"It is Hot, Hot, HOT outside folks. With a record-breaking heat of one hundred and ten degrees! That's right you heard correct, one hundred and ten degrees! Hell has officially come to Townsville—haha! Unfortunately, it doesn't look like this heat wave is going to be letting up anytime soon. So unless you want a heat stroke, I suggest you stay indoors and blast that AC. Also, friendly reminder to drink plenty of water and stay tuned to 96.6 WKPIG, the number one station for all things rock, punk, and hardcore. Now, coming up next, a blast from the past for all you 90's kids. Blink 182's All the Small Things."
"Yo! Turn it up!" Yells out an excited Buttercup, her voice muffled by the almost 4,000 pound car on top of her.
"Ugh! Do we have to listen to this?"
Buttercup rolls out from underneath the car, "What the hell man? How can you not like Blink 182? Does your complete lack of taste also extend to music?"
"Lack of music taste? Me?" Mitch says in disbelief, still looking annoyed at having to listen to the current music station. "You have got to be kidding me. If you wanted to listen to some actual good music, we could be blasting some Beatles or some Queen, but no. Instead, I've got to put up with this shit."
Buttercup snickers, "You are such a music snob, seriously. Just turn it up, man!"
She rolls back underneath the car she's working on—an old beat-up pick-up truck—effectively ending any of Mitch's complaints. Knowing there's no arguing with the brunette beauty, Mitch reluctantly goes over to the portable radio sitting on the workbench and raises the volume.
"Say it ain't so; I will not go, turn the lights off, carry me home. Na Na Na Na Na…" Buttercup continues to happily sing the rest of the song. She's so focused on what she's doing that she doesn't notice a dirty pair of sneakers walking up to her side until a head pops up underneath the car.
"You know I can hear you, right?"
Startled and embarrassed, Buttercup jumps up only to hit her head on the underside of the truck, "Argh! Fuck you!" she cries out.
To his benefit, Mitch doesn't laugh. Instead, he just smiles that crooked grins of his that she loves so much and pretends he didn't see her completely spazz out. Buttercup, graceful as she is, flips him off, which only causes his cute grin to widen, and goes back to working on the truck, determined to ignore him until she no longer feels like a giant idiot.
That could take a while.
"Mitch! MITCH! TURN THAT SHIT DOWN!" Mitch's father storms into the garage. "I've been calling you for the past five minutes!"
Mitch groans, "What?"
Buttercup quickly rolls out from under the car, "Sorry, sir. I turned up the music, thought it'd be okay since there's no customers here."
Tom Mitchelson owns and runs the mechanic shop—Mitchelson's Garage, and Spare Parts. So that not only makes him Mitch's father and boss but her boss as well. Mr. Mitchelson is an awesome dude for exactly two reasons—one, he raised an awesome son and two, he hired her.
Buttercup doesn't like to brag—at least not often—but she's great with cars. Of course with her being a girl and all—sexists pricks—no one wanted to hire her. Mr. Mitchelson was the only one willing to take a chance on her, overlooking the fact that she was a girl and an inexperienced high school student. Therefore, Buttercup's level of respect for him is rather high, higher than she has for most other people.
Mr. Mitchelson huffs, "It's fine BC you was working on the car like you're supposed to be." He says giving Mitch a pointed look, to which he responds by rolling his eyes. "What do you think you're doing Mitch? I ain't paying ya to sit around and look pretty. Now quit flirting with your girlfriend and get your ass to the storefront. We've got customers and I need someone to work the register."
Buttercup looks away embarrassed, letting her hair shield her face and the bright red blush spreading across her cheeks.
"What about Joe? Ain't he working storefront today?"
"Had to leave early. His wife went into labor. Now get your ass in gear and go work the register."
"Yes, dad." Mitch says, his bored tone betraying nothing. Was he not embarrassed by what his father said? Because she and Mitch are totally not boyfriend and girlfriend. They've never even been on a date before. They are just friends.
And nothing more.
Mr. Mitchelson's loud footsteps echo across the garage as he walks back to the storefront. Buttercup watches his retreating form with such ferocity you'd think her gaze alone would be enough to set the senior Mitchelson on fire. Normally Buttercup is very fond of her boss, but once in a blue moon, he'll say something that completely embarrasses her.
For example, at the start of the summer, she'd worn shorts for the first time to work because she decided getting oil residue on her legs was worth not dying of heat stroke.
She'd been on the volleyball team during the spring semester. Most of the practices and competitions took place inside, so despite wearing volleyball shorts nearly every day, she didn't exactly get much sun. A fact that Mr. Mitchelson chose to point out to her and everyone else in the shop, including Mitch.
"Nothing to be ashamed of—girls would kill to have legs like yours." Buttercup had never felt so humiliated. She would have gone off on him if he weren't her boss. Mitch was totally cool about the whole thing, as he is with everything else, and just rolled his eyes and told her to "Ignore the old man. He's senile and doesn't know what he's saying."
"Well, I've been summed by Hades. Feel free to turn your crap music up as loud as possible."
Buttercup turned her scolding glare to Mitch, which to no ones' surprise did not faze him. Mitch didn't get fazed by much. He was just too cool and mellow to let things get to him.
He gave her a lazy smile and followed after his father, dragging his feet the whole way.
If Mitch was at all embarrassed by his father's assumption he didn't show it, which, yes, bothered Buttercup a little.
Okay, it bothered her more than just a little.
A lot actually.
One time when Buttercup was hanging out with Mitch and his friends at the skate park, Mitch and his buddy, Donnie, collided with one another. Mitch ended up landing on top of him, and naturally, everyone made fun of the scandalizing position they found themselves in. Buttercup jokingly suggested Mitch take advantage of the situation and plant one on him. Donnie was all bent out of shape about it, but Mitch just laughed. He wasn't fazed at all, and he even helped Donnie get up, even though he swatted Mitch's hand away.
Is that why Mitch didn't seem fazed now? Because he sees Donnie and her as essentially the same. Just a buddy? A pal? Platonic friend?
Ouch. That hurts.
But then again…
She has been spending a lot more time with Mitch lately. Buttercup has known Mitch since preschool, but they hadn't always been friends. Sure she saw him in the halls and hung out with him during lunch sometimes, but Buttercup has a large group of friends, most of which are on the same sports teams as her, so she didn't exclusively hang out with him.
Although, after the incident Buttercup found his cool and relaxed presence to be the most comforting. She started ditching her old friends and hanging out with him more and more.
He was the one that got her this job.
It's been four months now. Four months of exclusively hanging out with him.
Does that mean…
No, she thinks in disbelief.
Does that make them girlfriend and boyfriend? She wouldn't know, as she's never had a boyfriend before. She's never really been interested in a guy before either, until Mitch. Maybe it's obvious. Maybe Mitch knows and he feels the same. Does Mitch consider them boyfriend and girlfriend?
The idea that Mitch might feel the same makes her feel so uncharacteristically giddy that she almost wants to punch herself in the face. She's glad no one is in the garage now because her face is burning up, and she's pretty sure she's grinning like a maniac.
So not cool.
So she's officially dating Mitch? No, that can't be right. If it's official, she's sure that there would have been the obligatory awkward what are we conversation. She keenly remembers Bubbles having such a conversation with her last boyfriend, Mike. Bubbles would not shut up about it. Does he consider me his girlfriend? Do I want him to be my boyfriend?
