By: Cierce
Summary: Jubilee returns to the X-Men for a reunion.
Rated: G
"Huhuhuhmm," Bobby cleared his throat,
"Hi Cyke! What's up?"
"The sky." Bobby groaned inwardly. Yup,
Scott's in a good mood. Why else would he make corny jokes? He
tried again,
"How was the grocery store?" Scott's eyes lit
up, and Bobby smiled. Bingo. Houston, we have
contact.
"I found the best discount on artichoke
hearts! Two jars for a dollar! I bought ten jars of course.
Honestly I don't know what they were thinking when they priced them."
Bobby secretly grimaced. Maybe they were thinking no one wants to eat
these, lets put them on sale. Instead he said,
"That's great! Scott, I've got a question for
you."
"Shoot." Scott answered from the
pantry. Bobby took a deep breath.
"If someone makes a promise, but they take longer than
they thought they would to answer it, is it still good? I mean say this
person, who incidentally is my friend, promised something, but almost didn't
pull through." Scott looked at Bobby.
"Did they keep their promise?"
"Yeah, only they were about two years late."
Scott sighed.
"Bobby, what promise did you almost break?"
Bobby shook his head,
"Not me!"
"Ok, who."
"Promise you won't get mad?" Bobby looked at
Scott. Scott sighed, this was getting irritating.
"I promise. Now, WHO?" Breathe
Bobby. Breathe Bobby. Breathe Bobby. Breathe Bobby.
"Jubilee." Scott's face went white. Uh
oh. Not a good sign.
"Explain." Scott's voice was cold.
"Paige-invited-Jubilee-to-the-wedding-and-she-acepted-and-is-going-to-be-a-bridesmaid..."
Bobby took a deep breath and continued, "and-guess-what,
she's-here!" Scott's face took an unnatural purple shade.
Suddenly, thanks to Murphy's wonderful law, Anne came into the room, arms full
of cleaning supplies. Scott was at the end of his rope and glared at the
girl.
"WHAT are you doing!?" Anne faltered, and
nearly dropped the Cinch.
"C-Cleaning." Anne looked slightly
pale. She'd only been here a week, and had never seen Scott this mad - not
even when Bobby had put peanut butter in his shoes!
"Where." Scott's voice cut across the room
like a hot knife through butter.
"Upstairs..."Anne faded off. Scott needed to
here no more. He took off for the staircase. Bobby chased after him.
"Anne!" he called, "Get Hank! Go to
Jube's room!" Anne ran for the furry scientist.
* * * * * * * * *
Hank McCoy was busy cleaning a small chemical spill on his
lab table, when the door burst open. He looked up to see Anne's pale face,
and large grey eye's.
"Anne, whatever seems to-" Hank was cut off.
"Beast, stop Scott...Jubilee -" Hank needed
to hear no more. He was already halfway up the stairs. Oh my
stars and garters. I was afraid this would happen!
* * * * * * * * *
Scott ran up the stairs two at a time. He could
hear Bobby calling to him to settle down. But this time he would not be
the quiet, calm one... He reached Jubilee's door and opened it rather
forcefully.
Jubilee spun around as the door opened, nearly dropping the
armload of trinkets she held. When she saw Scott, she forgot about her
load, and let them fall to the ground.
"Hi..." Jubilee gave Scott a weak
smile. "Long time no see..."
"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Scott
shouted, his fists shaking with anger. Bobby appeared at the door behind
him, followed by Anne and Hank.
"Perhaps, my friend, this would be better discussed -
" Hank was interrupted by a loud,
"SHUT UP!" from Scott.
"Look Cyke, I won't yell if you don't! Just listen
to me for once damnit!" Jubilee's outburst startled Scott.
"Fine." Scott's voice went cold, and his eyes
were slits under his shades.
"What do you want to know." This wasn't a
question, nor was it the same Jubilee that Hank once knew talking. This
was a grown woman.
"Why are you back?" Scott's voice hung ice on
every word.
"Paige invited me."
"WHAT!" Scott began to turn purple
again. "I FORBADE ALL CONTACT WITH YOU!"
"PERHAPS THAT WAS WHY ANNE DIDN'T KNOW I EXISTED!
WHY SCOTT?! WHY DID YOU DELETE MY FILES? WHY DID YOU WIPE ME OUT OF
EVERYONE'S LIFE?!" Jubilee had tears in her eyes.
"YOU left here! YOU didn't want to return!
YOU tell us why! YOU jilted us!"
"Oh crap..." Jubilee's voice died down to a
whisper, and she sat on the bed. Her hands covered her face. Bobby
stepped towards her, to try and comfort her. He was held back by Hank, who
shook his head. Even though neither was a telepath, the message was quite
clear. They need to work this out.
Jubilee lifted her head. Tear stains marked her
face, and her nose had begun to run. She sniffled and spoke. "I
was going to be married."
Scott stood in shock. This was something he hadn't
expected.
"What?..." he asked weakly.
