Thank you for the reviews, guys 3 ! I cherish every follow and review, they're very dear to me.
Anyway sorry for the slow updates, I'm kind of busy at work and not that inspired in rest :(
I hope I can finish Equals this year tbh, I have all the ideas for the ending laid out, but I'm just not feeling it atm.
Anyway I hope you enjoy this Blue centered chapter, y'all know I'm not a big blues fan, but this was cute to write, honestly.
Anyway, the song I mentioned in this chapter is Syko- #BrooklynBloodPop. Give it a listen if you don't know it yet
...a few hours earlier...
Bubbles was mortified as she saw her sisters leaving together after succeding in embarrassing her in front of Boomer.
What made it even more cringe- worthy was that she already felt in a tight spot before they had joined them, now it was even worse.
She hadn't expected of him to be so forward, he'd just arrived at the party when he casually strolled over and asked:
'Do you want to have a drink with me?'
She couldn't exactly refuse, could she? It was almost impossible, especially when he looked at her with that charming, unassuming smile.
He just grabbed her by the hand and dragged her in the corner on the terrace. She expected his hand to be warm, but she wasn't ready for the sweaty, nervous hand that clutched hers.
It was almost antithetical with his seeming relaxed behavior.
Bubbles could feel everyone's eyes on them, even the ones that pretended not to look occasionally cast an obvious glance or two.
They exchanged vague pleasantries until her sisters spotted them, and Bubbles wondered if they managed to put him off completely.
But as she returned to him, his beaming smile greeted her:
'I didn't think they'd let you come back.'
' Oh.. they have other plans tonight.' Bubbles replied sweetly, playing with the straw in her drink.
'Thank God, I really didn't appreciate the audience, hehe. '
Bubbles didn't reply, simply taking a sip from her drink, stirring it in an attempt to give her hands something to do.
'...Is he pretending nothing happened between us?
'She looked at him with the corner of her eye as he casually leaned on the wall behind them: A closer look revealed his hands were slightly trembling , Bubbles wasn't entirely surprised by this.
'He acts like nothing happened, yet he's so nervous. What game are you playing, Boomer? '
'Boomer.' Bubbles said gravely, forcing him to meet her gaze. 'Do you maybe want to talk somewhere more private?'
Boomer's usually relaxed expression turned into one of anxiety, his eyes widening almost imperceptibly before finally answering.
'I'd like that. I had something I wanted to tell you, actually.'
Hearing this, Bubbles' heart skipped a beat. She suspected where this was going, even though she hasn't thought it would actually come to this.
'The park, maybe...?' she slowly asked, lightly grazing her fingertips against the fur of his suit.
Boomer simply nodded as he led her out of the party, into the well lit streets of Taylor's suburb.
When they were at a considerable distance from the bustle, he flew away with her by his side. They traveled in silence, stopping in a park in the outskirts of Townsville, slowly descending towards a bench from which you could see the town's shinning lights.
Boomer gulped nervously before he began:
'I know you've been avoiding me. ' Boomer looked at her, sadness in his eyes.
'No, I wasn...' Bubbles interrupted him.
'You have. Ever since...' he stopped, letting the silence speak for itself. Bubbles blushed, fidgeting with the hem of her dress.
'I just wanted to tell you...I'm very sorry for what happened. I..think we were becoming good friends, and I ...blew it.' he turned towards her, an awkward smile plastered on his face.
Bubbles simply froze, her fingers now tightly clenching the shiny fabric of her dress.
'I really liked chilling with you before, and I'd be upset if that stopped.'
Bubbles still looked down at her hands, barely processing this new information.
'I understand if you don't want to hang out anymore after what happened. I was such a massive asshole...'
Bubbles finally met his gaze, and nearly choked as she answered:
'Oh, no, I want to hang out with you.'
A grateful smile crept on Boomer's face as he sighed in relief:
'Whew, thank God. It was touch and go there for a little bit. I was so scared you wouldn't want to talk to me anymore, I wouldn't have done any of it if I wasn't so drunk that night, I'm so sorry I... I get so weird when I drink that much...You're my friend and ...'
Bubbles' breath hitched as she remembered the kiss: the strong smell of cheap vodka, his hands roaming all over her body, his lips clashing into hers, much harsher than she'd expected.
He was right. They were both so, so drunk(and high) that night. Both of them had an unnatural resistance to alcohol, probably given by Chemical X, but somehow they got wrapped up in a drinking game that resulted in way too many shots being consumed...
And then someone came with the idea to play 7 minutes in heaven. That night it meant 7 minutes in Mitch's closet with Boomer.
