There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 15
Author's Note: Stuff surrounded in ~ are thoughts. And I love all of you and all the positive feedback you leave. That's what keeps me writing.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from X-Men: Evolution - Marvel and Kid's WB do. However, I do own (I think) the character John Jashback, who has a problem with keeping his left arm attached to his body.
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John Jashback sat down near the cliff the Institute sat upon, facing the grand Atlantic Ocean. A cool ocean breeze blew in, causing him to shiver , but he ignored it. It was a fantastic, majestic view, watching the dimming sunlight reflect off the water.
~It's a shame... If we were in California, the view would be much better.~
But then again, the view of the sunset was the last thing on John's mind. He sighed. Everything drifted back to the inevitable - going back into the mansion. As much as he wanted to stay outside forever, he had to go back in. Sure, he could get Kurt or Jamie to sneak him food, but there were training sessions and...Kitty.
~I wonder if I'm blowing this out of proportion. Maybe Kitty isn't very angry at me. Lance *did* get even with me.~
John tenderly felt around his eye. Most of the swelling had gone down.
~Hopefully it'll be gone tomorrow. Knowing my luck, it'll be worse!~
John rolled his eyes before running his fingers through his hair and rubbing his chin. It was bristly.
~I need to shave soon. Of course, that means going back inside. And back inside means... Maybe she won't be mad. Maybe she'll be happy. She can be mad, I can apologize, and she can accept it or not. She can be happy, I can apologize, and I officially make an ass of myself. Or I can sit out here all night.~
He stared out across the ocean.
~I'd rather take my chances out here.~
**********
John poked his head into the mansion through the back door. He didn't see anyone, and took that as a good thing. Or not. He couldn't quite decide. Putting his shirt back on, he crept into the house.
"Hello John," a calm voice said from behind.
John spun around, finding himself facing Mr. McCoy. His heart was beating a mile a minute. "Whoa! Almost gave me a heart attack there!"
The blue-furred man grinned, looking very menacing. "I get that sometimes. So tell me...where were you during dinner?"
"Oh well, uh. I wasn't very hungry, so I decided to go for a walk."
"Mhmm," he said, in a disbelieving tone. "Why do I find that hard to believe? I know that a side effect of your limb regeneration is the need to eat."
"H..How did you know?"
"I'm a scientist."
John's reply was a raised eyebrow and a quizzical look.
"Hey, they'll give anybody a degree these days." Mr. McCoy gave another of his unintentionally menacing smiles. "Perhaps your absence at dinner has to do with that nice shiner you have. Or perhaps a small matter of a fire? Or one Miss Kitty Pryde? Or all three?"
"Er uh..." John muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess you could say so."
The ape-ish mutant smirked. "Oh, and did I mention that you're late for a Danger Room session?"
John's eyes widened and he started frantically apologizing.
"Don't worry, don't worry," Mr. McCoy said. "Logan informed me that you had an impromptu session earlier, exempting you from it. But I hope this teaches you a lesson on why you should always be at dinner?"
John nodded vigorously. "Yessir, Mr. McCoy, sir." He sighed inward, full of relief.
"Please John, don't call me Mr. McCoy. Call me Hank or Beast. Else, I may be forced to call you Lefty..."
John groaned. "Yessir, Mr. Hank, sir. And I'll uh, be sure not to miss dinner anymore. I promise."
The older mutant nodded. "Many a man would take you at your word, and go indeed, having so good a mean," he quoted, walking away.
John shook his head. It was such a contrast - the appearance of an animal, but intelligent and wise. And able to quote literature, probably Shakespeare, or so John assumed.
~Hmm. If there's a session going on, I bet Kitty's not in her room.~
For a moment, John Jashback seriously considered going back outside, and hiding out until the middle of the night. He rubbed his temples.
~Why the hell am I such a nice guy so much? Oh right, guilty conscience. I'd never make a good villain.~
He swallowed hard and puffed out his chest and boldly strode to the living quarters for the students. A wave of relief washed over him, thankful no one was around to see him walk like such an idiot. Then again, he wouldn't ever dare to walk like that with people around. He came to Kitty's door and knocked, but received no reply. He poked his head inside to make sure it WAS Kitty's room. It was, he decided, recognizing some of the room's fixtures from his time inside the night before. Knowing it was wrong, he stepped inside. In a way, it felt like taboo, being alone in a girl's room. It was almost like stepping over the threshold into forbidden territory. He grinned in spite of himself.
