There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 26
Author's Note: Stuff in italics are thoughts and I love you all and thanks for the reviews.
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 pressed his face up against the fogged up mirror of the bathroom and began to mumble incoherently to himself.
"How much ham...could a..." He trailed off and began to look around, bleary eyed. Apparently content with his solitude, he pressed his face back up against the mirror, and started to make a noise that could only be described as a mix between laughter and mumbling.
John, stop wasting time and go get dressed.
Pulling his face away, he stared at the mark his face left and wiped away a big enough space so that he could see himself. He stood up straight and squared his jaw, examining himself in the mirror.
Well...it's go time.
He pulled on his boxers and threw on the robe and picked up his dirty clothes and went back to his room, and performed the standard post-bathing routines (I don't feel the need to go into that, since you all know what they are, unless you live like Toad). He put on his semi-decent, date-worthy clothes, tucking in his shirt and putting on a belt, combing his hair, before slumping down onto his bed. He looked over at his reflection in the mirror.
I guess I look decent...I can't put this off any longer.
Pausing only to make sure he hadn't applied too much cologne, John shut his door behind him and headed down into the mansion foyer. The room was empty, for which he heartily thanked God for, and sat on the sofa, tapping a foot impatiently. If battleships had been floating in John's stomach earlier, planets had to be flying around inside him now. He quickly felt under his arms to make sure he hadn't started sweating like crazy, and felt around his pockets to ensure that he had the keys. As if the keys were a beacon, Scott appeared out of one of the many twisting hallways and corridors that led to the front of the Institute.
He sat down and slapped John on the back. "Don't sweat it. It'll be fine," he said reassuringly, as if he could sense his anxiety.
John only nodded, hoping that it would all be fine.
"Just remember; don't mess up the car."
John looked over at the older mutant and said, "Thanks. That was real helpful."
"Sorry," he replied, pausing for a moment. "And there's my cue to leave."
"Huh?"
John looked up as Scott walked away, but his eyes drifted to the top of the stairs. There was Amara, wearing something not too fancy and not too casual (such a detail isn't really necessary to know). She smiled at John, who jumped to his feet, and began walking down the stairs.
Whoa. She looks...
When she reached the bottom, John tried to say something but found his throat to be bone dry. He coughed and cleared it out before saying, "You uh, look uh, really uh..." Starting to trail off, he caught himself. "You look uh, really nice. Er uh, great. Really uh...nice and uh...great..."
"Thank you," she said, going crimson before looking up at John and smiling. "You look nice, too."
John laughed nervously and reddened slightly, and very nearly ran over to the door to hold it open for her. She smiled warmly at the gesture of chivalry and did the same when he opened the car door for her. John fumbled with the keys for a moment before putting them into the ignition, starting the car and heading down the long, twisting driveway of the mansion.
Out on the road, John found himself very confused.
Was I supposed to turn there? Exit here? Dammit, I should have brought the map with me.
"So uh...how are you doing?" John asked, trying to make idle conversation as he attempted to remember how to get to the theater.
"I'm fine. And I'm glad to wanted to go out with me."
John took his eyes off the road for a moment to look over at her. "Me too."
"I'm sorry," he said a minute later, breaking the odd silence.
"For what?" Amara asked.
"I uh, kinda...got lost. I forgot which way to go."
"Don't worry. I know how to get there," she said laughing, and pointed him in the right direction.
Moments later, they had arrived, Amara's directions proving correct. As it turned out, John had missed a turn, and was a street over from where he was supposed to be.
"So uh, what do you want to see?" John asked, pointing at the various movies playing.
"I don't know. What do you want to watch?"
I really don't want to see anything.
John stood in silence for a moment, debating with himself.
"You know...how about we don't see anything? Let's go somewhere and talk. I barely know anything about you, except that you're pretty and you can make fire."
Amara reached up and pulled his head down to hers and kissed him.
What the hell...?
"Wh...wh...what was that for?" he spluttered after she pulled away.
"For saying I was pretty," she said, a twinkle in her eye. "Come on. Let's get out of here," she said, gingerly taking his arm and pulling him away from the theater but not to the car.
"W...where are we going? The car is over there..."
"You're cute, you know?" She said, much to John's surprise. "Now come with me."
Confused to no end, John had no choice, except to follow.
**********
"So tell me...why'd you ask me out in the first place?"
John had his arm around Amara's shoulder, and they were strolling through a park. It was only a few blocks from the theater, and quite large for something in the middle of the city. The setting was calm and serene, and very still in the darkness. They had been walking and talking for quite some time; really introducing themselves to one another, finding out their likes and dislikes, talking briefly on where they were from and just generally getting to know one another.
