"Buttercup...!"
Buttercup could feel herself still falling, and she let out a panicked gasp for air. Her entire body seemed numb, and she couldn't fly upwards. Struggling to become airborne, Buttercup's powers flailed. Come on, come on, come on... She broke through branches, thinking of how embarrassing this was.
. Just as she braced for impact, she felt two hands grab her. Suddenly, she stopped falling, and she blinked open her eyes. The two gazes she was met with were a pair of dark green eyes and a pair of dark blue eyes.
Buttercup released a breath she hadn't realized she was holding as they set her down.
"You okay, BC?" Butch asked, letting her go awkwardly.
"I'm fine," she grumbled, picking leaves off her shirt. "My powers went awol or something ." She glanced between her two saviors. "I get how Butch could reach me; he has powers, but how the hell did you catch me as well, Denji? You two were pretty far off."
The teen shrugged silently; Buttercup looked away from his penetrating gaze as DJ approached them.
"Denji is a speedy runner," DJ explained, smiling coolly. "I'm sorry for challenging you, Buttercup. I didn't expect you to do it." He said that last part extra loudly, and Buttercup realized why when the teachers appeared.
"Oh, Deth Jackson has apologized. You forgive him, don't you, Buttercup?" Ms. Titter asked.
no, Buttercup replied silently. But on the outside, . "Of course." she gritted through her teeth. I hate him, she thought to herself. DJ smiled back at her.
You could sense the electricity between the two buttercups may not know him, but she already couldn't stand him
Ms. Ella walked over to Buttercup and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Now, let's get you to the infirmary, dear. You look shaken," she fretted.
Buttercup began protesting, but she thought better and closed her mouth. She just nodded, letting Ms. Ella lead her away.
Butch watched her go before turning on DJ. "You did that on purpose," he growled. "You knew that branch was going to break."
"Why, whatever are you talking about?" DJ replied calmly, his gaze steady and cold. He smiled, revealing sharp teeth. "I only challenged her to climb it, and she agreed. Seeing how BC's forgiven me, maybe you should too...you Mutt."
That's the last goddamn straw. Butch reached out for the boy's throat, his sharp nails glinting in the sunlight as he snarled.
But before he could clasp DJ's neck in his hands and feel the satisfaction of strangling the boy, a hand stopped him. "Butch, don't."
Butch looked up to see Brick's calm red eyes. He let his hands drop, but he turned on Brick. "Why the hell can't I strangle him?"
Brick glanced at DJ, who was smirking and waving. When the boy turned around and walked off, Brick replied steadily: "You can't give him the satisfaction of letting him know he got under your skin. Besides...we can't do anything to them here. And you know we can't hurt them."
"I wish we could," Butch growled, one of his eyes twitching as they became slits. His irises shrank considerably.
Brick only shook his head, his firm grip on Butch's shoulder preventing the green Ruff from jumping onto DJ or Denji
"Let's keep playing!" the second teacher called, clapping his hands together.
Butch shrugged Brick's hand off, eyes gleaming. "If I can't hurt them here, I might as well hurt their stupid, big fat fucking egos ."
Sighing, Brick rolled his eyes as Butch dashed off for the ball.
Buttercup sat on the infirmary bed thinking those boys were defiantly not ordinary when the door was opened, and voices sounded outside.
. She turned to the door and watched, listening.
"Are you not feeling okay, Ethan?" Mr. Evan's voice sounded.
"Yeah, sorry. "My skin's just sensitive to sunlight..."
A sigh. "Alright then. In you go."
As the door shut, a boy was standing there. He looked relieved to be alone. He had long, curly, soft, cookie-dough brown hair and wide, pale purple-pink-looking eyes. They were brown but were so pale they looked pink.
Buttercup decided to let him know he wasn't alone. "Hi," she greeted. he jumped slightly
"Relax; I'm not going to hurt you." Buttercup rolled her eyes at his narrowed eyes.
"Oh, right. Of course," he agreed in a mumble.
Buttercup could tell he still wasn't at ease around her. "I don't bite."
"I do," he muttered under his breath, but Buttercup only managed to catch it thanks to her super-hearing. She decided not to ask him about it, as she felt he'd freeze up on her in panic.
"So what are you in here for?" she inquired.
. He sighed, awkwardly walking over to another bed and sitting down. "I...I wouldn't say I like the sun all that much. We had an outside class because it was sunny, and Mr. Evans was in a good mood. I guess I didn't put on enough sunscreen." The boy rubbed at his hands uncomfortably.
. Buttercup realized that's the most he's said so far. So she decided to press further: "I see. Your name's Ethan, right? I've seen you around."
"Yeah," he confirmed, "we're in the same Math class."
"I guess it's kind of hard to notice a guy who doesn't talk all that much," Buttercup joked.
"I guess," Ethan replied.
