Click, click, click, click.
In the far back of Hines Center, room 402, Blossom Utonium could not stop clicking her pen.
It was a terrible habit, one she developed when she first settled in Townsville. Whenever she had a bad feeling in her gut, she had to press on something. If it wasn't her lucky pen that had both pink and black ink options, then it was the random apps on her phone. And if for whatever reason, she couldn't bring her phone out, then it was her tiny, skinny fingers pressing against each other, which usually ended in her dislocating at least one of the bones. She always made sure to keep a sturdy finger splint tucked in her bookbag, just in case the occasion came up while she was out. And it did. A lot.
Blossom's eyes darted to the clock. Only two minutes of class left. Mr. York was known for using every second of class time, and though Blossom adored her American Literature course on a good day, she wanted to escape as soon as possible. The walls felt like they were closing in, becoming more suffocating. None of Mr. York's words seemed to meet her ears. And her thumb refused to stop moving. Try as she might, the collision between her thumb and her pen was unfortunately inevitable.
"...so next time, be sure to read chapters fifty through sixty. We'll be discussing the literary elements of the stories at hand, along with discussing the questions I'll assign to you through e-mail." Mr. York's voice finally picked up as he concluded the lesson. "Hope you all have a nice day," he says, a genuine smile on his face. Blossom checked the clock again. Three-thirty, right on the dot again. Mr. York never failed to end class perfectly.
"Finally," the girl in front of her huffed, tossing her poofy, orange hair behind her as she marched out. She was probably annoyed by the clicking sounds she had to endure every time Blossom felt even the least bit of anxiousness. Blossom didn't blame her, but she also didn't feel bad. Self-care just had to be a priority some days, even if it didn't benefit others.
Hurriedly, Blossom shoved her items and her bookbag and escaped the classroom into the crowded hallway. She hated having classes near the afternoon since it was one of the busiest times of the day at Pokey Oaks University, but American Literature was only taught every other year, and she needed it to finish her Literacy concentration for her teaching degree on time. She weaved in between groups of people, muttering a loud enough "sorry" each time her shoulder accidentally collided with another student. Luckily, nobody seemed to pay her any mind.
Getting to the quad in one piece was difficult, but Blossom barely managed. She traveled toward a huge fountain lying in front of her. Ever since she and her sisters started their journey at their university, they took the time to sit on the ledge of the fountain, eat, and talk about anything that was appropriate to talk about in a public setting. With a huff, she sat down toward the center of the fountain, pulling her bookbag in her lap. After digging through it a bit, she found what she was looking for: the container of cheap, cold sandwiches she purchased minutes before her class. She was always the one who had to buy lunch for herself and her sisters since the cashier who worked at that time daily liked her enough to give her discounts. She was sure it was because of the big, red bow that she always wore, even though Buttercup thought otherwise.
"Blossom!" Speaking of Buttercup, there she was, jogging over towards Blossom. When Blossom stood up to give her sister a smile face-to-face (or, as face-to-face as it could get since Buttercup beat her height by eleven inches), she slapped a hand on Blossom's shoulder. "How was class?" Buttercup asked as usual.
"Good," Blossom fibbed a bit. She was sure it would have been a great lecture if she had enough energy to pay attention, so saying 'good' was better than nothing. "You?"
Always completely honest with her feelings of disdain, Buttercup replied with a simple word. "Ass." She reached over, digging into the container of sandwiches to pick the biggest one of the three. She always ate the most and gained the least, an unfair gift the other Utonium sisters didn't receive.
Curiously, Blossom raised an eyebrow. "Biodiversity, right? What made it so bad today?" she asked.
With a sigh, Buttercup tossed her bookbag on the ground as if it didn't hold anything expensive. "Dr. Tapp keeps getting on me. I mean, this is a class of, like, hundreds of people, yet she still finds a way to call me out!"
"Probably 'cause she didn't try to do her homework again," a voice chimed in. Blossom and Buttercup turned, facing their other sister. Bubbles let out a giggle at Buttercup's expression. Despite her kind nature, Bubbles couldn't help but let out a tease or two at her sister's expense. "Hi, guys," she greeted.
