WHO:Blossom & Tyler WHEN: 26th April WHERE: UCI Campus WHAT: After the full moon, and the body swap, Tyler and Blossom finally get to clear up some things. RATING/WARNINGS: Low/None STATUS: Complete
Blossom was not an angry girl. She wasnât.
Logic and reason, those were two very important staples of the science community. And Blossom tended to follow them very well. So, logically she knew there was a reason that Tyler stood her up. And sheâd been through a lot of them on Thursday night.
His dad mightâve had a last minute something that Tyler couldnât avoid and he hadnât had the time to text her to let her know. A last minute assignment mightâve come up and he hadnât remembered theyâd made plans. An emergency of some sort, maybe an accident and Tyler had been too busy or worse to call or text Blossom.
Sheâd just been stood up and blown off, hadnât she.
At first she was mostly sad, a little embarrassed and upset, but that gave way into anger and annoyance. Then came Friday morning and Blossom wasnât sure where logic and reason ended because she was a victim to her first Orange County weirdness overload. The weekend brought some very strange things and eventually Blossom understood that logic and reason didnât apply to everything. The bonus of the whole thing was meeting another new person whoâd been through all these nonsense things and getting to spend time snuggling an adorable little girl.
Of course that all straightened out and the end of the weekend brought her back to her own body and her own life, Blossom had to address those issues again. At least sheâd mostly gotten through the day without running into anyone whoâd tease her. Sheâd just get through the day and go home.
It just sucked so bad.
Tyler had spent the weekend trying to prepare for his next transformation. Heâd sent a message to Derek, the one other werewolf he was aware of on the Network, and had spent the next few days trying to find a suitable location for the next full moon. Somewhere isolated, somewhere where he could lock himself up and chain himself to the walls without worrying about breaking free of his binding.
He hadnât had much luck. And the worst part was, he kept feeling like he had been forgetting something important. The feeling nagged at him all weekend, though he did his best to ignore it. After all, whatever it was, there was no way it could be more important than dealing with the immediate problem. After four days of looking for a place, however, Tyler decided that he really did need to go back to class. As much as he wanted to ignore everything else until he had this figured out, he couldnât let his life fall apart in the meantime.
It wasnât until he got to school, and saw a flash of red hair in the crowd that he remembered exactly what it was that he had forgotten. âShit,â he breathed to himself, and then started jogging toward the girl in front of him. âBlossom! Hey, Blossom!â Tyler called, hoping that she wouldnât be too angry with him.
Oh how lucky she wasnât. Of course it had meant that the conversation was going to happen, she couldnât just ignore someone yelling her name at school. It wasnât like there were other girls around called Blossom. Curse her unusual name.
Taking a deep breath, Blossom plastered on a smile, hopefully one that wouldnât stir up too much attention and ignored the fact that sheâd probably looked a little unkempt from the lack of sleep sheâd gotten making up excuses for him. âHello Tyler. Howâre you today?â Okay, so at least he had the decency to not just ignore her entirely, but câmon, it was totally a bit late for that.
âBusy weekend, lots going on, things on my mind. Like wasted trips out to diners in town for no reason at all.â Okay, so her âIâm angry at youâ was decidedly passive, but it wasnât like she wanted to make a scene.
Well, that wasnât so bad. She was obviously a little annoyed, but she didnât seem that angry. âBlossom, Iâm so sorry.â And then he realized that this was where he had to explain what happened, and he really hadnât thought about how he was going to do that yet. âSomething came up,â he finished.
Something came up. Really? That was what he was going with? Sheâd built more elaborate excuses for him while she was showering so that Bubbles or Buttercup didnât figure out she was being a sad pathetic mess about a boy. âOh, well that makes everything better.â
Hadnât she just gushed about how much she liked this idiot?
