"Mr. Ramirez," Him greeted as Ace entered the office. The principal motioned to one of the seats in front of the dark oak desk in the room, signaling for Ace to sit down. The lanky teen did so, rolling his eyes but his action was not noticeable due to his shades covering his eyes. "Thank you for coming in today."

"Look. I don't know why I'm here. I haven't done anything in the past week that is considered heavily illegal," Ace explained, his voice on edge. Being in the presence of authority made him confess to any of his sins easily. "Only pretty illegal stuff, which I deem to be huge process on my part."

Him stared unamused at the student, not fazed by anything Ace was saying. "That is not why you're here."

"Oh thank God—"

"We're dismissing you once this semester is over," Him simply stated, shuffling a stack of paper neatly.

"You're what?" Ace lowered his glasses, making eye contact with Him's dark eyes.

"We're dismissing you."

"But—But—But why?" Ace stuttered.

"You have broken the number one rule here at Townsville Academy. On multiple occasions, apparently," Him explained. "But mainly, before you even attended the Academy."

"What are you—Ohhhhh," Ace remembered. "Fuck."

Him raised a thin eyebrow, "Do we have an understanding now?"

"I don't see what's the big deal," the teen challenged. "It's just cheating."

Him's eyes flickered with rage, the principal's face becoming inflamed and tone of voice shifted to a more aggressive one. "Are you kidding me? Do you know the consequences that come with cheating, Mr. Ramirez? Let me explain them to you…"

Ace began to tune Him out as his principal ranted to him about the importance of academic integrity. Sinking into the uncomfortable leather chair, Ace inhaled the gross fruity smell of the office. He was trying to wrap his mind around the fact of Him finding out his dirty, not-so-little secret. There was a rat at this school, and now, because of them, Ace was getting expelled. He snorted to himself at the thought.

He was getting expelled. There was no way for him to escape or lie his way out this decision. However, he did have the chance to find out who this filthy rat was, and he sure as hell was going to make sure he will expose them before he leaves in disgrace.

"I hate the winter," Boomer exasperated, dropping his tray on the plastic picnic table that was located in the mess hall. Due to the cold weather, the school required all students to eat inside until the weather got better. He took his usual seat next to Bubbles, who sat next to Blossom. The other side of the table consisted of Brick, Buttercup, and Butch—their seating arrangement was also in that order. "Him closes down the pool for three months. That's like half of a year."

"I think Him's doing you a favor by shutting down the pool. Stops you from drinking so much chlorine," Buttercup quipped, gaining laughs around the table.

"I agree with Boomer, though. Winter is the worst," Bubbles said, once the laughter died down. "It's really weird eating inside and the fluorescent lighting makes the food look… unappetizing."

"It's already unappetizing," Butch replied, shoving the school's chili into his mouth, receiving questionable looks from the others.

"Come on, the winter here isn't that bad," Brick added, glancing at the blonde couple. "If I were in Boston right now, we would probably be trapped inside because of a blizzard."

"Tragic," Buttercup deadpanned.

Brick narrowed his eyes at the dark-haired girl, continuing, "I actually miss the snow. I kind of wish it would here, not going to lie."

"Welp. It's never snowed here before. So you're in for a large amount of disappointment."

Brick sighed, his eyes flickering to Blossom for a brief second. "What isn't new?" he said under his breath.

"I just can't get over how it's 50 degrees outside but it felt like it was nearly 90 the week before," Blossom pointed out, unaware of Brick's comment.

"Thank global warming, my friend," Buttercup responded. "We're fucking up the Earth and climate without a shit to give."

"I mean, there's the Paris Agreement to help combat it," Brick acknowledged, pushing his thoughts about Blossom out of his mind.

Buttercup rolled her eyes, "Yeah, but we're one of the dumb-ass countries not participating," she replied. "I should just move back to Japan already."

"Oooo. Can you take me with you?" Bubbles squealed. "I've always wanted to dress up like a Geisha."

"Bubs. That's cultural appropriation."

"What the hell is that?" Boomer questioned, widening his eyes.