Buttercup glared at the blonde. "Hello. And for your information, I tried doing the homework this time. Just because I didn't finish it means nothing. It's Dr. Tapp's fault for ignoring all my emails with questions! I genuinely tried!" she snapped.
"And yet, all I saw were pictures of video games victories on, like, every social platform you use all throughout yesterday. Definitely looks like you tried, Butters." As Bubbles picked up her own sandwich, there was no way she could hide her smirk at Buttercup's angry huff.
Blossom let out a tiny laugh at the scene, but her heart wasn't fully in it. Honestly, she was still thinking too much, thinking too much about the car, about the boys, about him knowing. She felt herself begin to walk back and forth, another habit of hers. When her thoughts ran, she walked. It was just how she operated.
"Is she doing the thing again...?" she heard Bubbles mutter.
Buttercup nodded. "Yup, she's definitely doing the thing," she whispered back. "She's gotta calm down."
"Huh?" Blossom blinked, then paused her movements and narrowed her eyes at her sisters. "I am calm! What 'thing' are you guys even talking about?"
Buttercup snorted. "Well, your thumb won't stop pressing against your poor sandwich, and some of the lettuce is falling out." She pointed at Blossom's poor excuse for a sandwich. Seriously, it was crushed beyond repair. Blossom didn't even realize it until she called her out. "A calm person definitely paces around and does all of this," Buttercup continued, gesturing towards Blossom, "in the middle of a quad where everyone can see."
Bubbles nodded. "Buttercup's right, Bloss. I know you're stressed about... you know. We both do. But, you've gotta breathe, girl."
Easier said than done. Breathing sounded like the hardest thing to do right now. "But..." Blossom started.
Both Bubbles and Buttercup gave their older sister a look, one that said something along the lines of, "Sit the heck down, take a bite of your sandwich, and breathe."
Blossom sighed, then did just that. The sandwich was, of course, pretty gross, but it got the job done. She nibbled on it for a bit, relaxed a couple of her nerves before speaking again in a quiet voice as her sisters sat down beside her. "Okay. I know it's unlikely, girls, I know. But what if he knows? What if we're caught? We can't afford that. You know what'll happen to us."
There's a moment of silence, one that couldn't be ignored. All three of them knew the rules. Even though they hadn't been home for who knew how long, the rules were still etched in their brains, followed them with every step they took. No amount of time could ever cause them to forget them entirely.
Bubbles was the one who decided to talk. "Then we'll handle it like we've handled everything else. Together," she replied, giving a strong smile. It was a small action, but it was filled with so much meaning and love.
A small smile settled on Blossom's lips. That was all she could do at that moment, at least physically. But mentally, she was still freaking out, just a tiny bit.
Bubbles looked down at her phone as it vibrated, then gasped. "Shoot! I almost forgot. We've got our group meeting in a bit, Buttercup." Quickly, she downed the last bit of her sandwich, wiping frantically on her sweater to rid of the crumbs.
"Ugh. I hate group projects," Buttercup grumbled, and she didn't look eager to stand up and finish her sandwich as quickly as Bubbles did.
Immediately, Bubbles pouted. It was easy to tell why: Bubbles took it personally. Blossom knew the two were paired up along with another student for their shared English course, and knowing Bubbles and her sensitivity, she probably thought Buttercup was saying something along the lines of, 'I hate working with this particular group.'
"I didn't say I hate you or Mike; I said the project!" Buttercup exclaimed, but it was too late. Bubbles was already walking away, arms crossed and head held high. "What a baby..." Pinching her nose, Buttercup growled a little. She then glanced at Blossom. "Hey, you got a while before your evening class right? Use this time to chillax, sis. You're just overthinking again; there's no way the guy knows shit. Just... I dunno, destress study? Is that a thing?"
With a roll of her eyes, Blossom couldn't help but grin. "Sure, yeah, let's say destress studying is a thing," she replied. To be fair, it could be real. Blossom wasn't a fan of all her classes this semester, but there was enough to distract her and get her normal thoughts away for a while. "But okay. I'll calm it down, promise. See you and Bubbs at home."
