notes: wasn't expecting some people to actually like this story so far. thank y'all for the reviews. my bad for the long update.

rose gold eyes

ii.

Blossom felt weird. Really, really weird.

Her mind kept lulling in and out of daydreams. The events that occurred at the end of the today at school replayed over and over again, fogging up her head like a hazy smoke cloud flurrying in the air.

A faint blush tinted her cheeks as she recalled it all, gazing out the window in the back seat of Bubbles' friend's car. Trees and buildings whizzing by were completely altered into nothing but alluring eyes belonging to her new English teacher, Mr. Jojo.

Butterflies jittered within her stomach.

This was strange.

Very, very strange.

"Good girl."

Right after he'd said that, Blossom nearly deceased. She had stuttered out a polite, yet skittish departure in jumbled mess of words with a final bow just before scurrying out of the classroom on wobbly legs, never looking back, not wanting to endure any further humiliation.

Her sisters and Robin had questioned Blossom what took her so long, not commenting on how red her face was. Blossom suspected they must've thought it was from the running.

Oh, were they so very wrong.

"I-I had dropped my books and papers on my way and they scattered everywhere," she had told them.

She felt so terrible for lying, and even more terrible at how easily they believed her lie.

But Blossom weirdly didn't want them to know Mr. Jojo was what held her up.

Why don't I want them to know?

A finger poked at her shoulder. "Blossom?"

"Huh?!" The bespectacled girl jumped. Her voice came out louder than it should have out of nervousness, causing the other girls to pause.

Bubbles then giggled beside her, all adorable and high-pitched. "Why are you so jumpy all of a sudden?"

Blossom blushed. "I-I-I'm not jumpy, I'm fi—"

"Did Princess say something again?" Buttercup questioned in a heap, fully whipping around in the passenger seat, anger already alighting her green eyes.

"No!" yelped Blossom, waving her hands to pacify her sister's worries. She gave a reassuring smile. "I'm fine, really. Even if Princess were to say something again, I would have ignored it anyway. Or, at least try to ignore it," she added as an afterthought.

Buttercup narrowed her eyes at the eldest sister and kissed her teeth, then turned back around, propping her feet back up on the dashboard. "You're too nice sometimes, Red," remarked the raven-haired girl, arms pillowing her head as she lounged back in her seat.

"Why'd you call her 'Red' just now?" Robin asked in a distracted huff of a laugh.

"Yeah, you usually call Blossom 'Pinky' or 'Leader Girl'," pointed out Bubbles.

Buttercup rolled her eyes. "'Cuz she's a redhead, duh."

Robin muttered offhandedly that Blossom's hair looked more orange to her.

Bubbles blinked, tilting her head as she pondered for a second. "I think 'Pinky' is better, though…"

"Well, maybe I like to spice things up!"

Robin took a quick glance at the rearview mirror, idly stopping her car at a red light. "Speaking of red," a huge delighted smirk took over her face. "Our new English teacher is pretty hot, huh?"

Blossom's eyes nearly flew out of their sockets.

Bubbles' jaw automatically dropped, gasping incredulously as if her best friend just cursed in front of a small child. "Robin!"

Robin continued to smirk. "What? You said he was cute, too."

Pink colored Bubbles' cheeks for a split second. "Well, yeah," she admitted with a slow shrug of her shoulders. "But he's not my type of cute," she reiterated, blue eyes filled with pure innocence. "And you're not supposed to think of your teacher that way."

Robin didn't seem swayed.

Blossom was frozen in place, staring straight ahead.

Tension was building inside of her as if she'd done something wrong, as if she committed a heinous crime. She quickly tried to recall in her now disarrayed brain. Did she do something wrong?

The light turned green.

"That guy's a total asshole," Buttercup stated bluntly after grunting distastefully. She bobbed her leg. "It's like he's constantly got a stick up his ass." Buttercup then scowled at Robin, curling her lip upward. "And Bubbles is right. Stop fantasizing about a guy that's twice your age, you weirdo," she chastised, though no real bite was present in her voice.