"It's when—"

"Yo, Butch," a trio of guys called out. They approached the six's table, initiating a handshake with the green-eyed teen. Butch went along with it, but was slightly irritated by their interruption—he wanted to finish his chili. "Great game last night. You were seriously on fire."

Butch beamed at the compliment despite his annoyance. For once this year, he was the star athlete everyone was talking about. After months of hearing about how Brick was such a superb sportsman, Butch was glad to finally be getting the praise from his classmates and having the chance to display his athletically abilities. This may be because basketball was a more popular sport compared to lacrosse—Butch did not even know they had a lacrosse team until Brick informed him of his involvement—but Butch did not care. Being the best athlete at the school had always been a main goal for him. With Brick out of the picture, there was only one other person who Butch felt threatened by for the title.

"Thanks. I—"

"You were shooting straight buckets all night long," the one in the middle with dark hair said, pretending to be shooting a basketball while speaking.

"Yup—"

"And then that shot before halftime? Bruh. I think I nutted a little in my pants," the one to left, a blond, laughed, making the table of friends cringe in disgust.

"Bro. You're so gay."

"No, I'm not."

"Yeah, you are. You're such a fucking fa—"

"Okay," Butch exclaimed, not liking where this was heading. The group of guys stared at him, wide-eyed. Butch raised an eyebrow at them, not recognizing any of their faces. He figured they must be freshmen. "Thank you for the compliments but I would like to get back to eating my lunch," he dismissed.

"Oh, Oh. Sorry, bro. Didn't mean to overstep," the dark-haired teen said.

"It's fine."

The guy looked around the table, having originally not realize there were five other people at the table also, who were all staring unamused at the trio's presence. "And sorry to your friends—whoa," he said once his eyes landed on Blossom. He had heard rumors about Blossom's beauty before but never had the chance to see her so up and close. He was in awe at how she was not even wearing any makeup and yet looked breathtaking. "You're Blossom," he whispered in disbelief.

Blossom nodded cautiously. "Yeah?"

"Wait. Are you serious, bruh?" the one on the right, his hair dyed an electric shade of blue, asked. The middle guy nodded his head. The blue-haired male got down on his knees, bowing before her like she was a God. "Thank you so much."

"You're welcome…" Blossom said, coming out more like a question.

"If it wasn't for you, Butch probably wouldn't be so good."

Butch furrowed his eyebrows, "What—"

"Yeah, if you weren't giving him that good shit, he wouldn't be performing so well," the dark-haired guy said.

"The—"

"You're his good luck charm," chimed the blonde with a wink.

"Fuck?" Butch shouted, making the trio flinch. The guy bowing, rose to his feet swiftly, dusting off the dirt on his clothes from being on the ground. Butch stared at the three intensely, peering into their souls. "Don't you ever fucking speak to my girlfriend like that again, got it?" he threatened, not letting anyone speak ill towards Blossom after what happened last week with Ace. The three nodded.

"We're sorry. We'll leave now."

"Thank God," Butch mumbled as they began to walk away.

Buttercup rose to her feet, smirking, "Hey! If you ever want to watch a real basketball game, you should come to one of the girls' matches," she called out. The trio stared back at the dark-haired girl like she was crazy before they bursted out laughing. Buttercup sunk into her seat at the table. "Am I the only one here that is bitter about the lack of support female sports get?"

Boomer shrugged his shoulders, "In my mind, gender doesn't exist."

"Okay…"

"I think it's because guy's basketball is more exciting," Bubbles replied.

"Yeah, because I'm on the team," Butch boasted, flexing his muscles.

"Gross," Buttercup deadpanned. She glanced over to Blossom, "What about you, Pinky? You always have an opinion."

"I don't really care," Blossom murmured. Buttercup raised an eyebrow at her response, looking towards Butch. He signaled for the green-eyed girl to continue a conversation, which she followed. Brick watched this occur, wanting to ask Blossom what was wrong but could not do so as Buttercup asked him a question. He hesitantly replied, his eyes lingering on Blossom for a few more seconds before giving Buttercup his undivided attention.

"Babe."

"Yeah?"

"Those guys were just a bunch of immature douchebags. Don't let them fucking get to you."

"I'm not," Blossom lied.

"Blossom," Butch said flatly, not believing her.

