It was nearly impossible to concentrate on anything that weekend. Blossom eventually managed to get all of her school work done, albeit with difficulty.

She found herself pacing up and down her room everytime she attempted to get more studying done. Eventually she did sit down, but realised when she was done that she'd managed to bite her nails short enough to draw blood. She hated this about herself, it was a disgusting habit that popped up everytime she was under considerable stress.

Blossom spent more time than she'd care to admit thinking about how she should approach the whole Brick/Layla situation. She felt a pang of nausea in anticipation of hers and Layla's eventual meeting on Monday. She eventually decided to ignore Brick if he ever decided to bring it up. Feigning ignorance is always better than utter mortification. She'd survive it.

She ran into Bubbles at the breakfast table on Monday morning and was surprised to see the sullen disposition her sister was in. Her usual cherry self was replaced by a depressed looking creature that lazily chewed at her cereal.

'Well, you're in a good mood...' Blossom said while getting a coffee started for herself.

'Oh, I'm fine, just tired.' Bubbles snapped out of her trance to reply.

'Alright.' Blossom sat next to her and poured a bowl of cereal for herself.

'How about you? I didn't see you around all day yesterday..?I heard you left the party early.'

'Had an assignment to do. Had to stay in my room and finish it yesterday.'

'Oh..alright..and the party?' Bubbles insisted.

'Well, you know, I don't exactly feel comfortable in that kind of setting.'

'You didn't have fun at all? I heard you hang out with Jude. He's a really good guy, you know.'

'Yeah, we did hang out for a bit. He's really fun.'

'Yeah, I thought you might like him. He's like a ...type B goofball.' Bubbles twirled a strand of hair around her index.

'...and that goes well with my type A neurotic self, right? ' Blossom interjected, slightly amused.

'Oh, come on, I didn't mean it like that.' Bubbles chuckled, attempting to defend herself.

'You kinda did, but it's ok. You might be right.'

They ate in silence for a while before Blossom asked:

'Did you have a good time...? What's up with that guy? Why were you talking to him?' Blossom asked, pouring some milk in her coffee.

'What guy?' Bubbles asked innocently.

'Don't play dumb, Bubbles.' Blossom exhaled before taking a cautious sip of her coffee.

Bubbles sighed before replying:

'We've been friends for a while, he comes to a lot of parties, that's how we started hanging out.

' 'Friends'?' Blossom signed some air quotes with her free hand. 'Since when are you 'friends' with a Rowdyruff? Also, why didn't you tell me ?'

'Because I knew you'd freak out, like you are clearly doing now.'

'Maybe I'm freaking out for a reason. Is it so strange that I don't want you fraternizing with the enemy?'

'Oh, my God, Blossom...Do you even hear yourself?' Buttercup walked into the kitchen while sleepily rubbing at her eyes.

'Hey, Buttercup.' Bubbles welcomed her sister's intervention.

'Just leave the poor girl alone, sheesh. She should hang out with whoever she wants. Love is love, catch my drift?'

'We're just friends!' Bubbles quickly replied, panic visible in her eyes.

Buttercup didn't heed her reply as she slouched in one of the remaining kitchen chairs, a lazy smirk playing on her features.

'Well, well, you're in an awfully good mood.' Blossom eyed her brunette sister up and down.

Buttercup chuckled while stealing Bubbles' bowl of cereal and taking a mouthfull.

'You're not finishing this, are you, Bubbles?'Bubbles shook her head while her sister continued to wolf down remainder of the bowl.

'Well, dearest sister, I had a great weekend.'

'What? What happened?' Blossom squinted her eyes at her.

Buttercup took one last sip from the bowl before grabbing her leather jacket and heading for the front door.

'Let's just say I don't kiss and tell. Later, losers.' she winked before snapping the door shut behind her, leaving her sisters in a state of utter confusion.

'What on Earth was that about?' Blossom furrowed her bow, trying to decipher her sister's behavior.

'Hmmm, not sure. I haven't seen her either since the party.'

A jolt of realisation snapped within Blossom. She remembered the last interaction she had with Buttercup at Taylor's party.

'Oh. I guess have some ideas about what happened there.'

'What do you mean?'

'Well, when you were outside with Boomer Taylor tried to hook up with Brick again.'

Bubbles just cringed and waited for her sister to continue her story.

