CHAPTER 8: "Clothes, Shoes and Boy Talk"

Rogue, Remy and Logan are taking me to the largest mall in Maxville. It's fun. I haven't had a single girly moment with Rogue in weeks! Not since this whole madness started in any case. And it feels great to pick up on our little Sunday Shopping tradition. Logan and Gambit don't normally come with us, but then again, normally we'd be in a New York mall, we'd go home to the Mansion, and normally we wouldn't have to move around in 'packs' for protection. But if this is as normal as I'm getting, then I will take what I can. Suddenly, my sidekick starts ringing. It's Layla.

"Hiya!"

"Hey Sammy! You doing anything today?"

"I'm off for a shopping trip with Rogue. Logan and Gambit are also here, but they're just playing bodyguard." I hear Layla whining. "Why?"

"Well, it's just that I just remembered we have the Homecoming Dance next Saturday. And I was wondering if we could go shopping today with Maj for dresses." My eyes light up.

"Gimme a sec!"

"OK."

"Rogue, Layla and Maj wanna go shopping with us for Homecoming Dance-worthy dresses." Rogue smiled.

"Then tell them to get their butts over to the mall!"

"Rogue says to get your butts over to the mall!" Layla squeals. I tell them where we're headed and we end the call.

"So, we having company?" I look at Logan, who's driving. He doesn't like the way Remy drives. LOL.

"Yep."

It takes us an hour to get to the mall and find my crazy new friends, but we manage.

Logan and Remy have stayed in a music store nearby the food court. What's the bet they'll clean the place out.

"So, what kinda dresses are we looking for?" Rogue asks.

"Well, Layla and I will know when we find them. For Sam, though, we need something that will make Warren drool!" Maj, I could kill you. I can hear Rogue and Layla laughing their asses off at her comment. What is it they say? With friends like these... All of a sudden, the mall's temperature goes up. Uncomfortably up. The girls laugh even harder, knowing full well why. But I pay it no attention. Warren's gonna handle it. Then... I remind myself he's not here. Blast it! I guess I'm on my own this time. I focus as I hard as I can and pull my body temperature down. I'll be cold, but people around me won't have to suffer for it. I can manage a little coolness. If anything, I need it!

"Oh, well, then let's start looking!" Everyone is terribly excited about going Sam's-dress hunting. Except me. I would like to pick my own dress. Something I'll look good in, something I like, and that ... OH WHO AM I KIDDING? I so wanna make Warren Peace drool as much as I have!

We set off. There are tons of dresses in this mall! It's amazing! It's as if the mall is made up entirely of ball gowns or something! Suddenly, Layla squeals as only she can and drags the three of us into a store. The reason: a beautiful green dress. And I mean beautiful! It looks like a carbon copy of Keira Knightley's dress from Atonement! It is GORGEOUS! Will is going down! Well, one down, two to go. Although neither Magenta nor Layla really need to go out of their ways to have Zach and Will wrapped around their respective fingers. But it would be nice to see Will's face is Layla wears something particularly "appealing".

"Layla, this is your dress!" Rogue squeals. Since we're all girls we can allow ourselves to drop the tough act (though Layla never actually uses hers) and squeal and giggle as much as we want. It's fun!

We keep walking sometimes wandering into a shoe store, others into a jewellery store. At a certain point we all went for a Starbucks. I got myself the biggest version available of a dark mocha frapuccino. One word: YUM.

So now we have Layla's dress, her shoes, her jewellery, Maj's shoes and accessories (she refuses to call it jewellery, Goddess only knows why), and had a Starbucks each. And then, Maj gasps and pulls us over to a shop window.

"You asked for nice? It ain't getting nicer than this!" she squeaks out. And she's right! The dress is stunning, in a very Magenta way! Poor, poor Zach. He'll never know what hit him! Off the shoulder, ragged sleeves, empire waist and golden details at the hem. It's floor length! And the fabric is such a rich magenta! It's perfect for her. So she buys it.

By then, it was time for lunch so we run towards a small Italian restaurant. It seems good enough. Once settled, all three of them start talking at once. About Warren.

