Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High.

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The second week of a rainy April passed, and Friday afternoon had come before any of the group had noticed. For weeks they had all been planning a weekend trip to Taylor's vacation house in Florida. It was a large beach house that her family rotated between themselves, and she'd been given permission to take her friends down for a weekend. Since Ivy's apartment was the central location between all their houses, everyone had brought their packed gear over to her place throughout the week so they could all go straight to the apartment and leave together right after school. The bus pulled up at her stop, and Zach and Layla were the first off and running down the street towards Ivy's. Will, Warren, Lash and Speed trailed out next, unable to contain their laughter at Zach's sad excuse for running. Magenta, Taylor, Dara and Ivy were last off the bus, thanking the driver and wishing him a good weekend. Trent was unable to join them for the weekend, but he made sure they knew he was demanding many a photo.

The rowdy group of ten finally made it the few blocks to Ivy's apartment to find a tall man in a brown trench coat standing outside her building. He flipped a deck of cards over in his hands, shuffling and fiddling with them, but not nervously; just 'cause. The entire group stopped as they saw him look up at them. Ivy and Magenta's laughter died as they realized everyone else was silent and not moving. The two girls looked at each other before Ivy pushed through the group. She got to the front and dropped her bag as she saw the combat boots and the gloves that only had the thumb, middle, and ring fingers covered.

"You're not serious." Ivy's once happy mood had vanished leaving no trace of ever having existed.

"Cher. Did you miss Gambit?" His black and red eyes bore into hers, as a devilish, wicked grin crept onto his lips.

Ivy didn't dignify his question with a response, but instead picked up her bag and ran passed the strange man into her building. Gambit tore after her, and the rest of her friends followed close behind.

Ivy ripped open her apartment door and grabbed the landline phone. She dialed furiously, and when there was no answer on the other line, she threw the phone at Gambit's head, causing a look of shock and utter amusement to plague his face as he ducked out of the line of fire. Layla yelped as the phone hit the wall right next to her, and she closed the door behind herself since she was the last one inside. Everyone had already strewn themselves across her living room, as Ivy's face had begun to flush and her body temperature rise in anger. She screamed and growled and grabbed her cell phone from her bag. She dialed another number and began pacing back and forth.

"Xavier. You have got to be kidding."

The volume on Ivy's cell phone was loud enough that everyone in the room could hear Professor Xavier's voice as clearly as if he were standing with them. "I wondered when you'd call. Evelyn has informed me of some issues you've been having and I thought I should send one of my X-Men to help you."

Ivy cut through his sentence screaming. "I don't need a babysitter, X! And if I did, it would never be him! You couldn't have sent Rogue? Or Peter? I'd take LOGAN over him!"

"Everyone else is needed here. I asked for a volunteer, and he offered. He's been having a hard time lately, and he needs a break just as much as anyone. He'll only be with you a little while, just to make sure everything is going well."

"Everything is fine. He can go now." Her voice was all too hopeful, and she knew it.

"I want him to stay, just to make sure." Professor Xavier had kept his voice calm through Ivy's rage, and she was starting to get more than a little irritated.

"Well, that's too bad. I'm going away with my friends for the weekend, so his services aren't needed. He can go on his merry way back down to whatever rock he crawled out of this time, and he can just stay there." Ivy stared dead into Gambit's mocking eyes as she spoke to the professor and was told once again that he would remain with her until further notified. She screamed in fury and hung the phone up. She whipped around to punch the wall behind her before stomping over to where Gambit leaned his left shoulder against the wall, fiddling with his cards again.

"You so much as look at me wrong, and I will break you." She pushed his chest, and he momentarily lost his balance, grabbing hold of her arm to steady himself. He immediately jumped back after touching her bare skin, before looking at his hand and smiling at Ivy so charmingly and inappropriately that it made her sick. "Oh, you mother f--" Ivy launched her fist at his face, knuckles colliding with a chestnut brown eyebrow and terrifying red and black eye. She stormed to her room shutting the door, while he laughed hysterically at the flustered and furious girl.

Over an hour had passed, and still her friends had no idea what was going on, and still no one had any luck convincing her to come out her room. Over and over again she'd yell from the other side that she wasn't going to Florida, or leaving her room so long as he was there. Lash finally looked at Warren with pleading eyes, and Warren reluctantly rose from his comfortable chair and stalked down the hallway.

"Ivy."

"No. Make him leave."

Warren hid a smile at her stubbornness before trying again. "Ivy. Come out." He raised his left arm and rested the forearm against the door frame horizontally, as he leaned his weight into it. He looked so... Manly. Magenta and Taylor snickered at the pose.

"I'm not going. Not so long as he's here."

"You can still come with us. No one ever said that you have to speak to him, or look at him, or even be in the same room as him. Come on, Ivy. Open up." He gently kicked the door, and silence replied to it. They all heard another snarl and growl and scream mangled together as she flew her door open, bright red in the face, cheeks puffy. If she had been a cartoon, Warren was positive she'd have had steam coming out of her ears. He tried to put a comforting arm around her shoulder, but she stood stone frozen staring at the muscled, laughing man across the hallway from her. She gripped her overnight bag in one hand, and clenched the other so tightly her knuckles were disgustingly white. Warren reached down to take the bag from her hands, and gave up when he realized he would never succeed in trying to pry it away from her.

