Due to the seriousness of this chapter, I didn't write in a Random
Interlude. Plus, Taineyah was so traumatized by the last one, she isn't
really speaking to me at the moment...
And, since there are more reviewers now, and I'm lazy, I'll only be answering a few of them. I do LOVE no... ADORE and appreciate EVERYONE who reads my stories. Plus, I'd like point out something that struck me as odd...
crazyspaceystracy: I feel the same way about pierced guys, but I'm basing Wanda's personality losely on one of my friends, and she thinks pierced guys are the bees knees. Plus, John strikes me as the type of guy who would get his ear pierced, if he was drunk... or stoned... or clueless as the situation would allow.
Remy's a meannie-poo, but we still love him.
RARR: I'm really glad you like my story, and you want me to continue with it. However, I don't respond well to death threats. "You must die!!" does not encourage me in the least. I'm sorry about John getting tortured in the last chapter. I'm a huge Pyro fan too, and believe me, it wasn't easy. But keep in mind that it was all in good fun. Remy decided to pull a prank on him, and it went too far. I myself only got my ears pierced last September, and it only hurt for a little while, so I know he didn't suffer much.
Besides, if I'm dead, I can't post any more chapters.
General information: I've started drawing fanart for this story. As soon as I can get it scanned in, I'll be doing a mini-contest of sorts. I'm still in the plotting process, so I'll keep you posted.
DISCLAIMER: *reads from a tele-prompter* Amieva is the most awesomest human being on the planet... she owns X-Men Evolu- HEY! This isn't right!
Amieva: READ THE SCRIPT DANGIT!!
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"Are you wearing lipgloss?"
John looked down at Wanda, who was leaning against his shoulder. He heard Remy snort from beside him. John's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. I borrowed a bit from Remy."
Remy stopped laughing, and Rogue immediately started.
Wanda shrugged and turned her attention back to the movie. She was extremely comfortable in her position on the crowded couch, even if she was having to snuggle up to St.John. She noted that he had his arm wrapped casually around her, but she didn't do anything to change that. Even if she did find some morbid pleasure in fighting with him, even over the smallest things, now wasn't the time.
Having his arm around her wasn't casual at all for John. He was praising the powers that be that Wanda hadn't tried to tear a strip out of him... yet.
Peter was also fighting his nerves and the urge to go out and jump around like a mad man. Kitty had gotten so freaked out by one part of the horror film, she jumped into his lap and hadn't budged since.
That had been twenty minutes ago.
Luckily, Kitty wasn't that big, and Peter could handle having her cling on him like velcro.
He was starting to lose feeling in his right leg.
Remy managed to inch closer and closer to Rogue without her noticing much. MUCH. She knew what he was up to. If that persistent idiot was so set on getting her, fine! He'll just have to learn from his mistakes - the hard way.
Remy had deliberately rented a horror film for them to watch. He was anticipating a bunch of frightened girls in need of comforting. The plan was working fine for Kurt and Peter. Amanda and Kitty were terrified! John was getting at least some affection from Wanda, even if it was only friendly. But Rogue. Oh no. Rogue was not affected by the gruesome nature of the movie. As a matter of fact, she giggled whenever somebody was dismembered or brutally hacked to death. It was a very subtle giggle, but a giggle nonetheless.
This didn't dissuade the Ragin' Cajun at all. He made a mental note, deciding that the next time he would be watching a movie with Rogue, to make sure it had cute fuzzy animals in it, and see what her reaction would be.
"I don' know what to be more scared of, Chere. De film, or de fact dat y't'ink dis is funny."
"I'd go for the latter, mein Freund. She may be imagining it's you." Kurt said.
Remy frowned at Rogue. "Dat true, Rogue?"
Rogue glanced over at him with a mischievous smirk, "What do YOU think, Swamp Rat?"
Remy shifted uncomfortably. She was playing games with him. Well, that was a start, at least. He liked games. His thoughts went back to the little bag, he had tucked away in his guitar case, from the Novelty Shop. He had surprise in store for his Southern Belle.
Evan was already asleep, having already seen this movie with the New Recruit boys, and he didn't have anyone to cuddle with, which is sad because this is a fluff scene. *audience participation: Awwwww...*
Wanda's eyelids started to feel heavy, and she knew her head was drooping further and further into John's chest. She had to either get up and go to her own room soon, or she might just give in to the sleep gremlins and do a face-plant into John's lap, which wouldn't be good at all.
