I don't own any of the x men or Blink 182's First Date, if I did, I'd be
rich and happy, but no I'm poor and happy. Hope you like Part 2. This is
dedicated to the three, yes three people who reviewed my last one, thanks
you guys.
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As they walked to the movie theaters, Ray told Tabitha about the scenes in his new comic book. She had never read them but hearing him recount them was priceless. He was descriptive to an obscene point. They walked into the theater and got their tickets. Ray bought them a large popcorn and soda, sharing food being nothing new to them and searched for seats, it was almost empty regardless that the movie started in two minutes.
"Hey let's sit in the back," Tabitha said. They walked up the stairs and sat in their seats right in the middle. Before the movie started Ray asked her a question.
"If this works out, what should we do, you know, about us?" Tabitha turned to him, her usually playful eyes serious.
"Nothing, we have fun. If something else is gonna happen than it's gonna happen regardless of what we think, so just go with the flow." She leaned back and felt his arm on the top of her chair. She smiled and popped popcorn into her mouth.
Ray had been satisfied with her answer. He didn't know what to think, and it cheered him up to find out that she was taking it a step at a time.
The movie turned out to be about a monster that came to invade New York. It looked fake but the plot was awesome. They laughed a lot even though the movie was not meant to be funny. A little after the middle of the movie Ray began to shift uncomfortably, she hadn't been bothered by his arm on her chair but what else could he do. He began to contemplate the consequences.
What if she walks out? What if she starts yelling at me in
front of all these people? What if she thinks I'm disgusting
and decides to leave me here alone? What if she tells Logan!
At this he gulped. Ray continued to battle on making a move. As if Tabitha read his mind, she did it for him. She yawned and let her hand drop on his where it laid on the armrest. Ray began to hyperventilate.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!
He spent the rest of the time, alternating between watching the movie and thinking about how soft Tabitha's hand was. Towards the end of the movie he almost jumped out of his seat when she began to caress his hand with her long fingers. He managed to remain calm and not giggle or anything unmanly like that though he had the disgustingly overwhelming urge to do so.
They left the movie theaters and walked slowly back to the mansion. Tabitha allowed her hand to stay at her side instead of crossing them but decided to make no more moves this was his call. Ray took in a deep breath and grabbed her hand roughly. He looked at her through the corner of his eye and saw her triumphant smile he relaxed visibly and remembered that this was just Tabby.
They walked like that until they reached the entrance of the mansion and automatically let go. He opened the door for her and she shimmied inside, her face a confident mask as usual.
"So how was your date?" Jean asked. She and Scott were cuddled up on the couch while Kitty and Rogue sat on the love seat. Evan was sitting between them on the floor while he and Kurt shared a bowl of popcorn. Bobby and Amara looked up from behind the couch, no one exactly knowing what was going on back there, well except for Jean and they must not be doing anything if she let them stay there. Jubilee, Roberto and Jamie were no where to be found.
"They were holding hands!" Speaking of the devil, Ray thought. Jamie skipped in right behind them, beginning his tattle. "You should have seen them, Tabitha was like this." He began to bat his lashes and look up with a sexy or what he thought was sexy but looked more like someone was constipated, smile on his face. "Oh Ray," his voice obscenely high pitched. "I had a great time tonight. And Ray was like," His voice deepened dramatically, "Yeah, I know baby."
Tabitha was outraged; she did not look like that. "I am so gonna kill you, you little punk!" She ran after him and up the stairs, her shoes clicking against the floor. Ray smiled.
"Well, man, what's up?" Ray turned to Bobby and shrugged. He knew Bobby wanted to know if she liked her or not but he couldn't really say. Ray than went to his room to think about what happened that night and how he felt. He was sure he liked her, but didn't know where it was going. Tabitha's voice came into his head, 'go with the flow'.
***
After Tabitha gave Jamie the noogie of his life, she went into her bedroom and stuck her face in her pillow trying to calm the racing thoughts in her head. It had turned out to be a great night, but was she willing to be more than friends with him if he wasn't sure of his feelings. She had told him to just let things be but she needed a little more than a 'maybe' when it came to if he liked her or not. She sighed and got up to wash her face and change. She put on a white t-shirt and light blue shorts and walked downstairs barefoot. No one was in the living room.
Must have gone to bed, she thought about the rest of the crew, threw her self on the sofa and began searching for something to watch on the television. Bobby noticed Tabitha was in the living room alone and decided to share this tidbit with his friend. He was stopped by Jubilee in the hallway on her way to the bathroom.
"She's got it bad!" She squealed. Bobby nodded in agreement.
"Yup, Ray is on his bed staring at the ceiling and he didn't even say a word when Roberto came in to bother him. He has no idea that he likes her. He thinks that he just wants a girl and I thought so at first too, but now I don't think he's so sure." Jubilee drank all he said in so she could repeat it to the other girls. Everyone knew Bobby was the prime gossip in the building.
"Where's Tabby anyway?" She asked.
"Downstairs." Jubilee grinned, Bobby smiled back.
"Know what I'm thinking Iceman?" She blew a huge bubble.
"Maybe." It popped in his face.
"Time for us mutants to earn our badges in matchmaking." They smiled and separated, each going to their own friends to come up with a suitable idea on how to get Ray to finally figure out where he stands.
***
Ray casually walked into the living room wearing a t-shirt and a pair of sweats, his hair wet and slicked back from a shower. Tabitha looked up at him and he noticed how pure and sweet her face looked without all her make up, that thought lasted until she smiled her infamous smile and beckoned him with her finger to join her on the couch. He sat down beside her, a little farther than he normally would have sat. She pulled her feet under her and leaned against her hand, her arm resting on the top of the couch. He began to feel disturbed when she didn't make a comment, and continued to stare.
"Did you want to tell me something?" Ray asked. Tabitha looked at him with mock innocence on her face.
"No, I just wanted to sit here and look at you." She said, smiling sweetly.
"You have issues." Ray started to laugh a little, relaxing at her attempts to be soft and sweet.
"Wanna sneak out?" Ray looked at her surprised, they had often snuck out but he had always suggested it.
