Downtown Bayville 4:30 p.m. (An hour and a half after school let out)
"We need sticks."
Julius shook his head and leaned down, picking up a stick from the outskirts of the lawn. He held it up and waved it around for a moment to test it. "Once you sharpen the end, it'll work well enough to cause some pain," he said, gathering up about eight more and stuffing them into the bag he held. It was black and resembled a typical, cop show body bag. "That takes care of the sharpened sticks."
"That's about all that we can get from Kellie's house. Her parents think we're a bunch of juvenile deliquients that are posioning their daughter's already messed up mind," Russ stated after walking away from the large lawn with a quick wave to the gardener.
"I think Jax might be a juvenile delinquient and a couple of the others. How exactly do you define a juvenile delinquient?" he asked after they'd gotten over the gate and back onto the main road. It didn't take much work with their mutations, but it was long enough to draw attention to themselves. Neither of them had acknowledged Kellie's brother and he'd returned the favor in kind. "At least three of our friends might fit it."
Russ shrugged. "No clue, but we have sticks. I've got a knife to sharpen them later," he said, scratching out something on a list. He moved down and read off the next item. "Helmet."
"Helmet? I think Jax might have one at his place..." He started walking toward the lower center of town, ignoring the people he almost ran over or the strange looks their bag recieved. Several people gasped or even whispered about it; he ignored them. "What else will we need...?" he asked, frowning.
"When we get the helmet that only leaves...blue paint, halloween make-up, and some normal make-up for the not so gothic and creepy ladies," he read, earning even more strange looks. He ignore them and continued walking. "What exactly is the blue paint for?"
"Kurt Wagner's blue when not in his human form."
"Oh.."
"Here's Jax's place," Julius said then started inside, speaking once to the land lady and a couple of other tenants hanging around the halls. He moved past them all and unlocked the door, going in and straight toward the tiny closet to search for the helmet. "I know there's a helmet in here. It fell out and hit me on the head when I was looking for something in here earlier. There. Is. A. Helmet. In. This. Closet."
Russ went into the kitchen and began raiding the fridge, taking out several different types of cheese and lunchmeat along with a loaf of bread. The Miracle Whip jar and a thing of pickles followed along with some other things that weren't exactly sandwich foods; he began assembling them on a slice of bread that was resting on a napkins.
"We ain't here to eat, Russ," Juilus' voice growled from his place inside the closet. There was a loud THUMP then a yelp. A glance into the hallway showed his partner, Juilus Augustus Kanteon, the great, lying on a heap in the floor with sports equipment piled on top of him. "Get this stuff off of me!"
"Let me finish my sandwich...it's a hero sandwich. Exactly like my hero, Shaggy Rogers, used to make for himself and his pal...Scooby-Dooby-Doo!" He continued placing things on top the bread to the point where the sandwich was at least a half a foot high. He stared at it for a moment after replacing the condiments then wrapped it in a paper towel, sticking a toothpick through the center. "It's beautiful," he said then pretended to wipe away a tear.
"Get this stuff off of me!" Juilus' voice wasn't so friendly anymore and there was a threat with his words.
Some people are so touchy. It wasn't like I was actually going to leave him there...I'm not that mean, am I? Russ wondered as he walked into the hall and began removing stuff from his fallen solider in arms, the term Tara had dubbed them, despite the others groans at the names. He tossed the equipment into the closet once more, though his piling was possibly more hazardess then the original layout. I don't think I'm that mean, but I do know how to appreciate a good hero sandwich.
"Helmet and sticks. What's next?" Julius asked, brushing away dirt and stalking out with the body bag. It was now even more misshapen thanks to the helmet that had joined their soon to be pointy sticks. A few people stared at the bag but none seemed eager to look inside and find out what was making the odd shape.
Russ chuckled. "Halloween make-up. Time to visit Angel's relatives, isn't it?"
"Bingo. They're the only people I know who keep halloween make-up year round because they actually use it more then just one day in one month per year. And if by some bizarre coincidence they don't have any...there's always a drug store down the street," he said once they were walking again.
It was a little harder to find Angel and Tara's place of residence since the millions of apartment complexs looked exactly alike. Their paint colors rarely differed and the ones that did made no improvement except to push people as far from them as possible. Losmas Apartment Complex was one of those that differed but not in a good way; it's main building was a chipping bright orange color while the actual housing units were painted almost any color someone could think up. The dark green painted one had a giant sign made of posterboard and a blue permanent marker that read ANGEL LIVES HERE.
"That's kind of a bad thing to do. What if someone wants to kill her?" Russ asked, motioning toward the sign. He walked around a rather large puddle of water and mud where several baby toys floated; the couple that lived there were yelling across the lawn at each other. The woman held a baby on one hip and what might have been a frying pan in the other. "...or maybe the neighbors would just scare the person away..."
Juilus ignored everything around them and approached the housing unit, testing the door. It was locked so he went around to the back and fiddled with the knob until it clicked then slid open. "Thank you, Angel," he said into the empty room.
