It was a cool August morning, the trees were rustling above gently as Blossom sat sprawled out in the grass at the base of a large oak. There was about a month left of summer vacation before school would start back up for her junior year of highschool. She sighed as she thought back on the previous few weeks. It had been a fairly uneventful break so far. Of course she'd hung out with friends and her sisters, and fought the occasional monster or villain. For the most part though, she'd spent her time reading outside or lounging around the house. Bored. She was thinking about how much she wanted to make her time off more memorable before it was too late.

She was startled suddenly by the vibrating of her cell. She looked up from the book that she'd still been holding, realizing that she had still been reading the whole time she was lost in thought. She moved her left thumb to the end of the sentence she'd just finished so she wouldn't lose her place, and pulled her phone out of her pants pocket. There was a text from Bubbles:

Where are you?!

That's strange, she thought, noticing the exclamation mark at the end of her sister's message. She felt a little alarmed, but tried to edge it out of her mind as she typed a reply:

Central Park. Why?

She shifted uncomfortably in her spot on the ground, hoping for a quick reply. She knew it wasn't a city emergency, since her hotline watch hadn't gone off. So what could it be? She wondered. She reached for her bookmark, deciding that now was as good a time as any to stop reading. Glancing down at her watch, she realized she'd already been at the park for nearly two hours.

Just as she stood up to stretch her long, semi tanned legs, she was abruptly knocked back to the ground with a thud.

"What the heck!" She shouted. Bubbles and Buttercup were on either side of her with a flash, their green and blue streaks fading quickly. "What was-" but she was cut off by her dark haired sister.

"You're never gonna fucking believe this!" Buttercup yelled.

"Guess who's back in town?!" Bubbles exclaimed, her eyes wide with excitement to break the news. Before either of them had given her a chance to respond Bubbles was already spilling, "The RowdyRuff Boys!"

Blossom's eyes widened with shock. They couldn't be. It had been years since they'd seen or even heard from the three delinquent boys. Four years to be exact. The boys hadn't stepped foot back in Townsville since their last fateful encounter. When they Were 12 years old they'd been blindsided by the boys showing up out of nowhere and attacking them from behind. She scoffed at the sudden memory. They'd had a fight that lasted hours, tearing through the busy downtown district. Leaving the city in shambles, that'd taken ages to rebuild. They were too evenly matched and after so long had passed, with no victory on their part, Mojo had called them back in retreat. Presumably for more training. The girls hadn't been able to subdue them that time so they were never locked up. She remembered how disappointed she'd been at the time, they were the only villains the girls had ever failed to put behind bars. She'd almost forgotten all about them, what with so many years gone by. Why were they back? Why now? Had they gotten stronger and come back to try and kill them again? Or did they have other plans? She was so deep in thought she was surprised to hear a voice that wasn't in her own head.

"Hello, earth to Blossom." Buttercup said, "Did you hear what we just said?! The boys are back in town!"

"I heard you." Blossom eyed her sisters worriedly before she stood up, cleared her throat and urgently collected her things, "Come on girls, let's talk about this at home, with the Professor." And she shot off through the sky, quickly followed by her sisters.

When they landed on the doorstep to their quaint little home they went inside, looking for the Professor. The house was quiet. Blossom checked her watch again, it was 11:05am. Then went immediately to his lab. When he wasn't down there she realized that he'd more than likely gone to sleep. She knew that he'd had a long night the night before. The three of them floated up to their shared bedroom quietly, clicking the door shut behind them. Blossom really wanted to be having this conversation with her professor, but she didn't want to disturb him.

"Okay," she began, " How do you know they're here, you actually saw them?!" She sat down on the corner of her own rose pink bed, her stomach in knots.

"Yes!" Bubbles cried, "I saw them with my own eyes, near the old observatory!"

"Keep your voice down Bubbles, the Professor is asleep," she tried to quiet the squealing blonde.

"Oops, sorry Professor!" Bubbles said in a high whisper, eyeing their closed door.

"What could they possibly need at the old observatory?" Blossom wondered aloud. "Mojo left Townsville over a year ago and the place is empty." She stood up and paced the distance of the room, back and forth as she pondered.

"You think maybe Mojo is up to something with them? Maybe he's finally returned. It's been damn weird not having him around, scheming this past year…" said Buttercup. "Whatever they're up to, we'll be ready to fight. They couldn't beat us last time and they don't stand a chance now." She flexed for her sisters, showing off her bicep proudly, and they all laughed.

"Right," Blossom looked a little more relaxed, her sister's confidence suddenly spreading to her as well. "Guess it's time to take a trip down there then."

Blossom opened the door, and they all floated down the stairs still trying to be silent for the Professor's sake. But when they reached the bottom they saw him entering through the back door, his pipe in hand.

"Oh hello girls!" He smiled warmly at them. "I didn't realize you were home already." He walked over to them.

"Professor!" Exclaimed Blossom, "Something's going on at Mojo's old hideout. The RowdyRuff Boys are there! We were just on our way to see what's going on."

"Yeah, and kick some ass!" Buttercup added. Eliciting an unamused look from the Professor. "Sorry," she apologized.

"Actually, I wanted to talk to you girls about that. I just received a phone call and well.. let's have a seat." He ushered them into the dining room as they all exchanged nervous glances at one another.

They all took a seat and Blossom finally asked,

"What's going on?"

The Professor cleaned his throat and looked around at his precious girls, and let out a deep sigh. "I've just spoken to Principal Keane and it seems the RowdyRuff Boys will be attending school with you this year." He waited for the girls to respond, but they were all in shock, eyes wide as their jaws fell open. So he continued, "It seems they've turned over a new leaf and are trying to make better lives for themselves now. Which includes starting their education."

"What!" Buttercup jumped from her chair, knocking it to the floor in her wake. Her fists were in tight balls, she was seething and more than a little confused by what the Professor had just told them. "That's bullshit! They don't want an education! They're criminals!

"Criminals that have tried to kill us!" Bubbles added, "More than once," she stood up too and crossed her arms. Buttercup and Bubbles both looked to Blossom to gauge her reaction.

She was looking down at her lap in disbelief. Finally, after a short silence she spoke in a small voice. "Professor, this has to be some sort of a joke. They've terrorized this city… and us." She looked up at him pleadingly, her voice louder, " How can they allow three known criminals to walk the school?! It's dangerous!"

"Blossom," he started, "Sweetheart I know this is a lot to take in but Ms. Keane, along with Mayor Bellum have okayed it. Personally, I'm a little conflicted, knowing the kind of destruction those boys are capable of, however, I do believe that people can change. Especially when they're only children. They're only boys of 16 after all."

Buttercup scoffed, and threw her hands up in protest at what she was hearing. Even the Professor thought they changed? "We're only 16 too, but you don't see any of us out there beating innocent people and robbing banks!"

"Sweetheart, please calm down," he looked at her sympathetically as he spoke. "You are good girls, the best girls in the whole world, infact!" Trying his best to butter them up, though he did mean it. "Try to remember how they were created and the sort of life they've lived. They weren't raised in a loving home, they were raised-" If you can even call it that, he thought, "By villains. They've never known any better."

The girls all looked down, and sighed in unison, considering the Professor's words. They were only 16… almost 17 now. But still. And they had never known any other life than the criminal kind.

"Okay." The corners of Blossom's mouth twitched up as she gave him a forced smile. "We'll give them a chance." She could tell the Professor really wanted them to and she didn't wanna disappoint him. They were heros after all, and should at least try to be the bigger person.

"Oh and one more thing, Ms. Keane will be calling you down to her office before school starts to discuss the matter with you all personally." The Professor raised an eyebrow at the girls, "Be on your best behavior." He smiled at them as he walked upstairs, leaving them silently pouting

"Butch!" Brick scolded, slapping his brunette brother on the back of the head. "You do realize we're going to be living here, right? How's that going to work if you're already busting up the joint?" He'd walked outside for only a few moments to grab a duffle bag of his belongings and already Butch had punched a hole in the wall.

"Shit. I was just trying to see how strong these walls were," he explained as he shrugged it off. "I'll take care of it. Don't worry your pretty little head about it," he knocked the burgundy cap off Brick's head and ruffled up his hair playfully.

"Don't fucking touch my hat." Brick was not amused. He scooped his favorite red cap off the floor and placed it back on his head so the brim was facing backward. Just how he liked it.

They stood in a row and marveled at their new place. It was Mojo Jojo's old lair. He had abandoned it when he gave up trying to take over Townsville and decided to try his luck somewhere else. It was still his property though and he allowed the three to move in. They'd lived with him here briefly back when they were still kids. Back then it was full of high tech laboratory equipment and stocked full of strange gadgets and suits, which he'd spent years trying to take down the Powerpuff girls with. To no avail.

Looking at the place now was a stark difference. HIM had redecorated it for the boys as a parting gift. It was fully furnished, and had the amenities of any normal house, and then some. They each had an ensuite. A huge kitchen with a bar. And a massive living room. It had an open floor plan, and tons of space. They even had their own pool table. The walls were thick welded metal and you could see the beams along the vaulted ceiling. The giant telescope that Mojo used to spy on the city with was long gone. Now it was just a metal dome atop a volcano, with an elevator. Of course they didn't need that, since they could all fly. All in all, it was a hell of a place to behold.

"Yo, this place is sweet! A real bachelor pad!" Butch cried out excitedly, dropping his backpack to the floor.

"HIM really hooked us up!" Boomer eyed the place in awe as he walked around to locate the bedrooms.

Butch, knowing he was the fastest of the three, sped through the air and straight into the room Boomer was almost finished walking to. "Oh hell yeah! Dibs on this one!"

Boomer threw his hands up, "What the fuck, dude!" He really didn't care though, knowing that all of the rooms were probably pretty impressive. He took a look into one of them and decided that Brick would appreciate it much more than he would, and happily took the other. When he entered he realized that this one was supposed to be for him anyway. Three of the walls were a very light shade of blue, one of them had an industrial wall mounted clothing rack all along it. Then there was an accent wall that was brick, painted over in a warm grey tone. He smiled as he looked around, genuinely happy that he had a space of his very own.

Finally Brick, not caring at all which room he got, gripped the strap of his duffle bag and headed to the last one. When he walked in he was very pleasantly surprised to find that bookshelves covered one of the walls. There was a Queen sized bed with a deep red velvet headboard, along with a desk and a dresser also placed in the room. He sat his bag on the floor and hovered over to the large window. He could see all of downtown Townsville from here. If not for the fact that he hated this city, it would've been a huge added bonus. He yanked the curtains closed and went to check out his bathroom.

Butch threw his clothes hurriedly into his dresser, not bothering to make sure they stayed folded. He looked at the large bed, which was covered in black sheets and noticed there was a built-in floating bedside table on either side. He flicked a switch above the right one and a strip of green led lights lit up the outline of his bed. He sat on the bed, smirking. He noticed he could see the city dump out his window, "Sweet." Finding it kind of badass. The bathroom that was attached to his room was the biggest. The walls were white and the floor tile black in contrast. There was a floating sink and an open standing shower, the glass was like a window and went from the floor to the ceiling in one piece. A big square shower head directly above and the drain straight on the bathroom floor. He grinned wildly at the prospect of bringing a girl back. Thinking he was definitely gonna get laid

"I'm going to the store, come fix this hole ya big dumb brute," Brick yelled from the front door as he left.