âListen, Tyler, all it would take is a text, you couldâve just told me that something else happening and⌠itâd be fine.â Sheâd have been a sad little mess, but not a pathetic pining one at least. âWe had one date. Iâd have just have liked to know you had no intention of turning up for the second one.â Why lead her on? Why? Cruel.
Tyler gave Blossom a pained look, his eyebrows furrowed. It was occurring to him that if he wanted to keep dating Blossom, then he was probably going to have to tell her what was going on. It wouldnât be fair to keep dating her with her having no idea that he turned into a man-eating wolf once a month. She was right, theyâd only been on one date. That didnât really mean anything, and it wasnât like Tyler hadnât blown off girls before.
But heâd never really liked any of them, and he did like Blossom. âI did intend to go,â he said earnestly. âReally, I did. But thenâŚâ I totally forgot was not the way to smooth this over. âCan we go somewhere? To talk? Itâs a little crowded here.â
Blossom wanted to flounce off, she really did. But she wasnât a flouncy person, and again that logic and reason popped back up. So, if heâd wanted to come, why not? Which meant, âYeah, okay. Câmon.â It wasnât hard to find a lecture hall that was empty, it was still the beginning of the day. Everyone was starting to pile in for classes, still dragging their feet from a lack of coffee or chaotic weekend. Placing her bag on the table at the front of the room, Blossom faced Tyler, ready to hear what it was that was so brilliant that meant heâd completely forgotten about their date.
âOkay, talk.â She really wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, but⌠Well it wasnât like other girls didnât talk.
This really didnât need to be difficult, he tried to tell himself. Heâd seen other people on the Network talking about being werewolves in the dreams. He hadnât seen anyone talking about becoming a werewolf in real life, but thatâs the kind of thing that was supposed to happen around here, wasnât it? Caroline had also told him that she didnât usually try to keep it quiet, and that people usually took it well. He hoped that was the case here. âYou have dreams, right?â Tyler asked. âThe ones where youâre a superhero?â
A small frown tugged at Blossomâs brows, âYeah, my sisters and me, weâre crime fighters I guess.â Pre-school crime fighters in a city that seemed to constantly need saving, but still. She knew that things came over from the dreams, Bubbles was still crossing her fingers for it all, and the animal talking thing that she did now. It was something the three of them were sort of waiting for now.
âWere you out fighting crime?â That didnât make sense, why ask that question, Blossom?
Tyler couldnât help it; he laughed. It was probably the first time heâd laughed all day, but he managed to stifle it quickly. âNo,â he said. He was still smiling a little, though the smile quickly faded. âI just⌠I had this dream on Wednesday. Have any of your powers crossed over here?â
Arms crossing over her chest, Blossom was getting the feeling that this was a slightly more complex discussion than sheâd first anticipated. âNot yet, not for me, Iâm not sure about Bubbles though.â She had been dreaming longer so it was possible. âDid something happen with your dreams?â And okay, she was slightly more accepting of that being a possibility.
âYeah, IâŚâ he took a breath. âI dreamed the other night that I triggered this⌠werewolf curse,â he said, really hoping he didnât sound as stupid as he thought he might. âAnd when I woke up I realized⌠that I guess I triggered it here too? And last night was the full moon.â He looked at Blossomâs face to gauge her reaction, a little nervous though doing his best not to show it. She was the first person he told who hadnât known it was going to happen before he did.
Blossom had come up with a lot of things; accidents, fires, friends having emergencies, parents needing something, school, work, class. All these elaborate things. But werewolf hadnât really come up. âA werewolf curse?â On the scope of things that wasnât the weirdest thing sheâd heard, but it wasnât too far off it.
âYou⌠turned into a werewolf?â That probably gave him the best excuse ever to not call or text about their date, it certainly would be one of those things that just entirely narrowed the attention down. âDid you⌠I mean⌠Are you okay?â Shock was settling in, a little bit of disbelief, but then her sister was dating a vampire so it wasnât that shocking.
