Picking up where we left off

Chapter 3: When Our...

Buttercup couldn't believe her luck, she was still in slight shock, couldn't concentrate on the movie at all. All she could think about was the concert and how it was one week away. Plus if you add the fact that she somehow got seated next to Brick who had pulled the old stretching while yawning trick and now had his arm around her.

Buttercup was trying her hardest to focus on the plot of the movie, what was it about again? Zombies? She reached for the popcorn on her lap, turning her gaze for a split second from the screen when all of a sudden the loud noise from the screen made her jump, out of instinct, into Brick's chest.

Brick, of course, wasted no time to wrap his arm around her, protectively, a smirk on his face. "You OK?" He whispered into her hair

Buttercup couldn't help the blush on her face, thankfully, her face was buried in his chest, so he couldn't see, she nodded "I was caught off guard" she whispered back as she tried to sit back on her seat, only for Brick to hold her in place, he could smell her jasmine scented hair, it was intoxicating.

"Um, Brick? You can let go now"

Brick, much to his dismay, let her go "Sorry"

As he let go of her, the lights came back on in the theater, signaling the end of the movie. Buttercup quickly got up and walked over to Butch, who had mysteriously sat way on the other side of her, next to Blossom, who had an annoyed look

"What's wrong Bloss?" He asked her, a smirk on his face

Buttercup looked at her sister with a questioning look. She knew Butch had developed a slight crush on her older sister since that incident with Jake

"Don't you dare talk to me Butch Jojo!" Blossom poked his chest accusingly and walked away from the greens, a pink tinge on her face

Buttercup turned to Butch "What'd you do to her?"

Butch put his arms out defensively "What makes you think I did anything to her?"

Buttercup rolled her eyes

"All right, I just messed with her a little... you know, girl is easily annoyed, you can't blame me" He smirked at her "How'd you like our seating arrangement? Are you a little closer to my brother now?"

"Shut up Butch, I knew you had something to do with this" she whispered to him, so Brick couldn't hear her

"So, you guys wanna go somewhere to eat? We're hungry" Boomer asked

Buttercup turned to him "I want pizza!"

"Pizza sounds good to me" Brick told them

"I'm actually just going to go home, I'm not really hungry" Blossom told them

Butch quickly walked up to her "I'll walk you home, I'm not that hungry either" he quickly offered

Blossom glared at him, annoyance still painted on her face "Fine! But no funny business!"

Butch just laughed, he turned to Brick and winked at him before walking off with Blossom

Brick looked incredulous, he knew what Butch was doing, he was playing match maker, no wonder he would always be in flirting mode with Buttercup

Bubbles turned to Buttercup. "I actually have some taste for Chinese," she told her as she grabbed Boomer by the arm "But you go ahead with Brick, you could not be in better hands" he gave her green eyed sister a sly smile and walked off

'Damn you, Bubbles!' She thought as she watched her sister and her boyfriend disappear. Everyone just up and left, 'Is everyone in on this?' She thought. They couldn't be, she's only told Butch about her crush on Brick, unless he opened his big mouth and told everyone else... or was it that obvious?

"Come on, Buttercup, let's go, I know a great pizza place close to here" Brick broke her out of her thoughts

She nodded and walked towards the exit, Brick close behind her

"So..." Brick caught up to walk beside Buttercup

Buttercup turned to him, why were they having such a hard time coming up with something to talk about "So?"

"About earlier today..." Buttercup started "my bad" she said

Brick waved it off "Forget about it, my own fault for being in a tree at Buttercup Utonium's house"

Buttercup laughed "So where are we going? You know Pizza Pazzi has the best pizza in town"

"That's exactly where we're going, I love their meat lovers pizza"

"Now you're speaking my language Brick, that's my favorite pizza!"

Brick smirked as they continued walking in a more comfortable silence now.

They got to the pizzeria, they ordered their food and we're now happily munching on their meat lovers

"So Brick, what other type of music do you like? Or what other bands do you like I should say" Buttercup asked him as she took another bite of her slice

"Too many to mention BC"

"I honestly didn't take you for the guy to like this kind of music genre"

Brick looked at her, eyebrow raised in question "Really?" He asked "What did you think I liked?"

"Anything but" she said

"Did you really had me pegged as a guy who likes pop or opera? Not that there's anything wrong with that"

Buttercup laughed "Don't judge a book by its cover, I guess" she glanced at her watch, it was almost 10

"I'll walk you home, what time is your curfew?" He asked her

She shook her head "It's too early, curfew is one in the morning, you wanna go hang out at the park?" She asked him "Its really peaceful there at night"

"Sounds good to me"

Buttercup got up and grabbed his arm, her hesitancy around him gone "Come on, Red, we can plan for concert night"

"Red?" He asked following her outside towards the park

"Your new nickname" she simply responded while putting a stick of gum into her mouth, offering one to him

He smirked as he started walking backwards, facing her, smoothly putting the gum in his mouth "So we're giving each other nicknames?" He asked

Buttercup shrugged, avoiding eye contact with him, she did not want to blush for the millionth time "You don't have to give me a nickname, you know"

Brick suddenly stopped, making Buttercup bump into him, he quickly caught her before she could hit the floor "I want to" he said, his breath tickling her nose, their eyes locked to each other's

"Really?" She breathed

He nodded as he put a strand of hair behind her ear "Let me think of a really good one and I'll let you know, Bee" he emphasized Butch's nickname as let her go and kept walking backwards

Buttercup rolled her eyes and followed him "You're just jealous you couldn't come up with a cool nickname like Butch"

Brick laughed "Mine will be cooler" he started walking next to her "So you and Butch?" He asked

Buttercup tensed "What about me and Butch?"

