Short of moving the couch in his office against the door and donning riot gear, Principal Kelly was as prepared as he could ever be. In just 6 minutes it would start, and then everything would be out of his hands.
He had taken precautions. The janitors were removing the toilet paper from the bathrooms. He took the bus to work this morning, knowing his car in the parking lot would most certainly meet with an unfortunate incident. And he had 911 on speed-dial incase he only had time to press one button instead of three. In some ways he was glad it was down to this, glad that his days monitoring the students, both mutant and normal, would be over. He looked at his watch once again, 5 minutes. It would start in 5 minutes.
Summer vacation was coming.
Kelly's stomach growled and he put a hand to it. "Got to be the stress." He mumbled as he held his stomach and went into his private bathroom, shutting the door.
~~~~~
"You ready?" Toad asked glancing around the corner.
"Oh Yeah." Fred replied, evil grin on his face. Toad winked back, and hopped around the building.
"Yoo Hoo Duncie-poo…" Toad called, and the Jock turned to see the mutant waving seductively at him.
"Tolelsky." He hissed, as an arrogant grin crept onto his face. "And to think that I was about to leave without giving you one last pummeling." Duncan dropped his bag and popped his knuckles as he walked towards Toad.
Toad stood ready. "Bring it on Bleachy-Locks!"
"You are so dead!" Duncan rushed forward, but as he passed the corner of the building Fred stepped out and halted him with a gigantic hand on his shoulder.
"Hope your bags are packed." Fred smiled as he took his hands down and firmly grasped the band of Duncan's underwear. "Cause your going on a trip!" Fred said as he grunted, lifting a screaming Duncan into the air by his underwear, in the Wedgie to end all Wedgies.
~~~~~
Rogue tapped her finger on the desk. It was a torture method she decided. All teachers used it, the slow agonizing process of handing out final grades. She looked over at Melissa, the current teachers pet, and began to sweat upon seeing a 76 at the top of her page. If she got a 76 there was no hope for the 94 Rogue needed to pass the class.
"Bon Rogue de travail." Rogue snapped to attention upon hearing the teacher's words of praise. "I was glad to see someone actually put an effort into this assignment instead of writing 'I like pizza.' Like the rest of the class seemed to do."
"Thanks." She said taking the paper and looking at the circled 100 at the top.
*But I wrote I liked pizza, didn't I?* She asked herself as the 3:00 bell rung, and the screaming students of Bayville High broke into a riot around her.
~~~~~
"You know, seeing him like that almost makes me sad he's graduating." Toad sighed, looking back over his shoulder where Duncan desperately tried to dig the Fruit-of-the-Looms out of his asscrack.
Fred laughed, dusting his hands off. "Hey, if that's the last image I have of Duncan Mathews, I'll die a happy man."
The two high-five'd, but were halted when someone stepped into their path.
"I saw what you two did." Scott said seriously, blocking them with crossed arms.
"So?" Fred huffed.
Toad stood up straight and looked Scott in the eye. "Whacha gonna do about it pink-eye?"
"I'm just disappointed." Scott said while shaking his head. "Why didn't you let me in on it?"
The two Brotherhood members smiled.
"Well, looks like he's bout got that one dug out." Fred said as he looked back over at Mathews.
The three looked at each other, and three evil grins crept onto their faces.
"We'll hold em for ya." Toad said as they started walking towards the blond jock. Scott just rolled up his sleeves.
~~~~~
Kurt nearly teleported in surprise when he felt a hand go around his neck and rub down to his shoulder. He could feel the fingers sliding through the short fir despite the image inductor. But he didn't teleport, despite knowing that the hand's owner now knew he was a mutant, he knew that by teleporting in the middle of the crowded hall, everyone would know.
But the hand didn't pull away, instead, its fingers kind of twirled against his hidden fur.
Kurt visibly relaxed. "Hey Amanda."
"I thought you were going to call last night?" She asked as she stood face to face with him, stepping out of the current of students breaking for the exit and placing both of her hands on his shoulders.