"I guess so, who else is coming?" She looked away for a second seeming to be a little tense.
"No one just us. We can go to the new teen club down in Manhattan."
"That'll be cool, same time, same place?" Tabitha looked up, all uneasiness gone from her face.
"Yeah baby! We're gonna party!" They sat back and watched television for about an hour waiting till they were told to go to bed by a growling Logan. They winked at each other before they separated to their separate sleeping quarters. Four figures were hidden by the shadows of the night.
"That's what happens when friends get together, they always want to be alone." Jubilee whispered.
"I know I can't believe they didn't even tell us they were going to sneak out tonight." Roberto whispered back.
"Well we'll let it slide this time. We have to make sure we cover them tonight, they always knew how to sneak out, but to sneak back in isn't their strong point." Bobby said.
"If it's okay with you all I need my beauty sleep." Amara left the small group and went to her room, stopping only to kiss her boyfriend on the cheek.
"So is tomorrow still on?" Bobby asked. Jubilee and Roberto nodded their heads, the only reason Amara didn't know was because she didn't like to do any dirty work, and went to bed.
***
Ray and Tabitha were already on the roof of the mansion where the new mutants, except Jamie, usually met to escape from the boringness of the institute. Ray was the first to jump on the steady branch of the tree that had proved to remain faithful during their constant rendezvous, he helped Tabitha onto the branch and they began to climb down. They ran through the woods in the back of the mansion until they reached the hole that gaped open through the gate. They easily fit through with their thin frames and left the grounds of the mansions, easily finding the path that led towards the main street. When they were safely on the train towards Manhattan, they relaxed and smiled at each other.
An hour later they reached their destination and climbed out. Ray grabbed her hand as they walked through the crowded corridor using the excuse that he didn't want to get separated. Tabitha smiled at him, he never did that before. They walked through the streets reaching the club Tabitha had told him about, they easily snuck in through the back door and walked right into the crowd. Tabitha began to dance as they walked to the bar and Ray got them both sodas.
"Man, I bet we wouldn't even get carded." She said, annoyed he hadn't gotten anything stronger.
"Sure, maybe if you would have worn that little outfit you had earlier but not the way you look now." She had donned her usual punky outfit and looked like any normal 16 year old. Tabitha shrugged.
"You wanna dance?" Ray asked Tabby.
"Duh!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the middle of the dance floor, she knew he didn't like to dance in front of people, though he was pretty good at it, so she took advantage of the moment. They began to dance to house music, her body flowing easily to the rhythm since it was her favorite past time, Kitty and her usually tried to choreograph some moves, but Rogue was stiff, Rhane didn't like to dance and Amara only knew waltz. Jubilee would dance too, but usually began to goof off when the other guys were around.
Ray moved easily along with her. To anyone outside the couple was a perfect combination. They both dressed with a style all their own and were close together in height, Ray an average 5'10 with Tabitha coming close, since she was taller than the average female. (A/n: I don't know for real, I'm pretending so bear with me, poetic license) They each had a charisma and self confidence that seemed to leak out of their bodies and they just seemed comfortable with each other.
A redhead inched her way over and began to dance with Ray, bumping Tabitha out the way. Tabitha stopped and stared at the girl, she tapped her on her shoulder. The girl turned around and looked Tabitha up and down. "What?"
"I'm gonna tell you this once carrot top, watch who you're messing with." Tabitha said angrily, she was never one to be pushed around.
"Oh yeah and what you going to do about it Blondie?" the red head said the last word as if an insult. Tabitha's body tensed with the need to use her powers but she visibly relaxed. A smirk appeared on her face.
"How about I show you," the last thing the girl saw was a silver ringed fist heading straight for her nose. Tabitha walked out of the club and ignored the cries of the other people who saw what had happened. Ray caught up with her and grabbed her arm.
"What was all that about?" On the outside Ray was all concerned but on the inside he couldn't wait to get home and tell the guys that Tabitha had a jealous streak to her.
"Nothing, she stepped up to the wrong chic." She continued on walking to no where in particular and Ray quietly walked beside her. He wondered what he would do if the situation concerned him, it didn't take a while for him to find out.
"Hey ma why dontcha ditch the two toned freak and come wit me." A so called tough guy approached them and stopped Tabitha by standing directly in front of her.
"Yo man, if you don't mind, me and my girl have some place to go." Ray grabbed Tabitha's arm and tried to walk around the guy but he refused to budge. In fact he grabbed her other arm, preparing to do a tug of war. Ray stepped up to the guy who was about three inches taller than he. "I said back off." Rays hands began to spark as his mutation kicked in because of his anger.
"And whatcha gonna do about it freak?" Tabitha had had enough with that phrase.
"Nothing you stupid crack head because I am." She kicked him in the groin and he fell to the ground. Ray looked around embarrassed; he didn't want people thinking he couldn't defend his girl. My girl? He thought. He grabbed Tabitha who was kicking the poor guy and they began to walk quickly. Suddenly a small explosion was heard as well as the slight shriek of the man on the floor.
"What did you do?" Ray asked Tabitha. She smiled sweetly.
"I left him a little present." Ray gulped and ran quickly, dragging her behind him. They didn't stop until they reached the train station and safely got into a train. Only then did they relax and catch their breath. Tabitha looked at his face and smiled. He smiled back, he tucked a loose strand of blond hair behind her ear and fingered the earring she wore on the very tip. Tabitha held her breath; he was close enough to kiss her, would he?
Ray was battling conflicting emotions, but he eventually chickened out. He wouldn't kiss her until he was sure about his feelings. He leaned back and put his arm around her shoulder. She fell asleep on his arm.
***
They reached the mansion at about 4:00 pm and were both exhausted, grateful that tomorrow being Sunday was their day off. They looked up at the roof and groaned.
"Hey guys," the loud whisper almost made them crap in their pants. They looked up and found Jubilee waving at them. Bobby created a ladder out of ice and Ray pushed Tabitha to climb first, he was right behind her. "Hey Amara melt that down please, if they find that we're dead." Amara concentrated and the ladder turned into a puddle of water on the ground.
