Disclaimer: I do not own Sky High.
Two weeks had passed since the weekend in Naples. Gambit had remained in Maxville, per the Professor's orders, and there had been not a single argument between himself and Ivy. They had calmly, even pleasantly lived together, as if they were simply roommates. They went about their days' separately, and only at night would they share meals together in the apartments' kitchen, or they would join the rest of their gang for a night out.
Trent finally asked out Dara, who said yes, more so to make Warren jealous than to actually be with Trent. Layla had begun to drift closer to Gambit and farther from Will. Lash and Magenta shared a not-so-innocent kiss, which they decided to explore more and had steadily begun to date. And Zach developed a crush on Taylor, who remained happily attached to Speed. Life returned to its dramatic teenage life, and left it's Superhero world behind.
The first week in May had been warmer than usual. Zach attributed the weather to Global Warming, while the rest just decided it was nice out. The group had set a date for dinner on the first Friday of May to celebrate their last month left in Sky High, but somehow all ten of them, excluding Gambit and Ivy, had to cancel for one reason or another. After the cancellations, Ivy was ready to change back into her gym shorts and tank top when Gambit stopped her and convinced her that just because the rest of them canceled didn't mean they shouldn't still go celebrate. In Gambit's mind, days of the week that ended in "day" was a reason to celebrate.
He dragged Ivy across the entire town to a small, quaint Thai restaurant, all against her will. They sat in silence most of the time, occasionally exchanging an awkward sentence or two. They had never really been friends, mostly Gambit had just talked at her, so now that she would respond, both were completely unsure of what to say. Dinner passed slowly, and as soon as the check came, both Ivy and Gambit instinctively reached for it. Playing tug of war for a quick minute, Ivy gave up and let Gambit pretend he was a man.
Walking to the car, Ivy hadn't realized she'd left her jacket back in the restaurant until Gambit offered her his.
"I should go back and get it. I don't know when I'll be back on this side of town… Gambit." She gave him a semi-mean glare before smiling at his nonchalant shrug. She turned back towards the restaurant to see a waiter walking towards them, holding her black Guess jacket.
"You left this." He held it out to her, with a sweet smile.
She smiled back as she retrieved it from him. "Thanks." As she took the coat from him, her fingertips brushed his momentarily. A bright image floated into her mind and she struggled to make it out. She saw him standing with Dylan, half-changed, snarling and biting towards her. She felt herself backed into a corner, and she knew there was no way out.
The sensation was over before she had time to realize it really happened, and she stared at him in shock. He either hadn't realized it happened, or he was very good at hiding it. She quickly caught herself and smiled at him again. When returning the smile, his mouth curled in the right corner in a way that told her it was definitely the ladder.
"You and your boyfriend have a good night." He nodded his head curtly.
Gambit opened his mouth to reject the statement, and Ivy overrode it. "We will, thank you." The man straightened his serving outfit and went back the way he came. Ivy whipped around and grabbed Gambit's hand, leading him as fast as she could away from the restaurant without causing a scene, or being too obvious.
"Ah was unaware da Cher and Warren were not together anymo'." He was confused and amused.
"Absolute. One of Dylan's." She whispered under her breath, and felt Gambit tense under her hand. He walked faster, and squeezed her hand in return.
They returned to Ivy's apartment as fast as possible, locking and bolting the door behind them. Gambit raced to close the blinds, and Ivy went straight to her room to lock her ever-open window. She went back to the living room to find Gambit standing by the window, looking through a sliver of uncovered glass. When he saw her standing near him, looking over his shoulder he moved aside and looked at her.
"Cher, whatever you did to dem – dey no happy 'bout it." He kept his face blank and studied her reaction.
"I didn't know. I never thought it'd get this far. I don't understand why he won't let it go." She sank away from the window and plopped onto her coffee table, back hunched in defeat.
Gambit moved slowly over to the redwood table bearing the ocean-eyed Super. He sat down next to her and simply looked at her. A small tear slid from the corner of her eye and burst into a tiny flame on the back of her hand. Gambit hesitantly reached across their laps and enlaced his rough, calloused fingers in hers, giving a small, reassuring squeeze.
"Ivy." She looked up at Gambit devilish red and black eyes, glowing in the dark room. "It isn't your fault. Dere was no way of knowing it'd happen dis way. But it did. And now we need to fix it. Once and for all, if you ask Gambit."
She gave him a small smile. "You're right. It's time to end this." Her gaze went passed Gambit, and focused somewhere that wasn't her immediate apartment. "It's time to end this now." She stood silently and returned to her room.
Eeek, 13 left!