"Well..." she began, "I just wanted to apologize for the fire... The others told me what you did to try and put it out."
"Ah," John said, nodding. He stopped and looked down at her. "Is that the only reason why?" he asked slyly.
She looked up and blushed. "Well, and because I thought you were cute."
John grinned and walked over to a nearby stone bench, sitting down and motioning for her to do the same. "Well...I'm glad you asked, even if this didn't turn out quite as I had planned."
She smiled and sat down beside him, resting her head on his arm.
"Although I do this this is turning out better than I could have hoped." Wrapping his arm around her again, John looked up at the night sky and blew up a strand of hair on his forehead, content and relaxed for the first time since he'd woken up that morning.
"I really wish we had done this sooner. The talking, I mean. It would have saved me from a lot of grief," John said.
"Oh really? Why?" Amara asked.
"Well," John said, laughing to himself, "I've spent the whole day worrying about this, about where to take you, what to do, why you asked me out. I had to beg for Scott to loan me his car, and had to look on a map for places to go. This is all a new experience to me, especially in a new place. But now...this is different, and when I say different, I mean better. I'm not so nervous around you anymore, either."
And thank God for that, too.
Amara smiled up at him and nodded.
"We'll just try the whole 'dating' thing another time, if that's fine with you," John said, his nervousness returning.
"I'd like that," she said, before leaning her head back on John, a small smile on her face.
**********
As Scott's car came into John's sight, he spotted a person sitting on the hood of it, but was too far away to tell who it was. As he get closer, he still couldn't tell who the person was, as his back was to John, and his head bent down.
"Uh, excuse me. Can I help you with something?" John called out.
"You sure can," a familiar voice said rapidly.
Oh hell...
In a flash, Pietro Maximoff was standing in front of John. "Hey, how you doin', buddy?" He looked over at Amara. "Oooooh, you two on a date?"
"Go away," John said simply.
"I see the car, but I don't see Summers," Pietro replied, ignoring what John had said.
"He isn't here. He let me borrow the car. Now if you'll excuse us..." John went to push past the lanky, white-haired mutant, but he stuck an arm to block him.
Stay cool, John. Just stay cool.
"I don't think so," and with a flash, Pietro slipped his hands into John's pockets, and pulled out the car keys. "You can't go anywhere if I have these," he said, grinning impudently.
Alright, I've had enough of this.
With one hand, John clamped onto Pietro's shoulder in a tight vice-grip, and with the other hand...
Too deeply engaged and entertained with what he had done, Pietro didn't have time to move out of the way of John's fist, and it impacted square into his nose. He let out a girlish yelp and brought his hands up to his face.
"That was for the keys," John growled. "And this..." he said, bringing his arm back around, collided into his jaw. John let go of his shoulder and pushed him aside. "That...that was for this morning." After picking up the keys, John walked over to the passenger door and opened it, and Amara climbed inside, a beaming smile on her face.
**********
Pietro blinked hard and rubbed the side of his jaw, pushing himself up with his free arm.
Man, that punk hit hard...
A bright, yellow light filled his eyes, and he slammed his eyelids shut.
"What the..." he said aloud.
Standing up, he looked past the light to the inside of the car, where the new X-Geek stared at him with a grim smile on his face, and a dark-skinned girl laughed and waved at him.
The car backed out and sped out of the parking lot, leaving Pietro standing in the dark, lightly touching his nose, wondering how the hell someone had gotten the jump on him.
**********
"THANK YOU, GOD!!!" John shouted to the open road, an exuberance of happiness bubbling through his body, pumping a fist into the air. "Revenge is so sweet..." He looked over at Amara and grinned. "I don't think there could have been a better ending to this evening than that."
She merely smiled back at him.
Justice has been served.
For all the day's events, from shopping, to fighting, to the waiting, to the horrible beginning of the date, and the talking, that was the icing on the cake.
And I like icing.
**********
"I had a really nice time," Amara told John, the two standing outside the front door of the mansion.
"I did, too," he said, unsure of what to do next.
Isn't this the part where I kiss her? After what happened, am I still supposed to kiss her? Oh, what the hell.
John cupped her chin and gently tilted her face up, looking into her eyes. They made a brilliant contrast against her dark skin, and she looked beautiful in the moonlight. He pressed his lips to hers, and brought both of his hands to her cheeks, holding her firmly. She wrapped her arms around his back, and soon, they were both lost in each other.
Eventually, and reluctantly, they broke apart, and murmured brief goodbyes, and Amara went inside. John couldn't help but smile, and he did a little dance on the steps. If John had been happy after getting even with Pietro, now...right now, he was feeling abso-freakin-lutely fantastic.