So annoying.
So not officially. Dating perhaps? She does spend all her free time with him. She starts to recall all their past interactions, but none of it seems like dating to her. They've never gone out to a fancy dinner; he's never given her flowers or paid for her or anything.
Since she's never dated before she's basing all this on the crappy movies Bubbles has made her watch. To be honest, she's glad he's never done any of those things. She doesn't do fancy, and she wouldn't even have anything to wear to a fancy restaurant. She also doesn't like flowers, and she'd feel awkward if he paid for her or bought her things. The whole thing is so cliché; she'd defiantly punch him in the face if he ever tried any of it.
Well, maybe a light tap. Her soft spot for him is getting increasingly embarrassing.
They mostly hang out at the mall, or at the skate park, and they've never eaten anything fancier than burgers or pizza.
There was that one time we ate tacos, she muses.
The more she thinks about it, the more she realizes he hasn't really acted any differently around her. It sucks, but she likes how cool Mitch is, so she's not not happy that he hasn't been acting like a nervous dork around her. If anything she's pretty sure she's the one that makes the bigger fool of herself around him.
Does he not notice how he makes her act? The effect he has on her? If his impassive reaction is anything to go by, she's guessing no.
That majorly sucks.
"Well I hope all you 90's kids enjoyed that blast from the past, but now we're going to go a little more old school with some Bon Jovi. Enjoy!"
"Shot through the heart, And you're to blame. Darlin', You give love a bad name"
The music pulls Buttercup away from her stupid girly thoughts and brings her back down to earth.
Gah! I'm such a spazz, get over yourself Buttercup! You've got a job to do.
Buttercup rolls back underneath the car and goes back to work. The loud sounds of Bon Jovi's You Give Love a Bad Name helping drive away her dumb thoughts, and soon enough she's lost in what she's doing.
"Excuse me?"
Buttercup was still lost in the music and completely focused on the task at hand that she didn't hear the shouts of a potential customer. She did, however, see a pair of shiny red high heels—better known as death traps—approach the car she was working on. She groans inwardly and tries to hide from view.
There was a reason she was never asked to manage the storefront. Besides the fact that she's better at fixing cars than Mitch, she's also about as charming as a sea slug—Mr. Mitchelson's own words—which is to say not at all. It's not like she's socially inept, or like a bitch or anything, but seriously, it's not her fault that some of the customers she's had to deal with before are complete morons and know next to nothing about cars.
"EXCUSE ME! IS ANYBODY IN HERE?"
The death traps on legs walk away from her, making that annoying click-clack noise as she struts across the garage. She can't actually hear it over the music, but she can just tell by the pointed way she walks.
Dorothy XXX stops at the workbench near the back of the shop, and the music shuts off. "That's better. Can't imagine anyone listens to this crap."
Well, fuck if Buttercup was going to let that slide.
"Ahem, I listen to that shit." Says Buttercup getting up from her hiding spot.
Dorothy XXX spins around, "Oh…" she says sounding apologetic but looking anything but. It's not right to judge, but Buttercup is going to go out on a limb here and guess that she's a total bitch. For one, no one bleaches their hair that blond with roots that dark without having some attitude. Second, no one in their right mind would think to wear the X-rated version of Dorothy's shoes and, ironically enough, a tight blue mini dress to a greasy, dirty, mechanic shop.
Lastly, she is wearing too much make-up—like an insane amount of makeup. Who the hell thinks to wear that much make-up in 110-degree weather? Who? A crazy person that's who!
"I was calling out. No one heard me." She smiles sweetly at Buttercup, but while her horse mouth says artificial whitener, her eyes scream psycho.
"I heard you."
Dorothy's smile drops. "Then why didn't you fucking answer?"
Buttercup rolls her eyes and walks away without answering. She walks near the front of the garage and picks up a clipboard hanging by the entrance. This time she hears the click-clack of Dorothy's shoes as she marches to where Buttercup is standing.
"Hello? I'm talking to you."
"You're not on the schedule." Replies Buttercup.
"You don't even know my name."
"Don't need to know it. We schedule repairs and maintenance check-ups in advance, and there are no new ones scheduled for toady. No drop-ins either."
The Malibu Barbie-reject huffs, "You guys do emergency repairs don't you?" she says like Buttercup is the biggest idiot in the world.
Buttercup nods here head, "We do. But I don't." with that, she walks away from her intending to go back to working on the truck. "If you need emergency assistance go out front. They can help you. Or, I don't know, try calling AAA next time."
"Listen here you little bit—"
"Madison? What are you doing here?"
Both Buttercup and Dorothy XXX, who apparently is Madison XXX, turns to look at Mitch, who has just walked in from the storefront carrying some boxes. "Does my dad know you're here?"
What happens next is like a scene right out the Exorcist, one moment Madison's face and demeanor are normal—scowling and bitchy, but normal. Next, she's distorting her features, stretching that horse grins of hers across her face and fluttering her long fake eyelashes.
"Oh, Mitchie!" She says so sickeningly sweet it sounds fake. "I'm so glad you're here. Maybe you can help me seeing as how some people just want to be difficult." Even though she didn't name her, it's obvious from the glare that Madison sends her way that she's talking about her.
Madison beams at Mitch, who remains impassive. "Buttercup's schedule is full for today, Madison. She can't help you."
Madison's whole demeanor drops. Buttercup can't help but beam at Mitch. He always has her back.
"Your dad said he'd fix Cherry." She pouts.
Cherry? Buttercup looks outside to see what the hell she's talking about, and spots a beautiful cherry red Mercedes-Benz sitting outside. Damn, such a waste of a fine car.
"Well, my dad didn't say anything so…"
"I didn't say anything about what?"
Speak of the devil.
"Honey-Bunny!" The Malibu Barbie-reject is back to her fake sweet persona, with added sex appeal as she squishes her breasts together. Buttercup scoffs—like they didn't look enormous before. To her complete and utter disgust, the ruse works, and Mitch's dad is completely hooked.
"Maddie, Baby! What are you doing here?" He asks taking his life-size doll in his arms.
"To see you silly." She bops his nose, "And to get Cherry fixed. Duh!" She laughs.
Buttercup turns from the nauseating scene. "Gross." She mumbles, quite enough that her lovesick boss won't hear but loud enough that Mitch is sure to hear. Only Mitch isn't looking at her. He's staring at the gross couple a few feet away from him. The expression on his face is not one she is familiar with, but it's not hard to guess what it is. He's ticked-off, and judging by the way he's currently clenching his fist, she'd go as far as saying he's mad.
Really mad. That's strange for Mitch.
"You okay?" She asks.
Her question seems to snap him out of whatever trance the gross couple put him under. He meets her gaze but quickly looks away.
"I'm fine." He mumbles.
"You said you would put in those new shiny chrome rims on Cherry, remember?" She says in a sugary sweet voice.
Belch.
"I thought you wanted to fix your car, not pimp it out." Buttercup mumbles
Maddie glares at her, "You really ought to consider getting a new grease monkey honey-bunny, the help sucks around here."
"What?" asks Mr. Mitchelson, confused on why his precious baby is currently glaring at his best mechanic. Well, best is debatable, but she's defiantly really good—especially for how much he pays her.
