Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men: Evolution. Lorelai, Joey, Monica, Cindy, Liam and Eloise do belong to me, as does Lucie. I have taken a basic story-line and some dialogue from Friends 'The Last One' for this chapter and the next (and possibly the one after it), but no copyright breach is intended and it is definitely not 'the last one'.

Chapter Seven – Moving On

December 1999

As the year – and the millennium – drew to a close, the X-Men were all preparing for a New Year's party to remember.

Well, not all of them.

John and Amara had departed with Eloise for Nova Roma the previous day and they weren't expected back until late January, and Kurt and Amanda were seeing in the new millennium in Germany with Kurt's foster parents.

At the moments preparations were on hold and the rec room was, for once, quiet and peaceful.

Or it was, until Alex came running in, skidding to a halt in the middle of the room. "Guys! Guys! Listen up!"

"We're listening." Kitty assured him, not taking her eyes off her book. "What's up?"

Alex grinned. "Well, Lorna says she's got some really big news, so when she gets here, let's all pretend like …"

"Hey, everyone!" Lorna greeted, walking in with a bright smile on her face.

"Never mind." Alex sighed, visible deflating as he dropped into a chair. "But it would've been really good."

"What's going on, Lorna?" Jean asked. "Alex said you have news for us."

Lexa gasped. "Oh, does this have anything to do with that interview?"

Everyone looked up at this.

"You had a job interview?" Scott asked.

Lorna nodded. "Turns out Gucci had an opening for a designer, can you believe it?"

"Oh, honey, it's like that job was madefor you!" Jubilee commented. "How did it go?"

Lorna sighed. "Well, it didn't look too promising … I mean, I don't have any experience, or qualifications, so I just had to take some of my designs along and hope for the best …"

"And?" Kitty prompted.

Lorna broke into a smile. "They loved them and offered me the job!"

"Lor, that's fantastic!" Alex jumped to his feet again and hugged her tightly. "You know what? This calls for a celebration! Who has Pixie Stix?"

"Pixie Stix?" Scott repeated incredulously.

Alex rolled his eyes. "In case you hadn't noticed, bro, we're all underage, so alcohol's out of the question. But we've got to do something! Lorna just got, like, her dream job."

Lorna took a deep breath. "The job is in Paris."

Alex's smile disappeared and the room went quiet. Only the three toddlers could be heard, chattering quietly to themselves in a language that only they could understand.

As the silence grew heavier, Lorna looked around. "Okay, someone please say something!"

"So …" Pietro began, his voice hoarse; he stopped and cleared his throat. "So if you take this job, you'll be … moving? To Paris?"

Wanda rolled her eyes. "Either that, or she'd be facing one bitch of a commute. And there's no 'if' about it, there can't be – it's like Alex said, this is her dream job."

"Exactly." Lorna sighed. "I know it's huge and scary and really, really far away from you guys, but … it's such an incredible opportunity for me."

"Hey, we'll work something out." Pietro assured her with a hug.

"Thank you!" Lorna turned to Alex. "And you?"

Alex forced a smile and embraced her as well. "It'll be fine. Are you …" He hesitated, torn between needing to ask her and fear of her answer. "Are you sure it's what you want?"

"I think so." Lorna answered. At least, he thought that was what she said, since her words were largely directed not just at his shoulder but into it.

"What's going on?" Paige asked curiously, as she and Jamie joined them.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Paige, why are you covered in flour?" He held up a hand to forestall her answer, groaning at the smile on her face. "You know what? Never mind, I don't wanna know."

"I got a really incredible job offer." Lorna told them. "But the job is in Paris."

"What?" Jamie whined. "No, no, no, no, no! Too much is changing round here, alright? First of all, everyone starts getting married – congratulations, guys, really – and then Jean and Scott decide they wanna move out …"

"Hey!" Jean interrupted. "This morning, you said you'd be supportive!"

"Yeah, well, it comes and goes, I wouldn't trust it!" Jamie snapped.

Lorna cleared her throat. "Look, I understand that this is a huge idea to get used to, and it's going to change a lot, but it would mean so much to me if you could all get on board with this."

"Of course we can." Paige told her, giving her a hug. "Jamie, come join in!"

"No." Jamie scowled defiantly. "My hugs are reserved for people staying in America!"

Lorna released Paige and approached him slowly. "Jamie …"

"No, you keep your France-going arms away from me!" Jamie yelped, sprinting from the room.

"Jamie …!" Lorna sighed, jogging after him.

Kitty sighed and laid her book down. "I'd better go to."

"Are you okay with this?" Jubilee asked, as soon as Lorna was out of earshot.

"Well, it makes me sad." Bobby answered with a frown. "I'm going to miss her, but we just have to …"

"I was talking to Alex." Jubilee cut him off wearily.

"Shutting up now."

"Lorna moving to another country?" Alex asked. "Not seeing her every day? She's my best friend, Jubes. How can I possibly be okay with it?"

January 2000

It took Lorna the rest of that year and the first part of January to get Jamie to talk to her again, but she took the job without hesitation.

The day before she was due to leave, the X-Men took it upon themselves to throw her a huge goodbye-party and, by the time it was dying down, Lorna had taken each person aside individually to say goodbye to them; she was currently talking to Jamie out on the balcony, since the party was being held in the 'party room' on the second floor rather than the rec room.

Kitty was of the opinion that this decision, made by several of the New Mutants, had something to do with Logan's hidden stash of alcohol rather than the name and kept an eye out for strange behaviour around the punch bowl, but this theory had yet to be proved.