Russ stared at him, scratching one side of his head. "What did she do..?"
"How do you think I knew the door would open with enough jingling? I've been over here so much that Angel showed me how to work the back door and get in while her relatives are gone...just shut up and help me find the stuff, Russ," he said when the boy simply looked even more confused. He moved through the halls and into Angel's room, ignoring the yellow police tape that stretched across the doorway; it was a joke. "It's a shoe box with newspaper clippings glued across it and holds make-up. There's a combination or halloween and normal make-up."
"Normal and Angel can't be used in the same sentence, bro."
"Shut up, Russ."
"Found it!"
"Then all we need is blue paint..."
"Where will we get blue paint?"
"Leave that to me. I know a guy who knows a guy whose girlfriend has a cousin who knows a guy that has a cousin that sells paint," Juilus said, looking quiet proud of himself.
Russ blinked. "Eh?"
Wal-Mart's Parking Lot (Wally World, if you must) 5:30 p.m.
Kellie parked the car in the first avaliable space she saw and got out, locking the doors once Corey had followed her lead. She waited a few moments while he dug the list out from one of his many pockets; she took it once he had.
"What's our first stop?" Corey asked, starting to walk toward the entrance with her. He walked straight into the door, blinking at the sudden tears that came with the move. "...I thought it was automatic.."
She sighed and yanked him to the other set of double doors. "These are automatic. See the red strip and the place where it says au-to-ma-tic?" she asked after they'd gotten inside. Several mothers with young kids glanced in their direction then looked away in an attempt to pretend they weren't staring. "Whatever. We need hair dye, red and blonde."
"Why do we need hair dye? Wouldn't it be just as well to buy a couple of wigs in those colors?" he asked once they'd got beyond the store's greeter. The store stretched out i nfront of them in a combination of rows and sectioned off areas.
"Maybe. We discussed it and decided that temporary dye would do just fine. It'll fade out after a couple of washings...don't worry so much. Are we asking you to change your hair color?" she questioned, walking down the aisles and ignoring the obvious stares they recieved. She had a feeling that most of these people weren't used to girls with bright pink hair and a ton of spiky black jewelery running around with the town good kid; screw them.
"Not yet.."
"Relax. The only ones who are dying their hair are me and Angel," Kellie repeated, just as she'd done on the way there.
Corey was paranoid, always had been and more then likely always would be. He had the strangest sense of forboding about everything especially where the government was concerned. In Corey's opinion, they were all crooked con-artists in charge of millions of helpless, moronic ants. No one ever bothered to correct the flaws in this view or mention that he called himself a helpless, moronic ant along with everyone else. He'd gotten in trouble once for announcing his plan to take over the world with the offspring of his hamster, Tipsy; the babies had died three weeks later, killing that dream. It still hadn't stopped Corey from attending counseling for the rest of the school year.
"Hellooooo....earth to Kellie. Earth to Kellie...are you in there?"
She blinked, noticing his hand waving in front of her face. "What?"
"You just passed a bunch of hair dye or were you looking for other options?" Corey asked, staring at her like she'd grown another head. He was holding up several different types of dye, though none were the colors they needed. "What colors did we need again?"
"Red that matches our assistant guidance counselor's hair, though that could be a hard color to match. The other color's blonde...like this!" She grabbed a box of hair dye and held it out to him. It showed a paper doll pretty blonde with a false smile and no real values. "We need to find red hair dye now, possibly two bottles to make sure there's enough...would you put that down?" she comanded, taking the box of purple streaking hair dye from his hand and shoving it back onto the shelf. "Where's the picture?"
He searched a moment longer then dug out a photo of Jean that had been cut from an older yearbook. They studied the color, attempting to match it with one color when there were at least fifteen different shades of red...it was somewhat intimidating. None of them were the right color, most had an unnaturally bright color, though a few came close enough that it could count. It wasn't like anyone was going to be comparing the difference in hair color, right?
I'll just grab two different colors and she can mix them, Kellie thought then nodded, grabbing one bright red and a darker one in the hopes that it would lighten into the correct color. The odds were slim but then again the dark red could cover the black streaks and the light red could take over the rest. Perfect.
"That's the first couple of things we need...what's next?" she asked, holding the two boxes in one hand. She took the picture of Jean and crumbled it up then tossed it over her shoulder as they started away. "Brown wig and a bag of ice."
"I can understand the wig- Kitty but...a bag of ice?" Corey stared at her, blinking rapidly as if confused.
Kellie shook her head and started toward the halloween aisle. "It's part of the Bobby Drake costume. Don't ask; you'll see it in a couple of days," she said once they'd reached the halloween aisle. She located a box of wigs and began digging through them, tossing several at him in the process. She finished going through them then held up to wigs for his inspection, one light, one dark. "Which one is clos..." The words died on her lips as she stared at him. A blonde wig was on his head and he was studying himself in the mirror from a Belle, Beauty and the Beast, costume. "Corey!"
He jumped, looking guilty. "I was just testing out a new look," he mumbled, tossing the wig back into the box with the others. He studied the two wigs for a moment then pointed at the darker one. "That one."
