8. New job
Over the next few weeks, Miguel made himself increasingly scarce around the mansion every Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday once the sun set. He never stayed longer than a few minutes at the dinner table and only grabbed a quick bite to eat on his way out. Every once in a while, someone would ask where he was going, to which he would reply with a grunt or a 'don't ask, don't tell' remark. The more he disappeared form the mansion, the more he seemed to mellow out to the point where he would actually say more than a grunt or a single word. In fact, it started to scare some of the younger students.
When he first started to disappear at night, he had to travel on foot. But a battle with Sabortooth while he was absent fixed that problem as Logan brought the villain's motorcycle back to the mansion for the sheer spite he had for him. Miguel took it for himself after finding out Logan wanted to use it for a makeshift practice dummy to spar with.
Three Days Ago, Bayside docks:
"Come here, runt," Sabortooth growled as he charged Wolverine and rammed his elbow into the Canadian's gut. "At least give me a good time in beating you down."
"As if you could, creed." Wolverine grunted as he and the Acolyte tore into one another. Adamantium claws and just as lethal natural ones spilt blood as they held nothing back.
While the two fought between several warehouses, Pixie and Nightcrawler went to take down Pyro. His wrist mounted flame throwers engulfed anything they were aimed at and turned it to charred remains in less than a second. Nightcrawler teleported away a second before becoming a flaming pile of blue fur while Pixie had other plans.
Pyro's fire kept her at a distance, even in the air. But it couldn't keep her Pixie Dust at bay. As her blue partner distracted the fire wielder, the young girl blanketed the area with a glittery pink dust from her hands. As it settled on the flaming redheaded young man, he began to see odd shapes and colors around him. A large serpentine dragon he created from his back mounted flame thrower appeared to look like a strand of garland with a mind of its own, and he was the Christmas tree.
"What is he seeing?" Nightcrawler asked as he teleported over to a Christmas caroling Pyro.
"I don't exactly know," Pixie told him. "I know they hallucinate but I don't know what they see."
At that moment, Sabortooth crashed through a pile of wooden pallets and landed at the two X-Men"s feet with a grunt. "So, what are you gonna do to me, runt?"
"I don't know," Wolverine replied. "You never learn so that only leaves me one other option."
"Go ahead, kill me. End it the coward's way."
"Tempting, but…" Turning his back on the defeated mutant, Wolverine nodded at Pixie. "Butterfly, if you would be so kind."
Stepping forward, Pixie extended a hand and rubbed her fingers together. More of her Pixie Dust fell and sprinkled on Sabortooth's head. A few seconds later, his eyes dilated and he began to laugh like a loon, making comments about a pretty white and blue dress he was wearing and called Magneto a cheeky fellow.
"Come on. We'll give them a free pass this time." He led the other two away then stopped after a few steps when he saw Sabortooth's motorcycle. An evil grin formed on his face, frightening both young X-Men.
Now, Xavier Institute:
Coming out from the Danger Room, Logan headed for the locker room while taking his gloves off. He began to undress at his locker when he spotted Miguel coming out of the showers with a towel around his waist. He could tell the new recruit was in a hurry, most likely to work on the bike he and the others brought back with them. Being his usual charming self, Logan politely asked him to help in the kitchen seeing as he hasn't performed any chores like the rest of the live in mutants.
"Hey, Miguel, get your ass in the kitchen and help make dinner. 'Bout time you pulled your weight around here."
"What?" Miguel asked as he dressed. He had just started to put his pants and boots on when Logan turned toward him and repeated what he said.
"I said, help make dinner. You don't do any chores around here and leave the others to do the work while you disappear. Pull your damn weight."
"Ah don't see you doing anything."
"I'm training you to keep your ass alive, aren't I? Now go make dinner."
"Go fix mah byke."
"Kid-"
"Twenty one, not a kid."
"You're a kid compared to me, now go." Logan snarled.
"What?"