"So..." Uh oh. Rogue has her knowing smirk on. SHIT! I try to play it cool. Key word: TRY.

"So what?" I ask. I'm not going to give in easily! Layla giggles. Never a good sign. That girl knows everything there is to know on everyone!

"So... are you going to tell us what happened between you and Warren?" I scoff. They're still on about that? DUDE! Like it's ever going to happen! I tell them just that. And they laugh their heads off. Isn't it great to have such awesome, understanding, compassionate friends? And, just in case you didn't notice, that has sarcasm written all over it!

"Riiiiiight! Cause you totally were NOT laying on him while painting your room!" I glare at Magenta. That girl has a knack for hitting the nail dead on! "Come on. Give a little here!" I huff. Okay so maybe there is a little something-something going on between Warren and me. We did confess to attraction, after all. But that still doesn't mean anything! Right?

"He was just helping me out!" please Goddess don't let me blush again! I can't handle having to pull the room temperature back again! Not to mention it's a hideous tell-tale sign...

"Suuure, of course. And you so totally didn't like it, right? You'd never do that again, even if your life depended on it, huh?" I hate Layla. I officially hate her. Uggh! Okay so I don't hate her. But she's still terribly infuriating!!!!!

"If my life depended on it, then yes! And besides, of course I liked it! This is Warren Peace we're talking about! This is the shameless guy who, by the way, has truly nothing to be ashamed of! The guy who gives the term 'hunk' a whole new meaning!" they are now nodding and laughing like crazy. "But what's that got to do with anything?" they shut up and look at me as if I were stupid. Goddess I get enough of that from Warren! I don't need it from these guys!

"You did not just ask that."

"Yes Maj, I did. So what?" Rogue snorts.

"SO, Logan told me about a certain... odour..." Oh. Fuck it! I'm so killing Logan! Or giving it a shot anyway! But the damage is done. Layla and Magenta now want to hear all about it. And Rogue was never one to deny people what they want... "Oh, you didn't know? Well, you see, this young lady here has a very particular sense of smell. And so does Logan. And Logan has told me that they have BOTH noticed that darling Sammy AND Warren are giving off a very particular smell." Yep, Logan AND Rogue are sooo dead!

"What smell?" Layla shush!

"It's nothing. Rogue here is just making it into a bigger deal than it really it!" I say, glaring daggers at said mutant.

"Oh am I? So this smell is not an indicator of lust?" Maj and Layla turn to me, gawking, jaws hanging languidly. OH. SHIT.

"A WHAT?!" we all cringe. As well as the people in the tables around us.

"Jeez, Layla! My ear drums! Remember my hearing is more sensitive than yours!"

"And if you won't do it for little Miss Sensitive, then do it for us mere mortals with normal senses who didn't know you could reach such decibels!" Rogue groans. Magenta nods enthusiastically, then immediately turns to me for an explanation. I cringe again.

"Ok, let's start with a basic here." Layla and Maj shuffle on their seats as they get comfy to listen to my explanation. "There a VERY few people who don't give off that smell around the world okay? VERY few. And that's because humans are... designed to feel lust on a daily basis. It just so happens that some feel it more strongly than others. As is my case. And Warren's. And any teenaged person really. But this smell is also a tell-tale sign of who you're lusting after. So, if you can catch it, you can also tell for who it is. It's actually really fun, cause all those girls at school cause a bit of a cloud of fog!" they both laugh. Then Maj get's "serious". Oh no...

"And... you're going to tell us that it's merely physical?" F. U. C. K... and ... YEP! I'm flushing again! Great. Just peachy. I pull the room temperature down again, pulling my own temperature further down. If this keeps up, by the time I get home, I'll be freezing! Which wouldn't be such a bad idea if you consider that Warren will probably offer his help... *sigh* uh oh! Mind-down-the-gutter alert! Whew! That was close. Only now do I realise that Layla, Magenta and Rogue are still waiting for an answer...

"Uhmmm, well, I... uhhh..." SHIT!!!! Make that a DOUBLE SHIT! They're staring at me like I'm about to declare we're engaged! Not that that would be a bad idea, if only for the look on their faces but... "Well what do you want me to SAY?!" Rogue snorts.