"Why?"
"It looks closer to Kitty's hair color?" he offered after a moment of silence, putting the mirror back.
"Good answer. Picture test!" They compared a picture of Kitty that had been cut from the same place as Jean and began comparing the wigs with it. "Um...the dark one."
"Okay...bag of ice?"
"Bag of ice."
Kellie paid for their supplies then met Corey at her car, unlocking the doors before she'd reached it. She stowed the bag that held their supplies in the backseat then got in, shutting the door and starting the engine. She drove out of the parking lot but made a stop into the first gas station, buying gas along with a giant bag of ice.
Corey didn't move from the car but instead fiddled with the radio, turning it to first country then onto rap music then back to country. He yelped in suprised when she dumped the bag onto him then shoved it into the cooler at his feet, mumbling something about "no respect for the white guy".
"Shut up and leave my radio station alone, Corey," she commanded, flipping it onto an oldies station and putting the car into drive.
"What's next?"
"Nothing. We go wait it out at Jax's apartment until the others are done...it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours..."
Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters 7:45 p.m.
"You do know we're breaking into a maximium secruity institute full to the brim with mutants, students and several faculty members, right?" There was a nod. "And that doesn't bother you the least, little bit?!"
"No. Do you want to pull off Halloween or not..?"
"Yeah...but I refuse to dress like the good son.... Tara..? Jax..? Hello...?"
"Just go, Landon. If we have a problem you can work your charm on the good little mutant girls, right?"
Lance glared behind him then followed his friend inside, ignoring the remark. It didn't do any good to argue with Angel, even he knew that little fact in the short amount of time they'd known each other.
"Would you two shut up arguing and come on?" Tara demanded, making a U turn to come back for them. She glared at first one then the other before pointing down the hall. Both looked somewhat ashamed then started down the hall after Jax's rapidly disappearing form. Tara waited until they'd reached a junction of hallways then removed the list, glancing over it.
"What's the first stop, frogger?" Jax asked, leaning over her shoulder to look.
"An outfit of Kitty's, an outfit of Rogue's, and some of each of their make-ups," she said, squinting slightly to understand Kellie's handwriting. It was a mission in itself to understand what had been written there. "Which room is theirs, Landon?"
"The second one on the right. Those two share a room," he announced after consulting the hand drawn map in his hands. He turned it a couple times then nodded. "Yeah, second one on the right."
"Is anyone in there right now?" she asked, folding the paper up and sticking it back into her pocket. She tried to ignore the fact that Jax was breathing almost down the back of her neck and listened to Landon.
He shook his head. "Dinner started fifteen minutes ago. Neither one should be back before we grab what we need and get out, but if they are...I know how to deal with Rogue," he said, smirking.
Angel rolled her eyes. "I'll just bet you do."
"Shut up, Angel."
"Oh go to--" Her words were cut off by Tara's hand covering her mouth and pressing hard. She struggled to talk for a moment then fell silent, nodding when asked if she would be quiet with the hand gone. "Jeez, wouldn't a shut up have done the same thing, Tara?"
"No. Now, you two go into the first room. Jax and I'll head over to the boys' dorm to get what we need from their rooms...call if you need anything but without making a sound, got it?" She tore the list in several places then swapped them, handing certain ones to Angel and others to Jax. "Hang onto those. It's a list of what we need from each room, nothing else...think you two can handle it?"
"Sure thing, captain," Landon said with a false salute. He took his part of the list and started into the bedroom with Angel at his side; the two seemed quite talkative for only gathering clothes and make-up. "Angel and I will be back before you know it, right?"
"Aye, aye, Cap'n Tara," Angel piped up with her own salute before they vanished through the door.
Jax frowned. "Should we worry?"
"I'd say yeah. Well time to find the boy's dorms," she said, consulting their map again then starting down a hallway. She continued walking without noticing anything until Jax suddenly grabbed her arm and yanked her into one of the classrooms. Her speech was cut off by one of his hands pressing over her mouth while his other arm around her waist held her in place.
"Company," he hissed close to her face. His mouth was close enough that they were almost kissing despite the venom on his breathe; she glared at him, attempting to move his hand from her mouth. "Did you really think I had anything else in mind, frogger?" he asked, smirking at her expression.
Footsteps came close to their door then passed after a moment. Jax removed his hand once they were gone and smiled at her, starting back into the hall. Tara stood there and worked her mouth for a minute after realizing that it had gone somewhat numb under the pressure of his hand on it.
"Coming or not, frogger?"
I won't snap at him. I won't snap at him. I won't snap at him. Tara repeated the chant inside her mind as they walked into the first room they reached. It was painted a flat tan color that did something for the brownish trim and plain accessories of the room. It had a few things here and there that made it look at least lived in, but it was rather hard to notice them unless one looked, hard. I won't snap at him. I won't snap at him. I won't...
"Scott's room. What do we need from here?" Jax asked, rummaging through the closet and making faces at the clothes. He held up a pair of khakis and a tan colored polo shirt; he shuddered and hissed. "Clothes like this are the reason I wear a cloak and combat boots."
