Disclaimer: Characters and past storylines are property of Marvel and Fox. I lay claim to nothing but the compilation of the words. No copyright infringement is intended. However, Desi's is my creation, to one extent or another.
Author's Note: My apologies for the gap in updating yesterday. I built a website, and then worked on Lighter Fluid, (Pyro Fanfiction Archive), so I was pretty well tapped for inspiration. I'll have you know, though, that I felt really bad afterward! Well, here is Chapter Eight! I hope that you enjoy it!
The night air is warm against your skin, as you step outside. Your pace quickens, and you are soon in a dead run. The grass is damp, and your bare feet are getting more and more wet with every step. Your heart is racing, and you adrenaline is going wild. If only it were for a good reason.
"Come back here!"
You hear the scream, but don't look back. You can't look back. You can't go back. Not now. Not after what you did.
"(You)!"
He won't stop screaming at you, and with all the right in the world. No. He has no right, no place, to yell at you anymore. He has no right.
Not now that you know what you are.
"(You)!"
You keep running, not knowing what will happen if you don't go back. You are all alone, in a world where you will be feared by everyone. You will never be accepted.
It keeps getting darker, and you keep running, not paying attention to where you are, where you've been, where you're going. Fear is overcoming your emotions, and your senses are dulling. All that you can do is keep running.
You feel a sudden pull at your left arm, and turn around. You let out a sceam.
...
You jolt up, in your seat, and scream. A hand quickly reaches out, and covers your mouth. Without thinking, you pull your arms forward, and end up smacking your right hand against the inside of the car.
"Woah!" The voice is surprised, yet soothing. You look up, only to see that John has your car door open, and is bent down beside you. "You alright, (you)?" he asks, his dark brown eyes full of concern.
You manage to nod, and look down; one of John's hands, the right one, was in the process of pulling your left arm around to be in front of you, when you woke up.
"That was the pull," you think to yourself, with a sigh of relief. You look back up, into John's eyes, and nod again.
"Alright." He stands up, and holds out his hand for you to take.
"I can get out of a car, you know, John," you inform him, with a laugh. He retracts his hand, and smirks. You unbuckle, and try to stand up, only to fall back down again.
"Oh, you can, can you?" John teases, stretching his hand out again. "You sure you're alright?"
"I fine," you confirm. With quick a look at John, who is wearing the same smirk as always, you let out a sigh of defeat, and take his hand. "Since when do I have trouble getting out of vehicals?" you ask yourself, as you stand up, and smooth out your clothes. "Thanks."
"No problem," John says, with a nod.
"(You), you okay?" Rogue calls from by the mall entrance.
"The mall," you think to yourself. "That's right." You look at Rogue, and put up your right hand. "I'm good."
"Well, let's go, then!" Kitty says, coming up behind you and John, with Jubilee, Remy, and Peter right behind her. "I'm in the mood to shop, today!"
"You're in the mood to shop every day, Kitty," John says, shaking his head from side to side. Turning to you, he smiles. "Ready for your first mall trip?" His smile becomes a grin, and you return the look.
"Absolutely," you respond, as you grab his hand, and the two of you run to catch up with the others. Well, you are pulling John for a little bit, but he soon manages to catch up.
As soon as you are all inside, Rogue grabs your left arm, and pulls you to the side. Without saying a word, she points behind you. You turn around, and see a clothing store, called Desi's, with many different items inside.
"We're going there," Rogue informs you, as she pushes you toward the opening of the store.
You go inside, and look at the first thing that catches your eye; a black tank top, with flames jumping up from the bottom.
"It would go great with your jeans," Rogue says, coming up from behind you.
"I was thinking the same thing," you say, truthfully. It did go well with a pair of jeans that you had back at the school, which had the same type of flames coming up from each leg. Checking the label, you laugh to yourself. "No wonder," you say, with a nod. "It's the same designer."
Rogue nods. "How much money do you have?" she asks, looking at the price tag. When she shows it to you, you aren't sure what to say.
"Enough," you reply, with a laugh. Pulling the shirt off of the rack that it is on, you check the size, and are satisfied that it is the right size for you. The money issue isn't important; the shirt is cheap, and you have racked up enough money in your bank account back home over the past few years to keep yourself covered for at least one mall excursion.
You keep looking around, and are soon joined by Kitty and Jubilee, who keep looking for things for you to try on. Once you finally have had enough of being the dress up doll for the girls, you round up what you are planning to buy, and let the others put everything else back, while you head to cash out.
"Morning," the sales clerk greets you, with a big smile.
"Afternoon," you correct him, pointing to the clock that is hanging above his head.
"Right." His face turns red, as you continue to look at him. He is younger than you, you can tell, but probably only by a year.
