A/N: Hello all! Hope somebody reads this and enjoys it. Would love to know what you think, anyway. Happy reading…

There was nothing to do. Buttercup sighed and turned off the television, stretching her legs and examining her reflection in the mirror critically. She was pale, much too pale; her raven black hair and blood red lips stood out vividly against her skin. Enough of this; what she needed was a walk in the sun, with no distractions, no homework, and no monsters.

"I'm going out," she announced abruptly, standing up. Bubbles glanced up from her position on the floor, where she was pouring over an assignment for school.

"Going where?"

"Just out," she replied grumpily, not wanting to be drawn into a conversation. "I don't know when I'll be back." She grabbed her bag and charged towards the door before her sister could interrogate her further.

Outside the sky was a clear, spotless blue, already fading with the beginnings of dusk. Her spirits lifted, Buttercup headed down the street, letting her feet carry her without direction. Not a single person looked at her in recognition, of which she was grateful. Townsville had grown extensively in the 13 years since Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup had managed to close the monster portal which allowed sentient beings to rise to the earth's surface and terrorise the city. These days hardly anyone recognised the three sisters, thanks in part to the new disguises they now wore when on duty, and the larger, more anonymous population. It had become so much easier to be a regular teenager once everyone stopped asking her to show them her special powers.

Looking up, Buttercup realised she had found her way to the beach. It was nearing the end of the day, but there were still plenty of people lazing on the sand. She recognised a few people from school waving at her, and half-heartedly made her way towards them, fixing a smile in position.

"Buttercup," yelled Samantha, jumping enthusiastically on the spot. "How are you? I haven't seen you in ages. That dress looks so nice on you, B. I love your hair. Come, sit down," she gestured next to her, shifting over slightly on he towel. Buttercup hesitated.

"Yeah, relax for a while," said a girl she didn't recognise, nodding vigorously. "How has your weekend been?"

Suspicion began to fester in Buttercup's stomach, and she cast her mind backwards in search of what could possibly be of interest to them. Suddenly she remembered; her date with Billy Carter.

"So…" Samantha's eyes gleamed cunningly. "Saturday night…"

With a resigned sigh, Buttercup settled herself on the sand. "It was alright," she shrugged, embarrassment reddening her cheeks. She really didn't want to talk about Billy Carter to these girls. In reality the date had gone well; they had kissed, and she had promised to consider his proposition of another date the following Saturday. But she had no interest in him, and probably never would. "Nothing really happened."

"Nothing happened?" the unnamed girl was looking at her incredulously. "You spent four hours alone with the cutest guy in school, and nothing happened? Did you kiss him?"

"Yeah," she turned her head away, eyes scanning the rest of the beach for an excuse to leave. Further along, a young couple played joyously with their newborn child, and a group of teenage boys loitered near the jetty. Buttercup shifted restlessly, then stood up. "It was nothing to write home about. Look, I have to go; see you guys at school." Without waiting for a reply, she strode off, leaving her friends staring wide eyed after her.

A chill wind began to blow across the shore, whipping her thick hair into her face. Buttercup drew out a sweater from her bag and wrapped it around herself, shivering. For a while she fiddled with the buttons, before abandoning them and leaving it open. When she looked up, she was standing within a few feet of the loitering boys she had seen earlier; they were older than she'd thought, older than her. One of them called out something to her, and they laughed. Buttercup turned a fierce glare on them, not sure whether she had the patience to ignore them.

"Hey, wa-chika," shouted the one closest too her, gesturing her over with a long, skinny arm. Buttercup hovered on the spot, judging the distance between them. "Come here!"

Shaking her head, she turned on the spot and began walking up the sand dune, but they were quicker and blocked her path, their expressions menacing. A bad feeling began to swell inside her stomach, and she shrank instinctively into a defensive position. But she could hardly take on these five men single-handedly without drawing attention to herself; and that was the last thing she wanted to do.

"Why're you leaving in such a hurry?" asked one, advancing towards her. She took a step backwards, only to find she had been surrounded. This was not what she'd had planned for an afternoon on the beach. "That's not very nice you know."

"What?" her teeth were clenched so tightly, she could barely force the word out.

"Being all unfriendly like that," he smiled grotesquely, and she could feel him tense in anticipation. "It hurts our feelings, you know that."

"Oh yeah?" behind her calm demeanour, her brain was working furiously. She could try to fly through them, but that would most definitely be noticed; fighting them would certainly show them a lesson, but how would she explain herself afterwards.

"Yeah…we might have to teach you how to be nice," said one of them from behind her, and she felt a hand on her shoulder. Her body went tight, and she prepared to fight. It looked like she would have no other choice.

"Problem?"

The hand on her shoulder withdrew hastily, and the gang stepped backwards. Confused, Buttercup turned around, and raised her eyebrows in surprise as she saw who had interrupted her. Butch stood slightly apart from the group, a burning cigarette hanging carelessly in his hand, his black hair wind-swept and dishevelled, and a sarcastic, pompous smile upon his handsome face.

"Uh…no. We were just, just messing around," beads of sweat began to form on the boys' faces, and they glanced nervously at each other. Butch and his brothers had only been living in Townsville for a year, but they had managed to earn themselves a reputation as people nobody wanted to mess with. And right now he was looking particularly vindictive.

"I hope so," he said, ignoring the boys and looking straight at Buttercup, who squirmed uncomfortably under his gaze. "Because if there's one thing I truly hate, it's people who take advantage of innocent young girls." The corner of his lips twitched. "Now scram."

The gang of boys scattered hastily, shooting furtive looks behind them as they scampered up the beach. Butch leaned back on his heels, looking pleased with himself. He was intolerable.

"I didn't need you to help me," Buttercup said harshly, her annoyance getting the better of her. "I was managing quite well by myself."

"I could see that," replied Butch, taking a long drag on his cigarette and blowing the smoke in her direction. A pair of girls walking past in bikinis smiled flirtatiously at him, and he waved casually back, causing them to break into giggles. Buttercup rolled her eyes.

"You are such a jerk."

Butch bowed. "At your service. Smoke?"

"What?" she blinked, the question catching her by surprise.

"I said do you want a-"

"I heard what you said," she snapped. She shouldn't be standing around talking to this idiot; she had much better things to do with her time. But for some reason her feet remained rooted in the sand. For a few seconds she just stood there, arguing silently with herself. "No thanks."

"Suit yourself," Butch shrugged, and turned to go. "Well, if you're not in need of my rescue services any longer, your highness, I'll be going."

The angry retort bubbled out of her lips before she could stop herself; "Hey I killed you, remember?"

With an angry scowl, Butch twisted to look at her. It was a sore point for him, she knew; their confrontation in kindergarten, where Buttercup and her sisters had managed to defeat their 'evil' male counterparts, created by Mojo Jojo, and later resurrected by Him, on a number of occasions. It hurt his pride, she was sure, to think of a girl defeating him, and she knew it was petty of her to rub it in, especially when she really did owe him for dealing with those twats. Still, it was too late to take the words back now.

Seeming to recover, Butch fixed a smile on his face. But his next words sent a chill down Buttercup's spine. "Perhaps, but that was nearly fourteen years ago. Today, I'd kick your ass. And you know it."

Both their smiles faded, and they remained staring at each other for a long time. Buttercup tasted blood and realised she had been biting her tongue. With a frustrated sigh, she shook her head at him and darted away, suddenly in desperate need of the comfort of her own home.