Tara ignored him and began searching through the nearby bookshelf, shoving things aside. She jumped, slightly when something fell off and shattered. "Well damn...that's one less thing to have to move..." she announced, starting on a drawer. She pulled a pair of red-lensed sunglasses from the drawer and held them up. "Sunglasses."
"Clothes that will be burned after they're worn, correct?" Jax held up a couple of hangars with clothes on them. He held them as far from himself as possible then picked up a pair of shoes, tossing them into the garbage bag she'd removed from one of her pockets. "What's our next stop?"
"The blue dude's room...Kurt or whatever..."
"Lead the way," he said, making a bowing motion. He took the bag and slung it over one shoulder before following her into the wall. He whistled several different times but got ignored until they reached Kurt's room. "What do we need here....frogger?"
"Quit with the frogger comments. You're gonna draw someone's attention...all we need is an outfit of clothing from here," she said, going to the closet and beginning to rummage through it. She pushed clothes aside and pulled out several different outfits, comparing them then tossed a couple of articles of clothing in his direction; they hit the floor. "Jax!"
"Yes, my pet?" he asked, coming over and standing directly in front of her. His mouth was entirely too close to her face since she could smell the venom in his mouth; she frowned, cringing away. "Did you need something?"
Tara turned her head to the side and caught the clothes with her tongue, pulling them over then trying to stuff them into the bag Jax held. He moved it out of the way several times then licked the side of her face before straightening and tucking the clothes in as though nothing had happened; he started out of the room like nothing had happened.
"What is it with you licking people?!" she demanded, running from the room and catching up with him.
He shrugged. "Do you have a problem with being licked?" he asked once they'd passed a room with several people inside, stopping only briefly for her to yank a skateboard into the hall with her tongue. She almost yelped when one of the wheels ran over it then shoved it into the bag.
She stopped walking and glared at him. "Yeah. Don't most people have a problem with a guy licking the side of their face?!" she demanded, burying her head back in the bottom of the closet where she was digging for stuff. She tossed several pairs of shoes over her shoulder, ignoring the the hisses of protest from behind her. "I'm sorry. Did I hit you?" she asked without caring what the answer was.
The closet was a mess but it didn't take more than a few moments for her to dig out a pair of boots. Her next job was digging through the closet and trying not to gag on the cologne that was coming off the clothes in heavy clouds.
"If I weren't in such a normal mood...."
"You talk too much, Jax," Tara told him, tossing him one of the trenchcoats from the closet. He put it into the bag then stood there, watching her.
"I didn't think we needed anything else after this fool's room."
Tara ignore him and started from the room then stopped, listening. She looked behind her and motioned to him. "Footsteps...and voices...someone's coming, Jax..."
Jax grinned and caught one of her arms, hard. "Now the fun begins," he said, yanking her into the closet with him and covering her mouth. He pressed hard enough that her mouth started to go numb again; she tried to bite him and earned him arm pressing harder against her stomache. "This is for your own good...besides when was the last time you were this close to another person without being scared?"
Who said I'm not scared? she thought, struggling against him but stopped when the voices and footsteps entered the room. She frowned under the pressure of his hand then concentrated on the voices, listening more to who they were rather then what they were saying. Remy and...I can't place the other but it's female. Very female, obviously.
Tara stopped listening at some point because the next thing she knew, Jax was pinching her. It was just below her elbow and made worse by the small amount he was pinching. "Stop!"
"So the frog princess awakes.."
"Are they gone or not, Jax?" she demanded, pushing herself away and shaking her head. There was a crick in her neck and their bag of spoils was pressed against the back of her legs, something was cutting into her leg on one side. "Jax?"
"They're gone for now. Let's get out before they come back..." Jax finished speaking then grabbed the bag, pushed the door open, and bolted out, heading toward the door. Tara made a less graceful exit and barely caught herself in a half crouch before she could tumble face first into the room. "First step's kind of a toughie..."
"I swear IF we get out of here...I'm going to hurt you...very badly..."
"That's a big IF right now, my pet. They finished dinner and the halls are full of students especially one big, evil-looking guy mutant with a low temper..."
"Window?"
He nodded. "Window."
Random Line from Next Chapter:
"How could you do this to us, Scott?" she demanded, staring at him with tears running down her cheeks. Mascara had run along with the tears but it still made her look like some sort of freakish clown. "Did our relationship mean nothing to you?!"
"What can I say, Jean? I've always had a soft spot for the gothic chicks..." He shrugged, opting for a helpless looks then looked to the other side, removing a small jewlery box from within one of his pockets. He went to the girl standing there then took one of her hands, going down on one knee. "Will you marry me, Rogue?"
"Oh, Scott!"
End Random Line from Next Chapter
A/N: If you want to understand that, wait until next chapter. Aren't I just evil? Anyways, review and let me know that people read this. I know for a fact that Takamo and Anything but Ordinary3 read it but does anyone else? I'd appreciate knowing. Later, y'all and enjoy the chapter.
