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~M~
~M~
Chapter Ten
"Here's to coming in 3rd!" Amara grinned, holding up a juice box of orange juice. "Again!"
"We should toast to having a fun day," Kurt corrected, lifting his own box of juice. "Not all of us came in the top three."
"We came second," I smiled, shaking my box of apple juice. I was surprised we managed to place. I didn't do all that great in the running events, but I got second in long jump. The boys and Mercury did really well in their events, giving our team an over all place of second. After the winning teams were announced, Bobby went off to shower before we had our alone time. I went back to the girls' wing with Amara and Kurt. Kurt was gonna help Amara out with some geography homework. We were surprised to see Cecilia in the common room, already surrounded by books that were geography based. Amara found it as a perfect opportunity and asked to join her so that they could all study, after they showered of course. She had reluctantly agreed, and only talked when she was asked a question or read out something interesting. I just stuck around because I realized I didn't do much studying myself, and Bobby hadn't come yet.
"Then to a fun day," Amara grinned, hitting her box against ours before drinking form it. "Okay, so...Jefferson City is the capital of...Nevada?"
"No, the capital of Nevada is Carson City," Cecilia corrected, not looking up from her text book. "Jefferson City is the capital of Missouri."
"Dang it," Amara grumbled, scribbling on her paper.
"Um, is that what we're even studying right now?" I asked, giving her a look.
"No...but I just wanted to know," she grinned widely, opening up her text book.
"Your knight approaches," Kurt smirked, nodding toward the staircase. I looked over, feeling anxiety in my chest when I saw him. He was smiling, not a very big one, but a smile nonetheless.
"Hey," I grinned, getting up.
"Sorry I took so long," he said, scratching his head. "The showers kind of broke down, and Professor Rasputin had to fix them."
"Oh, that's no problem," I replied, laughing inside.
"It was only a matter of time," Kurt said, wiggling his pencil between his fingers as he read his book. "That system had been acting weird for months. I tried to warn someone. How'd it end up breaking?"
"Let's just say the constant use of cold water caused the pipes to be very flimsy, and crack just as James was using it," Bobby shrugged, looking a little amused. My mouth dropped open in shock.
"You didn't!" I gasped, mouth still hanging open.
"Like Kurt said, it was only a matter of time," he replied, taking my hand. "You ready to go."
"Yes, of course," I smiled, but also felt kind of stupid. I actually didn't know where we were going. I mean, sure we were going to talk, but we didn't actually talk about where we were going to go. Perhaps he had already chosen a place? I wasn't sure if I should ask.
"You two have fun," Kurt chimed, looking up to wink at us.
"Don't stay out too late now," Amara teased. Cecilia just slightly raised her hand goodbye, not looking up from her books.
"So, where are we going?" I decided to ask. Better that than stay uncomfortably silent.
"You'll see," he replied, giving me a half smile. "In fact..." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a a scarf, which I automatically knew the use of it was.
"Oh no," I said, shaking my head. "I like seeing where I'm going."
"But I want to surprise you," he said, blinking in surprise, not expecting my reaction.
"W-well I might phase or something." I quickly came up with that as an excuse. I didn't actually know if I would, probably wouldn't, but I just didn't like having my vision taken away from me.
"Please?" he asked again, holding out the blind fold. I hesitated. There was nothing wrong with wearing it. He would keep me safe, and if I needed to, I could take it off myself or phase through it...What if I phased off my clothes as well?
"O-okay," I sighed, nodding. He smiled, and I turned around so he could tie it over my eyes, cutting off my vision.
"How do you want me to lead you?" he asked, his hands on my shoulders. "Do you want me to guide you with my hands on your shoulders, or by holding your hand?"
"Shoulders is fine," I answered, hands out in front of me just in case. He lightly urged me forward, and I stepped forward, very worried I was going to trip on something. We only turned a couple of corners before we reached there destination.
"Be careful of the door frame," Bobby warned. I moved my hands around until I found it, and then took a careful step in.
"Can I take it off now?" I asked, already reach to remove it.
