FYI:

~Personal Thoughts~

ESP

%The Written Word%

[Flashback]

"Normal Conversation (Duh)"

* Com Link or Telephone *

*Sound Effects (usually just Kurt's bamfing)

{Background noise--music, crowds, etc.}

HYDRA

Kitty seemed to be really into the whole party throwing deal. Of course she wasn't going to let a holiday like Halloween slip by without a bash. I was simply going to go and dance, I hadn't actually dressed up for Halloween since about fifth grade and wasn't going to go and ruin a streak like that but as usual, Kitty had other plans in mind for me. She showed up that afternoon with a dress box and a shoe box balanced on top.

"What's that?"

"Like your costume, duh."

"No, I don't have a costume."

"Well, like you do now. Ororo resized this dress for you and I like went around borrowing stuff so you could like be Poseidon for the night."

"Poseidon was a male god, Kitty."

"He was?" I nodded slowly as curiosity got the best of me and I took a peak at the dress box. I pulled out a long flowing ocean blue prom dress. "Jean said she didn't want it anymore, so I asked Ororo to make some alterations and it should like fit perfectly."

"Kitty, this it to much. She must have had to take out almost three inches."

"No like these shoes are to much. Like you totally have to check them out. They're Miss Frost's but she's the only one here who has feet anywhere close to your size. And it was four inches, but who's counting?" I shot Kitty an indignant glare for the last comment as I opened the shoebox to reveal a pair of glass dress shoes. The definitely went with Miss Frost's white streak but would go nicely with the blue dress as well. "I also borrowed these from Jubilee and that'll be just perfect. You'll totally look like a water goddess." She held up a set of earrings and necklace that were tear drop shaped crystals.

"Kitty there is no water goddess and I don't have my ears pierced…see, the costume's not going to work."

"What about a water nymph, luv?" I groaned. Betsy always showed up just in time to save Kitty's crazy ideas.

"Like that's perfect!" I found myself being pushed into the bathroom to change. ~This is going just like the Sadie Hopkins Dance. Okay, we'll hope for a better ending this time.~ When I came back out wearing the dress I sighed. Kitty had already armed herself with the earrings and was waiting already in her costume.

"What are you supposed to be?" I eyed her costume curiously as she was dressed in a white leotard and had white ears and a long tail.

"The Playboy Kitty." ~Oh brother.~ "Now sit down and lets get these in."

"I don't have my ears pierced. Remember?"

"They will be." My eyes went wide with shock and I then quickly squeezed 'em shut waiting expectantly for the pain. When I reopened 'em there was a dull throbbing pain in my ears that was quickly going away. "Like the easiest way to pierce ears. Phase the earrings in." She was grinning widely as I looked into the mirror. She'd indeed pierced my ears and the earrings were hanging down just right.

CANNONBALL

"I can't believe you let Jubilee talk you into that."

"Just shut up man." I was having a tough time not rolling on the floor laughing at Bobby's costume. "Holy shit." I looked up to see what his deal was and found my jaw dropping. Allison walked into the ballroom like she owned it wearing a formal gown and dressed to a tee.

"Hey y'all." She smiled at me then gently placed finger beneath my chin and shut my mouth for me. "Watch it, you'll catch flies that way, hon."

"What are you?" She shot Bobby a small grin.

"We're leaning towards water nymph, but according to Kitty I'm a male god." I glanced at her sideways at the last comment. "Long story. What I'd like to know is who are you guys supposed to be?"

"Bobby's Justin Timberlake." Al choked back a laugh when she caught Bobby's glare.

"And you?"

"Mick Jagger."

"Like in Aerosmith?" I nodded.

"I can see it. You look more like Mick then he does Justin. So what possessed you to dress like Timberlake?"

Bobby nodded towards Jubes and the other girls who were entering now. She was dressed up like Christina Aguleira. Al couldn't hold back any more and just busted up laughing. Kitty came bouncing over dragging Piotr behind her. It had been Jamie's idea for his costume as he was now the tin man from the Wizard of Oz. Kitty was some kind of cat, which wasn't too surprising.

"I like totally love your costumes! Mick Jagger and Clay Aiken right?"

"No, I'm Justin Timberlake."

Kitty giggled but quickly stopped herself. "Right, I like totally see it now."

"No, you don't. Stop lying, Kitty." Allison teased her as Bobby, her and Piotr left. "I think you're a lot cuter than Mick Jagger anyways. He's all old and wrinkly." She grabbed my cheek and pinched it in a grandmotherly fashion then gently kissed it causing me to blush. "Goon."

"Skitz."

"Worry-wort."

"Gorgeous."

"Oh that's a real insult. Let me tell you…" I grinned sheepishly as she had her fun. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

"You gonna blush if I kiss you again?"

"You gonna rain on Kitty's parade?"

