Gah, sorry this has taken so long guys. Truth be told, I went through a messy break-up this summer and as you can imagine, it's pretty tricky to write a good romantic build-up with that going on. Anyway, the good news is that I know what I want to do with the next chapter, so hopefully that won't take as long as this one did.

And thanks for all the reviews. I love every single one of you; you guys are awesome.

The 27th

"So, you're worried about tomorrow, huh?" Blossom blinked up at her sister.

"Worried? Oh, no, no, I'm not worried! I mean why would I be...?" She followed Buttercup's gaze down to the empty teacup in her hands. Except that it wasn't so much a teacup anymore as it was a handful of nicely painted shards of china.

"Oh."

Yes, okay, she was worried about tomorrow. For several reasons. The worst part was that she knew that her playing had improved greatly, and she had all of the pieces well prepared and rehearsed, so that wasn't the issue. The real issue was that she was going to have to play them in front of people.

Some hero she was. She'd been defending this city from all sorts of hideous monsters and insane doomsday plots since she was in preschool and now she was irrationally breaking teacups due to stage fright.

And that was without even getting started on this whole stupid bet thing with Brick, because that wasn't helping either.

"I'm sure it'll be fine. You'll get up there and knock 'em all dead." Blossom's response came out as a vague mumble that may have almost been words. She was less than impressed with herself, and from the look of it, Buttercup shared the sentiment.

"I'm sorry Buttercup. This can't be helping you feel any better; me stressing out like this. How... how are you anyway?"

The slightly strained look that had been on Buttercup's face all morning intensified. When Blossom had returned home the night before, she'd told Buttercup what had happened with Butch. Of course, she'd initially been absolutely furious at Blossom's interference, but had eventually accepted that it had been Brick's idea. That said, she'd still spent the rest of the night locked in her room, leaving her sisters to worry and try to ignore the loud thumping noises.

From the look of the bags under her eyes, Buttercup hadn't slept much, if at all. She swept a hand through her hair agitatedly and took a gulp of coffee from her mug before saying anything.

"It's fine. I'll deal with it."

"Are you coming to the concert tomorrow night?" Buttercup looked away.

"I... no. I can't. If I go, he'll show up and ruin everything. You know he will."

"Buttercup-"

"I'm sorry Bloss, but I can't. It's better if I stay away from it; you know that." It was true, and Blossom couldn't really argue. At the same time, she felt vaguely hurt that Buttercup didn't want to go. She wondered if this was how Bubbles had felt when Blossom had been too busy making her precious plans instead of going out to the restaurant with them all that time ago.

xxx

"So where's Brick today? I thought he'd be helping you get some last minute practice in before tomorrow." Blossom shook her head as she took the bouquet of roses that Bubbles was holding out to her.

"I don't know. I haven't heard from him." Bubbles gestured over to where she wanted Blossom to put the flowers and then gave the stage a critical look.

"So why don't you just call him? You want to practice a little more, right? And you have his number." She plucked the roses from Blossom's hands before she could put them down and moved them a little more towards the right. "Perfect."

"You... really know what you're doing with this, don't you?" Bubbles giggled.

"I don't know; I guess I just watch a lot of interior design shows. So come on, are you calling him or not?"

"I guess I should..." For some reason, it seemed like a much bigger deal than it should be. She was just calling him so that she could practice some more, that was all. It wasn't like she was calling to arrange a-

No, no, that word was not getting used in any context where Brick was involved.

Anyway.

Bubbles wandered off and continued shuffling flowers around, and Blossom pulled her phone out after another long moment. As she did, she noticed the message icon blinking on the screen. She must have forgotten to switch her phone's silent setting off after she finished practicing yesterday. Opening the message, she found it was from Brick:

'Can't practice today. Butch is missing. Don't worry, I'll fix it.'

What?

xxx

Butch couldn't be missing. Not now. If Butch was missing now, it meant that he was planning something, and that meant that the concert was in trouble.