"Oh, I don't know? Maybe that you actually feel something for this guy?" I look at her.

"Please tell me you're not expecting me to say I love him or anything, cause I've barely known him for about a week!" they look at me as if I've lost my mind. WHEW! Cause if that was what they wanted me to say...

"Ever heard of love at first sight?" Layla asks in her annoying "silly" tone. So much for not wanting me to say I loved him...

"Well how am I supposed to know if I love him? And in any case, wouldn't it be a little early to tell?" there goes the staring again "Tell you what? I'm starting to get sick of people staring at me as if I'm crazy or stupid. The only one who get's away with that is Warren."

"Come again, say what?" they ask, with the cat-who-ate-the-canary smile. Did I really just say that out loud? Oh shit...

"Well, yeah, just like I'm the only one he takes shit from..." I say, trying to cover up the fact that Warren is indeed the only one I take any kind of shit from...

"Isn't that the most clear indicator that you have feelings towards him? He's important to you!" why do they do this? Is someone paying them for torturing me or is it just their own sadism?

"Yes, he is important to me." They smile. "That doesn't mean I love him!" they smile as if I was I child. "Does it?" damn them for making me doubt!

"It means you're well on your way." I look at Layla. Oh please no! How am I supposed to face Warren after this?! "Sam, take it from me. I started liking Will years ago. At first I thought, like you, that he was merely a friend, that he was important to me. But now I know I love him!" I huff. Why is life so complicated sometimes?!

"You said so yourself Layla. You started liking Will YEARS ago." Don't you just love denial? It's an awesome way to annoy the crap out of people. Did I just admit I'm IN denial?

"Yeah, ok, fine. I started years ago. But we didn't manage the relationship you have with Warren until years after either!" now I'm annoyed.

"So what? So because I managed a hot best friend in a week while it took you years to get Will to be your friend, it now means we'll confess our undying love for each other within the next month?" Maj and Rogue are laughing their asses off. Layla is just giggling.

"Perhaps!" I look at her, horrified. Not because of Warren. If anything I'm glad it's him and not some idiot from wherever. No, it's the fact that I've, apparently managed to fall for a guy in less than a week. And not even noticed. Of course the guy being Warren surely knows how to speed up the process but STILL!!! It's just a single fucking week! Rogue decides it's time she takes an active part in this conversation.

"Look, sweetheart, we're not saying that you ARE in love with him. At least not just yet. But you probably are falling in love with him. You can't deny that!" I hung my head, huffing. No, I most likely CAN'T deny that. But I sure as hell am going to try!

"But, how am I supposed to know if I am falling for the guy? Eh?" ok now they're all annoyed. SHIT! This can't be good. I can tell from my extensive experience in discussing feelings with Rogue and my limited though very accurate experience with Layla and Maj. Oh. Holy. Shit!

"Can you imagine your life without him?" I stare at Magenta, wanting to glare daggers at her but I can't help but ponder her question. Damn, I can't. WOW. Holy. Effing. SHIT. I AM falling in love with Warren. Oh, FUCK. I look back at them. I can tell by the look on their faces that the look on MY face is telling them everything they need to know.

"See? We are right!" She says.

"Oh Goddess. What am I gonna do? I can't just go back to the house and be near Warren, not when I'm such a mess! But, if I don't he's gonna know there's something wrong! And I can't go through a day anymore without one of his hugs or sexy comments! Wait did I just say that?" Rogue, Layla and Magenta burst out laughing. Apparently, I did just say that. Oh boy, I'm screwed. I put my head in my hands. Damn me and my stupid feelings!

"Sam? What's wrong?" I look at Layla.

"Well, as I said, I can't just let Warren read all this! And for that I'd need to stay away from him cause I've never been good at hiding my feelings! Or thoughts. And that just sucks cause I've gotten used to being around him the whole friggin' day! I even feel cold if he's not around! Metaphorically AND literally!" they all stare at me, aw-ing silently.

"So?" Useful as always Maj.

"SO, how can I go near him?! That would be like a... love declaration!"

