Coming of Age

by AngelFallen96

It's been years since the Power Puff Girls have seen the Rowdy Ruff Boys, but all that's about to change. After being told by Mojo that they would be attending high school for their senior year, the boys think them ready for anything. But when the girls are suddenly there as well, who knows what could happen? Love? Hate? Pity? Jealousy? Read to find out.

34. Chapter 33

I do not own the Power Puff Girls or the Rowdy Ruff Boys.

Chapter Thirty-Three: Secret Santa and Pot Luck

December 17

True to form, Tabitha was at her boyfriend's house setting up for the party. She'd gathered as many Christmas decorations as she could and was hanging then up wherever she could put them. As an added gag for the party, she bought a number of cheap ugly Christmas sweaters for everyone.

"This is really something Tabitha." Her boyfriend Josh said as he looked around the house. "It's like Christmas threw up in here."

"I know. It's supposed to be bad. It's going to make everyone laugh and smile, and just be happy." Tabitha told him as she threw her arms around him.

As Josh leaned down to kiss her, Josh's roommate Alex came into the house carrying a few brown paper bags of booze. "Hey guys. Where should I put the liquor?"

Josh looked up and shook his head. "We're housing a high school party. No booze."

"Oh, come on. A little cocktail won't hurt anyone." Alex said.

"No booze."

Alex set the liquor down on the counter and then went searching through the cabinets. He finally found what he was looking for, and smiled in triumph. "Then we take everyone's keys and put them in the giant mason jar."

"Dude, we're going to have about twenty people sleeping in our house if we do that."

"Then we have twenty people sleeping in our house." Alex said, as if it were no problem. "Hell, I'll even cook breakfast in the morning."

"We're going to have a pot luck. Everyone is bringing something." Tabitha said.

Alex laughed as he passed Josh. "Yeah, the ultimate stereotypical Christmas party. Tacky decorations. Pot luck. Secret Santa. Ugly Christmas sweaters."

Tabitha pulled away from Josh and ran to the stereo and hit the play button. "And a mix of can't help but sing along Christmas songs."

Alex rolled his eyes as he started to unpack the liquor. "That's your girlfriend Josh."

"Yes, she is."

At the Utonium residence, the girls had taken over the kitchen preparing their dishes for the pot luck. True to her word, Buttercup had made crispy fried chicken with a jalapeno cream sauce on the side. As her special ingredient of spice, she knew all to giving foods that special kick.

Bubbles, being the sugar, decided to make something a bit sweeter. She had baked two dozen and a half cupcakes. Vanilla cupcakes with an extra pinch of sugar topped with a semi-sweet chocolate ganache icing.

Blossom decided to make her specialty apple pie crumble ice cream that she absolutely refused to share her recipe with. It was sweet and savory at the same time and because of her ice powers always stayed cold until it was time to serve.

The professor found himself coming into the kitchen and stole a bit of each of his girls' pot luck treat. It smelled too good to resist. "Could you three leave an extra plate or two for me?"

"You're not going to be able to fit into that lab coat of yours if we feed you like this all the time." Buttercup told him as he spooned an extra bit of the jalapeno sauce onto his fried chicken.

The professor hummed lowly in his throat in the negative. "I highly doubt that. I forget to eat on most days."

"Then you pig out like no tomorrow when we feed you something you really like." Bubbles said.

"See, there's a balance." He said while going into the cabinets and getting a roll of bread to wipe the last of the jalapeno sauce.

"As a scientist, you know that's not true." Blossom admonished.

He shrugged unrepentant and left the kitchen to eat in the comfort of the living room in front of the television. The girls rolled their eyes at their father's antics. A knock at the door signaled that Robin and Sam had arrived.

Buttercup dusted her hands of flour for her chicken and went to the door to allow their friends in. "Hey guys."

Sam and Robin hurried to come in with their large bundles of food to feed two dozen. "Merry Christmas." Sam squealed. "I'm bringing a cherry cola and honey glazed ham. It's going to be killer. The boys are going to tear it to pieces."

Buttercup chuckled smugly. "Just wait until they try my fried chicken with the jalapeno cream sauce. I'm just about finished with the last bit." She hurried back into the kitchen to get the last of her drumsticks and wings out of the frying oil and onto paper towels. She then set her last twelve drumsticks and wings in the frying pan. As they cooked, she packed the freshly fried chicken into large Tupperware containers for the trip to the party. Bubbles finished packing her cupcakes and Blossom used her ice powers to keep the ice cream frozen.

"Robin, what have you got?" Buttercup said as she watched her chicken.