Bubbles woke up to the bright sunshiny rays that had befell upon their bedroom that morning. On days like this she couldn't help but be in a joyful mood, though it was very rare that she wasn't. She rolled over in her bed and pulled her cell from it's charging port atop her nightstand. She checked the time, 9:32am and smiled as she replied to her notifications. After a few minutes she jumped out of bed eagerly, leaving her sisters sleeping in their beds and floated downstairs to make some coffee. She was usually the first one up.

She started a pot of coffee and went out to pick up the Townsville Tribune from the lawn.she unfolded it as she walked back inside and laid it flat on the island in the kitchen, for the Professor to read when he woke up. Blossom came down a few minutes later, yawning and rubbing her soft pink eyes.

"Good morning!" Bubbles squealed happily, throwing her arm around her orange haired sister.

"You're chipper today," she smiled, "Does your good mood have anything to do with it being beach day?" She teased.

"Yes, it certainly does," Bubbles sang, just as the Professor entered the room with his two daughters. "Good morning Professor!" She skipped over to give him a side hug.

He hugged her back, "Good morning girls. Buttercup still asleep?"

"Do you really have to ask?" Blossom asked, raising an eyebrow and laughing.

Three hours later Buttercup finally came trudging down the stairs, complaining that she was still tired. Her hair was sticking out in every direction. Her hand immediately went to her stomach. 'I'm starving!" Her stomach growled loudly, right on queue and the girls giggled from the living room.

The girls quickly got ready now, wanting to make it to the beach before it got too busy. They were going to the beach with the Professor. The news he'd given them about the RowdyRuff Boys had put a damper on their moods for a few days and it was pulling on his heart strings. He hated to see them so glum. He'd decided to take the day off from the project he was working on to spend the day at the beach with them before summer vacation ended. Luckily they lived somewhere that was always pretty warm and could still do things like this even though September was fast approaching.

The girls ran ahead and found a spot near the water while the Professor tried his best to keep his balance in the sand. He didn't get out very much, as work kept him very busy. And it had been quite some time since he'd done this.

The Professor sat under a large beach umbrella to stop himself from getting too many damaging UV rays. The girls had been lying on a big blanket, doing the complete opposite. Feeling how hot it was starting to get, they all decided it was time to get in the water. They linked arms and walked over, letting the water lightly pull back and forth over their feet.

"Last one in has to pay for lunch!" Buttercup flew past them and dived into the water. Bubbles and Blossom looked at each other and shook their heads, neither wanting to get their hair wet. "Aww come on, you guys suck!" Buttercup loved being in the water and always hated that her sisters were too boring to have any real fun. She wished her boyfriend was here. At least he'd actually get in the water with her, she thought. Suddenly missing Mike. She'd wished she could've invited him, but the Professor didn't know about him yet. They were still starting out and she was unsure if she wanted to introduce them yet. Her sisters knew, and Blossom hadn't been too happy about keeping it a secret from him.

Bubbles and Blossom stood waist deep in the water together for about 15 minutes, before shuttering from the cold and retreating back to land. Wrapping themselves in towels. Buttercup got out too now, not having much fun by herself.

The three of them decided to go get some food now, Buttercup drooling every time somebody walked by with theirs. The Professor was dying for a bottle of water. Blossom dried herself a bit and threw her sheer white bikini cover over her pink one piece swimsuit. The skirt started just below her belly button and reached down to her mid thigh. It was tied at her left hip, revealing her upper thigh on that side. She didn't like to be ogled, especially since she was out with the Professor today, but she wasn't exactly a prude either. Bubbles threw on a pair of black cloth shorts over her blue ruffled bikini and Buttercup pulled a sheer green cropped tee over her head. It was oversized and hung off one of her shoulders. Then they hurried over to the concession stand.

"I don't know, I just fucking like lemonade! Okay?" Brick snapped at his brothers.

"Okay, chill!" Boomer pulled on a pair of black sunglasses as they entered the line to grab some grub. "I'm sure they'll have lemonade man."

There was a group of four people in line in front of them and another group of girls were already at the counter ordering.

"I'm fucking melting in this heat!" Brick grabbed the bottom middle of his now soaking wet white t-shirt and flapped it back and forth over his taught lower stomach, trying to fan himself. Having fire powers definitely didn't come in handy when the weather was this unbearable.

"Excuse me young man! You need to watch your language. There are children here!" A woman who looked to be in her mid 40s scoffed at him pulling her family out of the line as she stomped off.

Butch and Boomer hurled over clutching onto their stomachs in laughter and Brick smirked, still fanning himself with his shirt.

"Mother of God." Butch said as he turned from his brothers, moving up to fill the space that the family in front of them had just created by leaving. Boomer and Brick turned too now and eyed the girls curiously.

There were three girls at the counter a few feet in front of them. One of them was kneeling down rifling through a small pink backpack, the other two blocking her face from view as they stood leaning forward slightly over the counter. One of them had shoulder length dark umber hair that was still slightly wet from swimming and the other with medium blonde waves falling down her back. The guy working at the stand was piling nachos, sandwiches, bags of chips, hotdogs and soft pretzels onto a single tray in front of them.

That's a shit ton of food for three tiny girls Butch thought to himself, stunned. Maybe they were with a bigger group? He looked around and then back at them with lusting eyes. Checking out their asses.

Boomer threw his arm over is simpering brother's shoulder, "Butch you're drooling, dude." He said and smacked him playfully on the back.

"Ugh I can't wait anymore." The dark haired girl declared. She snatched up a hotdog from the tray and finished it in record time.

The boys watched her, a mixture of shock and awe on their faces. Impressive

"I think I'm in love." Butch clasped his hand to his heart dramatically. He looked her up and down, wondering where the hell she was putting it. From what he could tell she seemed pretty fit.

His thoughts were interrupted as the concession worker put something else on their tray and apologized for the wait. The blonde grabbed the tray and the girl kneeling spoke, "Finally, found it!" She threw the backpack over her shoulder and grabbed a phone and a drink from the ground. Then she put her lips to her straw and stood, the girls turned in unison to leave but stopped like deer caught in a headlight as they came face to face with their counterparts.

Brick's fist clenched into balls at the slight of the Powerpuff Girls. Him and Blossom shot invisible daggers at each other. Buttercup gripped her water bottle so hard that it burst, still she didn't remove her furious eyes from Butch. Nobody spoke for what felt like a really long time. Boomer lifted his sunglasses then, a hint of gleam in his Cobalt blue eyes, "Hey Bubbles, long time no see."

"If she didn't pull us away I would have fucking-" Buttercup thrusted her fists to the ground below her, causing a small crater on impact. The more she ranted, the more heated she'd become.

Mike had never seen her like this before, not front and center anyway. He eyed her carefully, not wanting to upset her further while she was in such a foul mood, before reluctantly reaching for her arm. She looked up at him, a bit startled by the touch, and let herself be pulled into his arms. She let out a huff of air into his chest and tried to force the encounter with the RowdyRuff Boys out of her mind.

She looked at the large hole she'd made first and then at all the piles of upturned grass and dirt chunks scattered around them, "Oops." She felt a little better having released a fraction of her rage.

"Uh, yeah* Mike didn't know what else to say, opting to hold her silently instead. A few minutes passed.

"Good thing we're in a field and not your bedroom," Buttercup smiled at him.

"Girls thank you for coming down here, I'm sure you all have a lot you'd rather be doing today." Ms. Keane looked so small, sitting in the large brown leather chair at her desk. "I wanted to do this before school began so I could give you these." She handed each of the girls a sheet of paper.

"What is this?" Blossom eyed the paper in her hands and looked to her principal confused.

"Now I know you won't like this, but with the RowdyRuff Boys suddenly enrolling, I've had to make some adjustments to your previous schedules."

"Why should them being here affect our schedules?" Buttercup protested, tightening her grip on the sheet.

"Well," Ms. Keane began, fiddling with some trinkets on her desk, buying some time, before finally looking at them. "It's no news to me that these boys have had a cloudy past, however, they still need to be given the opportunity for an education." She peeked at them sheepishly, "They were all tested before enrollment so we could assess where they should be placed. After determining which classes they should be taking, we also agreed that they would need to have an eye kept on them for a while." She looked at the girls apologetically, knowing they wouldn't like the news. "So I've had to move some of your classes around to make sure that one of you would always be in class with them."

"So not only do we have to accept our arch enemies coming to our school, but we also have to babysit them?!" Blossom stood from where she's been seated. She wasn't usually one to complain, more than often doing what she was told by her elders. "This, this is so unfair!"

Buttercup and Bubbles shook their heads in agreement with their leader.

Ms. Keane cleared her throat. "We have been assured that they'll be on their best behaviors-"

"Best behaviors my ass!" Buttercup stood too now and crumbled her schedule, tossing it

"Buttercup," Blossom said sternly, giving her sister a warning glance. Buttercup snapped her jaw shut tightly and crossed her arms, fire still in her eyes

"I'm sorry girls but this is the way things have to be. I'm sure they won't get up to any trouble, especially with you around." Ms. Keane raised her eyebrow challenging them to protest further.

Blossom looked back at her own schedule, it didn't look that much different then she remembered. "Mine doesn't look like it's changed much."

"No, it hasn't really. We weren't going to take you out of any AP classes. That wouldn't be fair, you've worked very hard for your grades." Ms. Keane smiled warmly at Blossom.

That wouldn't be fair, Buttercup thought. She took a glance at Blossom and then at Bubbles, who had been particularly quiet. Bubbles just looked down sadly, still looking at her own schedule. She'd been looking forward to having classes with her friends and now wasn't sure if she would have any fun this semester.

Ms. Keane handed Buttercup a second copy of her schedule, having anticipated that this might happen. And then handed each of them a copy of the boys schedules. "Now girls, I'm sure you want to get back to the last of summer break," she smiled, "Please try to remember that this won't last forever. We aren't trying to punish you."

It sure felt like they were being punished.

"Man, Buttercup is fucking cut!" Butch enthused. "And that redhead… he trailed off ..what a fox!"

"Don't fucking go there." Brick's eyes tore into his dark haired brother for a minute. And then he looked at Boomer. "And you..

Boomer looked at the ground and threw his hands behind his back, twiddling his right foot gently at the floor. "What, I'm innocent!" He offered, looking up at his brother and smiling with false sweetness.

"You can't honestly tell me that you didn't find them attractive?" Butch directed his question to Brick, eager to get his opinion.

The three of them were sprawled out on the lengthy sectional couch in their new living room, Boomer and Butch playing a game on the giant tv.

"No, I don't. Because they're our enemies. I don't think our enemies are hot," he seethed.

"Bullshit!" Butch fired back, kicking him in the leg from the other end of the sofa. "And they WERE our enemies. They aren't anymore."

Brick curled his lip in disgust. "We were literally created to defeat them."

"Well we're not gonna be fighting them anymore. So that's over now, it's in the past." Butch said simply.

"We didn't finish our contract with HIM just to come here and befriend the Powerpuff girls." Brick spat out their name like it was poison. "We're only here so you two can get your little taste of a normal life out of the way. You'll realize this isn't for us soon and we'll be out of this hellhole once and for all."

Boomer nudged at Butch. Grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl in his lap. "Idunno man, I think it's gonna be fun."

