Disclaimer: I don't own any characters except Irbis and several innocent short-lived bystanders; everything else is Marvel's only.
7. The Farewell Party
Irbis had hoped to feel confident in her sleeveless black dress, the one she'd worn in Albany; instead she was just feeling nervous. Creed had liked the dress. She had noticed how his eyes had gone over her, back in the club in Albany. She was sure it hadn't been because of her body since the dress didn't show much skin, just her shoulders, not to mention the full skirt that came down to just above the knee wasn't insinuating either. She didn't have enough chest to call his attention either, especially with all the huge nearly exposed breasts everywhere else.
When Irbis had put it on in her room, she had immediately felt nervous though. It made her think of him. Especially because she was finally leaving New York, going to the far off California! They'd just told her, so Irbis hadn't yet had the chance to write him a letter. But the thought of having attained her goal – getting away from the X-Men – was heady and she told herself that was why she was nervous. Now get your head up and enjoy your victory.
Of course the other women's clothes squashed whatever headiness she might have been feeling. Their clothes and their bodies. It took her a while to understand the outing had been planned for quite some time and that Irbis had only been invited to tag along because Jubilee had nagged their ears off and Kitty had put in a good word. That just made her feel unwelcomed by the rest of the group and added to her nervousness.
Oh well, at least she'd have all this mess cleared up in no time! And then… Irbis breathed out. Then she simply had to clear that other mess with Creed. Victor. Because she had it all cleared in her mind already, it just needed dealing with the man, really. If she could go back to Wausau… to her herb garden, her piano, her Portuguese guitar… After all, the man was gone for months and months at a time! So what if they had sex when he showed up? Two weeks every three months, probably. She would be like a mistress. Some women might even say that arrangement would beat marriage!
"Welcome to… the Hellfire Club!"
Irbis snapped out of her reverie and smiled, honestly. Jubilee had arranged her outing with the best of intentions and Irbis was grateful. Even if their friendship was going to fade away in no time.
Jubilee jumped off the car. She was electrified, making Irbis wonder if this was her first time at that nightclub. Kitty, Rogue and Oro Munroe (Irbis still hadn't been able to understand what her name really was) looked at the sixteen year old with a patronising smile, but Paige just rolled her eyes, exasperated.
The nightclub was fit for kings. Golden accents here and there, chandeliers of glimmering crystals… and the band! It was almost an orchestra complete with three violinists; a grand piano; ooh, a cello!; flutes and…
"They're over there," Jubilee called out loudly. "Hey, guys!"
Snapping from the dream band, Irbis noticed the reproaching glances and fell back a bit, distancing herself from the group. Irbis had been to upscale places a few times. Enough so to have been deadly embarrassed when Creed had pushed her into such a restaurant, back in Chicago, in cheap, bland clothes. This place was something else entirely, and Jubilee was being mortfyingly childish and crass in the eyes of the locals.
Walking behind, Irbis could enjoy the way the older women – Oro and Rogue – bore themselves regally. The Paige girl was trying to feign coolness and at ease, but the stiff way she held herself yelled self-conscioussness and insecurity. At least Jubilee's crass easiness protected her from being bullied, Irbis thought; the other girl would be eaten alive if the pretentious vultures around got to her.
"Come an' join us, Mesdemoiselles!" Gambit, the French speaking guy, swiftly motioned the ladies to a nearby table as he called the waiter. "Garson!"
Jubilee had already grabbed a chair and was now sitting at the guys' table, as Gambit directed two waiters to bring the tables closer together.
"We weren't expecting such a large company," said the blond rich guy, Warren.
He was full of himself, like most guys who were born rich, but he wasn't arrogant. The way Paige walked up to him, though, Irbis got the distinct idea that the girl was a country mouse of sorts trying to make believe she was at home in the big rich city for the guy's benefit.
"Isabel will be leaving us shortly." Oro explained, sitting down with grace, "and Jubilee wanted her to have a farewell party."
"Yeah, and it was such a pity I couldn't get a hold of her new boyfriend!" Jubilee leaned on Logan's arm, while Paige rolled her eyes, annoyed, and hissed at the teen to shut up. "Poor ol' Mike had to go back home, back in… Kansas, wasn't it, Isabel? 'Cause he was only here on work, you know, and…"
Irbis sat down at the furthest end of the table, not wanting to impose on the group and hoping no one would be interested in more details about Mike. She wouldn't want to be caught lying by Logan and she wasn't sure hiding under a cover of shy reserve would cut it. She had barely sat down, though, when Warren noticed her.
"Don't sit that far away, Isabel! We won't be able to hear any of what you say."
Gracious smile on her lips, she nodded and came closer. By now, Paige was sitting next to Warren, effectively arresting his attention on her comments over the club. It was her first time there too, Irbis realised.