'Imagine how that went. Anyway, Taylor went upstairs with some other girls and Buttercup decided to go and 'comfort them'.'

'Oh. What girls?'

'I don't remember their names exactly. I think Eva and ...'

'Riley? A girl in a green dress..?'

'Yes, that's the one. Do you think anything happened with any of them? '

'Um, maybe...? I didn't know they were Buttercup's type tho.'

'Maybe she likes the challenge...? But, if something DID happen, I hope it doesn't get out. We don't need even more media attention.'

Bubbles shifted uncomfortably in her chair.

'I hope it doesn't make things awkward between me and them.'

'Let's hope it's nothing, then. I wouldn't ask them anything if I were you.' Blossom added.

Blossom quickly finished her coffee, then checked her phone, grabbed her backpack and made her way towards the door.

'See you later, Bubbles!'

'Yeah, see you..!' her sister's small voice answered just before Blossom closed the door behind her.

Her heart rate quickened thinking about eventually bumping into Layla today. She managed to block it out during breakfast, but it was in the forefront of her thoughts now.

'For fuck's sake, Blossom! Snap out of it!'

'So, c'mon, there must be a reason for you going AWOL all weekend. You didn't answer any of my texts. What the fuck happened??'

'I already told you, I didn't have a great time and left home early.'

'Cut the crap, everyone's been saying you hung out with Taylor's cousin. I looked him up by the way, not bad. Not bad at all.' Kenzie said skimming through someone's Instagram, Blossom realizing in horror it must be Jude's.

''Bout time you get over...'Kenzie mouthed 'D A V I D' before Blossom could cover her mouth with her palm in annoyance.

'First, I thought I asked you not to mention that ever again, secondly, we only talked for a bit, that's all. I don't know why it got into everyone's head that we're suddenly a thing after talking for 5 minutes.'

'Is that so? Then why did a little bird tell me he went looking for you and then came back to the party looking confused AF and with lipstick all over his face..?' Kenzie raised an eyebrow at her friend.

'Oh...'

The word unwillingly escaped Blossom's mouth. She has nearly forgotten the short, impromptu make- out session with the guy.

'You thought you can hide that shit from me, Blossom?? It's frankly insulting.'

'Did he say anything?' Blossom asked, slight concern in her voice.

'Apparently not, people tried to ask him but he was very tight-lipped about it.'

'Oh.' Blossom tucked a rogue strand of her behind her ear. 'Good.'

'C'mon, you're not gonna tell me??? For fuck's sake.' Kenzie inquires, loud enough for the people at the nearby table to turn towards them.

'Sheesh, tone it down with the swearing, will you? Everyone's looking at us.'

'Your fault for pissing me off. '

'Fine, so, yeah, we made out a little. It didn't mean anything though, we were both pretty drunk. '

'Damn, you actually drank??!?!' Kenzie exclaimed, almost jumping out of her seat.

'Just. Calm. Down. Please.' Blossom replied, taking a furtive glance around.

'I'm sorry, I'm just shaken to see who my best friend has turned into. It's like I don't know you anymore.'

'It was a one-time thing, ok? Very questionable choice on my part, I just caved in to peer pressure. Not happening again.'

'C'mon, you're just scared to admit you kinda enjoyed yourself, then you'd actually have to admit you're a human being and not just Miss Everything Nice.'

Blossom winced.

'Can you please drop it? I really don't want you rubbing this mistake into my face.'

'Ok, ok, you win.' Kenzie rolled her eyes, then lightly tapped her nails on the nearby locker.

Blossom noticed her hesitation before she heard her friend asking.

:'So...I heard Layla left with Brick on Saturday. I've gotta ask: are we friends with her anymore?'

Blossom felt a jolt of fear mixed with embarrassment and hastily replied:

'Why wouldn't we be?! What is it to me??' she fumbled on her words before slamming her locker shut.

Kenzie gave her a curious look.

'Um...the fact that you hate the guy...? I think you complain about him at least 3 times a week. I'll even cite you: 'One of these days I'll pop a vein when I have to see that God-awful smug leech and his idiotic brothers again. '

'It's not my problem who she chooses to hang out with as long as she doesn't force me to interact with him. I actually knew that she wanted to hook up with him, so I wasn't blindsided in the least.'