Facing Miguel, Logan became more irritated but took a close look at him. He knew he was just being a smart ass as he read his shirt. 'WHAT?' was written across his chest with a skull at the end. Growling, Logan held up a fist and extended his middle claw. Miguel sneered and turned to leave, forming a claw on one and returning the gesture.
"So, Megan, what's on call tonight?" Scott asked as he and Jean went to check up on her.
"Spaghetti, I think. I'm not quite sure what Logan wrote on here. Guy can't spell." She turned the slip of paper sideways and upside down but could barely make it out. "Or write too well."
"Well, I'm sure that may be what he wrote," Jean said as she grabbed an apple. "Who's helping you?"
"Don't know. He said it would be the last person he sees leave the Danger Room." Megan got a large pot out along with two boxes of noodles and sauce. "Just hope it's not Kitty."
Jean nearly choked on her bite of apple as she laughed. "God, I hope not. Her spaghetti's like soup."
"Soup would be an improvement," Scott commented.
A minute later, Miguel came bursting in through the kitchen entrance and stared at the three mutants. "Let's get this over with."
"You're helping tonight?" Megan asked in a surprised tone.
"That's what Logan said to do. Apparently, Ah need to pull my weight around here."
"We'll, uh, leave you two be." Scott backed up and dragged Jean with him out of the kitchen. The door separating the dining area and food prep area flapped back and forth a few times before settling to a close.
"You know how to cook?" Megan asked flatly as Miguel stood by the refrigerator with his arms crossed.
"Not really."
"Well," she exhaled, "fill the large pot with water and pour some salt in it then bring it to a boil. I'll get the sauce going and hamburger meat cooking.
A few minutes passed and the two were close to being finished with the meal. Bobby and Jamie had snuck in a time or two and snagged a few cookies from the jar as one of Jamie's clones distracted the two cooks before heading back into the dining area where everyone was talking.
"Okay, Spaghetti is done and the meat is cooked. How's the sauce coming along?" She glanced over at her partner as she drained the pasta and came back over to him as he removed the lid to the spaghetti topping. Unfortunately, it was at the wrong moment as a bubble formed and exploded. A few drops of the red tomato substance landed on her white blouse she had just gotten yesterday.
"Hey, what the hell?" She shrieked. "Look what you did!"
"What did Ah do now?" Miguel growled.
"You got sauce on my brand new blouse, you jerk."
"Ah did not."
"You did too, look." She showed him the area as she attempted to dab it off with a paper towel. "It's ruined!"
"It's not like it can't be cleaned."
"It can't, not this material. Rragh, I really liked this one."
"It's just a shirt. Buy another one and-"
"Just a shirt?" She asked with anger in her voice. "I'll show you just a shirt. How's this for just a shirt?" She grabbed a wooden spoon, dipped it in the sauce and slapped him in the chest. "There, now we're even."
"Hey, what the-"
"It's just a shirt, Miguel. Buy another one."
With a growl, he yanked the spoon from her hand flicked more of the sauce on her. A red streak of red crossed over her chest and face. She gasped then grabbed the pan from the stove and dumped it on his head in return. He then reached for the plastic container of Parmesan cheese, unscrewed the cap and dumped it on her.
"I hate you!" She screamed as she grabbed a hand full of spaghetti and threw it in his face.
"I hate you more!" he yelled in Spanish as he dumped the remaining sauce from a jar on her head and face.
"Speak English!"
"Make me, Tinkerbelle!"
The two grabbed whatever food they could get ahold of and had a very drawn out food fight. Pasta, sauce, meat, and cheese flew through the air until there was nothing more for them to use as weapons. They didn't stop as they grabbed what was on the floor and kept their fight going. Miguel was the first to fall as he slipped on the mess and crashed on his rear, sitting in a puddle of spaghetti sauce. Megan took the opportunity to dump the remainder of the pasta on him before she was brought down with him and received a face full of the powdered cheese. They rolled around, each throwing food at the other and soon covered the kitchen in the mess they made.
"So, who cleans up tonight?" Tabitha asked while joining the others at the table.
"Kitty and Amara," Jean answered. "Piotr and Bobby had last night and Scott and I have tomorrow night."