"So how was your date?" Jubilee asked. Tabitha and Ray blushed; the date had turned out to be a battle field. Ray had thought it was great that she got jealous of him and was glad that he wouldn't ever have to worry if a guy tried to step to her since she had proven able to defend herself at all times but he was worried she would think he was a punk for not having defended her the way he should have. Tabitha was afraid that he was angry at her for ruining his chances with the red headed girl. So they both stayed quiet waiting for the other to answer.
Jubilee, Bobby, and Amara sighed simultaneously. No one could wake up Roberto since he bunked with Jamie and that was like tattling on them selves. The girls grabbed Tabitha's hand and dragged her in while the guys shoved Ray right behind her. They managed to sneak into the house uncensored and went to bed. Each gender had a similar conversation in their bedrooms.
***
"So what happened man?" Bobby asked Ray as he changed, Ray told his side of the story including the part where Tabitha punched the girl. Bobby laughed and patted him on the back. "She's yours man, no girl would do something like that, they're too, you know, girly and stuff."
"If Tabitha heard you say that, she'd knock you out." Bobby laughed and they went to bed falling asleep instantly.
***
The girls were laughing in their rooms as Tabitha told her side of the story.
"I can't believe that you left a time bomb in his pants!" Tabitha smirked at Jubilee's shock.
"It wasn't all that big, not enough to do damage." Jubilee turned red and began to giggle at the dirty thought that entered her young mind.
"You're such a pervert," Tabitha said. Amara looked confused. They pulled up the covers of their beds and fell into deep sleep, right before Tabitha hoping that she didn't ruin anything between them.
***
Both Tabitha and Ray came down a little after eight, not having been able to sleep the whole morning as they had hoped. Their minds too accustomed to their grueling morning schedules. Logan was seated at the end of the table reading the paper as he usually did.
"Breakfast was finished half an hour ago." Was the only tell tale sign he noticed them come in. Ray opened the fridge and peered over at Tabitha.
"You hungry Tabby?" Ray immediately regretted it when she turned it into a pun.
"What ya offering to eat Lightning Bolt?" Ray blushed and Logan lowered the paper. Tabitha smirked at Logan and took a bite out of an apple from the fruit pile. "Cook me up something good, boy." She leaned back and propped her feet on the table. Logan chose not to comment on this since he often did it himself and continued to read the paper. He decided to have a little talk with Ray.
*Chuck* when he didn't receive a response in a second he shouted louder *CHUCK!*
*What Logan!* the professor would have to speak to Logan of his constant mental screaming.
*Call Tabitha up, I wanna talk to Ray here* Xavier sighed and decided he needed to speak to her anyway since he had wet his hands on his wheels while rolling in the back of the mansion that morning, he had asked the other mutants but they seemed to appear innocent, he wasn't so sure but refused to pry and therefore felt he should just question them all.
"Gotta go, the professor made a courtesy call." Tabitha got up and winked at Ray before she left. Ray blushed again, glad that she hadn't appeared angry at him.
Logan got up and stood beside him, leaning against the counter.
"I see my advice worked well." Logan said smugly.
"Actually it didn't. She did all the fighting; I didn't even get a chance to throw in a punch." Logan looked confused.
"You got into a fight?" Ray stopped scrambling the eggs he was making; he needed to think fast or he'd be caught.
"At-at the theaters. But it was fine, no damage done." He went back to his work and Logan just looked at him curiously, deciding that the nervousness must be from Tabitha's comment. The girl had spunk he had to admit.
"A girl like Tabitha needs space. She's independent, so make sure ya give her that but don't wait till forever ta make your move. There's a perfect time and when that time comes, go for it." He sat back down at the table and continued reading his paper till Tabitha came back, slightly pale.
"Did ya get hurt during the fight kid?" Tabitha looked at Logan than at Ray. Her face remained passive.
"By the time I was through with him he could barely stand up," she said simply. She looked at Ray who slightly shrugged. He walked over to her and served her a plate of eggs, fried ham and toasted bread with butter, she dug in ravenously. Not having eaten since they had come back from the movies.
"When we're married you can do the cooking honey buns." Tabitha said with her mouth full. Ray blushed and looked up immediately towards Logan who was snickering behind his paper. He didn't comment to Tabitha's teasing and sat down besides her eating his own meal. Ororo walked in and smiled when she found them.
"I have been looking all over for you children," Ororo said in her sweet voice. "I am planning to take you all to that new skating rink in town. Be ready by three, we'll be leaving the mansion grounds than."
They had no chance of being able to be together the rest of the day since Tabitha was dragged off to shop with the girls and Ray had to help Bobby and Roberto clean up the water mess in the back of the mansion because Roberto not knowing what happened blamed it on Bobby as usual. Luckily, the professor didn't know about Ray and Tabitha sneaking out.
***
Kitty, Kurt, Rogue, Jean and Scott where in Scott's car, while the rest were in the X-Van. Tabitha sat in the back with the girls while Ray sat with the guys in the front. Tabitha stared at the back of his head, averting her eyes only when he turned around to look at her.
"I swear if I hear Ray and Tabitha's thoughts one more time I'm gonna scream."
Jean said. The two mutants were projecting strongly and she couldn't keep them out of her head.
"Tell us what they're saying!" Kitty was excited; she had managed to get Bobby to confess about last night. This was turning out to be the weirdest romance she had ever heard. Everyone else's had been normal. Neither Ray nor Tabitha was able to get through the awkward stages leading from friendship to relationship.
"Tabitha is thinking about how sexy Ray's hair is and Ray is wondering how he's supposed to know if he like likes her or just likes her." Jean said. She didn't question any further knowing she was above gossip, but her curiosity peaked and she ignored her hypocritical thought and told Kitty to fill her in on the details.
Kitty happily obliged leaving out the part about their sneaking out, since she knew neither Scott nor Jean would approve.
"Do you think we should help them out?" Kitty asked. Scott shook his head.
"Love blossoms beautifully when it takes its time to grow." Scott said, he often would use romantic words to sway Jean. She looked at him adoringly. He's so romantic, she thought.
