Twas' the night before winter break, when all throughout the campus, not a single student was stirring, not even a snoring Butch. Their bags were packed and sat in their dorms, in hopes of going home soon in the morning.
The students have nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of two homework free weeks danced in their heads. And Him in his red silk robe and Vice Principal Bellum in her coat had rang the school's emergency alarm in the middle of the night to alert the students of the impending bad news.
"What the fuck?" Butch groaned, covering his ears with his pillow. His eyes flinched from Brick turning on a lamp that occupied the redhead's desk, flashing a bright light right in his eyes.
"Get up, Butch," the redhead yawned, rubbing his eyes to wipe away his slumber. The alarm from the hallway outside of the room continued to wail.
Butch reluctantly opened his eyes, blinking repeatedly to adjust to the brightness of the room. Once under control, he watched Brick paired his black sweats with a red thermal and a pair of sneakers. "I don't want to," Butch fought, turning over on his side, facing the wall now.
"Suit yourself," Brick chuckled. "If the place is about to burn down, I'll tell everyone you died heroically."
Butch heard the door open, mulling over his options as he sighed dramatically. Tossing over his covers, Butch got out of bed, scratching his wild bedhead and adjusting the waistband of the plaid sleeper pants he wore. He grabbed his forest green hoodie and slid on a pair of slides—he already had a pair of socks on as he could not sleep with cold feet. "Fine," he grumbled, pulling his hoodie over his head and following Brick out the door.
Brick grinned, locking their door. He knew the place was not on fire since the sprinkler system would have gone off. However, he did know it must be a real predicament since Him was using the emergency alarm system—during the first couple weeks of school, they had done numerous practice drills in the case of such an event for the alarm's usage and Him kept emphasizing the no-nonsense behavior in which was needed when they went off.
In those practice runs, the students of Townsville Academy were also required to head for the school's mess hall until further notice. As he and Butch—now being joined by Boomer, who was wearing a blue sweatshirt and sleeper pants that had a cartoon whale pattern all over them—walked towards their destination, Brick could not help noticing the heavy winds pushing against them felt eerily familiar. He was sure this was the type of weather he dealt while living in Boston—weather that should not exist in California for the most part.
Entering the mess hall, the warmth of the building's heater instantly relieved the three male's nearly frozen bodies. The hall contained a majority of the school's population while a few were still pouring in. The guys looked around the crowded area, searching for the other half of their group.
"Boomy!" They heard over the mumbled conversations around. "Boomy, over here!"
The three turned their heads to the voice, seeing a mismatched pajama—which were different shades of blue—adorned Bubbles jumping up and down with hands waving in the air to get their attention. Next to her was Buttercup—who wore a dark green long sleeve and sweatpants, rolling her eyes at the blonde's behavior and was irritated by her sleep being interrupted—and Blossom—she wore a matching set of silky pink pajamas that button down and a sleeping mask on her head like a headband with her hair tied up with the red ribbon from her cheerleading uniform.
The three soon joined the girls, wondering what the commotion was about.
"I bet it's aliens," Boomer theorized, his eyes widened. "They've finally found us."
"Bubbles," Buttercup said firmly.
"Yes?"
"Control your boyfriend."
Bubbles sighed, nodding and grabbing Boomer's shoulder, "Boomy. Why don't we go see if they're going to serve any food?"
"I do love food," Boomer agreed, grabbing her hand and leading his girlfriend through the crowd.
Butch chuckled, impressed by Buttercup's tactic of getting rid of the blonde couple. Buttercup raised an eyebrow, shutting him up. Butch attempted to play it off like nothing happened, diverting his eyes away from the green-eyed girl. He lifted his eyebrows when he spotted orange curls in the distance.
"There's Ms. Bellum," he pointed out lowly to the three others. "We should go ask her what the fuck is going on."
"I don't think we should pester her," Blossom decided. Brick nodded in agreement, causing Blossom to briefly smile at him before redirecting her attention back to Butch again.
"Come on. What else are we going to do?" Butch whined, giving Blossom puppy dog eyes to coax her. Brick blinked at the action, unimpressed with Butch's attempts of persuading, while Buttercup cringed. "Please, babe."
Buttercup groaned to herself, "I'll go with you—just so you'll stop doing… whatever it is, you're doing."
Butch furrowed his eyebrows, "I don't want to go with you."
"It's either me or you'll go alone," Buttercup pointed out, folding her arms.
Butch glanced at Blossom, looking for support. Blossom nodded her head, "Buttercup's right."
Butch inhaled deeply, "Fine. Let's go, Buttercup," he exasperated, walking over to their Vice President. Buttercup trailed behind, keeping her arms crossed out of stubbornness.
"And then there was two," Brick announced, taking a right-step so he would be standing in front of Blossom.
Blossom giggled, lightly touching his forearm, "I was hoping so."
He smirked greedily. After the basketball game a week ago, the two have become more open with their flirtations with each other. Brick could not even count a number of times Blossom has touched his arms in the span of seven days. There was even one night, halfway through studying for Utonium's mid-term, that the two decided to go off-campus for a coffee break. In-between the ten minute walk back onto campus to finish studying, they had somehow ended up holding hands. Luckily, this was around ten o'clock at night, so there was not anyone who could be wondering around campus to see them―and if there was, it was too dark for them to see.