"I made a three cheese macaroni casserole." Robin said. "It's to die for."

Sam and Robin looked over Buttercup, seeing her dressed in a plaid long sleeved shirt and dark ripped skinny jeans with her combat boots. "Aren't you a little dressed down for a Christmas party."

"I'm going to Monster Truck Rally with Mitch." Buttercup said as she packed everything.

"What about the party?" Robin asked.

"I'm still going, just after Monster Truck Rally." She explained.

Blossom shook her head as she used her ice powers to keep the ice cream cold as she packed it. "We already tried to tell her to just pay Mitch pay for the ticket, but she's set on going."

"He spent six months getting those tickets." Buttercup told them. "As soon as it ends, I'll be at the party."

The girls didn't say so, but they felt it would be a lot sooner than that. At this point, it was no secret that Mitch liked Buttercup. However, it recently became known that Butch decided to be her boyfriend. It was a nice gesture and all, but the two have yet to go on an actual date. Buttercup had said as such, and Butch had simply shrugged her off with a smile. Her going to Monster Truck Rally with Mitch was just a silent protest as to how much that bothered her.

A horn honking outside the door signaled to Buttercup that Mitch had arrived. The professor had looked up, his brow furrowing in frustration. He knew that Buttercup wasn't going on a date with Mitch, but the fact that the boy didn't have enough decency to come to the door bothered him.

"That must be Mitch." Buttercup grabbed her bag and then hugged her sisters and friends. She left out the front door with a quick punch to the professor's arm. "I'll see you guys at the party."

Soon she was out the door and hopping into Mitch's jalopie of a truck. Blossom and Bubbles watched as Mitch drove off with their sister. If that didn't spell drama, they weren't sure what did.

At the volcano tower, the boys were equally excited and getting ready for the party they were personally invited to. Getting the gifts for the Secret Santa was easy. Figuring out what to make for the pot luck was harder. The boys weren't culinary strong, but with a lot of help from Mojo, the boys were able to make three dishes that they were sure to impress.

"Boomer, those pot stickers need to be pulled out of that pot right now." Mojo said while monitoring his sons' cooking.

Boomer carefully took the lid off the pot and carefully pulled the pot stickers out and laid them in a bento boxes that Mojo insisted would keep them warmer longer.

"Butch, that's a little too much pepper." He said turning to see Butch still sprinkling the spice over the layered mashed potatoes with chopped green onions, melted provolone cheese and thick cut bacon chopped into bits.

"Brick, what are you doing?" Mojo said raising his hands in warning.

Brick looked up what he was about to do. "Tossing the nuts."

"I bet he wishes that a certain someone was tossing his nuts." Butch chuckled, still picking fun at the fact that Brick was the only virgin.

Boomer smirked, throwing his hands up to protect himself when Brick threw a handful of crushed peanuts at both him and Butch.

"Assholes." Brick grumbled. "I thought we were making caramel apples with chopped nuts on top."

"We are, but you can't just throw the nuts on them. Leave them in the bowl and gently roll the apples into the nuts." Mojo said.

Brick did as instructed and set the finished apples to the side for Mojo to wrap in plastic bags. "These are going to be the best caramel apples anyone has ever had."

"Maybe you should feed one to your not girlfriend, Brick." Butch called out to him as he was packing his own pot luck dish.

"How about I throw one at your head?" Brick snapped.

"How about you jerk off in the shower while the water runs cold?" Boomer said. "I can't take another night waking up sweating because you're either having a wet dream or jerking off in your room."

"You two are assholes." Brick said while shaking his head.

In the next thirty minutes, all their dishes for the party were ready and the guys had their Secret Santa gifts packed into Brick's car. Mojo insisted on them only taking one car, arriving together and returning home together.

Butch was in charge of giving directions, which he'd gotten in a forwarded message from Buttercup. "Alright, we're heading for the college district of Townsville. We're going to take Albert Street until we hit Cartwright and take a left. We'll go until we see a…" Butch's brow furrowed.

"Until what?" Brick asked as he made his way, knowingly to the college district.

Butch blew out a gust of air and laughed. "Until we see an inflatable Santa in a bathtub on the front lawn."

Brick and Boomer turned to look at Butch, before laughing and turning on the radio to play rock music.

"Can we eat now?" Alex asked as he came down dressed in nothing but one of the Christmas sweaters, boxers, and a headband with mistletoe hanging from the front.

Tabitha turned to Alex and shrieked. The other girls turned gasped, whistled, and made a few catcalls. All this caused Josh to stand up and charge toward his roommate. "Damn it, Alex. Put some pants on."