"Oh shut up! I heard Mr. McCoy using that same line on Ororo yesterday." Rogue shouted Scott out. He slightly blushed and adjusted his glasses.
*What other lines have you stolen Casanova?* Jean mentally shouted at him. He muttered an explicative word at being caught red handed. He now knew that 'borrowing romantic phrases would eventually get you caught.
***
They all walked in Ray casually slowing down until he found himself next to the familiar face of his 'friend'. They got their skates and raced into the rink. Joking around and shoving one another. Jamie got tripped by Roberto and had two of his clones pop out on either side. He quickly drew them back in before anyone could see and glared at a grinning Roberto.
Sam skated over to Tabitha and asked her to skate with him, she giggled and grabbed his hand and off they went to skate. Ray, who was sitting with Kitty and Scott, growled. They both heard and looked at him confused.
"Are you, like, okay Ray?" Kitty asked. She saw a little tick on his cheek and noticed he looked angry.
"Yeah I'm fine." She's not my girlfriend, she can skate with whoever she wants, he thought. He just sat there and watched as the rest of the guys asked her to skate with them. He looked at their girlfriends and they just stared at him and smiled. It was like a conspiracy.
He didn't notice when Jubilee had walked up to him. "Hey Ray, wanna skate?"
He smiled, two can play that game. "Sure." They skated across the carpet and got to the rink, just skating side by side. He noticed that Roberto, who was Tabitha's partner now, had grabbed her hand. Ray snarled and grabbed Jubilee. Jubilee squealed. Tabitha looked on and saw what he was doing and became enraged. She put her arm around Roberto's waist and leaned close telling him a joke, when he laughed out loud Ray got even angrier. They spent the rest of the time trying to make the other jealous by being touchy with the rest of the mutants.
Scott, Jean, Logan and Ororo stared curiously wondering what was going on. Rogue filled them in.
"They're tryin' to make each other jealous."
"But the other mutants should be too, should they not? They are also being touched in the process." Ororo looked confused. Kitty laughed walking up behind Rogue.
"No, why would they be? They started it, they're trying to, like, make Ray jealous so he can hurry up and make up his mind." Ororo nodded her head in comprehension. She looked at Logan.
"Should we interfere?" She asked concerned at what might happen if Roberto continued to tease Ray by allowing his hand to constantly 'drift' down her back.
"No, let them deal with it alone. They're adults." He immediately winced when he saw Sam get shoved by Amara and put a dent on the side of the rink. "Sometimes", he amended.
***
I swear if he touches her hair one more time, I'm going shock
him until he's in a coma! He better not touch her, oh, I swear!
What's he doing now? Why isn't Jubilee saying something? Why
does she look happy about this?
Ray continued to ask himself questions that would never be answered in the meantime Tabitha was asking her own.
Why isn't he trying to kill Roberto? Why is he letting him
touch me? Eeww, why am I letting him touch me?
With that she shoved Roberto away and got ready to leave the rink. An announcement was made and she tensed.
"Next will be the couples dance. This is for couples only!" The announcer's voice was like ice cold water on Ray's face. What should he do? He sat down and hoped that Tabitha would once again make a move. When she didn't move from her spot in the rink he tensed even more. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Time to make your move kid." Logan said. Ray's face brightened with an idea, he told Logan who began to growl and refuse to do it but eventually he gave in. Ray gulped and got up, feeling as if he was walking slow motion towards Tabitha.
"Hey Tabitha." Tabitha looked at him and cocked an eyebrow; she wasn't planning to make things easy. "Wanna skate?"
Tabitha stood there, her fingers lightly tapping her chin. Obviously his patience was worn thin, because he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into the rink. Tabitha stood still and allowed him to drag her when she heard the D.J. begin speaking again.
"It seems like we've had a special request for a couples songs by a Ray Crispin, this ones for you Tabby." Tabitha looked at him incredulously, a blush creeping onto her face. When the song started playing she grabbed his hand and they skated around, the other couples backing off since this wasn't really their idea of a romantic song.
In the car I just can't wait
to pick you up on our very first date
is it cool if I hold your hand?
is it wrong if I think it's lame to dance?
do you like my stupid hair?
would you guess that I didn't know what to wear?
I'm just scared of what you think
you make me nervous so I really can't eat
Let's go
don't wait
this nights almost over
honest, let's make
this night last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
"And she, like, finds this romantic?" Kitty asked Rogue. Rogue just shrugged her shoulders.
"This is Tabitha we're talkin' about." She replied.
When you smile, I melt inside
I'm not worthy for a minute of your time
I really wish it was only me and you
I'm jealous of everybody in the room
please don't look at me with those eyes
please don't hint that you're capable of lies
I dread the thought of our very first kiss
a target that I'm probably gonna miss
Let's go
don't wait
this nights almost over
honest, let's make
this night last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
"This was not my idea of sweeping her off her feet." Hank said, his holographic image making him appear human (not that he wasn't) Logan just growled in response, and Storm sat there shocked.
Let's go
don't wait
this nights almost over
honest, let's make
this night last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
When the song was finished they skated out of the rink and sat alone, or as alone as possible at the farthest point from the rest of the X Men.
"Well?" Tabitha asked Ray. She was tired of not knowing what was going on between them. Ray didn't have the heart to pretend not to understand.
"Here's the deal. I like you, I like you a lot. I want us to try to, well ya know, be boyfriend and girlfriend." He muttered the last remark, feeling lame. "If you wanna try anyway."
Tabitha leaned back against the wall, doing the one thing he hated, since she did it constantly when she wanted to torment him. She began to scratch her chin in deep thought. She than turned to him and placed her hands on either side of his face. She leaned in and smirked.
"And what do I get out of it?" She asked, still grinning.
"Just me." His simple reply made Tabitha's heart beat. She leaned in and gave him a chaste kiss on the mouth. It wasn't long enough to cause Logan to run through the crowd and gut them, but it was enough to make Ray's heart beat so fast it was like a buzz in his ears. She smiled at him and couldn't wait until the next minute of their lives together, she was sure it would be a blast.