âI⌠yeah,â he said, though he was still freaking out. About how last night had probably been the worst night of his entire life, and he was going to have to go through the same thing over and over again. âYeah, Iâm fine. I mean, at least I just got to go through the whole transformation thing right away so I didnât have any time to ⌠worry about it or build it up in my mind.â
Blossom nodded her head, although she wasnât entirely sure why she was nodding her head, âRipping the bandaid off, yeah.â She supposed that was at least one good portion of it, not building up the what ifâs in his mind. âDoes this mean that⌠I mean, I guess this means that every month now youâll beâŚâ Turning into a big vicious wolf? âI mean, youâll go through it all again?â
As far as monthly issues went, werewolfism was probably one of the worst, at least if some movies and shows were to be believed. âOh, were you by yourself?â
Tyler nodded and swallowed heavily. He didn't know if he could go through it again, month after month, over and over again. âYeah, that's how it works. Every full moon.â
He shook his head at that. âNo, I had a couple of friends from high school who helped me,â he answered. Well, Caroline was a friend from high school. Stefan was a guy who Tyler had kind of seen in the halls, and they weren't much closer now than they had been back then. âThey have the same dreams, and they're further ahead so they helped chain me up.â
âChain you up?â Okay, reasonably, that made sense. If the transformation from man into⌠werewolf was difficult it would likely be violent afterwards, and then there was the whole mindless rampage thing that people wouldâve wanted to avoid, surely. But still, the thought of getting chained up was just a little worrying.
Settling back to rest her butt on the desk, Blossom was arranging everything sheâd thought and now the stuff she was finding out and well, at least sheâd stopped being angry. âIâm so sorry, you didnât get hurt or anything, did you? I mean, aside from the âgrrâ but⌠Thatâs such a dumb question.â At least he had friends who were dreaming with him, right?
Tyler nodded. âItâs to stop me from killing anyone,â he said after a moment. He didnât want to admit that, but Blossom deserved to know. âI donât have any control once I turn. I donât even remember what happened that night. I didnât get hurt but I⌠bit one of the people who came to help me.â He still hadnât seen Stefan since that night. âHeâs a vampire, and I guess in my dreams werewolf bites are fatal to vampires. Heâs okay,â he quickly assured her, âbut I could have killed him.â
Things Blossom was learning; werewolves were a thing, and okay that wasnât too far out there considering vampires and super heroes, but still. Werewolves were a thing and her almost-not-quite-but-potential boyfriend was one of them. Once a month said ANQBP boyfriend was going to become a dangerous and potential killer. Additionally, Blossom was finding that she was mostly worried for him.
âSo, youâre going to need to go somewhere safe and be locked up once a month,â she wasnât about to make a period joke, âso that you donât hurt yourself or anyone else, and thatâs why⌠You didnât call me.â Okay, Blossom was no longer angry that she did not get the news about the date being a no-go. âOkay, I can understand that, and Iâm sorry I got mad at you for ditching me.â
But⌠âSo⌠what does that mean for⌠you know, um⌠Future dates?â
âYeah,â Tyler said. âWith everything else going on I completely forgot we had plans until I saw you today. Otherwise I would have called sooner. I would have been pissed too if the positions were reversed though.â
Tyler swallowed. This was the part of the conversation that he had been dreading. After all, who wanted to date a werewolf? âWell, I think moon watching is out,â he joked with a nervous, crooked smile. âI understand if this is too much, but I wouldn't have told you if I wasn't hoping you'd still like to see one another.â
With an explanation, Blossom was a lot more understanding. She figured that it was pretty big and life altering, and now sheâd need to readjust how she gauged things because the OC did these weird things to people -like body swaps. âWell, I mean I couldâve texted you earlier to make sure you were okay but⌠Crazy weekend.â As a mom, but really, Sharon and Viv had been pretty fun to spend time with.