"Good point." She frowned as she bit her bottom lip and looked away. I mentally kicked myself for saying something like that. "Check out some of the others…"

I followed her gaze to see that just about everyone else had shown up. Jamie was dressed up like a flying monkey and was pestering Piotr who just didn't understand. Sarah stood back slightly embarrassed of her friend in a princess costume. Amara was dressed up like a magician, Rhane was filling in as her lovely assistant. Betsy looked like an Indian princess with a turban wrapped around her purple hair. Rogue was a temptress and Remy was what else--the devil himself. Daniele was wearing what looked like real Native American clothing. Jean and Scott were who knows what. They were just dressed in a tux and formal gown. My guess was they were just reusing their prom stuff. Ray and Roberto had gotten into the music stuff as well with Tabitha and they were Gwen Stefani and No Doubt. Kurt came in last with Amanda who'd been given a special invite. He'd talked Beast into messing with his inducer some to make him half normal looking, half blue in his own twisted rendition of Two Face. Amanda was dressed as Bat Girl to go along with him.

"I'm sorry…you first…no you…" We'd both spoken at the same time and finally we both gave up in a fit of laughing.

"God, we've been spending too much time together. Come on, I've still got work to do on your dancing skills." She took my hand and I reluctantly let her lead me out onto the dance floor.

"This is a hopeless cause."

"I like a good challenge." She smiled as her eyes returned to a brighter shade of green. She wrapped her arms around my neck as a slower song came on. "You've got slow dancing down."

"Yeah, it's the rest that've got me puzzled."

"And yet, I still love you, despite your li'l flaws." She then quickly closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Al…" She remained tense for several more moments before she moved again.

"I'm sorry…it's just…" She let out a sigh that almost sounded painful. "Ev'rytime I get excited or feel really happy about something, I've got to worry that my powers are going to get outta hand." I brushed back the blue streak that hung by the side of her face. I couldn't help but worry over her, it seemed like every time I got close to her she was yanked back for some reason or another.

"It'll be okay. You'll figure it out…we'll figure it out."

"You're always saying stuff like that." She looked disheartened as she stood there. ~Why her? Why's she gotta struggle so much?~ "It's hard for me to believe that anyone can do anything. Not even the professor seemed to have any advice other than to avoid a situation that'll cause me to get anxious or excited. What am I supposed to do? Stay away from the one person who really makes me happy?"

HYDRA

I let the questions hang there as I turned and walked away. I could feel myself hitting a low and if I knew myself that would prolly lead to problems with my powers. I stepped outside onto the balcony and stared up at the moonlit sky wondering why ev'ry time I got close to Sam, I felt like I was ready to explode on an emotional level.

I gently rubbed my temples hoping the throbbing would go away. The only solution I could see for my problem was to become a person completely void of all emotion. I could control my powers for the most part when I was feeling okay, it was just when I got to one end of the line or the other that they went outta wack. ~I've gotta get this under control or I'm going to really screw things up.~ I leaned against the railing as I stared out over the bay at the reflecting stars and city lights from Bayville.

I practically jumped at the hand on my shoulder as I whirled around to see Sam standing there looking slightly hurt and confused. "God, you scared me."

"Look, I don't know what to tell you…"

"I know, nobody does. I don't really expect you to have answers…I was just thinking out loud." There was no change in expression as he stood there his hand still resting on my shoulder. I stared at the ground between us wondering why relationships had to be so gosh darn difficult.

"I'm sorry. It's just when I feel like a headache or something's coming on I just need to step back and let it pass or else something might happen."

I could feel him tilting my chin up forcing me to look him in the eyes but it was too painful for me to do and I squeezed my eyes shut instead. "Look at me."

"I can't. I don't want that feeling to come back."

"What feeling?"

"The pain." I could tell that I wasn't making very much sense to him. It was just becoming painful for me to be around him knowing that I couldn't really be happy because if I was, then my control was as good as gone. I wanted control over my powers, and ev'ry time I looked at him that control simply slipped away. It simply hurt trying to pen up my powers when they were screaming to get loose.

"I don't want to hurt you."

"Oh, Sam, you're not hurting me!" I opened my eyes to look at him and the pain written across his face was practically more than I could take. ~I've hurt him. Oh, I always knew I would. I shoulda never done this to him in the first place. I shouldn't have ever been so forward with him. I shouldn't have tried so hard to make him like me. He was better off being quiet and shy.~ "Please don't think that. If anyone's hurting here it's you. I can't expect you to deal with me when I'm acting so weird." I turned away from him determined to try and make a point.

He quickly caught up with me as I headed down the steps to the grassy grounds. "Sam, don't follow me!"

"I'm not going to let you do something stupid."

"I'm not…so go back to the party!"

"Make me." I stopped spinning on my heel feeling the anger swelling up inside of me as he caught me by the shoulders. "Whatcha gonna do?"

I stood there contemplating the situation realizing I didn't really want to be alone, I just didn't want him to hurt because of me. "I don't know anymore." He gently pulled me into a hug and I squeezed him back around the shoulders forcing myself not to cry.