~*~
All the girls ended up going upstairs to Wanda's room and crashing on her floor. Amanda read through a few of Wanda's Witchcraft books, adding in little stories about her past experience with practicing majik. Since her mother was a priestess back in the day, Amanda had learned a lot about Pagan rituals. Amanda and Wanda laughed together like old friends, even though they hadn't been close, ever.
Kitty fell asleep almost instantly. She brought her favourite stuffed dragon with her. Of course, she was worried that the others might tease her about her companion. Rogue already knew about Lockheed and his importance to the small brunette girl, so she made no comment. Amanda actually brought her own stuffed animal... Well, it was more like a stuffed demon. It was navy-blue and had cobalt hair and a tail. She called it her Bamf-Doll. Wanda thought nothing of it, and actually showed the other girls her witch- bear.
Rogue didn't want to show them the tattered looking hound dog she had in her immediate possession (she's probably one of the angstiest characters in the universe, but everyone needs a warm fuzzy, right?).
The next morning, Rogue was the first one up. She tip-toed through the slumbering bodies of her best friends and very carefully went down the stairs. She was feeling slightly hungry, and decided to see what Wanda had in her kitchen for breakfast.
Approaching the living room, Rogue's ears were assaulted by the sound of six men, snoring excessively.
Kurt was curled up on one of the armchairs, looking as angelic as someone could with pointed ears, a tail, blue skin and fangs. Evan was still where he dropped the night before, on the carpet with a pillow. The Acolytes were all intricately positioned on the large couch. It looked like Remy and Peter had tried to shove John off in their sleep, judging by the way the nutty Australian was hanging precariously off the edge.
Rogue reached into her knapsack pocket and pulled out a Polaroid camera. One click-flash-snap later, she had a photo to put in her scrapbook. It was a project the Professor suggested she try in attempt to keep her personal memories separate from those she absorbed. Besides, when she got famous as lead guitarist in an all mutant band, she could sell her photo-biography and never have to worry about working ever again (our Rogue's an ambitious girl).
An idea crossed her mind. She may never get this opportunity again, and the little voice inside her head (-_- pick one) was screaming 'DO IT!'. She crept closer to Remy's end of the couch and kneeled down next to his sleeping body. She readied her camera, and focussed on him. Her trigger finger pressed the orange button on her camera and snap-flash-click, she was holding a photo of sleeping-Remy. It was going to be, quite possibly, the most sought after picture in the universe, and it was aaaaalllll hers (I KNOW I'm going to get e-mails up the wahzoo for this one. Can you say fan art?).
She chuckled triumphantly and got back to her feet. This picture wasn't going in the book. This was for her 'private collection'. She didn't have a 'private collection', but this was a good start. Rogue started to creep away, but a hand shot out and grabbed her covered wrist. She jumped slightly and tried to pull her arm away, but Remy had an iron grip on her.
"Remy saw de light, so you must be de angel." he murmured with a dazed smile.
"Git yer hands offa me, Swamp Rat." She hoped to God her cheeks weren't as red as she felt at that moment. She didn't know what was worse, staring at the Cajun, or getting caught staring at the Cajun BY the Cajun (that was for Ishandahalf).
"Mein Hinder ist heiss..." Kurt mumbled incoherently from the armchair (HA HA HA! That one's for you, Taineyah!).
Remy finally let go of Rogue after Kurt's declaration. He was still trying to figure out what it meant. Rogue, on the other hand, just shook her head at her step brother. "Ah'm going to go an' git somethin' to eat. Y'all can stay here, all snug and such." she turned on her heel and headed for the kitchen.
Remy got up and stretched, then followed her. Finally, alone time with Rogue!
By the time he walked through the door, Rogue had pulled a box of cereal out of the cupboard, and was searching the drawers for a spoon. Remy sidled up next to her, deliberately having to reach across her back to open the silverware drawer.
Rogue jumped again. She was getting really sick of him sneaking up on her like that, even if she was secretly enjoying the rush it gave her. She grudgingly picked a spoon out of the drawer and turned to go back to her bowl, but Remy wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Let go of me." she warned.
"Remy not much of a morning person, but y'know Chere, he never felt more awake in his life."
Rogue snuck a glance at the clock. "That's prob'ly 'cause it ain't mornin' no more, sugar. It's almost 1:30."