"We need sticks."
Julius shook his head and leaned down, picking up a stick from the outskirts of the lawn. He held it up and waved it around for a moment to test it. "Once you sharpen the end, it'll work well enough to cause some pain," he said, gathering up about eight more and stuffing them into the bag he held. It was black and resembled a typical, cop show body bag. "That takes care of the sharpened sticks."
"That's about all that we can get from Kellie's house. Her parents think we're a bunch of juvenile deliquients that are posioning their daughter's already messed up mind," Russ stated after walking away from the large lawn with a quick wave to the gardener.
"I think Jax might be a juvenile delinquient and a couple of the others. How exactly do you define a juvenile delinquient?" he asked after they'd gotten over the gate and back onto the main road. It didn't take much work with their mutations, but it was long enough to draw attention to themselves. Neither of them had acknowledged Kellie's brother and he'd returned the favor in kind. "At least three of our friends might fit it."
Russ shrugged. "No clue, but we have sticks. I've got a knife to sharpen them later," he said, scratching out something on a list. He moved down and read off the next item. "Helmet."
"Helmet? I think Jax might have one at his place..." He started walking toward the lower center of town, ignoring the people he almost ran over or the strange looks their bag recieved. Several people gasped or even whispered about it; he ignored them. "What else will we need...?" he asked, frowning.
"When we get the helmet that only leaves...blue paint, halloween make-up, and some normal make-up for the not so gothic and creepy ladies," he read, earning even more strange looks. He ignore them and continued walking. "What exactly is the blue paint for?"
"Kurt Wagner's blue when not in his human form."
"Oh.."
"Here's Jax's place," Julius said then started inside, speaking once to the land lady and a couple of other tenants hanging around the halls. He moved past them all and unlocked the door, going in and straight toward the tiny closet to search for the helmet. "I know there's a helmet in here. It fell out and hit me on the head when I was looking for something in here earlier. There. Is. A. Helmet. In. This. Closet."
Russ went into the kitchen and began raiding the fridge, taking out several different types of cheese and lunchmeat along with a loaf of bread. The Miracle Whip jar and a thing of pickles followed along with some other things that weren't exactly sandwich foods; he began assembling them on a slice of bread that was resting on a napkins.
"We ain't here to eat, Russ," Juilus' voice growled from his place inside the closet. There was a loud THUMP then a yelp. A glance into the hallway showed his partner, Juilus Augustus Kanteon, the great, lying on a heap in the floor with sports equipment piled on top of him. "Get this stuff off of me!"
"Let me finish my sandwich...it's a hero sandwich. Exactly like my hero, Shaggy Rogers, used to make for himself and his pal...Scooby-Dooby-Doo!" He continued placing things on top the bread to the point where the sandwich was at least a half a foot high. He stared at it for a moment after replacing the condiments then wrapped it in a paper towel, sticking a toothpick through the center. "It's beautiful," he said then pretended to wipe away a tear.
"Get this stuff off of me!" Juilus' voice wasn't so friendly anymore and there was a threat with his words.
Some people are so touchy. It wasn't like I was actually going to leave him there...I'm not that mean, am I? Russ wondered as he walked into the hall and began removing stuff from his fallen solider in arms, the term Tara had dubbed them, despite the others groans at the names. He tossed the equipment into the closet once more, though his piling was possibly more hazardess then the original layout. I don't think I'm that mean, but I do know how to appreciate a good hero sandwich.
"Helmet and sticks. What's next?" Julius asked, brushing away dirt and stalking out with the body bag. It was now even more misshapen thanks to the helmet that had joined their soon to be pointy sticks. A few people stared at the bag but none seemed eager to look inside and find out what was making the odd shape.
Russ chuckled. "Halloween make-up. Time to visit Angel's relatives, isn't it?"
"Bingo. They're the only people I know who keep halloween make-up year round because they actually use it more then just one day in one month per year. And if by some bizarre coincidence they don't have any...there's always a drug store down the street," he said once they were walking again.
It was a little harder to find Angel and Tara's place of residence since the millions of apartment complexs looked exactly alike. Their paint colors rarely differed and the ones that did made no improvement except to push people as far from them as possible. Losmas Apartment Complex was one of those that differed but not in a good way; it's main building was a chipping bright orange color while the actual housing units were painted almost any color someone could think up. The dark green painted one had a giant sign made of posterboard and a blue permanent marker that read ANGEL LIVES HERE.
"That's kind of a bad thing to do. What if someone wants to kill her?" Russ asked, motioning toward the sign. He walked around a rather large puddle of water and mud where several baby toys floated; the couple that lived there were yelling across the lawn at each other. The woman held a baby on one hip and what might have been a frying pan in the other. "...or maybe the neighbors would just scare the person away..."
Juilus ignored everything around them and approached the housing unit, testing the door. It was locked so he went around to the back and fiddled with the knob until it clicked then slid open. "Thank you, Angel," he said into the empty room.
Russ stared at him, scratching one side of his head. "What did she do..?"
