Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men, butterflies, or chocolate chip cookies.

Title: The Butterfly Room

A/N: I don't think that this chapter is especially well written, but it's not bad. The New Recruits' pasts and personalities have been evolutionized, meaning that they're different than the comics. Deal. I had to repost this chapter because it wasn't showing up as updated.

Quote: "I know not if I was then a man dreaming I was a butterfly, or if I am now a butterfly dreaming I am a man."-Rene Descartes

Chapter One: Caterpillar

~*~

Wednesday night, for whatever reason, I couldn't sleep. I tried to listen to music, I tried to listen Amara snore (you would not believe how loud she is), and I tried to read a book. Around midnight I realized that it wasn't going to work and maybe I should go eat a cookie or something.

So I trudged down the stairs thinking about how I was probably going to fail my math test tomorrow. I was so caught up in reviewing the rules for exponents that I didn't notice Roberto until I bumped into him.

"Ow! Sorry," I yelped rubbing my forehead where I'd hit him.

"It's alright," he muttered looking sort of confused. We just stood there for a minute staring at each other. We'd never talked much or more like we never talked at all. It's not that we didn't like each or anything. We just weren't really friends. Are you following me on this?

"Why are ya up so late?" I finally asked sitting down on the couch. He just sort of shrugged and continued to stare at me as if I'd interrupted him or something.

"Oh," I said nodding. "Well that explains everything. Thank you." I don't know why I said that to him. It wasn't like he was Bobby or someone. I guess I was just tired.

"You won't tell anyone right?"

"Huh?" I said giving him a funny look. What would I refrain from telling people?

"If I tell you why I'm not sleeping you won't tell anyone?" I was sort of surprised by this I didn't actually expect an answer to my question.

"No. Of course not." I actually meant it. I will admit that I gossip...a lot. But Roberto's slightly stronger than me and Rahne can be scary too. Besides I doubted it would be worth telling.

"I'm kind of afraid of the dark," Roberto mumbled. "It's because of my powers. I just came down here because I didn't want wake up Ray or Jamie with the light," he added quickly. I wasn't sure whether to laugh or give him a hug so I did neither. That's usually the safest bet.

"That makes sense. I don't really like the dark much either." It was true I hated the dark, I still do. I always have this feeling like it'll eat me.

"It's not that bad," he informed me. I could tell that he didn't want to lose the larger than life, too smart, too sexy, too everything else image.

"Do you want some cookies?" I asked suddenly trying to lighten the mood a little bit. "I know where Kurt hides them!" He shrugged. It was sort of starting to bother me. Normally he wasn't so short of words. I guess it was the dark.

I decided to take that as a 'yes' and ran off to the kitchen to find the bag of chocolate chip cookies that Kurt is always trying to hide from us. It never works. This time they were behind all the cereal boxes. I pulled out the bag, poured two glasses of milk, and tediously made my way back to the main room.

"Here," I said handing him a glass of milk and trying not to spill it. I was mostly successful in this and only spilled a few drops on the couch and none on Roberto.

"Thanks," he mumbled. Mumble, mumble, mumble I wished he stop it was sort of unnerving. Usually he's pretty loud, and egotistical, and just plain annoying and now he was just mumbling.

"So how have you been?" I asked trying to break the ice (that's such an awful cliché).

"Fine." It wasn't working very well.

"So are you going out with Rahne?" I always like to know who's going out with who, and who's breaking up with who, and who just plain hates who.

"No we're just friends."

"Oh. Do you have a girlfriend?" He was one of the heartthrobs of the high school. All the girls we're convinced that he was hot beyond all possible reason. It seemed like he'd have to have a girlfriend just on matter of principle.

"I had one. Back in Brazil," he said. His voice was slowly getting quieter and quieter. I was beginning to wonder if this was actually Roberto or an imposter.

"Are you still together?"

"No." I was surprised Roberto was officially single. I wondered if that would help Bobby's cause or make things even worse.

"Did you break up?"

"Yeah, I guess so."

"I'm sorry," I muttered looking at my purple slippers. I was sort of starting to feel bad.

"It's ok. I'm going to go back to bed. Good night," he said standing up.

"Yeah good night 'Berto," I said. But he'd already gone up the stairs. I sighed and ate a cookie, then another, and another. By the time I went to bed I'd eaten them all.

~*~

BEEP, BEEP, BEEP the alarm clock squawked loudly filling the room with noise.

"Turn it off 'Mara," I moaned into my pillow. The alarm continued to sound. I groaned and pulled the edges of the pillow up over my ears. The noise finally stopped. I sighed and tried to fall back asleep.

"Wake-up Jubilee! You're going to be late for school!" Amara said poking my back.

"Leave me alone. I don't feel good." It was sort of true. Eating a whole bag of cookies hadn't been a very good idea. I'd almost thrown up. But now I felt better.

"But we have a test in math today," Even though Amara was older than me we were in the same math class. Apparently the people of Nova Roma didn't put much value on their princess and future heir to the throne being able to do algebra.

"Yeah well I think I'm gonna throw-up."

"I'll go get Storm. She can check and see if you have a fever."

"Thanks 'Mara," I said in my best sick and dying voice. I really had no desire to go to school that day and fail my test.

"Hey Jubes. How are ya feeling?" The voice did not belong to Storm. It was Jean.

"Really awful," I moaned.

"You feel fine. Get dressed or you're going to be late for school."

"But-"

"Never lie to a telepath Jubilee. It won't get you anywhere." When I was sure she'd left I rolled over on to my back.

"Damn telepaths," I moaned.