'Wait, what?' Kenzie shook her head in confusion.

'Yeah, she came by my house before the party and we talked about the Rowdyruffs. She said she wanted to hook up with Brick "as a challenge".'

'Whoa, what?? Hold up. Come again?'

'Yeah, she's kind of a go-getter, honestly. Bubbles mentioned that Taylor wanted to hook up with Brick and Layla took it as a personal ambition to get him to hook up with her instead.'

'Ah, wow. I mean, it's weird to see you being so chill about it. Didn't you warn her about him? '

Blossom felt frustration pile up.

'What do you think I did, Kenzie? Seriously.'

'Um, knowing you...you probably did?'

'Bingo. Then stop asking stupid questions.'

'Fair enough, don't get your panties in a knot. I was just curious.'

"Yeah, sorry, I know. I'm just a bit irritated.'

They started walking toward the cafeteria when they noticed a group of girls whispering together, Blossom's super hearing picking up Layla's name in their conversation. She noticed the raven haired beauty a few feet away, crouched down to tie her shoelaces. She turned around just in time to see them approaching and flashed them a brilliant smile.

'Oh, hello. I wondered where you were.'

Blossom tried to find a trace of sarcasm or I'll will in her tone. She couldn't forget what she'd heard Layla say about her.

'Hey, Layla.' Kenzie awkwardly replied. 'We were looking for you, too. Um, how was your weekend?'

'Didn't Blossom tell you about the party? We both went on Saturday.' Layla replied with an innocent smile.

'She filled me in a bit. Seemed like a blast.'

'You could say that.' Layla smiled back. 'I lost track of you during it, Blossom, sorry about that. How was your night?'

Blossom blushed furiously hearing her question, but quickly managed to regain her composure.

'Ahem, it was pretty fun, yes. I-I left pretty early, though, so that's probably why you lost track of me.'

A glimmer of amusement appeared in Layla's eyes:

'I left quickly, too. I made a new friend and we left together early on.'

Hearing this Blossom nearly choked on her own saliva, she hadn't expected of Layla to bring this up in public and so soon.

'What friend?' Kenzie feigned ignorance. Blossom secretly wished she could slap her friend into silence.

Layla's long hair swished as she turned towards Kenzie to answer:

'Oh, surprised you don't know. News usually travels faster.'

Kenzie shook her head unconvincingly. Blossom always thought she was such a bad liar, she hated when she proved her right.

'I met Brick the Rowdyruff. He's such an interesting guy, we just had to leave early and spend more quality time together.'

Blossom felt a small beam of energy jolt in her right hand, and quickly suppressed it.

'What the hell?? Get it together! It's fine, she didn't see anything.'

'Oh, I see.' Blossom fumbled a response. 'Good for you, I'm, uh ...glad you had a good time.'

She felt bile rise up in her throat. 'Uhm, you have to excuse me, I need to go to the bathroom now. See you in Chemistry.'

Kenzie extended an arm towards Blossom,but she was gone before she could reach her.

The redhead rushed towards the bathroom as quick as she could without using her superpowers. Once she was safely in one of the stalls, she locked it behind her and attempted to calm her nerves by taking slow, deep breaths.

She remembered this relaxation technique that Bubbles had taught her a long time ago:

'Happy thoughts, happy thoughts. 1234 deep breath, exhale. 1234 deep breath, exhale. 1244 deep breath, exha...'

Her session was interrupted by someone opening the door violently, followed by the footsteps of 3 or 4 people. Blossom instinctively hoovered to avoid detection, and couldn't help but listen in on the animated conversation.

'I really don't know how she dared to go after him at my party, in MY house.'

Blossom recognized Taylor's voice, and one quick activation of her x-ray vision confirmed her identity. Alongside her were Bubbles and two girls she identified as Eva and Riley from the party on Saturday.

'So disrespectful.' Eva agreed, gently patting Taylor's shoulder.

'Right? The fucking nerve, I would personally never!'

'You're way hotter than her, Taylor.' Riley added, nodding emphatically.

'Way hotter.' Eva approved.

'Uh, you think I don't know? That's why I literally do not get what kind of voodoo she did to trap him within 10 minutes of talking to him. '

Taylor quickly turned towards Bubbles:

'Bubbles!'

A small , almost inaudible whimper escaped Bubbles' lips when she heard Taylor addressing her.