"It's a party." Alex said.

"Yeah, a party where there are girls who have boyfriends, who wouldn't appreciate you wagging your cock in their faces." Josh said as he pushed his fun loving, but occasional pain in the ass roommate up to his room.

Sam was the first to let out a laugh. "It's only been five minutes and we already got a show."

Josh shook his head as he took his seat next to Tabitha, who snuggled against him. "That wasn't a show, it was an opening act."

"Well, I can't imagine what the real show will be like." Blossom laughed aloud.

"I can show you anytime you like, Red." Alex said while still tugging on a pair of jeans.

Blossom turned to Alex, who seemed to have his eyes trained on her. "I don't think so." She laughed, already seeing that he was going to be a huge flirt.

When the boys arrived, Bubbles immediately ran into Boomer's arms and gave him a welcoming kiss. Butch luckily caught Boomer's pot luck dish before it could slip from his hands and rolled his eyes.

"You're barely in the door, and already she's got her—."

"Butch, if you want to live to see Christmas morning, I suggest you shut up." Brick warned, when both Boomer and Bubbles shot him a glare.

Butch wisely shut up, but looked around the room for Buttercup. When he didn't see her, he moved into the dining room with the food for the party.

"All right, now all that leaves is Mac, Goo, Jack, Deedee, and Buttercup." Tabitha said.

Brick looked toward Tabitha with a questioning gaze. "Does that mean the runt is coming too?"

Tabitha shrugged. "She didn't say, but we did extend an invitation."

"Super." Brick said.

Butch came back in the room, looking confused. "Buttercup isn't here?"

"She'll be here later." Blossom quickly answered.

Butch paused and then pulled out his phone and sent a text message to Buttercup. He had an idea as to where she was, but wanted to give her the benefit of a doubt for the time being.

Buttercup was waiting outside the arena where the rally was happening bubbling with excitement. She'd been wanting to go to Monster Truck Rally for a long time. Mitch scoring tickets was amazing.

"I can't believe we're almost in." Buttercup said as she turned to Mitch. "I owe you big time for this Mitch."

Mitch shrugged nonchalantly, but on the inside he was glad if not smug that Buttercup was there with him. Despite her deciding to be Butch's girlfriend, she was here with him. He also hoped this meant she wasn't going to the party afterwards. Maybe he could take her somewhere to eat.

"It was no big deal."

Buttercup smiled at Mitch and turned to the front of the line, eager to get in. Suddenly her phone buzzed and she pulled it out to see that it was a text from Butch. He'd just told her he had arrived at the party, and asked when she would be there.

While Buttercup hadn't neglected to tell Butch about Monster Truck Rally, she knew he was wasn't too keen on her spending time with Mitch. So she sent him a message back telling him when the rally would be over. His response to that was he'd be there to pick her up as soon as it was over.

That made her both giddy and nervous, but she decided to not let that ruin the evening for her. They were closer to getting inside and she couldn't wait. Once inside, Mitch led him and Buttercup to the concessions so they could get energy drinks, chips, and other greasy food that can be associated with monster trucks.

When Buttercup got only the bare minimum of snacks, Mitch gave her a questioning look. "You're not hungry?"

"I want to save room for the pot luck. Everyone's bringing something." Buttercup said as she took a sip of her energy drink.

"Party? You're still going?" Mitch asked. "But the Rally?"

Buttercup turned to look at Mitch with a roll of her eyes. "I'm here at the rally aren't I?"

Mitch sighed and turned away from her while angrily biting into a soft pretzel.

"Mitch, don't be a jerk about it. The party was Tabitha's idea for us all to just relax and be with friends."

"Then how come I wasn't invited. I'm your friend." Mitch said.

Buttercup pursed her lips and then thought about how to best answer the question. "We are, but as far as they're concerned you can be a jerk."

"I'm a jerk?" Mitch turned to her.

"Butch said you were an asshole." Buttercup told him unflinching.

Mitch turned back to her with a glare. "I'm the asshole, yet he's the one that fucked you and then—."

"If you want me to stay, you're going to stop right there. You don't know Butch like I do."

"And he doesn't know you like I do." Mitch said.

Buttercup glared at Mitch and then pulled out her phone. She dialed a number and then put it to her ear.

"What are you—?"

"Hey Butch. Monster Truck Rally looks like a bust, think you can—."

Mitch groaned and then took her phone out of her hand and hung up the call. "All right, all right. I'll try not to be an asshole."

Butch looked at his phone and then glanced around the room. He found Brick standing against a wall talking with Josh, and walked over to him.