They, however, have not done anything further than flirting, subtle touches, or hand-holding. It was like they were in a blissful bubble where nothing was confusing or complicated—which they both knew was further from the truth but could not help ignoring it.
Brick looked her up and down, taking in her appearance. Even after just waking up, she was still gorgeous, he determined. He also laughed when his eyes landed on her red bow.
"I thought you only wear that with your cheerleading uniform," Brick said with amusement, pointing towards the red ribbon.
Blossom removed her hand from his arm, tugging on the ribbon to tighten it's hold on her hair. "You still don't like it?"
Brick shrugged his shoulders, "It's grown on me." He leaned forward, "But only because you're so beautiful."
Blossom smiled at his compliment, blushing a little, "Well, you're pretty cute too."
"You think so?"
She laughed, nodding. Because of the form-fitting appeal of thermals, his arm muscles were on full display through the thin but warm fabric. His chin was growing a slight five o'clock—a strange occurrence since Brick was always clean-shaven. Having left his hat in his dorm, the red strands of his hair were a fray, sticking out in multiple directions thanks to his pillow.
In Blossom's eyes, he was completely and utterly adorable.
"I love your hair, by the way," Blossom grinned, standing on her tippy toes to ruffle up his copper locks even more.
"Thanks."
"What's your secret?"
"Nothing," he smirked. "I woke up like this."
"Are you referencing Beyoncé?" Blossom questioned, snickering a little.
Brick smiled sheepishly, "If I say yes, would you stop respecting me?"
"Who said I respect you?"
"Ow. Harsh, Bloss," Brick replied, faking a wound to his heart.
"I'm just kidding," Blossom teased, grabbing his hand from his chest, lowering it to his side. She, however, did not release her hold. "You're one of the few people I truly do respect."
Brick grinned at the remark. "I'm honored."
"You should be."
"Oh yeah? What else do you think of me?"
Blossom chewed down on her bottom lip, trying to hide the smile that was forming. There were so many things she wanted to say but could not just choose one.
"Let's see—"
"Babe!"
Blossom quickly dropped Brick's hand, flashing a mortified smile at the sight of Butch coming closer to the two. Thankfully, a group of classmates stood in the way of the redheads, so Butch had no chance of seeing the display of affection between the two. However, Blossom could not hide the redness displayed on her porcelain skin.
"So Buttercup and I found out—Woah. Are you okay?" Butch asked with concern. "Your face is all red."
Blossom nodded, pretending to fan herself. "Yeah. It's just really hot in here with the heater and the large amount of people," Blossom lied. Butch bobbed his head in agreement, while Buttercup raised an eyebrow, catching on to the obvious lie. Buttercup flickered her eyes to the other person in the circle they had formed to speak in. She rolled her eyes, knowing exactly why Blossom was flustered.
"Anyways. We found out what's going on."
"And?" Brick asked.
"Apparently there's a blizzard heading this way in four days."
"What?" The two redheads said in unison.
"You heard him," Buttercup said flatly.
"But how?"
"I don't know," Butch answered. "I thought it didn't fucking snow in California."
"Actually, we are in Northern California. It's a rare event, but blizzards do happen here," Brick pointed out. The three stared at him, not understanding how he knew the fact. Brick sighed, slumping his shoulders, "When I was six, I was really into meteorology." The three snickered at Brick's expense. "Yeah. Yeah, laugh it up," he frowned.
Once the laughter died down, Blossom spoke, "Are you sure it's a blizzard?"
Buttercup nodded, "That's what Bellum said, and she's never wrong."
"I actually should have known it was coming," Brick chimed. "The wind outside remained me of when I was back in Boston and when we get blizzards—Owwwww!" Brick exclaimed, rubbing his arm where the dark-haired girl had punched him, causing an excruciating amount of pain—the girl had more power than some of the guys he went up against in football. "What the fuck was that for, Buttercup?"
"I just remember your pasty ass was wishing for snow about a week ago," Buttercup huffed, jabbing his chest. "You're the reason why there's a blizzard."
"That's not how the weather works," Brick exasperated, pushing her finger away.
"I don't care. I swear to God. All you do is ruin—
"So," Blossom said loudly over Brick and Buttercup's bickering, gaining their attention and Butch's. "Why did they wake us up at 2 in the morning to tell us about the blizzard? Couldn't they have waited for a decent time?"
"That's what I fucking said to Bellum," Buttercup responded.
"Him is supposed to tell us why," Butch finished.
"Then where is—"
"Hello students," a whispery tone filled over the intercom in the mess hall, echoing through out the building. All the students turned their focus to the table in which their principal stood upon, still wearing his silk rope. "I would like to thank you all for your appropriate response to the emergency alarm—"
"He sure does like to stall," Buttercup quipped, earning a chuckle from the three around her.
"—But that is beside the point. I'm sure you're not aware of the reasons to why I called you here since we do not allow television here and I'm expecting none of you generally check the weather on your phones, but I am here to inform you of a blizzard that is heading in this very direction in four days." The crowd gasped, shocked by the revelation. Him nodded, continuing, "I know. I know. It's unbelievable news, but that is not why you are here—"
"I told you," Buttercup whispered to the three. "Loves to stall."
