Before I Go
By Deus Ex Procella
Disclaimer: I don't own the Powerpuff Girls or any related characters
'Could this day get any more boring?' The senseless droning of the teacher was her only reply. She sighed and blew a strand of her once long orange hair from her face. Her pink eyes gave a dull, almost lifeless glint as they locked onto the clock. Blossom couldn't help but feel ridiculous sitting in a class she'd technically passed several years ago. Being gifted with unparalleled intelligence by the radioactive chemical that created you had some perks, but for the most part it just made her school work become increasingly boring as she advanced through elementary school and clear into high school. Now sixteen years old, Blossom honestly felt like she disliked school for the first time in her life.
With her changing feelings toward school and her homework, came several changes in her appearance. Her once very long hair was now cut in a shorter, shoulder length style with a single lock of hair hanging in front of her face. This lock was dyed hot pink and constantly got into her eyes, but she refused to cut it. Blossom had been the first of the three Utonium sisters to ditch their color-coded uniforms, much to the surprise of practically everyone in Townsville. She now opted to dress a little nicer. Like today, for example, Blossom wore a fuchsia blouse with a pair of khaki Capri pants.
'I wish something exciting would happen…if I have to listen to Mr. Hayden drone on any longer I'm going to kill myself,' She laid her head down on her arms and mentally groaned. The room was carelessly overheated, which joined in unceremonious union to the searing heat outside to send Blossom spiraling into a state of ugly discomfort. The air was stale and heavy, and a thick humidity stunk up the room with perspiration. Blossom peaked up from her defeated position and blew another strand of hair away from her eyes. Yawning softly she sat up and wiped the sweat from her forehead.
"Beep! Beep! Beep!" Everyone in the room nearly leapt out of their skin as Blossom's cell phone began ringing. Giving Mr. Hayden—the strange teacher was staring at her wide-eyed in an expression of over exaggerated exasperation—a fake sheepish glance she eagerly answered her phone.
"Hello?" She whispered, trying not to cause any more disruption than she already had. Her eyebrow raised in confusion when a muffled voice very different from the Mayor's replied.
"After school, look near the fountain," Blossom stared at her phone both in inquiry and in disappointment.
"And who was that?" Mr. Hayden asked, now hovering over Blossom leaning over her shoulder and staring at her phone. Blossom shifted uncomfortably and glanced up at Mr. Hayden.
"Must have been a wrong number…" Mr. Hayden groaned in annoyance, very melodramatically and returned to the front of the class after shaking his head at Blossom. The horribly bored leader of the most powerful meta-human team in the world nearly screamed and dropped her head back to her desk, resulting in a resonating "Slam!"
Blossom walked leisurely toward the destination given to her by the anonymous phone call two and a half hours ago. Her school day had finished just as boring as it had begun, but at least with this new development she'd found something to look forward to. Now enraptured by the mystery awaiting her, she turned into the Townsville city park.
She walked, still at a sedate pace, along the sidewalk that snaked through the lush greenery and flora that dotted every corner of the park. Above her the sun was shining brightly, albeit a bit harshly, illuminating the bright blue sky and almost making the wonderfully cotton white clouds glow. The birds sang happy, delightful summer songs and children thankful to be freed from their daily imprisonment ran about blissfully.
All of this went unnoticed by Blossom, who was far too focused in on her growing curiosity. She finally found the fountain, and couldn't help but smile slight. The fountain had been erected about seven years ago in honor of all the times the Powerpuff Girls had saved the world, particularly after a world-wide event that had threatened to annihilate the entire world. It was made of white marble, with Blossom in the center posing with her arms crossed and a smug look on her face. Buttercup was to her left sneering with a hand on one hip and the other held up in a "Bring-it-On" gesture. Finally Bubbles was to Blossom's right grinning broadly and holding out both hands giving "V for Victory" signs. The water from the fountain came from a large heart shape that was positioned behind the girls, shooting three jets of water over each of their heads.
Blossom sat down on the edge of the fountain and stared into the crystalline depths of the incredibly clear water. There were countless pennies, nickels, dimes, even quarters dropped into the water. They sparkled brightly in the hard light of the sun and made the water look more like diamond than liquid. Blossom dipped her hand in and sighed happily dragging her fingers through the chilly water.
