A/N: Oh, gosh, sorry this took so dang long! I'll go bop myself over the head now...
This is the last chapter (this always makes me sad), but I hope you liked it!
Disclaimer: I own nothing but Gwen.
The Next Day
Huh, Logan thought. For once in their lives, those bubbly, twittering girls had actually been helpful. He pulled the trap from its packaging and examined it. Open, shut, open, shut. It worked very smoothly. For the first time in a week, he felt his nerves calm down a bit. Maybe this time he could get rid of the mice.
How great that would be.
He grinned as he listened to the gentle scratching that had suddenly started up. Taking Storm's advice had been a good decision on his part, as the mice had begun scampering across the floor again. This would be easy.
Logan propped open the trap once more, before kneeling on the floor and sticking his head back under the sink. He located the nest once more and set it down a foot away.
Now all he had to do was wait.
The Next Day
"All right, everyone," Gwen announced in her most proper, attention-grabbing voice. "The viewing will be ten dollars per person. If I do not complete the act, Jubilation here will refund your money and spray me up with windex for you."
"Gwen, what are you doing this for?" Artie asked from the back of the crowd.
She smiled. "For your entertaining pleasure. And the fact that I'm about to make seventy bucks at a great life risk. I think all the Malcolm in the Middle episodes I've seen have warped my common sense." She considered it for a moment. "I guess that explains why I get to spend so much time in detention."
Jubilee waited to see if she was done, then addressed the kids before her. "Yeah, so give me the money as you go in the kitchen. And don't, like, be conspicuous about it. It'll totally ruin everything. Be quiet."
The students filed in one by one, each handing the girl the ten dollars. Finally, it was only her and Gwen left in the hallway.
"You ready?"
"Fully."
Jubilee grinned. "Nice knowing you." Then she held the door open for her friend, who entered with a flourish, before taking her place at the front of the gathered crowd. They had formed a half circle around the sink, all staring at the man who had his upper body beneath it.
"I hear you kids," Logan told them, not coming out from the cabinet. "Don't try anything. Just get your soda or whatever and get out; I need to kill these stupid mice today or I'll completely lose it."
They stifled their laughter as Jubilee joined them. A few moments passed before they began to wonder silently: Was Gwen chickening out?
Jubilee nudged her, trembling with suppressed giggles. "Now or never," she muttered.
Gwen turned around to face the onlookers, made a thumbs-up, and stepped forward so she was just behind Logan. Then, before she could lose her nerve, she bent down slightly and slapped him sharply on his ass with a loud smack.
The reaction was similar to that of an electrical shock. He shrieked, jumping up and hitting his head on the bottom of the sink. Everyone roared with laughter, as they rushed out of the kitchen with Gwen at the front.
"This is totally worth it!" she yelled as they turned the first corner, with Logan stumbling after them, claws popping maniacally. The chase lasted until the students could disband into the rec room and stairs leading to the second floor. Gwen herself made a bounding leap in the direction of the front doors.
Logan hadn't seen who had done it, but as he helplessly watched the boys and girls scurry away, he gloomily realized he couldn't catch them all. Instead, he stopped in the middle of the hallway, breathing loudly. Then:
"I hate these damn kids!"
"Well, Gwen, you've completely inspired me," Kitty said after she had recounted the events to her friend. "If you can be that brave, then so can I. I'm calling Joe right now!" She stood up from the bed, where Gwen was curled up beneath a blanket. She had gotten herself locked outside, and had stayed there for an hour till Kurt had let her back in, yawning. However, despite the fact that her teeth were still chattering, she was grinning as she counted the money she had made.
"Se- ven- ty...eight- ty-... nine-ty!" She looked up at Kitty. "Hey, good...for you!"
Jubilee, who was seated in the desk chair, was positively beaming. "'Bout time!"
Kitty smiled back, crossed her fingers, and left the room.
"Ya- ay!" Gwen said, wrapping herself tighter. A few more minutes passed, and finally she warmed up a bit. "Yeah, this was definitely worth it," she told Jubilee, holding her money up. "Now I can get that lipstick, and I have enough left over for that satin-y top we saw week before last! This is perfect..."
"Sure is." Jubilee stretched out her legs, flexing her now-healed feet happily.
"Yeah, I got a couple of detentions, so what?" Gwen asked, running her hands through her hand one final time in the reflection of the window. "Logan'll get over it. He should take it as a compliment, actually."
Kurt rolled his eyes, though lack of sleep made it hurt to do so. "I hope he does."
"What are you doing tonight?"
He sighed. "Meeting Storm in here and sleeping. Or trying to, at least."
Gwen tried not to glance over at him, but she looked a little guilty. Kurt, who was yawning again, didn't notice. "What time is it?"
He looked over at the VCR digital clock. "Close to seven. What are you all dressed up for?"
She smiled joyfully. "Kitty called Joe back, and it turns out that he's been at basketball tryouts that last into the night. He was just really busy. So we're going out as a group to go hang out at the mall." Smoothing down her new pink camisole, she pointed at her mouth. "And I got enough money for the lipstick."
"And you look very pretty. Although I must say, your method of getting it didn't help anyone."
"Who says?" Now Gwen was smirking. "I think I gave him enough spark to finish off the mice."
"Really?" Yawn.
"Yeah, fully. He says they're all gone- well, except for a couple. They're babies, so he's keeping them in a cage in his room. Which is sweet, considering the fact that he killed their parents." She crossed her arms. "We're going to name them tomorrow."
"That's nice...Gwen?"
"Mm?"
"I know what you've been doing to me."
"You do? I mean...oh, oops."
Kurt glared up at her. "It was obvious."
Gwen squinted worriedly. "What are you gonna do to me?"
"Nothing."
"Oh, come on! - wait, nothing?" She looked puzzled.
"Yes, nothing. I find it a bit difficult to keep up with your antics, you know."
"Yeah, I'm a problem." She walked over to where he was sitting on the couch and hugged him. "I'll see you later. Have a good night."
"I will. You too." As she exited the room, Storm came up to her from the direction of the kitchen.
"Is Kurt in there?" the woman asked, blowing slightly on her steaming tea.
"Yeah, he's waiting for you." Gwen nodded her head his way.
"All right. Have fun tonight."
"Thanks. You too, Storm." She smiled at her teacher before heading off.
Out in the foyer, everyone was waiting to be picked up by Joe and his friends. Kitty, the star of the evening, was wearing a borrowed miniskirt, a black stretchy top, and carefully arranged waves. Her cheeks were glowing in excitement.
"This is so great!" she told Gwen as she arrived. "Jubes doesn't even limp anymore. I think that's a good sign."
"It totally is."
"I was just, like, thinking that exact thing!"
They grinned at each other, laughing.
Logan lit another cigar as he lay in his bed, studying the cage at his feet. There were four baby mice inside of it, burrowing around beside their foster mother, the last female left. They'd probably start multiplying soon, but he could just sell them back to the pet store where he had gotten the cage in the first place.
He had to admit, however, he was getting quite attached to them. Fixing the problem had been surprisingly difficult, and the last ones had to be tough to survive. He felt a surge of affection run through him, before he sighed. The Institute was definitely softening him up. He hadn't even bothered to snipe at Gwen when she had been revealed as his perpetrator, something he would have done before without a second thought.
Logan – Wolverine - Samantha or Miranda or whatever it was that he had been called - had a small problem of his own, this...liking the place and the kids that came with it thing. But maybe, he thought as he watched the mice bustle against each other, not all problems were meant to be fixed.
The End