"—I called you here at this time because I regretfully need to inform everyone here that whatever plans they had to return home on a flight sometime during the daytime later today for the winter break, will not be happening." The mess hall became consumed by jeering from the student body as Him tried to calm the crowd down. "Students. Students, please." Him's face became inflamed, glaring at the sea of children. In a deep, commanding masculine tone, Him spoke into the microphone, "Silence!"
The mess hall grew silent as the students blinked at their principal in fear. Him grinned at the results, lessening a red skin tone and reverting back to a calmer voice. "I'm dearly sorry you wouldn't be able to see your families this winter break, but this is out of my hands as all flights for the next week have been canceled since the closest airport to us is not prepared for this type of weather, even at the current state it is at right now. But I will work hard with the Academy's trustees to figure how to refund your planes tickets—" All the students glanced at Blossom or Princess, depending on who was closest. "—On a brighter note, the Academy will allow all of you to stay on campus for the next two weeks and we will provide any amenities needed, such as warm meals, candles, and blankets. Thank you for your cooperation. You may return back to your dorms now."
The crowd groaned with a majority trying to shove each other out the mess hall's doors to go back to sleep. Some had tears in their eyes from the thought of not seeing their parents for the holidays.
The group of four remained in the mess hall, waiting for the traffic by the doors to dissipate. Blossom and Butch did not seem upset by the news—their spirits were actually uplifted by the information. It was the complete opposite reaction for what Buttercup and Brick felt, as they were disheartened. Buttercup—not that she was going to admit it—missed her family, while Brick was eager by the idea of seeing his mom again—he was also going to inform her about his decision to play football again and his commitment to Stanford.
"Merry fucking Christmas," Buttercup seethed.
After gaining back their much-missed sleep and waking up collectively at an appropriate time—1 o'clock in the afternoon—the group of six friends met up by the school's marble fountain—which was turned off due to the weather. For thirty minutes, they walked around the campus aimlessly, trying to find anything to possibly kill time. When Bubbles and Boomer started to complain about the coldness, Buttercup and Butch began bickering, and Blossom's body appeared to be turning a bright shade of red, they could not have said yes fast enough when Brick suggested hanging out in the library.
Taking up two couches that faced each other in the lounge area of the building, Bubbles snuggled up against Boomer's side to gain warmth from his body with Buttercup keeping a great amount of distance from the couple on the other side of the couch that they shared. Butch leaned against the armrest, pulling Blossom close to him in order to bring her back to a normal body temperature, and Brick sitting by the couple, feeling slightly awkward by the seating arrangement.
"This fucking blows," Butch complained, rubbing small circles into Blossom's back. "There's nothing to do here."
"We could watch movies in the theater room," Boomer suggested.
"Hell no," Buttercup objected, shaking her head at the blond. "They only show shitty chick flicks from the 80's or poorly written anime films that don't even have subtitles."
"Aren't you Japanese? Shouldn't you know what they're saying?" Brick questioned.
Buttercup sighed out of frustration, "For some reason, they're all in Portuguese."
"Huh. I wonder who's responsible for that," Brick responded, glancing at Butch who smiled sheepishly.
"Freshmen year prank," Butch bragged. "I was such an amateur then, but it is still one of my favorites that I've ever pulled."
Buttercup laughed sarcastically, "So clever."
The dark-haired boy rolled his eyes, "So clever," Butch mocked. Buttercup narrowed her eyes, opening her mouth to respond with a comeback but Bubbles beat her to it.
"Then what else is there to do?"
Brick shrugged, "Dexter has a boat load of board games. I'm sure I can convince him to let us borrow them."
"Not if Butch's playing with them," Blossom pointed out.
"Right," Brick sighed. "Then I got nothing."
"I can't fucking believe we're stuck here for two fucking weeks," Buttercup exasperated.
"I know. I was looking forward to seeing my Abuela… it will be my first Christmas without her since my mom passed," Bubbles sniffed.
"She lives in San Diego. Can't you just drive down there one day?"
"Are you crazy, Buttercup? That's almost a 12-hour drive."
"Hey. Don't get shitty with me. I want to see my family just as much as you do."
"I am going to miss surfing with my dad on Christmas morning," Boomer sighed. "And my mom and her famous Christmas malasadas."
"Aye. You eat those too?" Butch grinned. He quickly frowned when Boomer did not respond back. The blond was staring absently at nothing as were Bubbles and Buttercup. He turned to Brick and Blossom, "You're not depressed about all of this like them, are you?"
"I really do miss my mom," Brick confessed, his voice cracking a little.
Blossom lifted her head from Butch's shoulder, meeting his emerald eyes, "I'm not but it's for different reasons."
She was pleased about not going home for the holidays. Those two weeks were like hell to her. With her mom's constant backhanded comments that were accompanied with disappointing stares, and her dad ignoring her presence by giving her his black card for the break just so he would not have to deal with her, Blossom could not muster enough strength to the deal with the emptiness she felt during the "happiest" time of the year. Being stuck at school with her close friends that she loved, now that was what the holidays should be like.
"I feel the same way."
