CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

After Victor had left, Logan turned toward the pouting teenager in the corner. "You done yet?"

Jubilee glared back. "I can't believe you let him walk out of here! He's Sabretooth! You know, the guy you've hated for like ever, the guy who keeps trying to kill you! What were you thinking?"

"Jubes, right now, he's helping-"

"He's helping a jerk putting the moves on Betsy's sister-in-law. You know what? I don't even want to talk to you right now."

"That's fine but you better not be plannin' on wakin' up Bets."

Jubile crossed her arms, her glare bordering on lethal. "What if I am? You're not the boss of me and someone around her should actually be on her side. You and the walking hair mountain obviously aren't."

Logan growled. One of these days that mouth and temper of hers were going to get her killed. Considering what was about to come to a head today, it was looking to be sooner. "Kid, you really don' know-"

"I'm not a kid!" Her eyes filled with tears. "When are you going to figure that out?" The smell of sorrow filled the room.

Logan rubbed his hands roughly over his face. "Jubes...Jubilee. You don' think you're a kid but you are. This," He waved a hand around to indicate the entire situation, "Shows it. You're throwing a temper tantrum because things ain't going yo'r way even then you've been warned yo'r way is dangerous and will cause hurt."

She glared at him mutinously. "Hey, X-men risk their lives for what they believe in."

"Yeah, but we don' throw them away for a damn tantrum. You followed Sabretooth around knowing it would probably piss him off. You have done your damnedest to piss him off and the only reason he ain't killed ya is that it would upset Bets."

She smirked, "It wasn't that dangerous. You're around and you'd never let him hurt you."

"Yeah, I'd stop him if I was in the room but that ain't reality. He could kill ya easy before I even knew you were in trouble. Remember, I was at the mansion when he gutted Betsy. You think I let her get hurt on purpose? But, no, you don' think 'bout that, do ya?" He knew he should stop before he said something he would regret but, damn it, she wasn't listening to nice. "You never think 'bout nothing 'cept what you want 'nd then throw a damn tantrum when it don' happen!"

She was on her feet in seconds, right in his face. "How dare you say that? You don't even know how much I care about you or else why would I have gotten you out of the mansion?"

"I know you think you're in love with me-"

"I am in love with you!"

"No. You're not. You wouldn' be tryin' t'get me in jail if you were."

"What?"

"This is part of what I meant by you don' think of anyone but yourself. You are 15 and I am decades beyond 18. Even if I could see you as somethin' other than a kid, which I can', if we did anything, it's illegal in most of the world and should be illegal in the rest. You've been trying t'get me locked up and you never even cared. You never even thought about what it would mean to me if I gave into what you wanted, how much shit I'd be in with the law, with the other X-men, with humanity in general for messing with a kid. You never once thought 'bout what it would do to me or if I could even think of you that way. Love means thinkin' 'bout that other person before yourself which is part of bein' an adult."

Her breath hitched in anger, her eyes as wide as if he'd hit her. "That's not true. 'Cause...cause if it was, Sabretooth-"

"You don' know that situation. He's been doin' what he can to protect her from the fact her brother is a no good creep. He's managed not to even try to kill you, me or Brian because of her. If that ain't putting Betsy before himself, I don' know what is."

Tears streamed down her cheeks and he longed to pull her into a hug, to comfort her but he couldn't do it. The animal inside him might view her as something more but he wasn't an animal. He was a man and she was a kid who didn't even understand what she was asking for, didn't even have a clue about what love and relationships really meant.

He knew he was doing the right thing but the look of betrayal in her eyes as she turned and fled his room still cut him deep.