"Fine," she huffed. "I'll not let it bother me."

She was lying to him again. The notions made by the three strangers were going to trouble the redhead girl. It was twice in the span of a week and a half Blossom had heard comments based on her sexuality. She was starting to believe the perfect reputation she built around herself was starting to form some cracks.

Blossom was taught to be a Jackie Kennedy, not a Marilyn Monroe, and yet, everyone was treating her like the latter lately. She wanted the illusion of being prim and proper, not a floozy teenage girl. Sure, what she and Butch have done with each other in the past year and a half is not exactly what her parents want for her—they bought a purity ring for her at the age 7 and expected her to wait until marriage—but Blossom liked to keep the truth of their sexual relationship behind closed doors.

This was the first real-time she started to see what everyone thought of her and Butch other than them being a power couple. They were beginning to make it known that they saw it as a hyper-sexual experience―hence Ace's comment―and even worst, there were some who viewed their sex life to be as Blossom merely being useful for "helping" Butch.

Perhaps, she was being a bit too over-analytical about what was being said. However, she did not care. It seemed as though everyone was getting ballsy enough to make comments about her relationship and because of the fact, Blossom was not pleased.

It did not help that lately she has been giving Butch more sexual favors than usual. They usually tried to have some form of sex at least once in a two-week span, but lately, they have been doing it every other day. Butch believed it was because of how much their relationship has grown stronger in the past couple of months but that was not Blossom reasoning.

For a good month, she was doing it subconsciously to keep her mind off of Brick. Somehow she convinced herself that if she became more physical with Butch, Blossom would be able to connect more with him again. To prove to herself that she could not have feelings for another person who was not her boyfriend.

Blossom also did not want to admit to the little part of her that was using Butch for when she started feeling sexual urges for Brick—it had gotten so bad lately, two weeks ago, she hooked up with Butch in a janitor's closet after seeing Brick shirtless when water from a lab spilled on him in their Chemistry class. Despite knowing it was the most manipulative and unhealthy thing she could do, Blossom could not help it. It was better for her to relieve herself with her actual boyfriend than to cheat on him. At least, that is what she told herself after messing around with Butch every time, which has worked well since she never got any feelings of guilt or remorse for doing so.

Maybe she was a terrible person but Blossom did not care at the moment. It would be much worst if she cheated on Butch and she was actively preventing herself from doing it. Therefore, she just saw herself as a conflicted person.

Yet, lately, she began to wonder what it would be like if she forgot about her image. If Blossom stopped trying to be perfect all the time. What it would be like if she did give into the temptation she was faced with. If she hooked up with Brick.

Would she be more satisfied with life? Would she stop caring about what everyone else thought?

She flickered her eyes over to Brick, smiling softly at the mere sight of him. Blossom chewed on her bottom lip to stop herself. She wanted him desperately. It was getting harder for her to contain herself since she has become fully aware of her feelings for him. She could not help thinking of all the things she wanted him to—

"I love you," Butch reminded, snapping her out of her thoughts. Blossom forced a smile, fearing that Butch might find out what she was thinking about, which was not even possible. "No matter what. I'll always will."

"I love you too."

As soon as the bell dismissed Ms. Keane's last class of the day, the students rushed out of their respective classrooms, disbursing into the hallway. One of these students was Mitch Mitchelson. The brunet teen dodged his classmates as he searched through the crowded walkway for a certain peer. He grinned widely when his eyes landed on the person of interest, pushing a classmate out of his way.

"Hey Robin," he greeted when he approached her.

She smiled bashfully, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear, "Hey Mitch."

"So how have you been?"

"I've been good. What about you?"

"Great. I've been great," Mitch nodded, his eyes darting back and forward in case anyone—particularly his girlfriend—was around. He coughed subtlety, his face easily becoming flustered. "I was wondering if you would want to get dinner with me tonight."

"Mitch—"

"I mean, it doesn't have to mean anything—"

"Mitch—"

"Cause you know, just because I like you doesn't mean—"

"Mitch," Robin said firmly, grabbing the brunet by his shoulders, shaking them in order to silence him.

"Yeah?"