~John, get out of here before you get caught. You know better than this.~
Pushing away thoughts of reason and decency and common sense, he strolled around the room. Sitting on a desk in the middle of the room was a glass of water with a rose in it. John smiled and looked around the room, hoping to spot the other but had no luck. But his eyes went back to the rose and he couldn't help but smile. The big question in his mind was who kept her rose? Was it Rogue or Kitty? Logic screamed that it couldn't be Kitty, but he had no chance to think about it because...
"An' what do you think you're doing?"
John spun around to see Rogue standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and her eyebrows in the air. She was wearing a uniform like John's, only with a green chest piece on. She must have just come from the Danger Room, because her hair was matted on her forehead and her cheeks glistened with sweat. John could only think of one word to describe her at that moment - beautiful. She was absolutely beautiful. There was no explanation. He just stared at her, jaw hanging open, his eyes drinking in every ounce of her.
"What are you lookin' at, Lefty?" she said pointedly.
The sharpness of her voice snapped John back into reality. "Er uh... I uh... Well uh... Uh...."
"What are ya' doin' in mah room?"
"Er, I uh..." he muttered. He randomly pointed behind him. "Er, I was waiting for uh, for uh...uh...for Kitty. I wanted to uh, to talk to her." It was hard keeping his composure. She was just *that* beautiful.
"Uh-huh. Fahne. You can just wait outsahde," she told him. She stepped aside to give him room to walk by.
"Oh...uh...sure...uh...ok..." John began to walk over to the door, but lost his footing and...
~OH GOD NO! NOT IN FRONT OF HER!!!~
*THUMP*
John glanced up and saw Rogue looking at him with a delightful and very satisfied smile on her face. Pushing himself back onto his feet, John muttered many rushed apologies and scrambled out of the room, leaning against the adjacent wall for support. Rogue flashed him a devilish grin before closing the door in his face. As soon as the door was shut, John exhaled loudly and slumped to the floor. He moaned painfully and started banging the back of his head on the wall. The noise caused Rogue to open the door again and give John a strange look. He smiled weakly and waved, but curved her bottom lip and blew the air across her face, lightly tossing on of her white locks of hair. She shook her head and closed the door. So as not to be any louder, John smacked himself in the forehead before shaking his head.
~Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid.~
He held his head in his hands, trying to get a grip on things.
~Ok, where did all that come from? I mean, come on John, you've seen tons of pretty girls before. Why get so worked up over one? Yeah, I know. She was beautiful. So beautiful....~
John smiled happily and began to loll his head, side to side. Caught up in his thoughts, he never noticed Kitty walk up.
"Like, what are you doing here?"
John stopped moving and fear branched through his entire body.
~Oh God...~
He slowly opened one eye and looked up at Kitty, trying not to wince. He opened the other eye painstakingly slow, and pushed himself up on his feet.
"Er, hi," he began, clearing his throat. "Listen uh...can we talk for a second?"
"We don't have anything to talk about," she said, reaching for her door knob.
~Nothing to talk about? Is she insane?!?~
He reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. "Please. Just listen. It'll only take a second," he pleaded.
Kitty yanked herself out of John's grip and needlessly rubbed her wrist. "Fine. Make it quick," she ordered.
"Ok, uh. Well...I wanted to apologize for what happened at lunch. What I did was stupid and dumb, and I wish I hadn't said it. I don't really know why I said what I said, because I would have been better off not saying anything. I don't know if you'll forgive me or not, and I understand if you won't, but I don't want any bad blood to exist between us." John wasn't sure if he had ever spoken so rushed in his life. Wait a second, he had, just the night before.
Kitty narrowed her eyes and studied him for a moment, not speaking.
"If it's any consolation, Lance did get his revenge," John said nervously, pointing to his eye as evidence. But that didn't seem to make things any less tense, as Kitty's expression visibly tightened.
~Aw shit. Bad move.~
"So listen...I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry," he said apologetically. "I'll never do anything like that ever again, and..." John took a deep breath. "I won't lay a finger on Lance, no matter what."
Kitty raised an eyebrow and said, "We'll see," before phasing through her door, leaving John standing in the hallway alone.
"Um, bye?" John said, uncertainty in his voice. His eyes drooped and he slumped himself back against the wall, more exhausted than if he had been playing basketball non-stop for a day.
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Yeah, so I stole a line from "Retreat." It just fit real well there. Oh, and Beast's quote was from the Shakespeare comedy, 'The Comedy of Errors,' in case any of you wanted to know.
Oh, and since I'm not fluent in the jargon used for fan fiction, what the heck does 'A/U' mean?
