There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 25
Author's Note: Stuff surrounded in ~ are thoughts and I love you all and thanks for all of the reviews. Wow Post, I had no idea my story had such impact :) And in case anyone wants to know, I try to write a chapter a day, which I've been really good at doing (I haven't gone a day without posting a chapter).
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or anything in it. Marvel and Kid's WB do. I just own John Jashback.
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John Jashback sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the floor. He wasn't sure how long he'd been staring. It felt like an hour. John looked over at the clock. It had been five minutes. He sighed and fell backwards onto the bed.
~Maybe staring at the ceiling will make time pass much faster.~
"John, I'm bored," Jamie whined.
"Jamie," John said, looking over at the younger mutant, "Have I ever told you how lucky you are?"
"I think so. Why do you say that anyway? If I were lucky, they wouldn't say I was too little to do anything fun."
John shook his head. All Jamie worried about was acceptance. He didn't have to worry about girls...yet.
Then again, John worried about acceptance, too. Anyone who gets taken out of their natural environment and put in a new one battles for acceptance. Being a mutant in a house full of mutants made that easier, but then again, aside from special abilities, they were teenagers, too. And teenagers with special abilities were forces to be reckoned with.
John shook his head again. He was letting himself drift away from the important issue: his date.
~Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion. It's no big deal, really. I mean, sure, you've never been on a date before, but it can't be *that* bad. Can it?~
"Come on, John. Let's go do something," Jamie said, who started to pull John off the bed by his arm. And sure enough...
John stood up and sighed. "I'm shy a pin already. Let's go, Private."
And with that, a one-armed mutant and a three-armed mutant left the room.
**********
With his arm regrown, and the old one buried, John and Jamie found themselves in the dining room, for no other reason than that John needed nourishment. Eating the lazy man's breakfast of champions, the two mutants watched TV, although John really wasn't paying attention. The date was like the elephant hiding behind the curtains; you could only ignore it for so long before you had to figure out what to do with it.
~Maybe an elephant will come trample me. Then I won't have to go.~
John knew he was delaying the inevitable. It was exactly he was doing. Sure, he had Scott's car, and he probably had some clothes that would look decent enough, but he still didn't know where jack crap was in Bayville.
~Heh. I could always ask Amara when we go. Of course, then I'll look like a jackass.~
And like a message from God, John's savior had arrived.
Well...not exactly.
Kurt appeared in his usual hazy entrance, a big goofy grin on his blue face.
"So Mister Lefty, I hear you have a date with Amara tonight."
"You can't call me Lefty anymore if both arms fall off."
"No, but I can call you Gimpy, ja?"
John gave him a very dry look. "So yeah, I've got a date with Amara."
"So vere are you two going?" Kurt asked, now rooting through the pantry for food.
Sighing, John said, "That, Herr Wagner, is the root of my problem. I don't know where anything is in this town, which really limits where I can take her."
"Just take her to the movies. Zats always a good first date."
"Do you happen to have a map that leads from here to there on you?" John asked, an annoyed tone in his voice.
"I bet there's one in ze van. I'll go check."
Kurt disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and seconds later, reappeared, holding something in his three-fingered hand.
"Here," he said, handing John a book.
He flipped it open to reveal one of those books with the cities blocked into grids with all the street names and such. John couldn't quite remember the name of it, though.
"Thanks Kurt, but uh, I still don't know where a movie theater is."
John coughed as the smoke engulfed him, and Kurt was gone. A second later, he was back, a phonebook in hand. Flipping through the pages, he pointed John to the listings of movie theaters.
"And zere you go."
John looked down at the phone book and then back up at Kurt. "Movies, huh? Think it'll work?"
"Hey man! Don't doubt the fuzzy one. It'll be fine."
~I hope so.~
**********
"Anticipation. Anticipation. Is making me late. Is keeping me waiting."
Waiting.
John was back sitting on his bed and staring at the clock. He ran a hand through his hair and tapped his foot nervously on the floor. It was 6 o'clock. Only an hour left. Butterflies the size of battleships were floating around in his stomach. He felt close to vomiting.