As Buttercup ran to catch up with Bubbles and probably explode with anger filled apologies, Blossom got up from her spot, swallowing the last bite of her sandwich. Buttercup was right: Blossom was overthinking again. It was one of her flaws, really. Anything bad happens, then POOF, a thought turns into three, and those three thoughts turn into billions by the time a minute is over. You would think she'd be used to it, but alas.
"Might as well go to the library," Blossom muttered, packing her container back inside her bag. The library was a quick five-minute walk from the quad and she had nothing planned for the next eight hours anyway. It wouldn't hurt to get a few assignments done; she always loved to be more ahead than behind. Besides, she was always tired after Teaching Ethics. As soon as she reached her dorm room, she was going to pass out for sure.
"Hey."
Blossom felt every part of her being turn stone cold. That voice. She wasn't ready to hear it, but the day decided to throw it at her anyway without any warning.
"Hey," she responded back simply, placing on a polite smile as she looked up at Brick. He wore this smug grin on his face, the one you'd wear if you knew that you won, even before a contest began. "What are you—" she started but was interrupted.
"Ya know, my brothers are always tellin' me to make friends. And I usually tell 'em no, I don't wanna, 'cause people aren't interesting. But you." He gave her a look said something without any use of vocal words. "You're interesting, Blossom Utonium. Very interesting."
Blossom felt her face heat up. What happened to that flustered boy a couple of hours earlier? Sure, he was still, well, a smug piece of shit, but at least it was the lowkey type. Now, he radiated smug-piece-of-shit energy. And his attitude wouldn't be such a big deal if he didn't look like that.
Brick was, in a word, attractive. Not the kind of attractive that you'd see in the movies—that was that fake, first-love-at-first-sight type attractive that didn't exist in the real world—but the subtle type of attractive. His style was mostly sloppy, and his dark orange hair was always pushed back by the tattered red cap on his head. It was the way he carried himself that always caught Blossom's eye. He always looked so bold, so courageous, so determined, almost like he always knew what he wanted. Maybe he did. It made it hard for others to ignore him entirely.
"Well," Blossom started, deciding that silence, in this case, would only lead her towards an inevitable doom much sooner, "interesting is something I strive to be, so thank you."
"Cocky. I like that." He grew a smirk.
Blossom didn't like the tone of that word. Cocky. "I think I'm more confident if anything," she corrected.
"'Course ya do." Brick gave her another glance over, a quick scanning that made Blossom's entire body feel like she were some sort of bargain deal. "Well, I just wanted to stop by and chat. I am..."
Brick's eyes glanced off to the huge tower clock. Every student at Pokey Oaks University learned one way or another that the tower clock read thirty-seven minutes incorrectly. Since the school was too cheap to spend some money to fix it, they all had to either learn how to mentally calculate the time, check on their phones, or ask a friend.
Mental calculation didn't seem too hard for Brick. "Oh wow. Five minutes late to my meeting. Just what I fuckin' needed..." He said the last part in a mutter, shaking his head. Blossom could tell it wasn't his first time being late to something, and it certainly wouldn't be his last. "Anyway. See ya 'round real soon."
Real soon. Those words escaped him like a promise that he intended to keep. Blossom could only give a feeble wave goodbye, the same polite smile on her face. She had to look normal because this was supposed to be a normal encounter with normal intentions. Brick gave a lazy wave back, then strolled out into the neverending crowd of students, somehow looking like the biggest thing even with so many people around him.
Blossom's fingers twitched.
Brick knew. He definitely knew. Blossom could tell.
Blossom was restless and she needed a swim. Badly.
Professor always told her to be careful, to look out for others that might see her. Blossom was always on the lookout, though. It felt like second nature at this point. Being the oldest, it was her responsibility to not only take care of herself but her sisters as well. Every single day, her eyes darted from left to right, top to bottom, constantly looking out for those who were looking out for her, hearing out for her. But she never found anything, and her sisters always told her to calm down.
