Chapter 3. He's So Bad But He Does It So Well
I said, "No one has to know what we do"
His hands are in my hair, his clothes are in my room
And his voice is a familiar sound
Nothing lasts forever
But this is getting good now
He's so tall and handsome as hell
He's so bad, but he does it so well
His apartment was not so as bad as she expected it to be – considering her past experience in Citiesville, this was far way more decent. Small, with a kitchenette right by the entrance, opposite to a small bathroom. The house was basically a big room, with a small double bed against a wall, a small TV opposite the bed and a small coffee table at the centre. There was a drawer and a couple of small furniture, nothing more. She noticed there were some training tools all around: a chin-up bar was mounted at the entrance, just above her head, and some weights piled up by the bed. It was also pretty decently tidied up.
"Do you have a cleaning person?" Buttercup asked as she heard Butch shutter the door behind her.
Butch shook his head like a dog, getting rid of all the rainwater in his hair, and Buttercup laughed lightly.
"Hey!" she protested.
"The fuck, you're already soaking wet!" he smirked "And what were you asking? A cleaning what? I barely have money to survive".
"This doesn't really look like your home. It's too… cleaned up?" she said as she pointed to the bed without anything on.
"I've been learning to be a grown-up man during this long year all by myself" he stated with a grin "plus, I couldn't bring my console with me, so I've been dying of bore. I entertain myself by working, training, tidying the house and… studying to get my degree!" he said with an overly exaggerated dramatic tone.
"Are you going to school here?" Buttercup asked as she moved her gaze around the room. There were indeed a few books and notes lying on the coffee table.
"Yup. At least trying to get the bare minimum needed" he took off his leather jacket and put it on the small hanger at the entrance "You know I'm not that bad when I manage to put a few info inside this empty brain" he smirked at her, his usual badass, self-confident smile he used to have, and Buttercup couldn't help but feel her heart skip a beat and her throat becoming a bit narrower. She moved her eyes away.
She had missed him. A lot.
"You know, you look like the Joker with that smeared eyeliner on your face" he added spitefully and she turned towards him with angered eyes. He smirked as he put up his hands in surrender. "Go get a hot shower, I'll lend you some dried clothes."
"Dried and clean clothes?" she asked, suspiciously.
"Fresh out of the laundromat" he replied, smoothly.
"Who the hell are you?!" Buttercup laughed softly as she headed towards the small shower.
He knew he couldn't continue like that anymore.
Brick had always had a pretty high consideration of himself. He was good at almost everything he did, from studying to practice. As a student, he excelled in almost all the subjects. As a fighter, he shone in physical strength, technique and tactics.
There was only one thing he was sure he wasn't really good at: lying. He'd always been a bad liar. He'd spit the ugly truth in the face of everyone and he'd been criticised many times for that. Been dumped by a few flings, too. Argued with his brothers. Argued with her, too. Rather than lying, he preferred omitting the truth, changing the topic, talking about something else.
He had never lied to anyone, so lying to himself was the last thing he intended to do in his entire life. He had been doing that for a while, but it had taken him some time to realise it. When he'd seen Blossom talking and smiling and chirping with that awesome Finnish exchange student, something inside him had started to smother him, a sense of nausea, a fierce will to punch him in the face. And those endless hours watching whatever it was they were watching during their history lesson… feeling her smooth arm brushing against his own skin for the whole time had made him restless. He hadn't been able to concentrate on the documentary and he had just kept on focusing on her every move, breath, reaction…
Fucked. He was so fucked.
The idea of falling in love with the very girl he had been created to destroy made him feel so torn. Maybe there was a reason: maybe what he thought was love, in reality was a genetic, natural instinct that commanded him to be close to her so that he could fight and defeat her. But he had come to realise that the will to fight her had vanished. The idea of hurting her made him nauseous.
Fucked. He was fucked.
He knew he couldn't continue like that anymore.
So there he was, waiting for her on that clearing out of town. It was a meadow just at the other side of the woods at the border of Townsville. By car, it would have been a two hours' drive at least to cross the woods and the low hills. The clearing ended in a cliff, under which another forest would stretch out until the horizon.
Brick was sitting there, his legs dangling down the cliff, starring at the sunset, when he heard the light sound of her zipping in the sky. He turned slightly to see her landing behind his back, a lovely pink checkered sleeveless dress and pink low-heeled sandals. She looked like a doll. He noticed she'd put some make up, a slight touch of blush on her cheeks, a red lip gloss.
"Hi Brick" she greeted him in a strangely low, almost timid, voice.
"Hey, you've come" he remarked, almost surprised.
"Why wouldn't I?" she asked as she flew by his side, elegantly sitting on the edge like him. "It's pretty high, mh?"
"Yeah. I sometimes come here when I want to… de-Townsvillize, let's say."
Blossom burst out laughing. "That's such a good word… yeah, I totally get what you mean."
"I guess you understand it more than I do" he huffed, looking at the sun which was vanishing behind the horizon. He so wanted to smoke a cigarette in that moment, but he knew she hated them. He had also been chewing a damned gum so that the taste of tobacco would go away from his breath. So, he bit his lower lip instead, in silence.
"So…" she started, her voice somewhat trembling. "Are you going to the college once we finish school, next year?"
He turned towards her, wide-eyed. "I don't know. Are you?"
"I was thinking of going" she smiled, her gaze lowered to look at her hands.
"Are you leaving Townsville in the hands of your sisters? Pretty brave" he scoffed.
"Maybe with the help of your brothers they'll manage to keep it safe for a while."
"You meant with my help, right?" he asked, looking at her sceptically.
Blossom looked at him in the eye and bit her lower lip. "I thought you were going to university too."
Brick chuckled and licked his lips. "No, definitely I'm not… I don't see myself being a respectable citizen with a degree ending up in a suit and tie. I can stay here and guard the house until you come back."
"I see" Blossom replied and she sounded a bit let down.
"I'll wait for you to come back, though" he added suddenly, looking at her.
She turned towards him and he couldn't help but notice the blushing in her cheeks.
He swallowed the damned gum.
She was into him as much as he was into her, he suddenly felt so sure of that.
