Townsville High
Well guys, it's the big chapter. People have told me how excited they were for this chapter so I'm sort of nervous, I just hope I get it right and it's even better than what you all expected! Thanks to everyone who's stuck by me until now, you're all angels! I wouldn't have gotten this far without all of you so thanks to you all! :). It's VERY long and filled with lots of exciting twists and surprises, so please enjoy it!~
Chapter 39 - Fight or Perish
Last Chapter - Blossom started to feel guilty about her eating disorder. Tyler tried to get the truth out of Sky. Buttercup and Butch got to know each other better and realised they have a lot in common. &Maxine revealed to Buttercup that she was pregnant with Brody's child.
By the way, this chapter was so long I have to put it in two parts!
PS; there will be a lot of flashbacks in this chapter and I have changed it a little from what the 'Next Chapter' part said in the previous chapter, only one part of it.
"You cannot run away from weakness. You must fight it out or perish; and if that be so, why not now and where you stand?" - Robert Louis Stevenson.
Brick's POV
I remember one time a year ago, before the girls came back, when everything felt right. Maxine was excelling in boxing with her boyfriend by her side, Tyler was enjoying his player antics and getting his arch-enemy - who turned out to be his sister - into trouble all the time, Butch was on the football team with a different girl by his side every week and Boomer was just my fun-loving and strangely smart brother.
Somehow this year has managed to change all of that, some in a good way and some not. I guess at some point in your life you have to accept change and consequence, but it was just easier to deal with life when it wasn't always so hard. That's adolescence, right? Learning that things aren't always going to go the way you want them to. If you can accept that, I think you can do anything.
My eyes were glued to the television in Blossom's living room. We where sat on her couch watching this life-time movie. It's not really my thing but Blossom seemed to be enjoying it, so I put up with it. I could hear Buttercup upstairs in the shower, and Bubbles was in the kitchen making us all breakfast. It's good to see someone in this house can cook, once Buttercup tried to cook for us and let's just say I'd rather eat Butch's cooking. Even though all he knows how to make is..well, toast.
Blossom was curled up next to me with a large white blanket covering us. It was pretty cold out but luckily we had checked the weather forecast and it was going to get very sunny in the next few hours. It was Saturday, and Blossom was feeling back to normal again, so we're going through with our plans of a night out that we had to cancel.
"Good morning, people." Buttercup's voice called as she made her way down the stairs. Me and Blossom turned our heads to see her stood, looking very much not like herself. She was wearing dark blue skinny jeans that had lots of rips in them, green high-top shoes, a dark green shirt and a single black fingerless leather glove on her hand. She usually never made effort each day, but for some reason, today was different.
"You look good, Buttercup." Blossom replied to her with a grin.
Buttercup rolled her eyes before parking herself on the armchair beside the television. Obviously she didn't like to take compliments. I wasn't surprised. We all watched the television for a few minutes as we heard the sizzling sound of bacon being made in the kitchen. I felt Blossom move in closer to me, laying her head on my chest and reaching for my hand. A smile tugged at my lips as I held her hand.
This was always the best way to spend my mornings. Sitting with my beautiful girlfriend, watching television with her, having my daily friendly banter with Buttercup and waiting for breakfast, which was always amazing whenever Bubbles made it. I don't think I could find any better way to spend my morning than just this, it's perfect.
I noticed Bubbles walk in with a tray in her hand, and four plates sat on it. "Good morning, Buttercup." Bubbles smiled at her sister who had just woken up a half hour before. Buttercup nodded at her as she walked past. Bubbles put the tray down and handed Blossom a plate of strawberry waffles, her favorite. Then she handed me mine which was bacon and eggs. Then Buttercup's, which was lots of bacon and two pancakes and finally she sat down with hers which was blueberry waffles.
"Boomer texted me a few minutes ago, by the way." Bubbles said as she toyed with her food using her fork. "He's coming over with Butch in ten minutes."
Again, I was not surprised. I spent a lot of my time in this house when I wasn't at school or out with the gang, so they always get bored at the house. They came over sometimes. Just to get out of our dull house.
"You do realise that they're going to ask you to make them breakfast too." Blossom said quietly as she lifted her head to look at her sister.
"Well they're not going to get the answer they want." Bubbles laughed.
I looked over to Buttercup to see her plate completely empty. Bubbles had just handed it to her not even two minutes ago. God, that girl eats way too fast, it's inhuman. Reminds me of Butch. He's worse though, it wouldn't have even taken him thirty seconds to eat all of that.
"You eat way to fast," I chuckled. "Sometimes I forget just how alike you and Butch are."
Buttercup smirked at me, that same smirk I see from her all the time. "We're not that much alike. I mean, I'm funnier than him, cooler than him and so much more awesome than he is."
I laughed at her statement. Blossom and Bubbles laughed along with me, and I felt Blossom shift uncomfortably next to me. She hadn't eaten much, in fact she had barely eaten one of the waffles. I raised my eye-brow and looked at her, feeling her look right back at me.
"Are you still feeling ill?" I asked curiously, my voice filled with concern.
Blossom swallowed. "No, I feel perfect, I'm just not that hungry." She said before looking down at her plate and toying with her food. She had been acting so weird lately, but I always dismissed it. Maybe she did just feel unwell but she wasn't wanting to tell me, I don't know.
About six minutes later, me and Bubbles had finished our breakfast and Blossom was still in the middle of hers. Bubbles had collected mine and Buttercup's plates and headed into the kitchen to put them in the sink. We heard someone knock at the door and instantly knew that it was my brothers.
Bubbles walked out of the kitchen and made her way to the front door. She opened it and as I looked over, I saw Butch and Boomer. Butch was wearing his usual grey cotton trackies, a green short-sleeved shirt, green sneakers and a black hoodie. I turned to look at Boomer who was wearing a light blue long-sleeved shirt, darker blue jeans and white sneakers.
"Hey." Boomer said to Bubbles before giving her a quick hug. Butch walked past them and his eyes instantly fell on Buttercup, who was smirking at him, as usual. He walked past the couch - not even bothering to acknowledge me and Blossom - and sat down on the edge of the armchair that Buttercup was sitting on.
Buttercup immediately tried to shove Butch off of the arm of the chair but he wouldn't budge. I laughed before turning back to the television. The life-time movie we had watched was now over. Bubbles and Boomer walked over to the seat that Bubbles had been sitting on and sat down, Boomer on the arm of the chair just like Butch.
"Hey, who's making breakfast?" Butch said as his eyes drew hungrily to the plate in Blossom's hand. Blossom turned to Bubbles and smiled knowingly.
"I told you." Blossom told her with a short laugh.
Bubbles rolled her eyes. "I'm not making any more, I've already had to cook for these three."
"I gave you a kidney, the least you could do is make me breakfast." I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before Butch used that to his advantage. Still, I knew it wouldn't work. I looked at Bubbles who had crossed her arms and narrowed her bright crystal eyes at my brother.
"That's not even funny." Bubbles responded, not amused in the slightest.
I smiled as I tried not to laugh at their not-so-friendly banter. I always did find it funny how we all got on so well with our counterparts, being in love with them and Buttercup and Butch being best friends, yet it was always so hard to get on with the other siblings that weren't our counterparts. Me and Bubbles get on great, as do Butch and Blossom for some reason, and Blossom and Boomer have some casual banter occasionally, but that's about it.