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As they walked to the movie theaters, Ray told Tabitha about the scenes in his new comic book. She had never read them but hearing him recount them was priceless. He was descriptive to an obscene point. They walked into the theater and got their tickets. Ray bought them a large popcorn and soda, sharing food being nothing new to them and searched for seats, it was almost empty regardless that the movie started in two minutes.
"Hey let's sit in the back," Tabitha said. They walked up the stairs and sat in their seats right in the middle. Before the movie started Ray asked her a question.
"If this works out, what should we do, you know, about us?" Tabitha turned to him, her usually playful eyes serious.
"Nothing, we have fun. If something else is gonna happen than it's gonna happen regardless of what we think, so just go with the flow." She leaned back and felt his arm on the top of her chair. She smiled and popped popcorn into her mouth.
Ray had been satisfied with her answer. He didn't know what to think, and it cheered him up to find out that she was taking it a step at a time.
The movie turned out to be about a monster that came to invade New York. It looked fake but the plot was awesome. They laughed a lot even though the movie was not meant to be funny. A little after the middle of the movie Ray began to shift uncomfortably, she hadn't been bothered by his arm on her chair but what else could he do. He began to contemplate the consequences.
What if she walks out? What if she starts yelling at me in
front of all these people? What if she thinks I'm disgusting
and decides to leave me here alone? What if she tells Logan!
At this he gulped. Ray continued to battle on making a move. As if Tabitha read his mind, she did it for him. She yawned and let her hand drop on his where it laid on the armrest. Ray began to hyperventilate.
Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!
He spent the rest of the time, alternating between watching the movie and thinking about how soft Tabitha's hand was. Towards the end of the movie he almost jumped out of his seat when she began to caress his hand with her long fingers. He managed to remain calm and not giggle or anything unmanly like that though he had the disgustingly overwhelming urge to do so.
They left the movie theaters and walked slowly back to the mansion. Tabitha allowed her hand to stay at her side instead of crossing them but decided to make no more moves this was his call. Ray took in a deep breath and grabbed her hand roughly. He looked at her through the corner of his eye and saw her triumphant smile he relaxed visibly and remembered that this was just Tabby.
They walked like that until they reached the entrance of the mansion and automatically let go. He opened the door for her and she shimmied inside, her face a confident mask as usual.
"So how was your date?" Jean asked. She and Scott were cuddled up on the couch while Kitty and Rogue sat on the love seat. Evan was sitting between them on the floor while he and Kurt shared a bowl of popcorn. Bobby and Amara looked up from behind the couch, no one exactly knowing what was going on back there, well except for Jean and they must not be doing anything if she let them stay there. Jubilee, Roberto and Jamie were no where to be found.
"They were holding hands!" Speaking of the devil, Ray thought. Jamie skipped in right behind them, beginning his tattle. "You should have seen them, Tabitha was like this." He began to bat his lashes and look up with a sexy or what he thought was sexy but looked more like someone was constipated, smile on his face. "Oh Ray," his voice obscenely high pitched. "I had a great time tonight. And Ray was like," His voice deepened dramatically, "Yeah, I know baby."
Tabitha was outraged; she did not look like that. "I am so gonna kill you, you little punk!" She ran after him and up the stairs, her shoes clicking against the floor. Ray smiled.
"Well, man, what's up?" Ray turned to Bobby and shrugged. He knew Bobby wanted to know if she liked her or not but he couldn't really say. Ray than went to his room to think about what happened that night and how he felt. He was sure he liked her, but didn't know where it was going. Tabitha's voice came into his head, 'go with the flow'.
***
After Tabitha gave Jamie the noogie of his life, she went into her bedroom and stuck her face in her pillow trying to calm the racing thoughts in her head. It had turned out to be a great night, but was she willing to be more than friends with him if he wasn't sure of his feelings. She had told him to just let things be but she needed a little more than a 'maybe' when it came to if he liked her or not. She sighed and got up to wash her face and change. She put on a white t-shirt and light blue shorts and walked downstairs barefoot. No one was in the living room.
Must have gone to bed, she thought about the rest of the crew, threw her self on the sofa and began searching for something to watch on the television. Bobby noticed Tabitha was in the living room alone and decided to share this tidbit with his friend. He was stopped by Jubilee in the hallway on her way to the bathroom.
"She's got it bad!" She squealed. Bobby nodded in agreement.
"Yup, Ray is on his bed staring at the ceiling and he didn't even say a word when Roberto came in to bother him. He has no idea that he likes her. He thinks that he just wants a girl and I thought so at first too, but now I don't think he's so sure." Jubilee drank all he said in so she could repeat it to the other girls. Everyone knew Bobby was the prime gossip in the building.
"Where's Tabby anyway?" She asked.
"Downstairs." Jubilee grinned, Bobby smiled back.
"Know what I'm thinking Iceman?" She blew a huge bubble.
"Maybe." It popped in his face.
"Time for us mutants to earn our badges in matchmaking." They smiled and separated, each going to their own friends to come up with a suitable idea on how to get Ray to finally figure out where he stands.
***
Ray casually walked into the living room wearing a t-shirt and a pair of sweats, his hair wet and slicked back from a shower. Tabitha looked up at him and he noticed how pure and sweet her face looked without all her make up, that thought lasted until she smiled her infamous smile and beckoned him with her finger to join her on the couch. He sat down beside her, a little farther than he normally would have sat. She pulled her feet under her and leaned against her hand, her arm resting on the top of the couch. He began to feel disturbed when she didn't make a comment, and continued to stare.
"Did you want to tell me something?" Ray asked. Tabitha looked at him with mock innocence on her face.
"No, I just wanted to sit here and look at you." She said, smiling sweetly.
"You have issues." Ray started to laugh a little, relaxing at her attempts to be soft and sweet.
"Wanna sneak out?" Ray looked at her surprised, they had often snuck out but he had always suggested it.
"I guess so, who else is coming?" She looked away for a second seeming to be a little tense.
"No one just us. We can go to the new teen club down in Manhattan."