Bubbles hit the alarm clock with a thwack, putting an end to the all too familiar beeping sound. She hasn't missed it. After checking her phone, she jumped out of bed and sauntered to where her very carefully picked 'first day of school' outfit was already laid out. She spent an hour the previous night trying to perfect it. She eeked with excitement silently and took a seat at their shared vanity to start her makeup. She never really minded school, aside from the work, and was excited to see her friends.

Blossom sat up and let out a throaty groan before getting out of bed and making her way for the bathroom. She washed her face in the sink, patted dry and applied a dab of moisturizer to her porcelain skin. "Okay," Blossom looked at herself in the mirror. "I can get through this, I'm a fearless leader. I've been through much worse. This is nothing. In fact, it might be pretty good. If anything goes wrong, it'll just be an excuse to kick their-" She cut herself off and smiled a devious smile back at herself confidently, having been a successful pep talk.

Buttercup was the last out of bed, waiting until her sisters had nearly finished getting ready before sluggishly getting up herself. She went straight to her dresser and threw on a pair of loose black cargo pants that reached just above her belly button, pairing it with a plain long sleeved green crop top. You could see just an inch or two or her midriff in-between.

"What shoes are you wearing?" Bubbles happily turned to her green eyed sister.

"Idunno combat boots, probably."

"That's gonna look so good! Bubbles nodded approvingly.

Though each of them had their own completely different styles, bubbles loved the way both of her sister's dressed. She loved how much you could express yourself with clothing.

Blossom took her turn at the vanity, applied a bit of eye makeup and then fingered her long orange hair into a high neat ponytail. Even up, her hair still reached her butt and fell into a few loose curls just as the bottom. She tied a red ribbon around her hair tie and formed it into a bow. She had a pretty impressive collection of different red and pink bows, which she loved. She didn't wear one everyday anymore, but a couple times a week at least. Still looking in the mirror she applied a thin coating of lip balm to her plump, pink lips. Finished.

Bubbles was the last to get changed, slipping on her form fitting blue t-shirt dress and tying a white button up shirt around her waist to complete the look.

It was tradition on the first day of school for the three of them to stop at 'Sweeties Café' for a coffee and donut.

"Come on, we're gonna be late!" Bubbles rushed her sisters out the door and the three took flight. They touched down at Sweeties after a few minutes, not wanting to mess up their hair too badly in the wind.

"Move." Brick said coldly, shooting a chilling glare. Several students, seeing the spiteful look in his eye, darted out of the way. He smirked, loving the way it felt to be feared by them. The silent panic he could see in their eyes, not daring to defy him.

He filed his things into his locker and slammed the door closed, coming face to face with Princess.

"Hi Brick," she cooed. Her eyes lit up in his presence, "I heard you were back in town, but I didn't wanna get my hopes up til I saw for myself." She reached out and traced her freshly manicured finger along his bicep. "You're looking good."

"Princess," he said unfazed, moving from her touch.

The first bell rang, indicating that the first period was about to begin.

Princess kept her attention on him, staring into his emotionless crimson eyes and melted, "Well, I guess I'll see you then."

First period, American Literature. He was relieved to see at least a few decent classes on his schedule. He couldn't believe he was actually here, in Townsville, attending High school. A year ago he and his brothers had been happily committing robberies and up to all sorts of other mischief. Or so he thought, that was until Butch and Boomer said they wanted to lay low and try being normal teenagers for a while. When he couldn't talk them out of it he decided reluctantly to go along with them. His brothers were his only family, he hated the idea of them suddenly being apart.

He reached the door to his classroom, still lost in thought, at the same time as her.

She stood across from him, in front of the door to the Literature class. They both halted, glaring at each other.

"Brick."

"Blossom."

Neither of them moved. They kept their harsh, unblinking gaze fixed on one another, neither wanting to break eye contact first. Knowing it would show weakness. Unacceptable.

The final bell rang and the students who remained in the halls quickly scurried to their classrooms.

"Aren't you going in? Blossom finally asked, in a bitter tone.

"Aren't you?" He stared at her blankly. She was wearing an unbuttoned light pink cropped cardigan with a matching tank top beneath, It was form fitting. It was paired with a robin's egg blue pleated skirt which he noticed was quite short, falling to her mid thigh. His eyebrow raised slightly on its own. A pair of white stockings that went just past her knees, and a shiny black pair of Mary Janes completed her ensemble.

She crossed her arms over her chest and huffed loudly. "I don't turn my back to the enemy."

"After me then," he said, finally turning on his heel and walking into class.

She followed behind him and apologized to Mr. Edwards for getting in slightly after the bell.

"Kiss ass," Brick muttered so quietly, only a person with super hearing would catch it. She rolled her eyes in response.

"Okay everyone, seats have already been assigned." Mr. Edwards listened to the groans of his students, "Yeah I know, life's not fair."

He stared at the front of the room, and called out each name as he pointed to their corresponding table. When he got to the very back row, he pointed at a two person table, "Brick Jojo and Blossom Utonium."

Both of their mouths fell open in protest.

"Mr. Edwards," Blossom said calmly, "I know that we have to be in the same class but surely we don't actually have to sit together?"

"Oh come on Blossom, it won't be that bad. You two probably have a lot in common. And besides, you're a bright student! You can probably show him the ropes around here, him being new and all." Then the teacher walked back to the front of the class and sat at his desk. End of discussion.

Blossom turned back and eyed the table, her eyes flicking briefly to Brick, who was already leaning, foot propped, against the back wall. She sighed and sat down.

'Be the bigger person' she repeated over and over in her head.

Brick sat down unenthusiastically. Leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"Umm hello, sorry I'm late Sir," Boomer noticed his brother and Blossom seated next to each other and sniggered to himself

"Ah, you must be Boomer then. Mr. Edwards pointed his seat out.

"Let's start off with an ice breaker, I want you all to take the next 20 minutes to talk to your table partner and get to know each other." Mr. Edwards finished.

The rest of the class filled with loud chatter, while the two of them sat silently in the back. Every now and then, they'd receive curious glances from the rest of their classmates. Blossom caught the sympathetic eye of her friend Robin, who was now sat next to Boomer, and the two of them silently pouted.

"Blossom, Brick, you two don't seem to be having a discussion." Mr. Edwards looked at them expectantly through his thick rimmed glasses.

She turned to Brick, not wanting to disobey her teacher, and fixed her scathing pink eyes on his. "So, Brick," she practically spat out his name, "What brings you to town?"

He shot daggers at her, ignoring her question. "So, Blossom, why are you such a bitch?"

"Hey Bloss! Bubbles sped to catch up, and locked arms with her. "How has your day been so far?"

She answered her sister with the roll of her eyes as they headed to the Cafeteria. "Take a wild guess."

"Well I haven't had any issues with Boomer so far." Bubbles offered, giving her a sympathetic look.

"There's still time. Trust me. I've only had one class with Brick so far and I almost spontaneously combusted. He's so-"

"Awe, it'll get easier! Don't let him get to you. You know how he is. He's just trying to get under your skin." Bubbles let go of her arm now spotting her friends, "See ya!"

Buttercup was already seated at a table in the far corner, reaching for her second burger when Butch strode over along side a reluctant Mitch.

"Damn Buttercup, you got a hell of an appetite!"

She didn't turn to face him. Instead she focused her attention on Mitch, "What are you doing walking with him?"

"Oh, err- I had a couple classes with him today and he seems pretty-"

She didn't let him finish. Stopping him mid sentence with a death glare. He gulped. "He is my sworn enemy. You do remember that right? That he's tried to fucking kill me, like five times?!" She was fuming as she ripped the shiny foil from her burger and took an angry bite.

Butch gave Mitch an apologetic look and smacked him playfully on the back. "I told you dude."

Mike, and Harry both looked down at their own trays not wanting to speak up. They knew that Buttercup had a bad temper and it's not like she didn't have a fair point. The RowdyRuff Boys had tried to kill her and her sisters.

"I just thought he could come hang," Mitch finally gathered enough courage and looked her in the eye as he sat down.

"Yeah BC, can't you give me a chance? Butch grinned a toothy white smile at her and winked, "I'm a changed man."

Buttercup had enough. She dropped her half eaten burger on the tray and got to her feet. Butch was standing a few feet away smirking at her. Mike shifted in his seat, knowing something was about to go down. "Buttercu-"

"I don't wanna hang out with this criminal scum!" She announced.

"Whoa, calm down. I know you're hot, but you don't have to get that heated." Butch tempted.

Everyone's eyes widened in shock and they moved their gaze from Butch to Buttercup. Mike stood up to try and stop his girlfriend. But In a flash she was in Butch's face, poking her finger into his chest. "If you're trying to piss me off, it's working."

"I'm not trying to piss you off, you're getting worked up all on your own." He grabbed her finger, removing it from his chest.

Don't fucking touch me!" Buttercup shouted, anger flaring in her green eyes, as she looked up at the RowdyRuff Boy towering over her. She wasn't gonna take this shit from him.

They had the attention of the whole cafeteria now. Students were standing up or moving closer to get a better view, realizing that it was a Powerpuff Girl and a RowdyRuff Boy in an obvious face off. Blossom and Brick both noticed the circle of people forming at the same time. Blossom flew over to see what was happening, though she had a good idea that the Boys were involved. She got there and pushed her way through the crowd just as Buttercup threw a punch, that landed Butch dead in the jaw. He stumbled back a few steps, paused for a moment and then spit a mouthful of dark red blood across the beige, tiled floor.

Blossom grabbed her sister tightly by the arms just as she tried to lunge at him again and held her back. "Buttercup, stop!" She warned seriously. She watched Brick walk up to his brother and place a firm hand on his shoulder.

"Butch let's go." He snapped

"That crazy bitch just punched me!" He raised a thumb to his puffy bottom lip and wiped away some blood, looking more amused than mad.

"Just getting started." Buttercup leered, trying to break free of Blossom's grip.

All the students scattered as Ms. Keane strode over to them, Boomer and Bubbles were there now too. She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed in disappointment, "My office, now! All of you."

"Detention?!" Buttercup exploded, "But he was the one-"

"That's enough Ms. Utonium. You were the one who assaulted him."

Butch sat sprawled out in a chair in the corner of the principal's office, snickering.

Was she really the one getting in trouble? She couldn't believe this.

"It's only one week. I think that's more than a fair punishment," Ms. Keane grabbed a box of tissues from her desk and held them out for Butch.

"Thank you Ms. Keane he sang, shooting Buttercup a victorious glance.

Buttercup folded her arms tightly against her chest and turned away from them. Trying her hardest to contain herself.

Blossom was seated next to Bubbles outside of the principal's office, tapping her foot impatiently. Brick and Boomer were standing a bit further down the hall, leaving a good distance between them and the girls.

The door to the office swung open then. Ms. Keane poked her head out, "Will the rest of you please join us?"

The four of them stiffened and followed her into the room, to join their siblings.

"I'm very disappointed that we've already had a confrontation on day one." Ms. Keane put her hand to her forehead and looked down.

"I'm really sorry about this Ms. Keane. It absolutely won't happen again." Blossom ensured her. "I'll make sure Buttercup… along with myself and Bubbles are on our best behavior." She shot Buttercup a threatening look.

"I'm counting on you Blossom. And Brick, can I assume you'll do the same?" Ms. Keane raised an eyebrow towards him.

"Yes ma'am," Brick smiled back to her and then to Blossom smugly. "Won't happen again."

