Chapter 4: We're On Holiday!
Xavier's School for the Gifted, Westchester County, New York
December 24, 2001
James bit the tip of his tongue and pushed his horn-rimmed glasses farther up on his nose. Eyes screwed up and nose wrinkled in intense concentration, he began to dab the sapphire paint on the clay dragon's eye, using his most minute sable brush. Completely unaware that Diamond(the white Siberian tiger), Emerald(the blue mink Tonkinese), and Sapphire(the gray wolf) were watching him intently, trying hard to figure out what their master was losing sleep over.
Of course they already knew that James was working tirelessly over a statue of a dragon, which they had seen him craft lovingly out of the finest clay, spending the winter days tooling intricate detail into the(now) golden horns, the majestic wings, the fangs, the deadly claws, even that odd little red frill atop the medieval lizard's head. The jet of fire alone James had spent an entire Saturday on, and now that it was painted it looked, well, real as it shot forth from the dragon's mouth.
Only James knew the secret of the beautiful statue. A secret he dared not tell. Moving to wash his brush, James nearly knocked his pallet off of the table. Cursing himself under his breath, he dipped the brush into the glass of water kept specifically for that purpose. Sitting back, James silently scrutinized his pretty work, scanning the sculpture for any possible flaws. There were none. James had eliminated them during the process. Heaving a sigh, James ran a hand through his limp hair.(Now that it was so droopy, it hung down past his shoulders.) Glancing up at the clock, he gasped as he realized he only had an hour till the party. Dashing towards the bathroom(he hadn't taken a shower in three days and smelling like a cow was not what James had in mind), he left his art things open, knowing full well his pets would stay away.
Jessie tied the straps of Lauren's light blue dress behind her neck, carefully avoiding the tiny ringlets of her curly blonde hair. Jennie, Jessi, Dana, Sam, and Marjie sat on Jessie's bed, visibly fed up.
"Honestly, Lauren," Marjie growled, "d'ya really need all that? We're gonna be late!" Lauren tossed her bushy hair, then tied it up.
"Fine. Let's go." The girls walked out of the room, down the hall, and into the solarium, where the party was taking place. The soft strains of "Silver Bells", played by a small orchestra, reached her ears. The other girls giggled.
"We'll go find a table," Sam said, her black turtleneck velvet dress shimmering, "so you can go an' find James."
Jessie wandered around, looking for him, but the blue-haired beauty was nowhere to be seen. Suddenly, she found a gloved hand upon her shoulder. She spun around. "James? Where were you?"
He chuckled. "Been busy." He indicated the empty seat in the orchestra's section of the floor. Noticing Jessie's puzzled expression, he smiled wryly. "I play the violin, first chair." Jessie looked up at him. First chair, she thought. That's supposed to be really good!
A prick of jealousy stung at Jessie's heart, but she ignored it. James had worked hard to get to where he was, and she had no right to be jealous. She looked up again. James looked wonderful in his tuxedo, and it was now that Jessie noticed how handsome he really was. Perhaps it was the way he had his hair-it was usually either tied back or slightly messy, or maybe it was the way he was carrying himself-the twenty or so pounds of books and papers that was usually slung over his back was missing. Whatever it was, James looked more…Jessie didn't know…magical.
"Hey!" Sam called. "Hey, Professor, do you want me to take up your seat while you're gone? From the looks of it, you're gonna need it!" Without waiting for a reply, Sam walked over to the orchestra, picked up her own violin, and began to play. Jessie looked up at James, who looked away. Cocking her head slightly, Jessie was amazed to see that his face was the most brilliant shade of strawberry red she'd ever seen.
"Hey, James," Jessie asked skeptically, "What did she mean, 'you're gonna need it'?" James' face turned a darker shade of red. Taking her hand, James waltzed her out onto the floor.
The music, for no apparent reason, changed to a waltz. James seemed not to notice. Holding him around the waist, Jessie followed James' lead(he was steering). Jessie was amazed at how graceful a dancer her partner was. James appeared, while in normal clothing, to be too, well, large to be so smooth and elegant. However, it was most likely his ballroom training, coupled with animal grace, that allowed him to dance so well. Jessie also noticed, as she shifted her arm, that James was actually rather cuddly, like a living stuffed animal. Oh, I'd give anything to have James as my teddy bear, Jessie thought, looking up at him longingly.
The music stopped all too soon(at least, for Jessie), and she allowed James to lead her outside. It was cold, but no snow had fallen, so Jessie only put up a light defense against it. James seemed quite comfortable. Nuzzling into his chest, Jessie wrapped her arms around James' waist. As they walked out into the large garden(which, thanks to James, more closely resembled a rainforest), James stopped and looked up. Attached to one of his precious Sakura trees was the deadly parasite Phoradendron leucarpum. James growled and, on a breath of freezing air, floated up to meet it.
He raised an arm, most likely to hack the plant away, but thought better of it-he didn't want to ruin his tuxedo by popping a fin, thereby ripping the sleeve of his jacket. James shrugged, then pulled the whole branch of it away from the tree.