"You two are really close" he started

"Brick, please don't tell me you're about to ask me if I'm dating your brother"

Brick put his hands up defensively "No, I was just going to ask you how that came about? One day you guys are hating each other and then the next you're like glue"

Buttercup sighed, they had reached the park, and sure enough, it was deserted. She went to sit in the grass near a tree, Brick followed

"I don't know, I guess between all the fighting and arguing something just clicked between him and me. I mean, one day we just realized that we were too old for the silly fights. We are so alike, don't you think?" She asked him

Brick nodded "Yeah, he is such a strong guy, he always says what's on his mind and takes crap from no one, just like you"

Buttercup smiled "Is that what you think of me?"

"Well, that and more, you are not like other girls who are always worried about their looks, you are strong willed and passionate"

She blushed, she couldn't believe Brick actually took notice of her. Before she could say anything, she felt someone hugging her from behind "Hey princess"

Buttercup couldn't believe her luck, just as he and Brick we're sort of bonding, Ace had to show up and ruin it. She snatched his arms from her "Do not call me princess" she spat

Brick shot up from where he was sitting "Ace, what the hell do you want?"

Ace only chuckled "Aw, come on Buttercup, don't get mad"

"Ace, if you know what's good for you, leave" Brick told him as he took a step in front of Buttercup

Buttercup grabbed his arm to hold him back "Don't waste your energy on him, Brick, he's not worth it"

Ace feigned a hurtful look "After all we've been through Buttercup, come one, I know you like me, babe"

Buttercup scoffed "I do not like you Ace, so why don't you just piss off"

Ace tried to reach for her only to be stopped by Brick as he pushed him back "Didn't you hear her?" he asked, peeved that he was being so persistent with her.

"Really Buttercup? You're really going to go for this kid instead of someone more mature like me?" Ace asked her ignoring Brick

Brick had had enough, he punched Ace, sending him crashing into the tree. "I fucking warned you, stay away from her"

Buttercup was wide eyed "Really Red? Don't you think I could've handled it?" she asked him a little amused by Brick's childish behavior

Brick just shrugged as he grabbed her hand to pull her to walk away from the now fainted Ace "So, what was that all about? Seems like he does this a lot?" He asked her as he guided her to sit on a bench

Buttercup shook her head "Occasionally."

Brick kneeled in front of her "You know you can press charges on him, he's an old guy hitting on a 17 year old."

Buttercup scoffed "He ain't that old"

Brick was flabbergasted, did Buttercup have something to do with him? "Buttercup Utonium, have you been involved with him to have him chasing after you?"

Buttercup was flustered, did she really trust Brick enough to tell him a part of her dark past? "I..." She stuttered

"Buttercup, I'm not going to judge you, if that's what you're worried about" he encouraged her

"About 4 months ago, I got involved with him. Thinking that I needed to be with someone more mature than me, it's something not even my sisters know about." she looked straight into his crimson eyes "You're the only one I've ever told this"

Brick got the message "You're secret's safe with me"

"Anyway, to make a long story short, I ended things with him, I realized it was never going to work. I honestly don't know why I even bothered with him, I think part of me wanted it because I developed a silly crush on him when I was five"

Brick gave her an incredulous look "You had a crush on him when you were five? That could not have ended well"

Buttercup shook her head "It's all in the past now" she simply said as she got up stretching in the process

Brick followed "Well, let's get you home before you get into more trouble"

She laughed "But I'm more innocent than Bubbles"

"Yeah, I'll believe that when Butch follows my every orders" Brick told her as they started walking out of the park towards her house

"Buttercup, how tall are you?" he asked after a few minutes

Buttercup turned to face him "Are you calling me short?" she pouted, she walked in front of him and placed her hands on his shoulders and stood on her tip toes "See, I'm almost as tall as you"

Brick smiled at her "Nice try, Cupcake"

She raised an eyebrow "My new nickname?"

"I'll think of something better if you don't like it"

"No... I like it"

Brick gazed into her emerald eyes, mesmerized by them, he slowly leaned down closer to her, their lips mere inches apart when Buttercup lost her balance, catching them off guard they both landed on the floor, her on top of him.

She laughed nervously "Sorry Red" she quickly got up, lending him a hand to help him up

Brick shook his head as he took her hand, getting up as well. "Don't worry Buttercup, come on, let's get you home"

Brick was disappointed to say the least, he was so close to kissing her, he wondered what it would be like to kiss those plump lips of her. He was just going to have to wait for another opportunity which he'll make sure happened soon.