He smiled happily as he shut his locker for the last time this year. "I did call." Then sighed and looked at the floor. "But your Dad answered the phone."
"He isn't going to strangle you through the phone you know?" She asked, lifting an eyebrow.
Kurt smiled weekly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm not so sure."
"Can we not talk about my father?" She asked as they took each other's hand and started walking.
"Fine by me." He smiled as they walked down the hall, towards the swinging double doors of freedom.
"Aren't you glad it's the last day?"
"Of course."
"Bet you can't wait to get rind of that inducer." She looked down where their hands were joined, and the clunky watch on his wrist.
Kurt shrugged. "Ya, well, you get used to it."
"I don't." She said solemnly, but then smiled.
"Vat are you smiling about?"
"Nothing." She leaned into him and squeezed his hand. "Just my parents are leaving for the weekend."
"And?"
"It'll be just me at the house." She said happily.
"Vhy are you happy?" Kurt looked over at her, question written on his face. "Won't you be lonely?"
Amanda rolled her eyes. "Well, I was hoping you would stop by."
"Oh." Kurt's eyes grew twice as wide as the meaning behind Amanda's words hit him like a load of Gut Bomb Burgers. "Oh!"
"Hey Fuzzy, hey Amanda." Tabitha greeted as she broke up the moment, dancing out of the bathroom the two were passing. She grabbed their free hands and pulled down them down the hall at a quickened pace. "Let's get going!"
"Vhy are you in such a hurry?" Kurt asked as he and Amanda were drug towards the exit.
Tabby laughed. "No reason."
As they got to the exit the floor beneath them rumbled.
"Somebody Cherry-Bombed the toilets!" A random student yelled in the crowded hall as the floor violently shook. The bathroom doors flew open, dumping water into the halls.
"Nothing huh?" Kurt questioned.
~~~~~
"Not bad Scott." Fred congratulated as he patted Cyclops on the back. "You almost got them wrapped up over his head."
"Yeah man." Toad agreed, hopping along side. "Been on the receiving end of many a wedgie, you got potential, you coulda been a contender."
"Thanks." Scott smiled, imagining the event over again in his head. "Hey, just don't tell anyone okay?"
"Scott Reginald Summers!"
"Uh oh."
Toad cringed. "Full name usage is never a good thing."
"Hey Jean…" Scott said as the three stared at the read head standing before them with her hands on her hips.
"Don't hey Jean me!" She accused, stepping forward and getting right in his face. "Do you want to explain to me why I was walking over here and I get this mental projection of you pulling Duncan Mathews' underwear halfway up his back?"
Scott looked to his companions for some help.
"Uh, radio interference bouncing off a weather balloon?" Toad offered.
"I can't believe you three!"
"He's still over there." Scott jerked a thumb in the direction where Duncan still lay, writhing in pain. "You want a turn?"
Jean visibly relaxed. "I thought you would never ask." She replied rubbing her hands together, and warming up her TK.
Duncan looked up from where he was lying on the ground, and at the four mutants walking over to him. Especially his former girlfriend. "Please God no." He pleaded, his voice about three octaves higher than it normally was.
~~~~~
"Mr. Kelly!" The office secretary exclaimed as she looked at her boss. "Are you alright?"
"Dorothy…" Kelly muttered as he stared blankly forward, swaying a little from side to side as he stayed in the open doorway of his office. His stood there with his pants bunched around his ankles, wearing only a sopping wet dress shirt and boxers with little pink hearts on them. Toilet paper hung over his shoulder, some more clinging to his glasses. "Call the nurse; I think I'm coming down with something…" He said weekly before passing out. Making a squishing sound as he hit the floor.
~~~~~
Rogue didn't get to her room until well after dark. When they had all arrived at the institute they found that Ororo, Hank, the Professor, and even Logan had set up a little graduation party for Scott and Jean out by the pool.