She stopped shaking him but kept her hands on his shoulders. Raising a thin eyebrow, Robin grinned, "I like you too—"

"You do?" Mitch squeaked.

Robin nodded. "I do." She released her hold on his shoulders, much to Mitch's displeasure. She began to frown, continuing, "But I don't like the fact that you have a girlfriend."

"But—"

"But nothing. As long as you're still dating Buttercup." Robin took a deep breath, pointing to herself and then Mitch, "This isn't going to happen. I'm not a homewrecker."

"I get it."

"Plus, I'm really scared of what Buttercup might do to me," Robin confessed, her eyes consumed with terror.

Mitch nodded disappointedly, "I understand."

"Good." She grabbed his shoulder again, her bright blue eyes meeting his dark brown ones, "I'll be waiting," Robin whispered, removing her hand again and disappearing down the hall.

Mitch watched, a grin slowly creeping onto his face, pumping his fist in the air to celebrate his victory. Robin liked him. She liked him so much that she was going to wait for him. That was a rare quality to find in a girl, and he could not be happier.

The only problem was his girlfriend. He and Buttercup have been together officially since August, and now that it was December, Mitch could not remember why he even became interested in her.

Wait.

He did. It was because she was one of few girls who were willing to sleep with him and did not find him repulsive. Besides that, he felt him and Buttercup had nothing in common. Plus, he was not particularly crazy about her friend group—except for Butch and maybe Brick.

Mitch was actually surprised they have not broken up yet. He had been purposely neglecting their relationship in hopes she would be the one to do so—Mitch was not courageous with confrontation, especially considering it was Buttercup. However, now he had the balls to do so, thanks to Robin's confession providing motivation.

He was going to break up with Buttercup, and he could not wait.

Since enrolling in Townsville Academy during the second semester of his freshmen year, Ace had made it his job to know everyone at the school. He did not need to get personal with them, he only wanted to know what they were useful for. For instances, Dexter was good for cheating on a test; Boomer had the ability to make anyone who felt doubtful about their own intelligence to gain a confidence boost; getting chummy with Blossom was a free pass to popularity—a difficult task though; and Princess was useful for keeping up with the rumor mill at the Academy and investigating shit.

The curly redhead was the perfect person to help him find out who the rat was. Luckily for him, the two had a history—Princess would use him to find cheap weed in exchange of her pointing out the sleezy females at the Academy for him to hit on.

Ace grinned to himself, leaning against the locker in the hallway when he saw the redhead heading his way.

"What do you want, Ace?" Princess questioned, crossing her arms and glaring at the lanky teen. "I thought I told you to never contact me again."

"I need a favor."

Princess raised an unimpressed eyebrow, "That's too bad."

Ace sighed, lowering his glasses to met her dark eyes—they were nearly pitch black, her pupils not even noticeable. He figured it matched her soul. "If you help me out, I'll return the favor."

Princess nodded, not changing her expression or the stance she had. "Go on."

Ace darted his eyes around, making sure no one was in earshot. "I need you to find out who ratted me out," he whispered.

"Well first, you need to tell me what exactly—" Ace hunched over to her ear, informing the redhead of his secret. She grinned wickedly when he leaned back. "You naughty, naughty, naughty boy."

Ace shrugged his shoulder, smirking, "I was dared to apply to the school. Didn't think I would get this far."

"Then why do you care so much about being kicked out?" Princess questioned lowly.

"Because someone here is fucking up my reputation."

"It wasn't that peachy keen to begin with, Ace."

"But it was all my doing—Consider this. How do you feel when people talk behind your back about something you didn't brag about?"

"Shitty."

"Exactly."

Princess nodded, tapping her chin in thought, "I'll help—"

"Thank you—"

"But what is in it for me?" Princess questioned, fluttering her eyelashes that were heavily covered in a black mascara.

Ace rolled his eyes, exhaling loudly. "I don't know…" He thought of all the things in which were important to Princess. She loved money, bragging about her money, makeup, fashion, making people miserable, and popularity. Princess already possessed or had the right to five out the six things. The only one she did not have, had a huge roadblock in the way. Ace smiled devilishly, "I'll try to take Blossom down before I have to leave."