~*~

The lunchroom was completely out of control. This wasn't really anything new but I noticed it more because someone hit me on the head with a ketchup bottle.

"Sorry kid," the ketchup bottle thrower laughed. He was some stupid football player with a letterman jacket and a completely empty brain.

"Do I have ketchup in my hair?" I asked Bobby as I sat down next to him.

"No your hair's fine," he answered without looking at me.

"You're worthless," I said. "Hey Sam do I have ketchup in my hair?" Sam sat down next to me and looked down at the top of my head.

"Nope. But you've got some on your shoulder."

"What!" I shrieked. I have always been a bit over protective about my jacket. I like the bright yellow, sunny, 'Jubes your life taken a turn for the better now' feel it has to it. If it got stained I would kill that stupid jock.

"I'm joking. It's ok," Sam said nervously. I glared at him and turned to see what Bobby was doing.

He was still twisted around in his seat watching something on the other side of the cafeteria. I looked over his shoulders trying to see what it was. Finally I located the object of his attention. It was Amara. She was standing with Tabby and bunch of other giggling girls. Amara wasn't giggling she looked sort of confused. She's really had a hard time fitting into the modern world. For example the first time my alarm clock went off she screamed and melted it into a big plastic lump. Her excuse was that she was half awake and it startled her. I was still upset that she ruined my alarm clock (it was pink and played various songs instead of beeping).

I rested my chin on Bobby's shoulder, he didn't even notice.

"Anyone home in there?" I asked.

"What?" he sounded annoyed that I had broken into his Amara watching fest.

"I think you have a bit of an unhealthy obsession there."

"Leave me alone!" I rolled my eyes and turned to see what Sam was doing. He had moved to another table and was talking to a bunch of other guys with holes in their jeans. He paused to wave at me and then went right back into his conversation, probably about cows, or corn, or at best motorcycles.

"You know 'Berto isn't going out with Rahne," I said. Bobby immediately turned to look at me.

"How do you know?" he asked trying to sound like he didn't care.

"Roberto told me," I said smiling.

"But we never talk to-"

"Well I did!" I said looking upwards. "I wonder how they get the gum on the ceiling."

"But that's not good," Bobby moaned poking me on the shoulder.

"Why not?" I asked continuing to study the ceiling. "I thought we were going for the 'Amara wants what she can't have' theory."

"Yeah but I realized that if Rahne and Roberto were officially boyfriend/girlfriend she would leave it. I mean she may want what she can't have but come on think about how she was raised. She isn't going to go after someone else's boyfriend." I considered that for a moment. She was raised as a princess meaning that she was better than everyone else. So wouldn't that mean she couldn't care less if Roberto already had a girlfriend? But I guess it was sort of an old fashioned atmosphere. And besides she probably had to learn rules like, don't put your elbows on the table, and don't steal the princess of Rova Noma's boyfriend, as it isn't good for public relations. I decided just take Bobby's word for it.

"You think so?"

"I know so. But um...Jubes could you please help me?"

"Didn't we already have this conversation? I don't want to," I said looking down at my untouched food, well if it could be called that.

"I just need you to get Rahne and 'Berto together."

"What the hell? Just? I am not a matchmaker!"

"Come on please," Bobby begged.

"How am I supposed to do that? We never talk."

"Well you talked long enough to find out that they aren't going out," Bobby pointed out.

"Well why should I?"

"Because I'm your best friend?"

"No."

"But isn't this what friends are for?"

"No."

"Then what are friends for?"

"Did you get this out of a self-help book?" I asked, still not looking at him.

"Well sorta but that's beside the point. Come on Jubes, please."

"Nope."

"Didn't you mention that you were going to fail that math test?" I looked up from my lunch.

"Yeah so?"

"Have you noticed I sit right in front of you?" I knew that Bobby had to be desperate if he was willing to cheat.

"You're going to let me copy off of you?"

"Only if you promise to play matchmaker and I swear to God if you don't I'll kill you or something." I considered this for a moment. My math grade was a C if I failed I'd drop to D if I got a hundred I'd be up to a B. I knew that if I got down to a D I was grounded 'til I got it up, which could take a while. I wanted to try out for the cheerleading team because that was the closest I get to gymnastics in Bayville. At first I had been completely against it but then I watched Bring it On on TV and decided why not? After all I really missed gymnastics. If I was grounded I'd miss tryouts.

"Fine you're on." The bell rang and everyone slowly began to make their way out of the cafeteria. I began to follow Bobby to the door but then froze (much to the annoyance of those behind me).

What had I just agreed to?

~*~

Well there you are. The scene with Roberto and Jubilee sounded sort of familiar to me when I read this over again. Maybe it's just paranoia. But you know what? I don't care! Good writers borrow great writers steal. And so maybe I'm borrowing. It's ok!

~*~

A-Rog: Yeah I though first person would be best for this story and I just like writing it.

hurleysuki: Bobby's starting to get a bit desperate isn't he?

StarrFirePhoenix: There is a lack of them. We need more Jubby dammit!

FrickinEvilPoptart: Jubby is a cool name. It's fun to type Jubby, Jubby, Jubby.

linzer-b: Wow I have to say I'm kinda impressed with my self I've only seen one episode of the old cartoon (sob) and Jubilee just blew up a video camera or something.

Raskolion Phoenix: There really won't be a lot of Rahne or Amara but there will quite a bit of Roberto. I'm not really sure about them not getting along the Evo version of Amara really doesn't seem very stuck up just sort of confused, I actually like her. I hope that my proofreading job is better this time but I doubt it.

style: Thank you I feel really very loved now. Bobby/Jubilee is the greatest! All worship Jubby!