"Ermehd," Audrey made a sort of alien sound while squirming around in her wet Jeans.
John looked at her and lifted his eyebrows.
"Regretting the decision to jump all the way in the fountain." She explained. "Maybe I should have taken my jeans off first?" She asked.
"Well, that would have definitely added to the distraction." John said.
"Or maybe." She said, pausing and looking towards him. "I should have only thrown my top half in, and flailed about like I was too stupid to get out."
John laughed.
"Write that down." She told him, smiling. "That way I remember to try it next time I throw myself in a body of water just to sneak off with you."
"You plan on sneaking off with me often?" He asked.
Audrey shrugged and smiled mischievously. "Depends on if you remember to remind me to try the torso and up only thing in the water." She said.
Okay, if she didn't want to say yes or no to that- he'd play along.
"You couldn't remember that yourself?" John questioned, smiling.
"John." She said shaking her head. "If I'm too stupid to get out of a fountain I've fallen head first into- how am I supposed to remember that I planned on doing it in the first place?"
"Is that a trick question, or a riddle?" He asked, putting his hands in his pockets as they turned down the sidewalk.
"Why do you keep thinking I'm going to ask you a trick question?" She returned, turning in front of him and walking backwards so she could survey his answer.
"Most of the things you say sound like trick questions." He teased.
"That's weird." She said, thoughtfully. "Because most people just tell most of the things I say are stupid." Audrey tapped her chin.
"Who called you stupid?" He asked, his smile gone.
She thought. "We'll technically, nobody."
He nodded. Then. "Good."
Audrey folded a piece of wet hair behind her ear and surveyed him a moment, still walking backwards down the sidewalk.
John was watching both of their feet as they walked.
For every step he took forward she took one dance like step back.
He looked up. "Aren't you afraid your going to bump into someone?"
"Not really." Audrey said happily. "I'm a little worried about them bumping into me."
"You're the one walking backwards." John pointed out.
"Yea, which means if someone bumps into me they'll be walking forward, right?"
"..Okay." He said.
"Then they should watch where they're going." She told him with cheerful stubbornness.
"Maybe you should watch where you're going."
"I prefer to watch not where I'm going-"
"Obviously." He said smirking.
"Nor where I have been." She continued over-poetically. "But instead, sir- where I am at the moment."
"Then how do you know where you are if you don't know where your going or where you've been?" He asked, and then furrowing his eyebrows at the fact she'd drawn him into an actual meaningful conversation without knowing it.
"Don't care." She said shrugging.
He looked at her inquiringly.
"Don't care where I've been, don't care where I'm going- I like it here." She simplified.
He went back to watching his feet, and wondered briefly if that meant she liked being there with him.
Audrey took one more step back and her foot pressed down on a particularly sharp pebble.
"AHH!" She cried, hopping on one foot.
"Told you- you should have worn shoes." He said casually, and she stopped in her hopping long enough to give him a dirty look.
Amelia sat in her room. Trying to think about something, anything that could take her mind off that pile of ash just a few feet away.
That tiny little loss of control had terrified her more than she could believe possible. It was just a coat- a cheap windbreaker but Audrey had been there. Her little sister had been right there! What if she had-?
Amelia cut off that thought right there.
Obsessing over it would help nothing.
Her stomach growled and she closed her eyes in irritation.
Binge eating would help nothing either.
What could help? What would possibly take her mind of what she could have done? What she had done?
Her eyes darted to the pile of ash in front of her. She just needed to stay calm, to take it easy and work on her control some more.
She told herself that she could do it, that she could handle that explosiveness inside. Her shoulders relaxed and she felt the tension slide away. She opened her eyes- unaware of her shrinking pupils.
She clung onto some unknown shred of inner calm she had.
"Just- stay calm." She whispered to herself her eyes closing once more.
There was a knock on the door and her eyes opened as soon as they'd closed.
"Amelia?" Storm Called from the other side of the door, adding a few knocks.
Amelia slid off her heavy coat and got off the bed, pulling the door open and looking at the white haired woman questioningly.
Storms expression was hesitant, solemn.
Amelia raised an eyebrow.
"Audrey's gone." Storm said.
"What?"
"Okay." Audrey said as they approached a cart where a man was selling clay busts of dragons- dogs, unicorns and other things. She picked up a sculpture of a gorilla and padded it between her hands. Her eyes narrowing on an elderly woman sitting on a park bench about twenty feet away.
"Okay what?" John asked, stepping beside her. Twenty minutes of walking and they had just gotten into the outskirts of town.
Audrey continued to gaze fixedly at the elderly woman. John followed her line of vision and felt himself fighting a smirk.
"No." He said simply.
