Winx Club A Different Way AU: A Dragon Awakens

by RayeWonderland

Bloom, a teen girl from Earth discovers she has magical abilities and enrolls in the Alfea College for Fairies. Along with her newfound friend Stella, a fairy princess, Bloom meets her other flatmates Flora, Musa, and Tecna. Together, they form the Winx Club and fight off the wicked Trix! This is a rewrite and I don't own anything from the Winx Club franchise.

15. Chapter 15: Family Secrets

Summary:

It's fall break and the students of the magic schools will be taking a break to be with families! Bloom is ready to be back home, but while there she's going to help her parents out and unravel some secrets during this time!

A/N: Welcome back lovelies,

Well as promised here's Chapter 15, I did want to post that at least even though I'm taking a break from writing. The break will probably be short, I usually rush back into things quicklys, but I think it might be two or three months. Sorry guys, but you should expect 16 soon in November, so cool right? Lol I'm glad I could at least finish these two chapters becasue I really love writing and I really love sharing my story with you guys!

I don't have much to say, I have been going through some issues at home, a new move, and just not feeling very good, but I love this story so much and will be posting chapter 15 today because you guys deserve that after like a couple months of no updates! I am so sorry for going silent! I will be taking a break after posting chapter 16 and chapter 17 through the rest will be posted sometime in December, but the story will continue. Lol I really do love writing andreally do appreciate you guys for being my fans!

Editor:
Paranoidgirl (thanks for the help dude or dudette!)

Thank you so much. I love you all!

Okay without further ado, here's:

Chapter 15: Family Secrets

After three months of insane classes, students, professors, and life, Fall break finally arrived. Usually, Bloom had to look forward to Spring and Summer breaks, but at Alfea, since school started during the Summer the breaks happened differently. Fall break, holiday breaks (although she didn't really know what the holidays were), and Spring.

Now Bloom was heading home for a three-week October break to be with her parents and the city of Gardenia. She wasn't showing it, but she was pretty happy to be headed back home. Although she loved magic and appreciated being with her new friends, she desperately needed a break away from it all and back to monotonous suburbia, or what counts as monotony in Gardenia.

A day before the break would officially start, Bloom and the Winx were at the pizza parlor in Magix City. Unlike her first time at this restaurant, which ended with her encased in ice, she was enjoying her pepperoni and mushroom pizza.

"This is the best pizza I've ever had!" Bloom said, being able to fully enjoy the taste this time around.

"I feel like this covered slice of cheese is going to give me an acne outbreak," Stella disagreed, pushing away her plain cheese pizza and wiping her mouth with a grimace. "I'm sorry, why couldn't we have the delightful delicacies at the Vail, I offered to pay."

"Stella, if I wanted to eat fish eggs on a piece of cracka I'd go down to the local pond with my fishin' gear," Tecna said, in between chewing her meat lover's pizza.

"It's caviar on crocs toast!" Stella corrected. "And you didn't even give it a chance before you all walked out."

"Fish eggs being used as trivial expensive grub," Flora lamented, wiping her mouth with a napkin. "Why must harmless living creatures be reduced to such garish meals?"

"Not to mention the water wasn't very good," Musa added. "Tasted like flavorless air."

"How in the Sam hill was that even possible?" Tecna questioned with a nod in agreement.

"It was gathered from the springs of Panna!" Stella said, covering her face.

"Nobody wants expensive spring water and eggs on toast, can we please move forward?" Bloom begged, trying to change the subject.

"Fyracracka is right," Tecna nodded, wiping her mouth on her shoulder much to Stella's disgust. "Break time is a-comin', and I am ready! When I get back on that ranch, I'm goin' to be working on my new PC."

"Ranch?" Bloom questioned.

"Yeah, my parents own a ranch, they bought it befo'e I was born and have been running it ever since. Now did I forget to tell y'all that or did yo' just assume I lived on a farm?" Tecna questioned with a raised eyebrow and smirk.

Bloom blushed, too embarrassed to respond. The girls looked at each other than back at her before nervously saying, "No…"

"Y'all too much and I have mentioned it befo'e. Yo' forgetful hens," Tecna said, chuckling along with the other girls. "The point is we are pretty well known in my hometown. We take care of livestock, sell supplies and such, like eggs and milk, we pretty well off."

"You contribute to the commercialization of poor animals!" Flora exclaimed. "When will the animal turmoil end?"

"You had to get her started," Bloom said, pinching the bridge of her nose.

Tecna nodded. "Well flower child, instead of havin' another conniption, tell us about what you got planned."

"Me?" Flora said, placing a hand on her chest. "Just the usual, there is a music festival we attend every year. It's really fun. Not to mention we'll be trying new vegan recipes."

"Papa and I are going to do a lot of reading," Musa said next. "I tried to convince him to go to this dance festival, but he just wants to re-read some old books with me and help him grade papers. He's a professor!"

"Grading papers and… reading?" Stella said slowly. "This is something you want to do?"

Musa shrugged. "I convinced him to take me out in town to shop, but that was about it. I don't want to bother him too much. Don't worry though, I love reading and helping out. It's my passion!"

"Well, if anyone can make fun out of a dull situation, it's you," Bloom said with a smile.

Musa giggled in response she then turned to Stella and Bloom. "Well don't leave us hanging you two, what are your plans?"

"Stella, you can go, my time will be pretty boring," Bloom said, waving her hand for the girl to talk.

"Thank you, darling," Stella said, perking up. "I'll be back at the castle living the lavish life I'm so accustomed to."

"Missed your servants too?" Bloom asked sardonically.

"Please, they miss me," Stella said pridefully, causing the other girls to share the same amused look. "It's going to be a grand time."

"You'll be okay around your parents?" Bloom said, cutting right to the chase. "If you don't mind me asking."

"You're fine, that's the best part," Stella said beaming. "Mother is staying in her villa in the Lunar Sanctum and my father is swamped in King work, completely separated by thousands of miles and work so that leaves me with one thing to do… clubbing with Sky! He said he'll come to visit me!"

"Your dad's okay with that?" Musa asked between chews.

Stella bit her lip, "He's too busy to notice. Whoops."

Stella giggled. Bloom's eyes shifted to Musa who shook her head with a smile.

"You gonna get that boy killed," Tecna said laughing hoarsely.

"It'll be worth it. Oh, it'll be worth it," Stella said flirtatiously. She and the other girls laughed. "I'll still miss you gals dearly, even if it's just three weeks. Which is why I got you gifts!"

Stella reached underneath the table pulling out large pink velvet monogrammed bags she had brought with her for the lunch trip and eagerly waited to gift them to her besties. Bloom held her head down chuckling, another gift. The Princess seemed accustomed to gifting her friends no matter what.

Bloom still had the pink choker the girl had given her not so long ago mixed with her other jewelry, she only wore it one time but still decided to keep it. She didn't want her friendship to be defined by gifts though, she liked Stella for other reasons.

"We're already your friends, you don't have to give us things," Bloom said.

"Girl shut yo' mouth, pass me a bag!" Tecna said contradicting the redhead's statement and snatching a bag with her name on it. "Man, I love when yo' do this. The projector you gifted me for helpin' you pass yer math test is still my prized possession. How did yo' know I even needed one?"

"I know my friends, especially my bestie," Stella said, bumping her arm against Bloom's. The girl rolled her eyes in response. "Now go ahead, be amazed at what I gifted you."

The girls eagerly removed the tissue paper from their bags and pulled out their gifts. Except for Bloom, who simply watched intrigued by what each girl got. Tecna nearly fell out of her chair and had a surprisingly wide grin on her face before shouting,

"This girl got me a Temperature Control Smart Mug! She does know me. I'd hug ya but I ain't that type of gal!"

"Your thanks are enough," Stella said, flipping her hair, causing it to slap Bloom in the face.

Bloom stared at her friend mildly annoyed.

Flora was next and her tired expression changed to a wide-eyed excitement, "Click and Grow Indoor Herb Garden Kit With Grow Light and Anesia seeds! Those are my fave plants! I knew your chakras were good!"

She hugged the gift to her chest tightly, making Bloom shake her head.

"Holy Guacamole, a Fluffy Cat Tea Set, and Ginger Spring tea!" Musa gasped. "This is the greatest thing ever! I'm going to explode with joy!"

She rushed over and hugged Stella tightly which the Princess seemed prepared for as she held her breath in the tight embrace before Musa pulled away.

"Please ladies, you're making me blush," Stella said.

"Oh my God," Bloom said, clicking her tongue. Once she noticed the eyes were on her, she sighed. "I still think gifts aren't necessary."

Bloom pulled out the glitter tissue paper and took out a long rectangular box. She opened it and pulled out a leather rolled-up case. She examined it for a few seconds before placing it down on the table, unclicking the solid gold clasp and unfurling it. It was twenty colored pencils with the letter B written on each one.

"Colored pencils?" Tecna critiqued before taking a sip from her drink. "Damn girl, what'd you pay for that, five bucks?"

Stella scoffed. "These aren't your ordinary-colored pencils. For your information, these are from the Tian Exclusive Art Line, the most expensive art brand out there… for commoners at least. I got my artistic bestie what she adores the most and I even got them monogrammed. I know, I'm amazing."

Bloom stared at the case and pencils for a second. Removed one and looked it over, noticing the impressive design and the rich color the pencil had. She wasn't sure what to say at first but then said, "Thanks, Princess."

"Was that sarcastic?" Flora said, scratching her head. "I can't tell with her sometimes."

Bloom held her head down, hiding her smile. "I'm trying not to inflate her ego too much… but I will be using these a lot."

Stella clapped happily. "That's all I needed to hear from you. And the gift you gals gave me was your adoring friendship."

"Right," the girls said before they all laughed.

"Well, I call fo' a toast," Tecna said, holding up her paper cup. "To a great semester and many mo'e!"

"Agreed!" the girls said clinking their cups together.

…

The next day, the Winx said their goodbyes. Tecna, Musa, and Flora left on separate buses and Stella left in a white limo her father sent, leaving Bloom alone in the flat. She gathered the things she'd need for the half-month trip including the colored pencils Stella had gifted her. She thankfully remembered the packing spell Stella had taught her when she first left for Alfea.

"Okay, ready," Bloom said, wiping her hands as she closed the flap on her messenger bag. "Kiko, you got everything?"

