Wolf: Sorry for not updating…. Don't kill me! But anyway, I managed to get some pretty nice words down this chapter, and it's longer to make you not hurt me. Reviews are always appreciated, and I've got a couple of other oneshots planned for writing before I update this. I promise, though. If I get another ten reviews on the story, I'll update within the day of the tenth review. (Cross my heart and hope my pants don't spontaneously combust, causing my death) Disclaimer is, as always, on my profile page.
"Why don't you come, too, Lydia?" one of the girls asked, snapping Lydia out of her inner monologue. She hadn't really paid attention to the last few days, listening to others but not actually acting on anything she did. There was no reason to, yet. However, with these people she called housemates talking to her, Lydia realized that she would have to agree to whatever it was. It was either that or she would be forced to help them anyway. That was how living together worked.
"I guess so," Lydia began, not meeting the eyes of the girls. She didn't want to give them a chance to talk to her about the plans that she didn't know about. It would have been drastic if the girl had been caught in a moment of complete oblivion.
"Good, then I'll meet you in the living room at midnight tonight," Kitty said with a huge smile. "Wear shoes to dance in, not heels. We'll be partying all night if the professor doesn't catch us." Lydia looked up at the other girls with something like confusion. Unfortunately, none of the others knew quite how to respond and all of them went about their planning, talking about how they would steal Scott's keys for their ride and how they would outwit their pesky teachers.
"So, we can get Jean to come along," Kitty was saying, looking at the others with convincing features. "I'm sure she can be cool, and if we get caught outside it'll be okay because she's with us."
"I don't know if she'd come," Rogue said doubtfully. "I'm more concerned with how we're going to get out of the building without setting off the alarms."
"Hello," Kitty replied sarcastically. "I walk through walls. We can get out of the house."
"The rest of us don't, remember?" Rogue reminded her. "Let's remember that not all of us can just walk through the gates."
"Isabella can turn off the system," one of the other girls muttered, almost to herself. "If we can get her to do something about the cameras, we should be in the clear." Instantly, Kitty's eyes lit up and she seemed to be happy with their temporary solution.
"Lydia, don't you know Isabella the best?" she asked, turning to the girl. Lydia sunk into Lain completely, turning widened eyes on the girl who had no idea what she was getting herself into.
"I don't really talk to her, but I suppose I know her," Lain murmured. "I mean, we talk during class and everything, I guess." Accompanying the words were the quick wringing of the hands and a slight blush. Lain obviously wasn't the girl to show up under pressure, but unfortunately, none of the other girls knew any more than the dominant personality.
"You can ask her for us, can't you?" Kitty asked, her eyes getting large and her pout growing more pronounced. Pretty cute, Kelly thought with a mental wink in Lain's direction. But I know you go for the tall, dark, and furry types. Lain shoved back on that thought and her words were made up for her by Kelly before she could do anything about it.
"I suppose I could," the girl said, much to the approval of the girls assembled. A couple of boys who were trying to listen in jumped with the sudden screams while Lydia was pushed out of their circle and toward the direction of Isabella's room. Kitty gave the girl a quick thumbs up to show her support, but that was the extent of Lydia's involvement with the girls.
The multiple personalities made their way down the hall where it got quieter and eerier. There was a strange buzzing in the back of Lydia's head, like her ears were ringing. That was the biggest sign that Isabella was close. The girl always carried the sound of silence with her, and the tech mutant was pretty good at controlling that sound to be so annoying it made even the professor want to rip his nonexistent hair out.
Lydia stopped at a door she knew lead to either help or the ridicule of the other girls for the next few days. "Enter," a young voice called to the other side, making the door open with a flick of the wrist that Lydia didn't see.
"Hey, Isabella," Lain said quietly, standing in the doorway awkwardly while a girl even smaller than she was sat in a corner working on something. The girl was dark-skinned and very bright, even when she had her eyes focused and her brow was creased in concentration. Isabella was very pretty, although a little on the flat side, and her hair curled out in tight rings, bouncing whenever her head moved.
"Who wants what?" Isabella asked, her eyes never leaving the gadget she was working on. Lain seemed startled for a moment before she sat down on the floor and put on her best 'please, I'm telling you my life depends on you agreeing to all of my demands' face.
"Could you do the girls and me a favor?" Lain asked, her voice a little quieter than it had been in the living room. There weren't nearly as many people in this room, so she wasn't very nervous. She'd spoken with Isabella a few times, never very personally, but that gave her a little more confidence in herself with getting favors granted.
"That depends on the favor," Isabella told her, looking up for the first time since Lain got into the room. "Spit it out or I'll rip it out of you, Lydia. I get that you're not into speaking all that much, but this is ridiculous."