Blossom turned her eyes again towards the sunset, almost over, the shadows starting to surround them. Brick grabbed her arm and with a light yet firm tug, he pushed her towards him. She didn't withdraw and just sat there, their faces a few inches away from each other.
He rubbed his nose against hers lightly and then kissed her gently, waiting for her response, which didn't come immediately. He had to bit her lower lip to hear a sigh escape her lips, to which he responded by slightly sticking his tongue against her mouth, a soft caress at her sweet, soft lips. He felt the taste of strawberry of her lip gloss in his mouth and then her swollen lips meeting his, finally kissing him back. It was her first kiss, he was sure of it. She moved a little clumsily, learning from him what to do; but that didn't bother him at all, on the contrary, it felt oddly satisfying. She was a fast learner, though, and the kiss had started to deepen soon after, to become more frenzied, more intense, wetter and noisier. Her little hands were grabbing onto his t-shirt firmly while his own stood firmly against her hips, not daring to move anywhere else. He was so good at spoiling everything with his rush.
Suddenly, his mobile phone started to vibrate in his pocket, but he had decided to ignore it. Even though it wouldn't stop. He kept on ringing for a while, until he grumbled when he felt Blossom breaking the kiss.
"Maybe you should answer…" she whispered lightly, lowering her gaze.
"Fuck" he burst, taking out the phone and replying angrily. "What?!"
"Yo, Brick. It's me, Butch."
"Butch, what the fuck?! Which number you're calling from?!" he shouted at him, annoyedly.
"I'm fucked, Brick. So fucked." He heard his brother sigh from the other side of the phone. "They've arrested me for bank robbery."
"Wh— what?! Why?!"
"Because I did the robbery, Brick."
"You… what?! Where the fuck are you?!"
"At the police station. Can you come? The deputy wants to talk to you."
"For fuck's sake, Butch… I'm coming right away" Brick sighed as he massaged the creases on his front.
He turned towards Blossom, who starred worriedly at him. "Everything ok?"
"No, I… that idiot of my brother must have screwed up. I need to go and see him at the police station." Brick looked at her with a sincerely regretful look. "I'll call you as soon as I can."
"See you, Brick" she smiled softly as he started floating to zip away.
"See you."
From that moment, he wouldn't have seen her for a whole year.
The mobile phone kept on vibrating on the night table. It had violently interrupted that memory disguised as a dream.
Brick rubbed his face with both hands as he sat at the edge of the king size bed of his suite in the hotel. He had woken up from that after-sex slumber to find that Blossom wasn't there anymore. Her black lace panties were still there though, they were lying under his chest so she probably hadn't been able to find them.
"What the fuck have you done, Brick Jojo…" he desperately whispered to himself. "What the fuck are you doing, you shithead…".
The only thing he hated doing was lying and yet there he was, living the biggest lie ever. Trying as hard as he could to keep his shit together, to keep that house of cards from falling over his head. Their heads. He felt his eyes stinging. It had been so good with Blossom, so fucking good. And so fucking wrong. She didn't deserve to be treated that way.
"Holy shit…" he roared in a low voice and suddenly took his stupid mobile phone and answered the call. "What?!"
"Brick, meet me immediately." The angered voice of Devon Darwin was at the other side. "I don't know where you've been hiding all night, but we have to talk about that little bitch' speech. This isn't going to end like this. I'm waiting for you in my suite."
Brick hanged up and threw his phone on the bed and only then, in the shadows of the dark room, he noticed there were some small blood stains on the sheet, right where a few hours before he had unapologetically taken Blossom's first time without thinking about it twice.
He pushed his fingers against his closed eyelids, stinging with hot tears.
"Fuck".
"Ouch" Butch exclaimed as he looked at his tortured finger, his nail bleeding. He had been nervously biting them until there were no more nails to pick at.
He heard his shower on, the water pouring on Buttercup's body, sliding down her naked body… in his shower. In his apartment. In crappy Citiesville.
He pounded his head backwards against the wall to get rid of all the impure thoughts that were running across his mind. He was consuming all his willpower to sit still on his bed waiting for Buttercup to finish. They hadn't said anything after that kiss under the rain – very romantic to be their first kiss, he had to admit it – and he had just taken her hand and led her to his house.
What was Buttercup doing here? He was convinced that she wouldn't have come back after the way he had treated her. But he had done so because he wanted to push her away. If she kept on staying with him in Citiesville, it could become dangerous. For him, for her, for everyone. But the idea of distancing himself from her made him sick. Maybe there was a way. Maybe it was time to tell her everything. Still… how much did she know?
Butch heard the door of the bathroom opening and Buttercup came out wearing only his baggy hoodie, no trace of the sweatshorts he had given her. She had probably thought that since the hoodie arrived a little north of her knee, it would have been enough to wear.
Fuck my life.
She was drying her hair with the towel – she had let it grow up to her shoulders – and that movement made the hoodie lift up a bit, revealing part of her naked thighs.
Fuck my life.
Even though it was one of his smallest hoodies, it still looked so big on her. She was so small. Even if she was tough and strong as hell, she had remained petite. As he was embracing her under the rain, he had realised that it was as if her stature had stopped growing just to fit perfectly in his arms.
He wanted to embrace her again. He felt a familiar throb in his sweatpants, which were starting to feel too tight in that moment.
Fuck my life.
"Are you gonna shower?" Buttercup asked, avoiding his gaze as she always did when she felt embarrassed.
"After seeing you like this, I think I'll really need a very cold shower. Yes. More like an ice bucket." He smirked nonchalantly to hide the nervousness.
Buttercup sat on the bed next to him and his body tensed like a violin string.
"There's no need to be so nervous. I'm not gonna bite nor anything." She said in a low, calm voice, as she looked at the ground.
"But I might" Butch replied with choked voice, moving a bit further the edge of the bed, grabbing its border with both hands to keep them from moving towards her. He wanted her so bad. Always had.
"We shall talk" Buttercup sighed with a resigned voice. "But… I really don't feel like it. I know that we'd end up fighting, screaming, or worse, crying… and I don't really wanna." Suddenly, she let herself fall against his shoulder, leaning there with all her weight.
"Fuck my life, Buttercup Utonium" he growled with a hoarse voice, squeezing the edge of his bed so much that it creaked. "If you don't wanna talk, nor fight, nor argue… than I'm pretty sure the other option we've got left is gonna be very dangerous."