She smiled remembering all of them out there like one big happy family as they congratulated two of their own. Her brother and sister, Kurt and Kitty. All of her obscure but still close cousins, Tabby, Ray, Sam, Amara, Roberto, Jubilee, Bobby, Rahne, and Jamie. Her aunt and uncle, Ororo and Hank. Logan would have to be more like her father than anyone else, strong and protective, but still with a soft side. The Professor, her wise and understanding grandfather.
Magnito and the Acolytes had even showed up, although long after the party had started and the sun had gone down. John told some outrageously funny stories, the crowd's favorite being the time they had gotten Pietro hopped up on Pixie-Stix and taken him to a sporting good store to try out treadmills, even Pietro took it in good humor. Piotr had distanced himself from the crowd, but Kitty had promptly started a conversation with him, 'conversation' meant the occasional nod from Piotr as she rambled on various things. Remy was around, but not hanging off of her like she expected. Even Magnito, no, Magnito was their enemy, should she call him Mr. Lenshire, Eric, Magnus…. Never mind, even he had joined for a short time, talking with the professor and taking a slice of pizza from the various selection Mr. McCoy had gotten delivered.
She hated to admit it, but it was the normalist thing they had done at the institute.
She tossed her bag to the corner where it tipped over, exposing its contents and reveling the edge of a piece of paper with a circled red '100' at the top. She reached down and looked at the words.
La façon que vous marchez.
La façon que vous parlez.
La façon que vos cheveux tombe vos yeux.
La façon que vous couvrez en haut vos cris.
La façon vous me regardez.
La façon que vous détournez les yeux.
La façon que nous toujours rencontrons.
La façon vous voulez que je soit resté.
Ceux-ci sont les choses que vous toujours faites.
Ceux-ci sont les choses qui ont fait me tombent dans l'amour avec vous.
Flicking her lamp on and removing the dust covered French-English dictionary from the far corner of the room she sat to work. It went surprisingly fast, the word per word translation of her paper into English.
Upon finishing the translation she looked at the paper before tears formed in the corners of her eyes. Standing up, leaving the desk lamp shining on the words, she left the room.
Gambit sat out by the pool, the underwater lights softly illuminating his surroundings. It was abandoned now, and he was glad such a clear night sky was able to peek through the dark clouds every once in a while.
Piotr and John had returned with Magnito in the spheres to their place in the city. Pietro had just jogged back to the Brotherhood house. But this was why Remy had driven his bike instead of taking an orb. You just couldn't relax under the night sky like this in the middle of the city.
The smell of summer rain filled the humid night air as the wind blew warmly against his face, and Remy soaked it up. There was a thunderstorm coming, and he could see the illumination of lightning strikes off in the distance. He had always been drawn to the odd times of day like this. That moment when the setting sun turned everything orange. Those rare occurrences when a rain shower would hit while the sun was shining, his Nanny had always told him that the Devil was beating his wife when that happened. Remy smiled as he wondered if the weather was the result of the Storm having a dream.
The porch door closed, but he continued to look up at the sky.
"That was beautiful."
He snapped out of his thoughts upon hearing the distinct accent. "So many things beautiful round here Chere, can you give Remy a hint?" He asked as she walked up by his side.
"What you wrote."
"Dat." He smiled and went back to looking at the little white dots that poked through the clouds. "Wondered if you would figure it out."
"Hey."
"Remy not mean you dumb Chere." He smiled as he rose from the lounging pool chair. "Maybe a little slow, but not dumb."
She smiled warmly. "Why did you do it?"
"Thought it was pretty self explanatory."
"Sorry, I just don't see how something like this can happen." She looked down and crossed her arms, as her words wavered. "I mean I can't even…"
"Chere." He stopped her from continuing as he stepped close to her. "Stop talking about what can't happen. Cant we just focus on what can?"
They stood in silence as the first few drops of rain fell around them, breaking the stillness of the pool and producing little bubbles on top of the water. Remy felt the moisture fall in his hair, and Rogue could feel the drops gently hitting her face as she looked up at him.