"How do you think I knew the door would open with enough jingling? I've been over here so much that Angel showed me how to work the back door and get in while her relatives are gone...just shut up and help me find the stuff, Russ," he said when the boy simply looked even more confused. He moved through the halls and into Angel's room, ignoring the yellow police tape that stretched across the doorway; it was a joke. "It's a shoe box with newspaper clippings glued across it and holds make-up. There's a combination or halloween and normal make-up."
"Normal and Angel can't be used in the same sentence, bro."
"Shut up, Russ."
"Found it!"
"Then all we need is blue paint..."
"Where will we get blue paint?"
"Leave that to me. I know a guy who knows a guy whose girlfriend has a cousin who knows a guy that has a cousin that sells paint," Juilus said, looking quiet proud of himself.
Russ blinked. "Eh?"
Wal-Mart's Parking Lot (Wally World, if you must) 5:30 p.m.
Kellie parked the car in the first avaliable space she saw and got out, locking the doors once Corey had followed her lead. She waited a few moments while he dug the list out from one of his many pockets; she took it once he had.
"What's our first stop?" Corey asked, starting to walk toward the entrance with her. He walked straight into the door, blinking at the sudden tears that came with the move. "...I thought it was automatic.."
She sighed and yanked him to the other set of double doors. "These are automatic. See the red strip and the place where it says au-to-ma-tic?" she asked after they'd gotten inside. Several mothers with young kids glanced in their direction then looked away in an attempt to pretend they weren't staring. "Whatever. We need hair dye, red and blonde."
"Why do we need hair dye? Wouldn't it be just as well to buy a couple of wigs in those colors?" he asked once they'd got beyond the store's greeter. The store stretched out i nfront of them in a combination of rows and sectioned off areas.
"Maybe. We discussed it and decided that temporary dye would do just fine. It'll fade out after a couple of washings...don't worry so much. Are we asking you to change your hair color?" she questioned, walking down the aisles and ignoring the obvious stares they recieved. She had a feeling that most of these people weren't used to girls with bright pink hair and a ton of spiky black jewelery running around with the town good kid; screw them.
"Not yet.."
"Relax. The only ones who are dying their hair are me and Angel," Kellie repeated, just as she'd done on the way there.
Corey was paranoid, always had been and more then likely always would be. He had the strangest sense of forboding about everything especially where the government was concerned. In Corey's opinion, they were all crooked con-artists in charge of millions of helpless, moronic ants. No one ever bothered to correct the flaws in this view or mention that he called himself a helpless, moronic ant along with everyone else. He'd gotten in trouble once for announcing his plan to take over the world with the offspring of his hamster, Tipsy; the babies had died three weeks later, killing that dream. It still hadn't stopped Corey from attending counseling for the rest of the school year.
"Hellooooo....earth to Kellie. Earth to Kellie...are you in there?"
She blinked, noticing his hand waving in front of her face. "What?"
"You just passed a bunch of hair dye or were you looking for other options?" Corey asked, staring at her like she'd grown another head. He was holding up several different types of dye, though none were the colors they needed. "What colors did we need again?"
"Red that matches our assistant guidance counselor's hair, though that could be a hard color to match. The other color's blonde...like this!" She grabbed a box of hair dye and held it out to him. It showed a paper doll pretty blonde with a false smile and no real values. "We need to find red hair dye now, possibly two bottles to make sure there's enough...would you put that down?" she comanded, taking the box of purple streaking hair dye from his hand and shoving it back onto the shelf. "Where's the picture?"
He searched a moment longer then dug out a photo of Jean that had been cut from an older yearbook. They studied the color, attempting to match it with one color when there were at least fifteen different shades of red...it was somewhat intimidating. None of them were the right color, most had an unnaturally bright color, though a few came close enough that it could count. It wasn't like anyone was going to be comparing the difference in hair color, right?
I'll just grab two different colors and she can mix them, Kellie thought then nodded, grabbing one bright red and a darker one in the hopes that it would lighten into the correct color. The odds were slim but then again the dark red could cover the black streaks and the light red could take over the rest. Perfect.
"That's the first couple of things we need...what's next?" she asked, holding the two boxes in one hand. She took the picture of Jean and crumbled it up then tossed it over her shoulder as they started away. "Brown wig and a bag of ice."
"I can understand the wig- Kitty but...a bag of ice?" Corey stared at her, blinking rapidly as if confused.
Kellie shook her head and started toward the halloween aisle. "It's part of the Bobby Drake costume. Don't ask; you'll see it in a couple of days," she said once they'd reached the halloween aisle. She located a box of wigs and began digging through them, tossing several at him in the process. She finished going through them then held up to wigs for his inspection, one light, one dark. "Which one is clos..." The words died on her lips as she stared at him. A blonde wig was on his head and he was studying himself in the mirror from a Belle, Beauty and the Beast, costume. "Corey!"
He jumped, looking guilty. "I was just testing out a new look," he mumbled, tossing the wig back into the box with the others. He studied the two wigs for a moment then pointed at the darker one. "That one."
