Disclaimer: don't own anything except some characters and plot. Co-written with ms. marie and my other sister.
BondingStorm had left them alone, telling them to get acquainted with one anther, since none of them were really "buddy-buddy". Some of them only recognized each other from passing glances in the halls; it was a big school, with many students. They barely knew each other; now they were supposed to be a team? Don't know how that'll work.
"So…" Dani started, striving to break the silence that had descended upon the room in the absence of the white-haired weather witch. It didn't quite work, as the teens continued to stare nervously around the room.
"Well, why don't we start off by sharing our powers?" Nathan suggested. They all gleefully told the others what they could do, most giving a little show. That is until Christopher accidentally blew up one of Ms. Munroe's expensive vases. He just threw away the pieces and hoped that she wouldn't notice the ugly thin was gone.
"Hey, I just did her a favor. Who would want that ugly thing anyway?" Marissa just rolled her eyes at the immature boy's antics. He winked at her.
All of a sudden Gym Class Heroes, "Cupids Chokehold", began playing. Nathan scrambled for his pocket, pulling out a silver Razor.
"Hey."
"Now?" Nathan glanced around at the other teens. "I'm kinda busy, Jess." He sighed, listening to his girlfriend prattle on.
"Okay, fine. Just let me go get ready, then we can go."
"Kay, love you too," Nathan hung up the phone and ran a hand over his tired face.
"Girlfriend?" Dani pried, curious.
"Yeah, I'm sorry guys, I gotta go," Nathan stated, getting up out of his seat.
"She pick that ring tone too?" Christopher asked. Nathan grimaced a little, giving the boy his answer. "Whpsha!" Christopher made a motion of cracking a whip as Nathan scurried out the door.
Down the hall, all the adults sat watching the kids on a TV screen. As they watched Nathan leave the room and the room fall silent, Storm grew frustrated.
"This is never going to work," Storm sighed while running a hand through her hair.
"Well you can't exactly just throw them in a room together and just force them to become friends," Rogue reasoned.
"Oh yeah?" Storm asked with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
"So…" Dani said in an attempt to break the silence. No one responded so she decided to stop trying. Just as the silence started to become awkward, Kitty walked through the door.
"Hey guys!" Kitty said sitting in Storm's chair, "So Storm sent me in here to get you guys talking while she "worked out some details", whatever that means. So how about we play a little game?"
No one replied.
"Okay,… I'll take that as a yes," Kitty decided.
"What kinda game?" Dani asked to break the silence.
"Since none of you guys know each other were going to play a describing game to see what you guys think of each other," Kitty told them.
"So how do we play?" Ben asked curiously.
"Well, we'll start with Dani," she said turning to Dani, "How would you describe Sara?"
"Geek," Dani replied, not missing a beat.
"Thanks," Sara muttered sarcastically.
"Okay, Sara how would you describe Jake?" Kitty asked.
"Shy," Sara decided.
"Jake how would you describe Michele?" Kitty asked.
"Hmm… jock?" Jake suggested.
"Michele, how would you describe Andy?"
"Man-whore," Michele declared.
"Wow, that was so sweet," Andy replied sarcastically.
"But it was true," Michele quipped
"Andy, how would you describe Marissa?"
"Prissy," he said still glaring at Michele.
"Marissa, how would you describe Ben?"
"Goofy," Marissa laughed.
"Ben, how would you describe Christopher?"
"Jackass," Ben replied while grinning.
But within seconds Ben was being hauled up to his feet by Christopher, who had a firm grip on the front of his shirt.
"Enough!" shouted Storm who walked in and pulled Christopher back to his chair.
"I guess that's enough of that game," Kitty muttered.
"How do you guys possibly expect to be a team if you're at each other's throats all the time? Now maybe you won't be the best of friends, but I'm not asking you to be. All I want you to be is teammates. Now I'm tired of this behavior, you kids will learn to tolerate each other. Which is why you're going on a trip," Storm announced.
"Really, where?" Dani exclaimed, excited to go somewhere cool and to have fun. The others just gave Storm a quizzical look, wondering where this was going.
"It's a surprise," Storm said, much to Dani's disappointment.
"Is it warm? Is it cold?" Dani asked.
"I am not saying anything," Storm zipped her lips shut.
"Oh come on, I need to know what to pack," Dani whined.
"You are leaving at 7 tomorrow morning," Storm informed them, and at the mention of the early time groans were heard throughout the room.
"Why so early?" Dani whined again, thinking about all the beauty sleep she'd be missing.
"You will make up your school work when you get back," Storm said and everyone's face fell. They had been hoping to be excused from the work they missed.
"Oh, and make sure someone tells Nathan," Storm said, "and you're dismissed. I will see you tomorrow bright and early."
Everyone got up and quickly left after saying their goodbyes.
