Author's Note: Well, I must say, I am shocked that you guys actually liked the last chapter. I was pretty shakey, complete with weird stomach feeling, and everything. I'm glad that you enjoyed it, though! You really put my fears to rest, guys! Here is Chapter Six! I hope that you enjoy it!
"Carthaginian General during the Punic Wars." You read the swenty-seventh question to yourself, and consider the answer. You think that it is one of the most open questions on the exam, since there were most likely many generals during the time period.
You look down, just below the question, and see a special catch. "HINT: He used elephants in battle."
Mouthing a silent "oh", you decide on your answer. You write your answer, Hannibal Barca, on the paper, and move on to the next question, with a smile. Only Ms. Munroe would give a question like that, and have a special hint at the end for you guys. That is one of the factors involved in her being your favorite teacher; she is just so nice.
The rest of the test goes quickly, and you end up being the third person finished. Flipping your test over, you place your pencil on top of it, and wait for Ms. Munroe to come around to pick up the finished exams. You are happy to have your fourth exam of six out of the way. Now, all that was left was to hand in your Physics paper to Professor Xavier, and a test of your abilities in the Danger Room.
"The things that get passed off for physical education around here," you laugh to yourself. You bring your eyes up, and scan the room. Since you have a seat in the back right hand corner of the room, you can easily catch a glimpse of everyone, without being told to stay focused. You see Rogue, who has just flipped to the last page of her exam, with a look of relieved anticipation spread across her face. You smile, and continue to look around. Bobby is finished with his exam already, and that is no surprise; he was probably the first one finished, since that is how it always goes with him. He is staring over Rogue's shoulder, from beside her, most likely trying to find out how far she was. Other than you, Bobby, and one of the new girls, whose name you don't know, everyone else is still working their hearts out.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, you hear the sound that you had anticipated hearing long ago, right after the start of the exam. It was the familiar sound of flick, close, flick, close, coming from John's lighter. Subconsciously, you reach out your left hand, and cover John's right hand, which held his lighter. He had decided to sit beside you today, so that Rogue and Bobby could copy off of one another, and so that you wouldn't have to sit alone, for what John had called "such a stressing event". You had seen no problem with it when you had discussed it the night before. Now, his lighter was becoming a primary flaw in the seating arrangement, since it was driving you crazy, and you wanted to stop him from getting into trouble.
You tighten your grip on his hand, to signal a strong dislike for the sounds. You can see him looking at you out of the corner of your eye, and you shake your head from side to side, gently, without actually looking in his direction. If you look at him, and Ms. Munroe looks at you, she could get the impression that you are helping him on his test, or something. Releasing your grip, you make sure that his lighter is closed, as you slide your hand away. You are almost tempted to take it away from him, but you don't want to start something disruptive, nor do you wish to start something that you might regret, later.
Once John finishes his test, you hear him sigh, and you can't help but laugh. If he thinks that he has just finished the hardest test of his life, you hate the thought of having to tell him that he still has a Chemistry exam to go, one that you have already taken, and it isn't something that he can just blow off on studying for. Though you know that he will just blow it off in the end, you are still planning on pushing him to study.
"Alright, class," Ms. Munroe says, at last. "Thank you for all of your hard work this semester. I will be seeing many of you again soon. Good luck with the rest of your exams."
Everyone says their goodbyes, and you make a dash for your room. No one is upstairs yet, since Ms. Munroe let you out of class as soon as everyone was finished, but you still want to get to your as soon as you can; you and Rogue are hitting the mall, and Mr. Summers is letting you take the Mercedes.
"He said that it was a reward for getting such good grades this semester," Rogue had told you the day before. "That, and the fact that I told him that I would beg him, constantly, until he said that we could take it."
You weren't going to argue with that. The Mercedes wasn't your favorite car, but, in the spirit of things, it was a nice gesture on the part of Mr. Summers, one that you wouldn't turn down.