"That'll be cool, same time, same place?" Tabitha looked up, all uneasiness gone from her face.
"Yeah baby! We're gonna party!" They sat back and watched television for about an hour waiting till they were told to go to bed by a growling Logan. They winked at each other before they separated to their separate sleeping quarters. Four figures were hidden by the shadows of the night.
"That's what happens when friends get together, they always want to be alone." Jubilee whispered.
"I know I can't believe they didn't even tell us they were going to sneak out tonight." Roberto whispered back.
"Well we'll let it slide this time. We have to make sure we cover them tonight, they always knew how to sneak out, but to sneak back in isn't their strong point." Bobby said.
"If it's okay with you all I need my beauty sleep." Amara left the small group and went to her room, stopping only to kiss her boyfriend on the cheek.
"So is tomorrow still on?" Bobby asked. Jubilee and Roberto nodded their heads, the only reason Amara didn't know was because she didn't like to do any dirty work, and went to bed.
***
Ray and Tabitha were already on the roof of the mansion where the new mutants, except Jamie, usually met to escape from the boringness of the institute. Ray was the first to jump on the steady branch of the tree that had proved to remain faithful during their constant rendezvous, he helped Tabitha onto the branch and they began to climb down. They ran through the woods in the back of the mansion until they reached the hole that gaped open through the gate. They easily fit through with their thin frames and left the grounds of the mansions, easily finding the path that led towards the main street. When they were safely on the train towards Manhattan, they relaxed and smiled at each other.
An hour later they reached their destination and climbed out. Ray grabbed her hand as they walked through the crowded corridor using the excuse that he didn't want to get separated. Tabitha smiled at him, he never did that before. They walked through the streets reaching the club Tabitha had told him about, they easily snuck in through the back door and walked right into the crowd. Tabitha began to dance as they walked to the bar and Ray got them both sodas.
"Man, I bet we wouldn't even get carded." She said, annoyed he hadn't gotten anything stronger.
"Sure, maybe if you would have worn that little outfit you had earlier but not the way you look now." She had donned her usual punky outfit and looked like any normal 16 year old. Tabitha shrugged.
"You wanna dance?" Ray asked Tabby.
"Duh!" She grabbed his hand and pulled him to the middle of the dance floor, she knew he didn't like to dance in front of people, though he was pretty good at it, so she took advantage of the moment. They began to dance to house music, her body flowing easily to the rhythm since it was her favorite past time, Kitty and her usually tried to choreograph some moves, but Rogue was stiff, Rhane didn't like to dance and Amara only knew waltz. Jubilee would dance too, but usually began to goof off when the other guys were around.
Ray moved easily along with her. To anyone outside the couple was a perfect combination. They both dressed with a style all their own and were close together in height, Ray an average 5'10 with Tabitha coming close, since she was taller than the average female. (A/n: I don't know for real, I'm pretending so bear with me, poetic license) They each had a charisma and self confidence that seemed to leak out of their bodies and they just seemed comfortable with each other.
A redhead inched her way over and began to dance with Ray, bumping Tabitha out the way. Tabitha stopped and stared at the girl, she tapped her on her shoulder. The girl turned around and looked Tabitha up and down. "What?"
"I'm gonna tell you this once carrot top, watch who you're messing with." Tabitha said angrily, she was never one to be pushed around.
"Oh yeah and what you going to do about it Blondie?" the red head said the last word as if an insult. Tabitha's body tensed with the need to use her powers but she visibly relaxed. A smirk appeared on her face.
"How about I show you," the last thing the girl saw was a silver ringed fist heading straight for her nose. Tabitha walked out of the club and ignored the cries of the other people who saw what had happened. Ray caught up with her and grabbed her arm.
"What was all that about?" On the outside Ray was all concerned but on the inside he couldn't wait to get home and tell the guys that Tabitha had a jealous streak to her.
"Nothing, she stepped up to the wrong chic." She continued on walking to no where in particular and Ray quietly walked beside her. He wondered what he would do if the situation concerned him, it didn't take a while for him to find out.
"Hey ma why dontcha ditch the two toned freak and come wit me." A so called tough guy approached them and stopped Tabitha by standing directly in front of her.
"Yo man, if you don't mind, me and my girl have some place to go." Ray grabbed Tabitha's arm and tried to walk around the guy but he refused to budge. In fact he grabbed her other arm, preparing to do a tug of war. Ray stepped up to the guy who was about three inches taller than he. "I said back off." Rays hands began to spark as his mutation kicked in because of his anger.
"And whatcha gonna do about it freak?" Tabitha had had enough with that phrase.
"Nothing you stupid crack head because I am." She kicked him in the groin and he fell to the ground. Ray looked around embarrassed; he didn't want people thinking he couldn't defend his girl. My girl? He thought. He grabbed Tabitha who was kicking the poor guy and they began to walk quickly. Suddenly a small explosion was heard as well as the slight shriek of the man on the floor.
"What did you do?" Ray asked Tabitha. She smiled sweetly.
"I left him a little present." Ray gulped and ran quickly, dragging her behind him. They didn't stop until they reached the train station and safely got into a train. Only then did they relax and catch their breath. Tabitha looked at his face and smiled. He smiled back, he tucked a loose strand of blond hair behind her ear and fingered the earring she wore on the very tip. Tabitha held her breath; he was close enough to kiss her, would he?
Ray was battling conflicting emotions, but he eventually chickened out. He wouldn't kiss her until he was sure about his feelings. He leaned back and put his arm around her shoulder. She fell asleep on his arm.
***
They reached the mansion at about 4:00 pm and were both exhausted, grateful that tomorrow being Sunday was their day off. They looked up at the roof and groaned.
"Hey guys," the loud whisper almost made them crap in their pants. They looked up and found Jubilee waving at them. Bobby created a ladder out of ice and Ray pushed Tabitha to climb first, he was right behind her. "Hey Amara melt that down please, if they find that we're dead." Amara concentrated and the ladder turned into a puddle of water on the ground.
