CHAPTER 2: SECRET OF A WOLF

ME: Here's another chapter! Hopefully this is updated sooner enough for all of you. *sweat-drop* (No, it really isn't…I'm sorry *sobs*)

BRAKER: No more taking 53 days to update – or 6 months!

ME: *sweat-drop* Got it...

BRAKER: Good!

ME: Ahh and Lys Dis asked me to keep writing because it had been her birthday, so happy belated birthday! I hope you like this new chapter too!

Chapter 2: Secret of a Wolf

Running. So much running.

Fast steps, quick breaths. Panting hard. Whoosh!

Nose brushing against plants; not stopping at the sweet scents around them.

Whoosh!

Panting heavily; running even faster. They were catching up.

Wide eyes looking back, head whipping back and forth. Looking up at the full moon, wishing for their safety.

Mad dashing, wide eyes, heavy panting, wild panicking, heart racing. Heart pumping nearly as fast as feet.

Howls around them.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

...Gunshots!?

Racing against time...and against their predators. They hated being the hunted; preferred being the hunter.

More dashing, escaping past the woods to the lake, where they met up with one another. All with eyes wide, hearts racing, and heavy panting. Impatience surrounded each of them.

The sun was rising. Their luck was changing. They returned to their usual selves and getting ready to leave for home. They heard shouts. One last gunshot:

BANG!

Squawking birds zooming from the trees, screeching loudly as the sun rose. Their panicked screeches were followed by shouts from their pursuers, who must've stepped into the light and realized the sun was up.

They heard dashing in the opposite direction.

...Too late.

...And thank God for that.

More shouts, then...nothing. A few had most likely fallen behind.

Sighs of relief.

Thank God for the light.

"You're hiding something."

"No I'm not."

"Yes, yes you are!"

"No, no I'm not!"

"GUYS! Please, just stop arguing!" Blossom groaned, tearing at her hair.

"Says you, Miss Argues 24/7 With Brick!" Buttercup shot back, glaring at her pink-eyed sister.

Blossom gasped. "Excuse me?" she demanded.

Buttercup snorted, shoving a few fries into her mouth. "Yeah, 'cause you're obviously the one who'd fart."

Butch couldn't help it; he stifled a laugh.

"Why you little - !" Blossom growled, lunging forward.

Brick shook his head, his face hidden and turned away as he caught his counterpart's wrist. "Leave it, Bloss - pfft - it just ain't - pfft - worth it."

Blossom turned to stare at him in shock, her mouth falling open. "What are you -! Brick, are you...laughing!?"

Brick finally turned to look at her, a grin on his face. He stifled a chuckle. "Pfft - no way!"

"Brick!"

"Sorry, sorry; I can't help it - her 'fart' comment... Oh God I can't even talk right now!" More laughing followed.

"Briiiiiccckkk!" groanedBlossom, hitting him in the arm.

"Ow! What was that for!?" Brick groaned. Despite that, he continued to laugh, rubbing his now sore arm.

"For laughing at me!" Blossom groaned, doing a face-palm and shaking her head.

"I said, sorry!"

Blossom groaned again, letting her head fall to the table as Brick chuckled.

Despite that, if one looked closely, they would see a small smile on her face.

Her friends caught it as well, and they all laughed even harder.

Buttercup laughed too, but stopped and sent Butch a warning look. It meant: I know you're hiding something.

He returned her look with one of his own, raising his own eyebrow: And I know you are hiding something as well...aren't you?

Buttercup growled in frustration; she couldn't get any information out of him without revealing she had eavesdropped on him and Brick.

Butch smirked in satisfaction, making her growl with her eyes narrowed. She seriously wanted to beat him up right then and there.

Blossom grabbed her arm, shaking her head sternly.

Buttercup let out a snort, shaking off her "elder" sister's grip. "Let me go," she hissed.

Blossom frowned, but said nothing, simply releasing her grip.

Brick rested a hand on Blossom's shoulder. She turned to stare at him, and he offered his own shake of his head, but his was gentle and clear as he nodded at the two greens.

Blossom got his message: Just leave it; they won't listen, so it's not worth it. They'll figure it out.