Kiko looked around silently before meowing in response.

"Let's get outta here," she said, grabbing the telescopic handle of her suitcase and rolling it out of the room with her messenger bag on her shoulder. Kiko followed behind.

Bloom couldn't really take a bus or limo back to Earth, but the headmistress was able to use her teleportation spell that was used on her parents when they were sent back home. She was a little nervous having the spell used on her, but being back home soon relaxed those concerns.

Once she made her way to the elderly woman's office, she found the lady standing by her desk with her usual warm smile.

"Ready?" Faragonda asked.

"Definitely," Bloom said with a nod.

"I must ask before you leave, was the semester as great as you expected?"

Bloom nodded her head again, "I dealt with a lot of shit, but I'm glad I gave this place a shot and I will be coming back."

"Yes!" Faragonda cheered. "Another satisfied student."

"I'll make sure to leave a positive review online," Bloom said with a wink.

Faragonda giggled but it soon turned to a somber smile before she said, "I am worried, I don't know what dangers are on Earth, and you're still new to your powers. It's like sending a cat into the jungle… no offense to Kiko."

Kiko meowed in response.

"Think you'll be able to control them there?"

"Yeah… totally," Bloom said hesitantly. She wasn't ready to admit she still had difficulty controlling her magic and whatever power she held, but she didn't want anyone to know that.

"Well, if anything does go wrong, the phone I gave your parents has a small red button next to the answer button. Speed dials straight to me."

"Thanks, Faragonda," Bloom said before adding. "Would've helped if you told my dad that instead of appearing on his tv."

"Where's the fun in that?" Faragonda joked. "All right, let's get you home."

Bloom, along with her things, and Kiko stood in the middle of the office, her eyes widened as she was suddenly pulled into a swirling void of fragmented colors that excited in-between worlds. She closed her eyes, but then suddenly she stood in the living room of her home along with her luggage and Kiko who seemed unfazed by it all.

"Did it work?" Bloom said nervously, peeking open her left eye.

"Bloom!" Vanessa exclaimed, jumping from the couch, and hugging her daughter tightly.

"Smothering hug?" Bloom said, looking at her mom. "It worked."

"I'm joining in," Mike said, bringing the two women into his hug.

"Oh God I regret this already," Bloom joked.

Once she got situated in her bedroom and Kiko was fast asleep, she headed back downstairs in her pajamas and sat in between her parents on the couch as they were waiting for her. Her parents smiled, making Bloom blush. She was going to be smothered by them for the next three weeks, but it would be worth it.

"Okay, tell me about life without your favorite daughter," she said.

Her parents laughed, but then each went on about what they had done while she was gone. Mostly mundane things about work, hanging out together which lead to mushy romance and them working on their hobbies. While she may not have been as enthralled with the conversation as Alfea and Magix, she grabbed hold of every word.

"So, I missed the biggest Bachelor finale because your mom wanted to watch Real Housewives of whatever," Mike said explaining why he was still perturbed towards his wife, but it was clear it was all fun.

"It was the Housewives of Potomac finale and I got to see Giselle and Trissa confront each other over the party invite," Vanessa defended. "But oh no, you couldn't see the mean girl Alexa get rightfully sent home, you poor baby."

"Okay, I want you to remember that when I delete your season finale of Yolk in a week," Mike replied, giving his wife a side glare.

"You better not!" Vanessa said, smothering Bloom's dad's face with a pillow.

Bloom burst out into laughter as her dad playfully fought back. She stood up and sat in between them to break up the battle. "If it fixes anything, both shows are equally terrible."

"One more word and we're canceling Netflix," Mike playfully threatened.

Bloom rolled her eyes, but soon she and her parents laughed together.

"Oh man, we've been droning on and on about boring Earth stuff for the last ten minutes," Vanessa said with a sigh. "You should tell us more about Magix and Alfea and the…" She playfully bumped her am against Bloom's, "The Winx."

Bloom blushed. "You don't hate the name, do you?"

"It sounds cool, like opening a can of soda," Mike said, simulating that action.

"Yes, it sounds like soda cans, just what we wanted!" Bloom said mockingly but in a triumphant tone. "Seriously though, anything I told you I've told you already over the phone, plus I'm actually really tired. I can tell you anything else tomorrow, but if there is anything else mundane, you'd like to fill me in on; I can spare a few more minutes. I really missed you guys and I'll take prosaic talk over weird magic speak right now."

"We did need to tell you something," Vanessa said, hesitantly.

"What is it?" Bloom asked, relaxing back on the couch. "I'm all ears."

"It's kind of big," Mike said, sounding just as reluctant as his wife. "You… might need to sit up straight for this."

"Um, okay," Bloom said, adjusting her posture. "Is this bad news?"

"Uh, no… I mean… not really," Mike said, patting his daughter on the knee. "We've been wanting to tell you this for a long while and we… we… feel you're ready."

"Yeah," Vanessa said. "And we hope when we tell you this, you're not caught off guard."

"Look, I've been through a lot lately, whatever it is I can handle it," Bloom reassured. "Plus, it can't be that bad."

"Yeah… right!" Mike said, avoiding eye contact with his daughter. "So, uh, you- we- a long time ago- okay you're ado—"

Before Mike could finish his sentence, Vanessa interrupted him by bringing her daughter into a tight hug while saying eagerly, "Adapting really well to your new life. We're so proud of you sweetie! Which is why we hate to say this, but we're planning on selling your bike for a Vespa!"

"What?" Bloom questioned, shocked. She pulled away and stared at her mom confused.

"Come again?" Mike added equally stunned and unsure of what to say.

"Your dad and I talked it over for a long while and when we saw how… disappointed you were at not getting a Vespa we decided a Vespa was the best option and so…" Vanessa's eyes darted to Mike's who looked around unsure of what to say next. She then said through a clenched and strained smile, "Mike!"

"We want the best for you!" Mike said, regaining his composure. "And the best daughter in the world deserves a very expensive Vespa. That's what I was trying to say, thank you, honey."

"No prob, sweetie!" Vanessa said. "So sorry we had to break it to you this way."

"Um… it's cool, but if you don't mind, I'd rather keep the bike. I only got it three months ago and never even got to ride it that much," Bloom said, not sure what to think. She had been gone for three months, sure, but they already wanted to sell her bike. "Vespa's are overrated anyways."

"Oh, do you really mean that?" Vanessa asked, pulling away. "Because if so, we can scrap the plan and just buy something else like that new easel at Mitchell's."

"Or new clothes," Mike added.

Vanessa scooched closer. "How about more make-up for that already pretty face of yours?"

Bloom scooched back uncomfortably.

"We will even get concert tickets to the next extravaganza thingie you want to attend," Mike said, making both his wife and Bloom stare at him in shock. Mike bit his bottom lip once he realized what he had said. "What? A guy would like to try new things."

"As enticing as that all sounds, I'm not really interested," Bloom said standing up to escape the strange new smothering her parents were giving her. She was used to hugs and kisses, but this felt out of place. "I'm not sure what's up with you guys, but I hope me being a fairy and all this insanity hasn't changed how you see me. I'm just your regular ol' daughter. You don't have to cherish me with gifts or go against your own morals."

Bloom looked right at her dad when saying that who was already getting a glare shot at him by Vanessa.

"It's not that, we just care for you a lot," Mike said.

"I appreciate that," Bloom said, pounding her fist together. "But really there's no need to do anything special for me, your love is enough… well that and my allowance."

Mike and Vanessa laughed nervously. As Bloom narrowed her eyes, suspicious of what her parents could be hiding, she chalked it up to everything about being a magical being, although she felt they were hiding more. What should she do? Should she pry or let it go?

Just leave it be. Her conscience advised before she could ask them anything.

"Honestly… I'd love to keep talking and stuff, but I gotta rest for a bit. That trip kind of tired me out."

"Enjoy your nap," Vanessa said.

Bloom smiled again before making her way upstairs leaving the uneasy tension with her parents to sit silently in the living room. Her steps were heard before the closing of a door, causing the couple to sigh in sadness.

"So… when we both agreed to tell her… that was just an option?" Mike questioned, once he was sure Bloom was gone.

Vanessa groaned. "I panicked!" she said, placing her head in her hands. "I can't imagine telling her, it'll crush her!"

"We can't let this remain secret forever," Mike said comforting his wife. "She's mature, she can handle the truth."

"That's the thing, she might be able to… but I can't handle telling her that…" Vanessa bit her bottom lip as tears formed around her eyes. She sobbed sadly as she kept her head buried in her hands. "I'm a bad mom!"

"Don't say that," Mike said, shushing Vanessa. "Come on, we got three whole weeks to tell her, and she won't love us any less when we do tell her."

"I hope so," Vanessa said, pouting. "I really hope so."

…

The air was filled with flames when Bloom found herself in a new dreamscape, which was far worse than the other. She couldn't move either or speak, all that came out were cries. Frantic cries echoed throughout the hot building. Bloom coughed as the air around her became strong with the acrid smell of burning fumes. Her view was obscured by the thickening smoke. She cried louder, but it didn't sound like her voice now, it sounded like crying from a baby.

What's going on? Why can't I move? Why does it smell like smoke?

A fire alarm blared in her ears, making her scream louder and it suddenly dawned on where she was. She was trapped in a fire with no way to move. All she could do was cry like a baby with no way of actually yelling the words, help.

What is going on? Help!

She could feel herself coughing more when suddenly a large hand reached out in front of her and then—

Her eyes opened and she found herself in bed, breathing heavily. She sat up, noticing she was sweating as if she had actually been trapped in the sweltering heat, but she hadn't even left the room and the sun wasn't up either.

"What the hell?" Bloom whispered, rubbing her forehead. She couldn't even figure out what she just saw in her fantasies, but unlike with Daphne, the images hadn't disappeared. This was stranger than her dreams with the nymph, these felt more intense.

She waited for the nymph's voice to come, but nothing.

"Yeah… guess you want me to figure this out myself, magical nymph voice?" Bloom asked rhetorically. After a second of silence, her shoulders slumped. "I'll take that as a yes."

On her phone, it was only five in the morning, not really a good time to get up, but she got out of bed and walked over to her desk while saying, "Well, that's enough sleep for the night.".