A few moments of awkward silence passed before Buttercup sat up and stretched. "Well, it's kinda dark in here. Why not open the blinds?"
"No!" Ethan said quickly. When she gave him a questioning look, he rubbed his hands again nervously. "I-I mean...you know, sensitive skin and all."
"... Okay then," Buttercup managed to say, "I guess we can turn on the lights then."
Ethan nodded thankfully. He opened his mouth to say something just as the door was opened again.
Ms. Ella walked in. "Hello, Buttercup! Everything is under control outside, so I thought I'd check on you." She paused when she saw Sidney. "Oh, and hi there, Ethan!"
"Hi, Ms. E," he greeted her with a small smile.
"Let's open the blinds, shall we?" Ms. Titter said, sweeping toward the windows.
Ethan's eyes widened, and Buttercup decided to speak up for him: "Ms. T, wait—"
The blinds were opened, and Ethan let out a slight hiss as the sunlight streamed in. He covered his face with his arm, and Buttercup was surprised that his hands were reddening. He is sensitive to sunlight, she thought.
Ethan moved back further on the bed until his back hit the wall and was out of the sun. He immediately began rubbing his hands again. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a black bottle
Sunscreen, Buttercup realized. She found it strange, as she had never seen a black sunscreen bottle before. But she decided it wasn't too weird to question the poor guy.
When he sat back in the sunlight, he appeared relieved, and his skin was improving. It returned to its usual pale complexion, and Buttercup noticed it shining.
"Are you okay, dearie?" Ms. Ella asked, concerned.
"I'm fine," Ethan replied quietly, smoothing his pants. "I just...I'm somewhat sensitive to light, but I'm okay now."
"That's good to hear," Ms. Ella said, looking relieved. "You had me worried there."
Ethan looked up at her with his wide, pale pink gaze. "I'm sorry," he said.
Ms. Ella smiled. "Don't worry about it," she promised before walking off. "Get some rest, both of you!"
As the door closed, silence engulfed the room once more.
Buttercup, who had laid down, sat up and turned back to Ethan. "You hang out with DJ and Denji, right? As well as this one other guy?"
. Jumping slightly, he turned to her. He seemed stunned for a moment before he nodded. "Umm...yeah." He hesitated. "The 'other guy's name is...Michael," he added quietly.
Buttercup grunted. "Well, DJ thought it was a good idea to challenge me to climb a tree during PE class to retrieve a soccer ball that was stuck in the branches." This time, it was her turn to hesitate, and she crossed her arms, letting out a huff. "The stupid branch broke, and I fell."
. His eyes widened. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine. My powers were just being weird, I guess," Buttercup responded, waving her hand to dismiss the question. "Both Butch and Denji caught me. I know Butch has powers so that he could reach me in time, but even if Denji can run fast—according to DJ"—she turned her emerald-green gaze onto Ethan—"I'm not sure he could've made it so far in just a few seconds. They were pretty far away, you know?"
Ethan looked away awkwardly. "He's just...that good at running," he mumbled. "...We all kind of are."
"...hm...I see," Buttercup replied. She swung her legs, and they both fell silent once again.
"Can I see your sunscreen?" Buttercup asked abruptly.
Ethan looked reluctant, but he nodded and tossed the bottle to her.
Buttercup caught it and read the label: "Better Antidotes!: True Sunscreen." In smaller font, it read: "Helping sensitive skin since 1873." She raised an eyebrow. "That sure is an old company," she remarked.
Ethan nodded. "My family's been using it for generations."
"So you all have the same skin problem?" Buttercup inquired.
. He paused as if he had just realized he had said something he shouldn't have. He nodded quickly. "Yeah, it's a genetic thing."
. She flipped the bottle over and read the label. " helps your complexion. It says here that it 'even makes your skin sparkle. I guess that's why you looked like a ball of glitter ."
. He laughed slightly. His laugh is nice, Buttercup thought before mentally hitting herself. "Yeah, I guess so. It's the oil ."
. She raised an eyebrow. "Maybe you should get me some."
. He smiled back slightly.
And just like that, the bell rang.
Buttercup turned to stare at the clock, surprised. "grat off to class again," she commented.
Ethan nodded, catching his tube of sunscreen after she tossed it back. He hopped off of the bed and smiled at her. "Well, I guess...I-I'll see you around?"
"I guess so," Buttercup agreed.
. He laughed a small laugh again. "You might be catching my habit of saying 'I guess so.'"
Buttercup blinked in surprise before smirking. " 'I guess so'," she agreed.
Ethan waved before disappearing out the door. Buttercup sat there for a moment longer before jumping off the bed and walking outside.
It didn't take long until Butch, Brick, Princess, and Mitch greeted her.
"You okay?" Butch asked her.
"Butch, I promise I'm fine," she promised. "Ms. Ella thought I was shaken even though I wasn't, but I figured it'd be easier to listen to her." She sighed and grumbled, "Can't believe I missed the game."