Buttercup awoke with tired eyes. She turned to stare at her reflection, groaning as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. She'd stayed up late studying for a Science test.

"Girls, breakfast...!"

Buttercup yawned, stretching as she combed out her hair roughly. How the heck do Bubbles and Bloss wake up so early!? It's practically impossible!

Splashing cold water onto her face, she stared at her reflection for a few moments. Dark ebony-black hair, lime-green eyes, pale-tan skin... It was her, alright. Barely any make-up, no fancy get-ups...

...Nothing special.

Sighing, she finished roughly yanking and untangling knots in her black hair before turning on the water in the shower and waiting for it to warm up. As she waited, she stripped off her PJ's, preparing for a warm shower.

Entering the warm water, she let it wash away her sleepiness. However, it didn't wash away that bad feeling she had that something was off...very off.

She was so consumed by the worry she didn't notice that she'd scrubbed her hair into a bubble wonderland and that her skin was red.

Finally, she turned off the water and climbed out, shivering as she grabbed her lime-green towel. She dried herself while staring at the clearing mist on the mirror.

...Same unglamorous girl...just wetter. ...A lot wetter.

"Girls! Breakfast is ready; don't forget you still have school!" The Professor's voice.

Buttercup groaned as she slipped on a green t-shirts that had a cute rabbit on it, but carrying a chainsaw. She liked that shirt. She threw on a pair of skinny black jeans*.

She glanced at the clock. 7:31 am.

...She had better hurry up.

"BUTCH!"

Butch rolled over, grabbing his pillow and throwing it over his head, including his ears. "Just a minute, Mom..." he mumbled sleepily.

Brick appeared, looking annoyed as he grinned sarcastically, grabbing Butch's ear. "What. Did. You. Just. Call. Me...?" he hissed through gritted teeth, sounding pissed.

"Oh fuck off, Brick," Butch moaned, tightening the pillow over his head. He tugged his head away from Brick's grasp.

Brick grinned sarcastically again, yanking off Butch's blankets.

"Holy shit!" Butch shouted, looking up as his green pillow rolled off of his head. "Its fucking COLD!" he shouted.

Brick snorted. "Oh really?" he said sarcastically and almost icily, snatching Butch's abandoned pillow. "I hadn't noticed."

Butch's eyes widened as he watched his brother thump his own pillow into his hands. "Oh God; what are you doing, Brick...? Don't do what I think you're gonna do!" - Brick raised the pillow - "DON'T FUCKING DO IIIIITTTT!"

Then whack! Brick had smashed the pillow down onto Butch's head. As Butch sat, dazed, that first whack was followed by another...and another...and another...

...And more, until Butch finally rolled out of bed.

"Ow! Okay, okay; Jesus! I'm up, I'm fucking up! Now could you please stop fucking hitting me with my freakin' pillow!?"

A pause as Brick suddenly stopped, holding the pillow frozen in the air.

Butch was staring upwards nervously, holding out an arm to block any attacks. Finally, after a few moments of nothing, he stopped blocking in the air and sighed in relief. "Phew -!"

...Aaand...then the whacking continued.

Followed by a:

"OOOWWWWWWWW! FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKK!"

Meanwhile, in the kitchen downstairs, a certain blond Ruff was finishing up with his cooking while rolling his eyes at the screaming.

Boomer rolled his eyes for nearly the 13th time in that one. Frickin'. Morning!

"There is too. Much. Noise!" Mojo complained, shambling into the kitchen and grabbing a mug of coffee. "And by noise I am talking about a loud, annoying racket, which is the metaphor and idiom term 'racket', and not the actual one where you swing a birdie with. The racket I am speaking about means 'noise', as you can probably see and, most likely, hear -"

Him appeared, floating in high heels and a bathrobe, simply passing by with freshly cleaned clothes in his arms. "Mojo, dear," he began in his feminine voice. "I think we freakin' get the point," he finished in his masculine voice.

"Humph!" Mojo snorted. "Ignorant fools!"

Boomer sent Him a grateful look, which he returned with a wink. Then he disappeared behind the walls, but Boomer knew he'd be back to help with the cooking and keeping the Ruffs in check.

Boomer blinked then, quickly turning back to the stove. He'd better pay attention or he'd "end up burning down the whole kitchen", according to Brick.

