p class="MsoNormal""emJohn!
She better be here!/em" My angry thoughts call out to the mutant hiding somewhere in the dark foliage of the /
"She is." He speaks aloud, stepping out from the trees.
"She's got back about an hour ago. Thanks for helping her."
There is something covering his face, but I cannot quite tell / "What are you wearing?" I roll my eyes and make my way towards him. I am stopped in my tracks, however, when I see what covers his eyes. "That's... Scott's visor... Wh-
Where did you get that?" br / "Voltage brought it back as a souvenir. Looks pretty good on me, right?" emYou've gotta be kidding me right now?! That... Argh!/em I calm my thoughts. I have to play this / "Yeah, I guess it does." I approach him more / "You like it?" If I was being honest, I'd tell him how freaking stupid he looks, but I'm not. I want to play around with him a bit / "I do," I move even closer to his body, reducing the inches between our faces. "I really do. You look really hot in that."br / "Oh yeah?" He smiles / "Yeah." I place my left hand gently on his cheek.
"Better than Scott, in fact."br / "Really?"
His smile / "No, not really!" I yell,
driving my fist into his stomach and pulling the visor from his face.
"Give me that, asshole!"br / "Owww." He moans, bending over his winded abdomen. "What was that for?"br / "Tell your girlfriend to stay away from Scott." I growl. br / "Okay, okay. Maybe I deserved that." He pants, trying to regain the breath I stole from him. "But Voltage isn't my girlfriend."br / "Ground rules,"
I state strongly. "Never again will you guys cross with the X-Men. I don't want this getting ugly, and if Scott finds out about you, there will be a large optic-blast-shaped hole in your chest, got it?"br / "Jeez. Fine!" John's reaction makes him seem like a spoilt / "Secondly, keep her away from my boyfriend. emPeriod/em." I don't care if I helped her escape, it doesn't mean I like her. "And finally, try to make sure we don't kill each other. After being thrown out of a window by Miss Sparky yesterday, I'm not feeling too safe with you guys."br / "She did emwhat/em?"
John seems angry at my words. br / "I'm willing to forget it, as long as it never happens again." I cross my arms to assert my / "Okay. Deal. I'll talk to her." He sighs. "So, the X-Man would really come after me if he found out?"br / "Don't call him that. But yes. You can count on it." I state with confidence. Scott is very protective, and not very forgiving. On top of that, I've not really given him a reason to like John. "I probably won't get off lightly either."br / "He just appears more and more controlling and uptight each time you talk about him." We walk into the trees / "He's not. He just likes to know that I'm safe." I smile at the thought. "And sometimes he can be a bit jealous, we both can."br /
"So, he'd be jealous of me?" John raises his eyebrows and smirks. br / "Yes, John, he probably would." I roll my eyes / "That's... emSatisfying/em."
He laughs / "Don't be nasty." I poke his arm / "I'm not." He shrugs, stopping and turning to face me. I copy him. "I just like the fact he thinks that I'm a threat."br / "Any guy is a threat in Scott's eyes, especially ones that don't follow the rules."
It's true. Scott's possessiveness is more than excessive at / "But I'm more of a threat than most."
He whispers, stepping towards me. I step back into a tree and gasp at the contact, before leaning back against its / "How so?" I look into his eyes, the blue in them mixes into the darkness of the / "Well, you've already admitted that you find me attractive. And then there's our connection." He places his hands either side of my head,
trapping me. "And I don't see you sneaking out to see any other guy in the middle of the night."br / "I didn't admit anything; you went through my private thoughts!" Although his body pins me to the tree trunk, I don't feel uncomfortable. The close proximity of his warm skin is quite nice, actually. "And the way you say em'sneaking out'/em makes it sound like I'm having some kind of affair. I'm here because of our telepathic connection, nothing more."br / "Who knows?" He shrugs. "Maybe we will be having em'some kind of affair'/em soon?"br / "Nope."
I smile sarcastically. "Never gunna happen."br /
"The bet's not over yet, Evelyn." He brings his face even nearer to mine. "You forget so easily that I have been in your mind. I know what makes you fall in love, Miss James."br /
"Not you." I reply / "I wouldn't be so sure." He whispers tenderly. He slowly strokes his hand through my hair, locking his eyes with my own. "Isn't it beautiful how the connection we have strengthens when our eyes meet?"br / "I- I hadn't n-noticed." My stuttered response is clearly a lie. I had noticed. Of course I had.
emHow could I not?/em Now, as I allow myself to be lost in the sea of blue, I feel a wave of emotion wash over me. It feels as if we are connected in every conceivable way. Our bodies,
our minds, our souls - all linked. I feel his heart beat in sync with my own and sense every breath that he takes. I swallow hard and bite my lip. His face nears mine more now, but I don't feel any inclination to move away. I hear the contented sigh slip from my lips and notice his mouth twitch into a small smile. I close my eyes and let the peace of the moment consume / "emYou are beautiful, Evelyn James./em" His thoughts are faint in my mind, just loud enough for me to hear. I feel his warm breath against my skin as he reduces the already minute space between us. I feel Scott's visor slip from my fingers, as all of the muscles in my body relax. And then, finally, our lips / "No!"
I pull away immediately. "I- I can't do this. I'm sorry. I ha- I have to go!"br / I bend down to retrieve the visor from the floor and sprint from the trees. From the park. emFrom John./em My breath wavers at the thought of what just happened. That was it - I almost kissed John. But the worst part is that the words he had said echo in my / emThe bet's not over yet, Evelyn./em/p
She better be here!/em" My angry thoughts call out to the mutant hiding somewhere in the dark foliage of the /
"She is." He speaks aloud, stepping out from the trees.