He was sweating. Fuck his life, he had never sweated so much in his entire life.
"…you don't wanna?" she whispered against his ear, biting his earlobe lightly, making him groan. It was impossible to resist her. He had always yearned for her too much to be able to resist any of her physical approaches. He turned his head, searching automatically for her lips, opening his mouth on them, wanting to devour them. Their tongues slid against each other, intertwining slowly; he licked the roof of her mouth, trying to go as deep as he could and then coming back quickly, making her moan in his mouth.
Suddenly he jumped up quickly, almost letting her fall from the bed. "What the fuck, Butch!"
"No, what the fuck you!" he almost cried in pain as he crouched to the ground. "We can't fuck, ok? We just can't."
Buttercup looked at him with a perplexed gaze. "It doesn't look like you don't really wanna fuck with me, though."
"Because I do!"
"Then what's your deal, you fucktard!" she shouted at him, ready to punch him in the back but he got up before she could.
"No fighting!" he said almost alarmed as he avoided her touch "I can't afford paying any furniture if we break something in the apartment" he added, hoping to fool her. She looked quite convinced as she sat back on the bed with a sigh of exasperation.
Phew.
"Why… why have you decided to come back here?" he dared to ask. He had to know what she knew. How much she knew.
"So, we've decided to talk" she sulked as she crossed both her arms and her legs on the bed. Butch remained sitting on the floor in front of her, at a security distance. "Well… I was mad at you but I knew you were hiding something. It was driving me crazy. So… I told Boomer that I had seen you in Citiesville."
Butch couldn't hide a shiver of nervousness as he heard about his brother. She noticed. He knew she did.
"I don't know how much you know about what's going on in Townsville…"
"Nothing at all. I'm living like a hermit here." He smirked "A very tidy and diligent hermit".
"Citiesville did you good, then" she smiled softly and his heart throbbed in his throat. Ahhh, he loved her. Just loved her. That little grin on her lips would always drive him mad.
"Not really… no. Go on" he tried to ignore that writhing he felt in his chest every time he looked at her smiling face. God, he had missed her.
"No" she replied as an impish sneer appeared on her lips. "One kiss for each news".
He froze. "Wow. Never thought you'd be so… bold."
Fuckmylifefuckmylifefuckmylifefuckmylife.
"Well, because you were the bold one, usually. You've spent all your life flirting with me every day and now… you're being a wimp" she sneered at him.
As he heard that, something snapped inside of him. The way that she would always make him lose it. He jumped in front of the bed, standing on his knees, as he looked straight into her eyes: his eyes dark and deep, a predatory gaze a few inches from her face. She arched back a little, surprised, her cheeks slightly red.
"Yes, you're fucking right" he rasped, his voice low and hoarse. He lowered his head towards her legs, as he pushed them open with his hands, making her gasp. He brushed his lips against her inner thigh as he felt her shiver and whimper, and then started to suck at her fair skin, slowly nipping at her soft flesh.
After a few seconds, he stopped and looked at her flushed face with a nasty smirk. He licked the hickey he had made on her thigh with the tip of the tongue, making her shiver.
"Go on with what you were saying" he sneered, resting his head on her leg.
"But I said…"
"You did. But didn't tell me where to kiss, you should be more specific with what you want, Butters. So, go on." He snickered as he saw Buttercup biting her lower lip and pushing her head backwards.
"Fuck" she hissed.
Brick slammed open the door of Devon's suite without knocking and he was immediately welcomed by the withering look of his own secretary. She was blond and beautiful really, just as high as him, well-built and muscular, a total bodybuilding supermodel acting as Mr. Jojo's secretary. But the fact that she was there in Devon's suite in the middle of the night proved his idea that she had just been assigned to him to keep him under control.
"Good evening, Miss Secretary" he jeered as he scornfully looked at her.
"Good night, Mr. Jojo" she replied, her slitty eyes glaring hatefully at him.
"Dare to tell me your name, again…?" Brick asked as he made his way towards the living room. He cracked his neck twice.
"In these past weeks, I've already told you my names three times and other three times three completely invented names. You didn't care to remember a single one of them, Mr. Jojo. So, I've just decided to remain Miss Secretary and to spare some breath." She replied tartly as she led him towards the glass walls of the living room, in front of which Devon Darwin stood, drinking a glass of whisky.
Brick raised a middle finger to her with a mocking grin and then moved towards his boss, hands in his pockets, his cool attitude displayed in order to hide the scent of Blossom and sex which lingered all over his skin.
"Brick" Devon nodded at him. He frowned at his shirt, dishevelled, half unbuttoned, no tie around his neck. The blood stain tinted his sleeve. "What the hell have you been doing after the ceremony?!"
"You'll never believe me" Brick dismissed his question with a shrug. "Why in such a rush to see me in the middle of the night, anyway?"
"And you asking?" Devon frowned deeper, putting his glass on a nearby table with a thud. "I've just managed to free myself from all those leeches that had been hovering around me all night. Hope you've realised what your friend Commander and Leader has done tonight. You said you had everything under control."
"That's what I thought" Brick shrugged again, looking outside the window nonchalantly. "How could I have foreseen that?"
Devon smirked; his mouth twitched in an infuriated grin. "Well, you couldn't, my friend" he almost hissed like a snake "that's why I told we should've taken care of her in the way we did with Butch. That was the safest option."
Brick's red eyes glared at Devon's cold grey ones, glazing with anger.
Brick clicked his tongue as he moved his gaze towards the glass wall, indicating it with a nod. "We could have, but as I told you, this motherfucking shithole you oh so want to control is entirely devoted to those girls. If you wanted to take them down by force, it would've turned out as a big real fuck-up for you. Considering you won against Ms Bellum by the skin of your teeth by using my strategy, I'd be careful as how to treat the Puffs from now on."
"She made a fool out of me!" he growled, punching the window in a fit of rage.
"Nobody noticed besides you, me, her and Miss Secretary over there" Brick scoffed ironically "on the contrary, the people sounded excited by this new collaboration. It may turn out as a good idea, indeed. She works with us for a while, we give her the illusion that everything is under control, she calms down and fucking flies to university. She gets a degree, I get a pay rise, you get your perfect city-state and my secretary finally gets to be fucked by you once you start to chill the fuck out a bit. It's a great plan, overall."
