Previously on "First Dance."
Blossom: I do believe Brick and I are dating - and I don't mind!
Bubbles: Mitch and I are over - for good. After what he did to me, there is no way I'm ever going to talk to him again. Besides, I won't be able to - Boomer has been following me around to keep me safe. Not that I mind…
Also, RR told me he was going to reveal himself in one week - yes!
Buttercup: I need to figure out Butch and Mitch is dead. Enough said.
Butch: Should I let Buttercup know I know she thinks I'm amazing...or should I not? Questions, questions... *smirk*
This was previously on "First Dance."
...
Buttercup made it to gym that day ready to snap. She wasn't in the mood for a punching bag - oh no. She needed a real fight.
"Butch!" She snapped as she stepped into the separate gym, pulling off her sweater and throwing it to the side of the room with her backpack. The door swung shut behind her and Butch turned to her, grinning and cracking his knuckles.
"You look tense," he said with a wink. "Need a little sparring to calm you down?"
Buttercup grinned. "And don't hold back."
Butch stood in the middle of the room and waited for Buttercup to approach. They began to circle each other.
"Rules?" Butch asked.
"Nothing inappropriate," Buttercup said. "And no wussing out. No death blows. Fight until one of us is pinned for good."
Butch nodded. "You got it."
"One more rule," Buttercup said.
"What's that?" Butch asked, his guard lowering just enough.
"I win!" Buttercup exclaimed, throwing herself at him. She hit him with a punch to the gut. Butch spun out of the way and bent over for a second to catch his breath, giving Buttercup time to jump up onto his back. Butch swung her over his shoulders and snapped her onto the mat. Buttercup managed to spin and catch herself, then pop back up just as Butch's foot moved to pin her down. She grabbed him by the leg and pulled up, knocking him backwards and onto the ground. She landed on his chest and pinned his arms back with a sneer.
"So, I heard what you said about me the other night."
The sneer dropped and Buttercup looked vulnerable. "What?"
Butch spun her around so he was on top. With a grin, he leaned down close to her face. "Oh, just how I'm 'twice the man' Ace will ever be."
Buttercup's eyes widened, and then narrowed, and she shoved Butch off of her and crouched to pounce. "You followed me?"
He was still grinning. "Couldn't resist."
She jumped at him, striking a roundhouse kick that sent him sprawling. When he got back up, Buttercup punched him repeatedly, but Butch managed to block each one.
"You jerk!" She exclaimed. "That's a total invasion of privacy! I could report you!"
"But you won't," Butch said, catching her fist and leaning in close, right into her face.
"And why's that?" she snarled. The tension was so thick Buttercup could have drowned in it. They stared directly into each other's eyes, both glaring, though…what was that in Butch's eyes? He seemed not angry or thrilled but…what was it?
His grin deepened. "Because I think you love me."
That was not what Buttercup had expected him to say. Her eyes widened. Why? She asked herself. It's not like it's the truth…is it? She shoved him over and got him in a choke-hold. He tugged on her hands, but she wouldn't release. "I do not," she growled in his ear.
He swung her over his shoulders, just as before, but this time, he leaped on top of her, a knee on either side of her waist, pinning her hands above her head. But instead of grinning, his face was perfectly intense, emotionless.
"Oh yeah?"
Her chest was heaving. She didn't know quite what to think. She blinked, but smiled, sneered. "Yeah."
"I don't believe you."
Without saying another word, Butch leaned down and kissed her hard on the lips. She was shocked. Where had this come from? She soon found herself kissing him back. It was a perfect kiss, one like she'd never felt before. One I'll bet stupid Mitch could never give me, she thought.
Butch pulled back after a few moments and watched for a reaction.
It took her a few moments to find her breath. "That was against the rules," she said finally.
He sneered. "I've been known to break rules every now and then."
And he kissed her again. Buttercup didn't mind.
…
Blossom and Brick were partnered together for a History project that afternoon.