âUm, well, I think that⌠Maybe if we were careful about timing?â So, he was a werewolf, somewhat dangerous, yes, but she might start shooting lasers from her eyes one day, it was all relative, wasnât it? âI would really like to reschedule our date thought. And plan future ones around your lunar issue?â Smart, funny and nice guy wants to date? Should she really turn it down because he gets furry once a month?
âYou too, huh?â Tyler asked. âWhat happened to you?â Now that he had most of what he needed to say off his chest, he was eager for a change of topic. Besides, he really was interested in what Blossom had been up to. It wasnât something he was used to when it came to the girls heâd dated.
âWeâre safe until May 21st,â Tyler said. He had the next three full moons memorized. âIâd really like to reschedule our date too. How does tonight sound?â It was last minute and he doubted sheâd be able to make it, but it was something normal after a weekend of crazy, and he wanted to spend more time with her.
âBody swap,â Blossom just shrugged. As far as things went, her little issue was way less traumatic and life altering than his, other than confirming to Blossom that one day, in the distant future, sheâd probably want a kid. Way in the future. âI became a mom, but only for the weekend, Vivâs got her real mom in her own body now.â
Wow, he was just⌠âTonightâs great!â Okay, maybe she should try and seem less like she didnât ever do anything. But⌠âI just need to check with my dad, I was gone all weekend, but Iâm pretty sure I can wing it if I promise to make dinner tomorrow for the family.â And the Blossom mega watt grin was back on her face at least.
Tyler hadnât done too much reading on the Network over the weekend, but he had logged in a couple of times to talk to Derek about dreaming about werewolves and had seen some confusion about people being trapped in the wrong body. It had seemed like a weird topic to come up, but Tyler hadnât put much thought into it. At least, not until now. âYou got body swapped with a mother?â Tyler asked, both his eyebrows raised incredulously. âThat.. sounds like it was an adventure. How was that for you?â
Tyler couldnât help but return her grin, some of the horror from the weekend dissipating when he looked at her smile. âGood,â he said. âWeâll go for dinner and maybe⌠mini-golf?â He ventured. There had been a mini golf place heâd enjoyed going to when he was younger, though he hadnât been in years.
âYeah, Sharon, she was super nice though, so I definitely had a better weekend than you had to go through.â By himself, because Blossom wouldnât just text him to check and see what it was that had happened. But she could still make up for that, surely. âWe watched Elmo and played games, because I looked like Vivâs mom, but it was pretty fun.â Itâd been a bit of a break, and while Blossom had missed her sisters, sheâd fairly enjoyed the weekend away from problems.
âDinner and golf sounds great.â She was definitely more upbeat, less down on herself, and hey if that helped. âWhich absolutely means I have got to get home and get ready. Do you want me to meet you somewhere or⌠um, I can pick you up this time? If you want a little rest from driving?â Especially if heâd had a rough few days.
âYouâll have to tell me all about it on our date tonight,â Tyler said. Hearing a detailed account of Blossom playing with blocks or whatever small children played with these days might not be the most riveting stories heâd been told over dinner, but frankly, he could probably go for some boring and mundane (or, as mundane as waking up in someoneâs body could be) for a change.
Tyler hesitated on that, thinking of how little heâd appreciate it if his parents insisted on meeting with her. He wasnât very keen on her meeting his parents. But it seemed unlikely, especially if Tyler planned it so heâd be the first at the door if she chose to come up and knock. And his house was huge. It wasnât that Tyler was embarrassed by its opulence, but people always seemed to want a tour of the Lockwood mansion âYeah, that sounds great,â he said. âPick me up at six?â
It was about then that he caught site of the clock in the room, and he realized that he was already late for class. He hadnât gone to class Thursday or Friday either, so he couldnât afford to miss another one. âIâve got to run. But I canât wait to see you again tonight,â he said, and he angled his head down to give her a kiss good-bye.
Blossom was already smiling as she popped up on her tiptoes to meet for the quick kiss, figuring the rest of the stuff out could come later, and at least sheâd have something to look forward to through the day now.