"Dad, the chrome rims? Those took forever for us to get. You're not just gonna give them to her are you?"
"Mitch not now." Mr. Mitchelson sighs. "Now was it this I here about us not having good service?"
"Um…"
"She," Maddie points her long fake nails in Buttercup's direction, "Refused to help me. She ignored me." She pouts.
"I…um…was busy, and…um…the schedule…"
"Maddie," Mr. Mitchelson starts, cutting off Buttercup's awkward explanation, "You should have told me you were coming today. "
"I had some free time. Besides aren't you glad to see me?"
"Of course, baby—"
"Dad, in case you've forgotten we have a business to run." Mitch interrupts, irritated.
Mr. Mitchelson glares but then relents. "He's right. I'm really glad to see you, but think you can come back another time? We're short staffed today, and I've got to manage the storefront and the garage. I won't be able to install your shiny new rims."
"Then let her do it." She says sharply, dropping the cute act, "That's what she's here for, right?"
Buttercup is about to defend herself, reminding the she-devil that she is completely busy, but is beaten to the punch by Mr. Mitchelson.
"Buttercup has her hands full already, honey. She won't be able to either. Besides, I want to be the one to install your new rims."
"Well, why didn't she say so in the first place?" Madison huffs.
What the fuck? Are her ears fake too? Can she not hear? Because she totally told the Malibu Barbie-reject that she was swamped today. And Mitch did too!
Mr. Mitchelson just laughs, "Buttercup doesn't deal with customers, baby, and for good reason too. Sorry about that."
The apology is suppose to be for Madison, but Mr. Mitchelson catches her eyes over her shoulder and winks. Buttercup is glad to know that her awesome boss isn't totally whipped.
Maddie pouts, but she eventually relents. "Fine. But I'm going to hold you to your promise. I want those shiny new rims." She purrs.
"Yea, baby. Don't worry. I got them saved up for you."
Mitch scoffs.
"Okay. Bye Honey-Bunny." She gives him a quick peck on the lips, and Buttercup thanks GOD for small mercies that she didn't decide to eat his face in front of them. "Bye Mitchie!" She coos, to which Mitch responds to with an eye roll. Mr. Mitchelson elbows his son in the side. "Bye Madison," Mitch says with no enthusiasm.
Madison turns to leave, but before departing, she stops in front of her. "Butterball? Was it?"
There's a car behind Madison with its hood propped open. It's only a few feet away, but Buttercup can have her pinned against the car's battery faster than she can blink.
It would be so easy.
"It's Butt-Er-Cup" She grits. She thinks better about the whole smashing her face in. She doesn't want to lose her job. And going to jail doesn't sound fun either. "Balloon tits."
Mr. Mitchelson hawks, "Um…baby, how about I walk you to your car." Mr. Mitchelson escorts his girlfriend outside before things get ugly.
"Did you see the way she talked to me? You should fire…" her annoying voice trails off as Mr. Mitchelson drags her out.
Buttercup snorts, "She's a piece of work."
"Yea."
Mitch's pissed off look hasn't changed, and it's starting to worry her. It's not like he looks scary or anything, or about to explode and destroy everything around him, but still it's a disturbing expression on his normally chill face.
"Mitch?"
Mitch meets her concerned gaze then he turns away from her and starts unpacking the boxes he brought in earlier. Mr. Mitchelson walks back in and puts a hand on her shoulder,
"Alright let's get back to work. Mitch when you're done with the boxes I'm gonna have you run the store so I can get to work on Mr. Miller's Corolla. Got it?"
Mitch nods, not meeting his dad's eye. Mr. Mitchelson sighs in irritation then heads back to the storefront. Whatever's got Mitch so upset it's obviously got something to do with his father, and judging by his reaction, it's a fight both Mitchelsons have had in the past.
"Yo, Mitch, mind telling me what's going on?"
"Nothing." He says without sounding angry, even though it's obvious.
Mitch being mad is weird, not only because she's never experienced it before, but also because he's so different from her when she's mad. According to her sister, she's quite scary when she's mad. Bubbles is a scardey cat, but even Buttercup can agree that she's right. When she's mad, her whole body goes taught, as if preparing for a fight. She starts to breath deeper and faster, her chest rising dramatically. Her anger is palpable, like a pot of water ready to boil over. She usually has to go for a run, vent, or punch a pillow to calm down.
She can agree it's not a pretty sight. But then again, it's not suppose to be.
Mitch's body isn't rigid or taught like hers when she's mad. In fact, he looks completely calm from the back. The only reason she knows he's still bothered by something is the fact that he is being unusually quiet. Unusually quiet and annoyingly distant. It's like when Bubbles gets upset, but she swears she's not mad.
What has him so ticked-off? Is it Madison? She gets it; Madison put her in a bad mood too. But he seemed more upset with his father than with anyone else.
"Whose Madison?"
"Dad's new girlfriend."
"Well, duh. But—"
Mitch sighs, "Look can we just drop it. I've got to go man the store. See ya later."
"Kay…" She watches Mitch walk away from her, clearly still angry. She knows he's not angry at her, but it still stings when he's so quick to write her off. She's his friend dammit! He's always willing to lend an ear when she starts to bitc—er—vent about stuff. Does he not think she can do the same? She can! She's a good listener, a good friend.
Unless…
Unless she's not the person Mitch goes to with his problems. That might hurt more than him not liking her like she likes him. It's one thing to not have romantic feelings for someone but for him to not consider her a friend like she thinks of him— stings. He's her best friend. That type of relationship has to be mutual. Right?
She hopes so.
Maybe he just needs time. He'll come around.
Or maybe he never will. Maybe he doesn't want to talk about it ever. That she can relate to. She's been hanging out with Mitch for the last four months, ever since the incident happened, and she hasn't once talked about it with him—she hasn't talked to anyone about it.
There's no point.
Talking won't change anything.
"BC? Shouldn't you be finishing up the truck?"
"Huh? Oh yea, I'll get right on that, sir."
Buttercup walks back to the truck she was working on before the she-devil arrived and Mr. Mitchelson walks up to the Corolla on her right side.
"Hey, uh, I just wanted to apologize for earlier. Maddie caught us all by surprise. She didn't mean anything she said; she's just sensitive. She's really a sweet girl."
Buttercup snorts. Girl is right; she looks like she's ten years younger than old man Mitchelson. He either is senile or completely wrapped around Madison's finger to think she's actually sweet. "It's whatever. But thanks for having my back. I tried telling her I was busy."
Mr. Mitchelson chuckles, "Yea, no problem. Maddie can be kinda of err….fierce. Hope she didn't put a dent in your day."
Buttercup shakes her head. "Nah, I'm almost done." Besides, she thinks, if anyone has ruined her day, it would be Mitch's sour attitude. But despite making her feel about three inches tall, Buttercup can't help but think; I hope he's okay.
"That's it." Buttercup says, closing the hood of the Corolla.
"Thanks for your help, BC." Replies Mr. Mitchelson gratefully
"That's what I'm here for. Well, that and the money."
Mr. Mitchelson laughs.
"I closed the store," Mitch says walking toward them.
"Good, we just finished up here. You kids are free to leave. But remember you guys are working double shifts tomorrow."
Mitch groans, "We know. Unfair by the way."
Mr. Mitchelson merely shrugs, "You'll be starting school soon. I got to take advantage of the free time you guys have left."