Remy eased his hold on her and sighed dramatically. "Dat's what I get fo' tryin' t'be romantic."
Rogue smirked. "Better wake the hounds, we only got five hours 'till the concert. Ah'll get started on findin' somethin' for lunch." she pulled away from him, feeling a sudden chill down her spine when she left his warm embrace.
~*~
The lunch dishes were cleaned courtesy of John, Peter, Amanda, Kitty and Wanda, since they didn't have to attend a last minute practice. Weeeeeellll... Peter, Amanda, Kitty and Wanda cleaned the dishes while John put on one of his favourite albums and danced along with the music for their entertainment. That's what he claimed he was doing. All he accomplished by doing so was distracting the clean-up crew and making their job take twice as long as it should have.
Now it was nearly time for them to get their acts together and get ready for a party, but after a game of Asshole (sorry if this offended anyone. It's a card game, also known as Janitor). John was in a state of euphoria because Remy wasn't around, and that meant that HE was now the reining card-shark in the house, and Peter didn't know Asshole from Go- Fish.
He didn't anticipate Kitty being able to kick his butt though. That certainly put a dampener to his mood, but that didn't stop him from being incredibly giddy.
Around 5:00, they decided to break from the games and get ready to go. The house had three bathrooms and a water-closet. By the time all the band members got back, there was slight panic amongst them over who was going to have a hot shower. As it turned out, though, Wanda and Remy had already showered earlier in the day, so they didn't need to get in the way. They only needed to put on their costumes.
Wanda knocked on the bathroom door. She had been waiting for half an hour for her turn. Whoever was in there was certainly taking their sweet time! She really had to brush her teeth!
"Hey! Do you think you could hurry it up in there?! There's eight other people in this house!
A muffled response came from inside.
"Do you mind speaking up? I can't hear you!"
Suddenly, the door swung open and black-haired John stood before her, shirtless, and a very annoyed look on his face. "I said give me a minute, you bloody piker!"
H seemed to have notice who he just yelled at. He gulped.
Wanda's eyes were fixed on this bare chest. "Wha... you... bluh..." she stuttered.
John scratched the back of his head. "I was just... uh... trying to undo Remy's little prank."
Wanda's eyes trailed up his face and over to his left side. The stud was still lodged into his ear, and the flesh all around it looked red and irritated, like he had been tugging at it. "The earring?"
John nodded. "It's giving me a bit of trouble though. I've discovered that you can't pull it out either way, or it hurts. And you can't rip it out, or it hurts even more. And the little sticking out think stabs your finger when you touch it." for effect, he showed her his index finger with the puncture wound.
Wanda reached her hand up and touched it lightly. Her fingers were cold and soothing to the hot throbbing skin. "Are you sure you want to get rid of it?"
He was in too much of a daze to control what came out of his mouth. "Well, that depends. What do you think?"
"I think you should give it a few days, maybe try to get used to it. It really doesn't look that bad on you."
She was only inches away from his face. John tilted his head slightly and slowly moved in closer to her. He saw Wanda's eyes go really wide in shock, then droop again as she leaned in as well.
Then the doorbell rang. The two of them jumped apart, having just missed the grunt of disappointment coming from both of them.
~*~
Kitty being the only one completely in costume answered the door. She was greeted by two 8-year olds and a little toddler. The baby, who was dressed as a cow, was hardly strong enough to hold his bucket up, and fell flat on his butt from the weight. Kitty thought it was the cutest thing in the universe.
The other two, a pirate and a princess, shouted "Trick or Treat!"
Kitty smiled and handed them each a hand full of candy out the bowl by the door. They thanked her, and then helped their baby brother up. Kitty placed some candy into his bucket as well. The toddler giggled and blabbered something. Kitty didn't understand him, and asked the other two what he said.
The pirate blushed. "He thinks you're pretty."
"C'mon, Zachery! Let's go! Mommy told us not to keep her waiting." the princess lifted her baby brother off the ground and pulled them down the steps to the car waiting at the end of the side walk.
Kitty shut the door again and walked back to the living room, where she was helping Peter with the finishing touches of his costume.
John and Wanda had arrived while she was at the door, and were sitting across from each other. Wanda had a stick of make-up out and was drawing on John's forehead. Kitty frowned slightly. Why weren't they together romantically, and why wasn't Wanda in her costume yet?!
"Who was at the door, Katya?" Peter asked.