So, she would calm down through her favorite activity, the reason she lived: swimming.
The best part about living in Gray Dormitory was that it was right next to the pool area. Living on the first floor near the exit also had its perks, the main one being that walks to places around campus were shorter. Blossom wasn't necessarily lazy, but traveling less before a swim felt better than a hike or something.
"Alright, all set," Blossom muttered to herself as she stuffed the last items into her swim bag. She made sure everything was folded neatly before zipping it up and throwing the light straps over her shoulders.
Living in a single room got lonely since she was used to her sisters bugging her late into the night. Freshman and sophomore year were filled with so many fun memories of having the same room; it had been a while since they shared one, and it was like nothing had changed. The one thing she didn't miss, however, was the prying. "Where are you going, Blossom? Can I come? Why is your face so sweaty and your fingers so twitchy? You're hiding something, aren't you? Is it a date?" Bubbles and Buttercup were her best friends and the greatest sisters she could ever receive, but damn, did they get on the very last of her nerves. Nowadays, she could just walk out and head to the pool after midnight with no questions asked and no guilty feelings attached.
After double-checking her room to make sure that everything she needed was packed and ready to go, Blossom shut off the lights and locked the door, stepping out into the heated hallway. There were some doors open, and she could hear music playing and conversations being made. Gray Dormitory was always pretty loud throughout the night, but it was a blessing the walls were so thick. Blossom would've moved out to a new floor or even a new dorm if anything disrupted her sleep.
The cold, night air hit her face all at once as she exited the dorm, and she shivered slightly. Unlike indoors, it was dead silent. Nobody tended to stick around outside past midnight. She took a sharp right and was immediately greeted by the sight of the Johnson Center, the pool area. The pool was always vacant after eight, so she wasn't worried about getting caught. Even though the head coach had a key, he never locked the door correctly. Blossom could tell because the lock wouldn't click like other locks on campus when he attempted to lock it. As she looked around to see that nobody could see her, then pushed open the door to the main entrance, she instinctively inhaled and let out a satisfied sigh. The faint smell of chlorine could never match the sea by any means, but it was still comforting in a strange way.
Slipping into the girl's locker room, she traveled towards the far back, opening the second last locker on the right side of the room. It only had a couple of things inside: some pictures of her and her family, random scrunchies varying in pinks and whites, and one of the cases for her glasses. The locker used to be vacant since the swim team refused to use this it—something about it being haunted by a ghost, which was absolutely ridiculous in Blossom's opinion—so she decided to make it hers. Nobody ever found out, or if they did, she had yet to get called out on it. It was her perfect little secret, and she was going to hold onto it for as long as she could.
After changing into her swimsuit and throwing her thick, white towel around her shoulders, she threw her bag inside the locker and took out the case for her glasses. She then traveled out the connecting door to the huge pool, a simple 3-foot to 13-foot body of water that felt more like home every time she entered. Of course, it wasn't home, but it was close, and close was better than nothing. She had spent hours during the late nights just swimming away. It made her feel free.
"Here should be fine..." Blossom muttered to herself, taking off her glasses and placing them inside the case. The world around her blurred slightly, but she was still able to see enough to know where to put her case, right underneath the nearby lifeguard chair. It was close enough for her to grab them once she was done.
Then, Blossom carefully traveled to the huge diving board at the far end of the pool. She then climbed the ladder slowly and traveled to the base of the diving board. Her skin screamed eagerly for the water below, and Blossom knew that it was time to listen to its call. Elegantly, she swung her arms in a steady rhythm as she took a slight run to her destination. Her posture was as perfect as always even as she reached the edge of the diving board. Her feet pointed as soon as they were both in the air, and her body twisted expertly as she fell toward the body of water below. And as she finally landed into the water, her legs getting that familiar heavy feeling to them as they shifted and changed, she couldn't wipe the grin on her face. It was all so familiar and warm.
