A/N: See, that wasn't that hard! I think I'm going to keep doing the Review Requirements (RR) from now on, they seem to work well. I swear that if you keep it up, I'll post within the next 24 hours from the time I get the last required review!
For this next chapter, I'm going to raise the requirement just a tad—to 20 reviews—but only because this chapter is long, and I think you're going to enjoy it more than a bit.
Enjoy! This is the longest chapter yet!
Bubbles held in a gasp, and continued to watch Rebekah's exchange with the boy in shock. This is not happening, this is not happening, this is not happening, she repeated in her head over and over again, blinking constantly to make the image in front of her go away and feeling like screaming when it wouldn't. She knew that Rebekah wasn't as dedicated to Boomer as she'd acted—she was just too crazy!
And now that Bubbles had seen her cheating, she wasn't sure what to do! Should she tell Boomer? Would Boomer even believe her? No, probably not. He was too in love with Rebekah to see past her rouge. Boomer may have been sweet, good-looking and funny, but he wasn't exactly born with an abundance of brains—he'd been the least intelligent of the Rowdyruff trio since their Townsville days. Besides, Bubbles couldn't even prove what she was seeing; her camera phone had, of course, run out of battery just a few minutes before Rebekah had arrived in the small coffee shop.
The alternative to telling Boomer was to confront Rebekah, which Bubbles dreaded after their last one-on-one chat. And who could blame her—Rebekah was positively insane. That, added to the fact that Bubbles was terrible with confrontation, equaled a recipe for disaster. But, considering the other option could potentially ruin her newly found friendship with Boomer, she decided that talking to Rebekah when she got the chance was her only good option (good being a relative term, of course).
Bubbles saw her window of opportunity when Rebekah excused herself to go to the bathroom—probably to reapply her lipstick, of which a light trace could be seen on the boy's own lips. Hiding behind her menu so that Rebekah wouldn't notice her as she passed by, Bubbles leaped up from the table as soon as Rebekah had disappeared behind the bathroom door.
Expecting to make a dramatic appearance and surprise Rebekah when she came out of her stall, Bubbles quickly but quietly swung open the bathroom door and darted in, automatically coming face to face with the scowling culprit herself. Bubbles gasped in surprise and then quickly regained her composure, crossing her arms and putting a smile on her face as if she was happy to see Rebekah when she was really trying to make herself intimidating. "Hey, Rebekah," Bubbles said brightly.
Rebekah's frown did not move. "Oh, cut the crap, Blondie, we both know why you're here."
Bubbles was taken aback, but tried not to show it. "What are you talking about?"
Rebekah's face flickered with worry for a moment, wondering if Bubbles really hadn't discovered her secret, but the worry was quickly replaced with an even fiercer glare. "Would you shut up? You and I both know you came here to talk to me about my friend."
"Friend, hm? He seemed a bit more than friendly to me. In fact, I don't know any friends who shove their tongues down each others throats," Bubbles finished, her face fading into a grimace. She felt like giving herself a big pat on the back for thinking so quickly on her feet. "Has Boomer ever met this friend, I wonder?"
"No, he hasn't, and he won't. And do you know why, Bubbles?" Rebekah inquired, her voice quiet and sickeningly sweet. She began to circle Bubbles, giving her intimidation points and making her seem like a shark.
"Why?" Bubbles asked, feeling a threat coming on. Her eyes grew wide.
"Because, who will Boomer believe? Me, the girl he's been dating for months now, who adores him so much, who talks on the phone with him every day, who ends almost every night with him telling him lies like 'I love you?'"
The idea of her telling Boomer lies like that made Bubbles want to cry for him, but Rebekah wasn't done yet: "Or will he believe you, the girl who he hasn't seen for nine years, who he just met again two days ago, who used to beat him, his brothers, and both his parents into the ground? You've got no chance, sweetie! So you might as well give up—he'll never believe you. And if you even try to tell Boomer about what you saw today, I might just have to let it slip that you like him and are trying to get rid of me."