"Like we don't have better things to do." Says Buttercup, wiping her hands on her dirty green oil rag.
"Yea, yea. Hey do me a favor and get out of here. The less I see of the two of you, the better."
"Whatever dad, later," Mitch says, grabbing their skateboards.
Usually, after work, Mitch and Buttercup will head to the skate park to meet up with Mitch's friends. Actually, even when they don't work they usually end up at the skate park with his friends.
They take a short cut, walking down a deserted road near the mechanic shop. Mitch's father purposely opened the shop there because of all the abandoned cars. He raids the cars for parts, or sometimes fixes them up and sells them. It was a smart business move.
Buttercup and Mitch skate down the road, it's bumpy and hard to skate on but fun. Any bad feelings from earlier seem to have disappeared. They're laughing and making jokes—everything's great. Then Mitch trips over something on his board and falls flat on his face. "Let's walk for now," says Mitch while Buttercup laughs at him.
They walk in comfortable silence. Buttercup isn't all that eager to disturb the peace, but she wants to know what was bugging Mitch earlier. She genuinely cares, and she wants Mitch to know that. She wants to be a good friend—wants Mitch to be able to confide in her.
"So...what was all that about in the shop. Why'd you get so mad?"
Mitch sighs, "You're not gonna let this go are you?" Buttercup shakes her head stubbornly.
"It's Madison, my dad's girlfriend."
"What about her?"
Mitch lets out a long-suffering groan, "It's just so…embarrassing."
Buttercup snorts, "Is that it? I mean I get it. She's horrible, but I've seen you face plant before and trust me nothing is more embarrassing than that." Buttercup kind of finds it sweet that he was embarrassed for her.
"No, it's not that." Mitch kicks a can, "It's just that we worked really hard to get those chrome rims, you know?"
"Wait." Buttercup halts, "Is this about the rims?"
Mitch shrugs, "Yes… No. I don't know! It's just…those rims are the first piece of luxury item the shop has gotten in…forever. We, my dad and I, planned on selling them to some rich dude and the profits we got from that would let us get more luxury items to sell to some other rich people, and so on. It was gonna be a real boom in business. It was gonna change things for us." Mitch kicks another can, harder this time. "And now he's just gonna give them away for free! Scoff, and to her no less. It's obvious he's not thinking with his right head."
Buttercup snorts, "Yea, obviously. But what can you do? It's your dad, not your kid. You're just gonna have to let it go, let him make his own fucks up. If you don't take it personally, it won't upset you. At least that's how I see it."
Mitch shoves his hands into his pockets, "Yea… Sorry about venting."
"No!" Buttercup says quickly, "It's fine, I'm glad you did. That's what friends are for." She nudges him lightly. "Right?"
Mitch nods, "Yea, you're right." Mitch begins to walk again, kicking at things in his path, "Its just…dad's really suck sometimes, you kno—" Mitch cuts himself off immediately. He spins around quickly, "Shit! Sorry I didn't mean—"
Buttercup stops him, "No, it's fine. I get it. Trust." Buttercup shoves past him and continues to walk.
"Shit! BC, really I didn't mean it like that. That was fucked up. I was just frustrated. Not all dad's suck—just mine." He jokes lightly, hoping he didn't unintentionally hurt Buttercup's feelings.
"Dude, it's cool. Trust. I get it. What do you think, that the professor was perfect? Well, newsflash—he wasn't." Mitch looks surprised at her words.
"Buttercup…you don't mean—"
The buzzing of his cell phone interrupts Mitch. He pulls out his phone to answer but it's not a call, it's various text messages left by his friends.
"Shit."
Buttercup stops her pouting—not that she admits she was pouting. "What?"
"The guys aren't at the skate park."
"Oh…is that a problem? Do you not wanna go anymore?"
Mitch groans, "It wouldn't have been a problem, but we have to go meet them. Keep them from doing something stupid–specifically Donnie."
"Is that even possible?" Buttercup jokes, only Mitch doesn't laugh.
"Whoa, Mitch. What's going on? Where are they?"
"The Rot."
"Shit."
"Look you don't have to come if you don't—"
"Are you kidding me? I'm totally going; it's not like it's that far from here."
"No, but it's plenty far from where you live. You'll get home pretty late. Also, it's the Rot."
Buttercup scoffs, "Like I haven't done that before. Benefit of being an orphan is not having a curfew."
"Buttercup—"
"Come on let's go. Who knows what kind of trouble Donnie has gotten himself into." Buttercup hops back on her board and skates off in the direction of the Rot. She hears Mitch mumble behind her, probably protesting her coming along, but like hell if Buttercup is going to abandon him. They're friends and friends are there for each other, willing to follow each other into hell.
The Rot might not literally be hell, but it's pretty close. Buttercup just hopes Mitch's friends haven't done anything stupid.
That might be a lot to hope for.
"Where exactly did they say they were?"
"Um…they didn't say. I'm trying to get a hold of them, but they're not answering. They're probably drunk or high right now." He mumbles the last part quietly, but Buttercup still hears him. She chooses to pretend she didn't hear him though; she doesn't want Mitch to think she thinks any less of them because they know how to have fun. Not that she think any less of them.
What they think of her on the other hand—that's a different story.
Buttercup and Mitch arrived in the Rot about ten minutes ago and have been wandering around aimlessly trying to find Mitch's friends. Wandering around the Rot is not a very smart thing to do; it looks too much like they're up to something. That could land them in some serious trouble.
But then again the Rot is nothing but trouble.
This side of town wasn't always known as the Rot; it use to be a very industrious and wealthy place. The first major factories were built here and large housing complexes were built around them to house the workers. It was the equivalent of the business district in downtown Townsville today. But then the market crashed, and the economy took a major hit. Factory jobs started being exported overseas to save costs. Eventually, the factories closed down, and the workers were abandoned. The factories were never torn down. They still stand there, rotting away while the rest of the neighborhood rots with them.
For the most part, Townsville has ignored the Rot. No one knew what to do with all the workers left behind, or how to help their struggling families. Government aid only went so far. It didn't take long for the once industrious district of Townsville to morph into what it is today—a dark pit of criminal activity. Townsville is already a pretty unsafe place to live but nothing is more dangerous than the Rot. It isn't the kind of place you want to find yourself in. Even Mitch agrees, and Mitch isn't exactly from the "right side of town."
"Finally!" Mitch exclaims, "Ok, they should be near 3rd street and Industry Road. Let's go."
"Um, you know where that is?"
Mitch shrugs, "I know 3rd street, it runs all the way to downtown Townsville. We'll just go down that street until we hit Industry road, or when we spot em'."
Buttercup nods, hopping back on her skateboard and following Mitch further into the Rot. The deeper into the Rot they go, the worse everything seems to be. The sun hasn't completely set yet, but everything in the Rot appears to be bathed in darkness. It's like a dark hole where everything sick and horrible lives. They pass by decaying business, and houses that don't look like they're meant for human habitation except she knows that there must be people living there. Surprisingly, they haven't run into any people—except for a few homeless people camped out on the sidewalks.
"It seems a little dead."
"Poor choice of words, BC. 'Sides, most activity here doesn't happen 'till after dark. Which is why we should hurry."
Buttercup nods and they continue their search in silence.
"I think this is it. Industry Road."