"I wasn't teasing when I said you were gorgeous earlier. You look beautiful."

"And you're such a suck up when you're afraid I'm going to hurt you."
"You don't have it in you to hurt me, let alone a fly." I hit him softly in the shoulder as a warning shot but he ignored it as he squeezed me tighter. He loosened the hug slightly as he placed his hand beneath my chin tilting my head up again. "Does it really hurt when we kiss?"

"No, it feels like the Fourth of July."

"Good, 'cause I never want to hurt you." He leaned down and kissed me gently with his hand resting on my cheek. I leaned into his hand as the kiss deepened. I could just barely feel the drops falling down on us the longer we stood there. I placed my own hand over his and pulled it down away from my face.

"No. Please stop." He stepped back surprised. The drops stopped falling immediately as I tried to clear my head. I could feel the headache returning from abruptly stopping my powers. "I can't let myself get outta control."

CANNONBALL

I'd never been so confused in my entire life. ~Maybe I wasn't so far off when I called her a skitz.~ "Al…"

"Don't…please just go." She looked up at me pleadingly as I stood there uncertain of what to do. She almost looked like she was scared of me.

"Al, I'm not going to leave you. Come back inside with everyone else."

"I can't." She looked away from me and slowly started walking towards the bay as I ran to catch up.

"Where are you going?"

"I dunno. I just can't handle this. I can't take not being able to feel anything."

"Why can't you? It won't hurt anyone if you lose control every now and then."

"You're wrong Sam. I could hurt someone."

"With water?" She stopped near a low brick wall near Ororo's gardens and turned back to look at me.

Her voice was cold and emotionless, completely void of feeling and her eyes were a vacant gray color. "Not with water, but by taking it. What's the worse thing Magneto could do to a person?"

"Suck the iron straight from their blood." I had no clue what Magneto had to do with anything.

"I could, if I got really angry, do the same thing, just not with iron. Think of it as instant mummification. Gone is the seventy percent of your body that's made up of water, just like that." She snapped her fingers and it sounded eerie on Halloween. "The other day, I had to walk away from that fight with Logan 'cause I was scared I might kill him. I couldn't even sit with you guys because I was afraid I'd take my anger out on someone else instead."

"Al, you wouldn't do that."

"I could though, if I wasn't careful. I've got to learn to be careful like Scott and Rogue, even Storm."

"What do they have to do with anything?" She had turned her back to me again as she stood there staring out over the bay. I cautiously placed a hand on her shoulder but she didn't react at all. "You've really thought this through haven't you?"

"Yes."

"Then you've thought hard enough to make sure you'll never do something like that."

"Stop it."

"What?"

"Trying to make me feel better. I can't do that…I can't let myself feel anything." Her voice was starting to crack as she spoke and she slowly turned to face me. "Maybe this is a bad idea."

"What is?"

"Us. I'm never going to be able to be truly happy. It doesn't matter how great of a person you are Sam."

"I don't believe that for a moment. You said you were only worried about what would happen if you got angry. It's not that horrible for it to rain, you know."

"You're too damn optimistic." I could tell she was definitely faltering now but still the grayness and lack of anything I'd seen was definitely more frightening then when she was most angry.

"So sue me if the glass is half-full." She smiled faintly as I held her by her shoulders. She was swaying slightly unsteady on her feet and I was worried that the headache she'd mentioned earlier was a lot worse than she'd led me to think.

"You mind if I do something to release the pressure in my head?" I looked down at her confused at first as she kissed me. I was beyond the point of caring if I got wet anymore when I was around Al. I was almost to the point where I hoped I would get wet because that meant something had made her really happy.

HYDRA

I stepped back giving him a weak smile. "I don't know what I'd do without you, Sam."

"I'm not exactly sure what I'd do without you either."

"You'd be warm and dry, that's for sure." I laughed lightly as he took my hand and his and squeezed it gently.

"Doesn't matter." He leaned down and kissed me again holding my head gently in his hands. I smiled into the kiss as I placed my hands on his shoulders and gently pushed him down so he was sitting on the wall. I sat down in his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck as his hands moved to encircle my waist.

"I'm sorry. I've been acting so strange lately…"

"Like I said before, it doesn't matter, Al." I stared into his blue eyes wondering what I'd done to deserve some one as sweet as him as I rested my head on his shoulder. "All that matters to me, is that you're happy." I sighed contentedly as I continued to snuggle into his shoulder.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Sorry, I've been suber busy. God, could someone strike my work with a lightning bolt so I can take some time off? I was aiming that at you in particular, God.

Qwerty: Nope, not flirting. Just being goofy little me. *Author bobs head up and down repeating 'Find a happy place… Find a happy place… Find a happy place…'

Pomegranate Queen: An honorable mention of everyone's favorite temptress.

Nie Starwhistler: I hope you feel better soon.

GiveGodglory: Slightly buggy? She's psychotic, dude!