Disclaimer: I own Dan that's about it. Everything else belongs to Marvel and the producer people for X-men 2 X-men United. A lot of the quotes are taken from the X2 Novel, written by Chris Claremont.
If you have any questions about Dan that are not answered in this, you can either try reading my X-men Evolution fic, Einstein or just ask me in a review and I'll try to answer them. I know some people do not like reading things where authors add their own characters in to the story but I hope you like this one at least. I would also like to thank Meremew and Clear Shadow for their help in coming up with a title. And thanks to Clear Shadow for proofreading and correcting this and other chapters.
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In the kitchen Dan went too work. He was a fairly good cook, having learned too cook for himself when he was little when Sandy had too work the late shifts and didn't come home before 9. And since most of the other students had already had dinner, he had the entire kitchen too himself. Dan usually ate dinner late, ignoring the 10 o'clock room curfew. So while most students where in bed Dan was in the kitchen having dinner. Once he had the spaghetti simmering in the pot, Dan turned his attention too the sauce. He couldn't remember where he had learned the recipe for the homemade sauce, he just remembered how too make it. Dan chopped up the tomatoes making the pieces small enough too make a semi creamy texture. Dan did all this by hand because that was the best way too make the sauce and he didn't want too risk turning on anything that would make a lot of noise. He drained the spaghetti in the sink, put it back in the pot, added a few pinches of garlic too the sauce and butter too the spaghetti, then poured the creamy sauce into the pot. It smelt so good Dan was afraid that it would attract the students, but the mansion remained quiet. He scooped the spaghetti out of the pot and onto two plates, then carried the two plates out of the kitchen and into the dinning room where Rahne sat pouring some coke into the cups.
"Spaghetti and coke that's a new one." Dan said with a grin. Rahne jumped a bit
"Ya scared me."
"Sorry."
"Its ok, Jones did it too." Dan grinned, Jones the only other student Dan knew of who also ignored the curfew. But while Dan ignored it too eat, Jones ignored it because he didn't sleep and spent the entire night watching TV. He set the plate down in front of Rahne and sat down with his own across from her. She ate a bit and grinned. "This is excellent." Dan felt his ears turn red.
"Thanks."
"Where did ye learn too cook?"
"Kinda came as a requirement when I was little." Rahne nodded but didn't press the subject. Silently they ate the spaghetti. In the hall the clock struck 8:45. Dan picked up his plate and Rahne's and headed into the kitchen, Rahne followed and together they cleaned up.
"Yer gonna 'afta show me 'ow you made that sauce it was wicked good." Rahne said putting the last plate away.
"You name the time." Dan replied. They walked out of the kitchen and into the common room. "Hey Jones anything good on?" Jones's eyes blinked faster and the channel changed rapidly.
"Nope," he looked over at them. "So are you two finally going out?" Rahne looked over at Dan and both grinned. "You are aren't you?" Jones too grinned "its about ti-"
"If you say it's about time Jones I will turn that TV off, you know I can." Dan threatened holding his hands out towards the TV, but it was kind of hard to take him serious with a grin on his face.
"-Me for Wheel Of Fortune." Jones said grinning wider and turning his attention back too the television set. Rahne and Dan exchanged a look and started too laugh. Jones grinned but didn't look back at them
"Come on" Dan said "I'll walk you too your room." Upstairs, they walked down the hall towards the girl's end of the house. The door too Rahne's room was ajar and Dan guessed Jade, Rahne's roommate was sitting in bed waiting for Rahne too come in and tell her everything.
"Well night." Rahne said she kissed him on the cheek again before darting into her room and shutting the door. Through the door Dan could her giggles and he heard his name popping up a few times.
"I will never understand girls." He said throwing his hands up in the air and heading back down the hall towards the guys end. He stopped just outside his room and looked into the mirror, he stared at his reflection. The grey hairs, the glasses, and Dan blinked and stared harder, his ears! He poked them, where they really that big?! "Aw man I'm a circus freak!" Dan said softly. "Better call up Barnum and Bailey." The door too his room opened and Peter looked out he had a book in one hand and was leaning against the doorframe.
"Dan, you know you're interrupting the last few chapters of "One Flew over The Cuckoos nest" with your moaning."
"Sorry."
"See I thought the insane moaning was coming from my imagination from reading the book, then I realized, oh it must be Dan."
"Gee thanks Peter." Peter grinned and walked back in the room. Dan glanced at the mirror one last time before following. He pulled off his tee shirt grabbed a pair of boxer shorts and made a dash out of the room down the hall too the bathroom. When he came back Peter was still reading his book for English. Dan, who was also reading the same thing, grinned. Peter looked up and saw Dan grinning.
"Let me guess you already finished it?"
"Er sorta." Peter shook his head and grinned.
"Well I haven't so no spoiling it." Dan nodded and held up his hands
"Scouts honour." Dan crawled into his bed and closing his eyes replaced his glasses with his night visor, which he kept next to his bed on the nightstand. He reached over and picked up the book he was reading now that he had finished "Cuckoos nest" "Poe" Dan loved Poe's work, his favorite story was "Cask of Amontillado" and his favorite poem was "The Raven" he knew both stories by heart and why not, he had read them enough times. He just couldn't get enough of Poe's work. "Once upon a midnight dreary while I pondered weak and weary" Dan recited adopting an eerie voice "over many a quaint and curious volumes of forgotten lore-" Dan was reciting the poem just above whisper when suddenly a pillow hit him. He looked around hurriedly and saw Peter arms across the room in his bed, arms crossed across his chest.