"She's got back about an hour ago. Thanks for helping her."
There is something covering his face, but I cannot quite tell / "What are you wearing?" I roll my eyes and make my way towards him. I am stopped in my tracks, however, when I see what covers his eyes. "That's... Scott's visor... Wh-
Where did you get that?" br / "Voltage brought it back as a souvenir. Looks pretty good on me, right?" emYou've gotta be kidding me right now?! That... Argh!/em I calm my thoughts. I have to play this / "Yeah, I guess it does." I approach him more / "You like it?" If I was being honest, I'd tell him how freaking stupid he looks, but I'm not. I want to play around with him a bit / "I do," I move even closer to his body, reducing the inches between our faces. "I really do. You look really hot in that."br / "Oh yeah?" He smiles / "Yeah." I place my left hand gently on his cheek.
"Better than Scott, in fact."br / "Really?"
His smile / "No, not really!" I yell,
driving my fist into his stomach and pulling the visor from his face.
"Give me that, asshole!"br / "Owww." He moans, bending over his winded abdomen. "What was that for?"br / "Tell your girlfriend to stay away from Scott." I growl. br / "Okay, okay. Maybe I deserved that." He pants, trying to regain the breath I stole from him. "But Voltage isn't my girlfriend."br / "Ground rules,"
I state strongly. "Never again will you guys cross with the X-Men. I don't want this getting ugly, and if Scott finds out about you, there will be a large optic-blast-shaped hole in your chest, got it?"br / "Jeez. Fine!" John's reaction makes him seem like a spoilt / "Secondly, keep her away from my boyfriend. emPeriod/em." I don't care if I helped her escape, it doesn't mean I like her. "And finally, try to make sure we don't kill each other. After being thrown out of a window by Miss Sparky yesterday, I'm not feeling too safe with you guys."br / "She did emwhat/em?"
John seems angry at my words. br / "I'm willing to forget it, as long as it never happens again." I cross my arms to assert my / "Okay. Deal. I'll talk to her." He sighs. "So, the X-Man would really come after me if he found out?"br / "Don't call him that. But yes. You can count on it." I state with confidence. Scott is very protective, and not very forgiving. On top of that, I've not really given him a reason to like John. "I probably won't get off lightly either."br / "He just appears more and more controlling and uptight each time you talk about him." We walk into the trees / "He's not. He just likes to know that I'm safe." I smile at the thought. "And sometimes he can be a bit jealous, we both can."br /
"So, he'd be jealous of me?" John raises his eyebrows and smirks. br / "Yes, John, he probably would." I roll my eyes / "That's... emSatisfying/em."
He laughs / "Don't be nasty." I poke his arm / "I'm not." He shrugs, stopping and turning to face me. I copy him. "I just like the fact he thinks that I'm a threat."br / "Any guy is a threat in Scott's eyes, especially ones that don't follow the rules."
It's true. Scott's possessiveness is more than excessive at / "But I'm more of a threat than most."
He whispers, stepping towards me. I step back into a tree and gasp at the contact, before leaning back against its / "How so?" I look into his eyes, the blue in them mixes into the darkness of the / "Well, you've already admitted that you find me attractive. And then there's our connection." He places his hands either side of my head,
trapping me. "And I don't see you sneaking out to see any other guy in the middle of the night."br / "I didn't admit anything; you went through my private thoughts!" Although his body pins me to the tree trunk, I don't feel uncomfortable. The close proximity of his warm skin is quite nice, actually. "And the way you say em'sneaking out'/em makes it sound like I'm having some kind of affair. I'm here because of our telepathic connection, nothing more."br / "Who knows?" He shrugs. "Maybe we will be having em'some kind of affair'/em soon?"br / "Nope."
I smile sarcastically. "Never gunna happen."br /
"The bet's not over yet, Evelyn." He brings his face even nearer to mine. "You forget so easily that I have been in your mind. I know what makes you fall in love, Miss James."br /
"Not you." I reply / "I wouldn't be so sure." He whispers tenderly. He slowly strokes his hand through my hair, locking his eyes with my own. "Isn't it beautiful how the connection we have strengthens when our eyes meet?"br / "I- I hadn't n-noticed." My stuttered response is clearly a lie. I had noticed. Of course I had.
emHow could I not?/em Now, as I allow myself to be lost in the sea of blue, I feel a wave of emotion wash over me. It feels as if we are connected in every conceivable way. Our bodies,
our minds, our souls - all linked. I feel his heart beat in sync with my own and sense every breath that he takes. I swallow hard and bite my lip. His face nears mine more now, but I don't feel any inclination to move away. I hear the contented sigh slip from my lips and notice his mouth twitch into a small smile. I close my eyes and let the peace of the moment consume / "emYou are beautiful, Evelyn James./em" His thoughts are faint in my mind, just loud enough for me to hear. I feel his warm breath against my skin as he reduces the already minute space between us. I feel Scott's visor slip from my fingers, as all of the muscles in my body relax. And then, finally, our lips / "No!"
I pull away immediately. "I- I can't do this. I'm sorry. I ha- I have to go!"br / I bend down to retrieve the visor from the floor and sprint from the trees. From the park. emFrom John./em My breath wavers at the thought of what just happened. That was it - I almost kissed John. But the worst part is that the words he had said echo in my / emThe bet's not over yet, Evelyn./em/p