"It's raining."
"Oui."
"Come inside with me?"
"Remy go wherever you want Chere."
~~~~~
"Rogue?" Kitty asked as she stuck her head through the door, literary. Finding no one she walked in, intent on leaving a note for the girl to discover later. She found a pen and pad on Rogue's desk, and couldn't help but read the writing on the pad.
The way you walk,
The way you talk.
The way your hair falls over your eyes,
The way you cover up your cries.
The way you look at me,
The way you look away.
The way we always meet,
The way you want me to stay.
These are the things you always do,
These are the things that have made me fall in love with you.
She smiled and walked back to the door, only to hear voices in the hall. Instinctively she phased into the wall behind Rogue's house robe which hung on a hook. The door opened and in walked Rogue, with Remy?
"I'll get you a towel." She said as they entered. But her trip to the bathroom was halted when Remy grabbed her arm, and spun her to face him.
"Remy not that wet." She stepped closer to him as his arm moved to her back, and his free hand pulled a handkerchief from his pocket. "This'll do." He unfolded it, and gently laid it across her lips.
Kitty peered from behind the bathrobe as the Cajun leaned down to her, and her up to him. Their lips met, only separated by a thin layer of cotton. She watched as Rogue's arms entwined themselves around his shoulders, one of her gloved hands on the back of his neck. His arms tightened around her waist and back, and just before she phased completely out of the room, Kitty saw Rogue's foot pop up off the floor.
"Yes!" She exclaimed once safely out in the hall, twirling around in an impromptu dance before returning to her room. "Finally."
Remy broke the kiss, and watched Rogue's eyes flutter open as the handkerchief fell from her lips and into his hand. She could smell him all around her. Some designer cologne that Jean or Kitty could probably recognize, but there was a part of it that was just, well, Remy about it. He placed the cloth on her still rain moistened forehead and wiped the running makeup from her face. He was lifting it from her, the sorrow, the pain, everything that she tried to hide he was taking away by just wiping away the gothic makeup.
"You okay Chere?" He asked, finishing at her chin and letting the handkerchief fall to the floor.
"Yeah." She looked up at him, their arms still holding themselves to each other. "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Well, it's late and you haven't made one hint or move for me to get outta here. Remy think you might be coming down with somthin." He placed the back of a gloved hand to her bare forehead.
"I might be." She closed her eyes and nuzzled her forehead into his hand, desperately wanting to get closer.
"I thought so." He removed his hand from her forehead and let it gently rest on her side. "Any idea what it might be?"
"I think I might be fallin in love with you Cajun."
"Remy think it be contagious." He smiled, and leaned his lips back down to hers.
"Stop." She pulled back a little and Remy obeyed. "The handkerchief." She said, looking down to where it was on the floor. "You know we can't…"
He sighed and placed the kiss atop her head, breathing in the scent of her hair. "Remy going to get that real kiss someday Chere. If it mean he going to sleep for a while, at least I be havin good dreams."
~~~:*:~~~
Two figures appeared on the mountain side, the smaller one landing unsurely and slipping on the loose rocks. In one swift motion the larger grabbed its companion, and swung them to a solid edge."
"Thanks."
"We should go." The larger one looked to the east. "The temple should be just over that ridge."
"Wait." The smaller halted. "Did you feel that?"
The larger closed his eyes and concentrated. "It can't be." He looked down at his companion. "How could another be here?"
"I don't know." They both looked to the west. "It's faint, very far away."
"This may change things."
"What now?" The smaller questioned.
The larger exhaled a sigh. "We will come back, we still have time." He turned and looked to the west. "Let's find out who this is."
"Right."
As the cold mountain wind forced a gust across the ledge, the two figures disappeared.
How ya like dem apples!
PS: have no idea what Scott's middle name is, but I liked how that one sounded.
In a hurry this morning so no answered reviews, figured you had rather have the chapter anyway.
Later everyone…
