"So, do I call you Sanford or do I call you Snake?" Buttercup asked.
"Snake'ss fine," he replied. They were awkward again around each other after leaving the mall. Snake was walking his way home to his grandma, Buttercup kept walking along with him anyway.
"Must've been the milkshake huh?" She said, jokingly.
"Howss about we tryss it again?" Snake said abruptly. They were almost at his doorstep, he did not want to waste this opportunity. It was not everyday he went out on a date.
"Sure," Buttercup said, blushing. She kissed him and there it was, that crazy electrifying feeling. There was no table between them now. Just then the door opened and out came Grandma.
"Ahem," Grandma said. "Sanford, you were supposed to accompany her home, not the other way around."
They leapt apart from each other, as if they had been burned. Grandma cackled with glee. "I see you like each other very much. Girl, what's your name?" She asked.
"My name's Buttercup," she said.
"Well, Buttercup, since you're already here, why don't you come in and we can chat for a while?" Grandma said. Not waiting for an answer, she steered Buttercup into the house.
...
"You were supposed to meet me half an hour ago. Now we only got ten minutes together, " Ace said, grumbling.
"I'm sorry, I had stuff happening," Buttercup said.
"You and Snake always be saying that lately. You think I wouldn't notice, wouldn't know?" Ace asked.
Buttercup froze. "What do you mean?"
"I saw you kiss him! Then I saw you going into his house with his grandma!" He said. "When I ask you out, it's always gotta be one big fat secret. But then along comes Snake and you go on dates with him out in public! What am I, your boyfriend?"
"I'm sorry, Ace. I didn't mean to-" Buttercup said.
"Yeah, whatever. You're ashamed of me, I know. Kitchen cook, frying chicken all day. I cleaned up, ain't done time in jail anymore. But we just ain't got a future together," Ace said. He turned to leave but Buttercup did not call for him to wait.
...
"Snake, you know, that name really suits you, " Ace said, his voice dangerously calm.
"Um... thankss?" Snake said.
"It's not just because of your lisp. It's also because... you're a #$ son of a #$ who backstabbed me! Me, your best friend! How could you have stolen my girlfriend from me?" Ace said, shaking him.
"Get your filthy hands off my grandson," Grandma said.
"Grandma? You followedss me here?" Snake said.
"Listen, grandma. Your sonnyboy stole my girlfriend, " Ace said.
"Who? Buttercup? If she already had a boyfriend, why'd she go on a date with someone else?" Grandma said.
Ace could not reply. He let go of Snake. "I never want to meet you again, " Ace said to Snake. "You're lucky your grandma's here or I'd stabbed you in the ribs."
Snake was indeed thankful for her presence this time.
...
Buttercup was lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. She no longer shared a bed with her sisters but they did share the same bedroom.
"What's the matter, Buttercup?" Bubbles asked.
"Ugh, go away, Bubbles. I'm trying to think," Buttercup said, throwing a pillow at her.
"Why do you always have to be so mean?" Bubbles said, sniffing. "I was just trying to help."
Buttercup breathed out a sigh. Bubbles was right, she was mean. If she was nice, she would not have played around with Ace's feelings.
"Hey Bubbles?" Buttercup said.
"What? I'm not going to come near you if you're just going to throw another pillow at me again, " Bubbles said.
"I'm sorry, Bubbles. I'm just... how do you know if you love someone?" Buttercup asked.
"Boy trouble, huh?" Blossom said, drifting into the room.
"If you love him, you'll know," Bubbles said dreamily.
"That's not very helpful, Bubbles," Buttercup said.
"What she meant was, you're crazy happy to meet him," Blossom explained.
"And when you don't get to meet him..." Bubbles said.
"You feel super sad, " Blossom finished.
Bubbles giggled. "I hope you understand it now?"
"Ah okay, " Buttercup said.
Buttercup was torn between Ace and Snake. They were both green, both had a record of juvenile felony... she wondered why she even felt attracted to them.
Buttercup did a mental list of whatever was wrong in her relationship with Ace. Ace always kept bringing up the fact the only reason he stopped doing crime was to please her.
She always has to listen to his problems and be sensitive around him but he never wants to listen to hers and bluntly talks about her father and sisters. He was probably not too mentally stable, potentially abusive and physically violent.
There were instances where Ace threatened her but so far he had been able to control himself. He had trouble keeping a job due to behavioral isssues. It seemed he was more interested in the... physical aspect of a relationship than anything else.
She was not entirely blameless, she was the one who teased him first, Buttercup thought guiltily. However she had always insisted she did not want to lose her virginity on a dirty old mattress or some back street.
She was still virgin and Ace was still patient but how long was that going to last? While he demanded she stayed faithful to him, what of his behavior around those girls she met who were just his "friends"?
Buttercup admitted, she was stupid. She had caught Ace cheating on her before, he blamed it on her for not giving it to him in the first place. He could not be trusted.
Buttercup felt it an honor for her to be chosen by Ace, to ride on the back of his motorcycle with her arms around his waist. But not anymore. She was neither happy to meet Ace nor sad when she did not meet him.
She did not love Ace.