For some odd reason, a reason Blossom couldn't fathom at that moment, it felt like something struck right through her heart.

Weirdo.

To Blossom's utter surprise, Robin only gave a hearty laugh in return. "He's at least in his early twenties, BC."

"Doesn't matter. 'S still weird."

Bubbles nodded her head in agreement.

Robin licked her lips, still smiling mirthfully. "Well, guess I'll be a weirdo then."

The light from the lamp on her nightstand illuminated her bedroom dimly. Blossom was laid in the middle of her bed on her stomach, tapping her chin with the end of her pencil as she read over the last couple of questions on her History homework (which wasn't due until the end of the week, but she liked completing her schoolwork early).

She whispered the answers to herself as she wrote them out onto the paper. Her bangs that were somewhat wet from her shower flopped in her eyes a little whilst she worked. It had taken Blossom another five minutes or so to write the last couple of sentences on the final discussion question before she rolled over onto her back with a sigh. Her body nearly took up her entire twin-sized bed from how tall she was.

The time read 8:57 PM when Blossom checked her cellphone. She randomly began scrolling through the apps, which she hardly any. Only the internet, a few that were a necessity to the device, her messages, contacts, and a couple of puzzle games she'd installed.

She tapped Contacts. Bubbles, Buttercup, Pokey Oaks High School, Robin, The Professor—those were the only names she had.

Robin's name was added after Bubbles befriended her and introduced her to both Blossom and Buttercup one day after school in the beginning of the year. Buttercup was always skeptical when meeting new people, but Robin and her hit it off pretty well, as they came to find that they had a similar sense of humor and taste in music. Blossom thought the brunette would deem her nervous babbles and awkwardness as weird, but to her surprise, Robin never once teased her at all, even willingly adding her name and number into Blossom's contacts.

"Don't be shy to text me anytime, okay?" Blossom remembered Robin saying with an easy smile.

Blossom presumed Robin was just being nice to her to make a good impression in front of Bubbles. However, as she studied her overtime, Robin genuinely didn't seem like a judgmental person, so Blossom accepted her friendship without questioning it too much. Robin rarely messaged her, and when she did, it was mostly her asking for help on homework, which Blossom didn't mind and was happy to help.

One would say that Blossom only having five contacts (three of them being her close family members) in her phone was pretty lame, but she was content with not having that many. She didn't have any friends besides Robin, so it would make sense that her contacts were minimalistic.

"Yeah, it makes sense that a hideous freak like you doesn't have friends," Blossom could hear a mocking voice belonging to Princess in the back of her mind.

Water pricked at her eyes. Her throat tightened before swallowing. She shut her eyes and breathed, slow and steady, pressing her phone to her chest.

I refuse to cry.

"BLOSSOM!"

"AH!"

A huge force—Blossom's history book—was slammed onto Blossom's thighs, springing her upper body forward in a clap of pain. Her vision went blurry.

A gasp escaped the person who caused it. "Oops…sorry…" They sat down on the bed where the book once was, explaining innocently and simply, "It was in the way."

"Bubbles!" Blossom bleated, sitting up, voice slightly raised from the shock. "You can't just barge into my room like that, scaring me."

Bubbles apologized a few more times with big regretting eyes, and Blossom knew she'd already forgiven her puppy dog of a sister.

"It's okay, it's okay," Blossom assured as she found herself starting to smile softly.

Bubbles made a noise of joy in response, then shoved a piece of paper right in front of her eldest sister's face. Blossom visibly jumped at the sudden action.

"Looklooklook!" exclaimed the blonde excitedly, practically bouncing. "Thanks to your help, I got an A!"

Blossom beamed at the news. "Wow, that's great, Bubbles," she congratulated as she briefly scanned over the worksheet that was Bubbles' polynomial homework.