Like Blossom, Butch did not want to go back to his home in Pompano Beach, Florida. In his family of seven, he was the youngest sibling and the second male to the family. Despite the idea of the youngest getting the most attention by the parents, this was untrue in Butch's household. His parents paid more attention to his three sisters but mainly, his older brother—the firstborn—Adrian. Having a seven-year difference, Adrian constantly tormented Butch growing up but was still viewed as the golden child by their parents. Not getting enough attention from his parents, Butch turned to sports to get the praise he sought for but also developed a heavy amount of resentment towards his brother and parents—mainly his brother though.
This was how he developed his anger issues. After years of bottling up his emotions, not being able to stick up to his brother and feeling neglected by his parents, it was easy for Butch to use his blind rage as an outlet to remove himself from the situation. However, his parents were not a fan of all the holes punched into their walls and every conversation becoming an argument, so they decided to put him in therapy at his middle school to fix his anger problem. It was there, waiting in the school office for his appointment, did he pick up a flyer for Townsville Academy and the rest was history.
Not going back for two weeks, relieved Butch. For the last three years, during those short fourteen days, he always felt his control over his anger slowly slipping away from him. This year, he did not have to worry about it. He had absolutely nothing to agonize about going into the New Year.
"But it does suck that everyone else is bummed out."
Butch nodded, glancing around the seating area, getting irritated by the bleak mood that his four friends were setting. "Guys. It's fucking Christmas—"
"I thought it was in two days?"
"It is, Boom," Butch huffed. "But come on guys, it's fucking Christmas. We should be bouncing off the walls and shit from glee."
"Glee?" Buttercup questioned, raising an eyebrow in amusement. "Nice word choice."
Butch brushed off the comment, continuing, "Not to mention, we have no fucking supervision. That means no parents watching our every move. No annoying relatives we have to tolerate. And no one is stopping us from getting fucking drunk and high as shit."
"That's not happening," Blossom whispered sharply to him.
"Okay. No one is stopping us from drinking or smoking weed. Better?" Blossom blinked at his comment, unimpressed. Butch nodded, taking it as a yes. "Good. Now quit having a pity party for yourselves and start looking on the bright side."
"You do have a point," Brick commented.
"Are you suggesting we have a party?" Bubbles asked, lifting herself out of Boomer's arms. Her eyes lighting up in excitement.
"You know what? Fuck yeah. Let's throw a fucking party," Butch announced loudly, gaining looks from those in the library; two people shushed him.
Buttercup grinned, "I'm in."
"Me too," Boomer chimed.
"I can pull some strings to get Him to agree with it," Blossom suggested
"A.K.A. you're going to use your money."
"Duh, Butters."
"What about you, Red? You in?" Butch questioned.
Brick shrugged his shoulder, smirking, "It has been awhile since I've enjoyed a good party."
"Yes!" Butch exclaimed, pumping his fist in victory. A few more people shushed him.
"Yay!" Bubbles clapped, getting shushed too. "I'll make all the Christmas snacks you could think of and get the decorations."
"I got Him and the location," Blossom determined.
"I'll take care of the sound equipment and helping Bubs," Boomer added.
"I'll get all the goodies," Butch implied, grinning devilishly. "I'll even get the high-quality shit too."
"And Brick and I will spread the word around campus," Buttercup finished. "These fuckers have nothing else to do, so it's a blessing for them to even go."
"Sound fucking perfect," Butch responded, rubbing his hands together in excitement.
Knocking on a mahogany door, Butch waited patiently for the door to open, being greeted by a yawning Ace who was only wearing a pair of boxers. The lanky teen leaned against the door frame, raising an eyebrow at the appearance of Butch standing in front of him.
"What's up?"
"Hey. So we're having a party and I was wondering…" Butch paused, peering into Ace's dorm room and noticing the bareness of his side of the room. "Are you changing rooms?"
"No," Ace huffed. "I'm getting expelled. I was supposed to leave today but the dumb-ass blizzard is preventing me since my pops doesn't like driving in the snow. So I'm stuck here for another two weeks."
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Ace shook his head, "What happened?" Butch questioned curiously but not surprised.
"Someone told Him about me cheating on the entrance exam," Ace revealed, rolling his eyes.
Butch blinked, trying to recollect if he accidentally told Him about Ace's deception. However, Butch had no memory of doing so. He only told…
"Do you know how he found out?" Butch asked quickly.
"Someone ratted me out," Ace seethed.
"Do you know who?"
"No but I do know that they were a girl."
Butch frowned at the fact. It confirmed his suspicion of Blossom being the one who told Him. He should have seen this coming, in all actuality. Blossom prided herself on academic integrity but also had a deep hatred for Ace. Butch was actually shocked that Ace had not made the connection yet.
Nonetheless, Butch was glad Ace was not intelligent enough to do so. He did not want Blossom getting involved in whatever chaos that he surely knew Ace was planning for revenge. In end, Ace truly got what he deserved. After Blossom ranted to him about how absolutely terrible Ace was, Butch had come to the conclusion that his girlfriend was correct.
Even if he still considered Ace as a friend, Butch finally saw the sliminess he possessed. Which is why he had to protect Blossom.
"How did you figure that out?"
"I had Princess investigate—"
"You trusted Princess?" Butch snorted. "You do know, that ever since she came back, she's been searching for any type of scandal so that everyone can forget about what she did last year?"
Ace blinked in reply, realizing his mistake. "No…"
"Bro. You got played."
Forming tight fists, Ace's face twisted in anger, "Oh. I'm going to end that fucking bitch."