One of Blossom's favorite things about swimming in the pool was that she was surrounded by nothing but water. She liked to think of it as a huge hug, specifically one of those hugs you'd get after a bad day at school. It felt like home more than her current home ever could. And she could see clearly. On land, she was slightly oblivious to all that was around her without glasses; she didn't have the worst sight out there, but it was still hard for her to see from certain distances. In water, though, she could see, well, everything plus more. It was like she was destined to be there, destined to stay underwater forever.
With a slight laugh of joy, she sprung from the deep depths of the water to the air above, eyes closed. The bright lights of the area shone directly on her, a fake attempt of sunlight. Blossom just reveled in it, pretending that she was out above the waters of the sea, taking in countless amounts of the sun's rays on her tanned skin. It was such a pretty sight, the escape she wanted.
But as she opened her eyes, painful reality struck in the worst way possible.
"Hey."
"...Hey."
It was weird. Normally, in a situation like this, Blossom would feel absolutely terrified. Her heart would be pounding, her head would be screaming, and her fingers would be sprained from colliding into one another over and over. But at that moment, she felt nothing. It was as if her body shut down to the point where she was in some form of space.
And normally, in a situation like this, any normal human being would be screaming at this sight, whether it be out loud or mentally. A typical guy with Brick's personality would hurry at the chance to whip out a phone and take a picture to sell it on some big media platform and obtain fortune that would last a lifetime. But Brick didn't do that. Instead, he slipped out of his raggedy sandals and dipped his feet into the water, his dark brown eyes staring deep into her soul. Yet again, weird.
"So," he started simply. He shifted slightly, propping his elbows onto his lap as he laid his head on one of his hands. "Hm. I, uh, see that you're... tailing around here."
Blossom couldn't help it. She laughed. Even though that joke was shitty and even though this was shitty timing, she couldn't help but respond to him like that. "No. Please don't," she replied seriously, but her lip couldn't help but twitch up slightly.
Brick looked pleased... Either that or the blob in front of her just looked pleased. Blossom couldn't tell. She was too afraid to swim closer to him clearly. He seemed to be the type who loved when people laughed at his crappy jokes, so she was probably right. "After hours, too. What a daredevil. Are you even on the swim team?" he asked.
She wasn't. Of course not. Everyone would see who she really was if she ever decided to be stupid enough to join. "Are you?" she retorted like a child because in this case, childish retorts changed the conversation enough. Plus, she was sure he wasn't on the team. What was the likelihood of that being true?
"Yes, actually. I just came here to pick up some things I forgot." Blossom didn't look convinced, but Brick wasn't affected by that at all. "Look. I'm the first place winner of the men's two hundred meter competition throughout last season and currently in this one."
His head turned towards the back of the pool area, and Blossom's eyes followed. She narrowed her eyes, and her vision improved enough to see what he was staring at. There, hanging up on the wall, was a huge, golden plaque with his name in glittery lettering, ribbons of all shapes and sizes surrounding it. He wasn't kidding. Go figure. Blossom knew she wasn't really into sports news on this campus, but she didn't think she was this clueless.
"My best time has yet to be broken," he continued, turning back to Blossom, "but I think I have some competition over here. I feel like you're a phenomenal swimmer. Don't ask how I know; I just do."
"I..." Blossom's mouth suddenly went dry. Oh right. This. It wasn't looking like a good situation at all, and no amount of jokes and teasing could change what Brick was seeing at that moment. "I don't know what you're talking about."
"You don't?" Brick didn't sound convinced. If anything, he sounded amused.
She had no choice but to keep playing along. It was better than nothing. "No. I'm not even here. You're hallucinating. Must be drunk off your ass again."
With a mock gasp, Brick placed his fingertips on his chest. "I'll have you know that I'm a responsible student. I only drink on the weekends." His lips settled into a smirk. "Nice try though. You must 'drink' a lot though, considering you're a mer—"
Blossom felt her entire heart in her throat. That word. Mermaid. It was a majestic word to most, but the scariest word for her, the word that could ruin her life just by uttering those two, simple syllables. At this point, just the mere thought of the word caused her to freeze up. In a flash, Blossom swam over to him and leaned, covering his mouth her wet hand. In normal circumstances, he could have easily pushed her away and continued his line, but he just sat still, eyes focused on her. He didn't even flinch.
