NOTE: okay, don't hate me please! I seriously didn't have time this week to
write anything, and this chapter, especially was hard to write. I guess I
had a major case of writer's block, so please tell me if you like this
chapter or if it sucked. Thank you for your patience everyone, I'm going to
try my hardest to update more regularly! Enjoy..
Jubilee's eyebrows lifted as she saw Lance expertly throw each coin neatly into the bottle. The man behind the booth reached up to grab a giant pink giraffe and handed it to Lance, who handed it to Jubilee with a smile.
"You're giving this to me?" Jubilee asked, at a loss for words.
Lance grinned. "Of course." Jubilee couldn't remember the last time any guy had won her anything. Clearing her throat to squelch the urge to hug him, Jubilee looked up mischievously at Lance.
"Well, if you won something for me, than I have to win something for you," Jubilee said staunchly.
Lance grinned. "I thought I heard Bobby say earlier that you couldn't hit the floor if it weren't for gravity."
Jubilee put away a mental reminder to break her best friend's legs when she got home. "That is completely untrue. I have really good aim," Jubilee said quickly. Actually, she wasn't sure if she did or not...all she knew was that the last time she had tried archery, Logan had ended up with an arrow through his beer. That couldn't be good, could it?
Jubilee confidently strutted up to the booth and picked one of the coins. Then with a brilliant smile towards Lance, she let it fly. She watched in horror as the penny ricocheted off 3 bottles, bounced off the canopy and rolled into the nearby crack in the floor. The man behind the counter started laughing as did Lance. Great, Jubilee thought scowling. Yet another chance to impress Lance ruined.
"Hmph. I still have two more pennies left. I'll win something," Jubilee said stubbornly, picking up the second penny.
"Jubes, I'm not going to pine away if I don't get a stuffed giraffe," Lance interjected smiling. Jubilee shook her head at him and took aim, and threw the penny extra hard at the row of bottles in front. The penny hit the bottle so hard, it knocked it off the table, and shattered on the floor. Jubilee covered her face with her hands.
"I give up. I can't do it," Jubilee said morosely, and picking up the last penny, half heartedly flipped it. To her astonishment, the penny fell neatly into the bottle. Lance's jaw dropped open.
"You did it, nice job," Lance said, squeezing her hand. Jubilee felt dizzy with elation. So what if her winning the coin toss had been a complete fluke, Lance was holding HER hand, he didn't think that she was a total klutz, he liked her , he..
"Hey, there Lance," the grating voice of Laura broke through Jubilee's dreamy haze. Once again, reality continues to ruin my life, Jubilee thought, as Laura draped one long tanned arm on Lance and practically yanked him away from her. It was amazing how fast the good mood she had been feeling just minutes ago, could be sucked out with Laura's presence. Jubilee swallowed and closed her eyes. How could she have been so stupid as to think that just because she had won a dumb carnival game, it would keep Lance from picking her over the perfect Laura. Laura who had never really broken up with Lance, and was back to claim him again.
But to her surprise, Lance was back at her side in seconds. "So, what'd you pick out for me?"
"Huh?" Jubilee asked confused. Then her eyes sparkled as he gestured to the long row of stuffed animals. Laughing, she pointed to a large purple hippo, and smirked as Lance very seriously held the hippo.
"Thanks."
"Your welcome."
Jubilee felt her stomach do a flip as Lance looked deep into her eyes. Jubilee swallowed hard. The moment was shattered when Laura stalked over to them, her eyes flashing angrily. As Lance turned towards her, Laura's face instantly turned angelic.
"Lance, I was wondering if we could go get something to eat?" Laura asked sweetly, her eyes glaring murderously at the stuffed animal in Jubilee's hands.
"Sure of course," Lance said, smiling. Jubilee looked up at him, wondering if all guys were this dense. Had he totally missed the look Laura had flashed her? Or was she the one who was imagining things? Jubilee gathered the kids who were clustered around the vending machines. She got them each a drink, and when she had finished, joined Lance and Laura at the diner-style eatery.