Buttercup looked at Bubbles and smiled. "Come on, Bubbles, just do it."
"Okay, fine. But you're on dish washing duty so you'll have to wash the plates." Bubbles spoke with a hint of victory in her tone. Buttercup hadn't thought of that, obviously. Me, Blossom and Boomer watched in amusement as Buttercup turned to Butch with wide eyes, like the thought of doing dishes was the worst thing ever.
"Butchy boy, if you value our friendship, you'll stay hungry." Buttercup said, well, more like demanded. Butch rolled his eyes at Buttercup and shrugged. Sometimes I envy Buttercup. She's the only girl that can demand him to do something and get away with it. I guess it's because she's his best friend? Who knows.
Me and Blossom laughed at what she had said. I smiled down at her. Blossom's laugh was always so musical, like a sound I could listen to forever and never get bored with. Whenever she laughed it was like nothing was wrong in the world. Sounds very corny, right? Oh well. She brings the side out of me.
Normal POV
Blossom was watching television while ignoring the mess in the background. Bubbles and Boomer were having a small argument about what to do today whereas Butch and Buttercup were having a massive argument about the same thing. Obviously what to do today meant more to them, because even though it was oblivious to Boomer, Brick and Bubbles, they were on the last day of their countdown.
Brick was ignoring them too, just watching television with his girlfriend in peace. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her into him. Blossom smiled as her head lay on his chest. A couch cushion went flying across the view of the television - thrown by Buttercup - but Brick and Blossom ignored it, not wanting to join in the argument.
"We're not going to some gross sleazy club, Jojo. Come up with something more productive!" Buttercup put her hands on her hips as she looked at Butch with angry eyes. Boomer and Bubbles had stopped their small..discussion of their own, and both raised their eyebrow's at Butch and Buttercup.
"Why does what we do tonight matter so much, anyway?" Boomer asked with a hint of curiosity and confusion tugging at his voice. Butch and Buttercup sent each other a glance before looking back at Boomer and shrugged in unison. Blossom and Brick glanced at each other and smiled, purposely oblivious to all of this.
"What is the plan for tonight any way, Brick? Ideas?" Boomer turned to Brick with a raised eye-brow. Brick finally tore his eyes away from the television and looked at Boomer.
Brick smiled. "It's sorted. Me and Max had plans two days ago but we had to cancel it because Blossom wasn't well, so we're planning to have a night out tonight. You're all welcome to come. It's not really a party, just a few friends out for the night." Brick responded.
Blossom rolled her eyes but smiled. A 'night out' always ended up turning into a party when it came to this group of friends. They all seemed to like the idea. It had been a while since they all had a 'night out'. Boomer looked at Bubbles, who smiled, liking the idea. Butch and Buttercup shrugged and nodded at Brick.
"We're in." Bubbles said.
Brick looked at Blossom. "You want to come?"
Blossom thought about it for a few seconds. She really needed a good night out, surrounded by her closest friends. It seemed like a great idea, she just wasn't sure if she was up to it. Then again, she was trying to get back to herself, and going out with her friends was very Blossom. She nodded at Brick with a serene smile on her pale face.
"Great, just don't get ill again." Brick joked with a chuckle. Blossom smiled fakely and nodded. She felt horrible. Brick had cancelled his big night out with his best friend just for her, and he looked after her. Blossom would have felt appreciated but she still felt horrible. It was her own doing that made her ill, Brick shouldn't have dropped everything to help her when it was her fault in the first place.
Blossom had never felt such a harsh sting of guilt in her whole life. This whole eating disorder started because she needed something to define herself, something to make herself better and worth it, but she wasn't worth it at all anymore. She had lied to her dear sister that only wanted to help, and to her boyfriend who's given up so much for her.
She had felt guilt before, but this was something else. This was the worst form of shame and remorse anyone could ever experience. She wanted this to stop, to be able to stop destroying herself and she was trying to do that, but as Buttercup would say, old habits die hard.
"So, where is this night out going to be?" Butch asked as he returned to his seat, well Buttercup's seat. Buttercup strode over to him and yanked his arm to pull him out of her seat, and then sat down herself with a victorious smirk on her face. Brick chuckled before answering.
"Remember that little forest we went to on Brody's birthday? Well even under the crazy circumstances, that was one of the best parties we've ever had, so Max suggested we do it there. She asked me to invite Brody if I want, so let's hope that won't be awkward." Brick responded.
Buttercup looked away and her face was some-what blank, deep in thought. She wanted Brody with her tonight. Maybe that meant she was going to tell him tonight. She would have to tell someone else tonight, considering it was going to look very strange if she wasn't having a drink. Maxine was a big drinker when it came to her planned 'night out's', so someone was bound to notice it.
She was going to go over soon, to talk some sence into that girl. What Buttercup wasn't yet aware of, was that a lot of secrets were going to come out tonight, was Maxine's one of them? She'd have to wait and find out..
Maxine sat in the dim light of her bedroom. She looked down at her phone before looking back at the window - the curtains were fully closed, shielding the light. Brick had just called her about their night out, and she put a show. Saying, "Brilliant, so excited. You should invite Brody, if you want, don't want to exclude him." A fake smile was on her voice when she spoke, trying to convey happiness like nothing was wrong.
As soon as the call had ended, her smile was gone, like it was never there in the first place. She thought about what Buttercup had said the day before. That she would be there for Maxine, that she wasn't alone, but right now at this moment, Maxine felt more alone than ever.
She could tell Sky - they had gotten very close - but Sky would hold judgement in her eyes and mutter something about how useless boys are. That always confused Maxine, how she was in a new relationship with Tyler yet she seemed to despise most boys. She could tell Butch, but he's Brody's best friend, he would tell him right away. She could tell Bubbles, or Boomer, or Blossom, or..Brody.
You need to tell him.
Her mind kept screaming that at her. She knew that the little voice in her head was right, she did need to tell Brody. But not yet. No. She wasn't even nearly ready to tell him. Or even speak to him for that matter.
"Honey?," Maxine's head whipped to the door where Mellisa stood. Mellisa's smile was heart-warming and mother-like. "Buttercup is here again."
Maxine nodded - signaling to let her in. Mellisa stepped out of the dull room that used to be so bright and joyful. Seconds later, Buttercup strolled in and took a seat on Maxine's bed. She smiled at Maxine like nothing was wrong, it made Maxine feel a lot more comfortable.
"Ready for tonight?" Buttercup asked.
"Yeah," Maxine nodded. "I just need to find something to wear."
Buttercup stood up from the bed and walked over to Maxine's very large closet. It was wooden with a burgundy type of colour. Maxine was always a vintage girl. Her bedroom was filled with vintage stuff, which is something you wouldn't expect to see in Maxine Slater's room. She sometimes dresses like it too, with classical and old-fashioned dresses, but not often.
"I know I'm not exactly the best with chosing outfits. That's more of Bubbles' stuff," Buttercup said as she opened the closet and skimmed through the variety of shorts, shirts, jeans and dresses. "But she isn't here so I'll find something cool."
Maxine watched curiously as Buttercup began to throw various types of clothing material behind her, hitting Maxine with some of them, until she laid eyes on the perfect choice. Buttercup grabbed the items of clothing and spun around before throwing them on Maxine, the leggings covering her face.
"Put them on." Buttercup said.
