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Chapter 8: Cinnamon Spice
The boys got to school just in time for their first class.
"Wow, Boomer. You almost made us be late for science," Butch snored.
Boomer scoffed. "Like you care," he said. They glared at each other.
Brick rolled his eyes. "Be quiet, you idiots." He heard Butch mumble, "nerd." Psh, whatever, he thought.
Just like the day before, the Boomer was doodling on a piece of paper, Butch never listened because he never cared, and Brick was daydreaming during class. It's not like he had to listen anyway. He already knows this stuff.
Brick couldn't get his mind off of what Boomer had said earlier. Why would he think of such a thing? Wasn't he supposed to be dumb? Because we had no idea what to say to outsmart them, we beat them up instead...his brother's words echoed.
What happened to him?
Brick was swimming deep inside his mind. If he was created by a "good" guy, will his brothers and he still intend to kill those girls? To think about it, he never actually had the desire to kill anyone else but them. Was there anything else they wanted more than that? Is that the only thing they ever would want from this world? Sure, they stole things, robbed banks, and graffitied on the walls of buildings, but the purpose of that was to get the girls' attention and fight with them.
Blossom popped into his pool of wonders and thought of her stunning, pink eyes. He had never seen pink eyes on anyone else except for her for sure. The pink tint was filled with sweetness and innocence. They shined with rays of kindness and generosity. They opened wide as if they were craving peace for everything that reflects on them. Is there ever supposed to be such a thing? Why can he see so much things through just one pair of eyes?
That hag got me insane. I'm going to read, he thought. He took out the book Blossom has recommended for him and started reading it under his desk.
Boomer was obviously thinking about what he had said earlier himself. Honestly, he couldn't believe those words came out of his mouth. Sure, he was thinking about a lot of things before, but after he talked to his counterpart, all of his wonders seemed to fit together.
More than that, he couldn't believe that he meant every single word that he said. Bubbles, what have you done to me? he thought but not in a cruel way.
He couldn't wait to see her.
Butch was trapped in his own mind as well. He wanted to deny everything that Boomer had said, but he can't. And he hated that he can't. Although he would never admit it in real life, he felt bad for his brother for teasing him and making fun of him for being "stupid." He was the one who was being stupid. It was frustrating. Boomer is way too insightful.
I need to punch, he thought.
-0-0-0-
Butch didn't even bother to check out the girls that stared and giggled at him in the halls when he was heading to the gym for P.E. He was too ashamed of himself and was lost in his thoughts. He didn't know why he felt so bad for someone. When he throws insults at anyone else other than his brothers, he never feels bad. So why does he have this feeling?
He was glad that there was only free-play in P.E. He really didn't have the energy to do anything. He was just lazily shooting the basketball on a half-court alone. He didn't even releaize that he was missing most of his shots.
"Hey, Butch!" I heard someone call my name coming towards me. I turned to see Buttercup. "You said you're looking forward to the next time we play. Wanna make today that 'next time?' Plus, I feel like you need a lot of practice."
"Sorry, Butters. I know you want to play against me because I'm the best person in the world," he said sadly, "but I'm not in the mood today." He sighed.
"Woah," she seemed surprised. He was confused. "Your narcissistic side is not as enthusiastic today. Something's up, huh?" He was surprised at how she can recognize something so little.
"How do you know that?" he asked.
"Well, duh. I'm the 'sweet hero of Townsville,'" she quoted him. "It's my job to help people in need. I'm spicy, but I can recognize emotions. I am part human and so are you." She seemed to say proudly.
He didn't see the point in denying, so he replied honestly: "Yeah. Something is up." He wanted her to ask her what was wrong. He decided to deny in his mind that it was because he just wanted to be with her (even though he did), but because he wanted to fully understand what Boomer meant.
Buttercup, thinking this could be a way to observe their situation, wanted to ask him what was wrong. However, she felt something else as well. Something warm. Something fluttery. Something that she felt before back at the music store. Oh no, she thought. Not again. Although she didn't know what it was, she was very familiar with this feeling. I can't tell anyone, she thought.
She is very tough, but as a hero, she has an unbreakable habit of helping anyone she sees in distress. Even if they were villains.
"Okay, Butch. Spill. What's up?" She asked as casually as possible. She hated that she had to put effort on that.