"Alright," she said, shuffling through her binder as they walked down the hallway together, towards Blossom's locker. "I think we should meet after school to do this, at least twice a week, to get some of this stuff done."
"After school?" Brick replied, looking a bit caught off guard.
"Sure," she replied. "But my place is off limits. The girls and the Professor would never let you in my house. I mean, maybe eventually, but they'd need…acclimating."
"Acclimating?" Brick shook his head. "Well, there's no way I'm taking you to my place. The Jojo is living there again, and he'd kill you. And I'm not talking protective father like you. I'm talking deranged sociopathic archenemy. I mean, he hasn't come out of his lab since he got back – I haven't even said a word to him since then – but he'd know if you were there, and you'd be dead in an instant. I'm not going to let you get killed."
Blossom hadn't thought of that. "Does the park sound okay, then? We could go there tonight."
Brick smiled. "Sure thing. And afterwards, how about a movie?"
"What about this weekend?"
"Then too."
Blossom rolled her eyes. "Sure, Brick. But no later than seven. It's a school night."
Brick smiled again. "Of course."
…
Before Bubbles read the letter in the previous chapter
…
Bubbles was laughing at a joke Boomer had told her as they entered the Algebra room.
"Bubbles!"
Her head jerked to the side to see who was calling her. It was Mitch. Bubbles turned away from him, back to Boomer, and continued laughing, though she wasn't in the mood for laughing anymore. She was never speaking to him, not ever again. She would simply ignore him, however difficult that might prove to be.
She requested a seat change. Halfway through class, Mitch was called down to the office and did not return. Bubbles didn't even see him at his football practise. Good, she told herself. He deserves it.
…
Buttercup jumped at the sound of the bell and Butch grinned, reluctantly getting to his feet and pulling Buttercup to hers.
"Good spar," he said with a wink. "We should do it again sometime."
Buttercup kept her face expressionless as she readjusted her shirt and smoothed her hair. She didn't say anything else until she'd picked up her backpack and sweater.
She winked as well. "We'll see."
…
That night
…
When Bubbles got back home, she neatly folded her newest letter and tucked it away inside her notebook and flopped down on her bed before opening to a clean page and uncapping her pen with her teeth. Then she chewed her pen for a moment or two as she thought of what to say. Was there really any way to express her happiness at his revealing himself in just one week?
So she did the only thing she could think of to do – she just wrote.
Dear RR,
Thank you very much. I admit that I was shocked that he had hit me, but I should have just cut to the chase and broke up with him like I'd planned on doing. Then I might not be in this position. Don't worry about me. I've got Boomer watching over me. And I'm not sure what it is, but he seems…safer than he used to. Kinder. So you shouldn't worry.
But if anything good came out of it, then it was you. I cannot even express to you how ecstatic I am to finally meet you, though it's only been a week. We'll be great friends, I can tell.
Before I write something I'll regret, let me just say that I will be there for sure, and if I'm not there, something has gone wrong.
Sincerely,
Bubbles
She folded and sealed the letter in an envelope.
Then she tromped down the stairs and hooked her bag over her shoulder.
"See you!" She called. "I'll be at the park for a little while!"
Little did she know, the house was empty but for the Professor.
…
Almost as soon as Blossom got home, she was headed out the door again.
"Where are you going?" Buttercup asked from the sofa.
"A friend's house," Blossom replied, her voice too high pitched.
This factor immediately alerted Buttercup to the fact that she was lying. She turned to look at Blossom over the back of the couch. Her eyes narrowed.
"Oh, yeah?" she asked. "Which friend?"
Blossom's mind raced. "Jennifer," she said. "Jennifer Tracy. She's in my History class, and we have a project together."
"Uh-huh," Buttercup replied slowly. "Well, don't be out too late, then."
"Of course not," Blossom replied. "I'll only be a few hours."
"Right," Buttercup replied, changing the channel as Blossom shut the door.
Blossom sighed in relief that her lie had worked – for now. Buttercup was definitely on to her, though. There was no denying that little factor.