As soon as you get to your room, you throw all of your books under your bed, and scurry over to your closet. Pushing aside half of your wardrobe, which isn't very large to begin with, you let your eyes fall on the one outfit that you own that you have never worn. There was a pair of white shorts, and a light blue halter top. You had picked it up somewhere, a long time ago. Halters usually made you uncomfortable, since you were always in a school, and you didn't want to be made fun of for dressing like a... Well, like something that you weren't.
Rogue had seen the clothes the night before, and said that she wished that she could wear something like it.
"If only I had the guarantee that no one would touch me," she laughed. "Unfortunately, I don't. You, however, do. Wear it tomorrow, when we go to the mall."
You shifted uneasily, as you stood before your open closet. "I don't know. It's just not me."
"Then, why do you have it?" She smiled, and raised an eyebrow.
You shrugged. "It might have been me four years ago, Rogue." You sighed. "Now, I am having second thoughts. Even third thoughts!"
What it had come down to was whether or not to wear the stupid shirt or not. The two of you had reached no agreement on the topic, so the decision was left for you to make.
As you stand before your closet, disputed article of clothing in hand, you weigh your alternatives. It takes a minute, but you finally realize that there is no way that you are wearing any of your regular clothes to the mall; your first trip to the local mall calls for something fun.
"Halter top it is, then," you say to yourself, and slip into the bathroom to get ready.
Ten minutes later, you come out of the bathroom, only to find that Verity and Alexa have both come back from their exams, and are sitting on Alexa's bed, reading a teen magazine. When they see you, each girl lets her jaw drop.
"Wow," Alexa laughs. "Is that (you)?"
"Yeah," you say, nodding your head. "This is me. Surprised?"
Both girls nod, and you go to your nightstand. Throwing the clothes that you have just changed out of into the top drawer, just to get them out of the way, you look in the mirror that hangs on the wall. You don't want to do the whole makeup thing, but you don't want to look like you only got two and a half hours of sleep last night, either. You decide that a little mascara, a tiny bit of lip gloss, and a pair of sunglasses are all that you will require.
After getting everything settled, you tell your roommates that you will see them later, and leave the room. You get to the end of the hallway, and look over the railing, and see that Rogue and Bobby are waiting at the bottom of the stairs, presumably for you.
"I guess that she really can't go anywhere without him," you laugh to yourself, as you descend the stairs.
"Wow, (you)," Bobby says, catching sight of you. "Now, that is an outfit."
Rogue slaps him on the arm. "Stop drooling, Bobby," she says, with a laugh. Turning to you, she smiles. "I see that you went with my advice. Good choice."
You nod, and move to stand beside her. "I don't know, though," you whisper, only loud enough for her to hear. "I haven't worn anything like this in a while. Does it still look like it fits."
"You look fine," Rogue reassures you.
"Fine?" comes a voice from above. "I think that she looks great."
You swing your head up, to the top of the stairs, and see Remy standing there, along with Kitty, Jubilee, and Peter.
"You think so?" you ask, timidly. "I'm worried that it's too small for me."
"No!" Kitty shrieks. "It's fine! It's perfect!"
"That's easy for you to say," you tease. "You don't have to wear it!"
"Are we gonna' argue about this all day?" Peter cuts in. "I'd like to get to the mall before it closes."
"Alright," you say, rolling your eyes, playfully. "Let's go, then. We're taking two cars, right?"
"Yeah," Bobby confirms, with a nod. "We can't go yet, though."
"Why not?" Jubilee asks, with a snap of her gum.
Rogue sighs. "We're still waiting on John."
"I'll get him," you offer. "I'll be right back." You are tempted to tell Remy to stay, but fight it back; he's not going anywhere. You run up the stairs, trying desperately hard not to run anyone over in the process of your ascension.
You reach John and Bobby's room, and knock on the door.