"But California's only, what, 1,000 miles from Kansas?" Chirped in Jubilee, who was flowing over the edge with excitement and completely ignored the "closer to 2,000" correction from Rogue. "He'll be able to come and visit all the time! Because, let's get real, people, you just can't compare California and Kansas. There's, like, nothing to compare. California is the place to be and Mike will just have to face the fact and move over there."
Irbis swallowed a chuckle, noticing how 'Wolvie' just drank his beer, completely ignoring the younger girl.
"What d'ya do t' de petite? She sound like she fell in a swimming-pool o' coffee an' drank it all!"
"We let her tag along," answered Oro, "when perhaps we should have left her behind…"
"As if ya could have!"
"Shut up already, Jubilee! Don't speak so loud. Everyone's looking!" And Paige herself looked around, conscious of the disapproving glares.
Warren waved a hand, as if it were nothing, but Logan shook his head.
"Paige's right, darlin'. Ya better keep yer voice down a bit."
"Oh, come on, Wolvie. I'm not talking that loud."
Kitty was just turning to glance at the waiter who was about to set a drink in front of her when she gasped.
"What's wrong, sugah?"
Frowning, her lips pressed tight, Kitty waited for the waiter to leave before whispering over the table.
"When I looked around just now, I think I saw… over by the bar… I'm almost sure it was Sabretooth…"
For a moment, Irbis felt she was having a heart attack.
"It was." Logan's voice was almost a growl.
Oh, God and Our Lady of Fatima! She was having a heart attack! Breathe, she told herself, and brought her drink abruptly up.
"We met 'im a little while ago," explained Gambit. "He's…
"And he's still here!?" Jubilee's voice was almost a shriek.
She took a sip but couldn't swallow it down. Act normal, her head screamed. Act normal!
"Quiet down, kid. This is the Hellfire Club," Warren looked just as serious as Gambit. "No one messes with anyone in here without getting kicked out. We can't go and kick his ass, just like he can't come and bother us. Rules of the house."
Oh, thank God, they hadn't noticed her reaction.
"Dumb rules, if you ask me."
Please, don't notice…
"Maybe, Jubilation; but they must still be kept no matter how we feel about them." Oro's calm put a stop to that subject and a heavy silence came over them.
They were going to notice. Especially the Logan guy, Wolvie.
"So…" Rogue's eyes came to rest on her Cajun's face, "and what have you, boys, been up to?"
He just had to take one look at her and…
"We? Not'ing special, chér…"
Irbis got up abruptly. "I'm sorry, where is… a… de… uh… basroom. Bathroom."
Okay, maybe she should have thought this through as they were now staring at her.
"The restroom," Oro offered, "is a bit beyond the bar, to the right."
Face burning, she nodded and left, the word stupid echoing endlessly in her mind. Even because she had no idea what 'beyond' meant so she just wandered blindly around the bar until she spotted the doors. Then she headed in and locked herself in a restroom stall and, finally, took a deep breath. Hands trembling, she fished her cell phone from the bag and dialed Creed's number.
Calling, calling, calling… Voice mail. Irbis switched it off, frustrated, and started punching in a message.
"Fone me pleise can explicate"
She looked at the message before sending it. Drats, phone should be spelt with ph and please was wrong too, she was sure. She had written down a list of all the words she used the most when writing to the man and please was one of them. Why did her memory refuse to work when it came to spellings?! She just hoped the word explicate existed as she sent the message.
Unless… the thought sobered her almost into indigestion. Unless he had been to Wausau, had read all her letters... She quickly wrote 'I go to California tomorow' and hit send.
Wait a minute! If he had been to Wausau, if he had read all her letters… why hadn't he contacted her? Why… Was he stalking her? He had read all her letters and he had the nerve to come down and spy on her? Without having the decency of letting her know he knew about the whole mess?! After leaving her for three blasted months, no contacts, no nothing, agonising over her honest-to-God mistake…!
"Isabel?"
Jubilee. As silently as possible, Irbis took a deep breath and put her phone away, making sure it had no sound and wouldn't vibrate either.
"Isabel? Are you OK?"
"A minute," she called out from the stall.
She had to get her head straight. Maybe he hadn't contacted her because he feared it might be intercepted by the X-Men. She shook her head. The hell he did! Victor Creed was not afraid of anything. And if he was, he'd probably brave it just to make sure nobody suspected it! No, if he hadn't contacted her it was simply because he was playing games with her. She had been nothing but straightforward and honest with the man, and what did he do? He tried to play games and manipulate her. Well! Two can play at that game, mister! And put an end to it too.
Breathing in and out (pretty much like he had taught her when he was teaching her how to throw, too), Irbis flushed the unused toilet and got ready to greet Jubilee with a smile.
The girl frowned. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" Maybe she said it too strongly, but she was still angry, and the idea was still very fresh, still growing. "I had a great idea to have fun in my last night here. So, my good friend Jubilee, please go back to de table, ok? "
Jubilee was suspicious, naturally. Who wouldn't? Irbis was acting out of character, for all the girl knew. Sighing, she hugged Jubilee for a moment.
