What Would You Do For Love?

When the Fog Clears: Part 2

Butch's POV

God, I hated going to school today. Buttercup was still at home recovering, but at least I could go visit her after school. I still had detention that day and the next, but at least I wouldn't run into Mitch. He was the jerk of the century. God, I hated that guy. I just coasted through that whole day, and counted the minutes down until detention was over. Finally it was four thirty, and I just couldn't wait to see her.

I drove to her house and knocked on the door. Her sister answered it. "Butch," she said, surprised to see me. "Now's not a good time."

"Is it Buttercup?" I asked. Suddenly I was frightened that something happened to her. "Is she okay?"

"We don't know," Blossom said and my heart dropped. "When we came home, she was gone."

"Did you try her phone?" I asked.

"She left it here," Blossom said. "Buttercup does this a lot, but she's still recovering so Dad's really worried."

"Don't worry," I said. "I'll find her."

I took off on my bike. I wondered where she could be. First, I checked the junkyard, since I found her there once before, but she was nowhere to be found. I took off on the road and saw a friend of hers from school. It was Holly Jensen. She was out with some guy I didn't recognize. I stopped my bike as her date looked back at me. He didn't look happy to see me talking to Holly.

"Hey, Holly, have you seen Buttercup?" I asked.

"Yeah, I ran into her in the park," Holly said. "She still might be there."

"Thanks," I said and put on my glasses and took off. As I reached the park I got anxious. I parked my bike in the parking lot nearby and entered the park. I searched around for a while but didn't see any sign of Buttercup, until I looked over at the children's playground. There she was sitting on a swing looking pretty down.

I approached her cautiously from behind and touched her shoulder. She flinched and rose to her feet. She turned to me with an annoyed look on her face. "What are you doing sneaking up on me?"

"What are you doing here anyway?" I asked. "You should be at home resting. Your family's worried about you."

"I just needed to get out," she said. "They worry too much, and sometimes it gets on my nerves."

"That's not the reason, is it?" I asked. I could tell she was looking tired, her face was flushed and she looked a little weak. I stayed close just in case. "You look upset."

"I'm fine," she said, but she put her head in her hands. I came closer to her ready to catch her if she fell.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked her.

"Just a little dizzy," she said. I led her over to one of the benches, and we sat down. "So did my sisters send you out to find me?"

"No, I volunteered, and it's a good thing I did. I was worried about you."

"You don't have to be," she said. "Really, I'm fine."

"Then why did you take off?" I asked her.

"I just needed to think. That's all." I gave her a look like I didn't believe her and the truth was I didn't. I think she knew it too. "Okay," she finally said in a frustrated voice. "Earlier, Mitch called me."

I jumped up at hearing his name. "Did he threaten you?"

"Sort of," she said. "He's acting like what happened was no big deal."

"No big deal, the son of a..."

"Butch, forget about him," she snapped at me. She was silent for a moment before continuing, "It doesn't matter what he says or does. I'm not going to take him back."

"It does matter," I said, taking her hand. "I'm not going to let him hurt you."

She shot up, anger returning to her eyes. "I can take care of myself," she said defensively. She stared me down, refusing to play the victim. There was that fire I loved so much.

"I know," I said and stood next to her and put my hands on her shoulders. I looked into her eyes as she looked into mine. Before I knew it my lips touched hers. It was a tender kiss. I wanted so much to hold her, but I didn't want to scare her away.

When the kiss ended she just stared at me for a moment. "I thought we agreed we were going to be friends," she said and sat back down on the park bench.

"We are friends," I said, taking her hand. "I just had to kiss you." She didn't look surprised, but she didn't look happy either. "Didn't you like it?"

"Yeah, I like it." That's exactly what I wanted to hear. "But..."

"But nothing," I said and silenced her with another kiss. It was a deeper and more passionate kiss. When it was over she stared at me again, but it was different this time. She looked at me longingly. I felt something inside. I never thought any girl would ever look at me like that, but I also saw how nervous she was. "So, I think I should take you home."

"You don't have to, besides I don't feel like going home."

"Well, at least call home and let them know you're okay."

She let out a deep sigh as I handed her my cellphone. She dialed quickly and waited for an answer. "Hi, Dad," she said in a low voice. There was a silence for a moment. "Dad, clam down. I'm fine." Another silence. "I promised I'll be home a little later. I'm with a friend, okay." Another pause. "Alright, I'll see you later."

She handed the phone back to me, looking a little sullen. "How mad is he?"

"He's not really mad," she said, but I didn't completely believe that. "He's just concerned." I heard a grumbling and wondered if she were hungry.

"So, you want to get something to eat?"

"Sure," she said. "There's a hotdog vendor across the park, just over there."

"Great," I said. "How do you like yours?"

"Chili and cheese," she said. She had this excited look on her face. "So let's go."

She started to get up, but I could see she was a little light-leaded. "Hey, you stay here, and I'll get the food."

"Okay, but don't forget the chili fries."

I left the bench and looked back at her once to see her smiling at me. I thought back to a few months ago when Brick suggested we move here. At first, I didn't want to, but now I'm glad we did.