Alex was waiting nervously beside her. He was the only person Lorna hadn't spoken to yet.

"You're next." Jubilee reminded him unnecessarily. Everyone was just waiting around now, waiting for the final goodbye. "Are you ready?"

"I don't think so." Alex admitted.

"Oh, you're definitely not." Bobby warned. "I haven't cried like that in years."

Jubilee gave him a funny look. "You cried last night at the six o'clock news."

"That old lady was being scammed by her mechanic!" Bobby protested, defending his tears.

"I can't believe she saved me for last." Alex sighed. "What is taking so long?"

"I don't know, but Jamie seems to be taking it really well." Paige commented.

They all watched through the window as, out on the balcony, Lorna gave Jamie a hug and turned away to come back inside. As soon as her back was turned, he put one foot up on the balcony railing and prepared to swing his other leg over.

"NO!" Everyone lurched forwards, Jean and Taryn reaching out with their telekinesis as they did, but Lorna had seen him as well and pulled him down again, firmly leading him back inside.

As Kitty rushed over to Jamie, giving him a hug, Alex braced himself, as Lorna put a hand on his shoulder. "Okay, here we go …"

"Well …" Lorna hesitated. "I think I'm gonna go to bed."

"What?" Alex blinked.

Lorna wiped away tears. "This was amazing, guys. Thank you so much. Goodnight."

As the door closed behind her, Alex finally regained his voice. "I don't get a goodbye!"

"Lucky bastard!" Jamie sobbed into Kitty's shoulder.

No one bothered to correct his language.

Most of the X-Men managed to escape the coming storm, but Jubilee, Bobby, Jamie and Kitty were still there an hour later, the latter cursing Lance in her mind for abandoning her, hearing Alex out as he paced the length of the room.

"Unbelievable! She says goodbye to everyone but me?"

Jubilee cleared her throat. "Well, maybe she thought … with you two being best friends and all … that it'd be … I dunno … implicit."

"Well, it needs to be plicit!" Alex snapped. "When you left, you said goodbye to Bobby, right?"

Jubilee nodded reluctantly. "Against his better efforts."

"Her saying goodbye kinda cemented that she was leaving." Bobby elaborated. "So I hid." Sensing that he wasn't helping, he tried another approach. "Look, there's gotta be a reason. Have you done anything to piss her off lately?"

"No!" Alex answered immediately. "At least I don't think so. No, she'd have told me if I'd done something that bad – Lorna's not the 'silent treatment' type. Don't I deserve anything? A few tears? A cursory hug?"

Jamie stood up.

"Not from you!"

"Why don't you go and talk to her?" Kitty asked, as Jamie sat down again, slightly disappointed.

"And say what?" Jubilee retorted. ""You owe me a goodbye"? He's got more pride than that!"

"The hell I do!" Alex disagreed, stalking out.

Lorna was in her room, sorting through her travel documents one last time. I should have said goodbye to him, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind.

No. She'd say goodbye to Alex tomorrow morning, not until she absolutely had to.

She should have known he wouldn't see it that way.

She shouldn't have been startled when her door burst open, with nary a knock to announce his arrival.

"I don't get a goodbye?" Alex demanded.

"What?" Lorna asked, trying to buy time.

"Everyone gets a goodbye but me?" Alex elaborated. "What do I have to do to get a goodbye, huh? Live with you? Be best friends with you? Support you in all of this? Oh, wait a minute, I did all those things!"

"Alex …"

"No, maybe it's me." Alex interrupted. "Maybe I'm not giving you enough credit. I mean, it is difficult to say goodbye to all those people. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Goodbye. Good …" He broke off, pretending to choke. "It's physically impossible!"

He sighed and the fight seemed to seep out of him, as he fixed her with a look so disappointed that she swore it broke her heart. "I can't believe after everything we've been through this is how you wanna leave things between us."

Even after the door had closed behind him, Lorna didn't move, staring after him. Finally making her mind up, she followed him.

Alex had barely closed his bedroom door behind him, when it burst open again.

"You really think I didn't say goodbye to you because I don't care?"

Alex turned to face her wearily, too hurt and exhausted to fight anymore. "That's what it seemed like."

Lorna's eyes softened a little, but she kept glaring at him. "I can't believe, after all the time we've spent together, you don't know one thing about me!"

"Then why the hell didn't you say something?" Alex demanded.

"Because it is too damn hard, Alex!" Lorna yelled, tears beginning to cascade from her dark eyes, still burning with … hurt? Passion? He couldn't quite make it out. "That's why! I can't even begin to tell you how much I'm going to miss you! You're my best friend, Alex; I know you better than I know myself! When I think about not seeing you every day, it makes me not want to go! So if you think for one second that I didn't say goodbye to you because you don't mean as much to me as everyone else, you're wrong! It's because you mean more to me!"

She wiped her eyes furiously, apparently only just noticing the tears on her face. "So there! There's your goodbye!"

Alex's mind caught up just as she made to storm out again. "Lorna!"

She spun around. "What?"

"You keep … you can't …" Alex couldn't gather the words he needed, couldn't even form a sentence in his head, let along vocalise it. She stood waiting for his response, tears still glimmering on her beautiful face, and he gave up.

Striding to the door, he seized her waist, pulling her to him, and kissed her, not expecting her to respond, but more than glad when she did.

His foot caught his bedroom door and it closed on them, but neither took any notice as Alex's shirt hit the floor.

They had both been waiting for far too long.

AN: Review please!