blistering heat of the night.
She chose to do night classes, figuring no one would notice her since there were fewer students. Therefore, Blossom would not have to deal with questions as to why she was there.
It was a quick and simple solution to at least help her further her education.
She had to cut across the campus of the college to head towards the parking lot. From what Blossom could see, there was not much action happening here at night. It was just what she wanted.
Taking a sharp turn at the corner of the building, Blossom felt her shoulder smack into another, knocking her back a little. She caught herself, maintaining her standing and casting apologetic eyes to the person she ran into—who was picking up their notebook from the ground—but froze at the sight of the individual.
"Sorry, I…" They paused, their green eyes widening in shock at Blossom's appearance.
"Buttercup…"
Blossom did not know what to say.
Well, actually, she did. Blossom wanted to wrap her arms around Buttercup and express her excitement over the dark-haired girl's change of mind towards academics.
However, she did not because of... obvious reasons.
Instead, the redhead stood awkwardly, shifting her weight and waiting for Buttercup to say somerhing to her.
But she did not.
Buttercup threw her a hard glare before walking past her, onto the campus of the community college, leaving Blossom alone in her thoughts.
August 25th
Townsville, Arizona
Present Day…
In the darkest corner of Townsville, five males gathered under the sole street light. Smoke clouding the air from their cigarettes as they spoke intensely to each other.
"What are we going to fucking do? We don't have a hide out anymore," Andrew Grubblin, or better known by his peers as Grubber, huffed.
"I suggest we take over city hall. That will really stick it to the man," Snake—real name being Leroy Easton–suggested, his lisp extending the syllables of the letter "s".
"Nah. We should move to Citiesville. They have more money anyways," Big Billy—last name Thomas—countered.
"Are you forgetting that Citiesville is Amboa Boys territory, dip-shit?" Lil' Arturo—full name being Arturo Diego Ortiz-Rogriduez—retorted.
"Come on. We can totally run them out of there."
"I don't know, man. That's some serious ass competition."
"I'm telling you. We can… What do you think Ace?"
Four pairs of eyes landed on their leader who has remained silent during the entire conversation. The lanky male flicked his cigarette to the ground, rubbing the heel of his boot to extinguish it. He stepped into the street light, his sunglasses refracturing the brightness. The four individuals around him gasped to themselves, shocked by his appearance.
"Ace. Are you okay?" Snake questioned.
"Yeah, man. Your skin is… greenish," Big Billy pointed out.
Ace smirked to himself, "I'll explain that later. But for now, I'll tell you what we're going to do."
"Take over City hall?"
"Make Citiesville ours?"
"Even better," he grinned wickedly. "We're going to turn this entire town upside by igniting a war they can not ignore until we find out who burned down our factory."
"Ooooo. I like this idea," Big Billy agreed. The other three nodding along with him.
"Good cause Townsville wouldn't know what fucking hit them when we're done."