"Sounds like fun," Butch grinned, impressed by his skill at bullshitting and saving Blossom from any trouble. "On another note, what's the place where you buy your weed from?"
"How does it look?" Bubbles asked enthusiastically for the others' reaction. It was the first time they were seeing her decorating skills for their party.
Butch, Blossom, Brick, and Buttercup stripped off their coats, shaking off the snow they collected from outside at the doorway. Butch placed a heavy box on the ground, gazing around the large space with the three beside him. Like every other party which was held on campus, Blossom chose to use the agricultural building because of the openness of the spot. However, this time she actually got Him's permission to turn a blind eye at the use of the area for the event after having her father donate a sizable check to the Academy.
Bubbles had transformed the usual house party-esque appeal of the building into an image of a classy and family-friendly space. Red and green Christmas lights hung from the ceiling and bordered around the snow covered windows. An enormous, tall Christmas tree—thanks to the high ceilings of the space—stood in the western corner, decorated with an assorted amount of ornaments and tinsel. There was a table with numerous treats, such as cookies decorated as reindeer and Santa, and a bowl of punch. Through the sound system Boomer set up, classic Christmas songs played—at the moment, "Let it Snow" sang from the speakers. Bubbles also placed a bin full of Santa hats by the door for anyone to take—Butch eagerly placed one on his head.
"Bubs," Blossom gasped, her eyes twinkling with the lights. "It's perfect."
"Not as perfect as you," Butch whispered in Blossom's ear, kissing her temple. Blossom forced a smile, wrapping her arms around Butch's waist as he stroked her back.
"You think so?"
"This is the type of shit I expect to see in one of those cheesy Christmas movies," Buttercup responded.
"Is that a bad thing?"
"It is a Christmas party, Bubs. So it's a good thing."
"Oh thank God," Bubbles sighed in relief. "I was so concerned you would hate it."
"We could never hate anything you do, Bubs," Brick reassured.
"Speak for yourself, Red," Buttercup mumbled.
Brick narrowed his eyes at the girl before brushing off her comment. "Where's Boomer?" he asked, glancing around and noticing the blond was missing.
"Emergency paper plate and cups run."
"Oh good," Butch grinned, freeing himself from Blossom's embrace to lift up the cardboard box he brought in and placing it on the table Bubbles' had set up. He reached into the box, grabbing two of the many bottles that occupied the space. "Because I brought enough booze to get us shitfaced."
"Butch," Blossom warned.
"What? We've been stuck in our rooms for the past two days. I'm sure everyone is starting to get stir crazy."
"Dude. You got Grey Goose?" Brick questioned in disbelief, grabbing the bottle out his roommate's hand.
Butch nodded, smiling devilishly. "I got bottles of Grey Goose, some Patrón, Captain Morgan, peppermint Smirnoff for the chicks, and Bud Light," he listed. "Also, a bottle of Rosé Champange for my love," Butch grinned, pulling the bottle out and handing it to Blossom.
Brick raised an eyebrow as Blossom took the bottle, "You drink?"
"I'm from Burgundy, France. Of course, I drink," Blossom replied, shrugging her shoulders. "But only on holidays and special occasions."
"Plus, she's super boujee about what she drinks," Buttercup teased.
"True."
"Do you want to see how I decorated the two classrooms?" Bubbles asked, staring eagerly at the group. Besides the wide open space that was usually occupied for partying, there was also two separate rooms on the eastern side of the building. It was where the overflow of a party went or, if they were lucky and fast enough, a room used to hook up in. There was also a bathroom located in both rooms.
"Sure," Blossom, Butch, and Brick responded.
"What about you, Butters?"
"I think I'm going to stay out here and making sure no early party guests try to steal the alcohol," Buttercup replied. It was the truth, but she also wanted some alone time before the party.
"Alright," Bubbles smiled, leading the other three to the classrooms.
Buttercup danced her eyes around the room again, taking in the festive feel. Christmas held a special place in her heart, being one of the few times her immediate and extended family were collectively altogether—funerals and weddings were the other times. Buttercup's deep love for the holiday and all things involving it was a well-kept secret. She loved being a part of all the cliches and non-religious traditions of Christmas. There was just one thing Buttercup could not stand about the holiday.
The music.
Grabbing the phone in which the stereo was plugged into and unlocking it to access the playlist—it must have been Boomer's phone since there was no pass code—she swiftly changed the playlist from Holiday Jams to a generic party mix. A satisfied grin formed on her face, nodding her head to the beat as a song by The Weeknd played, using a heavy amount of bass.
"Hey Buttercup."
She quickly turned around, her eyes widened. The expression on her face immediately changed when she saw it was Mitch, smirking at her boyfriend. "Hey. I didn't even hear you come in."
"Oh. Sorry about that."
"It's fine," Buttercup replied, shifting her weight and trying to find a way to relieve the awkwardness between them. Their relationship still needed a lot of work but she was willing to fix it despite he's lack of effort. "I'm glad you're here early, we can start celebrating Christmas together now."
Mitch glanced around, taking in the blatant decor, "I'm Jewish..."
"Right," she said, instantly remembering the fact, rubbing the back of her neck. "I totally forgot."
"It's okay," he replied. The two stood in silence for a few seconds with Mitch clearing his throat to break it. "I'm actually glad we're alone because I've been needing to talk to you."