"No," he said, catching my hands. "You have to move over here first." I shuffled in the direction he pulled me, now curious as to what the secrecy was for. I hadn't really thought about it because I was worried about not tripping, phasing, or bumping into anything. We were here now, and I was very curious.
"Okay," he announced, undoing, the blindfold, and letting it fall. I blinked a few times to adjust to the light, and my mouth hung open in surprise. We were in the kitchen, and set up on the floor was a blanket with a candle, two empty glasses, and two plates with covers on them. What surprised me the most was the sentiment behind it. It was set up right in front of the fridge, which was were we had our first kiss.
"Surprised?" Bobby asked, looking satisfied with my reaction.
"I-I totally wasn't expecting it," I replied, my hands clasped against my chest. "You cooked to?"
"Yeah, I tried," he nodded. "I mean, I cooked quiet a lot at home. Haven't in awhile, so I'm abit rust."
"Cooking's like riding a bike," I shrugged, sitting down. "It's something you can't really forget. I bet you did a good job."
"Well, you can be the judge," he smiled, sitting next to me. He lifted the covers off of the plates, revealing mashed potatoes, and pieces of chicken. "And I have..." He quickly reached over to the fridge and opened it, pulling out a bottle of pop, "Sprite. I hope that's okay."
"Yeah, that's perfect," I nodded. I tried my best to avoid coloured pops, not sure why, just preference, so Sprite was perfect. He poured some each into our glasses, and I picked up my plate and placed it on my lap. I tried the potatoes first, which were really fluffy and creamy. "I knew these would be good," I smiled.
"I'm glad," Bobby smiled, picking up his own plate. "So um, what did you want to talk about? I mean, what did you want to know?"
"Oh, well you can tell me anything," I shrugged. "Like where did you come from?"
"I'm from Long Island actually," he replied, pulling his chicken into small pieces. Lived there with my parents."
"Oh, what are they like?" I asked cheerfully. He'd never spoken about them, to anyone that I know of, and I was very interested in them. Bobby hesitated with his reply, and I could tell I wasn't going to like his answer.
"They don't like...the whole me being a mutant thing," he finally said, poking at his potatoes. "When they found out they...kind of freaked."
"Yeah, that seems to be a common thing to do when you discover your kid is a mutant," I agreed, thinking about how my parents reacted when they found me in the basement the next morning, my blanket hanging through the ceiling.
"No, I mean...they really freaked...like wanted to kick me out of the house right then and there," he continued, looking grim. I had to admit this was some pretty heavy stuff to be talking about right away, but I was eager to hear what happened, and was glad he was talking about this. "You see, my family is private. We like to keep to ourselves, and don't have many friends, just those of families my grandparents knew and stuff. I had friends of course at school, but I didn't tell a lot about myself because my parents wanted to remain private. Didn't understand why...but when my powers were discovered...well that just shot privacy to the wind."
"Everyone found out huh?" I asked, remembering to eat the food that still sat on my plate.
"Yeah," Bobby nodded. "When people fond out, people figured my parents were so private because of me, but they didn't even know about my powers, and it was a big scandal in the news letter at the club they go to. When it happened I..." His face looked so sad, I reached out a hand and touched his encouragingly.
"It's okay," I said. "You don't have to say anymore."
"I just...felt I let them down...," he sighed, squeezing my hand. "They liked keeping to themselves, and then suddenly they're in the middle of this big thing, and people are harassing them...They wanted to get rid of me, I know it, but that would only draw more attention to them. Professor X found me, and so I came here. I don't actually go home during the summer. I stay with Ray." I honestly didn't know what to say. Everything I came up with sounded cliche and stupid. I didn't expect him to get into all of that, but just simple mundane stuff for now. I felt guilty not knowing what to say. Bobby was then looking at me with a sad half-smile.
"I'm sorry I just dumped all of that," he apologized.
"Oh, no that's okay," I smiled. "Sometimes when the floodgates open, stuff just flows out. I'm sorry I don't really know what to say."
