Choices and Chances (a ppg fanfiction)

Chapter 15

Brick and Ace were going through his fake documents carefully. Everything was so perfect. His license, his passport, his fake ID, and other legal documents.

“Thanks, Ace.” Brick said to Ace

“Well, we villains ought to stick together.” Ace gave a toothy grin. “We are all family here.”

Guilt came back to crash his already spent heart. He felt suffocated. He hated now that he a detective doing such underhand stuff. But the past has come back to bite him.

Then a knock came.

“I'll get that.” Ace got up. Brick flew in the basement to hide.

“Yes, Ma'am?” Ace found a beautiful blonde standing on the door.

She smiled and with great precision, she landed a blow on Ace knocking him out cold. She flew down into the basement.

Brick sat behind a table, hiding. He could read a person coming closer. Calmness was all the person radiated.

“Brick?” A familiar voice. A voice that he longed to hear for long but he knew he shouldn’t. She was here. She remembered him. She called his name. His true name.

“Come out, please.”

He stayed hidden.

“You do remember me?” A tear slipped from his eye.

He slowly slid out from his hiding spot. She was still so small. Her once long golden strands were cropped into pixie haircut. Her sapphire eyes were still shining and wide. She matured but her face had the same innocence and softness.

She flew to him and soon his stupefied self was wrapped in her small arms.

“Blondie?” His voice was merely above whispers.

She looked at him and her eyes were glistening with tears.

“Thank God, we found you, Brick.”

“we?” Her choice of words confused him for a moment then the realization hit him.

‘No. They can’t catch me. I have to get away.’

“Why are you here blondie?”

Because once again you are standing on the crossroad and I'm here to help.”

“Stop being my guardian angel, Bubbles. You should've stayed away from me.”

“why? What have you done that you have to run away?”

He snapped. “You should’ve stayed away from me.” ‘when they'll stop treating me like a kid?’ he asked himself and then realized his rudeness.

“I’m so sorry, Bubbles. I did not mean to say that.” His best friend was back and he was fighting with her. ‘Stupid!’ he mentally chided himself.

“I know.” She simply said. She then poured out the whole story about how Blossom got drunk.

“She is actually a psychiatrist. She was hired to find out if you suffer from some problem due to which you were refusing to have any partner in the police.” She told him.

‘Blossom is a psychiatrist?’ he listened wide-eyed.

“But also Chief thought that you might be aiding criminals and he shared that thought with her.” Bubbles were telling him more but his mind wandered off.

‘Rhea is Blossom. Blossom is a psychiatrist. I was her case.’ He was taking a mental note.
“…..and then she read in your mind that you are one of rowdyruff…..” he stopped her there.

“She is a mind-reader?” he asked just to see that he actually heard right.

“Yes. Aren’t you an emotion reader/manipulator yourself?” Bubbles said.

“How do you know?” he almost shouted.

“Bloss told me.” The answer was simple. “you shouldn’t have run away like that, Brick!”

“I’m not Brick Jojo anymore. My name is Arias. Arias Callahan.” He hated his last name. That name signified a villain. An evil person. A rowdyruff leader.

“Is this Arias Callahan is still my friend?” she politely asked.

He looked away. As his life as Arias Callahan, he rarely thought about his life as Brick Jojo. He occasionally missed his brothers, her, and even professor. But he was satisfied with the current position he held in this world. But it was Arias Callahan who was a respectable detective, not Brick Jojo. If he is back at being Brick, lies are acceptable. Villains lie all the time.

“You will always be my friend.” He replied. ‘Can she see how void my voice is of emotion?’ he thought.

“I wish Mayor Bellum have told me that Arias Callahan is actually Brick.” Bubbles said. “At least we could’ve stayed in touch.”

He felt really bad. She was his sincere friend and he was trying to feed her lies upon lies.

“She should've.” He knew she wanted to hear him say that. Though he was thanking Mayor Bellum in his heart that she kept her promise of not telling anybody about him.

“You won't leave us now, do you?” Bubbles asked with hope sparkling in her aquamarine eyes.

He gave her one arm hug. Biting inside of his cheek he gave her a fake smile.

“Of course I won’t.” another lie. ‘She’ll forgive me.’ He reassured himself mentally. ‘she’ll understand.’
The choice was already made.
…………….
They all were impatiently waiting for Bubbles to come out. It has been long since she had gone in to talk to Arias or Brick.

Rhea quickly ran her mental scan on others.

‘I hope, she is all right….’ Mayor Bellum was thinking.

‘Come out, blue one! I’m losing my edge here!’ those impatient thoughts were of Chief Guerra.

‘I've been very hard on Rhea. It wasn’t her fault she got drunk….Maybe I should make a chicken casserole for her….just to make it up…’ she looked towards professor whole kind thoughts were entirely focused on her. She sat beside him and pressed his hand.

“That’s it!” Chief got up. “I’m going in.”

In that instant, Bubbles came out.

“Bloss, it's your turn.” She said but the chief had already gone in.

Professor nudged her. Taking out a huge sigh, she went in too.
………………