Chapter 5: Lies

Isn't it funny how just a couple weeks ago we were celebrating our one year anniversary and you had begged me not to be mad at you? That you just couldn't tell Brick and Butch yet about us because you wanted them to accept me as your girlfriend and not their enemy. I thought you were so sweet and thoughtful. I had the best boyfriend ever.

What a load of lies that turned out to be.

Bubbles robotically turns off her alarm and got out of her bed. She didn't make the bed, but that was normal. Blossom was the only one who was obsessive about order.

She pulls her hair into its familiar pigtails. She covers herself with her favorite baby blue spaghetti strap dress that went down to her mid thigh. She puts on the highest heels she had, they were black, five inches high, and were rounded and not pointy. Cute, they were very cute shoes.

All in all Bubbles looks very cute. The problem was something was off. No one could tell exactly what was off about her, but it unsettled them in some way. She could tell you why something was off. It was because bubbly Bubbles, the happy one, was not smiling.

And she didn't think she ever would again.

Blossom and Buttercup don't notice. They're too busy talking about sports and grades. Even the Professor gabs about some new experiment. Bubbles doesn't talk about anything. She just eats breakfast like she does every morning and flies to school with her sisters.

She sits in her classes. She takes her notes. She hands in her homework. No one notices that one small change. However, it wasn't such a small change.

By the time detention starts she sits down beside Butch. There's no other place to sit or maybe she might have chosen to avoid him. He doesn't waste time with formalities like 'hello'. "You need to let me tell you about what's going on Bubbles."

"I don't want to hear it." She says like she rehearses that very line, which she kind of had since she had said it so many times yesterday before she ran away from the sharp green eyes of the Ruff.

Butch pulls at his dark hair. "Bubbles, once you know everything it'll all be okay."

"No, it's not going to be okay."

"Why are you puffs all so stubborn?" He growls. "I'm going to tell you whether you like it or not."

"Don't." Bubbles pleads. For the first time that day there is an emotion clinging to her voice and she knows it is panic.

"Boom-"

"Don't!" She says louder. Her lip quivers and she feels like she's going to cry. All day she was able to act like nothing was happening. All day she was able to do what she was supposed to and not cry. Butch talks to her once and it all comes running out. She hates it that he can get past all of her measly defenses.

She hates it even more that because he can get to her he reminds her of Boomer, which makes her sadder.

Butch has no mercy for her feelings or her want for denial. "Around the time you two started going out we started high school here. He was going to surprise you, but there was this girl that started to cling to him. Seriously, she's a pretty violent whack job. She decided that she was in love with Boomer and that they were boyfriend and girlfriend and when Boomer tried to be honest with her that he was in love with someone else; she would threaten to hurt herself because she really couldn't do any damage to us..."

"Seriously Butch, stop. I don't want to hear lies just to make me feel better."

"They aren't lies, Bubbles. We knew the whole time that you and Boomer were a couple, but we all had to keep secrets because of what this girl would do to herself if she didn't get her way."

"Why not just tell me about it then?"

"Damn if I know." Butch scoffs. "The idiot probably thought he was protecting you."

Bubbles heart starts to melt at the story. She starts to think that Boomer really loves her and that this was all a misunderstanding, then Butch adds…

"So he tried to get you to break up with him, so it'd make it easier on everyone."

"Ha!" Bubbles surprises him by giving a laugh. She smiles and laughs some more.

"Bubbles…"

"Ha ha, easier on everyone! Ha ha ha."

Butch looks at her like she's crazy.

"That's just the thing, isn't it?" Bubbles asks him with her wacky smile. "It's easier for everyone. It's better for everyone. It's perfect for everyone else but me."

The tears come pouring out, but she's still smiling. She feels their wetness and asks herself how she got to be this pathetic. Was she always this way? Was what Buttercup usually says about her being a big baby true?

"There's no such thing as love." It shocks her that the sentence falls out of her lips, but the more she thinks about it the more it sounds right. The more it makes her feel strong and in control. She turns to Butch. "There's no such thing as love."

He shrugs. There's really no opinion he can offer her. And he's done his job in taking care of her and informing her of what was going on. There was no real reason anymore to coddle her or take care of her. Now she can run off to her sisters and have them fix it.

Bubbles senses him closing himself off from her. She smiles again and she feels happy. It's a weird kind of jaded happy, but it's happy no less. "Well, you've done your job. I guess you're free now right?"

Butch freezes, but he feels no need to lie. "Yeah…"

"Yeah." She copies. She shakes her head. "Yeah."

Why on earth would he have done it from the kindness of his heart anyway? Isn't that exactly why I didn't want to know anything at all?

Bubbles places her school books in her backpack. Butch raises an eyebrow at her.

"Where are you going?"

She shrugs. "Who knows?"

Oh, but she knew. There was a reckless kind of itch she felt the need to scratch now. There was something she needed to prove, something she needed to feel. She was going to look for a way to fill the void she now felt every step she took.

She was going to find out how true those words 'there's no such thing as love' meant.

Goodbye sweet, innocent, naïve, simple, loving, heartbroken Bubbles.

Hello damaged, strong, independent, risky, cold-hearted Bubbles. No, wait! She didn't want to be Bubbles anymore. Bubbles got her heart ripped out and stomped on no matter how many times she tries to piece it back together and love someone. Bubbles was an emotional fool who was sad one second and happy another. No, she could beat them at their own game.

After all, if they play that way she can too, right?

XXX

Bubbles waits until it's near midnight to sneak out of the house. Blossom is snoring heavily and Buttercup has fallen asleep with her headphones on. Neither one would notice she was missing.

She's still wearing the pretty blue dress. She debates on grabbing Blossom's red one, but decides against it.

She's going to need all the underestimation she can get when it comes to where she's going.

The worst place in Townsville; where no Powerpuff or cop goes. The Dump.