Bubbles opened the door to her locker and put away the books from her previous class. She turned to the right and looked into the heart shaped mirror that she'd hung that morning. She adjusted the fluffy blue pom pom hair ties that were holding up her shoulder length pigtails and reapplied the strawberry scented lip gloss to her full lips.

"Hey Bubbles!" Kim walked up. "You ready?"

She shut her locker and the two started off for their last class of the day.

"I'm so glad we have art this semester!" Bubbles bounced. They walked past Butch and Boomer, the later smiling in her direction.

"What's up with HIM?" Kim looked back at the Blonde Rowdyruff and then back to Bubbles. "He's hooot. Like major hot." She used her hand to fan her face.

"Idunno.." Bubbles looked over her shoulder at his retreating back, "He seems pretty compliant so far, compared to his brothers at least. I haven't had any issues with him today."

Kim scoffed, "That's not what I meant." She nudged Bubbles with her elbow. "Is he single?"

"How would I know?!" Bubbles shifted uncomfortably. "I mean, he just got here."

When they entered the art room, Brick was already seated on the far side of the room. This was the only class that she shared with him. She hoped it wouldn't be as bad sharing a class with him as Blossom had made it seem. Art was her favorite subject and she wanted to enjoy it.

She took the empty seat next to Kim and the two were joined by their friend Clara

"Yay! I'm so glad we still ended up with a class together!" Bubbles cried out, standing and pulling Clara in for a warm hug.

Brick looked up from his spot across the room and rolled his eyes. He was trying to decide if it would be worse sharing a class with the high pitched, overly peppy one or the bitchy, know it all he'd had to deal with all day.

"I'm surprised he's in this class," Clara said, tilting her head slightly in Brick's direction. "Isn't Art III kind of advanced for someone who just transferred in?"

"I wouldn't exactly call it a transfer, have any of them ever even attended school before?" Kim asked Bubbles.

She looked up briefly, catching Brick's curious eye. "You guys do realize he has super hearing, right?"

The two girls chanced a look in his direction, and shivered, catching his dark glare. They turned back to their own table and looked down.

Boomer met up with his brother at the front of the school and threw his arms around the both of them. "Well boys, how'd you like the first day?"

Brick pushed his brother's arm off his shoulder and started walking. He looked around the front lawn of the school, most of the students had already left. Eager to get away from their teenage prison. There were still a few clusters of people lingering. Something orange caught his eye,

Blossom was sitting on the large cement steps of the building, surrounded by Bubbles, and two girls he didn't recognize. Ugh he thought. He was seriously getting tired of seeing her. How was he going to be able to keep this up? She looked up noticing him, and curled her lip in disdain, continuing to watch him

"Let's get out of here." Brick lifted into the sky.

"I'll catch up later." Butch took off in the opposite direction, "I'm meeting some friends!"

The next few days went by much the same as the first. The only difference being no fight. They avoided each other as much as they could. But sharing so many classes, it was proving to be difficult.

Buttercup sat slumped over her desk, head in hand, as she picked at a slice of pepperoni pizza. She was only a few days into detention and was dying to be free. She didn't feel like she did anything to deserve being punished, so she hit a villain? Big deal. Plus, not only did she have to sit in this stupid classroom for lunch. The Professor had also grounded her. She couldn't even see any of her friends, it was infuriating.

"This is such bullshit." She said quietly to herself.

Mrs. Nelson looked up from her phone and shushed her. "This is detention, no talking."

A folded piece of paper slid onto her desk. The teacher, having gone back to her screen, didn't notice.

She looked up at Jason, a boy who she recognized from Bubbles' friend group, perplexed. She carefully opened the note:

Aren't you mad that he's hanging with your friends

She looked at him again, furling her eyebrows before turning back and writing:

What? Who?

She refolded the note and passed it back to him.

Butch. He's been hanging with them since Monday. Lunch, class, halls.

What the hell, Buttercup was livid. She hadn't really seen any of the guys since the fight. She wasn't mad at them exactly, but decided to keep her distance. Now she was finding out that they were still hanging with Butch. Not only Mitch, but all of them? They were her friends!

She scribbled on the paper:

Mike?

She stared at him while he read the note, he didn't write back. Just looked up at her and nodded his head, sorrily.

Health was the only class that everyone shared, with exception to Bubbles. There was only a few minutes left of class.

Blossom and Buttercup were at a table with Robin and Kim. The three boys at the next table over, as requested by Mrs. Drake.

Princess got up from her seat, across the room, followed closely by her two cronies, and made a beeline for Brick.

He tensed up slightly as she approached.

"Brick!" She smiled, "I just wanted to personally invite you to my party on Saturday."

"Party?" Brick asked, looking from Princess, to his brothers.

"Oh hell yeah!" Butch cheered.

"I always have a back to school party.. It helps everyone relieve their stress."

Blossom was taking a long swig from her pink metallic water bottle and Buttercup was watching them carefully.

Princess leaned over the table, giving Brick a perfect view down the front of her low cut yellow shirt. "You know… I could always help you relieve yourself, too."

Coughing erupted suddenly. Brick whipped his head around to a blushing Blossom, who sat her water bottle down and tried to compose herself

"Very classy." Buttercup directed at Princess.

She scoffed and turned her attention to them now, "You girls can obviously come too. I feel bad for you. What with basically being poor. I wouldn't want to stop you from being able to see all my nice things."

Brick, who had still been looking at Blossom, finally tore his gaze from her and faced forward.

"If he doesn't wanna take you up on that offer, I'd be happy to." Butch winked at Princess.

She smiled, loving all the attention.

"Big surprise there." Buttercup rolled her eyes.

She looked Brick up and down, "So I'll see you there then?"

Bubbles was in the food court of the mall, clicking away on her cell and sipping a diet soda. Kim and Clara were sitting next to her, showing each other what they bought so far.

Bubbles slipped her phone securely into her pocket and sighed, "What if I can't find anything? We've already been to three stores. I'm running out of time."

"You'll find something!" Clara assured her, "There are still more places to check. Plus, I hear there's a sale at Marley's!"

That got Bubble's attention. She stood up and the two girls followed, weaving through the other shoppers. She was determined to find the perfect outfit for Princess's party. The first party of the year. They were gliding up the escalator when she spotted Boomer on the floor above. He was leaning over the railing, talking to Jason?

"I didn't know they were friends." Bubbles turned to her friends.

"Oh, I've seen them talk at school. They share some classes, but I didn't know they were that close." Kim replied. " Wow, Boomer is really-"

The escalator reached its destination and the three girls stumbled to get off. They hadn't been paying attention, and narrowly avoided falling. That caught the eye of Boomer and Jason, who were only a couple feet away and the five of them started cracking up. Bubbles wiped a year from her eye and stood up straight, Boomer was smiling at her. He's kind of cute, she thought to herself. But once that thought sunk in, her smile faded and she darted her eyes elsewhere.

"Hey girls, what brings you to the mall this fine evening?" Jason stepped towards the three.

"Oh, we're just buying new clothes for Saturday." Kim offered.

Bubbles stood there, looking down, twiddling her hair for a minute and then peeked at Boomer again. He was standing a few feet away from the rest of the group. Probably trying to keep his distance from her.

"Bubbles?"

She jumped, as she felt a hand touch her arm. She'd been spacing out and didn't hear the last bit of conversation. "Huh?" She looked around at everyone.

"Jason and Boomer are gonna join us. Is that okay?" Clara asked Bubbles Quietly.

"They're looking for something to wear too, so we might as well all look together, right?" Kim added.

"Oh, I don't know if-" She saw Boomer slump down a bit, and thought that he looked kind of sad. "I don't think Boomer is gonna want to go shopping with me." She gave an impish smile.

Boomer shifted his gaze back to Bubbles and opened his mouth to say something, but then he stopped and faced the ground again.

"Boomer doesn't mind. Right, man?" Jason threw his arm over his shoulders and pulled him forward into their circle.

Bubbles looked at Boomer and then to her friends, unsure of what to do.

"Aren't you supposed to be keeping an eye on him?" Kim whispered to Bubbles.

There was an awkward pause and she considered her options, "Okay then," she said finally, smiling, "We were just headed to Marley's."

The girls walked ahead of the two boys. Splitting up once they got inside, the girls headed to the girls section. They spent some time rifling through the racks of clothes, filling their arms with piles of things to try on. And after thirty minutes they made their way to the dressing room area. The boys had already picked some things out and had no intention of trying them on. So they followed them to the back of the store to wait.

"Great, we could use a male perspective. Don't you think Bubs?" Kim nudged the blonde with her elbow

Her eyes widened at the idea of coming out and showing off potential outfits to her nemesis. Ex nemesis? She didn't really know what to think of him at the moment. He hadn't done anything yet, but..

Bubbles arm was snatched by Kim, who began pulling her into the fitting area before she could protest.

"We'll all get changed and then come and show each other at the same time, kay?" Clara and Kim both shut themselves into their rooms, so Bubbles sighed and did the same.

The three of them exited their rooms at the same time and met in front of a huge wall mirror, the boys were standing a couple paces back, eyeing them.

"I love that on you!" Bubbles cooed, getting a better look at Clara's top.

Kim decided against her whole outfit and went back to try something else and Clara and Bubbles twirled around in front of the mirror laughing. Bubbles had on a pair of skin tight light blue jeans that hugged her curves and flared out at the bottoms, they had a hole in each knee. It was paired with a white cropped top with a sweetheart neckline and short puff sleeves.

She turned her back to the mirror and looked back over her shoulder, trying to make sure her butt looked good in the denim. Her breath caught for a second as her eyes met Boomer's in the mirror. He was snickering. She quickly walked back to the dressing room to change, as a deep red blush began to spread over her face.

"Finally! It's Friday!" Butch cried out.

"What's so great about today?" Brick kept walking. He was slightly ahead of the group, Boomer to his left and Butch to his right.

"It's finally the weekend! And you know what that means..." He winked at his brother. "Means we're going to our first party tomorrow night."

"You only wanna go so you can hit on girls." Boomer accused laughingly.

"That's not true, I also wanna get shit faced." Butch sped up and halted in front of his brothers, blocking their path. "So… are you gonna hook up with Princess?"

Brick snarled at him, what a disgusting thought. "Do I really have to answer that?"

"Why not? She's hot and she's totally into you." He gave the redhead a suggestive look. "Who could say no?"

Brick pushed him out of the way and kept walking, "I could."

"Same here. She's not really my type." Boomer added.

Butch looked at his two brothers in disbelief, "Well whatever. You're still going though, right?"

"Hell yeah!" Boomer flashed a smile, "Outta be fun."

Brick didn't answer. He strolled towards his locker, Butch and Boomer still at his side. When he was a few feet away he noticed a sheet of paper taped to it. He looked around curiously, now realizing that there were papers stuck up all over the lockers and walls. The other two brothers realized at the same time and Butch snatched the sheet off his brothers locker.

"Holy shit, dude."

Boomer took the list from Butch and looked at it himself now, eyes widened as he looked down at a list of names. "Blossom? Really?"

At the mention of her name, Brick was suddenly intrigued too. He started fiddling with the combination to his locker. "What about her?"

Butch and Boomer were carefully eyeing the list. "She's number one." Butch chirped.

There were clusters of students standing around various areas of the hall, all glancing at copies of the list and chattering loudly. Two guys they didn't recognize walked past, "Yea, it's spot on. Blossom is fucking hot. And Buttercup-" they turned down a hall and their voices lost in the crowd.

