I sat beside the sobbing child and pretended to cry – a trick I had adopted from Bubbles' babysitting little kids. The little boy let out a sniffle and managed to choke out:

"… Why are you crying?"

I looked up at him and sniffled, too.

"I can't tell you unless you tell me why you're crying first."

A tear rolled down his cheek as he hid his face with his arms. I gently touched his chin and lifted it up, wiping his tears with my thumb.

"Hey, you. Will you please tell me why you're upset?" I requested calmly.

"Well… these kids at the park wouldn't let me play with them… and they were being mean to me… so I left…"

I glanced up at Mitch, who was grinning slightly at my kind gesture. I playfully nudged the kid's arms with my elbow.

"We'll play with you. Come on."

I held his hand and led him to my bike.

"I'll even let you drive."

His almond-brown eyes lit up as I lightly eased him onto the seat.

Mitch's Point of View –

This girl was amazing. I would have never known that Buttercup could be so…. Nurturing… so motherly… Here she was, offering a total stranger her warm hospitality out of sheer, honest compassion.

I followed her slowly as she guided the boy along on her bike. When we reached the park, Buttercup lifted the child from the seat and placed him on the ground. She poked him in his cheek and he giggled. It was as if they had known each other forever.

"Oh, look! Can we go on the slides? And play hide and seek?" the boy requested joyously. Buttercup smiled at me. Whoa. That was a first.

"Do you want to?" she asked, her olive green eyes twinkling with hope. I couldn't help but say yes.

After five rounds of hide and seek, a game of duck-duck-goose, tag, dodge ball, and capture the flag, we were all sitting on the cool grass, gazing up at the pink sky.

"This was a fun day mom and dad – I mean…" the boy started. He blushed, realizing his mistake. But he didn't bother to correct himself.

I looked over at Buttercup, who was no grinning slightly as her cheeks flushed a rosy swirl of pink.

Blossom's Point of View –

I impatiently paced back and forth in Bubbles' room as she studied me with me with a worried expression on her face. I let out an exasperated sigh and collapsed onto one of the plush beanbags.

"It's been hours since they left!" I exclaimed, repeatedly glancing at the sky blue clock on the wall.

"It's not that late, Blossom – calm down. This is her first date. You should be happy for her," Bubbles reluctantly replied. She began to say something else, but faltered.

"I know, but there's something about him that's so… can't think of the word, but I don't like it."

"Are you jealous?"

"Of course not! He's not my type…"

"What is your type?"

"Intelligent, witty, logical…"

"How do you know he's none of those?"

"Because if he was, Buttercup wouldn't be interested in him!"

Bubbles sighed, tugging on her freshly washed, coconut scented hair.

"What about him make you think that he's… you know… not right?" she finally inquired, patiently waiting for my response.

I contemplated for a moment, my full pink lips formed into the 'smart girl pout' that I was known for.

"I honestly don't know. It's not anything I could immediately place a finger on, nothing I can fathom just by looking at him – and that bothers me. I fear what I don't know… but Buttercup is reckless. I'm afraid that she'll do something rash or foolish."

Bubbles blinked as she thought about what I just said.

"Buttercup – I'm sure – would tell us if something was wrong."

"Okay… I assume that she would."

Though, I knew I didn't. Bubbles was very tender and gentle – she would tell immediately if something was off. I was the levelheaded one of us – before I alerted my sisters, I would carefully analyze the situation and possible outcomes. Buttercup, however, was the irrational one. She would never tell us if something went wrong – rather, she would try to assess the situation herself, since she despised weakness or vulnerability.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang through my thoughts. I raced to the door, Bubbles not far behind. I ripped the locks ajar and opened the door to see Buttercup and Mitch in front of me.

Bubbles' Point of View –

"Buttercup, you're home!" I exclaimed, excited to hear about all the details. She simply blushed. So unlike her.

"Well, see you at school. Later," Mitch said, flipping the hair out of his piercing blue eyes.

"Bye," she said as he turned to leave.

Before she could get another word in, I grabbed her by the wrist and swept her into my room and propped her onto my sky blue bed comforter with white clouds just as Blossom walked in.

"What happened? Was it romantic? Did you go to the movies? Did you go watch the sunset? Did he buy you stuff? Did you buy him stuff? Did you get your first kiss?"

Questions rolled off of my tongue and rushed through my lips as I jumped on the bed hysterically.

"Calm down, Bubbles!" Blossom snapped.

I sheepishly sat down and waited patiently for Buttercup to explain.

She told the story vaguely and left out many details, but I didn't mind much. I felt happy for my sister. After Blossom went to bed, Buttercup tapped me on my shoulder as I was writing in my diary. I looked up, surprised at first, but my shock quickly formed into a smile. She looked embarrassed, ashamed even.

"Well…. Bubbles, you can't tell Blossom, promise?"

"Promise."

She sat on my bed and I listened intently as she retold the story in clearer detail. I grinned in content when she told me about the lost child calling her his 'mommy.'

When she was done, she left out of my room happily. I let out a lighthearted sigh as I turned off my lamp and tugged the covers over my shoulders.