Chapter 5

The next day, around noon, there was a knock on the Utonium's front door, which Blossom answered, to the sight of Ace.

"'Ey, is Buttercup around?"

"Nope," she leaned nonchalantly against the doorframe, and crossed her arms, "she's with Mitch."

His eyes visibly widened behind the dark shades he always wore. "Mitch?"

"Uh-huh." Blossom resisted every urge to laugh, or merely crack a smile, as Ace's features contorted into a worried expression.

"Didn't know they still kept in touch."

"Well, they'd fallen out of touch, but they reconnected," Blossom paused for dramatic effect, "after Buttercup moved back in."

"She didn't move back in." Ace pulled down his shades, and narrowed his eyes at Blossom. "She's just staying here, to keep an eye on Bubbles." He held her gaze for a moment, as though trying to send her a telepathic message—'I know what you're trying to do, and it's not going to work.'—before covering his eyes back up. "How is Bubbles, anyway?"

Blossom scoffed. "Why do you care?"

"Well, I don't really care about Bubbles, but I do care about Buttercup, so I technically care what happens to Bubbles, by extension."

The redhead suddenly felt guilty, for rubbing Buttercup's situation in Ace's face, as the realization sank in, that he felt more purely for Buttercup, than she'd thought.

"Bubbles seems okay," Blossom sighed, "but I don't know what we're supposed to do, or if we're even supposed to do anything. She's made it pretty clear, that she doesn't want our help."

"If her situation is anythin' like mine with Buttercup, maybe youse should just let her do what she feels is right. Don't youse trust her judgement?"

"Honestly, no. Bubbles can be really gullible, and we definitely don't trust the person she trusts. I mean, this is... you-know-know, remember?"

Ace shrugged. "I don't really know Bubbles, but I guess you're right about him." He visibly shuttered, as he said this, but played it off, by pretending he was cold, and hiking up the collar of his leather jacket. "Well, tell Buttercup I stopped by, will ya? I'm pretty worried about her."

"Don't worry, I'll tell her," Blossom promised.

"I'm glad she made up with Mitch," he awkwardly added, clearly ambivalent about his own statement, "I guess."


"I just don't understand why she keeps blowin' me off, sayin' she can't afford to take her eyes off Bubbles, then spends her time with Mitch," said Ace, who was now slumped on the ratty couch in the Gangreen Gang's shack, splitting a joint with the guys.

"Maybe, Buttercup isss jussst trying to make up for lossst time," Snake said.

"Idunno." Ace took a couple more hits off the joint, before passing it to Arturo. "I mean, she didn't even tell me they were friends again. Isn't that kinda suspicious?" Snake shrugged. "I wonder what they're doin', right now..."


"I can't believe... you still... have this!" Buttercup said breathlessly, as she and Mitched jumped on his ancient trampoline, which sat in the backyard of his parents' house, where he still admittedly lived.

"I haven't... used it... in years!"

The reunited pair flopped down onto the trampoline, and laughed euphorically, as they were bounced into the air a couple times.

"Man, that was fun!" Buttercup rolled across the expanse of the trampoline, until she was practically close enough to touch Mitch. "I've missed you, dude."

He rolled onto his opposite side, away from her. "I've missed you, too, Buttercup." She felt a lump in her throat, hearing the pain in his voice, and that he was on the edge of tears. "I love you, so much. You were my best friend."

"I love you, too, Mitch. You'll always be my best friend, and I'm so fucking sorry I let Ace get in the way of that. I've seriously never loved him, the way I love you. I was just infatuated with his bad boy image. I mean, he's honestly been pretty good to me, but he'll never as important as my best friend, Mitch Mitchelson."

After a silent pause, Mitch rolled back over, and surveyed the seriousness of Buttercup's expression. "Do you mean that?"

"Does this answer your question?"

His eyes widened, as her lips crashed against his, and her tongue found its way into his mouth, but his eyes fluttered closed, as he started to reciprocate. They kissed deeply, for what felt like an eternity, in which they were drowning, until they finally parted, only to come up for air. For a few moments, they stared into each other's eyes, before Mitch took it upon himself to break the awkward silence. Ironically, his words only made the situation more awkward. "So, ya wanna bounce on somethin' else?" Buttercup gaped incredulously at him, before bursting into laughter, and playfully punching his shoulder. "Seriously, though, shouldn't you be with your sister?"

"It's okay, dude, Blossom and Professor have their eyes on her."


"Hey, where's Bubbles?" Blossom asked, surveying the unoccupied living room, where Bubbles had recently fallen asleep watching TV.

"Wasn't she taking a nap?" Professor Utonium emerged from the basement, to see that Bubbles was no longer beneath the heap of blankets on the couch.

"Let's split up," Blossom suggested. "I'll check upstairs."

"Okay," the professor agreed, though Blossom couldn't hear him, as she'd already flown halfway up the stairs. "Bubbles!" He shouted through cupped hands. "Bubbles, where are you?!"

"I'm taking a bubble bath!" Bubbles shouted exasperatedly from inside the bathroom, before muttering to herself, "Can't I have a little privacy?"

"Oh, sorry." Utonium rubbed awkwardly at the back of his neck, while he stared at the only door in the house that he'd allowed Bubbles to close, which was now probably locked. "Do you need anything?"

"No, thank you."

"Your rubber ducky? I think it's still in the top drawer, on the left-hand side of—"

"Go away, Professor!" She urged, angrily clutching said rubber ducky, whose whereabouts she'd already known.

"Okay," he relented, as he hesitantly walked away.

Once the sound of the professor's footsteps had disappeared, Bubbles returned her attention to the suicidal thoughts that had recently plagued her. By using her powers, she suddenly realized, she could electrify herself in the water, right now, if she really wanted to. She could speed things along, and finally be by Lucifer's side. With a sigh, she pushed these thoughts to the back of her mind, however, where they would continue to brew.