The bright smile taking over Bubbles' face grew even brighter somehow. "Thank you!" she gushed, lowering the paper down. "I was gonna show you after school, but then I completely forgot, and now I remembered. Thank you so much again for helping me!"

Blossom couldn't help but continue to smile, as a lot of people found themselves doing when it comes to Bubbles. Her cute nature accommodated with her bubbly personality was infectious, radiant. In her own way, Bubbles was brilliant.

"You're welcome," Blossom replied.

Bubbles' smile gradually turned fond as she stared at her sister, a thoughtful gleam in her blue eyes. "You know what, Blossom? You should smile more at school," she commented sweetly. Her face held nothing but honesty and kindness.

Blossom's jaw went slightly slack as her expression gradually turned into a look of utter surprise from her younger sister's words.

H…huh?

Before Bubbles said her farewell and goodnight, she plucked Blossom's glasses that flew off to the floor. "It's a good thing they're hidden behind these. I'm a little jealous," she teased lightheartedly with a cute little smile. "Could make any guy fall head over heels for those eyes."

Buttercup [12:35 PM]: U can sit w us at lunch u know

Blossom had seen her sister texted her as she made her way into the library with her sack lunch. She didn't like having her cellphone out during school, as it was against school rules, but the middle-aged librarian, Ms. Catherine, was lenient on letting students be on their phones only during lunch, especially to "well-mannered kids like you," the librarian once told her. Blossom thought it was a little wrong for Ms. Catherine to allow students such freedom, yet befitting because the librarian was a very kind woman. Many students didn't go to the library to eat lunch anyway, and Blossom knew she would never ever cause a disturbance in the quiet sanctuary filled with dozens of books.

The metal doors clicked behind her once Blossom stepped in, glasses slipping down her nose as she hastily replied back to Buttercup.

Blossom [12:36 PM]: I know, but I like having lunch in the library. It's quieter.

"Hello, Blossom," she heard Ms. Catherine greet pleasantly.

The corners of Blossom's lips turned up at the welcoming voice, an equally pleasant and polite greeting ready on her tongue, until she finally fully looked up.

She was rendered still.

Standing by the librarian's desk, carrying stacks of literary books in their hands, was the man that had strangely been floating around in her mind all of yesterday's afternoon.

Mr. Jojo stared back at her, expression bored but eyes enlivened and so deeply red. A peculiar glint was present in them.

Blossom's heart soared. Her cheeks warmed up.

Oh no no no no.

Trying to quickly recover herself and look casual, she trailed her eyes to the smiling librarian, proceeding to greet and mirror the woman's welcoming tone, "Hello, Ms. Catherine."

"Having a good day today?" asked Ms. Catherine, still smiling warmly as if Blossom wasn't standing there having a panic attack.

She felt herself begin to sweat.

Calm down, she thought to herself fretfully. Just focus on Ms. Catherine. Focus on Ms. Catherine.

"U-uh-huh!" Blossom squeaked, slipping her phone back into her bookbag, clutching the closing of her sack lunch tightly in her hands. She kept her wide eyes straightaway at the librarian and nothing else.

"Well, that's good, sweetie. There isn't anyone in the back by the fiction section, so you're more than welcome to have your lunch over there," stated Ms. Catherine kindly.

Blossom nodded appreciatively in response. Yes! I want to escape this, please! "Thank you—"

"You're not gonna scold her for having her phone out at school?" abruptly asked the substitute English teacher, his voice raking chills down Blossom's body and stopping her in her tracks.

Betraying herself, she finally glanced at the man, who was glaring down at Ms. Catherine, awaiting the woman's answer. His lips were set in a regular frown. His visible forearms strained as he carried the heavy books like they weighed nothing. That made her cheeks warm up even more.

Ms. Catherine continued to smile up at the strict teacher. "Oh, I let the students go on their phones only during this time." She cupped her hand to her mouth. "Don't tell anyone," she whispered before chuckling a little. "And besides, I trust Miss Utonium. She's a good student."