Brick collected his lit textbook and shut his locker door. "Number one?" He raised an eyebrow, quizzically.

"Most bangable girl in school." Butch grinned, matter of factly.

Brick looked at the page himself now, in disbelief. But sure enough, all three Powerpuff girls were at the top, followed by Princess and her lackeys. The rest of the names he didn't recognize. "How?" Was all he could manage.

Right on queue, the three girls sped walked past them. Blossom's head was down in embarrassment. Bubbles was smiling happily and Buttercup looked pissed off, as usual.

"What I want to know is how Buttercup is on here." Butch wrinkled his nose. "I'll admit that she's worth looking at… but 3rd hottest girl in the entire school? That's reaching.

"Idunno, I mean they are basically celebrities around here. I can see why they're popular." Boomer contributed, " Especially Bubbles."

Brick shot a death glare at his blue eyed brother, "What. Is that supposed to mean?" He asked through his teeth.

The first bell rang suddenly, indicating that they needed to get to their classes.

"Doesn't mean anything." Boomer smirked, heading in the opposite direction.

Brick slid into his seat next to Blossom, she had her elbow on the table and her cheek was resting on her fist. She looked forlorn, not reflecting her usual confidence, he noticed. She didn't even tense up, or recoil at his presence, he wasn't sure if she'd even realized he was there.

"Did you see the list?"

Brick snapped his head to the front of the room, where some guys were jokingly shoving each other and laughing. A few people from around the room had turned to steal a glance at Blossom while they gossiped at their tables. She didn't react.

The final bell rang and jolted her out of her daze.

She looked up noticing Brick seated next to her and shifted slightly in her chair. He watched her silently as she pulled out her planner, flipped to a random page, and began doodling at the top.

"Blossom," Mr. Edwards said, "Would you mind handing out today's assignment?"

"Sure, no problem." She said standing and walking to the front of the class.

"It's a group worksheet, so one per table please." He smiled.

She started at the front of the room, passing out the papers, working her way to the back.

She was reaching for a sheet to hand the last table, when someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her a few inches towards himself. "You're looking good today, Blossom." He smirked deviously.

The guy next to him chimed in, "Yeah, I'd do you." And winked.

Boomer turned his attention their way, and then to Brick, who looked slightly tense.

She snatched her hand away and slammed the paper down on their table, walking away.

When she got back to her own table she placed their worksheet in between her and Brick and sat down, avoiding his watchful eye.

Blossom didn't attempt to answer any of the questions they'd been given so he filled it out himself, while she stared quietly into the distance

"Hey," Brick finally broke the silence, sliding the paper to her side of the table. His eyebrow slightly raised, "Anything you want to contribute?"

She picked up the sheet, first reading the question and then reading his answer. She looked at him, as if studying his face for a few moments.

"What?" He asked coldly.

"Nothing." She said quietly, turning back to the assignment. She reread through his answers, set the sheet back down and slid it back to the middle of the table. "Couldn't have answered better myself."

"I don't think I'm gonna go, actually." Blossom told her sisters, who were gathered around her locker.

"Why not?!" Bubbles cried out, grabbing her arm, "You haaave to go. It won't be any fun without you."

"Yeah, what gives? You said you were going yesterday." Buttercup crossed her arms, "Is this because of that fucking list?"

"Well..." Blossom began.

"Well nothing! We're all on that list too and you don't see it stopping us."

"I just don't think I can stand another disgusting comment." Blossom admitted to her sisters." Besides, you'd probably have more fun without me."

"You're going. Didn't you hear?... This party is supposed to relieve stress," Buttercup joked.

"Ugh, don't remind me." Blossom laughed.

Bubbles looked confusedly at the two of them and smiled, "Yeah, you're going."

Buttercup scooped her backpack from the floor and slung it over her shoulder. " Last day of detention and then I'm free." And took off alone.

"Buttercup!"

She heard a voice from behind and knew it was Mike right away. She spent the last two days giving him the cold shoulder after Jason spilled the tea on him and Butch's supposed friendship. The rest of the guys were one thing, but her boyfriend? She thought that he of all people would be on her side. She sped up, not wanting to have this conversation with him yet.

"Hey!" He ran to catch up and grabbed her arm, she tensed at his touch.

"I'm gonna be late for detention." She pulled her arm away, not bothering to look at him.

"Are you mad at me?

"Are you just now realizing that? She snapped back, walking ahead.

He stepped in front of her, "What did I do?"

She scoffed, and crossed her arms. Getting ready to finally answer his question so she could go.

"Hey man, you ready?" Butch walked up and stood a few feet from Mike.

"Yeah, gimme a sec. I'll meet you in there." Mike angled his head to the cafeteria.

"Unbelievable." Buttercup said. Not giving him anymore time.

"What are you wearing Bloss?" Bubbles was sitting cross legged in front of their full length mirror, curling her golden hair.

Blossom rolled out of bed and sighed, walking over to their shared closet.

Hmm, "What do you think, this?" She said, holding up a floral mid length skirt, "Or this?" The second option was a low cut pastel purple mini dress, with white lace accents that lined the chest area

"Definitely that one!" Bubbles pointed to the Purple dress and squealed, "You're gonna look amazing! Can I do your hair and makeup? Please, please, please?"

"Of course," Blossom agreed to her pleading sister. "But nothing too over the top." She laid the dress on her comforter and sat beside her sister on the floor. 'By the way, where's Buttercup?"

"She said she had to meet up with the guys," Bubbles turned back to the mirror, "I don't think she's seen them all week. She's gonna meet us there."

Butch had gotten home that day and promptly fallen asleep on the couch, remaining there for the next four hours.

"Wakey wakey." Boomer put on his most feminine voice and whispered in his brother's ear.

Butch opened his eyes and jabbed his blonde brother in the arm. "What the fuck man? I was having a good dream." His eyes fluttered shut again and a smile crept slowly onto his face, "A really good dream."

"We really don't need to hear about that." Brick plopped down on the other couch and folded his arms over his chest.

Boomer headed for his bedroom to finish getting ready, "Alright, I guess we'll go to the party without you."

Butch's eyes flung open again and he sat up. "What time is it?"

Brick looked at his watch, "Almost 7:30."

"Shit I better get ready." Butch stood up and stretched, yawning, and took off to his own bedroom.

When Boomer and Butch were ready, they met out in the living room. Brick was still perched in the same position on the sofa.

"Ready?" Butch sat down to put his shoes on.

"I'm not going." Brick said.

"Why not?" Boomer looked bummed out. "It's gonna be fun."

"No, it's just gonna be a bunch of stupid teenagers."

"We're stupid teenagers!" Boomer gestured to themselves.

"I wanna see how Blossom dresses outside of school." Butch raised his eyebrows up and down a couple times and looked at Brick. "Aren't you curious?"

Brick rolled his eyes, "What makes you think she'd even be there? She doesn't seem like the type.

Boomer shrugged, "Bubbles said she was going."

Bricked snapped his head in Boomer's direction, but didn't get a chance to say anything.

"Yeah dude, maybe she's less of a prude than you think." Butch smirked.

"I seriously doubt it." Brick snarled.

Butch and Boomer grabbed their jackets and made for the door, "Last chance to find out bro."

"Could this place be anymore obnoxious?" Blossom asked bitterly, walking up the grand staircase to the Morbuck's Mansion.

Bubbles shook her head and let out a little laugh. She was in an especially good mood this evening, at the prospect of dancing the night away with her friends. The fact that it was in a multi million dollar home was just an added bonus.

They were let inside without a second glance, and led down a long hallway. They could hear the music bumping as soon as they entered the house and the closer they got to the main room, the louder it got. Eventually they were thrust into an impressive room and swallowed by the mass of students that were already there. Blossom and Bubbles got separated almost immediately.

Blossom made her way through the crowd until she found a less crowded area, by one of the many bars. She pulled out her cell and texted Robin:

Here yet?

She tucked her phone safely into her cardigan pocket and scanned the crowd for a familiar face. She was really tempted to take to the air to find her friends faster, but decided against it remembering she had a short dress on.

She sat on one of the open barstools and eyed the drink menu, not that she'd be having any alcohol, she was just trying to kill time while she waited for Robin's reply.

"Hey, there you are!" Blossom looked up to find Buttercup closing in on her. "Come on, everyone's by the stage. Or were you sitting alone on purpose?" She eyed her sister wearily. It's not like she'd have been surprised by that.

"I wasn't," Blossom insisted. "I got separated from Bubs and Robin hasn't responded to my text yet." She slid off the leather bar stool and adjusted the hem of her dress.

"Ladies."

The girls' heads shot up towards the familiar voice, standing a few feet away were Butch and Brick. No sign of Boomer, Blossom noted. Butch was eyeing her like a piece of meat, practically drooling.

Blossom stood up straight, folding her arms over her chest, and closing her cardigan a little more, in one move.

Butch fixed his eyes on her chest anyway, "Blossom. You are looking, wow." He took a step closer to her. "Can I get you a drink?"

Buttercup started laughing hard at the thought. "Yeah, good luck with that!

"I don't drink." Blossom stared blankly back at Butch.

"Shocker." Brick said as he walked over to where she was standing. He noticed her tense up slightly when he got close, tightening her jaw.

She kept her gaze fixed on him. He had on his signature red hat, his hair pulled into a low ponytail in the back. He wore a black bomber jacket over a plain red t-shirt. Suddenly he took a step past her and ordered a drink from the bar.

Buttercup was losing her patience, "Are you coming or what?"

She barely had a chance to nod before her dark haired sister grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the boys and through the crowd.

Boomer sauntered over to the stage in the main room, hands in his faded denim pockets, and stopped a few paces away from where Bubbles and her group of friends were standing. He didn't wanna make her feel uncomfortable, him suddenly showing up. But Jason was the only friend he'd made since returning to Townsville and where Bubbles was, Jason often was.

"Hey you made it!" Kim set her drink on the end of the stage and was swiftly at Boomer's side. "Don't be a stranger, come over here and join us!"

He followed her lead, until he was standing in a cluster of Bubbles and her companions. Much to his enjoyment, she had worn the outfit that he'd seen her try on a few days before.

"Hi Boomer!" Clara smiled, grabbing Bubble's arm, "Look Bubs, Boomer's here." Clara gave her a gentle push forward, and they were face to face.

He had never been this close to her before. She smiled nervously, a light blush finding her cheeks and took a step back.

"Umm, Hi." Bubbles swiped a loose curl behind her ear.

She had worn her hair down today, the first time he'd seen her without some variation of pigtails in. Tonight she'd opted to wear her hair in loose waves that fell a few inches past her shoulders.

He smiled back at her, "Hope you don't mind that I'm hanging out… again."

Clara and Kim stepped up to her side, "She doesn't!" They insisted, in unison. Bubbles gave them a warning look, which they both ignored and she rolled her eyes.

"It's time for a drink! Come onnn." Clara started pulling her towards the closest bar. "What's your drink?" She glanced back at Boomer.

"Oh, idunno. I shouldn't." Bubbles stopped, "Blossom would have a fit."

"It's a party Bubs! It's right of passage! One or two drinks won't hurt!" Kim clasped her hands and begged.

"Okay, fine. One drink." Bubbles finally gave in.

"Boomer?" Clara have him a wide smil

"Surprise me." He smiled back.

Buttercup pulled her orange haired sister through the masses of people until they were back at the stage.

"Oh you found her!" Bubbles pounced on Blossom for a hug.

