There Must Be Some Kind of Way Out of Here
Chapter 36
Author's Note: You know the routine. Stuff in italics are thoughts and I love you all.
Disclaimer: Don't own any of this, except my original character, John, and any body parts of his that fall off. Oh, and this has infrequent cuss words, so there's your warning.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So uh...what the...heck are we going to do when we get back to the Institute?" John had to check his language - he wasn't exactly sure how Jean would react to his casual swearing.
Jean didn't answer for a while. John glanced over at her, but she looked lost in her thoughts. He shrugged his shoulders and they continued walking in silence.
He had no idea where they were. He just started walking. And she walked with him. They hadn't said anything until John spoke up a moment ago, for which he was very grateful. He wasn't in a talking mood either.
They were in some neighborhood, a nice looking place that reminded John of his old home. It was nice and cool outside, but then again, the weather was always like that in Bayville. Stupid ocean. It was quiet, too. Not surprising, as it wasn't even one o'clock yet. Which meant that they had at least four more hours to come up with some kind of game plan, or else...
"I don't know what to do," she said finally.
John sighed. He really hoped she'd have some kind of idea. She seemed a helluva lot more level-headed than he was, and thus, smarter, or so he told himself.
"Alright, fine," John said, stopping in his tracks. He didn't know what he was going to say, but he needed to get the problem resolved. "Let's get this situation settled right now, rather than letting it fester inside of us for the rest of the day."
"Ok...what's your idea?"
"Do you like Scott?"
"Excuse me?" she said, taken aback by his very to-the-point question.
"You heard me. Do you like Scott?"
"Uh...I guess..."
"Do you like him as much as he likes you?"
"Um. That's kind of a personal question."
"Yeah, well I gave you free access to my thoughts, so you know the shit that I wouldn't tell anyone," he said, a little rougher than he intended. "So tell me. Do-you-like-him-the-same-way-he-likes-you?"
"I...I guess so," she said quietly.
"Do you like him enough to blackmail a pathetic, confused young man who's arms fall off into doing something so completely idiotic to try and impress him?"
"I'm serious," John added, when Jean started laughing hysterically.
"Uh...sure, I guess so," she said around muffled giggles.
"Well there you go. That wasn't too difficult, was it? It only took skipping school and fist to my jaw to get that barrier broken down..." John said dryly. It made her laugh more.
"This means that when we finally get back, you're going to go tell him, right?"
Her laughter cut off, but she didn't respond.
"Uh...right?" John asked, giving her a questioning look.
Oh no, you aren't backin' out of this now...
"Right," John said for her. "We're going to go back, find Scott, you'll tell him, you'll both be happy, and I'll leave you alone together so you can make out and do all that stuff. And yer gonna like it, too!" Sure, that last part wasn't necessary, but it helped drive the point home.
Jean flashed an odd look in his direction. "You're persistent, aren't you?"
"When my ass is on the line, I sure as hell am!" Screw trying to keep the swearing to myself. It's nothing she can't hear on TV.
She laughed again before saying, "I guess you have a point there."
From completely out of left field, and like a sharp hammer blow, something hit John. Not literally, but in the metaphorical sense. A thought occurred to him that should have come to mind long ago. Jean said something to him, but he didn't hear her... Correction; he did hear her, but the words made no sense.
Oh Jesus Christ... How did you not think about that shit before you cracked open your skull and let he poke around? You stupid mother-fu...
John had no problem with Jean knowing that he had the hots for every girl in the Institute. Because really, it wasn't that big of a deal. Especially when the Institute was full of other teenage males just like him. No, that wasn't the problem. The problem was a particular tangled mess of soiled bedding stuffed under John's bed. Oh sure, it's something that happens to all guys, but it's still pretty embarrassing.
"Did you just hear what I said?"
"Uh. Yeah," John lied. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Um. Ok."
"Uh. Try to uh...uh...you know, uh...gah! This is embarrassing... Um."
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone what I saw. And uh, not to sound rude, but I'm going to try and forget everything I did see..." She shivered and blinked hard.
John felt himself go very red in the face, and he wished with all of his heart that he was somewhere else. But the burden that had suddenly dropped onto his shoulders was gone again.