She pulled out a sketchbook and started drawing more images of Daphne, the only thing that seemed to comfort her. She made sure to use her new colored pencils to color in the image.

"Thanks, Stel," Bloom whispered while coloring.

…

The next morning, Bloom surprised her mom by coming to breakfast early but left out the part about not getting any sleep. The rest of the morning and midafternoon was uneventful, just drawing or playing with Kiko, but she hadn't left the house. She just wanted to be at home for the time being.

When dinner time rolled around, she and her mom were in the kitchen preparing a strange new meal her mother was trying out.

"Look at my sweet pumpkin chopping carrots," Vanessa said looking over Bloom's shoulder with a smile. "You were always so good at that."

She kissed her daughter on the cheek and hugged her as Bloom paused with the knife, unsure of what to say. Before she was thinking Musa's hugs were awkward, but her mom had been showing this type of affection since she woke up and it was getting a little strange and annoying now.

"Mom, you gotta stop hugging me," Bloom said, chuckling. "I'm pretty sure you've coated me in your perfume."

"Sorry," Vanessa apologized, pulling away and walking over to the oven and checking the meat that was cooking on the stovetop for the stir fry. "It's just so nice to have you back again."

"I know mom. You've mentioned it about fifty times," Bloom said with a smile. "I'll be here for close to a month; gives you plenty of time to smother me as usual."

"Still not very long," Vanessa said somberly.

"Better than nothing," Bloom said, grabbing another carrot and chopping it into uneven pieces.

"And how are your new friends?"

"Still as crazy as last time we talked about them," Bloom answered. "Musa really wants to meet you."

"It will be a pleasure when that day comes," Vanessa commented. "Seems like you met the perfect group for you." She shook her head with a smile when her daughter stuck out her tongue with a playful grimace. "Any cute boys? You haven't told us about that."

Bloom raised her left eyebrow, "Now you sound like Stella."

"So, there is a boy!" Vanessa said with a smile. "What's his name?"

"Mooom!" Bloom pouted, blushing red.

Her mother laughed before saying, "I'll stop picking on you. I just want to learn more about your new life in Magix."

"Yeah, but it's not anything to brag about," Bloom said, dropping the chopped-up carrots into a colander. Vanessa walked back over and looked at one of the pieces.

"Oh sweetie," she said with a kind smile before calmly stepping in front of her daughter and quickly chopping the carrots with ease. Each cut had the same uniform shape. Bloom stared at her, dumbfounded. That was her mom, she had many talents, and culinary was one of them. "They don't teach you home-ec there do they?"

"I did have kitchen duty so that technically counts," Bloom replied sheepishly. She stared down at the irregularly sized carrot bits she had created. "Guess magic can't help everything."

"You haven't done any since you got here, still rusty?" Vanessa asked, taking another carrot, and chopping it with gusto.

"Honestly, yeah, my flatmates are a lot better than me," Bloom said, rubbing her arm. "I was able to pass my midterms exams… just barely."

"You can thank Gertie for that," Vanessa said, causing Bloom to stare at her confused. She giggled before explaining. "She told me to tell you that, ever since I told her you went off to boarding school, she's been working on special incantations to help you pass."

"You told them about the school?" Bloom asked, shocked. "Didn't think you were ready to tell them magic was real."

Vanessa shook her head, "Oh God no, they'd explode if I told them. Which would be hilarious, but they'd also think I was crazy. Right now they think you're at a boarding school for artists. I'm waiting for you to go on another break when they get back from their trip and then we can tell them… I can't wait to see the look on their faces."

"Mischievous," Bloom complimented as she elbowed her mom on the arm while raising her eyebrows. "When will they be back?"

"They aren't sure. Something about this upcoming rejuvenation of life ceremony which they said could take another week," Vanessa said, scratching her head. "That's all I could understand before Valentina went deep into moon cycles."

Bloom chuckled. "I thought they might be able to help me understand some things about the possibility of Earth magic, like the black circle."

"Sweetie, I wouldn't rely on them for magic, for five years Ruthie thought gemstones could cure hemorrhoids. You can figure this out on your own," her mom reassured, holding her head down.

Bloom nodded. "I just have so many questions about my life now… it's driving me crazy." She smiled plaintively to hide her sadness. "I just feel so out of place in this world, mom. Like I don't belong anywhere."

"You belong in this world, pumpkin," Vanessa comforted. "These revelations you're having are just making it difficult to adjust to your new life, but you're right where you belong."

"Yeah…" Bloom said, but deep down she didn't agree. "Maybe you can tell me more about my birth, did anything strange happen when you had me?"

"Um, about that… you see… there's a lot I should tell you-" Vanessa hesitated, placing the knife down and fiddling with her fingers. Her daughter stared at her, confused. Her mom wanted to tell her the truth, but all she saw was her innocent little girl. Her husband not being there made it more difficult to talk.

"Do you smell smoke?" Bloom asked, sniffing the air.

"What?" Vanessa said, finding her voice. Her eyes widened as the fire alarm went off blaring in the kitchen for the first time in a long while. She turned around and gasped at the large stove fire blazing from the stovetop. "Oh God, the stove! I set the meat on fire!"

Vanessa started hyperventilating, rushing over to the sink to put the fire out, but Bloom stopped her.

"I got it," said Bloom as she stepped in front of the oven. She waved her hand in the air and felt magic flow around her fingertips before saying, "Aerolux!"

"Pumpkin?" Vanessa said surprised as the fire from the burning meat extinguished from the slowly spreading glistening air. The women both let out a relieved sigh before Vanessa said, "You just saved the kitchen, Bloom. I must've over-greased the pan."

"You over-greased something?" Bloom questioned. "Okay, something is going on, the only other time you messed up cooking and caused a fire was when Grandma Lilith was visiting."

"She's never liked me since I met your dad, give me a break," Vanessa pouted. "That's beside the point, you were amazing, you saved us!"

"I mean I'm pretty sure the meat is unsalvageable," Bloom said with a shrug. "I told you I'm still rusty. Mom, is everything okay?"

"Just got some important details stuck in my mind," Vanessa said laughing nervously. "I just wanted to say… Bloom, there's a lot I want to tell you, but not now… okay?"

"Um… kay," Bloom said with a shrug. "If it's stressing you out, then we can wait. Can't be that bad, right?"

"Right!" Vanessa exclaimed, laughing nervously. "Oh Bloomie, you've grown so much over these last few months and I'm just so happy you've opened yourself up to others nowadays. I love you so much."

"We're not hugging again," Bloom said, putting up her hand. She stared at her mom, suspicious of what she was hiding, but kept it to herself and instead said, "So… pizza for dinner?"

"Um… yeah…" Vanessa said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'll order it later; guess we can have a fast-food cheat day before the weekend."

Bloom nodded, resting her hand on the countertop, and putting a hand on her chest as her heartbeat erratically.

"You, okay?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah, yeah," Bloom answered, rubbing her eyes. "I'm just feeling drained, Stella did warn me about the lack of magic here. I'm gonna go lay down before dinner."

"Okay sweetie, take however much time you want," advised her mom.

Bloom groaned as she made her way upstairs, fighting off a pounding headache, but as she looked back at her mom, she noticed something next to her mom. She was glowing? Bloom shook her head and then turned back to the stairs.

…

The next day after another mostly boring morning, Bloom, still feeling drained, hopped on her bicycle, and took a little trip around Gardenia. She was happy her parents hadn't sold it while she was gone. While she originally wanted a Vespa, the simplicity of a bike was fine with her after all the advanced technology she saw in Magix.

As she rode down the streets, Bloom noticed small signs of how adjusted she had become to the magical world. While she changed, everything around her stayed the same. The sight of cars just staying on the ground seemed strangely wrong to her, the lack of other mythical creatures struck her as monotonous and even the air just felt a bit too stagnant to her. She sighed, pondering just how much staying in the magical world already changed her.

She rounded a corner, mindlessly following the old routes and she got distracted staring at a fire truck passing by when she heard an angry voice say, "Watch where you're going!"

"What?" Bloom questioned looking forward and grimacing. "Hi… Mitzi."

Her old nemesis, Mitzi, stood in front of her with the same snide smirk that Bloom hadn't erased from her mind.

"Look who's back," Mitzi said, crossing her arms. "Did the ward kick you out of juvie?"

"I was at boarding school," Bloom corrected before suddenly realizing what she said. "Wow, that sounded much worse."

"So, your mom and dad finally got tired of your act and carted you off to a reform school. About time," Mitzi insulted. Bloom rolled her eyes but refused to respond. "Although they didn't seem to do much good, although…"

Mitzi stepped closer to Bloom and stared at her intensely. The redhead took a step back, annoyed, "Personal space, please."

"Are you wearing a pink necklace?" Mitzi said, noticing the pink choker Stella had gifted her. Bloom decided to wear it out as she had grown attached to it. Although it didn't help that now her arch-nemesis was laughing in her face about it. The stuck-up girl covered her mouth, laughing. "Oh my God!"

"Yeah, yeah get it out of your system," Bloom said, rolling her eyes.

"Pink really does not mesh with black; you look like a circus freak already. Why add to that?" Mitzi insulted, chuckling snidely. "God, I missed your lack of fashion. Black flannel shirt missing buttons, white tank top, and torn jeans? God! And don't get me started on the shoes."

Bloom sucked on her teeth with a disgusted look before replying, "I'll take those fashion tips into consideration. Now if you'll excuse me," she said rolling past Mitzi, but the girl jumped in front of her with the same judgmental smile.

"Did your mommy get it for you?" Mitzi teased.

"It was a gift from a friend. I know you have trouble understanding that concept though," Bloom replied snidely.

"Buying items to pretend you made friends at that reform school is just… tragic," Mitzi insulted with a smirk.

"I think that's more your department, Mitzi," Bloom replied, trying to move past the girl, but was quickly stopped by the girl grabbing onto the handlebars of her bike. "Look I know someone showing kindness to another person is also a foreign concept to you, but my friend, who is real, actually put a lot of thought and money into this gift."

"So, you actually made friends?" Mitzi teased. "Must be just as weird as you."

"Move," Bloom said, dryly.

"I thought after Selina-"

"Mitzi, move your ass, now!" Bloom snapped before the girl could finish her sentence. She didn't want to be reminded of the past falling out with everything else going on.