Devon's mouth twitched towards his nose, in an unreadable expression, a mix of anger, disappointment, interest and mockery.
He clicked his tongue, taking his whisky back in his hands and looked at Brick with a mandatory look. "You won't be leaving her side for not even a second. Where she flies, you fly. Where she speaks in public, you'll be there by her side to keep her under control. When she wants to fight some kind of monster, you'll be there to stop her. I don't want Blossom Utonium to be involved in this city's public life more than she already is. Have I been clear?"
"As crystal, sir" Brick nodded with a smug grin.
"And Brick… if anything gets out of your hand, she's fucking over. Her, her sisters and your little brother. Crystal clear, right?" he smirked with a menacing glare.
Brick's grin disappeared from his mouth, which turned into a straight line. A glint of anger shone in his crimson eyes, as he got closer to Devon, hissing with a low voice. "I've already told that everything is under control. Stop with your fucking shitty threats. I know my place; I know who I am and what I'm capable of doing. You should remember that too."
Brick almost roared as he turned his back from Devon and walked towards the door.
"Ah Brick, one last thing" he added nonchalantly, ignoring his previous silent warning of not provoking him any further "Remember your necktie, the next time."
Brick scoffed by shaking his head and noticed Miss Secretary was sneering.
This bitch.
"So Bubbles spilt the beans, mh?" Butch murmured against the nape of her neck, softly biting and intensely sucking at it.
"Mhhh" Buttercup could only reply with a suffering moan as she closed her legs around Butch's body, now standing above her as she lay on the bed. She could feel he was hard under his sweatpants as he kept on brushing against her lower belly, which was basically flooded with her arousal. Her thighs, her belly, her neck were full of love bites, which he kept making every time she told him something about what had happened during those days and about what she was able to find out about him in the last period. Going on talking was becoming quite difficult though as the temperature in the room was rising beyond control.
Ooooh, she wanted to be fucked on that crappy bed so bad in that moment. As she felt Butch leaving her poor neck and rising above her, Buttercup saw his usual nasty grin: he wasn't over yet.
"Are you done talking or is there anything else?"
"No… it's everything… I guess…" she huffed as she stretched her arm out towards his bulked-up chest – wow, he had been really working out a lot during the last year. He was overall much more musclebound and she was curious to check his six pack abs, which had already been an interesting sight the year before; now they must have been a real masterpiece.
"You've been a good girl" he sneered as he took her hand from his chest to move it towards his lips, which kissed her fingertips softly.
Buttercup then moved her free hand towards his t-shirt, trying to slip underneath, but he took that hand too and put it down on the bed.
"You're such a bad boy. Cruel, really" she sulked.
"That's what you like about me" he leered at her as he got off the bed and kneeled in front of her. "But since you've told me everything, you really deserve a big, deep kiss" he said as his hands slid over her thighs, reaching north towards her soaked black panties that were exposed, since the hoodie he had lent her was basically all rolled up, covering her breast only.
"Butch, what the fuck you think you're— OH, BROTHER!" she groaned as she felt his fingers probing into her sweetest spot, caressing her clit in little circles. She wanted to protest, she tried to close her legs but Butch kept them open with a shoulder and his left hand. She cried out as she felt his finger slip inside her, quickly and effortlessly since she hadn't been so wet in all her life. Another one followed gently and she couldn't stop whimpering and moaning like a lost puppy.
"Such a good girl" she heard Butch rasped with a sexy, low voice, before she felt his tongue tasting her slit and she had to bite her hoodie as hard as she could to avoid screaming so loud that she could have been heard up to Townsville.
Two days had passed from the fateful night of the ceremony.
Boomer hadn't called nor texted her not even once.
On the contrary, it seemed that the fact that she had been lying about Butch hadn't been a problem for Buttercup at all. Maybe she had understood. Maybe Butch had explained.
Overall Buttercup had been in pretty high spirits, even after being grounded by the Professor for staying out all night after the ceremony. Not that the thing had affected her, as she would stealthily escape the house as soon as the Professor fell asleep.
But she wouldn't say anything: after all, she had always been Bubbles, the keeper of secrets. That name had been given to her by Butch, when one night two years before she had caught him and his sister smoking something weird in the garage. She liked Butch and Buttercup together; her sister was way more manageable and pleasant after spending time with him. And not just because of what they'd smoked. So, Butch had buttered her up and left the boys' apartment free for her and Boomer in exchange for that little secret.
Secrets, secrets, secrets everywhere.
Even Blossom had been acting strangely since the ceremony. When she had arrived home that night, completely dishevelled, Bubbles had wondered for a second what had happened to her sister; but in that moment she had been too distraught by her own grief to fully realise that Blossom's neck smelt like Brick's cigarettes. She had realised it later. But again, she wouldn't had dared to ask her.
Bubbles swallowed hard as she shook her head quickly. She focused again on the painting in front of her and on the episode of her favourite series – 'Pretty Tiny Liars', how ironic – that she was distractedly watching for the millionth time, keeping it as a background sound to avoid her mind from wondering again to hurtful places.
In those past two days, she had finished studying everything she could, then she had been crocheting, cross-stitching, painting, drawing, reading and binge-watching TV series. Sleep rarely came and when it did, it was filled with nightmares and memories of her and Boomer. Of that hurt look in his blue eyes.
Oh, she so wanted to see him.
She had realised how attached she had become to him. Maybe that wasn't that right either. Their bond had deepened incredibly after the disappearance of his brothers. Maybe, in the deepest part of her heart, she had been happy about it. Boomer had been all hers for that year, she had been his focus, his centre, his only polestar. They were constantly attached. And that was probably not very healthy in a relationship, though she couldn't help but like it, at least a little. Maybe she was able to think it that way because she knew that Butch and Brick were safe somewhere, whereas Boomer and her sisters didn't.
She felt awful. Her dearest relationships had been built on a lie for the last year.
"You should go and talk to him" she flinched as she suddenly heard the voice of her sister coming from her back.
Bubbles bit her lower lip and put down the brush. "I'm fine".