Mr. Jojo didn't seem to let up then, only slowly trailing his red eyes to Blossom, who stood there desperately wanting to eat her lunch in peace.

"Yeah," the man finally said after a few seconds. He smirked, eyes glinted. "She is a good girl."

Ms. Catherine nodded in agreement, completely and utterly clueless.

And that was when Blossom eventually sped-walked away, an embarrassed blush spreading like flames up her face and down her neck.

Why did this have to happen to her? Why did he have to say that in front of another adult? Why did he have to say that at all? Why was she getting so worked up over it?

Good girl. Good girl. Good girl.

With a blush-blotched face and stuttering heart, Blossom sat down at a small table by the fiction section and carefully took out her bottled water and lunch from the brown paper bag. She took leisurely breaths through her nose as she sank her teeth down, biting into her ham and cheese sandwich.

So many thoughts were swarming through her head, but she was relieved to finally take a breather from all of…that. Impulsively buckling up her knees with sandwich-filled cheeks, Blossom heard a vibration coming from her bookbag. Her cellphone was the culprit. She swallowed with some water before fishing the device out of her bag.

Buttercup [12:42 PM]: Bubbles won't quit whining about needing help w memerising this stupid physics vocab -_-"

Despite still being flustered from recent events, this had a smile tugging at Blossom's lips. She could imagine Buttercup blowing a fuse at Bubbles' jutted lip and incessant, yet amusing wailing whilst Robin laughed at the hilarity of it all. If Blossom was there, she would've muffled her own giggles and tried calming down her short-tempered sister.

Blossom [12:42 PM]: *Memorizing, and tell her that I'll make flashcards for her.

Buttercup [12:43 PM]: U better. I'm 2 seconds away from smacking her upside the head w a spork

A spittled giggle couldn't help but escape from behind her palm.

Blossom [12:43 PM]: Now now, Buttercup, calm down please…

Buttercup [12:44 PM]: :P

She shook her head with a smile at her sister's response.

Clump

Blossom's amused expression dropped into one of innocent confusion at the nearby sound.

"May I sit here?"

Warmth instantly spread across her face.

When she hesitantly glanced up at the person who owned the smooth voice, ruby red eyes were boring right into hers. He had set down a blue English book on the table in front of a chair that was angled towards Blossom. His expression was neutral, yet his eyes showed a different emotion that Blossom couldn't quite pinpoint.

It left her at a loss of words and a jumbled up mind.

"H…huh?" Blossom found herself breathing out in her bashful state, lips parted, heart soaring.

The corner of his mouth gradually tugged into a smirk as he slightly tipped his head to the side, regarding the bespectacled girl coolly. "May I sit here with you, Miss Utonium?"

A shiver ran up Blossom's spine at the way his voice sounded when saying her last name. She quickly turned her head away, putting her hands in her lap. She was already painfully awkward enough, so maybe if she didn't answer the substitute teacher, then he'd go away.

But the soft scraping of a chair moving against the carpet and the man taking a seat beside her completely dismissed that solution.

"Wait!" Her voice came out as a squeak as she looked at him sheepishly. She only kept his gaze for a mere second, fish mouthing before turning her head away again. "I d-didn't s-say yes…" she mumbled breathily.

"But you didn't say no either," Mr. Jojo countered easily in a lowered voice. More shivers transcended up her spine. Blossom could practically hear and the smirk and playful teasing in his voice as he said, "What? A teacher can't have lunch with their student?"

Blossom sat up straight and stared straight ahead, absentmindedly licking her dry lips. "Th-they can, I suppose," she answered. She bravely shifted her gaze fully to the man, mentally hoping that she wouldn't fumble. "B-but shouldn't you have had lunch in the staff room?"

Mr. Jojo tapped his forefinger on the cover of the book. His smirk was still prevalent as his eyes glinted. "Nah. I'm good right here."

Blossom had to gulp down her elevating heart before speaking. "D-do y-you sit and converse with any other student l-like this?"

