I don't own Winx Club or the story cover. Enjoy!

Book I - Chapter I: Death By Squirrel

Updated: 13/11/22

"Bloom, sweetie…" Butterflies swirled in my stomach as a hand gently caressed the hair out of my face. The touch was familiar and loving, holding a tenderness only a mother possessed. "Time to wake up."

"Five more minutes, mom," I begged, snuggling deeper under the warm covers with a content smile. "Just five more minutes."

The person beside me chuckled. "I already gave you an extra half hour. If you don't get out of bed now, we won't be able to open the shop on time." I peeked an eye open. My mom – it was still a little odd to call Vanessa Peters that – was sitting beside me on bed, wearing her usual smile. "Good morning, sweetie."

I sighed, resigned that I really had to get out of bed despite still being tired to the bone. "Morning, mom." I slowly sat up, stretching my arms above my head until all the muscles popped back in place. "Any chance you will let me join you later in the shop?"

Vanessa shook her head, her smile never wavering, and rose to her feet. She was already dressed in her usual white shirt and green overall. The only thing she missed was the flower apron around her waist. She had cut her dark hair short a few weeks back, something which I still complimented her on. Now that it was short it curled elegantly and framed her face perfectly.

"What was it this time? Reading or drawing?" She perched her hands on her hips and I couldn't keep the smile of my face. While Vanessa tried to be stern from time to time, she was as intimidating as the kitten I had gotten for my birthday last year. On second thought… No, the kitten was definitely more intimidating than she was. "Bloom, you know your father and I are immensely proud you graduated top of your class."

I chuckled. I knew what was coming. She and her husband Mike had been giving me the same lecture – I barely dared to call it – basically every morning for the last two months.

"But…?" I dared cheekily.

"But –" She tapped my nose in reprise, I just giggled. "– you can't spend the next year reading and drawing all night and sleep all day."

"I am not." I yawned, rolling my shoulders until they made that satisfying pop that had Mike running from the room whenever I did it in his presence. "I am helping you in the shop during the day, aren't I?"

"And I love having you around –" I rolled my eyes fondly at her. "– but you can't spend the rest of your life working at my shop, sweetheart."

"Maybe I want to follow in my mom's footsteps. She is a strong independent woman and I want to be just like her," I dared her, biting back the smile edging to my lips. "Not to mention I love flowers and helping you in the shop makes me happy. So, why not become a florist?"

Vanessa's eyes softened and she sat back down beside me on bed, gently caressing another lock of hair out my face. "And that is all I want for you: to be happy." I leaned into her touch as her hand came to rest on my cheek, the butterflies fluttering happily. "But we both know you are meant for more than being a florist."

I let out a particular deep breath. "I know, mom. I just…" I shrugged, slumping in defeat. "I don't know what to do. Sometimes I feel like I am only just getting to know myself. If I am still not sure who I am, then how can I decide what type of work I want to do the rest of my life?"

And that was the truth.

Two years had passed since I had awoken in an unfamiliar room and discovered that somehow, I had ended up in the body of Bloom Peters: the sixteen-year-old daughter of Mike and Vanessa Peters. Till this day I still had no idea how it had happened, if I would ever return to my own body, or what had happened to the real Bloom. It remained a mystery and perhaps – most likely – always would.

Oh, how I had frightened poor Vanessa with my screaming and fainting. I was still trying to make it up to her. Mostly by not giving her any more frights and troubles. So far, I was doing a pretty good job if I said so myself. I was always home before my curfew, helped her in her shop whenever I could, made sure that the house was clean and the fridge was full so that neither she and Mike had to worry about that after a long day at work, and done everything in my power to get good grades. Mike even complained – though he didn't actually mean it – that I was driving him up the wall and that he wanted to see some rebellion, that I wasn't a normal teenager. Whenever I offered to start slamming the doors once in a while or throw a big destructive party, he quickly changed his mind. Mike liked to spent money as much as any man, but not to replace things when it was truly necessary. According to him, the necessary changes always had the worse timing.

I had graduated two months ago: valedictorian of Gardena Senior High. Something my high school rival Mitzi Tyndall still wasn't too happy about and I enjoyed reminding her off when she was especially unpleasant. Which she basically was every time I saw her.

But while all my friends and classmates were preparing for college, I had no such plans.

What was I supposed to choose?

Until I had ended up in Bloom's body, my mother had made all the rules and the plans. She had practically forced me into the world of fashion. That was the path she had laid out for me and I was to follow it, whether I liked it or not. After a few years of walking the runway, I would have made a big enough name that I could catch a big fish and marry, and then settle down in some nice big mansion and turn a blind eye while my much older husband was off working and having an affair with his secretary.

Basically a copy of my mother's life.

In many ways, ending up in Bloom's body and taking over her life was one of the greatest gifts I had ever gotten. I knew that as well. I awoke every morning with a smile, the sight of my perfect room reminding me again and again how lucky I was. But no matter how happy and grateful I was, that helped little in deciding what I wanted to do with my new life. That the choices were unlimited wasn't exactly helping either.

So I had decided to take a break. A gap year to discover myself and spent some more time with Mike and Vanessa. They were the parents I had never been blessed with and had always wished for. And as the selfish person I was, I just wasn't ready to give them up. Not yet, anyway.

"What you are searching for you won't just find." Vanessa gently tilted my chin up, smiling warmly. My eyes watered at the love and care in her eyes. "You will have to try different things, things out of your comfort zone and away from your father and I. After all, if it was within your comfort zone, you would have found it already. But I also know how frightening that is." She pressed a kiss on my forehead, the butterflies tickled me pleasantly. "Now time to get out of bed. I made pancakes."

