"We're gonna get caught."
"We're gonna get cau-ght. Honestly, Drake, lighten up. Take a chance."
"Shut up, you guys! They'll hear us!"
"Chill, Rogue, Storm's already made her patrol. No one's gonna hear us." Kitty snorted from her place, sitting crosslegged on the bed beside Jubilee. John gave her a dirty look, and then elbowed Bobby. The boys were slouching on the floor, leaning up against Rogue's bed. The five of them were sitting powwow-style in Rogue and Kitty's room, the door shut and locked. "Did you bring it?"
"I can't believe I'm doing this," Bobby muttered, but reached into his pocket at pulled out the plastic baggie there. There was a moment of appreciative silence as the teens stared at the shredded greenish herb that filled most of the bag.
"Where did you even find that, Bobby?" Rogue sounded more impressed than scandalized, and Bobby blushed.
"I know a guy," he said mysteriously. John rolled his eyes.
"Translation: I know a guy, but Bob-o here was the only one allowed off grounds this weekend, so he had to get it." Jubliee laughed.
"See, I told you you shouldn't have melted Logan's alarm clock." John flapped a hand in the air dismissively.
"That thing was way too loud. It deserved to die." Kitty coughed deliberately, and the cough sounded an awful lot like 'moron'. John made as if to get up, and she flinched back despite herself. He grinned at her, and Kitty flushed. "Don't mock me, babe," he continued. "I've got the bong. And the lighter."
"Yeah, we all know that," Rogue said with a smile, diffusing the obvious tension in the air. She glanced from Kitty to John to Bobby, whose lips quirked up knowingly. "Hand it over, Pyro-san." John tossed her his lighter and, more carefully, the glass pipe.
"Wow," Jubilee said. "You're lucky, Rogue. John trusts you with his baby." Bobby shook his head at her.
"No, he just likes it when pretty girls handle his equipment," he said with a wide grin. Rogue laughed, and John shrugged his shoulders in a 'what can I say?' sort of way.
"Hmm, well, enjoy it while it lasts, because god knows it doesn't happen often," Kitty remarked dryly, causing Rogue, Jubilee and Bobby to crack up all over again. John cocked a brow at the girl on the bed across from him, raising two fingers and tapping his throat once before pointing at her. The gesture was unmistakable: I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too. Kitty gave him a fake smile, and turned to Rogue. "Come on," she said. "Let's do this thing."
Rogue tapped some pot into the bowl and flicked the lighter, causing the entire room to fall silent with anticipation. Rogue lit the bong, and underhanding the lighter back at John, took a hit. She closed her eyes and pursed her lips, letting the smoke waft expertly.
"Good stuff," she allowed with a lazy smile. She handed the bong to Bobby, who looked at it for an instant before crooking one side of his mouth up into a wicked little smile, and put it to his lips. John took the bong next, inhaling deeply and letting the smoke go with a relaxed sigh. He passed the pot to Jubilee, who stared at it uncertainly before carefully putting it to her mouth and breathing in. She breathed in too deeply and coughed, holding the bong away from her face with one hand. Kitty grabbed it before she could drop it, and clapped Jubilee on the back with her other hand. John snickered, and Jubilee gave him the finger.
"Shut up, you," she wheezed. Kitty raised a brow at the bong in her hand. Bobby cocked his head, and John lifted his chin.
"You're supposed to smoke it, not dissect it," he called. Kitty didn't look up.
"I'm just weighing the odds," she replied. "After all, this has had your mouth on it."
"Bet you wish my mouth was other places, too," he said gleefully, blowing her a kiss. Kitty curled her lip at him and took a hit, fumbling it a bit, but not choking. Rogue clapped softly, making the motion exaggeratedly. Kitty rolled her eyes, but smiled. Bobby made a 'come on' movement with his hands, and Kitty passed the bong. Rogue took it, but paused.
"Let's make this more interesting," she offered. "How about a game of I Never?"
"Always dangerous," Bobby intoned sagely. "Let's do it." John shook his head, but he was grinning. Neither of the other girls said anything for a moment, and then Jubilee shrugged.
"What would the rules be? If you've done it, take a hit?"
"A nice big one," Rogue agreed. Kitty made a 'tch' noise in her throat.