Lydia looked a little depressed at that, but she decided to stop beating around the push and just ask. The worse Isabella could say is 'no' and then the girls could find another way to outwit the security system. It was meant not to let people in, not to keep them from getting out.
"Could you turn the security cameras off when we sneak out tonight?" the girl asked, looking hopeful in some attempt to convince Isabella.
"Where are you going?"
"I think we're partying." This came out a little more uncertain than necessary, but that was alright. Isabella seemed hooked at the idea of a party. She even put down her little toy to listen to what Lain had to say about the matter.
"Can I come?" Isabella wanted to know, trying to look uninterested.
"I don't see a reason why you couldn't." This was flat and certain. Kitty never told people that they couldn't come, and that was the bottom of the matter. It wasn't like any of the girls formed very different cliques. Most mutants tended to stick together no matter what happened. They were family, even if they didn't get along.
"Then I'm in." Isabella looked at Lydia with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't know you were into the partying thing, Lydia. Do you have address to wear tot the clubs?"
"I'm sure I can find something," Lydia replied. "Do you have a dress in mind?" Immediately, Isabella stood and showed Lydia a dashing outfit hanging on a rack. It was a light blue miniskirt with plenty of ruffles sewn into the pleats and a black lacy shirt that looked like it was expensive. Underneath the outfit were strappy boots that looked really cute, especially with the ribbon up the front of them.
"I've been saving this for something fun," Isabella admitted. "Let's raid your closet for some clothes, too." The tech mutant led the way back to Lydia's bedroom, and the girl had nothing to say in the matter. Whatever Isabella wanted, it seemed, Isabella got. Kitty passed them in the hall and Lydia waved, giving the girl an approving sign. Without saying a word, Kitty gave a jump for joy and ran to tell the others.
The two younger girls spent the better part of an hour sorting through every piece of clothing Lydia possessed, eventually deciding on an outfit Lydia would have never put together. Isabella was pretty talkative once Lydia gave the alright, and the multiple personalities hardly had to supply conversation. As a matter of fact, it was hard to get a word in edgewise once Isabella got on the subject of her interests.
"And I'm going to miss my show," the girl wrapped up once she finished dressing Lydia in several outfits for that night. "I'll see you at midnight, I guess. I'll turn off the camera before that, though, or something might get through to the professor." Isabella left then, not bothering to say goodbye. No one really cared about things like that in the house. After all, they would be seen again at the next meal, so there was no point in goodbyes that lasted no more than a few hours at most.
"I'll see you then," Lain replied after the door closed. She waved at the empty space and then sat down. Tonight was going to be a pain in the rear, she knew. She wasn't a party person, and had never been the sort to enjoy getting hot and sweaty with strangers she didn't even want to know outside of the clubs. That life was more for Kitty and the others, but there was no changing the facts now. Lain was just going to have to deal with the parties.
How about me? Ritzie wanted to know. I like parties. Lain quickly agreed and handed over the steering wheel while the girl walked the halls, nodding to a couple of the girls that she knew were going with her on the midnight breakout.
"I can't wait for tonight," Kitty murmured to people under her breath, looking at Lydia and smiling. "The boys are so cute when they're confused." Lydia noticed that the males of the house seemed to be under the impression that some of the girls were talking about them, so they strutted along. In reality, all of the girls were talking about the partying and none of them were so stupid that they speak about it blatantly in front of the professor and the other teachers, especially the telepaths. Instead, code words were pulled from memories long ago and everyone but the males and the adults seemed to be in on the secret.
"How big is this going to be?" Ritzie wondered to herself, looking at the girls while they talked outfits and traded items that would probably never see their original closets again. Exchanging clothes was supposedly a great way to get people to know you, but Ritzie just thought that people were strange. She walked outside and shivered in the wind before she settled in the garden to watch people coming and going.
Wolverine was outside as well, but the girl tried to avoid him as much as possible. He knew her secret, so she didn't want him to bring it up in front of the wrong ears. In order to do that, all she had to do was avoid conversing with the guy. It really wasn't all that hard, either. Logan wasn't the type to talk someone's ear off, especially about something he wasn't interested in.
Ritzie watched everything move at a fast rate around her, ignoring the fact that she was hungry and cold. It was just one of those days and the girl didn't feel like letting people know anything about her other than the fact of her existence, which would be a little hard to hide.
Before the girl could fall asleep out there, she went in for dinner, which was an eerily silent affair. No one had anything on their minds but the coming party, or why the girls were acting so strange. No one would talk about the party, so no one talked. The teachers probably noticed something was up, which would explain why once dinner was over everyone went back to their rooms and the teachers patrolled the house, wondering why everyone was so strangely silent. Ritzie squealed at the outfit the girls had chosen earlier, and she put it on first, intent on using her little mirror to put on makeup she'd snuck into the school.