"Yep, she was being a loner in the corner. Big surprise." Buttercup replied.

Mitch, and Harry were still leaning up on the stage, where she'd left them. She'd met up with them after school to confront them about what Jason had told her. They admitted that they all thought he was cool and just wanted to give him a chance. She hated that her friends liked him. She wasn't one to be controlling, so she said she would be cool. Unless something happened of course.

No sign of Mike yet, she noticed. She was hoping that he wouldn't come, since they were obviously on the outs. She walked over to where the guys were, and lifted herself to the stage so she could sit.

"Sup, Buttercup." Mitch said. "You heard from Mike?"

She rolled her eyes, "No. Not since school." She didn't want to divulge any more than that. It would be awkward since they were all friends.

"Speak of the devil!" Harry yelled, spotting Mike in the distance.

Crap

Well there went her night of fun.

"Mike! Over here! Harry got his attention.

Mike saw Buttercup sitting on the stage and smiled awkwardly at her. They really needed to talk. He said a quick hello to the guys before turning to his girlfriend.

"Can we talk?" His voice was shaky, "Alone."

Mitch and Harry looked at them knowingly. And he reached his hand out to help her down.

She took his hand, reluctantly and hopped off the stage. She followed him, as he left the main room and tried to find somewhere more quiet. He stopped walking once they found an empty balcony and turned to her.

"What's up with you lately?"

She didn't like how he started, "What's up with you? Why didn't you tell me that you were hanging out with Butch?"

"That's what this is about?!" His voice got louder and he narrowed his eyes

She didn't respond. Just folded her arms over her chest and glared at him.

"Okay I fucking like Butch. I think he's cool.so what?"

"So what?" she was infuriated now. She unfolded her arms and her hands went into tight fists at her sides, threatening to erupt. "He's my enemy and you befriended him. Behind my back. Immediately after we got in a fist fight. That's fucked!"

"You didn't get in a fist fight. You hit him once. He could see that Buttercup was on the verge of losing it but he was pissed too. "And maybe the fact that he didn't even try to fight back should tell you something."

She scoffed loudly at that. "I'm not doing this." Before he could stop her she turned on the heel and fled from the balcony.

The air in the room was stale and stagnant. There were so many people crowded together on the dance floor, sweating and breathing the same, used air. She had planned to dance with Bubbles for a few minutes, just to appease her. But after a while, she started to really feel free. Getting lost in the rhythmic beat, hypnotized by the strobing lights. She hadn't felt this way ever. Like she could just, be.

When Blossom was so out of breath that she couldn't take it anymore, she finally stopped dancing. She gestured to Bubbles that she was gonna leave the dance floor, and pushed through the hordes of people. Her chest was heaving frantically as she made her way to the bar for some water.

She was smiling from ear to ear when she strode up. Brick was still standing by the bar, drink in hand, talking to a pretty brunette that she didn't recognize.

"Can I just get a water please?" She beamed at the bartender, sitting on the same stool she'd been at earlier.

Brick noticed Blossom then, sitting at the bar alone, smiling happily. He kept his gaze fixed on her while the brunette chatted away, one sidedly.

Blossom chugged the first glass of water and ordered a second, her heart still pounding. She was about to go get some fresh air. But then Brick walked past the girl he was with, leaving her with a confused expression. He took a seat at the bar, leaving only a stool between them.

The bartender placed a second glass of water in front of Blossom and hurried to the other side to take an order. She chugged this one too, trying to get back all the water she'd lost in the form of sweat.

"Thirty?" Brick asked, a little bewildered.

She turned to him, her smile still radiating. She was in such a good mood, not even Brick could bring her down.

"Yea, I guess I am." She replied in a choppy, panting breath.

This was different. A side of her he'd never seen before, that he didn't even know she had. Her smile was- he stopped his thoughts as they were forming. And cocked his head slightly and noticed the dancefloor behind her.

"You dance?" He scrunched his nose, putting two and two together, there's no way that SHE dances. Or does anything enjoyable for that matter.

Blossom eyed him, curiously, "Well, no. Not usually. But, I guess I do, tonight."

He stared at her for a few moments, she was like a different person. Happy and smiling wildly, letting loose at a highschool party. Well slightly loose, he thought, she had only drank water. But still, this side of her was

"Thereee you are!" Princess strode over. She looked lustfully at Brick, then rolled her eyes at Blossom. Let out a huff and slid onto the open seat, separating them. She turned her back to Blossom and slid her finger across Brick's arm, gently. "I've been looking for you all night."

Blossom took this as a sign to finally get some air. She left the bar and wondered the hall until she found one of the many balconies.

Smiling deviously, Butch pulled the nameless beauty that he'd met on the dancefloor into the kitchen. She stumbled into his arms and pressed her lips to his. They stood in the middle of the room and made out for a while, eliciting looks of envy and scowls. They either didn't notice or didn't care. He picked her up, effortlessly and placed her on the counter. He fit himself between her legs and they continued to make out. By this point the kitchen had cleared out, as nobody wanted to be around for the show.

Suddenly, Butch pulled away and snapped his head in the direction of the rustling pizza boxes.

"Don't mind me." Buttercup was standing only a few feet from them, one arm was crossed and a slice of pizza in the other. She stared at them, smirking, while she chewed.

He was flustered first, at the sight of her, having been in his own little world. He raised his eyebrow suggestively, "You like to watch?"

Buttercup and the girl on the counter both scoffed simultaneously.

"No, I like to eat." Buttercup growled back, taking another bite. "You know, there are probably a hundred empty bedrooms."

He stared back at the green eyed Powerpuff, puzzled. She seemed to be in a better mood than normal. This was definitely the most tame interaction they'd had yet. He took a step back from his make out partner, freeing himself from her legs. He ignored the last last thing she said. Walking over and grabbing a slice of pizza alongside her, "I like to eat too.

"Buuutch." The brunette hopped off the counter, "Take me upstairs," she purred eagerly.

"Busy." He said flatly, no longer giving her the time of day.

"What with her?" She pouted. "Who even is she?"

Buttercup let out a little laugh, "I'm his worst fucking nightmare."

She had only meant to have one, two at most, but now Bubbles was sipping at her third drink. She had already been to the dancefloor multiple times, leaving only when her friends wanted a break or a refill. Now she was standing by the stage with them, clutching her drink and swaying her hips to the beat of the music.

Mike, Mitch, and Harry were sitting at the edge of the stage, talking. Jason, Boomer, Clara, Kim and herself were clustered together a little further away and she had no clue where either of her sister's had gone.

"Come dance with me!" Bubbles poked out her bottom lip poutily at Clara and Kim.

The two girls both looked at her and then at each other. They were both exhausted from dancing so much already.

"I have an idea," Kim said, a sly gleam in her eye. She grabbed Boomer's arm and nudged him playfully in Bubble's direction. "Boomer will dance with you."

Boomer stopped himself before he bumped into her and they smiled awkwardly at each other.

"He will?" Bubbles asked, looking past him, to Kim. A hint of a smile on her lips.

He looked at Bubbles for a moment, trying to decide what he should do. He was almost sure that she wouldn't want to dance with him. But the look on her face wasn't one of discontent. In fact, she looked kind of hopeful.

"If you'd have me." He offered her his hand.

Bubbles didn't know if she should take it or not. Should she be dancing with him? Blossom wouldn't like it. But what's the worst that could happen? She sat her drink down and grabbed his hand before she could talk herself out of it.

Boomer smiled down at her before leading her away, back into the mass of people.

There wasn't much room for them on the dancefloor at first. They squeezed in where they could and fairly quickly found their rhythm. She took the lead, and he matched her movements. There was a small space between them, that neither tried to close.

She was moving her hips to the music, and smiling happily. Dancing. With him. It felt surreal, and for the first time he realized just how beautiful she was. Her smile was contagious. They remained that way, letting loose, for a few songs.

Unexpectedly, someone bumped into Bubbles and having had a few drinks, she lost her balance and fell into Boomer. Her hands were pressed into his chest. His hands were at her waist, trying to steady her.

"Are you okay?" He whispered into her ear

His hot breath sent shivers down her spine. She looked up and met his intense gaze.

"Yeah, I-" she began, still in a daze.

"Bubbles?" She heard someone call from behind.

She tore her eyes from Boomer's and pulled away from him. Robin was standing there, puzzled.

Bossom was standing by the unlit fireplace at one end of the main room, cardigan staples over her arm. Robin had finally texted back and was walking through the crowd to meet her. She glanced around the room, taking in the scenery. You couldn't see much in the dim light, but there was enough of a glow to illuminate a grand piano in one corner and an impressive, sparkling chandelier hanging from the high ceiling.

"Blossom!" Princess approached, her cronies stopping a pace behind.

"I'm so glad you made it." She said, her voice oozing sarcasm. "I saw you checking out the chandelier. She pursed her lips and have a fake smile, "It's new. Daddy had it put in specifically for my party."

Blossom didn't respond, she knew she'd still have more to say.

"So. I saw you sitting with Brick earlier. That's weird, I thought you were supposed to hate each other." Princess held a drink in one hand and crossed her other arm over.

"I don't hate anybody." Blossom was getting annoyed. The last person she wanted to be talking to on a Saturday was Princess Morbucks.

Princess's eyes flashed evil, "Look Blossom. She spat out her name, "Stay away from him. He doesn't want you."

Blossom opened her mouth to say something, but was overcome with a rush of freezing liquid before she could.

"Oops." Princess said flatly, shaking out the remaining drops from her cup all over Blossom's chest. Her and her friends laughed, satisfied with what they'd done and strode away.

Blossom stood there, frozen in disbelief. The alcohol soaked into the fabric of her dress, and spread rapidly. Her chest and arms were dripping all over the marbled floor. Anyone who was in the vicinity to see it happen was staring silently. She folded her arms over her chest and ducked out of the main room, in search of a bathroom.

Finally finding one, she went inside. An attendant handed her a hand towel, she took it and walked over the the mirror. The top half of the front of her dress was soaked through. She dried her chest and arms and blotted at her dress a bit, but it was no use. It would need time to dry. She was getting all kinds of looks in the ladies room so she decided to find somewhere to be alone.

Walking through the maze of hallways, music fading into the background, Brick aimlessly searched for a place to be alone. He wasn't really into the whole party scene, or being around people at all, for that matter. He stopped periodically to appreciate the modern art pieces that lined the walls. Eventually he wandered into an awe inspiring library. Nobody was in there. Of course nobody is in here, it's a fucking library at a highschool party, he thought. His eyes went immediately to the vaulted ceiling, it was covered with a massive renaissance inspired mural. His jaw dropped. These people really were loaded. Brick was a few feet in the air, on his way to get a better view of the painting, when he heard footsteps behind him.

"What are you up to?!" Blossom asked in an accusatory tone, entering the library.

"I'm not up to anything." He fired back, dropping back to the floor. His crimson eyes clouded over, "Quite frankly, I'm getting sick of you and your sisters treating us like we've done something wrong."

"You have!" Blossom seethed, taking a step towards him. "You're a criminal, for crying out loud!"

"EX criminal." Brick's voice was acidic. He took a threatening step closer to her. Blossom watched as his jaw clenched.

"Why are you back in Townsville?" She was tired of playing games.

"None of your damn business!" His voice erupted angrily. His arm muscles bulged as he tightened his fists.

