Angel ♡ Eyes

♡Chapter 28

It took about five minutes.

Then, the door busted open.

Standing in the middle of the doorway, was an angry, pissed off Brick. As he marched his way over towards his fellow comrades, he bore a limp. A pool of blood stained his thigh, dripping down to his calf. In his left hand he had a gun he'd found on a dead body during sublevel five. Figured he might be needing it.

The guy had searched nine different sub levels before eventually finding the two idiots.

He was beyond mad.

If he were anything like Blossom, he'd of been on fire and steaming like a train.

"What the hell is wrong with you two?!" Brick banged a fist on the metal bars.

Buttercup and Butch were sitting on the small concrete slab sticking out of the wall. Butch grinned up at the guy. "Hey! Good to see ya."

"Shut the hell up." He hissed. His attention turned to Buttercup. "You. You came back?!" Brick ran a hand through his hair and groaned. "What the hell is wrong with you?!"

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "I think we're grounded." She muttered to Butch.

Brick banged his fist against the cell bars again. "Knock it off. I cannot believe you two!" He looked back and forth between them.

"Well, Brick," Butch rubbed at the back of his neck. "Mind breaking us out and then yelling at us?"

Brick looked down at the keypad. "Do you know the code?"

"Yup. That's why we're still in this cell." Buttercup shrugged.

"Gee." Brick frowned. "Helpful." He looked around for something he could use to bust it open. A crow bar? A bat? A pole? Anything.

Brick gasped. He still had the gun.

"Stand back." He aimed the small cannon at the keypad, then fired a shot.

The electronic hissed and whined as it sparked. A small mini explosion and a satisfying click. The cell door slid open.

"Lets go." Brick jerked his head to the door.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

They'd stumbled upon a running river where they'd decided to take a break. Miraclously, the water was clean enough to drink from. But that didn't stop Blossom from boiling it in a small canteen of Boomers, then cooling it down. Nobody wanted to take any chances.

Bubbles sat on the ground, her eyes closed and ears open. In the trees birds sang along to earthen melodies. If she paid enough attention, she was sure she'd be able to understand. Oh how she longed to understand.

"I'm scared to leave those two alone." Blossom said as she sat down beside her sister.

Bubbles frowned. Her concentration was broken. She was so close too. "Why?"

"I don't want another argument." Blossom sighed.

"I'm sure they'll be fine." She leaned over, resting her head on Blossom's shoulder. "I'm worried about BC."

"She'll be fine." Blossom grabbed her sisters hand. "She is... well," Blossom laughed. "She's Buttercup."

"Yeah." Bubbles nodded. "Say," She sat up, staring at Blossom. "After this is all over... are we all going to stay friends?"

Blossom smiled softly. Obviously, this was a topic Bubbles was stressing over. This is the second time she's directly asked about after. Blossom didn't have the heart to tell her that after feels like a fever dream. This situation isn't going to resolve itself, and Brick had already said he'd help with the government stepping up. She'd mentioned how she wanted to help. Blossom looked over at Bubbles, the blond twiddling nervously with her fingers. "I don't see why not."

Meanwhile, Boomer sat a few feet away. Staring at the beautiful goddess as she laughed and smiled with her sister.

Boomer sighed, resting his head in his hand. She really was perfect.

"I think you like her." Bell whispered. "And I think everyone else knows it. Bubbles probably knows it."

Boomer groaned, holding back an eyeroll. "Seriously? What are you? A mind reader? Fuck off."

"I also think──" Bell lowered herself to the floor "──that you use sarcasm and downright impolite mannerism to cover the fact you're scared. You've probably been through a lot, right? All six of you have."

"What I went through is no where near as bad as everyone else." Boomer shot the girl a glare. "Nor is it any of your business."

"It was my business, though. Back at Qapla', it was my business to know everyone else's business." Bell shrugged.

"There's something about you I really don't like."

Bell sighed. "Everyone has a dark past. Just because yours wasn't as extreme as others, doesn't mean your trauma is any less real."

"Shut up." Boomer pulled his legs up to his chest, wrapping himself in a hug.

"I really want us to be friends." Bell nudged at the blondes arm.

Boomer stared at her out of the corner of his eye. She knew a lot about all of them. She knew about his past, and she wasn't going to tell. But the way she spoke as if anything that came out of her mouth was the way of the world? Boomer really didn't like her.

Maybe because she reminded him of himself a long time ago. A kid who didn't know when to shut up. A kid whose form of coping consisted of lying on his bed and listening to old rock 'N roll on CD's. A kid who figured as long as he pretended to be happy, nobody would question him. A kid whose only purpose at the time was to keep up a perfect persona of himself and of his family.

Memories of loud yelling, broken plates, blood splattering walls flashed over his eyes. He'd ran down the stairs at the sound of his mom's cry for help. His dad pushed up against her as he held a pocket knife in his hand. Boomer──at fourteen──prying his dad away from his mom's limp body, blood pooling around her.

He never even got to say goodbye.

His dad had been too drunk to even fight off his son. Boomer'd called the police and he'd been put into the foster system. That didn't last long though. Explosions in chemistry, massive destruction of school property. Home-made explosive devices for science fairs. Guns made of everyday objects. Science journals full of backwards writing as if looking into a mirror. He didn't want people to know what breakthroughs he'd figured out late at night with seven cups of coffee flooding his system. Every time, a teacher would push him up a grade. Until he was eighteen with a bachelors degree in aerospace engineering, physics, astrophysics, geology, astronomy. Working towards his Ph.D in aerospace engineering.

He'd been placed under house watch a few times. The mind of a genius trapped behind walls. He'd eventually made a deal with the government. No more blowing stuff up, no more crazy projects without proper equipment. In turn, he'd come work for them.

Boomer learnt at a young age the pros of making people think you were invincible to psychological torment. Ergo, the sarcasm. He might have been an asshole. But he was damn near the nicest asshole anyone had ever met.

"Fuck you. You wanna be friends?" His eyes narrowed. "Don't ever try and force me to talk about shit you know jack about. We all have our reasons for why we do what we do. I don't have to explain myself."

He pushed himself off the ground and walked off in an angry stomp. Bell sat in silence, a sad smile curved at the edges of her mouth. She wasn't trying to be mean or offensive. She just wanted him to have people he could talk to. Obviously, this whole friendship thing she was trying out was going to need a lot more work.