And that meant she was in trouble.

He had felt his phone buzz in his pocket, but he didn't have time to check to see if it was her. The less she tried to get involved in this the safer it would be for her anyway. Despite the gravity of the situation, he allowed himself a smirk at the thought of what her reaction would be if he told her that.

"Do we have to go look for him?" Boomer whined, still flopped over the sofa. Brick made an irritated growling noise by way of response.

"Come on man, I'm serious. Last time we went looking for him when he ran off like this he broke my nose. I can't risk my face like that again; what if it doesn't set straight this time?"

"We're going to go find him Boomer. Now get up before I break your damn nose myself."

xxx

"Come on Buttercup, pick up, pick up..." But there was no response, the dialtone on her phone cutting out after a few more rings. Shoving it back in her pocket, she increased her speed. Bubbles was somewhere behind her, the pair of them streaking across the city towards home.

Naturally, they were just a little too late.

"Buttercup!" Their sister spared them a quick sideways glance before turning her full attention back to Butch. His grin widened at the sight of Blossom and Bubbles arriving.

"I get all three of you to play with? Score." Buttercup's eyes narrowed.

"You touch them, you die," she said flatly. Blossom moved to stand beside her, but Bubbles suddenly seized her arm, pulling her back.

"Wait," she whispered frantically. "She's doing something, look." Blossom turned back and took a closer look at her sister.

Buttercup's body was tensed, but it wasn't her usual fighting stance. Her face was furrowed with concentration, all her attention focused on Butch, a vein pulsing in her temple.

"What is she-?"

"Enough stalling BC; you gonna fight me or what?" Butch said, his tone mocking, but somehow... frustrated? Buttercup's mouth quirked upwards at one side, a quietly triumphant gesture.

"I don't know Butch, you sure you feel like it?" Blossom's mouth dropped open.

"She's using her powers; she's controlling them. She's... she's controlling him."

"I wouldn't call it that," Buttercup said, suddenly clenching her jaw as Butch curled his hands into fists and tensed. Suddenly, he lunged and she had to dive sideways to avoid him, rolling herself upright. Blossom immediately moved to defend her, but she just held up a hand.

"No! I have to do this. I can stop him, I just need to-" He dived for her again, and this time she didn't move, instead ceasing her attempt to get back on her feet and dropping back down, gripping the front of his jacket as he reached her and flipping him over her. He landed awkwardly, and she immediately followed him, spinning herself round and jumping up to pin him down.

"Knew you couldn't resist a fight," he spat. She responded by slamming one arm down over his neck, using her other hand and one leg to keep his arms pinned down. The extra strain of holding him down showed on her face as she tried to regain her concentration.

"What are you doing?" He was struggling, but it seemed disjointed somehow, as though he didn't quite remember how his limbs worked.

"Would you just shut up already?" she snarled. "You can't have it both ways. You can't keep doing this."

Bubbles made a small noise and Blossom glanced back to find her trembling slightly, her eyes flickering green. Blossom had to admit that she didn't feel particularly steady either. Whatever Buttercup was doing to Butch, it was starting to affect them too. Tentatively, without any real idea of what she was looking for, Blossom reached out and tried to tap into Buttercup's thoughts. Finally, there was some sense of clarity, Buttercup's focus finally sharpening her thoughts into something Blossom could actually see.

She was confused, hurt. Something he had said. That night in front of the house. It wasn't supposed to be like that. Why did he say that? That wasn't how it was supposed to be. They hated each other, they hurt each other. That was all it was. All it was.

He wasn't supposed to want her.

"Oh my-" Blossom physically stumbled as the last thought hit her.

"What is it? What?" Bubbles' eyes were even wider than usual, her expression worried beyond belief.

"Stop... it." Butch's breathing was heavy, and he was clearly straining against Buttercup's mental hold on him as well as her physical one. She was in a similar state however, her jaw clenched so tightly that Blossom was sure she was going to grind her teeth right out of existence.