"Well, you listening is nice," he said, squeezing my hand again. "How about you tell me stuff about your family? Unless they're basket cases like mine."
"My family..well I guess, worked out the mutant thing a bit better," I replied, scratching my head.
"That's good," he replied, working on his food again. Tell me about them.
~X~
We spent a couple more hours together, talking about things like our old schools, and childhood memories, making sure to focus more on the positive things. I returned to the common room, parting with Bobby at the stairs, and was surprised to find that it was empty. I heard music coming from Amara's room, and figuring she was done studying for the night, I lightly knocked on it, then peeked inside. Kurt was also inside with Jubilee and Alison, and to my surprise, Cecilia. Amara was dancing to the music, with some choreography that looked like it was put together when she was younger. Cecilia and Kurt were laughing, and clapping to the beat encouragingly, as Alison and Jubilee created a light show. Cecilia was the first to notice me, and she instantly clammed up, and stared down at the ground.
"Kitty!" Amara grinned, turning to see me. "Come join the party!"
"What's the occasion?" I laughed, coming inside and closing the door behind me.
"We decided to take a break from studying," Kurt explained, turning down the music.
"We hurt the beats bumpin', so we had to join in," Alison grinned, flicking a purple light.
"And I thought I'd show off a dance some friends and I came up with back in like grade 5," Amara giggled. "We also needed to pull Cecilia away from those books. I swear, I could see the reflection of text in her eyes." Cecilia stared at the floor awkwardly, clasping her hands together.
"No need to get all nervous," Jubilee smiled encouragingly. "It's just Kitty."
"You should have seen her earlier," Amara whispered to me. "It was like she was an entirely different person. Singing and everything."
"Really?" I blinked in surprise, wishing I had seen it.
"So how'd your date with Bobby go?" Jubilee asked, jumping up on Amara's bed in excitement. "I heard you guys were gonna have one! What happened? Are the bottles empty?" I saw Cecilia look up, confused by the reference.
"Well, I think there was really only one bottle," I laughed, sitting on the floor, "but yeah, it was emptied. We talked."
"What about?" Alison wondered.
"Well...," I hesitated, not really sure if I should tell them everything.
"Why don't I let you girls have your 'girl talk'," Kurt chuckled. "I'll be off now. Thanks for studying with us today Cecilia."
"Welcome," she mumbled, looking down again.
"Not man enough to stay?" Amara teased, doing a few little moves to the music that was still playing.
"Nah, but I do have to hang out with my boys today, as much as I love being with you ladies," he smiled, bowing slightly. "Good night."
"Night," we chorused, before he vanished in a small puff of smoke.
"Deets, deets, deets!" Jubilee shouted with each jump on the bed.
"Well we talked about our pasts," I shrugged, tyring to remain as vague as possible. "You know, family, friends, were we grew up. Stuff like that."
"That sounds boring," Alison said, making a face.
"It was actually pretty fun," I smiled, playing over the evening in my head. "He made mashed potatoes and chicken, and we ate on a blanket on the kitchen floor, and he had a candle, and we drank Sprite."
"Awww," Amara gushed. "That's where your first kiss was!"
"Really?" Jubilee gasped, finally dropping down to lay on the bed on her stomach. "That's so romantic!"
"Yeah it was," I nodded, feeling my face get warm.
"Aww, you're blushing," Amara teased, poking my shoulder.
"Stop," I laughed, unable to hide my huge smile.
"I have to admit it was better than I expected," Alison nodded. "Guys are thoughtful here."
"Not all guys," Amara corrected, making a face. I knew exactly who she was talking about. Scott, and maybe even Ray. She didn't like either of them. Cecilia still sat awkwardly against the wall, and I had to admit I forgot she was there, but I smiled at her and tried striking up conversation.
"So Cecilia, where do you come from?" I asked.
"...Puerto Rico," she muttered. It was quiet, but it was a response.
"You know your powers are really cool," Jubilee smiled. "Can you only make a force field around you? Or can you make it around others?"