"Do you mind switching nights?" Amara asked. "Kitty and I wanted to go to a concert in the Bayville Park tonight with Lance and Jamie."
"I don't see anything wrong with that." Scott told them.
"Neither do I," Jean said. "You two have fun, we'll clean up tonight."
"Oh, man, I just hope dinner's almost done. I'm starving." Kurt slouched in his seat as his stomach grumbled.
"You're always starving, Kurt," Marie, with Remy's arm draped around her shoulders, commented. "No real news there."
"I'm getting hungry too." Piotr twiddled a fork in his fingers before sitting it down and taking a drink of his water.
"Where's dinner?" Logan asked as he, Ororo, and Professor Xavier entered the dining room. "I told hothead to help whoever's making it tonight."
"I'm sure they'll have it out in a moment," Ororo said as she took a seat between Charles and Hank, who had been reading his Kindle the entire time.
"Well they better have made a passable meal or I'm working them twice as hard tomorrow."
"Logan, I'm sure they'll do their best." Charles told him as he took his cloth napkin and set it in his lap. "It looks as if Miguel's making progress in controlling his anger. A little work in the kitchen may teach him a thing or two about-"
Before the Professor could finish his thought, the door to the kitchen opened and out stepped Miguel and Megan. The ones gathered around the table stared at them with wide eyes and their jaws on the floor as they walked up beside the table covered in sauce, spaghetti, bits of hamburger meat, and parmesan cheese.
"What on Earth happened to you two?" Ororo gasped, asking the question everyone had on their minds.
"Don't ask," Miguel said as he tossed a loaf of bread on the table with a pack of turkey meat.
"Don't tell," Megan followed while placing a jar of mustard and a butter knife beside the bread and meat.
They both silently treaded off to their rooms to clean up and change, leaving behind a very shocked group of mutants.
"Glad I don't have to clean up tonight," Kitty whispered.
Logan stared at Xavier a moment then placed his head in his hands. "Twice as hard tomorrow."
"One day. First time I wore that blouse and it gets ruined by a self-centered, mercenary, temper tantrum, Spanish speaking jerk." Megan, already cleaned and changed, paced back and forth in her room as Kitty and Tabitha watched her with ping pong eyes.
"I still can't believe you two trashed the kitchen like that." Tabitha laughed from her spot on the corner bean bag chair. "It was insane how Scott and Jean panicked when they saw the mess."
"It's not funny, Tabitha," Kitty whined. "I had to break my date with Lance because of their war of roses. Took forever to clean up." She lay on the bed upside down and huffed.
"Urr, if I ever get my hands around his neck I'll choke the life out of him. I'll, I'll, clog his throat with my Pixie Dust. I'll stick my soul dagger in his heart and leave him paralyzed on the floor. I'll, I'll…I don't even know how to describe what I'll do to him." Megan grabbed one of her stuffed animals and ripped its head off in frustration.
"Aww, poor Mister Sock Monkey," Kitty said when the stuffed toy hit the floor.
"Poor Miguel you mean. Hell hath no fury like a raging pixie." Tabitha grabbed the head of the monkey and started to toss it back and forth in her hands. "So you gonna make him buy you a new one?"
"I doubt he has the money to buy me a new one even if I wanted him to." Pixie stopped her pacing and placed her hands on her hips. "No, I'll just have to take it out on him when we're in the Danger Room tomorrow. Cluster bomb him with my dust. Make him hallucinate for a week."
"But he'll be gone tomorrow, remember? He always disappears around nightfall on Thursdays."
"She's right. You two won't be in a group during training either." Kitty said. "Fridays are individual sessions."
"Fine." Megan went to her night stand and pulled out a piece of paper and pen. "I'll leave the others a note I'll be going to town on personal business in the morning. When Miguel leaves the mansion, I'll follow him to wherever he goes and-"
The three girls jumped at the sound of a single loud knock on the door. Leaving her plan for the moment, Megan got up and answered it, only to find no one there. She peaked down the hall and saw Miguel as he headed back to his room.
