Disclaimer: If X-Men were mine, then I'd be…not living in my house.
The Bayville team was on fire during their next four games, holding a minimum of an eighteen-point lead against the teams. The X-Men were present at all games, cheering on the team, but most importantly, Jean and Ali.
Maddy, who was already mad at Ali, became furious at the sound of her success on the basketball team. She had been the best athlete in the school (in her mind) and now Ali had kicked her out of the spotlight. One of the greatest insults possible to someone of her stature.
So she began plotting. She talked with everyone she knew and everyone she had connections with, but no one knew anything about the new British girl. Not even her favorite pop to drink (she didn't drink pop. It's bad for the muscles during sports). Upon hearing this, Maddy's anger surged. But she still didn't relent on her search for any information on the Brit.
Meanwhile, Ali was on a floating cloud of bliss. Nothing seemed to be able to bring her down. Her grades were up, her friends continued to put up with her, and the basketball team was flourishing. Not only that, but she was finally gaining more control over her powers. When Rogue heard, her face lit up with pure happiness for Ali, but she couldn't help but feel horrible because she couldn't hug the girl. The first time that she had ever wanted to hug a friend in her life, and she couldn't. That only made her feel even more miserable than usual. But Ali understood, and told Rogue that, lifting her friend's spirits slightly.
Meanwhile, Bobby had not pulled any pranks. The Professor viewed him as an innocent who had learned his lesson. Ororo regarded him as a teenager who was finally maturing.
Logan knew better. He knew Bobby was up to something.
Boy, was he right.
Bobby was ecstatic after the Bayville girls defeated a long-time enemy, and gladly showed it. He created a humongous icy banner that read "Go Bayville Girls!! You Can Kick Some Ass!! And Look Hot Doing It!!" On top of that, he had iced the entire rec room, making an indoor ice rink. The students were all happy about that, as were the adults. All but one:
Logan, needless to say, was not happy. On the contrary, he was furious. He immediately ordered the 'Ice Cube' to three weeks Logan Sessions, waxing the X-Jet (again, with supervision), cleaning all the windows (supervised), and cleaning up the rec room that very night.
Ali fell onto her bed that night, laughing hysterically. "Did you see Bobby's face after Logan assigned him all that work?" she asked between giggles.
Rogue was grinning. "Ya," she said, allowing a small laugh. "He looked lahke he was gonna die from all the work."
"I don't blame him for thinking that. I know that I would die from it. It's insane!" Ali cried, doubling back into a fit of laughter.
Rogue nodded vigorously. Finally, when Ali's laughter didn't die out within the next two minutes, Rogue quickly became annoyed, and so chucked a pillow at Ali's head, hitting her target head on.
Ali jolted upwards and glared at Rogue. "Oh, so that's how it's going to be, eh?" she asked, picking up another pillow. She hurled the pillow at Rogue's stomach, which the other teen easily dodged. She lobbed another pillow at the electric mutant, who dodged and returned the attack with one of her own. Soon, the air was thick with flying pillows, which zoomed to one side of the room or the other, landing far away from their targets.
Suddenly, the door began to open. A pillow that Ali threw went astray, striking the incomer square in the face.
It turned out that that person was Kitty.
Kitty was shocked. Why would they throw a pillow at her? She had done nothing. Then she got it: the pillow was a stray. Well, she could work with that.
"Well, if you're going to throw one at me, you'd better expect one coming back," she yelled as she threw the pillow at Ali, which the girl deflected with her forearm. Kitty joined into the pillow fight, creating a very messy situation. Ten minutes later, Ororo came knocking on the door. Kitty, thinking that it was another teenage girl, threw the pillow at the unsuspecting weather witch, hitting her on the head.
"What is the meaning of this?" she asked, holding up the offending pillow.
No one spoke.
"Well?" asked Ororo impatiently.
"We were having a pillow fight," Ali explained.
"Oh, I see," Ororo replied. "Who threw this?"
Kitty meekly raised her hand. Ororo, upon seeing this, walked over and whacked Kitty lightly in the head with the cushion. Everyone in the room burst out laughing. Who would have expected the composed African-goddess to join in a pillow fight?
Ororo quickly decided that the girls needed to go to sleep, and shooed Kitty off to her room. Rogue and Ali went to bed soon after, exhausted from the fight. Of course, both of them went to bed with a smile on their face, as did Kitty and Ororo.
But they weren't the only ones.
***
School was, as usual, dull and boring the next day. The students trudged through the halls, half asleep and half exhausted. The teachers, of course, didn't seem to notice, for they piled more and more homework on them that day. Each student started home that day with a heavier backpack than the day before.
Ali and Rogue walked back together. It was the only day that she didn't have practice, but she would be making it up tomorrow; she was going to have a double practice with the team. Double the time, double the effort.
Rogue looked around. There was something that she dearly wanted to ask Ali, but wasn't sure if the other mutant had quite yet healed. She sighed and took a deep breath.
"Hey, Ali?" she said. "Can Ah ask ya something?"
Ali turned to Rogue, her green eyes inquiring as to what she wanted to know. "Sure. Fire away."
Rogue nodded and paused, trying to gather her thoughts and put them into words.
