AND I'M BACK FROM THE DEAD! Wow, that was some hiatus, huh? Before you get the pitchforks and fire up the torches, would it help if I said that I'm going to stick to my guns and not rewrite the whole thing? So, you should expect an update maybe every other week-ish, especially because my summer break is almost here!
I'm not going to do a reviewer's corner this time, because I'm just going to send a humongous shout out to all of you! Thank you for believing in me, I really appreciate it! I'm back folks!
Quick little disclaimer, you know the drill: I don't own any characters from the PPG universe. I swear.
So, last time we left off, Buttercup and Blossom were getting awfully chummy… And we are going to continue with Brick's P.O.V. Because I haven't done him in a while.
Brick's P.O.V.
Looking at the three folders on the dining room table in front of me, I wonder what I had gotten myself into. Boomer was awfully nonchalant after driving Blossom home… I just hope he didn't make a move or anything on her. It's been three days since she was here, three days since I last heard her voice…
"Yo," I hear Boomer's casual greeting as he enters the kitchen, grabbing a glass and filling it to the brim with milk.
"Hey," I reply. Pausing for a moment before adding, "That's going to get everywhere." No sooner had the words left my mouth when I heard cursing coming from my blonde brother, and the sound of milk slapping the counter could be heard. I smirked, "Told you."
"Yeah yeah, whatever," Boomer muttered, probably getting a towel. When he finally walked into my peripheral vision, I could make out a large spill on his khakis as well as the bottom of his dark blue sweater vest. "Aw man," He grumbled, grabbing the bottom of his sweater and holding it away from him, "Now I'm going to have to change."
"Why? You going somewhere?" I asked, still not looking directly at him.
"You could say that…," He trailed off, then looked at me, "You still trying to figure it out?"
"I swear Boom, there could not be less information to go on in here. This is going to be almost impossible," I groan, running a hand through my shaggy red hair. "Where's Butch?"
At that moment, the door opened up to reveal our youngest brother. In his hands were bottles of water, and his usually tan skin was flushed, and his lips were cracked. His usually spiky hair was limp with what looked like sweat, and his defiant green eyes were glazed over. As soon as he stepped inside the house, he uncapped one of the waters and greedily guzzled the whole thing down.
"Dude, you look like hell," Boomer stated, moving over to Butch.
"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Butch managed to get out. Even his voice was dry and reedy.
"You okay Bro?" I asked, casting aside the folders and getting up to look him in the face. Once he saw me, his eyes hardened. Confused, I tried to step towards him, but Boomer held me back.
"I'm fine." Was all Butch said before he stalked over to his room, leaving Boomer and I alone in the hall.
"Jesus, what is his problem? I just wanted to know if he was okay!" I ranted, feeling a tiny bit of anger at my brother, but I quickly let it go, "Whatever. He can act like a moody teenager all he wants, I just don't care anymore."
"You and I both know that's not true," Boomer said, heading back over to the table to take a look at the blue folder. He whistled, looking at the pieces of art, "You know, I didn't really have enough time to really appreciate these. They're really good."
I walked over to Boomer, looking at the pieces. One was a beautiful blue jay on a branch in the middle of winter, and it seemed to look right at us. There was another one of a beautiful cherry blossom tree and a beautiful woman in a white sundress standing under it, her face covered by a droopy white sunhat and her long blonde hair flowing in the wind. I noticed the different textures of the drawings and paintings, and how the colors blended beautifully. They truly were masterpieces.
"Wait a second…" Boomer muttered. When I glanced over at him, I could see confusion drawn all across his face. He was looking at a series of paintings and drawings, but they were all of the same thing. Nothing about them was particularly special, but they all looked like a white flower… it was hard to tell, because in some of them the petals were folded up.
"What? They're just flowers." I huffed, a little miffed that we almost had something.
"No, they're not… these are totally Moonflowers," Boomer said, rearranging them. "See? They're at all different stages, which means that they're at different times of the night."
"So? What's so significant about it? I know it only blooms at night, but still…" I frowned.
"One of the only places in Townsville that botanists have been able to cultivate Moonflowers is the college I go to," Boomer said. My eyes widened.