"So how was your date?" Jubilee asked. Tabitha and Ray blushed; the date had turned out to be a battle field. Ray had thought it was great that she got jealous of him and was glad that he wouldn't ever have to worry if a guy tried to step to her since she had proven able to defend herself at all times but he was worried she would think he was a punk for not having defended her the way he should have. Tabitha was afraid that he was angry at her for ruining his chances with the red headed girl. So they both stayed quiet waiting for the other to answer.
Jubilee, Bobby, and Amara sighed simultaneously. No one could wake up Roberto since he bunked with Jamie and that was like tattling on them selves. The girls grabbed Tabitha's hand and dragged her in while the guys shoved Ray right behind her. They managed to sneak into the house uncensored and went to bed. Each gender had a similar conversation in their bedrooms.
***
"So what happened man?" Bobby asked Ray as he changed, Ray told his side of the story including the part where Tabitha punched the girl. Bobby laughed and patted him on the back. "She's yours man, no girl would do something like that, they're too, you know, girly and stuff."
"If Tabitha heard you say that, she'd knock you out." Bobby laughed and they went to bed falling asleep instantly.
***
The girls were laughing in their rooms as Tabitha told her side of the story.
"I can't believe that you left a time bomb in his pants!" Tabitha smirked at Jubilee's shock.
"It wasn't all that big, not enough to do damage." Jubilee turned red and began to giggle at the dirty thought that entered her young mind.
"You're such a pervert," Tabitha said. Amara looked confused. They pulled up the covers of their beds and fell into deep sleep, right before Tabitha hoping that she didn't ruin anything between them.
***
Both Tabitha and Ray came down a little after eight, not having been able to sleep the whole morning as they had hoped. Their minds too accustomed to their grueling morning schedules. Logan was seated at the end of the table reading the paper as he usually did.
"Breakfast was finished half an hour ago." Was the only tell tale sign he noticed them come in. Ray opened the fridge and peered over at Tabitha.
"You hungry Tabby?" Ray immediately regretted it when she turned it into a pun.
"What ya offering to eat Lightning Bolt?" Ray blushed and Logan lowered the paper. Tabitha smirked at Logan and took a bite out of an apple from the fruit pile. "Cook me up something good, boy." She leaned back and propped her feet on the table. Logan chose not to comment on this since he often did it himself and continued to read the paper. He decided to have a little talk with Ray.
*Chuck* when he didn't receive a response in a second he shouted louder *CHUCK!*
*What Logan!* the professor would have to speak to Logan of his constant mental screaming.
*Call Tabitha up, I wanna talk to Ray here* Xavier sighed and decided he needed to speak to her anyway since he had wet his hands on his wheels while rolling in the back of the mansion that morning, he had asked the other mutants but they seemed to appear innocent, he wasn't so sure but refused to pry and therefore felt he should just question them all.
"Gotta go, the professor made a courtesy call." Tabitha got up and winked at Ray before she left. Ray blushed again, glad that she hadn't appeared angry at him.
Logan got up and stood beside him, leaning against the counter.
"I see my advice worked well." Logan said smugly.
"Actually it didn't. She did all the fighting; I didn't even get a chance to throw in a punch." Logan looked confused.
"You got into a fight?" Ray stopped scrambling the eggs he was making; he needed to think fast or he'd be caught.
"At-at the theaters. But it was fine, no damage done." He went back to his work and Logan just looked at him curiously, deciding that the nervousness must be from Tabitha's comment. The girl had spunk he had to admit.
"A girl like Tabitha needs space. She's independent, so make sure ya give her that but don't wait till forever ta make your move. There's a perfect time and when that time comes, go for it." He sat back down at the table and continued reading his paper till Tabitha came back, slightly pale.
"Did ya get hurt during the fight kid?" Tabitha looked at Logan than at Ray. Her face remained passive.
"By the time I was through with him he could barely stand up," she said simply. She looked at Ray who slightly shrugged. He walked over to her and served her a plate of eggs, fried ham and toasted bread with butter, she dug in ravenously. Not having eaten since they had come back from the movies.
"When we're married you can do the cooking honey buns." Tabitha said with her mouth full. Ray blushed and looked up immediately towards Logan who was snickering behind his paper. He didn't comment to Tabitha's teasing and sat down besides her eating his own meal. Ororo walked in and smiled when she found them.
"I have been looking all over for you children," Ororo said in her sweet voice. "I am planning to take you all to that new skating rink in town. Be ready by three, we'll be leaving the mansion grounds than."
They had no chance of being able to be together the rest of the day since Tabitha was dragged off to shop with the girls and Ray had to help Bobby and Roberto clean up the water mess in the back of the mansion because Roberto not knowing what happened blamed it on Bobby as usual. Luckily, the professor didn't know about Ray and Tabitha sneaking out.
***
Kitty, Kurt, Rogue, Jean and Scott where in Scott's car, while the rest were in the X-Van. Tabitha sat in the back with the girls while Ray sat with the guys in the front. Tabitha stared at the back of his head, averting her eyes only when he turned around to look at her.
"I swear if I hear Ray and Tabitha's thoughts one more time I'm gonna scream."
Jean said. The two mutants were projecting strongly and she couldn't keep them out of her head.
"Tell us what they're saying!" Kitty was excited; she had managed to get Bobby to confess about last night. This was turning out to be the weirdest romance she had ever heard. Everyone else's had been normal. Neither Ray nor Tabitha was able to get through the awkward stages leading from friendship to relationship.
"Tabitha is thinking about how sexy Ray's hair is and Ray is wondering how he's supposed to know if he like likes her or just likes her." Jean said. She didn't question any further knowing she was above gossip, but her curiosity peaked and she ignored her hypocritical thought and told Kitty to fill her in on the details.
Kitty happily obliged leaving out the part about their sneaking out, since she knew neither Scott nor Jean would approve.
"Do you think we should help them out?" Kitty asked. Scott shook his head.
"Love blossoms beautifully when it takes its time to grow." Scott said, he often would use romantic words to sway Jean. She looked at him adoringly. He's so romantic, she thought.
