Chapter 10 - Camping weekend, Activity 1

Friday

Raven smiled when she saw the Sun light showing up from behind the dark clouds, "Thank you, Storm." The blue woman said, "Thanks to you our weekend would be ruined."

"Don't mention it. I know what this weekend means to you, and how much hard was to convince everyone to join us. It is a good idea to camp, the Lightening People have been among us for a weak, some new mutants joined us, old enemies are becoming our allies…" Ororo smiled to the other woman, she was learning to trust her. Mystique had been doing all the dirty work that Logan came up with and she also started to think a little like an X-Men. And now, she arranged everything for the weekend –the activities, the teams, the place, the weather with Ororo's help, the transportation… everything.

"So, are we going to stay near any town?" asked Jubilee.

"Of course not!" exclaimed an eager shape shifter. "We're going to the woods, with no civilization near us, so we can use our powers and have fun." She informed them at the same time she helped Kitty and Bobby, who were putting their tends and bags into a jeep.

"Are we going hunting too?" asked Catja, "I don't really like to hunt, many foxes die during that sport."

"Don't worry, Fox, I didn't plan anything like hunting or fishing, but activities much more enthusiastic."
"Well, thanks for that, but what are we going to eat, then?"

Mystique froze looking at the girl with the pointy hears. She forgot that a detail, the food. "I…uh…"

"You forgot, Mystique?!" John yelled. "How could you forget the most important thing in our lives? Or is it a plan to kill us by starvation."

"I'm sorry…I…I think we can pass through some village and buy some food." Mystique suggested.

"Don't worry, I'll prepare some food to take." Offered Rogue. "Some quick and delicious food, don't you worry!"

"Oh my God, don't let her cook… no, no, no" murmured some of the X-Men, "Rogue, your food is horrible" Jubilee said what everyone wanted to say.

"Wha--?" Rogue felt puzzled, she loved to cook, and her food couldn't be that bad.

"I rather eat plants…" Logan murmured to Ororo, who punched him in the arm.

"I can help Rogue." Dave's voice was cold and serious like always and for a moment everyone fell in silence not knowing if they could trust him. "I promise you I am a good cook." He spoke without taking his eyes off of Rogue, making her wander why was he being so distant with her if two days ago he was resting under a tree next to her.

"No!" John, Mystique and Logan said suddenly, which made Rogue even more puzzled. The girl stared to the three trying to understand what the problem was.

"Is my cook that bad?"

" I…huh…I…" John stuttered a little. He didn't mean to say that out loud, but he just didn't trusted that guy. He said he could read someone's feelings and desires, which means he could easily manipulate anyone. And the way he was looking to Rogue was scary; somehow, John felt some sort of a tension between Dave and Rogue. "I mean, Rogue ruins any food she touches. Have you tried one of her cakes?"

Mystique also came out with an excuse, "I need her to drive one of the Jeeps, since she's the only one that Logan taught to drive in the woods. And you can go meet us in a bike." But the truth was that Mystique also noticed the way the young man looked at Rogue.

Logan walked towards the mutant from the Lightening People only stopping when they both were face to face. They were about the same size, both bodies well built, though Wolverine' shoulders were a little wider. "Listen, punk," Wolverine started, "I don't trust you at all, you mind reader, and next time I catch you reading Rogue's thoughts or anyone else's…" he popped out his calws, "…You'll taste these friends of mine."

Despite they're being too close to each other, Dave was able to move a little closer, "I'm not a simple mind reader and you should worry to hide your own little dark desires, Logan."

"Enough." Professor X came out with Jean. "You all should go now and enjoy the day. Logan, I'm sorry but I need you to stay with Jean and Beast. There's something I need you to see."

Logan sent Dave a last threatened glare and went inside the Mansion.

"I'll meet you in the woods, then." Said Dave and went to the kitchen to prepare some food.

"We're taking four Jeeps, people." Announced Mystique . "And each Jeep will leave the mansion in different directions. You all have a map with two references witch: the point you leave and the point you should arrive at."