"It doesn't really look like it" Blossom sighed as she put a hand on her shoulder, pointing at the painting.
"Oh. I didn't even realise…" Bubbles was in shock when she realised she was painting a portrait of a blonde girl – really similar to her – who was crying so much that she had formed a lake all around her.
"Bubbles" Blossom sighed with concern "I know that you've done has hurt Boomer terribly, but maybe I can convince Buttercup to talk to Butch and tell him to call his brother. Maybe talking to him will clear everything. He must understand you've kept the secret with good intentions."
Bubbles's eyes filled with new tears. "No. He feels deeply betrayed, I get it."
"Boys tend to be overdramatic" Blossom chuckled sweetly. "Talk to him and try to make him reflect on the situation. What would he have done if he had been you? And Butch had been Buttercup?"
Bubbles goggled at her in awe. "Oh my God, you're a genius. This might work for real with him."
"Making them feel guilty always works" her sister smiled knowingly.
"That's how you deal with Brick?" Bubbles asked, looking straight at her. She noticed Blossom had flinched.
"Mh… not really. Brick is a bit more… complicated than average boys" the red-head giggled nervously.
"What happened that night? The night of the ceremony?" Bubbles asked as she took her sister's hands in hers. She felt Blossom stiffen by her side, taking a few steps back.
"Nothing you should worry about" Blossom hugged her strongly and Bubbles plunged herself in it, caressing her sister's shoulder. "Darwin sent me an e-mail stating that he wants me to work with Brick to re-organise the security of the city. I'll take care of that, so you just go and make up things with Boomer."
"You've always been like a mother to me, Blossy" Bubbles whimpered against her sweater. "Thank you for always taking care of me."
"I'd made a terrible mother, really" she chuckled as she caressed her golden hair.
"I've always told Boomie that I wanted at least five children" Bubbles sighed with a hiccup.
"You'd better have at least a couple of twins" Blossom jokingly pinched her sister's side, making her jump and laugh a little.
"I'd love to" Bubbles replied sheepishly.
"Then go to Boomer and tell him. Make up with him. It's just so stupid to keep all of this anger inside when you clearly love each other so much."
Bubbles smiled at her. "Yeah. That goes for you and Brick as well, Blossy. I know Brick's hiding something. That time, Butch told me that Brick has made some kind of agreement with Darwin in order to save Butch's life. He's just playing a part."
"Don't worry, Bubs. Deep inside, I've known that all along."
Blossom inhaled deeply before knocking at the door. His new apartment was in the city centre, in a luxury complex not far from the City Hall. It wasn't really Brick's style. Everything was so out of place, especially his new style. That's way she sighed with relief when he opened the door only wearing a black t-shirt that underlined his muscular chest and biceps, ripped jeans and his old red cap put on backwards as his usual self.
"Oh, it's finally you again Mr. Jojo" she forced a smug smile, trying to hide her nervousness.
"I've run out of clean shirts and ties" he smiled slyly as he let her inside his flat.
The entrance opened on a big open space area, with some big window walls that had been conveniently obscured by some large white curtains. It was so exposed and devoid of any privacy, exactly the contrary of Brick's attitude. He preferred small, private, cozy places. Just like her.
"Nice plaza" she commented, somewhat sarcastically, closing her hands on the side of her long, red dress.
"I fucking hate it, but beggars can't be choosers" he muttered as he went towards the elegant and ultramodern kitchen. "Want some coffee?"
"No, I…"
I'm already too nervous right now.
He just nodded and started nervously punching his fist against the palm of the other hand, trying to deal with the awkward situation. His silence wasn't helping much so she breathed deeply, ready to go on with her visit.
"So, about Darwin's e-mail…"
"I'm sorry" he suddenly said, taking her aback.
Brick saying he was sorry? Had that ever happened in all those years?
But the sudden claim had shocked her, messing up all the possible scenarios she had been envisioning in her mind. All the possible situations she had been mentally preparing to face. But as usual, Brick was unfathomable. She had to reply quickly.
Back up plan. Back up plan.
"Uhm… about what?" she chuckled awkwardly, avoiding his gaze.
"Abou—"
"There's nothing to be sorry about" she interrupted him, afraid of what might come up. She didn't want to talk about that night. Oh God, she was terrified of bringing that up.
I don't want to be here.
She just wanted to throw herself against the window and zip away from that damned shiny apartment.
"Blossom" he uttered firmly as he zipped quickly towards her. He grabbed her by her arm.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
She could feel her eyes stinging, so she bit her tongue hard, hoping the pain would make that feeling go away.
"Brick, I… don't… wanna talk about it, really…"
"But I do."
"Why?!" she snapped at him, taking her arm back and looking at him in anger. She was losing it, she felt it. She was totally losing her grip on her self-control.
She flinched when she saw his crimson eyes darkened by a glint of… remorse? Sadness? Pain?
"That was a… mistake. It was your first time, we shouldn't have… you know. Have done it."
She gulped, her heart ached, her ears rang.
"Why you think that was my first time?" she tried to counter, but his eloquent gaze wouldn't buy it.
"I… noticed."
"Has it been… so awful?" her voice trembled a little.
"It's been fucking amazing, I swear" he sighed with exasperation, putting his hands in his pockets, flexing his biceps, as he lent against the kitchen counter.
Why did he have to be so hot?
She gulped and took a few steps back.
"You know what. Maybe it's better if we communicate only via e-mail" she breathed before launching herself towards the door, but Brick was quicker and put himself in front of the entrance. Blossom collided against him at full speed, but he didn't budge, instead he took her in his arms, embracing her in a smothering hug.
She protested against his chest and started punching it, until she hit his knee with her white ankle boots and he winced in pain, but didn't let go of her.
"Brick, let me go" she ordered with a heavy breath as she struggled to wiggle away from his hold.
"Why so flushed, Miss Commander and Leader?" he leered at her with an arrogant smile.
She glared at him huffily and slapped his face hard, feeling his hold loosening around her hips and freeing herself with a little jump back. She was breathing heavily, her heart pumping her blood in her veins at full speed.
