Sorry this took so long, again. I'm getting ready to go to university in a couple of weeks so updates might not be fast for a while. I'll do what I can though.
5
Bubbles spent the next day in a hyperactive state of happiness, offering to make a special Sunday dinner because she was just so grateful to Blossom. Strangely, this only made Blossom feel slightly guilty more than anything else, and Buttercup also seemed to think it a little over the top. Bubbles wouldn't have to be doing it if Blossom hadn't been so selfish in the first place.
So, with their blonde haired sister bouncing off down to the shops to pick up ingredients for whatever she was making that night and the Professor still sequestered in the basement, Blossom and Buttercup were left with free run of the house. Naturally, Blossom spent the first half of the day in her room doing her homework and making notes for various subjects while Buttercup spent it in front of the TV, fully exploiting the one day a week that she had no sporty things to occupy her time with.
When Blossom came downstairs to make herself some lunch, Buttercup had dozed off, her hair sticking up at odd angles against the arm of the sofa. Seeing her like that reminded Blossom of when they were little and still shared a room. Buttercup had always sprawled out during the night, usually pushing her sisters over to the other side of the bed. Bubbles and Blossom hadn't missed that when they all moved into separate bedrooms. Still, they had been so much closer back then. Now, they were all so different. Buttercup barely spent any time with them at school and with Bubbles now going to New York, even for such a short trip, it felt like Blossom was losing them.
She sat on the other arm of the sofa and stared at the TV, not really watching it. It was funny to think really; a few days ago, she never would have stopped to think about anything like this. Her musings were interrupted however, by Buttercup making a quiet snorting noise and yawning, stretching her legs out so far that she nearly kicked Blossom off her perch on the arm.
"Bloss? What you doing there?"
"Just seeing what was on," Blossom answered, gesturing vaguely at the TV. "I wish you wouldn't use that nickname though; I did ask." Buttercup shrugged and levered herself upright, running a hand through her hair.
"You just don't like it 'cause Brick calls you that," she said smugly, rising and heading to the kitchen. "Is it lunchtime yet? I'm starved." Blossom glared but let the former remark slide.
"I was just about to make some sandwiches. I can put some soup on too if you like." Everyone in the house knew that Buttercup was useless in the kitchen, except for the odd slice of toast and that one reasonably okay batch of bolognese.
"Yeah? Thanks." She flicked the switch on the kettle and leaned back as Blossom pottered about.
"Hey, about yesterday. You kinda rushed off after those 'arrived'," she nodded to the roses, still in their vase on the table. "Something going on that you're not telling us?" Blossom blanched and nearly dropped the can of soup that she was opening.
"I told you, it's nothing. Just a stupid prank." Buttercup arched an eyebrow and Blossom hurriedly finished what she was doing with the tin-opener before turning back around.
"Listen, it's really nothing you need to worry about. It's just some stupid boy being an idiot, that's it, end of story." Buttercup looked less than convinced, but, much to Blossom's relief, she kept silent, fixing herself a mug of tea and sitting down.
They didn't speak again for a little while, and it was only as Blossom poured the soup into a bowl and sat it down in front of her sister that Buttercup opened her mouth.
"Hey, you sure you're alright about Bubbles going away? It seemed like kind of a quick decision." And there was Buttercup's uncanny ability to see through any front Blossom could put up.
"Well, I couldn't really justify saying no after seeing what she could do. Besides, it's not like I could really keep her here anyway…"
"Bloss, you know she'll do whatever you tell her to, really. She really wasn't going to go."
Of course Bubbles wouldn't have gone. That was just how Bubbles worked. She cared so much about what her sisters and what other people thought of her and, most of all, she cared about her family so much that she would literally do anything for them if they so much as hinted at it.
"Well, it's time I let her do what she wants, you know? I… I've realised I need to re-evaluate things a little. Besides, things have quietened down a lot recently in the city." She grinned. "I think if we keep an eye on Princess then we've got nothing to worry about." Buttercup smirked and then started laughing into her soup. The two then passed the rest of the afternoon reminiscing over some of the spoiled 'villain's' more ridiculous 'crimes'.
xxx
Later on, sitting in her room and reading her book while waiting for Bubbles to finish cooking… whatever she was making for dinner (she had hurried her two sisters out of the kitchen before unpacking the ingredients), Blossom finally felt that things had returned more or less to normal. The fiasco with her sisters was finally sorted out and the whole thing was a huge weight off her mind. Then there was a knock at the window, and the other, slightly larger and substantially more annoying weight showed up.
"What are you doing here? You have to leave, now, before someone sees!" Brick sighed theatrically.
"I come all the way here to give you these personally," he produced the bunch of roses from behind his back with a flourish. "And this is how you show gratitude? Blossom, I'm hurt."