"Oops struck a nerve," Mitzi said, mischievously. "She hasn't really missed you since you left, but that little pest at the smoothie bar has. She always asks me about you and I'm like 'I'm not her keeper!' Maybe give the nuisance a call."

Bloom shot her a deep glare, she already disliked being insulted by Mitzi, but she hated when the girl bullied Roxy. She kept her eyes on her and noticed something odd about her. That there was a red glowing version of the girl next to her, not too far. It was like a double image, but the lit-up version looked much more sinister than Mitzi. The shining red light hurt the redhead's eyes, but she couldn't turn away.

"Are you going to say anything or keep staring at me like a freak?" Mitzi finally said after a few seconds of silence. Her red glow grew wider as the girl became more snippy.

"I was trying to say something just give me a second," Bloom replied. "Why couldn't you stay in the Swiss Alps with the yetis?"

"Don't remind me of that place," Mitzi mumbled, clenching her fist. "Stupid parents forced me to bring Macy and she broke her stupid leg."

"Oh… I hope she's okay," Bloom said, concerned. While she couldn't stand Mitzi, she did like Macy, who was a nicer version of her sister.

Mitzi on the other hand rolled her eyes with a hand wave, "The brat is fine. Ergh, great now my afternoon is ruined, thanks a lot Manson."

With that, Mitzi stormed off while grumbling under her breath. Bloom looked at her as she kept walking. She had called Bloom numerous nicknames, but the Charles Manson line was a new one.

Not sure what nickname sucks more, Crypt Keeper or Manson?

Bloom shrugged before making her way down the concrete sidewalk while humming to herself.

Months have passed and Mitzi hasn't changed a bit. But I feel different. Alfea has transformed me, nothing will ever be the same again.

She tapped her chin thinking back to the red glow Mitzi had but wasn't sure if it was because she was tired and seeing things or if something else was going on. She thought more about this as she made her way to her dad's fire station.

"Dad!" Bloom called to her dad who turned to notice her. When he smiled at her she noticed the light again and this time it was around everyone in the station of different colors. They were close to each body like a conjoined twin.

Her dad's light was white and a mirror image that walked alongside him as he made his way toward her. "You dropped by here; something must be wrong."

"Nah, um, I was… just wanted… to say hey," Bloom stammered trying to keep her focus on her dad and not the white version of him. The whiter version of her father remained silent but smiled at her sweetly. "Do you— Is there— How's everything going? Boring day?"

"Yeah, I mean boring for a fire department, but is everything okay? You look frazzled," Mike questioned, concerned.

"I'm fine, uh there's just a—" Bloom looked around as the lights started glowing brighter.

"Hi Bloom!" a man waved at her with a smile. Bloom tried to talk or wave, but was frozen once she saw another bright yellow light standing next to him as he played cards.

"Hi- I- Um-" Bloom clutched her head, feeling dizzy. "My head hurts."

"Do you need to sit down?" Mike asked, holding on to his daughter tightly. "What's wrong?"

"I think I'm still adjusting to everything since coming back," Bloom whispered, pulling away. "I'm gonna head back home and rest."

"Okay, I'll take you," Mike said. "I don't feel safe with you riding home."

"Dad, you shouldn't leave work for me," Bloom replied. "I'll be fine enough to walk home."

"You sure?"

"Yeah, if anything happens, I have my phone, plus it's a small town, someone can find you if I faint on the cold hard ground," Bloom said half-joking.

"No time for jokes, you head home and rest," Mike advised, leading his daughter back outside. "Keep the bike here, I'll bring it home later and I'll call Mom."

"Thanks, Dad," Bloom said, walking off without her bicycle and rubbing her forehead.

She wasn't sure why, but the exhaustion hadn't gone away since yesterday. If anything, it intensified. She felt drained. She looked around and stopped in her walking when she saw it again. Bloom rubbed her eyes and stared, unsure what to make of it.

A man, a pretty muscular one with blond hair, walked down the street next to her. Closely behind him followed a copy of him, it was seeping out his body but wasn't separate. Except Bloom noted that not only was this phantom copy blue and translucent but also in way better shape, looking more fit and muscular with smooth unblemished skin. He even had a smile while the blood and skin man was looking tough.

As Bloom stared down the street, she noticed another phantom copy, this one crimson, trailing a lady that was crossing the street. The woman herself was clad in everyday clothes, but her spectral doppelgänger wore a suit and had stylized hair. Bloom got a feeling the lady noticed her glaring, which was intensified when the ghostly presence turned and stared at her with abject annoyance chiseled into its features. Bloom immediately turned around and hurried home, determined to find out if she was going insane.

…

When Bloom returned home, she found the house empty, though a quick glance at the clock told her that her parents wouldn't be home for another two hours. She grabbed the magic white phone off the end table in the living room, raced upstairs, and pressed the small red button while frantically mumbling, "Please for the love of God pick up."

She impatiently shifted her weight from one foot to the other as she waited for somebody to answer the phone.

There was a click and a familiar voice said, "Headmistress Doretha Faragonda speaking."

"Faragonda! It's Bloom," she exclaimed into the phone. "Remember you told me to call if anything happened?"

"Yes, what's the matter? You sound scared," Faragonda said, worried.

"Okay, so I made it home two days ago, right? Long story short, I've been drained since I got here, which seemed weird and now I'm seeing doubles and I'm kind of freaking out!" she explained, slurring her words as she was talking so fast.

"Pace yourself, sweetie," Faragonda said comfortingly. "Okay now explain more calmly what the issue is?"

"All right," Bloom said, sighing. "So yesterday after stopping this fire at home I felt tired and rested for most of the day. I still feel the same way. So, I took a trip around town to get some fresh air. And then, this really strange thing happened. I began seeing... well, spirits. Maybe not spirits, but like ghostlike echoes of people. They're like slipping out next to them like those twins joined together. Except they were not perfect copies, they looked similar but often… different… if that makes sense. It's hurting my head, I can barely stay awake, and… Am I going insane, is this a side effect of being on Earth?"

A soft chuckle was heard in the background along with a quick sip from a drink before Faragonda said, "Deary that's nothing but a normal thing every girl goes through. Well normal for fairies. Didn't Palladium discuss lessons about the beginning stages of magic?"

"Let's see..." started Bloom, rubbing her temple with her free hand. "Something about how when fairies are starting, the magic starts to cause weird changes in the body, I did notice a few things like dizziness when using magic at times and also that when they're in areas of lower magic and they exert too much they begin to feel… weak for a long while."

"In addition to that, one of the most common side effects is seeing people, especially non-magi's aura because your magic is weak and causing side effects from exerting it," Faragonda added. "He doesn't get to that until next semester, but since you're new you didn't know about this, they teach young fairies about aura seeing. You're not crazy. What you're seeing are peoples' auras. It's an image of not only how a person feels, but also how they view themselves. Magi have the most visible auras, because of the link between mind, soul, and magic. But normally, the aura is hidden by the person's own magic."

"These are real things?!" Bloom exclaimed, nearly dropping the phone. "Why am I still shocked by this?"

"Yes," Faragonda said laughing at her pupil's shock. "I don't know how many times you've transformed, but yes when you're just starting, you'll feel your powers are smothered until you get higher in transformations."

Another sip was heard.

"Now, on your planet, Bloom, there is not much magic at all. So, when you are low on magic, it subtly affects the people around you. It energizes their aura to a degree, and since you're still connected to the magic you're reenergizing, it allows you to see the aura. It's an adverse effect, but the aura won't hurt you, they're not really anything other than a shadow."

"What happens if they look angry, is that showing the person's true self?" Bloom asked, nibbling on her fingernail. "Should I be wary?"

"I wouldn't say be wary, but keep one eye open," Faragonda advised. "Sadly, you must focus very hard after you get used to your magic to see auras. It's like staring into a magic eye picture and no matter how hard you try sometimes you can't see the dog that Jeanie keeps pointing at."

Bloom chuckled.

"Glad I made you laugh," Faragonda said, and Bloom could envision the smile on her face. "Don't worry deary, this is a passing phenomenon and I'd highly recommend continuing to get fresh air and have fun seeing those auras. It's a nice trip, you really get to see some people's inner selves."

"I'd rather not, but it'll be interesting," Bloom said, scratching her head. "Thanks for the help, Faragonda."

"It's what I do," Faragonda said politely. "Continue having a good vacation, bring me a souvenir if you can."

"Deal," Bloom said with a smile before hanging up the phone.

As Bloom put the phone down and breathed a sigh of relief. She wasn't going crazy, her magical powers were just recharging and touching the spirits of people around her. None of this made any sense to her and she was not sure if that was an improvement, but nothing Faragonda had said indicated that it was dangerous.

She soon felt a warm softness on her arm and looked down to find Kiko staring at her with big, innocent eyes. Bloom smiled and scratched his neck as he trilled happily. She even noticed a purple aura next to him that shared the same expression.

"So, cats do have souls," Bloom joked laughing. "I love you too, big guy."

With that worry lifted from her shoulders, Bloom, along with Kiko, went downstairs, eager to get out in the fresh and cool air again. She was met by her frantic mother at the foot of the steps who hugged her tightly. Instead of a skirt and blouse, she was wearing worn overalls, Bloom knew her mother loved wearing more than her regular outfits.

"Are you okay? Mike said you almost fainted. Did anything happen when you headed home? Do you need soup? I will literally extend my lunch and make you your fave soup," Vanessa said, taking her daughter's hands.

"It's cool," Bloom said, noticing the same white aura next to her mom with the same sincere smile. "Faragonda filled me in on what's wrong, I'll explain later. Right now, I'd rather get some more air. Mind if I help you out at the flower shop?"

"As… as a joke?" Vanessa questioned stunned.

"Nah, for real," Bloom said, leading her mom to the front door. "I'm here for a while, might as well do something other than watching repeats of Sister, Sister on Netflix."

"Um, okay, let's have lunch and then head out," Vanessa said. "Sandwiches at Rickey's?"

"You know me so well," Bloom said flattered. "Also, mom, you're glowing."

Vanessa blushed, opening the door. "Thank you?"

…

After a short drive and subs at Ricky's sandwich shop, Bloom and her mom arrived at her mom's flower shop. To her surprise, there was a limousine parked outside the shop, which made Bloom wonder if a film star had decided to stop by. Seemed unlikely, since her mother's shop wasn't well known, or even heard of, outside Gardenia, but after all she had been through, the redhead supposed anything was possible. As she paced by the car, she noted the chauffeur inside, a well-dressed man with a prim mustache.