"Just a few trick-or-treaters. Hey Wanda?"
Wanda stopped drawing and looked up at 'Josie'.
"If we're all going to the concert, who's going to hand out candy to the little kids?"
Wanda frowned. "Dad was supposed to be home by now to hand out the candy, but he called and said he had an emergency at the office and couldn't come and do it. I guess we could just leave the bowl outside and let the kids help themselves."
John was feeling extremely tense at that moment. Having Wanda this close to him, and not being able to do anything was extremely frustrating!
The door bell rang again. Kitty was about to get up to answer it, but John beat her to it. He needed to get away from Wanda before he embarrassed himself in front of her. "You guys stay here, I'll get the door." He pulled on his black cloak and empty frames and ran to the door.
He opened the door, fully expecting to see some wide-eyed children, gawking at seeing Harry Potter in their own home town.
But that wasn't the case.
He came face to face with a wide chest. His eyes trailed up to see Simon smiling down at him. He was wearing a tight black tee-shirt with a red 'W' on it, tight black pants and sunglasses.
"Hey, Ozzy! Is Wanda home?"
John scowled, his happy mood suddenly died. "Aren't you a little old to be trick-or-treating... mate?" the last word had to be forced out.
Simon started laughing, and slapped John on the back. "You're a funny guy! Hey! I almost didn't recognize you with the black hair! Who are you supposed to be, me?"
In his dreams! "No." he answered, trying his hardest not to start ripping his hair out. "I'll go get Wanda..."
He stomped dejectedly back to the living room. 'The Vampire Lestat' (thanks Rayven) was looking into the little mirror, adjusting his teeth. Two out of three of the 'Pussy Cats' were putting on glitter. 'Danny' was combing his fingers through his wig. Nightcrawler was helping 'Morpheus' with his jacket. Wanda was still out of costume, and trying to get Rogue to show off what she was wearing.
"What de matter, homme? Y'look like y'just seen somet'in' die?" 'Lestat' asked.
John looked over at Wanda. "It's for you."
Wanda got up and walked past John to the door, wondering who was possibly at the-
"SIMON!" she gasped, and inwardly slapped her self upside the head. How could she have forgotten about her date with Simon?! "You're early."
"Hey babe!"
"I-I don't even have my costume on yet!" Wanda looked down at her skull and cross-bones tank top and striped red and black pants.
Simon shrugged. "What you're wearing is fine."
Wanda's brow furrowed slightly. "Just give me a minute, alright?"
~*~
John was leaning against the door frame, looking angry, and almost on the verge of tears. As Wanda went past him, now with her kitty ears in hand, he snatched her shoulder. She spun around and faced him.
"What does the 'W' stand for? Wonder Wanker?" he whispered harshley.
Wanda pulled free of him. "John, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot. Simon's taking me to the concert. I meant to tell-"
John crossed his arms and looked down at the floor. "That's alright. Don't go feeling sorry for me. Have fun."
He wasn't even going to fight with her over this? Wanda tried to stifle the feeling of disappointment in her heart and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you guys there."
She met up with Simon at the door, with John watching her closely from the shadows. Simon seemed to have noticed his gaze. He scooped Wanda up in his muscular arms and kissed her forcefully, almost as if he was showing off to John that he had what the little Australian could only hope for.
John's grip on his wand, that he had concealed a barbecue lighter with, tightened.
Wanda wiggled free from Simon, and staggered to his car.
And with that, she was gone.
~*~
All chattering in the living room stopped when John entered the room. He ripped off his cloak and flomped onto the couch.
"John, it be time t'get goin'."
"No thanks, mate. I'll just stay home." he clicked on the television and put his feet up on the coffee table.
Remy ushered everyone out of the room, telling them to go out to the car. He approached John on the couch. "We still got y'ticket."
John only shook his head and motioned for Remy to get his butt out the door.
After the room was empty and silent, save John and the 'spooky' Hallowe'en special meant for losers who couldn't get a date, he mumbled to himself, "Simon took my ticket."
########################################################### SIMON MUST DIE!!!! GAH! *cries* I want John to be happy!
If you hated Simon before, after the next chapter, you are going to LOATHE him! I haven't even got that part written, and I already LOATHE him! Grrrrr......... Die Simon DIE! *gets out a Simon Voo-Doo doll.* stabbity death!
May the Glomp Gods smile upon you!