James pulled a face. "Ugh, it's back! I spent all winter spraying and chopping and burning this stuff, and still it persists! Stupid parasite!" Jessie noticed that the parasite looked strangely like…
"Mistletoe?" James' head snapped up. "W-well, I just thought that it looks like mistletoe…" Jessie said softly.
"That's because it Is mistletoe." James hissed, looking away. "You don't know how much I hate this stuff…" James' voice faltered. The top half of his face was shaded in. Without waiting for Jessie to ask, he moaned, "Jessiebelle used to hang this stuff all over the house before Christmas, just as an excuse to kiss me. Jessie, she used to wear this foul pink lip gloss that nearly made me want to hurl! It was horrible!"
Jessie looked up. James face was twisted with the pain of the memory. She felt awful for him, and it looked like he needed something to hold. Jessie was more than happy to oblige.
She wound her arms around James' thin waist and rested her head on his chest. "Don't worry, she's gone, and you know that I'll always be there for you," she said softly. James took in a deep breath. Jessie dropped her voice to a whisper as she felt his arms wind tentatively around her waist. "I really care about you; you're my best friend, and I can help you melt the ice that's frozen your heart for so long-if you'll let me."
"There's just one problem with that." James said softly. Jessie looked up. "You already have." Gasping as she realized what he meant, Jessie slid her arms to James' neck. "And," he whispered, "I think what Jessiebelle tried to teach me was good practice for the future, but not with her!"
Jessie instinctively closed her eyes as she felt James gently press his lips to hers. It was the first time James had ever initiated a kiss, and even though it was his first time, he felt he'd watched enough TV to know how.
Jessie let her lips linger on his bottom lip after the initial kiss was over. God, he's good, she thought. Suddenly James' head snapped up. "Damn, I just remembered that I've gotta get back!" He checked his watch. "I've got just enough time to get back if I run, but…" James looked over at Jessie. He gave her a swift kiss on the cheek, then sped off, hair billowing out behind him.
James slammed into his chair. Sam chuckled. "So, I take it y'all had fun out there, James? Yer blowin' pretty hard!" James shot Sam a nasty look. "Well, you do have lipstick on your mouth." James' eyes widened in terror. He pulled out his handkerchief and wiped it off.
James wrinkled his nose. "You want me to double that five-page report on Creation vs. Evolution, Samantha?" Sam smiled sheepishly and began to tune her violin. James sighed. Sam had always reminded him of himself. Her reserve, love of black, artistic ability, love of anything scientific, and her extreme love of horses. He had caught her talking to Rebel, her chestnut Quarter horse, several times. He felt bad for her, though. Her family was in Atlanta, and she missed her father especially. Oh, well.
The orchestra struck up, instead of a Christmas song, Madonna's Papa Don't
Preach. The music seemed to be inside of Jessie rather than around her, as was Like A Prayer, Crazy For You, This Used To Be My Playground, Into the Groove, Who's That Girl, and finally, Holiday. Jessie was amazed that the small orchestra was able to perform both the music and the "voice", the violins rising to the occasion magnificently.
After it was over, James and Ororo stood up, walking out of the vaulted room. The entire congregation followed. "We realize that it hasn't snowed for some reason," Ororo called, "So we'd like to make it snow, as a reward for slaving over your science and history exams." They ran back into the solarium, then emerged five minutes later as Blizzard and Storm, masters of the frost.
Tossing back their hair, the two X-Men rose into the air on a blast of icy wind of their own making. Storm's eyes turned white as the clouds opened, showering the area with freezing rain. Then Blizzard's eyes did the same as he silently commanded the temperature to drop slightly, and the rain turned to powdery snow.
Cheers exploded from the students. The two airborne mutants flashed million-dollar smiles at them before landing gently upon the ground. Jessie ran up to Blizzard as he smoothed his rumpled hair out. "That was great!" She exclaimed.
He smirked. "Come on, I'll give you your Christmas present."
Jessie nodded. They walked to James' room, the trip taking longer than she thought it would. "Give me a minute." James said once they entered. He walked into the bathroom, leaving the door open. Jessie saw that he was peeling his mask off, and the paint that was now around his eyes and on his eyelids gave him a deadened look. James emerged, having finished wiping it off. He was very handsome in his uniform, and it was all Jessie could do not to stare.
James smiled warmly. "It's on the table-but it's really fragile, so be careful." Jessie nodded, and spying the lump of tissue paper, picked it up. Gently stripping away the crimson wrapping, Jessie gasped as she came face-to-face with the dragon. Turning it over, she found, inscribed in James' handwriting, was
Draconis-JW 12/24/01. He…He made this!Jessie turned to James, who was fidgeting nervously. "I-I just thought you needed something a little more special than a store-bought gift." He stammered.
She blushed. "It's the best Christmas gift ever! Thanks, James." He blushed darker.
"Don't worry about it, besides, we're on holiday! You deserve it, Jess."
Jessie continued to look at the beautiful dragon. Suddenly, Jessie spied some thing odd. The dragon, strangely enough, had a very familiar air about it. And it even had a woman-like chest.
"James," Jessie began slowly, "Who…Is this dragon…Supposed to be?"
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Note: If you tell me who the dragon in question is, I'll give you a lolly!