Chapter 2

Buttercup walked home in haze. She wanted to walk, it was apart of her plan to learn how to function without her powers. She liked the steam she blew off from walking, especially today. Her mind was in a flurry of thoughts…bubbles was pregnant.

Once Buttercup had heard the gossip she found Bubbles. Together the two of them hid out in the bathroom during class so they wouldn't be bothered. Bubbles told her the truth, and Buttercup was left speechless. She didn't' know what to say to her sister, once their dad found out he was going to flip out. Suddenly her plan to head to Citysville seemed like a terrible idea, was it right for Buttercup to leave her family when Bubbles was going to need her the most? Blossom and their dad will be furious, there was no telling what would happen next. He seemed to be off lately…

Buttercup wanted to ditch but Bubbles insisted on staying. She said she needed to talk to Boomer and he agreed to meet her after school. Buttercup hugged her and promised that she would do whatever she could to help her. They both knew of the shit storm to come. Bubbles cried, Buttercup cried and went through the rest of the day in a haze and was now walking home.

She saw the pink streak crossing the sky as Blossom flew home. Buttercup took the long way home so she passed by the Firehouse, Bonsai park and Townsville cemetery. As she passed the cemetery she glanced around, it was a bright sunny day and many of the headstones gleamed in the light and vibrant with colorful flowers. As she looked around the graveyard she noticed someone who had his back to Buttercup kneeling at a grave that didn't have a headstone. Typically Buttercup would have kept her head down and kept walking…until that person kneeling at the grave stood up.

Buttercup's heart dropped. She recognized that long greasy hair and the blue and orange vest anywhere…it was Ace. Buttercup froze unsure of what to do, Ace still didn't notice her. He just stood there staring at the ground where there must have been a grave marker. Buttercup now became aware of just how silent the graveyard was, just her and Ace.

Buttercup hardly remember the last time she saw Ace or any of the gang green gang. The powerpuff girls had fought them off every once in awhile but it must have been around the time that Buttercup was about eight or nine. The gang green gang seemed to just disappear. Of course Bubbles and Blossom didn't notice. Buttercup did, she remembered her stupid little kid crush she had on the man who was now standing alone in the graveyard, mourning. She had gotten over her crush years ago but she never forgot about Ace.

Ace never turned to face her as he started walking away from the grave towards a red truck parked on the other side of the graveyard. She didn't realize she had been holding her breath the whole time. Buttercup sighed, she had momentarily forgotten about Bubbles and everything else that seemed important to her and now her mind flooded with curiosity. She thought of going over to the grave to see who Ace was mourning before deciding it wasn't her business. She had to get home.

Bubbles promised to be home within the hour after they all got out of school. Professor was making dinner tonight for the first time in days. Buttercup stripped off her leather jacket as sweat started to drip down the back of her neck. Summer was going to be a bitch, Elena wanted to go to the beach to play a gig. But could she really go now?

It was a sweet relief to step into the house with fresh blast of air conditioning. She let her heavy green backpack slump to the floor loudly.

"Buttercup!" Professor Utonium yelled from the kitchen, "please don't just slump your bag all over the place! Go upstairs and do your homework!"

Buttercup groaned loudly and picked up her backpack again.

"And drop the attitude!" Professor Utonium screamed as she pounded up the stairs.

Blossom was waiting in her door frame as Buttercup walked through hall.

"Why are you so late getting home?" Blossom questioned with her arms crossed.

"I walked genius," Buttercup said walking to her room and tried to quickly slam the door.

Blossom was just as quick she stopped it and followed her into her room, "Why would you walk? I don't get it we can fly."

"Yeah well I like to feel like a normal fucking human for once not the 'Powerpuff girls'" Buttercup said imitating the narrartors voice.

"Stop cursing so much, you're just going to make the Professor mad," Blossom said lowering her voice, "the professor got a cut in his pay."

Buttercup stopped and looked at her orange haired sister, "Really? How much?"

Blossom shut Buttercup's door now and crossed her arms, "I don't know. All I know is that when I got home on time, I heard the professor downstairs and his boss was telling him that the lab is getting its funding cut and now everyone's making less money."

Buttercup mulled it over in her mind, "We're not like going broke are we? He still has plenty of money right?"

"I don't know ok, and don't say anything all I'm saying is just behave!" Blossom ordered.

"Dammit…" Buttercup muttered.

The professor is going broke and Bubbles was pregnant.

"Where's Bubbles?" Blossom asked.

"I don't know," Buttercup said grabbing her bass and plugging it into the amp.

"Oh Buttercup c'mon!" Blossom begged.

Buttercup cut her off before she could finish that sentence and began playing a deep rift. This is what Buttercup loved about music, the loud noise just tuned everything else out and she could just let go play and laugh and have fun while she did it. It didn't take long for the professors voice to come booming over the small intercom he had installed in al the rooms in the house now, "Buttercup!"

"Hey we had a deal! I get to play until 5 o'clock under the condition that I maintain a B average in school!" Buttercup shouted loudly over her bass and she continued to shred.

"Fine! But 5 o'clock on the dot!" the professor yelled.

"I love you daddy!" Buttercup said back sweetly.

"Love you too honey," the professor said more calmly and the intercom beeped meaning it was off.