"Again... SO?" I scoff

"THINK Maj! I don't want to ruin this! He's my best friend! And I love him! Goddess can this get any more clichéd!" hum... I was starting to miss using that word in reference to anything remotely bound to Sky High. Then I see them all looking at me as if their wildest dreams had come true. And then... I realise... "Did I just say I love him?" they nod enthusiastically. Oh crap. "Could this get any worse?!"

"I don't get it." When do you Layla? Ok so that was mean. But is just don't feel like being nice right now. "Why is this bad?"

"Because he doesn't like me like that!" I screech. People at other tables turn to look at me. I mouth sorry at them and they turn back to their foods. Meanwhile my friends are also staring at me. Again as if I was stupid. DUDE! I'm not! Warren said so! (Again with Warren!)

"Umm, do you hear yourself?" Yeah, I do. I lift an eyebrow at Magenta. She better get to her point soon enough. "You do realise that Warren is NOT a sociable person. And yet he started talking to you as soon as you sat down next to him in Mad Science." I shrug. So what?! Make your effing point! "Which means he must've felt attracted to you as soon as he saw you! And Warren doesn't do the I-just-want-to-get-into-your-pants sort of attraction! So he does like you that way!"

"I guess." They look at me. "I mean... *ugh* I know that he doesn't do that sort of attraction, cause if he did, he would've already been through most of the school's female population. But, does he really like me or is it just...? Oh I don't know!" Maj scoffs.

"Or is it just WHAT? What other type of attraction is there? There's just love and lust. And ruling out the possibility of it being pure lust, then the ONLY logical explanation is that it is BOTH! Besides, good love doesn't come without lust." I laugh out loud with that one. Leave it to Maj to clear up that a good relationship can't be without good sex. LOL.

"What? 'When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth'?" Rogue and Magenta roll their eyes, while Layla laughs.

"See? You're even as much of a bookworm as he is!" she says. I huff. Rogue looks up in interest.

"He's a bookworm?!" Layla, Maj and I nod.

"Oh yeah!"

Finally, we finish our lunch. Rogue pays for us, though Layla and Maj start complaining. But she pays anyways, for the mere reason that she's the oldest. Crazy but...

And now, we're back to Sam's-dress-hunt. Now that I've had my illuminating moment I'm more determined than ever to find the right dress. Problem is there must be a thousand dresses in this effing mall. And so, we enter store number one.

"Hi, we're looking for... prom dresses. You know, for a Homecoming dance?" the clerk looks at Rogue questioningly. "Oh not for me! For her!" she adds, pulling me in front of her as if I was some sort of shield. NOT! But the lady softens up, though she looks at my hair weirdly at first. I always turn heads whenever I go somewhere public. I've even had people walk up to me and ask where I got that hair dye, only to walk away dejectedly when I say it's natural. But it makes me feel proud that people want to have my hair colour. I love being me (contradictory much?)!

"Well, what exactly are we looking for?" I stop to think about that one. I have NO idea what I want. I just want to make Warren drool. If that's even possible. The guy's the most shameless and cool person I've ever met. I guess that just adds to the charm.

"Something... well let's start simple. Only floor length."

"OK, then, over here we have a few..." 'Kelly' says trailing off.

We have now been through FIVE dress stores. Why oh why is it so utterly IMPOSSIBLE to find a decent dress?! UGHHH!!! Damn it. I don't even know the colour of the dress!

"Well how about a short dress? We've seen plenty of gorgeous short ones!" Layla says ever the helpful one (and mind you there's no sarcasm there! She loves helping people!).

"But I don't want a short dress! Short dresses are... are... NO!" I whine. You know I'm tired when I'm whining. I NEVER whine!

"Well, how about we have another Starbucks, SITTING DOWN, and think it over?" Maj, I LOVE YOU!

So we do, exactly that. Once I'm sitting down, with a huge dark mocha frap, the world suddenly seems much better. Not as good as one of Warren's hugs but I have to make do with what I have. Did I really just think that? DUDE! Leave me here a few more weeks and I won't be able to live without the guy!