"Bo-ring," she sighed. "What if someone's never done anything? Then, everybody else gets the pot and you're left out cold."
"Well, I think you're the only one who has to worry about that," Jubilee said innocently, and laughed when Kitty hit her. "Kidding, kidding. Ok, everybody, don't ask things like 'I've never jumped off a cliff'."
"Fine, cool, let's go," Bobby said, rubbing his hands together. "And no lying!" John eyed him, but Bobby was looking at Rogue. Rogue smiled pleasantly, nodding her head in thought.
"I've never… had a crush on someone in this room." Bobby gaped at her, clapping a hand to his heart in mock-hurt. Rogue grinned at him.
"I'm just using you for your body, sweetie," she said, one gloved hand cupping his cheek. He shrugged happily.
"That's ok, then." Then, he took the bong and took a hit proudly. "Me, though, I'm head over heels for you."
"How sweet," John said lazily, and then, to everyone's surprise, held out his hand. Bobby raised his brows, passing the glass. John raised it deliberately to his lips, swirled the smoke in his mouth for a moment, and then let it out with a defiant tilt of his head. Bobby grinned.
"Who do you have a crush on, John-boy? Or did? I assume it's not me, so…"
"You assume what?!" John covered his eyes with his hand dramatically. "I've been spurned before I even made my move! Bobby, how could you?" Bobby patted him on the shoulder.
"There, there."
"I guess I'll recover," John said sadly, and then smirked at the rest of them. "So, who else?" Slowly, Kitty reached for the bong, her nose in the air. Bobby stroked his chin.
"Me or Johnny, huh? I'm guessing-"
"Hey, it could be me," Jubilee said indignantly. "Or Rogue! How do you know Kitty's not flexible?" John's brows shot up, and Kitty warded off his spreading grin with a hand in front of her face.
"Thank you, Jubilee, but my sexual orientation is not under discussion," she interrupted.
"Oh, don't worry," John said comfortingly. "We don't judge 'round here. Whatever you're into, man…"
"You didn't say who it was," she retorted, "so neither am I." He snorted at her, and then rolled his head towards Bobby.
"You're up, Popsicle." Bobby took the bong from Kitty and looked thoughtful.
"Hmm."
"C'mon, it's not that hard."
"Ok, ok. I've never… I've never broken the law." There was a moment of silence, when everyone in the room stared at Bobby in disbelief. He held up his hands. "What? What'd I say?" John punched him in the shoulder.
"We're all breaking the law, you numbscull."
"…Oh, right. Yeah. Ok. Um, I've never broken a law besides the whole marijuana thing." Rogue shook her head and took the bong from Bobby, who looked at her with interest. When she was done, he put an arm around her shoulder. "Do tell," he said slowly.
"Stole some clothes," she said with a shrug, handing the bong across Bobby to John before he even moved. John gave her an offended look, which she ignored.
"Fine. Jeez." John took a hit, scratching his head.
"So what'd you do," Jubilee asked. "I mean, what's one thing you've done?" John gaped at her.
"Come on! I'm not a full-blown criminal, here!" Silence. "I stole something, too."
"What was it?"
"You know, not a big deal. Just…"
"Just what?"
"A car."
"What?! When did you steal a car?" Bobby sounded way more impressed than he would have at the beginning of this little party. John stretched his hands above his head with a grimace.
"While ago. Let's move on."
"You move on," Kitty reminded him. "It's your turn, genius."
"Oh, yeah." He contemplated his shoes for a bit, and then looked up. "I've never thought about kissing me," he said with a grin. Jubilee flung up her hands, and Bobby choked with laughter.
"Conceited much," Kitty muttered.
"Denial much," John retorted, smirking. Rogue raised a brow at him, but he seemed to miss that particular gesture. She held out her hand.
"Give it here."
"I knew it! I knew you liked me!"
"Honey, I think about kissing everyone," Rogue scoffed. "When you can't touch anybody, it's awful hard to be picky." Bobby squeezed her shoulders, and John nodded.
"Good point," he admitted. Then, his jaw dropped as Bobby took the bong. Bobby shrugged at him.
"Yeah, I've thought about it. Everybody wonders stuff, right?" John grinned.
"This is very true, Robert," he said primly. "But please, just warn me before you try anything, yeah?"