The other students all had some sort of comment to tell John whenever they saw him. It seemed everyone knew, and all thought it was so nice and great, which confused the hell out of John.
~I've only been here four days. How can this all be so great and nice? You know John, it's not too late to back out. You could decline, fake sick, really get sick, get hurt, run away, go back home, and you don't have to deal with this.~
The idea seemed so tempting. But all this fuss over a date? John shook his head.
~I'm overreacting. Yeah. That's all. This isn't too bad. Yeah. You've just never been on a date. It's no big deal. But you know, it isn't that bad. I mean, so what if it turns out bad? It's not like I really know her. It won't make any huge emotional scars. Yeah. No big deal. I hope.~
John had made sure with the Professor that it was okay that he was going out. He didn't want to get in trouble and end up doing extra training sessions. He also went to the Professor to beg for some money. And boy, it was awkward.
John had poked his head into Amara's room momentarily, after talking to the Professor. She was fine with going to the movies, and leaving at seven was just fine for her. While it was a quick conversation, it was even more awkward than the one he had just had.
Rooting though his meager possessions, John found a shirt and pants that were suitable enough to wear -- not too casual, not too fancy.
~They had better be good enough, or I'm screwed. I don't think anyone here has clothes I can borrow that'll fit...except maybe Scott. And I think he'd be willing to do me another favor.~
John wondered briefly what he would have to do to work off his debt. He wouldn't know until later in the evening.
~Just another thing to worry about, I guess.~
Picking up his hospital robe and a pair of boxers, John left his room and headed over to the bathroom, intent on taking a shower, hoping it would put him at ease, just for a little while, so he could make it through the rest of the day.
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Oh yeah, today's episode, 'Under Lock and Key', was very very mucho badass (in my opinion). It's a damn shame that there's only four new episodes left in the season (meaning we're going to get hit with reruns out the wazoo until May).
Sorry this chapter seemed so short. I want to put the date in a chapter all to itself, so I ended this one kind of early.
Author's Note: Stuff surrounded in ~ are thoughts and I love you all and thanks for all of the reviews. Wow Post, I had no idea my story had such impact :) And in case anyone wants to know, I try to write a chapter a day, which I've been really good at doing (I haven't gone a day without posting a chapter).
Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution or anything in it. Marvel and Kid's WB do. I just own John Jashback.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
John Jashback sat on the edge of his bed and stared at the floor. He wasn't sure how long he'd been staring. It felt like an hour. John looked over at the clock. It had been five minutes. He sighed and fell backwards onto the bed.
~Maybe staring at the ceiling will make time pass much faster.~
"John, I'm bored," Jamie whined.
"Jamie," John said, looking over at the younger mutant, "Have I ever told you how lucky you are?"
"I think so. Why do you say that anyway? If I were lucky, they wouldn't say I was too little to do anything fun."
John shook his head. All Jamie worried about was acceptance. He didn't have to worry about girls...yet.
Then again, John worried about acceptance, too. Anyone who gets taken out of their natural environment and put in a new one battles for acceptance. Being a mutant in a house full of mutants made that easier, but then again, aside from special abilities, they were teenagers, too. And teenagers with special abilities were forces to be reckoned with.
John shook his head again. He was letting himself drift away from the important issue: his date.
~Maybe I'm blowing this out of proportion. It's no big deal, really. I mean, sure, you've never been on a date before, but it can't be *that* bad. Can it?~
"Come on, John. Let's go do something," Jamie said, who started to pull John off the bed by his arm. And sure enough...
John stood up and sighed. "I'm shy a pin already. Let's go, Private."
And with that, a one-armed mutant and a three-armed mutant left the room.
**********
With his arm regrown, and the old one buried, John and Jamie found themselves in the dining room, for no other reason than that John needed nourishment. Eating the lazy man's breakfast of champions, the two mutants watched TV, although John really wasn't paying attention. The date was like the elephant hiding behind the curtains; you could only ignore it for so long before you had to figure out what to do with it.