She took a slight step back, not immune to his terrorizing death glare. He noticed, and couldn't help but smirk. So He took another step towards her, eyes fixed on hers.

She hated that natural reaction she'd had. Showing weakness in the face of her greatest enemy? Unacceptable. She wasn't going to be intimidated by him. "If you have nothing to hide, then just tell me why you're here. It's a simple question."

He unclenched his fists and let out a huff of air.

"We just came here to live normal teenage lives. Okay? Not that I think you're going to accept that answer."

She narrowed her eyes and stared at him, unsure of what to say. She felt herself growing calmer. She changed her tone, "A normal teenager, huh?" She laughed.

He relaxed now as the mood settled back into a more tranquil one. When he stopped seeing red, his gaze went down to her chest, which he'd just realized was sopping wet. The light purple dress she wore, was clung tightly to her skin, revealing a black bra underneath. He narrowed his eyes and cocked his head, ever so slightly.

She watched his curious eyes travel up and down the front of her dress and land on her chest. She looked down at her cleavage then, and remembered that she was drenched in liquor. In the heat of the moment she'd completely forgotten that she'd went in there to dry off. Realizing that Brick could see her bra clearly, through her dress, she threw her arms up to cover her breasts. She blushed, bright red, with embarrassment.

Brick moved his gaze back to her face, noting her beet red cheeks. Who knew Blossom could get embarrassed? "You got a little something on your dress." Brick smirked.

She rolled her eyes and turned around to put her cardigan back on, buttoning it as high as it would go. Then turned her attention back to him. "So, what were you doing in the air then?"

Brick kept his eyes on Blossom and pointed to the ceiling. He watched her eyes widen in amazement, and as if it was out of her control, she began floating.

"Should I accuse you of being up to something to now?" He said sarcastically.

Blossom folded her arms over her chest and landed again. "You wanted to get a better view of the mural?" She asked surprised

Brick let out a quiet sigh, "Am I not allowed to appreciate beautiful things?"

She was taken aback by hearing him say the word 'beautiful' It sounded so foreign coming from his normally sharp tongue.

"You like art?" Was all she could manage.

Wanting to change the subject, "So, why are you covered in water?" He asked her curiously.

"Princess. And even better, it's alcohol." She scoffed at the not so distant memory.

"What'd you do to get on her bad side?" He raised an eyebrow, intrigued.

"Ironically, she was mad that I was alone with you earlier." She gestured the space between them.

He scrunched his nose, "Unbelievable."

"I just came in here to dry off, actually." She laughed, pinching her dress away from her stomach. "This is really uncomfortable." She muttered, not meaning to say that last part out loud and.

He shifted a little, and stared at her, trying to read her. Why was she so hard to read? He wondered. "I can help you dry off." he offered reluctantly. He held his palm up and a bright orange flame flickered to life.

"Brick!" She eyed his flame cautiously, "You'll set off the fire alarm." She titled her head up, indicating one above them.

He closed his hand over the flame and it disappeared. "I could have your dress dry in a couple minutes." He raised this eyebrow, "Or would you really rather walk around like that for the rest of the night?"

"Brick, I'm not gonna take my dress off." She insisted, shifted uncomfortably and averting her eye from his.

He laughed out loud at the idea. "That's not exactly what I meant." He tilted his head to a door and started walking over to it.

She hesitated for a few moments and then slowly followed him.

The door led to a beautiful, private, reading nook in the side yard. There were two intricate stone benches, surrounded by an array of colorful flowers and plants. The area was blocked off by large hedges, adorned in fairy lights..

"So-" Blossom trailed off, not knowing how to proceed.

Brick gestured for her to take a seat on the bench.

Blossom sat down and awkwardly looked up at him. "Okay."

"You're gonna have to take that off," he pointed to her cardigan. She hesitated. "I've already seen, remember?" He rolled his eyes.

She carefully unbuttoned her top, and pulled it off, setting it on the bench beside her. And looked to me, expectantly.

He knelt down in front of her, and produced his flame again, holding it a few inches from her chest. Her heartbeat quickened, and she averted her gaze.

He was trying not to stare, but was finding it difficult. He was still a man after all. Her cleavage was right there, heaving up and down. He turned his head away. "Is it too hot?"

"No, it's okay. Feels pretty nice, actually." She smiled coyly. "It's kind of chilly."

"I need another drink." Buttercup declared, opening the fridge and searching the contents. She grabbed a beer for herself and without looking, tossed one over her shoulder to Butch. He caught it before it could hit the ground. They chugged the beers and slammed the empty cans on the counter.

"You're in a good mood tonight." Butch laughed, perplexed. "Must be the alcohol."

Rolling her eyes, "I've barely drank anything. I've had like 3 beers."

"Let's do some shots then." Butch raised his eyebrow, smiling slyly.

"I'm not taking shots with you. I'm not even talking to you." Buttercup replied, folding her arms.

Butch laughed, a smug look on his face, "You are talking to me and we just had a beer together. So it kinda seems like you are."

"Well I'm not anymore." She started walking away.

"Come on BC, live a little. I'd expect this from Blossom…" he trailed off, "But I thought you, at least, knew how to have fun."

"Blossom? Please. Don't compare me to that killjoy." Buttercup scoffed, turning around to face him.

"Prove it then. Do some shots with me." A devious grin spread over Butch's face.

Buttercup hesitated for a minute, before turning and walking through the doorway, back into the main room. Butch was left standing in the kitchen. "Well, are you coming?" She asked, heading straight for the bar.

They found two empty seats at the end of a bar. They were in the very corner of the room, almost hidden from the rest of the party. Butch ordered them a round of Tequila shots and turned to face her. "So, why aren't you hanging with the guys?"

"None of your business." She responded flatly.

"How about this?" He suggested, "I'll take a shot for every question you answer. You take a shot for every question I answer. If you have any questions, that is."

Buttercup narrowed her jade green eyes and looked at him for a second. There were a few things she wanted to know..

"Fine. What if someone doesn't answer?" She asked curiously.

He smirked, "Are you planning on holding out on me? Because I'm an open book."

"Let's just get this over with." Buttercup said, eyeing the two shots that were in front of them.

Butch smiled, triumphantly. "Then answer my question."

"I just wanted some space." She said, shifting in her seat a little.

"That's not an answer." He hardened his gaze, "Penalty shot." He turned to the bartender, "Can we get another shot? Thanks" He looked back at Buttercup, "Try again."

"Fine." She snapped. "I wanted space from Mike. Not the rest of the guys." She thought about the penalty shot, and then added, "We had a fight."

Butch slid one tiny glass over to Buttercup and picked one up for himself. "Down the hatch." They both removed the lime slices from the rim, downed the shot and bit their limes.

"Your turn." Butch told her.

"Why are you back in Townsville?" Buttercup questioned, eyebrow arched.

He didn't skip a beat. "Got sick of doing jobs, basically. Decided to try something new for a while. Me and Boomer both wanted to try being normal teenagers before it was too late. So here we are. Back to the place we were born. Er- created." He stated, matter of factly.

She eyed him curiously, then took her shot, without a word. The bartender brought them another round.

"What was your fight with Mike about?" He asked, trying to get her flustered.

She punched him lightly on the arm. "You." He looked taken aback by her answer. "None of them told me they were hanging out with you. Like, they kept it a secret. I don't mind the rest of them, she scoffed, but Mike… anyway I was pissed."

"Why Mike and not the rest of them?" Butch asked, confused.

"That's two questions," Buttercup raised her eyebrow, "And two shots." She added questioningly.

"Fine." He urged her.

"I expected more from my boyfriend than from Mitch and Harry." She laughed.

Butch's eyes widened a little, in shock, "Mike? You're dating Mike?!"

Buttercup nodded and slid both the shots to him this time. "You're lucky I don't add a third,'' she threatened suggestively. "That was technically a question," she laughed. He took both shots, with no problem.

"Why are you hanging out with my friends?" She asked, "Out of everyone."

"I like them. They're cool. We have gym and some other classes together, and Idunno I just like them." He glanced at her, "I didn't even know they were your friends at first."

"Oh, she said. "So you weren't just trying to get under my skin?"

He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off. "Scratch that. I'm not taking a shot for that."

Buttercup picked up the shot glass and peered into it, reluctantly. She had a few beers and a couple of shots already and was starting to feel it. Feeling Butch's eyes on her, she took it anyway. She let out a groan. "God, tequila smells horrible."

Butch smiled and placed his elbow on the bar top, resting his cheek in his hand, "Well that's three each. And you don't look like you can handle much more."

"I can handle anything." Buttercup laughed confidently. "And I have one last question."

Butch sat up again, intrigued. "Okay?" He asked, before flagging down the bartender for their final shots. "I'm all ears."

"Why didn't you 'go upstairs' with that girl earlier?" She eyed him, interestedly.

That question stumped him. He shifted in his seat and thought about it. Why hadn't he gone with her? She was more then willing and it would have, no doubt, been a good time. So why? He glanced at Buttercup and caught her eye. "Idunno," he finally said. "Guess I find you more interesting."

They looked at each other, silently for a minute, and then Butch laughed. "I have one." a sly smile forming, "On a scale of 1-10 how hot do you think I am?"

"Four." She replied, cracking up. She was feeling pretty buzzed suddenly, the alcohol having kicked in, and found his question almost as funny as her answer. She looked up at him, a tear rolling down her cheek and smiled.

"A four, huh? He confirmed, "So there's still a chance."

Buttercup laughed and was about to protest but-

"Buttercup?"

She turned around and staring back at her, agitated, was Mike.

"What the fuck!" He yelled, noticing the full shots in front of them, as well as a pile of empties. He didn't give her a chance to say anything. "You're pissed at me for being friends with him but you can hangout with him all night and get trashed?!"

Buttercup shifted in her seat, uncomfortably, "It's not like that Mike." She stated, peeking at Butch, who silently looked ahead.

"Well what's it like then Buttercup? Because it looks like you just sat here and took about 10 shots together." Mike was furious. A few people who'd been seated at the bar got up and walked away. He lowered his voice and looked her in the eye, "You're such a hypocrite." And stormed off.

Buttercup's eyes flashed red, she sat there, quietly pissed off.

"Hey.. are you okay?" Butch finally asked, his eyes full of concern. "I can go talk to him." He offered.

He watched her as she stood up, and took her finally shot. She let out a deep sigh and then downed his too.

"Couldn't be better." She replied, and went after Mike.

Judging by the look on his face, Mike was not happy to see her. He said what he wanted to say and as far as he was concerned that was that. Now he wanted some space. But Buttercup had followed him through the hordes of people until they were finally alone.

"You didn't want to talk to me earlier." He crossed his arms, "So why should I listen to you now?"

"I only did what you did. So it shouldn't be a problem, right?" Buttercup retorted.

"I didn't get fucking drunk with him!" Mike argued back.

"So you're mad that I'm drunk?" She stared at him, confused.

"No!" He huffed and threw his hands up in frustration. "I just don't like that you were alone with him."

She scoffed, matching his tone, "We were in the middle of a crowded party. That's far from being alone. She was getting really irritated now. "Besides, you like him right? You all do." She said, referring to the rest of the guys. "But it's a problem that I'm trying to get along with him?"

"That's not the point, Buttercup."

"Well I guess I don't fucking get it then, Mike." She looked at him blankly, her voice got quieter now, "I was mad and I wanted to drink. I just happened to run into him."