"You don't win this time,"she was growling. "You don't get what you want. You don't get your fight. You don't get to show up and ruin everything. I'm not doing this any more." He laughed, sputtering slightly because of the hold she had over his throat.

"Yeah right. Like you don't love it." Buttercup suddenly let go of his arms and neck, gripped his shoulders and slammed him down onto the road so hard that Blossom could feel tremors. Her face was millimetres from his, her eyes narrowed, her expression stony.

"I said, I'm done, Butch. I'm done with you playing games. I'm fucking sick of it!" Her voice rose in pitch at the last word, her eyes flashing green for a second, so bright that Blossom saw bright spots in her vision for several seconds afterwards. When she could finally see clearly again, Butch was unconscious, and so was Buttercup, who had now fallen to lie alongside him.

"Buttercup!" Bubbles rushed forward and towed her sister away from Butch, kneeling down beside her and trying to shake her awake. Blossom, on the other hand, stood there, stunned, unable to process everything that had just happened.

"What the hell?" She looked up dazedly to see Brick and Boomer landing nearby, Brick running over to her immediately.

"Bubbles called me," he said, by way of explanation. "What happened?"

"I... Buttercup, she... I think she fixed it." Brick looked at her, his expression no less confused. Blossom shook her head. "I don't think I can really explain. I don't really understand it myself."

By this point, Boomer had walked over to Butch and was nudging him with his foot.

"Bro? You awake?" There was no response. He nudged him again. "If you're dead, I'm taking your stuff." There was silence for another long moment, and then Butch raised one hand, middle finger extended. Boomer smirked, then called over: "He's fine!"

"Jesus, I really thought he'd got himself killed this time," Brick said under his breath. "Are you alright?" Blossom nodded.

"He was already here when we arrived, and Buttercup didn't let us get involved." She managed a smile, which he returned, evidently relieved that neither his brother nor her had been hurt in any lasting way. The realisation that he was genuinely worried about her as well as Butch gave her a strange, and not altogether unpleasant, warm feeling that she told herself was probably not something she should be happy about.

"I'm okay, I'm okay. No, Bubbles, really, I'm fine." Blossom snapped round to where her sisters were sat. Buttercup was holding her head and trying to shoo Bubbles away from her with her other hand. Bubbles, for her part, was not to be deterred.

"You fainted Buttercup. Come on, let me just-"

"Stop it." Blossom relaxed as she heard the two of them bickering as usual. Clearly Buttercup was no worse for wear, despite what had just happened.

"You should get Butch home," she told Brick. "And I should spend some time with my sister."

xxx

"Hey." Blossom looked up to find Buttercup standing in the doorway of her bedroom, her hair wet from her recent shower.

"How are you feeling?" Blossom asked, concerned. Buttercup had complained of feeling vaguely nauseous once Bubbles was out of earshot, but had dismissed it as nothing.

"Fine now. Like I said, I just overdid it a bit; nothing major. Mind if I sit in for a bit?" Blossom nodded, and her sister smiled her thanks, moving to the window seat and swinging her legs up beside her after sitting down.

"I was thinking," she said, pulling her knees up close to her chest. "I should go tomorrow."

"Buttercup, if you're not feeling up to it-"

"No. I should. You and Bubbles have been working really hard, and I've just been hiding in the living room. How pathetic is that?" She turned away and looked out of the window as she spoke.

"You had legitimate cause to be concerned. Butch is-"

"Dangerous. Sure. Never stopped me going out before though, did it?" She was silent for a moment. "Did you read me?" she asked eventually. Blossom swallowed, and considered lying, but her hesitation was all Buttercup needed.

"So you know what he said, huh?" She swept a hand through her wet hair, agitated. "Well, it doesn't matter now." She stretched her legs back out and finally turned her gaze back to her sister.

"I'm going tomorrow and that's final. Just... don't take any pictures of me in that damn dress, deal?"