Bubbles eyes were prickling with tears, but she managed to say, "You wouldn't do it."
Rebekah just smiled a wicked grin and, lowering her voice to almost a whisper, said, "Why not? I've been cheating on him for months; I can clearly get away with anything."
And with that, Rebekah pushed past Bubbles and swept out of the bathroom, leaving a hopeless Bubbles with tears streaming from her eyes and a score of Rebekah: 1. Bubbles: 0.
Buttercup, dressed in ripped black shorts, a green tank top, and a jacket with the word POW printed on it like the word appeared in comic books (with her hood up on top of her head, as usual), rang the doorbell to Mitch's house, not even worrying about whether it was the right address—she could see all the signs of partying coming up the street. There were a million cars parked up and down the road, and as she was approaching the house she saw a couple dart out of a side door and around the side of the house, laughing. There were colored lights flashing in the windows on the right side of the house, and on the left side, strobe lights that were making her dizzy. There was loud rock music coming from inside—she could feel it vibrate in her very soul as she continued to stand on the front porch. Finally, after waiting almost a minute for someone to open the door, she decided that it must already be open and went ahead inside.
It took all of her efforts to squeeze through the door and into the house; there were people occupying every space in the room. She maneuvered between bodies, guys staring at her everywhere she turned, and searched for a familiar face until she finally ran right into Mitch, who smiled and gave her a hug, accidentally elbowing somebody in the ribs with a quick, "Oops."
"Awesome party," Buttercup complimented, trying her best to keep her footing and remain in one place. Like the party-goers were waves, she felt as if she were being moved around as if she were in the ocean.
"Thanks, but you know," Mitch said, "I think it'll be even better when you see who decided to come."
"Who?" Buttercup asked, raising an eyebrow. Mitch tried to contain his laughter when he saw the man of the hour darting through the crowd towards them, his eyes only on Mitch and not the girl Mitch was talking to.
"Mitch, dude, Joey just threw up all over the—" Butch was beginning to say just as Buttercup turned around.
"This idiot, Mitch? Why the hell would I be happy to see him?" Buttercup growled, her fists clenching.
"Mitch, I thought you were joking when you said you invited her," Butch groaned, earning a glare from Buttercup.
"You got a problem with me bein' here?" she said, eying him angrily. By this point people were starting to turn and stare, some looking nervous and others looking hopeful that a fight would soon break out.
"No, clearly I'm ecstatic about your special appearance," he spat at her sarcastically, and Buttercup advanced, her intentions clear.
Mitch quickly rushed over to stand between the two annoyed teens. "Listen, you two, let's just put aside our differences for one night! We're all friends here!"
Buttercup scoffed. "Oh, please, Mitch. You just don't wanna see your friend Butchie Boy over here get his ass beat!"
The entire crowed "Oooh'd" at that one, and Butch just laughed loudly. "Just get over yourself, babe. I wouldn't lose to a little girl. You couldn't beat me in an arm wrestling match, much less a fight."
The crowd let out chuckles of approval again, and Buttercup stepped up so that she was right in Butch's face. "I'll bet you I can."
Butch smiled calmly. "Fine," he agreed, and taking Buttercup's chin in his hand, added, "but only cause you're so pretty."
Buttercup slapped his hand away, fuming, and everyone around them started to move in preparation for the match. Someone pulled up a small folding table and chairs from another room. All around her, she could hear some people starting to make bets, and although she expected most of them to be on her, they were all going to Butch! She would teach them to waste their money betting on weak idiots. A plan formulating her head, Buttercup sat down across from Butch at the table, joining hands with him as everyone gathered around, rock music pounding so loudly in her ears that she thought her head might explode.
Mitch pulled up a third chair and put one of his hands on top of theirs. "Alright, kiddies, play nice. Winner gets eternal glory and bragging rights. Ready?"