Princess grinned brightly, "I think we have a deal."

During the winter season, men's basketball was the most popular sport on campus. Each home game attracted nearly half of the school's population in attendance. This year's team was drawing in more of a crowd due to starting off the season nicely—the guys were on a six-game winning streak. In addition, the games also incorporated the Academy's dance team during halftime—much to the male attendees' delight.

The match of the night was Townsville against the Farmsville' Wild-Dogs—a public school two hours away from the Academy.

The game was in the second quarter, and the crowd had become invested in the contest. Townsville was now leading by 9 points—thanks to a three-pointer made by Butch. The green-eyed teen smirked at the cheering masses on the bleachers as the ball sunk into the net. Having the audience's admiration was a feeling he long forgotten but could never get over. Uplifting his self-confidence, Butch fed off of the energy given by his peers.

Some of those peers in the stands were his four friends, who sat in the dead middle of the bleachers, gaining a perfect view of the action on the court. Bubbles and Boomer sat closely to each other, sharing a bucket of buttery popcorn. Buttercup was next to the couple, keeping her eyes fixated on the game—even though she loved playing soccer the most, basketball was her favorite sport to watch. Next to the green-eyed girl was Brick, who was playing a game on his phone.

"Ah, come on!" Buttercup shouted, standing up while the crowd jeered at whatever was happening on the court. "That was a shitty call and you know it!" She pointed towards one of the referees, who quickly diverted his eyes away from her—a majority of the referees knew and feared her due to years of criticism from her. "I know you heard me, you punk ass bit—"

"Buttercup!" Bubbles yelped. Buttercup glanced down at the blonde. The blue-eyed girl leaned over her boyfriend's lap, "I think you should sit down," she whispered, her voice on edge with dismay.

"Fine," she puffed, sinking back down onto the bleachers. "But that was a bullshit call." Buttercup darted her eyes between the two blondes. "Don't you agree?"

"Um…"

Boomer grinned widely, patting Buttercup's shoulder. "I have literally no clue what's going on, but sure."

Buttercup sighed, rolling her eyes. She turned to Brick, expecting him to agree with her—he, at least, was into sports to the same degree that she was.

"And what about you?"

"What about me?" Brick asked, pausing his game, shoving his phone in his jacket pocket, and looking up to Buttercup's lime green eyes staring at him in question.

"You think that was a bullshit call?"

"What call?" Brick smiled sheepishly.

Buttercup narrowed her eyes, "Have you not been watching the game?"

Brick shrugged his shoulders, "I've never been into watching basketball. Nor playing it."

"God. You're so white."

Brick pursed his lips, not finding a way to disagree with her statement. "You're not wrong."

"I know."

"But I also don't like the constant running back and forward," Brick confessed, gesturing towards the court, which the players were doing the exact motion he was describing. "It gives me a headache."

"I knew there was a reason why I don't like you," Buttercup said flatly.

Brick chuckled at the statement, "Good one, Buttercup."

"I wasn't—"

Before she could finish, the buzzer on the scoreboard went off, alerting the players and crowd of the second quarter coming to end.

"Great. You made me miss the last three minutes," Buttercup grumbled.

"You're the one who started the conversation," Brick pointed out irritably.

"Whatever." Buttercup folded her arms, standing up once again. "Bubs, come with me to get a hot dog."

"Buttercup, you know how I feel about being associated with meat eating."

"I don't care," Buttercup commanded. "You're coming with me."

Bubbles sighed in defeat, "Fine."

Boomer grabbed her hand as she rose, "I'll come as moral support."

"Aw. Boomy," Bubbles smiled gratefully, leaning down to kiss her boyfriend. The two were an inch away from each other when Buttercup pushed the blondes apart. "Butter—"

"I'm already in a bad mood. If I don't get my hot dog, it's going to be worst," Buttercup threatened. "Got it?" Bubbles gulped, nodding slowly. "Great. Let's go now."

Bubbles and Boomer quickly followed their dark-haired friend down the stairs of the bleachers, leaving Brick alone.

Digging into his pocket, Brick pulled out his phone and began playing his game again. He was about to reach a new record when the lights of the gym grew dim and an announcer spoke throughout the gym's speakers, echoing loudly.