"I was engaged for about a month. I said I wasn't
returning because of him... He didn't want to know you all. I was so
stupid, and I agreed..." Tears ran freely down her face. This
time Bobby and Anne went to Jubilee. Hank stood uncomfortably
against to wall.
"And..." he prompted.
"He was going to move in with me. We were packing,
and I found something... It was an old FOH uniform. When I asked him about
it, he told me he didn't associate with mutants. Then I told him I
couldn't marry him. We fought, and he tried to hit me. I ducked, and
tried to leave." Jubilee was sobbing and leaning against Bobby while
Anne handed her a Kleenex. "Then he grabbed me...I screamed and swung
at him. I hit his nose, and he grabbed his knife. I was so
scared...I used my fireworks to blind him. Then I was able to knock him
out. I called the cops after that..." Jubilee buried her face
against Bobby and sobbed. Scott looked horrible. He felt so
guilty.
"Anne..." Scott began quietly, "I'd like
to introduce you to one of the greatest X-Men I have ever known. Her name
is Jubilee..." Jubilee looked at Scott and smiled through a tear stained
face. She rose and gave him a hug. He returned it full force.
It wasn't much, he knew, but it was a start.
Soon, everyone was involved in one big group hug.
* * * * * * * * *
Two days after the 'Incident' (as those involved called it),
Jubilee was placing new trinkets in her room. It had been decided that
Jubilee would stay for a year, and they would decide what to do from
there. Anne sat on her bed and watched. The girl had taken a strong
liking and fascinated admiration to the spirited Jubilee.
"So tell me again what happened when you and Angelo were
training in the Biosphere?" Anne never lacked for questions.
Jubilee grinned,
"We ditched and went swimming instead. When Sean
found out... Lets just say that a redheaded Irish teacher is bad, but give
him a sonic scream, and that is BAD." Jubilee placed the vase with
the Calla Lilies on her dresser.
In two days her room had transformed. Gone were
the old Pokemon bed sheets. Pale green ones had replaced them. An
apple blossom comforter and pillows had also taken residence on her bed.
The walls had been freshly painted white, and Jubilee had painted little leaves
around the top perimeter of the room. Instead of the Pikachu doll, a soft
teddy bear now called her bed 'home.' Brittany Spears and *NSYNC were
forever banished from her walls. There now hung a framed poster entitled
'Light at Two Lights.' This was a charming post-impressionist piece by
American artist Edward Hopper (I have this poster...its beautiful!)
Various other paintings of light houses and sailboats were hung in the
room. On her dresser sat a model sailboat, and a small jade green
lamp. A wooden hairbrush, a stereo, and a small stone elephant (a
gift from Ororo) finished the dresser. On the desk sat a laptop, and a
vase of lilies. Jubilee had certainly matured during her absence.
She seemed to discover that simplicity makes a stronger impact than bold bright
colors.
Anne was in awe of the woman who waltzed in and mesmerized
everyone. Gambit and Rogue had stopped fighting over every little thing,
Angelo had stopped moping over his ex, and Paige and Jono stopped worrying over
the minute details of the wedding. Even Wolverine had stopped
drinking every night. Anne had noticed that he seemed a
bit...proud(?) of Jubilee. She felt that he felt more for Jubilee
than he was letting on.
"Jubes, what's Italy like?" Jubilee smiled as
she remembered.
"Beautiful...Its so fresh and alive. You wake up
in the morning and look out your window and see nothing but happy people, old
buildings and hills. At least that's what I saw." Jubilee
looked at the impish thirteen year old. "What about you? I
don't know anything about you. What's your mutant power?" Anne
smiled.
"I can fly. I also can understand Hank's
lectures." Anne laughed. Her laughter sounded like tinkling
bells. "How long have you been painting?"
"About three years. The professor at the college I
went to said I had natural talent." Jubilee laughed.
"They still have Piotr's landscapes hanging. I
never met him. Was he nice?" Anne had asked a simple
question. She didn't realize that Jubilee had known Piotr and his sister,
and now both were dead.
"Very." She turned around and grinned.
"Any other questions?" Anne opened her mouth to ask more, but
was cut off when the door opened.
"Chica, Paige wants to take you to try on your
dress. And Anne, the Prof wants you to study for your test tomorrow."
Angelo grinned as Anne made a face. After Anne had left, Angelo smiled.
"She's taken a liking to you Jubes."
"She's a good kid Ange."
* * * * * * * * *
"Jubes, put a CD in, will you?" After five
years, Paige's accent had all but vanished.
"Sure...hmm what should I play?" Jubilee
flipped through the CD's. "Got it!" She put the CD in the
player. Barry Manilow sang, and the other's joined in.
"We dreamers have our ways
Of facing rainy days
And Somehow we survive.
We keep the feelings warm
Protect them from the storm
Until our time arrives.
Then one day the sun appears
And we come shining through those
lonely years" Elisa sang along with Barry, her alto sounding
beautiful. Out of all Gen X, Elisa had had the best voice. As the
chorus started, the others joined in a not so melodic harmony.
"I made it through the rain
And kept my world protected.
