Disclaimer: We do not own Winx Club, nor do we own Hairspray. But, we did make Jephrey, Andrew, Nicolas, and Savannah~ :D Man, Jephrey is the best... Well, aside from Carlisle/Peter... and Riven. :) Riiiiight.
Anyway, Sarah isn't here with me today, either. And tomorrow I start back school. Sucks ass, I know. So that means less updates. Sorry, guys. I know this one was extremely late, but it took me a while to get the wording and the idea out, and then it wound up slightly sucking/lacking. Slightly shorter than the other two, as well. I have officially proven I cannot do Musa's view very easily. But I will prevail for the story~
Since you waited a while, I won't dawdle on useless things.
Hope I didn't disappoint; and let the story continue~ ;)
Chapter iii: Crushes Suck, Big Time
"Okay, so, Musa's getting speakers, Tecna's getting cables, Timmy's bringing tools, Stella's bringing snacks, and Riven and I are getting the movie and the music," the redhead listed off. "Is that right?"
"Yes. We will meet back here in exactly thirty-four minutes, forty-two seconds, and fifty-seven milliseconds," a fuchsia-haired girl spoke, causing the small group to stare at her, minus the chestnut-haired male with glasses.
"Right, Tecna. Whatever you say," the pig-tailed teen agreed.
"All right, let's go!" Stella exclaimed with an odd enthusiasm none of the others felt.
"Should we really bring all of this? I mean, we didn't let Sky know, and..." Flora trailed off as Musa waved her hand.
"Don't worry. If his parents care, I can deflect that easily," the bluish-black-haired girl answered simply.
"Yeah, and all Bloom has to do is bat her eyes and smile at Sky, and any complaints from him or Diaspro will be silenced," Stella teased.
"Whatever," the aforementioned girl retorted, rolling her eyes. "Let's just go; we're losing time to actually get the supplies we're supposed to be getting," Bloom sighed, trying to find the easy way out.
"Come on, then," the turnip-haired male muttered, as cross as he'd been every time Musa had seen him. The two siblings walked away from the group – as did Tecna and Timmy – and it was awkwardly silent for a moment.
"God, you're so right, Stella. How depressing is that, though?" Musa sighed as a slightly delayed response.
"I know, right? You should, like, so have seen them yesterday," Stella answered.
"I think you're reading too much into it," Flora murmured, frowning.
"No, he was blushing at lunch today and had the most difficult time thinking and speaking. Normally he's not so disoriented. I think there's something about Bloom that appeals to him, suits his fancy," Brandon cut in, the only male still hanging around.
"Okay, I'm going to be late at is it is. See you guys back here soon." Musa was swift in her parting; if there were some things she didn't want to dissect, her cousin's odd attraction to a girl he barely knew was one of them.
"Jeez, your cousin live far enough out of the district?" Bloom questioned, seeing as they'd driven for about forty minutes already, just from the school's parking lot.
"And in the middle of nowhere?" Stella added, gesturing to the forest and fields on either sides of the road.
"They like their privacy. And no one's crazy enough to think about coming all the way out here to ste—whoa, turn left here!" Musa yelled to the male driving.
The three girls piled in the back didn't have a chance to brace themselves as the car turned sharply to make the turn successfully.
"Damn, Riv, easy on the turns. You're going to throw me out of the car," Bloom complained, having been the unfortunate one to be squished into the door by Stella and Musa.
"Well, if someone would have warned me sooner," Riven snapped.
"I told you to go slowly, Turnip Head. It's not my fault you had to be a speed demon," Musa growled. That boy was a major pain in the ass.
"Guys, it happened and we're fine. Don't argue about it," Flora sighed from the front of passenger seat.
"You weren't getting slung across the backseat, Flo," Stella disagreed.
"Okay, princess, you were cushioned. If anyone's going to complain, it should be my sister," Riven retorted to the blonde.
"All right, shut up! Stell, not a word until we get to Sky's house!" Bloom exclaimed exasperatedly. "Then you can whine to Brandon, who might actually care."
It was silent for a moment as Stella gasped. Then the girls laughed, causing Riven to shake his head.
"Girls," he muttered, only succeeding in making them laugh harder.
Clearing her throat to stop her laughter, Musa spoke directions once again, "Turn right up here, in between the cherry blossom trees."
The turn wasn't even a third as bad as the last one, and the car grew silent as they pulled up to a wrought-iron gate. Musa unbuckled her seat belt and crawled partially into the front of the car, leaning over Riven to rest her arms on the now-open car window.
