YES POWERPUFF GURLS.

BEFORE YOU READ:

The main character of the book is Veronica, but the rest play an essential part in it too. Hence why it's third person. This book will have the main plot and several other subplots.
But the thing is the subplots hold more importance. It's more focused on complex characters rather than complex plot.
The style is mostly inspired by friends (keeping in mind that nothing can ever really top friends).

DO NOT SKIP THIS

THIS BOOK CONTAINS FOOTNOTES! HOWEVER, because this doesn't have the format Word has, I'm replacing footnotes with (1), (2), etc. and their explanation will be by the end.

Footnotes are me, the narrator, not the characters!

Please make sure to leave comments/feedback! they're always appreciated.

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• T H E P I L O T •

The idea of sharing an apartment with her cousins was suggested by one of their parents on the day before Veronica Walton's first day of college.

The thought was ignored and swept to the back of her mind. The last thing she expected was for it to become a reality as she had tried to look for any good excuse to prevent such a catastrophe from happening. It wasn't that she hated her cousins; she loved them like any blood would love a blood - out of legal obligation. They had their fair share of flaws, and she was positive that living with them would only lead to disastrous circumstances.

Chloe and Danielle Brown were her cousins from her mother's side. The elder, Chloe, was bossy, pretentious, and overall a pain in her ass, and the youngest, Danielle, who was born on the same day as Veronica, was nice... as long as she didn't spend her entire day whining. They were two extremes, and she didn't want to be caught in the middle of it. The three of them were close; they shared secrets, gossip, and family moments, but only once a month if not a year. She wasn't ready for it to be an everyday occurrence.

"I'm so not ready for this," she muttered as she climbed off the car with her older brother Ethan behind her.

They took their bags out and were greeted by the robotic features of Robin, the doorman who took their bags and led them inside. She'd been living in the Lodge Tower with Ethan ever since she was fifteen; she knew each one of his college friends and had practically gone through everything with them, albeit being separated by the confinement of her bedroom. They spent an awful lot of time around, practically living with them, and her moving out would literally mean to move out of their place too.

She'd expect she wouldn't see any of them after they graduated, but she secretly hoped two of the gang would still stick around: Bilal Youssef and Allen Ford - her favorites. She loved the former because he was a complete jackass, and the latter because he was irresistibly charming, and she refused to give them up to live with Crowley and Aziraphale (1).

"It's not gonna be that bad." He arched a sharp eyebrow, dark eyes rolling.

"You're one to talk." She rolled her eyes. It wasn't a secret that if Ethan had the chance to throw one of his cousins off a cliff, he'd do it without batting an eyelash, with his initial choice being Chloe. They were only two years apart, and she was able to bite his head off the moment she was born.

They stepped inside the reception. Natasha, an Australian woman in her mid-twenties, politely smiled at them behind her desk, lips painted the shade of blood. Veronica couldn't get used to her sweet smile, especially after she met her hostile one. At sixteen, she had been going through an emo phase; the bracelets she had worn jangled around her arm, the massive doctor martin boots had scuffed against the floor. She had worn ripped leggings, a band t-shirt, and a leather jacket, her hair a mop of unruly curls - even mascara had been smudged under her eyes for extra effect. Natasha had looked at her from head to toe, shot her a piercing look, and went back to her task. Veronica had always been intimidated by her, despite the woman slowly opening up to her over the years.

However, she liked Ethan. He was oblivious to it, but Veronica quickly caught the tiny curl the corner of her lips did when she'd see him. She was used to girls telling her how charming her brother was; she never believed it until the day Natasha, the Cerberus (2) of the Lodge Tower, slipped.

Ethan thanked Robin when he put the bags in the elevator, waving a quick goodbye as the double doors slid shut and pressing the button to the twelfth floor. What helped Veronica know she could get through this was Ethan living right across the hall from them.

"I'm gonna be crashing at your place way more often than you think," she threatened as they moved to stand before their respective apartments, rolling the luggage behind them against the carpeted hallway.

"I'll be having girls over, you sure you wanna do that?" Ethan arched an amused eyebrow, and Veronica visibly gagged, groaning in disgust.

The moment she opened the door to apartment 1203, she was attacked with the blaring sound of yelling, making her stumble a step backward. Ethan faltered by the entrance before he jumped inside his apartment, Veronica twisted around to follow him, but he shut the door in her face. Her jaw hung, and she slammed her fist against the wood.

"Asshole," she hissed, knowing fully well he did it on purpose.

"Dan, I swear to God, I am not keeping your dead insects up my wall."

"They're not gonna jump out or anything!"