Maxine smiled as she tore the leggings away from her face and picked up the clothes. She headed into the bathroom which was right outside her bedroom door, to the left. Buttercup waited patiently as Maxine got ready. She strolled over to the dresser beside Maxine's bed and examined the items on it.
Buttercup noticed that there was a photo-frame that had been turned down, so that the picture was shielded and hidden. She raised her eye-brow and picked it up. There in the picture was Maxine, Brody, Brick and Butch. They all looked so young, maybe about fourteen or fifteen.
In the picture, Maxine was smiling. Brody had his arm around her lovingly. Butch was beside Brody, smirking, of course, and Brick was beside Maxine with the biggest of smiles on his face.
Buttercup smiled and put the picture back down, but sitting up so that it wasn't hidden. Just because Brody was in the picture, it didn't mean she didn't need to see it, to remember the good times. Buttercup sometimes wondered what all of their lives would be like if they had never moved back to Townsville. If those memories weren't something that needed to be hidden. She would never really know, but she couldn't imagine this year not happening, her and Butch not happening at all.
"How do I look?"
Buttercup dragged her eyes away from the picture and spun around to see Maxine, looking stunning. She was wearing a vintage red and black checkered dress - it had a some-what puffy skirt bottom and a square looking top with thick straps. Her legs were covered with metallic black leggings, and she also wore black heel boots and a black cardigan.
"Wow," Buttercup spoke. "You look good, Max."
Maxine smiled. "Thank you. You have some decent taste in clothes, which is pretty surprising, no offence." Buttercup laughed at her comment and nodded.
"Yeah, well I don't always dress to impress, I suppose." Buttercup responded.
Maxine's eyes fell to the picture. "You saw that, huh?"
"Yeah. You all look so young, it's weird to think you've all been friends since you were basically kids and I've only been your friend for a few months." Buttercup said thoughtfully. They had been friends with Maxine, Tyler and Brody for around six/seven months now. Or maybe even less. It was weird to think, this year had flown by for them all. So much had went on in just a few months.
"Well, I can hardly even remember my life before these guys. I always thought that I had known Brick the longest out of all of them, but I guess I actually met Tyler first. It's so strange to think that we lived in the same house as babies, before I was..you know, given away. It's really strange." Maxine spoke softly as she strode over to Buttercup and skimmed her finger across the picture frame. Maxine sighed before picking up the picture and putting it down again.
Buttercup nodded. "What was Butch like, you know, when he was that young?"
Maxine laughed. "Butch? He was mental! Even that young he was a hit with the girls, and he liked to get me into trouble at school along with Tyler. Yeah, he was a bit of a trouble-maker, but he's changed a lot, hasn't he? I don't know what it was, but something changed him."
If only Maxine knew that the reason he had changed so much was the person standing right in front of her. Buttercup smiled at her description. Sometimes she wished she could have known him back then, back when he was the Butch that she remembered and grew up knowing. He's changed so much, but so has she. Was it for the better? Neither knew that.
"What was Brody like?" Buttercup pushed - trying to get her to talk about him. She didn't like the fact that Maxine continued to avoid the subject of Brody and avoid the conversation that not only they needed, but the conversation that Maxine needed to have with him too.
"He was nice." Maxine responded before sitting on her bed and looking away.
"Max, you need to tell him eventually." Buttercup said as she looked at Maxine. The tall brunette was biting her nails nervously - a habit she picked up a while ago. She moved her hand to meet her other sitting on her lap. Maxine sighed and closed her eyes, letting her thoughts take over. Her eyes snapped open and she shook her head.
"I can't, Buttercup. What even am I supposed to say? I was the one that said we can't even be friends, we hang in the same circle and haven't even said one word to each other in ages. I can't tell him yet, we both need our space. Closure, you know?"
"If you're not going to tell him yet, you at least need to tell Brick. You shouldn't keep anything from your best friend."
Maxine's eyes flickered to the floor. "Yeah, I know. I'll tell Brick tonight, and I will tell Brody..soon. I promise."
"Good," Buttercup nodded in understanding. "I know this is pretty messed up. You're only sixteen and he's only seventeen."
"That's not the bad part about it. I always thought that one day I would have a real family, and with Brody, but we're not even together any more. I mean, what is Ty gonna say? Family is something that me and Tyler didn't get easily. I haven't even met my real mother and I never will. This is all too.." Maxine frowned, struggling to find the right words to describe this current situation. There wasn't a word good enough to describe how insane this all was.
Maxine had learned a lot about what it meant to be a family this year. She always had it pretty easy. She had a loving mother, and although her father wasn't exactly around, she was happy with that family. Then she found a whole new one. Her real one. Tyler was the only family she had left. Brody was her family for two years, she imagined marrying him and living with him and yes, having a child or two with him, but that looked like it would never happen.
"Brody isn't like any other guy. He's pretty awesome," Buttercup and Maxine smiled. "Max, he still loves you, we can all see it. Maybe he'll take it well and who knows? You'll be back together and..happy."
"Me being pregnant isn't a reason for me and Brody to get back together. It wasn't the reason I wanted. What if we did get back, and all those problems came back? No. I can't do that to myself or to.." She stopped speaking again and looked down at her stomach. She didn't know what to think. She couldn't exactly have a baby at her age, but abortion, she was totally against it, and adoption, coming from experience she would never do that either. What could she do?
"Let's just meet the guys for this night out, and we'll talk about this later." Buttercup didn't want to pressure her to talk about something she didn't want to talk about.
Maxine nodded. "Yeah, let's go."
Tyler stood in Skylar's living room. He was picking her up for the night out, and was waiting patiently for her to arrive. Tyler was alone with in the room with Sky's mother. The air around was still as a stiff silence took over to whole room.
"Good afternoon, Mrs Anderson." Tyler said as he tried to sound like a strait-up man. He figured he needed to earn Skylar's parent's approval. They were rich and successful, and he was just Tyler, he grew up in poverty, not really knowing what it was like to have people like this around. Cassandra seemed to like him, he was just dreading the day he met her father. She had wanted him about her father many times.
Cassandra smiled. "Hello, Thomas."
Tyler face-palmed. Did the whole Anderson family have a problem with getting people's names right? He wondered that often. Still, he didn't correct her, because he knew that no matter how many times he did she most likely wouldn't get his name right any way. Tyler heard someone approaching and prayed to god that it wasn't Skylar's father.
"I'm heading out now, Cassandra," Tyler sighed in relief as Skylar walked into the room. "Can you please tell dad that no matter how many messages he's left me, I'm not going to another one of his stupid charity auctions, I'm going out with my friends tonight."
Sky smiled at Tyler, and in the moment she was still able to take his breath away. She was stood in a staples dark blue dress that went all the way to her knees. There was a black belt around her waist - going perfectly with the dress - and also black flats on her feet. Her hair was down and perfectly curled, a single black bobby-pin holding her fringe back.
"Honestly, Skylar! Must you go out every night? It would be nice if you would at least make one appearance to your father's benefits." Cassandra said as she crossed her arms. Tyler then realised why Sky hated her mother so much and refered to her by her real name. Just because they were rich didn't mean they couldn't have fun.
The blue-haired girl rolled her eyes. "I wasn't born to make appearances and pretend to be the perfect daughter, I was born to live my life, and that's what I'm doing."