"Don't say it!" Blossom hissed out in a hushed whisper, which was ironic since nobody else was there, at least not physically. "They'll hear."
"Who?" she heard his muffled voice come out. A bit of his saliva got on her hand as he licked her—oh gross, he really licked her like a damn child would—and she removed it with a quickness, trying not to think too hard about the new germs that sat on her hand or how long she was going to shower later to get them off.
"Don't worry about it." Blossom thought for a bit, then crossed her arms. "Wait, actually, worry about it because if they hear us, it's over. It'll be a complete and utter disaster for not only me but you and the entirety of Townsville."
But Brick didn't look scared. He didn't even look a tiny bit shaken up. "I don't know. I've always been attracted to disasters." He shrugged as if this huge deal was anything but.
Typically, warnings worked. You'd get a warning from a mythical creature, and you'd believe it. Blossom was still somehow shocked at Brick's behavior, even though a part of her knew he'd respond this way. "You're joking."
"You wish I was joking." With a slight chuckle, he continued to lightly move his feet in the water. Blossom could tell that he was a swimmer from that action alone. The simple movement held a lot of power, something similar to swimming laps at top speed. "You know what I want, Blossom?" he suddenly asked.
"To watch me suffer?" Blossom answered in a deadpan voice because it seemed to be obvious enough.
"Yes. That brings me joy." See? Obvious. "But more than that, I want some answers and some entertainment from my new friend."
The small, confused frown on Blossom's face couldn't be hidden. "...Why? There's no gain from this." She couldn't wrap her head around him.
"Why not? I'm bored." Somehow, it was very easy to tell that Brick was telling the truth. Either that, or he was a very good liar, a dangerous trait. "You can't lie and say you've never wanted to talk about this with someone who hasn't known."
Blossom's mouth opened, but no words came out. Admittedly, she was never the best at lying. Fibbing occasionally, sure, but a full lie was always something she struggled with. It was hard to admit, but Brick wasn't wrong at all. Sure, she had her sisters and Professor to talk with, but they were like her. They weren't fully clueless, and, in her and her sisters' cases, they weren't fully even human. Brick knew absolutely nothing, and that was... interesting.
So, he wanted to talk? Fine. She'd talk in the only way she could.
Blossom let out a shaky breath. "Alright. You win." If Brick wanted to know the real her, to gain a "new friend" or whatever bullshit he said to keep him quiet from spilling everything she should've hidden better, then Blossom was going to do what she did best. She was going to introduce herself. "Blossom Utonium. I like reading. I want to be a teacher." The sea couldn't see her, but it could hear everything she said. Everything. She had to be careful. "And... And I am what you think." Her words were quiet yet clear, ambiguous yet with a purpose.
If there was one thing Blossom learned, it was that Brick wasn't stupid. He might not be aware of everything, but he was aware enough to not maneuver around her words but to maneuver with them. "Brick Jojo. Think I'm gonna be the next big inventor. Favorite color's red." Brick offered his hand, and reluctantly, Blossom took it. His hands were hot as fire. "And it's nice to meet you properly, Blossy. I'm sure this'll be fun."
Blossom couldn't help but press her pointer fingers together under the water after their handshake completed. Yeah. Fun. Deep down, she couldn't help but feel a mixture of excitement and fear, as if she made the best and worst decision at one moment.
A/N *walks in after, like, a third of a year* A ha ha...
No, but seriously. Hello everyone! I'm back! These past few months haven't been easy, like, at all, but I'm still going to try to continue writing~ It's a great stress reliever, aha.
This got way more interaction than I could have ever expected, so for that, thank you to everyone! I'm so glad this story is at least interesting to you guys, and I hope to continue making y'all proud. I've actually started to make a general list of what's going to happen in the story, so the more I finish that, the more chapters I can write. I'm excited to create and showcase this story to you all, and I hope you'll stick around.
Thank you again! Stay safe, wash your hands, and have a beautiful day! :)