Author's Note: Stuff surrounded in ~ are thoughts. And I love all of you and all the positive feedback you leave. That's what keeps me writing.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from X-Men: Evolution - Marvel and Kid's WB do. However, I do own (I think) the character John Jashback, who has a problem with keeping his left arm attached to his body.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
John Jashback sat down near the cliff the Institute sat upon, facing the grand Atlantic Ocean. A cool ocean breeze blew in, causing him to shiver , but he ignored it. It was a fantastic, majestic view, watching the dimming sunlight reflect off the water.
~It's a shame... If we were in California, the view would be much better.~
But then again, the view of the sunset was the last thing on John's mind. He sighed. Everything drifted back to the inevitable - going back into the mansion. As much as he wanted to stay outside forever, he had to go back in. Sure, he could get Kurt or Jamie to sneak him food, but there were training sessions and...Kitty.
~I wonder if I'm blowing this out of proportion. Maybe Kitty isn't very angry at me. Lance *did* get even with me.~
John tenderly felt around his eye. Most of the swelling had gone down.
~Hopefully it'll be gone tomorrow. Knowing my luck, it'll be worse!~
John rolled his eyes before running his fingers through his hair and rubbing his chin. It was bristly.
~I need to shave soon. Of course, that means going back inside. And back inside means... Maybe she won't be mad. Maybe she'll be happy. She can be mad, I can apologize, and she can accept it or not. She can be happy, I can apologize, and I officially make an ass of myself. Or I can sit out here all night.~
He stared out across the ocean.
~I'd rather take my chances out here.~
**********
John poked his head into the mansion through the back door. He didn't see anyone, and took that as a good thing. Or not. He couldn't quite decide. Putting his shirt back on, he crept into the house.
"Hello John," a calm voice said from behind.
John spun around, finding himself facing Mr. McCoy. His heart was beating a mile a minute. "Whoa! Almost gave me a heart attack there!"
The blue-furred man grinned, looking very menacing. "I get that sometimes. So tell me...where were you during dinner?"
"Oh well, uh. I wasn't very hungry, so I decided to go for a walk."
"Mhmm," he said, in a disbelieving tone. "Why do I find that hard to believe? I know that a side effect of your limb regeneration is the need to eat."
"H..How did you know?"
"I'm a scientist."
John's reply was a raised eyebrow and a quizzical look.
"Hey, they'll give anybody a degree these days." Mr. McCoy gave another of his unintentionally menacing smiles. "Perhaps your absence at dinner has to do with that nice shiner you have. Or perhaps a small matter of a fire? Or one Miss Kitty Pryde? Or all three?"
"Er uh..." John muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I guess you could say so."
The ape-ish mutant smirked. "Oh, and did I mention that you're late for a Danger Room session?"
John's eyes widened and he started frantically apologizing.
"Don't worry, don't worry," Mr. McCoy said. "Logan informed me that you had an impromptu session earlier, exempting you from it. But I hope this teaches you a lesson on why you should always be at dinner?"
John nodded vigorously. "Yessir, Mr. McCoy, sir." He sighed inward, full of relief.
"Please John, don't call me Mr. McCoy. Call me Hank or Beast. Else, I may be forced to call you Lefty..."
John groaned. "Yessir, Mr. Hank, sir. And I'll uh, be sure not to miss dinner anymore. I promise."
The older mutant nodded. "Many a man would take you at your word, and go indeed, having so good a mean," he quoted, walking away.
John shook his head. It was such a contrast - the appearance of an animal, but intelligent and wise. And able to quote literature, probably Shakespeare, or so John assumed.
~Hmm. If there's a session going on, I bet Kitty's not in her room.~
For a moment, John Jashback seriously considered going back outside, and hiding out until the middle of the night. He rubbed his temples.
~Why the hell am I such a nice guy so much? Oh right, guilty conscience. I'd never make a good villain.~
He swallowed hard and puffed out his chest and boldly strode to the living quarters for the students. A wave of relief washed over him, thankful no one was around to see him walk like such an idiot. Then again, he wouldn't ever dare to walk like that with people around. He came to Kitty's door and knocked, but received no reply. He poked his head inside to make sure it WAS Kitty's room. It was, he decided, recognizing some of the room's fixtures from his time inside the night before. Knowing it was wrong, he stepped inside. In a way, it felt like taboo, being alone in a girl's room. It was almost like stepping over the threshold into forbidden territory. He grinned in spite of himself.