Jubilee settled in comfortably into a plush stool and spun around, to find Laura watching her with a little sneer on her lips. She stopped, realizing she must look like a little kid. How could she hope to compete with Laura if she had to censure her every action in order to avoid looking stupid in front of Lance?
"Does anyone want to split a chocolate milkshake with me?" Jubilee asked finally, her heart thumping as Lance met her eyes swiftly with a smile.
"No thanks, I'll have a mineral water and a salad. There's no reason to be careless about calories," Laura informed her coolly, patting her perfectly flat stomach. Jubilee rolled her eyes. Calories? She was lucky to be one of the few people to stuff her face constantly and still be viewed as a "lightweight." Jubilee shrugged. If Laura wanted to deprive herself, then who was she to argue?
"Hey, I'll share with you," Lance said, as he placed their orders. Jubilee grinned, for once being able to completely ignore Laura in all her perfection. When the shake came, Lance put in two straws, and Jubilee shyly leaned in to take a sip, accidentally bumping heads with him. They both laughed at the same time and set the milkshake on the table. Lance leaned back, and gestured for her to go first. Jubilee suppressed a smile, and was about to move in, when a sudden movement of Laura knocked her forward, and Jubilee watched in horror, as Laura's arm shot out and pushed the contents of the milkshake all over Jubilee.
For a second, Jubilee couldn't quite comprehend what had happened. Then, glancing down at the chocolate dripping down her shirt and pants, and the barely suppressed triumphant look in Laura's eyes, confirmed what had occurred.
"Oh my, I'm so clumsy! Are you alright?" Laura cooed, making a big show of getting up and grabbing napkins. "Let me help you."
Jubilee was so disgusted at her underhandedness that for a second she couldn't speak. "Please, don't do me any favors," Jubilee said, feeling a rush of anger. This was going too far. Of all the petty, immature stunts to pull! And in front of the children they were supposed to be babysitting!
"Jubilee, she's just trying to help," Lance said, frowning as he noticed the furious way Jubilee was swiping the chocolate off her shirt, and only succeeding in rubbing it in further.
"Yeah, Jubilee, it was an accident," Laura cooed again, making her eyes wide and innocent.
"Accident, my foot! You did it on purpose, I saw you!" Jubilee seethed, trying to keep her voice from rising, feeling a hot flush work its way up her neck as she saw Lance frown even more.
"Jubilee, I can't believe you would say something like that. I thought you were more mature than to make crazy accusations," Lance said in a very disappointed way. Jubilee could feel herself losing control, and she didn't care. Lance thought SHE was immature!
"I'm serious Lance, I saw her push it on me," Jubilee said, her eyes pleading with him to believe her.
"Lance, you know me, I would NEVER do anything like that. Your friend obviously has some problems," Laura said, shaking her head. Jubilee couldn't believe it when Lance folded his arms over his chest, his hazel eyes looking at her as if SHE had done something wrong. Tears blurred her vision, as she realized that he didn't believe her. Jubilee swiped blindly at her shirt and pants, trying to keep from bursting into tears.
The whole day had been a nightmare. Who was she kidding when she thought she'd win Lance? I don't need a guy who'd believe that Ice Queen over me, Jubilee thought, swiping at a tear.
"You can go clean up or whatever, Lance and I can load the kids into the bus," Laura finally said, her voice still subtly gleeful. Jubilee didn't care anymore about either one of them. So what if Laura took credit for watching the kids all day, and sat next to Lance on the bus? All she wanted to do was get away from Lance's disappointed eyes, and Laura's cruel smile.
"Go to hell," Jubilee yelled over her shoulder and took off down the path, aware of the shocked faces of Laura and Lance looking at her.
"She's so moody," Jubilee heard Laura announce behind her.
Jubilee kept running until she nearly collided with Kurt. She stopped, and raised her eyebrows at the horde of kids running behind Kurt. "Kurt, what-?"