Buttercup stops behind Mitch. She looks up at the street sign, and sure enough, it's Industry Road. She looks around but there's nothing here except for an abandoned building and some empty lots. It's also pitch dark now that the sun has set; it doesn't make finding Mitch's friends any easier.
"There's nothing here."
Mitch says nothing.
No shit there's nothing here, Buttercup mentally slaps herself. Pointing out the obvious isn't going to help. Mitch is probably really worried about his friends, she doesn't know them all too well but from the times they've all hung out together, it seems like Mitch is usually the one making sure they don't do something too stupid.
"There." Mitch finally says.
"What?"
"There you see that sign." Mitch points off to the side. Buttercup turns, but she doesn't see what he's referring to. It is so fucking dark out. She walks closer to where Mitch is pointing and squints her eyes, and that's when she see's it in big white letters.
Luxury Condominiums CONSTRUCTION UNDERWAY. H.I.M Incorporated.
Fuck.
"Come on. They must be down there."
They follow the sign further down Industry Road. The street starts to curve, and that's when they see it, a construction site with the same H.I.M Incorporated construction sign in front of it.
The complex is far from finished, but it's big and tall, and the only thing in the Rot illuminated by lights. Buttercup is surprised they didn't see it before.
"You have got to be kidding me."
"What?"
CRASH.
They spot Mitch's friends in the distant inside the construction site, laughing and breaking beer bottles. From this distance, she can see four people, but there should be five —two girls and three guys. That means that one person is missing.
"Are they fucking crazy? Do they not know who's fucking building this is?" Mitch exclaims then runs towards them.
Crazy is right. Not only are these fucking idiots breaking and entering on private property but they're also causing the destruction of said private property.
HIM's private property!
H.I.M incorporated is a beast of a real estate company created and controlled by Hannibal Isaiah Mercer aka HIM. Original. HIM is a ruthless businessman who practically owns everything in Townsville. He took advantage of the market crash and bought out people's business and property, driving people out of their homes. HIM is the richest man in town, and even more powerful than the mayor.
Crossing HIM is about the most dangerous thing you can do in Townsville.
"MITCH! Wait!" Buttercup runs after Mitch. She wants to stop him from setting foot on the construction site. It's one thing going into the Rot after dark but breaking onto H.I.M property is a whole other level of danger that Buttercup is not ready for. HIM didn't get to where he is by being a kind and understanding man, and if he finds out that a bunch of kids are tearing apart his work site, there's no telling what he'd do.
"Mitch!" She catches up to him, but it's too late. They have officially stepped foot on H.I.M property.
"Finally!" Yells out an angry redhead "Mitch would you tell this fucking idiot to go, he won't listen to me." The frantic fake redhead currently yelling at Mitch is Donnie's girlfriend—Jennifer Ramos. She's got bright fire engine red locks that match her angry personality. She's always yelling about one thing or another. It's annoying, but giving the situation, Buttercup thinks her reaction is appropriate.
"Where's Donnie?" asks Mitch, less frantic than Jenni but just as worried.
And who is Donnie? Donnie is a grade A asshole who also happens to be Mitch's oldest friend, having grown up in neighboring trailer homes. Donnie is Mitch's complete opposite, he's a firecracker, ready to go off at any second, and is usually the one getting the rest of them into trouble.
"Why she here?" The question was asked by another of Mitch's friends— Craig Hale. He wobbles a little from side to side. She's guessing the Heineken in his hand is not the first of the night.
"Oh for fuck's sake! Really Mitch? We're having a crisis here, and you decide to bring your little girlfriend." Sneers Jenni.
Donnie may be the biggest asshole, but he isn't the only one. Mitch's friends don't really like her. They are constantly making snide comments about her— never in front of Mitch, but always within her earshot. They talk shit about her, talk about how she's not good enough to hang with them.
They think she's some preppy goody two shoes—like her sisters.
PPFFTTT. That could not be further away from the truth. Buttercup is nothing like her sisters—case in point she actually likes hanging out with these losers. No way her sisters would willingly do such a thing. She can just picture it; Blossom turning her nose up at the bad kids and Bubbles nervously avoiding eye contact. Buttercup wouldn't do that.
So yea, Mitch's friends can be assholes, but newsflash everyone is sort of an asshole. These guys are just more upfront about it. She actually likes that, which is why she bites her lip anytime she catches them saying shit about her.
"Where's Donnie?" Mitch repeats, ignoring Jenni's question.
"He's up there. Pinche estupido."
We look up to see a drunk Donnie on a skateboard about four floors up, teetering on the edge of an unfinished floor.
"DONNIE! What the fuck! Get down from there!"
"HEY! Look, the grease monkey finally showed up. Took you long enough! " Laughs Donnie as he sways from side to side.
"Why'd you guys let him go up there?"
"It's not like we didn't try to stop him."
"We have to go up there and get him."
"Look, we were willing to skate around on the ground floor and the first two levels, but I'll tell you what I told Donnie—there's no fucking way I'm going up there." Says Craig.
"Christ, really? Stevie, what about you? I need someone to help me carry him down."
Stevie is the baby of the group, a year younger than everyone else, but tall and skinny as a beanpole. He's the quite one of the group, so it comes as no surprise to Buttercup when he merely shakes his head at Mitch's instance that he help him get Donnie down.
"I'll do it." Says Buttercup.
"Please. Like you'd go up there." Jenni scoffs.
"Just 'cuz the rest of you guys are too chicken doesn't mean I am."
"Hey! I'm not a chicken." Yells Craig, throwing his beer bottle to the ground and smashing it.
"Craig!" Yells his girlfriend, Lauren, throwing her arms around her boyfriend to steady him. Geez, how much did these guys have to drink? "Listen, Buttercup, it's nothing against you personally, but don't you think it's a little dangerous. We wouldn't want you to fall and get hurt. Right, Mitch?" Buttercup knows Lauren is genuine in her concern for her. Lauren can be a bit ditzy at times, and too eager to please for her liking, but she's the only one of Mitch's friends that actually seems to like her.
"Lauren's right, BC. You're not going up there."
"Mitch you're going to need help hauling Donnie's ass down here, and everyone else is drunk." Buttercup throws down her board and walks away from Mitch and everyone else, "So are you coming or what?"
Mitch yells after her, but Buttercup has already reached the elevator attached to the side of the building. Mitch follows and walks into the narrow little elevator a protest on the tip of his tongue, but Buttercup closes the elevator doors and presses the button that slowly moves them upwards. Mitch wisely chooses to shut up, knowing there's no point in arguing now.
They reach the fourth floor and set out. It's more finished than Buttercup initially thought; the only things missing are walls and flooring.
"I can't believe you guys made it up here!" Laughs Donnie, "At least you guys didn't pussy out like those fuckers down there."
"Although…" Donnie walks closer to them, away from the ledge, and Buttercup is so relieved that he's not in danger of falling that she doesn't even realize how close he's gotten to her. "I've got to say cupcake; I'm real surprised you had the guts to come up here."
"Knock it off, Donnie. We're getting you down and then we're getting the hell out of here."
"Why the hell would I do that? I haven't completed my final trick yet."
Final trick? Buttercup looks at the skateboard still in Donnie's hand. Was he thinking of jumping down on that thing?
"You're crazy and drunk. Do you even have any idea whose property this is? We have to go—Now!"