"Very mature, Miguel. Ding dong ditch is so junior high. Grow up you worthless piece of-" She never completed her sentence as she noticed a folded piece of paper taped to her door. "Leaving little harsh notes now? You should be in a mental hospital where you belong."
Ripping the note off her door, she opened it up and found three, hundred dollar bills tucked inside. A gasp escaped her lips as the other two girls quickly got to their feet and stood beside her.
"Three hundred dollars?" Tabitha exclaimed. "Maybe I should cook with him next time."
"Look, there's a note," Kitty pointed out.
Megan read the note behind the bills. It was short and to the point, just like when he spoke to others.
Megan, sorry about the blouse.
Here's some money to get a new one.
- Miguel
Looking up from the note, Megan felt the eyes of her two friends on her and hated what she felt. He was such a jerk and she meant it when she said she hated him. Or at least she thought she meant it.
"I'll be right back." Not waiting for the others to say anything, she briskly exited her room.
"Yup, it's all coming together," Kitty said with a smile.
"What do you mean it's all coming together?" Tabitha asked.
"We're about to have another couple in the house. Now, what shall I dub them? Miguel and Megan, hmm. Migan? Megul? Migs and Megs?"
"Kitty, you're insane."
"I've got it! M&M! It's perfect!"
"What are you smoking?"
"M&M. Miguel is like the hard candy shell and Megan is the sweet center that fills the empty space in his heart. He protects her from all harm and she fills the void in his dark soul to lighten it up so he can love and cherish her and-"
As Kitty continued her fantasy dream, Tabitha attempted to smack her upside the head, only for her hand to phase through her skull. She sighed as she left the room with Kitty following her and going on about them behind her back.
Arriving at Miguel's door, Megan found herself unable to think of anything to say to him. He didn't have to apologize, even though he should and did. He didn't have to give her the money, more than enough money to replace her garment. And admittingly, she didn't have to call him names and tell him off like she did before hearing him out. It was just hard dealing with him as she had never dealt with anyone like him before, let alone feel like this about anyone before. It kind of scared her.
"Miguel?" she said after a few knocks. "Can I talk to you?"
She could hear him move around on his bed but not come to the door.
"Listen, I just wanted to apologize about what I said. I didn't mean it. I was just angry and I'm sorry." She waited for a bit to see if he would come out but he didn't. "Can you please open the door?"
When he didn't respond to her, she sighed and took one of the bills in her hand. "This was too much. It's still too much. I'm sliding one of the hundreds under your door. I'll, uh, give you your change when I get back from shopping tomorrow."
She waited to see if he would respond after sliding the money under his door but found herself disappointed he never answered her. With another sigh, she turned and left. Getting no more than a few feet from his door, she heard him clear his throat and saw him standing shirtless in the doorframe.
"Ah, uh, Ah don't accept your apology," he said flatly.
Before she could object, he held up his hand to silence her.
"Ah don't accept it because you don't owe meh one. Ah shouldn't have gotten angry when you threw the food at meh. It was mah fault for what happened and Ah should have been more careful. Ah just…hope the money covers buying you a new one."
"It was more than enough, Miguel. I slid one of the bills under your door."
He joined her in the darkened hallway and held up the hundred. "Take it. It's just money. Buy two more of those shirts in case Ah mess the new one up too."
"I can't do that."
"Yes you can." He held out the bill and let her take it. For a moment, they locked eyes until they realized what they were doing and looked away.
"I'll, uh, let you go back to bed." Megan told him softly. "But, can we at least attempt to be friends?"
"Yeah, friends." As she walked away from him, he couldn't help but add one more thing to their conversation. "Night, Pix."
Upon hearing the nickname she had come to dislike, she turned and stared at him. "Night, Chupa." She flashed him a smile before heading back to her room.
Taking a step back inside, Miguel paused and tapped his hands on the frame then leaned out. "Night, Kitty."
All was silent for a moment when he heard the young girl from around the corner. "Crap. Night, Miguel."