"I will be down in a minute," I promised as Vanessa got up. She shot me a warm smile before leaving the room. My shoulders instantly slumped and I dropped my head in my hands.

In my heart I knew Vanessa was right, but I wasn't ready to stand on my own two feet yet. Hell, I couldn't even fry an egg without burning it. And then there was that nagging feeling, the one I just couldn't shake off or place. Like I was waiting for something… Something that would give my life meaning…

"Mrauw!"

I instantly snapped out of my thoughts on the future and the meaning of life, and my heart fluttered. "Kiko."

Kiko was the grey-white kitten I had gotten for my birthday last year. He was adorable and just the right amount of crazy. He was completely grey, but with white whiskers, a white bib, cute white slippers, a white belly, and white armpits. He looked ridiculous, especially when I picked him up and the white hairs just stuck out from under his legs, like he needed a good shave.

Kiko padded into my room, the tip of his tail twitching in greeting. When he noticed I was beaming at him, he hurried forward and jumped on my bed to give me a headbutt. "Hey, little guy." I scratched the top of his head, earning myself a satisfied purr. "Have you driven Mike crazy yet?"

Mike and Kiko were not a good combination. It had been Vanessa's idea to get me a pet, because science claimed pets helped against anxiety and depression. Mike had agreed but ever since I had picked out Kiko from the shelter, the two were at war. Kiko did everything in his power to drive Mike up the wall, whether it was to sit in front of the television when Mike was trying to watch sports, switching off his alarm when he had to go to work early, or knock over anything breakable while Mike was yelling at him to leave it alone. Just typical cat stuff, but only with Mike.

Vanessa and I thought it was hilarious.

Kiko fell onto his side as I scratched under his kin, draping himself over my lap and urging me with loud purrs to keep going. "What do you think, little guy? Are you coming to the store today?"

Whenever I helped Vanessa in her shop, Kiko would tag along. Usually he sat on the counter and welcomed the customers with a meow and those willing with a cuddle. When he had grown tired of that, he would lie in the sun or beg me for attention. People loved him. Vanessa claimed her customers had tripled ever since Kiko tagged along and some came to her store just to see him. And like most cats, Kiko simply loved the attention.

I scratched my little devil behind his ear before swatting him off my lap and getting up. The room hadn't changed one bit since I had woken up in it. The pile of drawings had increased and I had added another bookcase – and filled it – but that was it. Kiko slept beside me on the bed and all his stuff – litterbox, scratching post, food, etc – were downstairs. And since it already was my dream bedroom, why change anything about it?

I quickly grabbed my working clothes – some old ripped jeans and a yellow tank top – and disappeared into my little bathroom. It wasn't much, just big enough to squeeze in a shower, sink and toilet, but I was over the moon with it. Especially when I first started living with Mike and Vanessa, I was a bit reserved to strip down naked in front of them. Even now I preferred my privacy.

I had slowly gotten used to my new appearance, though I had changed one thing. No, two things actually. I had dyed my hair. While the ginger steadily had grown on me, I found myself missing my own auburn colour, which was why I now supported auburn waves rather than ginger ones. And to celebrate my graduation, I had gotten my ears pierced: two in the earlobe and one in my ear shell. It was the only rebellious thing I had ever done, though Mike and Vanessa did not consider it that rebellious. They had even supported me in that choice.

The rebelling had been more against my mother than against them anyway.

My mother… Caroline Blackburn. She would be mortified if she saw me now, but that only made me happy. No matter how I tried to forget about her, there were still occasions I heard her criticize me. I doubted I would ever be able to completely shake her off.

One of the first things I had done after the shock had worn off was Google my parents. Apparently, I had ended up in some alternate universe where Caroline and Leonard Blackburn lived, but had no daughter. Carson – God bless the man – on the other hand didn't exist as far as I could find. Instead, the Blackburn family butler was an older fellow named Donald Pierce. A terrible name for a butler, but a good one for a villain.

Everything else was much the same. Obama was still chosen as the first black president in the USA. 9/11 was very much a thing. Hitler had still tried to wipe out an entire culture. The only differences were that some of the old cartoons I had watched as a child hadn't been created of yet. Possibly there were more differences but so far I hadn't come across them.

I pulled my hair into a tail, Kiko walking in circles around my legs and meowing loudly, and added some light make-up. I wasn't a big fan of make-up. I was too lazy to remove it at the end of the day, or even to apply it in the morning. But if I didn't wear any, people constantly came up to me and asked whether I was alright and if it wasn't better if I sat down. That got annoying real fast, hence some eyeshadow, a foundation and some lip-gloss. Nothing more, nothing less, and it was rather easy to wash off at the end of the day.

There were things about Bloom's body that I never quite got used to but couldn't exactly change. Bloom was rather tiny, not even reaching 5'4 whereas I had been 5'8. If I wanted to reach my own height, I needed some serious high heels. I had tried that once and nearly broken both my ankles. The other thing I just couldn't get used to were her curves. I went from push-up bras with filled cups to buying bras that made my bosom not quite as big as it really was.

Once upon a time I had dreamed and wished for some more cleavage. Now I discovered it wasn't all that cracked up. Sometimes my back hurt just because of the weight I carried at the front. And then there were the bras themselves. If I desired a bra that was comfortable, pretty and supported me enough, I had to pay a small fortune. Seriously, what was up with that? It isn't like only rich people have big boobs.

Kiko meowed again and stretched himself out against my leg just as I finished applying my lip-gloss. I absently petted his head, but he swiped his paw at me.