"Why?"
"It looks closer to Kitty's hair color?" he offered after a moment of silence, putting the mirror back.
"Good answer. Picture test!" They compared a picture of Kitty that had been cut from the same place as Jean and began comparing the wigs with it. "Um...the dark one."
"Okay...bag of ice?"
"Bag of ice."
Kellie paid for their supplies then met Corey at her car, unlocking the doors before she'd reached it. She stowed the bag that held their supplies in the backseat then got in, shutting the door and starting the engine. She drove out of the parking lot but made a stop into the first gas station, buying gas along with a giant bag of ice.
Corey didn't move from the car but instead fiddled with the radio, turning it to first country then onto rap music then back to country. He yelped in suprised when she dumped the bag onto him then shoved it into the cooler at his feet, mumbling something about "no respect for the white guy".
"Shut up and leave my radio station alone, Corey," she commanded, flipping it onto an oldies station and putting the car into drive.
"What's next?"
"Nothing. We go wait it out at Jax's apartment until the others are done...it shouldn't take more than a couple of hours..."
Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters 7:45 p.m.
"You do know we're breaking into a maximium secruity institute full to the brim with mutants, students and several faculty members, right?" There was a nod. "And that doesn't bother you the least, little bit?!"
"No. Do you want to pull off Halloween or not..?"
"Yeah...but I refuse to dress like the good son.... Tara..? Jax..? Hello...?"
"Just go, Landon. If we have a problem you can work your charm on the good little mutant girls, right?"
Lance glared behind him then followed his friend inside, ignoring the remark. It didn't do any good to argue with Angel, even he knew that little fact in the short amount of time they'd known each other.
"Would you two shut up arguing and come on?" Tara demanded, making a U turn to come back for them. She glared at first one then the other before pointing down the hall. Both looked somewhat ashamed then started down the hall after Jax's rapidly disappearing form. Tara waited until they'd reached a junction of hallways then removed the list, glancing over it.
"What's the first stop, frogger?" Jax asked, leaning over her shoulder to look.
"An outfit of Kitty's, an outfit of Rogue's, and some of each of their make-ups," she said, squinting slightly to understand Kellie's handwriting. It was a mission in itself to understand what had been written there. "Which room is theirs, Landon?"
"The second one on the right. Those two share a room," he announced after consulting the hand drawn map in his hands. He turned it a couple times then nodded. "Yeah, second one on the right."
"Is anyone in there right now?" she asked, folding the paper up and sticking it back into her pocket. She tried to ignore the fact that Jax was breathing almost down the back of her neck and listened to Landon.
He shook his head. "Dinner started fifteen minutes ago. Neither one should be back before we grab what we need and get out, but if they are...I know how to deal with Rogue," he said, smirking.
Angel rolled her eyes. "I'll just bet you do."
"Shut up, Angel."
"Oh go to--" Her words were cut off by Tara's hand covering her mouth and pressing hard. She struggled to talk for a moment then fell silent, nodding when asked if she would be quiet with the hand gone. "Jeez, wouldn't a shut up have done the same thing, Tara?"
"No. Now, you two go into the first room. Jax and I'll head over to the boys' dorm to get what we need from their rooms...call if you need anything but without making a sound, got it?" She tore the list in several places then swapped them, handing certain ones to Angel and others to Jax. "Hang onto those. It's a list of what we need from each room, nothing else...think you two can handle it?"
"Sure thing, captain," Landon said with a false salute. He took his part of the list and started into the bedroom with Angel at his side; the two seemed quite talkative for only gathering clothes and make-up. "Angel and I will be back before you know it, right?"
"Aye, aye, Cap'n Tara," Angel piped up with her own salute before they vanished through the door.
Jax frowned. "Should we worry?"
"I'd say yeah. Well time to find the boy's dorms," she said, consulting their map again then starting down a hallway. She continued walking without noticing anything until Jax suddenly grabbed her arm and yanked her into one of the classrooms. Her speech was cut off by one of his hands pressing over her mouth while his other arm around her waist held her in place.
"Company," he hissed close to her face. His mouth was close enough that they were almost kissing despite the venom on his breathe; she glared at him, attempting to move his hand from her mouth. "Did you really think I had anything else in mind, frogger?" he asked, smirking at her expression.
Footsteps came close to their door then passed after a moment. Jax removed his hand once they were gone and smiled at her, starting back into the hall. Tara stood there and worked her mouth for a minute after realizing that it had gone somewhat numb under the pressure of his hand on it.
"Coming or not, frogger?"
I won't snap at him. I won't snap at him. I won't snap at him. Tara repeated the chant inside her mind as they walked into the first room they reached. It was painted a flat tan color that did something for the brownish trim and plain accessories of the room. It had a few things here and there that made it look at least lived in, but it was rather hard to notice them unless one looked, hard. I won't snap at him. I won't snap at him. I won't...
"Scott's room. What do we need from here?" Jax asked, rummaging through the closet and making faces at the clothes. He held up a pair of khakis and a tan colored polo shirt; he shuddered and hissed. "Clothes like this are the reason I wear a cloak and combat boots."
