Authoress's note: I'm glad you forgive me for chapter 8 – I hope this one is more interesting :)
Reviewers' Response:
Pyro Lady – okay. Listen. I suppose these characters will appear sometime during the next movie, or perhaps if they'll make an X4. But I don't have any knowledge of them... the thing is, if you want your story to start out with them as known, familiar characters then I suggest you post the story in the cartoons/Evo. category. Otherwise, if you post it in the movie-verse category, you'll have to introduce them properly. If you feel you can do that then by all means, go ahead and write! Just don't ever give up is my advice :)
chelsey-pudge – cats... I have one thing to say about them:DO'H! I have a cat... and he annoys the HELL out of me. Black cat he is, big and fat, called Lucifer ;D
Bananas in Pajamas – YIKES, what an idea! I'll think on it ;D
Silverone3 – WOW, did you take a day off and hijack my profile? Suddenly I'm getting reviews from you for all of my stories! I LOVE YOU!!Ahem. O.o Anyway. I'll reply to 'em all here: I absolutely LOVE Purim. The thing is I always have to start thinking about a costume a few months earlier, since I always have a hard time coming up with one. I liked your idea for Mel's costume – but seeing as she's based on my best friend (as are most of my OCs) I'm gonna let her decide on her costume. Glad you liked Poison. Letters To and From a Stranger - I can't get that new stuff to work! With the keys and all, I got up to the book with chapters 2, 6 and 14, but I couldn't see any of the new stuff! It's annoying the shit out of me! And Letters is DONE!! GO READ!! Whoa that was a LONG review-response!
Chapter 9: Halloween Shopping, and Moving In.
"Ready?" Storm automatically counted heads as the children left the bus. "Now then. Stay put, everybody, just a second."
"We need to stay together, up to some level," said Scott, looking around at the students. "Stay in groups of three or more. Take a look through the stores, and meet back here in one hour. Then we'll assign each group of you an adult. You'll take us to the store and show us what you want for your costumes, but pay attention to the prices. We all have a budget, okay? Remember, we also need money for the party itself – decorations, music, food. Understand?"
"Yes, Mr. Summers," chorused the students, some snickering.
Rogue shook her head, laughing, and pulled Bobby off into one of the stores. Amanda went with Kitty and Melavina. She usually attracted some attention, with her turquoise hair and her violet-purple eyes, but today she was wearing her hair up under a cowboy-hat, so she looked nothing special, in her blue jeans and white tank-top. She had attached herself to Amanda, along with Kitty, ever since that day she had asked the professor for permission to arrange the party. She was currently talking about (what else if not?) Scott.
"But really," she said as they chose a store and ambled in, "you can't say he isn't cute."
"No?" said Kitty. "Watch me: he's not cute. That is a lie, I'll grant you that, but he's too old for you, Mel. 'Sides, he's a teacher. You can't get involved with a teacher."
"I agree with Kitty," said Amanda, earning a glare from Melavina. "No, really, Mel. You do not want to get involved with a teacher. Trust me, I've been there. I nearly got expelled, and he nearly lost his job. Of course, Professor Xavier wouldn't do either, but still, you can't have anything beyond a crush when it comes to Scott."
"I know," Mel pouted. "But he's just so cuuuuuute!"
Kitty rolled her eyes. "Why can't she just use her powers on herself, and make herself forget about him for just one day?"
Mel scowled. Her gift was just that – she had the ability to make a person forget things, whether it was their name, their whole life, or what they had just been looking for in their desk. The effects only lasted for one day, however, at most. That was how she wrecked havoc, mostly: going around the school 'amnesiating' people. It caused many laughs during class when a student would suddenly jump up and look frantically around, wailing, "Where am I? Who am I?" Until it happened to you, however. Amanda felt sorry for Logan, who had had to live like that for nearly twenty years now.
"Shut up, Kitty. We need to find costumes."
"Ooh, what about this?" said Kitty, holding up a sassy red skirt, with a matching red laced-top.
"Oh, that is completely you," said Amanda, grinning. "Devil girl. All you need is the horns, tail, and pitchfork."