He looked at her with a serious expression, his hand on his reddened cheek, for what seemed like an eternity. She bit her lower lip, feeling guilty. All that talks to Bubbles about getting rid of anger and there she was, slapping him only because he wanted to clear what had happened. To apologise for being his first time without asking her. To…
Immediately her alarm sensors turned on when she saw his serious expression turn into another smug smirk. He had liked that, she knew he had. He was so twisted. So bad. All that situation was so wrong. So why did it feel so good?
He started to move slowly towards her. And she froze there, waiting for him to come. Waiting for him to take her back in his arms. To twist her the way he wanted to.
She felt powerless.
He was beginning to approach when a sudden earthquake shook the building, making them zip in the air simultaneously.
From the distance, they heard a sudden roar of something very big and very bad that was probably attacking the city. A parade of police sirens started to echo throughout the city.
"We should go and give a look" she uttered softly, gulping down the drool that had been gathering in her mouth nervously.
"Fuck" he groaned, knowing there was no other choice.
Bubbles put down the glass of her strawberry milkshake, slowly passing her tongue along her lips to get rid of the cream left there. Staring at him, intently. He had given her a shift look, she was sure of it, and then he had turned his head, going back to his work as the sexy waiter he was with that elegant uniform he was wearing.
Ah, Boomer dressed as an elegant waiter was the best. That white shirt, that black tight trousers. He looked so sexy, so handsome, so… how many wild dreams had she had about him wearing his waiter uniform?
"Bubbles… Bubbles!"
Bubbles blinked as if she had been brought back to reality by Robin's voice, who sat in front of her at her favourite table of the DolceFragola. She was looking at her with an incredulous stare. "I can't believe you guys, really. You two are practically eye flirting!"
"W-we're not!" Bubbles spluttered as her cheeks blushed. "He's still angry at me. I want to make amend." She pouted as she took the straw back in her lip glossed lips.
"He's struggling, though. You can see he's forcing himself not to look at us" she smirked as she studied Boomer's back while he was taking the orders of another table. "His ass… with those black trousers… a real masterpiece."
"Robin!"
"What?!" the brunette smiled amusingly. "He's free now, right?"
Bubbles replied with an enraged look at her best friend, who simply replied by taking the straw of her iced tea in her lips with a smug smile. "C'mon, it'll only be for a few days, until the poor puppy gets rid of his tantrums. It's gonna be okay. You two are madly in love."
"Would you like to order anything else?" Boomer suddenly appeared wearing his best fake smile, but it was so kind and so cold that it made Bubbles's chest hurt. But she knew he would always give his best at work, since it had been really hard for him to find one. Even though the owner of the DolceFragola really adored him, he would always put all of his efforts in everything he did. And now there she was, putting him in a difficult situation. She was being selfish once again.
"Mhh, yes, I'd like a piece of today's cake while I wait as you and my friend go and talk during your break" Robin smiled nonchalantly, as if she was saying the most ordinary thing in the world.
"Sorry, I don't have a break this afternoon" Boomer replied, his smile never fading.
"I asked the owner, you're free in five minutes" Robin blinked triumphantly "Shall I ask her again?"
Boomer's smile faded, leaving place to an annoyed expression. He sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Ok, fine. I'll be back with the cake" he groaned as he left the table.
Bubbles felt her eyes stinging. He had avoided looking at her the whole time. He hadn't been treating her so badly since middle school, before they had realised they liked each other.
She stood up suddenly, biting her trembling lip, giving a watery look at Robin.
"No, Bubbles Utonium, no. You sit down right now. Have I been clear? Bubbles…!"
But she had already zipped out the café at an incredible speed. She flew for a few meters, before remembering she had to pay for her milkshake, and her sense of guilt made her march back towards the café, walking slowly this time. But she didn't want to bother Boomer any longer. She had realised that that had been a mistake, a huge mistake. She just needed to give him some alone time to let steam off and then they'll talk again, more lucidly. But she was always so impatient, so self-centred, so… greedy.
As she saw the café at a distance, she started to slow down and gulped, when suddenly she heard a strange sound, as if someone was calling a cat nearby. She turned her head and, barely visible in the darkness of a side alley, Bubbles saw Ace emerging, a sly grin on his mouth.
"Hello Bubsy" he greeted her nonchalantly.
Bubbles felt a shiver running along her spine, something that had never happened before. Not with the Greengangs, anyway. But she couldn't shake off the feeling that all that mess she was living had started because of them and that damned robbery.
"What do you want, Ace?" she snarled at him, her hands curling into fists.
"Hey, hey, babe. Chill out. I'm just here to deliver a message to you, don't shoot the messenger!" he cackled as he handed her a small card. The name Devon Darwin stood written in elegant golden italics on the little white card. Bubbles looked at it with anger and then gave Ace an upset look. "Please, tell Mr. Darwin I don't have any business with him. It's my sister Blossom who is taking care of any connection with him. Tell Darwin to talk to her."
"I'm afraid you're the one he wants to see… well ya know, only in case you really care about your boyfriend's life, we must say…" Ace blinked at her and he could see her turning pale.
"Bubbles!"
"Speak of the devil."
Suddenly, they both turned towards the cafeteria, from where Boomer had exited quickly, zipping towards them and standing in front of her with a protective gesture. She felt a painful throb in her chest as she hid the card in her pocket.
"What the fuck do you want from her, you son of a bitch?!" Boomer growled with a menacing tone.
"Oh, nothing bro. Just saying hi to the Princess. It's been a while since the last time I saw her" Ace made a deep bow as to greet them, before turning his back and reaching for the dark alley from where he had come.
"ACE!" Boomer called out loud and he stopped, without turning "…what business do you have with Darwin? What happened to my brothers?!". His face was flushed and his blue eyes were sparkling with an insane rage.
"It's better if you don't know anything about it, blue little boy" Ace snickered lightly as he disappeared in the darkness.
Boomer was ready to give chase but Bubbles grabbed his arm, blocking him. Her face was still pale, but her eyes seemed resolute.
"Let him go. I think it's better if we stay out of this" she uttered in a low and serious voice.
"Yeah, the same way you've stayed out of it this whole year, mh?" he argued back, making her flinch with his enraged words. He took his arm back with a tug and stared at her, furiously. "What the fuck did he tell you?"