Her mother eagerly left the car and made her way into the shop along with two well-dressed suit-clad men. They looked to be in their thirties, with slicked-back hair, nice suits, white teeth, and black suitcases.

Bloom made her way into the shop where she found her mom talking to the two men.

"Well, I am very excited about this," Vanessa said to the first man with jet black hair. "Why don't you just bring back the last form and— Bloom! I'd like you to meet some people. These are Jack and Felix Bonner, the Bonner brothers, my future business partners."

"Uh, whatsup?" Bloom greeted, as the blonde brother held out his hand and she shook it awkwardly. It felt clammy and warm. "Business partners?"

"Yeah, they—" Vanessa started before being interrupted by the jet-black-haired man, Jack Bonner.

"Your mother has agreed to sell her flower shop to us."

Vanessa shook her head to correct them. "Well, not entirely. They'll own the actual shop, but I'll all own the shop name. They think—"

"We can turn this shop into a big chain of stores," Felix, the gray-haired younger of the two said, cutting off Bloom's mother once again.

Bloom glared at them. You gonna let her speak for herself?

"Right," her mother with a polite yet weary smile. The faint form of her aura showed a different expression, one that was mildly annoyed. "Your mom's gonna be the owner of a chain of flower shops."

"But mom… what about staying small?" Bloom said, surprised. "Chains are kind of—"

"Commercialized?" Jack said snidely. "We reassure you we have your mother's best interests at heart."

"Yes, they'll handle the economical part while I manage the shops," Vanessa said eagerly. "No worries, sweetheart."

"That way, we make sure everyone who's part of the operation handles the job they have the most experience in," said the younger Bonner. "My brother and I have been in the same situation for a while now, so we know what we're doing."

"Sounds… okay, I guess. Wait, Boner brothers? Haven't I heard of you?" asked Bloom, accidentally mispronouncing the word. She quickly bit her lip once she realized what she said. "I meant Bonner!"

"Not the first time we've heard it, you're fine," Jack said, rolling his eyes. "We own a chain of supermarkets in California, plus a well-respected limousine company and a moving company. We're trying to expand into different fields by cooperating with experts in said fields."

"Oh, um, okay," Bloom said, but she couldn't help remembering them from something else. Then she noticed something. Slowly materializing behind the Bonner brothers were their auras. Much like them, they were sharply dressed. But it was their faces that shocked Bloom the most. Their mouths were cruel, victorious smiles, filled with the sharpened teeth of predators, their eyes staring at her mother in a way that made the redhead think of a fox eyeing a chicken.

She remained silent as her mother and the two men kept talking, but she soon remembered what she knew them from.

"Well, we'll be right back with all the paperwork and can get this all out of the way," Felix said enthusiastically as the pair left the building.

Bloom could feel a shiver down her spine as the men left.

"What a pair of nice men," said Vanessa. "So, what do you think, Bloom? What's wrong?"

"Mom, how did you meet those guys again?" Bloom asked, gulping nervously.

"They actually met with me," Vanessa answered. "They dropped by one day and offered their business. Why? What's wrong?"

"Okay, I'm going to tell you this, and it's gonna be hard to believe," Bloom said, walking closer to her mom. "I can see people's auras."

"Oh okay," Vanessa said relaxed. When she noticed her daughter's shock at her admittance she added, "Honey, you're a fairy, nothing in that realm is surprising to me anymore. But what does it have to do with the Bonner brothers?"

"Mom! These guys are taking advantage of you."

"Taking advantage of me?" Vanessa questioned with a raised right eyebrow. "You got that from reading their spirits?"

"Yeah, I guess I can see people's true natures when I'm drained, and my magic is recharging. It just started today; I think. And those brothers were like wolves about to slaughter a lamb. You're the lamb!"

"Are you sure?"

"If that doesn't make you believe me then know this, those crooks are the reason Kate's Java Hut got turned into a Starbucks!"

"Oh, that's them!" Vanessa said, shocked.

Bloom eyed the door warily as she waited for the men to come back in before turning back to her mom. She grabbed her by her arms and shook her slightly. "They're trying to steal your store!"

Vanessa closed her eyes, drumming her fingers on her desk while thinking. "All right. I don't understand, but then again, I'm not the magician here. I'll take your advice."

…

After waiting a few more minutes for the Bonner brothers, they re-entered, and Bloom's mom told them the bad news. They stared at Vanessa in shock. Bloom wouldn't have been particularly surprised if their jaws had dropped.

"I don't understand why you changed your mind, Vanessa," Felix said. "We had a deal."

"Yes, a deal that you promised to keep to," Jack agreed. His eyes shifted to Bloom who smirked his way with her arms crossed. "Did something happen to change your mind?"

"No, nothing happened. I just realized I was getting in over my head. I like the simplicity of my flower shop," Vanessa answered with a polite smile. "And I want to keep it that way, my apologies."

"Yes, well the simplest option is that since you signed most of the form you should sign this last one and let us take care of the rest," Felix said, sliding the form over on the countertop with a black pen. "Think of the opportunity you're wasting."

After saying, Bloom noticed his aura looked more sinister than his brothers, the frightening figure was practically baring his teeth ready to bite.

"No thank you. I like my business the way it is and I'm afraid I'm gonna have to keep it that way," Vanessa said confidently.

Bloom admired her mom's calm composure because as looked at the baffled brother's auras, the sight made her gulp loudly. Both looked furious, fangs bared. The younger brother's aura flexed his hands as if he wanted to strangle her mom, while the older brother's had his fists clenched tightly, but their outside appearance was just mild annoyance.

"Vanessa, look when my brother and I want something, we get it, and we want your shop," Jack said, placing his arm around Vanessa's shoulder.

Bloom could see the two clashing auras and her mother's aura was the opposite of her strained smile, she looked disgusted and annoyed.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" her mom asked, removing his arm from her shoulder.

"Oh nothing," Jack said, walking past her and towards a vase of flowers. "A small business, like yours, is very fragile. Vulnerable even. In this world, you never know what can happen. Things can get broken so easily."

With that he tipped the vase off the stand it was placed on, and it shattered into pieces. Vanessa gasped.

"I've been growing that Amonum Maximum for the last year," she said, saddened. Her aura gave the two men death glares.

Bloom's mouth dropped open as she kept her arms crossed. Then she glared at the man who kept his snide smile.

"God damn man, and no evidence of how that was caused," Jack said cockily.

"We just saw you did it!" Bloom snapped.

"Our word, against yours," Felix said, tipping another pot on the ground and causing it to shatter. "Sorry about that."

Bloom crept towards the man once she noticed his aura was laughing maniacally. Felix didn't cower and simply chuckled snidely at the glowering redhead.

Jack continued, "This kind of illustrates my point. Accidents happen and I'm pretty sure a sensitive female like yourself isn't equipped for that type of collateral damage."

"Hey–" Bloom started to say, but her mom put her hand up to silence her.

"Be that as it may, I have made up my mind," Vanessa said firmly, keeping up her strained smile to hide how she was really feeling. "Now if you could kindly pay me for those flowers you 'accidentally' smashed and left, that'd be great."

"Fine. It is obvious that there's no convincing you," said the older brother as tossing two-hundred-dollar bills on the countertop. He then walked past her as he stepped on the poor plant on the floor. "But I'm sure you'll find yourself regretting this choice soon enough."

"Yeah, yeah the door's over there Boner brothers," Bloom said, glaring at the men.

Felix stepped towards her and sternly said, "Bonner."

"That's the nicest name I'm calling you, so take it," Bloom hissed.

Felix smirked then calmly left the building with his brother who had more composure than he did.

After they left, Vanessa let out a deep breath. "I need a shower. I'm pretty sure Jack's slime got on my overalls," she said.

"You handled it like a champ," Bloom complimented. "I know I was pretty immature, but those crooks made me so mad."

"I want you to handle yourself better next time if you're ever in this situation, but I don't blame you," Vanessa said, patting her daughter on the shoulder. "I just can't believe they're that adamant about me giving away my shop."

"They're leeches mom," Bloom answered. "They want to take your store from you to make an extra buck by mixing it with their supermarket chains. Then after that, you'll have no say. Don't you watch MSNBC anymore?"

"Honey, you don't watch MSNBC," Vanessa said dryly. "At all."

Bloom blushed, "I watch it for five minutes when I'm bored."

The two women laughed.

"I'm glad you listened to me, but I hate that I couldn't stop those con-men from causing damage in the store," Bloom walked to the Amonum Maximum and picked up the poor stepped-on plant. "Wish Flora was here; she could fix this."

Vanessa sighed. "It's fine, on the bright side, we have money for a nice dinner out tonight. Dinner for three at Bistro Burger?"

"Man, you've been treating me out a lot," Bloom noticed. "I won't pry though. Burgers are fine."

Vanessa smiled nervously, before hugging her daughter again.

…

The next week went by quickly. October had good weather and Bloom and her parents spent a lot of time together. She got ice cream with her mom, went to the movies and picnics with both her parents, and she even went to an amusement park with her parents, something she'd only done on school field trips, but this time it felt special since it was just her and her parents. She felt like she was a young child again.

Bloom's aura sight faded at the week's end and the feelings of being tired diminished as she got used to the low magic around her. Her father was more skeptical about the aura seeing side effects, but he stopped questioning it when Bloom read his aura like she was reading his mind.

It made both her and her mom laugh.

Overall, she was having a great vacation. Except for one thing.

She noticed her parents acting strange around her: Staring at her a little too long, hushed whispers before she entered the room and one morning, she was woken up by both of them with breakfast in bed. She wasn't sure what was going on, but her guesses worried her. They acted strangely in the past, but this time it felt more intense.

They wanted to tell her something but seemed so resistant to telling her anything and that made her worry more, but for the time being, she wanted to ignore it as best as she could.

On Saturday, Bloom dialed Brandon's number to talk to him. She had already talked to Stella, but it wasn't long since the girl was about to head out to another club. She was glad her friend was doing okay since returning home. She hadn't spent much time going out, so she had to talk to someone.

After two rings a voice on the other end said, "Hello?"