It was the next morning and Storm sat in her office waiting for the kids to arrive. Dani zoomed in carrying the backpack and the duffle bag she was given to pack her things in. She immediately plunked herself in a seat to wait for the others. Sara was the second to arrive. Her hair was still wet from her recent shower and it was in a messy ponytail. Jake walked in looking wide awake and Dani figured that he must have grabbed a cup of coffee before coming down, or he was a morning person, which is just plain weird in her opinion. Ben was the next to walk in and promptly ran to the couch that was in the corner and laid down and started snoring, taking up the whole couch. Michele stumbled in with her bags and dropped them on the floor and decided to go down with them. This was not how she planned to start her Saturday. After Michele, Christopher waltzed in and kicked Ben's legs off the couch so he could have a seat.
"Wha.." Ben said waking up at the sudden jolt. He then readjusted himself and fell back asleep.
Morgan quietly walked in, set her bags down, and sat in a vacant chair. Marissa walked in and then pulled out her eyeliner to finish her makeup. Then, Andy came in with bed head hair and droopily dropped into a chair. Storm glanced at her watch and it read 7:15.
"Where's Nathan?" she asked. Everyone just sat there and shrugged. "Did anyone tell him about the trip?" she questioned, a little irritated at their lack of a response. At this everyone's head shot up and they all looked at each other and then there was a chorus of,
"No."
"Just great," Storm sighed and threw her hands up in the air exasperated. She then left the room to go get Nathan. A few minutes later Storm came back, Nathan in tow. He still looked half asleep and he was very angry that no one had told him about this trip.
"Okay now that everyone's here," Storm began. "Kitty and John will go with you guys to supervise. So follow me," Storm stood up and left the office with the kids dragging behind her. They boarded the jet and saw Kitty and John in the pilot and co-pilot seats. Kitty told them to take a seat and buckle up. Then, the jet roared to life and the kids were off to their unknown destination. Most just leaned back in their seats and go some shut eyes, unlike Dani whose face was glued to the window.
A couple hours later Kitty announced, "We will be landing shortly. Please put your seat belts on, seats in the upright position, and your trays locked in place." She giggled after she finished, having always wanted to say that. They landed in, what to them, looked like a forest.
"This is where we're staying," Dani asked bewildered.
"Yup," John stated and threw them some tents. "These are for you, and we will be on the jet."
"What?" Ben asked, astonished that they would leave them in the middle of the woods.
"Great, what a nice trip," Andy muttered.
"I guess we should set up the tents," Nathan suggested.
"Um guys, there are only 5 tents," Sara pointed out.
"Great, we have to share tents too," Marissa said, not really liking this trip already.
"Hey, a guy has to share with a girl, I'm in," Andy said giving all the girls a wink.
"Eww, no way," Michele exclaimed, Andy just grinned at her.
"How about Nathan shares a tent with a girl since he already has a girlfriend so we can trust that he won't try anything," Michele suggested. The rest of the girls agreed and turned to Nathan.
"Alright, I'll share a tent with a girl," he relented.
"So who wants to share a tent with Nathan?" Marissa asked. The girls just looked at one another hoping for someone else to offer to share a tent with Nathan.
"Fine, short stick goes," Michele said and a couple of small sticks flew into her hand. One by one the girls took a stick and low and behold the one that was left with Michele was the shortest.
"Well, I guess I'm sharing a tent with Nathan," with that Michele and Nathan went to go set up their tent. Nathan did most of the work with Michele insisting that he was the man and he should be a gentleman and set up the tent.
"Dibs on Sara," Dani shouted and zoomed over to set up their tent. Sara rolled her eyes and followed her.
"Guess that means we're together," Morgan said looking at Marissa.
"Yeah," and they walked off to set up their tent.
"Jake and I will share a tent," Ben exclaimed not really wanting to share with Andy or Christopher. Andy and Christopher went to set up the last tent.
The five tents were all set up in somewhat of a circle, with a large space for a fire in the middle, which is where all of the teens congregated after setting up their respective tents. They stood there waiting for direction, unsure of what they were supposed to do now. Then, Kitty and John joined them. Kitty glanced nervously around at all the faces, and pulling her resolve together, clapped her hands and gave them a big smile.
"Well, uh, I guess you can all do whatever you want for the rest of the day. Hang out, whatever. Just meet back here when it starts to get dark." John and her went back to the jet, doing what the students could only guess. They just stood there for a while, just staring at each other, waiting for someone to speak. Ben finally broke the silence,
"So, what do you guys wanna do?" he asked.
"How 'bout we go swimming? I think I saw a lake back there," Sara suggested, gesturing somewhere to the right.
"Okay, sure," the rest nodded in agreement.