"Don't say anything," Kurt said tersely. "I'm swear, if I survive this day, I'm making a solemn vow to never ever have kids." Then he stopped, and gazed concernedly at Jubilee's wet eyelashes, stained clothes, and miserable expression. "Hey, what happened to you?"
"Don't ask," Jubilee said morosely. "I was delusional and actually thought Lance and I might end up together. I don't even want to talk about him," Jubilee said finally. "Come on, let's go back to the bus. I can help you with the kids."
At that, Kurt looked insanely relieved, quickly, pushing forth 7 kids towards her. "How'd you end up with 14 kids anyway?"
"Bobby the Great decided it would be fun to rendezvous with Rogue in the haunted house, and left me with the rugrats before I had a chance to escape!" Kurt said. Jubilee suppressed a giggle at the way a little girl kept tugging at his pants.
"I think she likes you," Jubilee said giggling, feeling a tiny bit better as the little girl gave Kurt a big gap-toothed grin.
"Figures, the only kind of women I get are the kind with perpetually sticky hands and missing teeth," Kurt muttered wryly.
After they reached the bus, and had successfully loaded the kids in, they got onto the bus containing all the "babysitters." Jubilee sat down next to Kurt, her throat constricting as she saw out the window, Lance and Laura approaching.
"Yay, here come the gruesome twosome," Jubilee said sourly. Kurt laughed.
"You wanna tell me what happened?" Kurt asked, his eyebrows furrowed. Jubilee smiled sadly at her friend.
"You'll hear all the sordid details tonight, don't worry," Jubilee promised, and glanced down the chocolaty stains on her clothes. "Right after I dunk these in bleach and -." Jubilee stopped when she saw Laura and Lance enter the bus, purposely averting her eyes as she felt Lance's eyes on her. Lance opened his mouth as if to say something, but Laura tugged him to the back of the bus, throwing a snide look at Jubilee.
Kurt looked sympathetically at Jubilee. "Don't worry, one day we'll look back at this day and laugh."
Jubilee nodded, but her heart was heavy as she glanced down at the pink giraffe. She swallowed her tears and shoved the stuffed animal into her backpack.
Jubilee's eyebrows lifted as she saw Lance expertly throw each coin neatly into the bottle. The man behind the booth reached up to grab a giant pink giraffe and handed it to Lance, who handed it to Jubilee with a smile.
"You're giving this to me?" Jubilee asked, at a loss for words.
Lance grinned. "Of course." Jubilee couldn't remember the last time any guy had won her anything. Clearing her throat to squelch the urge to hug him, Jubilee looked up mischievously at Lance.
"Well, if you won something for me, than I have to win something for you," Jubilee said staunchly.
Lance grinned. "I thought I heard Bobby say earlier that you couldn't hit the floor if it weren't for gravity."
Jubilee put away a mental reminder to break her best friend's legs when she got home. "That is completely untrue. I have really good aim," Jubilee said quickly. Actually, she wasn't sure if she did or not...all she knew was that the last time she had tried archery, Logan had ended up with an arrow through his beer. That couldn't be good, could it?
Jubilee confidently strutted up to the booth and picked one of the coins. Then with a brilliant smile towards Lance, she let it fly. She watched in horror as the penny ricocheted off 3 bottles, bounced off the canopy and rolled into the nearby crack in the floor. The man behind the counter started laughing as did Lance. Great, Jubilee thought scowling. Yet another chance to impress Lance ruined.
"Hmph. I still have two more pennies left. I'll win something," Jubilee said stubbornly, picking up the second penny.
"Jubes, I'm not going to pine away if I don't get a stuffed giraffe," Lance interjected smiling. Jubilee shook her head at him and took aim, and threw the penny extra hard at the row of bottles in front. The penny hit the bottle so hard, it knocked it off the table, and shattered on the floor. Jubilee covered her face with her hands.
"I give up. I can't do it," Jubilee said morosely, and picking up the last penny, half heartedly flipped it. To her astonishment, the penny fell neatly into the bottle. Lance's jaw dropped open.