Bai-Bai!
And, since there are more reviewers now, and I'm lazy, I'll only be answering a few of them. I do LOVE no... ADORE and appreciate EVERYONE who reads my stories. Plus, I'd like point out something that struck me as odd...
crazyspaceystracy: I feel the same way about pierced guys, but I'm basing Wanda's personality losely on one of my friends, and she thinks pierced guys are the bees knees. Plus, John strikes me as the type of guy who would get his ear pierced, if he was drunk... or stoned... or clueless as the situation would allow.
Remy's a meannie-poo, but we still love him.
RARR: I'm really glad you like my story, and you want me to continue with it. However, I don't respond well to death threats. "You must die!!" does not encourage me in the least. I'm sorry about John getting tortured in the last chapter. I'm a huge Pyro fan too, and believe me, it wasn't easy. But keep in mind that it was all in good fun. Remy decided to pull a prank on him, and it went too far. I myself only got my ears pierced last September, and it only hurt for a little while, so I know he didn't suffer much.
Besides, if I'm dead, I can't post any more chapters.
General information: I've started drawing fanart for this story. As soon as I can get it scanned in, I'll be doing a mini-contest of sorts. I'm still in the plotting process, so I'll keep you posted.
DISCLAIMER: *reads from a tele-prompter* Amieva is the most awesomest human being on the planet... she owns X-Men Evolu- HEY! This isn't right!
Amieva: READ THE SCRIPT DANGIT!!
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"Are you wearing lipgloss?"
John looked down at Wanda, who was leaning against his shoulder. He heard Remy snort from beside him. John's eyes narrowed. "Yeah. I borrowed a bit from Remy."
Remy stopped laughing, and Rogue immediately started.
Wanda shrugged and turned her attention back to the movie. She was extremely comfortable in her position on the crowded couch, even if she was having to snuggle up to St.John. She noted that he had his arm wrapped casually around her, but she didn't do anything to change that. Even if she did find some morbid pleasure in fighting with him, even over the smallest things, now wasn't the time.
Having his arm around her wasn't casual at all for John. He was praising the powers that be that Wanda hadn't tried to tear a strip out of him... yet.
Peter was also fighting his nerves and the urge to go out and jump around like a mad man. Kitty had gotten so freaked out by one part of the horror film, she jumped into his lap and hadn't budged since.
That had been twenty minutes ago.
Luckily, Kitty wasn't that big, and Peter could handle having her cling on him like velcro.
He was starting to lose feeling in his right leg.
Remy managed to inch closer and closer to Rogue without her noticing much. MUCH. She knew what he was up to. If that persistent idiot was so set on getting her, fine! He'll just have to learn from his mistakes - the hard way.
Remy had deliberately rented a horror film for them to watch. He was anticipating a bunch of frightened girls in need of comforting. The plan was working fine for Kurt and Peter. Amanda and Kitty were terrified! John was getting at least some affection from Wanda, even if it was only friendly. But Rogue. Oh no. Rogue was not affected by the gruesome nature of the movie. As a matter of fact, she giggled whenever somebody was dismembered or brutally hacked to death. It was a very subtle giggle, but a giggle nonetheless.
This didn't dissuade the Ragin' Cajun at all. He made a mental note, deciding that the next time he would be watching a movie with Rogue, to make sure it had cute fuzzy animals in it, and see what her reaction would be.
"I don' know what to be more scared of, Chere. De film, or de fact dat y't'ink dis is funny."
"I'd go for the latter, mein Freund. She may be imagining it's you." Kurt said.
Remy frowned at Rogue. "Dat true, Rogue?"
Rogue glanced over at him with a mischievous smirk, "What do YOU think, Swamp Rat?"
Remy shifted uncomfortably. She was playing games with him. Well, that was a start, at least. He liked games. His thoughts went back to the little bag, he had tucked away in his guitar case, from the Novelty Shop. He had surprise in store for his Southern Belle.
Evan was already asleep, having already seen this movie with the New Recruit boys, and he didn't have anyone to cuddle with, which is sad because this is a fluff scene. *audience participation: Awwwww...*
Wanda's eyelids started to feel heavy, and she knew her head was drooping further and further into John's chest. She had to either get up and go to her own room soon, or she might just give in to the sleep gremlins and do a face-plant into John's lap, which wouldn't be good at all.
