It's Come to This
"You what?" Blossom asked.
Her father confirmed his stance. "I agree. I would have never suggested it myself, but if Buttercup is willing to--"
"But what about--" Bubbles started. She stopped, wondering for a moment just how sound proof this lab room was. At a normal volume, she continued. "But what about me? I've got to be at least as guilty--"
"But do we want to tell the world two out of the three of us are like that?" Blossom asked.
Bubbles snapped back, "What, worried about your image? How do you know you aren't just as open to this? For all any of us know this is perfectly normal for us!"
Buttercup actually spoke up. Now that it seemed she had a shot at taking some kind of action, she wanted to do her best to set everyone firmly on that course. "Bubbles, we convinced everyone years ago that we're human. We can't just turn around now and say 'except this' and 'except for that' whenever it suits us."
"I'm not saying we should tell them that, but we know there's other ways we're not normal."
Blossom stepped in again, "But if they're only going to worry about Buttercup, they'll feel better if they think you and I are going to set her straight. A lot of these people put their lives and their safety in our hands, and they have to trust us. If we show them that most of us think and act in ways they aren't at all comfortable with..."
Buttercup's expression, in both face and voice, grew exceedingly sour before she added, "Besides, there's the whole Mitch thing. If we let them buy that, we've got warning signs and everything. I'll be an obsessive whore. If I'm totally broken, they can't take it too personally."
At the end of the girls Junior year, right before this previous summer in which Buttercup had grown close to and enamored with Bubbles, Mitch Mitchelson had asked Buttercup out. They'd been friends for years. That had been Buttercup's thinking, anyway. They hung out, cracked jokes at the expense of others, and, along with a few other people, generally had a good time now and then. Buttercup, despite her surprise, accepted Mitch's invitation.
When Mitch got fresh, Buttercup put an end to their date and went home. The next day, rumors were already flying around that she and Mitch had actually been involved for years, even while Mitch had pursued other girlfriends. Mitch also claimed that he had been the one to break off that relationship when Buttercup had wanted Mitch to herself.
The others in their circle had believed Mitch. Buttercup wasn't even about to try convincing them they were lies. It had become painfully clear that she didn't have any friends worth saving, which was just as well since she was ostracized at that point anyway.
Those events had, in fact, been part of what brought Bubbles and Buttercup together. Bubbles's concern for her sister had led her to push Buttercup towards opening up to her. The girls had drifted apart years ago. Drifted as far apart as those who shared a roof and worked as a team could go.
Bubbles and Buttercup had each enjoyed their renewed bonds and the comfort of mutual understanding. For Buttercup, things were a little more complicated, to say the least.
Bubbles was agape. She seemed offended, somehow. She spoke in a steady beat, as though the solidity of rhythm was essential to keeping her talking at all. "You mean you're going to tell everyone all of that bull crap was true?"
"If it'll help this family I will," Buttercup said, a sort of pride in her voice.
"But Mitch knows the truth!" Bubbles reminded her. "We'd be throwing even more lies into the mix."
"I agree," Professor said. "Lies do not become us. I do believe, however, that telling the whole truth may be a dangerous choice. It may be a better idea not to comment about Mitch at all. Most seemed willing enough to believe it was the truth. If we deny it, they'll raise a fuss, but if we acknowledge it as truth we could suffer for that.
"And, Bubbles, I'm sure you want to be there for your sister, but taking the fall with her isn't going to help anyone. I imagine the best course right now would be to make a public statement admitting Buttercup's deviant..." He paused, noticing and regretting his choice of words.
He'd been speaking like this were some lecture or professional conference, choosing the most fitting words without regard to their emotional sting. "I'm sorry, honey. What I want to say is that we should admit your feelings towards Bubbles publicly, and at the same time make a public promise of getting you into therapy."
Buttercup's eyes widened briefly. Only briefly. "Yeah," she agreed, downtrodden, "I guess that is what everyone would want."
Professor smiled. "Don't worry, honey. If this were court-ordered therapy, perhaps, they'd have to share their progress towards a goal with someone. As it stands, if we make this our choice, full client-patient confidentiality should be in effect, and we can do what we want with our time there.
"I doubt anyone would consider it suspicious if the rest of us showed up for the occasional session, together or separately. Assuming we can find someone understanding, and especially who is willing to accept that the four of us can manage this on our own, it might be a wonderful opportunity for us all to work through other issues we might be having."
While his other daughters mulled that over, Professor spoke to Buttercup, "Honey, I'm so sorry for what grief this might cause you. I wish there were some other way, but I can't protect you this time. I am, however, proud to see you taking responsibility and trying to protect your sisters. It hurts me very much that it's come to this, but it's not for ignorance on your part. On some level, you knew and accepted the risk, though I'm sure from your previous statements you were more concerned about your sister's response than anything else."
He breathed a sigh of weary relief. "All the same, what's done is done, and, I think, tomorrow will be when we make our statement. Given that, I think you three can get away with playing hooky for a third day. Normally I wouldn't condone such action, you know, but this has been a trying couple of days for us all. Besides that, Gregory may want some input from you girls as well."
Gregory was an eternally grateful lawyer the girls had helped some years ago. Since then, he had been their legal council and shield. His prior work in public relations for some large business or another had also come in handy.
Whenever Gregory's name came up, it was serious. Now there was no doubt: the game was on.