"Hey, hi, greetings, Goldilocks," Bloom greeted, repeating the boy's usual greeting. "How's vacation treating you?"

"Um… good, I'm just lounging outside, but oh my Dragon, you called! This is so nice!" Brandon said. "I haven't had many to talk to since Sky's been with Stella for the last week, so I'd love to chat for a while. How is the lovely Bloom doing?"

"Want to tell me about how you're doing first?" Bloom asked, relaxing on her bed.

"Nothing much, love. Father has been on my case after I brought home some of my comics, but all in all it's been okay," Brandon answered with a sigh at the end. "My life isn't exciting right now, but tell me what Earth life is like, what's been happening on that planet?"

"A lot actually, mind if I talk about some crazy shit that's been happening? I was going to tell Stella, but she's—"

"At a club currently, and it's only six in the evening." Brandon chuckled. "Same time there?"

"No actually, it's like noon, I should've factored in different time zones on planets." Bloom laughed. "Yup… never thought that would be said."

Brandon chuckled as well before saying, "Tell me what's been up for you Bloom. I'm all ears."

Bloom smiled, "Well…" she started and then went into everything that has happened so far from seeing auras to the flower shop to her parents acting strange. Brandon seemed too interested in everything she talked about. After five minutes of talking she finished, "And that's what's been happening for the last week, and it has been exhausting."

"Wow, all on Earth?" Brandon questioned. "You're handling it well."

"Yeah, I know, but to be honest deep inside… I've been really worried and panicked, but I don't want to show it, so I don't worry my parents. They're already acting weird… I can feel them hiding something, but I don't want to just confront them about it, or maybe I should, but what would happen if I do? Will they tell me something awful? I'm afraid of what it could be, Brandon," Bloom admitted, rubbing her forehead. "God, did I say that out loud?"

"Yes," Brandon said, chuckling. "You're all right, I think your parents are still just adjusting to the whole magic thing. Not a bad thing though, love. I'd talk to them about these concerns… I wouldn't with my parents, but yours sound great!"

"Thanks," Bloom said. She then asked on a whim: "I'm gonna wait, gotta find the right time to tell them they've been acting weird."

"Maybe don't be so blunt," Brandon said. "Although I know that's your favorite thing to do."

Bloom laughed. "You know me so well."

"Thank you," Brandon said pridefully. "I forgot to ask, how's the magic treating you on Earth?"

"Haven't really used much of it, but like I said, whenever I use it, I get super drained," Bloom explained. "It's not fun."

"I wish magic wasn't so complicated," Brandon agreed.

"Do you know magic, Brandon? I've been curious about this."

"I know a little magic, but it's not as advanced as the ones at Alfea or Cloud Tower. Just a few parlor tricks," Brandon answered. "I figured you'd be wondering that."

"That's really cool… maybe," Bloom brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "You can show me some of those parlor tricks."

"Uh, I— Well yeah— And I— Gotta go!" With that there was a click, showing Brandon had hung up the phone. Bloom looked at her phone, confused at first, but then chuckled when Brandon texted back: 'You got this, luv.'

Bloom held her head down, chuckling, "Goofball."

…

On the second Thursday of the vacation, Bloom was helping in her mother's shop. Vanessa was sorting some new plants while Bloom polished the desk. They were both interrupted by the sound of shattering glass as a brick flew through the glass door, causing the two of them to yelp in surprise. Vanessa ran to the broken door and looked out, but the street was empty. Whoever had thrown the brick had been fast.

"What the hell?" Bloom questioned as she ran over to her mom.

"I'm just guessing, but I'm pretty sure our businessmen are keeping to their threat," Vanessa said, picking up the brick and staring at it. "Do you think you could magic up the door and fix it?"

"Sorry, Mom, I'm still learning how to manage it in low magic areas like this," the redhead said apologetically. "I could cover it with something."

"It's okay sweetie, insurance will cover it," said her mom. "I'll have to give the police a call though. Doubt there's much they can do, but they should know there's a vandal on the loose."

After that, the rest of the workday was mostly peaceful until they closed.

…

The next day was normal, Bloom was surprised at how calm her mom had been over the last few days since everything happened with the door. The shop's broken window had been replaced with a temporary piece of wood covering it. Bloom walked a large potted plant outside and was about to place it down on a table when the roaring sound of a motorcycle engine caught her attention, and she glanced over her shoulder.

Two people on a motorbike drove down the pavement, the one sitting behind the driver waving an aluminum bat. While they drove closer on the sidewalk, Bloom noticed the bat was aiming at her and dropped the vase, tripping and falling backward before it made contact with her. The assailant with the bat cackled as he slammed his bat against the plants on the outside tables. Bloom was too stunned to do anything before the men were too far to confront by the time she got up.

"Bloom are you okay?!" exclaimed Vanessa as she ran out of the store.

"Yeah, I'm fine," grumbled Bloom as she rubbed her behind while being helped up by her mom. She glared down the road when the riders rounded a corner and disappeared. "Assholes." She gave the destroyed pots a sad glare and said: "Don't think I can fix all of these."

Vanessa exhaled calmly. "It's fine, as long as you're okay. Did you get an idea of what they looked like?"

"Nah, they were clad in leather everything and helmets. Although I have a good idea of who they were."

"Well, time to call the police again," Vanessa said walking back into the shop.

…

By Saturday, Vanessa and Bloom were on edge but tried to remain calm while they waited for the police to find the crooks who were vandalizing the flower shop.

"Man, I can't believe there's only one week left with my baby girl," Vanessa said somberly as she walked up to the store. "You won't even be here for Christmas."

"I know, I love being with you guys then, but you can Fed Ex me my gifts," Bloom jested.

Vanessa shook her head. "You're too much, you-"

Vanessa stopped and stared once she opened the door to her shop and gasped, dropping her keys. Bloom agreed and gulped horrified. The shop had been ransacked, potted plants smashed and stomped on, bags of fertilizer ripped open and spread over floors and walls, inventory broken beyond recognition.

"Oh no," Vanessa said, covering her mouth as she surveyed the demolished store. "This is the first time my shop has been robbed."

Suddenly, a thought popped up in Bloom's head and she ran to the register, which had gotten a couple of whacks with something heavy. She forced it open and said, "I'd cross off burglary. They usually steal money when they break into a place."

…

Bloom angrily pierced a small piece of steak with a skewer while listening to her parents discuss the situation. They were planning dinner, but eating was the last thing on their minds.

"Stupid Boner brothers!" she grumbled continually stabbing the meat with fury.

"I'm going to find them," Mike said angrily. "I'm going to find them and make them turn themselves in."

"I'll join you," Bloom said. "After I'm done with their voodoo dolls!"

Mike and Vanessa noticed two pieces of steak off to the side with numerous skewers in them. Bloom ignored their stares as she grabbed one and started angrily stabbing it.

"Let's not go there," Vanessa said, taking the injured meat from her daughter's hands. "We have to prove they did it first."

"This just makes me so furious. We can't let them get away with—" Mike screamed as he drank his hot tea and quickly added, "See what this does to me. I'm drinking hot tea and burning my tongue!"

"It's okay, honey," Vanessa said, hugging her husband. "There's no point in getting all worked up. We'll figure something out. I just wish the cops could do something, but they said without solid proof, it's just hearsay."

"I know I just don't want you to get hurt," Mike said. "They seem to be getting worse with each attack and if they hurt you, I'm going to jail for homicide."

"Aww, morbid," Bloom cooed, trying to ease the tension.

It worked and made the couple laugh.

"I'm going to set up cameras and alarms and such on Monday, that way they'll finally be caught," Vanessa said with a sigh. "Now less focus on the Boner brothers and more on dinner."

"It's catching on," Bloom said with a smirk.

…

Once dinner was finished and everything was cleaned up, Bloom headed to bed early while her parents watched a movie in the living room.

As she slept, she was brought into a fire again, it was small and only a select part of the place was on fire, but this wasn't the same one where she couldn't move. She scanned the room and noticed the spot looked very familiar. After a second, she gasped in shock.

It was her mom's flower shop!

Bloom shot up in bed screaming, finding herself in her room with Kiko next to her. She quickly heard footsteps as what she assumed were her parents made their way to her room. It was them and they quickly ran over to her.

"Are you okay?" Vanessa comforted.

"We… we have to get to the shop!" Bloom exclaimed, getting out of bed.

"You just had a nightmare," Mike said, trying to calm his daughter, but she broke free. "Relax."

"Mom's shop is on fire! I saw it in a vision!" Bloom quickly explained, racing past her dad while calling over her shoulder, "Come on!"

…

After a short ride to the shop, the family was horrified to see that Bloom's vision was real and the shop was on fire. The streets were empty as most places had closed down.

"Noooo!" Vanessa screamed rushing towards the shop but was grabbed back by Mike before she could make her way inside. She crumpled, crying, unable to stop the flames. "Quick Mike! Call your squad!"

"I'm on it!" Mike said, letting her go and pulling out his phone to call the fire department.

"My shop!" Vanessa dropped to her knees, sobbing as the embers flew through the air of the fire. Mike picked her up and embraced her to calm her down.

"It's okay, everything will be okay," Mike comforted, rubbing his wife's back.

Bloom stared at her sobbing mom for a second, the fire growing in her chest. Her eyes narrowed before she started walking towards the fiery inferno. Mike noticed and grabbed her by the arm.

"My men will be here soon, sweetheart. Don't worry. The fire will be put out, just stay here," he advised.

"Soon might be too late. We have to act now!" Bloom said, but her dad grabbed her by her arm. "If I don't stop the fire now, there won't be anything left to save. I have to do something."

"There's nothing you can do," Mike said.

"Dad… trust me," Bloom said in a relaxed tone. "I'll use every drop of my magic to save mom's shop. Please let me do this."

Mike kept a tight grip around his daughter's arm, unsure if he was prepared to let his daughter go into a dangerous fire, fairy or not. After a brief second, he groaned and let her go.

"Okay, honey, but you're taking me with you."

"Sounds like a plan," Bloom said, rubbing her hands together to form a spell. Luckily, no one was around. She used her magic and the spell she learned about after Tecna taught her about the oxygen displacement bubble. This one was slightly different and acted as a magical protection bubble.

Vanessa stayed outside, too distraught to do anything else, but wait for the firefighters.