"Try reciting that in your head Einstein."
"Aw, but Peter." Dan said grinning "I want too add too the drama of the story."
"What story?"
"A group of school children all alone in a enormous mansion, the only adult sleeps down the hall. It seems like a calm normal night, a cool breeze blows outside while a light rain pitter-patters on the roof creating a calming noise. When suddenly the pitters increase turning into a roar of rain. Thunder clashes shaking the entire house as though an earthquake had rocked their school. The lightening so bright it turns night into day." The door too their room opened and Bobby, Kevin, John, Artie, and a couple other boys Joe who was 18 and Keith who was 14, came into the room.
"What's going on?" Bobby asked with a grin
"Danny's telling one of his famous 'lets scare the shit out everyone before they go to sleep' stories again?" Kevin asked Peter nodded. "Well keep going don't let us stop you Midge." Behind his visor Dan glared but didn't say anything.
"Ok where was I?" he grinned "ah yes the students one by one crawled out of bed and left their rooms. In the halls each are asking the same thing 'had they heard the noise'
"What noise?" Peter asked he had abandoned reading Cuckoos nest and was also listening intently too Dan's story. Artie and Keith where sitting on the floor. John had taken up residence sitting at Dan's desk, while Kevin sat at Peter's. Bobby was leaning against the wall and Dan was in the middle of this, sitting cross-legged on his bed.
"The noise that had driven the students from their beds. It was not the thunder you see, that was a noise all of them had heard before. No the noise which they all spoke of was a strange noise, the sound of groaning, inhuman groans that seemed too pass through each room in turn bringing with it a cold feeling, which turned the rooms into freezers for a fleeting moment then when the groan was gone so was the cold feeling, entering the next room." The boys all looked at Bobby who grinned and shrugged.
"Don't look at me."
"Together, the students made their way through the halls and down the stairs into the large foyer. In the common room just beyond the foyer one of their fellow classmates was watching television as he always did. When the older students went too check on the boy and too ask if he had heard the noise, they found the boy passed out on the floor, a look of pure horror on his face. He was white as a ghost and covered with frost, the look of horror frozen on his face. "Lets wake up the teacher." One of the girls suggested. "If it turns out too be just our imaginations" one of the other girls said "we'll never hear the end of it." Suddenly the noise floated through the house once again it passed through each of the students scaring them each too death. As each one dropped a mask of horror passed over their faces and their bodies turned cold and frozen. The horrified look forever frozen upon their faces. The cause of the deaths was never determined, and who knows maybe it will never be, just beware on stormy nights, and if you hear a noise that your not sure of. Think twice before you go and investigate it." Dan paused "or you might be next." Suddenly the room became very cold, there was a loud raping at the window and everyone except Dan and Bobby jumped. Artie looked so scared Dan thought he was going to wet himself. John had stopped clicking his lighter. Standing on the balcony was 14-year-old Matt. Dan fell back on his bed laughing.
"God Damn it Dan!" John said loudly. Dan was still rolling on the bed laughing, Matt teleported in also laughing. Bobby was leaning against the wall for support he was laughing so hard.
"So" Dan said when the laughing had pretty much ceased. Artie, Kevin, and Joe had joined in laughing but John still looked kind of peeved. "Whatcha think of that one?"
"That was good Dan." Kevin said "you really scared the shit out of us before we go too sleep."
"Hey I couldn't have done it without Bobby and Matt." Dan had used his telepathic power too let Bobby in on the idea when he had come in, and he had told Matt earlier and all Matt had too do was use his teleporting power too teleport up onto the balcony and wait for the single from Dan (if you've seen the first movie, the kid that they showed passing the Basketball too himself is the kid I brought into this, they never say his name but he looked like a Matt.). He looked over at John who had returned too clicking his Zippo.
"Good story kid." John finally said and Dan sighed with relief. Things got a little too hot for Dan's liking when John was mad. The last time he had pissed John off was when he had used his computer power too shut John's CD player completely down. John had literally chased Dan with fire until Bobby had frozen the fire and saved Dan from any burns. "Where the hell do you come up with these?"
"I don't know they just come too me, maybe I should be a writer or something."
"Well whatever it was a great job." Bobby said
"Yeah great job." Joe said, he poked Artie who was still breathing heavy his tongue hanging out. "Lets go snake boy." Joe said dragging Artie out of the room. "Night."
"Yeah night." Bobby said leaving, followed by Kevin, John, and Matt.
"Ok no more stories tonight." Peter said "I've got too finish this book." Dan yawned and looked at his wrist forgetting for a moment that he didn't have his watch anymore. He glanced at the alarm clock on Peter's side of the room. 11:00 Peter had gone back too his book. Dan yawned again and could feel himself getting drowsy he put his Poe book under his pillow.
"Night Peter." He said.
"Night." Dan switched the light over his bed off, pulled his covers up over his head too block out the light from Peter's side of the room and quickly fell asleep.
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Ok yeah that little story that Dan told, that was a spur of the moment kinda thing. Hope you liked it. Anyways, hope you liked this chapter. Great too keep hearing from you all. Thanks too the Cherry blossomien, thesecretecharmedwriter, Clearshadow, and to the latest reviewer Labyris. Keep those reviews comin! I'm feelin review debrived.
