Now that Blossom and Brick had their moment, it's time to elaborate on other things a bit. Their lives are about to get really difficult.

Chapter 13

"So, he's begun making his move?"

"Looks that way."

"Damn him! Why isn't he here with us? Ever since that day-"

"Calm down. He'll come around, until then we just have to handle things on our own."

"SILENCE! Both of you! It's bad enough that it's hot down here, now you two are giving me a headache."

"Sorry sir."

"Sorry sir."

"Good. Now, I want you two to keep up what you've been doing."

"Are we almost done?"

"Yes, just a few more and we'll be ready."

"What about her, it's going to be harder with him guarding her."

"Just leave that to me..."

It had been three days since Blossom's date with Brick. Blossom still hadn't returned to school, but she seemed to be in brighter spirits. Buttercup came home that Saturday also in brighter spirits, but she and Blossom didn't talk to each other at all. Bubbles was already worried, but now they wouldn't even talk to each other.

Bubbles was in the school cafeteria talking to Jane, telling her about last weekend.

"So is it official?" Jane asked.

"I don't know. Blossom won't tell anyone what happened on her date," Bubbles said, "She seems a little brighter these days though. Last night she laughed at the Professor's story."

"Wow, I had almost forgotten she could do that," Jane said, then catching herself, "Sorry."

"Actually, I had almost forgotten what her laugh sounded like," Bubbles said. She then looked up at Princess, who was of course surrounded by her groupies. Bubbles felt a large yet controlled rage in her stomach. How she treated her sister, unforgivable. She used her supersonic hearing to listen as best as she could to their conversation, immediately wishing she hadn't.

I'm honestly glad they found each other. Let the freaks breed with freaks, you know?

Bubbles tightened up her fist, crushing the apple in her hand.

"Bubbles, your apple," Jane said tapping Bubbles on the shoulder. Bubbles looked at her hand, which was soaked as her apple was replaced with apple cider.

"Shit," Bubbles said wiping her hand with a napkin, "I was looking forward to eating that." She looked again at the door, where she saw Brick standing there also looking at Princess. Apparently he heard what she was talking about too, because he looked really irritated. He gave Bubbles a quick look, then sighed walking away.

"She's taking this too far!" Bubbles said.

"You're talking about Princess?" Jane asked.

"I need to beat her in something," Bubbles said, "Something big." The bell rang at that moment, Bubbles getting up to go to her next class. Jane looked really shocked at Bubbles' statement, but then ran after her.

"Wait," Jane began as they were walking through the halls, "You were actually serious that day you told me about going to war with Princess?"

"I'm tired of listening to her talk about Blossom," Bubbles stated.

"You ever think of not listening?" Jane asked.

Bubbles stopped and turned to Jane, "Even if I don't listen, that doesn't change the fact that Princess is still talking. She chased Blossom out of the school, and when Blossom eventually does return she's going to have to still deal with her. I don't want Blossom to feel like she's alone."

"Bubbles," Jane said as Bubbles walked to her locker, "I know you're upset about what she did to Blossom, but that was four weeks ago. What's the real reason you're taking this thing with your sisters so personally?"

Bubbles stood in front of her locker and closed her eyes, "You've only been to Townsville for about four years now, so you don't know. The three of us have been defending Townsville for twelve years."

That did come to a surprise. Jane thought that she and her sisters started when they were ten or something, but that meant they were at least five or six when they began fighting.

"That's a long time ago," Jane said, getting a nod from Bubbles.

"When we started, Blossom was our leader. She wasn't always so introverted. When she was younger, she was really outgoing and bright. She and Buttercup had their arguments, but you could tell that they were really close, best friends even. Me though, I was the crybaby," Bubbles said with a sad laugh.

"You? A crybaby?" Jane asked, once again shocked. She thought Bubbles was one of the strongest people she knew, not just physically. She knew Bubbles was sensitive, but she always saw her as the epitome of strength, and had never seen her cry once.

"Blossom and Buttercup always had to defend me. Whether it was from a monster or from some kid at school saying the wrong thing, those two always looked out for me, especially Blossom. They don't know, but those times really meant a lot to me, and it hurts to see them like this," she didn't seem to notice, but she did shed one tear, which made Jane's heart sink.

"Bubbles..."

"They were the reason I decided to get stronger, so one day I could do for them what they did for me. That's why I have to beat Princess. She hurt my sister, and this is my chance to repay Blossom for all the things she did for me growing up, and to show Buttercup that I can stand up for myself."

Jane always liked Bubbles. From the moment they met she could tell they would be best friends. Now she felt like she understood Bubbles a little more. It always amazed her how someone so pretty could be so nice and humble.

"I think I understand now," Jane said putting her hand on Bubbles' arm, "They're lucky to have a great sister like you," Bubbles smiled and hugged Jane, "So about Princess, how are you going to beat her? She's even more popular than you!"

"I know," Bubbles groaned, now walking down the hall to her next class (which thanks to her talk with Jane she was already late for), "I need to change that, but I don't know how..." they passed a billboard, which caught Bubbles' eyes. She read it, slowly getting a smile, "Hello."

"Bubbles, what are you thinking?" Jane asked, getting worried, especially when Bubbles gave an evil laugh.

"I think I know exactly how to handle the popularity factor," she said, "And if I start now, the I'll be sure to win by the end of the month!"

"Huh?" Bubbles then skipped off to her class. Jane watched her for a second, then looked at the billboard she was looking at.

Student council...