"Heh. I bet you have to do that a lot, don't you?"
"If only you knew..." Jean replied, blowing aside wisp of hair that had fallen into the middle her face.
"Alright, so we got the important stuff out of the way." He waited for her nod before continuing. "Then what do we do with all this extra time?"
"Well, we could go back to school..."
"No thanks. We're bound to get detention for skipping, and I'd rather wait until tomorrow for it."
"Good point."
"Should we just go back to the Institute?"
"What time is it?"
"I don't know. You've got the watch."
"Oh...right." Jean glanced down at her wrist and sighed. "It isn't even two yet."
"Damn, I want to go already..." John murmured. "Er...." he croaked out, after seeing the look Jean shot him. "Not that I uh, don't uh, enjoy your company, but uh...uh...uh...uh...yeah."
Oh, now that was smooth.
"Don't worry. I know what you mean." She punched him lightly in the shoulder to show there was no harm done. "C'mon, let's go." She turned and started walking away.
"Uh...where are we going?" John said to her back.
She looked back at him before shrugging her shoulders. "Don't know. We'll find out when we get there."
Heh, that sounds eerily familiar... "Well...I hope they have food, wherever it is we're going," John called after her, rubbing his stomach.
**********
John Jashback was a messy eater. Oh sure, his parents taught him manners, and he generally followed them, but he really was a messy eater. But sometimes it isn't your fault if you eat messy. Sometimes the food is just naturally messy. Like spaghetti, or chili, even borscht. In John's case, it was a hamburger.
John didn't quite remember the name of the restaurant...it was Burger Barn or something, but frankly, he didn't care as he was busy stuffing his face with something they had called a 'Gut Bomb.' It was the biggest, meatiest, greasiest, and messiest burger you'd ever find, and from what Jean explained to him, they were a delicacy in the eyes of Kurt, who, if he wasn't at school or the Institute, he could be found here, clogging his arteries. John didn't blame him in the least bit. He was working on his fourth one at that moment.
"It's a side affect of my...er...curse." That was his reasoning for eating so much. And in many ways, it was true, although John didn't call his arms falling off a power or an ability or a talent. It was a useless curse.
"Yeah well...do you have to be so...gross with it?"
John wiped his face off with a napkin and set the battered mess of a burger down onto the table. "Let's see you eat this bad boy without makin' a mess."
Jean rolled her eyes and turned so that she didn't have to look directly at John.
"Hurry up and finish, so we can get out of here," she said, taking extra care to not look at him.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." he said, carefully watching her face. "I'll finish this one, and we can go." She started to relax, and so he went in for the kill. "That is, after I have a few extra ones. For the road, you know?"
He was full extreme delight at seeing her sickly expression.
**********
John let out a satisfied sigh as he kicked at the grass in front of him.
After John had finally had his fill of Gut Bombs (he had only teased about those extra burgers), the two mutants made their way to a nearby park. Jean claimed that she liked the fresh air. John was pretty sure that she just wanted to get out of there before he got hungry again.
Oh man. Those burgers are true to their name.
He had to fight hard to keep from unbuttoning the top of his jeans. His recently filled stomach desperately needed room to expand.
If she wasn't so hot, I'd do it anyway, but I don't want to make an ass of myself.
Sure, it was shallow thinking, but that was how the hormone-driven male psyche worked.
Of course, it's too late to worry about making an ass of yourself. You've long since passed that point, pal.
Shut up.
Ignoring the aura of negativity radiating from his mind, John nudged a decidedly bored looking Jean.
"Hm?" she said absently-mindedly.
"Mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure," she said, gazing off into space.
"Why were you dating that Aryan biped in the first place?"
"What?" she said, very much listening now.
"Why were you with that guy in the first place?"
"Isn't that kind of a personal question that you're asking me?"
John held up his hands in defense. "You don't have to answer me."
She gave him a considering look and they sat in silence for a moment before she finally replied.
"I don't really know why I did it. I guess to try and feel as normal as I can."
John nodded. "I know what you mean."
"I mean, I knew he... I don't know why... I knew what he was like before I got into a relationship with him. He didn't change much afterwards, either. He's still the same stupid, shallow idiot who tells the same stupid stories. I can't tell you how much I loathe football sometimes."