"You didn't miss much," Brick responded, "we won the match."
Princess grinned. "I scored the last goal!" she cheered, her hands shaking in excitement.
"She got really into the game," Mitch laughed.
"Yeah, we kicked DJ's butt," Butch agreed.
Buttercup raised an eyebrow. "You don't like him, do you?"
"Not one bit," Butch confirmed. He paused. "Don't you dislike him too? He was a cocky ass."
"Oh, I can't stand him." She rolled her eyes. But then she glanced behind them in the direction where Ethan had gone. "But I don't know...they don't seem all bad."
"Yeah; they're kinda...hot, actually," Princess added. She paused. "Wait a second, BC. You can't be—"
"No!" Buttercup interrupted, her face flushing red. "I don't have a crush on any of them!"
Butch let out a snort. "I can reassure you that they are that bad. They pretty much bite you in the ass when you're not careful."
Buttercup paused. There it is again—that word.
"Anyway," Brick said quickly, "let's head to our next class. I don't want to be late." He shot Butch a warning look, to which the green Ruff shrugged in reply.
. Just then, someone else walked by.
Both Butch and Brick froze as the newcomer turned around and sniffed disdainfully. Then they walked off.
Buttercup followed their gazes. "Who was that?" she asked.
"...Michael," Butch muttered in reply.
"Michael...? Isn't he friends with DJ, Denji, and Ethan?" Princess questioned.
Brick nodded curtly, his eyes narrowed.
Buttercup frowned. Michael, huh... They seem to dislike him most of all. She racked her brains for any interactions they might've had with this Michael, but she drew up a blank. We know Michael, our friend and Michelle's brother*, but that's it. And this one's blonde, not brown-haired.
Buttercup blinked, still watching as Butch and Brick whispered to one another. She suddenly became determined to discover who this Michael was and why the Ruffs disliked him so much. I want to know more, she concluded, because they're hiding something.
The next class seemed to drag on incredibly slowly, with Mr. Davidson discussing things Buttercup hardly paid attention to. She was too busy studying Michael, who sat two seats before her.
When Mr. Davidson told them to work together on some worksheets, it was Buttercup, Bliss, Blaze, and Michael. She noticed Blaze looking annoyed when he got assigned to work with the blonde boy, but he joined them nonetheless.
"Michael, right?" Buttercup greeted him, pulling a chair up.
. He blinked at her. "um....yeah?" When he noticed Blaze, he wrinkled his nose as if he had smelled something foul.
"Mr. Davidson paired us all together?" Buttercup pressed.
DJ on the opposite side of Michael looked, and the boy raised a brow.
"so I heard," Michael agreed, his eyes never leaving Blaze.
Buttercup sat down. "So...you know the Ruffs. How did you two get to know each other? I'm curious since my sister Bliss and I don't know you," she asked.
Michael shrugged. "We've known each other for a long time," he replied, lowering his blue-green eyes to his paper. He avoided eye contact with Blaze.
"Too long, if you ask me," DJ muttered. Michael nudged his friend, and Blaze rolled his eyes, clearly agitated.
Buttercup was about to ask more, but Michael suggested, "Let's just focus on our work for now."
"There's something we can both agree on for once," muttered Blaze.
Michael looked at him. "Let's see if your brainpower is useful to us."
"Why, you arrogant little asshole—" Blaze began to snap, but Bliss interrupted.
"Let's just work," she said quietly, sensing the tension in the room. Even cheerful Bliss could tell something was wrong, especially when upbeat Blaze, who was friends with almost everyone, had a person he couldn't get along with.
. Frustrated, Buttercup just nodded.
The rest of their assignment was spent in silence (except for a minor spat Blaze and DJ had over who had taken Blaze's eraser. Bliss had borrowed Blaze's eraser, and the orange Ruff had difficulty apologizing—much to DJ's obvious enjoyment. By the end, Blaze looked ready to beam DJ).
Ended. "I just want to ask you a few questions."
"I don't want to answer them," Michael responded, reaching for the doorknob.
Buttercup blocked him off. "No, I'm serious. How did you meet the Ruffs?"
"Fine," Michael huffed. "I met them nearly ten years ago..."
Buttercup nodded, eagerly awaiting the answer.
"...When I turned 1025," he finished sarcastically.
Buttercup crossed her arms. "Alright, fine! If you don't want to talk—"
"I don't," he interrupted, his blue-green eyes boring into hers. He placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning in.
Buttercup's heart beat faster as her face reddened and her breath stopped. "Wh-What are you—?"
. His breath tickled her ear. "And sadly, I don't like talking to the friends of the Ruffs either. And what a pity, too; you seem like such a nice girl." When he pulled away, his gaze was cold. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go."
Michael whisked past her Before Buttercup could say or even do anything and vanished around a corner down the hallway. And he left Buttercup behind, standing there, confused and annoyed .