The rest of the week was not quite as exciting as Nicole and Logan's umpteenth argument. Students were too excited about the trip to pay attention to much else, and by the day before most teachers simply gave up.

Nicole, on the other hand, started facing each moment with more dread than the next. Not only was her cold worsening, making her steadily miserable, but her and Katie had been assigned to a group of students supervised by Logan and Scott (obviously, a very sadistic person had drawn up the lists). Whether for better or worse, their four-thirty alarm for the trip morning buzzed all too soon.

Groaning, Katie rolled over, grumpily giving the alarm clock a strong zap, causing it to skid across bedside table and smash to pieces on the floor. Katie sighed. 'There goes another alarm clock' she thought, sitting up and sliding her feet to rest onto the floor. The air was much too cold for her taste, she would have preferred staying within the confines of her warm bed but if she didn't get up now she wouldn't get up at all.

The same went for Nicole, who was merely a lump in the covers in her bed across from Katie; she hadn't even bothered to twitch when the alarm clock went off.

Katie, trying to keep her feet moving so they wouldn't freeze, glared at Nicole. "Time to get up! C'mon, we'll miss the bus!" She hissed, as she grabbed the clothes she'd set out the night before. Nicole only moaned weakly in reply.

Katie pulled her head through her shirt, giving her already angry-static-y hair some added frizz. "Nicole, either get your butt out of bed, or I'll make Logan do it for you." She prodded teasingly, "Though I do warn you, after he's gotten you out of bed I'm not at all responsible for what he decides to do with you." Katie added for effect smiling wickedly in her groggy friend's direction.

With a faint moan, Nicole sat up and threw off the covers. She looked horrible. Her dark bangs stuck to her forehead with sweat and her normal skin tone paled by at least two shades. Her dark eyes blinked at Katie sleepily. "I don't think I can come." she mumbled raspily.

"Wow, Nicole!" Katie gasped; she hadn't quite realized how sick her friend was. "You look terrible!"

"Thanks," Nicole replied weakly, swaying slightly, nauseous. "But I'm serious Katie... I don't think I can come."

"Oh, Nicole..." Katie yanked on her pants as quickly as she could. "Want me to run down and find a teacher...?"

Nicole made a soft noise of consent, sniffling and clearing her throat. "Yes please." she grumbled. As Katie hopped off (she was attempting to put her socks on while trotting to the door), Nicole called out just before the door shut, reaching for Katie's retreating back "Just make sure it's not-" the door clicked shut. Nicole dropped her hand. "Logan." she uttered loathingly.

Katie skipped downstairs as quickly as possible without falling down. She came very close to, but caught herself, before dashing into the dining area.

Thankfully there was a groggy looking Scott studying the muffins as though too tired to actually decide what flavor he wanted. "Scott!" she called, tossing unbrushed hair across her shoulder. "I think Nicole's really sick..."

Scott turned to Katie, his brow furrowing in concern around the expression-less sunglasses. "Sick?" he inquired, "How? Do I need to tell Logan to get a mop?" he joked grinning ever so slightly. As if his lips betrayed how hilarious it was to him to think of making Logan clean up where ever Nicole got sick.

Chewing on her lip, Katie looked pleadingly at Scott. "Yeah, she's sick and she doesn't think that she can come on the trip... D'you wanna come up and see her?" Katie asked, shifting from foot to foot nervously. She wanted Nicole to come on the trip, not stay here! Who else would she hang with? At the same time, she was fairly certain she'd left under things strewn about the room, and she'd rather that Scott not see those, even if he did deliver her laundry...

Scott stood up at once. The muffins weren't all that important anyway. Maybe he could snag a scone on the bus's way past the nearby Dunkin' Donuts. "Of course, maybe the Professor should come-" Scott began but the Professor finished his sentence for him.

"Along? I'd love to." Professor Xavier offered.

Scott could have jumped from his skin. "Professor! I hate it when-"

Xavier chuckled, "I do that? My dear boy, you should be used to it after all of the years that you've been with me in this school." The professor smiled in a very kind, grandfatherly way. "But," he turned to Katie, "I know Nicole is sick. I would be able to hear her mentally grumbling if I were halfway across the country it's so loud. Take me to see her please?"

Katie nodded, and led Xavier to the elevator and up to her room. As she (and Nicole) and suspected, Nicole was much to sick to go along on the trip. After a few moments of asking a few of the other teachers telepathically, he turned back to Nicole and Katie, smiling kindly. "Logan has agreed to stay behind with you, Nicole."

Nicole's tired, sickly face paled another shade. "No Professor! I can go! I'll be fine, I swear, I won't touch anyone or breath on them or even think about them... just let me goooooo..." she rushed, her voice arranged in that of the utmost pleading.

Katie couldn't help but giggle. Proposing that Nicole could stay home and get better but Logan had to be her guardian? It was like putting Nicole on her deathbed. Katie struggled to fight back giggles that were both sympathetic and amused as the Professor explained to the poor Nicole that Logan wasn't exactly 'needed' for a chaperone for the trip anyhow, he had wheedled himself into the trip because he had nothing else to do, so it wouldn't be a problem if he didn't go. "But... but..."

"No, Nicole. You can barely sit up; much less make it down the stairs." Xavier gave her another kind look, though it was as firm as it was gentle. Katie opened her mouth to interject, when Xavier gave her a look. "I'm sorry that Nicole wont be accompanying you on this trip, but you need to go get your stuff loaded on the bus before all the good seats are taken."

After the professor and Scott left the room, Katie immediately began to scurry around; picking up scattered articles of clothing and stuffing last minute additions into the suitcase that she had thought was fully prepared to go.

Meanwhile Nicole watched her glumly, in total disbelief of her luck. When Katie looked up from her frantic packing Nicole's eyes were glazed and the look on her face looked as if she were on death row and that if she just went back to sleep it would all be a bad dream.

Katie snorted, "Face it Nicole, you'll have to endure Logan all week, when it'll be just the two of you. Try not to lose your virginity on the first night. Okay?"

Nicole barely had the energy to glare at Katie, before her friend was out the door, blowing a mocking kiss in farewell. "Like I said, wait till at least the second night, ok? And don't forget protection!"

Hurrying to scoop a muffin from the breakfast table, Katie realized she was going to be the last one boarding her bus. Damn... I'll end up having to sit on Pyro's lap or something... damn!

Katie trotted quickly out of the front doors and to the large luxury travel buses that were parked all along the Mansions' gravel drive. Logan was there to help the student's load their luggage into the luggage compartment beneath the buses, and he had a rather pleased smirk on his face.

Katie scowled, and as she handed Logan her overstuffed bag of belongings she hissed so quietly that he had to lean in to hear, "If I find one hair missing from her head, yours will roll. Keep your hands to yourself."

Giving him one last, (she hoped) threatening glare, she flounced off, not giving him a chance to respond. Like she cared what he had to say anyway.