Me: Happy Valentine's Day everyone! Or how I like to call it, Happy Single Awareness Day! Yay! If you're just like me and have no one to share his day with, just remember: You're far from alone in that. So, uh, yeah. Sorry I haven't updated until today, it's been crazy lately. But anyways, this is the last chapter people! Can you believe it?

*Cricket sounds*

Me: -_- oh, right. Everyone's out on a date or stuff...

*Theme music plays**Chorus: Mmmmeeeaaammm's Cor-ner!*

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~Starting MEAM's Corner~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Me: This is the only thing I could do alone ~_~

To: Frozen523

Me: Yay cookie!

To: Guest

Me: Yeah, I think this story can be read by the majority of people, so I changed the rating *shrug*

To: Blossom crystal

Me: Aww, I'm glad you like it ^^

To: I WANNA

Me: *pats herself* I'm pretty sure I'm female. Or at least as far as I know. And this is the last chapter. Though I may add a special extra chapter just for you *wink wink*

To: cutie1466

Me: Well, the guys aren't here to answer, but I'm sure Brick would compliment. As for the other two, I'm sure they'd be whining about something or the other. Btw I'm glad you like the story ^^

~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~End of MEAM's Corner~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~.~

Me: Thank you all who have kept reading and reviewing! You guys are awesome! Now, here it is. The last chapter! Though I'm sure it'll be a disappointment since it'll be short ~_~ I'm sorry

CHAPTER 9: False Memories

After Brick confessed, everything happened too fast for Blossom to register. She remembers Buttercup tackling him to the ground and Blossom herself trying to pry her off him. Afterwards, Brick explained the whole story from the beginning. How Blossom and her sisters had been fighting them. When she hit her head on a boulder when she fell from the sky like a fallen angel. Blossom had blushed at Brick's comparison.

Brick told them the whole truth, even the parts he wished remained hidden from Blossom. Brick didn't know how she'd react after telling his tale, and that terrified him. At this point anything was possible.

At last, when he had finished telling the girls the tale of Blossom's abduction, they did the one thing he was most afraid of.

They left.

None of them had said a word. Brick could tell Buttercup wanted to yell and hit him, but it never came. Bubbles had looked her in the eye with a determination he had never seen on the delicate girl's eyes before. Reluctantly, Buttercup nodded and took Blossom by the arm.

And just like that, they were gone.

The boys left as well. But instead of going after them, they returned to the little house inside the woods. Everything was still how they had left it that morning. Front door wide open, half finished plates of food on the table. Overturned chair still lying on the floor. Everything was still the same, nothing out of place. And yet, something felt off about it all. The warmth that had filled the house for those few days seemed to have been sucked right out.

As the brothers made their way around the house, Brick bumped into a fallen chair and winced. He had turned towards where the first aid kit was stored but stopped short. Memories of Blossom's concerned face as she fussed over them, taking care of their wounds had filled his head.

It has been a week since any of them saw the girls.

The boys had tried to stay in the woods as much as possible. They started hunting when food ran out. It was easier for them than to go into the city and be given the chance to run into the girls. Though, Brick thought, if they had wanted to come after us, they would have been here by now. Blossom surely remembers the way here, doesn't she?

"Hey Brick! We caught a good one today," Boomer announces as he and Butch enter the house. Butch carries a full grown deer on his shoulders, its antlers scraping the floor as Butch takes its corpse to the kitchen. Boomer and Brick follow close behind.

"Huh, that is big. But there's only one problem," Brick says.

"What?" Butch asks as he dumps the body on the kitchen island.

"How the bloody hell do you cook a full grown deer?!"

The brothers just stare at the dead deer, perplexed.

"You guys are more useless than I thought."

Brick, Butch, and Boomer all turn around, caught by surprise. Buttercup is standing in front of the kitchen door, arms crossed and hip out. Slowly, Bubbles appears behind her, followed by Blossom. Brick's eyes immediately search hers and they lock.

Blossom is the first to look away.

"I...We thought that you may need help, considering you haven't been in town these past few days," Blossom explains tentatively.

"But don't get any ideas. We weren't the bit worried about you assholes. But after a while of talking things over, we all decided that, since you didn't hurt Blossom, you wouldn't be punished. Much."

"Much?" Boomer wonders out loud.

"That's right. You guys still held Blossom captive," Bubbles states.

"We already said we were sorry," Brick says, regret edging his voice.

"Do not even go down that road Red," Buttercup threatens.