"Right…" I shot him a radiant smile, the movement all too familiar. "Thanks, little guy." This time when I went to pet him, he basically grabbed my hand and pulled it to him.

The other thing I still often forgot about was the medication. Bloom – and by default I – had some serious mental health problems. She swallowed alprazolam for her anxiety, escitalopram for her depression, and quetiapine for her psychoses and to help her sleep. I had tried to go without them for a while. Not one of my brightest ideas.

I learned that her dreams – my dreams – were rather unpleasant. Extremely unpleasant even. Without the quetiapine I woke up several times during the night in cold-sweat and with tears streaming down my face, and the sleep I did get was restless and therefore not nearly enough for my body and mind to recover. Without the alprazolam and escitalopram my emotions were all over the place and I constantly saw auras. Worse was the pressure on my chest, whispering that something was wrong, that I was needed elsewhere and urgently at that, and the continuous rush of adrenaline whenever my mind thought danger was lurking around the corner while that was far from the case.

I hadn't even lasted a week before starting on the medication again. And whenever I forgot to take them… Well, I would know by the time the day was nearing its end.

Luckily Kiko helped me to remember taking them. There was not a day that passed by where I wasn't happy to have him around and grateful that Vanessa had insisted on getting me a pet for my – well, Bloom's – birthday.

After taking my medication, I shot a hesitant glance in the mirror. Two years but I still wasn't used to the face that stared back. Especially Bloom's beauty tended to catch me off-guard. It had taken some time for me to get used to calling Mike and Vanessa mom and dad, and to being called Bloom, but there was something just wrong about calling Bloom's beauty my beauty. I had already taken up so much of her life and claimed it as my own that for some reason claiming that as well… It just felt wrong.

I shook my head dismissively. "Don't dwell on it, Sybil. You will just feel guilty and scared." And both tended to worsen my mood. The guilt came from living Bloom's life, calling her lovely parents my own, and making decisions for her. At the same time, I was terrified that one day I would wake up and find myself back in London and with my parents. That all this proved to be nothing but a wonderful dream or hallucination.

"Bloom!"

"Coming!" I called back, quickly turning my back to the mirror and picking up Kiko. The cat purred and draped itself over my neck, rubbing his soft chin against my cheek. The best thing about Kiko was how soft he was. Bunny soft.

When I came bouncing down the stairs, I found Mike in the hallway about to leave for work. I shot him a radiant smile. "Morning, dad."

Mike was a big man in every sense of the word. He stood at 6'0 tall and was a bundle of muscle. Everything about him was strong, everything except his personality. He was a softie by heart, especially to those he loved.

Bloom did not resemble either of her parents. Mike was tall, tanned due to working outside all the time, and had short blonde hair that he smoothed back with a lot of gel and dark blue eyes that twinkled either seriously or amused. There honestly was no in-between. Vanessa on the other hand was a Latina, with dark hair and dark eyes. She had that sway to the music only Latino's seemed to possess and a body that was slim yet curvy.

A few months after waking up in Bloom's body I had dared to ask why that was. Surely one of them had to have some red-genes in them if their daughter was a ginger. I wasn't all that surprised when they admitted that she – I? – was adopted. That confession had been incredibly hard for them, their faces pulled away in agony and tears streaming down their cheeks like they had committed the greatest offense by admitting their daughter was not truly their daughter.

That was when I had fallen in love with them. I had cried with them, hugged them, and assured them that I loved them nonetheless and they would always be my parents. And I had meant every damn word. Calling them mom and dad had gotten easier afterwards, being called Bloom and reacting to the name as well. By now I was even calling them and my own parents differently: Caroline and Leonard were mother and father, while Mike and Vanessa were mom and dad.

"Good morning, sweetheart." I hugged Mike tightly, the butterflies fluttering happily as he kissed the top of my head. Mike smelled divine. He used this Hugo Boss aftershave that suited him perfectly and just made him smell like safety. I couldn't explain it, but he just did.

"Are you already heading to work?" I gazed up at him, frowning worriedly. "You got home pretty late last night."

Mike chuckled, tapping my nose. I giggled. "And you should know. What were you still doing up at midnight, young lady?"

I shrugged innocently. "Reading."

Mike rolled his eyes, sighing a bit dramatically. "Oh, boy. Do I want to know which author has you hooked this time?"

"Sarah J. Maas. A Court of Thorns and Roses," I told him cheerfully. "It is really good. I just couldn't put it away."

"Maas…" Mike rubbed his clean-shaved chin absently. "Isn't that that author that wrote a whole series about an assassin / princess? The one you were addicted on a few months back?"

I nodded. "Huh-huh."

Mike pinched his nose, shaking his head. "Sweetheart, is this another book about fairies?"

"Fae," I corrected with a bright smile. "There is a difference." Mike just shook his head. "Don't worry, dad. Just because I love fantasy doesn't mean I believe it's real."

I wasn't sure what had brought me to the Peters or why I was possessing Bloom, but I refused to believe magic had something to do with it. If magic existed, then I would have seen proof of it by now. People would grow old a lot healthier; children wouldn't end up dying because of some rare type of cancer; car crashes would be a lot less damaging, not to mention that those damned school shootings the USA was infamous for would claim less lives. Magic could heal, couldn't it? It could protect.

If there was magic, then it sure as hell didn't exist in Gardena, California, or in the USA for that matter.

Mike pursed his lips. "There is nothing wrong with a good crime novel, you know?"

"Like Miss Marple?" I dared cheekily, chuckling when he glared at me. Mike was a big Agatha Christie's fan, especially Miss Marple. He loved that "senile old woman". "Crime is your genre, dad, just as fantasy is mine and cook books are mom's." I tiptoed and pressed a kiss on his cheek. "Say hi to the boys for me."