"Ahem…" Blossom jumped and looked up at the individual who had just cleared their throat. He had messily kept black hair that despite having almost no rhyme or reason to its style was remarkably clean. He wore a pair of dark sunglasses that hid his eyes, and matched his dark green long-sleeved shirt and black, slightly too big jeans. Despite being unable to see his eyes, Blossom knew at once who it was.
"What are you doing here? If you don't mind I was…" Blossom stopped in mid-sentence and her eyes widened. Her companion removed his sunglasses and blinked his dark green eyes uncomfortably in the harsh sunlight.
"Sorry for being so vague earlier…I just didn't want you to be too tense knowing it was me." Blossom shook her head and laughed a bit, shaking the water off of her hand. The boy walked closer, turning to Blossom for approval before sitting down on the edge of the fountain a ways from the red-haired Powerpuff.
"I should have known it would be one of you. Did your brother hack the hotline? It's supposed to be a private line." The boy scratched his cheek in embarrassment and nodded.
"Yeah…though he doesn't know what I used it for." Blossom nodded and swung her legs, yawning.
"So what did you want, Butch?" Butch jumped and grinned uneasily putting his hand behind his head.
"Oh that…yeah well not much really." Blossom yawned again and jumped up to her feet and groaned, stretching as she turned and gave Butch a bit of an impatient look.
"Look are you going to fight me or not? I've had the most boring day and if you are just going to waste my time I'd rather eat dirt then stick around," Butch nodded and stood up, chuckling nervously.
"Sorry, sorry. I'm not very good at this sort of thing." Butch looked back at the fountain, staring at the three statues on it. "So we're leaving Townsville tomorrow morning." Blossom shrugged, although inwardly she was curious. Why would the Rowdyruff Boys leave Townsville?
"Okay? So what do you want me to say? I'll miss you? Frankly, Butch, we haven't really had that friendly of a," She couldn't continue telling him off when she noticed he wasn't paying attention. Butch was swinging his sunglasses, holding onto just one of the legs.
"I dunno when we're coming back, or if we even are. Still I just wanted to say something to someone." Blossom again shrugged and walked up to him, following his line of vision to the statue.
"Why me? Don't you and Buttercup get along better? I mean you are 'counterparts' after all," Butch cringed a bit and shook his head.
"I wouldn't say we're…even on speaking terms. I definitely couldn't talk to her like this. We don't get along at all, I really can't stand her," Blossom couldn't help laughing at him, which dragged Butch out of his daze.
"What's so funny?" Blossom wiped a tear from her eye and giggled again, shaking her head.
"You can't stand her? Do you realize how ridiculously similar you two are?" Butch merely closed his eyes and shrugged, placing his sunglasses on his head.
"Look, I'm not trying to waste your time Blossom, I just wanted to talk to you—maybe even for the last time," Normally she wouldn't care, but Blossom's indifferent attitude mellowed a bit, hearing the hurt in Butch's voice. He was trying to hide it, but it was there and it was beginning to disturb her.
"Butch? Are you alright?" Butch took a deep breath and slowly let it out before turning to Blossom with a smile. Behind the smile was an intense, very nervous demeanor that couldn't help but capture Blossom's attention. He took a few steps toward her and stopped, licking his lips and chewing on the inside of his cheek.
"What's wrong?" Her voice was now barely above a whisper. The intensity in Butch's posture was rubbing off on her; although she now had a vague idea of what was going through Butch's head it had thrown her for a serious loop. Butch gathered his courage and stepped forward, gently taking hold of Blossom's shoulders. Her eyes closed and she raised her head unconsciously. Their lips met briefly before parting once more. No sparks, fireworks, it wasn't a remotely spectacular kiss but it did its job.
Blossom's cheeks were flushed bright pink and Butch's tan couldn't hide the reddening of his own cheeks. Butch and Blossom held eye contact for the longest time, both shifting uneasily. Butch then cleared his throat and smiled.
"Just…something to think about in case I do come back," Blossom smiled and nodded, blushing a bit darker. Butch replaced his sunglasses and waved, turning to leave.
"Goodbye Blossom," Blossom stepped forward and grabbed Butch's wrist. He turned around in confusion and his eyes widened when Blossom kissed him on the cheek.
"See you around Butch," Butch blushed and quickly hurried away, taking to the skies and leaving a dark green trail behind him. Blossom watched it and scratched her head, becoming embarrassed at her behavior. Still it was something new to think about…and she definitely needed something to break the bland rut her life was in.