~*~
All the girls ended up going upstairs to Wanda's room and crashing on her floor. Amanda read through a few of Wanda's Witchcraft books, adding in little stories about her past experience with practicing majik. Since her mother was a priestess back in the day, Amanda had learned a lot about Pagan rituals. Amanda and Wanda laughed together like old friends, even though they hadn't been close, ever.
Kitty fell asleep almost instantly. She brought her favourite stuffed dragon with her. Of course, she was worried that the others might tease her about her companion. Rogue already knew about Lockheed and his importance to the small brunette girl, so she made no comment. Amanda actually brought her own stuffed animal... Well, it was more like a stuffed demon. It was navy-blue and had cobalt hair and a tail. She called it her Bamf-Doll. Wanda thought nothing of it, and actually showed the other girls her witch- bear.
Rogue didn't want to show them the tattered looking hound dog she had in her immediate possession (she's probably one of the angstiest characters in the universe, but everyone needs a warm fuzzy, right?).
The next morning, Rogue was the first one up. She tip-toed through the slumbering bodies of her best friends and very carefully went down the stairs. She was feeling slightly hungry, and decided to see what Wanda had in her kitchen for breakfast.
Approaching the living room, Rogue's ears were assaulted by the sound of six men, snoring excessively.
Kurt was curled up on one of the armchairs, looking as angelic as someone could with pointed ears, a tail, blue skin and fangs. Evan was still where he dropped the night before, on the carpet with a pillow. The Acolytes were all intricately positioned on the large couch. It looked like Remy and Peter had tried to shove John off in their sleep, judging by the way the nutty Australian was hanging precariously off the edge.
Rogue reached into her knapsack pocket and pulled out a Polaroid camera. One click-flash-snap later, she had a photo to put in her scrapbook. It was a project the Professor suggested she try in attempt to keep her personal memories separate from those she absorbed. Besides, when she got famous as lead guitarist in an all mutant band, she could sell her photo-biography and never have to worry about working ever again (our Rogue's an ambitious girl).
An idea crossed her mind. She may never get this opportunity again, and the little voice inside her head (-_- pick one) was screaming 'DO IT!'. She crept closer to Remy's end of the couch and kneeled down next to his sleeping body. She readied her camera, and focussed on him. Her trigger finger pressed the orange button on her camera and snap-flash-click, she was holding a photo of sleeping-Remy. It was going to be, quite possibly, the most sought after picture in the universe, and it was aaaaalllll hers (I KNOW I'm going to get e-mails up the wahzoo for this one. Can you say fan art?).
She chuckled triumphantly and got back to her feet. This picture wasn't going in the book. This was for her 'private collection'. She didn't have a 'private collection', but this was a good start. Rogue started to creep away, but a hand shot out and grabbed her covered wrist. She jumped slightly and tried to pull her arm away, but Remy had an iron grip on her.
"Remy saw de light, so you must be de angel." he murmured with a dazed smile.
"Git yer hands offa me, Swamp Rat." She hoped to God her cheeks weren't as red as she felt at that moment. She didn't know what was worse, staring at the Cajun, or getting caught staring at the Cajun BY the Cajun (that was for Ishandahalf).
"Mein Hinder ist heiss..." Kurt mumbled incoherently from the armchair (HA HA HA! That one's for you, Taineyah!).
Remy finally let go of Rogue after Kurt's declaration. He was still trying to figure out what it meant. Rogue, on the other hand, just shook her head at her step brother. "Ah'm going to go an' git somethin' to eat. Y'all can stay here, all snug and such." she turned on her heel and headed for the kitchen.
Remy got up and stretched, then followed her. Finally, alone time with Rogue!
By the time he walked through the door, Rogue had pulled a box of cereal out of the cupboard, and was searching the drawers for a spoon. Remy sidled up next to her, deliberately having to reach across her back to open the silverware drawer.
Rogue jumped again. She was getting really sick of him sneaking up on her like that, even if she was secretly enjoying the rush it gave her. She grudgingly picked a spoon out of the drawer and turned to go back to her bowl, but Remy wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "Let go of me." she warned.
"Remy not much of a morning person, but y'know Chere, he never felt more awake in his life."
Rogue snuck a glance at the clock. "That's prob'ly 'cause it ain't mornin' no more, sugar. It's almost 1:30."
Remy eased his hold on her and sighed dramatically. "Dat's what I get fo' tryin' t'be romantic."