"She's closer than we thought…" I breathed, amazement washing through me.
"And according to these dates on the back, these sketches are the most recent," Boomer said, flipping one onto the back, "It's from about a month ago, around 4:15 in the morning."
"That doesn't prove anything," Butch's voice came from behind us, and I turned around to see our youngest brother in the hallway, his arms crossed.
"What're you doing here?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him. He shrugged.
"Well, I was going to tell you two that you were making too much noise, but then I heard Blondie's deduction, and I wanted to stick around." He stalked over to the kitchen, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge.
"I hate to admit it, but he's right. We need more proof than that," I turned back to my blonde brother, but he was already on the case.
"This should prove it," Boomer asserted, grabbing another sketch and holding it in front of my face. This one was of a spearlike plant with bluish green coloring, "This is a Jade Vine. The only place they've got it is at my college. She has to be there."
"Hang on, I'll call up Blossom," I said, "She'll want to know about this."
"Yeah yeah, call up your girlfriend," Butch said snarkily. I was to overjoyed to retort.
"I'll start to look for her tomorrow. For now, I change," Boomer said, heading back to his room.
"Good, I was wondering when he would notice he looked like he pissed his pants," I muttered, and Butch snickered.
I held the phone up to my ear, counting the rings. One… Two…
"Hello?"
"Oh Blossom," I smiled, "You're never going to believe this."
The next day, Boomer's P.O.V.
After receiving all of Blossom's praises for narrowing down our search, we created a plan. One that involved me getting up at ungodly hours of the morning to head to the greenhouse of Townsville University.
Yawning quietly, I sat on a small white bench in the middle of the observational area of the greenhouse, breathing in the aroma of the flowers that surrounded me. It was around 3 a.m., and we were sure that she would be there.
The sweet air of the greenhouse made me even drowsier, and the bench had a nice little blue pillow near one end of it. The top was clear, as the top of a greenhouse usually is, and I could see all of the stars in the sky, as well as the beautiful moon. The atmosphere was so relaxing that I couldn't help but close my eyes, the warmth of the air acting like a blanket…
I started, rubbing sleep out of my eyes. The moon was no longer in the sky, but the colors of the new dawn were just on the horizon. Groaning, I sat up, trying to work a crick out of my neck. I stopped when I heard a started squeak.
Slowly, I got up off of the bench, scanning the area with critical eyes. "Hello?" I call, "Anyone there?"
Suddenly, a bright blue shape that I had assumed was a flower bolted out of its spot, making a mad dash towards the door. I ran after it, trying to stop it, but with every move I made to contain it, the blue shape managed to dodge.
"Hey, I just want to talk!" I call, but it doesn't stop, and we continue to run around the amazingly huge greenhouse. "Please!"
"Leave me alone!" The shape cries out behind it, and I realize it's the voice of a girl. She ducks back into the foliage, and I run up to the edge, trying to figure out where she went. But the thick leaves and flowers of the greenhouse are unforgiving, and I can't see a thing.
"Damn," I mutter, sticking my hands into the pockets of my light washed jeans and heading back to the bench. As I make sure that everything in the clearing looks exactly the way I left it, I see a piece of paper from where she was hiding.
Curious, I walk over to it, and pick it up. It was a picture of me, asleep on the bench, underneath the stars and among the plants, beautifully captured in pencil. There was one thing that I didn't understand though, and that was the silhouette of a beautiful girl leaning over my sleeping form. The only facial feature I could make out was a softly smiling mouth with beautiful round lips, the rest of her face was shadowed. She was standing behind the bench, her hands behind her back, and her soft body was clad in a white sundress.
I slowly realized that I knew her, this girl in the white sundress. She was the same girl in the painting with the cherry blossom tree, the one my brothers and I are supposed to find. With a heavy sigh, I walked back to the entrance of the greenhouse, the drawing in my hands. This was going to be a whole heck of a lot harder than I initially thought.
And… SCENE! I know, it's pretty short, but I feel like it moved the story on a little bit, no? Please feel free to review or PM me with questions, and stay cool!
To infinity… AND BEYOND!
Xen out.