"Oh shut up! I heard Mr. McCoy using that same line on Ororo yesterday." Rogue shouted Scott out. He slightly blushed and adjusted his glasses.
*What other lines have you stolen Casanova?* Jean mentally shouted at him. He muttered an explicative word at being caught red handed. He now knew that 'borrowing romantic phrases would eventually get you caught.
***
They all walked in Ray casually slowing down until he found himself next to the familiar face of his 'friend'. They got their skates and raced into the rink. Joking around and shoving one another. Jamie got tripped by Roberto and had two of his clones pop out on either side. He quickly drew them back in before anyone could see and glared at a grinning Roberto.
Sam skated over to Tabitha and asked her to skate with him, she giggled and grabbed his hand and off they went to skate. Ray, who was sitting with Kitty and Scott, growled. They both heard and looked at him confused.
"Are you, like, okay Ray?" Kitty asked. She saw a little tick on his cheek and noticed he looked angry.
"Yeah I'm fine." She's not my girlfriend, she can skate with whoever she wants, he thought. He just sat there and watched as the rest of the guys asked her to skate with them. He looked at their girlfriends and they just stared at him and smiled. It was like a conspiracy.
He didn't notice when Jubilee had walked up to him. "Hey Ray, wanna skate?"
He smiled, two can play that game. "Sure." They skated across the carpet and got to the rink, just skating side by side. He noticed that Roberto, who was Tabitha's partner now, had grabbed her hand. Ray snarled and grabbed Jubilee. Jubilee squealed. Tabitha looked on and saw what he was doing and became enraged. She put her arm around Roberto's waist and leaned close telling him a joke, when he laughed out loud Ray got even angrier. They spent the rest of the time trying to make the other jealous by being touchy with the rest of the mutants.
Scott, Jean, Logan and Ororo stared curiously wondering what was going on. Rogue filled them in.
"They're tryin' to make each other jealous."
"But the other mutants should be too, should they not? They are also being touched in the process." Ororo looked confused. Kitty laughed walking up behind Rogue.
"No, why would they be? They started it, they're trying to, like, make Ray jealous so he can hurry up and make up his mind." Ororo nodded her head in comprehension. She looked at Logan.
"Should we interfere?" She asked concerned at what might happen if Roberto continued to tease Ray by allowing his hand to constantly 'drift' down her back.
"No, let them deal with it alone. They're adults." He immediately winced when he saw Sam get shoved by Amara and put a dent on the side of the rink. "Sometimes", he amended.
***
I swear if he touches her hair one more time, I'm going shock
him until he's in a coma! He better not touch her, oh, I swear!
What's he doing now? Why isn't Jubilee saying something? Why
does she look happy about this?
Ray continued to ask himself questions that would never be answered in the meantime Tabitha was asking her own.
Why isn't he trying to kill Roberto? Why is he letting him
touch me? Eeww, why am I letting him touch me?
With that she shoved Roberto away and got ready to leave the rink. An announcement was made and she tensed.
"Next will be the couples dance. This is for couples only!" The announcer's voice was like ice cold water on Ray's face. What should he do? He sat down and hoped that Tabitha would once again make a move. When she didn't move from her spot in the rink he tensed even more. He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Time to make your move kid." Logan said. Ray's face brightened with an idea, he told Logan who began to growl and refuse to do it but eventually he gave in. Ray gulped and got up, feeling as if he was walking slow motion towards Tabitha.
"Hey Tabitha." Tabitha looked at him and cocked an eyebrow; she wasn't planning to make things easy. "Wanna skate?"
Tabitha stood there, her fingers lightly tapping her chin. Obviously his patience was worn thin, because he grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into the rink. Tabitha stood still and allowed him to drag her when she heard the D.J. begin speaking again.
"It seems like we've had a special request for a couples songs by a Ray Crispin, this ones for you Tabby." Tabitha looked at him incredulously, a blush creeping onto her face. When the song started playing she grabbed his hand and they skated around, the other couples backing off since this wasn't really their idea of a romantic song.
In the car I just can't wait
to pick you up on our very first date
is it cool if I hold your hand?
is it wrong if I think it's lame to dance?
do you like my stupid hair?
would you guess that I didn't know what to wear?
I'm just scared of what you think
you make me nervous so I really can't eat
Let's go
don't wait
this nights almost over
honest, let's make
this night last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
"And she, like, finds this romantic?" Kitty asked Rogue. Rogue just shrugged her shoulders.
"This is Tabitha we're talkin' about." She replied.
When you smile, I melt inside
I'm not worthy for a minute of your time
I really wish it was only me and you
I'm jealous of everybody in the room
please don't look at me with those eyes
please don't hint that you're capable of lies
I dread the thought of our very first kiss
a target that I'm probably gonna miss
Let's go
don't wait
this nights almost over
honest, let's make
this night last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
"This was not my idea of sweeping her off her feet." Hank said, his holographic image making him appear human (not that he wasn't) Logan just growled in response, and Storm sat there shocked.
Let's go
don't wait
this nights almost over
honest, let's make
this night last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
forever and ever
let's make this last forever
When the song was finished they skated out of the rink and sat alone, or as alone as possible at the farthest point from the rest of the X Men.
"Well?" Tabitha asked Ray. She was tired of not knowing what was going on between them. Ray didn't have the heart to pretend not to understand.
"Here's the deal. I like you, I like you a lot. I want us to try to, well ya know, be boyfriend and girlfriend." He muttered the last remark, feeling lame. "If you wanna try anyway."
Tabitha leaned back against the wall, doing the one thing he hated, since she did it constantly when she wanted to torment him. She began to scratch her chin in deep thought. She than turned to him and placed her hands on either side of his face. She leaned in and smirked.
"And what do I get out of it?" She asked, still grinning.
"Just me." His simple reply made Tabitha's heart beat. She leaned in and gave him a chaste kiss on the mouth. It wasn't long enough to cause Logan to run through the crowd and gut them, but it was enough to make Ray's heart beat so fast it was like a buzz in his ears. She smiled at him and couldn't wait until the next minute of their lives together, she was sure it would be a blast.