"See Blossom?" Buttercup said as she kept strumming the melancholy instrument, "I can play out dad as well as I play this bass!"

Blossom just screamed and threw her hands up in frustration and stormed out of Buttercups room. Also right on the dot, Buttercup heard the front door open at 3:59 indicating that Bubble's was home. Buttercup continued to strum her bass, now running over the songs she needed to memorize before they left for the summer. Even if Buttercup couldn't go now she was happiest when playing music. And she knew that this family was about to suck and that things were going to get bad.

At exactly 4:59, Buttercup stopped playing and unplugged her bass and put it on its pedestal. It was a perfect Fender bass, it was a deep sparkly green color with a white face. She named it Belladonna.

"Girls! Dinner!" the professor yelled from downstairs.

"Coming!" Blossom's sweet voice rang as she ran downstairs.

Buttercup stepped out of her room and saw Bubbles just coming out of her room as well. Her bright blue eyes shined with sadness.

"Just act normal," Buttercup whispered and squeezed her hand. Bubbles nodded as the two of them headed downstairs.

The professor and Blossom where already sitting at the table and Buttercup and Bubbles sat down. The professor was reading over a paper in his hand with a piece of bread in his hand. In the center of the tabled was hamburger helper. Again, for the second week in a row.

"Ok dad," Blossom said grabbing the paper out of his hand, "remember, no work during dinner."

"You're right Blossom," the professor said with a weak smile.

Everyone served up their own bowl not speaking a word. Buttercup was starving and…apparently so was Bubbles. She and Buttercup ate their food quickly. For the first five minutes of dinner no one said anything, nothing but the sounds of forks hitting the ceramic bowls. Buttercups ears were still ringing from her jam session.

"So…" the professor eventually said, "How's school?"

"Great! Mr. Thatch gave me 12 extra credit points for dressing up for my speech," Blossom reported happily.

'Dressing up' which now meant that Blossom dressed like a kindergarten teacher. Sweater vests and long skirts. Even their actual Kindergarten teacher Ms. Keane, or now as she goes Mrs. Jordan since she got married, dresses cooler that Blossom.

"Good, very good," the professor mused like a robot, "Buttercup? Bubbles? How's school?"

"Good," Bubbles said with a small smile, "I got my biology paper back and I got a 80."

"An 80?" the professor asked, "What questions did you miss?"

"I… I don't know," Bubbles said quietly.

"Well didn't you get your paper back?" the Professor asked.

"Well yeah but I don't have it here, it's in my locker," Bubbles said more sternly.

The professor sighed, "Honey you know you have to try harder, colleges are going to look at those grades when you go to apply."

"Not unless I join the police force like the mayor offered me," Bubble shot back.

Buttercup glanced at Bubbles, if they went into the police force they had to do two months of boot camp. That would be hard for her to do given her current condition.

The professor just slumped over and kept on eating.

"Hey dad is it cool if I get an extra two hours on my curfew on Friday night? Me and Elena are playing at Andrew's end of the year party. I swear I won't do anything illegal and I will be home right on time," Buttercup said pitching her case.

"Will there be any illegal activity going on at this party?" the Professor questioned.

"None of it will be done by me, I'm just going to play my set with the band and leave," Buttercup continued, "please dad? I did clean the bathroom clean all week and I got a B on my math exam just like you asked."

"Whoa if her B in math gets her two extra hours my 12 extra credit should get me the whole night," Blossom pointed out.

"Like you would even stay out that late anyways miss in bed my nine," Buttercup said rolling her eyes.

"Hey you know what they say, early to bed, early to wake, makes a lady smart, pretty and gr-" Blossom started to say.

"Oh will you stop saying that?" Buttercup groaned.

"Girls! Enough!" the Professor yelled and slammed the table, "Look Buttercup I'll let you go on one condition. You have to take both your sisters with you."

"What?" Buttercup and Blossom said in unison.

"But she's not even friends with my friends!" Buttercup replied.

"Yeah and I have plans already this Friday night, I'm reading all of the classic novels written in the 1920s!" Blossom squealed.

"Either all of you go together or none of you go," stated the professor.

"Fine," Buttercup grumbled, "it'll be a good chance for you to get out of your Ms. Politician clothes and try to not act like such a dork."

"I am not a dork!" Blossom replied.

"And you three girls had better be on time coming home, if you are one second late you're all grounded," the professor boomed.

"I won't be!" Buttercup said getting up and giving her dad a hug, "I promise I'll be right on time. Thank you!"

"Your welcome," the Professor said halfheartedly.

The rest of dinner was eaten in silence, the Professor went back down into the basement to get back to work, the girls all did the dishes, Buttercup did her homework as promised (even if she half assed it) and got ready for bed. As Buttercup laid there her mind was in a whirl of chaos. Bubbles was pregnant while the professor was going broke. And all the while she was planning on essentially running away to Citysville to chase down her dreams. Could she leave right now with her family's' collapse just on the horizon? Should she?

And amidst all that she couldn't stop her mind from wandering to Ace. Buttercup almost felt guilty for catching Ace at a vulnerable moment. She wondered who was buried in that graveyard but it didn't feel right to go find out. It was Ace's business. Still she was very curious about her first love, where had him and the gang been all these years? What was he up to now, and why was he back? As she drifted off to sleep she was haunted by the memories of how her first love broke her heart.