"John?" you yell. "Let's drag it, boy." When you get no response, you turn the knob, and open the door. You poke your head inside, hoping to find John, preferably fully dressed, and ready to go. However, the room is dark, and empty. You shut the door, and shrug.
"Where could he be?" you wonder. "He'd better make himself found right now."
You turn around, and run into something solid, which pushes you back against the bedroom door a little. You let out a small scream.
"Woah," comes a male voice. You look up, and see John, as you feel his hands steadying your body. "Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."
"Let's just call us even for that night in the kitchen," you say, trying to catch your breath. "Alright?"
"Yeah," he laughs. "Sure."
"You ready to go?" you ask, a little impatiently. You didn't even know that he was coming, in the first place. You had expected it to be just you and Rogue, but it had somehow turned into a big crowd. Not that you mind more company; you just don't want to have to wait for it.
"Just gotta' grab my jacket," he says, sliding past you, and into his room.
"It's almost ninety degrees outside!" you inform him, as you stand by the door, shaking your head. "It's too hot for a shirt, let alone a jacket."
"You tryin' to tell me something?" he asks, a smile forming on his lips.
"Yeah, you wish," you say, sarcastically.
"So what if I do?" He keeps smiling, and you playfully roll your eyes, again.
"Let's just go," you say, gently pushing him down the hallway. "Peter is getting impatient."
"Alright." He slides to the side, grabs you around the waist, and lifts you up, into his arms.
"What in the hell are you doing?" you shriek, through your laughter.
"We'll get there faster if one of us isn't waiting on the other, right?" he laughs, maniacally.
"Put me down!" You try to slide out of his grasp, but to no avail; he just won't let go.
"No way." He doesn't say anything else, until you reach the stairs. Placing you down, he looks at you. "If I were to carry you down the stairs, I would probably trip, and kill us both. We can't have that."
With a swat to the back of John's head, you bolt down the stairs, him chasing you the whole way. You don't stop running, and John chases you through the group of your friends, out of the front door, and into the garage. He finally tackles you, up against the Mercedes, when you trip over a cinder block that someone has left in the middle of the garage, next to Mr. Summers' motorcycle. His tackle is really more of a catch, so that you don't fall down.
"Cheater," you breathe, your best attempt at forming words, as you are all out of breath.
John smiles, also breathless. "Uh-huh."
"Well, then, your tackle doesn't cou - ," you begin, but are cut off. You are shocked, as John's lips cover yours, in a quick, soft kiss. It doesn't last long, and, when he pulls away, his face is bright red.
"I've wanted to do that all week," he admits, panting.
"Then, why did you wait that long?" you ask, your voice a hushed whisper, and barely audible.
John opens his mouth to speak, a surprised look covering his face, but doesn't get the chance to say anything; Rogue and the others are coming into the garage, and are making enough noise to make everyone in the mansion think that you were all street racing down here.
John takes a step back, and runs his right hand through his hair. You stand up straight, and, as quickly as possible, you smooth down your clothes. You look at John, who looks at you, and you offer a smile. He does the same, and you hear Rogue call to him.
"John," she says, tossing him the keys. "You can drive if you want."
Before John can move, you step forward, intercept the keys, and toss them back.
"No, Rogue," you laugh. "You drive." She nods, and gets in the driver's seat.
As you round to the front of the car, John comes up behind you.
"Don't you trust me?" he asks, pouting a little.
"With my life? Yes. Driving us to the mall? No way." You get in the front passenger seat, and the guys get in the back. "Rogue," you say, with a smile. "To the mall."
Rogue nods, put the key in the ignition, and starts the car. In a matter of seconds, you are on the road, and are on your way to what you pray will be a good time.
Author's Note: Wow! I didn't mean for it to be that long! Well, I hope that you guys don't mind. I just didn't see how I could cut it into two different chapters, without making at least one of the too short, if not, both of them. Told you that things were going to pick up, now, didn't I? I hope that you liked it, though! As always, I await your thoughts! Thanks for reading! Until the next chapter...