"You can think I'm crazy, but I am going to have fun, you understand? Like when I was wid my friends… home."
She had done some crazy things, when she was out with her friends. But she had never done them alone; tonight would be a novelty on that level. As they left the restroom and Irbis stayed behind, watching Jubilee walk up to the X-Men's table, she could see the group was having fun. Then she looked around. She could not see Creed anywhere and she hoped he hadn't left.
The band was coming to the close of a song: it was time to start the show. Irbis took a deep breath and, before the band could pick up a new piece, she had climbed up to the low stage. She was aware that a security guard had suddenly left his position.
"Tom Traubert Blues," she said, leaning over the pianist's shoulder. "Rod Stewart version."
The singer frowned at her, so she stepped up closer to him and challenged him with a wink.
"Wasted and wounded" she sang, just loud enough for the band to hear and realise she could sing, "and it ain't what de moon did… I've got mo' dan I paid for now."
The security guard was already there, but the singer was smiling, signaling the pianist who overlooked the opening and picked up where she was. So Irbis took a step back, leaned on the piano and accompanied the singer.
"See you tomorrow
Hey Frank, can I borrow…"
Of course no one else could hear her. She was pretty much singing in whispers and the man was singing into a microphone. So she mouthed a few more lines before dropping even that pretence. Although, truth be said, she was pretty certain that, if she were to be heard, folks would quickly realise she spoke gibberish every now and then, since she didn't really understand all of the words. She lacked Bruna at her side, telling her how to pronounce the lyrics.
The three violins joined in with the chorus and Isabel felt her blood soar, thrilled.
"waltzing Matilda… waltzing Matilda…"
Without thinking, she sang the chorus a bit louder, more freely, and then sailed off the stage, swirling so as to make her skirt flare up.
"You'll go waltzing Matilda with me"
It was now or never! She curtseyed an invisible dancer and set herself in position.
"No-one speaks English"
Then she started dancing, alone. Swirling slowly about with a smirk. Provoking, if Creed could see it.
"And my strength is soaking away
To go…"
With the violin, she picked up pace and swirled, swirled, swirled!
"… waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda"
Till she thought she might lose balance and the chorus came to an end.
"You'll go a waltzing Maltida with me"
She hesitated one moment, her head recovering its bearings, but then her feet moved once more, with certainty, rocking her to the melancholic rhythm. For a swift moment, she risked losing concentration and searched for his face in the crowd. Instead, she saw what she figured was mockery and amusement.
"Mock all you want," she thought with mocking glee. "He, wherever he's hiding, he isn't mocking. He's seething!"
Her smile grew wider and she bit her lower lip. "Can you see me, hun? Can you?" Would he remember what she had told him, that a woman dancing alone is asking for a man to join her? "Join me if you dare!"
"To go waltzing Matilda, waltzing Matilda
You'll go a waltzing Matilda with me"
She swirled harder. It was coming to an end, now.
"And it's goodnight to the street-sweepers,
The night watchmen flame-keepers"
Goodnight, then, goodnight. She allowed her movements to become slower, heavier.
"And goodnight Matilda"
Two more swirls, farewell, fare-thee-well, her skirt soaring gently one last time before coming to rest with a sigh.
"Goodnight Matilda"
As the orchestra flew lazily to its well-deserved finale, Irbis glided towards the low stage. Had she sung, alongside the singer, she'd have received a bout of applause, she knew.
"You are magnificent," she glowed to the musicians. "Bravo! And thank you."
She walked back to the X-Men's table as if she owned the place. Ah, it was good to feel like herself again! And Creed! Creed would be gawking at her daring, her confidence. Oh, he already knew what she was like when she was stubborn or angry, or at least he had an inkling. But he had always complained about her low head, her shyness… Tonight though!
"One Porto wine," she called out to a waiter as the man was passing by. "Old vintage."
The young man nodded and carried on and Irbis swirled in order to look at the band, now playing Rod Stewart's 'For the First Time'. The glances she'd guessed mocking were nowhere to be seen, though. She remembered what she'd been told, years ago. The first time she'd been to a fancy club, actually. If you give a show with confidence (and grace, but that went without saying), you're the greatest; but if you hesitate… you're nothing but a lowly clown.
She was the queen of the world, tonight! Dared she to sing, and she'd be its damned Empress!
"What the hell got into you tonight!" Shrieked Jubilee, delighted at her craziness it seemed.
She glanced at Rogue, her gloved hand in Gambit's; she glanced at Paige, looking surreptitiously at a louder laughter, some tables behind her. Oh, she was provocative tonight! She even looked the grumpy Wolverine, always so suspicious of her, dead in the eye.
"Is a magnificent band to dance, neh? So… you couples don't dance?"
And she wanted nothing but to provoke Creed into… Ah, this was so not wise. But damn if it wasn't worth it! Teach him to contact her next time.
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