"Name and purpose," came a male voice from the box protruding from the gate.
"Hey, Jephrey, it's Musa. Care to let me and my friends in the car behind me in? We're doing an assignment for the school musical," the pig-tailed girl answered, grinning. She loved Jephrey; he'd always covered for her and Sky when they snuck out as kids. Even then that was the only reason they ever collaborated together. Sad, really. But whatever, that all aside...
"Of course, Miss Musa. I will be at the door to greet all of you," the voice replied, sounding exponentially warmer.
"Thanks!" she called back as the gate opened. With a sigh she pushed herself up and then back into the back seat. "Just follow the driveway now."
"Musa, do they have, like, butlers and maids and cooks... like, staff?" the redhead to her right questioned in a soft voice.
"Uhm, kind of... but don't freak out about it in front of Sky. He can't stand it when people act all weird towards him," Musa explained, biting her lower lip. Hey, just because he was her cousin and they tended not to get along didn't mean she didn't care about his insecurity; she did care at times.
"Oh, my God! You said he lived in a house, Musa! This is a freakin' mansion!" Stella screeched, her amber eyes wide. "It's bigger than my home!"
"Okay, okay, I tweaked the truth a bit! Don't have a damn cow!" Musa sighed in annoyance, massaging her temple.
The car halted, the engine cut, and doors opened. Musa slid out after Bloom, who was being fairly quiet, considering the gasps coming from the other three, even Riven, though they probably came from the motorcycles and cars lined along the drive.
"This is amazing!" Tecna's voice sounded a few feet behind them, followed by Timmy's appreciative whistle.
"Hey, are you okay?" Musa asked softly, and she blinked as Bloom turned to look at her confusedly.
"Yeah...?" the redhead answered, her brows furrowed. "Why?"
"You just went oddly quiet, and I thought something might have upset you," the teen replied.
"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to worry you. I just... I didn't think people seriously did that, especially not in this town," Bloom answered, giving a half-smile.
"I know what you mean. It's definitely a bit weird," Musa agreed with a laugh.
They both left the other five "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing over random things as they headed to the front door. It opened before they got there and framed two people in its arching: Sky and an older, brunette male with the normal build of a thirty-three-year-old.
"Hey," the blonde greeted them first, grinning as he looked at the girl on Musa's right.
It was times like these Musa thought he was so pathetic.
"Hey," Bloom replied, looking from him to the male beside him. "I guess this is Jephrey?"
"Oh, yes," Sky replied, an embarrassed blush spreading across his face that caused Musa to grin.
"Hi, Jephrey. I'm Bloom Peters. Uhm, I hope it's not a problem that my brother's touching the cars and motorbikes; he's fascinated with anything that has wheels and wiring to a motor," the red-haired teen laughed.
"That's perfectly fine, Miss Bloom," the male answered, and Musa anticipated the girl's next words, not even caring to stop her.
"Okay, that makes me feel old. Drop the "miss," Jeph," Bloom spoke, putting up a hand in protest. "Hmm... Can I call you that? Jeph?"
"You may call me whatever you wish," Jephrey answered, smiling. That was a good sign. He liked Bloom already.
"Awesome. Now, Blondie, you might want to round up the others while we get stuff out of the cars," Bloom finally addressed the pig-tailed girl's cousin again before she turned on her heel and headed back to the cars.
"Stuff?" Sky inquired, quirking a brow.
"Yeah; snacks, speakers, music, the norm; you know, stuff," his cousin answered.
"Musa..." the blonde groaned.
"Hey, it wasn't my idea. Since you left with Diaspro, like, immediately after the meeting was over, Bloom took the liberty of assigning us stuff to bring, along with bringing the movie we have to watch since, you know, none of us actually have it," Musa replied, taking note of how his expression changed marginally when Bloom's name was mentioned as the perpetrator. "Man, Stella and Brandon were right. You are crushin', and bad."
"I... that's ridiculous! I don't even know her!" the male protested, a blush coloring his face.
"Mh, I heard about how you knew her name and flirted with her yesterday. You know, it's okay to crush, Sky. You're only in high school, so it's not like we expect you to marry Diaspro, or any other girlfriend you get," Musa explained to the teen. "Oh, and to explain something I realized on my way here: you sound like you've watched her all year with what you told Brandon. Take that into account, and you have your reason for feeling like this. It just reared its ugly head a bit late," she teased with a grin. "Well, I'm gonna go help her before she comes to bite my head off."