"Good thing I decided to pack my bathing suit, ya know, I wasn't sure if I was going to need it, but Storm just wouldn't tell me where we were going," Dani babbled before she sped off to change. She was the first one done, dressed in her white polka dotted blue bikini, with a dark blue towel with hibiscus flowers draped over her right shoulder, and a pair of large sunglasses perched a top her blonde head. She tapped her foot with her arms crossed, waiting for the others. They slowly trickled in, the boys wearing different varieties of swim trunks in solid colors, Hawaiian prints, and whatnot. The girls sported suits of many different colors and styles, though none wore a one-piece. They were well equipped with beach towels, sunglasses, and sunblock.
"So, which way to the lake?" Morgan asked, fixing the strap of her lavender suite as she spoke.
"This way, just follow me," Sara led the way through the trees to a large clearing with a sparkling lake.
"Wow, this looks nice," said Marissa, looking around her. The girls laid their towels down on the ground. Dani stood up after lathering herself with sunscreen. Since she was fair-skinned she burned pretty easily, and she did not want to look like a lobster later.
"Well, c'mon guys, lets hop in!" she cried, jumping in with a running start. The cold water shocked her at first, but it felt cool and refreshing after being in the heat. "Well, ya just gonna stand there?" The boys all jumped in, effectively soaking her under a tidal wave of water, with the rest of the girls following, except for Marissa. Marissa spritzed some tanning oil over herself, pulled on her shades, and laid back on her pink towel, eyes shut. Michele turned to her,
"Marissa, aren't you gonna join us?" Marissa got up on her elbows to look at the blonde.
"Nah, I think I'm just gonna soak up some rays, work on my tan." Michele shrugged,
"Okay, whatever you say." As she went back to splashing and dunking the boys. Morgan was using her power over the water to create waves and small whirlpools for their amusement. They were having lots of fun with each other, surprisingly. Andy stopped fooling around in the water and hopped out.
Marissa almost fell asleep, until she heard footsteps coming her way. But she didn't open her eyes until something blocked her sunlight and a few water droplets fell on her. Andy was standing above her. She sat up,
"You're blocking the sun, you mind?" she said, haughtily. He just smirked at her. She rolled her eyes.
"Ya know, you're looking a little pink," A little panicky, she pushed up her Chanel sunglasses and looked at her arms and legs.
"You jerk," she lightly smacked his leg when she realized that he was lying. He started chuckling,
"I think you need to cool off a little, the sun's addling your brain," he took a step towards her. She jumped up and took a step backwards, away from the approaching male.
"Don't you dare," she pointed her index finger at him for emphasis, still backing away.
"Oh, I dare," he said before making a grab for her. She dodged, and turned and ran, shrieking through her giggles. But, alas, he was faster than her and managed to catch her pretty quickly. He grabbed her around the waist and she shrieked as he threw her over his broad shoulder. She pounded on his back with her tiny fists, though it was futile.
"Put me down!" she cried, as they got closer to the lake. "Don't you dare, Andy! You'll regret it!" He snorted at that. He unceremoniously dropped her into the water. She gave a little screech when she came in contact with the cool liquid. She resurfaced, sputtering. "Ooh, you're so going to get it!" She angrily wiped her wet hair from her face.
So, all in all, their swim was pretty fun, with only one little incident where Andy tried to untie Marissa's top. But other than that, it was all good. Maybe the whole camping thing wouldn't be so bad after all. The teens all went back to their respective tents to dry off and change. ( Michele made Nathan stand outside while she changed.) It was soon dark, and they all gathered around a campfire that John and Kitty had started. Marissa arrived last, taking a seat next to Andy.
"So, you guys aren't going to make us sing campfire songs and tell us ghost stories, are you?" Andy asked warily. John snorted.
"Of course we aren't," he shot a nervous glance at Kitty, "we aren't, are we?" he asked, panicky. The perky brunette let out a laugh.
"Nah, don't worry. I think we are all a little too old for stuff like that."
"Actually, we kind of have a surprise for you guys," Kitty said clapping her hands.
"That's never good," Andy groaned.
"What kind of surprise?" Michele questioned hesitantly.
"Probably not one you guys are gonna like," John replied.
"Great," Dani muttered.
"Can I just tell you guys already?" Kitty huffed.
"Please do," Michele said gesturing with her hand.
"Well this little trip is first and foremost a bonding experience for you guys, but is secondly a bit of a competition," Kitty explained.
"What kind of competition?" Ben questioned.
"Well, you guys are gonna be split into teams of two and compete in challenges for points. At the end of this trip whichever team has the most points is the winner," John took over explaining.
"Ooh, what do we win?" Dani asked, bubbling with excitement.
"Haha, you're gonna win nothing because I'm gonna win," Ben laughed.
"You guys better get some sleep because your first challenge is tomorrow morning, bright and early. And we'll announce the teams in the morning, so off to bed," Kitty said with a bright smile.
"How early is early?" Marissa asked.
"Four o'clock," John announced.
"In the afternoon? That's not so bad," Ben said.
"… In the morning," Kitty tacked on.
"Ugh…" all the kids groaned.