Rogue smirked. "Better wake the hounds, we only got five hours 'till the concert. Ah'll get started on findin' somethin' for lunch." she pulled away from him, feeling a sudden chill down her spine when she left his warm embrace.
~*~
The lunch dishes were cleaned courtesy of John, Peter, Amanda, Kitty and Wanda, since they didn't have to attend a last minute practice. Weeeeeellll... Peter, Amanda, Kitty and Wanda cleaned the dishes while John put on one of his favourite albums and danced along with the music for their entertainment. That's what he claimed he was doing. All he accomplished by doing so was distracting the clean-up crew and making their job take twice as long as it should have.
Now it was nearly time for them to get their acts together and get ready for a party, but after a game of Asshole (sorry if this offended anyone. It's a card game, also known as Janitor). John was in a state of euphoria because Remy wasn't around, and that meant that HE was now the reining card-shark in the house, and Peter didn't know Asshole from Go- Fish.
He didn't anticipate Kitty being able to kick his butt though. That certainly put a dampener to his mood, but that didn't stop him from being incredibly giddy.
Around 5:00, they decided to break from the games and get ready to go. The house had three bathrooms and a water-closet. By the time all the band members got back, there was slight panic amongst them over who was going to have a hot shower. As it turned out, though, Wanda and Remy had already showered earlier in the day, so they didn't need to get in the way. They only needed to put on their costumes.
Wanda knocked on the bathroom door. She had been waiting for half an hour for her turn. Whoever was in there was certainly taking their sweet time! She really had to brush her teeth!
"Hey! Do you think you could hurry it up in there?! There's eight other people in this house!
A muffled response came from inside.
"Do you mind speaking up? I can't hear you!"
Suddenly, the door swung open and black-haired John stood before her, shirtless, and a very annoyed look on his face. "I said give me a minute, you bloody piker!"
H seemed to have notice who he just yelled at. He gulped.
Wanda's eyes were fixed on this bare chest. "Wha... you... bluh..." she stuttered.
John scratched the back of his head. "I was just... uh... trying to undo Remy's little prank."
Wanda's eyes trailed up his face and over to his left side. The stud was still lodged into his ear, and the flesh all around it looked red and irritated, like he had been tugging at it. "The earring?"
John nodded. "It's giving me a bit of trouble though. I've discovered that you can't pull it out either way, or it hurts. And you can't rip it out, or it hurts even more. And the little sticking out think stabs your finger when you touch it." for effect, he showed her his index finger with the puncture wound.
Wanda reached her hand up and touched it lightly. Her fingers were cold and soothing to the hot throbbing skin. "Are you sure you want to get rid of it?"
He was in too much of a daze to control what came out of his mouth. "Well, that depends. What do you think?"
"I think you should give it a few days, maybe try to get used to it. It really doesn't look that bad on you."
She was only inches away from his face. John tilted his head slightly and slowly moved in closer to her. He saw Wanda's eyes go really wide in shock, then droop again as she leaned in as well.
Then the doorbell rang. The two of them jumped apart, having just missed the grunt of disappointment coming from both of them.
~*~
Kitty being the only one completely in costume answered the door. She was greeted by two 8-year olds and a little toddler. The baby, who was dressed as a cow, was hardly strong enough to hold his bucket up, and fell flat on his butt from the weight. Kitty thought it was the cutest thing in the universe.
The other two, a pirate and a princess, shouted "Trick or Treat!"
Kitty smiled and handed them each a hand full of candy out the bowl by the door. They thanked her, and then helped their baby brother up. Kitty placed some candy into his bucket as well. The toddler giggled and blabbered something. Kitty didn't understand him, and asked the other two what he said.
The pirate blushed. "He thinks you're pretty."
"C'mon, Zachery! Let's go! Mommy told us not to keep her waiting." the princess lifted her baby brother off the ground and pulled them down the steps to the car waiting at the end of the side walk.
Kitty shut the door again and walked back to the living room, where she was helping Peter with the finishing touches of his costume.
John and Wanda had arrived while she was at the door, and were sitting across from each other. Wanda had a stick of make-up out and was drawing on John's forehead. Kitty frowned slightly. Why weren't they together romantically, and why wasn't Wanda in her costume yet?!
"Who was at the door, Katya?" Peter asked.
"Just a few trick-or-treaters. Hey Wanda?"