I made it through the rain
And kept my point of view.
I made it through the rain
And found my self respected
By the others who
Got rained on too
And made it through."
Rouge held the last note for about two minutes, nearly drowning out Elisa and
the next verse.
"When friends are hard to find
And life seems so unkind
Just think beyond the clouds
And rise above the crowds
And start your own parade"
Jubilee warbled away at the next two lines.
"Cause when I chased my fears away
That's when I knew that I could
finally say"
And kept my world protected.
I made it through the rain
And kept my point of view.
I made it through the rain
And found my self respected
By the others who
Got rained on too
And made it through.
I made it through the rain
And kept my world protected.
I made it through the rain
And kept my point of view.
I made it through the rain
And found my self respected
By the others who
Got rained on too
And made it through.
And made it through.
And made it through." The
girls sang, not entirely on key, and cracked up when the song ended.
"With the exception on Elisa, Ah think that was the
worst singin' Ah've evah heard!" Rogue gasped between laughs.
* * * * * * * * *
The girls pulled into the parking lot at the Westchester
Mall. They had decided that after they had been fitted for dresses, they
had some serious shopping to do.
"All right people, I don't want to hear any, and Elisa I
mean any, complaining about the dresses." Paige warned them as
they entered the dress shop. Everyone oohed and aahed at the different
dresses hanging on hooks and mannequins around the store. In the middle of
the floor, a clerk was busily pinning a bridal dress that was being tried on by
a customer. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of waiting, the
clerk walked up to Rogue.
"How can I help you today?" Rogue blushed.
"Naht me. Ah'm a bridesmaid. The bride is
ovah there. Hey Sugah, come talk to the lady." Paige walked up
to the smiling clerk.
"I was here about a week ago, and I ordered some
dresses. I need to have them fitted, these are the
bridesmaids." No one heard Rogue mutter about always being a
bridesmaid, and never the bride.
"Of course," the blond clerk smiled,
displaying a set of perfectly straight, white teeth, "If I could just get
your ticket..."
"Sure," Paige dug into her purse,
"that's funny...I know I put it here. Wait a minute...here it
is." Paige grinned sheepishly, "Sorry 'bout that. I
thought that I had lost it for a minute." She handed the ticket to
the clerk, whose nametag read Sharon. Sharon went to the back, and the
others waited.
Elisa wandered over to the rack of dresses, and began looking
at them. Her eye caught a pale pink, satiny dress. She touched the
sleek material, and marveled at it. She was so engrossed in looking at it,
that she never heard Jubilee come up from behind.
"Pretty isn't it?" Elisa jumped. She
hadn't even sensed anyone approaching! Boy, no one would ever think I'm
a telepath trained by Emma Frost. She turned and grinned at Jubilee.
"Sorry, I was just admiring this dress." They
were quiet for a minute before Elisa asked,
"Do you regret leaving? I mean, would you do it
again?" Jubilee sighed, she'd been asked why by almost
everyone. This was the first time she ever had to say if it was worth
it. She inhaled slowly,
"Y-e-e-s," she said slowly, " I would do it
again. You can't imagine what good it did to my soul. I grew so much
in five years. But...I would do it differently."
"You know Jubes," Elisa said thoughtfully,
"Scott was really hurt. He couldn't understand why you would turn out
your family...Although he did over react. He feels really bad about the
whole ordeal." Jubilee laughed,
"I told him to forget it, but he won't even look me in
the eye anymore. He must be so embarrassed." she paused,
"I wish he'd let it be history." Then she brightened, "At
least Bobby and Anne talk to me." All the time, she added in
her head.
"Yeah, they really are enchanted with you. How do
you do it?" Elisa sighed.
"Do what?" Jubilee was a little lost as to
where this conversation was going.
"Enchant people...totally get them to notice only
you." Elisa frowned, "I really want to know. I'm just a
little jealous."
"I don't do anything...Honest." Jubes was
miffed, "Why?"
"I supposed you would ask. I can't get someone to
notice I exist." Elisa answered. Jubilee grinned,
"This someone, would he happen to be a boy?"
Elisa blushed five shades of red, and Jubilee continued, "Who?!"
Elisa shook her head.
"Huhumh," Sharon-the-clerk was smiling
when she interrupted them. "Ladies, its your turn to try on
dresses." She handed Jubilee and Elisa each a dress of sea green, and
promptly pushed them into changing rooms.
Jubilee put the dress on, and admired herself in the
mirror. The dress was a little long - she had always been short, though
she had grown to five foot two. Though, looking at the mirror, she
couldn't help but notice how the dress's simple lines accentuated her slender
figure. The Sabrina neckline enhanced her collarbone, while the color made
her complexion creamy. She also noticed how her blue eyes were brought
out, and was glad she had stopped wearing colored contacts. The dress had
a slight train at the back, which made her feel princessy.
She opened the door and stepped out, to show Paige, and
commented,
"Gee, and here I thought that bridesmaids were supposed
to have ugly dresses."
* * * * * * * * *