NOTE: please review, I really need some idea as to what should happen next with jubilee and bobby. Thanx! Enjoy……



"Up and at em' Firecracker!" a loud voice boomed into Jubilee's ear. Jubilee groaned sleepily and shut her eyes resolutely. There was no WAY she was getting up this early. What time was it anyways? 3 a.m.?

But the voice persisted. "You have 5 seconds before your getting cold water sloshed all over your face," the voice warned. Jubilee's face puckered in irritation. NOW she recognized the voice, it was Bobby! It figured, Jubilee thought darkly, who else but her well-meaning best-friend would wake her up at this ungodly hour?

"Leave me alone!" Jubilee said, in mid-yawn. Bobby shook his head firmly.

"Come on, Kitty, Rogue and everyone else are already in the Blackbird. Today's the day of the big treasure hunt, remember?" Bobby said, waving a hand in front of Jubilee's face.

"Oh yeah, jeez, why didn't you tell me sooner!" Jubilee said excitedly, throwing off her covers. "Go on, I"ll meet you in the Blackbird in a second!"

"Okay Jubes, later."

Jubilee looked after him waving. Then as soon as he left, she plopped down on her bed and curled up again. Sorry Bobby, but sleep wins out, Jubilee thought snuggling into her warm pillow. All of a sudden, the covers were thrown off again.

"Bobby-hehe, back so soon? I was going to get up…really," Jubilee said, trying to sound convincing.

"Haha, I don't buy that act for a minute. Muster up some energy now, or we're going to end up losing the treasure hunt, and then we'll have to get up at 5:00 a.m. every day for Logan's workout session," Bobby reminded, his arms crossed in front of his chest.

Jubilee frowned. He had a point. A very good point. "All right, all right," Jubilee said resignedly, jumping off her bed in one fluid motion. Just let me get ready."

Bobby smiled at her, "Great, I'll seeya in the Blackbird, okay?"

Jubilee nodded, and retreated into the bathroom.

20 minutes later, she stood at the entrance to the Blackbird. She scanned the seats, and found oddly enough that Rogue had taken the seat next to Lance. Hmmm, that's weird, Jubilee thought, she usually sits with Kitty. I'm making too big of a deal out of it, after all they're partners for the treasure hunt, Jubilee reminded herself.

Suddenly, Jubilee thought back to last night when she had come upon Rogue and Lance again. The way they had looked at each other…..as if no one in the whole world existed. Could Rogue's crush be-….? Jubilee mentally slapped herself. You're losing it, Jubes, Jubilee told herself, laughing a little at the idea of Lance and Rogue. But regardless, Rogue HAD been acting pretty weird lately. In fact so had Bobby…….they had both been relatively quiet. Jubilee stopped in her tracks. Oh my god, I can't believe I didn't see it before, Jubilee thought incredulously, Bobby and Rogue like each other! That explains all those weird looks they keep giving each other and what happened in science yesterday!

Jubilee knew she should have felt happy that two of her best friends liked each other, but oddly enough, she could feel a strange inkling akin to jealousy in the pit of her stomach. She had always been Bobby's closest confidante, the first person he'd run to tell his stupid jokes too…..would all that change now? Jubilee shook her head. This was dumb. I like LANCE, Jubilee told herself sternly, it was crazy to think of Bobby as anything more than a friend. Bobby would laugh his head off if he knew what she had been thinking for that split second! Lance, is the guy for me, Jubilee said again resolutely, eyeing the handsome brown-haired guy seated next to Rogue.

"Hey Jubes, there's a free seat here," Bobby called, patting the space next to him. Jubilee took the seat, and decided to focus on planning a strategy for winning. Better not to think of all these crazy crushes now, Jubilee decided, opening the treasure map each pair had been given.

"Alright, we have 6 hours to get to the finish line, where Mr. Summers will be with the Blackbird," Jubilee told Bobby. "Okay, here's my strategy: the Professor said we'd need our swimsuits right? Well, instead of letting it weigh us down, let's take it out of our backpacks, and wear it now."

Bobby thought a moment and nodded. Ökay, here's another idea I had. Watch," he told her. Jubilee watched in fascination, as Bobby turned the ground beneath him into solid ice. "See, now we can ice skate."

"That's great, but we're wearing walking shoes," Jubilee pointed out.

"So? It works almost as well as real skates."

"This is great. We'll definitely be moving faster than everyone on ice, " Jubilee said excitedly.

Moments later when they'd both changed into their swimsuits, Jubilee skated freely ahead of Bobby. Oh this is the best, thought Jubilee exaltingly, I feel great, I feel free, I feel…..cold. It's a small price to pay for winning, Jubilee thought sternly, trying to stop her teeth from chattering.

"Jubes your freezing, come on, let's stop," Bobby said, sliding to a stop. As soon as he did, the ice melted immediately, revealing the hot sand beneath his feet.

"I'm fine- ACHOO!" Jubilee sneezed, once, twice, and then 3 more times. Weak, she sank to her knees on the sand.

"Jubes I'm sorry," Bobby began apologetically.

"It's okay, it's not your fau-ACHOO!"

Jubilee sighed. Great, she would probably end up with a gross runny nose, which would probably scare off Lance permanently. "I probably look like the bride of Frankenstein," moaned Jubilee, propping her chin up on her knees.

"Actually Jubes, I think you'd make a beautiful bride," Bobby said seriously, looking her in the eye. Jubilee's eyebrows shot up. Then looking at him, she realized he meant it. A blush slowly worked its way up her cheeks.

"Um, thanks Bobby," Jubilee said awkwardly, feeling a strange sensation in her stomach. Since when did Bobby become so…..sweet? Or was he always this sweet and I just didn't notice, Jubilee wondered, as she sifted the sand with her fingers.

Bobby smiled, and Jubilee felt the same jumpy feeling in her heart. Cripes, what is wrong with me? Jubilee wondered, feeling the blush in her cheeks intensify. "So how do you think the other groups are doing?" Jubilee asked casually, changing the subject.

Bobby shook his head. "I have no idea."

"I do, thanks to my cold, I bet everyone's doing better than us. I'm sorry, Bobby," Jubilee said despondently.

"That's okay, I need the extra exercise anyways," Bobby said jokingly,

"No you don't, you have a great body," Jubilee protested, then after realizing what she said, clapped her hand over her mouth. Did I just say that?!,. Jubilee thought horrified. Keeping her eyes to the floor, she got up quickly. "Um, I think I'm feeling better. Why don't we keep going?"

Bobby gave her a long look, but Jubilee refused to look up. "Okay, if your sure, let's go," he said finally, his voice sounding strangely sad.

Jubilee trudged on ahead, lost in thought. I think the sun must be having its effect of me, Jubilee thought decidedly, I mean, why else would I be checking out my best friend who is in love with my other best friend? It's the sun, just the sun, Jubilee told herself. Sneaking a peek at Bobby she blushingly noted how muscled he was. Ah! What am I thinking? I LIKE LANCE, Jubilee thought, rubbing her temples. It must be the sun…..it had to be.