"Oh."
She could not even hide the disappointment in her voice, fully expecting what was about to come.
"Yeah," he sighed, meeting everything but her eyes. "I think we should break up... I don't think we're right for each other."
Buttercup nodded slowly, forming tights fists. "I get it."
"So you're fine with it?"
"I'm not fine with it," Buttercup countered, folding her arms. "But I'm not going to fight you on it when you obviously didn't fight to fix anything."
Mitch opened his mouth to reply but instead just shrugged his shoulders, "You're not wrong."
"I know..."
"Well… I hope we can still be friends," Mitch said sheepishly, inching his way back towards the door.
Buttercup rolled her eyes as he left the building, leaving her alone. She sighed to herself dishearteningly.
She knew this was going to happen for the past two months now; she was just in denial about it. Buttercup desperately wanted her first relationship to work. She wanted what Boomer and Bubbles have. And despite her attempts to improve things, it still blew up in her face.
Maybe she just was not meant to be in a relationship. She just was not as desirable as Bubbles and Blossom were. She was too rough and an explosive. That was why no one wanted to be in a relationship with her. Mitch was the only person who even considered the thought, and she was sure it was a decision based on lust.
Buttercup was also sure that she was probably going to end up dying alone while all her friends carried on their lives with their families and spouses. It was—
Her face twisted in irritation when she heard Bubbles' giggling. After being dumped, Buttercup knew she could not handle any of her friends' shit without prompting one of them to have a breakdown or spiral into an intense fight by the end of the night. But since it was Christmas, Buttercup did not want to ruin their holiday.
Buttercup's eyes landed on Butch's box of boozes. Perhaps some liquor in her system would get her mind off of everything. Grinning mischievously, Buttercup tore off the plastic wrapping on one the bottles―not even bothering to check what brand of liquor it was. Twisting off the cap, she took a swift swig.
As a burning sensation hit her chest, Buttercup had found the solution to her problems.
Within an hour, the Christmas party was in full effect. Nearly the entire school was there, crowding the spacious building. A large amount of guests were on the dance floor, bobbing their heads around to Future rapping about an assorted amount of drugs. Bubbles was making rounds, being the gracious host that she was, dragging Boomer along with her. Butch was either chugging some form of alcohol with friends from the basketball team or checking in with Blossom. Buttercup was not anywhere to be seen but it went unnoticed by the party-goers. And then there was Blossom and Brick, who stood against one of the windows, carrying on a light-hearted but flirtatious conversation.
"Most embarrassing Christmas memory?" Blossom questioned, smiling uncontrollably at the thought. She held a tight grip around her cup of Rosé while sitting on the windowsill, letting the coldness of the glass radiate onto her back, and keeping her eyes solely on Brick.
"Are we really going there?" Brick laughed, standing beside her, staring down to met her pink eyes. Blossom nodded gleefully. "Fine," he sighed. "I once thought someone was breaking into our house on Christmas Eve, so I hit them with a baseball bat… it ended up being my uncle in a Santa costume. I bruised his knee severely, and needless to say, I got a large amount of coal the next morning."
"How did you not see that coming?" she snickered.
"I was eleven," Brick defended, taking a sip of the beer he held and swallowing. "I was trying to protect my mom… and my presents."
Blossom smiled, laughing. "You're ridiculous."
"And yet, you're still into me."
Blossom raised an eyebrow in amusement, taking a sip of her drink to hide the redness of her porcelain skin. "Sadly, I am."
"Please, Bloss." He took a seat next to her on the windowsill. "You happily want me," he said lowly to her.
Blossom flashed a flirty grin. "Perhaps."
"So you're going to be coy now? "
"No," she whispered, leaning over to his ear. "There's no denying now how much I want you."
"Prove it."
"You know I can't," Blossom argued, her entire demeanor shifting.
"Right," he exhaled, rolling his eyes. "You're still—"
"Aye. Mistletoe," Butch exclaimed, appearing from out of the crowd, still wearing the Santa hat. He held a small piece of greenery, pinching it from it's small stem. Holding it over Blossom's head, Butch leaned down for a kiss. Given his drunkenness, the kiss turned into a sloppy make-out session. Blossom went along with it because he was her boyfriend and she loves him, but also to show Brick that the couple was still solid. Once they broke apart for air, Butch stared into her eyes lovingly, "God. I love you so much."
"I love you too."
"This is the best fucking Christmas ever!" he replied, straightening himself out and turning his back to Blossom. "Who wants to play beer pong?" he shouted drunkenly over the music, walking away from the redheads.
Blossom lightly touched her lips, wishing she could get the taste of Butch's beer breath out of her mouth. She felt Brick's crimson eyes burning into her skull. However, she ignored him, taking another sip of her drink.
Brick sighed loudly, fixating his sight on the party and his drunk classmates. "Bloss. What are we doing?"
Blossom blinked at his question. "What do you mean?"
"You know what I mean. I'm not trying to be some side piece for you," he retorted. "I really care about you."
"I know," Blossom sighed.
"Then why are you doing this?"
"I told you. I'm confused."
"And I get that. But you can't say you want me and then make out with your boyfriend in front of me a second later," Brick argued. "That's just being greedy."
