Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep! Crystal rolled onto her side as the clock continued to mock her. It was annoying, but she dealt with it, because she'd gotten almost no sleep as is, and she wasn't about to lose what could possibly be another two hours of sleep. She lay in bed another minute or two, listening to the alarm clock's stupid beeping combined with the hustle and bustle of X-kids outside.
BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! The beeping seemed to intensify as Crystal kept her eyes closed and fumed silently to herself. Obviously, she wasn't going to get any sleep with the stupid alarm going off. She sighed and turned over, the nuisance that was the clock in sight. She smirked as she reached out with a finger and touched the clock. She could've pressed the "snooze" button, but eventually, the dumb thing would jerk back to life, waking her again from her perfect dreamland. So, instead, she gave it a little shock. Crystal smiled in approval as she turned on her side again, a small trail of smoke coming from the electrocuted clock.
However, just as Crystal was about to fall asleep again, there was a knock at the door. She moaned and muttered tiredly, "Who is it?" After a minute, the person answered, "Do ya really gotta ask, chere?" Crystal's eyes snapped open and she shot up like a rocket on steroids. Quickly, she threw some decent clothes on. "Why?" she muttered to herself. "Why did he have ta come when I'm not even dressed yet?"
From outside in the hallway, Crystal changing sounded like a bull had been let loose in her room. He was about to ask if his chere was alright, but the door opened at the same time his mouth did.
"Hey, w-what's up?"
"Wat goin' on, chere? Did someone break inta ya room?"
God, she absolutely hated that cocky smile on the Cajun boy's face, and she wished she could slap it off. But nothing she could do would prevent him from staring playfully at her with those gleaming red on black eyes and giving her a cocky smile.
Remy was a hunk, Crystal and all the other girls at the Mansion had to admit, but only she had ever been kissed by the cocky Cajun. At least, out of the people currently staying at the Mansion (ah-hem, Rogue). She always secretly had a crush on him, although their age difference was a bit of a problem. Crystal remembered yesterday, when Gambit stayed in the infirmary next to her. He had been hit so hard in the Danger Room that his leg and arm were broken, (now casted in black) and his chest had to be wrapped in bandage.
Crystal tried to suppress a laugh as she looked down at him. "Wat? You like it?" Gambit picked up the front half of the wheelchair and spun a couple of times, his auburn hair shining with each turn. Finally, she burst out laughing. He was somehow finding out how to do tricks in his new wheelchair, and they were hilarious!
"Gambit!" Crystal laughed as he stopped with his back to her and reached over his head, grabbing her and pulling her into his lap. "Wat is it, chere? You need somt'in from Gambit? He give you anyt'in." She gave him a little kiss on the cheek and smiled. "No, Hun, I was gonna tell ya that ya shouldn't be too rough." Remy cocked his head and looked at her. "Krys, Gambit ain't bein' too rough, trust me."
Crystal wasn't sure if Remy should be out of the infirmary this early. She'd told the Cajun that Hank would wrap him up, cast his leg, and then he'd be free to go. But Gambit wasn't exactly being as careful as he probably should be. In fact, Hank was really nervous now, because Gambit already pulled a muscle just getting in the wheelchair. Not to mention he was doing crazy tricks!
"C'mon, chere, why you scared fo' Gambit? He fine, and he don't need ta be nagged, 'specially 'bout his health." Gambit defended himself as he rolled into the kitchen, Crystal not far behind him. "Well, yeah, but you could really hurt yourself, Hun! I'm just making sure ya don't," she said back, suppressing a laugh at Remy's attempt to reach a muffin. "Merde," he muttered as Crystal giggled madly. "Dis really sucks, chere." Gambit turned to see her laughing like a hyena. "Um, did Gambit miss somt'in?" She shook her head. "No, it's just…that's hilarious! You can hardly reach the counter!"
"Why's dat funny, chere? Gambit cain't even eat in dis stupid chair!" Crystal saw his facial expression, and grabbed a muffin from the basket on the counter. "Here," she handed him a raspberry muffin and a Dr Pepper® and then impatiently shoved him to the table.
"Hey, watch it, Krys! Gambit defenseless!"
"Sure ya are, mini explosives aren't weapons at all."
"Ha-ha, your sarcasm isn't hard to find, chere."
"Nope, and neither are your cards."
"Wat dat s'posed ta mean?"
Crystal reached into his pocket and pulled out three decks of cards. While she did so, Kurt and Kitty "just so happened" to walk in and see Gambit's position. "Like, Krys, what are you doing?" Kitty asked while sitting down to Gambit's right. "Emptying Gambit's pockets," she replied, pulling four more decks from his coat. "Vy…? Did he do somt'ing vrong?" Kurt continued, teleporting to the chair next to Kitty. "Well, no, not exactly…" Crystal answered, emptying Gambit's last pocket.