She breathed lightly and then met his eyes; hers were now shining with a strange light in them, unwavering. "Nothing important." She was the keeper of secrets and she had to stick to her role until the end.
Boomer scorned her and snickered bitterly. "Yeah, right. Always better not trust Boomer, right?"
"I thought about what happened two days ago and… I think we should really take a break" she added coldly as she crossed her arms, taking him aback. His eyes widened in surprise.
"What the fuck Bubbles… I thought you were here to…"
"Changed my mind after seeing acting like a five-year-old child" she replied.
"It's been Ace, right? What the fuck has he told you?" he insisted as he grasped her arm firmly, almost hurting her.
"I said nothing important" she hissed with a vein of irritation.
"Hey, what the fuck is going on here?"
Suddenly, both the blondes turned to meet two annoyed green eyes. Buttercup was standing by their side, her feet tapping the floor nervously. "What are you doing to my lil' sis?"
"Nothing, really. She was just dumping me. I'm gonna go back to work" he grunted as he let go of Bubbles arm, putting his hands in his pockets before zipping back to the cafeteria.
Buttercup exchanged an eloquent look with her sister. "You're staying her with me until he ends his shift and you tell me fucking everything, gotcha, Little Miss Sunshine? We gotta talk."
They entered her house restlessly bickering. She put the keys in the key holder as he closed the door behind them.
"Professor, Buttercup, Bubbles, I'm home!" Blossom turned towards the boy behind her back "…with a guest."
"You're fuckin' not listening to me, are you?" Brick groaned harshly as he followed her towards the kitchen.
"I am" she replied as she went to the fridge to catch something fresh to drink "but you're being repetitive".
"Just because you ain't listening to a damn thing I'm saying!" he burst with a hiss. "You shouldn't have intervened in the fight! The fucking police were dealing with it!"
"They were getting it, you mean" she smiled haughtily as she poured two glasses of water, handing one to Brick. "Come on Brick, they can't stand a chance against that kind of monsters! Criminals? Maybe. Robbers? Yeah, ok. Serial killers? Could be. But giant Godzillas coming out of nowhere? No way. With those silly bullets of theirs."
"Yeah, right" Brick scratched the back of his head "Darwin's been working on a special type of anti-monster bullet… so I guess it will be ready in no time…"
"In the meantime, I'll be there to save the day. Tell your boss when you see him" she winked at him as she gulped down her glass of water. A drop slid from her lips along her cheek and down her neck and she noticed that Brick was looking at it, with a very dangerous gaze.
Then he moved his eyes away, probably realising that things were starting to heat up – again.
He nodded at the fridge. "Didn't you say that Buttercup was grounded?"
Blossom turned curiously towards the fridge and finally read their home noticeboard.
I'm out for work, be back tonight. See you my sweet girls! 3 P.
I'm going out with Robin. Dinner with her. See you tonight. Bubbles 3
Out. B back 2nite. BC
Blossom looked open-mouthed at it. And started feeling weird. Guilty. Hot.
"Oh, um… yeah. She should be grounded but…" she bit her lower lip.
Keep calm, Blossom. Keep calm. Everything's in control. It's not like you haven't been alone before and…
He sighed as he started to loosen his tie with his fingers, drawing her attention on him.
"I can't believe you've changed just to go out and fight a dinosaur" Blossom replied as she looked sceptically at his black shirt and burgundy tie, but feeling a strange tingling in her stomach as she followed his slender fingers moving around the necktie.
"You know, Darwin and his shit about giving a respectable image of myself. As someone said, now all the criminals in their suits and ties are free to drink martinis and watch the sunrise." He scoffed a little as he took the tie off, looking at it with disgust.
Blossom gazed at him intently and he looked back at her.
"You haven't been a criminal for years, though."
"The past is not a package one can lay away" he smirked as he unbuttoned the collar of his shirt.
"Emily Dickinson" she replied thoughtfully, putting down her glass on the counter.
A few moments passed in silence.
"Blossom" he started with a sigh, as he put his hands in his pockets "it's better if you just step away. From this town. From all this shit. Believe me, just…"
"I know you've made a deal with Darwin to save Butch" she blurted out, gazing at him with a firm look.
Brick opened his mouth to say something and then he closed it again, looking away. She knew that eyes: he was pondering over his next move.
"I've been having doubts about it since the first time I've you seen you again this year. Standing there, looking like a city slacker. I remember that time you said that you weren't going to university because you couldn't see yourself wearing a suit and tie every day, and yet…"
"Yeah, no need to remember me of that" he grumbled in a low voice as he crossed his arms.
Blossom sighed deeply and she realised that there was only an effective way to make him talk. Even though she knew it was a gamble. A very dangerous gamble.
She moved closer to him, putting a hand on his arm and she felt him stiffen under her touch.
"Blossom, don—"
"Buttercup has found Butch in Citiesville. The night of the ceremony" she said with a low, serious whisper, a few inches from his lips, her pink eyes looking straight into his, which widened in surprise "she's been seeing him since then. She told me the day after. That night, she told Boomer as well."
"…fuck" he could only reply with a low hiss.
"Yeah. I only know what I've told you. You made a deal with Darwin to free Butch and he sent him away to Citiesville. That's all I know, Brick. And I don't wanna know anything else from anyone, besides you." She said as she put both of her hands on his chest, which was burning hot under the soft fabric of the black shirt.
Brick closed his eyes as he lowered his head, with a deep sigh. He knew he had lost the game. She waited for him to think, respecting his need for silence and time. She couldn't help but move her fingers in little caresses along his shoulders, hoping to make him feel better.
"I can't tell you anything… not yet" he replied in a whisper as he moved towards her, his forehead leaning against hers. "I'm doing this for you, though, believe me."
"I do."
"Then, don't make it so difficult, Bloss" he groaned "just think about going to university. Move on."
"I'm not leaving you in all this alone, Brick. I'm not leaving you again… full stop."
"Blossom—"
"I trust you. I trust what you're doing, but don't think for a single moment I'll let you sacrifice yourself for us. I'll wait until you're ready to tell me."
They naturally leant into each other in a sweet kiss, their noses and forehead brushing slowly "This is so bad, Bloss, so bad. Such a bad idea."
"Which part?" she smiled softly against his lips.
