A Crossed Line

Alternate Ending 2

Alternate Ending 2

Butch's POV

We all stared intently at the doctor as if the whole world depended on it, and for me, it did. He really knew how to keep a crowd in suspense... I felt a strong hand on my shoulder and assume it is the Professor, but I didn't turn around to check. The doctor looked up at us, tears in his eyes, a few making their way down his cheeks. I felt my world start to crash around me, I couldn't even feel the hand on my shoulder. She couldn't be dead!!! I just got her back!

"NO! SHE'S NOT!! SHE'S ALIVE, SHE HAS TO BE!" I screamed in denial, but that only caused the doctor to shake his head and let more tears fall. "I'm s-sorry, we did ever-ything we c-could..." That's when the sound came back, the sound of her close friends and family sobbing, even the other team was crying. "Sh-she's not dead, she's not! LET ME SEE HER!!" The doctor looked at me in pity, but I didn't need pity, she wasn't dead!

He motioned for me to follow him and as I did he spoke to me. "The bullet pierced one of her lungs and was lodged in her aorta... It was a miracle she was able to get here, much less finish a fight with a villain... she really was something." I frowned at what he said. "She really IS something, she's going to be fine! I love her and she loves me and we are going to stay that way FOREVER!!" I felt that I was on the verge of tears, the doctor looked at me with compassion. "I'm sorry sir, but you can check for yourself if you want, she's right in this room..."

I walked in the room and almost choked on my breath. She was covered in her own blood, a large red stain surrounding a hole in her jersey and blood on her lips chin and neck. I felt myself choke up, I really didn't even need to check for a heartbeat to know she was dead. Her normally sparkling, energetic green eyes were still open, but dull and staring into nothingness, her usually glowing tan skin was pale and drained of all color, her typically soft pink lips were purple, only tinted red due to the blood that covered them. I let the tears fall as I realized that she had suffered until the end, she struggled to breathe as she slowly bled out. Knowing her, she fought it the whole time, making it longer.

I walked over to her and touched her still beautiful face, it was already cold. I broke down, sobbing pathetically over her body, my warm hand gripping her cold one. I used my free hand to close her eyes one last time. If anyone was going to come in to visit her, they shouldn't see her eyes so lifeless when they were once so full of life. "I love you, Buttercup. Nobody can replace you babe... God, this can't be real!" I started to cry over her again and the doctor came in to get me out.

I leaned over and touched my lips to hers one last time, and even if it did taste like her blood, I couldn't leave without one. "I'll always love you... I'm gonna miss you so much, Buttercup..." With that, I walked out of the room, my face soaked with tears.

As I entered the waiting room, I looked to her family and our coach, they were all crying and there were two important looking people talking to them. I walked over to them to see what was going on, taking a seat next to my coach. "What's this?" I really wasn't in the mood for figuring anything out for myself. "Hello mister Jojo, we are the US Olympic coaches, we just wanted to give her family the jersey we had ready for her... we had been watching her since the beginning of the season and we had it made to give her after this game..., but, I guess we c-can't." The Olympic coaches tried not to cry, but they couldn't stop the tears, nobody in the room could.

I felt a stab in my heart as I remembered how much she had wanted to be in the Olympics... She made it... but she wasn't here to find that out. I didn't even notice when more tears started to fall down my face. "She w-wanted so b-bad to be o-n th-that US Olym-pic team... N-now she won't even kn-know she made it!!" I broke down and her dad and sisters cried harder if possible.

The Olympic coached gave their condolences and walked out of the hospital. Her family looked up at me, I knew what they wanted to know, I had seen her after all. "How did she look..?" The professor really didn't want to know, how could I tell him that she suffered horribly through the last few hours of her too short life? "Beautiful as always..." I spoke barely above a whisper. I figured that was the best way to avoid the true implications of his question.

He pulled me to the side alone. "Butch... I really need to know the truth, closure if you will, I need to know if there was a possibility that chemical X could've saved her..." I looked up at him, tears still flooding my vision. "Sir, the doctor said the bullet pierced one of her lungs and was lodged in her aorta... she suffocated and bled out, sir." His face twisted into a pained look that probably reflected mine. "I couldn't have done anything, I just wished she didn't have to suffer that long... if you want to talk about it with anyone, I'm here... she really loved you, you know. I'd never seen her smile quite as big as when she talked about you..."

I felt another stab in my heart as I thought of what we should've been. "Th-thank y-you."

I flew back home with my brothers, the whole flight silent. We were all friends with Buttercup and this was absolutely devastating, she was the funny and athletic one in our group and nobody would ever replace her. We all loved her so much, my brothers thought of her as the little sister they never had and I thought of her as my whole world.

Her funeral was the next day. Fate played some cruel joke so that I would have to show up to her funeral twice, only this one was more heartbreaking since I was so much closer to her this time, we had so many more memories, and she was definitely gone for good this time. They buried her where her first funeral was. Nobody really protested since that was where she wanted to be originally anyways.

It was only her family and me at the grave, just like last time, but this time it was real. "I just wanted you to know you made it babe... the Olympic coaches wanted you on their team... the boys team, just like you always dreamed of. I-I love you s-so much Buttercup." I kissed her headstone and got up to leave, promising myself I would visit her everyday.

•••two years later•••

It was graduation day and I still felt the pain of losing the love of my life. I looked back at the empty seat that should've been hers. Everyone agreed that she would be recognized at graduation, she did die at a school game after all. She was always the last one, apparently Countysville had no last names after U.

At the end of our class, they put up a picture of Buttercup and the whole building went silent. They listed all of her accomplishments up to her sophomore year and it was longer than most people who were graduating as seniors.

After graduation, I brought a graduation cap to her grave. "Congratulations babe, you graduated today! Here's your cap and your diploma, you earned it..." I couldn't bring myself to leave her grave today and just talked to her, even if I knew she wouldn't respond. It wasn't too long before her family showed up, Blossom and Bubbles in their graduation getup, crying. "She should've graduated with us today..." Bubbles cried hard and the Professor looked utterly broken, only two of his three daughters could graduate. Blossom was crying harder than I thought she would. "I always told her she wouldn't ever graduate, but I was always joking!! I didn't actually want to go through graduation without her!" Blossom and Bubbles sobbed into each other.

The professor kneeled near the grave. "You graduated in my mind sweetheart... I know you would've made it. He kisses his fingers and presses it to her name. "I love you Buttercup." We all said it at once and realized we were all in the same position. "If you ever need to talk to anyone, you can talk to any one of us Butch." The Professor was a smart man and he could tell I could use the support, and I was thankful. "Th-thanks prof." He smiled at me sadly. "Anything for the one she loved."