"College is fun when you're studying what you want to study." Josh told him honestly.

Brick nodded and then took a sip of his soda. "Cool, so what are you studying."

"Psychology and English literature. I want to write psychological thriller novels." Josh said. "Best way to do that is to know everything about the mind and all the things hidden in the nooks and crannies."

Brick considered that and saw that it was a good idea.

"So what are you doing after high school?"

The question caught Brick off guard. "What do you mean?"

"Well, after high school what are you going to do? Work? College? Trade school?" Josh asked.

Brick hadn't thought much of it before, but he and his brothers never saw anything more for them than being the Rowdy Ruff Boys. However, as of late what that meant seemed to diminish more and more. The shocking part about it was that he didn't even know that was happening.

Brick was brought out of his thoughts with a hand on his shoulder. Turning he saw Butch, who leaned in close to be heard over the music. "I'll be right back."

Brick looked at Butch with a raised brow. "Where are you going?"

"To get my girl." Butch told him as he made his way out the front door.

Before Brick could try to ask him about what he meant, Butch was out the front door. Brick turned to look at Josh, who only shrugged his shoulder.

Alex looked around the room, and then stood up, grabbing Blossom's hand and walking around the couch. "Hey, is this a party or what? Tabby Cat, turn the music to something we can dance to." He then pulled Blossom off the couch and pulled her close to him, making her blush. "You my dear, dance with me."

"Oh okay." Blossom said, unable to keep the smile off her face at Alex's antics. The other girls laughed as Tabitha changed the music and Alex pulled Blossom into a loose embrace and swayed with her.

Brick turned when he heard the change in music and laughter. The sight that greeted him, had him burning just a little bit with jealousy. While he knew that Dexter wasn't any competition for Blossom's attention, some overconfident college boy just might. It also didn't escape his notice that there was mistletoe hanging right above them.

Alex apparently didn't forget either, as he shook his head making the mistletoe shake. "Well, would you look at that. Mistletoe." He looked down at Blossom with a wide smile on his face. "How about a little peck on the cheek, Red?"

Red? I'll give you 'red'. Brick thought as he tried to make his way over to the dancing couple. Boomer caught his older brother, watching as he did, when Blossom placed an innocent peck on Alex's cheek.

"She kissed him." Brick said in disbelief.

"On the cheek." Boomer said.

"Doesn't mean anything." Josh assured.

Alex then leaned and whispered something into Blossom's ear, which caused her to laugh and then she nodded her head giddily. Brick swore under his breath, because the music that was playing interfered with his super hearing.

"Okay, that might mean something." Josh said.

Brick exhaled and a thin cloud of smoke came out of his nose. The sight startled Josh, causing him to take a hesitant step back.

"Wow, he's literally blowing steam." Alex laughed, not in the least bit worried.

Blossom turned her head to look at Brick, and couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. "Yeah, he's sometimes full of fire. Others it's just hot air."

Alex laughed out loud again. "Go talk to him, before he thinks I'm trying to steal you away."

"Is that to mean, you weren't?" Blossom teased with a smile.

Alex put his hand under Blossom's chin and tilted her head up. "If I wanted to steal you away, I'd be trying a lot harder."

Blossom smiled and allowed herself to be turned in a circle with Alex.

Soon after Deedee—sans Dexter—, Mac, Goo, and Jack arrived. Their food for the potluck was added to the table. The gifts were put into a large red velvet bag that was stored under the tree in the living room. After that Tabitha gave the go ahead for everyone to dig into the pot luck dishes which received a welcome reception.

Doing a pot luck was the easiest way to see who could and couldn't cook. While it was said that everyone should cook something, Mac decided to just purchase a sandwich platter just to avoid a kitchen mishap. So Mac wouldn't seem to be the odd man out for not cooking, Goo and Jack also brought purchased items to the party. Jack had gone to his Uncle's shop and gotten dessert buns with a red bean paste on the inside. Goo had gone to her great aunt and had her bake a sweet potato casserole that was sweet as well as savory.

Everyone eagerly dug into everything that was brought. Watching everyone's reactions to some of things that were made were quite funny. The ham that Sam brought was quickly disappearing, along with the casseroles that both Goo and Robin made. The desserts were put away for later by Tabitha as well as two fully stocked plates for Butch and Buttercup for whenever they arrived. The funniest thing to watch was everyone trying Buttercup's friend chicken with the jalapeno cream sauce.