Kitty giggled. "Wonderful. Just what I want. Devil girl."
"What about you, Manda?" said Mel.
"Hmm. I'm still not sure what I want to go as. You?"
Mel grinned. She pulled them out of the store and into the nearby 'Costumes and Co.' There she held up a kit that said, 'Playboy Bunny' in bright pink letters: tail, ears, cuffs and bowtie.
"Cute," said Kitty. "What'll you wear, though?"
Mel shrugged. "I'll find something. And here –" she held up a kit that said, in bright red letters, 'Devil' complete with horns, tail, pitchfork, and even a red bowtie. "This is what you need."
"Great," said Amanda. "So now you have your costume, Kitty. And you," she looked at Melavina, "you need clothes. Something sexy, for a playboy bunny. Let's check out a few stores. Maybe I'll also get an idea for a costume for myself."
-X-
"Oh, you have gotta be kidding me, Mel," said Kitty. "You can't wear that!"
"Why not?" Mel raised an eyebrow. "We're sixteen; we're allowed to wear what we want. And this," she held up the teeny-tiny strapless top, "this is just what I need. I wanna be sexy."
It was sexy, Amanda had to agree. Tiny, but sexy: white, with light-pink laces down the front, and a trim of pink fuzz at the top and bottom – which were not very far apart. It was perfect, if sexy-slutty was what she wanted.
"Ooh, and this is the other part." Mel held up a ridiculously small pair of short white pants, which also had a line of pink trim at the bottom. "I can attach the tail at the back. Hang on, let me try them together." She disappeared into a booth. A minuet later she came out, in the shorts and strapless. She was thin: thin enough to look good in them without looking anorexic. Amanda pictured her with a bit of make up and the tail, ears, and bowtie. She saw a playboy bunny.
"You've nailed the image," she told Mel, grinning at her. "But you need something more... Here we go. Try that." She handed her a pink belt, on which the black words 'SEXY' were emblazoned many times over. Mel slid it around her waist and buckled it. "Even better. I like it."
"Really?" Mel turned this way and that in front of the mirror. "So do I. Kitty?"
"I still think it's a bit slutty, but if you're looking for the playboy look then you've found it."
"That's as close to a 'yes' as you're gonna get, Mel," said Amanda, grinning. "I suggest you take it."
"What about you?" said Mel after changing back into her clothes and asking the saleswoman to keep the strapless, shorts, and belt on hold for her. They exited the shop and walked around for a while.
"I still don't know," Amanda said. "I need an idea. Something new. Something original."
"Cleopatra?"
"I said something original, Kitty, not one of the oldest costumes in the book. And besides, that's what Storm's going as."
"Storm? Hey, that'll look good on her."
"I agree," said Mel. "But right now, we have twenty minuets to secure a costume for Manda." She took off her cowboy hat and let her hair down, wincing as the hairband pulled out a few of her turquoise hairs. "Hold this a minuet, would you?" she handed the hat to Amanda as she plaited her hair into a loose braid. Amanda placed the hat on her head as she looked through her bag for a hairbrush to offer Mel.
"Amanda?"
"Muaff?" was the muffled reply, as Amanda tried to talk around the small mirror in her mouth as she used both hands to burrow into her bag. "Euagh." She handed Mel the mirror and brush. "What?" She straightened the hat on her head.
"How about you go as a cowgirl?"
Amanda's eyes flew to the rim of the cowboy hat on her head. She looked at herself in a shop window. "Not bad," she remarked. "I could go with this. Mel, could I borrow this hat for Halloween?"
"Eh?" Mel was brushing her hair out again. Amanda rolled her eyes.
"Can I borrow this hat for Halloween?"
"Yeah, sure. Why, what for?"
Now Kitty rolled her eyes. "Cowboy hat. Halter top, preferably checked. Leather skirt, preferably short. Cowboy boots. Lasso, gun. Are you getting the picture?"
Mel grinned. "Cowgirl. I like."
"Glad I have your approval," Amanda said dryly.