The girl was good with her hands, or so it appeared, because by ten Ritzie was looking glamorous and everyone who wasn't asleep had gathered in the living room, looking out for teachers. Isabella looked really cute in her outfit, and Kitty looked good in everything she wore, so all in all the girls looked stunning.
"The cameras are off," Isabella told the others. "Let's go!" Kitty smiled and Rogue took out a set of keys she'd stolen from a certain Cyclops. Jean seemed to be out of the loop this time and she was nowhere to be found. That was good because this was a girl's night out, not a teacher's night out. No one wanted her to rub it in their faces the next morning that they were tired because of a party.
The girls piled into the car and Ritzie saw for the first time exactly who was there. Rogue and Kitty were up front, with Isabella sitting pretty in the middle. A girl named Ruby, one of the students who had transferred in about the same time Lydia had, was also in the car, and Magma sat at the window seat, looking like she'd rather have been sleeping.
In the other car, there were more new girls and Jubilee, as well as a very perky Wolfsbane. It seemed that every girl in the place except Jean and a few of the other new girls was piled in two cars that were headed downtown. Everyone was dressed to kill, and the outfit Lain had thought was over the top fit right in with the others.
They drove in semi-silence, talking about nothing but the clubs they wanted to hit and the boys they hoped were still out and around. The clubs closed at two, after all. They could stay out and hit the town for a bit afterwards before going home.
"I brought a credit card if we want to get some movies for tomorrow night," Isabella announced. "I'm buying if someone else covers my drinks."
"I'll do it," Kitty volunteered. "I want some movies!" the girls laughed at the inappropriate excitement in the girl's voice. They practically jogged to keep up with her when she bolted from the car and went to the clubs. No one bothered with checking them for ID. That would have been completely unnecessary since all they wanted to do was dance. Besides, Ruby's powers were making things appear as they were not, so they could have gotten in carrying slips of paper.
The girls had a pretty good time dancing in the first club, and they didn't bother moving on to the second. There were plenty of cute older guys in college that were hanging around, and Kitty was on the verge of getting picked up by one of the older and craftier of the college boys. Luckily, Ritzie could look scary when she wanted to and she and Kitty danced most of the night with no interference.
When everyone was forced out of the place, the girls looked at each other and laughed. Most of them had ended up with a beer or two in hand, except for Rogue (because she wasn't a fan), Kitty (because she didn't want that guy putting anything in it), and Ritzie (mostly because she got yelled at every time she tried). The drivers decided, they hit the movie rental place on their way home, ignoring the looks they got as a dozen rated-seven-or-higher girls appeared in party clothes in a store at two in the morning.
"Well, that was fun," Ritzie said with a huge smile lighting up her features. Isabella, who had had probably too many to count, looked behind her and blinked a couple of times.
"You can smile?" she asked, looking surprised. Ritzie seemed hurt at that, but Isabella was completely oblivious. "I thought that the rumor about you and Kurt was completely unfounded, but I guess since you can smile you have a heart after all."
Kitty noticed that Ritzie seemed a mixture between angry at the insult and curious at the statement, so she put a hand over Isabella's mouth and hoped that the drunk girl wouldn't drool.
"What rumor?" Ritzie wanted to know.
"You asked Kurt out," Kitty said with a shrug. "You're madly in love with him. Stuff like that. It's just one of those rumors that went around with the other one about Kurt so don't worry about it."
Ritzie froze anyway, looking shocked. No one should have known about Lain's crush on Kurt except for the people who shared her head! How had someone else found out about it? Then her more rational minds bumped those thoughts out of her head and the girl relaxed. It was probably just an unfounded rumor anyway. No one knew about what had happened in the head of the girl who suffered from unrequited love and multiple personalities.
None of the girls spoke after that and everyone was very glad when they made it home without anyone barfing on the seats. No one wanted to clean that up and it seemed that the girls in the other car had made it home as well, although Rogue seemed to be happy she was no longer driving.
The girls piled into the house, intent on calling it a night, but they stopped when the light turned on before they could flip the switch. "Hello, girls," a female voice greeted them from behind. The girls turned and saw Storm standing in the doorway, with the professor next to her and Jean behind them both. None of them looked happy and Storm seemed to be the angriest, if the sudden gust of wind in the house had anything to say about it. A few seconds later, Beast, Scott, and Wolverine had joined the group of angry teachers and the girls were evenly numbered, bordering on outnumbered, by the people they were going to have to con, especially if you only counted the sober ones.
"Hello, professor," Kitty said with a nervous smile. "It's a nice night outside, isn't it?" The girl laughed for a bit before she seemed to want to break under pressure. Ritzie noticed that and put an arm on her shoulder, warning Kitty with her eyes. They couldn't fess up to the crime without getting it beaten out of them. They wouldn't get another chance to party for a while, so they had to live it up while they could, no matter what the teachers said about it.