As expected by its name it was spicy. However, no one aside from Robin, Bubbles, and Blossom knew just how spicy. The first one to try it was Alex, who had tears running down his face at that heat. Robin, Blossom, and Bubbles were quite used to the heat, so they ate without hesitation. The next to try it was Goo, who found the heat amazing, while Mac was downing large gulps of sugary fruit punch which Goo said insisted would kill the heat.

Jack simply bragged about how the disciplined don't feel the heat, only taste the flavor. Josh had just avoided the spicy dish altogether knowing that spicy food weren't his favorite. Sam and Tabitha braved only a few bites, before deeming it too spicy for them to continue to eat. Boomer tried to be tough, as he ate the dish, but Bubbles caught him drinking large gulps of milk to kill the heat.

The only one who didn't flinch was Brick, claiming that it wasn't even that spicy and everyone else were just being babies.

"Buttercup really knows how to bring the heat, doesn't she?" he asked as Bubbles as she sat close beside him.

"She's the spice." Bubbles said as explanation.

Boomer smiled as he set his cup down on the coffee table in front of them. "Well I like the sugar."

Bubbles blushed prettily, while a faint pink crossed Boomer's nose. Suddenly Alex leaned beside Boomer and stared at Bubbles. "She's really cute."

"I know." Boomer bristled, feeling his hackles rise at another guy ogling Bubbles.

Alex then shook his head and glanced upward. Boomer saw what he was gesturing to and rose a suspicious brow. "Well? Aren't you going to kiss her?"

Bubbles' fading blush reignited as she giggled and turned to Boomer with expectant eyes. Boomer swallowed and then leaned over to place a quick peck on Bubbles' lips.

Alex sighed and rolled his eyes. "Is that how you kiss your girlfriend?"

"What's it to you?" Boomer asked getting defensive.

"Give her a real kiss under the mistletoe." Alex nudged him.

Boomer looked about to say something when Bubbles leaned over and gave Boomer a kiss deep enough to make him blush.

Alex smirked and then stood up. "That's more like it." He then walked away and started to head into the kitchen. "All right, everybody. It's time for some drinks."

Soon, after Alex went into the kitchen and started making his specialty drink. The minute Josh heard Alex in the kitchen and glasses clinking, he got up and grabbed the mason jar from off the table.

"All right, everyone. Car keys in the mason jar." He said. When everyone looked toward him with questioning stares, he rolled his eyes. "No keys, no drink. That's the rule."

"Drinking?" Blossom said as she turned to look at Tabitha. "We can't drink."

"Sure, you can." Alex said while poking his head around the corner from the kitchen. The sound of a whipped cream could be heard. "So toss those keys in the mason jar and be prepared to have the best Christmas party ever!"

Monster Truck Rally lasted for a good three hours, and Buttercup only enjoyed it for the first hour, because Mitch tried everything to make it seem like it was a date when it wasn't. Whenever something awesome happened, such as a monster truck clearing a three car jump, he'd grab onto her and yell. In between stunts, he'd bring up all their old antics and how much fun they had.

Going into the second hour, Buttercup figured out what Mitch was up to and used the intermission to take a bathroom break. As she was going to the bathroom, she felt her phone buzz and saw that Butch was calling her.

"Hello?"

"Turn around."

Confused, Buttercup did just that and gasped when she saw Butch approaching her. When he got within reaching distance of her, Buttercup put her hands up to ward him off and hang up her phone. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"I came to get my girlfriend so we can stuff our faces with pot luck, hopefully kiss under mistletoe, and maybe just maybe get a little sex in." Butch bluntly told her.

Buttercup opened and closed her mouth a few times, before shaking her head. "I've got to pee and then we'll talk about this. You should not be here. How did you even get in here?"

"I can fly, Cupcake. I flew over the wall." Butch told her.

Buttercup rolled her eyes and turned to go to the bathroom. "Just wait here."

Butch nodded and then watched as Buttercup went to the bathroom. As he was waiting, he leaned against a wall sticking his hands in his pockets. He could feel a talk coming from Buttercup, but he at least she would be with him instead of Mitch.

"Hey!"

Speak of the goddamn devil. Mitch was storming over to him his face twisted into a scowl. Butch simply folded his arms in an effort to keep his hands to himself. However, if Mitch touched him, he'd knock those braces out of his mouth.

"What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Waiting on my girlfriend to take a piss and then give me an earful." Butch told him, not really caring how Mitch decided to take his words.

"Sure you aren't here, just to give her a mouthful and then ignore her?" Mitch snapped at him.

Buch's hands clenched into fists. "If I were you, I'd watch my fucking mouth. Don't talk about Buttercup like that." He spoke in a low voice. "You don't know anything about our relationship."