Mitch grabs Donnie's arm and starts pulling him away.
"The fuck I do." Donnie pulls back and punches him, landing a blow on Mitch's jaw.
"Mitch!"
Buttercup goes to Mitch's side. There's no blood, thankfully, it must not have been that hard a hit, but she's sure it'll leave a nasty bruise.
"Donnie, what the fuck!"
"Oh, fuck off! It wasn't even that hard. Mitch stop being such a pussy!"
Mitch says nothing, appearing levelheaded as usual, but there's tension in his shoulders. It looks like a fight may break out between the two. Buttercup stands between them; her arms stretched out; it's a meaningless gesture because if the two want to fight, she won't be strong enough to stop them. She looks around frantically, trying to come up with something to diffuse the tension.
She's not a quick thinker, at least not like Blossom, and has a hard time trying to come up with something. She toys with the idea of talking them out of it, but she doesn't possess Bubbles' charm, which might have helped her in this case.
Not that Donnie would listen.
She looks out to where Donnie was standing before they came up to retrieve him. She notices that there's a section of flooring missing between this side of the floor and the one across from them, on the other end of the building—at least 10ft long. On further inspection, Buttercup realizes that all the floors have the same type of division between the left sides and the ride sides of the building. It must be intentional.
She can't imagine what trick Donnie thought he could pull off. Unless it was jumping from the fourth floor and not dying.
Then she spots the crane, and an idea starts to form.
"Ok, boys. As fun as this staring contest is, how about we do something more fun?"
Donnie hawks, "What the fuck are you talking about?"
"Buttercup" Mitch stress, "What are you doing?"
Buttercup chooses to ignore him, "A bet. Between you and me." She says gesturing to Donnie, "If I win, you have to come down."
Donnie relaxes, looking intrigued. "What you'd have in mind."
"I do the trick."
"WHAT!"
"Fuck that, why would I let you do my trick."
"Buttercup, you can't—"
"To prove a point. You're too drunk to do this. If I can land the trick without getting hurt, then you have to go down with Mitch, sober up."
Donnie laughs, "If you can pull this off, then it will be fucking easy for me."
Buttercup frowns. She should have expected him to react like this— fucking asshole. None of them think anything of her. They all think she's some fucking porcelain doll, weak and vulnerable. Not brave. Not strong. Not cool enough to hang out with them. Just some fucking poser.
God, does that piss her off.
She yanks the skateboard right out of Donnie's hands. It's easy given his reflexes are jacked from the alcohol.
"Hey! Give it back you fucking bitch."
Buttercup's frown deepens, and she marches to the edge of the floor.
"Buttercup!" Mitch yells coming after her
Buttercup points to the crane holding the metal beam. It's parked right in between the divisions of the floor. The construction workers must have been moving support beams to the fourth floor before it was time to punch out. There's a small distance between the beam and the edge of the floor, but if she's able to pick up enough speed and jump onto the beam, it will make for an awesome grind rail. The only thing that really scares her about doing this is where she'll land. There's a bigger distance between the end of the metal beam and the other side of the floor, and if she messes up in any way she could either a, plummet to her death or b, fall off the end and land head first into a cement mixer. She can't tell if the cement mixer has any cement in it, but she's not willing to find out.
"I grind down that beam, stick the landing, and then we leave. All of us."
"And why would I do that? Don't see how this befits me."
"It's a bet. I know you think I can't do it, so if I fail and fall then you get bragging rights and a chance to do the stunt yourself."
"You forget that if you fall you could die, Buttercup!"
"We're on the fourth floor, Mitch. She's not gonna die—might break a few bones, though."
"Enough! You in or out?"
Donnie actually shuts up for a minute. He looks to be mulling it over. If he were sober, or smarter overall, he'd realize that she's playing him. The goal is to get his drunken ass downstairs without him doing anything stupid. He may think her bet is a great idea as it allows him to do what he wanted in the first place with an added bonus of watching her fall on her ass.
The catch is she doesn't intend to fail.
"You know what cupcake, go ahead. I could use a good laugh."
"Donnie stop being an ass! Buttercup you don't have to do this." Mitch pleads.
"Good, but I need your word that you're not going to go back on our bet if I win."
"Not likely to happen, but fine. I promise I won't bitch if you miraculously don't fall flat on your flat ass."
Buttercup nods her head, and makes her way to the opposite side of the floor, near the elevator.
"Chickening out already? Pfftt, told you she couldn't do it."
"Donnie shut up! Buttercup I'm glad you finally came to yo—"
The rest of Mitch's words are a blur as Buttercup runs past him. She's fast, one of the fastest girls on the track team, so she's able to run past Donnie and Mitch without either one grabbing her. She just hopes she's fast enough to jump onto the beam. She reaches the edge of the floor and with all her might jumps. For a split second, she feels like she's flying and the feeling is so amazing that she doesn't even entertain the idea of falling.
She positions the board underneath her feet just as she feels gravity pull her down, a second later she lands on the metal beam. It's a rough landing, but Buttercup doesn't care because Donnie was right. This is fucking awesome!
The wind billows around her, cool and refreshing as she grinds down the length of the beam. She's having so much fun she doesn't even think to look down. She has never felt a rush like this. It's exciting, thrilling, and makes her feel invincible.
Nothing can touch her up here.
The beam is at a slight angle. The end of the beam furthest from her dips lower than the other end of the beam. She thinks it will come to her advantage; it will help land on the other side of the floor without having to jump so high. Except there's one thing she doesn't take into account; because of the dip at the end of the beam, as she glides down she starts to pick up speed. A lot of speed.
She begins to hear shouts from down bellow. She's not sure if they were screaming before or not as she was so caught up in the feeling of awesomeness from her success. Right now it's not awesome. It's fucking terrifying.
She picks up more speed, and she starts to hear a grating sound, she turns her head slightly back and sees sparks start to flight out from the back of Donnie's skateboard.
"SHIT!"
The board begins to wobble, and Buttercup has a hard time maintaining her balance. She's just reached the end of the beam when one of the back wheels breaks off. The board dips down right when she was about to jump off, and she loses any semblance of balance she had left.
She falls.
"BUTTERCUP!"
She should be thinking about how much it's going to hurt when she lands on the ground, about the bones she'll break, about possible getting so hurt she won't be able to get back up. She should be seeing her life flash before her eyes, but instead, the only thing she can think of is how angry her sister will be.
She pictures Blossom lecturing her about this, telling her she's making bad choices, putting her life in danger, making friends with the wrong crowd; her hand annoyingly perched on her hip, an icy look on her face. It infuriates her.
Aggravates her like when Donnie and his friends make fun of her.
Like when Bubbles cries.
Like when her father died.
"Arrugh!" Buttercup lets out a cry of frustration.
She will not fail. She is not losing this bet.
She stretches out her arms, hoping to latch on to something—anything. Luckily she manages to grab onto the edge of the second floor. Donnie's skateboard continues to fall behind her until it crashes into the cement mixer and breaks.
Fuck. Donnie is going to be so pissed.
She struggles pulling herself up but eventually manages. She lays down on the floor, dust flying around her as she does, and tries to catch her breath.
Two things come to mind at that moment.
I can't believe I did that.
And.
Fuck, I lost the bet.
Once her heartbeat slows down, the pounding in her ears go away and she's able to hear various shouts from the others.