~John, get out of here before you get caught. You know better than this.~
Pushing away thoughts of reason and decency and common sense, he strolled around the room. Sitting on a desk in the middle of the room was a glass of water with a rose in it. John smiled and looked around the room, hoping to spot the other but had no luck. But his eyes went back to the rose and he couldn't help but smile. The big question in his mind was who kept her rose? Was it Rogue or Kitty? Logic screamed that it couldn't be Kitty, but he had no chance to think about it because...
"An' what do you think you're doing?"
John spun around to see Rogue standing in the doorway, hands on her hips and her eyebrows in the air. She was wearing a uniform like John's, only with a green chest piece on. She must have just come from the Danger Room, because her hair was matted on her forehead and her cheeks glistened with sweat. John could only think of one word to describe her at that moment - beautiful. She was absolutely beautiful. There was no explanation. He just stared at her, jaw hanging open, his eyes drinking in every ounce of her.
"What are you lookin' at, Lefty?" she said pointedly.
The sharpness of her voice snapped John back into reality. "Er uh... I uh... Well uh... Uh...."
"What are ya' doin' in mah room?"
"Er, I uh..." he muttered. He randomly pointed behind him. "Er, I was waiting for uh, for uh...uh...for Kitty. I wanted to uh, to talk to her." It was hard keeping his composure. She was just *that* beautiful.
"Uh-huh. Fahne. You can just wait outsahde," she told him. She stepped aside to give him room to walk by.
"Oh...uh...sure...uh...ok..." John began to walk over to the door, but lost his footing and...
~OH GOD NO! NOT IN FRONT OF HER!!!~
*THUMP*
John glanced up and saw Rogue looking at him with a delightful and very satisfied smile on her face. Pushing himself back onto his feet, John muttered many rushed apologies and scrambled out of the room, leaning against the adjacent wall for support. Rogue flashed him a devilish grin before closing the door in his face. As soon as the door was shut, John exhaled loudly and slumped to the floor. He moaned painfully and started banging the back of his head on the wall. The noise caused Rogue to open the door again and give John a strange look. He smiled weakly and waved, but curved her bottom lip and blew the air across her face, lightly tossing on of her white locks of hair. She shook her head and closed the door. So as not to be any louder, John smacked himself in the forehead before shaking his head.
~Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid.~
He held his head in his hands, trying to get a grip on things.
~Ok, where did all that come from? I mean, come on John, you've seen tons of pretty girls before. Why get so worked up over one? Yeah, I know. She was beautiful. So beautiful....~
John smiled happily and began to loll his head, side to side. Caught up in his thoughts, he never noticed Kitty walk up.
"Like, what are you doing here?"
John stopped moving and fear branched through his entire body.
~Oh God...~
He slowly opened one eye and looked up at Kitty, trying not to wince. He opened the other eye painstakingly slow, and pushed himself up on his feet.
"Er, hi," he began, clearing his throat. "Listen uh...can we talk for a second?"
"We don't have anything to talk about," she said, reaching for her door knob.
~Nothing to talk about? Is she insane?!?~
He reached out and grabbed her by the wrist. "Please. Just listen. It'll only take a second," he pleaded.
Kitty yanked herself out of John's grip and needlessly rubbed her wrist. "Fine. Make it quick," she ordered.
"Ok, uh. Well...I wanted to apologize for what happened at lunch. What I did was stupid and dumb, and I wish I hadn't said it. I don't really know why I said what I said, because I would have been better off not saying anything. I don't know if you'll forgive me or not, and I understand if you won't, but I don't want any bad blood to exist between us." John wasn't sure if he had ever spoken so rushed in his life. Wait a second, he had, just the night before.
Kitty narrowed her eyes and studied him for a moment, not speaking.
"If it's any consolation, Lance did get his revenge," John said nervously, pointing to his eye as evidence. But that didn't seem to make things any less tense, as Kitty's expression visibly tightened.
~Aw shit. Bad move.~
"So listen...I'm sorry. I'm very, very sorry," he said apologetically. "I'll never do anything like that ever again, and..." John took a deep breath. "I won't lay a finger on Lance, no matter what."
Kitty raised an eyebrow and said, "We'll see," before phasing through her door, leaving John standing in the hallway alone.
"Um, bye?" John said, uncertainty in his voice. His eyes drooped and he slumped himself back against the wall, more exhausted than if he had been playing basketball non-stop for a day.
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Yeah, so I stole a line from "Retreat." It just fit real well there. Oh, and Beast's quote was from the Shakespeare comedy, 'The Comedy of Errors,' in case any of you wanted to know.
Oh, and since I'm not fluent in the jargon used for fan fiction, what the heck does 'A/U' mean?