Sky turned to Tyler. "I forgot something upstairs, you better come with me or my dear mother will bite your head off." She smirked at her mother, who looked livid, and led Tyler out of the room and into her own. She told him to wait inside while she scanned the on-suite bathroom for her emergency make-up and her phone which she had left in there.
Tyler waited for her, but he knew she was going to take ages trying to cram everything into one tiny purse, so he sat on her bed. He whistled in boredom and his eyes traveled to the floor. He raised his eye-brow when he noticed that some papers had been stuck under the bed, but the corner of one was peeking out.
His curiosity got the better of him and he leaned down to pick them up. Tyler's eyes narrowed as he began to read the papers, and then they grew wide when he noticed it was a doctor's letter from someone named Dr Harrison, who was the doctor that Sky was on the phone to.
"Skylar Anderson was diagnosed wit-" Tyler stared blankly at the paper. "No..that can't be it?..
Flashback(s);
He grabbed her phone that sat beside the laptop and looked through her texts. There was nothing important, just texts from Sky and Maxine, talking about parties and school. He looked through her call list and realised that there was one number that she had many missed calls from, so he called it.
".. ... ..Skylar! Great. I've been waiting for your call. You haven't been down in a while, we need to talk about your condition... ..Skylar?"
Tyler hung up the phone and started at it in shock. What condition!? He was really starting to think something bad was going to happen to her, especially considering she had avoided this guys calls. Just as Tyler was thinking, he heard a noise and spun around, phone still in hand. There was Skylar, her arms crossed and a pissed of expression on her face.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing!?" Skylar yelled so loud that if this was a normal house, everyone would have heard. But this was a large house, so no noise left this room. Tyler braced for attack, no one wanted to be on the other side of an angry Skylar Anderson.
"I'm sorry!" He said. "I was just..Sky, what condition do you have, exactly?"
Skylar scoffed. "I don't know what you think you heard, but you're insane. Get the hell out of here, Ty! Before I make you."
"I'm not insane, I know what I heard. We all know that you're not exactly an open book, love, but what on earth are you hiding from us? A condition? That sounds pretty damn serious to me!" He yelled back. Skylar stood perfectly still, her arms by her side and her eyes fixed on his. He looked worried, frustrated, scared. She just looked blank.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
When Bubbles was making her way back downstairs, she heard Sky's voice beckoning loudly from Tyler's bedroom, and it caught her attention. She peered in to the door and listened intently to what Sky was saying.
"..Yeah, things are good, I feel better. Cassandra has me on this weird medicine, but it's not that bad...Yeah, I'll get in touch tomorrow for the next appoinment..Bye." Sky hung up the phone and began to make her way back out the door.
Bubbles quickly hid behind the door as Sky walked out and began to walk down the stairs. Bubbles stood perfectly still in shock. What was she talking about? Appointment, medicine..Bubbles wouldn't understand what she was on about. She thought about how different Sky had been acting lately and how she often made excuses to leave and would disappear for an hour.
It suddenly became very clear to Bubbles that something very strange was going on here..something that Skylar didn't want people to know about. A million thoughts rushed through the blonde's head. She just needed answers, to know that Sky was going to be okay.
"What on earth is going on?" Bubbles whispered.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
"He said that he needed to talk to you about your 'condition', I'd take a guess but there's a lot of condition's that people can have, so why don't you just tell me!?" He yelled back, losing his patience. Sky opened her mouth to shoot back another excuse, but she was starting to run out of those. She hated lying to him about her past and what was really going on, but it was hard to tell someone who you really like that you're not who they thought you were.
"Ty, I've done some pretty insane things in my life, okay? I've done things that I can't take back and there's just some things that I can't tell you. It doesn't mean that I don't trust you because I do. I really like you and I want something to happen between us, but I don't think that it will if I tell you about my past." Her voice wavered, but her eyes stayed determined and strong.
Tyler didn't speak - he was at a loss for words. He just nodded at her before looking into her bluey green eyes. Sky smiled in appreciation and put her glass down beside standing up and walking over to the other couch across from the one she was just sitting on, and she sat down beside him.
"You trust me, right?" Skylar asked. Her eyes were dawning into his, narrowed and searching for emotion. Tyler was so confused but he knew when she was speaking, that there was something she wanted to say but didn't. This secret, whatever it was, he knew that she was going to tell him very soon, and she was.
It all suddenly made so much sense. The reason why Skylar hid her disorder, the reason why she pushed Tyler away, the reason why she lied about her past. All of it led up to one big secret, one thing that she couldn't even admit to herself. Tyler knew that what he had just read had something to do with it.
She told him that there was some things that she just couldn't tell him, and now Tyler knew that he was going to find out. She had to tell him, she just had to, and she would. No one can run from the past forever, not even Skylar Anderson.
Tyler looked down at the papers, realisation hitting his mind. This was the answer to all of her weird behaviour and lies, this explained it all, but it didn't explain the real thing that she was hiding, only she could explain that.
He looked at the papers and re-read them for the third time. Everything hit him at once, and he knew that he would never see her in the same way again. Tyler's eyes grew as wide as dinner plates. "Oh my god!"
An hour later, everyone was there. That little forest that Brody's seventeenth birthday party had been held. It looked the same as it did before, the trees still stood tall in a circle around them and the grass was still as green as ever.
Maxine was stood beside Brick, who had his arm around his beautiful girlfriend. Within an instant, it had all started. The music was blasting loud out of Buttercup's iPod, that she had hooked up to a some-what large set of portable speakers. Maxine had pulled a various amount of alcoholic beverages out of her large black bag, as had Brick.
Everyone started to talk amongst themselves, some danced, and a lot drank. Skylar asked Tyler to dance, so he danced with her. One thing that Tyler knew was that he was going to make her tell him the truth, before this night was over. No one was safe tonight, no one's secrets were safe.
Boomer was with Bubbles, just talking and making her laugh, the thing he loved doing. She was dressed nicely but not over-the-top. She wore a white off-the-shoulder jumper which was quite big on her, a blue shirt underneath it, light blue skinny jeans and white heels. Boomer thought she looked insanely gorgeous and angelic.
Buttercup walked over to the speakers that held her iPod, a large drink in hand. She tried to calm her hidden nerves with as much alcohol as she could. Of course, Buttercup would never admit to Butch that she was nervous, and vise versa. She was trying to think about what to do, but her mind was clouded. It was like that feeling when you're trying to remember a singer's name or song, and your mind just blanks because you're trying to think about it. She hated that feeling.
She bend down and grabbed the metallic green iPod.
"So, here we are." Butch appeared beside Buttercup, who was fiddling with her iPod to find the right song. She soon settled on a song by The Script, called The man who can't be moved. One of Butch's favorites, but of course, Buttercup knew that. Buttercup rose to her feet and smirked at Butch.
"Here we are," She narrowed her eyes. "Nervous?"
"Of course not." Butch lied. Of course he was nervous. This could be the last night of his and Buttercup's secret relationship or the last night of the whole relationship all together. He hated the fact that he couldn't spend the whole night being close to her, he could only kiss her when they were hidden.
Buttercup smirked. "Whatever you say."
He felt her tug at his hand and drag him away from the commotion and witnesses. She led him to a large oak tree very close to the scene, and as soon as they were hidden from their friends, their lips crashed on each other's fiercely. Buttercup slid her arms across his neck. She felt the heat and power of the moment drive her mad.