"You did it, nice job," Lance said, squeezing her hand. Jubilee felt dizzy with elation. So what if her winning the coin toss had been a complete fluke, Lance was holding HER hand, he didn't think that she was a total klutz, he liked her , he..
"Hey, there Lance," the grating voice of Laura broke through Jubilee's dreamy haze. Once again, reality continues to ruin my life, Jubilee thought, as Laura draped one long tanned arm on Lance and practically yanked him away from her. It was amazing how fast the good mood she had been feeling just minutes ago, could be sucked out with Laura's presence. Jubilee swallowed and closed her eyes. How could she have been so stupid as to think that just because she had won a dumb carnival game, it would keep Lance from picking her over the perfect Laura. Laura who had never really broken up with Lance, and was back to claim him again.
But to her surprise, Lance was back at her side in seconds. "So, what'd you pick out for me?"
"Huh?" Jubilee asked confused. Then her eyes sparkled as he gestured to the long row of stuffed animals. Laughing, she pointed to a large purple hippo, and smirked as Lance very seriously held the hippo.
"Thanks."
"Your welcome."
Jubilee felt her stomach do a flip as Lance looked deep into her eyes. Jubilee swallowed hard. The moment was shattered when Laura stalked over to them, her eyes flashing angrily. As Lance turned towards her, Laura's face instantly turned angelic.
"Lance, I was wondering if we could go get something to eat?" Laura asked sweetly, her eyes glaring murderously at the stuffed animal in Jubilee's hands.
"Sure of course," Lance said, smiling. Jubilee looked up at him, wondering if all guys were this dense. Had he totally missed the look Laura had flashed her? Or was she the one who was imagining things? Jubilee gathered the kids who were clustered around the vending machines. She got them each a drink, and when she had finished, joined Lance and Laura at the diner-style eatery.
Jubilee settled in comfortably into a plush stool and spun around, to find Laura watching her with a little sneer on her lips. She stopped, realizing she must look like a little kid. How could she hope to compete with Laura if she had to censure her every action in order to avoid looking stupid in front of Lance?
"Does anyone want to split a chocolate milkshake with me?" Jubilee asked finally, her heart thumping as Lance met her eyes swiftly with a smile.
"No thanks, I'll have a mineral water and a salad. There's no reason to be careless about calories," Laura informed her coolly, patting her perfectly flat stomach. Jubilee rolled her eyes. Calories? She was lucky to be one of the few people to stuff her face constantly and still be viewed as a "lightweight." Jubilee shrugged. If Laura wanted to deprive herself, then who was she to argue?
"Hey, I'll share with you," Lance said, as he placed their orders. Jubilee grinned, for once being able to completely ignore Laura in all her perfection. When the shake came, Lance put in two straws, and Jubilee shyly leaned in to take a sip, accidentally bumping heads with him. They both laughed at the same time and set the milkshake on the table. Lance leaned back, and gestured for her to go first. Jubilee suppressed a smile, and was about to move in, when a sudden movement of Laura knocked her forward, and Jubilee watched in horror, as Laura's arm shot out and pushed the contents of the milkshake all over Jubilee.
For a second, Jubilee couldn't quite comprehend what had happened. Then, glancing down at the chocolate dripping down her shirt and pants, and the barely suppressed triumphant look in Laura's eyes, confirmed what had occurred.
"Oh my, I'm so clumsy! Are you alright?" Laura cooed, making a big show of getting up and grabbing napkins. "Let me help you."
Jubilee was so disgusted at her underhandedness that for a second she couldn't speak. "Please, don't do me any favors," Jubilee said, feeling a rush of anger. This was going too far. Of all the petty, immature stunts to pull! And in front of the children they were supposed to be babysitting!
"Jubilee, she's just trying to help," Lance said, frowning as he noticed the furious way Jubilee was swiping the chocolate off her shirt, and only succeeding in rubbing it in further.