"Orientation, huh?"

"Exactly. The first team to arrive will have the best place to camp: with tree shadows in the morning, nice pavement and near the river; the second and third Jeep arriving of course will have the second best places; and the last team, well, rough pavement, too much sunlight in the morning, near some insect nests and will have to walk one hour to arrive to the river."

"Damn…"

They all were silent during the first 15 minutes of traveling, however the excitement of being alone for a weekend made them forget all about what happened before.

"Yeeeeeiii! We're all alone for a whole weekend!" Bobby exclaimed and lay his arm on Kitty's shoulders.

"You are not all alone, young man." Ororo said while driving the Jeep. "You have activities and responsibilities."

Pietro laughed, "No offense, but you think you and Raven we'll be able to look after all of us?"

"Well, I expect you all are mature enough to be capable to take care of yourselves."

Wanda laughed, "Don't worry, Storm, the girls will take care of the boys."

"I don't need you to be taken care of!" argued Pietro, "Anyway, this map is easy to follow; we're getting there in no time."

Gerard, Catja and Anna were in the same Jeep. Dave would be on that team when he arrived so while cooking in the mansion he was also praying for them not to arrive in last. Catja, the fox girl, felt a little bad for being in that team, she was the youngest and she enjoyed the company of the X-Men. These two were…too quiet and angry (and Dave was too quiet and cold…). So she leaned back and let Medusa and the invisible man take care of that activity, she was too scared to say anything.

Rogue was driving the last Jeep, with John sitting next to her staring at the map.

"So…? Left or right, John?" asked Rogue.

"Well…huh…"

"You don't know how to read a map, do you?"

"Of course I do, who do you think I am?!"

Rogue sighed and looked into the rearview mirror to see Remy and X-23 that were sitting on the back sit, "Hey, guys, anyone knows how to read a ---?"

Kiss, Kiss, intimate touches, KISS

"…What the HELL do you think you're doing back there?!" exploded Rogue.

X-23 ditch Remy roughly, "I'm sorry, it's his fault. He can't take his hand off of me!"

"That's, ma chère, it's because you're so damn irresistible."

Rogue blushed and shouted "You guys stop that?! You have plenty of time to…to…do that…when…in the woods…"

"In the woods…?" Remy spoke as if he was picturing the situation. "Nice…We definitely have to try that, X."

and back to the rough kisses and intimate touches

Rogue blushed even more, "AH—STOP THAT!"

"No use, Rogue," John said calmly, "Gambit finally found out how to copulate."

*strong smack in John's head*

"HEY!"

"For your information, Remy here has more experience than you can imagine."

"That much, huh?" asked X-23.

Remy hugged the young woman once again, "Aaww, don't be jealousy, my sweet cupcake. All that experience was preparing me to be the perfect mate in your sweet, sweet disflower time."

"Cu..cupcake? … sweet disflower time?"

Noticing that Rogue was looking troubled, John placed his hand over Rogue's gloved hand and asked her "Are you alright?"

All blushed and uncomfortable, she looked from his hand to his eyes (which were, she noticed, truly attractive) and then to the car ceiling, "CAN ANYONE PLEASE TELL ME WHERE TO TURN?!!!"

"Go right," answered Remy. "that path is more rural and we're going to the woods, must be the right one."

"What?" asked John not being satisfied with his explanation?

"You sure?"

"Trust me Rogue."

Rogue assented and turned right.

"Rogue…that was a stupid explanation, you know that, right?!"

"Hmpf, at least he had an answer."

"This is so careless…" murmured John.

Colossus team was also having some trouble in finding the way. The four in the car kept shouting to each other, saying different directions till they finally reach a dead end.

"I told you guys this wasn't the way!" Yelled Jubilee.

"We must have turned wrong on the last intersection." Said Angel while looking to the map.

"No way! It was before that!" argued the girl.

"Why are you yelling?!" asked an anger Angel, "You're always so calm and relaxed."

"That's when I'm not in a competition and this is one!! And I'm so not going to sleep near the ants!"