"Buttercup!"
"That was so cool!"
"Bitchin'!"
"Fucking awesome!"
"Holy shit!"
Buttercup rolls up to her knees and looks down at all the shocked faces. Even though she didn't stick the landing everyone seems to be extremely impressed with what she did. A prideful smile works its way on her face.
She looks up to the fourth floor where Donnie and Mitch stand. Donnie doesn't look too happy, but she expected that. What really bums her out is how instead of looking excited, or proud, or relieved even Mitch looks disappointed—like how she imagined Blossom would.
And it angers her just the same.
"Oh my God! That was so cool! Okay, I'll be honest I so didn't think you would do it." Gushes Lauren.
"For fuck's sake, she didn't even stick the landing. And it was my fucking idea first!"
"Shut up Donnie, you're just made 'cuz she broke your board."
After Buttercup narrowly avoided death, she was able to convince everyone to leave. As she expected, Donnie went against his word and started bitching about how she didn't stick the landing, which, yes, she didn't, but given the fact that she is lighter than Donnie and sober she doesn't think he would have been able to pull off the trick with nearly half the success she did.
Donnie didn't agree, but since his skateboard broke and no one was willing to lend them theirs there was nothing he could do about it. So now as they make their way out of the Rot, Donnie won't quit complaining. It's annoying, but the fact that everyone else is praising her makes up for the fact.
She feels amazing!
Not only does she feel like a complete badass but she also feels like these guys finally like her now, like she's been deemed good enough to hang with them. Donnie still hates her, more now that she took his thunder, and his girlfriend isn't much of a fan of hers either but at least she's not being nasty towards her. That's all you can really hope for with Jennifer Ramos.
"You're getting me a new one by the way."
"Yea, yea. I will, now will you stop your bitching."
Donnie flips her off, and everyone laughs, everyone but Mitch that is. He hasn't said a word since they left the construction site. Buttercup doesn't know what to make of it, other than he's still none too pleased about what she did. But why? Buttercup can't figure out. She knows he was against the whole idea, but it's none of his business what she chooses to do or not do. The least he could do is be supportive.
Or at least relieved that she survived, for fuck's sake.
"So why did you guys come down to Rot? The ramps at the curb too boring for you now?" Buttercup asks, referring to the skate park they normally go to —The Curb.
"Not for us, although I bet they're going to look stupid easy for you now." Says Craig.
"Donnie wanted to come see the H.I.M building."
"Lauren, shut up! That's none of her business." Says Jenni, elbowing Lauren.
"Ow! Why? She asked."
"Wait you came here on purpose? Why?" Mitch asks, speaking for the first time since leaving the construction site.
Nobody says anything and Donnie merely shrugs his shoulders, "I dunno. We were drunk."
He's clearly hiding something and everyone is helping him do it.
"Even drunk, nobody wants to hang out in the Rot. So why'd you guys come here?" Buttercup asks
"Jesus! I'm dropping out, okay. That good enough for you, cupcake?"
Buttercup is startled by Donnie's extreme reaction to a simple question, but to be honest, she's not really surprised that Donnie is dropping out. He skips most of his classes anyway.
"I heard HIM is recruiting, and I knew he was building something out here, so…"
"So you decided to come out here at night, and what? Mess up HIM's property? How's that going to get you a job?"
"I dunno. I was drunk remember."
"You still are." Laughs Craig.
"Whatever…I guess I wanted a job on his construction crew." He mumbles. "Most of HIM's hires are high school drop outs. I know some of them— told me about the building. Thought I could talk to the foreman, but when we got there everyone had left. So I thought why not take advantage of the situation, have a couple of beers, skate around a bit."
"Yea until things got out of control." Jenni mumbles.
Donnie throws his arm around her, "Awe, were you worried about me, baby? That's hot."
"Fuck off! I'm still pissed at you." Jenni slaps his arm, and Donnie laughs. Mitch chooses to say nothing. If he's at all upset about Donnie dropping out, he doesn't let on. He probably saw this coming.
"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I think Donnie is right. Why go on with school when we can just get a job with HIM."
"Craig no! You can't drop out! Who will keep me company in class—and what about prom!"
"Fuck Prom."
"Buttercup?" Lauren gasps. "You're not going to prom? That's the only upside of being an upperclassman."
Everyone looks at her curiously. Prom is such a mainstream and preppy school event; of course, they'd expect her to want to go.
"Dresses, cheap decorations, and bad music? No thanks, I think I'll pass."
"Well look who's being a little rebel. Next thing you know you'll be decked out in black and sporting a Mohawk.'' teases Donnie.
Buttercup merely rolls her eyes. Donnie is grasping at straws, there is no way he can lessen how amazing she feels.
"Don't drop out Craig. Those condos will be finished soon and then what? There's only so much work in Townsville—even less if you don't have a diploma."
Donnie huffs, "Thanks for the support, Mitch."
"Just saying."
"He's right, baby. Stay in school with me." Pleads Lauren.
"Actually," Stevie cuts in quietly, "HIM is probably going to be needing a lot more help, and probably for a long time too."
"What the hell are you talking about, Stevie?"
What the hell is he talking about?
"Apparently those condos back there are just one of many that they're planning on building out here."
"In the Rot?"
Stevie nods his head.
Development? In the Rot? That's so strange. The Rot is like the sinkhole of Townville—why would anybody bother upgrading it? Not that she doesn't thinks it's a good idea, but anytime anybody has tried to do anything to improve the Rot it has been a gigantic failure.
"How the hell do you know that?" Asks Craig
Stevie shrugs his shoulders, "Just do."
"Huh, well, looks like dropping out is looking like a great idea now—Isn't Mitchie?"
"Not really, Donnie. Do you really think they're going to go through with those plans? Who would even want to come live in the Rot."
"Mitch is right." Buttercup adds. "Those plans always fall through."
Jenni snorts, "Of course you'd side with Mitch. What you guys sleeping together now?"
"NO!" Buttercup protests, face red with embarrassment. She looks to Mitch for back-up but he's not looking at her. He's not saying anything either.
God! Is he still made at her? What the hell?
Lauren giggles, "You're being awfully quiet, Mitch."
"What are you guys actually sleeping together?" asks a stunned Craig.
"Dude." Mitch responds, sounding disgusted. "No."
"Figures," mumbles Donnie. "I don't expect girls from the 'burbs to put out so easily."
"Oh and us trailer trash girls do?" Jennie questions angrily.
"Babe, that's not what I meant."
"Then what did you mean!"
The angry couple begins to argue, everyone finds it amusing since they do it so often. The topic of her and Mitch sleeping together is forgotten, as everyone begins to laugh at the colorful language flying between the two lovebirds.
But the only thing Buttercup can focus on is how disgusted Mitch sounded about the idea of sleeping with her. It's not like she wants to sleep with Mitch either, at least not now. But...is she really that repulsive.
She sneaks a peek at Mitch, who like her isn't laughing at the couple's antics. He's looking at the ground, avoiding eye-contact with her.
Nothing bothers Mitch, not that his friends are dropping out of school, not that Donnie talks shit about her in front of him, and not even the fact that everyone apparently thinks they're sleeping together.
But the one time she sees him upset it's about fucking car rims, and about her doing something completely fucking awesome!