Blossom walked at a peaceful pace to the park, not wanting Brick to think she was too excited about seeing him, though she really was. She found herself enjoying Brick's company far more than she ever believed she would. And while she didn't quite love him yet, she couldn't deny the very strange attraction she had to the redhead.
"Hey, Red!" Blossom looked towards the voice and found Brick standing under the pavilion at the park atop a picnic table, waving his hat to get her attention.
Blossom couldn't help but grin as she made her way to the table at her own pace. She sat down and set her backpack on top of the table.
"Hello, Brick," she said with a smile. "Ready?"
Brick winked. "When you are."
Blossom felt herself blushing as she pulled out folders and pencils and other such necessary items, and, to Blossom's surprise, they easily began their project, and had a considerable amount completed after only two hours.
Brick was soon becoming impatient, though, so Blossom decided they should take a little break.
She shut her book and Brick perked up immediately. "Are we done?"
Blossom smiled and shook her head. "Only for now. Why don't we do something else for a while?"
"Movie?" Brick asked.
Blossom shook her head. "I don't have the time. Everyone's already suspicious of me. I figured we could just go for a quick walk or something."
Brick took her hand in his after she had hefted her backpack onto her shoulder. It shocked her a little bit, but she didn't pull away. He smiled at her. "Sounds good to me."
Blossom's stomach erupted in butterflies and she decided she really liked this whole dating Brick thing as they set off.
When they'd left, someone else entered, just missing them. Bubbles headed straight to the fountain and sat down as she wiggled the little brick loose, dropping her letter inside before checking to make sure nothing else was there. She was a little disappointed, but it had only been a few hours since she'd plucked out the most recent letter, so she shouldn't really have been expecting much.
…
Buttercup moaned as she felt herself pushed roughly against a tree trunk. She was quickly silenced by rough lips pressing against her mouth. She soon felt Butch's hands wandering, and she stopped them as they tried to slip inside her jeans.
"Don't," she said against his lips.
Butch made a sound in the back of his throat. "Why?"
"Why do you want to?" Buttercup demanded.
He laughed. "You're joking, right?"
She glared and shoved him away. "No. It's not right. Not until I'm married."
Butch blinked. "But you've always been the rebel!"
"I fight crime, Butch," she said. "I'm the good guy. And, therefore, the good girl. And I don't do stuff like that."
Butch shook his head. "I don't believe it."
"Believe it," Buttercup retorted. "Why does it matter, anyways? It's not like you care anything for me. Why don't you just go and find some slut to shag until you're content?"
Buttercup was surprised into silence when Butch shoved her against the tree, pinning her there.
"You really think that?" he growled dangerously.
Buttercup looked him in the eyes, unsure of what to think.
"I do," she replied, though she really wasn't sure.
"Thanks," he said sarcastically. He let her go, and Buttercup fell to the ground. "Well, I'll just go find a different girl to shag, as you so delicately put it. Just know," he said with an evil stare. "I'll be thinking of you the whole time."
Buttercup watched him go, her mind rapidly changing about him.
…
One Week Later
…
The week had been fantastic, but Blossom was beginning to feel incredibly guilty. She'd been sneaking around with Brick all week, and it was starting to tear at her inside. On the one hand, she felt she never wanted to stop seeing Brick. But on the other, she didn't want to be constantly hiding such a huge part of her life from her sisters and the Professor. She wanted things to be completely out in the open, though she knew that could never work out.
"Are you alright?" Brick asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. It was Saturday afternoon, and the two were a bit tired from staying out late at the movies the night before. Blossom was sitting curled up between his legs, resting her head against his shoulder as they watched over the park, content.
"Yeah…" she said softly. "It's just…I really want my sisters and the Professor to know about you, but I know that they wouldn't take it very well at all, and I don't want to subject either of us to them."
Brick smiled. "We could work on them. How about you warn them that you're inviting me over to work on our project, and give them a few days to prepare themselves. Then, when I come over, I'll be as polite as I can possibly be and I'll wow them into believing that I'm different now than before."