"Or you could come down to say it yourself during your lunch break," suggested Mike with an adoring smile. "They would be happy to see you."

He was a firefighter, had been his whole life. Discovering that had been a little frightening, especially after falling in love with him and Vanessa, and embracing them as my mom and dad. Fires were dangerous and the papers were filled with firefighters getting hurt or even killed while doing their work. Luckily Mike had a group of men around him who were as devoted to him as he was to them. Since meeting them, I wasn't sitting on pins and needles whenever he had to work and was called out. I couldn't fully relax, but I wasn't on the verge of a panic attack.

I arched an eyebrow, the corners of my lips tugging up. "Are you inviting Kiko and me over for lunch?"

Mike's eyes instantly zoomed in on the cat in my neck and narrowed dangerously. Judging by how Kiko's tail was swishing, my kitten was glaring straight back. "You are welcome, he isn't."

I chuckled. "Another time, dad. I have a date with the park this afternoon." I gave him another kiss on his cheek. "Be safe."

"Always."

Vanessa shook her head at me when I entered the kitchen. "Finally."

I shot her a blinding smile. "Sorry. I will make it up. Promise."

She waved a finger at me, a smile breaking through the mask of sternness. "What did I tell you about using your secret weapon on me?" I smiled innocently and she just shook her head, giving up on trying to scold me and allowing her own amusement to slip through.

The secret weapon she was referring to was one of my smiles. Mike had started to call it that after I had used it a little too often on him to get my way and I thought it suiting. Because of Bloom's beauty, people already found it rather difficult to say no when I requested something. But when I shot them a particular radiant smile and my most pleading look, mixed with a little bit of innocence, it seemed that any earlier reservation they might have had just melted away. They probably realised saying no to me was a battle they couldn't possibly win. I could be very persuasive when I wanted to.

Vanessa chuckled. "I pity the man who you end up marrying, sweetheart. He will have to use a baseball bat to chase off all your admirers."

I laughed at that. "It is probably why Andy let me go so easily. He isn't exactly the violent type."

Andy Dayton was a good friend of both mine and Bloom, and my ex-boyfriend. He was cute and sweet, not too shabby looking either and he had a gift for music. He was accepted at Juilliard – Juilliard! – and currently preparing to move to New York. I had ended things shortly after we had graduated. Andy was easy to be around, but I wouldn't exactly say I was or ever had been in love with him. Thinking back on it now, Andy and I had more been like friends who occasionally kissed than boyfriend and girlfriend.

Maybe I had tried to be something more with him because he was the first person outside Mike and Vanessa that I got to know as Bloom.

When I had woken up in Bloom's body, she had been unconscious for about a day. Apparently, she had fainted while she and Andy had been at the park. How he did not know. He had been away parking their bicycles and upon joining her, he had found her unconscious. Being the good friend he was, he had called Mike. Since in the USA you had to pay for an ambulance ride, Mike and his boys had taken Bloom home. Vanessa had called the GP who had come over. His diagnosis: fever. But because she was still breathing on her own and her fever wasn't dangerously high, Bloom was allowed to remain home. And I had ended up in her body not long after.

It was partly why Vanessa hadn't freaked out more when she had found me screaming and crying on the bathroom floor. She thought I had been delirious from the fever, something I never corrected her on.

Anyway, Andy as the good friend he was had visited every day until the GP had given me the all clear and I was allowed to leave my bed. He would entertain me for hours on what I – well, Bloom – had missed at school and naturally he brought me my homework. It was partly because of him and his stories that I managed to "become" Bloom relatively easily.

When I told Andy I wanted to end things, he had been relieved. I guessed he had been thinking something similar but Andy was a good guy by heart and didn't want to upset or hurt anyone if he could help it. Least of all me – erm, Bloom? No, both…

Whatever.

We agreed to go back to being friends and to keep in touch. I doubted we really would since I was staying here in California and he would soon be on the other side of the country and working hard on his career. But that was alright. I was grateful for everything Andy had done for me and for Bloom, both intentionally and unintentionally. For that he would always have a special place in my heart. Just like Carson.

Vanessa glanced at the clock, a small frown nestled between her brows, while I quickly shoved some pancakes into my mouth. Vanessa and Mike didn't care about diets and weight, and while my mother proved to be hard to shrug off, there were moments I enjoyed immensely that I could eat whatever I wanted to without worrying about the consequences. Pizza was currently my favourite thing in the world. Something I had in common with Bloom, whose favourite cuisine was also pizza. Or that was what Mike had told me.

After I swallowed my last bite and given Kiko a scrap, I quickly washed my plate and cutlery – the Peters' home didn't have dishwasher unfortunately – before turning to Vanessa with another blinding smile. "Done!"

Vanessa chuckled, shaking her head. "One of these days, Bloom…" She shook her head again, leaving me guessing at the rest of her sentence.

The rest of the morning passed in a flash.

Vanessa had her own flower shop, one of the handful in Gardena. Since it was summer and temperatures were about 78, not an awful lot of people came around to buy flowers. Most were on holiday and those who remained behind weren't buying flowers since they withered easily in this weather.

Knowing this as well, Vanessa had invested in something besides flowers from an early start. The shop was currently divided into three areas. In the centre were the flowers and bouquets. Then to one side were the usual houseplants in different pots, and on the other side was tableware. After I had suggested Emma Bridgewater – an English brand I had loved back in London – Vanessa had taken to it and imported it. She was currently one of the few people in the USA who sold it, and that showed itself in the sales and online orders.