"So, this force field bubble thing totally protects us from the flames?" Mike asked, keeping close to his daughter.

"Yeah, but stay close and it won't last for long because of the weak magic on Earth so I have to do the fire dispel spell quickly," Bloom answered, concentrating, but also feeling slightly dizzy.

She tried keeping focus, but as she stared at the flames, she heard a strange sound. A baby crying. She looked around, breathing erratically as she searched for the baby.

"Do you hear that?" Bloom asked, looking around.

This is where it all began, isn't it? Daphne asked, causing Bloom to shake her head as fragments of memories forgotten began forming in her head. She saw it, the images from her dreams. The baby was there, and she saw someone holding it as they made their way out of the shop, but they were simply faceless forms that ran past her without acknowledging her.

"Bloom?" Mike questioned, placing a hand on her shoulder. "Bloom, are you okay?"

You're in my arms now. A voice said to her again, but this was different. It was more masculine but just as calming as Daphne's.

"Bloom? Bloom look!" Mike said, shaking the trembling girl back to reality. "Is someone in here?"

"Yeah… that's," Bloom gasped. "The Bonner's driver!"

"Please… help me… help me," the man begged once he noticed Mike and Bloom were standing before him.

"I'll get him!" Mike said, rushing out of the bubble and assisting up the driver who was groaning in pain and coughing. Bloom looked amazed at how brave her father was with just running into the flames to save a person. Firefighter or not, that was really awesome. "You do your thing!"

"Thanks, dad, I will," Bloom said with a wink. Mike and the man rushed out of the building leaving Bloom to concentrate on extinguishing the flames, but soon the bubble started to weaken, and her thoughts were interrupted by coughing, as the smoky air filled her lungs. Immediately, lessons from her father filled her mind and she crouched down to avoid getting choked by the smoke.

Bloom, I'm here. Remember what you've learned.

"Aerolux," the redhead said, aiming a hand toward a patch of fire and while it minimized parts of the fire, it didn't douse it. She still wasn't as good as the advanced magi back in Magix. Bloom bit her lip unsure of what to do next and scared to move as her bubble had turned off. "Oh, crap."

She wanted to rush out, but she had to make it to the fire extinguisher to take out some of the flames. The air became stifled with thick smoke making it harder to breathe.

Fret not, keep concentrating on the flames. Focus on controlling the flames. Daphne encouraged. They can't hurt you when you walk through.

Bloom did as her guardian fairy told her and took slow, deep, tranquil breaths, and with each exhale she walked across the flames. Being untouched by the blaze she made her way to the back of the room, grabbed the fire extinguisher, and quickly released the foam across parts of the fire.

Just in time for the firemen to ready their hoses, they and the small crowd forming from the melee, stared in awe as most of the flames died down and Bloom walked out of the partially doused shop, extinguisher in hand.

"Okay, you can take care of the rest," Bloom said coolly, fighting for air.

The team rushed past her to finish off the rest of the flames as Bloom made her way back to her parents, smiled, and fell into her dad's arms.

"I'm okay. Just really dizzy," she reassured, being helped back up. She took notice of the chauffeur who was sitting on the ground with an oxygen mask on his face. "Are you okay?"

"Kind of. I got asthma, so I need a little extra help," the man said, through the mask. "Y'all probably want to hear the whole story."

"That would be preferred," Vanessa said, passing the man a bottle of water, but the man pushed it away and pulled out a silver flask.

"This helps the lungs more," the man said, taking a swig. He sighed before starting his story. "The Bonner brothers blackmailed me into tormenting you for the last week, except for the motorcycle stunt, that was all them, but the Bonner brothers took control of my chauffeur company a couple of years ago. Without it, my family had little to no income. My son hasn't really been doing well over the years and my wife can't work due to a severe leg injury, so we relied upon my income. The Bonners offered to help but conned me. They said we would be partners, but those dickish bureaucrats created loopholes in the contract that allowed them to assume full control. They kicked me out, but 'graciously' allowed me to be their chauffeur," the man sighed.

"I had no place else to go, it took me decades to start this business and they robbed me of it. They basically said they'd ruin my career further if I said no to doing all this… but after this… I can't do this no more. I swear I could hear your cries when I got trapped in the building."

The man motioned toward Vanessa who still had tears in her eyes. "You know what the worst thing is, lady? They didn't want to expand anything. They were going to demolish the store and take the plot for one of their generic flower shops, drain you for cash, and continue expanding from there."

"Assholes," Bloom seethed, clenching her fist.

"The most I can say is I had a family to take care of and I don't expect your forgiveness. I'll tell the police the whole story though, I'll tell them everything about Bonner's plans and how they scam and threaten people in order to take over their businesses. Believe me, I'm sorry."

I believe you. Bloom thought in her head, taking notice of the driver's aura as her magic drained again and caused her to see the spirits again. It was navy blue and seemed like it had once been a proud man. But now, his aura-self looked broken, back hunched, shoulders sagging, clothes ragged, and his face filled with sorrow.

While she didn't fully forgive him for what he did, she did feel bad for him. A man basically tricked into losing his business and has to cater to spoiled brats for his job now.

"Just tell the cops what you told us and we're even," Bloom said aloud.

Mike and Vanessa nodded in agreement.

"Thank you… now I just hope my family can forgive me," the man said, sorrow in his eyes as the cops walked over to him.

"That's what families do," said Mike. "They're there to help when you screw up."

The man chuckled with a nod before being taken away by a police officer.

The family spent hours at the spot being questioned by both police and the news before leaving, exhausted. Bloom sighed deeply as she and her parents entered their home hours later.

"Goddamn journalists," sighed her dad as he hung up his jacket. "As if the fire hadn't been bad enough".

"Well, can't blame them for being curious," said Vanessa.

"You, okay?" Mike asked his wife.

Vanessa shrugged. "My shop is a half-burnt crisp, but… could be worse," she held her head down then turned towards her daughter who rested her head on her mother's shoulder. "So, how does it feel like being a heroine of the city, Wonder Woman?"

"Kinda shocking," Bloom admitted blushing. She looked at her parents and noticed the white aura around them, but the looks on her aura parents showed worried expressions like they were hiding something. "Guys —"

She paused, biting her bottom lip. The two voices in her head conflicted with each other. Daphne wanted her to ask them what was on her mind, but her conscience won the vote, and she drew back.

"Would you like to talk?" Mike asked. "About anything on your mind?"

Bloom shook her head. "I'm headed to bed, but… I love you guys."

"We love you too," Vanessa said before being hugged by Bloom in a soft embrace. She wrapped her arms around her with a smile. "Good night sweetheart."

"Night," Bloom said, pulling away and heading upstairs. She looked over at them one last time as they stood together, smiling her way before making her way upstairs and although she had important questions, she didn't want to divulge them just yet.

…

As the weekend ended, signifying the last week of her vacation, Bloom sat in the living room watching a daytime talk show called Kristie before quickly flipping the channel to the news, and right on the screen were the mugshots of Jack and Felix Bonner. It had only been two days since the fire and the men were caught quickly. She couldn't see their auras, but by the angry expressions on their faces, she could tell they were pretty pissed about getting caught and charged with vandalism and arson.

Bloom smirked, resting her arm on the back of the couch before pulling out her phone and dialing Roxy's number.

"Rockin' Roxy!" sounded the voice on the other end.

"Rox, hey. It's Bloom," Bloom greeted.

"Bloomie!" Roxy squealed. "I'm so excited to hear from you, but also quite perturbed because you didn't tell me you were going to reform school. Supes harsh of your parents."

Bloom chuckled. "It wasn't a reform school. Just a weird boarding school for… the arts. It all happened so suddenly and then I got busy with the new school year. I didn't mean to cut you off."

"Hmm, all right, you're forgiven because you're my friend and best customer, but you owe me a smoothie purchase, you haven't been here since you got back," Roxy said, sounding annoyed. "I had to deal with Mitzi, who also was here today, and she wanted me to say she wishes nothing but misfortune on your family for five generations for becoming the town hero before she could, and she shall have her revenge!"

"Duly noted," Bloom said with an eye roll. "This is my last week, but I'll drop by today for a TBBT."

"Sorry to say pops had to discontinue that. Said it worked more as a summer break, right now we have Peachy Brew."

"I can work with that," Bloom said in a fake sad tone. She chuckled. "Later."

"Lates," Roxy said with a cheer.

Bloom ended the call and let out a long yawn before saying, "I guess I'll take a quick nap. Stupid magic draining bullshit. Just please let me have a normal dream this time, please."

Bloom rested on the couch and fell fast asleep. Unfortunately, her wishes went unfulfilled as she found herself back in the fire, crying and unable to move. This time though the smoke wasn't engulfing her. As she kept crying, she could feel the air clear around her as if she were in the same magical barrier she had formed before.

I hate this, someone please help.

"Is that a baby?!" a voice called in the fiery building. Bloom tried to turn her head to see who it was, but couldn't turn her head far enough.

What?

Soon the person became visible, and Bloom gasped, it was Mike, her dad, in his firefighting gear. What was he doing in her dream? Why is he rescuing a baby? She didn't remember him talking about this whenever he told a story about saving someone from a fire.

"Oh my God!" he exclaimed when he noticed her. "What are—"

"Mike get out of there!" another voice called panicked.

"I'm coming!" he called back before turning back to the baby. "Come here little one, don't cry."

He scooped up the baby in his arms and comforted her as she sobbed frantically. "You're in my arms now."

You're the voice?

Bloom calmed down in his arms as he led her out of the building and then…

She woke up.

…

Dinner time arrived, Vanessa had made pork chops, rice, green beans, and cornbread which she and Mike were enjoying as Bloom sat at her seat, staring at her plate silently.

"With the money, I'll get from the insurance, I'll be able to make the shop even bigger than it was," Vanessa gushed.

"And we'll get the best alarm and camera system that money can buy," Mike said, between chews.

"You'd help me?" Vanessa asked happily. "What about your work?"

"I don't want my Nessa getting hurt again," Mike said with a coy smile.

"You softie," Vanessa cooed.

The two laughed and then Vanessa kissed Mike on the cheek as Bloom fiddled with the food on her plate with her fork, unsure of what to say. Mike glanced at her confused.

"Bloom, aren't you hungry? Remember, heroes have to eat too," he said.

