Chapter Text
Bloom didn’t return that night.
Stella lay awake long after the dorm fell silent, staring at the ceiling, the memory of what she’d seen replaying over and over. Every hour that passed felt heavier than the last, until exhaustion finally dragged her into a fractured, restless sleep.
The door opened the next morning.
Bloom walked in like nothing had happened.
She paused when she noticed Stella already awake, sitting upright on her bed, eyes sharp and unblinking.
“Wow,” Bloom said lightly, tossing her bag aside. “You’re up early.”
“Yeah,” Stella replied. “I couldn’t sleep.”
The air between them felt thick, suffocating.
“We need to talk.”
Bloom tilted her head, studying her. “Okay… but you look upset. What’s going on?”
Stella didn’t hesitate. “I know your secret.”
Something flickered across Bloom’s face surprise, then calculation. It vanished almost instantly.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Bloom said. “What secret?”
“I know who you’ve been dating.”
That did it.
Bloom’s expression hardened, jaw tightening. “How did you find out?” she snapped. “Have you been stalking me now?”
“I used an invisibility potion,” Stella admitted. “When you left, I followed you.”
Bloom’s eyes flashed with anger. “So instead of trusting me, you spy on me?”
“If you wanted to know so badly, you could’ve just asked!” Bloom shot back.
“I did ask,” Stella said, her voice cracking. “We all did. You shut us out. You lied. You said you needed space that Sky hurt you but you’ve been disappearing for days.”
Bloom laughed.
It was sharp. Cold. Nothing like her.
“So what?” she said. “I’m not allowed to have something for myself? Something that doesn’t revolve around all of you?”
She crossed her arms.
“Fine. Yes. I’ve been dating Valtor.”
Stella felt the words land like a blow.
“He’s different,” Bloom continued, stepping closer, eyes blazing. “He listens to me. He sees me. He doesn’t run back to Diaspro the second she snaps her fingers.”
“Bloom”
“No,” Bloom cut her off. “You don’t get to interrupt me.”
Her voice lowered, darkening.
“You all decided who he was before you ever decided who I am.”
“I think it’s a mistake,” Stella said quietly. “He’s our enemy. He’s dangerous.”
Bloom’s face flushed with anger.
“It’s not your job to understand!” she shouted. “You don’t live my life. You weren’t the one watching Sky choose her over and over while I pretended it didn’t hurt.”
She turned away, shaking.
“You all love the idea of me the hero, the leader, the perfect fairy. But the moment I make a choice you don’t like, suddenly I’m ‘confused’ or ‘losing my mind.’”
Stella swallowed. “You need to tell the others.”
Bloom turned slowly.
“Oh, I will.”
But there was no fear in her eyes.
Only resolve.
She summoned them.
Aisha, Flora, Musa, and Tecna entered the room, smiling at first until they felt the tension crackle in the air.
“Hey Bloom,” Aisha said carefully. “Where have you been?”
“With my boyfriend,” Bloom said flatly.
“Boyfriend?” Musa asked. “Since when?”
Bloom met their eyes, unflinching.
“I’ve been dating Valtor.”
Silence slammed down.
Flora looked horrified. Tecna froze mid-calculation. Aisha’s eyes widened.
“Valtor?” Aisha whispered. “Bloom… our enemy?”
“Have you completely lost your mind?” Musa blurted.
Stella let out a humorless laugh. “I asked the same thing.”
Bloom stepped forward, magic flaring faintly around her.
“No,” she said coldly. “I haven’t lost my mind.”
She looked at them all.
“I’ve found it.”
“You don’t get to judge me,” she continued. “Not after everything I’ve sacrificed for you. Not after I spent years fixing everyone else’s problems while mine were ignored.”
Flora reached out. “Bloom, we’re just worried”
“Worried?” Bloom snapped. “You’re scared because I stopped being predictable.”
Her gaze burned.
“I love him. And I’m done pretending I don’t.”
She looked at Stella last.
“And if you thought exposing me would make me stop… you were wrong.”
The room felt fractured, like something precious had cracked beyond repair.
And Bloom?
She didn’t look back.