"W-well...," she hesitated, playing with her braids nervously. "I haven't done many experiments with my abilities, but so far, I can only make a force field so long as I'm in it. I can shield others as well, but the bigger I make it, the harder it is to keep solid."
"That's pretty cool," Amara grinned. "I bet it's strong enough to stop a car from hitting you huh?"
"Actually, it could be, but I'm sure it would still cause me damage," she continued, speaking more clearly. "You see, if my force field is hit, it causes me pain. Not as much as it would if I were to get hit to begin with, but pain just the same. Like I said, I haven't done many experiments yet."
"That's bogus," Alison huffed, scratching her head. "If you were to get shot by bullets or something, it would protect you from harm, but you'd still feel pain? That's a pretty unfair power."
"How about we go do some experiments?" I suggested, leaning forward.
"Really?" Cecilia blinked, looking at me in surprise.
"Sure," I shrugged. "I mean, what better time than now? You're thinking about it, and we can help you out.
"That's be fun," Amara nodded, clapping her hands together. "I'm in! How about you guys?"
"I'm down," Jubilee grinned, giving us a thumbs up.
"Sure," Alison shrugged.
"Wow, um, thanks...," Cecilia said, smiling slightly.
"Anytime," I smiled encouragingly. "Alright, let's go change into out gym outfits, then meet in the common room."
"Why the uniforms?" Alison grimaced. "Can't we wear our own stuff?"
"If you have any athletic clothes go ahead," Amara shrugged, "and if anyone asks, we're taking a jog...This will be a secret mission!"
"Mission: Force field!" Jubilee giggled, knowing it sounded kind of lame.
"Where are we going to do this?" Alison asked, lifting an eyebrow. "The Danger Room will mostly likely be taken."
"Nah, Emma said they were going out for some late night bonfire, kind of like what we did," Amara explained. We all looked at her, a bit surprised she knew this. "Those darn Hellfire jerks!" she quickly add, forcing a frown.
~X~
The five of us, dressed in out gym outfits and carrying things Cecilia asked us to gather for the experiments, entered the Danger Room, and to our relief, it was empty. Cecilia was well organized with a couple note books, and quite a few scenarios planned out. She must have had this planned out for a long time. We started off with how big she could create the force field with just herself inside, then with one person inside with her, and so on, trying different combinations like that. Then we tested the fore fields strength as it grew. We used a ball to test this. Alison had volunteered to throw the ball, and I must say, she had a wicked arm, and Cecilia flinched every time it hit her field.
We continued on, testing a few other aspects, and I promptly recorded it all in one of her notebooks. Cecilia frequently checked over to make sure the observations were correct. We continued on like that for about over an hour until Amara got an idea.
"What about temperature?" she suggested. "You think we should test for that?"
"You mean like using my field to keep my warm?" Cecilia asked, sounding intrigued.
"Well, I actually mean like, how much heat your field can take before it like, melts or something," she explained. "I could help out with that."
"The last time you showed off your powers you nearly killed Remy and burned part of the school," Alison replied, lifting an eyebrow.
"I wasn't gonna use lava," Amara snapped. "I was just gonna use my fire."
"I think that's a good idea," Jubilee spoke up, nodding her approval. "Though I think there's more motive to your suggest."
"What ever could you be talking about?" Amara asked, trying to sound innocent.
"You're trying to get some practice in too aren't you?" I smiled, putting my hands on my shoulders.
"Is it so wrong?" she pouted. "I mean, we don't get to do this type of stuff in gym. I'd like to take advantage of this opportunity."
"I don't mind," Cecilia shrugged. "Looking nervous. Just...just back off when I ask...okay?"
"Of course," Amara replied, looking surprised.
"Alright then," she nodded. "So far we have deducted that the large I make my field, the weaker it is, and we can assume that the same will happen with the heat experiment, so we will just do one run of it."
"Sounds good," Amara nodded, stretching her arms. Putting a thermometer around her neck, Amara followed Cecilia so that they were a good distance away from us.
"Think this is going to work?" Jubilee asked, leaning against a table.