"Attention. Please give a warm welcome to the award winning and three-peat regional dance team champions; Townsville Academy's very own, the Dancing Titans!"

The crowd—which lost a third of it's size due to those going to the concession bar or the bathroom—clapped enthusiastically while Brick raised an eyebrow in interest, putting his phone away again.

He smirked to himself, waiting in anticipation. This would be the first time he would see Blossom perform live with the dance team. From what Butch has bragged about on numerous occasions, it was a spectacle to be seen.

The lighting of the gym remained dull while a spotlight landed on the ten members of the team who stood center court. Blossom was in the front of the pack, followed by the rest in a pyramid formation. The female members wore black tights and a form-fitting, white tank-tops with a red flannel wrapped around their waists while having their hair held back into sleek high ponytails. The two male members wore a similar version of the female outfits, except they were wearing tight t-shirts instead. They all wore the same brand of black high-top sneakers.

Each kept their face to the ground, the warmth of the light pouring down on them until the first note of music played over the sound system. Brick instantly recognized the song, noting it was featured on Big Sean's most recent album.

Blossom was the first one to move while the others followed the same action only a second later by each row behind the strawberry blonde. It was not until the beat dropped in the song did the group separated into their own space, hitting the beat hard with each movement. The team kept a stony expression as they danced fluidity with the music.

While the crowd was mesmerized by the entire dancing team, Brick only had his eyes on Blossom. It was clear to him that she was the best one out of all the other dancers―with Dee Dee coming in a not-so-close second. She was more polish and precise than her teammates. Despite the hard appearance on her face for the performance, Brick could see how much enjoyment and passion Blossom had in her eyes as she danced. He could tell dancing was what she was meant to do.

He sighed loving, placing his elbow on his knee, resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

He had never seen anything so beautiful.

She was beautiful and everything she did was beautiful to him.

He just wished she knew.

"Yo Red," Buttercup announced, sliding into her seat next to him and snapping him out of his thoughts as the performance ended. She raised an eyebrow at him as she took a bite out of her hot dog—Bubbles cringed at the scene, taking her seat next to Boomer again. Swallowing the bite of food, Buttercup spoke, "You don't care about the basketball game, but you willingly watch the dance team?"

"Well, um…" Brick coughed, getting a little flustered by the question. He did not want to reveal why he enjoyed their performance, even though Buttercup knew the very reason why, raising her eyebrow in anticipation. "My phone died."

"It did?" Bubbles questioned, digging into her purse and grabbing a charge cord. "You have an iPhone, right?"

Brick nodded slowly, reluctantly grabbing the cord from the blonde. "Thanks…" he said awkwardly, leaving his spot on the bleachers to find an outlet to "charge" his phone.

Buttercup rolled her eyes at the redhead's obvious lie but gladly continued eating her hot dog, happy that she did not have to deal with his presence for a little while.

"That's was an unbelievable game," Buttercup beamed as she rubbed her arms to create a sense of warmth. Half of the crowd was waiting outside of the gym to congratulate the team on their win but were slowly getting impatient due to the freezing temperature. "Did you see Butch dunking on that scrawny loser?"

Bubbles nodded, not having any recollection of the event the dark-haired girl described but she was not thinking straight thanks to the weather. She shivered as a gust of icy wind hit her back, which Boomer took immediate notice to.

"Do you want my jacket?" Boomer asked dotingly, stripping off his blue hoodie, revealing his bare torso to the everyone around them.

"Boomer! You're going to freeze to death!" Bubbles exclaimed, grabbing his hoodie and trying to pull it back down her boyfriend's head.

Boomer rejected her attempts, "Bubs, I'm fine. I'm from Hawaii, so like, I'm always warm," Boomer grinned proudly.

"That's not even plausible," Brick chimed. Boomer stared at the redhead, not understanding what "plausible" meant.

"He's right," Buttercup agreed.

"I don't care," Boomer responded. His skin already acquired a slight pink undertone caused by the chilling air. "Bubs. Just take it."

"Are you sure?" Bubbles questioned, eyeing him suspiciously. Her fingers stroked on the cotton fabric of the hoodie. It did feel pretty warm and soft.