"Relationship?" Mitch questioned with a scoff. "Until what? Last week maybe, you couldn't have given a rat's ass about her unless she was riding your dick."

Before Mitch could continue, Butch had stepped away from the wall and was leaning over Mitch. "I've already seen how easy it is to make you piss your pants. I wonder how easy it'll be to make you piss blood."

Mitch snorted and shook his head at him. "Right. Just threaten me, so you don't have to deal with the fact that you used to treat her like shit."

"Not that it's any of your business, I had my reasons for not being with her. And if we want to talk about treating her like shit, tell me your excuse."

Before Mitch could say anything else, Buttercup had come back and was quickly separating the two with a hand on each of their chest. "Okay, that's enough. Butch, go back to the party. Mitch, stop being a jackass to my boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Mitch laughed. "Buttercup he's—."

"I know what he is, Mitch." Buttercup snapped loudly, before dropping her voice. "Your opinion of him doesn't matter. Mine does."

"Well your opinion of him sucks ass, Buttercup." He yelled. "He's not right for you. You just think he is, because your sisters have already fallen for his just as sucky brothers."

Buttercup stared wide eyed before turning to Butch. "I'm ready to go." She then walked over to Butch, adjusting her shirt as she folded her arms. Butch put his arm around her shoulders and made to walk her out of the arena.

"But there's still a whole lot of Rally left." Mitch said as he tried to follow after her.

"Fuck you." She said as she shook her head. "I want to be with my real friends."

"I'm our real friend. Your best friend!" Mitch yelled out.

Buttercup stopped and then turned out of Butch's arm to storm at him. "Buttercup." Butch called to her, hoping she would deck him, but also knowing she'd regret it later.

Buttercup stood in front of Mitch her eyes hardened jade stone. Her fists were clenched like she wanted to hit him, but then she shook her head and turned, going back to Butch. She took Butch's had in her own and they left the arena.

"Are you okay?" Butch asked, genuinely concerned for her.

"I will be." She said while leaning her head against his shoulder in mild exhaustion.

"That is not an egg cream!" Sam shrieked as she set her glass down on the coffee table.

Alex took a generous sip of his 'egg cream'. "Sure it is. I just used Bailey's instead of cream."

"Bailey's?" Blossom asked taking slow sips of her egg cream.

"Bailey's Irish Cream, Red." Alex said with a wink. "How are you liking it?"

Blossom looked at Alex, who quickly shot a glance at Brick. Blossom very subltly nodded her head, and smiled. "I really like it."

Brick caught the look shared between the two of them and had to resist rushing the glass cup in his hand. Suddenly the front door opened to reveal Buttercup and Butch. "We're here."

"Oh, Buttercup." Tabitha said, giddily and slightly buzzed. "Butch, you brought her. He brought you." She said giving Buttercup a big hug.

"Hey, Tabitha." Buttercup chukled while hugging her back. "Are you okay?" She said while leaning back to look at her.

Josh came forward with two glasses in his hands. "She's a little buzzed right now."

"Are you kidding me?" Butch started. "She's drunk."

"Not drunk. Just really really buzzed." She told him as sternly as she could while giggling like crazy. "Also, we saved you guys two amazing plates of food. Buttercup that sauce for the chicken is way too spicy."

Buttercup chuckled and then took the drink from Josh's offered hand. "Thank you."

"Drink up, because now that you're here we an give out the presents." Tabitha squealed. "So eat up, drink, up, and join us in the living room around the tree."

Butch and Buttercup sat in the kitchen while they ate. They were silent for the time being, until Butch cleared his throat. "Are you all right?"

Buttercup chuckled low in her throat as she stabbed her fork into the slice of ham on her plate. "I'll be fine. You were right. He's an asshole."

Butch and Buttercup chuckled. "Yeah, but seeing you upset about something I was right about, doesn't make me happy."

Buttercup scoffed. "Yeah, right. You hate him."

"I didn't say I didn't. I just don't want you to be upset." Butch told her.

Buttercup looked up at him and laid her chin in her hand. "Can we go on a date?"

"What?"

Buttercup shrugged. "Can we go on a date? Not tonight, but soon."

Butch sighed and then leaned over the table to kiss Buttercup. "Sure, why not?"

The two green super humans smiled at each other and Butch pulled Buttercup off the stool she was sitting on. Boomer came into the room then and knocked. "Hey, Tabitha says it's time for the Secret Santa."

"Come on." Butch said. "I got my Secret Santa something good."