Vanessa had taught me a lot regarding flowers and how to make a bouquet these last two years, but I wasn't even remotely a florist. Thus, she handled the flowers and bouquets while I busied myself with the online orders, welcoming any customer to the shop, and the cash register.

After a busy morning, things quieted down. Between twelve and two we barely had any customers, it being lunch time and all that. Luckily this also gave Vanessa and I the chance to eat without one less person in the store becoming a real problem. Twelve to one was my usual break and once I was back, Vanessa would stretch her legs.

Mrs. Ogden – a sweet old woman who lived across the street from the shop – was one of our regulars. She basically visited every day for a quick chat and usually left with one or two new items. That afternoon she came in for a bouquet, petting Kiko while waiting for Vanessa to finish her bouquet.

Mrs. Ogden was still chatting when I returned after ordering three sandwiches. Especially with my tendency to sleep in, we usually left the house without packing a lunch. Luckily one of our neighbours was a deli and they made sure our orders were ready to be paid for and grabbed before rush hour started.

"I'm back." Vanessa turned to me and smiled when I skipped into the shop. Vanessa's skill never stopped amazing me, no matter how long I was around her. She didn't even pause with turning a handful of flowers into a beautiful bouquet for Mrs. Ogden, just continued adding one new flower after another into the bouquet without even looking at it. "Two club sandwiches and one hoagie." I blew a strand of hair out of my face as I stopped by the counter. Vanessa was busy behind it while Mrs. Ogden sat on one of our chairs beside it with a cup tea. I handed her one of the club sandwiches, just as she had requested. "Here you go, Mrs. Ogden."

The old woman flashed her yellowish teeth at me in a grateful smile, her sparkling eyes hidden behind some thick round glasses. "Why, thank you, dear. You are a darling."

"No line this time?" Vanessa glanced to the front of the shop. When the deli had rush hour, the line usually passed right in front of the shop, but this afternoon it was absent.

I chuckled. "The tourists have invaded Gardena again and they don't know they are supposed to head our way. Instead, they are blocking everything from the deli to Ms. Beverly."

The two women shook their heads as one. Ms. Beverly was a clothing store and the owner – Ms. Beverly Hill – was a rather unpleasant woman who started yelling whenever her shop was blocked by the deli's hungry customers.

"Yeah, she wasn't overly pleased." I put Vanessa's sandwich into the fridge behind the counter. "She got her hands on poor George while he was trying to get people to form a line into our direction. I thought he might faint with how pale he was."

"Awful woman," scoffed Mrs. Ogden. "Always has been. She is one of my former students, you know?" I smiled amused. Mrs. Ogden was a retired teacher and liked to talk about the good old days, especially about former students of hers. The story of Beverly Hill she had shared with Vanessa and I many times, and then some. By now Vanessa probably knew the story even better than Mrs. Ogden did herself with often she had heard it. "None of the kids ever gave me any trouble, except her. Young Beverly Hill. She would throw a tantrum over even the slightest thing. If I got a dollar for every time she threatened to tell her parents this and that…" She made a rude gesture. "Well, I would have been able to visit my grandchildren a little more often."

Vanessa nodded politely, wearing what I liked to call her customer smile. It was a smile, but not a real one. Like she was smiling to hide what she was really thinking. And she only wore it while working, and on occasions when Mike was talking utter nonsense.

"Poor George," echoed Vanessa, turning the conversation away from Mrs. Ogden's memoires. "I hope his father came to his aid."

"Rush hour, mom," I reminded her easily. "Though I am sure that if he could have been spared, he would have saved him." I shrugged. "Anyway, I decided to remind Beverley that while her nasty personality is a known fact in town, her customers might be put off by it. It was enough to remind her she was currently yelling in front of a whole line of potential customers, who were – shockingly – not all that happy with all that yelling while waiting for something to eat. Can't blame them either. I would be right nasty too."

Vanessa clicked her tongue disapprovingly. "Bloom, how many times do I have to tell you not to agitate her even further?"

I shrugged. "Hey, I was just standing up for George. And I doubt I can blow it even more with Beverly. After all, she is a good friend of Tyndalls. No doubt Mitzi has been blackening my name long before the woman ever got to know me." Vanessa just sighed and shook her head. I grinned. "It's fine, mom," I assured her. "Beverly Hill is probably the last person in Gardena who scares me."

"You ought to have a bit more faith in your daughter, Vanessa," agreed Mrs. Ogden, nodding wisely. I hid my laugh behind my hand. She would make a fine Miss Marple. Mike could be the clueless police lieutenant. "She is a force to be reckoned with." She winked at me and I quickly lowered my hand, shooting her a grin in acknowledgement. "Just like her mother. Oh, the stories I can tell you, dearie…"

I laughed out loud this time. "I am sure you can, Mrs. Ogden." And I had no doubt she had already told them as well, just not to me. Bloom on the other hand… "But I am afraid it will have to be another time." I turned back to Vanessa. "I've got my phone –" Her lips parted but I beat her to it. "– and yes, the sound is on as well." Vanessa chuckled. "If there is anything, call."

Vanessa pressed a quick kiss on my temple, not a flower slipping out of place. "Go on, sweetheart. Enjoy the sun."

"Like that will happen." I snorted, grabbing my giant sunhat from the counter and depositing it on my head before calling to my kitten. "Come on, Kiko."

Mrs. Ogden pouted a little as Kiko allowed her one final pet before jumping of the counter and racing after me with his tail straight up in the air. I didn't even need to pick him up once we were outside. All I had to was open my bicycle basket and he jumped straight in, his eyes glittering eagerly in the sun. I waved at Vanessa and Mrs. Ogden through the window before getting on the bike myself and making my way to the park.