John chuckled softly and let her continue.
"I just...wanted to feel normal. That's why I do so many things at school. If I do enough to keep busy, I can sometimes forget that I'm a mutant."
He nodded. She had a point. "But why? Your power isn't exactly a problem or obstacle or anything. Not like mine. Or Scott's. Or Kurt's. Or Rogue's."
What kind of name is Rogue, anyway? Does she even have a real name? I'll have to ask her about that.
Jean smirked at his comment, though he didn't know it was from what he said, or what he thought. "Oh sure, I may not be blue and I can touch others, but... People like to be alone with their thoughts, but I never am. And anyone around me isn't alone with their thoughts either."
"Hmm... I guess so."
"I suppose you aren't completely convinced. Not that I blame you. If I had your...abilities, a little telepathy wouldn't be too impressive to me, either."
"Heh. It's like...it's like you read my mind. No pun intended."
Jean stuck out her tongue, but her face quickly hardened. "A few months ago, my powers started to evolve, and I couldn't control them. I don't remember much of what happened, but from what Scott and the Professor let slip, I caused quite a lot of damage. Scott nearly...died, trying to help me."
John didn't quite know how to respond to that. How could you, when just a moment ago, you were practically putting someone down, only to have them tell you something like that?
"Uh...sorry?" He managed to form some strange lopsided half-smile, half-grin.
"Don't worry. I won't hold it against you."
It eased the tension, but John still didn't say anything. He still didn't know how to reply to that.
After sitting in silence for a couple of minutes (that felt like an hour to John), he finally broke the ice again. "Er, uh...so what time is it?"
"A quarter to three."
"Well, we'll be early, but we might as well head back. I know that I'd much rather be there before everyone else."
"I suppose you're right," she said, standing up beside him. "Shall we?"
"Lead on, cause I don't have any idea where we are and how to get back."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Er, sorry if any of that seemed out of character or something for Jean, but the show kind of lacks in characterization sometimes.
'Alright' seemed to be John's favorite word this chapter. Huzzah.
Chapter 36
Author's Note: You know the routine. Stuff in italics are thoughts and I love you all.
Disclaimer: Don't own any of this, except my original character, John, and any body parts of his that fall off. Oh, and this has infrequent cuss words, so there's your warning.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"So uh...what the...heck are we going to do when we get back to the Institute?" John had to check his language - he wasn't exactly sure how Jean would react to his casual swearing.
Jean didn't answer for a while. John glanced over at her, but she looked lost in her thoughts. He shrugged his shoulders and they continued walking in silence.
He had no idea where they were. He just started walking. And she walked with him. They hadn't said anything until John spoke up a moment ago, for which he was very grateful. He wasn't in a talking mood either.
They were in some neighborhood, a nice looking place that reminded John of his old home. It was nice and cool outside, but then again, the weather was always like that in Bayville. Stupid ocean. It was quiet, too. Not surprising, as it wasn't even one o'clock yet. Which meant that they had at least four more hours to come up with some kind of game plan, or else...
"I don't know what to do," she said finally.
John sighed. He really hoped she'd have some kind of idea. She seemed a helluva lot more level-headed than he was, and thus, smarter, or so he told himself.
"Alright, fine," John said, stopping in his tracks. He didn't know what he was going to say, but he needed to get the problem resolved. "Let's get this situation settled right now, rather than letting it fester inside of us for the rest of the day."
"Ok...what's your idea?"
"Do you like Scott?"
"Excuse me?" she said, taken aback by his very to-the-point question.
"You heard me. Do you like Scott?"
"Uh...I guess..."
"Do you like him as much as he likes you?"
"Um. That's kind of a personal question."
"Yeah, well I gave you free access to my thoughts, so you know the shit that I wouldn't tell anyone," he said, a little rougher than he intended. "So tell me. Do-you-like-him-the-same-way-he-likes-you?"
"I...I guess so," she said quietly.
"Do you like him enough to blackmail a pathetic, confused young man who's arms fall off into doing something so completely idiotic to try and impress him?"
"I'm serious," John added, when Jean started laughing hysterically.
"Uh...sure, I guess so," she said around muffled giggles.