Buttercup felt a sense of forbidden high as she felt his lips against hers. It was as if she was in a drunken trance and nothing else was important. Buttercup couldn't even feel the ground beneath her feet or the wind that tugged at her short black hair, all she could feel was the exciting brush of affection that dawned when his lips were attached to her own.
"What the hell?" Butch and Buttercup jumped in surprise and looked behind Buttercup to find someone who they hadn't realised was there, Boomer. He raised his brow at them in curiosity and confusion. Butch and Buttercup glanced at each other like two little children that got caught with their hands in the cookie jar.
Buttercup gulped. "You didn't see that, capiesh?"
"Capi- yeah." Boomer stuttered. He wasn't even sure what that word meant, but he assumed that it meant he was not to tell a soul of what he had just seen, that brought his mind to wonder what on earth he had just seen. Buttercup and Butch kissing, that's not something you see every day or expect to see at all.
"What exactly did I just see? Why were you two kissing?" Boomer asked.
Buttercup walked over to him and smiled scarily. "We weren't kissing. You've gone crazy again, Boom. Just go back over to Bubbles and remember, this did not happen. Run along." Buttercup waved her hands to shoo him away. Boomer stared blankly at her and didn't move.
Her eyes lit in darkness. "Go!"
That was all it took for Boomer to walk away, practically speed walking from the growling Buttercup. He joined Bubbles, Blossom and Brick and engaged in their conversation, trying to forget what he had just seen. Buttercup, however, couldn't forget that he had seen. This was all falling apart, by this rate, everyone would know before she even made her decision.
"You're pretty scary, crazy girl." Butch smirked.
Buttercup growled at him this time. "What!? Do you not realise what just happened!?"
"Boomer won't tell anyone," Butch smiled. "He wouldn't want to be on the other end of an angry Buttercup Utonium."
Ignoring his comment, Buttercup shook her head. "What if he tells Bubbles? He tells her absolutely everything."
"He won't, I promise.."
Buttercup narrowed her eyes.
As twenty minutes passed, and the night was in full swing, Brick was searching around for his phone when he remembered that he had given it to Blossom in case he got too drunk and lost it. He polished off his fourth beer before letting the bottle slide down onto the grass beneath him.
Brick searched around for Blossom's bag, but couldn't find it. He checked the space where Butch and Maxine's was, but there was no bags beside it. Brick looked around until he seen Skylar walking over, so he stopped her before she could walk right past him and over to Tyler.
"Hey, Sky, have you seen Blossom's bag anywhere?" Brick asked as he approached the blue-haired girl. Sky took a look around for a few seconds until she spotted a few bags lying not too far from them beside a large tree. She pointed over to them and Brick thanked her before walking over to get Blossom's bag.
He picked up the small pink bag and pulled the zip across to open it. He rummaged around, trying to find it, but couldn't. He saw the small zipped pocket inside the bag and opened it. There he saw his phone and what looked like a small pamphlet. He pulled them both out and examined the pamphlet.
"What the-" He stopped in mid-sentence as he began to read the title of the small paper book. Across the top was the words, 'Bulimia in teenage girls; the how, when, and where.' He looked at it in confusion before furrowing his brows. He then remembered something, a memory.
FLASHBACK;
Blossom looked up at Brick who was holding a plate of breakfast in one hand and the cup of coffee in the other. He graced her with a smile before setting the plate and mug on the table in front of her.
"Morning," He greeted. "Breakfast?"
Blossom tried not to gag at the smell. "No thanks, I'm still not feeling very well." She lied through her teeth. Blossom felt better than yesterday, maybe not perfect, but not insanely ill either. Luckily for her, Brick would never be able to see her though her lies.
"Suit yourself." He shrugged before grabbing the fork beside the plate and digging in. Blossom laughed at him as he ate like an animal. She hadn't realised that he had stayed over, as she had went fallen asleep around eleven at night, watching some sort of action movie that was also very funny. Blossom figured he must have fallen asleep on the chair. Oh well, waking up to Brick was always a pleasant surprise.
"So, you up for going to school today?" Brick asked her with a mouth full of blueberry pancakes. Blossom shrugged, not knowing what to say. She was feeling better but for once she wasn't in the mood to go to school. She knew missing one day wasn't going to be a big deal, after all, she never really learned anything in school. Well, that's what she figured considering she keeps failing tests.
Blossom sighed. "I don't think so."
Brick felt his breathing stop as the reality hit him. This pamphlet was for her, she had this problem. A strong sense of anger, horror and concern flew through him. Brick rose to his feet and stared blankly at the tall tree in front of him. The pamphlet slipped out of his hands and onto the ground without him even noticing.
Without thinking, Brick spun around and laid his eyes on Blossom, who was at the other end of the circular area with Butch and Sky, chatting. He bend down to pick up the paper book and strode over to them with fury in his eyes. He ran over and stood behind Blossom.
"Blossom, what is this?" Blossom turned around with a smile on her face as she had been in the middle of having a laugh with her friends. Her eyes met his before looking down to the pamphlet in his hand. Her smile immediately disappeared. Blossom didn't speak, she just looked down at it, being careful not to move a single muscle. Her expression was un-readable to Brick. It seemed just blank.
"Well?" Brick pushed - not angrily, just impatiently. Blossom finally looked at him and reached her hand forward to grab his arm. She pulled at his sleeve, taking him away from their friends and to a more private part of the woods. As soon as they were alone, Blossom took the pamphlet from his hand and held it tightly in her own.
She sighed gravelly. "What do you expect me to say?"
Brick felt his eye twitch at her words, much like his brother used to do whenever he was about to be in the middle of a fight. He wanted an explanation or for her to at least defend herself, to say, "It isn't what it looks like." That fact that she was asking him what she should say was infuriating. It was like she wanted to make this seem normal to avoid a fight.
"Blossom, just tell me that this isn't what I think is. Just say it." He tensed the last three words. Blossom wanted to laugh in bitterness at his naivety, but she stopped herself. She looked in his eyes and all she could see was slight anger but a lot of concern. It just made her feel even more guilty.
"I can't do that." She shook her head.
Brick's chest heaved as he struggled to find his breath, stunned at her words. He felt his lips form a line and blood-red eyes met bright pink. There was a pregnant silence before Brick finally felt words come to mind, and they blurted out without giving Brick enough time to register what he was about to say.
"So, let me get this strait. The last time we were here, I asked if you had a problem. I gave you so many chances to just tell me if something was wrong, and you've just been lying to my face the whole time!?"
There was always six stages of an argument; Desperation, denial, anger, grief, shame and finally acceptance. But Brick skipped right to anger. It was the only way he could express how he was feeling right now, apart from being angry he just just scared and concerned for her, but not ashamed. Never ashamed.
Blossom crossed her arms defensively and avoided his mean glare. His words had really gotten to her. The sounded some-what callous. In that moment everything was just still, she couldn't see the rustling of the tree branches or feel the stark tug of the wind around them. It was all just perfectly still.
"I wasn't lying to you," She spoke quietly. "You never asked, did you? You never came right out with it and just asked if I had an..eating disorder. You were always thinking it, I could tell. It was in the eyes. You thought about it, Bubbles too, but neither of you actually asked! So, no. I did not lie to you, I just avoided the truth."