Veronica rolled her eyes and turned to face her future roommates. Her top lip curled, and her mouth hung open at the sight before her, staring at the frame Danielle was holding. "Please, oh, please, tell me these are fake."

Both her cousins turned. Chloe was holding a deep glare while Danielle cracked a broad grin of sudden excitement. She spun to face her, ginger hair matching her red cheeks, and held the tray up to show her the beetle collection she recently framed.

"Isn't it beautiful?"

"Tell her it's utterly disgusting," Chloe urged, eyes sharp and fingers clawed.

"No, it's not." She scowled, taking a sudden step towards Veronica. "Ronnie-"

"Bleah!" The latter jumped away, gagging and shaking her clothes, urgently rubbing her entire body. "I feel like they're on me-"

"Oh, come on."

"You have your own room, you have all four walls. Hang them there before I hang you out the roof." Chloe threatened.

"Is it wise to talk to her like that when she's holding cockroaches?" Veronica shuddered, putting her hand up to block the sight of the slick colored bodies and thin legs, sitting down on the kitchen island stool facing Chloe.

"They're Beetles!" Danielle huffed.

"As disturbing as it sounds, she values them way too much."

Danielle grunted under her breath, storming inside her room to figure out where to place the rest of her frames. She had been collecting insects as a hobby ever since she was sixteen, the number of frames she had easily surpassed fifty.

Chloe turned, fingers pulling her chestnut hair up in a neat ponytail. She dropped to sit and slid a paper across the tile to Veronica.

She jerked her head up after skimming through it. "Rules and Regulations? What's this?"

"To make the three of us living here more bearable."

"Like this won't ruin the chances?"

Danielle snorted when she stepped back in, hopping on the stool. "Don't bother, I tried."

"Hey, rules are good. Without rules, we'd be tripping over Dan's insects wherever we go," she defended. She wasn't able to live without protocol, everything had to follow her rule book - it made her life more comfortable, although she gave herself the right to deviate whenever needed. "Now, please sign so I can laminate this and hang it on the fridge."

This was exactly why Veronica had been nagging at her parents to let her stay with Ethan while the two sisters get their own place. There was no reason for change, especially when change was proving itself to be catastrophic. Seeing the current situation, Veronica's efforts had been, as usual, ignored and poured down the drain.

"Are you for real?" Veronica's eyes widened. She twisted her head to glance at Danielle with utter disbelief. The latter tightly smiled, nodding her head as she had been dealing with Chloe's madness for years. "Where do you think we are, the fucking military?"

"Don't be ridiculous, this isn't a dictatorship." Chloe waved her hand, handing Veronica a pen.

"Yes, Ronnie - if it were, the Nazis would line out our door by now," Danielle sneered.

"I'm not signing this. It's bullshit."

"You sure you wanna stick up to Hitler?" Danielle's side sarcastic commentaries made Veronica's eyes roll, and Chloe's frown deepened.

"Why not?"

"Did you even read this? Bathroom schedule? What, you want me to control my bladder?"

"There's only one bathroom. I will not allow delay; I have an early shift."

"Then get in while I pee, who gives a shit?"

Chloe's eyes bulged. "I do."

"Whatever, the door will be unlocked. So feel free to use the bathroom at 7:05." Veronica gestured at her assigned bathroom time.

Chloe was definitely not Crowley, Veronica thought, she was the Red Queen (3), an annoying bitch ready to cut your head off. She couldn't believe she'd prefer to deal with Ethan's one-night stands than with this.

"Don't be difficult."

"Why do you care about my signature, anyway? Dan hasn't signed."

"Cause this contract is forced by majority." Danielle didn't even hide her mocking tone. "It'll only take one of us to make the other live in Hell."

"Well, it's not my time yet." Veronica slid the paper back to her.

"Fine then, I won't laminate it," she smoothly said, despite the prominent frown on her forehead that contrasted with her calming exterior. Alarms were blaring inside her head: Must. Remain. Calm. Veronica wanted to laugh, but she learned that she should tone down the jokes if she wanted to be taken seriously.

Chloe made her way to the fridge and stuck two magnets on opposite ends of the paper. "If you use any clause of the agreement, I am going to assume I won, and you will have to sign."

"Calm down Sheldon Cooper (4). I'll make sure to hold my bladder at 7:05."

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(1) Good Omens, Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. Crowley being the demon and Aziraphale the fussy angel

(2) The frightening hound of Hades, guardian of the gates of the Underworld

(3) Alice in Wonderland, 2010

(4) Author of the Roommate Agreement, Big Bang Theory 2007-2019

24.06.2020