"Yeah, Jubilee, it was an accident," Laura cooed again, making her eyes wide and innocent.
"Accident, my foot! You did it on purpose, I saw you!" Jubilee seethed, trying to keep her voice from rising, feeling a hot flush work its way up her neck as she saw Lance frown even more.
"Jubilee, I can't believe you would say something like that. I thought you were more mature than to make crazy accusations," Lance said in a very disappointed way. Jubilee could feel herself losing control, and she didn't care. Lance thought SHE was immature!
"I'm serious Lance, I saw her push it on me," Jubilee said, her eyes pleading with him to believe her.
"Lance, you know me, I would NEVER do anything like that. Your friend obviously has some problems," Laura said, shaking her head. Jubilee couldn't believe it when Lance folded his arms over his chest, his hazel eyes looking at her as if SHE had done something wrong. Tears blurred her vision, as she realized that he didn't believe her. Jubilee swiped blindly at her shirt and pants, trying to keep from bursting into tears.
The whole day had been a nightmare. Who was she kidding when she thought she'd win Lance? I don't need a guy who'd believe that Ice Queen over me, Jubilee thought, swiping at a tear.
"You can go clean up or whatever, Lance and I can load the kids into the bus," Laura finally said, her voice still subtly gleeful. Jubilee didn't care anymore about either one of them. So what if Laura took credit for watching the kids all day, and sat next to Lance on the bus? All she wanted to do was get away from Lance's disappointed eyes, and Laura's cruel smile.
"Go to hell," Jubilee yelled over her shoulder and took off down the path, aware of the shocked faces of Laura and Lance looking at her.
"She's so moody," Jubilee heard Laura announce behind her.
Jubilee kept running until she nearly collided with Kurt. She stopped, and raised her eyebrows at the horde of kids running behind Kurt. "Kurt, what-?"
"Don't say anything," Kurt said tersely. "I'm swear, if I survive this day, I'm making a solemn vow to never ever have kids." Then he stopped, and gazed concernedly at Jubilee's wet eyelashes, stained clothes, and miserable expression. "Hey, what happened to you?"
"Don't ask," Jubilee said morosely. "I was delusional and actually thought Lance and I might end up together. I don't even want to talk about him," Jubilee said finally. "Come on, let's go back to the bus. I can help you with the kids."
At that, Kurt looked insanely relieved, quickly, pushing forth 7 kids towards her. "How'd you end up with 14 kids anyway?"
"Bobby the Great decided it would be fun to rendezvous with Rogue in the haunted house, and left me with the rugrats before I had a chance to escape!" Kurt said. Jubilee suppressed a giggle at the way a little girl kept tugging at his pants.
"I think she likes you," Jubilee said giggling, feeling a tiny bit better as the little girl gave Kurt a big gap-toothed grin.
"Figures, the only kind of women I get are the kind with perpetually sticky hands and missing teeth," Kurt muttered wryly.
After they reached the bus, and had successfully loaded the kids in, they got onto the bus containing all the "babysitters." Jubilee sat down next to Kurt, her throat constricting as she saw out the window, Lance and Laura approaching.
"Yay, here come the gruesome twosome," Jubilee said sourly. Kurt laughed.
"You wanna tell me what happened?" Kurt asked, his eyebrows furrowed. Jubilee smiled sadly at her friend.
"You'll hear all the sordid details tonight, don't worry," Jubilee promised, and glanced down the chocolaty stains on her clothes. "Right after I dunk these in bleach and -." Jubilee stopped when she saw Laura and Lance enter the bus, purposely averting her eyes as she felt Lance's eyes on her. Lance opened his mouth as if to say something, but Laura tugged him to the back of the bus, throwing a snide look at Jubilee.
Kurt looked sympathetically at Jubilee. "Don't worry, one day we'll look back at this day and laugh."
Jubilee nodded, but her heart was heavy as she glanced down at the pink giraffe. She swallowed her tears and shoved the stuffed animal into her backpack.