Jean walked in just as Crystal placed the last packs on the table. "Crystal, why did you take all of Gambit's cards?" Gambit looked at the red-headed telepath as Crystal sat on his lap. "Dat wat Gambit askin'!" Amara and Boom-Boom walked in just as Crystal was about to answer. "Whoa! What's goin' on, dudes and dudets?" Boom-Boom asked as she grabbed the box of cereal from the cabinet.
"I was emptying Gambit's pockets to prove that he wasn't defenseless." Crystal blushed madly, trying to explain the awkward situation. Jean smirked, and told Crystal in her head, "Were you really? It kind of looked like you were going to—"
"No way! Never ever in a billion years will I do that!"
"Really? Well, okay, but you are so lucky."
"What do ya mean, 'I'm so lucky'?"
"I mean what I said, Crystal, Gambit is so hot, and he chose you for a girlfriend."
"W-What? I'm not his—"
"—Really? You aren't? He seems to think so."
"No way, really?"
"Yep, and he thinks he's your boyfriend."
Boom-Boom was waving her hand in front of Crystal's face when Jean dropped the conversation. "Boom-Boom, what are you doing?" Crystal swatted her hand away, and Boom-Boom replied like "whatever-it-was" was really obvious. "Girl, you were out of it, man! You were just staring at the wall and giving it random looks!" Crystal glanced around the room and saw that Jean wasn't even there anymore. She really was staring at the wall!
"Well, I was talking to Jean in telepathically, but she must've left the room!" Boom-Boom bought it and grabbed Amara, who had been watching and eating a banana. "C'mon, Amara! Rachel and Wanda are waiting at the mall!" She dragged the unsuspecting teenager out of the room, leaving Crystal, Gambit, Kitty, and Kurt. Crystal waltzed over to the fridge and dove in for a Coke®.
Kitty now turned to Gambit, her lips in a grin. "Hey, Gambit, do you, like, like her?" Crystal was busy in the fridge, so Gambit answered, "Who, Krys? Yeah, why?" She and Kurt exchanged looks, and he nodded and teleported away. Kitty put a hand on Gambit's shoulder, and looked him in the eyes. "'Cause, well…does she, like, like you?" Gambit cocked his head, and Crystal pulled a Coke® successfully. "What are you two talkin' about? Any new gossip, Kitty?" She looked away from Gambit and shook her head, half phasing through the floor. "Nope, not yet, Krys!" And as Kitty passed completely under, Crystal swore she heard her mutter, "She is sooo lucky! What a hunk…"
…
As Crystal rolled Gambit into the garden, she saw Ororo watering a vibrant blue flower. "Hey, Stormy, how you been, Mon ami?" Storm paused. She absolutely hated when Remy called her that. He knew it irritated her, and that's why he said it. Storm kept her cool, even though she wanted to pulse one hundred-thousand volts of electricity through his sexy Cajun body. [Please do NOT tell him I said that!] A single streak of lightning flashed in the sky as the Weather Witch's temper shortened a little. "Oh, I'm doing well, Gambit. What about yourself? I see you are in a wheelchair." She turned to look at him, her long white hair blowing in the wind.
Storm saw the Cajun's hand glow slightly, but he replied rather calmly, "Yep, dat jus' goes ta show da Danger Room ain't a happy place, an' dey should make some changes." Crystal smiled and whispered something in Remy's ear, but Ororo didn't catch what it was. She felt a drizzle of water hit her foot and she looked down. She was still watering the exotic plant and the pot was now a complete watery mess. Crystal watched as Storm made the cloud disappear and replaced it with a strong ray of sunlight, which made the plant's pot dry up.
"Uh, Storm, are we interrupting ya?" Crystal poked at the idea of Storm staring at her and Gambit. "N-No dear, why do you ask?" Storm pivoted on her heel so she wasn't facing the couple and walked down the path a ways until she came to another strange plant. "Well, it's just…" Crystal couldn't find out how to say it. She didn't want to accuse Ororo for something she might not have done, but she was really curious, too. Gambit cut into the awkward silence. "Gambit know you two lovely ladies are busy t'inkin, but don't Crystal have a trainin' session?"
Crystal snapped out of it and realized Gambit was right. She had a session in the Danger Room with Logan and Emma at five-thirty. Uh-oh…She glanced at her watch and her heart skipped a beat; it was six-fifteen. "Oh-my-gosh, you're right! Storm, I've gotta go!" She was about to run back toward the Mansion, but she remembered Gambit in the wheelchair. "Hey, Gambit—"
"-Gambit'll be fine, chere, jus' go to ya session." Crystal thanked him and bolted to the door, sparks flashing with every step she took.
…
[A/N: In case no one knew, it's December in this story!]