"Damn it!" Blossom said throwing her brush aside. She came to school after everyone had left to work on her art homework, but she had hit a dead end. Now her teacher wanted an abstract painting. It was bad enough that she apparently couldn't paint an apple or a vase right. How the hell was she supposed to paint something without a subject. She had gone through at least five different canvases, not pleased with any of them, and she was getting more and more frustrated.

There it was, that headache she seemed to get every now and again. They came and went, but god, if they weren't annoying.

"This is so stupid," she said, referring to the painting, not the pain in her head, which she was able to ignore to some extent, but it was a sort of throbbing pain. Medicine didn't seem to help, and she was debating whether or not to talk to the Professor about it.

"Bloss?" she heard behind her. Only one person called her that, and it made her heart skip a beat thinking about them. She turned around and sure enough, Brick was standing there. He had his backpack and his skate board with him. Was he just leaving?

"Um..." Blossom's face felt like it was on fire, and it probably looked like it was too. She hadn't spoken to Brick at all since their date last Friday, mainly because she didn't know what to say. She knew that she still loved him, but she didn't know if she wanted to love him. Even still, her heart was racing looking at him.

"Painting?" he asked. Blossom finally found her voice and came back to reality.

"Yeah, for art class," she turned to her canvas, "Which I'm failing, by the way."

"Wait, what?" Brick asked, almost laughing, "First of all, you, failing anything is a shock to me. Second of all, how on earth do you fail art?"

"Well, I'm not doing as well as I want to," Blossom said sadly, "No matter what I turn in, I just can't turn in anything the teacher likes. She says I can do better, but maybe I'm not the one with the problem!" she began shouting, only to have the headache get worse, to the point where she had to hold her head in pain, "Ow, ow, ow," she said softly.

Brick ran over to her, "You okay?" he asked.

"My head is killing me," Blossom explained, "I've been having them a lot lately."

"Really?" Brick asked, as if he were thinking.

"What?"

"Here," Brick said helping Blossom over to her canvas, "I'll help you."

"I don't need-"

"Can you honestly say you don't need any help?" Blossom had to think on that. She absolutely hated asking for help, which was something that might have contributed to her stress these days. "Don't worry," Brick continued, "I'm not going to paint it for you. All I'm going to do is push you in the right direction."

"Okay then," Blossom said with a slight sigh, "If that's all."

Brick lead Blossom to the canvas and stood behind her, "First, grab your brush," he said. Once she did Brick held her shoulders, making her heart start racing again, "Now," he spoke into her ear, making Blossom feel a little hot all over, "you need to focus on all your emotions. Everything your feeling right this second. Close your eyes and see them as colors."

She closed her eyes and focused on everything she felt, not just that moment, but everything. Her feelings towards the other students and Buttercup, her intense hatred towards Princess, and this new feeling she felt for Brick. This feeling like she was on fire, like she wanted to cry out, not in pain, but almost pleasure. It was new, but she sort of liked it, even if she was terrified of it.

Fire... that's what she saw... a blaze of fury and passion.

"Do you see it," Brick asked softly as to not take her out of her moment. Blossom nodded slowly, "Good. Now take your brush," he moved his hand down to hers, where the brush was, Blossom screaming on the inside, "and paint exactly what you see," Brick said stepping away. From there she began painting, going right for the red. It was fast, as fast as her heart beat. She wanted to capture this feeling before she lost it, as if that were possible though. When she was done her heart was still racing, and her breathing was still heavy. Even she was surprised with the results though. It looked like a fiery spiral, with red, orange, and even a little purple. She also felt something else though, lighter, as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.

"See?" Brick said, snapping her out of her moment instantly, "That's art. It's not just about painting something to complete the assignment. You need to put your emotions in whatever your writing."

"My emotions?" Blossom asked, more so to herself than to Brick.

"How many times do you feel?" Brick asked, confusing Blossom a bit.

"Feel? What do you mean?" she asked.

"You have emotions, but do you feel them out, or do you just bottle them up inside until they explode?" Blossom had to look down on that. She had a tendency to bottle them up actually, "That look means the latter," Brick said, annoying Blossom a bit.

"Well, you seem to know so much about me!" Blossom said, turning her back to Brick and crossing her arms.

"That's because I was the same way," Brick said, surprising Blossom a bit.

"Wait," she turned to him again "You have the worst temper I've ever seen. At least had," to her surprise, he laughed at that statement.

"Yeah," Brick said, "I guess I was pretty bad when I was a kid. But why do you think that was? I didn't have a healthy outlet. All I did was lash out at everyone. You're the same way, you don't have an outlet, only you keep it all inside. That's why you have those headaches," Brick said.

"So, what should I do?" Blossom asked.

"Just feel," Brick said with a smile. With that he turned and grabbed his skateboard and backpack, "I'll see you around Bloss," he said as he left the room.

Just feel. That's what he said. She needed to let her emotions out. But how would people react? Would they still shun her? Would Princess get off her case? After packing up and setting her painting aside for the teacher to see it, she began walking to the door. As she walked she passed by the bulletin board, where she saw the flyers that were up. The first thing that caught her eye was the list of names running for student council:

Princess Morbucks

Bubbles Utonium

Bubbles running for student council? Bubbles never really struck Blossom as a leader, but Blossom's opinion was a little biased. She hadn't seen Bubbles in that light before, so this might be good for her.

The second thing she noticed was the flyer for the school talent show. Princess mentioned it last week. It was in a few weeks, a week before junior prom. The grand prize was a three hundred dollar gift card to any store. If shw won, not only could she shut Princess up for a while, but she could also get enough money to go to prom, assuming she even decided to go. She thought about it for a long time, and eventually grabbed her pen, and did something that shocked even her.

She signed her name.