"Oh, come on- you distract her and I sneak up behind her, and bam-" Audrey had lifted the ape sculpture above her head, but got caught off as the cart vendor snatched it from her grasp and glared. "Oh, come on I wasn't really going to do it." She told the guy as though he were being unbelievably unreasonable.
The cart vendor in his thirties gave her one last hard look and put his gorilla sculpture back onto his cart.
Audrey looked up at John. "He really thought I was going to try and knock out an old lady with his crappy thing." She said, as the vendor gave her yet another particularly scathing look.
John looked over her head and gave the guy a death glare.
Audrey furrowed her eyebrows and then realized what was going on; she looked over her shoulder at the vendor. "Oh- get over yourself." She admonished, "You're not Da Vinci!"
John looked to Audrey. "That guy was a dick."
The pair walked into a gas station a few minutes later. Audrey approached the counter and leaned over it, smiling at the woman who worked there.
"Hi." Audrey said.
"Hello." The woman responded cheerfully, seemingly immediately infected with Audrey's happiness. "Can I help you?"
"Yes actually." She said to the woman, tapping her fingers on the counter. "I was wondering if I could see your lost and found."
"Hun I'm sorry." The woman said. "We don't have one- did you loose something?"
Audrey sighed. "Yea, my shoes." She told her, lifting her bare- filthy foot into the air.
"Oh." The lady said, looking over the counter at Audrey's foot. "We have some of those Jerky Stick flip flops over there." She pointed to a small rack of bright yellow flip flops which read. 'Delicious, Jerky Sticks' in bright red letters.
Audrey grinned. "Thank you maim." Then turned around and looked at John while leaning her back against the counter.
John lifted his eyebrows.
Audrey batted her eyelashes.
He felt himself smirk. "You got something in your eye?"
The bell on the gas station door rang as John stepped out, followed by Audrey who had on a pair of obnoxiously yellow flip flops on.
"This was a good idea you had." Audrey told John appreciatively while sipping on the strawberry Icee he'd gotten her.
"Thanks." He said nodding and taking a drink of his own.
"And thanks for the flip flops." Audrey added.
"No problem." He told her.
"Oh, look at that." Audrey told him suddenly with all the wonder of a child, tapping his shoulder and pointing at a billboard.
John and Audrey stood, staring up at the large 'Got Milk' billboard.
It was a simply picture of a dairy cow- with the simple question, got milk? - But it raised so many, many questions for Audrey.
"Who do you think was the first guy to look at a cow and say 'I think I'll drink whatever comes outta that when I tug on it!" She asked thoughtfully.
John put his hands in his pockets and tilted his head contemplatively, thinking about it. "Part of me doesn't want to know." He said after a minute.
"Yea, I know whatcha mean." She agreed and took another sip of her Icee. "I've decided to stay at the academy."
"What?" John asked.
"I'm staying at Xavier's." She repeated.
"What about your ballerina thing?" He questioned.
She shrugged. "I love dancing, but-" Audrey paused. "I think I should stay with Amelia. She's… different."
"What do you mean?"
"I think she needs someone to be there for her." She attempted to clarify but John only gave her an inquiring look. "I don't know how to explain it, she's just- she seems like she needs me."
John nodded. "So you're just going to give up something you want for your sister?"
"I'm not giving up anything." She told him, taking a long drink out of her Icee as she walked across the gas station parking lot.
"You're giving up the ballet thing." He pointed out, walking along with her.
"I can still dance." She told him, stepping up onto curb and hopping to the sidewalk. "I'll just have to find a job somewhere on my own without having the school hold my hand."
With that she latched her mouth onto her straw again.
Audrey stopped guzzling her slushy. Opened her mouth to speak but then clamped a hand over her head. "Brain freeze." She whined and buried her face into his shoulder.
John felt the warmth of her face through his t-shirt and grimaced. Audrey was trouble; she could practically smell it on her. He inhaled deeply..., trouble smelt kind of good.
She whimpered a little, sending a vibration through his chest.
John's eyes hooded and he felt himself becoming lost in 'thoughts.'
Audrey pulled back, too soon in his opinion, and looked up at him squinting harshly. "Almost gone- not quite but almost gone." She said about the brain freeze and massaged the side of her head.
Then, as though the brain freeze was completely forgotten her eyes perked open and she leaned a little to look around him.
"Hey." She said thoughtfully.
"Huh?" looking over his shoulder.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"That depends." He said, looking to her questioningly. "Do you think it's a bus stop?"
"No, I think it's a Ferris wheel." She said sarcastically and smiled at him. "How would you like to go for a bus ride?" She asked persuasively, wandering off the sidewalk and onto the lawn which separated her from the bus stop.
"How would you like to tell me where to?" He asked, mimicking her as he followed.