"You're not seriously trying to defend yourself on a practicality, are you!? Sure, I had my theories, but I never asked because I didn't think I had to! I thought if you had a problem you would tell me, not hide it. You don't trust me, you don't even trust your bloody sister! I don't know who you are anymore." His last words were a barely audible whisper, but Blossom heard it. Those words struck her like a harsh bolt of lightning.
Blossom's eyes stared into his. Her face was struck with a blank expression but a slight sign of hurt. As soon as the words digested, she scowled , a faint death glare plastered all over her face. She didn't want to feel upset by what he had just said, so she instead shifted it all to anger.
"I don't have the energy to deal with you right now." She hissed before spinning on her heel and running off into the woods alone. Brick put his foot forward, ready to sprint off after her, but he hesitated.
The sound of a twig breaking was heard behind Brick, and he turned around to face his blonde friend. Bubbles had hidden behind the tree when she heard their argument, and she was utterly shocked to hear what Blossom had said. Brick frowned at Bubbles. He felt like they had failed. They tried to help Blossom, and they failed. He knew Bubbles was thinking the same thing.
"An eating disorder? Brick, how didn't we see this coming?" She asked, barely a whisper.
"I don't know." He sighed.
"Brick, you better go after her. You're not letting her down, not tonight, go!"
He didn't even have to question her about it, in a second he was off so fast that all Bubbles could see was a blur heading in the way off where Blossom ran off. Bubbles ran her hands through her hair and shut her eyes tightly, trying to make sence of this all.
Bubbles knew that Brick could sort this, get through to her maybe, so she let him go and do what he needed to do. Now, she just needed to go back to her boyfriend and forget what she heard, and pray that Brick can find her in time and help her. All she could do was hope.
Maxine was lucky.
No one had yet realised she hadn't drunk anything. But that didn't matter to her. She still had to tell someone, whether she liked it or not. She saw Brody walking towards her and everything grew still. She bit her lip to stop her from nervously biting her nails. He stopped in front of her, and for the first time in days, he spoke to her.
"Hey, Max. How are you?" He asked casually, like he was trying too hard. He was waiting for the - "We're not friends." - speech from Maxine. She sighed and decided that she couldn't hide forever. Now was the time to tell him. To get it over and done with. Now.
"Brody, there's something I need to say."
Brody spoke before she could. "Look, I know what you're going to say. You want to say that there's no point in me trying to talk to you because we're not friends, I get it. It's just..I've tried. I've tried so hard to accept that and forget all those good times, all the memories, but I can't!"
His words stunned her.
"Max, for the past two years, you've been my world. I know I can't get you back with words, but..I want to fight. For us, I mean. That's all we ever done, we fought to be with each other, no matter what. I was weak, I wanted to end us before we ended horribly and ruined everything we had, but I was wrong. I'm still in love with you, Maxine, no time, clarity or closure can change that."
Maxine felt her eyes close. She wanted to just scream at him. In that moment, her eyes opened again and she couldn't see the light surrounding them or the music blasting in the background. She just fell numb.
"What were you going to tell me?" Brody held a little hope in his voice, praying that he had gotten it wrong, that she wanted to tell him that she still loved him and wanted to fight for them, the thing she was always amazing at.
"I..," Maxine stopped abruptly and thought about that day in that picture that Buttercup saw. How every moment of that day she felt happy, and there was smiles and laughter. Then she thought about all the other days, the recent ones, when the smiles were replaced by frustrated frowns and the laughter stopped. How it was never the same and never would be. "I..just wanted to say that I'm sorry. We're over, and we're done. We can't get back to how we were, and I'm sorry for that."
A memory clouded her mind..
FLASHBACK;
Maxine POV
"Why can't we just stop fighting?" Brody asked me in sad frustration. I had been asking myself that for a long time now. For the past two weeks, it was like we were Buttercup and Butch, fighting, screaming, kicking. The lot. I don't see why? We're in love. This isn't love. Love is not a battle.
"I don't know." I was losing my voice. If it was hard hearing the words, it was harder having to say them. What if this doesn't work? What if a whole year and seven months of us being in love is just for nothing? Why are we fighting?
Brody frowned. "..I don't want us to fight any more, Max."
That's all I needed to hear.
"I really do love you, Brody, and we will live together in the future. But for now, let's just be kids for a little while longer." I said. It was hard to say, but it had always been there, lingering around us like a rain cloud. Brody nodded, understanding fully.
"I love you too, Max. Forever and always." His voice almost broke, but recovered. I felt a sad smile of my own tug at my lips before I pulled him into a long and tight hug, never wanting to let go of him.
Although we both avoided it, me and Brody were treading on thin ice. One more argument or fight and it would just be over. We loved each other, but sometimes love wasn't enough to keep a relationship going. I was trying so hard to hang on to what we had, and we would, we just had to be careful, or it would all be over and done.
I nodded, trying desperately to control my rough breathing. "Forever and always."
Maxine turned on her heel and walked away. She left a deviated Brody in her path and just walked away. No matter how hard she tried to make herself believe that her pregnancy could bring them back to the happy couple they used to be, she knew that nothing would. They were over. Nothing could fix that, not even this.
"Made your mind up yet?"
Buttercup looked to her side to find Butch, smirking at her as always. She rolled her eyes at him and shook her head without saying a word. Buttercup was sat on the grass with a plastic cup in hand. She was very far away from the rest of the group, which is why Butch came over, no one could notice them here.
Butch sat down beside her and smiled, a genuine smile.
"What you thinkin' about?" Again with this question. He always asked her that when they had a moment alone, because no matter how hard he tried to read her, he could never figure out what she was thinking about. She was brilliant at hiding stuff like that, which he didn't like.
"Sometimes I just want to run away. Just get in my car and leave this town. Even if people would miss me, I don't even care. This town sucks." Buttercup mused as she looked up at the clouds, her head tilted and her eyes so filled with wonder. Buttercup was a creature of adventure, she wanted to see the world, there wasn't much to see here in Townsville. That was the main reason she wanted to impress the scouts at the training centre, so that they could take her away from here and give her adventure.
Butch looked at her, his eyes holding curiosity. "I guess it does suck. Just so you know, if you ever ran away I would run after you." Buttercup looked away from the dark sky to look at Butch and she smiled. Usually something like this wouldn't seem so sweet, it would seem desperate, but coming from Butch made it sound different.
"I know you would," She drawled. "But don't get your hopes up. I haven't told you my answer yet."
They smirked at each other and a million thoughts raced through their minds, all of the little memories. All of the little moments between their friendship that led up to this moment, this moment where they were so close to being more than just friends, but it wasn't as simple as that, was it? Still, the memories were always a nice thing to think about..
Flashback(s);
"Buttercup, I don't get it. You just make me want to do good things, which is totally not my thing. For some fucked up reason, when you're happy, I am. I don't know what the hell is happening to me, but it's because of you. So, how about instead of yelling at me, you thank me!" He screamed.
Buttercup's eyes grew wide when she realised something, something horrifying. She didn't say what though, she just stared at him with a freaked-out expression. Buttercup stood up, and Butch did after her.
"I don't have the energy to deal with this right now, Butch. You've just fucked everything up. I didn't ask you to let me win! I didn't ask to be your friend, you asked me! I didn't ask for ANY of this!" With that said, Buttercup ran upstairs to her bedroom. Butch stood in surprise. He didn't understand why Buttercup got so upset about what he had said, most girls would say 'Aw, that's sweet.' But then again, she wasn't like most girls.