"Don't worry," Bobby said, flinging his free arm out expansively. "I'm happy right where I am." He passed the bong to Jubilee, who shook her head at John with a smile.
"You do have that bad boy thing going on," she said with a giggle, and took a long puff. John put his arms behind his head, sighing happily.
"Nice to be appreciated," he said to the ceiling. Then, he lowered his chin and looked at Kitty. She was chewing on her lower lip. "What'sa matter, Kit-cat? Afraid to show you care?" She eyed the bong that Jubilee offered, and then eyed the boy sprawled lazily on the floor across from her.
"In your dreams, baby," she replied, and held up a hand to pass.
"Oh, burn," Bobby crowed, and John sneered at him. Jubilee shrugged, and then stretched out her legs.
"Ok, my turn," she said brightly. Their voices were getting progressively louder, John noticed, and their movements progressively less tense and closed-in. "I've never stayed up all night studying," she continued, looking pointedly at Kitty, who sighed, gave her a nasty look, and took the bong. Kitty looked hopefully around the room, looking disgusted when no one else raised a hand. This time, she let her head fall back after taking a breath, and the smoke drifted towards the ceiling. Kitty brought her head back up and blinked hard, orienting herself.
"So we're aiming them at people now, huh?" She smiled, and there was something a little wicked in that smile. "I've never set my own clothes on fire… while I was wearing them."
"Oh, ha, ha," John said grumpily, and took the proffered bong. He took a hit, grabbed the baggie and refilled the bowl, lit it again, and stared directly at Kitty. "I've never fallen through my own bed." She thrust out her hand, scooting to the edge of the bed, and taking the refilled bong.
"Hey," Rogue said. "That was my tu-"
"Well, I've never gotten thrown across a room because I couldn't keep my mouth shut."
"And I've never had to stay home Friday night because I'm too much of a whiney little-"
"Yo, chill out, guys just-"
"-to get asked out!"
"Oh yeah? You think I've never been asked out? You think guys don't like me?"
"That's assuming you're straight, of course. Sorry, Jubilee was right, you could be flexible, but hey, it's not like anyone's ever gonna find out, right?"
"I could have any guy or any girl I wanted, St. John Allerdyce!"
"Prove it!" While Bobby, Rogue and Jubilee watched with open mouths, Kitty lunged off the bed, climbed clumsily onto John's lap, and kissed him.
There was a millisecond where the only person in the room moving was Kitty, and then John's hands came up from where they'd splayed to keep his balance when Kitty climbed on his lap and slid up her back, one hand going to the back of her neck as he sat forward, deepening the kiss.
"Holy. Shit."
"Ohmygod, Kitty!"
"Well, it's about time." It was this last comment, from Rogue, that broke the spell that seemed to have fallen over the two teenage nemeses, and Kitty and John broke apart. They stared at each other, shocked. Kitty was still straddling John's waist, her hands wrapped around his back and gripping his shirt there.
"I…"
"You just-" They both broke off at the same time, speechless. Rogue coughed.
"You guys, seriously, the UST in this room was almost painful."
"UST?" Kitty sounded drugged. Well, hey, she was.
"Unsatisfied sexual tension," Bobby clarified, clearly enjoying drawing out the words. The look of stunned horror on both their faces was so totally worth it. And then, Jubilee picked up the bong that lay forgotten on the bedspread, and handed it to John with a challenging smile.
John looked at it.
Looked at Kitty.
A slow smile spread across his face.
"I've never gone out with Pyro," he said quietly, head spinning.
"Me neither," Kitty said vaguely, and Rogue choked trying to hold back her laughter. Bobby patted her on the back.
"Shut up, sweetie," he said. "John's trying to ask Kitty out, but he's doing a really bad job of it."
"I am not," John snapped, though to which accusation, no one was sure. "I just-" Kitty shut him up with another kiss, to the muted applause of Jubilee and Rogue, and the low wolf whistle of Bobby. Pulling away, she narrowed her eyes at him.
"I've never said yes to a date with Pyro."
"Oh yeah?" And that was when Bobby reached in, grabbed the bong, and turned his back on Kitty and John.
"Our work here is done," he said triumphantly to the pot. Rogue blinked at him. He cleared his throat. "Er, I mean, who's up next?"