Ivy snarled again, grabbing a few things from her school bag before she held the door open for the group to file through. Gambit smiled again as he was the last one to leave.

"It's OK, Cher. Gambit missed you enough for da both of us." He passed by her, and she kicked him in the back of his right knee, making him fall and everyone turn around to look at them. She closed her door, and stepped over and around him, glaring at Warren angrily in the process.

Warren turned to Will baffled. "How is this my fault?" Will laughed and clapped a highly confused Warren on the back, before shoving him towards the staircase.

Will, Taylor and Ivy were all driving to the airport so they had enough room for everyone. Will took Layla, Magenta and Zach. Taylor had Speed and Lash, and Ivy was blessed with Dara, Warren, and now Gambit. The flight was too long for Ivy's liking; Gambit had made sure to get the seat next to her, after she'd taken the window one. He proceeded to poke her hand every few minutes, the amusement of being able to touch her never getting old, or he would kinetically charge peanuts to fling at her. He was about as mature as a twelve year old sometimes. The minute the plane landed, Ivy pushed her way past him into the aisle. Warren met her there, and she pushed him back into his seat.

"You make me sit next to him on the way back and you'll never get off my bad side." She grabbed her bag down from the overhead compartment, letting it land on Warren's head momentarily and stalked off the plane ahead of everyone else.

"What the fuck, Will." Warren growled as Will helped pull the pyro off Zach, Magenta, and Dara.

"I think you were supposed to take the seat next to her." Layla almost whispered the information, and Warren shot her a very angry look. She flashed a scared smile before hurrying off after Ivy.

The group had rented a van for the entire weekend, and since Ivy was the first one out of the airport, she was first to the van. She refused to give up the keys, and no one dared to argue with her in public, so they all squeezed into the back, while Taylor sat in the front seat to direct Ivy to the house.

Taylor's vacation house was in the wealthy Naples, Florida. A large beach front estate with had six bedrooms -- plus a guest room -- four and a half baths, and an indoor spa and hot tub. After parking the van, the gang unloaded themselves and their bags, and stood staring at the monstrous house before them.

"My grandparents were loaded, so they bought the house for my dad to share with his three brothers. Every six months they rotate who gets to take care of it. Welcome, friends." Taylor smiled and lead the way into the house.

Everyone left their bags in the main entrance, and Taylor lead them down the large hallways to the kitchen, living area, TV room, mini-bar, back yard and beach area, and finally up to the bedrooms. The girls decided it wasn't going to be a co-ed sleeping arrangement, not because they didn't trust their boys, but because they liked having girl time. Layla and Magenta shared a room, as did Dara and Taylor. Ivy claimed her own room so she didn't need to use her serum the entire weekend since she was running low. Will and Zach grabbed a room, as did Speed and Lash. Leaving Warren. And Gambit. Together. Ivy was not pleased. It was past nine when they finally settled into their rooms and had bathed and cleaned up, ready to go out and explore the town.

Layla and Dara both wore mid-length skirts and t-shirts, while Magenta stuck to jeans and a tank, and Taylor had a pair of jean shorts with an empire waist, baby-girl styled shirt, all in their respective colors. Ivy stared out her window at the ocean-view and smiled at the warm night, finally having calmed down. She pulled on a black mini skirt and black ankle boots. She tied her hair up into a sloppy ponytail, and pulled on a three-quartered sleeve, gray ribbed shirt. She left her room and ran into Zach in the hall. He was in typical white shorts and his neon yellow, white and black shirt, with black flip-flops. Ivy smiled at Zach and how happy he was to be away from Maxville. She looped her arm through his and they wondered down the hallway back towards the main staircase. Once in the foyer, Ivy set an alarm on her phone for seven thirty the next morning when her serum would wear off, and they were joined by the rest within moments.

Warren may have been happy to have a vacation, but Ivy would have never known from his black t-shirt and dark denims. She grunted at how uncreative he could be. Will was in khaki shorts and a red and blue striped shirt. Lash and Speed both stuck to jeans and t-shirts; comfortable, but not tacky. For once. Lash went straight to Ivy and draped his unusually long arm on her shoulders.

"Cheer up." Ivy glared back at him. "Or not." He gave her a quick squeeze before letting her go.

Gambit was the last to join them. He had taken off his X-Men uniform and let his hair into a low ponytail the way the Cajun was prone to do on his downtime. He had a nice blazer-type beige jacket with a black button-down, and jeans. Layla and Dara exchanged looks of... Ew. They are not actually checking him out. Ivy felt a sudden surge of nausea go through her.

"How old are you?" Dara raised at eyebrow at the Cajun.

"Too old for you, Cherie." He pat the young girl on her head as she scowled at him. He laughed at her expression and answered her question. "Gambit almost twenty-three, if da Cher must know."

"Or so he says. More like thirteen, if you ask me." Ivy mumbled, but everyone heard and chuckled at her misery. Gambit walked over to Ivy and reached out to put his arm around her, the way Lash had. "Uh-uh. Don't touch me." She put her hand in front of his face, and he smiled as he dropped his arm.

"In time, Cher. In time."

"No. And don't call me that." Ivy tossed the keys to Will. "You drive. I might be tempted to crash the car just so I don't ever have to listen to him talk again."

"Yeah, I'll drive, that sounds like a plan." Will nodded nervously and enthusiastically, and the group wondered out towards the rented van.

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Here are a few more chapters that I had written and didn't post last time, enjoy!

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