Kiko was a delightful kitten who reminded me more often than not of a dog rather than a cat. He loved going with me to the park and run around, climbing into the trees to hunt for birds. Not that he ever succeeded. The birds knew to find someplace else the moment they saw him coming. Didn't stop the little terror from trying, though.

Now and then we bumped into a dog. They tended to chase after him. He would fly into the nearest tree and then torment the poor animal by meowing loudly at them and walking back and forth, almost like he was daring them to come and get him. He wasn't nearly as brave when there wasn't a tree around to climb in, though.

The funniest thing about Kiko was how he always came when I called. The dog owners usually gaped when they saw it. Honestly, in the short year I had the little ball of sunshine I had seen him behave and listen better than some dogs.

Kiko hissed in his basket a mere second before a nasal voice yelled: "Hey, Bloom!"

I groaned, rolling my eyes. "Speak of the devil and she will appear."

I turned to the scooter which had driven up beside me. "Hi, Mitzi."

Mitzi Tyndall often reminded me of – well, me. She was tall and lanky, flat-chested and fit to be a model which was exactly what she was trying to become. She had that California tan basically everyone around me had – except, you know, me – long luscious black hair and green eyes that since graduating were no longer hidden beneath a pair of sharp glasses. She had started wearing contact lenses since glasses were "so not hot". Currently she was showing off her midriff and as much skin as possible, wearing shorts and a bikini top.

"I would never wear that on a scooter." I grimaced as I thought of how painful it would be to fall and skip over the asphalt in what Mitzi was wearing. "But hey, with Mitzi it is appearance before anything else. Including safety."

"Still wasting your time on that old bicycle?" she sneered. I guessed her green eyes were gleaming nastily, but since she was wearing the biggest pair of sunglasses I had ever seen, I couldn't be sure. "Mommy and daddy can't afford to buy you something a bit more grown-up, huh?"

I wondered often whether Mitzi had always been this unpleasant or if it had started after I had taken over Bloom and started to talk back to her. According to Andy, the Bloom before the fever would just smile and take everything Mitzi said, which was why Mitzi didn't torment her that much. That Bloom was always shy and kind. Me? I didn't take shit from anyone, least of all a wannabe like Mitzi, and Mitzi didn't like that all that much.

"Still destroying the planet and putting yourself on an even stricter diet by sitting on that polluting death-trap?" I shot back with my most innocent smile. "Didn't mommy and daddy tell you that exercise is good for you?" My eyes gleamed wickedly. "Or that you should wear protective gear?"

Mitzi hadn't been paying attention to the road, too busy sneering at me. I had and cut her off to take the corner and get to the park. She shrieked loudly – Kiko hissed in response – at the unexpectedness of it all. Her scooter swayed, once and twice, before protesting loudly as she hit the brakes.

I laughed, her cursing and yelling drifting after me. "A few more weeks and she will be gone. Hopefully I will never have to see her again." Kiko meowed and I winked at my kitten. "The crime rate is pretty high in Los Angeles after all. One can hope, hmm?"

The park – which I practically visited every single afternoon during my lunchbreak – was only a five-minute ride from Vanessa's shop. I had a favourite spot, away from the paths and hidden between the trees. It was secluded and most importantly, it was in the shadow.

Kiko grew restless and started meowing as I got off the bike and rolled it to our spot. "Alright, alright," I told him with a laugh. "Hold your horses." He was off the moment I opened the basket, running straight past the nearest trees to his favourite spot. There was a clearing not too far where squirrels ruled. And he just loved to chase after them.

I laughed, watching him disappear in a flurry of grey and white, placing my bike against a tree before sinking down on the soft grass and removing my hat. My shoulders were already a little sore due to the exposure to the sun. Another thing Bloom and I had in common: our skins hated sunlight and burned easily.

I hummed quietly at the silence surrounding me. Of course, I could hear the distant hum of cars, the chatter of people walking through the park, and even the heavy footfall of someone running, but still tranquillity surrounded me. I could hear the wind ruffle the leaves, the bees buzzing around me as they searched for nectar, and the birds singing their finest songs.

"It was never this peaceful in London," I lamented sadly, watching as a bee paused mid-air to rub its little legs over its head. "And everything was too quiet at home." I smiled as the bee shot away. "I hope this will last…"

My biggest nightmare was that I would be ripped away from this life. That whoever had messed up and put me in Bloom's place, realised their mistake and righted it. That I would go back to being Sybil Blackburn, the girl whose life was dictated by her mother.

"No." I instantly shook my head, unwrapping my sandwich and removing the ham. I always saved it for Kiko. "Even if I go back to my own body, I will never go back to that life. I will tell mother where she can stick her dreams. Hell, she can even disown me and kick me out. I will manage." I grimaced. "I hope…"

Truth was, I had no idea what I would do or say if I returned to my own body and came face to face with my mother once again. I liked to believe I was finally strong and brave enough to stand up to her. But part of me worried. There was a reason I had never stood up to her before, why I bowed my head and said "yes, mother" whenever she desired something and it wasn't because I was a coward.

A hiss snapped me out of my thoughts and I glanced up, frowning when I saw my fur-ball running straight at me. His ears were turned flat on its little head and his hair pointed straight up. I had honestly never seen him this fluffed up before.

I sniggered as he flew onto my lap, turning into the direction he had come from and growling lowly. "Whatever is the matter, Kiko? Have the squirrels decided to gang up against you? I told you that was bound to happen."