"I don't know, Butters. I don't know if I want to tell--"
"Spill!"
"Okay, okay," he calmed her down. "I'm going to be pretty general though. I'm frustrated and mad at myself."
Buttercup was surprised at his response. "Woah, really? It must be really bad. The narcissist is insecure. What makes you feel that way?" She has never been more curious.
"I don't really want to talk about it," he responded sadly and sat on the floor.
Without thinking, she sat down next to him. "Butch, I know that in your whole life, all you tried to do was kill us. But if you're not doing that anymore, show me that you care about yourself."
"I do care about myself."
"Not appearance-wise, stupid. On the inside."
"What does my guts have to do with this?"
Oh my god, she thought. "You idiot! I mean your emotions!" She tried hard not to scream. She sighed. "Obviously, you feel something negative, and that's never good. Now tell me what happened."
"Why would you care? I'm your enemy."
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. "Funny, I thought you said you were done with that."
Oh no, he thought. "Well...I mean...you still think I'm bad, right?"
"Then why am I asking you this now?" Butch was shocked at her question. He gave up trying to think of a come-back, so he decided to tell her.
"I just feel bad for Boomer for calling him 'stupid' all the time when I was the one being stupid," he explained briefly.
"Oooh, did he outsmart you?"
"Yeah, I guess." He thought she was going to laugh at his face, but she didn't.
"I know that feeling."
"Really?"
"Uh, yeah. Obviously. I have two sisters. Bubbles--the girly one--might be dumb sometimes, but she can really say some insightful shit. They're full of surprises."
He chuckled quietly and tangled his fingers into his spiky hair. "What is this feeling?" He wondered out loud.
"It's called, 'guilt.'"
"'Guilt?'"
"Yeah. It's when you feel bad for someone because you realized you did something wrong to them." She paused. "Aww, Butch-Boy, I'm so proud of you that you feel this way now that you're good!" It was as if she was talking to a baby and ruffled his hair. She made it look like she was teasing him, but she was actually really glad he feels guilty about something. It made her believe that the boys are actually good. But she didn't know why she wanted them to be.
"Stop it. This hair isn't amazing by itself. It takes effort." He glared at her.
She laughed. "Relax, everybody feels that."
"What are we supposed to do after? Punch?"
"No. Just apologize. Use words instead of violence. Trust me, I've been there."
"What?! I can't do that. It's embarrassing, and it's a sign of weakness."
Buttercup didn't try to argue because she thought of apology exactly the same as he did when she was little. "Apology is just one of those things where it seems to represent weakness, but it's actually a sign of strength."
"What does that mean?"
"Well, if you realized that you need to apologize, it shows that you are emotionally strong. You are capable of figuring out that what you did was wrong."
He shivered. "But it's so weird."
She understood that completely. "I know right. It's so awkward and cheesy and gross, but hey, sometimes, you need to be awkward to overcome the awkwardness." The teacher blew the whistle for the end of the class. "Ugh, back to class. Good luck with the apology, Butch." She stood up, but without thinking, Butch grabbed her wrist. They both looked at each other in the eyes. She could see the gloom and sorrow in his eyes just like he always has since nine years ago. They stood in silence for a few moments. She became worried for some reason. Her heart thumped. "Butch?"
That was the first time she said his name in a gentle, soothing tone. His face got hot at the tone, but he managed to release the words he was holding in his mouth. "T-thanks."
She smiled. It was not a smirk or a mischievous curve of her lips. It was a pure, angelic smile that he never knew she had. "No problem. Wanna meet at the music store today? Maybe you can talk about how the apology went."
Butch didn't realize that he smiled dreamily (more like dumbly lol). "Yeah."
"Awesome. See you there at 4." And she walked off to her next class. Buttercup smiled as she thought about the guitar keychain that she gave him hanging on Butch's belt loop.
Butch was shocked at how this girl doesn't run away from him. She tried to help him even though he tried to push her away. He didn't know why, but he was extremely attracted to that part of her.
She's just like cinnamon spice: spicy at first and sweet afterwards.
*PLEASE REPORT GRAMMER ERRORS
Lol isn't that cheesy? I can't stop laughing XD The greens are soooo hard to write in a lovey story, but I did my best. Don't forget to review your opinions! Please fav, share, and follow this story! Thank you for reading!
~therapeuticwriting1224 :)