Boomer nodded. "Of course."

Bubbles swiftly kissed his cheek before putting on the hoodie. The jacket was a bit restricting on her chest area but she did not care because it provided a slight relief of warmth to her body. "How much longer do we have to wait, Butters?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Buttercup questioned irritably.

"I just thought—"

Brick rolled his eyes, tuning out the arguing between the girls. He swore they were always fighting about something but magically forgave each other only a few days later. It was getting exhausting to keep up with.

He glanced around the area, searching for anyone he knew in order to escape the bickering, when his eyes caught the outside door for the girl's locker room opening and revealing the orange hair beauty. Smirking to himself, Brick walked over to her without a second thought, and his absence went unnoticed by the other three.

"Hey Bloss," he greeted warmly, shoving his hands in the pockets of his jacket to keep his fingers toasty.

He caught her off guard as her eyes widened at him standing in front of her. She was not paying attention since she had to lock the locker room door for the night—the faculty at the Academy trusted her way too much. Blossom turned her back towards the door, her face softening at the sight of him.

"Hey Brick," she said, wrapping a red scarf around her neck. Her nose was a deep shade of pink from the cold weather and her hair was still in the high ponytail, only now it was a little unkempt from her dancing. "Did you enjoy the game?" Blossom asked, instantly cringing after saying it. Could she not had thought of something more witty or cute to say?

"I'm not a fan of basketball," Brick shrugged.

"Me too," Blossom responded. "I hate the squeaking of the shoes."

"That is annoying..."

"Yeah."

"I was a fan of the dance team though," Brick grinned.

"Oh really?"

Brick nodded, taking a step forward, leaving a foot of space between them. Blossom leaned more back into the door, meeting Brick's crimson eyes. "Yeah. I was especially a big fan of their leader. She has orange hair and was," he held up his hand to about Blossom's height, "this tall."

Her face became florid as she chewed on her bottom lip. She was pretty sure he was hellbent on testing her willpower. But how could he not, if he did not even know of her own feelings? He was just making advances blindly, in hopes to impress her. Blossom gave him major props for having such a large amount of courage and persistence despite their tricky situation.

"Do you know what she's like?"

"I believe I do," he remarked. "She's incredibly intelligent, hard-working, determined, and elegant. She also pretty funny when she wants to be and has the cutest laugh I've ever heard."

"Is that all?" she asked, raising her perfectly groomed eyebrow.

"No but it's a start," Brick replied, displaying a broad smile. "But I did forget to say that she's the most beautiful person I've ever met. No matter what she does or if she's pissing me off, she always will be."

Blossom could not help hiding the grin that crept on her face. "You don't say?"

"Yup."

"Well, she sounds lovely."

"She is—well, except for one thing."

Blossom frowned, continuing, "And what is that?"

"She's confusing as hell," Brick confessed, keeping a low tone. It was now or never, he thought. It was time for him to finally confront Blossom about his feelings as he has waited too long for her to do so. "One minute, she shows no interest in me and then the next, she's…" he paused, not being able to finish his sentence—nor, wanting to complete it. A silence fell between the two before Blossom sighed loudly.

"I think she's confused also," Blossom whispered. "That's why she's being that way."

"I don't blame her though," Brick said, staring intensely into Blossom's eyes. "It's a difficult decision to make."

"It really is."

His mouth twitched upward for a second, flickering his eyes to the ground, and then exhaled deeply, "I just wish I knew what was on her mind. If she felt…" he paused, staring into her eyes once again.

"...she does," Blossom revealed quietly. "She does feel that way. In all honesty, she can't stop thinking about you. She just…" Blossom sighed again. "She just wishes things were different so it wouldn't be so complicated. She also wants you to know that she still loves..."

Brick nodded slowly, processing the information, not hiding the disappointment he felt on his face. "I understand."

Blossom chewed into the inside of her cheek, feeling guilty for confusing Brick even more. "...I'm sorry," she breathed.

Brick blinked at her. He did not want her to feel remorseful for what he started. Brick knew what he was getting himself into. He knew it would take a lot of conflicting emotions, times of disappointment and hurting for anything to happen between them. He expected this.