Butch glares at Buttercup. "What sort of punishment," he growls.

.~*~.

"More lemonade! And make it snappy." Buttercup demands from the girls' house, raising her empty glass high in the air while reclined on the couch, watching Tv.

Butch appears, wearing a similar version of Blossom's maid uniform with the pink parts replaced by a forest green color. He pours an impatient Buttercup another cup of lemonade.

"I really hate you, you know that right?"

"I know," Buttercup smiles smugly, "the thing is, I don't give a damn."

Over at the kitchen, Boomer is helping Bubbles cook the deer the boys had caught.

"Hey Bubbles," called Boomer, who was busy peeling potatoes.

"Yeah?" Bubbles responded as she cut the deer meet into small squares.

"Why did you guys pick this as a punishment? I'd be lying if I said I wasn't expecting something painful and tormenting."

"Well," Bubbles started, a small smile on her face, "Buttercup did want to do something torturous. You know how alike she is to Butch. But Blossom had argued that you guys had never once hurt her while she was in your care. She said, surprisingly, that she had felt safe. I only cared about that, so I suggested an eye for an eye." Bubbles said, indicating to Boomer's blue maid outfit with her knife and a giggle.

Boomer's cheeks and ears redden.

Meanwhile, Brick is upstairs cleaning the bedrooms. Or, that was suppose to be what he was doing. Instead, he had just entered Blossom's room and couldn't help but look around. Everything seemed so nice and clean and pretty. Just like her, Brick thought.

The bed was made, all her books neatly placed on their shelves. The window so clean you could't tell if it was even there. All this reminded Brick of the time spend with her. Even though it had started as a joke, Blossom had made living in the forest seem not so bad. Everything had been so nice and peaceful with her around. Everything had been clean, neat, and sparkling. It made the boys feel as if they were in a real home.

"Brick?"

The boy with the red cap turns around to find Blossom standing in the doorway.

"Oh, sorry. I came in to clean up put I guess you already beat me to it," Brick says, a little embarrassed at being caught.

As Brick excused himself and made for the door, Blossom put her hand out and took hold of his. Brick looks down on Blossom, surprise and caution lining his face.

"Is everything ok?" he asks.

Blossom nods and leads him back into the room, closing the door behind her. She sits on the bed and pulls Brick down next to her.

"So it's all true huh?" She asks, her voice barely above a whisper.

Brick didn't even have to ask what truth she spoke of. "Yeah, it is. I'm sorry." He hangs his head low, allowing his red cap to cover his eyes from view.

Blossom nods slightly, her eyes focused on her knotted hands on her lap.

"Why?"

Brick stills. He had been threading this very question for the past month. Why had he done it? Why her? Why? Why? Why?

"I don't know," Brick finally answers honestly. He had no true answer though. His feelings for Blossom, feelings which he suspected had been there for a long time now, had grown to a point that made Brick have a gut-wrenching feeling whenever he thought of what he had done to her. Maybe he had just wanted her close. Maybe he had been bored. Or maybe, just maybe, he had wanted to forget who each of them were and pretend they were normal. Normal enough that it would have been ok to feel this way about her. Maybe.

Without warning, Brick looks up and grabs Blossom. His hand, which had often formed a fist that swung at her, now held her chin gently. His other hand, which had a moment ago been sitting next to him, now held her gently in place by her shoulder.

Brick leaned in slowly, taking in her reaction. At first, her eyes had stared at him with uncertainty. But as he got closer, his red eyes growing bigger and bigger, she started to relax.

Finally, there wasn't nearly an inch between their lips when he paused. A question lingered in his eyes as he stared straight at her.

Blossom had been told everything. About the creation of her and her sisters. About the town they vowed to protect. About their first encounter with the RowdyRuff Boys. Blossom had been told everything she needed to know about her past. After a while, her memories had come flowing back quickly. But with those old memories came the new ones. Images of Brick smiling down at her. His warm hand encasing hers and leading her back home. Of his firm arms encircling her in a warm cocoon. Blossom had tried to make sense of the new and old.

But whenever she tried making sense of it, all Blossom could see was the warm smile Brick gave her that night by the lake. How, even though he had lied to her, he was trying to protect her from a mental breakdown at seeing the frozen that moment, Blossom made a choice. She knew which she'd prefer to keep.

Her false memories.

So when Brick's questioning eyes pierced her own, Blossom didn't answer him.

She simply closed her eyes and closed the gap between them.