"Fine. The next time we make out, I'll make sure to do it at a safe enough distance away from you," Blossom sassed, annoyed by his assumption.
Brick rolled his eyes, "That's not what I meant, Blossom."
"Then what did you mean? What do you want, Brick?"
"I want to be with you, Blossom," he snapped, his eyebrows furrowing in irritation. "I thought it was pretty obvious by now."
"Yeah but—"
"But nothing. You shouldn't be constantly juggling yourself between me and Butch. You shouldn't be putting me in this position."
"You put yourself in this position, Brick."
"Oh, I'm well aware," Brick chuckled darkly.
Blossom inhaled sharply, "I don't know what you want me to do, Brick. There's not much I can do."
"There's one thing you can do," he said lowly. "You can decide. Butch or me."
"Brick—"
"Bloss. What you're doing, is not fair to me or Butch. I'm sorry for putting us in this situation to begin with but you're the one who's dragging it on."
Blossom opened her mouth in reply, but shut it, nodding instead. "You do have a point."
"I know I do."
She met Brick's eyes, feeling remorse for hurting him but also for being incapable of giving him a straight answer. Her reasons for doing so, varied too often. One day, was because of how it might look if she switched her boyfriends too quickly. The next it was if everyone judged her for dumping Butch. After that, it was if her and Brick only worked if they were not together.
If the spark were to disappear as soon as they become a couple. Or that they lose their friendship in the process.
The main argument for her, however, was on the question of whether which option will make her the happiness. They both had the capability of doing so but she was not sure which would be more fulfilling, as she has yet to experience what it would be like to be with Brick. She did not want to be left full of disappointment if she made the wrong decision, like she has dealt with her whole life.
Blossom just wanted to make the right choice.
"I just need time to figure things out," she murmured.
"That's fine." He lifted his bottle against his mouth, "You have until New Year's," Brick decided, taking a sip of his beer.
"What?"
"You heard me."
Blossom sighed, knowing this was the best decision for the both of them―and also Butch. Having a due date always did help push her.
"Fine... I'll make up my mind by then."
"Great." He lifted his bottle again. "Cheers to that?" Blossom grinned, hitting her cup against his drink. "Here's to a Merry Christmas."
"And a Happy New Year."
"–Not to mention, I was the one who came up with the decor," Bubbles bragged, during her latest round around the party. Bubbles would ask each group how they liked the party, which often led to them asking her how the six put it all together. She was happy to explain, but also eager to inform them of her involvement more than anything. "I got my inspiration from watching The Grinch. I just love the color scheme of—"
"Um, Bubs," Boomer whispered into her ear, interrupting her. He had just returned from using the bathroom.
Bubbles glanced at him, speaking lowly, "Yes, Boomy?"
"There's someone crying in one of the classrooms."
"Did you see who it was?" Bubbles asked curiously, her eyes widened. No one should be crying on Christmas, especially not on Bubbles' watch or at her party.
"Ohhhh," Boomer realized. "That's what I forgot to do. I knew there was something I had to do but I just thought I forgot to wash my hands."
Bubbles sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose, "Did you at least wash your hands?"
"I, um…"
"Go wash them, please."
"You got it," Boomer replied, saluting her like she was a soldier.
Bubbles flickered her attention back to the group she was speaking to, excusing herself. She headed for the two classrooms, figuring the one containing the crying person was in the room with the door closed tightly. The blonde peered into the dark room, in search for a shadowy figure.
"Get out," the person warned, their voice cracking a little.
Bubbles stopped herself, trying to conclude where she has heard the person's voice before. When she came to the realization, Bubbles was in complete shock.
"Buttercup?" she asked cautiously.
She heard her dark-haired friend groan, "Yes?"
"Why are you—"
"Shut the door, Bubs."
"Oh. Sorry," Bubbles responded, doing as ordered. She walked slowly to where Buttercup sat. It was hard to see due to the dimness of the room but Buttercup sat on one of the tables that were left in the room, hugging her knees and laying her chin on top of them. Her lime green eyes glowed because of the light peering in for the door's window. Bubbles joined her on the table, not sure whether to comfort her or not—she was scared of what Buttercup might do. "Butters… are you—Are you crying?"
"No," she said harshly. "I'm just sweating from my eyes."
"Buttercup."
"Okay. Fine," Buttercup exasperated. "I was crying a little. I drank a whole bottle of vodka and I can get emotional when I drink. Sue me."
"Well, the tears do have to come out somehow," Bubbles quipped. She waited for a lighthearted response from her friend but got nothing in return. "What's really wrong, Buttercup? Is this because of your family—"
"No."
"Okay. Is it the party? Is it too much—"
"Mitch broke up with me," she confessed bitterly.
"Oh my God. I'm so sorry."
"It's fine. It was going to happen anyway."
"It's not fine. He was your first real boyfriend, and obviously, you're hurt by it."
"I'm not hurt by him dumping me," Buttercup responded. "Sure. I did like him, and there was a moment where I did think we could be like you and Boomer—"
"Me and Boomer?"
"Yeah," Buttercup nodded. "You and Boomer. You have that long lasting, forever type of shit love. It's sickeningly and intoxicating, and I can't stand to be around you sometimes because of it—"
"What?"
"―But I want something like that."
"Oh Buttercup," Bubbles exhaled. "I didn't know..."
