Disclaimer: Characters and past storylines are property of Marvel and Fox. I lay claim to nothing but the compilation of the words, as well as the character named Michelle. No copyright infringement is intended.

Author's Note: Another gap, I know. However, I did manage to put together a new chapter, as a reward to myself. On a side note, for those still reading Heated Introductions, I will be making an update to that as soon as it is placed on my new archive. Keep checking Lighter Fluid for details. Anyway, with all of that said, I give you Chapter Five! Enjoy!

A loud boom of thunder elicited yet another scream from the group of already terrified girls. One could hardly blame the girls for being afraid; anyone would be, if they had just experienced what Rogue, Kitty, Jubilee, and Terma just had.

The four girls were huddled together, in a corner of the room, in between Rogue's bed, and the wall opposite the room's main exit. They were all frightened half to death, and it had absolutely nothing to do with the storm that was raging just outside of the bedroom window.

"What the hell was that?" Jubilee asked, her voice shaking.

Rogue shook her head. "I don't know," she replied. "I've never seen anything like it in my life."

"I know what it looked like," Terma whispered. "I just don't think that it could have been..." She allowed her voice to trail, leaving the question hanging in the air.

"What do you think that it was?" Rogue inquired, her voice no less shakey than that of Jubilee.

Terma bit her bottom lip, as she debated whether or not she should say anything. Deciding that saying something stupid was better than saying nothing at all, and being left in a terrifying silence, Terma opened her mouth, and began to speak. "It looked like a leopard." She cringed, a little, at the prospect of being called an idiot, or, something similar. However, the response that she actually recieved was anything but predicted.

"Good," Jubilee said, with a sigh. "I'm glad that I'm not the only one who thought that it looked like an over grown house cat."

Kitty, who had been silent until the time being, sighed, loudly. "That makes three of us."

"Four," Rogue chimed in, with a small shrug. "But, if it was a cat, where did it go?"

The four girls glanced back and forth at one another, nervously, mentally passing the newly lingering question back and forth. Just as the four began breathe a bit easier, another boom of thunder sounded, followed by a bright flash of light, and a chorus of female screams. Tensions that were momentarily eased were definitely back on high.

-o-o-

Jean grabbed her night robe, pulled it on to her body, and made her way toward her bedroom door. Scott followed, barely two steps behind her. He got close enough, at one point, where he ended up stepping on the back of Jean's heel. He quickly caught up with her, to walk beside her, as they both exited their bedroom.

Jean was scared to death; no dream had ever before held the severity that her last one had. She knew that something was about to happen, something mind blowing, something terrible. She had the feeling that something bad was already transpiring, but, what? Unfortunately, Jean had absolutely no answers. The only thing that was certain was that the Professor had to be notified.

Scott, too, was numbed by Jean's sudden fear. However, he was smart enough to keep his mouth shut; the last time that he hadn't, Jean had let him know it. Of course, he was tempted to ask about the very last phases of her dream. The only problem was that he knew that Jean wouldn't hear him. Even if she did, she would ignore him. That was just how Jean acted when she was in time-for-the-Professor-to-read-my-dream mode.

Without so much as a single word, the two made a turn to the right, headed for the back staircase. However, they were interrupted, as Jean smacked in to something, and let out a scream.

-o-o-

"Bobby," John whispered, both his voice and body trembling. "Bobby, wake up." He waited for his boyfriend to stir. When the other boy made no movement, John shook him, lightly. "Bobby, get up, quick," John urged, as he shook Bobby's shoulder. His voice was more demanding, as he was growing impatient, and all the more afraid.

Finally, Bobby rolled over, opened his eyes, and stared up at John. A smile crossed Bobby's lips, as he took John's right hand in his left.

"Hey," he whispered, groggily. As he studied John's face, Bobby noticed that something was off. "John, what's wrong?" He stared in to the widened eyes of his best friend, awaiting an answer.

"You didn't hear that?" John asked, his voice plastered with surprise.

Bobby shrugged, and shook his head, from side to side. "Hear what?"

As if he had timed it to perfection, John listened, and trembled, as another scream floated its way through the air. Once the sound had resonated its way in and out of the room, John glanced at Bobby, who John could see was visibly shaken by the noise, as well.

"That," John said, with another shudder of his spine. "It's been going on for about ten minutes."

Bobby opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted, as yet another high-pitched, feminen sounding scream filled the room. Bobby looked from the ceiling, to the walls, and to the door, which lead in to the hallway. Suddenly, it hit him. He looked back at John, and bit on his bottom lip.

John exchanged a glance with his friend, before they both gave thier conclusions, in unison.

"The girls."

As they threw back the covers, John and Bobby wasted no time in reaching the door. A boom of thunder sounded, and John almost jumped up, and in to Bobby's arms. Instead he ended up turning around, and burying his face in Bobby's neck.

"Woah," Bobby whispered. John had caught him off-guard, a little, but no more so than the thunder. "John, are you afraid of the thunder?" Bobby asked, sarcastically. When he felt John's body tense, followed by the motion of John nodding his head, Bobby wrapped his arms around the other boy, and gave him a tight hug. "It's alright," he whispered. "I'm here."

"I know," John whispered back, his sounds muffled by Bobby's neck.

Bobby was a bit shaken by John's actions. He was acting very strange, lately, even for him. Now, of course, it fit in to place; Bobby had never known that his boyfriend was afraid of thunder.

"Too many nights alone on the streets," Bobby thought to himself, silently. He loosened his grip around John, as he noticed that the grip around himself was also growing more relaxed. He pulled away from John, enough to look into his deep brown eyes, and smiled, a little. "Let's go see about the girls."

John nodded, and the two made their way out of their bedroom, and in to the hallway. All that either could think was that this was shaping up to be some night.

Author's Note: Granted, it wasn't the longest chapter in the world, but, I think that it is a good way for me to wrap up my night. I might have another chapter up within the next few days, but, with the way that things go, I can't make any promises. (Well, I can, obviously, but, I won't, for fear of breaking said promises). Anyway, thanks for reading! I hope that you enjoyed it! I know that I enjoyed writing it! As always, I look forward to you kind words! Until the next chapter...