Buttercup clenches her fist tight, her short chipped nails digging into her skin. She's pissed, she's hurt. She just wants to go home.
"Hey guys, I think I should start heading home. It's late. See ya."
Buttercup is the only one that lives in the opposite direction from everyone else. They still haven't left the Rot, but she figures if she doesn't start heading in that direction now, it'll take longer to get home. No reason to upset Blossom any further she probably already is.
She doesn't know her way around the Rot, but she's planning on walking in the general direction of her house. There's bound to be a bus somewhere.
The group shouts their goodbyes, continuing in the same direction.
Mitch says nothing.
Unfortunately, she hasn't spotted any bus stops, at least none in her direction. She's not sure where she's going, but she's sure that if she follows the major street she's on that she'll eventually reach a street she recognizes, a street she can hopefully take home.
It's dark, really dark. Most of the street lamps don't work. Buttercup isn't afraid of the dark, but considering she's in an unknown environment—a dangerous unknown environment—a little panic starts to set in.
Mitch was right, there's no activity until nighttime in the Rot. Earlier when they had been looking for Mitch's friends they didn't see anybody, but now that the sun has set there's a lot more people out. They're not doing much, just sort of hanging around. They look at her when she walks by, and it unnerves her.
"Hey! Mami!" someone yells at her, "You looking for a good time?" Where she not in the Rot she would have flipped the guy off, but she's not going to do something so stupid, so instead she walks away faster. Guys like these are like rapid dogs— if you run, they will chase you.
"Hey! Where you going." The guys yell. She turns her head to see they've gotten up from where they were sitting.
Not wanting to risk them coming after her, she detours down an alleyway. Once out of sight she takes off running. She's not sure what's going to be on the other side of the alley, but as long as it's away from those guys, she's fine.
She reaches the other side and is glad to see a functioning street lamp. It's across the street; it's yellow tint illuminating a small little bar, and half the street. She sees a bus approaching, going in the direction she's heading. She looks around but can't find a bus stop.
Damn.
She runs after it, going into the middle of the street to try and flag down the bus driver. She doesn't get far before the bus passes her. She stops running; there's no way she's going to catch up.
"Fuck!"
"Buttercup." Someone grabs her arm, startling her. She jumps around, ready to land a punch.
"Whoa, Buttercup. It's me."
"Mitch? What the hell are you doing here?"
"I came to find you, make sure you get home okay."
"Oh." Buttercup lowers her fist. That's sweet of him, but she's still mad at him for ignoring her earlier. For making her feel disgusting.
"You didn't have to do that. I can find my way home on my own." Buttercup begins to walk away.
"Buttercup, wait! It's late, and it's dangerous out here. You can't go home by yourself."
Buttercup stops and turns around, furious. "Who the hell are you to tell me what I can and can't do!"
Mitch looks stunned and confused. He holds up his hands, the universal sign of 'I mean no harm' and says nothing—like always.
"Forget it."
"Wait, Buttercup!"
This time Buttercup doesn't wait; she keeps walking. "Buttercup!" Mitch calls out again, but Buttercup ignores him.
"I'm sorry!"
Buttercup halts, and turns back around, cautiously, "What are you apologizing for?"
Mitch looks at her uneasily. "To be honest, I'm not sure. But I know you're pissed off at me, and I didn't mean to imply you can't walk home on your own. But I am sorry for letting you walk home alone for one. It's dangerous out here, and you know that."
Is he serious? Has he not realized how much of a jerk he has been towards her? Buttercup huffs, "You're one to talk. You were pissed off at me first!"
"What? I wasn't."
Buttercup gives him a deadpan look.
"Okay, I was a little...upset."
"Why? What did I do?" Buttercup asks, a hint of desperation in her voice. Why were you mad? Why were you disappointed? She feels a sting in her eye, the tell-tell sign of angry tears wanting to break free. She breaks eye contact with Mitch, shifting her gaze to some point over his shoulder.
A man in a crumpled suit exists the bar. He is clearly drunk, barely able to stand straight. He stumbles around a bit before bending over and hurling over the sidewalk.
It's disgusting, but it helps keep the angry tears at bay.
"I just...I got freaked out I guess. Look, I didn't like that you jumped off the fourth floor of an unfinished building. Did it look cool, yes, but that's not the point. You let Donnie and everyone just kinda..." Mitch sighs, "You know you don't have to be like them to hang out with us right?"
Like them? What the hell does that mean? What? Does he think they pressured her into jumping off that building, or something? She decided that on her own. Mitch should recognize the difference! She doesn't need another mother hen telling her what she can and can't do.
"Mitch, I—" Before she can get the rest of her words out, Mitch pushes her to the side, narrowly avoiding being run over by a car.
They hit the ground, hard. "Holy shit, Buttercup are you okay?" Buttercup gets up slowly and winces. She didn't break anything, but there is a large scrape on her right arm, from her shoulder to elbow.
"Fuck! Who drives like that!"
The car continues forward, driving fast and reckless. It's a nice car—vintage, but with no license plates. Weird.
The car continues forward, even faster and swerves onto the opposite sidewalk, the one with the bar and streetlight, and before Buttercup can even blink or call out a warning, the car runs over the drunk man. He hits the windshield, flies up and then lands on the ground. The car doesn't stop or slow down.
"Oh my GOD! Oh my GOD!" Buttercup gets up and runs to the man, Mitch following after her.
"Hey! Man! Are you okay? Can you get up?" Buttercup calls out. The man remains unmoving. "Oh my God! He's seriously hurt. Mitch call an ambulance!"
"Buttercup." says Mitch.
"Hey! Man, get up! Can you hear me? There's an ambulance on the way."
"Buttercup."
"Hey! Sir!" Buttercup tries shaking the man, trying to get some response from him.
"Buttercup,"
Buttercup whips around, hysterical and frightened. "Mitch what are you doing! Call someone!"
"Buttercup," Mitch says again, calmly. "He's dead."
OMG! What? Someone died! GASP!
REALLY QUICK: If you notice anything odd in the story, like missing letters, words or punctioation, it's becuase the dox editor on FF messed up my original copy. I've gone through the whole thing twice, and honestly I'm tired, so if you see anything. Please excuse it! Thank you!
I feel so bad that this took so long to post, there are a lot of reasons for why I took forever to post this, but I won't bore you with the details. This chapter is longer than the first so I hope that makes up for it. Geez, I had so much fun writing this chapter. Buttercup is my favorite character and I just wanted to keep writing, which explains the length of this chapter.
I would also like to thank everyone that liked, favorite, followed, and reviewed this story. This story means a lot to me, and I'm thankful to all of you that gave it a chance. I really hope you guys continue to like and read my story.
And as always— friendly criticism is encouraged!
One last note: Before people ask me about this—if people as me about this, I want to make clear that the girls will be a little OC. They will have the same basic characteristics as they did in the show, but I want the characters to grow and for it to seem organic. The girls just lost their father, and they're in high school. They're going to have insecurities, they're going to be sad, and angry, and they're going to act out a little. They're going to worry about what other's think of them—what boys think of them.
So yea, they're not the super confident superheroes they are in the show. But remember it is an origins story. So yea.
Okay I swear this is the last note: For anyone curious about when the boys come in, there will be at least one rowdyruff making his appearance in chapter 4. So please, be patient.
Alright, see ya till next time!