"My approval isn't all you need," said Mel, instantly shopping-mode. Have you got a decent skirt?"
"Nope. Don't often wear skirts."
"Why not?"
Amanda shrugged. "Who knows? Certainly not Amanda."
Kitty shook her head at Amanda. "I will never figure you out, you know that?"
Amanda grinned. "Yep. No one's ever been able to figure Amanda out completely. Not even Amanda."
Mel raised an eyebrow at her. "Why are you talking in third-person?"
"Amanda doesn't know. Amanda doesn't really care. Amanda needs to go shopping. Do Amanda's friends want to help, or shall Amanda take her sorry ass elsewhere?"
"Oh, no you don't." Mel draped an arm over Amanda's shoulder. "You're not going anywhere, except for maybe the dressing booth. We're getting you a skirt. I've got a halter top that you might like –"
"Oh, it's not the red one, is it, Mel?" said Kitty, on Amanda's other side. Amanda raised an eyebrow.
"Amanda does not do red."
"No, no," Mel waved that away. "Not the red one, Kit. The white one, with the blue checks."
"Oh, that one. Yes, that one's good."
"All right then," said Amanda. "All Amanda needs now is a skirt, according to you two."
"And we know best," said Mel, grinning. "Don't we, Kit?"
"Oh yeah."
"Ok then." Amanda glanced at the two girls at either side of her. "Let's go get Amanda a skirt."
They ambled into a good-looking store, where Mel promptly found a decent-looking selection of skirts. She handed one to Amanda and pushed her into the dressing booth.
"Looking good, Manda," she said as Amanda stepped out of the small booth in the back of the store, modeling the skirt for them. It was a darkish-brown, and short. Shorter than Amanda was used to. But she liked it.
"Thanks." Amanda grinned. "I like it, too. What do you think, Kitty?"
Kitty nodded her approval. "With Mel's blue halter top, it'll be just right. All you need is a belt, a gun, and a length of rope."
"Belt and gun we can get at the costume shop," said Mel. "Rope... you never know. We'll ask Scott when we get back to the Mansion. I'm sure he'll know if there's some rope stashed somewhere, the hottie."
-X-
Two weeks flew by. Amanda decided to stay at the Institute, for good. This led to a somewhat awkward talk with Professor Xavier, about going back to her old apartment to pack a few things and settle moving-out with the landlord. She sold the old couch and television, leaving the kitchen as it was with its meager appliances. She took down her favorite few pictures from the wall and put them into Scott's car in a large box, along with her books. Another box contained her clothes – or at least the ones she intended to keep. She'd bought plenty new ones with Storm and Rouge. The rest of her old clothes she gave to some charity organization or another. In the last two boxes were some personal items – cosmetics, journals, old DVDs, books and odd-end clothes that hadn't fit in the first box.
"There," said Scott as he helped her with the last box. "Four boxes? That's all?"
"Yep," said Amanda. "I don't need a lot of this stuff," she gestured to the other two boxes of things to give to charity. "I bought a lot of new things with Storm and Rogue. This really is a good thing for me – a reason to clean out my drawers. I think I'm going to like my new life... Let's just see where it goes."
"Let's," said Scott, stepping into the car and seating himself in the driver's seat. "Well come on, let's go."
"Coming, coming," said Amanda, looking up at the window that used to be hers, "keep your glasses on." She stepped into the car and buckled in. "Okay," she sighed, "let's go. I don't suppose I'll be seeing this neighborhood any time soon."
"Let's hope it's for the best," said Scott. "Start a new life, like you said."
"A new life," Amanda echoed. "A life as a mutant."
"Mm, I hadn't thought of that. But I suppose this really is a completely new scenario for you, huh?"
"Yeah," said Amanda. "Tomorrow's my first telepathy session with the professor."
"You'll do well, I'm sure," said Scott, though Amanda could hear the strain in his voice.
"Thanks," she said quietly, as they drove off into her new life.
Authoress's note: well, that ended depressingly. But don't worry, next chapter will be fun – Amanda's first telepathy training session ;D