"BRAKER, TELL BRICK TO STOP HITTING ME WITH MY PILLOW!"

Boomer groaned, turning off the stove as he rolled his eyes...again.

"BOYS, STOP HORSING AROUND AND GET YOUR BUTTS DOWN HERE. RIGHT. THIS. INSTANT! Move it, move it, move it! Hustle!"

Boomer sighed in relief, thanking Him once again in his head silently.

At least now they'll be shut up.

"This breakfast is delicious, Bubbles!" Bliss said cheerfully, gobbling up her pancakes. "Once again, you've outdone yourself!"

"Gee thanks, Bliss," Bubbles said, smiling as she set down a bowl of fruit. "I'm glad you like it."

"Like it?" Bliss repeated with her mouth full. "I freakin' LOVE it!"

Bubbles smiled again.

"Yeah, it's great," Buttercup agreed, her mouth also full. She washed her food down with a cup of milk. "Heh, looks like I win again! Bow down to the almighty BC!"

Bliss rolled her eyes. "Well, if I won yesterday, I can win tomorrow too. And now that the contest's over, I'll take some extras!"

Buttercup stuck her tongue out at her brown-haired sister. "Oh shut up. I doubt you will!"

"Girls! Just...stop. It's disgusting looking at your chewed up food."

Buttercup stuck her tongue out at her neat-freak sister. "Check it out Blossie, even more chewed up food!"

Blossom held out her arms, pushing Buttercup away. "Eww! Gross, BC! Get away from me!"

Buttercup leaned back, taking another swig of milk. She swallowed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "...Sissy," she muttered under her breath.

Bliss began laughing as Blossom stared at Buttercup in disbelief. They had all heard the term because of their super-hearing.

"...I am NOT a sissy!" Blossom cried, hitting Buttercup.

"Ow!" the black-haired Puff huffed.

The Professor groaned. "Girls, PLEASE!" he sighed, snapping out the crinkles in his newspaper. "Don't forget you still have school to attend to!"

His words were met with mixed reactions:

Buttercup and Bliss gagged.

Bubbles and Banana remained rather neutral; Banana shrugged, twirling her fork and looking bored.

Blossom suddenly looked worried about being late - okay, more like panicked. Bunny looked worried too, but definitely not as much as Blossom.

Buttercup snorted behind her hand. No one's a bigger nerd than Blossom... Well, maybe Brick. At that thought, her mind wandered back to the other day where Brick and Butch had been talking about something all secretly. What was that all about? What are they hiding...?

"Buttercup, get up already! We're all done and are waiting for you to stop daydreaming!" Blossom said, shaking her sister.

Buttercup blinked, pulling away from her red-headed sister's grasp. "Okay, okay; jeez. When you're the first one done and yet the moment you start thinking, you end up being the last one at the table," she grumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Let's go already!" Blossom cried, tugging at Buttercup's arm.

"OW! Okay fine! Now stop trying to freakin' rip my arm off!" Buttercup shouted, yanking her arm back and rubbing it.

Blossom rolled her eyes, stalking off.

Buttercup then followed.

Both grumbled unintelligent words under their breaths at each other, trying to ignore the other's words.

The Professor sighed, honking the car's horn and rolling his eyes.

Bubbles smiled sheepishly. "...I'm sure they'll sort things out soon..."

"I would sure hope so," the Professor sighed as he closed his eyes, listening to his daughters squabble. He finally leaned his head out the window and called, "Don't just stand there, girls! Let's try and hustle!"

"It's hardly my fault Buttercup must be so rude in the morning," Blossom said with a sniff, finally boarding the car. Buttercup waved her hand around pretending it was Blossom's mouth as she rolled her eyes.

Blossom shot her a fiery glare, before turning away pointedly. Buttercup snorted as she took her seat.

"Why can't we just fly?" she complained.

"Because, Buttercup - "

"Unlike you, I actually remember that the Professor had wanted to spend some time with us today," Blossom interrupted their father figure, sticking her tongue out at her sister.