"No one does... Look, I'm the first person to say I don't need anyone, and you know how independent I am. I don't want it for the co-dependence or to be in a relationship to just say I am in one. I just want to feel..."
"You want to feel what it's like to fall in love?" Bubbles finished.
Buttercup nodded, "I'm too invulnerable, so therefore, no one ever considers that I may want a relationship. No one thinks that I want to be loved by someone else. No one expects that I want a perfect relationship like you and Boomer—"
"Boomer and I don't have a perfect relationship," Bubbles revealed, interrupting the green-eyed girl. "Sometimes he annoys the crap out of me, and when he gets in one of his occasional sour moods, he can't stand me either. We argue, we say things that we don't mean sometimes, we can get passive aggressive, but we do apologize, own up to our faults, and forgive each other. I just don't let anyone know because it's our own private business."
Buttercup nodded, taking in the new information. "But you still have the best relationship that anyone could ever want. Same with Blossom and Butch."
"Blossom is literally acting like another guy is her boyfriend. There's nothing grand about them."
"With how Butch treats her, yeah, there is," Buttercup argued. "He loves her no matter what. Even when she gets on his nerves or she treats him like shit... For fucks sake, he knows about Brick liking her, and yet, he has so much trust and love for her, that he doesn't even let it bother him."
"I thought it did?"
"Obviously not anymore. Earlier today, he and Brick were joking around, throwing snowballs at each other like Blossom didn't even exist."
"That is true…"
"But that's not the point, Bubs. What I'm saying is, you and Boomer, you fight for your relationship. You love each other so much, that you will do anything for each other and your relationship. Same for Butch with Blossom... I want that. I want that "never give up" kind of love."
"Well," Bubbles sighed, trying to find the best piece of advice. "You just have to find the right person. Mitch obviously wasn't that for you."
"And what if I never do, Bubs? What if no one is able to love me? I'm just going to end up alone while everyone moves on with their life."
"Buttercup. That's not going to happen."
"How do you know?" she snapped.
"I don't know," Bubbles shook her head. "But it's up to you to make sure it doesn't."
Buttercup laughed at the statement, "Like I haven't tried."
"You just—"
"I'm worried no one will ever love me," Buttercup confessed, her voice cracking more than it did at the beginning of the conversation.
Bubbles furrowed her eyebrows, "That's such a sad thought, Buttercup. There are people that already love you. I love you. Boomer loves you. Blossom and Brick do too—" Buttercup snorted at the mention of Brick's name. "—and even though you both act like you hate each other, I know, deep down, Butch does really care about you."
"I think that one is a stretch, Bubs," Buttercup responded.
"It might be but it is true," Bubbles argued. "Buttercup. You don't need to worry about this because, until you find the right person, you have all of us to make up for the love you need."
"Yeah. You're right" Buttercup looked up to the blue-eyed girl, realizing how ignorant she was being for forgetting the love she had obtained from her friends. "Thanks..."
"No problem."
"Also... I want to apologize for being so hard on you all the time," Buttercup said after a few seconds of silence.
"It's fine."
"It's not. I do it out of spite. I can get envious of how damn happy you are all the time and practically have your whole life together," Buttercup revealed. Bubbles tilted her head in shock, connecting her new knowledge to all the arguments the two have ever had. For a majority of them, it all started to make sense as to why Buttercup picked a fight or had some harsh words. "Everyone here believes Blossom has this perfect life, but it's really you, Bubbles."
"But I don't have one."
"I know. You've been through a lot of shit, Bubs. And yet, you came out a better person because of it. I haven't even been through anything like the dramatic shit that you have, and yet, I'm the biggest bitch ever."
"No, you're not," Bubbles argued.
Buttercup raised an eyebrow, smirking, "Then you should have seen me threatening the couple who was in here first."
"Oh Buttercup," Bubbles chuckled.
She shrugged her shoulders, "All I'm saying is I'm sorry for projecting my insecurities onto you."
"We all do it at some point or another," Bubbles replied, in an attempt to ease any of Buttercup's guilt but also because it was the truth.
"Unless we're Blossom, who claims to have no insecurities," Buttercup quipped.
Bubbles giggled at the comment. "Maybe so."
Buttercup glanced at the door, watching the individuals who passed by, "Want to go back?"
Bubbles nodded, jumping off the table. She lent out her hand to Buttercup, who accepted it, following the blonde's same actions from a few seconds ago. Bubbles grinned at her green-eyed friend, excited that she opened up to her for once instead of Blossom.
"By the way, Buttercup. It doesn't make you any less stronger for wanting to be loved. It's a normal attribute that we all have," Bubbles explained quietly. "And takes a lot of courage to admit our fears. Same with being vulnerable."
"Yeah..." Buttercup sighed, recalling the similar conversation she had with the blonde's boyfriend over a month ago. "Still makes me uncomfortable though... Makes me feel like a pansy."
"Pansies are nice," Bubbles grinned. "They're one of my favorite flowers."
"Of course they are," Buttercup chuckled, hiccuping a little from the liquor she consumed.
Bubbles nudged Buttercup's arm as she opened the door to the classroom, "You know. I like drunk Buttercup a lot. She's way more open and nice."
Buttercup rolled her eyes playfully, not hiding the grin from her face.
"Shut up."