'I called this meeting here because I know she came in with you and your sister. They're friends or something, right?'

'That's right.' Bubbles reluctantly agreed.

'What's her deal? I thought she was cool, but clearly I was wrong. God, never invite brains again, I swear.'

'What do you mean?' Bubbles meekly asked.

Taylor sighed before starting her rant:

'Bubbles,I love you, but you can be really dense sometimes. I can't let someone humiliate me like that. I need to show that slut who rules this school. So I need whatever dirt I can get on her.'

'Uuuh, dirt? Um, I only spent like...2 hours with her that night.'

'And she didn't say anything I could use?'

A long, pregnant pause followed before Bubbles answered:

'No.'

A gasp escaped from Blossom's mouth She was shocked to see her sister lie so easily.

'I mean, we talked about...like, make-up mostly. and clothes. And a lot about school. Nothing weird, though.'

She continued after a pause.

'...Where were you guys all weekend? I was the only one writing in the groupchat and you left me on read.'

Riley gave the other two a strange look, and decided to reply:

'Yeah, sorry about that. We all got really, really hammered and had a monster hangover in Taylor's bedroom.'

'Oh, okay. You could have told me. I thought you guys were mad at me.'

'No, just really sick.' Taylor decided to end the topic. 'So, you don't have anything on Layla?'

Bubbles simply shook her head.

Taylor rolled her eyes before answering. 'Fine, I don't really need anything anyway. I'll destroy her just by being my fabulous self.

She quickly adjusted her hair and applied some lipgloss before heading towards the door:

'Let's go. I don't want Andrews bitching about us being late to his class again.'

'Uhm, you go on without me.' Bubbles intervened as Taylor opened the door. 'I need to use the toilet.'

The girls nodded as Bubbles turned towards the empty stalls. She waited for the sound of their footsteps to fade before she tentatively asked:

'Blossom? Are you alright?'

'Aw, shucks.' Blossom groaned as she saw Bubbles' pigtails hover over the stall's door, her brilliant, curious eyes fixated on her.

'Why did you activate your x-ray vision?' Blossom replied, slightly annoyed.

'Taylor makes me do it. She doesn't want anyone listening in on our bathroom chats. I'm supposed to wink at her in case I see someone hiding in the stalls.'

'What if someone's actually just using the bathroom?!?'

Bubbles shrugged:

'That's usually the case, actually. We wait until they leave and we talk afterwards.'

'How come you didn't wink at her?'

'I mean, you saw she was in a bad mood. I didn't want her to see you and maybe pick on you just because you're Layla friend.'

'Thanks.' Blossom sighed and opened the stall to meet her sister.

'Are you ok...? You don't look too good.' Bubbles looked concerned, eyeing her sister up and down.

'Yeah, I'm fine. I was just a bit nauseated earlier.' Blossom replied as she splashed some water on her face.

'Um...did you maybe talk to Layla..? Everyone's saying she hooked up with Brick over the weekend.'

'Yeah, she told me.'

'She did...? What happened?'

'She just told me they spent quality time together.' Blossom quickly answered and added 'Why are so you curious?'

Bubbles bashfully averted her gaze:

'I didn't really think she was serious about it when we talked at our house.'

'Well, I guess she was. Can we drop it now?' Blossom snapped at her, resting her hands on the edges of the sink.

'You don't have to be so snappy.'

'I'm sorry, Bubbles, I'm just not feeling that great.'

'Are you on your period..? I thought you had it last week tho...? Maybe you should go home and rest.'

'No, it's fine. I'm just a little tired, haven't been sleeping well. I'll be ok. I can't miss today's classes.'

'Alright then. I have to go now or I'll be late to Andrews' again, see you at home.'

Bubbles was heading for the door when her sister stopped her with a question:

'Bubbles..? How come you didn't tell Taylor about Layla's plan?'

Bubbles flashed her a warm smile before answering:

'What kind of question is that? She's your friend, right?' she answered, leaving behind a dazed Blossom, her hands still gripping tightly the edges of the sink.

'Right.'

Sorry for the long wait, y'all! Like I told you, I haven't been feeling that great recently. Luckily I started taking some antidepressants and I'm doing a bit better.

This is kind of a necessary filler chapter, I hope you enjoyed it tho. Cya soon