"Could you tell us where you've been for the past four hours?" Jean asked, her arms across her chest. Her fingers tapped angrily at her arm, showing off all the annoyance she had bottled up inside of her.
"Lost on the path of life?" Jubilee said uncertainly. The girls laughed from sheer nervous energy and Ritzie wished that Jean was on their side, helping them out. The professor would probably forgive them, but any of the others would get them in trouble, especially Logan. He would probably make them run laps for the next three days.
"That's a good idea," Jean told Ritzie sweetly, looking at Logan. "What would you like their punishment to be for leaving the house in the middle of the night to go partying?"
Logan smiled and the girls groaned. The hangovers they expected in the morning was nothing compared to the horrible, terrible, and evil plan that the Wolverine had made up for them to 'learn their lesson'. Still, Ritzie was a little reluctant to hand over the control once more, although when they washed off the makeup and went to sleep, none of the girls were awake enough to notice anything out of the ordinary with the girl. They just wanted to get as much sleep as possible before they were worked to the death and their parents had to be contacted.
The girls seemed to get through the hangovers just fine, although Lain made no effort to help them and looked down on the ones that got particularly drunk. They went off to school like normal, ignoring the catcalls of the boys who recognized them from the party. There was no chance they were going to acknowledge them, and the boys seemed confused, which turned into aggression when some of the males from the party thought it was okay to get within ten feet of the high school girls.
When the girls got home, their real punishment started. Logan had them wash the cars they used first, assigning some Scott's car and giving him charge to work out all of his sadistic pleasures with their hoses at his command. The girls who weren't working on the jeep were outside, gardening. The ones who weren't doing that were cleaning the Danger Room, top to bottom, without mutant powers. None of the girls looked happy about the punishments, but they really couldn't do anything about it. Kitty decided that she wouldn't complain even once, so there was no chance the others would. That would have been rude and it would have just slowed them down.
Lain cleaned without a word to any of the girls. It was hours before she was allowed to have a break, but they had finished many of their chores for the day by then and she was happy with t he result. Unfortunately, they had training after that and then they had more things to clean before they went to bed. It seemed that they were going to be under house arrest for the next few days, and Lain wouldn't have been surprised if Logan tried to extend the free labor for a couple of months. With it getting colder outside because of an approaching storm, most of the students would be happy to make messes that the girls had to clean up after.
"Still," Kitty sighed, wiping her forehead. "It was fun."
"Let's watch that movie sometime," Isabella added, grinning at the other girls while all of them worked at cleaning the Danger Room. They all worked just a little faster, much to Logan's dismay. The point of the exercise had been to destroy their morale, not increase it. He was going to have to work them harder than before to get them to never do that again.
Obviously, he had failed before. Kitty was a repeat offender and Jean looked more like she was angry that she didn't get to go than that they went. Now, if the girls could turn Scott to the dark side, they would have everything they needed for another clean getaway. They had gotten pretty far without the older kids, and now they would be able to get even more because they could semi-rely on Jean as an ally.
"I vote we watch it tonight, while Wolverine is sleeping," Ruby told the other girls, looking around to make sure the wrong ears didn't hear her. "I've got a DVD player in my room." The message was passed down quickly and none of the girls could find any fault with the plan, especially since they were already in trouble. The worse Logan could do would be to add more punishment, and that was nothing compared to the load they already had to do. If he had his way, they would work until their graduation, and that was perfectly alright with many of them.
Lain sighed while she worked, wondering what she had gotten herself into. There was no way she was this type of girl, although it was plenty of fun to do. She hadn't gotten close to another person for a very long time, and as it was it seemed she was having a perfect day for social friendships. If Kurt and his friends showed up, it would have been truly perfect indeed.
When the girls moved outside, Lain had a small heart attack. Sitting in the garden were Kurt and his friends, and all of them stared at the girls who were serving their punishments. Kitty smiled broadly while she trimmed bushes, trying to keep as much pride as she could while she was serving as a servant to a sadistic mutant.
The whole group worked like that, not allowing Logan to see them sweat. He would probably load more work onto them, but they were going to watch that movie tonight and nothing would stop them. Nothing could bring them down unless they wanted it to, even the laughter of the guy they lived with and his two friends.
"We should have trashed Scott's car," Isabella sighed, pulling up weeds. "It would have been worth it to see the look on his face when he found barf in the seats."
The girls laughed, and that was house they made it through their day. There would have been no other way to survive, but they managed somehow. Logan wasn't happy with the results, but it was hard to ruin the moods of girls when they were promised a secret movie night.
Well, movie night! What will happen next, I wonder? Well, I don't wonder since I know, but you all can wonder. Remember, review. I know I get enough hits on the story to make a measly ten no challenge. I'll give special hugs to whoever can point out my nerdy British reference, too. Until next time, ciao.