Sorry for the HUGE delay. College is draining all of my creative juices, I swear! Well, hopefully there are still some readers out there. Enjoy!

This is an AU fic for the X-men movie characters. I don't own any of the Marvel character. Though, I do own John's sister, Dad, and the character Blade.

Chapter 11

I let my hand drift out of the open window. The wind played through my fingers. Letting out a sigh, I glanced over at Blade again. She was gripping the steering wheel so tight that her knuckles were turning white. Hm…what is she, nervous? It almost looked more like she's fighting with herself, but I let it go. I looked out the window again and let the breeze push back my hair. Just stick it out, John. Just a few weeks. Then you can get back to your normal life. Normal? Did I just call my LIFE normal? That's a fuckin' joke.

I pursed my lips and started to whistle. I could practically hear another one of Blade's nerves snapping.

"Stop that."

"Stop what?" Why not? If this is gonna be hell for me, might as well make it hell for her too.

"You know what."

"Nope. I'm clueless. Teach me, oh, wise one."

Without missing a beat, Blade reached over and smacked me upside the head. I did a double take and rubbed the back of my head.

"Ya know, you hittin' me is gonna get real old, real fast."

"Funny. I still find it highly amusing."

I almost think that I see the faintest trace of a smile on the woman's face, but it's gone when I try to look closer. She's back to concentrating on her driving. Great. Now I'm with a girl that can't drive and likes to hit me. Peachy.

I reached into my back pocket, going for my lighter, when I realized that she still had it. Drawing my bottom lip into my mouth, I send up a silent prayer to whoever might be listening. Okay. Let's see if Gambit's any kind of a teacher. I inched my hand over to Blade's hip pocket and slowly slide a finger inside. She shifted slightly, but didn't seem to notice. I eased the lighter out and into my own lap before she noticed. Smiling to myself, I rubbed my finger against the warm metal. Score.

"Do you think you're pretty slick, or something?"

I look over in surprise. "Huh?"

"I asked if you think you're slick. I mean, you really expect me to not notice you thrusting your hand into my pocket?"

"Wha! I didn't…I wouldn't call it, thrusting…."

"You're as sloppy as a virgin with a stripper and a can of whipped cream."

She actually laughed at this and I slumped back in my seat.

"I got it, didn't I?"

"'Cause I let you. Figured you could use the confidence. But then, I just couldn't hold it in any longer. It was just too hilarious."

I turned away from her and tried to block out her mocking laughter. I swear to God, when we get to wherever we're going, I'm going cook her to a black crisp and then drive away in her car. WITHOUT white knuckles.