Wanda stopped drawing and looked up at 'Josie'.
"If we're all going to the concert, who's going to hand out candy to the little kids?"
Wanda frowned. "Dad was supposed to be home by now to hand out the candy, but he called and said he had an emergency at the office and couldn't come and do it. I guess we could just leave the bowl outside and let the kids help themselves."
John was feeling extremely tense at that moment. Having Wanda this close to him, and not being able to do anything was extremely frustrating!
The door bell rang again. Kitty was about to get up to answer it, but John beat her to it. He needed to get away from Wanda before he embarrassed himself in front of her. "You guys stay here, I'll get the door." He pulled on his black cloak and empty frames and ran to the door.
He opened the door, fully expecting to see some wide-eyed children, gawking at seeing Harry Potter in their own home town.
But that wasn't the case.
He came face to face with a wide chest. His eyes trailed up to see Simon smiling down at him. He was wearing a tight black tee-shirt with a red 'W' on it, tight black pants and sunglasses.
"Hey, Ozzy! Is Wanda home?"
John scowled, his happy mood suddenly died. "Aren't you a little old to be trick-or-treating... mate?" the last word had to be forced out.
Simon started laughing, and slapped John on the back. "You're a funny guy! Hey! I almost didn't recognize you with the black hair! Who are you supposed to be, me?"
In his dreams! "No." he answered, trying his hardest not to start ripping his hair out. "I'll go get Wanda..."
He stomped dejectedly back to the living room. 'The Vampire Lestat' (thanks Rayven) was looking into the little mirror, adjusting his teeth. Two out of three of the 'Pussy Cats' were putting on glitter. 'Danny' was combing his fingers through his wig. Nightcrawler was helping 'Morpheus' with his jacket. Wanda was still out of costume, and trying to get Rogue to show off what she was wearing.
"What de matter, homme? Y'look like y'just seen somet'in' die?" 'Lestat' asked.
John looked over at Wanda. "It's for you."
Wanda got up and walked past John to the door, wondering who was possibly at the-
"SIMON!" she gasped, and inwardly slapped her self upside the head. How could she have forgotten about her date with Simon?! "You're early."
"Hey babe!"
"I-I don't even have my costume on yet!" Wanda looked down at her skull and cross-bones tank top and striped red and black pants.
Simon shrugged. "What you're wearing is fine."
Wanda's brow furrowed slightly. "Just give me a minute, alright?"
~*~
John was leaning against the door frame, looking angry, and almost on the verge of tears. As Wanda went past him, now with her kitty ears in hand, he snatched her shoulder. She spun around and faced him.
"What does the 'W' stand for? Wonder Wanker?" he whispered harshley.
Wanda pulled free of him. "John, I'm so sorry. I totally forgot. Simon's taking me to the concert. I meant to tell-"
John crossed his arms and looked down at the floor. "That's alright. Don't go feeling sorry for me. Have fun."
He wasn't even going to fight with her over this? Wanda tried to stifle the feeling of disappointment in her heart and kissed him on the cheek. "I'll see you guys there."
She met up with Simon at the door, with John watching her closely from the shadows. Simon seemed to have noticed his gaze. He scooped Wanda up in his muscular arms and kissed her forcefully, almost as if he was showing off to John that he had what the little Australian could only hope for.
John's grip on his wand, that he had concealed a barbecue lighter with, tightened.
Wanda wiggled free from Simon, and staggered to his car.
And with that, she was gone.
~*~
All chattering in the living room stopped when John entered the room. He ripped off his cloak and flomped onto the couch.
"John, it be time t'get goin'."
"No thanks, mate. I'll just stay home." he clicked on the television and put his feet up on the coffee table.
Remy ushered everyone out of the room, telling them to go out to the car. He approached John on the couch. "We still got y'ticket."
John only shook his head and motioned for Remy to get his butt out the door.
After the room was empty and silent, save John and the 'spooky' Hallowe'en special meant for losers who couldn't get a date, he mumbled to himself, "Simon took my ticket."
########################################################### SIMON MUST DIE!!!! GAH! *cries* I want John to be happy!
If you hated Simon before, after the next chapter, you are going to LOATHE him! I haven't even got that part written, and I already LOATHE him! Grrrrr......... Die Simon DIE! *gets out a Simon Voo-Doo doll.* stabbity death!
May the Glomp Gods smile upon you!
Bai-Bai!