"Ants?"

"Colossus, turn back the Jeep and follow my leads! Angel, give me back the map and keep quiet! Nightcrawler teletransport yourself to that village we passed through and ask for direction!"

"Teletransport? Isn't that cheating…?"

"Why is she calling us by our code names?"

"So bossy…"

"NOW!" ordered Jubilee a last time, and the three men did what she said.

Colossus team… no, wait, Jubilee team was not the first to arrive, but they were happy to be second place, together with the LP team. Ororo's team arrived in first place and settled the tents right away. I don't need to say that Rogue and the others were going to sleep with the ants.

When Mystique and Dave arrived in a bike with the food (yeah, Raven had a stomachache and had to go to the bathroom…) Rogue's team was still not there. They waited for a while, but when the sun started to vanish they went to look for them.

Standing beside the Jeep, Rogue and X-23 were staring at the map while waiting for the boys that insisted they needed to take a leak.

"Waaaah!" exclaimed Remy while he stretch his arms up, "That was a relief." He then came to hug his girlfriend but she popped her claws out in the middle of them.

"Don't you even think to put those dirty hands near me!"

"But chère, how can I resist? The sun is almost gone; we probably have to sleep on that back seat, really tight."

Hearing Remy's words, Rogue grabbed John's arm, "What? Sleeping here, in the woods? For real?"

"Well, Rogue, that's the idea of camping you know?" Said John at the same time he tried to let his arm loose, because the young woman was clasping a little too hard.

"But, John…only the four of us? All alone in the woods…at night?" she clasped his arm even harder.

"Ouch! Rogue! You're hurting me!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, super strength."

"What are you afraid, anyway?" asked John, rubbing his bruised arm. "Haven't you fight many mutants already?"

"But…but" *sobs* "that's different…at night, in the woods, there are… *sobs*…monsters…"

John sighed and Remy was about to laugh when a frightened, little voice came from X-23. "Monsters?" she asked, and grabbed Rogue's hands, "What kind of monsters, Rogue?"

"Oh, chère! There are no monsters…"

"Rogue, stop scaring the girl." Said John. "Let's get back into the Jeep."

They drove a little further, but they was still lost (although the boys would never confess that).

"Wait!" exclaimed Rogue. "I have an idea!"

"What?"

"X, don't you have a super nose sense or something, like Wolverine?"

"Yeah, so…?"

The other three stared at her for a moment (Rogue and John were all turned to the back seat) but the girl seemed not to understand the idea. John finally said it out loud, "Well…go sniff Mystique around. You know her scent."

"Wha---? I'm not a dog!!!" she yelled.

"No one is saying that!" exclaimed Pyro, "You're just being useful!"

"You're treating me like an animal! Gambit, do something!"

"Well, love…"

"What? You too want me to go sniff like a dog?"

"Wolverine does it all the time, X." said Rogue.

"No way!"

"Please…" Rogue sobbed, "…before the monsters awakening…it's already night…"

John couldn't believe it! That was having an actual effect on X-23, who began to sob too and nodding in agreement.

*KNOCK!* *KNOCK* *KNOCK*

They weren't expecting that someone in the middle of the night, in the woods would come and knock in the window next to Rogue. We can't forget that the theme of the discussion between the four mutants was about monsters, the reaction couldn't be any other than:

"AAAHHHHHH!!!!!!!" a collective scream.

Rogue grabbed Pyro's jacket collar, knowing that someone (no, something!) had just knocked in her window, and they both scream in each other's face.

Gambit pulled X-23 to him and hugged her and the two screamed with eyes shut and hugging.

"Ah…" said the person outside, not expecting a reaction like that. "Are you…ok?"

It was Catja (the Fox), Bobby and Kitty. Catja sniffed a shirt that Kitty had loaned from Rogue and they easily found them. They just didn't expect them to found in such state. However, they didn't dare to make fun of them, because the four were too angry with the situation and they could kill someone with a single glance.

::So? What do you think of this chap? Hope you enjoyed it ^^::