Tara ignored him and began searching through the nearby bookshelf, shoving things aside. She jumped, slightly when something fell off and shattered. "Well damn...that's one less thing to have to move..." she announced, starting on a drawer. She pulled a pair of red-lensed sunglasses from the drawer and held them up. "Sunglasses."
"Clothes that will be burned after they're worn, correct?" Jax held up a couple of hangars with clothes on them. He held them as far from himself as possible then picked up a pair of shoes, tossing them into the garbage bag she'd removed from one of her pockets. "What's our next stop?"
"The blue dude's room...Kurt or whatever..."
"Lead the way," he said, making a bowing motion. He took the bag and slung it over one shoulder before following her into the wall. He whistled several different times but got ignored until they reached Kurt's room. "What do we need here....frogger?"
"Quit with the frogger comments. You're gonna draw someone's attention...all we need is an outfit of clothing from here," she said, going to the closet and beginning to rummage through it. She pushed clothes aside and pulled out several different outfits, comparing them then tossed a couple of articles of clothing in his direction; they hit the floor. "Jax!"
"Yes, my pet?" he asked, coming over and standing directly in front of her. His mouth was entirely too close to her face since she could smell the venom in his mouth; she frowned, cringing away. "Did you need something?"
Tara turned her head to the side and caught the clothes with her tongue, pulling them over then trying to stuff them into the bag Jax held. He moved it out of the way several times then licked the side of her face before straightening and tucking the clothes in as though nothing had happened; he started out of the room like nothing had happened.
"What is it with you licking people?!" she demanded, running from the room and catching up with him.
He shrugged. "Do you have a problem with being licked?" he asked once they'd passed a room with several people inside, stopping only briefly for her to yank a skateboard into the hall with her tongue. She almost yelped when one of the wheels ran over it then shoved it into the bag.
She stopped walking and glared at him. "Yeah. Don't most people have a problem with a guy licking the side of their face?!" she demanded, burying her head back in the bottom of the closet where she was digging for stuff. She tossed several pairs of shoes over her shoulder, ignoring the the hisses of protest from behind her. "I'm sorry. Did I hit you?" she asked without caring what the answer was.
The closet was a mess but it didn't take more than a few moments for her to dig out a pair of boots. Her next job was digging through the closet and trying not to gag on the cologne that was coming off the clothes in heavy clouds.
"If I weren't in such a normal mood...."
"You talk too much, Jax," Tara told him, tossing him one of the trenchcoats from the closet. He put it into the bag then stood there, watching her.
"I didn't think we needed anything else after this fool's room."
Tara ignore him and started from the room then stopped, listening. She looked behind her and motioned to him. "Footsteps...and voices...someone's coming, Jax..."
Jax grinned and caught one of her arms, hard. "Now the fun begins," he said, yanking her into the closet with him and covering her mouth. He pressed hard enough that her mouth started to go numb again; she tried to bite him and earned him arm pressing harder against her stomache. "This is for your own good...besides when was the last time you were this close to another person without being scared?"
Who said I'm not scared? she thought, struggling against him but stopped when the voices and footsteps entered the room. She frowned under the pressure of his hand then concentrated on the voices, listening more to who they were rather then what they were saying. Remy and...I can't place the other but it's female. Very female, obviously.
Tara stopped listening at some point because the next thing she knew, Jax was pinching her. It was just below her elbow and made worse by the small amount he was pinching. "Stop!"
"So the frog princess awakes.."
"Are they gone or not, Jax?" she demanded, pushing herself away and shaking her head. There was a crick in her neck and their bag of spoils was pressed against the back of her legs, something was cutting into her leg on one side. "Jax?"
"They're gone for now. Let's get out before they come back..." Jax finished speaking then grabbed the bag, pushed the door open, and bolted out, heading toward the door. Tara made a less graceful exit and barely caught herself in a half crouch before she could tumble face first into the room. "First step's kind of a toughie..."
"I swear IF we get out of here...I'm going to hurt you...very badly..."
"That's a big IF right now, my pet. They finished dinner and the halls are full of students especially one big, evil-looking guy mutant with a low temper..."
"Window?"
He nodded. "Window."
Random Line from Next Chapter:
"How could you do this to us, Scott?" she demanded, staring at him with tears running down her cheeks. Mascara had run along with the tears but it still made her look like some sort of freakish clown. "Did our relationship mean nothing to you?!"
"What can I say, Jean? I've always had a soft spot for the gothic chicks..." He shrugged, opting for a helpless looks then looked to the other side, removing a small jewlery box from within one of his pockets. He went to the girl standing there then took one of her hands, going down on one knee. "Will you marry me, Rogue?"
"Oh, Scott!"
End Random Line from Next Chapter
A/N: If you want to understand that, wait until next chapter. Aren't I just evil? Anyways, review and let me know that people read this. I know for a fact that Takamo and Anything but Ordinary3 read it but does anyone else? I'd appreciate knowing. Later, y'all and enjoy the chapter.