"Nope." He rested the side of his face in his palm, gazing at her with half-lidded eyes. "Just you."

Just you.

Just me.

Blossom knew there was honesty behind those words.

But why…

"Why…" she trailed off. She shook her head faintly, utterly perplexed, like she was trying to solve an unfathomable algebraic equation. "…Why are you so intrigued with me?"

Mr. Jojo's smirk turned into his usual frown as he pondered over her question for a moment. He had looked off to the side before easily meeting her gaze again with a response. "I dunno. You seem…different. I've heard a lot of praises about you from other teachers actually, how you have excellent test scores, how smart you are, how much of a good student you are." His smirk returned at Blossom's blush. "Now I've finally got to meet this Blossom Utonium, and I must say that I'm very impressed."

Blossom's blush deepened behind her glasses. "You… Y-you've impressed me, too," she admitted shyly.

Mr. Jojo hummed. "Have I?"

Glancing at her lap, she nodded. "E-everyone… A lot of students have said that you're a pain in the…um, butt," she explained before glancing back at him. "But, w-what I've gathered from yesterday, a-and of right now, you're not that bad. Worrisome," For me, at least, "b-but not bad."

"Think so?"

Blossom pressed her lips together and nodded, glancing away yet again. "Mm-hm."

"Good."

Out the corner of her eye, Blossom could see a calloused hand reaching for her cellphone, gaping in shock as she watched the teacher casually unlock the device and tap at the screen.

He huffed a chuckle to himself. "Figured you wouldn't have a password."

Blossom hastily rose from her chair, nearly knocking it over behind her due to her clumsiness. "M-Mr. Jojo—!" She went to quickly, yet timidly reach for her phone back only for the teacher to stand up from his seat and plop it into her hands without no hassle. She blinked, glancing back and forth at the man and her cellphone. Blossom felt dumbfounded.

"…Oh."

Mr. Jojo looked at her with a small lilt of a smile, hands stuffed in his pockets, a mirthful gleam in his cherry red eyes. "You are quite intriguing, Miss Utonium, and I don't really wanna leave this here. I'd like to continue conversing. Just between me and you. If you don't mind."

Blossom was gone. So far gone as she let everything he said sink in. She was completely entranced by this person before her that all she could do was gawk as if she'd been the lucky winner of a million dollars. Was this really happening? Was she really in reality? Was this some sort of a cruel joke? Blossom secretly hoped not.

She knew what Mr. Jojo was proposing, and she knew that she couldn't possibly accept his offer. He was her teacher after all. Her teacher that kept flooding within her thoughts over and over again; her teacher that made her heart and words stumble and fumble. Her teacher that admitted he was somehow intrigued with her, which she still didn't understand why her out of anyone else.

But if Blossom was being honest, she was quite intrigued with him, too.

Blossom nervously licked her chapped lips, holding her phone to her chest as if it were a precious trophy. Her heart was fluttering fleetly, can't believing she had the courage to admit this. "I think you're interesting, too, M-Mr. Jojo."

Mr. Jojo gave an astounded look for a split second then smirked, pleased with her confession.

Riiiiing!

Blossom visibly gasped.

With that, Mr. Jojo grabbed the disregarded English book from the table and turned to walk away in confident strides. "See you in last period, Miss Utonium. Don't be late," he stated firmly, never looking back at her.

Blossom's gaze followed after his back until he was gone. Her eyes were wide behind her slipping glasses. Blossom stood there with trembling knees, slowly glanced down at her phone. Her movements were provident as she brought it from her chest and carefully swiped her thumb across the screen. She tapped Contacts and felt as if her body was floating up to the heavens. A rosy blush pinkened her cheeks.

A new contact had been added.

Brick.

Blossom ingrained the name within her mind, putting it together with the last name.

Brick Jojo.

Blossom didn't think she could possibly be more intrigued with the man, but she was. She was truly enthralled.

And it made her feel weird.

i personally think it sucks but i like writing so.

thank you for reading.