"WANDA! What the hell?"
"Just saying hello to an old friend, big brother…"
"Old friend? We've been here for exactly two hours, how the hell do you already have an old…"
There was an audible swishing sound as the entire group at the table swung their heads away from the still smirking red-haired girl toward the new voice. It was a boy…a new boy…a boy no one at the table knew except…
"Holy fuck! Pietro?"
"Allerdyce? Fucking hell, man! What the hell are you doing here?" The new boy dragged John out of his chair and pulled him into a big bear hug. "Jesus Christ, we all thought you were in some shitty jail cell making homemade shanks or something."
"I can't believe you guys are here," John laughed.
"We're not the only ones. Dom and Sam are here too," Pietro said, pointing toward where the two boys were walking over with their plates piled high with food. The moment Dominic and Sam saw John at the table, the food was momentarily forgotten and the four boys started laughing and hugging, thumping each other on the backs. If it weren't for the obvious need to be as manly as possible, an outsider would think he was seeing a bunch of giddy, tittering schoolgirls.
Jubilee cleared her throat as loudly as possible, making sure the sound carried over the excited conversation the boys were having amongst themselves. "Uh…who the hell are you guys?"
"Oh…right… Sorry," John said sheepishly, realizing finally that there were other people around them. "Well, this is Pietro, Dominic, Sam." He pointed to each boy, who in return gave a little wave to the group sitting at the table. "And, of course, Wanda." He turned slightly so he missed the glare Rogue shot her way. "They're all…uh…old friends."
"Old friends? Hell, man, I shared a toothbrush you for three days!" Pietro exclaimed.
"Are you kidding me? I never used that thing! I've seen your so-called personal hygiene routine." The four boys just laughed and laughed, Wanda rolled her eyes as the others just looked at one another in confusion. "But seriously…what the hell are you guys doing here?"
"Well, it was here or juvie," Dominic shrugged.
"What the hell happened?"
"Got caught using our…five finger discount…no big deal…" Sam said. "But never mind about us, what the hell happened with you? Last time we saw you, you were getting hauled out of that store by those cops."
"It was either here or juvie." They all started laughing hysterically again while the group at the table just sat there, completely confused again. John paused for a moment when Jubilee cleared her throat loudly and demanding his attention. He finally took the hint. "Oh, right… So Pietro, Dom, Sam, Wanda, that's Jubilee – the throat clearing maestro – that's Peter, Kitty, Warren, and, last but certainly not least, this is my girl, Rogue."
"Rogue, huh?" Pietro said. His eyes then fell to her slightly protruding belly. "Holy fuckballs, man, did you knock her up?"
The boys had left for a not-so-secret celebration of John's upcoming dive into fatherhood. They were planning on getting the daddy-to-be as drunk as possible – most likely through illegal means considering none of them were of the legal drinking age yet. It also sounded like this wasn't going to be the first time John and his old friends had done that before. Warren and Peter hesitated only the briefest of moments before agreeing to join what Pietro called 'a night of non-stop boozing.'
It left just the girls, which included Wanda who opted out of being the lone girl on another boys-night-out, sitting around on the couches in the rec room. They were trying to figure out how this new group dynamic was going to work out and things progressed a little awkwardly at first.
Then Jubilee had the bright idea of having Wanda tell them all about how they used to know John – which turned out to be one long, felonious, and rather torrid affair.
Afterwards, Rogue just got up from the couch and announced in an eeriely calm voice that she was going to bed – never mind that it was only 7:30 at night. Jubilee and Kitty exchanged worried glances then Jubilee hurried out with Rogue, leaving Kitty to deal with a befuddled Wanda.
Jubilee caught up with Rogue and took a sidelong glance at her. "Are you okay?"
Rogue didn't say a word, just went into her room, closing the door in Jubilee's face.
The door opened and closed again, Jubilee walking in without invitation. She then started to have a one-way conversation with herself, providing both hers and Rogue's parts, as she sat on the bed. "Why don't you come in, Jubilation? Why, thank you, Rogue. You know, Jubilation, you're my best friend, I feel like I can tell you anything. Of course you can, Rogue. Like I could tell you what's bothering me right now, couldn't I, Jubilation? That would be a start, Rogue…"
Rogue still hadn't said a word as she walked back and forth on the carpeted floor.