"Alright, let's decide the colour at least. We know it's floor length. Any other specifications so that we can, at least, move through stores faster?" Goddess I love these girls. No one else would put up with my whining self and still have energy to look for MY dress. I think, and think and think. And think a bit more. Then, I look out the window. It was a children's store. Selling things like school backpacks to plushy lunch boxes, with pictures of robots to Disney Princesses. Funny, I didn't know Meg was considered a Disney Princess. That's when it hits me! A Greek dress! YAY ME!!!

"Greek style!!!!!" they all jump and squeal. Well, Layla and Rogue do. Magenta simple sighs with relief.

"Greek... and colour?" Maj! Why ruin my happy mood? I haven't got a friggin' clue as to the colour!

"UGH! I don't know!" then Layla squeals again.

"WHITE! Or BLACK! Either one would go amazing with your hair!" See why I love these girls?! We clap and laugh. At least now we have somewhere to start!

And so, with renewed strengths we walk out of the Starbucks and re-start the dress hunt.

It's been about half an hour since we left the coffee shop and I have tried on a gazillion dresses already. Some of which were VERY good candidates. But for some reason or another, they were always discarded. I guess that, if in 1 hour, I don't find my dream dress I can always fall back on one of those. But at least we've made some progress.

"Hey, how 'bout this one?" I turn to were Rogue was pointing. It was a small store. With decent looking dresses. And there didn't seem to be too many people. I guess I won't hurt.

"Ok, let's go."

This store is awesome! All the dresses here look like they were taken out of princess movies or something! It is so effing cool! I'm so finding my dress here!

I walk towards the lady on the counter.

"Hi, uh, I'm looking for a dress. For my Homecoming dance. Anything that looks Greek styled and either black or white. Oh and floor length." she smiles.

"Sure, we have of those. Over here please." YAY!

Oh damn! There's a whole friggin' section on black and white Greek dresses! There's even Megan Fox's dress for the Transformers premiere! Which, by the way, is one of the best dresses I've ever seen! I call the girls over while I thank the lady and we start looking through the endless racks.

I have already been through a WHOLE rack, and mind you these things are like 6 feet long! All of a sudden I hear Layla squeal louder than she ever has. The first one "on scene" was Rogue. Then Maj. It takes me a while cause, believe it or not, the "Greek" section was the whole back side of the store. (Thinking things over, this place isn't as small.) I never thought Rogue and Magenta could squeal. It must be a helluva dress!

And it is! OH MY GODDESS!!!!! It's the perfect dress! White, embellished bust in silver sequins, empire waist, layered and pleated skirts and floor length!!!!!! Gorgeous! Warren was going DOWN...

I grab the dress and run to try it on. Inside the changing room, I run my hands over the cloth. It feels so soft and smooth! I throw it over my head and zip it up. It fits like a charm. I squeal, very un-like me. Then I realise: I need shoes! I step out of the changing room and twirl so the Layla, Magenta and Rogue can appreciate this beauty. They clap and giggle.

"You're going to make every single guy in that party drool!" Rogue exclaims. I smirk.

"Perhaps. But there's only one I'm interested in..." the clerk lady comes over.

"Oh, it looks perfect!" I smile at her.

"Do you have any shoes that could go with this?" the girls nod and gasp. The clerk smiles kindly and leads us to the shoe section. This time, I'm the first one to see the perfect shoes. I let out a small shriek and point and jump up and down. Layla immediately sees them and starts jumping up and down with me. Rogue and Maj see them and agree. This is perfect! High heeled gladiator style sandals!!!! Which is perfect because the dress, gorgeous as it is, is still a bit long for me. I'm not exactly short, at 5'7", 5'8", but I'm not the tallest person either. So this suits me perfectly! Awesome. I try on the shoes. Perfect fit. The dress stops as soon as it touches the floor with these sandals on. Finally! I quickly go back in and change into my own clothes. Then I go to the counter and pay up. Can you believe that this dress and these shoes, in all their Greek glory, aren't really expensive?!