"Let's hope so," I said, actually not sure how this was going to play out.
"Don't forget to take into account that I have been using my powers for awhile now," Cecilia said, getting ready, "so I might give out sooner than anticipated.
"No problem," Amara nodded. "I'll start off easy." Both stood ready, and Cecilia surrounded herself with a purple dome, and brought it as close to her as she could. Breathing slowly, Amara put her hands on the field and concentrated. Her hands instantly turned to flames, and Cecilia squealed, tripping backwards, and the force field happened.
"What happened?" Jubilee gasped, rushing over.
"I-I'm sorry," Cecilia stammered. "I-I think that should be all for today."
"I'm so sorry if I hurt you!" Amara panicked, the fire now gone.
"N-no it's okay," she said, getting up slowly. "I just wasn't properly prepared, a-and I'm tired from all the other tests. Perhaps another time we can do tests pertaining to the powers of other."
"Yeah, you can even test if Kitty can phase through it or not," Jubilee smiled encouragingly.
"That would be interesting," I nodded with interest. "You know, doing this was actually a lot of fun."
"Yes...yes it was," Cecilia nodded, gathering her things.
"You sure you're okay?" Amara asked again, looking really guilty.
"Yes, I am fine," she nodded again. "Thank you. I appreciate the help you all lent me. I feel I know my powers a bit better. I hope I can return the favour soon."
"Oh, we'll definitely come to you," Jubilee grinned. "You're so organized, and know the proper procedures for experiments and stuff. You must get perfect grades in everything."
"Of course," Cecilia replied, looking down at the floor. "I need to be perfect to become a doctor."
"You wanna be a doctor?" I asked, a bit envious. I didn't know what I wanted to be. I didn't really have any dedicated hobbies, or any dreams of the future. All I could do was slip through walls, and I doubted that could get me a career in anything.
"Yes," she replied simply. "Now, if you'll excuse me." She turned to leave the room, and jumped back when the doors suddenly opened, actually surprising all of us.
"And what are you guys doing in here?" It was Longshot, and he was standing with Havok, Quicksilver, someone I didn't recognize, and to my dismay, John.
"We're using a facility which is available to all students," Alison snapped, folding her arms over her chest, with her chin in the air. Jubilee took a similar stance, and I could tell it wasn't the first time stuck up to people together.
"Well the Hellfire Club has high priority over you twerps," Havok said, narrowing his eyes. "So I suggest you get along, little girls, and not make us angry."
"What? No more kids for you to bully on the playground so you pick on 'little girls'," Amara taunted, standing with the other two girls. Cecilia had run and hidden behind them, and I found myself just standing to the side awkwardly.
"We have just as much right to be here as you do," Jubilee nodded.
"B-but we're d-done...," Cecilia whispered, earning a choir of 'sh' from the other girls.
"We don't want to cause a scene now girls,' John said calmly, stepping forward. "So we'll ask yo again kindly, to please leave."
Amara's hands turned to fire, followed by Jubilee's hands giving off sparks. "Or what?" she challenged.
My heartrate sped up. That was exactly how she challenged Ray all the time, but I doubted it would have the same outcome of friends interfering, or just shrugging it off. The only ones that really had offensive abilities were Amara and Jubilee, and Cecilia, mine, and even Alison's were just defensive. I doubted we'd be able to fight against John's fire, Longshot's incredible aim, Quicksilver's speed, the other guy's unknown ability, and Havok's crazy powers. He went to Omega level for crying out loud. I quietly prayed that the guys would have the decency to not attack a group of girls, but from the glint in John's eye, I could tell that wasn't going to happen.
"Well we'd hate to pass up a challenge," he grinned, summoning his own fire, and in one motion, sent the flames flying at them.
~X~
AN: Yes, I said pop instead of soda. I heard saying soda was an American thing, not sure if it's true. I know since they are in New York I should have had them say 'soda' then, but meh. I'm Canadian and 'pop' just comes naturally. Lol Thanks for reading and I'd like some constructive criticism about what you like and what I should work on. Editing is a given. hehe