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Chapter 26
Author's Note: Stuff in italics are thoughts and I love you all and thanks for the reviews.
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 pressed his face up against the fogged up mirror of the bathroom and began to mumble incoherently to himself.
"How much ham...could a..." He trailed off and began to look around, bleary eyed. Apparently content with his solitude, he pressed his face back up against the mirror, and started to make a noise that could only be described as a mix between laughter and mumbling.
John, stop wasting time and go get dressed.
Pulling his face away, he stared at the mark his face left and wiped away a big enough space so that he could see himself. He stood up straight and squared his jaw, examining himself in the mirror.
Well...it's go time.
He pulled on his boxers and threw on the robe and picked up his dirty clothes and went back to his room, and performed the standard post-bathing routines (I don't feel the need to go into that, since you all know what they are, unless you live like Toad). He put on his semi-decent, date-worthy clothes, tucking in his shirt and putting on a belt, combing his hair, before slumping down onto his bed. He looked over at his reflection in the mirror.
I guess I look decent...I can't put this off any longer.
Pausing only to make sure he hadn't applied too much cologne, John shut his door behind him and headed down into the mansion foyer. The room was empty, for which he heartily thanked God for, and sat on the sofa, tapping a foot impatiently. If battleships had been floating in John's stomach earlier, planets had to be flying around inside him now. He quickly felt under his arms to make sure he hadn't started sweating like crazy, and felt around his pockets to ensure that he had the keys. As if the keys were a beacon, Scott appeared out of one of the many twisting hallways and corridors that led to the front of the Institute.
He sat down and slapped John on the back. "Don't sweat it. It'll be fine," he said reassuringly, as if he could sense his anxiety.
John only nodded, hoping that it would all be fine.
"Just remember; don't mess up the car."
John looked over at the older mutant and said, "Thanks. That was real helpful."
"Sorry," he replied, pausing for a moment. "And there's my cue to leave."
"Huh?"
John looked up as Scott walked away, but his eyes drifted to the top of the stairs. There was Amara, wearing something not too fancy and not too casual (such a detail isn't really necessary to know). She smiled at John, who jumped to his feet, and began walking down the stairs.
Whoa. She looks...
When she reached the bottom, John tried to say something but found his throat to be bone dry. He coughed and cleared it out before saying, "You uh, look uh, really uh..." Starting to trail off, he caught himself. "You look uh, really nice. Er uh, great. Really uh...nice and uh...great..."
"Thank you," she said, going crimson before looking up at John and smiling. "You look nice, too."
John laughed nervously and reddened slightly, and very nearly ran over to the door to hold it open for her. She smiled warmly at the gesture of chivalry and did the same when he opened the car door for her. John fumbled with the keys for a moment before putting them into the ignition, starting the car and heading down the long, twisting driveway of the mansion.
Out on the road, John found himself very confused.
Was I supposed to turn there? Exit here? Dammit, I should have brought the map with me.
"So uh...how are you doing?" John asked, trying to make idle conversation as he attempted to remember how to get to the theater.
"I'm fine. And I'm glad to wanted to go out with me."
John took his eyes off the road for a moment to look over at her. "Me too."
"I'm sorry," he said a minute later, breaking the odd silence.
"For what?" Amara asked.
"I uh, kinda...got lost. I forgot which way to go."
"Don't worry. I know how to get there," she said laughing, and pointed him in the right direction.
Moments later, they had arrived, Amara's directions proving correct. As it turned out, John had missed a turn, and was a street over from where he was supposed to be.
"So uh, what do you want to see?" John asked, pointing at the various movies playing.
"I don't know. What do you want to watch?"
I really don't want to see anything.
John stood in silence for a moment, debating with himself.
"You know...how about we don't see anything? Let's go somewhere and talk. I barely know anything about you, except that you're pretty and you can make fire."
Amara reached up and pulled his head down to hers and kissed him.
What the hell...?
"Wh...wh...what was that for?" he spluttered after she pulled away.
"For saying I was pretty," she said, a twinkle in her eye. "Come on. Let's get out of here," she said, gingerly taking his arm and pulling him away from the theater but not to the car.
"W...where are we going? The car is over there..."
"You're cute, you know?" She said, much to John's surprise. "Now come with me."
Confused to no end, John had no choice, except to follow.
**********
"So tell me...why'd you ask me out in the first place?"
John had his arm around Amara's shoulder, and they were strolling through a park. It was only a few blocks from the theater, and quite large for something in the middle of the city. The setting was calm and serene, and very still in the darkness. They had been walking and talking for quite some time; really introducing themselves to one another, finding out their likes and dislikes, talking briefly on where they were from and just generally getting to know one another.