The next hour was filled with laughter as everyone got their Secret Santa gifts. The gifts ranged from a crazy underwear to a small collection of movies. Some gifts were funny. Like Bubbles', who's Secret Santa was Goo who got her blowing bubbles, bubble bath, and a kit for bubble tea. Some gifts were a gag. Like Brick, who's Secret Santa was Tabitha who got him packs of red molding clay.

"This is so much fun." Tabitha drawled working on her second Bailey's egg cream. "We should've done this a long time ago. A long time. I regret that we didn't do this sooner."

Josh laughed as he pulled Tabitha into his lap and kissed her. "You've had enough to drink. I regret letting Alex talk me into condoning underaged drinking."

Alex laughed and then took off his mistletoe headband. "Well, as long as we're all sharing. I regret not taking Gender Studies. Maybe if I had, I'd know that my girlfriend was more into girls than me."

Everyone shared a laugh and started going around in a circle about things that they regret.

"Not studying for my Spanish final." Sam said.

"Going out with a guy named Issac Newton." Robin giggled.

"Wearing a top knot for my senior photograph." Jack said. "I look like a shogun in the feudal era."

"Thinking Goo was nuts when we first met." Mac said with a smile at Goo, who kissed his cheek sweetly.

"Letting my imagination run too wild, scaring Mac off." Goo smirked, knowing with hindsight that their relationship was inevitable.

When it was Boomer's turn he took hold of Bubbles' hand and brought it too his lips. "Not meeting Bubbles sooner after puberty hit."

Everyone laughed at that, especially his brothers. Bubbles simply blushed and then took another sip of her Bailey's egg cream.

"Being a jackass to the only girl who could kick my ass." Butch said making Buttercup roll her eyes at him. Despite her nonchalant attitude, he noticed the smug smile on her face telling him that she was pleased.

"So what do the Power Puff girls regret?" Alex asked as he got up to get more drinks for everyone.

Josh got up to try to stop Alex from making more alcoholic beverages for the underaged teens in the house.

The girls shared a look with each other and all took a deep drink of their Bailey's. "Pass." The girls said simultaneously.

"No, no, no." Tabitha laughed as she stood up.

Robin tugged on the edge of Tabitha's sweater. "Tabitha, wait."

"We all shared our regrets."

"Tabitha." Robin's voice was sterner now, drawing everyone's attention. "Maybe we should do something else now."

Bubbles held her cup so tightly in her hands, that Boomer had to take it from her so she wouldn't break it. "Bubbles?"

Buttercup stood up while patting Butch's knee. "I need another drink. Butch, come with me." She then left the room with Butch confusedly following after her.

Robin ran her hands through her hair and stood up. "We've got great music guys. Let's dance or sing. Anything that is not this right now."

Tabitha turned to look at Robin, her brow furrowing and then around the room which had gone silent. "What is the deal? We're having fun."

"And this isn't fun anymore, so Robin let's turn up the music and sing off key." Blossom said in an overly chipper voice.

"No, I want to hear what they regret." Tabitha said, not getting the clue like she normally would if she were sober.

"Tabitha, enough." Josh said, as he pulled his girlfriend down and handing her a glass of water. "Drink this and then eat a cupcake."

"Desserts." Brick said as he stood up. "I brought caramel apples. I also saw cupcakes, sweet bean buns, and Blossom made ice cream. Why don't we all head to the kitchen and stuff our faces?"

"I'm in." Jack readily said, already standing up and heading for the kitchen. Mac quickly got up and followed Jack into the kitchen.

"What? What's wrong?" Tabitha said.

Robin grabbed Tabitha and roughly pulled her out of the living room and into the hallway away from everyone. "Tabitha, please let this go."

"You know." Her eyes widened with mirth. "Tell me, tell me, tell me."

"I won't." She started. "I can't. It's not mine to say and what it is, is really hard for them to say, so please drop it."

Tabitha seemed to catch the urgency in Robin's voice. "Is it bad?"

"Extremely, so please don't ask again." Robin clasped her hands in front of her.

Tabitha looked down and then up at Robin and nodded. "Okay."

Blossom was busy scooping her ice cream into cups while Brick stood next to her arms braced against the counter. The awkward feeling was still hanging over everyone, and Brick sighed as he turned to look at Blossom, who's nose was turning red.

"Stop staring me." Blossom said, her voice thick with unshed tears. "You're going to make my tears fall."

Brick stepped closer to Blossom cleared his throat. "Do you want to tell me?"

"No, because then I'll really cry." She laughed as she finished scooping ice cream into the cups, getting ice cream onto her fingers. She was about to put her hand to her mouth, when Brick took her hand in his own. "Brick."