"Well there you go. That wasn't too difficult, was it? It only took skipping school and fist to my jaw to get that barrier broken down..." John said dryly. It made her laugh more.
"This means that when we finally get back, you're going to go tell him, right?"
Her laughter cut off, but she didn't respond.
"Uh...right?" John asked, giving her a questioning look.
Oh no, you aren't backin' out of this now...
"Right," John said for her. "We're going to go back, find Scott, you'll tell him, you'll both be happy, and I'll leave you alone together so you can make out and do all that stuff. And yer gonna like it, too!" Sure, that last part wasn't necessary, but it helped drive the point home.
Jean flashed an odd look in his direction. "You're persistent, aren't you?"
"When my ass is on the line, I sure as hell am!" Screw trying to keep the swearing to myself. It's nothing she can't hear on TV.
She laughed again before saying, "I guess you have a point there."
From completely out of left field, and like a sharp hammer blow, something hit John. Not literally, but in the metaphorical sense. A thought occurred to him that should have come to mind long ago. Jean said something to him, but he didn't hear her... Correction; he did hear her, but the words made no sense.
Oh Jesus Christ... How did you not think about that shit before you cracked open your skull and let he poke around? You stupid mother-fu...
John had no problem with Jean knowing that he had the hots for every girl in the Institute. Because really, it wasn't that big of a deal. Especially when the Institute was full of other teenage males just like him. No, that wasn't the problem. The problem was a particular tangled mess of soiled bedding stuffed under John's bed. Oh sure, it's something that happens to all guys, but it's still pretty embarrassing.
"Did you just hear what I said?"
"Uh. Yeah," John lied. "Can you do me a favor?"
"Um. Ok."
"Uh. Try to uh...uh...you know, uh...gah! This is embarrassing... Um."
"Don't worry. I won't tell anyone what I saw. And uh, not to sound rude, but I'm going to try and forget everything I did see..." She shivered and blinked hard.
John felt himself go very red in the face, and he wished with all of his heart that he was somewhere else. But the burden that had suddenly dropped onto his shoulders was gone again.
"Heh. I bet you have to do that a lot, don't you?"
"If only you knew..." Jean replied, blowing aside wisp of hair that had fallen into the middle her face.
"Alright, so we got the important stuff out of the way." He waited for her nod before continuing. "Then what do we do with all this extra time?"
"Well, we could go back to school..."
"No thanks. We're bound to get detention for skipping, and I'd rather wait until tomorrow for it."
"Good point."
"Should we just go back to the Institute?"
"What time is it?"
"I don't know. You've got the watch."
"Oh...right." Jean glanced down at her wrist and sighed. "It isn't even two yet."
"Damn, I want to go already..." John murmured. "Er...." he croaked out, after seeing the look Jean shot him. "Not that I uh, don't uh, enjoy your company, but uh...uh...uh...uh...yeah."
Oh, now that was smooth.
"Don't worry. I know what you mean." She punched him lightly in the shoulder to show there was no harm done. "C'mon, let's go." She turned and started walking away.
"Uh...where are we going?" John said to her back.
She looked back at him before shrugging her shoulders. "Don't know. We'll find out when we get there."
Heh, that sounds eerily familiar... "Well...I hope they have food, wherever it is we're going," John called after her, rubbing his stomach.
**********
John Jashback was a messy eater. Oh sure, his parents taught him manners, and he generally followed them, but he really was a messy eater. But sometimes it isn't your fault if you eat messy. Sometimes the food is just naturally messy. Like spaghetti, or chili, even borscht. In John's case, it was a hamburger.
John didn't quite remember the name of the restaurant...it was Burger Barn or something, but frankly, he didn't care as he was busy stuffing his face with something they had called a 'Gut Bomb.' It was the biggest, meatiest, greasiest, and messiest burger you'd ever find, and from what Jean explained to him, they were a delicacy in the eyes of Kurt, who, if he wasn't at school or the Institute, he could be found here, clogging his arteries. John didn't blame him in the least bit. He was working on his fourth one at that moment.
"It's a side affect of my...er...curse." That was his reasoning for eating so much. And in many ways, it was true, although John didn't call his arms falling off a power or an ability or a talent. It was a useless curse.