~Maybe an elephant will come trample me. Then I won't have to go.~
John knew he was delaying the inevitable. It was exactly he was doing. Sure, he had Scott's car, and he probably had some clothes that would look decent enough, but he still didn't know where jack crap was in Bayville.
~Heh. I could always ask Amara when we go. Of course, then I'll look like a jackass.~
And like a message from God, John's savior had arrived.
Well...not exactly.
Kurt appeared in his usual hazy entrance, a big goofy grin on his blue face.
"So Mister Lefty, I hear you have a date with Amara tonight."
"You can't call me Lefty anymore if both arms fall off."
"No, but I can call you Gimpy, ja?"
John gave him a very dry look. "So yeah, I've got a date with Amara."
"So vere are you two going?" Kurt asked, now rooting through the pantry for food.
Sighing, John said, "That, Herr Wagner, is the root of my problem. I don't know where anything is in this town, which really limits where I can take her."
"Just take her to the movies. Zats always a good first date."
"Do you happen to have a map that leads from here to there on you?" John asked, an annoyed tone in his voice.
"I bet there's one in ze van. I'll go check."
Kurt disappeared in a cloud of smoke, and seconds later, reappeared, holding something in his three-fingered hand.
"Here," he said, handing John a book.
He flipped it open to reveal one of those books with the cities blocked into grids with all the street names and such. John couldn't quite remember the name of it, though.
"Thanks Kurt, but uh, I still don't know where a movie theater is."
John coughed as the smoke engulfed him, and Kurt was gone. A second later, he was back, a phonebook in hand. Flipping through the pages, he pointed John to the listings of movie theaters.
"And zere you go."
John looked down at the phone book and then back up at Kurt. "Movies, huh? Think it'll work?"
"Hey man! Don't doubt the fuzzy one. It'll be fine."
~I hope so.~
**********
"Anticipation. Anticipation. Is making me late. Is keeping me waiting."
Waiting.
John was back sitting on his bed and staring at the clock. He ran a hand through his hair and tapped his foot nervously on the floor. It was 6 o'clock. Only an hour left. Butterflies the size of battleships were floating around in his stomach. He felt close to vomiting.
The other students all had some sort of comment to tell John whenever they saw him. It seemed everyone knew, and all thought it was so nice and great, which confused the hell out of John.
~I've only been here four days. How can this all be so great and nice? You know John, it's not too late to back out. You could decline, fake sick, really get sick, get hurt, run away, go back home, and you don't have to deal with this.~
The idea seemed so tempting. But all this fuss over a date? John shook his head.
~I'm overreacting. Yeah. That's all. This isn't too bad. Yeah. You've just never been on a date. It's no big deal. But you know, it isn't that bad. I mean, so what if it turns out bad? It's not like I really know her. It won't make any huge emotional scars. Yeah. No big deal. I hope.~
John had made sure with the Professor that it was okay that he was going out. He didn't want to get in trouble and end up doing extra training sessions. He also went to the Professor to beg for some money. And boy, it was awkward.
John had poked his head into Amara's room momentarily, after talking to the Professor. She was fine with going to the movies, and leaving at seven was just fine for her. While it was a quick conversation, it was even more awkward than the one he had just had.
Rooting though his meager possessions, John found a shirt and pants that were suitable enough to wear -- not too casual, not too fancy.
~They had better be good enough, or I'm screwed. I don't think anyone here has clothes I can borrow that'll fit...except maybe Scott. And I think he'd be willing to do me another favor.~
John wondered briefly what he would have to do to work off his debt. He wouldn't know until later in the evening.
~Just another thing to worry about, I guess.~
Picking up his hospital robe and a pair of boxers, John left his room and headed over to the bathroom, intent on taking a shower, hoping it would put him at ease, just for a little while, so he could make it through the rest of the day.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------
Oh yeah, today's episode, 'Under Lock and Key', was very very mucho badass (in my opinion). It's a damn shame that there's only four new episodes left in the season (meaning we're going to get hit with reruns out the wazoo until May).
Sorry this chapter seemed so short. I want to put the date in a chapter all to itself, so I ended this one kind of early.