Both raven-haired teens nodded. "And...GO!"
Buttercup decided to play weak at first. She didn't let Butch drag her too quickly, but she sure pretended to struggle, letting her hand grow closer and closer to the table. She knew she would have to time everything just right, or else he might slam her hand down too quickly for her to retaliate. So, just as the crowd was beginning to laugh, and her hand was only an inch from the table, she summoned her inner strength, and slammed Butch's hand back so hard that the table collapsed, sending the boy off of his chair and onto the floor.
The whole crowd was silent in shock for a moment, but then everyone began cheering loudly. The rustle of money being dealt out to those who had had the sense to bet on Buttercup was heard, and she stood up from the table again, feeling victorious. She squatted down so that she was face to face with Butch, who was trying to figure out what had just happened. "You forgot that while you've been living it up in Hawaii for nine years, I've still been out, saving Townsville, so I'm not out of practice."
"So, Butchie Boy," she said, taking his distraught face in her hands as he had done to her. "Who's the cute one now?"
Butch looked Buttercup up and down and the smirk that Buttercup had grown to hate spread again across his face. "I'd say still you."
However, Buttercup had no time to lash out at him, because as soon as the word "you" had left his mouth, the unmistakable sound of sirens had grown loud outside of Mitch's house. A few moments later, police officers were swarming the house shouting and grabbing teens with alcohol in hand, and there were party-goers running left and right trying to escape.
Butch, acting on purely impulse, grabbed Buttercup's hand and yelled to her, "Let's get outta here!"
Without stopping to swipe her hand away, Buttercup quickly helped Butch up and the two started to run. Dodging through all the confusion of screaming teenagers and avoiding detection by any police officers, they made it out of the side door that only a few other people had managed to escape from. Just as they thought they were home-free, an officer behind them yelled, "Stop! Don't move!"
"Keep running!" Butch shouted to Buttercup, noticing that both of them had started to laugh from all of the excitement. Behind them, the policeman was still calling out after them, but his voice was growing fainter and fainter. The two were taking off down the street now with just 4 other pairs of people, and Mitch's house had left their sight.
As soon as they thought that they had escaped, though, two more police cars came flying down the street. One continued down the road to Mitch's house, but the other made an impressive U-turn and came soaring towards them. The other pairs scrambled away, towards the backyards of total strangers, but Butch and Buttercup continued to run.
The policeman who was driving rolled down his windows, and called out to them, "Stop running & turn yourselves in, and you will not be punished!"
Buttercup laughed and yelled back to him, "Like we haven't heard that one before!"
"You leave us no choice then!" The car sped up and drove past them, and swerved onto the grass to block their paths. If they had continued running, any normal teens would have collided right into the car.
However, this pair were not normal teens. So as the car came closer and closer, Butch and Buttercup exchanged a knowing glance, and each counted "One...two...three!" in their heads. "JUMP!" Butch yelled, and the two leaped into the air and onto the other side of the car.
As soon as they landed, the two kept sprinting away, but Buttercup couldn't help but turn around to glance at them. She laughed as she realized that the two policemen were bewildered and frozen in their seats, and she and Butch turned and ran around the corner, and out of the neighborhood. They kept up their run down a long sidewalk for just a few minutes to put enough distance between they and the cops, and ran until they had reached a busy street. Across the street was a crowded shopping center, where they knew they would be hidden and safe.
Butch slammed his hand down on the crosswalk button, and he and Buttercup both leaned down on their knees to catch their breath. They turned to look at each other at the same time, and after a moment of silence both began to laugh until they were out of breath again and until their sides were in stitches. They laughed as they crossed the crosswalk, and as they walked down the streets, and until people were staring at them as if they'd gone mad. And finally, when they'd sat down on a park bench a couple blocks away did they calm down, tears streaming from both of their eyes.