I had barely finished my sentence when I felt it: a harsh pull beneath my midriff. The air was suddenly thick and beckoning me forward, nipping at my exposed skin in a way that was both pleasant and unpleasant.

I put my sandwich down, not even lamenting that I hadn't taken a single bite. Kiko growled again when I scooted him off my lap and got to my feet. I hardly noticed.

Excitement was bubbling in my stomach as I approached whatever was calling out to me. Was this what I had been searching for? Why I felt like I was needed elsewhere while I was off my medication?

As I neared the clearing, my breath hitched and every single hair on my body stood straight up. The air was even thicker than before and buzzing with something I couldn't quite place. It was almost like the energy we had once generated during physics, except it was different. Purer.

"Addicting…" I realised with a start. I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether it was wise to keep going. My curiosity won it from my caution.

My jaw landed on the floor, my eyes nearly popping out when I reached the clearing, hiding half behind a tree, and discovered what exactly had startled my poor kitten.

And it was not in the least what I had expected.

"What the fuck…?"

In the clearing that was usually only occupied by squirrels and a stray dog – for some reasons most people and animals did not like to go near the clearing – was a group of people. No, "people" wasn't the right word but I had no idea what to call them either.

In the middle stood a tall blonde girl in the oddest outfit I had ever seen. It was almost like every inch of her body was covered in sparkling pale-yellow mail. Yet over it she wore a long one-shoulder top that fell open by her waist like some sort of dress, and under it some shorts. A golden belt shimmered around her waist, keeping the flowing dress-top-thing close, and on her wrists sparkled more gold. They reminded me of those clasps Wonder Woman had. Her hair was braided into an astonishing crown that caught my attention for quite some time, and in it she wore a golden tiara. Like that wasn't weird enough, on her back were wings. Monarch butterfly wings, except they were transparent and even shimmered in the sunlight that fell through the trees.

If only she was the weirdest of the bunch.

Surrounding her were terrifying creatures that made me want to scream and run back to Kiko. They walked on all fours with their backs bent and…

"Oh dear God, are that bones sticking out of their skin?!" I nearly screamed, my stomach twisting at the sight. "Oh sweet Jesus, they ARE!"

The ugly creatures seemed somewhat human, except on several places the grey-white skin was pulled back and revealed actual bones. Their vertebrae were sticking out like needles and I could count their ribs from a distance since there was nothing covering them. The rest of the body was in different variations of decay, but the skin was tight around everything. I could see every muscle and every tendon. They had no hair, and no feet but rather walked on stubs, and their fingers were long and digging into the earth. They wore no clothing – not that they had anything that needed to be covered – and made this weird growling noise that sent shivers down my spine. The worst were their heads. They were just plain skulls. There was no skin to cover the muscles. They missed their lower jaw and some eyes. Instead black skin hung down their cheeks like a bib and bright green lights shimmered out of their sockets.

"Oh God, in what kind of messed of universe did I end up?"

The final member of the odd group was a giant. He would tower above me and his hands were as big as my head. He was as bald as a coot, but had thick dark eyebrows and crazy looking sideburns. He was as enormous in height as in width. Boy, did he need a diet. I could hide three of myself behind him and there still would be plenty of room. And unlike the terrifying creatures, he seemed much more alive. Not that that was all that difficult. His eyes were oddly coloured but at least he had eyes, and bones weren't sticking out of him either. Much to my relief he was also dressed. In brown overalls?

I frowned, a sense of déjà vu washing over me as I observed the odd group. "Why does this seem familiar…?"

I had barely finished my observation when the group abruptly began to move. The terrifying creatures jumped forward and attacked the girl. Instantly her wings moved and she flew out of their reach. She yelled something I couldn't quite make out – it sounded like sun something – and then a flash followed. The next moment she was grasping a sceptre – gold, why wasn't I surprised? – in her hands that worsened the déjà vu feeling.

"I know I have seen this before, but where?"

The girl yelled something again, pointing her sceptre – was that thing glowing? – at the two nearest creatures. A light surrounded them and they weren't happy with it by their growls and screeches. The light brightened and the creatures exploded before my eyes into a cloud of dust. Two more came at the girl. She dodged them easily and gave the nearest a roundhouse kick that had it slam against the nearest tree. The creature turned to dust just like the earlier two had.

"Sweet Jesus, I am watching someone fly…" I pinched myself, but the scene before me remained unchanged. The flying girl fought the ugly monsters and I could only stare at them. "What the hell did I eat? I must be freaking high, or hallucinating. Did they put mushrooms on my sandwich? I don't even like mushrooms."

A loud roar ripped me out of my inner monologue and I gazed up just in time to see the giant run to the girl. This time she wasn't fast enough. He hit her like a sledgehammer, the force enough to destroy someone's entire ribcage. Not the girl. She just sailed through the air and landed on the ground with a loud thud, barely a few feet away from me.

She cried out on the impact, her sceptre flying out of her hands. It sailed through the air, further and further away from her until landing and skipping over the grass. And stopped directly beside me.

I stared at it, my heart in my throat. Time came to a halt, noise faded away, even the light dimmed. It was just me and the sceptre.

The sceptre was tall, taller than me, with a round crown that seemed to resemble the sun and moon in one: the sun was made out of solid gold with between the rays little diamonds, the moon was created from dark blue jewels and found itself in the centre of the sun.

The air sizzled around me, my fingers prickling and urging me to pick it up. I could only stare at the sceptre in awe. My skin tingled and burned, a lightness settling over me that I had only experienced once when I had tried some pot. My cheeks hurt from the wide smile that had crept its way onto my face, yet there was nothing to smile about.