That stupid BloodPop song played as they were crammed into the closet together. The sound of everyone cheering outside mingled with the tune's playful synths.
Light crept into the closet enough for Bubbles to study her counterpart. Lanky body dressed in a navy blue loose t-shirt, a few silver chains dangling down his neck, longish dirty blonde hair parted in the middle.
She fixed her eyes on the small cross earring in his left ear to avoid looking directly at him.
'I like this song. It's both happy and sad. Like I am. ' he drunkenly whispered to her.
Bubbles gulped, clasping her hands together. However drunk she was, she couldn't be unfazed by the intense look Boomer pinned her down with.
'Am I, am I
In love
Or am I off the drugs
Your girl say I fuck like a thug
She wants kisses over blunts'
'They want us to make out.' he continued, getting close enough for Bubbles to feel his hot breath on her face.
Bubbles shivered as she felt the cold metal of his rings as he ran his hands up and down her arms. She could no longer avoid the brilliant blue of his eyes peeking at her from under his half lidded eyes.
'We don't have to if you don't want it...' she heard herself replying in a small voice.
Instead of replying, he grabbed Bubbles by waist and drew her toward him, then planting a hungry kiss on her mouth, immediately parting her lips with his tongue.
Bubbles enthusiastically reciprocated, parting them further to allow him acces. He seemed ravenous as he explored her mouth, much unlike the Boomer she fought in her childhood and lately befriended. She often thought about this happening, but it was always softer and less alcohol fuelled in her fantasies. This Boomer was different than what she'd pictured him to be, pawing hungrily at her body as their teeth clashed together.
She felt him grabbing hand fulls of her hair as he pushed her into the closet's wall, Mitch's metal coat hangers clinking together as the kiss continued.
Boomer's hands then traveled further down her body, his hands cupping her breasts through her clothes. Her nipples perked up as he squeezed a bit harder than she expected.
She could feel him smiling against her lips as one of his hands slipped under her top and reached for her bra clasp.
Bubbles suddenly panicked when he expertly unclasped it and quickly reached for her now nude left breast, his cold rings now sinking in the warm flesh of her chest.
She forcefully pushed him away, sending him flying in the opposite corner of the closet. She immediately felt guilty when she saw the shocked, repentant look in his eyes.
'...Oh my God, Bubbles... I'm so sorry.'
He quickly picked himself up and ran out of the closet, closing the door behind him, leaving Bubbles in a daze.
It took Bubbles a bit to regain her composure, and to figure out exactly what happened there. She took several deep breaths before she readjusted her clothes, and noticed the song had finally changed. She could hear it clearly because it was dead silence on the other side, clearly Boomer's exit had caused quite a fuss.
The door soon opened and Taylor crept in, joining her on the floor.
'Hey, sweetie. Are you ok? We saw Boomer leave in a rush.'
Bubbles realized too late she had started crying, and grabbed one of Mitch's shirts to wipe off her tears.
'Shhhhh...What happened? Did he hurt you?'
'No, but I made him leave. It was too much.'
'Shhh, you're ok..you're ok.' Taylor soothed her as several other girls tried to take a peek.
Bubbles tried to save face by telling everyone he tried to scare her badly and it backfired on him, and hoped most people would believe it. Nevertheless, she understood why Boomer left early that night, he must have been too mortified to interact with her again.
Later at home she started to listen to that damn blood pop song on repeat, wishing he'd gone slower..or wishing that she hadn't freaked out at his touch... The professor occasionally complained that it was too repetitive, but it was the best way to remember the feeling of his lips on hers.
'Hey, Bubbles..? Are you there?' Boomer waved a hand in front of her eyes.
'Yes..I'm here.' Bubbles mumbled.
'You zoned out for a bit.' He gave her a bashful smile. 'Anyway, I wanted to apologize. I didn't want to scare you, I wasn't thinking clearly and...'
He pinched the bridge of his nose before adding:
'I know being drunk is not an excuse. It never it
is.'
'It's alright. I'm alright, Boomer.'
He hopefully looked up at her.
'You sure?'
Bubbles simply nodded in response.
'Perfect! Thank you! I'm never drinking that much around you again, I want you to be comfortable. Nothing weird is going to happen again, I promise.'
Bubbles' heart sank, she didn't quite know how to respond. She never thought he would dismiss everything, blame it all on the alcohol.
She cleared her throat before answering:
'Uhm, I was drunk, too. I.. overreacted.'
'Please, don't try to make me feel better. I was.. rapey. Your reaction was normal.'