At long last, we are now looking for Logan and Remy. I bet they've gone crazy by now. It's been nearly 8 hours since we came. It's now 6 o'clock. And I'm pooped! Anyway. We go back to the food court where, sure enough, they are sitting, stuffing themselves with burgers. They've apparently had 2 each, and that's only right now. There is no telling how much they've had throughout the whole day. Sometimes I hate men and their ability to eat as much as they want and not gain a pound.

"Logan! Remy!" they look up and wave at us. Then, their eyes fall on the loads of bags we have. They look very funny with wide eyes. To tell the truth we haven't JUST shopped for dress. I mean, you can't just shop for a dress and expect it to look good! So we've bought special underwear at a lingerie shop, we bought shoes, of course, we bought (DUH!) the dresses, jewellery, make up... you know. The basics. LOL. I love Sunday Shopping!

It's now 7 and we are finally back at Will's. Mr. and Mrs. Stronghold come out to say high to Logan, Remy and Rogue and invite them for a cup of coffee. As the adults move to the sitting room, they kick Warren and Will out. Grumbling, the boys meet us at the bottom of the stairs. Then, something happens, which has never happened before. My heart does what feels like an aerial as soon as I see Warren. DAMN REALISATIONS!!!

"Hey there Tempest." He says, pulling me into a one-armed hug. I shiver uncontrollably, one, because it's Warren, and two, because, thanks to all the blushing and the pulling my temperature down, I'm now way bellow a person's normal temp. Warren immediately notices and holds me at arm's length. "What's with the cold?" OMG is he worried? Yes he is! OMG!!! Did I really just think 'OMG'? DUDE! Pull yourself together Sam. He can't know, 1 and 2... I can't think of a good 2 right now. I can see the girls smirking like mad, Layla already attached to Will. DAMN IT! "Tempest? You still with me?" forever! Did I just think that? I shake my head.

"What? Oh, yeah! Sorry. Air-headed moment." Magenta and Layla snort and I try to turn to glare at them but Warren pulls me back to look into my eyes. WHY DOES HE HAVE TO KNOW ME SO WELL?! Oh Goddess, those brown eyes.

"Are you ok? You seem... scared..." SHIT he's trying to read me! No, Warren, please don't! Please!

"Scared? Why would I be scared? And as for the cold you can blame these two for causing flukes in the temperature. Or causing ME to fluke the room temperature. So I ended I little colder than usual. That's all." I smile as convincingly as I can. I can tell he doesn't buy that I'm not scared but the temperature fluke thingy is more than likely true so he let's that go.

'I'll make you spill later.' SHIT. Then I forget that the world is big and nasty as he pulls me into a warm bear hug, literally warming me up in seconds. I let it wash over me, feeling as each and every one of my worries melts away. I end up so relaxed that the only thing holding me up is Warren. As usual. I sigh contently and we pull away simultaneously.

"Come on, I bet hippie and purple girl are bugging Will with details of your shopping trip." I laugh and we walk up the stairs. We walk into Will's room and all three look up and lift an eyebrow. I look at Warren. He shrugs.

"Awww." We look at Layla who's looking at somewhere near my hip. I look. I gasp. I flush. We're holding hands. Why am I flushing is beyond me cause we've done it before. But now... OH FUCK. Fortunately, Warren's gotten used to dealing with my changes in temperature so he cancels me out. I let go as naturally as possible and walk over to the girls.

"Hey, Tempest, what am I supposed to do with these?" I turn to him. Oh right! He's holding all my bags. In one hand and with no apparent effort by the way. Which is something cause in those bags are my dress, my shoes, my lingerie, my jewellery, my make up and my etceteras. I was struggling with them.

"Could you be loveable and take them to my room?" he smiles, shaking his head, then turns and walks to my room. I hear him opening the door and dropping them on my bed, then shutting the door and walking back. All this time, I'm more than aware of the HUGE smirks on Magenta's Layla's and Will's faces. Dude! Gimme a rest! I bet they've already told Will about today's enlightening lunch. I'm going to kill these guys!

"What's with the smirks?" I hear Warren asking as he throws his arm over my shoulders. Hiding a shiver, I nearly cringe at the range of answers this question could cause, but luckily, Mrs. Stronghold comes up at that very moment.