"Holy mother of God," Bloom started, "I'm so freakin' hungry!"
Musa laughed once again at her cousin's expression of shock but relief. Bloom had been the only one to accomplish keeping her astonishment hidden in front of Sky. The others had failed the moment they walked in the door, Riven having said, "Hot damn," about something only guys would appreciate it seemed. They had been given the short-versioned tour of Sky's mansion and had finally come to the proclaimed "movie and game room" where everyone else was waiting.
"Yeah, dude, it's already past six," the dirty blonde male agreed, and Musa shook her head at him. Nicolas was always hungry.
"Nick, you're always hungry," Sky spoke his cousin's thoughts, and everyone laughed at Nicolas's crestfallen look.
"You guys are so mean," said male murmured, playing.
"Awwe, we don't mean anything by it, Nicolas," Bloom played along, patting the boy on the shoulder.
"Speak for yourself," Brandon retorted, grinning.
"Brandon's just an ass," the redhead waved off, still playing as she wrapped her arms around Nick's torso.
"If you even think about draping your arm around her shoulders, it'll be gone before you say, 'Ow,'" Riven growled before things went any further.
He was actually kind of cute when he was being the protective older brother. Those keywords being kind of.
It was at this time that everyone in the room, excluding Riven, burst into laughter.
Bloom released Nicolas to go and hug her brother, who stood there stiffly, which caused Musa to smile.
Then, his violet eyes settled on her, and she blinked before looking away, an odd warmth creeping up her neck and into her face. What the hell? She never blushed, especially not because some guy noticed she was watching him and his sister with a smile.
"Okay, seriously, I am hungry," Bloom finally spoke again.
"The world doesn't revolve around you, and we all heard you the first time," a female snapped, and Musa found herself rolling her eyes.
"Nice to see you, too, Bitch Barbie," Bloom replied sarcastically.
Musa was really liking the redhead now; they might become good friends in the near future.
"Oh, Red's spitfire's out again," Brandon called out. Like that needed to be said?
"Bloom, we'll go and get something. Diaspro, really, that wasn't needed. I'm hungry myself," Sky spoke up quickly to keep a fight from breaking out, obviously not noticing he'd just taken Bloom's side rather than his girlfriend's. Everyone else, however, noticed. Jeez, her cousin needed help.
"Uhm, Sky?" a voice cut through the silence, one Musa knew well. A smile curved her lips as almost everyone turned to find the speaker in the form of a strawberry blonde girl in the entryway of the room. "I thought your friends might be hungry when they all finally got here, so I got Jephrey to order pizza. It's downstairs in the kitchen, but..."
"I don't know who you are, but you've officially taken the spot as my favorite person," Bloom broke the silence first with a grin.
"That's Savannah, my cousin," Musa spoke next, and Bloom blinked, studying the little girl momentarily.
"Yep, the eyes give it away, now that I'm looking for a resemblance," Bloom agreed, nodding. "How old are you, Savannah?"
The girl opened her mouth, glanced in Sky's direction, and then shut it.
Bloom followed the glance and rolled her eyes before looking back at the girl. "I don't want to hear your brother say it; I've heard him talk plenty."
Like Musa expected, the little girl remained silent.
"Okay, how 'bout this: I'm Bloom Peters, and I'm sixteen years old. I have a pet bunny named Kiko, and your brother and his friends had no clue I existed until yesterday afternoon, but today all of them have tried to act like we've been best friends for years. And his girlfriend hates me because of it."
Musa grinned as the girl's face transformed from expressionless to happy and a giggle sprouted forth.
"I told you this morning: I knew you existed, but you gave off one of those vibes!" Sky exclaimed in exasperation, and Bloom mocked him, which only made the girl giggle more.
"Now, I told you about me. Will you tell me how old you are now? Please?" the redhead asked, squatting down to Savannah's height.
"I'm seven," the little girl answered, grinning at Bloom.
"I miss that age," Bloom sighed dramatically.
"I'm sure," Musa laughed, earning a childish response: Bloom stuck her tongue out. "So, as you may have guessed, this is my smarter cousin."
"Yep, this is our little princess," Sky agreed, for once not arguing, as he moved around Bloom and plucked the seven-year-old from the ground while she giggled.
"Alright, this is killing me. You watch Disney movies?" Stella spoke, asking the most random question.