"Yeah well...do you have to be so...gross with it?"
John wiped his face off with a napkin and set the battered mess of a burger down onto the table. "Let's see you eat this bad boy without makin' a mess."
Jean rolled her eyes and turned so that she didn't have to look directly at John.
"Hurry up and finish, so we can get out of here," she said, taking extra care to not look at him.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." he said, carefully watching her face. "I'll finish this one, and we can go." She started to relax, and so he went in for the kill. "That is, after I have a few extra ones. For the road, you know?"
He was full extreme delight at seeing her sickly expression.
**********
John let out a satisfied sigh as he kicked at the grass in front of him.
After John had finally had his fill of Gut Bombs (he had only teased about those extra burgers), the two mutants made their way to a nearby park. Jean claimed that she liked the fresh air. John was pretty sure that she just wanted to get out of there before he got hungry again.
Oh man. Those burgers are true to their name.
He had to fight hard to keep from unbuttoning the top of his jeans. His recently filled stomach desperately needed room to expand.
If she wasn't so hot, I'd do it anyway, but I don't want to make an ass of myself.
Sure, it was shallow thinking, but that was how the hormone-driven male psyche worked.
Of course, it's too late to worry about making an ass of yourself. You've long since passed that point, pal.
Shut up.
Ignoring the aura of negativity radiating from his mind, John nudged a decidedly bored looking Jean.
"Hm?" she said absently-mindedly.
"Mind if I ask you a question?"
"Sure," she said, gazing off into space.
"Why were you dating that Aryan biped in the first place?"
"What?" she said, very much listening now.
"Why were you with that guy in the first place?"
"Isn't that kind of a personal question that you're asking me?"
John held up his hands in defense. "You don't have to answer me."
She gave him a considering look and they sat in silence for a moment before she finally replied.
"I don't really know why I did it. I guess to try and feel as normal as I can."
John nodded. "I know what you mean."
"I mean, I knew he... I don't know why... I knew what he was like before I got into a relationship with him. He didn't change much afterwards, either. He's still the same stupid, shallow idiot who tells the same stupid stories. I can't tell you how much I loathe football sometimes."
John chuckled softly and let her continue.
"I just...wanted to feel normal. That's why I do so many things at school. If I do enough to keep busy, I can sometimes forget that I'm a mutant."
He nodded. She had a point. "But why? Your power isn't exactly a problem or obstacle or anything. Not like mine. Or Scott's. Or Kurt's. Or Rogue's."
What kind of name is Rogue, anyway? Does she even have a real name? I'll have to ask her about that.
Jean smirked at his comment, though he didn't know it was from what he said, or what he thought. "Oh sure, I may not be blue and I can touch others, but... People like to be alone with their thoughts, but I never am. And anyone around me isn't alone with their thoughts either."
"Hmm... I guess so."
"I suppose you aren't completely convinced. Not that I blame you. If I had your...abilities, a little telepathy wouldn't be too impressive to me, either."
"Heh. It's like...it's like you read my mind. No pun intended."
Jean stuck out her tongue, but her face quickly hardened. "A few months ago, my powers started to evolve, and I couldn't control them. I don't remember much of what happened, but from what Scott and the Professor let slip, I caused quite a lot of damage. Scott nearly...died, trying to help me."
John didn't quite know how to respond to that. How could you, when just a moment ago, you were practically putting someone down, only to have them tell you something like that?
"Uh...sorry?" He managed to form some strange lopsided half-smile, half-grin.
"Don't worry. I won't hold it against you."
It eased the tension, but John still didn't say anything. He still didn't know how to reply to that.
After sitting in silence for a couple of minutes (that felt like an hour to John), he finally broke the ice again. "Er, uh...so what time is it?"
"A quarter to three."
"Well, we'll be early, but we might as well head back. I know that I'd much rather be there before everyone else."
"I suppose you're right," she said, standing up beside him. "Shall we?"
"Lead on, cause I don't have any idea where we are and how to get back."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Er, sorry if any of that seemed out of character or something for Jean, but the show kind of lacks in characterization sometimes.
'Alright' seemed to be John's favorite word this chapter. Huzzah.