"Don't apologize, Bloss," Brick whispered, removing his right hand from his pocket, and cupping her cheek. The heat from the palm of his hand began to defrost the coldness of her right cheek. "I should be the one saying sorry. If I didn't let myself get out of control with my emotions—"

"I'm glad that you did though," Blossom smiled meekly. Brick shut his mouth, sharing the same expression as her. She placed her hand on top on his hand that laid on her cheek.

"Well then…" Brick trailed, leaning forward. "I think I can help you become less confused."

"You do?" Blossom questioned, raising an eyebrow, her eyes daring him to do so.

"I do."

Brick moved closer, attempting to close the gap between them. Blossom waited in anticipation, ignoring anything her conscious was telling her. An inch remained between the two when—

"Aye! Let's hear it for a seven game winning streak!" a familiar deep voice shouted out from a distance, followed by the crowd cheering.

Brick swiftly stepped away from Blossom, shoving his hand back in his pocket. He looked over to the commotion. Butch was being swarmed by their classmates, a grin plastered brightly on his face, having no clue of the conversation his girlfriend and close friend were having. He had no awareness of what almost happened between the two—again.

"We should," he coughed to himself to ease the tension. He gestured over to the area, "We should go join them." Brick glanced at Blossom, who had her arms crossed and kept her eyes downward.

"Yeah. We should."

Ace had exactly one week left in attendance at Townsville Academy. Him required for him to wait until the school went on winter break, in order to ensure a scandal would not arise—if anyone was going to question it, Him advised Blossom to inform students of Ace deciding to finish his last few months of high school in his hometown of Citiesville.

For those seven days he had left, Ace had planned the most elaborate pranks, acts of delinquency, and a plethora of glorious naps to commemorate his time at the pretentious boarding school. At the top of his list, however, was ruining the life of the person who ratted him out.

Which is why he was meeting up with Princess again. It was lunch, and everyone was still required to stay in the mess hall to eat. Ace was leaning against the wall near the vending machines, waiting and keeping an eye out for bright red curls.

He smiled wickedly at the sight of her, rubbing his hands together excitedly.

"Any news?" he asked her, lowering his shades to meet her eyes.

Princess slumped her shoulders, sighing. "None of my best gossip sources have heard an ounce of your dilemma."

"And?"

"My hackers didn't find anything," Princess pouted. "I even had my daddy's foreign friends help out—you know, the guys who helped with the election."

Ace narrowed his eyes at her, "You're Russian, right?"

"Yes, I am," Princess confirmed proudly.

"Figures."

"What do you mean?"

"So you found exactly nothing at all?" Ace inquired, brushing off her question.

"Well, there was one small thing I found."

"Why didn't you start off with that?" Ace exasperated, shooting the redhead daggers.

"If you're going to be so fucking rude, I'm not going to help," Princess said stubbornly, placing her hands on her hips and scowling at the lanky teen.

Ace sighed in defeat as she did have information for him—even if she said it was small, anything will help. "Fine. I'm sorry."

"That's better," she grinned pridefully. "And while I was snooping through Him's office during our lunch break, I found the report for your expulsion."

"And?" Ace asked in agony.

"There weren't any names on it or anything, but from what I read, the person who disclosed your secret was a female."

"Huh," Ace said, rubbing his chin thought. This detail will come in hand with his investigation as it eliminated half of the school's population.

Now it was time for him to find out who the hell this girl was.

Author's notes:

First, I would like to say thank you to everyone that has reviewed, followed, and/or added my story as one your favorites. It is you who makes me more excited to write. You also put a big smile on my face every time, so thank you!

Second, I'm thrilled with where I am at with this story because we're finally approaching the parts that inspired me to write this. I have basically split the story into three halves in my head. Chapters 1 to 12 are Act 1, Chapters 13 to 25 are Act 2, and 26 to 35 are Act 3. With that said, we are only two more chapters away from finishing Act 1―which, the chapters have already been written, I just have to edit them.

Third, I might slow down on updating and writing because in two weeks, I will be beginning my first year of college. So I just wanted to give a heads up.

Thank you!