She stopped walking and looked over her shoulder at him.
"Was that you- resisting my charms?" Audrey questioned, appearing scandalized.
"What charms?" He said, provokingly
"My… Many charms." She said raising an eyebrow, and then added in a ridiculous Irish accent. "They're magically delicious."
John laughed at that.
Laughter, he realized was something that just came out naturally when she was around. It wasn't forced or pushed by a string of jokes and a punch line. It just was.
"I have charms." She stated, and walked past him, grazing his shoulder.
"Oh yea?" John asked, as though disbelieving.
"Yea." She informed him, and then, instead of continuing her walk to the bus stop she began to circle him, smirking.
They locked eyes in a challenging but playful way.
"Yea?" He questioned, continuing there battle.
"Yea."
"Really?" He was antagonizing her on purpose now, and couldn't help but grin about it.
"Yea." Audrey too, began to grin like a fool.
A beat of silence, and John couldn't help himself. "Yea?"
"You know what?" She laughed, turning on him quickly and pouncing like a cat; she dug her hand into his side and began to tickle him violently.
John burst out laughing even though he didn't want to.
Damn, how did she know he was ticklish?
He tripped and tumbled backwards into the thick grass, his frozen drink flying from his grasp and landing a few feet away.
Audrey crouched by his feet, snickering. She put her drink down on the ground beside her and waited as the last few rolls of laughter came out John.
He took a few deep breaths and sat up, looking at her he began to fight his own smile. "That wasn't cool." He told her flatly.
She shrugged, watching him with an odd sparkle in her eyes.
"What?" He asked suspiciously.
"You hadn't been tickled before." She said knowingly.
He studied her for a moment. "Yes I have."
"By who?" She asked quickly.
Silence.
She began to chuckle.
"Damn it." He said harshly, only pushing her from a chuckle into full blown laughter, pleased with herself amusement.
"I knew it! I knew you were a tickle virgin!" She exclaimed, shaking with laughter.
"And what are you? A tickle slut?" He asked leaning forward and raising his eyebrows.
Audrey only smirked. "Let's just say I'm tickle experienced."
"Oh really?" He asked slowly and her smirk faded.
His eyes glinted and her eyebrows shot up.
"No." She began to say. "Oh, no nooahhh!" She shrieked as he jumped on her. His hands shooting to her sides. She snorted loudly and fell quickly into hysterics as he attacked without mercy.
Albert and Mary Gibson were on there usual walk in their usual matching jogging suits as they walked past an unusual sight, they stopped.
A both and girl were wrestling and laughing loudly on the grass only twenty feet away.
"Young love." Albert said to his wife.
"Remember when you were that young?" Mary asked him.
"Remember when you were that limber?" Albert answered wryly as he saw the girl bend her foot up between herself and her companion- then pressed her foot flat against the young mans chest and kick him backwards.
Mary rolled her eyes and allowed her husband to wrap his arm around her affectionately.
Audrey fought to say something understandable but couldn't quite manage it. Every word she attempted to form came out as a chortle and squeal.
John released her side just long enough for her to catch her breath. "I'm sorry, what was that?" He asked with superiority.
She calmed down and let out a sigh, gazing up at him. Arrogantly pleased with his tickling abilities she grinned. "I said." Audrey began and took a deep breath "You're pretty good for a first timer. AH!"
He'd moved in for a second attack, throwing himself completely on top of her and seeking began to seek out armpits. "Alright smartass." John chuckled.
She planted a foot in the dirt and kicked off, loosing her flip flop in the motion- but gaining advantage as she flipped them both over.
There was a crack of plastic, and John stopped laughing.
Audrey who was currently startling him exploded in hysterics the second she read his expression. She then glanced up and saw an elderly couple in matching jogging outfits watching them both. Now that- just pushed her over the edge. She slid off of John and onto the grass where she had no other choice but to look away and curl up as her body was shaking with a fit of amusement.
His eyes shifted to her back and he shook his head while he sat up, the back of his shirt stained with cold blue Icee.
"That was refreshing." He said unenthusiastically to Audrey, who was now laughing so hard she couldn't even make noise anymore. "Glad to see you find this funny."
Audrey snorted.
"Nice." John grumbled to himself, and dusted off his hand, giving Audrey one last glance a small smile flickered onto his face.
The bell on the gas station door rang as Audrey and John stepped out once again. This time Audrey was carrying the key to the bathroom instead of a jumbo sized slushy. They walked around the corner of the gas station and to the locked lavatory.
She handed the key to John and allowed him to do the honors.
"Have I ever told you how much gas station bathrooms scare me?" She asked.
"No." John answered walking into the bathroom, without missing a beat she followed him.