"Do you ever think of the people from your hometown? The people you left behind? The ones you hated, you loved? Do you ever miss them?"
Ali smiled. "That's more than one thing," she said.
Rogue nodded. "Ah know," she replied. "If ya don't want to answer, that's alrahgt."
Ali shook her head and looked forward. Rogue took it as a sign that Ali wouldn't answer, and allowed her own thoughts to swallow her. She suddenly jolted back to reality upon hearing Ali's voice.
"At night, before I go to bed, I always think of my friends the most. They were there for me through every scrape, every fight, every happy time. But then I start to remember the townspeople, and how they treated me before they knew my secret. I've realized that the only reason they chased me away was because they were afraid. Otherwise, I would have seemed like a normal person. But they feared mutants and what we would become, so they acted upon their emotions. Yes, I think of them. And I miss every one of them. I know it sounds strange, but for some reason, I've forgiven them for their actions," she explained.
Rogue nodded. "Yer too good of a person, Al," she commented. "Some people just don't deserve yer forgiveness."
Ali shook her head. "Everyone deserves forgiveness, Rogue. Even those who are pestering you every chance they get," she replied with a mischievous wink.
Rogue growled. "If yer talking 'bout the Cajun, forget it," she replied. "He doesn't deserve anything from meh."
Ali smiled knowingly and nodded. "Ok. What ever you say, Rogue," she replied, walking ahead.
Rogue suddenly gapped, figuring out what Ali thought. "Ah don't lahke the Cajun!" she yelled angrily.
Ali turned around, looking quite innocent. "I never said that, Rogue. I wouldn't suspect you of ever liking someone like him," she replied sweetly.
Rogue rolled her eyes. "If I didn't know you better, then I might've believed ya," she snarled. "But I do, so I'm gonna have to hit ya for that."
Ali grinned and sprinted ahead, weighted down by the books in her backpack. Rogue followed, striving to catch up with the girl.
Finally, Ali stopped, allowing Rogue to catch her and hit her. "Ah hate you sometimes," Rogue muttered.
Ali smiled. "You're a good friend, too, Rogue," she replied, a flicker of amusement in her eyes.
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Yer an annoying person, Al. I don't know why I bother to put up with you."
"Maybe it's because I'm your best friend."
Rogue snorted. "You can forget about that rahght now."
"Sorry, it's pretty hard to forget something that's true."
Rogue whacked Ali upside the head again, but Ali just laughed.
"Violent today, aren't we?" she asked with a grin.
"Only when yer makin' stupid comments 'bout nothin'." Rogue replied.
Ali grinned. "I don't make comments about nothing. I make comments about something," she said.
Rogue rolled her eyes. "Yer annoying as hell, Ali," she groaned.
"I think we've already established that, Rogue, but thank you for the update."
Rogue once again strongly wanted to hit Ali, but refrained. She would get her back. Somehow, she would get the girl back.
***
Ali woke up the next day to what looked like a spider web of pink yarn above her. She slowly sat up in her bed and looked around, finding the entire room had been stringed. There was no way she could get out. She only had one chance left:
Scream and cry for help.
"Help! Somebody, please, help!" she yelled. She looked around the room frantically, but found no way to get the yarn down. It was always tied to something or taped to the wall using enormous amounts of duck-tape.
Scott and Logan opened the door first and were simply awestruck at the sight before them. Bobby suddenly appeared behind him and gaped at the web.
Logan suddenly whirled around. "ICE CUBE! WHY DID YOU DO THIS?" Logan roared.
Bobby backed away and held up his hands. "I swear that I didn't do this Logan. It's a good idea, but I swear, I didn't do it!"
"Well then who would?" Logan growled.
Bobby shrugged. "How am I supposed to know?" he asked.
It suddenly hit Ali who might've done it.
"Rogue!" she yelled.
Rogue suddenly appeared, looking as innocent as ever. "What?" she asked. Then she saw the room.
"Oh mah gawd. What happened?" she asked, seeming purely genuine in her response.
"Someone," Ali began, glaring at Rogue, "stringed the room. So tell me Rogue, why'd you do it?"
Rogue looked taken aback. "I didn't do it," she replied.
"Well then who would?" Ali asked, wearing a look of impatience.
Rogue thought for a moment, thinking of anyone she had talked to the previous night. It hit her: Ray and Sam.
"It must've been Ray an' Sam," she replied. "I told them what ya were sayin', and they must've done this because of what Ah said."
Logan stalked off to find the two offending teenagers, leaving everyone else to help free the other mutant from the spider web that was her room.
***
hey everyone! there are a few things that I'd like to say about this chapter.
The stringing actually happened to me. Only not to my room, it happened to my house. We could not get out, and my brother's car was tied to our basketball pole, the gutter, and the front porch. Our front porch was covered, the entrances from the garage, and our backyard. Imagine waking up to find yourself stringed into your own house. Lol.
Next, some of Ali's responses were exactly what I would have said in the same situation. So any sarcastic comments are what I would say. Basically, Ali's talk is based on me.
Sorry if you were kinda confused or lost on the basketball chapters. I'm in basketball and kinda got caught up in the high before our first game. There you go.
PLEASE R&R!!! I GET ALL OF YOUR REVIEWS AND LOVE EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM!!
~Jojo~