"All of them" he kissed her again, lightly. "You shouldn't trust me, Bloss" Another kiss. "I was made to be your enemy, I was made to destroy you… maybe that's I'll be ever able to do."
"I don't care what you're doing…" she kissed him and breathed against his lips "I'll stand my ground until the end and you'll stand yours. We'll be forever rivals, enemies, opposites… I don't care." Another kiss. "But this doesn't change the fact that when the fight is over, you're the one I want to be with. I know it doesn't make any sense, but I need you, senselessly" she dove into a deeper kiss this time. She caressed his tongue with hers and he let it slide along her lower lip.
"This… us… we… are too complicated. Too toxic. Too destructive." He whispered harshly, against her lips. "But I want you more than anything I've ever wanted in my life. I want you, I want you so fucking much I might hurt you. You stir up my flames in a way that it's fucking killing me" he groaned as he felt her hands in his hair, pushing him towards her mouth once again.
"I want you to burn me to ashes every night" she whispered against his lips.
"Fuck" he almost moaned against her lips, before plunging into another deep, intense kiss. He pushed her against the kitchen table, sitting her up, lifting her dress with a hand that slid slowly along her thigh.
"Brick, wait" she breathed, interrupting the kiss "Not here. Let's go upstairs."
He whispered in her ear. "I'll be gentler this time".
"I don't want you to" she replied as she lightly bit his lower lip with a mischievous smile.
They zipped so fast towards her room that she barely realised how she had ended up on her bed with him standing over her. His hands untied her pony tail and his fingers were soon lost in her copper cascade of hair; she said she didn't want him to, but he was being gentler, she felt it.
And it was probably very difficult for him, considering how aroused he was – she could feel it pressing against her lower belly, hard, presumptuous, greedy. She moaned as he rubbed himself against her wet panties, her dress all dishevelled.
He suddenly rose up, starting to unbutton his shirt and sending it to the ground. He then pulled out his mobile phone and turned it off. "No interruptions this time" he smirked as he bent down towards her navel, starting to kiss and lick her belly gently, making her squirm under his touch.
"Brick" she moaned in a breath, putting her hand in his hair, caressing them tenderly. "No one has to know what we do."
"I know" he smirked smugly as he started to move his hand underneath her panties "so, try to keep it down, this time."
Boomer had jumped on Buttercup's Jeep without protesting. She had just stopped in front of the café after he had finished his shift, opening the passenger door; he had seen Bubbles sitting quietly in the backseat.
Boomer had given Buttercup a sceptical look and with a nod she simply said: "Jump in".
The three of them had been silent the whole trip: through the rear-view window, Boomer saw that Bubbles was diligently looking at her knees, her hands crumpling the hem of her blue skirt, as she usually did when she was nervous. He was pretty sure that Buttercup wanted to give them both a motherly speech: he knew that even if she acted cool and detached, she had a sweet spot for her sisters and a very contemplative mind. Sometimes, Buttercup managed to be even more emphatic than Blossom. He thought that she could have become the most sensitive and sensible of the three of them, if it weren't for the influence of Butch.
Suddenly, a jolt of the car startled him and he heard a shriek from Bubbles.
"Are you okay?" he asked as he spontaneously turned towards Bubbles; she blushed and turned away her eyes.
He immediately regretted his spontaneous show of concern, since he was still hurting after their new break-up. But he still cared for her. He still loved her, deeply. That's why her betrayal hurt him so much. That's why everything that was happening hurt him so much.
Boomer turned and scornfully glared at Buttercup. "Where the fuck are you taking us?!"
They were entering the woods at the extreme border of Townsville, not far from Fuzzy Lumpkins's property, darting ahead on off-road tracks.
Buttercup suddenly stopped in the middle of a small glade, surrounded by tall trees. They all jumped off the Jeep and Buttercup zipped quickly around the areas, making sure nobody had followed them. Boomer and Bubbles glared at her, both silent and bewildered.
As she was convinced of the safety of the area, Buttercup went towards her trunk and punched it twice.
"Get out, you shithead" she muttered as she opened the trunk and revealed its secret passenger.
Butch was lying on his back with his usual smooth smirk. "Hey guys!"
"Butch?!" both Boomer and Bubbles exclaimed as they saw him lying there without a care in the world.
"What's up guys?" he snickered as he jumped out the vehicle, raising his hand to say hi. "Hey Bubbles, I find you well" he gave her a pat on the head and a sweet smile.
"I am… and you too Butch" she smiled back, sincerely happy to see him again.
"Definitely better than the last time you've seen me!" he laughed lightly. "I heard you guys were having some problems because of me and I came here to give a speech to my little brother. Buttercup told me that you're the usual trustworthy keeper of secrets, Bubs. Thank you for that."
Boomer growled lowly, a deep gurgle coming from the deepest part of his chest. It was his fault. The shitty life he was living in that very moment, and had been living for the last year, it was all Butch's fault. And there he was, appearing out of nowhere, playing it cool as if nothing serious had happened. Boomer leapt towards his brother and pushed him down to the ground, raising his punch ready to hit him with all his strength. A few sparks of electricity glimmered in his hand as he aimed at Butch, but his brother unexpectedly cover himself in… fear. He had crossed his arms in front of himself, in order to protect his face.
"STOP BOOMER, STOP!" he shouted "I DON'T HAVE MY POWERS ANYMORE! YOU GONNA BREAK SOMETHING!"
"YOU WHAT?!" all the three of them asked, in unison, looking at Butch in shock.
Butch threw his arms opened wide on the ground and sighed deeply, looking at the sunset sky. "I'm a fucking normal human, now."
I thought Heaven can't help me now
Nothing lasts forever
But this is gonna take me down
I know, I know. I've been bad with the Blues again, but I swear I didn't mean to. It just turned out this way.
I feel I gave too much space to the Reds, but I couldn't help it since this is the chapter dedicated to "Wildest Dreams" which is such a Reds song for me! And the one that has convinced me to write this FF. Also I loved writing about Brick in this chapter.
A lot of happenings and introspections in this chapter, but the next one is gonna be way more spicier.
Thank you for your patience! To the next update!
And thank you all for your support and your reviews. Let me know what you think, any suggestions or critics are well accepted!