Jubilee crossed her arms, watching as Rogue muttered things under her breath as she paced. "You know if you don't tell me right now what's bothering you, I'll just continue to sit here and act out this little monologue with myself. Which I must admit is annoying even me…" Rogue still hadn't answered. "Listen, are you angry about John's…uh…criminal activities? Because you know…"
"I'm not angry about that…"
"She speaks! Finally!" Jubilee threw her hands in the air dramatically. "So if you're not angry about that, what's the dealio?"
Rogue sighed, sitting down on the bed next to her friend. "I knew about all that stuff. I mean, I watched him hot-wire a car one time – I knew he had to have done that before."
"Okay, so you're fine with the petty larcenies, the credit card fraud, the vandalism, the auto thefts…what part is…" Then it was as if a light bulb had turned on above Jubilee's head and if there had been sound effects, a 'ding' would have been heard. "Oh my fucking God…you're jealous!"
Rogue half-heartedly scoffed at the suggestion, averting her eyes.
"Oh no! You can't scoff at my brilliant observation! All those stories Wanda told us about John's past…how should I put this?...relationships?" Jubilee air-quoted the word 'relationships,' grinning like a Cheshire cat. "You did realize that he wasn't a virgin, right? I mean, you did say that he knew what he was doing, right? In bed, I mean…"
"I knew he wasn't a virgin, for Christ's sake! I'm not an idiot! But…goddamnit! I didn't know he used to be…such a…a…a man-slut!"
Jubilee just howled with laughter, falling sideways on the bed and clutching her stomach. "Oh my God…stop…you're making my sides…split… Man-slut…oh my God…"
"Shut up, Jubilee! I'm being serious!" Rogue tried to keep a straight face but her lips kept quirking up as she watched her friend roll around on the bedsheets.
"I'm sorry but if you're gonna be using words like 'man-slut' I'm gonna laugh in your face."
"Jubilee!"
"All right, all right! I'm going to stop laughing…starting…now…" Jubilee took a deep breath, wiping the tears of laughter from her eyes as she sat upright. "Okay, I'm done. Whew… I haven't laughed that hard since…well, forever. Thought I was going to ruin these jeans…and they're not my cheap jeans either. Saved for six months to get these… So…anyways…where were we? Ah, yes, John's man-sluttiness…"
Rogue just rolled her eyes.
"Maybe you shouldn't see this as a bad thing. No, hear me out. So John was a little bit of a playa in the past – he was gaining 'experience,' right?" Jubilee used her now-famous air-quotes again. "So you could say that all that 'experience' was just practice runs. You're the end product…uh…so to speak. And you can't really complain about that, can you?"
"That's some really twisted logic, you know that, right?"
"Hey, I'm just trying to put a positive spin to this. And if he's as good as you say he is – which, by the way, I'd like to know more about…"
"Jubilee!"
"Oh, come on! I'm living vicariously through you! Like I'm going to do it with any of the guys here…well, maybe that new kid…what's his name? Sam? He looks like he'd be right up my alley…"
Rogue's lips were trembling from holding back her giggles. The knocking on her door saved her from laughing in Jubilee's face, who she knew wouldn't take getting laughed at as well as she did. "Who is it?"
"It's Kitty, Rogue. But I'm not…uh…alone. Wanda's with me. Can we come in?"
"Oh God, I don't want to talk to her," Rogue whispered to Jubilee, all traces of her humor vanishing in an instant. "I don't think I could handle it if she starts telling me another sexual escapade…or worse, if she starts telling me how her and John got together."
"What the hell makes you think her and John were ever together?"
"Are you kidding me? That kiss in the dining hall? Did you not see that?"
"Oh please…that wasn't a real kiss. There was no tongue!"
"Jubilee!"
"You know what I don't understand? Why didn't you ask her about that when we were downstairs? Instead you just sat there…what the fuck was that all about, huh? I mean, you kick Amara's ass for grabbing…well…his ass but another girl kisses your boyfriend and you just sit there? It boggles my mind!"
"A lot of things boggles your mind."
"I resent that. I'm very well known for my quick-wit."
"Uh…Rogue? Can we come in or not?" Kitty said through the door.
"What do I do?" Rogue whispered.
"Well, I think they know we're in here so…why don't we open the door and if she starts talking about anything sex-related, we throw her out the window."
Rogue thought for a moment and then said, "Okay."
"I was kidding! Sort of!"
But Rogue didn't pay much attention to Jubilee's response – Wanda was going out that window one way or another. "Come in!"
Kitty and Wanda came into the room, they stood next the bed as Rogue and Jubilee looked at them and then at each other.
Nobody said a thing until finally Wanda started, "I think I gave you the wrong impression downstairs. I…uh…probably babbled on and on about things I shouldn't have told you. Well, I guess I should say I shouldn't have been the one who told you about them."
"Damn straight," Jubilee said.
Wanda just stared at Jubilee for a second before turning back to Rogue. "Could we talk? Alone?"
"Hey, you don't get to…" Jubilee started to get up to challenge Wanda when Rogue interrupted her.
"No, it's okay, Jubes."
"Are you sure?"
Rogue nodded. "Don't worry."
Jubilee leaned close and whispered to her friend, "Remember to wipe down any fingerprints and if you really really need to throw her out the window, throw with your knees and not your back."
"I'll keep that in mind," Rogue grinned.
Jubilee and Kitty slowly and reluctantly walked out of the room, each glancing over their shoulders to make sure Rogue didn't change her mind. They closed the door on their way out.
Wanda took Jubilee's seat next to Rogue on the bed. "Can I ask you something?"
"Um…sure."
"How far along are you?"
Rogue smoothed her hands over her stomach. "Four months."
"Four months…wow…" Wanda paused, her eyes still on Rogue's stomach. "He's going to be a great dad, you know."
"I know."
They were quiet for a moment. "I'm sorry."
Rogue looked over at Wanda more than a little stunned – this was the last thing she had expected to hear from this girl. "What?"
"You know…about the stories…and about the kiss… I…uh…I kinda always wanted to…with him…"
"So you and him…you never…" Confusion marred Rogue's face.
Wanda laughed, humorlessly. "He's my brother's best friend and I think he thinks of me more as a little sister than anything else… And my real brother's more than a little over-protective when it comes to boys who might even think about taking me out on a date."
Rogue snorted. "I know how that feels."
"You have a brother?"
"Oh no…just this big scary guy with claws who thinks he's my father."
"Sounds bad."
"Yeah…well…he has his uses…" The two girls glanced at one another, both their lips quirking up slightly.
"I know what you mean about that."
Another pause.
"Was John…was he really such a…"
Wanda arched a brow. "Man-slut?" She laughed at Rogue's surprised expression. "No, most of those stories came from Pietro…and most of those times, my brother was probably drunk. And you know how boys exaggerate about things like that, but…with John…I sort of believe it. He could charm the pants off of anyone. Uh…sorry, bad choice of words. Listen, you do not have anything to worry about. Seriously. I saw…I saw the way he looks at you. It's not like with those other girls. He loves you." Rogue thought she heard a hitch in Wanda's voice and from the way Wanda kept blinking her eyes, it looked like...like she was trying to stop herself from crying. "And when John makes a commitment, he makes a commitment, you know what I mean? He's kinda stubborn like that."
Rogue gave her a small smile. "Yeah…I know… Like a bulldog, right?"
Wanda grinned. "Something like that…"
John tiptoed into the room, trying to be as quiet as possible as he carefully took off his shoes. He walked over to the bathroom and stubbed his toes against one of the end tables, he bit his lip in agony.
"John?" Rogue mumbled, her voice thick with sleep.
"Go back to sleep."
She turned on one of the lamps and saw him hobbling on one foot into the bathroom. "Are you drunk?"
"Um…yeah… Completely wasted…"
"John…"
He came back out, changed out of his clothes. "I ran into the table, all right? It was dark and I didn't see the table and I ran my foot right into it and now I think tomorrow morning I'm going to wake up with a big fat bruise on it, all right? Happy?"
He dropped into bed, turning off the lamp again and grumbling softly. She laughed quietly to herself as she cuddled next to him. "Very happy."