A/N: Part four of the Fireball series, can't believe I managed to crank these out and edit them in such a short span of time! I'm planning quite a few of these, not sure if I'll smoosh them all into one header just so there's no confusion with the chapters? No idea. But anyway, here's the next part.
Goose Bumps
Snow was building rapidly outside. The news said there was a blizzard on the way. The mansion was sturdy enough for teenagers with out of control abilities, but as Gilly and John sat on one of the seats in the TV room, Gilly noticed a draft and wrapped a fleece blanket around herself. It was simple black fleece, but it was her favorite from home.
"Not warm enough for you?" John smirked. He noticed long ago that he tended to run hot, which was never a bad thing before.
"Freezing my ass off," Gilly said, pulling the blanket up to her chin and snuggling her nose into it. She was leaning against his shoulder, which he had repositioned an hour ago to wrap an arm around her. They were never truly openly romantic and cutesy in front of others, but there were hints of it here and there.
Bobby Drake and Rogue sat on the couch together, curled up as best they could given the circumstance. Thanks to his abilities, Bobby noticed he also had defense against cold and wore only a simple zip-up hoodie, and as far as Rogue went, she was covered to her neck regardless of temperature.
The four were on something of a double date, watching crappy made for TV Christmas movies to get into the holiday spirit. They all discussed what their plans were, or perhaps they could all go out together and leave the mansion for a day.
Gilly noticed the lights flicker when the wind started howling again. John looked up when she did, "Don't worry, this place is built for this kind of stuff-"
Just before he finished his sentenced, the room was plunged into darkness. Gilly tensed up next to him before settling.
"Good going, John," Rogue's voice came from the darkness.
"Mind if you give us some light, John?" Gilly asked, still cocooned in the blanket. He struggled for a moment to find his Zippo. There was a click and the smell of Ronsonol, and the room was filled with an orange glow, though they still had no idea of what to do next, "Okay, so now what?"
"I think we should try to find a teacher around," Bobby said, "They should have some kind of plan aside from 'sit in the dark and wait for it to blow over.'"
"Sounds like a good idea," Gilly agreed. She seemed more than a little freaked out about the dark. Considering how she dressed on a usual basis, it was a bit strange that she was scared of something that simple.
John helped her up from the couch, and he lit the way for the four of them.
Bobby and Rogue went their own way after a while and the emergency lights kicked in. Gilly and John decided to find their own little quiet space in the dark. She managed to find a flashlight around, which she claimed she preferred over John burning the school down by accident.
"Are you scared of the dark or something?" He finally asked.
She shrugged, "No. I'm freezing my ass off and there's a blizzard outside, I'm already a little tense." The wind seemed to pick up as she spoke, sounding like human moaning against the windows.
He sat closer to her, allowing her to curl up against him, "It'll be over in a few hours."
"Not sure if you watch the news, but Boston was almost at a standstill last time a blizzard rolled through," She scoffed, "It's the wind that really freaks me out." The hairs raised on the back of her neck as a long howl of wind outside continued on for ten seconds.
"It's just wind," He held one of her arms, and noted that goose bumps had raised all over her skin. She was cold, as well, but his hand sent waves of warmth through her body.
"Still freezing my ass off," She smirked. In the glow of the flashlight, she was pale as a ghost.
His expression mirrored hers, when he leaned in close to her face and said, "I can think of a way to warm up." Their foreheads touched, then their noses (hers being shockingly cold), and finally their lips. Her face flushed hot. She had been kissed plenty of times before, by boys and girls in high school and at various sporting events under bleachers, school dances, and even drunken raucous parties. This was different to her. There was not only a sweetness to it, but warmth, she assumed it came from his abilities.
She looked up at him past a few blond hairs that fell over his brow, "I'm, uh, still kind of cold." She gave him a little smile.
"Then I guess we'll have to fix that."
The next day, they were in her dorm. It was the weekend, so there were no classes, and most were shoveling the school outside. The night before was a little more fun than they originally planned, waking up to find a tangle of blankets and missing clothes.
"You're lucky, most people don't see me without makeup on," She commented as she sat in front of her little mirror. It was one of those makeup artist ones that John's mother kept on her bureau at home when he was a kid. He was on her bed, still twisted in her comforter.
Gilly's face was wiped clean. She seemed less pale before she painted her face up and added dark, angular eyeliner.
"I think I'm lucky for more than one reason today," He smirked. She picked up a discarded tee shirt (she couldn't tell whose) and tossed it at his face. She was dressed in her sleep shorts and her bra. She didn't actually own anything with color in it, it seemed (which meant he definitely won that bet with Rogue and Bobby). After she finished lining her eyes, she turned to him, allowing him a full view of her.
She smirked, sitting next to him on her twin-sized bed, "I think I'm getting cold again, got any ideas on how to help that?"