"...A decision I'm starting to regret," he muttered under his breath as he sighed and rolled his own eyes. He glanced at them from over his shoulder. "Look girls, I have to go to Mojo's to work on a new invention, so I figured I could drop you off at school. This project is rather tough so I'm pretty stressed, and you two arguing aren't. Helping."

Guilty, Blossom leaned back from Buttercup. "...Sorry, Professor."

"...Goodie-Two-Shoes," Buttercup muttered under her breath.

Blossom shot her a glare, but the Professor spoke first: "Buttercup..."

"I know, I know." She let out a "humph" as she leaned back and stared out the window, resting her cheek on her hand.

Bubbles sighed as she turned to stare out the window.

When they finally got to school, Buttercup just sent Blossom a hard look on the edge of being a glare, before flying off.

"Buttercup...!" her frustrated sister called after her, but Buttercup ignored her.

Walking into class was almost like walking out of a dream. The moment the noise of her fellow students hit her, she forgot about her anger with Blossom.

Buttercup sat down beside Robin, offering a small smile.

"Hi, Butters! How's it been?" Robin asked, smiling as happily as she always did.

"It's been fine," Buttercup muttered, pulling out sheets of wrinkled papers. "I didn't do all of my homework though."

Robin smiled, rolling her eyes good-naturedly. "You can copy mine for today," she said, passing Buttercup her own near papers.

Buttercup raised an eyebrow as she tapped her lime-green pen against her cheek. "What's the occasion? Why are you so happy?"

"Mike just asked me to be his Science project partner yesterday," Robin sighed dreamily. "I think that calls for a celebration!"

Buttercup rolled her eyes, but her smirk betrayed her. "Oh joyous love," she said sarcastically.

"Oh shut up!" Robin giggled, nudging her friend. "As if you don't have a thing for Butch~"

Buttercup blushed. "I-I do not!"

Robin only giggled, satisfied she'd gotten under Buttercup's skin.

Buttercup, however, upon realizing Robin was simply teasing and provoking her, huffed and turned away as she crossed her arms. Red sprinkled her cheeks.

"You know you like him," Robin teased, now nudging her friend again.

Buttercup rolled her eyes before slamming her hands down on her desk. "I. Do. Not! I don't like Butch at all!" she protested indignantly. She began listing reasons she didn't like him off of her fingers: "He's loud, he's obnoxious and rude, he's an idiot, he's just stupid... He doesn't know anything, he's a playboy, he doesn't know joy to treat a lady, and he's just an all-around jerky asshole! Most of all, he GETS. ON. MY. NERVES!"

Robin's eyes were all of a sudden wide.

Buttercup blinked. "Robin...? Is something wrong? I mean, I admit that was a bit harsh..." She trailed off when she saw that Robin's agape mouth had then closed, and she was lifting a shaky hand. "Robin...? Yoo-hoo, Robin...? Look, don't worry about it! Butch isn't here anyway, the lazy a - "

"...Did someone say my name...?"

Spinning around, Buttercup found a tall guy towering over her. His spiky jet-black hair fell into his eyes, and his face was contorted into an angry sneer. The boy's dark-green eyes were narrowed.

Buttercup's eyes widened. Her mouth fell slightly open. She lifted a hand. It formed into a pointing finger. Words were being formed on her mouth: "B-Butch!?"

*(A/N: References to chapter 13 of Hung Up on You!)

ME: Oh. My. God. You have no idea how sorry I am that I haven't updated since March 10! My excuses are that first off, I decided to try typing this on my other phone, a Nokia, which actually has Microsoft Word on it. I kinda regret that now, seeing as I don't use that phone a lot and it's hard to type on there, so I pretty much gave up on the story. Because I don't use it a lot, it would also disappear. I didn't bring the Nokia phone with me to China either, so I couldn't update because 1) I didn't have the document and 2) I didn't remember where I left off. Plus I type on my iPhone notes, where I can't use italics, so it's been such a pain because the iPad won't let me copy and paste italics. So I finally continued on my iPhone notes after nearly 6 months! But I did post much of this chapter (the "I'm sure they'll sort it out" part where Bubbles speaks), on DeviantART.

BUTCH: ...Never do this again. A story starring me shouldn't be updated so slowly!

ME: I'm sowwy~ I hope you all can forgive me!