Blossom sighed. "I hope it's that easy, but I suppose it's worth a shot. Right?"
Brick grinned. "Of course! I came up with the plan. It's perfect."
Blossom laughed. "Sure, Brick. I'll get right on it, then."
…
It was almost nine, and Bubbles was wide awake. Buttercup was out and Blossom was fast asleep. Bubbles was very, very quiet as she climbed out of her bed, still fully dressed, and hooked her backpack onto her shoulders before gliding above the stairs down to the second floor. There, she soundlessly opened the door and slipped outside.
As she made her way to the park, she couldn't help but become a little bit fearful. She wasn't a complete idiot. What if the person writing her the beautiful letters was a complete psycho? What if she was attacked? Of course, if she were attacked by a normal human, she'd easily be able to escape without even a little bit of harm, but what if it was a trick?
She shook her head. No, for some reason, this felt real. She knew it was real. She knew she was safe.
She approached the park. There was no one there – there was nothing but dead silence. She looked around, ready for anything. She was tired, so she decided that she could still be alert if she sat down at the fountain.
Resting soon turned to dozing, as dozing soon turned to sleeping, until suddenly, something made her bolt out of her sleep and onto her feet, looking around, holding out her hands, ready to attack.
"Who's there?" she asked, keeping her voice firm, gazing around the dark park. Her watch told her that it was nine-thirty-two. She'd only been out for a half an hour, but that was still later than RR had told her.
"I'm warning you," she said, slowly beginning to feel afraid. "If you try anything, I will kill you."
"Would you kill me, Bubbles?"
Bubbles gasped and whipped around, spotting a dark figure a ways in front of her. The gait was familiar, and it only took her brain a few seconds to register the figure as Boomer.
"Boomer?" she whispered, and he stepped into the dim light from the street-lamp above her so she could see his soft smile. "What are you doing here?"
"I told you I'd be here, didn't I?"
Bubbles blinked. "No, I –" Then it dawned on her. She was so stupid! She should have been able to see it! How easily he drew her in art class compared to the drawing she had received, someone who would have to be in the majority of her classes to know that she'd broken her bracelet, how kind Boomer was. RR was Rowdy Ruff. RR was Boomer. "You're RR?"
His smile deepened. "You figured it out."
"But you – "
"Were you expecting someone taller?" he asked. "Gosh, I hope not. That would really be a downer, eh?"
"You wrote all of those beautiful letters?"
His smile softened. "I did."
"You…love me?"
Quick as a flash, Boomer had her pressed close to him. He smelled like summer and pastels and felt as stronger than anything or anyone she'd ever felt before. He was hugging her gently, and he placed his head on her shoulder so he could whisper in her ear.
"I love you," he said, his voice low and raspy.
Bubbles' heart did summersaults and her stomach erupted in butterflies. She finally responded to his hug and wrapped her arms tightly around his waist. She felt as if she were going to cry. "I love you, too."
"You're absolutely perfect, Bubbles," he said softly. "I haven't stopped thinking of you since we left Townsville. And then, when I saw you after I returned…I knew that I wouldn't be able to stay away from you."
"You must have felt so awful when you saw me with Mitch."
He chuckled lightly in her ear and she felt a chill run down her spine. "You have no idea. But it's alright now. Your sisters and my brothers took care of him."
Bubbles didn't even have spare room in her mind to worry about what had happened to Mitch. Because just then, Boomer began speaking again.
"Bubbles…may I…" he pulled back to look her directly in the eyes. "Kiss you?"
Bubbles' breath caught in her throat, and all she could do was nod.
So Boomer, as awkward and adorable as ever, watched her as he moved forward to place his lips on hers. Both of their eyes closed at the same time, and it was like Magic. Bubbles had never felt anything so wonderful, so perfect, not even with Mitch, whom she'd believed herself in love with. No, this – this – was perfecciόn. And she never wanted it to end.
…
Whoa guys. Whoa. I actually made it to 3,000 words. More than 3,000 words. Craziness! I hope you liked it! ^^ I've been working on it for a week.