"Sammy, they're leaving now." my anger is lost. I don't want them to leave. I mean, I know they have to but... do they have to? I feel Warren squeezing my shoulder. Only now do I feel how much I really feel for this guy. I look up to him smiling in thanks. Suddenly, I see something in his eyes. Something I've never seen before. I always knew he cared. But this look makes it... tangible. I can feel how much he cares. And it's breath-taking. "Sam?" I turn to Mrs. Stronghold and nod wiping my eyes discreetly. As it happens, the breath-taking part was quite literal. I start panting air back into my lungs. I feel his chest shaking with quiet chuckles. I turn back to Warren and smile. A quick look into his eyes shows me that the care is still there. Maybe it's always been there. I feel warm inside.

Finally, I pull myself together and walk down the stairs. Rogue, Remy and Logan are waiting by the door. I gulp. I feel unsure of when I'll see them again. I gulp again, take a deep breath and walk over to say goodbye. I know Logan said he'd come by every weekend. But he can't. This is an underground war. And you can't fight a war and make social visits. He can't keep this up. None of them can...

I walk over to Rogue and hug her as tight as I can. She hugs back as tightly as she can without skin-to-skin contact. I start getting teary eyes.

"Bye Rogue. Take care of yourself girl. Thanks for today." She looks at me with a caring expression. She gets what I'm trying to tell. Let's hope she and Remy can make Logan understand. He's hard-headed like that.

"Don't worry about me sweetie. I can't be touched remember?" I chuckle, and her reminder of how powerful we all are makes me feel a bit better. We do have an advantage. And with Jean, we should have this thing in the bag. But we're supposed to make them understand, not kill them. So I can't help but have a bad feeling about it. I move over to Remy. He's already waiting with open arms.

"Bye Remy. Thanks for everything. Take care. You're not allowed to have anything happen to you!" I say, trying to lighten my own mood. He chuckles and hugs me.

"Don't worry, Cherie. Don't worry about anything. I'll make the big guy see sense even if I have to knock it into his armour-plated head." I laugh quietly. I can hear Layla, Maj, Will and Warren saying their own goodbyes to Logan and Rogue. I let go of Remy, take another deep breath, and move on to Logan. Oh boy. Please don't let me cry.

"Bye, Logan. Don't get too roughed up, will you? I kinda like you in one piece. And focus on the war. I'm well looked after here." His hug is tighter than the others. At this rate, I won't be able to hold in the waterworks much longer.

"I know what you're trying to get to with this, kiddo. And I'm not gonna let ya." I open my mouth to complain but he gets there first. "I told you I would come every weekend, and I WILL come every weekend. I will keep to my promise."

"Well I release you from your promise. This war is more important. You're one of our best fighters. I want you to focus on this. For me." He sighs. It would seem I got the point through.

"I will call you every weekend and call and come if things are calm enough. Deal?" I nod. At least I made some progress.

"Deal." I get a final group hug and I watch as they go back to their car. They are to drive the car back to the rental store, then meet up with Kurt. He'll take them back to wherever their HQs are right now.

A solitary tear runs down my face as I watch them drive away. Goddess only knows when I'll see them again. I feel Warren's arms around my waist. I turn around and allow him to engulf me in another hug. The rest leave us be and go back to whatever they were doing before.

We stay like this for I don't know how long. I'm just letting his warmth envelop me and ease my worry away. Finally, I'm ready to pull away and he lets me go. I start to walk away when he grabs my hand. I look at him in confusion. What... is this about?

"We have stuff to talk about remember?" his smirk is back in place.

Oh. Holy. Fucking. Shit...

A/N: Yes, I know, I've been very nasty and haven't updated in a long, long while, but you can blame all that on my IB exams! Now that that's over, new chapters will come more often but don't push me, I beg of you. After those exams, my brain's still a bit too dry for imagination to flow as it used to. And with all the partying and celebrating, I'll be a bit short on energies. But I promise not to let more than 2 weeks go by with out an update!!!!! Thanks to all my reviewers and to everybody else who is following the story! You guys are the best!

Toodles!