"Well I don't want you hanging around with him." He said flatly

"What?!" She was fuming again. Where did he get off? "So you and Mitch and Harry are all gonna hang out and be buddy buddy with him but I'm not supposed to be around him? How does that work?!" She was getting so worked up, her eyes started to glow a faint red."How dare you try to control me! If I want to be around him, I will."

Mike started back at her silently for a while, "Look, I just need some space, Buttercup. This isn't really-"

"Fine!" She spat, before storming off, back to the crowded party.

"So.. he just… broke up with you?" Bubbles scrunched her nose, in disbelief.

Buttercup nodded her head to confirm, she didn't feel like talking anymore. She was livid, her heart was going a million miles per hour and she just wanted to hit something.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Bubbles asked her dark haired sister, nearly in tears.

"I just- she started, -need some fresh air." Buttercup walked away, leaving Bubbles standing by the stage.Robin and Clara were at her side, as soon as Buttercup left.

"What was that about?" Clara asked curiously, watching Buttercup push through the crowd.

"I guess she and Mike had a fight. They broke up." She was pouting.

Bubbles was worried about her sister, but she knew Buttercup better than anyone, and she knew that she just needed time to be alone.

"So, it's getting pretty late." Robin said, noticing the sudden mood change, and wanting to switch subjects. "Have you heard from Blossom lately? I was supposed to meet her over by the fireplace a while ago but she wasn't there."

Bubbles shook her head and pulled out her cell, nothing from Blossom. "I've hardly seen her all night, actually."

"She hasn't responded to my text." Robin said, perplexed. "I'm gonna go look for her." She started to leave.

"I'll come too!" Bubbles bounced over. "I wanna scope this place out a little anyway." She laughed.

The two girls waded through the mass of students, who were slowly but surely starting to thin out. They checked the dance floor, the bars, and the kitchen, with no luck.

"I bet she went home," Bubbles smiled, " You know how she is about this kind of stuff." She gestured to the bar in front of them.

"How is Princess even getting away with the alcohol here? Robin looked from bar to bar, around the room. "I mean, I know she gets whatever she wants but still. Most parties just have stolen bottles from their parents or a keg.. not actual bartenders knowingly making mixed drinks for minors." She laughed incredulously.

"It's definitely crazy." Bubbles agreed, "Mr. Morbucks must have shelled out a lot of cash for this one. But I can't lie, I'm glad I didn't have to drink beer all night." She grabbed Robin's arm and skipped through the party with her. They entered a huge, mostly empty hallway, a few people were just leaving the party. Bubbles pulled her phone out and hit her sister's speed dial, deciding to call now, instead of text. The air was much quieter there, then it had been in the main room, but she kept walking further down the hall to distance the noise even more. She had her phone to her ear and was admiring the beautiful paintings along the wall, when she finally heard a voice through the phone. "Blossom?!" She squealed, "Where are you? Robin's been looking all over for you."

Blossom cleared her throat, "Oh I was just-" there was a sudden rustling sound, "I was just- exploring the house. Well if you can even call it a house," she laughed nervously. "I'll be right ther-

Before she could finish her sentence, Blossom came walking through a huge set of double doors.

"Bloss, hey!" Robin elated, "Happy to finally see her best friend."

Seconds after Blossom stepped into the hallway, Brick did too. The door shut behind them and the two leaders, having come face to face with Bubbles and Robin, stopped walking. There was an awkward silence. Blossom and Bubbles slowly pulled their phones from their ears and hung up.

"So..." Bubble started, glancing curiously between Brick and her sister. "What's going on here?" Her face lit up, and a smile overcame her as she watched them shifting uncomfortably.

Blossom began walking again, ignoring the question completely. She pulled Robin in for a quick hug. "Hey Robin! Sorry I missed your text."

A light green streak zipped through the dark night sky. Buttercup had enough of the party. She had enough of Mike. She was hopping mad and just wanted to wreak some havoc. She needed to destroy something. She flew over the city, trying to find something to punch, to let all of her frustrations out. Then she spotted the perfect place, the city dump. She landed just inside the gate. Old vehicles, furniture and electronics were covering the ground. There were mountains of scrap metal and piles of trash all about. She clenched her first into balls and swung hard at the side of a totaled Volkswagen. It flipped a few times and landed upside down on the other side of the lot. She threw a few more punches at various objects, but it was no use. She was standing there, with her hands balled, in the middle of the junkyard, when she heard a noise from behind. She turned around and there stood Butch.

"What's up Buttercup?" He grinned.

"Butch, what are you doing here?" She asked, seriously confused.

"I followed you." He shrugged, walking towards her to close the distance. "I saw your streak."

"Okay." She laughed now, stumbling a bit. "But why?"

"I saw you destroy that car." He pointed, "I know how it feels. How you feel."

"How what feels? Being dumped?!" Her question was a mix of anger and curiosity.

"No," Butch started, "Being so pent up with frustration, and having no way to let it out. It's not working is it?"

Buttercup looked at him incredulously, not knowing what to say or where to start.

"It's true that you need to hit something, but you also need to be hit back, twice as hard. You need the rush, the adrenaline. That's the only way..."

There were a few lights scattered around the lot, but where she stood, Butch was just dimly lit. He was barely more than a shadowy figure in the night, but when he took another step towards her she could see a sinister smile stretching the length of his face, and a gleam in his eye.

"Butch. What are you-" she was cut off by the realization that a car was about to come down on her. She rolled out of the way, just before it hit the ground with a piercing crash.

"What the hell are you doing?!" She demanded, marching over to him.

When she was right in front of him, he tackled her to the ground and punched her in the mouth. "That's payback for the cafeteria." He winked.

He was still on top of her, smiling. She swiped her tongue around the inside of her mouth, collecting the blood and spat it at him. While he was distracted, she flipped him over, so she was on top and sent a flurry of strikes crashing into him.

"Thatta girl." He managed, before throwing her off of him and floating into the air. She was still on the ground, watching his movements, he shot into her full speed. Her body carved into the dirt, leaving a crater beneath her. She was back on her feet in seconds, she grabbed onto his shoulders and kneed him in the face a few times. He tried to throw a punch but she grabbed his fist before it landed and she spun, swinging him into a mountain of rubbish.

"Have you had enough yet?" She laughed, feeling the adrenaline coursing through her body. "I've been taking it easy-"

He shot into her, with a ferocious punch to the gut. She crashed onto the ground, landing on her butt, turned her head and threw up. It was a 50/50 mixture of blood and alcohol. She grabbed her stomach with one hand and buried her face in the other.

"Oh shit! Buttercup!" Butch flew to her side, "I didn't mean to-"

She grabbed him by the front of his t-shirt and burst into the air, then slammed him back to the ground. She kicked him hard in the ribs a couple of times for good measure. "Had enough?" She asked, breathing heavy.

"That was a cheap trick." he smirked, sitting up. He flew into her, picked her up and threw her onto a pile of scrap.

She landed back first on the roof of a car. Before she could move, he was there. He climbed on top of her. Using his left hand he pinned her arms above her head then he grabbed her throat with the other. She wriggled a little under him but was unable to move. He tightened his grip on her neck, ever so slightly and she let out a moan. A sexy moan. He loosened his grip a little, letting a rush of air fill her lungs. She was staring into his eyes, hungrily, lustfully. He hardened his grip again and watched her eyes roll back, she let out another sweet moan and her back arched slightly. He loosened his grip on her throat and let go of her arms. He couldn't help himself anymore, suddenly his lips were on hers. He kissed her vigorously, and she kissed him back. His hand was still at her throat. Kissing her, he rubbed her neck gently for a few moments. He pulled his lips from hers slightly and squeezed again, she let out a deep, staggered moan, her hot breath on his neck. She felt him stiffen on top of her, stabbing into her.

"Umm, Butch." Buttercup whispered, chest heaving, gasping for air.

Butch pulled away, and rolled over onto the roof, lying next to her. Neither of them said anything for a long time. They just looked up at the starry night sky, in silence. Processing what had just happened. After a while, Buttercup sat up. He rolled onto his side, fixing his gaze on her

Not looking him in the eye, "That was…" she ran her fingers gently over her neck, "Wow."

"Yeah..." Was all he could manage, a little smile working it's way to his lips

She pulled out her phone and checked the time, 11:46pm. "Oh shit." She said, "It's almost midnight. I gotta get home."

When she got home, the Professor was already asleep, thank God. She had no idea how she would have explained the many injuries she had sustained, from her and Butch's brawl. She floated upstairs as quietly as possible, praying her sisters would already be asleep. But when she got to the door, she could see a hint of light shining from beneath the door. She gulped.

"Buttercup?!" Blossom's voice full of concern, as soon as she opened the door.

She flew over to her orange haired sister as fast as she could, covering her mouth. "Keep your voice down!" She urged, in a hushed tone. Hearing the commotion, Bubbles walked out of their ensuite bathroom. Buttercup flew over to her as soon as she saw her eyes widen and covered her mouth too.

"Buttercup. What the heck happened?" Blossom whispered.

She let go of Bubbles and let out a deep sigh, "It's nothing."

"That," Bubbles gestured to Buttercup's whole body, "Is not nothing.

Buttercup sat on the edge of her unmade bed, "I got into a brawl after I left the party, okay? But its nothing, I'm fine." She. Insisted.

"With who?" Blossom pried, watching her sister carefully.

"How should I know? It was a couple of punks in an alley."

Blossom and Bubbles both looked at her, unsure.

"Look, I appreciate the concern, but I'm totally fine. I really just wanna get to bed."

Blossom relented, "Okay, I guess you've been through enough." She stood up and walked over, gently examining her face. "They really did a number on you, huh?"

"You should see the other guy." She smirked, turning from her sister's view, as a light blush crept across her face. "Oh and, please don't mention this to the Professor?" She looked at her sisters, pleadingly. "He has so much to worry about already, I'd hate to add to it." She knew they wouldn't be able to say no to that.

The cool, crisp air had long since dried the once wet blood that scattered his face and hands. He was still lying atop the roof of the car, staring into the darkness. He was trapped in his thoughts. Buttercup. He had kissed Buttercup. Not just a kiss, but a life altering exchange. He couldn't stop thinking about it. About her. Suddenly, the vibration of his phone jolted him back to life. There was a message from Boomer:

Dude, where you at? You good?

He read the message on his screen and swiped it away, slipping his phone back into the pocket of his hoodie. He could see his house from where he lay, lit up in the distance. He let out a deep huff and headed home, opting to walk instead of fly. He wasn't ready for it to be over yet.

"Where have you been?" Boomer asked, his head stuck in the fridge.

Butch took off his hoodie and started walking to his bedroom. "Just, out." He said, not wanting to go into detail.

"That was some party, huh?" Boomer grabbed a can of soda and finally looked at Butch. "Jesus." He said, "You look like you've been to hell."

He stopped in the living room, "I have. We all have." He gestured, "Not that bad, actually." He laughed, thinking back to HIM's palace, underground.

Brick came out of his room, toweling his wet hair. "Butch. What the fuck did you do?" He accused, eyes narrowing at his brother.

He rolled his eyes. "I didn't do anything, I promise. Nothing that'll cause us any trouble." He assured Brick.

Boomer took a step closer to him, "Dude, you smell awful!" He started gagging and backed away.

Any other day Butch would've lunged himself at his brothers, covering them in his stench. But he was in no mood for fun right now. He wanted to shower and be alone with his memories.

End Ch. 1 (: