In this chapter there will be most talking and remembering, hope you don't mind...

John woke up from the noise of someone opening a door and then close it, but he didn't open his eyes. He just laid there under the warm pile of blankets, listening to the morning-sounds in the mansion. Nobody talked loud at this time of the day; everybody respected those like John who wanted to sleep. It was worse for people like Piotr, who wanted to go to bed early.

For an half hour or so John stayed in his little nest, snoozing, before he dragged the blankets of his head. Warren had been kind enough to leave the curtains closed, and the whole room was filled with a dim light that was prefect for someone who had just woken up. John rolled the blankets tightly around himself, not because he was freezing, but because it made him feel safer. He then began to go through what had happened the day before. It was clear to him that Warren had become a really close friend to him, in only a day he knew John better that Bobby did for the moment. But Bobby had been just the same in the beginning, everything just slipped out of John before he could think of it. And it had turned out good, Warren was a wonderful, caring and respecting person, just the friend John needed. Just the way you had to be to get close to him and truly understand him.

Then he went on to the time in the danger-room and the library. And after that, the kitchen. He tried to remember if Bobby had been acting different, but he'd been so quiet, John had concentrated on talking with Warren. Then, the argument. By now John had blocked in his feelings so well he just felt empty at the thought of it. How much he disliked it, he forced himself to go through it all. Afterwards he felt sick. The walking in the corridor and burning Logan was all blurry, he'd no idea what had happened, what exactly he'd done or why. But done was done, he told himself. All he could do now was facing the consequences.

Suddenly the door opened and Warren walked in with a glass of juice and a napkin with something in.

"Morning!" he smiled. "You just missed breakfast so I brought you this." He put the glass on the floor beside John and gave him the napkin. Inside it was two toasted sandwiches, still warm, with half-melted cheese on.

"Rogue said you wanted them that way." Warren told him.

"Thanks." Was all John said before eating all of it as fast as he could, he was starving. Even if two sandwiches weren't that much, he felt a lot better when he was done.

"What time is it?" he asked looking around for a watch.

"Half past nine, when I left the kitchen." Warren said. John still felt a little tired, but when he was awake he was awake, so he didn't have a thought of going back to sleep, he knew he wouldn't be able to.

"The professor talked to us before. About what you did with Logan." Warren suddenly said.

"He told everybody?" John asked, wondering if that would kill the rumours that probably already circulated, or if it would make them worse. Being ignored was after all better than being whispered after or glared at.

"No, only Rogue, Bobby and me." Warren waited to see if John would ask anything more, but when he didn't, he continued;

"He said that you're getting to class 5, or something like that and will be able to create the fire then. He also said that you wouldn't be punished for what happened." John just nodded.

"He also asked me to tell you that if you want to have a room for yourself, there is one available."

"Really." John was surprised. This sort of offering wasn't usual, extra rooms were for potential new students. But then he got it. The professor probably knew about the tension between him and Bobby and he didn't want another class 5 emotionally crush-down Pyro-accident. John thought about it for a while. "Did he say when I could move?"

"Whenever you want." Warren looked at him from the bed. "Are you going to?" John nodded. "I can't stay there." He simply stated.

"I can help you move you're stuff if you want." Warren offered suddenly.

"Thanks." John mumbled, thinking. Then he decided, he had to tell Warren. Not all details, but about him and Bobby. He couldn't let his new friend being stuck in the middle of this without knowing a thing. John let out a deep sigh.

"You know, about me and Bobby?"

"Mhm?"

"Before I start, I have to ask; are you a homophobe?"

"No…" Warren looked surprised.

"Good, thanks. Now, me and Bobby, we were, kind of, a couple a while ago…"

"Wait a minute, you're gay?" Now Warren looked really surprised.

"Umm, yeah, I am." John moved uncomfortable, he'd no idea what Warren was thinking until;

"You know, you don't look like a gay at all." It almost sounded like it had come from a kid.

"You're not going to throw me out or anything?" John asked, surprised and hopeful.

"No, why would I do that?" Warren laughed a little. "Told you I'm not a homophobe. I'm bi myself, if you admit, I can."

"Oh." Was all John could say. He'd lost himself completely. But Warren helped him;

"So you and Iceman were going out?"

"Yeah…"

"For how long?" Warren was a bit worried he'd ask too much, but John answered him like he just wanted to get it out.

"Fore about a year actually."

"Wow, that's long."

"Yeah, I know."

"What happened?"

"Rogue came."

"And he just dumped you? For a girl he couldn't even touch?" Warren had got the whole Life-story of the Rogue at breakfast from none other than Rogue herself.

"Not immediately, he said he'd just use her as a cover. Since he couldn't touch her nobody would notice he didn't want to."

"You know, that was quite evil against both of you." Warren was starting to get a pretty bad picture of the ice- mutant.

"Yeah, but I didn't exactly stop him either. Anyway, we were kind of a couple even a while after Rogue came. But then he started to act different. I don't really know why, but I suppose it was then we started all this fighting. By now I'm sure I mean nothing to him, I was just a funny toy." John stopped to take a deep breath to calm himself. "I suppose that it was the fact that we never actually told each other we didn't want to be together that made him believe we'd continue as before." John really tried to see it from Bobby's point of view, and he could almost understand parts of the mutant's actions.

"So he still believed you were together when we were hanging out yesterday?"

"Yeah, suppose he got into his mind that I was cheating on him." John smiled the coldest and unhappiest smile Warren had ever seen.

"And then you argued because of it…" Warren sight.

"…and I told him everything I felt all this time." John ended sadly.

"Just wonder…" Warren begun and John looked up at him. "…do you still like him?"

"I don't know. If we can go back to what we were before it would be great, but I don't think I'll ever be able to trust him like that again. But I do miss him, I know that."

"'Cause I was thinking…" Warren got quiet for a while. "The reason he was acting like that was because he really loved you…"

"So?"

"No, that's stupid. I thought, maybe you could get him jealous so he could get it all clear to himself, but that would make you a bit too much like him…"

"Yeah, I know how that feels…"

Warren stood up and pulled aside the curtains, John groaned as the sun and its snow-reflected light filled the room. Warren looked at him over his shoulder;

"Sorry." He looked out through the window for a while. "Drake is outside, and it doesn't look like he's going in for a while, if you want to grab your stuff…"

John stood up and walked over to the window as well. Just as Warren said; Bobby was walking around in the garden, being able to walk on the snow when he froze it solid before stepping on it. He almost looked like he was searching for someone out there…

John took a step back, he didn't want to look anymore; it hurt not to be out there, throwing snowballs, joking, running around like a kid; just having a good time with someone you liked. Without him wanting it, John's thoughts wandered back to the last winter before Rouge; John had talked Bobby over to get down to the lake in the middle of the night to teach him skating. That resulted in the worst cold John ever had; he had to stay in his bed for two weeks. And all the time Bobby was there, giving him all he could ask for, only leaving his side to get meals, as he ate on their room as well. He got well just in time for Christmas, which he spent in a fuzzy happiness wrapped in beautiful wrapping-paper and ribbons in green and red. (As a joke John had given Bobby a mistletoe, lying on at least a months ripped newspapers in a gigantic box, mainly made for the TV now placed in one of the common rooms.)

John suddenly looked up to see that Warren was looking at him with a quite concerned look, and John realised that he'd crossed his arms and now was digging his nails into his own skin, each of them leaving red line on his upper arm. John just sighed and loosened his grip, then nodded and walked to the door. It only took a split second for Warren to realise what he meant and to follow.

So, do you like the story? Please let me know! Just a few words for me to know there's still someone out there who have som time to waste like me!