Butch walked over to were Buttercup had been sitting, and crouched down. He picked up the small mirror that she had hid behind her back, and brought it up to his face.
Right there, on his forehead, were the words..
Butterbitch
Right there, on his cheek, were the words..
Friends forever..
Right there, on his other cheek, were the words..
..And a day.
He touched his cheek, tracing the letters. She had really put something..nice..on his face? She could have put anything. Something embarrassing or mean, but she put that. Butch wanted to smile, but his face was still frozen. Without another thought, Butch ran up the stairs and searched for which room was Buttercup's.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
"Butch!" Blossom heard Buttercup laughing hysterically from her room.
"He must be dancing again." She muttered quietly before rolling her eyes. She didn't mind that Buttercup had a friend that she got on so well with, don't get me wrong, it was just annoying sometimes. Blossom never minded when Butch stayed over either, she had to get on well with him now that she was in a serious relationship with his brother, but he was starting to get on her last nerve.
Upstairs, Buttercup and Butch were dancing about Buttercup's room, trashing it in the process. The song they were listening to earlier was playing. Buttercup jumped on the bed and started dancing more, while Butch was on the floor trying to do 'the worm' but looking more like a dying cat.
"You should go on one of those dancing shows, you're brilliant." Buttercup joked. Butch laughed and got up off the floor before pulling at her arm so she would fall of the bed. She laughed as she began to fall off the bed, but rather than landing on the floor, landing in Butch's arms as he caught her.
"Making me fall just to catch me? How heroic."
Butch smirked and put her down. "I could have let you fall, it's called being..oh, what's the word?..oh yeah, nice."
Buttercup rolled her eyes but smiled.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
Butch's expression stayed strong. "Tell me you don't have feelings for me. Right now, tell me."
"I.." She paused.
"I'm not the only one that's hiding something!" He screamed at her. Buttercup's frown turned into a scowl, and it a second he was thrown out of her room. He stood outside her door with an angry expression, and Buttercup was fuming.
"You're fucking crazy!" Buttercup slammed her bedroom door shut. She fell with her back against the door as the loud music pierced her ears. Her eyes darted to the spot of the door beside her, and she felt herself drag herself off of the door. She spun around and opened the door.
Butch was still standing there. His eyes fixed on hers and his expression was soft. Buttercup tilted her head and frowned at him. Seconds of standing perfectly still and saying nothing passed, and Butch decided to take action. He moved forward and seized her lips. Buttercup's arms wrapped around his neck and they moved backwards as they kissed.
Her body slammed against the wall, but she didn't feel any pain. The only thing she could feel was his soft lips moving in sync with hers. She felt free. He felt alive. The music was pulsating throughout the room, and suddenly every lyric was about them. Buttercup's body slammed against his as she spun them around and thrashed him against the wall, taking full control.
She found it a great stress release, being able to throw him against a wall without expecting him to fight back. Butch couldn't feel even the slightest amount of pain or distress. He was too happy to feel any negative emotions right now.
Buttercup pulled away and looked him in the eye. There was only a second of pure silence before the trashed at each other again. She pulled him by the shirt and dragged him away from the wall only to throw him back against it. It felt good to get the anger out in a way where she knew she was always in control, and he wouldn't be fighting back any time soon. Still, she felt herself getting less aggressive as her happiness took over.
He was kissing her, and for once, she didn't mind.
XoXoXoXoXoXoXoXo
"This has been a pretty weird few months, huh?" Buttercup said as she thought of all the times she had spent getting to know Butch Jojo. He thought of all the times he had really gotten to see another side to her, the beautiful, caring and emotional side of Buttercup Utonium. Nothing could ever take those memories away from them. Nothing.
Butch nodded, but didn't speak.
"I haven't made my mind up yet, but I want you to know something," Buttercup glanced at him. "These few months have been weird but pretty awesome too. It may sound insanely gross and corny, but you really have changed me. Even if this ends tonight, I won't forget that." Buttercup spoke softly, causing Butch to look at her.
He needed to say something, he couldn't hold it back. Hearing those words, "Even if this ends tonight." Hearing those exact words made him want to scream. He needed to tell her exactly how he felt. Right now.
"I know you're still not sure what to do about us, but this is the last day of the countdown, and I've tried so hard to change your mind and make you realise that this is right so I'm not going to change your mind if you say no," Buttercup couldn't answer that, so she just nodded and waited for him to continue. "Look, when we became friends I always wondered what it would be like to have you like me more than just a friend, but it was nothing like I thought it would be."
Butch took a deep breath.
"The arguments stopped and the fights stopped and we became so much more than just friends. I don't want it to end. You changed me from the annoying self-centred guy I used to be, and I changed you too, I can't even think about it all being for nothing, you know?"
Buttercup didn't reply. Her mind was conflicted. She didn't want to promise him that they were going to try and make this work when she wasn't sure if that's what she wanted, so instead of talking, she pulled him in for an intense kiss.
Both Buttercup and Butch felt the immense emotion of the kiss. They savoured it as if it might be their last, cause that was true. This might be their last. Millions of memories flashed through Buttercup's mind, trying to savour them too, because they may not get any memories like these ones again.
The clock was ticking.
Three hours.
One choice.
The countdown was almost over.
Skylar Anderson was hiding something. For weeks now, a lot of people had known there was something she didn't want these people knowing. It started out with a doctor, then a disorder, then lies. This disorder, it held all the answers to her behaviour, and it held the answer to the real secret she was keeping. This secret? It was about to blow Tyler away.
"Sky, I need to talk to you, and for once I need you to just be honest with me." Tyler's voice was cold and serious, but Sky didn't understand why. She looked him in the eye and nodded reluctantly. The wind was harsh and making Sky's blue hair rise. The coldness was breaking in but neither could feel it. The tension was cold, they could feel that.
"I found the papers," Sky's eyes widened desperately as she held back a gasp. "Your disorder..why didn't you just tell me? I don't get it. It's not something that you hide."
For weeks he had tried to figure her out. The way her mood changed at the drop of a hat, the way she would try to push him away from the truth and herself, the way she abused alcohol like she had nothing left to lose. He could never make sense of it all, until he seen it written on paper. It wasn't so black and white any more. It wasn't so absolute.
"Tyler..I couldn't tell you about my disorder without telling you something else as well. I said there was some things that I couldn't tell you about my past, how could you not just accept that!?" Sky screamed, desperation and fury in her tone. Yes, she had a special type or disorder, but that wasn't her true intention of hiding. If he asked too many questions about it, he would end up finding out her true secret. One that she didn't even want to accept herself.
"Skylar, you have Borderline Personality Disorder? Why wouldn't you tell me that?" Tyler asked slowly and quietly, his voice firm. He couldn't get his head around it. It wasn't an uncommon disorder, in fact, his own mother had it. Why would she not want to tell Tyler that? Or anyone for that matter?
Sky frowned. "Please just don't ask that."
"..My mother had it. She done things that she regretted, like giving Maxine away. I was so close to not knowing my sister because of this disorder. She committed suicide, there's nothing you can do that would be worse than that!" Skylar cried out a short gasp at what he had said.
Tyler had never mentioned how his and Maxine's mother had died, not to her, and now he had. This disorder made people do crazy things. It made people see the worst in themselves. Sky knew that she couldn't even begin to explain how she felt so she never did.