"You know what?" Buttercup said, pulling one knee up to her chest and turning to look at Butch with a smile. "You're not half bad. Well, you are at arm wrestling, but other than that, not bad."
"Thanks," Butch said, "I think."
They sat quietly for a minute, watching people pass them by, some looking at them with jealousy and thinking they were a couple. One might think they were, the way they were laughing with each other. Butch had almost forgotten completely that he was supposed to be wooing Buttercup into kissing him, until she had stood up from where she was sitting next to him.
"Well," she said, combing her fingers through her hair, which had become disheveled with all of the sprinting they had done. "I'm gonna get going, I guess. I'll, uh, see you around."
He stood up too. "Yeah, see you around." He reached out and they shook hands, parting this time as nothing short of friends.
"Just tell why you keep calling me Amy!" Blossom argued as Brick stormed up the beach again, just like he had the week before. After they had finished their lesson, he had slipped up and called Blossom "Amy" again, and she was intent on figuring out who she was this time.
"I told you not to bring it up again!" Brick warned her, turning around to glare at her.
"But, you did tell me that I could ask one question today!" Blossom shot back. It was the truth. At the beginning of today's lesson, Brick had told Blossom that she could ask one question today, as a reward for listening so well during their last lesson.
"Any question other than that one! Any other question, and I swear I'll answer it," he said with a sigh, pulling his red shirt back over his head.
Blossom thought for a moment and then decided on her question. "Fine then. Who is she?"
Brick opened his mouth to argue, and then closed it again, knowing that he would be fighting a losing battle. "She was a girl I was in a relationship with, I taught her how to surf, and that is all you need to know."
"You can't just leave it at that! You freak out every time you accidentally say her name!" Blossom shouted at Brick, who had turned his back and started retreating again. "I don't see why you need to be so secretive about it if she's just a girl! It's not a big deal!"
That was when Brick completely lost his cool. "Would you shut-up! You don't have to know everything, you nosy idiot! You don't know anything about what happened, and you never will! If you would just stop trying to get into people's business so much, maybe you wouldn't come off as such an annoying know-it-all! You haven't changed one bit since Townsville!"
Blossom stood there, shocked and clearly trying her best not to cry. "I was only trying to help. You just look so miserable when you mention her..."
"I am miserable! But you can't do a damn thing about it! So just stay out of my business and stay out of my life!" Brick roared, throwing Blossom the angriest look he could possibly muster.
Blossom was silent for a moment, and then whispered, "Fine." She calmly walked up the beach towards her car, keeping her head down as she passed Brick so that he couldn't see her red eyes. She rapidly whipped out her keys, jumped into the car, and started the ignition.
It took Brick a moment to regain his calm, and then found himself rushing towards Blossom's car. He had, although he would never admit it to her, grown to like their surfing lessons. Blossom reminded him so much of Amy, who he had gotten along with perfectly. He decided that if Mojo and Him hadn't turned he and Blossom against each other so early on, they could have been friends, or even more...
These thoughts sent him dashing towards her car as she began to back out of her parking spot. "Blossom, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lash out at you—"
Blossom held down the brakes for a moment, giving her enough time to look up at Brick, say, "It's alright," and then went on to drive away, leaving Brick alone on the beach with two empty surfboards, just like Amy had.
Oooh, lots of drama in this chappie! Alright, here are some questions for you to answers in your reviews! Remember, the requirement has raised to 20 reviews!
QUESTIONS:
What do you think Bubbles will do about Rebekah? Do you think she'll tell Boomer, try to get him to catch her in the act, etc.?
If Bubbles does tell Boomer, how do you think he will react? Do you think he'll believe her, or Rebekah?
How did you like Mitch's party scene? Did you originally think that Buttercup or Butch were going to win? Who do you think should've?
Whose side are you on after the fight at that last surfing lesson? Brick's or Blossom's?
Whose story do you like the best after this chapter? Reds, Blues, or Greens?
How do you like the story so far?
What do you think is going to happen next?