The girl mumbled incoherently.

"Honey, is there something bothering you?" Vanessa asked.

"Yeah…" Bloom's eyes furrowed, still struggling to figure out what to say. "I've been having these visions and… and some of my dreams while here. They involved someone saving a baby from a fire and I couldn't figure out who it was or who the baby was until this afternoon, and…" She tightened her fist. "It was dad and I'm pretty sure the baby was me."

Mike and Vanessa's eyes shifted to each other warily.

"Am I adopted?" Bloom finally asked as the words escaped her lips and it felt like a storm cloud had formed over her head. After a moment of silence, she asked again shakily, "Am I adopted?"

"Yes," her parents answered jointly.

Bloom's mouth opened, but nothing came out. She held her head down and clenched her fists. A few seconds had passed as she held her head down, unsure of what to say. She fought back the tears, but they kept flowing.

"So… I'm not your daughter?" Bloom squeaked out, the tears streaming down her stained cheeks. "You've been lying to me?"

"We were going to tell you, Bloom. We always intended to tell you the truth as soon as you were old enough to understand, but then everything changed: fairies, ogres, magic realms, I mean everything became so crazy, and then there was no time for anything anymore." Mike explained.

"How di—" Bloom paused to catch her breath. "What exactly happened when you found me?"

"Sixteen years ago, there was a fire in the building that is your mom's flower shop today and in it I found… you," Mike explained. "I just found you in a small corner of the room, but the strangest thing was the flames didn't touch you, there was a circle where the flames didn't touch you or anything close to you. Despite the room being like Satan's oven it didn't even affect you and when I picked you up… you stopped crying and you smiled at me."

"Sixteen years of my life have been a lie?" Bloom mumbled angrily. "That's what all the stares and hugs and whispering… and… oh my God… you hid this from me! You couldn't have told me before I left?!" she snapped. "I've been freaking out about fucking voices and dreams and all this utter hell and all the time I thought I was an Earthling… what am I?!"

"Bloom relax," Vanessa comforted, coming close to her daughter.

"The funny thing is, I always knew I was different from you guys, but I just… never wanted to accept it and oh God," Bloom held her head down. All she could muster out next was, "Why? Why? Why?"

"We never wanted to hide things from you, pumpkin," Vanessa comforted. "You are the most important person in our lives. You're everything to us. Bloom, we've loved you from the very start."

"Do you see me as a freak?" Bloom impulsively asked. "You said you loved me for who I am, was that another lie?"

"Bloom…" Mike tried to place a hand on his daughter's leg, but she turned away. He scratched his neck as he thought back to what he had called Bloom a few months ago. "We don't see you as anything other than our daughter."

"When we adopted you in December—" Vanessa started.

Another lie. Bloom thought, angrily biting her bottom lip.

"Sweetie, when we adopted you, you were so cute and chubby and smiled at us, and we knew that day you'd be our family. You're not our adopted daughter, you're our daughter and we're sorry we kept this secret for so long…" Vanessa's lip began to quiver. "And we know you won't forgive us anytime soon, but please know this, we love you, our special little fairy."

"I can't— You are— I ha— Why?!"

Tears started flowing from her eyes, no matter how hard she tried to fight them back. She hated crying in front of others, but her parents were the exception and she let the teardrops spill out. She wasn't just sad, but also angry. She wasn't sure what to say or where to come from in this situation, all she could do was clench her fist and cry.

Her mom and dad came closer to her and comforted her. That's all they could do. Bloom wanted to storm off, but she was in too much shock to move. She always noticed the differences physically from her parents but chalked it up to weird genetics, not this. She just wanted this to be another horrible dream, not real life.

Bloom, I'm not quite sure what to say, but these non-magi show true compassion towards you. Make the right choice. Daphne advised.

"I can't begin to say how… I don't even know what to say except… I love you too even if I'm feeling every distressed emotion right now," Bloom finally said, wiping her tears. "But do you think my rea— birth parents were magi then?"

"Possibly," Mike guessed. "And when you do find them, we won't fight you on seeing them."

"Thank you," Bloom said, sniffling. "I do love that you took some random baby in a fire and brought her home and didn't just… leave me there. I appreciate that and the name."

"Yeah, you reminded me of a blooming rose with how red those cheeks were," Vanessa joked, trying to ease the tension. "Is it okay if we hug you or too soon?"

"You've given me a million this far, so why not," Bloom relented, holding out her arms. Her parents enveloped her into a warm embrace that relaxed her nerves, but she still felt anger toward the lie even though her parents meant well… she was torn.

Once she pulled away, she stood up and said, "I'm really not hungry. I'm just going to head upstairs… if that's okay with you."

"Yeah, sure, I'll keep your food on the stove for later," Vanessa said with a nod.

Bloom nodded back and then made her way to the foot of the stairs. She looked back at her parents and left with one sobering sentence, "Night… Guys."

…

As the house was quiet that night, Bloom made her way into the living room. Everything had changed, she was adopted, her parents weren't her parents, and a part of her life was a lie. The crushing blow to her reality was enough to make her shake as she retrieved a photo album from the bookshelf and flipped it open.

She stared at pictures of herself as a baby and little kid for a house, unsure of what to say. Every image felt like a lie behind something happy. Birthday parties, art events, family vacations, and even just school photos just felt so… unreal now. Was she even from Earth or someplace else?

The crazy thing is she had an inkling she was different from her parents, but not like this. She sighed, burying her head in her hands as she dropped the photo album to the floor. Loose photos filled with other memories of the past scattered to the floor as Bloom kept her head down.

"Why is this my life?" she whispered. "Why?"

…

A few days later, Bloom returned to Alfea. After unpacking, she met up with her friends and sat in the living room, resting her head on Stella's shoulder as she sniffled from crying for a few minutes. Her friends listened to every word through her tear-filled explanation of the news she had discovered about herself.

A few minutes of storytelling later she finished in tears with, "I shouldn't be so angry, they love me… and I love them… but Christ, they kept this from me for sixteen years…"

"Bloom don't be so down," Musa said with a plaintive smile. "If you ask me, that was a really beautiful story. I think you and your parents have a really terrific relationship."

"Yeah, your 'rents sound like really awesome people," Flora agreed.

"Very true," Tecna agreed.

"I know my parents are amazing, but I thought I was just some Earth girl who happened to get magic powers," Bloom said, brushing hair behind her back. "Turns out I have a whole set of parents out there who are missing me and… again I love Mike and Vanessa— Oh sweet Jesus, I'm calling them by their freaking names!"

Bloom covered her face and sobbed softly.

"Just let it out, love," Stella comforted, rubbing her back.

"I feel like there's a weight on my back… and I can't get it off!" Bloom sobbed.

"I mean it is a lot to take in," Tecna replied.

"No shit," Bloom mumbled before quickly apologizing, "I'm sorry a lot is going on right now."

"Ain't no apologizing needed, just keep cryin'," Tecna replied.

"I couldn't even talk to them before I left, I just kept staring at old pictures of us together and it's like… how was I so blind? How was I so stupid to not know!" Bloom exclaimed. "I don't even have either of their hair colors!"

"Well, genetics show—" Tecna started before being shushed by Stella who continued to rub Bloom's back to ease her tension.

As Bloom kept sobbing, Kiko strode in meowing softly before calmly staring at his owner and plopping himself on her lap. He purred softly, causing Bloom to stroke his fur with melancholy. He just knew when it was the right time to be there for her.

"Well, what are you going to do now?" Stella asked. "Because moping will only get you tear-stained cheeks and stress."

"Ask tons of questions? Who put me in that building? Did they not want me? Was my Dad meant to find me? What voice is following me? Are my birth parents still alive? Are they searching for me? How do I figure out my new relationship with my current parents?"

Bloom started breathing heavily as her heart raced fast in her chest.

"Breathe, okay," Musa begged, handing her a tissue. "Please stop being sad, it'll be okay."

Bloom sniffled, "I'm sorry, it's just a lot."

"I think I get it, yer curious about this new information, not sure if yo' from Earth or somewhere else in the stratosphere, but I gotta be honest, are yo' sure yer ready to search for the answers? Might be mighty painful info."

"I know, but if I never find out I'll never know," Bloom replied. "Plus, Daphne wants me to find her, she may be the key. Will you guys help me or at least be supportive?"

"We're all here for you!" Musa answered for the group. "Just stop being sad!"

"Thank you, guys," Bloom said with a smile.

"I want you to do one thing though," Stella said, putting up an index finger and then lifting Bloom's head up by her chin. "Remember, Mike and Vanessa, non-magi Earthlings they may be, love you, and are there for you. I've seen some shite parents, yours are not that. I always see you light up when talking to them or about them because you know they love you and you love them."

"Yeah… blood doesn't always dictate who you call family," Flora agreed with hesitation.

"I- I guess," Bloom said tearfully, continuing to stroke Kiko lovingly. "It'll just take some time to digest everything, but thank you." She wiped her eyes as she composed herself. "Me crying never leaves this room either."

"I make no promises on that part," Stella joked.

"Thanks for being here for me," Bloom said to her friends. "I mean that."

"Hey, it's what the Winx girls do," Stella replied, bringing her hand on Bloom's shoulder. "Now what do you want to do now? Movie? Food? Walk?"

"Drawing?" Musa added.

"Talk to plants?" Flora threw in, gaining confused stares from the girls.

"We can defrag my hard drive?" Tecna suggested gaining equal confused stares.

"Okay, Tecna, Flora, you're banned from suggestions," Stella joked.

Bloom sniffled. "I'd rather just sit here and wallow in pity, but maybe hearing about your trips will perk me up?"

"You sure?" Stella asked softly. When Bloom nodded, she eagerly said, "I can delve into my adventures with the strapping Prince Sky!"

"I'll take it," Bloom said, chuckling softly.

Stella and the other girls started talking about their respective vacations as Bloom listened while silently thinking of how she could handle being adopted and who exactly were her parents, but while wondering a familiar voice slipped through and asked,

Are you finally ready?

I am.

…

End

Thanks for reading. See you in a month! If you have any questions, comments, concerns, noticed errors that I can fix, or just want to say hello, comment down below and also tell me what you think! Like and follow this story for a more action-packed adventure with The Winx Club! I love you guys! Have a great day!

Have a good day!