John gave Bobby a sour gaze. They'd been here for almost a half hour and John was getting really bored. Though it was better being here bored without a just as bored Rogue nagging him about destroying her and Bobby's time together. So John wasn't going to complain, even though the thought of trying every shoe in the whole damn shop wasn't his ideal idea of a afternoon with his best friend…
When Bobby stood up from the chair he'd been using while putting another pair of shoes on, John wasn't late to take his place. When Bobby walked around to feel how well it fitted him, John tilted his head with a nasty smile;
-"You know, one could almost believe that you are gay, the way you're acting."
Bobby raised his head to give John a surprised and questioning gaze. John just shrugged;
-"I mean, you've been in here for, I don't know how long, and you haven't even found one pair that fits. Plus the fact that you didn't want a pair just because "it was the wrong colour"!"
Bobby grinned at him;
-"I suppose that if I remind you about the trip when you were trying to find a jacket, I'm going to regret it the next time I open my eyes?"
John shocked his head and Bobby looked surprised;
-"No, you'll regret it the moment I get my brain to work again so I can think of something to do."
Bobby gave him a quite worried look;
-"You're bored?"
-"Uh, yeah, have been for the last 20 minutes as well."
Bobby nodded and kicked of the shoe he was trying;
-"Good, because I'm too, now I can use you as an excuse."
-"Excuse for what?"
Bobby put his own shoe back on;
-"To get away from the little nagging voice in my head that sound suspiciously much like my mom."
John shock his head again, talking to no one;
-"Poor thing. I knew him before they had to get him, and he was the last one you'd expect to go nuts. Oh well, things happen…"
Bobby looked like he was pissed of, but John knew him too well to believe it. They started to walk to the disk to pay fore the shoes;
-"Hey, I was just trying some shoes…"
-"…for more than a half hour…"
-"…and you start of with all kinds of stupid reasons…"
-"...because sooner or later I'm going to find the real one!"
-"Yeah, but with your ability to think it's going to take a while!"
-" I know, but it's not like I have something better to do."
-"Homework?"
John just gave his friend an eye that showed quite well what he thought of that idea. Bobby just shrugged, it was expected, and paid for his shoes.
Outside the shop Bobby looked at John;
-"So, what to do now?"
-"Try to get a sugar-high on the cream-buns in the cafeteria?"
-"Already tried."
-"See if they got any skateboards on sale?"
-"You're not getting up on one of those!"
-"You sound like your mother!"
-"Why not yours?"
-"Because mine would only say I had to pay for it myself."
-"Well, you'll have to do that anyway by now."
-"I know, but I can still make you pay for the popcorn in the movie!"
-"You let me drag you down to the mall only because you wanted to see a movie?!"
-"Well, you can walk to it from here, and they play one that I think will be quite good in just two hours…"
-"And what shall we do until then?"
John shrugged;
-"Just hang around?"
-"Okay."
They started to slowly walk through the mall, pointing out different things in the windows, laughing at John's stupid comments on everything.
Suddenly John's gaze hit the window to a Goth-shop, full of black leather, skulls, and all other things you could expect. What caught John's eyes though were the small gatherings of dragons. Without a word he walked straight up to the shop, give the dragons a quick gaze, and walk in.
Bobby was being squashed in a group of what looked like a gang of women, all stuck in a middle-age-crisis, all blond and dressed in clothes that they obviously hoped would make them look younger. This gave John all the time he needed to get out of sight and disappear. Bobby got away from the clattering group just in time to se John's back in the door to the darkest shop in the entire building. He followed as fast as he could, and inside he quickly spotted his friend, paying for what looked like an ash cup, decorated with a black dragon.
When John turned around he immediately spotted a Bobby, who didn't look too happy about being left behind like that. But all John did was grinning at him and walk out of the shop with him. Out of there he showed his dragon-cup.
-"You don't even smoke, for god's sake! What are you going to use that for?!"
John made a pouting face and put the ash-cup back in his bag;
-"You don't always have to use things to exactly what they were made for!" he defended himself, but didn't explain any further what he was going to do with it.
Back at the mansion they managed to sneak in without Rogue, or anyone who would tell her that they were back, to see them. In their room John carefully put his dragon-cup on his bedside-table while Bobby threw the box on his bed and put his new shoes in the wardrobe. When he turned around John was at his bed, examination the box.
-"What are you doing?"
John just looked at him;
-"Can I have this?"
Bobby shrugged; he was too tired to argue with anyone, less having the energy to get John to explain something he didn't want to;
-"Sure, have fun with it."
He threw himself on his bed to take a nap before John would get too hungry so let him be and they would get down in the kitchens, where there would be more people, and he for sure would have to make his girlfriend satisfied before another ranting about how she felt with her mutation and all started all over again. It wasn't the fact that he disliked Rogue or anything, because he didn't. But sometimes she was just asking too much of him, and everyone else, and when you confronted her about it she just used he mutation to make everyone feel pity for her, take her side, and she would win.
Bobby closed his eyes and missed the wicked grin that suddenly covered Johns face as he was fingering on the box…