"Summer jobs," you think to yourself. "I wish that I had one, sometimes."
The clerk, whose name is Nevin, rings up all of your things, and gives you the total.
"Forty-five seventeen," he says, placing everything into a bag.
"What?" Kitty shrieks, coming up behind you. "How did manage to keep it under fifty?"
"Simple," Jubilee informs her, with a snap of her gum. "The girl hasn't been out to shop in a while. She needs to get herself into it a little bit more, before she can charge up the dough."
You laugh, and hand Nevin a fifty dollar bill. He gives you your change, and you give him a smile.
"Thanks, Nevin," you say, and throw in a wink. You feel bad for the guy, since he is stuck behind a counter all day long, and for the simple fact that he still has to ring up Kitty's purchases, so the wink seems like an uplift for him. You pull your bag off of the counter, and he hands you the sales receipt, along with a huge smile.
"Have a nice day," he calls, as you and Rogue exit the store.
"What?" you ask, looking at her empty hands. "You aren't buying anything?"
"You winked at him, didn't you, (you)?" she accuses, playfully, completely ignoring your question.
"So?" You don't see what is wrong with it; just because you don't know how to spend, doesn't mean that you don't know how to flirt.
Rogue looks at you, and raises an eyebrow, quizzically. "So, what about John?"
The question brings you to a sudden halt. "What about him?" you ask, as if you don't have any idea what she means.
"Don't you like him?" Her tone has become serious, even though she is now whispering.
You take a minute, and register the question in your head. Of course you like him. If you didn't, would you have been doing so much flirting, and grabbing his hands, and everything else that you had been doing over the last few days? Then, there was the kiss, but, you weren't sure that you should mention that last bit to her. After all, it was a pretty private thing, and John had pulled away rather quickly. Maybe he had wanted to kiss you for a while, but that didn't mean that he liked you.
"He's probably hanging over a counter, somewhere in the food court, flirting with a waitress right now," you think to yourself. You look back up at Rogue, who is still waiting for an answer. "I don't think that he likes me in that way," you inform her, casually. She gives you a strange look, but, before you can ask, Kitty and Jubilee are running up to you, and Kitty starts talking.
"Let's go find the guys," she suggests, taking you by your right arm, and leading you deeper into the crowded mall.
...
"Of course I like her, Bobby!" John says, using his most "are you that blind" look. "I just don't think that she likes me."
"Come on, John!" Bobby is laughing, almost teasing John with the topic. "Even you should be able to see that she does!" He looks at him best friend, just wanting to bring him to find you, and set the record straight. "The girl gave you a massage, John" he whispers, not wanting to draw attention to himself for speaking loud enough where the entire city Westchester could hear him. "(You) likes you, John!"
John bites on his bottom lip, in thought, for a moment. Sure, you had given him a massage, and he had kissed you, but, to John, all of that was circumstantial, at best. It doesn't mean that you are interested.
"No, man," John says, heading for the music shop a few feet away. "With (you), it's a whole new ball game."
"Never thought of you as one for cliche's, John," Bobby teases, jabbing John in the side with his elbow, as he follows his friend into the music shop.
"If the occasion calls for it," John mutters, barely audible. "I find myself doing a lot of odd things, lately," he thinks to himself, the first completely honest thought that he has had about himself the entire day.
Picking up a CD from the nearest rack, John scans the back, looking for anything good. He places the CD back in its previous spot, and moves on, not waiting for Bobby to catch up to him. There are certain things that he just doesn't want to talk about, today, and you are at the top of the list, as far as relationships go. He knows that he likes you, and has actually admitted it to Bobby, but he just can't find it in himself to ask you if you feel the same way. The will is there, but the courage isn't, and it is eating him alive, because, as he knows, the courage will most likely never be there.
"John," Bobby calls, joining his friend in the New Releases section. Gesturing with his right arm, he turns John around, as he points outside. "There are the girls." He looks at John, and notices his friend's instability, when he takes a huge gulp. "Just talk to her," Bobby suggests, pushing on John's back a little bit.
"I can't," John breathes, shaking his head. "Not about that."
Without another word, John recollects himself, as best he can, and strides off to the Rock section, disappearing behind a display, just as you and the other girls catch sight of Bobby, and enter the store.
Author's Note: There you have it! Another chapter! I'm still not where I want to be at, but, as I see it, I will get there soon enough! Hopefully, it will be within the next chapter or two! You flirted with the cashier, but, it was innocent! I promise! You felt bad for him, so you were just being nice. I'll let you in on something: Kitty did the same thing! Well, I hope that you enjoyed this chapter! As always I look forward to your thoughts! There might be another new chapter up later today, as I have the computer for a while, but, as always, we'll see! Thanks for reading! Until the next chapter...