Bubbles felt anger bubbling up:
'It wasn't that bad. We were playing 7 minutes in heaven. It was implied we would make out.'
'Yeah, but you were very drunk.' Boomer replied, clearly disappointed with himself.
'We both were very drunk.' Bubbles quickly replied.
Silence fell between them, and Boomer eventually lit himself a cigarette, not before also offering her one.
'But you don't have to worry from now on. I see you as a good friend, you know? Even tho we haven't been talking for long.'
Bubbles felt the frustration building up and debated within herself if he was full of shit or not.
'You don't kiss someone you only see like a friend like that, do you? Alcohol or not.
It's impossible, he just feels guilty for making me freak out. He thinks I don't like him back. Of course he won't admit his feelings after the freak-out. Maybe I should just suck it up and kiss him right no...'
''You really have nothing to worry about. I was ...um... sexually confused and frustrated then. I'd been single for a while when I pounced on you at the party...So I went for the nearest girl when the opportunity arose... But I have it sorted out now.' he interrupted her train of thought, taking another drag of the cig before putting it out on the pavement.
Bubbles blinked in confusion before asking:
'Excuse me?'
'I have a new girlfriend. Her name's Hannah, you probably know her, she goes to your school.'
Bubbles didn't think the day could go worse, but it just did. She heard a faint nose, and was pretty sure if was the sound of her teeth grinding in frustration.
She tried to remember a Hannah, who exactly was this Hannah?!
A million questions popped into her head before choosing the most pressing one:
'Oh, I don't think I know her. How does she look like?'
Boomer quickly took his phone out of his pocked, looked for something and quickly passed it to Bubbles. An Instagram post was loaded unto the screen , and she saw a sporty looking girl geared in rock climbing attire smiling widely at the person taking the photo. Bubbles recognized her, but realized she had never really interested in getting to know her since they were from totally different crowds. Come to think of it, she realized she's seen her in Buttercup's crowd before.
'Why isn't she with you tonight?' Bubbles realized her voice was shaking, but Boomer took no notice of it.
'Oh, she's gone spelunking with her dad.Maybe she'll come to the next party.' he lit another cigarette, this time Bubbles accepted one when he offered.
'How long have you been together?' Bubbles continued her probing as Boomer lit her cigarette.
'2 weeks. It's early days. I haven't told anyone besides you yet. I asked her to keep it on the down low, too. '
'Oh.'
Suddenly she felt incredibly stupid. All this time she'd listened to that dumb song, pining for him while he was hooking up with someone new.
Silence fell between them as a soft breeze picked up the tiny trails of smoke.
He gave her a curious sideways glance before asking softly:
'Are you into anyone at the moment?'
She swallowed her pride before answering wearily:
'Yeah.'
'Oh. Cool.' he ran a hand through his hair, then ruffled it up.
'Cool. Cool. Cool.' he added before asking. ' Is it Aidan? ' Cause I heard him bragging about taking you out on a date last week.'
'WTF? She vaguely remembered staying with Aidan 20 more minutes in the diner last week after their friends left, but it would be a stretch to call THAT a date.'
'I didn't go out with him. I mean, we went somewhere as a group and the two of us just had another drink after the others left, but I wouldn't call it a date.'
'Oh.' Boomer seemed surprised. 'Weird dude.'
'Yeah, a bit weird.'
'Don't get me wrong, I get it, but it's a bit pathetic.' he chuckled lightly. 'Any guy in this town would kill for a date with you, but making it up...? Kinda lame.'
Hearing this, Bubbles gave him a bitter smile in response and wordlessly asked for another cigarette.
'Who is he then...? Maybe we could go on a double date.'
Bubbles cringed, unsure of how to approach the suggestion. She decided to go with the mysterious approach.
'I keep my crushes secret, Boomer. Especially since I don't know how trustworthy bunnies are.'
Bubbles felt a throbbing pain in her chest as she studied Boomer's features. Even in this silly bunny costume you could tell how devastatingly handsome he was.
'My muzzle is fast shut if you keep me well fed and groomed.'
She reached to lightly ruffle his hair and marveled at the silky texture, so much like her own.
His reaction made her quickly retract her hand, he looked somewhat shaken and timid in response to her playful gesture, the surprise was evident in his brilliant blue eyes.
'Uhm, want to go back ? I still think we've got a few hours of partying left in us.' Boomer attempted to dispel the queer mood.
'Yeah, sure. Let's have fun.' she put out her cigarette before making their way back to the house.
This definitely wasn't a win for Bubbles. She was more confused now than in the beginning of the evening. She just hoped it wouldn't get worse.