"Well..." she began, "I just wanted to apologize for the fire... The others told me what you did to try and put it out."
"Ah," John said, nodding. He stopped and looked down at her. "Is that the only reason why?" he asked slyly.
She looked up and blushed. "Well, and because I thought you were cute."
John grinned and walked over to a nearby stone bench, sitting down and motioning for her to do the same. "Well...I'm glad you asked, even if this didn't turn out quite as I had planned."
She smiled and sat down beside him, resting her head on his arm.
"Although I do this this is turning out better than I could have hoped." Wrapping his arm around her again, John looked up at the night sky and blew up a strand of hair on his forehead, content and relaxed for the first time since he'd woken up that morning.
"I really wish we had done this sooner. The talking, I mean. It would have saved me from a lot of grief," John said.
"Oh really? Why?" Amara asked.
"Well," John said, laughing to himself, "I've spent the whole day worrying about this, about where to take you, what to do, why you asked me out. I had to beg for Scott to loan me his car, and had to look on a map for places to go. This is all a new experience to me, especially in a new place. But now...this is different, and when I say different, I mean better. I'm not so nervous around you anymore, either."
And thank God for that, too.
Amara smiled up at him and nodded.
"We'll just try the whole 'dating' thing another time, if that's fine with you," John said, his nervousness returning.
"I'd like that," she said, before leaning her head back on John, a small smile on her face.
**********
As Scott's car came into John's sight, he spotted a person sitting on the hood of it, but was too far away to tell who it was. As he get closer, he still couldn't tell who the person was, as his back was to John, and his head bent down.
"Uh, excuse me. Can I help you with something?" John called out.
"You sure can," a familiar voice said rapidly.
Oh hell...
In a flash, Pietro Maximoff was standing in front of John. "Hey, how you doin', buddy?" He looked over at Amara. "Oooooh, you two on a date?"
"Go away," John said simply.
"I see the car, but I don't see Summers," Pietro replied, ignoring what John had said.
"He isn't here. He let me borrow the car. Now if you'll excuse us..." John went to push past the lanky, white-haired mutant, but he stuck an arm to block him.
Stay cool, John. Just stay cool.
"I don't think so," and with a flash, Pietro slipped his hands into John's pockets, and pulled out the car keys. "You can't go anywhere if I have these," he said, grinning impudently.
Alright, I've had enough of this.
With one hand, John clamped onto Pietro's shoulder in a tight vice-grip, and with the other hand...
Too deeply engaged and entertained with what he had done, Pietro didn't have time to move out of the way of John's fist, and it impacted square into his nose. He let out a girlish yelp and brought his hands up to his face.
"That was for the keys," John growled. "And this..." he said, bringing his arm back around, collided into his jaw. John let go of his shoulder and pushed him aside. "That...that was for this morning." After picking up the keys, John walked over to the passenger door and opened it, and Amara climbed inside, a beaming smile on her face.
**********
Pietro blinked hard and rubbed the side of his jaw, pushing himself up with his free arm.
Man, that punk hit hard...
A bright, yellow light filled his eyes, and he slammed his eyelids shut.
"What the..." he said aloud.
Standing up, he looked past the light to the inside of the car, where the new X-Geek stared at him with a grim smile on his face, and a dark-skinned girl laughed and waved at him.
The car backed out and sped out of the parking lot, leaving Pietro standing in the dark, lightly touching his nose, wondering how the hell someone had gotten the jump on him.
**********
"THANK YOU, GOD!!!" John shouted to the open road, an exuberance of happiness bubbling through his body, pumping a fist into the air. "Revenge is so sweet..." He looked over at Amara and grinned. "I don't think there could have been a better ending to this evening than that."
She merely smiled back at him.
Justice has been served.
For all the day's events, from shopping, to fighting, to the waiting, to the horrible beginning of the date, and the talking, that was the icing on the cake.
And I like icing.
**********
"I had a really nice time," Amara told John, the two standing outside the front door of the mansion.
"I did, too," he said, unsure of what to do next.
Isn't this the part where I kiss her? After what happened, am I still supposed to kiss her? Oh, what the hell.
John cupped her chin and gently tilted her face up, looking into her eyes. They made a brilliant contrast against her dark skin, and she looked beautiful in the moonlight. He pressed his lips to hers, and brought both of his hands to her cheeks, holding her firmly. She wrapped her arms around his back, and soon, they were both lost in each other.
Eventually, and reluctantly, they broke apart, and murmured brief goodbyes, and Amara went inside. John couldn't help but smile, and he did a little dance on the steps. If John had been happy after getting even with Pietro, now...right now, he was feeling abso-freakin-lutely fantastic.
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