"Only the really disgusting ones though-" She flipped on the light and saw that this bathroom was not at all nauseatingly filthy. "Hmm, marvelously maintained." She noted as the door closed behind her.
"Yea, its not one of those bathrooms that make you feel like your going to catch Chlamydia from just walking through the door." John noted and ripped off some paper towels before wetting them.
Audrey laughed out loud and leaned against the door, watching while he tried to clean his shirt.
He was standing with his back to the mirror, looking over his shoulder and trying to reach the large blue splat just below his shoulders. Audrey shook her head.
"You're never going to get it clean like that." She said and reached under his shirt.
The second he felt fingertips against his stomach skin, John went ridged. Audrey sensed it and fell very still, her fingers just barely tucked underneath the cotton of his shirt.
He looked at her reflection in the mirror, his face unreadable.
"Um." Audrey gulped and removed her hands, talking a step back from him, trying to act casual. "I wasn't trying to feel you up or anything." She told him, forcing a smile. "It's just- you're going to have to take off the shirt to clean it."
John didn't turn around to face her. He made no move, only watched her reflection silently for a few seconds. "Yea, I guess your right." He said, and then without thinking- as though it were some kind of raw impulse or delayed reaction- he pulled his shirt off over his head.
Audrey watched his back muscles ripple as the shirt was pulled off and she was overwhelmed by that feeling in her stomach- the one you get when going down a large hill while you're in the car. She blinked several times as she watched him avoid her eyes and keep his attention focused on the shirt he was lowering into the sink.
Grinning like an idiot over the realization of how much she liked him, Audrey hopped over to John and peered over his shoulder, eyes raking over his neck and up to his face.
"Hey John?" She whispered suddenly.
He fell still again and then slowly turned his head to look down at her. "Yea?"
She stood on her tip toes to get close to his height and leaned forward slowly, consciously. Giving him the chance to shove her away if he wanted.
But he didn't, he only began to breathe a bit harder.
Emboldened she cut off the turtle speed and wisped forward, her eyes closing- her lips grazing his lightly. It was more of a question than a kiss.
His eyes had closed as soon as he'd felt lip on lip contact.
It was so completely innocent, gentle-
John groaned against her mouth- he'd never been more turned on in his life. He felt her lips spread into a smile as the kiss deepened. He turned his body away from the sink and towards Audrey without breaking the kiss.
Her hands, warm and feminine settled on his sides, the instant he felt that consuming heat spread over his skin and into his chest as they touched. Eyebrows furrowed as his left hand traveled up to her neck and into her hair while the other fastened onto her side, pulling Audrey closer to himself and securing her there.
It turned out to be fairly easy for them both to turn an innocent kiss into indecent one.
John turned them both around and backed Audrey up against the sink. She nipped at his bottom lip; smirking and he retaliated by lifting her up and setting her on the sink.
Audrey immediately ripped her mouth away from Johns.
"Oh! Cold! "She yipped in surprise.
The drenched t-shirt which had been long forgotten, had become a clog, and John had sat Audrey right into a sink full of icy cold water.
Audrey gaped like a fish and removed her now freezing wet buttocks from the cold waters. "Ooh, butt freeze." She whined.
The back of her Jeans looked like she'd wet herself, and John burst into laughter.
He was immediately silenced by a freezing, balled up wet shirt hitting him right in the face.
It was Audrey's turn to laugh at his expense- and she did so with joy.
John gaped at her a minute then simply stepped forward and lifted the dripping wet shirt over her head- and wrung it out.
She was silenced by the cold water drizzling onto her head steadily. Her eyes immediately darted to John, who looked down at her smiling smugly.
"Oh." She said, shaking her head.
"Oh?" He taunted.
She immediately turned for the sink and scooped up some water in her palm. John wrapped his arm around her waist and attempted to pull her away from the water but he was too late, she splashed him in the face from over her shoulder.
She began to chuckle and hid the lower half of her face behind her arm. Leaving only her large twinkling eyes to laugh at him.
"Oh." He said this time. Perfect impression of how she'd done it.
"Oh?" She taunted him this time and splashed him with another palm full of water.
And the great water battle began- only ending when the entire tile floor was so splattered with water that when John tugged her away from the sink, he slipped on the tile and fell backwards. If the room were bigger he would have hit ground- being the size it was he only slammed against the door, Audrey, still entangled in his arms got yanked into his chest hard enough to nearly knock the wind out of him.
"Oomph." and the pair began to slide down the door and onto the cold floor together- Audrey clutching her stomach, chuckling despite the fact her abdominal muscles ached from laughing so much.
Both sighed in exhaustion.
He rested his head against the door and looked down at Audrey. "Truce?"
She nodded. "Truce."