Not to mention the most idiotic.
"Of course," the girl answered, willing to be more open now that Bloom had passed her little "test."
"Oh goodness," Flora's sigh came next.
"Which Disney Princess is your favorite?" Stella's eagerness was a bit freaky, to be honest.
Savannah did pause to think, however. "Ariel," she answered after a short - very short - moment.
"Yes!" Bloom cried out in what seemed like victory. "I think she's become my permanent favorite person."
"Y'know, this is all great and very intriguing, but I'm starving," Nicolas sighed for the second time that evening.
"Can I eat with you guys?" Savannah inquired, and Sky paused a second too long, making the mistake of glancing at Diaspro.
Savannah's good mood dropped instantly.
"Oh, come on, Sky, she's your little sister. She's not bothering us," Bloom protested, and though he took a moment to debate it, Musa knew Savannah would be dining with them one way or another. Sky could hardly resist his little sister and obviously had problems when it came to Bloom; how could he withstand if they both teamed up on him?
"Alright, but you asked for it," Sky consented with a grin at Bloom.
Musa took this chance to look at Riven and see if he was in protective brother mode. She wound up disoriented as her gaze met a violet one. Another blush started to creep up her neck, and she looked away. This was really starting to freak her out.
First, she was blushing because she was embarrassed because he'd been looking at her when she'd chosen to look at him. She'd never felt embarrassed about something like that before, so why now? And why had she been blank-minded before?
But the thing that bugged her the most was this: why had he been looking at her in the first place?
Soooooo, how'd you like it? I'm trying to apply a slight concept and keep tradition, just tweaked: crushing at first sight. Obviously it's not that difficult for people to be attracted to someone; I mean, come on. There is not a single person alive who can't say they were physically or emotionally attracted to someone because of the way they acted or looked or whatever. It happens. No one's said anything about it, but I don't want people thinking that I'm trying to rush things. I'm not going to; believe me, you'll be lucky if Musa and Riven and Bloom and Sky actually have an established relationship by the end of this story. Diaspro will be dumped on her ass by the end, yes, but there's no telling what will happen in other relationships.
I liked this part, really. Just because of the ties in it. I mean, it had a little bit of fluff, yes, but that didn't do much damage. That and the first showing of Bloom slightly destroying Sky and Diaspro's relationship.
What do you think about Savannah? Smart move, bad move? Sarah and I both agreed that Musa should be able to connect with someone aside from Riven and Bloom, so we gave Sky a little sister. She'll help pave the way for Diaspro getting herself thrown out of the picture. Obviously Savannah likes Bloom, and that little bond there will grow. And then just as obviously, Savannah hates Diaspro because Sky always puts his girlfriend's wants about others first, so where Diaspro dislikes everyone who could possibly take attention away from her, Bloom couldn't give a rat's ass because she can fit in with people if she really wants to. Thus the significance of Savannah.
I left out Helia and Tecna and Timmy didn't say or do much. BUT~ that was this chapter. I kind of split it somewhere in the middle so that it didn't wind up being too long, but the night will continue in the next chapter, which will be perceived from Riven.
Alright, I've been debating back and forth about this because of obvious reasons: I want to show things from other people's eyes, but I don't want to go through 10 people because that's 10 chapters, and it will quite posibbly end up sucking. Do you guys care if, after Riven's chapter, it just switches views depending on what I want to happen? I already have specific scenes set out for Flora and Helia, Stella and Brandon, and Tecna and Timmy, and I know in what general area it'll happen. I just think it'll help the story progress better if I do it randomly from chapter 5 on. Let me know?
PrayerSenshi: Sarah and I are both glad you're loving the story. ^_^ I hope we can continue like this with the ideas that sprout forth randomly.
macabrexpurinsesu: Thank you. We're glad you're enjoying it. Here's yet another installment for you to read. Late, but here nonetheless.
lulubell1234: Wow. We appreciate your opinions, really. I wish I could tell you exactly what we have planned, but then that'd be boring for you to read. Let's just say that Sky and Diaspro have some problems, like every couple, but they're too stubborn to do anything smart like break up. Diaspro likes controlling people, so that's her main attraction towards Sky. As for the girls being friends and what-not, that'll definitely happen. What kind of WC story would this be if they didn't? ;D As for Bloom... you'll just have to read and find out about her, won't ya? XD
Well, see you guys soon(ish)~
~-=+The Dynamic Duo+=-~