"Shut up and go away you idiot. I am not playing this game anymore. Seriously. It's over. No more roses, no more… I assume you class this as flirtation, and definitely no more house visits." He just grinned at her.
"You know, you're kinda cute when you get all snarly like that. Although my definition of cute might be a little outta whack with the rest of the world, given the whole 'created evil' deal." Blossom folded her arms and glared at him some more, with no effect, naturally.
"Oh come on Bloss; they're only flowers. Expensive flowers. I bought them and everything you know. And no, I didn't steal the money before you jump to conclusions."
"Brick-"
"Anyway," he pressed on, interrupting her, "there's no harm in accepting a present or… five. It doesn't mean I've won, although I'm still going to, don't you worry."
"Yeah, you wish."
"Now, now, don't be like that," he said teasingly, before sobering up a little. "But please Bloss. Just take them, just this once."
And even though she really didn't want to, he had got through to that part of her brain that was still an average teenage girl who loved being given flowers because it was romantic. Blossom hated that part of her brain right now. Really. A lot.
But she still took the stupid flowers.
"And hey, they even match your colour scheme, am I genius or what?"
"Oh will you just go away?"
"Ha, don't worry babe, you'll be seeing me a lot more from now on."
xxx
"Blossom? Are you sure you're okay? Is the food alright? I wondered if I put too much salt in the-"
"For the fifth time Bubbles, I am fine. The food is fine. The food is wonderful." At the harsh tone of her voice, Bubbles and Buttercup exchanged a look over the table that Blossom identified as the 'yup, PMS time' look. Staring at her plate, she heard Buttercup mutter something like 'great, she's so going back into bitch mode now.'
"I am not!" she spluttered, glaring daggers at her sister. Buttercup, however, just blinked back at her in surprise.
"Not… what?" she asked cautiously, with Bubbles echoing the question. Blossom scowled. This was just childish.
"You just said 'great, she's so going back into bitch mode now'. I heard you." Buttercup paled.
"I didn't say that."
"Yes, you did, I heard-"
"No Blossom. I was thinking that, but I didn't say it."
Silence instantly fell over the table.
"You mean, she read your-"
"Bubbles, quiet," Buttercup hissed while Blossom chewed her lip.
"That's impossible. I can't do that."
"Doesn't change the fact that you did."
"Can you hear anything now? What am I thinking?" Blossom paused in thought and listened, but heard nothing.
"No. I guess it was just a one off thing…"
It was at that point that the Professor came bursting out of the basement with a worried look on his face.
"Girls," he said solemnly. "I think we need to have a little family chat. Now."
xxx
"What do you mean by unstable?" The Professor made a quick gesture with his hands.
"It's nothing dangerous, but I'm not entirely sure what the side-effects could be at this stage. It seems that Chemical X goes through stable and unstable periods, and the unstable periods seem to be due to changes taking place in the chemical makeup."
"Meaning?" Buttercup asked, sounding slightly impatient.
"Meaning that changes will be taking place in you. The unstable periods only seem to last a few days at most, while the stable periods span years. I've never even seen it until now."
"But what does that really mean for us? What are we talking about when we say 'changes'?"
"Like I said, I'm not entirely sure of the side-effects yet. However, given the fact that Chemical X is an intrinsic part of you, it will most likely manifest itself alongside your other abilities. In short, new powers."
When all three girls paled and Buttercup and Bubbles both glanced at Blossom, he sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
"It's already happening, isn't it?" Blossom nodded slightly.
"It was just once, just there at dinner, so…"
"Of course. That's the other thing. Until the Chemical X stabilises again, these new abilities, if they appear at all, will probably fluctuate. In fact, it may not be possible to exert any control over them at all until they've fully developed. You girls may be in for a rough time in the next few weeks." Bubbles gave out a little squeak.
"But… the competition! If something happens that I can't control then-"
"Bubbles, don't panic. You'll be okay," Buttercup said, her voice almost suggesting that panicking was not a viable option at this point in time. "Professor, it should happen to us all at the same time, right? We're all from the same batch." He nodded, but seemed unsure.
"It's possible that you will all undergo the changes at the same time, but then again, the fact that you are all slightly different may affect how they take place. Blossom's has already started to manifest yet you two show no signs of change as yet, correct?" They nodded.
"I'll do some more research and see what I can find, but for now, you should try to carry on as normally as possible. It may be that stress or other factors could affect the process."
Blossom caught Buttercup glancing at her and stared resolutely at her knees. If she really was developing some sort of new power, and one she was unable to control, then the last thing she needed was to make things worse by adding stress to the pile-up. Yet if Brick followed through on his assurance that she would be seeing him a lot more from then on, then she just knew that life was about to get very stressful, very quickly.
So, possible stress-induced unpredictable mind reading powers. Bring it on, she thought wearily. Bring it on.