Brick then brought Blossom's hand to his mouth and sucked the ice cream from her fingers, staring into her eyes all the while. Blossom's face got as red as Brick's cap as she swallowed her tears and felt a different kind of lump form in her throat.

"Do you want to know what I regret?" Brick asked with his signature smirk crossing his face.

"What?" Blossom said in a high voice.

"Not doing this sooner." Brick then leaned over to Blossom and placed a soft kiss to on her lips. Blossom's eyes widened as the heat from Brick's lips scorched through her. She blamed it partly on Brick's inner fire; mostly on the heat she herself was radiating as she blushed. She also felt an icy hot tingling going through her body.

Brick used his tongue to coax her mouth open and brushed his tongue gently against hers. It felt great as even in her mouth, a bit of chillness from her ice powers cooled his tongue. He idly wondered if another cavern of hers had that same icy hot feeling her mouth had. On the counter, Blossom moved her hand across the counter and entwined her fingers with Brick. Little did they know, that the cups of ice cream closest to Blossom and Brick were melting.

Suddenly a throat being cleared startled the red headed teens apart. Standing in the doorway of the kitchen was Alex with the biggest smirk on his face. Brick stood up straight, while Blossom pulled her hair into her hands and tugged it nervously.

"Everyone's waiting on this Blossom Special Ice Cream." He told them as he went to the counter and picked up the tray full of ice cream. "Good job, Red." He whispered into Blossom's ear.

Blossom blush increased as she looked anywhere, but at the boys in the kitchen with her. When Alex left, she spared a glance at Brick, who returned the look with a questioning one. "What was that about?"

"Nothing."

The lightheartedness of the party returned as the desserts were passed around. Blossom's apple pie crumble ice cream was a hit, which paired well with the candied apples that Brick brought. The coincidence earned more than a few smiles and knowing looks. It also helped with winding the party down.

Everyone moved back into the living room with their desserts and settled against one another on the couches, bean bags, and floor. The group soon fell into easy conversation about school and the antics that had happened over the last semester.

"The Halloween party at Princess' was epic, I hear." Sam gushed. "I really wish we could've been there."

"Especially, to see that brat's face when the video started playing." Tabitha joined in drowsily, leaning heavily against Josh.

Bubbles was laid up against Boomer in a similar fashion with her head resting against his shoulder and his arms wrapped comfortably around her. "I had a lot of fun at Homecoming. It was kind of our first public date." Bubbles yawned as she snuggled closer to Boomer.

Goo and Mac sitting side by side on the same couch as Boomer and Bubbles, with their hands clasped together. "I think our date to the pet foster home to see all your pets was a nice little outing. Bloo really took a real liking to you, Macaroni."

Mac was so tired that he didn't even mind Goo calling him Macaroni.

Buttercup had taken up space on the floor, lying on her side with Butch pressing his body against hers in a polite for company way. Sam, Robin, and Jack were all sitting at the small coffee table and fighting the sleep that was slowly taking over all of them.

"You guys are a really cool group of friends." Alex mused as he sat in his favorite chair. "I hope you guys keep in touch after high school."

Brick who'd been sitting with Blossom against the far wall had turned his head to look at Alex. "Why wouldn't we?"

"Well, it's safe to say that you all aren't going to the same college, or even thinking of going to college." Alex shrugged. "It's rare that everyone stays together like this."

"We should host a party like this when school ends then." Tabitha concluded. "Another…" she yawned a large yawn. "…party."

Josh chuckled low in his throat and pulled Tabitha close to him. "Let's get through this party first."

Tabitha's laugh was broken by another yawn. "Yeah, probably."

Brick leaned his head against the wall, wearing his cap forwards so the bill wouldn't knock against the wall. What did he want to do after high school? He wasn't entirely sure, while he guessed his friends had a better idea than he did at the moment. A sudden thought had him tensing slightly.

What were Blossom's plan after high school? She was most likely going to college. She was too smart not to go. But where would that leave him? Would he be the bad boy boyfriend that stayed behind? Or would he be the overly committed boyfriend and go to college with her?

It almost seemed like a conditioned response to think about what his brothers were doing? The three of them had always been together, so how would they manage to be apart. Then there was Mojo. The green skinned chimp would be excited of any of them got into college, but then he'd be by himself. For though he'd never admit it, Mojo had mild separation anxiety and didn't bode well with alone.

This line of conversation had brought with it an entire onslaught of questions. Questions that would need require a sit down with his brothers and father. A new, unknown, and unexpected future lie before Brick and his brothers. And the worst part of it was that none of them were prepared for what could possibly happen.