"Tyler..I did something bad." Tears slid down her cheek. "Something I can't take back, and it's all because of what I am. It's not just a disorder, it makes people do insane things. It made me do something so awful..that I don't think I can ever get past it.."
Tyler's eyes grew wide at the seriousness of her tone. Borderline personality disorder was not just a disorder, it makes people crave attention. It makes them dread abandonment, and it makes their emotions drive them, some do unspeakable things. But how far would someone go to avoid being abandoned?
"Ty..I.." She stopped talking, like the words were too horrid to even speak. Skylar felt his hands take her, and she looked up to meet his eyes, they were willing her to continue, making her know that she could trust him with her deepest darkest secret. Her one mistake that changed her whole opinion of life and herself, her evil deed.
"Nothing you say can make me think differently about you." His voice was sweet and serene.
Skylar took a breath. "My ex boyfriend, Darren, he was pretty much everything to me. He would always tell me that he wouldn't leave me and that he would always love me..then this girl, this beautiful and charming girl, she came into the picture. I felt threatened, naturally. Then one day my friend Ricky told me that he caught her trying to kiss him. I went crazy, I just..snapped."
"What did you do, Sky?" Tyler asked, his voice perfectly calm but hinted with fear.
He knew that she was having a hard time telling him all of this, just hearing her words floating around them. Her lip trembled slightly, and her eyes shot with darkness and went dull. He could imagine when she wasn't like this, when she was just happy, and now she was just this girl who had so much love to give, but so much hate as well.
"I thought that Darren would abandon me and fall in love with her. So one night, I got in my car and I just drove over to her house. She wasn't in. Then I saw her, she looked so damn happy. There was this god awful smirk on her face. She didn't see me there, so I drove. Right into her, I hit her with my bloody car! I drove and drove until I had forgotten what I had done. The next night Darren called me and told me that she was in hospital..and she would never walk again."
A huge weight lifted off Sky, and she couldn't see to find the words to follow what she had just said. Weeks of running from what she had done, and now she finally told someone. It felt good. But she also felt like he wouldn't see her the same way again and would leave her. That thought terrified her. She really did like this charming British boy.
Her eyes slowly met his. All she could take in from his expression was that he was shocked and surprised. He didn't look ashamed of her, which is what she was expecting. Tyler wasn't sure what to say to her. How could he even begin to understand what was going through her mind to make her do that? He couldn't.
"I got diagnosed with Borderline personality disorder, and the feelings got way out of control. I got jealous over the silliest things and I tried to push Darren away, afraid that he would leave me, and then he did. He told me that I was insane, and he didn't want to be with someone who had my disorder, that he didn't want me any more. So I got in my car, and I drove." Skylar felt herself tense at the last word.
Sky's eyes fell to the spot on the ground in between them, she couldn't look him in the eye. She didn't want to see that same look that Darren had given her. For weeks she had dodged her friends phone calls and eventually told one of them that her parents forced her to move to Townsville, even thought that was a lie. Her friend Ricky told her that Darren had moved on and was dating someone new, he didn't mention if it was the same girl, but she was happy to know that he was happy and had moved on. Which was extremely selfless of her.
"Sky.." Tyler tried to speak, but his mind was clouded.
She cried out in frustration. "Don't even try to make sense of it all! Now you know. The reason I pushed you away so much was because I was scared that I would get attached to you, and you would find out and leave me. It's all just like Darren said, no one wants me..not like this."
She let go of his hands and spun around before running into the night. Tyler stood perfectly still, not moving a muscle. His mouth opened slightly. He was too shocked to speak or even think straight, but still, within seconds he felt his legs betray him. He ran after her with the most speed he had ever mustered, and he didn't have to look back. Not even for a second.
Buzz. Buzz. Buzz.
Blossom felt the harsh vibration of her phone in her pocket. Her hands trembled anxiously as she reached to grab it, and then she seen that it was Brick calling her. She was in no mood to talk to him after their fight, but she still wanted to hear his voice. She wanted to hear him say it. That she's going to be okay. Right now all she wanted was to talk to her father, and make him understand what she's going through and how she can't fight it any more. But right now all she had was Brick and her sisters.
She couldn't hide forever, she couldn't run away like she did when Bubbles and Boomer were in hospital, she had to face it.
Bleakly, she held the phone tightly in her shaking hands. Almost forbidding it. Without giving it a secondary thought, Blossom answered the call and pressed the phone to her ear, waiting to hear that voice that made her feel safe. Waiting to hear him sweep her off her feet and take away her breath like no one could.
"Bloss..talk to me." Brick said on the other line. Blossom took another long deep breath and remained silent. She could practically feel the panic in his voice. Truth be told, she wasn't sure what to say to him, so she remained quiet.
"Look, I know you're not going to talk to me, but just listen. I know that you're going through a hard time and you don't need me trying to get involved, but I just want you to know that you're still the girl I used to know. You're still the girl I fell in love with. The truth is, I can't imagine my life without you in it. I will always love you, no matter what you say or do."
Blossom's shivering hand shot quickly over her mouth, covering her now muffled sobs as she felt the sting of tears sprint down her face. She was trying to hard to stay quiet, but all she wanted to do was cry and scream, or even both. Whenever she looked back, she realised that she wasn't the same girl she used to be, but Brick still saw that girl in her, and that meant so much. That meant everything.
"I mean it, I love you! I always will. Maybe it'll take a while for things to get better, but I don't care! No matter what you think, I don't blame you. I just love you, okay? That's all there is, that's all I feel right now. So please, just say it back. Just be Blossom again."
Brick was waiting in anticapation for her to just speak and tell him that she loves him too, but all he heard next was a beep and then a monotone buzz, as the call had ended. He sighed deeply with a frown on his face before he ran a hand through his hair.
Blossom held the phone in her hand and looked down at it. It wasn't just words to her. The words meant something, she just didn't know the words to say would mean something to him. Blossom tried, but no words could describe how she felt about him. The words she could describe about them was that she wasn't nearly good enough for someone as caring and loving as Brick Jojo. She just wasn't strong enough.
The countdown wasn't just almost over for Butch and Buttercup, many other couples and many other people with secrets only had so little time until everything was out in the open. Buttercup wasn't the only one who had some thinking to do. They all did.
Just a couple of hours and everything would change. In just a couple of hours, the countdown would be over.
WOW! HUGE CHAPTER! I know, I know, not my best. I have a feeling that I'm making things too sad and dramatic, but don't worry because in the second half, there will be pleanty of happy moments, you'll see ;)
So, after lots of build up, Sky's secret it out. Was it as bad as you all thought? Also, Buttercup's desision is going to be a surprise to Butch in the second half, and Blossom and Brick have a tough conversation ahead of them.
Next Chapter - (PART TWO) - I can't give a chapter description without giving too much of the second half away but I will say this; it's going to be a very dramatic yet very happy chapter. There will be smiles, agruments, kisses, fights, sweet moments and a lot of secrets. So look out for it!
PLEASE READ THIS; I know I don't usually do this, but if any of you readers are Harry Potter lovers, I encorage you to read this story; Lily Luna Potter: Terror of the Full Moon. It's writen by RoseQuartz1, one of my wonderful readers and a great writer. Please read it if you have the time, guys!
Please review, it only takes a few seconds:)!
Allie Peirce