"Remember the monsters?" My hand was already reaching for the sceptre and I couldn't do anything to stop it. Only observe as my body moved without my consent. What did I even want with the thing? Sure, it had a nice sparkle and I just loved sparkly stuff, but did I truly desire a sceptre? "Stop reaching for it. With how your hands are shaking you won't even be able to hold it, you idiot. Not to mention that those monsters will certainly come after you if you pick it up."

"Kill her!" bellowed a voice, ripping me out of the trance.

My head snapped up and I saw the remaining creatures bouncing towards the girl who was still on the ground. Their growls filled the air and their jaws were snapping, which was astonishing because they didn't even have a lower one!

"They are going to kill her!"

Without another second thought I grabbed the sceptre – it was a lot lighter than I expected – and jumped into the clearing, in front of the girl. "Back off!"

The creatures instantly stopped, but growled lowly. Chills ran down my spine as I found their green stares fixated solely on me. Were they licking their lips? Ugh, disgusting!

"Oh, Sybil. What are you doing?" I quivered as I stared at the creatures, keeping the sceptre bravely in front of me. I didn't feel brave. Quite the opposite, I had to constantly adjust the sceptre to keep it from slipping out of my numb trembling fingers. "You are going to get yourself kill."

The air around me hummed, buzzing and dancing around me, running over my exposed skin and leaving a trail of goosebumps into their wake. It was like static electricity, but more palpable, like it would drip through my fingers like water if I reached out for it.

The creatures growled again and the giant cocked his head as he observed me. I bared my teeth in a snarl, tightening my fingers around the golden sceptre when it slipped almost out of my hands again. "Back off!" I repeated, trying to sound brave and intimidating. "Leave her alone, or I swear…"

I wasn't even sure what I would do, but I was going to do something.

The giant seemed to guess I was all bark and no bite and threw his head back, his laughter echoing through the trees. I almost squeaked and dropped the sceptre, to run off in fright.

"Kill them both! Get me that sceptre!"

The creatures instantly jumped forward, growling hungrily. I screamed and purely on instinct, threw the sceptre forward like it was a stick I could use to swack people over the head. I didn't hit anything. Instead a reddish light shot out of the sceptre, racing to the creatures like a laser beam and slamming straight into them. They were knocked back, flowing right out of the clearing.

My jaw dropped, the sceptre slipping out of my fingers and falling on the ground with a "clang". "Did I do that? No, that's impossible."

"Come here, you!" I screamed when the giant – appearing out of nowhere – grabbed my wrist and lifted me up in the air like I was a straw doll. I wiggled and kicked at him to get free, my mind switching between fighting and freezing, but the giant was unbothered by my attempts. Instead he bared his teeth at me. A horrendous smell assaulted me instantly and my eyes watered. "I will break you like a porcelain doll!"

I screamed at the pressure he applied, my wrists feeling like a branch that was about to snap. "He is going to kill me!"

I struggled again, fighting with everything I had. "GET OFF ME!"

What happened next… Well, I wasn't too sure.

One moment I was hanging in the air, the next I was lying on the ground and trying to catch my breath. My whole body was shaking like a leaf, I couldn't feel my fingers and breathing was near impossible, like I had run a marathon. Worse was the cold that surrounded me like icy water.

All in all, it wasn't pleasant. Not even in the least.

A hand landed on my shoulder as I struggled to breathe. "Are you alright?" I gazed up, squinting as I found myself staring straight up at the sun. In it stood a silhouette. No, not a silhouette. An actual person. It was the girl. She smiled warmly down at me, the sceptre sparkling once more in her hand. "Take it easy. That was some impressive magic you used."

"Magic?" I just stared at her, but her attention was no longer on me.

She took a pose in front of me – much like I had done earlier – and pointed her sceptre at the giant. Only he and a handful of those ugly creatures remained.

"I have my sceptre back," she growled at the giant. I peeked past her, finding him on his back on the other side of the clearing. The remaining creatures gazed aimlessly around like they weren't sure what to do next. "You don't scare me anymore, you ugly beast."

Another flash followed and this time I noticed how a beam of what seemed pure sunlight shot out of the sceptre and towards the giant and his minions. At the same time another light – this one much darker and almost purple – surrounded her opponents and just like that they were gone. The bean of sunlight hit the trees they had been standing in front of and lit them up, yet when the light died down none of the trees had sustained any damage. The clearing was hardly unscathed, minus the ground surrounding me. That was utterly scorched.

I blinked at where the giant and the creatures had been but no longer were. They had disappeared into thin air. I had shot something out of a sceptre and defeated some of those creatures. The numbness washing over me prickled my senses, alerting me of something. I just couldn't remember what.

"Thank goodness they are gone." The girl let out a deep sigh, the sceptre disappearing in another sunny flash. I stared at her, my heart slamming against my chest.

"What just happened?"

Suddenly the girl's knees gave out and she slumped forward, landing directly beside me on the grass. A final flash surrounded her and suddenly she was dressed differently. Gone were the wings, the mail, and all the gold. Instead, she wore a cheerful summer dress that looked way too expensive to be on the floor, and some heels that put Louboutin's to shame.

My breath caught in my throat as the puzzle pieces finally clicked into place. Everything suddenly made sense, why I had been searching for some meaning, what had drawn me to this place, why the whole fight scene was like a bad déjà vu. Even how I had fought the giant and those creatures now made sense.

I had seen it before, as a child.

"Winx Club doesn't exist in this world because it IS this world. I am in a kid's cartoon! Worse, I am the main character of said kid's cartoon!"

And with that, the world turned black.

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